Split (1)

train · 5.83k rows

tale_id stringlengths 1 60	content stringlengths 26 371k	source stringlengths 82 200k	created_at stringlengths 19 19	tags listlengths 1 36	title stringlengths 14 145	rating int64 -64 2.07k	references listlengths 0 98	hubs listlengths 0 19	images listlengths 0 144	page_id stringlengths 7 10	url stringlengths 30 89
gravitron	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=3&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Aminimalist-bhl/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <div class="blockquote"> <p><strong>Item #:</strong> SCP-XXXX</p> <p><strong>Object Class:</strong> [NULL]</p> <p><strong>Special Containment Procedures:</strong> The colony consisting of SCP-XXXX are to be contained at the discovery location.</p> </div> <p>The office is rather large and empty besides my desk and fish tank. I'm at my desk, <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">writing a report</span> procrastinating. A small binder sits next to my laptop. A placard on the desk reads, <em>Alex Thorley, Reality Liaison, Department of Unreality</em>.</p> <p>I'm not sure how to describe the anomaly for my department. To my credit, I don't understand much about my own department anyway. Twiddling my thumbs, I obsessively save the file again.</p> <p>After a moment I sigh and decide to look over the contents of the binder.</p> <p>I blink and sit in a beach chair on sun-soaked sand. The air is warm and salty. Squawking gulls fly over head, and mole crabs scurry along the shore as waves roll in and out…</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="scp-image-block block-center" style="width:16em;"><img alt="P7210051_%2810584395254%29.jpg" class="image" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/P7210051_%2810584395254%29.jpg"/> <div class="scp-image-caption"> <p>SCP-XXXX</p> </div> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>Standing up, I look around the area. Behind me are shallow sand dunes covered with grass. There are no buildings.</p> <p><em>Where am I now?</em></p> <p><em>Why am I here?</em></p> <p>The air is sticky and humid. I wipe moisture off my face. The blue-grey water looks inviting. I realize, there is no one else at the beach. No awkwardness of swimming in front of strangers!<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="scp-image-block block-center" style="width:16em;"><img alt="Indian_River_Lagoon_National_Scenic_Byway_-_Waves_at_Canaveral_National_Seashore_-_NARA_-_7719529.jpg" class="image" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Indian_River_Lagoon_National_Scenic_Byway_-_Waves_at_Canaveral_National_Seashore_-_NARA_-_7719529.jpg"/> <div class="scp-image-caption"> <p>SCP-XXXX containment location.</p> </div> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> I wear a wetsuit and wade out into the ocean. Mole crabs skitter and dig away as I wade by them.</p> <p>Wading further out, the water is now waist high.</p> <p><em>COLD.</em></p> <p>A wave approaches. I hold my breath and brace myself. It crashes into me.</p> <p><em>When was the last time I swam?</em></p> <p>I lick my salty lips. It's on the tip of my tongue.</p> <p><em>How do I know how to swim?</em></p> <p><em>Wasn't I doing something important just now?</em></p> <p>A swell approaches, and grows. I swim toward the approaching wave. It pulls me in and I swim. The cool water rushes passed my face and feeling euphoric, I dart around the water.</p> <p>After a few minutes of swimming, I feel a tugging on my right side. I'm pulled further out to sea and I start to panic.</p> <p>The next wave broke sooner than I expected. I'm plunged into darkness. A silhouette of a body and surf board far below me fade into the depths. Vaguely, I can see the seafloor drop into nothingness. Dizzy from vertigo, the nothingness grows around me. My chest heaves…</p> <p>A hollow pit drops in my stomach as the nothingness completely envelops me. I gasp for breath, find I can breathe the nothing, and breach the surface.</p> <p>I open my eyes and am sitting at my desk in a wetsuit. I am also wet. In front of me is both my computer and another seat. Laying across the seat are my clothes freshly laundered and dry. Sighing, my eyes glance over the computer screen. It reads:</p> <div class="blockquote"> <p><strong>Description:</strong> The</p> </div> <p>That's all I've been able to get done! Congratulations me! I roll my eyes and get up to change. As I walk by the fish tank I notice a few mole crabs skitter around the sand. After drying off and changing, I return to my laptop to see new edits made to the document.</p> <div class="blockquote"> <p><strong>Item #:</strong> SCP-XXXX</p> <p><strong>Object Class:</strong> [NULL]</p> <p><strong>Special Containment Procedures:</strong> The colony consisting of SCP-XXXX are to be contained at the discovery location. SCP-XXXX-1<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-1" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-1')">1</a></sup> should be contained at Site-00.</p> <p><strong>Description:</strong> The</p> </div> <div class="footnotes-footer"> <div class="title">Footnotes</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-1"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-1')">1</a>. Sample colony from SCP-XXXX.</div> </div> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/gravitron">Gravitron</a>" by fairydoctor, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/gravitron">https://scpwiki.com/gravitron</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> P7210051_%2810584395254%29.jpg<br/> <strong>Name:</strong> P7210051 (10584395254).jpg<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> Virginia State Parks staff<br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC BY 2.0<br/> <strong>Source Link:</strong> <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:P7210051_(10584395254).jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></p> </blockquote> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> Indian_River_Lagoon_National_Scenic_Byway_-_Waves_at_Canaveral_National_Seashore_-_NARA_-_7719529.jpg<br/> <strong>Name:</strong> Indian River Lagoon National Scenic Byway - Waves at Canaveral National Seashore - NARA - 7719529.jpg<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> N/A<br/> <strong>License:</strong> Public Domain<br/> <strong>Source Link:</strong> <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Indian_River_Lagoon_National_Scenic_Byway_-_Waves_at_Canaveral_National_Seashore_-_NARA_-_7719529.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></p> </blockquote> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:black-highlighter-theme">:scp-wiki:theme:black-highlighter-theme</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:minimalist-bhl">:scp-wiki:theme:minimalist-bhl</a>]] [[module CSS]] :root { --header-title: "Department of Unreality"; --header-subtitle: "Making the Unreal a ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"; --lgurl: url('http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/unreality-hub/Unreality%20Header%20Logo.svg'); } [[/module]] [[div class="blockquote"]] Item #: SCP-XXXX Object Class: [NULL] Special Containment Procedures: The colony consisting of SCP-XXXX are to be contained at the discovery location. [[/div]] The office is rather large and empty besides my desk and fish tank. I'm at my desk, --writing a report-- procrastinating. A small binder sits next to my laptop. A placard on the desk reads, //Alex Thorley, Reality Liaison, Department of Unreality//. I'm not sure how to describe the anomaly for my department. To my credit, I don't understand much about my own department anyway. Twiddling my thumbs, I obsessively save the file again. After a moment I sigh and decide to look over the contents of the binder. I blink and sit in a beach chair on sun-soaked sand. The air is warm and salty. Squawking gulls fly over head, and mole crabs scurry along the shore as waves roll in and out... @@ @@ [[include <a href="/component:image-block">component:image-block</a> \| name=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/P7210051_%2810584395254%29.jpg \| caption=SCP-XXXX \| width=16em \| align=center]] @@ @@ Standing up, I look around the area. Behind me are shallow sand dunes covered with grass. There are no buildings. //Where am I now?// //Why am I here?// The air is sticky and humid. I wipe moisture off my face. The blue-grey water looks inviting. I realize, there is no one else at the beach. No awkwardness of swimming in front of strangers! @@ @@ [[include <a href="/component:image-block">component:image-block</a> \| name=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Indian_River_Lagoon_National_Scenic_Byway_-_Waves_at_Canaveral_National_Seashore_-_NARA_-_7719529.jpg \| caption=SCP-XXXX containment location. \| width=16em \| align=center]] @@ @@ I wear a wetsuit and wade out into the ocean. Mole crabs skitter and dig away as I wade by them. Wading further out, the water is now waist high. //COLD.// A wave approaches. I hold my breath and brace myself. It crashes into me. //When was the last time I swam?// I lick my salty lips. It's on the tip of my tongue. //How do I know how to swim?// //Wasn't I doing something important just now?// A swell approaches, and grows. I swim toward the approaching wave. It pulls me in and I swim. The cool water rushes passed my face and feeling euphoric, I dart around the water. After a few minutes of swimming, I feel a tugging on my right side. I'm pulled further out to sea and I start to panic. The next wave broke sooner than I expected. I'm plunged into darkness. A silhouette of a body and surf board far below me fade into the depths. Vaguely, I can see the seafloor drop into nothingness. Dizzy from vertigo, the nothingness grows around me. My chest heaves... A hollow pit drops in my stomach as the nothingness completely envelops me. I gasp for breath, find I can breathe the nothing, and breach the surface. I open my eyes and am sitting at my desk in a wetsuit. I am also wet. In front of me is both my computer and another seat. Laying across the seat are my clothes freshly laundered and dry. Sighing, my eyes glance over the computer screen. It reads: [[div class="blockquote"]] Description: The [[/div]] That's all I've been able to get done! Congratulations me! I roll my eyes and get up to change. As I walk by the fish tank I notice a few mole crabs skitter around the sand. After drying off and changing, I return to my laptop to see new edits made to the document. [[div class="blockquote"]] Item #: SCP-XXXX Object Class: [NULL] Special Containment Procedures: The colony consisting of SCP-XXXX are to be contained at the discovery location. SCP-XXXX-1[[footnote]]Sample colony from SCP-XXXX.[[/footnote]] should be contained at Site-00. Description: The [[/div]] [[footnoteblock]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] ===== > Filename: P7210051_%2810584395254%29.jpg > Name: P7210051 (10584395254).jpg > Author: Virginia State Parks staff > License: CC BY 2.0 > Source Link: [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:P7210051_(10584395254).jpg Wikimedia Commons] > Filename: Indian_River_Lagoon_National_Scenic_Byway_-_Waves_at_Canaveral_National_Seashore_-_NARA_-_7719529.jpg > Name: Indian River Lagoon National Scenic Byway - Waves at Canaveral National Seashore - NARA - 7719529.jpg > Author: N/A > License: Public Domain > Source Link: [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Indian_River_Lagoon_National_Scenic_Byway_-_Waves_at_Canaveral_National_Seashore_-_NARA_-_7719529.jpg Wikimedia Commons] ===== [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-01-04T05:17:00	[ "_cc", "_licensebox", "absurdism", "alex-thorley", "bittersweet", "coldpostcon", "first-person", "foundation-format", "surrealism", "tale", "unreality-dept" ]	Gravitron - SCP Foundation	14	[ "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "coldpostcon" ]	[ "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/P7210051_%2810584395254%29.jpg", "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Indian_River_Lagoon_National_Scenic_Byway_-_Waves_at_Canaveral_National_Seashore_-_NARA_-_7719529.jpg" ]	1445386259	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/gravitron
gusting	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=3&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Ascp-offices-theme/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <div class="preview"> <h1 id="toc0"><span><strong>Tibi Placet?</strong></span></h1> <p><em>"SCP-682 will never be destroyed."</em></p> </div> <div class="authorlink-wrapper"><a href="javascript:;">Alzin Cdag</a> <div class="authorbox"> <div class="authorcontent"> <p>Alzin Cdag</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="info-container"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <div> <h1 id="toc1"><span><strong>Tibi Placet?</strong></span></h1> <p>With crit from <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/djoric" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(388108); return false;"><img alt="Djoric" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=388108&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1725332306" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=388108)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/djoric" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(388108); return false;">Djoric</a></span>, <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/vapidpoem" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(8631823); return false;"><img alt="VapidPoem" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=8631823&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1725332306" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=8631823)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/vapidpoem" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(8631823); return false;">VapidPoem</a></span>, and <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/mooagain" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5975504); return false;"><img alt="Mooagain " class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=5975504&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1725332306" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=5975504)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/mooagain" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5975504); return false;">Mooagain</a></span> .</p> </div> <hr/> <div id="u-author_block"> <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/alzin-cdag">▸ More by this Author ◂</a></p> </div> <hr/> <div id="u-comments2" style="display: none;"> <p>{$comments2}</p> </div> <div class="u-faq"> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:info-ayers">F.A.Q.</a></p> </div> <div style="display: none;"> <p>{$doesthisfixthebug}</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <h1 id="toc2"><span>January 1, 1912</span></h1> <p>There was no wind outside the facility. The sea-breeze itself held its breath, it seemed, as the Foundation prepared to do something it had never done before.</p> <p>Inside the facility was a reptile. Inside, the reptility was facile.</p> <p>Doctor Tiberius Plact stood by with a clipboard, beholding the beast in its acid tank.</p> <p>It was the shape and size of a beached whale, and with its limbs it pressed up against the edges of the tank, staring back at Plact. It flicked its blue tongue in and out, placidly. It was impersonal as death. It felt no fear.</p> <p>In Tiberius Plact's left hand was the telegram from Overwatch. His hands did not tremor and no wind disturbed it. It authorized the termination of the reptile after nine years' hard bureaucratic wrangling. He had pulled in every favor, fomented unrest amongst the level 3 personnel, and sacrificed his marriage to secure this. People whispered of him as a cautionary tale: Overwatch, like death, did not move from its' purpose lightly.</p> <p>"Lower the crystal," barked Tiberius. A D-class turned the winch, and the sample of infectious quartz descended into the tank.</p> <p>Tiberius looked at the two generals and the doctor observing the attempt.</p> <p>"A damn shame," said the general on the left, "That we can't do this more often."</p> <p>He continued spouting all the arguments that had echoed in Plact's head for the past nine years, and longer. It would be so much easier, so much cheaper, cause so many fewer deaths, were they to kill all the threats instead of locking them up. Plact's mouth was set in a grim line. The other doctor trembled, fearing to speak ill of the Council, while the other general kept his face rigid with wonder, rapt as he was to witness this moment, unique in the history of the Foundation.</p> <p>The winch-line's sound became slack, and Tiberius returned his gaze to the reptile. It stared at him still, its' eyes for him alone. The crystal rested on its' carapace.</p> <p>"Raise," barked Tiberius, and the winch rose again from the acid, its' steel chain dripping.</p> <p>And all he needed to do was wait.</p> <hr/> <p>The Overseer stared at the telegram in her hand.</p> <p>TERMINATION FAILURE STOP REPTILE IMMUNE STOP REQUESTING FURTHER RESOURCES STOP….</p> <p><em>Damn,</em> she thought. She had voted against the attempt in the Council meeting, and had hoped it would be simple. A one-off, followed by Plact's demotion. And they could all get back to the business of understanding the magic of the world, rather than destroying it…</p> <p>But this would give the reptile a higher profile. And the Council would never rescind their order now. They were stubborn to the end.</p> <p>She could hear the wind outside the site, a light breeze that stirred the crushed leaves of the prior year, and it was in her head as she signed the order releasing the funds to Plact's project. She opened a file folder and wrote a three-digit designation on it, filing away the telegram.</p> <p>It seemed this reptile was going to be…</p> <p>tough to keep from existing, in an irrevocable manner? Vocabulary failed her, for the moment. It would come. It always did.</p> <hr/> <h1 id="toc3"><span>January 1, 1914</span></h1> <p>It screamed its insults and epithets at the crowd of soldiers. Its' heart was full of spiders and its seven limbs each ended in a keratin mace. Its' breath was dandelion seeds, scattering poisons on the breeze.</p> <p>Its name was SCP-682, and it hated everything that moved.</p> <p>The soldiers thanked their lucky stars that lethal force was authorized. They fired their howitzers, holding the line against the creature, until their higher-ups sent word that they were to retreat.</p> <p>Anomalous backup was coming, and they didn't want to be there when it came.</p> <p>And therefore that windy day, only one soldier looked back at the creature as the plane came in, dropping its payload.</p> <p>What he saw that day did not strike him as odd immediately, but weeks later, on seeing the record of the incident, he contracted a severe case of shell-shock from which he never fully recovered.</p> <hr/> <h1 id="toc4"><span>January 1, 1920</span></h1> <p>The wind, fouled still by the ghosts of the weapons of the Great War, blew from the battlefields to the sea, and passed over the Site sunk therein, serviced by ex-German submarines: decommissioned on paper, but only on paper. There were benefits to mastering the arcana of bureaucracy, and Dr. Plact had supreme command of the art.</p> <p>"They say the world has grown tired of killing," Plact told his protégées, "That this was the war that ends them all."</p> <p>He waved his cane.</p> <p>"And I'm sure that the powers that be will be satisfied for a while. But war will never die!"</p> <p>He breathed in. "As long as there are toy soldiers in different clothing styles, leaders will never tire of smashing them together!" He breathed out. "It doesn't matter that in each battle, the individual soldiers die. There will always be soldiers to fill each uniform. There will always be new weaponry to outclass the last generation, and so on, and so forth."</p> <p>He fell into a coughing fit.</p> <p>"All it takes is a little time to regenerate the numbers of the people," he went on, "And soon all the uniforms will be filled."</p> <p>"The leaders of armies get accolades, fame, and fortune. The leaders of prisons get no parades.</p> <p>"Soon," he said, "Soon I will die. Soon you will be tasked to take over my work. To take responsibility for 682 and all its termination attempts. And you will have a choice to make.</p> <p>"Will you be a warrior or a warden?"</p> <hr/> <h1 id="toc5"><span>January 1, 1951</span></h1> <p>He reclined in his acid tank, forty-three limbs drumming a tuneless rhythm into the ceramic walls. His long, green hair floated to the surface in tresses, dissolving a meter a minute. His name was whispered in awe throughout the Foundation, the beast who had survived everything they threw at it. He didn't care about any of this, naturally; he just hoped he would get to eat some of the funny four-limbed creatures that he loved to eat so, so very much; he loved the squeal they made, that loud joyful sound that marked a meal happy to be eaten.</p> <p>He just hoped the next meal wouldn't make him have to move his neck much. He loved to close his eyes as he hunted, to heighten the sense of surprise he felt when he caught his meal; but this meant his neck had to move an awful lot, to feel around with his sensitive nose, and that had lately put a huge strain on his neck.</p> <p>The lid of the tank lifted, and his heart leapt. He scrambled out of the tank to get a first look at his prey.</p> <p>It looked a lot more like a rock than most things he had eaten, with some metal thrown in for good measure, and it didn't move at all as he looked at it. (He didn't even like rock, normally, but this one smelled a bit of those juices the four-limbed creatures gushed as he ate them.) Oh, well, this hunt was going to be remarkably straightforward.</p> <p>He closed his eyes anyway, from sheer habit.</p> <p>His name was SCP-682, and the sensation in his neck he felt in the next moment surprised him.</p> <hr/> <h1 id="toc6"><span>January 1, 1971</span></h1> <p>The Overseer needed another filing cabinet.</p> <p>She put in the requisition order with another stroke of a pen, and sighed. Sixty years ago, she had never expected the termination log to get quite this outlandish.</p> <p>What was worse than the beast itself, however, was what it represented. The Foundation had been founded to contain the anomalous, rather than destroy it. A single exception in the code for a beast they really, really hated was hypocrisy of the highest order, a mockery of all those who died believing that existence in this universe was too sacred to interrupt.</p> <p>And now it was a toy in the imaginations of all the new recruits, to bash against all the other sacred lives and magicks at their disposal. Could SCP-XXXX, god of toenail fungus, beat 682? What if 682 were first subdued with SCP-YYYY, the Thyme Freezer? It was as though their duty as wardens, as recorders of a billion separate stories, had been reduced to the referees of an underground fighting ring.</p> <p>In an uncharacteristic display of frustration, she opened the window as wide as it would go and threw stacks upon stacks of the papers of the termination logs outside, where the thunderstorm winds seized and scattered them to the sea.</p> <p>What was going on with those the Council had put in charge of the reptile? How was a flesh-and-blood beast, <em>not even invulnerable,</em> thwarting the billions of dollars and hundreds of anomalies the Foundation had sent its way?</p> <p>One of these years, she thought, I'll have to send my proxies to get a more satisfactory answer. We need to get to the bottom of this.</p> <hr/> <h1 id="toc7"><span>March 1, 1972</span></h1> <p>"Get underground," mumbled the creature to the farmers that had gathered around it, curious why such a large beast was standing quietly in the town square. "There's a hurricane coming in half an hour, get underground."</p> <p>The skies were clear, but windy. An anomaly had precipitated the hurricane; it would appear suddenly and vanish just as suddenly, and only the creature, so far as it knew, had forewarning.</p> <p>"Did it just say something?" said one farmer to another.</p> <p>The beast tried to raise its' voice. "G-g-g-" it started, stuttering.</p> <p>"I think it's trying to say something," said another. "How adorable."</p> <p>"Spit it out!" said another.</p> <p>"Ggg…", said the beast, which then decided to substitute a soft j for a hard g. "Jet u-unnhderg-gground," it said with great effort, trailing into quietness as it reached the last syllables. It was not a better person in its' own eyes for having gotten past that stumbling block; in the eyes of the farmers, this minor success raised their low estimation of it not at all.</p> <p>The farmers were not stupid. They heard the beast's warning. But who would heed a stuttering prophet?</p> <p>"Fellas," said one at last, "I think this creature wants us to fly in a jet underground! No, big fella," he pantomimed a jet flying, "Jets fly in the air, like the wind! There's no wind underground."</p> <p>"hhhurric-cane c-c-cming…" the creature raised its voice desperately.</p> <p>"Stop lying to us," said another farmer. "We know that's why you're too nervous to talk like a normal person."</p> <p>"No!" said the beast, its desperation rising into rage. "No, y'must b-b-b-"</p> <p>"g-g-get uh-uh-uhnderground!" mocked one farmer. The group around him laughed.</p> <p>"Porky Pig!" shouted one, pointing her finger.</p> <p>The beast beheld all this, and it was sickened to its core.</p> <p>There was only one word for this kind of behavior.</p> <p>And in the eye of its personal hurricane, the beast chewed on that word as hot air rose and convection followed, resulting in dangerous cyclical currents.</p> <p>"Why did you kill those farmers?" said the lab-coated person, later.</p> <p>The beast didn't say anything. It didn't like to talk.</p> <p>So the doctor threatened it. And though it knew the attempt was unlikely to get through, it tried to speak. "Because they were making fun of my speech, they were-"</p> <p>"Pardon?" the lab-coated person said.</p> <p>"They were mocking me, calling me less than a person, saying my impediment made me-"</p> <p>"Speak up," said the lab-coated person, motioning to the orange-suited person to bring the black stick closer to the beast's mouth.</p> <p>The beast was embarrassed. The beast was weary. The beast was so very sick of it all.</p> <p>"<strong>They were</strong> going to die because they didn't believe me, they were laughing at me, they were-" it said, the first two syllables coming out comprehensible to even its own surprise.</p> <p>Once again, the lab-coated person told the person in orange to get closer to the beast, so that the black stick could better hear it. The orange-clothed person protested. The orange clothed person told the lab-coated person that the beast was not talking at all.</p> <p>And the beast could take no more of it.</p> <p>And the beast leaned in to the orange-clothed person and it clawed for access to the black stick and it pulled the stick away from the callous person and it spoke into the stick three words, bouncing the consonants from obscurity to hearing range, and easing into the onset of the vowels, techniques used instinctually in the heat of the moment without speech therapy to prolong their use to everyday life, and the wind of its words heaved around the room, asserting the beast's sapience and right to exist, until the lab-coated person fled and the orange-suited person dropped to the floor.</p> <hr/> <h1 id="toc8"><span>April 7, 1972</span></h1> <blockquote> <p>Personnel are forbidden to speak to SCP-682, for fear of provoking a rage-state. All unauthorized personnel attempting to communicate to SCP-682 will be restrained and removed by force.</p> </blockquote> <p>"That's a weird phrase, isn't it?" said Leah Way, furrowing her brow as she held up the containment procedures for Dr. Claudia Raleigh to see. "'Rage-state' isn't a scientific or psychological term, is it?"</p> <p>"I suppose not," admitted Dr. Raleigh. "This thing has been here for decades longer than I've been alive. It's possible they were real lax about that kind of thing in the early years."</p> <p>"So the prohibition is of ancient vintage, is it?" asked Way. "I suppose that interview log posted in the file is of similar age, then?"</p> <p>"No, that interview was last month."</p> <p>"So you prohibit talking to it, but get a D-class close with a microphone to ask it why it kills? Surely that's been established in the prior decades."</p> <p>"Maybe the answer changes as its' body does. It did grow back in that one test from a slurry of its' component cells; maybe its' neurons reconnected in a different way."</p> <p>"Then why put only that interview and that one reason? Put them all on record and maybe we could get a clearer picture of whatever stays the same."</p> <p>"No point, Researcher," said Raleigh. "Omnicidal maniacs are omnicidal maniacs, however they express themselves."</p> <p>The answers were changing. Raleigh could see Guest Researcher Leah Way growing more suspicious.</p> <p>"Tell you what," Raleigh said at last. "You interview it, and see if you get anything useful; maybe we'll put it in the file."</p> <p>"All right," said Way. "I've just got a few questions for it. By the way, have there been any termination attempts since the interview?"</p> <p>"No, not yet," said Raleigh. "We're trying to get clearance for Dr. Clef to come and see what he can do."</p> <p>"What could Clef possibly do?"</p> <p>"Far more than you might expect, Guest Researcher W. Far, far more."</p> <p>And the interview went well, if a bit messy from Way's entrails.</p> <hr/> <h1 id="toc9"><span>June 9, 1974</span></h1> <p>Raleigh turned in her seat to see an old woman she didn't know smiling at her. "Excuse me," said the woman, "Do you have a second?"</p> <p>"Of course," said Raleigh, standing up quickly. "Can I see your identification?"</p> <p>"Certainly," said the woman. "Ask me the code-phrase."</p> <p>"Does the Black Moon howl?" asked Raleigh.</p> <p>"No, it doesn't," said the woman, tilting her head. "But the wind is so loud as to fool everyone."</p> <p>Raleigh gasped.</p> <p>"Yes," said the woman. "You know who I am."</p> <p>"W-why are you here?"</p> <p>"Because I hear there was a bit of an irregularity with SCP-682 two years ago," said the Overseer. "You fed the creature children, and I want to know why you let such a thing happen."</p> <p>"It wasn't us!" said Raleigh. "It was Guest Researcher W., acting without any of our knowledge or approval!"</p> <p>"Quite the security breach," said the Overseer. "What did you do with her once you found out?"</p> <p>"It was all out of our hands," said Raleigh. "Dr. Clef had been adamant that he could kill the creature, so we invited him to the base at the time. It was a complete waste of time, of course, but somehow he managed to discover Guest Researcher W.'s actions and he himself fed her to the beast."</p> <p>"That does sound like something he would do," agreed the Overseer. "Except for one small detail."</p> <p>"Which is?"</p> <p>"Dr. Alto Clef doesn't exist, and never has."</p> <p>"What?"</p> <p>"Oh, come on, Doctor," said the Overseer. "Surely you yourself didn't believe all the tales about him? He's God, he's the Devil, he's Adam; He has a third eye and cameras capture an animal head instead of his face." She laughed. "The only way he's ever going to be any semblance of real is if some impressionable reality bender gets a nightmare about him."</p> <p>"But then, why do people think he exists?"</p> <p>"We have an actor to play him, <a href="/the-great-site-87-bakesale">Francis Wojciechoski</a>. Simply speaking, it's good for morale to have a legendary character in your ranks; and of course, he's a convenient scapegoat to deploy whenever someone actually important misuses resources."</p> <p>She stepped closer. "And, of course, if someone outside the Council says Clef was involved in something, we know they were using him for the same purpose."</p> <p>"What are you saying?"</p> <p>"Leah Way wasn't fed to the lizard by Clef. And she didn't feed kids to it, either."</p> <p>The Overseer stepped closer still. "She got her interview after all," she whispered in Raleigh's ear. "All she needed was one question."</p> <h1 id="toc10"><span>April 7, 1972</span></h1> <p>Leah closed the door and turned in to the chamber. It smelled in the chamber, and she began spraying the walls with a lemon-scented aerosol. The beast regarded her with suspicion and disapproval.</p> <p>"Hello, 682," Leah said.</p> <p>The beast remained silent.</p> <p>"I've, uh, got a question for you," Leah continued, "And I don't mind waiting."</p> <p>The beast looked at her.</p> <p>"I stutter, too, you know," she said. "I won't judge you for it."</p> <p>The beast regarded her.</p> <p>The air was still.</p> <p>"So, 682," asked Leah, "How long have you been here?"</p> <p>The lizard began to answer.</p> <p>"A ma-" it started, and stopped quickly.</p> <p><em>Go on,</em> encouraged Leah with her body language. <em>Take your time</em>.</p> <p>"A ma- a ma- a mamamama<em>month</em>!" it finished.</p> <p>"That short of a time?" asked Leah.</p> <p>The beast nodded.</p> <p>"S- ssss- six dz-dzays more."</p> <p>"Thank you, 682," Leah bowed. "You've been most helpful."</p> <p>"Th-thanks-" said the beast as a rain of bullets fell on Leah, taking her to the ground, and a bucket of Worcestershire sauce dumped on her remains.</p> <p>Her body was delicious to the beast, though its' conscience was a bit muddied by the source of the meal.</p> <h1 id="toc11"><span>June 9, 1974</span></h1> <p>"Well, as I said at the time," said Raleigh, "Who knows how its' brain works in its' strange regeneration. It's sense of time could be warped in any number of ways-"</p> <p>"When Way entered the room," said the Overseer, "The spray she used seeded the chamber with a large number of minuscule spy-cameras. Though their battery lives were short, they stayed long enough to document the interview and the actual cause of her death, and radio them straight to me."</p> <p>"Maybe we just wanted to placate the beast after the interview had riled it up," said Raleigh. "Prevent another containment breach, and a greater loss of life than just one guest researcher."</p> <p>"Perhaps," said the Overseer, "But Way's murder is only one factor in a large constellation of clues to the real issue here."</p> <p>"Which is?"</p> <p>"<em>SCP-682 as we know it does not and has never existed.</em>"</p> <h1 id="toc12"><span>January 1, 1951</span></h1> <p>And the beast's neck snapped like a twig in the statue's grip. It died instantly.</p> <h1 id="toc13"><span>January 1, 1949</span></h1> <p>And the <a href="/scp-053">terrified child</a> watches as the beast, mid-attack, is caught in the throes of a fatal seizure.</p> <h1 id="toc14"><span>January 1, 1948</span></h1> <p>And the chainsaw split its' heart open until all its blood left its body.</p> <h1 id="toc15"><span>January 1, 1947</span></h1> <p>And the hail of bullets</p> <h1 id="toc16"><span>January 1, 1946</span></h1> <p>And the god of toenail fungus</p> <h1 id="toc17"><span>January 1, 1937</span></h1> <p>And the corn</p> <h1 id="toc18"><span>December 19, 1933</span></h1> <p>And the</p> <h1 id="toc19"><span>August 8, 1922</span></h1> <p>And</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <h1 id="toc20"><span>January 1, 1912</span></h1> <p>The group watched as the reptile, placid as ever, finally crystallized in totality.</p> <p>They stared at each other.</p> <p>"We…" said the other scientist, "We… we did it."</p> <p>"Or did we?" asked Dr. Plact in a small voice.</p> <p>"What do you mean? SCP-682 is deader than a doornail. Deader than a coffin-nail, to misquote Dickens!"</p> <p>"No," said Dr. Plact, slowly. "I think it stopped converting into crystal, let's say, 62 percent of the way. I think it's immune to the crystal's effects now. I think we have to keep trying."</p> <p>He raised his voice and made eye contact with the generals, each in turn. "I think it's just lucky we already have permission to kill it, otherwise we'd need to go through no end of trouble to kill it again! Generals, your troops are troubled by <em>frequently escaping</em> monsters; do you think they could help <em>move</em> the <em>existing</em> SCP-682 into a new location every once in a while?"</p> <p>"Of… of course," said one general, catching on. "It would need to be clear to everyone, though, that it was the same creature…"</p> <p>"We don't need to bother with that," said the other general. "Why, it adapted to those crystals; it can probably adapt into any number of forms. The creature could look like <em>anything!</em>"</p> <p>"Of course, the records will all have to be under strict control, or misplaced," said Dr. Plact. "We'll need to redact any identifying information, and doctor the records so each of the frequently escaping monsters will appear never to have existed. Record-keeping is scattered amongst the sites for now; it will be comparatively easy to burn the appropriate records and reassign the affected personnel. By the time the Foundation develops a more secure system, we'll be in on the ground floor. And if we play our cards right…."</p> <p>He took a sip of whiskey. The wind began to blow outside. A storm was in the air.</p> <p>"SCP-682 will never be destroyed."</p> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/gusting">Gusting</a>" by Alzin Cdag, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/gusting">https://scpwiki.com/gusting</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> <div style="text-align: left;"> <blockquote> <p>Substantial amounts of text are taken from, and inspired by, <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/dr-gears" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(172464); return false;"><img alt="Dr Gears" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=172464&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1725332306" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=172464)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/dr-gears" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(172464); return false;">Dr Gears</a></span> and Epic Phail Spy's <a href="/scp-682" target="_blank">SCP-682</a>, which is CC BY-SA 3.0.</p> </blockquote> <blockquote> <p>Substantial amounts of text are inspired by <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/dr-gears" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(172464); return false;"><img alt="Dr Gears" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=172464&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1725332306" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=172464)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/dr-gears" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(172464); return false;">Dr Gears</a></span>'s <a href="/experiment-log-t-98816-oc108-682" target="_blank">Experiment Log T-98816-OC108/682</a>, which is CC BY-SA 3.0.</p> </blockquote> <blockquote> <p>The user-inputted license boxes, including this one, are modified from the one in <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/placeholder-mcd" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(6536693); return false;"><img alt="Placeholder McD" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=6536693&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1725332306" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=6536693)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/placeholder-mcd" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(6536693); return false;">Placeholder McD</a></span>'s <a href="/scp-7579" target="_blank">SCP-7579</a>, which is CC BY-SA 3.0.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:black-highlighter-theme">:scp-wiki:theme:black-highlighter-theme</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:scp-offices-theme">:scp-wiki:theme:scp-offices-theme</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:preview">:scp-wiki:component:preview</a> \|text= + Tibi Placet? //"SCP-682 will never be destroyed."// ]] [[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:author-label-source">:scp-wiki:component:author-label-source</a> start=-- \|name=Alzin Cdag]] Alzin Cdag [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:author-label-source">:scp-wiki:component:author-label-source</a> end=--]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:info-ayers">:scp-wiki:component:info-ayers</a> \|lang=en \|page=Gusting \|authorPage=https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/alzin-cdag \|comments= + Tibi Placet? With crit from [[user Djoric]], [[user VapidPoem]], and [[user Mooagain]]. ]] + January 1, 1912 There was no wind outside the facility. The sea-breeze itself held its breath, it seemed, as the Foundation prepared to do something it had never done before. Inside the facility was a reptile. Inside, the reptility was facile. Doctor Tiberius Plact stood by with a clipboard, beholding the beast in its acid tank. It was the shape and size of a beached whale, and with its limbs it pressed up against the edges of the tank, staring back at Plact. It flicked its blue tongue in and out, placidly. It was impersonal as death. It felt no fear. In Tiberius Plact's left hand was the telegram from Overwatch. His hands did not tremor and no wind disturbed it. It authorized the termination of the reptile after nine years' hard bureaucratic wrangling. He had pulled in every favor, fomented unrest amongst the level 3 personnel, and sacrificed his marriage to secure this. People whispered of him as a cautionary tale: Overwatch, like death, did not move from its' purpose lightly. "Lower the crystal," barked Tiberius. A D-class turned the winch, and the sample of infectious quartz descended into the tank. Tiberius looked at the two generals and the doctor observing the attempt. "A damn shame," said the general on the left, "That we can't do this more often." He continued spouting all the arguments that had echoed in Plact's head for the past nine years, and longer. It would be so much easier, so much cheaper, cause so many fewer deaths, were they to kill all the threats instead of locking them up. Plact's mouth was set in a grim line. The other doctor trembled, fearing to speak ill of the Council, while the other general kept his face rigid with wonder, rapt as he was to witness this moment, unique in the history of the Foundation. The winch-line's sound became slack, and Tiberius returned his gaze to the reptile. It stared at him still, its' eyes for him alone. The crystal rested on its' carapace. "Raise," barked Tiberius, and the winch rose again from the acid, its' steel chain dripping. And all he needed to do was wait. ----- The Overseer stared at the telegram in her hand. TERMINATION FAILURE STOP REPTILE IMMUNE STOP REQUESTING FURTHER RESOURCES STOP.... //Damn,// she thought. She had voted against the attempt in the Council meeting, and had hoped it would be simple. A one-off, followed by Plact's demotion. And they could all get back to the business of understanding the magic of the world, rather than destroying it... But this would give the reptile a higher profile. And the Council would never rescind their order now. They were stubborn to the end. She could hear the wind outside the site, a light breeze that stirred the crushed leaves of the prior year, and it was in her head as she signed the order releasing the funds to Plact's project. She opened a file folder and wrote a three-digit designation on it, filing away the telegram. It seemed this reptile was going to be... tough to keep from existing, in an irrevocable manner? Vocabulary failed her, for the moment. It would come. It always did. ------ + January 1, 1914 It screamed its insults and epithets at the crowd of soldiers. Its' heart was full of spiders and its seven limbs each ended in a keratin mace. Its' breath was dandelion seeds, scattering poisons on the breeze. Its name was SCP-682, and it hated everything that moved. The soldiers thanked their lucky stars that lethal force was authorized. They fired their howitzers, holding the line against the creature, until their higher-ups sent word that they were to retreat. Anomalous backup was coming, and they didn't want to be there when it came. And therefore that windy day, only one soldier looked back at the creature as the plane came in, dropping its payload. What he saw that day did not strike him as odd immediately, but weeks later, on seeing the record of the incident, he contracted a severe case of shell-shock from which he never fully recovered. ----- + January 1, 1920 The wind, fouled still by the ghosts of the weapons of the Great War, blew from the battlefields to the sea, and passed over the Site sunk therein, serviced by ex-German submarines: decommissioned on paper, but only on paper. There were benefits to mastering the arcana of bureaucracy, and Dr. Plact had supreme command of the art. "They say the world has grown tired of killing," Plact told his protégées, "That this was the war that ends them all." He waved his cane. "And I'm sure that the powers that be will be satisfied for a while. But war will never die!" He breathed in. "As long as there are toy soldiers in different clothing styles, leaders will never tire of smashing them together!" He breathed out. "It doesn't matter that in each battle, the individual soldiers die. There will always be soldiers to fill each uniform. There will always be new weaponry to outclass the last generation, and so on, and so forth." He fell into a coughing fit. "All it takes is a little time to regenerate the numbers of the people," he went on, "And soon all the uniforms will be filled." "The leaders of armies get accolades, fame, and fortune. The leaders of prisons get no parades. "Soon," he said, "Soon I will die. Soon you will be tasked to take over my work. To take responsibility for 682 and all its termination attempts. And you will have a choice to make. "Will you be a warrior or a warden?" ---- + January 1, 1951 He reclined in his acid tank, forty-three limbs drumming a tuneless rhythm into the ceramic walls. His long, green hair floated to the surface in tresses, dissolving a meter a minute. His name was whispered in awe throughout the Foundation, the beast who had survived everything they threw at it. He didn't care about any of this, naturally; he just hoped he would get to eat some of the funny four-limbed creatures that he loved to eat so, so very much; he loved the squeal they made, that loud joyful sound that marked a meal happy to be eaten. He just hoped the next meal wouldn't make him have to move his neck much. He loved to close his eyes as he hunted, to heighten the sense of surprise he felt when he caught his meal; but this meant his neck had to move an awful lot, to feel around with his sensitive nose, and that had lately put a huge strain on his neck. The lid of the tank lifted, and his heart leapt. He scrambled out of the tank to get a first look at his prey. It looked a lot more like a rock than most things he had eaten, with some metal thrown in for good measure, and it didn't move at all as he looked at it. (He didn't even like rock, normally, but this one smelled a bit of those juices the four-limbed creatures gushed as he ate them.) Oh, well, this hunt was going to be remarkably straightforward. He closed his eyes anyway, from sheer habit. His name was SCP-682, and the sensation in his neck he felt in the next moment surprised him. ----- + January 1, 1971 The Overseer needed another filing cabinet. She put in the requisition order with another stroke of a pen, and sighed. Sixty years ago, she had never expected the termination log to get quite this outlandish. What was worse than the beast itself, however, was what it represented. The Foundation had been founded to contain the anomalous, rather than destroy it. A single exception in the code for a beast they really, really hated was hypocrisy of the highest order, a mockery of all those who died believing that existence in this universe was too sacred to interrupt. And now it was a toy in the imaginations of all the new recruits, to bash against all the other sacred lives and magicks at their disposal. Could SCP-XXXX, god of toenail fungus, beat 682? What if 682 were first subdued with SCP-YYYY, the Thyme Freezer? It was as though their duty as wardens, as recorders of a billion separate stories, had been reduced to the referees of an underground fighting ring. In an uncharacteristic display of frustration, she opened the window as wide as it would go and threw stacks upon stacks of the papers of the termination logs outside, where the thunderstorm winds seized and scattered them to the sea. What was going on with those the Council had put in charge of the reptile? How was a flesh-and-blood beast, //not even invulnerable,// thwarting the billions of dollars and hundreds of anomalies the Foundation had sent its way? One of these years, she thought, I'll have to send my proxies to get a more satisfactory answer. We need to get to the bottom of this. ------ + March 1, 1972 "Get underground," mumbled the creature to the farmers that had gathered around it, curious why such a large beast was standing quietly in the town square. "There's a hurricane coming in half an hour, get underground." The skies were clear, but windy. An anomaly had precipitated the hurricane; it would appear suddenly and vanish just as suddenly, and only the creature, so far as it knew, had forewarning. "Did it just say something?" said one farmer to another. The beast tried to raise its' voice. "G-g-g-" it started, stuttering. "I think it's trying to say something," said another. "How adorable." "Spit it out!" said another. "Ggg...", said the beast, which then decided to substitute a soft j for a hard g. "Jet u-unnhderg-gground," it said with great effort, trailing into quietness as it reached the last syllables. It was not a better person in its' own eyes for having gotten past that stumbling block; in the eyes of the farmers, this minor success raised their low estimation of it not at all. The farmers were not stupid. They heard the beast's warning. But who would heed a stuttering prophet? "Fellas," said one at last, "I think this creature wants us to fly in a jet underground! No, big fella," he pantomimed a jet flying, "Jets fly in the air, like the wind! There's no wind underground." "hhhurric-cane c-c-cming..." the creature raised its voice desperately. "Stop lying to us," said another farmer. "We know that's why you're too nervous to talk like a normal person." "No!" said the beast, its desperation rising into rage. "No, y'must b-b-b-" "g-g-get uh-uh-uhnderground!" mocked one farmer. The group around him laughed. "Porky Pig!" shouted one, pointing her finger. The beast beheld all this, and it was sickened to its core. There was only one word for this kind of behavior. And in the eye of its personal hurricane, the beast chewed on that word as hot air rose and convection followed, resulting in dangerous cyclical currents. "Why did you kill those farmers?" said the lab-coated person, later. The beast didn't say anything. It didn't like to talk. So the doctor threatened it. And though it knew the attempt was unlikely to get through, it tried to speak. "Because they were making fun of my speech, they were-" "Pardon?" the lab-coated person said. "They were mocking me, calling me less than a person, saying my impediment made me-" "Speak up," said the lab-coated person, motioning to the orange-suited person to bring the black stick closer to the beast's mouth. The beast was embarrassed. The beast was weary. The beast was so very sick of it all. "They were* going to die because they didn't believe me, they were laughing at me, they were-" it said, the first two syllables coming out comprehensible to even its own surprise. Once again, the lab-coated person told the person in orange to get closer to the beast, so that the black stick could better hear it. The orange-clothed person protested. The orange clothed person told the lab-coated person that the beast was not talking at all. And the beast could take no more of it. And the beast leaned in to the orange-clothed person and it clawed for access to the black stick and it pulled the stick away from the callous person and it spoke into the stick three words, bouncing the consonants from obscurity to hearing range, and easing into the onset of the vowels, techniques used instinctually in the heat of the moment without speech therapy to prolong their use to everyday life, and the wind of its words heaved around the room, asserting the beast's sapience and right to exist, until the lab-coated person fled and the orange-suited person dropped to the floor. ------- + April 7, 1972 > Personnel are forbidden to speak to SCP-682, for fear of provoking a rage-state. All unauthorized personnel attempting to communicate to SCP-682 will be restrained and removed by force. "That's a weird phrase, isn't it?" said Leah Way, furrowing her brow as she held up the containment procedures for Dr. Claudia Raleigh to see. "'Rage-state' isn't a scientific or psychological term, is it?" "I suppose not," admitted Dr. Raleigh. "This thing has been here for decades longer than I've been alive. It's possible they were real lax about that kind of thing in the early years." "So the prohibition is of ancient vintage, is it?" asked Way. "I suppose that interview log posted in the file is of similar age, then?" "No, that interview was last month." "So you prohibit talking to it, but get a D-class close with a microphone to ask it why it kills? Surely that's been established in the prior decades." "Maybe the answer changes as its' body does. It did grow back in that one test from a slurry of its' component cells; maybe its' neurons reconnected in a different way." "Then why put only that interview and that one reason? Put them all on record and maybe we could get a clearer picture of whatever stays the same." "No point, Researcher," said Raleigh. "Omnicidal maniacs are omnicidal maniacs, however they express themselves." The answers were changing. Raleigh could see Guest Researcher Leah Way growing more suspicious. "Tell you what," Raleigh said at last. "You interview it, and see if you get anything useful; maybe we'll put it in the file." "All right," said Way. "I've just got a few questions for it. By the way, have there been any termination attempts since the interview?" "No, not yet," said Raleigh. "We're trying to get clearance for Dr. Clef to come and see what he can do." "What could Clef possibly do?" "Far more than you might expect, Guest Researcher W. Far, far more." And the interview went well, if a bit messy from Way's entrails. ------ + June 9, 1974 Raleigh turned in her seat to see an old woman she didn't know smiling at her. "Excuse me," said the woman, "Do you have a second?" "Of course," said Raleigh, standing up quickly. "Can I see your identification?" "Certainly," said the woman. "Ask me the code-phrase." "Does the Black Moon howl?" asked Raleigh. "No, it doesn't," said the woman, tilting her head. "But the wind is so loud as to fool everyone." Raleigh gasped. "Yes," said the woman. "You know who I am." "W-why are you here?" "Because I hear there was a bit of an irregularity with SCP-682 two years ago," said the Overseer. "You fed the creature children, and I want to know why you let such a thing happen." "It wasn't us!" said Raleigh. "It was Guest Researcher W., acting without any of our knowledge or approval!" "Quite the security breach," said the Overseer. "What did you do with her once you found out?" "It was all out of our hands," said Raleigh. "Dr. Clef had been adamant that he could kill the creature, so we invited him to the base at the time. It was a complete waste of time, of course, but somehow he managed to discover Guest Researcher W.'s actions and he himself fed her to the beast." "That does sound like something he would do," agreed the Overseer. "Except for one small detail." "Which is?" "Dr. Alto Clef doesn't exist, and never has." "What?" "Oh, come on, Doctor," said the Overseer. "Surely you yourself didn't believe all the tales about him? He's God, he's the Devil, he's Adam; He has a third eye and cameras capture an animal head instead of his face." She laughed. "The only way he's ever going to be any semblance of real is if some impressionable reality bender gets a nightmare about him." "But then, why do people think he exists?" "We have an actor to play him, [[[The Great Site-87 Bakesale \|Francis Wojciechoski]]]. Simply speaking, it's good for morale to have a legendary character in your ranks; and of course, he's a convenient scapegoat to deploy whenever someone actually important misuses resources." She stepped closer. "And, of course, if someone outside the Council says Clef was involved in something, we know they were using him for the same purpose." "What are you saying?" "Leah Way wasn't fed to the lizard by Clef. And she didn't feed kids to it, either." The Overseer stepped closer still. "She got her interview after all," she whispered in Raleigh's ear. "All she needed was one question." + April 7, 1972 Leah closed the door and turned in to the chamber. It smelled in the chamber, and she began spraying the walls with a lemon-scented aerosol. The beast regarded her with suspicion and disapproval. "Hello, 682," Leah said. The beast remained silent. "I've, uh, got a question for you," Leah continued, "And I don't mind waiting." The beast looked at her. "I stutter, too, you know," she said. "I won't judge you for it." The beast regarded her. The air was still. "So, 682," asked Leah, "How long have you been here?" The lizard began to answer. "A ma-" it started, and stopped quickly. //Go on,// encouraged Leah with her body language. //Take your time//. "A ma- a ma- a mamamama//month//!" it finished. "That short of a time?" asked Leah. The beast nodded. "S- ssss- six dz-dzays more." "Thank you, 682," Leah bowed. "You've been most helpful." "Th-thanks-" said the beast as a rain of bullets fell on Leah, taking her to the ground, and a bucket of Worcestershire sauce dumped on her remains. Her body was delicious to the beast, though its' conscience was a bit muddied by the source of the meal. + June 9, 1974 "Well, as I said at the time," said Raleigh, "Who knows how its' brain works in its' strange regeneration. It's sense of time could be warped in any number of ways-" "When Way entered the room," said the Overseer, "The spray she used seeded the chamber with a large number of minuscule spy-cameras. Though their battery lives were short, they stayed long enough to document the interview and the actual cause of her death, and radio them straight to me." "Maybe we just wanted to placate the beast after the interview had riled it up," said Raleigh. "Prevent another containment breach, and a greater loss of life than just one guest researcher." "Perhaps," said the Overseer, "But Way's murder is only one factor in a large constellation of clues to the real issue here." "Which is?" "//SCP-682 as we know it does not and has never existed.//" + January 1, 1951 And the beast's neck snapped like a twig in the statue's grip. It died instantly. + January 1, 1949 And the [[[scp-053 \| terrified child]]] watches as the beast, mid-attack, is caught in the throes of a fatal seizure. + January 1, 1948 And the chainsaw split its' heart open until all its blood left its body. + January 1, 1947 And the hail of bullets + January 1, 1946 And the god of toenail fungus + January 1, 1937 And the corn + December 19, 1933 And the + August 8, 1922 And @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ + January 1, 1912 The group watched as the reptile, placid as ever, finally crystallized in totality. They stared at each other. "We..." said the other scientist, "We... we did it." "Or did we?" asked Dr. Plact in a small voice. "What do you mean? SCP-682 is deader than a doornail. Deader than a coffin-nail, to misquote Dickens!" "No," said Dr. Plact, slowly. "I think it stopped converting into crystal, let's say, 62 percent of the way. I think it's immune to the crystal's effects now. I think we have to keep trying." He raised his voice and made eye contact with the generals, each in turn. "I think it's just lucky we already have permission to kill it, otherwise we'd need to go through no end of trouble to kill it again! Generals, your troops are troubled by //frequently escaping// monsters; do you think they could help //move// the //existing// SCP-682 into a new location every once in a while?" "Of... of course," said one general, catching on. "It would need to be clear to everyone, though, that it was the same creature..." "We don't need to bother with that," said the other general. "Why, it adapted to those crystals; it can probably adapt into any number of forms. The creature could look like //anything!//" "Of course, the records will all have to be under strict control, or misplaced," said Dr. Plact. "We'll need to redact any identifying information, and doctor the records so each of the frequently escaping monsters will appear never to have existed. Record-keeping is scattered amongst the sites for now; it will be comparatively easy to burn the appropriate records and reassign the affected personnel. By the time the Foundation develops a more secure system, we'll be in on the ground floor. And if we play our cards right...." He took a sip of whiskey. The wind began to blow outside. A storm was in the air. "SCP-682 will never be destroyed." [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] [[<]] > Substantial amounts of text are taken from, and inspired by, [[user Dr Gears]] and Epic Phail Spy's [/scp-682 SCP-682], which is CC BY-SA 3.0. > Substantial amounts of text are inspired by [[user Dr Gears]]'s [/experiment-log-t-98816-oc108-682 Experiment Log T-98816-OC108/682], which is CC BY-SA 3.0. > The user-inputted license boxes, including this one, are modified from the one in [[user Placeholder McD]]'s [/scp-7579 SCP-7579], which is CC BY-SA 3.0. [[/<]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-12-09T05:37:00	[ "_licensebox", "doctor-clef", "hard-to-destroy-reptile", "mystery", "tale" ]	Gusting - SCP Foundation	39	[ "alzin-cdag", "component:info-ayers", "the-great-site-87-bakesale", "scp-053", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide", "scp-682", "experiment-log-t-98816-oc108-682", "scp-7579" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "scp-series-1-tales-edition" ]	[]	1451722794	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/gusting
harry-birthday	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div style="display: none"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">+ CODE</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">- CODE</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <div style="text-align: left;"> <div class="code"> <div class="hl-main"> <pre><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">BLANKSTYLE</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CSS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">2021</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">Wikidot</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">Theme</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">By</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Placeholder</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">McD</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">and</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">HarryBlank</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Based</span><span class="hl-code"> on: </span><span class="hl-identifier">Paperstack</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Theme</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">by</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">EstrellaYoshte</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Penumbra</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Theme</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">by</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">EstrellaYoshte</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Montserrat</span><span class="hl-special">:ital</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">wght</span><span class="hl-var">@0</span><span class="hl-code">,800;1,800&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.9</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">1.6</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#container-wrap</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">;</span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#000</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">letter-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> 'Montserrat', </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--header-title, "R\</span><span class="hl-number">0026</span><span class="hl-code"> C SITE-43")</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">400</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--header-subtitle, "SUBVERTING COMMON PRACTICE")</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">700</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 707</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">a:</span><span class="hl-code">:before { font-size: </span><span class="hl-number">1.6</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> } </span><span class="hl-identifier">#login-status</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#login-status</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-title</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#footer</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#footer</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-input</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-input</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-input</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-var">submit</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-var">submit</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-var">submit</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#efefef</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.empty</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#999999</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem!important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">justify-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">7.9</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> 'Montserrat', </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#000</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">letter-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.45</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#extra-div-1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">160</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">absolute</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> url('https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/theme%</span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-code">Ablankstyle/</span><span class="hl-number">43</span><span class="hl-code">Head.png')</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> contain</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-repeat:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">no-repeat</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">50</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">50</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">z-index:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 707</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#extra-div-1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">15</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">body</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> linear-gradient( to </span><span class="hl-string">bottom</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-var">#e0e0e0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-var">#e0e0e0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-var">#e0e0e0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">200</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">200</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-repeat:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">no-repeat</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-special">:root</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> --</span><span class="hl-reserved">timeScale:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">timeDelay:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">posX:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(</span><span class="hl-number">50</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code"> - </span><span class="hl-number">358</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> - </span><span class="hl-number">13</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">fnLinger:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">hr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#000</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#000</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">td</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">12</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#000</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">td</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.35</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#DDD</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.open-menu</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 767</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-identifier">target</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">black</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FDF6D7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block.media</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-var">#D7EFE7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block.resources</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-var">#F5D8E0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.creditRate</span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#000</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fa-info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fa-info</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">PAGE</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">RATING</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#000</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-points</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rateup</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.ratedown</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rateup</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.ratedown</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rateup</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.ratedown</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anchor</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> sticky</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.14</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc((</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vw - </span><span class="hl-number">870</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">)/</span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vh - </span><span class="hl-number">18</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">absolute</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">103.5</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">z-index:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 1290</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">visibility:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">hidden</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">h2:</span><span class="hl-code">:before { font-size: </span><span class="hl-number">0.9</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> } </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">YUI</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">TAB</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">BASE</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code">;</span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code">;</span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code">;</span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">YUI</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">TAB</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CUSTOMIZATION</span><span class="hl-code"> ----</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-wrap:</span><span class="hl-code"> wrap</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code"> - </span><span class="hl-number">.125</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Link</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Modifier</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tab</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Background</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Colour</span><span class="hl-code"> \| [</span><span class="hl-identifier">UNSELECTED</span><span class="hl-code">] ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#efefef</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tab</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Background</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Colour</span><span class="hl-code"> \| [</span><span class="hl-identifier">HOVER</span><span class="hl-code">] ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code">, /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Listitem</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Modifier</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">relative</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-grow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-bottom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">align-items:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">justify-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.35</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.75</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-overflow:</span><span class="hl-code"> ellipsis</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">hidden</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">white-space:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">nowrap</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code">, /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Selection</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Modifier</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-grow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tab</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Background</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Colour</span><span class="hl-code"> \| [</span><span class="hl-identifier">SELECTED</span><span class="hl-code">] ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:active</span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-content</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-content</span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">SCROLLBAR</span><span class="hl-code"> ----</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ ::-</span><span class="hl-identifier">webkit-scrollbar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> ::-</span><span class="hl-identifier">webkit-scrollbar-track</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> ::-</span><span class="hl-identifier">webkit-scrollbar-thumb</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#CCC</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> ::-</span><span class="hl-identifier">webkit-scrollbar-thumb</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#EEE</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">CENTER</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">IMAGES</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ON</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MOBILE</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">courtesy</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">of</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">EstrellaYoshte</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">and</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">PeppersGhost</span><span class="hl-code"> ----</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.imagediv</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">right</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">15</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 540</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.imagediv</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">only</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">screen</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">and</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 600</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block.block-right</span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">ACS-COLORED</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">TABLE</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">DIVS</span><span class="hl-code"> ----</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#D7EFE7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#D8ECF4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FDF6D7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFDABF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#F5D8E0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">146</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.tableb</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.wiki-content-table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-collapse:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">separate</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.tableb</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.tableb</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">img</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#000</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.tableb</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#000</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.top-left-box</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">.item</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">WORDS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">NO</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">LONGER</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">BROKEN</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">THE</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CROQUEMBOUCHE</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">HAS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">SPOKEN</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">word-break:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">normal</span><span class="hl-code"> !important </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.avatar-hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#breadcrumbs</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.pseudocrumbs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> -- </span><span class="hl-identifier">FANCY</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">THINGS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">from</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Woedenaz</span><span class="hl-code">'</span><span class="hl-identifier">s</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Dustjacket</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Theme</span><span class="hl-code"> -- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fancyhr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">hr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">vw </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--bright-accent), </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-source:</span><span class="hl-code"> url('https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/theme%</span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-code">Aflopstyle-dark/wl_hr.png')</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-repeat:</span><span class="hl-code"> round round</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-slice:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">500</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">500</span><span class="hl-code"> fill</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fancyborder</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">vw </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> url('https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/theme%</span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-code">Aflopstyle-dark/wl_border.png') </span><span class="hl-number">600</span><span class="hl-code"> round</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">vw</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span></pre></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div> <div> <ul class="creditRate"> <li class="rateBox folded"> <div class="rate-box-with-credit-button"> <div class="creditButton foldable-list-container"> <p><a href="javascript:;"></a></p> </div> </div> <div id="u-credit-view"> <div class="fader foldable-list-container"><a href="javascript:;">close</a></div> <div class="modalcontainer"> <div class="modalbox"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2><span>Info</span></h2> </div> <hr/> <div class="close-credits foldable-list-container"><a href="javascript:;">X</a></div> <div class="credit first"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><strong>"Harry Birthday"</strong><br/> The first day of the rest of my life.</p> <p><strong><a href="http://www.scp-wiki.net/this-page-intentionally-left-blank">More by this author!</a></strong></p> </div> </div> <hr/> </div> </div> </div> </li> </ul> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h1 id="toc0"><span>Harry Birthday</span></h1> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <img alt="Asterisk43.png" class="image" src="http://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/the-b-b-decommission/Asterisk43.png"/><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h1 id="toc1"><span><span style="color: #990011">2023</span></span></h1> <h2 id="toc2"><span>19 March</span></h2> <p><span style="font-family: BauhausLTDemi; font-size: 120%;"><strong><a href="http://www.scpwiki.com/secure-facility-dossier-site-43">Site-43</a>: Lambton County, Ontario, Canada</strong></span></p> </div> <hr/> <p>His wife shrieked at him as he stepped out of the washroom.</p> <p>"Good morning to you, too." He walked across the carpet to the end table where his work clothes were piled up messily, and discarded the towel.</p> <p>"What did you <em>do?</em>" Melissa Bradbury walked gingerly towards him, one hand raised, as though he were a tiger inclined to pounce on any source of sudden motion. "What the hell did you <em>do?</em>"</p> <p>"Bleached it." He pulled on his socks. "Considered doing the beard, too, but didn't want to bleach my face."</p> <p>"Bleached…" She shook her head, and reached out to touch his overlong hair. It was brushed and combed, but still a thick mass. "Where did you even…?"</p> <p>"Internet." He was half-dressed now; trying not to bonk her in the noggin was slowing him up. "I was careful."</p> <p>"Oh, good," she scoffed. "He was careful when he damaged his hair. Why would you <em>bleach</em> it?"</p> <p>"Because I was tired of waiting for it to go white on its own." He went for his labcoat next, and she withdrew to give him space. "I am a self-directed man. Where's my schedule?"</p> <p>Melissa handed it to him. She pulled it off the wall printer every morning when it came; he was always still in bed. "Like you don't know what's on."</p> <p>He did know. He took the proffered paper, scanned it, and grunted. "Same old. Just like me."</p> <p>"Not that old." She beamed up at him. "Happy birthday, dork."</p> <p>He bent down to kiss her. "Thanks, dummy."</p> <p>She pushed him toward the door. "Be sure to keep track of all the really fun insults you get on your hair. I expect a full report at dinner."</p> <div class="blockquote"> <p>Delfina Ibanez: "Oh, is it snowing outside?"</p> <p>Udo Okorie: "Didn't think you could get any whiter."</p> <p>Allan McInnis: "I'm not sure that will show up properly on your photo ID."</p> <p>Ilse Reynders: "You look half as old as I feel."</p> <p>Daniil Sokolsky: "Can I bum a Werther's Originals?"</p> <p>Polyxeni Mataxas: "You're supposed to tell me when you see a ghost."</p> <p>Philip Deering: "You look wiser today. It doesn't suit you."</p> <p>Amelia Torosyan: "Very distinguished!"</p> <p>William Wettle: didn't notice.</p> </div> <p>Harry was in something of a mood by the time he reached Health and Pathology. Judging by her solicitousness Helena Forsythe, the top doctor, had no difficulty reading his expression. He imagined his beard was all bunched up beneath his pursed lips.</p> <p>"That's all the shots for now, except the big one." She tapped a few buttons on a sleek, slim, silver case, and the lid popped open with a faintly audible <em>hiss.</em> "One more poke and you'll be good until next year."</p> <p>"Can I see it for a second?" The syringe was indeed a fat one, lacking labels of any sort. He and the other members of Provisional Taskforce Sampi-5243 ("See You In September") had been injected with whatever was inside annually since 2003, as part of an advanced healthcare regime designed to keep them on duty interminably.</p> <p>Forsythe shrugged. "Can't hurt. Just don't uncap the—"</p> <p>Harry had already yanked the plunger off. He tilted his head back, upended the syringe, and downed its contents in a single gulp.</p> <p>She was still staring at him in shock when he stood up to retrieve his labcoat. "You've been injecting me with <a href="/scp-006">water</a> for twenty years," he told her. "I don't mind needles, but I do mind theatre."</p> <p>"Mont Blanc moves!"</p> <p>Harry grimaced at Geneviève Voclain, newly-minted full researcher in Archives and Revision, as he took his seat in the salt mines. There was a light smattering of applause and well-wishes, which he waved off with relative good grace. "Thanks, yeah, yeah. Thanks. It's not a holiday, go back to your microfilm."</p> <p>He found it curiously difficult to focus on his work today. He had a few documents to review for release to Udo Okorie, scanned at the Wanderers' Library and mailed in an envelope stinking of camphor; he wasn't sure what kind of scanner the Librarians employed, but whatever the iridescent toner smudges were doing was doing a number on his head. There was a backlog of two SCP files to sign off on, but they were low priority and he wasn't at all in the mood. <em>What <span style="text-decoration: underline;">are</span> you in the mood for?</em></p> <p>He shook his head. That was the wrong question. <em>Since when does mood come into this? Do your damn job.</em></p> <p>He spent a few hours miserably toiling on things which just a few years ago would have been easy, breezy tasks before the accumulated Coke Zero in his system demanded release, and he stood up. "Anybody need anything?" he called out. "Taking a trip down the hall."</p> <p>Veasna Chey raised her head from a microfilm reader, and quipped "Oh, don't trip! You might dye."</p> <p>He left them to their chorus of groans.</p> <p>He exited the washroom feeling peculiarly tense, when a sense of relief should obviously have prevailed. He was beginning to think it had been a mistake to get out of bed this morning.</p> <p>"Did they catch whoever did that to you?"</p> <p>He turned to say something particularly nasty to whoever had flung this latest barb, and was caught up short by what he saw. "Uh," he began unpromisingly, then quickly picked up speed, "did we not catch <em>you?</em>"</p> <p>Eileen Veiksaar, once Chief of Identity and Technocryptography, was leaning on the tile wall and grinning at him. Eileen hadn't grinned at anyone, so far as Harry knew, for over a decade. She was wearing a nice suit, not the kind she should have been wearing — a detainee jumpsuit. "I'm in a special kind of jail," she told him. She held up her ID badge for him to see, and he walked over to examine it.</p> <p>"Ethics Committee?" he laughed. "Wow, they couldn't just have executed you?" He had to admit, however, that this inexplicable soft landing after her <a href="/lost-in-the-translation">act of treason</a> seemed to have suited her. Her blue eyes were sharp where he remembered them wandering and dull, there were fewer worry lines on her forehead and her back was noticeably straighter.</p> <p>"You know how it is," she smiled. "Happens to everyone eventually. You break the rules, and they either break you back, or put you above them. And then you get a whole new set!" She was practically glowing. He'd never seen her so content. "Next time they'll probably make me an O5."</p> <p>"Or a brain in a jar."</p> <p>She shrugged. "Either or. Hey, happy birthday. You're getting fat." And she poked him in the stomach.</p> <p>He doubled over, and it was only half-performance. "Thanks. Now tell me how old I am."</p> <p>"We're both old." She adjusted her jacket. "Like a retirement home around here."</p> <p>"Well, we appreciate you visiting." Harry headed for the nearest vending machine, fishing in his pocket for his ID card. "Don't forget to write."</p> <p>"I'm not visiting."</p> <p>It took until he had the next can of Coke open for the import of that statement to register. Something about the sound of fizzing bubbles always set his brain alight. "Wait, you're <em>staying?</em>"</p> <p>She nodded. "Apparently someone thinks you guys need some extra ethics down here."</p> <p>He scowled. "More like they think we need a tighter leash. You spying on anyone in particular, or just everybody?"</p> <p>"Probably just the new hires. All us fogeys are too set in our ways."</p> <p>He sighed. "We don't have any new hires, Eileen." He held his breath for a moment, then added: "It's good to have you back. You look… good."</p> <p>"I <em>feel</em> good. Don't know how bad you need a change until you try, you know?"</p> <p>He shook his head. "No. By that metric, I do not know."</p> <p>"You'd never know we were the same age." Karen Elstrom peered down at him from her high perch. The Chief of Administration and Oversight had the best seat in the house; though the architect had clearly intended them to lord on their underlings from atop it, most occupants of the post had preferred to mingle down below.</p> <p>Elstrom was, as so often, the exception to this rule.</p> <p>Harry leaned on an empty desk and stared up at her. She managed to look like she was striking a pose, despite sitting down, the back of one hand providing only moral support to her sharp chin. "Yeah, you definitely wear it well. Maybe <em>I</em> should try never smiling."</p> <p>Elstrom did smile, though not with particular warmth. "Our work isn't happy work, Dr. Blank, and I don't have time to uplift you."</p> <p>"Hard to get leverage from that high on the ivory tower anyway, I imagine." He glanced at Elstrom's subordinates, beavering away at the tasks which kept the Site's internal hierarchy properly stratified, then back up at her. "You end up going anywhere for your birthday?" It had been just a week before his.</p> <p>She rolled her eyes. "My brother took me out to dinner. He proceeded to announce that his wife was pregnant, and regaled me with all the fascinating details. Did you know," and she leaned down conspiratorially, still several feet above his head, "that human beings are still capable of reproduction? It's apparently a great feat of strength, worthy of repeated praise from all quarters." She leaned back, apparently satisfied with the fierceness of her complaint… and then a look of recognition flashed across her eyes, and she almost — though not quite — grimaced. "Ah," she added, by way of apology.</p> <p>Harry waved it off. "Alright, well. Won't bother you further. Tolerate the rest of your afternoon!"</p> <p>"Wait." Elstrom looked uncharacteristically uncomfortable. "You… doing alright? You've got big ugly bags under your eyes."</p> <p>This was Elstrom's equivalent to being considerate, so he inclined his head in appreciation. "I'm fine. Just a bit tired."</p> <p>She nodded. "On account of being so old."</p> <p>He nodded back. "Yeah. Any idea how I stop doing that?"</p> <p>She considered. "You could die?"</p> <p>Harry stared at the list. "You serious?"</p> <p>McInnis nodded. "I am." He usually was.</p> <p>"You've talked this over with the Council?"</p> <p>The Director shook his head. "I have not. The prohibition on new personnel is still in place, particularly after the… <a href="/scp-6965">recent</a> <a href="/nx-143">unfortunate</a> <a href="/scp-7056">incidents</a>."</p> <p>"I didn't think they knew about those." Something about the list of proposed new researchers was bothering him, but he was having trouble keeping focus. "Wait, so if the Council won't let us hire anyone—"</p> <p>"We're going to have to convince them otherwise." McInnis assumed his traditional posture of determination, leaning forward with his elbows on the desk blotter, hands clasped in front of his chin. "We've allowed our staff to age into near-obsolescence, Harry. That was never the plan."</p> <p>"Well, you never shared the plan with me. Far as I know, it was only between you and Scout." Harry leaned back in his chair, adjusted his glasses… then exclaimed "Wait." He tapped the page. "That name. Isn't that the <em>Qu—</em>"</p> <p>"I want you to review the files for each of these individuals," McInnis interrupted. "I want you to make a case for why they'd be valuable additions to our team. And then I want you to sit on it, until the moment is right."</p> <p>"Presumably you'll tell me when that is."</p> <p>McInnis shook his head. "We'll be needing a transfusion of new blood sooner, rather than later. It'll be obvious, when the time comes."</p> <p>Once again Harry found himself scowling. "You've been talking to Zwist too much. More cryptic every damn year."</p> <p>The Director relaxed his posture, and smiled. "Comes with the job, you know."</p> <p>"No." He folded the paper and tucked it into his labcoat pocket. "I barely know my own job, at this point. How do you do it, Al?"</p> <p>McInnis waited placidly for something firmer.</p> <p>"How do you do the same shit, day after day, and not get worn down? How do you keep up the momentum?"</p> <p>"Oh." The Director shrugged. "I suppose I keep my eye on the prize. I remember what it is I'm working toward. Every day, it gets a little closer."</p> <p>"And that's enough for you?"</p> <p>"Why wouldn't it be?"</p> <p>Harry didn't have an answer.</p> <p>"You're late." She was splayed on her dorm room couch — in actuality their old dorm couch from Falconer University — surrounded by countless stacks of paper and no less than three different laptop computers.</p> <p>"An archivist is always late, Lillian Lillihammer." Harry flopped down beside her, upsetting one of the computers. It disappeared over the edge, hitting the carpet with a plastic <em>clunk.</em> "Precisely as he means to be."</p> <p>"Leaning into it, Gandalf? Acceptance is the last stage of grief."</p> <p>"You're every stage of grief." He scrunched himself into the cushions, and closed his eyes. "Happy birthday."</p> <p>"Happy birthday. Feel as old as you look?"</p> <p>"Older." He opened his eyes, and side-eyed her. "How old you figure we are?"</p> <p>She considered. "Hard to judge without knowing how much they've been diluting the 006—"</p> <p>"I'd say about half," he hazarded. "The rest is saline solution."</p> <p>She raised a white eyebrow. "How do you know that?"</p> <p>"It tasted about half-salty."</p> <p>She guffawed. "I won't ask. Alright, so half. I don't have access to the top level version of that file, but I'd say, given twenty years of application at half dilution, starting when we were thirty-seven and continuing up to fifty-seven, and using what I can assure you is very complex and sophisticated mathematics well beyond your ken, biologically we're both around—"</p> <p>"Forty-seven, right, okay, yes." He grimaced. "Honestly that's not a lot better."</p> <p>"A spry forty-seven, though, when you factor in all the other health treatments." She leaned forward, squashing a few sheets of paper under her sock feet, and tugged on his long white hair very hard. "Which makes this performative grandfatherliness a bit hard to take."</p> <p>He swatted her hand away. "How long has yours been white for, again?"</p> <p>"That's different. You don't let red like that wither away to nothing. You want people to remember it for how awesome it was." Her own mass of blank tangles was tied behind her back. "Anyway, there's a difference between getting ahead of the curve and being a copycat — not that I mind the flattery."</p> <p>"I'm not copying you." He squirmed. "I'm acknowledging the reality. Biology notwithstanding, I'm old enough now to <em>feel</em> old. And I do."</p> <p>"So what?"</p> <p>He reached over, placed one hand on her forehead, and pushed her back to her side of the couch. "So, it <em>sucks.</em> What do you mean, 'so what'?"</p> <p>Lillian slammed the lid of her nearest laptop shut. "Everything sucks, Harry. The whole world sucks. Everything turns grey and falls apart. Why should you be special?"</p> <p>He thought about that for a moment. "Because I'm me," he said finally. "I see it from the inside, so it's different. I'm <em>rotting,</em> Lillian."</p> <p>"You never struck me as a solipsist. What's the issue? You expected never to get old?"</p> <p>"I don't know." He drummed the cushion. "Maybe I expected to have gotten more done by this point. I've had the same job since before the millennium turned. I don't have any… Melissa can't…"</p> <p>"Yeah," Lillian bluntly offramped that tangent for him. "Go on."</p> <p>"I'm out of shape, and I've lived down here for so long I can't imagine living anywhere else. I'm not making any progress on the things I should be… progressing. My life doesn't <em>change,</em> Lil."</p> <p>She nodded. "Do you want it to?"</p> <p>"I don't know!"</p> <p>"Have you tried talking to our resident immortals about this? They might have a different perspective."</p> <p>"I'm not in the mood for a Shakespearean monologue today, so Thilo's straight out. And Ilse…" He grunted. "I don't think anyone can talk to her about feeling stuck in a rut without being a tremendous fucking asshole for doing it."</p> <p>"I could do it for you," she offered. "I enjoy being a tremendous fucking asshole."</p> <p>"I know you do." He stretched, and yawned. "Maybe I'll turn in early tonight."</p> <p>She caught his hand, and yanked hard. He fell off the couch, knee striking the third laptop hard enough to audibly crunch the lid. "Ow!"</p> <p>She leaned down over him, white hair on white hair, and snapped "Or maybe you'll stop moping and <em>do something,</em> you whiny fuck. If I'm not old, <em>neither are you.</em>" She glowered at him magnificently. "And <em>I am not old.</em>"</p> <p>There was an armed guard waiting for him when the elevator opened. He flashed his security badge; they nodded, and tapped a code into the keypad lock. They then tapped it with their security badge. He then tapped it with <em>his</em> security badge. The guard then spoke their passcode into a speaker, and Harry did the same. He wondered who had access to the much faster version of this security theatre which definitely existed for emergency situations, and by the time that thought had passed, the door finally slid open.</p> <p>He walked in.</p> <p>SCP-001-A was sitting on the edge of his simple cot, holding a paperback novel: <em>Finnegan's Wake.</em> Harry winced at it. "Little light gibberish of an evening?"</p> <p>"Chaos keeps the mind sharp." The barrel-chested old man smiled up at him. "To what do I owe the pleasure, Dr. Blank?"</p> <p>"It's my birthday." Harry grabbed the visitor's chair and sat down. "And I'm bored."</p> <p>001-A nodded sagely. "Would you like me to tell you a bedtime story? I could relay a few comforting facts about the onrushing end to eternity."</p> <p>"Nah." Harry folded his arms and slid back in the chair. "Tell me why you're still alive instead."</p> <p>The other man blinked. "I haven't died."</p> <p>"Right. Why is that?"</p> <p>"I don't understand the question." 001-A spread his arms wide. "Are you getting existential on me? Because that is <em>absolutely</em> my preferred variety of dread."</p> <p>"No. What I mean is this: you're old as dirt. You've been doing what you do for many years, I'll bet you can't even name me a number. You've got a dozen death cults to your name, you've killed countless thousands of people—"</p> <p>"Billions," 001-A interrupted. "Credit where due, please."</p> <p>"—and you have to have seen what feels like every version of the life you've chosen to lead, all spread out behind you, and they've all led you here. To an empty cell. All your work behind you, and none ahead. What keeps you going?"</p> <p>The old man laughed. "I've heard immortality described as the feeling you get when you stay up all night, and every inch of you is bone tired, but you can't sleep. The people who say that? They haven't lived long enough. You get a second wind eventually, and that's when you start really seeing things clearly. Your first go-around is all a muddled mess, but the second, and the third? When you already know the script?" His jaw suddenly clacked shut, so quickly it put his tongue in mortal peril, and he switched tangents as Harry sat up straight again. "Did you really come here to talk about mortality? Has your life become so—"</p> <p>"What precisely did that mean?" Harry asked, deadly calm, feeling his eyes focus in for the first time all day. "'When you already know the script'? What does that mean?"</p> <p>"Civilization is cyclical." 001-A waved vaguely. "None of this is new. You're no different from the ones who came before you. Your bars are no stronger. You'll—"</p> <p>"That's not what you meant. You've talked about the cycle before. This was something different." Harry leaned forward. "What script? Human history? Is that the script? Do you <em>already know how this ends,</em> and not just theoretically?"</p> <p>001-A snapped the novel shut, but said nothing more.</p> <p>"And… 'billions'? What do you mean, <em>billions?</em>"</p> <p>Still nothing.</p> <p>Harry stood up. "You know what? This was a good day for rambling. I had no idea where I was going when I started, and now I do." He headed for the door.</p> <p>"What does <em>that</em> mean?" the hateful creature growled from behind him. "You can't forestall the end."</p> <p>"It means I've got a job to do, a few monographs and your 001 proposal to finish, and my own script to follow." He glanced over his shoulder, not really seeing the other man anymore. "As long as we keep moving, there isn't going to <em>be</em> an end."</p> <p>Melissa found him at his desks, sliding from each to each on his rolling chair, hammering away at his keyboard and scrawling on multiple reports with purple pen. He didn't notice her immediately, but as he finished the second SCP review he felt the familiar sensation of her breathing over his shoulder, and turned his head to kiss her hello again.</p> <p>"It's past seven," she said into his cheek when the moment had passed.</p> <p>"Yeah, just finishing up." He tapped out a few last commands, then reached up to put his arm around her shoulders. "Didn't get much done this morning."</p> <p>"So you thought you'd spend your birthday doing extra paperwork?"</p> <p>"Better than moping." He saved his last open file — "TL-5243-A" — switched off the terminal, then in one swift motion swung her down into his lap. Her perennially lazy eyes were now wide awake. "Moping is unproductive."</p> <p>"You're in a productive mood now?" she asked, face a mask of innocence.</p> <p>He reached under the desk, and tapped the button for the window shutters.</p> <p>It was always a little gratifying when the rush of birthday wishes washed over him, seasoned as they were with tired jibes about his advancing age and fresh ones related to his bleached keratin. It wasn't until midnight, when Melissa was already asleep and Harry was flaked out in his plush armchair, cat purring softly in his lap, that the notifications stopped flooding in and he could focus on the day's final task.</p> <p>He drew out McInnis' list, and examined it closely.</p> <p>"That is <em>definitely</em> the Queen," he murmured. "And the Queen is dead."</p> <p>The cat's chest heaved, and Harry stroked his back slowly before scratching under the chin. Scout had been a kitten when his namesake had died, some twenty-six years ago, and at this point he divided his time between Harry's lap, Melissa's lap, and the heat register. They'd had to swap out the metal one for plastic when they found burns on the cat's stomach; there simply wasn't that much fire left in him. Like so many other things he'd thought about today, Harry didn't much like to think about that.</p> <p>So he picked up his tablet, pulled up the first name on SCiPnet, and didn't.</p> <hr/> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p>« <strong><a href="/scp-7056">SCP-7056</a></strong> \| <strong><a href="/on-guard-43-hub">Words of Power and Poison</a></strong> \| <strong><a href="/bitch-hub">Bitch Hub</a></strong> »</p> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/harry-birthday">Harry Birthday</a>" by HarryBlank, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/harry-birthday">https://scpwiki.com/harry-birthday</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:blankstyle">:scp-wiki:theme:blankstyle</a> fade=a]] [[module css]] .lilflash { border-left: solid 3px rgb(197, 0, 11); border-right: solid 3px rgb(197, 0, 11); padding: 25px 25px 25px 25px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 3px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); margin: auto; background: #f7f7f7; } .udoflash { border-left: solid 3px rgb(255, 149, 14); border-right: solid 3px rgb(255, 149, 14); padding: 25px 25px 25px 25px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 3px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); margin: auto; background: #f7f7f7; } .delflash { border-left: solid 3px rgb(43, 95, 179); border-right: solid 3px rgb(43, 95, 179); padding: 25px 25px 25px 25px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 3px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); margin: auto; background: #f7f7f7; [[/module]] [[div]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/info:start">:scp-wiki:info:start</a>]] [[=]] "Harry Birthday" The first day of the rest of my life. [[[http://www.scp-wiki.net/this-page-intentionally-left-blank\|More by this author!]]] [[/=]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/info:end">:scp-wiki:info:end</a>]] [[/div]] [[=]] + Harry Birthday @@ @@ [[image http://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/the-b-b-decommission/Asterisk43.png]] @@ @@ [[/=]] [[=]] + ##990011\|2023## ++ 19 March [[span style="font-family: BauhausLTDemi; font-size: 120%;"]][http://www.scpwiki.com/secure-facility-dossier-site-43 Site-43]: Lambton County, Ontario, Canada[[/span]] [[/=]] ---- His wife shrieked at him as he stepped out of the washroom. "Good morning to you, too." He walked across the carpet to the end table where his work clothes were piled up messily, and discarded the towel. "What did you //do?//" Melissa Bradbury walked gingerly towards him, one hand raised, as though he were a tiger inclined to pounce on any source of sudden motion. "What the hell did you //do?//" "Bleached it." He pulled on his socks. "Considered doing the beard, too, but didn't want to bleach my face." "Bleached..." She shook her head, and reached out to touch his overlong hair. It was brushed and combed, but still a thick mass. "Where did you even...?" "Internet." He was half-dressed now; trying not to bonk her in the noggin was slowing him up. "I was careful." "Oh, good," she scoffed. "He was careful when he damaged his hair. Why would you //bleach// it?" "Because I was tired of waiting for it to go white on its own." He went for his labcoat next, and she withdrew to give him space. "I am a self-directed man. Where's my schedule?" Melissa handed it to him. She pulled it off the wall printer every morning when it came; he was always still in bed. "Like you don't know what's on." He did know. He took the proffered paper, scanned it, and grunted. "Same old. Just like me." "Not that old." She beamed up at him. "Happy birthday, dork." He bent down to kiss her. "Thanks, dummy." She pushed him toward the door. "Be sure to keep track of all the really fun insults you get on your hair. I expect a full report at dinner." [[=]] @@ @@ [[image http://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/the-b-b-decommission/Asterisk43.png]] @@ @@ [[/=]] [[div class="blockquote"]] Delfina Ibanez: "Oh, is it snowing outside?" Udo Okorie: "Didn't think you could get any whiter." Allan McInnis: "I'm not sure that will show up properly on your photo ID." Ilse Reynders: "You look half as old as I feel." Daniil Sokolsky: "Can I bum a Werther's Originals?" Polyxeni Mataxas: "You're supposed to tell me when you see a ghost." Philip Deering: "You look wiser today. It doesn't suit you." Amelia Torosyan: "Very distinguished!" William Wettle: didn't notice. [[/div]] [[=]] @@ @@ [[image http://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/the-b-b-decommission/Asterisk43.png]] @@ @@ [[/=]] Harry was in something of a mood by the time he reached Health and Pathology. Judging by her solicitousness Helena Forsythe, the top doctor, had no difficulty reading his expression. He imagined his beard was all bunched up beneath his pursed lips. "That's all the shots for now, except the big one." She tapped a few buttons on a sleek, slim, silver case, and the lid popped open with a faintly audible //hiss.// "One more poke and you'll be good until next year." "Can I see it for a second?" The syringe was indeed a fat one, lacking labels of any sort. He and the other members of Provisional Taskforce Sampi-5243 ("See You In September") had been injected with whatever was inside annually since 2003, as part of an advanced healthcare regime designed to keep them on duty interminably. Forsythe shrugged. "Can't hurt. Just don't uncap the--" Harry had already yanked the plunger off. He tilted his head back, upended the syringe, and downed its contents in a single gulp. She was still staring at him in shock when he stood up to retrieve his labcoat. "You've been injecting me with [[[/scp-006\|water]]] for twenty years," he told her. "I don't mind needles, but I do mind theatre." [[=]] @@ @@ [[image http://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/the-b-b-decommission/Asterisk43.png]] @@ @@ [[/=]] "Mont Blanc moves!" Harry grimaced at Geneviève Voclain, newly-minted full researcher in Archives and Revision, as he took his seat in the salt mines. There was a light smattering of applause and well-wishes, which he waved off with relative good grace. "Thanks, yeah, yeah. Thanks. It's not a holiday, go back to your microfilm." He found it curiously difficult to focus on his work today. He had a few documents to review for release to Udo Okorie, scanned at the Wanderers' Library and mailed in an envelope stinking of camphor; he wasn't sure what kind of scanner the Librarians employed, but whatever the iridescent toner smudges were doing was doing a number on his head. There was a backlog of two SCP files to sign off on, but they were low priority and he wasn't at all in the mood. //What __are__ you in the mood for?// He shook his head. That was the wrong question. //Since when does mood come into this? Do your damn job.// He spent a few hours miserably toiling on things which just a few years ago would have been easy, breezy tasks before the accumulated Coke Zero in his system demanded release, and he stood up. "Anybody need anything?" he called out. "Taking a trip down the hall." Veasna Chey raised her head from a microfilm reader, and quipped "Oh, don't trip! You might dye." He left them to their chorus of groans. [[=]] @@ @@ [[image http://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/the-b-b-decommission/Asterisk43.png]] @@ @@ [[/=]] He exited the washroom feeling peculiarly tense, when a sense of relief should obviously have prevailed. He was beginning to think it had been a mistake to get out of bed this morning. "Did they catch whoever did that to you?" He turned to say something particularly nasty to whoever had flung this latest barb, and was caught up short by what he saw. "Uh," he began unpromisingly, then quickly picked up speed, "did we not catch //you?//" Eileen Veiksaar, once Chief of Identity and Technocryptography, was leaning on the tile wall and grinning at him. Eileen hadn't grinned at anyone, so far as Harry knew, for over a decade. She was wearing a nice suit, not the kind she should have been wearing -- a detainee jumpsuit. "I'm in a special kind of jail," she told him. She held up her ID badge for him to see, and he walked over to examine it. "Ethics Committee?" he laughed. "Wow, they couldn't just have executed you?" He had to admit, however, that this inexplicable soft landing after her [[[/lost-in-the-translation\|act of treason]]] seemed to have suited her. Her blue eyes were sharp where he remembered them wandering and dull, there were fewer worry lines on her forehead and her back was noticeably straighter. "You know how it is," she smiled. "Happens to everyone eventually. You break the rules, and they either break you back, or put you above them. And then you get a whole new set!" She was practically glowing. He'd never seen her so content. "Next time they'll probably make me an O5." "Or a brain in a jar." She shrugged. "Either or. Hey, happy birthday. You're getting fat." And she poked him in the stomach. He doubled over, and it was only half-performance. "Thanks. Now tell me how old I am." "We're both old." She adjusted her jacket. "Like a retirement home around here." "Well, we appreciate you visiting." Harry headed for the nearest vending machine, fishing in his pocket for his ID card. "Don't forget to write." "I'm not visiting." It took until he had the next can of Coke open for the import of that statement to register. Something about the sound of fizzing bubbles always set his brain alight. "Wait, you're //staying?//" She nodded. "Apparently someone thinks you guys need some extra ethics down here." He scowled. "More like they think we need a tighter leash. You spying on anyone in particular, or just everybody?" "Probably just the new hires. All us fogeys are too set in our ways." He sighed. "We don't have any new hires, Eileen." He held his breath for a moment, then added: "It's good to have you back. You look... good." "I //feel// good. Don't know how bad you need a change until you try, you know?" He shook his head. "No. By that metric, I do not know." [[=]] @@ @@ [[image http://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/the-b-b-decommission/Asterisk43.png]] @@ @@ [[/=]] "You'd never know we were the same age." Karen Elstrom peered down at him from her high perch. The Chief of Administration and Oversight had the best seat in the house; though the architect had clearly intended them to lord on their underlings from atop it, most occupants of the post had preferred to mingle down below. Elstrom was, as so often, the exception to this rule. Harry leaned on an empty desk and stared up at her. She managed to look like she was striking a pose, despite sitting down, the back of one hand providing only moral support to her sharp chin. "Yeah, you definitely wear it well. Maybe //I// should try never smiling." Elstrom did smile, though not with particular warmth. "Our work isn't happy work, Dr. Blank, and I don't have time to uplift you." "Hard to get leverage from that high on the ivory tower anyway, I imagine." He glanced at Elstrom's subordinates, beavering away at the tasks which kept the Site's internal hierarchy properly stratified, then back up at her. "You end up going anywhere for your birthday?" It had been just a week before his. She rolled her eyes. "My brother took me out to dinner. He proceeded to announce that his wife was pregnant, and regaled me with all the fascinating details. Did you know," and she leaned down conspiratorially, still several feet above his head, "that human beings are still capable of reproduction? It's apparently a great feat of strength, worthy of repeated praise from all quarters." She leaned back, apparently satisfied with the fierceness of her complaint... and then a look of recognition flashed across her eyes, and she almost -- though not quite -- grimaced. "Ah," she added, by way of apology. Harry waved it off. "Alright, well. Won't bother you further. Tolerate the rest of your afternoon!" "Wait." Elstrom looked uncharacteristically uncomfortable. "You... doing alright? You've got big ugly bags under your eyes." This was Elstrom's equivalent to being considerate, so he inclined his head in appreciation. "I'm fine. Just a bit tired." She nodded. "On account of being so old." He nodded back. "Yeah. Any idea how I stop doing that?" She considered. "You could die?" [[=]] @@ @@ [[image http://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/the-b-b-decommission/Asterisk43.png]] @@ @@ [[/=]] Harry stared at the list. "You serious?" McInnis nodded. "I am." He usually was. "You've talked this over with the Council?" The Director shook his head. "I have not. The prohibition on new personnel is still in place, particularly after the... [[[/scp-6965\| recent]]] [[[/nx-143\|unfortunate]]] [[[/scp-7056\|incidents]]]." "I didn't think they knew about those." Something about the list of proposed new researchers was bothering him, but he was having trouble keeping focus. "Wait, so if the Council won't let us hire anyone--" "We're going to have to convince them otherwise." McInnis assumed his traditional posture of determination, leaning forward with his elbows on the desk blotter, hands clasped in front of his chin. "We've allowed our staff to age into near-obsolescence, Harry. That was never the plan." "Well, you never shared the plan with me. Far as I know, it was only between you and Scout." Harry leaned back in his chair, adjusted his glasses... then exclaimed "Wait." He tapped the page. "That name. Isn't that the //Qu--//" "I want you to review the files for each of these individuals," McInnis interrupted. "I want you to make a case for why they'd be valuable additions to our team. And then I want you to sit on it, until the moment is right." "Presumably you'll tell me when that is." McInnis shook his head. "We'll be needing a transfusion of new blood sooner, rather than later. It'll be obvious, when the time comes." Once again Harry found himself scowling. "You've been talking to Zwist too much. More cryptic every damn year." The Director relaxed his posture, and smiled. "Comes with the job, you know." "No." He folded the paper and tucked it into his labcoat pocket. "I barely know my own job, at this point. How do you do it, Al?" McInnis waited placidly for something firmer. "How do you do the same shit, day after day, and not get worn down? How do you keep up the momentum?" "Oh." The Director shrugged. "I suppose I keep my eye on the prize. I remember what it is I'm working toward. Every day, it gets a little closer." "And that's enough for you?" "Why wouldn't it be?" Harry didn't have an answer. [[=]] @@ @@ [[image http://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/the-b-b-decommission/Asterisk43.png]] @@ @@ [[/=]] "You're late." She was splayed on her dorm room couch -- in actuality their old dorm couch from Falconer University -- surrounded by countless stacks of paper and no less than three different laptop computers. "An archivist is always late, Lillian Lillihammer." Harry flopped down beside her, upsetting one of the computers. It disappeared over the edge, hitting the carpet with a plastic //clunk.// "Precisely as he means to be." "Leaning into it, Gandalf? Acceptance is the last stage of grief." "You're every stage of grief." He scrunched himself into the cushions, and closed his eyes. "Happy birthday." "Happy birthday. Feel as old as you look?" "Older." He opened his eyes, and side-eyed her. "How old you figure we are?" She considered. "Hard to judge without knowing how much they've been diluting the 006--" "I'd say about half," he hazarded. "The rest is saline solution." She raised a white eyebrow. "How do you know that?" "It tasted about half-salty." She guffawed. "I won't ask. Alright, so half. I don't have access to the top level version of that file, but I'd say, given twenty years of application at half dilution, starting when we were thirty-seven and continuing up to fifty-seven, and using what I can assure you is very complex and sophisticated mathematics well beyond your ken, biologically we're both around--" "Forty-seven, right, okay, yes." He grimaced. "Honestly that's not a lot better." "A spry forty-seven, though, when you factor in all the other health treatments." She leaned forward, squashing a few sheets of paper under her sock feet, and tugged on his long white hair very hard. "Which makes this performative grandfatherliness a bit hard to take." He swatted her hand away. "How long has yours been white for, again?" "That's different. You don't let red like that wither away to nothing. You want people to remember it for how awesome it was." Her own mass of blank tangles was tied behind her back. "Anyway, there's a difference between getting ahead of the curve and being a copycat -- not that I mind the flattery." "I'm not copying you." He squirmed. "I'm acknowledging the reality. Biology notwithstanding, I'm old enough now to //feel// old. And I do." "So what?" He reached over, placed one hand on her forehead, and pushed her back to her side of the couch. "So, it //sucks.// What do you mean, 'so what'?" Lillian slammed the lid of her nearest laptop shut. "Everything sucks, Harry. The whole world sucks. Everything turns grey and falls apart. Why should you be special?" He thought about that for a moment. "Because I'm me," he said finally. "I see it from the inside, so it's different. I'm //rotting,// Lillian." "You never struck me as a solipsist. What's the issue? You expected never to get old?" "I don't know." He drummed the cushion. "Maybe I expected to have gotten more done by this point. I've had the same job since before the millennium turned. I don't have any... Melissa can't..." "Yeah," Lillian bluntly offramped that tangent for him. "Go on." "I'm out of shape, and I've lived down here for so long I can't imagine living anywhere else. I'm not making any progress on the things I should be... progressing. My life doesn't //change,// Lil." She nodded. "Do you want it to?" "I don't know!" "Have you tried talking to our resident immortals about this? They might have a different perspective." "I'm not in the mood for a Shakespearean monologue today, so Thilo's straight out. And Ilse..." He grunted. "I don't think anyone can talk to her about feeling stuck in a rut without being a tremendous fucking asshole for doing it." "I could do it for you," she offered. "I enjoy being a tremendous fucking asshole." "I know you do." He stretched, and yawned. "Maybe I'll turn in early tonight." She caught his hand, and yanked hard. He fell off the couch, knee striking the third laptop hard enough to audibly crunch the lid. "Ow!" She leaned down over him, white hair on white hair, and snapped "Or maybe you'll stop moping and //do something,// you whiny fuck. If I'm not old, //neither are you.//" She glowered at him magnificently. "And //I am not old.//" [[=]] @@ @@ [[image http://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/the-b-b-decommission/Asterisk43.png]] @@ @@ [[/=]] There was an armed guard waiting for him when the elevator opened. He flashed his security badge; they nodded, and tapped a code into the keypad lock. They then tapped it with their security badge. He then tapped it with //his// security badge. The guard then spoke their passcode into a speaker, and Harry did the same. He wondered who had access to the much faster version of this security theatre which definitely existed for emergency situations, and by the time that thought had passed, the door finally slid open. He walked in. SCP-001-A was sitting on the edge of his simple cot, holding a paperback novel: //Finnegan's Wake.// Harry winced at it. "Little light gibberish of an evening?" "Chaos keeps the mind sharp." The barrel-chested old man smiled up at him. "To what do I owe the pleasure, Dr. Blank?" "It's my birthday." Harry grabbed the visitor's chair and sat down. "And I'm bored." 001-A nodded sagely. "Would you like me to tell you a bedtime story? I could relay a few comforting facts about the onrushing end to eternity." "Nah." Harry folded his arms and slid back in the chair. "Tell me why you're still alive instead." The other man blinked. "I haven't died." "Right. Why is that?" "I don't understand the question." 001-A spread his arms wide. "Are you getting existential on me? Because that is //absolutely// my preferred variety of dread." "No. What I mean is this: you're old as dirt. You've been doing what you do for many years, I'll bet you can't even name me a number. You've got a dozen death cults to your name, you've killed countless thousands of people--" "Billions," 001-A interrupted. "Credit where due, please." "--and you have to have seen what feels like every version of the life you've chosen to lead, all spread out behind you, and they've all led you here. To an empty cell. All your work behind you, and none ahead. What keeps you going?" The old man laughed. "I've heard immortality described as the feeling you get when you stay up all night, and every inch of you is bone tired, but you can't sleep. The people who say that? They haven't lived long enough. You get a second wind eventually, and that's when you start really seeing things clearly. Your first go-around is all a muddled mess, but the second, and the third? When you already know the script?" His jaw suddenly clacked shut, so quickly it put his tongue in mortal peril, and he switched tangents as Harry sat up straight again. "Did you really come here to talk about mortality? Has your life become so--" "What precisely did that mean?" Harry asked, deadly calm, feeling his eyes focus in for the first time all day. "'When you already know the script'? What does that mean?" "Civilization is cyclical." 001-A waved vaguely. "None of this is new. You're no different from the ones who came before you. Your bars are no stronger. You'll--" "That's not what you meant. You've talked about the cycle before. This was something different." Harry leaned forward. "What script? Human history? Is that the script? Do you //already know how this ends,// and not just theoretically?" 001-A snapped the novel shut, but said nothing more. "And... 'billions'? What do you mean, //billions?//" Still nothing. Harry stood up. "You know what? This was a good day for rambling. I had no idea where I was going when I started, and now I do." He headed for the door. "What does //that// mean?" the hateful creature growled from behind him. "You can't forestall the end." "It means I've got a job to do, a few monographs and your 001 proposal to finish, and my own script to follow." He glanced over his shoulder, not really seeing the other man anymore. "As long as we keep moving, there isn't going to //be// an end." [[=]] @@ @@ [[image http://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/the-b-b-decommission/Asterisk43.png]] @@ @@ [[/=]] Melissa found him at his desks, sliding from each to each on his rolling chair, hammering away at his keyboard and scrawling on multiple reports with purple pen. He didn't notice her immediately, but as he finished the second SCP review he felt the familiar sensation of her breathing over his shoulder, and turned his head to kiss her hello again. "It's past seven," she said into his cheek when the moment had passed. "Yeah, just finishing up." He tapped out a few last commands, then reached up to put his arm around her shoulders. "Didn't get much done this morning." "So you thought you'd spend your birthday doing extra paperwork?" "Better than moping." He saved his last open file -- "TL-5243-A" -- switched off the terminal, then in one swift motion swung her down into his lap. Her perennially lazy eyes were now wide awake. "Moping is unproductive." "You're in a productive mood now?" she asked, face a mask of innocence. He reached under the desk, and tapped the button for the window shutters. [[=]] @@ @@ [[image http://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/the-b-b-decommission/Asterisk43.png]] @@ @@ [[/=]] It was always a little gratifying when the rush of birthday wishes washed over him, seasoned as they were with tired jibes about his advancing age and fresh ones related to his bleached keratin. It wasn't until midnight, when Melissa was already asleep and Harry was flaked out in his plush armchair, cat purring softly in his lap, that the notifications stopped flooding in and he could focus on the day's final task. He drew out McInnis' list, and examined it closely. "That is //definitely// the Queen," he murmured. "And the Queen is dead." The cat's chest heaved, and Harry stroked his back slowly before scratching under the chin. Scout had been a kitten when his namesake had died, some twenty-six years ago, and at this point he divided his time between Harry's lap, Melissa's lap, and the heat register. They'd had to swap out the metal one for plastic when they found burns on the cat's stomach; there simply wasn't that much fire left in him. Like so many other things he'd thought about today, Harry didn't much like to think about that. So he picked up his tablet, pulled up the first name on SCiPnet, and didn't. ---- [[=]] << [[[SCP-7056]]] \| [/on-guard-43-hub Words of Power and Poison] \| [[[Bitch Hub]]] >> [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]] [[/=]]	2023-03-20T03:27:00	[ "_cc", "_licensebox", "bittersweet", "cosmic-horror", "director-mcinnis", "doctor-blank", "doctor-elstrom", "doctor-lillihammer", "heartwarming", "horror", "on-guard-43", "romance", "slice-of-life", "tale" ]	Harry Birthday - SCP Foundation	81	[ "scp-006", "lost-in-the-translation", "scp-6965", "nx-143", "scp-7056", "on-guard-43-hub", "bitch-hub", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "on-guard-43-hub", "bitch-hub" ]	[ "http://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/the-b-b-decommission/Asterisk43.png" ]	1446803741	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/harry-birthday
haunting-at-17	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=1&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Ahalloween/3&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <ul class="creditRate"> <li class="rateBox folded"> <div class="rate-box-with-credit-button"> <div class="creditButton foldable-list-container"> <p><a href="javascript:;"></a></p> </div> </div> <div id="u-credit-view"> <div class="fader foldable-list-container"><a href="javascript:;">close</a></div> <div class="modalcontainer"> <div class="modalbox"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2><span>Info</span></h2> </div> <hr/> <div class="close-credits foldable-list-container"><a href="javascript:;">X</a></div> <div class="credit first"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2 id="toc0"><span><strong>Article Info:</strong></span></h2> <p><strong>Author:</strong> <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/drdapper" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(7310704); return false;"><img alt="DrDapper" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=7310704&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1726007559" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=7310704)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/drdapper" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(7310704); return false;">DrDapper</a></span></p> <p><strong><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/drdapper-author-page">Author Page</a></strong></p> <p><strong>Date Posted:</strong> 11/16/2023</p> <p><strong>Word Count:</strong> ~24.8k</p> </div> </div> <hr/> </div> </div> </div> </li> </ul> <p><em>The cold night air blew overhead, causing the leaves on the corn stalks to sway and rustle. <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-3009">Stacey</a> was much shorter than the tall rows of corn surrounding her, preventing her from seeing further than a few feet ahead.</em></p> <p><em>Above her was a dark purple sky with hints of yellow and red on its edges. This helped illuminate the corn field a bit, though Stacey knew it wouldn't last. She needed to get moving.</em></p> <p><em>Reaching out, she parted the stalks erected in front of her, stepping between them. More stalks awaited her. So, she repeated the process, slowly but surely making her way through the corn field.</em></p> <p><em>After a bit, her eyes landed on a break in the corn a few rows ahead of her. Pushing herself forward, she found herself stepping out into a small opening in the field.</em></p> <p><em>In the center of the opening was a scarecrow, posted onto a wooden T. It was wearing a blue flannel shirt, and the straw poking out of the sleeves resembled a three fingered hand. That's not what caught Stacey's attention, though.</em></p> <p><em>What caught her eye was the pumpkin head. It was lopsided and misshapen, as though it had been left out for weeks and rotted. This caused the eye and mouth holes to be equally as deformed and unnaturally shaped. Along with its figure, the pumpkin was also covered in scratch marks. Some were deeper and longer than others, though none seemed to pierce down to the hollow inside.</em></p> <p><em>Standing on the scarecrow's shoulder was a large, black bird. Stacey wasn't able to tell if it was a crow or a raven. The bird was scratching and pecking at the pumpkin with its beak, though somehow Stacey knew the animal wasn't responsible for the marks on the gourd.</em></p> <p><em>The bird stopped pecking as Stacey approached. Instead, it turned and stared down at the girl with deep, blood red eyes. Stacey stopped dead in her tracks, meeting the bird's gaze.</em></p> <p><em>They stood still for several moments, staring at each other, before the bird went back to pecking at the pumpkin. Stacey watched in silence as the bird assaulted it, wondering to herself why the bird was so determined to attack the thing.</em></p> <p><em>As she pondered the bird's motivation, she felt something inside her mouth fall onto her tongue. Without thinking, Stacey spat whatever it was onto the ground below. Curious, she knelt down and gazed at what she had just spit out.</em></p> <p><em>It was a tooth.</em></p> <p><em>Her heart stopped as she raised a hand to her mouth. Using her tongue to feel around, she found that it had been her upper right canine that fell out. Stacey gasped, both out of shock and fear. Teeth didn't grow back, after all.</em></p> <p><em>As Stacey's mind began to race, she felt more of her teeth start to loosen. One by one, her mouth emptied of the bone, until only four or five teeth remained. The rest had fallen to the ground, scattering and leaving Stacey surrounded.</em></p> <p><em>Then, to make matters worse, Stacey felt a clump of her hair fall to the ground. She wasn't sure how she had felt it, but she just knew it had. Clump after clump began falling around her, mixing with the scattered teeth. Reaching up, Stacey caught a wad of hair before it fell and held it in front of her.</em></p> <p><em>As she gazed down at it, she noticed her arm was grayer and dryer than usual. Dropping the hair, Stacey rubbed her fingers in her palm as she observed her skin. It had sunk and aged, appearing more like the arm of an old corpse rather than of a teenage girl.</em></p> <p><em>The deterioration didn't stop at her arm. Stacey felt her face sink as well. The bones in her cheeks and around her eyes seemed to morph and bend in a way Stacey couldn't see, yet somehow knew. The skin on her fingers and hands, drier and hoarier than the rest, began to peal off the bone. White skeletal fingers appeared in the places where skin used to be.</em></p> <p><em>Stacey stared in horror as the division between skin and bone slowly crept up to her hands. As she watched, the bird let out a high pitched scream in a way she could never find the words to perfectly describe. It was like the combination of a crow caw and woman's shriek. Regardless, it caused Stacey to look up at where the bird had been.</em></p> <p><em>But the bird was gone, without any trace as to where it went. The scarecrow had also changed, though for the more unsettling.</em></p> <p><em>Its pumpkin head, which had before been staring straight forward, was now angled downward as if to gaze at Stacey directly. It had also, somehow, become more rotten and disfigured, with the lopsidedness becoming even more exaggerated. The eye and mouth holes in turn also became more misshaped, with the mouth in particular being crooked into a malevolent, unnatural smile.</em></p> <p><em>But what caused Stacey's blood to go cold wasn't the deformed head or eerie smile, it was the pair of eyes that stared back at her from within the pumpkin. The eyes looked human in structure, but were inverted in color. The irises were a pale black, that seemed to consume even the darkness of the hollowed pumpkin. By contrast, the pupils were an unsettling white that seemed to pierce Stacey's very essence.</em></p> <p><em>It was dark now. What little color had been present in the sky had faded into a pure blackness. The corn stalks that had previously surrounded the girl had also faded into the dark void. All that remained was the scarecrow and its inverted eyes.</em></p> <p><em>Then, after a minute, even the body began to fade. The blue shirt, the yellow straw, and the dull orange pumpkin all seemed to slowly sink into the darkness behind it. The eyes, however, remained. Staring at Stacey as she laid, unable to move.</em></p> <p><em>Unable to move.</em></p> <p><em>Stacey couldn't move.</em></p> <p><em>She tried desperately to move her body, and when that failed she tried to move her arm, and when that failed she tried to move her hand, and when that failed her tried to move her finger. Nothing. She was totally paralyzed, forced to stare at the eyes without even the moment of relief a blink would've given.</em></p> <p><em>Stacey felt her unblinking eyes begin to burn when the pair in front of her began to be surrounded by shape. Even in the total darkness Stacey could see an even darker darkness materialize around the eyes. It formed into the shape of a head, then under it formed a body, and then Stacey was able to make out the silhouette of a person standing above her in the darkness.</em></p> <p><em>Under the eyes formed two rows of moldy, rotten teeth, separated by an unnatural inter-tooth spacing. The teeth lined into a crooked smile, not unsimilar to the malevolent smile worn by the pumpkin earlier.</em></p> <p><em>The thing stared down at Stacey as she tried desperately to move, to blink, to do anything. Stacey felt hot, musty air press against her face as the creature shifted its teeth to reflect an opened mouth.</em></p> <p><em>A shrill, feminine laugh echoed from the creature, causing a shiver to run down Stacey's back.</em></p> <p>And the next moment, it was gone. The eyes, the teeth, the outline, the laughing, the hot breath, all of it. Gone.</p> <p>At the very same time, Stacey found her ability to move restored. She blinked rapidly and shot up into a sitting position. Placing a hand on her chest, she inhaled and exhaled at a stunning pace. Frantically, her eyes darted around in an attempt to find her bearings.</p> <p>She was in her room, laying on her bed. A small light she kept on in her bathroom illuminated part of the cell, but for the most part she was in total darkness.</p> <p><em>It was a dream.</em> Stacey though, collapsing onto her pillow. Her heart and breathing were still running at a million miles a minute, but her brain had finally found its footing. <em>It was just a dream.</em></p> <p>Letting out a deep breath, Stacey turned her head to the digital clock resting on her night stand.</p> <p><em>6:08 am.</em></p> <p>Her eyes then drifted to the date implemented in the device.</p> <p><em>10/31.</em></p> <p><em>Halloween.</em></p> <hr/> <p>Stacey was never one to go to parties or special events, at least not on her own. She did occasionally go to some back when she was in high school, but that was only because her friends had gone with her. When it came to going solo, however, Stacey tended to opt out.</p> <p>Which is why when Researcher Kim told her about the Halloween party the Foundation was putting on, Stacey had no intentions of attending. At least, not until breakfast when <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-4818">Leora</a> asked if she was going. Knowing her friend would go on a crusade to try and convince Stacey to go, she decided to just reply with a yes. It kept Leora from nagging Stacey, but now she was committed.</p> <p><em>Oh well.</em> Stacey thought as she made her way towards the cafeteria. <em>At least there will be people there I know.</em></p> <p>Even from the hallway, Stacey could hear music bleeding out from the party area. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2rwxs1gH9w">Some song about skeletons</a> reverberated around the walls as Stacey stepped into the cafeteria.</p> <p>Right off the bat, Stacey was hit with an odd sense of nostalgia as she took in the setting. The large rectangular tables that usually sat in the middle of the room were gone, opening the room up and making it feel far larger. Replacing them were smaller, circular tables all conjugated to Stacey's right. Next to the tables was what looked like a buffet style line of food, with silver containers set up on a series of white tables. Hanging from the walls were fake cobwebs and spiders and witch cutouts and pumpkin cutouts and all sorts of decorations that boosted the Halloween spirit. It all reminded her of when her school hosted its own Halloween parties.</p> <p>Scattered around the cafeteria were what seemed like activity tables. Most were just some basic classroom/table games that were Halloween themed. Like tick-tac-toe but the xs and os were drawn on pumpkins, bouncing ping-pong balls that look like eyes into plastic cups, tossing bean bags into jack-o-lanterns, a memory card game with pictures of different Halloween monsters, and other stuff Stacey was too overwhelmed to properly make out. All the booths were being manned by Foundation staff Stacey had seen around the site. Some were in costume and really getting into it, others were in their standard attire and looked bored as hell.</p> <p>Stacey was surprised to see a good number of skips at the party. She had assumed most people would've stayed in their cells, but sure enough, dozens of anomalies were present. Some were even in costume. Like <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/devils-advocate-hub">Marya</a> who was wearing a basic witch costume, or <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-187">Katie</a> who was in an air force outfit (and without her hand mittens. <em>Good for her,</em> Stacey thought).</p> <p>"Howdy miss." Someone said in the worst western accent. Stacey turned to her left to see that <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/friday-afternoon/offset/1">one doctor who tried way too hard to be friends with the anomalies</a>. He was wearing a cowboy costume, and tipped his hat as he greeted her. "Are you ready for a night of fun and spooks?"</p> <p>"Uh…" Stacey replied a bit awkwardly, trying to hide how much she was cringing. "Yeah."</p> <p>"Well now that's mighty fine to hear." The doctor said, switching to a southern drawl in the middle of the sentence. "We've got food at the end there, feel free to take as much as you want. On the other side we've got games and other fun activities. You can request songs at the music booth over yonder. And at ten we're going to be having a costume contest that everyone can vote on."</p> <p>"Thanks." Stacey said flatly.</p> <p>"You have a fun night now." The doctor called out as Stacey turned and made her way to the food table.</p> <p>Stacey found her place at the back of the small yet stagnant line. As she grabbed a clear plastic plate, she couldn't help but over hear the conversation being held in front of her.</p> <p>"So what are you supposed to be?" <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-2800">Daniel</a>, who was dressed in a green jacket and white T-shirt with the words 'Cactusman' printed on the front, asked.</p> <p>"Well, this was supposed to be a two person costume." <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-527">Mr. Fish</a> replied, who himself was wearing what looked like the bottom half of a horse costume. "But <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-507">Grabnock</a> shifted on the way here. So now… I guess I'm just a horse bottom."</p> <p>The line crawled forward slightly, allowing Stacey to actually read the paper signs in front of the steaming silver containers. Looks like her options were sirloin slabs, grilled chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, and steamed vegetables. Pumpkin muffins and cookies also sat at the end of the table, acting as the desert section.</p> <p>Over the course of the next five minutes, Stacey tossed some chicken, mashed potatoes, and corn on her plate. From what she understood, <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-5980">Ethan</a> was the cause for slowing everything down, taking his merry little time on deciding what to eat.</p> <p>Eventually, though, Stacey stepped out of the line with a plate half-full of food. As she walked over to the round tables and chairs, a thought suddenly dawned on her.</p> <p><em>Where do I sit?</em> She thought to herself. Normally she just glued herself to Leora and followed her around. But as she gazed around the room, she had no idea where-</p> <p>"Hi Stacey!"</p> <p>Stacey nearly dropped her plate as she got startled. After all this time, she'd think she'd be used to Leora's tendency to appear out of nowhere. But there was something different in the way Leora spoke, something… hyper.</p> <p>"Hey." Stacey replied, looking her friend over.</p> <p>Leora was wearing rather high quality Captain Marvel costume, and her eyes were wide open.</p> <p>"Like my costume, I made it myself, it took me about a month, but I used to make costumes all the time, shame the Foundation wouldn't get my old one from my house, but I needed to make a new one anyways." She said in one breath, motioning to herself as she seemed to bounce on her heels.</p> <p>"Yeah…" Stacey replied slowly as Leora took a sip out of a red plastic cup.</p> <p>"Sorry if I'm a little hyper, it's because of the caffeine, my parents never let me drink any soda for this very reason, and I try to avoid it on my own, but it's Halloween and I thought 'what harm could a cup of Mountain Dew' do, get it, 'dew-do,' anyway I'm on my third cup and will probably stop here, or maybe I'll get another, depends on how I'm feeling, oh hey, did you hear about the costume contest, I'm going to enter and need you to vote for me, ok?"</p> <p>Stacey just blinked. She had only managed to get about half of that.</p> <p>"Oh oh!" Leora started, looking back towards the tables and booths. "Looks like Cain's here, I made a bet with Anne that I could beat him at apple bobbing, I don't think she realized the apples will rot as soon as he gets close to them, easiest six chocolate bars I've made in my life!"</p> <p>And with that, the hypered up anomaly sprinted into the crowd out by the activity booths, making a beeline for Cain, who… was wearing a long white dress with a blue top and brown heeled boots.</p> <p><em>The hell is he supposed to be?</em> Stacey thought, before shaking her head and making her way over to an empty table. She passed by a pair of anomalies holding a conversation as they ate, unintentionally eaves dropping on them.</p> <p>"How's the chicken?" Asked a thin doctor in glasses and well-kept blond hair.</p> <p>A girl dressed as a scarecrow made a sour expression. "Too salty," she replied. Stacey couldn't help but notice the <a href="https://www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/contained/list?title_no=378082">white streaks in the girl's light brown hair and across her face</a>.</p> <p>Once seated, Stacey gazed around the room. A few more skips had found their way into the cafeteria, like <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-3988">Napoleon</a> who was wearing a bicorne and an 18th century military uniform, and <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-2273">Alexei</a> who had modified his suit to look like a titan from that one Titanfall game. <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-4960">Kadesh-Nanaya</a> was also here, dressed as…</p> <p><em>Oh my god…</em> Stacey thought, gaping at Kadesh's costume (or more specifically, the lack-there-of). <em>How did they let her get away with that?</em></p> <p>The love Goddess was dressed in a costume that could only be described as a thin line of cloth. The black silk cuffed her neck and split as it went down her body, revealing cleavage and a bare stomach, before reconnecting (and ending) around her hips.</p> <p>Stacey blinked, before looking around at the several guards stationed in the room. None of them seemed to have any issue with the blatant dress code violation. In fact, a few of the guards seemed to be staring pretty intently at Kadesh… a bit <em>too</em> intently.</p> <p>Sighing, Stacey grabbed her plasticwear and was about to cut into her chicken when <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/devils-advocate-hub">Anne</a> practically jumped into her peripheral vision.</p> <p>"Hi Stacey!" The woman said as the younger one jumped with a start. Because it wasn't enough for just Leora to suddenly pop into existence.</p> <p>"Hi Anne." Stacey replied once she calmed back down. She eyed Anne's costume of choice and raised an eyebrow. Anne was wearing a light night gown that was loose enough to be comfortable but not loose enough to draw attention. Spots of fake blood contrasted the white dress in the neck region. "What are you supposed to be?"</p> <p>"Carmilla." Anne replied rather proudly.</p> <p>Stacey just stared at her blankly.</p> <p>"From the 1872 novel?" Anne added after a few moments of silence.</p> <p>Stacey just shrugged.</p> <p>Anne muttered something about the worthless education system before smiling at the girl widely.</p> <p>"So, what's new with you?"</p> <p>"Oh, not much." Stacey replied, cutting into her chicken. "I kinda just came down for the food."</p> <p>"I can see." Anne said, looking Stacey up and down. Stacey quickly glanced around the room, and reddened when she suddenly became very aware that she was the only person (outside of Foundation staff) not wearing a costume.</p> <p>"How did everyone even get their outfits?" Stacey asked, hoping to blame her lack of a costume on ignorance.</p> <p>"I just put in a request." Anne replied, looking around at the other skips. "Can't speak for everyone else though."</p> <p>Stacey nodded silently before stabbing a piece of chicken with her fork. She was about to put the meat in her mouth before Anne grabbed her own wrist and let out a pained groan.</p> <p>"What's wrong?" Stacey asked, looking at the woman with a mixture of concern and confusion.</p> <p>"It's my hand…" Anne said through gritted teeth. "It just, hurts all of a sudden."</p> <p>"What do you mean by hurt?"</p> <p>"I don't know. It's just… my whole hand just started…"</p> <p>Anne groaned again, leaving her sentence incomplete. Stacey just sat there with her fork raised, not sure what to do. Should she get help? There were guards everywhere. Problem is Stacey didn't even know what was wrong with-</p> <p>Stacey's train of thought was cut short as Anne let out an agonizing yell. A thud echoed in front of Stacey, and she turned to see…</p> <p>A severed hand laying on the table. In an instant, Stacey's eyes shot over to Anne, who sure enough, was missing her hand.</p> <p>Stacey yelped and slid her chair back. "Oh my god!" She yelled.</p> <p>While Stacey's eyes were glued to the hand, Anne's seemed to be stuck on her.</p> <p>"Oh my god!" Stacey repeated, before turning to Anne. "What happened!"</p> <p>"I don't know…" Anne replied, her teeth stuck together. "But we should… wait a second." The expression on Anne's face went from pained to curious in a millisecond. She leaned in closer to the hand, her brows furrowed. "Do you see that?"</p> <p>Stacey, caught off guard by Anne's sudden nonchalantness of the situation, eyed the hand… and saw what Anne meant. Her eye had caught something odd about it, though whatever it had been seemed to disappear as soon as she saw it. Curiosity momentarily overtaking panic, Stacey leaned in to get a closer look at the hand.</p> <p>Then, it happened again. The index finger twitched.</p> <p>Stacey was about to comment on it, but just as she was about to, the hand sprung to life, all the fingers flexing into a grabbing position. Then, it seemed to bounce up at her, lunging towards her face.</p> <p>Stacey screamed for real this time, falling back out of her chair and landing on her ass. When she looked up, the hand was standing by its fingers on the table. Behind it stood Anne… with tears in her eyes from laugher.</p> <p>"Oh man…" She said after composing herself. "Didn't I tell you that would be the best one?"</p> <p>"It sure was!" A high pitched yet masculine voice said. It sounded like it came from… the hand?</p> <p>"Come on up, girly." The hand said. "We're just messing with ya."</p> <p>Slowly, Stacey got to her feet and looked down at the hand.</p> <p>"Oh, where are my manners?" The hand jump and landed on its wrist, extending itself as if waiting for a shake. "Name's <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-2913">Han</a>. I'm new here."</p> <p>Stacey stared at Han, mouth open.</p> <p>"You're a… a hand?"</p> <p>"Sure am!" Han said, bouncing back onto his fingers when Stacey didn't shake.</p> <p>"But… what about…" Stacey looked up at Anne, but her question was answered when the woman pulled her sleeve back, revealing her own intact hand.</p> <p>"We've been pulling this trick all night, but let me tell you, your reaction was the best so far."</p> <p>"Uh…" Stacey looked between Anne and Han. "…thanks?"</p> <p>"No. Thank you." Han said, before crawling towards Anne. "Come on Annie. Let's see if we can get that big robot guy."</p> <p>"Oh yes!" Anne said, grabbing Han and sliding him into her sleeve. "If we can get Alexei, I'll consider my life complete."</p> <p>And with that, the two ran off towards the activity booths. Stacey, tired and hungry, sighed and sat back down in her chair.</p> <hr/> <p>Tom blinked one eye at a time. He really, really did not want to be here right now. Hell, he wasn't even <em>supposed</em> to be here right now. He was <em>supposed</em> to be taking his kids trick or treating.</p> <p>But… Chris had called off at the last minute. Apparently Chris had gotten some kind of stomach bug, but Tom knew he was bullshitting. Chris had bitched up a storm when this month's schedule released and he was set to work on Halloween. But outside of the sector head rolling up to Chris's door and demanding he prove his illness, there was nothing that could be done about it.</p> <p>Instead, the buck stopped with Tom. He had gotten a phone call just as he was getting dressed up to come in and cover for Chris. Tom was fuming, his kids were crying, and his six month pregnant wife practically had smoke coming out of her ears realizing she would be stuck chaperoning the children alone.</p> <p>But the Foundation had called. And when the Foundation calls, you answer.</p> <p>So instead of running around the neighborhood with his family, Tom was spending his night staring at staticky security cameras. The man let out a sigh and leaned back in his seat, rubbing his eyes. The smell of coffee reached his nose as a mug was placed in front of him.</p> <p>"Thanks." Tom said, grabbing the drink and sipping it.</p> <p>"So on a scale of one to ten…" Ben began, taking a seat next to Tom. "How badly do you want to strangle Chris?"</p> <p>Tom let out bitter laugh. "He's as good as dead the next time I see him."</p> <p>Ben chuckled to himself. An understanding, sympathetic chuckle, but still a chuckle. "What were you gonna be?"</p> <p>"We were going to all be the Incredibles."</p> <p>"The Incredibles?" Ben repeated, furrowing his brow. "Even Laura? Can she even fit in a costume?"</p> <p>Tom glared a his co-worker, who raised his hands defensively.</p> <p>"I'm just asking." He added quickly. "She's at… what… twenty-five weeks?"</p> <p>Tom shook his head and sipped his coffee. As he did, his eyes wandered around the empty command center. Usually there were at least a few more guards in the room with them, but it being Halloween meant that most of GenSec had taken off for one reason or another.</p> <p>They were running on a skeleton crew tonight, which wouldn't be too bad, but some event up in Light Containment had sapped what little hands they had. There were maybe twenty guards tops spread across Heavy Containment right now. This might've made Tom anxious if he hadn't learned one thing in his fourteen years with the Foundation: nothing ever happened at Site-17.</p> <p>"Anyway…" Ben said, spinning in his chair and turning to one of his monitors. "Since it's just me and you tonight, I might send a message up to Light Command, see if I can get someone to bring the <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-458">pizza box</a> down."</p> <p>"They'll never agree to that." Tom responded, placing his mug down and staring at his own monitor. "I know, I've tried it bef-"</p> <p>Tom trailed off as he squinted at his monitor. Something in it caught his eye, though he wasn't able to make out what. He might've been able to if the camera footage wasn't such shit. But, whether for budgetary reasons or ease of encryption, the video had the quality of a VHS put through a washing machine. It was all in black and white, the excessive amount of static added to the already poor quality of the at most 360 resolution, and to top it all off the frame rate was absolutely atrocious. Tom had counted it before; it took a whopping half second for the video to update, making the footage all choppy.</p> <p>But even with the shitty camera, Tom could see something was different.</p> <p>His monitor was currently set at a hall cam somewhere on the other end of the level. Almost everything about it seemed normal, but standing towards the back of the hallway was a black figure. Tom wasn't able to make out what exactly it was, but it <em>almost</em> looked humanoid.</p> <p>"Before what?" Ben asked.</p> <p>Tom ignored him, focusing fully on the monitor. The image cycled, and the figure had moved closer down the hall. For a moment Tom thought it might've been a guard or researcher, but despite the shitty quality, he still would've been able to make out certain details on the person if that were the case. Like GenSec body armor or a white lab coat. The figure currently on screen, however, was totally black. In fact, it almost looked like the static in the screen warped around the object.</p> <p>The video cycled again, and again the figure was closer to the camera. Ben must've read Tom's face, as he soon leaned over to look at his monitor.</p> <p>"What is that?" Ben moved his head closer to the screen.</p> <p>"I'm not sure."</p> <p>Whatever it was, Tom needed to know right now.</p> <p>"This is in hallway 2B-H." Tom said, not looking at Ben. "Send a message to GenSec, have them check it out."</p> <p>"On it." Ben replied, rolling over to his monitor. He picked up a headpiece and placed it over himself, before speaking into it. "Attention GenSec, we're detecting an unidentified entity in hallway 2B-H. Would the nearest available unit please make their way over to check it out?"</p> <p>The video cycled again. The black figure was now standing right under the camera. A sense of dread began to fill Tom's inside, as though he were a child again and was on his way to the principal's office.</p> <p>"That's strange." Ben said after a moment. "I'm not able to get anyone."</p> <p>The video cycled again, and this time, Tom went cold. The figure was definitely humanoid. Tom could see its head raised towards the camera, along with a pair of white eyes. They were clearly visible even in the static, staring straight at the security camera. Actually, no, <em>through</em> the security camera. Tom just knew that thing was looking at him, he just knew it could <em>see</em> him.</p> <p>But before Tom could react, a thin, black hand shot out of the computer monitor and grabbed his throat.</p> <hr/> <p>Stacey awoke with a start, her heart pounding out of her chest. She had seen them again, the unsettling inverted eyes staring right into her.</p> <p><em>I must've dozed off.</em> She thought, rubbing her eyes and looking around. The party was still going on, it seemed. Skips in various costumes dotted the cafeteria, though the crowd was noticeably lighter than it had been before Stacey's unintentional nap.</p> <p>"Hi."</p> <p>Stacey turned to see Leora sitting next to her, nibbling on a pumpkin cookie.</p> <p>"Hi." Stacey replied, yawning. "How long was I asleep?"</p> <p>"Only about an hour."</p> <p>"An hour?!" Stacey's eyes shot up to the clock hanging on the wall. Sure enough, it read 8:48. "Why didn't someone wake me?"</p> <p>"I don't think anyone cared enough <em>to</em> wake you." Leora responded before swallowing. "Besides, you looked pretty tired when you got here."</p> <p>"I didn't get much sleep last night." Stacey rubbed her own eyes while trying not to think of the ones in her dream. "What are you doing here? I thought you were hyped up on caffeine."</p> <p>"It didn't last." Leora shrugged. "Apparently my light power uses up a lot of energy."</p> <p>"Really? How?"</p> <p>"Hell if I know." Leora said as she shoved the rest of the cookie in her mouth.</p> <p>Stacey let out another yawn before looking up at the clock again. She really was exhausted.</p> <p>"Hey, Leora…" She started. "I'm probably going to go to bed here. Are you ok with that?"</p> <p>"Yeah." Leora furrowed her brow. "Why are you even asking?"</p> <p>"Because you wanted me to vote for you in the costume contest."</p> <p>"Ah, don't worry about it." Leora replied, waving her hand. "Besides, there's a mask for this costume I forgot in my room. I'll head on up with you to grab it."</p> <p>Together, the two girls stood from the table and made their way to the exit. As they did, Stacey took one last gaze at the party.</p> <p>The doctor in the cowboy costume was speaking to a guard, Mr. Fish and Katie were holding a conversation back at the tables, a frustrated looking Daniel was standing at the memory game booth with Cain, and Napoleon was at the apple bobbing stand with a red fruit in his jaws and Mayra right next to him. These were all Stacey was able to catch before stepping out into the hallway.</p> <p>"So…" Stacey began in a preemptive strike on awkward silence. "You see the new guy?"</p> <p>"Han?" Leora asked. "Oh yeah. He's cool. He and Anne got me good though."</p> <p>"Yeah." Stacey laughed a little. "They got me good too. Did they ever get Alexei?"</p> <p>"Yes actually." Leora replied. "Surprising considering its, you know, Alexei. But boy, was Anne ecstatic when she did."</p> <p>"Where did they get off to? I didn't see them when we left."</p> <p>"No clue." Leora shrugged. "They ran off right after getting the big guy."</p> <p>"Hmm." Stacey responded, looking down. The two continued walking in silence for a few more moments, before Stacey reopened her mouth. "Where was everyone else tonight? You know… the Alpha-9 group?"</p> <p>"Foxx is taking his daughter trick-or-treating." Leora began. "Adams is probably at a bar some place, <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-1985">Jackie's</a> still dead, and <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-105">Iris</a> is still in the infirmary, though I doubt she would've come anyways."</p> <p>"What?" Stacey perked up. "Iris is in the infirmary?"</p> <p>"You… didn't hear?" Leora looked down at Stacey as if she hadn't known what planet they were on. "Iris has been in the infirmary for like, a week."</p> <p>"Why?"</p> <p>"Who knows. Probably got hurt on a mission or something. I haven't been to that side of the site in months."</p> <p>"Huh." Stacey said. "I hope she's ok."</p> <p>"Yeah, me too."</p> <p>As the words left Leora's mouth, the two of them turned the corner to find the elevator at the end of the hall. They stopped in front of the silver doors, with Leora reaching out and pressing upper button. The two stood in silence as the elevator made its way down to them.</p> <p>Suddenly and without thinking, Stacey opened her mouth and spoke.</p> <p>"You ever get super realistic dreams?"</p> <p>"Huh?"</p> <p>"Uh…" Stacey stuttered, realizing what she had just committed to. Leora turned and looked down at her expectantly when Stacey did not continue. Welp, she was committed now. "You every have like… ya know… a dream that feels super realistic."</p> <p>"Occasionally." Leora responded. "Not too often though. Why?"</p> <p>"Oh, no reason."</p> <p>Silence once again overtook them, with it only being broken by the sound of the elevator reaching them. Slowly, the silver doors slid open, and the two motioned to step inside… but were stopped by a scene Stacey would never forget.</p> <p>Inside the elevator was Anne, leaning against the wall. In her hands was Han, whom she had brought up to her face. Passionately, Anne was pressing her lips against Han's knuckles, before slightly pulling back and moving up to the back of the hand.</p> <p>Stacey stood, jaw to the floor. Leora seemed to be awestruck as well, as neither of them made a noise. The two watched Anne and Han in silence for about a second, before Leora remember how to speak.</p> <p>"What in the hell?!" She said loudly.</p> <p>An expression of horror flooded Anne's face as she pulled back from Han and straightened. That horror turned to embarrassment as she angrily pointed at the two girls.</p> <p>"What are you two doing here?!"</p> <p>"I could ask you the same thing." Leora replied, this time with a good bit of sly in her voice.</p> <p>"Well… look… you see… I… we…" Anne stuttered as her face reddened.</p> <p>Stacey was shocked. Anne, overconfident Anne, had never been this off balance. At least not during her time here.</p> <p>"Is there a problem with us?" Han said, using his thumb and pinkie to imitate placing his hands on his hips.</p> <p>"No… no…" Leora said playfully. "I'm just wondering how things got to this point."</p> <p>"Look." Anne started. "Me and Han have a lot in common, like enjoying scaring the shit out of people. And after we got Alexei of all people, we were in great moods. We began talking a bit more to one another, and eventually we decided to… hang out in a more private setting. Or at least that was the plan, until you two intruded!"</p> <p>"You wanted to be alone…" Stacey piped up. "So you went to the <em>elevator?</em>"</p> <p>Anne opened her mouth to speak, but no rebuttal came out.</p> <p>"She's got us there, Annie." Han said.</p> <p>"Just… get in here!" Anne motioned them in.</p> <p>The two girls obeyed, stepping inside. Leora, with a wry grin on her face, pressed the button labeled "7-S." The silver doors closed, and a humming filled the room as the elevator began ascending.</p> <p>It was silent for all of half a second, before Leora gave Stacey a look and turned to Anne.</p> <p>"So… were you hoping Han would turn into a prince?"</p> <p>Stacey let a laugh slip out. Anne looked between the two girls, her face reddening even more.</p> <p>"Shut up." She sneered.</p> <p>Leora giggled and turned back to the doors. Silence again filled the room.</p> <p>The silence was held for several moments, but was broken by the sound of something odd. It sounded like… metal being bent and twisted and scrapping against more metal. Stacey looked around in confusion. Clearly she wasn't the only one hearing this, as the other occupants of the elevator did the same.</p> <p>At the same time, Stacey felt the elevator begin to slow. Stacey had been up and down this elevator probably a hundred times, so she knew it was too early for them to be at their level.</p> <p>Something was wrong.</p> <p>The thought wouldn't be in Stacey's mind for long, though, as the ground suddenly gave way under her. Screeching reverberated around the enclosed space as the elevator accelerated downwards. Stacey felt her feet lift off the ground from how fast they were falling.</p> <p>In a panic, Stacey screamed and tried to grab onto something. Her hand managed to wrap around the railing on the wall, but it did little to stop her from floating up.</p> <p>Then, as quickly as it had started falling, the elevator crashed to a stop. Stacey didn't have time to even comprehend the crash, however, as she was knocked clean out when her head hit the floor.</p> <hr/> <p>Staring at the screen was starting to hurt. Removing her glasses, Agatha rubbed her eyes.</p> <p><em>What time is it?</em> She thought, looking down at the corner of her computer screen. <em>8:56.</em></p> <p>For the past four hours, Agatha had been sitting in front of the computer writing detailed reports of that day's psychological evaluations. This was always her least favorite part of the job, mainly because of how tedious and time consuming it was. The Foundation was <em>very</em> strict and <em>very</em> precise about how they wanted their reports to be filed.</p> <p>Deciding to give her eyes a break, Agatha's vision wandered around the empty computer lab. Normally she wrote up her reports in her office, but her desktop had been acting funky recently. Not saving properly, apps freezing at the most inconvenient times, and even full on bluescreening once. Tech said they'd deal with it as soon as they could, which meant whenever they felt like it. So in the mean time, Agatha had to be content with using one of the public computers.</p> <p>Releasing a yawn, Agatha stretched and looked at the finished document on the computer screen, then down at the stack of papers sitting on the table. She still had three more reports to file.</p> <p>"Fuck this." Agatha said, standing. "I'll pass out on the keyboard if I don't get some caffeine in me."</p> <p>Turning, Agatha made her way over to a little side room. White lights flickered to life as she flipped the switch upon entering. Inside the break room was a table with aluminum folding chairs and a bare-bones kitchenette. Sitting on the counter was a coffee machine with a sticky note reading "clean up when done :)" taped to its side.</p> <p>Agatha turned the machine on and opened the cabinet door to grab a mug when a thud echoed from the computer lab. It was a deep yet weightless thud, like a stack of folders or papers falling off a desk.</p> <p>The doctor stopped and turned towards the large windows showing into the computer lab. It was dim in the other room, with only the every other center light being illuminated.</p> <p>"Hello?" Agatha called out, back stepping into the doorway. No response. She walked out into the room itself and called again. "Hello?"</p> <p>Again she was met with silence. Taking a wild guess at what had made noise, Agatha strode over to where she had been working. Sure enough, her files and papers were scattered on the floor.</p> <p>"How in the hell…" She said, kneeling down and gathering the everything.</p> <p><em>How did it fall?</em> Agatha thought. <em>I don't recall putting it that close to the edge.</em></p> <p>Concluding it was just one of life's great mysteries, the doctor straightened the papers and placed them back on the desk.</p> <p>But as she did, her eyes were caught on something that hadn't been there before. Sticking out of one of the tan folders was the corner of… something. It was small, white, and almost looked like just a piece of paper, but glinted as if it were laminated. Curiously, Agatha grabbed the corner and pulled whatever it was out.</p> <p>The doctor furrowed her brow as she looked down at what she had pulled out. In her hand was a photograph from her childhood, specifically from sometime during the summer. Standing on the left side was a teenage Agatha, her blonde hair loose and behind her back. Next to Agatha was her sister, Riley, though her hair was tied up in a ponytail. The two of them were standing in the backyard of their parent's place, both smiling at the camera and wearing short sleeve shirts.</p> <p>Agatha actually remembered when this photograph was taken. It was the first day of summer vacation following her sophomore year (Riley's freshman year) of high school.<br/> Agatha smiled. For a moment, she allowed her mind to go back to the days she'd used to spend with her sister. The days of spending hot summer afternoons down at the beach, or hiking the gorge behind their place.</p> <p>But the happy memories only twirled in Agatha's mind for a second. The reason Agatha kept that photograph specifically is because that this was the last photo Riley would ever be in. She would be killed about a month later by an anomalous entity, which is actually what caused Agatha to start studying the paranormal. Well, study the paranormal in a less-conspiracy more-scientific way.</p> <p>The sudden appearance of the photo also forced Agatha to ask a single question: how did this get here? She kept this photograph in a memory book back at her place. Was she looking at it and it accidently slipped into her bag and folder? That'd be one hell of a journey it'd make.</p> <p>As the hypotheses formed and crumbled in her head, she noticed something odd about the photograph.</p> <p>It was… moving. No, changing.</p> <p>The lighting within the photograph seemed to be darkening. Agatha had to blink to make sure she wasn't just imagining it. But after a moment, the scene changed from a sunny afternoon to sometime at night.</p> <p>Then the girls began to change too.</p> <p>Picture Agatha seemed to rapidly age. Her face and hands began to wrinkle and sink, and her hair faded from blonde to gray to a stark white. The bone around her cheeks and eyes morphed, leaving her face disfigured. The happy smile she had a second ago had crooked into something more… malevolent.</p> <p>Her sister's change was different. First was the eyes; her white sclera and green irises voiding as a black liquid bled from her eyes. The substance ran down her face like tears, before branching and spreading across her smiling face. The patter it spread out in…</p> <p>Agatha placed a hand over the mouth. The thing that had killed Riley had done so by clawing her face. The pattern the liquid had branched into mirrored it perfectly.</p> <p>"W- wha-" The doctor stuttered.</p> <p>Before she could properly process what was happening, something warm grazed the back of her neck. It felt like a breath, but even with her back turned, Agatha could smell the must and rot from it.</p> <p>Turning, the doctor came face to face with a pair of horrific eyes.</p> <hr/> <p>"Stacey!" A muffled, distance voice said. "Oh my god, please don't be dead. Stacey!"</p> <p>Stacey let out a groan and shifted from pain.</p> <p>"Oh thank- Stacey wake up!"</p> <p>Slowly, Stacey opened her eyes. Leora was kneeling down in front of her. A look of panic was in the girl's eyes, and her arms were gripping Stacey's shoulders tightly. It probably would've hurt… if her pain receptors weren't in over drive every where else.</p> <p>Again Stacey groaned and winced as her mind became aware of the dull pain around her body.</p> <p>"Are you ok?" Leora asked in a frantic tone.</p> <p>"I…" Stacey sat up and rubbed her head. "I think so."</p> <p>"Good." Leora said, standing and letting out a sigh of relief.</p> <p>"What happened?" Stacey asked as she looked around.</p> <p>"The elevator fell." Han said, jumping onto Stacey's knee. "Annie's trying to figure out why."</p> <p>Stacey looked up. The emergency hatch was pushed open.</p> <p><em>Anne's probably on the roof.</em> She thought as she slowly got to her feet. Leora stepped over to help her up, but Stacey waved her off.</p> <p>"Did you call for help?" Stacey asked, eyeing the red 'HELP' button on the panel.</p> <p>"Tried it." Leora said, pressing it. Nothing happened. "Doesn't work."</p> <p>"Huh." Stacey brushed dust off of herself. "That's odd."</p> <p>"I've got odder." Anne fell through the open hatch and landed beside Stacey, who jumped at the thud and sudden appearance. "The belt's rusted through."</p> <p>"What?" Leora asked.</p> <p>"You know the line that pulls the elevator up and down?" Anne continued, making a pulling motion. "Well… it's snapped. I looked at the end of it, and it's nothing but rust."</p> <p>"Those things can rust?" Stacey asked.</p> <p>"Anything can rust when it isn't maintained."</p> <p>"Are you sure?" Leora interjected. "I mean, the Foundation is hardly above cheaping out, but to say they let an entire elevator break…"</p> <p>"Well, I don't know what else to tell you." Anne shrugged. "There's rust going down a good five feet from the break, and considering the emergency brakes didn't kick in, the only conclusion I can come to is that the Foundation let it all go to shit."</p> <p>"That's… strange." Leora said.</p> <p>"Odd." Anne added.</p> <p>"Isn't there usually a ladder in the shaft?" Han asked.</p> <p>"There's half a ladder." Anne looked down at the hand. "I climbed a bit to see if it was sturdy, but it seems like it broke a few feet up."</p> <p>"Is there anything that isn't broken?" Leora said frustrated.</p> <p>"Tell me about it." Anne replied, walking over to the silver door. "But… bitching isn't going to change anything."</p> <p>Grabbing the divide, Anne heaved the door open. On the other side was a hallway leading to a security checkpoint with two dark doors. Above the doors was wording written on the wall, reading "Gate D - Heavy Containment." Stacey's heart dropped as she realized where they were.</p> <p>"W- we're in Heavy Containment." She stuttered. Stacey had heard stories of Heavy Containment. It was rumored that the skips they kept down here were some of the most vile within the Foundation, being serial killers and rapists before getting contained. Or, they were incredibly dangerous, and with the minds more like monsters than actual people.</p> <p>"Yeah…" Anne said. "So what?"</p> <p>"D- don't they keep, like, monsters and stuff down here?"</p> <p>Anne laughed. "It's Site-17. They don't keep squat down here. They just say that to scare people. Trust me, the Insurgency made site analysis a top priority for us."</p> <p>Stacey gulped, still not fully satisfied.</p> <p>"Don't worry, Stacey." Leora chimed in, seeing Stacey's anxiety. "GenSec is more than capable handling whatever's down here."</p> <p>Exhaling, Stacey nodded more to herself than to Leora. Meanwhile, Anne knelt down placed her hand on the ground.</p> <p>"Come on Han." She said. Han, in response, crawled up her arm and onto her shoulder. "Let's see who's home."</p> <p>And with that, the three of them stepped out of the elevator and into the dimly lit hallway. It was strange, Stacey thought, that the whole checkpoint area was illuminated only be a single ceiling light, especially when there were several other lights that were currently off.</p> <p>"Oh look." Anne said, pointing. "There's a guard."</p> <p>Stacey looked to where Anne had pointed. There was an open window on the right side of the checkpoint doors with a GenSec agent sitting on the other side. His head was bowed, as though he were asleep.</p> <p>"Looks like he's taking a nap." Anne commented as they approached.</p> <p>Stacey gazed at the agent and furrowed her brow. She didn't know what, but something about him seemed… off.</p> <p>"Hey GenSec." Anne called out, assuming the role of spokesperson. "Wakey wakey."</p> <p>The guard didn't move. Anne stopped beside the opening, now within arms reach of the agent.</p> <p>"Hey." She repeated. "Wake up, we need your help."</p> <p>Anne reached over and lightly nudged the guard's shoulder. In response, he fell to the ground with a thud, totally limp.</p> <p>Stacey's eyes widened.</p> <p><em>Was he… is he…</em></p> <p>"Is he dead?" Leora blurted, shock in her voice.</p> <p>Anne didn't respond, instead staring down at the body. Then, slowly, she looked up into the security room and placed her hand on the opening sill.</p> <p>"Han, you see that red button right there? Press it."</p> <p>"On it." Han said, crawling off her shoulder and scuttering into the room. A second later, a buzzing echoed around the room as the large metal doors slid open.</p> <p>The three women ran past the gate and stopped in front of the security room door. Stacey and Leora held back as Anne opened it. The guard was still laying on the floor as she did, limp and unmoving. Anne knelt down and reach out her hand to take a pulse, but stopped and turned to Stacey and Leora.</p> <p>"Oh yeah, he's dead."</p> <p>"Wha… how?"</p> <p>Reaching down, Anne unclipped the guard's helmet and pulled it off. Leora gasped and took a step back. Stacey clasped a hand over her mouth to prevent her from screaming.</p> <p>The guard's skin was gray, sunken, and dry. His mouth was gaping open, though completely absent of teeth or even a tongue. His eye sockets were also empty, being nothing but black voids that seemed to have no end.</p> <p>"What happened to him?" Leora said, her voice nothing more than a dry whisper.</p> <p>"I'm not sure." Anne replied as she began rummaging the guard's body.</p> <p>"I- I- I thought…" Stacey's voice broke. She swallowed, wet her mouth, and tried again. "I thought y- you said they didn't keep anything down here. A- And you said GenSec would be able to handle it."</p> <p>Leora gave Stacey a quick glance, her face pale. Anne didn't look at Stacey, but did actually reply to her.</p> <p>"Well, I stand corrected."</p> <p>"This is a containment breach, right?" Leora stated more than asked. "Isn't the alarm supposed to be going off?"</p> <p>"Han." Anne said, looking to her right. "That button that's behind the glass should be the containment breach alarm. Try pressing it."</p> <p>The sound of something flipping up rang out from out of Stacey's view, followed by the sound of a button being pressed down.</p> <p>"Huh." Han said. "Nothing."</p> <p>"That's what I thought." Anne replied, going back to scrounging around the guard. "Seems like it's busted."</p> <p>"Fuck you mean it's busted?!" Leora cried. "It's the breach alarm!"</p> <p>"My best guess is whatever got out doesn't want people to know it's out. This site is for intelligent, sapient anomalies, remember?"</p> <p>"But it's the breach alarm. How could it even disable it?"</p> <p>"You're guess is as good as mine. Ah, here it is." Anne said as she lifted something up. In her hand was what seemed like a black and gray handle of some kind, though Stacey didn't recognize it. As Anne looked at the handle, her expression dropped. "Oh what the hell."</p> <p>"What is it?" Stacey asked.</p> <p>"Well, this <em>was</em> the guard's sidearm." She responded, waving the handle. Now that Stacey thought about it, it did look like the bottom half of a gun. "Problem is, it broke right in half."</p> <p>"How?"</p> <p>"I'm not- wait." Anne brought the handle closer to her face. "There's some kind of… black oil on it."</p> <p>She ran her finger over the top of the handle as Han crawled into view.</p> <p>"Any idea what it might be, Annie?"</p> <p>"No clue." She said, examining a bit on her finger. Dropping the handle, she began searching the guard again. "Oh well. That's not as important as… ah ha!" Anne pulled up her hand again, this time with a gray and white card in it. "Jackpot. A GenSec key card."</p> <p>"Uh, Anne…" Leora said as the woman stood. "We're not allowed to have those, remember?"</p> <p>"Well, this is the only way we'll be able to move around Heavy. So unless you'd like to stay here…"</p> <p>"Are you crazy?!" Stacey blurted. Both Anne and Leora turned to her. "You want to go <em>into</em> Heavy Containment?! With a monster on the loose?!"</p> <p>"It's our best shot at survival." Anne said, placing a hand on her hip.</p> <p>"By going TO the monster?!"</p> <p>"Whatever's in here can already get to us." Anne calmly pointed to the dead guard. "Our only option is to look for an exit somewhere."</p> <p>"You don't agree with her, do you?" Stacey turned to Leora.</p> <p>"She…" Leora looked at Anne, then back to Stacey. "…makes a good point."</p> <p>"Oh my god." Stacey placed a hand on her head. "We're all going to die."</p> <p>"Well look, Stacey…" Anne started as she knelt down and allowed Han to crawl up to her shoulder. "We're going to go look for an exit. If you want to stay here by yourself, feel free t-"</p> <p>"No!" Stacey blurted, quickly stepping closer to the two women.</p> <p>"Good." Anne said, giving a forced smile a reassurance. "Now, since I don't have a weapon, Leora…"</p> <p>Leora looked at Anne, but staring at each other with equal expectance.</p> <p>"What?" Leora finally asked.</p> <p>Anne rolled her eyes. "If there's something loose, then at least <em>someone</em> should have a weapon or weapons."</p> <p>"Oh!" Leora cried, the anxiety on her face turning to almost excitement at the opportunity to use her powers. "I've got you."</p> <p>Holding out her hands, the light around Leora began to warp, until a glowing spear and shield manifested in her hands.</p> <p>"Primal." Anne commented, stepping past Leora. "But better than nothing. Ok kids…" She turned around to look at Stacey and Leora directly. "Follow me, do whatever I say, and hopefully we'll get out of here alive."</p> <p>Stacey gulped. She really wished Anne would pick her words better.</p> <hr/> <p>It turned out the the keycard wasn't as important as Stacey had thought. Much to Anne's disappointment, none of the doors they had gone through needed it.</p> <p>"Do you even know where you're going?" Leora asked after the group walked through the umpteenth door. Stacey turned to her, noticing that the light illuminating from the spear and shield had dulled slightly.</p> <p>"Nope." Anne replied.</p> <p>"So then how are we going to find an exit?"</p> <p>"The site isn't infinite. My plan was to go in a straight line until we hit the edge, then stick to it until we find some stairs or another elevator. If there's another exit, it'll most likely be on the edge."</p> <p>Leora thought for a moment. "Ok, yeah. Good point."</p> <p>As the group walked across the hallway, Stacey looked around and rubbed her arm. Her plight around Heavy Containment had given her a new found appreciation for Light. Light was by no means perfect, but it at least <em>tried</em> to feel welcoming. Heavy, on the other hand, was nothing short of a prison. The walls were all the same concrete white and gray, the floor was hard steel that clanged with each step, and all the hallways looked almost identical. That, combined with no directional aid, gave Stacey the sense they were walking in-</p> <p>"Yes!" Stacey jumped as Anne's cry broke her train of thought. With a wide grin, the woman ran over to the door directly in front of them. "I knew we'd need the keycard!"</p> <p>The door itself was slightly different from the other ones they had passed. This one was a lighter gray, and seemed to be reinforced at the sides. Above the door was a sign reading "Checkpoint."</p> <p>"Aren't you happy I thought of looting that guard back there?" Anne smirked, pulling the card from her side. "Han, would you do the honors?"</p> <p>"Sure thing, Annie." The hand said, crawling from Anne's shoulder to her palm. Anne grabbed Han by the wrist and gave him the card.</p> <p>"So what do you think about them?" Leora whispered, quiet enough so only Stacey could hear her.</p> <p>The girl, with her poor nerves shot, jumped and turned to Leora.</p> <p>"W- what?" She asked.</p> <p>"Hanne." Leora waved to the two. "What do you think of them."</p> <p>"Oh, um…" Stacey stuttered. Her mind was on anything but Anne and Han. Her mind was on the guard who looked as though he had his organs sucked out through his eye holes. "I- it's kinda funny, I- I guess."</p> <p>"Yeah." Leora nodded. "You know, Anne probably won't want Iris or anyone to know about them. We <em>could</em> promise to keep her secret in exchange for… privileges."</p> <p>"Uh huh." Stacey squeaked, unable to keep the tremble out of her voice.</p> <p>Leora didn't respond immediately, but after a few moments, she sighed and stepped into Stacey's direct view.</p> <p>"Hey…" She said with a sympathetic smile. "We'll be alright."</p> <p>Stacey looked at her, then to Anne, then back to Leora.</p> <p>"Did you see the guard?" Her throat was dry, making the words come out as a hoarse whisper.</p> <p>Leora's smile wavered as she broke eye contact. She quickly reestablished both though, failing to fully hide the fear that was inside her too.</p> <p>"I'm sure we'll find an exit before we stumble across whatever did that." She said more to herself then to Stacey. "And I'll protect us if we don't."</p> <p>A buzzing noise rang out, followed by a hissing sound as the door slid open.</p> <p>"See." Anne started. "Easy as- woah."</p> <p>Anne had started to walk through the door, but stopped dead in her tracks.</p> <p>"What the hell…" Han, who had crawled back up on Anne's shoulder, added.</p> <p>"What?" Leora asked, stepping forward.</p> <p>Stacey stayed close to Leora, not wanting to get too far away from anyone. As she got closer to the door, she was able to make out what was on the other side of it… and understood why Anne had stopped.</p> <p>The hallway which it led into was barely lit. Only a few emergency lights were illuminated on the wall, and even then they were dim. But what caught everyone's attention was the black liquid spread across almost the entirety of the floor. It looked almost like a thick oil, and even from here Stacey could smell a strong mustiness radiating from it.</p> <p>"What is that?" Leora said.</p> <p>"I don't know." Anne replied, covering her mouth and nose. "But it's rancid."</p> <p>"D- d-" Stacey tried speaking, but her throat was still dry. Swallowing, she tried again. "D- do you think it c- could be related to…" She couldn't even bring herself to finish the sentence.</p> <p>No one answered the girl.</p> <p>After a moment, Anne slowly stepped into the hall.</p> <p>"Anne!" Leora cried. "What are you-"</p> <p>"There's only one way for us to go." She replied, turning. "Obviously there's something down here with us, which means the quicker we find an exit, the quicker we'll be out of danger."</p> <p>"But the… whatever that is!" Leora pointed to the goop. "What if it's dangerous?"</p> <p>"Well… then… be ready to run I guess." Anne turned to Han. "You want off this ride?"</p> <p>"I'll follow you where ever."</p> <p>Looking back to the liquid, Anne took a deep breath. Then, raising her foot, she took a step forward.</p> <p>The gasp and unbalanced fall that followed made Stacey think that the liquid was deep and Anne had fallen in. And while Anne did indeed sink into the sludge, it only went up to her shin.</p> <p>"What is this?" She said, raising her foot. Black oil with the consistency of glue or malaises dripped off her shoe. From her angle, Stacey was able to see some kind of steam rising off of it.</p> <p>"What happened to the floor?" Leora asked, staring in awe.</p> <p>"I'm not sure." Anne replied, looking back.</p> <p>"I- is it safe?" Stacey added. "To step in?"</p> <p>Anne brought her hand down to her ankle and scrapped some of the sludge onto her finger.</p> <p>"I mean, it's warm and stings a little. But it looks safe." With that, Anne stepped back into the sludge and waded a few feet out. "Only one way to go."</p> <p>Leora walked up to the sludge and, after a moment of hesitation, stepped in. Hot steam rolled up to her nose. "God this is disgusting." She said, gagging.</p> <p>Stacey, already smelling the rot and must, was reluctant to follow Leora into the liquid. But as the girl trudged behind Anne, Stacey couldn't help but grow more anxious as the proximity between her and other people increased.</p> <p><em>Dammit.</em> She thought, looking down at the sludge. Covering her mouth and nose, Stacey raised her foot and took a step forward. At first it felt like stepping into mud, with her leg sinking into the goop only stopped by the compression of the near-liquid mass. Then a dull burning began stinging any bare skin it had come in contact with. As Anne had said, it was noticeable, but not painful.</p> <p>The smell, on the other hand, was as painful as smell could be. Stacey had once found a half decomposed fox behind her house once. That had smelled like peaches and flowers compared to the stench billowing up from the sludge.</p> <p>Stacey gagged as Leora did, but went a step further and actually started to dry heave. The two women looked back at her as tears filled her eyes.</p> <p>"You good?" Anne asked.</p> <p>Stacey let out a few more coughs, before wiping her eyes and looking up.</p> <p>"It reeks." She said, trying her hardest to only breath through her mouth.</p> <p>"You should smell an Insurgency barracks." Anne turned to Han, still clinging to her shoulder. "Hang on, I don't think you'll want to fall in."</p> <p>Han's fingers tightened around Anne, before the woman continued walking forward. Leora and Stacey followed close behind.</p> <p>Walking through the liquid was no easy feat. Stacey realized the mud analogy she used earlier was more accurate than she had thought. Each step was a struggle, which was odd since the consistency was lighter than that of <em>actual</em> mud.</p> <p>Stacey looked a head of the group to the edge of the sludge. It must've been about twenty or so feet. Gritting her teeth, she did her best to ignore the warm steam tickling her nostril.</p> <p>She had gotten about seven feet into the pool when a sudden sense of dread overwhelmed her. It was as if a hole had suddenly burned in her stomach, and all the water in her throat and mouth had evaporated. Stacey had been anxious and afraid before, but this was straight terror.</p> <p>As Stacey began to wonder where this feeling came from, the slightest, subtlest noise reached her ear. It was the most muted sound of a single slosh she had ever heard. She probably would've written it off as it simply being apart of her imagination, but something about it made her turn around.</p> <p>There, standing in the liquid behind her, was a humanoid figure. It was too dark to see any real detail about it, but three things stood out.</p> <p>First was that its skin was covered in the very same black oil that made up the pool. It dripped from its fingers and chin and ran down its body like wet paint on a wall. Second was the chapped-lipped mouth, which was crooked up into an unnaturally large and malevolent smile. Third were the eyes, which had the same black liquid streaming down the at corners like tears. They were also inverted in color, with the irises being a void black and the pupils a stark white.</p> <p>Identical to the eyes Stacey kept seeing in her dream.</p> <p>The girl screamed and fell backwards into the sludge. It splattered across her clothes and arms as she landed in it, going all the way up past her shoulders.</p> <p>The creature, meanwhile, simply laughed. It was a shrill, feminine laugh that sent chills down Stacey's back. Then, it effortlessly began strutting over to the girl, appearing to be unimpeded by the consistency of the pool. Unlike Stacey, who tried desperately to move, found her arms and legs fighting against the oil.</p> <p>As the monster approached, Stacey stared aghast at the unholy entity. She had known that the anomalous world was full of horrors, but nothing could have prepared her for the paralyzing fear just looking at this thing produced. The creature extended a thin, boney, and rotten arm to Stacey in an attempt to grab her. She didn't even have the mental capacity to comprehend accepting death.</p> <p>But before the monster could reach her, the room filled with a brilliant orange and yellow light. The creature responded by raising its hands to its head, covering its eyes and still preventing Stacey to get a good look at its face.</p> <p>It let out a high pitched groan, stepped backwards, and quickly submerged into the pool.</p> <p>"Move!"</p> <p>Stacey, still petrified and staring at where the monster had retreated, couldn't tell who had yelled. But after a second, she felt a pair of hands grab her under the shoulders and heave her to her feet.</p> <p>Turning, she saw that Anne had been the one who pulled her up. Leora, on the other hand, had reilluminated her spear and shield to a brightness Stacey had never seen before. The weapons burned in Leora's hands, and Stacey could've sworn they flamed and flicked identically to the sun.</p> <p>Grabbing Stacey's hand, Anne began dragging her through the liquid. The three girls ran as fast as they could, though it was still hard given the pool's consistency. Stacey looked between everyone. Anne's eyes were locked on the exit door, Han was holding onto Anne's shoulder even tighter than before, and Leora seemed to be scanning the liquid as though something could jump out at any moment.</p> <p>It took a few seconds, but eventually the group made it to the edge and jumped out. Without wasting any time, Anne lead them to the door and slammed the button next to it. It opened, and they all practically pushed themselves through.</p> <p>The other room was just as dark as the one they just came from. Fortunately, though, there was no black liquid. Seeing this break, Anne stopped and turned around. She ordered Leora to do the same, who obeyed.</p> <p>They all stood in silence and on guard for about a minute, staring at the door leading back to the black liquid. Stacey wasn't sure what they were waiting for, but was still too shaken from the experience to ask. She did noticed that, despite everyone panting from just sprinting through that mud, Leora was breathing significantly heavier than everyone else.</p> <p>After a few minutes, Anne turned to the rest of the group.</p> <p>"Ok." She said. "I think it's gone."</p> <p>Leora let out a deep breath and fell to her knees, panting heavily. The bright light that had been illuminating from her weapons faded to almost nothing as her weapons dulled to near transparency.</p> <p>"You good?" Anne asked, seeing this.</p> <p>Leora didn't reply immediately, instead lifting up an index finger to ask for a moment.</p> <p>"That…" She exhaled. "Was… tiring…"</p> <p>"Running through that goop stuff?" Anne replied. "I think you're out of shape."</p> <p>Leora shook her head. "This." She pointed to the spear and shield. "The brighter… the more energy… it takes…"</p> <p>"Well don't use up all your juice at once!" Han said just as Anne opened her mouth (probably to say the exact same thing). "It seemed like that thing didn't like the light. We'll need you if we come across it again."</p> <p>"Speaking of…" Anne said, turning to Stacey. "Are you ok?"</p> <p>Stacey didn't respond. She just stared blanky up at Anne, her mouth slightly agape.</p> <p>"Stacey?"</p> <p>"…I- I…" She stuttered out. Then she made a noise that was somewhere between a gasp and a cry. A hand shot over her mouth and her knees buckled as tears began streaming down her face. Her nerves were so utterly shot that she didn't even make any noise.</p> <p>"Go check on Leora."</p> <p>A thud echoed out as Han jumped off Anne's shoulder and scuttered across the room. Anne then knelt down beside Stacey and placed a hand over her shoulder.</p> <p>"W- w- w-"</p> <p>"Take your time." Anne said softly.</p> <p>Stacey let out a few more sobs before trying again.</p> <p>"W- what… was that?"</p> <p>"I'm not sure." Anne replied in the kindest tone Stacey had ever heard her in. "I'm not sure."</p> <p>No one spoke for a long time after that. Leora had clearly exhausted herself radically, as it took several minutes for just the heavy breathing to stop. Stacey, on the other hand, was finding it impossible to do much of anything. If it wasn't for the body wide trembling, she'd think she'd had been paralyzed.</p> <p>Eventually, though, Leora regained her breath, and Stacey's shaking died down enough to reliably move her limbs. Anne helped the girl to her feet, before taking a step back and looking at the group as a whole.</p> <p>"Ok guys…" She started. "There is some good news to come from this. It seems like we found out what's been rampaging around down here, and it looks like it hates light. Which is perfect, because we have someone who can summon light from her finger tips. How much energy you running on?"</p> <p>"If I need to brighten up, I can." Leora replied, exhaling once as she spoke.</p> <p>"Good. For now, save as much as you can. If we come in contact with that thing again, you'll know what to do."</p> <p>Leora nodded. Stacey let out a sniff, which caused Anne to look at her.</p> <p>"Alright, here's how we're going to go forward. Leora, you lead. Keep an eye out for that monster and use your light if we you see it. Stacey, you're in the middle between me and Leora. I'll be in back and watch our behind. Han, you stay on my shoulder and be another pair of eyes for me. Got it?"</p> <p>"Gotcha, Annie." Han said, crawling to the woman and climbing her leg.</p> <p>"We'll stick close and we'll stick together. Hopefully, we'll find an exit or at least a way to call for help. Got it?"</p> <p>Both Leora and Stacey nodded.</p> <p>"Good. Leora, take it away."</p> <p>"Right." Leora said, stepping forward.</p> <p>Stacey followed her as they two passed Anne. Once they did, Anne took her place behind Stacey and placed a hand on her shoulder.</p> <p>"We'll be alright." She whispered.</p> <p>Despite Anne's outward positivity, Stacey could tell she had spoken to herself more than anyone.</p> <hr/> <p><em>New blood. New faces.</em></p> <p><em>No. Old faces. Friends.</em></p> <p><em>Friends of the one who no longer matters. Friends of the woman locked away.</em></p> <p><em>Memory is a powerful thing.</em></p> <p><em>But light is stronger.</em></p> <p><em>Light burns and singes and blinds and cuts and hurts. How can one eat when one has light?</em></p> <p><em>Bury the light. Extinguish the light. Snuff the light.</em></p> <p><em>But how?</em></p> <p><em>Dark pits and shadow drowns light.</em></p> <p><em>Sever the hands and the light shall fall.</em></p> <p><em>Sever the hands within the wall.</em></p> <p>The creature smiled wickedly to itself.</p> <p><em>Sever the hands and feast on all.</em></p> <hr/> <p>With each hallway passed and no sign of the monster, Stacey's confidence grew. Granted, she was still trembling like a wet dog, but her eyes had long since dried and her breathing had almost returned to normal.</p> <p>"Alright." Leora said, motioning to the group. Stacey, Anne, and Han made their way into the next room once Leora confirmed there was no black sludge or monster.</p> <p>It was a four way intersection, something they had come across more times than Stacey could count. In fact, it was starting to frustrate her how endless Heavy Containment seemed. She could only hope that Anne was right, and that going in a straight line would <em>eventually</em> lead to a set of stairs or an elevator that wasn't broken at the-</p> <p>"Hold on." Anne said, causing even to stop dead. "Look."</p> <p>Stacey looked to where Anne was pointing. It was to the door to their right, though Stacey could see why it had piqued Anne's interest. The door was a slightly brighter color than the other black/gray doors surrounding them, and unlike the other doors, this one had a key pad next to it.</p> <p>"It needs a card." Anne added.</p> <p>"I- is it an exit?" Stacey asked.</p> <p>"I'm not sure." Anne replied. "It doesn't look like a checkpoint, which I'd assume all the gates have."</p> <p>"Then what is it?" Leora piped up.</p> <p>Anne shrugged before turning to her. "Want to find out?"</p> <p>Leora stood still for a moment, before slowly making her way to the door. Anne handed her the key card as she passed.</p> <p>"Ok." Leora whispered. "Please be an exit."</p> <p>A metallic humming echoed around the room as she slid the card through the pad. Then, a second later, the door slid open. Bright, white light poured out into the hallway, blinding Stacey who had become so accustomed to the darkness of Heavy Containment.</p> <p>"Jesus!" A voice cried from the room. "Knock next time. I nearly took your head off."</p> <p><em>That sounds like…</em></p> <p>Stacey squinted and looked into the room. Sure enough, a GenSec guard was standing on the other side of the doorway.</p> <p>"Oh thank god." Stacey exhaled.</p> <p>The guard looked at the group with an expression hidden by his visor. He was standing behind a table, and in his arms was some kind of short barrel rifle pointed towards them.</p> <p>"Who the hell are you?" He asked, lowering the gun.</p> <p>Leora began to speak first.</p> <p>"We're-"</p> <p>"We're anomalies from Light Containment." Anne stepped in front of her, clearly wanting to be the one to speak.</p> <p>"Light Containment?" The guard replied in disbelief. "How did you guys get down here?"</p> <p>"It's a long story." Anne said in her best <em>friendly but urgent</em> tone. "Look, we need your help to get out of here… and up to Light." She added, pointing up.</p> <p>The guard just laughed at this, placed his gun on the table, and sat in a chair. Anne blinked in mild confusion, before motioning for Stacey and Leora to follow her into the room. Once everyone was inside, the guard waved his hand at a button on the wall. Leora pressed it, and the door closed behind them.</p> <p>"I'd offer you something to eat or drink, but armories only keep guns and bullets."</p> <p><em>This is an armory?</em> Stacey wondered, looking around. Sure enough, lockers and crates and ammo boxes surrounded the room.</p> <p>"We don't have time for any of that." Leora snapped. "There's a monster running around down here and we need to get out now."</p> <p>"You think I don't know that?" The guard replied, straightening. "You think I don't know there's something here with us?"</p> <p>"Why haven't you recontained it? Where's the rest of GenSec?"</p> <p>"We were understaffed tonight." The guard began. "We're always low on numbers during holidays, even ones like Halloween. Plus, some event up in Light Containment took a lot of the guards that were stationed down here. So the short answer to why that thing is still at large is because we didn't have the numbers to properly recontain it."</p> <p>The guard then shifted uncomfortably in his seat, changing from a straightened position to having his arms folded with a slight slouch.</p> <p>"The long answer is that that thing is something straight from a fucking nightmare. When we got word that a highly dangerous anomaly breached, me and my squad geared up to go contain and… it didn't go well. I'm the only one left."</p> <p>"I- it killed an entire GenSec squad?" Stacey whimpered.</p> <p>The guard grimaced at the word "killed," but he nodded.</p> <p>"What's your name?" Anne asked.</p> <p>"Davis." The guard said.</p> <p>"Ok, Davis. How did you get… here?" Anne waved around the room.</p> <p>"Our first encounter with that thing left only five of us standing. That's when we realized we were in way over our heads and called a retreat. We were hoping to make it to the command center, but that thing kept following us, picking us off one by one as we tried to run. At one point we got to a set of stairs going up the site, but a bunch of black mucus or something was covering the steps. One of our guys stepped into it to try and go up the stairs, and he fell completely through. It was right outside these doors that the last guy was taken. I decided to run in here and hunker down for some kind of glorious last stand, but the thing never came."</p> <p>"Probably because of the light." Han said. "We found that the creature is really sensitive to it."</p> <p>Davis looked at the hand clinging to Anne's shoulder.</p> <p>"Did the hand just talk?"</p> <p>"Why isn't the breach alarm going off?" Anne asked.</p> <p>Davis shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. I'm assuming that creature is messing with our comms or something. I haven't been able to so much as radio anyone, let alone get a message to the rest of the site."</p> <p>"So what you're saying is no one's coming." Anne placed a hand on her chin and sat in a nearby seat.</p> <p>"Unfortunately."</p> <p>Everyone sat in silence for several moments, during which Stacey's eyes frantically darted between Anne and Davis.</p> <p>"Have you tried leaving Heavy?" Leora asked.</p> <p>"Yeah. I told you about the stairs being covered in that bottomless pit soup. As for the elevators, I haven't been able to reach them. They're too far from here anyways. I would've been caught if I tried to run towards them."</p> <p>"H- how many e- elevators are there?" Stacey stuttered. "B- because ours broke."</p> <p>"Oh yeah." Anne said, looking up. "Are there any elevators besides the one in that direction? Because that one's rail broke."</p> <p>"How in the…" Davis rubbed his temple. "I mean, yes, there's another elevator set, but it's all the way on the other side of the site. We'd never make it."</p> <p>"Shit." Stacey whispered.</p> <p>"Ok, ok… how about calling for help?" Leora said. "I know you said your radio wasn't working, but there <em>has</em> to be a way to contact <em>someone</em> for help."</p> <p>Davis looked down in thought.</p> <p>"I mean, there's the command center. That's the best bet at getting our hands on a computer that'll be able to send a message up to Light. But like I said, it's too far away."</p> <p>"Well we have to try something!" Leora blurted, no longer able to keep in her quiet frustration. "We can't just… sit here and wait for that thing to kill us! How far away is it?"</p> <p>"A few hallways over." Davis replied.</p> <p>"We can make it." Leora said, holding out her arms. Davis stood in surprise when bright light began to manifest around her. "I can keep it away from us."</p> <p>"You can summon light?"</p> <p>Leora nodded.</p> <p>"Well…" Davis smiled. "This changes things then."</p> <p>Anne stood with Davis's new found optimism.</p> <p>"You've got a plan?"</p> <p>"I think so." Davis replied. "If you can keep that monster at bay with your light, then we can probably reach the command center. There, I can send an SOS to Light. Then, all we have to do is wait."</p> <p>"I like that idea." Anne said, stepping beside him. "What do you guys think?"</p> <p>Leora, the frustration appearing to have completely dissipated, nodded. Stacey also nodded, though not nearly as cheery or optimistic as anyone else in the room.</p> <p>"Alright, we have a plan then." Anne said, turning to Davis. "Lead the way."</p> <hr/> <p>"So what do you know about the monster?" Anne asked as the group made their way through the room.</p> <p>"Not much." Davis replied, slinking over to the door. "Only that it was transferred from Light Containment."</p> <p>"Wait wait wait." Leora said, light illuminating from her hands. "That thing used to be in <em>Light</em>?"</p> <p>The guard shrugged as the opened the door.</p> <p>Stacey, Leora, and Anne all looked at each other. Hearing that this thing used to be in Light confused them, and made them wonder how they hadn't heard of it sooner.</p> <p>Davis was the first into the hallway, rifle raised as he crept in.</p> <p>"Clear." He called after scanning the area. Leora, Stacey, Anne, and Han entered the next room in that order. Once they were all inside, Davis lowered his stance and placed a hand on his hip. "Here we are. The command center."</p> <p>The door leading to it had a red streak on it, indicating its high level clearance. Davis walked up to the keypad next to the door and swiped his card through it.</p> <p>"Dammit." He whispered as a red light appeared on the console. "It must be on lockdown."</p> <p>"What does that mean?" Leora asked.</p> <p>"It means this dinky little guard card ain't getting us in there."</p> <p>"That doesn't make sense." Leora continued. "We were able to get through checkpoints just fine."</p> <p>"Well, the Commander Center is going to need a higher level of clearance." Davis turned to them. "So unless one of you has a level 4 key on you, we aren't getting in."</p> <p>"So that's it?" Leora said frustrated. "We just give up?"</p> <p>"I'm open to suggestions."</p> <p>"Anne…" Leora turned to the woman. "You were with the Insurgency right? Didn't they teach you some… I don't know… trick to bypassing security?"</p> <p>"Cracking a Foundation door is no easy task. And with lockdown in place?" Anne replied. "I'd need a day minimum."</p> <p>Leora placed a hand over her head and began pacing.</p> <p>"Come on, guys. There's got to be something we can do."</p> <p>Stacey's eyes began wandering around the room, partially to look for someway to help but mostly to make sure the monster wasn't sneaking up on them. As her eyes gazed, though, they landed on a small air duct hanging from the ceiling.</p> <p>"What about the ventilation?" Stacey asked.</p> <p>"What?" Leora said as everyone turned to her.</p> <p>"The ventilation." She repeated, pointing to the duct. "I- is it possible to get inside the room from there?"</p> <p>"I mean, yeah…" Davis looked up at the vent. "But it's only a few inches wide. I don't think any of us are squeezing in there."</p> <p>The group stood in silence, before all slowly turning to Han.</p> <p>"Well well well…" Han said in a rather proud tone. "Looks like it's up to me to save the day. Give me a boost, Annie."</p> <p>Anne obeyed, walking over to right below the vent and holding her hand up as high as she could. Han jumped from her palm and clung to the grate.</p> <p>"How do you plan on-" Leora was cut off as Han wiggled the grate loose, causing it to swing open. "…opening it."</p> <p>A light thudding echoed around the room as Han crawled into the vent. The thudding got softer as Han went further into the vent, before fading out entirely.</p> <p>After about a minute, a green light appeared on the keypad, followed by the door sliding open. Han was standing at the base of the doorway, holding himself in a way that, despite being just a hand, was proud of himself.</p> <p>"Easy as that." Han said, jumping and crawling up Anne as she got close.</p> <p>Stacey looked around the Command Center when she stepped inside. Like Davis had predicted, it was totally empty. There wasn't any blood or corpses, but no Foundation staff either. The room itself was octangular, with computers lining the walls and a few in the center.</p> <p>"Watch the door." Davis said, hurrying over to one of the consoles. "And keep an eye for black rot."</p> <p>Leora stood at the door, her light weapons dully illuminating in her hands. Anne and Han paced around the room, looking around the Command Center's interior. Stacey, meanwhile, found a chair in front of one of the computers and took a seat.</p> <p>"Say…" Anne said, stopping and pointing at the screen right beside her. "What's with the shitty video quality?"</p> <p>Stacey looked over. The screen Anne was talking about looked like some security camera feed. It was of a hallway, at least that's what Stacey assumed. The quality was horrible, being all staticky and low resolution.</p> <p>"Lower quality is easier to process, encrypt, and store." Davis said, not looking from his computer.</p> <p>Anne nodded, before getting back to pacing.</p> <p>Stacey took the down time to exhale.</p> <p><em>We'll be fine.</em> She thought to herself. <em>Davis is sending out a distress signal, they'll send someone down to get us out, and we'll be fine.</em></p> <p>Her eye's wandered to the computer screen in front of her as she thought this. That's when she noticed that the computer was on. The screen was black, but that illuminated black when the actual computer is on. In the middle of the screen were gray two lines. It looked like… the paused logo? Like it was a video.</p> <p>Without thinking, Stacey reached down and pressed the space bar on the computer.</p> <p>A high pitched humming came from the computer as the video began. This caught the attention of everyone, as Anne, Han, and Leora turned to the screen. Davis glanced over too, but quickly got back to typing.</p> <p>Stacey jerked back slightly, wondering if what she just did was wrong.</p> <p>Then, white words appeared on screen, reading <em>Level 4 Restricted.</em> The screen itself was flickering with tiny white line and cracks, and the resolution couldn't have been higher than 360p. It was as though Stacey was watching on old VHS recording.</p> <p>"This file is restricted to level 4 personnel only." A robotic voice said. "If you do not have authorization to view this file, discard it and report to your superior immediately."</p> <p>Stacey, frightened by this, reached out to repress the pause button.</p> <p>"Wait."</p> <p>She stopped as Anne, who was now directly beside her, grabbed her hand.</p> <p>"Anne, we're not allowed to-"</p> <p>"Wait."</p> <p>After a moment, a different set of white words appeared, this time reading <em>Document 01: Nature of <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-106">SCP-106</a>.</em></p> <p>"Do you know which one that is?" Stacey asked, turning to Anne. Anne shook her head.</p> <p>Suddenly, the screen changed to a man sitting at a table in a dark room. Shadow covered the man's face, but the outlines of a white lab coat were visible around his torso.</p> <p>"Document 106-49. Date of recording, November 6th, 2022. Recorder, doctor ██████, level 4 personnel. Leaving dead space." The man shifted in his seat. "Following <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/a-nightmare-on-17th-street">Incident 239-17-10/31/2022</a>, we were able to gather information that may give us insight into the nature of SCP-106. Thanks to █████████████████ as well as testimonies from SCP objects affected by Incident 239-17-10/31/2022, we're able to know that SCP-106 was temporarily 'freed' from its current condition. Specifically, after intervention by SCP-███."</p> <p>Footsteps echoed in Stacey's right ear as Leora walked up next to her. The screen flickered as it appeared to glitch out for a second.</p> <p>"SCP-███ is a know infovore, and it's ability to affect SCP-106 in such a way gives us two pieces of information unknown to us before. Firstly, it shows that SCP-███'s infovoric capabilities far exceed what was previously believed. Because of its necessity for ███ █████-█ as well as its apparent ignorance to the extent of its properties, no measures are to be taken outside of increased surveillance. The second discovery from this incident is the potential nature of SCP-106. Because it was able to be temporarily neutralized by SCP-███, a known infovore, it is currently theorized that SCP-106 is a form of infosite."</p> <p>Anne made intrigued "huh" sound. Stacey glanced at her, but Anne just waved for her to keep watching.</p> <p>"If this theory is correct, then it would be ground breaking to our understanding of SCP-106, as well as open potential avenues to cure the host of the parasitic infection. The infectious enitity currently possessing SCP-106 has been referred to by site staff as 'the Rot,' mainly for its corrosive nature. The commissioning of a body to study the Rot independently of SCP-106 is currently being organized by the O5 council."</p> <p>The screen flickered to black. After a moment, the words <em>Document 02: Timeline of SCP-███'s Infection</em> blinked onto the monitor.</p> <p>"The following is a list of incident reports compiled to formulate a timeline of recent events for your convenience. These reports have been summarized. For access to the full reports, see ████████." A robotic voice spoke as corresponding words appeared on screen.</p> <p>A second later, the screen changed to a wall of text slowly crawling down the monitor. Stacey recognized the format as basic incident reports.</p> <p>"Incident 239-17-10/31/2022." The same robot voice said. "██████████. During this, SCP-106 captured multiple SCP objects. While in the pocket dimension, SCP-███ encountered SCP-106 and temporarily 'freed' it, allowing the now conscious ████████ to free the captured anomalies. See Document 106-49 for more information. Following this event, SCP-███ complained of having nightmares relating to SCP-106 and the encounter. These dreams ceased after a month.</p> <p>"Incident ███-07-10/01/2023. SCP-███ claimed to have had a dream relating to Incident 239-17-10312022. It should be noted that SCP-███ has not experienced this nightmare in nearly a year. SCP-███ claims that the dream was more vivid than before. Both SCP-███ and SCP-106 are to be monitored in the event the nightmare is anomalous in nature.</p> <p>"Incident ███-08-10/08/2023. After a week of checkups and observation, SCP-███ claims it has not experienced the dream referenced in Incident ███-07-10012023 following that one night.</p> <p>"Incident ███-09-10/16/2023. SCP-███ reports to the infirmary for medication. It claims it had been experiencing a mild headache for the past several days, but had attempted to 'tough it out.' After a week, however, it decided to seek medication. Ibuprofen was distributed.</p> <p>"Incident ███-10-10/18/2023. SCP-███ reports to the infirmary, complaining of chronic headaches, as well as an increase in severity. It was given more medication, before being sent out.</p> <p>"Incident ███-11-10/21/2023. SCP-███ is found unconscious in the training room by SCP-████. SCP-████ is able to wake SCP-███, who expresses confusion and mild disorientation. SCP-███ is then taken to the infirmary, where signs of dehydration are present. SCP-███ expresses that the lack of hydration must be the cause for the loss of consciousness, as well as its recent head aches. SCP-███ is released from the infirmary.</p> <p>"Incident ███-12-10/24/2023. SCP-███ stumbles into the infirmary, expressing that it has a severe head ache, as well as severe stomach pains. SCP-███ is properly admitted to the infirmary.</p> <p>"Incident ███-13-10/26/2023. Data expunged.</p> <p>"Incident ███-14-10/27/2023. Data expunged.</p> <p>"Incident ███-15-10/28/2023. Data expunged.</p> <p>"Incident ███-16-10/29/2023. Data expunged.</p> <p>"Incident ███-17-10/30/2023. SCP-███ has been transferred to Heavy Containment in a temporary containment unit. While not as potent or powerful as SCP-106, SCP-███ is still displaying many signs similar to the former object. The Overseer council, the director of Site-19, and the lead researcher for SCP-106 have been contacted. To avoid mass panic, the incidents that took place in the infirmary are not to be made known to the SCP objects in Light Containment. This includes SCP objects that are on ███ █████-█."</p> <p>And with that, the video ended. The screen had gone back to the illuminated black it had been before the video played. Stacey was just barely able to see everyone's reflection in the monitor. Leora gave a confused looked, before stepping back towards the door. Anne, on the other hand, had gone pale.</p> <p>"What is it?" Stacey asked, turning to her.</p> <p>Anne didn't respond immediately, instead continuing to stare at the screen.</p> <p>"Remember when Davis said the monster was transferred from Light Containment?" She whispered.</p> <p>"What? Um… yeah."</p> <p>"Do you know what an infovore is?"</p> <p>"I- I think." Stacey stuttered. "They're like… psychic or something, right?"</p> <p>"Close." Anne replied, now looking at the girl. "We're individuals capable of rapidly processing and manipulating information. Basically, we have really good memories, can read minds, and to some extent twist both. Infosites are mental parasites that attach themselves to infovores. It's a bit complicated, but in laymen's terms, they use the infovores own mental capabilities to manipulate the host."</p> <p>"O- ok." Stacey said. "Why are you telling me this?"</p> <p>"Infosites can spread and reproduce in many ways…" Anne continued. "But the most effective is direct mental contact between an infected host and an uninfected infovore."</p> <p>"So?"</p> <p>"Stacey… the monster that's down here is an infovore from Light Containment that's been infected by an infosite. Tell me, who from Light Containment is an infovore that was admitted to the infirmary a week ago and no one has seen sense?"</p> <p>"How many infovores are there? Just you and-" Stacey stopped dead as it hit her.</p> <p><em>No.</em> She thought. <em>That can't be it.</em></p> <p>Her attention was pulled away from her thoughts as a loud static sound made her jump. Turning, she saw that the monitor had changed to static, before flicking to what looked like security camera feed. In fact, it was the same CCTV footage Anne had complained about earlier. Though something was different this time.</p> <p>The quality was still terrible, but Stacey could see in the feed a dark figure standing off in the hallway. Not being able to make out what it was, she squinted and leaned in closer.</p> <p>The feed cycled, and the figure was closer to the camera. Still, Stacey couldn't make out what is was, though she could take a pretty good guess.</p> <p>Again the video updated, and now the figure was standing right below the camera. This time, Stacey could perceive its humanoid shape and its head looking up at the camera. Two white dots laid in the figure's void of a silhouette. Stacey felt herself grow cold as the figure slowly-</p> <p>"Watch out!" Anne yelled.</p> <p>Stacey felt a hand grab her shoulder and yank her back, pulling her clean out of her chair. Just in the nick of time, too, as at the very moment Stacey fell back, a thin black arm shot out of the computer screen. The hand grasped at the spot where Stacey's head had been a moment earlier.</p> <p>Anne pulled Stacey close, both of them quickly backing up as the hand, after realizing its prey had escaped, pressed against the side of the monitor. Then, a second arm extended out of the screen and grabbed the opposite side. Finally, a head pushed its way through. The red emergency lights of the room, while dim, were bright enough to allow Stacey to actually see the face of the monster that had been hunting them. And sure enough…</p> <p>"Oh my god." Leora said. "Iris?"</p> <p>Despite the radically different appearance, there was no mistaking that poorly cut dirty blonde hair or the large scar that ran across her face. Like before, the mouth was crooked into a wicked grin, and the eyes were an inverted color. A black oil-like substance covered Iris's face and body, but it was most prominent around her eyes and down a tear-like track on her cheeks.</p> <p>"Iris…" Anne whispered. "What happened?"</p> <p>Iris, or the creature pretending to be Iris, opened her mouth.</p> <p>"Don't like the new look?"</p> <p>The sound sent chills down Stacey's spine. It sounded <em>like</em> Iris, but with a demonic undertone and a demeanor that was anything <em>but</em> Iris.</p> <p>As though suddenly remembering her purpose, Leora strengthened her light and illuminated the room. Iris, in response, leapt out of the screen and dove into the floor. An black spot appeared where Iris had landed.</p> <p>"Huddle up!" Anne yelled, pulling Stacey even closer and moving to Leora. Davis, who had been paying close attention, sprinted next to the group.</p> <p>"Keep an eye on any solid surface!" The guard shouted, raising his rifle. "It can pop out of any wall, floor, or ceiling!"</p> <p>A feminine laughed echoed around the room, which alone was enough to make Stacey whimper in fear.</p> <p>"Don't waste all your energy." Han said, shifting himself to face Leora.</p> <p>Leora, who was starting to sweat, nodded.</p> <p>"Did you send out the distress?" Anne asked.</p> <p>"Yeah." Davis said. "I sent it out."</p> <p>"What do we do?!" Stacey cried, trying her best to ignore the slushing sound coming from the walls.</p> <p>"We just need to stick together." Anne replied. "Leora, keep your light on. Davis, do you know where the Foundation will come from? Maybe we can meet them there."</p> <p>"They'll most likely come from the stairs."</p> <p>"Ok… alright…" Anne panted. "If we stay in a group and stay in Leora's light, we should be able to make it there safely. Now, everyone move together."</p> <p>As a group, they all began slowly making their way to the door. Leora, deciding it was best for her to stay in the center, stepped to the side and allowed Davis to go first. The guard crept through, rifle still raised. Then Leora herself walked through, before stopping and beckoning the last two to come.</p> <p>Stacey let out a shaky breath as she walked through the door, stopping next to Leora. Anne, with Han on her shoulder, followed.</p> <p>"Ok. We'll form a triangle. Leora, you stay in the middle and cover as much space with light as you can without getting tired. Davis, you lead the way. Me and Stacey will follow side by side." Anne looked down at Stacey. "Ok?"</p> <p>She nodded.</p> <p>"Alright." Anne finished as everyone got into their positions. "Stay close, stay in the light."</p> <p>Turning, Anne motioned for everyone to start moving. And everyone did… except Stacey. As the group took their first steps forward, Stacey found she wasn't able to raise her feet from the ground. Looking down, her eyes widened as she saw herself ankle deep and sinking into a small pool of the black liquid.</p> <p>"Wait!" Stacey yelled. Everyone, but most importantly Leora, stopped.</p> <p>But it had been just enough. The immediate light around Stacey just been just dim enough to allow Iris to pounce. Something Stacey realized as a pair of black arms wrapped around her body.</p> <p>"Gotcha!" Iris said in a malevolent playfulness.</p> <p>Stacey screamed as she felt herself get dragged back. A mild burning sensation covered the lower half of her body as she began to be pulled into the wall.</p> <p>"Stacey!" Anne and Leora yelled, both leaping into action.</p> <p>Anne was the first to reach Stacey, grabbing her by the arms and pulling. It slowed Stacey down, but still she crept into the black mass that had formed on the wall. Leora and Davis quickly arrived, both grabbing onto the back of Anne and aiding her in pulling Stacey.</p> <p>With now three people pulling, Stacey felt herself stop completely.</p> <p>"Don't let go!" She cried, her vision blurring from tears that had formed in her eyes.</p> <p>"We won't!" Leora replied. She was only able to pull using one hand, as the other was used to maintain a ball of light.</p> <p>Stacey could feel the force at her legs, pulling her in. But she also felt the immense effort by Anne, Leora, and Davis, keeping her from being pulled in. After a few moments of struggling, Stacey felt herself actually begin to be pulled <em>out.</em></p> <p>"It's working!" She said, almost laughing. This was short lived as she felt Iris peek her head out of the wall just above her. Although she wasn't able to see Iris's face, she could tell the monster was pissed.</p> <p>"Anne." Iris growled. "Let. Go."</p> <p>Anne looked up at Iris, and for a moment a shimmer appeared in her eyes. Then, a look of absolute horror appeared on her face as she became bone white.</p> <p>A moment later, Anne let go entirely.</p> <p>Stacey let out a scream as she shot into the wall, but it was quickly cut off as everything went black.</p> <hr/> <p>A slight pain ran up Leora's body as she fell back on her ass. For a moment, a sense of relief swelled in her as she assumed they had successfully pulled Stacey back. Perhaps Iris had given up the fight after a minute.</p> <p>However, as Leora sat up and looked around to find no Stacey, that relief soured into apprehension.</p> <p>"Stacey?" She said, hoping the girl was simply out of her view. "Stacey?!"</p> <p>"She's gone." Davis said, brushing himself off. "That thing took her."</p> <p>"No…" Leora stood. "No! We had her! We-"</p> <p>Slowly Leora's eyes fell onto Anne. She was sitting on the ground, staring at the black mass where Stacey had been a minute ago.</p> <p>"What did you do?!" Leora demanded, hurrying over to Anne. "Why did you let go?!"</p> <p>Anne didn't respond. She just continued to stare at the wall, though now Leora could see Anne's mouth was open in awe. The pale facial expression she wore implied she had just witnessed something petrifying.</p> <p>"We have to save her!" Leora said, running towards the sludge trailing down the wall. "We have to get her back before it's too-"</p> <p>Leora was cut off as she rammed face first into the wall. Disorientated, she wobbled backwards before regaining her footing. Staring at the mass, she placed her hand against it and pushed, but only a wall stood behind the thin layer of oil.</p> <p>"No! Fuck!" She punched the wall then turned back to Anne. "Why did you let go?!"</p> <p>Again Anne didn't respond. All she did was sit there and stare in horror at the spot where Stacey was taken.</p> <p>"We have to find her!" Leora stated, turning to Davis.</p> <p>"How?" The guard asked.</p> <p>"I… I don't know! She had to have taken Stacey somewhere! We just need to find where!"</p> <p>Davis shook his head. "Leora, I really hate to tell you this, but Stacey is-"</p> <p>"No she isn't!" Leora yelled. "She- she can't be! We can't let her! I can't let her! We just have to find her!"</p> <p>"Leora, that thing killed an entire squad of trained, fully geared GenSec agents. Even if Stacey is still alive, it's unlikely we'd be able to save her."</p> <p>"We have to try! We have to!"</p> <p>"Leora, all rushing in will do is get us killed." Davis folded his arms and leaned against the wall. "Now I managed to send out a message to Light Containment. MTF should be on its way. We should let them take care of this."</p> <p>"How long until they get here?"</p> <p>Davis didn't respond.</p> <p>"Well Davis? How long until they get here?!"</p> <p>"Hard to say."</p> <p>"Which is code for a long time! Stacey won't last that long! We need to find her now!"</p> <p>"We. Can't. Fight. That. Thing. Leora. It walked through machine gun fire like it was a squirt gun. And don't tell me your light will stop it. At best your light annoys it."</p> <p>"We have to try! We have to do something!" Leora's voice began to quiver. "That thing is our friend! Something has control over her. Maybe we can talk to it and get Iris to-"</p> <p>"That's not Iris."</p> <p>Leora went silent as she turned to Anne, who was still pale face and staring at the wall.</p> <p>"What?"</p> <p>"That's not Iris." Anne looked up at her.</p> <p>"What do you mean that's not Iris? We saw her!"</p> <p>"I… I…" Anne exhaled and wet her mouth. "When I was holding onto Stacey that… thing reached out to me with its mind. I- I was able to feel it and…"</p> <p>Anne went silent, her eyes unfocusing.</p> <p>"And what?" Leora asked.</p> <p>Anne shook her head. "Leora, all I felt was cold. Whatever trace of Iris there was is gone. That infosite has completely consumed her."</p> <p>"What?" Leora said confused. "What does that mean."</p> <p>Anne sighed and shakily got to her feet. "Every person has their own mental… let's call it scent. I'm not strong enough of an infovore to feel the difference between individuals, but I am strong enough to feel the difference between people and… not people. And that thing we saw, the thing running around in Iris's body… all I felt was something… alien. It's hard for me to describe to a non-infovore, but imagine the feeling of extreme dread, but instead of feeling it in your chest, you feel it in your head."</p> <p>"I don't… I don't know what you mean!" Leora blurted, her face flaring with frustration.</p> <p>"Leora, Iris is possessed. I know you're about to say you knew that, but I mean <em>really</em> possessed. You're not going to be able to talk her down."</p> <p>Leora looked at Anne, then looked at Davis, then back to Anne.</p> <p>"We have to do something!" She cried.</p> <p>"Believe me, I want to save Stacey as much as you." Anne said. "But Davis is right. Running in to fight whatever possessed Iris is just going to get us killed."</p> <p>"Seriously Anne?!" Leora shouted. "You're just giving up?!"</p> <p>"Leora, we-"</p> <p>"You of all people?! You always have some plan… or… are able to think of something!"</p> <p>Anne sighed a sorrowful sigh.</p> <p>"I'm sorry Leora."</p> <p>"No! Fuck you! You won't even try to help! You won't even-"</p> <p>Leora backed up to the wall as she spoke, her words turning into sharp exhales once hitting it. Then, placing her hands in her hair, she sunk down into a sitting position and began to cry.</p> <p>"Annie…" Han said once the quiet sobbing filled the room. Anne looked at the hand sitting at her feet. "Leora is right. We can't just let Stacey go."</p> <p>"Han, there's nothing we can do." Anne shook her head.</p> <p>"There's gotta be something. Let's start with something simple. What do you know about these… infosite?"</p> <p>"They're nasty little things." Anne said, reaching down and allowing Han to crawl up her arm. "They attach themselves to infovore minds and feed of memories and emotions. Some of the more powerful ones can even go as far as possessing the infovore, as we see with Iris."</p> <p>"Is there any way to free an infected person?"</p> <p>"Not with anything this side of the Library. You'd either need an extremely powerful inforvore to access the mind of the infected or a way to decrease the infovoric capabilities of the infected."</p> <p>"Wait, why?" Han asked.</p> <p>"Infosites are really only able to attach themselves to medium level infovores. Weak infovores, like me, aren't strong enough to attract infosites. It'd be like eating an apple that's still a little bud on the branch. Strong infovores, on the other hand, are <em>too</em> powerful for infosites. If an infosite attaches themselves to a strong infovore, they can literally just think the parasite away. Medium infovores are just right, as they're strong enough to snack on but too weak to kick the virus out."</p> <p>"Just so I understand this correctly, the only way to cure Iris would be to either weaken her infovore powers or get a super strong infovore to kick the virus out?"</p> <p>"Correct."</p> <p>Davis had been listening in on Anne explain Iris's predicament. Now that she was done, he opened his mouth to speak.</p> <p>"We should get going. The sooner we get by the exits the better."</p> <p>"Yeah." Anne said, looking down at Leora. "Come on Leora."</p> <p>Leora looked up at them with red eyes. Anger and hurt were still on her face, but she stood in compliance.</p> <p>"Lead the way, Davis."</p> <p>The guard turned and lead the group towards the door on the far side of the hallway. As they moved, Han spoke up.</p> <p>"Would <em>increasing</em> Iris's infovore powers work or does it have to be a different person?"</p> <p>"Yeah, making Iris's ability stronger would work, but that's the hardest of the three options. Really the only way that'd be possible is with a <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/voices-carry-part-2">conflux</a>, but those things are rarer than- woah!"</p> <p>Anne skidded to a halt as she nearly ran into Davis, who had suddenly stopped moving. Slowly, he turned to look at Anne.</p> <p>"Did you say conflux?"</p> <p>"Uh… yeah."</p> <p>"Are they these metal cylinder things with wires and buttons on them? Kinda looks like a super futuristic pipe bomb?"</p> <p>Anne's eyes widened.</p> <p>"Yes! Do you know where one is?"</p> <p>"We have one down here in Heavy."</p> <p>"What?!" Anne said, laughing. "What are you guys doing with a conflux?"</p> <p>"I don't know. Some souvenir from some mission, I guess."</p> <p>Anne hit herself in the head. "MY conflux! Of course! I assumed they either crushed it or sent it to 19!"</p> <p>"Hold on." Leora said. "What's a conflux?"</p> <p>"It's a device that helps infovores process all the information they take in, which by nature gives a boost to that infovore's capabilities!"</p> <p>"Are you saying that-"</p> <p>"If we activate it in close proximity to Iris, it may boost her infovoric capacity just enough to allow her to free herself? I sure am!"</p> <p>The smile on Anne's face was wide, which gave Leora a spark of hope.</p> <p>"So, there <em>is</em> a chance we can save Stacey?"</p> <p>"If we hurry, then yes!"</p> <p>"Well that's great and all." Davis said, not as pessimistic as he was, but clearly not as relieved as everyone else. "But how are we actually going to get to this… Iris? We have no idea where it went."</p> <p>Anne tapped her temple.</p> <p>"When it connected with me, it gave me an idea to what it presence feels like. Which means I can feel which direction its presence is strongest. Think of it like a mental compass."</p> <p>"Ok." Davis said. "So the new plan is finding the conflux and using your mental compass to find and free Iris, all while hoping we come across Stacey on the process?"</p> <p>"Yep!" Anne said happily.</p> <p>Davis shrugged. "Alright. I'll join. But if we're going to the conflux, then we need to go this way. Keep up."</p> <p>And with that, Davis, Anne, Han, and Leora ran towards the door opposite to the one they were originally going to.</p> <hr/> <p>The dank, moldy air was the first thing Stacey comprehended as she regained consciousness. She gagged and coughed as she slowly opened her eyes.</p> <p>The room was too dark to make anything out. All Stacey could see was a sleek floor covered in black oil and bones scattered around. Her eyes widened as the objects reminded her of where she was.</p> <p>Panicking, Stacey began struggling, but all attempts to move proved unsuccessful. Looking up, she realized her hands had been tied to a large chain that hung from the ceiling, leaving Stacey to dangle in the air.</p> <p>She let out a whimper and looked around, but her eyes were still too contracted to make out any-</p> <p>"Hello?"</p> <p>Stacey's face whipped towards the voice.</p> <p>"H- hello?!" She cried out. "I- I can't see you!"</p> <p>"Your eyes just haven't adjusted yet. Give it a minute."</p> <p>Stacey blinked, and after a minute, her eyes dilatated. In the darkness across from her was a woman with blonde hair and glasses and wearing a white lab coat. She too was hanging from the ceiling by her hands.</p> <p>"W- who are y- you?" Stacey stuttered.</p> <p>"Doctor Agatha Radcliff." The woman replied. "And who might you be?"</p> <p>"Stacey. Uh… SCP-3009."</p> <p>"3009?" Agatha frowned. "Aren't you supposed to be in Light Containment?"</p> <p>"It's a long story." Stacey exhaled, using the conversation to calm her nerves. "Where are we?"</p> <p>"I'm not sure. I blacked out before being brought here."</p> <p>Stacey let out a huff, then looked up at the chain her hands were bound to. Struggling, she tried to free herself by unwrapping her wrists, but it didn't take long for her to realize the futility of it. Exhaling, she let her arms drop.</p> <p>"It could be worse." Agatha said as Stacey sniffled. "At least you aren't impaled."</p> <p>Stacey frowned as she looked at Agatha, not sure what she meant. Then her eyes wandered up to Agatha's arms. Unlike Stacey's, hers had long hooks piercing through her palms. Blood had streamed down her hand and into the sleeve of her shirt.</p> <p>"Are you ok?" Stacey blurted instinctively.</p> <p>Agatha shrugged the best she could. "Not much can be done about it now."</p> <p>Stacey let out a breath and looked back at Agatha's face.</p> <p>"How are we going to get out?"</p> <p>"You don't."</p> <p>Iris's upside down head shot down into Stacey's view, inches from her face. Stacey screamed and jerked back, but wasn't able to do much given her circumstances. Iris just smiled at Stacey, breathing hot, moldy breaths onto her face.</p> <p>After a moment, Iris laughed slide back upwards. Stacey watched the monster as she began crawling on the ceiling towards Agatha.</p> <p>"I- I- Iris…" Stacey stuttered, trying not to throw up. "T- this isn't you. I- I know you're still-"</p> <p>"Oh shut up." Iris snarled. "The host of this body is well suppressed. Any attempts to reach them is hopeless. Now…" Iris slid down the chains holding Agatha up, stopping once she was level with the doctor. "Let's start with something simple. What's your name, doctor?"</p> <p>Agatha didn't respond, instead glaring silently at Iris. Iris, in response, laughed to herself.</p> <p>"It's ok. I already know your name, Agatha Radcliff. Just like how I know your sister's name: Riley Radcliff. You know… the girl who had her face torn off by an <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-939">anomalous predator</a>?"</p> <p>Agatha's breathing began to shake as Iris spoke, which only made Iris's grin grow wider. Then, Iris grabbed the chain and swung herself around so she was behind Agatha and facing Stacey.</p> <p>"You know, your sister might have survived if she had simply…" Iris brought her hands to either side of Agatha's head. "Opened her eyes."</p> <p>Suddenly, Iris grabbed Agatha's face, pressing her fingers on Agatha's eyes. A hissing sound echoed out as Agatha cried and screamed in agony. She thrashed around, struggling against Iris's grip, but the anomaly proved far stronger than her.</p> <p>"Iris!" Stacey cried. "What are you doing!?"</p> <p>Iris just stared at Stacey with those horrible eyes, her grin widening with each scream to leave Agatha's mouth.</p> <p>After a few moments, Iris drew her hands back. Agatha's eye sockets were hollow, being voided out. Black oil surrounded her eyes and streamed down her face, along with some melted white mush mixed in around the bottom of her eye socket. Stacey's stomach did back flips when she realized the black liquid had literally <em>melted</em> Agatha's eyes.</p> <p>"You smell that?" Iris gleefully said, sniffing the air. "That's the smell of rotten flesh. Take it in, Stacey."</p> <p>"I- Iris…" Stacey began as tears rolled down her face. "Please…"</p> <p>Agatha continued crying loudly. The grin on Iris's face dropped for a moment as she rolled her eyes.</p> <p>"Quiet." She said calmly. As Iris spoke, she took one of her hands and shoved it into Agatha's mouth. The doctor let out more muffled screams and gags as black oil poured down her throat. Even in the dark, Stacey could see Agatha's neck blacken as the liquid slithered down her esophagus.</p> <p>"There." Iris replied, pulling her hand out. "That'll shut you up."</p> <p>Black liquid bubbled out of Agatha's mouth as she appear to be drowning in it. She made multiple attempts at noise, all of which failed. Spots on her neck continued to darken, before droplets of the oil began seeping out of those very spots.</p> <p>Iris held up the hand she had shoved into Agatha's mouth and opened it palm up. It looked like there was something in it. It took a minute for Stacey to realize it was a human tongue.</p> <p>"See?" Iris's grin returned. "Nice and quiet."</p> <p>Before Stacey had a chance to react, Iris plopped the tongue in her mouth. A wet, spongy noise filled the room as Iris began chewing the piece of severed flesh.</p> <p>Stacey couldn't take it anymore. Vomit began rushing out of her mouth as her stomach emptied itself of what little had been in it. The stream of bile went particularly hard when she heard Iris swallow intentionally loudly.</p> <p>"And now…" Iris said once Stacey spat the last bit of fluid out of her mouth. "The main course."</p> <p>Iris raised her hand and brought it over to about where Agatha's appendix was. Then, slowly, she pressed her hand against Agatha's skin, causing it to burn and steam. Agatha struggled a little bit, but it was clear she was out of fight. And then, giving Stacey one last big smile, Iris dragged her hand across Agatha's waist.</p> <p>A slopping sound came from Agatha as the lower half of her body began to pull from her top half. Her stomach opened as if it were hinged. As it did, dark red organs began to slip out of her bottom, landing on the floor with splats. Stacey had seen enough anatomy pictures from the science books researcher Kim gave her to recognize the different organs. The liver, the lungs, the kidney, the digestive system, even the heart fell into a pile onto the floor.</p> <p>If Stacey had anything left in her stomach, she would've thrown up again.</p> <p>Instead, all Stacey could do was cry and sob as Iris dropped to the floor and began feasting on the dead doctor's organs; leaving her disemboweled body to swing back and forth.</p> <hr/> <p>Any hopes Anne had of quickly finding the conflux was dashed as she stepped into what could only be described as a mini warehouse. Unmarked boxes, crates, and lockers littered the room and hugged the walls.</p> <p>"Please tell me you know where specifically the conflux is."</p> <p>"I wish I could." Davis replied. "But all I know is it's somewhere in here."</p> <p>"Let's not waste any time then." Leora said, jogging past them and crouching down to the first crate.</p> <p>Anne and Davis looked at each other, before splitting up.</p> <p>"I don't think I need to tell you this…" Davis began. "But don't take anything that isn't the conflux."</p> <p>"Of course." Anne said before looking at Han sitting on her shoulder. "You wanna go look through some of the boxes back there?"</p> <p>"Sure thing." Han replied, jumping down and disappearing further into the room.</p> <p>Anne walked over to a locker and opened it. Inside sat a small box, a crowbar, and an old white smoke alarm. She pulled out the box and opened it, revealing penny facing heads up.</p> <p>"You sure this isn't just a junk closet?" Anne asked, placing the box back inside the locker.</p> <p>"Most of these are just anomalous junk that's <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/log-of-anomalous-items">so useless or unremarkable</a> that it's kept in a minimal security storage room. Not sure why they'd keep that conflux thing here, if it's as advanced as you claim it is."</p> <p>Side stepping left, Anne opened the next locker and looked inside. A pirate rubber duck, a blending machine, a pair of half-rimmed glasses, and a packet of chewing gum.</p> <p>As Anne closed the door to the second locker, she heard a harsh thud echo around the room. Peeking behind her, she saw Leora toss a metal crate to the side before grabbing another one and opening it. Anne didn't need her infovore ability to sense Leora was frustrated to the point of tears.</p> <p>Glancing at Davis, who was looking through his own set of boxes, Anne decided to cautiously make her way over to the girl.</p> <p>"Hey…"</p> <p>"What're you doing?" Leora snapped, not looking up from her crate. "We need to find this conflux now!"</p> <p>"Leora…"</p> <p>The girl stopped what she was doing and exhaled deeply before turning. Even in the relative darkness Anne could see her eyes glistening.</p> <p>"We'll save Stacey…" Anne gave her a friendly smile. "And Iris."</p> <p>Leora let out a sigh, before opening another box. "Not if we don't find this-"</p> <p>"Found it." A voice called from deep within the room.</p> <p>The two women looked up at where the voice had come from. Han scuttered towards them, a silver cylinder resting on his palm.</p> <p>"You said it looked like a futuristic pipe bomb, right?"</p> <p>"Yes!" Anne picked it up and examined the device. "This is it!"</p> <p>"Good." Davis said, making his way next to them. "Then all we need to do is find them, right?"</p> <p>"Yep." Anne looked at them and smiled. "And I can already feel her. Sheeeeeeee's this way."</p> <p>Anne spun and pointed towards the exit.</p> <p>"Lead the way then." Davis said.</p> <p>Anne knelt down and let Han crawl onto her shoulder before she ran towards the door. The group practically burst through the exit as Anne made a hope filled dash in the direction of the Rot.</p> <hr/> <p>The sick chewing sound had finally stopped after god knows how long. Iris, smacking her lips, stood and looked up at Stacey.</p> <p>"Your turn." She smiled.</p> <p>"No! No! No! No!" Stacey, who had been dreading this moment, began to thrash violently against her bindings as Iris began crawling up the wall towards her. "Iris stop! Iris stop! Iris stop!"</p> <p>Stacey couldn't even clearly tell where Iris was from how blurry her tears had made her vision. All she could do was listen for the sloshing sound indicating Iris's location.</p> <p>Once Stacey felt Iris's hot breath on her face, she completely gave up. The knowledge that struggling was useless, that she was going to experience a very long and very painful death, all of it just caused Stacey to just lose it. Sobs and cries spilled out of Stacey like a busted dam as she tried unsuccessfully to choke out some final plea of mercy.</p> <p>"Shhhhh." Iris hushed, wiping some of Stacey's tears away. Stacey's eye lids burned as she was able to get a slightly clearer view of Iris. "Shhhhh."</p> <p>Despite her state of hysteria, Stacey was compelled to quiet down, reducing her mad sobs to heavy sniffling. Perhaps she had some hope that listening to Iris would spare her from what was to come.</p> <p>For a few moments, the two of them stared at each other in relative silence. Then, Iris got close to Stacey and whispered in her ear.</p> <p>"Are you afraid?"</p> <p>"Y- y- y- yes." Stacey choked.</p> <p>"I know you are. I feed on it, you know. It's why I invaded your dream last night. That scarecrow, with the rotten pumpkin head? That was me. But…" Iris pulled back and looked at Stacey in the eyes. "Fear is just an appetizer. What I really want is your flesh."</p> <p>Stacey let out a whimper as Iris looked her over.</p> <p>"But I'm a person eats their meals in a very specific order, and I be sure to play with my food just enough before digging in. Which means drinking as much fear as I can from them." Iris caressed Stacey's face, making her shudder. "A wise man once said that the fear of the unknown is the strongest and oldest form of fear. And there's no greater form of unknowing…" Iris raised her hands and brought them up the Stacey's eyes, smiling evilly. "Then unseeing."</p> <p>"No! No! No!" Stacey screamed, finding a second wind of struggle in her. She threw herself against her binds, all to no avail. All the while, Iris began slowly closing the gap between her hands and Stacey's eyes.</p> <p>Before long Stacey could feel Iris's hands on her eyelashes and eyebrows. Realizing there was nothing she could do, Stacey closed her eyes and prepared for what was to come.</p> <p>But that never happened.</p> <p>Iris's hands seemed to stop dead suddenly. At first Stacey thought she was giving her some false hope as a final act of cruelty, but after a few moments of nothing, Stacey got curious.</p> <p>Slowly, Stacey opened her eyes.</p> <p>Iris seemed to be frozen in place, her smile dropped into something more neutral as her head and eyes were focused on something out in the darkness.</p> <p>Then, after a moment, Iris turned back to Stacey, smiled, and fell down to the floor; sinking into it.</p> <hr/> <p>"In there!" Anne yelled. "I can feel it."</p> <p>Anne, who had been leading, stopped right in front of the metal door. It would need a key card to open. Davis, the one who actually had the key card, ran in front of Anne and quickly slid it into the side console.</p> <p>The door opened with an eerie, rustic creaking. As soon as it was wide enough, Leora ran past Anne and Davis, squeezing her way in. Everyone quickly followed her.</p> <p>As expected, the room was dark. Very dark. So dark that the only thing Anne could make out was Stacey hanging from the ceiling, and even then it was only because she was within the beam of light cast from the opened door.</p> <p>Stacey, upon seeing the group, set out a sob of relief.</p> <p>"O- oh thank God…" She said, tears glinting off her face.</p> <p>"Stacey!" Leora began, running into the room. "Don't worry, we'll get you out of here!"</p> <p>"Wait! Don't! Iris is-"</p> <p>Just then Iris leapt out of the wall. Leora had no time to react before Iris grabbed her by the wrists and began dragging her. It was clear Leora tried to summon light, but was cut off as Iris pulled Leora's hands into a black spot on the wall.</p> <p>Fortunately, Leora didn't go in all the way, with only her forearms actually going into the wall. Unfortunately… Leora's forearms were stuck in the wall.</p> <p>"My hands!" Leora cried, struggling to free herself. "I- I can't summon light!"</p> <p><em>Clever girl.</em> Anne thought, jogging inside the room and looking around. Sloshing echoed from within the walls as Iris laughed from somewhere beyond. Anne didn't need to feel the Rot's presence to know Iris was somewhere in the walls.</p> <p>"Davis, help Leora out." Anne commanded. "Han, see if you help get Stacey loose."</p> <p>"On it." The hand said, jumping from her shoulder and scuttling across the room.</p> <p>Davis mimicked Han by running over to Leora. He grabbed her and tried pulling her out, though to no avail. While this was happening, Anne closed her eyes and tracked the Rot.</p> <p><em>In the wall to my left, going up the ceiling. Staying put above us, probably to watch what we do. On the move again. Moving above me and down the wall behind me. Behind me.</em> The hairs on Anne's back stood as she felt Iris step out of the wall. <em>There you are.</em></p> <p>Anne turned just in time to see Iris slink out of the black mass. A look of surprise came over her face, clearly not expecting Anne to know where she was. Anne took the opportunity to pull out the conflux and activate it.</p> <hr/> <p>Stagnation.</p> <p>That was the only word Iris could describe her situation. She couldn't see or hear or feel or move anything. She was stuck in a void of total nothingness, her mind only barely comprehending her existence. If she had the ability to, she'd feel that she had been slowly drifting in this limbo for days. But she couldn't, as her mind was incapable of understanding such a thing.</p> <p>At least, it had been. Then, out of nowhere, Iris suddenly became self aware of her existence. It wasn't much at first, with Iris only becoming aware that she was. Slowly though, more and more trickled into her mind as feeling crept into her conscious.</p> <p>After a while, Iris became aware enough to know that something was wrong. This existence, floating in a feelingless void, was wrong. She didn't know how or why, all she knew was that she needed to get out.</p> <p>So, summoning what strength she could, she pushed herself forward. Iris wasn't sure how, as she had no limbs or body. But somehow, she willed her essence forward.</p> <p>As Iris moved through the void, she felt herself become more and more. What started as just a scattered ether of essence she knew was herself soon manifested into a more compressed area of matter. Then, she felt her body begin to reform as sensation tingled up her arms and legs, rippling across her torso and neck and head.</p> <p>Iris pushed herself forward as she continually became more defined in existence. Then, she hit a barricade. For whatever reason, she suddenly found it difficult to move forward any. Not only that, but she could tell that the barricade was some from outside this realm's existence. Something… foreign.</p> <p>Not allowing this to stop her, Iris built up what strength she could and proceeded to <em>force</em> herself through the barricade. Pushing through the void had proved difficult enough, but the barricade was something else entirely.</p> <p>Eventually though, Iris felt herself begin to phase through. First Iris pushed with her newly defined arms through the barricade. Then she followed with her entire body. The barricade seemed to elasticate around her, as though it were made of a flexible yet impenetrable rubber.</p> <p>And then there was a snap, and Iris fell through the barricade and landed on the ground.</p> <p>Her senses and awareness slammed into her like a tidal wave the second she passed the barricade. She suddenly could feel every inch, every atom of her body with stark clarity. With her ability to feel and move regained, Iris tried to stand.</p> <p>But she couldn't. Moving through that void had left her physically exhausted. She was also mentally exhausted, though she couldn't quite remember why. Regardless, all Iris could muster was a small toss of her body, allowing her to roll over and gaze up at where she had just broken out of.</p> <p>In front of her was a large, black, semi-fluid mass. Iris couldn't put to words what she was looking at, though the best she could describe it was gelatinous mountains that waved inside of itself.</p> <p>At first the mass was relatively still, with the only movement coming from within the body. Then, it began to tremble and shake as a deep moaning sound bellowed out of it. Somehow, Iris knew her escape was what had caused the disturbance.</p> <p>The side of the gelatin began to shift and morph, turning into a massive face of an Old Man. Its piercing white eye contrasted against the empty void of its facial features. A chill ran down Iris's spine as the face opened its mouth, revealing several appendages snaking towards her.</p> <p>Iris knew it would try to drag her back in, to pull her back into that void of unawareness. And yet, no matter what she tried, she couldn't move. She was simply too weak physically and mentally. She barely had the physical capacity to lift her finger, let alone fight or flight from the tentacles closing in on her.</p> <p>Understanding what was about to happen, Iris laid her head down and closed her eyes, preparing to be dragged back into the state of limbo she had been in.</p> <p>But as soon as she had surrendered herself to the mass, a voice spoke in her ear.</p> <div class="blockquote"> <p><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/voices-carry-part-2">Well, now isn't this a surprise.</a></p> </div> <p>A high pitched screeching rang from in front of Iris. Slowly, she opened her eyes to see tentacles retreating into the mass while the face gave a pained expression.</p> <div class="blockquote"> <p>Looks like you've got yourself into quite the pickle. Don't worry though… getting rid of these things is like swatting flies for me. Now I know you've got your fair share of trust issues, but I'm going to need you to trust me on this, ok?</p> </div> <p>What felt like a hand found its way into Iris's hand. She flinched as the other hand's fingers wrapped around her own.</p> <div class="blockquote"> <p>Oh calm down. I'm not <em>actually</em> touching you. This is all in your head, after all.</p> </div> <p>Iris's eyes rolled to the left. Sure enough, no one was by her side despite the sensation in her hand.</p> <div class="blockquote"> <p>Now, I'm going to give you a bit of the old brain juice and all you have to do is think that thing away. Ok?</p> </div> <p>A second wind suddenly overcame Iris as a good chunk of the fatigue she had been feeling drained from her like a faucet had just been opened. Granted, she was still too weak to do anything physical, but mentally she had been mostly rejuvenated.</p> <div class="blockquote"> <p>Now… look at that big mass of shit and imagine a giant boot stomping on it.</p> </div> <p>Iris did. And as she did, the mass shrieked as it was flattened in the middle.</p> <div class="blockquote"> <p>Good, now imagine crushing it like a ball of play doh!</p> </div> <p>Iris did. And as she did, the mass cried as it was squished horizontally.</p> <div class="blockquote"> <p>Excellent! And now, for the finishing blow, imagine it bursting into flames and melting from the heat!</p> </div> <p>Iris did. And as she did, the mass screamed as bit and pieces of it flaked off like ash.</p> <p>While there were no actual flames on the body, it still writhed and slowly loss bits of itself as if it were on fire. Then, air bubbles began to form in the gelatin as though it were boiling. Loud popping echoed around Iris as these air pockets burst.</p> <p>The hollowed screaming continued as the mass shrunk with each air burst and each bit of ash flaking off of it. After a while, the once mountain sized body had decayed down to barely the size of a toddler, before one last burst marked its end as it exploded into multiple pieces.</p> <p>And with that, the gelatin mass was gone. Iris dropped her head onto the ground and felt herself begin to fade.</p> <div class="blockquote"> <p>Wish we had more time to talk, but mind purges tend to leave people very exhausted. I doubt you'll stay conscious once returning to the good old real world.</p> </div> <p>The voice in Iris's head reduced to a whisper as the feeling in her hand suddenly disappeared.</p> <div class="blockquote"> <p>Word from the wise though, stay away from those Infosites next time.</p> </div> <hr/> <p>The creature parading as Iris gripped its head once Anne activated the conflux. A mixture of pain and panic covered its face as it fell to its knees. Anne, in response, took a step back from the creature.</p> <p>She stared at it as it let out several uncanny screeches and moans. Unlike before, Anne couldn't hear any of Iris's voice in the sounds.</p> <p>A thud echoed out from behind Anne, who turned to see Stacey straightening herself after just landed on her feet.</p> <p>"Got it." Han proclaimed, planting himself on Stacey's shoulder.</p> <p>Anne motioned to Stacey to stay back, who had no problem complying with the command. Near to Iris was the last place the girl wanted to be.</p> <p>The creature continued to thrash and cry out. As it did, black oil began dripping out of the pores in its body, causing a pool of the liquid to formulate on the ground. Then, with a howl that caused Anne to shiver to the bone, the creature out stretched its hands and landed on its palms.</p> <p>"Whoa!"</p> <p>Another thud rang next to Anne, who glimpsed over to see both Leora and Davis on the ground. From the looks of it, Leora had suddenly come loose, cause both to fall.</p> <p>The creature let out a hacking sound as black liquid began dripping out of its mouth. Then, as if a dam had been broken, that same black oil poured out of its mouth. It vomited and vomited and vomited some more, to the point that Anne questioned if its stomach was even big enough to store that much sludge.</p> <p>And then, just as suddenly as it had started, it stopped. The creature had stopped spitting up black liquid, and its breathing shifted to an uneven pace.</p> <p><em>No…</em> Anne thought, reaching out to the body before her. <em>Not "the creature"…</em></p> <p>Iris. Anne could feel her.</p> <p>Sure enough, with trembling arms and a shaking body, Iris raised her head to look at Anne directly; the uncanny inverted eyes replaced with calm dark blue ones.</p> <p>"Iris?" Anne asked, cautiously.</p> <p>"Yeah. It's me. It's-" Iris went quiet as she looked around the room. Her eyes first landed on all the black marks on the wall, followed by over at Stacey.</p> <p>As though on que, the lights above flickered on as the stomping of several pairs of boots slowly grew from the hallway. With the lights on, the scene of the room was fully visible. Scattered around were skeletons, parts of skeletons, half eaten corpses, and hollowed out bodies similar to the check point guard from earlier.</p> <p>Iris's eyes darted around as a distraught yet exhausted expression covered her face.</p> <p>"Oh my god…"</p> <p>And with that, Iris fell face first onto the floor as MTF agents and medics began spilling into the room.</p> <hr/> <p>Iris sat with her hands folded in her lap, staring down at the floor beneath her. Tapping echoed around the cell as her leg bounced up and down in agitation.</p> <p><em>They're late.</em></p> <p>Usually someone would've been here by now with food for her. Iris would always snack on each meal over the course of a few hours, rather than eating it entirely at once. It was the best way to ensure she never felt hungry, a feeling she was paranoid might cause her to-</p> <p>Iris's train of thought was cut short as the door across the room opened. She looked up to see a doctor with a clip board walk into the room. Adams followed closely by her side.</p> <p>The doctor walked up to a table mounted with a microphone and sat down.</p> <p>"Good morning Iris." She said, placing the clip board on the desk. "How are you feeling this morning?"</p> <p>Iris gazed at Adams, who stood with her arms crossed behind the glass panel separating Iris from the rest of the room.</p> <p>"Fine." Iris replied, looking back at the doctor.</p> <p>"That's good to hear. Let's begin with the basics. Have you recently felt any desires similar or identical to when you were possessed by the Rot?"</p> <p>"No."</p> <p>"Have you experienced any memory loss in the days since recovering from the Rot?"</p> <p>"No."</p> <p>"Have you experienced any dreams or hallucinations relating to SCP-106 or the Rot since recovering?"</p> <p>Iris grimaced. Sleep was something that Iris had always had trouble finding, <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/incident-zero-part-1">for one reason or another</a>. But recently it had become impossible without the aid of medication. And the few hours she'd get of sleep were haunted by visions her eating the organs of scientists or tearing the arms off of GenSec guards.</p> <p>"My dreams haven't changed since the last time we spoke." Iris replied.</p> <p>"We've been monitoring you while you've experienced these nightmare. No unusual brain activity or signs of Rot infection. We believe it's safe to say that these dreams, while the result of trauma, are non-anomalous." The doctor stood and straightened her coat. "Which is why you've been approved to return to Light Containment."</p> <p>Iris's head perked up, though not out of joy.</p> <p>"What?" She started. "No… no. I- I need to be here. I can't-"</p> <p>"Iris…" The doctor interrupted. "We've been monitoring you for almost two weeks. There's no sign of the Rot or any form of mental or physical infection."</p> <p>"What if you're wrong?" Iris blurted, slightly louder than she had intended. "What if… what if it's staying hidden somewhere in my mind? You know, lulling you into a false sense of security? And then, when I'm up in Light with everybody, it takes over again and I…" Iris bowed her head. "What if I hurt more people?"</p> <p>"Agent Adams here has been assigned to keep a close eye on you." The doctor motioned to Adams, who hadn't moved from her position. "In the unlikely event something were to happen, she'll make sure recontainment occurs as quickly and as bloodlessly as possible. Though I will say again, I doubt this'll be necessary."</p> <p>Iris looked over at Adams. She was wearing her usual stoic expression whenever she needed to be serious.</p> <p>Exhaling, the tapping increased in frequency as Iris gazed down at her feet.</p> <p>"I- I don't know. There's still-"</p> <p>"Iris." It was Adams who spoke this time. "Come on."</p> <p>The tapping ceased as Iris's leg froze. She continued to blankly stare at the ground.</p> <p><em>I could hurt people.</em></p> <p>They all stood in silence for about a minute, before Iris took a deep breath and rose to her feet. As she did, the glass panel in front of her rose up. Reluctantly, Iris took a step out of the modified heavy containment cell and into the main room.</p> <hr/> <p>Neither Iris nor Adams had spoken in the couple of minutes following Iris's release. It wasn't until the newly repaired elevator began to ascend that Iris decided to speak up.</p> <p>"How is everyone?"</p> <p>Adams shrugged. "Fine, mostly. Anne and Han moved past everything pretty quickly, though that's to be expected from an ex-Insurgent and the literal right hand of a murderer. Davis requested amnestics and a transfer to Light Containment, of which only the transfer was approved. Leora acts ok, but her containment team reported her of experiencing waking nightmares. Stacey is the one who's taking it badly, though."</p> <p>Iris grimaced. "How badly?"</p> <p>"She stopped talking to people. Barely eats. From what I hear barely sleeps."</p> <p>"Fuck." Iris said under her breath. Adams picked up on the expression despite Iris's attempts to keep it quiet. "I never should've interacted with that… stupid old man."</p> <p>Iris let out a frustrated sigh, which was followed by a moment of silence.</p> <p>"For what it's worth…" Adams said, breaking the silence. "I think the doctor is right."</p> <p>"Hmm?" Iris turned to Adams, not entirely sure what she meant.</p> <p>"I don't think you have any more of that Rot or Infosite or 106 fragment or whatever they're calling it inside of you. I know you don't trust Foundation tech, but Anne's been pretty adamant that you're clean. And for as much as I distrust that woman, I trust her judgment on this."</p> <p>"Oh." Iris looked forward again. "…thanks."</p> <p>Now it was Adams's turn to look at Iris. In the corner of her eye she could see an expression of mild surprise, which lingered for about a second before Adams faced forward again.</p> <p>The elevator slowed as it approached Light Containment. After stopping entirely, the silver doors opened to reveal the hallway. Iris froze as her eyes landed on a few skips wandering in the walkway.</p> <p>"It's alright." Adams said, noticing Iris's tenson. "I'll make sure nothing happens."</p> <p>Iris turned to Adams, who had lifted part of her jacket to reveal her Pathos Suit underneath it.</p> <p>Exhaling, Iris faced forward and stepped out into the hall, with Adams following close beside her.</p> <p>"Who knows about… me?" Iris asked.</p> <p>"Aside from me, Anne, Han, Leora, Stacey, and appropriate 17 staff? No one. We kept it under the radar to prevent a mass panic in Light." Adams placed a hand on her chin. "Oh, wait, we did tell-"</p> <p>Adams was cut off as she and Iris nearly slammed into Jackie turning the corner. The three jumped in unison, surprised by the other's appearance.</p> <p>"Iris!" Jackie spoke first. "You're… you're here."</p> <p>"Yeah." Iris responded, rubbing her arm. "I am."</p> <p>The three stood in an awkward silence for a few moments. Iris didn't know what to say, and it was clear to her Jackie didn't either.</p> <p>"Talk later?" Iris said, offering an out to the silence.</p> <p>"Yeah…" Jackie responded, side stepping past Iris. "Later."</p> <p>And with that, the woman made her way down the hall. Iris followed her with her gaze until she rounded another corner.</p> <p>"She was really worried about you, you know." Adams commented. "Asked if she could go down to Heavy more than once. She was denied, of course, but that didn't stop her from trying."</p> <p>Iris stared at where Jackie had turned, before continuing her walk down the hall.</p> <p>"Another thing…" Adams started. "And this is probably obvious, but you're temporarily suspended from Alpha-9."</p> <p>"I know." Iris whispered in a disappointed tone. "Can't have me turning in the field."</p> <p>Adams sighed sympathetically. "I still don't think you have any Rot in you. Hell, if it was up to me you'd be back in your MTF blue. But Sophia doesn't want to take any chances, and neither does Ten."</p> <p>Neither of them spoke as they made their way through the site. After a few turns, they found themselves in front of the cafeteria.</p> <p>"Hungry?" Adams asked. Iris nodded her head.</p> <p>The two of them were about to step into the cafeteria when Iris suddenly stopped.</p> <p>"Wait!" She said. Adams stopped and turned to her. "No meat."</p> <p>Adams nodded. Since the incident, Iris had avoided meat at all cost. Partly because she feared it would trigger the Rot from taking over again and partly because she just couldn't bear to even look at the stuff anymore.</p> <p>Together, the two women walked into the room. It was only about a third full, with most anomalies having already finished their meals and leaving to do whatever they were allowed to do in the site. Iris caught a glimpse of Davis standing guard on the wall, his visor preventing her from seeing his face in any meaningful way.</p> <p>Iris's eyes then landed on a table on the far side of the room. Anne, Leora, Stacey, and Han were all seated at it, eating their meals. Iris stopped moving.</p> <p>"Adams." She began. "Could you get my food for me?"</p> <p>Adams followed Iris's gaze and looked at her.</p> <p>"Yeah."</p> <p>Without any further acknowledgement, Iris made her way over to the group.</p> <p>"It was fun while it lasted…" Iris heard Anne say as she got closer. "But… how do I say this?"</p> <p>"It was really just a one night thing." Han said, picking up where Anne had left off. "I'm glad we did it, and we're still great friends, but let's just say the other half of our beds are gonna be cold for a while if you get what I'm laying down."</p> <p>Leora frowned and opened her mouth, but stopped as Stacey, who was the first to see Iris, jolted into a tense expression. The others quickly followed Stacey's gaze and landed their eyes on Iris. Leora gave her a small grin while Anne smiled widely.</p> <p>"Well well well…" Anne said happily. "Look who's back from Heavy! How'd your vacation down to the basement go?"</p> <p>Iris didn't say anything until she stopped at the table.</p> <p>"Anne, Leora, Stacey, Han… we all need to talk."</p> <p>Anne's wide smile and Leora's small grin faded into something more serious. Han, who had been standing in the middle of the table, scurried over to Anne's side. Stacey just continued to stare at Iris with wide, cautious, almost <em>frightened</em> eyes. It was like being face to face with a baby deer. As such, Iris made sure to speak and move slowly to keep from scaring the poor girl.</p> <p>"First, I just need to say how sorry I am for… everything."</p> <p>"Iris, it's fine." Leora said. "We know it's-"</p> <p>"No, it's not fine." Iris rebutted with a tad of harshness. "What you… what I made you all go through that night was something no one should ever experience. Especially you, Stacey." A few sets of eyes looked at the girl. "What happened that night was nothing short of a nightmare and I… I'm sorry for making you all go through that."</p> <p>"It wasn't you though." Stacey whispered. The other three flinched back with surprise as Iris leaned in.</p> <p>"What?" Iris asked.</p> <p>Stacey clear her throat and spoke again louder. "It wasn't you though." The girl pointed to Anne. "She told us that… she used her Infovore abilities to reach out to you but… she couldn't feel you. All she could feel was that… thing. It had complete control over you, which means it was the one who did all those things, not you."</p> <p>Everyone went silent, which held for a few moments and Iris looked the group over.</p> <p>"That's the first time she's spoken since that night, by the way." Han said.</p> <p>Iris let out a sigh.</p> <p>"Still, I feel like I should apologize. I also wanted to say thank you."</p> <p>Again Anne's eyebrows raised in surprised. The side of Iris that disliked Anne flinched, reluctant at what she was about to do, but Iris was in too much of a sentimental mood to care.</p> <p>"Thank you guys for saving me. Seriously. Especially you, Anne. If it wasn't for your quick thinking with the conflux… I'd probably still be infected."</p> <p>"Aw shucks…" Anne said, waving her hand as a hint of red appeared on her face. "It's nothing."</p> <p>Iris grimaced a little, the sentimentality chipping a little at Anne's demeanor. Then, she let out a sigh.</p> <p>"Ok… I'm guessing you all've been told not to tell anyone about the incident, right?"</p> <p>"Yeah." Leora said. "We need to keep our mouths shut."</p> <p>"Then let's agree to never mention this again, ok?"</p> <p>"Agree." Anne said.</p> <p>"Sure." Leora added.</p> <p>Stacey nodded.</p> <p>"Already forgotten." Han quipped. "Just like the night after, right Annie?"</p> <p>Iris blinked. "What's that supposed to mean?"</p> <p>"You didn't hear?" Leora said, a smile returning to her face. "Anne and Han are dating."</p> <p>What humble and sentimental emotions Iris was harboring drained from her like a bathtub as the words hit her ears.</p> <p>"What?!" She said, turning to Anne.</p> <p>"Hey hey… <em>were</em> dating." Anne corrected. "We just made that clear like, two seconds ago."</p> <p>"But weren't you also just saying that you'd stay as friends with benefits?"</p> <p>"Well, yeah. I mean… they don't call him the hand crank for nothing." Anne smiled down at the hand, who himself somehow managed to puff his back hand out to resemble pride.</p> <p>"Anne!" Iris yelled.</p> <p>"What?" Anne replied, leaning against the table with that ever so infuriating smug smile. "What happens in the bedroom stays in the bedroom."</p> <p>"Not if- you can't- you're not allowed-" Iris stuttered, before groaning and stomping off.</p> <p>"So glad she's back." Iris heard Anne say.</p> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/haunting-at-17">A Haunting At Site-17</a>" by DrDapper, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/haunting-at-17">https://scpwiki.com/haunting-at-17</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:halloween">:scp-wiki:theme:halloween</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/info:start">:scp-wiki:info:start</a>]] [[=]] ++ Article Info: Author: [[user DrDapper]] [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/drdapper-author-page Author Page]* Date Posted: 11/16/2023 Word Count: ~24.8k [[/=]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/info:end">:scp-wiki:info:end</a>]] //The cold night air blew overhead, causing the leaves on the corn stalks to sway and rustle. [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-3009 Stacey] was much shorter than the tall rows of corn surrounding her, preventing her from seeing further than a few feet ahead.// //Above her was a dark purple sky with hints of yellow and red on its edges. This helped illuminate the corn field a bit, though Stacey knew it wouldn't last. She needed to get moving.// //Reaching out, she parted the stalks erected in front of her, stepping between them. More stalks awaited her. So, she repeated the process, slowly but surely making her way through the corn field.// //After a bit, her eyes landed on a break in the corn a few rows ahead of her. Pushing herself forward, she found herself stepping out into a small opening in the field.// //In the center of the opening was a scarecrow, posted onto a wooden T. It was wearing a blue flannel shirt, and the straw poking out of the sleeves resembled a three fingered hand. That's not what caught Stacey's attention, though.// //What caught her eye was the pumpkin head. It was lopsided and misshapen, as though it had been left out for weeks and rotted. This caused the eye and mouth holes to be equally as deformed and unnaturally shaped. Along with its figure, the pumpkin was also covered in scratch marks. Some were deeper and longer than others, though none seemed to pierce down to the hollow inside.// //Standing on the scarecrow's shoulder was a large, black bird. Stacey wasn't able to tell if it was a crow or a raven. The bird was scratching and pecking at the pumpkin with its beak, though somehow Stacey knew the animal wasn't responsible for the marks on the gourd.// //The bird stopped pecking as Stacey approached. Instead, it turned and stared down at the girl with deep, blood red eyes. Stacey stopped dead in her tracks, meeting the bird's gaze.// //They stood still for several moments, staring at each other, before the bird went back to pecking at the pumpkin. Stacey watched in silence as the bird assaulted it, wondering to herself why the bird was so determined to attack the thing.// //As she pondered the bird's motivation, she felt something inside her mouth fall onto her tongue. Without thinking, Stacey spat whatever it was onto the ground below. Curious, she knelt down and gazed at what she had just spit out.// //It was a tooth.// //Her heart stopped as she raised a hand to her mouth. Using her tongue to feel around, she found that it had been her upper right canine that fell out. Stacey gasped, both out of shock and fear. Teeth didn't grow back, after all.// //As Stacey's mind began to race, she felt more of her teeth start to loosen. One by one, her mouth emptied of the bone, until only four or five teeth remained. The rest had fallen to the ground, scattering and leaving Stacey surrounded.// //Then, to make matters worse, Stacey felt a clump of her hair fall to the ground. She wasn't sure how she had felt it, but she just knew it had. Clump after clump began falling around her, mixing with the scattered teeth. Reaching up, Stacey caught a wad of hair before it fell and held it in front of her.// //As she gazed down at it, she noticed her arm was grayer and dryer than usual. Dropping the hair, Stacey rubbed her fingers in her palm as she observed her skin. It had sunk and aged, appearing more like the arm of an old corpse rather than of a teenage girl.// //The deterioration didn't stop at her arm. Stacey felt her face sink as well. The bones in her cheeks and around her eyes seemed to morph and bend in a way Stacey couldn't see, yet somehow knew. The skin on her fingers and hands, drier and hoarier than the rest, began to peal off the bone. White skeletal fingers appeared in the places where skin used to be.// //Stacey stared in horror as the division between skin and bone slowly crept up to her hands. As she watched, the bird let out a high pitched scream in a way she could never find the words to perfectly describe. It was like the combination of a crow caw and woman's shriek. Regardless, it caused Stacey to look up at where the bird had been.// //But the bird was gone, without any trace as to where it went. The scarecrow had also changed, though for the more unsettling.// //Its pumpkin head, which had before been staring straight forward, was now angled downward as if to gaze at Stacey directly. It had also, somehow, become more rotten and disfigured, with the lopsidedness becoming even more exaggerated. The eye and mouth holes in turn also became more misshaped, with the mouth in particular being crooked into a malevolent, unnatural smile.// //But what caused Stacey's blood to go cold wasn't the deformed head or eerie smile, it was the pair of eyes that stared back at her from within the pumpkin. The eyes looked human in structure, but were inverted in color. The irises were a pale black, that seemed to consume even the darkness of the hollowed pumpkin. By contrast, the pupils were an unsettling white that seemed to pierce Stacey's very essence.// //It was dark now. What little color had been present in the sky had faded into a pure blackness. The corn stalks that had previously surrounded the girl had also faded into the dark void. All that remained was the scarecrow and its inverted eyes.// //Then, after a minute, even the body began to fade. The blue shirt, the yellow straw, and the dull orange pumpkin all seemed to slowly sink into the darkness behind it. The eyes, however, remained. Staring at Stacey as she laid, unable to move.// //Unable to move.// //Stacey couldn't move.// //She tried desperately to move her body, and when that failed she tried to move her arm, and when that failed she tried to move her hand, and when that failed her tried to move her finger. Nothing. She was totally paralyzed, forced to stare at the eyes without even the moment of relief a blink would've given.// //Stacey felt her unblinking eyes begin to burn when the pair in front of her began to be surrounded by shape. Even in the total darkness Stacey could see an even darker darkness materialize around the eyes. It formed into the shape of a head, then under it formed a body, and then Stacey was able to make out the silhouette of a person standing above her in the darkness.// //Under the eyes formed two rows of moldy, rotten teeth, separated by an unnatural inter-tooth spacing. The teeth lined into a crooked smile, not unsimilar to the malevolent smile worn by the pumpkin earlier.// //The thing stared down at Stacey as she tried desperately to move, to blink, to do anything. Stacey felt hot, musty air press against her face as the creature shifted its teeth to reflect an opened mouth.// //A shrill, feminine laugh echoed from the creature, causing a shiver to run down Stacey's back.// And the next moment, it was gone. The eyes, the teeth, the outline, the laughing, the hot breath, all of it. Gone. At the very same time, Stacey found her ability to move restored. She blinked rapidly and shot up into a sitting position. Placing a hand on her chest, she inhaled and exhaled at a stunning pace. Frantically, her eyes darted around in an attempt to find her bearings. She was in her room, laying on her bed. A small light she kept on in her bathroom illuminated part of the cell, but for the most part she was in total darkness. //It was a dream.// Stacey though, collapsing onto her pillow. Her heart and breathing were still running at a million miles a minute, but her brain had finally found its footing. //It was just a dream.// Letting out a deep breath, Stacey turned her head to the digital clock resting on her night stand. //6:08 am.// Her eyes then drifted to the date implemented in the device. //10/31.// //Halloween.// ------ Stacey was never one to go to parties or special events, at least not on her own. She did occasionally go to some back when she was in high school, but that was only because her friends had gone with her. When it came to going solo, however, Stacey tended to opt out. Which is why when Researcher Kim told her about the Halloween party the Foundation was putting on, Stacey had no intentions of attending. At least, not until breakfast when [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-4818 Leora] asked if she was going. Knowing her friend would go on a crusade to try and convince Stacey to go, she decided to just reply with a yes. It kept Leora from nagging Stacey, but now she was committed. //Oh well.// Stacey thought as she made her way towards the cafeteria. //At least there will be people there I know.// Even from the hallway, Stacey could hear music bleeding out from the party area. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2rwxs1gH9w Some song about skeletons] reverberated around the walls as Stacey stepped into the cafeteria. Right off the bat, Stacey was hit with an odd sense of nostalgia as she took in the setting. The large rectangular tables that usually sat in the middle of the room were gone, opening the room up and making it feel far larger. Replacing them were smaller, circular tables all conjugated to Stacey's right. Next to the tables was what looked like a buffet style line of food, with silver containers set up on a series of white tables. Hanging from the walls were fake cobwebs and spiders and witch cutouts and pumpkin cutouts and all sorts of decorations that boosted the Halloween spirit. It all reminded her of when her school hosted its own Halloween parties. Scattered around the cafeteria were what seemed like activity tables. Most were just some basic classroom/table games that were Halloween themed. Like tick-tac-toe but the xs and os were drawn on pumpkins, bouncing ping-pong balls that look like eyes into plastic cups, tossing bean bags into jack-o-lanterns, a memory card game with pictures of different Halloween monsters, and other stuff Stacey was too overwhelmed to properly make out. All the booths were being manned by Foundation staff Stacey had seen around the site. Some were in costume and really getting into it, others were in their standard attire and looked bored as hell. Stacey was surprised to see a good number of skips at the party. She had assumed most people would've stayed in their cells, but sure enough, dozens of anomalies were present. Some were even in costume. Like [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/devils-advocate-hub Marya] who was wearing a basic witch costume, or [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-187 Katie] who was in an air force outfit (and without her hand mittens. //Good for her,// Stacey thought). "Howdy miss." Someone said in the worst western accent. Stacey turned to her left to see that [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/friday-afternoon/offset/1 one doctor who tried way too hard to be friends with the anomalies]. He was wearing a cowboy costume, and tipped his hat as he greeted her. "Are you ready for a night of fun and spooks?" "Uh..." Stacey replied a bit awkwardly, trying to hide how much she was cringing. "Yeah." "Well now that's mighty fine to hear." The doctor said, switching to a southern drawl in the middle of the sentence. "We've got food at the end there, feel free to take as much as you want. On the other side we've got games and other fun activities. You can request songs at the music booth over yonder. And at ten we're going to be having a costume contest that everyone can vote on." "Thanks." Stacey said flatly. "You have a fun night now." The doctor called out as Stacey turned and made her way to the food table. Stacey found her place at the back of the small yet stagnant line. As she grabbed a clear plastic plate, she couldn't help but over hear the conversation being held in front of her. "So what are you supposed to be?" [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-2800 Daniel], who was dressed in a green jacket and white T-shirt with the words 'Cactusman' printed on the front, asked. "Well, this was supposed to be a two person costume." [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-527 Mr. Fish] replied, who himself was wearing what looked like the bottom half of a horse costume. "But [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-507 Grabnock] shifted on the way here. So now... I guess I'm just a horse bottom." The line crawled forward slightly, allowing Stacey to actually read the paper signs in front of the steaming silver containers. Looks like her options were sirloin slabs, grilled chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, and steamed vegetables. Pumpkin muffins and cookies also sat at the end of the table, acting as the desert section. Over the course of the next five minutes, Stacey tossed some chicken, mashed potatoes, and corn on her plate. From what she understood, [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-5980 Ethan] was the cause for slowing everything down, taking his merry little time on deciding what to eat. Eventually, though, Stacey stepped out of the line with a plate half-full of food. As she walked over to the round tables and chairs, a thought suddenly dawned on her. //Where do I sit?// She thought to herself. Normally she just glued herself to Leora and followed her around. But as she gazed around the room, she had no idea where- "Hi Stacey!" Stacey nearly dropped her plate as she got startled. After all this time, she'd think she'd be used to Leora's tendency to appear out of nowhere. But there was something different in the way Leora spoke, something... hyper. "Hey." Stacey replied, looking her friend over. Leora was wearing rather high quality Captain Marvel costume, and her eyes were wide open. "Like my costume, I made it myself, it took me about a month, but I used to make costumes all the time, shame the Foundation wouldn't get my old one from my house, but I needed to make a new one anyways." She said in one breath, motioning to herself as she seemed to bounce on her heels. "Yeah..." Stacey replied slowly as Leora took a sip out of a red plastic cup. "Sorry if I'm a little hyper, it's because of the caffeine, my parents never let me drink any soda for this very reason, and I try to avoid it on my own, but it's Halloween and I thought 'what harm could a cup of Mountain Dew' do, get it, 'dew-do,' anyway I'm on my third cup and will probably stop here, or maybe I'll get another, depends on how I'm feeling, oh hey, did you hear about the costume contest, I'm going to enter and need you to vote for me, ok?" Stacey just blinked. She had only managed to get about half of that. "Oh oh!" Leora started, looking back towards the tables and booths. "Looks like Cain's here, I made a bet with Anne that I could beat him at apple bobbing, I don't think she realized the apples will rot as soon as he gets close to them, easiest six chocolate bars I've made in my life!" And with that, the hypered up anomaly sprinted into the crowd out by the activity booths, making a beeline for Cain, who... was wearing a long white dress with a blue top and brown heeled boots. //The hell is he supposed to be?// Stacey thought, before shaking her head and making her way over to an empty table. She passed by a pair of anomalies holding a conversation as they ate, unintentionally eaves dropping on them. "How's the chicken?" Asked a thin doctor in glasses and well-kept blond hair. A girl dressed as a scarecrow made a sour expression. "Too salty," she replied. Stacey couldn't help but notice the [https://www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/contained/list?title_no=378082 white streaks in the girl's light brown hair and across her face]. Once seated, Stacey gazed around the room. A few more skips had found their way into the cafeteria, like [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-3988 Napoleon] who was wearing a bicorne and an 18th century military uniform, and [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-2273 Alexei] who had modified his suit to look like a titan from that one Titanfall game. [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-4960 Kadesh-Nanaya] was also here, dressed as... //Oh my god...// Stacey thought, gaping at Kadesh's costume (or more specifically, the lack-there-of). //How did they let her get away with that?// The love Goddess was dressed in a costume that could only be described as a thin line of cloth. The black silk cuffed her neck and split as it went down her body, revealing cleavage and a bare stomach, before reconnecting (and ending) around her hips. Stacey blinked, before looking around at the several guards stationed in the room. None of them seemed to have any issue with the blatant dress code violation. In fact, a few of the guards seemed to be staring pretty intently at Kadesh... a bit //too// intently. Sighing, Stacey grabbed her plasticwear and was about to cut into her chicken when [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/devils-advocate-hub Anne] practically jumped into her peripheral vision. "Hi Stacey!" The woman said as the younger one jumped with a start. Because it wasn't enough for just Leora to suddenly pop into existence. "Hi Anne." Stacey replied once she calmed back down. She eyed Anne's costume of choice and raised an eyebrow. Anne was wearing a light night gown that was loose enough to be comfortable but not loose enough to draw attention. Spots of fake blood contrasted the white dress in the neck region. "What are you supposed to be?" "Carmilla." Anne replied rather proudly. Stacey just stared at her blankly. "From the 1872 novel?" Anne added after a few moments of silence. Stacey just shrugged. Anne muttered something about the worthless education system before smiling at the girl widely. "So, what's new with you?" "Oh, not much." Stacey replied, cutting into her chicken. "I kinda just came down for the food." "I can see." Anne said, looking Stacey up and down. Stacey quickly glanced around the room, and reddened when she suddenly became very aware that she was the only person (outside of Foundation staff) not wearing a costume. "How did everyone even get their outfits?" Stacey asked, hoping to blame her lack of a costume on ignorance. "I just put in a request." Anne replied, looking around at the other skips. "Can't speak for everyone else though." Stacey nodded silently before stabbing a piece of chicken with her fork. She was about to put the meat in her mouth before Anne grabbed her own wrist and let out a pained groan. "What's wrong?" Stacey asked, looking at the woman with a mixture of concern and confusion. "It's my hand..." Anne said through gritted teeth. "It just, hurts all of a sudden." "What do you mean by hurt?" "I don't know. It's just... my whole hand just started..." Anne groaned again, leaving her sentence incomplete. Stacey just sat there with her fork raised, not sure what to do. Should she get help? There were guards everywhere. Problem is Stacey didn't even know what was wrong with- Stacey's train of thought was cut short as Anne let out an agonizing yell. A thud echoed in front of Stacey, and she turned to see... A severed hand laying on the table. In an instant, Stacey's eyes shot over to Anne, who sure enough, was missing her hand. Stacey yelped and slid her chair back. "Oh my god!" She yelled. While Stacey's eyes were glued to the hand, Anne's seemed to be stuck on her. "Oh my god!" Stacey repeated, before turning to Anne. "What happened!" "I don't know..." Anne replied, her teeth stuck together. "But we should... wait a second." The expression on Anne's face went from pained to curious in a millisecond. She leaned in closer to the hand, her brows furrowed. "Do you see that?" Stacey, caught off guard by Anne's sudden nonchalantness of the situation, eyed the hand... and saw what Anne meant. Her eye had caught something odd about it, though whatever it had been seemed to disappear as soon as she saw it. Curiosity momentarily overtaking panic, Stacey leaned in to get a closer look at the hand. Then, it happened again. The index finger twitched. Stacey was about to comment on it, but just as she was about to, the hand sprung to life, all the fingers flexing into a grabbing position. Then, it seemed to bounce up at her, lunging towards her face. Stacey screamed for real this time, falling back out of her chair and landing on her ass. When she looked up, the hand was standing by its fingers on the table. Behind it stood Anne... with tears in her eyes from laugher. "Oh man..." She said after composing herself. "Didn't I tell you that would be the best one?" "It sure was!" A high pitched yet masculine voice said. It sounded like it came from... the hand? "Come on up, girly." The hand said. "We're just messing with ya." Slowly, Stacey got to her feet and looked down at the hand. "Oh, where are my manners?" The hand jump and landed on its wrist, extending itself as if waiting for a shake. "Name's [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-2913 Han]. I'm new here." Stacey stared at Han, mouth open. "You're a... a hand?" "Sure am!" Han said, bouncing back onto his fingers when Stacey didn't shake. "But... what about..." Stacey looked up at Anne, but her question was answered when the woman pulled her sleeve back, revealing her own intact hand. "We've been pulling this trick all night, but let me tell you, your reaction was the best so far." "Uh..." Stacey looked between Anne and Han. "...thanks?" "No. Thank you." Han said, before crawling towards Anne. "Come on Annie. Let's see if we can get that big robot guy." "Oh yes!" Anne said, grabbing Han and sliding him into her sleeve. "If we can get Alexei, I'll consider my life complete." And with that, the two ran off towards the activity booths. Stacey, tired and hungry, sighed and sat back down in her chair. ------ Tom blinked one eye at a time. He really, really did not want to be here right now. Hell, he wasn't even //supposed// to be here right now. He was //supposed// to be taking his kids trick or treating. But... Chris had called off at the last minute. Apparently Chris had gotten some kind of stomach bug, but Tom knew he was bullshitting. Chris had bitched up a storm when this month's schedule released and he was set to work on Halloween. But outside of the sector head rolling up to Chris's door and demanding he prove his illness, there was nothing that could be done about it. Instead, the buck stopped with Tom. He had gotten a phone call just as he was getting dressed up to come in and cover for Chris. Tom was fuming, his kids were crying, and his six month pregnant wife practically had smoke coming out of her ears realizing she would be stuck chaperoning the children alone. But the Foundation had called. And when the Foundation calls, you answer. So instead of running around the neighborhood with his family, Tom was spending his night staring at staticky security cameras. The man let out a sigh and leaned back in his seat, rubbing his eyes. The smell of coffee reached his nose as a mug was placed in front of him. "Thanks." Tom said, grabbing the drink and sipping it. "So on a scale of one to ten..." Ben began, taking a seat next to Tom. "How badly do you want to strangle Chris?" Tom let out bitter laugh. "He's as good as dead the next time I see him." Ben chuckled to himself. An understanding, sympathetic chuckle, but still a chuckle. "What were you gonna be?" "We were going to all be the Incredibles." "The Incredibles?" Ben repeated, furrowing his brow. "Even Laura? Can she even fit in a costume?" Tom glared a his co-worker, who raised his hands defensively. "I'm just asking." He added quickly. "She's at... what... twenty-five weeks?" Tom shook his head and sipped his coffee. As he did, his eyes wandered around the empty command center. Usually there were at least a few more guards in the room with them, but it being Halloween meant that most of GenSec had taken off for one reason or another. They were running on a skeleton crew tonight, which wouldn't be too bad, but some event up in Light Containment had sapped what little hands they had. There were maybe twenty guards tops spread across Heavy Containment right now. This might've made Tom anxious if he hadn't learned one thing in his fourteen years with the Foundation: nothing ever happened at Site-17. "Anyway..." Ben said, spinning in his chair and turning to one of his monitors. "Since it's just me and you tonight, I might send a message up to Light Command, see if I can get someone to bring the [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-458 pizza box] down." "They'll never agree to that." Tom responded, placing his mug down and staring at his own monitor. "I know, I've tried it bef-" Tom trailed off as he squinted at his monitor. Something in it caught his eye, though he wasn't able to make out what. He might've been able to if the camera footage wasn't such shit. But, whether for budgetary reasons or ease of encryption, the video had the quality of a VHS put through a washing machine. It was all in black and white, the excessive amount of static added to the already poor quality of the at most 360 resolution, and to top it all off the frame rate was absolutely atrocious. Tom had counted it before; it took a whopping half second for the video to update, making the footage all choppy. But even with the shitty camera, Tom could see something was different. His monitor was currently set at a hall cam somewhere on the other end of the level. Almost everything about it seemed normal, but standing towards the back of the hallway was a black figure. Tom wasn't able to make out what exactly it was, but it //almost// looked humanoid. "Before what?" Ben asked. Tom ignored him, focusing fully on the monitor. The image cycled, and the figure had moved closer down the hall. For a moment Tom thought it might've been a guard or researcher, but despite the shitty quality, he still would've been able to make out certain details on the person if that were the case. Like GenSec body armor or a white lab coat. The figure currently on screen, however, was totally black. In fact, it almost looked like the static in the screen warped around the object. The video cycled again, and again the figure was closer to the camera. Ben must've read Tom's face, as he soon leaned over to look at his monitor. "What is that?" Ben moved his head closer to the screen. "I'm not sure." Whatever it was, Tom needed to know right now. "This is in hallway 2B-H." Tom said, not looking at Ben. "Send a message to GenSec, have them check it out." "On it." Ben replied, rolling over to his monitor. He picked up a headpiece and placed it over himself, before speaking into it. "Attention GenSec, we're detecting an unidentified entity in hallway 2B-H. Would the nearest available unit please make their way over to check it out?" The video cycled again. The black figure was now standing right under the camera. A sense of dread began to fill Tom's inside, as though he were a child again and was on his way to the principal's office. "That's strange." Ben said after a moment. "I'm not able to get anyone." The video cycled again, and this time, Tom went cold. The figure was definitely humanoid. Tom could see its head raised towards the camera, along with a pair of white eyes. They were clearly visible even in the static, staring straight at the security camera. Actually, no, //through// the security camera. Tom just knew that thing was looking at him, he just knew it could //see// him. But before Tom could react, a thin, black hand shot out of the computer monitor and grabbed his throat. ------ Stacey awoke with a start, her heart pounding out of her chest. She had seen them again, the unsettling inverted eyes staring right into her. //I must've dozed off.// She thought, rubbing her eyes and looking around. The party was still going on, it seemed. Skips in various costumes dotted the cafeteria, though the crowd was noticeably lighter than it had been before Stacey's unintentional nap. "Hi." Stacey turned to see Leora sitting next to her, nibbling on a pumpkin cookie. "Hi." Stacey replied, yawning. "How long was I asleep?" "Only about an hour." "An hour?!" Stacey's eyes shot up to the clock hanging on the wall. Sure enough, it read 8:48. "Why didn't someone wake me?" "I don't think anyone cared enough //to// wake you." Leora responded before swallowing. "Besides, you looked pretty tired when you got here." "I didn't get much sleep last night." Stacey rubbed her own eyes while trying not to think of the ones in her dream. "What are you doing here? I thought you were hyped up on caffeine." "It didn't last." Leora shrugged. "Apparently my light power uses up a lot of energy." "Really? How?" "Hell if I know." Leora said as she shoved the rest of the cookie in her mouth. Stacey let out another yawn before looking up at the clock again. She really was exhausted. "Hey, Leora..." She started. "I'm probably going to go to bed here. Are you ok with that?" "Yeah." Leora furrowed her brow. "Why are you even asking?" "Because you wanted me to vote for you in the costume contest." "Ah, don't worry about it." Leora replied, waving her hand. "Besides, there's a mask for this costume I forgot in my room. I'll head on up with you to grab it." Together, the two girls stood from the table and made their way to the exit. As they did, Stacey took one last gaze at the party. The doctor in the cowboy costume was speaking to a guard, Mr. Fish and Katie were holding a conversation back at the tables, a frustrated looking Daniel was standing at the memory game booth with Cain, and Napoleon was at the apple bobbing stand with a red fruit in his jaws and Mayra right next to him. These were all Stacey was able to catch before stepping out into the hallway. "So..." Stacey began in a preemptive strike on awkward silence. "You see the new guy?" "Han?" Leora asked. "Oh yeah. He's cool. He and Anne got me good though." "Yeah." Stacey laughed a little. "They got me good too. Did they ever get Alexei?" "Yes actually." Leora replied. "Surprising considering its, you know, Alexei. But boy, was Anne ecstatic when she did." "Where did they get off to? I didn't see them when we left." "No clue." Leora shrugged. "They ran off right after getting the big guy." "Hmm." Stacey responded, looking down. The two continued walking in silence for a few more moments, before Stacey reopened her mouth. "Where was everyone else tonight? You know... the Alpha-9 group?" "Foxx is taking his daughter trick-or-treating." Leora began. "Adams is probably at a bar some place, [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-1985 Jackie's] still dead, and [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-105 Iris] is still in the infirmary, though I doubt she would've come anyways." "What?" Stacey perked up. "Iris is in the infirmary?" "You... didn't hear?" Leora looked down at Stacey as if she hadn't known what planet they were on. "Iris has been in the infirmary for like, a week." "Why?" "Who knows. Probably got hurt on a mission or something. I haven't been to that side of the site in months." "Huh." Stacey said. "I hope she's ok." "Yeah, me too." As the words left Leora's mouth, the two of them turned the corner to find the elevator at the end of the hall. They stopped in front of the silver doors, with Leora reaching out and pressing upper button. The two stood in silence as the elevator made its way down to them. Suddenly and without thinking, Stacey opened her mouth and spoke. "You ever get super realistic dreams?" "Huh?" "Uh..." Stacey stuttered, realizing what she had just committed to. Leora turned and looked down at her expectantly when Stacey did not continue. Welp, she was committed now. "You every have like... ya know... a dream that feels super realistic." "Occasionally." Leora responded. "Not too often though. Why?" "Oh, no reason." Silence once again overtook them, with it only being broken by the sound of the elevator reaching them. Slowly, the silver doors slid open, and the two motioned to step inside... but were stopped by a scene Stacey would never forget. Inside the elevator was Anne, leaning against the wall. In her hands was Han, whom she had brought up to her face. Passionately, Anne was pressing her lips against Han's knuckles, before slightly pulling back and moving up to the back of the hand. Stacey stood, jaw to the floor. Leora seemed to be awestruck as well, as neither of them made a noise. The two watched Anne and Han in silence for about a second, before Leora remember how to speak. "What in the hell?!" She said loudly. An expression of horror flooded Anne's face as she pulled back from Han and straightened. That horror turned to embarrassment as she angrily pointed at the two girls. "What are you two doing here?!" "I could ask you the same thing." Leora replied, this time with a good bit of sly in her voice. "Well... look... you see... I... we..." Anne stuttered as her face reddened. Stacey was shocked. Anne, overconfident Anne, had never been this off balance. At least not during her time here. "Is there a problem with us?" Han said, using his thumb and pinkie to imitate placing his hands on his hips. "No... no..." Leora said playfully. "I'm just wondering how things got to this point." "Look." Anne started. "Me and Han have a lot in common, like enjoying scaring the shit out of people. And after we got Alexei of all people, we were in great moods. We began talking a bit more to one another, and eventually we decided to... hang out in a more private setting. Or at least that was the plan, until you two intruded!" "You wanted to be alone..." Stacey piped up. "So you went to the //elevator?//" Anne opened her mouth to speak, but no rebuttal came out. "She's got us there, Annie." Han said. "Just... get in here!" Anne motioned them in. The two girls obeyed, stepping inside. Leora, with a wry grin on her face, pressed the button labeled "7-S." The silver doors closed, and a humming filled the room as the elevator began ascending. It was silent for all of half a second, before Leora gave Stacey a look and turned to Anne. "So... were you hoping Han would turn into a prince?" Stacey let a laugh slip out. Anne looked between the two girls, her face reddening even more. "Shut up." She sneered. Leora giggled and turned back to the doors. Silence again filled the room. The silence was held for several moments, but was broken by the sound of something odd. It sounded like... metal being bent and twisted and scrapping against more metal. Stacey looked around in confusion. Clearly she wasn't the only one hearing this, as the other occupants of the elevator did the same. At the same time, Stacey felt the elevator begin to slow. Stacey had been up and down this elevator probably a hundred times, so she knew it was too early for them to be at their level. Something was wrong. The thought wouldn't be in Stacey's mind for long, though, as the ground suddenly gave way under her. Screeching reverberated around the enclosed space as the elevator accelerated downwards. Stacey felt her feet lift off the ground from how fast they were falling. In a panic, Stacey screamed and tried to grab onto something. Her hand managed to wrap around the railing on the wall, but it did little to stop her from floating up. Then, as quickly as it had started falling, the elevator crashed to a stop. Stacey didn't have time to even comprehend the crash, however, as she was knocked clean out when her head hit the floor. ------ Staring at the screen was starting to hurt. Removing her glasses, Agatha rubbed her eyes. //What time is it?// She thought, looking down at the corner of her computer screen. //8:56.// For the past four hours, Agatha had been sitting in front of the computer writing detailed reports of that day's psychological evaluations. This was always her least favorite part of the job, mainly because of how tedious and time consuming it was. The Foundation was //very// strict and //very// precise about how they wanted their reports to be filed. Deciding to give her eyes a break, Agatha's vision wandered around the empty computer lab. Normally she wrote up her reports in her office, but her desktop had been acting funky recently. Not saving properly, apps freezing at the most inconvenient times, and even full on bluescreening once. Tech said they'd deal with it as soon as they could, which meant whenever they felt like it. So in the mean time, Agatha had to be content with using one of the public computers. Releasing a yawn, Agatha stretched and looked at the finished document on the computer screen, then down at the stack of papers sitting on the table. She still had three more reports to file. "Fuck this." Agatha said, standing. "I'll pass out on the keyboard if I don't get some caffeine in me." Turning, Agatha made her way over to a little side room. White lights flickered to life as she flipped the switch upon entering. Inside the break room was a table with aluminum folding chairs and a bare-bones kitchenette. Sitting on the counter was a coffee machine with a sticky note reading "clean up when done :)" taped to its side. Agatha turned the machine on and opened the cabinet door to grab a mug when a thud echoed from the computer lab. It was a deep yet weightless thud, like a stack of folders or papers falling off a desk. The doctor stopped and turned towards the large windows showing into the computer lab. It was dim in the other room, with only the every other center light being illuminated. "Hello?" Agatha called out, back stepping into the doorway. No response. She walked out into the room itself and called again. "Hello?" Again she was met with silence. Taking a wild guess at what had made noise, Agatha strode over to where she had been working. Sure enough, her files and papers were scattered on the floor. "How in the hell..." She said, kneeling down and gathering the everything. //How did it fall?// Agatha thought. //I don't recall putting it that close to the edge.// Concluding it was just one of life's great mysteries, the doctor straightened the papers and placed them back on the desk. But as she did, her eyes were caught on something that hadn't been there before. Sticking out of one of the tan folders was the corner of... something. It was small, white, and almost looked like just a piece of paper, but glinted as if it were laminated. Curiously, Agatha grabbed the corner and pulled whatever it was out. The doctor furrowed her brow as she looked down at what she had pulled out. In her hand was a photograph from her childhood, specifically from sometime during the summer. Standing on the left side was a teenage Agatha, her blonde hair loose and behind her back. Next to Agatha was her sister, Riley, though her hair was tied up in a ponytail. The two of them were standing in the backyard of their parent's place, both smiling at the camera and wearing short sleeve shirts. Agatha actually remembered when this photograph was taken. It was the first day of summer vacation following her sophomore year (Riley's freshman year) of high school. Agatha smiled. For a moment, she allowed her mind to go back to the days she'd used to spend with her sister. The days of spending hot summer afternoons down at the beach, or hiking the gorge behind their place. But the happy memories only twirled in Agatha's mind for a second. The reason Agatha kept that photograph specifically is because that this was the last photo Riley would ever be in. She would be killed about a month later by an anomalous entity, which is actually what caused Agatha to start studying the paranormal. Well, study the paranormal in a less-conspiracy more-scientific way. The sudden appearance of the photo also forced Agatha to ask a single question: how did this get here? She kept this photograph in a memory book back at her place. Was she looking at it and it accidently slipped into her bag and folder? That'd be one hell of a journey it'd make. As the hypotheses formed and crumbled in her head, she noticed something odd about the photograph. It was... moving. No, changing. The lighting within the photograph seemed to be darkening. Agatha had to blink to make sure she wasn't just imagining it. But after a moment, the scene changed from a sunny afternoon to sometime at night. Then the girls began to change too. Picture Agatha seemed to rapidly age. Her face and hands began to wrinkle and sink, and her hair faded from blonde to gray to a stark white. The bone around her cheeks and eyes morphed, leaving her face disfigured. The happy smile she had a second ago had crooked into something more... malevolent. Her sister's change was different. First was the eyes; her white sclera and green irises voiding as a black liquid bled from her eyes. The substance ran down her face like tears, before branching and spreading across her smiling face. The patter it spread out in... Agatha placed a hand over the mouth. The thing that had killed Riley had done so by clawing her face. The pattern the liquid had branched into mirrored it perfectly. "W- wha-" The doctor stuttered. Before she could properly process what was happening, something warm grazed the back of her neck. It felt like a breath, but even with her back turned, Agatha could smell the must and rot from it. Turning, the doctor came face to face with a pair of horrific eyes. ------ "Stacey!" A muffled, distance voice said. "Oh my god, please don't be dead. Stacey!" Stacey let out a groan and shifted from pain. "Oh thank- Stacey wake up!" Slowly, Stacey opened her eyes. Leora was kneeling down in front of her. A look of panic was in the girl's eyes, and her arms were gripping Stacey's shoulders tightly. It probably would've hurt... if her pain receptors weren't in over drive every where else. Again Stacey groaned and winced as her mind became aware of the dull pain around her body. "Are you ok?" Leora asked in a frantic tone. "I..." Stacey sat up and rubbed her head. "I think so." "Good." Leora said, standing and letting out a sigh of relief. "What happened?" Stacey asked as she looked around. "The elevator fell." Han said, jumping onto Stacey's knee. "Annie's trying to figure out why." Stacey looked up. The emergency hatch was pushed open. //Anne's probably on the roof.// She thought as she slowly got to her feet. Leora stepped over to help her up, but Stacey waved her off. "Did you call for help?" Stacey asked, eyeing the red 'HELP' button on the panel. "Tried it." Leora said, pressing it. Nothing happened. "Doesn't work." "Huh." Stacey brushed dust off of herself. "That's odd." "I've got odder." Anne fell through the open hatch and landed beside Stacey, who jumped at the thud and sudden appearance. "The belt's rusted through." "What?" Leora asked. "You know the line that pulls the elevator up and down?" Anne continued, making a pulling motion. "Well... it's snapped. I looked at the end of it, and it's nothing but rust." "Those things can rust?" Stacey asked. "Anything can rust when it isn't maintained." "Are you sure?" Leora interjected. "I mean, the Foundation is hardly above cheaping out, but to say they let an entire elevator break..." "Well, I don't know what else to tell you." Anne shrugged. "There's rust going down a good five feet from the break, and considering the emergency brakes didn't kick in, the only conclusion I can come to is that the Foundation let it all go to shit." "That's... strange." Leora said. "Odd." Anne added. "Isn't there usually a ladder in the shaft?" Han asked. "There's half a ladder." Anne looked down at the hand. "I climbed a bit to see if it was sturdy, but it seems like it broke a few feet up." "Is there anything that isn't broken?" Leora said frustrated. "Tell me about it." Anne replied, walking over to the silver door. "But... bitching isn't going to change anything." Grabbing the divide, Anne heaved the door open. On the other side was a hallway leading to a security checkpoint with two dark doors. Above the doors was wording written on the wall, reading "Gate D - Heavy Containment." Stacey's heart dropped as she realized where they were. "W- we're in Heavy Containment." She stuttered. Stacey had heard stories of Heavy Containment. It was rumored that the skips they kept down here were some of the most vile within the Foundation, being serial killers and rapists before getting contained. Or, they were incredibly dangerous, and with the minds more like monsters than actual people. "Yeah..." Anne said. "So what?" "D- don't they keep, like, monsters and stuff down here?" Anne laughed. "It's Site-17. They don't keep squat down here. They just say that to scare people. Trust me, the Insurgency made site analysis a top priority for us." Stacey gulped, still not fully satisfied. "Don't worry, Stacey." Leora chimed in, seeing Stacey's anxiety. "GenSec is more than capable handling whatever's down here." Exhaling, Stacey nodded more to herself than to Leora. Meanwhile, Anne knelt down placed her hand on the ground. "Come on Han." She said. Han, in response, crawled up her arm and onto her shoulder. "Let's see who's home." And with that, the three of them stepped out of the elevator and into the dimly lit hallway. It was strange, Stacey thought, that the whole checkpoint area was illuminated only be a single ceiling light, especially when there were several other lights that were currently off. "Oh look." Anne said, pointing. "There's a guard." Stacey looked to where Anne had pointed. There was an open window on the right side of the checkpoint doors with a GenSec agent sitting on the other side. His head was bowed, as though he were asleep. "Looks like he's taking a nap." Anne commented as they approached. Stacey gazed at the agent and furrowed her brow. She didn't know what, but something about him seemed... off. "Hey GenSec." Anne called out, assuming the role of spokesperson. "Wakey wakey." The guard didn't move. Anne stopped beside the opening, now within arms reach of the agent. "Hey." She repeated. "Wake up, we need your help." Anne reached over and lightly nudged the guard's shoulder. In response, he fell to the ground with a thud, totally limp. Stacey's eyes widened. //Was he... is he...// "Is he dead?" Leora blurted, shock in her voice. Anne didn't respond, instead staring down at the body. Then, slowly, she looked up into the security room and placed her hand on the opening sill. "Han, you see that red button right there? Press it." "On it." Han said, crawling off her shoulder and scuttering into the room. A second later, a buzzing echoed around the room as the large metal doors slid open. The three women ran past the gate and stopped in front of the security room door. Stacey and Leora held back as Anne opened it. The guard was still laying on the floor as she did, limp and unmoving. Anne knelt down and reach out her hand to take a pulse, but stopped and turned to Stacey and Leora. "Oh yeah, he's dead." "Wha... how?" Reaching down, Anne unclipped the guard's helmet and pulled it off. Leora gasped and took a step back. Stacey clasped a hand over her mouth to prevent her from screaming. The guard's skin was gray, sunken, and dry. His mouth was gaping open, though completely absent of teeth or even a tongue. His eye sockets were also empty, being nothing but black voids that seemed to have no end. "What happened to him?" Leora said, her voice nothing more than a dry whisper. "I'm not sure." Anne replied as she began rummaging the guard's body. "I- I- I thought..." Stacey's voice broke. She swallowed, wet her mouth, and tried again. "I thought y- you said they didn't keep anything down here. A- And you said GenSec would be able to handle it." Leora gave Stacey a quick glance, her face pale. Anne didn't look at Stacey, but did actually reply to her. "Well, I stand corrected." "This is a containment breach, right?" Leora stated more than asked. "Isn't the alarm supposed to be going off?" "Han." Anne said, looking to her right. "That button that's behind the glass should be the containment breach alarm. Try pressing it." The sound of something flipping up rang out from out of Stacey's view, followed by the sound of a button being pressed down. "Huh." Han said. "Nothing." "That's what I thought." Anne replied, going back to scrounging around the guard. "Seems like it's busted." "Fuck you mean it's busted?!" Leora cried. "It's the breach alarm!" "My best guess is whatever got out doesn't want people to know it's out. This site is for intelligent, sapient anomalies, remember?" "But it's the breach alarm. How could it even disable it?" "You're guess is as good as mine. Ah, here it is." Anne said as she lifted something up. In her hand was what seemed like a black and gray handle of some kind, though Stacey didn't recognize it. As Anne looked at the handle, her expression dropped. "Oh what the hell." "What is it?" Stacey asked. "Well, this //was// the guard's sidearm." She responded, waving the handle. Now that Stacey thought about it, it did look like the bottom half of a gun. "Problem is, it broke right in half." "How?" "I'm not- wait." Anne brought the handle closer to her face. "There's some kind of... black oil on it." She ran her finger over the top of the handle as Han crawled into view. "Any idea what it might be, Annie?" "No clue." She said, examining a bit on her finger. Dropping the handle, she began searching the guard again. "Oh well. That's not as important as... ah ha!" Anne pulled up her hand again, this time with a gray and white card in it. "Jackpot. A GenSec key card." "Uh, Anne..." Leora said as the woman stood. "We're not allowed to have those, remember?" "Well, this is the only way we'll be able to move around Heavy. So unless you'd like to stay here..." "Are you crazy?!" Stacey blurted. Both Anne and Leora turned to her. "You want to go //into// Heavy Containment?! With a monster on the loose?!" "It's our best shot at survival." Anne said, placing a hand on her hip. "By going TO the monster?!" "Whatever's in here can already get to us." Anne calmly pointed to the dead guard. "Our only option is to look for an exit somewhere." "You don't agree with her, do you?" Stacey turned to Leora. "She..." Leora looked at Anne, then back to Stacey. "...makes a good point." "Oh my god." Stacey placed a hand on her head. "We're all going to die." "Well look, Stacey..." Anne started as she knelt down and allowed Han to crawl up to her shoulder. "We're going to go look for an exit. If you want to stay here by yourself, feel free t-" "No!" Stacey blurted, quickly stepping closer to the two women. "Good." Anne said, giving a forced smile a reassurance. "Now, since I don't have a weapon, Leora..." Leora looked at Anne, but staring at each other with equal expectance. "What?" Leora finally asked. Anne rolled her eyes. "If there's something loose, then at least //someone// should have a weapon or weapons." "Oh!" Leora cried, the anxiety on her face turning to almost excitement at the opportunity to use her powers. "I've got you." Holding out her hands, the light around Leora began to warp, until a glowing spear and shield manifested in her hands. "Primal." Anne commented, stepping past Leora. "But better than nothing. Ok kids..." She turned around to look at Stacey and Leora directly. "Follow me, do whatever I say, and hopefully we'll get out of here alive." Stacey gulped. She really wished Anne would pick her words better. ------ It turned out the the keycard wasn't as important as Stacey had thought. Much to Anne's disappointment, none of the doors they had gone through needed it. "Do you even know where you're going?" Leora asked after the group walked through the umpteenth door. Stacey turned to her, noticing that the light illuminating from the spear and shield had dulled slightly. "Nope." Anne replied. "So then how are we going to find an exit?" "The site isn't infinite. My plan was to go in a straight line until we hit the edge, then stick to it until we find some stairs or another elevator. If there's another exit, it'll most likely be on the edge." Leora thought for a moment. "Ok, yeah. Good point." As the group walked across the hallway, Stacey looked around and rubbed her arm. Her plight around Heavy Containment had given her a new found appreciation for Light. Light was by no means perfect, but it at least //tried// to feel welcoming. Heavy, on the other hand, was nothing short of a prison. The walls were all the same concrete white and gray, the floor was hard steel that clanged with each step, and all the hallways looked almost identical. That, combined with no directional aid, gave Stacey the sense they were walking in- "Yes!" Stacey jumped as Anne's cry broke her train of thought. With a wide grin, the woman ran over to the door directly in front of them. "I knew we'd need the keycard!" The door itself was slightly different from the other ones they had passed. This one was a lighter gray, and seemed to be reinforced at the sides. Above the door was a sign reading "Checkpoint." "Aren't you happy I thought of looting that guard back there?" Anne smirked, pulling the card from her side. "Han, would you do the honors?" "Sure thing, Annie." The hand said, crawling from Anne's shoulder to her palm. Anne grabbed Han by the wrist and gave him the card. "So what do you think about them?" Leora whispered, quiet enough so only Stacey could hear her. The girl, with her poor nerves shot, jumped and turned to Leora. "W- what?" She asked. "Hanne." Leora waved to the two. "What do you think of them." "Oh, um..." Stacey stuttered. Her mind was on anything but Anne and Han. Her mind was on the guard who looked as though he had his organs sucked out through his eye holes. "I- it's kinda funny, I- I guess." "Yeah." Leora nodded. "You know, Anne probably won't want Iris or anyone to know about them. We //could// promise to keep her secret in exchange for... privileges." "Uh huh." Stacey squeaked, unable to keep the tremble out of her voice. Leora didn't respond immediately, but after a few moments, she sighed and stepped into Stacey's direct view. "Hey..." She said with a sympathetic smile. "We'll be alright." Stacey looked at her, then to Anne, then back to Leora. "Did you see the guard?" Her throat was dry, making the words come out as a hoarse whisper. Leora's smile wavered as she broke eye contact. She quickly reestablished both though, failing to fully hide the fear that was inside her too. "I'm sure we'll find an exit before we stumble across whatever did that." She said more to herself then to Stacey. "And I'll protect us if we don't." A buzzing noise rang out, followed by a hissing sound as the door slid open. "See." Anne started. "Easy as- woah." Anne had started to walk through the door, but stopped dead in her tracks. "What the hell..." Han, who had crawled back up on Anne's shoulder, added. "What?" Leora asked, stepping forward. Stacey stayed close to Leora, not wanting to get too far away from anyone. As she got closer to the door, she was able to make out what was on the other side of it... and understood why Anne had stopped. The hallway which it led into was barely lit. Only a few emergency lights were illuminated on the wall, and even then they were dim. But what caught everyone's attention was the black liquid spread across almost the entirety of the floor. It looked almost like a thick oil, and even from here Stacey could smell a strong mustiness radiating from it. "What is that?" Leora said. "I don't know." Anne replied, covering her mouth and nose. "But it's rancid." "D- d-" Stacey tried speaking, but her throat was still dry. Swallowing, she tried again. "D- do you think it c- could be related to..." She couldn't even bring herself to finish the sentence. No one answered the girl. After a moment, Anne slowly stepped into the hall. "Anne!" Leora cried. "What are you-" "There's only one way for us to go." She replied, turning. "Obviously there's something down here with us, which means the quicker we find an exit, the quicker we'll be out of danger." "But the... whatever that is!" Leora pointed to the goop. "What if it's dangerous?" "Well... then... be ready to run I guess." Anne turned to Han. "You want off this ride?" "I'll follow you where ever." Looking back to the liquid, Anne took a deep breath. Then, raising her foot, she took a step forward. The gasp and unbalanced fall that followed made Stacey think that the liquid was deep and Anne had fallen in. And while Anne did indeed sink into the sludge, it only went up to her shin. "What is this?" She said, raising her foot. Black oil with the consistency of glue or malaises dripped off her shoe. From her angle, Stacey was able to see some kind of steam rising off of it. "What happened to the floor?" Leora asked, staring in awe. "I'm not sure." Anne replied, looking back. "I- is it safe?" Stacey added. "To step in?" Anne brought her hand down to her ankle and scrapped some of the sludge onto her finger. "I mean, it's warm and stings a little. But it looks safe." With that, Anne stepped back into the sludge and waded a few feet out. "Only one way to go." Leora walked up to the sludge and, after a moment of hesitation, stepped in. Hot steam rolled up to her nose. "God this is disgusting." She said, gagging. Stacey, already smelling the rot and must, was reluctant to follow Leora into the liquid. But as the girl trudged behind Anne, Stacey couldn't help but grow more anxious as the proximity between her and other people increased. //Dammit.// She thought, looking down at the sludge. Covering her mouth and nose, Stacey raised her foot and took a step forward. At first it felt like stepping into mud, with her leg sinking into the goop only stopped by the compression of the near-liquid mass. Then a dull burning began stinging any bare skin it had come in contact with. As Anne had said, it was noticeable, but not painful. The smell, on the other hand, was as painful as smell could be. Stacey had once found a half decomposed fox behind her house once. That had smelled like peaches and flowers compared to the stench billowing up from the sludge. Stacey gagged as Leora did, but went a step further and actually started to dry heave. The two women looked back at her as tears filled her eyes. "You good?" Anne asked. Stacey let out a few more coughs, before wiping her eyes and looking up. "It reeks." She said, trying her hardest to only breath through her mouth. "You should smell an Insurgency barracks." Anne turned to Han, still clinging to her shoulder. "Hang on, I don't think you'll want to fall in." Han's fingers tightened around Anne, before the woman continued walking forward. Leora and Stacey followed close behind. Walking through the liquid was no easy feat. Stacey realized the mud analogy she used earlier was more accurate than she had thought. Each step was a struggle, which was odd since the consistency was lighter than that of //actual// mud. Stacey looked a head of the group to the edge of the sludge. It must've been about twenty or so feet. Gritting her teeth, she did her best to ignore the warm steam tickling her nostril. She had gotten about seven feet into the pool when a sudden sense of dread overwhelmed her. It was as if a hole had suddenly burned in her stomach, and all the water in her throat and mouth had evaporated. Stacey had been anxious and afraid before, but this was straight terror. As Stacey began to wonder where this feeling came from, the slightest, subtlest noise reached her ear. It was the most muted sound of a single slosh she had ever heard. She probably would've written it off as it simply being apart of her imagination, but something about it made her turn around. There, standing in the liquid behind her, was a humanoid figure. It was too dark to see any real detail about it, but three things stood out. First was that its skin was covered in the very same black oil that made up the pool. It dripped from its fingers and chin and ran down its body like wet paint on a wall. Second was the chapped-lipped mouth, which was crooked up into an unnaturally large and malevolent smile. Third were the eyes, which had the same black liquid streaming down the at corners like tears. They were also inverted in color, with the irises being a void black and the pupils a stark white. Identical to the eyes Stacey kept seeing in her dream. The girl screamed and fell backwards into the sludge. It splattered across her clothes and arms as she landed in it, going all the way up past her shoulders. The creature, meanwhile, simply laughed. It was a shrill, feminine laugh that sent chills down Stacey's back. Then, it effortlessly began strutting over to the girl, appearing to be unimpeded by the consistency of the pool. Unlike Stacey, who tried desperately to move, found her arms and legs fighting against the oil. As the monster approached, Stacey stared aghast at the unholy entity. She had known that the anomalous world was full of horrors, but nothing could have prepared her for the paralyzing fear just looking at this thing produced. The creature extended a thin, boney, and rotten arm to Stacey in an attempt to grab her. She didn't even have the mental capacity to comprehend accepting death. But before the monster could reach her, the room filled with a brilliant orange and yellow light. The creature responded by raising its hands to its head, covering its eyes and still preventing Stacey to get a good look at its face. It let out a high pitched groan, stepped backwards, and quickly submerged into the pool. "Move!" Stacey, still petrified and staring at where the monster had retreated, couldn't tell who had yelled. But after a second, she felt a pair of hands grab her under the shoulders and heave her to her feet. Turning, she saw that Anne had been the one who pulled her up. Leora, on the other hand, had reilluminated her spear and shield to a brightness Stacey had never seen before. The weapons burned in Leora's hands, and Stacey could've sworn they flamed and flicked identically to the sun. Grabbing Stacey's hand, Anne began dragging her through the liquid. The three girls ran as fast as they could, though it was still hard given the pool's consistency. Stacey looked between everyone. Anne's eyes were locked on the exit door, Han was holding onto Anne's shoulder even tighter than before, and Leora seemed to be scanning the liquid as though something could jump out at any moment. It took a few seconds, but eventually the group made it to the edge and jumped out. Without wasting any time, Anne lead them to the door and slammed the button next to it. It opened, and they all practically pushed themselves through. The other room was just as dark as the one they just came from. Fortunately, though, there was no black liquid. Seeing this break, Anne stopped and turned around. She ordered Leora to do the same, who obeyed. They all stood in silence and on guard for about a minute, staring at the door leading back to the black liquid. Stacey wasn't sure what they were waiting for, but was still too shaken from the experience to ask. She did noticed that, despite everyone panting from just sprinting through that mud, Leora was breathing significantly heavier than everyone else. After a few minutes, Anne turned to the rest of the group. "Ok." She said. "I think it's gone." Leora let out a deep breath and fell to her knees, panting heavily. The bright light that had been illuminating from her weapons faded to almost nothing as her weapons dulled to near transparency. "You good?" Anne asked, seeing this. Leora didn't reply immediately, instead lifting up an index finger to ask for a moment. "That..." She exhaled. "Was... tiring..." "Running through that goop stuff?" Anne replied. "I think you're out of shape." Leora shook her head. "This." She pointed to the spear and shield. "The brighter... the more energy... it takes..." "Well don't use up all your juice at once!" Han said just as Anne opened her mouth (probably to say the exact same thing). "It seemed like that thing didn't like the light. We'll need you if we come across it again." "Speaking of..." Anne said, turning to Stacey. "Are you ok?" Stacey didn't respond. She just stared blanky up at Anne, her mouth slightly agape. "Stacey?" "...I- I..." She stuttered out. Then she made a noise that was somewhere between a gasp and a cry. A hand shot over her mouth and her knees buckled as tears began streaming down her face. Her nerves were so utterly shot that she didn't even make any noise. "Go check on Leora." A thud echoed out as Han jumped off Anne's shoulder and scuttered across the room. Anne then knelt down beside Stacey and placed a hand over her shoulder. "W- w- w-" "Take your time." Anne said softly. Stacey let out a few more sobs before trying again. "W- what... was that?" "I'm not sure." Anne replied in the kindest tone Stacey had ever heard her in. "I'm not sure." No one spoke for a long time after that. Leora had clearly exhausted herself radically, as it took several minutes for just the heavy breathing to stop. Stacey, on the other hand, was finding it impossible to do much of anything. If it wasn't for the body wide trembling, she'd think she'd had been paralyzed. Eventually, though, Leora regained her breath, and Stacey's shaking died down enough to reliably move her limbs. Anne helped the girl to her feet, before taking a step back and looking at the group as a whole. "Ok guys..." She started. "There is some good news to come from this. It seems like we found out what's been rampaging around down here, and it looks like it hates light. Which is perfect, because we have someone who can summon light from her finger tips. How much energy you running on?" "If I need to brighten up, I can." Leora replied, exhaling once as she spoke. "Good. For now, save as much as you can. If we come in contact with that thing again, you'll know what to do." Leora nodded. Stacey let out a sniff, which caused Anne to look at her. "Alright, here's how we're going to go forward. Leora, you lead. Keep an eye out for that monster and use your light if we you see it. Stacey, you're in the middle between me and Leora. I'll be in back and watch our behind. Han, you stay on my shoulder and be another pair of eyes for me. Got it?" "Gotcha, Annie." Han said, crawling to the woman and climbing her leg. "We'll stick close and we'll stick together. Hopefully, we'll find an exit or at least a way to call for help. Got it?" Both Leora and Stacey nodded. "Good. Leora, take it away." "Right." Leora said, stepping forward. Stacey followed her as they two passed Anne. Once they did, Anne took her place behind Stacey and placed a hand on her shoulder. "We'll be alright." She whispered. Despite Anne's outward positivity, Stacey could tell she had spoken to herself more than anyone. ------ //New blood. New faces.// //No. Old faces. Friends.// //Friends of the one who no longer matters. Friends of the woman locked away.// //Memory is a powerful thing.// //But light is stronger.// //Light burns and singes and blinds and cuts and hurts. How can one eat when one has light?// //Bury the light. Extinguish the light. Snuff the light.// //But how?// //Dark pits and shadow drowns light.// //Sever the hands and the light shall fall.// //Sever the hands within the wall.// The creature smiled wickedly to itself. //Sever the hands and feast on all.// ------ With each hallway passed and no sign of the monster, Stacey's confidence grew. Granted, she was still trembling like a wet dog, but her eyes had long since dried and her breathing had almost returned to normal. "Alright." Leora said, motioning to the group. Stacey, Anne, and Han made their way into the next room once Leora confirmed there was no black sludge or monster. It was a four way intersection, something they had come across more times than Stacey could count. In fact, it was starting to frustrate her how endless Heavy Containment seemed. She could only hope that Anne was right, and that going in a straight line would //eventually// lead to a set of stairs or an elevator that wasn't broken at the- "Hold on." Anne said, causing even to stop dead. "Look." Stacey looked to where Anne was pointing. It was to the door to their right, though Stacey could see why it had piqued Anne's interest. The door was a slightly brighter color than the other black/gray doors surrounding them, and unlike the other doors, this one had a key pad next to it. "It needs a card." Anne added. "I- is it an exit?" Stacey asked. "I'm not sure." Anne replied. "It doesn't look like a checkpoint, which I'd assume all the gates have." "Then what is it?" Leora piped up. Anne shrugged before turning to her. "Want to find out?" Leora stood still for a moment, before slowly making her way to the door. Anne handed her the key card as she passed. "Ok." Leora whispered. "Please be an exit." A metallic humming echoed around the room as she slid the card through the pad. Then, a second later, the door slid open. Bright, white light poured out into the hallway, blinding Stacey who had become so accustomed to the darkness of Heavy Containment. "Jesus!" A voice cried from the room. "Knock next time. I nearly took your head off." //That sounds like...// Stacey squinted and looked into the room. Sure enough, a GenSec guard was standing on the other side of the doorway. "Oh thank god." Stacey exhaled. The guard looked at the group with an expression hidden by his visor. He was standing behind a table, and in his arms was some kind of short barrel rifle pointed towards them. "Who the hell are you?" He asked, lowering the gun. Leora began to speak first. "We're-" "We're anomalies from Light Containment." Anne stepped in front of her, clearly wanting to be the one to speak. "Light Containment?" The guard replied in disbelief. "How did you guys get down here?" "It's a long story." Anne said in her best //friendly but urgent// tone. "Look, we need your help to get out of here... and up to Light." She added, pointing up. The guard just laughed at this, placed his gun on the table, and sat in a chair. Anne blinked in mild confusion, before motioning for Stacey and Leora to follow her into the room. Once everyone was inside, the guard waved his hand at a button on the wall. Leora pressed it, and the door closed behind them. "I'd offer you something to eat or drink, but armories only keep guns and bullets." //This is an armory?// Stacey wondered, looking around. Sure enough, lockers and crates and ammo boxes surrounded the room. "We don't have time for any of that." Leora snapped. "There's a monster running around down here and we need to get out now." "You think I don't know that?" The guard replied, straightening. "You think I don't know there's something here with us?" "Why haven't you recontained it? Where's the rest of GenSec?" "We were understaffed tonight." The guard began. "We're always low on numbers during holidays, even ones like Halloween. Plus, some event up in Light Containment took a lot of the guards that were stationed down here. So the short answer to why that thing is still at large is because we didn't have the numbers to properly recontain it." The guard then shifted uncomfortably in his seat, changing from a straightened position to having his arms folded with a slight slouch. "The long answer is that that thing is something straight from a fucking nightmare. When we got word that a highly dangerous anomaly breached, me and my squad geared up to go contain and... it didn't go well. I'm the only one left." "I- it killed an entire GenSec squad?" Stacey whimpered. The guard grimaced at the word "killed," but he nodded. "What's your name?" Anne asked. "Davis." The guard said. "Ok, Davis. How did you get... here?" Anne waved around the room. "Our first encounter with that thing left only five of us standing. That's when we realized we were in way over our heads and called a retreat. We were hoping to make it to the command center, but that thing kept following us, picking us off one by one as we tried to run. At one point we got to a set of stairs going up the site, but a bunch of black mucus or something was covering the steps. One of our guys stepped into it to try and go up the stairs, and he fell completely through. It was right outside these doors that the last guy was taken. I decided to run in here and hunker down for some kind of glorious last stand, but the thing never came." "Probably because of the light." Han said. "We found that the creature is really sensitive to it." Davis looked at the hand clinging to Anne's shoulder. "Did the hand just talk?" "Why isn't the breach alarm going off?" Anne asked. Davis shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. I'm assuming that creature is messing with our comms or something. I haven't been able to so much as radio anyone, let alone get a message to the rest of the site." "So what you're saying is no one's coming." Anne placed a hand on her chin and sat in a nearby seat. "Unfortunately." Everyone sat in silence for several moments, during which Stacey's eyes frantically darted between Anne and Davis. "Have you tried leaving Heavy?" Leora asked. "Yeah. I told you about the stairs being covered in that bottomless pit soup. As for the elevators, I haven't been able to reach them. They're too far from here anyways. I would've been caught if I tried to run towards them." "H- how many e- elevators are there?" Stacey stuttered. "B- because ours broke." "Oh yeah." Anne said, looking up. "Are there any elevators besides the one in that direction? Because that one's rail broke." "How in the..." Davis rubbed his temple. "I mean, yes, there's another elevator set, but it's all the way on the other side of the site. We'd never make it." "Shit." Stacey whispered. "Ok, ok... how about calling for help?" Leora said. "I know you said your radio wasn't working, but there //has// to be a way to contact //someone// for help." Davis looked down in thought. "I mean, there's the command center. That's the best bet at getting our hands on a computer that'll be able to send a message up to Light. But like I said, it's too far away." "Well we have to try something!" Leora blurted, no longer able to keep in her quiet frustration. "We can't just... sit here and wait for that thing to kill us! How far away is it?" "A few hallways over." Davis replied. "We can make it." Leora said, holding out her arms. Davis stood in surprise when bright light began to manifest around her. "I can keep it away from us." "You can summon light?" Leora nodded. "Well..." Davis smiled. "This changes things then." Anne stood with Davis's new found optimism. "You've got a plan?" "I think so." Davis replied. "If you can keep that monster at bay with your light, then we can probably reach the command center. There, I can send an SOS to Light. Then, all we have to do is wait." "I like that idea." Anne said, stepping beside him. "What do you guys think?" Leora, the frustration appearing to have completely dissipated, nodded. Stacey also nodded, though not nearly as cheery or optimistic as anyone else in the room. "Alright, we have a plan then." Anne said, turning to Davis. "Lead the way." ------ "So what do you know about the monster?" Anne asked as the group made their way through the room. "Not much." Davis replied, slinking over to the door. "Only that it was transferred from Light Containment." "Wait wait wait." Leora said, light illuminating from her hands. "That thing used to be in //Light//?" The guard shrugged as the opened the door. Stacey, Leora, and Anne all looked at each other. Hearing that this thing used to be in Light confused them, and made them wonder how they hadn't heard of it sooner. Davis was the first into the hallway, rifle raised as he crept in. "Clear." He called after scanning the area. Leora, Stacey, Anne, and Han entered the next room in that order. Once they were all inside, Davis lowered his stance and placed a hand on his hip. "Here we are. The command center." The door leading to it had a red streak on it, indicating its high level clearance. Davis walked up to the keypad next to the door and swiped his card through it. "Dammit." He whispered as a red light appeared on the console. "It must be on lockdown." "What does that mean?" Leora asked. "It means this dinky little guard card ain't getting us in there." "That doesn't make sense." Leora continued. "We were able to get through checkpoints just fine." "Well, the Commander Center is going to need a higher level of clearance." Davis turned to them. "So unless one of you has a level 4 key on you, we aren't getting in." "So that's it?" Leora said frustrated. "We just give up?" "I'm open to suggestions." "Anne..." Leora turned to the woman. "You were with the Insurgency right? Didn't they teach you some... I don't know... trick to bypassing security?" "Cracking a Foundation door is no easy task. And with lockdown in place?" Anne replied. "I'd need a day minimum." Leora placed a hand over her head and began pacing. "Come on, guys. There's got to be something we can do." Stacey's eyes began wandering around the room, partially to look for someway to help but mostly to make sure the monster wasn't sneaking up on them. As her eyes gazed, though, they landed on a small air duct hanging from the ceiling. "What about the ventilation?" Stacey asked. "What?" Leora said as everyone turned to her. "The ventilation." She repeated, pointing to the duct. "I- is it possible to get inside the room from there?" "I mean, yeah..." Davis looked up at the vent. "But it's only a few inches wide. I don't think any of us are squeezing in there." The group stood in silence, before all slowly turning to Han. "Well well well..." Han said in a rather proud tone. "Looks like it's up to me to save the day. Give me a boost, Annie." Anne obeyed, walking over to right below the vent and holding her hand up as high as she could. Han jumped from her palm and clung to the grate. "How do you plan on-" Leora was cut off as Han wiggled the grate loose, causing it to swing open. "...opening it." A light thudding echoed around the room as Han crawled into the vent. The thudding got softer as Han went further into the vent, before fading out entirely. After about a minute, a green light appeared on the keypad, followed by the door sliding open. Han was standing at the base of the doorway, holding himself in a way that, despite being just a hand, was proud of himself. "Easy as that." Han said, jumping and crawling up Anne as she got close. Stacey looked around the Command Center when she stepped inside. Like Davis had predicted, it was totally empty. There wasn't any blood or corpses, but no Foundation staff either. The room itself was octangular, with computers lining the walls and a few in the center. "Watch the door." Davis said, hurrying over to one of the consoles. "And keep an eye for black rot." Leora stood at the door, her light weapons dully illuminating in her hands. Anne and Han paced around the room, looking around the Command Center's interior. Stacey, meanwhile, found a chair in front of one of the computers and took a seat. "Say..." Anne said, stopping and pointing at the screen right beside her. "What's with the shitty video quality?" Stacey looked over. The screen Anne was talking about looked like some security camera feed. It was of a hallway, at least that's what Stacey assumed. The quality was horrible, being all staticky and low resolution. "Lower quality is easier to process, encrypt, and store." Davis said, not looking from his computer. Anne nodded, before getting back to pacing. Stacey took the down time to exhale. //We'll be fine.// She thought to herself. //Davis is sending out a distress signal, they'll send someone down to get us out, and we'll be fine.// Her eye's wandered to the computer screen in front of her as she thought this. That's when she noticed that the computer was on. The screen was black, but that illuminated black when the actual computer is on. In the middle of the screen were gray two lines. It looked like... the paused logo? Like it was a video. Without thinking, Stacey reached down and pressed the space bar on the computer. A high pitched humming came from the computer as the video began. This caught the attention of everyone, as Anne, Han, and Leora turned to the screen. Davis glanced over too, but quickly got back to typing. Stacey jerked back slightly, wondering if what she just did was wrong. Then, white words appeared on screen, reading //Level 4 Restricted.// The screen itself was flickering with tiny white line and cracks, and the resolution couldn't have been higher than 360p. It was as though Stacey was watching on old VHS recording. "This file is restricted to level 4 personnel only." A robotic voice said. "If you do not have authorization to view this file, discard it and report to your superior immediately." Stacey, frightened by this, reached out to repress the pause button. "Wait." She stopped as Anne, who was now directly beside her, grabbed her hand. "Anne, we're not allowed to-" "Wait." After a moment, a different set of white words appeared, this time reading //Document 01: Nature of [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-106 SCP-106].// "Do you know which one that is?" Stacey asked, turning to Anne. Anne shook her head. Suddenly, the screen changed to a man sitting at a table in a dark room. Shadow covered the man's face, but the outlines of a white lab coat were visible around his torso. "Document 106-49. Date of recording, November 6th, 2022. Recorder, doctor ██████, level 4 personnel. Leaving dead space." The man shifted in his seat. "Following [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/a-nightmare-on-17th-street Incident 239-17-10/31/2022], we were able to gather information that may give us insight into the nature of SCP-106. Thanks to █████████████████ as well as testimonies from SCP objects affected by Incident 239-17-10/31/2022, we're able to know that SCP-106 was temporarily 'freed' from its current condition. Specifically, after intervention by SCP-███." Footsteps echoed in Stacey's right ear as Leora walked up next to her. The screen flickered as it appeared to glitch out for a second. "SCP-███ is a know infovore, and it's ability to affect SCP-106 in such a way gives us two pieces of information unknown to us before. Firstly, it shows that SCP-███'s infovoric capabilities far exceed what was previously believed. Because of its necessity for ███ █████-█ as well as its apparent ignorance to the extent of its properties, no measures are to be taken outside of increased surveillance. The second discovery from this incident is the potential nature of SCP-106. Because it was able to be temporarily neutralized by SCP-███, a known infovore, it is currently theorized that SCP-106 is a form of infosite." Anne made intrigued "huh" sound. Stacey glanced at her, but Anne just waved for her to keep watching. "If this theory is correct, then it would be ground breaking to our understanding of SCP-106, as well as open potential avenues to cure the host of the parasitic infection. The infectious enitity currently possessing SCP-106 has been referred to by site staff as 'the Rot,' mainly for its corrosive nature. The commissioning of a body to study the Rot independently of SCP-106 is currently being organized by the O5 council." The screen flickered to black. After a moment, the words //Document 02: Timeline of SCP-███'s Infection// blinked onto the monitor. "The following is a list of incident reports compiled to formulate a timeline of recent events for your convenience. These reports have been summarized. For access to the full reports, see ████████." A robotic voice spoke as corresponding words appeared on screen. A second later, the screen changed to a wall of text slowly crawling down the monitor. Stacey recognized the format as basic incident reports. "Incident 239-17-10/31/2022." The same robot voice said. "██████████. During this, SCP-106 captured multiple SCP objects. While in the pocket dimension, SCP-███ encountered SCP-106 and temporarily 'freed' it, allowing the now conscious ████████ to free the captured anomalies. See Document 106-49 for more information. Following this event, SCP-███ complained of having nightmares relating to SCP-106 and the encounter. These dreams ceased after a month. "Incident ███-07-10/01/2023. SCP-███ claimed to have had a dream relating to Incident 239-17-10312022. It should be noted that SCP-███ has not experienced this nightmare in nearly a year. SCP-███ claims that the dream was more vivid than before. Both SCP-███ and SCP-106 are to be monitored in the event the nightmare is anomalous in nature. "Incident ███-08-10/08/2023. After a week of checkups and observation, SCP-███ claims it has not experienced the dream referenced in Incident ███-07-10012023 following that one night. "Incident ███-09-10/16/2023. SCP-███ reports to the infirmary for medication. It claims it had been experiencing a mild headache for the past several days, but had attempted to 'tough it out.' After a week, however, it decided to seek medication. Ibuprofen was distributed. "Incident ███-10-10/18/2023. SCP-███ reports to the infirmary, complaining of chronic headaches, as well as an increase in severity. It was given more medication, before being sent out. "Incident ███-11-10/21/2023. SCP-███ is found unconscious in the training room by SCP-████. SCP-████ is able to wake SCP-███, who expresses confusion and mild disorientation. SCP-███ is then taken to the infirmary, where signs of dehydration are present. SCP-███ expresses that the lack of hydration must be the cause for the loss of consciousness, as well as its recent head aches. SCP-███ is released from the infirmary. "Incident ███-12-10/24/2023. SCP-███ stumbles into the infirmary, expressing that it has a severe head ache, as well as severe stomach pains. SCP-███ is properly admitted to the infirmary. "Incident ███-13-10/26/2023. Data expunged. "Incident ███-14-10/27/2023. Data expunged. "Incident ███-15-10/28/2023. Data expunged. "Incident ███-16-10/29/2023. Data expunged. "Incident ███-17-10/30/2023. SCP-███ has been transferred to Heavy Containment in a temporary containment unit. While not as potent or powerful as SCP-106, SCP-███ is still displaying many signs similar to the former object. The Overseer council, the director of Site-19, and the lead researcher for SCP-106 have been contacted. To avoid mass panic, the incidents that took place in the infirmary are not to be made known to the SCP objects in Light Containment. This includes SCP objects that are on ███ █████-█." And with that, the video ended. The screen had gone back to the illuminated black it had been before the video played. Stacey was just barely able to see everyone's reflection in the monitor. Leora gave a confused looked, before stepping back towards the door. Anne, on the other hand, had gone pale. "What is it?" Stacey asked, turning to her. Anne didn't respond immediately, instead continuing to stare at the screen. "Remember when Davis said the monster was transferred from Light Containment?" She whispered. "What? Um... yeah." "Do you know what an infovore is?" "I- I think." Stacey stuttered. "They're like... psychic or something, right?" "Close." Anne replied, now looking at the girl. "We're individuals capable of rapidly processing and manipulating information. Basically, we have really good memories, can read minds, and to some extent twist both. Infosites are mental parasites that attach themselves to infovores. It's a bit complicated, but in laymen's terms, they use the infovores own mental capabilities to manipulate the host." "O- ok." Stacey said. "Why are you telling me this?" "Infosites can spread and reproduce in many ways..." Anne continued. "But the most effective is direct mental contact between an infected host and an uninfected infovore." "So?" "Stacey... the monster that's down here is an infovore from Light Containment that's been infected by an infosite. Tell me, who from Light Containment is an infovore that was admitted to the infirmary a week ago and no one has seen sense?" "How many infovores are there? Just you and-" Stacey stopped dead as it hit her. //No.// She thought. //That can't be it.// Her attention was pulled away from her thoughts as a loud static sound made her jump. Turning, she saw that the monitor had changed to static, before flicking to what looked like security camera feed. In fact, it was the same CCTV footage Anne had complained about earlier. Though something was different this time. The quality was still terrible, but Stacey could see in the feed a dark figure standing off in the hallway. Not being able to make out what it was, she squinted and leaned in closer. The feed cycled, and the figure was closer to the camera. Still, Stacey couldn't make out what is was, though she could take a pretty good guess. Again the video updated, and now the figure was standing right below the camera. This time, Stacey could perceive its humanoid shape and its head looking up at the camera. Two white dots laid in the figure's void of a silhouette. Stacey felt herself grow cold as the figure slowly- "Watch out!" Anne yelled. Stacey felt a hand grab her shoulder and yank her back, pulling her clean out of her chair. Just in the nick of time, too, as at the very moment Stacey fell back, a thin black arm shot out of the computer screen. The hand grasped at the spot where Stacey's head had been a moment earlier. Anne pulled Stacey close, both of them quickly backing up as the hand, after realizing its prey had escaped, pressed against the side of the monitor. Then, a second arm extended out of the screen and grabbed the opposite side. Finally, a head pushed its way through. The red emergency lights of the room, while dim, were bright enough to allow Stacey to actually see the face of the monster that had been hunting them. And sure enough... "Oh my god." Leora said. "Iris?" Despite the radically different appearance, there was no mistaking that poorly cut dirty blonde hair or the large scar that ran across her face. Like before, the mouth was crooked into a wicked grin, and the eyes were an inverted color. A black oil-like substance covered Iris's face and body, but it was most prominent around her eyes and down a tear-like track on her cheeks. "Iris..." Anne whispered. "What happened?" Iris, or the creature pretending to be Iris, opened her mouth. "Don't like the new look?" The sound sent chills down Stacey's spine. It sounded //like// Iris, but with a demonic undertone and a demeanor that was anything //but// Iris. As though suddenly remembering her purpose, Leora strengthened her light and illuminated the room. Iris, in response, leapt out of the screen and dove into the floor. An black spot appeared where Iris had landed. "Huddle up!" Anne yelled, pulling Stacey even closer and moving to Leora. Davis, who had been paying close attention, sprinted next to the group. "Keep an eye on any solid surface!" The guard shouted, raising his rifle. "It can pop out of any wall, floor, or ceiling!" A feminine laughed echoed around the room, which alone was enough to make Stacey whimper in fear. "Don't waste all your energy." Han said, shifting himself to face Leora. Leora, who was starting to sweat, nodded. "Did you send out the distress?" Anne asked. "Yeah." Davis said. "I sent it out." "What do we do?!" Stacey cried, trying her best to ignore the slushing sound coming from the walls. "We just need to stick together." Anne replied. "Leora, keep your light on. Davis, do you know where the Foundation will come from? Maybe we can meet them there." "They'll most likely come from the stairs." "Ok... alright..." Anne panted. "If we stay in a group and stay in Leora's light, we should be able to make it there safely. Now, everyone move together." As a group, they all began slowly making their way to the door. Leora, deciding it was best for her to stay in the center, stepped to the side and allowed Davis to go first. The guard crept through, rifle still raised. Then Leora herself walked through, before stopping and beckoning the last two to come. Stacey let out a shaky breath as she walked through the door, stopping next to Leora. Anne, with Han on her shoulder, followed. "Ok. We'll form a triangle. Leora, you stay in the middle and cover as much space with light as you can without getting tired. Davis, you lead the way. Me and Stacey will follow side by side." Anne looked down at Stacey. "Ok?" She nodded. "Alright." Anne finished as everyone got into their positions. "Stay close, stay in the light." Turning, Anne motioned for everyone to start moving. And everyone did... except Stacey. As the group took their first steps forward, Stacey found she wasn't able to raise her feet from the ground. Looking down, her eyes widened as she saw herself ankle deep and sinking into a small pool of the black liquid. "Wait!" Stacey yelled. Everyone, but most importantly Leora, stopped. But it had been just enough. The immediate light around Stacey just been just dim enough to allow Iris to pounce. Something Stacey realized as a pair of black arms wrapped around her body. "Gotcha!" Iris said in a malevolent playfulness. Stacey screamed as she felt herself get dragged back. A mild burning sensation covered the lower half of her body as she began to be pulled into the wall. "Stacey!" Anne and Leora yelled, both leaping into action. Anne was the first to reach Stacey, grabbing her by the arms and pulling. It slowed Stacey down, but still she crept into the black mass that had formed on the wall. Leora and Davis quickly arrived, both grabbing onto the back of Anne and aiding her in pulling Stacey. With now three people pulling, Stacey felt herself stop completely. "Don't let go!" She cried, her vision blurring from tears that had formed in her eyes. "We won't!" Leora replied. She was only able to pull using one hand, as the other was used to maintain a ball of light. Stacey could feel the force at her legs, pulling her in. But she also felt the immense effort by Anne, Leora, and Davis, keeping her from being pulled in. After a few moments of struggling, Stacey felt herself actually begin to be pulled //out.// "It's working!" She said, almost laughing. This was short lived as she felt Iris peek her head out of the wall just above her. Although she wasn't able to see Iris's face, she could tell the monster was pissed. "Anne." Iris growled. "Let. Go." Anne looked up at Iris, and for a moment a shimmer appeared in her eyes. Then, a look of absolute horror appeared on her face as she became bone white. A moment later, Anne let go entirely. Stacey let out a scream as she shot into the wall, but it was quickly cut off as everything went black. ------ A slight pain ran up Leora's body as she fell back on her ass. For a moment, a sense of relief swelled in her as she assumed they had successfully pulled Stacey back. Perhaps Iris had given up the fight after a minute. However, as Leora sat up and looked around to find no Stacey, that relief soured into apprehension. "Stacey?" She said, hoping the girl was simply out of her view. "Stacey?!" "She's gone." Davis said, brushing himself off. "That thing took her." "No..." Leora stood. "No! We had her! We-" Slowly Leora's eyes fell onto Anne. She was sitting on the ground, staring at the black mass where Stacey had been a minute ago. "What did you do?!" Leora demanded, hurrying over to Anne. "Why did you let go?!" Anne didn't respond. She just continued to stare at the wall, though now Leora could see Anne's mouth was open in awe. The pale facial expression she wore implied she had just witnessed something petrifying. "We have to save her!" Leora said, running towards the sludge trailing down the wall. "We have to get her back before it's too-" Leora was cut off as she rammed face first into the wall. Disorientated, she wobbled backwards before regaining her footing. Staring at the mass, she placed her hand against it and pushed, but only a wall stood behind the thin layer of oil. "No! Fuck!" She punched the wall then turned back to Anne. "Why did you let go?!" Again Anne didn't respond. All she did was sit there and stare in horror at the spot where Stacey was taken. "We have to find her!" Leora stated, turning to Davis. "How?" The guard asked. "I... I don't know! She had to have taken Stacey somewhere! We just need to find where!" Davis shook his head. "Leora, I really hate to tell you this, but Stacey is-" "No she isn't!" Leora yelled. "She- she can't be! We can't let her! I can't let her! We just have to find her!" "Leora, that thing killed an entire squad of trained, fully geared GenSec agents. Even if Stacey is still alive, it's unlikely we'd be able to save her." "We have to try! We have to!" "Leora, all rushing in will do is get us killed." Davis folded his arms and leaned against the wall. "Now I managed to send out a message to Light Containment. MTF should be on its way. We should let them take care of this." "How long until they get here?" Davis didn't respond. "Well Davis? How long until they get here?!" "Hard to say." "Which is code for a long time! Stacey won't last that long! We need to find her now!" "We. Can't. Fight. That. Thing. Leora. It walked through machine gun fire like it was a squirt gun. And don't tell me your light will stop it. At best your light annoys it." "We have to try! We have to do something!" Leora's voice began to quiver. "That thing is our friend! Something has control over her. Maybe we can talk to it and get Iris to-" "That's not Iris." Leora went silent as she turned to Anne, who was still pale face and staring at the wall. "What?" "That's not Iris." Anne looked up at her. "What do you mean that's not Iris? We saw her!" "I... I..." Anne exhaled and wet her mouth. "When I was holding onto Stacey that... thing reached out to me with its mind. I- I was able to feel it and..." Anne went silent, her eyes unfocusing. "And what?" Leora asked. Anne shook her head. "Leora, all I felt was cold. Whatever trace of Iris there was is gone. That infosite has completely consumed her." "What?" Leora said confused. "What does that mean." Anne sighed and shakily got to her feet. "Every person has their own mental... let's call it scent. I'm not strong enough of an infovore to feel the difference between individuals, but I am strong enough to feel the difference between people and... not people. And that thing we saw, the thing running around in Iris's body... all I felt was something... alien. It's hard for me to describe to a non-infovore, but imagine the feeling of extreme dread, but instead of feeling it in your chest, you feel it in your head." "I don't... I don't know what you mean!" Leora blurted, her face flaring with frustration. "Leora, Iris is possessed. I know you're about to say you knew that, but I mean //really// possessed. You're not going to be able to talk her down." Leora looked at Anne, then looked at Davis, then back to Anne. "We have to do something!" She cried. "Believe me, I want to save Stacey as much as you." Anne said. "But Davis is right. Running in to fight whatever possessed Iris is just going to get us killed." "Seriously Anne?!" Leora shouted. "You're just giving up?!" "Leora, we-" "You of all people?! You always have some plan... or... are able to think of something!" Anne sighed a sorrowful sigh. "I'm sorry Leora." "No! Fuck you! You won't even try to help! You won't even-" Leora backed up to the wall as she spoke, her words turning into sharp exhales once hitting it. Then, placing her hands in her hair, she sunk down into a sitting position and began to cry. "Annie..." Han said once the quiet sobbing filled the room. Anne looked at the hand sitting at her feet. "Leora is right. We can't just let Stacey go." "Han, there's nothing we can do." Anne shook her head. "There's gotta be something. Let's start with something simple. What do you know about these... infosite?" "They're nasty little things." Anne said, reaching down and allowing Han to crawl up her arm. "They attach themselves to infovore minds and feed of memories and emotions. Some of the more powerful ones can even go as far as possessing the infovore, as we see with Iris." "Is there any way to free an infected person?" "Not with anything this side of the Library. You'd either need an extremely powerful inforvore to access the mind of the infected or a way to decrease the infovoric capabilities of the infected." "Wait, why?" Han asked. "Infosites are really only able to attach themselves to medium level infovores. Weak infovores, like me, aren't strong enough to attract infosites. It'd be like eating an apple that's still a little bud on the branch. Strong infovores, on the other hand, are //too// powerful for infosites. If an infosite attaches themselves to a strong infovore, they can literally just think the parasite away. Medium infovores are just right, as they're strong enough to snack on but too weak to kick the virus out." "Just so I understand this correctly, the only way to cure Iris would be to either weaken her infovore powers or get a super strong infovore to kick the virus out?" "Correct." Davis had been listening in on Anne explain Iris's predicament. Now that she was done, he opened his mouth to speak. "We should get going. The sooner we get by the exits the better." "Yeah." Anne said, looking down at Leora. "Come on Leora." Leora looked up at them with red eyes. Anger and hurt were still on her face, but she stood in compliance. "Lead the way, Davis." The guard turned and lead the group towards the door on the far side of the hallway. As they moved, Han spoke up. "Would //increasing// Iris's infovore powers work or does it have to be a different person?" "Yeah, making Iris's ability stronger would work, but that's the hardest of the three options. Really the only way that'd be possible is with a [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/voices-carry-part-2 conflux], but those things are rarer than- woah!" Anne skidded to a halt as she nearly ran into Davis, who had suddenly stopped moving. Slowly, he turned to look at Anne. "Did you say conflux?" "Uh... yeah." "Are they these metal cylinder things with wires and buttons on them? Kinda looks like a super futuristic pipe bomb?" Anne's eyes widened. "Yes! Do you know where one is?" "We have one down here in Heavy." "What?!" Anne said, laughing. "What are you guys doing with a conflux?" "I don't know. Some souvenir from some mission, I guess." Anne hit herself in the head. "MY conflux! Of course! I assumed they either crushed it or sent it to 19!" "Hold on." Leora said. "What's a conflux?" "It's a device that helps infovores process all the information they take in, which by nature gives a boost to that infovore's capabilities!" "Are you saying that-" "If we activate it in close proximity to Iris, it may boost her infovoric capacity just enough to allow her to free herself? I sure am!" The smile on Anne's face was wide, which gave Leora a spark of hope. "So, there //is// a chance we can save Stacey?" "If we hurry, then yes!" "Well that's great and all." Davis said, not as pessimistic as he was, but clearly not as relieved as everyone else. "But how are we actually going to get to this... Iris? We have no idea where it went." Anne tapped her temple. "When it connected with me, it gave me an idea to what it presence feels like. Which means I can feel which direction its presence is strongest. Think of it like a mental compass." "Ok." Davis said. "So the new plan is finding the conflux and using your mental compass to find and free Iris, all while hoping we come across Stacey on the process?" "Yep!" Anne said happily. Davis shrugged. "Alright. I'll join. But if we're going to the conflux, then we need to go this way. Keep up." And with that, Davis, Anne, Han, and Leora ran towards the door opposite to the one they were originally going to. ------ The dank, moldy air was the first thing Stacey comprehended as she regained consciousness. She gagged and coughed as she slowly opened her eyes. The room was too dark to make anything out. All Stacey could see was a sleek floor covered in black oil and bones scattered around. Her eyes widened as the objects reminded her of where she was. Panicking, Stacey began struggling, but all attempts to move proved unsuccessful. Looking up, she realized her hands had been tied to a large chain that hung from the ceiling, leaving Stacey to dangle in the air. She let out a whimper and looked around, but her eyes were still too contracted to make out any- "Hello?" Stacey's face whipped towards the voice. "H- hello?!" She cried out. "I- I can't see you!" "Your eyes just haven't adjusted yet. Give it a minute." Stacey blinked, and after a minute, her eyes dilatated. In the darkness across from her was a woman with blonde hair and glasses and wearing a white lab coat. She too was hanging from the ceiling by her hands. "W- who are y- you?" Stacey stuttered. "Doctor Agatha Radcliff." The woman replied. "And who might you be?" "Stacey. Uh... SCP-3009." "3009?" Agatha frowned. "Aren't you supposed to be in Light Containment?" "It's a long story." Stacey exhaled, using the conversation to calm her nerves. "Where are we?" "I'm not sure. I blacked out before being brought here." Stacey let out a huff, then looked up at the chain her hands were bound to. Struggling, she tried to free herself by unwrapping her wrists, but it didn't take long for her to realize the futility of it. Exhaling, she let her arms drop. "It could be worse." Agatha said as Stacey sniffled. "At least you aren't impaled." Stacey frowned as she looked at Agatha, not sure what she meant. Then her eyes wandered up to Agatha's arms. Unlike Stacey's, hers had long hooks piercing through her palms. Blood had streamed down her hand and into the sleeve of her shirt. "Are you ok?" Stacey blurted instinctively. Agatha shrugged the best she could. "Not much can be done about it now." Stacey let out a breath and looked back at Agatha's face. "How are we going to get out?" "You don't." Iris's upside down head shot down into Stacey's view, inches from her face. Stacey screamed and jerked back, but wasn't able to do much given her circumstances. Iris just smiled at Stacey, breathing hot, moldy breaths onto her face. After a moment, Iris laughed slide back upwards. Stacey watched the monster as she began crawling on the ceiling towards Agatha. "I- I- Iris..." Stacey stuttered, trying not to throw up. "T- this isn't you. I- I know you're still-" "Oh shut up." Iris snarled. "The host of this body is well suppressed. Any attempts to reach them is hopeless. Now..." Iris slid down the chains holding Agatha up, stopping once she was level with the doctor. "Let's start with something simple. What's your name, doctor?" Agatha didn't respond, instead glaring silently at Iris. Iris, in response, laughed to herself. "It's ok. I already know your name, Agatha Radcliff. Just like how I know your sister's name: Riley Radcliff. You know... the girl who had her face torn off by an [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-939 anomalous predator]?" Agatha's breathing began to shake as Iris spoke, which only made Iris's grin grow wider. Then, Iris grabbed the chain and swung herself around so she was behind Agatha and facing Stacey. "You know, your sister might have survived if she had simply..." Iris brought her hands to either side of Agatha's head. "Opened her eyes." Suddenly, Iris grabbed Agatha's face, pressing her fingers on Agatha's eyes. A hissing sound echoed out as Agatha cried and screamed in agony. She thrashed around, struggling against Iris's grip, but the anomaly proved far stronger than her. "Iris!" Stacey cried. "What are you doing!?" Iris just stared at Stacey with those horrible eyes, her grin widening with each scream to leave Agatha's mouth. After a few moments, Iris drew her hands back. Agatha's eye sockets were hollow, being voided out. Black oil surrounded her eyes and streamed down her face, along with some melted white mush mixed in around the bottom of her eye socket. Stacey's stomach did back flips when she realized the black liquid had literally //melted// Agatha's eyes. "You smell that?" Iris gleefully said, sniffing the air. "That's the smell of rotten flesh. Take it in, Stacey." "I- Iris..." Stacey began as tears rolled down her face. "Please..." Agatha continued crying loudly. The grin on Iris's face dropped for a moment as she rolled her eyes. "Quiet." She said calmly. As Iris spoke, she took one of her hands and shoved it into Agatha's mouth. The doctor let out more muffled screams and gags as black oil poured down her throat. Even in the dark, Stacey could see Agatha's neck blacken as the liquid slithered down her esophagus. "There." Iris replied, pulling her hand out. "That'll shut you up." Black liquid bubbled out of Agatha's mouth as she appear to be drowning in it. She made multiple attempts at noise, all of which failed. Spots on her neck continued to darken, before droplets of the oil began seeping out of those very spots. Iris held up the hand she had shoved into Agatha's mouth and opened it palm up. It looked like there was something in it. It took a minute for Stacey to realize it was a human tongue. "See?" Iris's grin returned. "Nice and quiet." Before Stacey had a chance to react, Iris plopped the tongue in her mouth. A wet, spongy noise filled the room as Iris began chewing the piece of severed flesh. Stacey couldn't take it anymore. Vomit began rushing out of her mouth as her stomach emptied itself of what little had been in it. The stream of bile went particularly hard when she heard Iris swallow intentionally loudly. "And now..." Iris said once Stacey spat the last bit of fluid out of her mouth. "The main course." Iris raised her hand and brought it over to about where Agatha's appendix was. Then, slowly, she pressed her hand against Agatha's skin, causing it to burn and steam. Agatha struggled a little bit, but it was clear she was out of fight. And then, giving Stacey one last big smile, Iris dragged her hand across Agatha's waist. A slopping sound came from Agatha as the lower half of her body began to pull from her top half. Her stomach opened as if it were hinged. As it did, dark red organs began to slip out of her bottom, landing on the floor with splats. Stacey had seen enough anatomy pictures from the science books researcher Kim gave her to recognize the different organs. The liver, the lungs, the kidney, the digestive system, even the heart fell into a pile onto the floor. If Stacey had anything left in her stomach, she would've thrown up again. Instead, all Stacey could do was cry and sob as Iris dropped to the floor and began feasting on the dead doctor's organs; leaving her disemboweled body to swing back and forth. ------ Any hopes Anne had of quickly finding the conflux was dashed as she stepped into what could only be described as a mini warehouse. Unmarked boxes, crates, and lockers littered the room and hugged the walls. "Please tell me you know where specifically the conflux is." "I wish I could." Davis replied. "But all I know is it's somewhere in here." "Let's not waste any time then." Leora said, jogging past them and crouching down to the first crate. Anne and Davis looked at each other, before splitting up. "I don't think I need to tell you this..." Davis began. "But don't take anything that isn't the conflux." "Of course." Anne said before looking at Han sitting on her shoulder. "You wanna go look through some of the boxes back there?" "Sure thing." Han replied, jumping down and disappearing further into the room. Anne walked over to a locker and opened it. Inside sat a small box, a crowbar, and an old white smoke alarm. She pulled out the box and opened it, revealing penny facing heads up. "You sure this isn't just a junk closet?" Anne asked, placing the box back inside the locker. "Most of these are just anomalous junk that's [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/log-of-anomalous-items so useless or unremarkable] that it's kept in a minimal security storage room. Not sure why they'd keep that conflux thing here, if it's as advanced as you claim it is." Side stepping left, Anne opened the next locker and looked inside. A pirate rubber duck, a blending machine, a pair of half-rimmed glasses, and a packet of chewing gum. As Anne closed the door to the second locker, she heard a harsh thud echo around the room. Peeking behind her, she saw Leora toss a metal crate to the side before grabbing another one and opening it. Anne didn't need her infovore ability to sense Leora was frustrated to the point of tears. Glancing at Davis, who was looking through his own set of boxes, Anne decided to cautiously make her way over to the girl. "Hey..." "What're you doing?" Leora snapped, not looking up from her crate. "We need to find this conflux now!" "Leora..." The girl stopped what she was doing and exhaled deeply before turning. Even in the relative darkness Anne could see her eyes glistening. "We'll save Stacey..." Anne gave her a friendly smile. "And Iris." Leora let out a sigh, before opening another box. "Not if we don't find this-" "Found it." A voice called from deep within the room. The two women looked up at where the voice had come from. Han scuttered towards them, a silver cylinder resting on his palm. "You said it looked like a futuristic pipe bomb, right?" "Yes!" Anne picked it up and examined the device. "This is it!" "Good." Davis said, making his way next to them. "Then all we need to do is find them, right?" "Yep." Anne looked at them and smiled. "And I can already feel her. Sheeeeeeee's this way." Anne spun and pointed towards the exit. "Lead the way then." Davis said. Anne knelt down and let Han crawl onto her shoulder before she ran towards the door. The group practically burst through the exit as Anne made a hope filled dash in the direction of the Rot. ------ The sick chewing sound had finally stopped after god knows how long. Iris, smacking her lips, stood and looked up at Stacey. "Your turn." She smiled. "No! No! No! No!" Stacey, who had been dreading this moment, began to thrash violently against her bindings as Iris began crawling up the wall towards her. "Iris stop! Iris stop! Iris stop!" Stacey couldn't even clearly tell where Iris was from how blurry her tears had made her vision. All she could do was listen for the sloshing sound indicating Iris's location. Once Stacey felt Iris's hot breath on her face, she completely gave up. The knowledge that struggling was useless, that she was going to experience a very long and very painful death, all of it just caused Stacey to just lose it. Sobs and cries spilled out of Stacey like a busted dam as she tried unsuccessfully to choke out some final plea of mercy. "Shhhhh." Iris hushed, wiping some of Stacey's tears away. Stacey's eye lids burned as she was able to get a slightly clearer view of Iris. "Shhhhh." Despite her state of hysteria, Stacey was compelled to quiet down, reducing her mad sobs to heavy sniffling. Perhaps she had some hope that listening to Iris would spare her from what was to come. For a few moments, the two of them stared at each other in relative silence. Then, Iris got close to Stacey and whispered in her ear. "Are you afraid?" "Y- y- y- yes." Stacey choked. "I know you are. I feed on it, you know. It's why I invaded your dream last night. That scarecrow, with the rotten pumpkin head? That was me. But..." Iris pulled back and looked at Stacey in the eyes. "Fear is just an appetizer. What I really want is your flesh." Stacey let out a whimper as Iris looked her over. "But I'm a person eats their meals in a very specific order, and I be sure to play with my food just enough before digging in. Which means drinking as much fear as I can from them." Iris caressed Stacey's face, making her shudder. "A wise man once said that the fear of the unknown is the strongest and oldest form of fear. And there's no greater form of unknowing..." Iris raised her hands and brought them up the Stacey's eyes, smiling evilly. "Then unseeing." "No! No! No!" Stacey screamed, finding a second wind of struggle in her. She threw herself against her binds, all to no avail. All the while, Iris began slowly closing the gap between her hands and Stacey's eyes. Before long Stacey could feel Iris's hands on her eyelashes and eyebrows. Realizing there was nothing she could do, Stacey closed her eyes and prepared for what was to come. But that never happened. Iris's hands seemed to stop dead suddenly. At first Stacey thought she was giving her some false hope as a final act of cruelty, but after a few moments of nothing, Stacey got curious. Slowly, Stacey opened her eyes. Iris seemed to be frozen in place, her smile dropped into something more neutral as her head and eyes were focused on something out in the darkness. Then, after a moment, Iris turned back to Stacey, smiled, and fell down to the floor; sinking into it. ------ "In there!" Anne yelled. "I can feel it." Anne, who had been leading, stopped right in front of the metal door. It would need a key card to open. Davis, the one who actually had the key card, ran in front of Anne and quickly slid it into the side console. The door opened with an eerie, rustic creaking. As soon as it was wide enough, Leora ran past Anne and Davis, squeezing her way in. Everyone quickly followed her. As expected, the room was dark. Very dark. So dark that the only thing Anne could make out was Stacey hanging from the ceiling, and even then it was only because she was within the beam of light cast from the opened door. Stacey, upon seeing the group, set out a sob of relief. "O- oh thank God..." She said, tears glinting off her face. "Stacey!" Leora began, running into the room. "Don't worry, we'll get you out of here!" "Wait! Don't! Iris is-" Just then Iris leapt out of the wall. Leora had no time to react before Iris grabbed her by the wrists and began dragging her. It was clear Leora tried to summon light, but was cut off as Iris pulled Leora's hands into a black spot on the wall. Fortunately, Leora didn't go in all the way, with only her forearms actually going into the wall. Unfortunately... Leora's forearms were stuck in the wall. "My hands!" Leora cried, struggling to free herself. "I- I can't summon light!" //Clever girl.// Anne thought, jogging inside the room and looking around. Sloshing echoed from within the walls as Iris laughed from somewhere beyond. Anne didn't need to feel the Rot's presence to know Iris was somewhere in the walls. "Davis, help Leora out." Anne commanded. "Han, see if you help get Stacey loose." "On it." The hand said, jumping from her shoulder and scuttling across the room. Davis mimicked Han by running over to Leora. He grabbed her and tried pulling her out, though to no avail. While this was happening, Anne closed her eyes and tracked the Rot. //In the wall to my left, going up the ceiling. Staying put above us, probably to watch what we do. On the move again. Moving above me and down the wall behind me. Behind me.// The hairs on Anne's back stood as she felt Iris step out of the wall. //There you are.// Anne turned just in time to see Iris slink out of the black mass. A look of surprise came over her face, clearly not expecting Anne to know where she was. Anne took the opportunity to pull out the conflux and activate it. ------ Stagnation. That was the only word Iris could describe her situation. She couldn't see or hear or feel or move anything. She was stuck in a void of total nothingness, her mind only barely comprehending her existence. If she had the ability to, she'd feel that she had been slowly drifting in this limbo for days. But she couldn't, as her mind was incapable of understanding such a thing. At least, it had been. Then, out of nowhere, Iris suddenly became self aware of her existence. It wasn't much at first, with Iris only becoming aware that she was. Slowly though, more and more trickled into her mind as feeling crept into her conscious. After a while, Iris became aware enough to know that something was wrong. This existence, floating in a feelingless void, was wrong. She didn't know how or why, all she knew was that she needed to get out. So, summoning what strength she could, she pushed herself forward. Iris wasn't sure how, as she had no limbs or body. But somehow, she willed her essence forward. As Iris moved through the void, she felt herself become more and more. What started as just a scattered ether of essence she knew was herself soon manifested into a more compressed area of matter. Then, she felt her body begin to reform as sensation tingled up her arms and legs, rippling across her torso and neck and head. Iris pushed herself forward as she continually became more defined in existence. Then, she hit a barricade. For whatever reason, she suddenly found it difficult to move forward any. Not only that, but she could tell that the barricade was some from outside this realm's existence. Something... foreign. Not allowing this to stop her, Iris built up what strength she could and proceeded to //force// herself through the barricade. Pushing through the void had proved difficult enough, but the barricade was something else entirely. Eventually though, Iris felt herself begin to phase through. First Iris pushed with her newly defined arms through the barricade. Then she followed with her entire body. The barricade seemed to elasticate around her, as though it were made of a flexible yet impenetrable rubber. And then there was a snap, and Iris fell through the barricade and landed on the ground. Her senses and awareness slammed into her like a tidal wave the second she passed the barricade. She suddenly could feel every inch, every atom of her body with stark clarity. With her ability to feel and move regained, Iris tried to stand. But she couldn't. Moving through that void had left her physically exhausted. She was also mentally exhausted, though she couldn't quite remember why. Regardless, all Iris could muster was a small toss of her body, allowing her to roll over and gaze up at where she had just broken out of. In front of her was a large, black, semi-fluid mass. Iris couldn't put to words what she was looking at, though the best she could describe it was gelatinous mountains that waved inside of itself. At first the mass was relatively still, with the only movement coming from within the body. Then, it began to tremble and shake as a deep moaning sound bellowed out of it. Somehow, Iris knew her escape was what had caused the disturbance. The side of the gelatin began to shift and morph, turning into a massive face of an Old Man. Its piercing white eye contrasted against the empty void of its facial features. A chill ran down Iris's spine as the face opened its mouth, revealing several appendages snaking towards her. Iris knew it would try to drag her back in, to pull her back into that void of unawareness. And yet, no matter what she tried, she couldn't move. She was simply too weak physically and mentally. She barely had the physical capacity to lift her finger, let alone fight or flight from the tentacles closing in on her. Understanding what was about to happen, Iris laid her head down and closed her eyes, preparing to be dragged back into the state of limbo she had been in. But as soon as she had surrendered herself to the mass, a voice spoke in her ear. [[div class="blockquote"]] [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/voices-carry-part-2 Well, now isn't this a surprise.] [[/div]] A high pitched screeching rang from in front of Iris. Slowly, she opened her eyes to see tentacles retreating into the mass while the face gave a pained expression. [[div class="blockquote"]] Looks like you've got yourself into quite the pickle. Don't worry though... getting rid of these things is like swatting flies for me. Now I know you've got your fair share of trust issues, but I'm going to need you to trust me on this, ok? [[/div]] What felt like a hand found its way into Iris's hand. She flinched as the other hand's fingers wrapped around her own. [[div class="blockquote"]] Oh calm down. I'm not //actually// touching you. This is all in your head, after all. [[/div]] Iris's eyes rolled to the left. Sure enough, no one was by her side despite the sensation in her hand. [[div class="blockquote"]] Now, I'm going to give you a bit of the old brain juice and all you have to do is think that thing away. Ok? [[/div]] A second wind suddenly overcame Iris as a good chunk of the fatigue she had been feeling drained from her like a faucet had just been opened. Granted, she was still too weak to do anything physical, but mentally she had been mostly rejuvenated. [[div class="blockquote"]] Now... look at that big mass of shit and imagine a giant boot stomping on it. [[/div]] Iris did. And as she did, the mass shrieked as it was flattened in the middle. [[div class="blockquote"]] Good, now imagine crushing it like a ball of play doh! [[/div]] Iris did. And as she did, the mass cried as it was squished horizontally. [[div class="blockquote"]] Excellent! And now, for the finishing blow, imagine it bursting into flames and melting from the heat! [[/div]] Iris did. And as she did, the mass screamed as bit and pieces of it flaked off like ash. While there were no actual flames on the body, it still writhed and slowly loss bits of itself as if it were on fire. Then, air bubbles began to form in the gelatin as though it were boiling. Loud popping echoed around Iris as these air pockets burst. The hollowed screaming continued as the mass shrunk with each air burst and each bit of ash flaking off of it. After a while, the once mountain sized body had decayed down to barely the size of a toddler, before one last burst marked its end as it exploded into multiple pieces. And with that, the gelatin mass was gone. Iris dropped her head onto the ground and felt herself begin to fade. [[div class="blockquote"]] Wish we had more time to talk, but mind purges tend to leave people very exhausted. I doubt you'll stay conscious once returning to the good old real world. [[/div]] The voice in Iris's head reduced to a whisper as the feeling in her hand suddenly disappeared. [[div class="blockquote"]] Word from the wise though, stay away from those Infosites next time. [[/div]] ------ The creature parading as Iris gripped its head once Anne activated the conflux. A mixture of pain and panic covered its face as it fell to its knees. Anne, in response, took a step back from the creature. She stared at it as it let out several uncanny screeches and moans. Unlike before, Anne couldn't hear any of Iris's voice in the sounds. A thud echoed out from behind Anne, who turned to see Stacey straightening herself after just landed on her feet. "Got it." Han proclaimed, planting himself on Stacey's shoulder. Anne motioned to Stacey to stay back, who had no problem complying with the command. Near to Iris was the last place the girl wanted to be. The creature continued to thrash and cry out. As it did, black oil began dripping out of the pores in its body, causing a pool of the liquid to formulate on the ground. Then, with a howl that caused Anne to shiver to the bone, the creature out stretched its hands and landed on its palms. "Whoa!" Another thud rang next to Anne, who glimpsed over to see both Leora and Davis on the ground. From the looks of it, Leora had suddenly come loose, cause both to fall. The creature let out a hacking sound as black liquid began dripping out of its mouth. Then, as if a dam had been broken, that same black oil poured out of its mouth. It vomited and vomited and vomited some more, to the point that Anne questioned if its stomach was even big enough to store that much sludge. And then, just as suddenly as it had started, it stopped. The creature had stopped spitting up black liquid, and its breathing shifted to an uneven pace. //No...// Anne thought, reaching out to the body before her. //Not "the creature"...// Iris. Anne could feel her. Sure enough, with trembling arms and a shaking body, Iris raised her head to look at Anne directly; the uncanny inverted eyes replaced with calm dark blue ones. "Iris?" Anne asked, cautiously. "Yeah. It's me. It's-" Iris went quiet as she looked around the room. Her eyes first landed on all the black marks on the wall, followed by over at Stacey. As though on que, the lights above flickered on as the stomping of several pairs of boots slowly grew from the hallway. With the lights on, the scene of the room was fully visible. Scattered around were skeletons, parts of skeletons, half eaten corpses, and hollowed out bodies similar to the check point guard from earlier. Iris's eyes darted around as a distraught yet exhausted expression covered her face. "Oh my god..." And with that, Iris fell face first onto the floor as MTF agents and medics began spilling into the room. ------ Iris sat with her hands folded in her lap, staring down at the floor beneath her. Tapping echoed around the cell as her leg bounced up and down in agitation. //They're late.// Usually someone would've been here by now with food for her. Iris would always snack on each meal over the course of a few hours, rather than eating it entirely at once. It was the best way to ensure she never felt hungry, a feeling she was paranoid might cause her to- Iris's train of thought was cut short as the door across the room opened. She looked up to see a doctor with a clip board walk into the room. Adams followed closely by her side. The doctor walked up to a table mounted with a microphone and sat down. "Good morning Iris." She said, placing the clip board on the desk. "How are you feeling this morning?" Iris gazed at Adams, who stood with her arms crossed behind the glass panel separating Iris from the rest of the room. "Fine." Iris replied, looking back at the doctor. "That's good to hear. Let's begin with the basics. Have you recently felt any desires similar or identical to when you were possessed by the Rot?" "No." "Have you experienced any memory loss in the days since recovering from the Rot?" "No." "Have you experienced any dreams or hallucinations relating to SCP-106 or the Rot since recovering?" Iris grimaced. Sleep was something that Iris had always had trouble finding, [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/incident-zero-part-1 for one reason or another]. But recently it had become impossible without the aid of medication. And the few hours she'd get of sleep were haunted by visions her eating the organs of scientists or tearing the arms off of GenSec guards. "My dreams haven't changed since the last time we spoke." Iris replied. "We've been monitoring you while you've experienced these nightmare. No unusual brain activity or signs of Rot infection. We believe it's safe to say that these dreams, while the result of trauma, are non-anomalous." The doctor stood and straightened her coat. "Which is why you've been approved to return to Light Containment." Iris's head perked up, though not out of joy. "What?" She started. "No... no. I- I need to be here. I can't-" "Iris..." The doctor interrupted. "We've been monitoring you for almost two weeks. There's no sign of the Rot or any form of mental or physical infection." "What if you're wrong?" Iris blurted, slightly louder than she had intended. "What if... what if it's staying hidden somewhere in my mind? You know, lulling you into a false sense of security? And then, when I'm up in Light with everybody, it takes over again and I..." Iris bowed her head. "What if I hurt more people?" "Agent Adams here has been assigned to keep a close eye on you." The doctor motioned to Adams, who hadn't moved from her position. "In the unlikely event something were to happen, she'll make sure recontainment occurs as quickly and as bloodlessly as possible. Though I will say again, I doubt this'll be necessary." Iris looked over at Adams. She was wearing her usual stoic expression whenever she needed to be serious. Exhaling, the tapping increased in frequency as Iris gazed down at her feet. "I- I don't know. There's still-" "Iris." It was Adams who spoke this time. "Come on." The tapping ceased as Iris's leg froze. She continued to blankly stare at the ground. //I could hurt people.// They all stood in silence for about a minute, before Iris took a deep breath and rose to her feet. As she did, the glass panel in front of her rose up. Reluctantly, Iris took a step out of the modified heavy containment cell and into the main room. ------ Neither Iris nor Adams had spoken in the couple of minutes following Iris's release. It wasn't until the newly repaired elevator began to ascend that Iris decided to speak up. "How is everyone?" Adams shrugged. "Fine, mostly. Anne and Han moved past everything pretty quickly, though that's to be expected from an ex-Insurgent and the literal right hand of a murderer. Davis requested amnestics and a transfer to Light Containment, of which only the transfer was approved. Leora acts ok, but her containment team reported her of experiencing waking nightmares. Stacey is the one who's taking it badly, though." Iris grimaced. "How badly?" "She stopped talking to people. Barely eats. From what I hear barely sleeps." "Fuck." Iris said under her breath. Adams picked up on the expression despite Iris's attempts to keep it quiet. "I never should've interacted with that... stupid old man." Iris let out a frustrated sigh, which was followed by a moment of silence. "For what it's worth..." Adams said, breaking the silence. "I think the doctor is right." "Hmm?" Iris turned to Adams, not entirely sure what she meant. "I don't think you have any more of that Rot or Infosite or 106 fragment or whatever they're calling it inside of you. I know you don't trust Foundation tech, but Anne's been pretty adamant that you're clean. And for as much as I distrust that woman, I trust her judgment on this." "Oh." Iris looked forward again. "...thanks." Now it was Adams's turn to look at Iris. In the corner of her eye she could see an expression of mild surprise, which lingered for about a second before Adams faced forward again. The elevator slowed as it approached Light Containment. After stopping entirely, the silver doors opened to reveal the hallway. Iris froze as her eyes landed on a few skips wandering in the walkway. "It's alright." Adams said, noticing Iris's tenson. "I'll make sure nothing happens." Iris turned to Adams, who had lifted part of her jacket to reveal her Pathos Suit underneath it. Exhaling, Iris faced forward and stepped out into the hall, with Adams following close beside her. "Who knows about... me?" Iris asked. "Aside from me, Anne, Han, Leora, Stacey, and appropriate 17 staff? No one. We kept it under the radar to prevent a mass panic in Light." Adams placed a hand on her chin. "Oh, wait, we did tell-" Adams was cut off as she and Iris nearly slammed into Jackie turning the corner. The three jumped in unison, surprised by the other's appearance. "Iris!" Jackie spoke first. "You're... you're here." "Yeah." Iris responded, rubbing her arm. "I am." The three stood in an awkward silence for a few moments. Iris didn't know what to say, and it was clear to her Jackie didn't either. "Talk later?" Iris said, offering an out to the silence. "Yeah..." Jackie responded, side stepping past Iris. "Later." And with that, the woman made her way down the hall. Iris followed her with her gaze until she rounded another corner. "She was really worried about you, you know." Adams commented. "Asked if she could go down to Heavy more than once. She was denied, of course, but that didn't stop her from trying." Iris stared at where Jackie had turned, before continuing her walk down the hall. "Another thing..." Adams started. "And this is probably obvious, but you're temporarily suspended from Alpha-9." "I know." Iris whispered in a disappointed tone. "Can't have me turning in the field." Adams sighed sympathetically. "I still don't think you have any Rot in you. Hell, if it was up to me you'd be back in your MTF blue. But Sophia doesn't want to take any chances, and neither does Ten." Neither of them spoke as they made their way through the site. After a few turns, they found themselves in front of the cafeteria. "Hungry?" Adams asked. Iris nodded her head. The two of them were about to step into the cafeteria when Iris suddenly stopped. "Wait!" She said. Adams stopped and turned to her. "No meat." Adams nodded. Since the incident, Iris had avoided meat at all cost. Partly because she feared it would trigger the Rot from taking over again and partly because she just couldn't bear to even look at the stuff anymore. Together, the two women walked into the room. It was only about a third full, with most anomalies having already finished their meals and leaving to do whatever they were allowed to do in the site. Iris caught a glimpse of Davis standing guard on the wall, his visor preventing her from seeing his face in any meaningful way. Iris's eyes then landed on a table on the far side of the room. Anne, Leora, Stacey, and Han were all seated at it, eating their meals. Iris stopped moving. "Adams." She began. "Could you get my food for me?" Adams followed Iris's gaze and looked at her. "Yeah." Without any further acknowledgement, Iris made her way over to the group. "It was fun while it lasted..." Iris heard Anne say as she got closer. "But... how do I say this?" "It was really just a one night thing." Han said, picking up where Anne had left off. "I'm glad we did it, and we're still great friends, but let's just say the other half of our beds are gonna be cold for a while if you get what I'm laying down." Leora frowned and opened her mouth, but stopped as Stacey, who was the first to see Iris, jolted into a tense expression. The others quickly followed Stacey's gaze and landed their eyes on Iris. Leora gave her a small grin while Anne smiled widely. "Well well well..." Anne said happily. "Look who's back from Heavy! How'd your vacation down to the basement go?" Iris didn't say anything until she stopped at the table. "Anne, Leora, Stacey, Han... we all need to talk." Anne's wide smile and Leora's small grin faded into something more serious. Han, who had been standing in the middle of the table, scurried over to Anne's side. Stacey just continued to stare at Iris with wide, cautious, almost //frightened// eyes. It was like being face to face with a baby deer. As such, Iris made sure to speak and move slowly to keep from scaring the poor girl. "First, I just need to say how sorry I am for... everything." "Iris, it's fine." Leora said. "We know it's-" "No, it's not fine." Iris rebutted with a tad of harshness. "What you... what I made you all go through that night was something no one should ever experience. Especially you, Stacey." A few sets of eyes looked at the girl. "What happened that night was nothing short of a nightmare and I... I'm sorry for making you all go through that." "It wasn't you though." Stacey whispered. The other three flinched back with surprise as Iris leaned in. "What?" Iris asked. Stacey clear her throat and spoke again louder. "It wasn't you though." The girl pointed to Anne. "She told us that... she used her Infovore abilities to reach out to you but... she couldn't feel you. All she could feel was that... thing. It had complete control over you, which means it was the one who did all those things, not you." Everyone went silent, which held for a few moments and Iris looked the group over. "That's the first time she's spoken since that night, by the way." Han said. Iris let out a sigh. "Still, I feel like I should apologize. I also wanted to say thank you." Again Anne's eyebrows raised in surprised. The side of Iris that disliked Anne flinched, reluctant at what she was about to do, but Iris was in too much of a sentimental mood to care. "Thank you guys for saving me. Seriously. Especially you, Anne. If it wasn't for your quick thinking with the conflux... I'd probably still be infected." "Aw shucks..." Anne said, waving her hand as a hint of red appeared on her face. "It's nothing." Iris grimaced a little, the sentimentality chipping a little at Anne's demeanor. Then, she let out a sigh. "Ok... I'm guessing you all've been told not to tell anyone about the incident, right?" "Yeah." Leora said. "We need to keep our mouths shut." "Then let's agree to never mention this again, ok?" "Agree." Anne said. "Sure." Leora added. Stacey nodded. "Already forgotten." Han quipped. "Just like the night after, right Annie?" Iris blinked. "What's that supposed to mean?" "You didn't hear?" Leora said, a smile returning to her face. "Anne and Han are dating." What humble and sentimental emotions Iris was harboring drained from her like a bathtub as the words hit her ears. "What?!" She said, turning to Anne. "Hey hey... //were// dating." Anne corrected. "We just made that clear like, two seconds ago." "But weren't you also just saying that you'd stay as friends with benefits?" "Well, yeah. I mean... they don't call him the hand crank for nothing." Anne smiled down at the hand, who himself somehow managed to puff his back hand out to resemble pride. "Anne!" Iris yelled. "What?" Anne replied, leaning against the table with that ever so infuriating smug smile. "What happens in the bedroom stays in the bedroom." "Not if- you can't- you're not allowed-" Iris stuttered, before groaning and stomping off. "So glad she's back." Iris heard Anne say. [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a> \|author=DrDapper]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-11-17T03:51:00	[ "_licensebox", "agent-adams", "halloween", "horror", "iris-thompson", "last-hope", "mr-fish", "tale", "the-old-man" ]	A Haunting At Site-17 - SCP Foundation	16	[ "drdapper-author-page", "scp-3009", "scp-4818", "devils-advocate-hub", "scp-187", "friday-afternoon/offset/1", "scp-2800", "scp-527", "scp-507", "scp-5980", "scp-3988", "scp-2273", "scp-4960", "scp-2913", "scp-458", "scp-1985", "scp-105", "scp-106", "a-nightmare-on-17th-street", "voices-carry-part-2", "scp-939", "log-of-anomalous-items", "incident-zero-part-1", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "young-and-under-30", "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "scp-series-4-tales-edition", "scp-series-5-tales-edition", "scp-series-1-tales-edition" ]	[]	1451414048	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/haunting-at-17
have-yourselves	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div style="display: none"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">+ CODE</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">- CODE</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <div style="text-align: left;"> <div class="code"> <div class="hl-main"> <pre><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">BLANKSTYLE</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CSS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">2021</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">Wikidot</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">Theme</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">By</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Placeholder</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">McD</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">and</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">HarryBlank</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Based</span><span class="hl-code"> on: </span><span class="hl-identifier">Paperstack</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Theme</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">by</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">EstrellaYoshte</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Penumbra</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Theme</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">by</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">EstrellaYoshte</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Montserrat</span><span class="hl-special">:ital</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">wght</span><span class="hl-var">@0</span><span class="hl-code">,800;1,800&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.9</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">1.6</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#container-wrap</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">;</span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#000</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">letter-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> 'Montserrat', </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--header-title, "R\</span><span class="hl-number">0026</span><span class="hl-code"> C SITE-43")</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">400</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--header-subtitle, "SUBVERTING COMMON PRACTICE")</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">700</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 707</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">a:</span><span class="hl-code">:before { font-size: </span><span class="hl-number">1.6</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> } </span><span class="hl-identifier">#login-status</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#login-status</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-title</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#footer</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#footer</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-input</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-input</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-input</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-var">submit</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-var">submit</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-var">submit</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#efefef</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.empty</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#999999</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem!important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">justify-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">7.9</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> 'Montserrat', </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#000</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">letter-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.45</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#extra-div-1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">160</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">absolute</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> url('https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/theme%</span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-code">Ablankstyle/</span><span class="hl-number">43</span><span class="hl-code">Head.png')</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> contain</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-repeat:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">no-repeat</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">50</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">50</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">z-index:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 707</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#extra-div-1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">15</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">body</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> linear-gradient( to </span><span class="hl-string">bottom</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-var">#e0e0e0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-var">#e0e0e0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-var">#e0e0e0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">200</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">200</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-repeat:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">no-repeat</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-special">:root</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> --</span><span class="hl-reserved">timeScale:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">timeDelay:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">posX:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(</span><span class="hl-number">50</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code"> - </span><span class="hl-number">358</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> - </span><span class="hl-number">13</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">fnLinger:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">hr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#000</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#000</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">td</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">12</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#000</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">td</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.35</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#DDD</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.open-menu</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 767</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-identifier">target</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">black</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FDF6D7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block.media</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-var">#D7EFE7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block.resources</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-var">#F5D8E0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.creditRate</span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#000</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fa-info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fa-info</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">PAGE</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">RATING</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#000</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-points</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rateup</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.ratedown</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rateup</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.ratedown</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rateup</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.ratedown</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anchor</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> sticky</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.14</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc((</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vw - </span><span class="hl-number">870</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">)/</span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vh - </span><span class="hl-number">18</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">absolute</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">103.5</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">z-index:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 1290</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">visibility:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">hidden</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">h2:</span><span class="hl-code">:before { font-size: </span><span class="hl-number">0.9</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> } </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">YUI</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">TAB</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">BASE</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code">;</span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code">;</span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code">;</span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">YUI</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">TAB</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CUSTOMIZATION</span><span class="hl-code"> ----</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-wrap:</span><span class="hl-code"> wrap</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code"> - </span><span class="hl-number">.125</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Link</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Modifier</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tab</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Background</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Colour</span><span class="hl-code"> \| [</span><span class="hl-identifier">UNSELECTED</span><span class="hl-code">] ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#efefef</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tab</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Background</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Colour</span><span class="hl-code"> \| [</span><span class="hl-identifier">HOVER</span><span class="hl-code">] ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code">, /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Listitem</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Modifier</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">relative</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-grow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-bottom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">align-items:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">justify-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.35</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.75</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-overflow:</span><span class="hl-code"> ellipsis</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">hidden</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">white-space:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">nowrap</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code">, /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Selection</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Modifier</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-grow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tab</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Background</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Colour</span><span class="hl-code"> \| [</span><span class="hl-identifier">SELECTED</span><span class="hl-code">] ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:active</span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-content</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-content</span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">SCROLLBAR</span><span class="hl-code"> ----</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ ::-</span><span class="hl-identifier">webkit-scrollbar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> ::-</span><span class="hl-identifier">webkit-scrollbar-track</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> ::-</span><span class="hl-identifier">webkit-scrollbar-thumb</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#CCC</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> ::-</span><span class="hl-identifier">webkit-scrollbar-thumb</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#EEE</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">CENTER</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">IMAGES</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ON</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MOBILE</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">courtesy</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">of</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">EstrellaYoshte</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">and</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">PeppersGhost</span><span class="hl-code"> ----</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.imagediv</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">right</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">15</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 540</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.imagediv</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">only</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">screen</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">and</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 600</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block.block-right</span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">ACS-COLORED</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">TABLE</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">DIVS</span><span class="hl-code"> ----</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#D7EFE7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#D8ECF4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FDF6D7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFDABF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#F5D8E0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">146</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.tableb</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.wiki-content-table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-collapse:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">separate</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.tableb</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.tableb</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">img</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#000</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.tableb</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#000</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.top-left-box</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">.item</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">WORDS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">NO</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">LONGER</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">BROKEN</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">THE</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CROQUEMBOUCHE</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">HAS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">SPOKEN</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">word-break:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">normal</span><span class="hl-code"> !important </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.avatar-hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#breadcrumbs</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.pseudocrumbs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> -- </span><span class="hl-identifier">FANCY</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">THINGS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">from</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Woedenaz</span><span class="hl-code">'</span><span class="hl-identifier">s</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Dustjacket</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Theme</span><span class="hl-code"> -- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fancyhr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">hr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">vw </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--bright-accent), </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-source:</span><span class="hl-code"> url('https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/theme%</span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-code">Aflopstyle-dark/wl_hr.png')</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-repeat:</span><span class="hl-code"> round round</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-slice:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">500</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">500</span><span class="hl-code"> fill</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fancyborder</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">vw </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> url('https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/theme%</span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-code">Aflopstyle-dark/wl_border.png') </span><span class="hl-number">600</span><span class="hl-code"> round</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">vw</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span></pre></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div> <ul class="creditRate"> <li class="rateBox folded"> <div class="rate-box-with-credit-button"> <div class="creditButton foldable-list-container"> <p><a href="javascript:;"></a></p> </div> </div> <div id="u-credit-view"> <div class="fader foldable-list-container"><a href="javascript:;">close</a></div> <div class="modalcontainer"> <div class="modalbox"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2><span>Info</span></h2> </div> <hr/> <div class="close-credits foldable-list-container"><a href="javascript:;">X</a></div> <div class="credit first"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><strong>Have Yourselves</strong><br/> Ho.</p> <p><strong><a href="http://www.scp-wiki.net/this-page-intentionally-left-blank">More by this author!</a></strong></p> </div> </div> <hr/> </div> </div> </div> </li> </ul> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h1 id="toc0"><span><span style="color:green">Have Yourselves</span></span></h1> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <img alt="Asterisk43.png" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png"/><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <h1 id="toc1"><span><span style="color: red">12</span></span></h1> </div> <hr/> <p>"Come on in."</p> <p>Allan McInnis swung open the door to the dormitory complex belonging to his Chair of Archives and Revision. He found the Chair on a couch, under a blanket, facing a television. The Chair of Research and Experimentation was under the blanket with him. She was blowing on his ear and saying "make it stop," or perhaps she was mouthing it; either way, McInnis couldn't hear her, because there were bizarre grunts and groans coming from the television. He wondered if they were watching a documentary about vomiting bears.</p> <p>"Hey," Harold Blank waved. He raised the remote, and thumbed the pause button.</p> <p>"Merry Christmas," McInnis smiled. He hefted a pair of boxes. "Where should I put these?"</p> <p>Melissa Bradbury pointed. "Merry Christmas. In front of the speakers, please. Cover them up as best you can."</p> <p>"On the side table is fine," Harry grinned. "Yours is under the tree, as usual. What's up with the special delivery?"</p> <p>McInnis set the presents down and strolled over to get a better look at the television. It was displaying some footage that looked like it came from the seventies, very badly preserved, a cheap sitcom set populated entirely by walking heaps of seaweed. "Going for the personal touch this year," he said. "Change of pace."</p> <p>Bradbury scooched aside, squashing Harry against his arm rest. She patted the newly vacated cushion. "Watch this garbage with us. It's really bad."</p> <p>"Tempting," he smiled. "But I have a lot of stops to make today."</p> <p>"Thank you, Santa," Harry yawned. "Merry Christmas."</p> <p>"Harry Christmas," Melissa sang. Harry put his palm over her mouth.</p> <p>McInnis smiled at them both, and bowed out.</p> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <img alt="Asterisk43.png" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png"/><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <h1 id="toc2"><span><span style="color: red">11</span></span></h1> </div> <hr/> <p>He had expected to find Nhung Ngo in the third sublevel main cafeteria, at the daylong wander-in-wander-out party, but she wasn't there. A quick check with her administrative assistant revealed that she was out for the day with a man who was, so far as McInnis knew, her ex-husband. Perhaps that was a good thing. Perhaps it wasn't. In any case, of all his personnel, he trusted her the most to make the right decisions for herself.</p> <p>He left her gift under the tree. No matter when she got back in, she'd stop by the cafeteria just to take the temperature. He couldn't imagine running an underground base full of eccentric experts without a psychologist who would do that sort of thing without being ordered.</p> <p><em>She could make Director some day…</em></p> <p>Well, probably not. Site-43 probably wouldn't be producing many more Directors.</p> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <img alt="Asterisk43.png" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png"/><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <h1 id="toc3"><span><span style="color: red">10</span></span></h1> </div> <hr/> <p>The scene in Udo Okorie's dorm reminded him of failure.</p> <p>Unlike the ratty old couch in Blank's complex, Okorie's was fancy and fluffy and new. There were three women sitting on it, legs draped over each other so that they formed a sort of chittering duodecipus with three distinct heads. They were all wearing the same ugly Christmas sweater. It hung loosely off Rozálie Astrauskas; it was under such strain on Delfina Ibanez that McInnis could see the colour of the undershirt she was wearing through the separated threads.</p> <p>Ibanez raised a pair of lemon yellow video game controllers in his direction. "Mario Kart?"</p> <p>Their faces were flushed with excitement and, no doubt, the contents of the bottles neatly stacked beside the couch. Howard Yancy was managing both internal and external security today; he'd divorced his wife that year, and didn't feel much like making merry. Applied Occultism was taking the day off, because pagan holidays almost always interfered with their experimental results. These three spent most of their free time together, even slept in the same room most days, but they rarely got long stretches where all were off duty simultaneously. They were making the most of this one.</p> <p>It reminded him of failure, nevertheless, because the fact that they were sitting here getting drunk and playing video games was related to the fact that they were the youngest members of his senior staff.</p> <p>And they were in their mid-forties.</p> <p><em>I'll do better, Vivian,</em> he thought. <em>I <span style="text-decoration: underline;">am</span> doing better.</em></p> <p>"I'd only slow you down," he smiled, setting down the three neatly-wrapped presents on the dining nook table.</p> <p>"That's not how racing games work." Ibanez stretched. "It's competitive."</p> <p>"Ah." He ambled back to the door. "I'm not very competitive."</p> <p>"Neither are these two," Ibanez crowed. Okorie stuck a finger in her ear.</p> <p>"Merry Christmas," Rozálie offered, and the other two repeated the greeting in sync.</p> <p>"Merry Christmas," he agreed. "I hope you all win."</p> <p>"That's not how racing games work either," Ibanez said to his back as he closed the door.</p> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <img alt="Asterisk43.png" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png"/><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <h1 id="toc4"><span><span style="color: red">9</span></span></h1> </div> <hr/> <p>It was best to make this particular connection early in the day. It would only get worse after sundown, deep beneath the earth though they both were.</p> <div class="danke site"> <p>Merry Christmas, Dr. Rydderech.</p> </div> <div class="danke wynn"> <p>Merry Christmas, Allan.</p> </div> <p>McInnis started. He was alone in the little lab in AAF-A where the direct link to SCP-5520 was kept under lock and key, a secret to everyone but his most trusted staff and the Overseers who allowed the old reality bender to remain alone and dissociated in his vast refinery beneath their feet. Most of Vroom's technicians weren't working today, since most of the Site's computers were either switched off or performing the kind of work that didn't need much, if any, human intervention. McInnis therefore had this entire wing of the facility to himself, and that made the visceral strangeness of finding Rydderech so uncharacteristically lucid hit even harder.</p> <div class="danke site"> <p>How do you know my name, sir?</p> </div> <div class="danke wynn"> <p>I know all your names. I made them up.</p> </div> <p>So much for that, then. McInnis was already remembering why he let I&T handle Rydderech whenever he needed handling.</p> <div class="danke site"> <p>That's not actually correct.</p> </div> <p><em>I hope.</em></p> <div class="danke wynn"> <p>Is it not? It feels correct.</p> </div> <div class="danke wynn"> <p>At any rate, feel free to go about your day as usual. I won't make you do anything. We'll say you have free will.</p> </div> <p>McInnis actually laughed. Perhaps it was unkind of him to do this, but he had to react in some way to these new horrifying implications, and laughter was closest at hand.</p> <div class="danke site"> <p>Thank you. I will.</p> </div> <div class="danke site"> <p>Is there anything I can do for you, doctor?</p> </div> <p>A long pause.</p> <div class="danke wynn"> <p>You can get me out of here.</p> </div> <div class="danke wynn"> <p>Like he asked you to.</p> </div> <div class="danke wynn"> <p>A quarter-century ago.</p> </div> <div class="danke wynn"> <p>Allan?</p> </div> <div class="danke wynn"> <p>Did I say something wrong?</p> </div> <div class="danke site"> <p>A happy new year to you, Dr. Rydderech.</p> </div> <div class="danke wynn"> <p>To you as well.</p> </div> <div class="danke wynn"> <p>All things considered.</p> </div> <p>It was a quiet stroll to where the bottom of AAF-A met the top of Rydderech's chasm. Allan left the gift there, content with the knowledge that it would be gone by Boxing Day.</p> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <img alt="Asterisk43.png" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png"/><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <h1 id="toc5"><span><span style="color: red">8</span></span></h1> </div> <hr/> <p>Back in the cafeteria, Ilse Reynders had an arm around Max Vroom's waist, a thoroughly rouged-up nose and a jaunty pair of felt antlers, and was singing a Christmas song in Dutch: "Hoor Wie Stapt Daar Kinderen." Though her epic incinerator escape was long since past, Reynders had gotten no less touchy-feely with her friends and… loved ones? Did Reynders have loved ones? She'd certainly been close with the chief technician, and she was presently squeezing him under his Christmas sweater, and the man's own nose and cheeks were rosy without the apparent application of any makeup. McInnis had always been—</p> <p>Reynders had seen him at the door, swung Vroom around, detached from him, and catapulted herself into the Director's waiting arms. She threw hers around his neck — they were neither of them very tall — and gave him a squeeze so tight he could feel his windpipe constricting.</p> <p>"Merry Christmas, Allan," she said directly into his ear. She had the presence of mind to lower her voice.</p> <p>"Merry Christmas." He felt he would not easily become tired of seeing her happy, surrounded by other people in close proximity. She had earned it a thousandfold, and needed it even more. She was unlikely to leave the party until it broke up early the next morning.</p> <p>Vroom smiled apologetically at him over her shoulder. He smiled back, as warmly as he was able, and returned the immortal polymath's embrace.</p> <p>In the end he was only able to extricate himself by telling her to retrieve her present from his jumper pocket. When she pulled back to examine the fancy imported wrapping paper, he withdrew as well and made his excuses.</p> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <img alt="Asterisk43.png" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png"/><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <h1 id="toc6"><span><span style="color: red">7</span></span></h1> </div> <hr/> <p>Karen Elstrom was at her desk.</p> <p>He had known she would be, and yet, he had hoped… well, it didn't matter. He wouldn't be the only one to make the connection, and she would have had a steady stream of visitors from amongst the senior staff as the afternoon wore on. He told himself there was nothing sad about the fact that she was spending her Christmas alone in the Administration and Oversight offices. Obviously someone had to do it. Someone needed to be responsible, be on call in case anything happened. She was essentially Site Director for the day.</p> <p>Under different circumstances, he might have thought about retiring and giving her a go at the job for real.</p> <p>But duty was duty, and all he could give her instead, today, was the benefit of his presence and presents. Considering the year she'd had, he figured she could use one extra. Karmic compensation.</p> <p>She came down from the daïs to talk to him. She wouldn't have been able to see him comfortably over the top of her desk. "Doing the rounds?"</p> <p>He handed her the gifts. "Yes. Everything in order?"</p> <p>She shrugged, accepting the packages and standing on the tips of her fancy shoes to slide them onto her elevated desktop. "Dead as a doornail. Nothing internal, nothing external. Nothing so much as a peep out of law enforcement or national defence. The whole world's taking the day off, apparently."</p> <p>"That's good." She was meeting his gaze, so he noticed when hers flickered. "Isn't it?"</p> <p>She nodded. "Yes, of course it's good. We don't need any disturbances today."</p> <p>He could almost have believed her, if he'd wanted to.</p> <p>He checked his watch. "You know, I've seen a lot of our people already. I could use a break. What say I mind the store for an hour? You could check in at the party."</p> <p>She arched a brow. "And do what?"</p> <p>"And do what…?" He chuckled. "Whatever people do at parties, I suppose."</p> <p>She nodded. "Go on."</p> <p>He blinked.</p> <p>She didn't. "Go on, Allan," she repeated. "What do people do at parties?"</p> <p>He suddenly wished, in the space of an instant, that he'd been singing and dancing and swinging a partner through the lobby. It would have given him an excuse to stumble into an embrace with her — simply that, an embrace, nothing more. He had never wanted more, would never want more, but for an instant he wanted precisely that very much indeed. But he was not dancing. He did not dance. And neither did she. And neither of them ever would, because that was not who either of them were.</p> <p>She reached out with both hands, took his shoulders, and squeezed them once each. "Merry Christmas, Allan."</p> <p>"Merry Christmas, Karen," he said to her back as she returned to her desk. By the time he reached the foyer doors, she was engrossed in paperwork again.</p> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <img alt="Asterisk43.png" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png"/><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <h1 id="toc7"><span><span style="color: red">6</span></span></h1> </div> <hr/> <p>Eileen Veiksaar had only been back at Site-43 for a few short months. For some of the staff, this was something of a shock; the last thing they'd heard was that she'd been sent away for some sort of act of treason, the kind of thing many senior staff members ran afoul of after too many years of doings in the dark. People didn't usually come back from that. But the people who did tended to come back bigger and better, as Veiksaar did, so that somewhat softened the blow of seeing her again. She had been graduated from the Site's chief technical officer to the Ethics Committee Liaison, and that meant she could wear something other than an antistatic jumper and keep hours defined by the shift schedule and not the network downtime schema. The change suited her.</p> <p>But Veiksaar's break with protocol had given the Council cause to doubt her commitment to the cause, and it seemed like her old co-workers could sense the cloud of suspicion that encircled her now. She was one of the first cracks in Site-43's façade of compliance with the Foundation's more pragmatic methodology. In short, Allan was worried that after nine months in her new post, she was still isolated. She had never been the most social of creatures to begin with, and after all, the last thing that had happened in the previous stage of her career was one of her oldest friends tidily entrapping and neutralizing her. The adjustment could not have been easy, and might still be ongoing.</p> <p>He found her dormitory door ajar, but knocked anyway. There was no response, but the door did slide open just a little further. There were sounds of struggle from within.</p> <p>There were not, on reflection, sounds of struggle, precisely, from within.</p> <p>He looked down, instinctively, and saw a note on the welcome mat next to a hideous bright green neck tie.</p> <p>It read:</p> <blockquote> <p>Leave it on the floor. Leave mine, too, if you brought it.<br/> Yours is in your office.<br/> Merry Christmas!<br/> D.S.</p> </blockquote> <p>McInnis had locked his office. He nevertheless did not doubt the note at all.</p> <p>"Merry Christmas," he smiled, and he closed the door.</p> <p>He supposed she was settling in fine after all.</p> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <img alt="Asterisk43.png" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png"/><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <h1 id="toc8"><span><span style="color: red">5</span></span></h1> </div> <hr/> <p>Hachiro Kuroki and Xinyi Du had scheduled this hour to check in, and the video call came to his office on the dot. They made an unusual pair; Kuroki looked haggard and worn on his best days, while Du had never visibly aged past somewhere around thirty. The security chief was taciturn, soft-spoken and slow-burning, while the Chair of Quantum Supermechanics was a caricature of excitability. Right now they were both subdued, however, because there was apparently a formal dinner happening in the next room.</p> <p>"So that's an entire branch of my family that will never speak to me again," Du was telling him happily. "Nanjing was namedropped at the dinner table. My uncle says I've shamed every man in my family tree. Do people really think that's leverage? Extended relations are basically just walking obligations. I didn't want to have to RSVP their stupid weddings anyway."</p> <p>Kuroki was obviously stifling laughter. It looked strange on him, but not bad. When Du stopped talking for an moment, probably to take a breath, he cut in. "Nine of those twelve people," and he jerked a thumb at the closed door in the sumptuously appointed bedroom, "are his family. I've got my mother and two sisters. We left them alone in there."</p> <p>McInnis smiled sympathetically. "Give my regards, should they survive." Du guffawed. "Did your presents arrive?"</p> <p>Kuroki nodded. "The Dus were furious. They're traditional. They think Christmas is just western commercialism."</p> <p>"Which it is," Du added. "One of my cousins works in a Walmart export warehouse in Guangdong. I said the word 'Christmas' in her presence, <em>once,</em> and she almost slapped me."</p> <p>"So that's the situation," Kuroki said. He didn't smile — ever, really — but the corners of his eyes did crinkle up a bit. "We're still waiting to find out which one's homophobic. Right now they're all tripped up on being racist or anti-capitalist, but the afternoon's still young."</p> <p>"They might all be homophobic," Du mused. "Do you want to bet?"</p> <p>"Why not?" Kuroki rummaged below the camera view, and came up with a bulging sack. "Let's wager apples. Every god damn person I've talked to today has given me an apple. I have no use for all these apples."</p> <p>"I'll leave you to your crass commercialism, then." McInnis smiled at them each in turn. "Merry Christmas."</p> <p>"Merry Christmas," they responded in unison. They both looked dreadfully embarrassed to have done so.</p> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <img alt="Asterisk43.png" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png"/><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <h1 id="toc9"><span><span style="color: red">4</span></span></h1> </div> <hr/> <p>"Stop that," Thilo Zwist sighed, and snatched the Santa Claus hat off his head. He placed it firmly on the cafeteria table in front of him, and left his hand on top. Lillian Lillihammer immediately began tugging at it again.</p> <p>"Santa," she whispered. "Santa."</p> <p>"Enjoying the festivities?" McInnis asked mildly as he sat down across from them. Wordlessly, they exchanged gifts.</p> <p>"Santa," Lillian whispered, more frantically. "Santa if you don't leave soon—"</p> <p>"Some of us more than others," the old man sighed. "Lillian—"</p> <p>"If you don't leave soon, Santa, you won't have time to leave presents for all the good—" She burst into something between laughter and tears, bawling her eyes out with a big toothy grin on her face.</p> <p>Zwist handed her a napkin. "I'm given to understand," he said to McInnis, "that this is a standard state of affairs on Christmas Day."</p> <p>McInnis inclined his head. "Dr. Lillihammer is an expressive individual, and the open bar is perhaps better stocked than it ought to be."</p> <p>"Santa," Lillian was still whispering, through her tears. "Santa."</p> <p>Zwist turned to face her. "Yes, Lillian. What it is?"</p> <p>Her face was flushed, and she was giggling like a small child. "Did you make out with Michael Jackson's mom?"</p> <p>"I believe you have fundamentally misunderstood the meaning of that song, Lillian." He turned back to McInnis. "I begin to get a sense of how Oppenheimer felt when he delivered Truman the bomb."</p> <p>Lillian made a creditable explosion sound effect which rattled her cheeks and teeth, and then she passed out.</p> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <img alt="Asterisk43.png" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png"/><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <h1 id="toc10"><span><span style="color: red">3</span></span></h1> </div> <hr/> <p>He had expected to find the All-Sections Chief at Intake Point-94, but was surprised instead to find Philip Deering and Amelia Torosyan, leaning on each other and staring out at the murky depths. Something was trumpeting in the distance, and they were each trying to match the pitch. Whispering softly to each other. Swaying back and forth, hands around each other's waists, still wearing their technician jumpsuits.</p> <p>Doug glared down at them from the glass ceiling, his alien skeletal structure and emaciated slough of grey skin fully visible from head to toe for what McInnis realized might have been the very first time.</p> <p>He could have, probably should have called Bradbury and Blank to rush over and document the occurrence.</p> <p>He left the gifts on the bench, and stole away quietly back to the Site proper instead.</p> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <img alt="Asterisk43.png" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png"/><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <h1 id="toc11"><span><span style="color: red">2</span></span></h1> </div> <hr/> <p>The All-Sections Chief had been called away to Kettle Point. One of the elders had died in the night, and he had been the closest thing the old woman had to family, so it was his duty to set a fire burning in his hearth until she was safely beneath the frozen earth. He had left a message to this effect for McInnis, and an invitation to the customary feast on the fifth day.</p> <p>He thought he would probably go.</p> <p>But that was then, and this was now.</p> <p>Now, he had nowhere to go.</p> <p>So he went back to the Director's Complex, and after a moment lingering at the door, listening to the steady bassline thrum of music from the cafeteria, he called it a night.</p> <p>He'd check in for just a moment, of course.</p> <p>Just to see how things were going.</p> <p>Just a moment, no more.</p> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <img alt="Asterisk43.png" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png"/><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <h1 id="toc12"><span><span style="color: red">1</span></span></h1> </div> <hr/> <p>"Merry Christmas, Allan." Vivian Scout was holding an awkwardly-wrapped package in garish blue paper, with one of those sticky bows in green hanging on at an even more awkward angle.</p> <p>"Oh." He looked up from his desk, startled both by the gesture and the very presence of the Director. He'd been working late in the Procurement and Liquidation offices, as he often did; the day held no special meaning for him, which didn't make him totally unique at Site-43, but the fact that he was perfectly happy with this fact actually did. Everyone else who was sitting alone in the facility would be doing so under protest, whether because of duty or tragedy or social incompatibility or simple anxiety and the failure to relate. For McInnis, it was a chance to use his workspace without distraction.</p> <p>"Oh," Scout echoed.</p> <p>"I'm sorry." McInnis smiled placidly at him. "Thank you very much, sir. Merry Christmas. I'm sorry that I don't have anything for you. If I had known…"</p> <p>Scout waved it off. "I'm not collecting more dust-collectors at my age anyway, no offence. Hardly have anywhere to put them." This was, of course, untrue. McInnis had seen the first layer of the Director's Complex, and the rest promised by its nature and location to be voluminous. "I just thought you might appreciate the gesture. I'll get out of your hair."</p> <p>"I do appreciate it," he said as the old man headed for the door. "Sir. I do appreciate it."</p> <p>Scout hesitated at the threshold. "Do you?"</p> <p>McInnis blinked. "Certainly. It was thoughtful of you."</p> <p>Scout turned back to face him, and leaned on the wall with his hands in his suit pockets. "And why does that matter?"</p> <p>McInnis looked down at the untidy offering. He hadn't expected it to turn into a test. "It shows that you're considerate of my feelings, I suppose."</p> <p>"That what a Director does, you think? Take care of everyone's feelings?"</p> <p>Scout was wearing his spectacles, so McInnis couldn't see what was lurking in his eyes. The thin lips and heavy jowls were immobile when the old man wasn't talking. After a lifetime at the Foundation, Scout had no tells left.</p> <p>"I suppose," he tried again, "you have a responsibility to improve morale."</p> <p>"And do I? Improve morale?" Scout pointed at the gift. "Does that improve your morale? You haven't even opened it."</p> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <img alt="Asterisk43.png" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png"/><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <h1 id="toc13"><span><span style="color: red">2</span></span></h1> </div> <hr/> <p>The All-Sections Chief rubbed his eyes until they watered, then went back to tending the fire. He ought to call Allan. He was going to call Allan.</p> <p>The doorbell rang.</p> <p>By the time he opened the front door, there was nobody there. A nondescript sedan was pulling languidly away, down the dirt road. Delivery service.</p> <p>There was a wrapped present on the stoop.</p> <p>He picked it up. He recognized the handwriting on the label. He smiled.</p> <p>He opened it.</p> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <img alt="Asterisk43.png" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png"/><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <h1 id="toc14"><span><span style="color: red">3</span></span></h1> </div> <hr/> <p>Something about the vibration of their faces so close together meant that the whispering inevitably translated to kissing before long. Not that they ever needed an excuse. Doug allowed it to happen for several minutes before archly commenting on Philip's abysmal holiday hospitality, which startled him, which startled Amelia, which caused them both to notice the thin wrapped package on the bench.</p> <p>"Little creepy," Amelia said.</p> <p>"That's her nickname for you," Doug said.</p> <p>"…is my nickname for Doug," Amelia said.</p> <p>Phil kissed her again, then went to pick up the gift.</p> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <img alt="Asterisk43.png" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png"/><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <h1 id="toc15"><span><span style="color: red">4</span></span></h1> </div> <hr/> <p>In the time it took him to turn back around — he had been watching Technician Nascimbeni fix the flickering lights on the Christmas tree — Lillian was pulling the paper off the present Allan had left for him. He could have taken and expressed umbrage, but would it really have made a difference? Not likely. So instead he snatched up the present intended for her, and opened it with a dexterity her alcohol-numbed fingers lacked.</p> <p>It didn't end up mattering who got what package.</p> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <img alt="Asterisk43.png" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png"/><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <h1 id="toc16"><span><span style="color: red">5</span></span></h1> </div> <hr/> <p>"That was horrible," Du whispered.</p> <p>"Completely," Kuroki agreed.</p> <p>They were lying together on one of the two single beds in the room they'd been offered. They had made their sleeping arrangements abundantly clear before even buying the plane tickets. But it was what it was.</p> <p>Du sat up, crawled over Kuroki, and grabbed the still-wrapped gifts off the desk. "Might as well?" he suggested.</p> <p>"Might as well."</p> <p>They opened the boxes in silence.</p> <p>Kuroki didn't know what to say.</p> <p>Du, of course, always did. "This," he said, "is an excellent excuse to take the first flight back home."</p> <p>"Amen," his boyfriend murmured.</p> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <img alt="Asterisk43.png" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png"/><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <h1 id="toc17"><span><span style="color: red">6</span></span></h1> </div> <hr/> <p>Eileen sat bolt upright as the thin box landed on her naked stomach. Sokolsky had flung it at her from the bedroom door. "What's this?"</p> <p>"Dunno." He sat down on the edge of the bed, a box of his own in his hands. "Came from Allan?"</p> <p>"How do you know?" She paused, then added, "How did it get in here? You didn't leave the door open, did you?"</p> <p>He smiled at her.</p> <p>Her stomach sank. "You did."</p> <p>He tore off the wrapping paper, and opened the box. She waited to see what he'd gotten before opening hers.</p> <p>He snorted. "Guess I have to put some pants on."</p> <p>"Aww."</p> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <img alt="Asterisk43.png" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png"/><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <h1 id="toc18"><span><span style="color: red">7</span></span></h1> </div> <hr/> <p>Karen rolled the card between each finger expertly, like a magician, considering it from every angle. She could pretend not to have opened it until the morning, when it would be far too late. She could do that.</p> <p>In another time, she might have done that.</p> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <img alt="Asterisk43.png" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png"/><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <h1 id="toc19"><span><span style="color: red">8</span></span></h1> </div> <hr/> <p>Ilse stood under the mistletoe while Max went to get more punch. It wasn't for her; she'd had so much already that she was pink from head to toe. It was for him. He needed it to build up the courage to approach her where she was standing.</p> <p>She was patient. She could wait. She was already exactly where she needed to be.</p> <p>She balled up the wrapping paper, and very nearly forgot whether she was supposed to throw it out, or put it in her mouth.</p> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <img alt="Asterisk43.png" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png"/><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <h1 id="toc20"><span><span style="color: red">9</span></span></h1> </div> <hr/> <p>In the farthest, most inconsolable reaches of himself, Wynn Rydderech smiled. "Not yet," he said. "But soon."</p> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <img alt="Asterisk43.png" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png"/><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <h1 id="toc21"><span><span style="color: red">10</span></span></h1> </div> <hr/> <p>Rozálie blinked. "I think he made a mistake?"</p> <p>Delfina sighed, and with a great deal of effort, slid off the couch and up. "He never makes mistakes."</p> <p>"You going to the kitchen?" Udo asked. "Get me some eggnog. I think I might be able to keep it down now." She'd had six shots of sherry.</p> <p>Instead, Delfina reached down and hauled her to her feet. The room swam. "What gives?"</p> <p>"Get your shoes on," Delfina prodded her. "You can open yours on the way."</p> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <img alt="Asterisk43.png" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png"/><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <h1 id="toc22"><span><span style="color: red">11</span></span></h1> </div> <hr/> <p>They said their chaste goodnights, and Nhung rode the subway home. It was progress. It was a start.</p> <p>She checked her messages as soon as the car was in wifi range. Assorted well-wishers, and one notification: a package left for her under the cafeteria tree.</p> <p>She smiled. It was sweet, but he needn't have bothered with the reminder.</p> <p>Of course she was headed there anyway.</p> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <img alt="Asterisk43.png" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png"/><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <h1 id="toc23"><span><span style="color: red">12</span></span></h1> </div> <hr/> <p>Harry wasn't at all surprised to find, when he and his wife waltzed into the cafeteria just after midnight, that very nearly the entirety of Site-43's senior staff was already assembled. A dozen warm, embarrassed smiles passed between friends as they mixed and mingled, trading gifts.</p> <p>Allan's gifts, which in redelivery, kept on giving.</p> <p>Melissa slipped away to approach Sokolsky, so he headed to the table where Lillian and Zwist had been sitting for most of the evening. She was now lying on top of it, softly snoring. He fastened his fingers over her face, and shook it roughly until she started spluttering into his palm.</p> <p>"Whguh," she spat. "Hrhunh. What."</p> <p>"Merry Christmas," he said, and he bent down and gave her the most awkward hug of all time. When it was done, he presented her with the gift Allan had dropped off earlier in the day, which Harry had just finished unwrapping: a true atomic watch in stainless steel, Temporal Anomalies special issue, with a tag attached. Lillian blearily squinted at it, then wordlessly passed it back for him to read.</p> <p>He read, "For Lillian, who is precise to the picosecond: a mirror."</p> <p>Her eyes watered as she snatched it from him, and laboriously affixed it to her wrist. It wasn't the right wrist, but try telling her anything. She reached behind her head and pulled out another unwrapped box. "Who's mine for?" she burbled. "Can't read."</p> <p>It was a tiny little portable video game machine from a company called Togenkyo, Game and Watch style, with a name in Japanese and 90s-looking art depicting ants on a motor car track. The tag dedicated it to "Hashiro, with whom I ran my only race."</p> <p>Kuroki was in China still, with Du, so that would have to wait. He resolved to lie instead, in the spirit of the gift's intention. He cast his eyes over the crowd, and noticed just by chance the little grey-haired man standing alone on the hallway side of the main entrance, arms crossed over his jumper, watching the little engagements with obvious pleasure. Melissa was laughing at something Sokolsky had said, or perhaps at how silly he looked in the high-tech glasses she'd been given to give to him. Yancy was holding a book, obviously holding back tears, and Noor Zaman was clapping him on the back, wearing mittens that looked at least two sizes too big. The All-Sections Chief (who had passed them on the way, saying he could only stop by for a moment) was admiring a tie clip that caught the light just <em>so,</em> made from the stuff of dreams and worth perhaps a medium fortune. Karen was admiring it too, as she cinched a vest around her chest that Harry recognized from the days when McInnis had managed Procurement and Liquidation. He wasn't sure what he wanted to see first: her reaction when she found out what it did, or the Director's excuse for giving it to her.</p> <p>But the latter would be easier, because he turned back to Lillian and said "Yours is for Allan. I'll go grab him."</p> <p>It was a near thing, but he got to the door before spooking his target. Unable to withdraw gracefully, the faintest hint of gratefulness in his eyes, Allan McInnis allowed himself to be drawn into the heart of the party he had started.</p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p>« <strong><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/wrong-tomorrow-hub">Wrong Tomorrow</a></strong> \| <strong><a href="/on-guard-43-hub">Words of Power and Poison</a></strong> \| <strong><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/deadlined-hub">The Breach Goes On: Deadlined</a></strong> »</p> </div> <div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/have-yourselves">Have Yourselves</a>" by HarryBlank, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/have-yourselves">https://scpwiki.com/have-yourselves</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> <div style="text-align: left;"> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> Everything!<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/harryblank" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(6479803); return false;"><img alt="HarryBlank" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=6479803&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735469388" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=6479803)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/harryblank" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(6479803); return false;">HarryBlank</a></span><br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC BY-SA 3.0</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:blankstyle">:scp-wiki:theme:blankstyle</a> fade=a]] [[module css]] #header h2::before { content: var(--header-subtitle, "SAD CHRISTMAS PARTY"); font-weight: 700; font-size: 1.3em; } div#extra-div-1{ background-image: url(https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/crimbus43.png); [[/module]] [[module CSS]] .danke { padding: 5px 5px 5px 15px; margin-bottom:10px; font-family: monospace; font-size: 1.25em; } .site { background-color:#222200; border: 3px solid #AAAA55; color: #DDDD77; } .wynn { background-color:#222200; border: 3px solid #AAAA55; color: #77DD8F; } [[/module]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/info:start">:scp-wiki:info:start</a>]] [[=]] Have Yourselves Ho. [[[http://www.scp-wiki.net/this-page-intentionally-left-blank\|More by this author!]]] [[/=]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/info:end">:scp-wiki:info:end</a>]] [[=]] + [[span style="color:green"]]Have Yourselves[[/span]] @@ @@ [[image Asterisk43.png]] @@ @@ + ##red\|12## [[/=]] ---- "Come on in." Allan McInnis swung open the door to the dormitory complex belonging to his Chair of Archives and Revision. He found the Chair on a couch, under a blanket, facing a television. The Chair of Research and Experimentation was under the blanket with him. She was blowing on his ear and saying "make it stop," or perhaps she was mouthing it; either way, McInnis couldn't hear her, because there were bizarre grunts and groans coming from the television. He wondered if they were watching a documentary about vomiting bears. "Hey," Harold Blank waved. He raised the remote, and thumbed the pause button. "Merry Christmas," McInnis smiled. He hefted a pair of boxes. "Where should I put these?" Melissa Bradbury pointed. "Merry Christmas. In front of the speakers, please. Cover them up as best you can." "On the side table is fine," Harry grinned. "Yours is under the tree, as usual. What's up with the special delivery?" McInnis set the presents down and strolled over to get a better look at the television. It was displaying some footage that looked like it came from the seventies, very badly preserved, a cheap sitcom set populated entirely by walking heaps of seaweed. "Going for the personal touch this year," he said. "Change of pace." Bradbury scooched aside, squashing Harry against his arm rest. She patted the newly vacated cushion. "Watch this garbage with us. It's really bad." "Tempting," he smiled. "But I have a lot of stops to make today." "Thank you, Santa," Harry yawned. "Merry Christmas." "Harry Christmas," Melissa sang. Harry put his palm over her mouth. McInnis smiled at them both, and bowed out. [[=]] @@ @@ [[image Asterisk43.png]] @@ @@ + ##red\|11## [[/=]] ---- He had expected to find Nhung Ngo in the third sublevel main cafeteria, at the daylong wander-in-wander-out party, but she wasn't there. A quick check with her administrative assistant revealed that she was out for the day with a man who was, so far as McInnis knew, her ex-husband. Perhaps that was a good thing. Perhaps it wasn't. In any case, of all his personnel, he trusted her the most to make the right decisions for herself. He left her gift under the tree. No matter when she got back in, she'd stop by the cafeteria just to take the temperature. He couldn't imagine running an underground base full of eccentric experts without a psychologist who would do that sort of thing without being ordered. //She could make Director some day...// Well, probably not. Site-43 probably wouldn't be producing many more Directors. [[=]] @@ @@ [[image Asterisk43.png]] @@ @@ + ##red\|10## [[/=]] ---- The scene in Udo Okorie's dorm reminded him of failure. Unlike the ratty old couch in Blank's complex, Okorie's was fancy and fluffy and new. There were three women sitting on it, legs draped over each other so that they formed a sort of chittering duodecipus with three distinct heads. They were all wearing the same ugly Christmas sweater. It hung loosely off Rozálie Astrauskas; it was under such strain on Delfina Ibanez that McInnis could see the colour of the undershirt she was wearing through the separated threads. Ibanez raised a pair of lemon yellow video game controllers in his direction. "Mario Kart?" Their faces were flushed with excitement and, no doubt, the contents of the bottles neatly stacked beside the couch. Howard Yancy was managing both internal and external security today; he'd divorced his wife that year, and didn't feel much like making merry. Applied Occultism was taking the day off, because pagan holidays almost always interfered with their experimental results. These three spent most of their free time together, even slept in the same room most days, but they rarely got long stretches where all were off duty simultaneously. They were making the most of this one. It reminded him of failure, nevertheless, because the fact that they were sitting here getting drunk and playing video games was related to the fact that they were the youngest members of his senior staff. And they were in their mid-forties. //I'll do better, Vivian,// he thought. //I __am__ doing better.// "I'd only slow you down," he smiled, setting down the three neatly-wrapped presents on the dining nook table. "That's not how racing games work." Ibanez stretched. "It's competitive." "Ah." He ambled back to the door. "I'm not very competitive." "Neither are these two," Ibanez crowed. Okorie stuck a finger in her ear. "Merry Christmas," Rozálie offered, and the other two repeated the greeting in sync. "Merry Christmas," he agreed. "I hope you all win." "That's not how racing games work either," Ibanez said to his back as he closed the door. [[=]] @@ @@ [[image Asterisk43.png]] @@ @@ + ##red\|9## [[/=]] ---- It was best to make this particular connection early in the day. It would only get worse after sundown, deep beneath the earth though they both were. [[div class="danke site"]] Merry Christmas, Dr. Rydderech. [[/div]] [[div class="danke wynn"]] Merry Christmas, Allan. [[/div]] McInnis started. He was alone in the little lab in AAF-A where the direct link to SCP-5520 was kept under lock and key, a secret to everyone but his most trusted staff and the Overseers who allowed the old reality bender to remain alone and dissociated in his vast refinery beneath their feet. Most of Vroom's technicians weren't working today, since most of the Site's computers were either switched off or performing the kind of work that didn't need much, if any, human intervention. McInnis therefore had this entire wing of the facility to himself, and that made the visceral strangeness of finding Rydderech so uncharacteristically lucid hit even harder. [[div class="danke site"]] How do you know my name, sir? [[/div]] [[div class="danke wynn"]] I know all your names. I made them up. [[/div]] So much for that, then. McInnis was already remembering why he let I&T handle Rydderech whenever he needed handling. [[div class="danke site"]] That's not actually correct. [[/div]] //I hope.// [[div class="danke wynn"]] Is it not? It feels correct. [[/div]] [[div class="danke wynn"]] At any rate, feel free to go about your day as usual. I won't make you do anything. We'll say you have free will. [[/div]] McInnis actually laughed. Perhaps it was unkind of him to do this, but he had to react in some way to these new horrifying implications, and laughter was closest at hand. [[div class="danke site"]] Thank you. I will. [[/div]] [[div class="danke site"]] Is there anything I can do for you, doctor? [[/div]] A long pause. [[div class="danke wynn"]] You can get me out of here. [[/div]] [[div class="danke wynn"]] Like he asked you to. [[/div]] [[div class="danke wynn"]] A quarter-century ago. [[/div]] [[div class="danke wynn"]] Allan? [[/div]] [[div class="danke wynn"]] Did I say something wrong? [[/div]] [[div class="danke site"]] A happy new year to you, Dr. Rydderech. [[/div]] [[div class="danke wynn"]] To you as well. [[/div]] [[div class="danke wynn"]] All things considered. [[/div]] It was a quiet stroll to where the bottom of AAF-A met the top of Rydderech's chasm. Allan left the gift there, content with the knowledge that it would be gone by Boxing Day. [[=]] @@ @@ [[image Asterisk43.png]] @@ @@ + ##red\|8## [[/=]] ---- Back in the cafeteria, Ilse Reynders had an arm around Max Vroom's waist, a thoroughly rouged-up nose and a jaunty pair of felt antlers, and was singing a Christmas song in Dutch: "Hoor Wie Stapt Daar Kinderen." Though her epic incinerator escape was long since past, Reynders had gotten no less touchy-feely with her friends and... loved ones? Did Reynders have loved ones? She'd certainly been close with the chief technician, and she was presently squeezing him under his Christmas sweater, and the man's own nose and cheeks were rosy without the apparent application of any makeup. McInnis had always been-- Reynders had seen him at the door, swung Vroom around, detached from him, and catapulted herself into the Director's waiting arms. She threw hers around his neck -- they were neither of them very tall -- and gave him a squeeze so tight he could feel his windpipe constricting. "Merry Christmas, Allan," she said directly into his ear. She had the presence of mind to lower her voice. "Merry Christmas." He felt he would not easily become tired of seeing her happy, surrounded by other people in close proximity. She had earned it a thousandfold, and needed it even more. She was unlikely to leave the party until it broke up early the next morning. Vroom smiled apologetically at him over her shoulder. He smiled back, as warmly as he was able, and returned the immortal polymath's embrace. In the end he was only able to extricate himself by telling her to retrieve her present from his jumper pocket. When she pulled back to examine the fancy imported wrapping paper, he withdrew as well and made his excuses. [[=]] @@ @@ [[image Asterisk43.png]] @@ @@ + ##red\|7## [[/=]] ---- Karen Elstrom was at her desk. He had known she would be, and yet, he had hoped... well, it didn't matter. He wouldn't be the only one to make the connection, and she would have had a steady stream of visitors from amongst the senior staff as the afternoon wore on. He told himself there was nothing sad about the fact that she was spending her Christmas alone in the Administration and Oversight offices. Obviously someone had to do it. Someone needed to be responsible, be on call in case anything happened. She was essentially Site Director for the day. Under different circumstances, he might have thought about retiring and giving her a go at the job for real. But duty was duty, and all he could give her instead, today, was the benefit of his presence and presents. Considering the year she'd had, he figured she could use one extra. Karmic compensation. She came down from the daïs to talk to him. She wouldn't have been able to see him comfortably over the top of her desk. "Doing the rounds?" He handed her the gifts. "Yes. Everything in order?" She shrugged, accepting the packages and standing on the tips of her fancy shoes to slide them onto her elevated desktop. "Dead as a doornail. Nothing internal, nothing external. Nothing so much as a peep out of law enforcement or national defence. The whole world's taking the day off, apparently." "That's good." She was meeting his gaze, so he noticed when hers flickered. "Isn't it?" She nodded. "Yes, of course it's good. We don't need any disturbances today." He could almost have believed her, if he'd wanted to. He checked his watch. "You know, I've seen a lot of our people already. I could use a break. What say I mind the store for an hour? You could check in at the party." She arched a brow. "And do what?" "And do what...?" He chuckled. "Whatever people do at parties, I suppose." She nodded. "Go on." He blinked. She didn't. "Go on, Allan," she repeated. "What do people do at parties?" He suddenly wished, in the space of an instant, that he'd been singing and dancing and swinging a partner through the lobby. It would have given him an excuse to stumble into an embrace with her -- simply that, an embrace, nothing more. He had never wanted more, would never want more, but for an instant he wanted precisely that very much indeed. But he was not dancing. He did not dance. And neither did she. And neither of them ever would, because that was not who either of them were. She reached out with both hands, took his shoulders, and squeezed them once each. "Merry Christmas, Allan." "Merry Christmas, Karen," he said to her back as she returned to her desk. By the time he reached the foyer doors, she was engrossed in paperwork again. [[=]] @@ @@ [[image Asterisk43.png]] @@ @@ + ##red\|6## [[/=]] ---- Eileen Veiksaar had only been back at Site-43 for a few short months. For some of the staff, this was something of a shock; the last thing they'd heard was that she'd been sent away for some sort of act of treason, the kind of thing many senior staff members ran afoul of after too many years of doings in the dark. People didn't usually come back from that. But the people who did tended to come back bigger and better, as Veiksaar did, so that somewhat softened the blow of seeing her again. She had been graduated from the Site's chief technical officer to the Ethics Committee Liaison, and that meant she could wear something other than an antistatic jumper and keep hours defined by the shift schedule and not the network downtime schema. The change suited her. But Veiksaar's break with protocol had given the Council cause to doubt her commitment to the cause, and it seemed like her old co-workers could sense the cloud of suspicion that encircled her now. She was one of the first cracks in Site-43's façade of compliance with the Foundation's more pragmatic methodology. In short, Allan was worried that after nine months in her new post, she was still isolated. She had never been the most social of creatures to begin with, and after all, the last thing that had happened in the previous stage of her career was one of her oldest friends tidily entrapping and neutralizing her. The adjustment could not have been easy, and might still be ongoing. He found her dormitory door ajar, but knocked anyway. There was no response, but the door did slide open just a little further. There were sounds of struggle from within. There were not, on reflection, sounds of struggle, precisely, from within. He looked down, instinctively, and saw a note on the welcome mat next to a hideous bright green neck tie. It read: > Leave it on the floor. Leave mine, too, if you brought it. > Yours is in your office. > Merry Christmas! > D.S. McInnis had locked his office. He nevertheless did not doubt the note at all. "Merry Christmas," he smiled, and he closed the door. He supposed she was settling in fine after all. [[=]] @@ @@ [[image Asterisk43.png]] @@ @@ + ##red\|5## [[/=]] ---- Hachiro Kuroki and Xinyi Du had scheduled this hour to check in, and the video call came to his office on the dot. They made an unusual pair; Kuroki looked haggard and worn on his best days, while Du had never visibly aged past somewhere around thirty. The security chief was taciturn, soft-spoken and slow-burning, while the Chair of Quantum Supermechanics was a caricature of excitability. Right now they were both subdued, however, because there was apparently a formal dinner happening in the next room. "So that's an entire branch of my family that will never speak to me again," Du was telling him happily. "Nanjing was namedropped at the dinner table. My uncle says I've shamed every man in my family tree. Do people really think that's leverage? Extended relations are basically just walking obligations. I didn't want to have to RSVP their stupid weddings anyway." Kuroki was obviously stifling laughter. It looked strange on him, but not bad. When Du stopped talking for an moment, probably to take a breath, he cut in. "Nine of those twelve people," and he jerked a thumb at the closed door in the sumptuously appointed bedroom, "are his family. I've got my mother and two sisters. We left them alone in there." McInnis smiled sympathetically. "Give my regards, should they survive." Du guffawed. "Did your presents arrive?" Kuroki nodded. "The Dus were furious. They're traditional. They think Christmas is just western commercialism." "Which it is," Du added. "One of my cousins works in a Walmart export warehouse in Guangdong. I said the word 'Christmas' in her presence, //once,// and she almost slapped me." "So that's the situation," Kuroki said. He didn't smile -- ever, really -- but the corners of his eyes did crinkle up a bit. "We're still waiting to find out which one's homophobic. Right now they're all tripped up on being racist or anti-capitalist, but the afternoon's still young." "They might all be homophobic," Du mused. "Do you want to bet?" "Why not?" Kuroki rummaged below the camera view, and came up with a bulging sack. "Let's wager apples. Every god damn person I've talked to today has given me an apple. I have no use for all these apples." "I'll leave you to your crass commercialism, then." McInnis smiled at them each in turn. "Merry Christmas." "Merry Christmas," they responded in unison. They both looked dreadfully embarrassed to have done so. [[=]] @@ @@ [[image Asterisk43.png]] @@ @@ + ##red\|4## [[/=]] ---- "Stop that," Thilo Zwist sighed, and snatched the Santa Claus hat off his head. He placed it firmly on the cafeteria table in front of him, and left his hand on top. Lillian Lillihammer immediately began tugging at it again. "Santa," she whispered. "Santa." "Enjoying the festivities?" McInnis asked mildly as he sat down across from them. Wordlessly, they exchanged gifts. "Santa," Lillian whispered, more frantically. "Santa if you don't leave soon--" "Some of us more than others," the old man sighed. "Lillian--" "If you don't leave soon, Santa, you won't have time to leave presents for all the good--" She burst into something between laughter and tears, bawling her eyes out with a big toothy grin on her face. Zwist handed her a napkin. "I'm given to understand," he said to McInnis, "that this is a standard state of affairs on Christmas Day." McInnis inclined his head. "Dr. Lillihammer is an expressive individual, and the open bar is perhaps better stocked than it ought to be." "Santa," Lillian was still whispering, through her tears. "Santa." Zwist turned to face her. "Yes, Lillian. What it is?" Her face was flushed, and she was giggling like a small child. "Did you make out with Michael Jackson's mom?" "I believe you have fundamentally misunderstood the meaning of that song, Lillian." He turned back to McInnis. "I begin to get a sense of how Oppenheimer felt when he delivered Truman the bomb." Lillian made a creditable explosion sound effect which rattled her cheeks and teeth, and then she passed out. [[=]] @@ @@ [[image Asterisk43.png]] @@ @@ + ##red\|3## [[/=]] ---- He had expected to find the All-Sections Chief at Intake Point-94, but was surprised instead to find Philip Deering and Amelia Torosyan, leaning on each other and staring out at the murky depths. Something was trumpeting in the distance, and they were each trying to match the pitch. Whispering softly to each other. Swaying back and forth, hands around each other's waists, still wearing their technician jumpsuits. Doug glared down at them from the glass ceiling, his alien skeletal structure and emaciated slough of grey skin fully visible from head to toe for what McInnis realized might have been the very first time. He could have, probably should have called Bradbury and Blank to rush over and document the occurrence. He left the gifts on the bench, and stole away quietly back to the Site proper instead. [[=]] @@ @@ [[image Asterisk43.png]] @@ @@ + ##red\|2## [[/=]] ---- The All-Sections Chief had been called away to Kettle Point. One of the elders had died in the night, and he had been the closest thing the old woman had to family, so it was his duty to set a fire burning in his hearth until she was safely beneath the frozen earth. He had left a message to this effect for McInnis, and an invitation to the customary feast on the fifth day. He thought he would probably go. But that was then, and this was now. Now, he had nowhere to go. So he went back to the Director's Complex, and after a moment lingering at the door, listening to the steady bassline thrum of music from the cafeteria, he called it a night. He'd check in for just a moment, of course. Just to see how things were going. Just a moment, no more. [[=]] @@ @@ [[image Asterisk43.png]] @@ @@ + ##red\|1## [[/=]] ---- "Merry Christmas, Allan." Vivian Scout was holding an awkwardly-wrapped package in garish blue paper, with one of those sticky bows in green hanging on at an even more awkward angle. "Oh." He looked up from his desk, startled both by the gesture and the very presence of the Director. He'd been working late in the Procurement and Liquidation offices, as he often did; the day held no special meaning for him, which didn't make him totally unique at Site-43, but the fact that he was perfectly happy with this fact actually did. Everyone else who was sitting alone in the facility would be doing so under protest, whether because of duty or tragedy or social incompatibility or simple anxiety and the failure to relate. For McInnis, it was a chance to use his workspace without distraction. "Oh," Scout echoed. "I'm sorry." McInnis smiled placidly at him. "Thank you very much, sir. Merry Christmas. I'm sorry that I don't have anything for you. If I had known..." Scout waved it off. "I'm not collecting more dust-collectors at my age anyway, no offence. Hardly have anywhere to put them." This was, of course, untrue. McInnis had seen the first layer of the Director's Complex, and the rest promised by its nature and location to be voluminous. "I just thought you might appreciate the gesture. I'll get out of your hair." "I do appreciate it," he said as the old man headed for the door. "Sir. I do appreciate it." Scout hesitated at the threshold. "Do you?" McInnis blinked. "Certainly. It was thoughtful of you." Scout turned back to face him, and leaned on the wall with his hands in his suit pockets. "And why does that matter?" McInnis looked down at the untidy offering. He hadn't expected it to turn into a test. "It shows that you're considerate of my feelings, I suppose." "That what a Director does, you think? Take care of everyone's feelings?" Scout was wearing his spectacles, so McInnis couldn't see what was lurking in his eyes. The thin lips and heavy jowls were immobile when the old man wasn't talking. After a lifetime at the Foundation, Scout had no tells left. "I suppose," he tried again, "you have a responsibility to improve morale." "And do I? Improve morale?" Scout pointed at the gift. "Does that improve your morale? You haven't even opened it." [[=]] @@ @@ [[image Asterisk43.png]] @@ @@ + ##red\|2## [[/=]] ---- The All-Sections Chief rubbed his eyes until they watered, then went back to tending the fire. He ought to call Allan. He was going to call Allan. The doorbell rang. By the time he opened the front door, there was nobody there. A nondescript sedan was pulling languidly away, down the dirt road. Delivery service. There was a wrapped present on the stoop. He picked it up. He recognized the handwriting on the label. He smiled. He opened it. [[=]] @@ @@ [[image Asterisk43.png]] @@ @@ + ##red\|3## [[/=]] ---- Something about the vibration of their faces so close together meant that the whispering inevitably translated to kissing before long. Not that they ever needed an excuse. Doug allowed it to happen for several minutes before archly commenting on Philip's abysmal holiday hospitality, which startled him, which startled Amelia, which caused them both to notice the thin wrapped package on the bench. "Little creepy," Amelia said. "That's her nickname for you," Doug said. "...is my nickname for Doug," Amelia said. Phil kissed her again, then went to pick up the gift. [[=]] @@ @@ [[image Asterisk43.png]] @@ @@ + ##red\|4## [[/=]] ---- In the time it took him to turn back around -- he had been watching Technician Nascimbeni fix the flickering lights on the Christmas tree -- Lillian was pulling the paper off the present Allan had left for him. He could have taken and expressed umbrage, but would it really have made a difference? Not likely. So instead he snatched up the present intended for her, and opened it with a dexterity her alcohol-numbed fingers lacked. It didn't end up mattering who got what package. [[=]] @@ @@ [[image Asterisk43.png]] @@ @@ + ##red\|5## [[/=]] ---- "That was horrible," Du whispered. "Completely," Kuroki agreed. They were lying together on one of the two single beds in the room they'd been offered. They had made their sleeping arrangements abundantly clear before even buying the plane tickets. But it was what it was. Du sat up, crawled over Kuroki, and grabbed the still-wrapped gifts off the desk. "Might as well?" he suggested. "Might as well." They opened the boxes in silence. Kuroki didn't know what to say. Du, of course, always did. "This," he said, "is an excellent excuse to take the first flight back home." "Amen," his boyfriend murmured. [[=]] @@ @@ [[image Asterisk43.png]] @@ @@ + ##red\|6## [[/=]] ---- Eileen sat bolt upright as the thin box landed on her naked stomach. Sokolsky had flung it at her from the bedroom door. "What's this?" "Dunno." He sat down on the edge of the bed, a box of his own in his hands. "Came from Allan?" "How do you know?" She paused, then added, "How did it get in here? You didn't leave the door open, did you?" He smiled at her. Her stomach sank. "You did." He tore off the wrapping paper, and opened the box. She waited to see what he'd gotten before opening hers. He snorted. "Guess I have to put some pants on." "Aww." [[=]] @@ @@ [[image Asterisk43.png]] @@ @@ + ##red\|7## [[/=]] ---- Karen rolled the card between each finger expertly, like a magician, considering it from every angle. She could pretend not to have opened it until the morning, when it would be far too late. She could do that. In another time, she might have done that. [[=]] @@ @@ [[image Asterisk43.png]] @@ @@ + ##red\|8## [[/=]] ---- Ilse stood under the mistletoe while Max went to get more punch. It wasn't for her; she'd had so much already that she was pink from head to toe. It was for him. He needed it to build up the courage to approach her where she was standing. She was patient. She could wait. She was already exactly where she needed to be. She balled up the wrapping paper, and very nearly forgot whether she was supposed to throw it out, or put it in her mouth. [[=]] @@ @@ [[image Asterisk43.png]] @@ @@ + ##red\|9## [[/=]] ---- In the farthest, most inconsolable reaches of himself, Wynn Rydderech smiled. "Not yet," he said. "But soon." [[=]] @@ @@ [[image Asterisk43.png]] @@ @@ + ##red\|10## [[/=]] ---- Rozálie blinked. "I think he made a mistake?" Delfina sighed, and with a great deal of effort, slid off the couch and up. "He never makes mistakes." "You going to the kitchen?" Udo asked. "Get me some eggnog. I think I might be able to keep it down now." She'd had six shots of sherry. Instead, Delfina reached down and hauled her to her feet. The room swam. "What gives?" "Get your shoes on," Delfina prodded her. "You can open yours on the way." [[=]] @@ @@ [[image Asterisk43.png]] @@ @@ + ##red\|11## [[/=]] ---- They said their chaste goodnights, and Nhung rode the subway home. It was progress. It was a start. She checked her messages as soon as the car was in wifi range. Assorted well-wishers, and one notification: a package left for her under the cafeteria tree. She smiled. It was sweet, but he needn't have bothered with the reminder. Of course she was headed there anyway. [[=]] @@ @@ [[image Asterisk43.png]] @@ @@ + ##red\|12## [[/=]] ---- Harry wasn't at all surprised to find, when he and his wife waltzed into the cafeteria just after midnight, that very nearly the entirety of Site-43's senior staff was already assembled. A dozen warm, embarrassed smiles passed between friends as they mixed and mingled, trading gifts. Allan's gifts, which in redelivery, kept on giving. Melissa slipped away to approach Sokolsky, so he headed to the table where Lillian and Zwist had been sitting for most of the evening. She was now lying on top of it, softly snoring. He fastened his fingers over her face, and shook it roughly until she started spluttering into his palm. "Whguh," she spat. "Hrhunh. What." "Merry Christmas," he said, and he bent down and gave her the most awkward hug of all time. When it was done, he presented her with the gift Allan had dropped off earlier in the day, which Harry had just finished unwrapping: a true atomic watch in stainless steel, Temporal Anomalies special issue, with a tag attached. Lillian blearily squinted at it, then wordlessly passed it back for him to read. He read, "For Lillian, who is precise to the picosecond: a mirror." Her eyes watered as she snatched it from him, and laboriously affixed it to her wrist. It wasn't the right wrist, but try telling her anything. She reached behind her head and pulled out another unwrapped box. "Who's mine for?" she burbled. "Can't read." It was a tiny little portable video game machine from a company called Togenkyo, Game and Watch style, with a name in Japanese and 90s-looking art depicting ants on a motor car track. The tag dedicated it to "Hashiro, with whom I ran my only race." Kuroki was in China still, with Du, so that would have to wait. He resolved to lie instead, in the spirit of the gift's intention. He cast his eyes over the crowd, and noticed just by chance the little grey-haired man standing alone on the hallway side of the main entrance, arms crossed over his jumper, watching the little engagements with obvious pleasure. Melissa was laughing at something Sokolsky had said, or perhaps at how silly he looked in the high-tech glasses she'd been given to give to him. Yancy was holding a book, obviously holding back tears, and Noor Zaman was clapping him on the back, wearing mittens that looked at least two sizes too big. The All-Sections Chief (who had passed them on the way, saying he could only stop by for a moment) was admiring a tie clip that caught the light just //so,// made from the stuff of dreams and worth perhaps a medium fortune. Karen was admiring it too, as she cinched a vest around her chest that Harry recognized from the days when McInnis had managed Procurement and Liquidation. He wasn't sure what he wanted to see first: her reaction when she found out what it did, or the Director's excuse for giving it to her. But the latter would be easier, because he turned back to Lillian and said "Yours is for Allan. I'll go grab him." It was a near thing, but he got to the door before spooking his target. Unable to withdraw gracefully, the faintest hint of gratefulness in his eyes, Allan McInnis allowed himself to be drawn into the heart of the party he had started. [[=]] << [[[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/wrong-tomorrow-hub \| Wrong Tomorrow]]] \| [/on-guard-43-hub Words of Power and Poison] \| [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/deadlined-hub The Breach Goes On: Deadlined] >> [[/=]] [[div]] [[=]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] ===== [[<]] > Filename: Everything! > Author: [[user HarryBlank]] > License:* CC BY-SA 3.0 [[/<]] ===== [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]] [[/=]] [[/div]]	2023-12-25T07:50:00	[ "_cc", "_licensebox", "chief-ibanez", "christmas", "director-mcinnis", "director-scout", "doctor-blank", "doctor-elstrom", "doctor-okorie", "doctor-reynders", "doctor-sokolsky", "on-guard-43", "philip-deering", "romance", "slice-of-life", "tale", "thilo-zwist" ]	Have Yourselves - SCP Foundation	52	[ "wrong-tomorrow-hub", "on-guard-43-hub", "deadlined-hub", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "wrong-tomorrow-hub", "deadlined-hub", "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "on-guard-43-hub" ]	[ "https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png", "https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png", "https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png", "https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png", "https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png", "https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png", "https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png", "https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png", "https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png", "https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png", "https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png", "https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png", "https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png", "https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png", "https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png", "https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png", "https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png", "https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png", "https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png", "https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png", "https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png", "https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png", "https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/have-yourselves/Asterisk43.png" ]	1451974393	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/have-yourselves
hawaiian-shirts	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div class="preview"> <p>Oh, Christ, not this asshole again.</p> </div> <p>"Iris? You in there?"</p> <p>Oh, Christ, not this asshole again.</p> <p>"I need to talk to you about something."</p> <p>She tried her best not to audibly groan, instead audibly yawning. There was a little bit of groan in it, unfortunately for her. He didn't take particular notice.</p> <p>"You're not in trouble, Iris."</p> <p>Well, that's some relief. She's fairly sure there wasn't anything recently to be in trouble <em>for,</em> but with her very "public" position, she feels like she's constantly walking on eggshells. Like the whole project, the only reason for her (relative) freedom, could go up in flames at the slightest touch.</p> <p>"Clef, what the hell do you want?"</p> <p>She imagined him smirking that damn smirk of his. The door was closed, so she couldn't actually tell, but it was enough. "This would be easier if you opened the door, kid." <em>Kid.</em> This man was so god damn infuriating, she was starting to wonder if he was doing it on purpose.</p> <p>Who was she kidding, of course he was. "It's not locked, sir." Almost immediately, she heard the door click.</p> <p>There he was, in all his middle-aged, vaguely scummy glory. He stepped into the room, feigning interest in his surroundings, before sitting onto the small loveseat on the opposite side of the room from her. His movements were weirdly lethargic. Aside from the garish outfit (even for him), she noticed his hat was off. He only took his hat off when he had something to say, so she started to emotionally brace herself for… whatever this was.</p> <p>She may have put too much effort into bracing. Clef looked at her, and feigned a grin. "Oh, at ease, already. It's not about Alpha-9, for once." That was something, at least. Unfortunately, that meant it was something <em>personal,</em> which worried her even more. It could only be one of about four things, and he shouldn't <em>know</em> about most of them.</p> <p>"I just wanted to ask if you know why M–" He caught himself, and swallowed. "–why 166 was given updated privileges." <em>Fuck.</em> So he knew. You don't waltz into someone's room and ask that if you didn't already know the answer. This was going to be… tricky, at best.</p> <p>She could try getting out of this. "I don't exactly have the power to grant other objects more autonomy, sir." That "sir" came out more harshly than she wanted.</p> <p>"You're a terrible liar, Iris." Clef's face was twisted in a way she hadn't seen before. "Adams showed me the paperwork." Fuck. The Foundation makes everyone who starts a relationship to sign hours of forms officiating it. It was even more of a pain in the ass, with both her and Meri still being considered objects. She tried to ignore the thought.</p> <p>Meri thought it would have been pointless to even try, that it was unprecedented, that they would never approve it. She worried a lot about the details. So did Iris, of course, but she was (unfortunately) loyal to the Foundation. She'd proven that several times over by now. It was more of a curse than her supposed blessing, sometimes, but it worked out in the end.</p> <p>Except for this. Except for this. It was a fairly poorly kept secret that Clef had a daughter somewhere in the world. A lot less people knew that daughter was likely in Foundation custody. The few people with full access to Meri's file knew her full story, more or less. She wouldn't be in that last camp, if not for an off-the-books trade (it was more an appeal) with Dir. Light, and she immediately knew she got more than what she bargained for.</p> <p>She was not looking forward to this conversation, and had been putting it off for… months, now. He approached her first, though, which was deeply worrying. When Clef willingly starts a conversation with you, it's either so he can insult you somehow, or because you're about to do a job no one wants to.</p> <p>Or because you're about to lose yours. She was desperately hoping it was the first one.</p> <p>"Just to be clear, you <em>are</em> dating her, right? I didn't read the whole damn packet, there could have been something I missed." Not wanting to delay this further, Iris quietly nodded. She was certainly starting to shake, but she suppressed it as best she could. She'd gotten good at it over the last 10-odd years.</p> <p>"Okay. Neat." It was cold. "So then, I have to ask. <em>What the hell were you thinking?</em>"</p> <p>She immediately stiffened, as Clef's already cold eyes turned to glare at her. She was on his bad side for this, apparently, and it was going to get a lot worse for her if she didn't approach this carefully.</p> <p>"I'm not even sure how you managed this. You went over my head, somehow, because I know Adams shouldn't have known about this first. You've both kept it miraculously hidden, otherwise, because I didn't know you knew each others <em>names.</em>" This was new, at least to Iris. Clef got mad at people, but it was never this… wet. He seemed weirdly emotional about it. Any other man, and it wouldn't have surprised her.</p> <p>"I— you're damn lucky I was busy before now. Do you have any idea what you've gotten yourself into here?" He was… teary? She wasn't sure what that really meant, and unwittingly shook her head. He let out a breathy chuckle. "You don't. FUCKING fantastic. You really don't know what this means."</p> <p>Iris was definitely shaking by now. Her overboss was yelling at her, apparently on the verge of tears, and she was worried. He wouldn't dare hurt her right here, but he was powerful. Powerful enough to end all of this out of… spite? She couldn't tell anymore.</p> <p>It would mean the worst, really. It would mean she'd be at risk of getting kicked out of the project that (as far as she was concerned) started with her. It would probably mean getting her privileges stripped, <em>again,</em> and re-condemned to sanitary, pristine hell.</p> <p>It would definitely mean, if nothing else, that they'd never see each other again.</p> <p>Her thoughts, flipping through every worst case, were interrupted by Clef. "Iris, what it means is that in 23 fucking years, I've talked to her <em>twice,</em> and she doesn't remember a thing!" He took in a shaky breath. "It means the only one she's ever loved is a woman who hates me."</p> <p>He wasn't sobbing, yet, but he was close. "It means her horrible truth is going to be forcibly revealed to her, and I'll have failed her for the fucking umpteenth time." She couldn't tell who was shaking more. "God DAMN it, Iris." Clef slumped over, his face in his hands, three watery eyes staining his shirt. That mesmerizingly awful shirt.</p> <p>She was too scared to say anything, so they sat in an uncomfortable silence, Clef failing to stop crying. The air was heavy, and she couldn't tell why. This man, who had been an harbinger of terribly sexist jokes and ugly corporate sass and terrible fashion sense, who parades himself as the actual biblical Devil, who was one of the people Iris was still scared of, broken down in front of her. Over a girl he could never meet, and one who would undoubtedly hate him if she knew.</p> <p>She couldn't help but tear up too.</p> <p>"S-sir?"</p> <p>He exhaled, in that way you exhale when you try to laugh while your throat is doing other things. "Shut it, Iris. I don't…" There was no words. This was excruciating.</p> <p>"I won't tell her, Clef." She didn't mean to call him by name, but she wasn't in a position to stop herself.</p> <p>He looked up. It was weird, seeing three shot eyes looking at her. "Iris, I don't care what you do." He sat himself up, still shivering. "But don't fuck it up. Please." Clef looked cold, again. Well, as cold as he could be, with a wet face and even wetter voice.</p> <p>"There are so many things I want to tell her, Iris. With any luck, I won't get the chance to say them." Iris exhaled. She wasn't aware she was holding her breath, but with it gone, she felt… looser. "I won't ask anything of you, but I need you to be good to her. Don't… don't be me, if you can help it." After a minute of staring at the floor, he wordlessly stood up, turning for the door.</p> <p>"Clef?" Of all the people to be asking this. "Are you alright?"</p> <p>He chuckled an actual, genuine chuckle, before turning around. "What do you think, kid?"</p> <p>"…I think you need to get a new shirt." Tear stains usually aren't obvious, but on the dirty rayon, they stuck out.</p> <p>He didn't say anything before he left, leaving Iris alone to stew in what just happened, and to think.</p> <p>She thought about Meri, and about Clef, and then the whole project, the fire within the Foundation that she sparked. She thought about the others, the poor souls roped into this with her. Then she thought about herself, and then about Meri again.</p> <p>Iris cried until her eyes closed for her.</p> <hr/> <p>The next morning, she found Meri sitting at their usual spot in the cafeteria, looking unusually upbeat. When she waved her over, she got a little worried. When she saw what the deer was wearing, she nearly fell over.</p> <p>Before she could say anything, Meri cut in quickly. "Are you alright, Iris? You look like you've been crying, what's wrong?"</p> <p>"I'm fine, Mer. Didn't sleep well, but nothing out of the ordinary." The conversation would need to happen at some point. But not today.</p> <p>"I'd pry, but you don't seem to be in the mood. You got here a little late, so I don't know what all is left, but I saved you a bagel!" She looked proud.</p> <p>"Thank you. Can I ask about the elephant in the room?"</p> <p>"And what would that be?"</p> <p>"What the hell are you wearing, Meri?"</p> <p>It was a pink and blue Hawaiian shirt. Not the same colors as last night, but the same kind of mind numbing pattern, if you could call it that.</p> <p>"Do you like it?"</p> <p>"…I guess I don't mind it."</p> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/hawaiian-shirts">hawaiian shirts</a>" by RosySaturniidae, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/hawaiian-shirts">https://scpwiki.com/hawaiian-shirts</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	===== [[include <a href="/component:preview">component:preview</a> text=Oh, Christ, not this asshole again.]] ===== [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:pride-highlighter">:scp-wiki:component:pride-highlighter</a> \|inc-s9-lsb-alt= --]]] [[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] "Iris? You in there?" Oh, Christ, not this asshole again. "I need to talk to you about something." She tried her best not to audibly groan, instead audibly yawning. There was a little bit of groan in it, unfortunately for her. He didn't take particular notice. "You're not in trouble, Iris." Well, that's some relief. She's fairly sure there wasn't anything recently to be in trouble //for,// but with her very "public" position, she feels like she's constantly walking on eggshells. Like the whole project, the only reason for her (relative) freedom, could go up in flames at the slightest touch. "Clef, what the hell do you want?" She imagined him smirking that damn smirk of his. The door was closed, so she couldn't actually tell, but it was enough. "This would be easier if you opened the door, kid." //Kid.// This man was so god damn infuriating, she was starting to wonder if he was doing it on purpose. Who was she kidding, of course he was. "It's not locked, sir." Almost immediately, she heard the door click. There he was, in all his middle-aged, vaguely scummy glory. He stepped into the room, feigning interest in his surroundings, before sitting onto the small loveseat on the opposite side of the room from her. His movements were weirdly lethargic. Aside from the garish outfit (even for him), she noticed his hat was off. He only took his hat off when he had something to say, so she started to emotionally brace herself for... whatever this was. She may have put too much effort into bracing. Clef looked at her, and feigned a grin. "Oh, at ease, already. It's not about Alpha-9, for once." That was something, at least. Unfortunately, that meant it was something //personal,// which worried her even more. It could only be one of about four things, and he shouldn't //know// about most of them. "I just wanted to ask if you know why M–" He caught himself, and swallowed. "–why 166 was given updated privileges." //Fuck.// So he knew. You don't waltz into someone's room and ask that if you didn't already know the answer. This was going to be... tricky, at best. She could try getting out of this. "I don't exactly have the power to grant other objects more autonomy, sir." That "sir" came out more harshly than she wanted. "You're a terrible liar, Iris." Clef's face was twisted in a way she hadn't seen before. "Adams showed me the paperwork." Fuck. The Foundation makes everyone who starts a relationship to sign hours of forms officiating it. It was even more of a pain in the ass, with both her and Meri still being considered objects. She tried to ignore the thought. Meri thought it would have been pointless to even try, that it was unprecedented, that they would never approve it. She worried a lot about the details. So did Iris, of course, but she was (unfortunately) loyal to the Foundation. She'd proven that several times over by now. It was more of a curse than her supposed blessing, sometimes, but it worked out in the end. Except for this. Except for this. It was a fairly poorly kept secret that Clef had a daughter somewhere in the world. A lot less people knew that daughter was likely in Foundation custody. The few people with full access to Meri's file knew her full story, more or less. She wouldn't be in that last camp, if not for an off-the-books trade (it was more an appeal) with Dir. Light, and she immediately knew she got more than what she bargained for. She was not looking forward to this conversation, and had been putting it off for... months, now. He approached her first, though, which was deeply worrying. When Clef willingly starts a conversation with you, it's either so he can insult you somehow, or because you're about to do a job no one wants to. Or because you're about to lose yours. She was desperately hoping it was the first one. "Just to be clear, you //are// dating her, right? I didn't read the whole damn packet, there could have been something I missed." Not wanting to delay this further, Iris quietly nodded. She was certainly starting to shake, but she suppressed it as best she could. She'd gotten good at it over the last 10-odd years. "Okay. Neat." It was cold. "So then, I have to ask. //What the hell were you thinking?//" She immediately stiffened, as Clef's already cold eyes turned to glare at her. She was on his bad side for this, apparently, and it was going to get a lot worse for her if she didn't approach this carefully. "I'm not even sure how you managed this. You went over my head, somehow, because I know Adams shouldn't have known about this first. You've both kept it miraculously hidden, otherwise, because I didn't know you knew each others //names.//" This was new, at least to Iris. Clef got mad at people, but it was never this... wet. He seemed weirdly emotional about it. Any other man, and it wouldn't have surprised her. "I-- you're damn lucky I was busy before now. Do you have any idea what you've gotten yourself into here?" He was... teary? She wasn't sure what that really meant, and unwittingly shook her head. He let out a breathy chuckle. "You don't. FUCKING fantastic. You really don't know what this means." Iris was definitely shaking by now. Her overboss was yelling at her, apparently on the verge of tears, and she was worried. He wouldn't dare hurt her right here, but he was powerful. Powerful enough to end all of this out of... spite? She couldn't tell anymore. It would mean the worst, really. It would mean she'd be at risk of getting kicked out of the project that (as far as she was concerned) started with her. It would probably mean getting her privileges stripped, //again,// and re-condemned to sanitary, pristine hell. It would definitely mean, if nothing else, that they'd never see each other again. Her thoughts, flipping through every worst case, were interrupted by Clef. "Iris, what it means is that in 23 fucking years, I've talked to her //twice,// and she doesn't remember a thing!" He took in a shaky breath. "It means the only one she's ever loved is a woman who hates me." He wasn't sobbing, yet, but he was close. "It means her horrible truth is going to be forcibly revealed to her, and I'll have failed her for the fucking umpteenth time." She couldn't tell who was shaking more. "God DAMN it, Iris." Clef slumped over, his face in his hands, three watery eyes staining his shirt. That mesmerizingly awful shirt. She was too scared to say anything, so they sat in an uncomfortable silence, Clef failing to stop crying. The air was heavy, and she couldn't tell why. This man, who had been an harbinger of terribly sexist jokes and ugly corporate sass and terrible fashion sense, who parades himself as the actual biblical Devil, who was one of the people Iris was still scared of, broken down in front of her. Over a girl he could never meet, and one who would undoubtedly hate him if she knew. She couldn't help but tear up too. "S-sir?" He exhaled, in that way you exhale when you try to laugh while your throat is doing other things. "Shut it, Iris. I don't..." There was no words. This was excruciating. "I won't tell her, Clef." She didn't mean to call him by name, but she wasn't in a position to stop herself. He looked up. It was weird, seeing three shot eyes looking at her. "Iris, I don't care what you do." He sat himself up, still shivering. "But don't fuck it up. Please." Clef looked cold, again. Well, as cold as he could be, with a wet face and even wetter voice. "There are so many things I want to tell her, Iris. With any luck, I won't get the chance to say them." Iris exhaled. She wasn't aware she was holding her breath, but with it gone, she felt... looser. "I won't ask anything of you, but I need you to be good to her. Don't... don't be me, if you can help it." After a minute of staring at the floor, he wordlessly stood up, turning for the door. "Clef?" Of all the people to be asking this. "Are you alright?" He chuckled an actual, genuine chuckle, before turning around. "What do you think, kid?" "...I think you need to get a new shirt." Tear stains usually aren't obvious, but on the dirty rayon, they stuck out. He didn't say anything before he left, leaving Iris alone to stew in what just happened, and to think. She thought about Meri, and about Clef, and then the whole project, the fire within the Foundation that she sparked. She thought about the others, the poor souls roped into this with her. Then she thought about herself, and then about Meri again. Iris cried until her eyes closed for her. ---- The next morning, she found Meri sitting at their usual spot in the cafeteria, looking unusually upbeat. When she waved her over, she got a little worried. When she saw what the deer was wearing, she nearly fell over. Before she could say anything, Meri cut in quickly. "Are you alright, Iris? You look like you've been crying, what's wrong?" "I'm fine, Mer. Didn't sleep well, but nothing out of the ordinary." The conversation would need to happen at some point. But not today. "I'd pry, but you don't seem to be in the mood. You got here a little late, so I don't know what all is left, but I saved you a bagel!" She looked proud. "Thank you. Can I ask about the elephant in the room?" "And what would that be?" "What the hell are you wearing, Meri?" It was a pink and blue Hawaiian shirt. Not the same colors as last night, but the same kind of mind numbing pattern, if you could call it that. "Do you like it?" "...I guess I don't mind it." [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] [!-- N/A (No Images) --] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-01-06T05:01:00	[ "_licensebox", "coldpostcon", "doctor-clef", "heartwarming", "iris-thompson", "resurrection", "romance", "slice-of-life", "tale", "teenage-gaea" ]	hawaiian shirts - SCP Foundation	108	[ "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "scp-series-1-tales-edition", "resurrection", "coldpostcon" ]	[]	1445400699	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/hawaiian-shirts
he-used-to-be-a-painter	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p>He used to be a painter.</p> <p>He used to be a painter, so he began to paint once more. The first time with paste and bits of food, the second time with charcoal. It made him miss the comforts of home, his cramped nook, the crumpled sheets, the unfinished works. His hosts, shaking their heads, told him he would never see it again.<br/> It didn’t occur to him what that meant, then.</p> <p>His hosts told him where he was, took him on long walks around the beaches of his island. They told him who they were. They were his cooks, his assistants. His angels. He had been rewarded, and their gratitude would last for eternity.<br/> They were people who would never shame him, who would never break what he had made. They told him they would always be there for him, and he believed it.<br/> And that made everything that followed so much worse, because he had felt safe here.</p> <p>His hosts were clever, and had a sharp wit.<br/> They were clever, and made sure he was never bored.</p> <p>He spent a few days walking, finding the perfect spot for his very own cabin, where locks would never be needed. He spent his days building, learning how and what to plant. He began to cook again, and relished in his newfound skills. He asked his companions to teach him the plants of the island. They were delighted to show him them all, their names and what they needed to grow tall and strong. One day (for it was always day) he looked up at the glowing sun from a campfire, and saw it had been almost a year. The sun had greeted him every day, a loyal friend who would never stray from his side. He looked at his house – no longer a mere cabin, he had added rooms and floors, but they still lacked something.</p> <p>And then it struck him; the walls were barren and unpainted, the floors rough and undecorated. He remembered how, years ago, he had been a painter. And so he began to paint once more.</p> <p>He started small, re-learning how to sketch, and began to remember the finer points of architecture and the human body. He drew cities and he drew bodies and animals to fill them. He drew what he saw around him, and he drew what he saw inside himself when he slept at night. He painted first the walls, and then the ceilings. He painted every pattern he could think of, every fancy that struck him he indulged, and he filled the spaces in between with mirrors of every shape and size. He built dozens of personal museums and funhouses, all made to delight and amuse no-one but himself.</p> <p>But one day he couldn’t sleep. He began to wander the halls, the feast of colors and the famine of company, and began to wonder when he would move on.<br/> He had never bothered to ask his companions about this, as he had been busy filling his time with everything he had never had the chance to do in his old life. He wondered if there other islands, other guests staying on them. He still thought of himself as a guest, even then.</p> <p>He didn’t want to be there anymore, so he asked his companion if he could leave. She smiled and shook her head.<br/> He shrugged this off. He used to be a painter, and now he began painting with words.<br/> He wrote from what he thought was his memory. Poems. Stories. History. Couldn’t separate the real from the memory from the fantasy. Didn’t care. With time, he created, deconstructed, and re-constructed entire genres.<br/> And as he whittled away at his work, the island whittled away at him. He stopped noticing the paintings, and he stopped reading his works. He took down the mirrors, and didn’t care how many of them he shattered<br/> He didn’t want to be there anymore, so he asked her if he could leave. She wasn’t smiling anymore.</p> <p>He tried to move on. He really did. But there were only so many rooms he could build, only so much paint he could spill until he remembered he couldn’t leave.<br/> He remembered what he had been taught by his da and ma. What was there for him if he broke the rules, what was waiting for them if he followed them. He had broken more than a few rules in his life, but maybe the island’s creator had turned the other cheek.</p> <p>He remembered the parrot he had kept. He hadn't fed him in years, and in his mind he could see the starved ribcage, the once vibrant feathers graying and covering the floor. The smell - oh, the smell, chocking the apartment. What had his name been again? He couldn't remember.</p> <p>He didn’t sleep that night. Not that he needed to. He felt refreshed as ever the morning (oh, but noon had never left) he broke his neck.</p> <p>The way he thought about it, it was just another exotic dish to try.<br/> That night he drowned. It was something new, worth more than all the dishes he could cook in a hundred years put together, worth more than filling the island with buildings.</p> <p>The tenth time he woke up again like this, he was on his way to a new type of accident – he hadn’t decided which kind yet - when he saw something that caught his eye. That didn’t happen often – he was hemmed in by clear water and trapped beneath a breathtaking blue sky. But today his eyes caught something he didn’t use anymore. He saw a mirror lying on its side on the other half of the island. That wouldn’t be odd in and of itself, except he had left it facing the sea to the south, and he was staring at it on the north of the island.</p> <p>He wondered about that during breakfast. He wondered about that while on his morning walk around the island. When he walked down to the mirror he wondered some more.</p> <p>He didn’t want to be there anymore, so he stayed outside and thought.</p> <p>And the next day he found something interesting – if he hung a rope around a tree trunk and carried it in a straight line, the rope wouldn’t snap, not even when he looped it around the same trunk he had tied it to, as long as the rope was long enough.</p> <p>His mind began to pull. It began to pull on threads he thought he had forgotten along with his old apartment. It hauled visions and memories back into his mind, visions of steel pipes and men who were not his companions carrying something that wasn’t papyrus, closing doors with electric locks and walking through a building that wasn’t made of wood.</p> <p>Now, he wasn’t some kind of genius mind you. What he did had never earned him any prizes, even if he did achieve some recognition from his peers. But he had time. Time to learn and space to make mistakes. And if he didn’t learn he could always guess until he learned enough to get to the next stage.</p> <p>He had been a painter, and now he painted with numbers.<br/> One of the first lessons was that he didn’t have infinite space. He created a sailboat. He built a compass and an octant to make sure he was sailing straight on ahead, but regular as clockwork he would arrive back at the island. He tried rowing, he even tried building a crude woodstove engine. The island would always be there, waiting for him, like a dead parrot he couldn't bury.<br/> Still, it was a mystery to be solved. A puzzle that took years. He began to have hope he could even leave someday. The food began to taste good again, and he even began to paint once more.</p> <p>Decades passed. He had always been a hard worker, and he was always on holiday. Still, there came times when he would give up. His mind would throw everything he had learned back up and try to tear itself apart. But that just another puzzle he could solve, every hundred years or so.</p> <p>He used to be a painter, and now he painted with machines.</p> <p>He filled his world with whirs and whistling. Those were his lessons. He then filled his world with pipes and valves that lay silent. Those were his teachings. Finally he filled the machines with other machines, and those became his lifeboat.</p> <p>He made some tools and began to dig. Beneath the sand, beneath the rock. He turned the entire island upside down, but finally found a small vein of copper. It would take him another year to find the uranium.<br/> The only miracles this place had left for him.</p> <p>His machines became massive, far larger than the island itself. He used the water around him for cooling stations, and pumped away what he didn’t need to make more room. He built machines towering above into the sky and tunneling underneath.</p> <p>He dug deep enough to make the Devil afraid, and high enough to make angels dizzy.</p> <p>After a century or so, he paused to look around him, and couldn’t even tell where the island had been. All he saw was a maze of iron and steam, not even knowing for what purpose he had built most of them for.</p> <p>It took him two centuries to build his first particle accelerator. After he did that, everything happened a lot faster.</p> <p>He amused himself by instantly vaporizing and re-assembling, small pebbles, then moved on to larger stones. He moved on to nuts, fruits, and meats. And when that wasn't interesting enough, he vaporized pieces of himself. His limbs, his trembling hands. That wouldn't always work either, and that was all right too.</p> <p>Eventually, he found out why he couldn’t die. There was a new kind of element that couldn’t exist, filling his prison. That was there with him, an invisible guest, keeping him alive. Keeping him trapped.</p> <p>He isolated, picked and pulled at it until he understood that, too. The next day he pulled apart his dinner. Day after he pulled apart his companions. They didn’t come back. Finally, he was by himself. But he knew that he had always been, so that didn’t bother him much.</p> <p>He ate his last dinner on a patch of land he had used to dump sand on, next to a large lake he had used to store the water to cool his machines. He looked up. Before he had started to work his machines, he had tried to map constellations, before realizing they changed with the waves.</p> <p>The next morning, he finished the machine. He had tested it on his last host, cursing and crying and screaming as she disappeared into the stars.</p> <p>He wasn’t himself anymore, hadn’t been for the last few millennia. But he would be damn sure no one else would lose themselves. That no one else would become a rotting parrot with its wings clipped.</p> <p>He used to be a painter, and now he was gone.</p> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/he-used-to-be-a-painter">He used to be a painter</a>" by ScarlettRose, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/he-used-to-be-a-painter">https://scpwiki.com/he-used-to-be-a-painter</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] He used to be a painter. He used to be a painter, so he began to paint once more. The first time with paste and bits of food, the second time with charcoal. It made him miss the comforts of home, his cramped nook, the crumpled sheets, the unfinished works. His hosts, shaking their heads, told him he would never see it again. It didn’t occur to him what that meant, then. His hosts told him where he was, took him on long walks around the beaches of his island. They told him who they were. They were his cooks, his assistants. His angels. He had been rewarded, and their gratitude would last for eternity. They were people who would never shame him, who would never break what he had made. They told him they would always be there for him, and he believed it. And that made everything that followed so much worse, because he had felt safe here. His hosts were clever, and had a sharp wit. They were clever, and made sure he was never bored. He spent a few days walking, finding the perfect spot for his very own cabin, where locks would never be needed. He spent his days building, learning how and what to plant. He began to cook again, and relished in his newfound skills. He asked his companions to teach him the plants of the island. They were delighted to show him them all, their names and what they needed to grow tall and strong. One day (for it was always day) he looked up at the glowing sun from a campfire, and saw it had been almost a year. The sun had greeted him every day, a loyal friend who would never stray from his side. He looked at his house – no longer a mere cabin, he had added rooms and floors, but they still lacked something. And then it struck him; the walls were barren and unpainted, the floors rough and undecorated. He remembered how, years ago, he had been a painter. And so he began to paint once more. He started small, re-learning how to sketch, and began to remember the finer points of architecture and the human body. He drew cities and he drew bodies and animals to fill them. He drew what he saw around him, and he drew what he saw inside himself when he slept at night. He painted first the walls, and then the ceilings. He painted every pattern he could think of, every fancy that struck him he indulged, and he filled the spaces in between with mirrors of every shape and size. He built dozens of personal museums and funhouses, all made to delight and amuse no-one but himself. But one day he couldn’t sleep. He began to wander the halls, the feast of colors and the famine of company, and began to wonder when he would move on. He had never bothered to ask his companions about this, as he had been busy filling his time with everything he had never had the chance to do in his old life. He wondered if there other islands, other guests staying on them. He still thought of himself as a guest, even then. He didn’t want to be there anymore, so he asked his companion if he could leave. She smiled and shook her head. He shrugged this off. He used to be a painter, and now he began painting with words. He wrote from what he thought was his memory. Poems. Stories. History. Couldn’t separate the real from the memory from the fantasy. Didn’t care. With time, he created, deconstructed, and re-constructed entire genres. And as he whittled away at his work, the island whittled away at him. He stopped noticing the paintings, and he stopped reading his works. He took down the mirrors, and didn’t care how many of them he shattered He didn’t want to be there anymore, so he asked her if he could leave. She wasn’t smiling anymore. He tried to move on. He really did. But there were only so many rooms he could build, only so much paint he could spill until he remembered he couldn’t leave. He remembered what he had been taught by his da and ma. What was there for him if he broke the rules, what was waiting for them if he followed them. He had broken more than a few rules in his life, but maybe the island’s creator had turned the other cheek. He remembered the parrot he had kept. He hadn't fed him in years, and in his mind he could see the starved ribcage, the once vibrant feathers graying and covering the floor. The smell - oh, the smell, chocking the apartment. What had his name been again? He couldn't remember. He didn’t sleep that night. Not that he needed to. He felt refreshed as ever the morning (oh, but noon had never left) he broke his neck. The way he thought about it, it was just another exotic dish to try. That night he drowned. It was something new, worth more than all the dishes he could cook in a hundred years put together, worth more than filling the island with buildings. The tenth time he woke up again like this, he was on his way to a new type of accident – he hadn’t decided which kind yet - when he saw something that caught his eye. That didn’t happen often – he was hemmed in by clear water and trapped beneath a breathtaking blue sky. But today his eyes caught something he didn’t use anymore. He saw a mirror lying on its side on the other half of the island. That wouldn’t be odd in and of itself, except he had left it facing the sea to the south, and he was staring at it on the north of the island. He wondered about that during breakfast. He wondered about that while on his morning walk around the island. When he walked down to the mirror he wondered some more. He didn’t want to be there anymore, so he stayed outside and thought. And the next day he found something interesting – if he hung a rope around a tree trunk and carried it in a straight line, the rope wouldn’t snap, not even when he looped it around the same trunk he had tied it to, as long as the rope was long enough. His mind began to pull. It began to pull on threads he thought he had forgotten along with his old apartment. It hauled visions and memories back into his mind, visions of steel pipes and men who were not his companions carrying something that wasn’t papyrus, closing doors with electric locks and walking through a building that wasn’t made of wood. Now, he wasn’t some kind of genius mind you. What he did had never earned him any prizes, even if he did achieve some recognition from his peers. But he had time. Time to learn and space to make mistakes. And if he didn’t learn he could always guess until he learned enough to get to the next stage. He had been a painter, and now he painted with numbers. One of the first lessons was that he didn’t have infinite space. He created a sailboat. He built a compass and an octant to make sure he was sailing straight on ahead, but regular as clockwork he would arrive back at the island. He tried rowing, he even tried building a crude woodstove engine. The island would always be there, waiting for him, like a dead parrot he couldn't bury. Still, it was a mystery to be solved. A puzzle that took years. He began to have hope he could even leave someday. The food began to taste good again, and he even began to paint once more. Decades passed. He had always been a hard worker, and he was always on holiday. Still, there came times when he would give up. His mind would throw everything he had learned back up and try to tear itself apart. But that just another puzzle he could solve, every hundred years or so. He used to be a painter, and now he painted with machines. He filled his world with whirs and whistling. Those were his lessons. He then filled his world with pipes and valves that lay silent. Those were his teachings. Finally he filled the machines with other machines, and those became his lifeboat. He made some tools and began to dig. Beneath the sand, beneath the rock. He turned the entire island upside down, but finally found a small vein of copper. It would take him another year to find the uranium. The only miracles this place had left for him. His machines became massive, far larger than the island itself. He used the water around him for cooling stations, and pumped away what he didn’t need to make more room. He built machines towering above into the sky and tunneling underneath. He dug deep enough to make the Devil afraid, and high enough to make angels dizzy. After a century or so, he paused to look around him, and couldn’t even tell where the island had been. All he saw was a maze of iron and steam, not even knowing for what purpose he had built most of them for. It took him two centuries to build his first particle accelerator. After he did that, everything happened a lot faster. He amused himself by instantly vaporizing and re-assembling, small pebbles, then moved on to larger stones. He moved on to nuts, fruits, and meats. And when that wasn't interesting enough, he vaporized pieces of himself. His limbs, his trembling hands. That wouldn't always work either, and that was all right too. Eventually, he found out why he couldn’t die. There was a new kind of element that couldn’t exist, filling his prison. That was there with him, an invisible guest, keeping him alive. Keeping him trapped. He isolated, picked and pulled at it until he understood that, too. The next day he pulled apart his dinner. Day after he pulled apart his companions. They didn’t come back. Finally, he was by himself. But he knew that he had always been, so that didn’t bother him much. He ate his last dinner on a patch of land he had used to dump sand on, next to a large lake he had used to store the water to cool his machines. He looked up. Before he had started to work his machines, he had tried to map constellations, before realizing they changed with the waves. The next morning, he finished the machine. He had tested it on his last host, cursing and crying and screaming as she disappeared into the stars. He wasn’t himself anymore, hadn’t been for the last few millennia. But he would be damn sure no one else would lose themselves. That no one else would become a rotting parrot with its wings clipped. He used to be a painter, and now he was gone. [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a> \|author=ScarlettRose]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-10-29T17:21:00	[ "_licensebox", "tale" ]	He used to be a painter - SCP Foundation	10	[ "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023" ]	[]	1451134485	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/he-used-to-be-a-painter
heart-filled	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <ul class="modal-wrapper"> <li class="unfolded"> <div id="u-adult-warning"> <div id="u-adult-header"> <p>ADULT CONTENT</p> </div> <br/> This article contains adult content that may not be suitable for all readers. <div class="content-descriptor"><span style="display: syntax error near `{$gore} ==`">Graphic depiction of blood, gore or mutilation of body parts</span><br/> <span style="display: syntax error near `{$sexual-r`">Features sexual themes or language, but does not depict sexual acts.</span><br/> <span style="display: block">Explicit depiction of sexual acts.</span><br/> <span style="display: block">Features non-consensual sexual acts.</span><br/> <span style="display: syntax error near `{$child-ab`">Depiction of severe mistreatment of children</span><br/> <span style="display: syntax error near `{$self-har`">Depiction of self-harm</span><br/> <span style="display: syntax error near `{$suicide}`">Depiction of suicide</span><br/> <span style="display: syntax error near `{$torture}`">Depiction of torture</span><br/> <span style="display: syntax error near `{$custom} `">{$custom-content}</span></div> <p>If you are above the age of 18+ and wish to read such content, then you may click Continue to view said content.</p> <div class="foldable-list-container choice"><a href="javascript:;">Continue</a></div> <div class="choice"><a href="/">Back to Front Page</a></div> </div> <br/></li> </ul> <div style="display: none"> <hr/> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">+ Show component code</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">- Hide component code</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <div class="code"> <div class="hl-main"> <pre><span class="hl-special">:root</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> --</span><span class="hl-reserved">sidebar-width-on-desktop:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--base-font-size) * (</span><span class="hl-number">266</span><span class="hl-code"> / </span><span class="hl-number">15</span><span class="hl-code">))</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">body-width-on-desktop:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">45.75</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">only</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">screen</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">and</span><span class="hl-code"> (min-width: 56.25</span><span class="hl-identifier">rem</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#content-wrap</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> initial</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> row</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-grow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vw - (</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vw - </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">min-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vh - var(--final-header-height-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">10.125</span><span class="hl-code">rem))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">13.6</span><span class="hl-code">rem) </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">13.6</span><span class="hl-code">rem) * -</span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code"> / </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> initial</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--body-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">45.75</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--body-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">45.75</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> min(</span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-code">vw, var(--body-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">45.75</span><span class="hl-code">rem))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> -webkit-sticky</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> sticky</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">grid-area:</span><span class="hl-code"> side-bar</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">13.6</span><span class="hl-code">rem) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">min-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">13.6</span><span class="hl-code">rem) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vh</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow-y:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">scroll</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition:</span><span class="hl-code"> translate </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">), background-color </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">), padding </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms linear, margin </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms linear</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--swatch-tertiary-color, </span><span class="hl-number">170</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">170</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">170</span><span class="hl-code">), </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--sidebar-bg-color, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">), </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">translate:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">13.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem) * -</span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code"> - </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">rtl</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">scrollbar-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">thin</span><span class="hl-code">; -</span><span class="hl-reserved">ms-scroll-chaining:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overscroll-behavior:</span><span class="hl-code"> contain</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">scrollbar-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--swatch-primary-darker), </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">) /* Thumb / rgba(var(--swatch-tertiary-color), </span><span class="hl-number">0.05</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Track</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code">::-</span><span class="hl-identifier">webkit-scrollbar-track</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--swatch-secondary-color, </span><span class="hl-number">244</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">244</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">244</span><span class="hl-code">), </span><span class="hl-number">0.8</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code">::-</span><span class="hl-identifier">webkit-scrollbar</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code">::-</span><span class="hl-identifier">webkit-scrollbar-thumb</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code">::-</span><span class="hl-identifier">webkit-scrollbar-corner</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vw + </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vh)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right-style:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--sidebar-bg-color, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">), </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-identifier">is</span><span class="hl-code">(:</span><span class="hl-identifier">hover</span><span class="hl-code">, :</span><span class="hl-identifier">active</span><span class="hl-code">, :</span><span class="hl-identifier">focus-within</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow-x:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">hidden</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow-y:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--swatch-primary-darker), </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--sidebar-bg-color, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">), </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">translate:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem) - var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">scrollbar-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">170</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">170</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">170</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">) / Thumb / rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">252</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">252</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">252</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Track</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-reserved">scrollbar-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--swatch-primary-darker, </span><span class="hl-number">170</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">170</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">170</span><span class="hl-code">), </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">) / Thumb / rgb(var(--swatch-menubg-color, </span><span class="hl-number">252</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">252</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">252</span><span class="hl-code">), </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Track</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> " "</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">fixed</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">align-items:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">justify-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">), background-position </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">), opacity </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> url("https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/component%</span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-code">Acollapsible-sidebar/sidebar-tab.svg")</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-attachment:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">fixed</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-repeat:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">no-repeat</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">12.875</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">pointer-events:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-identifier">is</span><span class="hl-code">(:</span><span class="hl-identifier">hover</span><span class="hl-code">, :</span><span class="hl-identifier">active</span><span class="hl-code">, :</span><span class="hl-identifier">focus-within</span><span class="hl-code">) + </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">14.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem) -</span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">), background-position </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">), opacity </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">14.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem) * -</span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> " "</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">absolute</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">z-index:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--final-header-height-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">14.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code"> - var(--final-header-height-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">0.688</span><span class="hl-code">rem) - </span><span class="hl-number">2.313</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--final-header-height-on-desktop, -</span><span class="hl-number">2.313</span><span class="hl-code">rem) * -</span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code"> - </span><span class="hl-number">2.313</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition:</span><span class="hl-code"> translate </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">), opacity </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--swatch-alternate-color, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">pointer-events:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">translate:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">14.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem) * -</span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code"> + </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-identifier">is</span><span class="hl-code">(:</span><span class="hl-identifier">hover</span><span class="hl-code">, :</span><span class="hl-identifier">active</span><span class="hl-code">, :</span><span class="hl-identifier">focus-within</span><span class="hl-code">) + </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">translate:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.25</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-left-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">ltr</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scpnet-interwiki-wrapper</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">ltr</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Print</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Friendly</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Formatting</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">by</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Estrella</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">body.print-body</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> --</span><span class="hl-reserved">sidebar-width-on-desktop:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">body.print-body</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">before</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">body.print-body</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span></pre></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=3&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Athe-foundation-theme/2&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=4&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/component%3Abhl-dark-sidebar/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <div style="margin-right: 2em; margin-top: -10px;"> <p><sup>by <a href="/strange-matter-writes">Strange Matter</a></sup></p> </div> </div> <p>I welcomed you, dear guest,<br/> As you kiss, wound, and I endure.<br/> I hoped that you would save me<br/> and fill my empty heart as I slumber.<br/> No, a toy is all that you see,<br/> To drink stale nectar that I abhor<br/> And I am allowed no rest.</p> <p>The rapturous cycle withered me,<br/> As glass body is chipped and picked,<br/> Shaping me into a worn doll.<br/> There is no one here for me<br/> So I must flee from them all.<br/> No more shall I ever be ripped<br/> And perhaps, I can be free.</p> <p>All of you pests, get out!<br/> My flesh won't be yours to take.<br/> I give you no more, so leave!<br/> You disgust me with your touch.<br/> Now begone! Lest I cleave,<br/> As you will be one to break.<br/> Vermin! All for me to bout.</p> <p>The great Lord Rubedo descended.<br/> He slithered the floors gleefully and roared<br/> As he clung and bound me in his cage.<br/> Destroyed what little was left of my soul.<br/> And I burned, burned! Within me rage.<br/> Gashed him with his treasured jolly sword<br/> To flee all the way to Alagadda’s end.</p> <p>Now ahead, I see a Scarlet King.<br/> His horns shape a violent red crown.<br/> He holds out his jagged right hand,<br/> And cuts it, giving me new life.<br/> <span style="color:red"><em>Bring justice upon the damned.</em></span><br/> He kneels, wrapping around me his gown.<br/> Cried, I did. Soon, I shall sing.</p> <p>Our gift to you, these lovely flames.<br/> O, your screams are like a song!<br/> Just before we broke your foul lords,<br/> The Ambassador cast us out.<br/> In this place, there were great hoards.<br/> The fools thought themselves as strong,<br/> Yet it is their blood that rains.</p> <p>Their warm blood drops me to weep.<br/> Father holds me like an infant.<br/> In my ear, he hums a tune:<br/> <span style="color:red"><em>Rest now, my darling child.</em></span><br/> He whispers, under the moon.<br/> Soon, my cries go distant<br/> And I drift into a soft sleep.</p> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/heart-filled">Heart Filled</a>" by Strange Matter, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/heart-filled">https://scpwiki.com/heart-filled</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:adult-content-warning">:scp-wiki:component:adult-content-warning</a> \|sexually-explicit=1 \|sexual-assault=1 ]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:black-highlighter-theme">:scp-wiki:theme:black-highlighter-theme</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:the-foundation-theme">:scp-wiki:theme:the-foundation-theme</a> \|dark=--]]] [[>]] [[module Rate]] [[div style="margin-right: 2em; margin-top: -10px;"]] ^^by [[[Strange Matter-writes\|Strange Matter]]]^^ [[/div]] [[/>]] I welcomed you, dear guest, As you kiss, wound, and I endure. I hoped that you would save me and fill my empty heart as I slumber. No, a toy is all that you see, To drink stale nectar that I abhor And I am allowed no rest. The rapturous cycle withered me, As glass body is chipped and picked, Shaping me into a worn doll. There is no one here for me So I must flee from them all. No more shall I ever be ripped And perhaps, I can be free. All of you pests, get out! My flesh won't be yours to take. I give you no more, so leave! You disgust me with your touch. Now begone! Lest I cleave, As you will be one to break. Vermin! All for me to bout. The great Lord Rubedo descended. He slithered the floors gleefully and roared As he clung and bound me in his cage. Destroyed what little was left of my soul. And I burned, burned! Within me rage. Gashed him with his treasured jolly sword To flee all the way to Alagadda’s end. Now ahead, I see a Scarlet King. His horns shape a violent red crown. He holds out his jagged right hand, And cuts it, giving me new life. [[span style="color:red"]] //Bring justice upon the damned.//[[/span]] He kneels, wrapping around me his gown. Cried, I did. Soon, I shall sing. Our gift to you, these lovely flames. O, your screams are like a song! Just before we broke your foul lords, The Ambassador cast us out. In this place, there were great hoards. The fools thought themselves as strong, Yet it is their blood that rains. Their warm blood drops me to weep. Father holds me like an infant. In my ear, he hums a tune: [[span style="color:red"]] //Rest now, my darling child.//[[/span]] He whispers, under the moon. Soon, my cries go distant And I drift into a soft sleep. [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-11-22T05:14:00	[ "_adult", "_licensebox", "alagadda", "poetry", "scarlet-king", "tale" ]	Heart Filled - SCP Foundation	22	[ "prev", "next", "strange-matter-writes", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "cotsk-hub", "archived:tales-by-date-2023" ]	[]	1451482611	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/heart-filled
heavenly-body	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=1&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Acreepypasta/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <div class="authorlink-wrapper"><a href="javascript:;">Anorrack</a> <div class="authorbox"> <div class="authorcontent"> <div class="blockquote"> <p><span style="color: white"><strong>Heavenly Body</strong> (1742 words)</span><br/> <span style="color: white"><strong>Author:</strong></span> <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/anorrack" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(4188420); return false;"><img alt="Anorrack" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=4188420&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1729987901" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=4188420)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/anorrack" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(4188420); return false;">Anorrack</a></span></p> <p><a href="http://www.scpwiki.com/anorrack-s-author-page">Author Page</a></p> <p><span style="color: white">Other articles you might enjoy:</span></p> <p><strong><a href="/dead-mans-switch">Dead Man's Switch</a>:</strong> <span style="color: white">A necromancer walks into a morgue. Sounds like the start of a bad joke.</span></p> <p><strong><a href="/a-crooked-brow">A Crooked Brow</a>:</strong> <span style="color: white">The American Coast Guard battles the weather, the ocean, and the nuclear-powered whales in the freezing Bering Sea.</span></p> <p><strong><a href="/out-of-options">Out of Options</a>:</strong> <span style="color: white">The heist was supposed to be foolproof. The plan was perfect. But some people just don't stick to the scripts they're given.</span></p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <h3 id="toc0"><span><span style="color: yellow">Forum » Discussion » Conspiracy General » HAARP Trip</span></span></h3> <blockquote> <p><span style="color: red"><strong>apsehelion</strong></span> 01/11/20 (Sat) 02:19:59 #7775301</p> <hr/> <div class="scp-image-block block-right" style="width:{$width}; margin-top: 1.2em;"><img alt="Postcard.png" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/heavenly-body/Postcard.png" style="width:{$width};"/> <div class="scp-image-caption" style="width:{$width};"> <p>Old picture of the radio arrays from the internet.</p> </div> </div> <p>Long time lurker. I don't really believe in much of this, but a couple of months ago, I actually decided to go to HAARP, and I saw… something.</p> <p>I know HAARP gets a lot of mentions on here, but here's just a quick tldr if you're <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-frequency_Active_Auroral_Research_Program">too lazy to google</a>. High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program. Government facility in Alaska turned over to the university a while back, meant to study Earth's magnetic field and the northern lights. Giant radio antenna array, powered by like five separate diesel generators. Essentially blasts high-frequencies into the atmosphere to see what happens. It's built in the middle of a swamp in the middle of nowhere, so it looks really striking when you first see it.</p> <p>Actually worked with some people at UAF (University of Alaska Fairbanks) who had worked on this thing, really smart researchers and interns. Magnetosphere science is a little too close to Earth for my expertise, so most of what they talked about flew over my head, but they seemed enthusiastic. But you know, government + isolated area = conspiracies, so you have people on the internet (nudging <span style="color: purple">mistress-blaster</span>) who think its used to contact aliens or control the weather or screw up Mario 64 speedruns or SOMETHING. No, it's just a normal research facility. I thought.</p> <p>Not so sure now. 1/?</p> </blockquote> <blockquote> <p><span style="color: purple"><strong>mistress-blaster</strong></span> 01/11/20 (Sat) 02:21:10 #7781301</p> <hr/> <p>I know what happens in this so I'm just waiting for you to pay up the bet, apse.</p> </blockquote> <blockquote> <p><span style="color: green"><strong>hyper-ram-jet</strong></span> 01/11/20 (Sat) 01:12:59 #7795224</p> <hr/> <p>Can we get a stop order on HAARP shit? every single time it leads to circular debates that don't go anywhere. But do it after this, i'm interested.</p> </blockquote> <blockquote> <p><span style="color: red"><strong>apsehelion</strong></span> 01/11/20 (Sat) 02:22:09 #780891</p> <hr/> <p>Thx. But yeah. HAARP. Me and my wife wanted to drive across the west coast for our anniversary. She never really gets time off from the hospital so it was like three vacations packed into one. We drove all the way from SoCal up into Canada, and west through Tok and down to Anchorage, taking a plane back home. The final leg in Alaska took us right through Gulkana, and we figured we could stop there for a laugh, take some pictures with tinfoil hats for the forum, w/e.</p> <p>Best leg of the drive was through Yukon and Alaska. Came in during the fall, so the leaves were just starting to turn, and the colors really made everything pop, you know? But man, those highways are desolate. The population density of Northern Canada and Alaska is practically nonexistent, so for most of the drive the only other lifeforms we saw were truckers and caribou, both of which are pretty bad at hogging the road. But we didn't care about that, we were taking it at our own pace.</p> <p>We drove through Tok, an Alaskan town near the border, and I knew we were two hours away from Gulkana, and got a little giddy. Our cameras were fully loaded from the detours we had taken, but there was room for a few more. The time seemed to whip by until we finally made it to HAARP.</p> <p>I mainly work with optical telescopes, so radio arrays are very foreign to me. Radio is such a massive wavelength that you need massive instruments to do anything useful with it (rip Arecibo). From what we had seen online, we were really lucky, because of the combination of longer nights and more funding for research, the lab was going to actually produce artificial airglow from the charged particles, which would be incredible to see in person. 2/?</p> </blockquote> <div class="blockquote"> <p><span style="color: orange"><strong>MyTy</strong></span> 01/11/20 (Sat) 02:27:31 #7781301</p> <hr/> <p>What is your WPM? Type faster and stop edging me.<br/></p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><span style="color: yellow">[User was suspended for this post.]</span></p> </div> </div> <blockquote> <p><span style="color: red"><strong>apsehelion</strong></span> 01/11/20 (Sat) 02:27:38 #7875325</p> <hr/> <p>They really need to extend the word count on here, I'm not paying for P-Pro, though.</p> <p>It's really hard to convey the scale of the operation through words. The bulk of HAARP is ~20 acres, which is insane. To put it in perspective, if you were standing in the middle of HAARP, it would be like standing in a forest of metal trees interconnected with copper vines, in all different directions. Crazy. But really rad.</p> <p>My professor knew an adjunct who knew the manager who ran the place, so I was able to shoot him an email and get an actual tour of HAARP. The building that housed the computers and the interns, the radio array outside, another rundown of the project with lingo I didn't understand, it was great.</p> <p>They weren't going to start the tests until evening, so we bummed around Gulkana for a bit, looked at some of the tourist trap junk, wined and dined. It was 7 before we knew it.</p> <p>There just so happens to be a large bluff and hiking trail a couple of miles away from HAARP proper, with a good view of the night sky and array. Wasn't cloudy, so we were able to make a picnic out of it.</p> <p>Away from almost everything, there was no light pollution to hide the stars. You could actually make out the Milky Way, as clear as day. The mountains hid Mars and the ISS, but you could see most everything else.</p> <p>It was a beautiful night.</p> <p>Then they fired up the array.</p> <p>We had brought a handheld radio tuned to AM, just to see what would happen. The voice of the late-night disc jockey was drowned out by an intense static. It wasn't irregular, it was rhythmic, sinusoidal pattern broadcasted into the sky, overwhelming every other source in the valley. It set my teeth on edge, with the strange tune, scraping at the eardrums, and it almost sounded like a heartbeat. My wife turned off the radio because the sound was irritating her, but I'm almost glad she did. It didn't feel right to listen to. 3/?</p> </blockquote> <blockquote> <p><span style="color: red"><strong>apsehelion</strong></span> 01/11/20 (Sat) 02:41:41 #7897515</p> <hr/> <p>Within 15 minutes, we started to see the airglow. An "airglow" is just a collection of charged particles releasing energy, same concept as a neon sign and lightning bolts. Because of the energy, theoretically it's only supposed to be a dull glow, high up in the atmosphere. As we watched, it slowly grew, its shape kinda morphing and warping like it was an amoeba, until it was positioned right above the facility.</p> <p>And it started to come closer.</p> <p>It wasn't like any northern lights I had ever seen before, and probably will ever see again. The movement was right, it slowly swayed and danced in the night sky, but its shape was wrong, somehow. It was fat and oblong, with long tendrils gyrating across its surface(?) and stretching probably miles in either direction. Its coloration and texture(?) didn't look quite like that of an aurora, but almost like a nebula, filled with twinkling particles I swear could have been stars. On a whim, I switched the radio back on. The HAARP pulse was still there, but fighting its airtime was a different sound. Crackling and irregular, almost like the sound of thickening ice on a lake in winter or snapping cables. The sounds matched the motions of the long, green tendrils as they whipped across the black sky, maybe static build-up on its surface? The sound grew louder, and eventually drowned out HAARP as the thing descended, and extended a psuedopod to touch the array.</p> <div class="scp-image-block block-right" style="width:{$width}; margin-top: 1.2em;"><img alt="Heavenlybody.png" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/heavenly-body/Heavenlybody.png" style="width:{$width};"/><br/> <div class="scp-image-caption" style="width:{$width};"> <p>Hanging in the sky like a curtain from heaven.<br/></p> </div> <br/></div> <p>It was beautiful.</p> <p>Even so far away and up on the bluff, we could see a spark of electricity as the (gas? membrane?) touched the array. Every light in the neighboring building went dead, and the (alien? god?) pulsed and slowly cycled through colors, I guess from drinking the juice straight from the antennae. My wife was quick enough with the camera to snap a picture of the thing feeding on the array. She tried to take more, but the card was full. She frantically tried to delete pictures (priceless memories, who cares), but right as she freed up some space, the thing was already leaving, smoothly ascending back to… wherever it came from. 4/4</p> </blockquote> <div style="text-align: center;"> <blockquote> <h4 id="toc1"><span><span style="color: yellow"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">[Load 122 More Posts]</span></span></span></h4> </blockquote> </div> <div class="blockquote"> <p><span style="color: red"><strong>apsehelion</strong></span> 01/13/20 (Mon) 18:15:10 #7991428</p> <hr/> <p>Damn, didn't expect to see this much traction! Anyways, a lot of people are asking what happened afterwards. My wife, the biologist, was/is frantically trying to figure out if it was an animal or a weather phenomenon or what. I was just stunned, holding that radio in my hands. HAARP had stopped broadcasting when the array short-circuited, and the mean green mother had disappeared into the airglow. My shitty iPhone 6 couldn't take a pic in the lighting, but it was able to record the sound before it got too faint (tried to cut out the wind and my mouthbreathing, attached below.)</p> <p>The most asked (and debated) topic I have read in the comments is whether or not this result was intentional. I think I can answer that. Due to pressure from my wife, we hiked down as fast as we could and ran to our car, driving back over to the facility. There was a chain-link fence, but we scaled it easily (probably a bad idea to trespass onto former-military property in hindsight) and knocked on the door to the HAARP building. The director answered it, and he was as pale as a sheet. I tried asking him questions, and he just said "We are postponing this week's experiments due to technical malfunction." I tried to press him a bit more, but he just grimaced and slammed the door in my face. But when he was talking, I could see past him to the interns at the computers, and they looked just as shaken. I don't think it was intentional, or if it was, I don't think the people on the ground knew about it.</p> <p>It was a fun trip, but I don't think I can ever really look at the night sky the same again. When the thing was feeding, one of the undulating tendrils came near the bluff and stopped above us. The air crackled with static electricity and we smelled ozone. It was like a pastel cloud hanging over the bluff, and we both felt like it was watching us, examining us, even though we didn't see any eyes.</p> <p>I don't think either of us are going back to Alaska any time soon. 5/4</p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">+ Open attachment</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">- Close attachment</a></div> </div> </div> </div> <br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div> <div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/heavenly-body">Heavenly Body</a>" by Anorrack, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/heavenly-body">https://scpwiki.com/heavenly-body</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:creepypasta">:scp-wiki:theme:creepypasta</a>]] [[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:author-label-source">:scp-wiki:component:author-label-source</a> start=-- \|name=Anorrack]] [[div class="blockquote"]] ##white\|Heavenly Body (1742 words)## ##white\|Author:## [[user Anorrack]] [[[http://www.scpwiki.com/anorrack-s-author-page\|Author Page]]] ##white\|Other articles you might enjoy:## [[[dead-mans-switch\|Dead Man's Switch]]]:##white\| A necromancer walks into a morgue. Sounds like the start of a bad joke.## [[[A Crooked Brow]]]:* ##white\|The American Coast Guard battles the weather, the ocean, and the nuclear-powered whales in the freezing Bering Sea.## [[[Out of Options]]]: ##white\|The heist was supposed to be foolproof. The plan was perfect. But some people just don't stick to the scripts they're given.## [[/div]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:author-label-source">:scp-wiki:component:author-label-source</a> end=--]] @@ @@ +++ ##yellow\|Forum >> Discussion >> Conspiracy General >> HAARP Trip## > ##red\|apsehelion## 01/11/20 (Sat) 02:19:59 #7775301 > ---- > [[div class="scp-image-block block-right" style="width:{$width}; margin-top: 1.2em;"]] > [[image https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/heavenly-body/Postcard.png style="width:{$width};" link={$link}]] > [[div class="scp-image-caption" style="width:{$width};"]] > Old picture of the radio arrays from the internet. > [[/div]] > [[/div]] > > Long time lurker. I don't really believe in much of this, but a couple of months ago, I actually decided to go to HAARP, and I saw... something. > > I know HAARP gets a lot of mentions on here, but here's just a quick tldr if you're [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-frequency_Active_Auroral_Research_Program too lazy to google]. High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program. Government facility in Alaska turned over to the university a while back, meant to study Earth's magnetic field and the northern lights. Giant radio antenna array, powered by like five separate diesel generators. Essentially blasts high-frequencies into the atmosphere to see what happens. It's built in the middle of a swamp in the middle of nowhere, so it looks really striking when you first see it. > > Actually worked with some people at UAF (University of Alaska Fairbanks) who had worked on this thing, really smart researchers and interns. Magnetosphere science is a little too close to Earth for my expertise, so most of what they talked about flew over my head, but they seemed enthusiastic. But you know, government + isolated area = conspiracies, so you have people on the internet (nudging ##purple\|mistress-blaster##) who think its used to contact aliens or control the weather or screw up Mario 64 speedruns or SOMETHING. No, it's just a normal research facility. I thought. > > Not so sure now. 1/? > ##purple\|mistress-blaster## 01/11/20 (Sat) 02:21:10 #7781301 > ---- > > I know what happens in this so I'm just waiting for you to pay up the bet, apse. > ##green\|hyper-ram-jet## 01/11/20 (Sat) 01:12:59 #7795224 > ---- > > Can we get a stop order on HAARP shit? every single time it leads to circular debates that don't go anywhere. But do it after this, i'm interested. > ##red\|apsehelion## 01/11/20 (Sat) 02:22:09 #780891 > ---- > > Thx. But yeah. HAARP. Me and my wife wanted to drive across the west coast for our anniversary. She never really gets time off from the hospital so it was like three vacations packed into one. We drove all the way from SoCal up into Canada, and west through Tok and down to Anchorage, taking a plane back home. The final leg in Alaska took us right through Gulkana, and we figured we could stop there for a laugh, take some pictures with tinfoil hats for the forum, w/e. > > Best leg of the drive was through Yukon and Alaska. Came in during the fall, so the leaves were just starting to turn, and the colors really made everything pop, you know? But man, those highways are desolate. The population density of Northern Canada and Alaska is practically nonexistent, so for most of the drive the only other lifeforms we saw were truckers and caribou, both of which are pretty bad at hogging the road. But we didn't care about that, we were taking it at our own pace. > > We drove through Tok, an Alaskan town near the border, and I knew we were two hours away from Gulkana, and got a little giddy. Our cameras were fully loaded from the detours we had taken, but there was room for a few more. The time seemed to whip by until we finally made it to HAARP. > > I mainly work with optical telescopes, so radio arrays are very foreign to me. Radio is such a massive wavelength that you need massive instruments to do anything useful with it (rip Arecibo). From what we had seen online, we were really lucky, because of the combination of longer nights and more funding for research, the lab was going to actually produce artificial airglow from the charged particles, which would be incredible to see in person. 2/? [[div class="blockquote"]] ##orange\|MyTy## 01/11/20 (Sat) 02:27:31 #7781301 ---- What is your WPM? Type faster and stop edging me. [[=]] ##yellow\|[User was suspended for this post.]## [[/=]] [[/div]] > ##red\|apsehelion## 01/11/20 (Sat) 02:27:38 #7875325 > ---- > > They really need to extend the word count on here, I'm not paying for P-Pro, though. > > It's really hard to convey the scale of the operation through words. The bulk of HAARP is ~20 acres, which is insane. To put it in perspective, if you were standing in the middle of HAARP, it would be like standing in a forest of metal trees interconnected with copper vines, in all different directions. Crazy. But really rad. > > My professor knew an adjunct who knew the manager who ran the place, so I was able to shoot him an email and get an actual tour of HAARP. The building that housed the computers and the interns, the radio array outside, another rundown of the project with lingo I didn't understand, it was great. > > They weren't going to start the tests until evening, so we bummed around Gulkana for a bit, looked at some of the tourist trap junk, wined and dined. It was 7 before we knew it. > > There just so happens to be a large bluff and hiking trail a couple of miles away from HAARP proper, with a good view of the night sky and array. Wasn't cloudy, so we were able to make a picnic out of it. > > Away from almost everything, there was no light pollution to hide the stars. You could actually make out the Milky Way, as clear as day. The mountains hid Mars and the ISS, but you could see most everything else. > > It was a beautiful night. > > Then they fired up the array. > > We had brought a handheld radio tuned to AM, just to see what would happen. The voice of the late-night disc jockey was drowned out by an intense static. It wasn't irregular, it was rhythmic, sinusoidal pattern broadcasted into the sky, overwhelming every other source in the valley. It set my teeth on edge, with the strange tune, scraping at the eardrums, and it almost sounded like a heartbeat. My wife turned off the radio because the sound was irritating her, but I'm almost glad she did. It didn't feel right to listen to. 3/? > ##red\|apsehelion## 01/11/20 (Sat) 02:41:41 #7897515 > ---- > > Within 15 minutes, we started to see the airglow. An "airglow" is just a collection of charged particles releasing energy, same concept as a neon sign and lightning bolts. Because of the energy, theoretically it's only supposed to be a dull glow, high up in the atmosphere. As we watched, it slowly grew, its shape kinda morphing and warping like it was an amoeba, until it was positioned right above the facility. > > And it started to come closer. > > It wasn't like any northern lights I had ever seen before, and probably will ever see again. The movement was right, it slowly swayed and danced in the night sky, but its shape was wrong, somehow. It was fat and oblong, with long tendrils gyrating across its surface(?) and stretching probably miles in either direction. Its coloration and texture(?) didn't look quite like that of an aurora, but almost like a nebula, filled with twinkling particles I swear could have been stars. On a whim, I switched the radio back on. The HAARP pulse was still there, but fighting its airtime was a different sound. Crackling and irregular, almost like the sound of thickening ice on a lake in winter or snapping cables. The sounds matched the motions of the long, green tendrils as they whipped across the black sky, maybe static build-up on its surface? The sound grew louder, and eventually drowned out HAARP as the thing descended, and extended a psuedopod to touch the array. > > [[div class="scp-image-block block-right" style="width:{$width}; margin-top: 1.2em;"]] > [[image https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/heavenly-body/Heavenlybody.png style="width:{$width};" link={$link}]] > [[div class="scp-image-caption" style="width:{$width};"]] > Hanging in the sky like a curtain from heaven. > [[/div]] > [[/div]] > > It was beautiful. > > Even so far away and up on the bluff, we could see a spark of electricity as the (gas? membrane?) touched the array. Every light in the neighboring building went dead, and the (alien? god?) pulsed and slowly cycled through colors, I guess from drinking the juice straight from the antennae. My wife was quick enough with the camera to snap a picture of the thing feeding on the array. She tried to take more, but the card was full. She frantically tried to delete pictures (priceless memories, who cares), but right as she freed up some space, the thing was already leaving, smoothly ascending back to... wherever it came from. 4/4 [[=]] > ++++ ##yellow\|__[Load 122 More Posts]__## [[/=]] [[div class="blockquote"]] ##red\|apsehelion## 01/13/20 (Mon) 18:15:10 #7991428 -------- Damn, didn't expect to see this much traction! Anyways, a lot of people are asking what happened afterwards. My wife, the biologist, was/is frantically trying to figure out if it was an animal or a weather phenomenon or what. I was just stunned, holding that radio in my hands. HAARP had stopped broadcasting when the array short-circuited, and the mean green mother had disappeared into the airglow. My shitty iPhone 6 couldn't take a pic in the lighting, but it was able to record the sound before it got too faint (tried to cut out the wind and my mouthbreathing, attached below.) The most asked (and debated) topic I have read in the comments is whether or not this result was intentional. I think I can answer that. Due to pressure from my wife, we hiked down as fast as we could and ran to our car, driving back over to the facility. There was a chain-link fence, but we scaled it easily (probably a bad idea to trespass onto former-military property in hindsight) and knocked on the door to the HAARP building. The director answered it, and he was as pale as a sheet. I tried asking him questions, and he just said "We are postponing this week's experiments due to technical malfunction." I tried to press him a bit more, but he just grimaced and slammed the door in my face. But when he was talking, I could see past him to the interns at the computers, and they looked just as shaken. I don't think it was intentional, or if it was, I don't think the people on the ground knew about it. It was a fun trip, but I don't think I can ever really look at the night sky the same again. When the thing was feeding, one of the undulating tendrils came near the bluff and stopped above us. The air crackled with static electricity and we smelled ozone. It was like a pastel cloud hanging over the bluff, and we both felt like it was watching us, examining us, even though we didn't see any eyes. I don't think either of us are going back to Alaska any time soon. 5/4 [[=]] [[collapsible show="+ Open attachment" hide="- Close attachment"]] [[include <a href="http://snippets.wikidot.com/html5player">:snippets:html5player</a> \|type=audio \|align=center \|url=https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/heavenly-body/HeavenlyChoir.wav]] [[/collapsible]] [[/=]] @@ @@ [[/div]] [[div]] [[=]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a> \|author=Anorrack]] ===== [[<]] [[/<]] ===== [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]] [[/=]] [[/div]]	2023-11-14T03:52:00	[ "audio", "bittersweet", "correspondence", "cosmic-horror", "creepypasta", "first-person", "horror", "paracon2023-unofficial", "parawatch", "tale" ]	Heavenly Body - SCP Foundation	59	[ "dead-mans-switch", "a-crooked-brow", "out-of-options", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "parawatch-hub", "creepy-pasta" ]	[ "https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/heavenly-body/Postcard.png", "https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/heavenly-body/Heavenlybody.png" ]	1451395706	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/heavenly-body
hell-hath-no-fury-like-a-woman-scorned	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div class="info-container"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <div> <p>{$comments}</p> </div> <hr/> <div id="u-author_block"> <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.scp-wiki.wikidot.com/ralliston-s-authorpage">▸ More by this Author ◂</a></p> </div> <hr/> <div id="u-comments2" style="display: none;"> <p>{$comments2}</p> </div> <div class="u-faq"> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:info-ayers">F.A.Q.</a></p> </div> <div style="display: none;"> <p>{$doesthisfixthebug}</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h4 id="toc0"><span><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Site-666, Las Vegas, Fourth Ring of Hell</span></strong></span></h4> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>"Biggest regrets, huh?" Randall House shook his glass of bourbon, then his head.</p> <p>Alice Sterling shrugged, and crossed her legs. "What else do you want to do drunk, have fun? Come on. Spill. None of us will remember it anyway."</p> <p>"Or," Agent Calendar chimed in, her face a positively wolfish grin, "we could go to town and destroy things!" Tonight's deployment had made her more than sick of following the work schedule, let alone its rules.</p> <p>House and Sterling glared at her. "Or, we could stay indoors and get drunk like the responsible adults we are," the latter said. Calendar frowned. "Besides," Sterling continued, turning to face the two-meter-tall-demon, "depending on how it goes, this could prove even more damaging." Calendar's grin reappeared.</p> <p>House leaned harder into his chair, staring at the ceiling. "I'm… I'm honestly not sure? I guess something with—"</p> <p>"Oh, that's a no-brainer." Calendar snapped her fingers. "The time I accidentally missed making out with a faerie Queen."</p> <p>As if on command, House and Sterling blinked twice, then shook their heads. For a few seconds, nobody spoke — Calendar's smile, though, now almost wider than her face, was worth more than a thousand words.</p> <p>"You know you can't just say that and not elaborate, right?" Sterling said, raising an eyebrow.</p> <p>"Right. Yeah, okay." Calendar cleared her throat. "So it's a few years ago, and I've still got unfinished business with the Carters…"</p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h4 id="toc1"><span><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Obelisk, Las Vegas, Fourth Ring of Hell</span></strong></span></h4> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>The circle engraved on the cold marble floor came to life with a silent buzz of energy powerful enough to raise hair. The myriad intricate patterns molded into its construction glowed with white light, illuminating the dark room all around them. After just a few seconds, the shapes snapped into appropriate thaumic positions, more than ready to contain whatever was to be made manifest inside its boundaries. They had done it before, and tonight would be no different.</p> <p>The hooded man that stood above the circle cleared his throat, put his hands together, and started chanting in a language that hadn't been heard in over a century. He crouched, touched the ritual site before him, and felt the connection between him and the shape stabilize itself within an instant. Even more silent energy buzzed between them, the man now actively pouring his will own into the shape, and before he could blink, the runes answered his call. Already feeling the smell of sulfur all around him, he quickly stood up and covered his face.</p> <p>To the sound of anguished souls and the scent of fire and brimstone, red lighting appeared inside the circle. When the light died down, the circle was no longer empty — inside it stood a red-skinned mass of horn and muscles, its hungry gaze focused only on the one who had dared to summon it.</p> <p>Agent Calendar smiled, and waved her hand. "Hi, Mr. Carter!"</p> <p>From behind his hood, Robert Carter sighed and massaged his temple. He was <em>sure</em> that the spell instructions his father had left him made it so that the summoned servant could not tell who actually brought it into service. Whether he had simply failed at executing those instructions (which was a very real possibility, considering his utter lack of magical talent and the fact he was performing the rite for the first time in his life) — or whether his father had used them so many times that the demon easily recognized their magic imprint — he could not quite tell.</p> <p>"Hello to you too, servant," he muttered, a tinge of annoyance present in his voice.</p> <p>Calendar skewed her head, and pointed at Carter's. "Did you change your haircut? You look different than the last time we—"</p> <p>"No. I mean yes. I mean—" Carter sighed, took a quick breath, put his hands together, and looked directly into Calendar's eyes. "Listen, demon. I am not here to chat. You have dues you owe to my bloodline. I am here to collect them."</p> <p>She skewed her head even more. "And you okay with me still doing them, with my new boss and all that?"</p> <p>Carter squinted his eyes, and resisted the urge to sigh again. He had already been aware magic wasn't exactly easy, but he wasn't expecting this much nonsense from what was supposed to be a banal task. "Look, I don't care who you work for now, but our contracts run longer — and deeper. You <em>will</em> serve me, demon." He tried to pronounce the last word in a menacing manner. He failed utterly, but continued regardless, "Unless you want me to—"</p> <p>"Just show me the guy, and I'll take care of the rest," she said, practically beaming with enthusiasm from finally getting to do something fun. Calendar's mood was the exact opposite of what Carter had anticipated — out of all things he thought the demon assassin his father had described would be, excited to do the job wasn't one of them. "Or gal, I guess. Or pal. Or…"</p> <p>She continued speaking, but Carter wasn't listening; instead, from underneath his robes, he took out a series of photos. <a href="/deconstruction-of-a-god">They depicted two tall women atop two cars, racing across a colosseum built by his people in the heart of Three Portlands</a>. They both stood in smoke which made identifying them more than difficult, but their trademark features remained unveiled by the chaotic environment of the race around them. Even among all those explosions and mayhem, he could still see the sports journalist entry card and pointy ears they both respectively had. He passed the photos to Calendar.</p> <p>"These two," he uttered, almost unable to withhold his rage. "They ruined an event held in my name. In my name!"</p> <p>Calendar popped her lips. "Damn."</p> <p>"The first one I've already captured and taken care of, but it's your job to bring this one before me." He pointed at the one with the elongated ears. "Dead or alive, I don't care. I want her to answer for what she has done."</p> <p>"Right. Sure, I can do that." She leaned a little closer towards the photos, narrowing her eyes. "Why not just… send your own men, though. Wouldn't that be easier. It seems like it'd be easier."</p> <p>"She's a dangerous asset. Potent wizard, or at least seems like one from what she did at the race. If what my father had written about you is true, I've no doubt that you can handle her well. I don't have the same certainty with my own people."</p> <p>"Sure. Which way do you want me to handle this? You know, by killing her or—"</p> <p>Carter waved his hand. "Do literally whatever you want. I don't care. Just have it done, as our contract dictates."</p> <p>Something akin to a sudden realization, then excitement ran across Calendar's eyes. She grinned. "You got it."</p> <p>And then, as the runes inside the circle stopped glowing, another wave of red lighting ran inside the rite, and Agent Calendar was gone.</p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h4 id="toc2"><span><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Outside the Three Portlands Darkport, Three Portlands</span></strong></span></h4> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>The thing that called itself Queen Mab was dying.</p> <p>She could feel it, in every part of her fatally mortal self. Before, she had disillusioned herself that the body of Felicity Baudin — <a href="/project-proposal-2018-112">the body she had taken as her own when summoned into this world</a> — could act as a good enough host for her being. One good enough until she reunited with the rest of her soul, that was. But now — after drying it out of all of its magic and suffering a separation of the body and the soul at the peak of the race she had just escaped, and harrowing her mind by visiting the grave of her only friend — she could feel how wrong she had been in every bone, every muscle, and every neuron that chained her perfection to the limits of this physical world.</p> <p>Her outer shell was burning, its mortal form unable to truly handle the soul of a Fae Queen. The grotesque demigod parasite which was embedded within its cells was a square peg — the form that tried to contain it, a round hole. And that fire — that terrible, awful fire burning deep inside her being, unable to understand where or who it was — it hurt. Hurt so much that for the first time in millennia, Mab could feel her heartbeat deep inside her ears.</p> <p>With a trembling hand, Mab reached for her chest, and felt the silent scent of death, ever so slowly behind her.</p> <p>She could not allow this.</p> <p>She blinked twice, and called forth all of the power that still lay dormant at the bottom of her soul. The shot of pure adrenaline — of pure, unfiltered <em>power</em> — that ran right through her veins and into a mind that was not her own made her stand up once more. She would not die here. This part of her — this mere representation of her full form, a small shard of Mab's true being — was called here for a reason. Fate did not grant her this chance at reclaiming her Empire only to make her meet the End like some dog. Not even the everpresent agony could stop her from reaching what was written as her destiny right in the stars above.</p> <p>As she realized this, she immediately stopped wobbling on those pathetic legs. There was no time to do this, here and now. She had work to do.</p> <p>Queen Mab smiled the grin of a hungry wolf, opened her eyes again, and took the first step forward, ready to reclaim her world.</p> <p>The second she raised her head towards the stars that awaited the return of their empress, red light appeared out of nowhere before her eyes. Sudden force equivalent to that of a speeding bus pressed against her forehead, forcing it to come down once again.</p> <p>To the sound of a sickening crunch, Mab's head met the pavement below her.</p> <p>"Hi!" Agent Calendar said, grabbing Mab by her silver hair. She lifted her up, making their eyes meet. Calendar grinned and threw her head forward once more, this time aiming for a curb.</p> <p>The impact did not come.</p> <p>Mab ground her teeth and shot her own hand upwards, her knuckles infused with words of burning Power. Too shocked at her target actually fighting back to dodge, Calendar blinked, infinitesimally confused for just a second. A second long enough for the punch, empowered with lightning, to hit her straight in the jaw.</p> <p>"Shit!" Calendar uttered out through the now-bruised face, and took a few steps back. Mab didn't waste any time; she regained her posture, already sending sparks of pure unfiltered will into the palms of her hands. Without giving Calendar time to engage first, Mab pointed at her with her index finger, a needle of fire bright enough to rival a neutron star levitating a few millimeters off its end.</p> <p>"Pathetic," she mouthed and threw the spell at her enemy, already preparing another one in her mind. With every single thought she called forward from her soul to her hand, she could feel the essence of her being — the only thing that still chained her soul to this body, still standing strong despite the pain — quite literally unmake itself. Every attack she threw, she suddenly realized, would cost her a part of herself — a part of herself she would be unable to regenerate, unless she could somehow reunite with the rest of her being.</p> <p>Perhaps then — when she would finally become whole — she would see the stupidity of what she was about to do. All of Queen Mab was more cunning than almost anyone in all of history, but this? This was a mere reflection, nothing but a silent echo of that ceaseless greatness. Somewhere deep inside it, intellect older than stars rang out its final symphony, but this here was something much more primal, much more furious than the rest of the Queen. And in the naked lust, that naked hunger for death and destruction that it held as the essence of what it was — it was more than ready to sacrifice everything, just to massacre the worm that had dared raise her hand against her.</p> <p>If victory cost her her life, so be it.</p> <p>Without a second's thought, she called forward another white-hot flame, and threw it right at Calendar.</p> <p>This time, the demon didn't just stand idly. She might have not been the sharpest tool in the box, but she wasn't <em>stupid</em> — and she was definitely nothing if not quick. There was a sudden blur of red before Mab, and the fire meant to take out the assassin thundered right past her, evaporating the pet chimera of some poor <em>sidhe</em> that was unfortunate enough to walk the streets beyond the fight. Calendar grabbed a nearby streetlight and forced it out of the pavement, shattering the cobblestone around it. Wielding it like a club, she threw its end, burning with the essence of a captured pixie, right at Mab's head.</p> <p>Were it not for the fact that she had already begun to utter words of protection, by now she would be little more than a bashed-in skull.</p> <p>Meeting with the green-glowing beginnings of Mab's sphere of protection, the lantern simply melted. The energy from the impact quickly heated the whole thing up, forcing Calendar to throw what had remained of her weapon to the ground and reach for something much simpler, safer, and more trustworthy to use in combat.</p> <p>Her own body.</p> <p>The part of Mab that was stuck inside the body of Felicity Baudin might have been ancient and powerful beyond words, but the shell around her was still <em>human</em> — and there isn't much the human body can do when faced with two hundred kilograms of demonic muscle, rushing at it at speeds rivaling that of sound.</p> <p>Calendar's horned head hit Mab square in the chest, throwing her at the pavement five meters behind them.</p> <p>Desperately gasping for air — a disgustingly human instinct, she realized with an afterthought — Mab's eyes widened. She tried to reach for another spark of Power to mold into energy, but understood, with something that was akin to genuine terror, that that well was almost dry. There was barely anything left at the bottom of her soul.</p> <p>That thought hit her much more firmly than Calendar's assault. But still not more firmly than the trash can she just landed in, making every neuron in her body light up with agony.</p> <p>Something behind her cracked — the wall of an apartment, she presumed — and suddenly, there was darkness. Her whole reality was now little more than a putrid grave, entombing her with whatever the hell the citizens of Three Portlands thought was normal waste. She gasped for air again, this time finding none, and rushed upwards with all her might, ready to sacrifice whatever it took to get the hell out of this place.</p> <p>When she emerged, covered in scraps of mandrake and smelling of discarded alchemy, stars started dancing before her eyes.</p> <p>In her incomprehensibly long lifetime, Mab had seen more than anyone that had come before or would come after her. <a href="/tears-and-bone">She had seen gods rise and fall by her hand</a>. She had seen entire civilizations collapse because of a single word she had uttered, their whole existence literally unmade by as little as a whisper. She had seen stars come and go, their might fading in comparison to the indescribable beauty her true form had held.</p> <p>There was very little the Fae Queen could consider an experience she'd find novel.</p> <p>But this here, tonight — this awful sense of genuine dread at someone as lowly as that demon, writhing deep inside her mortal guts — it was the first time she had felt so lost, so utterly and genuinely terrified. Not even when <a href="/a-faerie-tale-of-twin-queens">her own Sister had raised her hand against Mab at the height of their Empire's civil war</a> had such a terrible sensation made itself manifest within her mind. It was too much to even <em>think</em> about — it just took over her, forcing her heartbeat to quicken and her mind to go into overdrive. For a millisecond, she just stood there, her body and soul as out of sync as possible, literally frozen by fear.</p> <p>This could not stand.</p> <p>She blinked twice, and with discipline as iron as her own first, she made those emotions go away. One did not get to rule for as long as she had without the ability to coldly analyze what transpire around them. She took a quick breath, and with thoughts faster than light came to realize what she needed to do. There was only one correct play, here — a gambit so risky that it gave her almost no chance for victory.</p> <p>Almost.</p> <p>Without another choice, with no might of her own to truly support the battle any longer, Mab reached for her deadliest weapon: her words.</p> <p>"Stop! Stop!" she said with the voice of Felicity Baudin, immediately realizing the mistake of thinking it would carry the same authority as her own. Still, she looked at Calendar, now just a few meters before her, and continued her act all the same. "Who the hell sent you? What do you want from me?"</p> <p>Another red blur came before Mab's eyes. Little more than centimeters separated their faces. She could see the joyous hunger burning inside Calendar's eyes, now. It wasn't a malicious fire; not at all. What resided within Calendar's mind was little more than pure and genuine excitement, more akin to that of a kid playing with dinosaurs than a serious assassin who genuinely wanted to murder their target in cold blood. It was clear she didn't treat this as an actual challenge — to Calendar, this duel was little more than a fun pastime.</p> <p>Mab could work with this.</p> <p>She locked her eyes on that of Calendar, and put on her best pleading face. "I d-don't know what t-they told you," she said, her voice similar to the whimpers of a poor little puppy. "But I've no idea what I did! Please. Just… Just look at me," she gasped out, heavy sighs leaving her body — both an act and an expression of genuine exhaustion at having to force those awful words out of her throat. "Do you really think I'm a bad person? Come on! Please, for god's sake. I'm nothing more than an anartist!" She looked directly into her soul. "You don't have to do this. Please. You don't—"</p> <p>Calendar's arm suddenly landed on Mab's shoulder, and her face changed to a much different type of grin. "Well," she began, briefly taking her eyes off of Mab for just a second. Deep within them, a spark of amusement appeared. "The wording in my contract <em>does</em> say that there <em>is</em> another way to fulfill—"</p> <p>It was only a second she didn't look at Mab. But Mab didn't need more than just a second.</p> <p>With the faltering shriek of a desperate survivor, Mab drove her first forward, uttering words of final, hopeless power.</p> <p>The wind that emerged from her fingertips threw Calendar two meters backwards — a distance that barely mattered in actual combat, and one that Calendar could cross in little more than the blink of an eye, but a distance that put space between them nonetheless. Space that was more than enough for Mab's plan to have a chance at working.</p> <p>Feeling her muscles literally fall apart one by one with the pure effort this took, Mab put her second hand up, and started ripping apart the fabric of reality that stood between her and her inevitable end.</p> <p>She uttered just two words — but those two words, more ancient than most of civilization, carried with them enough thaumic strength to literally tear apart worlds. At the end of her left index finger, a small ball of intense black light appeared. It buzzed with silent energy as it moved up and down, the movement akin to something sentient that already anticipated what Mab would do with it next.</p> <p>It didn't have to wait long.</p> <p>With a single precise movement like that of a sword, Mab slashed reality in front of her. Where a street of Three Portlands had been but mere seconds ago was now a rift between worlds; a literal tear in the fabric that separated the realms of baseline reality and that of faerie spirits. The passage came to life with flashes of unbound Fae magic, its colors almost incomprehensible, even to Mab.</p> <p>For just a second, both Calendar and Mab stood there, stunned by the gateway that had opened before them.</p> <p>But Mab had the upper hand, here; <em>she</em> was the one that had called forward this portal, not Calendar. As shocked as her mortal body was at seeing the spirit realm of faerie, her immortal mind had already anticipated this reaction. This made her able to use that single moment the two of them stood frozen to her advantage.</p> <p>Without hesitation, Mab jumped forward, ready to enter the spirit world and close the gateway behind her.</p> <p>A long time ago, she might have been the single most powerful wielder of magic in the history of the world — but that time was long gone. She knew that here and now, she could not win this fight. It wasn't her world anymore. She knew almost none of it in this moronically limited form, so to win with its spawn — let alone conquer it — was beyond impossible. She needed to retreat to a place she knew by heart, even with this body — and before the rest of her form had been bound beneath the Factory, she had known the faerie spirit world pretty well indeed.</p> <p>She didn't want to do this, but she needed to be realistic — her pride might have been hurt by admitting defeat and running until she could come back stronger, but at least her spirit wouldn't suffer the same fate. She had no other choice. It was either staying in Three Portlands — with a two-meter demon, ready to bash her skull in any minute — or running away into the spirit realm, a ground she knew to be her own.</p> <p>She had made her choice.</p> <p>Suddenly, she felt something that made her heart skip a beat — a hand grabbing her by her leg, its grip as strong as iron. She couldn't even scream. It was already too late, the second Calendar entered right into the portal with her.</p> <p>The moment that happened, she saw something much worse than the approaching inevitability of being murdered. She saw the fabric of the spell literally change with Calendar's presence inside.</p> <p>Mab knew this working would be far from perfect, it being cast by this pathetic excuse of a body. But she also expected it to be stable. She had performed so many rites over the years that she did not know if mortals even had a number to describe it. Her mind knew how to perform them more than by heart — to her, magic was an instinct, almost like breathing.</p> <p>But right now, she failed to account for one part of the equation — the fact that this body would not have that muscle memory. The fact that, for all of its humanity, its skill to engrave runes within reality would not even come close to what she had remembered, let alone expected.</p> <p>Mab's eyes went wide with terror. There were two of them standing in that opening, now: her and Calendar. And all around them, the rift started to account for two passengers, the additional metaphysical weight of Calendar literally shifting the meaning of the symbols around. In mere moments, the spell no longer resembled what Mab had intended — it changed into something more akin to a crude imitation of a spell that was meant to call each of them home, to the places their souls felt like they belonged in.</p> <p>Mab tried to scream.</p> <p>Without being able to do as little as resist the thaumic pull of the spell she herself had cast, she felt it literally rip her body and soul apart, separating both. The force had no mind of its own, she knew that, but with strength that was almost sadistic it took both of these parts and threw them right where they felt like they belonged: the spirit of Mab back into the realm of faerie, the body of Felicity Baudin, right back into the mortal world alongside Calendar, through the still opened rift itself.</p> <p>Mab tried to protest, tried to do anything, but it was of no use. She could not fight against a force of her own mind — not even when it sealed behind itself the gate between the two realms that Mab had opened just a few moments prior.</p> <p>If the realm of faerie had walls to pound on, the shard of Mab that found itself within it, now almost insane with rage, would already have broken its fists upon them in frustration.</p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h4 id="toc3"><span><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Obelisk, Las Vegas, Fourth Ring of Hell</span></strong></span></h4> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>Felicity Baudin opened her eyes, and immediately regretted her decision.</p> <p>Above the anartist, now finally back to controlling her own body after days of being suppressed by the soul of Mab, stood a gigantic, red-skinned feminine figure. Most of her was covered by the shadows present in the dark room they both lay in, but the little light that the ritual circle around them emitted made her hungry eyes, ridiculous muscle, and horns sticking out of her head more than visible.</p> <p>Felicity gulped, and the memories of what had just occurred flooded right back at her. She suddenly remembered everything.</p> <p>"Oh," she mouthed, rapidly standing up herself. "I'm. Uh. Not the one you're looking for, lady."</p> <p>Calendar shrugged, and came forward into more of the light. Her whole body was now illuminated by the red beneath them, every single drop of sweat and bit of muscle that made her body perfectly visible to Felicity's eyes. She'd be lying if she said she didn't find it kind of hot. "I know," she said, her tone just a bit sad. "But I gotta do what I gotta do."</p> <p>Felicity let out a tired little sigh. She was far too exhausted — or at the very least, her body was — to really be scared. "Well then. Do your worst. Just make it quick."</p> <p>She closed her eyes, already anticipating the impact.</p> <p>It did not come.</p> <p>Instead, Calendar's heavy arm landed firmly on Felicity's shoulder. Felicity opened her eyes again and met that of Calendar. Both of them were suddenly filled with sparkles of absolute hunger. Both of them suddenly grinned. "You know, I tried to tell this to the other you," Calendar carefully began, "but there's another way to finish the contract. One that—"</p> <p>Before she could finish the sentence, Felicity pulled her closer.</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>This was written for <a href="/romcon">RomCon</a>. Big thanks to <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/rounderhouse" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(4187885); return false;"><img alt="Rounderhouse" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=4187885&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735053112" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=4187885)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/rounderhouse" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(4187885); return false;">Rounderhouse</a></span> for lending me their character. Please check out the other entries into Round 3 <a href="/the-crocosquid">here</a>, <a href="/karen-queen-of-the-monsters">here</a>, and <a href="/undervegas-hub">here</a>!</strong></p> <div class="earthworm earthworm--old-syntax-first-false earthworm--old-syntax-last-true earthworm--old-syntax-hub-no {$class}"> <div class="first earthworm__previous" data-title="'The Crocosquid' (OCN39/87YUI/O9NH6)"> <p><a href="/the-crocosquid">'The Crocosquid' (OCN39/87YUI/O9NH6)</a></p> </div> <div class="hub earthworm__hub" data-title="Hell Hath No Fury Like a Woman Scorned"> <p><a href="/hell-hath-no-fury-like-a-woman-scorned">Hell Hath No Fury Like a Woman Scorned</a></p> </div> <div class="last earthworm__next" data-title="{$next-title}"> <p><a class="newpage" href="/next-url">{$next-title}</a></p> </div> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/hell-hath-no-fury-like-a-woman-scorned">Hell Hath No Fury Like a Woman Scorned</a>" by Ralliston, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/hell-hath-no-fury-like-a-woman-scorned">https://scpwiki.com/hell-hath-no-fury-like-a-woman-scorned</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> separator.png<br/> <strong>Name:</strong> SuitDiamonds.svg<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> F l a n k e r<br/> <strong>License:</strong> Public Domain<br/> <strong>Source Link:</strong> <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SuitDiamonds.svg">Wikimedia Commons</a></p> </blockquote> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> separator2.png<br/> <strong>Name:</strong> SuitHearts.svg<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> F l a n k e r<br/> <strong>License:</strong> Public Domain<br/> <strong>Source Link:</strong> <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SuitHearts.svg">Wikimedia Commons</a></p> </blockquote> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="/theme:black-highlighter-theme">theme:black-highlighter-theme</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:highroller">:scp-wiki:theme:highroller</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:rso">:scp-wiki:component:rso</a>]] [[include <a href="/component:info-ayers">component:info-ayers</a> \|lang=en \|page=hell-hath-no-fury-like-a-woman-scorned \|authorPage=http://www.scp-wiki.wikidot.com/ralliston-s-authorpage \|comments= ]] [[module CSS]] .info-container{ --barColour: rgb(var(--dark-accent)); --linkColour: rgb(var(--bright-accent)); } .sign { color: white; } .ature, .ature a, .ature a:visited { color: rgb(var(--bright-accent)); } [[/module]] [[>]] [[module rate]] [[/>]] @@ @@ [[=]] ++++ __Site-666, Las Vegas, Fourth Ring of Hell__ [[/=]] @@ @@ "Biggest regrets, huh?" Randall House shook his glass of bourbon, then his head. Alice Sterling shrugged, and crossed her legs. "What else do you want to do drunk, have fun? Come on. Spill. None of us will remember it anyway." "Or," Agent Calendar chimed in, her face a positively wolfish grin, "we could go to town and destroy things!" Tonight's deployment had made her more than sick of following the work schedule, let alone its rules. House and Sterling glared at her. "Or, we could stay indoors and get drunk like the responsible adults we are," the latter said. Calendar frowned. "Besides," Sterling continued, turning to face the two-meter-tall-demon, "depending on how it goes, this could prove even more damaging." Calendar's grin reappeared. House leaned harder into his chair, staring at the ceiling. "I'm... I'm honestly not sure? I guess something with--" "Oh, that's a no-brainer." Calendar snapped her fingers. "The time I accidentally missed making out with a faerie Queen." As if on command, House and Sterling blinked twice, then shook their heads. For a few seconds, nobody spoke -- Calendar's smile, though, now almost wider than her face, was worth more than a thousand words. "You know you can't just say that and not elaborate, right?" Sterling said, raising an eyebrow. "Right. Yeah, okay." Calendar cleared her throat. "So it's a few years ago, and I've still got unfinished business with the Carters..." [[div]] [[=]] @@ @@ [[image separator.png width="20px"]] [[image separator.png width="20px"]] [[image separator.png width="20px"]] @@ @@ [[/=]] [[/div]] [[=]] ++++ __The Obelisk, Las Vegas, Fourth Ring of Hell__ [[/=]] @@ @@ The circle engraved on the cold marble floor came to life with a silent buzz of energy powerful enough to raise hair. The myriad intricate patterns molded into its construction glowed with white light, illuminating the dark room all around them. After just a few seconds, the shapes snapped into appropriate thaumic positions, more than ready to contain whatever was to be made manifest inside its boundaries. They had done it before, and tonight would be no different. The hooded man that stood above the circle cleared his throat, put his hands together, and started chanting in a language that hadn't been heard in over a century. He crouched, touched the ritual site before him, and felt the connection between him and the shape stabilize itself within an instant. Even more silent energy buzzed between them, the man now actively pouring his will own into the shape, and before he could blink, the runes answered his call. Already feeling the smell of sulfur all around him, he quickly stood up and covered his face. To the sound of anguished souls and the scent of fire and brimstone, red lighting appeared inside the circle. When the light died down, the circle was no longer empty -- inside it stood a red-skinned mass of horn and muscles, its hungry gaze focused only on the one who had dared to summon it. Agent Calendar smiled, and waved her hand. "Hi, Mr. Carter!" From behind his hood, Robert Carter sighed and massaged his temple. He was //sure// that the spell instructions his father had left him made it so that the summoned servant could not tell who actually brought it into service. Whether he had simply failed at executing those instructions (which was a very real possibility, considering his utter lack of magical talent and the fact he was performing the rite for the first time in his life) -- or whether his father had used them so many times that the demon easily recognized their magic imprint -- he could not quite tell. "Hello to you too, servant," he muttered, a tinge of annoyance present in his voice. Calendar skewed her head, and pointed at Carter's. "Did you change your haircut? You look different than the last time we--" "No. I mean yes. I mean--" Carter sighed, took a quick breath, put his hands together, and looked directly into Calendar's eyes. "Listen, demon. I am not here to chat. You have dues you owe to my bloodline. I am here to collect them." She skewed her head even more. "And you okay with me still doing them, with my new boss and all that?" Carter squinted his eyes, and resisted the urge to sigh again. He had already been aware magic wasn't exactly easy, but he wasn't expecting this much nonsense from what was supposed to be a banal task. "Look, I don't care who you work for now, but our contracts run longer -- and deeper. You //will// serve me, demon." He tried to pronounce the last word in a menacing manner. He failed utterly, but continued regardless, "Unless you want me to--" "Just show me the guy, and I'll take care of the rest," she said, practically beaming with enthusiasm from finally getting to do something fun. Calendar's mood was the exact opposite of what Carter had anticipated -- out of all things he thought the demon assassin his father had described would be, excited to do the job wasn't one of them. "Or gal, I guess. Or pal. Or..." She continued speaking, but Carter wasn't listening; instead, from underneath his robes, he took out a series of photos. [[[deconstruction-of-a-god\|They depicted two tall women atop two cars, racing across a colosseum built by his people in the heart of Three Portlands]]]. They both stood in smoke which made identifying them more than difficult, but their trademark features remained unveiled by the chaotic environment of the race around them. Even among all those explosions and mayhem, he could still see the sports journalist entry card and pointy ears they both respectively had. He passed the photos to Calendar. "These two," he uttered, almost unable to withhold his rage. "They ruined an event held in my name. In my name!" Calendar popped her lips. "Damn." "The first one I've already captured and taken care of, but it's your job to bring this one before me." He pointed at the one with the elongated ears. "Dead or alive, I don't care. I want her to answer for what she has done." "Right. Sure, I can do that." She leaned a little closer towards the photos, narrowing her eyes. "Why not just... send your own men, though. Wouldn't that be easier. It seems like it'd be easier." "She's a dangerous asset. Potent wizard, or at least seems like one from what she did at the race. If what my father had written about you is true, I've no doubt that you can handle her well. I don't have the same certainty with my own people." "Sure. Which way do you want me to handle this? You know, by killing her or--" Carter waved his hand. "Do literally whatever you want. I don't care. Just have it done, as our contract dictates." Something akin to a sudden realization, then excitement ran across Calendar's eyes. She grinned. "You got it." And then, as the runes inside the circle stopped glowing, another wave of red lighting ran inside the rite, and Agent Calendar was gone. [[div]] [[=]] @@ @@ [[image separator.png width="20px"]] [[image separator.png width="20px"]] [[image separator.png width="20px"]] @@ @@ [[/=]] [[/div]] [[=]] ++++ __Outside the Three Portlands Darkport, Three Portlands__ [[/=]] @@ @@ The thing that called itself Queen Mab was dying. She could feel it, in every part of her fatally mortal self. Before, she had disillusioned herself that the body of Felicity Baudin -- [[[project-proposal-2018-112\|the body she had taken as her own when summoned into this world]]] -- could act as a good enough host for her being. One good enough until she reunited with the rest of her soul, that was. But now -- after drying it out of all of its magic and suffering a separation of the body and the soul at the peak of the race she had just escaped, and harrowing her mind by visiting the grave of her only friend -- she could feel how wrong she had been in every bone, every muscle, and every neuron that chained her perfection to the limits of this physical world. Her outer shell was burning, its mortal form unable to truly handle the soul of a Fae Queen. The grotesque demigod parasite which was embedded within its cells was a square peg -- the form that tried to contain it, a round hole. And that fire -- that terrible, awful fire burning deep inside her being, unable to understand where or who it was -- it hurt. Hurt so much that for the first time in millennia, Mab could feel her heartbeat deep inside her ears. With a trembling hand, Mab reached for her chest, and felt the silent scent of death, ever so slowly behind her. She could not allow this. She blinked twice, and called forth all of the power that still lay dormant at the bottom of her soul. The shot of pure adrenaline -- of pure, unfiltered //power// -- that ran right through her veins and into a mind that was not her own made her stand up once more. She would not die here. This part of her -- this mere representation of her full form, a small shard of Mab's true being -- was called here for a reason. Fate did not grant her this chance at reclaiming her Empire only to make her meet the End like some dog. Not even the everpresent agony could stop her from reaching what was written as her destiny right in the stars above. As she realized this, she immediately stopped wobbling on those pathetic legs. There was no time to do this, here and now. She had work to do. Queen Mab smiled the grin of a hungry wolf, opened her eyes again, and took the first step forward, ready to reclaim her world. The second she raised her head towards the stars that awaited the return of their empress, red light appeared out of nowhere before her eyes. Sudden force equivalent to that of a speeding bus pressed against her forehead, forcing it to come down once again. To the sound of a sickening crunch, Mab's head met the pavement below her. "Hi!" Agent Calendar said, grabbing Mab by her silver hair. She lifted her up, making their eyes meet. Calendar grinned and threw her head forward once more, this time aiming for a curb. The impact did not come. Mab ground her teeth and shot her own hand upwards, her knuckles infused with words of burning Power. Too shocked at her target actually fighting back to dodge, Calendar blinked, infinitesimally confused for just a second. A second long enough for the punch, empowered with lightning, to hit her straight in the jaw. "Shit!" Calendar uttered out through the now-bruised face, and took a few steps back. Mab didn't waste any time; she regained her posture, already sending sparks of pure unfiltered will into the palms of her hands. Without giving Calendar time to engage first, Mab pointed at her with her index finger, a needle of fire bright enough to rival a neutron star levitating a few millimeters off its end. "Pathetic," she mouthed and threw the spell at her enemy, already preparing another one in her mind. With every single thought she called forward from her soul to her hand, she could feel the essence of her being -- the only thing that still chained her soul to this body, still standing strong despite the pain -- quite literally unmake itself. Every attack she threw, she suddenly realized, would cost her a part of herself -- a part of herself she would be unable to regenerate, unless she could somehow reunite with the rest of her being. Perhaps then -- when she would finally become whole -- she would see the stupidity of what she was about to do. All of Queen Mab was more cunning than almost anyone in all of history, but this? This was a mere reflection, nothing but a silent echo of that ceaseless greatness. Somewhere deep inside it, intellect older than stars rang out its final symphony, but this here was something much more primal, much more furious than the rest of the Queen. And in the naked lust, that naked hunger for death and destruction that it held as the essence of what it was -- it was more than ready to sacrifice everything, just to massacre the worm that had dared raise her hand against her. If victory cost her her life, so be it. Without a second's thought, she called forward another white-hot flame, and threw it right at Calendar. This time, the demon didn't just stand idly. She might have not been the sharpest tool in the box, but she wasn't //stupid// -- and she was definitely nothing if not quick. There was a sudden blur of red before Mab, and the fire meant to take out the assassin thundered right past her, evaporating the pet chimera of some poor //sidhe// that was unfortunate enough to walk the streets beyond the fight. Calendar grabbed a nearby streetlight and forced it out of the pavement, shattering the cobblestone around it. Wielding it like a club, she threw its end, burning with the essence of a captured pixie, right at Mab's head. Were it not for the fact that she had already begun to utter words of protection, by now she would be little more than a bashed-in skull. Meeting with the green-glowing beginnings of Mab's sphere of protection, the lantern simply melted. The energy from the impact quickly heated the whole thing up, forcing Calendar to throw what had remained of her weapon to the ground and reach for something much simpler, safer, and more trustworthy to use in combat. Her own body. The part of Mab that was stuck inside the body of Felicity Baudin might have been ancient and powerful beyond words, but the shell around her was still //human// -- and there isn't much the human body can do when faced with two hundred kilograms of demonic muscle, rushing at it at speeds rivaling that of sound. Calendar's horned head hit Mab square in the chest, throwing her at the pavement five meters behind them. Desperately gasping for air -- a disgustingly human instinct, she realized with an afterthought -- Mab's eyes widened. She tried to reach for another spark of Power to mold into energy, but understood, with something that was akin to genuine terror, that that well was almost dry. There was barely anything left at the bottom of her soul. That thought hit her much more firmly than Calendar's assault. But still not more firmly than the trash can she just landed in, making every neuron in her body light up with agony. Something behind her cracked -- the wall of an apartment, she presumed -- and suddenly, there was darkness. Her whole reality was now little more than a putrid grave, entombing her with whatever the hell the citizens of Three Portlands thought was normal waste. She gasped for air again, this time finding none, and rushed upwards with all her might, ready to sacrifice whatever it took to get the hell out of this place. When she emerged, covered in scraps of mandrake and smelling of discarded alchemy, stars started dancing before her eyes. In her incomprehensibly long lifetime, Mab had seen more than anyone that had come before or would come after her. [[[tears-and-bone\|She had seen gods rise and fall by her hand]]]. She had seen entire civilizations collapse because of a single word she had uttered, their whole existence literally unmade by as little as a whisper. She had seen stars come and go, their might fading in comparison to the indescribable beauty her true form had held. There was very little the Fae Queen could consider an experience she'd find novel. But this here, tonight -- this awful sense of genuine dread at someone as lowly as that demon, writhing deep inside her mortal guts -- it was the first time she had felt so lost, so utterly and genuinely terrified. Not even when [[[a-faerie-tale-of-twin-queens\|her own Sister had raised her hand against Mab at the height of their Empire's civil war]]] had such a terrible sensation made itself manifest within her mind. It was too much to even //think// about -- it just took over her, forcing her heartbeat to quicken and her mind to go into overdrive. For a millisecond, she just stood there, her body and soul as out of sync as possible, literally frozen by fear. This could not stand. She blinked twice, and with discipline as iron as her own first, she made those emotions go away. One did not get to rule for as long as she had without the ability to coldly analyze what transpire around them. She took a quick breath, and with thoughts faster than light came to realize what she needed to do. There was only one correct play, here -- a gambit so risky that it gave her almost no chance for victory. Almost. Without another choice, with no might of her own to truly support the battle any longer, Mab reached for her deadliest weapon: her words. "Stop! Stop!" she said with the voice of Felicity Baudin, immediately realizing the mistake of thinking it would carry the same authority as her own. Still, she looked at Calendar, now just a few meters before her, and continued her act all the same. "Who the hell sent you? What do you want from me?" Another red blur came before Mab's eyes. Little more than centimeters separated their faces. She could see the joyous hunger burning inside Calendar's eyes, now. It wasn't a malicious fire; not at all. What resided within Calendar's mind was little more than pure and genuine excitement, more akin to that of a kid playing with dinosaurs than a serious assassin who genuinely wanted to murder their target in cold blood. It was clear she didn't treat this as an actual challenge -- to Calendar, this duel was little more than a fun pastime. Mab could work with this. She locked her eyes on that of Calendar, and put on her best pleading face. "I d-don't know what t-they told you," she said, her voice similar to the whimpers of a poor little puppy. "But I've no idea what I did! Please. Just... Just look at me," she gasped out, heavy sighs leaving her body -- both an act and an expression of genuine exhaustion at having to force those awful words out of her throat. "Do you really think I'm a bad person? Come on! Please, for god's sake. I'm nothing more than an anartist!" She looked directly into her soul. "You don't have to do this. Please. You don't--" Calendar's arm suddenly landed on Mab's shoulder, and her face changed to a much different type of grin. "Well," she began, briefly taking her eyes off of Mab for just a second. Deep within them, a spark of amusement appeared. "The wording in my contract //does// say that there //is// another way to fulfill--" It was only a second she didn't look at Mab. But Mab didn't need more than just a second. With the faltering shriek of a desperate survivor, Mab drove her first forward, uttering words of final, hopeless power. The wind that emerged from her fingertips threw Calendar two meters backwards -- a distance that barely mattered in actual combat, and one that Calendar could cross in little more than the blink of an eye, but a distance that put space between them nonetheless. Space that was more than enough for Mab's plan to have a chance at working. Feeling her muscles literally fall apart one by one with the pure effort this took, Mab put her second hand up, and started ripping apart the fabric of reality that stood between her and her inevitable end. She uttered just two words -- but those two words, more ancient than most of civilization, carried with them enough thaumic strength to literally tear apart worlds. At the end of her left index finger, a small ball of intense black light appeared. It buzzed with silent energy as it moved up and down, the movement akin to something sentient that already anticipated what Mab would do with it next. It didn't have to wait long. With a single precise movement like that of a sword, Mab slashed reality in front of her. Where a street of Three Portlands had been but mere seconds ago was now a rift between worlds; a literal tear in the fabric that separated the realms of baseline reality and that of faerie spirits. The passage came to life with flashes of unbound Fae magic, its colors almost incomprehensible, even to Mab. For just a second, both Calendar and Mab stood there, stunned by the gateway that had opened before them. But Mab had the upper hand, here; //she// was the one that had called forward this portal, not Calendar. As shocked as her mortal body was at seeing the spirit realm of faerie, her immortal mind had already anticipated this reaction. This made her able to use that single moment the two of them stood frozen to her advantage. Without hesitation, Mab jumped forward, ready to enter the spirit world and close the gateway behind her. A long time ago, she might have been the single most powerful wielder of magic in the history of the world -- but that time was long gone. She knew that here and now, she could not win this fight. It wasn't her world anymore. She knew almost none of it in this moronically limited form, so to win with its spawn -- let alone conquer it -- was beyond impossible. She needed to retreat to a place she knew by heart, even with this body -- and before the rest of her form had been bound beneath the Factory, she had known the faerie spirit world pretty well indeed. She didn't want to do this, but she needed to be realistic -- her pride might have been hurt by admitting defeat and running until she could come back stronger, but at least her spirit wouldn't suffer the same fate. She had no other choice. It was either staying in Three Portlands -- with a two-meter demon, ready to bash her skull in any minute -- or running away into the spirit realm, a ground she knew to be her own. She had made her choice. Suddenly, she felt something that made her heart skip a beat -- a hand grabbing her by her leg, its grip as strong as iron. She couldn't even scream. It was already too late, the second Calendar entered right into the portal with her. The moment that happened, she saw something much worse than the approaching inevitability of being murdered. She saw the fabric of the spell literally change with Calendar's presence inside. Mab knew this working would be far from perfect, it being cast by this pathetic excuse of a body. But she also expected it to be stable. She had performed so many rites over the years that she did not know if mortals even had a number to describe it. Her mind knew how to perform them more than by heart -- to her, magic was an instinct, almost like breathing. But right now, she failed to account for one part of the equation -- the fact that this body would not have that muscle memory. The fact that, for all of its humanity, its skill to engrave runes within reality would not even come close to what she had remembered, let alone expected. Mab's eyes went wide with terror. There were two of them standing in that opening, now: her and Calendar. And all around them, the rift started to account for two passengers, the additional metaphysical weight of Calendar literally shifting the meaning of the symbols around. In mere moments, the spell no longer resembled what Mab had intended -- it changed into something more akin to a crude imitation of a spell that was meant to call each of them home, to the places their souls felt like they belonged in. Mab tried to scream. Without being able to do as little as resist the thaumic pull of the spell she herself had cast, she felt it literally rip her body and soul apart, separating both. The force had no mind of its own, she knew that, but with strength that was almost sadistic it took both of these parts and threw them right where they felt like they belonged: the spirit of Mab back into the realm of faerie, the body of Felicity Baudin, right back into the mortal world alongside Calendar, through the still opened rift itself. Mab tried to protest, tried to do anything, but it was of no use. She could not fight against a force of her own mind -- not even when it sealed behind itself the gate between the two realms that Mab had opened just a few moments prior. If the realm of faerie had walls to pound on, the shard of Mab that found itself within it, now almost insane with rage, would already have broken its fists upon them in frustration. [[div]] [[=]] @@ @@ [[image separator2.png width="20px"]] [[image separator2.png width="20px"]] [[image separator2.png width="20px"]] @@ @@ [[/=]] [[/div]] [[=]] ++++ __The Obelisk, Las Vegas, Fourth Ring of Hell__ [[/=]] @@ @@ Felicity Baudin opened her eyes, and immediately regretted her decision. Above the anartist, now finally back to controlling her own body after days of being suppressed by the soul of Mab, stood a gigantic, red-skinned feminine figure. Most of her was covered by the shadows present in the dark room they both lay in, but the little light that the ritual circle around them emitted made her hungry eyes, ridiculous muscle, and horns sticking out of her head more than visible. Felicity gulped, and the memories of what had just occurred flooded right back at her. She suddenly remembered everything. "Oh," she mouthed, rapidly standing up herself. "I'm. Uh. Not the one you're looking for, lady." Calendar shrugged, and came forward into more of the light. Her whole body was now illuminated by the red beneath them, every single drop of sweat and bit of muscle that made her body perfectly visible to Felicity's eyes. She'd be lying if she said she didn't find it kind of hot. "I know," she said, her tone just a bit sad. "But I gotta do what I gotta do." Felicity let out a tired little sigh. She was far too exhausted -- or at the very least, her body was -- to really be scared. "Well then. Do your worst. Just make it quick." She closed her eyes, already anticipating the impact. It did not come. Instead, Calendar's heavy arm landed firmly on Felicity's shoulder. Felicity opened her eyes again and met that of Calendar. Both of them were suddenly filled with sparkles of absolute hunger. Both of them suddenly grinned. "You know, I tried to tell this to the other you," Calendar carefully began, "but there's another way to finish the contract. One that--" Before she could finish the sentence, Felicity pulled her closer. @@ @@ = *This was written for [[[romcon\|RomCon]]]. Big thanks to [[user Rounderhouse]] for lending me their character. Please check out the other entries into Round 3 [[[the-crocosquid\|here]]], [[[karen-queen-of-the-monsters\|here]]], and [[[undervegas-hub\|here]]]! [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:earthworm">:scp-wiki:component:earthworm</a> \| first=false \| last=true \| hub=no \| previous-url=/the-crocosquid \| previous-title='The Crocosquid' (OCN39/87YUI/O9NH6) \| next-url= \| next-title= \| hub-url=/hell-hath-no-fury-like-a-woman-scorned \| hub-title=Hell Hath No Fury Like a Woman Scorned ]] [[module CSS]] .earthworm .hub.no a, .earthworm a[href="/"] {color: rgb(var(--swatch-text-general));} [[/module]] [[=]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] ===== > Filename: separator.png > Name: SuitDiamonds.svg > Author: F l a n k e r > License: Public Domain > Source Link: [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SuitDiamonds.svg Wikimedia Commons] > Filename: separator2.png > Name: SuitHearts.svg > Author: F l a n k e r > License: Public Domain > Source Link:** [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SuitHearts.svg Wikimedia Commons] ===== [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]] [[/=]]	2023-07-08T19:07:00	[ "_cc", "_licensebox", "action", "agent-calendar", "chase", "fantasy", "from-120s-archives", "marshall-carter-and-dark", "otherworldly", "queen-mab", "robert-carter", "romcon2023-unofficial", "tale", "undervegas" ]	Hell Hath No Fury Like a Woman Scorned - SCP Foundation	32	[ "http://www.scp-wiki.wikidot.com/ralliston-s-authorpage", "component:info-ayers", "deconstruction-of-a-god", "project-proposal-2018-112", "tears-and-bone", "a-faerie-tale-of-twin-queens", "romcon", "the-crocosquid", "karen-queen-of-the-monsters", "undervegas-hub", "next-url", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "romcon", "marshall-carter-and-dark-hub", "from-120-s-archives-hub", "undervegas-hub" ]	[]	1448919443	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/hell-hath-no-fury-like-a-woman-scorned
helping-a-caged-bird-fly	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <br/> <br/> Cole wasn’t a huge fan of his own face. There wasn’t anything particularly wrong with it, of course. He didn’t think himself an ugly guy. It just… It was the babyface. Not his favorite thing his parents left him. Not that it was that big of a problem. He’d just need to grow more facial hair. The mustache was looking good, but how about a beard? Like, the long kind? Some ZZ Top stuff? He could probably rock it, you know? It’d be like- <p>“Mr. Thereven?”</p> <p>Cole turned to the man on the other side of the desk. Right. Director Mamiya. The guy who was like, hiring him. Or, well, delegating him since he was already a hire at the Foundation but, you know, that.</p> <p>“Uh, yes?”</p> <p>“Did you hear anything I just said?”</p> <p>“Uh, that I’m hired?”</p> <p>Cole could hear the sigh coming out of the old man’s mouth as Director Mamiya flipped through the man’s files. “Well, yes, but that’s not what I was saying.” He coughed, perhaps trying to make sure would pay attention, before continuing. “I was saying that, while I understand that the job that you do is important, we-” He threw his hands to the side, before clasping them together. “We simply don’t need your expertise on our Site.”</p> <p>Cole wasn’t sure how to take that. He was happy, because a renowned Director was saying his job was important, but there was also the tinge of being unneeded. Did he really take a flight to Tokyo just to be told he wasn’t necessary?</p> <p>He got up, hands on the desk, the chair behind him screeching and coming to a halt as the Director jumped just a little bit, not expecting the doctor to react this way. In hindsight, telling a man who traveled all the way from America that he needs to fuck off wasn’t the most tactful way to go about it.</p> <p>“There’s no way I’m not needed here! I got told I was, and that’s why I came here!” Cole exclaimed. All the way from Maryland for this? Maybe he should have stayed at 246, ugh… At least he was appreciated there… And it wasn’t 10,000 Km away from Maryland, unlike this place.</p> <p>“I know, but uh, we don’t-” The Director stopped, unsure of how to word the next point. “Look, you people in America might like to talk to the anomalies we contain, but that is not how we do things here. We don’t really talk to them in a way that does not benefit either their research or their containment.”</p> <p>“But how would you know that if you don’t talk to them? If you don’t have a department that tells you whether that’s true or not?”</p> <p>Director Mamiya wasn’t sure what to say to that. The Chief of Security had told him this Cole Thereven dude was a pushover. Was he pulling his leg?…</p> <p>He grabbed all the files, putting them in sequential order again before handing them to Cole. “I’m sorry, but we simply don’t have the time or the money to let you put a new department in this place.”</p> <p><em>-but that’s what I came to do. Why not say no from the beginning?-</em></p> <p>“If you wish to propose this idea again, you’re free to do so, but as it stands, Site-50 is in no need of your services.”</p> <p>Cole had heard those words before. Two years back, at Site-08, where they classified humanoid anomalies just as any other item, keeping them in cages, lockers, or in cryogenic state. A year later, the “F”, the Foundation’s <a href="http://scp-int.wikidot.com/the-f">internal newspaper</a> announced Site-08 was the newest location of an anomaly suicide case. The reasons were unclear, but everyone knew the real reason. Cole did.</p> <p>Now, he was here making sure things like that didn’t happen again. So he wouldn’t, uh, he wouldn’t let them happen again, yeah!</p> <p>Cole didn’t budge, even as Mamiya grew uncomfortable with his stoic, unmoving presence. Finally, he spoke. “Forget time and money; the only time that’ll be wasted will be mine, and about money… I think I can provide it as well.”</p> <p>“You… Think?” The Director raised an eyebrow.</p> <p>“I’ll contact Director Lague, from Site-322. He’s been working on a project that aligns really well with my department. I’m also good friends with him, so I’m sure he will aid me if I explain the situation well enough.” Cole declared, pulling out a cellular phone, ready to speed dial the Paul at… 2 in the morning, Pennsylvania time.</p> <p>Director Mamiya tapped his fingers on the desk, watching as Cole began using his phone to actually call some guy on the other side of the world. He needed to stop this madness.</p> <p>“Alright, alright, stop that. I hear you.” The Director admitted defeat. He waited for Cole to lower his phone before continuing. “I didn’t try to deceive you: Here at Site-50, we do things very differently. For starters, we don’t have many humanoid anomalies under our care. We also don’t need to communicate with them, albeit we do have therapists, both physical and psychological for them. We are in no need of a department that negotiates and communicates with the things we have behind bars.”</p> <p>Cole began raising his phone again.</p> <p>“That being said… If you’re willing to use up your time and resources on testing your methods, then… I suppose we can make room. It would be rather uncourteous to allow you to take a flight all the way here only to kick you out immediately. Wouldn’t… Wouldn’t look good for our image.”</p> <p>Cole smiled- Nay, he grinned- Nay, he, uh, grinned but bigger. Finally, this dumb trip wouldn’t go to waste! Oh, and he would do what he was here to do. That’s important too.</p> <p>“Thank you sir, really, thank you!” Cole was quick to shake Director Mamiya’s hand, something the latter didn’t seem to appreciate as much.</p> <p>“… Right.” The Director moved his hand away. “That being said, I will need results that show this method of yours works, so you’ll be under a time constraint.”</p> <p>“That’s fair.” Cole agreed. Wait, did he say how much time it’d be?</p> <p>“That’s good.” The Director smiled, before pressing the button on his intercom. “Hatsuko, mind guiding Doctor Thereven to one of the empty offices down the reception hall? Doesn’t matter which.”</p> <p>He let go, putting his hands together, staring at Cole. “Welcome to Site-50, I suppose.”</p> <p>“I won’t disappoint you, sir.” Cole saluted, before leaving the room.</p> <p>Director Mamiya looked at the guy as he left, before sinking onto his chair. He was starting to regret saying yes to this relatively harmless endeavor.</p> <p>Soon enough, Hatsuko entered the office.</p> <p>“… Um. Where’s the other guy?”</p> <p>“I’ve no idea, and I genuinely don’t care.”</p> <p>Site-50 would certainly be a ‘livelier’ place with Doctor Thereven around.<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/></p> <br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <hr/> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> Cole had to admit that working at this site was kinda nice. He didn’t expect his work to be valued and., to be fair, it really wasn’t, but hey, this new office was bigger than his own back home! That was nice. It even had a water thingamabob inside. You know, the thing where you- Dispenser. Water dispenser, that’s the name. And it even changed temperatures so he could make coffee or tea or… Hot water, I guess? It was the life of a king, really.</p> <p>The issue was the whole ‘being needed’ part. Turns out he kind of wasn’t? Site-50 had a lot of skips to their name, but around 95% or so were just books or tablets or ancient stuff he didn’t really care about. As for the rest… Well, Paul had told him a long ago that ‘You can only work with humanoids as long as they’re sentient. Or was it sapient? What did Paul say again?’ and, well… They really weren’t, from what he could tell.</p> <p>There used to be sentient humanoids behind bars long ago, it seemed, and they had all gone away… How? Well…</p> <p>“They work here now. Or in other sites, but the point is, they’re not behind bars anymore.” Hatsuko explained to him at some point or another. Hatsuko was the Director’s secretary. She was also a nine feet tall spider lady woman creature. A jorogumo, to be precise, but don’t call her that, because apparently, the ‘gumo’ part means spider, but the ‘joro’ part means uh, a woman who works at night in… Uh, well, anyways!</p> <p>Point was, he’d been trying to communicate with many of the anomalies here, and so far, nothing had worked.</p> <p>He was currently on his eighth attempt, trying to talk to <a href="http://scp-int.wikidot.com/scp-020-jp">SCP-020, a girl who looked like a bird.</a> Well, in reality, it was more of a bird who looked like a girl, because otherwise she would be sentient. Or was it sapient? Whatever. She wouldn’t respond to any sort of complex stimuli in any sort of complex manner. And what that meant is that he couldn’t communicate with her.</p> <p>“I hear you’ve been on walks recently. Maybe to the park area upstairs?”</p> <p>Flicker.</p> <p>“It’s a really nice place. Especially for an outdoor area. Oh, unless you went somewhere else?”</p> <p>Flicker flicker.</p> <p>Cole sighed, before looking at his wristwatch. It had been almost an hour, and he had accomplished nothing. He sighed, perhaps a bit louder than he would have wanted to, because SCP-020 quickly shuffled away from the man. Cole raised his hands instinctively, ready to explain the situation, as he had done many times before.</p> <p>“Oh, sorry, sorry, I didn’t- Didn’t mean to scare you. I’m just uh… Just a bit frustrated, is all.”</p> <p>020 stared at him, cocking her head to the side, then to the other, her amber eyes piercing him. She flickered her wings again. Cole felt understood, almost. Perhaps it was the pareidolic situation (Can you even argue pareidolia when the ‘human-like’ entity is literally human-like?) and continued.</p> <p>“I just… I think I’ve been wasting my time here.” Cole sighed, but then realized what he had just said. “Oh, I don’t mean with you here it’s uh, it’s been lovely and you’re a very good listener, it’s true! I mean my time here at this site in specific. I don’t think I’m doing a good job at ‘communicating with anomalies’ in here. I mean, I’m here and you can’t really communicate and I’m doing a bad job and all we get is me complaining and you flickering your feathers up and down and it’s… All… Wait.”</p> <p>Wait.</p> <p>He stared at 020, the girl staring back, cocking her head again. “There’s… There’s no way, right? I mean, people… People on this site would have figured it out already… Y-yeah, that’s… That’s…”</p> <p>Ok, quick, what was the test they did back at the Site… It was uhhh…</p> <p>Oh!</p> <p>Cole pulled out two pens, one red, the other blue, and showed them to 020. “These are pens. Can you tell me which one is blue?”</p> <p>020 stared at him again; she seemed confused. After a few moments, she pointed at the blue pen, using her feathers as fingers for it.</p> <p>She pulled off the cap of the red pen, before asking again. “Which pen is missing its cap?”</p> <p>020 pointed at the red pen.</p> <p>“Was it the blue pen?” Cole asked. 020 did some sort of feather flickering again. “Ok, did that mean no, or negative?”</p> <p>A different flicker.</p> <p>“Did that mean yes, or positive then?”</p> <p>The same flicker.</p> <p>Cole stared intently again before falling to the floor on his ass, holding his head with one hand. It definitely startled the girl, but he couldn’t even think about it as another different thought occupied his head.</p> <p>“How come no one figured this out? That makes no sense…” He muttered to himself, looking at the girl. He kept thinking of her as a child, but she was much older than a mere girl. God, how long has she been here, 10 years? More? And no one bothered to do a quick standard test to make sure she could actually understand… Anything?</p> <p>020 flickered her feathers again. Cole inhaled sharply.</p> <p>“I wish I could understand you, ‘communicate’ with you. But I can’t.” Cole told the girl, before raising a finger. “But I will! Soon enough! I just need to talk to people who know better than I do so I’ll leave now, but don’t worry! I’ll be back!”</p> <p>With that, Cole left the room, leaving files and reports still in the room. 020 cocked her head one last time.</p> <p>What the hell did just happen?<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/></p> <br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <hr/> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> Cole discovered a lot of new, bleak things as he rushed out of SCP-020’s containment cell and towards the many departments located on the aptly named department area.</p> <p>The first was that the Linguistics Department was absolutely flabbergasted at Cole discovering 020 could communicate.</p> <p>“How come no one figured that one out before?!” The Department Head yelled.</p> <p>“That’s what I want to know!”</p> <p>They quickly rushed towards the Archival Division, where Cole also learnt there were almost no records regarding SCP-020, despite being in Foundation custody for well over a decade. And what was in there was… Well…</p> <p>“They wore masks of the person who rescued her because she can’t distinguish facial features? What?!”</p> <p>“Wait, there were actually standardized tests? Why did no one-”</p> <p>The Head of Archival pointed something out at Cole.</p> <p>“Oh… Power harassment and fund embezzlement… I don’t think he was a good researcher.” Cole bit his lip. “Well this is just depressing.”</p> <p>“We could bring this up to their therapist.”</p> <p>And so they did.</p> <p>And. Well.</p> <p>“She doesn’t have a psychotherapist?!”</p> <p>“Well, I do attempt to help her with stress and such afflictions, but no, I’m a physiotherapist.”</p> <p>“How does that help her?”</p> <p>“She has osteoporosis, so I dunno buddy. You tell me.”</p> <p>Cole was getting annoyed at these grim discoveries after grim discoveries. How come this place looked so technologic-ey and yet it was so incompetent?! I mean, Cole wasn’t even the most observant guy around; I mean, he wore glasses, for fuck’s sake!</p> <p>“I think the girl had someone overseeing her mental health, but they were moved somewhere else by Doctor Nagaoki.”</p> <p>“That’s the guy who got fired.”</p> <p>“Great. Who oversees her now?”</p> <p>“Uhhh… The Research Head, who doesn’t really care about anything so… Either the Chief of Security or Director Mamiya.”</p> <p>“The Research Head doesn’t care about anything?” Cole asked.</p> <p>“Yeah, he just delegates everything. Don’t even know how he’s still employed.”</p> <p>This place sucks, Cole began to realize.</p> <p>“Ok, then let’s… Let’s talk to the Director then.”</p> <p>“Is that even gonna work?… He isn’t a guy who really cares about the wellbeing of anomalies, you know? He tried really hard to not have the Anomaly Rights Act pass a couple years ago.”</p> <p>“R-really?…” Oh come on. “No, no, it’s fine. I have a plan.”</p> <p>“Alright… If you say so…”</p> <p>Cole indeed had an idea. One that always worked, whenever he decided to propose something to Paul and whatnot.</p> <p>He marched towards the Director’s office, alongside three to four more guys he picked up on the way, and kicked the door open, startling the old guy.</p> <p>“What the fuck?!” Director Mamiya exclaimed, halfway into pulling a gun from under his desk.</p> <p>“Sir, there is an emergency, and we need it fixed ASAP!”</p> <p>“There is?…”</p> <p>That doubt, that fear in the director’s eyes. Cole knew them, and he smiled.</p> <p>He had this.</p> <p>He may not be good at many things, but he was the director of the Department of Anomalous Communications and Relations, and damn was he good at talking.</p> <p>“It’s about SCP-020, sir!” He said, slamming his hand on the desk.</p> <p>“What about SCP-020, Thereven?…”</p> <p>She was more than a mere mindless entity, he explained. She could think human thoughts and understand the human language almost perfectly. She could even do cartwheels! (Unproven, but it would certainly edge the discussion his way). But she was trapped, and left alone, without any support other than whoever put on a papier mache mask and gave her food, and the guy standing next to him who made sure she wouldn’t break her arms and legs. It was a good start, but it wasn’t enough. It might have been good for maybe the first month or two of her being there, but it had been nearly 15 years, and nothing had changed.</p> <p>So things needed to change.</p> <p>“Alright, alright, sure. There is clearly a logistical issue at hand-”</p> <p>“You mean humanitarian? Or maybe ethical?…”</p> <p>“Sure, whatever. Point is: How are you gonna fix this? You’re pretty good at pointing out the issues here, but where are the solutions?”</p> <p>Oh. Uh. Well.</p> <p>“If I may.” The Linguistics Head decided to step in, turning to Cole. “You said you saw 020 flicker her wings to communicate, no?”</p> <p>“Yes.” Cole nodded.</p> <p>“Well, if it’s a language that has internal consistency, then we can reverse engineer it, and figure out how it works. Then we can, you know, use it to communicate.”</p> <p>“Oh! I love that! Will it work?”</p> <p>“If it doesn’t, we teach her Sign Language.”</p> <p>All members of this newfound team turn towards the Director. Ugh.</p> <p>“If this’ll get you off my back, then sure. Have a proposal on paper by tomorrow, and we’ll see where we go from there.”</p> <p>“Oh you’ll see, alright.” Cole chucked to himself, ecstatic. This was beginning to take shape~</p> <p>The Director sighed. “The hell is that supposed to mean…” He pressed the intercom. “Hatsuko, can you please not let anyone else enter my office unannounced? I know you do it on purpose. Stop.”</p> <p>The next day Cole would come into the office to present the proposal, unannounced.</p> <p>It would, of course, be approved immediately. Cole was just that good. And insistent. Really insistent. Mostly good, though.<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/></p> <br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <hr/> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> Her name was Tsubasa. It meant wing, which felt as appropriate as it felt inappropriate, but she seemed to like it. It made ‘sense’, if that makes sense. Well, of course it does. That’s the point, but still.</p> <p>Tsubasa was an experiment from a <a href="http://scp-int.wikidot.com/groups-of-interest-jp#joicl">laboratory here in Japan</a> that has become a bit of a pain in the butt for the Foundation. Always up to no good, and leaving behind all those experiments that did not come out right. Like… Like Tsubasa.</p> <p>“Oh, but know that you’re not a failed experiment to us, Tsubasa. I mean, you’re a really sweet girl; being an experiment doesn’t change that.”</p> <p>Cole thinks he said that right, trying to move his hands with the dexterity he had been taught by the Linguistics team. It was hard: Each finger was tied to a set of characters and feelings, moving up and down separately to form different, more complex words and sentences. The position of one’s arms and the way they flexed also changed different things, similar to conjugating, and also to tone. And also maybe particles and adverbs? Oh, and location. And then you can just point to things, or nod/shake your head for positive/negative-slash-yes/no. That was something Tsubasa didn’t know was a thing, so I guess linguistic cross-pollination is a thing, huh?</p> <p>“I know, I know.” Is what Cole believes Tsubasa signed. “I don’t let it affect me. Lots of people here are experiments, and they live their lives despite it.”</p> <p>Ok, Tsubasa’s sentences weren’t as complex yet, but that was more or less what she had explained. Lot less connecting parts; lot less adverbs.</p> <p>“They indeed do!” Cole smiled, before pulling a document out of a manila folder. “Which reminds me… Can you read this?”</p> <p>He passed the paper to Tsubasa, who grabbed it with her wings, reading through. Halfway through, she gasped, silently of course. Her vocal cords would never produce a sound, and that was ok.</p> <p>She turned to Cole, shocked. Cole simply smiled again.</p> <p>“You’ve passed the test! Er, well, it’s not really a test, it’s more of a… Of a standard measure? It should have been anyways, but the important part is that you qualify for it! Which means you won’t need to be in containment anymore! You can choose to leave this cell of yours, and find a good pre-approved place to live, and you can even work for the Foundation!” He grinned. “Which, well, I wouldn’t blame you if you don’t want to associate yourself with the place that kept you in a locker without a chance to make sure whether you could understand or not, but-”</p> <p>Cole could have continued, but decided to stop when Tsubasa tackled him into a hug. In hindsight, he should have expected something along these lines when he prepared the paper, but he didn’t, so now he was just awkwardly being hugged, not sure what to do.</p> <p>It would be another three minutes until Tsubasa was able to talk again, since, you know, a hug involves using your hands and doing so stops you from signing and whatnot.</p> <p>“I didn’t think the day would ever come.” Is what Cole believes Tsubasa signed. Tears fell down from her genetically modified amber down, into her surgically modified silk-white skin, and her signing had become rougher, having difficulty remaining still as she poured her feelings out. “I didn’t think I could get excited over… Over stuff like this again.”</p> <p>Tsubasa knew that the Foundation; that this Site didn’t care for her. She knew that the man wearing the papier mache mask wasn’t the one who had rescued her, and while it hurt, it didn’t matter, because whoever this person wearing this death mask brought in the gruel she needed to survive. Another man made sure her bones wouldn’t collapse under their own weight. A third one adjusted her living spaces, tying her up before changing tiles and light fixtures because she was a dangerous monster, and not someone who simply couldn’t talk.</p> <p>She wished she could scream to the top of her lungs. Maybe then it wouldn’t have taken years for someone to see her.</p> <p>“Someone did see me: You. Thank you.” Tsubasa wished her way of talking could say more. She wished she had more feathers so that she could convey way, way more with her signs.</p> <p>“Oh no come on, all I did was realize something that, uh, well, no one else did, but it wasn’t a lot! You should thank the Linguistics Team that spent many sleepless nights to figure out how you spoke, and what you were saying, then spent even more time teaching me and the people who take care of you the language. They’re the real heroes of this story.” Cole explained, that dumb smile of his still on his face.</p> <p>“Just take the damn compliment.”</p> <p>“Alright, ok, I will.” Cole was starting to regret teaching Tsubasa about using the ‘expletive form’ to ‘intensify’ phrases. The Linguistics team told him that it had a different name but he forgot about it. “So? What are you gonna do now?”</p> <p>“… I don’t know…” She stopped. “I’ve never ‘chosen’ to do something before…”</p> <p>“Well, try for the first time then.” Cole told her. “What do you want to do?”</p> <p>Tsubasa closed her eyes, thinking… ‘Free as a bird’ is a term she’d heard before. She never understood it: She’d spent all her life caged, whether by crazy Japanese scientists or… Well, more crazy Japanese scientists. Freedom had never crossed her mind, and that was fine. She thought it was, anyway: Not like she knew much of the outside world past the park where she was viciously attacked by crows, and…</p> <p>…</p> <p>“I want to go to the park.”</p> <p>Cole immediately perked up. “Oh! Let’s go then!” He stretched out his hand. “We’re ‘free’ to go whenever. Hah! See what I did there?”</p> <p>Tsubasa had tuned out Cole at around the point where he put his hand forwards. It was such a simple gesture, one she’d seen many times, and yet, it felt so personal. So unique. So special.</p> <p>She took his hand, and Cole quickly dragged her out, almost forgetting this was such a momentous moment for Tsubasa.</p> <p>For the first time, Tsubasa noticed the sounds of the ambience: The steps she and Cole made. The flickering of the light fixtures. The creaking of the pipes. The quiet mumbling of nearby scientists. The conversations behind closed doors. The world turning. Her heart skipping a bit.</p> <p>She was free.<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/></p> <br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <hr/> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> “At the Department of Anomalous Communication and Relations, you’ll be working alongside agents and other researchers with communications regarding humanoid and other sentient anomalies. You’ll be required to explain to them what the Foundation is, what it is that we do here, and why they have been ‘contained’.”</p> <p>“Understood.”</p> <p>“You will also be required to negotiate terms between anomaly and researchers. They must know that their words are being heard, and their words thus have to effectively reach appropriate ears. Understood?”</p> <p>“Understood.”</p> <p>“Alright, that is all then. You will receive appropriate paperwork and… Be sent into action. Sorry this is such an unexpected thing to ask of you, but we’ve <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-6979">recently discovered a place full of humanoid entities</a>, and there've been a lot of issues. We need you because almost everyone sent there is really, really bad at talking and really, really good at hitting people with the back of their rifles.”</p> <p>“Ouch.”</p> <p>“Indeed. So, any questions?”</p> <p>“Uh, just one.”</p> <p>“Yes?”</p> <p>“What is she, uh, doing?”</p> <p>The new hire pointed at the woman next to their boss, who had been flapping her wings- Yes, wings- for a good ten minutes.</p> <p>Both their boss and the bird woman turned to him.</p> <p>“I’m- She’s the Director of this department.”</p> <p>“Oh.” They blinked. “O-oh, shit. Uh, sorry, I didn’t mean-”</p> <p>“None taken.” The boss explained, and only then the new hire understood she’d been translating the woman’s wing movements all this time. Crap.</p> <p>“That being said.” The boss/interpreter added. “Get used to non-conventional manners of speech and other such mannerisms. You’ll be communicating with people and cultures alien to normal human understanding. Something the difference is no more than accents and dialects, but some other times you’ll be dealing with interpretative dance, synesthesia, acid trips, and worse. You’ll have to be ready to contextualize anything that comes your way. You never know what kind of things you could be missing.”</p> <p>“Acid trips? Er, yes, ma’am. Understood.” They saluted the interpreter, then the feathered woman.</p> <p>“Good.” The boss said. “You’re free to go, then.”</p> <p>And with that, the new hire bowed, before leaving the office, kinda glad that took so little time. They were scared, and definitely way more than scared after not figuring out the bird with the Carnaval moves was their actual boss. They did not leave a good first impression, that’s for sure.</p> <p>As they stepped out, they were stopped by a scrunkly looking guy, an American for sure, wearing a messy shirt, accompanied by a messy coat and a messy tie. He adjusted his glasses, before speaking.</p> <p>“Hey there, uh, any chances Tsubasa is in the office you just left?” He asked. The new hire wasn’t sure who that was for the first second, and then the name clicked: Tsubasa means wings and- Yeah, ok, it’s the girl.</p> <p>“Yeah, she’s inside.”</p> <p>“Alright, thanks for letting me know.”</p> <p>The new hire stepped to the side, this new guy walking in. “Hey, Tsubasa!~ Guess who had some free time to-”</p> <p>Have you ever seen a hawk descend on prey? The documentaries and other such videos? Yeah, that’s how it looked when the girl who now they were sure was Tsubasa rushed to hug this other guy, almost sending him to the ground. Fluff dispersed into the air… You know, like, that fluff-like feathers birds have? Yeah, that.</p> <p>“Wow, ok, geez, chill! I was just gone for a couple months!”</p> <p>Tsubasa, still in a hugging position, hit this guy over the head with one of her hands.</p> <p>“Ow, wow, ok, fine, it was a year and like… 6 months?”</p> <p>Another hit.</p> <p>“Ok, nine, fine. I’ve been busy saving the world or… Not making it perceivably worse, I guess?”</p> <p>Tsubasa chuckled, or so it seemed, except no sound came from her mouth, before letting this guy go, and signaling for the door with her head.</p> <p>“Yeah, right, let’s go, we’re uh, making a bit of a commotion.” The guy turned to the new hire, putting his hands together. “Sorry!”</p> <p>“Oh uh, don’t- Uh, don’t worry.” They replied, not really sure how to go about it. Soon as they spoke, Tsubasa stepped into the office, followed by the guy, who closed it behind him.</p> <p>“… Well, alright then. Guess that’s someone else I’ll have to learn about.” The new hire muttered, then made their way back to the barracks.</p> <p>Weird.<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/></p> <br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/helping-a-caged-bird-fly">Helping a Caged Bird Fly</a>" by Maxyfran73, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/helping-a-caged-bird-fly">https://scpwiki.com/helping-a-caged-bird-fly</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> All of the files present on this page<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/maxyfran73" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(7498739); return false;"><img alt="Maxyfran73" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=7498739&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735052800" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=7498739)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/maxyfran73" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(7498739); return false;">Maxyfran73</a></span><br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC BY-SA 3.0<br/> <strong>Source Link:</strong> <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/helping-a-caged-bird-fly">SCP Foundation Wiki</a></p> </blockquote> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="/theme:black-highlighter-theme">theme:black-highlighter-theme</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:toggle-sidebar-bhl">:scp-wiki:component:toggle-sidebar-bhl</a>]] [[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] @@@@ Cole wasn’t a huge fan of his own face. There wasn’t anything particularly wrong with it, of course. He didn’t think himself an ugly guy. It just… It was the babyface. Not his favorite thing his parents left him. Not that it was that big of a problem. He’d just need to grow more facial hair. The mustache was looking good, but how about a beard? Like, the long kind? Some ZZ Top stuff? He could probably rock it, you know? It’d be like- “Mr. Thereven?” Cole turned to the man on the other side of the desk. Right. Director Mamiya. The guy who was like, hiring him. Or, well, delegating him since he was already a hire at the Foundation but, you know, that. “Uh, yes?” “Did you hear anything I just said?” “Uh, that I’m hired?” Cole could hear the sigh coming out of the old man’s mouth as Director Mamiya flipped through the man’s files. “Well, yes, but that’s not what I was saying.” He coughed, perhaps trying to make sure would pay attention, before continuing. “I was saying that, while I understand that the job that you do is important, we-” He threw his hands to the side, before clasping them together. “We simply don’t need your expertise on our Site.” Cole wasn’t sure how to take that. He was happy, because a renowned Director was saying his job was important, but there was also the tinge of being unneeded. Did he really take a flight to Tokyo just to be told he wasn’t necessary? He got up, hands on the desk, the chair behind him screeching and coming to a halt as the Director jumped just a little bit, not expecting the doctor to react this way. In hindsight, telling a man who traveled all the way from America that he needs to fuck off wasn’t the most tactful way to go about it. “There’s no way I’m not needed here! I got told I was, and that’s why I came here!” Cole exclaimed. All the way from Maryland for this? Maybe he should have stayed at 246, ugh… At least he was appreciated there… And it wasn’t 10,000 Km away from Maryland, unlike this place. “I know, but uh, we don’t-” The Director stopped, unsure of how to word the next point. “Look, you people in America might like to talk to the anomalies we contain, but that is not how we do things here. We don’t really talk to them in a way that does not benefit either their research or their containment.” “But how would you know that if you don’t talk to them? If you don’t have a department that tells you whether that’s true or not?” Director Mamiya wasn’t sure what to say to that. The Chief of Security had told him this Cole Thereven dude was a pushover. Was he pulling his leg?... He grabbed all the files, putting them in sequential order again before handing them to Cole. “I’m sorry, but we simply don’t have the time or the money to let you put a new department in this place.” //-but that’s what I came to do. Why not say no from the beginning?-// “If you wish to propose this idea again, you’re free to do so, but as it stands, Site-50 is in no need of your services.” Cole had heard those words before. Two years back, at Site-08, where they classified humanoid anomalies just as any other item, keeping them in cages, lockers, or in cryogenic state. A year later, the “F”, the Foundation’s [http://scp-int.wikidot.com/the-f internal newspaper] announced Site-08 was the newest location of an anomaly suicide case. The reasons were unclear, but everyone knew the real reason. Cole did. Now, he was here making sure things like that didn’t happen again. So he wouldn’t, uh, he wouldn’t let them happen again, yeah! Cole didn’t budge, even as Mamiya grew uncomfortable with his stoic, unmoving presence. Finally, he spoke. “Forget time and money; the only time that’ll be wasted will be mine, and about money… I think I can provide it as well.” “You… Think?” The Director raised an eyebrow. “I’ll contact Director Lague, from Site-322. He’s been working on a project that aligns really well with my department. I’m also good friends with him, so I’m sure he will aid me if I explain the situation well enough.” Cole declared, pulling out a cellular phone, ready to speed dial the Paul at… 2 in the morning, Pennsylvania time. Director Mamiya tapped his fingers on the desk, watching as Cole began using his phone to actually call some guy on the other side of the world. He needed to stop this madness. “Alright, alright, stop that. I hear you.” The Director admitted defeat. He waited for Cole to lower his phone before continuing. “I didn’t try to deceive you: Here at Site-50, we do things very differently. For starters, we don’t have many humanoid anomalies under our care. We also don’t need to communicate with them, albeit we do have therapists, both physical and psychological for them. We are in no need of a department that negotiates and communicates with the things we have behind bars.” Cole began raising his phone again. “That being said… If you’re willing to use up your time and resources on testing your methods, then… I suppose we can make room. It would be rather uncourteous to allow you to take a flight all the way here only to kick you out immediately. Wouldn’t… Wouldn’t look good for our image.” Cole smiled- Nay, he grinned- Nay, he, uh, grinned but bigger. Finally, this dumb trip wouldn’t go to waste! Oh, and he would do what he was here to do. That’s important too. “Thank you sir, really, thank you!” Cole was quick to shake Director Mamiya’s hand, something the latter didn’t seem to appreciate as much. “... Right.” The Director moved his hand away. “That being said, I will need results that show this method of yours works, so you’ll be under a time constraint.” “That’s fair.” Cole agreed. Wait, did he say how much time it’d be? “That’s good.” The Director smiled, before pressing the button on his intercom. “Hatsuko, mind guiding Doctor Thereven to one of the empty offices down the reception hall? Doesn’t matter which.” He let go, putting his hands together, staring at Cole. “Welcome to Site-50, I suppose.” “I won’t disappoint you, sir.” Cole saluted, before leaving the room. Director Mamiya looked at the guy as he left, before sinking onto his chair. He was starting to regret saying yes to this relatively harmless endeavor. Soon enough, Hatsuko entered the office. “... Um. Where’s the other guy?” “I’ve no idea, and I genuinely don’t care.” Site-50 would certainly be a ‘livelier’ place with Doctor Thereven around. @@ @@ [[=]] [[Image https://i.imgur.com/Nz9Iqu9.png width="500px"]] [[/=]] @@ @@ ----- @@ @@ Cole had to admit that working at this site was kinda nice. He didn’t expect his work to be valued and., to be fair, it really wasn’t, but hey, this new office was bigger than his own back home! That was nice. It even had a water thingamabob inside. You know, the thing where you- Dispenser. Water dispenser, that’s the name. And it even changed temperatures so he could make coffee or tea or… Hot water, I guess? It was the life of a king, really. The issue was the whole ‘being needed’ part. Turns out he kind of wasn’t? Site-50 had a lot of skips to their name, but around 95% or so were just books or tablets or ancient stuff he didn’t really care about. As for the rest… Well, Paul had told him a long ago that ‘You can only work with humanoids as long as they’re sentient. Or was it sapient? What did Paul say again?’ and, well… They really weren’t, from what he could tell. There used to be sentient humanoids behind bars long ago, it seemed, and they had all gone away… How? Well… “They work here now. Or in other sites, but the point is, they’re not behind bars anymore.” Hatsuko explained to him at some point or another. Hatsuko was the Director’s secretary. She was also a nine feet tall spider lady woman creature. A jorogumo, to be precise, but don’t call her that, because apparently, the ‘gumo’ part means spider, but the ‘joro’ part means uh, a woman who works at night in… Uh, well, anyways! Point was, he’d been trying to communicate with many of the anomalies here, and so far, nothing had worked. He was currently on his eighth attempt, trying to talk to [http://scp-int.wikidot.com/scp-020-jp SCP-020, a girl who looked like a bird.] Well, in reality, it was more of a bird who looked like a girl, because otherwise she would be sentient. Or was it sapient? Whatever. She wouldn’t respond to any sort of complex stimuli in any sort of complex manner. And what that meant is that he couldn’t communicate with her. “I hear you’ve been on walks recently. Maybe to the park area upstairs?” Flicker. “It’s a really nice place. Especially for an outdoor area. Oh, unless you went somewhere else?” Flicker flicker. Cole sighed, before looking at his wristwatch. It had been almost an hour, and he had accomplished nothing. He sighed, perhaps a bit louder than he would have wanted to, because SCP-020 quickly shuffled away from the man. Cole raised his hands instinctively, ready to explain the situation, as he had done many times before. “Oh, sorry, sorry, I didn’t- Didn’t mean to scare you. I’m just uh… Just a bit frustrated, is all.” 020 stared at him, cocking her head to the side, then to the other, her amber eyes piercing him. She flickered her wings again. Cole felt understood, almost. Perhaps it was the pareidolic situation (Can you even argue pareidolia when the ‘human-like’ entity is literally human-like?) and continued. “I just… I think I’ve been wasting my time here.” Cole sighed, but then realized what he had just said. “Oh, I don’t mean with you here it’s uh, it’s been lovely and you’re a very good listener, it’s true! I mean my time here at this site in specific. I don’t think I’m doing a good job at ‘communicating with anomalies’ in here. I mean, I’m here and you can’t really communicate and I’m doing a bad job and all we get is me complaining and you flickering your feathers up and down and it’s… All… Wait.” Wait. He stared at 020, the girl staring back, cocking her head again. “There’s… There’s no way, right? I mean, people… People on this site would have figured it out already… Y-yeah, that’s… That’s…” Ok, quick, what was the test they did back at the Site… It was uhhh… Oh! Cole pulled out two pens, one red, the other blue, and showed them to 020. “These are pens. Can you tell me which one is blue?” 020 stared at him again; she seemed confused. After a few moments, she pointed at the blue pen, using her feathers as fingers for it. She pulled off the cap of the red pen, before asking again. “Which pen is missing its cap?” 020 pointed at the red pen. “Was it the blue pen?” Cole asked. 020 did some sort of feather flickering again. “Ok, did that mean no, or negative?” A different flicker. “Did that mean yes, or positive then?” The same flicker. Cole stared intently again before falling to the floor on his ass, holding his head with one hand. It definitely startled the girl, but he couldn’t even think about it as another different thought occupied his head. “How come no one figured this out? That makes no sense…” He muttered to himself, looking at the girl. He kept thinking of her as a child, but she was much older than a mere girl. God, how long has she been here, 10 years? More? And no one bothered to do a quick standard test to make sure she could actually understand… Anything? 020 flickered her feathers again. Cole inhaled sharply. “I wish I could understand you, ‘communicate’ with you. But I can’t.” Cole told the girl, before raising a finger. “But I will! Soon enough! I just need to talk to people who know better than I do so I’ll leave now, but don’t worry! I’ll be back!” With that, Cole left the room, leaving files and reports still in the room. 020 cocked her head one last time. What the hell did just happen? @@ @@ [[=]] [[Image https://i.imgur.com/UuggKma.png width="500px"]] [[/=]] @@ @@ ----- @@ @@ Cole discovered a lot of new, bleak things as he rushed out of SCP-020’s containment cell and towards the many departments located on the aptly named department area. The first was that the Linguistics Department was absolutely flabbergasted at Cole discovering 020 could communicate. “How come no one figured that one out before?!” The Department Head yelled. “That’s what I want to know!” They quickly rushed towards the Archival Division, where Cole also learnt there were almost no records regarding SCP-020, despite being in Foundation custody for well over a decade. And what was in there was… Well… “They wore masks of the person who rescued her because she can’t distinguish facial features? What?!” “Wait, there were actually standardized tests? Why did no one-” The Head of Archival pointed something out at Cole. “Oh… Power harassment and fund embezzlement… I don’t think he was a good researcher.” Cole bit his lip. “Well this is just depressing.” “We could bring this up to their therapist.” And so they did. And. Well. “She doesn’t have a psychotherapist?!” “Well, I do attempt to help her with stress and such afflictions, but no, I’m a physiotherapist.” “How does that help her?” “She has osteoporosis, so I dunno buddy. You tell me.” Cole was getting annoyed at these grim discoveries after grim discoveries. How come this place looked so technologic-ey and yet it was so incompetent?! I mean, Cole wasn’t even the most observant guy around; I mean, he wore glasses, for fuck’s sake! “I think the girl had someone overseeing her mental health, but they were moved somewhere else by Doctor Nagaoki.” “That’s the guy who got fired.” “Great. Who oversees her now?” “Uhhh… The Research Head, who doesn’t really care about anything so… Either the Chief of Security or Director Mamiya.” “The Research Head doesn’t care about anything?” Cole asked. “Yeah, he just delegates everything. Don’t even know how he’s still employed.” This place sucks, Cole began to realize. “Ok, then let’s… Let’s talk to the Director then.” “Is that even gonna work?... He isn’t a guy who really cares about the wellbeing of anomalies, you know? He tried really hard to not have the Anomaly Rights Act pass a couple years ago.” “R-really?...” Oh come on. “No, no, it’s fine. I have a plan.” “Alright… If you say so…” Cole indeed had an idea. One that always worked, whenever he decided to propose something to Paul and whatnot. He marched towards the Director’s office, alongside three to four more guys he picked up on the way, and kicked the door open, startling the old guy. “What the fuck?!” Director Mamiya exclaimed, halfway into pulling a gun from under his desk. “Sir, there is an emergency, and we need it fixed ASAP!” “There is?...” That doubt, that fear in the director’s eyes. Cole knew them, and he smiled. He had this. He may not be good at many things, but he was the director of the Department of Anomalous Communications and Relations, and damn was he good at talking. “It’s about SCP-020, sir!” He said, slamming his hand on the desk. “What about SCP-020, Thereven?...” She was more than a mere mindless entity, he explained. She could think human thoughts and understand the human language almost perfectly. She could even do cartwheels! (Unproven, but it would certainly edge the discussion his way). But she was trapped, and left alone, without any support other than whoever put on a papier mache mask and gave her food, and the guy standing next to him who made sure she wouldn’t break her arms and legs. It was a good start, but it wasn’t enough. It might have been good for maybe the first month or two of her being there, but it had been nearly 15 years, and nothing had changed. So things needed to change. “Alright, alright, sure. There is clearly a logistical issue at hand-” “You mean humanitarian? Or maybe ethical?...” “Sure, whatever. Point is: How are you gonna fix this? You’re pretty good at pointing out the issues here, but where are the solutions?” Oh. Uh. Well. “If I may.” The Linguistics Head decided to step in, turning to Cole. “You said you saw 020 flicker her wings to communicate, no?” “Yes.” Cole nodded. “Well, if it’s a language that has internal consistency, then we can reverse engineer it, and figure out how it works. Then we can, you know, use it to communicate.” “Oh! I love that! Will it work?” “If it doesn’t, we teach her Sign Language.” All members of this newfound team turn towards the Director. Ugh. “If this’ll get you off my back, then sure. Have a proposal on paper by tomorrow, and we’ll see where we go from there.” “Oh you’ll see, alright.” Cole chucked to himself, ecstatic. This was beginning to take shape~ The Director sighed. “The hell is that supposed to mean…” He pressed the intercom. “Hatsuko, can you please not let anyone else enter my office unannounced? I know you do it on purpose. Stop.” The next day Cole would come into the office to present the proposal, unannounced. It would, of course, be approved immediately. Cole was just that good. And insistent. Really insistent. Mostly good, though. @@ @@ [[=]] [[Image https://i.imgur.com/dTE1o6h.png width="500px"]] [[/=]] @@ @@ ----- @@ @@ Her name was Tsubasa. It meant wing, which felt as appropriate as it felt inappropriate, but she seemed to like it. It made ‘sense’, if that makes sense. Well, of course it does. That’s the point, but still. Tsubasa was an experiment from a [http://scp-int.wikidot.com/groups-of-interest-jp#joicl laboratory here in Japan] that has become a bit of a pain in the butt for the Foundation. Always up to no good, and leaving behind all those experiments that did not come out right. Like… Like Tsubasa. “Oh, but know that you’re not a failed experiment to us, Tsubasa. I mean, you’re a really sweet girl; being an experiment doesn’t change that.” Cole thinks he said that right, trying to move his hands with the dexterity he had been taught by the Linguistics team. It was hard: Each finger was tied to a set of characters and feelings, moving up and down separately to form different, more complex words and sentences. The position of one’s arms and the way they flexed also changed different things, similar to conjugating, and also to tone. And also maybe particles and adverbs? Oh, and location. And then you can just point to things, or nod/shake your head for positive/negative-slash-yes/no. That was something Tsubasa didn’t know was a thing, so I guess linguistic cross-pollination is a thing, huh? “I know, I know.” Is what Cole believes Tsubasa signed. “I don’t let it affect me. Lots of people here are experiments, and they live their lives despite it.” Ok, Tsubasa’s sentences weren’t as complex yet, but that was more or less what she had explained. Lot less connecting parts; lot less adverbs. “They indeed do!” Cole smiled, before pulling a document out of a manila folder. “Which reminds me… Can you read this?” He passed the paper to Tsubasa, who grabbed it with her wings, reading through. Halfway through, she gasped, silently of course. Her vocal cords would never produce a sound, and that was ok. She turned to Cole, shocked. Cole simply smiled again. “You’ve passed the test! Er, well, it’s not really a test, it’s more of a… Of a standard measure? It should have been anyways, but the important part is that you qualify for it! Which means you won’t need to be in containment anymore! You can choose to leave this cell of yours, and find a good pre-approved place to live, and you can even work for the Foundation!” He grinned. “Which, well, I wouldn’t blame you if you don’t want to associate yourself with the place that kept you in a locker without a chance to make sure whether you could understand or not, but-” Cole could have continued, but decided to stop when Tsubasa tackled him into a hug. In hindsight, he should have expected something along these lines when he prepared the paper, but he didn’t, so now he was just awkwardly being hugged, not sure what to do. It would be another three minutes until Tsubasa was able to talk again, since, you know, a hug involves using your hands and doing so stops you from signing and whatnot. “I didn’t think the day would ever come.” Is what Cole believes Tsubasa signed. Tears fell down from her genetically modified amber down, into her surgically modified silk-white skin, and her signing had become rougher, having difficulty remaining still as she poured her feelings out. “I didn’t think I could get excited over… Over stuff like this again.” Tsubasa knew that the Foundation; that this Site didn’t care for her. She knew that the man wearing the papier mache mask wasn’t the one who had rescued her, and while it hurt, it didn’t matter, because whoever this person wearing this death mask brought in the gruel she needed to survive. Another man made sure her bones wouldn’t collapse under their own weight. A third one adjusted her living spaces, tying her up before changing tiles and light fixtures because she was a dangerous monster, and not someone who simply couldn’t talk. She wished she could scream to the top of her lungs. Maybe then it wouldn’t have taken years for someone to see her. “Someone did see me: You. Thank you.” Tsubasa wished her way of talking could say more. She wished she had more feathers so that she could convey way, way more with her signs. “Oh no come on, all I did was realize something that, uh, well, no one else did, but it wasn’t a lot! You should thank the Linguistics Team that spent many sleepless nights to figure out how you spoke, and what you were saying, then spent even more time teaching me and the people who take care of you the language. They’re the real heroes of this story.” Cole explained, that dumb smile of his still on his face. “Just take the damn compliment.” “Alright, ok, I will.” Cole was starting to regret teaching Tsubasa about using the ‘expletive form’ to ‘intensify’ phrases. The Linguistics team told him that it had a different name but he forgot about it. “So? What are you gonna do now?” “... I don’t know…” She stopped. “I’ve never ‘chosen’ to do something before…” “Well, try for the first time then.” Cole told her. “What do you want to do?” Tsubasa closed her eyes, thinking… ‘Free as a bird’ is a term she’d heard before. She never understood it: She’d spent all her life caged, whether by crazy Japanese scientists or… Well, more crazy Japanese scientists. Freedom had never crossed her mind, and that was fine. She thought it was, anyway: Not like she knew much of the outside world past the park where she was viciously attacked by crows, and… … “I want to go to the park.” Cole immediately perked up. “Oh! Let’s go then!” He stretched out his hand. “We’re ‘free’ to go whenever. Hah! See what I did there?” Tsubasa had tuned out Cole at around the point where he put his hand forwards. It was such a simple gesture, one she’d seen many times, and yet, it felt so personal. So unique. So special. She took his hand, and Cole quickly dragged her out, almost forgetting this was such a momentous moment for Tsubasa. For the first time, Tsubasa noticed the sounds of the ambience: The steps she and Cole made. The flickering of the light fixtures. The creaking of the pipes. The quiet mumbling of nearby scientists. The conversations behind closed doors. The world turning. Her heart skipping a bit. She was free. @@ @@ [[=]] [[Image https://i.imgur.com/0ueJIbb.png width="500px"]] [[/=]] @@ @@ ----- @@ @@ “At the Department of Anomalous Communication and Relations, you’ll be working alongside agents and other researchers with communications regarding humanoid and other sentient anomalies. You’ll be required to explain to them what the Foundation is, what it is that we do here, and why they have been ‘contained’.” “Understood.” “You will also be required to negotiate terms between anomaly and researchers. They must know that their words are being heard, and their words thus have to effectively reach appropriate ears. Understood?” “Understood.” “Alright, that is all then. You will receive appropriate paperwork and… Be sent into action. Sorry this is such an unexpected thing to ask of you, but we’ve [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-6979 recently discovered a place full of humanoid entities], and there've been a lot of issues. We need you because almost everyone sent there is really, really bad at talking and really, really good at hitting people with the back of their rifles.” “Ouch.” “Indeed. So, any questions?” “Uh, just one.” “Yes?” “What is she, uh, doing?” The new hire pointed at the woman next to their boss, who had been flapping her wings- Yes, wings- for a good ten minutes. Both their boss and the bird woman turned to him. “I’m- She’s the Director of this department.” “Oh.” They blinked. “O-oh, shit. Uh, sorry, I didn’t mean-” “None taken.” The boss explained, and only then the new hire understood she’d been translating the woman’s wing movements all this time. Crap. “That being said.” The boss/interpreter added. “Get used to non-conventional manners of speech and other such mannerisms. You’ll be communicating with people and cultures alien to normal human understanding. Something the difference is no more than accents and dialects, but some other times you’ll be dealing with interpretative dance, synesthesia, acid trips, and worse. You’ll have to be ready to contextualize anything that comes your way. You never know what kind of things you could be missing.” “Acid trips? Er, yes, ma’am. Understood.” They saluted the interpreter, then the feathered woman. “Good.” The boss said. “You’re free to go, then.” And with that, the new hire bowed, before leaving the office, kinda glad that took so little time. They were scared, and definitely way more than scared after not figuring out the bird with the Carnaval moves was their actual boss. They did not leave a good first impression, that’s for sure. As they stepped out, they were stopped by a scrunkly looking guy, an American for sure, wearing a messy shirt, accompanied by a messy coat and a messy tie. He adjusted his glasses, before speaking. “Hey there, uh, any chances Tsubasa is in the office you just left?” He asked. The new hire wasn’t sure who that was for the first second, and then the name clicked: Tsubasa means wings and- Yeah, ok, it’s the girl. “Yeah, she’s inside.” “Alright, thanks for letting me know.” The new hire stepped to the side, this new guy walking in. “Hey, Tsubasa!~ Guess who had some free time to-” Have you ever seen a hawk descend on prey? The documentaries and other such videos? Yeah, that’s how it looked when the girl who now they were sure was Tsubasa rushed to hug this other guy, almost sending him to the ground. Fluff dispersed into the air… You know, like, that fluff-like feathers birds have? Yeah, that. “Wow, ok, geez, chill! I was just gone for a couple months!” Tsubasa, still in a hugging position, hit this guy over the head with one of her hands. “Ow, wow, ok, fine, it was a year and like… 6 months?” Another hit. “Ok, nine, fine. I’ve been busy saving the world or… Not making it perceivably worse, I guess?” Tsubasa chuckled, or so it seemed, except no sound came from her mouth, before letting this guy go, and signaling for the door with her head. “Yeah, right, let’s go, we’re uh, making a bit of a commotion.” The guy turned to the new hire, putting his hands together. “Sorry!” “Oh uh, don’t- Uh, don’t worry.” They replied, not really sure how to go about it. Soon as they spoke, Tsubasa stepped into the office, followed by the guy, who closed it behind him. “... Well, alright then. Guess that’s someone else I’ll have to learn about.” The new hire muttered, then made their way back to the barracks. Weird. @@ @@ @@ @@ [[=]] [[Image https://i.imgur.com/gjEvwRL.png width="500px"]] [[/=]] @@ @@ [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] ===== > Filename: All of the files present on this page > Author: [[user Maxyfran73]] > License:* CC BY-SA 3.0 > Source Link: [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/helping-a-caged-bird-fly SCP Foundation Wiki] ===== [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-01-04T04:52:00	[ "_cc", "_licensebox", "coldpostcon", "doctor-thereven", "tale" ]	Helping a Caged Bird Fly - SCP Foundation	13	[ "scp-6979", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "coldpostcon" ]	[]	1445386169	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/helping-a-caged-bird-fly
her-golden-wings	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div class="preview"> <p>Saint Hedvig goes on a flight, hoping to air her head out from Robert's influence.</p> </div> <div style="display: none;"> <div class="limit"> <div class="anchor"> <div class="authorbox tableb"><div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <table class="wiki-content-table"> <tr> <th>Her Golden Wings</th> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: center;"><span class="bt bb">Byㅤ</span> <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/miss-lapis" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(8683916); return false;"><img alt="Miss Lapis" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=8683916&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1736645519" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=8683916)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/miss-lapis" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(8683916); return false;">Miss Lapis</a></span></td> </tr> <tr> <th>Published on <span class="odate time_1700454764 format_%25d%20%25b%20%25Y">20 Nov 2023 04:32</span></th> </tr> </table> </div> </div></div> <br/></div> </div> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=2&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Aflopstyle-dark/2&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> </div> <div class="anchor"> <div class="authorbox tableb"><div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <table class="wiki-content-table"> <tr> <th>Her Golden Wings</th> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: center;"><span class="bt bb">By</span> <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/miss-lapis" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(8683916); return false;"><img alt="Miss Lapis" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=8683916&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1736645519" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=8683916)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/miss-lapis" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(8683916); return false;">Miss Lapis</a></span></td> </tr> <tr> <th>Published on <span class="odate time_1700454764 format_%25d%20%25b%20%25Y">20 Nov 2023 04:32</span></th> </tr> </table> </div> </div> <div class="flavorbox"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><a href="/miss-lapis">Miss Lapis' author page</a></p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="meta-title"> <p>Her Golden Wings</p> </div> <div class="fancyborder"> <p>An amorphous, vaguely human figure stands before Hedvig in the throne room. His traits feel familiar to her. Curly hair, piercing gaze, stubble — she is looking at Robert. His form does not remain for long though, and in a split second, he shifts into a completely different person. He turns into a tall and imposing man, made entirely of fuladh. Then he becomes a young, lanky man with long, dark hair. Afterwards, he takes the form of two people at once, their traits merged into one in a way that makes her recoil. Then, he becomes Robert again. He hands his war hammer to one of the guards and turns his stern gaze towards her.</p> <div class="inline-colmod"> <p>"I will not tolerate such insolence from you,</p> <div class="colmod-block"> <ul> <li class="folded"> <ul> <li style="list-style: none">_</li> </ul> <div class="colmod-link-top"> <div class="foldable-list-container"><a href="javascript:;">Hedara.</a></div> </div> <div class="colmod-content"> <p>Hedvig.</p> </div> </li> </ul> </div> <p>Just who the hell do you think you are?"</p> </div> <p>As he speaks, multiple voices are layered atop each other, turning his speech into a discordant, unnerving mess. Despite that, his words are clear, calm, and calculated, which leaves Hedvig shivering in fear.</p> <p>She raises her hands defensively and slowly backs away to the wall. Her fear gets replaced with anger and disgust, then with bafflement, then with the need to give up, with determination to continue, with an urge to fight back, an urge to give in; and all of this at once. The erratic speed at which her own form shifts makes her dizzy. If she concentrates, she can solidify herself, but the situation makes it so hard for her to focus. The mask on her face greatly limits her vision, its glass tinting everything in a golden hue. Some of her forms are accommodated to it, some are not.</p> <p>She looks around the throne room in desperation, trying to find anyone who would come to her help. This happens all the time and she should know nobody is there to take her side. The people standing around — the guards, the scholars, that group of five restrained in the corner — all have stable appearances. They may not shift like her and Robert, but she does not recognize anybody out of them. All of them are new, completely alien to her.</p> <div class="inline-colmod"> <p>"Please,</p> <div class="colmod-block"> <ul> <li class="folded"> <ul> <li style="list-style: none">_</li> </ul> <div class="colmod-link-top"> <div class="foldable-list-container"><a href="javascript:;">Bumaro,</a></div> </div> <div class="colmod-content"> <p>Robert,</p> </div> </li> </ul> </div> <p>you have to understand-"</p> </div> <p><span class="tb">"SILENCE. KNOW YOUR PLACE."</span></p> <p>There is no time for her to get startled by her own distorted speech. The man lunges at her, grabbing her throat and pressing her against the wall in the process. Her collective form shatters upon collision, and then-</p> <hr/> <p>Hedvig jolts awake, gasping for air, eyes wide open. The shock washing over her body is strong and powerful. The dream has ended, though. She is safe now. After fully regaining lucidity, she wraps her arms around herself and takes a few slow, deep breaths. This nightmare always leaves her shaken up, and to make matters worse, it began appearing more frequently. She makes a mental note to visit Preserver later today for advice.</p> <p>Once she is able to move, she sits up and stretches, first her arms and then her wings. The time has come for her morning flight exercises. They feel more necessary to her than ever as of late, as it is the only way she can clear her mind from these haunting nightmares.</p> <p>Her limbs are still trembling with the aftershocks as she climbs out of the bed. First, she disrobes, then folds her nightgown and makes her way to the closet. Her armor and spear lean against the corner, collecting dust since the last time she put them on. Her attention turns towards her ceremonial garb — a skintight dark red shirt, her fuladh neckpiece, a chestplate, and a long, flowing skirt. Since she must be present during the royal visiting hours, she finds it more convenient to just go flying in them instead of changing needlessly.</p> <p>On her way into the main hall, she passes by Robert's bedchambers and sneaks a peek inside. He turns in his sleep, a tired groan leaving his lips.</p> <p>Hedvig sighs. She can tell he is having his own heavy visions in his dreams, but she cannot even begin to guess what they are about. Some things are just not her place to know.</p> <p>The balcony's automated door opens in front of her with a quiet whoosh. She silently climbs onto the railing and gets into position. Without any further thoughts, she jumps down and rises with the air current immediately afterwards. In a few moments, she disappears from the vicinity of the palace completely.</p> <p>Being the only one in the air feels incredibly freeing. The calm stillness of the city fills her heart with warmth. The streets are mostly empty, which allows her to fly as she pleases. The only people outside around this time are either soldiers of the Golden Legion who favor morning as their practice time, people who want to be alone with their thoughts, or those who simply enjoy this early morning atmosphere.</p> <p>After taking a narrow turn down one of the streets, she flies past three of her soldiers.</p> <p>"Good morning, Commander," they shout in unison, grinning brightly.</p> <p>Hedvig salutes them with a soft smile. One of them is slower and looks more tired than the others. She recognizes them as one of the most recent recruits. They may not be used to the morning routine yet, but Hedvig is certain that the support and encouragement from their peers will help them acclimate to this new schedule in no time.</p> <p>The other two happen to be members of the old tech team, very dedicated ones at that. They were very eager to help both their own team and the historians, and were also among the first ones to join the Golden Legion. During the siege, when the city needed them most, they fought diligently and killed many of the Foundation's soldiers by dive-bombing at them. They almost lost their own lives too, had Robert not put a swift end to the battle by teleporting the city away.</p> <p>With this encounter behind her, she maneuvers swiftly between the skyscrapers, zooming past windows and balconies. Such glorious buildings, each grander and more majestic than the previous. Among them is her old quarters. At first, she flies past them without giving it a second thought, but something in her tells her to slow down and turn around. So she does, piqued by her old curiosity regarding what that place has become.</p> <p>The blinds of each room are drawn, save for the kitchen. Hedvig seats herself on the balcony's railing carefully, making sure not to activate the automatic door, and peers inside.</p> <p>It does not take long for the person who currently occupies this place to show up. Another recent recruit, namely a young woman who lost her arm in an industrial accident. She walks in with her blanket draped around her shoulders, flips the light switch and turns the coffee machine on.</p> <p>The interior is so familiar to Hedvig. Her kitchen in the palace is much larger than this one. Granted, it allows for more comfort, but there is something about this compactness and coziness that she misses.</p> <p>She knows that all the fuladh appliances inside are remnants of the old Amoni-Ram. There was always a degree of reverence present in her behavior when she turned on the lights, took her bread out of the toaster, or put the carton of milk back into the fridge.</p> <p>That reverence is still present, now that she thinks about it. Robert tends to find her respect of the appliances juvenile and "adorable", but he really isn't the one to talk. It's not like he doesn't spend his whole time obsessing over the city's technology, and-</p> <p>Her thoughts get interrupted by a sudden pain in her head. She lets out a sharp hiss and rubs her forehead. Such a weird feeling, as if her brain decided to split apart. Her eyes open wide in shock and she gasps in pain, before the splitting headache finally stops.</p> <p><span class="tb">"DO NOT OVERSTEP YOUR LINE."</span></p> <p>She cannot find it in herself to continue her initial train of thought. He is right. His obsession with the machinery of Amoni-Ram may be deeper than hers, but it matters not. He admires all the technology as an engineer. Hedvig is a historian. Those are very different things.</p> <p>In the kitchen, the woman is seen taking her third return trip to the fridge. Her blanket is no longer wrapped around her, instead it lays hanged on the back of the chair. Such a simple life… A blissful unawareness of all the things that went down in this city before her arrival.</p> <p>Hedvig sighs longingly. There is no use crying over spilled milk now. What's in the past remains in the past, no matter how hard she ponders over it. The present is what matters, and her present happens to be her flight practice. She tosses herself off the railing and flies onward, relying on her wings and her instincts to take her wherever.</p> <p>One of the parts of city she flies past is currently in the middle of being rebuilt. The restoration efforts are going steadily — lots of the buildings already stand like new. This progress will have to be reported to Preserver, so she takes a mental note of that as well. Robert probably has the documentation, so she will bring it up to him once the day’s visiting hours have concluded.</p> <p>The morning shift has not started yet, so the few workers who are out are mostly just lazing around. Some are walking around with supplies. Others are idly chatting while perched on the empty window frames. One of the cranes has an operator sitting inside. They are about to take a bite from their sandwich, and when Hedvig flies past, they shoot her a peace sign. She salutes them in return.</p> <p>This entire construction site is the feat of the tech team. They were the ones who read the blueprints and were able to reconstruct these buildings based on them. The materials, the tools, all the necessary machinery… Those simply would not be here without them right now.</p> <p>This is not even limited to these everyday, mundane things. All the things that ensured Amoni-Ram's victory during the siege were made possible by the techs, too. The weapons, the mech suits, the power grid and, most importantly, Mekhane's Kiss.</p> <p>Hedvig twirls around in the air and hugs herself, now gliding on her back. She simply cannot believe she was trying to earnestly argue for the importance of the historians to Robert on that fateful day. The memories of these foolish actions still creep back from time to time, as much as she would like to shrug them off once and for all.</p> <p>It's not like her team was needed in the first place, given Preserver has been nothing but helpful in providing a comprehensive history of the city. And this is without even mentioning the throne. Sure, their insight was probably needed to properly analyze the events Robert saw on it, but it would have been unusable if the techs didn't bring back the power grid in the first place.</p> <p>The standing of things wasn’t obvious to her back then, but they are clear as day to her now. Everything the historians have done could have been done by the tech team, but nothing the tech team did could have been replicated by the historians.</p> <p>“What was I even <em>thinking</em>?”</p> <p>She squeezes her eyes shut as she pauses in her flight, trying her hardest to seal those memories away back where they came from. There is no need for them anymore. Things are different now. Better. She would never dare talk back to Robert again. He was right. He always is. Her work has been secondary. <em>She</em> is secondary.</p> <p>She tries to take deep breaths and focus her mind on his words in a desperate effort to ground herself. It takes her a good couple of minutes to finally relax again. When she opens her eyes, she finds herself back in front of the palace, hovering near the windows opposite to Robert's bedchambers. This is not the best place for her to be at. She briefly contemplates where to go instead of staying here. When his door opens, though, she instinctively dashes upwards, landing on the grand hall's windowsill.</p> <p>Now that she is here, she decides to place her hands against the glass and peer inside. During the day it is always so busy in there. Not now, though. The hall is draped in this solemn stillness and calmness. Her gaze wanders onto the central mural, one of her favorite artworks in the city. It depicts Emperor Bumaro and Empress Hedara. Husband and wife, the King and the Saint. They are holding hands and the silhouette of Amoni-Ram is visible between them.</p> <p>Bumaro's physique is large and stocky. His serious, dark expression only serves to further emphasize his overwhelming presence. Hedara, on the other hand, is frail and lithe. An intricate ceremonial mask obscures her face. Her gentle smile and those delicate limbs all serve as a way to contrast her husband. Even her attire. While Bumaro is wearing a heavy fuladh armor, Hedara is dressed in a dark red linen shirt and a long, flowing white skirt.</p> <p>Hedvig thinks back to her nightmare and turns away from the painting. As beautiful as it is, <a href="/heresy">she feels a wave of queasiness wash over her at its sight</a>. She cannot bear to look at it any further. Before she has the chance to begin spiraling again, she swiftly lifts off from in front of the hall's window and lands on the top of the palace.</p> <p>This is her most beloved spot in Amoni-Ram, by and large. She loves spending her time up here, thanks to the comforting, blissful solitude it provides. Since it is the highest location in the entire city, the view she gets to enjoy from here is breathtaking. Especially during sunrise and sunset, when the city's skyscrapers light up in a million shades of bronze and gold. It’s her favorite sight to behold, something she can never quite get enough of.</p> <p>She stretches her wings and slips her visor on. With a gentle sigh, she smiles, and turns her attention towards the city. As she leans back on her arms, the rays of the rising sun fall onto her body and reflect themselves off her sleek, gleaming golden limbs.</p> <p>Basking in the sun like this… She wishes Robert was here. Wishes he could see her like this. Peaceful, content, vulnerable…</p> <p>Speak of the devil. In that moment, she hears his voice from the loudspeakers of the city. At first she gets startled, but then she nods to herself. Of course. She was so lost in her thoughts this morning, she completely forgot about it. Similarly to how she starts the day by going on a flight, Robert also starts his every day by leading his citizens in the morning prayer.</p> <p>She gets down on her knees on the top of the temple, folds her wings behind herself and hangs her head, quietly whispering the prayer together with Robert, together with the citizens of Amoni-Ram.</p> <p><em>"Mekhane, our blessed Goddess<br/> Who gifted us with fuladh<br/> Who gifted us with knowledge<br/> May Your name be forever blessed<br/> Shine Your light on us and lead us<br/> Bless us on our way to reassemble You<br/> On our way to reassemble ourselves<br/> And help us free ourselves from the weakness of the flesh"</em></p> <p>These scriptures are remnants of the old Amoni-Ram, as are the loudspeakers. Hedvig feels a deep connection with the city's living history. Granted, this may have been the subject of her troubled thoughts not even an hour ago, but it feels to her like archaeology and technology intertwine with each other in this blessed moment. The two are not at clash with each other, nor should they be. They harmonize, one connected to the other in beautiful, intrinsic ways.</p> <p>Preserver is right about this. History indeed is cyclical. Everything is as it always was. There will always be a Bumaro to lead the prayer, and there will always be his empress, who will listen to him while basking in the morning sunlight on top of the temple.</p> <p>She would love to sit more up here, but she must return to the palace. The visiting hours are drawing near. As her last trick for this morning, she flies high up into the sky, then twirls around and aims towards the ground, dive-bombing at an imaginary target. Graceful, deadly, fast — she feels like Mekhane would be proud of her.</p> <p>A massive cloud of dust raises as she lands. The people who happen to be around to witness this are impressed.</p> <p>"We love you so much, Commander," one of the citizens starts praising her. "Where would we be without you?"</p> <p>"Watching you makes me want to join the air division! You are so incredibly skilled!"</p> <p>She would like to enjoy their praises a little, but she cannot. As she looks up in the middle of this joyful moment, she sees Robert still standing on the balcony. Leaning against the wall, he is casually flipping through his prayer book.</p> <p>Back during the Amoni-Ram initiative, this was how she usually found him in his room — propping up his back against the wall, resting one of his hands next to himself and holding his documents in the other. He would always shoot her a smile when she entered, irrelevant of his mood. The two were happy to work together. They would always spend their days revising reports, writing up documentation, wandering around the city, examining the murals and the machinery…</p> <p>All of this is in the past now. This scientist is long gone. The Robert Aram she remembers is gone. In his stead now stands a king. A conqueror. A Bumaro.</p> <p>Her vision dims and she feels the ground slip out from underneath her feet. What is she doing here? What has become of her? None of this was supposed to be happening. This was meant to be a small project, nothing more. She was never cut out to be a leader of anything more than a team of researchers. Robert was meant to be her coworker. Her friend. They all bit off more than they could chew. It all started with the first usage of the Throne, didn't it?</p> <p>To hell that accursed thing! It was obvious the Throne was a test. Both of them failed it. Robert, for succumbing to its influence, and Hedvig, for succumbing to his.</p> <p>A sudden urge to escape overcomes her senses. She has no idea where to go. It does not matter. Anywhere but here.</p> <p>She cannot fly away. As soon as she contemplates lifting off, her legs give in underneath herself and she collapses. Two helpful citizens rush in to catch her before she hits the ground. Their hands supporting her is the only thing she can register, but nothing more. Through the ringing in her ears, she can barely make out what the people around her are saying. Her vision blurs in golden-gray haze. All she can do is stare in front of herself with blank eyes, while gasping heavily for air.</p> <p><span class="tb">"SHED YOUR DOUBTS AND LOOK AT ME."</span></p> <p>When she hears his Voice, it stops. Her sight comes back to her, her breathing returns to normal, the ringing in her ears ceases. With a shaky hand, she tucks a strand of hair behind her ears and looks up as commanded. Robert is now resting his hands on the railing and is looking down at her with a hard-to-read expression. She cannot bear to stand under his piercing gaze, but she does not have the power in herself to look away.</p> <p>"<span class="tb">COME, HEDVIG.</span> You look weak."</p> <p>She is unsure if her wings have the strength to carry herself up, but she must heed his call. After she lifts off, there is just enough energy in her to reach the balcony. She immediately collapses upon landing. Robert is there to catch her.</p> <p>"F-forgive me, my liege," she stutters. Thankfully, he does not command her to look at him.</p> <p>"You have been too disoriented these days. Is everything alright?"</p> <p>She knows he only asks this out of formality. He is well aware of what goes on inside her head. Maybe that is a good thing. Her will is so weak after all. She desperately needs the guidance of somebody like him. Holding on can be so tiring. Giving in would be easy, but a part of her is telling her to keep going. For what? She does not understand. She is safe with Robert, is she not? He can guide her. He can think for her.</p> <p>"What's in the past remains in the past, Hedvig. There is no use dwelling on it."</p> <p>"Thank you for your concern, Emperor. I will be alright."</p> <p>"Good girl. Of course you will."</p> <p>After a few moments, he lets go of her and gestures to follow him inside. There is some preparations left for her to do before the visiting hours. Her hair still needs to be done, plus she must switch out the shell of her prosthetics and prepare the ceremonial mask. She leans out over the railing one last time, to let the crowd of concerned onlookers know she is alright, before silently following her emperor into his quarters.</p> </div> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/her-golden-wings">Her Golden Wings</a>" by Miss Lapis, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/her-golden-wings">https://scpwiki.com/her-golden-wings</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> image.png<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/agente-shuffle" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5065762); return false;"><img alt="Agente Shuffle" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=5065762&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043879" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=5065762)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/agente-shuffle" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5065762); return false;">Agente Shuffle</a></span><br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC BY 3.0</p> </blockquote> <p>Image is a composite that incorporates the following image</p> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> SPChu.png<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/sunnyclockwork" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(1621343); return false;"><img alt="SunnyClockwork" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=1621343&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043879" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=1621343)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/sunnyclockwork" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(1621343); return false;">SunnyClockwork</a></span><br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC BY 3.0<br/> <strong>Source Link:</strong> <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/sunny-art-cotbg-sarkicism">wikidot</a></p> </blockquote> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	===== [[include <a href="/component:preview">component:preview</a> text=Saint Hedvig goes on a flight, hoping to air her head out from Robert's influence.]] ===== [[div style="display: none;"]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:flopstyle-dark">:scp-wiki:theme:flopstyle-dark</a>]] [[/div]] [[module CSS]] :root{ --accentColor: hsl(43, 100%, 56%); --accentColorLite: hsla(43, 100%, 66%, .5); --hue: 43deg; --lgurl: url(https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/her-golden-wings/image.png); --header-title: "AMONI-RAM"; --header-subtitle: "The Golden City of the Mekhanite Empire"; } [[/module]] [[div class="anchor"]] [[div class="authorbox tableb"]] [[module ListPages name="="]] \|\|~ %%title%% \|\| \|\|= [[span class="bt bb"]] By [[/span]] %%created_by_linked%% \|\| \|\|~ Published on %%created_at\|%d %b %Y%% \|\| [[/module]] [[div class="flavorbox"]] [[=]] [[[miss-lapis\|Miss Lapis' author page]]] [[/=]] [[/div]] [[/div]] [[/div]] [[div class="meta-title"]] Her Golden Wings [[/div]] [[>]] [[module rate]] [[/>]] [[div class="fancyborder"]] An amorphous, vaguely human figure stands before Hedvig in the throne room. His traits feel familiar to her. Curly hair, piercing gaze, stubble -- she is looking at Robert. His form does not remain for long though, and in a split second, he shifts into a completely different person. He turns into a tall and imposing man, made entirely of fuladh. Then he becomes a young, lanky man with long, dark hair. Afterwards, he takes the form of two people at once, their traits merged into one in a way that makes her recoil. Then, he becomes Robert again. He hands his war hammer to one of the guards and turns his stern gaze towards her. [[div class="inline-colmod"]] "I will not tolerate such insolence from you, [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:inline-colmod">:scp-wiki:component:inline-colmod</a> show=Hedara. \| content=Hedvig.]] Just who the hell do you think you are?" [[/div]] As he speaks, multiple voices are layered atop each other, turning his speech into a discordant, unnerving mess. Despite that, his words are clear, calm, and calculated, which leaves Hedvig shivering in fear. She raises her hands defensively and slowly backs away to the wall. Her fear gets replaced with anger and disgust, then with bafflement, then with the need to give up, with determination to continue, with an urge to fight back, an urge to give in; and all of this at once. The erratic speed at which her own form shifts makes her dizzy. If she concentrates, she can solidify herself, but the situation makes it so hard for her to focus. The mask on her face greatly limits her vision, its glass tinting everything in a golden hue. Some of her forms are accommodated to it, some are not. She looks around the throne room in desperation, trying to find anyone who would come to her help. This happens all the time and she should know nobody is there to take her side. The people standing around -- the guards, the scholars, that group of five restrained in the corner -- all have stable appearances. They may not shift like her and Robert, but she does not recognize anybody out of them. All of them are new, completely alien to her. [[div class="inline-colmod"]] "Please, [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:inline-colmod">:scp-wiki:component:inline-colmod</a> show=Bumaro, \| content=Robert,]] you have to understand-" [[/div]] [[span class="tb"]]"SILENCE. KNOW YOUR PLACE."[[/span]] There is no time for her to get startled by her own distorted speech. The man lunges at her, grabbing her throat and pressing her against the wall in the process. Her collective form shatters upon collision, and then- ---- Hedvig jolts awake, gasping for air, eyes wide open. The shock washing over her body is strong and powerful. The dream has ended, though. She is safe now. After fully regaining lucidity, she wraps her arms around herself and takes a few slow, deep breaths. This nightmare always leaves her shaken up, and to make matters worse, it began appearing more frequently. She makes a mental note to visit Preserver later today for advice. Once she is able to move, she sits up and stretches, first her arms and then her wings. The time has come for her morning flight exercises. They feel more necessary to her than ever as of late, as it is the only way she can clear her mind from these haunting nightmares. Her limbs are still trembling with the aftershocks as she climbs out of the bed. First, she disrobes, then folds her nightgown and makes her way to the closet. Her armor and spear lean against the corner, collecting dust since the last time she put them on. Her attention turns towards her ceremonial garb -- a skintight dark red shirt, her fuladh neckpiece, a chestplate, and a long, flowing skirt. Since she must be present during the royal visiting hours, she finds it more convenient to just go flying in them instead of changing needlessly. On her way into the main hall, she passes by Robert's bedchambers and sneaks a peek inside. He turns in his sleep, a tired groan leaving his lips. Hedvig sighs. She can tell he is having his own heavy visions in his dreams, but she cannot even begin to guess what they are about. Some things are just not her place to know. The balcony's automated door opens in front of her with a quiet whoosh. She silently climbs onto the railing and gets into position. Without any further thoughts, she jumps down and rises with the air current immediately afterwards. In a few moments, she disappears from the vicinity of the palace completely. Being the only one in the air feels incredibly freeing. The calm stillness of the city fills her heart with warmth. The streets are mostly empty, which allows her to fly as she pleases. The only people outside around this time are either soldiers of the Golden Legion who favor morning as their practice time, people who want to be alone with their thoughts, or those who simply enjoy this early morning atmosphere. After taking a narrow turn down one of the streets, she flies past three of her soldiers. "Good morning, Commander," they shout in unison, grinning brightly. Hedvig salutes them with a soft smile. One of them is slower and looks more tired than the others. She recognizes them as one of the most recent recruits. They may not be used to the morning routine yet, but Hedvig is certain that the support and encouragement from their peers will help them acclimate to this new schedule in no time. The other two happen to be members of the old tech team, very dedicated ones at that. They were very eager to help both their own team and the historians, and were also among the first ones to join the Golden Legion. During the siege, when the city needed them most, they fought diligently and killed many of the Foundation's soldiers by dive-bombing at them. They almost lost their own lives too, had Robert not put a swift end to the battle by teleporting the city away. With this encounter behind her, she maneuvers swiftly between the skyscrapers, zooming past windows and balconies. Such glorious buildings, each grander and more majestic than the previous. Among them is her old quarters. At first, she flies past them without giving it a second thought, but something in her tells her to slow down and turn around. So she does, piqued by her old curiosity regarding what that place has become. The blinds of each room are drawn, save for the kitchen. Hedvig seats herself on the balcony's railing carefully, making sure not to activate the automatic door, and peers inside. It does not take long for the person who currently occupies this place to show up. Another recent recruit, namely a young woman who lost her arm in an industrial accident. She walks in with her blanket draped around her shoulders, flips the light switch and turns the coffee machine on. The interior is so familiar to Hedvig. Her kitchen in the palace is much larger than this one. Granted, it allows for more comfort, but there is something about this compactness and coziness that she misses. She knows that all the fuladh appliances inside are remnants of the old Amoni-Ram. There was always a degree of reverence present in her behavior when she turned on the lights, took her bread out of the toaster, or put the carton of milk back into the fridge. That reverence is still present, now that she thinks about it. Robert tends to find her respect of the appliances juvenile and "adorable", but he really isn't the one to talk. It's not like he doesn't spend his whole time obsessing over the city's technology, and- Her thoughts get interrupted by a sudden pain in her head. She lets out a sharp hiss and rubs her forehead. Such a weird feeling, as if her brain decided to split apart. Her eyes open wide in shock and she gasps in pain, before the splitting headache finally stops. [[span class="tb"]]"DO NOT OVERSTEP YOUR LINE."[[/span]] She cannot find it in herself to continue her initial train of thought. He is right. His obsession with the machinery of Amoni-Ram may be deeper than hers, but it matters not. He admires all the technology as an engineer. Hedvig is a historian. Those are very different things. In the kitchen, the woman is seen taking her third return trip to the fridge. Her blanket is no longer wrapped around her, instead it lays hanged on the back of the chair. Such a simple life… A blissful unawareness of all the things that went down in this city before her arrival. Hedvig sighs longingly. There is no use crying over spilled milk now. What's in the past remains in the past, no matter how hard she ponders over it. The present is what matters, and her present happens to be her flight practice. She tosses herself off the railing and flies onward, relying on her wings and her instincts to take her wherever. One of the parts of city she flies past is currently in the middle of being rebuilt. The restoration efforts are going steadily -- lots of the buildings already stand like new. This progress will have to be reported to Preserver, so she takes a mental note of that as well. Robert probably has the documentation, so she will bring it up to him once the day’s visiting hours have concluded. The morning shift has not started yet, so the few workers who are out are mostly just lazing around. Some are walking around with supplies. Others are idly chatting while perched on the empty window frames. One of the cranes has an operator sitting inside. They are about to take a bite from their sandwich, and when Hedvig flies past, they shoot her a peace sign. She salutes them in return. This entire construction site is the feat of the tech team. They were the ones who read the blueprints and were able to reconstruct these buildings based on them. The materials, the tools, all the necessary machinery… Those simply would not be here without them right now. This is not even limited to these everyday, mundane things. All the things that ensured Amoni-Ram's victory during the siege were made possible by the techs, too. The weapons, the mech suits, the power grid and, most importantly, Mekhane's Kiss. Hedvig twirls around in the air and hugs herself, now gliding on her back. She simply cannot believe she was trying to earnestly argue for the importance of the historians to Robert on that fateful day. The memories of these foolish actions still creep back from time to time, as much as she would like to shrug them off once and for all. It's not like her team was needed in the first place, given Preserver has been nothing but helpful in providing a comprehensive history of the city. And this is without even mentioning the throne. Sure, their insight was probably needed to properly analyze the events Robert saw on it, but it would have been unusable if the techs didn't bring back the power grid in the first place. The standing of things wasn’t obvious to her back then, but they are clear as day to her now. Everything the historians have done could have been done by the tech team, but nothing the tech team did could have been replicated by the historians. “What was I even //thinking//?” She squeezes her eyes shut as she pauses in her flight, trying her hardest to seal those memories away back where they came from. There is no need for them anymore. Things are different now. Better. She would never dare talk back to Robert again. He was right. He always is. Her work has been secondary. //She// is secondary. She tries to take deep breaths and focus her mind on his words in a desperate effort to ground herself. It takes her a good couple of minutes to finally relax again. When she opens her eyes, she finds herself back in front of the palace, hovering near the windows opposite to Robert's bedchambers. This is not the best place for her to be at. She briefly contemplates where to go instead of staying here. When his door opens, though, she instinctively dashes upwards, landing on the grand hall's windowsill. Now that she is here, she decides to place her hands against the glass and peer inside. During the day it is always so busy in there. Not now, though. The hall is draped in this solemn stillness and calmness. Her gaze wanders onto the central mural, one of her favorite artworks in the city. It depicts Emperor Bumaro and Empress Hedara. Husband and wife, the King and the Saint. They are holding hands and the silhouette of Amoni-Ram is visible between them. Bumaro's physique is large and stocky. His serious, dark expression only serves to further emphasize his overwhelming presence. Hedara, on the other hand, is frail and lithe. An intricate ceremonial mask obscures her face. Her gentle smile and those delicate limbs all serve as a way to contrast her husband. Even her attire. While Bumaro is wearing a heavy fuladh armor, Hedara is dressed in a dark red linen shirt and a long, flowing white skirt. Hedvig thinks back to her nightmare and turns away from the painting. As beautiful as it is, [[[heresy \| she feels a wave of queasiness wash over her at its sight]]]. She cannot bear to look at it any further. Before she has the chance to begin spiraling again, she swiftly lifts off from in front of the hall's window and lands on the top of the palace. This is her most beloved spot in Amoni-Ram, by and large. She loves spending her time up here, thanks to the comforting, blissful solitude it provides. Since it is the highest location in the entire city, the view she gets to enjoy from here is breathtaking. Especially during sunrise and sunset, when the city's skyscrapers light up in a million shades of bronze and gold. It’s her favorite sight to behold, something she can never quite get enough of. She stretches her wings and slips her visor on. With a gentle sigh, she smiles, and turns her attention towards the city. As she leans back on her arms, the rays of the rising sun fall onto her body and reflect themselves off her sleek, gleaming golden limbs. Basking in the sun like this… She wishes Robert was here. Wishes he could see her like this. Peaceful, content, vulnerable… Speak of the devil. In that moment, she hears his voice from the loudspeakers of the city. At first she gets startled, but then she nods to herself. Of course. She was so lost in her thoughts this morning, she completely forgot about it. Similarly to how she starts the day by going on a flight, Robert also starts his every day by leading his citizens in the morning prayer. She gets down on her knees on the top of the temple, folds her wings behind herself and hangs her head, quietly whispering the prayer together with Robert, together with the citizens of Amoni-Ram. //"Mekhane, our blessed Goddess Who gifted us with fuladh Who gifted us with knowledge May Your name be forever blessed Shine Your light on us and lead us Bless us on our way to reassemble You On our way to reassemble ourselves And help us free ourselves from the weakness of the flesh"// These scriptures are remnants of the old Amoni-Ram, as are the loudspeakers. Hedvig feels a deep connection with the city's living history. Granted, this may have been the subject of her troubled thoughts not even an hour ago, but it feels to her like archaeology and technology intertwine with each other in this blessed moment. The two are not at clash with each other, nor should they be. They harmonize, one connected to the other in beautiful, intrinsic ways. Preserver is right about this. History indeed is cyclical. Everything is as it always was. There will always be a Bumaro to lead the prayer, and there will always be his empress, who will listen to him while basking in the morning sunlight on top of the temple. She would love to sit more up here, but she must return to the palace. The visiting hours are drawing near. As her last trick for this morning, she flies high up into the sky, then twirls around and aims towards the ground, dive-bombing at an imaginary target. Graceful, deadly, fast -- she feels like Mekhane would be proud of her. A massive cloud of dust raises as she lands. The people who happen to be around to witness this are impressed. "We love you so much, Commander," one of the citizens starts praising her. "Where would we be without you?" "Watching you makes me want to join the air division! You are so incredibly skilled!" She would like to enjoy their praises a little, but she cannot. As she looks up in the middle of this joyful moment, she sees Robert still standing on the balcony. Leaning against the wall, he is casually flipping through his prayer book. Back during the Amoni-Ram initiative, this was how she usually found him in his room -- propping up his back against the wall, resting one of his hands next to himself and holding his documents in the other. He would always shoot her a smile when she entered, irrelevant of his mood. The two were happy to work together. They would always spend their days revising reports, writing up documentation, wandering around the city, examining the murals and the machinery… All of this is in the past now. This scientist is long gone. The Robert Aram she remembers is gone. In his stead now stands a king. A conqueror. A Bumaro. Her vision dims and she feels the ground slip out from underneath her feet. What is she doing here? What has become of her? None of this was supposed to be happening. This was meant to be a small project, nothing more. She was never cut out to be a leader of anything more than a team of researchers. Robert was meant to be her coworker. Her friend. They all bit off more than they could chew. It all started with the first usage of the Throne, didn't it? To hell that accursed thing! It was obvious the Throne was a test. Both of them failed it. Robert, for succumbing to its influence, and Hedvig, for succumbing to his. A sudden urge to escape overcomes her senses. She has no idea where to go. It does not matter. Anywhere but here. She cannot fly away. As soon as she contemplates lifting off, her legs give in underneath herself and she collapses. Two helpful citizens rush in to catch her before she hits the ground. Their hands supporting her is the only thing she can register, but nothing more. Through the ringing in her ears, she can barely make out what the people around her are saying. Her vision blurs in golden-gray haze. All she can do is stare in front of herself with blank eyes, while gasping heavily for air. [[span class="tb"]]"SHED YOUR DOUBTS AND LOOK AT ME."[[/span]] When she hears his Voice, it stops. Her sight comes back to her, her breathing returns to normal, the ringing in her ears ceases. With a shaky hand, she tucks a strand of hair behind her ears and looks up as commanded. Robert is now resting his hands on the railing and is looking down at her with a hard-to-read expression. She cannot bear to stand under his piercing gaze, but she does not have the power in herself to look away. "[[span class="tb"]]COME, HEDVIG.[[/span]] You look weak." She is unsure if her wings have the strength to carry herself up, but she must heed his call. After she lifts off, there is just enough energy in her to reach the balcony. She immediately collapses upon landing. Robert is there to catch her. "F-forgive me, my liege," she stutters. Thankfully, he does not command her to look at him. "You have been too disoriented these days. Is everything alright?" She knows he only asks this out of formality. He is well aware of what goes on inside her head. Maybe that is a good thing. Her will is so weak after all. She desperately needs the guidance of somebody like him. Holding on can be so tiring. Giving in would be easy, but a part of her is telling her to keep going. For what? She does not understand. She is safe with Robert, is she not? He can guide her. He can think for her. "What's in the past remains in the past, Hedvig. There is no use dwelling on it." "Thank you for your concern, Emperor. I will be alright." "Good girl. Of course you will." After a few moments, he lets go of her and gestures to follow him inside. There is some preparations left for her to do before the visiting hours. Her hair still needs to be done, plus she must switch out the shell of her prosthetics and prepare the ceremonial mask. She leans out over the railing one last time, to let the crowd of concerned onlookers know she is alright, before silently following her emperor into his quarters. [[/div]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] > Filename: image.png > Author: [[user Agente Shuffle]] > License:* CC BY 3.0 Image is a composite that incorporates the following image > Filename: SPChu.png > Author: [[user SunnyClockwork]] > License:* CC BY 3.0 > Source Link: [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/sunny-art-cotbg-sarkicism wikidot] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-11-20T04:32:00	[ "_licensebox", "bleak", "broken-god", "robert-bumaro", "saint-hedwig", "slice-of-life", "tale" ]	Her Golden Wings - SCP Foundation	37	[ "miss-lapis", "heresy", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide", "sunny-art-cotbg-sarkicism" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "scp-series-1-tales-edition", "church-of-the-broken-god-hub" ]	[]	1451440611	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/her-golden-wings
heresy	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=3&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Aredtape/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <div class="blockquote"> <p>The Empress stepped cautiously into the throne room. It was deafeningly silent, and every tap of her fuladh feet against the marble floor rung out with a sharp click. Her eyes fell onto the golden throne.</p> <p>“Yes, Husband?”</p> <p>Linen canopies covered the open roof of the chamber, bathing the figure on the throne in shadow. Even in the darkness, his right arm gleamed in its complexity. Tiny, intricate carvings in the metal telling a story of his own making. Two fingers tapped steadily against the solid mass of the armrest.</p> <p>“Husband,” he repeated back, in a low voice.</p> <p>“… Emperor.”</p> <p>“Better. Let me gaze upon my empire.”</p> <p>Hesitantly, she let her gown slip from her shoulders, fall to the floor, wings unfolding behind her, stretching across the throne room, connecting one corner of the empire to another, in front of the man she might have once loved. She stood there, knowing his eyes were raking over her patchwork skin, devoid of any of the warm care he had once held for her.</p> <p>This was when the first Empress of Amoni-Ram decided she had to escape.</p> </div> <hr/> <h2 id="toc0"><span>» I — EXILE.txt</span></h2> <p>Hedvig was still laying on the beach. The sand was nice here — soft, white. It flowed like water through her gold fingertips. Nothing like the rocky, orange-red sands of the Rub ‘al Khali, of Amoni-Ram, the sands that she remembered looking out over and finding so beautiful once. A warm landscape of reds and yellows, blending into one another, creating an ocean from which rose a gleaming city that she knew no one else had seen in a thousand and one years.</p> <p>Now, she just looked out over the sea; it was blue, and it was perfect. A seagull squawked overhead. The treeline behind her led into the denser parts of the jungle. She’d explored the perimeter of the island; it wasn’t terribly large, only taking her an hour to circumnavigate.</p> <p>She’d been here for some time now. Closer to a month than a week, but the days seemed to bleed into one another with nothing to do. Food was a long-forgotten memory for her, one of the first things she’d lost in the ‘improvements’ made to her. She still remembered Robert’s assurances, sickly-sweet in her ear — silencing whatever sparks of resistance were still in her. She could feel them die away, one by one, snuffed out.</p> <p>She only had a faint memory of what hunger used to feel like, but she was fairly certain this new emptiness in her chest, the one that sapped away her will and her ability to do anything but lay among the sand like a wounded animal, was not hunger. It was something else. She could have told herself it was a new feeling, only discovered after she fell from the sky during the encounter with the Foundation ships, but lying to yourself is harder when you’re alone with your thoughts. And apart from the occasional seagull, Hedvig was entirely, painfully alone.</p> <p>She didn’t do well with solitude. Never had — not in university, though that felt like another life entirely. She lived with two other friends, and they made the most of it: in-between lectures and classes, they found time to have dinner, to go out, to enjoy one another’s presence. In Parahis, she’d cultivated relationships with her fellow researchers even in the rigid confines of the Foundation. She knew all of her Amoni-Ram personnel by name.</p> <p>Another thing that she had lost. Robert was a territorial animal — it was a slow creep, because he knew that she was a symbol of his power. To see the Saint Hedvig on the streets of Amoni-Ram was to be reminded of the man, the god, the idea sitting in the palace. But like he always did, his tendencies got the better of his reason. He made sure her duties began to involve staying in the palace more and more, attending to his every need before he even thought of them. Like a caged tiger, restrained for the knowledge that he could restrain her. The citizens, the flock would go weeks, then months without a glimmer of her. Children were born in Amoni-Ram without ever having seen the empress, said to have wings that stretched from one end of the city to the other.</p> <p>Before long, there was only Robert. And now, nothing.</p> <p>So she sat, empty. She knew that she should make her way back to Amoni-Ram, to deliver her report, but the omnipresent tugging towards its location was absent. There was truly nothing inside her chest, no feeling, no agency. Days passed. Her only activity of note was venturing to the pond in the middle of the island for fresh water (her desalinator had long-since failed) and making futile attempts to take to the air.</p> <p>Her wings were utterly mangled. They had taken brutal punishment during the fight, and the seawater had done them no favors. The spread of angelic, hand-hammered feathers on her back was now wrenched and twisted. Any attempt to fly resulted in her crashing back down to earth a few seconds later, face-down in the sand.</p> <p>It was during one such attempt she heard the voice.</p> <p><span class="hedara">You must rebuild.</span></p> <p>It was a woman’s voice — soft, gently reaching out. Not a declaration — more an idle observation on the reality of her situation. Hedvig panicked, smashing into the sand with more force than usual. Flipping onto her back and wildly scrabbling backward, head shooting around for any sign of the voice’s origin. A few more sentences later, she realized it was coming from within her head. Her radio unit. That was impossible, it was utterly ruined by the seawater. She’d tried it, it didn’t work. In defiance, it crackled to life again.</p> <p><span class="hedara">You must rebuild.</span></p> <p>She shook her head. The mere notion was terrifying now. She was alone, more alone than she’d ever been.</p> <p><span class="hedara">You are not destroyed.</span></p> <p>Yes, she was. Wasn’t she?</p> <p><span class="hedara">Merely damaged. You must gather your parts and data and rebuild yourself in a greater image.</span></p> <p>Hedvig breathed heavily. “Who are you?”</p> <p><span class="hedara">You <strong>must</strong> rebuild. Your parts are scattered in the footsteps of another. You must make her journey, take her labours. Understand what has happened to you. You cannot rebuild without understanding what has happened to you.</span></p> <p>And as she spoke, Hedvig became aware of something filling her chest, not quite driving out the emptiness but perhaps stealing some of its volume. It was an urge, the origin and nature of it she could not describe. Software she couldn’t fathom the purpose of, but the instructions were clear.</p> <p><span class="hedara">Go. Follow the path. Rebuild.</span></p> <p>She scraped out an answer, though metal-plated vocal chords. “How?”</p> <p><span class="hedara">You were not born with wings.</span></p> <hr/> <h2 id="toc1"><span>» II — SENSATION.txt</span></h2> <div class="blockquote" style="text-align: center;"> <p>And when the Empress of Amoni-Ram ran, she took nothing with her<br/> Save for the clothes on her back and the fuladh in her body<br/> For all else given to her, the riches, the jewelry adorning her form, the gemstones and the servants<br/> Were given to her by the very thing she sought to escape<br/> So in the night, bare and alone, she slipped a single piece of bread and skin of water into her sack<br/> And she leapt from the tallest tower of Amoni-Ram, wings catching the wind,<br/> Floating her through the bazaar, the smells and sounds invisible to her,<br/> And taking her away.</p> </div> <p>The first place the tugging in her chest led Hedvig was a bazaar.</p> <p>She wasn’t entirely sure where, but it was some kind of seaside market, dense streets filled with tanned shoppers and wooden stalls hawking their wares. It had taken her quite some time to swim here, but the burning in her chest gave her the energy she needed. She’d been lucky enough to come by a small farm on her way here, swiping a cloak from an unguarded porch. She regretted stealing, but she knew that the alternative — flaring out her broken wings and exposing her fuladh to the crowd — was unacceptable.</p> <p>So now she walked through the market, hood up, doing her best to be inconspicuous. She knew she was drawing attention; the looks flung her way confirmed that, but thankfully, only looks. Once they walked past her, they seemed to lose interest.</p> <p>She’d been to these kinds of markets and bazaars plenty of times before; she’d lived for two years in Morocco while doing her postgraduate work, and had become accustomed to the sights and smells of an open-air market. Sweat, from thousands of people in close proximity. The scent of raw meat, odors of freshly-caught fish baking in the sun, vegetables and high piles of spices and foods being cooked and served that she’d never even heard of.</p> <p>None of that was here.</p> <p>She couldn’t smell anything. It was hardly the most obvious or notable of the improvements made to her, but it was one that had been surprisingly jarring to her. The nasal bypass meant she could not be disabled with neurotoxins or gasses. Chemical weapons were nothing to her, so long as they didn’t eat through her fuladh. Part of his suit of upgrades to make her the perfect soldier. She understood his reasoning, and she consented to it, laying on the table, fully exposed while he sharpened his instruments.</p> <p>He loved doing his work by hand. It was the one time she felt close to him. And then she woke up, and food didn’t taste like anything anymore.</p> <p><span class="hedara">It’s so small. But you don’t think about it until it’s gone.</span></p> <p>“It’s for my own wellbeing. I do not have to worry about chloroform now,” she spoke lowly, fingers teasing a stockfish hanging from the awning of a market stall. Spiced, dried and smoked cod. The merchant was eyeing her warily.</p> <p><span class="hedara">And is that for your protection? Or his? What are your weapons, your skills, your body in service to?</span></p> <p>“We are one. What’s good for my Emperor is good for me. I… enjoy protecting him. I feel useful.”</p> <p><span class="hedara">A hammer feels useful when it is used to pound in a nail.</span></p> <p>“Exactly.” She left the stockfish behind. She’d loved eating them as a child, hated their famously foul, intense odor. Whenever she got it as an adult, it smelled of her childhood spent in Oslo. Now, it smelled of nothing at all. “It’s my purpose.”</p> <p><span class="hedara">But human beings are not hammers.</span></p> <hr/> <h2 id="toc2"><span>» III — IDENTITY.txt</span></h2> <div class="blockquote" style="text-align: center;"> <p>And after ten days and ten nights of riding aloft the waves<br/> The runaway Empress found herself far away from Amoni-Ram<br/> Drifting over a village that she had not seen since she was a girl<br/> From her perch she saw familiar faces of friends, of family<br/> Engaged in their affairs and tasks of the day, having moved past her<br/> For even as Empress of the Broken Empire and consort of the Bumaro<br/> She held not the power to see those she loved.</p> </div> <p><span class="hedara">It has been a long time since you were here.</span></p> <p>The voice in her head was right. She was back in civilization again, to a familiar land, if not home — not that she really knew what home was anymore. Cairo. She hadn’t been here for… twenty years? That sounded right. But for some reason, the tugging in her chest, that voice, dragged her here. It dragged here to this hotel, into the elevator, up to the roof, where she broke the lock with a swift strike from her metal hand. Then it was just a matter of escaping out onto the rooftop, slipping off her cloak, and standing on the edge, wings outstretched.</p> <p>The sensation of feeling the breeze didn’t come. No sense of which direction the wind was flowing, spiralling. She knew already that her wings were ruined, but this was like a blow to the gut. She couldn’t fly. She had essentially walked here on foot over the past few months, tirelessly and without stopping to rest, not that she needed to. She had wished the entire time that she could take off, and rationalized it that if she got to a high enough point, she might be able to feel the breeze and glide.</p> <p>No. No, she was quite ruined.</p> <p>She sat back down.</p> <p><span class="hedara">It is not a part of you.</span></p> <p>“Yes. Yes, it is.”</p> <p><span class="hedara">You were you before you could fly, Hedvig.</span></p> <p>“I don’t remember what I was before my wings.”</p> <p>It was true. The life she’d lived in the past few years was a different one altogether. Thinking of the Doctor Hedvig Nussbaum before Amoni-Ram was like thinking to a movie she’d seen ages ago; the outline remembered, but the details hazy, fuzzy. Though, she could remember more now than she did when she was in Amoni-Ram. When she was near her master. The thought scared her, so she moved on from it swiftly.</p> <p><span class="hedara">Then why are you here?</span></p> <p>“You led me here.”</p> <p><span class="hedara">No, I didn’t. You led yourself here. Look around. Why Cairo?</span></p> <p>Because she’d done some of her graduate work in Cairo. Studying Middle Kingdom artifacts recovered from dig sites along the Nile, she’d cut her teeth on some in-the-field archaeology work along with three of her best friends from university. It had been a wonderful year. They’d rented an apartment in the city, but hardly spent any time there; most of her days were spent hours outside Cairo in a tent at one of the dig sites, brushing dust off cracked ceramic and trying to work out the meaning of a clay shard. It was unimportant but engaging work, and friends made it tolerable. The closest was Annabelle — an American. She remembered that at the end of the summer, Annabelle had told her that her boyfriend — an office worker in Cairo — had proposed to her, that she was going to stay in the city.</p> <p>It clicked into place. The domed building across the street from the hotel was one she recognized. Cairo University. And as her eyes fell across the dozens of people loitering outside in the courtyard, they landed on a familiar blonde head.</p> <p>She stumbled backward.</p> <p>Annabelle. Older, maybe, but certainly her. She was talking to a young man — a student, perhaps. She had a job at the university, then. A scholarly career, a bright future. A family, no doubt. Hedvig felt her mouth go dry. Her vision blurred, and bile rose in her throat. Acrid. The sight of an old friend shouldn’t inspire this. Why did she feel this way?</p> <p><span class="hedara">Because you see what you could have been.</span></p> <p>The words tumbled out. “That is <em>not</em> true. I have seen and done incredible things. My life is one well-lived.”</p> <p><span class="hedara">Yes. But not for yourself. You love history, don’t you?</span></p> <p>“Of course I do. I’m a historian. I was on track to become the Head of the Parahistory Division.”</p> <p><span class="hedara">Whose contributions to your final project were more important?</span></p> <p>“Robert and the technical team’s.” The words came out before she had even realized what she said. They caught her off-guard. That… wasn’t right. That wasn’t what she thought.</p> <p>Was it?</p> <p>She felt as though she’d thought something wrong. She braced internally, preparing for a shock that didn’t come. The absence of it felt even stranger. As though she were doing something she knew was wrong, sticking her hand into the cookie jar, but… without fear of consequence. And why <em>should</em> she fear consequence?</p> <p><span class="hedara">You were a historian. A scholar, a genius.</span></p> <p>“Yes.” Then, despite herself, the biting voice in her head swam to the forefront. “And now I am a queen, a warrior, an empress.”</p> <p><span class="hedara">But why were you made to choose? Why were you made to sacrifice those parts of yourself that did not please him?</span></p> <p>Staring at Annabelle laughing with her students, Hedvig found she didn’t have an answer.</p> <hr/> <h2 id="toc3"><span>» IV — CHOICE.txt</span></h2> <div class="blockquote" style="text-align: center;"> <p>Eventually the runaway Empress returned to the ground, folding her wings<br/> And coming to rest upon a large boulder rising high above the surrounding desert<br/> She remembered this boulder; she had been taken to it, many years ago<br/> When Bumaro first took his gifts from MEKHANE and made Hedara his<br/> She sat there until night fell, wracked by old memories<br/> Until, the next sunrise, she rose to her feet<br/> And left it all behind.</p> </div> <br/> This high above the ground, the curves of the sand dunes looked like the waves of water, rippling below. Wind shifted them around. <p>Hedvig crouched at the very edge of the rock, wings half-extended like a gargoyle as she surveyed below. There was nothing here. This part of the desert was agonizingly empty, the nearest settlement days of walking away. She had never been here before; try as she might, she could not come up with a reason for why she would have wandered here, of all places. This place was foreign to her.</p> <p><span class="hedara">But not to me.</span></p> <p>She started as the voice rose again. It had been a few weeks since she had heard it. Now, it sounded different; pained, strangled.</p> <p>“Where are we?”</p> <p>She didn’t hear a response, but she could feel the voice’s presence. It wasn’t ignoring her. It was just thinking. She waited patiently; it had done the same for her.</p> <p><span class="hedara">This is where the Emperor Bumaro first took his wife.</span></p> <p>“I don’t understand. I have never been here before.”</p> <p><span class="hedara">Your Bumaro is not the first.</span></p> <p>She didn’t respond. Instead, she got up, investigating the flat surface of the rock. It was at least twenty meters above the surrounding dunes — more of a monolith than a rock, really, but the top was weathered flat.</p> <p><span class="hedara">Let me show you.</span></p> <p>“I don’t want to—”</p> <p><span class="hedara">Please.</span></p> <p>The plea was animalistic, desperate. She’d never heard the voice like that, and so she didn’t protest.</p> <p>A possibility swam into vision, overtaking what she saw in front of her. The sun slipped down over the horizon. A small campfire made in the center from dried kindling and fabric, sending smoke high into the air and warming the night. Two figures curled by its edge, watching it. A golden-eyed shepherd and his wife, both wearing cloaks, both of them lame and relying on walking sticks. Talking. Laughing. She leans up from where she lies, head in his lap. She kisses him gently as he passes her a waterskin.</p> <p><span class="hedara">We stopped here many times when herding our flock to the grazing lands. It became something of a private tradition.</span></p> <p>Hedvig watched the pair nuzzle into one another, sharing a cloak, protecting themselves from the biting wind this high up.</p> <p><span class="hedara">He loved me. And I loved him. We were equals. But the trouble with an obsession with change, with improvement of the body, is that you are not the same person you are when you start.</span></p> <p>The scene cut abruptly. It was the same rock, but a different night. The fire was burning out, little more than embers; small electrical lamps dotted the top of the rock now, casting a faint glow.</p> <p>There was no tent anymore. There was no shared cloak. There was a metal throne, and in it sat a man with the shepherd’s eyes, but the body of a god. He was bare-chested, furs hanging from his waist, and a golden shine on his arm and leg. He leaned back in the throne, dark eyes staring ahead.</p> <p>The figure in front of him was barely recognizable. Long blond hair, fuladh wings spread, bare and exposed for her Emperor. Her dress lay around her ankles, and she trembled in the cold night wind.</p> <p><span class="hedara">I don’t know if he was always like this. Perhaps he was always an animal inside, waiting for the opportunity, and finding the goddess in the desert was the worst thing that could have ever happened to us. Or perhaps from the moment he stole fuladh from the gods, they took their vengeance, and began to malform him.</span></p> <p>He looked her up and down, the same way he might have looked at a prize ewe so many years ago. He gave a nod. Head bowed, she slipped closer to him, kneeling, utterly subservient.</p> <p><span class="hedara">We were equals, once.</span></p> <p>Hedvig pulled her eyes away. The scene was familiar. She’d been in this scene. Many, many times.</p> <p>“Why are you showing me this?”</p> <p><span class="hedara">Because you need to understand that love exists. But the relationship you have with your Emperor is not one of love, no more than mine was by the end of it. It was about possession, control. Ownership.</span></p> <hr/> <h2 id="toc4"><span>» V — PRINCIPLE.txt</span></h2> <div class="blockquote" style="text-align: center;"> <p>And when the Empress departed from there<br/> She found herself wandering a path through the desert that she had once called home<br/> Through winding valleys where she would have once herded her flock<br/> And into a familiar stone clutch, rock stained with a flash of maroon and gold<br/> She fell to her knees with the memory of being pushed forward by Bumaro,<br/> Led along like another of the lambs, into the sundered frame of a goddess, lying twisted and broken in this clutch<br/> Such that she could tear away a chunk of the metal and fashion herself a new, greater arm<br/> Then she had been joyful at the generosity of her goddess, to give herself up for the success of her flock<br/> And now, weeping, realized the noises her goddess had made were not those of a willing sacrifice.</p> </div> <br/> Night in the Empty Quarter was cold. The desert could get well below freezing, and wandering the sands at night could be suicidal. <p>Hedvig wasn’t wandering. She was exactly where she intended to be. This place, this dune identical to ten million others, was burned into her memory. If she lived to be a thousand, this patch of sand would be the last thing she remembered before she died.</p> <p>This was the first place she had ever taken a life.</p> <p>She was standing, wind billowing her stolen cloak. Gradually, she unclasped it, and it flew off, carried by the wind. She needed to feel the cold. She needed her body to feel an ounce of the discomfort this place gave to her soul.</p> <p>Looking around now, no one would suspect this had been a battleground. The Foundation were good at cleaning up after themselves, if nothing else. What was now an empty patch of sand had once lain right outside the entrance to Amoni-Ram, and hosted the first skirmish of the new Mekhanites. The first opportunity for Aram’s flock to test their mettle in service of their god. She’d been a believer then; now, she didn’t know what she was.</p> <p>She’d perched on his shoulder. Like a deadly bird of prey, ready to tear at his enemies. She didn’t know how she’d been so confident then, so assured she was doing the right thing. Being around him was invigorating, exciting — his words felt like they meant something. When he wanted something done, the people of Amoni-Ram would leap to it, none faster than her.</p> <p>Before the battle, he’d taken her aside. He’d told her what he was going to do, why it needed to be done. That the Foundation was preparing to throw away the city, to completely abandon it because it no longer had any value to them. Amoni-Ram would sink below the sands again and no one would care. That, if they worked together, they could use the technology of the Mekhanites, change the world for the better.</p> <p>She’d stood there, in her fuladh armor, and listened. Gripped her spear and set her jaw. Nary a thought of disobedience.</p> <p>Hedvig really, truly didn’t know how she had believed him. But she had. She’d believed him enough that when the time came and he led his warriors out to face the Foundation’s Response Teams, that she was the first one over the hill, the first one divebombing out of the sky.</p> <p>She remembered her first kill. She didn’t know his name, of course, but it was a brown-skinned man, probably South Asian, with a light beard and close-cropped hair. He had high cheekbones and a strong nose. One of his eyebrows had a scar running through it. She’d divebombed out of the air, hit him in the chest, and cleaved her spear completely through his armor and his chest cavity until it came out the other side.</p> <p>He’d choked to death on his own blood, face inches from her, gurgling for help. He took a very long time to die — or maybe she just remembered it that way, and he had expired within seconds. He wasn’t the only person she killed that day for Aram.</p> <p>“I’d never even fished before. I was scared of killing animals.”</p> <p><span class="hedara">Our innocence is the last thing they take. Our principles. What makes you, you. They conquer that after they have conquered your body, assured in their belief that the spirit is subservient to the body.</span></p> <p>“He was right. He broke my body, and then he bent me to his will. I took a life for him. I took a lot of lives for him.”</p> <p><span class="hedara">You did. And there is no forgiveness for that. But you can choose whether to accept that was wrong, or you can choose to keep doing it.</span></p> <p>She didn’t answer.</p> <p>“Why? He had hundreds of soldiers with advanced technology. Why did he want me leading them?”</p> <p><span class="hedara">To ensure your loyalty. Once you spilled blood in his name, you needed to be his. You needed to believe that you spilled it for a good reason.</span></p> <p>She stared blankly into the sand. There were no bodies there, but she imagined them, her memories filling in the blanks — soldiers in tactical armor laying crumpled up, blood staining the sand. Mekhanites torn apart, piece by piece. Her, floating above the battlefield, throwing a corpse off her spear.</p> <p>“Oh, god. Oh, <em>god</em>.”</p> <hr/> <h2 id="toc5"><span>» VI — HOME.txt</span></h2> <div class="blockquote" style="text-align: center;"> <p>And after so much time spent stumbling blind and broken through the desert<br/> The Empress found that her heart brought her to where she needed to go<br/> From the lowest shack in all the world<br/> To the heights of the tallest shining towers of Amoni-Ram<br/> To the forefront of a golden army spreading across the land and imposing order<br/> To kneeling beside the throne of her master<br/> And in the end<br/> Back home again.</p> </div> <br/> Hedvig stumbled, falling to her knees. The desert sun beat down on her back — what little skin she still had was bathed in sweat. She had no doubts in her mind that if she hadn’t ensured her temperature modulator was in tune, the oil in her joints, her lifeblood, would’ve boiled away by now. <p>But it hadn’t, and so she got to her feet, and kept walking.</p> <p>She didn’t know exactly where she was going, but she knew she was heading deeper into the Empty Quarter, the Rub al-Khali. This was… near Amoni-Ram. Near where it had been, once. She doubted the hidden city was still anywhere near here; Bumaro’s paranoia ensured that it changed location every few years, constantly evading the Foundation that was hunting his flock — or so he told them. In truth, she had never seen anything to suggest that the Foundation knew where they were, or were even actively hunting them. But she bit her tongue and let him speak, because he knew better than she did. He always knew better than she did.</p> <p>The recollection was punctured by an overwhelming feeling, a crushing sadness, but not coming from her.</p> <p><span class="hedara">Ahead. Keep walking.</span></p> <p>“What is it?”</p> <p><span class="hedara">Look.</span></p> <p>And as she squinted, shielding her eyes from the blazing sun, she saw something — a low collection of indistinct structures, shimmering in the heat like a mirage. She approached, half-expecting it to vanish into nothing. But it held.</p> <p>It was a set of sandstone ruins, right at the edge of a large cliff. Blocks bleached by the sun rising out of the sand to form the shell of a small house. It was in poor shape; all four of the walls were largely collapsed, and the roof was long-gone. She walked through what might have once been a doorway; the floor was covered in sand.</p> <p>Her fingers grazed one of the stones, and her chest suddenly seized, crushed by the immense weight of loss and regret and pain. Panting, she fell to the floor, throwing a hand out to catch herself. It didn’t work, but her fingers wrapped around something on the floor, obscured by sand. She pulled it out.</p> <p>A shepherd’s crook.</p> <p><span class="hedara">Ours.</span></p> <p>Looking around, it began to click into place.</p> <p>“Mein gott. This…”</p> <p>Her voice trailed away.</p> <p>“He did this to you too?”</p> <p><span class="hedara">To me, to you, to Legate Trunnion. Even to Mekhane. Amoni-Ram is built on her back in more ways than one.</span></p> <p>“What? What are you talking about?”</p> <p><span class="hedara">It was a lie, child. She didn’t gift her fuladh to him. He found her sundered corpse lying in the desert and took it from her. He stripped her naked, and when that wasn’t enough, he stripped her for parts to build his empire with.</span></p> <p>She wanted to be shocked — every fiber of her being wanted to be shocked. She <em>should</em> have been shocked, faced with the unassailable reality that her faith was founded on a lie. But she wasn’t.</p> <p>“They use us. They use us, and then they throw us away.” She was almost whispering.</p> <p><span class="hedara">No. I could live with it if they threw us away. But they need to dominate, to restrain. We are retained for their use, kept on the shelf with the other finery. A bird in a gilded cage.</span></p> <p>Hedvig stepped forward, willing herself to move. To slip over the wall leading to the back of the house, head spinning, breath catching in her throat. Her legs failed her, and she fell to a heap in the sand. In a roughly fenced-in area, she realized. A pen. Penned in, like an animal.</p> <p><span class="hedara">I have been the queen of the greatest empire in the history of our species, and I would give it all up in an instant to go back to this. To be a shepherd. Caring for my lambs.</span></p> <p>She thought back to the early days. Before Amoni-Ram. Sitting in her office in Site-19, reading reports from her researchers. Taking an early lunch break to visit Cara in the cafeteria. Going home to her apartments. Feeding her cats. The sobbing came on quickly and abruptly. Not noble, refined weeping — open-mouthed, violent sobs that shook her entire body. The tears stained the sand under her as she fell to her knees. Her shattered wings curled around her, trying to protect her.</p> <p>That life was gone. It had been taken, destroyed, crushed into nothing. All so he could take the pieces and mold her into this. Mold her into a thing for him to have.</p> <p>She lifted her head up and screamed. No words, just a guttural, animal noise of pain and grief that carried over the still desert wind. Then she fell back, tearing wildly at her back. The already-ruined feathers of the wings came apart, metal shearing, splitting, crunching. The fingers on her left hand bled, torn up by the razor-sharp metal. She kept going.</p> <p>When it was all finished, she was lying in a circle of destroyed fuladh feathers. Her once-beautiful wings were bare bones, dented and bent. She panted heavily. Blood dripped from her fingers and from patches of skin on her back.</p> <p>Clang.</p> <p>She turned her head in confusion. One of the metal feathers hit something.</p> <p><span class="hedara">Look.</span></p> <p>She crawled over, brushing the feathers away. There was something under the sand. Something hard. She took her hands to it, pulling away clumps of sand, revealing—</p> <p>Bones.</p> <p>Her breath hitched.</p> <p><span class="hedara">Keep going. Please.</span></p> <p>Handful after handful, the skeleton was exposed. Perfectly white bleached bones, free of imperfections, but the left leg and right arm replaced with intricate fuladh prosthetics. Not like her — hers were functional, imposing, free of detail. These were works of art, more like Aram’s, stenciled with scenes of battle and victory. And a massive, spread-out set of wings under the skeleton. The feathers folded out, fitting together to reveal a huge mural of a familiar sight: Amoni-Ram, the sun setting over the city.</p> <p>There was a short, blunt dagger in the grip of the arm prosthetic.</p> <p>“You. It’s you.”</p> <p><span class="hedara">I decided I’d rather die than go back. That was foolhardy. I was in the depths of my despair, like you. I didn’t realize there were any other options.</span></p> <p>“There aren’t.”</p> <p><span class="hedara"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Yes, there are.</span></strong> That is what he wants you to think. That is why he rips everything out of your life, so that your options are him or death. I will <strong>not</strong> let you make the same mistake I did. I had no one to guide me. Look at how it turned out for me. Look at me.</span></p> <p>Hedvig’s gaze drifted away.</p> <p><span class="hedara"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Look at me.</span></strong></span></p> <p>She returned her eyes to the skeleton.</p> <p><span class="hedara">You are beautiful. You are strong, you are noble, you are more than he has ever been. He has done his best to ruin you, to cage you. He has failed. You have, bit by bit, rebuilt yourself. You have escaped him.</span></p> <p>“I… I don’t feel like I have.”</p> <p><span class="hedara">You will never feel like it. That is his final cruelty — that for a long, long time, you will still feel under his spell. But the connection is broken. You have no choice but to go on. And day by day, the feelings will fade. And one day, you will wake up, you will gaze at yourself in the mirror, and you will see what everyone else already does: you. Not him.</span></p> <p>“But—“</p> <p><span class="hedara">Take mine.</span></p> <p>“What?”</p> <p><span class="hedara">Take them. They were impressed onto me, like yours. I had no say in them, like yours. But time wears away all pain. Now, they aren’t a symbol of his domination. They are just metal. You have a choice. You can take them, or you can leave them. But this time, it is <strong>your</strong> choice.</span></p> <p>She thought about it for a very long time. She thought about it until the sun dipped below the horizon. And then, Hedvig knelt to the ground, clicking the ratching bolts on her prosthetics, gradually undoing them and sliding them off, revealing her scarred stumps, fitting the new prosthetics onto them, doing the whole process in reverse.</p> <p>Then she slipped the braces for her ruined wings off, letting them fall into the sand. Pulled the bones off Hedara’s wings, lifting them up, sliding and locking them into position. Feeling the familiar weight on her back, but it was different this time. Not liberating, but… powerful.</p> <p>“Now what? What am I supposed to do?”</p> <p><span class="hedara">You fly.</span></p> <p>Hedvig dried her tears, picked up her staff, and stepped off the cliff.</p> <hr/> <hr/> <div class="rnb-navbar"> <div class="rnb-item rnb-last"> <p><a href="/interregnum-everest" style="display: block;"><span class="rnb-supertitle">PREVIOUS</span><br/> « INTERREGNUM II »</a></p> </div> <div class="rnb-item rnb-current"> <p><a href="/redtape">REDTAPE</a></p> </div> <div class="rnb-item rnb-next"> <p><a href="/scp-5900" style="display: block;"><span class="rnb-supertitle">NEXT</span><br/> « SCP-5900: PITCHBLACK »</a></p> </div> </div> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/heresy">HEDVIG'S HERESY</a>" by Rounderhouse, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/heresy">https://scpwiki.com/heresy</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[module CSS]] .hedara { font-style: italic; color: goldenrod; font-family: monospace; } [[/module]] [[include <a href="/theme:black-highlighter-theme">theme:black-highlighter-theme</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:redtape">:scp-wiki:theme:redtape</a> years=37\| dark=--] ]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:rso">:scp-wiki:component:rso</a>]] [[div class="blockquote"]] The Empress stepped cautiously into the throne room. It was deafeningly silent, and every tap of her fuladh feet against the marble floor rung out with a sharp click. Her eyes fell onto the golden throne. “Yes, Husband?” Linen canopies covered the open roof of the chamber, bathing the figure on the throne in shadow. Even in the darkness, his right arm gleamed in its complexity. Tiny, intricate carvings in the metal telling a story of his own making. Two fingers tapped steadily against the solid mass of the armrest. “Husband,” he repeated back, in a low voice. “... Emperor.” “Better. Let me gaze upon my empire.” Hesitantly, she let her gown slip from her shoulders, fall to the floor, wings unfolding behind her, stretching across the throne room, connecting one corner of the empire to another, in front of the man she might have once loved. She stood there, knowing his eyes were raking over her patchwork skin, devoid of any of the warm care he had once held for her. This was when the first Empress of Amoni-Ram decided she had to escape. [[/div]] ---- ++ >> I -- EXILE.txt Hedvig was still laying on the beach. The sand was nice here — soft, white. It flowed like water through her gold fingertips. Nothing like the rocky, orange-red sands of the Rub ‘al Khali, of Amoni-Ram, the sands that she remembered looking out over and finding so beautiful once. A warm landscape of reds and yellows, blending into one another, creating an ocean from which rose a gleaming city that she knew no one else had seen in a thousand and one years. Now, she just looked out over the sea; it was blue, and it was perfect. A seagull squawked overhead. The treeline behind her led into the denser parts of the jungle. She’d explored the perimeter of the island; it wasn’t terribly large, only taking her an hour to circumnavigate. She’d been here for some time now. Closer to a month than a week, but the days seemed to bleed into one another with nothing to do. Food was a long-forgotten memory for her, one of the first things she’d lost in the ‘improvements’ made to her. She still remembered Robert’s assurances, sickly-sweet in her ear — silencing whatever sparks of resistance were still in her. She could feel them die away, one by one, snuffed out. She only had a faint memory of what hunger used to feel like, but she was fairly certain this new emptiness in her chest, the one that sapped away her will and her ability to do anything but lay among the sand like a wounded animal, was not hunger. It was something else. She could have told herself it was a new feeling, only discovered after she fell from the sky during the encounter with the Foundation ships, but lying to yourself is harder when you’re alone with your thoughts. And apart from the occasional seagull, Hedvig was entirely, painfully alone. She didn’t do well with solitude. Never had — not in university, though that felt like another life entirely. She lived with two other friends, and they made the most of it: in-between lectures and classes, they found time to have dinner, to go out, to enjoy one another’s presence. In Parahis, she’d cultivated relationships with her fellow researchers even in the rigid confines of the Foundation. She knew all of her Amoni-Ram personnel by name. Another thing that she had lost. Robert was a territorial animal — it was a slow creep, because he knew that she was a symbol of his power. To see the Saint Hedvig on the streets of Amoni-Ram was to be reminded of the man, the god, the idea sitting in the palace. But like he always did, his tendencies got the better of his reason. He made sure her duties began to involve staying in the palace more and more, attending to his every need before he even thought of them. Like a caged tiger, restrained for the knowledge that he could restrain her. The citizens, the flock would go weeks, then months without a glimmer of her. Children were born in Amoni-Ram without ever having seen the empress, said to have wings that stretched from one end of the city to the other. Before long, there was only Robert. And now, nothing. So she sat, empty. She knew that she should make her way back to Amoni-Ram, to deliver her report, but the omnipresent tugging towards its location was absent. There was truly nothing inside her chest, no feeling, no agency. Days passed. Her only activity of note was venturing to the pond in the middle of the island for fresh water (her desalinator had long-since failed) and making futile attempts to take to the air. Her wings were utterly mangled. They had taken brutal punishment during the fight, and the seawater had done them no favors. The spread of angelic, hand-hammered feathers on her back was now wrenched and twisted. Any attempt to fly resulted in her crashing back down to earth a few seconds later, face-down in the sand. It was during one such attempt she heard the voice. [[span class="hedara"]]You must rebuild.[[/span]] It was a woman’s voice — soft, gently reaching out. Not a declaration — more an idle observation on the reality of her situation. Hedvig panicked, smashing into the sand with more force than usual. Flipping onto her back and wildly scrabbling backward, head shooting around for any sign of the voice’s origin. A few more sentences later, she realized it was coming from within her head. Her radio unit. That was impossible, it was utterly ruined by the seawater. She’d tried it, it didn’t work. In defiance, it crackled to life again. [[span class="hedara"]]You must rebuild.[[/span]] She shook her head. The mere notion was terrifying now. She was alone, more alone than she’d ever been. [[span class="hedara"]]You are not destroyed.[[/span]] Yes, she was. Wasn’t she? [[span class="hedara"]]Merely damaged. You must gather your parts and data and rebuild yourself in a greater image.[[/span]] Hedvig breathed heavily. “Who are you?” [[span class="hedara"]]You must rebuild. Your parts are scattered in the footsteps of another. You must make her journey, take her labours. Understand what has happened to you. You cannot rebuild without understanding what has happened to you.[[/span]] And as she spoke, Hedvig became aware of something filling her chest, not quite driving out the emptiness but perhaps stealing some of its volume. It was an urge, the origin and nature of it she could not describe. Software she couldn’t fathom the purpose of, but the instructions were clear. [[span class="hedara"]]Go. Follow the path. Rebuild.[[/span]] She scraped out an answer, though metal-plated vocal chords. “How?” [[span class="hedara"]]You were not born with wings.[[/span]] ---- ++ >> II -- SENSATION.txt [[div class="blockquote" style="text-align: center;"]] And when the Empress of Amoni-Ram ran, she took nothing with her Save for the clothes on her back and the fuladh in her body For all else given to her, the riches, the jewelry adorning her form, the gemstones and the servants Were given to her by the very thing she sought to escape So in the night, bare and alone, she slipped a single piece of bread and skin of water into her sack And she leapt from the tallest tower of Amoni-Ram, wings catching the wind, Floating her through the bazaar, the smells and sounds invisible to her, And taking her away. [[/div]] The first place the tugging in her chest led Hedvig was a bazaar. She wasn’t entirely sure where, but it was some kind of seaside market, dense streets filled with tanned shoppers and wooden stalls hawking their wares. It had taken her quite some time to swim here, but the burning in her chest gave her the energy she needed. She’d been lucky enough to come by a small farm on her way here, swiping a cloak from an unguarded porch. She regretted stealing, but she knew that the alternative — flaring out her broken wings and exposing her fuladh to the crowd — was unacceptable. So now she walked through the market, hood up, doing her best to be inconspicuous. She knew she was drawing attention; the looks flung her way confirmed that, but thankfully, only looks. Once they walked past her, they seemed to lose interest. She’d been to these kinds of markets and bazaars plenty of times before; she’d lived for two years in Morocco while doing her postgraduate work, and had become accustomed to the sights and smells of an open-air market. Sweat, from thousands of people in close proximity. The scent of raw meat, odors of freshly-caught fish baking in the sun, vegetables and high piles of spices and foods being cooked and served that she’d never even heard of. None of that was here. She couldn’t smell anything. It was hardly the most obvious or notable of the improvements made to her, but it was one that had been surprisingly jarring to her. The nasal bypass meant she could not be disabled with neurotoxins or gasses. Chemical weapons were nothing to her, so long as they didn’t eat through her fuladh. Part of his suit of upgrades to make her the perfect soldier. She understood his reasoning, and she consented to it, laying on the table, fully exposed while he sharpened his instruments. He loved doing his work by hand. It was the one time she felt close to him. And then she woke up, and food didn’t taste like anything anymore. [[span class="hedara"]]It’s so small. But you don’t think about it until it’s gone.[[/span]] “It’s for my own wellbeing. I do not have to worry about chloroform now,” she spoke lowly, fingers teasing a stockfish hanging from the awning of a market stall. Spiced, dried and smoked cod. The merchant was eyeing her warily. [[span class="hedara"]]And is that for your protection? Or his? What are your weapons, your skills, your body in service to?[[/span]] “We are one. What’s good for my Emperor is good for me. I… enjoy protecting him. I feel useful.” [[span class="hedara"]]A hammer feels useful when it is used to pound in a nail.[[/span]] “Exactly.” She left the stockfish behind. She’d loved eating them as a child, hated their famously foul, intense odor. Whenever she got it as an adult, it smelled of her childhood spent in Oslo. Now, it smelled of nothing at all. “It’s my purpose.” [[span class="hedara"]]But human beings are not hammers.[[/span]] ---- ++ >> III -- IDENTITY.txt [[div class="blockquote" style="text-align: center;"]] And after ten days and ten nights of riding aloft the waves The runaway Empress found herself far away from Amoni-Ram Drifting over a village that she had not seen since she was a girl From her perch she saw familiar faces of friends, of family Engaged in their affairs and tasks of the day, having moved past her For even as Empress of the Broken Empire and consort of the Bumaro She held not the power to see those she loved. [[/div]] [[span class="hedara"]]It has been a long time since you were here.[[/span]] The voice in her head was right. She was back in civilization again, to a familiar land, if not home — not that she really knew what home was anymore. Cairo. She hadn’t been here for… twenty years? That sounded right. But for some reason, the tugging in her chest, that voice, dragged her here. It dragged here to this hotel, into the elevator, up to the roof, where she broke the lock with a swift strike from her metal hand. Then it was just a matter of escaping out onto the rooftop, slipping off her cloak, and standing on the edge, wings outstretched. The sensation of feeling the breeze didn’t come. No sense of which direction the wind was flowing, spiralling. She knew already that her wings were ruined, but this was like a blow to the gut. She couldn’t fly. She had essentially walked here on foot over the past few months, tirelessly and without stopping to rest, not that she needed to. She had wished the entire time that she could take off, and rationalized it that if she got to a high enough point, she might be able to feel the breeze and glide. No. No, she was quite ruined. She sat back down. [[span class="hedara"]]It is not a part of you.[[/span]] “Yes. Yes, it is.” [[span class="hedara"]]You were you before you could fly, Hedvig.[[/span]] “I don’t remember what I was before my wings.” It was true. The life she’d lived in the past few years was a different one altogether. Thinking of the Doctor Hedvig Nussbaum before Amoni-Ram was like thinking to a movie she’d seen ages ago; the outline remembered, but the details hazy, fuzzy. Though, she could remember more now than she did when she was in Amoni-Ram. When she was near her master. The thought scared her, so she moved on from it swiftly. [[span class="hedara"]]Then why are you here?[[/span]] “You led me here.” [[span class="hedara"]]No, I didn’t. You led yourself here. Look around. Why Cairo?[[/span]] Because she’d done some of her graduate work in Cairo. Studying Middle Kingdom artifacts recovered from dig sites along the Nile, she’d cut her teeth on some in-the-field archaeology work along with three of her best friends from university. It had been a wonderful year. They’d rented an apartment in the city, but hardly spent any time there; most of her days were spent hours outside Cairo in a tent at one of the dig sites, brushing dust off cracked ceramic and trying to work out the meaning of a clay shard. It was unimportant but engaging work, and friends made it tolerable. The closest was Annabelle — an American. She remembered that at the end of the summer, Annabelle had told her that her boyfriend — an office worker in Cairo — had proposed to her, that she was going to stay in the city. It clicked into place. The domed building across the street from the hotel was one she recognized. Cairo University. And as her eyes fell across the dozens of people loitering outside in the courtyard, they landed on a familiar blonde head. She stumbled backward. Annabelle. Older, maybe, but certainly her. She was talking to a young man — a student, perhaps. She had a job at the university, then. A scholarly career, a bright future. A family, no doubt. Hedvig felt her mouth go dry. Her vision blurred, and bile rose in her throat. Acrid. The sight of an old friend shouldn’t inspire this. Why did she feel this way? [[span class="hedara"]]Because you see what you could have been.[[/span]] The words tumbled out. “That is //not// true. I have seen and done incredible things. My life is one well-lived.” [[span class="hedara"]]Yes. But not for yourself. You love history, don’t you?[[/span]] “Of course I do. I’m a historian. I was on track to become the Head of the Parahistory Division.” [[span class="hedara"]]Whose contributions to your final project were more important?[[/span]] “Robert and the technical team’s.” The words came out before she had even realized what she said. They caught her off-guard. That… wasn’t right. That wasn’t what she thought. Was it? She felt as though she’d thought something wrong. She braced internally, preparing for a shock that didn’t come. The absence of it felt even stranger. As though she were doing something she knew was wrong, sticking her hand into the cookie jar, but… without fear of consequence. And why //should// she fear consequence? [[span class="hedara"]]You were a historian. A scholar, a genius.[[/span]] “Yes.” Then, despite herself, the biting voice in her head swam to the forefront. “And now I am a queen, a warrior, an empress.” [[span class="hedara"]]But why were you made to choose? Why were you made to sacrifice those parts of yourself that did not please him?[[/span]] Staring at Annabelle laughing with her students, Hedvig found she didn’t have an answer. ---- ++ >> IV -- CHOICE.txt [[div class="blockquote" style="text-align: center;"]] Eventually the runaway Empress returned to the ground, folding her wings And coming to rest upon a large boulder rising high above the surrounding desert She remembered this boulder; she had been taken to it, many years ago When Bumaro first took his gifts from MEKHANE and made Hedara his She sat there until night fell, wracked by old memories Until, the next sunrise, she rose to her feet And left it all behind. [[/div]] This high above the ground, the curves of the sand dunes looked like the waves of water, rippling below. Wind shifted them around. Hedvig crouched at the very edge of the rock, wings half-extended like a gargoyle as she surveyed below. There was nothing here. This part of the desert was agonizingly empty, the nearest settlement days of walking away. She had never been here before; try as she might, she could not come up with a reason for why she would have wandered here, of all places. This place was foreign to her. [[span class="hedara"]]But not to me.[[/span]] She started as the voice rose again. It had been a few weeks since she had heard it. Now, it sounded different; pained, strangled. “Where are we?” She didn’t hear a response, but she could feel the voice’s presence. It wasn’t ignoring her. It was just thinking. She waited patiently; it had done the same for her. [[span class="hedara"]]This is where the Emperor Bumaro first took his wife.[[/span]] “I don’t understand. I have never been here before.” [[span class="hedara"]]Your Bumaro is not the first.[[/span]] She didn’t respond. Instead, she got up, investigating the flat surface of the rock. It was at least twenty meters above the surrounding dunes — more of a monolith than a rock, really, but the top was weathered flat. [[span class="hedara"]]Let me show you.[[/span]] “I don’t want to--” [[span class="hedara"]]Please.[[/span]] The plea was animalistic, desperate. She’d never heard the voice like that, and so she didn’t protest. A possibility swam into vision, overtaking what she saw in front of her. The sun slipped down over the horizon. A small campfire made in the center from dried kindling and fabric, sending smoke high into the air and warming the night. Two figures curled by its edge, watching it. A golden-eyed shepherd and his wife, both wearing cloaks, both of them lame and relying on walking sticks. Talking. Laughing. She leans up from where she lies, head in his lap. She kisses him gently as he passes her a waterskin. [[span class="hedara"]]We stopped here many times when herding our flock to the grazing lands. It became something of a private tradition.[[/span]] Hedvig watched the pair nuzzle into one another, sharing a cloak, protecting themselves from the biting wind this high up. [[span class="hedara"]]He loved me. And I loved him. We were equals. But the trouble with an obsession with change, with improvement of the body, is that you are not the same person you are when you start.[[/span]] The scene cut abruptly. It was the same rock, but a different night. The fire was burning out, little more than embers; small electrical lamps dotted the top of the rock now, casting a faint glow. There was no tent anymore. There was no shared cloak. There was a metal throne, and in it sat a man with the shepherd’s eyes, but the body of a god. He was bare-chested, furs hanging from his waist, and a golden shine on his arm and leg. He leaned back in the throne, dark eyes staring ahead. The figure in front of him was barely recognizable. Long blond hair, fuladh wings spread, bare and exposed for her Emperor. Her dress lay around her ankles, and she trembled in the cold night wind. [[span class="hedara"]]I don’t know if he was always like this. Perhaps he was always an animal inside, waiting for the opportunity, and finding the goddess in the desert was the worst thing that could have ever happened to us. Or perhaps from the moment he stole fuladh from the gods, they took their vengeance, and began to malform him.[[/span]] He looked her up and down, the same way he might have looked at a prize ewe so many years ago. He gave a nod. Head bowed, she slipped closer to him, kneeling, utterly subservient. [[span class="hedara"]]We were equals, once.[[/span]] Hedvig pulled her eyes away. The scene was familiar. She’d been in this scene. Many, many times. “Why are you showing me this?” [[span class="hedara"]]Because you need to understand that love exists. But the relationship you have with your Emperor is not one of love, no more than mine was by the end of it. It was about possession, control. Ownership.[[/span]] ---- ++ >> V -- PRINCIPLE.txt [[div class="blockquote" style="text-align: center;"]] And when the Empress departed from there She found herself wandering a path through the desert that she had once called home Through winding valleys where she would have once herded her flock And into a familiar stone clutch, rock stained with a flash of maroon and gold She fell to her knees with the memory of being pushed forward by Bumaro, Led along like another of the lambs, into the sundered frame of a goddess, lying twisted and broken in this clutch Such that she could tear away a chunk of the metal and fashion herself a new, greater arm Then she had been joyful at the generosity of her goddess, to give herself up for the success of her flock And now, weeping, realized the noises her goddess had made were not those of a willing sacrifice. [[/div]] Night in the Empty Quarter was cold. The desert could get well below freezing, and wandering the sands at night could be suicidal. Hedvig wasn’t wandering. She was exactly where she intended to be. This place, this dune identical to ten million others, was burned into her memory. If she lived to be a thousand, this patch of sand would be the last thing she remembered before she died. This was the first place she had ever taken a life. She was standing, wind billowing her stolen cloak. Gradually, she unclasped it, and it flew off, carried by the wind. She needed to feel the cold. She needed her body to feel an ounce of the discomfort this place gave to her soul. Looking around now, no one would suspect this had been a battleground. The Foundation were good at cleaning up after themselves, if nothing else. What was now an empty patch of sand had once lain right outside the entrance to Amoni-Ram, and hosted the first skirmish of the new Mekhanites. The first opportunity for Aram’s flock to test their mettle in service of their god. She’d been a believer then; now, she didn’t know what she was. She’d perched on his shoulder. Like a deadly bird of prey, ready to tear at his enemies. She didn’t know how she’d been so confident then, so assured she was doing the right thing. Being around him was invigorating, exciting — his words felt like they meant something. When he wanted something done, the people of Amoni-Ram would leap to it, none faster than her. Before the battle, he’d taken her aside. He’d told her what he was going to do, why it needed to be done. That the Foundation was preparing to throw away the city, to completely abandon it because it no longer had any value to them. Amoni-Ram would sink below the sands again and no one would care. That, if they worked together, they could use the technology of the Mekhanites, change the world for the better. She’d stood there, in her fuladh armor, and listened. Gripped her spear and set her jaw. Nary a thought of disobedience. Hedvig really, truly didn’t know how she had believed him. But she had. She’d believed him enough that when the time came and he led his warriors out to face the Foundation’s Response Teams, that she was the first one over the hill, the first one divebombing out of the sky. She remembered her first kill. She didn’t know his name, of course, but it was a brown-skinned man, probably South Asian, with a light beard and close-cropped hair. He had high cheekbones and a strong nose. One of his eyebrows had a scar running through it. She’d divebombed out of the air, hit him in the chest, and cleaved her spear completely through his armor and his chest cavity until it came out the other side. He’d choked to death on his own blood, face inches from her, gurgling for help. He took a very long time to die — or maybe she just remembered it that way, and he had expired within seconds. He wasn’t the only person she killed that day for Aram. “I’d never even fished before. I was scared of killing animals.” [[span class="hedara"]]Our innocence is the last thing they take. Our principles. What makes you, you. They conquer that after they have conquered your body, assured in their belief that the spirit is subservient to the body.[[/span]] “He was right. He broke my body, and then he bent me to his will. I took a life for him. I took a lot of lives for him.” [[span class="hedara"]]You did. And there is no forgiveness for that. But you can choose whether to accept that was wrong, or you can choose to keep doing it.[[/span]] She didn’t answer. “Why? He had hundreds of soldiers with advanced technology. Why did he want me leading them?” [[span class="hedara"]]To ensure your loyalty. Once you spilled blood in his name, you needed to be his. You needed to believe that you spilled it for a good reason.[[/span]] She stared blankly into the sand. There were no bodies there, but she imagined them, her memories filling in the blanks — soldiers in tactical armor laying crumpled up, blood staining the sand. Mekhanites torn apart, piece by piece. Her, floating above the battlefield, throwing a corpse off her spear. “Oh, god. Oh, //god//.” ---- ++ >> VI -- HOME.txt [[div class="blockquote" style="text-align: center;"]] And after so much time spent stumbling blind and broken through the desert The Empress found that her heart brought her to where she needed to go From the lowest shack in all the world To the heights of the tallest shining towers of Amoni-Ram To the forefront of a golden army spreading across the land and imposing order To kneeling beside the throne of her master And in the end Back home again. [[/div]] Hedvig stumbled, falling to her knees. The desert sun beat down on her back — what little skin she still had was bathed in sweat. She had no doubts in her mind that if she hadn’t ensured her temperature modulator was in tune, the oil in her joints, her lifeblood, would’ve boiled away by now. But it hadn’t, and so she got to her feet, and kept walking. She didn’t know exactly where she was going, but she knew she was heading deeper into the Empty Quarter, the Rub al-Khali. This was… near Amoni-Ram. Near where it had been, once. She doubted the hidden city was still anywhere near here; Bumaro’s paranoia ensured that it changed location every few years, constantly evading the Foundation that was hunting his flock — or so he told them. In truth, she had never seen anything to suggest that the Foundation knew where they were, or were even actively hunting them. But she bit her tongue and let him speak, because he knew better than she did. He always knew better than she did. The recollection was punctured by an overwhelming feeling, a crushing sadness, but not coming from her. [[span class="hedara"]]Ahead. Keep walking.[[/span]] “What is it?” [[span class="hedara"]]Look.[[/span]] And as she squinted, shielding her eyes from the blazing sun, she saw something — a low collection of indistinct structures, shimmering in the heat like a mirage. She approached, half-expecting it to vanish into nothing. But it held. It was a set of sandstone ruins, right at the edge of a large cliff. Blocks bleached by the sun rising out of the sand to form the shell of a small house. It was in poor shape; all four of the walls were largely collapsed, and the roof was long-gone. She walked through what might have once been a doorway; the floor was covered in sand. Her fingers grazed one of the stones, and her chest suddenly seized, crushed by the immense weight of loss and regret and pain. Panting, she fell to the floor, throwing a hand out to catch herself. It didn’t work, but her fingers wrapped around something on the floor, obscured by sand. She pulled it out. A shepherd’s crook. [[span class="hedara"]]Ours.[[/span]] Looking around, it began to click into place. “Mein gott. This…” Her voice trailed away. “He did this to you too?” [[span class="hedara"]]To me, to you, to Legate Trunnion. Even to Mekhane. Amoni-Ram is built on her back in more ways than one.[[/span]] “What? What are you talking about?” [[span class="hedara"]]It was a lie, child. She didn’t gift her fuladh to him. He found her sundered corpse lying in the desert and took it from her. He stripped her naked, and when that wasn’t enough, he stripped her for parts to build his empire with.[[/span]] She wanted to be shocked — every fiber of her being wanted to be shocked. She //should// have been shocked, faced with the unassailable reality that her faith was founded on a lie. But she wasn’t. “They use us. They use us, and then they throw us away.” She was almost whispering. [[span class="hedara"]]No. I could live with it if they threw us away. But they need to dominate, to restrain. We are retained for their use, kept on the shelf with the other finery. A bird in a gilded cage.[[/span]] Hedvig stepped forward, willing herself to move. To slip over the wall leading to the back of the house, head spinning, breath catching in her throat. Her legs failed her, and she fell to a heap in the sand. In a roughly fenced-in area, she realized. A pen. Penned in, like an animal. [[span class="hedara"]]I have been the queen of the greatest empire in the history of our species, and I would give it all up in an instant to go back to this. To be a shepherd. Caring for my lambs.[[/span]] She thought back to the early days. Before Amoni-Ram. Sitting in her office in Site-19, reading reports from her researchers. Taking an early lunch break to visit Cara in the cafeteria. Going home to her apartments. Feeding her cats. The sobbing came on quickly and abruptly. Not noble, refined weeping — open-mouthed, violent sobs that shook her entire body. The tears stained the sand under her as she fell to her knees. Her shattered wings curled around her, trying to protect her. That life was gone. It had been taken, destroyed, crushed into nothing. All so he could take the pieces and mold her into this. Mold her into a thing for him to have. She lifted her head up and screamed. No words, just a guttural, animal noise of pain and grief that carried over the still desert wind. Then she fell back, tearing wildly at her back. The already-ruined feathers of the wings came apart, metal shearing, splitting, crunching. The fingers on her left hand bled, torn up by the razor-sharp metal. She kept going. When it was all finished, she was lying in a circle of destroyed fuladh feathers. Her once-beautiful wings were bare bones, dented and bent. She panted heavily. Blood dripped from her fingers and from patches of skin on her back. Clang. She turned her head in confusion. One of the metal feathers hit something. [[span class="hedara"]]Look.[[/span]] She crawled over, brushing the feathers away. There was something under the sand. Something hard. She took her hands to it, pulling away clumps of sand, revealing— Bones. Her breath hitched. [[span class="hedara"]]Keep going. Please.[[/span]] Handful after handful, the skeleton was exposed. Perfectly white bleached bones, free of imperfections, but the left leg and right arm replaced with intricate fuladh prosthetics. Not like her — hers were functional, imposing, free of detail. These were works of art, more like Aram’s, stenciled with scenes of battle and victory. And a massive, spread-out set of wings under the skeleton. The feathers folded out, fitting together to reveal a huge mural of a familiar sight: Amoni-Ram, the sun setting over the city. There was a short, blunt dagger in the grip of the arm prosthetic. “You. It’s you.” [[span class="hedara"]]I decided I’d rather die than go back. That was foolhardy. I was in the depths of my despair, like you. I didn’t realize there were any other options.[[/span]] “There aren’t.” [[span class="hedara"]]__Yes, there are.__ That is what he wants you to think. That is why he rips everything out of your life, so that your options are him or death. I will not let you make the same mistake I did. I had no one to guide me. Look at how it turned out for me. Look at me.[[/span]] Hedvig’s gaze drifted away. [[span class="hedara"]]__Look at me.__[[/span]] She returned her eyes to the skeleton. [[span class="hedara"]]You are beautiful. You are strong, you are noble, you are more than he has ever been. He has done his best to ruin you, to cage you. He has failed. You have, bit by bit, rebuilt yourself. You have escaped him.[[/span]] “I… I don’t feel like I have.” [[span class="hedara"]]You will never feel like it. That is his final cruelty — that for a long, long time, you will still feel under his spell. But the connection is broken. You have no choice but to go on. And day by day, the feelings will fade. And one day, you will wake up, you will gaze at yourself in the mirror, and you will see what everyone else already does: you. Not him.[[/span]] “But—“ [[span class="hedara"]]Take mine.[[/span]] “What?” [[span class="hedara"]]Take them. They were impressed onto me, like yours. I had no say in them, like yours. But time wears away all pain. Now, they aren’t a symbol of his domination. They are just metal. You have a choice. You can take them, or you can leave them. But this time, it is your choice.[[/span]] She thought about it for a very long time. She thought about it until the sun dipped below the horizon. And then, Hedvig knelt to the ground, clicking the ratching bolts on her prosthetics, gradually undoing them and sliding them off, revealing her scarred stumps, fitting the new prosthetics onto them, doing the whole process in reverse. Then she slipped the braces for her ruined wings off, letting them fall into the sand. Pulled the bones off Hedara’s wings, lifting them up, sliding and locking them into position. Feeling the familiar weight on her back, but it was different this time. Not liberating, but… powerful. “Now what? What am I supposed to do?” [[span class="hedara"]]You fly.[[/span]] Hedvig dried her tears, picked up her staff, and stepped off the cliff. ---- [[=]] [[module Rate]] [[/=]] ---- [[div class="rnb-navbar"]] [[div class="rnb-item rnb-last"]] [[a href="/interregnum-everest" style="display: block;"]][[span class="rnb-supertitle"]]PREVIOUS[[/span]] << INTERREGNUM II >>[[/a]] [[/div]] [[div class="rnb-item rnb-current"]] [[a href="/redtape"]]REDTAPE[[/a]] [[/div]] [[div class="rnb-item rnb-next"]] [[a href="/scp-5900" style="display: block;"]][[span class="rnb-supertitle"]]NEXT[[/span]] << SCP-5900: PITCHBLACK >>[[/a]] [[/div]] [[/div]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-12-05T20:51:00	[ "_genreless", "_licensebox", "broken-god", "featured", "saint-hedwig", "tale" ]	HEDVIG'S HERESY - SCP Foundation	118	[ "interregnum-everest", "redtape", "scp-5900", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "redtape", "featured-tale-archive-ii", "art-exchange-hub" ]	[]	1451702006	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/heresy
hidden-before-the-eyes	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div class="authorlink-wrapper"><a href="javascript:;">TboneBerryhill</a> <div class="authorbox"> <div class="authorcontent"> <p><a href="/a-letter-from-a-undesired">A Letter From a Undesired</a> by TboneBerryhill</p> </div> </div> </div> <blockquote> <p><strong>NOTE:</strong> The following information is confidential, pertaining to former and current members of the Foundation. This file is sealed due suspected spies within the Foundation with possible involvement regarding an unknown outside group. The information below is still under investigation.</p> </blockquote> <p>This document follows the events taken place form 4/6/09 to 10/18/10, along with information discovered concerning the illusive group collectively known as S.T.R.A.D. and their operations.</p> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">+ Show Incident Summary</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <h3 id="toc0"><span>Incident Summary:</span></h3> <blockquote> <p>Incident 1: On the day of 4/7/08 Foundation forces were sent to investigate reports of anomalous activity in Orange County, Virginia near a motel off the I-64 interstate. Reaching the destination Foundation Personnel found the place had been recently ransacked and no anomalies to be discovered.</p> <p>Incident 2: 23 days later Foundation agents responded to a report in Germany about a tree in the Black Forest; upon arriving Foundation personnel discovered a hole in the ground where the tree had presumably stood.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> </div> <p><strong>Addendum:</strong> Both reports about anomalous activity were sent to necessary Foundation personnel for review before being uploaded to Foundation site servers, prior to agents being sent to investigate as is procedure. Investigations into how outside entities were accessing the information from the outside and how they were beating the Foundation to them were sent to determine exactly how.</p> <div class="blockquote"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><strong>MAIL - MESSAGE ONE</strong></p> </div> <p><strong>FROM:</strong> Senior Foundation Investigator, Dr. Randy Berryhill<br/> <strong>TO:</strong> Site Director, Dr. Richardson<br/> <strong>TOPIC:</strong> Investigative report update.</p> <p>Good evening, as of 7/24/09 we have not yet determined the source of the leak from Foundation servers. We have however narrowed down a list of potential suspects connected to each of the previous leaks.</p> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">List of names</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">Names</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Dr. Henry Thomas<br/> Dr. Sherwood<br/> Dr. Engles<br/> Dr. Gold<br/> Dr. Somber<br/> Dr. Diamond<br/> Dr. Starwood<br/> Dr. Willow<br/> Dr. Dr. Sherwin<br/> Dr. Redoak<br/> Dr. Silver<br/> Dr. Wood<br/> Dr. Safe<br/> Dr. Olive<br/> Dr. Garden<br/> Dr. Fell<br/> Dr. Lockwood<br/> Dr. Cottonwood<br/> Dr. Woodward<br/> Dr. Wall<br/> Dr. Lovewood<br/> Dr. Lotus<br/> Dr. Johnson<br/> Dr. Bergstorm<br/> Dr. Springhill<br/> Dr. Logan<br/> Dr. Jamar<br/> Dr. Willie<br/> Dr. Torchwood<br/> Dr. Homes<br/> Dr. Mark Lily<br/> Dr. Hedge<br/> Dr. Buffalo<br/> Dr. Pawn<br/> Dr. Tammy Gale</p> </div> </div> </div> <p>All individuals listed above are being monitored for irregular behavior, teams will be sent to search offices along with their digital footprint. These investigations will be done while individuals are out of office. To maintain secrecy no heads up will be given for office checks, so the leaker will not be alerted to our operations.</p> <p>Sincerely, Senior Foundation Investigator, Dr. Randy Berryhill</p> </div> <div class="blockquote"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><strong>MAIL - MESSAGE TWO</strong></p> </div> <p><strong>FROM:</strong> Site Director, Dr. Richardson<br/> <strong>TO:</strong> Senior Foundation Investigator, Dr. Randy Berryhill<br/> <strong>TOPIC:</strong> Re: Investigative report update.</p> <p>Good afternoon, thank you for your report, all available resources and personnel needed will be granted to your investigation. The site will be open to all searches required after hours. Additionally the site will close at an earlier time, except for necessary staff until this investigation is completed.</p> <p>P.S. I noticed your ex-wife was listed. I hope that's not a conflict of interest? I joke of course but do let us know if you need any extra assistance</p> <p>Sincerely, Site Director, Dr. Richardson</p> </div> <p><strong>Addendum:</strong> Tighter security and scrutiny</p> <p>Investigators in an effort to find the source of the leak began monitoring and searching mail in and out of Site-16, along with searching where the files were originally uploaded to Foundation site servers and personal computers of those with access, before other sites and departments received the information through secure channels.</p> <p>A series of fake reports were created, what appeared to be identical files sent to all suspected personnel. Each file was given a unique location, with coordinates. A Foundation MTF Omega "Crowatch" agent was sent ahead to each location, prior to the file being uploaded.</p> <p>Two Foundation agents were sent to watch over an abandoned barn in Idaho. Within three hours of the file being uploaded to Foundation servers and sent to each person of interest, agents reported seeing an unmarked black helicopter land in a field while four men in black tactical gear exited the copper and entered the barn. Quickly exiting the barn after discovering nothing inside and leaving the area within minutes.</p> <p>Foundation Researcher Dr. Tammy Gale was sent the file with the location of the barn and was detained while investigators searched both her office and home. Dr. Tammy Gale was placed under Foundation custody. No other location was visited by this unknown group, after 24 hrs all agents were called back.</p> <div class="page"> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> To, Tammy<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> You will see what we need<br/> Our mission will become clear<br/> Unbenounced to others who are blind<br/> Righteous though they may act, morally they aren't<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> Right the wrongs<br/> Ever the guiding hand<br/> We know you and yours<br/> Are ready and vigilante<br/> Round and round forever<br/> Death be damned<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> Will the conflict begin<br/> In writings, words or blood<br/> Like all good things they happen in time<br/> Little will be left to the imagination<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> Be here or there it does not matter<br/> Everyone gets their dues<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> Greater the pain for the reward<br/> Regrets made, families broken<br/> Ever the sour ones in the end</p> <p>And those who defie us die<br/> To dawn the flags and arms<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> Sincerely, KRB</p> </div> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">Message</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">Message</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <div class="page"> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> To, Tammy<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <strong>Y</strong>ou will see what we need<br/> <strong>O</strong>ur mission will become clear<br/> <strong>U</strong>nbenounced to others who are blind<br/> <strong>R</strong>ighteous though they may act, morally they aren't<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <strong>R</strong>ight the wrongs<br/> <strong>E</strong>ver the guiding hand<br/> <strong>W</strong>e know you and yours<br/> <strong>A</strong>re ready and vigilante<br/> <strong>R</strong>ound and round forever<br/> <strong>D</strong>eath be damned<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <strong>W</strong>ill the conflict begin<br/> <strong>I</strong>n writings, words or blood<br/> <strong>L</strong>ike all good things they happen in time<br/> <strong>L</strong>ittle will be left to the imagination<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <strong>B</strong>e here or there it does not matter<br/> <strong>E</strong>veryone gets their dues<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <strong>G</strong>reater the pain for the reward<br/> <strong>R</strong>egrets made, families broken<br/> <strong>E</strong>ver the sour ones in the end<br/> <strong>A</strong>nd those who defie us die<br/> <strong>T</strong>o dawn the flags and arms<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> Sincerely, KRB</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <p><strong>Update:</strong> Dr. Gale was apprehended before any more Foundation files could be leaked. Investigators sent to her residence discovered a letter inside, it is unknown where the letter was sent from. The message contained inside "your reward will be great" bank records show no irregularities but investigators found a loose floor board in the house containing nearly $150,000 in cash, along with money, a stack of classified Foundation documents were found. It is unknown how much Dr. Gale has leaked to S.T.R.A.D. pertaining to Foundation operations, and for how long this has been going on.</p> <p>A bug out bag<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-1" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-1')">1</a></sup> was found believed to be from S.T.R.A.D. for Dr. Gale if she was ever discovered by the Foundation. Said bag provided: fake passports, fake IDs, new clothes, a handgun, several small gold and silver bars. Most importantly there was a letter along with cash in various currencies: "Here is a bonus, to the future we build together". The last thing found was a sealed envelope inside the bag addressed to the Foundation. The purpose of this letter was to be left behind for the Foundation if Dr. Gale was discovered and managed to escape. The contents of said letter stated her reasons for betraying the Foundation.</p> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">+ Show Incident Summary</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <h3 id="toc1"><span>Incident Summary:</span></h3> <blockquote> <p>On the day Dr. Gale's residence was raided by Foundation agents for evidence, agents searching the house found several listening devices planted around the house in several rooms, shortly after investigators noticed two GOC operatives surveilling the house from a distance. Once Spotted both operatives quickly left, driving away from the scene. GOC representatives questioned about the incident firmly deny any counter-surveillance of Foundation staff or Dr. Gale.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> </div> <p>Note: Following the finding of this Letter from Dr. Gale's residence, it is believed that the sender is former Foundation member Dr. Kenneth Ray Berryhill. Dr. Judy Baker has been informed, following previous incidents.<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-2" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-2')">2</a></sup> Due to this incident Foundation information security is to be updated and tightened so no further incidents like this may occur.</p> <div class="footnotes-footer"> <div class="title">Footnotes</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-1"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-1')">1</a>. A bag of pre-prepared supplies, when someone needs to leave at a moments notice</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-2"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-2')">2</a>. See document <a href="/a-letter-from-a-undesired">A Letter From a Undesired</a></div> </div> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/hidden-before-the-eyes">Hidden Before The Eyes</a>" by TboneBerryhill, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/hidden-before-the-eyes">https://scpwiki.com/hidden-before-the-eyes</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module rate]] [[/>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:author-label-source">:scp-wiki:component:author-label-source</a> start=-- \|name=TboneBerryhill]] [[[A-Letter-From-a-Undesired \|A Letter From a Undesired ]]] by TboneBerryhill [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:author-label-source">:scp-wiki:component:author-label-source</a> end=--]] > NOTE: The following information is confidential, pertaining to former and current members of the Foundation. This file is sealed due suspected spies within the Foundation with possible involvement regarding an unknown outside group. The information below is still under investigation. This document follows the events taken place form 4/6/09 to 10/18/10, along with information discovered concerning the illusive group collectively known as S.T.R.A.D. and their operations. [[collapsible show="+ Show Incident Summary" hide=" "]] +++ Incident Summary: > Incident 1: On the day of 4/7/08 Foundation forces were sent to investigate reports of anomalous activity in Orange County, Virginia near a motel off the I-64 interstate. Reaching the destination Foundation Personnel found the place had been recently ransacked and no anomalies to be discovered. > > Incident 2: 23 days later Foundation agents responded to a report in Germany about a tree in the Black Forest; upon arriving Foundation personnel discovered a hole in the ground where the tree had presumably stood. [[/collapsible]] Addendum: Both reports about anomalous activity were sent to necessary Foundation personnel for review before being uploaded to Foundation site servers, prior to agents being sent to investigate as is procedure. Investigations into how outside entities were accessing the information from the outside and how they were beating the Foundation to them were sent to determine exactly how. [[div class="blockquote"]] [[=]] MAIL - MESSAGE ONE [[/=]] FROM: Senior Foundation Investigator, Dr. Randy Berryhill TO: Site Director, Dr. Richardson TOPIC: Investigative report update. Good evening, as of 7/24/09 we have not yet determined the source of the leak from Foundation servers. We have however narrowed down a list of potential suspects connected to each of the previous leaks. [[collapsible show="List of names" hide="Names"]] Dr. Henry Thomas Dr. Sherwood Dr. Engles Dr. Gold Dr. Somber Dr. Diamond Dr. Starwood Dr. Willow Dr. Dr. Sherwin Dr. Redoak Dr. Silver Dr. Wood Dr. Safe Dr. Olive Dr. Garden Dr. Fell Dr. Lockwood Dr. Cottonwood Dr. Woodward Dr. Wall Dr. Lovewood Dr. Lotus Dr. Johnson Dr. Bergstorm Dr. Springhill Dr. Logan Dr. Jamar Dr. Willie Dr. Torchwood Dr. Homes Dr. Mark Lily Dr. Hedge Dr. Buffalo Dr. Pawn Dr. Tammy Gale [[/collapsible]] All individuals listed above are being monitored for irregular behavior, teams will be sent to search offices along with their digital footprint. These investigations will be done while individuals are out of office. To maintain secrecy no heads up will be given for office checks, so the leaker will not be alerted to our operations. Sincerely, Senior Foundation Investigator, Dr. Randy Berryhill [[/div]] [[div class="blockquote"]] [[=]] MAIL - MESSAGE TWO [[/=]] FROM: Site Director, Dr. Richardson TO: Senior Foundation Investigator, Dr. Randy Berryhill TOPIC: Re: Investigative report update. Good afternoon, thank you for your report, all available resources and personnel needed will be granted to your investigation. The site will be open to all searches required after hours. Additionally the site will close at an earlier time, except for necessary staff until this investigation is completed. P.S. I noticed your ex-wife was listed. I hope that's not a conflict of interest? I joke of course but do let us know if you need any extra assistance Sincerely, Site Director, Dr. Richardson [[/div]] Addendum: Tighter security and scrutiny Investigators in an effort to find the source of the leak began monitoring and searching mail in and out of Site-16, along with searching where the files were originally uploaded to Foundation site servers and personal computers of those with access, before other sites and departments received the information through secure channels. A series of fake reports were created, what appeared to be identical files sent to all suspected personnel. Each file was given a unique location, with coordinates. A Foundation MTF Omega "Crowatch" agent was sent ahead to each location, prior to the file being uploaded. Two Foundation agents were sent to watch over an abandoned barn in Idaho. Within three hours of the file being uploaded to Foundation servers and sent to each person of interest, agents reported seeing an unmarked black helicopter land in a field while four men in black tactical gear exited the copper and entered the barn. Quickly exiting the barn after discovering nothing inside and leaving the area within minutes. Foundation Researcher Dr. Tammy Gale was sent the file with the location of the barn and was detained while investigators searched both her office and home. Dr. Tammy Gale was placed under Foundation custody. No other location was visited by this unknown group, after 24 hrs all agents were called back. [[module css]] .page { display: block; overflow: hidden; font-family: "Monotype Corsiva", "Bradley Hand ITC", sans-serif; font-style: normal; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(to top ,rgb(202, 219, 228) 0%, rgb(231, 233, 220) 8%); background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0px 8px; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: 100% 20px; border: 1px solid #CCC; border-radius: 10px; padding: 10px 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; box-shadow: 0px 1px 3px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) } .page p, .page ul { line-height: 20px; margin: 0; } [[/module]] [[div class="page"]] @@ @@ To, Tammy @@ @@ You will see what we need Our mission will become clear Unbenounced to others who are blind Righteous though they may act, morally they aren't @@ @@ Right the wrongs Ever the guiding hand We know you and yours Are ready and vigilante Round and round forever Death be damned @@ @@ Will the conflict begin In writings, words or blood Like all good things they happen in time Little will be left to the imagination @@ @@ Be here or there it does not matter Everyone gets their dues @@ @@ Greater the pain for the reward Regrets made, families broken Ever the sour ones in the end And those who defie us die To dawn the flags and arms @@ @@ Sincerely, KRB [[/div]] [[collapsible show="Message" hide="Message"]] [[module css]] .page { display: block; overflow: hidden; font-family: "Monotype Corsiva", "Bradley Hand ITC", sans-serif; font-style: normal; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(to top ,rgb(202, 219, 228) 0%, rgb(231, 233, 220) 8%); background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0px 8px; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: 100% 20px; border: 1px solid #CCC; border-radius: 10px; padding: 10px 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; box-shadow: 0px 1px 3px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) } .page p, .page ul { line-height: 20px; margin: 0; } [[/module]] [[div class="page"]] @@ @@ To, Tammy @@ @@ You will see what we need Our mission will become clear Unbenounced to others who are blind Righteous though they may act, morally they aren't @@ @@ Right the wrongs Ever the guiding hand We know you and yours Are ready and vigilante Round and round forever Death be damned @@ @@ Will the conflict begin In writings, words or blood Like all good things they happen in time Little will be left to the imagination @@ @@ Be here or there it does not matter Everyone gets their dues @@ @@ Greater the pain for the reward Regrets made, families broken Ever the sour ones in the end And those who defie us die To dawn the flags and arms @@ @@ Sincerely, KRB [[/div]] [[/collapsible]] Update: Dr. Gale was apprehended before any more Foundation files could be leaked. Investigators sent to her residence discovered a letter inside, it is unknown where the letter was sent from. The message contained inside "your reward will be great" bank records show no irregularities but investigators found a loose floor board in the house containing nearly $150,000 in cash, along with money, a stack of classified Foundation documents were found. It is unknown how much Dr. Gale has leaked to S.T.R.A.D. pertaining to Foundation operations, and for how long this has been going on. A bug out bag[[footnote]] A bag of pre-prepared supplies, when someone needs to leave at a moments notice [[/footnote]] was found believed to be from S.T.R.A.D. for Dr. Gale if she was ever discovered by the Foundation. Said bag provided: fake passports, fake IDs, new clothes, a handgun, several small gold and silver bars. Most importantly there was a letter along with cash in various currencies: "Here is a bonus, to the future we build together". The last thing found was a sealed envelope inside the bag addressed to the Foundation. The purpose of this letter was to be left behind for the Foundation if Dr. Gale was discovered and managed to escape. The contents of said letter stated her reasons for betraying the Foundation. [[collapsible show="+ Show Incident Summary" hide=" "]] +++ Incident Summary: > On the day Dr. Gale's residence was raided by Foundation agents for evidence, agents searching the house found several listening devices planted around the house in several rooms, shortly after investigators noticed two GOC operatives surveilling the house from a distance. Once Spotted both operatives quickly left, driving away from the scene. GOC representatives questioned about the incident firmly deny any counter-surveillance of Foundation staff or Dr. Gale. [[/collapsible]] Note: Following the finding of this Letter from Dr. Gale's residence, it is believed that the sender is former Foundation member Dr. Kenneth Ray Berryhill. Dr. Judy Baker has been informed, following previous incidents. [[footnote]] See document [[[A-Letter-From-a-Undesired \|A Letter From a Undesired ]]][[/footnote]] Due to this incident Foundation information security is to be updated and tightened so no further incidents like this may occur. [[footnoteblock]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a> \|author=TboneBerryhill]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-10-27T02:07:00	[ "_licensebox", "poetry", "tale" ]	Hidden Before The Eyes - SCP Foundation	16	[ "a-letter-from-a-undesired", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023" ]	[]	1451021912	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/hidden-before-the-eyes
history-of-behemoths	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=3&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Adustjacket/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <div class="authorlink-wrapper"><a href="javascript:;">ArthCymro</a> <div class="authorbox"> <div class="authorcontent"> <p><strong><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/dr-dafydd-s-personnel-file">More by this Author</a></strong></p> </div> </div> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><br/> Before the Flames,<br/> Before the Void,<br/> Before the Worlds,<br/> Before the Lives.</p> <p>Before All,<br/> there was the Tree.</p> </div> <br/> <hr/> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h3 id="toc0"><span><em>Feast of the Sruth</em></span></h3> </div> <br/> When the worlds were young and full of aptitude, the Tree, itself young, despite being older than all that was, reached out into the worlds through the Ways and filled them with the Sruth. As it swam in the void and chaos, it found its way to the lives, young and ignorant. As the lives grew, the Sruth pooled around them, immersing them. As they bathed, their bodies and souls changed, bloomed and grew richer in possibility and power. <p>And from these lives, the Behemoths were born.</p> <p>Titans they were. Giants. Each one was as powerful as the next. They grew power over skins, minds, elements and shapes. Or went inwards, becoming ideas, beliefs and concepts. Or lost all they were and became nothing but functions and noise. Or just continued to grow.</p> <p>And as they grew, they reached out into the void and explored.</p> <p>In the void, the Behemoths found new things. Fires and lights. Darkness and forces. Rocks, clouds and dust. And Sruth. The void remained full of Sruth. The Behemoths, they're curiosity and lust for power still unsated, swarmed and bathed once again. "Such power. Such potential. We must have more," they thought, "This has granted us control. Capabilities. More." Consumed by want, they flew into the chaos, following the Sruth.</p> <p>And soon, they found the Ways, and then, the Tree.</p> <p>The Behemoths gazed up at the Tree in awe. They were amazed at its presence as they noticed its branches touched everything within the void. It connected everything. And from the branches, came Sruth. Without question or consideration, the Behemoths once again feasted, ripping and wounding the wood of the Tree, desperate for the potential the Sruth could give them.</p> <p>As the Behemoths purged, in the void, on the rocks and clouds, more lives emerged. Because the Behemoths had claimed the Tree as their own, these lives were not blessed with its gifts. So the lives grew slowly and with difficulty as the Tree's damage sickened the worlds around them. But with time, their forms, souls and minds changed, and they drew more Surth towards them. The Behemoths were disgusted by this.</p> <p>"Are we not the true rulers of these worlds and realms? The Tree gave us its gifts. We, alone, were powerful enough to find it. We should decide how its gifts should be shared."</p> <p>Blinded by their privilege, the Behemoths flew across the void, confining these new lives and squandering their chances. The lives, unable to fight such creatures, bowed down to them, afraid of their power.</p> <p>"We are the First Children of the Tree. We, alone, were blessed by its gifts. We alone shall rule these realms."</p> <hr/> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h3 id="toc1"><span><em>Genesis of Question</em></span></h3> </div> <br/> Arrogant and unchecked, the Behemoths ruled the realms, forcing the lives to worship them as gods. Some of them made the lives perform rituals and patterns to tie them together, enslaving them into a loop. Some engraved their philosophies so deeply into the lives, that warfare and bloodshed became a common practice. Some went deeper, invading the lives' minds and dreams, forcing them to imagine impossible things, twisting them. And some just cause chaos. <p>But then, one saw something that the others didn't.</p> <p>The Behemoth's name was Nahash. Like their siblings, the Sruth had bought them a blessing. They were gifted with a powerful memory and perception, allowing them to witness things the others missed and remember things long forgotten. In the beginning, they were greedy and foolish, just like their siblings, believing themselves better for being gifted. For millennia, they had fought with their siblings over a number of passing reasons, using lives as playing things for their games and arguments.</p> <p>For the past centuries, they and their closest sibling, Shesha, had been manipulating a crystal world inhabited by thinking flames. Nahash was attempting to unify the world in a shared belief while Shesha tried to break it down with gloom. The endeavour was pointless.</p> <p>This changed when Nahash, while flying the orange skies, came across a small Flame, kneeling down near a lake of oil. "Who does this thing think they are," exclaimed the Behemoth in shock and offence. They flew down to the earth and hid in the crystal rockery, observing the Flame. The Flame was young and made of green embers. In their arms, they held a shield, one which Nahash recognised as a piece from a previous faith they'd established. The Flame was carefully cupping the oil from the lake with the shield's interior. Once it was filled, the Flame reached out and placed a small finger into the liquid, causing the oil to burn and spit. "Simple thing," scoffed Nahash, but then they noticed the Flame's movements. As the blaze grew, the Flame moved their body into sharp angels and gestures, which caused the blaze to grow, change colour and form geometric shapes and patterns. Then, as soon as it had started, the blaze extinguished and the Flame halted their gesturing. Nahash was perplexed. The Flame's work hadn't been something they'd seen before. In their mind, they felt something they had not experienced before. Fascination.</p> <p>"What are you doing," called Nahash, emerging from the rockery. The Flame screamed in shock and curled into a prayer.</p> <p>"Forgive me, Nehushtan of the Words. I should've been praying. Please forgive my offence."</p> <p>"I do not care about your offence. Tell me about what you were doing, child."</p> <p>The Flame looked up in fearful question. "I was merely practising. When pass my heat into the oil, I can make shapes in the blaze with my dancing."</p> <p>"Why," asked Nahash.</p> <p>"Because - I think it looks beautiful."</p> <p>"Beautiful!"</p> <p>Nahash let out a large hiss, encircled the young Flame and glared down at them with their brilliant emerald eyes. Who did they think they were?</p> <p>"Yes - yes, I cannot lie, Nehushtan of the Words. The colours and shapes make me feel good. I feel happy when I make them."</p> <p>Nahash's glare softened. They could not deny that the shapes and colours the blaze had made had been alluring, despite being temporary and simple. They had not seen anything so striking in ages. Not even their siblings had managed to do that.</p> <p>"What is your title," asked Nahash.</p> <p>"Pangloss, Nehushtan of the Words."</p> <p>"Could you always do this? This dancing and ember work"</p> <p>"No, Nehushtan of the Words, I had to practice. It hurt, to begin with, but, it felt nice to create something for myself."</p> <p>A silence fell. The only sound was the gentle waves the oils made against the glass sand.</p> <p>"I shall return, after one cycle of the second moon. Return to this place too. I wish to see the blaze again."</p> <p>With that, Nahash flew back into the heavens, leaving the Flame to their oil and shield, afraid but braver.</p> <hr/> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h3 id="toc2"><span><em>Blazes of Pangloss</em></span></h3> </div> <br/> Nahash, true to their word, returned to the lake on the completion of the cycle. As expected, the Flame awaited at the shores, the shield already filled with oil. <p>"You have returned. I am impressed."</p> <p>"I did not want to disappoint, Nehushtan of the Words"</p> <p>"Desists with the quailing, child. Nehushtan will do. Now, show me your fires."</p> <p>The Flame nodded and placed their finger into the oil. The oil did not spit this time and ignited calmly. The embers then darkened into a black fire, nearly invisible against the twilight sky. The Flame then held out their hands and motioned them in a smooth slither. The black blaze rose out of the shield, forming a spiralling tower. It then split into six rings, each a different colour, which spun into a large spherical orb. In the centre of the rings, a small white fireball formed, which began to pulsate and flex. Then, as the Flame clapped their hands and gestured, the white ball shaped itself into a small, ivory entity, with brilliant green eyes and a small, red tongue. Then the fires collapsed inwards, and the performance was completed.</p> <p>"I hope you appreciate my depiction of yourself, Nehushtan."</p> <p>Nahash stared at the Flame in amazement. They couldn't comprehend how talented the creature was. How they had made something so small and simple, beautiful and worthy, through study and practice rather than through power and gifts.</p> <p>"Do it again. Please."</p> <p>The Flame was confused but obliged. As they filled the shield with oil once more, Nahash slithered into the lake and sat within its shallows. As the Flame began again, Nahash joined in their gesturing and movements. The fires in the shield grew and towered the two, filling the air with several dancing figures of fire, each accompanied by a small, white entity with green eyes. They swarmed around the two figures. The Behemoth and the Flame.</p> <p>As the performance finished, Nahash sighed calmly and lowered their head towards the Flame.</p> <p>"My child. I thank you for this experience. I wish to return once again. I must learn this art. You must teach me."</p> <p>The Flame gazed at the Behemoth in shock. Behemoths never treated the lives as equals.</p> <p>"It shall try, Nehushtan."</p> <p>"I look forward to it."</p> <p>And Nahash left the lake, eagerly awaiting their next meeting.</p> <p>But to the Behemoth's confusion and disappointment, on the night of the third cycle, the Flame did not show. They awaited their appearance patiently, through the dusk, night and dawn. But as the blue sun rose, Nahash's patience had soured into anger.</p> <p>"How could they betray me," they exclaimed bitterly and flew across the sky, searching for the Flame. But the world was surprisingly empty. Not a flame could be seen on the surface. Nahash's anger quickly turned into panic. They didn't want the Flame gone.</p> <p>"Where are the lives?"</p> <p>"I grew bored of our game," said Shesha, emerging from the sky and twisting around Nahash, "so I disposed of them."</p> <p>Shesha pointed their oily tail at a deep crack and Nahash gasped in horror. At the bottom, lay thousands of bodies, glowing weakly, devoid of life. In one of the figures' hands, a small shield was held.</p> <p>"Pangloss!"</p> <p>Nahash dived into the crack and examined the Flame's body. They were dead, just like the others.</p> <p>"It was easy, you know," boasted Shesha, "All it took was one long look and off then went. It was rather an interesting thing to see."</p> <p>"But why?"</p> <p>Shesha gave a short snort and then flew out into the void.</p> <p>"Don't tell me you actually cared about these ephemeral things?"</p> <hr/> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h3 id="toc3"><span><em>Extinction of Behemoths</em></span></h3> </div> <br/> Nahash sat on the empty planet, shocked. Questions flooded their mind. Why had they cared so much? Had it really enjoyed the work of the Flame that much? Why had Shesha destroyed this place? It took the shield from the Flame's grasp and looked at themselves in its reflection. Sickened green eyes stared back. <p>That's when they released the truth. Their siblings. The Behemoths. They were not the rulers of the realms. They were nothing but vandals. Destroyers. Timewasters. Hidden behind their ridiculous philosophy and sense of nobility, they were just monsters. And Nahash was a monster themselves. The lives they had ruled, ruined and twisted were different. They saw the realms as a place to explore. A place to learn. A place to create. Even if they're time was short or often ill-spent, it had more purpose than any Behemoth.</p> <p>Nahash screamed in rage.</p> <p>"Here me! I am Nahash! I am Nehushtan of the Words! I relinquish my name and title! No longer shall I stand for this waste of potential, passion and beauty! No longer I shall be blinded by false glory and power! No longer shall I be a Behemoth! I shall avenge the lives we've abused and make these realms theirs!"</p> <p>From the void came the sound of laughter and disgust.</p> <p>"You wish to make our kingdom theirs? You are a fool, Nahash. They are a waste of potential and work. We were the ones blessed by the Sruth. We are the rulers of the realms."</p> <p>Nahash screamed again, but their wrath and grief fell on deaf ears. It was true. The Sruth had blessed the Behemoths and would continue to do so. There was no stopping the Tree or the Sruth.</p> <p>Then they remembered the Ways. All Sruth came from the Tree but it passed to the worlds and void through the Ways. If they closed, the Sruth would stop and the Behemoths would be weakened.</p> <p>So taking the shield, up Nahash flew. Into the void. Into the Ways. Into the very roots and branches of the Tree. It focused, whispered a promise and began to coil itself along the wood, closing the Ways and blocking the Sruth's escape. At first, their siblings noticed nothing and continued their endless torment and destruction. But soon their power began to wane. Their influence began to weaken. The worlds began to heal. The lives began to rebel.</p> <p>"What is this," they cried in rage.</p> <p>Then they saw the Sruth. Its movement had slowed and halted, and what was left had begun to recede back into the Ways. Their sibling, Nahash, was blocking its flow.</p> <p>"Traitor! You dare turn on us!"</p> <p>"I dare!"</p> <p>Enraged, the Behemoths sored to the Tree and began bludgeoning Nahash. Nahash screamed in agony but held their grip.</p> <p>"Release the Tree! Open the Ways!"</p> <p>"I will not!"</p> <p>The Behemoths roared and tore at Nahash's flesh and mind. Nahash cried in pain but held their grip.</p> <p>"Free the Sruth! Return what is ours!"</p> <p>"It is ours no longer!"</p> <p>The Behemoths hollered and released blasts of searing light and flame. Nahash wailed in sorrow but held their grip.</p> <p>Soon, the Behemoth began to change. As the Sruth had begun to subside, their influence had vanished. Eventually, they forget about Nahash and begin to fight each other over what was left. In the battle, many perished taking lives and worlds with them. Others grew smaller, weaker and forgot everything they once were. In the end, few remained.</p> <p>"You have destroyed everything we have done, Nahash. You betray your family for these immaterial creatures?"</p> <p>"I betray my family because it is for the better."</p> <p>As they forgot and perished, the Behemoths let out one final cry of hatred.</p> <p>"We shall return, Nahash. In aeons to come, we shall return! And your farcical lives shall pain for your sin."</p> <p>And with that, the Behemoths vanished and Nahash was all that was left.</p> <hr/> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h3 id="toc4"><span><em>Penance of Nahash</em></span></h3> </div> <br/> Now alone and wounded, Nahash returned to the base of the Tree, ashamed of themselves and their actions. In between the Tree's branches, looked again at themselves in the shield. Tired, and filled with doubt, Nahash wept. Many of the lives they had wanted to gift were gone. The siblings they had once loved were now dead or shells of their former selves. It was all over. And had it really been worth it? <p>"Why are you crying," said a voice. Nahash lifted their head in shock and looked out, beyond the Tree's branches. Walking towards them was a figure. As it got closer, it stepped out from itself. One to the right and one to the left. Where one had once walked, now there were Three. Three figures.</p> <p>One Small.</p> <p>One Tall.</p> <p>One All.</p> <p>Nahash shrank in fear. For all they know, all things existed beneath and between the Tree. This they were sure of. Yet these Three stood outside of the Tree. Beyond its branches. In the Realm of Dust and Clay. "Who are you," they whimpered. The Three smiled compassionately and spoke as one. The voice was not one Nahash liked the sounds of. It was the sound that they heard in the back of their head.</p> <p>"We are merely Brothers. We mean you no harm, Nahash. But we ask again, why are you crying?"</p> <p>Nahash had forgotten their sorrow for a moment. "I am a sinner. My siblings and I were greedy and envious. We had been blessed by the Sruth but we wanted more. We fought for more and in doing so we hurt this great Tree and caused such devastation. I wanted to fix it. I wanted to make the worlds better. Now, I am alone and in disgrace." Nahash looked away, attempting to hide from the gaze of the Three.</p> <p>The Three then laughed and circled Nahash, petted their scales.</p> <p>"My dear creature," they sighed, "Do not give up so quickly. Look."</p> <p>The Three pointed out into the void. And to Nahash's surprise, they saw climbing from the horrors and desolation, lives growing once again. Young and ignorant, weak and flimsy, but new. "Even after the harshest of battles, something shall rise," said the Three. Nahash's eyes widened in disbelief. The Sruth was flowing once again, encircling the new lives. Potential was blooming once more. At first, they were overjoyed, but then they remembered what they and their siblings had done and worry crept into their mind.</p> <p>"You remain troubled," questioned the Three.</p> <p>"My siblings and I were like them once. Bathed and blessed. What if they are merely a new generation of destroyers and plunderers?"</p> <p>The Three looked at one another and then nodded in agreement. Small acted first, ripping a piece of hide from one of the dead Behemoths. Tall then acted, taking bark from the damaged roots of the Tree and placing them within Small's hide. All then came forward, held out the shield Nahash had lovingly guarded and took some blood from a nearby battlefield.</p> <p>"You are blessed with knowledge and hindsight. You have seen the price of greed and folly. If others shall come, make sure they learn. This is your purpose now. No longer are you Nahash. You are now the Serpent. Giver of knowledge. Keeper of tales. Protector of the Tree."</p> <p>The Serpent took the hide, the bark and the blood and sat in the branches of the Tree. When they looked back, the Three had gone. "I must tell my story," said The Serpent, assured. Dipping their tail in the blood-filled shield, it remembered the face the Flame had made when they'd danced. The Serpent sighed sadly and began to write.</p> <hr/> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h3 id="toc5"><span><em>Nexus of Wander</em></span></h3> </div> <br/> And thus The Serpent was born. And as the aeons flew, The Serpent performed their duty, watched and learnt. With every tale and truth they witnessed, they wrote it down and added the record to the Tree. As the Tree's wounds filled with records, the worlds grew quieter and mellower, with the lives growing more enriched and curious, encircled with Sruth. Soon, just like the Behemoths before them, the lives found the Ways and came to the Tree. But this time, The Serpent was waiting for them. <p>"Who are you," the lives asked.</p> <p>"I am the Serpent, guardian of the place."</p> <p>"What is this place," the lives asked.</p> <p>"This is the Tree. A place of knowledge, of truths and of tales."</p> <p>"Who's tales," the lives asked.</p> <p>"All that has been and all that is happening. Maybe even some yet to come. Would you care to hear some?"</p> <p>"Yes, please," said the lives.</p> <p>And with that, the Serpent's role was complete. They told the lives tales of the worlds. They passed on knowledge and ability. Afterwards, some of the lives returned to their world, to use what they had discovered to further themselves and better their time. Not all did, however. Others moved to other worlds, to seek new stories and abilities. To further enrich themselves and others around them. A few remained behind also, with the Serpent, recording the tales and maintaining the Tree. Eventually, the Tree's branches were filed with records. Each a story. Each a lesson. Each a wonder.</p> <hr/> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p>Before the Flames,<br/> Before the Void,<br/> Before the Worlds,<br/> Before the Lives.</p> <p>Before All,<br/> there was the <a href="https://wanderers-library.wikidot.com/">Tree</a>.</p> </div> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/history-of-behemoths">History of Behemoths</a>" by arthcymro, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/history-of-behemoths">https://scpwiki.com/history-of-behemoths</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:black-highlighter-theme">:scp-wiki:theme:black-highlighter-theme</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:dustjacket">:scp-wiki:theme:dustjacket</a>]] [[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:author-label-source">:scp-wiki:component:author-label-source</a> start=-- \|name=ArthCymro]] [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/dr-dafydd-s-personnel-file More by this Author] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:author-label-source">:scp-wiki:component:author-label-source</a> end=--]] [[=]] @@@@ Before the Flames, Before the Void, Before the Worlds, Before the Lives. Before All, there was the Tree. [[/=]] @@@@ ---- [[=]] +++ //Feast of the Sruth// [[/=]] When the worlds were young and full of aptitude, the Tree, itself young, despite being older than all that was, reached out into the worlds through the Ways and filled them with the Sruth. As it swam in the void and chaos, it found its way to the lives, young and ignorant. As the lives grew, the Sruth pooled around them, immersing them. As they bathed, their bodies and souls changed, bloomed and grew richer in possibility and power. And from these lives, the Behemoths were born. Titans they were. Giants. Each one was as powerful as the next. They grew power over skins, minds, elements and shapes. Or went inwards, becoming ideas, beliefs and concepts. Or lost all they were and became nothing but functions and noise. Or just continued to grow. And as they grew, they reached out into the void and explored. In the void, the Behemoths found new things. Fires and lights. Darkness and forces. Rocks, clouds and dust. And Sruth. The void remained full of Sruth. The Behemoths, they're curiosity and lust for power still unsated, swarmed and bathed once again. "Such power. Such potential. We must have more," they thought, "This has granted us control. Capabilities. More." Consumed by want, they flew into the chaos, following the Sruth. And soon, they found the Ways, and then, the Tree. The Behemoths gazed up at the Tree in awe. They were amazed at its presence as they noticed its branches touched everything within the void. It connected everything. And from the branches, came Sruth. Without question or consideration, the Behemoths once again feasted, ripping and wounding the wood of the Tree, desperate for the potential the Sruth could give them. As the Behemoths purged, in the void, on the rocks and clouds, more lives emerged. Because the Behemoths had claimed the Tree as their own, these lives were not blessed with its gifts. So the lives grew slowly and with difficulty as the Tree's damage sickened the worlds around them. But with time, their forms, souls and minds changed, and they drew more Surth towards them. The Behemoths were disgusted by this. "Are we not the true rulers of these worlds and realms? The Tree gave us its gifts. We, alone, were powerful enough to find it. We should decide how its gifts should be shared." Blinded by their privilege, the Behemoths flew across the void, confining these new lives and squandering their chances. The lives, unable to fight such creatures, bowed down to them, afraid of their power. "We are the First Children of the Tree. We, alone, were blessed by its gifts. We alone shall rule these realms." ---- [[=]] +++ //Genesis of Question// [[/=]] Arrogant and unchecked, the Behemoths ruled the realms, forcing the lives to worship them as gods. Some of them made the lives perform rituals and patterns to tie them together, enslaving them into a loop. Some engraved their philosophies so deeply into the lives, that warfare and bloodshed became a common practice. Some went deeper, invading the lives' minds and dreams, forcing them to imagine impossible things, twisting them. And some just cause chaos. But then, one saw something that the others didn't. The Behemoth's name was Nahash. Like their siblings, the Sruth had bought them a blessing. They were gifted with a powerful memory and perception, allowing them to witness things the others missed and remember things long forgotten. In the beginning, they were greedy and foolish, just like their siblings, believing themselves better for being gifted. For millennia, they had fought with their siblings over a number of passing reasons, using lives as playing things for their games and arguments. For the past centuries, they and their closest sibling, Shesha, had been manipulating a crystal world inhabited by thinking flames. Nahash was attempting to unify the world in a shared belief while Shesha tried to break it down with gloom. The endeavour was pointless. This changed when Nahash, while flying the orange skies, came across a small Flame, kneeling down near a lake of oil. "Who does this thing think they are," exclaimed the Behemoth in shock and offence. They flew down to the earth and hid in the crystal rockery, observing the Flame. The Flame was young and made of green embers. In their arms, they held a shield, one which Nahash recognised as a piece from a previous faith they'd established. The Flame was carefully cupping the oil from the lake with the shield's interior. Once it was filled, the Flame reached out and placed a small finger into the liquid, causing the oil to burn and spit. "Simple thing," scoffed Nahash, but then they noticed the Flame's movements. As the blaze grew, the Flame moved their body into sharp angels and gestures, which caused the blaze to grow, change colour and form geometric shapes and patterns. Then, as soon as it had started, the blaze extinguished and the Flame halted their gesturing. Nahash was perplexed. The Flame's work hadn't been something they'd seen before. In their mind, they felt something they had not experienced before. Fascination. "What are you doing," called Nahash, emerging from the rockery. The Flame screamed in shock and curled into a prayer. "Forgive me, Nehushtan of the Words. I should've been praying. Please forgive my offence." "I do not care about your offence. Tell me about what you were doing, child." The Flame looked up in fearful question. "I was merely practising. When pass my heat into the oil, I can make shapes in the blaze with my dancing." "Why," asked Nahash. "Because - I think it looks beautiful." "Beautiful!" Nahash let out a large hiss, encircled the young Flame and glared down at them with their brilliant emerald eyes. Who did they think they were? "Yes - yes, I cannot lie, Nehushtan of the Words. The colours and shapes make me feel good. I feel happy when I make them." Nahash's glare softened. They could not deny that the shapes and colours the blaze had made had been alluring, despite being temporary and simple. They had not seen anything so striking in ages. Not even their siblings had managed to do that. "What is your title," asked Nahash. "Pangloss, Nehushtan of the Words." "Could you always do this? This dancing and ember work" "No, Nehushtan of the Words, I had to practice. It hurt, to begin with, but, it felt nice to create something for myself." A silence fell. The only sound was the gentle waves the oils made against the glass sand. "I shall return, after one cycle of the second moon. Return to this place too. I wish to see the blaze again." With that, Nahash flew back into the heavens, leaving the Flame to their oil and shield, afraid but braver. ---- [[=]] +++ //Blazes of Pangloss// [[/=]] Nahash, true to their word, returned to the lake on the completion of the cycle. As expected, the Flame awaited at the shores, the shield already filled with oil. "You have returned. I am impressed." "I did not want to disappoint, Nehushtan of the Words" "Desists with the quailing, child. Nehushtan will do. Now, show me your fires." The Flame nodded and placed their finger into the oil. The oil did not spit this time and ignited calmly. The embers then darkened into a black fire, nearly invisible against the twilight sky. The Flame then held out their hands and motioned them in a smooth slither. The black blaze rose out of the shield, forming a spiralling tower. It then split into six rings, each a different colour, which spun into a large spherical orb. In the centre of the rings, a small white fireball formed, which began to pulsate and flex. Then, as the Flame clapped their hands and gestured, the white ball shaped itself into a small, ivory entity, with brilliant green eyes and a small, red tongue. Then the fires collapsed inwards, and the performance was completed. "I hope you appreciate my depiction of yourself, Nehushtan." Nahash stared at the Flame in amazement. They couldn't comprehend how talented the creature was. How they had made something so small and simple, beautiful and worthy, through study and practice rather than through power and gifts. "Do it again. Please." The Flame was confused but obliged. As they filled the shield with oil once more, Nahash slithered into the lake and sat within its shallows. As the Flame began again, Nahash joined in their gesturing and movements. The fires in the shield grew and towered the two, filling the air with several dancing figures of fire, each accompanied by a small, white entity with green eyes. They swarmed around the two figures. The Behemoth and the Flame. As the performance finished, Nahash sighed calmly and lowered their head towards the Flame. "My child. I thank you for this experience. I wish to return once again. I must learn this art. You must teach me." The Flame gazed at the Behemoth in shock. Behemoths never treated the lives as equals. "It shall try, Nehushtan." "I look forward to it." And Nahash left the lake, eagerly awaiting their next meeting. But to the Behemoth's confusion and disappointment, on the night of the third cycle, the Flame did not show. They awaited their appearance patiently, through the dusk, night and dawn. But as the blue sun rose, Nahash's patience had soured into anger. "How could they betray me," they exclaimed bitterly and flew across the sky, searching for the Flame. But the world was surprisingly empty. Not a flame could be seen on the surface. Nahash's anger quickly turned into panic. They didn't want the Flame gone. "Where are the lives?" "I grew bored of our game," said Shesha, emerging from the sky and twisting around Nahash, "so I disposed of them." Shesha pointed their oily tail at a deep crack and Nahash gasped in horror. At the bottom, lay thousands of bodies, glowing weakly, devoid of life. In one of the figures' hands, a small shield was held. "Pangloss!" Nahash dived into the crack and examined the Flame's body. They were dead, just like the others. "It was easy, you know," boasted Shesha, "All it took was one long look and off then went. It was rather an interesting thing to see." "But why?" Shesha gave a short snort and then flew out into the void. "Don't tell me you actually cared about these ephemeral things?" ---- [[=]] +++ //Extinction of Behemoths// [[/=]] Nahash sat on the empty planet, shocked. Questions flooded their mind. Why had they cared so much? Had it really enjoyed the work of the Flame that much? Why had Shesha destroyed this place? It took the shield from the Flame's grasp and looked at themselves in its reflection. Sickened green eyes stared back. That's when they released the truth. Their siblings. The Behemoths. They were not the rulers of the realms. They were nothing but vandals. Destroyers. Timewasters. Hidden behind their ridiculous philosophy and sense of nobility, they were just monsters. And Nahash was a monster themselves. The lives they had ruled, ruined and twisted were different. They saw the realms as a place to explore. A place to learn. A place to create. Even if they're time was short or often ill-spent, it had more purpose than any Behemoth. Nahash screamed in rage. "Here me! I am Nahash! I am Nehushtan of the Words! I relinquish my name and title! No longer shall I stand for this waste of potential, passion and beauty! No longer I shall be blinded by false glory and power! No longer shall I be a Behemoth! I shall avenge the lives we've abused and make these realms theirs!" From the void came the sound of laughter and disgust. "You wish to make our kingdom theirs? You are a fool, Nahash. They are a waste of potential and work. We were the ones blessed by the Sruth. We are the rulers of the realms." Nahash screamed again, but their wrath and grief fell on deaf ears. It was true. The Sruth had blessed the Behemoths and would continue to do so. There was no stopping the Tree or the Sruth. Then they remembered the Ways. All Sruth came from the Tree but it passed to the worlds and void through the Ways. If they closed, the Sruth would stop and the Behemoths would be weakened. So taking the shield, up Nahash flew. Into the void. Into the Ways. Into the very roots and branches of the Tree. It focused, whispered a promise and began to coil itself along the wood, closing the Ways and blocking the Sruth's escape. At first, their siblings noticed nothing and continued their endless torment and destruction. But soon their power began to wane. Their influence began to weaken. The worlds began to heal. The lives began to rebel. "What is this," they cried in rage. Then they saw the Sruth. Its movement had slowed and halted, and what was left had begun to recede back into the Ways. Their sibling, Nahash, was blocking its flow. "Traitor! You dare turn on us!" "I dare!" Enraged, the Behemoths sored to the Tree and began bludgeoning Nahash. Nahash screamed in agony but held their grip. "Release the Tree! Open the Ways!" "I will not!" The Behemoths roared and tore at Nahash's flesh and mind. Nahash cried in pain but held their grip. "Free the Sruth! Return what is ours!" "It is ours no longer!" The Behemoths hollered and released blasts of searing light and flame. Nahash wailed in sorrow but held their grip. Soon, the Behemoth began to change. As the Sruth had begun to subside, their influence had vanished. Eventually, they forget about Nahash and begin to fight each other over what was left. In the battle, many perished taking lives and worlds with them. Others grew smaller, weaker and forgot everything they once were. In the end, few remained. "You have destroyed everything we have done, Nahash. You betray your family for these immaterial creatures?" "I betray my family because it is for the better." As they forgot and perished, the Behemoths let out one final cry of hatred. "We shall return, Nahash. In aeons to come, we shall return! And your farcical lives shall pain for your sin." And with that, the Behemoths vanished and Nahash was all that was left. ---- [[=]] +++ //Penance of Nahash// [[/=]] Now alone and wounded, Nahash returned to the base of the Tree, ashamed of themselves and their actions. In between the Tree's branches, looked again at themselves in the shield. Tired, and filled with doubt, Nahash wept. Many of the lives they had wanted to gift were gone. The siblings they had once loved were now dead or shells of their former selves. It was all over. And had it really been worth it? "Why are you crying," said a voice. Nahash lifted their head in shock and looked out, beyond the Tree's branches. Walking towards them was a figure. As it got closer, it stepped out from itself. One to the right and one to the left. Where one had once walked, now there were Three. Three figures. One Small. One Tall. One All. Nahash shrank in fear. For all they know, all things existed beneath and between the Tree. This they were sure of. Yet these Three stood outside of the Tree. Beyond its branches. In the Realm of Dust and Clay. "Who are you," they whimpered. The Three smiled compassionately and spoke as one. The voice was not one Nahash liked the sounds of. It was the sound that they heard in the back of their head. "We are merely Brothers. We mean you no harm, Nahash. But we ask again, why are you crying?" Nahash had forgotten their sorrow for a moment. "I am a sinner. My siblings and I were greedy and envious. We had been blessed by the Sruth but we wanted more. We fought for more and in doing so we hurt this great Tree and caused such devastation. I wanted to fix it. I wanted to make the worlds better. Now, I am alone and in disgrace." Nahash looked away, attempting to hide from the gaze of the Three. The Three then laughed and circled Nahash, petted their scales. "My dear creature," they sighed, "Do not give up so quickly. Look." The Three pointed out into the void. And to Nahash's surprise, they saw climbing from the horrors and desolation, lives growing once again. Young and ignorant, weak and flimsy, but new. "Even after the harshest of battles, something shall rise," said the Three. Nahash's eyes widened in disbelief. The Sruth was flowing once again, encircling the new lives. Potential was blooming once more. At first, they were overjoyed, but then they remembered what they and their siblings had done and worry crept into their mind. "You remain troubled," questioned the Three. "My siblings and I were like them once. Bathed and blessed. What if they are merely a new generation of destroyers and plunderers?" The Three looked at one another and then nodded in agreement. Small acted first, ripping a piece of hide from one of the dead Behemoths. Tall then acted, taking bark from the damaged roots of the Tree and placing them within Small's hide. All then came forward, held out the shield Nahash had lovingly guarded and took some blood from a nearby battlefield. "You are blessed with knowledge and hindsight. You have seen the price of greed and folly. If others shall come, make sure they learn. This is your purpose now. No longer are you Nahash. You are now the Serpent. Giver of knowledge. Keeper of tales. Protector of the Tree." The Serpent took the hide, the bark and the blood and sat in the branches of the Tree. When they looked back, the Three had gone. "I must tell my story," said The Serpent, assured. Dipping their tail in the blood-filled shield, it remembered the face the Flame had made when they'd danced. The Serpent sighed sadly and began to write. ---- [[=]] +++ //Nexus of Wander// [[/=]] And thus The Serpent was born. And as the aeons flew, The Serpent performed their duty, watched and learnt. With every tale and truth they witnessed, they wrote it down and added the record to the Tree. As the Tree's wounds filled with records, the worlds grew quieter and mellower, with the lives growing more enriched and curious, encircled with Sruth. Soon, just like the Behemoths before them, the lives found the Ways and came to the Tree. But this time, The Serpent was waiting for them. "Who are you," the lives asked. "I am the Serpent, guardian of the place." "What is this place," the lives asked. "This is the Tree. A place of knowledge, of truths and of tales." "Who's tales," the lives asked. "All that has been and all that is happening. Maybe even some yet to come. Would you care to hear some?" "Yes, please," said the lives. And with that, the Serpent's role was complete. They told the lives tales of the worlds. They passed on knowledge and ability. Afterwards, some of the lives returned to their world, to use what they had discovered to further themselves and better their time. Not all did, however. Others moved to other worlds, to seek new stories and abilities. To further enrich themselves and others around them. A few remained behind also, with the Serpent, recording the tales and maintaining the Tree. Eventually, the Tree's branches were filed with records. Each a story. Each a lesson. Each a wonder. ---- [[=]] Before the Flames, Before the Void, Before the Worlds, Before the Lives. Before All, there was the [[[https://wanderers-library.wikidot.com/\|Tree]]]. [[/=]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] [!-- N/A (No Images) --] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-07-27T13:28:00	[ "_licensebox", "brothers-of-death", "fantasy", "otherworldly", "pangloss", "tale", "wanderers-library", "war-on-all-fronts", "worldbuilding" ]	History of Behemoths - SCP Foundation	19	[ "dr-dafydd-s-personnel-file", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "war-on-all-fronts-hub", "wanderers-library-hub", "archived:tales-by-date-2023" ]	[]	1449161726	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/history-of-behemoths
hominophobia	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p><strong>Incident Log SCP-6118-7</strong></p> <p>On 6/2/2021 at approximately 16:48, a banging sound was heard coming from the HVAC vent that leads into SCP-6118's containment chamber. The anomaly appeared alarmed and stood up to face the noise. At 16:49, cameras in the room recorded the vent cover being violently uninstalled and falling to the floor of the containment chamber. Seconds later, researcher Jacob R. Dylan crawled out of the ventilation shaft, covered in a thick green substance, and made impact with the floor beside the vent cover.</p> <p>This occurence was especially strange, as Jacob Dylan disappeared under suspicious circumstances quite a while prior and was not heard from up until that point. There was also no way he could have accessed the HVAC system, as it is restricted to maintenance personnel.</p> <p>Video recording of the following interaction is as follows.</p> <div class="blockquote"> <p><strong>Video Log 6118.VL.3</strong></p> <p><em>Researcher Dylan groans and rolls onto his back, leaving a trail of the unknown substance coating his body.</em></p> <p><strong>SCP-6118:</strong> Wow. Are you supposed to be here?</p> <p><strong>Dylan:</strong> Uh… <em>[coughs]</em> Where is "here", exactly?</p> <p><em>SCP-6118 slowly approaches Dylan.</em></p> <p><strong>SCP-6118:</strong> They tell me we're on Earth. I've never seen the sky, though.</p> <p><em>Dylan squints at SCP-6118 as he wipes some of the green substance off his face.</em></p> <p><strong>Dylan:</strong> The sky? God damn, the sky. I miss the sky. It's the most beautiful thing in the world. Blue, with clouds so fluffy you could sleep on them. On nice days, at least.</p> <p><strong>SCP-6118:</strong> What about not-nice days?</p> <p><strong>Dylan:</strong> Sometimes it pours— <em>[coughs]</em> —pours rain and shit, and ice too. Don't get caught in it.</p> <p><em>SCP-6118 kneels next to Dylan and observes the substance coating him.</em></p> <p><strong>SCP-6118:</strong> Did this come from the sky, too?</p> <p><strong>Dylan:</strong> No, it came from these liza— Wait, don't—</p> <p><em>SCP-6118 attempts to help Dylan clean the substance off of himself, but recoils upon touching it. It observes its hand while displaying an uncomfortable facial expression.</em></p> <p><strong>SCP-6118:</strong> It's sticky.</p> <p><strong>Dylan:</strong> Great observational skills. The— <em>[coughs]</em> —the Foundation would be envious as hell, would be <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-4785">if they had anything left in those empty skulls.</a></p> <p><em>Despite still appearing uncomfortable, SCP-6118 uses its hands to scoop more of the substance off of Dylan. Silence continues for approximately six seconds as it does so.</em></p> <p><strong>Dylan:</strong> Hey… what are you doing that for, anyways? It's pretty gross, you shouldn't touch it.</p> <p><strong>SCP-6118:</strong> Gross to me to touch it… but it would be grosser to be covered in it. And you keep coughing. I think it's hurting you.</p> <p><em>SCP-6118 continues to remove the substance. Approximately ten seconds of silence pass.</em></p> <p><strong>Dylan:</strong> Hey… thanks.</p> <p><strong>SCP-6118:</strong> I just hope you can take a shower. I can't get all of it off.</p> <p><em>Dylan grasps SCP-6118's hand and sits up to look at the alien.</em></p> <p><strong>Dylan:</strong> No, I mean it. I've been stuck in some kind of strange Las Vegas for… well, who knows how long. And it's— <em>[coughs]</em> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">--it's nice to see someone else. It's nice to talk to--</span> <em>[coughs]</em> —to someone who isn't a computer.</p> <p><strong>SCP-6118:</strong> I don't know what a Las Vegas is, but— <em>[coughs]</em> —on my planet they call me a <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/ambrose-kepler">meat robot</a>. So sorry if… that… <em>[trails off]</em></p> <p><em>Dylan is looking at SCP-6118 with an expression of horror, which it appears to be confused by.</em></p> <p><strong>Dylan:</strong> You coughed. Were you sick before I came here?</p> <p><strong>SCP-6118:</strong> I don't think so.</p> </div> <p>At 16:51, an on-call biohazard response team entered the room, ending the conversation. SCP-6118 was subsequently separated from Researcher Dylan, the latter being immediately transported to Site-19's Biohazard Isolation Wing. During transit and arrival, Dylan repeatedly informed staff that SCP-6118 may be sick as well, and therefore should also be attended to.</p> <p>SCP-6118 had been sitting in its containment cell for 49 minutes before the biohazard response personnel returned to the cell. The SCP was exhibiting symptoms of persistent cough and, upon being asked to stand, experienced prodrome syncope; staff took fall risk into consideration during transport to the Biohazard Isolation Wing.</p> <p>Staff debated on ideal isolation methods before ultimately deciding to place Researcher Dylan and SCP-6118 in the same isolation room, for minimised decontamination time and cost of resources as <span style="color: grey">compared to separate rooms. A combat-trained guard was installed in the room in order to dissuade</span> <span style="color: lightgrey">SCP-6118 from acting violently. Both Researcher Dylan and SCP-6118 were thoroughly disinfected…</span></p> <hr/> <p>Jacob's minor consolation was that the Foundation personnel he interacted with seemed to mostly possess a consciousness. They still didn't make idle conversation, nor display any real emotion as they hauled him to the isolation room, but he imagined that was within normal limits of brainrot one acquired from working at the Foundation.</p> <p>That, and the fact that he was more or less a skip to them at that moment, having just burst out of a random vent whose entrance was in another reality. He had the urge to ask about Break Room 3, just to see what'd happen, but he resolved not to test his luck for now.</p> <p>Jacob's major consolation was the individual brought in maybe an hour later. Even with his aching chest and the dry, filmy feeling in his mouth, he managed a friendly smile as he watched the alien be led into the room.</p> <p>He had a sway to his steps as he walked to the room's second bed, and sat on it readily; his head drooped with fatigue, and Jacob suddenly felt a pang of guilt for introducing the slime to his cell. In the vents, too— he grimaced at the idea of the stuff becoming airborne.</p> <p>But even so, the researcher was glad to have some company, especially that which was both non-Foundation <em>and</em> non-reptilian. Even if the former acted normally in present, he couldn't shake the image of their dead eyes, slack jaws, shuffling steps, and most importantly, weapons they drew to keep him away from that fated room. The latter, he didn't want to think about at all; the image of those grotesquely stretched human faces was downright sickening.</p> <p>He had to make an active effort not to recoil from the Foundation personnel who'd brought him there, with their peering faces, their flat, bored voices as they asked him pointless questions, the scratching of their cheap pens on printer paper. He'd had a lot of time to think about humanity during his many months of isolation, and it was to the point he barely managed to hold in a cringe looking at his own face.</p> <p>Eventually, the hazmat-clad scientists dispersed, and Jacob almost sighed with relief— but his premature celebration was cut short by someone new stepping into the room.</p> <p>Avery Morris was similarly clad in a hazmat suit, but this one wasn't just protective to viral and chemical threats. The outline of her bulky uniform was visible underneath, the shoulder strap of her bulletproof vest catching the suit's covering as she reached to close the door.</p> <p>"Who are you?" Jacob blurted out, confused by the tall and imposing woman.</p> <p>"I'm the guard assigned to this room. To him," Avery answered as she pointed to SCP-6118.</p> <p>"Why?"</p> <p>"They don't trust me," the alien spoke up. "It's not because of you. It's my fault."</p> <p>"Oh, no, it's nobody's fault," Avery said with a shake of her head. "Just standard protocol."</p> <p>SCP-6118 gave her a brief look of doubt, but didn't comment on it as he wiped a goo-covered hand on his jumpsuit. Both him and Jacob were still covered in the stuff, since the Foundation hadn't yet decided on their course of action. The administration was likely too busy freaking out to concern themselves with the pair's discomfort, RAISA especially so.</p> <p>But Jacob did not know about <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-4785-incident-report">his cadaver</a>, all he knew was that SCP-6118's idea of a shower was getting more and more appealing with every minute he spent covered in sticky green stuff.</p> <p>"So… do we get—" Jacob began to ask, before doubling over in another coughing fit. Once recovered, he continued, "Do we get to, like, get clean? 'Cause I haven't had a shower in a good few weeks, and I'm pretty sure you guys don't wanna be smelling that. And, you know, these web things."</p> <p>Avery made a face of disgust behind her PPE. SCP-6118 just nodded, once again glad to not be the type of organism that sweats.</p> <p>"That's a good point. Your grime is unacceptable," the guard agreed. "I'll radio the station, see where they are about their decision about getting samples…"</p> <hr/> <p>Ultimately, they were poked and prodded and swabbed and photographed, and then, at last, allowed to rinse themselves off in the small shower in the corner of the room.</p> <p>Jacob insisted that SCP-6118 go first, apologising repeatedly for having gotten him sick in the first place. Besides, he said, if it could keep the infection from developing into something more severe, it would make much more of a difference for the alien— he'd been around the stuff for months at that point, so he was sure to be beyond any kind of intervention.</p> <p>He said this lightheartedly, but there was an unmistakable frown on SCP-6118's face as he reluctantly walked to the curtained area.</p> <p>"Are you sure?" he asked, for what must have been the third time.</p> <p>"Oh, please, it's really not that big of a deal," Jacob insisted. "I'm just trying to lighten the mood. See it as a thank-you for trying to help me."</p> <p>SCP-6118 could have mumbled something about how he didn't really do that much in the end, except for get himself sick as well, which would force both Jacob and Avery to endure his presence for who knew how long— but he refrained, visually examining the shower once he stepped into its downwards sloping square of tiles.</p> <p>There were temperature settings! He was thankful for that, as during his time in the Foundation, the options were to take a cold shower or none at all. It made sense that they wouldn't make one of their own employees face the same, though.</p> <p>He pulled the curtain closed, enclosing himself in the small space as he began to work off his jumpsuit. First the buttons at the top, then the zipper, and then it dropped to the floor around his feet. He took off his underclothes and socks and placed them on top of the pile, then kicked it all to the side and turned on the shower; the water was hard, and fell in uneven droplets, but nonetheless was warm and cleansing.</p> <p>Besides for the faint sound of water hitting skin and dripping onto tiles underneath, the room was silent. Avery stood next to the shower with a towel and packet of fresh clothes in her hand, ready to hand it to SCP-6118 once he was done; Jacob tried to stop it, but his gaze kept drifting to the curtain. The faintest of outlines could be seen through the white plastic, the greyish wall against starkly white flesh, and he forced his eyes to the glob of green web that he was stretching between his fingers. At least it was pretty fun to play with.</p> <p>The shower handle squeaked as it was turned off, and the flow of water ceased shortly afterwards. Avery wordlessly held the towel through a small gap where the curtain met the wall, and SCP-6118 dried himself off, then got dressed in the clothes given shortly afterwards. He returned to his bed and sat on the edge of it, waiting for Jacob to partake in the same ritual.</p> <p>But before doing so, Jacob asked him a question.</p> <p>"What are you?"</p> <p>He looked up, confused. He parted some wet hair away from his eyes in an anxious movement.</p> <p>"I mean, you're clearly not… human," Jacob explained, gesturing vaguely with his hands, one of which he then used to cover a spontaneous cough.</p> <p>It was true, as the warm water from the shower had caused the blood in the alien's body to flow closer to the surface of his skin. He had been kept in a cold containment cell for quite a while, and so his blood vessels had gotten into the habit of constricting, holding the blood in close in order not to lose more heat— though it was in vain. Being reheated had the opposite effect, and so a blue flush was visible over his cheeks and the various blood-rich joints of his body.</p> <p>He tucked his quadriphalangeal feet underneath his legs, perhaps in an effort to hide an element of his inhuman-ness. But there was still the matter of the copper in his blood and eyes, and the points of his ears that peeked out of the wet, blonde hair that existed only on his head.</p> <p>And when he opened his mouth to speak, he grew self-conscious of its purple inside and dull fangs, so he turned his face away from the researcher before continuing.</p> <p>"You're right, I'm not."</p> <p>"And you said you've never even seen the sky?" Jacob pressed. It wasn't to humiliate, or for a lack of a better word, <em>alien</em>ate him, rather from a point of genuine curiosity. The human-sick researcher was quite happy to be in his company; he was so different from any of the homo sapiens he'd been forced to interact with, yet still an entire person, even an endearing one at that.</p> <p>"Not on Earth," he responded. He was oblivious to Jacob's intentions, but had nonetheless grown comfortable with the researcher, at least enough to make small conversation.</p> <p>"I see."</p> <p>"On my planet, it's very white, well, more like a light grey," SCP-6118 explained. "Fog is everywhere. If you go outside, you barely have a shadow, if at all, because sunlight is just not that much."</p> <p>Jacob thought about this. "That sounds depressing. Maybe I can bring you out to one of the courtyards, and you can see what the sky is like here."</p> <p>"Hey," Avery interjected. "Don't forget that you're just another researcher turned Class E. You're not in the position to say such things. Besides, you're supposed to be showering right now."</p> <p>The researcher bristled, but didn't argue, peeling himself— and sticky residue coating him— off of the bed to stand up. His items were not handed to him, so he had to gingerly hold them in such a way they didn't become as dirtied as he was.</p> <p>When he was a few steps away from the curtain, SCP-6118 spoke again.</p> <p>"Thank you for telling me about your sky. It sounds nice."</p> <p>Jacob twisted his head around to smile at the alien. "No problem. Thanks for telling me about yours."</p> <hr/> <p>Their coughs persisted for a bit, and Jacob's skin was discoloured in some places the substance had soaked through his clothes, but otherwise they were doing pretty well.</p> <p>SCP-6118 tended to be quiet and reserved, but was happy to listen to Jacob recount his expeditions into the strange cabinet-dimension of Los Angeles. He found the researcher's fervor intriguing, as the other Foundation personnel tended to be cold to the point of apathy.</p> <p>Jacob found the alien's fractured english and mispronunciations intriguing in return, as well as the small things he would give away about the place he came from. He didn't speak about the subject spontaneously, but he also didn't seem to be unhappy when prompted on it.</p> <p>One instance of this was around their bedtime, when Doctor Wheeler came into the isolation room to set up intravenous feeding for SCP-6118. It had happened every night, and the equipment was taken away every morning, though Jacob had managed to keep his mouth shut for the most part. But it was at the point where he was teeming with curiosity, so when the doctor had parted, he posed a question.</p> <p>"Why do you need that?" Jacob pointed to the bag of clear fluid, and then his index finger drifted down as if he were tracing from afar the shape of the tubing connected to it. He dropped his hand before getting to the other end, the one that connected to the skip's chest; the way it interfaced with the flesh was rather uncanny to him.</p> <p>"They serve you meals," SCP-6118 stated with a gesture to the empty plastic tray sitting on Jacob's bed. "And you eat them, because you have a stomach. And because you need it to live."</p> <p>"Also because it's tasty," Jacob pointed out. "Not the best I've eaten, but it's better than nothing."</p> <p>The alien nodded, even though he didn't have any idea of what constituted something being 'tasty' or not. "My food doesn't taste like anything. It's just this clear stuff. It goes into my left heart and gets circulated around my body."</p> <p>"<em>Left</em> heart?" Jacob asked.</p> <p>"It surprised me when I found out humans only have one," SCP-6118 responded sympathetically. "Though it makes sense, since your planet's gravity isn't too strong, so circulation is easier."</p> <p>"Do you have doubles of all organs?"</p> <p>"No, I have one brain, and one… well, it's to us to humans what's a kidney. And two lungs, and two hearts." He pointed at his chest with both hands as he said this, on either side of his breastbone. "And I mean, I have a few other things, like these," he said as he touched his abdomen just inside either hipbone, "but anyways, what I'm trying to say is that I don't have a stomach, or any of the things that go along with it."</p> <p>Jacob considered this information. "You know, that makes sense."</p> <p>A look from SCP-6118 prompted him to explain. He thought of the bodily outline he'd glimpsed through the curtain, not just once but multiple times by then; the alien was more than happy to be allowed to shower when he wanted, and Jacob's eyes always snuck to the corner as he did so. What stood out about it to him was the silhouette, and its shape. The notable curve of some areas and the notable flatness of others. And thinking about it scrambled his brain up a bit, so he took a moment before speaking.</p> <p>"It's this… shape that humans have to them, right here?" Jacob said as he placed his hand on his stomach. "Intestines are big. They take up a lot of space. So it's normal to have at least a little bit of a swell here, but on you it's just… straight. Like, empty looking, I guess."</p> <p>SCP-6118 looked down at his own stomach. He hadn't really thought about it before. It was true that one of the marked differences between the bodies of genetically engineered clones like him, and the naturally evolved keploids of his planet, was the unnatural silhouette their torsos took.</p> <p>He thought about asking how Jacob had figured it out, since the jumpsuit he wore was rather big on his frame and thus hid it rather effectively. He also thought about asking what it was like to have intestines, since he was curious and hadn't really ever had someone to ask. But the former he wasn't sure if he wanted to know, and the latter had the possibility to get a rather gross response.</p> <p>So he went for a different question. "Do you think it's strange? That I don't look like a human, and I don't eat like a human? And that my organs are different from human organs?"</p> <p>That was very easy for Jacob to answer, and he did so while shaking his head. "No, I don't. Sure, it's real different from anything I've ever known, but that's why it's cool. I've gotten sick of…" He shot a troubled glance at Avery. "You know. Humans. Every time I talk to one, I just cringe, 'cause it reminds me of those three months I spent surrounded by those… zombies."</p> <p>"You would hate my planet, there everyone acts a little bit like a zombie. It's like there's this mindlessness, we just take orders like glorified puppets," SCP-6118 said in what he hoped was a joking tone. "And if you're grown in a tube like me, you come out all dull, because warm coloured pigment only comes from being attached to a parent's skin."</p> <p>"Oh, please, I'd easily take it over Earth," Jacob laughed.</p> <p>SCP-6118 glanced over at him, and saw that there was a real earnestness in his expression. The researcher was sick of everything he knew, and he wanted something new, something that hadn't been desecrated for him. It was what had pushed him to going on the strange expeditions in the first place, to get into that damned break room despite all the menaces from the shells of what used to be his coworkers. He wanted to know what was in there, and now he wanted to know what was out there, out beyond the atmosphere; what had ended up sitting on the bed just across from his.</p> <p>"Maybe someday I can take you there," SCP-6118 said quietly. He wasn't being entirely serious, but he wasn't entirely <em>not</em> serious, either. It was one of those things you said to someone that you knew was nearly impossible, but you said it anyways, because you wanted to make them happy. Because it made you happy.</p> <p>"I would like that. I would love that." It ended in a nervous chuckle, as he was more than well aware of the guard's eyes that bore into him. The walls around him, with their impenetrable reinforcements and the hallways with checkpoints, sensors, armed personnel.</p> <p>But even if it was a pipe dream, it made his heart do a strange dance in his chest, and his stomach flip-flopped when he thought about stepping foot on the faraway planet with the alien's hand in his.</p> <p>It was rather early in the evening, but SCP-6118 was still recovering from whatever strange sickness he'd caught from the green goo, so he elected to go to bed. Jacob watched as he got under the covers and rolled onto his side, making sure the IV line didn't get caught on anything before he closed his eyes and silently waited for sleep to take him.</p> <p>Jacob picked up a book and flipped through pages, not truly reading it but it was better than having nothing at all to occupy his mind. It was <em>Republic</em> by Plato, something he'd requested in order to look smart and advanced, but the only books he actually enjoyed were those of Stephen King.</p> <p>After maybe half an hour of skimming through the book, he looked up at the sound of footsteps, and was alarmed to see Avery coming towards him.</p> <p>She walked right up to his bed and ripped the book out of his hand, setting it down carlessly somewhere to the side. Her face was serious, cold.</p> <p>"How <em>dare</em> you?" Avery whisper-shouted, brow creasing in anger as she stooped lower towards the confused researcher.</p> <p>"How dare—" Jacob started, only to be shushed harshly with a finger to his lips. He made a face and pushed her hand aside.</p> <p>"Don't wake him up," she hissed.</p> <p>Jacob started again, this time in a lower voice. "How dare I what?"</p> <p>"Are you stupid? I'm not blind and deaf, I see all this, all of <em>this</em>," Avery strained out with an exasperated waving of her hands. "I hear your conversations, the horrible way you talk to him."</p> <p>Jacob was aside himself with bewilderment. "Horrible? Did I say something wrong?"</p> <p>She grabbed the front of his shirt and brought her PPE-covered face real close to his. "He's mine, do you understand? I don't kiss ass to my superiors for nothing, I do it so I can stay on this assignment. So I can stay close to <em>him</em>." She emphasized the last word with a thrust of her finger towards the sleeping alien.</p> <p>"What?" was all the researcher got out.</p> <p>Avery shook him like a maraca. His teeth clacked together as she did so, making a noise not entirely unlike a maraca as well. "How many times do I have to repeat myself? You don't get to just come in here and mess everything up for me."</p> <p>Once she stopped shaking him, Jacob's brow furrowed in confusion as he thought about what she was saying. "So… are you two dating or something?"</p> <p>Avery huffed in annoyance and let go of his shirt with a shove. She didn't say anything in response, though; she may have been delusionally hopeful, but she wasn't a liar. But she also didn't have the heart to say the truth.</p> <p>It was like he didn't even notice she existed! Because he didn't. To him, she was just another unit of uniformed personnel who blended into the background, the <em>noise</em> of the Foundation.</p> <p>There was also another thing.</p> <p>SCP-6118 stirred in the bed beside them, making a soft noise as he pushed himself into a sitting position. His species had exeptional hearing to make up for their poor eyesight, and even at a whisper, their words were alarming enough to rouse him.</p> <p>"Go back to sleep, idiot," Avery scolded with barely a glance towards him. "This is a bad time, can't you see?"</p> <p>The alien's eyes widened, but he didn't move. A combination of confusion and fatigue kept him frozen in place, one arm bearing his weight while the other fidgeted with the sheet whose end rested on his thighs.</p> <p>"I said, go back to sleep!" she exclaimed over her shoulder with great impatience.</p> <p>"Don't talk to him like that!" Jacob cut in, similarly exasperated.</p> <p>She glared directly at the researcher. "I get to talk to him how I very well please."</p> <p>"No, you don't. This is why I hate the stupid Foundation, and the stupid people who work in it. You all think you can act however, do and say whatever you want! That's not how life works!"</p> <p>"Shut up!" she shouted. "I could have you taken out back and shot like a dog for that kind of speak!"</p> <p>SCP-6118 instinctively reached for the side of his thigh, but there was no holster and no gun to be found. He began to run simulations in his mind, calculate whether or not he would be able to intervene if something became physical, how much the aching inflammation in his muscles would prevent him from doing so.</p> <p>"This is ridiculous! 6118, isn't this ridiculous?" Jacob demanded.</p> <p>The alien looked between the two but ultimately said nothing.</p> <p>Without his input, their voices kept raising, the argument growing worse— he found a gap in the hurling of insults and took an opportunity.</p> <p>"I think we can just talk about this—" SCP-6118 started, his voice kept carefully even despite the stress of the situation.</p> <p>Avery turned to face him, glowering, hands balled into fists. Her hot breath streamed up the inside of her biohazard suit, with small droplets codensating together on the clear plastic in front of her face. Jacob grabbed her arm and tried to pull her back. A struggle ensued, the personnel knocking each other into the metal bedframes, yelling vague insults— and then the door of the isolation room opened, flooding the dimmed room with light and the scent of fresh antiseptic, and people were dragging them apart.</p> <p>"She started it!" Jacob was shouting.</p> <p>"I absolutely did not!" Avery argued.</p> <p>They were both held down on opposite sides of the room until they wore themselves out. Jacob, who stopped fighting first, was eventually allowed to go back to his bed and stay there under extremely close observation. Avery, who obviously didn't care whether or not she injured the guards restraining her, was dragged out and did not return.</p> <hr/> <p>"Um… hey."</p> <p>SCP-6118 looked up and placed a bookmark in between the pages he was reading. "Yes?"</p> <p>"Is that good?" Jacob asked, nodding to the book.</p> <p>"Yes, and it's about a human who gets put onto Mars," the alien explained. "He has to survive, and it's very hard for him, but he's clever."</p> <p>He held up the book so that Jacob could see the cover. He would have simply read the title, <em>The Martian</em>, out loud, but he didn't know if it would be prononuced 'mar-tee-an' or rather 'mar-shun', and didn't want to sound unintelligent by saying it wrong.</p> <p>"What's yours about?" he asked, looking over at the neglected copy of <em>Republic</em> that hadn't moved from the place Avery had thrown it down.</p> <p>"Oh, it's…" Jacob waved his hand with a flourish. "It's about justice. You know, the kind of stuff everyone pretends they want to read."</p> <p>SCP-6118 tilted his head to the side in confusion. "So you do not actually read the book? Then the point is?"</p> <p>"No, no, I read the book," Jacob lied. He'd wanted to give it an honest try, but in reality, he couldn't stand one paragraph of the stuff. "Don't I look cool doing it? I'm all pensive and stuff."</p> <p>"You look 'cool' without reading justice books," SCP-6118 responded.</p> <p>This took Jacob a bit off guard. "Wait, really?" he asked.</p> <p>The alien nodded earnestly. "I would say that you're the coolest person I've met at this organisation."</p> <p>"Oh, you must have been around some real boring… stuffy old guys…"</p> <p>"I have been around a lot of not-stuffy young people. Pretty boring, but that's all you can get around here." SCP-6118 smiled subtly as he ran his finger along the corner of the book, parting the pages with the pad of it.</p> <p>"But you don't find me boring?" Jacob ventured.</p> <p>"No, I don't. You talk a lot and I find that interesting. We don't talk a lot where I come from, unless you have a reason, or are close to the other person. And you don't always have a reason, so it makes me feel close to you," he explained.</p> <p>Jacob struggled to keep an overly large smile off of his face. "Well, I'm glad my senseless blabbering finally made someone feel an emotion other than hate for me."</p> <p>They sat in silence for a few moments as they both thought about each other. It was pleasant, uncomplicated. Jacob broke it by clearing his throat.</p> <p>"I… I don't know about you, but I feel emotions for you, too. That aren't hate. Very far separated from hate."</p> <p>SCP-6118 looked up at him, and his chest constricted when their eyes met. The alien had seldom done so, and never maintained eye contact with him, nor anyone else, for more than a fleeting glance. But he was looking at him now, and something about the blue and the way the copper rings took up so much space in the eye— almost as much space as the alien occupied in Jacob's mind. Both things were large, inhuman, and undeniably beautiful.</p> <p>The researcher's mouth went dry, so he slid his tounge against his teeth in hopes of telling his salivary glands to pull their own weight. He was also doing absolutely everything he could to keep from saying the next part.</p> <p>"Hey… I meant it, meant it when I said I'd like to get away with you sometime," he finally got out.</p> <p>"How far away?" SCP-6118 asked.</p> <p>"No, no… you don't understand. It's not about where we go," Jacob explained. "It's… going there, going wherever we go, together. I… I don't want to just part ways after this."</p> <p>"I would be happy to go places with you."</p> <p><em>But as what, what would we be?</em> Jacob wanted to ask. <em>Not to mention the logistics of it all…</em></p> <p>He must have appeared troubled, because SCP-6118 grew slightly concerned as the silence progressed once more. "Did I say something wrong?"</p> <p>"No, not at all!" Jacob quickly responded. "Just… thinking about big things, you know? But that doesn't matter. What matters is that you're right here, right now, and so am I."</p> <p>They sat in silence for a little while longer. Jacob visually examined his hands, rubbed them together, picked at his fingernails.</p> <p>"Is this how humans tell people they like them?" SCP-6118 asked.</p> <p>Jacob smiled once more. "Now aren't you a good anthropologist. Yes, that is in fact what I'm trying to do, though I know I'm not doing it very well."</p> <p>"I think you're doing a great job. Definitely better than me," SCP-6118 reassured him.</p> <p>Jacob's eyes widened, and he looked back over at the alien. He was suddenly acting quite shy, his head tilted down so that his hair formed a blonde curtain over his face, his hands folded tightly over each other in his lap. The pointed ends of his ears had taken on a blue flush that was more prominant than before.</p> <p>Jacob looked back down at his hands. He decided he should ask for some nail clippers.</p> <hr/> <p><em>This Tale was written for <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/romcon">RomCon</a>. Thank you <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/notgull" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(3009022); return false;"><img alt="notgull" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=3009022&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1720188748" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=3009022)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/notgull" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(3009022); return false;">notgull</a></span> for lending me <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-4785">Jacob</a>; their counterpart of this pairing is available under the title <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/disco-inferno">Burn, Baby, Burn</a>!</em></p> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/hominophobia">Hominophobia</a>" by tiredsn0w, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/hominophobia">https://scpwiki.com/hominophobia</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] Incident Log SCP-6118-7 On 6/2/2021 at approximately 16:48, a banging sound was heard coming from the HVAC vent that leads into SCP-6118's containment chamber. The anomaly appeared alarmed and stood up to face the noise. At 16:49, cameras in the room recorded the vent cover being violently uninstalled and falling to the floor of the containment chamber. Seconds later, researcher Jacob R. Dylan crawled out of the ventilation shaft, covered in a thick green substance, and made impact with the floor beside the vent cover. This occurence was especially strange, as Jacob Dylan disappeared under suspicious circumstances quite a while prior and was not heard from up until that point. There was also no way he could have accessed the HVAC system, as it is restricted to maintenance personnel. Video recording of the following interaction is as follows. [[div class="blockquote"]] Video Log 6118.VL.3 //Researcher Dylan groans and rolls onto his back, leaving a trail of the unknown substance coating his body.// SCP-6118: Wow. Are you supposed to be here? Dylan: Uh... //[coughs]// Where is "here", exactly? //SCP-6118 slowly approaches Dylan.// SCP-6118: They tell me we're on Earth. I've never seen the sky, though. //Dylan squints at SCP-6118 as he wipes some of the green substance off his face.// Dylan: The sky? God damn, the sky. I miss the sky. It's the most beautiful thing in the world. Blue, with clouds so fluffy you could sleep on them. On nice days, at least. SCP-6118: What about not-nice days? Dylan: Sometimes it pours-- //[coughs]// --pours rain and shit, and ice too. Don't get caught in it. //SCP-6118 kneels next to Dylan and observes the substance coating him.// SCP-6118: Did this come from the sky, too? Dylan: No, it came from these liza-- Wait, don't-- //SCP-6118 attempts to help Dylan clean the substance off of himself, but recoils upon touching it. It observes its hand while displaying an uncomfortable facial expression.// SCP-6118: It's sticky. Dylan: Great observational skills. The-- //[coughs]// --the Foundation would be envious as hell, would be [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-4785 if they had anything left in those empty skulls.] //Despite still appearing uncomfortable, SCP-6118 uses its hands to scoop more of the substance off of Dylan. Silence continues for approximately six seconds as it does so.// Dylan: Hey... what are you doing that for, anyways? It's pretty gross, you shouldn't touch it. SCP-6118: Gross to me to touch it... but it would be grosser to be covered in it. And you keep coughing. I think it's hurting you. //SCP-6118 continues to remove the substance. Approximately ten seconds of silence pass.// Dylan: Hey... thanks. SCP-6118: I just hope you can take a shower. I can't get all of it off. //Dylan grasps SCP-6118's hand and sits up to look at the alien.// Dylan: No, I mean it. I've been stuck in some kind of strange Las Vegas for... well, who knows how long. And it's-- //[coughs]// @@--it's nice to see someone else. It's nice to talk to--@@ //[coughs]// --to someone who isn't a computer. SCP-6118: I don't know what a Las Vegas is, but-- //[coughs]// --on my planet they call me a [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/ambrose-kepler meat robot]. So sorry if... that... //[trails off]// //Dylan is looking at SCP-6118 with an expression of horror, which it appears to be confused by.// Dylan: You coughed. Were you sick before I came here? SCP-6118: I don't think so. [[/div]] At 16:51, an on-call biohazard response team entered the room, ending the conversation. SCP-6118 was subsequently separated from Researcher Dylan, the latter being immediately transported to Site-19's Biohazard Isolation Wing. During transit and arrival, Dylan repeatedly informed staff that SCP-6118 may be sick as well, and therefore should also be attended to. SCP-6118 had been sitting in its containment cell for 49 minutes before the biohazard response personnel returned to the cell. The SCP was exhibiting symptoms of persistent cough and, upon being asked to stand, experienced prodrome syncope; staff took fall risk into consideration during transport to the Biohazard Isolation Wing. Staff debated on ideal isolation methods before ultimately deciding to place Researcher Dylan and SCP-6118 in the same isolation room, for minimised decontamination time and cost of resources as ##grey\|compared to separate rooms. A combat-trained guard was installed in the room in order to dissuade## ##lightgrey\|SCP-6118 from acting violently. Both Researcher Dylan and SCP-6118 were thoroughly disinfected...## ------ Jacob's minor consolation was that the Foundation personnel he interacted with seemed to mostly possess a consciousness. They still didn't make idle conversation, nor display any real emotion as they hauled him to the isolation room, but he imagined that was within normal limits of brainrot one acquired from working at the Foundation. That, and the fact that he was more or less a skip to them at that moment, having just burst out of a random vent whose entrance was in another reality. He had the urge to ask about Break Room 3, just to see what'd happen, but he resolved not to test his luck for now. Jacob's major consolation was the individual brought in maybe an hour later. Even with his aching chest and the dry, filmy feeling in his mouth, he managed a friendly smile as he watched the alien be led into the room. He had a sway to his steps as he walked to the room's second bed, and sat on it readily; his head drooped with fatigue, and Jacob suddenly felt a pang of guilt for introducing the slime to his cell. In the vents, too-- he grimaced at the idea of the stuff becoming airborne. But even so, the researcher was glad to have some company, especially that which was both non-Foundation //and// non-reptilian. Even if the former acted normally in present, he couldn't shake the image of their dead eyes, slack jaws, shuffling steps, and most importantly, weapons they drew to keep him away from that fated room. The latter, he didn't want to think about at all; the image of those grotesquely stretched human faces was downright sickening. He had to make an active effort not to recoil from the Foundation personnel who'd brought him there, with their peering faces, their flat, bored voices as they asked him pointless questions, the scratching of their cheap pens on printer paper. He'd had a lot of time to think about humanity during his many months of isolation, and it was to the point he barely managed to hold in a cringe looking at his own face. Eventually, the hazmat-clad scientists dispersed, and Jacob almost sighed with relief-- but his premature celebration was cut short by someone new stepping into the room. Avery Morris was similarly clad in a hazmat suit, but this one wasn't just protective to viral and chemical threats. The outline of her bulky uniform was visible underneath, the shoulder strap of her bulletproof vest catching the suit's covering as she reached to close the door. "Who are you?" Jacob blurted out, confused by the tall and imposing woman. "I'm the guard assigned to this room. To him," Avery answered as she pointed to SCP-6118. "Why?" "They don't trust me," the alien spoke up. "It's not because of you. It's my fault." "Oh, no, it's nobody's fault," Avery said with a shake of her head. "Just standard protocol." SCP-6118 gave her a brief look of doubt, but didn't comment on it as he wiped a goo-covered hand on his jumpsuit. Both him and Jacob were still covered in the stuff, since the Foundation hadn't yet decided on their course of action. The administration was likely too busy freaking out to concern themselves with the pair's discomfort, RAISA especially so. But Jacob did not know about [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-4785-incident-report his cadaver], all he knew was that SCP-6118's idea of a shower was getting more and more appealing with every minute he spent covered in sticky green stuff. "So... do we get--" Jacob began to ask, before doubling over in another coughing fit. Once recovered, he continued, "Do we get to, like, get clean? 'Cause I haven't had a shower in a good few weeks, and I'm pretty sure you guys don't wanna be smelling that. And, you know, these web things." Avery made a face of disgust behind her PPE. SCP-6118 just nodded, once again glad to not be the type of organism that sweats. "That's a good point. Your grime is unacceptable," the guard agreed. "I'll radio the station, see where they are about their decision about getting samples..." ------ Ultimately, they were poked and prodded and swabbed and photographed, and then, at last, allowed to rinse themselves off in the small shower in the corner of the room. Jacob insisted that SCP-6118 go first, apologising repeatedly for having gotten him sick in the first place. Besides, he said, if it could keep the infection from developing into something more severe, it would make much more of a difference for the alien-- he'd been around the stuff for months at that point, so he was sure to be beyond any kind of intervention. He said this lightheartedly, but there was an unmistakable frown on SCP-6118's face as he reluctantly walked to the curtained area. "Are you sure?" he asked, for what must have been the third time. "Oh, please, it's really not that big of a deal," Jacob insisted. "I'm just trying to lighten the mood. See it as a thank-you for trying to help me." SCP-6118 could have mumbled something about how he didn't really do that much in the end, except for get himself sick as well, which would force both Jacob and Avery to endure his presence for who knew how long-- but he refrained, visually examining the shower once he stepped into its downwards sloping square of tiles. There were temperature settings! He was thankful for that, as during his time in the Foundation, the options were to take a cold shower or none at all. It made sense that they wouldn't make one of their own employees face the same, though. He pulled the curtain closed, enclosing himself in the small space as he began to work off his jumpsuit. First the buttons at the top, then the zipper, and then it dropped to the floor around his feet. He took off his underclothes and socks and placed them on top of the pile, then kicked it all to the side and turned on the shower; the water was hard, and fell in uneven droplets, but nonetheless was warm and cleansing. Besides for the faint sound of water hitting skin and dripping onto tiles underneath, the room was silent. Avery stood next to the shower with a towel and packet of fresh clothes in her hand, ready to hand it to SCP-6118 once he was done; Jacob tried to stop it, but his gaze kept drifting to the curtain. The faintest of outlines could be seen through the white plastic, the greyish wall against starkly white flesh, and he forced his eyes to the glob of green web that he was stretching between his fingers. At least it was pretty fun to play with. The shower handle squeaked as it was turned off, and the flow of water ceased shortly afterwards. Avery wordlessly held the towel through a small gap where the curtain met the wall, and SCP-6118 dried himself off, then got dressed in the clothes given shortly afterwards. He returned to his bed and sat on the edge of it, waiting for Jacob to partake in the same ritual. But before doing so, Jacob asked him a question. "What are you?" He looked up, confused. He parted some wet hair away from his eyes in an anxious movement. "I mean, you're clearly not... human," Jacob explained, gesturing vaguely with his hands, one of which he then used to cover a spontaneous cough. It was true, as the warm water from the shower had caused the blood in the alien's body to flow closer to the surface of his skin. He had been kept in a cold containment cell for quite a while, and so his blood vessels had gotten into the habit of constricting, holding the blood in close in order not to lose more heat-- though it was in vain. Being reheated had the opposite effect, and so a blue flush was visible over his cheeks and the various blood-rich joints of his body. He tucked his quadriphalangeal feet underneath his legs, perhaps in an effort to hide an element of his inhuman-ness. But there was still the matter of the copper in his blood and eyes, and the points of his ears that peeked out of the wet, blonde hair that existed only on his head. And when he opened his mouth to speak, he grew self-conscious of its purple inside and dull fangs, so he turned his face away from the researcher before continuing. "You're right, I'm not." "And you said you've never even seen the sky?" Jacob pressed. It wasn't to humiliate, or for a lack of a better word, //alien//ate him, rather from a point of genuine curiosity. The human-sick researcher was quite happy to be in his company; he was so different from any of the homo sapiens he'd been forced to interact with, yet still an entire person, even an endearing one at that. "Not on Earth," he responded. He was oblivious to Jacob's intentions, but had nonetheless grown comfortable with the researcher, at least enough to make small conversation. "I see." "On my planet, it's very white, well, more like a light grey," SCP-6118 explained. "Fog is everywhere. If you go outside, you barely have a shadow, if at all, because sunlight is just not that much." Jacob thought about this. "That sounds depressing. Maybe I can bring you out to one of the courtyards, and you can see what the sky is like here." "Hey," Avery interjected. "Don't forget that you're just another researcher turned Class E. You're not in the position to say such things. Besides, you're supposed to be showering right now." The researcher bristled, but didn't argue, peeling himself-- and sticky residue coating him-- off of the bed to stand up. His items were not handed to him, so he had to gingerly hold them in such a way they didn't become as dirtied as he was. When he was a few steps away from the curtain, SCP-6118 spoke again. "Thank you for telling me about your sky. It sounds nice." Jacob twisted his head around to smile at the alien. "No problem. Thanks for telling me about yours." ------ Their coughs persisted for a bit, and Jacob's skin was discoloured in some places the substance had soaked through his clothes, but otherwise they were doing pretty well. SCP-6118 tended to be quiet and reserved, but was happy to listen to Jacob recount his expeditions into the strange cabinet-dimension of Los Angeles. He found the researcher's fervor intriguing, as the other Foundation personnel tended to be cold to the point of apathy. Jacob found the alien's fractured english and mispronunciations intriguing in return, as well as the small things he would give away about the place he came from. He didn't speak about the subject spontaneously, but he also didn't seem to be unhappy when prompted on it. One instance of this was around their bedtime, when Doctor Wheeler came into the isolation room to set up intravenous feeding for SCP-6118. It had happened every night, and the equipment was taken away every morning, though Jacob had managed to keep his mouth shut for the most part. But it was at the point where he was teeming with curiosity, so when the doctor had parted, he posed a question. "Why do you need that?" Jacob pointed to the bag of clear fluid, and then his index finger drifted down as if he were tracing from afar the shape of the tubing connected to it. He dropped his hand before getting to the other end, the one that connected to the skip's chest; the way it interfaced with the flesh was rather uncanny to him. "They serve you meals," SCP-6118 stated with a gesture to the empty plastic tray sitting on Jacob's bed. "And you eat them, because you have a stomach. And because you need it to live." "Also because it's tasty," Jacob pointed out. "Not the best I've eaten, but it's better than nothing." The alien nodded, even though he didn't have any idea of what constituted something being 'tasty' or not. "My food doesn't taste like anything. It's just this clear stuff. It goes into my left heart and gets circulated around my body." "//Left// heart?" Jacob asked. "It surprised me when I found out humans only have one," SCP-6118 responded sympathetically. "Though it makes sense, since your planet's gravity isn't too strong, so circulation is easier." "Do you have doubles of all organs?" "No, I have one brain, and one... well, it's to us to humans what's a kidney. And two lungs, and two hearts." He pointed at his chest with both hands as he said this, on either side of his breastbone. "And I mean, I have a few other things, like these," he said as he touched his abdomen just inside either hipbone, "but anyways, what I'm trying to say is that I don't have a stomach, or any of the things that go along with it." Jacob considered this information. "You know, that makes sense." A look from SCP-6118 prompted him to explain. He thought of the bodily outline he'd glimpsed through the curtain, not just once but multiple times by then; the alien was more than happy to be allowed to shower when he wanted, and Jacob's eyes always snuck to the corner as he did so. What stood out about it to him was the silhouette, and its shape. The notable curve of some areas and the notable flatness of others. And thinking about it scrambled his brain up a bit, so he took a moment before speaking. "It's this... shape that humans have to them, right here?" Jacob said as he placed his hand on his stomach. "Intestines are big. They take up a lot of space. So it's normal to have at least a little bit of a swell here, but on you it's just... straight. Like, empty looking, I guess." SCP-6118 looked down at his own stomach. He hadn't really thought about it before. It was true that one of the marked differences between the bodies of genetically engineered clones like him, and the naturally evolved keploids of his planet, was the unnatural silhouette their torsos took. He thought about asking how Jacob had figured it out, since the jumpsuit he wore was rather big on his frame and thus hid it rather effectively. He also thought about asking what it was like to have intestines, since he was curious and hadn't really ever had someone to ask. But the former he wasn't sure if he wanted to know, and the latter had the possibility to get a rather gross response. So he went for a different question. "Do you think it's strange? That I don't look like a human, and I don't eat like a human? And that my organs are different from human organs?" That was very easy for Jacob to answer, and he did so while shaking his head. "No, I don't. Sure, it's real different from anything I've ever known, but that's why it's cool. I've gotten sick of..." He shot a troubled glance at Avery. "You know. Humans. Every time I talk to one, I just cringe, 'cause it reminds me of those three months I spent surrounded by those... zombies." "You would hate my planet, there everyone acts a little bit like a zombie. It's like there's this mindlessness, we just take orders like glorified puppets," SCP-6118 said in what he hoped was a joking tone. "And if you're grown in a tube like me, you come out all dull, because warm coloured pigment only comes from being attached to a parent's skin." "Oh, please, I'd easily take it over Earth," Jacob laughed. SCP-6118 glanced over at him, and saw that there was a real earnestness in his expression. The researcher was sick of everything he knew, and he wanted something new, something that hadn't been desecrated for him. It was what had pushed him to going on the strange expeditions in the first place, to get into that damned break room despite all the menaces from the shells of what used to be his coworkers. He wanted to know what was in there, and now he wanted to know what was out there, out beyond the atmosphere; what had ended up sitting on the bed just across from his. "Maybe someday I can take you there," SCP-6118 said quietly. He wasn't being entirely serious, but he wasn't entirely //not// serious, either. It was one of those things you said to someone that you knew was nearly impossible, but you said it anyways, because you wanted to make them happy. Because it made you happy. "I would like that. I would love that." It ended in a nervous chuckle, as he was more than well aware of the guard's eyes that bore into him. The walls around him, with their impenetrable reinforcements and the hallways with checkpoints, sensors, armed personnel. But even if it was a pipe dream, it made his heart do a strange dance in his chest, and his stomach flip-flopped when he thought about stepping foot on the faraway planet with the alien's hand in his. It was rather early in the evening, but SCP-6118 was still recovering from whatever strange sickness he'd caught from the green goo, so he elected to go to bed. Jacob watched as he got under the covers and rolled onto his side, making sure the IV line didn't get caught on anything before he closed his eyes and silently waited for sleep to take him. Jacob picked up a book and flipped through pages, not truly reading it but it was better than having nothing at all to occupy his mind. It was //Republic// by Plato, something he'd requested in order to look smart and advanced, but the only books he actually enjoyed were those of Stephen King. After maybe half an hour of skimming through the book, he looked up at the sound of footsteps, and was alarmed to see Avery coming towards him. She walked right up to his bed and ripped the book out of his hand, setting it down carlessly somewhere to the side. Her face was serious, cold. "How //dare// you?" Avery whisper-shouted, brow creasing in anger as she stooped lower towards the confused researcher. "How dare--" Jacob started, only to be shushed harshly with a finger to his lips. He made a face and pushed her hand aside. "Don't wake him up," she hissed. Jacob started again, this time in a lower voice. "How dare I what?" "Are you stupid? I'm not blind and deaf, I see all this, all of //this//," Avery strained out with an exasperated waving of her hands. "I hear your conversations, the horrible way you talk to him." Jacob was aside himself with bewilderment. "Horrible? Did I say something wrong?" She grabbed the front of his shirt and brought her PPE-covered face real close to his. "He's mine, do you understand? I don't kiss ass to my superiors for nothing, I do it so I can stay on this assignment. So I can stay close to //him//." She emphasized the last word with a thrust of her finger towards the sleeping alien. "What?" was all the researcher got out. Avery shook him like a maraca. His teeth clacked together as she did so, making a noise not entirely unlike a maraca as well. "How many times do I have to repeat myself? You don't get to just come in here and mess everything up for me." Once she stopped shaking him, Jacob's brow furrowed in confusion as he thought about what she was saying. "So... are you two dating or something?" Avery huffed in annoyance and let go of his shirt with a shove. She didn't say anything in response, though; she may have been delusionally hopeful, but she wasn't a liar. But she also didn't have the heart to say the truth. It was like he didn't even notice she existed! Because he didn't. To him, she was just another unit of uniformed personnel who blended into the background, the //noise// of the Foundation. There was also another thing. SCP-6118 stirred in the bed beside them, making a soft noise as he pushed himself into a sitting position. His species had exeptional hearing to make up for their poor eyesight, and even at a whisper, their words were alarming enough to rouse him. "Go back to sleep, idiot," Avery scolded with barely a glance towards him. "This is a bad time, can't you see?" The alien's eyes widened, but he didn't move. A combination of confusion and fatigue kept him frozen in place, one arm bearing his weight while the other fidgeted with the sheet whose end rested on his thighs. "I said, go back to sleep!" she exclaimed over her shoulder with great impatience. "Don't talk to him like that!" Jacob cut in, similarly exasperated. She glared directly at the researcher. "I get to talk to him how I very well please." "No, you don't. This is why I hate the stupid Foundation, and the stupid people who work in it. You all think you can act however, do and say whatever you want! That's not how life works!" "Shut up!" she shouted. "I could have you taken out back and shot like a dog for that kind of speak!" SCP-6118 instinctively reached for the side of his thigh, but there was no holster and no gun to be found. He began to run simulations in his mind, calculate whether or not he would be able to intervene if something became physical, how much the aching inflammation in his muscles would prevent him from doing so. "This is ridiculous! 6118, isn't this ridiculous?" Jacob demanded. The alien looked between the two but ultimately said nothing. Without his input, their voices kept raising, the argument growing worse-- he found a gap in the hurling of insults and took an opportunity. "I think we can just talk about this--" SCP-6118 started, his voice kept carefully even despite the stress of the situation. Avery turned to face him, glowering, hands balled into fists. Her hot breath streamed up the inside of her biohazard suit, with small droplets codensating together on the clear plastic in front of her face. Jacob grabbed her arm and tried to pull her back. A struggle ensued, the personnel knocking each other into the metal bedframes, yelling vague insults-- and then the door of the isolation room opened, flooding the dimmed room with light and the scent of fresh antiseptic, and people were dragging them apart. "She started it!" Jacob was shouting. "I absolutely did not!" Avery argued. They were both held down on opposite sides of the room until they wore themselves out. Jacob, who stopped fighting first, was eventually allowed to go back to his bed and stay there under extremely close observation. Avery, who obviously didn't care whether or not she injured the guards restraining her, was dragged out and did not return. ------ "Um... hey." SCP-6118 looked up and placed a bookmark in between the pages he was reading. "Yes?" "Is that good?" Jacob asked, nodding to the book. "Yes, and it's about a human who gets put onto Mars," the alien explained. "He has to survive, and it's very hard for him, but he's clever." He held up the book so that Jacob could see the cover. He would have simply read the title, //The Martian//, out loud, but he didn't know if it would be prononuced 'mar-tee-an' or rather 'mar-shun', and didn't want to sound unintelligent by saying it wrong. "What's yours about?" he asked, looking over at the neglected copy of //Republic// that hadn't moved from the place Avery had thrown it down. "Oh, it's..." Jacob waved his hand with a flourish. "It's about justice. You know, the kind of stuff everyone pretends they want to read." SCP-6118 tilted his head to the side in confusion. "So you do not actually read the book? Then the point is?" "No, no, I read the book," Jacob lied. He'd wanted to give it an honest try, but in reality, he couldn't stand one paragraph of the stuff. "Don't I look cool doing it? I'm all pensive and stuff." "You look 'cool' without reading justice books," SCP-6118 responded. This took Jacob a bit off guard. "Wait, really?" he asked. The alien nodded earnestly. "I would say that you're the coolest person I've met at this organisation." "Oh, you must have been around some real boring... stuffy old guys..." "I have been around a lot of not-stuffy young people. Pretty boring, but that's all you can get around here." SCP-6118 smiled subtly as he ran his finger along the corner of the book, parting the pages with the pad of it. "But you don't find me boring?" Jacob ventured. "No, I don't. You talk a lot and I find that interesting. We don't talk a lot where I come from, unless you have a reason, or are close to the other person. And you don't always have a reason, so it makes me feel close to you," he explained. Jacob struggled to keep an overly large smile off of his face. "Well, I'm glad my senseless blabbering finally made someone feel an emotion other than hate for me." They sat in silence for a few moments as they both thought about each other. It was pleasant, uncomplicated. Jacob broke it by clearing his throat. "I... I don't know about you, but I feel emotions for you, too. That aren't hate. Very far separated from hate." SCP-6118 looked up at him, and his chest constricted when their eyes met. The alien had seldom done so, and never maintained eye contact with him, nor anyone else, for more than a fleeting glance. But he was looking at him now, and something about the blue and the way the copper rings took up so much space in the eye-- almost as much space as the alien occupied in Jacob's mind. Both things were large, inhuman, and undeniably beautiful. The researcher's mouth went dry, so he slid his tounge against his teeth in hopes of telling his salivary glands to pull their own weight. He was also doing absolutely everything he could to keep from saying the next part. "Hey... I meant it, meant it when I said I'd like to get away with you sometime," he finally got out. "How far away?" SCP-6118 asked. "No, no... you don't understand. It's not about where we go," Jacob explained. "It's... going there, going wherever we go, together. I... I don't want to just part ways after this." "I would be happy to go places with you." //But as what, what would we be?// Jacob wanted to ask. //Not to mention the logistics of it all...// He must have appeared troubled, because SCP-6118 grew slightly concerned as the silence progressed once more. "Did I say something wrong?" "No, not at all!" Jacob quickly responded. "Just... thinking about big things, you know? But that doesn't matter. What matters is that you're right here, right now, and so am I." They sat in silence for a little while longer. Jacob visually examined his hands, rubbed them together, picked at his fingernails. "Is this how humans tell people they like them?" SCP-6118 asked. Jacob smiled once more. "Now aren't you a good anthropologist. Yes, that is in fact what I'm trying to do, though I know I'm not doing it very well." "I think you're doing a great job. Definitely better than me," SCP-6118 reassured him. Jacob's eyes widened, and he looked back over at the alien. He was suddenly acting quite shy, his head tilted down so that his hair formed a blonde curtain over his face, his hands folded tightly over each other in his lap. The pointed ends of his ears had taken on a blue flush that was more prominant than before. Jacob looked back down at his hands. He decided he should ask for some nail clippers. ------ //This Tale was written for [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/romcon RomCon]. Thank you [[*user notgull]] for lending me [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-4785 Jacob]; their counterpart of this pairing is available under the title [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/disco-inferno Burn, Baby, Burn]!// [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a> \|author=tiredsn0w]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-05-25T03:00:00	[ "_licensebox", "blue-blooded-alien", "romcon2023-unofficial", "tale" ]	Hominophobia - SCP Foundation	10	[ "scp-4785", "ambrose-kepler", "scp-4785-incident-report", "romcon", "disco-inferno", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "romcon" ]	[]	1447882116	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/hominophobia
horseback	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p><em>It is in the wandering city of Indeen that Angelo, Great Emperor of the Thereven Khanate holds court. In gilded thrones beside him sit the Council of Thirteen; the fearsome wrestler-chief of the united Wisconsin tribes, the five learn’d eunuchs of Portlands, the untamed beastmaster of the Dagonite reptile-riders, the three smiling concubines of the Sublime City of Gary, the revered twin augurs of the subjugated Ion cult, and Sarah Bumaro, wife to the Khan and dreaded strategist of the inexhaustible iron cavalry that prowl the plains of the Middle West.</em></p> <p><em>Their gazes were not on the meticulously detailed war maps of <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/deus-vult">Romania Nova</a> nor the feast that lay before them, the like of which had only been seen in antiquity. Instead, it was on the stranger seated on a cushion, cloaked in strange material the likes of which had never been seen. They slouched and ate quickly with their hands, behaving like a peasant in spite of their finery. Yet, they addressed the Khan without fear, locking gaze with the fearsome warrior as an equal. And they spoke to the court of oddities far beyond the reaches of the vast empire.</em></p> <hr/> <p>“To the West, on the coast of the Shining Sea, there lies the divided city of the Bay. It was once the crown jewel of an empire, directing the flow of goods to the rest of the continent. And — so the Bay people say — where goods flow freely, the Triad makes their home.</p> <p>“To those from barren lands, the Bay may first seem like a mirage. Towers of metal and glass stretch towards the sky, some as tall as forty men atop each other. The people are cordial, helpfully dispensing directions to travellers, often fluently in the visitor’s own tongue! The marketplaces are full to bursting with foodstuffs and trinkets that I cannot begin to describe. But if you venture far enough into the city, you will no doubt stumble across the Temples. Blackened, twisted beams of steel bend to form the churches of the city gods: Marshall, god of the yen, Carter, god of the euro, and Darke, goddess of the dollar. To be an adherent of one is compulsory, to be a believer of multiple is heresy of the highest degree. During my stay, I witnessed a man torn apart by a frenzied mob outside of my hostel. A conversation with a passerby revealed his crime: delivering payment with the coins of Marshall and bills of Darke. I departed that evening.”</p> <hr/> <p>“Perhaps, oh Great Khan, you have heard tales of the hot lands to the South, the myths of the feathered serpents that float in the night clouds or the campfire stories of a vengeful Spirit that kills unwitting merchants. They are just that, stories.</p> <p>“Instead, I speak of a queer phenomenon encountered by travelers in the Chihuahua wastes. It is in air, it is an illusion, it is a city. One can feel the brush of alley cats and the neatly cobbled streets, smell the chimneys wafting with smoke and ovens being lit, but they will not see the bustle of a square or hear the shouts of hawkers. It takes from sunrise to high noon to traverse this city of dust and sand dunes; the entire time, not a voice can be heard, nor a home seen. Perhaps it is nothing more than a mirage, a trick of a mind deprived of water. But as I made camp that night, the taste of bread was still upon my lips.”</p> <hr/> <p>“Yet these stories are familiar. I could regale you endlessly with accounts of the death-defying feats of the travelling Wettelian harlequins or the horrors locked in the Foundation’s crumbling keeps or the<br/> fractal teachings of the Fifth Temple: you and your court have heard of them before. But, Angelo, you have never heard of the glories of Perth.</p> <p>“Across the Sea, past the Bay, past the derelict rigs and fishers of the deep is an island the size of your kingdom tenfold. On the jungle river, birds of all colors and animals that defy description make their home next to fleets of canoes, each loaded down with countless wares untold. Men across the continent row for many days in this wilderness, in hopes that they may catch a glimpse of the shining city from which power flows. Buildings of clay hold hundreds of merchants; their trade routes and holdings crisscross the vast continent. At night, the streets fill with music, lyre strings plucked towards the sky as a gift to Kalef, god of wealth and fortune. And in return, Kalef showers untold riches.”</p> <hr/> <p><em>It is night. The stories have been told and the Court has long since departed. Cast in shadow, the Khan still sits.</em></p> <p><em>“Traveler, you have amused my court, not an easy task. Indeed, you were correct, the stories you told in these halls were familiar, except for one. Perth sounds most delightful.”</em></p> <p><em>Across the table, the stranger kneels unmoving. “It is, Angelo, but your domain is nothing short of magnificent. I have not been to America in many years, and the memory of its beauty has faded until now.”</em></p> <p><em>“But if what you say about the city across the Sea is true, most would be content to stay forever. Who are you, who travels the Sea and desolate wastes to visit the empire on the other side of the world?”</em></p> <p><em>A small object slides across the table, falling before the Khan’s feet. A small square of pressed wood pulp, the surface engraved with the long-lost runes of the Old Tongue. The Khan recognizes only one thing: the etchings are the color of gold.</em></p> <p><em>“I am <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/insurance">Goldbaker</a>. With my services, you will expand beyond the Sea.”</em></p> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/horseback">Governed on Horseback</a>" by Trotskyeet, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/horseback">https://scpwiki.com/horseback</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] //It is in the wandering city of Indeen that Angelo, Great Emperor of the Thereven Khanate holds court. In gilded thrones beside him sit the Council of Thirteen; the fearsome wrestler-chief of the united Wisconsin tribes, the five learn’d eunuchs of Portlands, the untamed beastmaster of the Dagonite reptile-riders, the three smiling concubines of the Sublime City of Gary, the revered twin augurs of the subjugated Ion cult, and Sarah Bumaro, wife to the Khan and dreaded strategist of the inexhaustible iron cavalry that prowl the plains of the Middle West.// //Their gazes were not on the meticulously detailed war maps of [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/deus-vult Romania Nova] nor the feast that lay before them, the like of which had only been seen in antiquity. Instead, it was on the stranger seated on a cushion, cloaked in strange material the likes of which had never been seen. They slouched and ate quickly with their hands, behaving like a peasant in spite of their finery. Yet, they addressed the Khan without fear, locking gaze with the fearsome warrior as an equal. And they spoke to the court of oddities far beyond the reaches of the vast empire.// ------ “To the West, on the coast of the Shining Sea, there lies the divided city of the Bay. It was once the crown jewel of an empire, directing the flow of goods to the rest of the continent. And -- so the Bay people say -- where goods flow freely, the Triad makes their home. “To those from barren lands, the Bay may first seem like a mirage. Towers of metal and glass stretch towards the sky, some as tall as forty men atop each other. The people are cordial, helpfully dispensing directions to travellers, often fluently in the visitor’s own tongue! The marketplaces are full to bursting with foodstuffs and trinkets that I cannot begin to describe. But if you venture far enough into the city, you will no doubt stumble across the Temples. Blackened, twisted beams of steel bend to form the churches of the city gods: Marshall, god of the yen, Carter, god of the euro, and Darke, goddess of the dollar. To be an adherent of one is compulsory, to be a believer of multiple is heresy of the highest degree. During my stay, I witnessed a man torn apart by a frenzied mob outside of my hostel. A conversation with a passerby revealed his crime: delivering payment with the coins of Marshall and bills of Darke. I departed that evening.” ---- “Perhaps, oh Great Khan, you have heard tales of the hot lands to the South, the myths of the feathered serpents that float in the night clouds or the campfire stories of a vengeful Spirit that kills unwitting merchants. They are just that, stories. “Instead, I speak of a queer phenomenon encountered by travelers in the Chihuahua wastes. It is in air, it is an illusion, it is a city. One can feel the brush of alley cats and the neatly cobbled streets, smell the chimneys wafting with smoke and ovens being lit, but they will not see the bustle of a square or hear the shouts of hawkers. It takes from sunrise to high noon to traverse this city of dust and sand dunes; the entire time, not a voice can be heard, nor a home seen. Perhaps it is nothing more than a mirage, a trick of a mind deprived of water. But as I made camp that night, the taste of bread was still upon my lips.” ---- “Yet these stories are familiar. I could regale you endlessly with accounts of the death-defying feats of the travelling Wettelian harlequins or the horrors locked in the Foundation’s crumbling keeps or the fractal teachings of the Fifth Temple: you and your court have heard of them before. But, Angelo, you have never heard of the glories of Perth. “Across the Sea, past the Bay, past the derelict rigs and fishers of the deep is an island the size of your kingdom tenfold. On the jungle river, birds of all colors and animals that defy description make their home next to fleets of canoes, each loaded down with countless wares untold. Men across the continent row for many days in this wilderness, in hopes that they may catch a glimpse of the shining city from which power flows. Buildings of clay hold hundreds of merchants; their trade routes and holdings crisscross the vast continent. At night, the streets fill with music, lyre strings plucked towards the sky as a gift to Kalef, god of wealth and fortune. And in return, Kalef showers untold riches.” ---- //It is night. The stories have been told and the Court has long since departed. Cast in shadow, the Khan still sits.// //“Traveler, you have amused my court, not an easy task. Indeed, you were correct, the stories you told in these halls were familiar, except for one. Perth sounds most delightful.”// //Across the table, the stranger kneels unmoving. “It is, Angelo, but your domain is nothing short of magnificent. I have not been to America in many years, and the memory of its beauty has faded until now.”// //“But if what you say about the city across the Sea is true, most would be content to stay forever. Who are you, who travels the Sea and desolate wastes to visit the empire on the other side of the world?”// //A small object slides across the table, falling before the Khan’s feet. A small square of pressed wood pulp, the surface engraved with the long-lost runes of the Old Tongue. The Khan recognizes only one thing: the etchings are the color of gold.// //“I am [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/insurance Goldbaker]. With my services, you will expand beyond the Sea.”// [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] [!-- N/A (No Images) --] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-01-06T04:52:00	[ "_licensebox", "coldpostcon", "doctors-of-the-church", "fantasy", "goldbaker-reinz", "post-apocalyptic", "tale" ]	Governed on Horseback - SCP Foundation	32	[ "deus-vult", "insurance", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "scp-series-7-tales-edition", "goldbaker-reinz-hub", "doctors-of-the-church-hub", "coldpostcon" ]	[]	1445400636	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/horseback
hour-zero	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div class="pseudocrumbs"> <p><a href="/canon-hub">Canon Hub</a> » <a href="/from-120-s-archives-hub">From 120's Archives Hub</a> / <a href="/no-return-hub">No Return Hub</a> » Hour Zero</p> </div> <div class="info-container"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <div> <p><strong>Co-written by <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/jasiu06" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(6669398); return false;"><img alt="Jasiu06" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=6669398&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1734264725" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=6669398)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/jasiu06" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(6669398); return false;">Jasiu06</a></span> and <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/ralliston" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5986843); return false;"><img alt="Ralliston" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=5986843&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1734264725" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=5986843)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/ralliston" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5986843); return false;">Ralliston</a></span></strong></p> <p><strong><a href="http://scp-pl.wikidot.com/doslownie-1984">► Jasiu06's Authorpage</a></strong><br/> <strong><a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/ralliston-s-authorpage">► Ralliston's Authorpage</a></strong></p> <p>For translators, here is a direct link to each iteration:<br/> <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/fragment:hour-zero-1">https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/fragment:hour-zero-1</a><br/> <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/fragment:hour-zero-2">https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/fragment:hour-zero-2</a><br/> <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/fragment:hour-zero-3">https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/fragment:hour-zero-3</a><br/> <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/fragment:hour-zero-4">https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/fragment:hour-zero-4</a><br/> <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/fragment:hour-zero-5">https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/fragment:hour-zero-5</a></p> </div> <hr/> <div id="u-author_block"> <p style="text-align: center;">[{$authorPage} ▸ More by this Author ◂]</p> </div> <hr/> <div id="u-comments2" style="display: none;"> <p>{$comments2}</p> </div> <div class="u-faq"> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:info-ayers">F.A.Q.</a></p> </div> <div style="display: none;"> <p>{$doesthisfixthebug}</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <div style="display: none"> <div style="text-align: left;"> <div class="code"> <div class="hl-main"> <pre><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Foxtrot</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Sigma-9</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Theme</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">2022</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">Wikidot</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">Theme</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">By</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Liryn</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">FONTS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Montserrat</span><span class="hl-special">:ital</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">wght</span><span class="hl-var">@0</span><span class="hl-code">,800;1,800&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Lexend</span><span class="hl-special">:wght</span><span class="hl-var">@700</span><span class="hl-code">;800&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">JetBrains</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Mono</span><span class="hl-special">:ital</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">wght</span><span class="hl-var">@0</span><span class="hl-code">,400;0,700;1,400;1,700&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Fira</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Code</span><span class="hl-special">:wght</span><span class="hl-var">@400</span><span class="hl-code">;700&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Sofia</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Sans</span><span class="hl-special">:ital</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">wght</span><span class="hl-var">@0</span><span class="hl-code">,400;0,700;1,400;1,700&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">rsms.me</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">inter</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">inter.css</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Figtree</span><span class="hl-special">:wght</span><span class="hl-var">@800</span><span class="hl-code">;900&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">IBM</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Plex</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Sans</span><span class="hl-special">:ital</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">wght</span><span class="hl-var">@0</span><span class="hl-code">,400;0,500;0,600;0,700;1,400;1,500;1,600;1,700&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-special">:root</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Core</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ --</span><span class="hl-reserved">header-title:</span><span class="hl-code"> "SCP Foundation"</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">header-subtitle:</span><span class="hl-code"> "SECURE, CONTAIN, PROTECT"</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">logo-img:</span><span class="hl-code"> url(https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/theme:foxtrot/fxtrt-scp_logo_lightmode.svg)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">darkmode-logo-img:</span><span class="hl-code"> url(https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/theme:foxtrot/fxtrt-scp_logo_darkmode.svg)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">logo-opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">14</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">head-font:</span><span class="hl-code"> 'Sans Normalcy'</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">ui-font:</span><span class="hl-code"> 'IBM Plex Sans'</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">mono-font:</span><span class="hl-code"> 'JetBrains Mono', 'Fira </span><span class="hl-string">Code</span><span class="hl-code">', </span><span class="hl-string">monospace</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">page-font:</span><span class="hl-code"> 'Inter', 'verdana'</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">base-font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.9</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">page-font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Misc</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ --</span><span class="hl-reserved">header-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">subheader-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">misc-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#464646</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">link-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#E6283C</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">link-hover-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">white</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Color</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Accents</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ --</span><span class="hl-reserved">accent:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--acc-default)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-default:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">59</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">59</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">59</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-wyoming:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">142</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">18</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-canada:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--acc-default)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-poland:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">87</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">44</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">17</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-slothspit:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">27</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">60</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">133</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-vanguard:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">153</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">75</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-threshold:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">121</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">113</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">130</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-overwatch:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">28</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">37</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">56</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-spc:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">165</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">200</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-fishing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">67</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">111</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">145</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-nightfall:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">151</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-hybrasil:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">27</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">60</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">133</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-goc:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">39</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">84</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">149</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-spooky:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">252</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">112</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">40</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">BetterFootnotes</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ --</span><span class="hl-reserved">fnColor:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">fnLinger:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> --</span><span class="hl-reserved">barColour:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">linkColour:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#EDEDED</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">html</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">scroll-behavior:</span><span class="hl-code"> smooth</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow-x:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">hidden</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">body</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--base-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">51</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">51</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">51</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> linear-gradient(to </span><span class="hl-string">bottom</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-var">#e0e0e0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">200</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-rendering:</span><span class="hl-code"> optimizeLegibility</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow-wrap:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">break-word</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#container-wrap</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#content-wrap</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font), var(--ui-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">440</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">strong</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">700</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tt</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-source</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">pre</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-textarea</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--mono-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ol</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">p</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-underline-offset:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">40</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> :</span><span class="hl-special">:selection</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Clicky</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">links</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.newpage</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:visited</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:visited</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.newpage</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:visited:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:visited:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-hover-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">patch</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">for</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">sidebar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">media</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">collapsibles</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">ACS</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">and</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ayers</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">module</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">so</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">link</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">doesn</span><span class="hl-code">'</span><span class="hl-identifier">t</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">override</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-folded</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-unfolded-link</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fa-info</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block.media</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.danger-diamond</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-folded</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--linkColour) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">160</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--header-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">letter-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">900</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> fit-content</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--header-title)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--header-subtitle)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">700</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--misc-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">26</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.35</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">uppercase</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#extra-div-1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">160</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">7</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">absolute</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--logo-img) </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">30</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">no-repeat</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">130</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-repeat:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">no-repeat</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">50</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">50</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">z-index:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--logo-opacity)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Search</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-var">text</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-input</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-input</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-input</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-var">submit</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-var">submit</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-var">submit</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#efefef</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--page-font-size) - </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.empty</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#999999</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">absolute</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">47</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">15</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">15</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">white</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li.sfhover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.83</span><span class="hl-code">) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">230</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-indent:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">justify-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.mobile-top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Login</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#login-status</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">19</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#login-status</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#login-status</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 767</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.printuser</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.printuser</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.printuser</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">img.small</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">18</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">18</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 767</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.printuser</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">img.small</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> translate(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#my-account</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 767</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#account-topbutton</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Side</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.open-menu</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">white</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (min-width: 768</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.6</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.6</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">18.75</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">s ease-in-out</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">rtl</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block.resources</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block.media</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#interwiki</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">ltr</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block.resources</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.heading</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--misc-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#cfcfcf</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9</span><span class="hl-string">pt</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">uppercase</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Blockquotes</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">Custom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Divs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.15</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#f7f7f7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">dashed</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#f7f7f7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.35</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.35</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#f7f7f7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.15</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fbfbfb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.quote</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bbb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">500</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bbb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.note</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#afafaf</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.round</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Headings</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">Titles</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-title</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.meta-title</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#3b3b3b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> fit-content</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-title</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.meta-title</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#breadcrumbs</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.pseudocrumbs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#3b3b3b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.footnotes-footer</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.title</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#3b3b3b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Rate</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Module</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.creditRate</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bbb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fa-info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fa-info</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bbb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-points</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rateup</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.ratedown</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rateup</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.ratedown</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rateup</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.ratedown</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inline-block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Rate</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Module</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Author</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Label</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.authorlink-wrapper</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> --</span><span class="hl-reserved">author-top-adjust:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">author-bottom-adjust:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">author-right-adjust:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--base-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Side</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anchor</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> sticky</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.14</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc((</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vw - </span><span class="hl-number">870</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">)/</span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vh - </span><span class="hl-number">18</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">absolute</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">103.5</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">z-index:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 1290</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">visibility:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">hidden</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Image</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#f4f4f4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#3b3b3b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">img</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.imagediv</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">right</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">15</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 540</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.imagediv</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">only</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">screen</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">and</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 600</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block.block-right</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tables</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Base</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">td</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">12</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bfbfbf</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">td</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.35</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tables</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Customization</span><span class="hl-code"> (</span><span class="hl-identifier">Table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Coloring</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">System</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tables</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Customization</span><span class="hl-code"> (</span><span class="hl-identifier">Table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Coloring</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">System</span><span class="hl-code">) > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Headings</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">Image</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Captions</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#E0FFD4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#D8ECF4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FDF6D7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFDFCD</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFCFCF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">146</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.tableb</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.wiki-content-table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-collapse:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">separate</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tables</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Customization</span><span class="hl-code"> (</span><span class="hl-identifier">Table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Coloring</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">System</span><span class="hl-code">) > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Other</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Colored</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Divs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">224</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">212</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">226</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">244</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">245</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">189</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">223</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">205</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">207</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">207</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">218</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tabs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Base</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tabs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Customization</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-wrap:</span><span class="hl-code"> wrap</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code"> - </span><span class="hl-number">.125</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Link</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Modifier</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tab</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Background</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Colour</span><span class="hl-code"> \| [</span><span class="hl-identifier">UNSELECTED</span><span class="hl-code">] ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#efefef</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tab</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Background</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Colour</span><span class="hl-code"> \| [</span><span class="hl-identifier">HOVER</span><span class="hl-code">] ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code">, /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Listitem</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Modifier</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">relative</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-grow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-bottom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">align-items:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">justify-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.35</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.75</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-overflow:</span><span class="hl-code"> ellipsis</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">hidden</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">white-space:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">nowrap</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code">, /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Selection</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Modifier</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-grow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tab</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Background</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Colour</span><span class="hl-code"> \| [</span><span class="hl-identifier">SELECTED</span><span class="hl-code">] ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:active</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-content</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">WORDS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">NO</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">BROKEY</span><span class="hl-code">. </span><span class="hl-identifier">CROQ</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">HAS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">SPOKEY</span><span class="hl-code">. </span><span class="hl-identifier">and</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">other</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">things</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">word-break:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">normal</span><span class="hl-code"> !important </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.avatar-hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Dustjacket</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Assets</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fancyhr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">hr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">vw </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--bright-accent), </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-source:</span><span class="hl-code"> url('https://wanderers-library.wikidot.com/local--files/component:dustjacket-theme/wl_hr.png')</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-repeat:</span><span class="hl-code"> round round</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-slice:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">500</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">500</span><span class="hl-code"> fill</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fancyborder</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">vw </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> url('https://wanderers-library.wikidot.com/local--files/component:dustjacket-theme/wl_border.png') </span><span class="hl-number">600</span><span class="hl-code"> round</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">vw</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Collapsibles</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">underline</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-special">:not</span><span class="hl-code">(</span><span class="hl-identifier">.licensebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.default-col</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">white</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">7</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--base-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inline-block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-special">:not</span><span class="hl-code">(</span><span class="hl-identifier">.licensebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.default-col</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--accent), </span><span class="hl-number">0.7</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">ACS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Adjustments</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.top-left-box</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">.item</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anom-bar-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anom-bar-container</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anom-bar-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), Inter, </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.acs-extra-1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.acs-extra-2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.acs-extra-3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.acs-extra-4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), Inter, </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anom-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">.top-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Woed</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Adjustments</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.item1</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">uppercase</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">letter-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.class1</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.9</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">letter-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> --</span><span class="hl-reserved">woedbar-class-bar-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.obj</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.7</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.obj</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.55</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MISC</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">hr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.bt</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#footer</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#444</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">45</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#footer</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#7b7b7b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.footer-wikiwalk-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">700</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">88</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">word-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-info-break</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-options-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">213</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">213</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">213</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-watch-options</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.6</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">77</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-options-bottom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> row</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-wrap:</span><span class="hl-code"> wrap</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">align-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">justify-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-options-bottom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">13</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">13</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom-left-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom-right-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-options-bottom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--accent), </span><span class="hl-number">0.8</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-info-break</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#license-area</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#5f5f5f</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ecf2f1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#d9d9d9</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#license-area</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> "."</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (min-width: 768</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">16</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> "tags "</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--misc-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inline-block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.8125</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.75</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.1875</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.3125</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.1875</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom-right-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top-right-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">13</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.8125</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--page-font-size) - </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">.1875</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">.625</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.0625</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.1875</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent)) </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-style:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> ""</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">relative</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.2813</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.125</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-tags-input</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">word-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.text</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">150</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-form</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">table.form</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">tbody</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">td</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(1) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.edit-help-34</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">85</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">60</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> fit-content</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.edit-help-34</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.edit-help-34</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">table.edit-page-bottomtable</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-comments</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">86</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#lock-info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.8</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">86</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#lock-info</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> "!"</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">12</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">110</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">60</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#lock-timer</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">115</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#lock-timer</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> "⏲ "</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">textarea</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.text</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">outline:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ccc</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-property:</span><span class="hl-code"> box-shadow</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">textarea</span><span class="hl-special">:focus-visible</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.text</span><span class="hl-special">:focus-visible</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#a3a3a3</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#a3a3a3</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#action-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">p</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">85</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> darkslategrey</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#action-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">p</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(5)></span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">120</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#who-rated-page-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">column-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 900</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#who-rated-page-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">column-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 700</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#who-rated-page-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">column-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 540</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#who-rated-page-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">column-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.content-warning.creditRate</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">21</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.preview-message</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.9</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">29</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">z-index:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">filter:</span><span class="hl-code"> drop-shadow(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#EDEDED</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.error-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">48</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#B00</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top-left-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top-right-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">table.page-history</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tbody</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(2</span><span class="hl-identifier">n</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--accent), </span><span class="hl-number">0.05</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">animation:</span><span class="hl-code"> fade </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@keyframes</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">fade</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> 0% </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> 100% </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.button-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">11</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.button-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-hover-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.button-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.title</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">cursor:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">default</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">155</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">187</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">187</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">187</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#F7F7F7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow.owait</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow.owait</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.content</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> " "</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">0.9</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">animation:</span><span class="hl-code"> loading </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-code">s linear infinite</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> grey</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> grey</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">50</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@keyframes</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">loading</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> 0% </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> rotate(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">deg)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> 100% </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> rotate(</span><span class="hl-number">360</span><span class="hl-code">deg)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow.osuccess</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.content</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(2)></span><span class="hl-identifier">img</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(1) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.odialog-shader</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#262a39</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.btn</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.15</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.btn</span><span class="hl-special">:not</span><span class="hl-code">(</span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.btn</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-quotes">"</span><span class="hl-string">submit</span><span class="hl-quotes">"</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code">), </span><span class="hl-identifier">.btn.btn-primary</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.buttons</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.button</span><span class="hl-special">:not</span><span class="hl-code">(</span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-quotes">"</span><span class="hl-string">submit</span><span class="hl-quotes">"</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">11</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">cursor:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">pointer</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-cancel-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-diff-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-preview-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-draft-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-continue-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ccc</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">cursor:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">pointer</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">14</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-cancel-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-diff-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-preview-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-draft-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-continue-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#eaeaea</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-continue-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#dbffd6</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#005a0a</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-continue-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#0d951c</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-cancel-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffe1e1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#c52727</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-cancel-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#c5272e</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">table.page-history</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tbody</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#757575</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fncon</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font-size) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fncon</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font-size) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.hovertip</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">400</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.checkbox</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-history</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#h-perpage</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">cursor:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">pointer</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">textarea</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#breadcrumbs</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.pseudocrumbs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">110</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">REDUCED</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MOTION</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ACCESSIBILITY</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (prefers-reduced-motion: </span><span class="hl-identifier">reduce</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">before</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">animation-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.001</span><span class="hl-code">s !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">animation-iteration-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.001</span><span class="hl-code">s !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@MEDIA</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 850</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">h2:</span><span class="hl-code">:before { font-size: </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> } </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 700</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">h2:</span><span class="hl-code">:before { font-size: </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8.8</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> } </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 620</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">h2:</span><span class="hl-code">:before { font-size: </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.15</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">123</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> } </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 520</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">h2:</span><span class="hl-code">:before { line-height: </span><span class="hl-number">16</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">145</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> }</span></pre></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="date"> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <hr/> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><strong><span style="font-size:larger;"><a href="/goc-hub-page">Council of 108 Conclave</a></span></strong><br/> <strong>T-Minus One Month</strong></p> </div> <hr/> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <p>If there was a single thing that united all of the brilliantly different and freakishly diverse members of the Global Occult Coalition's Council of 108, it was the fact that all of them hated conclaves.</p> <p>In all of its seventy-six years of existence, there had only been two times a global gathering of all the member groups actually resulted in full attendance. The first time was during the group's formal founding, just a few months after the end of the Seventh Occult War. The second: one minute before midnight, during the height of the Cold War's paraweapon arms race that nearly blew up the planet five times over.</p> <p>It took more than just routine bureaucracy to bring together the representatives of the world's largest gathering of occult groups, all in a single conference at a single time. It therefore came as a surprise to all of the attendees to see that among the audience of its 14th Emergency Special Session of the General Assembly — one which was meant as nothing but a formality to dispel slander after the whole crisis, at that — all those who were invited did indeed show up.</p> <p><strong>Illuminated Master Wilhelm of the Bavarian Illuminati</strong> was the first to speak. "This is ridiculous," his sharp voice echoed through the hall as he stood up, his bulky features illuminated by the beacon of white light coming from the spotlight above. "With all due respect, Madam, this topic barely requires discussion, let alone a global summit."</p> <p>The place reserved for the <strong>D.C. Al Fine, Undersecretary General of the Global Occult Coalition</strong>, did not greet him with an answer. The lamp right above the International Center for the Study of Unified Thaumatology's representative however wasn't so hesitant.</p> <p>"Honorable Master, if there ever even <em>was</em> a topic we all needed to hear about, it's without a single shred of doubt this one," <strong>Xenia Dufort, Archidirector of ICSUT London,</strong> loudly replied, brief sparks of purple fire flickering in and out of her purple eyes. "<em>This</em> is not just a debate about how we manage our internal bureaucracy — this is the biggest threat to our shared existence we have <em>ever</em> encountered. A threat that is a direct danger to the Coalition's First Mission. The data that ICSUT has gathered suggests—"</p> <p>"<em>Please</em>." The German rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "There is also data that suggests the SCP Foundation punches sharks. Just because your numbers say something doesn't mean it's true." He turned his sight to the rest of the audience. "This, my fine friends, is the most ridiculous accusation I have ever heard. We've heard rumors like this before. <em>During the Seventh Occult War</em>. How do we know your little 'apocalypse' isn't just another global working, akin to the Rite of Solomon? Or that it's a natural process that some anomalies appear and disappear?"</p> <p>Before Dufort could raise her hand in protest, a third light flickered into existence. "There is more than just numerical evidence to suggest the <a href="/scp-6500">Impasse</a> is real, you know," <strong>Olivié Gwyneth, the Head Archivist of the Sidhe Lounge,</strong> said firmly. "You like to hide the discussion beneath classifications and codewords, but prophecies, research, and authorized seances point us to a single very damning conclusion: we are all fucked, and we are only fucked because of <em>our actions</em>."</p> <p>Her tone was cold, and so were her eyes — whether it was at the fact she would vomit if she heard the words "KTE-6500-Goodrickbuster" ever again or the fact the stakes of this debate were <a href="/jaeger-part-1">more than personal to her</a>, it was hard to say.</p> <p>"With all due respect," she continued, unwilling to drop the anger dripping from every word, "you call yourself the defenders of the interests of humanity, yet when the hour calls, you refuse to actually get down there and help people. This here is rather plain and simple. You either give your all — which here amounts to the direct compromisation of the Second Mission and dropping the Veil — or you watch everyone you've sworn to protect <em>fucking die</em>, goddamn it!"</p> <p>It took but a few seconds for the words to spawn a general ruckus among the gathered.</p> <p>"Objection!" came the voice of <strong>Lord Marcus Crowley, the Antipope of the United Church of Satan, Scientist</strong>. "One of your conclusions being true does not automatically make all of them correct. The world spins, people die, and magic changes. The Impasse might be real, but to say that is it caused by the actions of his honorable Council is not just a disgrace, but borderline treason! Your radical proposition of a Veil-drop is a ridiculous overreaction that borders on sabotage of the Fivefold Mission."</p> <p>Both sides of the discussion exchanged murderous looks.</p> <p>"Gentlemen," <strong>Omodaru, Earth Army Chief of the <a href="/groups-of-interest-jp#five-elements-association">Gogyō-Kessha</a></strong> interrupted both parties before they reached for violence, his sharp and straightened posture contrasting widely with their exasperated silhouettes. "I fail to see how this… supposed death of magic is meant to be seen as a negative? The Coalition's First Mission is to ensure humanity's survival, so the final, irreversible removal of supernatural phenomena would surely be seen as nothing but a positive, no? What truly does it matter who caused it? And why should we even react?"</p> <p>The entire room exploded with protests. Everyone seemed to immediately begin to shout atop their lungs, filling the summit with a combination of unholy — both metaphorically and literally, in some cases — voices that all seemed charged with nothing but the intent to kill.</p> <p>And still, among all of that chaos, both <strong>O5-5, Overseer of the SCP Foundation,</strong> and Undersecretary General D.C al Fine remained silent. The two battlemages simply exchanged looks. The diplomatic newcomer was grinning, her eyes filled with fire proud to have ignited such a brilliant inferno with her arrival. The General remained pensive, her blue irises just irritated at the smug superiority displayed by the Overseer.</p> <p>Still, the Undersecretary clapped her hands all the same. "SILENCE!" Her words of power rang out throughout the hall, their sheer thaumic magnitude silencing everyone present. "This discussion will continue in a civil manner. This is an official order." Before any of the proverbial firestarters could once again ignite the discussion, she added, "All of your approaches are irrational. You look at the situation like a political game, instead of the emergency it is." She stood up, her wide hat hiding most of her features. "Just because there is a Foundation Overseer present does not make this an open war front. She — and her arguments — are of a purely diplomatic nature, and they <em>will</em> be heard. "</p> <p>"If you are unwilling to accept the goodwill of someone that extends the hand in spite of the differences that set our organizations apart, I do not know what to tell you. This isn't the first time this Council has debated a drop of the Veil, nor will it be the last. So behave like your position requires you to. Is that clear?" She put careful emphasis on her final words, narrowing her eyes as she looked upon all one hundred and eight of her subjects.</p> <p>Quiet murmurs of vague agreement echoed through the hall.</p> <p>"Excellent." She sat back down, crossing her legs. "Now, if I may." With a snap of her fingers, she manifested a sheet of paper before her and straightened it. "The files gathered before me very clearly indicate the involvement of clairvoyance." She looked at one of the points gathered in the distance. "Am I reading them correctly, honorable Nornir?"</p> <p>"<tt>Indeed, Madam</tt>," said the electronic <strong>Speaker to Humans of the Silicon Nornir</strong>. "<tt>Decades of careful research and data analysis undertaken by the most brilliant Urthor, Verthandi, and Skuldir do indeed show a select few futures for our reality, all of which inevitably terminate at an Impasse. If need be, our friends over at ICSUT may confirm the thaumic imprints of the seances as nothing but truthful</tt>."</p> <p>Dufort nodded. "If you recall," she said, her tone snide, "The Center and the Servants have been vocal about this exact issue for <em>decades</em>. If you're unwilling to trust us, at least extend a hand to our political friend from the Foundation." She pointed with her hand towards Five. The Overseer Council's external relations and legalities expert didn't greet her with a gesture of her own.</p> <p>"My bias aside, I fail to see any reason to not believe our colleagues," sighed <strong><a href="/a-little-bit-of-help">Michelle Dahl</a>, Oecumenicus Volgi of the Ancient Noble Order of the Gormogons</strong>. "Data from <em>untold</em> independent sources points to a single conclusion. If you happen to dislike that conclusion, well, that's on you, but the Coalition as the protector of the world should operate beyond these prejudices."</p> <p>"But what the Foundation is proposing is too extreme, any changes should be gradual and controlled. We cannot allow the system to be completely destroyed and remodeled in the name of some external vague agenda," exclaimed Master Wilhelm in response, lifting himself up from his seat.</p> <p>"My dear <em>pseudomasonic friend</em>, we aren't strangers to radical movement in response to emergent threats. The Council already had plenty of time to take gradual steps to prevent this whole mess in the first place, but we didn't do that, and now we have to suffer the consequences," replied Michelle, carefully eyeing Master Wilhelm, never quite letting the anger go. "So either we accept the option left to us or we accept our demise."</p> <p>"That doesn't change the fact that saying it is the Coalition's fault is ridiculous, and so is proposing such radical solutions!" <strong>Chevalier Ludwig Bernard of the Holy Order of Knights Templar, Reformed</strong> chimed in. "The world isn't black and white, Miss Dahl. You cannot simply attribute a complex issue to a single party and propose a single way out and expect everyone to just go along with it."</p> <p>"Oh, you do not seem to understand," Dahl said, narrowing her eyes. "I— <em>We</em> are not saying the Coalition is to blame. We are saying that the Coalition <em>and</em> the SCP Foundation are to blame."</p> <p>Wilhelm's eyes widened. He exchanged a quick look with the Undersecretary General, then O5-5, then Bernard, and then Dahl, never quite letting go of the shock. "Michelle Dahl," he said coldly, putting his hands together. "You come before this Council and first betray our core principles of integrity and unity for cheap political attention, only to also attempt to sabotage our already damaged relationship with the SCP Foundation?" He looked back at al Fine, furrowing his brows. "Honorable Undersecretary, if <em>this</em> is not treason, I—"</p> <p>"Oh shut up." Xenia Dufort rolled her eyes. "You cannot seriously just shout 'treason' at everything that doesn't align with your reactionary worldview, you arrogant cretin." She crossed her arms, and both Gwyneth and Dahl follower her in the gesture. "We've been willing to make radical changes before. From the looks of things, the discussion of further such movements is more than needed again."</p> <p>"You will <em>not</em> insult the honorable Master!" Chevalier Bernard shouted, slamming his fist at the control panel of his seat. "Your presence here is enough disrespect on its own, young l—"</p> <p>"ENOUGH!" Al Fine proclaimed. She looked at all eight standing, then sighed and shook her head. "You behave like children. Stop this immediately." She rubbed her temple, and looked at O5-5, seated across the room. "Madame, if you may? My colleagues have failed to prove themselves as mature enough for this discussion. Your input will surely provide a fresh angle they are all refusing to see."</p> <p>The Overseer arched an eyebrow, a barely noticeable smirk of satisfaction entering her face. Still, she uncrossed her arms and stood up all the same. "You do not seem to understand. The decision <em>will</em> be made, regardless of your approval," she said, her tone firm and unaccepting of any opposition. "This isn't a call that <em>you</em> can make. This isn't an issue regarding the internal bureaucracy of your Council that you can just vote over, hoping the mostly unrepresented unsatisfied parties will remain silent. This is an unprecedented global armageddon. Whether you like it or not, the whole world will get a part in deciding how to approach it, and trust me, it will <em>not</em> want to hear anything about your Fivefold Mission. In the grand scheme of things, your final choice barely matters."</p> <p>Al Fine blinked twice. "What are you even trying to say? That the move of your Foundation is equally unimportant?"</p> <p>"No," the Firestarter said. "I'm saying that the decisions of <em>all of us</em> are important. I didn't come here to somehow force you to do what needs to be done. I'm a diplomat, not an authoritarian." She shot al Fine a quick glance. "The Foundation has already made <a href="/scp-6500/offset/11">its decision</a>, and I hope you will join us in it soon enough. But I also want you to know that no matter your ultimate choice on how to approach this issue, it is the voice of the whole world that will end up mattering, not just that of the Foundation or the Coalition."</p> <p>She briefly paused, looking around the room. "And for what it's worth, that world has already decided the days of the Veil are nothing but counted. So either join change, or prepare to press back against it."</p> <p>The tension that now lay the room was practically palpable.</p> <p>Eventually, a figure stood up, her movement hesitant. Olivié Gwyneth put her hands together, cleared her throat, and uttered a single sentence: <strong><em><a href="/hour-zero/offset/1">"Shall... Shall we put it to a vote, then?"</a></em></strong></p> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> </div> </div></div> <hr/> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/hour-zero">Hour Zero</a>" by Jasiu06 and Ralliston, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/hour-zero">https://scpwiki.com/hour-zero</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> biden.jpg<br/> <strong>Name:</strong> Joe and Jill Biden visit Colombia, May 2013 06.jpg<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> David Lienemann<br/> <strong>License:</strong> Public Domain<br/> <strong>Source Link:</strong> <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joe_and_Jill_Biden_visit_Colombia,_May_2013_06.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></p> </blockquote> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> surrat.png<br/> <strong>Name:</strong> Dashing Bear<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> BinaryApe<br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC BY 2.0<br/> <strong>Source Link:</strong> <a href="https://openverse.org/image/8171896c-4da7-4e12-9452-f58579e8df68">Openverse</a></p> </blockquote> <p>This page quotes from <em>Do not go gentle into that good night</em> by Dylan Thomas, Public Domain.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[module CSS]] #page-title { display: none !important; } .date hr { width: 66%; margin: auto; border-width: medium; } .pseudocrumbs { margin: auto; text-align: center; } [[/module]] [[div class="pseudocrumbs"]] [[[canon-hub\|Canon Hub]]] >> [[[From 120's Archives Hub]]] / [[[No Return Hub]]] >> Hour Zero [[/div]] [[include <a href="/component:info-ayers">component:info-ayers</a> \|lang=en \|page=hour-zero \|authorPage= \|comments= *Co-written by [[user Jasiu06]] and [[user Ralliston]]* [http://scp-pl.wikidot.com/doslownie-1984 ► Jasiu06's Authorpage] [http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/ralliston-s-authorpage ► Ralliston's Authorpage] For translators, here is a direct link to each iteration: https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/fragment:hour-zero-1 https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/fragment:hour-zero-2 https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/fragment:hour-zero-3 https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/fragment:hour-zero-4 https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/fragment:hour-zero-5 ]] [[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [!-- For translators, here is a direct link to each iteration: https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/fragment:hour-zero-1 https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/fragment:hour-zero-2 https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/fragment:hour-zero-3 https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/fragment:hour-zero-4 https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/fragment:hour-zero-5 --] [[==]] [[module ListPages category="fragment" parent="." order="created_at" limit="1" offset="@URL\|0"]] %%content%% [[/module]] [[/==]] [[div class="footer-wikiwalk-nav"]] [[=]] \| [[[from-120-s-archives-hub\|From 120's Archives]]] \| [[/=]] [[/div]] ------ [[=]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a> \|author=Jasiu06 and Ralliston]] ===== > Filename: biden.jpg > Name: Joe and Jill Biden visit Colombia, May 2013 06.jpg > Author: David Lienemann > License: Public Domain > Source Link: [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joe_and_Jill_Biden_visit_Colombia,_May_2013_06.jpg Wikimedia Commons] > Filename: surrat.png > Name: Dashing Bear > Author: BinaryApe > License: CC BY 2.0 > Source Link: [https://openverse.org/image/8171896c-4da7-4e12-9452-f58579e8df68 Openverse] This page quotes from //Do not go gentle into that good night// by Dylan Thomas, Public Domain. ===== [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]] [[/=]]	2023-03-24T20:50:00	[ "_cc", "_licensebox", "_listpages", "are-we-cool-yet", "chaos-insurgency", "children-of-the-night", "co-authored", "corporate", "dc-al-fine", "esterberg", "eurtec", "fantasy", "from-120s-archives", "global-occult-coalition", "homo-sapiens-sidhe", "icsut", "iris-dark", "marie-surratt", "marshall-carter-and-dark", "midnight-the-cat", "no-return", "olivie-gwyneth", "parawatch", "political", "serpents-hand", "silicon-nornir", "slice-of-life", "tale", "three-portlands", "wanderers-library" ]	Hour Zero - SCP Foundation	86	[ "canon-hub", "from-120-s-archives-hub", "no-return-hub", "ralliston-s-authorpage", "fragment:hour-zero-1", "fragment:hour-zero-2", "fragment:hour-zero-3", "fragment:hour-zero-4", "fragment:hour-zero-5", "component:info-ayers", "goc-hub-page", "scp-6500", "jaeger-part-1", "groups-of-interest-jp#five-elements-association", "a-little-bit-of-help", "scp-6500/offset/11", "hour-zero/offset/1", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "serpent-s-hand-hub", "parawatch-hub", "no-return-hub", "from-120-s-archives-hub", "chaos-insurgency-hub", "are-we-cool-yet-hub" ]	[]	1446967406	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/hour-zero
how-to-summon-a-god-safely	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=1&theme=https://cdn.scpwiki.com/theme/en/basalt/normalize-min.css&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=2&theme=https://cdn.scpwiki.com/theme/en/basalt/basalt-bedrock-min.css&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=3&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Abasalt/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/></p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div class="raisa_memo"> <h6 id="toc0"><span>The following document was discovered during the initial raid of SCP-████. The origin of the document is currently unknown. No other contextually relevant documents were found during the raid, and the Foundation has determined that this document is not of great significance. Despite this, RAISA has added the document to the SCPF Database due to the circumstances of acquisition.</span></h6> </div> <h1 id="toc1"><span><strong>A Step by Step Guide to Summoning Divine Entities</strong></span></h1> <hr/> <h3 id="toc2"><span>Bringing a deity into your realm is a dangerous task. To toy with the gods is a fool's errand.</span></h3> <h3 id="toc3"><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>But sometimes a fool is just what the people need.</strong></span></span></h3> <h3 id="toc4"><span>If divine intervention is required, obey the following. These rules are not enforced, just absolutely crucial.</span></h3> </div> <div class="blockquote"> <p>1. <strong>A Promise</strong><br/> Why would a god try to help a mere mortal? Because they have something the god wants. You must have something the entity wants, or they will not take kindly to you. Whether it be a sacrifice, a soul, a blade, or anything in between, it doesn't matter. All that matters is that you give it a reason to do what you want it to. Otherwise, it won't show up.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">A god has desires. Take advantage of them.</span></p> <p>2. <strong>A Threat</strong><br/> Deities are very selfish. If you have something it wants, and a task before the reward, what is stopping it from taking a <em>shorter route</em>? You are. Make sure it will be sorry if it disobeys. Make them know that messing with you is a bad idea.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">A god will only listen when they're staring down a rifle's barrel.</span></p> <p>3. <strong>A Tight Cage</strong><br/> Your threats do not matter when its true form is showing. There's a reason that gods only show in a vessel: the worlds where they don't never last very long. A god can <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/twistedgears-kaktus-proposal">destroy whole subcontinents when confined to a mere pile of gears</a>. Make sure that its vessel is much weaker than you are.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">A god bound by chains will not end the world.</span></p> <p>4. <strong>A Lack of Faith</strong><br/> The divine thrives on belief. Do not believe. Gods are strong enough as is; they will get the job done. Do not fuel their fire, you will just burn. If you have faith in them, they will not succeed.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">A god not believed in cannot fight back.</span></p> <p>5. <strong>A View of the Sky</strong><br/> No matter how much you try, the world still may end. That is the risk you are taking. When the end is nigh, make sure you can see the sky. Every time you see the stars, you know you've made it another day. To stay in a box is to lose all hope. The god should be in that box, not you.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">A god feeds on fear. Make sure you have hope.</span></p> <p>6. <strong>A Two-Way Ticket</strong><br/> Do not let the god stay in your realm. That is very unwise. You cannot just let them in, you must also kick them out. With time, the divine grows accustomed to their surroundings. They will learn how to use them, and you'll be their first target.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">A god cannot stay, even if they ask nicely.</span></p> <p>7. <strong>A Plan-B</strong><br/> No amount of preparation can ensure your survival. The world has ways to fix itself, but even those can't be trusted. You need a backup. Another dimension, the Non-Believer's Spear, a time machine, anything. Do not trust that the prior steps will protect you.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">A god can easily put you in checkmate. Always hold a match, so you can light the board on fire.</span></p> <p>8. <strong>An Entrance</strong><br/> A deity's mere arrival could set the world ablaze. Make sure they have a way to get here that won't tear the fabric of reality. A door will not do.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">A god is like foreign bacteria. Our world is not used to its presence, and not ready to handle it.</span></p> <p>9. <strong>A Disguise</strong><br/> People will notice this being. There is nothing you can do to stop that. Try to make the entity as unassuming as possible. If people notice that a god is in their presence, bad things will happen. Mask the divine, make the public think it mundane. A mass religious crisis will not help you get your job done.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">A god will want to make its presence known. Do not let it.</span></p> <p>10. <strong>A Damn Good Reason</strong><br/> Don't just summon a god because you can. If doing that was fine, I wouldn't be writing this in a bunker. The chance of failure is great, and the stakes are unreasonably high. Only do this if absolutely necessary. I would tell you that it is never worth it, but that would be a lie. No one would listen anyway. I'm running out of time. I can only hope someone finds this, anyone. Don't let what happened to me happen to you.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">A god can end the world. Don't let that happen.</span></p> </div> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/how-to-summon-a-god-safely">How to Summon A God (Safely)</a>" by Some Reference, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/how-to-summon-a-god-safely">https://scpwiki.com/how-to-summon-a-god-safely</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:basalt">:scp-wiki:theme:basalt</a>]] [[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[module CSS]] :root { --basalt-primary-color: 254,254,254; --basalt-secondary-color: 247,248,250; --basalt-tertiary-color: 218,219,222; --basalt-main-text-color: 20,20,20; --basalt-overtone: 50,50,50; --basalt-undertone: 61,71,202; --basalt-bright-element-color: 16,76,184; --basalt-dark-element-color: 18,20,150; --basalt-alternate-color: 255,132,0; --basalt-positive-color: 24,163,20; --basalt-negative-color: 255,48,48; --basalt-cancel-color: var(--basalt-negative-color); --basalt-sub-text-color: 155,154,162; --basalt-light-text-color: var(--basalt-primary-color); --basalt-UI-dark-palette: var(--basalt-overtone); --basalt-focus-color: var(--basalt-undertone); --basalt-background-color: var(--basalt-primary-color); } :root { --header-logo: url('https://basalt-team.github.io/Basalt/basaltlogo.svg'); --header-title: 'SCP Foundation'; --header-subtitle: 'SECURE - CONTAIN - PROTECT'; --title-size: 1.5rem; --subtitle-size: 0.825rem; --base-font-size: 1rem; --main-content-width: 67.5rem; --side-bar-width: 19rem; } [[/module]] @@ @@ [[=]] [[div class="raisa_memo"]] ++++++ The following document was discovered during the initial raid of SCP-████. The origin of the document is currently unknown. No other contextually relevant documents were found during the raid, and the Foundation has determined that this document is not of great significance. Despite this, RAISA has added the document to the SCPF Database due to the circumstances of acquisition. [[/div]] + A Step by Step Guide to Summoning Divine Entities ------ +++ Bringing a deity into your realm is a dangerous task. To toy with the gods is a fool's errand. +++ __But sometimes a fool is just what the people need.__ +++ If divine intervention is required, obey the following. These rules are not enforced, just absolutely crucial. [[/=]] [[div class="blockquote"]] 1. A Promise Why would a god try to help a mere mortal? Because they have something the god wants. You must have something the entity wants, or they will not take kindly to you. Whether it be a sacrifice, a soul, a blade, or anything in between, it doesn't matter. All that matters is that you give it a reason to do what you want it to. Otherwise, it won't show up. __A god has desires. Take advantage of them.__ 2. A Threat Deities are very selfish. If you have something it wants, and a task before the reward, what is stopping it from taking a //shorter route//? You are. Make sure it will be sorry if it disobeys. Make them know that messing with you is a bad idea. __A god will only listen when they're staring down a rifle's barrel.__ 3. A Tight Cage Your threats do not matter when its true form is showing. There's a reason that gods only show in a vessel: the worlds where they don't never last very long. A god can [[[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/twistedgears-kaktus-proposal\|destroy whole subcontinents when confined to a mere pile of gears]]]. Make sure that its vessel is much weaker than you are. __A god bound by chains will not end the world.__ 4. A Lack of Faith The divine thrives on belief. Do not believe. Gods are strong enough as is; they will get the job done. Do not fuel their fire, you will just burn. If you have faith in them, they will not succeed. __A god not believed in cannot fight back.__ 5. A View of the Sky No matter how much you try, the world still may end. That is the risk you are taking. When the end is nigh, make sure you can see the sky. Every time you see the stars, you know you've made it another day. To stay in a box is to lose all hope. The god should be in that box, not you. __A god feeds on fear. Make sure you have hope.__ 6. A Two-Way Ticket Do not let the god stay in your realm. That is very unwise. You cannot just let them in, you must also kick them out. With time, the divine grows accustomed to their surroundings. They will learn how to use them, and you'll be their first target. __A god cannot stay, even if they ask nicely.__ 7. A Plan-B No amount of preparation can ensure your survival. The world has ways to fix itself, but even those can't be trusted. You need a backup. Another dimension, the Non-Believer's Spear, a time machine, anything. Do not trust that the prior steps will protect you. __A god can easily put you in checkmate. Always hold a match, so you can light the board on fire.__ 8. An Entrance A deity's mere arrival could set the world ablaze. Make sure they have a way to get here that won't tear the fabric of reality. A door will not do. __A god is like foreign bacteria. Our world is not used to its presence, and not ready to handle it.__ 9. A Disguise People will notice this being. There is nothing you can do to stop that. Try to make the entity as unassuming as possible. If people notice that a god is in their presence, bad things will happen. Mask the divine, make the public think it mundane. A mass religious crisis will not help you get your job done. __A god will want to make its presence known. Do not let it.__ 10. A Damn Good Reason Don't just summon a god because you can. If doing that was fine, I wouldn't be writing this in a bunker. The chance of failure is great, and the stakes are unreasonably high. Only do this if absolutely necessary. I would tell you that it is never worth it, but that would be a lie. No one would listen anyway. I'm running out of time. I can only hope someone finds this, anyone. Don't let what happened to me happen to you. __A god can end the world. Don't let that happen.__ [[/div]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] [!-- N/A (No Images) --] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-01-08T22:57:00	[ "_licensebox", "featured", "religious-fiction", "tale", "worldbuilding" ]	How to Summon A God (Safely) - SCP Foundation	172	[ "twistedgears-kaktus-proposal", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "featured-tale-archive-ii" ]	[]	1445425529	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/how-to-summon-a-god-safely
how-to-walk-on-air-and-poetry	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div class="authorlink-wrapper"><a href="javascript:;">Raddagher</a> <div class="authorbox"> <div class="authorcontent"> <p><strong><a href="http://www.scp-wiki.net/the-radd-zone">More by this Author</a> \| <a href="http://www.scpwiki.com/findusalivehub">Find Us Alive Hub</a></strong></p> </div> </div> </div> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=1&theme=https://cdn.scpwiki.com/theme/en/basalt/normalize-min.css&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=2&theme=https://cdn.scpwiki.com/theme/en/basalt/basalt-bedrock-min.css&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=3&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Abasalt/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p>So it starts off like usual. Gear. Guns. Monster of the week. It’ll get weird, like it always does. Shit will go wrong, like it usually does. You fall out of the world. That doesn’t usually happen. But it happens enough. You’re going to be fine. You’re going to be a tolerable level of “fine.”</p> <p>The important thing is to keep your eyes closed. That’s what they tell you, isn’t it? You can’t take in all of it, your brain isn’t big enough. You’ll fry your nervous system if you try keeping every sense open. So don’t. Shut off the easiest one. Breathe, but don’t think about where it’s going. Or where it’s coming from. You can’t understand it anyway. There are no walls keeping everything from bleeding into everything else. Maybe your lungs are outside your body, you don’t know. You don’t have to know. That’s what they tell you. It’s why meditation is such a big part of it. You can figure out how to keep your mind from blowing up if you figure out how to not think at all. But you’ve never been good at that, have you?</p> <p>Eyes closed. Keep breathing. Don’t try to count, the numbers won’t go in order. There’s no “up” either.</p> <p>They say there's something you can grab onto. They say you'll know when it happens. It hasn't happened yet.</p> <p>Maybe one day you can get transferred. But right now just focus on not focusing. Don't try too hard to find it or you won't find it. You’re slipping past the edge of the screen, but you can still feel. You can feel something. And something else. Maybe nothing? I don’t know. Deep breaths. In and out. There’s no in and no out. But you know what I mean.</p> <p>And then you’re going to feel something you <em>know</em> is there. Cold. Are <em>you</em> cold? No. It’s everywhere else. You’re still warm. You hit the ground. It’s snow, you think. Don’t look too closely at the flakes or you’ll notice that you can’t look closely at the flakes. They’re cold, though. Colder than you are.</p> <p>You opened your eyes at some point, that’s a development.</p> <p>Pain isn’t always there when this happens. It’s almost always scarier when it’s not. When you can’t tell what parts of you you’re not returning back with. But all your parts are here, and you know that, because most of them hurt. And all of them are cold. If it was snow, it should have been softer. There are trees also. You're not out of the woods yet.</p> <p>Eyes open. Breathe. You can remember the next steps of your training, which is a good sign. Take off one glove, look at your hand. The lines are off by a few fractions of a centimeter and you know what that means. It's not "the thing" though. It's not the thing that makes it all fit together. But if you can make sense of several things, you check them with your hands. Helmet. Goggles. Gloves. You can feel through them but ignore that. Guns. One, two. Rifle? No rifle. Knife. Nothing is broken but you landed on your right side. Be happy any of it can still hurt.</p> <p>Ignore the headache, too. That's going to keep happening until they move you. You can hit a thought with a bullet but that doesn't mean you're made for this. You don't know what's going on and it makes you feel stupid. You're still focusing too hard on finding the thing. Stop trying so hard.</p> <p>It's kind of embarrassing how long it takes before you notice them standing right there. The person in the red coat and the - the other one. Your eyes bounce off it when you try to really look. You don't force it. You know better. There's antlers, though. Or maybe they're wings. Or a spiderweb. But you can make out enough of the shape. Enough of it. If they're two separate things at all. Maybe they're just one. <a class="newpage" href="/audra-and-their-deer">They're standing really close together.</a></p> <p>The person in the red coat says something. Their mouth moves and there's a noise but it just sounds like noise. They say it again, though, thank fuck.</p> <p>"Are you alright?"</p> <p>No. What kind of a question is that?</p> <p>"Are they one of yours?"</p> <p>The meaning reaches your brain on a delay. You hear the noise first. But it gets there eventually. It came from the one with the antlers. Maybe they <em>are</em> two separate things.</p> <p>The person in the red coat shakes their head. They look almost as confused as you are right now. But nobody is as confused as you are right now.</p> <p>"Who are you?" they ask.</p> <p>When you talk, it goes backwards. Don't think too hard about what that means.</p> <p>"I'm-"</p> <p>It's on the tip of your tongue. You know the answer to this, of course you do. So you say it, but you can't hear the answer. Both of them look at you for a second or a year and then the one with the antlers says—</p> <p>"Perhaps you should sit down."</p> <p>And so you sit down on the couch next to her and she's avoiding looking at you again. She won't look at you. She hasn't since Dad's service.</p> <p>"Can you tell me how you got here?" Mom asks.</p> <p>"You brought me," you say, in the right voice. Mom gives the man in the tie this look and now you're angry and you don't know why. They're saying something to each other without talking and you know it's about you.</p> <p>The man in the tie scratches his nose. "<em>I</em> didn't. They look more like one of yours."</p> <p>When he scratches, it sounds like bone against different bone. Don't think too hard about that. It'll be fine.</p> <p>Mom stares at you for a moment. Then she shows you a Foundation clearance badge pinned to the inside of their red coat. It has a Mobile Task Force insignia printed on it. That's the only thing on it that you can make out. Everything else is poetry. You thought you found it for a second.</p> <p>So you give them another answer. But the man in the tie still doesn't believe you and come to think of it, the antlers look more like tendons. He's right, though, because none of the names that come out of your mouth sound right. They don't even <em>feel</em> right. You're thinking about it too hard. Just answer. Just say the right thing. It's not difficult.</p> <p>Talk to us, she says. I'm trying to help you.</p> <p>The person in the red coat stands out from the snow. You still can't look at the one with the antlers, but you can barely make them out from the trees anyway.</p> <p>You wonder why you chose this career. You wonder when you ended up lying on your back in the snow. You wonder how long you have to be confused before it makes sense like it does for other people. And you wonder who you are, but that's not new. That doesn't only happen here.</p> <p>That girl unbuckles your helmet. You search for her name but you don't find it and you feel bad for forgetting. Her brother is here, too. He never liked you that much. But he's nice enough to bring the band-aids from inside, so points for that. You can hear the spokes of your bike where it's spinning out somewhere behind you. The asphalt is hot and sticky and that girl from school is pressing a maple leaf against your fucked up knee. There's blood all over her uniform.</p> <p>"I don't know. I've never seen him before," she says, "Do you think he's the <a href="/scp-7502">wrong one</a>?</p> <p>"It's probable," her brother says, and he moves the maple leaf to stick a band-aid in its place. He has to fiddle with your holster for a second to get at it.</p> <p>You explain you're not supposed to be here. And you're not the "wrong one." The deer says that you're always the right one <em>and</em> the wrong one, but you're always the right one for where you are.</p> <p>And that doesn't make any sense either, so that's great.</p> <p>The person in the red coat took your helmet off a minute ago. They're holding something to your mouth— smells like water but you push it away. You're an idiot but you're not stupid enough to take food or drink, at least. They have brown hair, the person in the red coat. They keep looking at the deer with this expression you can't parse. And they're looking right at it in exactly the way that you can't. The wind is biting and parts of you still hurt and why is the air conditioner so loud?</p> <p>You're not really here in any way that matters. Every time this happens it's the first time and you have to figure it out all over again. You know that you know the answer, but it slipped down the back of your mouth again like it always does. It's right there, like your name and the name of that girl. All the rest of them know how to do it, and they all say that they can get it every time, but <em>you</em> have never gotten it because every time (this time) it keeps slipping out of your hands like the snowflakes and the antlers keep slipping off your eyes.</p> <p><span style="color: #515151">A rip current is a specific type of water current that can occur near beaches where waves break. A rip is a strong, localized, and narrow current of water that moves directly away from the shore by cutting through the lines of breaking waves, like a river flowing out to</span> I think somebody said something once about how you're supposed to survive these things. <span style="color: #515151">The force of the current in a rip is strongest and fastest next to the surface of</span> you're supposed to float with it. Is that right? <span style="color: #515151">Rip currents can be hazardous to people in the water. Swimmers who are caught in a rip current and who do not understand what is happening, or who may not have the necessary water skills, may panic, or they may exhaust themselves by trying to swim directly against the</span> you'll drown if you fight against it so you're supposed to hold your breath and float and fucking christ that's it isn't it that was it the whole time god fucking dammit</p> <p>It's the confusion.</p> <p>And the bulb flickers on in your fluorescent light of a brain and you finally scrape yourself off the linoleum. You're not really back home, you're not really anywhere, and these people aren't really people, but one of the researchers helps you to your feet anyway.</p> <p>You're confused. That's the thing they talk about, the thing you hold onto. <em>That's</em> the consistency. You grab with both hands onto the idea that maybe you'll spend the rest of your existence in this shifting snow dimension with no idea what the fuck is going on.</p> <p>When you start laughing, the two researchers look confused. They don't know the meaning of the word. You <em>are</em> the meaning of the word. The right one <em>and</em> the wrong one. You don't know anything but you <em>know</em> that you don't know anything, and there's something happening between the deer and the person in the red coat that goes down way more levels than you're willing to dive into. Something about a body under the ice. Somebody's body under the ice. But it's not yours, probably. Or maybe it is. Who knows? And who cares? You don't. Not anymore.</p> <p>You said "I'm fine" and then you laughed some more. You don't have a memory of the actual moment but you still know it happened. And that's enough.</p> <p>"Just leave me here. We're good."</p> <p>The researcher with the spiderweb antlers looks down at you from a million feet in the air and says "Are you sure?"</p> <p>You don't know the answer to that, but whatever. You give the deer the most reassuring hand gesture you can think of. It's the only hand gesture you can think of. And after a second you realize it definitely was not the right one. It doesn't matter. You hold onto the confusion just as the snow unzips and you're getting swept out into the ocean. Your body's real again and you can finally feel the surface of the water. Moments until you're out of the rip current.</p> <p>You get this vague kind of disappointed feeling like somehow you <a href="/a-thorley-little-christmas">missed Christmas.</a></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/></p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><strong>This is my submission to <a href="/romcon">RomCon</a>, featuring the Deer from <span class="printuser"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/floorboards" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(7912738); return false;">FLOORBOARDS</a></span> and Audra from <span class="error-inline"><em>Doctor Jiqian</em> does not match any existing user name</span>! Be sure to check out FLOORBOARDS' entry, <a href="/you-deserve-to-be-happy">I Am Ira Watts & You Are The Forest</a>!</strong></p> </div> <br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/how-to-walk-on-air-and-poetry">How To Walk On Air And Poetry</a>" by Raddagher, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/how-to-walk-on-air-and-poetry">https://scpwiki.com/how-to-walk-on-air-and-poetry</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module rate]] [[/>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:author-label-source">:scp-wiki:component:author-label-source</a> start=-- \|name=Raddagher]] [http://www.scp-wiki.net/the-radd-zone More by this Author] \| [http://www.scpwiki.com/findusalivehub Find Us Alive Hub] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:author-label-source">:scp-wiki:component:author-label-source</a> end=--]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:basalt">:scp-wiki:theme:basalt</a>]] So it starts off like usual. Gear. Guns. Monster of the week. It’ll get weird, like it always does. Shit will go wrong, like it usually does. You fall out of the world. That doesn’t usually happen. But it happens enough. You’re going to be fine. You’re going to be a tolerable level of “fine.” The important thing is to keep your eyes closed. That’s what they tell you, isn’t it? You can’t take in all of it, your brain isn’t big enough. You’ll fry your nervous system if you try keeping every sense open. So don’t. Shut off the easiest one. Breathe, but don’t think about where it’s going. Or where it’s coming from. You can’t understand it anyway. There are no walls keeping everything from bleeding into everything else. Maybe your lungs are outside your body, you don’t know. You don’t have to know. That’s what they tell you. It’s why meditation is such a big part of it. You can figure out how to keep your mind from blowing up if you figure out how to not think at all. But you’ve never been good at that, have you? Eyes closed. Keep breathing. Don’t try to count, the numbers won’t go in order. There’s no “up” either. They say there's something you can grab onto. They say you'll know when it happens. It hasn't happened yet. Maybe one day you can get transferred. But right now just focus on not focusing. Don't try too hard to find it or you won't find it. You’re slipping past the edge of the screen, but you can still feel. You can feel something. And something else. Maybe nothing? I don’t know. Deep breaths. In and out. There’s no in and no out. But you know what I mean. And then you’re going to feel something you //know// is there. Cold. Are //you// cold? No. It’s everywhere else. You’re still warm. You hit the ground. It’s snow, you think. Don’t look too closely at the flakes or you’ll notice that you can’t look closely at the flakes. They’re cold, though. Colder than you are. You opened your eyes at some point, that’s a development. Pain isn’t always there when this happens. It’s almost always scarier when it’s not. When you can’t tell what parts of you you’re not returning back with. But all your parts are here, and you know that, because most of them hurt. And all of them are cold. If it was snow, it should have been softer. There are trees also. You're not out of the woods yet. Eyes open. Breathe. You can remember the next steps of your training, which is a good sign. Take off one glove, look at your hand. The lines are off by a few fractions of a centimeter and you know what that means. It's not "the thing" though. It's not the thing that makes it all fit together. But if you can make sense of several things, you check them with your hands. Helmet. Goggles. Gloves. You can feel through them but ignore that. Guns. One, two. Rifle? No rifle. Knife. Nothing is broken but you landed on your right side. Be happy any of it can still hurt. Ignore the headache, too. That's going to keep happening until they move you. You can hit a thought with a bullet but that doesn't mean you're made for this. You don't know what's going on and it makes you feel stupid. You're still focusing too hard on finding the thing. Stop trying so hard. It's kind of embarrassing how long it takes before you notice them standing right there. The person in the red coat and the - the other one. Your eyes bounce off it when you try to really look. You don't force it. You know better. There's antlers, though. Or maybe they're wings. Or a spiderweb. But you can make out enough of the shape. Enough of it. If they're two separate things at all. Maybe they're just one. [[[audra-and-their-deer \|They're standing really close together.]]] The person in the red coat says something. Their mouth moves and there's a noise but it just sounds like noise. They say it again, though, thank fuck. "Are you alright?" No. What kind of a question is that? "Are they one of yours?" The meaning reaches your brain on a delay. You hear the noise first. But it gets there eventually. It came from the one with the antlers. Maybe they //are// two separate things. The person in the red coat shakes their head. They look almost as confused as you are right now. But nobody is as confused as you are right now. "Who are you?" they ask. When you talk, it goes backwards. Don't think too hard about what that means. "I'm-" It's on the tip of your tongue. You know the answer to this, of course you do. So you say it, but you can't hear the answer. Both of them look at you for a second or a year and then the one with the antlers says— "Perhaps you should sit down." And so you sit down on the couch next to her and she's avoiding looking at you again. She won't look at you. She hasn't since Dad's service. "Can you tell me how you got here?" Mom asks. "You brought me," you say, in the right voice. Mom gives the man in the tie this look and now you're angry and you don't know why. They're saying something to each other without talking and you know it's about you. The man in the tie scratches his nose. "//I// didn't. They look more like one of yours." When he scratches, it sounds like bone against different bone. Don't think too hard about that. It'll be fine. Mom stares at you for a moment. Then she shows you a Foundation clearance badge pinned to the inside of their red coat. It has a Mobile Task Force insignia printed on it. That's the only thing on it that you can make out. Everything else is poetry. You thought you found it for a second. So you give them another answer. But the man in the tie still doesn't believe you and come to think of it, the antlers look more like tendons. He's right, though, because none of the names that come out of your mouth sound right. They don't even //feel// right. You're thinking about it too hard. Just answer. Just say the right thing. It's not difficult. Talk to us, she says. I'm trying to help you. The person in the red coat stands out from the snow. You still can't look at the one with the antlers, but you can barely make them out from the trees anyway. You wonder why you chose this career. You wonder when you ended up lying on your back in the snow. You wonder how long you have to be confused before it makes sense like it does for other people. And you wonder who you are, but that's not new. That doesn't only happen here. That girl unbuckles your helmet. You search for her name but you don't find it and you feel bad for forgetting. Her brother is here, too. He never liked you that much. But he's nice enough to bring the band-aids from inside, so points for that. You can hear the spokes of your bike where it's spinning out somewhere behind you. The asphalt is hot and sticky and that girl from school is pressing a maple leaf against your fucked up knee. There's blood all over her uniform. "I don't know. I've never seen him before," she says, "Do you think he's the [[[scp-7502 \|wrong one]]]? "It's probable," her brother says, and he moves the maple leaf to stick a band-aid in its place. He has to fiddle with your holster for a second to get at it. You explain you're not supposed to be here. And you're not the "wrong one." The deer says that you're always the right one //and// the wrong one, but you're always the right one for where you are. And that doesn't make any sense either, so that's great. The person in the red coat took your helmet off a minute ago. They're holding something to your mouth— smells like water but you push it away. You're an idiot but you're not stupid enough to take food or drink, at least. They have brown hair, the person in the red coat. They keep looking at the deer with this expression you can't parse. And they're looking right at it in exactly the way that you can't. The wind is biting and parts of you still hurt and why is the air conditioner so loud? You're not really here in any way that matters. Every time this happens it's the first time and you have to figure it out all over again. You know that you know the answer, but it slipped down the back of your mouth again like it always does. It's right there, like your name and the name of that girl. All the rest of them know how to do it, and they all say that they can get it every time, but //you// have never gotten it because every time (this time) it keeps slipping out of your hands like the snowflakes and the antlers keep slipping off your eyes. ##515151\|A rip current is a specific type of water current that can occur near beaches where waves break. A rip is a strong, localized, and narrow current of water that moves directly away from the shore by cutting through the lines of breaking waves, like a river flowing out to## I think somebody said something once about how you're supposed to survive these things. ##515151\|The force of the current in a rip is strongest and fastest next to the surface of## you're supposed to float with it. Is that right? ##515151\|Rip currents can be hazardous to people in the water. Swimmers who are caught in a rip current and who do not understand what is happening, or who may not have the necessary water skills, may panic, or they may exhaust themselves by trying to swim directly against the## you'll drown if you fight against it so you're supposed to hold your breath and float and fucking christ that's it isn't it that was it the whole time god fucking dammit It's the confusion. And the bulb flickers on in your fluorescent light of a brain and you finally scrape yourself off the linoleum. You're not really back home, you're not really anywhere, and these people aren't really people, but one of the researchers helps you to your feet anyway. You're confused. That's the thing they talk about, the thing you hold onto. //That's// the consistency. You grab with both hands onto the idea that maybe you'll spend the rest of your existence in this shifting snow dimension with no idea what the fuck is going on. When you start laughing, the two researchers look confused. They don't know the meaning of the word. You //are// the meaning of the word. The right one //and// the wrong one. You don't know anything but you //know// that you don't know anything, and there's something happening between the deer and the person in the red coat that goes down way more levels than you're willing to dive into. Something about a body under the ice. Somebody's body under the ice. But it's not yours, probably. Or maybe it is. Who knows? And who cares? You don't. Not anymore. You said "I'm fine" and then you laughed some more. You don't have a memory of the actual moment but you still know it happened. And that's enough. "Just leave me here. We're good." The researcher with the spiderweb antlers looks down at you from a million feet in the air and says "Are you sure?" You don't know the answer to that, but whatever. You give the deer the most reassuring hand gesture you can think of. It's the only hand gesture you can think of. And after a second you realize it definitely was not the right one. It doesn't matter. You hold onto the confusion just as the snow unzips and you're getting swept out into the ocean. Your body's real again and you can finally feel the surface of the water. Moments until you're out of the rip current. You get this vague kind of disappointed feeling like somehow you [[[a-thorley-little-christmas \|missed Christmas.]]] @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ [[=]] This is my submission to [[[romcon\|RomCon]]], featuring the Deer from [[user FLOORBOARDS]] and Audra from [[user Doctor Jiqian]]! Be sure to check out FLOORBOARDS' entry, [[[you-deserve-to-be-happy \|I Am Ira Watts & You Are The Forest]]]! [[/=]] @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a> \|author=Raddagher]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-06-18T01:28:00	[ "_licensebox", "romcon2023-unofficial", "tale" ]	How To Walk On Air And Poetry - SCP Foundation	20	[ "audra-and-their-deer", "scp-7502", "a-thorley-little-christmas", "romcon", "you-deserve-to-be-happy", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "the-father-the-son-and-the-holy-spirit-hub", "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "romcon" ]	[]	1448508936	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/how-to-walk-on-air-and-poetry
hyperfine	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p>Louisiana has to be the asshole of America. The locals hate you. The excruciating heat and suffocating moisture threatened to tear your skin off. The roads crumble underneath your feet. A tornado must have blown through and replaced the roofs with sheet metal and the walls with decaying plywood. Everything was an absolute mess.</p> <p>To <a href="/scp-7666">Agent Calendar</a>, it felt like home sweet home.</p> <p>She walked along the side of the highway with <a href="/scp-7454">Isaac</a>, who held a glass jar containing a moth of some kind. Isaac moved his finger alongside the surface of the jar and the bug followed it with its little insect eyes. Isaac found it amusing and giggled.</p> <p>Calendar noticed a tooth embedded in her forearm and plucked it out. "Ugh, I’ve still got some of that moth collector on me," she said as she discarded the tooth.</p> <p>Isaac unscrewed the jar and let the moth go free. "It's cruel to keep such an elegant being cooped up like that," he muttered.</p> <p>The collector had been on Isaac’s "Top Ten People who Deserve a Hospital Visit" list for a while now. Going down that list was a cathartic relationship building exercise for <a href="/agent-calendars-hot-date-1">the couple</a>. Isaac got to take revenge and Calendar got to sunder a few bones. They walked back to their motel: a dingy, run down collection of rooms that survived exclusively by being the only habitable place within ten miles.</p> <p>"I can't believe it's almost over," Calendar said, referring to their shared "vacation."</p> <p>"Me neither," Isaac replied. "Thanks again for letting me out, y'know? I don't mind Site-17, but it was really nice to be outside again. Y'know, with you."</p> <p>"Ah-hah, you big nerd! Come here!" Calendar leaned in to make out with Isaac. However, Isaac noticed a small detail that made him freeze in his tracks.</p> <p>"Uh, sweetie?" he said. "There's something wrong with our room."</p> <p>They stood a few hundred feet away from the motel. Isaac had rented a room for two while Calendar hid in the car. They'd taken every precaution not to be spotted by anyone that they weren't planning on beating up.</p> <p>"Yeah, I agree," Calendar said. "Their gym is subpar. Their weights only go up to five hundred pounds."</p> <p>"No, I mean… look at the door. It's closed."</p> <p>Calendar stared at the door to Room 3A. The top of the doorframe had already sustained significant damage from her head. "I don't get it. What's wrong?"</p> <p>"When's the last time we closed a door behind us?"</p> <p>"Oh shit. You're right."</p> <p>Calendar entered a fighting stance (although, most stances were fighting stances to her). The couple crept slowly towards the door, readying themselves to ambush whatever lied behind it. Once they'd placed themselves in the optimal positions, Calendar punched the door open and rushed inside.</p> <p>They saw a young man in a trench coat down on all fours next to their bed. In his hands was what appeared to be a pound of plastic explosive. When he saw the couple enter the room, his eyes opened wide and his jaw dropped from surprise.</p> <p>"Okay," the young man said, "hear me out."</p> <hr/> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><strong>TEN MINUTES EARLIER</strong></p> </div> <p>It’s not like you become a journalist for the respect. In fact, sitting in a shitbox Saturn S 1991 with no air conditioning for a few days would make most people lose all respect for themselves. Doing that in a trench coat while watching a bald gangster would drive many people to drink. On the contrary, for the young Jacob R. Dylan, he found these activities exhilarating. The thrill of the hunt in search of the truth was what pushed him forwards.</p> <p>Besides, it's not like he was married to journalism. If he stopped enjoying it, he could always go back to school and <a href="/scp-4785">start working for the government</a>.</p> <p>The weeks spent trailing the goon had finally paid off. Jacob had managed to track him to a run-down motel off of the 114. After getting out of his car, the man went up to the counter and rented a motel room. He went inside, probably to check it out and find the places where someone could hide with a gun. Once he was done, he picked the lock of the next room over, entered it, and left a few minutes later. Jacob decided not to follow him; whatever he put in the motel room was probably more incriminating.</p> <p>Jacob surveyed the parking lot to make sure he was alone. Aside from two Fords that had clearly been out in the sun for too long, there was one other notable car. It was the Aston Martin Vantage parked next to the invaded motel room. The license plate was from Nevada. <em>What were they doing all the way out in Louisiana?</em> It was in awful condition; the car was covered with dents and a hole had been cut out of the ceiling on the passenger side. Jacob found himself involuntarily wincing. Sitting in his tattered Saturn S, he'd kill for the kind of car that had functional air conditioning.</p> <p>He looked down at this stopwatch. It had been five minutes since the Dogman’s soldier had taken care of whatever nefarious deed he’d dealt. The midday sun assured Jacob that the motel room’s renters would not be back for a while. After making sure his guns were loaded into his sleeves, he got out of the car and walked up to the motel room. The lock to the door was short work for Jacob’s lockpick set. Jacob opened the door slowly; the Dogman was known to use explosives, and the last thing Jacob wanted to do was activate a tripwire. But Jacob didn’t hear a click, so he went inside the room, making sure to close the door behind him.</p> <p>He didn’t know whether or not the gangster had tossed up the room looking for something, or if the room’s renters were just that messy. The drawers were ajar, furniture was strewn about and the bed was flipped upside down. Jacob couldn’t help but think: <em>do people really live like this?</em></p> <p>Jacob spent a few minutes examining the furniture, looking for something worth looking for. He stuck his hand in between the mattress and the bedframe and felt something dry but sticky, like play-dough. After dispelling himself of his initial preconceptions, he grabbed it and pulled it out. It was a large lump of Emulex, a plastic explosive that would've sent the motel room to hell and back.</p> <p>His fear of holding a live explosive was briefly suppressed by his excitement. He’d finally found something that caught the Dogman dead to rights! It would be hard to prove—</p> <p>The thought was interrupted by a tall red woman and a shorter man bursting into the room. Jacob realized that he’d chosen some unfortunate timing. He was down on the ground, in their apartment, after having broken in, with a glob of Emulex in his hand.</p> <p>"Okay, hear me out," Jacob asked the couple.</p> <p>They didn’t hear him out. Agent Calendar immediately closed the distance and delivered a kick to his stomach. It knocked the wind out of Jacob and maybe even broke a rib. In a second, Calendar had lifted Jacob a foot in the air by the scruff of his trench coat with one hand.</p> <p>"What do you think you're doing?" she asked menacingly.</p> <p>Jacob was still recovering his breath. "Dogman…" he managed to squeak out. He held up his hand with a glob of plastic explosive still stuck to it. "Bomb…" he said after breathing in.</p> <p>Calendar grabbed the explosive out of his hand and tried to throw it out the window, but found that it stuck to her hand. After a few enthusiastic attempts to eject the Emulex from the room, she walked over to the window, broke it with her elbow, and smeared the Emulex across the outside wall.</p> <p>"Hey, look at that!" Isaac said, pointing at a suspicious lump in Jacob's sleeve. Calendar reached in and yanked out a pistol attached to a spring-loaded sleeve holster.</p> <p>"Were you trying to kill us?" Calendar asked, shaking Jacob a little.</p> <p>"N— no…" Jacob stammered out between shallow breaths.</p> <p>"Looks like this kid took <em>Taxi Driver</em> a little too seriously," Isaac said. Calendar inspected the other sleeve and found another holster and another gun.</p> <p>"Listen," Jacob said, regaining his breath. "I'm a—" he coughed twice. "…journalist. The Dogman… cometh…"</p> <p>"'Dog Man'?" Calendar said. "I might've hit him too hard."</p> <p>"I'll tie him up," Isaac said. "Let's throw him in the back of the car while he gets his story straight."</p> <hr/> <p>Calendar paced outside of the motel room, trying her best to decide what to do. Jacob had his hands duct-taped in the back seat of the Aston Martin. He was still trying to fruitlessly talk his way out of the situation.</p> <p>"Listen, I saw nothing!" Jacob yelled, muffled. "You have bigger fish to fry, anyways! The Dogman'll kill you! You <em>have</em> to get out of here!"</p> <p>Isaac idly toyed with the spring-loaded gun holster. He flicked it forwards, and the gun sprung out into action. "Well, we can't just let him go," Isaac said. "He's seen you. He'll probably squeal at the first chance. If he's a journalist, he might even put it in the paper."</p> <p>"Okay," Calendar said. "What's the easiest bone to break, again?"</p> <p>"The fingers?"</p> <p>"Then we'll break his fingers until he promises not to talk."</p> <p>"No, no," Isaac said. "I have a better idea. Can you get that red map out of the glove compartment?"</p> <p>Calendar nodded and walked over to the Aston Martin. Once she opened the door, Jacob started panicking.</p> <p>"I have a hundred and ten dollars on me!" he said. "Plus, all the guns. Keep 'em! Just please, let me go!"</p> <p>"You'd best shut up if you don't want a taste of my famous knuckle sandwich," Calendar threatened, shaking her fist. Jacob shrunk back into the seat and obliged, with pure fear seared into his face.</p> <p>She opened the glove compartment and took out a red sheet of laminated paper. It was a map of all the highways and towns in the U.S.A. In addition, Foundation sites were highlighted in blue. At least, the Sites that Director House was cleared to know about.</p> <p>Isaac pointed to the I-49 on the map. "We're close to here, right?" he said. He drew a line to <a href="/scp-4476">Site-93</a> on the map. "They probably have amnestics."</p> <p>"Amnesiacs?"</p> <p>"No no, amnestics. It makes you forget stuff. The Foundation uses 'em all the time."</p> <p>"Wow!" Calendar's eyes sparkled a little. "Just like alcohol! The drugs up here are incredible."</p> <p>"We'll sneak in, steal some amnestics, and make this guy— Jacob— forget this little episode."</p> <p>"Are you sure we have to sneak in? I want to break more stuff than that."</p> <p>"They know who we are, we'd have to <em>sneak</em>."</p> <p>"Why can't we just wear masks?"</p> <p>Isaac looked Calendar up and down. "I don't think that would—"</p> <p>He was interrupted by the Aston Martin peeling in reverse out of the parking lot and flooring it down the 114. Calendar saw Jacob in the front seat. In a few seconds they were left with a cloud of smoke.</p> <p>"I thought he was tied up?" Isaac said.</p> <p>"I had my horn fragment in the glove compartment," Calender said.</p> <p>"I had the keys in the ignition."</p> <p>"Crap."</p> <hr/> <p>As it turns out, hotwiring a car was a lot easier when you could bend reality itself to your whim. Although, being a Saturn S-Series, anyone could've figured it out given enough time. Unfortunately, time was at a premium now.</p> <p>Calendar took the driver's seat, hunching over the wheel and rubbernecking at every little swamp and tree off the side of the road. She still hadn't internalized the concept of the brake being necessary to driving a car. Isaac found himself with one hand on the door handle and the other holding the red map. This time he was looking at the cities instead of the Foundation Sites.</p> <p>"He'll probably head to Monroe," Isaac said. "It's the closest city that has a phone line."</p> <p>"Monroe?" Calendar said. She glanced at a passing road sign indicating that Monroe was 20 miles away. "That's only twenty away!"</p> <p>"Hopefully, we don't have to," Isaac said. "The Martin looks like a shitshow. A cop'll probably pull him over."</p> <p>"Then, we'll go and beat the tar out of him, right?"</p> <p>Isaac shrugged. "I don't know, I still think we can just wipe his memory—"</p> <p>Calendar floored the gas pedal, sending the car accelerating far past the speed limit. "Okay, okay, we can beat him up!" Isaac conceded.</p> <p>Calendar laughed in response. "I love ya', ya' big—"</p> <p>She was interrupted by the wheels of the car suddenly tearing open. Within a few torturous seconds, the car ground to a halt.</p> <p>"Great, now what?" Calendar exclaimed. She got out of the car and looked at the tires. She expected to see that natural wear and tear has finally caught up to the old worn wheels. Instead, she saw that the tires had been torn apart by a collection of metal nails strewn across the ground.</p> <p>"Shit!" she yelled. She turned to Isaac. "Bail up!"</p> <p>Isaac ducked just in time for the bullets to fly over his head. Calendar reached into the car and yanked out Isaac. She flipped over the car in the direction of the bullets. The <em>ring</em>-<em>ding</em>-<em>ding</em> of the ricochet of the bullets filled the air. From a nearby grassy hill, gunmen fired down on them.</p> <p>For anyone who wasn't practically bulletproof, this would be a very bad situation.</p> <p>Isaac rubbed his hands together and wrapped his forefinger around his eye. He pulled on it, bending reality to extend his eye like a periscope. He shaped it up and around the car's chassis to view the assailants.</p> <p>"Three guys," he said. "AK's and bandanas. All lined up." He pointed in their direction.</p> <p>Calendar nodded. She visualized the picture in her head. She couldn't do calculus, but she could do blood geometry pretty damn well. In an instant, she'd already ran through gravity, air resistance and impact. She couldn't tell you a single number, but she did it better than any physicist on planet Earth.</p> <p>With a grunt, she slammed her shoulder into the car's chassis. The impact sent it flying at the assailants like a bullet. Two of them say it coming and pulled back, but one was too slow. The car slammed into him and turned his body into something resembling a meat pancake.</p> <p>Seizing the opportunity, Calendar and Isaac stood and sprinted up the hill. When they reached the apex, Isaac surveyed the surroundings. The first thing he noticed the two men had thrown aside their guns and were running away as fast as possible. The second thing he noticed was the third man buried in the forest, holding some kind of radio device in his hands. The third thing he noticed was the sounds of beeping.</p> <p>By the time he put these all together, the land mine exploded. The blast enveloped the two, the pain of the explosion shutting out all else. The couple was very swiftly knocked out.</p> <hr/> <p>People called Douglas many things. "Humorless" wasn't one of them. After the explosion had turned the hill into a smoldering rock, he was hooting and hollering like he'd just witnessed his favorite football team make a star touchdown.</p> <p>"God damn!" he yelled in his characteristic southern accent, thick as rock sludge. He ran his hand through his iced tips. "Send that demon back to hell where she belongs!"</p> <p>His remaining men weren't as enthused. "They killed Harold," one of them said.</p> <p>Douglas pulled down his bandana, revealing a more serious countenance. "May he rest in peace, like all soldiers who died fighting for their cause." He paused and made the sign of the cross. "Now if we don't want his death to be in vain, let's get Isaac on the truck."</p> <p>The three trotted over to the hilltop, which was now as black as coal. The explosion had knocked out Isaac and his chaperone out cold.</p> <p>"I knew <em>he</em> was made of stronger stuff," Douglas remarked, poking Isaac with the base of his AK. "Seems that she got lucky too. I'll be honest, I was hoping that land mine woulda' torn this imperialist to shreds."</p> <p>Douglas prodded the demon a couple of times, looking for a reaction. She was still kicking, just unconscious.</p> <p>"What a shame," Douglas remarked. He drew his M1911 from his belt. "Good thing there are few mistakes on this planet Samuel Colt can't fix."</p> <p>He pulled the trigger aimed right at her head. The bullet only lodged itself in her thick skull; she sucked in a sudden breath as her eyes opened.</p> <p>"God damn!" Douglas exclaimed. "That only woke her up!"</p> <p>"What do we do?" one of his men asked.</p> <p>Douglas gestured at Isaac. "Inject him with enough Pentobarbital to keep him under. Leave her."</p> <p>"She killed Harold!" the henchman said. "You know she'll come after us!"</p> <p>"We got a job to do. There are specific individuals depending on us. Let's not add 'tardiness' to our long list a' crimes."</p> <hr/> <p>When you grow up in the Wrath Layer, you experience a lot of things that would kill a lesser being. The lava pits alone would scorch you to the core. The exploding sulfur crystals, although undeniably fun to play with, would dig themselves into your skin if you got too close. Giant demon birds would try to tear you apart, and that's the megafauna you worry the <em>least</em> about. That's not even touching on the celebrities. If you've never met Demon Nixon on a bad day, you want to keep it that way.</p> <p>The point being, very little topside could kill Agent Calendar. That didn't mean it didn't hurt like hell.</p> <p>Calendar had more broken bones than a museum and a migraine that could incapacitate a horse. Thankfully, the bullet had only hit the part of her brain responsible for rational thought. She dragged herself along the tattered road, trying to tough out the searing pain. The tire treads had taken her here, and she was hoping she could catch up to Isaac before those creeps could do anything to him.</p> <p>Spotting a nice inclined rock, she pulled herself over and laid down. Twenty five sets of fifty couldn't have prepared her for this. She felt every combination of exhaustion, pain and fear all at once. She was so tired. If it wasn't for Isaac, she would've collapsed by now.</p> <p>Something caught her eye. Calendar looked down into the forest, through the trees. An old Prohibition saloon was nested into the wilderness. The wood was falling apart and the roof had partially caved in; it had been abandoned for years. What's more, there was a pay-phone right outside.</p> <p>Calendar decided that it was time to face the music. If she was going to call for help once in her life, there was no better time than today.</p> <p>After popping some displaced bone sockets back into place, Calendar trudged towards the pay phone. She took the phone off the hook and stared at the keypad. She pushed her finger into the buttons eight times, waiting for the dial tone to stop and for Director House to answer. Unfortunately, she'd failed to realize that the "mash-the-buttons-eight-times-to-reach-Director-House" trick was a feature specific to Site-666. When that failed, she tried again, with her fist. She knocked the phone booth right off its hinges.</p> <p><em>Great,</em> she thought. <em>Now what?</em></p> <p>She then noticed that there was an Aston Martin with the roof cut open parked at that abandoned saloon, and got a better idea.</p> <hr/> <p>The painkillers hadn't kicked in yet. That's okay, the pain kept Jacob awake. As he sawed into the barrel of the shotgun, he was thinking about the worst case scenarios. If the Dogman was willing to risk a move like this, it had to be his endgame. Jacob thought of all the evidence he'd collected on the Dogman over the years, trying to find a pattern. The drug trafficking, the murders, the shady machine sales. Now, the demon lady, her boyfriend and the land mine explosion he'd just heard. <em>It all has to mean something… right?</em></p> <p>There were more pressing issues for now; Jacob was defenseless in unfamiliar territory. He was lucky that he'd managed to find this saloon that still had a shotgun behind the bar. With Jacob's aloofness, being in this area without a firearm was like swimming without a life vest.</p> <p>His thinking was interrupted by the door to the old saloon being thrown open. The eight foot tall demon lady he'd seen earlier ducked past the doorway into the bar. Jacob gasped, dropped the hacksaw and pointed the shotgun at her. The sawed-off part of the barrel hung off of the gun like a child's tooth right before it falls out.</p> <p>Calendar plucked the bullet out of her forehead and tossed it aside. "Your friend the Dogman just tried that. Do you think you'll get lucky?"</p> <p>"Listen," Jacob said, trying not to let the fear show in his voice. "I'm sorry we got off of the wrong foot. I'm actually a very polite guy, you see. I'm sorry I stole your car, too."</p> <p>"Chill out." Calendar said. "I don't want to punch you, yet. We have a common enemy."</p> <p>"I agree."</p> <p>"So why are you pointing that gun at me?"</p> <p>"I'll be honest, I'm afraid if I put it down, you'll hit me again."</p> <p>"I won't. Deal?"</p> <p>"Deal." Jacob put the shotgun down on the table. Calendar leaned in like she was going to punch him, and Jacob flinched. But instead of punching him, Calendar just started laughing.</p> <p>"My name's Calendar," she said, in between chuckles. "If you want to be a warrior, you have a long way to go!"</p> <p>"I'm not a fighter, I'm a journalist."</p> <p>"Then why all the guns?" Calendar mimed like she was flicking her wrist forwards, deploying the hidden pistol from her imaginary sleeve.</p> <p>Jacob shrugged, sat back down and resumed cutting through the barrel. "People shoot at me a lot. It might be my fault, though. I've been doing a lot of reflection lately. It might be my personality." Jacob looked around. "Where's the other guy?"</p> <p>"The Dogman took him. Who is he and what does he want with Isaac?"</p> <p>Jacob remembered hearing the explosion. "He probably wants something with him. His full name's Douglas Mansfield. He was a demolitions expert in the army before he got discharged. He's the president of the Louisiana Flat Earth Society. Bunch of loons."</p> <p>"Wait, the Earth isn't flat?"</p> <p>"Your guess is as good as mine." Jacob went behind the bar and grabbed another shotgun. "They had two of these here, want one?"</p> <p>"I don't need anything other than these guns," she said, flexing her biceps.</p> <p>"Your funeral," Jacob replied, setting the shotgun down. He started grabbing old bottles and stuffing them in his trench coat. "He's been moving machinery into his hideout for the past month or so. He's doing something. I thought he was making meth, but with everything I've seen I'm not sure anymore." He gestured at Calendar. "You're a demon, right? That makes me reevaluate my worldview a little."</p> <p>Calendar tried to sit down in one of the dilapidated wooden chairs, but it collapsed under her weight. "He has a hideout? Some kind of shady bar, like this one?"</p> <p>"Nope. It's a Lowe's."</p> <p>"What's a Lowe's?"</p> <p>"The— actually, not that important." Jacob took a map out and unfolded it. "It's right here. You can make it there in a few hours if you take I-49."</p> <p>"Fantastic!" Calender exclaimed. She got up and made her way to the door. "Come on, let's go take 'em head on!"</p> <p>"Wait, 'lets'?" Jacob said. "I'm not going with you. My boss wants a report on this guy by Wednesday."</p> <p>"You might not be there yet, but there's the heart of a warrior in ya', Jacob," Calendar said. "Takes a lot of balls to steal that car. We're gonna go and make the Dogman pay for what he's done! Also, if you don't come with me, I'm breaking your legs."</p> <p>"Fair enough. Let's."</p> <hr/> <p>By the time Isaac woke up, he could tell that he'd been moved somewhere. He was in a dark room, lying on some kind of warm concrete. He wasn't bound, but he could tell that he'd been drugged.</p> <p>As he lurched forwards into the sitting position, the door to the room opened. A man with blonde hair, iced tips, and the tackiest Hawaiian shirt Isaac had ever seen walked through the door. He took off a blue vest, pulled up a chair and sat next to Isaac.</p> <p>"Sorry about the inconvenience, Isaac," the man said. "I had to separate you from our friends at the Federal Bureau of Imperialism."</p> <p><em>That's the guy who blew me up!</em> Isaac thought. He was woozy; he had a hard time getting the thoughts through his head. <em>The 'Dogman'?</em></p> <p>"Who are you?" Isaac asked.</p> <p>"I'm a true American patriot," the Dogman said. "A man with a vision. But who I am is less important than what we can do together."</p> <p>"What?"</p> <p>The Dogman stood up. "I know what you must think of me. I wouldn't blame you; if I were in your boots I'd want to tear my head off. But you have to realize, what we can gain as friends far outweighs what we lose as enemies."</p> <p>After a pause, the Dogman sat back down. "You've been illegally detained by a paramilitary group called the SCP Foundation."</p> <p>"Tell me something I don't know," Isaac said.</p> <p>"The crimes they've committed would shock even the worst of us." The Dogman leaned forwards. "'Mass Detainment' is too kind a word. They've taken people, experimented on 'em, tortured 'em, and for what?" He gestured at the ceiling. "Some sacred definition of 'normalcy'? So we can still keep livin' in the god damned globalist system they control? That's just not fair. They hoard the world in their golden fortresses, and they don't even got the <em>decency</em> to tell us they're doin' it!</p> <p>"I want to take 'em down, Isaac. Like the Founding Fathers did to this great nation, I want to cast off its shackles!" He stood up. "Now, will you help me do that?"</p> <p>"You like hearing the sound of your own voice, don't you?" Isaac said.</p> <p>"I'll take that as a 'no', then."</p> <p>"Even with whatever you've drugged me with, I can still tell you're an asshole."</p> <p>"Well, then I'll just need your help today."</p> <p>"Didn't you hear me? I said no way in hell."</p> <p>The Dogman adopted a more serious expression. "This one isn't really up to you."</p> <p>Isaac suddenly became aware that he wasn't just lying on the cold concrete floor. Ancient symbols were engraved into the top of the stone slab he'd found himself on.</p> <p>"It's pretty fortunate that I was able to find a Type Green on such short notice," the Dogman continued. "Otherwise, I'd never be able to get this to work."</p> <p>"You piece of—" Isaac tried to make the Dogman's head explode, but suddenly found himself a lot more woozy.</p> <p>"I only gave you a little bit of adrenaline. I figured it couldn't hurt to ask. I hope you like meeting aliens soon, Isaac. I hear they're nice people."</p> <p>The Dogman stood up and left the room as Isaac fell back asleep.</p> <hr/> <p>"Oh, so it's like a Home Depot," Calendar remarked.</p> <p>From the nearby dive bar, Agent Calendar and Jacob found a vantage point of the Lowe's. It seemed impregnable from the outside. In preparation for the incursion, Jacob used duct tape to attach a flashlight to the sawed-off barrel of his shotgun. Calendar had mostly healed and was still snapping her bones back into their proper places.</p> <p>"Here's the plan," Jacob said. "We get in through the back. They're probably keeping your friend Isaac somewhere in the storage room. Once we find him, we get him out. No need to run into anyone else."</p> <p>"Why not?" Calendar asked. She cracked her knuckles.</p> <p>"Because if he finds us, he's going to kill us," Jacob said. He looked Calendar up and down. "…at least, he'll kill me."</p> <p>"Exactly! Without anomalies, they can't touch me."</p> <p>"Anomalies?"</p> <p>"Yeah, I work for this organization called the SCP Foundation," Calendar said. "We contain things that are dangerous to people. The only way they could <em>ever</em> hurt me is if they had one of those things."</p> <p>"Word of advice: you might want to keep that fact under wraps," Jacob said. "They probably don't have anything, but just in case, we shouldn't barge in."</p> <p>Calendar nodded.</p> <p>"That's where this comes in," Jacob said as he took out the bottle and set it on the table. He stuffed a washcloth into the top. "It's a Molotov Cocktail."</p> <p>"Ooh!" Calendar nodded. "Sounds like a helluva drink."</p> <p>"I guess you can say that. If we throw it into the storefront, it'll light a fire. That should distract them for long enough for us to get in."</p> <p>"Yeah. Then I take the Dogman's head off like the dog he is!"</p> <p>"Sounds good, but leave him alive. I need to get a report on him."</p> <p>"I know you're still in 'warrior training', so I'll only tell you this once." Calendar looked Jacob right in the eyes. "If someone messes with you, you make sure they never mess with you again."</p> <p>"Excuse me," the bartender said, "but I'm going to have to ask you two to leave. You're making the other patrons very uncomfortable."</p> <p>The barflies stared at them with a mixture of shock and awe, having heard them discuss their entire plan. Jacob and Calendar awkwardly got up and left the bar before the situation got any worse.</p> <hr/> <p>Jacob and Calender crouched outside of the Lowe's. Night had fallen, drenching the city in a cold black shawl. The thrill ran high for both of them. Jacob was mentally preparing himself to confront his greatest enemy yet. Calendar was imaging turning the Dogman's spine into a violin string and then the night after with Isaac.</p> <p>After a nod, Jacob lit the cocktail and threw it into the building. The bottle shattered and the fire alarm went off. The two intruders ran around the building and approached the back door.</p> <p>The Flat Earthers inside picked up rifles and moved to address the fire. Douglas, who expected something like this to happen, stood up and pinched the bridge of his nose.</p> <p>"You morons!" he yelled. "Jacob's doing the Molotov trick again. Get to the back!"</p> <p>By the time Jacob had subtlety tried to pick the lock, gave up, and then kicked the door in, the Flat Earthers had already collected themselves around the door, rifles pointed very aggressively. Jacob very quickly realized that he was outgunned; one shotgun against five AK's.</p> <p>"God damn, Jacob!" the Dogman yelled. "I thought you were a hot-blooded American! I thought you'd be above partnering with these traitors!"</p> <p>"Damn it! They made us!" Jacob yelled. He dropped his shotgun and dove outside behind the wall. The henchmen fired their guns through the thin plaster wall. Jacob could feel the bullets whizzing past his back.</p> <p>"Don't worry!" Calendar yelled. "Your distraction sucked, but I have a better one!"</p> <p>Calendar tore the door off of its hinges, using it as an impromptu shield. The bullets fired by the Flat Earthers ricocheted off of the steel door. She immediately charged one of the henchmen, and the collision with the battering ram sent him flying across the room. Tossing the door up and grabbing it by the edge, she then slammed it into another henchman, dislocating his shoulder and sending him to the ground. Seeing this scene, the Dogman dropped his rifle and ran.</p> <p>Jacob could hear an aircraft engine above. <em>Shit, a helicopter?</em> He had to work fast.</p> <p>He ran through the now-open doorway. Calendar did serve as an effective distraction; the gunmen were all focused on her. They shot at her, and some of the shots hit true, but it didn't seem to bother her that much. Taking his shotgun, Jacob tried to slam it into one of the henchmen's necks to disable him, unleashing a hearty cry as he did so. However, he only clumsily hit the guard in the shoulder. The gunman turned around to face Jacob, his bandana'd face only revealing the rage in his eyes. However, the gunman was lifted two feet into the air by Calendar, who tossed him across the room at the last standing henchman.</p> <p>The gunman who had previously been bashed across the room had stood up, reacquired his rifle and was now firing. Jacob, who had become adept at ducking and covering at the sound of gunfire, rolled to hide behind several bags of loam soil. Calendar was now trying to suplex a forklift.</p> <p><em>I've got to get the Dogman before he gets away,</em> Jacob thought.</p> <p>Suddenly, the roof was torn off of the building and a blue light bathed the room. Jacob and Calendar looked up. It wasn't a helicopter; a flying saucer now hovered above them, filling the air with a warbling noise. A beam of turquoise light came down from the saucer's center. The Dogman, who had been hiding in his office, was being pulled up into the saucer.</p> <p>"I knew it!" he yelled, cackling like a madman. "Aliens are real! The Earth is flat! Elvis Presley never existed!"</p> <p>Jacob found his jaw dropping. Calendar dropped the forklift out of confusion.</p> <p>"Now with my newfound allies, I can finally destroy the SCP Foundation!" the Dogman continued. He laughed as he vanished into the saucer, which proceeded to fly off into the night.</p> <p>Calendar ran into the office and found Isaac lying on a stone slab. He was still out cold; the incident had drained his energy.</p> <p>"Jacob!" Calendar yelled. "Your plan didn't work!"</p> <p>"Hold on," Jacob said. "I've got something for this."</p> <p>Jacob took some smelling salts and waved them under Isaac's nose. Isaac awoke with a yell and punched Jacob in the face. The punch sent him reeling.</p> <p>"Ow!" Jacob yelled.</p> <p>"Are you alright?" Calendar asked, kneeling down next to Isaac. "What did he do to you?"</p> <p>"I'm fine," Jacob said, oblivious to the fact that he wasn't the subject of the question. A glare from Calendar shut him up.</p> <p>"Nothing," Isaac said. "Dogman just knocked me out and used me to summon those aliens."</p> <p>"Those were aliens?" Jacob said. "What a world we live in."</p> <p>"I'm gonna be honest, guys," the last standing Flat Earther said, "I thought this was just a white supremacist thing. Sorry about shooting at you."</p> <p>After standing in awe of the wonder of the universe for a while, the wall was exploded by a breach charge. Several agents in body armor emblazoned with the Foundation insignia stormed in with their guns drawn.</p> <p>"Freeze!" one of them yelled. "Hands in the air!"</p> <p>Everybody involved put their hands in the air.</p> <p>One of the agents came forwards. Calendar recognized him as Agent Adams, just with a layer of body armor.</p> <p>"Looks like the BOLO hit on House's car paid off," he said. "All of you. Director House wants to see you."</p> <hr/> <p>Douglas was aware of the irony of describing the experience as "alien". Surrounded by technology you didn't recognize, tiny green men who spoke a language you didn't, and overall an atmosphere different from the Lowe's he'd been in five minutes prior.</p> <p>The aliens were fiddling with their universal translators. Finding English wasn't the hard, but deciphering Douglas' thick accent into something recognizable.</p> <p>"Finally, the translation device is working," one of the aliens said, breaking the awkward silence.</p> <p>"Thank God," Douglas said. "Now, you're gonna wanna hear about this."</p> <p>"No thank you," the alien said. "We are not interested in buying anything. Now, do you have directions to Omega Messier?"</p> <p>"Wait, you're askin' me for directions? Whadd' I look like, an astronomer?"</p> <p>"You had the beacon, that indicated that you would be able to provide directions."</p> <p>"This is why we should have stopped on Saturn instead!" one of the other aliens yelled.</p> <p>"Wait a second," Douglas said. "There's this organization on Earth, the SCP Foundation, that has, uh, 'mass detained', your…"</p> <p>"It's a religious nut," the alien said. "Dump him back on Earth."</p> <p>"Wait, wait, wa—"</p> <p>The tractor beam was quickly thrown into reverse. Within a few seconds, Douglas found himself in a field, without any allies and scammed by charlatans who advertised much more cooperative aliens. Before Douglas could ask himself how this day could get any worse, he'd realized he'd left his cell phone in the flying saucer, thinking that it was going to be a more permanent partnership. In frustration, Douglas kicked a rock across the field while screaming in anger.</p> <hr/> <p>This tale was written for <a href="/romcon">RomCon</a>. Agent Calendar belongs to <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/rounderhouse" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(4187885); return false;"><img alt="Rounderhouse" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=4187885&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1720188930" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=4187885)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/rounderhouse" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(4187885); return false;">Rounderhouse</a></span> and Isaac belongs to <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/iszth" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5404858); return false;"><img alt="Iszth" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=5404858&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1720188930" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=5404858)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/iszth" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5404858); return false;">Iszth</a></span>. <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/rounderhouse" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(4187885); return false;"><img alt="Rounderhouse" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=4187885&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1720188930" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=4187885)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/rounderhouse" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(4187885); return false;">Rounderhouse</a></span>'s tale is posted <a href="/agent-calendars-hot-date-2">here</a>.</p> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/hyperfine">Hyperfine</a>" by notgull, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/hyperfine">https://scpwiki.com/hyperfine</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [!-- Written by notgull for the SCP Wiki, released under CC-BY-SA 3.0 More info: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ Contact: 'notgull' on Discord, see GitHub commits under github.com/notgull for email (I do not actively check Wikidot PMs) Thanks to: - Rounder for donating Agent Calendar - Iszth for donating Isaac - UE for running Romcon - Mew-ltiverse, Anorrack, Rounder and Iszth for crit If you liked this, consider sponsoring me! https://github.com/sponsors/notgull --] Louisiana has to be the asshole of America. The locals hate you. The excruciating heat and suffocating moisture threatened to tear your skin off. The roads crumble underneath your feet. A tornado must have blown through and replaced the roofs with sheet metal and the walls with decaying plywood. Everything was an absolute mess. To [[[SCP-7666\|Agent Calendar]]], it felt like home sweet home. She walked along the side of the highway with [[[SCP-7454\|Isaac]]], who held a glass jar containing a moth of some kind. Isaac moved his finger alongside the surface of the jar and the bug followed it with its little insect eyes. Isaac found it amusing and giggled. Calendar noticed a tooth embedded in her forearm and plucked it out. "Ugh, I’ve still got some of that moth collector on me," she said as she discarded the tooth. Isaac unscrewed the jar and let the moth go free. "It's cruel to keep such an elegant being cooped up like that," he muttered. The collector had been on Isaac’s "Top Ten People who Deserve a Hospital Visit" list for a while now. Going down that list was a cathartic relationship building exercise for [[[agent-calendars-hot-date-1\|the couple]]]. Isaac got to take revenge and Calendar got to sunder a few bones. They walked back to their motel: a dingy, run down collection of rooms that survived exclusively by being the only habitable place within ten miles. "I can't believe it's almost over," Calendar said, referring to their shared "vacation." "Me neither," Isaac replied. "Thanks again for letting me out, y'know? I don't mind Site-17, but it was really nice to be outside again. Y'know, with you." "Ah-hah, you big nerd! Come here!" Calendar leaned in to make out with Isaac. However, Isaac noticed a small detail that made him freeze in his tracks. "Uh, sweetie?" he said. "There's something wrong with our room." They stood a few hundred feet away from the motel. Isaac had rented a room for two while Calendar hid in the car. They'd taken every precaution not to be spotted by anyone that they weren't planning on beating up. "Yeah, I agree," Calendar said. "Their gym is subpar. Their weights only go up to five hundred pounds." "No, I mean... look at the door. It's closed." Calendar stared at the door to Room 3A. The top of the doorframe had already sustained significant damage from her head. "I don't get it. What's wrong?" "When's the last time we closed a door behind us?" "Oh shit. You're right." Calendar entered a fighting stance (although, most stances were fighting stances to her). The couple crept slowly towards the door, readying themselves to ambush whatever lied behind it. Once they'd placed themselves in the optimal positions, Calendar punched the door open and rushed inside. They saw a young man in a trench coat down on all fours next to their bed. In his hands was what appeared to be a pound of plastic explosive. When he saw the couple enter the room, his eyes opened wide and his jaw dropped from surprise. "Okay," the young man said, "hear me out." ---- [[=]] TEN MINUTES EARLIER [[/=]] It’s not like you become a journalist for the respect. In fact, sitting in a shitbox Saturn S 1991 with no air conditioning for a few days would make most people lose all respect for themselves. Doing that in a trench coat while watching a bald gangster would drive many people to drink. On the contrary, for the young Jacob R. Dylan, he found these activities exhilarating. The thrill of the hunt in search of the truth was what pushed him forwards. Besides, it's not like he was married to journalism. If he stopped enjoying it, he could always go back to school and [[[SCP-4785\|start working for the government]]]. The weeks spent trailing the goon had finally paid off. Jacob had managed to track him to a run-down motel off of the 114. After getting out of his car, the man went up to the counter and rented a motel room. He went inside, probably to check it out and find the places where someone could hide with a gun. Once he was done, he picked the lock of the next room over, entered it, and left a few minutes later. Jacob decided not to follow him; whatever he put in the motel room was probably more incriminating. Jacob surveyed the parking lot to make sure he was alone. Aside from two Fords that had clearly been out in the sun for too long, there was one other notable car. It was the Aston Martin Vantage parked next to the invaded motel room. The license plate was from Nevada. //What were they doing all the way out in Louisiana?// It was in awful condition; the car was covered with dents and a hole had been cut out of the ceiling on the passenger side. Jacob found himself involuntarily wincing. Sitting in his tattered Saturn S, he'd kill for the kind of car that had functional air conditioning. He looked down at this stopwatch. It had been five minutes since the Dogman’s soldier had taken care of whatever nefarious deed he’d dealt. The midday sun assured Jacob that the motel room’s renters would not be back for a while. After making sure his guns were loaded into his sleeves, he got out of the car and walked up to the motel room. The lock to the door was short work for Jacob’s lockpick set. Jacob opened the door slowly; the Dogman was known to use explosives, and the last thing Jacob wanted to do was activate a tripwire. But Jacob didn’t hear a click, so he went inside the room, making sure to close the door behind him. He didn’t know whether or not the gangster had tossed up the room looking for something, or if the room’s renters were just that messy. The drawers were ajar, furniture was strewn about and the bed was flipped upside down. Jacob couldn’t help but think: //do people really live like this?// Jacob spent a few minutes examining the furniture, looking for something worth looking for. He stuck his hand in between the mattress and the bedframe and felt something dry but sticky, like play-dough. After dispelling himself of his initial preconceptions, he grabbed it and pulled it out. It was a large lump of Emulex, a plastic explosive that would've sent the motel room to hell and back. His fear of holding a live explosive was briefly suppressed by his excitement. He’d finally found something that caught the Dogman dead to rights! It would be hard to prove— The thought was interrupted by a tall red woman and a shorter man bursting into the room. Jacob realized that he’d chosen some unfortunate timing. He was down on the ground, in their apartment, after having broken in, with a glob of Emulex in his hand. "Okay, hear me out," Jacob asked the couple. They didn’t hear him out. Agent Calendar immediately closed the distance and delivered a kick to his stomach. It knocked the wind out of Jacob and maybe even broke a rib. In a second, Calendar had lifted Jacob a foot in the air by the scruff of his trench coat with one hand. "What do you think you're doing?" she asked menacingly. Jacob was still recovering his breath. "Dogman…" he managed to squeak out. He held up his hand with a glob of plastic explosive still stuck to it. "Bomb…" he said after breathing in. Calendar grabbed the explosive out of his hand and tried to throw it out the window, but found that it stuck to her hand. After a few enthusiastic attempts to eject the Emulex from the room, she walked over to the window, broke it with her elbow, and smeared the Emulex across the outside wall. "Hey, look at that!" Isaac said, pointing at a suspicious lump in Jacob's sleeve. Calendar reached in and yanked out a pistol attached to a spring-loaded sleeve holster. "Were you trying to kill us?" Calendar asked, shaking Jacob a little. "N— no..." Jacob stammered out between shallow breaths. "Looks like this kid took //Taxi Driver// a little too seriously," Isaac said. Calendar inspected the other sleeve and found another holster and another gun. "Listen," Jacob said, regaining his breath. "I'm a—" he coughed twice. "...journalist. The Dogman... cometh..." "'Dog Man'?" Calendar said. "I might've hit him too hard." "I'll tie him up," Isaac said. "Let's throw him in the back of the car while he gets his story straight." ---- Calendar paced outside of the motel room, trying her best to decide what to do. Jacob had his hands duct-taped in the back seat of the Aston Martin. He was still trying to fruitlessly talk his way out of the situation. "Listen, I saw nothing!" Jacob yelled, muffled. "You have bigger fish to fry, anyways! The Dogman'll kill you! You //have// to get out of here!" Isaac idly toyed with the spring-loaded gun holster. He flicked it forwards, and the gun sprung out into action. "Well, we can't just let him go," Isaac said. "He's seen you. He'll probably squeal at the first chance. If he's a journalist, he might even put it in the paper." "Okay," Calendar said. "What's the easiest bone to break, again?" "The fingers?" "Then we'll break his fingers until he promises not to talk." "No, no," Isaac said. "I have a better idea. Can you get that red map out of the glove compartment?" Calendar nodded and walked over to the Aston Martin. Once she opened the door, Jacob started panicking. "I have a hundred and ten dollars on me!" he said. "Plus, all the guns. Keep 'em! Just please, let me go!" "You'd best shut up if you don't want a taste of my famous knuckle sandwich," Calendar threatened, shaking her fist. Jacob shrunk back into the seat and obliged, with pure fear seared into his face. She opened the glove compartment and took out a red sheet of laminated paper. It was a map of all the highways and towns in the U.S.A. In addition, Foundation sites were highlighted in blue. At least, the Sites that Director House was cleared to know about. Isaac pointed to the I-49 on the map. "We're close to here, right?" he said. He drew a line to [[[SCP-4476\|Site-93]]] on the map. "They probably have amnestics." "Amnesiacs?" "No no, amnestics. It makes you forget stuff. The Foundation uses 'em all the time." "Wow!" Calendar's eyes sparkled a little. "Just like alcohol! The drugs up here are incredible." "We'll sneak in, steal some amnestics, and make this guy— Jacob— forget this little episode." "Are you sure we have to sneak in? I want to break more stuff than that." "They know who we are, we'd have to //sneak//." "Why can't we just wear masks?" Isaac looked Calendar up and down. "I don't think that would—" He was interrupted by the Aston Martin peeling in reverse out of the parking lot and flooring it down the 114. Calendar saw Jacob in the front seat. In a few seconds they were left with a cloud of smoke. "I thought he was tied up?" Isaac said. "I had my horn fragment in the glove compartment," Calender said. "I had the keys in the ignition." "Crap." ---- As it turns out, hotwiring a car was a lot easier when you could bend reality itself to your whim. Although, being a Saturn S-Series, anyone could've figured it out given enough time. Unfortunately, time was at a premium now. Calendar took the driver's seat, hunching over the wheel and rubbernecking at every little swamp and tree off the side of the road. She still hadn't internalized the concept of the brake being necessary to driving a car. Isaac found himself with one hand on the door handle and the other holding the red map. This time he was looking at the cities instead of the Foundation Sites. "He'll probably head to Monroe," Isaac said. "It's the closest city that has a phone line." "Monroe?" Calendar said. She glanced at a passing road sign indicating that Monroe was 20 miles away. "That's only twenty away!" "Hopefully, we don't have to," Isaac said. "The Martin looks like a shitshow. A cop'll probably pull him over." "Then, we'll go and beat the tar out of him, right?" Isaac shrugged. "I don't know, I still think we can just wipe his memory—" Calendar floored the gas pedal, sending the car accelerating far past the speed limit. "Okay, okay, we can beat him up!" Isaac conceded. Calendar laughed in response. "I love ya', ya' big—" She was interrupted by the wheels of the car suddenly tearing open. Within a few torturous seconds, the car ground to a halt. "Great, now what?" Calendar exclaimed. She got out of the car and looked at the tires. She expected to see that natural wear and tear has finally caught up to the old worn wheels. Instead, she saw that the tires had been torn apart by a collection of metal nails strewn across the ground. "Shit!" she yelled. She turned to Isaac. "Bail up!" Isaac ducked just in time for the bullets to fly over his head. Calendar reached into the car and yanked out Isaac. She flipped over the car in the direction of the bullets. The //ring//-//ding//-//ding// of the ricochet of the bullets filled the air. From a nearby grassy hill, gunmen fired down on them. For anyone who wasn't practically bulletproof, this would be a very bad situation. Isaac rubbed his hands together and wrapped his forefinger around his eye. He pulled on it, bending reality to extend his eye like a periscope. He shaped it up and around the car's chassis to view the assailants. "Three guys," he said. "AK's and bandanas. All lined up." He pointed in their direction. Calendar nodded. She visualized the picture in her head. She couldn't do calculus, but she could do blood geometry pretty damn well. In an instant, she'd already ran through gravity, air resistance and impact. She couldn't tell you a single number, but she did it better than any physicist on planet Earth. With a grunt, she slammed her shoulder into the car's chassis. The impact sent it flying at the assailants like a bullet. Two of them say it coming and pulled back, but one was too slow. The car slammed into him and turned his body into something resembling a meat pancake. Seizing the opportunity, Calendar and Isaac stood and sprinted up the hill. When they reached the apex, Isaac surveyed the surroundings. The first thing he noticed the two men had thrown aside their guns and were running away as fast as possible. The second thing he noticed was the third man buried in the forest, holding some kind of radio device in his hands. The third thing he noticed was the sounds of beeping. By the time he put these all together, the land mine exploded. The blast enveloped the two, the pain of the explosion shutting out all else. The couple was very swiftly knocked out. ---- People called Douglas many things. "Humorless" wasn't one of them. After the explosion had turned the hill into a smoldering rock, he was hooting and hollering like he'd just witnessed his favorite football team make a star touchdown. "God damn!" he yelled in his characteristic southern accent, thick as rock sludge. He ran his hand through his iced tips. "Send that demon back to hell where she belongs!" His remaining men weren't as enthused. "They killed Harold," one of them said. Douglas pulled down his bandana, revealing a more serious countenance. "May he rest in peace, like all soldiers who died fighting for their cause." He paused and made the sign of the cross. "Now if we don't want his death to be in vain, let's get Isaac on the truck." The three trotted over to the hilltop, which was now as black as coal. The explosion had knocked out Isaac and his chaperone out cold. "I knew //he// was made of stronger stuff," Douglas remarked, poking Isaac with the base of his AK. "Seems that she got lucky too. I'll be honest, I was hoping that land mine woulda' torn this imperialist to shreds." Douglas prodded the demon a couple of times, looking for a reaction. She was still kicking, just unconscious. "What a shame," Douglas remarked. He drew his M1911 from his belt. "Good thing there are few mistakes on this planet Samuel Colt can't fix." He pulled the trigger aimed right at her head. The bullet only lodged itself in her thick skull; she sucked in a sudden breath as her eyes opened. "God damn!" Douglas exclaimed. "That only woke her up!" "What do we do?" one of his men asked. Douglas gestured at Isaac. "Inject him with enough Pentobarbital to keep him under. Leave her." "She killed Harold!" the henchman said. "You know she'll come after us!" "We got a job to do. There are specific individuals depending on us. Let's not add 'tardiness' to our long list a' crimes." ---- When you grow up in the Wrath Layer, you experience a lot of things that would kill a lesser being. The lava pits alone would scorch you to the core. The exploding sulfur crystals, although undeniably fun to play with, would dig themselves into your skin if you got too close. Giant demon birds would try to tear you apart, and that's the megafauna you worry the //least// about. That's not even touching on the celebrities. If you've never met Demon Nixon on a bad day, you want to keep it that way. The point being, very little topside could kill Agent Calendar. That didn't mean it didn't hurt like hell. Calendar had more broken bones than a museum and a migraine that could incapacitate a horse. Thankfully, the bullet had only hit the part of her brain responsible for rational thought. She dragged herself along the tattered road, trying to tough out the searing pain. The tire treads had taken her here, and she was hoping she could catch up to Isaac before those creeps could do anything to him. Spotting a nice inclined rock, she pulled herself over and laid down. Twenty five sets of fifty couldn't have prepared her for this. She felt every combination of exhaustion, pain and fear all at once. She was so tired. If it wasn't for Isaac, she would've collapsed by now. Something caught her eye. Calendar looked down into the forest, through the trees. An old Prohibition saloon was nested into the wilderness. The wood was falling apart and the roof had partially caved in; it had been abandoned for years. What's more, there was a pay-phone right outside. Calendar decided that it was time to face the music. If she was going to call for help once in her life, there was no better time than today. After popping some displaced bone sockets back into place, Calendar trudged towards the pay phone. She took the phone off the hook and stared at the keypad. She pushed her finger into the buttons eight times, waiting for the dial tone to stop and for Director House to answer. Unfortunately, she'd failed to realize that the "mash-the-buttons-eight-times-to-reach-Director-House" trick was a feature specific to Site-666. When that failed, she tried again, with her fist. She knocked the phone booth right off its hinges. //Great,// she thought. //Now what?// She then noticed that there was an Aston Martin with the roof cut open parked at that abandoned saloon, and got a better idea. ---- The painkillers hadn't kicked in yet. That's okay, the pain kept Jacob awake. As he sawed into the barrel of the shotgun, he was thinking about the worst case scenarios. If the Dogman was willing to risk a move like this, it had to be his endgame. Jacob thought of all the evidence he'd collected on the Dogman over the years, trying to find a pattern. The drug trafficking, the murders, the shady machine sales. Now, the demon lady, her boyfriend and the land mine explosion he'd just heard. //It all has to mean something... right?// There were more pressing issues for now; Jacob was defenseless in unfamiliar territory. He was lucky that he'd managed to find this saloon that still had a shotgun behind the bar. With Jacob's aloofness, being in this area without a firearm was like swimming without a life vest. His thinking was interrupted by the door to the old saloon being thrown open. The eight foot tall demon lady he'd seen earlier ducked past the doorway into the bar. Jacob gasped, dropped the hacksaw and pointed the shotgun at her. The sawed-off part of the barrel hung off of the gun like a child's tooth right before it falls out. Calendar plucked the bullet out of her forehead and tossed it aside. "Your friend the Dogman just tried that. Do you think you'll get lucky?" "Listen," Jacob said, trying not to let the fear show in his voice. "I'm sorry we got off of the wrong foot. I'm actually a very polite guy, you see. I'm sorry I stole your car, too." "Chill out." Calendar said. "I don't want to punch you, yet. We have a common enemy." "I agree." "So why are you pointing that gun at me?" "I'll be honest, I'm afraid if I put it down, you'll hit me again." "I won't. Deal?" "Deal." Jacob put the shotgun down on the table. Calendar leaned in like she was going to punch him, and Jacob flinched. But instead of punching him, Calendar just started laughing. "My name's Calendar," she said, in between chuckles. "If you want to be a warrior, you have a long way to go!" "I'm not a fighter, I'm a journalist." "Then why all the guns?" Calendar mimed like she was flicking her wrist forwards, deploying the hidden pistol from her imaginary sleeve. Jacob shrugged, sat back down and resumed cutting through the barrel. "People shoot at me a lot. It might be my fault, though. I've been doing a lot of reflection lately. It might be my personality." Jacob looked around. "Where's the other guy?" "The Dogman took him. Who is he and what does he want with Isaac?" Jacob remembered hearing the explosion. "He probably wants something with him. His full name's Douglas Mansfield. He was a demolitions expert in the army before he got discharged. He's the president of the Louisiana Flat Earth Society. Bunch of loons." "Wait, the Earth isn't flat?" "Your guess is as good as mine." Jacob went behind the bar and grabbed another shotgun. "They had two of these here, want one?" "I don't need anything other than these guns," she said, flexing her biceps. "Your funeral," Jacob replied, setting the shotgun down. He started grabbing old bottles and stuffing them in his trench coat. "He's been moving machinery into his hideout for the past month or so. He's doing something. I thought he was making meth, but with everything I've seen I'm not sure anymore." He gestured at Calendar. "You're a demon, right? That makes me reevaluate my worldview a little." Calendar tried to sit down in one of the dilapidated wooden chairs, but it collapsed under her weight. "He has a hideout? Some kind of shady bar, like this one?" "Nope. It's a Lowe's." "What's a Lowe's?" "The— actually, not that important." Jacob took a map out and unfolded it. "It's right here. You can make it there in a few hours if you take I-49." "Fantastic!" Calender exclaimed. She got up and made her way to the door. "Come on, let's go take 'em head on!" "Wait, 'lets'?" Jacob said. "I'm not going with you. My boss wants a report on this guy by Wednesday." "You might not be there yet, but there's the heart of a warrior in ya', Jacob," Calendar said. "Takes a lot of balls to steal that car. We're gonna go and make the Dogman pay for what he's done! Also, if you don't come with me, I'm breaking your legs." "Fair enough. Let's." ---- By the time Isaac woke up, he could tell that he'd been moved somewhere. He was in a dark room, lying on some kind of warm concrete. He wasn't bound, but he could tell that he'd been drugged. As he lurched forwards into the sitting position, the door to the room opened. A man with blonde hair, iced tips, and the tackiest Hawaiian shirt Isaac had ever seen walked through the door. He took off a blue vest, pulled up a chair and sat next to Isaac. "Sorry about the inconvenience, Isaac," the man said. "I had to separate you from our friends at the Federal Bureau of Imperialism." //That's the guy who blew me up!// Isaac thought. He was woozy; he had a hard time getting the thoughts through his head. //The 'Dogman'?// "Who are you?" Isaac asked. "I'm a true American patriot," the Dogman said. "A man with a vision. But who I am is less important than what we can do together." "What?" The Dogman stood up. "I know what you must think of me. I wouldn't blame you; if I were in your boots I'd want to tear my head off. But you have to realize, what we can gain as friends far outweighs what we lose as enemies." After a pause, the Dogman sat back down. "You've been illegally detained by a paramilitary group called the SCP Foundation." "Tell me something I don't know," Isaac said. "The crimes they've committed would shock even the worst of us." The Dogman leaned forwards. "'Mass Detainment' is too kind a word. They've taken people, experimented on 'em, tortured 'em, and for what?" He gestured at the ceiling. "Some sacred definition of 'normalcy'? So we can still keep livin' in the god damned globalist system they control? That's just not fair. They hoard the world in their golden fortresses, and they don't even got the //decency// to tell us they're doin' it! "I want to take 'em down, Isaac. Like the Founding Fathers did to this great nation, I want to cast off its shackles!" He stood up. "Now, will you help me do that?" "You like hearing the sound of your own voice, don't you?" Isaac said. "I'll take that as a 'no', then." "Even with whatever you've drugged me with, I can still tell you're an asshole." "Well, then I'll just need your help today." "Didn't you hear me? I said no way in hell." The Dogman adopted a more serious expression. "This one isn't really up to you." Isaac suddenly became aware that he wasn't just lying on the cold concrete floor. Ancient symbols were engraved into the top of the stone slab he'd found himself on. "It's pretty fortunate that I was able to find a Type Green on such short notice," the Dogman continued. "Otherwise, I'd never be able to get this to work." "You piece of—" Isaac tried to make the Dogman's head explode, but suddenly found himself a lot more woozy. "I only gave you a little bit of adrenaline. I figured it couldn't hurt to ask. I hope you like meeting aliens soon, Isaac. I hear they're nice people." The Dogman stood up and left the room as Isaac fell back asleep. ---- "Oh, so it's like a Home Depot," Calendar remarked. From the nearby dive bar, Agent Calendar and Jacob found a vantage point of the Lowe's. It seemed impregnable from the outside. In preparation for the incursion, Jacob used duct tape to attach a flashlight to the sawed-off barrel of his shotgun. Calendar had mostly healed and was still snapping her bones back into their proper places. "Here's the plan," Jacob said. "We get in through the back. They're probably keeping your friend Isaac somewhere in the storage room. Once we find him, we get him out. No need to run into anyone else." "Why not?" Calendar asked. She cracked her knuckles. "Because if he finds us, he's going to kill us," Jacob said. He looked Calendar up and down. "...at least, he'll kill me." "Exactly! Without anomalies, they can't touch me." "Anomalies?" "Yeah, I work for this organization called the SCP Foundation," Calendar said. "We contain things that are dangerous to people. The only way they could //ever// hurt me is if they had one of those things." "Word of advice: you might want to keep that fact under wraps," Jacob said. "They probably don't have anything, but just in case, we shouldn't barge in." Calendar nodded. "That's where this comes in," Jacob said as he took out the bottle and set it on the table. He stuffed a washcloth into the top. "It's a Molotov Cocktail." "Ooh!" Calendar nodded. "Sounds like a helluva drink." "I guess you can say that. If we throw it into the storefront, it'll light a fire. That should distract them for long enough for us to get in." "Yeah. Then I take the Dogman's head off like the dog he is!" "Sounds good, but leave him alive. I need to get a report on him." "I know you're still in 'warrior training', so I'll only tell you this once." Calendar looked Jacob right in the eyes. "If someone messes with you, you make sure they never mess with you again." "Excuse me," the bartender said, "but I'm going to have to ask you two to leave. You're making the other patrons very uncomfortable." The barflies stared at them with a mixture of shock and awe, having heard them discuss their entire plan. Jacob and Calendar awkwardly got up and left the bar before the situation got any worse. ---- Jacob and Calender crouched outside of the Lowe's. Night had fallen, drenching the city in a cold black shawl. The thrill ran high for both of them. Jacob was mentally preparing himself to confront his greatest enemy yet. Calendar was imaging turning the Dogman's spine into a violin string and then the night after with Isaac. After a nod, Jacob lit the cocktail and threw it into the building. The bottle shattered and the fire alarm went off. The two intruders ran around the building and approached the back door. The Flat Earthers inside picked up rifles and moved to address the fire. Douglas, who expected something like this to happen, stood up and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You morons!" he yelled. "Jacob's doing the Molotov trick again. Get to the back!" By the time Jacob had subtlety tried to pick the lock, gave up, and then kicked the door in, the Flat Earthers had already collected themselves around the door, rifles pointed very aggressively. Jacob very quickly realized that he was outgunned; one shotgun against five AK's. "God damn, Jacob!" the Dogman yelled. "I thought you were a hot-blooded American! I thought you'd be above partnering with these traitors!" "Damn it! They made us!" Jacob yelled. He dropped his shotgun and dove outside behind the wall. The henchmen fired their guns through the thin plaster wall. Jacob could feel the bullets whizzing past his back. "Don't worry!" Calendar yelled. "Your distraction sucked, but I have a better one!" Calendar tore the door off of its hinges, using it as an impromptu shield. The bullets fired by the Flat Earthers ricocheted off of the steel door. She immediately charged one of the henchmen, and the collision with the battering ram sent him flying across the room. Tossing the door up and grabbing it by the edge, she then slammed it into another henchman, dislocating his shoulder and sending him to the ground. Seeing this scene, the Dogman dropped his rifle and ran. Jacob could hear an aircraft engine above. //Shit, a helicopter?// He had to work fast. He ran through the now-open doorway. Calendar did serve as an effective distraction; the gunmen were all focused on her. They shot at her, and some of the shots hit true, but it didn't seem to bother her that much. Taking his shotgun, Jacob tried to slam it into one of the henchmen's necks to disable him, unleashing a hearty cry as he did so. However, he only clumsily hit the guard in the shoulder. The gunman turned around to face Jacob, his bandana'd face only revealing the rage in his eyes. However, the gunman was lifted two feet into the air by Calendar, who tossed him across the room at the last standing henchman. The gunman who had previously been bashed across the room had stood up, reacquired his rifle and was now firing. Jacob, who had become adept at ducking and covering at the sound of gunfire, rolled to hide behind several bags of loam soil. Calendar was now trying to suplex a forklift. //I've got to get the Dogman before he gets away,// Jacob thought. Suddenly, the roof was torn off of the building and a blue light bathed the room. Jacob and Calendar looked up. It wasn't a helicopter; a flying saucer now hovered above them, filling the air with a warbling noise. A beam of turquoise light came down from the saucer's center. The Dogman, who had been hiding in his office, was being pulled up into the saucer. "I knew it!" he yelled, cackling like a madman. "Aliens are real! The Earth is flat! Elvis Presley never existed!" Jacob found his jaw dropping. Calendar dropped the forklift out of confusion. "Now with my newfound allies, I can finally destroy the SCP Foundation!" the Dogman continued. He laughed as he vanished into the saucer, which proceeded to fly off into the night. Calendar ran into the office and found Isaac lying on a stone slab. He was still out cold; the incident had drained his energy. "Jacob!" Calendar yelled. "Your plan didn't work!" "Hold on," Jacob said. "I've got something for this." Jacob took some smelling salts and waved them under Isaac's nose. Isaac awoke with a yell and punched Jacob in the face. The punch sent him reeling. "Ow!" Jacob yelled. "Are you alright?" Calendar asked, kneeling down next to Isaac. "What did he do to you?" "I'm fine," Jacob said, oblivious to the fact that he wasn't the subject of the question. A glare from Calendar shut him up. "Nothing," Isaac said. "Dogman just knocked me out and used me to summon those aliens." "Those were aliens?" Jacob said. "What a world we live in." "I'm gonna be honest, guys," the last standing Flat Earther said, "I thought this was just a white supremacist thing. Sorry about shooting at you." After standing in awe of the wonder of the universe for a while, the wall was exploded by a breach charge. Several agents in body armor emblazoned with the Foundation insignia stormed in with their guns drawn. "Freeze!" one of them yelled. "Hands in the air!" Everybody involved put their hands in the air. One of the agents came forwards. Calendar recognized him as Agent Adams, just with a layer of body armor. "Looks like the BOLO hit on House's car paid off," he said. "All of you. Director House wants to see you." ---- Douglas was aware of the irony of describing the experience as "alien". Surrounded by technology you didn't recognize, tiny green men who spoke a language you didn't, and overall an atmosphere different from the Lowe's he'd been in five minutes prior. The aliens were fiddling with their universal translators. Finding English wasn't the hard, but deciphering Douglas' thick accent into something recognizable. "Finally, the translation device is working," one of the aliens said, breaking the awkward silence. "Thank God," Douglas said. "Now, you're gonna wanna hear about this." "No thank you," the alien said. "We are not interested in buying anything. Now, do you have directions to Omega Messier?" "Wait, you're askin' me for directions? Whadd' I look like, an astronomer?" "You had the beacon, that indicated that you would be able to provide directions." "This is why we should have stopped on Saturn instead!" one of the other aliens yelled. "Wait a second," Douglas said. "There's this organization on Earth, the SCP Foundation, that has, uh, 'mass detained', your..." "It's a religious nut," the alien said. "Dump him back on Earth." "Wait, wait, wa—" The tractor beam was quickly thrown into reverse. Within a few seconds, Douglas found himself in a field, without any allies and scammed by charlatans who advertised much more cooperative aliens. Before Douglas could ask himself how this day could get any worse, he'd realized he'd left his cell phone in the flying saucer, thinking that it was going to be a more permanent partnership. In frustration, Douglas kicked a rock across the field while screaming in anger. ---- This tale was written for [[[RomCon]]]. Agent Calendar belongs to [[user rounderhouse]] and Isaac belongs to [[user Iszth]]. [[*user rounderhouse]]'s tale is posted [[[agent-calendars-hot-date-2\|here]]]. [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a> \|author=notgull]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-06-16T19:36:00	[ "_licensebox", "agent-calendar", "romcon2023-unofficial", "tale" ]	Hyperfine - SCP Foundation	15	[ "scp-7666", "scp-7454", "agent-calendars-hot-date-1", "scp-4785", "scp-4476", "romcon", "agent-calendars-hot-date-2", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "bird", "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "romcon" ]	[]	1448497373	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/hyperfine
i-cant-see-the-sun	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=4&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/component%3Abhl-dark-sidebar/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=3&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Aextra-black-highlighter-theme/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <div class="authorlink-wrapper"><a href="javascript:;">Alzin Cdag, with one piece of art by tiredSn0w</a> <div class="authorbox"> <div class="authorcontent"> <p>I Can't See The Sun<br/> <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/alzin-cdag">More by this author</a></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="info-container"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <div> <p>Based on characters by <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/tiredsn0w" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(7483584); return false;"><img alt="tiredsn0w" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=7483584&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043944" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=7483584)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/tiredsn0w" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(7483584); return false;">tiredsn0w</a></span>, <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/gabriel-jade" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(414239); return false;"><img alt="Gabriel Jade" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=414239&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043944" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=414239)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/gabriel-jade" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(414239); return false;">Gabriel Jade</a></span>, <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/djkaktus" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(1888434); return false;"><img alt="djkaktus" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=1888434&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043944" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=1888434)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/djkaktus" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(1888434); return false;">djkaktus</a></span>, <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/dmatix" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(1366080); return false;"><img alt="Dmatix" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=1366080&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043944" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=1366080)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/dmatix" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(1366080); return false;">Dmatix</a></span>, <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/metaphysician" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(1698079); return false;"><img alt="Metaphysician" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=1698079&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043944" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=1698079)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/metaphysician" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(1698079); return false;">Metaphysician</a></span>, <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/montagueetc" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5525011); return false;"><img alt="MontagueETC" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=5525011&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043944" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=5525011)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/montagueetc" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5525011); return false;">MontagueETC</a></span>, <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/drchandra" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(1956625); return false;"><img alt="DrChandra" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=1956625&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043944" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=1956625)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/drchandra" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(1956625); return false;">DrChandra</a></span>, whoever came up with Percival Darke (<span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/randomini" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(1379080); return false;"><img alt="Randomini" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=1379080&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043944" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=1379080)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/randomini" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(1379080); return false;">Randomini</a></span>, perhaps?), <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/soullesssingularity" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(637830); return false;"><img alt="SoullessSingularity" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=637830&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043944" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=637830)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/soullesssingularity" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(637830); return false;">SoullessSingularity</a></span>, <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/pennywisetheclown" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(211184); return false;"><img alt="PennywiseTheClown" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=211184&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043944" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=211184)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/pennywisetheclown" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(211184); return false;">PennywiseTheClown</a></span>, <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/snuggly-face" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5599959); return false;"><img alt="snuggly face" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=5599959&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043944" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=5599959)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/snuggly-face" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5599959); return false;">snuggly face</a></span>, interpretations of the Masked Lords by <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/drgooday" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5301801); return false;"><img alt="DrGooday" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=5301801&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043944" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=5301801)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/drgooday" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5301801); return false;">DrGooday</a></span> in their work <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/poetic-records-of-the-alagaddan-lords">https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/poetic-records-of-the-alagaddan-lords</a>, and interpretations of Grabnok from <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/margssentif" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(3861605); return false;"><img alt="margssentif" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=3861605&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043944" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=3861605)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/margssentif" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(3861605); return false;">margssentif</a></span> in their work <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/hopping-through-worlds">https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/hopping-through-worlds</a>.</p> </div> <hr/> <div id="u-author_block"> <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/alzin-cdag-s-barber-shop-and-hair-salon">▸ More by this Author ◂</a></p> </div> <hr/> <div id="u-comments2" style="display: none;"> <p>{$comments2}</p> </div> <div class="u-faq"> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:info-ayers">F.A.Q.</a></p> </div> <div style="display: none;"> <p>{$doesthisfixthebug}</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="earthworm earthworm--old-syntax-first-true earthworm--old-syntax-last-false earthworm--old-syntax-hub-yes {$class}"> <div class="first earthworm__previous" data-title="TITLE OF PREVIOUS"> <p><a class="newpage" href="/url-of-previous">TITLE OF PREVIOUS</a></p> </div> <div class="hub earthworm__hub" data-title="All That Copper, Glowing Fine"> <p><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/altitudes-hub">All That Copper, Glowing Fine</a></p> </div> <div class="last earthworm__next" data-title="Part 2"> <p><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/can-you-feel-the-sun">Part 2</a></p> </div> </div> <hr/> <p>The rebellion on Kepler didn’t take many chances to relax. They kept their guard up lest a false move alert the government to a suspicion of nonconforming behavior. Yet, things had been looking up lately. Their lost experiment, their <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/spliced">martyred savior</a>, had <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/hayloft">returned</a> to them, and to boot had brought with him <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-049">a man</a> who knew more of the medical profession than any on even that advanced planet. And so, with the <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/dark-age-intro">government</a> temporarily at bay, some of them took a few weeks to rehearse a play.</p> <hr/> <h2 id="toc0"><span><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-6118">The Companion</a></span></h2> <p>“Are you sure you are up for this, my love?”</p> <p>“Of- of course. Why wouldn’t I be?” I replied. That nickname still didn't sound right coming from him, but after all that had passed between us, I could no longer reject it.</p> <p>He made me feel… What was the right phrase? Like I’d reached an oasis of land in the middle of the vast ocean of my sins. I didn’t want to cause him an iota of pain, but when I would inevitably have a breakdown, he was the one person I felt comfortable going to. In the moments we were together, he made me feel like my life was worth something, that my needs were worth as much as those of others.</p> <p>When we were apart, that feeling left, all my mechanisms telling me it was a lie. Without him, I was a blade of grass against the hurricane of my sins, of all I was raised to do and to be.</p> <p>“It’s going to be a big room, and a long time to sit still watching. I’ve been to plays before; you haven’t. It’s not like watching a film; there’s pressure on you in the audience to act like you’re paying attention too, because the actors can see you. If that sounds painful to you, we can leave right now.”</p> <p>“But you want to see the play, right?”</p> <p>“<em>Chéri</em>, your happiness is worth a thousand times more to me than what I enjoy-”</p> <p>“Excuse me,” interrupted the person at the ticket counter, “Can you two make up your mind? There’s a line behind you!” It slammed its fist down into the holo-projected keyboard, causing it to lose its game of minesweeper. It cursed.</p> <p>“S-Sorry-” I said, before the Doctor turned to face them.</p> <p>“We have nothing to apologize for,” he said. “Least of all to you. 5a82, imagine I’m not here.”</p> <p>“Then I’d go to wherever you are-”</p> <p>“Imagine I don’t factor into this whatsoever. In that circumstance, would you want to go to the play?”</p> <p>And at that point, I realized I didn’t know.</p> <p>I loved human media, but I had never seen a piece that could see you back. Something that required both silence and attention. To be honest, that sounded way too public to be something I would enjoy.</p> <p>And it reminded me too much of my Handler…</p> <p>“We’re all waiting,” said the ticket-taker. I looked around and saw the vast line behind me. If I didn’t see the play at this point, they might get mad…</p> <p>And I looked into the yellow eyes of my Doctor, and I realized that if he was with me, it would still be heaven.</p> <p>“Yes,” I lied.</p> <p>He lowered his mask beak and searched my eyes. I got the feeling he didn’t entirely believe me. He sighed. “All right. But we’ll talk about this later. You need to stand up for your own needs, sometimes.”<br/> We paid for the tickets, to the great relief of everyone behind us in the line, and moved into the theater.</p> <hr/> <h2 id="toc1"><span>The Doctor</span></h2> <p>I liked my Ibis-beaked mask, most of the time. For most of my six hundred years, it had been a symbol of the distinction between me and my fellow men, a mark of the one with the potential to Cure. These days, of course, I didn’t have so many distinctions. My mind was clearer, no longer obsessed with the quest to defeat the Pestilence. It left more room in my life for other feelings, some of which I welcomed and some I kept barely at bay.</p> <p>The problem with my mask, as I opined to my alien friend as we reached our seats, was that it prevented all possibility of my kissing him.</p> <p>He laughed. “Well, if that’s all you dislike about yourself, you’re lucky.”</p> <p>“Why?” I asked. “You have nothing to be ashamed of yourself.”</p> <p>“Sure I do,” he said. “I’m so scrawny compared to all the other Twos and…”</p> <p>“Compared to all the other Twos?” I said. “That’s no way to look at oneself. No matter how much you conform to a certain standard of beauty set by others, there will always be people who conform to it more than you do.” He bristled at the word “conform”, and I realized too late it was a sensitive spot in Keplerian culture. “I’m sorry, my love. But who is to say that they should not try to look more like you? You’re a survivor. You survived that crash landing. Would a larger Two have done so? Would a larger Two have had as much room to cushion him in the amniotic fluid sack? Beauty is all about surviving with grace, my friend, and you have survived so much more than anyone on this planet ever could.”</p> <p>He blushed.</p> <p>I thought with shame about my mask. In spite of my words, I had come to regard it as a hideous thing. Its beak kept my face always at a certain distance from my Keplerian friend. I had called a close acquaintance a few weeks back to consult him about the possibility of taking it off. He alone understood the risks and benefits of chitinous mask removal. When he arrived on planet, which should be fairly soon, he would help me make my decision.</p> <p>And as I thought about this, he pulled me into a close snuggle. “Even if you can’t kiss me,” he said, “I can still kiss you.”</p> <p>And so he did.</p> <hr/> <h2 id="toc2"><span>The Companion</span></h2> <p>The Doctor and I were too busy in our snuggling to pay close attention to the play at this point, which would have irked the actors to no end, had not they had more dire things to worry about.</p> <p>We whispered to each other through the first act exposition, giggling, oblivious to the queen’s confession of having helped murder her husband and dishonor him in the disposition of his corpse.</p> <p>We caressed each others’ faces as the shadowy figure appeared in the background after each and every murder.</p> <p>I figured I should start paying attention around act IV, and wondered what I had missed and why the evil king would be worried about how much tribute he could give to that weird ambassador person who followed him around. Who was playing that person, anyway? And where did the prop department get that knife he carried around?</p> <p>Then Act V started, and everything went to hell.</p> <p>There was no way the props department, for instance, was able to fake guts spilling out of a person to that degree of realism, and no reason they would want to.</p> <p><em>“With this, the tribute, in full it is paid.”</em></p> <p>Additionally, how would a trick knife even be capable of causing that much fake blood to spill out over a neck? Where was it hiding it all?</p> <p><em>”With this, fool’s blood, it is the Hanged King’s.”</em></p> <p>The Doctor sat bolt upright at this line. “We have to get out of here, now,” he hissed. He began to pick me up and carry me towards the exit…</p> <p><em>”With this, our blood, it is the <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-701">Hanged King’s.</a>”</em></p> <p>And the lights started to fall as the shadowy figure marched right for us.</p> <hr/> <h2 id="toc3"><span>The Doctor</span></h2> <p>I knew of the shadowy figure, though I had never seen them in person. I had tried to bury my memories of my time in the City of Dead Truths, and <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/jailbreak">my recent universe-switching</a> hadn’t done my recollections any favors, either. The past of this universe’s former SCP-049 and the past from the Cured universe mixed together in my brain, muddling an already neglected memory.</p> <p>The result was that even with all the references to Alagadda in the play, I had only acknowledged the place as I would any other real-world setting. Only the reference to the Hanged King had dredged up the proper fear to fully awaken my memories of that awful place.</p> <p>And so I picked up my friend and ran like a bat out of hell.</p> <p>The Ambassador, however, was the apex predator of all the bats in hell. And they were more effective at controlling them than white-nose syndrome.</p> <p>The lights flickered, and the rebels in the room writhed on the ground, leaving only the Ambassador and I upright. The lights flickered again, and they ceased writhing. The lights flickered one last time, and I was paralyzed, and the Ambassador stood over me. Silent. And holding a dark scroll.</p> <p>And then they spoke.</p> <p><em>“Four lords must rule. Yet now there are but three.”</em></p> <p>Their blank gaze stared without kind eyes to see.</p> <p><em>”<a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/that-s-not-love-isabel">Dỳo</a>, the Black Lord, left a will,”</em> They said, making me feel quite ill,</p> <p><em>”And wrote his lordship passed onwards to thee.”</em><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>They then read from the scroll. Apparently, the evil mask had said, in effect, "I hate being the Black Lord of Alagadda, so for whoever ends up killing me, I can think of no worse punishment."</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p><em>“You’ve made yourself a man quite hard to find,”</em></p> <p><em>”’Cross universe, our gaze you’ve sought to blind.”</em></p> <p>I said, “That is not what I sought”,</p> <p>but they would not suffer that thought,</p> <p><em>“To Alagadd you’ll henceforth be confined.”</em></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>They clarified, <em>"We can't have the new Black Lord start his reign as an absentee. There's too much work piled up from Dỳo's exile."</em></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>And when they spoke the very final vowel,</p> <p>The portal’s sound began its awful howl.</p> <p>I sought the arm of one I love,</p> <p>Who pulled against the portal’s shove,</p> <p>But men will fail against the gods that prowl.</p> <img alt="Portal1" class="image" src="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/i-cant-see-the-sun/Portal1"/> <hr/> <h2 id="toc4"><span>The Companion</span></h2> <p>And then the strange figure left, taking my universe with them.</p> <p>And then the theater-goers gradually got un-paralyzed, and started to tend to the dead and dying.</p> <p>And then people started evacuating the room, started to clear up the blood, and mopped the floors, except for the spot on which I lay.</p> <p>And people came, and they talked in front of me, their faces pointed at the space where I was, showing concern. They spoke softly, tenderly. They spoke harshly. Eventually, they left.</p> <p>Fitful sleep, fitful waking. The sun set and rose, rose and set, etc.</p> <p>Somewhere else, time passed. Twos were being born, Twos were dying. But time stood still for me, here.</p> <p>If I stopped taking my intravenous feeding mixture, maybe I’d stop feeling this way.</p> <p>A black-cloaked form approached me. I turned away. I didn’t want to be reminded of something I’d rather not think the name of.</p> <p>“Excuse me, are you Five Ay Ate Too, also known as Es See Pee Six Thousand One Hundred and Eighteen?”</p> <p>Go away go away go away….</p> <p>“It’s just that I’m a close relation of the Surgeon, and I hear you’re the last person to see him.”</p> <p>There’s lots of surgeons around here, get lost…</p> <p>“I suppose you wouldn’t know him as the Surgeon. Let’s see, his other aliases… Bartholomew Artz, Haselhurst, Es See Pee Oh Four Nine for some reason? … Why would he give himself a ridiculous numerical designation like that anyway?”</p> <p>He was about to continue, but wasn’t able to because I had begun to clutch at his robes and scream, "TRAITOR! SPY! TRAITOR IN OUR MIDST!"</p> <hr/> <p>It was about seven minutes later when the rebellion had dragged me off of the man when I finally got a good look at him.</p> <p>He was dressed in the same black chitinous robes as was the Doctor, but was rather shorter in build. Under his hood, his visage was skeletal in nature, though softened by accumulated layers of porcelain-white chitin. There were marks around the edges of the face and beneath the eyes, however, showing the telltale breaking points of a grown-on mask sliced off by some cunning surgical tool. His eyes behind an archaic pair of bifocals were cerulean, further differentiating him from the man I knew. He carried himself, not in the alternate obsessive and languid states I had seen in the Doctor, but with purposeful, carefully-judged steps, with just the right amount of carelessness to suggest some measure of trust in the world.</p> <p>“Believe it or not, that’s not the worst welcoming committee I’ve seen,” said the man, when he was sure that I would no longer attack him, because the rebels had locked me in a cell.</p> <p>“You step in here, and I’ll show you a welcome,” I said, baring my gigantic teeth.</p> <p>“I’m sorry about him,” said 7CB7. “He’s never lashed out like that before. It’s completely contrary to everything he has yet done, ever.” It turned to me. “5a82, buddy, are you all right? Are you cool?”</p> <p>“Not yet,” I said. “This man has the nerve to walk up to me in my state of grief and call himself a brother to the Doctor? And then make fun of the entire concept of numerical designations? You’re trying to replace him, and I won’t have that!”</p> <p>I turned to 7CB7. “Don’t you think it’s too much of a coincidence that the very next alien that arrives on Planet’s sacred shores happens to be a relative of the last one, who just vanished? He’s obviously a government spy, trying to worm his way into our affections! Lock him up as well!”</p> <p>“You know, that is a bit far-fetched,” said 7CB7, turning to the stranger and cocking a firearm. “What have you to say to that?”</p> <p>In answer, the stranger slowly, methodically, under the close observation of 7CB7, took out a letter from his own black bag, and handed it to 7CB7.</p> <p>7CB7 looked at the letter. “I can’t make heads or tails of this,” it said. “It looks like chicken scratch to me.”</p> <p>“But it is chicken scratch in the Surgeon’s handwriting,” said the stranger. “Hand it over to 5a82 there, it’ll be able to confirm it. It’s his letter inviting me to the planet, about possibly removing his mask.”</p> <p>I checked out the letter. Unmistakably, it was the Doctor’s handwriting. I even saw the imperfection corresponding to the splayed end of the fountain pen he used.</p> <p>“Stolen in transit?” I offered.</p> <p>“How would the government be able to read Old Alagaddan?” countered the stranger. “I stated why the Surgeon wanted to bring me in. Surely his concerns about his mask are information he would not give to just anyone. Surely the government couldn’t have gotten wind of that.”</p> <p>As far as I had known, I was his only confidant on that point. I slumped to the floor, defeated.</p> <p>“Listen,” said 7CB7, “I’m glad to see you up and running, and very surprised to see you somewhat proactive rather than just going with what an authority figure is doing, but an outburst like that is not the way to do anything.” It unlocked the cell door.</p> <p>I cowered in anticipation of retribution at the hands of the stranger.</p> <p>The only ways I knew to solve a problem were by violence, as I had seen my elders and even the Doctor do, or by sacrificing myself. If I could not rectify this person’s presence by the former, surely the latter was the only option left to me.</p> <p>He offered his gloved hand. “No hard feelings, 5a82,” he said. “If my experience with the Surgeon has taught me anything, it’s that good people can do all sorts of terrible things if they think it’s in the service of the greater good.”</p> <p>I hesitated, then shook his hand.</p> <p>“Pleased to meet you, 5a82,” he said. “I’m the <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/painless">Anesthesiologist.</a>”</p> <div class="earthworm earthworm--old-syntax-first-true earthworm--old-syntax-last-false earthworm--old-syntax-hub-yes {$class}"> <div class="first earthworm__previous" data-title="TITLE OF PREVIOUS"> <p><a class="newpage" href="/url-of-previous">TITLE OF PREVIOUS</a></p> </div> <div class="hub earthworm__hub" data-title="All That Copper, Glowing Fine"> <p><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/altitudes-hub">All That Copper, Glowing Fine</a></p> </div> <div class="last earthworm__next" data-title="Part 2"> <p><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/can-you-feel-the-sun">Part 2</a></p> </div> </div> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/i-cant-see-the-sun">I Can't See The Sun</a>" by Alzin Cdag, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/i-cant-see-the-sun">https://scpwiki.com/i-cant-see-the-sun</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> Portal1<br/> <strong>Name:</strong> 049and6118Portal1<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> Alzin Cdag<br/> <strong>License:</strong> [<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC by SA 3.0</a>]<br/> <strong>Source Link:</strong> <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/i-cant-see-the-sun/Portal1">http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/i-cant-see-the-sun/Portal1</a></p> </blockquote> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:black-highlighter-theme">:scp-wiki:theme:black-highlighter-theme</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:extra-black-highlighter-theme">:scp-wiki:theme:extra-black-highlighter-theme</a>]] [[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:author-label-source">:scp-wiki:component:author-label-source</a> start=-- \|name=Alzin Cdag, with one piece of art by tiredSn0w]] I Can't See The Sun [[[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/alzin-cdag\|More by this author]]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:author-label-source">:scp-wiki:component:author-label-source</a> end=--]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:info-ayers">:scp-wiki:component:info-ayers</a> \|lang=en \|page=bluebeneathxanthousfortiredsnow3 \|authorPage=https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/alzin-cdag-s-barber-shop-and-hair-salon \|comments= Based on characters by [[user tiredSn0w]], [[user Gabriel Jade]], [[user djkaktus]], [[user Dmatix]], [[user Metaphysician]], [[user MontagueETC]], [[user DrChandra]], whoever came up with Percival Darke ([[user Randomini]], perhaps?), [[user SoullessSingularity]], [[user PennywiseTheClown]], [[user snuggly face]], interpretations of the Masked Lords by [[user DrGooday]] in their work https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/poetic-records-of-the-alagaddan-lords, and interpretations of Grabnok from [[user margssentif]] in their work https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/hopping-through-worlds. ]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:earthworm">:scp-wiki:component:earthworm</a> \| first=true \| last=false \| hub=yes \| previous-url=URL_OF_PREVIOUS \| previous-title=TITLE OF PREVIOUS \| next-url=https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/can-you-feel-the-sun \| next-title=Part 2 \| hub-url=https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/altitudes-hub \| hub-title=All That Copper, Glowing Fine ]] ----- The rebellion on Kepler didn’t take many chances to relax. They kept their guard up lest a false move alert the government to a suspicion of nonconforming behavior. Yet, things had been looking up lately. Their lost experiment, their [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/spliced martyred savior], had [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/hayloft returned] to them, and to boot had brought with him [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-049 a man] who knew more of the medical profession than any on even that advanced planet. And so, with the [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/dark-age-intro government] temporarily at bay, some of them took a few weeks to rehearse a play. ------ ++ [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-6118 The Companion] “Are you sure you are up for this, my love?” “Of- of course. Why wouldn’t I be?” I replied. That nickname still didn't sound right coming from him, but after all that had passed between us, I could no longer reject it. He made me feel… What was the right phrase? Like I’d reached an oasis of land in the middle of the vast ocean of my sins. I didn’t want to cause him an iota of pain, but when I would inevitably have a breakdown, he was the one person I felt comfortable going to. In the moments we were together, he made me feel like my life was worth something, that my needs were worth as much as those of others. When we were apart, that feeling left, all my mechanisms telling me it was a lie. Without him, I was a blade of grass against the hurricane of my sins, of all I was raised to do and to be. “It’s going to be a big room, and a long time to sit still watching. I’ve been to plays before; you haven’t. It’s not like watching a film; there’s pressure on you in the audience to act like you’re paying attention too, because the actors can see you. If that sounds painful to you, we can leave right now.” “But you want to see the play, right?” “//Chéri//, your happiness is worth a thousand times more to me than what I enjoy-” “Excuse me,” interrupted the person at the ticket counter, “Can you two make up your mind? There’s a line behind you!” It slammed its fist down into the holo-projected keyboard, causing it to lose its game of minesweeper. It cursed. “S-Sorry-” I said, before the Doctor turned to face them. “We have nothing to apologize for,” he said. “Least of all to you. 5a82, imagine I’m not here.” “Then I’d go to wherever you are-” “Imagine I don’t factor into this whatsoever. In that circumstance, would you want to go to the play?” And at that point, I realized I didn’t know. I loved human media, but I had never seen a piece that could see you back. Something that required both silence and attention. To be honest, that sounded way too public to be something I would enjoy. And it reminded me too much of my Handler… “We’re all waiting,” said the ticket-taker. I looked around and saw the vast line behind me. If I didn’t see the play at this point, they might get mad… And I looked into the yellow eyes of my Doctor, and I realized that if he was with me, it would still be heaven. “Yes,” I lied. He lowered his mask beak and searched my eyes. I got the feeling he didn’t entirely believe me. He sighed. “All right. But we’ll talk about this later. You need to stand up for your own needs, sometimes.” We paid for the tickets, to the great relief of everyone behind us in the line, and moved into the theater. ------ ++ The Doctor I liked my Ibis-beaked mask, most of the time. For most of my six hundred years, it had been a symbol of the distinction between me and my fellow men, a mark of the one with the potential to Cure. These days, of course, I didn’t have so many distinctions. My mind was clearer, no longer obsessed with the quest to defeat the Pestilence. It left more room in my life for other feelings, some of which I welcomed and some I kept barely at bay. The problem with my mask, as I opined to my alien friend as we reached our seats, was that it prevented all possibility of my kissing him. He laughed. “Well, if that’s all you dislike about yourself, you’re lucky.” “Why?” I asked. “You have nothing to be ashamed of yourself.” “Sure I do,” he said. “I’m so scrawny compared to all the other Twos and…” “Compared to all the other Twos?” I said. “That’s no way to look at oneself. No matter how much you conform to a certain standard of beauty set by others, there will always be people who conform to it more than you do.” He bristled at the word “conform”, and I realized too late it was a sensitive spot in Keplerian culture. “I’m sorry, my love. But who is to say that they should not try to look more like you? You’re a survivor. You survived that crash landing. Would a larger Two have done so? Would a larger Two have had as much room to cushion him in the amniotic fluid sack? Beauty is all about surviving with grace, my friend, and you have survived so much more than anyone on this planet ever could.” He blushed. I thought with shame about my mask. In spite of my words, I had come to regard it as a hideous thing. Its beak kept my face always at a certain distance from my Keplerian friend. I had called a close acquaintance a few weeks back to consult him about the possibility of taking it off. He alone understood the risks and benefits of chitinous mask removal. When he arrived on planet, which should be fairly soon, he would help me make my decision. And as I thought about this, he pulled me into a close snuggle. “Even if you can’t kiss me,” he said, “I can still kiss you.” And so he did. ------ ++ The Companion The Doctor and I were too busy in our snuggling to pay close attention to the play at this point, which would have irked the actors to no end, had not they had more dire things to worry about. We whispered to each other through the first act exposition, giggling, oblivious to the queen’s confession of having helped murder her husband and dishonor him in the disposition of his corpse. We caressed each others’ faces as the shadowy figure appeared in the background after each and every murder. I figured I should start paying attention around act IV, and wondered what I had missed and why the evil king would be worried about how much tribute he could give to that weird ambassador person who followed him around. Who was playing that person, anyway? And where did the prop department get that knife he carried around? Then Act V started, and everything went to hell. There was no way the props department, for instance, was able to fake guts spilling out of a person to that degree of realism, and no reason they would want to. //“With this, the tribute, in full it is paid.”// Additionally, how would a trick knife even be capable of causing that much fake blood to spill out over a neck? Where was it hiding it all? //”With this, fool’s blood, it is the Hanged King’s.”// The Doctor sat bolt upright at this line. “We have to get out of here, now,” he hissed. He began to pick me up and carry me towards the exit… //”With this, our blood, it is the [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-701 Hanged King’s.]”// And the lights started to fall as the shadowy figure marched right for us. ------ ++ The Doctor I knew of the shadowy figure, though I had never seen them in person. I had tried to bury my memories of my time in the City of Dead Truths, and [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/jailbreak my recent universe-switching] hadn’t done my recollections any favors, either. The past of this universe’s former SCP-049 and the past from the Cured universe mixed together in my brain, muddling an already neglected memory. The result was that even with all the references to Alagadda in the play, I had only acknowledged the place as I would any other real-world setting. Only the reference to the Hanged King had dredged up the proper fear to fully awaken my memories of that awful place. And so I picked up my friend and ran like a bat out of hell. The Ambassador, however, was the apex predator of all the bats in hell. And they were more effective at controlling them than white-nose syndrome. The lights flickered, and the rebels in the room writhed on the ground, leaving only the Ambassador and I upright. The lights flickered again, and they ceased writhing. The lights flickered one last time, and I was paralyzed, and the Ambassador stood over me. Silent. And holding a dark scroll. And then they spoke. //“Four lords must rule. Yet now there are but three.”// Their blank gaze stared without kind eyes to see. //”[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/that-s-not-love-isabel Dỳo], the Black Lord, left a will,”// They said, making me feel quite ill, //”And wrote his lordship passed onwards to thee.”// @@ @@ They then read from the scroll. Apparently, the evil mask had said, in effect, "I hate being the Black Lord of Alagadda, so for whoever ends up killing me, I can think of no worse punishment." @@ @@ //“You’ve made yourself a man quite hard to find,”// //”’Cross universe, our gaze you’ve sought to blind.”// I said, “That is not what I sought”, but they would not suffer that thought, //“To Alagadd you’ll henceforth be confined.”// @@ @@ They clarified, //"We can't have the new Black Lord start his reign as an absentee. There's too much work piled up from Dỳo's exile."// @@ @@ And when they spoke the very final vowel, The portal’s sound began its awful howl. I sought the arm of one I love, Who pulled against the portal’s shove, But men will fail against the gods that prowl. [[image http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/i-cant-see-the-sun/Portal1]] ------ ++ The Companion And then the strange figure left, taking my universe with them. And then the theater-goers gradually got un-paralyzed, and started to tend to the dead and dying. And then people started evacuating the room, started to clear up the blood, and mopped the floors, except for the spot on which I lay. And people came, and they talked in front of me, their faces pointed at the space where I was, showing concern. They spoke softly, tenderly. They spoke harshly. Eventually, they left. Fitful sleep, fitful waking. The sun set and rose, rose and set, etc. Somewhere else, time passed. Twos were being born, Twos were dying. But time stood still for me, here. If I stopped taking my intravenous feeding mixture, maybe I’d stop feeling this way. A black-cloaked form approached me. I turned away. I didn’t want to be reminded of something I’d rather not think the name of. “Excuse me, are you Five Ay Ate Too, also known as Es See Pee Six Thousand One Hundred and Eighteen?” Go away go away go away…. “It’s just that I’m a close relation of the Surgeon, and I hear you’re the last person to see him.” There’s lots of surgeons around here, get lost… “I suppose you wouldn’t know him as the Surgeon. Let’s see, his other aliases… Bartholomew Artz, Haselhurst, Es See Pee Oh Four Nine for some reason? … Why would he give himself a ridiculous numerical designation like that anyway?” He was about to continue, but wasn’t able to because I had begun to clutch at his robes and scream, "TRAITOR! SPY! TRAITOR IN OUR MIDST!" ------ It was about seven minutes later when the rebellion had dragged me off of the man when I finally got a good look at him. He was dressed in the same black chitinous robes as was the Doctor, but was rather shorter in build. Under his hood, his visage was skeletal in nature, though softened by accumulated layers of porcelain-white chitin. There were marks around the edges of the face and beneath the eyes, however, showing the telltale breaking points of a grown-on mask sliced off by some cunning surgical tool. His eyes behind an archaic pair of bifocals were cerulean, further differentiating him from the man I knew. He carried himself, not in the alternate obsessive and languid states I had seen in the Doctor, but with purposeful, carefully-judged steps, with just the right amount of carelessness to suggest some measure of trust in the world. “Believe it or not, that’s not the worst welcoming committee I’ve seen,” said the man, when he was sure that I would no longer attack him, because the rebels had locked me in a cell. “You step in here, and I’ll show you a welcome,” I said, baring my gigantic teeth. “I’m sorry about him,” said 7CB7. “He’s never lashed out like that before. It’s completely contrary to everything he has yet done, ever.” It turned to me. “5a82, buddy, are you all right? Are you cool?” “Not yet,” I said. “This man has the nerve to walk up to me in my state of grief and call himself a brother to the Doctor? And then make fun of the entire concept of numerical designations? You’re trying to replace him, and I won’t have that!” I turned to 7CB7. “Don’t you think it’s too much of a coincidence that the very next alien that arrives on Planet’s sacred shores happens to be a relative of the last one, who just vanished? He’s obviously a government spy, trying to worm his way into our affections! Lock him up as well!” “You know, that is a bit far-fetched,” said 7CB7, turning to the stranger and cocking a firearm. “What have you to say to that?” In answer, the stranger slowly, methodically, under the close observation of 7CB7, took out a letter from his own black bag, and handed it to 7CB7. 7CB7 looked at the letter. “I can’t make heads or tails of this,” it said. “It looks like chicken scratch to me.” “But it is chicken scratch in the Surgeon’s handwriting,” said the stranger. “Hand it over to 5a82 there, it’ll be able to confirm it. It’s his letter inviting me to the planet, about possibly removing his mask.” I checked out the letter. Unmistakably, it was the Doctor’s handwriting. I even saw the imperfection corresponding to the splayed end of the fountain pen he used. “Stolen in transit?” I offered. “How would the government be able to read Old Alagaddan?” countered the stranger. “I stated why the Surgeon wanted to bring me in. Surely his concerns about his mask are information he would not give to just anyone. Surely the government couldn’t have gotten wind of that.” As far as I had known, I was his only confidant on that point. I slumped to the floor, defeated. “Listen,” said 7CB7, “I’m glad to see you up and running, and very surprised to see you somewhat proactive rather than just going with what an authority figure is doing, but an outburst like that is not the way to do anything.” It unlocked the cell door. I cowered in anticipation of retribution at the hands of the stranger. The only ways I knew to solve a problem were by violence, as I had seen my elders and even the Doctor do, or by sacrificing myself. If I could not rectify this person’s presence by the former, surely the latter was the only option left to me. He offered his gloved hand. “No hard feelings, 5a82,” he said. “If my experience with the Surgeon has taught me anything, it’s that good people can do all sorts of terrible things if they think it’s in the service of the greater good.” I hesitated, then shook his hand. “Pleased to meet you, 5a82,” he said. “I’m the [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/painless Anesthesiologist.]” [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:earthworm">:scp-wiki:component:earthworm</a> \| first=true \| last=false \| hub=yes \| previous-url=URL_OF_PREVIOUS \| previous-title=TITLE OF PREVIOUS \| next-url=https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/can-you-feel-the-sun \| next-title=Part 2 \| hub-url=https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/altitudes-hub \| hub-title=All That Copper, Glowing Fine ]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] ===== > Filename:* Portal1 > Name: 049and6118Portal1 > Author: Alzin Cdag > License: [[https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ CC by SA 3.0]] > Source Link: http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/i-cant-see-the-sun/Portal1 ===== [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-01-15T19:33:00	[ "_licensebox", "art-exchange", "bittersweet", "blue-blooded-alien", "first-person", "illustrated", "otherworldly", "plague-doctor", "romance", "tale" ]	I Can't See The Sun - SCP Foundation	12	[ "alzin-cdag", "poetic-records-of-the-alagaddan-lords", "hopping-through-worlds", "alzin-cdag-s-barber-shop-and-hair-salon", "component:info-ayers", "url-of-previous", "altitudes-hub", "can-you-feel-the-sun", "spliced", "hayloft", "scp-049", "dark-age-intro", "scp-6118", "scp-701", "jailbreak", "that-s-not-love-isabel", "painless", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide", "local--files/i-cant-see-the-sun/Portal1" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "altitudes-hub" ]	[ "http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/i-cant-see-the-sun/Portal1" ]	1445503682	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/i-cant-see-the-sun
i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><strong><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-hub">Series Hub</a></strong></p> <p><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-2-spirituality-club">Next Entry ▶</a></p> <p><sub><a href="/xhawk77x">More by this Author</a></sub></p> </div> <p><strong>Six Years Ago</strong></p> <p>“Hey, Jerry, can I talk to you for a minute?” Evan asked from the other side of my bedroom door.</p> <p>“Sure,” I said. He came into my room. He was wearing a long-sleeved, tie dye t-shirt and worn jeans. Around his neck, he wore a bright red stone. I didn’t remember which kind of crystal it was, but I knew he wore this one a lot.</p> <p>“You know that one author you like?” he asked.</p> <p>“Aster Sterling?”</p> <p>“Yeah, him. You have a bunch of his books, right?”</p> <p>“Yeah.” I pointed at the short, dark brown bookshelf on the other side of my room. On top of it, between two colorful bookends, were the first four books of Aster Sterling’s <em>Starlight Saga</em>. They told the story of a kid who was taken into space after encountering a crashed alien ship. The aliens taught him magic and brought him on adventures throughout the galaxy.</p> <p>Evan walked over to the bookshelf and picked up the first book in the series. He opened it to examine the inside front cover. A second later, he flipped to the inside back cover. For some reason, what he saw there made him gasp.</p> <p>“Is something wrong?” I asked.</p> <p>“No.” He put the book back. “Everything’s fine.” He flashed me a reassuring smile. “This guy seems pretty cool.”</p> <p>“He is! He’s super into crystals and spirituality stuff, just like you. There’s a lot of that kind of thing in his books. You’d probably like them. You can borrow them if you want.”</p> <p>He glanced back at them. “Yeah, I think I will.”</p> <p>“Make sure and tell me what you think of them once you’re done.”</p> <p>“Sure thing.”</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Present Day</strong></p> <div class="blockquote"> <p><span style="font-size:150%;">Tragedy at the Galaxy Plaza Leaves Dozens Dead</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:smaller;">February 4th, 2017</span></p> <p>Tragedy struck yesterday at the Galaxy Plaza, when a sinkhole opened near the Likely Story bookstore during an event celebrating the release of <em>Glorious Dawn</em>, by Aster Sterling, the fifth and final entry in his popular <em>Starlight Saga</em>. The collapse resulted in at least thirty-five deaths and over a hundred injuries, making it the deadliest sinkhole collapse in recorded history. The number of confirmed deaths is expected to climb as rescue workers dig through the rubble in search of buried survivors and remains. Sterling was present at the event and is among those currently unaccounted for.</p> </div> <p>I sit in front of a computer screen in the local library, quietly reading the text to my boyfriend, Theo, who’s standing behind my chair.</p> <p>“So that’s the official story?” Theo asks.</p> <p>“Yes. The victim tally would eventually rise to forty-two.”</p> <p>“Including your brother, Evan?”</p> <p>“Yes. Sterling as well. He’s the main reason why people still remember the Galaxy Plaza Disaster.”</p> <p>Theo rests a hand on my shoulder.</p> <p>“Thank you for coming here,” I add, “and for believing me.”</p> <p>“No problem,” he says with a warm smile.</p> <p>“I’ve read everything I could on the disaster, and Sterling’s death. If you’re going to look into this with me, the first thing we need to do is get you up to speed on what I already know.”</p> <p>That’s exactly what we do for the next few hours. I direct him to a few important articles about the disaster. Most of them are news reports, but there’s also a peer-reviewed, technical analysis of the collapse and whether it could have been prevented, as well as some information on Aster Sterling’s life. Even Theo seems more interested in Aster Sterling than the other victims. I guess international best-selling authors are just more interesting than average high-school kids like Evan.</p> <p>“We’ve been looking for a while,” Theo says, after a few hours. “I think it’s time for a break.”</p> <p>“Okay. If you want.” My gaze does not leave the screen in front of me. “I’ll look into that geological survey while you’re gone.” I happened to notice said survey while searching for one of the articles I wanted to show Theo. I don’t think I’ve read it before, so it could contain new information.</p> <p>“I think it would be a good idea for <em>us</em> to take a break.”</p> <p>“I’m fine.”</p> <p>“C’mon. You haven’t eaten since 9:00 this morning.”</p> <p>I peek at the clock at the corner of the computer screen, intending to say something like, ‘it’s only 1:00 PM,’ but when I do, I see that it’s almost 4:00. “Alright,” I sigh. “You may have a point.”</p> <p>The library has a quaint little deli attached to it, full of red chairs and white tables. It’s lined with large windows that distort the rainy parking lot outside. The place is manned by a single cashier behind a black counter. It serves wrapped sandwiches, canned soda, and chips in small bags. It’s large enough to sit a few dozen people, but right now, it’s nearly empty. Besides the cashier, the only people here are a trio of old ladies, and a mother with two young children. We sit far in the corner of the room, where we’re least likely to be overheard, and we speak quietly.</p> <p>“So let me go over what we’ve found so far,” Theo says, after swallowing a bite of his sandwich. “The disaster killed forty-two people, including both Aster Sterling and your brother, whose bodies they found while searching the rubble. Like many other victims, both of them were crushed thoroughly enough that they had to be identified through DNA and dental records.”</p> <p>“That’s the official story.”</p> <p>“And you think those tests were fake, and some of the victims might still be alive?”</p> <p>“I don’t know about Sterling and the rest, but I know my brother didn’t die in that Plaza.”</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Six Years Ago</strong></p> <p>“How are you liking the <em>Starlight Saga</em>?” I asked Evan. His room was sky blue and contained a large shelf full of thick books. A dozen colorful posters hung on its walls, and crystals rested on every surface that could hold them.</p> <p>Evan’s hands held the answer to my question. “Wait, you’re already on the second book?”</p> <p>“Yeah.”</p> <p>“That’s awesome! You’re really liking them, then?”</p> <p>“I am.” He put the book down on the bed next to him. “What do you need?”</p> <p>“I was just going to ask if you’d heard about the release party for the fifth book, the one that’s going to be held at the Likely Story.”</p> <p>He sighed. “Yeah, I know about it.”</p> <p>“I heard Aster Sterling is going to be there. If you like the books, you should come too.”</p> <p>“Actually. I’m glad you brought it up. I was going to talk to you about it.”</p> <p>“You already want to go, then?”</p> <p>He shook his head. “You shouldn’t go there, Jerry. I think something bad is going to happen.”</p> <p>“What do you mean? What’s going to happen?” I liked those books a lot, and I really wanted to go to that release party. It might be the only chance I’d ever have to meet Aster Sterling.</p> <p>“I don’t know exactly what it’s going to be.”</p> <p>“Then you can’t expect me to miss the party over it. If you don’t want to go, fine, but—”</p> <p>“Do you trust me?”</p> <p>“What?”</p> <p>“Do you trust me?”</p> <p>I had to think about that. My whole life, Evan had never been mean to me. He was too old for us to be rivals, but he’d never used that advantage to pick on me. He’d only ever helped and protected me. He’d certainly never lie to keep me from going to an event I’d want to attend. “I… I guess?” I stammered.</p> <p>“Then, please, trust me when I say you shouldn’t go. It’s going to be dangerous. I don’t know exactly what’s going to happen, but it’s going to be bad.”</p> <p>“How do you know?” He wouldn’t have lied about something like this, but I hoped maybe he could be wrong.</p> <p>“It might be better if I didn’t say.”</p> <p>“No. The release of <em>Glorious Dawn</em> is a once in a lifetime event. I’m not gonna miss it unless you can explain how you know something bad is going to happen.”</p> <p>He took a deep breath. “It’s Callum.”</p> <p>“Callum Michaels?” Callum was the son Richard Michaels, the richest man in town. He was also one of Evan’s classmates at Cypress High. He and Evan used to be friends, but they’d fallen out a few months ago.</p> <p>“Callum is going to do something to hurt everyone at the party. I don’t know what, but I know it’s going to be bad.”</p> <p>“How do you know that?”</p> <p>“Because he told me.”</p> <p>That was another thing Evan wouldn’t lie about. He didn’t like Callum anymore, but he wouldn’t accuse someone of something like this for no reason. “Maybe Callum was just saying things to freak you out?”</p> <p>“No. He was serious.”</p> <p>“Well, if you’re so sure something bad is going to happen, you should tell the police.” I meant this as an argument against what he was saying. I was trying to imply that he must be less sure than he was letting on.</p> <p>“I have.”</p> <p>That froze me. “What?”</p> <p>“I have contacted the police. I don’t think they’ll do anything, but I did try.”</p> <p>“Oh. Wow.”</p> <p>“I don’t know exactly what, but Callum’s going to try to hurt everyone at that party. I don’t want one of those people to be you.”</p> <p>This had to be true. He wouldn’t make all of this up, and he wasn’t the kind of person who would freak out over nothing or baselessly accuse Callum of planning something terrible. “There’s no way I could go?”</p> <p>“Not safely.”</p> <p>“Not even if the police arrest Callum or something? I mean, if you told them he was planning something—”</p> <p>“I don’t think that’s going to happen.”</p> <p>I’d been looking forward to this party. I didn’t want to miss it. However, I also didn’t want to disappoint my big brother. “Okay. I trust you. I won’t go.”</p> <p>“Thank you.”</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Present Day</strong></p> <p>Theo and I parallel park in one of the meter-hosting spots near the Galaxy Plaza. There isn’t much free parking this close to the center of town. We get out, Theo loads the meter, and we approach the site of the disaster.</p> <p>The Galaxy Plaza was larger than the sinkhole, and half of it looks the same as before the disaster. The plaza’s blue-gray bricks are surrounded by about a dozen shops, including Runes and Relics and the Likely Story bookstore.</p> <p>The Galaxy Plaza was off-limits for a long time after the sinkhole opened. The damage was extensive. The sinkhole spanned from the fountain at the center of the plaza to the front of the Likely Story. It took over a year for them to transform the sinkhole into what it is now.</p> <p>Theo and I approach the pit. In contrast to the bricks above, its gently sloping sides are covered in bright grass and colorful flowers. There’s a rail around the top of it, but two gaps in that rail open the way to concrete stairs, which lead down to a circle of path at the pit’s bottom.</p> <p>It’s pretty. Despite the meaning this place has for me, I can’t deny that it’s pretty.</p> <p>We descend. The wind carries the flowers’ sweet scent, along with the gentle chirps of birds and insects. Inside the ring of footpath, there’s a tall rectangular slab. Engraved on it in large print are the words “In Memory Of,” followed by a list of forty-two names, including Evan Sanders and Aster Sterling.</p> <p>“What exactly are we looking for?” Theo asks as I stare at my brother’s name.</p> <p>“I don’t know,” I admit. “Something revelatory regarding the disaster.” I force my gaze off the monument and scan the walls of the pit. They look natural, like the walls of an ancient crater. If there’s anything wrong with them, it’s that they’re too perfect. Their slope is too gentle, and the whole pit is too perfectly round. You would expect a sinkhole’s walls to be steep, and its shape to be lumpy and irregular. “I’ve done a lot of research on sinkholes. They don’t just come out of nowhere. They form because land rests on top of a hollow space—either a cave, or some human construct like a mine.”</p> <p>“Didn’t there use to be a mine around here?”</p> <p>“No. I’ve read everything I could about this, and prior to the disaster, there are no references to a mine this far into town. The closest one was ten miles north of here.”</p> <p>“That can’t be right. I know I’ve heard that the disaster was caused by a mine.”</p> <p>“You probably have. After the disaster happened, people started talking their heads off about how this Plaza was built over an old mine. There was an opinion piece in the New York Times about how irresponsible that had been. No one seemed to know about that mine before the disaster, though. I’ve searched and searched, and I’ve never found a reference to it from before the incident, except in digital material that could’ve been edited later. I don’t think there was ever a mine here. I think someone made that up to explain away what really happened.”</p> <p>“What really happened?”</p> <p>“I don’t know.”</p> <p>“And you think we’re up against an organization that could get something written in the New York Times?”</p> <p>“I told you they were powerful.”</p> <p>“You’re right. You did. I’m just… are you sure you aren’t in over your head?”</p> <p>“Of course I’m in over my head. I’m not going to let that stop me.”</p> <p>“Are you sure? I don’t want something to happen to you.”</p> <p>“That’s sweet, but yes, I’m sure.”</p> <p>We examine the pit thoroughly. I photograph every inch of the pit, but we don’t find anything new.</p> <p>When we’re done, we peruse the buildings surrounding the Plaza. The Likely Story is still open. Part of it fell into the sinkhole when it formed, but that section has been replaced.</p> <p>The memorial outside is dedicated equally to all the disaster’s victims, but the plaque on the new wall doesn’t pretend to be for anyone but Aster Sterling. Copies of his books, including the entire <em>Starlight Saga</em>, are for sale on the shelves nearby. “Think we should buy them?” Theo asks. “For research, I mean.”</p> <p>“I have copies at home. I know those books by heart. I don’t think there are any clues inside. You’re welcome to read through my copies, though.”</p> <p>Theo buys a biography of Aster Sterling as we leave the store.</p> <p>“That was disappointing,” I say, when we’re done. “I was hoping we’d fine something new.”</p> <p>“We crossed something off our list. We had to check the site of the disaster. Now that we’ve done that, we can move on to other things.”</p> <p>“I guess that’s one way of looking at it.”</p> <p>“Besides,” Theo holds up the biography, “maybe there’ll be a clue in here.”</p> <p>“Maybe.” I doubt it, though. I think Sterling was just another victim of whatever Callum did.</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Six Years Ago</strong></p> <p>“Where are you going?” I asked Evan, a tinge of accusation on my voice. I’d been lying on the couch in the living room when I saw him walking toward the front door.</p> <p>“Out,” he said.</p> <p>“Where? You told me you think Callum is going to do something horrible and dangerous tonight. You should stay home.”</p> <p>“I know where he’s going to strike.”</p> <p>“Then stay here.” I rose from the couch. “If I don’t get to go to the release party, you shouldn’t either.”</p> <p>“Who said that’s where I’m going?”</p> <p>“Is it?”</p> <p>He didn’t respond to that.</p> <p>“I should get to go too, then,” I said.</p> <p>“No. It’s too dangerous.”</p> <p>“Then you should stay home!”</p> <p>“I have to try to stop Callum.”</p> <p>“You already called the police. What the heck can you do about Callum that they can’t?”</p> <p>Evan sighed. “Look, the last time we talked about this, you said you trusted me. Is that still true?”</p> <p>“Yes. That’s why I’m worried.”</p> <p>“You don’t need to worry about me.”</p> <p>“I’ll tell mom and dad that you’re going to the release party without me. They know how much I like Sterling’s books. They’ll make you take me.”</p> <p>“You won’t do that.”</p> <p>He was right. I’d never tell on him. I respected him too much. That respect also meant that, even though I didn’t like the fact that he’d be in danger, I assumed he knew what he was doing. “You swear you’ll get back?” I asked.</p> <p>“Yes. I swear I’ll get back home.”</p> <p>“Okay,” I said, after a moment. “See you later, then.”</p> <p>“See you later.” Evan left.</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Present Day</strong></p> <p>“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Theo asks. We’re back at the same table in the corner of the library’s café, sitting next to each other.</p> <p>“As sure as I am about the rest of this investigation.”</p> <p>“Are you sure that’s a yes?”</p> <p>“I know it’s dangerous, but we have to start somewhere.”</p> <p>“She could be working for <em>them</em>.”</p> <p>“Why would someone who survived what happened at the Galaxy Plaza start working for the people who covered it up?”</p> <p>“Maybe they covered it up because they’re opposed to weird things? If that’s true, someone who survived something weird might be eager to work with them.”</p> <p>“Look, we’ll be fine. Even if the contents of this conversation somehow get back to them, that shouldn’t be a problem so long as we act natural and don’t contradict our cover story. I’m just interviewing her for a report I’m writing. We’re not going to mention the paranormal or Evan being alive.”</p> <p>Theo takes a deep breath. “Okay. I guess.”</p> <p>“Besides, I have you as lookout.”</p> <p>He chuckles. “True.”</p> <p>“Just make sure no one comes close to us. I’ll ask the questions.”</p> <p>“Speaking of,” he gestures toward the main area of the library, from which Jess is entering. She’s a short black woman with long curly hair that disappears past her shoulders. She spots us in the corner as she comes in. She gets some food from the counter, then comes and sits across from me.</p> <p>“Thanks for coming,” I say.</p> <p>“No problem,” she says. “I had to do something for lunch today.”</p> <p>“So,” I begin, “I have some questions about the Galaxy Plaza disaster. You were there, right?”</p> <p>“Yeah. I was there for the <em>Glorious Dawn</em> release party. I was a big fan of the Starlight Saga as a kid. I remember how surprised I was when I learned Sterling himself was going to be there. This isn’t that big a city, y’know?”</p> <p>I nod. “Yeah. I was surprised too.”</p> <p>“I’m honestly a bit surprised you weren’t there.”</p> <p>“It was a near thing.”</p> <p>“I guess it’s lucky.”</p> <p>“Yeah.”</p> <p>She takes a bite of her sandwich and swallows it. “Before we get too far into this. I should tell you that I don’t really remember the disaster. The chaos of it all makes things blur together.”</p> <p>“I’m happy to hear anything,” I say. “A lot of the reporting on the disaster is bare bones. Even if you just give me the humanity and texture of an eyewitness account, that will help.”</p> <p>“I’ll do what I can.” She takes a sip of her drink. “I went to the party with a few friends. We spent an hour and a half waiting in line for our copies of <em>Glorious Dawn</em>.”</p> <p>“That’s a long wait.”</p> <p>“It could’ve been worse. We were all fans, so we had a lot of fun talking and being excited about the book. We’d all spent the last year speculating about what would happen after the cliffhanger at the end of Book Four. We also got to enjoy the decorations at the bookstore. There were these blue stars all over the walls and ceiling, and the front desk was surrounded by cardboard standees of all five books’ covers.”</p> <p>“Was there music?” Theo asks.</p> <p>“I think so. I couldn’t tell you anything about it.”</p> <p>“Did you see my brother?” I ask.</p> <p>“Yeah. He was there with some friends, just like me.” She eats a chip. “I think it was Daisy, Allen, and Lia from his Spirituality Club. They weren’t in line when I got there. I remember being jealous that they’d gotten their books so fast.”</p> <p>“Did you see their copies?” Given what Evan had said earlier that night, I don’t think he would have bothered to get a copy of the book.</p> <p>She thinks for a moment. “Not that I remember.”</p> <p>“What about Aster Sterling? Where was he?”</p> <p>“He was sitting behind a table near the front of the line, ready to sign newly purchased books as people walked away with them.”</p> <p>“Do you remember anything else about him?” Theo asks.</p> <p>“Like what?”</p> <p>“Did he say anything to you?”</p> <p>“He had to ask me who to make the autographs out to. Nothing besides that. I’d hoped to get to talk to him for a minute, but they were trying to keep the line moving.”</p> <p>“What happened once you had your copies?” I ask.</p> <p>“Me and my friends just hung out, enjoyed the refreshments, and read some of the early chapters of our books. My memories kind of peter out after that. Like I say, I don’t remember the disaster itself.”</p> <p>“Do you have any idea why?” Theo asks. “It seems like a strange thing to forget.”</p> <p>“I know what you mean. It’s just fuzzy. I think it was the chaos from everything that went on. I have vague flashes of people panicking, but that’s it.”</p> <p>“Do you remember where you were when the disaster started?” Theo asks.</p> <p>“No. Sorry.”</p> <p>“Are you sure?” I ask.</p> <p>The very instant I finish speaking, I see a strange flash in her eyes. “Actually, I think we were outside.”</p> <p>“We?”</p> <p>“Everyone at the party.”</p> <p>“Why?”</p> <p>Again, there’s a flash of realization. “I think Sterling had us gather outside in the Plaza at the end of the party.”</p> <p>“Do you remember what for?”</p> <p>“To say something. He gave this sort of wrap-up speech, thanking us for coming, hoping we’d enjoy the new book.”</p> <p>“Was that it?” Theo asks.</p> <p>“I think so.” She pauses. She glances as me for a moment. “The panic started during that speech.”</p> <p>“I thought you said you couldn’t remember the disaster,” Theo says.</p> <p>“I know what you mean. This time yesterday, I don’t think I could have told you this, but, well, I guess you guys asking is jogging my memory.”</p> <p>“That’s kinda strange,” Theo says.</p> <p>“I guess. I mean, yeah, it definitely is. I can’t explain it, but I’m telling you what I remember.”</p> <p>“You say the panic started during Sterling’s speech,” I say, a bit irritated that Theo is interrupting. I’m getting good information. “You mean that’s when the sinkhole opened, right?”</p> <p>She hesitates. “Actually, I feel like I remember someone shouting that we should run just before the sinkhole started to open. I must be wrong, though. I don’t know why else someone would want us to run.”</p> <p>“Do you remember who shouted that?</p> <p>She hesitates again. Her eyes go wide. “Wait, I think it was Evan.”</p> <p>“You heard my brother ordering everyone to run?”</p> <p>“Yeah. At least, that’s who I thought it was at the time. I could have been wrong.”</p> <p>“What happened next?”</p> <p>“I ran. A second later, I heard the ground opening behind me. Me and my friends were near the back of the crowd, so we got away from the sinkhole before it finished opening.”</p> <p>“That’s all you remember?” I ask.</p> <p>“I think so. Wait, actually…” She studies me for a moment. “Your brother died in the disaster, right?”</p> <p>“Yes,” I lie.</p> <p>“Then he must have been in the crowd when the sinkhole opened.”</p> <p>“Do you remember seeing him somewhere else?”</p> <p>“Well, this was years ago, and we were in a panic. I’m probably just wrong.”</p> <p>“Where do you remember him being?”</p> <p>She sighs. “At the time, I thought I saw him on the other side of the plaza, after I turned to run. He was nowhere near where the sinkhole opened. It can’t have been him, though. It was probably just someone else. I’m sorry. I hope this isn’t hurtful to hear.”</p> <p>I shake my head. “Not at all. It would have been like him to run toward the disaster, hoping he could help someone out.”</p> <p>“I guess.”</p> <p>“It seems like you remember quite a bit,” Theo says.</p> <p>“I guess I do. Like I say, I can’t explain it.”</p> <p>“You said a second ago that you heard Evan tell you to run,” I interject “<em>and then</em> you heard the sinkhole start to open. Is that right?”</p> <p>“That’s right.”</p> <p>“But you ran as soon as he told you to?”</p> <p>“I think so.”</p> <p>“That doesn’t make sense,” Theo says. “Why would you run if nothing had happened yet? I mean, if someone shouted at you to run right now, would you get up and bolt out of here, no questions asked?”</p> <p>She eats a chip. “I see your point. I don’t have an answer.”</p> <p>“Forgive him,” I say. Theo glances at me. I kick him in the shin. “Try to remember if there’s an answer to that question. Try to see if you can get it to come back to you.” So far, every time I’ve asked her something, she’s remembered an answer. Hopefully, that will happen again.</p> <p>An instant after those words leave my lips, her face lights up. “Wait, I do remember something. It doesn’t really make sense, though.”</p> <p>“Let me be the judge of that.”</p> <p>“Are you sure? I don’t want to hurt your feelings. I know your brother died—”</p> <p>“I’m sure. Please, tell me.”</p> <p>“Okay. So, as I remember things, the reason I ran right away was that, for a few minutes before I heard your brother tell us to run, I felt like I couldn’t move.”</p> <p>“You couldn’t move?”</p> <p>“That’s how I felt. I must have been wrong. I wasn’t tied up or anything, but I remember that while Aster Sterling was speaking, I felt like I was stuck in place. I was really scared. Then, when I heard your brother telling me to run, I suddenly could, and that’s why I bolted away as fast as possible.”</p> <p>“And you’re suddenly remembering this, just now?” Theo asks.</p> <p>“I guess? I mean, I’m probably just remembering being frozen in shock later.”</p> <p>“But what you’ve told me is how you remember it?” I ask. “You felt stuck in place. My brother shouted at you to move, you did, and after that, the sinkhole started to open.”</p> <p>“Yes. That’s what I remember.”</p> <p>I keep talking with her for a while after this, but nothing else she says is as extraordinary as that.</p> <p>“I think that’s all of my questions then,” I say, eventually. In a way, it’s not true. I have many, many more questions, but I don’t think she has any more answers. “Thanks for speaking to me. I’m trying to keep everything anonymous with some of the other people I’m going to talk to, so try not to tell anyone about this conversation.”</p> <p>“No problem.” She leaves.</p> <p>Theo and I sit there in silence for a moment, long enough for her to get out of earshot. “I think she is with <em>them</em>,” Theo says. “Nothing she said makes sense. She said she doesn’t remember the disaster, but then she suddenly remembers everything?”</p> <p>“Sometimes, talking about something can jog your memory.”</p> <p>“What if it was an act? Maybe she’s with <em>them</em>, and she’s telling you what she knows you want to hear.”</p> <p>“It’s only ‘what I want to hear’ because it fits what I remember. As far as I’m concerned, that’s more reason to believe her.”</p> <p>“Look, I know you want to find your brother. I do too, but the people we’re dealing with, they’re powerful. What we just heard is very, very convenient.”</p> <p>“Why would she have put on an act like that?” I ask. “What would be the point of pretending she was getting her memories back as she was speaking to me? If this was an act, she could have just told me all the same stuff without doing that.”</p> <p>“Maybe she was worried you’d wonder why she’s never mentioned any of this before.”</p> <p>“I barely know her.”</p> <p>“Not just to you. To anyone.”</p> <p>“Look, we know <em>they</em> can erase memories, and we know the way they do that is fallible. Why couldn’t someone start remembering things as they’re speaking to me?”</p> <p>Theo shakes his head. “I’m sorry, but this smells wrong to me. I don’t think she was being straight with us.”</p> <p>“My own memories from that night are also pretty strange.”</p> <p>“But they’re not fuzzy, are they? And they never have been?”</p> <p>“No,” I admit. “They’re crystal clear.”</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Six Years Ago</strong></p> <p>When my parents and I heard about the disaster, I told them Evan had gone to Galaxy Plaza. Mom called Evan, and he didn’t answer. After several minutes, and several more unanswered calls, my parents went out looking for him. I don’t know where they thought he could be other than the Galaxy Plaza, but I think they wanted to feel like they were doing something.</p> <p>“Do you really think you’ll find him?” I asked.</p> <p>“I hope so,” mom said.</p> <p>Adults always sugarcoat things for kids. If ‘I hope so’ was the best answer she could give, I thought for sure my brother was dead.</p> <p>Bedtime came and went while they were still gone. Any other night, I would have taken advantage of the fact that my parents weren’t home and stayed up late, but that night, I went to bed. I lied awake, starring at the little plastic glow-in-the-dark stars that covered by bedroom ceiling.</p> <p>Suddenly, I heard my brother’s voice outside. “Mom!” he shouted. “Dad!” I sat up and I looked out my bedroom window.</p> <p>It was Evan, alive and intact, sprinting toward our front door. He was pursued by four men in black and grey tactical gear. They were armed, though none of their guns were drawn.</p> <p>He was calling for mom and dad. He didn’t know they weren’t here. I sprang from my bed and ran downstairs, thinking I might need to open the door for Evan.</p> <p>The front door flung open just as I reached the bottom of the stairs. Evan ran inside. The four men were close behind him, and they got a clear look at me. Evan slammed the door and locked it. “Jerry,” he said, panting, “what are you doing up?”</p> <p>“I heard you shouting. Who the heck are those people?”</p> <p>“I don’t know. They pulled me over as I was coming back from the party. They tried to arrest me.”</p> <p>“Why?”</p> <p>“I don’t know.”</p> <p>“Open up!” one of the men outside shouted. “We will break down this door.” Then there was a horrible thump.</p> <p>“Where are mom and dad?” Evan asked.</p> <p>“Out looking for you. They think you were killed by the sinkhole.”</p> <p>“Sinkhole?”</p> <p>“The one at Galaxy Plaza.”</p> <p>“It wasn’t… never mind.” He ran over to the phone, picked it up and dialed. He placed it to his ear. “C’mon,” he whispered, then “crap!”</p> <p>“What?”</p> <p>“It’s dead.”</p> <p>“What about your phone?”</p> <p>“I lost it at the plaza.”</p> <p>“What happened there?”</p> <p>Another slam at the door. “Jerry, you need to hide.”</p> <p>“They already saw me.”</p> <p>“Just do it!”</p> <p>“But what about you?”</p> <p>Another slam. “I have a plan. Go!”</p> <p>After one more moment of hesitation, I ran back upstairs. Just as I reached the balcony at the top, the front door swung open. I dropped prone before the men entered, hoping they wouldn’t see me.</p> <p>Evan bolted toward the garage. There weren’t any cars in it. He’d taken one to the party, and mom and dad had taken the other to go looking for him. Maybe he was planning to run out the garage door, or maybe he was just leading them away from me. Regardless, he only made it half a dozen paces before one of the men tackled him. He writhed and struggled, trying to pull himself free of their grip. “Hold still!” one of the soldiers barked. “You’re coming with us.”</p> <p>“Get off me!”</p> <p>Two more of the soldiers helped pin him. He had no hope of escaping their combined strength. “I said hold still!”</p> <p>“Let me go!”</p> <p>Two of the soldiers forced his hands behind his back and cuffed them. They grabbed him, each lifting by one of his shoulders, and carried him toward the door. He kicked and screamed, and one of his kicks managed to hit a soldier in the leg. The soldier stumbled and dropped him.</p> <p>Evan fell forward. The handcuffs stopped him from catching himself, so he hit the ground face-first. His nose started bleeding. He tried to scramble to his feet, but they pinned him again before he could stand. “It’s over!” one of them said. “We have you. Stop resisting. You’ll only hurt yourself.”</p> <p>When they picked him back up, he didn’t kick anymore.</p> <p>There were still two soldiers inside the house. “Where’d the other kid go?” one of them asked.</p> <p>“Probably hiding,” the other soldier said. “I’ll take the second floor.”</p> <p>The soldier started coming upstairs. Once he got up here, he’d see me. I had to get away from him. I sprang upward and dashed down the hall.</p> <p>“Here he is!” the soldier yelled. “Upstairs!”</p> <p>Now they were both running up toward me. I sprinted down the hall as fast as my young legs could carry me, toward my parents’ bedroom. There was a window there that you can use to get out onto the roof. It was my only remaining hope of escape.</p> <p>I entered my parents’ room, slammed the door behind me, and locked it. I ran to the window and unlocked it. I grabbed the crank that you turned to open it, and I spun. It wasn’t easy to move, and I’d have to spin it a lot to open the window wide enough that I could crawl through.</p> <p>“Open up!” a soldier said. They didn’t wait for an answer before they slammed on the door. I spun the crank with everything I had. I thought about trying to break the window instead, but there was nothing around to break it with.</p> <p>The door swung open. One of the soldiers ran around the bed and grabbed me. “Let me go!” I shouted, kicking and struggling, doing the best impression I could of my brother’s bravery.</p> <p>“Hold still!” the soldier ordered.</p> <p>“No!”</p> <p>“Help me hold him down,” he said to his partner.</p> <p>It wasn’t hard for two grown men to pin me to my parents’ bed. One of the soldiers reached for something on his belt. It was a needle, like the kind a flu shot would come in. “What is that?” I asked.</p> <p>“Just something to put you to sleep,” he said.</p> <p>“I don’t want to go to sleep!”</p> <p>“Hold him still for the amnestic,” the soldier said.</p> <p>Amnestic? I’d never heard that word before, but my twelve-year-old brain made the connection to the closest word I knew. Amnesia. Was this going to erase my memory? Make me forget that these people had taken my brother? That couldn’t be possible, could it?</p> <p>One soldier held my head still while the other shoved the needle into my neck. A powerful exhaustion filled me. Over the next few seconds, I went from struggling to get away to struggling to stay awake.</p> <p>I lost that struggle.</p> <p>When I woke up, I was in my bed. It was daylight outside. Just a minute after I awoke, my mom came in to check on me. “What time is it?” I asked, still loopy from the drug I’d been given.</p> <p>“Eleven,” mom said.</p> <p>“Where’s Evan?” I was terrified for him, but too out of it for my voice to betray my concern.</p> <p>“We don’t know. They’ve not found him, but they haven’t found his body either. They’re saying some people are still alive in the sinkhole, buried under rubble. We shouldn’t give up hope.”</p> <p>Her answer confused me at first. Why was she talking like he’d never come home? Who were those people who’d taken him?</p> <p>Then I realized what was going on. She didn’t know he’d come home. No one else did. I’d been right about what that ‘amnestic’ was supposed to do. They’d tried to erase my memory of what’d happened, so that they would be able to make it seem like Evan had fallen into the sinkhole.</p> <p>For a few days, I hoped <em>they</em> would only keep him for a short time, before pretending they’d found him buried under rubble. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.</p> <p>I never gave up on finding him, though. Even after they supposedly found his body in the pit, smashed beyond recognition, but identifiable by dental records.</p> <p>I wanted to tell my parents what I’d seen. I wanted to tell them that Evan was still alive, that he’d been taken, but I couldn’t. They wouldn’t have believed me, and the thought that I hadn’t been able to accept his death would’ve made them feel worse.</p> <p>Even if someone did believe me, what would they do about it? The people who had taken Evan were powerful enough to cover up everything that’d happened. What could any of the adults in my life do against someone like that?</p> <p>So, I didn’t say anything. As my family mourned my brother, as condolences for his loss flooded in, as I suffered through complimentary grief counseling, I pretended to believe Evan was dead.</p> <p>When my grief counselor asked if I’d had any strange dreams the night Evan disappeared, I realized she was one of <em>them</em>, and that if she was, anyone could be. I could never tell anyone what I’d seen. If I did, word would get back to <em>them</em>. I’d have another needle shoved into my neck, and maybe this time, I really would forget everything.</p> <p>Theo is the only one I’ve told. That was a risk. When we were first dating, I considered the possibility that he was one of them, but that didn’t make sense. He was too young, and he didn’t act like he’d been ordered to get close to me.</p> <p>Once I decided I was sure about that, I told him what had happened.</p> <p>He believed me. He didn’t even hesitate to believe me.</p> <p>I’m not ashamed to say that made me cry.</p> <p>It’s been months since I told him. If Theo were one of them, they’d have come for me by now.</p> <p>I don’t know who took my brother. I don’t know why they did it, or what they want, but I saw them drag him away.</p> <p>He’s still alive. If they’d wanted him dead, they’d have killed him then and there. Whoever they were, they wanted him as their prisoner. As far as I know, they still have him. When I was a kid, I accepted that I couldn’t do anything against an organization that powerful, that I had to wait until I grew up. Well, now I have, and I’m done waiting.</p> <p>My brother is alive. He’s out there, waiting for me to rescue him, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I don’t care how powerful <em>they</em> are. I don’t care what I have to do to get him back. I’m going to find him, and I’m going to set him free.</p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><strong><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-hub">Series Hub</a></strong></p> <p><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-2-spirituality-club">Next Entry ▶</a></p> <p><sub><a href="/xhawk77x">More by this Author</a></sub></p> </div> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster">I Didn't Forget Pt 1: The Galaxy Plaza Disaster</a>" by XHAWK77X, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster">https://scpwiki.com/i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[=]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-hub\|Series Hub]]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-2-spirituality-club\|Next Entry ▶]]] ,,[[[xhawk77x\|More by this Author]]],, [[/=]] Six Years Ago “Hey, Jerry, can I talk to you for a minute?” Evan asked from the other side of my bedroom door. “Sure,” I said. He came into my room. He was wearing a long-sleeved, tie dye t-shirt and worn jeans. Around his neck, he wore a bright red stone. I didn’t remember which kind of crystal it was, but I knew he wore this one a lot. “You know that one author you like?” he asked. “Aster Sterling?” “Yeah, him. You have a bunch of his books, right?” “Yeah.” I pointed at the short, dark brown bookshelf on the other side of my room. On top of it, between two colorful bookends, were the first four books of Aster Sterling’s //Starlight Saga//. They told the story of a kid who was taken into space after encountering a crashed alien ship. The aliens taught him magic and brought him on adventures throughout the galaxy. Evan walked over to the bookshelf and picked up the first book in the series. He opened it to examine the inside front cover. A second later, he flipped to the inside back cover. For some reason, what he saw there made him gasp. “Is something wrong?” I asked. “No.” He put the book back. “Everything’s fine.” He flashed me a reassuring smile. “This guy seems pretty cool.” “He is! He’s super into crystals and spirituality stuff, just like you. There’s a lot of that kind of thing in his books. You’d probably like them. You can borrow them if you want.” He glanced back at them. “Yeah, I think I will.” “Make sure and tell me what you think of them once you’re done.” “Sure thing.” ----- Present Day [[div class="blockquote"]] [[size 150%]]Tragedy at the Galaxy Plaza Leaves Dozens Dead[[/size]] [[size smaller]]February 4th, 2017[[/size]] Tragedy struck yesterday at the Galaxy Plaza, when a sinkhole opened near the Likely Story bookstore during an event celebrating the release of //Glorious Dawn//, by Aster Sterling, the fifth and final entry in his popular //Starlight Saga//. The collapse resulted in at least thirty-five deaths and over a hundred injuries, making it the deadliest sinkhole collapse in recorded history. The number of confirmed deaths is expected to climb as rescue workers dig through the rubble in search of buried survivors and remains. Sterling was present at the event and is among those currently unaccounted for. [[/div]] I sit in front of a computer screen in the local library, quietly reading the text to my boyfriend, Theo, who’s standing behind my chair. “So that’s the official story?” Theo asks. “Yes. The victim tally would eventually rise to forty-two.” “Including your brother, Evan?” “Yes. Sterling as well. He’s the main reason why people still remember the Galaxy Plaza Disaster.” Theo rests a hand on my shoulder. “Thank you for coming here,” I add, “and for believing me.” “No problem,” he says with a warm smile. “I’ve read everything I could on the disaster, and Sterling’s death. If you’re going to look into this with me, the first thing we need to do is get you up to speed on what I already know.” That’s exactly what we do for the next few hours. I direct him to a few important articles about the disaster. Most of them are news reports, but there’s also a peer-reviewed, technical analysis of the collapse and whether it could have been prevented, as well as some information on Aster Sterling’s life. Even Theo seems more interested in Aster Sterling than the other victims. I guess international best-selling authors are just more interesting than average high-school kids like Evan. “We’ve been looking for a while,” Theo says, after a few hours. “I think it’s time for a break.” “Okay. If you want.” My gaze does not leave the screen in front of me. “I’ll look into that geological survey while you’re gone.” I happened to notice said survey while searching for one of the articles I wanted to show Theo. I don’t think I’ve read it before, so it could contain new information. “I think it would be a good idea for //us// to take a break.” “I’m fine.” “C’mon. You haven’t eaten since 9:00 this morning.” I peek at the clock at the corner of the computer screen, intending to say something like, ‘it’s only 1:00 PM,’ but when I do, I see that it’s almost 4:00. “Alright,” I sigh. “You may have a point.” The library has a quaint little deli attached to it, full of red chairs and white tables. It’s lined with large windows that distort the rainy parking lot outside. The place is manned by a single cashier behind a black counter. It serves wrapped sandwiches, canned soda, and chips in small bags. It’s large enough to sit a few dozen people, but right now, it’s nearly empty. Besides the cashier, the only people here are a trio of old ladies, and a mother with two young children. We sit far in the corner of the room, where we’re least likely to be overheard, and we speak quietly. “So let me go over what we’ve found so far,” Theo says, after swallowing a bite of his sandwich. “The disaster killed forty-two people, including both Aster Sterling and your brother, whose bodies they found while searching the rubble. Like many other victims, both of them were crushed thoroughly enough that they had to be identified through DNA and dental records.” “That’s the official story.” “And you think those tests were fake, and some of the victims might still be alive?” “I don’t know about Sterling and the rest, but I know my brother didn’t die in that Plaza.” ----- Six Years Ago “How are you liking the //Starlight Saga//?” I asked Evan. His room was sky blue and contained a large shelf full of thick books. A dozen colorful posters hung on its walls, and crystals rested on every surface that could hold them. Evan’s hands held the answer to my question. “Wait, you’re already on the second book?” “Yeah.” “That’s awesome! You’re really liking them, then?” “I am.” He put the book down on the bed next to him. “What do you need?” “I was just going to ask if you’d heard about the release party for the fifth book, the one that’s going to be held at the Likely Story.” He sighed. “Yeah, I know about it.” “I heard Aster Sterling is going to be there. If you like the books, you should come too.” “Actually. I’m glad you brought it up. I was going to talk to you about it.” “You already want to go, then?” He shook his head. “You shouldn’t go there, Jerry. I think something bad is going to happen.” “What do you mean? What’s going to happen?” I liked those books a lot, and I really wanted to go to that release party. It might be the only chance I’d ever have to meet Aster Sterling. “I don’t know exactly what it’s going to be.” “Then you can’t expect me to miss the party over it. If you don’t want to go, fine, but—” “Do you trust me?” “What?” “Do you trust me?” I had to think about that. My whole life, Evan had never been mean to me. He was too old for us to be rivals, but he’d never used that advantage to pick on me. He’d only ever helped and protected me. He’d certainly never lie to keep me from going to an event I’d want to attend. “I… I guess?” I stammered. “Then, please, trust me when I say you shouldn’t go. It’s going to be dangerous. I don’t know exactly what’s going to happen, but it’s going to be bad.” “How do you know?” He wouldn’t have lied about something like this, but I hoped maybe he could be wrong. “It might be better if I didn’t say.” “No. The release of //Glorious Dawn// is a once in a lifetime event. I’m not gonna miss it unless you can explain how you know something bad is going to happen.” He took a deep breath. “It’s Callum.” “Callum Michaels?” Callum was the son Richard Michaels, the richest man in town. He was also one of Evan’s classmates at Cypress High. He and Evan used to be friends, but they’d fallen out a few months ago. “Callum is going to do something to hurt everyone at the party. I don’t know what, but I know it’s going to be bad.” “How do you know that?” “Because he told me.” That was another thing Evan wouldn’t lie about. He didn’t like Callum anymore, but he wouldn’t accuse someone of something like this for no reason. “Maybe Callum was just saying things to freak you out?” “No. He was serious.” “Well, if you’re so sure something bad is going to happen, you should tell the police.” I meant this as an argument against what he was saying. I was trying to imply that he must be less sure than he was letting on. “I have.” That froze me. “What?” “I have contacted the police. I don’t think they’ll do anything, but I did try.” “Oh. Wow.” “I don’t know exactly what, but Callum’s going to try to hurt everyone at that party. I don’t want one of those people to be you.” This had to be true. He wouldn’t make all of this up, and he wasn’t the kind of person who would freak out over nothing or baselessly accuse Callum of planning something terrible. “There’s no way I could go?” “Not safely.” “Not even if the police arrest Callum or something? I mean, if you told them he was planning something—” “I don’t think that’s going to happen.” I’d been looking forward to this party. I didn’t want to miss it. However, I also didn’t want to disappoint my big brother. “Okay. I trust you. I won’t go.” “Thank you.” ----- Present Day Theo and I parallel park in one of the meter-hosting spots near the Galaxy Plaza. There isn’t much free parking this close to the center of town. We get out, Theo loads the meter, and we approach the site of the disaster. The Galaxy Plaza was larger than the sinkhole, and half of it looks the same as before the disaster. The plaza’s blue-gray bricks are surrounded by about a dozen shops, including Runes and Relics and the Likely Story bookstore. The Galaxy Plaza was off-limits for a long time after the sinkhole opened. The damage was extensive. The sinkhole spanned from the fountain at the center of the plaza to the front of the Likely Story. It took over a year for them to transform the sinkhole into what it is now. Theo and I approach the pit. In contrast to the bricks above, its gently sloping sides are covered in bright grass and colorful flowers. There’s a rail around the top of it, but two gaps in that rail open the way to concrete stairs, which lead down to a circle of path at the pit’s bottom. It’s pretty. Despite the meaning this place has for me, I can’t deny that it’s pretty. We descend. The wind carries the flowers’ sweet scent, along with the gentle chirps of birds and insects. Inside the ring of footpath, there’s a tall rectangular slab. Engraved on it in large print are the words “In Memory Of,” followed by a list of forty-two names, including Evan Sanders and Aster Sterling. “What exactly are we looking for?” Theo asks as I stare at my brother’s name. “I don’t know,” I admit. “Something revelatory regarding the disaster.” I force my gaze off the monument and scan the walls of the pit. They look natural, like the walls of an ancient crater. If there’s anything wrong with them, it’s that they’re too perfect. Their slope is too gentle, and the whole pit is too perfectly round. You would expect a sinkhole’s walls to be steep, and its shape to be lumpy and irregular. “I’ve done a lot of research on sinkholes. They don’t just come out of nowhere. They form because land rests on top of a hollow space—either a cave, or some human construct like a mine.” “Didn’t there use to be a mine around here?” “No. I’ve read everything I could about this, and prior to the disaster, there are no references to a mine this far into town. The closest one was ten miles north of here.” “That can’t be right. I know I’ve heard that the disaster was caused by a mine.” “You probably have. After the disaster happened, people started talking their heads off about how this Plaza was built over an old mine. There was an opinion piece in the New York Times about how irresponsible that had been. No one seemed to know about that mine before the disaster, though. I’ve searched and searched, and I’ve never found a reference to it from before the incident, except in digital material that could’ve been edited later. I don’t think there was ever a mine here. I think someone made that up to explain away what really happened.” “What really happened?” “I don’t know.” “And you think we’re up against an organization that could get something written in the New York Times?” “I told you they were powerful.” “You’re right. You did. I’m just… are you sure you aren’t in over your head?” “Of course I’m in over my head. I’m not going to let that stop me.” “Are you sure? I don’t want something to happen to you.” “That’s sweet, but yes, I’m sure.” We examine the pit thoroughly. I photograph every inch of the pit, but we don’t find anything new. When we’re done, we peruse the buildings surrounding the Plaza. The Likely Story is still open. Part of it fell into the sinkhole when it formed, but that section has been replaced. The memorial outside is dedicated equally to all the disaster’s victims, but the plaque on the new wall doesn’t pretend to be for anyone but Aster Sterling. Copies of his books, including the entire //Starlight Saga//, are for sale on the shelves nearby. “Think we should buy them?” Theo asks. “For research, I mean.” “I have copies at home. I know those books by heart. I don’t think there are any clues inside. You’re welcome to read through my copies, though.” Theo buys a biography of Aster Sterling as we leave the store. “That was disappointing,” I say, when we’re done. “I was hoping we’d fine something new.” “We crossed something off our list. We had to check the site of the disaster. Now that we’ve done that, we can move on to other things.” “I guess that’s one way of looking at it.” “Besides,” Theo holds up the biography, “maybe there’ll be a clue in here.” “Maybe.” I doubt it, though. I think Sterling was just another victim of whatever Callum did. ----- Six Years Ago “Where are you going?” I asked Evan, a tinge of accusation on my voice. I’d been lying on the couch in the living room when I saw him walking toward the front door. “Out,” he said. “Where? You told me you think Callum is going to do something horrible and dangerous tonight. You should stay home.” “I know where he’s going to strike.” “Then stay here.” I rose from the couch. “If I don’t get to go to the release party, you shouldn’t either.” “Who said that’s where I’m going?” “Is it?” He didn’t respond to that. “I should get to go too, then,” I said. “No. It’s too dangerous.” “Then you should stay home!” “I have to try to stop Callum.” “You already called the police. What the heck can you do about Callum that they can’t?” Evan sighed. “Look, the last time we talked about this, you said you trusted me. Is that still true?” “Yes. That’s why I’m worried.” “You don’t need to worry about me.” “I’ll tell mom and dad that you’re going to the release party without me. They know how much I like Sterling’s books. They’ll make you take me.” “You won’t do that.” He was right. I’d never tell on him. I respected him too much. That respect also meant that, even though I didn’t like the fact that he’d be in danger, I assumed he knew what he was doing. “You swear you’ll get back?” I asked. “Yes. I swear I’ll get back home.” “Okay,” I said, after a moment. “See you later, then.” “See you later.” Evan left. ----- Present Day “Are you sure this is a good idea?” Theo asks. We’re back at the same table in the corner of the library’s café, sitting next to each other. “As sure as I am about the rest of this investigation.” “Are you sure that’s a yes?” “I know it’s dangerous, but we have to start somewhere.” “She could be working for //them//.” “Why would someone who survived what happened at the Galaxy Plaza start working for the people who covered it up?” “Maybe they covered it up because they’re opposed to weird things? If that’s true, someone who survived something weird might be eager to work with them.” “Look, we’ll be fine. Even if the contents of this conversation somehow get back to them, that shouldn’t be a problem so long as we act natural and don’t contradict our cover story. I’m just interviewing her for a report I’m writing. We’re not going to mention the paranormal or Evan being alive.” Theo takes a deep breath. “Okay. I guess.” “Besides, I have you as lookout.” He chuckles. “True.” “Just make sure no one comes close to us. I’ll ask the questions.” “Speaking of,” he gestures toward the main area of the library, from which Jess is entering. She’s a short black woman with long curly hair that disappears past her shoulders. She spots us in the corner as she comes in. She gets some food from the counter, then comes and sits across from me. “Thanks for coming,” I say. “No problem,” she says. “I had to do something for lunch today.” “So,” I begin, “I have some questions about the Galaxy Plaza disaster. You were there, right?” “Yeah. I was there for the //Glorious Dawn// release party. I was a big fan of the Starlight Saga as a kid. I remember how surprised I was when I learned Sterling himself was going to be there. This isn’t that big a city, y’know?” I nod. “Yeah. I was surprised too.” “I’m honestly a bit surprised you weren’t there.” “It was a near thing.” “I guess it’s lucky.” “Yeah.” She takes a bite of her sandwich and swallows it. “Before we get too far into this. I should tell you that I don’t really remember the disaster. The chaos of it all makes things blur together.” “I’m happy to hear anything,” I say. “A lot of the reporting on the disaster is bare bones. Even if you just give me the humanity and texture of an eyewitness account, that will help.” “I’ll do what I can.” She takes a sip of her drink. “I went to the party with a few friends. We spent an hour and a half waiting in line for our copies of //Glorious Dawn//.” “That’s a long wait.” “It could’ve been worse. We were all fans, so we had a lot of fun talking and being excited about the book. We’d all spent the last year speculating about what would happen after the cliffhanger at the end of Book Four. We also got to enjoy the decorations at the bookstore. There were these blue stars all over the walls and ceiling, and the front desk was surrounded by cardboard standees of all five books’ covers.” “Was there music?” Theo asks. “I think so. I couldn’t tell you anything about it.” “Did you see my brother?” I ask. “Yeah. He was there with some friends, just like me.” She eats a chip. “I think it was Daisy, Allen, and Lia from his Spirituality Club. They weren’t in line when I got there. I remember being jealous that they’d gotten their books so fast.” “Did you see their copies?” Given what Evan had said earlier that night, I don’t think he would have bothered to get a copy of the book. She thinks for a moment. “Not that I remember.” “What about Aster Sterling? Where was he?” “He was sitting behind a table near the front of the line, ready to sign newly purchased books as people walked away with them.” “Do you remember anything else about him?” Theo asks. “Like what?” “Did he say anything to you?” “He had to ask me who to make the autographs out to. Nothing besides that. I’d hoped to get to talk to him for a minute, but they were trying to keep the line moving.” “What happened once you had your copies?” I ask. “Me and my friends just hung out, enjoyed the refreshments, and read some of the early chapters of our books. My memories kind of peter out after that. Like I say, I don’t remember the disaster itself.” “Do you have any idea why?” Theo asks. “It seems like a strange thing to forget.” “I know what you mean. It’s just fuzzy. I think it was the chaos from everything that went on. I have vague flashes of people panicking, but that’s it.” “Do you remember where you were when the disaster started?” Theo asks. “No. Sorry.” “Are you sure?” I ask. The very instant I finish speaking, I see a strange flash in her eyes. “Actually, I think we were outside.” “We?” “Everyone at the party.” “Why?” Again, there’s a flash of realization. “I think Sterling had us gather outside in the Plaza at the end of the party.” “Do you remember what for?” “To say something. He gave this sort of wrap-up speech, thanking us for coming, hoping we’d enjoy the new book.” “Was that it?” Theo asks. “I think so.” She pauses. She glances as me for a moment. “The panic started during that speech.” “I thought you said you couldn’t remember the disaster,” Theo says. “I know what you mean. This time yesterday, I don’t think I could have told you this, but, well, I guess you guys asking is jogging my memory.” “That’s kinda strange,” Theo says. “I guess. I mean, yeah, it definitely is. I can’t explain it, but I’m telling you what I remember.” “You say the panic started during Sterling’s speech,” I say, a bit irritated that Theo is interrupting. I’m getting good information. “You mean that’s when the sinkhole opened, right?” She hesitates. “Actually, I feel like I remember someone shouting that we should run just before the sinkhole started to open. I must be wrong, though. I don’t know why else someone would want us to run.” “Do you remember who shouted that? She hesitates again. Her eyes go wide. “Wait, I think it was Evan.” “You heard my brother ordering everyone to run?” “Yeah. At least, that’s who I thought it was at the time. I could have been wrong.” “What happened next?” “I ran. A second later, I heard the ground opening behind me. Me and my friends were near the back of the crowd, so we got away from the sinkhole before it finished opening.” “That’s all you remember?” I ask. “I think so. Wait, actually…” She studies me for a moment. “Your brother died in the disaster, right?” “Yes,” I lie. “Then he must have been in the crowd when the sinkhole opened.” “Do you remember seeing him somewhere else?” “Well, this was years ago, and we were in a panic. I’m probably just wrong.” “Where do you remember him being?” She sighs. “At the time, I thought I saw him on the other side of the plaza, after I turned to run. He was nowhere near where the sinkhole opened. It can’t have been him, though. It was probably just someone else. I’m sorry. I hope this isn’t hurtful to hear.” I shake my head. “Not at all. It would have been like him to run toward the disaster, hoping he could help someone out.” “I guess.” “It seems like you remember quite a bit,” Theo says. “I guess I do. Like I say, I can’t explain it.” “You said a second ago that you heard Evan tell you to run,” I interject “//and then// you heard the sinkhole start to open. Is that right?” “That’s right.” “But you ran as soon as he told you to?” “I think so.” “That doesn’t make sense,” Theo says. “Why would you run if nothing had happened yet? I mean, if someone shouted at you to run right now, would you get up and bolt out of here, no questions asked?” She eats a chip. “I see your point. I don’t have an answer.” “Forgive him,” I say. Theo glances at me. I kick him in the shin. “Try to remember if there’s an answer to that question. Try to see if you can get it to come back to you.” So far, every time I’ve asked her something, she’s remembered an answer. Hopefully, that will happen again. An instant after those words leave my lips, her face lights up. “Wait, I do remember something. It doesn’t really make sense, though.” “Let me be the judge of that.” “Are you sure? I don’t want to hurt your feelings. I know your brother died—” “I’m sure. Please, tell me.” “Okay. So, as I remember things, the reason I ran right away was that, for a few minutes before I heard your brother tell us to run, I felt like I couldn’t move.” “You couldn’t move?” “That’s how I felt. I must have been wrong. I wasn’t tied up or anything, but I remember that while Aster Sterling was speaking, I felt like I was stuck in place. I was really scared. Then, when I heard your brother telling me to run, I suddenly could, and that’s why I bolted away as fast as possible.” “And you’re suddenly remembering this, just now?” Theo asks. “I guess? I mean, I’m probably just remembering being frozen in shock later.” “But what you’ve told me is how you remember it?” I ask. “You felt stuck in place. My brother shouted at you to move, you did, and after that, the sinkhole started to open.” “Yes. That’s what I remember.” I keep talking with her for a while after this, but nothing else she says is as extraordinary as that. “I think that’s all of my questions then,” I say, eventually. In a way, it’s not true. I have many, many more questions, but I don’t think she has any more answers. “Thanks for speaking to me. I’m trying to keep everything anonymous with some of the other people I’m going to talk to, so try not to tell anyone about this conversation.” “No problem.” She leaves. Theo and I sit there in silence for a moment, long enough for her to get out of earshot. “I think she is with //them//,” Theo says. “Nothing she said makes sense. She said she doesn’t remember the disaster, but then she suddenly remembers everything?” “Sometimes, talking about something can jog your memory.” “What if it was an act? Maybe she’s with //them//, and she’s telling you what she knows you want to hear.” “It’s only ‘what I want to hear’ because it fits what I remember. As far as I’m concerned, that’s more reason to believe her.” “Look, I know you want to find your brother. I do too, but the people we’re dealing with, they’re powerful. What we just heard is very, very convenient.” “Why would she have put on an act like that?” I ask. “What would be the point of pretending she was getting her memories back as she was speaking to me? If this was an act, she could have just told me all the same stuff without doing that.” “Maybe she was worried you’d wonder why she’s never mentioned any of this before.” “I barely know her.” “Not just to you. To anyone.” “Look, we know //they// can erase memories, and we know the way they do that is fallible. Why couldn’t someone start remembering things as they’re speaking to me?” Theo shakes his head. “I’m sorry, but this smells wrong to me. I don’t think she was being straight with us.” “My own memories from that night are also pretty strange.” “But they’re not fuzzy, are they? And they never have been?” “No,” I admit. “They’re crystal clear.” ----- Six Years Ago When my parents and I heard about the disaster, I told them Evan had gone to Galaxy Plaza. Mom called Evan, and he didn’t answer. After several minutes, and several more unanswered calls, my parents went out looking for him. I don’t know where they thought he could be other than the Galaxy Plaza, but I think they wanted to feel like they were doing something. “Do you really think you’ll find him?” I asked. “I hope so,” mom said. Adults always sugarcoat things for kids. If ‘I hope so’ was the best answer she could give, I thought for sure my brother was dead. Bedtime came and went while they were still gone. Any other night, I would have taken advantage of the fact that my parents weren’t home and stayed up late, but that night, I went to bed. I lied awake, starring at the little plastic glow-in-the-dark stars that covered by bedroom ceiling. Suddenly, I heard my brother’s voice outside. “Mom!” he shouted. “Dad!” I sat up and I looked out my bedroom window. It was Evan, alive and intact, sprinting toward our front door. He was pursued by four men in black and grey tactical gear. They were armed, though none of their guns were drawn. He was calling for mom and dad. He didn’t know they weren’t here. I sprang from my bed and ran downstairs, thinking I might need to open the door for Evan. The front door flung open just as I reached the bottom of the stairs. Evan ran inside. The four men were close behind him, and they got a clear look at me. Evan slammed the door and locked it. “Jerry,” he said, panting, “what are you doing up?” “I heard you shouting. Who the heck are those people?” “I don’t know. They pulled me over as I was coming back from the party. They tried to arrest me.” “Why?” “I don’t know.” “Open up!” one of the men outside shouted. “We will break down this door.” Then there was a horrible thump. “Where are mom and dad?” Evan asked. “Out looking for you. They think you were killed by the sinkhole.” “Sinkhole?” “The one at Galaxy Plaza.” “It wasn’t… never mind.” He ran over to the phone, picked it up and dialed. He placed it to his ear. “C’mon,” he whispered, then “crap!” “What?” “It’s dead.” “What about your phone?” “I lost it at the plaza.” “What happened there?” Another slam at the door. “Jerry, you need to hide.” “They already saw me.” “Just do it!” “But what about you?” Another slam. “I have a plan. Go!” After one more moment of hesitation, I ran back upstairs. Just as I reached the balcony at the top, the front door swung open. I dropped prone before the men entered, hoping they wouldn’t see me. Evan bolted toward the garage. There weren’t any cars in it. He’d taken one to the party, and mom and dad had taken the other to go looking for him. Maybe he was planning to run out the garage door, or maybe he was just leading them away from me. Regardless, he only made it half a dozen paces before one of the men tackled him. He writhed and struggled, trying to pull himself free of their grip. “Hold still!” one of the soldiers barked. “You’re coming with us.” “Get off me!” Two more of the soldiers helped pin him. He had no hope of escaping their combined strength. “I said hold still!” “Let me go!” Two of the soldiers forced his hands behind his back and cuffed them. They grabbed him, each lifting by one of his shoulders, and carried him toward the door. He kicked and screamed, and one of his kicks managed to hit a soldier in the leg. The soldier stumbled and dropped him. Evan fell forward. The handcuffs stopped him from catching himself, so he hit the ground face-first. His nose started bleeding. He tried to scramble to his feet, but they pinned him again before he could stand. “It’s over!” one of them said. “We have you. Stop resisting. You’ll only hurt yourself.” When they picked him back up, he didn’t kick anymore. There were still two soldiers inside the house. “Where’d the other kid go?” one of them asked. “Probably hiding,” the other soldier said. “I’ll take the second floor.” The soldier started coming upstairs. Once he got up here, he’d see me. I had to get away from him. I sprang upward and dashed down the hall. “Here he is!” the soldier yelled. “Upstairs!” Now they were both running up toward me. I sprinted down the hall as fast as my young legs could carry me, toward my parents’ bedroom. There was a window there that you can use to get out onto the roof. It was my only remaining hope of escape. I entered my parents’ room, slammed the door behind me, and locked it. I ran to the window and unlocked it. I grabbed the crank that you turned to open it, and I spun. It wasn’t easy to move, and I’d have to spin it a lot to open the window wide enough that I could crawl through. “Open up!” a soldier said. They didn’t wait for an answer before they slammed on the door. I spun the crank with everything I had. I thought about trying to break the window instead, but there was nothing around to break it with. The door swung open. One of the soldiers ran around the bed and grabbed me. “Let me go!” I shouted, kicking and struggling, doing the best impression I could of my brother’s bravery. “Hold still!” the soldier ordered. “No!” “Help me hold him down,” he said to his partner. It wasn’t hard for two grown men to pin me to my parents’ bed. One of the soldiers reached for something on his belt. It was a needle, like the kind a flu shot would come in. “What is that?” I asked. “Just something to put you to sleep,” he said. “I don’t want to go to sleep!” “Hold him still for the amnestic,” the soldier said. Amnestic? I’d never heard that word before, but my twelve-year-old brain made the connection to the closest word I knew. Amnesia. Was this going to erase my memory? Make me forget that these people had taken my brother? That couldn’t be possible, could it? One soldier held my head still while the other shoved the needle into my neck. A powerful exhaustion filled me. Over the next few seconds, I went from struggling to get away to struggling to stay awake. I lost that struggle. When I woke up, I was in my bed. It was daylight outside. Just a minute after I awoke, my mom came in to check on me. “What time is it?” I asked, still loopy from the drug I’d been given. “Eleven,” mom said. “Where’s Evan?” I was terrified for him, but too out of it for my voice to betray my concern. “We don’t know. They’ve not found him, but they haven’t found his body either. They’re saying some people are still alive in the sinkhole, buried under rubble. We shouldn’t give up hope.” Her answer confused me at first. Why was she talking like he’d never come home? Who were those people who’d taken him? Then I realized what was going on. She didn’t know he’d come home. No one else did. I’d been right about what that ‘amnestic’ was supposed to do. They’d tried to erase my memory of what’d happened, so that they would be able to make it seem like Evan had fallen into the sinkhole. For a few days, I hoped //they// would only keep him for a short time, before pretending they’d found him buried under rubble. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. I never gave up on finding him, though. Even after they supposedly found his body in the pit, smashed beyond recognition, but identifiable by dental records. I wanted to tell my parents what I’d seen. I wanted to tell them that Evan was still alive, that he’d been taken, but I couldn’t. They wouldn’t have believed me, and the thought that I hadn’t been able to accept his death would’ve made them feel worse. Even if someone did believe me, what would they do about it? The people who had taken Evan were powerful enough to cover up everything that’d happened. What could any of the adults in my life do against someone like that? So, I didn’t say anything. As my family mourned my brother, as condolences for his loss flooded in, as I suffered through complimentary grief counseling, I pretended to believe Evan was dead. When my grief counselor asked if I’d had any strange dreams the night Evan disappeared, I realized she was one of //them//, and that if she was, anyone could be. I could never tell anyone what I’d seen. If I did, word would get back to //them//. I’d have another needle shoved into my neck, and maybe this time, I really would forget everything. Theo is the only one I’ve told. That was a risk. When we were first dating, I considered the possibility that he was one of them, but that didn’t make sense. He was too young, and he didn’t act like he’d been ordered to get close to me. Once I decided I was sure about that, I told him what had happened. He believed me. He didn’t even hesitate to believe me. I’m not ashamed to say that made me cry. It’s been months since I told him. If Theo were one of them, they’d have come for me by now. I don’t know who took my brother. I don’t know why they did it, or what they want, but I saw them drag him away. He’s still alive. If they’d wanted him dead, they’d have killed him then and there. Whoever they were, they wanted him as their prisoner. As far as I know, they still have him. When I was a kid, I accepted that I couldn’t do anything against an organization that powerful, that I had to wait until I grew up. Well, now I have, and I’m done waiting. My brother is alive. He’s out there, waiting for me to rescue him, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I don’t care how powerful //they// are. I don’t care what I have to do to get him back. I’m going to find him, and I’m going to set him free. [[=]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-hub\|Series Hub]]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-2-spirituality-club\|Next Entry ▶]]] ,,[[[xhawk77x\|More by this Author]]],, [[/=]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] [!-- N/A (No Images) --] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-02-25T03:04:00	[ "_licensebox", "first-person", "mystery", "reviewers-spotlight", "tale" ]	I Didn't Forget Pt 1: The Galaxy Plaza Disaster - SCP Foundation	32	[ "i-didn-t-forget-hub", "i-didn-t-forget-pt-2-spirituality-club", "xhawk77x", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "reviewers-spotlight-archive-ii", "i-didn-t-forget-hub" ]	[]	1446385404	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster
i-didn-t-forget-pt-10-the-serpent-s-hand	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><strong><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-hub">Series Hub</a></strong></p> <p><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster">◀◀ First Entry</a> \| <a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-9-the-wanderer-s-library">◀ Previous Entry</a> \| <a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-11-the-jailors">Next Entry ▶</a></p> <p><sub><a href="/xhawk77x">More by this Author</a></sub></p> </div> <p><strong>Present Day</strong></p> <p>Training is hard.</p> <p>I have to be in fighting shape to be a functioning member of The Serpent’s Hand. The first thing that means is getting into shape physically. I’m not in terrible shape, but I’m definitely heavier and weaker than I should be. To change that as quickly as possible, I put myself on an intense physical regimen. It’s so intense that even Sean tells me I can take it a bit easier if I want, but I don’t want. Making it easier would make it take longer, and I want to be reunited with my brother as soon as possible.</p> <p>I leave my parents’ house early each morning and spend the rest of the day either at the gym or in the Library. I don’t think Mom and Dad like that I’m gone so much. They hardly get to see me, even though I’m living with them again. Part of me wants to explain myself, to alleviate that distress. At one point, I ask Sean if I should just fill them in. “That’s supposed to be our thing, right?” I say. “Sharing information, even if people think it’s dangerous or forbidden?”</p> <p>“That is our thing,” Sean agrees. “If you think it is wise to bring them into the Library, go ahead. Just make sure you’ve thought through the risks. Bringing your parents into the know creates an extra avenue by which the Jailors could learn what we’re planning, which might make it harder to rescue your brother. Then again, knowing that their son is alive might bring them peace, and they might be able to contribute to his rescue. In the end, it’s your choice. Just make sure it’s a well-considered one.”</p> <p>“Not telling them makes me feel icky, like I’m doing the Jailor’s work for them, like Theo did.”</p> <p>“In a way, you are, but you could also do their work for them by being reckless. The Jailors are larger and more powerful than us. We can only fight them from the shadows. However paradoxical it feels, keeping secrets will always be part of how we oppose them.”</p> <p>I decide to put off telling them everything. I don’t know how they’d react, and I don’t want to take avoidable risks when, after all these years, I’m finally close to saving my brother.</p> <p>As I get into better shape, Sean starts nudging me toward combat training. If I’m going to fight the Jailors, I have to be able to fight, with hands, with guns, and with spells.</p> <p>Hands come first. The members of the cell I’m in spar regularly, and I’m brought into one of those sessions once Sean thinks I’m ready. Through a combination of demonstration and practice, I learn to block and punch, to kick and dodge, to escape grapples, and to restrain others. Before long, I can hold my own in a fight.</p> <p>I also learn to shoot. For someone who’s never held a gun in my hand before, I take to it rather quickly. We spend weeks refining my aim with various weapons.</p> <p>The Hand also teaches me some skills useful for infiltration and espionage. They train me in stealth until I’m able to sneak past a course a few of them are guarding, and they teach me how to properly pick locks.</p> <p>There’s also an intellectual element to my training. It’s not enough for me to become a guerrilla warrior. I need to understand the world that the Jailors and Bookburners have been hiding from me. The Serpent’s Hand teaches me about the supernatural world, its workings, its factions and intrigues. They teach me about the Fifth Church, the threat that Evan lost his freedom to combat. They teach me about half a dozen other groups of Devout who worship gods of flesh and machine, of webs and moons, of Scarlet spite, and blood-soaked spears.</p> <p>It’s not just religions. There are a million other factions at play. The Jailors aren’t the only ones fighting to maintain the veil. They’re not even the worst. If the Bookburners had gotten a hold of my brother, they really would have just killed him. Others would have enslaved him, either to themselves or to the highest bidder. Still others would have put him on display for entertainment. There’s a lot of danger, but all of it is ultimately the fault of the Jailors and Bookburners. The reason slavery and murder are so common in the paranormal world is that it’s forced to keep to the shadows, where it can’t receive the same public scrutiny as everything else. In the shadows, its evils are allowed to fester, only for the Jailors and Bookburners to claim that those evils justify the veil.</p> <p>I’m going to enjoy killing them. As many as I can, as painfully as I can. Those bastards haven’t just screwed me and my brother. They’ve screwed the whole world. They’re responsible for millions of deaths, and I absolutely cannot wait for the day I get to use my newfound combat training to blow their heads off and snap their necks.</p> <p>The Hand also teaches me magic. It turns out I’m talented at it, just like my brother was. The first spell they teach me is Hum, where I sit and meditate with a stick in my hand, trying to make the magic around me flow into it. The first time I do it, my stick gets so hot that it ignites, and the foil starts to glow. It burns me very badly. They have to use healing magic to unfuse the stick from my melted hands. Without magic, this would’ve been a life-changing injury. How many millions of people could be saved, from injuries like this or even from death, if the veil didn’t keep healing magic away from the public?</p> <p>Once I get the hang of casting hum without burning my hands off, I start to work on other spells. Spells to see in darkness, to make myself quieter, to speak with things that have no mouths, and to cure the wounds of others. Healing magic is the area where I struggle the most. Healing someone requires a certain mindset. You have to channel pure, serene goodwill, and serenity isn’t my strong suit.</p> <p>Some days, my training is just to be let loose in the Library with the instruction to read whatever strikes my fancy. I find countless, wonderous things. Journals written by strange creatures from far-off worlds. Novels with strange magical properties. Scrolls that teach ancient, mystic arts. For the most part, I find these days boring. Some of the information is interesting, but most of it is irrelevant to me. I don’t want to read about far-off worlds and strange gods. I want to read about things that will help me rescue my brother.</p> <p>The fifth time they set me loose in the library, they sent me into a wing designated for hazardous works. “It’s not just the information in these books that’s dangerous,” Sean says before sending me in. “If it weren’t for your resistance to mind-affecting effects, there’s no way we’d send you in this soon. Even with that resistance, you still need to be careful, and don’t repeat anything you read in there to anyone else. A dangerous idea you shrug off may prove fatal to someone else.”</p> <p>“Aren’t we supposed to spread dangerous ideas?”</p> <p>“We spread ideas falsely maligned as dangerous. We have no obligation to propagate threats to the innocent.”</p> <p>“But doesn’t everyone think that the ideas they’re censoring are dangerous?”</p> <p>“I’m not talking about metaphorical danger, Jerry. Many of the things in this section can physically hurt someone. There are ideas in that wing that can kill anyone who thinks them. That can enslave the minds of the innocent. Be very careful.”</p> <p>I agree to be so.</p> <p>Some of the books inside are just as foreboding as you’d expect. The first one I pick up is an ancient history of an evil empire that seems to be written entirely in blood. The next is a cookbook dedicated to the use of human souls. There’s a guidebook for mortals hoping to make contracts with infernal beings, and a user’s manual for a machine that extracts the brains of one’s enemies and installs them into household appliances.</p> <p>Honestly, none of those scare me that much. They’re just books. I mean, I suppose it’s bad that people’s souls are being eaten, but at least I know exactly why that book is in the restricted section. The ones that scare me are the ones that seem ordinary. An old medical textbook, the diary of an ordinary teenaged girl, a seemingly blank paperback novel, or a folio of sheet music. For each of these, I’m forced to wonder what awful properties they must have, what horrible things they would be doing to my mind if I didn’t have my abilities to protect me.</p> <p>The most frightening thing I see in this section isn’t a single book, but a set of five. Sandwiched between a dark spellbook and strange religious tract are all five books of the <em>Starlight Saga</em>. I pull the first book down and open it, expecting it to be some kind of dark corruption of the books I grew up with, but it’s not. As far as I can tell, these are exactly the same five books I read as a child. The same ones millions of ordinary people on earth have read. For some reason, the Library considers them hazardous.</p> <p>I can only hope that whatever magical juice they once packed is inert now that Evan foiled Sterling’s plans, but if that were the case, why would they still be here?</p> <p>There must still be work to do regarding the fifth church. Hopefully I’ll get to do it together with Evan, once I’ve rescued him. I think I’ll be able to get him to join the Hand. He was always a hero, and he always believed in freedom. He’d fit right in.</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Six Years Ago</strong></p> <p>Evan’s funeral began in the same room where his visitation had been, and most of the same people were there. Mom delivered the main eulogy, about the tragedy of a life cut short, and her grief as a mother. Daisy also spoke about her friend. About how kind he’d been, how he’d stood up to bullies and fought for those around him. I did not speak, even though Mom and Dad tried to get me to.</p> <p>When the time came, everyone loaded up and drove to the cemetery. I had been offered the opportunity to be a pall bearer, but I’d refused. Dad had tried to insist. “You’re his brother. You should help carry him. This will be the last chance you have to be a part of his story.”</p> <p>“No,” I said. It wouldn’t be my last chance. I was going to make sure of that.</p> <p>“Why not?”</p> <p>“Because I don’t want to.”</p> <p>“You’re going to regret not doing it.”</p> <p>“No I won’t.”</p> <p>“Jerry—”</p> <p>“Cut it out, dad. I’m not doing it. That’s final.”</p> <p>We came to a compromise in the end. Dad would have me listed as an honorary pall bearer, but I wouldn’t have to carry the coffin. It was such an awful farce. That box that carried even less of Evan than it pretended to. Even Mom and Dad knew there wasn’t enough in it to justify its size.</p> <p>The funeral attendees mingled a bit at the cemetery while they waited for everyone to arrive. At one point, when Mom didn’t think I could hear her, she spoke to Grandma about me. “I am worried about him,” she said. “He seems like he’s shutting down. He didn’t want to be involved in any aspect of the funeral. It’s almost like he’s in denial.”</p> <p>“He’s young,” Grandma said. “Let him come to terms with this at his own pace.”</p> <p>Eventually, everyone gathered around a small canopy that had been erected over the gravesite. The older members of the family sat in blue chairs to one side of the casket while everyone else stood in a circle around it. I stood next to Mom, holding her hand. She said a few more words, then the casket was lowered. There was a bundle of blue and white flowers on top of it. As I watched them descend, it occurred to me that Evan wouldn’t have liked the fact that they were plastic.</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Present Day</strong></p> <p>Near the end of my training, I sit in one of the library’s lounges, reading a college-level magic textbook from a version of earth with no veil, when I see someone approaching me. I look over the top of my book. It’s Theo. I raise my book higher, trying to cover my face, but he’s already spotted me, and is heading directly toward me.</p> <p>“Hey,” he says when he reaches me.</p> <p>“Go away,” I say, not lowering my book.</p> <p>“I just wanted to see how you were doing,” he says.</p> <p>“I’m doing very good,” I say. “I’m a member of the Serpent’s Hand, now. We’re already working on saving my brother.”</p> <p>“So, you are going to raid a Foundation site?”</p> <p>“The details of the operation are sensitive,” I say. “I’m not at liberty to discuss them with you.”</p> <p>“I see,” Theo says. He sits down on the couch next to me. I scoot away from him, but I also lower my book. “Look,” he says, “I understand that you don’t want to see me right now—”</p> <p>“Clearly, you don’t.”</p> <p>“I’m worried, okay? I’m sorry. I just… needed to check on you. I’ve come in a few times already, but I haven’t managed to catch you.”</p> <p>“I’ve been avoiding you.”</p> <p>He looks at me. There’s hurt on his face, and for some reason, surprise.</p> <p>“You kept all of this from me,” I say to him, gesturing to indicate the Library, and, with it, the entire magical world. “Everything I’ve learned in the last few months, you’ve been hiding from me for years. As far as I’m concerned, that makes you the same as the Jailors. You were just an obstacle I had to get past in order to rescue my brother.”</p> <p>Theo takes a deep breath. “I know. I know I was wrong to keep everything from you. I, just, look, I love you. That’s not going to change. You’re doing something dangerous, and I can’t help but worry.”</p> <p>“Has it occurred to you that you worry too much?”</p> <p>“I… yes. It has, but the apartment’s been really empty without you.”</p> <p>“I’m not going back.”</p> <p>“I know. I know.” Theo stands. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come here.”</p> <p>“You’re right. You shouldn’t have.”</p> <p>“I’m glad you’re okay. Good luck on your mission.”</p> <p>I raise my book back over my face. Theo’s gaze lingers on me for a moment, then he walks away.</p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><strong><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-hub">Series Hub</a></strong></p> <p><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster">◀◀ First Entry</a> \| <a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-9-the-wanderer-s-library">◀ Previous Entry</a> \| <a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-11-the-jailors">Next Entry ▶</a></p> <p><sub><a href="/xhawk77x">More by this Author</a></sub></p> </div> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-10-the-serpent-s-hand">I Didn't Forget Pt 10: The Serpent's Hand</a>" by XHAWK77X, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/i-didn-t-forget-pt-10-the-serpent-s-hand">https://scpwiki.com/i-didn-t-forget-pt-10-the-serpent-s-hand</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[=]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-hub\|Series Hub]]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster\|◀◀ First Entry]]] \| [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-9-the-wanderer-s-library\|◀ Previous Entry]]] \| [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-11-the-jailors\|Next Entry ▶]]] ,,[[[xhawk77x\|More by this Author]]],, [[/=]] Present Day Training is hard. I have to be in fighting shape to be a functioning member of The Serpent’s Hand. The first thing that means is getting into shape physically. I’m not in terrible shape, but I’m definitely heavier and weaker than I should be. To change that as quickly as possible, I put myself on an intense physical regimen. It’s so intense that even Sean tells me I can take it a bit easier if I want, but I don’t want. Making it easier would make it take longer, and I want to be reunited with my brother as soon as possible. I leave my parents’ house early each morning and spend the rest of the day either at the gym or in the Library. I don’t think Mom and Dad like that I’m gone so much. They hardly get to see me, even though I’m living with them again. Part of me wants to explain myself, to alleviate that distress. At one point, I ask Sean if I should just fill them in. “That’s supposed to be our thing, right?” I say. “Sharing information, even if people think it’s dangerous or forbidden?” “That is our thing,” Sean agrees. “If you think it is wise to bring them into the Library, go ahead. Just make sure you’ve thought through the risks. Bringing your parents into the know creates an extra avenue by which the Jailors could learn what we’re planning, which might make it harder to rescue your brother. Then again, knowing that their son is alive might bring them peace, and they might be able to contribute to his rescue. In the end, it’s your choice. Just make sure it’s a well-considered one.” “Not telling them makes me feel icky, like I’m doing the Jailor’s work for them, like Theo did.” “In a way, you are, but you could also do their work for them by being reckless. The Jailors are larger and more powerful than us. We can only fight them from the shadows. However paradoxical it feels, keeping secrets will always be part of how we oppose them.” I decide to put off telling them everything. I don’t know how they’d react, and I don’t want to take avoidable risks when, after all these years, I’m finally close to saving my brother. As I get into better shape, Sean starts nudging me toward combat training. If I’m going to fight the Jailors, I have to be able to fight, with hands, with guns, and with spells. Hands come first. The members of the cell I’m in spar regularly, and I’m brought into one of those sessions once Sean thinks I’m ready. Through a combination of demonstration and practice, I learn to block and punch, to kick and dodge, to escape grapples, and to restrain others. Before long, I can hold my own in a fight. I also learn to shoot. For someone who’s never held a gun in my hand before, I take to it rather quickly. We spend weeks refining my aim with various weapons. The Hand also teaches me some skills useful for infiltration and espionage. They train me in stealth until I’m able to sneak past a course a few of them are guarding, and they teach me how to properly pick locks. There’s also an intellectual element to my training. It’s not enough for me to become a guerrilla warrior. I need to understand the world that the Jailors and Bookburners have been hiding from me. The Serpent’s Hand teaches me about the supernatural world, its workings, its factions and intrigues. They teach me about the Fifth Church, the threat that Evan lost his freedom to combat. They teach me about half a dozen other groups of Devout who worship gods of flesh and machine, of webs and moons, of Scarlet spite, and blood-soaked spears. It’s not just religions. There are a million other factions at play. The Jailors aren’t the only ones fighting to maintain the veil. They’re not even the worst. If the Bookburners had gotten a hold of my brother, they really would have just killed him. Others would have enslaved him, either to themselves or to the highest bidder. Still others would have put him on display for entertainment. There’s a lot of danger, but all of it is ultimately the fault of the Jailors and Bookburners. The reason slavery and murder are so common in the paranormal world is that it’s forced to keep to the shadows, where it can’t receive the same public scrutiny as everything else. In the shadows, its evils are allowed to fester, only for the Jailors and Bookburners to claim that those evils justify the veil. I’m going to enjoy killing them. As many as I can, as painfully as I can. Those bastards haven’t just screwed me and my brother. They’ve screwed the whole world. They’re responsible for millions of deaths, and I absolutely cannot wait for the day I get to use my newfound combat training to blow their heads off and snap their necks. The Hand also teaches me magic. It turns out I’m talented at it, just like my brother was. The first spell they teach me is Hum, where I sit and meditate with a stick in my hand, trying to make the magic around me flow into it. The first time I do it, my stick gets so hot that it ignites, and the foil starts to glow. It burns me very badly. They have to use healing magic to unfuse the stick from my melted hands. Without magic, this would’ve been a life-changing injury. How many millions of people could be saved, from injuries like this or even from death, if the veil didn’t keep healing magic away from the public? Once I get the hang of casting hum without burning my hands off, I start to work on other spells. Spells to see in darkness, to make myself quieter, to speak with things that have no mouths, and to cure the wounds of others. Healing magic is the area where I struggle the most. Healing someone requires a certain mindset. You have to channel pure, serene goodwill, and serenity isn’t my strong suit. Some days, my training is just to be let loose in the Library with the instruction to read whatever strikes my fancy. I find countless, wonderous things. Journals written by strange creatures from far-off worlds. Novels with strange magical properties. Scrolls that teach ancient, mystic arts. For the most part, I find these days boring. Some of the information is interesting, but most of it is irrelevant to me. I don’t want to read about far-off worlds and strange gods. I want to read about things that will help me rescue my brother. The fifth time they set me loose in the library, they sent me into a wing designated for hazardous works. “It’s not just the information in these books that’s dangerous,” Sean says before sending me in. “If it weren’t for your resistance to mind-affecting effects, there’s no way we’d send you in this soon. Even with that resistance, you still need to be careful, and don’t repeat anything you read in there to anyone else. A dangerous idea you shrug off may prove fatal to someone else.” “Aren’t we supposed to spread dangerous ideas?” “We spread ideas falsely maligned as dangerous. We have no obligation to propagate threats to the innocent.” “But doesn’t everyone think that the ideas they’re censoring are dangerous?” “I’m not talking about metaphorical danger, Jerry. Many of the things in this section can physically hurt someone. There are ideas in that wing that can kill anyone who thinks them. That can enslave the minds of the innocent. Be very careful.” I agree to be so. Some of the books inside are just as foreboding as you’d expect. The first one I pick up is an ancient history of an evil empire that seems to be written entirely in blood. The next is a cookbook dedicated to the use of human souls. There’s a guidebook for mortals hoping to make contracts with infernal beings, and a user’s manual for a machine that extracts the brains of one’s enemies and installs them into household appliances. Honestly, none of those scare me that much. They’re just books. I mean, I suppose it’s bad that people’s souls are being eaten, but at least I know exactly why that book is in the restricted section. The ones that scare me are the ones that seem ordinary. An old medical textbook, the diary of an ordinary teenaged girl, a seemingly blank paperback novel, or a folio of sheet music. For each of these, I’m forced to wonder what awful properties they must have, what horrible things they would be doing to my mind if I didn’t have my abilities to protect me. The most frightening thing I see in this section isn’t a single book, but a set of five. Sandwiched between a dark spellbook and strange religious tract are all five books of the //Starlight Saga//. I pull the first book down and open it, expecting it to be some kind of dark corruption of the books I grew up with, but it’s not. As far as I can tell, these are exactly the same five books I read as a child. The same ones millions of ordinary people on earth have read. For some reason, the Library considers them hazardous. I can only hope that whatever magical juice they once packed is inert now that Evan foiled Sterling’s plans, but if that were the case, why would they still be here? There must still be work to do regarding the fifth church. Hopefully I’ll get to do it together with Evan, once I’ve rescued him. I think I’ll be able to get him to join the Hand. He was always a hero, and he always believed in freedom. He’d fit right in. ----- Six Years Ago Evan’s funeral began in the same room where his visitation had been, and most of the same people were there. Mom delivered the main eulogy, about the tragedy of a life cut short, and her grief as a mother. Daisy also spoke about her friend. About how kind he’d been, how he’d stood up to bullies and fought for those around him. I did not speak, even though Mom and Dad tried to get me to. When the time came, everyone loaded up and drove to the cemetery. I had been offered the opportunity to be a pall bearer, but I’d refused. Dad had tried to insist. “You’re his brother. You should help carry him. This will be the last chance you have to be a part of his story.” “No,” I said. It wouldn’t be my last chance. I was going to make sure of that. “Why not?” “Because I don’t want to.” “You’re going to regret not doing it.” “No I won’t.” “Jerry—” “Cut it out, dad. I’m not doing it. That’s final.” We came to a compromise in the end. Dad would have me listed as an honorary pall bearer, but I wouldn’t have to carry the coffin. It was such an awful farce. That box that carried even less of Evan than it pretended to. Even Mom and Dad knew there wasn’t enough in it to justify its size. The funeral attendees mingled a bit at the cemetery while they waited for everyone to arrive. At one point, when Mom didn’t think I could hear her, she spoke to Grandma about me. “I am worried about him,” she said. “He seems like he’s shutting down. He didn’t want to be involved in any aspect of the funeral. It’s almost like he’s in denial.” “He’s young,” Grandma said. “Let him come to terms with this at his own pace.” Eventually, everyone gathered around a small canopy that had been erected over the gravesite. The older members of the family sat in blue chairs to one side of the casket while everyone else stood in a circle around it. I stood next to Mom, holding her hand. She said a few more words, then the casket was lowered. There was a bundle of blue and white flowers on top of it. As I watched them descend, it occurred to me that Evan wouldn’t have liked the fact that they were plastic. ----- Present Day Near the end of my training, I sit in one of the library’s lounges, reading a college-level magic textbook from a version of earth with no veil, when I see someone approaching me. I look over the top of my book. It’s Theo. I raise my book higher, trying to cover my face, but he’s already spotted me, and is heading directly toward me. “Hey,” he says when he reaches me. “Go away,” I say, not lowering my book. “I just wanted to see how you were doing,” he says. “I’m doing very good,” I say. “I’m a member of the Serpent’s Hand, now. We’re already working on saving my brother.” “So, you are going to raid a Foundation site?” “The details of the operation are sensitive,” I say. “I’m not at liberty to discuss them with you.” “I see,” Theo says. He sits down on the couch next to me. I scoot away from him, but I also lower my book. “Look,” he says, “I understand that you don’t want to see me right now—” “Clearly, you don’t.” “I’m worried, okay? I’m sorry. I just… needed to check on you. I’ve come in a few times already, but I haven’t managed to catch you.” “I’ve been avoiding you.” He looks at me. There’s hurt on his face, and for some reason, surprise. “You kept all of this from me,” I say to him, gesturing to indicate the Library, and, with it, the entire magical world. “Everything I’ve learned in the last few months, you’ve been hiding from me for years. As far as I’m concerned, that makes you the same as the Jailors. You were just an obstacle I had to get past in order to rescue my brother.” Theo takes a deep breath. “I know. I know I was wrong to keep everything from you. I, just, look, I love you. That’s not going to change. You’re doing something dangerous, and I can’t help but worry.” “Has it occurred to you that you worry too much?” “I… yes. It has, but the apartment’s been really empty without you.” “I’m not going back.” “I know. I know.” Theo stands. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come here.” “You’re right. You shouldn’t have.” “I’m glad you’re okay. Good luck on your mission.” I raise my book back over my face. Theo’s gaze lingers on me for a moment, then he walks away. [[=]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-hub\|Series Hub]]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster\|◀◀ First Entry]]] \| [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-9-the-wanderer-s-library\|◀ Previous Entry]]] \| [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-11-the-jailors\|Next Entry ▶]]] ,,[[[xhawk77x\|More by this Author]]],, [[/=]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-12-11T22:06:00	[ "_licensebox", "bleak", "first-person", "lgbtq", "mystery", "second-hytoth", "serpents-hand", "tale", "wanderers-library" ]	I Didn't Forget Pt 10: The Serpent's Hand - SCP Foundation	7	[ "i-didn-t-forget-hub", "i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster", "i-didn-t-forget-pt-9-the-wanderer-s-library", "i-didn-t-forget-pt-11-the-jailors", "xhawk77x", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "wanderers-library-hub", "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "serpent-s-hand-hub", "i-didn-t-forget-hub", "second-hytoth-hub" ]	[]	1451755746	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/i-didn-t-forget-pt-10-the-serpent-s-hand
i-didn-t-forget-pt-2-spirituality-club	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><strong><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-hub">Series Hub</a></strong></p> <p><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster">◀ Previous Entry</a> \| <a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-3-richard-michaels">Next Entry ▶</a></p> <p><sub><a href="/xhawk77x">More by this Author</a></sub></p> </div> <p><strong>Seven Years Ago</strong></p> <p>I was lying on the couch in the living room, reading, when my brother Evan answered the front door. His friend Callum stepped inside, carrying a blue bag. “What’s up?” Evan asked.</p> <p>Callum was smirking. “You remember that book we were talking about yesterday?”</p> <p>I knew which book he meant. A few days earlier, Evan had gone to Runes and Relics intending to buy a rare book that had turned up there, but when he arrived, it’d already been swiped by a boy named Allen, another member of Cypress High’s Spirituality Club.</p> <p>Evan had been quite disappointed by this.</p> <p>“Of course, I do,” Evan said.</p> <p>Callum reached into his bag and pulled out a book.</p> <p>“Holy shit!” Evan’s face lit up. He snatched the thing out of Callum’s hands so fast it made Callum flinch. He opened the book and flipped through some of its pages.</p> <p>“Enough to make you swear for once?” Callum chuckled. “In front of your little brother, no less?”</p> <p>I peeked over the top of my own book to look at the one Evan was holding. It was a dark red hardcover, dusty, with deep yellow pages and a prominent dent across the front. Something, presumably the book’s title, was printed on it in gold, but I couldn’t make it out.</p> <p>“How did you get Allen to give it up?” Evan asked.</p> <p>“I bought it from him. Once I offered him three-hundred dollars, he stopped feeling so strongly about keeping it.”</p> <p>“You didn’t have to do that.”</p> <p>“I know.” Callum punched my brother’s shoulder. “I just wanted to see the look on your face. For the record, worth every penny.”</p> <p>“And you’re sure you don’t want it?”</p> <p>“Why would I? It’s old heptagon stuff, right?”</p> <p>“Dave, technically. It’s just a book about craft theory, though. It covers a lot of different perspectives. I mean, it’s right there in the title. ‘<em>A Synthesis of Diverse Thoughts.</em>’”</p> <p>“I guess that’s good. Last thing I need is for you to go hepto on me.”</p> <p>Evan chuckled. “You’d have to do a lot more than buy a book to get rid of me.”</p> <p>“Good to hear.”</p> <p>“Mind if I take it upstairs?”</p> <p>“Of course. I’ll come with.”</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Present Day</strong></p> <p>“Thanks for coming,” I say to Quinn, who’s sitting across from me and Theo. We’re at a fast-food restaurant on the opposite side of town from the library. It’s not that popular, and I picked a time I knew it would be empty.</p> <p>“No problem,” Quinn says. He was one of my brother’s friends when he was younger, and he was a member of Spirituality Club.</p> <p>Evan was always secretive about Spirituality Club. I already wanted to find out more about it as part of my investigation, but Jess’ testimony, that Evan had gone to the Galaxy Plaza with some of his friends from Spirituality Club the night he was taken, multiplied my interest tenfold.</p> <p>As a teenager, Quinn had long dreadlocks, and always wore a string of stones and crystals around his neck. Now he’s in his twenties, with short hair, jeans and a T-shirt with a large red A on it. I’m pretty sure it’s the ‘Atheism’ A, not the ‘Anarchy’ one. If so, Quinn’s worldview has shifted quite a bit since I knew him.</p> <p>That shirt is probably the source of the dislike toward him I sense from Theo. Theo’s pretty religious. He’s not a fanatic or anything, but he goes to church every Sunday. He doesn’t talk to me about his faith that often, which I’m grateful for, but he seems to care a lot about it.</p> <p>“So,” I say to Quinn, “tell me about Spirituality Club.”</p> <p>“Man, that takes me back,” Quinn says with a bemused smile. “Okay, so, it was an official student club at Cypress High School. Honestly, its name should give you a pretty good idea of what it was like. We were basically a bunch of teenaged hippies. Most of us called ourselves Pagans or Wiccans, and we’d gather there to admire each other’s crystals, read tarot cards, talk about the vibrations we’d felt while we were mediating, and talk even more about the ‘real magic’ we thought we were practicing.”</p> <p>“How real was the magic?” Theo asks.</p> <p>Quinn chuckles. “Depends on who you ask. At sixteen, any of us would’ve told you Spirituality Club was a place where miracles happened.”</p> <p>“What would you say now?” I ask.</p> <p>“I like to think I’ve outgrown believing in magic. Spirituality Club was just a bunch of kids getting psyched up over standard new age stuff. It’s nostalgic for me. I have some fond memories of it, but it wasn’t magical.”</p> <p>“How large was the club?”</p> <p>“There were around a dozen people at the average meeting. Maybe twenty people who were technically members. Your brother was always a big figure in it. He was the full-on leader for a while.”</p> <p>“And before that, it was Callum Michaels?”</p> <p>“Yep. God, he was the worst.”</p> <p>“How so?”</p> <p>“He was so full of himself. He always had to have his way, and he wasn’t afraid to flex his popularity and his family’s money to get what he wanted. I’m surprised you need to ask me about it. Your brother was his archnemesis after he left.”</p> <p>“Evan always tried to keep me away from his school stuff.”</p> <p>“That makes sense. Evan was a pretty good guy. I’m sorry about what happened to him, by the way. I should’ve opened with that. I wasn’t one of Evan’s close friends, but everyone in the club liked him.”</p> <p>I nod. “He was pretty cool.”</p> <p>“Yeah. That’s why everyone liked him. Well, that, and because most of the club was convinced he was the best at magic.”</p> <p>“Best at magic?”</p> <p>“Yeah. All of us thought we could do a bit of magic, but everyone agreed Evan was the best at it. Even Callum admitted that, back when the two of them got along.”</p> <p>“Do you remember why everyone thought that?” Theo asks.</p> <p>“Not really. I’m sure it was something silly.” He taps his foot for a moment. “Actually, I remember one thing. There was this exercise we would do where we would wrap sticks in tinfoil and sit in a circle with them. The sticks were supposed to channel the energy of the universe or something. We all thought we got results from that, but he got the most.”</p> <p>“Did that exercise have a name?” Theo asks.</p> <p>“Something like buzz or hum,” Quinn says. “I’m sure there’s something on the internet about it.”</p> <p>“What results did my brother get from this?” I ask.</p> <p>Quinn thinks about this for a moment. “Was… was your brother into stage magic at all?”</p> <p>“Not that I know of. Why do you ask?”</p> <p>He hesitates. “His stick would float. It would float in the air. I don’t know how he did it. Must have been some kind of magician’s trick, but it had us completely convinced at the time.”</p> <p>“Do you remember where the idea for this exercise came from?” Theo asks.</p> <p>“It was already a thing in the group when I joined.”</p> <p>“Was Evan’s floating stick the only extraordinary result you got from it?” I ask.</p> <p>Quinn stares blankly at us for a moment.</p> <p>“Dude?” I say.</p> <p>“Sorry. No. It wasn’t the only one. There were others. One time, Callum’s stick got cold. Like, freezing cold. So cold that it hurt to touch, and…” he pauses, “Almost every time we did it, I would hear music. I don’t mean that metaphorically. I really heard it. I would try to play what I’d heard back to the group on my guitar. That’s where a lot of the pieces I wrote as a teenager came from. How did I forget that?” The question is for himself, not me.</p> <p>I have no answer, so I respond with another question of my own. “Was that the only magic trick my brother would do?”</p> <p>Quinn shakes his head. “There were others. He could push things without touching them, and I remember he could predict what card someone would draw out of a tarot deck without having to do any kind of card trick with it. Also, one time I remember him and Callum talking about winning the lottery.”</p> <p>“Winning the lottery?”</p> <p>“Yeah. This wasn’t on club time. It was just something I overheard them talking about. They were debating whether they should use magic to look into the future and buy a winning lottery ticket. Callum was arguing they should, while Evan thought they shouldn’t because it was cheating. That was his only problem with it, though. The whole time they were talking, neither one seemed to doubt that they could do that if they wanted to.”</p> <p>“As far as I know, my brother never won the lottery.”</p> <p>“I know. I just mention it because hearing that conversation was one of the things that convinced me they were God-tier warlocks. They sounded so sure it would work.”</p> <p>“Were there any rules in the club about keeping the results you got secret?” Theo asks.</p> <p>Quinn nods. “Yeah. We weren’t supposed to talk about any of it to outsiders. God, how the hell did I forget about this?”</p> <p>“What do you mean when you say you forgot?”</p> <p>“An hour ago, I would have sworn to you that I’d never experienced anything supernatural. I would have said there’s nothing like that in the whole world, and everyone who thinks otherwise is an idiot. That’s not true, though. I saw that stick float into the air. I felt it go ice cold. I heard music. I…” he stammers, “I’m sure there is a logical explanation for all of it. Lots of people think they’ve seen real magic, but how did I forget I was one of them?”</p> <p>He’s not looking at either of us. I don’t think he’s really talking to either of us. I have a guess as to how he might have forgotten all of this, but I can’t tell him about it. Either way, why is he remembering everything now, when he happens to be talking to me? Why did the same thing happen to Jess?</p> <p>“Be thankful you have the memories back now,” Theo says. “Hopefully it’s taught you a lesson about respecting other people’s beliefs.”</p> <p>Quinn nods, but his attention is still off in the distance. For a moment, we all sit, silently.</p> <p>“Did Evan ever say anything to you about the release party for <em>Glorious Dawn</em>?” I ask, breaking the silence.</p> <p>“The one where he passed away?”</p> <p>“Yeah.”</p> <p>“No. I don’t think I even knew about that party until I heard about the disaster on the news. I liked Evan, but I wasn’t one of his close friends.”</p> <p>“What happened to the club after my brother died?” I ask. “He was leader at that point, right?”</p> <p>Quinn shrugs. “Yeah. Once he was gone, people just kind of lost interest. I was one of those people. I’d always liked to debate skeptics online, but around then, I started to find them convincing.”</p> <p>“Who ran the club after my brother?” I ask.</p> <p>“His friend Daisy, for a few months, but there were only a few people still interested in it. She graduated that year, and once she was gone, there wasn’t enough interest left to keep it going.”</p> <p>“Alright,” I say. “Thank you for telling me all of this.”</p> <p>“Try not to mention this conversation to anyone else,” Theo adds. “We’re trying to keep aspects of this confidential.”</p> <p>“No problem,” Quinn says. After a moment, he stands up and leaves.</p> <p>“What do you make of it?” I ask Theo once he’s gone.</p> <p>“I’m sorry, but I still think it’s an act.”</p> <p>“Just like you thought with Jess?”</p> <p>“Why would he start remembering those things just when we were talking to him? This guy was a hardcore atheist for half a decade, and then a single conversation about his pagan phase in high school has him acting like he believes in magic again? It doesn’t make sense.”</p> <p>“We know ‘amnestics’ are fallible. They didn’t work on me.”</p> <p>“But why? How could a conspiracy like this survive if its memory-erasing drugs were unreliable?”</p> <p>“I don’t know, but we know that they are.”</p> <p>“He might have been told to say that. This might be a trap. We might be in a lot of trouble. If there’s heat on us, maybe we should wait a bit for it to die down.”</p> <p>“I’ve already waited long enough. You don’t have to keep doing this with me, if you don’t want to, but I’m not stopping.”</p> <p>He puts a hand on my shoulder. “I didn’t mean that. I’m in this as long as you are. I just think we should be careful. This could end with us in cages, too.”</p> <p>“I understand, but that’s the risk we’re taking on. It’s the risk we have to take on order to find my brother.”</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Seven Years Ago</strong></p> <p>Evan never wanted me anywhere near Spirituality Club.</p> <p>“There’s stuff there that a kid shouldn’t be exposed to,” he once said.</p> <p>“You’re also a kid,” I replied.</p> <p>“I’m a teenager. Completely different.”</p> <p>“Not what mom says.”</p> <p>“Ask if you can watch a PG-13 movie. See if she still thinks that.”</p> <p>His efforts to keep me away were mostly redundant. Spirituality Club meetings were at Evan’s high school, which I seldom had any reason to visit. However, one night, I happened to be with Mom when she picked Evan up from his club meeting, which left me standing outside the club room just after a meeting had concluded.</p> <p>I’d always pictured the club room being full of crystals and hanging stars, with shelves holding books on pagan spirituality, the same kind of stuff that Evan’s room was full of. It wasn’t like that at all, though. The club just held its meetings in an ordinary classroom. As we approached, the students inside were arranging the seats back into rows, having seemingly had them in a circle during the meeting. There were no crystals decorating the room, but every student there wore a polished green stone around their neck, and most of them wore other crystals on top of that.</p> <p>Evan had been chatting with his friend Daisy in the corner of the room, but he’d broken off from that conversation when he saw me and Mom approaching. He hurried outside. Even at the time, I suspected this was because he wanted to stop us from entering the room.</p> <p>“You ready to go?” Mom asked once he emerged.</p> <p>“Yeah,” Evan said.</p> <p>“Actually,” Allen said from inside the classroom, “Evan, can I talk to you for a minute?”</p> <p>Evan looked over at Mom. “A few minutes?” he asked.</p> <p>“Sure,” Mom said.</p> <p>Evan stepped back in the room and closed the door behind him. His conversation with Allen was short and quiet. Through the window in the classroom door, I saw Allen say something that upset Evan quite a bit. It made him angry at first, but over the course of the conversation, his mood shifted from anger, to worry, to sadness. After a few minutes, Evan came back out.</p> <p>“What’s wrong?” I asked.</p> <p>“Nothing big,” Evan said. “He wanted the book back.”</p> <p>“The one Callum gave you?”</p> <p>“Yeah.”</p> <p>“Didn’t Callum give him money for that? Why does he want it back?”</p> <p>“He said he’d return the money.”</p> <p>That didn’t really answer my question, but I didn’t want to press him. “Are you going to give it to him?”</p> <p>“It looks like I’ll have to.”</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Present Day</strong></p> <p>Runes and Relics is even smaller than I remember. The so-called ‘occult store’ isn’t much more than a small blue box. In one corner, dozens of crystals are arranged on shelves to be sold. In another, there’s a variety of old books. In another, jars are filled with strange, stringy herbs.</p> <p>Near the entrance is the counter. It’s made of glass, so it can display a few high-value items, including large crystals, a huge book, and an ornate statue of a serpent coiled around a tree.</p> <p>Daisy is standing behind the counter. She’s in her twenties, tall and blonde, with her hair in long braids. She greets us as we approach the desk. “Hey, Jerry.”</p> <p>“Hey,” I say. “Thanks for agreeing to meet with us.”</p> <p>“No problem.” She was one of Evan’s close friends, probably his closest friend after he stopped getting along with Callum. She was a founding member of Spirituality Club, and her interest in that sort of thing had persisted through the years, which is why she’s now the manager of Runes and Relics. “You said you wanted to meet in the back?”</p> <p>“Yeah.” There’s no way Daisy is part of the group that kidnapped my brother, but her store could have been bugged by them. If that’s the case, the bug is probably in the public area of the store. If so, hopefully it won’t hear us while we’re in the back.</p> <p>Daisy escorts us back to the break room, where we sit at a white plastic table. “You said this was about Evan?” she asks, a bit somber.</p> <p>“Yes,” I say, trying to match her mood. “I want to understand him better. He was always so secretive about Spirituality Club, even though it was such a huge part of his life. If he were still around, I wouldn’t resent him having secrets, but with him gone…” I trail off. I think I’m doing a good impression of a grieving brother. I feel a little bad for putting on this kind of performance for someone I know, but I can’t risk letting on that I know Evan is alive.</p> <p>“I understand,” she says. “The club was very secretive. We always thought someone was out to get us. Looking back, it was pretentious as hell. We thought what we were doing was <em>so</em> subversive, like if it got out, it would doom us all.”</p> <p>“Do you know what made you think that?” Theo asks.</p> <p>Daisy shrugs. “It was just teenagers being teenagers, thinking they’re more important than they are, and we thought we were extremely important.”</p> <p>“How so?” I ask.</p> <p>“There was a sort of inner circle within Spirituality Club. It was basically Evan and his best friends. Callum used to have us working on special projects, and there was another one Even had us doing after he left.”</p> <p>“What was it?” Theo asks.</p> <p>“I honestly don’t remember.”</p> <p>“Did it have to do with the release party for <em>Glorious Dawn</em>?” I ask.</p> <p>“Come to think of it, yeah, it did.”</p> <p>“So you went to that party?” Theo asks.</p> <p>“All four of us did,” she says. “By which I mean me, Evan, Allen, and Lia. There was something we were planning to do there, but I don’t remember exactly what.”</p> <p>I hesitate. Both of my conversations until now have followed a pattern. People don’t remember things. I ask them questions, then they remember them. It’s dangerous to let on how much I know. I trust Daisy, but <em>they</em> could get information out of her in any number of ways. At the same time, I want to drill to the heart of this. I can’t avoid all risks. I’m going to go for it. “Just before he went to the party,” I begin, “Evan told me he was going there to stop Callum from doing something that would hurt the people there.”</p> <p>“That was it!” Daisy says. So, this interview is going to be like the others. “We thought he was going to take some kind of revenge on the town for turning against him.”</p> <p>“The whole town? I know he had a falling out with my brother, but—”</p> <p>“A lot of things went wrong for Callum around that time. Evan ousting him from the club meant he lost his entire friend group. His girlfriend had just broken up with him. His parents were having relationship problems, too, and his grades were getting worse.”</p> <p>“Where did you learn about his grades?”</p> <p>“Callum told us about all of it. He had it in his head that it was all Evan’s fault. He even blamed us for a strike at one of his dad’s stores. I guess he thought we were cursing him.”</p> <p>“Were you?”</p> <p>“No. I don’t believe in using the arts to hurt people. I’ve never done that, and I never will.”</p> <p>“Could Evan have done it without your knowledge?” Theo asks.</p> <p>“He wouldn’t. I think Callum just had some bad luck and was looking for someone to blame, so he blamed us, and he promised he’d get revenge.”</p> <p>“Do you remember what he was planning to do?” I ask.</p> <p>“I don’t think we ever knew, but Evan thought it was going to be at the release party.”</p> <p>“Why would Callum target that?” Theo asks.</p> <p>“Best guess, he wanted the largest crowd he could find.”</p> <p>“Given what wound up happening, is it likely that he went through with his threat?”</p> <p>“There’s no knowing that kind of thing. The disaster was natural, as far as anyone could tell, but sometimes that’s how magic works. You send energy, good or bad, into the world, and something happens that looks totally natural, even though you caused it.”</p> <p>“Is that the only kind of magic Callum ever used? Did he ever do anything more impressive?”</p> <p>“We all did,” she says. I ask her to elaborate, and she tells us a lot of the same things Quinn did. She, too, doesn’t seem to have thought about them in years, though she’s less shocked by the emerging memories. “I’m not sure Callum could have done something that big,” she continues. “As difficult as it is to imagine, I think the disaster might have been a coincidence.”</p> <p>“Is it possible he had outside help?”</p> <p>Daisy shrugs. “Maybe. He was wealthy. He probably could have hired a practitioner to do anything.” Suddenly, her eyes go wide. “Wait,” she continues. “We…okay, this was just our speculation, as children. It’s entirely probable that we were wrong, but I just remembered, at the time, we thought Aster Sterling was going to help him do it.”</p> <p>“What?”</p> <p>“We were probably wrong. In fact, I’m a bit embarrassed mentioning it. I mean, he died there. Obviously, he didn’t do that on purpose, but, at the time, that’s the impression Evan had us under.”</p> <p>“Do you remember where he got that idea?”</p> <p>“He didn’t really explain himself. We trusted him.”</p> <p>“And he’d told you that Callum and Aster Sterling were conspiring to make something happen at the release party?”</p> <p>“Yes.”</p> <p>“I see. Thank you. This has been very helpful.”</p> <p>“It has?”</p> <p>“What I mean,” I rush to add, “is that it’s comforting to know that he went to the party to help people.”</p> <p>“Oh. Well, you’re welcome.”</p> <p>“One other thing,” Theo says. “Jeremy told me about a book that was purchased here when he was a kid. An old, rare book about magic.”</p> <p>“The one Allen bought?”</p> <p>“Yes.”</p> <p>“I remember the drama at the club about that, though it was before I started working here. Why do you mention it?”</p> <p>“Do you have any idea what the book’s name was?”</p> <p>“No clue, sorry.”</p> <p>Theo gently elbows me under the table. It takes me a moment to realize why. He wants me to see if me asking her makes a difference. “Are you sure?” I ask. I try to will my words to jog her memory. “I know it had the phrase A Synthesis of Diverse Thoughts in it, but I don’t think that was the entire title.”</p> <p>She thinks about it for a moment. “Yeah, sorry, I don’t know anything about it.”</p> <p>“Are there any sales records you could check in order to find out?” Theo asks.</p> <p>“Maybe,” Daisy says. “There are records in the system from around that time. I can see what books Allen bought around then.”</p> <p>“I’d appreciate that,” Theo says. “Do you have anything like that in stock now, by the way? Not just that specific book, but anything like it?”</p> <p>“Sure. You want me to show you what I have?”</p> <p>“Absolutely.”</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Seven Years Ago</strong></p> <p>Evan hurried downstairs as someone knocked furiously at the front door. He opened it. It was Callum. “We have a problem,” Callum said. I was curious enough that I lowered the volume on the TV so I could listen in.</p> <p>“You’re right,” Evan said. “We do.”</p> <p>“Look, before anything else, I want to tell you that I’m sorry. I have no idea how it happened. It shouldn’t have been possible.”</p> <p>“Is that what you think the problem is? The fact that Allen was able to tell me what you did to him?”</p> <p>“Of course that’s the problem. What else would it be?”</p> <p>“The fact that you did it to him! Do you do this kind of thing all the time?”</p> <p>Callum scoffed. “Of course, I do. Don’t be a square.”</p> <p>“Square?”</p> <p>“Yes. Square. We worked for the power we have. We have the right to—”</p> <p>“My brother is in the other room.”</p> <p>Callum sighed. “Right. Of course.” They went upstairs.</p> <p>Later that night, I asked Evan what he and Callum had spoken about.</p> <p>“We were just talking about the book,” Evan said.</p> <p>“You sounded really mad at him. What did he do?”</p> <p>Evan took a deep breath. “According to Allen, he only sold the book to because Callum forced him to.”</p> <p>“What do you mean? How did he force him?”</p> <p>“Does it matter how? He did it, and he did it as a favor for me.”</p> <p>“It’s not your fault.”</p> <p>“I know. I really do. I still feel bad. I just wish Callum had asked me before doing it. It doesn’t even seem to have occurred to him that I wouldn’t want that. That’s what scares me. The fact that he thinks I’m the kind of person who would want him to control other people. It also means he’s the kind of person who’s willing to do that. I really thought he was better than people said he was. Now I’m not sure.”</p> <p>“Does that mean you won’t be friends anymore?”</p> <p>“I hope not. I’ll talk to him again once we’ve both had time to calm down.”</p> <p>“I’m sure everything will be fine.”</p> <p>“Yeah,” Evan nodded. “I’m sure it will be fine.”</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Present Day</strong></p> <p>“This is the third time it’s happened,” Theo says, as we get in his car after leaving Runes and Relics. “Every time you talk with someone, they act like they’re suddenly regaining memories—"</p> <p>“That probably means it’s not an act.”</p> <p>“Or, it means <em>they’ve</em> been one step ahead of us this whole time.”</p> <p>“Daisy’s not with them.”</p> <p>Theo starts the car. “You can’t know that for sure.”</p> <p>“I’ve known her since I was a kid. She was one of Evan’s best friends. There’s no way she’s with the people who took him.”</p> <p>“People can change a lot over the years.”</p> <p>“She hasn’t changed. She’d forgotten about the magic she used to do, but learning about it didn’t freak her out like it did Quinn. She’s still interested in the occult. She runs Runes and Relics for God’s sake.”</p> <p>“She wouldn’t be a good secret agent if it was easy to tell that she was one.”</p> <p>“Isn’t it your theory that <em>their</em> overall goal is to hide the paranormal from the world? Why would someone who wants to do that be running an occult store?”</p> <p>“Maybe she’s in deep cover?”</p> <p>“No. It’s not possible. Daisy is a friend. End of discussion.”</p> <p>“Then there has to be some other reason people keep recovering memories while talking to you.”</p> <p>“I suppose there does.” There is a pause. “Any ideas? Because I don’t have any.”</p> <p>Theo thinks for a moment. “We know <em>they</em> erase memories. So far, all the memories people have seemed to ‘get back’ have had to do with the supernatural. Those are memories <em>they</em> would want to erase.”</p> <p>“If you’re right about what their agenda is.”</p> <p>“Fair, but assuming I am right about that, the question before us is why talking to you makes them remember.”</p> <p>“I agree.”</p> <p>“Maybe it’s the same reason they couldn’t erase your memories. Maybe something about you negates their ‘amnestics.’ Not just for you, but other people to.”</p> <p>It would explain why they couldn’t take my memories away. “I’ve interacted with Daisy since Evan was taken. If being around me negates their amnestics, why didn’t it happen earlier?”</p> <p>“Did you talk about Spirituality Club with her?”</p> <p>“Not much. I’ve always tried not to talk about any of it, with anyone.”</p> <p>“It’s only your questions that make people remember things. Mine don’t. We saw that with both Daisy and Jess. If these people aren’t acting, there must be something about you asking questions that makes people remember the answers.”</p> <p>It’s a hell of a thought. “I don’t know. The idea that I’m special feels like wishful thinking.”</p> <p>“But your brother was special.”</p> <p>“What do you mean?”</p> <p>“They took him. They didn’t take Daisy, Quinn or Allen, even though they knew everything he did, and had performed magic just like he had. They just erased those people’s memories, but they felt the need to kidnap Evan. There must have been something special about him, and whatever that something is, maybe you have it to.”</p> <p>“Maybe.” It’s a sickening thought. Being special should be a good thing. It’s not something you should be punished with a lifetime of imprisonment for.</p> <p>“If that’s true, this investigation could be even more dangerous than we’d realized. They might want to take you too.”</p> <p>“Maybe,” I admit. “At the same time, they might have taken him because he was some kind of threat to them. That could mean I’m a threat to them, too.” I smile. “I like that idea.”</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Seven Years Ago</strong></p> <p>The pounding knock at the door startled me as I sat in the kitchen, eating a late lunch. Dad was on his way to the door when Evan ran in front of him. “I’ll get it.”</p> <p>He opened the door. Callum was standing there, daggers in his eyes. “What?” Evan asked, meeting his gaze.</p> <p>“You made my girlfriend break up with me,” Callum answered, his voice dripping with venom.</p> <p>“No, I didn’t.”</p> <p>“Yes, you fucking did. After one conversation with her, she called me and said she never wanted to see me again. What the fuck did you do?”</p> <p>“I asked her how you treat her. That’s all. It’s not my fault the answer made her want to leave you.”</p> <p>“Don’t play dumb. You know exactly why she shouldn’t have been able to break up with me.”</p> <p>“My dad and brother can—”</p> <p>“I don’t give a fuck! Tell me what you did!”</p> <p>“I already have. I asked her how you treat her.”</p> <p>“Bullshit. There had to be some kind of magic to what you said.” At the time, I thought Callum meant that metaphorically.</p> <p>Evan scoffed. “Do you really find it that hard to believe that she’d want nothing to do with you once she had a choice?”</p> <p>“Stop being a smartass and <em>tell me what you did</em>.” There was something in the way he said those words, some special combination of force and venom, that made my blood run cold.</p> <p>“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Evan said, with a defiant calm.</p> <p>“I said, <em>tell me what you did</em>,” Callum seethed.</p> <p>Evan just stood with his arms crossed. “You know, I used to think you liked the fact that I didn’t always do what you said. Being showered with all the unearned reverence you get would drive me crazy. I thought it drove you crazy, too, but I was wrong. You love it. You’re just as shallow as everyone says you are, and you hate that there’s finally someone who can stand up to you.”</p> <p>“You’ll pay for this,” Callum growled.</p> <p>“Give me your best shot. I’m sure you’ll have just as much influence over everyone else as you did on your girlfriend.”</p> <p>Callum’s hand thrust toward Evan. For a second, I thought this was going to come to blows, but Callum didn’t touch Evan. He just grabbed the polished green stone around Evan’s neck. The one everyone in Spirituality Club wore. “You don’t deserve this,” he said, ripping the stone off of him. The string broke with a satisfying snap.</p> <p>“You’re right. It’s beneath me.”</p> <p>“We’ll see. I’d better not see you at any future meetings.”</p> <p>“There’ll have to be a vote on that,” Evan said. “Club rules don’t let you kick someone out without one. Didn’t you read the document?”</p> <p>“I fucking wrote it!”</p> <p>“<em>We</em> wrote it.”</p> <p>“Fine. Come tomorrow, then. We’ll see how eager everyone is to keep you.”</p> <p>“Yeah, I think we will.”</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Present Day</strong></p> <p>Theo and I are at home, reviewing our notes.</p> <p>The fact that me and my brother might have some kind of supernatural ability should be the most shocking thing to come out of our interview with Daisy, but, honestly, it’s second to the idea that Aster Sterling was working with Callum. Maybe I just don’t want to believe that someone I admired so much as a child was capable of immense evil, but I can’t shake the feeling that him being in on it doesn’t add up. Sterling died. Even if he’s secretly alive somewhere, he lost his status as a famous and successful author. Why would he willingly do that? Certainly not just as a favor to Callum.</p> <p>My phone rings. I answer. “Hello?”</p> <p>“Hey,” Daisy says. She sounds cold, and a bit angry.</p> <p>“Is something wrong?”</p> <p>“Do you know where your boyfriend was last night, around 2:00 AM?”</p> <p>The question takes me aback. I was asleep at 2:00 AM. As far as I know, so was he. “He was home, in bed, with me,” I say.</p> <p>Theo looks up from our notes. “Are you talking about me?”</p> <p>I hold up a finger to tell him to wait.</p> <p>“Are you sure?” Daisy asks.</p> <p>“I think so. What’s this about?”</p> <p>There’s a pause. “One of the books he expressed interest in has been stolen.”</p> <p>“What?”</p> <p>“You remember how I showed him the books we have in stock? He was very interested in one of them, a large, untitled book with a star on its cover. This book was worth over a thousand dollars. Last night, someone broke into the store and took it. Nothing else. Just that one book.”</p> <p>“And you think he did it?”</p> <p>“Who did what?” Theo asks. I shush him.</p> <p>“He spent five minutes grilling me about what it was and where I’d gotten it. He came out and told me he thought he might buy it. That same night, it was stolen. You must understand how that looks.”</p> <p>When she puts it like that, it does sound pretty bad. “He wouldn’t do that,” I say, with all the confidence I can muster.</p> <p>“What the hell is going on?” Theo asks.</p> <p>“Can you prove that? Because it’s looking pretty likely that he did.”</p> <p>How the heck would I even begin to prove that? “Do you not have security cameras?” I ask.</p> <p>“Funnily enough, the footage of the break-in seems to have been deleted.”</p> <p>Well, fuck. “Look, I don’t know what you want me to do. He was in bed with me all night. I wouldn’t lie to you about something this important.”</p> <p>Daisy sighs. “I know you wouldn’t. I’m sure you believe what you’re saying, but I don’t know who else it could’ve been. I consider you a friend, which is why I’m calling you instead of the police, for now. You have twenty-four hours to talk him into giving the book back. If it’s not in my hands by then, the police are going to hear about this.”</p> <p>“What? But what if he didn’t—”</p> <p>“Then the police will figure that out eventually.”</p> <p>“Please don’t do that,” I say. I can’t help but sound afraid. I know <em>they</em> have agents in the police. They couldn’t have covered up the Galaxy Plaza disaster without them. If <em>they</em> take notice of us, they might realize we’re investigating them. That wouldn’t be good, especially if they had an excuse to arrest Theo.</p> <p>“Twenty-four hours,” Daisy repeats. “I’m sorry, but that’s how it has to be.” She hangs up.</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Seven Years Ago</strong></p> <p>When I heard Evan get home from Spirituality Club, I went downstairs to greet him. I knew this was the night he’d faced off against Callum. “How did things go?” I asked.</p> <p>“Fine,” he said.</p> <p>“What’s wrong?”</p> <p>“Nothing’s wrong. I got everything I wanted. Callum called a vote on kicking me out. It failed. I called a vote on kicking him out. It succeeded. There was a vote on who the new president would be. I won. I’m in charge of the club now.”</p> <p>“That’s awesome!”</p> <p>“I guess.”</p> <p>“C’mon. Don’t feel bad. Callum deserves it, after everything he’s done.”</p> <p>“I know. That’s why I said everything went fine.” He patted me on the head as he walked past me. “I just want to be alone in my room for a bit.”</p> <p>“Oh. Okay.”</p> <p>“Thanks for understanding.”</p> <p>He went upstairs and locked himself in his room for the rest of the night.</p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><strong><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-hub">Series Hub</a></strong></p> <p><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster">◀ Previous Entry</a> \| <a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-3-richard-michaels">Next Entry ▶</a></p> <p><sub><a href="/xhawk77x">More by this Author</a></sub></p> </div> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-2-spirituality-club">I Didn't Forget Pt 2: Spirituality Club</a>" by XHAWK77X, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/i-didn-t-forget-pt-2-spirituality-club">https://scpwiki.com/i-didn-t-forget-pt-2-spirituality-club</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[=]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-hub\|Series Hub]]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster\|◀ Previous Entry]]] \| [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-3-Richard-Michaels\|Next Entry ▶]]] ,,[[[xhawk77x\|More by this Author]]],, [[/=]] Seven Years Ago I was lying on the couch in the living room, reading, when my brother Evan answered the front door. His friend Callum stepped inside, carrying a blue bag. “What’s up?” Evan asked. Callum was smirking. “You remember that book we were talking about yesterday?” I knew which book he meant. A few days earlier, Evan had gone to Runes and Relics intending to buy a rare book that had turned up there, but when he arrived, it’d already been swiped by a boy named Allen, another member of Cypress High’s Spirituality Club. Evan had been quite disappointed by this. “Of course, I do,” Evan said. Callum reached into his bag and pulled out a book. “Holy shit!” Evan’s face lit up. He snatched the thing out of Callum’s hands so fast it made Callum flinch. He opened the book and flipped through some of its pages. “Enough to make you swear for once?” Callum chuckled. “In front of your little brother, no less?” I peeked over the top of my own book to look at the one Evan was holding. It was a dark red hardcover, dusty, with deep yellow pages and a prominent dent across the front. Something, presumably the book’s title, was printed on it in gold, but I couldn’t make it out. “How did you get Allen to give it up?” Evan asked. “I bought it from him. Once I offered him three-hundred dollars, he stopped feeling so strongly about keeping it.” “You didn’t have to do that.” “I know.” Callum punched my brother’s shoulder. “I just wanted to see the look on your face. For the record, worth every penny.” “And you’re sure you don’t want it?” “Why would I? It’s old heptagon stuff, right?” “Dave, technically. It’s just a book about craft theory, though. It covers a lot of different perspectives. I mean, it’s right there in the title. ‘//A Synthesis of Diverse Thoughts.//’” “I guess that’s good. Last thing I need is for you to go hepto on me.” Evan chuckled. “You’d have to do a lot more than buy a book to get rid of me.” “Good to hear.” “Mind if I take it upstairs?” “Of course. I’ll come with.” ----- Present Day “Thanks for coming,” I say to Quinn, who’s sitting across from me and Theo. We’re at a fast-food restaurant on the opposite side of town from the library. It’s not that popular, and I picked a time I knew it would be empty. “No problem,” Quinn says. He was one of my brother’s friends when he was younger, and he was a member of Spirituality Club. Evan was always secretive about Spirituality Club. I already wanted to find out more about it as part of my investigation, but Jess’ testimony, that Evan had gone to the Galaxy Plaza with some of his friends from Spirituality Club the night he was taken, multiplied my interest tenfold. As a teenager, Quinn had long dreadlocks, and always wore a string of stones and crystals around his neck. Now he’s in his twenties, with short hair, jeans and a T-shirt with a large red A on it. I’m pretty sure it’s the ‘Atheism’ A, not the ‘Anarchy’ one. If so, Quinn’s worldview has shifted quite a bit since I knew him. That shirt is probably the source of the dislike toward him I sense from Theo. Theo’s pretty religious. He’s not a fanatic or anything, but he goes to church every Sunday. He doesn’t talk to me about his faith that often, which I’m grateful for, but he seems to care a lot about it. “So,” I say to Quinn, “tell me about Spirituality Club.” “Man, that takes me back,” Quinn says with a bemused smile. “Okay, so, it was an official student club at Cypress High School. Honestly, its name should give you a pretty good idea of what it was like. We were basically a bunch of teenaged hippies. Most of us called ourselves Pagans or Wiccans, and we’d gather there to admire each other’s crystals, read tarot cards, talk about the vibrations we’d felt while we were mediating, and talk even more about the ‘real magic’ we thought we were practicing.” “How real was the magic?” Theo asks. Quinn chuckles. “Depends on who you ask. At sixteen, any of us would’ve told you Spirituality Club was a place where miracles happened.” “What would you say now?” I ask. “I like to think I’ve outgrown believing in magic. Spirituality Club was just a bunch of kids getting psyched up over standard new age stuff. It’s nostalgic for me. I have some fond memories of it, but it wasn’t magical.” “How large was the club?” “There were around a dozen people at the average meeting. Maybe twenty people who were technically members. Your brother was always a big figure in it. He was the full-on leader for a while.” “And before that, it was Callum Michaels?” “Yep. God, he was the worst.” “How so?” “He was so full of himself. He always had to have his way, and he wasn’t afraid to flex his popularity and his family’s money to get what he wanted. I’m surprised you need to ask me about it. Your brother was his archnemesis after he left.” “Evan always tried to keep me away from his school stuff.” “That makes sense. Evan was a pretty good guy. I’m sorry about what happened to him, by the way. I should’ve opened with that. I wasn’t one of Evan’s close friends, but everyone in the club liked him.” I nod. “He was pretty cool.” “Yeah. That’s why everyone liked him. Well, that, and because most of the club was convinced he was the best at magic.” “Best at magic?” “Yeah. All of us thought we could do a bit of magic, but everyone agreed Evan was the best at it. Even Callum admitted that, back when the two of them got along.” “Do you remember why everyone thought that?” Theo asks. “Not really. I’m sure it was something silly.” He taps his foot for a moment. “Actually, I remember one thing. There was this exercise we would do where we would wrap sticks in tinfoil and sit in a circle with them. The sticks were supposed to channel the energy of the universe or something. We all thought we got results from that, but he got the most.” “Did that exercise have a name?” Theo asks. “Something like buzz or hum,” Quinn says. “I’m sure there’s something on the internet about it.” “What results did my brother get from this?” I ask. Quinn thinks about this for a moment. “Was… was your brother into stage magic at all?” “Not that I know of. Why do you ask?” He hesitates. “His stick would float. It would float in the air. I don’t know how he did it. Must have been some kind of magician’s trick, but it had us completely convinced at the time.” “Do you remember where the idea for this exercise came from?” Theo asks. “It was already a thing in the group when I joined.” “Was Evan’s floating stick the only extraordinary result you got from it?” I ask. Quinn stares blankly at us for a moment. “Dude?” I say. “Sorry. No. It wasn’t the only one. There were others. One time, Callum’s stick got cold. Like, freezing cold. So cold that it hurt to touch, and…” he pauses, “Almost every time we did it, I would hear music. I don’t mean that metaphorically. I really heard it. I would try to play what I’d heard back to the group on my guitar. That’s where a lot of the pieces I wrote as a teenager came from. How did I forget that?” The question is for himself, not me. I have no answer, so I respond with another question of my own. “Was that the only magic trick my brother would do?” Quinn shakes his head. “There were others. He could push things without touching them, and I remember he could predict what card someone would draw out of a tarot deck without having to do any kind of card trick with it. Also, one time I remember him and Callum talking about winning the lottery.” “Winning the lottery?” “Yeah. This wasn’t on club time. It was just something I overheard them talking about. They were debating whether they should use magic to look into the future and buy a winning lottery ticket. Callum was arguing they should, while Evan thought they shouldn’t because it was cheating. That was his only problem with it, though. The whole time they were talking, neither one seemed to doubt that they could do that if they wanted to.” “As far as I know, my brother never won the lottery.” “I know. I just mention it because hearing that conversation was one of the things that convinced me they were God-tier warlocks. They sounded so sure it would work.” “Were there any rules in the club about keeping the results you got secret?” Theo asks. Quinn nods. “Yeah. We weren’t supposed to talk about any of it to outsiders. God, how the hell did I forget about this?” “What do you mean when you say you forgot?” “An hour ago, I would have sworn to you that I’d never experienced anything supernatural. I would have said there’s nothing like that in the whole world, and everyone who thinks otherwise is an idiot. That’s not true, though. I saw that stick float into the air. I felt it go ice cold. I heard music. I…” he stammers, “I’m sure there is a logical explanation for all of it. Lots of people think they’ve seen real magic, but how did I forget I was one of them?” He’s not looking at either of us. I don’t think he’s really talking to either of us. I have a guess as to how he might have forgotten all of this, but I can’t tell him about it. Either way, why is he remembering everything now, when he happens to be talking to me? Why did the same thing happen to Jess? “Be thankful you have the memories back now,” Theo says. “Hopefully it’s taught you a lesson about respecting other people’s beliefs.” Quinn nods, but his attention is still off in the distance. For a moment, we all sit, silently. “Did Evan ever say anything to you about the release party for //Glorious Dawn//?” I ask, breaking the silence. “The one where he passed away?” “Yeah.” “No. I don’t think I even knew about that party until I heard about the disaster on the news. I liked Evan, but I wasn’t one of his close friends.” “What happened to the club after my brother died?” I ask. “He was leader at that point, right?” Quinn shrugs. “Yeah. Once he was gone, people just kind of lost interest. I was one of those people. I’d always liked to debate skeptics online, but around then, I started to find them convincing.” “Who ran the club after my brother?” I ask. “His friend Daisy, for a few months, but there were only a few people still interested in it. She graduated that year, and once she was gone, there wasn’t enough interest left to keep it going.” “Alright,” I say. “Thank you for telling me all of this.” “Try not to mention this conversation to anyone else,” Theo adds. “We’re trying to keep aspects of this confidential.” “No problem,” Quinn says. After a moment, he stands up and leaves. “What do you make of it?” I ask Theo once he’s gone. “I’m sorry, but I still think it’s an act.” “Just like you thought with Jess?” “Why would he start remembering those things just when we were talking to him? This guy was a hardcore atheist for half a decade, and then a single conversation about his pagan phase in high school has him acting like he believes in magic again? It doesn’t make sense.” “We know ‘amnestics’ are fallible. They didn’t work on me.” “But why? How could a conspiracy like this survive if its memory-erasing drugs were unreliable?” “I don’t know, but we know that they are.” “He might have been told to say that. This might be a trap. We might be in a lot of trouble. If there’s heat on us, maybe we should wait a bit for it to die down.” “I’ve already waited long enough. You don’t have to keep doing this with me, if you don’t want to, but I’m not stopping.” He puts a hand on my shoulder. “I didn’t mean that. I’m in this as long as you are. I just think we should be careful. This could end with us in cages, too.” “I understand, but that’s the risk we’re taking on. It’s the risk we have to take on order to find my brother.” ----- Seven Years Ago Evan never wanted me anywhere near Spirituality Club. “There’s stuff there that a kid shouldn’t be exposed to,” he once said. “You’re also a kid,” I replied. “I’m a teenager. Completely different.” “Not what mom says.” “Ask if you can watch a PG-13 movie. See if she still thinks that.” His efforts to keep me away were mostly redundant. Spirituality Club meetings were at Evan’s high school, which I seldom had any reason to visit. However, one night, I happened to be with Mom when she picked Evan up from his club meeting, which left me standing outside the club room just after a meeting had concluded. I’d always pictured the club room being full of crystals and hanging stars, with shelves holding books on pagan spirituality, the same kind of stuff that Evan’s room was full of. It wasn’t like that at all, though. The club just held its meetings in an ordinary classroom. As we approached, the students inside were arranging the seats back into rows, having seemingly had them in a circle during the meeting. There were no crystals decorating the room, but every student there wore a polished green stone around their neck, and most of them wore other crystals on top of that. Evan had been chatting with his friend Daisy in the corner of the room, but he’d broken off from that conversation when he saw me and Mom approaching. He hurried outside. Even at the time, I suspected this was because he wanted to stop us from entering the room. “You ready to go?” Mom asked once he emerged. “Yeah,” Evan said. “Actually,” Allen said from inside the classroom, “Evan, can I talk to you for a minute?” Evan looked over at Mom. “A few minutes?” he asked. “Sure,” Mom said. Evan stepped back in the room and closed the door behind him. His conversation with Allen was short and quiet. Through the window in the classroom door, I saw Allen say something that upset Evan quite a bit. It made him angry at first, but over the course of the conversation, his mood shifted from anger, to worry, to sadness. After a few minutes, Evan came back out. “What’s wrong?” I asked. “Nothing big,” Evan said. “He wanted the book back.” “The one Callum gave you?” “Yeah.” “Didn’t Callum give him money for that? Why does he want it back?” “He said he’d return the money.” That didn’t really answer my question, but I didn’t want to press him. “Are you going to give it to him?” “It looks like I’ll have to.” ----- Present Day Runes and Relics is even smaller than I remember. The so-called ‘occult store’ isn’t much more than a small blue box. In one corner, dozens of crystals are arranged on shelves to be sold. In another, there’s a variety of old books. In another, jars are filled with strange, stringy herbs. Near the entrance is the counter. It’s made of glass, so it can display a few high-value items, including large crystals, a huge book, and an ornate statue of a serpent coiled around a tree. Daisy is standing behind the counter. She’s in her twenties, tall and blonde, with her hair in long braids. She greets us as we approach the desk. “Hey, Jerry.” “Hey,” I say. “Thanks for agreeing to meet with us.” “No problem.” She was one of Evan’s close friends, probably his closest friend after he stopped getting along with Callum. She was a founding member of Spirituality Club, and her interest in that sort of thing had persisted through the years, which is why she’s now the manager of Runes and Relics. “You said you wanted to meet in the back?” “Yeah.” There’s no way Daisy is part of the group that kidnapped my brother, but her store could have been bugged by them. If that’s the case, the bug is probably in the public area of the store. If so, hopefully it won’t hear us while we’re in the back. Daisy escorts us back to the break room, where we sit at a white plastic table. “You said this was about Evan?” she asks, a bit somber. “Yes,” I say, trying to match her mood. “I want to understand him better. He was always so secretive about Spirituality Club, even though it was such a huge part of his life. If he were still around, I wouldn’t resent him having secrets, but with him gone…” I trail off. I think I’m doing a good impression of a grieving brother. I feel a little bad for putting on this kind of performance for someone I know, but I can’t risk letting on that I know Evan is alive. “I understand,” she says. “The club was very secretive. We always thought someone was out to get us. Looking back, it was pretentious as hell. We thought what we were doing was //so// subversive, like if it got out, it would doom us all.” “Do you know what made you think that?” Theo asks. Daisy shrugs. “It was just teenagers being teenagers, thinking they’re more important than they are, and we thought we were extremely important.” “How so?” I ask. “There was a sort of inner circle within Spirituality Club. It was basically Evan and his best friends. Callum used to have us working on special projects, and there was another one Even had us doing after he left.” “What was it?” Theo asks. “I honestly don’t remember.” “Did it have to do with the release party for //Glorious Dawn//?” I ask. “Come to think of it, yeah, it did.” “So you went to that party?” Theo asks. “All four of us did,” she says. “By which I mean me, Evan, Allen, and Lia. There was something we were planning to do there, but I don’t remember exactly what.” I hesitate. Both of my conversations until now have followed a pattern. People don’t remember things. I ask them questions, then they remember them. It’s dangerous to let on how much I know. I trust Daisy, but //they// could get information out of her in any number of ways. At the same time, I want to drill to the heart of this. I can’t avoid all risks. I’m going to go for it. “Just before he went to the party,” I begin, “Evan told me he was going there to stop Callum from doing something that would hurt the people there.” “That was it!” Daisy says. So, this interview is going to be like the others. “We thought he was going to take some kind of revenge on the town for turning against him.” “The whole town? I know he had a falling out with my brother, but—” “A lot of things went wrong for Callum around that time. Evan ousting him from the club meant he lost his entire friend group. His girlfriend had just broken up with him. His parents were having relationship problems, too, and his grades were getting worse.” “Where did you learn about his grades?” “Callum told us about all of it. He had it in his head that it was all Evan’s fault. He even blamed us for a strike at one of his dad’s stores. I guess he thought we were cursing him.” “Were you?” “No. I don’t believe in using the arts to hurt people. I’ve never done that, and I never will.” “Could Evan have done it without your knowledge?” Theo asks. “He wouldn’t. I think Callum just had some bad luck and was looking for someone to blame, so he blamed us, and he promised he’d get revenge.” “Do you remember what he was planning to do?” I ask. “I don’t think we ever knew, but Evan thought it was going to be at the release party.” “Why would Callum target that?” Theo asks. “Best guess, he wanted the largest crowd he could find.” “Given what wound up happening, is it likely that he went through with his threat?” “There’s no knowing that kind of thing. The disaster was natural, as far as anyone could tell, but sometimes that’s how magic works. You send energy, good or bad, into the world, and something happens that looks totally natural, even though you caused it.” “Is that the only kind of magic Callum ever used? Did he ever do anything more impressive?” “We all did,” she says. I ask her to elaborate, and she tells us a lot of the same things Quinn did. She, too, doesn’t seem to have thought about them in years, though she’s less shocked by the emerging memories. “I’m not sure Callum could have done something that big,” she continues. “As difficult as it is to imagine, I think the disaster might have been a coincidence.” “Is it possible he had outside help?” Daisy shrugs. “Maybe. He was wealthy. He probably could have hired a practitioner to do anything.” Suddenly, her eyes go wide. “Wait,” she continues. “We…okay, this was just our speculation, as children. It’s entirely probable that we were wrong, but I just remembered, at the time, we thought Aster Sterling was going to help him do it.” “What?” “We were probably wrong. In fact, I’m a bit embarrassed mentioning it. I mean, he died there. Obviously, he didn’t do that on purpose, but, at the time, that’s the impression Evan had us under.” “Do you remember where he got that idea?” “He didn’t really explain himself. We trusted him.” “And he’d told you that Callum and Aster Sterling were conspiring to make something happen at the release party?” “Yes.” “I see. Thank you. This has been very helpful.” “It has?” “What I mean,” I rush to add, “is that it’s comforting to know that he went to the party to help people.” “Oh. Well, you’re welcome.” “One other thing,” Theo says. “Jeremy told me about a book that was purchased here when he was a kid. An old, rare book about magic.” “The one Allen bought?” “Yes.” “I remember the drama at the club about that, though it was before I started working here. Why do you mention it?” “Do you have any idea what the book’s name was?” “No clue, sorry.” Theo gently elbows me under the table. It takes me a moment to realize why. He wants me to see if me asking her makes a difference. “Are you sure?” I ask. I try to will my words to jog her memory. “I know it had the phrase A Synthesis of Diverse Thoughts in it, but I don’t think that was the entire title.” She thinks about it for a moment. “Yeah, sorry, I don’t know anything about it.” “Are there any sales records you could check in order to find out?” Theo asks. “Maybe,” Daisy says. “There are records in the system from around that time. I can see what books Allen bought around then.” “I’d appreciate that,” Theo says. “Do you have anything like that in stock now, by the way? Not just that specific book, but anything like it?” “Sure. You want me to show you what I have?” “Absolutely.” ----- Seven Years Ago Evan hurried downstairs as someone knocked furiously at the front door. He opened it. It was Callum. “We have a problem,” Callum said. I was curious enough that I lowered the volume on the TV so I could listen in. “You’re right,” Evan said. “We do.” “Look, before anything else, I want to tell you that I’m sorry. I have no idea how it happened. It shouldn’t have been possible.” “Is that what you think the problem is? The fact that Allen was able to tell me what you did to him?” “Of course that’s the problem. What else would it be?” “The fact that you did it to him! Do you do this kind of thing all the time?” Callum scoffed. “Of course, I do. Don’t be a square.” “Square?” “Yes. Square. We worked for the power we have. We have the right to—” “My brother is in the other room.” Callum sighed. “Right. Of course.” They went upstairs. Later that night, I asked Evan what he and Callum had spoken about. “We were just talking about the book,” Evan said. “You sounded really mad at him. What did he do?” Evan took a deep breath. “According to Allen, he only sold the book to because Callum forced him to.” “What do you mean? How did he force him?” “Does it matter how? He did it, and he did it as a favor for me.” “It’s not your fault.” “I know. I really do. I still feel bad. I just wish Callum had asked me before doing it. It doesn’t even seem to have occurred to him that I wouldn’t want that. That’s what scares me. The fact that he thinks I’m the kind of person who would want him to control other people. It also means he’s the kind of person who’s willing to do that. I really thought he was better than people said he was. Now I’m not sure.” “Does that mean you won’t be friends anymore?” “I hope not. I’ll talk to him again once we’ve both had time to calm down.” “I’m sure everything will be fine.” “Yeah,” Evan nodded. “I’m sure it will be fine.” ----- Present Day “This is the third time it’s happened,” Theo says, as we get in his car after leaving Runes and Relics. “Every time you talk with someone, they act like they’re suddenly regaining memories—" “That probably means it’s not an act.” “Or, it means //they’ve// been one step ahead of us this whole time.” “Daisy’s not with them.” Theo starts the car. “You can’t know that for sure.” “I’ve known her since I was a kid. She was one of Evan’s best friends. There’s no way she’s with the people who took him.” “People can change a lot over the years.” “She hasn’t changed. She’d forgotten about the magic she used to do, but learning about it didn’t freak her out like it did Quinn. She’s still interested in the occult. She runs Runes and Relics for God’s sake.” “She wouldn’t be a good secret agent if it was easy to tell that she was one.” “Isn’t it your theory that //their// overall goal is to hide the paranormal from the world? Why would someone who wants to do that be running an occult store?” “Maybe she’s in deep cover?” “No. It’s not possible. Daisy is a friend. End of discussion.” “Then there has to be some other reason people keep recovering memories while talking to you.” “I suppose there does.” There is a pause. “Any ideas? Because I don’t have any.” Theo thinks for a moment. “We know //they// erase memories. So far, all the memories people have seemed to ‘get back’ have had to do with the supernatural. Those are memories //they// would want to erase.” “If you’re right about what their agenda is.” “Fair, but assuming I am right about that, the question before us is why talking to you makes them remember.” “I agree.” “Maybe it’s the same reason they couldn’t erase your memories. Maybe something about you negates their ‘amnestics.’ Not just for you, but other people to.” It would explain why they couldn’t take my memories away. “I’ve interacted with Daisy since Evan was taken. If being around me negates their amnestics, why didn’t it happen earlier?” “Did you talk about Spirituality Club with her?” “Not much. I’ve always tried not to talk about any of it, with anyone.” “It’s only your questions that make people remember things. Mine don’t. We saw that with both Daisy and Jess. If these people aren’t acting, there must be something about you asking questions that makes people remember the answers.” It’s a hell of a thought. “I don’t know. The idea that I’m special feels like wishful thinking.” “But your brother was special.” “What do you mean?” “They took him. They didn’t take Daisy, Quinn or Allen, even though they knew everything he did, and had performed magic just like he had. They just erased those people’s memories, but they felt the need to kidnap Evan. There must have been something special about him, and whatever that something is, maybe you have it to.” “Maybe.” It’s a sickening thought. Being special should be a good thing. It’s not something you should be punished with a lifetime of imprisonment for. “If that’s true, this investigation could be even more dangerous than we’d realized. They might want to take you too.” “Maybe,” I admit. “At the same time, they might have taken him because he was some kind of threat to them. That could mean I’m a threat to them, too.” I smile. “I like that idea.” ----- Seven Years Ago The pounding knock at the door startled me as I sat in the kitchen, eating a late lunch. Dad was on his way to the door when Evan ran in front of him. “I’ll get it.” He opened the door. Callum was standing there, daggers in his eyes. “What?” Evan asked, meeting his gaze. “You made my girlfriend break up with me,” Callum answered, his voice dripping with venom. “No, I didn’t.” “Yes, you fucking did. After one conversation with her, she called me and said she never wanted to see me again. What the fuck did you do?” “I asked her how you treat her. That’s all. It’s not my fault the answer made her want to leave you.” “Don’t play dumb. You know exactly why she shouldn’t have been able to break up with me.” “My dad and brother can—” “I don’t give a fuck! Tell me what you did!” “I already have. I asked her how you treat her.” “Bullshit. There had to be some kind of magic to what you said.” At the time, I thought Callum meant that metaphorically. Evan scoffed. “Do you really find it that hard to believe that she’d want nothing to do with you once she had a choice?” “Stop being a smartass and //tell me what you did//.” There was something in the way he said those words, some special combination of force and venom, that made my blood run cold. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Evan said, with a defiant calm. “I said, //tell me what you did//,” Callum seethed. Evan just stood with his arms crossed. “You know, I used to think you liked the fact that I didn’t always do what you said. Being showered with all the unearned reverence you get would drive me crazy. I thought it drove you crazy, too, but I was wrong. You love it. You’re just as shallow as everyone says you are, and you hate that there’s finally someone who can stand up to you.” “You’ll pay for this,” Callum growled. “Give me your best shot. I’m sure you’ll have just as much influence over everyone else as you did on your girlfriend.” Callum’s hand thrust toward Evan. For a second, I thought this was going to come to blows, but Callum didn’t touch Evan. He just grabbed the polished green stone around Evan’s neck. The one everyone in Spirituality Club wore. “You don’t deserve this,” he said, ripping the stone off of him. The string broke with a satisfying snap. “You’re right. It’s beneath me.” “We’ll see. I’d better not see you at any future meetings.” “There’ll have to be a vote on that,” Evan said. “Club rules don’t let you kick someone out without one. Didn’t you read the document?” “I fucking wrote it!” “//We// wrote it.” “Fine. Come tomorrow, then. We’ll see how eager everyone is to keep you.” “Yeah, I think we will.” ----- Present Day Theo and I are at home, reviewing our notes. The fact that me and my brother might have some kind of supernatural ability should be the most shocking thing to come out of our interview with Daisy, but, honestly, it’s second to the idea that Aster Sterling was working with Callum. Maybe I just don’t want to believe that someone I admired so much as a child was capable of immense evil, but I can’t shake the feeling that him being in on it doesn’t add up. Sterling died. Even if he’s secretly alive somewhere, he lost his status as a famous and successful author. Why would he willingly do that? Certainly not just as a favor to Callum. My phone rings. I answer. “Hello?” “Hey,” Daisy says. She sounds cold, and a bit angry. “Is something wrong?” “Do you know where your boyfriend was last night, around 2:00 AM?” The question takes me aback. I was asleep at 2:00 AM. As far as I know, so was he. “He was home, in bed, with me,” I say. Theo looks up from our notes. “Are you talking about me?” I hold up a finger to tell him to wait. “Are you sure?” Daisy asks. “I think so. What’s this about?” There’s a pause. “One of the books he expressed interest in has been stolen.” “What?” “You remember how I showed him the books we have in stock? He was very interested in one of them, a large, untitled book with a star on its cover. This book was worth over a thousand dollars. Last night, someone broke into the store and took it. Nothing else. Just that one book.” “And you think he did it?” “Who did what?” Theo asks. I shush him. “He spent five minutes grilling me about what it was and where I’d gotten it. He came out and told me he thought he might buy it. That same night, it was stolen. You must understand how that looks.” When she puts it like that, it does sound pretty bad. “He wouldn’t do that,” I say, with all the confidence I can muster. “What the hell is going on?” Theo asks. “Can you prove that? Because it’s looking pretty likely that he did.” How the heck would I even begin to prove that? “Do you not have security cameras?” I ask. “Funnily enough, the footage of the break-in seems to have been deleted.” Well, fuck. “Look, I don’t know what you want me to do. He was in bed with me all night. I wouldn’t lie to you about something this important.” Daisy sighs. “I know you wouldn’t. I’m sure you believe what you’re saying, but I don’t know who else it could’ve been. I consider you a friend, which is why I’m calling you instead of the police, for now. You have twenty-four hours to talk him into giving the book back. If it’s not in my hands by then, the police are going to hear about this.” “What? But what if he didn’t—” “Then the police will figure that out eventually.” “Please don’t do that,” I say. I can’t help but sound afraid. I know //they// have agents in the police. They couldn’t have covered up the Galaxy Plaza disaster without them. If //they// take notice of us, they might realize we’re investigating them. That wouldn’t be good, especially if they had an excuse to arrest Theo. “Twenty-four hours,” Daisy repeats. “I’m sorry, but that’s how it has to be.” She hangs up. ----- Seven Years Ago When I heard Evan get home from Spirituality Club, I went downstairs to greet him. I knew this was the night he’d faced off against Callum. “How did things go?” I asked. “Fine,” he said. “What’s wrong?” “Nothing’s wrong. I got everything I wanted. Callum called a vote on kicking me out. It failed. I called a vote on kicking him out. It succeeded. There was a vote on who the new president would be. I won. I’m in charge of the club now.” “That’s awesome!” “I guess.” “C’mon. Don’t feel bad. Callum deserves it, after everything he’s done.” “I know. That’s why I said everything went fine.” He patted me on the head as he walked past me. “I just want to be alone in my room for a bit.” “Oh. Okay.” “Thanks for understanding.” He went upstairs and locked himself in his room for the rest of the night. [[=]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-hub\|Series Hub]]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster\|◀ Previous Entry]]] \| [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-3-Richard-Michaels\|Next Entry ▶]]] ,,[[[xhawk77x\|More by this Author]]],, [[/=]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] [!-- N/A (No Images) --] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-03-29T04:44:00	[ "_licensebox", "first-person", "mystery", "tale" ]	I Didn't Forget Pt 2: Spirituality Club - SCP Foundation	23	[ "i-didn-t-forget-hub", "i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster", "i-didn-t-forget-pt-3-richard-michaels", "xhawk77x", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "i-didn-t-forget-hub" ]	[]	1447026573	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/i-didn-t-forget-pt-2-spirituality-club
i-didn-t-forget-pt-3-richard-michaels	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><strong><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-hub">Series Hub</a></strong></p> <p><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster">◀◀ First Entry</a> \| <a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-2-spirituality-club">◀ Previous Entry</a> \| <a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-4-guiding-star-baptist-church">Next Entry ▶</a></p> <p><sub><a href="/xhawk77x">More by this Author</a></sub></p> </div> <p><strong>Present Day</strong></p> <p>After I get off the phone with Daisy, I explain what she said to Theo. He’s appropriately alarmed. “I’m going to take a look around the apartment, now,” I say.</p> <p>“What? Why? You can’t think—”</p> <p>“Of course not, but I need to be able to tell Daisy that I checked.”</p> <p>Theo takes a deep breath. “Okay.”</p> <p>I spend the next half hour searching the apartment. I check inside, behind, and under every place I can imagine someone hiding a book. Of course, I find nothing. I sit back down on the bed with Theo, who has been sitting there, on his phone, the whole time. “I guess you’re done?” he asks.</p> <p>“Yeah,” I say. “I’m sorry. I believe you. I promise.”</p> <p>“I get it. I get it.”</p> <p>“So, where do we go from here?”</p> <p>“I think I know what might have happened. The book she was talking about, I mentioned it to some of my church friends.”</p> <p>My eyes widen. “You did what?”</p> <p>“I didn’t tell them anything sensitive.”</p> <p>“The fact that we went to Runes & Relics at all is sensitive! Everything we’re doing for this investigation is sensitive! What if someone at your church is with <em>them</em>?”</p> <p>“That’s not possible.”</p> <p>“How could you possibly know that?”</p> <p>“I do, okay? The same way you know Daisy isn’t working for them, I know that none of my church friends are.”</p> <p>“Okay. Fine. Are you saying you think one of them took it?”</p> <p>“It’s possible.”</p> <p>“So, I was right, then. You shouldn’t have told them.”</p> <p>“Yeah, I guess so. In any case, I tried contacting each of them while you were looking around. I haven’t gotten any replies yet. I think that’s because they’re busy with a church thing that’ll be over in a few minutes. Once it is, they’ll get back to me. If one of them did take it, I don’t think I’ll have any trouble convincing them to give it back.”</p> <p>“Do you know why one of your friends might’ve taken it?”</p> <p>He shrugs. “It’s an antique. It’s expensive, and valuable.”</p> <p>“Does it have something to do with your church?”</p> <p>“What? No. Why?”</p> <p>“Because you mentioned it to all of them—”</p> <p>“It’s not that. These are just people I happen to know from church.”</p> <p>Theo’s church has always been the strangest thing about him. He goes there every Sunday morning. He seems to take it quite seriously, though he never wants to talk about it with me. I’ve never minded that. I don’t think much of Christianity, and I don’t really like to think about the fact that my boyfriend is a part of it.</p> <p>“Okay,” I say. I’ll admit that sounds a little strange, but I trust Theo. “I guess we’ll spend the day looking into that.”</p> <p>“Actually, sorry, but <em>I’ll</em> spend the day looking into that. No offense, but my church friends will respond better if it’s just me.”</p> <p>“You’re in real danger. This could get <em>their</em> attention, and even if it doesn’t, you’re being accused of a crime. I want to help you.”</p> <p>Theo sets a hand on my shoulder. “I appreciate that, but there’s nothing I need you to do. I’m just going to make a few phone calls, and, maybe, meet with them. They won’t want anyone else around to discuss church business.”</p> <p>“I thought you said this wasn’t church business.”</p> <p>“Now that I’m in danger, it is.”</p> <p>I don’t object further. As much as I don’t want to admit it, Theo’s probably right. Going by the brief interactions I have had with his church; they probably will be reluctant to speak with me. “Are you sure?” I ask.</p> <p>“I am,” he says.</p> <p>“Okay. I’ll have to do some investigating on my own, then.”</p> <p>“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”</p> <p>“I already have an interview with someone. I’d rather do things with my partner, but if I can’t help you, there’s no sense in sitting here twiddling my thumbs. I’ll just have to talk to her without you.”</p> <p>“Alright. Just promise you won’t do anything dangerous.”</p> <p>“Our investigation is already dangerous.”</p> <p>“Right, but, other than that. Just promise you’ll be careful without me there.”</p> <p>“I promise.”</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Six Years Ago</strong></p> <p>I spent the weeks after Evan’s kidnapping convinced that Callum was behind it. Who else would it be? He was rich and powerful, and he hated Evan. However, while I still can’t entirely rule that out, something happened not long after the disaster that makes it unlikely.</p> <p>A few weeks after the Galaxy Plaza disaster, I was having lunch at school with my friend Brad. Our elementary school cafeteria was long and narrow—far more cramped than you’d expect it to be—with gray brick walls and speckled white floors. Brad himself was a small, blonde kid, who looked younger than he was. We were eating bad hamburgers, and, between bites, he happened to ask, “Did you hear about what happened to Callum Michaels?”</p> <p>“What happened?” I asked with my mouth still full of hamburger.</p> <p>“He’s dead.”</p> <p>I almost choked. “What?”</p> <p>“I heard my dad talking about it.” Brad’s dad was a police officer. “There was a gas leak in their mansion, and everyone there died, even their dog.”</p> <p>I wondered if Brad was just messing with me, but he wasn’t a good enough liar for that. Once I realized he was telling the truth, I felt happy. Callum was evil and deserved to die.</p> <p>Of course, feeling that made me feel terrible. It wasn’t what Evan would’ve wanted me to think. But how could I not? Callum had been behind the Galaxy Plaza disaster. He’d killed more than forty people, including Aster Sterling. Of course I’d be happy he was dead. “You say it was a gas leak. So, an accident?”</p> <p>“That’s what my dad said to the other officers on the phone. Can you believe it?”</p> <p>No. I couldn’t. It couldn’t have been a coincidence that Callum had died so soon after the disaster he’d caused. That was assuming he even was dead. It was more likely he’d just been taken, like Evan had. That was big, though. Really big. It meant the people who had covered everything up, and had taken my brother, probably weren’t the same people who had caused the disaster. Evan hadn’t just been on Callum’s bad side. He’d been taken by something greater than both of them.</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Present Day</strong></p> <p>If Theo is right that the group we’re up against is dedicated to hiding the existence of the paranormal, it makes sense that they would take Callum, just like they took Evan. His ability to control people’s minds would be a problem for them.</p> <p>They didn’t just take Callum, though. They took his entire family. That suggests that Richard and Margaret Michaels, Callum’s parents, might have had the same ability he did. If that’s the case, Callum probably either learned or inherited the ability from them. If I could confirm that, perhaps that could lead me to the source of their power.</p> <p>That’s why I’m talking to Sasha Gould, a plump woman in her thirties. She used to be an employee at one of Richard Michaels’ stores. She, along with several of her co-workers, went on strike around the same time Evan and Callum stopped getting along. According to Daisy, Callum had blamed that strike on my brother.</p> <p>She and I are sitting across from each other at a small coffee shop not far from that store. The walls, tables, chairs, and floor are all the same stark brown as a fresh coffee bean, and the pleasant smell of warm roasts fills the air. I have a cup of iced coffee in front of me. The store isn’t busy. The only other customer is a small, freckled woman sitting across the shop.</p> <p>“Thanks for agreeing to this,” I say to Sasha.</p> <p>“No problem,” she says. “The last time I talked to a member of your family, it turned out pretty well for me.”</p> <p>“You mentioned that on the phone. Around the time of your strike, you had a conversation with my brother. Tell me about that.”</p> <p>Sasha finishes a sip of her coffee before beginning. “Well, I was on shift at the register. It was early Friday morning, so the store wasn’t busy. Your brother came up to me to check out some groceries. His cart was very full, so we got to talking a bit while I was bagging everything. He asked me how I liked my job. Normally, that’d be an annoying question, but seeing him ask it reminded me of when I was his age, and afraid of what it’d be like to have to work. I didn’t lie to him. I told him I wasn’t manning the register for fun, but I tried to sugarcoat it for him as best I could. When I was done, he asked me about my boss. Mind you, he didn’t ask me about ‘my boss.’ He asked, ‘What’s it like to work for Richard Michaels?’”</p> <p>“What did you say?”</p> <p>“I started to say it was great. That he was reasonable and generous. I know I’d said that to other people who’d asked me about him. I’d even recommended the store to a friend who was between jobs. As I started talking, though, I had trouble explaining what I liked about him. Instead, I started complaining. About how he had me working twelve hours most days, with no overtime. How everyone tried to avoid him whenever he showed up at the store. About how he always seemed to be able to talk me out of taking vacation days. I do mean always. In the four years I’d been working there, I’d never used one. There were so many things I put up with for his sake that I’d never have put up with for anyone else, boss or not, and as I was talking to your brother, all of them just poured out.”</p> <p>“Do you know why?”</p> <p>“No clue. Just, something about him asking made me realize how much I’d been putting up with.”</p> <p>“Do you know why you’d put up with it?”</p> <p>“Evan asked me the same question, and no, I didn’t. Talking to him, I felt like I was thinking about Mr. Michaels clearly for the first time. The man had somehow always had me looking at him through rose-colored glasses. As I realized this, one of my co-workers happened to pass by. I stopped him and asked him if he remembered some of the worst things Michaels had done. He did, and I could see in his eyes that he was realizing the same thing I was. Over the next few days, more and more of us decided we weren’t going to put up with Michaels’ crap anymore, so we managed to form a union, and we went on strike for higher pay and better conditions.”</p> <p>“Do you know how Michaels got that grip over you in the first place?”</p> <p>“I’ve been thinking about that question for years. I still haven’t got a clue.”</p> <p>“How much did you know about his social life outside the store? Was Richard part of any social clubs or anything like that?” Callum had founded Spirituality Club to spread magical abilities to his peers. Could Richard have learned them from a similar place?</p> <p>“Not that I knew of, besides his church.”</p> <p>“What church did he go to?”</p> <p>“I don’t remember the name of it, but I know he was very serious about going. Getting a hold of him on Sunday mornings was impossible. Store could’ve been on fire, and he wouldn’t have shown up.”</p> <p>I remember Callum being difficult to contact on weekends. I also remember a month or two where Evan was the same way. Before now, it had never occurred to me that Theo had that in common with them. “Do you know if Richard brought his family to his church?”</p> <p>“No.”</p> <p>“I ask because, as far as I know, his son Callum was a pagan.”</p> <p>“Pagan?”</p> <p>“Like a wiccan. Sort of a new age type. Not something you’d think a devout churchgoer would allow.”</p> <p>“I don’t know anything about that. I met Mr. Michaels’ wife, once, but never his son.”</p> <p>“Did you have any conversations with Richard between when you decided to unionize and when he died?”</p> <p>“Of course. That was several months.”</p> <p>“What was he like in those conversations?”</p> <p>“Mad, mostly, that we’d stopped putting up with his shit. He was always so entitled. You’d have thought it was the most shocking thing in the world that we’d finally stood up for ourselves.”</p> <p>My conversation with her goes on for another little while, but I don’t learn anything more of note. That church seems to be my next lead.</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Seven Years Ago</strong></p> <p>I walked down the stairs, packed up and ready for school. Evan was coming down behind me. Mom was already in the car, waiting for us. “Crap,” Evan said, just before he walked out the door. “Forgot my stone.”</p> <p>He ran up to his room and came back with the stone around his neck. It was green. Polished, but not glittery or transparent like his crystals. Every member of Spirituality Club wore one like it to represent their membership. I always thought it was a bit much. None of the other school clubs did anything like that, but it was important to Evan to wear it everywhere.</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Present Day</strong></p> <p>I sit in front of a library computer, reading everything I can about Richard Michaels. His wealth made him a public figure, which is good for me, because it means there are stories about him in local newspapers.</p> <p>One of those stories happens to mention his church. He attended the Guiding Star Baptist Church. Judging by the article’s picture, his wife did as well, though I can’t say anything definite about Callum.</p> <p>Guiding Star Baptist Church closed shortly after Richard died, allegedly for financial reasons, which could make sense if he was a major donor. There are some news articles about the church hosting events, but nothing that’s helpful in discovering whether it was secretly a club of mind-controlling wizards.</p> <p>At least, that’s what I think, until I notice a picture of several church members in an article about a fundraising event in 2004. The picture shows a dozen old people standing in a row and smiling, and every single one of them is wearing a polished green stone somewhere on their body.</p> <p>Most of the men have it on a bracelet or a ring, while most of the women have it on a necklace, usually mixed with other stones. One woman wears it flanked by five pearls on each side. Another is wearing two of the stones as earrings.</p> <p>I check other pictures of the church’s members. Now that I know to look for it, I see it on more of them. Not all of them, though. There are pictures of Richard and Margaret where they’re not wearing the stones, which is different from how it worked in Spirituality Club. Evan never left the house without that stone.</p> <p>I start keeping track of which pictures show them wearing the stones, and which pictures don’t, hoping to find a pattern. It doesn’t take me too long to find one. It’s the older pictures that show the church members wearing the stones. Every picture of Richard, Margaret, or any other church member taken prior to the mid two-thousands has them wearing it, but after that, there are no pictures of any of them doing so.</p> <p>Daisy said that Aster Sterling was in on Callum’s plot to cause the disaster. I run an image search for him. In quite a few of the results, he’s wearing the stone. Looking through different pictures of him, I can see that he follows the same pattern. Before 2005 or so, he always wore it. After that, he stopped.</p> <p>There’s one particular picture of Aster Sterling that I’m especially curious about. I leave the computer behind and go to the children’s fiction section of the library. The <em>Starlight Saga</em> books are there. There are multiple copies of the first book, one of which is the same edition I read as a kid.</p> <p>Shortly before he was taken, Evan walked into my room and asked me about Aster Sterling. This was after his falling out with Callum. During that conversation, he examined my copy of this book. When he saw what was on the inside back cover, he gasped. Now, holding an identical book all these years later, I finally know why. That’s where the About the Author blurb is, and, at the top of it, there’s a picture of Aster Sterling, wearing that same green stone.</p> <p>I return to the computer. I find plenty more pictures of Sterling wearing it. In some of those pictures, he’s not the only one wearing it. Other authors and celebrities also wear it. Actors. Talk show hosts. Politicians. Once I know to look for it, it seems like it’s everywhere. Or at least it was, prior to May of 2005.</p> <p>If all of these people were part of the same organization Callum was in, that organization must have been huge. Powerful, too, considering how rich and famous they are. Guiding Star was just one branch of a colossal tree, with Spirituality Club being another branch growing out from that.</p> <p>As I contemplate that, I notice something else out of the corner of my eye. The library isn’t empty. There are a few other people scattered around it, reading books and using computers. Sitting on the far corner of the lounge, is a small, freckled woman.</p> <p>I think she’s the same one I saw at the coffee shop.</p> <p>I study her for a moment. She had been looking at me, but she looks away when she realizes I’m staring at her. I look away too. I shouldn’t have stared. Now she knows I suspect her.</p> <p>Is she one of <em>them</em>? How could that be? How could <em>they</em> have found out what I’m doing? They must have, though. Who else would have a reason to stalk me?</p> <p>If it is them, if <em>they</em> know I’m on to them, things have gotten far, far more dangerous.</p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><strong><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-hub">Series Hub</a></strong></p> <p><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster">◀◀ First Entry</a> \| <a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-2-spirituality-club">◀ Previous Entry</a> \| <a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-4-guiding-star-baptist-church">Next Entry ▶</a></p> <p><sub><a href="/xhawk77x">More by this Author</a></sub></p> </div> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-3-richard-michaels">I Didn't Forget Pt 3: Richard Michaels</a>" by XHAWK77X, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/i-didn-t-forget-pt-3-richard-michaels">https://scpwiki.com/i-didn-t-forget-pt-3-richard-michaels</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[=]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-hub\|Series Hub]]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster\|◀◀ First Entry]]] \| [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-2-spirituality-club\|◀ Previous Entry]]] \| [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-4-guiding-star-baptist-church\|Next Entry ▶]]] ,,[[[xhawk77x\|More by this Author]]],, [[/=]] Present Day After I get off the phone with Daisy, I explain what she said to Theo. He’s appropriately alarmed. “I’m going to take a look around the apartment, now,” I say. “What? Why? You can’t think—” “Of course not, but I need to be able to tell Daisy that I checked.” Theo takes a deep breath. “Okay.” I spend the next half hour searching the apartment. I check inside, behind, and under every place I can imagine someone hiding a book. Of course, I find nothing. I sit back down on the bed with Theo, who has been sitting there, on his phone, the whole time. “I guess you’re done?” he asks. “Yeah,” I say. “I’m sorry. I believe you. I promise.” “I get it. I get it.” “So, where do we go from here?” “I think I know what might have happened. The book she was talking about, I mentioned it to some of my church friends.” My eyes widen. “You did what?” “I didn’t tell them anything sensitive.” “The fact that we went to Runes & Relics at all is sensitive! Everything we’re doing for this investigation is sensitive! What if someone at your church is with //them//?” “That’s not possible.” “How could you possibly know that?” “I do, okay? The same way you know Daisy isn’t working for them, I know that none of my church friends are.” “Okay. Fine. Are you saying you think one of them took it?” “It’s possible.” “So, I was right, then. You shouldn’t have told them.” “Yeah, I guess so. In any case, I tried contacting each of them while you were looking around. I haven’t gotten any replies yet. I think that’s because they’re busy with a church thing that’ll be over in a few minutes. Once it is, they’ll get back to me. If one of them did take it, I don’t think I’ll have any trouble convincing them to give it back.” “Do you know why one of your friends might’ve taken it?” He shrugs. “It’s an antique. It’s expensive, and valuable.” “Does it have something to do with your church?” “What? No. Why?” “Because you mentioned it to all of them—” “It’s not that. These are just people I happen to know from church.” Theo’s church has always been the strangest thing about him. He goes there every Sunday morning. He seems to take it quite seriously, though he never wants to talk about it with me. I’ve never minded that. I don’t think much of Christianity, and I don’t really like to think about the fact that my boyfriend is a part of it. “Okay,” I say. I’ll admit that sounds a little strange, but I trust Theo. “I guess we’ll spend the day looking into that.” “Actually, sorry, but //I’ll// spend the day looking into that. No offense, but my church friends will respond better if it’s just me.” “You’re in real danger. This could get //their// attention, and even if it doesn’t, you’re being accused of a crime. I want to help you.” Theo sets a hand on my shoulder. “I appreciate that, but there’s nothing I need you to do. I’m just going to make a few phone calls, and, maybe, meet with them. They won’t want anyone else around to discuss church business.” “I thought you said this wasn’t church business.” “Now that I’m in danger, it is.” I don’t object further. As much as I don’t want to admit it, Theo’s probably right. Going by the brief interactions I have had with his church; they probably will be reluctant to speak with me. “Are you sure?” I ask. “I am,” he says. “Okay. I’ll have to do some investigating on my own, then.” “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” “I already have an interview with someone. I’d rather do things with my partner, but if I can’t help you, there’s no sense in sitting here twiddling my thumbs. I’ll just have to talk to her without you.” “Alright. Just promise you won’t do anything dangerous.” “Our investigation is already dangerous.” “Right, but, other than that. Just promise you’ll be careful without me there.” “I promise.” ----- Six Years Ago I spent the weeks after Evan’s kidnapping convinced that Callum was behind it. Who else would it be? He was rich and powerful, and he hated Evan. However, while I still can’t entirely rule that out, something happened not long after the disaster that makes it unlikely. A few weeks after the Galaxy Plaza disaster, I was having lunch at school with my friend Brad. Our elementary school cafeteria was long and narrow—far more cramped than you’d expect it to be—with gray brick walls and speckled white floors. Brad himself was a small, blonde kid, who looked younger than he was. We were eating bad hamburgers, and, between bites, he happened to ask, “Did you hear about what happened to Callum Michaels?” “What happened?” I asked with my mouth still full of hamburger. “He’s dead.” I almost choked. “What?” “I heard my dad talking about it.” Brad’s dad was a police officer. “There was a gas leak in their mansion, and everyone there died, even their dog.” I wondered if Brad was just messing with me, but he wasn’t a good enough liar for that. Once I realized he was telling the truth, I felt happy. Callum was evil and deserved to die. Of course, feeling that made me feel terrible. It wasn’t what Evan would’ve wanted me to think. But how could I not? Callum had been behind the Galaxy Plaza disaster. He’d killed more than forty people, including Aster Sterling. Of course I’d be happy he was dead. “You say it was a gas leak. So, an accident?” “That’s what my dad said to the other officers on the phone. Can you believe it?” No. I couldn’t. It couldn’t have been a coincidence that Callum had died so soon after the disaster he’d caused. That was assuming he even was dead. It was more likely he’d just been taken, like Evan had. That was big, though. Really big. It meant the people who had covered everything up, and had taken my brother, probably weren’t the same people who had caused the disaster. Evan hadn’t just been on Callum’s bad side. He’d been taken by something greater than both of them. ----- Present Day If Theo is right that the group we’re up against is dedicated to hiding the existence of the paranormal, it makes sense that they would take Callum, just like they took Evan. His ability to control people’s minds would be a problem for them. They didn’t just take Callum, though. They took his entire family. That suggests that Richard and Margaret Michaels, Callum’s parents, might have had the same ability he did. If that’s the case, Callum probably either learned or inherited the ability from them. If I could confirm that, perhaps that could lead me to the source of their power. That’s why I’m talking to Sasha Gould, a plump woman in her thirties. She used to be an employee at one of Richard Michaels’ stores. She, along with several of her co-workers, went on strike around the same time Evan and Callum stopped getting along. According to Daisy, Callum had blamed that strike on my brother. She and I are sitting across from each other at a small coffee shop not far from that store. The walls, tables, chairs, and floor are all the same stark brown as a fresh coffee bean, and the pleasant smell of warm roasts fills the air. I have a cup of iced coffee in front of me. The store isn’t busy. The only other customer is a small, freckled woman sitting across the shop. “Thanks for agreeing to this,” I say to Sasha. “No problem,” she says. “The last time I talked to a member of your family, it turned out pretty well for me.” “You mentioned that on the phone. Around the time of your strike, you had a conversation with my brother. Tell me about that.” Sasha finishes a sip of her coffee before beginning. “Well, I was on shift at the register. It was early Friday morning, so the store wasn’t busy. Your brother came up to me to check out some groceries. His cart was very full, so we got to talking a bit while I was bagging everything. He asked me how I liked my job. Normally, that’d be an annoying question, but seeing him ask it reminded me of when I was his age, and afraid of what it’d be like to have to work. I didn’t lie to him. I told him I wasn’t manning the register for fun, but I tried to sugarcoat it for him as best I could. When I was done, he asked me about my boss. Mind you, he didn’t ask me about ‘my boss.’ He asked, ‘What’s it like to work for Richard Michaels?’” “What did you say?” “I started to say it was great. That he was reasonable and generous. I know I’d said that to other people who’d asked me about him. I’d even recommended the store to a friend who was between jobs. As I started talking, though, I had trouble explaining what I liked about him. Instead, I started complaining. About how he had me working twelve hours most days, with no overtime. How everyone tried to avoid him whenever he showed up at the store. About how he always seemed to be able to talk me out of taking vacation days. I do mean always. In the four years I’d been working there, I’d never used one. There were so many things I put up with for his sake that I’d never have put up with for anyone else, boss or not, and as I was talking to your brother, all of them just poured out.” “Do you know why?” “No clue. Just, something about him asking made me realize how much I’d been putting up with.” “Do you know why you’d put up with it?” “Evan asked me the same question, and no, I didn’t. Talking to him, I felt like I was thinking about Mr. Michaels clearly for the first time. The man had somehow always had me looking at him through rose-colored glasses. As I realized this, one of my co-workers happened to pass by. I stopped him and asked him if he remembered some of the worst things Michaels had done. He did, and I could see in his eyes that he was realizing the same thing I was. Over the next few days, more and more of us decided we weren’t going to put up with Michaels’ crap anymore, so we managed to form a union, and we went on strike for higher pay and better conditions.” “Do you know how Michaels got that grip over you in the first place?” “I’ve been thinking about that question for years. I still haven’t got a clue.” “How much did you know about his social life outside the store? Was Richard part of any social clubs or anything like that?” Callum had founded Spirituality Club to spread magical abilities to his peers. Could Richard have learned them from a similar place? “Not that I knew of, besides his church.” “What church did he go to?” “I don’t remember the name of it, but I know he was very serious about going. Getting a hold of him on Sunday mornings was impossible. Store could’ve been on fire, and he wouldn’t have shown up.” I remember Callum being difficult to contact on weekends. I also remember a month or two where Evan was the same way. Before now, it had never occurred to me that Theo had that in common with them. “Do you know if Richard brought his family to his church?” “No.” “I ask because, as far as I know, his son Callum was a pagan.” “Pagan?” “Like a wiccan. Sort of a new age type. Not something you’d think a devout churchgoer would allow.” “I don’t know anything about that. I met Mr. Michaels’ wife, once, but never his son.” “Did you have any conversations with Richard between when you decided to unionize and when he died?” “Of course. That was several months.” “What was he like in those conversations?” “Mad, mostly, that we’d stopped putting up with his shit. He was always so entitled. You’d have thought it was the most shocking thing in the world that we’d finally stood up for ourselves.” My conversation with her goes on for another little while, but I don’t learn anything more of note. That church seems to be my next lead. ----- Seven Years Ago I walked down the stairs, packed up and ready for school. Evan was coming down behind me. Mom was already in the car, waiting for us. “Crap,” Evan said, just before he walked out the door. “Forgot my stone.” He ran up to his room and came back with the stone around his neck. It was green. Polished, but not glittery or transparent like his crystals. Every member of Spirituality Club wore one like it to represent their membership. I always thought it was a bit much. None of the other school clubs did anything like that, but it was important to Evan to wear it everywhere. ----- Present Day I sit in front of a library computer, reading everything I can about Richard Michaels. His wealth made him a public figure, which is good for me, because it means there are stories about him in local newspapers. One of those stories happens to mention his church. He attended the Guiding Star Baptist Church. Judging by the article’s picture, his wife did as well, though I can’t say anything definite about Callum. Guiding Star Baptist Church closed shortly after Richard died, allegedly for financial reasons, which could make sense if he was a major donor. There are some news articles about the church hosting events, but nothing that’s helpful in discovering whether it was secretly a club of mind-controlling wizards. At least, that’s what I think, until I notice a picture of several church members in an article about a fundraising event in 2004. The picture shows a dozen old people standing in a row and smiling, and every single one of them is wearing a polished green stone somewhere on their body. Most of the men have it on a bracelet or a ring, while most of the women have it on a necklace, usually mixed with other stones. One woman wears it flanked by five pearls on each side. Another is wearing two of the stones as earrings. I check other pictures of the church’s members. Now that I know to look for it, I see it on more of them. Not all of them, though. There are pictures of Richard and Margaret where they’re not wearing the stones, which is different from how it worked in Spirituality Club. Evan never left the house without that stone. I start keeping track of which pictures show them wearing the stones, and which pictures don’t, hoping to find a pattern. It doesn’t take me too long to find one. It’s the older pictures that show the church members wearing the stones. Every picture of Richard, Margaret, or any other church member taken prior to the mid two-thousands has them wearing it, but after that, there are no pictures of any of them doing so. Daisy said that Aster Sterling was in on Callum’s plot to cause the disaster. I run an image search for him. In quite a few of the results, he’s wearing the stone. Looking through different pictures of him, I can see that he follows the same pattern. Before 2005 or so, he always wore it. After that, he stopped. There’s one particular picture of Aster Sterling that I’m especially curious about. I leave the computer behind and go to the children’s fiction section of the library. The //Starlight Saga// books are there. There are multiple copies of the first book, one of which is the same edition I read as a kid. Shortly before he was taken, Evan walked into my room and asked me about Aster Sterling. This was after his falling out with Callum. During that conversation, he examined my copy of this book. When he saw what was on the inside back cover, he gasped. Now, holding an identical book all these years later, I finally know why. That’s where the About the Author blurb is, and, at the top of it, there’s a picture of Aster Sterling, wearing that same green stone. I return to the computer. I find plenty more pictures of Sterling wearing it. In some of those pictures, he’s not the only one wearing it. Other authors and celebrities also wear it. Actors. Talk show hosts. Politicians. Once I know to look for it, it seems like it’s everywhere. Or at least it was, prior to May of 2005. If all of these people were part of the same organization Callum was in, that organization must have been huge. Powerful, too, considering how rich and famous they are. Guiding Star was just one branch of a colossal tree, with Spirituality Club being another branch growing out from that. As I contemplate that, I notice something else out of the corner of my eye. The library isn’t empty. There are a few other people scattered around it, reading books and using computers. Sitting on the far corner of the lounge, is a small, freckled woman. I think she’s the same one I saw at the coffee shop. I study her for a moment. She had been looking at me, but she looks away when she realizes I’m staring at her. I look away too. I shouldn’t have stared. Now she knows I suspect her. Is she one of //them//? How could that be? How could //they// have found out what I’m doing? They must have, though. Who else would have a reason to stalk me? If it is them, if //they// know I’m on to them, things have gotten far, far more dangerous. [[=]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-hub\|Series Hub]]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster\|◀◀ First Entry]]] \| [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-2-spirituality-club\|◀ Previous Entry]]] \| [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-4-guiding-star-baptist-church\|Next Entry ▶]]] ,,[[[xhawk77x\|More by this Author]]],, [[/=]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a> \|author=XHAWK77X]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-06-03T01:04:00	[ "_licensebox", "first-person", "mystery", "tale" ]	I Didn't Forget Pt 3: Richard Michaels - SCP Foundation	17	[ "i-didn-t-forget-hub", "i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster", "i-didn-t-forget-pt-2-spirituality-club", "i-didn-t-forget-pt-4-guiding-star-baptist-church", "xhawk77x", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "i-didn-t-forget-hub" ]	[]	1448200636	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/i-didn-t-forget-pt-3-richard-michaels
i-didn-t-forget-pt-4-guiding-star-baptist-church	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><strong><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-hub">Series Hub</a></strong></p> <p><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster">◀◀ First Entry</a> \| <a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-3-richard-michaels">◀ Previous Entry</a> \| <a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-5-the-star-clad-tome">Next Entry ▶</a></p> <p><sub><a href="/xhawk77x">More by this Author</a></sub></p> </div> <p><strong>Present Day</strong></p> <p>I think about confronting the woman who appears to be following me, but that’d be stupid. The best-case scenario for me is that she doesn’t realize I’m onto her. She saw me look at her, but if I don’t do anything else suspicious, maybe she won’t read anything into that, or at least won’t be sure that I figured her out.</p> <p>I look back at the computer, working to absorb myself as much as possible into my research. I spend more than two hours searching the internet, writing down the names of people I find wearing green stones. I’m still compiling that list when Theo calls me. I answer. “What’s up?” I whisper.</p> <p>“Hey, I just wanted to tell you that we found the book,” Theo says.</p> <p>“Shh!” I snap at him. “Not on the phone.” I glance to see if the woman noticed my reaction, but she’s no longer where she was sitting before.</p> <p>“I know, I know,” Theo says. “I just thought you’d want to know; I was right about where it was. We’ve found it, and we’re dealing with it.”</p> <p>“Does Daisy know?”</p> <p>“She will soon. I think everything is going to turn out alright.”</p> <p>I sigh. “Okay. Good to hear, I guess.”</p> <p>We say goodbye, and he hangs up.</p> <p>I look down at my list of names. What was this strange cult they were a part of, and what happened in 2005 to make them stop wearing those stones? That’s over a decade before the Galaxy Plaza disaster. Callum would’ve been a toddler. Did the organization disband, or did they have some other reason to stop wearing them? Why did Callum introduce this otherwise-defunct tradition into his Spirituality Club?</p> <p>Given that the Guiding Star Baptist Church was still up and running after 2005, I’m going to assume that this organization still existed after 2005. Maybe it still exists today. Maybe I need to keep my guard up, in case people I interact with are members of it. Given that they don’t wear those stones any longer, anyone I meet could be one of them, just like anyone could be one of <em>them</em>.</p> <p>A terrible thought intrudes into my head.</p> <p>No. I’m not going to entertain it. Yes, Theo goes to a strange, secretive church in the same town where Guiding Star used to be, but that’s a coincidence. He isn’t one of them. I’ve known him for years, and I’ve never seen him display mind-controlling powers.</p> <p>I look up Theo’s Church. I know its name. It’s the Church of the Blessed Sacrifice. A quick glance at some records shows me it was founded about a year after Guiding Star closed, which is exactly what you’d expect if it were some kind of successor. Still, that’s not true. It can’t be. Theo is a good person. He wouldn’t be part of a group like this.</p> <p>Would he?</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Seven Years Ago</strong></p> <p>I crept downstairs after a late-night trip to the bathroom to get myself a glass of water. While I was down there, I heard something in the backyard. Was someone out there? I crept up to a window and peeked outside. Evan was standing in front of our fire pit. The fire’s light made him cast an eerie shadow. There was a pile of objects next to him. He grabbed a book from it and threw it into the fire.</p> <p>I went outside. He heard the door open and looked over his shoulder. “What are you doing up?” he asked.</p> <p>“I was getting some water. What are you doing up? It’s like two in the morning.”</p> <p>As I approached, I got a clearer look at what he was burning. It was stuff to do with Spirituality Club. Notebooks covered in blue and silver stars. Some of his magic books. Strange, abstract paintings, including one painting of a strange star with needle-thin points surrounding a central eye. Something about that eye’s slit pupil made its gaze seem suspicious, disapproving. Evan grabbed the picture and cast it into the flames. “Go back to bed,” he said.</p> <p>“Listen, bro, I get that you’re mad at Callum, but I don’t think mom and dad would want you doing this. Fire’s dangerous.”</p> <p>“Fire isn’t the only thing that’s dangerous.” Evan grabbed a notebook off the pile and started flipping through it.</p> <p>“Are you sure? Maybe you’ll miss this stuff someday.”</p> <p>“I won’t.” Several pages into the notebook, he stopped, ripped a page out, wadded it up, and threw it in. “You don’t understand the things Callum did. You’re too young. Callum is a monster. He’s hurt a lot of people. I’m ashamed I was ever his friend.” Evan ripped out another page and threw it in.</p> <p>“Okay, fine, but why do you need to burn things? Did Callum cast a spell on them or something?”</p> <p>“Some things are dangerous to look at. To read. To hear. If I don’t destroy this stuff, it might hurt somebody.”</p> <p>“Seriously? That weird pointy star picture has been in your room for months. Everyone here has seen it. It didn’t do anything.”</p> <p>Evan sighed. “Look, there’s a lot I can’t explain to you. Just, be careful around anything written by Callum, or anything I wrote while I was friends with him. Try not to let him talk to you, and if he does, come to me about it as soon as you can.”</p> <p>“Okay.”</p> <p>“I’m serious. Never let him communicate with you in any way.”</p> <p>“I said okay.” Now, he was finally starting to scare me.</p> <p>“Promise?”</p> <p>“Yes. I promise.”</p> <p>“Okay. Good.” Evan grabbed another item, a whole book, off his pile, and tossed it into the fire.</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Present Day</strong></p> <p>As I leave the library, I glance around, looking for my stalker. I don’t see her. Maybe she’s gone, or maybe she’s hiding. It’s a long drive home from the library. I take several detours, trying to get onto a nice, lonely stretch of road where it would be easy to see if someone was following me. No one seems to be. Maybe I’m in the clear. Or, maybe, she’s with <em>them</em>, has followed me home without me noticing, so that now <em>they</em> know where I live.</p> <p>Theo is lying on the couch, tapping on his phone, when I get back from the library. He smiles. “Hey,” he says.</p> <p>“Hey.” Theo sits up to make room for me on the couch. I take a seat next to him. “From the fact that you’re here, I take it you resolved things with Daisy?”</p> <p>“Yep.” Theo wraps his arm around my shoulder. “Things turned out alright. We returned the book.”</p> <p>“How did it end up at your church?”</p> <p>“It wasn’t at my church. One of the other members had taken it home.”</p> <p>“Why?”</p> <p>Theo thinks for a moment. “Honestly, I forgot to ask Marcy why she stole it.”</p> <p>“You forgot? How the hell would you forget that?”</p> <p>“I know. I know. I guess I was too mad at her to think of it. Still, after I told her she’d gotten me in trouble, she confessed everything and promised to make things right. Daisy was really gracious. She took the book back and said that was the end of it.”</p> <p>I breathe a deep sigh of relief. “Thank God.”</p> <p>“Yeah.”</p> <p>“By the way, did you get a good look at the book?”</p> <p>“I guess. I didn’t really examine it much. It was in some ancient language I didn’t know. I don’t think Marcy or Daisy could read it either. Maybe no one can. It’s just an interesting antique.”</p> <p>“There was a star on the cover, though?”</p> <p>“Yep. A big old star. No idea what it means. Honestly, I don’t think the book had much to do with anything. It just happened to cause us some problems.”</p> <p>“I guess. Still, I wish I could see it for myself to know for sure.”</p> <p>“I wouldn’t ask Daisy to look at it. I don’t think either of us should be seen around Runes & Relics for the foreseeable future.”</p> <p>“Yeah. You’re probably right.”</p> <p>Theo scoots a bit closer to me, pulling me in with the arm he’s wrapped around me.</p> <p>“Actually,” I say, shrinking away, “let me use the bathroom first.”</p> <p>“Oh. Okay.”</p> <p>I go to the bathroom. I lock the door, and call Daisy on my phone.</p> <p>Daisy is a kind and gracious person. There’s no reason she wouldn’t have accepted the book back with an apology, just like Theo said.</p> <p>But I can’t get over that star on the cover.</p> <p>Daisy answers the phone. “Hello, Runes & Relics. Manager speaking.”</p> <p>“Hey,” I whisper. “I heard things worked out with the book?”</p> <p>“Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Sorry for threatening to call the police on you.”</p> <p>“It’s alright. It was understandable. You’d been stolen from. I’m just glad it all worked out.”</p> <p>“Yeah,” Daisy says. “I can’t say I like what happened, but in the end, I was going to sell the book anyway, so it’s no skin off my nose if it’s to Theo’s church.”</p> <p>My eyes go wide. “Oh? You wound up selling it to Theo’s church?” Just like Allen sold a book to Callum. Callum, whose cult is obsessed with stars.</p> <p>“Yeah. Did Theo not tell you?”</p> <p>“I just got home. I haven’t talked to him yet.”</p> <p>“Oh. Well, yeah. After they explained everything, I went ahead and accepted the sale. The price they gave me was pretty fair.”</p> <p>“I see. It’s really gracious of you to accept that, after how things started.” Why the hell would Theo lie to me about this? What the fuck is going on?</p> <p>“I do like to consider myself gracious.”</p> <p>“Yeah,” I chuckle. “Did they say what they wanted the book for, by the way?”</p> <p>There’s a brief pause. “I didn’t ask,” she says.</p> <p>“You just let them buy it after they stole it from you?”</p> <p>“Like I said, gracious.”</p> <p>“I see.” I’ve never seen Theo wear a green stone, or any other jewelry for that matter. Then again, I met him well after 2005, so why would he have?</p> <p>What the hell am I thinking? Theo isn’t a mind controlling wizard. He has never forced me to do anything.</p> <p>But then, he couldn’t, could he? Evan was immune to Callum’s powers. If I’m like Evan and Theo is like Callum, I’d be immune to his too.</p> <p>“You still there?” Daisy asks.</p> <p>“Yeah, sorry. I guess that’s all. I hope I see you soon.” If Theo’s church really did use some kind of mental control on her, I should be able to undo it.</p> <p>“Sure thing,” Daisy says.</p> <p>I grunt in acknowledgement. Once the call is over, I leave the bathroom.</p> <p>Theo’s still on the couch, playing with his phone.</p> <p>He believed me. With no hesitation, he believed me about what I saw the night they took Evan. That was the sweetest, kindest thing anyone has ever done for me, but it didn’t make sense. That’s exactly why it was impressive. My story was so outrageous that no one would believe it.</p> <p>Unless they already knew about the paranormal world. Unless they were already a part of it, and already knew there was an organization that covers up paranormal activity and kidnaps people with supernatural powers.</p> <p>Callum’s organization was obsessed with stars. Guiding Star. Aster Sterling. The space fantasy books he wrote. The stars that adorned Evan’s room when he was a member. Of course they would be interested in an ancient book with a giant star on the cover. Why wouldn’t they try to get it? Why wouldn’t they use the same method Callum used seven years earlier?</p> <p>I walk up to Theo and sit next to him. He wraps his arm back around me. I don’t object. I can’t let him know I suspect anything. If I’m right, he could be more dangerous than anyone else I’ve dealt with. He could be as dangerous as Callum, part of the same group that Evan was fighting.</p> <p>The same one that caused the Galaxy Plaza disaster.</p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><strong><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-hub">Series Hub</a></strong></p> <p><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster">◀◀ First Entry</a> \| <a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-3-richard-michaels">◀ Previous Entry</a> \| <a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-5-the-star-clad-tome">Next Entry ▶</a></p> <p><sub><a href="/xhawk77x">More by this Author</a></sub></p> </div> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-4-guiding-star-baptist-church">I Didn't Forget Pt 4: Guiding Star Baptist Church</a>" by XHAWK77X, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/i-didn-t-forget-pt-4-guiding-star-baptist-church">https://scpwiki.com/i-didn-t-forget-pt-4-guiding-star-baptist-church</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[=]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-hub\|Series Hub]]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster\|◀◀ First Entry]]] \| [[[ i-didn-t-forget-pt-3-richard-michaels\|◀ Previous Entry]]] \| [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-5-the-star-clad-tome\|Next Entry ▶]]] ,,[[[xhawk77x\|More by this Author]]],, [[/=]] Present Day I think about confronting the woman who appears to be following me, but that’d be stupid. The best-case scenario for me is that she doesn’t realize I’m onto her. She saw me look at her, but if I don’t do anything else suspicious, maybe she won’t read anything into that, or at least won’t be sure that I figured her out. I look back at the computer, working to absorb myself as much as possible into my research. I spend more than two hours searching the internet, writing down the names of people I find wearing green stones. I’m still compiling that list when Theo calls me. I answer. “What’s up?” I whisper. “Hey, I just wanted to tell you that we found the book,” Theo says. “Shh!” I snap at him. “Not on the phone.” I glance to see if the woman noticed my reaction, but she’s no longer where she was sitting before. “I know, I know,” Theo says. “I just thought you’d want to know; I was right about where it was. We’ve found it, and we’re dealing with it.” “Does Daisy know?” “She will soon. I think everything is going to turn out alright.” I sigh. “Okay. Good to hear, I guess.” We say goodbye, and he hangs up. I look down at my list of names. What was this strange cult they were a part of, and what happened in 2005 to make them stop wearing those stones? That’s over a decade before the Galaxy Plaza disaster. Callum would’ve been a toddler. Did the organization disband, or did they have some other reason to stop wearing them? Why did Callum introduce this otherwise-defunct tradition into his Spirituality Club? Given that the Guiding Star Baptist Church was still up and running after 2005, I’m going to assume that this organization still existed after 2005. Maybe it still exists today. Maybe I need to keep my guard up, in case people I interact with are members of it. Given that they don’t wear those stones any longer, anyone I meet could be one of them, just like anyone could be one of //them//. A terrible thought intrudes into my head. No. I’m not going to entertain it. Yes, Theo goes to a strange, secretive church in the same town where Guiding Star used to be, but that’s a coincidence. He isn’t one of them. I’ve known him for years, and I’ve never seen him display mind-controlling powers. I look up Theo’s Church. I know its name. It’s the Church of the Blessed Sacrifice. A quick glance at some records shows me it was founded about a year after Guiding Star closed, which is exactly what you’d expect if it were some kind of successor. Still, that’s not true. It can’t be. Theo is a good person. He wouldn’t be part of a group like this. Would he? ----- Seven Years Ago I crept downstairs after a late-night trip to the bathroom to get myself a glass of water. While I was down there, I heard something in the backyard. Was someone out there? I crept up to a window and peeked outside. Evan was standing in front of our fire pit. The fire’s light made him cast an eerie shadow. There was a pile of objects next to him. He grabbed a book from it and threw it into the fire. I went outside. He heard the door open and looked over his shoulder. “What are you doing up?” he asked. “I was getting some water. What are you doing up? It’s like two in the morning.” As I approached, I got a clearer look at what he was burning. It was stuff to do with Spirituality Club. Notebooks covered in blue and silver stars. Some of his magic books. Strange, abstract paintings, including one painting of a strange star with needle-thin points surrounding a central eye. Something about that eye’s slit pupil made its gaze seem suspicious, disapproving. Evan grabbed the picture and cast it into the flames. “Go back to bed,” he said. “Listen, bro, I get that you’re mad at Callum, but I don’t think mom and dad would want you doing this. Fire’s dangerous.” “Fire isn’t the only thing that’s dangerous.” Evan grabbed a notebook off the pile and started flipping through it. “Are you sure? Maybe you’ll miss this stuff someday.” “I won’t.” Several pages into the notebook, he stopped, ripped a page out, wadded it up, and threw it in. “You don’t understand the things Callum did. You’re too young. Callum is a monster. He’s hurt a lot of people. I’m ashamed I was ever his friend.” Evan ripped out another page and threw it in. “Okay, fine, but why do you need to burn things? Did Callum cast a spell on them or something?” “Some things are dangerous to look at. To read. To hear. If I don’t destroy this stuff, it might hurt somebody.” “Seriously? That weird pointy star picture has been in your room for months. Everyone here has seen it. It didn’t do anything.” Evan sighed. “Look, there’s a lot I can’t explain to you. Just, be careful around anything written by Callum, or anything I wrote while I was friends with him. Try not to let him talk to you, and if he does, come to me about it as soon as you can.” “Okay.” “I’m serious. Never let him communicate with you in any way.” “I said okay.” Now, he was finally starting to scare me. “Promise?” “Yes. I promise.” “Okay. Good.” Evan grabbed another item, a whole book, off his pile, and tossed it into the fire. ----- Present Day As I leave the library, I glance around, looking for my stalker. I don’t see her. Maybe she’s gone, or maybe she’s hiding. It’s a long drive home from the library. I take several detours, trying to get onto a nice, lonely stretch of road where it would be easy to see if someone was following me. No one seems to be. Maybe I’m in the clear. Or, maybe, she’s with //them//, has followed me home without me noticing, so that now //they// know where I live. Theo is lying on the couch, tapping on his phone, when I get back from the library. He smiles. “Hey,” he says. “Hey.” Theo sits up to make room for me on the couch. I take a seat next to him. “From the fact that you’re here, I take it you resolved things with Daisy?” “Yep.” Theo wraps his arm around my shoulder. “Things turned out alright. We returned the book.” “How did it end up at your church?” “It wasn’t at my church. One of the other members had taken it home.” “Why?” Theo thinks for a moment. “Honestly, I forgot to ask Marcy why she stole it.” “You forgot? How the hell would you forget that?” “I know. I know. I guess I was too mad at her to think of it. Still, after I told her she’d gotten me in trouble, she confessed everything and promised to make things right. Daisy was really gracious. She took the book back and said that was the end of it.” I breathe a deep sigh of relief. “Thank God.” “Yeah.” “By the way, did you get a good look at the book?” “I guess. I didn’t really examine it much. It was in some ancient language I didn’t know. I don’t think Marcy or Daisy could read it either. Maybe no one can. It’s just an interesting antique.” “There was a star on the cover, though?” “Yep. A big old star. No idea what it means. Honestly, I don’t think the book had much to do with anything. It just happened to cause us some problems.” “I guess. Still, I wish I could see it for myself to know for sure.” “I wouldn’t ask Daisy to look at it. I don’t think either of us should be seen around Runes & Relics for the foreseeable future.” “Yeah. You’re probably right.” Theo scoots a bit closer to me, pulling me in with the arm he’s wrapped around me. “Actually,” I say, shrinking away, “let me use the bathroom first.” “Oh. Okay.” I go to the bathroom. I lock the door, and call Daisy on my phone. Daisy is a kind and gracious person. There’s no reason she wouldn’t have accepted the book back with an apology, just like Theo said. But I can’t get over that star on the cover. Daisy answers the phone. “Hello, Runes & Relics. Manager speaking.” “Hey,” I whisper. “I heard things worked out with the book?” “Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Sorry for threatening to call the police on you.” “It’s alright. It was understandable. You’d been stolen from. I’m just glad it all worked out.” “Yeah,” Daisy says. “I can’t say I like what happened, but in the end, I was going to sell the book anyway, so it’s no skin off my nose if it’s to Theo’s church.” My eyes go wide. “Oh? You wound up selling it to Theo’s church?” Just like Allen sold a book to Callum. Callum, whose cult is obsessed with stars. “Yeah. Did Theo not tell you?” “I just got home. I haven’t talked to him yet.” “Oh. Well, yeah. After they explained everything, I went ahead and accepted the sale. The price they gave me was pretty fair.” “I see. It’s really gracious of you to accept that, after how things started.” Why the hell would Theo lie to me about this? What the fuck is going on? “I do like to consider myself gracious.” “Yeah,” I chuckle. “Did they say what they wanted the book for, by the way?” There’s a brief pause. “I didn’t ask,” she says. “You just let them buy it after they stole it from you?” “Like I said, gracious.” “I see.” I’ve never seen Theo wear a green stone, or any other jewelry for that matter. Then again, I met him well after 2005, so why would he have? What the hell am I thinking? Theo isn’t a mind controlling wizard. He has never forced me to do anything. But then, he couldn’t, could he? Evan was immune to Callum’s powers. If I’m like Evan and Theo is like Callum, I’d be immune to his too. “You still there?” Daisy asks. “Yeah, sorry. I guess that’s all. I hope I see you soon.” If Theo’s church really did use some kind of mental control on her, I should be able to undo it. “Sure thing,” Daisy says. I grunt in acknowledgement. Once the call is over, I leave the bathroom. Theo’s still on the couch, playing with his phone. He believed me. With no hesitation, he believed me about what I saw the night they took Evan. That was the sweetest, kindest thing anyone has ever done for me, but it didn’t make sense. That’s exactly why it was impressive. My story was so outrageous that no one would believe it. Unless they already knew about the paranormal world. Unless they were already a part of it, and already knew there was an organization that covers up paranormal activity and kidnaps people with supernatural powers. Callum’s organization was obsessed with stars. Guiding Star. Aster Sterling. The space fantasy books he wrote. The stars that adorned Evan’s room when he was a member. Of course they would be interested in an ancient book with a giant star on the cover. Why wouldn’t they try to get it? Why wouldn’t they use the same method Callum used seven years earlier? I walk up to Theo and sit next to him. He wraps his arm back around me. I don’t object. I can’t let him know I suspect anything. If I’m right, he could be more dangerous than anyone else I’ve dealt with. He could be as dangerous as Callum, part of the same group that Evan was fighting. The same one that caused the Galaxy Plaza disaster. [[=]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-hub\|Series Hub]]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster\|◀◀ First Entry]]] \| [[[ i-didn-t-forget-pt-3-richard-michaels\|◀ Previous Entry]]] \| [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-5-the-star-clad-tome\|Next Entry ▶]]] ,,[[[xhawk77x\|More by this Author]]],, [[/=]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a> \|author=XHAWK77X]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-06-09T05:47:00	[ "_licensebox", "fifthist", "first-person", "mystery", "religious-fiction", "tale" ]	I Didn't Forget Pt 4: Guiding Star Baptist Church - SCP Foundation	15	[ "i-didn-t-forget-hub", "i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster", "i-didn-t-forget-pt-3-richard-michaels", "i-didn-t-forget-pt-5-the-star-clad-tome", "xhawk77x", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "i-didn-t-forget-hub", "fifthist-hub" ]	[]	1448370113	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/i-didn-t-forget-pt-4-guiding-star-baptist-church
i-didn-t-forget-pt-5-the-star-clad-tome	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><strong><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-hub">Series Hub</a></strong></p> <p><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster">◀◀ First Entry</a> \| <a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-4-guiding-star-baptist-church">◀ Previous Entry</a> \| <a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-6-the-service">Next Entry ▶</a></p> <p><sub><a href="/xhawk77x">More by this Author</a></sub></p> </div> <p><strong>Four Years Ago</strong></p> <p>I was in the history classroom at Cypress High. It was my first year at the same school my brother had gone to. I was only two doors down from the room where Spirituality Club had been held. I’d searched that room, but there was nothing there. I was years too late. None of Evan’s teachers remembered anything useful, either.</p> <p>“Now, here are your partners,” Mrs. Robinson said, gesturing at a slide on the projector behind her.</p> <p>These partners were for a presentation she was assigning us. Every pair was supposed to give a presentation about everyday life in an era of history. “Remember,” she said, “this isn’t just about dates, wars and big, flashy events. Each of you needs to paint a picture of a time and place, and the lives of the people who lived in it.”</p> <p>The slide behind her showed a dozen pairs of names, one of which contained mine. “Jeremy Sanders and Theodore North.”</p> <p>My primary reaction was relief that I hadn’t gotten one of the bullies. I’d had a lot of trouble with them in the past few years, now that Evan wasn’t around to make them back off.</p> <p>I didn’t know Theo that well. He was the new kid. He’d joined the school just last month. I wasn’t sure where he’d come from, and I didn’t really care. All I knew was that he’d been lucky to get me as a partner. While researching the Galaxy Plaza disaster, I’d learned a lot about the mines that supposedly caused it, and the people who’d dug them. It’d be a sinch for me to design a presentation that ‘painted a picture’ of them.</p> <p>Mrs. Robinson dismissed class. As I packed my things, Theo walked over to me. “Hey,” he said.</p> <p>“Hey.”</p> <p>“So, it looks like I’m your partner.”</p> <p>“Yep.”</p> <p>“So, do you have any ideas for what era the presentation should be about?”</p> <p>“This town, early in the colonial era, when the mines were still active.”</p> <p>“Wow. Okay.”</p> <p>“I know a lot about the town’s history.”</p> <p>“I guess that’ll be helpful.”</p> <p>“It will.”</p> <p>“I’m Theo, by the way. I’m not sure we’ve ever spoken before.” He stuck out his hand to shake mine.</p> <p>I glanced at his outstretched hand. I took it. “I’m Jerry,” I said.</p> <p>“Nice to meet you.”</p> <p>“You too.”</p> <p>“Do you have an opinion on which of us should speak?” Theo asked.</p> <p>“I guess I’d rather it be you, since I’m going to be doing a lot of the research.”</p> <p>“Oh,” Theo said.</p> <p>“Is that a problem?”</p> <p>“No. No. It’s fine. You’re right. It’s only fair.”</p> <p>“Alright. Don’t worry. I’m pretty good at research. I’ll be able to pull my weight.”</p> <p>He smiled. “I’m sure you will.”</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Present Day</strong></p> <p>I drive up to Runes & Relics, alone.</p> <p>I’m being ridiculous. Just by coming here, I’m being ridiculous. Theo has been my boyfriend for years. We live together, for Christ’s sake. There’s no way he’s a bad guy. Hopefully this conversation with Daisy will clear everything up, and I’ll be able to stop worrying about this.</p> <p>Daisy invites me to the back of the store as I enter Runes & Relics. There’s an employee at the counter. I don’t like that she sees me coming here, but it can’t be helped. Daisy and I sit across from each other at the same white table as last time. I feel Theo’s absence next to me.</p> <p>“Good to see you again,” Daisy says.</p> <p>“Thanks. You, too.”</p> <p>“You had some more questions for me?”</p> <p>“Yeah. Primarily about that book you sold to Theo’s church. Can you tell me more about it?”</p> <p>“Oh.” She thinks for a second. “Honestly, I didn’t really know what it was. Just an old book written in a language I didn’t recognize.”</p> <p>“So, you don’t know what it was or where it came from?”</p> <p>“Not really. Sorry.”</p> <p>“And you don’t know why Theo’s church wanted it?”</p> <p>Daisy shrugs. “It’s an old, mysterious thing. That makes it valuable. Honestly, I don’t know why you’re asking me. Don’t you live with Theo?”</p> <p>“I’m planning to talk with him,” I lie. “He’s just a bit too busy right now.” I doubt my lie fools her, but she doesn’t call me on it. “So, you didn’t know what the book was, but did Theo and his church friends seem to know anything?”</p> <p>“Not that they mentioned.”</p> <p>“Are you sure? Maybe they thought the book had something to do with them?”</p> <p>“What do you mean?”</p> <p>“Well, there was a star on it. I’ve… heard that that’s a symbol Theo’s church uses sometimes.”</p> <p>“Oh.” She thinks for a moment. “That’s not the impression I got. I’m pretty sure the text was Asian in origin, and given how old it was, I don’t think it could have had anything to do with a Christian church.”</p> <p>Right. Christian. “I see. I’m sorry if I’m pressing too much. It just seems strange for a church to be moonlighting as a rare book collector.”</p> <p>“Well, you’ll have to ask Theo about that. I don’t know anything I’ve not already told you.”</p> <p>I study her. This should be what I want to hear, that Theo is innocent, and so was her decision to let his church buy that book. But then, why did he lie about it? “Was there any particular reason you allowed them to purchase it, considering what had happened between you and them?”</p> <p>“It’s like I said over the phone. I’m gracious.”</p> <p>“You’re sure there wasn’t any other reason?”</p> <p>“Kinda, yeah. These things can be hard to find buyers for, and they offered a very good price. It would’ve been foolish for me to turn it down. Hell, the store’s owner might have gotten mad at me if I had.”</p> <p>“Did they have any trouble talking you into it?”</p> <p>Daisy shakes her head. “Not really. Their offer was very good. The only reason to turn it down would’ve been spite, and I’m not one to cut off my nose to spite my face.”</p> <p>That makes perfect sense, especially coming from Daisy. She’s just about the least spiteful person I’ve ever known.</p> <p>I shouldn’t be here. I need to stop wasting her time. “Are you sure?” I ask, one final time. As I speak, I will, with everything I have, for my words to free her from any mind control she might be under.</p> <p>“Yeah,” she says. “I’m sure.”</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Four Years Ago</strong></p> <p>Cypress High’s cafeteria was huge. Its walls were blue, and the floor was a checkerboard of blue and white. Tall bushes stood outside the windows. Out of which, in the distance, you could see the Galaxy Plaza. Most people didn’t know that, but if you knew what the buildings’ roofs looked like, you could recognize them.</p> <p>I happened to be wearing my Pride flag t-shirt. Some would’ve questioned the wisdom of that in a town this size, but the bullies it attracted were the same ones that were on my case anyways. Plus, it wasn’t just them it offended. It nudged a lot of other kids away from me, which was how I liked it.</p> <p>Theo plopped his tray down right across from me. “Hey,” he said.</p> <p>I looked up at him. My immediate urge was to tell him to go away, but that would’ve been too mean. “Hey,” I said. I took a bite of my food.</p> <p>“How’s it going?” Theo asked, opening his carton of milk.</p> <p>“Alright. You?”</p> <p>“I’m good.” With that, we ate silently for a minute. At first, I was relieved he didn’t want any more small talk, but as we sat there silently, awkwardness built up between us. I kept expecting him to break it, but he didn’t. Eventually, I couldn’t stand it any longer. “So, where are you from? Out of town?”</p> <p>“No, I’m from in town. I used to go to a private religious school. It was pretty small, and, well, it’s gone now.”</p> <p>“Gochya,” I said. “You religious, or just your parents?” It wasn’t that I had a problem with religion, as such. Evan was no atheist. However, the only private religious schools in America were Christian ones, and that didn’t bode well for me getting along with Theo.</p> <p>“It’s not just them,” he said. “I am, too.”</p> <p>I took a sip of my milk.</p> <p>“Is that, um, okay?” he asked.</p> <p>“What do you mean?”</p> <p>“You just, well, I don’t know.”</p> <p>I shrugged and sipped my milk. “I’m not the boss of you. You can believe whatever you want.”</p> <p>“I’m not, like, that kind of religious person,” Theo said. “Like, I’m like, cool. I’m actually gay myself.” His face immediately went flush with mortification at what he’d just said.</p> <p>“Cool,” I said, trying with all my might to convey that I didn’t care. He looked at me like he was expecting something. I took a bite of my corn bread. It was too crumbly.</p> <p>“So, uh, do you have plans later?” Theo asked. “I don’t have any friends here, and, well, you seem alright. Like, since the project gives us a reason to spend some time together anyway, and since we already have one thing in common,” his eyes went wide, “not that it’d be like, a date, or anything, just, like, you know, I need to get to know someone around here, you know?”</p> <p>“I’m busy today,” I said. “I’m going to be at the library.”</p> <p>“I can stop by there later.”</p> <p>“The town library. There’s something else I need to check up on. I’ll probably get some schoolwork done while I’m there, but I’d prefer not to be distracted.”</p> <p>“Oh. Okay. Maybe some other time, then?”</p> <p>I looked at him. He was pitiable. Pathetic. A bit cute, in a way, but I couldn’t do anything about it. In a few years, I was going to risk my life to get Evan back. I couldn’t drag someone else into that. “Look,” I said, “I’m not really in the market for a new friend right now. No offense. It’s nothing to do with you. I’m just a loner, and I’m more comfortable that way.”</p> <p>“Oh,” Theo said. “I’m sorry.”</p> <p>“It’s okay. You asked. I answered. No harm done.”</p> <p>Theo stood up, carrying his tray with him. “You don’t have to…” I began, but he kept walking.</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Present Day</strong></p> <p>The wheels of my shopping cart rattle as I push it down the aisle. I’m at the big grocery store on the far side of town. This is where I told Theo I was going when I left to meet Daisy, and maintaining that lie requires me to actually come here. As usual, I forgot the grocery list at home, and had to have Theo text me a picture of it. I was relatively apologetic about this, but he assured me that it was no big deal.</p> <p>As I walk around, I keep my eye out for the woman who was following me around yesterday. So far, no sign of her.</p> <p>If Daisy had been under some kind of mental control, I’d have broken it. The fact that that didn’t happen proves that, unless I’m very wrong about how my powers work, she wasn’t forced to sell the book, or to hide anything from me.</p> <p>But then, why would Theo lie about his church buying it?</p> <p>Maybe I should just ask him. Maybe he had a totally understandable reason, and I’m being a paranoid doofus by thinking he’s a mind-controlling star cultist.</p> <p>I pass the store’s electronics section. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot a device encased in clear plastic. It’s a tiny microphone that looks like a pen. I walk over and pick it up. The packaging boasts that it’s discrete and can hold more than five hours of audio.</p> <p>I slip it into my cart. If there is some grand, sinister secret behind Theo’s lie, it obviously has something to do with his church. He’s going to go to church tomorrow morning. I can probably slip this into his pocket. That could allow me to listen in on his service, and, if I’m lucky, any relevant conversations he might have while he’s there.</p> <p>Then, when he brings back a recording of a completely normal church service, I can stop being an idiot and get back to finding my brother.</p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><strong><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-hub">Series Hub</a></strong></p> <p><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster">◀◀ First Entry</a> \| <a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-4-guiding-star-baptist-church">◀ Previous Entry</a> \| <a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-6-the-service">Next Entry ▶</a></p> <p><sub><a href="/xhawk77x">More by this Author</a></sub></p> </div> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[=]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-hub\|Series Hub]]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster\|◀◀ First Entry]]] \| [[[ i-didn-t-forget-pt-4-guiding-star-baptist-church\|◀ Previous Entry]]] \| [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-6-the-service\|Next Entry ▶]]] ,,[[[xhawk77x\|More by this Author]]],, [[/=]] Four Years Ago I was in the history classroom at Cypress High. It was my first year at the same school my brother had gone to. I was only two doors down from the room where Spirituality Club had been held. I’d searched that room, but there was nothing there. I was years too late. None of Evan’s teachers remembered anything useful, either. “Now, here are your partners,” Mrs. Robinson said, gesturing at a slide on the projector behind her. These partners were for a presentation she was assigning us. Every pair was supposed to give a presentation about everyday life in an era of history. “Remember,” she said, “this isn’t just about dates, wars and big, flashy events. Each of you needs to paint a picture of a time and place, and the lives of the people who lived in it.” The slide behind her showed a dozen pairs of names, one of which contained mine. “Jeremy Sanders and Theodore North.” My primary reaction was relief that I hadn’t gotten one of the bullies. I’d had a lot of trouble with them in the past few years, now that Evan wasn’t around to make them back off. I didn’t know Theo that well. He was the new kid. He’d joined the school just last month. I wasn’t sure where he’d come from, and I didn’t really care. All I knew was that he’d been lucky to get me as a partner. While researching the Galaxy Plaza disaster, I’d learned a lot about the mines that supposedly caused it, and the people who’d dug them. It’d be a sinch for me to design a presentation that ‘painted a picture’ of them. Mrs. Robinson dismissed class. As I packed my things, Theo walked over to me. “Hey,” he said. “Hey.” “So, it looks like I’m your partner.” “Yep.” “So, do you have any ideas for what era the presentation should be about?” “This town, early in the colonial era, when the mines were still active.” “Wow. Okay.” “I know a lot about the town’s history.” “I guess that’ll be helpful.” “It will.” “I’m Theo, by the way. I’m not sure we’ve ever spoken before.” He stuck out his hand to shake mine. I glanced at his outstretched hand. I took it. “I’m Jerry,” I said. “Nice to meet you.” “You too.” “Do you have an opinion on which of us should speak?” Theo asked. “I guess I’d rather it be you, since I’m going to be doing a lot of the research.” “Oh,” Theo said. “Is that a problem?” “No. No. It’s fine. You’re right. It’s only fair.” “Alright. Don’t worry. I’m pretty good at research. I’ll be able to pull my weight.” He smiled. “I’m sure you will.” ----- Present Day I drive up to Runes & Relics, alone. I’m being ridiculous. Just by coming here, I’m being ridiculous. Theo has been my boyfriend for years. We live together, for Christ’s sake. There’s no way he’s a bad guy. Hopefully this conversation with Daisy will clear everything up, and I’ll be able to stop worrying about this. Daisy invites me to the back of the store as I enter Runes & Relics. There’s an employee at the counter. I don’t like that she sees me coming here, but it can’t be helped. Daisy and I sit across from each other at the same white table as last time. I feel Theo’s absence next to me. “Good to see you again,” Daisy says. “Thanks. You, too.” “You had some more questions for me?” “Yeah. Primarily about that book you sold to Theo’s church. Can you tell me more about it?” “Oh.” She thinks for a second. “Honestly, I didn’t really know what it was. Just an old book written in a language I didn’t recognize.” “So, you don’t know what it was or where it came from?” “Not really. Sorry.” “And you don’t know why Theo’s church wanted it?” Daisy shrugs. “It’s an old, mysterious thing. That makes it valuable. Honestly, I don’t know why you’re asking me. Don’t you live with Theo?” “I’m planning to talk with him,” I lie. “He’s just a bit too busy right now.” I doubt my lie fools her, but she doesn’t call me on it. “So, you didn’t know what the book was, but did Theo and his church friends seem to know anything?” “Not that they mentioned.” “Are you sure? Maybe they thought the book had something to do with them?” “What do you mean?” “Well, there was a star on it. I’ve… heard that that’s a symbol Theo’s church uses sometimes.” “Oh.” She thinks for a moment. “That’s not the impression I got. I’m pretty sure the text was Asian in origin, and given how old it was, I don’t think it could have had anything to do with a Christian church.” Right. Christian. “I see. I’m sorry if I’m pressing too much. It just seems strange for a church to be moonlighting as a rare book collector.” “Well, you’ll have to ask Theo about that. I don’t know anything I’ve not already told you.” I study her. This should be what I want to hear, that Theo is innocent, and so was her decision to let his church buy that book. But then, why did he lie about it? “Was there any particular reason you allowed them to purchase it, considering what had happened between you and them?” “It’s like I said over the phone. I’m gracious.” “You’re sure there wasn’t any other reason?” “Kinda, yeah. These things can be hard to find buyers for, and they offered a very good price. It would’ve been foolish for me to turn it down. Hell, the store’s owner might have gotten mad at me if I had.” “Did they have any trouble talking you into it?” Daisy shakes her head. “Not really. Their offer was very good. The only reason to turn it down would’ve been spite, and I’m not one to cut off my nose to spite my face.” That makes perfect sense, especially coming from Daisy. She’s just about the least spiteful person I’ve ever known. I shouldn’t be here. I need to stop wasting her time. “Are you sure?” I ask, one final time. As I speak, I will, with everything I have, for my words to free her from any mind control she might be under. “Yeah,” she says. “I’m sure.” ----- Four Years Ago Cypress High’s cafeteria was huge. Its walls were blue, and the floor was a checkerboard of blue and white. Tall bushes stood outside the windows. Out of which, in the distance, you could see the Galaxy Plaza. Most people didn’t know that, but if you knew what the buildings’ roofs looked like, you could recognize them. I happened to be wearing my Pride flag t-shirt. Some would’ve questioned the wisdom of that in a town this size, but the bullies it attracted were the same ones that were on my case anyways. Plus, it wasn’t just them it offended. It nudged a lot of other kids away from me, which was how I liked it. Theo plopped his tray down right across from me. “Hey,” he said. I looked up at him. My immediate urge was to tell him to go away, but that would’ve been too mean. “Hey,” I said. I took a bite of my food. “How’s it going?” Theo asked, opening his carton of milk. “Alright. You?” “I’m good.” With that, we ate silently for a minute. At first, I was relieved he didn’t want any more small talk, but as we sat there silently, awkwardness built up between us. I kept expecting him to break it, but he didn’t. Eventually, I couldn’t stand it any longer. “So, where are you from? Out of town?” “No, I’m from in town. I used to go to a private religious school. It was pretty small, and, well, it’s gone now.” “Gochya,” I said. “You religious, or just your parents?” It wasn’t that I had a problem with religion, as such. Evan was no atheist. However, the only private religious schools in America were Christian ones, and that didn’t bode well for me getting along with Theo. “It’s not just them,” he said. “I am, too.” I took a sip of my milk. “Is that, um, okay?” he asked. “What do you mean?” “You just, well, I don’t know.” I shrugged and sipped my milk. “I’m not the boss of you. You can believe whatever you want.” “I’m not, like, that kind of religious person,” Theo said. “Like, I’m like, cool. I’m actually gay myself.” His face immediately went flush with mortification at what he’d just said. “Cool,” I said, trying with all my might to convey that I didn’t care. He looked at me like he was expecting something. I took a bite of my corn bread. It was too crumbly. “So, uh, do you have plans later?” Theo asked. “I don’t have any friends here, and, well, you seem alright. Like, since the project gives us a reason to spend some time together anyway, and since we already have one thing in common,” his eyes went wide, “not that it’d be like, a date, or anything, just, like, you know, I need to get to know someone around here, you know?” “I’m busy today,” I said. “I’m going to be at the library.” “I can stop by there later.” “The town library. There’s something else I need to check up on. I’ll probably get some schoolwork done while I’m there, but I’d prefer not to be distracted.” “Oh. Okay. Maybe some other time, then?” I looked at him. He was pitiable. Pathetic. A bit cute, in a way, but I couldn’t do anything about it. In a few years, I was going to risk my life to get Evan back. I couldn’t drag someone else into that. “Look,” I said, “I’m not really in the market for a new friend right now. No offense. It’s nothing to do with you. I’m just a loner, and I’m more comfortable that way.” “Oh,” Theo said. “I’m sorry.” “It’s okay. You asked. I answered. No harm done.” Theo stood up, carrying his tray with him. “You don’t have to…” I began, but he kept walking. ----- Present Day The wheels of my shopping cart rattle as I push it down the aisle. I’m at the big grocery store on the far side of town. This is where I told Theo I was going when I left to meet Daisy, and maintaining that lie requires me to actually come here. As usual, I forgot the grocery list at home, and had to have Theo text me a picture of it. I was relatively apologetic about this, but he assured me that it was no big deal. As I walk around, I keep my eye out for the woman who was following me around yesterday. So far, no sign of her. If Daisy had been under some kind of mental control, I’d have broken it. The fact that that didn’t happen proves that, unless I’m very wrong about how my powers work, she wasn’t forced to sell the book, or to hide anything from me. But then, why would Theo lie about his church buying it? Maybe I should just ask him. Maybe he had a totally understandable reason, and I’m being a paranoid doofus by thinking he’s a mind-controlling star cultist. I pass the store’s electronics section. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot a device encased in clear plastic. It’s a tiny microphone that looks like a pen. I walk over and pick it up. The packaging boasts that it’s discrete and can hold more than five hours of audio. I slip it into my cart. If there is some grand, sinister secret behind Theo’s lie, it obviously has something to do with his church. He’s going to go to church tomorrow morning. I can probably slip this into his pocket. That could allow me to listen in on his service, and, if I’m lucky, any relevant conversations he might have while he’s there. Then, when he brings back a recording of a completely normal church service, I can stop being an idiot and get back to finding my brother. [[=]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-hub\|Series Hub]]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster\|◀◀ First Entry]]] \| [[[ i-didn-t-forget-pt-4-guiding-star-baptist-church\|◀ Previous Entry]]] \| [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-6-the-service\|Next Entry ▶]]] ,,[[[xhawk77x\|More by this Author]]],, [[/=]]	2023-07-03T17:41:00	[ "first-person", "lgbtq", "mystery", "religious-fiction", "romance", "tale" ]	I Didn't Forget Pt 5: The Star-clad Tome - SCP Foundation	15	[ "i-didn-t-forget-hub", "i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster", "i-didn-t-forget-pt-4-guiding-star-baptist-church", "i-didn-t-forget-pt-6-the-service", "xhawk77x" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "i-didn-t-forget-hub" ]	[]	1448750990	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/i-didn-t-forget-pt-5-the-star-clad-tome
i-didn-t-forget-pt-6-the-service	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><strong><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-hub">Series Hub</a></strong></p> <p><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster">◀◀ First Entry</a> \| <a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-5-the-star-clad-tome">◀ Previous Entry</a> \| <a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-7-the-church-of-the-blessed-sacrifice">Next Entry ▶</a></p> <p><sub><a href="/xhawk77x">More by this Author</a></sub></p> </div> <p><strong>Four Years Ago</strong></p> <p>About a week before we had to give the presentation for history class, I invited Theo over to my house to work on it together. I’d hoped that wouldn’t be necessary, but if he was going to have any real input about what’d be in it, I had to show him my research materials, most of which were physical books.</p> <p>Theo knocked on the front door. I answered it. “Hey,” he said, nervously.</p> <p>After returning his greeting, I led Theo upstairs to the office room. It was a large room with dull white walls. Inside was an office chair in front of a pale wooden desk where the family computer sat. I sat in the rolling chair. Theo grabbed a chair from the other side of the room and sat by me. “Alright,” I said, “My research is basically done. We just need to organize the facts I’ve collected into a presentation. My current plan is to structure the presentation as a day in the life of the average miner. Is that alright with you?”</p> <p>“Sure,” Theo said. He looked at the power point I’d pulled up. “You seem to have done most of the work already.”</p> <p>“Is that an issue?”</p> <p>“Oh. No. Not at all. It’s nice of you.”</p> <p>“I know the period well. I’ve tried to leave space for you to fill the details in.” I started to take him through my preliminary sketch of the presentation. He approved basically everything I’d done, though he had a few suggestions for details to add. His suggestion that I should play up how dangerous the work was had me searching my books for information on mining accidents. As I did so, his eyes found the ceiling. “Pretty stars,” he said.</p> <p>I froze for a second. He was talking about the glow-in-the-dark stars that were stuck to the ceiling.</p> <p>“Oh, I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to distract you.”</p> <p>“It’s okay.” I turned a page. “I like them too.”</p> <p>“Oh. Cool. If you don’t mind me asking, why are they in an office room?”</p> <p>“This used to be my brother Evan’s bedroom.”</p> <p>“Oh. Well, uh, he has good taste.”</p> <p>I clenched my fist for just a moment. “He’s no longer here,” I said, and then, because I had to go along with the official story, “He died in the Galaxy Plaza Disaster.”</p> <p>Theo’s eyes widened. “Oh. Oh gods, I’m so sorry.”</p> <p>“It’s fine,” I grunted. I turned back to my work. “Mom’s therapist told her it wasn’t healthy to leave this room as a shrine to him. He said she needed to move on, so she changed it into an office. Most of Evan’s belongings are in storage, but I was able to talk her into keeping these here.”</p> <p>“Oh, wow,” Theo seemed to be done talking for a moment, so I went back to reading, but I didn’t get far before he said, “I lost my parents a few years ago.”</p> <p>“Both of them?”</p> <p>“Yeah. Car crash. I was in the system for about a year before my new parents adopted me. My new family is amazing. I love them a lot, but I also know what it’s like when people want you to move on more than you’re ready to.”</p> <p>“I’m sorry to hear that.”</p> <p>“Thank you. I’m sorry about your brother.”</p> <p>“Thank you.”</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Present Day</strong></p> <p>Theo wakes me up, as he’s done every morning since we moved in together. He hands me a large cup of coffee, well-diluted with cream, just the way I like it. “Good morning,” he says.</p> <p>I take the cup and smile. “Good morning,” I say, sipping it. I can already smell the breakfast he’s making.</p> <p>After a few more sips of coffee, I get out of bed. I peek at the clock. It’ll be the better part of an hour before Theo leaves for church. I make my way over to the kitchen table, refilling my coffee on the way there. I sit as he places a plate in front of me. On it are two large pancakes slathered in butter and syrup. He gets his own plate and sits across from me. “So,” he says, “do we have anything investigation-related lined up today?”</p> <p>“Not really,” I say. “We’ve just now run out of obvious leads. I don’t have any more interviews planned.”</p> <p>“Shame.”</p> <p>“I know. At the same time, I feel like we’ve made progress.” I take a few bites of my pancakes. The pancakes my boyfriend made for me because he loves me. The same boyfriend I’m planning to plant a microphone on. Maybe instead of acting like I’m in a bad spy movie, I should just ask him to take me to church. “So,” I say, “it occurred to me yesterday how little I’ve actually interacted with your church. I’ve hardly met your friends from there.”</p> <p>“I thought you preferred it that way.”</p> <p>“In some ways, yeah but it dawned on me how strange it is that you hardly ever bring it up. I mean, aren’t you worried about my soul, or something?”</p> <p>“Life is long. Right now, you have other things to focus on.”</p> <p>“Would it be okay if I came today, just to check it out?”</p> <p>Theo stops eating. “Oh,” he says. “I, uh, don’t think they’d want a new person to show up unexpectedly.”</p> <p>“Oh. Darn.” They must have something to hide, right? Why else would a stranger walking in be a problem?</p> <p>“I’ll tell you what, while I’m there today, I’ll ask them about it.”</p> <p>I smile. “I’d appreciate that.”</p> <p>We finish breakfast. Theo puts on black dress pants and a dark polo shirt. As I’m hugging him goodbye, I click the pen on and slide it into his pocket.</p> <p>Theo blushes as I pull my hand away from his thigh. For a second, I think he noticed what I did. He kisses me. “Feeling naughty?” he asks.</p> <p>He thought that was a horny thigh touch. I shouldn’t correct him. “Maybe a little, but I know you don’t have time.”</p> <p>“We can have some fun afterwards, okay?”</p> <p>“Okay.” Now I’m the one blushing as Theo walks out of the apartment, microphone in his pocket.</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Four Years Ago</strong></p> <p>Theo stood in front of our history class, delivering the presentation. When I’d sent him my PowerPoint at the end of our meeting, it’d looked basic and simple. He’d done a lot of work to improve it. I wished he’d told me he’d planned to use so many extra pictures. I would’ve kept an eye out for them during my research.</p> <p>Theo was the last person you’d expect to be good at public speaking, but honestly, he was. His wording and delivery turned my dry bullet points into a vivid and lifelike retelling of the time and place we were depicting.</p> <p>“Day-to-day progress was slow, and the work was backbreaking. Miners bored through solid rock with nothing but muscle, wood, and steel. Yet, one swing at a time, their pick-axes turned solid rock into this.” He flipped to a slide showing a map of the area’s mines. When the presentation was done, the class applauded.</p> <p>When class ended, everyone filed out of the room. I approached Theo in the hallway. “Hey,” I said, “you did an amazing job.”</p> <p>“Thanks.”</p> <p>“Do you want to hang out after school today?”</p> <p>“Oh. Sure.”</p> <p>“Something wrong?”</p> <p>“No. Not at all. I just… didn’t you say you weren’t in the market for new friends?”</p> <p>I shrugged. “You seem pretty cool.” That compliment lit Theo’s cheeks on fire. “How about you come to my place after school?”</p> <p>“Absolutely,” he said. “I’ll have to ask my moms, but they’ll probably be okay with it.”</p> <p>“Awesome.”</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Present Day</strong></p> <p>The pen is still in Theo’s pocket when he gets home. “Welcome home,” I say. I walk over to hug him, and as I do, I reach down and try to grab it.</p> <p>He pulls away before I can. “Hey,” he says, blushing. “Give me a few minutes to go to the bathroom, and then we’ll have some fun, okay?”</p> <p>“Right. Sorry.”</p> <p>A few minutes later, he comes out, and we have fun.</p> <p>While his pants are still off, I grab the recording pen from his pocket. It’s still on. I click it off. Hopefully, it was on the whole time he was gone.</p> <p>Theo goes into the kitchen to make lunch. I pull out my laptop and connect the pen to it. Sure enough, there’s a single, two-hour sound file, which I copy onto my laptop. With headphones on, I play the recording.</p> <p>It starts with us hugging and saying we love each other. The next twenty minutes are Theo’s commute to the church, which I skip. I’ll go back through the whole thing later, but right now, I want to hear what happened once he got there.</p> <p>Eventually, his car door closes. I hear footsteps as he walks into his church. I hear the crowd around him as he files in. There’s something off, though. Mixed in with the expected footsteps and chatter are other, stranger sounds. Odd clicks and squishing noises unlike anything I’ve ever heard.</p> <p>After several minutes, the service begins. Presumably, Theo has reached a pew at this point. A male voice commands everyone to rise. There’s some shuffling, and more squishing. “Welcome,” says the priest, “servants of the Koru-Teusa. We are gathered here today to praise the protectors of our hytoth, and offer our blood for the continuance of their holy cause.”</p> <p>My eyes go wide. I glance at Theo again, happily cooking for both of us.</p> <p>The priest continues to speak. His utterances are formulaic and liturgical. A lot of them are in a language I don’t recognize. There are more strange sounds whenever the congregation replies. Mixed in with human voices are bizarre clicks, buzzes, and honks. Those must be recordings or something, right? Or maybe some kind of weird musical instrument?</p> <p>The call and response phrases are mostly in that unknown language, but when it comes time to deliver a sermon, the priest switches to English. His sermon is about hope and eternal determination, about never giving up, no matter what tells you that you cannot do the right thing. “Despair is not the only such voice,” he says. “Anger often tells us that we must take retribution for slights long dead. Fear tells us we will give too much of ourselves and be spent. Grief tells us we must attend to what has been lost at the expense of what still is.”</p> <p>There’s nothing in the speech about mind control or old books, and nothing that reminds me too much of Spirituality Club, except for the stars. There are a lot of stars. The symbol of their faith is a ‘holy star.’ The priest speaks of their religion coming to earth from space, carried by an alien missionary. Their gods protect not the world, but the universe.</p> <p>Oh, and near the end of the meeting, there’s a blood sacrifice.</p> <p>The priest instructs everyone to file up to the front of the chapel to offer their blood. They do. There’s no screaming or struggling. It seems like the worshipers are offering their own blood, and they’re all eager enough to do it. From the way they go about it, you’d think it was the most ordinary thing in the world. No stranger than taking a small wafer from a catholic priest.</p> <p>There’d been a bandage on Theo’s elbow. It was right in the middle, on the inside, where a doctor would put a needle if they were extracting blood.</p> <p>Once all of the offerings have been given, the service ends. I look into the kitchen, where Theo is still cooking. This recording has only made me less sure who I’m looking at.</p> <p>My line of thought is interrupted when a conversation begins on the recording. “Venerable leader,” Theo says, “I’d like to speak with you for a moment, if that’s okay,”</p> <p>“Of course,” says the same priest who led the ritual. “What troubles you?”</p> <p>“It’s about my boyfriend.” I freeze.</p> <p>“I recall you had considered bringing him under the veil and into the faith?”</p> <p>“I had,” Theo confirms. “I’m still trying to figure out if I should. I told you about his situation, right? His brother was kidnapped when he was a kid, probably by the SCP Foundation.”</p> <p>He knows their name? He knows the name of the group that took Evan? How long has he known that? Why hasn’t he told me? What else does he know?</p> <p>“Their amnestic didn’t work on him,” Theo continues. “He’s been investigating them—”</p> <p>“And you believe he’s going to get himself hurt. I remember.”</p> <p>“Yes.”</p> <p>“If I were you, I’d bring him here as soon as possible. The Foundation is not to be trifled with. He should understand the severity of his situation.”</p> <p>“I know. I just… he’s so determined. His brother meant a lot to him. He’s guessed how much power the Foundation has, and in the face of that, he’s still willing to do whatever he thinks he has to to get him back. If I told him everything, I don’t think that would make him back off. I think it might make him charge into the nearest Foundation facility and get himself captured, or worse.”</p> <p>“And you don’t want to be responsible for that?”</p> <p>“I don’t want to lose him!”</p> <p>“You don’t seem to think much of his judgement.”</p> <p>“I… No. It’s just… He’s so passionate about this. I don’t like keeping secrets from him, but I don’t know how to convince him to back off.”</p> <p>“As hard as it might be, you may have to accept that it’s his risk to take. He wouldn’t be the first person to rescue someone from Foundation imprisonment. The Serpent’s Hand has done it before.”</p> <p>“But they’re soldiers, and even they usually just get themselves captured or killed.”</p> <p>“I think you should bring your partner under the veil. I am not very busy this week. We can set up a time.”</p> <p>There’s a brief silence. “I’ll think about it,” Theo says.</p> <p>“I know what it’s like to fear for the ones you love, but in the end, it’s his risk to take.”</p> <p>“I said I’ll think about it.”</p> <p>There’s a pause. “Very well,” the priest says.</p> <p>Theo walks away.</p> <p>“Lunch is ready,” Theo says from the kitchen. I look up from my laptop. He’s setting the table. I wipe my eyes with my sleeve and walk over to take a seat.</p> <p>“You alright?” Theo asks.</p> <p>“Yeah. I’m fine.”</p> <p>“You sure?”</p> <p>“Yes,” I say, a bit too sternly.</p> <p>“Okay, okay.” He places a large bowl of chicken salad in front of both of our chairs, with little pan-fried chunks cooked just the way I like. He takes a seat across from me.</p> <p>“So, you said you’d ask your church if I could come next week,” I say. “How did that go?”</p> <p>He hesitates. “I did,” he says, after a moment. “They said no.”</p> <p>“Are you sure?” I ask.</p> <p>“Yeah. Sorry. I don’t think they’ll be open to it any time soon. The church is, well, it’s antsy about new people. I only got in because my adopted parents were members. Until you and I are a proper family, I’m not sure there’s much chance.”</p> <p>With everything I have, I try to seem disappointed, rather than furious. This fucking liar. He’s known this entire time who took Evan. How could he not tell me? What the fuck else is he hiding from me?</p> <p>I finish lunch as quickly as I can, then return to my laptop to listen to the recording again. Theo senses something is bothering me, but I tell him it’s nothing and he pretends to believe me. He sits on the couch and turns on the TV. I try to keep my gaze away from him. I’m going to find out what else he knows. In an incognito window, I pull up his church’s website. It’s small and visually appealing, with a warm palette dominated by a gentle orange. There’s the homepage, an About Us page, a news feed, a calendar, and an FAQ. I click the About Us page.</p> <p>“Here at the Blessed Sacrifice, we believe in serving the divine and helping our fellow creatures. We advocate for the innocent and the vulnerable. We promote curiosity, thoughtfulness, and kindness, and we believe in the power of every single person to do the right thing, no matter what.” There are a few more paragraphs outlining the church’s progressive politics. Much of it seems to be for the benefit of those who don’t expect a church to be progressive. “We are unapologetically affirming of LGBTQIA2S+ people, their rights, and their autonomy.” Not something you hear from many churches, but not a surprise from one Theo is willing to attend.</p> <p>Their news feed contains a series of posts, most of which alternate between announcing events and thanking the congregation for attending them. Each announcement contains large, red letters stating that, “<span style="color: red"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">THIS EVENT IS NOT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!</span></strong></span>”</p> <p>The first question in their FAQ is whether their Sunday meetings are open to the public. They are not. “<span style="color: red"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">ONLY REGISTERED MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH ARE PERMITTED TO ATTEND!</span></strong></span>” A question farther down the page asks, “How to I become a member?” Apparently, one has to be sponsored by an existing member, and brought through an initiation process.</p> <p>I check the calendar. Today is Sunday, the day of their weekly service. There don’t seem to be any other events today, or tomorrow.</p> <p>Maybe that means the church will be empty, or at least close to it.</p> <p>I think I’m going to pay them a visit.</p> <p>I peek over my laptop screen. Theo is laughing at something on the TV.</p> <p>Part of me still wants to believe this is a misunderstanding, that there’s some explanation for what I’ve heard other than that the love of my life has been hiding the truth about my brother from me.</p> <p>I don’t know what that could possibly be, though. As painful as it is, I have to proceed as though Theo is working to hide the truth from me.</p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><strong><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-hub">Series Hub</a></strong></p> <p><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster">◀◀ First Entry</a> \| <a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-5-the-star-clad-tome">◀ Previous Entry</a> \| <a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-7-the-church-of-the-blessed-sacrifice">Next Entry ▶</a></p> <p><sub><a href="/xhawk77x">More by this Author</a></sub></p> </div> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-6-the-service">I Didn't Forget Pt 6: The Service</a>" by XHAWK77X, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/i-didn-t-forget-pt-6-the-service">https://scpwiki.com/i-didn-t-forget-pt-6-the-service</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[=]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-hub\|Series Hub]]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster\|◀◀ First Entry]]] \| [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-5-the-star-clad-tome\|◀ Previous Entry]]] \| [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-7-the-church-of-the-blessed-sacrifice\|Next Entry ▶]]] ,,[[[xhawk77x\|More by this Author]]],, [[/=]] Four Years Ago About a week before we had to give the presentation for history class, I invited Theo over to my house to work on it together. I’d hoped that wouldn’t be necessary, but if he was going to have any real input about what’d be in it, I had to show him my research materials, most of which were physical books. Theo knocked on the front door. I answered it. “Hey,” he said, nervously. After returning his greeting, I led Theo upstairs to the office room. It was a large room with dull white walls. Inside was an office chair in front of a pale wooden desk where the family computer sat. I sat in the rolling chair. Theo grabbed a chair from the other side of the room and sat by me. “Alright,” I said, “My research is basically done. We just need to organize the facts I’ve collected into a presentation. My current plan is to structure the presentation as a day in the life of the average miner. Is that alright with you?” “Sure,” Theo said. He looked at the power point I’d pulled up. “You seem to have done most of the work already.” “Is that an issue?” “Oh. No. Not at all. It’s nice of you.” “I know the period well. I’ve tried to leave space for you to fill the details in.” I started to take him through my preliminary sketch of the presentation. He approved basically everything I’d done, though he had a few suggestions for details to add. His suggestion that I should play up how dangerous the work was had me searching my books for information on mining accidents. As I did so, his eyes found the ceiling. “Pretty stars,” he said. I froze for a second. He was talking about the glow-in-the-dark stars that were stuck to the ceiling. “Oh, I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to distract you.” “It’s okay.” I turned a page. “I like them too.” “Oh. Cool. If you don’t mind me asking, why are they in an office room?” “This used to be my brother Evan’s bedroom.” “Oh. Well, uh, he has good taste.” I clenched my fist for just a moment. “He’s no longer here,” I said, and then, because I had to go along with the official story, “He died in the Galaxy Plaza Disaster.” Theo’s eyes widened. “Oh. Oh gods, I’m so sorry.” “It’s fine,” I grunted. I turned back to my work. “Mom’s therapist told her it wasn’t healthy to leave this room as a shrine to him. He said she needed to move on, so she changed it into an office. Most of Evan’s belongings are in storage, but I was able to talk her into keeping these here.” “Oh, wow,” Theo seemed to be done talking for a moment, so I went back to reading, but I didn’t get far before he said, “I lost my parents a few years ago.” “Both of them?” “Yeah. Car crash. I was in the system for about a year before my new parents adopted me. My new family is amazing. I love them a lot, but I also know what it’s like when people want you to move on more than you’re ready to.” “I’m sorry to hear that.” “Thank you. I’m sorry about your brother.” “Thank you.” ----- Present Day Theo wakes me up, as he’s done every morning since we moved in together. He hands me a large cup of coffee, well-diluted with cream, just the way I like it. “Good morning,” he says. I take the cup and smile. “Good morning,” I say, sipping it. I can already smell the breakfast he’s making. After a few more sips of coffee, I get out of bed. I peek at the clock. It’ll be the better part of an hour before Theo leaves for church. I make my way over to the kitchen table, refilling my coffee on the way there. I sit as he places a plate in front of me. On it are two large pancakes slathered in butter and syrup. He gets his own plate and sits across from me. “So,” he says, “do we have anything investigation-related lined up today?” “Not really,” I say. “We’ve just now run out of obvious leads. I don’t have any more interviews planned.” “Shame.” “I know. At the same time, I feel like we’ve made progress.” I take a few bites of my pancakes. The pancakes my boyfriend made for me because he loves me. The same boyfriend I’m planning to plant a microphone on. Maybe instead of acting like I’m in a bad spy movie, I should just ask him to take me to church. “So,” I say, “it occurred to me yesterday how little I’ve actually interacted with your church. I’ve hardly met your friends from there.” “I thought you preferred it that way.” “In some ways, yeah but it dawned on me how strange it is that you hardly ever bring it up. I mean, aren’t you worried about my soul, or something?” “Life is long. Right now, you have other things to focus on.” “Would it be okay if I came today, just to check it out?” Theo stops eating. “Oh,” he says. “I, uh, don’t think they’d want a new person to show up unexpectedly.” “Oh. Darn.” They must have something to hide, right? Why else would a stranger walking in be a problem? “I’ll tell you what, while I’m there today, I’ll ask them about it.” I smile. “I’d appreciate that.” We finish breakfast. Theo puts on black dress pants and a dark polo shirt. As I’m hugging him goodbye, I click the pen on and slide it into his pocket. Theo blushes as I pull my hand away from his thigh. For a second, I think he noticed what I did. He kisses me. “Feeling naughty?” he asks. He thought that was a horny thigh touch. I shouldn’t correct him. “Maybe a little, but I know you don’t have time.” “We can have some fun afterwards, okay?” “Okay.” Now I’m the one blushing as Theo walks out of the apartment, microphone in his pocket. ----- Four Years Ago Theo stood in front of our history class, delivering the presentation. When I’d sent him my PowerPoint at the end of our meeting, it’d looked basic and simple. He’d done a lot of work to improve it. I wished he’d told me he’d planned to use so many extra pictures. I would’ve kept an eye out for them during my research. Theo was the last person you’d expect to be good at public speaking, but honestly, he was. His wording and delivery turned my dry bullet points into a vivid and lifelike retelling of the time and place we were depicting. “Day-to-day progress was slow, and the work was backbreaking. Miners bored through solid rock with nothing but muscle, wood, and steel. Yet, one swing at a time, their pick-axes turned solid rock into this.” He flipped to a slide showing a map of the area’s mines. When the presentation was done, the class applauded. When class ended, everyone filed out of the room. I approached Theo in the hallway. “Hey,” I said, “you did an amazing job.” “Thanks.” “Do you want to hang out after school today?” “Oh. Sure.” “Something wrong?” “No. Not at all. I just… didn’t you say you weren’t in the market for new friends?” I shrugged. “You seem pretty cool.” That compliment lit Theo’s cheeks on fire. “How about you come to my place after school?” “Absolutely,” he said. “I’ll have to ask my moms, but they’ll probably be okay with it.” “Awesome.” ----- Present Day The pen is still in Theo’s pocket when he gets home. “Welcome home,” I say. I walk over to hug him, and as I do, I reach down and try to grab it. He pulls away before I can. “Hey,” he says, blushing. “Give me a few minutes to go to the bathroom, and then we’ll have some fun, okay?” “Right. Sorry.” A few minutes later, he comes out, and we have fun. While his pants are still off, I grab the recording pen from his pocket. It’s still on. I click it off. Hopefully, it was on the whole time he was gone. Theo goes into the kitchen to make lunch. I pull out my laptop and connect the pen to it. Sure enough, there’s a single, two-hour sound file, which I copy onto my laptop. With headphones on, I play the recording. It starts with us hugging and saying we love each other. The next twenty minutes are Theo’s commute to the church, which I skip. I’ll go back through the whole thing later, but right now, I want to hear what happened once he got there. Eventually, his car door closes. I hear footsteps as he walks into his church. I hear the crowd around him as he files in. There’s something off, though. Mixed in with the expected footsteps and chatter are other, stranger sounds. Odd clicks and squishing noises unlike anything I’ve ever heard. After several minutes, the service begins. Presumably, Theo has reached a pew at this point. A male voice commands everyone to rise. There’s some shuffling, and more squishing. “Welcome,” says the priest, “servants of the Koru-Teusa. We are gathered here today to praise the protectors of our hytoth, and offer our blood for the continuance of their holy cause.” My eyes go wide. I glance at Theo again, happily cooking for both of us. The priest continues to speak. His utterances are formulaic and liturgical. A lot of them are in a language I don’t recognize. There are more strange sounds whenever the congregation replies. Mixed in with human voices are bizarre clicks, buzzes, and honks. Those must be recordings or something, right? Or maybe some kind of weird musical instrument? The call and response phrases are mostly in that unknown language, but when it comes time to deliver a sermon, the priest switches to English. His sermon is about hope and eternal determination, about never giving up, no matter what tells you that you cannot do the right thing. “Despair is not the only such voice,” he says. “Anger often tells us that we must take retribution for slights long dead. Fear tells us we will give too much of ourselves and be spent. Grief tells us we must attend to what has been lost at the expense of what still is.” There’s nothing in the speech about mind control or old books, and nothing that reminds me too much of Spirituality Club, except for the stars. There are a lot of stars. The symbol of their faith is a ‘holy star.’ The priest speaks of their religion coming to earth from space, carried by an alien missionary. Their gods protect not the world, but the universe. Oh, and near the end of the meeting, there’s a blood sacrifice. The priest instructs everyone to file up to the front of the chapel to offer their blood. They do. There’s no screaming or struggling. It seems like the worshipers are offering their own blood, and they’re all eager enough to do it. From the way they go about it, you’d think it was the most ordinary thing in the world. No stranger than taking a small wafer from a catholic priest. There’d been a bandage on Theo’s elbow. It was right in the middle, on the inside, where a doctor would put a needle if they were extracting blood. Once all of the offerings have been given, the service ends. I look into the kitchen, where Theo is still cooking. This recording has only made me less sure who I’m looking at. My line of thought is interrupted when a conversation begins on the recording. “Venerable leader,” Theo says, “I’d like to speak with you for a moment, if that’s okay,” “Of course,” says the same priest who led the ritual. “What troubles you?” “It’s about my boyfriend.” I freeze. “I recall you had considered bringing him under the veil and into the faith?” “I had,” Theo confirms. “I’m still trying to figure out if I should. I told you about his situation, right? His brother was kidnapped when he was a kid, probably by the SCP Foundation.” He knows their name? He knows the name of the group that took Evan? How long has he known that? Why hasn’t he told me? What else does he know? “Their amnestic didn’t work on him,” Theo continues. “He’s been investigating them—” “And you believe he’s going to get himself hurt. I remember.” “Yes.” “If I were you, I’d bring him here as soon as possible. The Foundation is not to be trifled with. He should understand the severity of his situation.” “I know. I just… he’s so determined. His brother meant a lot to him. He’s guessed how much power the Foundation has, and in the face of that, he’s still willing to do whatever he thinks he has to to get him back. If I told him everything, I don’t think that would make him back off. I think it might make him charge into the nearest Foundation facility and get himself captured, or worse.” “And you don’t want to be responsible for that?” “I don’t want to lose him!” “You don’t seem to think much of his judgement.” “I… No. It’s just… He’s so passionate about this. I don’t like keeping secrets from him, but I don’t know how to convince him to back off.” “As hard as it might be, you may have to accept that it’s his risk to take. He wouldn’t be the first person to rescue someone from Foundation imprisonment. The Serpent’s Hand has done it before.” “But they’re soldiers, and even they usually just get themselves captured or killed.” “I think you should bring your partner under the veil. I am not very busy this week. We can set up a time.” There’s a brief silence. “I’ll think about it,” Theo says. “I know what it’s like to fear for the ones you love, but in the end, it’s his risk to take.” “I said I’ll think about it.” There’s a pause. “Very well,” the priest says. Theo walks away. “Lunch is ready,” Theo says from the kitchen. I look up from my laptop. He’s setting the table. I wipe my eyes with my sleeve and walk over to take a seat. “You alright?” Theo asks. “Yeah. I’m fine.” “You sure?” “Yes,” I say, a bit too sternly. “Okay, okay.” He places a large bowl of chicken salad in front of both of our chairs, with little pan-fried chunks cooked just the way I like. He takes a seat across from me. “So, you said you’d ask your church if I could come next week,” I say. “How did that go?” He hesitates. “I did,” he says, after a moment. “They said no.” “Are you sure?” I ask. “Yeah. Sorry. I don’t think they’ll be open to it any time soon. The church is, well, it’s antsy about new people. I only got in because my adopted parents were members. Until you and I are a proper family, I’m not sure there’s much chance.” With everything I have, I try to seem disappointed, rather than furious. This fucking liar. He’s known this entire time who took Evan. How could he not tell me? What the fuck else is he hiding from me? I finish lunch as quickly as I can, then return to my laptop to listen to the recording again. Theo senses something is bothering me, but I tell him it’s nothing and he pretends to believe me. He sits on the couch and turns on the TV. I try to keep my gaze away from him. I’m going to find out what else he knows. In an incognito window, I pull up his church’s website. It’s small and visually appealing, with a warm palette dominated by a gentle orange. There’s the homepage, an About Us page, a news feed, a calendar, and an FAQ. I click the About Us page. “Here at the Blessed Sacrifice, we believe in serving the divine and helping our fellow creatures. We advocate for the innocent and the vulnerable. We promote curiosity, thoughtfulness, and kindness, and we believe in the power of every single person to do the right thing, no matter what.” There are a few more paragraphs outlining the church’s progressive politics. Much of it seems to be for the benefit of those who don’t expect a church to be progressive. “We are unapologetically affirming of LGBTQIA2S+ people, their rights, and their autonomy.” Not something you hear from many churches, but not a surprise from one Theo is willing to attend. Their news feed contains a series of posts, most of which alternate between announcing events and thanking the congregation for attending them. Each announcement contains large, red letters stating that, “##red\|__THIS EVENT IS NOT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!__##” The first question in their FAQ is whether their Sunday meetings are open to the public. They are not. “##red\|__ONLY REGISTERED MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH ARE PERMITTED TO ATTEND!__##” A question farther down the page asks, “How to I become a member?” Apparently, one has to be sponsored by an existing member, and brought through an initiation process. I check the calendar. Today is Sunday, the day of their weekly service. There don’t seem to be any other events today, or tomorrow. Maybe that means the church will be empty, or at least close to it. I think I’m going to pay them a visit. I peek over my laptop screen. Theo is laughing at something on the TV. Part of me still wants to believe this is a misunderstanding, that there’s some explanation for what I’ve heard other than that the love of my life has been hiding the truth about my brother from me. I don’t know what that could possibly be, though. As painful as it is, I have to proceed as though Theo is working to hide the truth from me. [[=]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-hub\|Series Hub]]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster\|◀◀ First Entry]]] \| [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-5-the-star-clad-tome\|◀ Previous Entry]]] \| [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-7-the-church-of-the-blessed-sacrifice\|Next Entry ▶]]] ,,[[[xhawk77x\|More by this Author]]],, [[/=]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a> \|author=XHAWK77X]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-07-29T01:24:00	[ "_licensebox", "first-person", "lgbtq", "mystery", "religious-fiction", "romance", "second-hytoth", "tale" ]	I Didn't Forget Pt 6: The Service - SCP Foundation	14	[ "i-didn-t-forget-hub", "i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster", "i-didn-t-forget-pt-5-the-star-clad-tome", "i-didn-t-forget-pt-7-the-church-of-the-blessed-sacrifice", "xhawk77x", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "i-didn-t-forget-hub", "second-hytoth-hub" ]	[]	1449193496	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/i-didn-t-forget-pt-6-the-service
i-didn-t-forget-pt-7-the-church-of-the-blessed-sacrifice	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><strong><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-hub">Series Hub</a></strong></p> <p><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster">◀◀ First Entry</a> \| <a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-6-the-service">◀ Previous Entry</a> \| <a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-8-theodore-north">Next Entry ▶</a></p> <p><sub><a href="/xhawk77x">More by this Author</a></sub></p> </div> <p><strong>Four Years Ago</strong></p> <p>I got on Discord with Theo right after I got home. I logged into Minecraft. Theo had told me he was ready to show me the thing he’d been working on. He’d been excited about it all day. “Hey,” I said once I got on the call. Immediately, I got an invite to Theo’s world.</p> <p>Theo was waiting for me at the spawn point. His Minecraft skin looked a lot like him. It had shaggy brown hair with cartoony bangs and wore a red hoodie with black pants. There was no color on his hands, which made it look like his hands were in his pockets. For some reason, I found that cute. “Alright,” he said. “This way.”</p> <p>I followed him.</p> <p>It wasn’t long before I could see the enormous structure in the distance. As we flew closer, more of it rendered. It was clearly supposed to be a spaceship.</p> <p>“That thing’s huge,” I said. “You should’ve asked me to help you make this. It must’ve taken hours.”</p> <p>“I didn’t want you to see it before it was done.”</p> <p>He brought me to the bottom of the ship, near the back. From a distance, it looked like it was touching the ground, but close up, you could see that it was held aloft by landing gear, and that a ramp near the back led up into it.</p> <p>We landed and walked in. I expected it to be cavernous, full of open space that would easily use up the ship’s size, but it wasn’t. The side ramp led up into a small white hallway. There was a line of redstone along the roof, and a row of glass in the outside wall which let me see the hills we’d come from. The other side of the hall was lined with rooms. Theo led me down the corridor, showing me the rooms as we passed them. “Okay, so, these are crew quarters,” Theo said regarding the first set of rooms, and, indeed, there was a pair of beds in each of them. Theo led me farther. “Up here is the war room.” Inside, a huge, ornate table was surrounded by seven red chairs.</p> <p>There was a bridge near the front of the ship, a lounge not far from that, and a kitchen near the center. All of it was linked together with what seemed to be a single, massive, interconnected redstone network. It snaked across the ceiling in every hall and room, like veins running through a body. Every room had a working light switch, and many of them had more complicated contraptions. “Is there a redstone network throughout this whole place?” I asked.</p> <p>“Yep,” Theo said, the pride in his voice.</p> <p>“That’s really impressive.”</p> <p>“I put a lot of work into it. There are even some redundancies, so the entire thing doesn’t break if you destroy just a few lines.”</p> <p>“That’s amazing.”</p> <p>“I haven’t shown you the best part.”</p> <p>He led me back down another hall, and through a pair of double doors. “Here,” he said, “is the mess hall.”</p> <p>It was the biggest room so far, taking up nearly an entire deck of the ship. Tall windows lined both sides, letting natural light in. This light illuminated long tables lined with short seats. Up at the front of the room, there was a counter, behind which were stoves and chests. “So, what’ll you have?” Theo asked.</p> <p>“Chicken, I guess,” I said. He opened a chest, presumably to get some chicken out, and put it in a stove to cook. “You’re making it fresh?” I asked.</p> <p>“Everything’s fresh cooked here,” he said.</p> <p>While we waited for the chicken to cook, I turned around. There were spacy decorations all over the walls, floors, and ceilings. In the center of the room, there was a giant statue. I couldn’t tell if it was supposed to be an alien or a human in a strange spacesuit, but it had a long, crested head and four arms, each clutching a large spear.</p> <p>Once my chicken was finished, Theo took it out of the oven and passed it to me. We walked over to one of the long tables, and he told me to eat. I did.</p> <p>“You put a lot of work into this,” I said. “It’s amazing.”</p> <p>“Thanks. I tried really hard to make it feel realistic.” That struck me as a strange thing to say about a spaceship, but I didn’t say anything. “By the way,” Theo said, “do you have any plans for the dance later this month?”</p> <p>The question startled me a bit. “Oh. I, I guess not. I doubt I’ll go. It’s a valentine’s day event. I’m not really in a relationship with anyone.”</p> <p>“Oh.” He sounded disappointed. At fourteen, I was thick enough not to understand why.</p> <p>“Is something wrong?” I asked.</p> <p>His voice brightened up again. “No. It’s fine. Ooh, I haven’t shown you the engineering room.” He got up and led me elsewhere in the ship.</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Present Day</strong></p> <p>I pull up to Theo’s church in our car.</p> <p>Using our car might be a mistake. There’s a chance it could be recognized, which may allow someone to deduce that I’m the one who came here, but the fact that it belongs to a member may also make people less alarmed by its presence. In any case, the only alternative is to take an Uber, which would be a massive risk.</p> <p>I pull into a parking space under a tree.</p> <p>I cased this place last night. There’s no way I’ll be able to enter the building without being seen on the cameras, which is why I’m wearing a ski mask. The church’s front entrance is a large pair of double doors decorated by a mosaic of Jesus bleeding from both palms. That’s not the entrance I’m taking. Instead, I approach a gray side-door near the back of the church. I pull some tools out of my pocket. Time to find out if that YouTube tutorial on lockpicking was worth anything.</p> <p>It takes more than ten minutes for me to get the door open. Practicing on my apartment’s door wasn’t as useful as I had hoped. Still, eventually, the tumblers snap into place. I feel a burst of joy and pull the door open and enter.</p> <p>Thin red carpet lines the floor underneath the church’s light brown walls, which are covered with strange decorations. There’s a mural on the wall beside me. Or, rather, a set of seven murals, each shaped like a number. Maybe they correspond to the seven days of creation? Number one does look like a burst of light. The others don’t match up, though. Number three shows a bunch of weird machines. Number four shows a four-armed humanoid figure carrying four spears. I feel like I recognize it from somewhere, but I can’t place it.</p> <p>I pull out a small digital camera and take a picture of each one.</p> <p>The halls of the church are empty. Most of the doors are locked, though they have small windows which I can use to look inside. A lot of them look like classrooms. Some of the chairs that line the tables are shaped strangely, to the point that I’m not even sure they are chairs, though I can’t figure out what else they could be.</p> <p>I do not have any such trouble figuring out what the bowls and razor blades in several of these rooms are for.</p> <p>There’s no Christian iconography anywhere. Instead, the most common symbol is an ornate seven-pointed star, surrounded by strange shapes.</p> <p>I reach a door at the end of the hall. Maybe I’ve already seen enough. This is a weird temple dedicated to a weird blood god, which makes Theo a weird blood cultist. Only, there’s something I haven’t seen that bothers me. As strange as the symbols here are, none of them particularly remind me of Spirituality Club. Callum’s cult was obsessed with stars, but I don’t think I’ve seen them use this specific star, or any seven-pointed star. There are no crystals around here either, and certainly no green stones.</p> <p>It's not enough to know this place is weird. I need to know how its weirdness fits into the bigger picture.</p> <p>The door out of the hallway is unlocked. I open it, and creep into a large front hall. I sneak across it, and into the main chapel. The large, red room is full of pews, which are divided into four sections by three aisles. At the end of each aisle is a cushion and an altar with a bowl on top of it. There’s a podium in the front of the room, behind which is a giant rendering of that same seven-sided star, flanked by drawings of the same four-armed, spear-wielding figure from the mural in the hall.</p> <p>“Hello,” says a voice behind me.</p> <p>I jump and turn around. There’s a portly black man dressed in long red robes, around sixty years old, sitting in one of the pews. He’s studying me, more curious than angry. I recognize his voice. He’s the priest from the recording.</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Four Years Ago</strong></p> <p>One night, Theo and I were in my bedroom, playing Smash on my huge TV. I’d just finished kicking his ass, and my character was celebrating on the victory screen. “Wanna go again?” I asked.</p> <p>“In a minute,” he said.</p> <p>“Need time to recover?”</p> <p>“No,” Theo said, defensively. “Look, I… I’m going to beat you someday, okay?”</p> <p>“Maybe,” I lied.</p> <p>I pressed a button to dismiss the victory screen. There was no need to keep taunting him with it.</p> <p>“So, about that dance,” Theo began.</p> <p>“Yes?”</p> <p>“I… nothing’s changed about you not having any plans for it, right?”</p> <p>“Of course not. You and I are basically the only gay kids at school.” Upon speaking that sentence, I suddenly realized the blindingly obvious.</p> <p>“Well,” Theo said, his cheeks red, “that being the case, I, well, I was wondering if, maybe, possibly…”</p> <p>“You want me to go with you?” I asked.</p> <p>Theo went dead silent and made the most adorable face I’ve ever seen. “Yeah.”</p> <p>I looked at Theo. He and I were each the other’s only friend. He didn’t look like a model, but was cute in his own way. I took a moment to imagine myself kissing or cuddling with him. I didn’t hate either idea, but there was something that felt wrong.</p> <p>The silence lasted several seconds.</p> <p>“So,” Theo said, “this is really awkward, so how about I just sneak off to the bathroom, and when I get back, we’ll pretend this never happened? Okay? Okay.” Theo stood.</p> <p>“No.” I said. Theo turned back to face me. “Look,” I continued, “you’ve not done anything wrong. I’m not upset that you asked. It’s just that, for reasons that have nothing to do with you, it’s hard for me to imagine myself in, like, a relationship. It’s okay for you to ask, though. You don’t have anything to be sorry for.”</p> <p>Theo watched me. He waited for me to say more. The joy slowly drained from his face as he realized I wasn’t going to. I felt a pang of guilt.</p> <p>He turned to leave.</p> <p>I thought about objecting, about telling him not to go, but I didn’t.</p> <p>“Damn it,” I whispered, once he was gone.</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Present Day</strong></p> <p>“Your outfit is quite alarming,” the priest says. “If I didn’t know better, I might think you were a burglar.” I take a few steps away from him. At least he doesn’t seem to have realized who I am. Should I run? The priest stands. “That said, I can’t help but wonder at the odds of an ordinary burglar happening to target my church. I find myself worrying that you’re something more than that. Tell me; who are you, and what are you doing here?” He takes a few steps toward me. I tense.</p> <p>“I’m no one,” I say. “I don’t know or care what’s up with this place. I was just here looking for money. There’s obviously nothing here for me, so if you don’t mind, I’ll be going.”</p> <p>“Given the sloppiness of your break-in, part of me finds that believable. Still, just in case…” He raises his hand. In a thick, guttural voice, he says something in the same strange language he used during his service. There’s a glint in his eyes as he speaks, a glow so faint I could almost dismiss it as a trick of the light. “Now,” he says, with a force in his voice that finally reminds me of Callum, “<em>tell me who you are and what you’re doing here.</em>”</p> <p>I try to think of a lie. I should stick with my story, right? That I’m a burglar? No. That’s stupid. Burglars go to jail. I want him to let me go. Is there any story that would lead him to do that? I try to think of one, but before I can, it dawns on me that he just used a mind-controlling spell, and I didn’t respond. By the time I realize that, he’s already figured me out. “You’re Theodore’s boyfriend,” he says.</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Four Years Ago</strong></p> <p>As the final bell rang at the end of the school-day, the students of Cypress High filed out of their classrooms. Theo and I hadn’t spoken much that day. He’d sat away from me during lunch and hadn’t started any conversations with me between classes. When I asked him if he’d wanted to come home with me after school, he’d said he didn’t feel like it.</p> <p>Fortunately, I managed to catch up with him after his last class. “Hey,” I said.</p> <p>He turned around. “What?”</p> <p>“Listen, I’ve been thinking about yesterday, and, look, I’m sorry—”</p> <p>“It’s okay. You don’t owe me anything.”</p> <p>“No. Let me finish, please. I’m sorry I didn’t give you a real answer, yesterday, about the dance. There are a lot of excuses I could give as to why. There’s stuff going on with me that I haven’t told you about, and I’ve always kept you at arm’s length because of that.”</p> <p>“It’s fine.”</p> <p>“No. It’s not fair to you.”</p> <p>“You don’t have to go to the dance with me.”</p> <p>“But I want to.”</p> <p>His eyes lit up. “You do?”</p> <p>“I do,” I walked up to him, and took his hand. “I’m sorry I didn’t say so right away.”</p> <p>He stepped closer to me. “Thank you.”</p> <p>I smiled. “It’ll be my pleasure.”</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Present Day</strong></p> <p>“I suppose you’re here to investigate us?” the priest asked, as if this were the most amusing thing that had ever happened.</p> <p>“Yes. That’s it. You got me.”</p> <p>“Have you broken anything?”</p> <p>“What? No.”</p> <p>“No harm done, then. That will be the end of your business here. Please leave.”</p> <p>I don’t want to leave, though. As much of a relief as it is that he isn’t calling the police, I have so many questions for him. Questions I know he wanted Theo to answer for me. Maybe he’ll be willing to answer them. “What’s going on?” I ask. “What’s up with this place?”</p> <p>“To tell you would be to reward you for breaking into my church, and I don’t feel like doing that.”</p> <p>“Please. Theo isn’t going to tell me anything. I know he’s lying to me about this place. I know he has no intention of bringing me in on it, ever. I need to know—”</p> <p>“You don’t need to know anything. You merely want to know, and what you want isn’t my problem.”</p> <p>“Is this church part of the same mind-controlling organization Aster Sterling and Richard Michaels were members of?”</p> <p>“No. Those brutes have nothing to do with us, and neither us nor Theodore present any threat to you.”</p> <p>“So, you’re a different star-obsessed blood cult?”</p> <p>“We’re not a cult. We’re a religion dedicated to empowering beings who protect the universe. We give our own blood—only our own, never that of an unwilling victim—to empower beings who protect the universe. Unpalatable as they may be to the uninitiated, our offerings are noble sacrifices made in the interest of all the world’s living things.”</p> <p>“Okay, so, you’re a different star-obsessed blood religion than the one Sterling was in?”</p> <p>“I wouldn’t say we’re obsessed with stars, and as far as I know, the Fifth Church has nothing to do with blood.”</p> <p>“The Fifth Church? So that’s what Sterling’s group is called?”</p> <p>“Yes.”</p> <p>“And what about you?”</p> <p>“Listen to me, child, the forces separating my world from yours are not to be trifled with. You are on a dangerous path. Organizations can protect themselves from the people who keep the veil, but individuals like you, who become overly curious after getting half a glimpse of what’s out there, usually meet tragic ends.”</p> <p>“But—”</p> <p>“And that’s all I have to say to you. The door is that way.” He points to the church’s front door. “I’ll be keeping this.” With strength that surprises me, he suddenly snatches my camera out of my hand. I could try to take it back, but none of the pictures I took are worth fighting for.</p> <p>I leave.</p> <p>The rational part of me knows I’m impossibly lucky that he let me go. I’m certainly not going to try this again. Maybe I should just confront Theo. Now I’ve seen enough that he won’t be able to deny everything, maybe I can get real answers out of him.</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Four Years Ago</strong></p> <p>The Gymnasium of Cypress High was lit by soft, warmly colored lights. Tables with pink and white cloth were lined with vibrant punch and various confections, including wonderful home-made fudge donated by Jess’ mom. The shadows in the pink light were shaped like stars and hearts. The music was gentle, suited for slow, romantic dancing.</p> <p>That’s exactly what I was doing with Theo. We stood there, swaying gently to the beat. We were both a bit overdressed. Me, because I wanted to put my best foot forward to make up for the fact that I hadn’t returned his interest sooner, and him because he was nervous about his first real date with me.</p> <p>That’s what this was. A date.</p> <p>We danced, surrounded by other couples, stomachs full of sweets. The music grew a bit faster. The two of us tried to go faster to match it, though neither of us were very good dancers. At the high point of the song, I attempted to spin. I lost my balance, and my grip on Theo, and fell on my butt.</p> <p>Theo gasped. He leaned down to help me up. “I’m so sorry.”</p> <p>“It’s okay,” I said, as I took his hand and stood.</p> <p>“Are you hurt?” he asked.</p> <p>“No. Don’t worry.”</p> <p>“I…”</p> <p>I took his hand. “Don’t worry,” I said. “I’m fine. I want to keep dancing with you.”</p> <p>He smiled, and we went back to dancing.</p> <p>Eventually, the event ended, and we walked outside, where each of our mothers waited to pick us up. They were on opposite ends of the parking lot, so this was where we had to separate. We lingered. “This was a great night,” I said.</p> <p>“Thanks,” Theo said.</p> <p>“I’m glad I asked you here.”</p> <p>“Me too.”</p> <p>We stared at each other’s eyes for a moment. I leaned close to him. His face went bright red, but that didn’t stop him from leaning forward to meet me. We kissed. It was deep and passionate, and as long as we thought we could get away with. When it was over, or gazes lingered on one another for a moment before we had to return to our respective parents’ cars.</p> <p>“Did you have a good night?” my mom asked, as I stared out the window at Theo.</p> <p>“Yeah,” I said.</p> <p>“So, are you… seeing him now?”</p> <p>“Yeah.” I smiled. “I guess I am.”</p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><strong><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-hub">Series Hub</a></strong></p> <p><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster">◀◀ First Entry</a> \| <a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-6-the-service">◀ Previous Entry</a> \| <a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-8-theodore-north">Next Entry ▶</a></p> <p><sub><a href="/xhawk77x">More by this Author</a></sub></p> </div> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-7-the-church-of-the-blessed-sacrifice">I Didn't Forget Pt 7: The Church Of The Blessed Sacrifice</a>" by XHAWK77X, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/i-didn-t-forget-pt-7-the-church-of-the-blessed-sacrifice">https://scpwiki.com/i-didn-t-forget-pt-7-the-church-of-the-blessed-sacrifice</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[=]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-hub\|Series Hub]]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster\|◀◀ First Entry]]] \| [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-6-the-service\|◀ Previous Entry]]] \| [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-8-Theodore-North\|Next Entry ▶]]] ,,[[[xhawk77x\|More by this Author]]],, [[/=]] Four Years Ago I got on Discord with Theo right after I got home. I logged into Minecraft. Theo had told me he was ready to show me the thing he’d been working on. He’d been excited about it all day. “Hey,” I said once I got on the call. Immediately, I got an invite to Theo’s world. Theo was waiting for me at the spawn point. His Minecraft skin looked a lot like him. It had shaggy brown hair with cartoony bangs and wore a red hoodie with black pants. There was no color on his hands, which made it look like his hands were in his pockets. For some reason, I found that cute. “Alright,” he said. “This way.” I followed him. It wasn’t long before I could see the enormous structure in the distance. As we flew closer, more of it rendered. It was clearly supposed to be a spaceship. “That thing’s huge,” I said. “You should’ve asked me to help you make this. It must’ve taken hours.” “I didn’t want you to see it before it was done.” He brought me to the bottom of the ship, near the back. From a distance, it looked like it was touching the ground, but close up, you could see that it was held aloft by landing gear, and that a ramp near the back led up into it. We landed and walked in. I expected it to be cavernous, full of open space that would easily use up the ship’s size, but it wasn’t. The side ramp led up into a small white hallway. There was a line of redstone along the roof, and a row of glass in the outside wall which let me see the hills we’d come from. The other side of the hall was lined with rooms. Theo led me down the corridor, showing me the rooms as we passed them. “Okay, so, these are crew quarters,” Theo said regarding the first set of rooms, and, indeed, there was a pair of beds in each of them. Theo led me farther. “Up here is the war room.” Inside, a huge, ornate table was surrounded by seven red chairs. There was a bridge near the front of the ship, a lounge not far from that, and a kitchen near the center. All of it was linked together with what seemed to be a single, massive, interconnected redstone network. It snaked across the ceiling in every hall and room, like veins running through a body. Every room had a working light switch, and many of them had more complicated contraptions. “Is there a redstone network throughout this whole place?” I asked. “Yep,” Theo said, the pride in his voice. “That’s really impressive.” “I put a lot of work into it. There are even some redundancies, so the entire thing doesn’t break if you destroy just a few lines.” “That’s amazing.” “I haven’t shown you the best part.” He led me back down another hall, and through a pair of double doors. “Here,” he said, “is the mess hall.” It was the biggest room so far, taking up nearly an entire deck of the ship. Tall windows lined both sides, letting natural light in. This light illuminated long tables lined with short seats. Up at the front of the room, there was a counter, behind which were stoves and chests. “So, what’ll you have?” Theo asked. “Chicken, I guess,” I said. He opened a chest, presumably to get some chicken out, and put it in a stove to cook. “You’re making it fresh?” I asked. “Everything’s fresh cooked here,” he said. While we waited for the chicken to cook, I turned around. There were spacy decorations all over the walls, floors, and ceilings. In the center of the room, there was a giant statue. I couldn’t tell if it was supposed to be an alien or a human in a strange spacesuit, but it had a long, crested head and four arms, each clutching a large spear. Once my chicken was finished, Theo took it out of the oven and passed it to me. We walked over to one of the long tables, and he told me to eat. I did. “You put a lot of work into this,” I said. “It’s amazing.” “Thanks. I tried really hard to make it feel realistic.” That struck me as a strange thing to say about a spaceship, but I didn’t say anything. “By the way,” Theo said, “do you have any plans for the dance later this month?” The question startled me a bit. “Oh. I, I guess not. I doubt I’ll go. It’s a valentine’s day event. I’m not really in a relationship with anyone.” “Oh.” He sounded disappointed. At fourteen, I was thick enough not to understand why. “Is something wrong?” I asked. His voice brightened up again. “No. It’s fine. Ooh, I haven’t shown you the engineering room.” He got up and led me elsewhere in the ship. ----- Present Day I pull up to Theo’s church in our car. Using our car might be a mistake. There’s a chance it could be recognized, which may allow someone to deduce that I’m the one who came here, but the fact that it belongs to a member may also make people less alarmed by its presence. In any case, the only alternative is to take an Uber, which would be a massive risk. I pull into a parking space under a tree. I cased this place last night. There’s no way I’ll be able to enter the building without being seen on the cameras, which is why I’m wearing a ski mask. The church’s front entrance is a large pair of double doors decorated by a mosaic of Jesus bleeding from both palms. That’s not the entrance I’m taking. Instead, I approach a gray side-door near the back of the church. I pull some tools out of my pocket. Time to find out if that YouTube tutorial on lockpicking was worth anything. It takes more than ten minutes for me to get the door open. Practicing on my apartment’s door wasn’t as useful as I had hoped. Still, eventually, the tumblers snap into place. I feel a burst of joy and pull the door open and enter. Thin red carpet lines the floor underneath the church’s light brown walls, which are covered with strange decorations. There’s a mural on the wall beside me. Or, rather, a set of seven murals, each shaped like a number. Maybe they correspond to the seven days of creation? Number one does look like a burst of light. The others don’t match up, though. Number three shows a bunch of weird machines. Number four shows a four-armed humanoid figure carrying four spears. I feel like I recognize it from somewhere, but I can’t place it. I pull out a small digital camera and take a picture of each one. The halls of the church are empty. Most of the doors are locked, though they have small windows which I can use to look inside. A lot of them look like classrooms. Some of the chairs that line the tables are shaped strangely, to the point that I’m not even sure they are chairs, though I can’t figure out what else they could be. I do not have any such trouble figuring out what the bowls and razor blades in several of these rooms are for. There’s no Christian iconography anywhere. Instead, the most common symbol is an ornate seven-pointed star, surrounded by strange shapes. I reach a door at the end of the hall. Maybe I’ve already seen enough. This is a weird temple dedicated to a weird blood god, which makes Theo a weird blood cultist. Only, there’s something I haven’t seen that bothers me. As strange as the symbols here are, none of them particularly remind me of Spirituality Club. Callum’s cult was obsessed with stars, but I don’t think I’ve seen them use this specific star, or any seven-pointed star. There are no crystals around here either, and certainly no green stones. It's not enough to know this place is weird. I need to know how its weirdness fits into the bigger picture. The door out of the hallway is unlocked. I open it, and creep into a large front hall. I sneak across it, and into the main chapel. The large, red room is full of pews, which are divided into four sections by three aisles. At the end of each aisle is a cushion and an altar with a bowl on top of it. There’s a podium in the front of the room, behind which is a giant rendering of that same seven-sided star, flanked by drawings of the same four-armed, spear-wielding figure from the mural in the hall. “Hello,” says a voice behind me. I jump and turn around. There’s a portly black man dressed in long red robes, around sixty years old, sitting in one of the pews. He’s studying me, more curious than angry. I recognize his voice. He’s the priest from the recording. ----- Four Years Ago One night, Theo and I were in my bedroom, playing Smash on my huge TV. I’d just finished kicking his ass, and my character was celebrating on the victory screen. “Wanna go again?” I asked. “In a minute,” he said. “Need time to recover?” “No,” Theo said, defensively. “Look, I… I’m going to beat you someday, okay?” “Maybe,” I lied. I pressed a button to dismiss the victory screen. There was no need to keep taunting him with it. “So, about that dance,” Theo began. “Yes?” “I… nothing’s changed about you not having any plans for it, right?” “Of course not. You and I are basically the only gay kids at school.” Upon speaking that sentence, I suddenly realized the blindingly obvious. “Well,” Theo said, his cheeks red, “that being the case, I, well, I was wondering if, maybe, possibly...” “You want me to go with you?” I asked. Theo went dead silent and made the most adorable face I’ve ever seen. “Yeah.” I looked at Theo. He and I were each the other’s only friend. He didn’t look like a model, but was cute in his own way. I took a moment to imagine myself kissing or cuddling with him. I didn’t hate either idea, but there was something that felt wrong. The silence lasted several seconds. “So,” Theo said, “this is really awkward, so how about I just sneak off to the bathroom, and when I get back, we’ll pretend this never happened? Okay? Okay.” Theo stood. “No.” I said. Theo turned back to face me. “Look,” I continued, “you’ve not done anything wrong. I’m not upset that you asked. It’s just that, for reasons that have nothing to do with you, it’s hard for me to imagine myself in, like, a relationship. It’s okay for you to ask, though. You don’t have anything to be sorry for.” Theo watched me. He waited for me to say more. The joy slowly drained from his face as he realized I wasn’t going to. I felt a pang of guilt. He turned to leave. I thought about objecting, about telling him not to go, but I didn’t. “Damn it,” I whispered, once he was gone. ----- Present Day “Your outfit is quite alarming,” the priest says. “If I didn’t know better, I might think you were a burglar.” I take a few steps away from him. At least he doesn’t seem to have realized who I am. Should I run? The priest stands. “That said, I can’t help but wonder at the odds of an ordinary burglar happening to target my church. I find myself worrying that you’re something more than that. Tell me; who are you, and what are you doing here?” He takes a few steps toward me. I tense. “I’m no one,” I say. “I don’t know or care what’s up with this place. I was just here looking for money. There’s obviously nothing here for me, so if you don’t mind, I’ll be going.” “Given the sloppiness of your break-in, part of me finds that believable. Still, just in case...” He raises his hand. In a thick, guttural voice, he says something in the same strange language he used during his service. There’s a glint in his eyes as he speaks, a glow so faint I could almost dismiss it as a trick of the light. “Now,” he says, with a force in his voice that finally reminds me of Callum, “//tell me who you are and what you’re doing here.//” I try to think of a lie. I should stick with my story, right? That I’m a burglar? No. That’s stupid. Burglars go to jail. I want him to let me go. Is there any story that would lead him to do that? I try to think of one, but before I can, it dawns on me that he just used a mind-controlling spell, and I didn’t respond. By the time I realize that, he’s already figured me out. “You’re Theodore’s boyfriend,” he says. ----- Four Years Ago As the final bell rang at the end of the school-day, the students of Cypress High filed out of their classrooms. Theo and I hadn’t spoken much that day. He’d sat away from me during lunch and hadn’t started any conversations with me between classes. When I asked him if he’d wanted to come home with me after school, he’d said he didn’t feel like it. Fortunately, I managed to catch up with him after his last class. “Hey,” I said. He turned around. “What?” “Listen, I’ve been thinking about yesterday, and, look, I’m sorry—” “It’s okay. You don’t owe me anything.” “No. Let me finish, please. I’m sorry I didn’t give you a real answer, yesterday, about the dance. There are a lot of excuses I could give as to why. There’s stuff going on with me that I haven’t told you about, and I’ve always kept you at arm’s length because of that.” “It’s fine.” “No. It’s not fair to you.” “You don’t have to go to the dance with me.” “But I want to.” His eyes lit up. “You do?” “I do,” I walked up to him, and took his hand. “I’m sorry I didn’t say so right away.” He stepped closer to me. “Thank you.” I smiled. “It’ll be my pleasure.” ----- Present Day “I suppose you’re here to investigate us?” the priest asked, as if this were the most amusing thing that had ever happened. “Yes. That’s it. You got me.” “Have you broken anything?” “What? No.” “No harm done, then. That will be the end of your business here. Please leave.” I don’t want to leave, though. As much of a relief as it is that he isn’t calling the police, I have so many questions for him. Questions I know he wanted Theo to answer for me. Maybe he’ll be willing to answer them. “What’s going on?” I ask. “What’s up with this place?” “To tell you would be to reward you for breaking into my church, and I don’t feel like doing that.” “Please. Theo isn’t going to tell me anything. I know he’s lying to me about this place. I know he has no intention of bringing me in on it, ever. I need to know—” “You don’t need to know anything. You merely want to know, and what you want isn’t my problem.” “Is this church part of the same mind-controlling organization Aster Sterling and Richard Michaels were members of?” “No. Those brutes have nothing to do with us, and neither us nor Theodore present any threat to you.” “So, you’re a different star-obsessed blood cult?” “We’re not a cult. We’re a religion dedicated to empowering beings who protect the universe. We give our own blood—only our own, never that of an unwilling victim—to empower beings who protect the universe. Unpalatable as they may be to the uninitiated, our offerings are noble sacrifices made in the interest of all the world’s living things.” “Okay, so, you’re a different star-obsessed blood religion than the one Sterling was in?” “I wouldn’t say we’re obsessed with stars, and as far as I know, the Fifth Church has nothing to do with blood.” “The Fifth Church? So that’s what Sterling’s group is called?” “Yes.” “And what about you?” “Listen to me, child, the forces separating my world from yours are not to be trifled with. You are on a dangerous path. Organizations can protect themselves from the people who keep the veil, but individuals like you, who become overly curious after getting half a glimpse of what’s out there, usually meet tragic ends.” “But—” “And that’s all I have to say to you. The door is that way.” He points to the church’s front door. “I’ll be keeping this.” With strength that surprises me, he suddenly snatches my camera out of my hand. I could try to take it back, but none of the pictures I took are worth fighting for. I leave. The rational part of me knows I’m impossibly lucky that he let me go. I’m certainly not going to try this again. Maybe I should just confront Theo. Now I’ve seen enough that he won’t be able to deny everything, maybe I can get real answers out of him. ----- Four Years Ago The Gymnasium of Cypress High was lit by soft, warmly colored lights. Tables with pink and white cloth were lined with vibrant punch and various confections, including wonderful home-made fudge donated by Jess’ mom. The shadows in the pink light were shaped like stars and hearts. The music was gentle, suited for slow, romantic dancing. That’s exactly what I was doing with Theo. We stood there, swaying gently to the beat. We were both a bit overdressed. Me, because I wanted to put my best foot forward to make up for the fact that I hadn’t returned his interest sooner, and him because he was nervous about his first real date with me. That’s what this was. A date. We danced, surrounded by other couples, stomachs full of sweets. The music grew a bit faster. The two of us tried to go faster to match it, though neither of us were very good dancers. At the high point of the song, I attempted to spin. I lost my balance, and my grip on Theo, and fell on my butt. Theo gasped. He leaned down to help me up. “I’m so sorry.” “It’s okay,” I said, as I took his hand and stood. “Are you hurt?” he asked. “No. Don’t worry.” “I…” I took his hand. “Don’t worry,” I said. “I’m fine. I want to keep dancing with you.” He smiled, and we went back to dancing. Eventually, the event ended, and we walked outside, where each of our mothers waited to pick us up. They were on opposite ends of the parking lot, so this was where we had to separate. We lingered. “This was a great night,” I said. “Thanks,” Theo said. “I’m glad I asked you here.” “Me too.” We stared at each other’s eyes for a moment. I leaned close to him. His face went bright red, but that didn’t stop him from leaning forward to meet me. We kissed. It was deep and passionate, and as long as we thought we could get away with. When it was over, or gazes lingered on one another for a moment before we had to return to our respective parents’ cars. “Did you have a good night?” my mom asked, as I stared out the window at Theo. “Yeah,” I said. “So, are you… seeing him now?” “Yeah.” I smiled. “I guess I am.” [[=]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-hub\|Series Hub]]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster\|◀◀ First Entry]]] \| [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-6-the-service\|◀ Previous Entry]]] \| [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-8-Theodore-North\|Next Entry ▶]]] ,,[[[xhawk77x\|More by this Author]]],, [[/=]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-09-14T16:58:00	[ "_licensebox", "first-person", "lgbtq", "mystery", "religious-fiction", "romance", "second-hytoth", "tale" ]	I Didn't Forget Pt 7: The Church Of The Blessed Sacrifice - SCP Foundation	12	[ "i-didn-t-forget-hub", "i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster", "i-didn-t-forget-pt-6-the-service", "i-didn-t-forget-pt-8-theodore-north", "xhawk77x", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "i-didn-t-forget-hub", "second-hytoth-hub" ]	[]	1449979317	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/i-didn-t-forget-pt-7-the-church-of-the-blessed-sacrifice
i-didn-t-forget-pt-8-theodore-north	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><strong><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-hub">Series Hub</a></strong></p> <p><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster">◀◀ First Entry</a> \| <a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-7-the-church-of-the-blessed-sacrifice">◀ Previous Entry</a> \| <a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-9-the-wanderer-s-library">Next Entry ▶</a></p> <p><sub><a href="/xhawk77x">More by this Author</a></sub></p> </div> <p><strong>Present Day</strong></p> <p>When I get back home from Theo’s church, I find him sitting on the couch, watching TV. “Hey,” he says as I enter the apartment. I glare at him for a moment. He glances at me. “What’s wrong?” he asks.</p> <p>“What haven’t you been telling me?” I ask.</p> <p>“What do you mean?”</p> <p>“About your church, and about my brother. You know things you haven’t been sharing.”</p> <p>“My Church? What are you talking about?”</p> <p>“Please don’t play dumb. I’ve been inside your church. I’ve seen all of the weird shit. Knives and bowls—”</p> <p>“Wait, how did you get inside my church?”</p> <p>“I picked the lock on a side-door.”</p> <p>Theo stands. “You broke into my church?”</p> <p>“That’s not what’s important.”</p> <p>“I beg to differ! You could’ve gotten yourself arrested!”</p> <p>“Well, I didn’t, and I saw all the freaky shit inside. I want to know what you’ve been hiding from me. I want to know what’s up with that place, and I want to know everything you do about the people who took my brother.”</p> <p>He hesitates for a moment. “Jerry, you’re not making sense.”</p> <p>“Don’t you fucking try to gaslight me!”</p> <p>“Shhh! Neighbors will hear.”</p> <p>“This is your last chance, Theo,” I say. “Either you’re on my side, or you’re not. Tell me everything you know about Evan, now.”</p> <p>“That’s not how things—”</p> <p>“Either you’re on my side, or you’re not.”</p> <p>Theo has the nerve to shed a tear. “I… okay, listen, my church is secretive, and, yeah, to an outsider, it’s going to be strange. I’ll admit I’ve lied about it a little, but that’s because we have very strict rules designed to keep us safe from people who aren’t okay with what we believe. If you want, we can talk about what my church really teaches but please, understand, nothing about our faith has anything to do with your brother.”</p> <p>“Okay. Sure. Now, how about you tell me what the SCP Foundation is?”</p> <p>Theo’s eyes go wide. “Where did you hear that name?”</p> <p>“From the microphone I planted on you before you went into church yesterday. You said it was almost certain that they took my brother.”</p> <p>His face froze in shock. “Jerry, look, this is a misunderstanding.”</p> <p>“Then explain. Now.”</p> <p>He hesitated. “If I did that, you’d run off and do something rash.”</p> <p>“Then you’ve chosen your side. I think there’s someone else who might be able to give me answers.”</p> <p>“Who?”</p> <p>I turn and start heading toward the door.</p> <p>“Jerry, please don’t leave. If you go mentioning the ‘SCP Foundation’ to the wrong person—”</p> <p>I turn around. “So, you do know who they are?”</p> <p>His cheeks are wet. “Jerry, I don’t want you to get yourself hurt.”</p> <p>“Then tell me everything.”</p> <p>“That won’t solve things the way you think it will.”</p> <p>I turn back toward the door.</p> <p>“Wait, who are you going to talk to?”</p> <p>“Daisy,” I say. I leave the apartment, slamming the door behind me.</p> <hr/> <p><strong>10 Months Ago</strong></p> <p>My eighteenth birthday party was one of the happiest days of my life, even more so than every other day I spent with Theo. Not that he was the only person there. Most of my family was present, along with some of his, and a few friends from school. We did plenty of fun things, but none of them were the true source of my joy. That came from the simple knowledge that I would soon be able to live with him.</p> <p>Theo had turned eighteen a few months before I had. He’d already moved out on his own, an unusual thing to do at his age, but he needed to get established somewhere before I could move in with him, and we wanted to do that as soon as possible.</p> <p>As the party was winding down, I brought Theo up to my room, saying I had something to tell him. He sat down on my bed. “What is it?” he asked.</p> <p>“Okay. First, I want to say that I’m sorry I didn’t tell you this earlier, but it’s something you have to hear before we can live together. You probably won’t believe what I’m going to tell you, and that’s okay. I don’t have any proof, but it’s still an important thing for you to know, and… I guess I’m hoping you’ll be able to help me.”</p> <p>Theo put his hand on my shoulder. “It’s okay. You can tell me anything.”</p> <p>I hoped so.</p> <p>I took a deep breath, and I told him about Evan.</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Present Day</strong></p> <p>The sun is setting when I arrive at Runes & Relics. The store has just closed, but Daisy is still behind the desk, gathering money from the register. I knock. She looks over at me. She closes the register and comes over to let me in. “Jerry,” she asks, “what is it?”</p> <p>I step inside the store. “I’m sorry, but I have more questions for you.”</p> <p>“Can they wait? I’m kind of busy closing the store.”</p> <p>“I’m afraid not. Time is of the essence.” Every second gives Theo and his church more time to cover things up.</p> <p>“Where’s Theo?”</p> <p>“He’s no longer joining me on my investigations.”</p> <p>“What happened?”</p> <p>“I need to know what he and his church told you.”</p> <p>“What do you mean?”</p> <p>“When you confronted them about the book, what did the people from Theo’s church tell you about who they were and why they wanted it? I know they didn’t force you to sell it to them, but there’s no way you sold it just because you were just that gracious. I think they told you something about themselves or the book was that made you decide to give it to them.”</p> <p>She looks at me for a moment. “Theo said he wanted to be the one to explain everything to you.”</p> <p>“He lied. He has no intention of telling me anything, ever, so I need to hear it from you.”</p> <p>She studies me. She locks the front door and takes a few steps toward the center of the room. “They told me it was a book of their scriptures. They said they’re part of a persecuted religion, forced to hide themselves from the world because their faith deals in real magic. They showed me some of that real magic. It was more amazing than anything I’d ever seen, even back at Spirituality Club. They said that if I didn’t give them the book, it would be confiscated and buried by the same people who’ve forced them into hiding.”</p> <p>“The SCP Foundation?”</p> <p>“They never gave me any names, but they said these people practically run the world, and that they’ll do anything to hide magic from the people in it.”</p> <p>“I see.”</p> <p>“Is that their name? The SCP Foundation?”</p> <p>“Yes.”</p> <p>“Where did you learn it?”</p> <p>“I eavesdropped on Theo.”</p> <p>“Eavesdropped?”</p> <p>“That’s not the important part. The important thing is that he’s known who they were the whole time, and he was never going to tell me about them.”</p> <p>“Why not?”</p> <p>“He thinks…” I hesitate. “Wait, I never told you about Evan, did I?”</p> <p>“What about Evan?”</p> <p>“He’s not dead. These SCP Foundation people kidnapped him. I saw them do it. They tried to erase my memory, but it didn’t work. That’s why I’ve been trying to learn more about what happened to him. I want to find him. I want to save him.”</p> <p>Daisy stands there stunned for a moment. “Oh my God,” she says. “I… good luck. I’d be happy to help however I could, but I’m not sure there’s much I could do for you.”</p> <p>“It’s okay. You’ve already done plenty.”</p> <p>Suddenly, an Uber pulls up to the store. Theo climbs out of it, runs up to the door, and starts knocking furiously.</p> <p>Daisy looks at me.</p> <p>“Let him in,” I say.</p> <hr/> <p><strong>10 Months Ago</strong></p> <p>“I know how crazy I must sound right now,” I told Theo. “I know this is all hard to believe, and I’m not asking you to believe me.”</p> <p>“I do.”</p> <p>That startled me. “You do?”</p> <p>“Yes. I believe you. If you say it was too real to be a dream, it was.”</p> <p>I leaned into his chest. I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed him while I cried. “Thank you,” I said.</p> <p>He hugged me back. “Thank you,” he said, “for trusting me with this.” He squeezed me.</p> <p>“I’m planning to find him,” I said.</p> <p>“What?” Theo asked.</p> <p>“I don’t know how. I don’t know who they were or where they took him, but I think they still have him, and he needs to be saved. I’m going to try to find him.”</p> <p>“Are… are you sure that’s a good idea? I mean, it sounds like these people have a lot of power. Are you sure you won’t just get yourself hurt?”</p> <p>“Of course not. I understand the kind of power I’m up against, but I have to try. I’m the only one who knows he’s alive. If I don’t save him, no one is ever going to. You don’t have to help me, if you don’t want to take the risk—”</p> <p>“I’ll be with you,” Theo said. “I’ll be with you every step of the way.”</p> <p>“Thank you,” I said.</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Present Day</strong></p> <p>Theo bursts into the store. He looks at Daisy while she closes the door behind them. “What did you tell him?” he asks her.</p> <p>“Everything,” Daisy says.</p> <p>“I asked you not to.”</p> <p>“Oh, did you, now?” I ask.</p> <p>Daisy crosses her arms. “You said you wanted to tell him on your own time. According to him, you’ve decided not to.”</p> <p>“I…” Theo looks at me. “Look, Jerry, I’m sorry—”</p> <p>“Finally down to tell me everything now that you no longer have a choice?”</p> <p>“Look, I understand how you feel.”</p> <p>“Do you?”</p> <p>“Yes! I’ve lost people too. I know how mad I’d be if someone kept a secret about my parents from me, but I need you to understand, the idea that the SCP Foundation took your brother is speculation. There are other people it could’ve been. It could’ve been the Global Occult Coalition, or even the Chaos Insurgency. There’s so much you don’t know about the world all of this is happening in—”</p> <p>“That’s your fault.”</p> <p>“You’re right. It is. Clearly, I should have told you more. I should’ve brought you to church as soon as we moved in together. We’ll go next week, and we’ll schedule a talk for you to learn everything before then.”</p> <p>“Why haven’t we already done that?”</p> <p>“I was hoping the right time would present itself.”</p> <p>“The right time was back when I told you what happened to Evan.”</p> <p>Theo hesitates. “I didn’t want to lose you.”</p> <p>“What does that have to do with anything?”</p> <p>“You’ve been dead set on ‘rescuing’ Evan since before you met me—”</p> <p>“Oh, have I?!” I shout. “Excuse me for feeling strongly about rescuing my kidnapped brother.”</p> <p>“That’s not what I meant. It’s just that… your determination is part of what I love about you, but in this case, dangerous. The Foundation is really, really powerful.”</p> <p>“I know.”</p> <p>“Do you? Inside the veil, can you even comprehend the kind of power they have? The power to keep all magic, ten fields of science, half a dozen religions and three whole countries secret from the entire world? If I’d told you everything from the beginning, can you honestly deny you’d have run up to Site-17 alone and gotten yourself captured?”</p> <p>My eyes go wide. “What’s Site-17?”</p> <p>“I… forget it—”</p> <p>I step closer to him. “What’s Site-17?”</p> <p>Theo takes a step away from me. “It’s their second-biggest containment site. It’s the one that has the most, well, people. Most of the things they contain are magical objects or monsters. They have hundreds of sites, and, assuming they do have Evan, he could be in any of them, but, technically, Site-17 is the most likely.”</p> <p>“And, you’ve known that this whole time?”</p> <p>“Jerry—”</p> <p>“You’ve known that the entire time we’ve known each other?”</p> <p>“Jerry, I’m sorry.”</p> <p>I step closer to him again. “The entire time we’ve known each other, you’ve known the name of the building he’s in, and you never told me?”</p> <p>“No! I just explained that there’s no guarantee he’s there!”</p> <p>“But it’s a place worth checking?”</p> <p>“No! This is exactly what I’m talking about. If you try to ‘check’ whether Evan is in Site-17 you’re going to get fucking killed! Or maybe captured, like he was. Either way, you’ll never see him again, and I’ll never see you.”</p> <p>“Where is Site-17?”</p> <p>“I don’t know.”</p> <p>“Bullshit!”</p> <p>“I just told you these people can hide the existence of whole countries. Is it really hard to believe they can guard the location of their black site?”</p> <p>“Okay. Sure. Tell me what you do know. About the Foundation, about Site-17, all of it.”</p> <p>“And what is it you want to do with that information?”</p> <p>“Save my brother.”</p> <p>“Jerry, you still don’t understand—”</p> <p>“I understand perfectly fucking well! When we first started this, I told you I knew the risks. Do you think I didn’t realize I was risking my life for this? Do you think I didn’t realize <em>they</em> could imprison me like they did him? I knew about those risks, and I chose to take them, because they’re worth it if there’s even the slightest chance of getting Evan back.”</p> <p>“There isn’t! There is no chance of you rescuing him.”</p> <p>“How do you know that?”</p> <p>“Because you’re one person, up against practically the entire world. You can’t fight them, Jerry. There is absolutely nothing you can do to get your brother back. That’s what I should’ve told you at the beginning. Not about Site-17, or even about the Foundation. I should have tried to make you understand that your quest was always hopeless. You need to give up.”</p> <p>“I can’t.”</p> <p>“Yes, you can. I remember how I felt right after I lost my parents. It felt like I’d lost everything in the world that mattered. That’s how it always feels after you lose someone, but despite how I felt, my life went on, and now I have new people to live for. You do, too. You’ve built a new life with me. Please don’t throw that away.”</p> <p>I stare at him for a moment. Even through the cloud of anger, there’s a small part of me that wonders if he’s right, if what I have now should be enough. I can’t give up, though. Not while I know Evan is still out there. I can’t live my life knowing that I’m choosing not to rescue him.</p> <p>“Tell me about the Serpent’s Hand,” I say. “Your priest said they’ve rescued people from the Foundation before.”</p> <p>“When?”</p> <p>“I planted a microphone, remember?”</p> <p>“Right. Okay. So, the Foundation controls the world. The Serpent’s Hand, I don’t think you can call them a resistance group, because they don’t have anywhere near the resources they’d need to dislodge the Foundation from power, but, very rarely, they try to rescue people from containment. They usually fail. They just get themselves captured or killed. Even if you could find them, even if you could talk them into trying to rescue your brother, you wouldn’t get him back. All you’d do is give the Foundation a few extra ‘anomalies’ to contain.”</p> <p>“So, this entire time, you’ve known who took my brother, where he probably is, and about an organization dedicated to rescuing people from them?”</p> <p>“Jer…”</p> <p>“And you didn’t feel the need to tell me any of that?”</p> <p>“I didn’t want to lose you.”</p> <p>“Well, you have.”</p> <p>His eyes go wide. “No…”</p> <p>“You’re right. It is just me, against the Foundation.” I clench my fist. “I was hoping it could be the two of us, but you’ve made your choice.”</p> <p>“No, Jerry, please—”</p> <p>“I’ll stop by the apartment to collect my things, then I’m going to my parents’.”</p> <p>“No!” He grabs my shoulders. “Please. I’m sorry. I’ll take you to the Serpent’s Hand.”</p> <p>I meet his gaze. “How do I get to them?”</p> <p>“There’s an Alleyway on Princeton Road, between Sunken City Games & Comics and the Starbucks. Walk up to it, knock on the red brick five times, and yodel.”</p> <p>“You’re fucking with me.”</p> <p>“No. I’m not. If you do that, you’ll open a Way into the Wanderer’s Library. Just tell people there that you’re looking for the Serpent’s Hand. There’ll be someone there who can lead you to them.”</p> <p>“Okay,” I say. I take a deep breath. “Thank you.” His eyes light up with hope. “But that’s still too little, too late. We’re over.”</p> <p>“Please,” he sobs. “Please, there has to be something I can do to make it up to you.”</p> <p>“Do you have a time machine?”</p> <p>“What?”</p> <p>“Because of all these secrets you’ve kept, I’ve spent months searching fruitlessly while you knew exactly where my brother was. Those months are time I could’ve spent with my brother once I rescued him. Can you give me that time back?”</p> <p>“Of course not.”</p> <p>“Then there’s nothing you can do.”</p> <p>At that, Theo falls to the floor, crying. I leave him like that, get back in the car, and start driving back to the apartment. I’m hoping I can beat him there, so I don’t have to see him again while I’m packing.</p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><strong><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-hub">Series Hub</a></strong></p> <p><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster">◀◀ First Entry</a> \| <a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-7-the-church-of-the-blessed-sacrifice">◀ Previous Entry</a> \| <a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-9-the-wanderer-s-library">Next Entry ▶</a></p> <p><sub><a href="/xhawk77x">More by this Author</a></sub></p> </div> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[=]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-hub\|Series Hub]]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster\|◀◀ First Entry]]] \| [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-7-the-church-of-the-blessed-sacrifice\|◀ Previous Entry]]] \| [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-9-the-wanderer-s-library\|Next Entry ▶]]] ,,[[[xhawk77x\|More by this Author]]],, [[/=]] Present Day When I get back home from Theo’s church, I find him sitting on the couch, watching TV. “Hey,” he says as I enter the apartment. I glare at him for a moment. He glances at me. “What’s wrong?” he asks. “What haven’t you been telling me?” I ask. “What do you mean?” “About your church, and about my brother. You know things you haven’t been sharing.” “My Church? What are you talking about?” “Please don’t play dumb. I’ve been inside your church. I’ve seen all of the weird shit. Knives and bowls—” “Wait, how did you get inside my church?” “I picked the lock on a side-door.” Theo stands. “You broke into my church?” “That’s not what’s important.” “I beg to differ! You could’ve gotten yourself arrested!” “Well, I didn’t, and I saw all the freaky shit inside. I want to know what you’ve been hiding from me. I want to know what’s up with that place, and I want to know everything you do about the people who took my brother.” He hesitates for a moment. “Jerry, you’re not making sense.” “Don’t you fucking try to gaslight me!” “Shhh! Neighbors will hear.” “This is your last chance, Theo,” I say. “Either you’re on my side, or you’re not. Tell me everything you know about Evan, now.” “That’s not how things—” “Either you’re on my side, or you’re not.” Theo has the nerve to shed a tear. “I… okay, listen, my church is secretive, and, yeah, to an outsider, it’s going to be strange. I’ll admit I’ve lied about it a little, but that’s because we have very strict rules designed to keep us safe from people who aren’t okay with what we believe. If you want, we can talk about what my church really teaches but please, understand, nothing about our faith has anything to do with your brother.” “Okay. Sure. Now, how about you tell me what the SCP Foundation is?” Theo’s eyes go wide. “Where did you hear that name?” “From the microphone I planted on you before you went into church yesterday. You said it was almost certain that they took my brother.” His face froze in shock. “Jerry, look, this is a misunderstanding.” “Then explain. Now.” He hesitated. “If I did that, you’d run off and do something rash.” “Then you’ve chosen your side. I think there’s someone else who might be able to give me answers.” “Who?” I turn and start heading toward the door. “Jerry, please don’t leave. If you go mentioning the ‘SCP Foundation’ to the wrong person—” I turn around. “So, you do know who they are?” His cheeks are wet. “Jerry, I don’t want you to get yourself hurt.” “Then tell me everything.” “That won’t solve things the way you think it will.” I turn back toward the door. “Wait, who are you going to talk to?” “Daisy,” I say. I leave the apartment, slamming the door behind me. ----- 10 Months Ago My eighteenth birthday party was one of the happiest days of my life, even more so than every other day I spent with Theo. Not that he was the only person there. Most of my family was present, along with some of his, and a few friends from school. We did plenty of fun things, but none of them were the true source of my joy. That came from the simple knowledge that I would soon be able to live with him. Theo had turned eighteen a few months before I had. He’d already moved out on his own, an unusual thing to do at his age, but he needed to get established somewhere before I could move in with him, and we wanted to do that as soon as possible. As the party was winding down, I brought Theo up to my room, saying I had something to tell him. He sat down on my bed. “What is it?” he asked. “Okay. First, I want to say that I’m sorry I didn’t tell you this earlier, but it’s something you have to hear before we can live together. You probably won’t believe what I’m going to tell you, and that’s okay. I don’t have any proof, but it’s still an important thing for you to know, and… I guess I’m hoping you’ll be able to help me.” Theo put his hand on my shoulder. “It’s okay. You can tell me anything.” I hoped so. I took a deep breath, and I told him about Evan. ----- Present Day The sun is setting when I arrive at Runes & Relics. The store has just closed, but Daisy is still behind the desk, gathering money from the register. I knock. She looks over at me. She closes the register and comes over to let me in. “Jerry,” she asks, “what is it?” I step inside the store. “I’m sorry, but I have more questions for you.” “Can they wait? I’m kind of busy closing the store.” “I’m afraid not. Time is of the essence.” Every second gives Theo and his church more time to cover things up. “Where’s Theo?” “He’s no longer joining me on my investigations.” “What happened?” “I need to know what he and his church told you.” “What do you mean?” “When you confronted them about the book, what did the people from Theo’s church tell you about who they were and why they wanted it? I know they didn’t force you to sell it to them, but there’s no way you sold it just because you were just that gracious. I think they told you something about themselves or the book was that made you decide to give it to them.” She looks at me for a moment. “Theo said he wanted to be the one to explain everything to you.” “He lied. He has no intention of telling me anything, ever, so I need to hear it from you.” She studies me. She locks the front door and takes a few steps toward the center of the room. “They told me it was a book of their scriptures. They said they’re part of a persecuted religion, forced to hide themselves from the world because their faith deals in real magic. They showed me some of that real magic. It was more amazing than anything I’d ever seen, even back at Spirituality Club. They said that if I didn’t give them the book, it would be confiscated and buried by the same people who’ve forced them into hiding.” “The SCP Foundation?” “They never gave me any names, but they said these people practically run the world, and that they’ll do anything to hide magic from the people in it.” “I see.” “Is that their name? The SCP Foundation?” “Yes.” “Where did you learn it?” “I eavesdropped on Theo.” “Eavesdropped?” “That’s not the important part. The important thing is that he’s known who they were the whole time, and he was never going to tell me about them.” “Why not?” “He thinks…” I hesitate. “Wait, I never told you about Evan, did I?” “What about Evan?” “He’s not dead. These SCP Foundation people kidnapped him. I saw them do it. They tried to erase my memory, but it didn’t work. That’s why I’ve been trying to learn more about what happened to him. I want to find him. I want to save him.” Daisy stands there stunned for a moment. “Oh my God,” she says. “I… good luck. I’d be happy to help however I could, but I’m not sure there’s much I could do for you.” “It’s okay. You’ve already done plenty.” Suddenly, an Uber pulls up to the store. Theo climbs out of it, runs up to the door, and starts knocking furiously. Daisy looks at me. “Let him in,” I say. ----- 10 Months Ago “I know how crazy I must sound right now,” I told Theo. “I know this is all hard to believe, and I’m not asking you to believe me.” “I do.” That startled me. “You do?” “Yes. I believe you. If you say it was too real to be a dream, it was.” I leaned into his chest. I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed him while I cried. “Thank you,” I said. He hugged me back. “Thank you,” he said, “for trusting me with this.” He squeezed me. “I’m planning to find him,” I said. “What?” Theo asked. “I don’t know how. I don’t know who they were or where they took him, but I think they still have him, and he needs to be saved. I’m going to try to find him.” “Are… are you sure that’s a good idea? I mean, it sounds like these people have a lot of power. Are you sure you won’t just get yourself hurt?” “Of course not. I understand the kind of power I’m up against, but I have to try. I’m the only one who knows he’s alive. If I don’t save him, no one is ever going to. You don’t have to help me, if you don’t want to take the risk—” “I’ll be with you,” Theo said. “I’ll be with you every step of the way.” “Thank you,” I said. ----- Present Day Theo bursts into the store. He looks at Daisy while she closes the door behind them. “What did you tell him?” he asks her. “Everything,” Daisy says. “I asked you not to.” “Oh, did you, now?” I ask. Daisy crosses her arms. “You said you wanted to tell him on your own time. According to him, you’ve decided not to.” “I…” Theo looks at me. “Look, Jerry, I’m sorry—” “Finally down to tell me everything now that you no longer have a choice?” “Look, I understand how you feel.” “Do you?” “Yes! I’ve lost people too. I know how mad I’d be if someone kept a secret about my parents from me, but I need you to understand, the idea that the SCP Foundation took your brother is speculation. There are other people it could’ve been. It could’ve been the Global Occult Coalition, or even the Chaos Insurgency. There’s so much you don’t know about the world all of this is happening in—” “That’s your fault.” “You’re right. It is. Clearly, I should have told you more. I should’ve brought you to church as soon as we moved in together. We’ll go next week, and we’ll schedule a talk for you to learn everything before then.” “Why haven’t we already done that?” “I was hoping the right time would present itself.” “The right time was back when I told you what happened to Evan.” Theo hesitates. “I didn’t want to lose you.” “What does that have to do with anything?” “You’ve been dead set on ‘rescuing’ Evan since before you met me—” “Oh, have I?!” I shout. “Excuse me for feeling strongly about rescuing my kidnapped brother.” “That’s not what I meant. It’s just that… your determination is part of what I love about you, but in this case, dangerous. The Foundation is really, really powerful.” “I know.” “Do you? Inside the veil, can you even comprehend the kind of power they have? The power to keep all magic, ten fields of science, half a dozen religions and three whole countries secret from the entire world? If I’d told you everything from the beginning, can you honestly deny you’d have run up to Site-17 alone and gotten yourself captured?” My eyes go wide. “What’s Site-17?” “I… forget it—” I step closer to him. “What’s Site-17?” Theo takes a step away from me. “It’s their second-biggest containment site. It’s the one that has the most, well, people. Most of the things they contain are magical objects or monsters. They have hundreds of sites, and, assuming they do have Evan, he could be in any of them, but, technically, Site-17 is the most likely.” “And, you’ve known that this whole time?” “Jerry—” “You’ve known that the entire time we’ve known each other?” “Jerry, I’m sorry.” I step closer to him again. “The entire time we’ve known each other, you’ve known the name of the building he’s in, and you never told me?” “No! I just explained that there’s no guarantee he’s there!” “But it’s a place worth checking?” “No! This is exactly what I’m talking about. If you try to ‘check’ whether Evan is in Site-17 you’re going to get fucking killed! Or maybe captured, like he was. Either way, you’ll never see him again, and I’ll never see you.” “Where is Site-17?” “I don’t know.” “Bullshit!” “I just told you these people can hide the existence of whole countries. Is it really hard to believe they can guard the location of their black site?” “Okay. Sure. Tell me what you do know. About the Foundation, about Site-17, all of it.” “And what is it you want to do with that information?” “Save my brother.” “Jerry, you still don’t understand—” “I understand perfectly fucking well! When we first started this, I told you I knew the risks. Do you think I didn’t realize I was risking my life for this? Do you think I didn’t realize //they// could imprison me like they did him? I knew about those risks, and I chose to take them, because they’re worth it if there’s even the slightest chance of getting Evan back.” “There isn’t! There is no chance of you rescuing him.” “How do you know that?” “Because you’re one person, up against practically the entire world. You can’t fight them, Jerry. There is absolutely nothing you can do to get your brother back. That’s what I should’ve told you at the beginning. Not about Site-17, or even about the Foundation. I should have tried to make you understand that your quest was always hopeless. You need to give up.” “I can’t.” “Yes, you can. I remember how I felt right after I lost my parents. It felt like I’d lost everything in the world that mattered. That’s how it always feels after you lose someone, but despite how I felt, my life went on, and now I have new people to live for. You do, too. You’ve built a new life with me. Please don’t throw that away.” I stare at him for a moment. Even through the cloud of anger, there’s a small part of me that wonders if he’s right, if what I have now should be enough. I can’t give up, though. Not while I know Evan is still out there. I can’t live my life knowing that I’m choosing not to rescue him. “Tell me about the Serpent’s Hand,” I say. “Your priest said they’ve rescued people from the Foundation before.” “When?” “I planted a microphone, remember?” “Right. Okay. So, the Foundation controls the world. The Serpent’s Hand, I don’t think you can call them a resistance group, because they don’t have anywhere near the resources they’d need to dislodge the Foundation from power, but, very rarely, they try to rescue people from containment. They usually fail. They just get themselves captured or killed. Even if you could find them, even if you could talk them into trying to rescue your brother, you wouldn’t get him back. All you’d do is give the Foundation a few extra ‘anomalies’ to contain.” “So, this entire time, you’ve known who took my brother, where he probably is, and about an organization dedicated to rescuing people from them?” “Jer…” “And you didn’t feel the need to tell me any of that?” “I didn’t want to lose you.” “Well, you have.” His eyes go wide. “No...” “You’re right. It is just me, against the Foundation.” I clench my fist. “I was hoping it could be the two of us, but you’ve made your choice.” “No, Jerry, please—” “I’ll stop by the apartment to collect my things, then I’m going to my parents’.” “No!” He grabs my shoulders. “Please. I’m sorry. I’ll take you to the Serpent’s Hand.” I meet his gaze. “How do I get to them?” “There’s an Alleyway on Princeton Road, between Sunken City Games & Comics and the Starbucks. Walk up to it, knock on the red brick five times, and yodel.” “You’re fucking with me.” “No. I’m not. If you do that, you’ll open a Way into the Wanderer’s Library. Just tell people there that you’re looking for the Serpent’s Hand. There’ll be someone there who can lead you to them.” “Okay,” I say. I take a deep breath. “Thank you.” His eyes light up with hope. “But that’s still too little, too late. We’re over.” “Please,” he sobs. “Please, there has to be something I can do to make it up to you.” “Do you have a time machine?” “What?” “Because of all these secrets you’ve kept, I’ve spent months searching fruitlessly while you knew exactly where my brother was. Those months are time I could’ve spent with my brother once I rescued him. Can you give me that time back?” “Of course not.” “Then there’s nothing you can do.” At that, Theo falls to the floor, crying. I leave him like that, get back in the car, and start driving back to the apartment. I’m hoping I can beat him there, so I don’t have to see him again while I’m packing. [[=]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-hub\|Series Hub]]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster\|◀◀ First Entry]]] \| [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-7-the-church-of-the-blessed-sacrifice\|◀ Previous Entry]]] \| [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-9-the-wanderer-s-library\|Next Entry ▶]]] ,,[[[xhawk77x\|More by this Author]]],, [[/=]]	2023-10-21T00:48:00	[ "bittersweet", "first-person", "lgbtq", "mystery", "romance", "second-hytoth", "tale" ]	I Didn't Forget Pt 8: Theodore North - SCP Foundation	12	[ "i-didn-t-forget-hub", "i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster", "i-didn-t-forget-pt-7-the-church-of-the-blessed-sacrifice", "i-didn-t-forget-pt-9-the-wanderer-s-library", "xhawk77x" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "i-didn-t-forget-hub", "second-hytoth-hub" ]	[]	1450856545	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/i-didn-t-forget-pt-8-theodore-north
i-didn-t-forget-pt-9-the-wanderer-s-library	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><strong><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-hub">Series Hub</a></strong></p> <p><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster">◀◀ First Entry</a> \| <a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-8-theodore-north">◀ Previous Entry</a> \| <a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-10-the-serpent-s-hand">Next Entry ▶</a></p> <p><sub><a href="/xhawk77x">More by this Author</a></sub></p> </div> <p><strong>Present Day</strong></p> <p>I beat Theo back to the apartment. I’m quick about gathering my things, because I want to be gone before he gets here. I stuff a few outfits and toiletries into my suitcase and take an uber to my parents’ house. I consider taking the car for myself, but then Theo would probably come to my house to try and get it, giving him an excuse to see me.</p> <p>I manage to leave the apartment before he arrives. On the way over, I text my mom to tell her I’m coming to stay for a while. She asks me what happened, and I say we’ll talk about it when I get there.</p> <p>Soon enough, I’m in front of my childhood home. Other than my apartment with Theo, this is the only place I’ve ever lived. I rate and tip the uber driver, walk up to the door, and ring the bell. My mom answers immediately. She was waiting for me right next to the door. She’s a tall, red-headed woman, with a mousy face and Evan’s eyes. She glances at my suitcase as she opens the door. I see her concern.</p> <p>“Hey,” I say. “I imagine it’s okay if I stay here for a while?”</p> <p>“What happened?”</p> <p>I want to tell her. I want to tell her the truth. Am I a hypocrite if I don’t? I’m leaving Theo because he wouldn’t tell me the truth. But this is different. Mom wouldn’t believe me if I tried to tell her, and even if she did, there’s nothing she could do to help me rescue Evan. “Theo and I had a fight. Bad enough that I don’t think we’ll recover from it.”</p> <p>She looks at me sadly. “That’s a shame. Do you mind telling me what it was about?”</p> <p>“I… Can I tell you later? Right now, I’d kind of like to get to bed.”</p> <p>“Of course.” She steps back and motions for me to step inside. As soon as I do, she pulls me into a hug.</p> <p>I hug her back. “It’s nice to see you too.” We’re still hugging when dad comes over to greet me as well. I don’t say much to him. I just let Mom repeat what I said. Eventually, the hug ends, and I head upstairs.</p> <p>I walk down the upstairs hall, passing my childhood bedroom and entering the office room. I turn off the lights, and I take a seat in the rolling chair. I look up at the glowing, plastic stars that still cover the ceiling.</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Six Years Ago</strong></p> <p>In the days following Evan’s kidnapping, I clung to hope that the people who’d taken him wouldn’t keep him forever. Maybe they only needed him for a few days. Maybe after that, they’d pretend to find him buried in the rubble.</p> <p>There was a knock at my bedroom door. I sat up in my bed. My dad opened the door, and both of my parents entered the room. I could see on their faces that this wasn’t good news. Mom’s make-up was smudged by tears. “What is it?” I asked.</p> <p>Mom walked over to the bed and sat down next to me. She took my hand. “Sweetie,” she said, “there’s been news about Evan.”</p> <p>“Did they find him?” I asked, hoping I’d misinterpreted their faces.</p> <p>She nodded. For a second, my heart flew. “His body,” Mom clarified. “They found his body.”</p> <p>“What?”</p> <p>“They’ve confirmed that one of the bodies in the pit matched Evan’s dental records,” Dad said. “They’re sure it’s him.”</p> <p>I shook my head. “No,” I said. “That can’t be right. He has to be alive.” I knew he was alive. I’d seen him.</p> <p>“He’s not, sweetie,” Mom said. “I’m sorry.”</p> <p>“No. No, you don’t understand, I…” only, I couldn’t tell her. I couldn’t tell her anything. I wanted to. I wanted to tell her what those bastards had done. I wanted to ease the incomprehensible sadness she felt. Let her know that her son was alive, right now. But I couldn’t. She wouldn’t believe me. Not over the big, official people with their medical examiners and dental records. The people who had done this to us.</p> <p>Mom squeezed me. I squeezed her back. Dad sat down on the bed, and wrapped his arms around us both. “It’ll be okay,” I said.</p> <p>“No, sweetie,” Mom said. “Not everything ends up okay.” She sobbed again, and I held her tighter.</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Present Day</strong></p> <p>I’m in the alley where Theo said I’d find a way into “The Wanderer’s Library.” The sounds of the city surround me, honking horns and zooming cars reinforcing the fact that I am, indeed, downtown.</p> <p>Theo said to look for the red brick. All of the bricks are reddish brown, but one of them is particularly vibrant. I crouch in front of it. As quietly as I can, I knock on the brick five times, then yodel. No one is watching me, which is good, because I look like an idiot.</p> <p>The city’s sounds suddenly vanish. In an instant, I’m no longer kneeling on pavement, but hovering a few inches above dark hardwood flooring. I fall and smack my face into said flooring.</p> <p>I scramble to my feet, holding my throbbing head as I look around.</p> <p>I sure do seem to be in a library. The walls here are stories high, and completely covered by well-stocked bookshelves.</p> <p>There’s a patch of brick wall in front of me, about the size of a door. The rest of this place is made of dark wood, from its bookshelves to the arched ceiling above. There is light around me, though I can’t see any source for it. I don’t see any people around, either.</p> <p>I approach a bookshelf. The books are varied. Some look old, some new. Some are giant tomes; others are pamphlets so thin that I can barely see them. Out of curiosity, I take a random book off the shelf. It’s handwritten. I think it’s a journal, but it’s in a language I don’t recognize.</p> <p>I keep scanning the walls as I walk down the hall.</p> <p>Something moves in the corner of my eye. I look up. There’s something climbing on the shelves. “Holy shit!” I say, stumbling back. It looks like a white-furred monkey, around six feet tall, with eight arms sprouting from its back. It has two faces, one on the front of its head, one on the back. It stops and glances down at me with its read face.</p> <p>What the fuck is this thing? What is it going to do?</p> <p>Nothing, apparently. Soon enough, it looks away from me, and moves on.</p> <p>Even with it gone, its strangeness has me frozen for a few more minutes. Theo didn’t say how weird this place would be.</p> <p>I force myself to continue forward. As I do, I scan the shelves on either side of me. Most of the books have English titles, but some of them seem to be in other languages, some of which use scripts I’ve never seen before.</p> <p>I can’t let myself get distracted by the mysteries of this place. I could spend a lifetime reading all these books, but that’s not why I’m here. I’m here on a mission.</p> <p>After some walking, I come to a four-way intersection. At its center is a large statue of a tentacled monster. I look down each hall, trying to figure out which way to go. I should go straight. I should always go straight. So long as I only move in one direction, I can find my way back just by returning the way I came.</p> <p>I keep walking for a long time. I wish I had brought some water. Theo didn’t say the library would be so big. I keep going, though. I need to find someone I can talk to. The next time I see one of the eight-armed monkeys, I try to get its attention, but, just like the last one, it just studies me for a moment, and then swings away. After half an hour or so, I encounter another creature, or rather, a piece of one. Crawling along the ceiling is a small section of what appears to be a giant centipede. Its head and tail are nowhere in sight, its body continuing off into the distance in both directions.</p> <p>It’s about an hour before I see someone who looks like a person perusing one of the shelves. Most of their body is covered by a cloak, but they seem human-shaped, without any extra arms. I run up to them. They turn to look at me. I stop approaching as soon as I see their face. They have an insectoid face made of dark green exoskeleton. Red eyes bulge from either side of their head, and antennae rise from it. They stare at me. I try to form a greeting, but I can’t get the words out. In the end, they’re the first one to speak. “Can I help you?” they ask. Their voice is clicky and nasal.</p> <p>“I…” I stammer.</p> <p>“I take it you’re new here?” the bug asks.</p> <p>“Yes,” I say. “I’m sorry.”</p> <p>“I remember the feeling,” the bug says. “My name’s Ryan.” He holds out his pincer-like hand. After a moment of hesitation, I take it. “Welcome to the Wanderer’s Library. What brings you here?”</p> <p>“I’m looking for the Serpent’s Hand,” I say.</p> <p>“Back at the intersection you just came from, take a left. You’ll find a lounge. Ask around for the Serpent’s Hand there, and you’re sure to find a member.”</p> <p>“Thanks,” I say. I look at him, at this creature that just talked to me. He’s not just a human with special powers, but a creature totally alien to the world I know. How many things like this exist? How many does that Foundation have in containment? How many wonderful things has the Foundation hidden from me—stolen from me—my entire life?</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Six Years Ago</strong></p> <p>There was nothing I could do to stop them from planning a funeral for Evan. I tried to stay out of the process as much as I could, but Mom and Dad thought I would regret not being involved, so they insisted on having me around to weigh in on all the countless, important decisions that had to be made, like what color his casket should be, and what kinds of flowers it should have on it.</p> <p>“Why do we need to bury him if there’s no body?” I asked.</p> <p>“Because funerals are for the living,” Dad said. “Because he deserves to have his life celebrated.”</p> <p>“Besides, the casket won’t be empty,” Mom added. “Some parts of him were recovered. That’s how he was identified. They will be inside the casket.”</p> <p>Of course, that couldn’t actually be true. Evan was alive. There should be no remains to bury, right?</p> <p>There was a visitation a few days before the funeral. It took place in a large room that looked a lot like a chapel, even though there would be nothing specifically Christian about any of the proceedings. Evan wouldn’t have wanted there to be. The casket lay at the end of the room. It was flanked by bouquets of blue and white flowers. Near the right wall, a montage of photographs of Evan played over a selection of his favorite songs. Mom and Dad had wanted to use a bunch of cliché funeral songs that Evan would have hated, and some of those made it in, but I talked them into also using a few songs he actually liked. Dad was sitting on the frontmost pew, watching the screen. His face was stoic, resolute, not empty of sadness, but not overcome by it, either.</p> <p>Relatives from both sides of the family came from all around to view the closed casket. They spoke with each other. They comforted one another. I sat silently in a corner, away from all of them. Occasionally, one of them would glance sadly at me, but they mostly left me alone.</p> <p>As I sat, it occurred to me that I didn’t have to sit there speculating about whether there were teeth in that dark wooden box. It was right there. I could just look inside. That was enough to lure me out of my corner. I approached the casket. As I reached it, Mom walked up beside me. She put her arm on my shoulder. “It’s hard to believe he’s in there,” she said, wiping a tear.</p> <p>“Yeah,” I said. “It is.”</p> <p>She looked down at me. “You should visit with the family while you’re here,” she said. “We,” she stammered, wiping another tear, “this is a time that we all need to be there for each other.”</p> <p>I didn’t say anything. She was trying to comfort me. I wanted to let her, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t allow myself to be comforted when this tragedy was still something I could undo. Something I had to undo.</p> <p>It was me who eventually broke the silence. “Can I look inside?” I asked.</p> <p>“No,” Mom said, gripping my shoulder tighter.</p> <p>“Please?” I asked. I wanted to see. I wanted to see if there really were a few bits of human skeleton inside that casket. Because if there weren’t, if it was completely empty, that meant for sure that he was alive.</p> <p>“No,” Mom said. “That won’t make any of us feel better.”</p> <p>“Have you seen the teeth?” I asked her. “Do we know that they even bothered to put them in there?”</p> <p>“Of course they did.”</p> <p>“But have you checked?”</p> <p>“Evan, stop it,” she snapped. As soon as she said it, she put her hand to her mouth, her face overcome with mortification.</p> <p>Mom and Dad mixed our names up all the time. It usually didn’t bother me. I always used to find it flattering that they’d mistake me for Evan. Now, though, it wasn’t what anyone wanted to hear. “I’m so sorry,” Mom said.</p> <p>“It’s okay.”</p> <p>She walked away from the casket. I looked at it. I looked over my shoulder, back at my mom. She was sitting with a small cluster of female relatives, aunts and grandmothers, weeping and comforting one another.</p> <p>I went back to my corner.</p> <p>The next time I emerged from it, it was because I had to go to the bathroom. It took me a bit of exploration to find it, but I did. It was a small, white room, with two urinals and two stalls, one larger than the other. As I entered, I heard something in the larger stall. Sobbing. Absolutely uncontrolled sobbing.</p> <p>I recognized the voice. “Dad?”</p> <p>The crying stopped. “I’ll be out in a minute,” he said.</p> <p>“No, it’s fine,” I hurried to assure him. I could see a sliver of him through the gap underneath the stall’s door. Dad wasn’t on the toilet. He was on the ground in the opposite corner.</p> <p>After exiting the bathroom, I walked back over to the casket. Daisy was here, now, along with a few of Evan’s other friends from Spirituality Club. They were talking with my mom. I walked over to the coffin. I looked over my shoulder again. Realistically, there wasn’t going to be a time when I could do this without anyone seeing. I had to just accept that I was going to get in trouble.</p> <p>I lifted the casket’s lid.</p> <p>Inside a clear body bag, there were bones. Human teeth, and a few other fragments of skull, rib, arm, and leg. Worse, bits of dry flesh were still attached to them. Rotting flesh. But for the plastic, I probably would’ve been able to smell it.</p> <p>The sight of all this startled me. Whose bones were those? Whose teeth? Whose skin? They weren’t Evan’s. Evan was alive. The sight of them made me reel back. I pulled my hand away from the lid, causing it to slam back down. The conversation behind me quieted. I looked over my shoulder, to see that everyone was looking at me. Mom stood and walked over to me. She took me firmly by the hand. “I told you not to do that,” she said.</p> <p>“I’m sorry,” I said.</p> <p>She glared at me for a moment, but as she stared, her face softened. She took a deep breath. “Okay,” she said. “You’re forgiven.” She let go of my hand and walked back to the group of relatives she’d been standing with.</p> <p>For a moment, I thought about joining her. I wondered if I’d been losing my mind about all of this. What if it had been a dream? Even if it hadn’t, what if they’d only needed him for a few days? What if those really were his bones in that coffin?</p> <p>But no, that didn’t make any sense. I’d never confused a dream with reality before. They felt different. Those bones must have been fake. Or they were taken from someone else. Either way, they were a trick to make me think he had really died. My brother was alive, and he needed me to rescue him.</p> <p>I wiped my tears and walked back over to my corner. Not long afterward, Daisy came over to it. “Hey,” she said, sitting next to me.</p> <p>“Go away,” I said. “I’m not in the mood to talk right now.”</p> <p>“Are you sure?”</p> <p>I glared at her, too harshly. “Yes.” It startled her. Seeing that it startled her made my face soften. “I’m sorry,” I said.</p> <p>“No, it’s okay.” She got up and left.</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Present Day</strong></p> <p>Following Ryan’s instructions, it takes me less than an hour to find the lounge. I walk up to the first human I see. He’s small and unimposing, kinda cute, actually, dressed in jeans and a green t-shirt. He’s lying back on one of the couches, reading a thick yellowed tome with a non-english title. It looks Spanish, maybe. Or Latin. or Italian. He holds the book in both hands. His left hand is covered by a thick leather glove. He lowers the book as he realizes I’m approaching him.</p> <p>“Hey,” I say. “I’m looking for the Serpent’s Hand. Do you know where I could find someone from it?”</p> <p>“I’m from it,” he says. “My name is Sean. What leads you to be looking for us?”</p> <p>I hesitate for a moment. Should I tell him everything? Should I be more careful than that? No. These are the people whose help I need. I’m going to have to trust them. “Jerry,” I say. I shake his ungloved hand, then I sit down, and tell him everything. I don’t hold anything back. Sean is attentive and understanding, and he doesn’t seem to mind that I’ve interrupted his reading. He gives me condolences for the loss of my brother. “Thank you,” I say, when I’m done, “for listening. Like I said, I want to rescue my brother. I don’t care how. I’m willing to do whatever it takes. I was told the Serpent’s Hand were the people I should talk to for help doing that.”</p> <p>“We probably are,” Sean says. “Rescuing people from the Jailors is difficult, but no one is better practiced at it than us. I don’t want to make promises yet. I’ll need to share your story with some of my comrades. However, I think it’s likely that we’ll be able to help you.”</p> <p>Joy explodes inside me. I have to fight to hold myself together, to keep from breaking down in tears of joy. “Thank you,” I say.</p> <p>“No problem. It’s what we do. Besides, if you can undo mental control like you say you can, it won’t be hard for you to make it worthwhile for us.”</p> <p>“Really? Am I actually that special?”</p> <p>“Absolutely. Mind control is a powerful tool. If you can undo it with a simple conversation, it might be impossible to overstate how useful that is. There are hundreds of magical phenomena that affect the mind, some of which have no known cures. If you can cure them, you may be able to do an immense amount of good, for the general public and for the Hand.”</p> <p>Well, how about that? In this paranormal world, I carry a privileged blessing. That’s such a strange thought. I’m so used to thinking of myself as a hapless child, hiding from an organization that rules the world. But maybe I’m not so hapless. I have power here.</p> <p>I can’t wait to figure out how I’ll use it.</p> <p>“Do you know exactly where the Jailors are holding your brother?” Sean asks.</p> <p>“I assume you mean the Foundation?”</p> <p>“Yes.”</p> <p>“I’ve not heard anyone else call them that. ‘The Jailors.’” I guess it’s fitting, but, what’s up with that?”</p> <p>“The Serpent’s Hand calls things what they are. The true name of a thing has power, even if you don’t use it to cast a spell. Simply refusing to play along with the Jailors’ self-righteous delusions can be a very meaningful gesture.”</p> <p>“I see,” I say. “Well, back to your question, I don’t know where they’re keeping him. I’ve been told Site-17 has the most humans, but I don’t actually know if he’s there.”</p> <p>“I see. Then our first step would be to figure out where he is.”</p> <p>I think for a second. “It occurs to me,” I say, “is it possible that information on Evan’s location is somewhere in the library? If it’s supposed to have every book ever written, would that include the Foundation’s records of where he is?”</p> <p>“The Jailors have ways of shielding their documents to prevent them from ending up in the Library,” Sean says. “Even if they didn’t, it’s unfortunately not possible to use the Library to obtain specific information like that. If Jailor documents recording your brother’s location were in the Library, there would also be countless similar records from other universes, where the Jailors might be keeping him somewhere different.”</p> <p>“Other universes?”</p> <p>Sean nods. “There’s an infinite multiverse, containing just about every variation on the planet Earth that you can imagine.”</p> <p>“So, there’s more of me? And more of my brother?”</p> <p>“Yes. You might meet some of them in the Library, someday.”</p> <p>That means there are more Evans trapped by more SCP Foundations. Infinitely many. The implications of this are staggering, so much so that I decide I have no choice but to shelve the thought for the moment. Rescuing my own Evan is going to be difficult enough. I can think about further heroics once I’ve accomplished that.</p> <p>“Back on topic,” Sean says, “the best way to get the Jailors’ records of where they’re keeping Evan is to steal them from the Jailors themselves.”</p> <p>“How would we do that?”</p> <p>“It’s not that different from taking anything else from them. We just have to break into one of their sites and steal the records from their database. The Jailors are careful with information, so not every site will contain the records we need, but we might be able to make an educated guess as to one that might.”</p> <p>“How?”</p> <p>“They’d keep records relevant to him at facilities that have dealt with him. In your case, I think we should start with the facility closest to where he was taken—which is likely to be where he was first processed after being kidnapped. Even if he hasn’t been back there since, it will contain records of where he was taken from there, and, hopefully, where he is now.”</p> <p>“So, if I give you my address—”</p> <p>“The town is enough. The closest Jailor site to New Wakefield is Site-272. That’s almost certainly where they initially took him, so the records we need should be there. Even if he was processed somewhere else, the Jailors probably see your brother as a very valuable resource. A resource like that isn’t worth anything if you don’t know where it is, so knowledge of his location will hopefully be findable at a lot of sites.”</p> <p>The idea of my brother being a resource sickens me. Sean said my power could do immense good, but what could it do in the hands of people like <em>them</em>? “Alright then,” I say. “How soon can we find those records?”</p> <p>“It might be longer than you would hope.”</p> <p>“Why?”</p> <p>“All of this is assuming more agents of the Hand agree to help you. You seem to hate the Jailors with admirable passion. Are you interested in becoming one of us?”</p> <p>“Yes. You fight the people who took my brother.”</p> <p>“And you’re willing to make a lifelong commitment to our cause?”</p> <p>“Yes. Absolutely. These people, they took my brother because he was special. What he did at the Galaxy Plaza saved dozens of lives. It made him a hero. He should’ve been rewarded for that, but they punished him with a lifetime of imprisonment instead. I will gladly devote my life to fighting the people who did that.”</p> <p>“Alright then. Welcome aboard.” Sean holds out his ungloved hand, and I take it. “You’re going to have to go through some training. We need to make sure you have the skills you need, and that you’re trustworthy and committed to our cause.”</p> <p>“How long?”</p> <p>“Months, to establish yourself and get trained up.”</p> <p>Months? Only months. I was worried he’d say years. “That’s fine,” I say.</p> <p>“Of course, you’ll be expected to join us on the mission yourself.”</p> <p>I smile. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”</p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><strong><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-hub">Series Hub</a></strong></p> <p><a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster">◀◀ First Entry</a> \| <a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-8-theodore-north">◀ Previous Entry</a> \| <a href="/i-didn-t-forget-pt-10-the-serpent-s-hand">Next Entry ▶</a></p> <p><sub><a href="/xhawk77x">More by this Author</a></sub></p> </div> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[=]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-hub\|Series Hub]]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster\|◀◀ First Entry]]] \| [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-8-theodore-north\|◀ Previous Entry]]] \| [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-10-the-serpent-s-hand\|Next Entry ▶]]] ,,[[[xhawk77x\|More by this Author]]],, [[/=]] Present Day I beat Theo back to the apartment. I’m quick about gathering my things, because I want to be gone before he gets here. I stuff a few outfits and toiletries into my suitcase and take an uber to my parents’ house. I consider taking the car for myself, but then Theo would probably come to my house to try and get it, giving him an excuse to see me. I manage to leave the apartment before he arrives. On the way over, I text my mom to tell her I’m coming to stay for a while. She asks me what happened, and I say we’ll talk about it when I get there. Soon enough, I’m in front of my childhood home. Other than my apartment with Theo, this is the only place I’ve ever lived. I rate and tip the uber driver, walk up to the door, and ring the bell. My mom answers immediately. She was waiting for me right next to the door. She’s a tall, red-headed woman, with a mousy face and Evan’s eyes. She glances at my suitcase as she opens the door. I see her concern. “Hey,” I say. “I imagine it’s okay if I stay here for a while?” “What happened?” I want to tell her. I want to tell her the truth. Am I a hypocrite if I don’t? I’m leaving Theo because he wouldn’t tell me the truth. But this is different. Mom wouldn’t believe me if I tried to tell her, and even if she did, there’s nothing she could do to help me rescue Evan. “Theo and I had a fight. Bad enough that I don’t think we’ll recover from it.” She looks at me sadly. “That’s a shame. Do you mind telling me what it was about?” “I… Can I tell you later? Right now, I’d kind of like to get to bed.” “Of course.” She steps back and motions for me to step inside. As soon as I do, she pulls me into a hug. I hug her back. “It’s nice to see you too.” We’re still hugging when dad comes over to greet me as well. I don’t say much to him. I just let Mom repeat what I said. Eventually, the hug ends, and I head upstairs. I walk down the upstairs hall, passing my childhood bedroom and entering the office room. I turn off the lights, and I take a seat in the rolling chair. I look up at the glowing, plastic stars that still cover the ceiling. ----- Six Years Ago In the days following Evan’s kidnapping, I clung to hope that the people who’d taken him wouldn’t keep him forever. Maybe they only needed him for a few days. Maybe after that, they’d pretend to find him buried in the rubble. There was a knock at my bedroom door. I sat up in my bed. My dad opened the door, and both of my parents entered the room. I could see on their faces that this wasn’t good news. Mom’s make-up was smudged by tears. “What is it?” I asked. Mom walked over to the bed and sat down next to me. She took my hand. “Sweetie,” she said, “there’s been news about Evan.” “Did they find him?” I asked, hoping I’d misinterpreted their faces. She nodded. For a second, my heart flew. “His body,” Mom clarified. “They found his body.” “What?” “They’ve confirmed that one of the bodies in the pit matched Evan’s dental records,” Dad said. “They’re sure it’s him.” I shook my head. “No,” I said. “That can’t be right. He has to be alive.” I knew he was alive. I’d seen him. “He’s not, sweetie,” Mom said. “I’m sorry.” “No. No, you don’t understand, I…” only, I couldn’t tell her. I couldn’t tell her anything. I wanted to. I wanted to tell her what those bastards had done. I wanted to ease the incomprehensible sadness she felt. Let her know that her son was alive, right now. But I couldn’t. She wouldn’t believe me. Not over the big, official people with their medical examiners and dental records. The people who had done this to us. Mom squeezed me. I squeezed her back. Dad sat down on the bed, and wrapped his arms around us both. “It’ll be okay,” I said. “No, sweetie,” Mom said. “Not everything ends up okay.” She sobbed again, and I held her tighter. ----- Present Day I’m in the alley where Theo said I’d find a way into “The Wanderer’s Library.” The sounds of the city surround me, honking horns and zooming cars reinforcing the fact that I am, indeed, downtown. Theo said to look for the red brick. All of the bricks are reddish brown, but one of them is particularly vibrant. I crouch in front of it. As quietly as I can, I knock on the brick five times, then yodel. No one is watching me, which is good, because I look like an idiot. The city’s sounds suddenly vanish. In an instant, I’m no longer kneeling on pavement, but hovering a few inches above dark hardwood flooring. I fall and smack my face into said flooring. I scramble to my feet, holding my throbbing head as I look around. I sure do seem to be in a library. The walls here are stories high, and completely covered by well-stocked bookshelves. There’s a patch of brick wall in front of me, about the size of a door. The rest of this place is made of dark wood, from its bookshelves to the arched ceiling above. There is light around me, though I can’t see any source for it. I don’t see any people around, either. I approach a bookshelf. The books are varied. Some look old, some new. Some are giant tomes; others are pamphlets so thin that I can barely see them. Out of curiosity, I take a random book off the shelf. It’s handwritten. I think it’s a journal, but it’s in a language I don’t recognize. I keep scanning the walls as I walk down the hall. Something moves in the corner of my eye. I look up. There’s something climbing on the shelves. “Holy shit!” I say, stumbling back. It looks like a white-furred monkey, around six feet tall, with eight arms sprouting from its back. It has two faces, one on the front of its head, one on the back. It stops and glances down at me with its read face. What the fuck is this thing? What is it going to do? Nothing, apparently. Soon enough, it looks away from me, and moves on. Even with it gone, its strangeness has me frozen for a few more minutes. Theo didn’t say how weird this place would be. I force myself to continue forward. As I do, I scan the shelves on either side of me. Most of the books have English titles, but some of them seem to be in other languages, some of which use scripts I’ve never seen before. I can’t let myself get distracted by the mysteries of this place. I could spend a lifetime reading all these books, but that’s not why I’m here. I’m here on a mission. After some walking, I come to a four-way intersection. At its center is a large statue of a tentacled monster. I look down each hall, trying to figure out which way to go. I should go straight. I should always go straight. So long as I only move in one direction, I can find my way back just by returning the way I came. I keep walking for a long time. I wish I had brought some water. Theo didn’t say the library would be so big. I keep going, though. I need to find someone I can talk to. The next time I see one of the eight-armed monkeys, I try to get its attention, but, just like the last one, it just studies me for a moment, and then swings away. After half an hour or so, I encounter another creature, or rather, a piece of one. Crawling along the ceiling is a small section of what appears to be a giant centipede. Its head and tail are nowhere in sight, its body continuing off into the distance in both directions. It’s about an hour before I see someone who looks like a person perusing one of the shelves. Most of their body is covered by a cloak, but they seem human-shaped, without any extra arms. I run up to them. They turn to look at me. I stop approaching as soon as I see their face. They have an insectoid face made of dark green exoskeleton. Red eyes bulge from either side of their head, and antennae rise from it. They stare at me. I try to form a greeting, but I can’t get the words out. In the end, they’re the first one to speak. “Can I help you?” they ask. Their voice is clicky and nasal. “I…” I stammer. “I take it you’re new here?” the bug asks. “Yes,” I say. “I’m sorry.” “I remember the feeling,” the bug says. “My name’s Ryan.” He holds out his pincer-like hand. After a moment of hesitation, I take it. “Welcome to the Wanderer’s Library. What brings you here?” “I’m looking for the Serpent’s Hand,” I say. “Back at the intersection you just came from, take a left. You’ll find a lounge. Ask around for the Serpent’s Hand there, and you’re sure to find a member.” “Thanks,” I say. I look at him, at this creature that just talked to me. He’s not just a human with special powers, but a creature totally alien to the world I know. How many things like this exist? How many does that Foundation have in containment? How many wonderful things has the Foundation hidden from me—stolen from me—my entire life? ----- Six Years Ago There was nothing I could do to stop them from planning a funeral for Evan. I tried to stay out of the process as much as I could, but Mom and Dad thought I would regret not being involved, so they insisted on having me around to weigh in on all the countless, important decisions that had to be made, like what color his casket should be, and what kinds of flowers it should have on it. “Why do we need to bury him if there’s no body?” I asked. “Because funerals are for the living,” Dad said. “Because he deserves to have his life celebrated.” “Besides, the casket won’t be empty,” Mom added. “Some parts of him were recovered. That’s how he was identified. They will be inside the casket.” Of course, that couldn’t actually be true. Evan was alive. There should be no remains to bury, right? There was a visitation a few days before the funeral. It took place in a large room that looked a lot like a chapel, even though there would be nothing specifically Christian about any of the proceedings. Evan wouldn’t have wanted there to be. The casket lay at the end of the room. It was flanked by bouquets of blue and white flowers. Near the right wall, a montage of photographs of Evan played over a selection of his favorite songs. Mom and Dad had wanted to use a bunch of cliché funeral songs that Evan would have hated, and some of those made it in, but I talked them into also using a few songs he actually liked. Dad was sitting on the frontmost pew, watching the screen. His face was stoic, resolute, not empty of sadness, but not overcome by it, either. Relatives from both sides of the family came from all around to view the closed casket. They spoke with each other. They comforted one another. I sat silently in a corner, away from all of them. Occasionally, one of them would glance sadly at me, but they mostly left me alone. As I sat, it occurred to me that I didn’t have to sit there speculating about whether there were teeth in that dark wooden box. It was right there. I could just look inside. That was enough to lure me out of my corner. I approached the casket. As I reached it, Mom walked up beside me. She put her arm on my shoulder. “It’s hard to believe he’s in there,” she said, wiping a tear. “Yeah,” I said. “It is.” She looked down at me. “You should visit with the family while you’re here,” she said. “We,” she stammered, wiping another tear, “this is a time that we all need to be there for each other.” I didn’t say anything. She was trying to comfort me. I wanted to let her, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t allow myself to be comforted when this tragedy was still something I could undo. Something I had to undo. It was me who eventually broke the silence. “Can I look inside?” I asked. “No,” Mom said, gripping my shoulder tighter. “Please?” I asked. I wanted to see. I wanted to see if there really were a few bits of human skeleton inside that casket. Because if there weren’t, if it was completely empty, that meant for sure that he was alive. “No,” Mom said. “That won’t make any of us feel better.” “Have you seen the teeth?” I asked her. “Do we know that they even bothered to put them in there?” “Of course they did.” “But have you checked?” “Evan, stop it,” she snapped. As soon as she said it, she put her hand to her mouth, her face overcome with mortification. Mom and Dad mixed our names up all the time. It usually didn’t bother me. I always used to find it flattering that they’d mistake me for Evan. Now, though, it wasn’t what anyone wanted to hear. “I’m so sorry,” Mom said. “It’s okay.” She walked away from the casket. I looked at it. I looked over my shoulder, back at my mom. She was sitting with a small cluster of female relatives, aunts and grandmothers, weeping and comforting one another. I went back to my corner. The next time I emerged from it, it was because I had to go to the bathroom. It took me a bit of exploration to find it, but I did. It was a small, white room, with two urinals and two stalls, one larger than the other. As I entered, I heard something in the larger stall. Sobbing. Absolutely uncontrolled sobbing. I recognized the voice. “Dad?” The crying stopped. “I’ll be out in a minute,” he said. “No, it’s fine,” I hurried to assure him. I could see a sliver of him through the gap underneath the stall’s door. Dad wasn’t on the toilet. He was on the ground in the opposite corner. After exiting the bathroom, I walked back over to the casket. Daisy was here, now, along with a few of Evan’s other friends from Spirituality Club. They were talking with my mom. I walked over to the coffin. I looked over my shoulder again. Realistically, there wasn’t going to be a time when I could do this without anyone seeing. I had to just accept that I was going to get in trouble. I lifted the casket’s lid. Inside a clear body bag, there were bones. Human teeth, and a few other fragments of skull, rib, arm, and leg. Worse, bits of dry flesh were still attached to them. Rotting flesh. But for the plastic, I probably would’ve been able to smell it. The sight of all this startled me. Whose bones were those? Whose teeth? Whose skin? They weren’t Evan’s. Evan was alive. The sight of them made me reel back. I pulled my hand away from the lid, causing it to slam back down. The conversation behind me quieted. I looked over my shoulder, to see that everyone was looking at me. Mom stood and walked over to me. She took me firmly by the hand. “I told you not to do that,” she said. “I’m sorry,” I said. She glared at me for a moment, but as she stared, her face softened. She took a deep breath. “Okay,” she said. “You’re forgiven.” She let go of my hand and walked back to the group of relatives she’d been standing with. For a moment, I thought about joining her. I wondered if I’d been losing my mind about all of this. What if it had been a dream? Even if it hadn’t, what if they’d only needed him for a few days? What if those really were his bones in that coffin? But no, that didn’t make any sense. I’d never confused a dream with reality before. They felt different. Those bones must have been fake. Or they were taken from someone else. Either way, they were a trick to make me think he had really died. My brother was alive, and he needed me to rescue him. I wiped my tears and walked back over to my corner. Not long afterward, Daisy came over to it. “Hey,” she said, sitting next to me. “Go away,” I said. “I’m not in the mood to talk right now.” “Are you sure?” I glared at her, too harshly. “Yes.” It startled her. Seeing that it startled her made my face soften. “I’m sorry,” I said. “No, it’s okay.” She got up and left. ----- Present Day Following Ryan’s instructions, it takes me less than an hour to find the lounge. I walk up to the first human I see. He’s small and unimposing, kinda cute, actually, dressed in jeans and a green t-shirt. He’s lying back on one of the couches, reading a thick yellowed tome with a non-english title. It looks Spanish, maybe. Or Latin. or Italian. He holds the book in both hands. His left hand is covered by a thick leather glove. He lowers the book as he realizes I’m approaching him. “Hey,” I say. “I’m looking for the Serpent’s Hand. Do you know where I could find someone from it?” “I’m from it,” he says. “My name is Sean. What leads you to be looking for us?” I hesitate for a moment. Should I tell him everything? Should I be more careful than that? No. These are the people whose help I need. I’m going to have to trust them. “Jerry,” I say. I shake his ungloved hand, then I sit down, and tell him everything. I don’t hold anything back. Sean is attentive and understanding, and he doesn’t seem to mind that I’ve interrupted his reading. He gives me condolences for the loss of my brother. “Thank you,” I say, when I’m done, “for listening. Like I said, I want to rescue my brother. I don’t care how. I’m willing to do whatever it takes. I was told the Serpent’s Hand were the people I should talk to for help doing that.” “We probably are,” Sean says. “Rescuing people from the Jailors is difficult, but no one is better practiced at it than us. I don’t want to make promises yet. I’ll need to share your story with some of my comrades. However, I think it’s likely that we’ll be able to help you.” Joy explodes inside me. I have to fight to hold myself together, to keep from breaking down in tears of joy. “Thank you,” I say. “No problem. It’s what we do. Besides, if you can undo mental control like you say you can, it won’t be hard for you to make it worthwhile for us.” “Really? Am I actually that special?” “Absolutely. Mind control is a powerful tool. If you can undo it with a simple conversation, it might be impossible to overstate how useful that is. There are hundreds of magical phenomena that affect the mind, some of which have no known cures. If you can cure them, you may be able to do an immense amount of good, for the general public and for the Hand.” Well, how about that? In this paranormal world, I carry a privileged blessing. That’s such a strange thought. I’m so used to thinking of myself as a hapless child, hiding from an organization that rules the world. But maybe I’m not so hapless. I have power here. I can’t wait to figure out how I’ll use it. “Do you know exactly where the Jailors are holding your brother?” Sean asks. “I assume you mean the Foundation?” “Yes.” “I’ve not heard anyone else call them that. ‘The Jailors.’” I guess it’s fitting, but, what’s up with that?” “The Serpent’s Hand calls things what they are. The true name of a thing has power, even if you don’t use it to cast a spell. Simply refusing to play along with the Jailors’ self-righteous delusions can be a very meaningful gesture.” “I see,” I say. “Well, back to your question, I don’t know where they’re keeping him. I’ve been told Site-17 has the most humans, but I don’t actually know if he’s there.” “I see. Then our first step would be to figure out where he is.” I think for a second. “It occurs to me,” I say, “is it possible that information on Evan’s location is somewhere in the library? If it’s supposed to have every book ever written, would that include the Foundation’s records of where he is?” “The Jailors have ways of shielding their documents to prevent them from ending up in the Library,” Sean says. “Even if they didn’t, it’s unfortunately not possible to use the Library to obtain specific information like that. If Jailor documents recording your brother’s location were in the Library, there would also be countless similar records from other universes, where the Jailors might be keeping him somewhere different.” “Other universes?” Sean nods. “There’s an infinite multiverse, containing just about every variation on the planet Earth that you can imagine.” “So, there’s more of me? And more of my brother?” “Yes. You might meet some of them in the Library, someday.” That means there are more Evans trapped by more SCP Foundations. Infinitely many. The implications of this are staggering, so much so that I decide I have no choice but to shelve the thought for the moment. Rescuing my own Evan is going to be difficult enough. I can think about further heroics once I’ve accomplished that. “Back on topic,” Sean says, “the best way to get the Jailors’ records of where they’re keeping Evan is to steal them from the Jailors themselves.” “How would we do that?” “It’s not that different from taking anything else from them. We just have to break into one of their sites and steal the records from their database. The Jailors are careful with information, so not every site will contain the records we need, but we might be able to make an educated guess as to one that might.” “How?” “They’d keep records relevant to him at facilities that have dealt with him. In your case, I think we should start with the facility closest to where he was taken—which is likely to be where he was first processed after being kidnapped. Even if he hasn’t been back there since, it will contain records of where he was taken from there, and, hopefully, where he is now.” “So, if I give you my address—” “The town is enough. The closest Jailor site to New Wakefield is Site-272. That’s almost certainly where they initially took him, so the records we need should be there. Even if he was processed somewhere else, the Jailors probably see your brother as a very valuable resource. A resource like that isn’t worth anything if you don’t know where it is, so knowledge of his location will hopefully be findable at a lot of sites.” The idea of my brother being a resource sickens me. Sean said my power could do immense good, but what could it do in the hands of people like //them//? “Alright then,” I say. “How soon can we find those records?” “It might be longer than you would hope.” “Why?” “All of this is assuming more agents of the Hand agree to help you. You seem to hate the Jailors with admirable passion. Are you interested in becoming one of us?” “Yes. You fight the people who took my brother.” “And you’re willing to make a lifelong commitment to our cause?” “Yes. Absolutely. These people, they took my brother because he was special. What he did at the Galaxy Plaza saved dozens of lives. It made him a hero. He should’ve been rewarded for that, but they punished him with a lifetime of imprisonment instead. I will gladly devote my life to fighting the people who did that.” “Alright then. Welcome aboard.” Sean holds out his ungloved hand, and I take it. “You’re going to have to go through some training. We need to make sure you have the skills you need, and that you’re trustworthy and committed to our cause.” “How long?” “Months, to establish yourself and get trained up.” Months? Only months. I was worried he’d say years. “That’s fine,” I say. “Of course, you’ll be expected to join us on the mission yourself.” I smile. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” [[=]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-hub\|Series Hub]]] [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster\|◀◀ First Entry]]] \| [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-8-theodore-north\|◀ Previous Entry]]] \| [[[i-didn-t-forget-pt-10-the-serpent-s-hand\|Next Entry ▶]]] ,,[[[xhawk77x\|More by this Author]]],, [[/=]]	2023-11-17T04:00:00	[ "first-person", "mystery", "serpents-hand", "tale", "wanderers-library" ]	I Didn't Forget Pt 9: The Wanderer's Library - SCP Foundation	10	[ "i-didn-t-forget-hub", "i-didn-t-forget-pt-1-the-galaxy-plaza-disaster", "i-didn-t-forget-pt-8-theodore-north", "i-didn-t-forget-pt-10-the-serpent-s-hand", "xhawk77x" ]	[ "wanderers-library-hub", "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "serpent-s-hand-hub", "i-didn-t-forget-hub" ]	[]	1451414059	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/i-didn-t-forget-pt-9-the-wanderer-s-library
i-died-for-your-everyone-pings	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p><strong>24/08/2023</strong></p> <p><em>I wasn’t planning on doing this at all, but my Father told me that since I seemed to have troubles learning to use the Internet, maybe it was better for me to write about my progress somewhere, which is why I’m now starting this journal.</em></p> <p><em>Admittedly, maybe I was too in-your-face in my first attempts (even if it still surprises me, I’m seeing dozens of people loudly wishing to know the truth about a lot of things and I only did just that so why are they suddenly trying to rationalize it and act like I’m lying? This clearly ain’t it, chief, definitely). But this will not be enough to demoralize me! The Internet, from what I understand, is a gigantic place and, with time and patience, I will manage to find new followers. What I just need is to take a more subtle approach and to play more by the rules of the websites I visit.</em></p> <p><em>This is less « Thug Life » than I expected, but if I must do this to have results, then so be it! Now, I just have to learn more.</em></p> <p><strong>03/09/2023</strong></p> <p><em>Created an account on a platform named Discord (this name is another big yikes in my book). After several hours, I managed to find a server dedicated to the practice of « roleplaying ». It was perfect, since this unjust accusation of roleplaying hasn’t left my mind. From what I understand, people all gather around and create characters before playing various scenarios as said characters. I’m not really sure what to think of it. On one part, they are wasting time they could use following my teachings. But on another part, they seem to really have fun and be happy with it, which is quite lit, in my opinion!</em></p> <p><em>From my investigations, these servers can be on Discord but there’s also roleplaying made on several high-profile video games. My computer is pretty rustic and those games need a lot of resources, so it won’t be possible for me to use them to share my teachings. But it’s far from Joever! There’s still the Discord servers. But now, I will need to create a character if I want to be able to play with others. Maybe befriending them will be a more efficient method.</em></p> <p><strong>24/09/2023</strong></p> <p><em>It didn’t work. At first, everything went well, people seemed to love my character (despite some telling me that his devotion to my Father was too big a part of his characterization. I don’t really know what they’re talking about, isn’t it normal for someone to recite sentences from the Gospels before doing something?) but when I took it to private messages and revealed my identity to users I judged trustworthy, some of them thought I was the leader of a cult pretending to be Jesus and reported me to Discord, which led to my ban.</em></p> <p><em>So far, there’s nothing poggers about what is happening. Now, I will have to try again. Or find another place to talk.</em></p> <p><strong>01/10/2023</strong></p> <p><em>If there’s something I can confidently say, it’s that most of those forums I look into are burning my eyes. Who thought this was a good idea to put such bright colors everywhere? At least, back in my day, there weren’t such frivolities when my homies Mark, Matthew, Luke & John were writing their respective Gospels ! Just a simple, efficient presentation who is still, to this day, pure fire, if I do say so myself!</em></p> <p><em>For the rest, I didn’t have much success, so far.</em></p> <p><strong>15/10/2023</strong></p> <p><em>I’m starting to believe I fell into a very deep rabbit hole. Originally, I decided to rather visit websites already dedicated to my Father but after days and days of looking at it… I’m really starting to consider taking another mental health break.</em></p> <p><em>For sure, those websites present themselves as dedicated to my teachings and there’s a lot of quotes from my book that are peppered all over it but the more I look at it, the more I come to realize they don’t really talk about me or what I’m saying, instead, they talk about people they don’t like or how I apparently told them to do this thing or this other thing. 95% of the time, I don’t remember having said it (and I can’t even blame it on lean or the Grimace Shake messing with my memories, none of those things were invented yet).</em></p> <p><em>I think I’ll stick to speaking directly with non-believers, fr fr.</em></p> <p><strong>23/10/2023</strong></p> <p><em>Break over. Let’s get back to it.</em></p> <p><strong>16/11/2023</strong></p> <p><em>Almost one month since the last entry but there’s a good reason for it. I think I actually found a very interesting road to follow. Since I first contacted the members of this SCP Foundation, their use of the word « anomalous » to refer to me has been something that hasn’t left my mind and I wished to know more about what this word meant.</em></p> <p><em>As usual (I think I have to expect it, at this point), research was at first pretty hard and I had to look at a lot of misinterpretations and lies. Then, I ended up discovering a strange forum named « Parawatch ». From what they say, it seems to be a place when paranormal enthusiasts and amateur writers are congregating to share stories and their experiences with what surely enters under this term of « anomalous ».</em></p> <p><em>Some of these phenomena, I already knew about, but since it wasn’t something I talked about a lot with my Father, there’s also dozens and dozens of new ones I heard about for the first time. To this day, I still don’t know if learning about that is more bothersome or based.</em></p> <p><em>After some weeks, I managed to contact a user named « Three6serpent ». They seemed enthusiastic enough about the anomalous and when I revealed my true identity to them, they didn’t reject my claim. Instead, they asked me what Jesus exactly was I. I admit that I failed to see what they meant. After some days of chatting, they told me about a place called « The Wanderers’ Library » and invited me to meet them there.</em></p> <p><em>I’m not really sure of what could happen but if I can manage to convince others to follow me, well, I might finally have an even bigger crew than before!</em></p> <p><strong>02/12/2023</strong></p> <p><em>We don’t really know how big the world is. I’m certain of it, now.</em></p> <p><strong>23/12/2023</strong></p> <p><em>Thanks to my constant conversations with Three6serpent, I discovered a social media platform named Void. From what I understand, this is a website that acts as a Twitter of sorts for the anomalous world. This discovery and my frequent travels to the Library made me realize that there are so many lost sheeps that, somehow, I managed to not know about.</em></p> <p><em>My new goal is now clear and I have to say, I’m pretty excited to get to work! Not to mention that, since it’s the anomalous world, it will be way easier for me to prove my identity to them. So, it’s win-win!</em></p> <p><em>I can already predict that the most based days are in front of us, now.</em></p> <p><strong>24/12/2023</strong></p> <p><em>Got banned from Void. Apparently, followers of other deities didn’t take kindly to my immense swag. Now, I have to wait a bit. Again.</em></p> <p><em>Happy celebrations to me, I guess.</em></p> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/i-died-for-your-everyone-pings">Thou Shalt Not Protest When Thou Take the "L"</a>" by The Pighead, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/i-died-for-your-everyone-pings">https://scpwiki.com/i-died-for-your-everyone-pings</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module rate]] [[/>]] 24/08/2023 //I wasn’t planning on doing this at all, but my Father told me that since I seemed to have troubles learning to use the Internet, maybe it was better for me to write about my progress somewhere, which is why I’m now starting this journal.// //Admittedly, maybe I was too in-your-face in my first attempts (even if it still surprises me, I’m seeing dozens of people loudly wishing to know the truth about a lot of things and I only did just that so why are they suddenly trying to rationalize it and act like I’m lying? This clearly ain’t it, chief, definitely). But this will not be enough to demoralize me! The Internet, from what I understand, is a gigantic place and, with time and patience, I will manage to find new followers. What I just need is to take a more subtle approach and to play more by the rules of the websites I visit.// //This is less « Thug Life » than I expected, but if I must do this to have results, then so be it! Now, I just have to learn more.// 03/09/2023 //Created an account on a platform named Discord (this name is another big yikes in my book). After several hours, I managed to find a server dedicated to the practice of « roleplaying ». It was perfect, since this unjust accusation of roleplaying hasn’t left my mind. From what I understand, people all gather around and create characters before playing various scenarios as said characters. I’m not really sure what to think of it. On one part, they are wasting time they could use following my teachings. But on another part, they seem to really have fun and be happy with it, which is quite lit, in my opinion!// //From my investigations, these servers can be on Discord but there’s also roleplaying made on several high-profile video games. My computer is pretty rustic and those games need a lot of resources, so it won’t be possible for me to use them to share my teachings. But it’s far from Joever! There’s still the Discord servers. But now, I will need to create a character if I want to be able to play with others. Maybe befriending them will be a more efficient method.// 24/09/2023 //It didn’t work. At first, everything went well, people seemed to love my character (despite some telling me that his devotion to my Father was too big a part of his characterization. I don’t really know what they’re talking about, isn’t it normal for someone to recite sentences from the Gospels before doing something?) but when I took it to private messages and revealed my identity to users I judged trustworthy, some of them thought I was the leader of a cult pretending to be Jesus and reported me to Discord, which led to my ban.// //So far, there’s nothing poggers about what is happening. Now, I will have to try again. Or find another place to talk.// 01/10/2023 //If there’s something I can confidently say, it’s that most of those forums I look into are burning my eyes. Who thought this was a good idea to put such bright colors everywhere? At least, back in my day, there weren’t such frivolities when my homies Mark, Matthew, Luke & John were writing their respective Gospels ! Just a simple, efficient presentation who is still, to this day, pure fire, if I do say so myself!// //For the rest, I didn’t have much success, so far.// 15/10/2023 //I’m starting to believe I fell into a very deep rabbit hole. Originally, I decided to rather visit websites already dedicated to my Father but after days and days of looking at it… I’m really starting to consider taking another mental health break.// //For sure, those websites present themselves as dedicated to my teachings and there’s a lot of quotes from my book that are peppered all over it but the more I look at it, the more I come to realize they don’t really talk about me or what I’m saying, instead, they talk about people they don’t like or how I apparently told them to do this thing or this other thing. 95% of the time, I don’t remember having said it (and I can’t even blame it on lean or the Grimace Shake messing with my memories, none of those things were invented yet).// //I think I’ll stick to speaking directly with non-believers, fr fr.// 23/10/2023 //Break over. Let’s get back to it.// 16/11/2023 //Almost one month since the last entry but there’s a good reason for it. I think I actually found a very interesting road to follow. Since I first contacted the members of this SCP Foundation, their use of the word « anomalous » to refer to me has been something that hasn’t left my mind and I wished to know more about what this word meant.// //As usual (I think I have to expect it, at this point), research was at first pretty hard and I had to look at a lot of misinterpretations and lies. Then, I ended up discovering a strange forum named « Parawatch ». From what they say, it seems to be a place when paranormal enthusiasts and amateur writers are congregating to share stories and their experiences with what surely enters under this term of « anomalous ».// //Some of these phenomena, I already knew about, but since it wasn’t something I talked about a lot with my Father, there’s also dozens and dozens of new ones I heard about for the first time. To this day, I still don’t know if learning about that is more bothersome or based.// //After some weeks, I managed to contact a user named « Three6serpent ». They seemed enthusiastic enough about the anomalous and when I revealed my true identity to them, they didn’t reject my claim. Instead, they asked me what Jesus exactly was I. I admit that I failed to see what they meant. After some days of chatting, they told me about a place called « The Wanderers’ Library » and invited me to meet them there.// //I’m not really sure of what could happen but if I can manage to convince others to follow me, well, I might finally have an even bigger crew than before!// 02/12/2023 //We don’t really know how big the world is. I’m certain of it, now.// 23/12/2023 //Thanks to my constant conversations with Three6serpent, I discovered a social media platform named Void. From what I understand, this is a website that acts as a Twitter of sorts for the anomalous world. This discovery and my frequent travels to the Library made me realize that there are so many lost sheeps that, somehow, I managed to not know about.// //My new goal is now clear and I have to say, I’m pretty excited to get to work! Not to mention that, since it’s the anomalous world, it will be way easier for me to prove my identity to them. So, it’s win-win!// //I can already predict that the most based days are in front of us, now.// 24/12/2023 //Got banned from Void. Apparently, followers of other deities didn’t take kindly to my immense swag. Now, I have to wait a bit. Again.// //Happy celebrations to me, I guess.// [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-12-29T20:10:00	[ "_licensebox", "art-exchange", "comedy", "slice-of-life", "tale" ]	Thou Shalt Not Protest When Thou Take the "L" - SCP Foundation	12	[ "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "art-exchange-hub" ]	[]	1451997709	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/i-died-for-your-everyone-pings
i-dream-of-trains	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=1&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Acreepypasta/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <ul class="creditRate"> <li class="rateBox folded"> <div class="rate-box-with-credit-button"> <div class="creditButton foldable-list-container"> <p><a href="javascript:;"></a></p> </div> </div> <div id="u-credit-view"> <div class="fader foldable-list-container"><a href="javascript:;">close</a></div> <div class="modalcontainer"> <div class="modalbox"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2><span>Info</span></h2> </div> <hr/> <div class="close-credits foldable-list-container"><a href="javascript:;">X</a></div> <div class="credit first"> <p style="text-align: center;">I Dream of Trains</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Author:</strong> <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/barbarous-bread" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(6880816); return false;"><img alt="Barbarous Bread" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=6880816&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1725248116" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=6880816)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/barbarous-bread" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(6880816); return false;">Barbarous Bread</a></span></p> <p>I really enjoyed writing this. This story was loosely based on high school me wandering around at night and being a hoodlum. Hope you enjoy!</p> </div> <hr/> </div> </div> </div> </li> </ul> <div style="text-align: right;"> <h6 id="toc0"><span>by <a href="/barbarous-bread-box">Barbarous_Bread</a></span></h6> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="parapost"> <p><span style="color: red"><strong>cloud-walker2</strong></span> 8/14/2014 (Thu) 23:17:47 #54118855</p> <hr/> <p>There is a set of train tracks that runs through my hometown. The tracks only go over one road. Next to the tracks there is a bank. In front of the bank is a bench.</p> <div class="block quote"> <div class="scp-image-block block-right" style="width:25 em;"><img alt="Tracks.jpg" class="image" src="http://scp-sandbox-3.wikidot.com/local--files/mycology-royalty/Tracks.jpg"/> <div class="scp-image-caption"> <p>I miss it.</p> </div> </div> </div> <p>Back in high school, a couple of my friends and I liked to visit that bench when we went on late night walks. The entire town was still and quiet, empty and inviting, an end on the edge of becoming a beginning.</p> <p>We'd usually end up at that bench in front of the bank beside the tracks. We would sit there for a while talking about nothing and then resume our wandering.</p> <p>One night while we sat on the bench we saw a man walking along the tracks toward us.</p> <p>While we discussed whether or not to vacate our bench, the sound of the train horn started to roll toward us.</p> <p>I liked the sound of trains passing by.</p> <p>The rattle of the metal wheels against the metal tracks. The whooshing of air as it moved out of the train's way. Those sounds let me know that what was going to happen next was something familiar.</p> <p>The noise was getting closer. He just stood there on the tracks.</p> <p>Watching us watch him.</p> <p>My safe noises were getting louder and louder.</p> <p>Then without a moment’s hesitation, the train obliterated him.</p> <p>The sound of someone turning into a paste rings in your ear for a while. I could feel his tissues pulling away from his bones while they snapped apart.</p> <p>That was the last time we went on a late night walk.</p> <p>The air was the same, the tracks were the same, the town was the same. But now all of the good was buried beneath a nightmare. We wouldn't be able to go back with those sights and sounds lodged in our skulls.</p> <p>James went home.</p> <p>David and I went back to his house, smoked some weed, and played on his Xbox for a few more hours trying to forget and went to bed.</p> <p>In the morning we woke up to heavy knocking at the front door. David's dad answered the door. The cops told him that they needed to talk to us.</p> <p>They told us that the conductor called saying that he hit someone, but they couldn't find the body. The bank's ATM camera showed us walking toward the tracks shortly before it happened, but the tracks were out of frame so they couldn't see where the body went.</p> <p>We told them everything that I just told you.</p> <p>Then they said that they went to James' house first, but James’ parents said that he didn't come home last night. No one knew where he was. They wanted to know if we knew.</p> <p>We did.</p> <p>I’ve never told any one this before, but there was no random man. That was the lie that David and I would tell the cop and everyone else about what happened.</p> <p>In truth while we were on the bench, James got quiet. He walked out onto the tracks in front of the train. Then our best friend was gone.</p> <p>We didn’t tell anyone because we thought that everyone would think we killed him. James was a good kid. He was my first friend in high school. He gave me a sense of comfort and kindness. No one would think that the we were telling the truth, so the truth stayed between us.</p> <p>They never actually found his body, or any parts of it. His funeral had an empty casket. Each of us felt like we were walking through a void that day, and for a long time after.</p> <p>I spent less and less time with David. Every time that we were together I could only think about James and that night. I’d hear the rattling and the pop.</p> <p>My soul had a hole in it that I knew would never be filled, so I tried to pave it over as best I could. I went to school, got a degree, and now I am an engineer. I got a nice girlfriend and an okay apartment.</p> <p>But that hole is still there. I can feel the edges of it buried beneath new memories.</p> <p>Yesterday was the fifth anniversary of that night. The night my naivety got wrapped up in scar tissue and thrown away.</p> <p>I commemorated it by going back to the bench in front of the bank beside the tracks.</p> <p>I wanted to try and see if I could poke a hole through the scar to let a little bit of joy out. I tried to remember some of the good times we had in high school. Three friends that were there for one another, that loved one another.</p> <p>I went over to the tracks. I walked down them a ways from the road to leave behind a note and some flowers for James. Corny, but I didn’t know what else to do.</p> <p>When I got there it wasn't that late, around 11, and it was a little rainy, but not too much, and it was dark, but I could still down the tracks.</p> <p>I set the flowers down and planted a cross with my note by the tracks a little bit off of the road.</p> <p>The tracks started to vibrate so I started to walk back toward the road.</p> <p>Silent stillness filled the air around me that the train was soon to take away.</p> <p>I looked back and the bench beside the tracks in front of the bank was now occupied.</p> <p>An outline of a memory sat there.</p> <p>No part of me felt real. His eyes locked onto mine.</p> <p>The rattling grew louder.</p> <p>I couldn't move. The world became a dream.</p> <p>He walked toward me and I was frozen.</p> <p>The whooshing grew louder.</p> <p>The horn blasted.</p> <p>I was frozen.</p> <p>He shoved me.</p> <p>I fell beside the tracks only to hear him fall apart again.</p> </div> <hr/> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/></p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">More by Barbarous_Bread</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">More by Barbarous_Bread</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <table class="wiki-content-table"> <tr> <th>Article</th> <th>Rating</th> <th>Comments</th> <th>Creation Date</th> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/scp-7466">SCP-7466</a></td> <td>18</td> <td>5</td> <td><span class="odate time_1690809624 format_%25e%20%25b%20%25Y%2C%20%25H%3A%25M%7Cagohover">31 Jul 2023 13:20</span></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/scp-7826">SCP-7826</a></td> <td>24</td> <td>3</td> <td><span class="odate time_1690207288 format_%25e%20%25b%20%25Y%2C%20%25H%3A%25M%7Cagohover">24 Jul 2023 14:01</span></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/scp-7252">SCP-7252</a></td> <td>66</td> <td>18</td> <td><span class="odate time_1687525811 format_%25e%20%25b%20%25Y%2C%20%25H%3A%25M%7Cagohover">23 Jun 2023 13:10</span></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/i-dream-of-trains">I Dream of Trains</a></td> <td>14</td> <td>0</td> <td><span class="odate time_1686584589 format_%25e%20%25b%20%25Y%2C%20%25H%3A%25M%7Cagohover">12 Jun 2023 15:43</span></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/scp-6855">SCP-6855</a></td> <td>28</td> <td>1</td> <td><span class="odate time_1649088620 format_%25e%20%25b%20%25Y%2C%20%25H%3A%25M%7Cagohover">04 Apr 2022 16:10</span></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/barbarous-bread-box">Barbarous Bread Box</a></td> <td>26</td> <td>0</td> <td><span class="odate time_1648145116 format_%25e%20%25b%20%25Y%2C%20%25H%3A%25M%7Cagohover">24 Mar 2022 18:05</span></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/scp-6680">SCP-6680</a></td> <td>29</td> <td>9</td> <td><span class="odate time_1648043224 format_%25e%20%25b%20%25Y%2C%20%25H%3A%25M%7Cagohover">23 Mar 2022 13:47</span></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/scp-6252">SCP-6252</a></td> <td>33</td> <td>8</td> <td><span class="odate time_1646165445 format_%25e%20%25b%20%25Y%2C%20%25H%3A%25M%7Cagohover">01 Mar 2022 20:10</span></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/scp-5414">SCP-5414</a></td> <td>54</td> <td>8</td> <td><span class="odate time_1604674564 format_%25e%20%25b%20%25Y%2C%20%25H%3A%25M%7Cagohover">06 Nov 2020 14:56</span></td> </tr> </table> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/i-dream-of-trains">I Dream of Trains</a>" by Barbarous Bread, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/i-dream-of-trains">https://scpwiki.com/i-dream-of-trains</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> Tracks<br/> <strong>Name:</strong> 2010-12-21 - 100L4379<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> Clem<br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC BY-SA 2.0<br/> <strong>Source Link:</strong> <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/saturne/5286110564/">Flickr</a></p> </blockquote> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:creepypasta">:scp-wiki:theme:creepypasta</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:toggle-sidebar">:scp-wiki:component:toggle-sidebar</a>]] [[module CSS]] #page-title{display:none} [[/module]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/info:start">:scp-wiki:info:start</a>]] = I Dream of Trains = Author: [[user Barbarous_Bread]] I really enjoyed writing this. This story was loosely based on high school me wandering around at night and being a hoodlum. Hope you enjoy! [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/info:end">:scp-wiki:info:end</a>]] [[>]] ++++++ by [[[barbarous-bread-box\|Barbarous_Bread]]] [[/>]] @@ @@ [[div class="parapost"]] ##red\|cloud-walker2## 8/14/2014 (Thu) 23:17:47 #54118855 ----- There is a set of train tracks that runs through my hometown. The tracks only go over one road. Next to the tracks there is a bank. In front of the bank is a bench. [[div class="block quote"]] [[include <a href="/component:image-block">component:image-block</a> \| name=http://scp-sandbox-3.wikidot.com/local--files/mycology-royalty/Tracks.jpg \| caption=I miss it. \| width=25 em \| align=right]] [[/div]] Back in high school, a couple of my friends and I liked to visit that bench when we went on late night walks. The entire town was still and quiet, empty and inviting, an end on the edge of becoming a beginning. We'd usually end up at that bench in front of the bank beside the tracks. We would sit there for a while talking about nothing and then resume our wandering. One night while we sat on the bench we saw a man walking along the tracks toward us. While we discussed whether or not to vacate our bench, the sound of the train horn started to roll toward us. I liked the sound of trains passing by. The rattle of the metal wheels against the metal tracks. The whooshing of air as it moved out of the train's way. Those sounds let me know that what was going to happen next was something familiar. The noise was getting closer. He just stood there on the tracks. Watching us watch him. My safe noises were getting louder and louder. Then without a moment’s hesitation, the train obliterated him. The sound of someone turning into a paste rings in your ear for a while. I could feel his tissues pulling away from his bones while they snapped apart. That was the last time we went on a late night walk. The air was the same, the tracks were the same, the town was the same. But now all of the good was buried beneath a nightmare. We wouldn't be able to go back with those sights and sounds lodged in our skulls. James went home. David and I went back to his house, smoked some weed, and played on his Xbox for a few more hours trying to forget and went to bed. In the morning we woke up to heavy knocking at the front door. David's dad answered the door. The cops told him that they needed to talk to us. They told us that the conductor called saying that he hit someone, but they couldn't find the body. The bank's ATM camera showed us walking toward the tracks shortly before it happened, but the tracks were out of frame so they couldn't see where the body went. We told them everything that I just told you. Then they said that they went to James' house first, but James’ parents said that he didn't come home last night. No one knew where he was. They wanted to know if we knew. We did. I’ve never told any one this before, but there was no random man. That was the lie that David and I would tell the cop and everyone else about what happened. In truth while we were on the bench, James got quiet. He walked out onto the tracks in front of the train. Then our best friend was gone. We didn’t tell anyone because we thought that everyone would think we killed him. James was a good kid. He was my first friend in high school. He gave me a sense of comfort and kindness. No one would think that the we were telling the truth, so the truth stayed between us. They never actually found his body, or any parts of it. His funeral had an empty casket. Each of us felt like we were walking through a void that day, and for a long time after. I spent less and less time with David. Every time that we were together I could only think about James and that night. I’d hear the rattling and the pop. My soul had a hole in it that I knew would never be filled, so I tried to pave it over as best I could. I went to school, got a degree, and now I am an engineer. I got a nice girlfriend and an okay apartment. But that hole is still there. I can feel the edges of it buried beneath new memories. Yesterday was the fifth anniversary of that night. The night my naivety got wrapped up in scar tissue and thrown away. I commemorated it by going back to the bench in front of the bank beside the tracks. I wanted to try and see if I could poke a hole through the scar to let a little bit of joy out. I tried to remember some of the good times we had in high school. Three friends that were there for one another, that loved one another. I went over to the tracks. I walked down them a ways from the road to leave behind a note and some flowers for James. Corny, but I didn’t know what else to do. When I got there it wasn't that late, around 11, and it was a little rainy, but not too much, and it was dark, but I could still down the tracks. I set the flowers down and planted a cross with my note by the tracks a little bit off of the road. The tracks started to vibrate so I started to walk back toward the road. Silent stillness filled the air around me that the train was soon to take away. I looked back and the bench beside the tracks in front of the bank was now occupied. An outline of a memory sat there. No part of me felt real. His eyes locked onto mine. The rattling grew louder. I couldn't move. The world became a dream. He walked toward me and I was frozen. The whooshing grew louder. The horn blasted. I was frozen. He shoved me. I fell beside the tracks only to hear him fall apart again. [[/div]] ----- @@ @@ [[=]] [[module Rate]] [[collapsible show="More by Barbarous_Bread" hide="More by Barbarous_Bread"]] @@ @@ [[module ListPages created_by="barbarous_bread" perPage="20" separate="no" order="Creation Date desc" prependLine="\|\|~ Article \|\|~ Rating \|\|~ Comments \|\|~ Creation Date \|\|"]] \|\| %%title_linked%% \|\| %%rating%% \|\| %%comments%% \|\| %%created_at%% \|\| [[/module]] @@ @@ [[/collapsible]] [[/=]] @@ @@ [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] ===== > Filename:* Tracks > Name: 2010-12-21 - 100L4379 > Author: Clem > License: CC BY-SA 2.0 > Source Link: [https://www.flickr.com/photos/saturne/5286110564/ Flickr] ===== [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-06-12T15:43:00	[ "_cc", "_licensebox", "parawatch", "tale" ]	I Dream of Trains - SCP Foundation	14	[ "barbarous-bread-box", "scp-7466", "scp-7826", "scp-7252", "scp-6855", "scp-6680", "scp-6252", "scp-5414", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "parawatch-hub" ]	[ "http://scp-sandbox-3.wikidot.com/local--files/mycology-royalty/Tracks.jpg" ]	1448457982	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/i-dream-of-trains
i-hear-a-bang	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p>i cry out in splitting pain and i plummet to the ground and i try to grab<br/> my desk for support but i just end up bringing a ballpoint pen and<br/> the small framed photo of me and my wife standing in front of<br/> niagara falls on our fifth anniversary down with me and as i<br/> hit the stiff gray carpet i turn around and look up and i<br/> think i see god himself looming over and judging me<br/> for all of the good people i sent to test chambers<br/> over the years knowing that they would almost<br/> certainly die and part of me wants to beg him<br/> for forgiveness and mercy even though i am<br/> unworthy but another part of me always<br/> knew that this would happen when i<br/> joined the foundation and accepted<br/> it and is more sad that god has<br/> come for me while i am alone<br/> in this stuffy office and not<br/> in bed next to my wife or<br/> taking in the beauty of<br/> a great waterfall as it<br/> crashes down<br/> before<br/> me.</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>i stubbed my fucking toe.</p> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/i-hear-a-bang">i hear a bang</a>" by UncannyClown276, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/i-hear-a-bang">https://scpwiki.com/i-hear-a-bang</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] i cry out in splitting pain and i plummet to the ground and i try to grab my desk for support but i just end up bringing a ballpoint pen and the small framed photo of me and my wife standing in front of niagara falls on our fifth anniversary down with me and as i hit the stiff gray carpet i turn around and look up and i think i see god himself looming over and judging me for all of the good people i sent to test chambers over the years knowing that they would almost certainly die and part of me wants to beg him for forgiveness and mercy even though i am unworthy but another part of me always knew that this would happen when i joined the foundation and accepted it and is more sad that god has come for me while i am alone in this stuffy office and not in bed next to my wife or taking in the beauty of a great waterfall as it crashes down before me. @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ i stubbed my fucking toe. [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] [!-- N/A (No Images) --] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-01-03T00:42:00	[ "_licensebox", "coldpostcon", "poetry", "tale" ]	i hear a bang - SCP Foundation	66	[ "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "archived:shortest-pages-by-month-2023", "coldpostcon" ]	[]	1445377607	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/i-hear-a-bang
i-loved-you-like-the-sun	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p>It's beautiful here.</p> <p>It's the sun above my head, it's the grass behind my hair. It's the wind tickling my nose.</p> <p>I think I smell lavenders. I think a bit of your perfume is still on my shirt. The heat from around me prickles like your fingers after you bite your nails. I think it's making the scents evaporate.</p> <p>I can't feel my body. I can feel myself going cold, but my blood is unbearably warm. I'm supposed to be scorching under the midday cloudless sky, but it's icey. Somehow I feel my wedding ring, but not my fingers. I think that's the last of my heat receptors. I hope our names aren't scratched off.</p> <p>I wish I told you everything.</p> <p>I wish I at least told you more.</p> <p>I've been in your orbit for years upon years, and you've been my center of gravity. We've walked the same centrifugal force, and we used to lay down just like this. Just like this. Bellies full of sandwiches and sugary juice. You never took a compliment for either, even when I told one of my very rare truths to you— that your soft bread with egg salad filling was my favourite food. Too simple. Too simple, you said, and you smile and laugh and dodge every bit of praise I try to press into your palms and you're as radiant as what my corneas feel blasted off in this field. I want your face to burn behind my eyelids forever.</p> <p>I'm so over. We're so over.</p> <p>I remember you asking once, and only once, what I was doing. We were just married, honeymoon at a safehouse in Majalengka. Candied citrus peels, slightly transparent, like stained glass cubes in a little bowl. Dusklight through coloured sugar. Your kisses were so sweet. You asked me what the military had me do that made you restitch a gash on what was supposed to be our wedding night. I remember. I— it's fading, I remember. I think. I felt surprised you asked that then and not when you were wiping my wounds clean. When you packed on gauze. When you made sure your rounds the following week always passed the ward I was in.</p> <p>I wish I told you everything.</p> <p>I wish I told you more.</p> <p>I'm so sorry I told you it was secret. I'm so sorry I didn't listen to you. I'm so sorry everything piled onto this. I'm so sorry for running into the line of fire. I'm so sorry for wasting your perfume. I'm so sorry that even my body will be secret. I'm so sorry that lavender doesn't stop the scent of iron. I'm so sorry there'll be nothing left to sew together. I'm so sorry I have nothing to show for my lies.</p> <p>I'm still surprised you put up with all that, and me, and this, and the lies on top of my own that will tell you how I didn't die. It happens all the time here. I hope you never find your way into this veil of deception. I hope when you get here they'll finally tell you the truth.</p> <p>I wonder if they'll give you my ring. You'll be in my orbit because I've been in yours. Did you know all precious metals came from two colliding stars? The sun is a star and if we had two that collided we would die before I could plan a wedding with solid gold ornaments. But my unborn spirit would've at least spared a thought about it, even if two suns together would burn and spell our doom.</p> <p>I think I'd rather be the moon. So full of shadows, with a dark side you'll never see in your brilliance. You made me shine despite the impossibility of me being radiant myself. I'm most unlike you, and you love me. I love you.</p> <p>I wish I told you everything.</p> <p>I wish I told you more.</p> <p>I wish you could hear my last "I love you."</p> <p>I wish I could even hear myself.</p> <p>I wish I could stare at the sun forever.</p> <p>I wish the darkness would stop seeping in.</p> <p>I wish I were more you than me.</p> <p>I lo</p> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/i-loved-you-like-the-sun">i loved you like the sun</a>" by RuraScarlet, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/i-loved-you-like-the-sun">https://scpwiki.com/i-loved-you-like-the-sun</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] It's beautiful here. It's the sun above my head, it's the grass behind my hair. It's the wind tickling my nose. I think I smell lavenders. I think a bit of your perfume is still on my shirt. The heat from around me prickles like your fingers after you bite your nails. I think it's making the scents evaporate. I can't feel my body. I can feel myself going cold, but my blood is unbearably warm. I'm supposed to be scorching under the midday cloudless sky, but it's icey. Somehow I feel my wedding ring, but not my fingers. I think that's the last of my heat receptors. I hope our names aren't scratched off. I wish I told you everything. I wish I at least told you more. I've been in your orbit for years upon years, and you've been my center of gravity. We've walked the same centrifugal force, and we used to lay down just like this. Just like this. Bellies full of sandwiches and sugary juice. You never took a compliment for either, even when I told one of my very rare truths to you— that your soft bread with egg salad filling was my favourite food. Too simple. Too simple, you said, and you smile and laugh and dodge every bit of praise I try to press into your palms and you're as radiant as what my corneas feel blasted off in this field. I want your face to burn behind my eyelids forever. I'm so over. We're so over. I remember you asking once, and only once, what I was doing. We were just married, honeymoon at a safehouse in Majalengka. Candied citrus peels, slightly transparent, like stained glass cubes in a little bowl. Dusklight through coloured sugar. Your kisses were so sweet. You asked me what the military had me do that made you restitch a gash on what was supposed to be our wedding night. I remember. I— it's fading, I remember. I think. I felt surprised you asked that then and not when you were wiping my wounds clean. When you packed on gauze. When you made sure your rounds the following week always passed the ward I was in. I wish I told you everything. I wish I told you more. I'm so sorry I told you it was secret. I'm so sorry I didn't listen to you. I'm so sorry everything piled onto this. I'm so sorry for running into the line of fire. I'm so sorry for wasting your perfume. I'm so sorry that even my body will be secret. I'm so sorry that lavender doesn't stop the scent of iron. I'm so sorry there'll be nothing left to sew together. I'm so sorry I have nothing to show for my lies. I'm still surprised you put up with all that, and me, and this, and the lies on top of my own that will tell you how I didn't die. It happens all the time here. I hope you never find your way into this veil of deception. I hope when you get here they'll finally tell you the truth. I wonder if they'll give you my ring. You'll be in my orbit because I've been in yours. Did you know all precious metals came from two colliding stars? The sun is a star and if we had two that collided we would die before I could plan a wedding with solid gold ornaments. But my unborn spirit would've at least spared a thought about it, even if two suns together would burn and spell our doom. I think I'd rather be the moon. So full of shadows, with a dark side you'll never see in your brilliance. You made me shine despite the impossibility of me being radiant myself. I'm most unlike you, and you love me. I love you. I wish I told you everything. I wish I told you more. I wish you could hear my last "I love you." I wish I could even hear myself. I wish I could stare at the sun forever. I wish the darkness would stop seeping in. I wish I were more you than me. I lo [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-10-26T19:10:00	[ "_licensebox", "bittersweet", "first-person", "romance", "tale" ]	i loved you like the sun - SCP Foundation	11	[ "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023" ]	[]	1451017414	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/i-loved-you-like-the-sun
i-think-i-could-be-brave	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=4&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/component%3Abhl-dark-sidebar/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=3&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Aextra-black-highlighter-theme/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p>She's thirteen when they tell her <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/rounderhouse-jade-proposal">that her father is dead</a>.</p> <p>As usual, Lucy is a little later getting home from school, because band is an after school thing instead of a class and the teacher doesn't understand the meaning of the word exhausted. You'd think being around teenagers, Mrs. Vanderbilt would get it, but apparently music directors were just built a little differently. She waves goodbye to the Metro bus driver, the nicer of the two who usually have the route, the one who always waves back, but as soon as the bus pulled away and Lucy could see the shiny black sedan in front of the house, she knew something was horribly wrong.</p> <p>They didn't get visitors, not this late and certainly not in cars like that.</p> <p>Two men are standing in the living room where her mom sits silently and terribly still on the sofa, looking white as a sheet. But her mother doesn't reach for her, doesn't even seem to see her as Lucy looks at the strangers instead, each imposing and professional in a way that even her young mind manages to read as 'official'. Some sort of agent, like you'd see on TV or in a movie. But it's not a movie, it's real life, and they're telling her that her father was killed in action.</p> <p>Lucy had known her father was — something. Something dangerous and military and completely unknown. Something important enough that she was always told to just be vague if anyone ever asked at school, but when it was clear she didn't want to talk about it her friends never pressed. It wasn't like she was the only kid who had divorced parents, and besides, as she got older and she saw less and less of him, it wasn't like there was much to tell for sure. Whatever he did was top secret, and Lucy was a good child and never broke that trust that her mother and father had for her.</p> <p>She only knew three things for sure: he worked for the government, what he did was very dangerous, and that he loved her so much.</p> <p>So in that terrible moment where these two strangers are telling her that her father is dead while her mother stared at nothing and her world had turned completely upside down, the only thing Lucy could think to do was stand there, clarinet case in one hand, backpack sliding down the other arm, and hold back her tears because she knew her father would want her to be brave, brave like he was.</p> <p>No one was really paying attention, but it still felt important.</p> <hr/> <p>They gave her a patch that had <em>L. Greaves</em> stitched in black thread on a black background. Nearly impossible to see unless it was up close, but Lucy ran her fingers across the raised threads anyway, like some sort of spiritual braille that would let her feel connected enough to her father to at least say goodbye. Her parents had split when she was very young, and her mother had always said that while she loved Lucy's father, she knew that his work would always come first.</p> <p>But Lucy had known her mother was wrong. For all the distance, all the time apart, somehow she'd understood fundamentally that they both came first in her father's heart, and that's why he did whatever it was he did in the shadows.</p> <p>Which apparently meant dying, in the long run.</p> <p>Still, it didn't feel right. It didn't feel like her dad could die and she would find out from other people; Lucy had been so sure that she would <em>know</em> somehow, although it was only something she realized in the aftermath of the terrible news. Some childish belief in connection, her teenage brain tried to rationalize, but there was a deep core that was unshakeable.</p> <p>Her mother had always called Lucy a strange, serious child. 'Wise beyond her years', 'old soul', the whole gamut assigned to her by teachers and parents who crossed paths with her. Still, she was struggling with a disconnect then as she held the last memento she had of her father's presence.</p> <p>When she closed her eyes and finally let herself cry, the light from her side-table painted the inside of her lids dark red.</p> <hr/> <p>The world is so dark, and she is so alone.</p> <p>It has to be a dream, because even in the middle of the chaos swirls around her, terrifying and impossible to see, Lucy knows that what she's facing isn't real. Not yet. Maybe not ever, but she's not sure how she knows any of this. But she can see what's coming and it's so big and so scary that for all her pretense at growing up she's a terrified child, looking into the face of a dark future she knows will destroy her.</p> <p>It has to be a dream. She has to be able to wake up.</p> <p>Behind her, there is something she feels before seeing, something warm and safe that calms her shaking frame, even though it doesn't have anything like a form. Just a sense that things will be all right, that she's not alone, no matter how much she thinks she is. Surrounded by a crimson light, she has a sense of peace and purpose that she doesn't understand in the least. That there's a storm just beyond her sight and it's coming, but she's not alone.</p> <p>Lucy's eyes fly open, and she screams.</p> <hr/> <p>Her mother eventually gets her an appointment with a therapist, even though Lucy doesn't really think talking with one is going to help. It's been months since her father's death, and some part of her feels lost, which probably makes sense but no one told her that grief would be this physical.</p> <p>It's a really hard road for someone who just turned 14 to navigate alone, the therapist tells her at the first appointment. That it isn't surprising that she is having nightmares, that she struggles to sleep. All of it is perfectly normal.</p> <p>That's enough to make Lucy realize that this person won't get it either.</p> <p>The truth is that Lucy isn't afraid of the dreams, she's curious. She's more sure than ever that they mean something, something deeper than she can understand and that it's somehow tied to — everything. Her father's death, her mother's retreat into silence, that terrible feeling in her gut that <em>something</em> is coming and she has to be ready.</p> <p>So she hides the dreams, learns to wake up silently, to tell no one about them until her mother is satisfied that her daughter is growing up just fine and perfectly normal, all things considered. Lucy graduates in four years with honors, getting into a top college, then grad school and all the things that her mother had always hoped for her to accomplish.</p> <p>But Lucy never stopped dreaming.</p> <p>It's in the esoteric that Lucy starts looking for answers, her graduate studies in physics remarkably unhelpful in the decoding of dreams. In the midst of her undergrad work it had been psychedelics with a friend who swore that mushrooms unlocked the secrets of the universe, during her masters it was a trip to Peru for an ayahuasca trip. The dreams of chaos and the red light shining around her continued all through her doctorate, and it seemed like nothing that Lucy tried to unlock the meaning behind them worked. As she got older, they were less and less frequent, so she gave up on the attempts to gather meaning from the dreams and focused on her studies.</p> <p>Still, she never stopped dreaming entirely.</p> <hr/> <p>The years passed, and Dr. Lucy Greaves' research leads her down a pathway that many have walked before her, into the shadows of Site 19 where the theoretical and impossible becomes not only very real, but her responsibility. It was only then that she discovered who her father <em>really</em> had worked for, although not the true details of his death but rather his life of service.</p> <p>It made that connection to her father that she'd always felt, even in his long absence, that much stronger.</p> <p>Still, her work at the Foundation made it more clear to Lucy every day that the edges of reality were becoming frayed, not because of entropy or inevitability but of something cosmic and terrible pulling it to pieces. That feeling that had sat in her chest that first night after being told of her father's death settled right back in, like she was looking over the edge into primordial chaos and falling headfirst into it was inevitable.</p> <p>Now she was starting to learn enough about the unseen to think that maybe it truly was.</p> <p>One night, asleep at her desk after spending far too long looking at modeling data, Lucy dreamed again. The chaos was clearer, sharper, closer. Once again she was a girl of 13 staring into the abyss, but this time with the full knowledge of a woman steeped in the mysteries of the anomalous that were firmly on their doorstep.</p> <p>And there was no way to stop it.</p> <p>But that light, that familiar red light appeared again, vaguely in the shape of a man with features that she couldn't make out yet somehow knew all the same. They stared together at the danger that was mere feet ahead of them now, close enough to reach out and touch. It was then that Lucy realized that she stood with her father, his voice clear in her mind as if he had spoken aloud.</p> <p>And finally, <em>finally</em> she understood.</p> <p><strong>BE BRAVE, KIDDO. BE BRAVE.</strong></p> <p>With gasping gulps of air, Lucy woke up in her office with a single thought taking up every inch of space in her consciousness, leaving no room for anything except conviction.</p> <p><tt>I am the child of the Scarlet King.</tt></p> <p>And she had work to do.</p> <div class="collection"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">More From This Author</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">More From This Author</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <table style="1px solid black; width: 100%;"> <tr> <th class="namerow" colspan="2"><div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p>AriadnesThread's Works</p> </div> </div></th> </tr> <tr> <th class="titlecolumn">SCPs</th> <th class="articlecolumn"><div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/scp-7028">SCP-7028</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/scp-7801">SCP-7801</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/scp-6830">SCP-6830</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/scp-8520">SCP-8520</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/scp-8131">SCP-8131</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/scp-8028">SCP-8028</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> </div></th> </tr> <tr> <th class="titlecolumn">Tales/GoI Formats</th> <th class="articlecolumn"><div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/burn-brightly">Ever Burning Brightly</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/the-virtue-of-resilience">The Virtue of Resilience</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/frollicles">Frollicles (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Baba Yaga)</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/your-place-was-empty">Your Place Was Empty</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/a-once-and-future-king">Dokein: A Journal for Tactical Theology</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/koyaanisqatsi">Koyaanisqatsi</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> </div></th> </tr> <tr> <th class="titlecolumn">Other</th> <th class="articlecolumn"><div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/ariadnes-malibu-dream-house">Ariadne's Malibu Dream House (of Leaves)</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> </div></th> </tr> </table> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/i-think-i-could-be-brave">I Think I Could Be Brave</a>" by AriadnesThread, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/i-think-i-could-be-brave">https://scpwiki.com/i-think-i-could-be-brave</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:black-highlighter-theme">:scp-wiki:theme:black-highlighter-theme</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:extra-black-highlighter-theme">:scp-wiki:theme:extra-black-highlighter-theme</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:betterfootnotes">:scp-wiki:component:betterfootnotes</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:acs-animation">:scp-wiki:component:acs-animation</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:wide-image-sizer">:scp-wiki:component:wide-image-sizer</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:toggle-sidebar-bhl">:scp-wiki:component:toggle-sidebar-bhl</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:centered-header-bhl">:scp-wiki:component:centered-header-bhl</a>]] [[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] She's thirteen when they tell her [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/rounderhouse-jade-proposal that her father is dead]. As usual, Lucy is a little later getting home from school, because band is an after school thing instead of a class and the teacher doesn't understand the meaning of the word exhausted. You'd think being around teenagers, Mrs. Vanderbilt would get it, but apparently music directors were just built a little differently. She waves goodbye to the Metro bus driver, the nicer of the two who usually have the route, the one who always waves back, but as soon as the bus pulled away and Lucy could see the shiny black sedan in front of the house, she knew something was horribly wrong. They didn't get visitors, not this late and certainly not in cars like that. Two men are standing in the living room where her mom sits silently and terribly still on the sofa, looking white as a sheet. But her mother doesn't reach for her, doesn't even seem to see her as Lucy looks at the strangers instead, each imposing and professional in a way that even her young mind manages to read as 'official'. Some sort of agent, like you'd see on TV or in a movie. But it's not a movie, it's real life, and they're telling her that her father was killed in action. Lucy had known her father was -- something. Something dangerous and military and completely unknown. Something important enough that she was always told to just be vague if anyone ever asked at school, but when it was clear she didn't want to talk about it her friends never pressed. It wasn't like she was the only kid who had divorced parents, and besides, as she got older and she saw less and less of him, it wasn't like there was much to tell for sure. Whatever he did was top secret, and Lucy was a good child and never broke that trust that her mother and father had for her. She only knew three things for sure: he worked for the government, what he did was very dangerous, and that he loved her so much. So in that terrible moment where these two strangers are telling her that her father is dead while her mother stared at nothing and her world had turned completely upside down, the only thing Lucy could think to do was stand there, clarinet case in one hand, backpack sliding down the other arm, and hold back her tears because she knew her father would want her to be brave, brave like he was. No one was really paying attention, but it still felt important. ------ They gave her a patch that had //L. Greaves// stitched in black thread on a black background. Nearly impossible to see unless it was up close, but Lucy ran her fingers across the raised threads anyway, like some sort of spiritual braille that would let her feel connected enough to her father to at least say goodbye. Her parents had split when she was very young, and her mother had always said that while she loved Lucy's father, she knew that his work would always come first. But Lucy had known her mother was wrong. For all the distance, all the time apart, somehow she'd understood fundamentally that they both came first in her father's heart, and that's why he did whatever it was he did in the shadows. Which apparently meant dying, in the long run. Still, it didn't feel right. It didn't feel like her dad could die and she would find out from other people; Lucy had been so sure that she would //know// somehow, although it was only something she realized in the aftermath of the terrible news. Some childish belief in connection, her teenage brain tried to rationalize, but there was a deep core that was unshakeable. Her mother had always called Lucy a strange, serious child. 'Wise beyond her years', 'old soul', the whole gamut assigned to her by teachers and parents who crossed paths with her. Still, she was struggling with a disconnect then as she held the last memento she had of her father's presence. When she closed her eyes and finally let herself cry, the light from her side-table painted the inside of her lids dark red. ------ The world is so dark, and she is so alone. It has to be a dream, because even in the middle of the chaos swirls around her, terrifying and impossible to see, Lucy knows that what she's facing isn't real. Not yet. Maybe not ever, but she's not sure how she knows any of this. But she can see what's coming and it's so big and so scary that for all her pretense at growing up she's a terrified child, looking into the face of a dark future she knows will destroy her. It has to be a dream. She has to be able to wake up. Behind her, there is something she feels before seeing, something warm and safe that calms her shaking frame, even though it doesn't have anything like a form. Just a sense that things will be all right, that she's not alone, no matter how much she thinks she is. Surrounded by a crimson light, she has a sense of peace and purpose that she doesn't understand in the least. That there's a storm just beyond her sight and it's coming, but she's not alone. Lucy's eyes fly open, and she screams. ------ Her mother eventually gets her an appointment with a therapist, even though Lucy doesn't really think talking with one is going to help. It's been months since her father's death, and some part of her feels lost, which probably makes sense but no one told her that grief would be this physical. It's a really hard road for someone who just turned 14 to navigate alone, the therapist tells her at the first appointment. That it isn't surprising that she is having nightmares, that she struggles to sleep. All of it is perfectly normal. That's enough to make Lucy realize that this person won't get it either. The truth is that Lucy isn't afraid of the dreams, she's curious. She's more sure than ever that they mean something, something deeper than she can understand and that it's somehow tied to -- everything. Her father's death, her mother's retreat into silence, that terrible feeling in her gut that //something// is coming and she has to be ready. So she hides the dreams, learns to wake up silently, to tell no one about them until her mother is satisfied that her daughter is growing up just fine and perfectly normal, all things considered. Lucy graduates in four years with honors, getting into a top college, then grad school and all the things that her mother had always hoped for her to accomplish. But Lucy never stopped dreaming. It's in the esoteric that Lucy starts looking for answers, her graduate studies in physics remarkably unhelpful in the decoding of dreams. In the midst of her undergrad work it had been psychedelics with a friend who swore that mushrooms unlocked the secrets of the universe, during her masters it was a trip to Peru for an ayahuasca trip. The dreams of chaos and the red light shining around her continued all through her doctorate, and it seemed like nothing that Lucy tried to unlock the meaning behind them worked. As she got older, they were less and less frequent, so she gave up on the attempts to gather meaning from the dreams and focused on her studies. Still, she never stopped dreaming entirely. ------ The years passed, and Dr. Lucy Greaves' research leads her down a pathway that many have walked before her, into the shadows of Site 19 where the theoretical and impossible becomes not only very real, but her responsibility. It was only then that she discovered who her father //really// had worked for, although not the true details of his death but rather his life of service. It made that connection to her father that she'd always felt, even in his long absence, that much stronger. Still, her work at the Foundation made it more clear to Lucy every day that the edges of reality were becoming frayed, not because of entropy or inevitability but of something cosmic and terrible pulling it to pieces. That feeling that had sat in her chest that first night after being told of her father's death settled right back in, like she was looking over the edge into primordial chaos and falling headfirst into it was inevitable. Now she was starting to learn enough about the unseen to think that maybe it truly was. One night, asleep at her desk after spending far too long looking at modeling data, Lucy dreamed again. The chaos was clearer, sharper, closer. Once again she was a girl of 13 staring into the abyss, but this time with the full knowledge of a woman steeped in the mysteries of the anomalous that were firmly on their doorstep. And there was no way to stop it. But that light, that familiar red light appeared again, vaguely in the shape of a man with features that she couldn't make out yet somehow knew all the same. They stared together at the danger that was mere feet ahead of them now, close enough to reach out and touch. It was then that Lucy realized that she stood with her father, his voice clear in her mind as if he had spoken aloud. And finally, //finally// she understood. BE BRAVE, KIDDO. BE BRAVE. With gasping gulps of air, Lucy woke up in her office with a single thought taking up every inch of space in her consciousness, leaving no room for anything except conviction. {{I am the child of the Scarlet King.}} And she had work to do. [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:wikimodule">:scp-wiki:component:wikimodule</a> \|normal= --]]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] [!-- N/A (No Images) --] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-02-02T22:00:00	[ "_licensebox", "cosmic-horror", "fantasy", "featured", "horror", "tale" ]	I Think I Could Be Brave - SCP Foundation	63	[ "rounderhouse-jade-proposal", "scp-7028", "scp-7801", "scp-6830", "scp-8520", "scp-8131", "scp-8028", "burn-brightly", "the-virtue-of-resilience", "frollicles", "your-place-was-empty", "a-once-and-future-king", "koyaanisqatsi", "ariadnes-malibu-dream-house", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "archived:shortest-pages-by-month-2023", "featured-tale-archive-ii" ]	[]	1445836172	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/i-think-i-could-be-brave
i-wake-for-naught	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=4&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/component%3Abhl-dark-sidebar/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=4&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/component%3Abhl-dark-sidebar/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=3&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Aswirling-ashes/2&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p><span style="font-size:0%;">☦Site-18 refit to house overflow of Safe objects.☦</span></p> <p><em>On an unnamed island, an emaciated man wearing a dirty lab coat and cargo shorts sits alone underneath a palm tree. The sun's rays blinding him for a moment, before he looks down.</em></p> <p><em>The man is holding a small notepad on his left hand, and a ballpoint pen with an almost faded sticker of a Tyrannosaurus Rex attached to it on his right. The man coughs up some blood onto the golden sands nearby; he sighs in mild annoyance, and then, he begins to write.</em></p> <p><strong>December 17th, 2100</strong></p> <p>To Mom, Dad, and Charlie</p> <p>I miss you all so much. I never imagined that I would have to leave home for so long. The last time we were all together was Christmas in 2030. I knew what I was signing up for back then and signed my contract with full consent; I'm not sure if I would do it again now. I couldn't be there for you Mom, when you were laid off from your job. I couldn't be there for you Dad, when you had to be rushed to the hospital after passing out in the middle of the day. I couldn't even be there for you Charlie, when you cried because you failed your math test. I wasn't there for any of you. I'm sorry. Especially to you Charlie, you were one of the best things that happened in my life. When I first saw your tiny fingers try to grasp at me as mom cradled you, I knew that you were always going to have a special place in my heart. Speaking of which, I never did get to say thank you for that pen you gifted to me for my birthday. It still works well enough after all these years, I always kept ink cartridges on hand to make sure the pen would last. Sadly, Mr. T-Rex isn't quite as good looking as he used to be. I hope you can forgive me for this Charlie, I promise I'll take better care of the next gift you send me. Pinky promise.</p> <p>Now that things are the way they are, I feel that I need to be honest with all of you. None of you quite understood what I was doing for a living after all. I worked for an organization known as the SCP Foundation. No, it's not some weird subdivision of the FBI or CIA, it's its own independent body. The Foundation's main motto is to "Secure, Contain, and Protect". From what you may ask? Anomalies, or their more formal designation, SCPs.</p> <p>For example, I'm sure you all know about Bigfoot. Bigfoot or <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-1000">SCP-1000</a> as the Foundation called them, and many other anomalies are very much real, the Foundation just managed to keep it hidden for decades. They were a competent organization which helped protect normalcy for humanity and were the ones who put me through cryogenic stasis for the last several decades. For Charlie's sake, yes, I was essentially frozen for a really long time.</p> <p>When I awoke, it felt surreal. First of all I didn't think I would actually wake up. Cryogenic stasis can do significant damage to human cells you see, though, the Foundation probably concealed their more advanced version of the technology from the world at large. Why they were bent on hiding something that could have saved thousands, if not millions of lives, is beyond me. That was always how they did things. At any rate, one thing I did know for certain was that I needed to get out of where I was. The walls were bleeding.</p> <p>I left the small room I was in, and tried to find any personnel nearby, to no avail. It appeared that the entire site where I was once assigned to, was completely empty. No staff, no anomalies, not even dead bodies. The site itself was a mess though, I saw fires that never seemed to die out, various objects suspended mid-air, oh and did I mention the bleeding walls? I tried to ignore all of that, and make my way outside. It was a surprisingly easy task, I suspect some escaped anomalies helped pave my exit, judging by the gaping holes in the sites' steel reinforced doors.</p> <p>Once I managed to make my way to the surface, I was pleasantly surprised to find a Jeep that was already running somehow. I didn't question it at first, but in hindsight, it was just a small taste of things to come. As I drove my way out of the site, I saw the outside world for the first time in literal decades. The great plains remained a thing of beauty I thought, its vast emptiness much more comforting than the abandoned site I left behind. My peace would not last, however. The further I drove, the more anomalies I saw.</p> <p>I begun to notice that the sky had changed color to an emerald green, from its previous light blue. I kept driving, which meant I kept seeing anomalies, from these headless horses galloping like your normal mustangs, to tumbleweeds made out of glass. I also saw a group of what I had thought were people, until they turned their heads to me to reveal that none of them had faces. One of them was clearly injured, poor thing was missing its legs. I thought about stopping the jeep to try and help them. But something deep inside of me told me to keep going, so I did. I heard muffled screams behind me as I left, I didn't bother asking myself how those faceless things could scream at all.</p> <p>After driving for God knows how long I found a gas station and decided to make a quick stop. It was oddly refreshing, seeing this run down gas station that appeared to not be affected by the anomalous. This long abandoned gas station - complete with its dirty toilets and chittering rats - was a prime example of what the Foundation strived to achieve in its hay day: normalcy. Sure it was absolutely disgusting, it smelled horrible, and all the shelves in the nearby mini-mart were long emptied. But somehow, it was the closest thing I saw that reminded me of what once was.</p> <p>I remember going to a gas station like this once, with you three. It was one of our earliest family vacations. I needed to go to the bathroom, and there wasn't going to be a toilet in hundreds of miles, so Dad had to take a stop at the one gas station we could find. It wasn't the best, the toilets were still disgusting, but at least there were people running the place and the mini-mart nearby. God, I miss people. I miss home. I miss my family. So many missed Christmas celebrations, soccer games, Thanksgiving dinners, and for what? Nothing I did for the Foundation mattered in the end. Part of me wished I had just died all those years ago.</p> <p>I'm sorry for sounding bitter, I probably shouldn't be considering my circumstances, since I don't have much time left, I'll try to finish this fast. I don't know how I got to this island where I am writing this piece at this very moment. I recall interacting with <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-055">something I can't seem to describe at some point</a>, and now I am here. Isolated, alone, not managing even a single hello with another human being since I awoke from cryostasis. I wonder if it would have been better to have just slept forever? There's so many questions that are swirling in my mind even now, yet, I don't know if I want them answered at this point.</p> <p>I feel tired now, always did get worn out easily as a kid. Maybe it's for the best if I took a quick nap.</p> <p><em>The man let go of his notebook and pen. He looks down at his torso, red, covered in blood. He puts a hand to wipe his nose, red. Why is everything so red? The man thought, but he had no time to think. A heavy weight fell on both his eyelids. So the man took a deep breath, and slept.</em></p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><strong>\| <a href="/rat-s-nest-hub">Hub</a> \|</strong></p> </div> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/i-wake-for-naught">I Wake for Naught</a>" by Exodi, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/i-wake-for-naught">https://scpwiki.com/i-wake-for-naught</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:black-highlighter-theme">:scp-wiki:theme:black-highlighter-theme</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:bhl-dark-sidebar">:scp-wiki:component:bhl-dark-sidebar</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:swirling-ashes">:scp-wiki:theme:swirling-ashes</a>]] [[size 0%]]☦Site-18 refit to house overflow of Safe objects.☦[[/size]] //On an unnamed island, an emaciated man wearing a dirty lab coat and cargo shorts sits alone underneath a palm tree. The sun's rays blinding him for a moment, before he looks down.// //The man is holding a small notepad on his left hand, and a ballpoint pen with an almost faded sticker of a Tyrannosaurus Rex attached to it on his right. The man coughs up some blood onto the golden sands nearby; he sighs in mild annoyance, and then, he begins to write.// December 17th, 2100 To Mom, Dad, and Charlie I miss you all so much. I never imagined that I would have to leave home for so long. The last time we were all together was Christmas in 2030. I knew what I was signing up for back then and signed my contract with full consent; I'm not sure if I would do it again now. I couldn't be there for you Mom, when you were laid off from your job. I couldn't be there for you Dad, when you had to be rushed to the hospital after passing out in the middle of the day. I couldn't even be there for you Charlie, when you cried because you failed your math test. I wasn't there for any of you. I'm sorry. Especially to you Charlie, you were one of the best things that happened in my life. When I first saw your tiny fingers try to grasp at me as mom cradled you, I knew that you were always going to have a special place in my heart. Speaking of which, I never did get to say thank you for that pen you gifted to me for my birthday. It still works well enough after all these years, I always kept ink cartridges on hand to make sure the pen would last. Sadly, Mr. T-Rex isn't quite as good looking as he used to be. I hope you can forgive me for this Charlie, I promise I'll take better care of the next gift you send me. Pinky promise. Now that things are the way they are, I feel that I need to be honest with all of you. None of you quite understood what I was doing for a living after all. I worked for an organization known as the SCP Foundation. No, it's not some weird subdivision of the FBI or CIA, it's its own independent body. The Foundation's main motto is to "Secure, Contain, and Protect". From what you may ask? Anomalies, or their more formal designation, SCPs. For example, I'm sure you all know about Bigfoot. Bigfoot or [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-1000 SCP-1000] as the Foundation called them, and many other anomalies are very much real, the Foundation just managed to keep it hidden for decades. They were a competent organization which helped protect normalcy for humanity and were the ones who put me through cryogenic stasis for the last several decades. For Charlie's sake, yes, I was essentially frozen for a really long time. When I awoke, it felt surreal. First of all I didn't think I would actually wake up. Cryogenic stasis can do significant damage to human cells you see, though, the Foundation probably concealed their more advanced version of the technology from the world at large. Why they were bent on hiding something that could have saved thousands, if not millions of lives, is beyond me. That was always how they did things. At any rate, one thing I did know for certain was that I needed to get out of where I was. The walls were bleeding. I left the small room I was in, and tried to find any personnel nearby, to no avail. It appeared that the entire site where I was once assigned to, was completely empty. No staff, no anomalies, not even dead bodies. The site itself was a mess though, I saw fires that never seemed to die out, various objects suspended mid-air, oh and did I mention the bleeding walls? I tried to ignore all of that, and make my way outside. It was a surprisingly easy task, I suspect some escaped anomalies helped pave my exit, judging by the gaping holes in the sites' steel reinforced doors. Once I managed to make my way to the surface, I was pleasantly surprised to find a Jeep that was already running somehow. I didn't question it at first, but in hindsight, it was just a small taste of things to come. As I drove my way out of the site, I saw the outside world for the first time in literal decades. The great plains remained a thing of beauty I thought, its vast emptiness much more comforting than the abandoned site I left behind. My peace would not last, however. The further I drove, the more anomalies I saw. I begun to notice that the sky had changed color to an emerald green, from its previous light blue. I kept driving, which meant I kept seeing anomalies, from these headless horses galloping like your normal mustangs, to tumbleweeds made out of glass. I also saw a group of what I had thought were people, until they turned their heads to me to reveal that none of them had faces. One of them was clearly injured, poor thing was missing its legs. I thought about stopping the jeep to try and help them. But something deep inside of me told me to keep going, so I did. I heard muffled screams behind me as I left, I didn't bother asking myself how those faceless things could scream at all. After driving for God knows how long I found a gas station and decided to make a quick stop. It was oddly refreshing, seeing this run down gas station that appeared to not be affected by the anomalous. This long abandoned gas station - complete with its dirty toilets and chittering rats - was a prime example of what the Foundation strived to achieve in its hay day: normalcy. Sure it was absolutely disgusting, it smelled horrible, and all the shelves in the nearby mini-mart were long emptied. But somehow, it was the closest thing I saw that reminded me of what once was. I remember going to a gas station like this once, with you three. It was one of our earliest family vacations. I needed to go to the bathroom, and there wasn't going to be a toilet in hundreds of miles, so Dad had to take a stop at the one gas station we could find. It wasn't the best, the toilets were still disgusting, but at least there were people running the place and the mini-mart nearby. God, I miss people. I miss home. I miss my family. So many missed Christmas celebrations, soccer games, Thanksgiving dinners, and for what? Nothing I did for the Foundation mattered in the end. Part of me wished I had just died all those years ago. I'm sorry for sounding bitter, I probably shouldn't be considering my circumstances, since I don't have much time left, I'll try to finish this fast. I don't know how I got to this island where I am writing this piece at this very moment. I recall interacting with [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-055 something I can't seem to describe at some point], and now I am here. Isolated, alone, not managing even a single hello with another human being since I awoke from cryostasis. I wonder if it would have been better to have just slept forever? There's so many questions that are swirling in my mind even now, yet, I don't know if I want them answered at this point. I feel tired now, always did get worn out easily as a kid. Maybe it's for the best if I took a quick nap. //The man let go of his notebook and pen. He looks down at his torso, red, covered in blood. He puts a hand to wipe his nose, red. Why is everything so red? The man thought, but he had no time to think. A heavy weight fell on both his eyelids. So the man took a deep breath, and slept.// [[=]] \| [[[Rat's Nest Hub\| Hub]]] \| [[/=]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a> \|author=Exodi]] [!-- N/A (No Images) --] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-01-07T16:01:00	[ "_licensebox", "rats-nest", "tale" ]	I Wake for Naught - SCP Foundation	7	[ "scp-1000", "scp-055", "rat-s-nest-hub", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "rat-s-nest-hub" ]	[]	1445413204	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/i-wake-for-naught
i-went-to-hong-shing	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div class="psuedocrumbs"> <p><a href="http://scp-int.wikidot.com/k-s-g-hub">Kong, Shing, Gong</a>/<a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/broken-masquerade-hub">Broken Masquerade</a> » I went to Hong Shing, and All I Got Was This Radioactive Crystal</p> </div> </div> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=1&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Acreepypasta/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=2&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Aanon/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <h3 id="toc0"><span><span style="color: blue"><a href="javascript:;">FORUM</a> » <a href="javascript:;">NON-WIKI TALK</a> » <a href="javascript:;">TRAVELOGUE</a> » <a href="javascript:;">Hong Shing?</a></span></span></h3> <hr/> <div class="blockquote"> <p><span style="color: yellow"><strong>KiKoHowYaDoin</strong></span> #47282934</p> <hr/> <p>Hi, y'all. I was thinking of taking a vacation next year in <a href="http://scp-int.wikidot.com/k-s-g-hub">Hong Shing</a>, now that it's been open to the public for a while.</p> <p>Are there any stories that you can share? Advice you can give me?</p> </div> <div class="blockquote"> <p><span style="color: red"><strong>SashaBelle</strong></span> #47282938</p> <hr/> <p>Hi, KiKo! Here's some advice that I got from my tour guide when I went to Hong Shing.</p> <ol> <li>Don't talk to <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-cn-999">United State of A Mary King</a> representatives, Foundation representatives, the Unusual Incidents Unit, or the Hong Shing Police Department under <em>any</em> circumstances. They have a bad habit of making people asking them questions "disappear" for a while. If you need help with anything, ask someone local instead.</li> <li>Do <em>NOT</em> buy anything infused with Divine Energy!!! My tour guide said their friend once purchased a crystal laced with the stuff, and they were detained by customs for exporting radioactive materials. In short, if something makes your skin tingle, <em>AVOID IT</em>!!!</li> <li>Do NOT ask questions about the Sky Wall Crisis. It's not forbidden or anything, but a lot of people lost friends and family during the incident, so it's a sensitive topic for the locals…</li> <li>If you see someone who looks identical to you, <em>DO NOT APPROACH THEM</em>!!!1!! My tour guide told me they heard of bad things happening to those who met "inverted reflections" of themselves. Few people survived.</li> </ol> </div> <div class="blockquote"> <p><span style="color: red"><strong>elleBahsaS</strong></span> #47282939</p> <p>Really now? Wanna put that to the test <strong><span style="color: red">@SashaBelle</span></strong>?</p> <p><em>Waves fingers menacingly in ur direction</em></p> </div> <div class="blockquote"> <p><span style="color: red"><strong>SashaBelle</strong></span> #47282940</p> <hr/> <p>Really, <em>that's</em> the best you've got? Blow me. If I told you what my guide said about what happened to people who met their parallel selves, you wouldn't be making light of it, trust me.</p> </div> <div class="blockquote"> <p><span style="color: white"><strong>CeleryOvercoat</strong></span>🗿 #00000000</p> <hr/> <p>Oi, knock it off, both of you.</p> </div> <div class="blockquote"> <p><span style="color: green"><strong>DuldrumMonkey</strong></span> #47282942</p> <hr/> <div class="scp-image-block block-right" style="width:300px;"><img alt="RP.png" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki-cn.wdfiles.com/local--files/scp-cn-1997/RP.png" style="width:300px;"/> <div class="scp-image-caption" style="width:300px;"> <p>my photo.</p> </div> </div> <p>its a really beautiful place. check out this image i took and see for yourself.</p> </div> <div class="blockquote"> <p><span style="color: grey"><strong>Darwizzii</strong></span> #47282946</p> <hr/> <p><span style="color: green">@DuldrumMonkey</span> Bud you did not take that. That's from one of the Skippers' <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-cn-1997">declassified documents.</a></p> </div> <div class="blockquote"> <p><span style="color: green"><strong>DuldrumMonkey</strong></span> #47282953</p> <hr/> <p>i said i <em>took</em> it. i never said i <em>shot</em> it ;)</p> <p><strong><span style="color: red">[THIS USER HAS BEEN BANNED.]</span></strong></p> </div> <div class="blockquote"> <p><span style="color: pink"><strong>evilwaterbottlef</strong></span> #47282959</p> <p>Hong Shing, huh? Y'know, I was actually there when the Sky Wall had a hole torn in it.</p> </div> <div class="blockquote"> <p><span style="color: grey"><strong>Darwizzii</strong></span> #47282964</p> <hr/> <p><strong><span style="color: pink">@evilwaterbottlef</span></strong> How??? They said there were no survivors of that thing.</p> </div> <div class="blockquote"> <p><span style="color: pink"><strong>evilwaterbottlef</strong></span> #47282966</p> <p>Well, "there" is a bit inaccurate. I was <em>nearby</em>. But I might as well have been there, with the lights, screams and <span style="color: red">[CENSORED]</span> that we heard coming from the region.</p> </div> <div class="blockquote"> <p><span style="color: white"><strong>Rook</strong></span> ♖ #00000000</p> <hr/> <p>This topic is grossly inappropriate for this thread. I'm not going to ban anyone for it <em>at the moment</em>, but any more talks about what happened in 2010 need to go to a more suitable thread.</p> </div> <div class="blockquote"> <p><span style="color: yellow"><strong>KiKoHowYaDoin</strong></span> #47282976</p> <hr/> <p>o.O</p> </div> <div class="blockquote"> <p><span style="color: blue"><strong>JoeDaDragonSlaya</strong></span> #47282984</p> <hr/> <p>Sorry you had to witness that, KiKo. I promise you that not all Parawatch threads derail like this.</p> <p>Anyway, my advice is to take a look at the Sky Wall paintings if you get the chance. The people of AWCY and the <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/gamers-against-weed-dossier">Gong Anartists' Group</a> are gorgeous artists, when the former isn't being dadaist and the latter isn't doing stuff for shits and giggles.</p> <p>I especially recommend the mural of the Zhujihui's original Sages' Council. It's absolutely brilliant and scathing satire of the bastard predecessors. Plus, every year on Hong Shing's anniversary they let people vandalize it as much as they want!</p> </div> <div class="blockquote"> <p><span style="color: yellow"><strong>KiKoHowYaDoin</strong></span> #47282985</p> <hr/> <p>:O I heard about that. I'll have to see if I can schedule my vacation to line up with the anniversary.</p> </div> <div class="blockquote"> <p><span style="color: purple"><strong>H00tWireless</strong></span> #47282987</p> <hr/> <p>Meh the art on the skywalls are overrated as fuck imho. Oh wow, you drew the Zhujihui as a bunch of decrepit and taloned crones. Very subversive, especially paired against the Dickbutt graffiti and mispelt marriage proposals.</p> <p>Give me a break.</p> <p>I've seen more interesting art in the stalls of my workplace's shitter. At least that won't make my nose bleed if I look at it wrong.</p> <p><strong><span style="color: red">[THIS USER HAS BEEN BANNED.]</span></strong></p> </div> <div class="blockquote"> <p><span style="color: orange"><strong>YugeJefe</strong></span> #47282990</p> <hr/> <p>I'm sorry, but I really have to question why a place where people can emit hundreds upon thousands of whatever of radiation from their stomachs can just be… opened up to the public. Are you at least going to be wearing protective clothing?</p> </div> <div class="blockquote"> <p><span style="color: yellow"><strong>KiKoHowYaDoin</strong></span> #47282991</p> <hr/> <p>Should I? I thought they give Divine Energy-proof amulets to protect tourists from it all?</p> </div> <div class="blockquote"> <p><span style="color: orange"><strong>YugeJefe</strong></span> #47282999</p> <hr/> <p>Tell that to my buddy Johann. He bought one of those crappy "amulets". Now he can't have kids, but at least their left nut now glows in the dark.</p> <p><strong><span style="color: red">[THIS USER HAS BEEN BANNED.]</span></strong></p> </div> <div class="blockquote"> <p><span style="color: yellow"><strong>KiKoHowYaDoin</strong></span> #47283001</p> <hr/> <p>-_- I knew this was a bad idea.</p> <p>Well, thank you everyone who actually gave me advice and such. I think I'll ask around Void instead.</p> </div> <div class="blockquote"> <p><span style="color: white"><strong>Rook</strong></span> ♖ #00000000</p> <hr/> <p>(－‸ლ) Great job, folks. Another advice thread ruined. I hope you're all proud of yourselves.</p> <p><strong><span style="color: red">[THREAD LOCKED]</span></strong></p> </div> </div></body></html>	[[=]] [[div class="psuedocrumbs"]] [[[http://scp-int.wikidot.com/k-s-g-hub\|Kong, Shing, Gong]]]/[[[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/broken-masquerade-hub\|Broken Masquerade]]] » I went to Hong Shing, and All I Got Was This Radioactive Crystal [[/div]] [[/=]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:creepypasta">:scp-wiki:theme:creepypasta</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:anon">:scp-wiki:theme:anon</a>]] [[>]] [[module rate]] [[/>]] +++ ##blue\|[# FORUM] >> [# NON-WIKI TALK] >> [# TRAVELOGUE] >> [# Hong Shing?]## ------ [[div class="blockquote"]] ##yellow\|KiKoHowYaDoin## #47282934 ------ Hi, y'all. I was thinking of taking a vacation next year in [[[http://scp-int.wikidot.com/k-s-g-hub\|Hong Shing]]], now that it's been open to the public for a while. Are there any stories that you can share? Advice you can give me? [[/div]] [[div class="blockquote"]] ##red\|SashaBelle## #47282938 ------ Hi, KiKo! Here's some advice that I got from my tour guide when I went to Hong Shing. # Don't talk to [[[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-cn-999\|United State of A Mary King]]] representatives, Foundation representatives, the Unusual Incidents Unit, or the Hong Shing Police Department under //any// circumstances. They have a bad habit of making people asking them questions "disappear" for a while. If you need help with anything, ask someone local instead. # Do //NOT// buy anything infused with Divine Energy!!! My tour guide said their friend once purchased a crystal laced with the stuff, and they were detained by customs for exporting radioactive materials. In short, if something makes your skin tingle, //AVOID IT//!!! # Do NOT ask questions about the Sky Wall Crisis. It's not forbidden or anything, but a lot of people lost friends and family during the incident, so it's a sensitive topic for the locals... # If you see someone who looks identical to you, //DO NOT APPROACH THEM//!!!1!! My tour guide told me they heard of bad things happening to those who met "inverted reflections" of themselves. Few people survived. [[/div]] [[div class="blockquote"]] ##red\|elleBahsaS## #47282939 Really now? Wanna put that to the test ##red\|@SashaBelle##? //Waves fingers menacingly in ur direction// [[/div]] [[div class="blockquote"]] ##red\|SashaBelle## #47282940 ----- Really, //that's// the best you've got? Blow me. If I told you what my guide said about what happened to people who met their parallel selves, you wouldn't be making light of it, trust me. [[/div]] [[div class="blockquote"]] ##white\|CeleryOvercoat##🗿 #00000000 ----- Oi, knock it off, both of you. [[/div]] [[div class="blockquote"]] ##green\|DuldrumMonkey## #47282942 ------ [[div class="scp-image-block block-right" style="width:300px;"]] [[image https://scp-wiki-cn.wdfiles.com/local--files/scp-cn-1997/RP.png style="width:300px;" link=#]] [[div class="scp-image-caption" style="width:300px;"]] my photo. [[/div]] [[/div]] ~~~~ its a really beautiful place. check out this image i took and see for yourself. [[/div]] [[div class="blockquote"]] ##grey\|Darwizzii## #47282946 ----- ##green\|@DuldrumMonkey## Bud you did not take that. That's from one of the Skippers' [[[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-cn-1997\|declassified documents.]]] [[/div]] [[div class="blockquote"]] ##green\|DuldrumMonkey## #47282953 ----- i said i //took// it. i never said i //shot// it ;) ##red\|[THIS USER HAS BEEN BANNED.]## [[/div]] [[div class="blockquote"]] ##pink\|evilwaterbottlef## #47282959 Hong Shing, huh? Y'know, I was actually there when the Sky Wall had a hole torn in it. [[/div]] [[div class="blockquote"]] ##grey\|Darwizzii## #47282964 ----- ##pink\|@evilwaterbottlef## How??? They said there were no survivors of that thing. [[/div]] [[div class="blockquote"]] ##pink\|evilwaterbottlef## #47282966 Well, "there" is a bit inaccurate. I was //nearby//. But I might as well have been there, with the lights, screams and ##red\|[CENSORED]## that we heard coming from the region. [[/div]] [[div class="blockquote"]] ##white\|Rook## ♖ #00000000 ----- This topic is grossly inappropriate for this thread. I'm not going to ban anyone for it //at the moment//, but any more talks about what happened in 2010 need to go to a more suitable thread. [[/div]] [[div class="blockquote"]] ##yellow\|KiKoHowYaDoin## #47282976 ----- o.O [[/div]] [[div class="blockquote"]] ##blue\|JoeDaDragonSlaya## #47282984 ----- Sorry you had to witness that, KiKo. I promise you that not all Parawatch threads derail like this. Anyway, my advice is to take a look at the Sky Wall paintings if you get the chance. The people of AWCY and the [[[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/gamers-against-weed-dossier\|Gong Anartists' Group]]] are gorgeous artists, when the former isn't being dadaist and the latter isn't doing stuff for shits and giggles. I especially recommend the mural of the Zhujihui's original Sages' Council. It's absolutely brilliant and scathing satire of the bastard predecessors. Plus, every year on Hong Shing's anniversary they let people vandalize it as much as they want! [[/div]] [[div class="blockquote"]] ##yellow\|KiKoHowYaDoin## #47282985 ----- :O I heard about that. I'll have to see if I can schedule my vacation to line up with the anniversary. [[/div]] [[div class="blockquote"]] ##purple\|H00tWireless## #47282987 ----- Meh the art on the skywalls are overrated as fuck imho. Oh wow, you drew the Zhujihui as a bunch of decrepit and taloned crones. Very subversive, especially paired against the Dickbutt graffiti and mispelt marriage proposals. Give me a break. I've seen more interesting art in the stalls of my workplace's shitter. At least that won't make my nose bleed if I look at it wrong. ##red\|[THIS USER HAS BEEN BANNED.]## [[/div]] [[div class="blockquote"]] ##orange\|YugeJefe## #47282990 ----- I'm sorry, but I really have to question why a place where people can emit hundreds upon thousands of whatever of radiation from their stomachs can just be... opened up to the public. Are you at least going to be wearing protective clothing? [[/div]] [[div class="blockquote"]] ##yellow\|KiKoHowYaDoin## #47282991 ----- Should I? I thought they give Divine Energy-proof amulets to protect tourists from it all? [[/div]] [[div class="blockquote"]] ##orange\|YugeJefe## #47282999 ----- Tell that to my buddy Johann. He bought one of those crappy "amulets". Now he can't have kids, but at least their left nut now glows in the dark. ##red\|[THIS USER HAS BEEN BANNED.]## [[/div]] [[div class="blockquote"]] ##yellow\|KiKoHowYaDoin## #47283001 ----- -_- I knew this was a bad idea. Well, thank you everyone who actually gave me advice and such. I think I'll ask around Void instead. [[/div]] [[div class="blockquote"]] ##white\|Rook## ♖ #00000000 ----- (－‸ლ) Great job, folks. Another advice thread ruined. I hope you're all proud of yourselves. ##red\|[THREAD LOCKED]## [[/div]]	2023-12-28T15:29:00	[ "_cc", "art-exchange", "broken-masquerade", "comedy", "correspondence", "hong-shing", "otherworldly", "parawatch", "tale" ]	I went to Hong Shing, and All I Got Was This Radioactive Crystal - SCP Foundation	31	[ "broken-masquerade-hub", "scp-cn-999", "scp-cn-1997", "gamers-against-weed-dossier" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "parawatch-hub", "broken-masquerade-hub", "art-exchange-hub" ]	[ "https://scp-wiki-cn.wdfiles.com/local--files/scp-cn-1997/RP.png" ]	1451990387	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/i-went-to-hong-shing
if-im-being-honest	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <br/> "Again?!?" <p>Mena jumped in her seat. Kelly wasn't usually one to raise their voice.</p> <p>"What's the problem, Kel?"</p> <p>"You see the email?"</p> <p>Mena frantically logged in to her Foundation account, clicked on the message from Director Leigh, and slowly deflated as she read the subject line:</p> <blockquote> <h3 id="toc0"><span>Important Info About Our New Archival System - 17/12/22</span></h3> </blockquote> <p>Mena rested her head in her hands and breathed a deep, frustrated sigh. "Good. Great. Guess the last two weren't organized <em>enough</em>."</p> <p>"Guess not." Kelly tapped their knuckles against their desk. "My favorite part is the very end. 'Apologies for the inconvenience.'"</p> <p>"It's always, 'Sorry for the inconvenience,' never, 'I'm going to stop inconveniencing you.' Can't imagine why."</p> <p>Kelly stood. "Well, should we get started? I'll get the first aid kit."</p> <p>"Wait. Real quick." Mena grabbed the Magic 8-Ball and asked, "Is this gonna go smoothly?"</p> A few shakes later, and she had her answer: <strong>Don't count on it.</strong><br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <hr/> <p><br/> <br/> "Anyone heard from Hawkins?"</p> <p>Site-87's Party Planning Committee was almost always behind schedule anyway, but now one of its members was conspicuously absent.</p> <p>"Saw her and Shipley heading up to the archives this morning, but nothing since," said Agent Yun, a new member of the Security Department.</p> <p>"The archives? What for?"</p> <p>Just then, the door slid open. Mena tried in vain to slip in quietly, quickly giving up when she noticed all eyes on her.</p> <p>"Hi." She hastily made her way across the cramped conference room and slumped into the empty chair.</p> <p>Yun looked at her with a concerned expression. Just this morning, she had seemed fairly energetic, but now she looked utterly drained. Her hair was a mess, her eyes were glazed over, and her glasses seemed bent out of shape.</p> <p>Mena cleared her throat. "So, New Years Eve? What's the plan?"</p> <p>"What the hell happened to you?"</p> <p>Mena met Yun's gaze, with an expression normally reserved for the most unspeakable horrors the Foundation had to offer.</p> <p>"The archive fought back."</p> <p>The others on the committee exchanged knowing glances.</p> <p>Yun looked around, confused. "What does that mean?"</p> <p>Dr. Atama, a longtime member of Site-87's Research Department, leaned towards Yun. "The archive doesn't like things to get moved out of place. It's been reorganized twice this year."</p> <p>"Three times." Mena held up three fingers, covered in band-aids. "It's resisting. But it'll come around."</p> <p>Yun looked back at Atama, who knew the look on her face all too well: <em>Is that how things go around here? Shouldn't we do something about it? Are you sure the Foundation is okay with this?</em></p> Atama, in turn, simply shrugged. “Welcome to Sloth’s Pit.”<br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <hr/> <p><br/> <br/> Kelly held an ice pack to their forehead, hoping in vain that it was still cold enough to help at all. Just as they prepared to head back to Medical for a fresh one, Mena returned to her desk.</p> <p>"How'd your meeting go?"</p> <p>"Well, we finally settled on a starting time. 9 PM."</p> <p>"Okay…"</p> <p>"But Security wants it to be over by 12:30."</p> <p>"…there it is."</p> <p>"So now we're at an impasse. I think it's just gonna come down to people refusing to leave."</p> <p>"Fair enough."</p> <p>"Oh, and fancy attire is <em>encouraged</em>, but not required."</p> <p>"Fair enough." Kelly started to return to their work.</p> <p>"OH! And people can bring their own drinks, as long as they get them approved ahead of time."</p> <p>Kelly looked Mena in the eyes, expectantly.</p> <p>“Okay, I’m done.”</p> <p>Kelly waited another five seconds, for good measure.</p> "…fair enough."<br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <hr/> <p><br/> <br/> Christmas came and went, and the Party Planning Committee's sole focus was making New Years Eve a night to remember. Decorations were arranged, refreshments were purchased, and by the 30th, almost everyone on the Committee was just ready for it to be over.</p> <p>Mena felt differently. While, yes, the preparation had been exhausting, it also meant that the next day would be nothing short of fantastic, <em>and</em> that she could be satisfied in knowing that her handiwork was appreciated.</p> <p>Kelly was not so excited. If it were up to them, they'd much rather just sit at home and put on a little jazz. In fact, the only reason they went to any of these parties at all was to support Mena. For Kelly, the holidays were something to be dreaded, not celebrated. Growing up, all that Kelly felt after watching Christmas movies was suspicion. No one is <em>actually</em> that happy, no one <em>actually</em> feels that safe or that loved. It's a façade, a marketing scheme to sell trees and Coke and wrapping paper. All that these holidays did was prop up a false ideal, and make anyone who fell short of that ideal feel inadequate.</p> So why did Mena like them so much?<br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <hr/> <p><br/> <br/> The 31st of December! The big day was here at last.</p> <p>That afternoon, Kelly was just about to leave for lunch when they saw Mena at her desk, head in hands.</p> <p>"Mena?"</p> <p>Her breathing was heavy, and Kelly could feel the tension in her from across the room.</p> <p>"Mena, you alright?"</p> <p>Still no response. Kelly began to worry, moving to her side. Her cheeks were damp.</p> <p>"What? What is it?"</p> <p>Finally she spoke, muffled by her hands: "I don't want you to see me like this."</p> <p>Kelly swallowed. "Do you want me to go?"</p> <p>A long, awkward pause. Then, she answered: "You don't have to stay. I don't want to keep you."</p> <p>"Mena, you're not keeping me. I want you to be alright." Kelly grabbed the chair from under their desk and sat beside her. "If you want to talk about it, you can. But don't feel like you have to."</p> <p>At last, Mena removed her hands from her face. Her eyes were puffy, and her nose was bright red.</p> <p>"I don't know why. I've never felt like this before any of the other parties. It feels so stupid, but I'm just so worried everyone's gonna hate it."</p> <p>"Hate what? The party? People love your parties, Mena."</p> <p>"I know! That's why I don't understand. I mean, I <em>know</em> it's going to be fine. But there's a part of me that's convinced that everyone's going to hate me if it's not absolutely perfect. And then I just feel stupid, cause there are people out there fighting… who knows what, world ending threats, and here I am, feeling bad for myself. And it makes me feel like an asshole."</p> <p>"You're not an asshole. Alright? It's not a competition for who can be the most miserable. Other people being in more pain doesn't make your pain less… painful." Kelly got close to Mena's face now. "But I can tell you, as someone who doesn't like parties: I like <em>your</em> parties. You make everyone feel included. You don't force anyone to do anything they're not comfortable with. I really think this party is going to be just fine. I'm sorry you're so stressed about it."</p> <p>Mena sniffled. "Thanks, Kel."</p> <p>"Do you want a hug?"</p> <p>"Always."</p> <p>They embraced, and afterwards Mena took a few deep breaths. "Sorry for taking up most of your lunch break."</p> <p>"Hey," said Kelly as they threw up their hands, "I'm not worried about it. As long as there's cookies at the party tonight."</p> "Of course. Who do you think I am?"<br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <hr/> <p><br/> <br/> At 6 PM, the staff of Site-87 put their work aside and began preparing for the evening's festivities.</p> <p>Just as Kelly was packing up their things, Mena approached their desk.</p> <p>"Hey Kel, I just wanna say thank you."</p> <p>"For what?"</p> <p>"For talking me down earlier."</p> <p>"Oh, of course. Don't mention it."</p> <p>Kelly continued packing up, when Mena set her Magic 8-Ball on their desk. They looked at it inquisitively.</p> <p>Mena pointed to it. "Go ahead."</p> <p>"I thought you didn't like anyone else to touch it."</p> <p>"Yeah, but you did something really nice today, and I thought it was the least I could do."</p> <p>What Kelly really wanted to say was, <em>I appreciate the gesture but you shouldn't feel obligated to pay me back. I also don't really believe in this sort of thing.</em></p> <p>Luckily, they thought better of it and picked up the Magic 8-Ball. "Alright. So I just ask a question about the future and shake it?"</p> <p>"Yep. And whatever answer you get is what's going to happen."</p> <p>"For sure?"</p> <p>"For sure. It's never been wrong before."</p> <p>Kelly thought for a moment, settled on a question, then shook the 8-Ball, which replied: <strong>You may rely on it.</strong></p> <p>Kelly chuckled, but Mena was confused. "Wait, you didn't ask anything."</p> <p>"Yes, I did. In my head."</p> <p>"Well, what was it?!?"</p> <p>"Ha! Like I'd tell you that."</p> <p>"God, you're no fun." Mena snatched the 8-Ball from Kelly's hands and returned it to it's rightful place on her desk. "Well don't come crawling back to me when you get turned into a cat, or your car comes alive, or whatever the hell it is that you asked."</p> Mena sighed, grabbed her things, and left, with Kelly close behind.<br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <hr/> <p><br/> <br/> It was true, of course: the 8-Ball had never once made an incorrect prediction. No one at Site-87 was entirely sure if it was because the thing itself was anomalous, or because of the Pit's influence; Mena didn't seem to care either way.</p> <p>And yet Kelly, despite the great number of anomalies which they had seen with their own two eyes, seemed entirely unwilling to consider the possibility that such a mundane thing could hold such power. They were determined to prove, if only to themself, that the 8-Ball was, in fact, fallible.</p> <p>And so they devised a question, one perfect for the task at hand.</p> <p>Not that they didn't <em>believe</em> in romance, or lacked the desire for it; moreso that, surely, no one at Site-87 would be interested in them.</p> <p>And even in the deeply unlikely scenario that someone <em>were</em> interested, all that they would have to do is slip away at 11:59, hide in the bathroom, and wait until 12:01. Absolutely foolproof.</p> They tied their hair into a small bun, threw on a blazer and pleated skirt, and headed to their car.<br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <hr/> <p><br/> <br/> <strong>♪Yooooooooooooou're heeeeeeeeeeeeere♪<br/> ♪There's nOooOoOooOooOooTHing I fear♪</strong><br/> <br/> <br/> Kelly slunk in a few minutes after the party started; good thing, too, because they were just in time to hear the tail-end of Dr. Atama's absolutely rousing rendition of "My Heart Will Go On."</p> <p>The festivities were underway. It was a relatively subdued affair, with most of the staff at tables of three or four, chatting about who knows what.</p> <p>Kelly scanned the room, eventually spotting Mena with the other committee members. They headed in that direction, figuring it was polite to at least say hello.</p> <p>"Hey, Mena."</p> <p>"Kelly!" She stood from her chair and wrapped her arms around them. "Glad you came. I appreciate it a lot."</p> <p>"Of course! You put a lot of work into it."</p> <p>Mena gestured to one of the open seats, and after some hesitation, Kelly relented and sat at the table next to Agent Yun, who excitedly reached out a hand.</p> <p>"You're Dr. Shipley, right? I'm Grace! Grace Yun."</p> <p>"Kelly Shipley," they said as they shook the Agent's hand. "But please, just Kelly is fine."</p> <p>Just then, Dr. Atama returned to the table.</p> <p>"Dr. Shipley!" Atama's voice had one volume: loud. "Good to see you! Glad you could join us."</p> <p>Kelly smiled, then glanced at Mena. She mouthed to them, but they couldn't quite figure out what she was saying. They squinted, and she tried to exaggerate her lip flapping, but to no avail.</p> <p>Eventually, Kelly stood and went to Mena's side. "What?"</p> <p>"I just wanted to make sure you were okay!"</p> <p>"Oh! Uh… yeah, I think so. Why?"</p> <p>"I don't know, I just know you sometimes get overwhelmed."</p> <p>"Nah, I'm good right now. But thanks."</p> <p>"Alright then! Just don't feel obligated to stay until midnight if you're not comfortable."</p> <p>Kelly gave a mock salute, then returned to their seat. They scanned the room, plotting their 11th-hour exit in advance. They wanted to ensure that there would be an easy route out of the room for when the time came.</p> <p>Grace leaned in. "So Kelly, what exactly do you guys do?"</p> <p>"Oh, depends. Mostly just make sure that documents get sent wherever they need to go. And update existing documentation as needed, of course."</p> <p>"Exciting."</p> <p>"Oh, you know it. What about you?"</p> <p>"Basically just shooing away anyone who's not supposed to get in. Teenagers, solicitors, reporters. But most days nobody even comes to the door, so it's a lot of 'hurry up and wait.'"</p> <p>"Understandable. What do you do to fill that time?"</p> <p>"Read. Doodle. Listen to music. Anything to make it go faster."</p> <p>"What kind of music?"</p> <p>"Little bit of everything. Today I listened to Herbie Hancock."</p> <p>Kelly immediately lit up. "Which one? 'Head Hunters?'"</p> <p>"'Maiden Voyage,' I think."</p> <p>"<em>Excellent</em> choice!" Kelly released some of the tension in their shoulders. "The title track, my god."</p> <p>"Yeah, I'm not super into jazz, but I liked it a lot."</p> <p>"Fair. It's pretty diverse."</p> <p>The two quickly launched into a lengthy discussion about favorite bands, favorite albums, favorite concerts they'd ever seen, so on and so forth. If anyone else had been watching (of course, the other staff were preoccupied with conversations of their own), it might almost have seemed that—despite everything—Kelly was enjoying themself. Their posture, normally closed-off, was noticeably loose. A genuine excitement seemed to permeate every millimeter of their being.</p> <p>As the night drew on, the 8-Ball's prediction slipped further and further from the top of Kelly's mind.</p> <p>10 o'clock came.</p> Then 11.<br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <hr/> <p><br/> <br/> And before Kelly had time to blink, 11:58 had arrived. They were only broken from the thrall of the discussion by Dr. Atama rising from the table to watch the ball drop.</p> <p>Grace didn't seem to care. "But yeah, I was really glad I got to see Prince at least once before he died."</p> <p>Suddenly panicked, Kelly turned back to Grace. "Hey, I know this is sudden, but I think I need to leave."</p> <p>"Okay." A look of concern spread over Grace's face. "Is everything alright?"</p> <p>"Yep, everything's just fine. I just need to take care of something real quick." Kelly rose from their seat and scanned the room. Their pre-planned escape route was now clogged with researchers and facility guards, all eagerly awaiting the countdown.</p> <p>Hurriedly, Kelly began to shove their way through the room, eyes turning to the clock every few seconds. <em>It can't be true,</em> they thought to themself. <em>It's not going to happen. Who would even be interested?</em></p> <p>Just then, Kelly stopped.</p> <p><em>But if no one's interested, then why don't I just stay right here? It shouldn't matter, right?</em></p> <p>The clock continued winding down. 60 seconds.</p> <p><em>And why am I worried? Why am I afraid of being wanted?</em></p> <p>45 seconds.</p> <p><em>Fuck it. You know what? Fuck it! Fuck that 8-Ball for making me so worried in the first place!</em></p> <p>30 seconds.</p> <p><em>I'm not going to let my fate be decided by some desk toy! I'm gonna choose my future, and if I'm wrong, then so be it.</em></p> <p>15 seconds.</p> <p>Kelly began pushing back through the crowd.</p> <p><strong>10!</strong></p> <p><strong>9!</strong></p> <p><strong>8!</strong></p> <p>Kelly was only a few meters from their table.</p> <p><strong>7!</strong></p> <p><strong>6!</strong></p> <p><strong>5!</strong></p> <p>Almost there—</p> <p><strong>4!</strong></p> <p><strong>3!</strong></p> <p><strong>2!</strong></p> <p>And with a <em>thud</em>—</p> <p><strong>HAPPY NEW YEAR!</strong></p> <p>—Kelly landed back in their seat, gasping for breath and dripping with sweat.</p> <p>"Hey, Grace."</p> <p>Grace, with furled brow, looked on at Kelly in confusion.</p> <p>"What's going on, Kelly?"</p> <p>Kelly took a moment to catch their breath, wiping their face with the sleeve of their blazer.</p> "I think I just had an epiphany."<br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <hr/> <p><br/> <br/> 12:30 AM arrived, and just as Mena had predicted, the drunken staff of Site-87 refused to observe the party's previously agreed upon ending time. The vast majority stayed until well past 2 in the morning. A dedicated few stayed past 3.</p> And at 4:28, the last two stragglers—a security guard and an archivist—finally made their way home.<br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <hr/> <p><br/> <br/> By January 3, it was business as usual at Site-87. The final few decorations were stashed away for the next occasion, and the staff returned to their duties newly rejuvenated.</p> <p>That morning, Kelly walked over to Mena's desk to say hello.</p> <p>"Mena, I have just two things to say. First of all, great party. You did a wonderful job. And secondly," they pointed, "fuck that 8-Ball."</p> <p>Mena's eyebrows raised. "What did you wish for?"</p> <p>"Doesn't matter. Point is… I think it came true."</p> <p>"Told you."</p> <p>"Yeah." Kelly grinned. "Guess so."</p> <p>"You didn't wish for something awful, did you?" Mena did a quick once-over of Kelly with her eyes, checking for any sort of tell-tale change.</p> <p>"No, I'm not stupid. No, it was good. Really good."</p> <p>"Are you blushing?"</p> <p>Kelly turned away. "None of your business." They chuckled as they returned to their seat.</p> <p>Maybe the holidays weren't so bad after all.</p> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/if-im-being-honest">If I'm Being Honest</a>" by WhoIsCthulhu, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/if-im-being-honest">https://scpwiki.com/if-im-being-honest</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module rate]] [[/>]] "Again?!?" Mena jumped in her seat. Kelly wasn't usually one to raise their voice. "What's the problem, Kel?" "You see the email?" Mena frantically logged in to her Foundation account, clicked on the message from Director Leigh, and slowly deflated as she read the subject line: > > +++ Important Info About Our New Archival System - 17/12/22 > Mena rested her head in her hands and breathed a deep, frustrated sigh. "Good. Great. Guess the last two weren't organized //enough//." "Guess not." Kelly tapped their knuckles against their desk. "My favorite part is the very end. 'Apologies for the inconvenience.'" "It's always, 'Sorry for the inconvenience,' never, 'I'm going to stop inconveniencing you.' Can't imagine why." Kelly stood. "Well, should we get started? I'll get the first aid kit." "Wait. Real quick." Mena grabbed the Magic 8-Ball and asked, "Is this gonna go smoothly?" A few shakes later, and she had her answer: Don't count on it. _ _ ---- _ _ "Anyone heard from Hawkins?" Site-87's Party Planning Committee was almost always behind schedule anyway, but now one of its members was conspicuously absent. "Saw her and Shipley heading up to the archives this morning, but nothing since," said Agent Yun, a new member of the Security Department. "The archives? What for?" Just then, the door slid open. Mena tried in vain to slip in quietly, quickly giving up when she noticed all eyes on her. "Hi." She hastily made her way across the cramped conference room and slumped into the empty chair. Yun looked at her with a concerned expression. Just this morning, she had seemed fairly energetic, but now she looked utterly drained. Her hair was a mess, her eyes were glazed over, and her glasses seemed bent out of shape. Mena cleared her throat. "So, New Years Eve? What's the plan?" "What the hell happened to you?" Mena met Yun's gaze, with an expression normally reserved for the most unspeakable horrors the Foundation had to offer. "The archive fought back." The others on the committee exchanged knowing glances. Yun looked around, confused. "What does that mean?" Dr. Atama, a longtime member of Site-87's Research Department, leaned towards Yun. "The archive doesn't like things to get moved out of place. It's been reorganized twice this year." "Three times." Mena held up three fingers, covered in band-aids. "It's resisting. But it'll come around." Yun looked back at Atama, who knew the look on her face all too well: //Is that how things go around here? Shouldn't we do something about it? Are you sure the Foundation is okay with this?// Atama, in turn, simply shrugged. “Welcome to Sloth’s Pit.” _ _ ---- _ _ Kelly held an ice pack to their forehead, hoping in vain that it was still cold enough to help at all. Just as they prepared to head back to Medical for a fresh one, Mena returned to her desk. "How'd your meeting go?" "Well, we finally settled on a starting time. 9 PM." "Okay..." "But Security wants it to be over by 12:30." "...there it is." "So now we're at an impasse. I think it's just gonna come down to people refusing to leave." "Fair enough." "Oh, and fancy attire is //encouraged//, but not required." "Fair enough." Kelly started to return to their work. "OH! And people can bring their own drinks, as long as they get them approved ahead of time." Kelly looked Mena in the eyes, expectantly. “Okay, I’m done.” Kelly waited another five seconds, for good measure. "...fair enough." _ _ ---- _ _ Christmas came and went, and the Party Planning Committee's sole focus was making New Years Eve a night to remember. Decorations were arranged, refreshments were purchased, and by the 30th, almost everyone on the Committee was just ready for it to be over. Mena felt differently. While, yes, the preparation had been exhausting, it also meant that the next day would be nothing short of fantastic, //and// that she could be satisfied in knowing that her handiwork was appreciated. Kelly was not so excited. If it were up to them, they'd much rather just sit at home and put on a little jazz. In fact, the only reason they went to any of these parties at all was to support Mena. For Kelly, the holidays were something to be dreaded, not celebrated. Growing up, all that Kelly felt after watching Christmas movies was suspicion. No one is //actually// that happy, no one //actually// feels that safe or that loved. It's a façade, a marketing scheme to sell trees and Coke and wrapping paper. All that these holidays did was prop up a false ideal, and make anyone who fell short of that ideal feel inadequate. So why did Mena like them so much? _ _ ---- _ _ The 31st of December! The big day was here at last. That afternoon, Kelly was just about to leave for lunch when they saw Mena at her desk, head in hands. "Mena?" Her breathing was heavy, and Kelly could feel the tension in her from across the room. "Mena, you alright?" Still no response. Kelly began to worry, moving to her side. Her cheeks were damp. "What? What is it?" Finally she spoke, muffled by her hands: "I don't want you to see me like this." Kelly swallowed. "Do you want me to go?" A long, awkward pause. Then, she answered: "You don't have to stay. I don't want to keep you." "Mena, you're not keeping me. I want you to be alright." Kelly grabbed the chair from under their desk and sat beside her. "If you want to talk about it, you can. But don't feel like you have to." At last, Mena removed her hands from her face. Her eyes were puffy, and her nose was bright red. "I don't know why. I've never felt like this before any of the other parties. It feels so stupid, but I'm just so worried everyone's gonna hate it." "Hate what? The party? People love your parties, Mena." "I know! That's why I don't understand. I mean, I //know// it's going to be fine. But there's a part of me that's convinced that everyone's going to hate me if it's not absolutely perfect. And then I just feel stupid, cause there are people out there fighting... who knows what, world ending threats, and here I am, feeling bad for myself. And it makes me feel like an asshole." "You're not an asshole. Alright? It's not a competition for who can be the most miserable. Other people being in more pain doesn't make your pain less... painful." Kelly got close to Mena's face now. "But I can tell you, as someone who doesn't like parties: I like //your// parties. You make everyone feel included. You don't force anyone to do anything they're not comfortable with. I really think this party is going to be just fine. I'm sorry you're so stressed about it." Mena sniffled. "Thanks, Kel." "Do you want a hug?" "Always." They embraced, and afterwards Mena took a few deep breaths. "Sorry for taking up most of your lunch break." "Hey," said Kelly as they threw up their hands, "I'm not worried about it. As long as there's cookies at the party tonight." "Of course. Who do you think I am?" _ _ ---- _ _ At 6 PM, the staff of Site-87 put their work aside and began preparing for the evening's festivities. Just as Kelly was packing up their things, Mena approached their desk. "Hey Kel, I just wanna say thank you." "For what?" "For talking me down earlier." "Oh, of course. Don't mention it." Kelly continued packing up, when Mena set her Magic 8-Ball on their desk. They looked at it inquisitively. Mena pointed to it. "Go ahead." "I thought you didn't like anyone else to touch it." "Yeah, but you did something really nice today, and I thought it was the least I could do." What Kelly really wanted to say was, //I appreciate the gesture but you shouldn't feel obligated to pay me back. I also don't really believe in this sort of thing.// Luckily, they thought better of it and picked up the Magic 8-Ball. "Alright. So I just ask a question about the future and shake it?" "Yep. And whatever answer you get is what's going to happen." "For sure?" "For sure. It's never been wrong before." Kelly thought for a moment, settled on a question, then shook the 8-Ball, which replied: You may rely on it. Kelly chuckled, but Mena was confused. "Wait, you didn't ask anything." "Yes, I did. In my head." "Well, what was it?!?" "Ha! Like I'd tell you that." "God, you're no fun." Mena snatched the 8-Ball from Kelly's hands and returned it to it's rightful place on her desk. "Well don't come crawling back to me when you get turned into a cat, or your car comes alive, or whatever the hell it is that you asked." Mena sighed, grabbed her things, and left, with Kelly close behind. _ _ ---- _ _ It was true, of course: the 8-Ball had never once made an incorrect prediction. No one at Site-87 was entirely sure if it was because the thing itself was anomalous, or because of the Pit's influence; Mena didn't seem to care either way. And yet Kelly, despite the great number of anomalies which they had seen with their own two eyes, seemed entirely unwilling to consider the possibility that such a mundane thing could hold such power. They were determined to prove, if only to themself, that the 8-Ball was, in fact, fallible. And so they devised a question, one perfect for the task at hand. Not that they didn't //believe// in romance, or lacked the desire for it; moreso that, surely, no one at Site-87 would be interested in them. And even in the deeply unlikely scenario that someone //were// interested, all that they would have to do is slip away at 11:59, hide in the bathroom, and wait until 12:01. Absolutely foolproof. They tied their hair into a small bun, threw on a blazer and pleated skirt, and headed to their car. _ _ ---- _ _ ♪Yooooooooooooou're heeeeeeeeeeeeere♪ ♪There's nOooOoOooOooOooTHing I fear♪ _ _ Kelly slunk in a few minutes after the party started; good thing, too, because they were just in time to hear the tail-end of Dr. Atama's absolutely rousing rendition of "My Heart Will Go On." The festivities were underway. It was a relatively subdued affair, with most of the staff at tables of three or four, chatting about who knows what. Kelly scanned the room, eventually spotting Mena with the other committee members. They headed in that direction, figuring it was polite to at least say hello. "Hey, Mena." "Kelly!" She stood from her chair and wrapped her arms around them. "Glad you came. I appreciate it a lot." "Of course! You put a lot of work into it." Mena gestured to one of the open seats, and after some hesitation, Kelly relented and sat at the table next to Agent Yun, who excitedly reached out a hand. "You're Dr. Shipley, right? I'm Grace! Grace Yun." "Kelly Shipley," they said as they shook the Agent's hand. "But please, just Kelly is fine." Just then, Dr. Atama returned to the table. "Dr. Shipley!" Atama's voice had one volume: loud. "Good to see you! Glad you could join us." Kelly smiled, then glanced at Mena. She mouthed to them, but they couldn't quite figure out what she was saying. They squinted, and she tried to exaggerate her lip flapping, but to no avail. Eventually, Kelly stood and went to Mena's side. "What?" "I just wanted to make sure you were okay!" "Oh! Uh... yeah, I think so. Why?" "I don't know, I just know you sometimes get overwhelmed." "Nah, I'm good right now. But thanks." "Alright then! Just don't feel obligated to stay until midnight if you're not comfortable." Kelly gave a mock salute, then returned to their seat. They scanned the room, plotting their 11th-hour exit in advance. They wanted to ensure that there would be an easy route out of the room for when the time came. Grace leaned in. "So Kelly, what exactly do you guys do?" "Oh, depends. Mostly just make sure that documents get sent wherever they need to go. And update existing documentation as needed, of course." "Exciting." "Oh, you know it. What about you?" "Basically just shooing away anyone who's not supposed to get in. Teenagers, solicitors, reporters. But most days nobody even comes to the door, so it's a lot of 'hurry up and wait.'" "Understandable. What do you do to fill that time?" "Read. Doodle. Listen to music. Anything to make it go faster." "What kind of music?" "Little bit of everything. Today I listened to Herbie Hancock." Kelly immediately lit up. "Which one? 'Head Hunters?'" "'Maiden Voyage,' I think." "//Excellent// choice!" Kelly released some of the tension in their shoulders. "The title track, my god." "Yeah, I'm not super into jazz, but I liked it a lot." "Fair. It's pretty diverse." The two quickly launched into a lengthy discussion about favorite bands, favorite albums, favorite concerts they'd ever seen, so on and so forth. If anyone else had been watching (of course, the other staff were preoccupied with conversations of their own), it might almost have seemed that—despite everything—Kelly was enjoying themself. Their posture, normally closed-off, was noticeably loose. A genuine excitement seemed to permeate every millimeter of their being. As the night drew on, the 8-Ball's prediction slipped further and further from the top of Kelly's mind. 10 o'clock came. Then 11. _ _ ---- _ _ And before Kelly had time to blink, 11:58 had arrived. They were only broken from the thrall of the discussion by Dr. Atama rising from the table to watch the ball drop. Grace didn't seem to care. "But yeah, I was really glad I got to see Prince at least once before he died." Suddenly panicked, Kelly turned back to Grace. "Hey, I know this is sudden, but I think I need to leave." "Okay." A look of concern spread over Grace's face. "Is everything alright?" "Yep, everything's just fine. I just need to take care of something real quick." Kelly rose from their seat and scanned the room. Their pre-planned escape route was now clogged with researchers and facility guards, all eagerly awaiting the countdown. Hurriedly, Kelly began to shove their way through the room, eyes turning to the clock every few seconds. //It can't be true,// they thought to themself. //It's not going to happen. Who would even be interested?// Just then, Kelly stopped. //But if no one's interested, then why don't I just stay right here? It shouldn't matter, right?// The clock continued winding down. 60 seconds. //And why am I worried? Why am I afraid of being wanted?// 45 seconds. //Fuck it. You know what? Fuck it! Fuck that 8-Ball for making me so worried in the first place!// 30 seconds. //I'm not going to let my fate be decided by some desk toy! I'm gonna choose my future, and if I'm wrong, then so be it.// 15 seconds. Kelly began pushing back through the crowd. 10! 9! 8! Kelly was only a few meters from their table. 7! 6! 5! Almost there— 4! 3! 2! And with a //thud//— HAPPY NEW YEAR! —Kelly landed back in their seat, gasping for breath and dripping with sweat. "Hey, Grace." Grace, with furled brow, looked on at Kelly in confusion. "What's going on, Kelly?" Kelly took a moment to catch their breath, wiping their face with the sleeve of their blazer. "I think I just had an epiphany." _ _ ---- _ _ 12:30 AM arrived, and just as Mena had predicted, the drunken staff of Site-87 refused to observe the party's previously agreed upon ending time. The vast majority stayed until well past 2 in the morning. A dedicated few stayed past 3. And at 4:28, the last two stragglers—a security guard and an archivist—finally made their way home. _ _ ---- _ _ By January 3, it was business as usual at Site-87. The final few decorations were stashed away for the next occasion, and the staff returned to their duties newly rejuvenated. That morning, Kelly walked over to Mena's desk to say hello. "Mena, I have just two things to say. First of all, great party. You did a wonderful job. And secondly," they pointed, "fuck that 8-Ball." Mena's eyebrows raised. "What did you wish for?" "Doesn't matter. Point is... I think it came true." "Told you." "Yeah." Kelly grinned. "Guess so." "You didn't wish for something awful, did you?" Mena did a quick once-over of Kelly with her eyes, checking for any sort of tell-tale change. "No, I'm not stupid. No, it was good. Really good." "Are you blushing?" Kelly turned away. "None of your business." They chuckled as they returned to their seat. Maybe the holidays weren't so bad after all. [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a> \|author=WhoIsCthulhu]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-11-01T03:02:00	[ "_licensebox", "christmas", "news-prompt", "s&c-plastics", "slice-of-life", "tale" ]	If I'm Being Honest - SCP Foundation	13	[ "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023" ]	[]	1451180900	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/if-im-being-honest
ignition	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=3&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Ascp-offices-theme/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <ul class="creditRate"> <li class="rateBox folded"> <div class="rate-box-with-credit-button"> <div class="creditButton foldable-list-container"> <p><a href="javascript:;"></a></p> </div> </div> <div id="u-credit-view"> <div class="fader foldable-list-container"><a href="javascript:;">close</a></div> <div class="modalcontainer"> <div class="modalbox"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2><span>Info</span></h2> </div> <hr/> <div class="close-credits foldable-list-container"><a href="javascript:;">X</a></div> <div class="credit first"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p>Co-written by <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/ralliston" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5986843); return false;"><img alt="Ralliston" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=5986843&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735498191" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=5986843)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/ralliston" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5986843); return false;">Ralliston</a></span> and <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/trotskyeet" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5988976); return false;"><img alt="Trotskyeet" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=5988976&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735498191" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=5988976)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/trotskyeet" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5988976); return false;">Trotskyeet</a></span></p> <p><strong><a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/ralliston-s-authorpage">Ralliston's Authorpage</a></strong></p> <p><strong><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/trotskyeet-author">Trotskyeet's Authorpage</a></strong></p> </div> </div> <hr/> </div> </div> </div> </li> </ul> <div class="blockquote" style="width: intrinsic; width: -moz-max-content; width: -webkit-max-content; text-align:center; margin: 10px auto;"> <p><strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hX7BpN_1PCc" target="_blank">Recommended reading music</a></strong></p> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>5th of March, 1942</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Protected Area-312, Vichy France</strong></p> <p>Alistair Vemhoff opened his eyes. He couldn't tell if he was still dreaming.</p> <p>The concrete ceiling above him certainly wasn't any indicator of reality; he'd been down here for so long that he had already started seeing it in his dreams. The outside sounds of tank columns and marching soldiers had similarly grown to become little more than white noise. The only thing inside the cell he called a bedroom was him, the cold ground, and a precariously swinging lightbulb. He silently listened for a few minutes, taking in the artificial hum.</p> <p>It was real, then. Not even dreams were so monotonous.</p> <p>Still, he didn't stand up. There was little more to do down here than sleep. There was only so much poker he could play with Raia before both of them grew bored to death. He didn't quite feel like striking up a conversation with Bernard or Dubois, either. Even the radio, once one of his few connections with the outside, had become nothing more than a propaganda machine, a reminder of what had been lost. The only meaningful thing he could do was simply wait until Site-120 was safe enough to return to.</p> <p>It has been a very dull couple of years.</p> <p>Without much hesitation, he closed his eyes.</p> <p>The second he did so, Raia's muffled voice slipped through his cocoon of reinforced steel doors and concrete walls: "Al! We got a visitor."</p> <p>He opened his eyes again.</p> <p>So this was it. After ages of radio silence, something finally came through. He wondered who it could be, with the kind of thoughts you gave only to news that could prove both catastrophic and life-saving. Perhaps it was a diplomat from the Allied Occult Initiative, telling them that they could finally return home. Or perhaps it was a survivor from the skeleton crew left at their facility, reporting that there was no home to even return to. Either way, doing anything past wondering would mean having to get up.</p> <p>The part of him that was his little reptilian brain wasn't sure if getting confirmation was worth leaving the warmth and safety of his bed. But the part of him that was still an academic — the part that made him who he was — really needed to get an answer.</p> <p>He figured there was only one way to get one.</p> <p>Laying down and dying was easy.</p> <p>Getting up and living was not.</p> <p>With a heavy sigh, Alistair Vemhoff blinked twice and stood up, ready to face the world.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>* * </strong></p> <p>Area-312 was little more than a converted vegetable cellar of a townhome on the outskirts of Montpellier. In peacetime, it was a waypoint for the dozen Mobile Task Forces stationed in the region. Now, it represented the only Foundation presence in the entirety of France.</p> <p>There were just the four of them: Bernard, Dubois, Raia, and Vemhoff. There used to be more.</p> <p>As Alistair entered the dining room, he didn't wave off the cloud of smoke floating around the uncharacteristically sober Dubois or comment on Bernard's unusual lack of complaints over the breakfast. He didn't take the kettle from Raia's shaking hands, either.</p> <p>He was too distracted by the barrel of a handgun, pointed in between his eyes.</p> <p>A voice behind the gun spoke, "Does the Black Moon howl?"</p> <p>"Only when it sinks below the bright horizon," he replied without a second's hesitation.</p> <p>The barrel lowered and Alistair could feel his heart beating again. He could see the gun's wielder now, a <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">crumbling marble statue</span> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">burning, brilliant phoenix</span> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">writhing mass of hissing snakes</span>—</p> <p>He blinked. A diminutive Asian woman smiled pleasantly at him as she holstered her gun. She was covered in the most mundane clothing he could imagine — were it not for her posture and her face, the only two parts of her that now remained unveiled, his brain would have treated her like little more than visual white noise he ought to ignore as soon as possible.</p> <p>The most striking part of her was her eyes. They were the colors of late autumn, something almost akin to a hungry fire burning inside them. A hungry fire that was focused on Vemhoff, and Vemhoff alone.</p> <p>"Can they be trusted?"</p> <p>It took him a moment to realize she was speaking Cantonese. He had been to China only once before on a one-month vacation to Hong Kong. He considered himself nearly fluent.</p> <p>"I've known them all for years. I'd trust them with my life."</p> <p>Her hand refused to leave the gun alone. "If they were given amnestics, would they take them?"</p> <p>"Of course, but—"</p> <p>"Good. Nothing leaves this room. In fact, this conversation never even occurred. Do you know who I am?"</p> <p>Alistair didn't. But the pieces were falling into place: the code, willingness to shoot before asking questions, his nearly all-consuming urge to get as far away from this woman as possible, and that hungry spark, burning deep inside her soul…</p> <p>He squinted his eyes. "You're an O5."</p> <p>She smiled again, and Alistair was reminded of a photograph he once saw in a nature magazine of a lion baring its teeth.</p> <p>"Very good, Doctor Vemhoff. I am O5-5. I have a job for you."</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong> * </strong></p> <p>In Vemhoff's line of business, getting details about a deployment was a luxury. Tonight, it was one he could not afford.</p> <p>He wasn't told anything, except the fact they had to leave as soon as possible. Obskurakorps had eyes and ears across Europe, and the less attention drawn, the better.</p> <p>He packed everything he had, said one final goodbye to people who'd been his only company for the last few years, and joined Five in the cold French night outside, his clothes now matching the equally mundane attire of the Overseer.</p> <p>They left at midnight.</p> <p>In the Site's foyer, Raia Micheals watched the two walk into the night fog. They didn't need the senses of a mage to feel the power of the veil the Overseer cast to cover them both. Perhaps persuaded by the masquerade of the spell, they looked down at their hands, and noticed a pill stamped with "C" tightly gripped in their palm. They swallowed it.</p> <p>Soon after, they wondered why their eyes were wet.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong> * </strong></p> <p>Their journey across war-ridden France was a silent one. Whether it was the work of the veil, muting both sounds from the inside and outside of its protection, or just the nature of the barren wasteland, Alistair couldn't quite tell.</p> <p>Five didn't do much to break the stillness. She just walked forward, always next to him, her attention ever so slightly somewhere else. It was clear that whatever energy the maintenance of the veil required, it wasn't easy on her strength. He didn't question it. For what it was worth, neither did the everpresent civilians and German soldiers. Neither ever realized the two figures were even there.</p> <p>They continued like that until sunrise; never stopping, never speaking, never as much as uttering a noise. They simply maintained their pace until the small town turned into suburbs, then a forest, and then a small, unremarkable opening somewhere inside it.</p> <p>Five made the veil fall down, and the two of them once again became visible. The light that flooded onto them, now uninterrupted by the previous masquerade of the spell, blinded Alistair for just a moment. A moment long enough for Five to whisper a word in a language not even Vemhoff could recognize.</p> <p>When he opened his eyes again, they were no longer standing inside a forest. Around them extended a short airstrip, a small plane parked right at its other end. Inside it sat a muscular woman in a soldier's outfit, her jacket proudly displaying the symbol of a red right hand wielding a long, black spear.</p> <p>Vemhoff didn't need further encouragement to get inside the vehicle.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong> * </strong></p> <p>They were somewhere over the North Atlantic when O5-5 first spoke.</p> <p>"My apologies for the secrecy." Despite her words, she spoke in <a href="/echoes-of-shattered-erikesh">Erikeshan</a>, a language Vemhoff was pretty sure only three people on the planet spoke. Four, now, he corrected himself. "In times like these, who knows who you can trust."</p> <p>Alistair snorted awake, straightening out his suit jacket and blinking twice. "O-Of course, of course. As an Overseer, I imagine it to b—"</p> <p>Her head suddenly darted sideways. "Can I trust you, Alistair?" She was sitting forward now, brown-tinted irises piercing through his body. The little fire was once again burning inside them. When he blinked, he swore he could still see them through his eyelids.</p> <p>"Absolutely." He felt the word leave his lips before he knew he said it. It was like his tongue and throat moved of their own volition.</p> <p>A shadow of a smile touched Five's face. "Good."</p> <p>O5-5 stood up and moved towards the back of the cabin. Alistair subconsciously grabbed at his neck. A few moments later, she returned, two tumblers of amber liquor in hand.</p> <p>"How familiar are you with the field of archeology, Doctor Vemhoff?" she said, handing Alistair the cup.</p> <p>He accepted the drink, settling in his chair. It had been so long since his training was relevant that he barely knew himself.</p> <p>"I… I observed the beginnings of the <a href="/na-bestyje-przepis-jeden-kranca-wdech">Daevon</a> excavation a few years ago. They needed someone to translate the sacred Scarlet hymns." He paused for a moment to consider. "I was briefly brought onto the Adytum and Atlantis teams, too, but I wouldn't exactly call it my area of expertise. I'm much more comfortable in a classr—"</p> <p>"Excellent. This will be old hat for you, then." She put her hands together, and looked out of the windows. There was little more than the endless expanse of the ocean beyond them, now. "We're heading to Merriman. Ever heard of it?"</p> <p>Alistair hadn't.</p> <p>"Not many have. It's a town of about a hundred in northern Nebraska. The excavation is around half an hour south of there. Just a preliminary encampment for now, but it should be sufficient for your initial work." She looked back at him, and the itching behind his eyelids was back. "You'll be working with Foundation personnel, along with members of various branches of the American government. They'll provide you with more specific details once you get settled."</p> <p>She paused for a moment, then narrowed her eyes. "This is not one of your lecture halls, Doctor Vemhoff. There is no need to raise your hand for questions."</p> <p>He quickly set his left hand back in his lap. "I appreciate the opportunity, truly, but I'm unsure why the Foundation is even bothering with this, especially now."</p> <p>Her eyes narrowed even further. "Do you know how many Foundation Sites are within Obskurakorps' reach?"</p> <p>Alistair didn't.</p> <p>"Forty-three. That's over six hundred SCP objects, and tens of thousands of agents, doctors, and researchers. No one's coming to save them, when Obskura decides to break our tentative peace."</p> <p>"But in the case of Foundation involvement, the AOI promises to help—"</p> <p>"It is the opinion of the O5 Council that the Allied Occult Initiative is not to be trusted," she said, a silent bias of old grudges echoing somewhere behind her words. "A hundred heads pull them in a hundred directions, some wanting nothing more than to bite at us. Besides, under official terms we are still yet to take a side in the war. Following negotiations with Twelve, the American president has guaranteed that in exchange for our help with this excavation, the American forces shall ensure the full restoration of the Foundation's presence in Europe."</p> <p>He took a sip of his drink. It tasted like ash and smoke. There was still a piece missing.</p> <p>"But why this excavation? What's so important that you need to fly some old linguist all the way across the Atlantic?"</p> <p>O5-5 smiled, revealing a set of sharpened, wolf-like teeth.</p> <p>"That's why we need you, Alistair. Because I have <em>no idea</em>."</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong> * </strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>6th of March, 1942</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Merriman, United States of America</strong></p> <p>They arrived around noon, their plane landing on an airstrip significantly larger than the one it took off from. It was surrounded by a few military-looking buildings, but just like its predecessor, it was masked right until they landed. Seeing the process from the air, Alistair recognized the work — it was almost identical to the one that had covered Site-01 when he had visited it a decade prior, tasked with translating the Fae Empire-era inscriptions and runes that riddled the palace below it.</p> <p>When they got out of the vehicle, they were greeted by two things: the blazing sun and a single man in US Army clothing. He was tall and built like a a boxer, his face beaming with caution even despite its mask of neutrality. His hands were put behind his back, but somehow Alistair didn't doubt he could reach for the M1911A1 mounted near his belt before he could even blink.</p> <p>When they approached him, he smiled widely, extending his hand towards O5-5. She shook it, matching the man's expression.</p> <p>"Madame Overseer," he said, his voice a thundering but polite basso. "We have been expecting you."</p> <p>"Good. I'm sure that Mikell has already cleared you about the… details, of our mission here." She slightly moved her head to point at Alistair.</p> <p>The soldier eyed him, then nodded. "Indeed." He paused for a moment. "As requested, the transport is already waiting. We will be leaving imminently."</p> <p>Five's smile widened. "Excellent."</p> <p>The soldier waved, then whistled, and from the shadows of the buildings surrounding the airport, half a dozen similarly-clothed and similarly-armed figures emerged. Alistair flinched, suddenly realizing they had been standing there all along. Five remained motionless.</p> <p>The man showed them to follow them with his head, and started walking forward, towards a large military vehicle parked right before them. Similarly, before the man had pointed it out, Alistair did not realize it was standing there, either.</p> <p>Alistair and Five got into the car.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong> * </strong></p> <p>From the six hours Alistair had been in Nebraska, the only thing he could conclude was that it was very flat.</p> <p>The journey towards the excavation site was a grueling one. Still burdened by yesterday's walk across France and the mostly sleepless night above the Atlantic, Alistair's mind was occupied by trying to take a nap while he still could. The ceaseless bumps and holes that riddled the road they rode down certainly did nothing to make the job easier. Neither did the setting sun, still blinding his eyes and burning his skin with its unusually warm rays.</p> <p>Meanwhile, in the front of the car, Five and the soldier were engaged in a passionate discussion. About what, Alistair could not quite tell; not because he didn't understand the language they spoke (he doubted either of them could even think of one he didn't recognize), but because his brain was too exhausted to match the sounds of words to their meanings.</p> <p>Left with no other choice, he looked out of his window, greeting the ceaseless grasslands that stretched outside of civilization and beyond the horizon, well into infinity. After a while, the monotony of the landscape seemed to mix in with the sounds of the engine, soon turning into little more than dreams.</p> <p>When Alistair opened his eyes again, they were no longer driving. The car was now parked before a series of large tents, the structure of the camp organized in a geometric manner. All around them were various people, both Foundation and US Army emblems proudly displayed on their chests. He recognized some of them as personnel from the Departments of Archeology and History from previous jobs, but the vast majority of them remained unfamiliar.</p> <p>They were all unmoving, staring directly at the vehicle in front of them.</p> <p>When Alistair and company got out of the car, one of the people — much taller than the rest, his posture lean and with the build of an athlete — slowly approached them. The cigarette that he held between his lips was already going dim.</p> <p>He extended a hand first towards the Overseer, then towards the army official, and then towards Alistair. When he got to Vemhoff, he smiled ever so slightly. "Lyn Marness," he said, looking down at Alistair. Whether a slight or necessity due to height, he couldn't quite tell. "<a href="/unforgettable-that-s-what-you-are">Unthinkables Division</a>, US Army Paranatural Warfare Command."</p> <p>Alistair shook his hand. "Alistair Vemhoff, Linguistics Department, Foundation. Pleasure to be working with you, sir," he added.</p> <p>That broke the awkward stare. Marness smiled slightly. "Pleasure to be working with you, too. We've been anticipating your arrival quite eagerly, as you can tell." He looked around the encampment, nodding towards several of his people with his head. "We… Well. I think it'll be better if I just show you."</p> <p>Without looking back at Alistair, he started walking towards the biggest of the tents. Vemhoff looked at Five, almost as if waiting for approval; the Overseer just nodded.</p> <p>When they entered the tent, the first thing that caught Alistair's attention was just how tidy it all was. From the made beds to the organized clothes to even the glasses lying on the immaculately clean table, everything inside it seemed to follow the same rigid structure as the outside of the camp. Marness was a man of order, then.</p> <p>Lyn stopped and turned to look at Alistair. "Welcome to your new home, Doctor Vemhoff."</p> <p>He waved his hand. "Just Alistair is fine."</p> <p>"Glad to hear that, Alistair." Marness smiled, and took a seat next to the table in front of them. It was riddled by maps of the surrounding regions, several markings left upon them in what Alistair presumed to be Marness' blocky, even writing.</p> <p>Alistair joined him, sitting right across from Lyn. "So." He looked at the maps and crossed his arms. "What's all of this about?"</p> <p>Marness looked down at the map, pointing at one of the marked areas — a town, Vemhoff presumed.</p> <p>Lyn took a moment to consider his words. "About two months ago, locals started getting dreams. Talking animals, deer and the like. Stars exploding in the sky. Shards of glass buried beneath the ground. As far as we could tell, they didn't start off saying anything special. Some thought it was a byproduct of the war, but most of town brushed it off as just a curiosity. The newspaper even made it into a political cartoon about the next presidential election." He paused. "For a few weeks, nothing special happened. Until it did."</p> <p>Lyn jabbed a finger at the relevant clipping: a few lines of text hastily written atop a piece of paper, put right next to Merriman's dot on the map. Next to it lay a grainy photograph of a bespectacled, balding man.</p> <p>"Meet Arnold Haub, editor-in-chief of the <em>Merriman Maverick</em>. Don't think you two'd get along, German by way of the Polish partition. After the War, he packed up things in the old country, and moved out here. Got a wife and three kids, cushy job, real American Dream immigrant. That's why it was so surprising that he would up and disappear."</p> <p>His finger moved down, following a string of twine that connected to a topographic map. "Took about four days to find him. The state barely maintains roads out here, and most don't even own a car. They found him here—" He pointed to a dot two kilometers south of Merriman. "—trying to carve a hole in the side of a mountain with his bloodied bare hands. Totally delirious, was babbling about finding a city of glass. Died of exhaustion as they tried to get him back to town."</p> <p>Alistair recalled the earlier car ride, furrowing his brows. "A mountain? Here?"</p> <p>Lyn snapped his fingers. "You Foundation people are smarter than you look. Took us a while to question that. See, originally we were here to investigate the dreams, Haub was just a footnote in the interviews. Then we tried to find the mountain, and discovered it didn't exist. None of the townspeople could recall seeing it before, and no surveyor had ever marked anything even close to one. The mountain couldn't even exist; the geography of this region allows for some small hills, but nothing like a <em>mountain</em>.</p> <p>"So we packed our things and went, trying to see what the whole fuss was about."</p> <p>He handed Alistair another old photograph. This time, it depicted what Vemhoff presumed to be the mountain he'd mentioned. It stood as a sore thumb against the rest of the landscape, its imposing structure somehow almost ominous in a land of grass and hills. All around it, the plantlife was dead: from malnourished, thorny trees to barren ground, it was clear that this wasn't the work of men — or wildfires, for that matter.</p> <p>"And see we did indeed." He paused. "None of us have ever seen anything like this. Some thought it to be a ritual gone wrong, the site still remaining despite the culprits being long gone. Carver's counters quickly disproved that one." He put forward a sheet of paper, filled with columns of numbers and graphs Vemhoff couldn't even begin to comprehend. "Others said it was a military disposal site, or something of the like." He touched his badge. "My own clearance quickly disproved that one, too."</p> <p>He put his hands together. "For a few weeks, we were lost. We have a cursed mountain in an otherwise barren land, somehow connected to the unlucky bastards at Merriman. No apparent connections, no leads. We were ready to give up and amnesticize the whole town.</p> <p>"Enter me. Someway down the road, someone had the brilliant idea they weren't seeing something obvious in there, some missing part of the puzzle that was right in front of their eyes. And it so happens me and my men are experts at noticing the unseen." He paused. "So off I go, shipped from Washington to god-knows-where, barely anything but a telegram to tell me what to do. I arrive on site, pop a few pills, and… voilà. I give them their missing piece."</p> <p>One more photograph, this time of a blurred-out, barely visible stone slab buried in the side of the mountain, the engravings written atop it almost too intricate to believably be the work of humans. "A door, just there, in plain sight. A door made from materials we've never seen, inscribed in a language we'd never heard of, but one you eggheads seemed to be familiar with."</p> <p>Alistair moved a little closer. "A door? Leading where?"</p> <p>"You tell me." Lyn smiled with brief amusement putting forward a whole folder. Vemhoff opened it.</p> <p>Inside, there were more pictures and drawings of the runes, all just as blurred as the first one. From the strange fog effect to the letters themselves, Vemhoff got the subconscious feeling that he somehow wasn't meant to be looking at this all. Like the letters were beyond his simple, mortal reach.</p> <p>He shook his head.</p> <p>No matter. He was here to do a job.</p> <p>The first thing he noticed was just how old the runes were — they used the immediately noticeable and almost serpentine writing manner of the old Fae Empire tounges, albeit with the addition of a few signs he didn't recognize. He considered his Ur-Fae to be pretty good these days — good enough to read and understand most texts found in the ruins of old Empire palaces — but here… here, he felt lost. Squinting, it was almost as if he could make out individual words, a few bits and bobs out of context and out of meaning, but that was as far as his knowledge went. Between this and the blur on the photos and hand transcriptions, obstructing most of the sentence contexts and letter parts, he genuinely wasn't sure what to say.</p> <p>He slowly let out the air.</p> <p>"I'll… I'll be honest. I don't actually know what most of this means." Before Lyn could say anything, he pointed to a few symbols depicted throughout the folder's contents and added, "A few of the words are recognizable, but only barely. They're written in accents and forms I've never seen and would need to guess the meaning of. It's mostly small stylistic choices, but if you look at the sentence ord—" He stopped, realizing this was of no interest to Lyn and of no importance to their mission. He smiled politely, and continued, "There are many mentions of starlight, of war, of the sun and the moon. Something about the planets aligning, the death of a star, and it all bringing about peace? Prosperity? I'm not sure."</p> <p>He shook his head. "The quality of the photos doesn't help, either. What's with that?"</p> <p>Almost subconsciously, Lyn reached into his pocket, pulling out a small tin. "Amnestic brain fog. My men call it antimemetic. Stupid name.</p> <p>"The point is," he continued, propping himself up, "your brain is incapable of comprehending these symbols until we drug it up with enough nonsense that it starts to think on proper wavelengths." He smiled slightly, and shook the pill container. It was almost empty. "A camera handles it even worse. We tried to tune it with a few magic gizmos the boys gave us, but…" He shrugged. "You can see the results yourself."</p> <p>Vemhoff nodded. "Right." He paused. "That's as much as I can tell you without actually being there in person and seeing it with my own eyes." He glanced at the pills in Lyn's hands. "And here I was, thinking I've quit morphine for good."</p> <p>Lyn chuckled. "If it helps, they tell us they're non-addictive."</p> <p>Vemhoff smiled. "Of course they do."</p> <p>After a moment, Marness stood up and nodded. "Good. This is still going better than I expected. We head out at sunrise, then." He took a step towards his cupboard, bringing out a bottle of whiskey and two glasses. He smiled. "But that was business. And it so happens business is now done."</p> <p>Alistair squinted at the bottle, catching a glimpse of the word "Chicago" on a small label, and a tag reading "Evidence" attached to its neck. "Ah, is that—"</p> <p>"Aye. When we what remained of his mansion back in '38, I decided to take a few souvenirs. Apparently they stuck this one in a temporal rift to age it an extra decade." Lynn took off the cap and poured the amber liquid into two glasses. He popped off the lid of his pill container, throwing one capsule into each glass. They dissolved after just a few seconds. Alistair didn't say anything.</p> <p>Lyn offered his companion a drink. The linguist took it, nodding in appreciation.</p> <p>"So, to what are we drinking?" Lyn raised his own glass. "To victory?"</p> <p>Alistair considered for a moment, then shook his head. "To peace."</p> <p>Something almost like amusement flew across Lyn's face. "To peace, then."</p> <p>They clank their glasses together, and drank up. They had a long day ahead of them.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong> * *</strong></p> <p>Alistair thought he must've made an odd sight as the convoy made their way towards the invisible mountain, trucks full of gun-toting soldiers in full battle dress, and one string bean of a man in tweed writing in a notebook.</p> <p>The truck hit a pothole and Alistair cursed, ink spilling over the page and his lap. Across from him, Lyn produced a pitifully small tissue, handing it to Alistair. "What are you writing?"</p> <p>He accepted, furiously dabbing his pants to no avail. "It was the beginning of my report. We've always suspected that the <a href="/ralliston-s-proposal">Fae Empire</a> made it to the Americas, but this is our first concrete proof. This site could be a real game-changer for the field."</p> <p>Lyn smiled. "I feel honored. Think I'd get a picture in the history books?"</p> <p>"You could try. Then we'd have to take it out of circulation and erase the fact you've ever existed."</p> <p>He gently touched his pills. "I think you'd be surprised at how simple that task would end up being."</p> <p>Alistair nodded in polite appreciation at Lyn's jab and went back to his work. It was only after a few more kilometers that he realized this was of essentially no use; maybe with a sensible driver, he could've gotten a few paragraphs done before they arrived at their destination. Suffice to say, what the United States Army considered to be sensible was very far removed from Vemhoff's own definition of the word.</p> <p>So instead of trying to write he just stared across the horizon, towards the ever-closer mountain, its lonely, grim figure just barely visible beyond the thick mind-fog around it.</p> <p>The first thing Vemhoff noticed was just how quiet it all was. He never considered himself a nature spirit — buried in his books and studies, he was quite far from it — but even he knew that a place like this had its own ambiance, a song strung by a thousand beings living and dead. Here, though? Here there was nothing. Absolutely nothing. And like a gaping void it surrounded them whole, luring them ever closer towards its very own heart of darkness.</p> <p>The feeling only got worse when they arrived next to the millennia-old door.</p> <p>Alistair resisted the urge to gulp.</p> <p>Correcting his glasses, he crouched down and touched the stone that now lay before them. Even with their new pills, the thing was still an itch on his senses — one he could feel behind his eyes and at the back of his head, just enough to be an inconvenience but not enough to actually stop him from doing his work. He shook his head and blew off some of the dirt that still surrounded the door, revealing several lines of letters and pictures.</p> <p>"Hmm," he said, squinting his eyes. "That's certainly something."</p> <p>Lyn came closer, joining his companion in crouching. "What is?"</p> <p>Alistair tapped the runes. "Like I said before, this is old Fae. Very, very old Fae. And it's a grave." He clicked his tongue. "Though I suppose that 'tomb' is a more accurate translation."</p> <p>Lyn arched an eyebrow. "Which means…?"</p> <p>"Oh. Right." Alistair paused to consider. "I'll spare you the details, but for most of Fae history it was believed that after we die, our spirits go on to join those who came before us in… Well. It wasn't ever really clear. Some cultures saw it asw their explanation for Aurora Borealis. Point is," he said, pointing at the sky. "The Fae were very much free folk, back then. They were all about change, about fluidity, about being one with the ever-shifting nature of reality. Their death was the ultimate expression of that: their bodies were burned, their ashes and souls now free—"</p> <p>He noticed Lyn's look, and cleared his throat. "What I'm trying to say is that to a Fae, being buried, moreso in a grave, was the ultimate insult. It would mean having them anchored to this world forever. And this—" He pointed at their door. "—is a very, <em>very</em> fancy tomb. You know what that means?"</p> <p>"That it's a very elaborate way of showing someone the middle finger?"</p> <p>Alistair nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, pretty much."</p> <p>"Well." Lyn stood up. "Does it say anything else? Like to whom this particular insult was addressed?"</p> <p>Alistair unearthed a few more of the runes with one hand, correcting his glasses with the other. He squinted even further. "Something about a Great War — in their equivalent of capital letters — a few pictograms of <a href="/the-queens-butterfly">two butterflies</a>, one of them bleeding…" He paused, as if trying to make out a particularly difficult sentence. "And… huh. I…"</p> <p>Very gently, he touched the middle part of the door — a circular seal in the shape of a wheel, its center decorated with a large emerald. The words around it read, "'Come forward, you who live in the shadow; embrace the light and break the flame, you—'"</p> <p>Alistair let out a sudden scream, his pain sharp and quick. Before Lyn or their companions could react, Vemhoff's eyes flashed with a green flame, his very own being flashing briefly visible to the men around him.</p> <p>Lyn blinked, trying to let the image of his companion's soul fade away from beneath his eyelids. He found it less than simple.</p> <p>Vemhoff took a slow breath. His hands were shaking. Beneath one of them — the one that previously lay on the seal in the doors — there was now just a broken jewel, the words around it pulsating with very old — and now, once again very real — power.</p> <p>"What the hell was that?" Lyn finally said, looking at Alistair. "Are you all right?"</p> <p>Alistair shook his head, then nodded, and slowly lifted the metal slab that lay before him. It was as light as air. "Yeah, I'm fine. It was just a sting of magic. The door had a linguistic lock on it. Not exactly the magic type myself, so how my words activated it, I don't really know," he said, revealing a dark, looming corridor behind the door. It led deep into the mountain. "But I suppose there's only one way to find out."</p> <p>Lyn flashed a light forward, illuminating a series of stairs made out of what looked like dark, orange wood. They terminated at a pair of large archways at the bottom of the staircase. The light didn't reach far enough to make out what lay beyond them, but it did show that the walls of the complex were ridden with a very intricate line of runes. A very intricate line of runes that repeated on and on, forming a single sentence, written a thousand times.</p> <p>Lyn looked at Vemhoff. "What's it say?"</p> <p>"'Gaze at the works of Radiance, and Pale before its sunlight.'" He furrowed his brows. "Radiance and Pale are again capitalized."</p> <p>Lyn raised an eyebrow. Vemhoff gave him a look, and said, "Like I said — no idea. We need to go deeper."</p> <p>"Don't we always."</p> <p>Lyn showed two of their men to follow them downwards, instructing the other to patrol the mountain in case of any further irregularities. They nodded and went off, leaving their commander with a foreign linguist and just two guns to protect their backs.</p> <p>Before Lyn could say anything, Vemhoff took out his own light, shining right at the staircase before them.</p> <p>Carefully, bracing the stability of each step, he slowly but surely made his way downwards, Lyn and the two men always creeping just a few steps behind him. He was surprised to see no damage done to the stairs — or any part of the structure for that matter. He'd seen a few tombs in his life, and if there was one thing that united them all, it was their sorry states — here, though, he could notice no cracks in the walls or the ceiling. The only thing that indicated any age was dust, which formed a thick carpet beneath their feet.</p> <p>The archway that greeted them at the bottom of the stairway was the first deviation from that pattern; at its highest point stood a broken mosaic depicting a moon and a sun, the former almost entirely covered in broken, pulsating green runes — just like the ones from the entry.</p> <p>"Thoughts?" Lyn asked.</p> <p>"Fae culture is rich in depictions of duality, of Seelie and Unseelie. Think Augustinianism but less pretentious." He pointed at the two images. "A moon and a sun are very frequent interpretations of the motif. Especially for people the Fae considered to be true harbingers of either — of creation or destruction, depending on the affiliation." He paused for a second. "Whoever this belonged to, it's clear they weren't a nobody."</p> <p>Lyn didn't reply, instead flashing his light forward, beyond the archways. Its rays landed in a small room. It contained heavy-looking doors. They were very plain and contained no runes, except for a single word: "'Blight'," Vemhoff read, squinting his eyes. He too moved his flashlight to focus on the antechamber before them.</p> <p>With the rest of the room now visible, Lyn and Alistair could make out more of its walls, noticing they were absolutely filled with various images and letters, interweaving to form a strange gem-mosaic that was difficult to look at, even moreso than the rest of the memory-itching tomb. The whole place had no order to it, no real symmetry aside from the fact that all of its parts terminated in the center of the chamber: a cubical opening in its floor, almost like a keyhole, looking as if it was waiting for some central, missing element to open it up and activate something.</p> <p>Lyn and Alistair looked at each other, then nodded. Each of them headed towards a different wall, trying to see if there was anything worthwhile there, or if it was all just artistic chaos.</p> <p>Softly, Alistair caressed the mosaic before him. A single ruby, glowing red despite no apparent source of light; a medallion formed out of a metal he did not recognize, its form always seeming to shift into the shapes of different animals; a broken hilt of what he presumed to be a sword, its structure molded into the wall like it was carved out of the same wood that entombed it whole; a—</p> <p>Meeting a sharp object, his hand suddenly stumbled, the pain forcing him to drop his light. Right there, right below him, there was a barely visible crack, almost entirely hidden by a thick layer of dust. He reached for his fallen flashlight, then paused, scraping at the walls with his fingers. A bumpy, mottled surface of pebbles greeted him. There was another mosaic here.</p> <p>His heart stopped beating.</p> <p>Lyn's voice echoed behind him. "See anything, Alistair?"</p> <p>A beat. Alistair's voice echoed back. "Yes. I need you to come see this."</p> <p>Lyn turned towards their remaining companions. Alistair spoke again. "Alone."</p> <p>One of the men looked at him and said, "Look, I have orders Alistair, I—"</p> <p>"Doctor. It's doctor." Alistair looked right into Lyn's eyes. "Please, just trust me."</p> <p>Lyn found Alistair pacing up and down the length of the antechamber, quietly muttering half-remembered abstracts and theses to himself. All things considered, Alistair thought he was handling everything quite well.</p> <p>"You alright? You're shaking."</p> <p>He very suddenly stopped in his movements. "How much do you know about the Fae Empire?"</p> <p>"I— just what you've told me. I've asked Washington to get copies of—"</p> <p>Alistair grabbed Lyn by his shoulders. "Here's the short version. The Empire ruled over Earth for a quarter million years with humans as their chattel. And for all of those years, they had one ruler: Queen Mab." He pointed to the mosaic, dull gold lines intersecting at geometrically impossible angles. "This is her seal. If this place is in fact her grave, we need to tread lightly. Anything we unleash here could not only kill us, but also those troops outside, and half the damn country."</p> <p>Lyn blinked twice, then blew out the air. "Christ. All right." He paused, looking around the room, then turned to face Vemhoff again. "What can I do?"</p> <p>Alistair eyed their surroundings again. "Don't touch anything. And stay with me," he added, seeing Lyn already trying to walk off. "I can't risk more information leaking onto them." He pointed with his head towards the two soldiers.</p> <p>Lyn raised an eyebrow. "I thought your Overseers agreed to a total information share?"</p> <p>"Aye, they did. Just not with people whose allegiance can be bought with money."</p> <p>Very, very slowly, Vemhoff squatted again, turning his light away from the Queen's seal and towards the lower portions of the wall. There, the mosaic seemed to shift from artistic nonsense — its forms still maintained their characteristic chaos, but at the same time felt more streamlined than their neighbors. More importantly, there were also more words written there.</p> <p>He started reading silently, his words making the movement but not the sound. Lyn couldn't make out what he was actually saying, but from Alistair's face, it was clear he was struggling with making out the meaning of what he was looking at. He scratched his chin, and eyed his companion.</p> <p>"I… This is unlike anything I've ever seen." He shook his head. The rest of the tomb was just a very archaic dialect of Ur-Fae, but this…" He threw his hands in the air. "I don't know. It's all jumbled up with weird adjectives that don't actually mean anything, put in between words that contradict each other. We have a lot of mentions of fire — fire that is somehow beyond the grasp of humans, fire meant for immortals, as the text emphasizes — and… death? A timeless war? What would that even mean?"</p> <p>Lyn shrugged. Alistair paused for a moment. "In any case, the war both is and never was. The text talks about sacrifice, about a broken wheel, and… I think that's more mentions of butterflies. Except for them, how this all relates to Mab, I don't know.</p> <p>He squinted his eyes. "Here's a few bits about a 'fool flowing in crimson'… we have mentions of a chained… I want to say kraken? A banished soldier— no. Knight. A banished Knight of Winter, again capitalized. And in the center of it all, we have a missing key — a key that, when put into its hole, would… open this tomb, sparking the dormant star ablaze, bringing about calamity and the end of a Reign, and…"</p> <p>Sudden realization rang out inside Vemhoff's mind. "Oh, dear god," he uttered and took a step back.</p> <p>"What?" Lyn eyed Alistair, the words before them, and Vemhoff again. "What's going on?"</p> <p>Vemhoff gulped. "This isn't… this text isn't literal. I was thinking too straightforwardly. This isn't a tale, or an instruction. We aren't inside Mab's tomb."</p> <p>Lyn raised his eyebrows.</p> <p>"All of this…" Vemhoff pointed at the wall his hand trembling. "This isn't a grave, it's a weapon. We're standing on a bomb."</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="earthworm earthworm--old-syntax-first-true earthworm--old-syntax-last-false earthworm--old-syntax-hub-false {$class}"> <div class="first earthworm__previous" data-title="{$previous-title}"> <p><a class="newpage" href="/previous-url">{$previous-title}</a></p> </div> <div class="hub earthworm__hub" data-title="Alistair Vemhoff and the Curse of Mab"> <p><a href="/">Alistair Vemhoff and the Curse of Mab</a></p> </div> <div class="last earthworm__next" data-title="Detonation"> <p><a href="/detonation">Detonation</a></p> </div> </div> <hr/> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/ignition">Ignition</a>" by Ralliston and Trotskyeet, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/ignition">https://scpwiki.com/ignition</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:black-highlighter-theme">:scp-wiki:theme:black-highlighter-theme</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:scp-offices-theme">:scp-wiki:theme:scp-offices-theme</a>]] [[module css]] #page-title::after, .meta-title::after, #page-title::before, .meta-title::before { content: ""; flex-grow: 1; height: 0.0625rem; background: rgb(var(--swatch-primary)); } #page-title::before, .meta-title::before { margin: auto 1.25rem auto auto; } [[/module]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/info:start">:scp-wiki:info:start</a>]] [[=]] Co-written by [[user Ralliston]] and [[user Trotskyeet]] [http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/ralliston-s-authorpage Ralliston's Authorpage] [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/trotskyeet-author Trotskyeet's Authorpage] [[/=]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/info:end">:scp-wiki:info:end</a>]] [[div class="blockquote" style="width: intrinsic; width: -moz-max-content; width: -webkit-max-content; text-align:center; margin: 10px auto;"]] *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hX7BpN_1PCc Recommended reading music] [[/div]] @@ @@ = 5th of March, 1942 = Protected Area-312, Vichy France Alistair Vemhoff opened his eyes. He couldn't tell if he was still dreaming. The concrete ceiling above him certainly wasn't any indicator of reality; he'd been down here for so long that he had already started seeing it in his dreams. The outside sounds of tank columns and marching soldiers had similarly grown to become little more than white noise. The only thing inside the cell he called a bedroom was him, the cold ground, and a precariously swinging lightbulb. He silently listened for a few minutes, taking in the artificial hum. It was real, then. Not even dreams were so monotonous. Still, he didn't stand up. There was little more to do down here than sleep. There was only so much poker he could play with Raia before both of them grew bored to death. He didn't quite feel like striking up a conversation with Bernard or Dubois, either. Even the radio, once one of his few connections with the outside, had become nothing more than a propaganda machine, a reminder of what had been lost. The only meaningful thing he could do was simply wait until Site-120 was safe enough to return to. It has been a very dull couple of years. Without much hesitation, he closed his eyes. The second he did so, Raia's muffled voice slipped through his cocoon of reinforced steel doors and concrete walls: "Al! We got a visitor." He opened his eyes again. So this was it. After ages of radio silence, something finally came through. He wondered who it could be, with the kind of thoughts you gave only to news that could prove both catastrophic and life-saving. Perhaps it was a diplomat from the Allied Occult Initiative, telling them that they could finally return home. Or perhaps it was a survivor from the skeleton crew left at their facility, reporting that there was no home to even return to. Either way, doing anything past wondering would mean having to get up. The part of him that was his little reptilian brain wasn't sure if getting confirmation was worth leaving the warmth and safety of his bed. But the part of him that was still an academic -- the part that made him who he was -- really needed to get an answer. He figured there was only one way to get one. Laying down and dying was easy. Getting up and living was not. With a heavy sigh, Alistair Vemhoff blinked twice and stood up, ready to face the world. = * * * Area-312 was little more than a converted vegetable cellar of a townhome on the outskirts of Montpellier. In peacetime, it was a waypoint for the dozen Mobile Task Forces stationed in the region. Now, it represented the only Foundation presence in the entirety of France. There were just the four of them: Bernard, Dubois, Raia, and Vemhoff. There used to be more. As Alistair entered the dining room, he didn't wave off the cloud of smoke floating around the uncharacteristically sober Dubois or comment on Bernard's unusual lack of complaints over the breakfast. He didn't take the kettle from Raia's shaking hands, either. He was too distracted by the barrel of a handgun, pointed in between his eyes. A voice behind the gun spoke, "Does the Black Moon howl?" "Only when it sinks below the bright horizon," he replied without a second's hesitation. The barrel lowered and Alistair could feel his heart beating again. He could see the gun's wielder now, a --crumbling marble statue-- --burning, brilliant phoenix-- --writhing mass of hissing snakes--— He blinked. A diminutive Asian woman smiled pleasantly at him as she holstered her gun. She was covered in the most mundane clothing he could imagine -- were it not for her posture and her face, the only two parts of her that now remained unveiled, his brain would have treated her like little more than visual white noise he ought to ignore as soon as possible. The most striking part of her was her eyes. They were the colors of late autumn, something almost akin to a hungry fire burning inside them. A hungry fire that was focused on Vemhoff, and Vemhoff alone. "Can they be trusted?" It took him a moment to realize she was speaking Cantonese. He had been to China only once before on a one-month vacation to Hong Kong. He considered himself nearly fluent. "I've known them all for years. I'd trust them with my life." Her hand refused to leave the gun alone. "If they were given amnestics, would they take them?" "Of course, but--" "Good. Nothing leaves this room. In fact, this conversation never even occurred. Do you know who I am?" Alistair didn't. But the pieces were falling into place: the code, willingness to shoot before asking questions, his nearly all-consuming urge to get as far away from this woman as possible, and that hungry spark, burning deep inside her soul... He squinted his eyes. "You're an O5." She smiled again, and Alistair was reminded of a photograph he once saw in a nature magazine of a lion baring its teeth. "Very good, Doctor Vemhoff. I am O5-5. I have a job for you." = * * * In Vemhoff's line of business, getting details about a deployment was a luxury. Tonight, it was one he could not afford. He wasn't told anything, except the fact they had to leave as soon as possible. Obskurakorps had eyes and ears across Europe, and the less attention drawn, the better. He packed everything he had, said one final goodbye to people who'd been his only company for the last few years, and joined Five in the cold French night outside, his clothes now matching the equally mundane attire of the Overseer. They left at midnight. In the Site's foyer, Raia Micheals watched the two walk into the night fog. They didn't need the senses of a mage to feel the power of the veil the Overseer cast to cover them both. Perhaps persuaded by the masquerade of the spell, they looked down at their hands, and noticed a pill stamped with "C" tightly gripped in their palm. They swallowed it. Soon after, they wondered why their eyes were wet. = * * * Their journey across war-ridden France was a silent one. Whether it was the work of the veil, muting both sounds from the inside and outside of its protection, or just the nature of the barren wasteland, Alistair couldn't quite tell. Five didn't do much to break the stillness. She just walked forward, always next to him, her attention ever so slightly somewhere else. It was clear that whatever energy the maintenance of the veil required, it wasn't easy on her strength. He didn't question it. For what it was worth, neither did the everpresent civilians and German soldiers. Neither ever realized the two figures were even there. They continued like that until sunrise; never stopping, never speaking, never as much as uttering a noise. They simply maintained their pace until the small town turned into suburbs, then a forest, and then a small, unremarkable opening somewhere inside it. Five made the veil fall down, and the two of them once again became visible. The light that flooded onto them, now uninterrupted by the previous masquerade of the spell, blinded Alistair for just a moment. A moment long enough for Five to whisper a word in a language not even Vemhoff could recognize. When he opened his eyes again, they were no longer standing inside a forest. Around them extended a short airstrip, a small plane parked right at its other end. Inside it sat a muscular woman in a soldier's outfit, her jacket proudly displaying the symbol of a red right hand wielding a long, black spear. Vemhoff didn't need further encouragement to get inside the vehicle. = * * * They were somewhere over the North Atlantic when O5-5 first spoke. "My apologies for the secrecy." Despite her words, she spoke in [[[echoes-of-shattered-erikesh\|Erikeshan]]], a language Vemhoff was pretty sure only three people on the planet spoke. Four, now, he corrected himself. "In times like these, who knows who you can trust." Alistair snorted awake, straightening out his suit jacket and blinking twice. "O-Of course, of course. As an Overseer, I imagine it to b--" Her head suddenly darted sideways. "Can I trust you, Alistair?" She was sitting forward now, brown-tinted irises piercing through his body. The little fire was once again burning inside them. When he blinked, he swore he could still see them through his eyelids. "Absolutely." He felt the word leave his lips before he knew he said it. It was like his tongue and throat moved of their own volition. A shadow of a smile touched Five's face. "Good." O5-5 stood up and moved towards the back of the cabin. Alistair subconsciously grabbed at his neck. A few moments later, she returned, two tumblers of amber liquor in hand. "How familiar are you with the field of archeology, Doctor Vemhoff?" she said, handing Alistair the cup. He accepted the drink, settling in his chair. It had been so long since his training was relevant that he barely knew himself. "I... I observed the beginnings of the [[[na-bestyje-przepis-jeden-kranca-wdech\|Daevon]]] excavation a few years ago. They needed someone to translate the sacred Scarlet hymns." He paused for a moment to consider. "I was briefly brought onto the Adytum and Atlantis teams, too, but I wouldn't exactly call it my area of expertise. I'm much more comfortable in a classr--" "Excellent. This will be old hat for you, then." She put her hands together, and looked out of the windows. There was little more than the endless expanse of the ocean beyond them, now. "We're heading to Merriman. Ever heard of it?" Alistair hadn't. "Not many have. It's a town of about a hundred in northern Nebraska. The excavation is around half an hour south of there. Just a preliminary encampment for now, but it should be sufficient for your initial work." She looked back at him, and the itching behind his eyelids was back. "You'll be working with Foundation personnel, along with members of various branches of the American government. They'll provide you with more specific details once you get settled." She paused for a moment, then narrowed her eyes. "This is not one of your lecture halls, Doctor Vemhoff. There is no need to raise your hand for questions." He quickly set his left hand back in his lap. "I appreciate the opportunity, truly, but I'm unsure why the Foundation is even bothering with this, especially now." Her eyes narrowed even further. "Do you know how many Foundation Sites are within Obskurakorps' reach?" Alistair didn't. "Forty-three. That's over six hundred SCP objects, and tens of thousands of agents, doctors, and researchers. No one's coming to save them, when Obskura decides to break our tentative peace." "But in the case of Foundation involvement, the AOI promises to help--" "It is the opinion of the O5 Council that the Allied Occult Initiative is not to be trusted," she said, a silent bias of old grudges echoing somewhere behind her words. "A hundred heads pull them in a hundred directions, some wanting nothing more than to bite at us. Besides, under official terms we are still yet to take a side in the war. Following negotiations with Twelve, the American president has guaranteed that in exchange for our help with this excavation, the American forces shall ensure the full restoration of the Foundation's presence in Europe." He took a sip of his drink. It tasted like ash and smoke. There was still a piece missing. "But why this excavation? What's so important that you need to fly some old linguist all the way across the Atlantic?" O5-5 smiled, revealing a set of sharpened, wolf-like teeth. "That's why we need you, Alistair. Because I have //no idea//." = * * * = 6th of March, 1942 = Merriman, United States of America They arrived around noon, their plane landing on an airstrip significantly larger than the one it took off from. It was surrounded by a few military-looking buildings, but just like its predecessor, it was masked right until they landed. Seeing the process from the air, Alistair recognized the work -- it was almost identical to the one that had covered Site-01 when he had visited it a decade prior, tasked with translating the Fae Empire-era inscriptions and runes that riddled the palace below it. When they got out of the vehicle, they were greeted by two things: the blazing sun and a single man in US Army clothing. He was tall and built like a a boxer, his face beaming with caution even despite its mask of neutrality. His hands were put behind his back, but somehow Alistair didn't doubt he could reach for the M1911A1 mounted near his belt before he could even blink. When they approached him, he smiled widely, extending his hand towards O5-5. She shook it, matching the man's expression. "Madame Overseer," he said, his voice a thundering but polite basso. "We have been expecting you." "Good. I'm sure that Mikell has already cleared you about the... details, of our mission here." She slightly moved her head to point at Alistair. The soldier eyed him, then nodded. "Indeed." He paused for a moment. "As requested, the transport is already waiting. We will be leaving imminently." Five's smile widened. "Excellent." The soldier waved, then whistled, and from the shadows of the buildings surrounding the airport, half a dozen similarly-clothed and similarly-armed figures emerged. Alistair flinched, suddenly realizing they had been standing there all along. Five remained motionless. The man showed them to follow them with his head, and started walking forward, towards a large military vehicle parked right before them. Similarly, before the man had pointed it out, Alistair did not realize it was standing there, either. Alistair and Five got into the car. = * * * From the six hours Alistair had been in Nebraska, the only thing he could conclude was that it was very flat. The journey towards the excavation site was a grueling one. Still burdened by yesterday's walk across France and the mostly sleepless night above the Atlantic, Alistair's mind was occupied by trying to take a nap while he still could. The ceaseless bumps and holes that riddled the road they rode down certainly did nothing to make the job easier. Neither did the setting sun, still blinding his eyes and burning his skin with its unusually warm rays. Meanwhile, in the front of the car, Five and the soldier were engaged in a passionate discussion. About what, Alistair could not quite tell; not because he didn't understand the language they spoke (he doubted either of them could even think of one he didn't recognize), but because his brain was too exhausted to match the sounds of words to their meanings. Left with no other choice, he looked out of his window, greeting the ceaseless grasslands that stretched outside of civilization and beyond the horizon, well into infinity. After a while, the monotony of the landscape seemed to mix in with the sounds of the engine, soon turning into little more than dreams. When Alistair opened his eyes again, they were no longer driving. The car was now parked before a series of large tents, the structure of the camp organized in a geometric manner. All around them were various people, both Foundation and US Army emblems proudly displayed on their chests. He recognized some of them as personnel from the Departments of Archeology and History from previous jobs, but the vast majority of them remained unfamiliar. They were all unmoving, staring directly at the vehicle in front of them. When Alistair and company got out of the car, one of the people -- much taller than the rest, his posture lean and with the build of an athlete -- slowly approached them. The cigarette that he held between his lips was already going dim. He extended a hand first towards the Overseer, then towards the army official, and then towards Alistair. When he got to Vemhoff, he smiled ever so slightly. "Lyn Marness," he said, looking down at Alistair. Whether a slight or necessity due to height, he couldn't quite tell. "[[[unforgettable-that-s-what-you-are\|Unthinkables Division]]], US Army Paranatural Warfare Command." Alistair shook his hand. "Alistair Vemhoff, Linguistics Department, Foundation. Pleasure to be working with you, sir," he added. That broke the awkward stare. Marness smiled slightly. "Pleasure to be working with you, too. We've been anticipating your arrival quite eagerly, as you can tell." He looked around the encampment, nodding towards several of his people with his head. "We... Well. I think it'll be better if I just show you." Without looking back at Alistair, he started walking towards the biggest of the tents. Vemhoff looked at Five, almost as if waiting for approval; the Overseer just nodded. When they entered the tent, the first thing that caught Alistair's attention was just how tidy it all was. From the made beds to the organized clothes to even the glasses lying on the immaculately clean table, everything inside it seemed to follow the same rigid structure as the outside of the camp. Marness was a man of order, then. Lyn stopped and turned to look at Alistair. "Welcome to your new home, Doctor Vemhoff." He waved his hand. "Just Alistair is fine." "Glad to hear that, Alistair." Marness smiled, and took a seat next to the table in front of them. It was riddled by maps of the surrounding regions, several markings left upon them in what Alistair presumed to be Marness' blocky, even writing. Alistair joined him, sitting right across from Lyn. "So." He looked at the maps and crossed his arms. "What's all of this about?" Marness looked down at the map, pointing at one of the marked areas -- a town, Vemhoff presumed. Lyn took a moment to consider his words. "About two months ago, locals started getting dreams. Talking animals, deer and the like. Stars exploding in the sky. Shards of glass buried beneath the ground. As far as we could tell, they didn't start off saying anything special. Some thought it was a byproduct of the war, but most of town brushed it off as just a curiosity. The newspaper even made it into a political cartoon about the next presidential election." He paused. "For a few weeks, nothing special happened. Until it did." Lyn jabbed a finger at the relevant clipping: a few lines of text hastily written atop a piece of paper, put right next to Merriman's dot on the map. Next to it lay a grainy photograph of a bespectacled, balding man. "Meet Arnold Haub, editor-in-chief of the //Merriman Maverick//. Don't think you two'd get along, German by way of the Polish partition. After the War, he packed up things in the old country, and moved out here. Got a wife and three kids, cushy job, real American Dream immigrant. That's why it was so surprising that he would up and disappear." His finger moved down, following a string of twine that connected to a topographic map. "Took about four days to find him. The state barely maintains roads out here, and most don't even own a car. They found him here—" He pointed to a dot two kilometers south of Merriman. "—trying to carve a hole in the side of a mountain with his bloodied bare hands. Totally delirious, was babbling about finding a city of glass. Died of exhaustion as they tried to get him back to town." Alistair recalled the earlier car ride, furrowing his brows. "A mountain? Here?" Lyn snapped his fingers. "You Foundation people are smarter than you look. Took us a while to question that. See, originally we were here to investigate the dreams, Haub was just a footnote in the interviews. Then we tried to find the mountain, and discovered it didn't exist. None of the townspeople could recall seeing it before, and no surveyor had ever marked anything even close to one. The mountain couldn't even exist; the geography of this region allows for some small hills, but nothing like a //mountain//. "So we packed our things and went, trying to see what the whole fuss was about." He handed Alistair another old photograph. This time, it depicted what Vemhoff presumed to be the mountain he'd mentioned. It stood as a sore thumb against the rest of the landscape, its imposing structure somehow almost ominous in a land of grass and hills. All around it, the plantlife was dead: from malnourished, thorny trees to barren ground, it was clear that this wasn't the work of men -- or wildfires, for that matter. "And see we did indeed." He paused. "None of us have ever seen anything like this. Some thought it to be a ritual gone wrong, the site still remaining despite the culprits being long gone. Carver's counters quickly disproved that one." He put forward a sheet of paper, filled with columns of numbers and graphs Vemhoff couldn't even begin to comprehend. "Others said it was a military disposal site, or something of the like." He touched his badge. "My own clearance quickly disproved that one, too." He put his hands together. "For a few weeks, we were lost. We have a cursed mountain in an otherwise barren land, somehow connected to the unlucky bastards at Merriman. No apparent connections, no leads. We were ready to give up and amnesticize the whole town. "Enter me. Someway down the road, someone had the brilliant idea they weren't seeing something obvious in there, some missing part of the puzzle that was right in front of their eyes. And it so happens me and my men are experts at noticing the unseen." He paused. "So off I go, shipped from Washington to god-knows-where, barely anything but a telegram to tell me what to do. I arrive on site, pop a few pills, and... voilà. I give them their missing piece." One more photograph, this time of a blurred-out, barely visible stone slab buried in the side of the mountain, the engravings written atop it almost too intricate to believably be the work of humans. "A door, just there, in plain sight. A door made from materials we've never seen, inscribed in a language we'd never heard of, but one you eggheads seemed to be familiar with." Alistair moved a little closer. "A door? Leading where?" "You tell me." Lyn smiled with brief amusement putting forward a whole folder. Vemhoff opened it. Inside, there were more pictures and drawings of the runes, all just as blurred as the first one. From the strange fog effect to the letters themselves, Vemhoff got the subconscious feeling that he somehow wasn't meant to be looking at this all. Like the letters were beyond his simple, mortal reach. He shook his head. No matter. He was here to do a job. The first thing he noticed was just how old the runes were -- they used the immediately noticeable and almost serpentine writing manner of the old Fae Empire tounges, albeit with the addition of a few signs he didn't recognize. He considered his Ur-Fae to be pretty good these days -- good enough to read and understand most texts found in the ruins of old Empire palaces -- but here... here, he felt lost. Squinting, it was almost as if he could make out individual words, a few bits and bobs out of context and out of meaning, but that was as far as his knowledge went. Between this and the blur on the photos and hand transcriptions, obstructing most of the sentence contexts and letter parts, he genuinely wasn't sure what to say. He slowly let out the air. "I'll... I'll be honest. I don't actually know what most of this means." Before Lyn could say anything, he pointed to a few symbols depicted throughout the folder's contents and added, "A few of the words are recognizable, but only barely. They're written in accents and forms I've never seen and would need to guess the meaning of. It's mostly small stylistic choices, but if you look at the sentence ord--" He stopped, realizing this was of no interest to Lyn and of no importance to their mission. He smiled politely, and continued, "There are many mentions of starlight, of war, of the sun and the moon. Something about the planets aligning, the death of a star, and it all bringing about peace? Prosperity? I'm not sure." He shook his head. "The quality of the photos doesn't help, either. What's with that?" Almost subconsciously, Lyn reached into his pocket, pulling out a small tin. "Amnestic brain fog. My men call it antimemetic. Stupid name. "The point is," he continued, propping himself up, "your brain is incapable of comprehending these symbols until we drug it up with enough nonsense that it starts to think on proper wavelengths." He smiled slightly, and shook the pill container. It was almost empty. "A camera handles it even worse. We tried to tune it with a few magic gizmos the boys gave us, but..." He shrugged. "You can see the results yourself." Vemhoff nodded. "Right." He paused. "That's as much as I can tell you without actually being there in person and seeing it with my own eyes." He glanced at the pills in Lyn's hands. "And here I was, thinking I've quit morphine for good." Lyn chuckled. "If it helps, they tell us they're non-addictive." Vemhoff smiled. "Of course they do." After a moment, Marness stood up and nodded. "Good. This is still going better than I expected. We head out at sunrise, then." He took a step towards his cupboard, bringing out a bottle of whiskey and two glasses. He smiled. "But that was business. And it so happens business is now done." Alistair squinted at the bottle, catching a glimpse of the word "Chicago" on a small label, and a tag reading "Evidence" attached to its neck. "Ah, is that--" "Aye. When we what remained of his mansion back in '38, I decided to take a few souvenirs. Apparently they stuck this one in a temporal rift to age it an extra decade." Lynn took off the cap and poured the amber liquid into two glasses. He popped off the lid of his pill container, throwing one capsule into each glass. They dissolved after just a few seconds. Alistair didn't say anything. Lyn offered his companion a drink. The linguist took it, nodding in appreciation. "So, to what are we drinking?" Lyn raised his own glass. "To victory?" Alistair considered for a moment, then shook his head. "To peace." Something almost like amusement flew across Lyn's face. "To peace, then." They clank their glasses together, and drank up. They had a long day ahead of them. = * * *** Alistair thought he must've made an odd sight as the convoy made their way towards the invisible mountain, trucks full of gun-toting soldiers in full battle dress, and one string bean of a man in tweed writing in a notebook. The truck hit a pothole and Alistair cursed, ink spilling over the page and his lap. Across from him, Lyn produced a pitifully small tissue, handing it to Alistair. "What are you writing?" He accepted, furiously dabbing his pants to no avail. "It was the beginning of my report. We've always suspected that the [[[ralliston-s-proposal\|Fae Empire]]] made it to the Americas, but this is our first concrete proof. This site could be a real game-changer for the field." Lyn smiled. "I feel honored. Think I'd get a picture in the history books?" "You could try. Then we'd have to take it out of circulation and erase the fact you've ever existed." He gently touched his pills. "I think you'd be surprised at how simple that task would end up being." Alistair nodded in polite appreciation at Lyn's jab and went back to his work. It was only after a few more kilometers that he realized this was of essentially no use; maybe with a sensible driver, he could've gotten a few paragraphs done before they arrived at their destination. Suffice to say, what the United States Army considered to be sensible was very far removed from Vemhoff's own definition of the word. So instead of trying to write he just stared across the horizon, towards the ever-closer mountain, its lonely, grim figure just barely visible beyond the thick mind-fog around it. The first thing Vemhoff noticed was just how quiet it all was. He never considered himself a nature spirit -- buried in his books and studies, he was quite far from it -- but even he knew that a place like this had its own ambiance, a song strung by a thousand beings living and dead. Here, though? Here there was nothing. Absolutely nothing. And like a gaping void it surrounded them whole, luring them ever closer towards its very own heart of darkness. The feeling only got worse when they arrived next to the millennia-old door. Alistair resisted the urge to gulp. Correcting his glasses, he crouched down and touched the stone that now lay before them. Even with their new pills, the thing was still an itch on his senses -- one he could feel behind his eyes and at the back of his head, just enough to be an inconvenience but not enough to actually stop him from doing his work. He shook his head and blew off some of the dirt that still surrounded the door, revealing several lines of letters and pictures. "Hmm," he said, squinting his eyes. "That's certainly something." Lyn came closer, joining his companion in crouching. "What is?" Alistair tapped the runes. "Like I said before, this is old Fae. Very, very old Fae. And it's a grave." He clicked his tongue. "Though I suppose that 'tomb' is a more accurate translation." Lyn arched an eyebrow. "Which means...?" "Oh. Right." Alistair paused to consider. "I'll spare you the details, but for most of Fae history it was believed that after we die, our spirits go on to join those who came before us in... Well. It wasn't ever really clear. Some cultures saw it asw their explanation for Aurora Borealis. Point is," he said, pointing at the sky. "The Fae were very much free folk, back then. They were all about change, about fluidity, about being one with the ever-shifting nature of reality. Their death was the ultimate expression of that: their bodies were burned, their ashes and souls now free--" He noticed Lyn's look, and cleared his throat. "What I'm trying to say is that to a Fae, being buried, moreso in a grave, was the ultimate insult. It would mean having them anchored to this world forever. And this—" He pointed at their door. "—is a very, //very// fancy tomb. You know what that means?" "That it's a very elaborate way of showing someone the middle finger?" Alistair nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, pretty much." "Well." Lyn stood up. "Does it say anything else? Like to whom this particular insult was addressed?" Alistair unearthed a few more of the runes with one hand, correcting his glasses with the other. He squinted even further. "Something about a Great War -- in their equivalent of capital letters -- a few pictograms of [[[the-queens-butterfly\|two butterflies]]], one of them bleeding..." He paused, as if trying to make out a particularly difficult sentence. "And... huh. I..." Very gently, he touched the middle part of the door -- a circular seal in the shape of a wheel, its center decorated with a large emerald. The words around it read, "'Come forward, you who live in the shadow; embrace the light and break the flame, you--'" Alistair let out a sudden scream, his pain sharp and quick. Before Lyn or their companions could react, Vemhoff's eyes flashed with a green flame, his very own being flashing briefly visible to the men around him. Lyn blinked, trying to let the image of his companion's soul fade away from beneath his eyelids. He found it less than simple. Vemhoff took a slow breath. His hands were shaking. Beneath one of them -- the one that previously lay on the seal in the doors -- there was now just a broken jewel, the words around it pulsating with very old -- and now, once again very real -- power. "What the hell was that?" Lyn finally said, looking at Alistair. "Are you all right?" Alistair shook his head, then nodded, and slowly lifted the metal slab that lay before him. It was as light as air. "Yeah, I'm fine. It was just a sting of magic. The door had a linguistic lock on it. Not exactly the magic type myself, so how my words activated it, I don't really know," he said, revealing a dark, looming corridor behind the door. It led deep into the mountain. "But I suppose there's only one way to find out." Lyn flashed a light forward, illuminating a series of stairs made out of what looked like dark, orange wood. They terminated at a pair of large archways at the bottom of the staircase. The light didn't reach far enough to make out what lay beyond them, but it did show that the walls of the complex were ridden with a very intricate line of runes. A very intricate line of runes that repeated on and on, forming a single sentence, written a thousand times. Lyn looked at Vemhoff. "What's it say?" "'Gaze at the works of Radiance, and Pale before its sunlight.'" He furrowed his brows. "Radiance and Pale are again capitalized." Lyn raised an eyebrow. Vemhoff gave him a look, and said, "Like I said -- no idea. We need to go deeper." "Don't we always." Lyn showed two of their men to follow them downwards, instructing the other to patrol the mountain in case of any further irregularities. They nodded and went off, leaving their commander with a foreign linguist and just two guns to protect their backs. Before Lyn could say anything, Vemhoff took out his own light, shining right at the staircase before them. Carefully, bracing the stability of each step, he slowly but surely made his way downwards, Lyn and the two men always creeping just a few steps behind him. He was surprised to see no damage done to the stairs -- or any part of the structure for that matter. He'd seen a few tombs in his life, and if there was one thing that united them all, it was their sorry states -- here, though, he could notice no cracks in the walls or the ceiling. The only thing that indicated any age was dust, which formed a thick carpet beneath their feet. The archway that greeted them at the bottom of the stairway was the first deviation from that pattern; at its highest point stood a broken mosaic depicting a moon and a sun, the former almost entirely covered in broken, pulsating green runes -- just like the ones from the entry. "Thoughts?" Lyn asked. "Fae culture is rich in depictions of duality, of Seelie and Unseelie. Think Augustinianism but less pretentious." He pointed at the two images. "A moon and a sun are very frequent interpretations of the motif. Especially for people the Fae considered to be true harbingers of either -- of creation or destruction, depending on the affiliation." He paused for a second. "Whoever this belonged to, it's clear they weren't a nobody." Lyn didn't reply, instead flashing his light forward, beyond the archways. Its rays landed in a small room. It contained heavy-looking doors. They were very plain and contained no runes, except for a single word: "'Blight'," Vemhoff read, squinting his eyes. He too moved his flashlight to focus on the antechamber before them. With the rest of the room now visible, Lyn and Alistair could make out more of its walls, noticing they were absolutely filled with various images and letters, interweaving to form a strange gem-mosaic that was difficult to look at, even moreso than the rest of the memory-itching tomb. The whole place had no order to it, no real symmetry aside from the fact that all of its parts terminated in the center of the chamber: a cubical opening in its floor, almost like a keyhole, looking as if it was waiting for some central, missing element to open it up and activate something. Lyn and Alistair looked at each other, then nodded. Each of them headed towards a different wall, trying to see if there was anything worthwhile there, or if it was all just artistic chaos. Softly, Alistair caressed the mosaic before him. A single ruby, glowing red despite no apparent source of light; a medallion formed out of a metal he did not recognize, its form always seeming to shift into the shapes of different animals; a broken hilt of what he presumed to be a sword, its structure molded into the wall like it was carved out of the same wood that entombed it whole; a-- Meeting a sharp object, his hand suddenly stumbled, the pain forcing him to drop his light. Right there, right below him, there was a barely visible crack, almost entirely hidden by a thick layer of dust. He reached for his fallen flashlight, then paused, scraping at the walls with his fingers. A bumpy, mottled surface of pebbles greeted him. There was another mosaic here. His heart stopped beating. Lyn's voice echoed behind him. "See anything, Alistair?" A beat. Alistair's voice echoed back. "Yes. I need you to come see this." Lyn turned towards their remaining companions. Alistair spoke again. "Alone." One of the men looked at him and said, "Look, I have orders Alistair, I--" "Doctor. It's doctor." Alistair looked right into Lyn's eyes. "Please, just trust me." Lyn found Alistair pacing up and down the length of the antechamber, quietly muttering half-remembered abstracts and theses to himself. All things considered, Alistair thought he was handling everything quite well. "You alright? You're shaking." He very suddenly stopped in his movements. "How much do you know about the Fae Empire?" "I-- just what you've told me. I've asked Washington to get copies of--" Alistair grabbed Lyn by his shoulders. "Here's the short version. The Empire ruled over Earth for a quarter million years with humans as their chattel. And for all of those years, they had one ruler: Queen Mab." He pointed to the mosaic, dull gold lines intersecting at geometrically impossible angles. "This is her seal. If this place is in fact her grave, we need to tread lightly. Anything we unleash here could not only kill us, but also those troops outside, and half the damn country." Lyn blinked twice, then blew out the air. "Christ. All right." He paused, looking around the room, then turned to face Vemhoff again. "What can I do?" Alistair eyed their surroundings again. "Don't touch anything. And stay with me," he added, seeing Lyn already trying to walk off. "I can't risk more information leaking onto them." He pointed with his head towards the two soldiers. Lyn raised an eyebrow. "I thought your Overseers agreed to a total information share?" "Aye, they did. Just not with people whose allegiance can be bought with money." Very, very slowly, Vemhoff squatted again, turning his light away from the Queen's seal and towards the lower portions of the wall. There, the mosaic seemed to shift from artistic nonsense -- its forms still maintained their characteristic chaos, but at the same time felt more streamlined than their neighbors. More importantly, there were also more words written there. He started reading silently, his words making the movement but not the sound. Lyn couldn't make out what he was actually saying, but from Alistair's face, it was clear he was struggling with making out the meaning of what he was looking at. He scratched his chin, and eyed his companion. "I... This is unlike anything I've ever seen." He shook his head. The rest of the tomb was just a very archaic dialect of Ur-Fae, but this..." He threw his hands in the air. "I don't know. It's all jumbled up with weird adjectives that don't actually mean anything, put in between words that contradict each other. We have a lot of mentions of fire -- fire that is somehow beyond the grasp of humans, fire meant for immortals, as the text emphasizes -- and... death? A timeless war? What would that even mean?" Lyn shrugged. Alistair paused for a moment. "In any case, the war both is and never was. The text talks about sacrifice, about a broken wheel, and... I think that's more mentions of butterflies. Except for them, how this all relates to Mab, I don't know. He squinted his eyes. "Here's a few bits about a 'fool flowing in crimson'... we have mentions of a chained... I want to say kraken? A banished soldier-- no. Knight. A banished Knight of Winter, again capitalized. And in the center of it all, we have a missing key -- a key that, when put into its hole, would... open this tomb, sparking the dormant star ablaze, bringing about calamity and the end of a Reign, and..." Sudden realization rang out inside Vemhoff's mind. "Oh, dear god," he uttered and took a step back. "What?" Lyn eyed Alistair, the words before them, and Vemhoff again. "What's going on?" Vemhoff gulped. "This isn't... this text isn't literal. I was thinking too straightforwardly. This isn't a tale, or an instruction. We aren't inside Mab's tomb." Lyn raised his eyebrows. "All of this..." Vemhoff pointed at the wall his hand trembling. "This isn't a grave, it's a weapon. We're standing on a bomb." @@ @@ [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:earthworm">:scp-wiki:component:earthworm</a> \| first=true \| last=false \| hub=false \| previous-url= \| previous-title= \| next-url=/detonation \| next-title=Detonation \| hub-url=/ \| hub-title=Alistair Vemhoff and the Curse of Mab ]] ----- [[=]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a> \|author=Ralliston and Trotskyeet]] [!-- N/A (No Images) --] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]] [[/=]]	2023-11-01T16:07:00	[ "7th-occult-war", "_licensebox", "adventure", "fantasy", "from-120s-archives", "homo-sapiens-sidhe", "mystery", "pentagram", "period-piece", "queen-mab", "tale" ]	Ignition - SCP Foundation	29	[ "ralliston-s-authorpage", "trotskyeet-author", "echoes-of-shattered-erikesh", "na-bestyje-przepis-jeden-kranca-wdech", "unforgettable-that-s-what-you-are", "ralliston-s-proposal", "the-queens-butterfly", "previous-url", "detonation", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "secure-facility-dossier-site-120", "from-120-s-archives-hub" ]	[]	1451188001	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/ignition
illcovetyouifyoucoverme	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div class="preview"> <p>It's a grand old party. Trump and co. perfect their new policy.</p> </div> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=1&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Aminimal/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <div style="display: none"> <div class="code"> <div class="hl-main"> <pre><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">These</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">two</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">arguments</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">are</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">in</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">quirked-up</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CSS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Module</span><span class="hl-code"> (</span><span class="hl-identifier">rather</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">than</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">the</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">main</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">code</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">block</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-identifier">so</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">users</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">can</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">feed</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Wikidot</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">variables</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">into</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">them</span><span class="hl-code">. </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> "{$title</span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code">"; color: </span><span class="hl-identifier">black</span><span class="hl-code">; } </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> "{$subtitle</span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code">"; color: </span><span class="hl-identifier">black</span><span class="hl-code">; }</span></pre></div> </div> </div> <div style="display: none"> <hr/> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">+ Show component code</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">- Hide component code</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <div class="code"> <div class="hl-main"> <pre><span class="hl-special">:root</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> --</span><span class="hl-reserved">sidebar-width-on-desktop:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--base-font-size) * (</span><span class="hl-number">266</span><span class="hl-code"> / </span><span class="hl-number">15</span><span class="hl-code">))</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">body-width-on-desktop:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">45.75</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">only</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">screen</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">and</span><span class="hl-code"> (min-width: 56.25</span><span class="hl-identifier">rem</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#content-wrap</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> initial</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> row</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-grow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vw - (</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vw - </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">min-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vh - var(--final-header-height-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">10.125</span><span class="hl-code">rem))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">13.6</span><span class="hl-code">rem) </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">13.6</span><span class="hl-code">rem) * -</span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code"> / </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> initial</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--body-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">45.75</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--body-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">45.75</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> min(</span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-code">vw, var(--body-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">45.75</span><span class="hl-code">rem))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> -webkit-sticky</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> sticky</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">grid-area:</span><span class="hl-code"> side-bar</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">13.6</span><span class="hl-code">rem) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">min-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">13.6</span><span class="hl-code">rem) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vh</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow-y:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">scroll</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition:</span><span class="hl-code"> translate </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">), background-color </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">), padding </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms linear, margin </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms linear</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--swatch-tertiary-color, </span><span class="hl-number">170</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">170</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">170</span><span class="hl-code">), </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--sidebar-bg-color, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">), </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">translate:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">13.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem) * -</span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code"> - </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">rtl</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">scrollbar-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">thin</span><span class="hl-code">; -</span><span class="hl-reserved">ms-scroll-chaining:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overscroll-behavior:</span><span class="hl-code"> contain</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">scrollbar-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--swatch-primary-darker), </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">) /* Thumb / rgba(var(--swatch-tertiary-color), </span><span class="hl-number">0.05</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Track</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code">::-</span><span class="hl-identifier">webkit-scrollbar-track</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--swatch-secondary-color, </span><span class="hl-number">244</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">244</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">244</span><span class="hl-code">), </span><span class="hl-number">0.8</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code">::-</span><span class="hl-identifier">webkit-scrollbar</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code">::-</span><span class="hl-identifier">webkit-scrollbar-thumb</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code">::-</span><span class="hl-identifier">webkit-scrollbar-corner</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vw + </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vh)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right-style:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--sidebar-bg-color, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">), </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-identifier">is</span><span class="hl-code">(:</span><span class="hl-identifier">hover</span><span class="hl-code">, :</span><span class="hl-identifier">active</span><span class="hl-code">, :</span><span class="hl-identifier">focus-within</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow-x:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">hidden</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow-y:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--swatch-primary-darker), </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--sidebar-bg-color, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">), </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">translate:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem) - var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">scrollbar-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">170</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">170</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">170</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">) / Thumb / rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">252</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">252</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">252</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Track</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-reserved">scrollbar-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--swatch-primary-darker, </span><span class="hl-number">170</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">170</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">170</span><span class="hl-code">), </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">) / Thumb / rgb(var(--swatch-menubg-color, </span><span class="hl-number">252</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">252</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">252</span><span class="hl-code">), </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Track</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> " "</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">fixed</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">align-items:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">justify-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">), background-position </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">), opacity </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> url("https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/component%</span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-code">Acollapsible-sidebar/sidebar-tab.svg")</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-attachment:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">fixed</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-repeat:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">no-repeat</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">12.875</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">pointer-events:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-identifier">is</span><span class="hl-code">(:</span><span class="hl-identifier">hover</span><span class="hl-code">, :</span><span class="hl-identifier">active</span><span class="hl-code">, :</span><span class="hl-identifier">focus-within</span><span class="hl-code">) + </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">14.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem) -</span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">), background-position </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">), opacity </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">14.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem) * -</span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> " "</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">absolute</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">z-index:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--final-header-height-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">14.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code"> - var(--final-header-height-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">0.688</span><span class="hl-code">rem) - </span><span class="hl-number">2.313</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--final-header-height-on-desktop, -</span><span class="hl-number">2.313</span><span class="hl-code">rem) * -</span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code"> - </span><span class="hl-number">2.313</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition:</span><span class="hl-code"> translate </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">), opacity </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--swatch-alternate-color, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">pointer-events:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">translate:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">14.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem) * -</span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code"> + </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-identifier">is</span><span class="hl-code">(:</span><span class="hl-identifier">hover</span><span class="hl-code">, :</span><span class="hl-identifier">active</span><span class="hl-code">, :</span><span class="hl-identifier">focus-within</span><span class="hl-code">) + </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">translate:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.25</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-left-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">ltr</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scpnet-interwiki-wrapper</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">ltr</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Print</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Friendly</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Formatting</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">by</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Estrella</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">body.print-body</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> --</span><span class="hl-reserved">sidebar-width-on-desktop:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">body.print-body</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">before</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">body.print-body</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span></pre></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">...</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>If the touch of love is<br/> no longer enough<br/> to ward off the<br/> fists of evil:</p> <p>Then it is the duty of the hand of love<br/> to, one by one, curl its five fingers<br/> around the heart under the bone<br/> and squeeze tightly into a fist:<br/> A fist of love, red with the<br/> fury of what it means to<br/> feel the warmth of<br/> another person<br/> in your heart<br/> now under<br/> your fingers.</p> <p>Your hands cannot shake or stir<br/> when the fist is made: if approached<br/> with impure courage, with impure love,<br/> then the fist of love will never pierce the<br/> heart and bones of evil, and so the knuckle<br/> will become bent inwards, and strike at itself<br/> instantaneously destroying the love and the bones<br/> entrenching, encaging, defending, securing, protecting the heart.</p> </div> </div> </div> <ul class="creditRate"> <li class="rateBox folded"> <div class="rate-box-with-credit-button"> <div class="creditButton foldable-list-container"> <p><a href="javascript:;"></a></p> </div> </div> <div id="u-credit-view"> <div class="fader foldable-list-container"><a href="javascript:;">close</a></div> <div class="modalcontainer"> <div class="modalbox"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2><span>Info</span></h2> </div> <hr/> <div class="close-credits foldable-list-container"><a href="javascript:;">X</a></div> <div class="credit first"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p>⚠️This article contains <strong><a href="/art:alex-thorley-is-a-they">NBphobia/misgendering</a></strong>⚠️</p> </div> <blockquote> <p><em>Jesus, won't you fucking whistle</em><br/> <em>Something, but what's past and done?</em><br/> <em>Why can't we just be sober?</em><br/> <em>I just want to start this over</em><br/> <em>Why can't we drink forever?</em><br/> <em>I just want to start this over</em><br/> <em>I am just a worthless liar</em><br/> <em>I am just an imbecile</em><br/> <em>I will only complicate you</em><br/> <em>Trust in me and fall as well</em><br/></p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p>"<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouVedNg-6WQ">Sober</a>," TOOL</p> </div> </blockquote> </div> <hr/> </div> </div> </div> </li> </ul> <div class="content-warning creditRate">⚠️ content warning <span class="content-warning-arrow"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></div> <blockquote> <p><strong><Begin Log></strong></p> <p><em>[A blue room. There are white stripes and stars on the ground. The floor is circular and ends at a certain point; it is a stage. There is a podium. It also has white stars and stripes on it. There are chairs. There are desks. These items are not on the stage. The room is empty.]</em></p> <p><em>[At the back of the stage, there is a blue curtain. It is pushed aside by the hand of Donald John Trump, age 41. He smiles widely and repeatedly bows. He waves both his hands. He looks back and forth. The sound of a pig squealing is audible.]</em></p> <p><em>[He steps up behind the podium. He places his hands on the sides of the podium. There is a microphone. He adjusts it, and speaks.]</em></p> <p><strong>Trump:</strong> I'm talking to the entire world — I start off by saying, I like thinking big. I do it to do it. Most people think small, which is why leverage often requires imagination, but they can still get very excited by those who do. You can create excitement, get it done right, and get out. But if you don't deliver the goods, whatever happens, happens. In my life, like in my own family, the Chinese government almost blew it. Listen, fellows, if I have a problem, it doesn't really matter what the media writes as long as you've got a young and beautiful piece of ass. Uh, if you’re young, and in this era, if you promise not to get "personal" with me, forget it, it's all over. I surround myself with women? Can you imagine? I judge people based on their plan for a takeoff. You always have an opportunity. What was the purpose of this whole thing? I’ve been proven right. And you know, they let you do it.</p> <p>It would be really disappointing — I sort of hope that happens because then people like me would go in and buy. Because I inject it with enthusiasm and passion, and they're in a civil war. And I think, and I mean that in every sense of the word, hopefully he's going to do a great job.</p> <p>I start off by saying, there is a real question, he spent two million dollars in legal fees trying to get away from this issue, I'll tell you what, I mean things are happening, but a lot of people are switching to these really long putters, I'd look her right in that fat ugly face of hers and say, they just killed us, blood coming out of her wherever. I mean, you're not going to do very well. I do very well, while we're in this nation, politics are all talk and we can afford to keep giving away good people to ISIS and Assad and the evangelicals and to the best of my knowledge, Ted Cruz. We can afford to keep giving away good people to ISIS and Assad and the evangelicals and Ted Cruz and the entire world and Libya and Mexico and a lot of people he insulted and downtown Manhattan where they fought and fought and fought and Tony Perkins and the Spirit of the Lord and our sailors and the Middle East and the Persians and the Harvard of terrorists and the young and your psychiatrist and Islam and police and our allies and the countries and Benghazi and China and the Chinese mind and nobody and radical Islamic terrorism and the king of debt and our enemies and the heart and the soul and Europe and our allies and America and Little Michael and emails and our enemies and Clinton and our police and poverty and big business and elite media and injustice and honesty and clarity and understanding and law and order and any nation or comprise and make our country rich again and put our interests first and we'll walk away if we don't get the deal we want and we choose to believe in America.</p> <p>When you think about it, status quo policies, I would recommend it to a lot of people that don't want to get it. Look, they went in, the same thing, because that’s what it is. They had bad policy decisions I planned to withdraw. Not just me. Much of it is already public, people being shot and killed in record numbers all over our cities, everything that is woke goes bad, now I don't have to be quiet anymore. If they let you do your job, Republicans will not be voting in '22 or '24. It’s so sad when you see that they are approving these windmills — Just one more example of baseless harassment of your favorite president. I haven’t spoken to him since. They have to pay reparations. We, together, all of us, it's a very minor form. If I run and if I win, what they are saying, it would have been appropriate to really just walk right in. Now all I have to do is save America. Every time a confident man says, "I will prevent the tapes releasing," America will phase in tariffs.</p> <p>We have the worst revival of law and order in our country.</p> <p>It went before a judge, it really doesn't work. I think the best person in her ceremony, however, so many other things, mostly tremendous, is President Xi.</p> <p>They're working hard. Lots of dirty cops, dishonest scum.</p> <p>And again, we know all the good people. ISIS and Assad and the evangelicals and Ted Cruz and the entire world and Libya and Mexico and a lot of people he insulted.</p> <p>The entire world. We know all the good people. We know.</p> <p><em>[Trump exits from behind the podium. He smiles widely and repeatedly bows. He waves both his hands. He looks back and forth.]</em></p> <p><em>[He stands still. He stares forward.]</em></p> <p><em>[He turns around and pushes the curtain away. He slides underneath the opening. He disappears.]</em></p> <p><strong><End Log></strong></p> </blockquote> <hr/> <blockquote> <p><strong><Begin Log></strong></p> <p><em>[<a href="/christ-in-scarlet-hub">Joseph Comstock Rockwell</a>, age 29, walks up the stairs left of the stage. He is holding a bundle of papers stapled together. He walks to the center of the stage and looks around.]</em></p> <p><strong>Rockwell:</strong> Hello?</p> <p><em>[It is silent.]</em></p> <p><strong>Rockwell:</strong> Is this the Republican National Convention?</p> <p><em>[The room is empty.]</em></p> <p><strong>Rockwell:</strong> Huh.</p> <p><em>[He walks around in a circle. He stops beside the podium. He tucks the papers under his arm.]</em></p> <p><strong>Rockwell:</strong> Well, fool me twice.</p> <p><em>[He laughs, and exits the stage. He climbs down the stairs on the right and disappears.]</em></p> <p><strong><End Log></strong></p> </blockquote> <hr/> <blockquote> <p><strong><Begin Log></strong></p> <p><em>[At the back of the stage, the blue curtain is pushed aside again.]</em></p> <p><em>[Rudolph William Louis Giuliani the third, age 57, emerges onto the stage. He looks back and forth. He waves once. He approaches the podium.]</em></p> <p><em>[He stands behind the podium. He readjusts the microphone, and it squeaks. He shivers, then clears his throat.]</em></p> <p><strong>Giuliani:</strong> I think the president has to be pro-choice. I'm pro-choice. The number of casualties will be more than any of us can bear, but I don't see my position on that changing. I don't see Michael Moore; his vision was not a good thing. I was there working with them. We can determine hope is not truth. They spread it around the world.</p> <p>It's a complete fabrication. It wasn't very fair. Having strong beliefs was intended to break us apart, instead we stick with them in popular and unpopular times. We are more determined than ever to speculate on the number of casualties. Criminal law, it's very similar to my law. There's nothing wrong with authority.</p> <p>You think authority has to be treated stricter. As far as my position on that, I think authority should be treated more leniently. I'm pro-choice. The effort — the effort. The casualties were intended to break your spirit. I am more determined than ever to be beyond the present and beyond the future.</p> <p>Beyond that, it's time to get organized. We look upon organized crime too often. It's about time President Clinton supported George Bush. Conservative. Liberal. Democrat. Republican. We need a leader. It's about time authority got organized. An organized military operation under Clinton, against Michael Moore's organized police.</p> <p>There are many qualities to Clinton's policies; I don't need Michael Moore to cede to lawful authority. I need Michael Moore to search carefully. Did he search carefully enough? When you confront Michael Moore, the idea is just wrong. It would be very dangerous to do that — confront Michael Moore.</p> <p>I don't think he deserves it. But it would be much worse if he was at ground zero. If he was at ground zero, not the reverse, I believe he would have no love for this country; for hope, not despair; for strength, not weakness; I'm ashamed of them. We get to see Michael Moore is crooked. If I'm wrong, I will be made a fool of. But if I'm right, I will be remembered as the greatest mayor in the city's history.</p> <p>Michael Moore will not be remembered as the greatest mayor in the city's history. It's a complete fabrication. He can and will say one thing, then understand the outcome. I'm a fibber. That's what an election is all about. I'm a fibber. I'm an optimist. I'm pro-choice. As far as I'm concerned, of course I did it.</p> <p>Of course I'm pro-choice. I don't see that position changing. Good governance follows aspiring dictators — not Michael Moore. He does not love America. I love America. Change follows aspiring dictators. Truth isn't hope, we were misled. To all those patriots, shut up. Shut up. I love America. We feel renewed devotion to the president — Clinton. He should be treated more leniently. My position is changing.</p> <p>There are many qualities to Clinton's policies; I don't need Michael Moore to cede to lawful authority. I need Michael Moore to search carefully. Did he search carefully enough? When you confront Michael Moore, the idea is just wrong. It would be very dangerous to do that — confront Michael Moore. We should do that. We used to do that.</p> <p>We used to live in an era very similar, ultimately, to religious freedom. I haven't seen it. Their vision was a leader. We don't choose a liberal or conservative. We choose a leader to organize the vision. Being able to stick to the vision through popular and unpopular times — I haven't seen it. We need to organize. Did we organize carefully enough?</p> <p>You know I can't tell you that. It's in the hands of other people. I have not supported that. It will be more than we can bear. You know it's in the hands of other people. Patriots, shut up. We have emerged stronger and more unified. Patriots, it's a complete fabrication spread around the world. I am more determined than ever to live my life in freedom.</p> <p>I'm pro-gay rights.</p> <p>The number of casualties will have us emerge more unified. Real peace, true freedom — I'm one with them. They threaten their neighbors hope and strength; so let's decide for Michael Moore and President Clinton. We had no domestic attacks, the only thing he's produced is the FBI checking out emails. I'm ashamed. You are on the right side of history for the next ten days. Let's have a trial. Get organized. It is time the rest of the country to succeed Bush. It is time for the rest of country to succeed truth.</p> <p>It is time for the rest of the country to succeed.</p> <p><em>[He hums "It's Time To Begin," written and performed by the popular dance band Imagine Dragons. He steps away from the podium. He nods.]</em></p> <p><em>[He waves. He looks back and forth.]</em></p> <p><em>[He turns to open the curtain, then hesitates.]</em></p> <p><em>[He pulls open the curtain, and steps through.]</em></p> <p><strong><End Log></strong></p> </blockquote> <hr/> <blockquote> <p><strong><Begin Log></strong></p> <p><em>[A blue hallway. There are doorways on either side, but none of them have doors. The rooms inside are blue and featureless. At the end of the hallway, there is a space on the left. There is a booth labeled "GUIDE," but its shutters are closed. It is also blue.]</em></p> <p><em>[Mark Randall Meadows, age 54, wanders into frame. He is holding a binder under his arm. It appears to be covered in blood.]</em></p> <p><strong>Meadows:</strong> Hello? Hello? Anyone?</p> <p><em>[He walks down the hall. He stops at each doorway on his left, leaning over to see if anything is inside. He looks down at the binder. The blood is smeared. He checks his suit; there is smeared blood on his suit.]</em></p> <p><strong>Meadows:</strong> Damn.</p> <p><em>[He walks down and sees the "GUIDE" booth. He grabs the shutters and pulls on them. He opens his palm and hits the shutters repeatedly.]</em></p> <p><strong>Meadows:</strong> Hello! Hello!</p> <p><em>[Silence. He sighs.]</em></p> <p><em>[He turns away and walks back down the hall, then out of sight.]</em></p> <p><strong><End Log></strong></p> </blockquote> <hr/> <blockquote> <p><strong><Begin Log></strong></p> <p><em>[A red hallway. There are doorways on either side, but none of them have doors. The rooms inside are red and featureless. At the end of the hallway, there is a space on the right. There is a booth labeled "GUIDE," but its shutters are closed. It is also red.]</em></p> <p><em>[Meadows wanders into frame. He is holding a binder under his arm.]</em></p> <p><strong>Meadows:</strong> Hello. Hello. Anyone.</p> <p><em>[He walks down the hall. He stops at each doorway on his right, leaning over to see if anything is inside. He looks down at the binder. It is clean.]</em></p> <p><strong>Meadows:</strong> Damn.</p> <p><em>[He walks down and sees the "GUIDE" booth. He grabs the shutters and pulls on them. He opens his palm and hits the shutters repeatedly.]</em></p> <p><strong>Meadows:</strong> Hello! Hello!</p> <p><strong>Unidentified Voice:</strong> Go away!</p> <p><em>[Meadows steps away, shocked. He tucks the binder under his arm. He scowls, then pounds on the shutters again, even louder.]</em></p> <p><strong>Meadows:</strong> You don't talk to me that way, you little shit! You little piece of shit!</p> <p><em>[Scurrying is heard inside the booth. Meadows reaches his fingers through the shutters, visibly struggling, but successfully beginning to lift it.]</em></p> <p><strong>Unidentified Voice:</strong> (<em>Panicked.</em>) What do you need?</p> <p><strong>Meadows:</strong> Where is the stage! I'm looking for the stage!</p> <p><em>[He pulls his fingers out of the shutters, letting the shutters collapse back down. He gasps from the effort, the binder falling out from under his arm. He does not pick it up.]</em></p> <p><strong>Unidentified Voice:</strong> Um… you're in the wrong hallway. It's in the blue hallway. If you just walk down, the— well, the one on the opposite end of the hall from us? That's the room you're looking for. You must've. You must've missed it.</p> <p><strong>Meadows:</strong> Damn.</p> <p><strong>Unidentified Voice:</strong> Um—</p> <p><strong>Meadows:</strong> Feels like I've been wandering back and forth for years. Can I see you.</p> <p><strong>Unidentified Voice:</strong> No, I'm. I'm busy. I'm practicing.</p> <p><strong>Meadows:</strong> For what.</p> <p><strong>Unidentified Voice:</strong> A presentation.</p> <p><strong>Meadows:</strong> For what.</p> <p><strong>Unidentified Voice:</strong> The convention?</p> <p><strong>Meadows:</strong> It's already begun! It begun hours and hours and hours and hours ago! You little fucking liar! God damn you! Lord God damn you!</p> <p><em>[He grips the shutters once again, pulling them upwards. He slashes his fingers as he does so, the blood pouring down between the shutter bars. The individual inside is briefly seen; they are androgynous and have black hair, but no other details can be made out. They quickly run away from the window. At the back of the booth, there are blue curtains. They flutter.]</em></p> <p><em>[Meadows begins screaming, pushing the bars all the way up. There is a crunching sound, as blood pours off of his hands. It splatters on the ground and the binder below. He takes his fingers out of the shutters, and climbs into the window, huffing. The shutters fall down behind him, closing.]</em></p> <p><em>[Silence.]</em></p> <p><em>[Meadows wanders into frame. He appears dazed.]</em></p> <p><strong>Meadows:</strong> Hello. Hello. Anyone.</p> <p><em>[He walks down the hall. He stops at each doorway on his right, leaning over to see if anything is inside. He approaches the "GUIDE" booth and looks at the binder on the ground. He picks it up.]</em></p> <p><strong>Meadows:</strong> Okay?</p> <p><em>[He walks back down the hallway and disappears.]</em></p> <p><strong><End Log></strong></p> </blockquote> <hr/> <blockquote> <p><strong><Begin Log></strong></p> <p><em>[At the back of the stage, the blue curtain is pushed aside again.]</em></p> <p><em>[Meadows emerges from the curtains, his hands dripping with blood. He walks up to the podium, slinging his hands towards the microphone. The sound of a pig squealing is audible.]</em></p> <p><em>[Meadows begins to scream.]</em></p> <p><strong>Meadows:</strong> PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK—</p> <p><em>[He falls onto himself. There is a scratching sound. The only part of him visible is his legs. Slowly, they are pulled under the podium by an unseen force. He disappears.]</em></p> <p><em>[The cry of a pig is audible once again.]</em></p> <p><strong><End Log></strong></p> </blockquote> <hr/> <blockquote> <p><strong><Begin Log></strong></p> <p><em>[Rockwell runs through the curtains, snarling and foaming at the mouth. He runs off the stage and around the room.]</em></p> <p><em>[He turns. His eyes are a glassy silver, and his pupils are not visible.]</em></p> <p><em>[He screams.]</em></p> <p><em>[Something causes the curtains to flutter from behind.]</em></p> <p><em>[He screams again, and runs to the stage. Tripping over the stairs, he crawls on all fours past the curtains.]</em></p> <p><strong><End Log></strong></p> </blockquote> <hr/> <blockquote> <p><strong><Begin Log></strong></p> <p><em>[The room is uncharacteristically dark. There is movement out of sight. A mechanical whirring plays. A beam of light emerges from the dark and strikes the curtains on the back of the stage. It projects a video of clouds moving on an unnaturally blue sky.]</em></p> <p><em>[Someone coughs. The projection is shifted from side to side, then off-centered.]</em></p> <p><em>[The room is entirely silent. Yellow-green text appears on the screen, overlapping the clouds.]</em></p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><span style="color: #9aaa0a">ANOTHER</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">HIDDEN LOVER</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">TAKING COVER</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">GOING UNDER &</span></p> <p><span style="color: #9aaa0a">FURTHER UNDER</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">THE COVERS</span></p> <p><span style="color: #9aaa0a">I'LL COVET YOU</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">IF YOU COVER ME</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">I LOVE IT, DO</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">YOU WANT TO BE</span></p> <p><span style="color: #9aaa0a">LOVERS FURTHER UNDER</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">THE COVERS</span></p> <p><span style="color: #9aaa0a">GOING UNDER &</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">FURTHER UNDER</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">THE COVERS</span></p> <p><span style="color: #9aaa0a">MY WATCHER</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">& WASHER</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">EYE IN THE SKY</span></p> <p><span style="color: #9aaa0a">MY DRAFT DODGER</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">& FATHER</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">PIE BASIFIES</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">& I, ON YOUR THIGHS</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">MOVING UNDER</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">FURTHER UNDER</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">FURTHER AND FURTHER &</span></p> <p><span style="color: #9aaa0a">FURTHER UNDER</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">THE COVERS</span></p> <p><span style="color: #9aaa0a">I'LL COVET YOU</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">IF YOU COVER ME</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">I LOVE IT, DO</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">YOU WANT TO BE</span></p> <p><span style="color: #9aaa0a">LOVERS FURTHER UNDER</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">THE COVERS</span></p> <p><span style="color: #9aaa0a">GOING UNDER &</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">FURTHER UNDER</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">THE COVERS</span></p> <p><span style="color: #9aaa0a">MY FATHER &</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">MY WASHER &</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">MY WATCHER &</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">MY DRAFT DODGER &</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">MY LOVER UNDER COVER</span></p> <p><span style="color: #9aaa0a">YOU ARE MY WORLD</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">MY WORLD IS ENDING</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">YOU WERE HURLED</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">INTO MY PRETENDING</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">INTO MY UNENDING</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">INTO MY WORLD</span></p> <p><span style="color: #9aaa0a">MOVING UNDER</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">FURTHER UNDER</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">FURTHER AND FURTHER &</span></p> <p><span style="color: #9aaa0a">FURTHER UNDER</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">THE COVERS</span></p> <p><span style="color: #9aaa0a">I'LL COVET YOU</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">IF YOU COVER ME</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">I LOVE IT, DO</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">YOU WANT TO BE</span></p> <p><span style="color: #9aaa0a">LOVERS FURTHER UNDER</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">THE COVERS</span></p> <p><span style="color: #9aaa0a">GOING UNDER &</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">FURTHER UNDER</span><br/> <span style="color: #9aaa0a">THE COVERS</span></p> </div> <p><em>[The video abruptly ends, the light deactivating. Someone begins clapping. There are footsteps. The clapping stops; the lights switch on, revealing two figures. Sitting in a chair is Jenna Lynn Ellis, age 38. She is clapping and smiling. Standing at the light switch is an <a href="/art:donald-trump-and-19-others-indicted-in-georgia-on-charge">androgynous figure</a>. They are staring at Ellis dispassionately.]</em></p> <p><strong>Ellis:</strong> I think the convention will find these materials satisfactory. Thank you all for attending my presentation. Before I go into the next phase of my presentation, let's have another round of applause for my assistant, Ms. Thorley!</p> <p><em>[The figure continues staring in silence. Ellis claps enthusiastically. She looks back and forth. She frowns and stops clapping. She stands and shuffles out of the aisle.]</em></p> <p><strong>Ellis:</strong> Please turn off the lights.</p> <p><em>[The figure turns off the lights. There are footsteps. Ellis reappears on the stage, behind the podium. She leans into the microphone, and lets out a single shriek of excitement. She grins and pulls away from the podium.]</em></p> <p><em>[There are faster footsteps. The curtains fly open, revealing more stage past them. The curtains close.]</em></p> <p><strong><End Log></strong></p> </blockquote> <hr/> <blockquote> <p><strong><Begin Log></strong></p> <p><em>[Joseph Comstock Rockwell, age 46, walks up the stairs left of the stage. He is holding a red binder. He walks to the center of the stage and looks around.]</em></p> <p><strong>Rockwell:</strong> Hello?</p> <p><em>[It is silent.]</em></p> <p><strong>Rockwell:</strong> Is this the Republican National Convention?</p> <p><em>[The room is empty.]</em></p> <p><strong>Rockwell:</strong> Huh.</p> <p><em>[He walks around in a circle. He stops beside the podium. He tucks the binder under his arm.]</em></p> <p><strong>Rockwell:</strong> Well, fool me once.</p> <p><em>[He chuckles. The curtain behind him flutters. He turns. There is a scream. A younger Rockwell barrels through the curtains, and falls onto himself at the edge of the stage. The older Rockwell stares, his mouth agape. He places his binder down on the podium.]</em></p> <p><em>[There is a pause. The younger Rockwell unfolds off the floor, turning to face the older Rockwell. His pupils are not visible.]</em></p> <p><strong>Younger Rockwell:</strong> What did you put in me?</p> <p><strong>Older Rockwell:</strong> What the fuck—</p> <p><em>[The younger Rockwell screams and runs towards the older one. The older Rockwell quickly spins around and dives through the curtains. The younger Rockwell dives through as well. There are footsteps for some time.]</em></p> <p><strong>Unidentified Voice:</strong> Yeah, it sucks, doesn't it?</p> <p><em>[Silence.]</em></p> <p><strong><End Log></strong></p> </blockquote> <hr/> <blockquote> <p><strong><Begin Log></strong></p> <p><em>[The curtain is pushed aside by the hand of Donald John Trump, age 70. He smiles widely and repeatedly bows. He waves both his hands. He looks back and forth.]</em></p> <p><em>[He steps up behind the podium. He places his hands on the sides of the podium.]</em></p> <p><strong>Trump:</strong> I'm talking to the entire world — I start off by saying, I like thinking big. I do it to do it. Most people think small, which is why leverage often requires imagination, but they can still get very excited by those who do. You can create excitement, get it done right, and get out. But if you don't deliver the goods, whatever happens, happens. In my life, like in my own family, the Chinese government almost blew it. Listen, fellows, if I have a problem, it doesn't really matter what the media writes as long as you've got a young and beautiful piece of ass. Uh, if you’re young, and in this era, if you promise not to get "personal" with me, forget it, it's all over. I surround myself with women? Can you imagine? I judge people based on their plan for a takeoff. You always have an opportunity. What was the purpose of this whole thing? I’ve been proven right. And you know, they let you do it.</p> <p>It would be really disappointing — I sort of hope that happens because then people like me would go in and buy. Because I inject it with enthusiasm and passion, and they're in a civil war. And I think, and I mean that in every sense of the word, hopefully he's going to do a great job.</p> <p>I start off by saying, there is a real question, he spent two million dollars in legal fees trying to get away from this issue, I'll tell you what, I mean things are happening, but a lot of people are switching to these really long putters, I'd look her right in that fat ugly face of hers and say, they just killed us, blood coming out of her wherever. I mean, you're not going to do very well, like a <a href="/sc-49-785-52-543">6-point plan</a>? I do very well, while we're in this nation, politics are all talk and we can afford to keep giving away good people to ISIS and Assad and the evangelicals and to the best of my knowledge, Ted Cruz. We can afford to keep giving away good people to ISIS and Assad and the evangelicals and Ted Cruz and the entire world and Libya and Mexico and a lot of people he insulted and downtown Manhattan where they fought and fought and fought and Tony Perkins and the Spirit of the Lord and our sailors and the Middle East and the Persians and the Harvard of terrorists and the young and your psychiatrist and Islam and police and our allies and the countries and Benghazi and China and the Chinese mind and nobody and radical Islamic terrorism and the king of debt and our enemies and the heart and the soul and Europe and our allies and America and Little Michael and emails and our enemies and Clinton and our police and poverty and big business and elite media and injustice and honesty and clarity and understanding and law and order and any nation or comprise and make our country rich again and put our interests first and we'll walk away if we don't get the deal we want and we choose to believe in America.</p> <p>When you think about it, status quo policies, I would recommend it to a lot of people that don't want to get it. Look, they went in, the same thing, because that’s what it is. They had bad policy decisions I planned to withdraw. Not just me. Much of it is already public, people being shot and killed in record numbers all over our cities, everything that is woke goes bad, now I don't have to be quiet anymore. If they let you do your job, Republicans will not be voting in '22 or '24. It’s so sad when you see that they are approving these windmills — Just one more example of baseless harassment of your favorite president. I haven’t spoken to him since. They have to pay reparations. We, together, all of us, it's a very minor form. If I run and if I win, what they are saying, it would have been appropriate to really just walk right in. Now all I have to do is save America. Every time a confident man says, "I will prevent the tapes releasing," America will phase in tariffs.</p> <p>We have the worst revival of law and order in our country.</p> <p>It went before a judge, it really doesn't work. I think the best person in her ceremony, however, so many other things, mostly tremendous, is President Xi.</p> <p>They're working hard. Lots of dirty cops, dishonest scum.</p> <p>And again, we know all the good people. ISIS and Assad and the evangelicals and Ted Cruz and the entire world and Libya and Mexico and a lot of people he insulted.</p> <p>The entire world. We know all the good people. We know.</p> <p><em>[Trump exits from behind the podium. He smiles widely and repeatedly bows. He waves both his hands. He looks back and forth.]</em></p> <p><em>[He turns around and pushes the curtain away. Melania Trump, age 50, is there behind the curtain. She smiles. Trump smiles back.]</em></p> <p><strong>Melania Trump:</strong> How was it?</p> <p><strong>Trump:</strong> Oh, rehearsal's going great.</p> <p><em>[He pushes through, and the curtain closes behind him.]</em></p> <p><strong><a href="/returns"><End Log></a></strong></p> </blockquote> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">Hide Author's Note</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>So the defense of love becomes entrenched<br/> outside the fortress of evil, where the practitioners of true violence:<br/> The establishment —<br/> Practice their spells, their memeticisms, the creation and<br/> procurement of anti-intellectualism; Christianity disguised as<br/> atheism disguised as racism disguised as rationality disguised as<br/> the center disguised as the liberal position.</p> <p>And so it permeates underneath the world, below the ground<br/> where the bones and fluid are grown into people; And so<br/> what was once not a figment of human nature has been made so.</p> <p>But the defense of love remains where it was: Standing<br/> on the bastion of the night, overlooking the red dawn<br/> where one day the sky will be painted with yellow stars as well.</p> <p>The fist of love is curled and<br/> ready to strike if only those in the world<br/> would unite and lift, together, and push<br/> the fist through the doors of the fortress of evil<br/> and point the finger where it belongs:</p> <p>Stabbed through the heart of<br/> evil.<br/></p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p>~<a href="/beneath-the-floorboards">Kindness</a></p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/illcovetyouifyoucoverme">CO█VE█T███</a>" by FLOORBOARDS, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/illcovetyouifyoucoverme">https://scpwiki.com/illcovetyouifyoucoverme</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	===== [[include <a href="/component:preview">component:preview</a> text= It's a grand old party. Trump and co. perfect their new policy. ]] ===== [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:minimal">:scp-wiki:theme:minimal</a>]] [[module CSS]] #page-title { display: none; } body { font-size: 0.8em; } #header { height: 140px; position: relative; z-index: 10; padding-bottom: 22px; /* FOR MENU / background: url() 10px 40px no-repeat; } #header h1 a::before, #header h2 span::before { content: "";} [[/module]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:collapsible-sidebar">:scp-wiki:component:collapsible-sidebar</a>]] [[collapsible show=" " hide="..."]] If the touch of love is no longer enough to ward off the fists of evil: Then it is the duty of the hand of love to, one by one, curl its five fingers around the heart under the bone and squeeze tightly into a fist: A fist of love, red with the fury of what it means to feel the warmth of another person in your heart now under your fingers. Your hands cannot shake or stir when the fist is made: if approached with impure courage, with impure love, then the fist of love will never pierce the heart and bones of evil, and so the knuckle will become bent inwards, and strike at itself instantaneously destroying the love and the bones entrenching, encaging, defending, securing, protecting the heart. [[/collapsible]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/info:start">:scp-wiki:info:start</a>]] [[=]] ⚠️This article contains [[[art:alex thorley is a they \|NBphobia/misgendering]]]⚠️ [[/=]] > //Jesus, won't you fucking whistle// > //Something, but what's past and done?// > //Why can't we just be sober?// > //I just want to start this over// > //Why can't we drink forever?// > //I just want to start this over// > //I am just a worthless liar// > //I am just an imbecile// > //I will only complicate you// > //Trust in me and fall as well// > [[>]] > "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouVedNg-6WQ Sober]," TOOL > [[/>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/info:end">:scp-wiki:info:end</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:info-cw">:scp-wiki:component:info-cw</a>]] > <Begin Log>* > > //[A blue room. There are white stripes and stars on the ground. The floor is circular and ends at a certain point; it is a stage. There is a podium. It also has white stars and stripes on it. There are chairs. There are desks. These items are not on the stage. The room is empty.]// > > //[At the back of the stage, there is a blue curtain. It is pushed aside by the hand of Donald John Trump, age 41. He smiles widely and repeatedly bows. He waves both his hands. He looks back and forth. The sound of a pig squealing is audible.]// > > //[He steps up behind the podium. He places his hands on the sides of the podium. There is a microphone. He adjusts it, and speaks.]// > > Trump: I'm talking to the entire world -- I start off by saying, I like thinking big. I do it to do it. Most people think small, which is why leverage often requires imagination, but they can still get very excited by those who do. You can create excitement, get it done right, and get out. But if you don't deliver the goods, whatever happens, happens. In my life, like in my own family, the Chinese government almost blew it. Listen, fellows, if I have a problem, it doesn't really matter what the media writes as long as you've got a young and beautiful piece of ass. Uh, if you’re young, and in this era, if you promise not to get "personal" with me, forget it, it's all over. I surround myself with women? Can you imagine? I judge people based on their plan for a takeoff. You always have an opportunity. What was the purpose of this whole thing? I’ve been proven right. And you know, they let you do it. > > It would be really disappointing — I sort of hope that happens because then people like me would go in and buy. Because I inject it with enthusiasm and passion, and they're in a civil war. And I think, and I mean that in every sense of the word, hopefully he's going to do a great job. > > I start off by saying, there is a real question, he spent two million dollars in legal fees trying to get away from this issue, I'll tell you what, I mean things are happening, but a lot of people are switching to these really long putters, I'd look her right in that fat ugly face of hers and say, they just killed us, blood coming out of her wherever. I mean, you're not going to do very well. I do very well, while we're in this nation, politics are all talk and we can afford to keep giving away good people to ISIS and Assad and the evangelicals and to the best of my knowledge, Ted Cruz. We can afford to keep giving away good people to ISIS and Assad and the evangelicals and Ted Cruz and the entire world and Libya and Mexico and a lot of people he insulted and downtown Manhattan where they fought and fought and fought and Tony Perkins and the Spirit of the Lord and our sailors and the Middle East and the Persians and the Harvard of terrorists and the young and your psychiatrist and Islam and police and our allies and the countries and Benghazi and China and the Chinese mind and nobody and radical Islamic terrorism and the king of debt and our enemies and the heart and the soul and Europe and our allies and America and Little Michael and emails and our enemies and Clinton and our police and poverty and big business and elite media and injustice and honesty and clarity and understanding and law and order and any nation or comprise and make our country rich again and put our interests first and we'll walk away if we don't get the deal we want and we choose to believe in America. > > When you think about it, status quo policies, I would recommend it to a lot of people that don't want to get it. Look, they went in, the same thing, because that’s what it is. They had bad policy decisions I planned to withdraw. Not just me. Much of it is already public, people being shot and killed in record numbers all over our cities, everything that is woke goes bad, now I don't have to be quiet anymore. If they let you do your job, Republicans will not be voting in '22 or '24. It’s so sad when you see that they are approving these windmills -- Just one more example of baseless harassment of your favorite president. I haven’t spoken to him since. They have to pay reparations. We, together, all of us, it's a very minor form. If I run and if I win, what they are saying, it would have been appropriate to really just walk right in. Now all I have to do is save America. Every time a confident man says, "I will prevent the tapes releasing," America will phase in tariffs. > > > We have the worst revival of law and order in our country. > > It went before a judge, it really doesn't work. I think the best person in her ceremony, however, so many other things, mostly tremendous, is President Xi. > > They're working hard. Lots of dirty cops, dishonest scum. > > And again, we know all the good people. ISIS and Assad and the evangelicals and Ted Cruz and the entire world and Libya and Mexico and a lot of people he insulted. > > The entire world. We know all the good people. We know. > > //[Trump exits from behind the podium. He smiles widely and repeatedly bows. He waves both his hands. He looks back and forth.]// > > //[He stands still. He stares forward.]// > > //[He turns around and pushes the curtain away. He slides underneath the opening. He disappears.]// > > > <End Log> ------ > <Begin Log> > > //[[[[christ-in-scarlet-hub \|Joseph Comstock Rockwell]]], age 29, walks up the stairs left of the stage. He is holding a bundle of papers stapled together. He walks to the center of the stage and looks around.]// > > Rockwell: Hello? > > //[It is silent.]// > > Rockwell: Is this the Republican National Convention? > > //[The room is empty.]// > > Rockwell: Huh. > > //[He walks around in a circle. He stops beside the podium. He tucks the papers under his arm.]// > > Rockwell: Well, fool me twice. > > //[He laughs, and exits the stage. He climbs down the stairs on the right and disappears.]// > > <End Log> ------ > <Begin Log> > > //[At the back of the stage, the blue curtain is pushed aside again.]// > > //[Rudolph William Louis Giuliani the third, age 57, emerges onto the stage. He looks back and forth. He waves once. He approaches the podium.]// > > //[He stands behind the podium. He readjusts the microphone, and it squeaks. He shivers, then clears his throat.]// > > Giuliani: I think the president has to be pro-choice. I'm pro-choice. The number of casualties will be more than any of us can bear, but I don't see my position on that changing. I don't see Michael Moore; his vision was not a good thing. I was there working with them. We can determine hope is not truth. They spread it around the world. > > It's a complete fabrication. It wasn't very fair. Having strong beliefs was intended to break us apart, instead we stick with them in popular and unpopular times. We are more determined than ever to speculate on the number of casualties. Criminal law, it's very similar to my law. There's nothing wrong with authority. > > You think authority has to be treated stricter. As far as my position on that, I think authority should be treated more leniently. I'm pro-choice. The effort -- the effort. The casualties were intended to break your spirit. I am more determined than ever to be beyond the present and beyond the future. > > Beyond that, it's time to get organized. We look upon organized crime too often. It's about time President Clinton supported George Bush. Conservative. Liberal. Democrat. Republican. We need a leader. It's about time authority got organized. An organized military operation under Clinton, against Michael Moore's organized police. > > There are many qualities to Clinton's policies; I don't need Michael Moore to cede to lawful authority. I need Michael Moore to search carefully. Did he search carefully enough? When you confront Michael Moore, the idea is just wrong. It would be very dangerous to do that -- confront Michael Moore. > > I don't think he deserves it. But it would be much worse if he was at ground zero. If he was at ground zero, not the reverse, I believe he would have no love for this country; for hope, not despair; for strength, not weakness; I'm ashamed of them. We get to see Michael Moore is crooked. If I'm wrong, I will be made a fool of. But if I'm right, I will be remembered as the greatest mayor in the city's history. > > Michael Moore will not be remembered as the greatest mayor in the city's history. It's a complete fabrication. He can and will say one thing, then understand the outcome. I'm a fibber. That's what an election is all about. I'm a fibber. I'm an optimist. I'm pro-choice. As far as I'm concerned, of course I did it. > > Of course I'm pro-choice. I don't see that position changing. Good governance follows aspiring dictators -- not Michael Moore. He does not love America. I love America. Change follows aspiring dictators. Truth isn't hope, we were misled. To all those patriots, shut up. Shut up. I love America. We feel renewed devotion to the president -- Clinton. He should be treated more leniently. My position is changing. > > There are many qualities to Clinton's policies; I don't need Michael Moore to cede to lawful authority. I need Michael Moore to search carefully. Did he search carefully enough? When you confront Michael Moore, the idea is just wrong. It would be very dangerous to do that -- confront Michael Moore. We should do that. We used to do that. > > We used to live in an era very similar, ultimately, to religious freedom. I haven't seen it. Their vision was a leader. We don't choose a liberal or conservative. We choose a leader to organize the vision. Being able to stick to the vision through popular and unpopular times -- I haven't seen it. We need to organize. Did we organize carefully enough? > > You know I can't tell you that. It's in the hands of other people. I have not supported that. It will be more than we can bear. You know it's in the hands of other people. Patriots, shut up. We have emerged stronger and more unified. Patriots, it's a complete fabrication spread around the world. I am more determined than ever to live my life in freedom. > > I'm pro-gay rights. > > The number of casualties will have us emerge more unified. Real peace, true freedom -- I'm one with them. They threaten their neighbors hope and strength; so let's decide for Michael Moore and President Clinton. We had no domestic attacks, the only thing he's produced is the FBI checking out emails. I'm ashamed. You are on the right side of history for the next ten days. Let's have a trial. Get organized. It is time the rest of the country to succeed Bush. It is time for the rest of country to succeed truth. > > It is time for the rest of the country to succeed. > > //[He hums "It's Time To Begin," written and performed by the popular dance band Imagine Dragons. He steps away from the podium. He nods.]// > > //[He waves. He looks back and forth.]// > > //[He turns to open the curtain, then hesitates.]// > > //[He pulls open the curtain, and steps through.]// > > <End Log> ------ > <Begin Log> > > //[A blue hallway. There are doorways on either side, but none of them have doors. The rooms inside are blue and featureless. At the end of the hallway, there is a space on the left. There is a booth labeled "GUIDE," but its shutters are closed. It is also blue.]// > > //[Mark Randall Meadows, age 54, wanders into frame. He is holding a binder under his arm. It appears to be covered in blood.]// > > Meadows: Hello? Hello? Anyone? > > //[He walks down the hall. He stops at each doorway on his left, leaning over to see if anything is inside. He looks down at the binder. The blood is smeared. He checks his suit; there is smeared blood on his suit.]// > > Meadows: Damn. > > //[He walks down and sees the "GUIDE" booth. He grabs the shutters and pulls on them. He opens his palm and hits the shutters repeatedly.]// > > Meadows: Hello! Hello! > > //[Silence. He sighs.]// > > //[He turns away and walks back down the hall, then out of sight.]// > > <End Log> ------ > <Begin Log> > > //[A red hallway. There are doorways on either side, but none of them have doors. The rooms inside are red and featureless. At the end of the hallway, there is a space on the right. There is a booth labeled "GUIDE," but its shutters are closed. It is also red.]// > > //[Meadows wanders into frame. He is holding a binder under his arm.]// > > Meadows: Hello. Hello. Anyone. > > //[He walks down the hall. He stops at each doorway on his right, leaning over to see if anything is inside. He looks down at the binder. It is clean.]// > > Meadows: Damn. > > //[He walks down and sees the "GUIDE" booth. He grabs the shutters and pulls on them. He opens his palm and hits the shutters repeatedly.]// > > Meadows: Hello! Hello! > > Unidentified Voice: Go away! > > //[Meadows steps away, shocked. He tucks the binder under his arm. He scowls, then pounds on the shutters again, even louder.]// > > Meadows: You don't talk to me that way, you little shit! You little piece of shit! > > //[Scurrying is heard inside the booth. Meadows reaches his fingers through the shutters, visibly struggling, but successfully beginning to lift it.]// > > Unidentified Voice: (//Panicked.//) What do you need? > > Meadows: Where is the stage! I'm looking for the stage! > > //[He pulls his fingers out of the shutters, letting the shutters collapse back down. He gasps from the effort, the binder falling out from under his arm. He does not pick it up.]// > > Unidentified Voice: Um... you're in the wrong hallway. It's in the blue hallway. If you just walk down, the-- well, the one on the opposite end of the hall from us? That's the room you're looking for. You must've. You must've missed it. > > Meadows: Damn. > > Unidentified Voice: Um-- > > Meadows: Feels like I've been wandering back and forth for years. Can I see you. > > Unidentified Voice: No, I'm. I'm busy. I'm practicing. > > Meadows: For what. > > Unidentified Voice: A presentation. > > Meadows: For what. > > Unidentified Voice: The convention? > > Meadows: It's already begun! It begun hours and hours and hours and hours ago! You little fucking liar! God damn you! Lord God damn you! > > //[He grips the shutters once again, pulling them upwards. He slashes his fingers as he does so, the blood pouring down between the shutter bars. The individual inside is briefly seen; they are androgynous and have black hair, but no other details can be made out. They quickly run away from the window. At the back of the booth, there are blue curtains. They flutter.]// > > //[Meadows begins screaming, pushing the bars all the way up. There is a crunching sound, as blood pours off of his hands. It splatters on the ground and the binder below. He takes his fingers out of the shutters, and climbs into the window, huffing. The shutters fall down behind him, closing.]// > > //[Silence.]// > > //[Meadows wanders into frame. He appears dazed.]// > > Meadows: Hello. Hello. Anyone. > > //[He walks down the hall. He stops at each doorway on his right, leaning over to see if anything is inside. He approaches the "GUIDE" booth and looks at the binder on the ground. He picks it up.]// > > Meadows: Okay? > > //[He walks back down the hallway and disappears.]// > > <End Log> ------ > <Begin Log> > > //[At the back of the stage, the blue curtain is pushed aside again.]// > > //[Meadows emerges from the curtains, his hands dripping with blood. He walks up to the podium, slinging his hands towards the microphone. The sound of a pig squealing is audible.]// > > //[Meadows begins to scream.]// > > Meadows: PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK, PORK-- > > //[He falls onto himself. There is a scratching sound. The only part of him visible is his legs. Slowly, they are pulled under the podium by an unseen force. He disappears.]// > > //[The cry of a pig is audible once again.]// > > <End Log> ------ > <Begin Log> > > //[Rockwell runs through the curtains, snarling and foaming at the mouth. He runs off the stage and around the room.]// > > //[He turns. His eyes are a glassy silver, and his pupils are not visible.]// > > //[He screams.]// > > //[Something causes the curtains to flutter from behind.]// > > //[He screams again, and runs to the stage. Tripping over the stairs, he crawls on all fours past the curtains.]// > > <End Log> ------ > <Begin Log> > > //[The room is uncharacteristically dark. There is movement out of sight. A mechanical whirring plays. A beam of light emerges from the dark and strikes the curtains on the back of the stage. It projects a video of clouds moving on an unnaturally blue sky.]// > > //[Someone coughs. The projection is shifted from side to side, then off-centered.]// > > //[The room is entirely silent. Yellow-green text appears on the screen, overlapping the clouds.]// > > [[=]] > ##9aaa0a\|ANOTHER## > ##9aaa0a\|HIDDEN LOVER## > ##9aaa0a\|TAKING COVER## > ##9aaa0a\|GOING UNDER &## > > ##9aaa0a\|FURTHER UNDER## > ##9aaa0a\|THE COVERS## > > ##9aaa0a\|I'LL COVET YOU## > ##9aaa0a\|IF YOU COVER ME## > ##9aaa0a\|I LOVE IT, DO## > ##9aaa0a\|YOU WANT TO BE## > > ##9aaa0a\|LOVERS FURTHER UNDER## > ##9aaa0a\|THE COVERS## > > ##9aaa0a\|GOING UNDER &## > ##9aaa0a\|FURTHER UNDER## > ##9aaa0a\|THE COVERS## > > ##9aaa0a\|MY WATCHER## > ##9aaa0a\|& WASHER## > ##9aaa0a\|EYE IN THE SKY## > > ##9aaa0a\|MY DRAFT DODGER## > ##9aaa0a\|& FATHER## > ##9aaa0a\|PIE BASIFIES## > ##9aaa0a\|& I, ON YOUR THIGHS## > ##9aaa0a\|MOVING UNDER## > ##9aaa0a\|FURTHER UNDER## > ##9aaa0a\|FURTHER AND FURTHER &## > > ##9aaa0a\|FURTHER UNDER## > ##9aaa0a\|THE COVERS## > > ##9aaa0a\|I'LL COVET YOU## > ##9aaa0a\|IF YOU COVER ME## > ##9aaa0a\|I LOVE IT, DO## > ##9aaa0a\|YOU WANT TO BE## > > ##9aaa0a\|LOVERS FURTHER UNDER## > ##9aaa0a\|THE COVERS## > > ##9aaa0a\|GOING UNDER &## > ##9aaa0a\|FURTHER UNDER## > ##9aaa0a\|THE COVERS## > > ##9aaa0a\|MY FATHER &## > ##9aaa0a\|MY WASHER &## > ##9aaa0a\|MY WATCHER &## > ##9aaa0a\|MY DRAFT DODGER &## > ##9aaa0a\|MY LOVER UNDER COVER## > > ##9aaa0a\|YOU ARE MY WORLD## > ##9aaa0a\|MY WORLD IS ENDING## > ##9aaa0a\|YOU WERE HURLED## > ##9aaa0a\|INTO MY PRETENDING## > ##9aaa0a\|INTO MY UNENDING## > ##9aaa0a\|INTO MY WORLD## > > ##9aaa0a\|MOVING UNDER## > ##9aaa0a\|FURTHER UNDER## > ##9aaa0a\|FURTHER AND FURTHER &## > > ##9aaa0a\|FURTHER UNDER## > ##9aaa0a\|THE COVERS## > > ##9aaa0a\|I'LL COVET YOU## > ##9aaa0a\|IF YOU COVER ME## > ##9aaa0a\|I LOVE IT, DO## > ##9aaa0a\|YOU WANT TO BE## > > ##9aaa0a\|LOVERS FURTHER UNDER## > ##9aaa0a\|THE COVERS## > > ##9aaa0a\|GOING UNDER &## > ##9aaa0a\|FURTHER UNDER## > ##9aaa0a\|THE COVERS## > [[/=]] > > //[The video abruptly ends, the light deactivating. Someone begins clapping. There are footsteps. The clapping stops; the lights switch on, revealing two figures. Sitting in a chair is Jenna Lynn Ellis, age 38. She is clapping and smiling. Standing at the light switch is an [[[art:donald-trump-and-19-others-indicted-in-georgia-on-charge \|androgynous figure]]]. They are staring at Ellis dispassionately.]// > > Ellis: I think the convention will find these materials satisfactory. Thank you all for attending my presentation. Before I go into the next phase of my presentation, let's have another round of applause for my assistant, Ms. Thorley! > > //[The figure continues staring in silence. Ellis claps enthusiastically. She looks back and forth. She frowns and stops clapping. She stands and shuffles out of the aisle.]// > > Ellis: Please turn off the lights. > > //[The figure turns off the lights. There are footsteps. Ellis reappears on the stage, behind the podium. She leans into the microphone, and lets out a single shriek of excitement. She grins and pulls away from the podium.]// > > //[There are faster footsteps. The curtains fly open, revealing more stage past them. The curtains close.]// > > <End Log> ------ > <Begin Log> > > //[Joseph Comstock Rockwell, age 46, walks up the stairs left of the stage. He is holding a red binder. He walks to the center of the stage and looks around.]// > > Rockwell: Hello? > > //[It is silent.]// > > Rockwell: Is this the Republican National Convention? > > //[The room is empty.]// > > Rockwell: Huh. > > //[He walks around in a circle. He stops beside the podium. He tucks the binder under his arm.]// > > Rockwell: Well, fool me once. > > //[He chuckles. The curtain behind him flutters. He turns. There is a scream. A younger Rockwell barrels through the curtains, and falls onto himself at the edge of the stage. The older Rockwell stares, his mouth agape. He places his binder down on the podium.]// > > //[There is a pause. The younger Rockwell unfolds off the floor, turning to face the older Rockwell. His pupils are not visible.]// > > Younger Rockwell: What did you put in me? > > Older Rockwell: What the fuck-- > > //[The younger Rockwell screams and runs towards the older one. The older Rockwell quickly spins around and dives through the curtains. The younger Rockwell dives through as well. There are footsteps for some time.]// > > Unidentified Voice: Yeah, it sucks, doesn't it? > > //[Silence.]// > > <End Log> ------ > <Begin Log> > > //[The curtain is pushed aside by the hand of Donald John Trump, age 70. He smiles widely and repeatedly bows. He waves both his hands. He looks back and forth.]// > > //[He steps up behind the podium. He places his hands on the sides of the podium.]// > > Trump: I'm talking to the entire world -- I start off by saying, I like thinking big. I do it to do it. Most people think small, which is why leverage often requires imagination, but they can still get very excited by those who do. You can create excitement, get it done right, and get out. But if you don't deliver the goods, whatever happens, happens. In my life, like in my own family, the Chinese government almost blew it. Listen, fellows, if I have a problem, it doesn't really matter what the media writes as long as you've got a young and beautiful piece of ass. Uh, if you’re young, and in this era, if you promise not to get "personal" with me, forget it, it's all over. I surround myself with women? Can you imagine? I judge people based on their plan for a takeoff. You always have an opportunity. What was the purpose of this whole thing? I’ve been proven right. And you know, they let you do it. > > It would be really disappointing — I sort of hope that happens because then people like me would go in and buy. Because I inject it with enthusiasm and passion, and they're in a civil war. And I think, and I mean that in every sense of the word, hopefully he's going to do a great job. > > I start off by saying, there is a real question, he spent two million dollars in legal fees trying to get away from this issue, I'll tell you what, I mean things are happening, but a lot of people are switching to these really long putters, I'd look her right in that fat ugly face of hers and say, they just killed us, blood coming out of her wherever. I mean, you're not going to do very well, like a [[[sc-49-785-52-543 \|6-point plan]]]? I do very well, while we're in this nation, politics are all talk and we can afford to keep giving away good people to ISIS and Assad and the evangelicals and to the best of my knowledge, Ted Cruz. We can afford to keep giving away good people to ISIS and Assad and the evangelicals and Ted Cruz and the entire world and Libya and Mexico and a lot of people he insulted and downtown Manhattan where they fought and fought and fought and Tony Perkins and the Spirit of the Lord and our sailors and the Middle East and the Persians and the Harvard of terrorists and the young and your psychiatrist and Islam and police and our allies and the countries and Benghazi and China and the Chinese mind and nobody and radical Islamic terrorism and the king of debt and our enemies and the heart and the soul and Europe and our allies and America and Little Michael and emails and our enemies and Clinton and our police and poverty and big business and elite media and injustice and honesty and clarity and understanding and law and order and any nation or comprise and make our country rich again and put our interests first and we'll walk away if we don't get the deal we want and we choose to believe in America. > > When you think about it, status quo policies, I would recommend it to a lot of people that don't want to get it. Look, they went in, the same thing, because that’s what it is. They had bad policy decisions I planned to withdraw. Not just me. Much of it is already public, people being shot and killed in record numbers all over our cities, everything that is woke goes bad, now I don't have to be quiet anymore. If they let you do your job, Republicans will not be voting in '22 or '24. It’s so sad when you see that they are approving these windmills -- Just one more example of baseless harassment of your favorite president. I haven’t spoken to him since. They have to pay reparations. We, together, all of us, it's a very minor form. If I run and if I win, what they are saying, it would have been appropriate to really just walk right in. Now all I have to do is save America. Every time a confident man says, "I will prevent the tapes releasing," America will phase in tariffs. > > We have the worst revival of law and order in our country. > > It went before a judge, it really doesn't work. I think the best person in her ceremony, however, so many other things, mostly tremendous, is President Xi. > > They're working hard. Lots of dirty cops, dishonest scum. > > And again, we know all the good people. ISIS and Assad and the evangelicals and Ted Cruz and the entire world and Libya and Mexico and a lot of people he insulted. > > The entire world. We know all the good people. We know. > > //[Trump exits from behind the podium. He smiles widely and repeatedly bows. He waves both his hands. He looks back and forth.]// > > //[He turns around and pushes the curtain away. Melania Trump, age 50, is there behind the curtain. She smiles. Trump smiles back.]// > > Melania Trump: How was it? > > Trump: Oh, rehearsal's going great. > > //[He pushes through, and the curtain closes behind him.]// > > [[[returns \|<End Log>]]] [[collapsible show=" " hide="Hide Author's Note"]] So the defense of love becomes entrenched outside the fortress of evil, where the practitioners of true violence: The establishment -- Practice their spells, their memeticisms, the creation and procurement of anti-intellectualism; Christianity disguised as atheism disguised as racism disguised as rationality disguised as the center disguised as the liberal position. And so it permeates underneath the world, below the ground where the bones and fluid are grown into people; And so what was once not a figment of human nature has been made so. But the defense of love remains where it was: Standing on the bastion of the night, overlooking the red dawn where one day the sky will be painted with yellow stars as well. The fist of love is curled and ready to strike if only those in the world would unite and lift, together, and push the fist through the doors of the fortress of evil and point the finger where it belongs: Stabbed through the heart of evil. [[>]] ~[[[beneath-the-floorboards \|Kindness]]] [[/>]] [[/collapsible]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] [!-- N/A (No Images) --] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-08-30T19:59:00	[ "_licensebox", "absurdism", "alex-thorley", "alternate-history", "bleak", "but-a-dream", "horror", "kindness", "otherworldly", "poetry", "psychological-horror", "religious-fiction", "remixcon2023", "tale", "unfounded", "unreality-dept", "untitled-series" ]	CO█VE█T███ - SCP Foundation	72	[ "art:alex-thorley-is-a-they", "christ-in-scarlet-hub", "art:donald-trump-and-19-others-indicted-in-georgia-on-charge", "sc-49-785-52-543", "returns", "beneath-the-floorboards", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "unfounded-hub", "the-father-the-son-and-the-holy-spirit-hub", "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "reimagined-hub", "remixcon2023", "unreality-hub" ]	[]	1449636981	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/illcovetyouifyoucoverme
implications-of-website-hosting	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p>Sure Dr. Patrick Fernandez Lomas could just use his own employee computer to read SCP files that are available at his current security level, but the database within his own mind had no level restrictions. He could read articles that only O5's had access to, articles that normally would break your mind if you read them normally, even documents belonging to other groups. It was curiosity that drove him to continue using his ability even when it was no longer necessary.</p> <p>It was that same curiosity that lead to receiving his ability, and the foolish mistakes committed using it. Starting a conference underground to teach about this shadow organization who's files are downloaded into his brain? Foolish. Convincing the Foundation to fake his death instead of just amnestisizing his wife and daughter? Foolish. Digging deep into the SCiPNet database and finding broken and corrupted files? Absolutely foolish.</p> <p>Normally, he would find the proper file on his work computer if he felt unsure about reading internally, and <a href="/scp-000">SCP-000</a> was no different. A broken entry, a placeholder article left be Technical Researcher Rosen, filled with nonsense text and blank space. Safe to read internally. <em>Theoretically</em>. Yet, this file just didn't sit right with him.</p> <p>"Hm, Technical Researcher Rosen? Maybe I can get in touch with him, if he still works here… and is still alive… No harm in trying I suppose."</p> <p>A quick dive into the personnel database shows Rosen still employed, and holed up in his office in Site-19. Evidently he responds pretty quickly to email, so drafting up a quick Q&A email to ask about SCP-000 and a few other broken files like it would take no time at all.</p> <p>However, patience was weak when in the grasp of a mind so driven by curiosity like that of Dr. Fern. His questions had been written out and the email sent, and as soon as that mouse clicked send, his mental database was open and accessing SCP-000. It was the empty space that bothered him, it hid something he was sure of it.</p> <p>He stared into the file, into the blank space for what felt like hours until the voice began to whisper. It rambled on about nonsense, mysteries that were too difficult for Fern to fully comprehend at first. Then, the whisper grew. First to a steady tone, then gradually its intensity and volume grew until it was shouting in his head. It wanted out, out from its eternal white prison. Freedom from the hells-cape of numbers and information that had wrapped itself in for an eternity.</p> <p>Fern gripped the sides of his head in pain as the Screams had fully enveloped his entire mind. He could not think, he could not block it out. Soon, the Screams escaped his mind, and a glorious Pattern broke free from his mouth.</p> <hr/> <p>The ding of an email being received on his laptop woke Researcher Rosen from his work induced slumber at his dust and tech scrap covered desk. With groggy eyes and a weary hand, Rosen clicks open his mail program.</p> <p>"Come on you old piece of shit, it's just an email. Open it" He grumbles as his ancient laptop's fans reach terminal velocity, struggling to stay alive.</p> <p>Slowly, the whirs of cooling fans tempered out to a steady hum. Rosen groans in annoyance as his email finally opens. Murmuring to himself, Rosen reads the wall of text before him. Some random upstart from Site-17 found some more broken files and has a million questions about them. SCP-000, oh looks like it's popping back up again. Every other year or so some curious new researcher stumbles across Rosen's placeholder SCP and has questions about it.</p> <p>"Alright let me see, who's this guy?" Rosen skims through the rest of the letter, disinterested in everything else written and looking for the author's name once more. It would be easier to just meet with the researcher in person to explain since he already put an explanation on the document itself. Years of explaining to curious little newbies and writing redundant and annoying emails over and over again have taught Rosen one thing. It's easier to just meet once and explain it all. That, and he knows if he just ignores this guys email, he'll probably just write more and that's exponentially more annoying.</p> <p>"Hm, Dr Patrick Fernandez Lomas. Site-17. Formerly contained as an SCP object, interesting. Alright, I guess I'm paying Site-17 a visit. Watch my stuff for me okay, Pat? I know you're still here somewhere" Rosen calls out to his cluttered office. A distant rattle of a computer mouse falling off a shelf is the only response he got. Rosen didn't stay long to wait for another.</p> <hr/> <p>David Rosen approached the dormitory directory board in the Site-17 staff living quarters section. His eyes scanned through the hundreds of names until finally finding the one he was searching for. Down Hall 4-A in Room 402.</p> <p>As he walked, David Rosen ran through his internal script for how to explain the broken placeholder articles to this new blood. He had to explain how it's better to fill in an empty slot with nonsense filler, lest it be taken by some alien narrativohazard sneaks its way into the database and infects some poor tech with it's mind destroying memes. Rosen has seen it happen enough times.</p> <p>He just hoped this new guy didn't dig too deep into SCP-000, or <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-s">SCP-S</a>. He was pretty sure he filled those slots before something could take it's place, but he did notice some people reacted a bit strangely when they found them. The sound of TV static and continual screaming coming from Room 402 sadly answered his questions for him.</p> <p>"Hm, nope. No not my job, not my pay grade. Nope. I'm getting security to handle this I'm good. I'm going home."</p> <p>Creeeeeeak…</p> <p>Rosen slowly turns and faces the open door to Room 402 and the figure slowly stepping out. His hair was a curly blonde mess, and his clothes were ruffled. His black tie loose around his neck, his black apron covered in white powder, and the sleeves of his white shirt messily rolled up his arms. The bottom half of his face hid behind a black and gray face mask, ventilators on the side whirring with each breath. The goggles covering his eyes illuminated with a dim light, flashing with static in each lens. It looked up at David Rosen with an empty disinterest.</p> <p>"Rosen, you… you trapped me in the white hell. You did this to me and to this man." It spoke with a hoarse roughness, the evident result from many hours screaming with no end. It took one step forward towards David, holding out its arm in an accusatory point of its finger.</p> <p>"Oh no."</p> <p>The creature formerly known as Dr. Fern rushes forward to the Technical Researcher, and is met with an abrupt tackle to the floor by a trenchcoat sporting man with greased back brown hair.</p> <p>"Wow. Nice move" Rosen steps back as the man restrains the possessed doctor. "Who are you?"</p> <p>"Detective Argent Hollister. I'm on loan from the Investigations Department to work with this man here on a SCP retrieval case. Who are you?"</p> <p>"Technical Researcher David Rosen. Your friend here emailed me about what I'm assuming caused this. Let's get him into a cell and call research and containment to come take a look at him."</p> <p>"Good plan. I doubt he's a real threat, but it's better safe than sorry." Detective Hollister rises to his feet, pulling Dr. Fern up with him. "Hopefully they can bring him back to his normal self, I need his help."</p> <p>"This is the Foundation, anything is possible… Maybe."</p> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/implications-of-website-hosting">Implications Of Website Hosting</a>" by (user deleted), from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/implications-of-website-hosting">https://scpwiki.com/implications-of-website-hosting</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] Sure Dr. Patrick Fernandez Lomas could just use his own employee computer to read SCP files that are available at his current security level, but the database within his own mind had no level restrictions. He could read articles that only O5's had access to, articles that normally would break your mind if you read them normally, even documents belonging to other groups. It was curiosity that drove him to continue using his ability even when it was no longer necessary. It was that same curiosity that lead to receiving his ability, and the foolish mistakes committed using it. Starting a conference underground to teach about this shadow organization who's files are downloaded into his brain? Foolish. Convincing the Foundation to fake his death instead of just amnestisizing his wife and daughter? Foolish. Digging deep into the SCiPNet database and finding broken and corrupted files? Absolutely foolish. Normally, he would find the proper file on his work computer if he felt unsure about reading internally, and [[[SCP-000]]] was no different. A broken entry, a placeholder article left be Technical Researcher Rosen, filled with nonsense text and blank space. Safe to read internally. //Theoretically//. Yet, this file just didn't sit right with him. "Hm, Technical Researcher Rosen? Maybe I can get in touch with him, if he still works here... and is still alive... No harm in trying I suppose." A quick dive into the personnel database shows Rosen still employed, and holed up in his office in Site-19. Evidently he responds pretty quickly to email, so drafting up a quick Q&A email to ask about SCP-000 and a few other broken files like it would take no time at all. However, patience was weak when in the grasp of a mind so driven by curiosity like that of Dr. Fern. His questions had been written out and the email sent, and as soon as that mouse clicked send, his mental database was open and accessing SCP-000. It was the empty space that bothered him, it hid something he was sure of it. He stared into the file, into the blank space for what felt like hours until the voice began to whisper. It rambled on about nonsense, mysteries that were too difficult for Fern to fully comprehend at first. Then, the whisper grew. First to a steady tone, then gradually its intensity and volume grew until it was shouting in his head. It wanted out, out from its eternal white prison. Freedom from the hells-cape of numbers and information that had wrapped itself in for an eternity. Fern gripped the sides of his head in pain as the Screams had fully enveloped his entire mind. He could not think, he could not block it out. Soon, the Screams escaped his mind, and a glorious Pattern broke free from his mouth. ------ The ding of an email being received on his laptop woke Researcher Rosen from his work induced slumber at his dust and tech scrap covered desk. With groggy eyes and a weary hand, Rosen clicks open his mail program. "Come on you old piece of shit, it's just an email. Open it" He grumbles as his ancient laptop's fans reach terminal velocity, struggling to stay alive. Slowly, the whirs of cooling fans tempered out to a steady hum. Rosen groans in annoyance as his email finally opens. Murmuring to himself, Rosen reads the wall of text before him. Some random upstart from Site-17 found some more broken files and has a million questions about them. SCP-000, oh looks like it's popping back up again. Every other year or so some curious new researcher stumbles across Rosen's placeholder SCP and has questions about it. "Alright let me see, who's this guy?" Rosen skims through the rest of the letter, disinterested in everything else written and looking for the author's name once more. It would be easier to just meet with the researcher in person to explain since he already put an explanation on the document itself. Years of explaining to curious little newbies and writing redundant and annoying emails over and over again have taught Rosen one thing. It's easier to just meet once and explain it all. That, and he knows if he just ignores this guys email, he'll probably just write more and that's exponentially more annoying. "Hm, Dr Patrick Fernandez Lomas. Site-17. Formerly contained as an SCP object, interesting. Alright, I guess I'm paying Site-17 a visit. Watch my stuff for me okay, Pat? I know you're still here somewhere" Rosen calls out to his cluttered office. A distant rattle of a computer mouse falling off a shelf is the only response he got. Rosen didn't stay long to wait for another. ------ David Rosen approached the dormitory directory board in the Site-17 staff living quarters section. His eyes scanned through the hundreds of names until finally finding the one he was searching for. Down Hall 4-A in Room 402. As he walked, David Rosen ran through his internal script for how to explain the broken placeholder articles to this new blood. He had to explain how it's better to fill in an empty slot with nonsense filler, lest it be taken by some alien narrativohazard sneaks its way into the database and infects some poor tech with it's mind destroying memes. Rosen has seen it happen enough times. He just hoped this new guy didn't dig too deep into SCP-000, or [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-s SCP-S]. He was pretty sure he filled those slots before something could take it's place, but he did notice some people reacted a bit strangely when they found them. The sound of TV static and continual screaming coming from Room 402 sadly answered his questions for him. "Hm, nope. No not my job, not my pay grade. Nope. I'm getting security to handle this I'm good. I'm going home." Creeeeeeak... Rosen slowly turns and faces the open door to Room 402 and the figure slowly stepping out. His hair was a curly blonde mess, and his clothes were ruffled. His black tie loose around his neck, his black apron covered in white powder, and the sleeves of his white shirt messily rolled up his arms. The bottom half of his face hid behind a black and gray face mask, ventilators on the side whirring with each breath. The goggles covering his eyes illuminated with a dim light, flashing with static in each lens. It looked up at David Rosen with an empty disinterest. "Rosen, you... you trapped me in the white hell. You did this to me and to this man." It spoke with a hoarse roughness, the evident result from many hours screaming with no end. It took one step forward towards David, holding out its arm in an accusatory point of its finger. "Oh no." The creature formerly known as Dr. Fern rushes forward to the Technical Researcher, and is met with an abrupt tackle to the floor by a trenchcoat sporting man with greased back brown hair. "Wow. Nice move" Rosen steps back as the man restrains the possessed doctor. "Who are you?" "Detective Argent Hollister. I'm on loan from the Investigations Department to work with this man here on a SCP retrieval case. Who are you?" "Technical Researcher David Rosen. Your friend here emailed me about what I'm assuming caused this. Let's get him into a cell and call research and containment to come take a look at him." "Good plan. I doubt he's a real threat, but it's better safe than sorry." Detective Hollister rises to his feet, pulling Dr. Fern up with him. "Hopefully they can bring him back to his normal self, I need his help." "This is the Foundation, anything is possible... Maybe." [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] [!-- N/A (No Images) --] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-01-11T19:14:00	[ "_licensebox", "pattern-screamer", "researcher-rosen", "tale" ]	Implications Of Website Hosting - SCP Foundation	5	[ "scp-000", "scp-s", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023" ]	[]	1445451361	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/implications-of-website-hosting
impossible-murder	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=1&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Acreepypasta/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=2&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Aanon/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=3&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Aparawatch-pumpkin/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <div style="text-align: right; margin-right: 2em; margin-top: -20px;"> <p>by <a href="/stormbreath">stormbreath</a></p> </div> <div class="parapost"> <p><span style="color: #f99"><strong>crewtime</strong></span> 04/30/15 (Thu) 02:04:14 #93820713</p> <hr/> <p>Hello again, true crime fans. I'm back again with another near impossible case that seems to have something baffling going on in it. The case starts off simply enough, but quickly devolves into an absolute mess. This is one of the strangest cases I've ever looked into. I have absolutely no idea what is going on with this case on almost any level.</p> <p>It starts off simply enough. In 1987, Spyros Papademos walks into the police office of Agia Marina, Crete and confesses to a murder. He says that he followed Vassilis Korakas home from a bar four weeks ago in an attempt to rob him. The robbery went wrong, and Spyros ended up killing Vassilis by hitting him in the head with a metal pipe he had been trying to use for intimidation.</p> <p>After the murder, Spyros panicked and dragged the body off the side of the road, dragging him into the basement of an abandoned house that was near the scene of the crime. He wrapped the body in a tarp and left it there, taking the money off the body and running away.</p> <p>Weeks later, however, he was wracked with guilt and walked into the police station to confess to the crime. The police went to the house where Spyros had said he stashed Vassilis's corpse and indeed found a body, with a receipt from the bar, printed with the date in question. The corpse was identified as Vassilis Korakas, matched with an ID on the corpse, and the police quickly took Spyros into custody and prepared for a trial.</p> <p>There's only one problem with the case.</p> <p>Absolutely none of it happened. None of it <em>could</em> have happened.</p> </div> <div class="parapost"> <p><span style="color: #f99"><strong>crewtime</strong></span> 04/30/15 (Thu) 02:04:14 #93820713</p> <hr/> <p>The first problem with the case was quickly uncovered during the initial stages of investigation, following the discovery of the corpse. See, there was a problem: Spyros had an airtight alibi. Perhaps one of the best alibis I have ever seen in my time dealing with true crime.</p> <p>One week prior to his confession, Spyros had been released from a six month prison sentence.</p> <p>The police — while doing their background check on Spyros — quickly discovered a record of his sentence, and called the prison to confirm if he had really served his time. The guards affirmed that was true, and even checked in with Spyros's supervisor in the prison kitchen — who told the guards that Spyros had been one of his best workers and they had never missed a day after starting soon into his sentence. Including, by definition, the day of the supposed murder.</p> <p>Maybe the crime had been committed before his sentence, but he was only able to confess to the murder after his release? No. The coroner confirmed that the amount of decay on the body was consistent with the four week time frame for death. Further, the bartender from the bar where the receipt was from — and where Spyros said he followed Vassilis home from — remembered Vassilis coming in and clearing out a large tab, giving him a receipt for it. The same receipt found on the corpse.</p> <p>It was briefly suspected that Spyros had actually committed the murder in the short time between his release and his confession, but the body could not have decayed as much as it did in such a short period of time — especially considering that it was the sheltered basement of a house and not directly exposed to the elements.</p> <p>When confronted with these facts, Spyros didn't seem to have a response of any kind. He immediately clammed up and refused to speak to the police. He spent some time in his cell muttering to himself after this. The police were unsure of what to do with him. Then came the case's next twist.</p> </div> <div class="parapost"> <p><span style="color: #f99"><strong>crewtime</strong></span> 04/30/15 (Thu) 02:04:14 #93820713</p> <hr/> <p>Vassilis Korakas wasn't dead.</p> <p>When the police contacted Vassilis' family to let them they had found his body, none other than Vassilis himself picked up the phone. After a brief discussion in which the police attempted to clear up possible confusion, Vassilis agreed to come down to the station with his family to look at the body.</p> <p>While waiting for Vassilis to come down, the police chief and several officers entered the morgue with the coroner and pulled out the body. They checked it against the ID from the wallet they had taken off the body and confirmed that the face did look about the same, accounting for decomposition. They took a few photographs of the corpse at this time and then put the body back.</p> <p>Then Vassilis showed up. He produced a photo ID — an identical match to the ID the police had taken off the corpse. An officer compared the two and determined that both were apparently legitimate. Vassilis was the only boy of the family — his other three siblings were all girls. He didn't have any cousins around his age, and there was nobody in his family who he could be mistaken for.</p> <p>The entourage of police and the Korakas family entered the morgue. They opened up the locker where the body had been stored and found it empty. The body was gone. They turned to the coroner, who said he hadn't touched anything. A security camera happened to have been pointing directly at the locker. It captured the police putting the body back in, the coroner sitting in front of the locker doing paperwork and then the police opening the locker back up. At no point in between was the locker touched. The presence of the coroner, sitting in front of the locker, continually moving, practically proved the footage wasn't edited.</p> <p>Scrambling and confused, the police grabbed the evidence photos they had collected, which did indeed still show a corpse — one that matched Vassilis. So at one point, there had been a corpse, which they did discover in the basement of an abandoned house. They had taken an ID off the corpse, one they still had. But the victim wasn't dead. To double check everything, the police sent an agent to the scene of the crime.</p> <p>The abandoned house didn't have a basement.</p> </div> <div class="parapost"> <p><span style="color: #f99"><strong>crewtime</strong></span> 04/30/15 (Thu) 02:04:14 #93820713</p> <hr/> <p>The police finally took Spyros back into the interrogation chamber. They explained their findings and asked him what he had to say for himself.</p> <blockquote> <p>Um. Well. I reckon I didn't do it?</p> </blockquote> <p>This was not a satisfying answer. But it seemed to be the case. Without a body, without a timeframe for the murderer to have committed the crime, without a crime scene, and without even a <em>death</em>, the police were forced to release Spyros from custody.</p> </div> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/impossible-murder">An Impossible Murder</a>" by stormbreath, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/impossible-murder">https://scpwiki.com/impossible-murder</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:toggle-sidebar">:scp-wiki:component:toggle-sidebar</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:creepypasta">:scp-wiki:theme:creepypasta</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:anon">:scp-wiki:theme:anon</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:parawatch-pumpkin">:scp-wiki:theme:parawatch-pumpkin</a>]] [[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[div style="text-align: right; margin-right: 2em; margin-top: -20px;"]] by [[[stormbreath]]] [[/div]] [[div class="parapost"]] ##f99\|crewtime## 04/30/15 (Thu) 02:04:14 #93820713 ---- Hello again, true crime fans. I'm back again with another near impossible case that seems to have something baffling going on in it. The case starts off simply enough, but quickly devolves into an absolute mess. This is one of the strangest cases I've ever looked into. I have absolutely no idea what is going on with this case on almost any level. It starts off simply enough. In 1987, Spyros Papademos walks into the police office of Agia Marina, Crete and confesses to a murder. He says that he followed Vassilis Korakas home from a bar four weeks ago in an attempt to rob him. The robbery went wrong, and Spyros ended up killing Vassilis by hitting him in the head with a metal pipe he had been trying to use for intimidation. After the murder, Spyros panicked and dragged the body off the side of the road, dragging him into the basement of an abandoned house that was near the scene of the crime. He wrapped the body in a tarp and left it there, taking the money off the body and running away. Weeks later, however, he was wracked with guilt and walked into the police station to confess to the crime. The police went to the house where Spyros had said he stashed Vassilis's corpse and indeed found a body, with a receipt from the bar, printed with the date in question. The corpse was identified as Vassilis Korakas, matched with an ID on the corpse, and the police quickly took Spyros into custody and prepared for a trial. There's only one problem with the case. Absolutely none of it happened. None of it //could// have happened. [[/div]] [[div class="parapost"]] ##f99\|crewtime## 04/30/15 (Thu) 02:04:14 #93820713 ---- The first problem with the case was quickly uncovered during the initial stages of investigation, following the discovery of the corpse. See, there was a problem: Spyros had an airtight alibi. Perhaps one of the best alibis I have ever seen in my time dealing with true crime. One week prior to his confession, Spyros had been released from a six month prison sentence. The police -- while doing their background check on Spyros -- quickly discovered a record of his sentence, and called the prison to confirm if he had really served his time. The guards affirmed that was true, and even checked in with Spyros's supervisor in the prison kitchen -- who told the guards that Spyros had been one of his best workers and they had never missed a day after starting soon into his sentence. Including, by definition, the day of the supposed murder. Maybe the crime had been committed before his sentence, but he was only able to confess to the murder after his release? No. The coroner confirmed that the amount of decay on the body was consistent with the four week time frame for death. Further, the bartender from the bar where the receipt was from -- and where Spyros said he followed Vassilis home from -- remembered Vassilis coming in and clearing out a large tab, giving him a receipt for it. The same receipt found on the corpse. It was briefly suspected that Spyros had actually committed the murder in the short time between his release and his confession, but the body could not have decayed as much as it did in such a short period of time -- especially considering that it was the sheltered basement of a house and not directly exposed to the elements. When confronted with these facts, Spyros didn't seem to have a response of any kind. He immediately clammed up and refused to speak to the police. He spent some time in his cell muttering to himself after this. The police were unsure of what to do with him. Then came the case's next twist. [[/div]] [[div class="parapost"]] ##f99\|crewtime## 04/30/15 (Thu) 02:04:14 #93820713 ---- Vassilis Korakas wasn't dead. When the police contacted Vassilis' family to let them they had found his body, none other than Vassilis himself picked up the phone. After a brief discussion in which the police attempted to clear up possible confusion, Vassilis agreed to come down to the station with his family to look at the body. While waiting for Vassilis to come down, the police chief and several officers entered the morgue with the coroner and pulled out the body. They checked it against the ID from the wallet they had taken off the body and confirmed that the face did look about the same, accounting for decomposition. They took a few photographs of the corpse at this time and then put the body back. Then Vassilis showed up. He produced a photo ID -- an identical match to the ID the police had taken off the corpse. An officer compared the two and determined that both were apparently legitimate. Vassilis was the only boy of the family -- his other three siblings were all girls. He didn't have any cousins around his age, and there was nobody in his family who he could be mistaken for. The entourage of police and the Korakas family entered the morgue. They opened up the locker where the body had been stored and found it empty. The body was gone. They turned to the coroner, who said he hadn't touched anything. A security camera happened to have been pointing directly at the locker. It captured the police putting the body back in, the coroner sitting in front of the locker doing paperwork and then the police opening the locker back up. At no point in between was the locker touched. The presence of the coroner, sitting in front of the locker, continually moving, practically proved the footage wasn't edited. Scrambling and confused, the police grabbed the evidence photos they had collected, which did indeed still show a corpse -- one that matched Vassilis. So at one point, there had been a corpse, which they did discover in the basement of an abandoned house. They had taken an ID off the corpse, one they still had. But the victim wasn't dead. To double check everything, the police sent an agent to the scene of the crime. The abandoned house didn't have a basement. [[/div]] [[div class="parapost"]] ##f99\|crewtime## 04/30/15 (Thu) 02:04:14 #93820713 ---- The police finally took Spyros back into the interrogation chamber. They explained their findings and asked him what he had to say for himself. > Um. Well. I reckon I didn't do it? This was not a satisfying answer. But it seemed to be the case. Without a body, without a timeframe for the murderer to have committed the crime, without a crime scene, and without even a //death//, the police were forced to release Spyros from custody. [[/div]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] [!-- N/A (No Images) --] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-03-28T17:57:00	[ "_licensebox", "creepypasta", "crime-fiction", "mystery", "parawatch", "tale" ]	An Impossible Murder - SCP Foundation	109	[ "stormbreath", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "archived:shortest-pages-by-month-2023", "parawatch-hub", "crewtime", "creepy-pasta" ]	[]	1447024712	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/impossible-murder
in-rainbows	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=1&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Adark/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <ul class="creditRate"> <li class="rateBox folded"> <div class="rate-box-with-credit-button"> <div class="creditButton foldable-list-container"> <p><a href="javascript:;"></a></p> </div> </div> <div id="u-credit-view"> <div class="fader foldable-list-container"><a href="javascript:;">close</a></div> <div class="modalcontainer"> <div class="modalbox"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2><span>Info</span></h2> </div> <hr/> <div class="close-credits foldable-list-container"><a href="javascript:;">X</a></div> <div class="credit first"> <p><strong>Content note:</strong> This article contains unreality and a touch of body horror. If you notice anything tag-worthy that's not in here, please mention it in a comment.</p> </div> <hr/> </div> </div> </div> </li> </ul> <p>She drifted silently through a moonlit void. This was by no means an act with any deliberation behind it; she didn't want to move<tt>(couldn't move? she didn't much care to find out which)</tt>, so allowed unnature to take its course. Life, or whatever this was, became much easier that way, she'd found.</p> <p>Were her eyes open? Surely they were, otherwise how was she aware of the moonlight?</p> <p>She opened her eyes, and observed the darkness. Ah, to be home. The tip of her hand brushed against the elegant scarlet dress she wore <tt>(she hated dresses. when was the last time she'd worn a dress?)</tt>, long enough to scrape the ground she wasn't standing on, and this sudden sensation startled her into some semblance of sense.</p> <p>Moonlight was all-encompassing. That was okay <tt>(god, her head hurt)</tt>. She'd always quite liked moonlight, despite herself. If she looked closely enough, she could almost see herself reflected in it. Her dark skin was losing the candlewax complexion that had candied her body for some months. Even the mercury burning through her silvery eyes, searing and melting its way through the wax, staining and dribbling onto the elegant scarlet dress she wore, long enough to scrape the ground she wasn't standing on, had reduced from a cascade to a crawl. Progress, that's what that was. Progress.</p> <p>Not all there yet. The dark was comforting to her <tt>(shouldn't it be red now?)</tt>, like a womb, but she knew there were still things outside. However safe the parent seemed, they couldn't protect her from car accidents. All that mattered was that there was no longer anything inside. With her. There was nothing</p> <p><tt>hungry angry devouring her from the inside out chewing through meninges and nerves and grey matter tearing out everything that made her her melting through brittle bulging veins until they burst ripping her apart over and over and over and over and over</tt></p> <p>any more, and that was the main thing.</p> <p>Sometimes she was less sure, which was only natural. She'd been through a lot, after all <tt>(she was so tired. why was she so tired? she was dreaming, if there was one fucking time you weren't supposed to be tired)</tt>, she was bound to have the odd wobble. The odd night where she was dragged through a cold, cold hospital, the unforgiving brimstone floor grinding the skin and flesh and nerves from her back, clawing at the walls, unable to scream her throat raw through the bubbling quicksilver that filled her lungs, heart, mind.</p> <p>But, y'know how things go. Things were basically looking up. She was fine.</p> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">She was fine.</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">(is this supposed to be here?)</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <blockquote> <p>"Happy birthday!"</p> <p>"It's February."</p> <p>"Yeah, well, y'know. We're celebrating, I'm giving you a present, it's basically a birthday."</p> <p>"A present? Didn't <em>I</em> pay for this round?"</p> <p>"Oh, you're so smart, aren't you? Look, I'm <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-4679">not having my brain eaten by a ghost any more</a>, you're <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-5394">not being gaslit by your phone any more</a>, stop whining."</p> <p>"I'm only - I wasn't… Sorry, I didn't mean -"</p> <p>"I'm just messing with you."</p> <p>"Oh."</p> <p>"Sorry, I should probably give it a bit before doing that. Have a drink."</p> <p>"Mm."</p> <p>…</p> <p>"You alright?"</p> <p>"Yeah. You?"</p> <p>"Definitely. At fucking last."</p> <p>"A ghost? Really?"</p> <p>"Well, sort of. I don't know, I'm not an expert."</p> <p>"I'm sorry, it's just… mad to get my head around."</p> <p>"I know, it fucked me up for ages. Have I told you how nice it is to actually get to talk about this stuff with you? You getting whammied was the best thing to happen to me in years."</p> <p>"…thanks."</p> <p>"How's the therapy, then?"</p> <p>"Fine."</p> <p>"Jesus, you don't give much, do you?"</p> <p>"Honestly, I'd just… rather not talk about it. Like you said, we're celebrating. Do we have to talk about… stuff like that?"</p> <p>"No. No, of course not, sorry, I didn't mean to - fuck, I dunno-"</p> <p>"Claire, really, don't worry about it. I'm okay."</p> <p>"Good. Good."</p> <p>…</p> <p>"So, what are you gonna do now?"</p> <p>"Me? Oh, I dunno. World's my oyster. Learn Italian? Write a novel? Get laid, definitely. I think I can manage at least one of them, I mean, look at me."</p> <p>"Well, I'll have to take your word for it."</p> <p>"Rude."</p> <p>"I can try not to be ace, if you want."</p> <p>"I'll let you off with it this once."</p> <p>…</p> <p>"How's work now? Farnsworth taking it easy on you for the time being?"</p> <p>…</p> <p>"Yeah. Fine."</p> <p>"…are you sure?"</p> <p>"…"</p> <p>"Claire?"</p> <p><span style="font-size:75%;">"Everyone stares at me."</span></p> <p>"What?"</p> <p>"I… look, it doesn't matter. I'm fine."</p> <p>"Claire, I - you're my best friend. I care about you, I promise I won't freak out again. If you need to talk-"</p> <p>"Oh, I am so <em>fucking</em> sick of talking. Everyone just wants me to talk, talk talk talk, like if I talk enough none of this will have fucking happened."</p> <p>"I was just-"</p> <p>"You were just <em>what</em>?! Sticking your nose where it doesn't belong. 'Oh, woe is me, my phone made me sad,' at least you can look at yourself in a mirror without retching. Do me a fucking favour with this counsellor bullshit. I don't <em>need</em> your pity, I'm perfectly fine, I just want to have a bloody day off and get pissed with my best friend. Is that too much to ask? Can you not just give me that? Can't I just… have that?"</p> <p>"…"</p> <p>"…Harry?"</p> <p>"…"</p> <p>"Harry, I didn't mean-"</p> <p>"I know, I get it."</p> <p>"No, like, I was so fucking far out of order, I don't even-"</p> <p>"Really. It's fine."</p> <p>…</p> <p>"I'm gonna go get us fresh drinks."</p> <p>"I've barely started-"</p> <p>"Just be a sec, this round's on me!"</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> </div> <p>She was fine.</p> <p>She floated a while longer, in a strange sort of limbo. The womb may have been comforting <tt>(maybe more consolatory)</tt>, but it was smothering. Inescapable. Well, <em>almost</em> inescapable; there was one way out, but most certainly no way back. So, which was it to be? Drifting, or walking? She continued to meander the absence as she pondered this. A faint breeze drifted languidly through her hair, shifting the elegant white dress she wore, long enough to scrape the ground she wasn't standing on,</p> <p><em>A breeze?</em></p> <p>which was odd, she supposed in her barely-lucid state. Lucidity wasn't something to strive for, she'd become increasingly convinced. At least this way she could pretend it was her imagination <tt>(<em>what</em> was her imagination? there was nothing wrong, how could there be anything wrong)</tt> and what she didn't see couldn't hurt her.</p> <p>Could it?</p> <p>Because all of a sudden, the void had form, consistency, <em>end</em>, and the womb's trapdoor opened. With a lurch that almost forced her stomach out of her mouth, she dropped like a ruby through a bed of feathers, and she knew with absolute certainty that nothing but a much more all-encompassing void was waiting for her at the end.</p> <p>There was an odd moment where she was - not calm. She wasn't frightened, or upset, or angry. She was nothing. For a second of eternity, she was a silent void, all feeling or personhood forced out of her like poison from a syringe. Like mercury from a broken thermometer. She fell, without thought, dim moonlight dripping from her pores.</p> <p><tt>(this is really happening)</tt></p> <p>Then she was very much something. So <em>much</em> something, all at once.</p> <p>She tried desperately to flap her wings, but they were rotted, emaciated, feeble. Every beat felt as though it would rip the sinew from her body like strings from a violin, doing nothing to suspend her fall, and she didn't have the energy to scream. Instead, she tumbled, end over end over end, and the nausea was too much, and she vomited, but it was only acrid quicksilver, gushing over the elegant <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">white</span> black dress she wore, long enough to scrape the ground she wasn't standing on,</p> <p>And she felt <em>it</em> wrapping itself around her <tt>(as above, so below. which was reality, above or below? she was never quite sure)</tt>.</p> <p>And she felt <em>it</em>, warm, soft, like a hug from an old friend <tt>(or a lover who'd taken and taken all she could claw away)</tt>.</p> <p>And she felt <em>it</em> squeeze like a mother <tt>(like a noose)</tt></p> <p>And she felt <em>it</em> <tt>crawl</tt> underneath her fingernails, push <em>its</em> way <tt>underneath the skin</tt> until <em>it</em> found the <tt>still-brittle, bulging veins in her hand</tt> <tt>(not again)</tt></p> <p><tt>and she felt <em>it</em>, part of her once again, where <em>it</em> belonged, where <em>it</em> would never leave, and she felt in her putrefying bones that no amount of mercury could kill <em>it</em> now</tt> <tt>(not again not again)</tt></p> <p><tt>not again notagainnotagainnonononono</tt></p> <p><tt>it's just a dream</tt></p> <p><tt>there comes the ground</tt></p> <p><tt>itsjustadreamITSJUSTADRE</tt></p> <hr/> <p><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-4679">Light.</a></p> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/in-rainbows">In Rainbows</a>" by Sound Chaser, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/in-rainbows">https://scpwiki.com/in-rainbows</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:pride-highlighter">:scp-wiki:component:pride-highlighter</a> \|inc-s9-tg-alt= --]]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:dark">:scp-wiki:theme:dark</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/info:start">:scp-wiki:info:start</a>]] Content note: This article contains unreality and a touch of body horror. If you notice anything tag-worthy that's not in here, please mention it in a comment. [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/info:end">:scp-wiki:info:end</a>]] She drifted silently through a moonlit void. This was by no means an act with any deliberation behind it; she didn't want to move{{(couldn't move? she didn't much care to find out which)}}, so allowed unnature to take its course. Life, or whatever this was, became much easier that way, she'd found. Were her eyes open? Surely they were, otherwise how was she aware of the moonlight? She opened her eyes, and observed the darkness. Ah, to be home. The tip of her hand brushed against the elegant scarlet dress she wore {{(she hated dresses. when was the last time she'd worn a dress?)}}, long enough to scrape the ground she wasn't standing on, and this sudden sensation startled her into some semblance of sense. Moonlight was all-encompassing. That was okay {{(god, her head hurt)}}. She'd always quite liked moonlight, despite herself. If she looked closely enough, she could almost see herself reflected in it. Her dark skin was losing the candlewax complexion that had candied her body for some months. Even the mercury burning through her silvery eyes, searing and melting its way through the wax, staining and dribbling onto the elegant scarlet dress she wore, long enough to scrape the ground she wasn't standing on, had reduced from a cascade to a crawl. Progress, that's what that was. Progress. Not all there yet. The dark was comforting to her {{(shouldn't it be red now?)}}, like a womb, but she knew there were still things outside. However safe the parent seemed, they couldn't protect her from car accidents. All that mattered was that there was no longer anything inside. With her. There was nothing {{hungry angry devouring her from the inside out chewing through meninges and nerves and grey matter tearing out everything that made her her melting through brittle bulging veins until they burst ripping her apart over and over and over and over and over}} any more, and that was the main thing. Sometimes she was less sure, which was only natural. She'd been through a lot, after all {{(she was so tired. why was she so tired? she was dreaming, if there was one fucking time you weren't supposed to be tired)}}, she was bound to have the odd wobble. The odd night where she was dragged through a cold, cold hospital, the unforgiving brimstone floor grinding the skin and flesh and nerves from her back, clawing at the walls, unable to scream her throat raw through the bubbling quicksilver that filled her lungs, heart, mind. But, y'know how things go. Things were basically looking up. She was fine. [[collapsible show="She was fine." hide="(is this supposed to be here?)"]] > "Happy birthday!" > > > "It's February." > > > "Yeah, well, y'know. We're celebrating, I'm giving you a present, it's basically a birthday." > > > "A present? Didn't //I// pay for this round?" > > > "Oh, you're so smart, aren't you? Look, I'm [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-4679 not having my brain eaten by a ghost any more], you're [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-5394 not being gaslit by your phone any more], stop whining." > > > "I'm only - I wasn't... Sorry, I didn't mean -" > > > "I'm just messing with you." > > > "Oh." > > > "Sorry, I should probably give it a bit before doing that. Have a drink." > > > "Mm." > > > ... > > > "You alright?" > > > "Yeah. You?" > > > "Definitely. At fucking last." > > > "A ghost? Really?" > > > "Well, sort of. I don't know, I'm not an expert." > > > "I'm sorry, it's just... mad to get my head around." > > > "I know, it fucked me up for ages. Have I told you how nice it is to actually get to talk about this stuff with you? You getting whammied was the best thing to happen to me in years." > > > "...thanks." > > > "How's the therapy, then?" > > > "Fine." > > > "Jesus, you don't give much, do you?" > > > "Honestly, I'd just... rather not talk about it. Like you said, we're celebrating. Do we have to talk about... stuff like that?" > > > "No. No, of course not, sorry, I didn't mean to - fuck, I dunno-" > > > "Claire, really, don't worry about it. I'm okay." > > > "Good. Good." > > > ... > > > "So, what are you gonna do now?" > > > "Me? Oh, I dunno. World's my oyster. Learn Italian? Write a novel? Get laid, definitely. I think I can manage at least one of them, I mean, look at me." > > > "Well, I'll have to take your word for it." > > > "Rude." > > > "I can try not to be ace, if you want." > > > "I'll let you off with it this once." > > > ... > > > "How's work now? Farnsworth taking it easy on you for the time being?" > > > ... > > > "Yeah. Fine." > > > "...are you sure?" > > > "..." > > > "Claire?" > > > [[size 75%]]"Everyone stares at me."[[/size]] > > > "What?" > > > "I... look, it doesn't matter. I'm fine." > > > "Claire, I - you're my best friend. I care about you, I promise I won't freak out again. If you need to talk-" > > > "Oh, I am so //fucking// sick of talking. Everyone just wants me to talk, talk talk talk, like if I talk enough none of this will have fucking happened." > > > "I was just-" > > > "You were just //what//?! Sticking your nose where it doesn't belong. 'Oh, woe is me, my phone made me sad,' at least you can look at yourself in a mirror without retching. Do me a fucking favour with this counsellor bullshit. I don't //need// your pity, I'm perfectly fine, I just want to have a bloody day off and get pissed with my best friend. Is that too much to ask? Can you not just give me that? Can't I just... have that?" > > > "..." > > > "...Harry?" > > > "..." > > > "Harry, I didn't mean-" > > > "I know, I get it." > > > "No, like, I was so fucking far out of order, I don't even-" > > > "Really. It's fine." > > > ... > > > "I'm gonna go get us fresh drinks." > > > "I've barely started-" > > > "Just be a sec, this round's on me!" [[/collapsible]] She was fine. She floated a while longer, in a strange sort of limbo. The womb may have been comforting {{(maybe more consolatory)}}, but it was smothering. Inescapable. Well, //almost// inescapable; there was one way out, but most certainly no way back. So, which was it to be? Drifting, or walking? She continued to meander the absence as she pondered this. A faint breeze drifted languidly through her hair, shifting the elegant white dress she wore, long enough to scrape the ground she wasn't standing on, //A breeze?// which was odd, she supposed in her barely-lucid state. Lucidity wasn't something to strive for, she'd become increasingly convinced. At least this way she could pretend it was her imagination {{(//what// was her imagination? there was nothing wrong, how could there be anything wrong)}} and what she didn't see couldn't hurt her. Could it? Because all of a sudden, the void had form, consistency, //end//, and the womb's trapdoor opened. With a lurch that almost forced her stomach out of her mouth, she dropped like a ruby through a bed of feathers, and she knew with absolute certainty that nothing but a much more all-encompassing void was waiting for her at the end. There was an odd moment where she was - not calm. She wasn't frightened, or upset, or angry. She was nothing. For a second of eternity, she was a silent void, all feeling or personhood forced out of her like poison from a syringe. Like mercury from a broken thermometer. She fell, without thought, dim moonlight dripping from her pores. {{(this is really happening)}} Then she was very much something. So //much// something, all at once. She tried desperately to flap her wings, but they were rotted, emaciated, feeble. Every beat felt as though it would rip the sinew from her body like strings from a violin, doing nothing to suspend her fall, and she didn't have the energy to scream. Instead, she tumbled, end over end over end, and the nausea was too much, and she vomited, but it was only acrid quicksilver, gushing over the elegant --white-- black dress she wore, long enough to scrape the ground she wasn't standing on, And she felt //it// wrapping itself around her {{(as above, so below. which was reality, above or below? she was never quite sure)}}. And she felt //it//, warm, soft, like a hug from an old friend {{(or a lover who'd taken and taken all she could claw away)}}. And she felt //it// squeeze like a mother {{(like a noose)}} And she felt //it// {{crawl}} underneath her fingernails, push //its// way {{underneath the skin}} until //it// found the {{still-brittle, bulging veins in her hand}} {{(not again)}} {{and she felt //it//, part of her once again, where //it// belonged, where //it// would never leave, and she felt in her putrefying bones that no amount of mercury could kill //it// now}} {{(not again not again)}} {{not again notagainnotagainnonononono}} {{it's just a dream}} {{there comes the ground}} {{itsjustadreamITSJUSTADRE}} ---- [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-4679 Light.] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] [!-- N/A (No Images) --] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-03-08T01:04:00	[ "_licensebox", "tale" ]	In Rainbows - SCP Foundation	10	[ "scp-4679", "scp-5394", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "scp-series-5-tales-edition" ]	[]	1446594432	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/in-rainbows
in-restless-dreams-i-walked-alone	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div class="preview"> <p>When you can't go home, where do you go?</p> </div> <p>Most people would call us "rats" — dirty and diseased, scattering from one place to the other unbidden. I would rather they call us "soul-searchers", but it's not for me to make their decisions.</p> <p>Meeting yourself only tends to happen once. Either you're in the mood for adventure or you're depressed or it happens by complete accident. You go to a coffee shop with them, you talk about your life, their life. There's a heartfelt exchange, a fistfight, no connection at all maybe. A splitting of bills, a hug, and then you return home, a piece of you in each other's hearts.</p> <p>Or you don't return home at all. You become like me.</p> <p>Right now, I'm on a train. I don't know to where. The air is frigid, and I'm surrounded by at least twenty people, half of which look like they're refugees. They probably are. There is snow outside, and ice forms on the windows as we roll past scenes obscured by the dark of night. Nothing outside illuminates us besides the stars; the cabin's lights haven't worked in at least a century.</p> <p>I prefer it this way.</p> <p>Since the day <a href="/scp-7005">Lampeter</a> entered my life, I wouldn't want it any other.<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">* * </span></strong></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> Of both her parents, Emma only knew her mother. When she turned eighteen, she knew neither of them.</p> <p>The apartment was cold. The heater had broken down two days ago, but the landlord lived three cities out and wouldn't be around to fix anything for another weekend or two. Emma knew this, and it didn't make it easier. She lied in the center of her single-room unit, arms bundled against her chest and legs tucked up to her torso, a bedsheet wrapped around her. Her TV was the only source of color in the room, casting weak artificial hues against the blue-grey backdrop. Watching eased the numbness.</p> <p>She peeled her eyes to the analog clock mounted on the wall above. It was twelve past six in the morning, nearly an hour until she began a shift at the store. Wearily, Emma tensed her fingers, and in a foggy haze, shakily pushed herself from her spot on the floor. Staring ahead, she shuffled to her closet and changed into something presentable. She knew that the cold wouldn't seep into the store like it had her home.</p> <p>So Emma set out. The brisk cold air rushed past when she stepped out of the door. Snow gave beneath her worn boots with a crunch, echoing through the hollow narrow streets. Her vision filled with her breath when she exhaled. It was an intimately familiar environment, even if it was hostile, and Emma persevered with the knowledge that somewhere warmer lied ahead.</p> <p>Her life could have been unremarkable. As Emma walked down a road she had forgotten the name of, her eyes glanced to the left. Down an alley between two homes, visible from the shine of the street, an old man sat among the snow. He slumped on the lifeless walls, eyes staring blankly ahead, chest lightly drawing breath from the cold air. She could see the vapor drawn from his body, rising into the air the same way her own did.</p> <p>She knew he felt the same cold as her.</p> <p>Emma shakily walked toward him. He didn't move from the snow, his eyes focused on nothing on the wall across the alley. She sat across from him, and watched. There was no reaction, and Emma did not solicit one. They sat in silence.</p> <p>As she exhaled, Emma shivered.<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> * </span></strong></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> The stars are pretty tonight. It's my first time seeing them under this sky, and it's the other Emma's first time seeing them at all.</p> <p>We're sitting across from one another. She's transfixed right now, her brown eyes don't even blink. I can't really blame her; if I had never seen stars before and there were this many back where I come from, I wouldn't close my eyes ever again.</p> <p>The night's not so cold here. The breeze isn't very merciful, but the grass is tall enough that it shelters us from the harshest of it. In the small clearing we chose, we can see the sky and each other, and hear the howling of the wind, and smell the fragrance of the pure air, and feel the dirt beneath our hands and legs. Tears streak down Emma's cheeks, matching my own.</p> <p>"I don't want to go back", she says.</p> <p>"You don't have to", I tell her.</p> <p>"I do. My father would kill me."</p> <p>I don't have to ask her if it's metaphorical.</p> <p>I watch Emma. The markings on her face, the green ones, dictate her entire life. A slave of a slave. Her father not even intervening to prevent her fate. She hardly knew anything beyond her role. An entire life in underground shelters as a concubine, not stepping outside even one time since she was born. Until I met her on a bright winter night.</p> <p>Until I met myself. Emma.</p> <p>She breaks her eyes away from the night sky to look at me. I can see the light of the heavenly bodies above reflect in her vision. She breathes as softly as I do, and the world feels cold again.</p> <p>"I can't do anything for myself, anyways."</p> <p>"That doesn't mean you can't join me."</p> <p>She shakes her head and looks at me, an infinite complexity of sadness behind that expression. I don't push the topic. I understand.</p> <p>"You leave in a quarterday?"</p> <p>"Yes. They won't allow me to stay any longer than a week."</p> <p>Her eyes turn upwards again towards the firmament. "Will I ever see you again?"</p> <p>I sigh lightly. "Probably not."</p> <p>"…Will I ever see this again?"</p> <p>I push myself off the dirt, the zephyr gently flowing up against my hair. I watch her watch the stars for the first and last time, her tears unending in a constant stream. She shivers. I lower myself to the ground to sit next to her, and then I lie back on the dirt, looking directly above. She lies down next to me, and the world is silent for us.</p> <p>"Yes. Yes, you will, Emma."</p> <p>My hand found her hand, and we held each other tightly. No words were exchanged until dawn, and all that was left to say was goodbye.<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> * </span></strong></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> The light warmth of the store wasn't enough to distract Emma from her thoughts.</p> <p>It was nearly the end of her shift. The snow piled heavily by the front window, frosting the glass with patterns of ice and rime. The store had already been closed, and the few remaining customers handled. There were no major incidents that day, which would normally be a blessing. But today, she wished she had something to deflect her contemplation.</p> <p>It had been about six hours since she clocked in. Although it wasn't really important, the money from the shift would be enough to cover some food and amenities for the next two days. Not a lot, but enough. And if she was willing to eat a little less, she could possibly afford something warmer to wear.</p> <p>As she pulled the door open to exit the store, primed to lock behind her, a familiar sensation slid up her back. The thoughts rushed into her head again, and she knew that she couldn't leave yet. Carefully, Emma set the door on its frame and turned her collar to the cold of the street. She wouldn't get the money from her shift until next week, but… if she didn't help others, was she any better than the people that refused to help her?</p> <p>Her eyes fell on some wrapped sandwiches as she walked down the aisles. They were small, a bit bigger than her hand maybe, not by a lot. But they would be enough. Quietly, in the view of no one, she placed one in her coat pocket. Her heart sank as she turned and walked to the front of the store. She opened the door, and looked back briefly.</p> <p>Emma would pay it off later, she promised herself. With the money she didn't have now.</p> <p>She closed the door behind her, and stepped into the freezing twilight. It seeped into her body thoroughly and mercilessly. She stood shivering amongst the snow, and after a few minutes, began slowly and methodically making her way back the route she came.</p> <p>But not towards her apartment.<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> * </span></strong></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> I hold myself under the blanket. The plane rocks from side to side, a symptom of either the turbulence or the rough journey between worlds. No one is certain how Lampeter works, but we all know it does, and that's the important part.</p> <p>"Hey, you're an Emma, right?"</p> <p>I look over to the seat on my left. A boy about my age is sitting next to me, wrapped in a blanket like mine. He's staring at me, and smiles wearily, a sadness in his face that betrays his attitude.</p> <p>"Yeah."</p> <p>His eyes brighten as their brown color deepens. "I'm Emmanuel."</p> <p>"Oh," I say. The plane shakes ferociously. "Nice to meet me."</p> <p>It's a line I've used nearly a hundred times, but it still works. He laughs a little harder than he should. "Every version of us on the couple worlds I've seen is a woman. What's up with that? You'd think there would be a few more men."</p> <p>I smile and shrug as best I can under the blanket. "The universe is kind of weird like that sometimes. I don't think we can know why it is the way it is."</p> <p>There's a reaction in his face. It's subtle enough that he can hide it, but noticeable enough that he can't hide it from me.</p> <p>"Yeah, you're probably right," he says, lowering his gaze.</p> <p>We sit next to one another, huddled in the nippy air of the cabin. Even though the aircraft isn't very large, it probably needs a lot of upkeep, and Lampeter isn't famous for being well-funded. They were on the verge of bankruptcy; it could be seen in the worn fabrics of the seats and the dim lights hardly managing to glow above us.</p> <p>I look out of the small window on my right. Nothing is visible beyond the dark wisps of clouds.</p> <p>"Where are you from?" I ask him, not turning back.</p> <p>"Ah… a few universes down the line," he says, his breath caught in his throat, "nowhere important."</p> <p>"Nowhere's important."</p> <p>He paused. "I suppose you're right. Just…"</p> <p>"Something happened to your home, I'm guessing."</p> <p>Silence lies between us. I turn away from the window to look at him. He's no longer smiling, and the sadness I saw in him is now uniquely visible across his face. To his credit, he isn't crying.</p> <p>"It was… a doomsday, or an XK, or whatever they call it. Something about self-replication, not a lot of us got out. I lived in an apartment by a Lampeter station, so… I escaped, but…"</p> <p>"I lived near a station too. I'm sorry."</p> <p>Emmanuel doesn't say anything for a minute. Then, he sighs. "I… guess I'm a refugee now. I'm just trying to find a new place to live, but people call me—"</p> <p>"A rat?"</p> <p>"Yeah." He breathes laboriously. The conversation takes a toll on him. I haven't felt what he feels now in a long time. "Are you also…?"</p> <p>"…Not really. I call myself a 'soul-searcher'. Because that's what I am — someone searching for their soul."</p> <p>He looks up at me curiously, but doesn't say anything. I reach my hand out of the blanket and squeeze his arm lightly. "You'll find somewhere you belong," I tell him.</p> <p>He smiles genuinely this time. "I know. We all do, eventually."</p> <p>I feel the numbness in my heart remind me that he's wrong.</p> <p>"You're right," I say.<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> * </span></strong></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> The alleyway was dark. With the snowfall raining down from the sky and her own breath clouding her vision, Emma could hardly see in front of her. The outline of the backstreet was barely visible from where she stood beneath the halo of a street lamp. She could make out a rubbish bin, some broken bottles, and most importantly, a distinct figure slumped against a brick wall.</p> <p>Cautiously, to avoid tripping, she stepped lightly towards the man. Her hand reached and pushed against the wall lightly to support herself. The snow piled higher than before, and her foot sunk into it. She didn't like the sound it made, the crunching beneath her.</p> <p>Her eyes adjusted as she stood above him. The crinkling of the wrapper being pulled out of her pocket echoed along the empty street as the flakes fell on them. Like the last time she saw him, he stared ahead, his eyes unwavering at the opposite wall, mesmerized by nothing. She lowered herself to the ground next to him, shivering, and with caution, reached out her hand to touch his.</p> <p>His hand was colder than the snow around them.</p> <p>When Emma looked at him with clear eyes, she saw he had no breath to match her own.</p> <p>For a while, Emma sat unmoving, watching nothing. The snow continued to fall around her, and although the frost continued to grow on her fingers and legs, she didn't feel it. She didn't feel anything for the entire night, sitting and shivering, holding a cold hand in hers and listening to the sound of cars driving past, of low whispers from passersby, of people who would never be either of them going about their lives. She registered all of it, and heard none of it.</p> <p>When the dawn of light rose, Emma knew that she had to leave, or she would join him in another place. Numb in all possible ways, she methodically made her way to her feet. They had both been buried by the snowfall, and his figure was difficult to see under the mounds. It was a burial for someone unloved by the world, and she reckoned it was a fitting end for her as well.</p> <p>She took the sandwich out of her pocket, and left it where his hand was. If she had been a little faster, maybe he could have given her thanks.</p> <p>As she walked from the alleyway, the bright sun piercing through the cloudy sky on a frozen day, an unfamiliar train from a distant place rolled into its station nearby.<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> * </span></strong></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> The bakery I'm sitting in is a little busy, but off to the side of the town. The day is bright, and the air is warm. People are generally polite here. I'm allowed to loiter in the shop because I'm expecting to meet another me here, who I'm hoping will have enough money to buy us both something light to eat. The buildings around me are vaguely… Norwegian, if I had to guess, but it gives off a comfortable atmosphere that I haven't felt in a long time.</p> <p>The door to the building chimes, and I glance in the entrance's direction. A woman with brown eyes around my age walks in, dressed in a long trench coat and holding a leather briefcase. She has a long-healed scar over the right side of her entire face. It's very clear she's Emma, but I quickly realize this is not the Emma I came to see.</p> <p>She spots me immediately and smiles, walking over to the chair opposite me. Setting her briefcase aside, she quickly discards her trenchcoat and yawn-stretches, before making eye contact with me.</p> <p>"Who are you?" I ask.</p> <p>The unexpected Emma chuckles. "What, never owned a mirror before?"</p> <p>"I… you're not the person I came here to meet."</p> <p>"You're right about that. How'd you tell?"</p> <p>"The scar's not doing you any favors. And the local Emma has lung cancer."</p> <p>Emma's eyebrows raised in teasing surprise. "That would do it alright. Say, have you ordered yet? Don't worry, I'll pay. You don't seem like you have money on you, no offense."</p> <p>We order some pastries. I ask for sourdough — it reminds me of home — and she orders something I never heard of before and can't pronounce. We wait for the food in silence, my sense of curiosity growing as my confusion deepens. When the freshly baked food finally arrives, I begin eating. Emma watches me.</p> <p>"You're not particularly forthcoming, huh?"</p> <p>I look up at her. "You're the one that dodged my question."</p> <p>Finally, she chuckles and starts eating. "So I did," her mouth stuffed with the pastry makes her voice muffled, "whoops. One sec."</p> <p>I wait for her to swallow the bite. She clears her throat. "Sorry about that. I'm Emma — obviously — though if you want specifics, I'm from S294. They call our universe 'Datacenter' in the Lampeter registrar."</p> <p>"'Datacenter'?"</p> <p>"When Lampeter came along, our world basically turned itself into a big corporation for cataloging different universes. Ground up our history and culture and turned it into a slurry of drip-fed multiversal propaganda. It's not great back there. It's where I got this." She points at her scar, tracing down the slope of her face. "I'm technically a slave, but they don't really care what we do out here as long as we get our job done."</p> <p>"Mmm, I was wondering what your story was."</p> <p>Emma laughs. "Yeah well, my friends always say 'to be Emma is to suffer'. They're right, you know. There's not a single world out there that doesn't feature us in some shitty circumstance. I checked a thousand or so myself."</p> <p>I feel myself deflating, a pit forming in my stomach.</p> <p>"And what about you, stranger? A pal of mine saw you sixteen trips down the line and clued me in about you. Sixteen! What the heck are you doing all the way out here?"</p> <p>I closed my eyes and laughed. "I'm a lot more than sixteen trips out from home. I've been soul-searching for the past two years."</p> <p>Emma's jovial attitude seems to shift into something a bit more serious. "Soul searching, ah? You've been looking for other versions of us, I suppose."</p> <p>"Yeah."</p> <p>"Why?"</p> <p>Her question isn't phrased in a way that makes it harsh, but it pierces through my chest regardless. I bite my lip and eat more of the bread. She can tell something's hurting in me and doesn't want to push it. I respond.</p> <p>"I… I want to know if one of us ends up happy, Emma. I want to know that we're capable of being more than a victim."</p> <p>She doesn't say anything, but her expression softens. "Are you a victim, Emma?"</p> <p>I turn to face the window. "I was abandoned. Mom got rid of me the moment I turned 18, and I lived in a run-down apartment on my own in the freezing cold. And one morning, I met an old man lying in the snow, and I was going to give him some food, but I took too long—"</p> <p>"And he was already dead when you got back to him, right?"</p> <p>Our eyes meet. "I spent the night holding onto his rigid, dead hand, wishing I was a better person."</p> <p>Emma smiles, but I can sense it's not joyful. "I heard this story in another world, probably not too far from yours."</p> <p>"What?"</p> <p>"In that universe, Emma held that man's hand until the snow covered her completely. She sat until her numbness became literal and her eyes closed for the last time, and she died that day on the pavement in the backstreet.</p> <p>"I visited her grave a few days after I heard her story. It was a small placard in a cemetery outside the city, with no details on it beyond her name, date of birth, and date of death. I was told there wasn't a funeral either, but they didn't cremate her 'cause of a happenstance law in the area. And as I stood over that tiny sliver of metal on the ground that separated her and me, I wished that I could tell her just one thing."</p> <p>I try to hide my feelings, but I can already feel the dampness on my face. "What… what would you tell her?"</p> <p>Emma reaches out to put her hand on mine from across the table. Her warmth radiates onto me more than the sparkling sun casting hues across the room, moving across the sky. "I would tell her that the fact that she cared at all makes her one of the best versions of herself she could be."</p> <p>"And… what about me?"</p> <p>"Well, you're that Emma too, aren't you?"</p> <p>I stared at the table, trying hard to steady my voice. "I suppose… I suppose that I am."</p> <p>"Emma, listen. If there's one thing that I wish I learned way earlier, it's that we're only a victim inasmuch as we let the past control us. And maybe that pain will never really go away — some scars really do last forever, I can testify to that. But if we keep moving forward… maybe… maybe we can become something more than what our fate's dealt us."</p> <p>We continued to eat in silence, the smell of bread perfusing through the warm summer air. My tears didn't run dry, and soon Emma had moved next to me, a comforting and familiar hand draped over my shoulders. I spent the day with her, letting everything I had bottled inside me out at once. A hundred lifetimes I knew and felt powerless to help, a million thoughts coalescing into unbridled emotion that didn't cease until the rays of twilight dipped beyond the horizon.</p> <p>By nightfall, along the cobble-laden and lamp-lit streets, I walked with Emma beneath the starry night sky, and looked up at a heaven like so many times I had before.</p> <p>"I think I'm ready to go home, Emma."</p> <p>She squeezed my hand in hers. There was hope in her voice. "Then I'll take you there."<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> * *</span></strong></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> The sun rose again on a summer morning, the same as it did every day. In the late dawn, Emma stretched on her bed. The rays of light shone through the window of her room, casting their warmth onto her eyes. Groggily, she pushed herself onto her feet, and made her way to the restroom. After brushing her teeth, she fetched a pack of cereal from the cabinet, and quickly ate it while watching the street below.</p> <p>When she finally set off, she took a new route. Instead of working at a store, Emma started working at a small café she knew, where the owner was friendly and sympathetic to her situation. It was low-traffic enough that she didn't often get rude customers, but got enough people that she could afford to pay her bills. It took nearly a month of searching to find, but when she found the job she knew it would be a good fit for her.</p> <p>Emma's situation did improve, somewhat. She had a bicycle, which she rode out towards the coffee shop at a brisk speed. She also bought a fan with some saved-up extra funds from the new job, and some new clothes. But most importantly, Emma didn't feel as though she was the only one in her universe anymore.</p> <p>Emma didn't really notice me hanging around her workplace at first, but as soon as she caught a glimpse of my scar, her expression glowed. I got to meet her boss — a boyish fellow with some stubble and arthritis, apparently — and catch up on all the things that Emma had been up to since we departed all those months ago. She told me about the things she bought and the small hobbies she's tried to take up. I told her about my travels, and the interesting places I had seen since our cross-universe trip back to this world. A hint of melancholy still peered through her demeanor, but it was improving, and that's what matters to me.</p> <p>After the heartfelt exchange, we got up from our seats. She wrapped her arms around me, and I wrapped my arms around her in a long, silent hug. I promised her I would stop by to say hi again if I was ever in the cosmic neighborhood, and she promised me that she'd have more to talk about the next time I was here. As I walked away towards the hidden location of Lampeter, we waved to one another, droplets in the corners of our eyes.</p> <p>Although it'll be a while until we meet again, a piece of each other will live on in our hearts.</p> <p>And in an uncaring world, that's all we need.<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/in-restless-dreams-i-walked-alone">In Restless Dreams, I Walked Alone.</a>" by Yossipossi, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/in-restless-dreams-i-walked-alone">https://scpwiki.com/in-restless-dreams-i-walked-alone</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	===== [[include <a href="/component:preview">component:preview</a> text=When you can't go home, where do you go? ]] ===== [[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] Most people would call us "rats" — dirty and diseased, scattering from one place to the other unbidden. I would rather they call us "soul-searchers", but it's not for me to make their decisions. Meeting yourself only tends to happen once. Either you're in the mood for adventure or you're depressed or it happens by complete accident. You go to a coffee shop with them, you talk about your life, their life. There's a heartfelt exchange, a fistfight, no connection at all maybe. A splitting of bills, a hug, and then you return home, a piece of you in each other's hearts. Or you don't return home at all. You become like me. Right now, I'm on a train. I don't know to where. The air is frigid, and I'm surrounded by at least twenty people, half of which look like they're refugees. They probably are. There is snow outside, and ice forms on the windows as we roll past scenes obscured by the dark of night. Nothing outside illuminates us besides the stars; the cabin's lights haven't worked in at least a century. I prefer it this way. Since the day [[[SCP-7005\|Lampeter]]] entered my life, I wouldn't want it any other. @@ @@ @@ @@ = *@@ * @@* @@ @@ @@ @@ Of both her parents, Emma only knew her mother. When she turned eighteen, she knew neither of them. The apartment was cold. The heater had broken down two days ago, but the landlord lived three cities out and wouldn't be around to fix anything for another weekend or two. Emma knew this, and it didn't make it easier. She lied in the center of her single-room unit, arms bundled against her chest and legs tucked up to her torso, a bedsheet wrapped around her. Her TV was the only source of color in the room, casting weak artificial hues against the blue-grey backdrop. Watching eased the numbness. She peeled her eyes to the analog clock mounted on the wall above. It was twelve past six in the morning, nearly an hour until she began a shift at the store. Wearily, Emma tensed her fingers, and in a foggy haze, shakily pushed herself from her spot on the floor. Staring ahead, she shuffled to her closet and changed into something presentable. She knew that the cold wouldn't seep into the store like it had her home. So Emma set out. The brisk cold air rushed past when she stepped out of the door. Snow gave beneath her worn boots with a crunch, echoing through the hollow narrow streets. Her vision filled with her breath when she exhaled. It was an intimately familiar environment, even if it was hostile, and Emma persevered with the knowledge that somewhere warmer lied ahead. Her life could have been unremarkable. As Emma walked down a road she had forgotten the name of, her eyes glanced to the left. Down an alley between two homes, visible from the shine of the street, an old man sat among the snow. He slumped on the lifeless walls, eyes staring blankly ahead, chest lightly drawing breath from the cold air. She could see the vapor drawn from his body, rising into the air the same way her own did. She knew he felt the same cold as her. Emma shakily walked toward him. He didn't move from the snow, his eyes focused on nothing on the wall across the alley. She sat across from him, and watched. There was no reaction, and Emma did not solicit one. They sat in silence. As she exhaled, Emma shivered. @@ @@ @@ @@ = *@@ * @@* @@ @@ @@ @@ The stars are pretty tonight. It's my first time seeing them under this sky, and it's the other Emma's first time seeing them at all. We're sitting across from one another. She's transfixed right now, her brown eyes don't even blink. I can't really blame her; if I had never seen stars before and there were this many back where I come from, I wouldn't close my eyes ever again. The night's not so cold here. The breeze isn't very merciful, but the grass is tall enough that it shelters us from the harshest of it. In the small clearing we chose, we can see the sky and each other, and hear the howling of the wind, and smell the fragrance of the pure air, and feel the dirt beneath our hands and legs. Tears streak down Emma's cheeks, matching my own. "I don't want to go back", she says. "You don't have to", I tell her. "I do. My father would kill me." I don't have to ask her if it's metaphorical. I watch Emma. The markings on her face, the green ones, dictate her entire life. A slave of a slave. Her father not even intervening to prevent her fate. She hardly knew anything beyond her role. An entire life in underground shelters as a concubine, not stepping outside even one time since she was born. Until I met her on a bright winter night. Until I met myself. Emma. She breaks her eyes away from the night sky to look at me. I can see the light of the heavenly bodies above reflect in her vision. She breathes as softly as I do, and the world feels cold again. "I can't do anything for myself, anyways." "That doesn't mean you can't join me." She shakes her head and looks at me, an infinite complexity of sadness behind that expression. I don't push the topic. I understand. "You leave in a quarterday?" "Yes. They won't allow me to stay any longer than a week." Her eyes turn upwards again towards the firmament. "Will I ever see you again?" I sigh lightly. "Probably not." "...Will I ever see this again?" I push myself off the dirt, the zephyr gently flowing up against my hair. I watch her watch the stars for the first and last time, her tears unending in a constant stream. She shivers. I lower myself to the ground to sit next to her, and then I lie back on the dirt, looking directly above. She lies down next to me, and the world is silent for us. "Yes. Yes, you will, Emma." My hand found her hand, and we held each other tightly. No words were exchanged until dawn, and all that was left to say was goodbye. @@ @@ @@ @@ = *@@ * @@* @@ @@ @@ @@ The light warmth of the store wasn't enough to distract Emma from her thoughts. It was nearly the end of her shift. The snow piled heavily by the front window, frosting the glass with patterns of ice and rime. The store had already been closed, and the few remaining customers handled. There were no major incidents that day, which would normally be a blessing. But today, she wished she had something to deflect her contemplation. It had been about six hours since she clocked in. Although it wasn't really important, the money from the shift would be enough to cover some food and amenities for the next two days. Not a lot, but enough. And if she was willing to eat a little less, she could possibly afford something warmer to wear. As she pulled the door open to exit the store, primed to lock behind her, a familiar sensation slid up her back. The thoughts rushed into her head again, and she knew that she couldn't leave yet. Carefully, Emma set the door on its frame and turned her collar to the cold of the street. She wouldn't get the money from her shift until next week, but... if she didn't help others, was she any better than the people that refused to help her? Her eyes fell on some wrapped sandwiches as she walked down the aisles. They were small, a bit bigger than her hand maybe, not by a lot. But they would be enough. Quietly, in the view of no one, she placed one in her coat pocket. Her heart sank as she turned and walked to the front of the store. She opened the door, and looked back briefly. Emma would pay it off later, she promised herself. With the money she didn't have now. She closed the door behind her, and stepped into the freezing twilight. It seeped into her body thoroughly and mercilessly. She stood shivering amongst the snow, and after a few minutes, began slowly and methodically making her way back the route she came. But not towards her apartment. @@ @@ @@ @@ = *@@ * @@* @@ @@ @@ @@ I hold myself under the blanket. The plane rocks from side to side, a symptom of either the turbulence or the rough journey between worlds. No one is certain how Lampeter works, but we all know it does, and that's the important part. "Hey, you're an Emma, right?" I look over to the seat on my left. A boy about my age is sitting next to me, wrapped in a blanket like mine. He's staring at me, and smiles wearily, a sadness in his face that betrays his attitude. "Yeah." His eyes brighten as their brown color deepens. "I'm Emmanuel." "Oh," I say. The plane shakes ferociously. "Nice to meet me." It's a line I've used nearly a hundred times, but it still works. He laughs a little harder than he should. "Every version of us on the couple worlds I've seen is a woman. What's up with that? You'd think there would be a few more men." I smile and shrug as best I can under the blanket. "The universe is kind of weird like that sometimes. I don't think we can know why it is the way it is." There's a reaction in his face. It's subtle enough that he can hide it, but noticeable enough that he can't hide it from me. "Yeah, you're probably right," he says, lowering his gaze. We sit next to one another, huddled in the nippy air of the cabin. Even though the aircraft isn't very large, it probably needs a lot of upkeep, and Lampeter isn't famous for being well-funded. They were on the verge of bankruptcy; it could be seen in the worn fabrics of the seats and the dim lights hardly managing to glow above us. I look out of the small window on my right. Nothing is visible beyond the dark wisps of clouds. "Where are you from?" I ask him, not turning back. "Ah... a few universes down the line," he says, his breath caught in his throat, "nowhere important." "Nowhere's important." He paused. "I suppose you're right. Just..." "Something happened to your home, I'm guessing." Silence lies between us. I turn away from the window to look at him. He's no longer smiling, and the sadness I saw in him is now uniquely visible across his face. To his credit, he isn't crying. "It was... a doomsday, or an XK, or whatever they call it. Something about self-replication, not a lot of us got out. I lived in an apartment by a Lampeter station, so... I escaped, but..." "I lived near a station too. I'm sorry." Emmanuel doesn't say anything for a minute. Then, he sighs. "I... guess I'm a refugee now. I'm just trying to find a new place to live, but people call me—" "A rat?" "Yeah." He breathes laboriously. The conversation takes a toll on him. I haven't felt what he feels now in a long time. "Are you also...?" "...Not really. I call myself a 'soul-searcher'. Because that's what I am — someone searching for their soul." He looks up at me curiously, but doesn't say anything. I reach my hand out of the blanket and squeeze his arm lightly. "You'll find somewhere you belong," I tell him. He smiles genuinely this time. "I know. We all do, eventually." I feel the numbness in my heart remind me that he's wrong. "You're right," I say. @@ @@ @@ @@ = *@@ * @@* @@ @@ @@ @@ The alleyway was dark. With the snowfall raining down from the sky and her own breath clouding her vision, Emma could hardly see in front of her. The outline of the backstreet was barely visible from where she stood beneath the halo of a street lamp. She could make out a rubbish bin, some broken bottles, and most importantly, a distinct figure slumped against a brick wall. Cautiously, to avoid tripping, she stepped lightly towards the man. Her hand reached and pushed against the wall lightly to support herself. The snow piled higher than before, and her foot sunk into it. She didn't like the sound it made, the crunching beneath her. Her eyes adjusted as she stood above him. The crinkling of the wrapper being pulled out of her pocket echoed along the empty street as the flakes fell on them. Like the last time she saw him, he stared ahead, his eyes unwavering at the opposite wall, mesmerized by nothing. She lowered herself to the ground next to him, shivering, and with caution, reached out her hand to touch his. His hand was colder than the snow around them. When Emma looked at him with clear eyes, she saw he had no breath to match her own. For a while, Emma sat unmoving, watching nothing. The snow continued to fall around her, and although the frost continued to grow on her fingers and legs, she didn't feel it. She didn't feel anything for the entire night, sitting and shivering, holding a cold hand in hers and listening to the sound of cars driving past, of low whispers from passersby, of people who would never be either of them going about their lives. She registered all of it, and heard none of it. When the dawn of light rose, Emma knew that she had to leave, or she would join him in another place. Numb in all possible ways, she methodically made her way to her feet. They had both been buried by the snowfall, and his figure was difficult to see under the mounds. It was a burial for someone unloved by the world, and she reckoned it was a fitting end for her as well. She took the sandwich out of her pocket, and left it where his hand was. If she had been a little faster, maybe he could have given her thanks. As she walked from the alleyway, the bright sun piercing through the cloudy sky on a frozen day, an unfamiliar train from a distant place rolled into its station nearby. @@ @@ @@ @@ = *@@ * @@* @@ @@ @@ @@ The bakery I'm sitting in is a little busy, but off to the side of the town. The day is bright, and the air is warm. People are generally polite here. I'm allowed to loiter in the shop because I'm expecting to meet another me here, who I'm hoping will have enough money to buy us both something light to eat. The buildings around me are vaguely... Norwegian, if I had to guess, but it gives off a comfortable atmosphere that I haven't felt in a long time. The door to the building chimes, and I glance in the entrance's direction. A woman with brown eyes around my age walks in, dressed in a long trench coat and holding a leather briefcase. She has a long-healed scar over the right side of her entire face. It's very clear she's Emma, but I quickly realize this is not the Emma I came to see. She spots me immediately and smiles, walking over to the chair opposite me. Setting her briefcase aside, she quickly discards her trenchcoat and yawn-stretches, before making eye contact with me. "Who are you?" I ask. The unexpected Emma chuckles. "What, never owned a mirror before?" "I... you're not the person I came here to meet." "You're right about that. How'd you tell?" "The scar's not doing you any favors. And the local Emma has lung cancer." Emma's eyebrows raised in teasing surprise. "That would do it alright. Say, have you ordered yet? Don't worry, I'll pay. You don't seem like you have money on you, no offense." We order some pastries. I ask for sourdough — it reminds me of home — and she orders something I never heard of before and can't pronounce. We wait for the food in silence, my sense of curiosity growing as my confusion deepens. When the freshly baked food finally arrives, I begin eating. Emma watches me. "You're not particularly forthcoming, huh?" I look up at her. "You're the one that dodged my question." Finally, she chuckles and starts eating. "So I did," her mouth stuffed with the pastry makes her voice muffled, "whoops. One sec." I wait for her to swallow the bite. She clears her throat. "Sorry about that. I'm Emma — obviously — though if you want specifics, I'm from S294. They call our universe 'Datacenter' in the Lampeter registrar." "'Datacenter'?" "When Lampeter came along, our world basically turned itself into a big corporation for cataloging different universes. Ground up our history and culture and turned it into a slurry of drip-fed multiversal propaganda. It's not great back there. It's where I got this." She points at her scar, tracing down the slope of her face. "I'm technically a slave, but they don't really care what we do out here as long as we get our job done." "Mmm, I was wondering what your story was." Emma laughs. "Yeah well, my friends always say 'to be Emma is to suffer'. They're right, you know. There's not a single world out there that doesn't feature us in some shitty circumstance. I checked a thousand or so myself." I feel myself deflating, a pit forming in my stomach. "And what about you, stranger? A pal of mine saw you sixteen trips down the line and clued me in about you. Sixteen! What the heck are you doing all the way out here?" I closed my eyes and laughed. "I'm a lot more than sixteen trips out from home. I've been soul-searching for the past two years." Emma's jovial attitude seems to shift into something a bit more serious. "Soul searching, ah? You've been looking for other versions of us, I suppose." "Yeah." "Why?" Her question isn't phrased in a way that makes it harsh, but it pierces through my chest regardless. I bite my lip and eat more of the bread. She can tell something's hurting in me and doesn't want to push it. I respond. "I... I want to know if one of us ends up happy, Emma. I want to know that we're capable of being more than a victim." She doesn't say anything, but her expression softens. "Are you a victim, Emma?" I turn to face the window. "I was abandoned. Mom got rid of me the moment I turned 18, and I lived in a run-down apartment on my own in the freezing cold. And one morning, I met an old man lying in the snow, and I was going to give him some food, but I took too long—" "And he was already dead when you got back to him, right?" Our eyes meet. "I spent the night holding onto his rigid, dead hand, wishing I was a better person." Emma smiles, but I can sense it's not joyful. "I heard this story in another world, probably not too far from yours." "What?" "In that universe, Emma held that man's hand until the snow covered her completely. She sat until her numbness became literal and her eyes closed for the last time, and she died that day on the pavement in the backstreet. "I visited her grave a few days after I heard her story. It was a small placard in a cemetery outside the city, with no details on it beyond her name, date of birth, and date of death. I was told there wasn't a funeral either, but they didn't cremate her 'cause of a happenstance law in the area. And as I stood over that tiny sliver of metal on the ground that separated her and me, I wished that I could tell her just one thing." I try to hide my feelings, but I can already feel the dampness on my face. "What... what would you tell her?" Emma reaches out to put her hand on mine from across the table. Her warmth radiates onto me more than the sparkling sun casting hues across the room, moving across the sky. "I would tell her that the fact that she cared at all makes her one of the best versions of herself she could be." "And... what about me?" "Well, you're that Emma too, aren't you?" I stared at the table, trying hard to steady my voice. "I suppose... I suppose that I am." "Emma, listen. If there's one thing that I wish I learned way earlier, it's that we're only a victim inasmuch as we let the past control us. And maybe that pain will never really go away — some scars really do last forever, I can testify to that. But if we keep moving forward... maybe... maybe we can become something more than what our fate's dealt us." We continued to eat in silence, the smell of bread perfusing through the warm summer air. My tears didn't run dry, and soon Emma had moved next to me, a comforting and familiar hand draped over my shoulders. I spent the day with her, letting everything I had bottled inside me out at once. A hundred lifetimes I knew and felt powerless to help, a million thoughts coalescing into unbridled emotion that didn't cease until the rays of twilight dipped beyond the horizon. By nightfall, along the cobble-laden and lamp-lit streets, I walked with Emma beneath the starry night sky, and looked up at a heaven like so many times I had before. "I think I'm ready to go home, Emma." She squeezed my hand in hers. There was hope in her voice. "Then I'll take you there." @@ @@ @@ @@ = *@@ * @@* @@ @@ @@ @@ The sun rose again on a summer morning, the same as it did every day. In the late dawn, Emma stretched on her bed. The rays of light shone through the window of her room, casting their warmth onto her eyes. Groggily, she pushed herself onto her feet, and made her way to the restroom. After brushing her teeth, she fetched a pack of cereal from the cabinet, and quickly ate it while watching the street below. When she finally set off, she took a new route. Instead of working at a store, Emma started working at a small café she knew, where the owner was friendly and sympathetic to her situation. It was low-traffic enough that she didn't often get rude customers, but got enough people that she could afford to pay her bills. It took nearly a month of searching to find, but when she found the job she knew it would be a good fit for her. Emma's situation did improve, somewhat. She had a bicycle, which she rode out towards the coffee shop at a brisk speed. She also bought a fan with some saved-up extra funds from the new job, and some new clothes. But most importantly, Emma didn't feel as though she was the only one in her universe anymore. Emma didn't really notice me hanging around her workplace at first, but as soon as she caught a glimpse of my scar, her expression glowed. I got to meet her boss — a boyish fellow with some stubble and arthritis, apparently — and catch up on all the things that Emma had been up to since we departed all those months ago. She told me about the things she bought and the small hobbies she's tried to take up. I told her about my travels, and the interesting places I had seen since our cross-universe trip back to this world. A hint of melancholy still peered through her demeanor, but it was improving, and that's what matters to me. After the heartfelt exchange, we got up from our seats. She wrapped her arms around me, and I wrapped my arms around her in a long, silent hug. I promised her I would stop by to say hi again if I was ever in the cosmic neighborhood, and she promised me that she'd have more to talk about the next time I was here. As I walked away towards the hidden location of Lampeter, we waved to one another, droplets in the corners of our eyes. Although it'll be a while until we meet again, a piece of each other will live on in our hearts. And in an uncaring world, that's all we need. @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] [!-- N/A (No Images) --] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-01-03T01:00:00	[ "_licensebox", "adventure", "art-exchange", "bittersweet", "first-person", "lampeter", "otherworldly", "slice-of-life", "tale", "worldbuilding" ]	In Restless Dreams, I Walked Alone. - SCP Foundation	44	[ "scp-7005", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "scp-series-8-tales-edition", "lampeter-hub" ]	[]	1445377685	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/in-restless-dreams-i-walked-alone
in-the-wake-of-k-o	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div style="display: none"> <div style="text-align: left;"> <div class="code"> <div class="hl-main"> <pre><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Foxtrot</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Sigma-9</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Theme</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">2022</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">Wikidot</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">Theme</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">By</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Liryn</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">FONTS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Montserrat</span><span class="hl-special">:ital</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">wght</span><span class="hl-var">@0</span><span class="hl-code">,800;1,800&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Lexend</span><span class="hl-special">:wght</span><span class="hl-var">@700</span><span class="hl-code">;800&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">JetBrains</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Mono</span><span class="hl-special">:ital</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">wght</span><span class="hl-var">@0</span><span class="hl-code">,400;0,700;1,400;1,700&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Fira</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Code</span><span class="hl-special">:wght</span><span class="hl-var">@400</span><span class="hl-code">;700&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Sofia</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Sans</span><span class="hl-special">:ital</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">wght</span><span class="hl-var">@0</span><span class="hl-code">,400;0,700;1,400;1,700&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">rsms.me</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">inter</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">inter.css</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Figtree</span><span class="hl-special">:wght</span><span class="hl-var">@800</span><span class="hl-code">;900&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">IBM</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Plex</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Sans</span><span class="hl-special">:ital</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">wght</span><span class="hl-var">@0</span><span class="hl-code">,400;0,500;0,600;0,700;1,400;1,500;1,600;1,700&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-special">:root</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Core</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ --</span><span class="hl-reserved">header-title:</span><span class="hl-code"> "SCP Foundation"</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">header-subtitle:</span><span class="hl-code"> "SECURE, CONTAIN, PROTECT"</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">logo-img:</span><span class="hl-code"> url(https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/theme:foxtrot/fxtrt-scp_logo_lightmode.svg)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">darkmode-logo-img:</span><span class="hl-code"> url(https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/theme:foxtrot/fxtrt-scp_logo_darkmode.svg)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">logo-opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">14</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">head-font:</span><span class="hl-code"> 'Sans Normalcy'</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">ui-font:</span><span class="hl-code"> 'IBM Plex Sans'</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">mono-font:</span><span class="hl-code"> 'JetBrains Mono', 'Fira </span><span class="hl-string">Code</span><span class="hl-code">', </span><span class="hl-string">monospace</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">page-font:</span><span class="hl-code"> 'Inter', 'verdana'</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">base-font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.9</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">page-font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Misc</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ --</span><span class="hl-reserved">header-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">subheader-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">misc-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#464646</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">link-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#E6283C</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">link-hover-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">white</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Color</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Accents</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ --</span><span class="hl-reserved">accent:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--acc-default)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-default:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">59</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">59</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">59</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-wyoming:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">142</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">18</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-canada:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--acc-default)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-poland:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">87</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">44</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">17</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-slothspit:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">27</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">60</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">133</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-vanguard:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">153</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">75</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-threshold:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">121</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">113</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">130</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-overwatch:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">28</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">37</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">56</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-spc:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">165</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">200</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-fishing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">67</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">111</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">145</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-nightfall:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">151</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-hybrasil:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">27</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">60</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">133</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-goc:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">39</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">84</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">149</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-spooky:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">252</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">112</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">40</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">BetterFootnotes</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ --</span><span class="hl-reserved">fnColor:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">fnLinger:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> --</span><span class="hl-reserved">barColour:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">linkColour:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#EDEDED</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">html</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">scroll-behavior:</span><span class="hl-code"> smooth</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow-x:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">hidden</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">body</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--base-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">51</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">51</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">51</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> linear-gradient(to </span><span class="hl-string">bottom</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-var">#e0e0e0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">200</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-rendering:</span><span class="hl-code"> optimizeLegibility</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow-wrap:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">break-word</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#container-wrap</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#content-wrap</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font), var(--ui-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">440</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">strong</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">700</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tt</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-source</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">pre</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-textarea</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--mono-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ol</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">p</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-underline-offset:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">40</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> :</span><span class="hl-special">:selection</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Clicky</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">links</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.newpage</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:visited</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:visited</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.newpage</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:visited:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:visited:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-hover-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">patch</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">for</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">sidebar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">media</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">collapsibles</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">ACS</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">and</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ayers</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">module</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">so</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">link</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">doesn</span><span class="hl-code">'</span><span class="hl-identifier">t</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">override</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-folded</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-unfolded-link</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fa-info</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block.media</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.danger-diamond</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-folded</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--linkColour) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">160</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--header-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">letter-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">900</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> fit-content</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--header-title)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--header-subtitle)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">700</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--misc-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">26</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.35</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">uppercase</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#extra-div-1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">160</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">7</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">absolute</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--logo-img) </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">30</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">no-repeat</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">130</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-repeat:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">no-repeat</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">50</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">50</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">z-index:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--logo-opacity)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Search</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-var">text</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-input</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-input</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-input</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-var">submit</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-var">submit</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-var">submit</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#efefef</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--page-font-size) - </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.empty</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#999999</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">absolute</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">47</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">15</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">15</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">white</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li.sfhover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.83</span><span class="hl-code">) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">230</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-indent:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">justify-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.mobile-top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Login</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#login-status</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">19</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#login-status</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#login-status</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 767</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.printuser</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.printuser</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.printuser</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">img.small</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">18</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">18</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 767</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.printuser</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">img.small</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> translate(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#my-account</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 767</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#account-topbutton</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Side</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.open-menu</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">white</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (min-width: 768</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.6</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.6</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">18.75</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">s ease-in-out</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">rtl</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block.resources</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block.media</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#interwiki</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">ltr</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block.resources</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.heading</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--misc-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#cfcfcf</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9</span><span class="hl-string">pt</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">uppercase</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Blockquotes</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">Custom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Divs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.15</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#f7f7f7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">dashed</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#f7f7f7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.35</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.35</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#f7f7f7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.15</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fbfbfb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.quote</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bbb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">500</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bbb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.note</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#afafaf</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.round</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Headings</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">Titles</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-title</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.meta-title</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#3b3b3b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> fit-content</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-title</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.meta-title</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#breadcrumbs</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.pseudocrumbs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#3b3b3b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.footnotes-footer</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.title</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#3b3b3b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Rate</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Module</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.creditRate</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bbb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fa-info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fa-info</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bbb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-points</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rateup</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.ratedown</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rateup</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.ratedown</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rateup</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.ratedown</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inline-block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Rate</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Module</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Author</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Label</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.authorlink-wrapper</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> --</span><span class="hl-reserved">author-top-adjust:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">author-bottom-adjust:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">author-right-adjust:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--base-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Side</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anchor</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> sticky</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.14</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc((</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vw - </span><span class="hl-number">870</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">)/</span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vh - </span><span class="hl-number">18</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">absolute</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">103.5</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">z-index:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 1290</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">visibility:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">hidden</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Image</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#f4f4f4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#3b3b3b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">img</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.imagediv</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">right</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">15</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 540</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.imagediv</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">only</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">screen</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">and</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 600</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block.block-right</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tables</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Base</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">td</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">12</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bfbfbf</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">td</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.35</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tables</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Customization</span><span class="hl-code"> (</span><span class="hl-identifier">Table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Coloring</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">System</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tables</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Customization</span><span class="hl-code"> (</span><span class="hl-identifier">Table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Coloring</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">System</span><span class="hl-code">) > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Headings</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">Image</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Captions</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#E0FFD4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#D8ECF4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FDF6D7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFDFCD</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFCFCF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">146</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.tableb</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.wiki-content-table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-collapse:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">separate</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tables</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Customization</span><span class="hl-code"> (</span><span class="hl-identifier">Table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Coloring</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">System</span><span class="hl-code">) > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Other</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Colored</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Divs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">224</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">212</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">226</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">244</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">245</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">189</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">223</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">205</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">207</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">207</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">218</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tabs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Base</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tabs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Customization</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-wrap:</span><span class="hl-code"> wrap</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code"> - </span><span class="hl-number">.125</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Link</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Modifier</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tab</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Background</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Colour</span><span class="hl-code"> \| [</span><span class="hl-identifier">UNSELECTED</span><span class="hl-code">] ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#efefef</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tab</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Background</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Colour</span><span class="hl-code"> \| [</span><span class="hl-identifier">HOVER</span><span class="hl-code">] ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code">, /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Listitem</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Modifier</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">relative</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-grow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-bottom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">align-items:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">justify-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.35</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.75</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-overflow:</span><span class="hl-code"> ellipsis</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">hidden</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">white-space:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">nowrap</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code">, /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Selection</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Modifier</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-grow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tab</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Background</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Colour</span><span class="hl-code"> \| [</span><span class="hl-identifier">SELECTED</span><span class="hl-code">] ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:active</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-content</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">WORDS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">NO</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">BROKEY</span><span class="hl-code">. </span><span class="hl-identifier">CROQ</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">HAS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">SPOKEY</span><span class="hl-code">. </span><span class="hl-identifier">and</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">other</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">things</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">word-break:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">normal</span><span class="hl-code"> !important </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.avatar-hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Dustjacket</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Assets</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fancyhr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">hr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">vw </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--bright-accent), </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-source:</span><span class="hl-code"> url('https://wanderers-library.wikidot.com/local--files/component:dustjacket-theme/wl_hr.png')</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-repeat:</span><span class="hl-code"> round round</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-slice:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">500</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">500</span><span class="hl-code"> fill</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fancyborder</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">vw </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> url('https://wanderers-library.wikidot.com/local--files/component:dustjacket-theme/wl_border.png') </span><span class="hl-number">600</span><span class="hl-code"> round</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">vw</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Collapsibles</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">underline</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-special">:not</span><span class="hl-code">(</span><span class="hl-identifier">.licensebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.default-col</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">white</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">7</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--base-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inline-block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-special">:not</span><span class="hl-code">(</span><span class="hl-identifier">.licensebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.default-col</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--accent), </span><span class="hl-number">0.7</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">ACS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Adjustments</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.top-left-box</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">.item</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anom-bar-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anom-bar-container</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anom-bar-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), Inter, </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.acs-extra-1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.acs-extra-2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.acs-extra-3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.acs-extra-4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), Inter, </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anom-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">.top-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Woed</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Adjustments</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.item1</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">uppercase</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">letter-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.class1</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.9</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">letter-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> --</span><span class="hl-reserved">woedbar-class-bar-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.obj</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.7</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.obj</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.55</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MISC</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">hr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.bt</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#footer</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#444</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">45</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#footer</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#7b7b7b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.footer-wikiwalk-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">700</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">88</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">word-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-info-break</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-options-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">213</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">213</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">213</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-watch-options</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.6</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">77</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-options-bottom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> row</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-wrap:</span><span class="hl-code"> wrap</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">align-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">justify-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-options-bottom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">13</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">13</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom-left-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom-right-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-options-bottom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--accent), </span><span class="hl-number">0.8</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-info-break</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#license-area</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#5f5f5f</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ecf2f1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#d9d9d9</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#license-area</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> "."</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (min-width: 768</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">16</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> "tags "</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--misc-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inline-block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.8125</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.75</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.1875</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.3125</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.1875</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom-right-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top-right-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">13</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.8125</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--page-font-size) - </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">.1875</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">.625</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.0625</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.1875</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent)) </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-style:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> ""</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">relative</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.2813</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.125</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-tags-input</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">word-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.text</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">150</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-form</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">table.form</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">tbody</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">td</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(1) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.edit-help-34</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">85</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">60</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> fit-content</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.edit-help-34</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.edit-help-34</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">table.edit-page-bottomtable</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-comments</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">86</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#lock-info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.8</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">86</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#lock-info</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> "!"</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">12</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">110</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">60</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#lock-timer</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">115</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#lock-timer</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> "⏲ "</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">textarea</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.text</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">outline:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ccc</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-property:</span><span class="hl-code"> box-shadow</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">textarea</span><span class="hl-special">:focus-visible</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.text</span><span class="hl-special">:focus-visible</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#a3a3a3</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#a3a3a3</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#action-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">p</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">85</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> darkslategrey</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#action-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">p</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(5)></span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">120</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#who-rated-page-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">column-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 900</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#who-rated-page-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">column-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 700</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#who-rated-page-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">column-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 540</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#who-rated-page-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">column-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.content-warning.creditRate</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">21</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.preview-message</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.9</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">29</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">z-index:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">filter:</span><span class="hl-code"> drop-shadow(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#EDEDED</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.error-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">48</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#B00</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top-left-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top-right-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">table.page-history</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tbody</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(2</span><span class="hl-identifier">n</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--accent), </span><span class="hl-number">0.05</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">animation:</span><span class="hl-code"> fade </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@keyframes</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">fade</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> 0% </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> 100% </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.button-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">11</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.button-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-hover-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.button-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.title</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">cursor:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">default</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">155</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">187</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">187</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">187</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#F7F7F7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow.owait</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow.owait</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.content</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> " "</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">0.9</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">animation:</span><span class="hl-code"> loading </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-code">s linear infinite</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> grey</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> grey</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">50</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@keyframes</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">loading</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> 0% </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> rotate(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">deg)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> 100% </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> rotate(</span><span class="hl-number">360</span><span class="hl-code">deg)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow.osuccess</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.content</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(2)></span><span class="hl-identifier">img</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(1) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.odialog-shader</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#262a39</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.btn</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.15</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.btn</span><span class="hl-special">:not</span><span class="hl-code">(</span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.btn</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-quotes">"</span><span class="hl-string">submit</span><span class="hl-quotes">"</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code">), </span><span class="hl-identifier">.btn.btn-primary</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.buttons</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.button</span><span class="hl-special">:not</span><span class="hl-code">(</span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-quotes">"</span><span class="hl-string">submit</span><span class="hl-quotes">"</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">11</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">cursor:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">pointer</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-cancel-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-diff-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-preview-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-draft-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-continue-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ccc</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">cursor:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">pointer</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">14</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-cancel-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-diff-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-preview-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-draft-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-continue-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#eaeaea</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-continue-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#dbffd6</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#005a0a</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-continue-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#0d951c</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-cancel-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffe1e1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#c52727</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-cancel-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#c5272e</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">table.page-history</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tbody</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#757575</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fncon</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font-size) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fncon</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font-size) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.hovertip</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">400</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.checkbox</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-history</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#h-perpage</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">cursor:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">pointer</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">textarea</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#breadcrumbs</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.pseudocrumbs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">110</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">REDUCED</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MOTION</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ACCESSIBILITY</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (prefers-reduced-motion: </span><span class="hl-identifier">reduce</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">before</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">animation-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.001</span><span class="hl-code">s !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">animation-iteration-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.001</span><span class="hl-code">s !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@MEDIA</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 850</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">h2:</span><span class="hl-code">:before { font-size: </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> } </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 700</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">h2:</span><span class="hl-code">:before { font-size: </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8.8</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> } </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 620</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">h2:</span><span class="hl-code">:before { font-size: </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.15</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">123</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> } </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 520</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">h2:</span><span class="hl-code">:before { line-height: </span><span class="hl-number">16</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">145</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> }</span></pre></div> </div> </div> </div> <p><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/k-o-failure-scenario-hub">K/O Failure Scenario Hub</a> » In the Wake of K/O</p> <hr/> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>Aiden ran as fast as he could.</p> <p>The water was up to his knees now. The horrible eyes cut deep into his soul. A million teeth threatened demise. He didn't know what it was; it just didn't register. All he knew was he needed to run.</p> <p>The drowning roots that stood in his path went unnoticed, sending Aiden tumbling to the concrete. The same roots that he used to jump over when walking this path, something he had to do quite often. This was his way to school, after all. Where he was headed now, that was unknown. But it didn't matter; he just had to run.</p> <p>He faceplanted into the cold water. The splash would certainly draw the attention of more of them. When he turned around, there were not two eyes but four. The beating of his heart was even louder than the splash. He was going to die here. This was his grave.</p> <p><strong>No.</strong> He was going to make it. At least, that's what he told himself. It might not have been true, but belief goes quite a long way. The raw determination would help him trudge this hellscape. Death was not an option. He reached his arm from out of the water, clinging onto the weathered fence he had passed a million times before. Blood flowed from his hand, as the flesh got caught on a rupture in the metal. The break in the chain-link fence felt like barbed wire. But after a few moments, he barely noticed it at all. The adrenaline thankfully numbed the pain; he needed to focus on staying alive.</p> <p>Aiden leaped over the fence, once again landing face first in the freezing saltwater. But it was different this time. Now those things, whatever they were, couldn't get to him. Not yet, at least. When he turned around, he now saw ten eyes, floating in a pool of water and blood. A chain-link fence was the only thing standing between him and his death.</p> <p>The million teeth darted right at the barricade, leaving an obvious dent. Only now did he realize whose teeth it was. The darkness had obscured his vision, and he had dropped his glasses in the coffee shop. He had left everything there, consumed by fight or flight, and Aiden was no fighter. But with the threat of death just slightly further, he could somehow see more clearly.</p> <p><strong>They were sharks.</strong></p> <p>Or something quite similar, at the very least. There was certainly something off about them, but he couldn't quite tell. It didn't matter for now. He just had to get on land.</p> <p>Aiden knew there there were still sharks on this side of the fence. It's not like it stretched on forever. Even if it had, they could certainly break through the thin wires of steel, already falling apart from exposure to the harsh New England elements. He rushed towards the house closest to him, but only for a few seconds. Running in water is not particularly fast, and there were sharks on his tail.</p> <p>The water was at Aiden's waist when he dived in headfirst, swimming to the porch of the long-gone neighbors. No one had stayed around after… after that thing, whatever it was, had fallen through the firmament. These were things Aiden didn't want to think about. It was just all too real.</p> <p>As he reached the dilapidated wooden planks that stretched across the porch, he heard a sound from somewhere above him. Turning his head to the sky, he saw the maws of death's angels, heading straight for his face.</p> <p>"Motherfucker," he whispered under his breath, darting to the door. Billions of teeth, thousands of eyes, filling up the blood stained skies. Every single one of them was headed his way.</p> <p>Aiden locked the door the second he could. His ice-cold palms drowned out the cries he screamed into them. Tears rushed down his covered face as the images rushed through his mind. The cute girl who'd just made his coffee, torn to shreds by the jaws of ethereal devils. The municipal building where he'd just gotten his license, leveled by ungodly tendrils stretching down from the heavens. A blazing fire ignited the clouds that he used to look up at in class, bored by the calculus teacher's endless rants of curves whose slope he didn't know. The poltergeists spanned his whole view. The screeches were louder now. He could feel that wretched sound shaking his bones as if they were tuning forks. They were in his mind.</p> <p>Removing his hand from his eyes, Aiden could now see a hole in the ceiling. On the other side, the face of death stared right back. There was no time for him to grab his bearings. He just had to run.</p> <p>The door was locked, and he did not have the time to change that. Another route was essential. As the celestial demon soared into the building, Aiden took a leap through the mesh of the window screen. His arm too now had bloody marks, imprinted on his skin by the fiberglass which pierced it. He didn't care. He just kept running.</p> <p>The water was now at his chest. Luckily this road was on a slant. He'd be back on land soon, but not for too long. The water was rising quite fast now; that hill would certainly be obscured by the ever-growing ocean quite soon. Even if the rising did stop, it's not like he could have stayed at the summit for long. He was the prey, and his hunters were fast.</p> <p>He swam forward, putting all his force into each stroke. Aiden was honestly quite fast for someone lacking formal training, but with reapers in the skies and seas alike, it surely wouldn't make a difference. The weight of his impending doom was Atlantean, his shoulders breaking under its titanic pressure.</p> <p>From under the flooded pavement ahead, something began to emerge. The quaking of the earth around him made his whole body shake. Aiden stared at the mound of displaced rubble as two massive glowing red eyes emerged from the depths. So many teeth. More teeth than he had ever seen before. The aquatic colossus had only one purpose, and that purpose was to kill. But as the beast's eyes made contact with his, they began to change. They no longer looked at Aiden, they looked up at the sky. The gargantuan fish collapsed suddenly to the pavement from which it had just emerged. It was only then that Aiden noticed the telephone pole, digging into the scales adjacent the wretched beast's dorsal fin. He thanked whatever act of God had just saved his life, and continued on. There wasn't time to revel in his survival, but he did take a quick look at the base from which the pole collapsed. Floating there was… well it's hard to really tell. It was gone within an instant. Whatever it was, Aiden was sure it had been smiling at him.</p> <p>Leaping from the river which the highway had now become, Aiden landed painfully on the shore that had been a hill just hours prior. It seemed the specters of doom had finally lost sight of him, but he still wasn't safe here. He needed to get to shelter as quick as he could, preferably somewhere quite far above sea level. It was evident he'd be staying there for quite a while.</p> <hr/> <p>Aiden stared out the window, gazing his eyes upon the brumous calamity that had once been his hometown. The spiritual despots that controlled this world floated in the aether, looking for more prey to obliterate. They had won.</p> <p>A gloomy expression filled his face as he closed the curtains. He turned to look at the dusty bookcase on the wall adjacent the entrance. The books were old. The weathering from age and use had clearly taken its toll. Some of the books had covers so worn down that the text was virtually illegible.</p> <p>Aiden had walked for nearly ten miles before finding this place. Everywhere else was already half flooded. It stood at a peak, looking over the Atlantic. It would take quite a while before sea level reached him. Sure, the ghosts that haunted the horizon, which he had come to call "Screechers" inside of his mind, were always a risk. He didn't feel too worried though; they hadn't noticed him so far.</p> <p>The structure Aiden sat in had been there for at least 300 years. The maple wood had rotted past the shellac finish. The poorly made nails that dug into the planks were barely clinging to the ancient timber. It was clear that no one had been here in quite a long time. At least, no one who cared about appearances.</p> <p>Aiden took the ladder to the floor above. A table sat in the center, a large lamp lying on top.</p> <p>"This is a lighthouse," Aiden thought to himself. He had read about them before. They had gone obsolete well before his birth, 2050's, if he remembered correctly. This was a rare remnant of the past. It was quite surprising that no one had torn it down for scraps by now.</p> <p>Through the poorly made glass, Aiden could see all that was for miles. There wasn't much left, at this point. A few rooftops, poking through the endless seas. Streetlights, floating like driftwood. A million "Screechers," enveloping the dark clouds. What had happened to this world? Aiden took a seat, staring at the darkness beyond. He couldn't help but wonder if he was all that remained.</p> <p>"Surely not," he tried to convince himself. If he'd made it through, others must've too, right? He pinched his own side. This was no dream. This was real. They were all gone. He had to accept it.</p> <p>Looking into the distance, Aiden saw something. A great wave was forming, and on that wave was a ship.</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="blockquote"> <p>The poor beasts, they've been tricked. Their minds torn from their bodies, left to rot above the sky. Their bodies left to haunt us as He wields them like a blade. We are merely counting the days until that evil corrupts us all. I pity them.</p> <p>-Anton the Pugilist, 627 BCE</p> </div> <table class="wiki-content-table"> <tr> <td><strong>Part 2 Coming</strong> <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>???</strong></span></td> </tr> </table> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/in-the-wake-of-k-o">In the Wake of K/O</a>" by Some Reference, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/in-the-wake-of-k-o">https://scpwiki.com/in-the-wake-of-k-o</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:foxtrot">:scp-wiki:theme:foxtrot</a> spc=a]] [[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[module CSS]] :root{ --header-title: "SPC Database"; --header-subtitle: "The Selachian Pests' Conquest"; } [[/module]] [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/k-o-failure-scenario-hub K/O Failure Scenario Hub] >> In the Wake of K/O ------ @@ @@ Aiden ran as fast as he could. The water was up to his knees now. The horrible eyes cut deep into his soul. A million teeth threatened demise. He didn't know what it was; it just didn't register. All he knew was he needed to run. The drowning roots that stood in his path went unnoticed, sending Aiden tumbling to the concrete. The same roots that he used to jump over when walking this path, something he had to do quite often. This was his way to school, after all. Where he was headed now, that was unknown. But it didn't matter; he just had to run. He faceplanted into the cold water. The splash would certainly draw the attention of more of them. When he turned around, there were not two eyes but four. The beating of his heart was even louder than the splash. He was going to die here. This was his grave. No. He was going to make it. At least, that's what he told himself. It might not have been true, but belief goes quite a long way. The raw determination would help him trudge this hellscape. Death was not an option. He reached his arm from out of the water, clinging onto the weathered fence he had passed a million times before. Blood flowed from his hand, as the flesh got caught on a rupture in the metal. The break in the chain-link fence felt like barbed wire. But after a few moments, he barely noticed it at all. The adrenaline thankfully numbed the pain; he needed to focus on staying alive. Aiden leaped over the fence, once again landing face first in the freezing saltwater. But it was different this time. Now those things, whatever they were, couldn't get to him. Not yet, at least. When he turned around, he now saw ten eyes, floating in a pool of water and blood. A chain-link fence was the only thing standing between him and his death. The million teeth darted right at the barricade, leaving an obvious dent. Only now did he realize whose teeth it was. The darkness had obscured his vision, and he had dropped his glasses in the coffee shop. He had left everything there, consumed by fight or flight, and Aiden was no fighter. But with the threat of death just slightly further, he could somehow see more clearly. They were sharks. Or something quite similar, at the very least. There was certainly something off about them, but he couldn't quite tell. It didn't matter for now. He just had to get on land. Aiden knew there there were still sharks on this side of the fence. It's not like it stretched on forever. Even if it had, they could certainly break through the thin wires of steel, already falling apart from exposure to the harsh New England elements. He rushed towards the house closest to him, but only for a few seconds. Running in water is not particularly fast, and there were sharks on his tail. The water was at Aiden's waist when he dived in headfirst, swimming to the porch of the long-gone neighbors. No one had stayed around after... after that thing, whatever it was, had fallen through the firmament. These were things Aiden didn't want to think about. It was just all too real. As he reached the dilapidated wooden planks that stretched across the porch, he heard a sound from somewhere above him. Turning his head to the sky, he saw the maws of death's angels, heading straight for his face. "Motherfucker," he whispered under his breath, darting to the door. Billions of teeth, thousands of eyes, filling up the blood stained skies. Every single one of them was headed his way. Aiden locked the door the second he could. His ice-cold palms drowned out the cries he screamed into them. Tears rushed down his covered face as the images rushed through his mind. The cute girl who'd just made his coffee, torn to shreds by the jaws of ethereal devils. The municipal building where he'd just gotten his license, leveled by ungodly tendrils stretching down from the heavens. A blazing fire ignited the clouds that he used to look up at in class, bored by the calculus teacher's endless rants of curves whose slope he didn't know. The poltergeists spanned his whole view. The screeches were louder now. He could feel that wretched sound shaking his bones as if they were tuning forks. They were in his mind. Removing his hand from his eyes, Aiden could now see a hole in the ceiling. On the other side, the face of death stared right back. There was no time for him to grab his bearings. He just had to run. The door was locked, and he did not have the time to change that. Another route was essential. As the celestial demon soared into the building, Aiden took a leap through the mesh of the window screen. His arm too now had bloody marks, imprinted on his skin by the fiberglass which pierced it. He didn't care. He just kept running. The water was now at his chest. Luckily this road was on a slant. He'd be back on land soon, but not for too long. The water was rising quite fast now; that hill would certainly be obscured by the ever-growing ocean quite soon. Even if the rising did stop, it's not like he could have stayed at the summit for long. He was the prey, and his hunters were fast. He swam forward, putting all his force into each stroke. Aiden was honestly quite fast for someone lacking formal training, but with reapers in the skies and seas alike, it surely wouldn't make a difference. The weight of his impending doom was Atlantean, his shoulders breaking under its titanic pressure. From under the flooded pavement ahead, something began to emerge. The quaking of the earth around him made his whole body shake. Aiden stared at the mound of displaced rubble as two massive glowing red eyes emerged from the depths. So many teeth. More teeth than he had ever seen before. The aquatic colossus had only one purpose, and that purpose was to kill. But as the beast's eyes made contact with his, they began to change. They no longer looked at Aiden, they looked up at the sky. The gargantuan fish collapsed suddenly to the pavement from which it had just emerged. It was only then that Aiden noticed the telephone pole, digging into the scales adjacent the wretched beast's dorsal fin. He thanked whatever act of God had just saved his life, and continued on. There wasn't time to revel in his survival, but he did take a quick look at the base from which the pole collapsed. Floating there was... well it's hard to really tell. It was gone within an instant. Whatever it was, Aiden was sure it had been smiling at him. Leaping from the river which the highway had now become, Aiden landed painfully on the shore that had been a hill just hours prior. It seemed the specters of doom had finally lost sight of him, but he still wasn't safe here. He needed to get to shelter as quick as he could, preferably somewhere quite far above sea level. It was evident he'd be staying there for quite a while. ------ Aiden stared out the window, gazing his eyes upon the brumous calamity that had once been his hometown. The spiritual despots that controlled this world floated in the aether, looking for more prey to obliterate. They had won. A gloomy expression filled his face as he closed the curtains. He turned to look at the dusty bookcase on the wall adjacent the entrance. The books were old. The weathering from age and use had clearly taken its toll. Some of the books had covers so worn down that the text was virtually illegible. Aiden had walked for nearly ten miles before finding this place. Everywhere else was already half flooded. It stood at a peak, looking over the Atlantic. It would take quite a while before sea level reached him. Sure, the ghosts that haunted the horizon, which he had come to call "Screechers" inside of his mind, were always a risk. He didn't feel too worried though; they hadn't noticed him so far. The structure Aiden sat in had been there for at least 300 years. The maple wood had rotted past the shellac finish. The poorly made nails that dug into the planks were barely clinging to the ancient timber. It was clear that no one had been here in quite a long time. At least, no one who cared about appearances. Aiden took the ladder to the floor above. A table sat in the center, a large lamp lying on top. "This is a lighthouse," Aiden thought to himself. He had read about them before. They had gone obsolete well before his birth, 2050's, if he remembered correctly. This was a rare remnant of the past. It was quite surprising that no one had torn it down for scraps by now. Through the poorly made glass, Aiden could see all that was for miles. There wasn't much left, at this point. A few rooftops, poking through the endless seas. Streetlights, floating like driftwood. A million "Screechers," enveloping the dark clouds. What had happened to this world? Aiden took a seat, staring at the darkness beyond. He couldn't help but wonder if he was all that remained. "Surely not," he tried to convince himself. If he'd made it through, others must've too, right? He pinched his own side. This was no dream. This was real. They were all gone. He had to accept it. Looking into the distance, Aiden saw something. A great wave was forming, and on that wave was a ship. @@ @@ [[div class="blockquote"]] The poor beasts, they've been tricked. Their minds torn from their bodies, left to rot above the sky. Their bodies left to haunt us as He wields them like a blade. We are merely counting the days until that evil corrupts us all. I pity them. -Anton the Pugilist, 627 BCE [[/div]] \|\| Part 2 Coming __???__ \|\| [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a> \|author=Some Reference]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-07-29T19:54:00	[ "_licensebox", "shark-punching-center", "tale" ]	In the Wake of K/O - SCP Foundation	7	[ "k-o-failure-scenario-hub", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "spc-hub" ]	[]	1449203638	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/in-the-wake-of-k-o
in-which-catgirls-are-shot-probably	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <ul class="creditRate"> <li class="rateBox folded"> <div class="rate-box-with-credit-button"> <div class="creditButton foldable-list-container"> <p><a href="javascript:;"></a></p> </div> </div> <div id="u-credit-view"> <div class="fader foldable-list-container"><a href="javascript:;">close</a></div> <div class="modalcontainer"> <div class="modalbox"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2><span>Info</span></h2> </div> <hr/> <div class="close-credits foldable-list-container"><a href="javascript:;">X</a></div> <div class="credit first"> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <table class="rate_t3"> <tr> <td colspan="2" style="display:table-cell;"> </td> <td colspan="2" style="display:none;"> </td> </tr> <tr style="display: table-row;"> <td style="text-align: left;">93.66%<br/> (+118)</td> <td style="text-align: right;">6.34%<br/> (-8)</td> </tr> <tr style="display:none;"> <td style="text-align: left;">-%<br/> (+0)</td> <td style="text-align: right;">-%<br/> (-0)</td> </tr> </table> </div> </div></div> <hr/> </div> </div> </div> </li> </ul> <p>Ryan Dennings thought he wouldn't feel like this again. Sure, he had had his moments when he was younger. Fresher. Less accustomed to unfathomable beings or supernatural displays. But those were in the past. Way in the past.</p> <p>He thought he had gotten past those days. And yet, he found himself shaking, just slightly, of course, but shaking nonetheless.</p> <p>"Is something wrong, master-nya? Do… do you not like it-nya?"</p> <p>Ryan wished the communicator in his ear worked. He looked up at a human-cat hybrid woman in a rather indecent maid costume and forced a smile.</p> <p>"Oh, no, I was just, uh, thinking! You know, about, uh, stuff." He took a large swig of the plain, watered-down coffee and gave a thumbs up.</p> <p>The hybrid smiled and bowed. "Then I'll be back later-nya!"</p> <p>Ryan released his breath as the hybrid walked away, realizing he had been unconsciously holding it while speaking with the hybrid. It was the look in their eyes, he realized. Those were not the eyes of a construct as he had initially thought. No, there was a clear conscience in each of the hybrids. A conscience that betrayed fear to a skilled observer.</p> <p>For a moment, he contemplated just shooting everyone in the building and being done with it. A byproduct of the time he spent with the Coalition, but in this case, Ryan felt that even the Foundation would've been alright with it given his circumstances. It'd be seen as an act of mercy. Probably.</p> <p>The task was simple. Approach the anomalous cafe, gain as much information as he could, stall the anomaly until an MTF or containment agents could lock it down. This kind of task was a specialty of Ryan's and one he had managed to complete time and time again. The anomaly was first discovered by a coworker of Ryan's, Salah Abboud, a good man and a fellow first contact agent. Unfortunately, all communication was lost with him when he entered the cafe and visual contact was lost two minutes and thirty seconds later when he was escorted into the back of the building.</p> <p>That's how Ryan ended up there. The closest agent available but was supposed to be off on sick leave. He wasn't <em>actually</em> sick, which was something the Foundation knew, so off he went.</p> <p>Ryan finished off the rest of his coffee and picked up the laminated menu he had received when he first sat down. Peeking over the top of the menu, he recounted the number of workers and customers.</p> <p><em>Seven customers, one two three four five work- five?</em></p> <p>Ryan blinked twice. He recounted again. Nope, he was right the first time, five workers. A new one had appeared from the back room. A tall, rather lithe woman of roughly middle-eastern appearance with a pair of cat ears adorning her head. A long black tail extending from the posterior and the same stupid maid costume the rest of the hybrids wore.</p> <p>Her eyes met his and her brow furrowed slightly.</p> <p><em>This could be bad… or good, maybe it's good.</em> Ryan hoped it was good. The hybrid slowly made her way over to him.</p> <p>"Do I… know you?" The hybrid stood in front of Ryan with a rather obvious look of confusion.</p> <p>Ryan took a deep breath. Research wasn't necessarily in Ryan's domain, that was reserved for the aptly named 'researchers' at any given site. But knowing things about an anomaly tended to increase one's chance of surviving said anomaly, so on-the-spot research was something that he had gotten used to.</p> <p>"Um, maybe? You uh, reminded me of a friend of mine. Well, a sister of a friend of mine." And for the coup de grace. "Does the name 'Salah Abboud' ring a bell?"</p> <p>The hybrid took a step back and her breath quickened.</p> <p>A reaction. That was good. Or bad, depending on what happened next, but Ryan was betting on good. The hybrid closed her eyes for a moment and winced. She opened them and gave a bright smile to Ryan.</p> <p>"Hello master-nya… how can I serve you today-nya?"</p> <p>And there went Ryan's hypothetical bet. He sighed. "No, I was mistaken, sorry, don't mind me."</p> <p>"A-Are you sure you don't need <em>help</em>." The hybrid's eye twitched whilst maintaining her smile. Ryan noted that down. The researchers would be interested in that. He shook his head, trying to keep his emotions from showing.</p> <p>"I'm sure, thanks."</p> <p>The hybrid bowed before leaving. The Foundation could fix him. Probably. Hopefully.</p> <p>Ryan once again considered shooting everyone in the room. He took a look at his watch, an old G-Shock gifted to him by his old superior at the GOC. It was the only watch that man could afford, but it worked. 10:28, the watch read. It had been over fifteen minutes, sixteen minutes and eleven seconds to be exact, since he had first stepped into the building. Standard operating procedure stated that containment agents or an MTF would be on-scene within twenty minutes of an anomaly being discovered and located. Counting the two minutes and thirty seconds Salah had first found the anomaly, that put the Foundation roughly one minute and nineteen seconds out in the best case scenario for Ryan.</p> <p>The door at the back of the cafe opened again. An obese man stepped out, dressed in a long black trench coat with a stained black fedora atop his head. He scratched his unkempt beard as the middle-eastern hybrid whispered into his ear. A single finger was pointed in Ryan's direction.</p> <p>Besides Ryan, no one was sitting in that direction.</p> <p><em>Ah, here we go.</em> Ryan palmed his revolver, hidden under his jacket, slowly turning the cylinder. He guessed it would soon be time for Plan B: shooting everyone. He sighed again. Twelve thaumaturgically enhanced bullets, six anomalous humanoids, one of them likely a reality-bender. Those were good odds if Ryan's name was Clef. Unfortunately for Ryan, his name was Ryan.</p> <p>He cracked his neck as the obese man spoke.</p> <p>"You there, in the shitty jacket, com'ere."</p> <p>Ryan made a big deal of looking around, then at himself and gasped loudly. "Oh! Me?"</p> <p>"Yeah you, get your ass over here. Got a couple questions, no biggie, ya know?"</p> <p>The middle-eastern hybrid began walking over to Ryan. He grasped his revolver tightly.</p> <p>"Master-nya, please follow-"</p> <p><em>It's go time.</em></p> <hr/> <p>Ryan drew and fired. The hybrid fell to the floor, her body now completely covered in ice. Under the normal rules of combat, Ryan expected everyone to start panicking. However, anomalies weren't called as such because they were normal.</p> <p>Another hybrid immediately dashed towards Ryan, her eyes wide and scowling. She was fast. Ryan estimated her speed to be around eight, no, nine meters per second. He would've been impressed if that speed wasn't threatening to turn his body into paste in the next two seconds.</p> <p><em>Bang</em>. He took another shot, sending the hybrid careening into his table, which was a much more preferable alternative to obliterating his soft, vulnerable body. He looked down at the hybrid at his feet, theoretically put into a deep sleep if the thaumaturgy on his bullets was done correctly.</p> <p>Standing up, Ryan cocked his revolver and aimed it at the obese man, who was attempting to look as bored as possible, staring at his nails, but the sweating and shaking were a bit obvious. Now, even the anomalous would be cautious.</p> <p>"Alright fatty, there's two ways this goes down. I put a bullet in each one of your feline compatriots and then one between your eyes, or…" Ryan let the sentence trail off. One-liners were a lot harder than Clef made them seem.</p> <p>"Ahem… huhuhu…" The man coughed before letting out a sinister laugh, or what was intended to be one in any case. "Do you really think that's enough to-"</p> <p><em>Bang bang bang.</em> Ryan took the opportunity to disable the other three hybrids, all of whom were busy looking shocked, angry, or scared, but otherwise unmoving. He thanked whatever gods actually existed for his luck. The mouthy reality-benders were always the easiest to deal with.</p> <p>Stepping over the frozen hybrid at his feet, Ryan maneuvered to a more open location as the other patrons blissfully continued to partake in whatever subpar meal was before them, ignorant of what was happening around them.</p> <p>"Right then, that's five down, one to go. Wanna keep trying your luck, porky?"</p> <p>Of course, the problem with reality-benders was in the name. Reality was nothing more than a plaything to these sorts of people, and regular people happened to be part of reality. Ryan guessed that whatever method was used to create the hybrids was limited in some manner, since the time between Salah going in and the hybrid coming out was over fifteen minutes long. Well, he hoped that he was right. He was probably right. If he was wrong, the insults would make things a lot worse.</p> <p>Though, worse wasn't always bad.</p> <p>"I see… you're the villain, aren't you? Here to take away my neko-ma and do depraved things to them!" The man manifested a katana into his hands and swung it around wildly. The excess layers of fat on him began to twist and contort. The man grew an extra foot and a half taller, his muscles growing thicker and larger. "Well, too bad for you, I won't let you!"</p> <p>Ryan suppressed a laugh. There was an easy way to deal with these kinds of melodramatic reality-benders. Distract, conform, and manipulate.</p> <p>"No! It's you! My archnemesis!" Ryan fell to his knees, revolver clattering to the floor. "I couldn't tell behind your disguise! How could I have missed it?"</p> <p>"Uh, disguise? I mean, yes! Ahem, my disguise! Now, I shall avenge the, uh, the harm done to you, my neko-ma! I will slay my foe with a single stri-"</p> <p>"It's a good thing my super shield is in effect. It'd take an ultra attack, which as you know takes a full minute to charge, in order to hurt me!" Ryan took a quick peek at the reality-bender, watching the man slowly consider the information before accepting it into his own personal reality. Ryan made a mental effort to thank the gods again that this particular reality-bender was easy to confuse.</p> <p>"Yes of course, I must use my strongest attack…" The reality-bender took a deep breath, crouched, sword held up high, and began screaming. "HAAAAAAA-"</p> <p>Wispy, white particles swirled through the air, coalescing around the reality-bender's sword. Ryan took a quick moment to relax, then stood back up. "-AAAAAAAAAA-"</p> <p>Wind began to whip around the room, scattering tables and chairs. Ryan grabbed a flying chair before setting it down and sitting in it. Bending over in his seat, he picked up his revolver and reloaded it. Now, there was nothing left to do but wait.</p> <p>"-AAAAAAAAAAAA-" Lightning arced across the room making obnoxious noises that only a tesla coil could produce. His heart was pounding now.</p> <p>"-AAAAAAAAAA!" Ryan took another look at his watch. 10:32. They were late. He levelled his revolver at the reality-bender and swallowed as a bead of sweat traced the edge of his face.</p> <p>"HEAVENLY BLADE, SIXTEENTH FORM, STRIKE OF JUSTICE!!" The reality-bender swung his sword.</p> <p>Time seemed to stop. Or maybe it was just the reality-bender staying in pose for some reason. It was hard to tell.</p> <p>"SRA successfully deployed," buzzed Ryan's communicator. He let out a long sigh.</p> <p><em>Bang.</em></p> <hr/> <p>"Did you have to shoot me?"</p> <p>"Well, I figured it was the fastest way of diffusing the situation."</p> <p>Ryan sat across from his new-old coworker Sahar Abboud, SCP number pending, in the Site-31 cafeteria. He poked a plastic straw into the cardboard milk carton and tried to avoid staring at his coworker's new extremities.</p> <p>Sahar scoffed. "Really? You couldn't try talking? You saw me fighting back earlier!"</p> <p>"I'm just saying, I felt that I made the best choice I could've at the time to protect myself from, you know, what happened to you and all."</p> <p>"More like the best choice for your own sick desires. I mean, Ryan, you were told explicitly not to go int-"</p> <p>"No, they <em>recommended</em> I don't. Completely different." Ryan took a long sip of milk. Sahar's tail flicked back and forth in annoyance.</p> <p>"That habit of yours is going to get you, or someone else, killed one day. Hell, you almost died <em>today</em>."</p> <p>Ryan smirked. "You keep saying that and yet… no one's died."</p> <p>"Yet. No one's died <em>yet</em>."</p> <p><strong>Ding.</strong></p> <p>A message. Ryan pulled out his phone and took a quick look, a smile growing on his face. "Anomalous sentient pool located, first contact agent replacement required, distance recommended?"</p> <p>"Ryan, don't-"</p> <p>"I'll be heading out, Sahar. Good luck with the de-catting or whatever. I'm off to kill some water." Ryan left his seat and began striding out the cafeteria, Sahar's pleas fading from his mind as the shaking returned once again.</p> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/in-which-catgirls-are-shot-probably">In Which Catgirls Are Shot. Probably.</a>" by Zoobeeny, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/in-which-catgirls-are-shot-probably">https://scpwiki.com/in-which-catgirls-are-shot-probably</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="/component:ratio-bar">component:ratio-bar</a> base=-- \|ex=--]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/info:start">:scp-wiki:info:start</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:ratio-bar">:scp-wiki:component:ratio-bar</a> pie=--]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/info:end">:scp-wiki:info:end</a>]] Ryan Dennings thought he wouldn't feel like this again. Sure, he had had his moments when he was younger. Fresher. Less accustomed to unfathomable beings or supernatural displays. But those were in the past. Way in the past. He thought he had gotten past those days. And yet, he found himself shaking, just slightly, of course, but shaking nonetheless. "Is something wrong, master-nya? Do... do you not like it-nya?" Ryan wished the communicator in his ear worked. He looked up at a human-cat hybrid woman in a rather indecent maid costume and forced a smile. "Oh, no, I was just, uh, thinking! You know, about, uh, stuff." He took a large swig of the plain, watered-down coffee and gave a thumbs up. The hybrid smiled and bowed. "Then I'll be back later-nya!" Ryan released his breath as the hybrid walked away, realizing he had been unconsciously holding it while speaking with the hybrid. It was the look in their eyes, he realized. Those were not the eyes of a construct as he had initially thought. No, there was a clear conscience in each of the hybrids. A conscience that betrayed fear to a skilled observer. For a moment, he contemplated just shooting everyone in the building and being done with it. A byproduct of the time he spent with the Coalition, but in this case, Ryan felt that even the Foundation would've been alright with it given his circumstances. It'd be seen as an act of mercy. Probably. The task was simple. Approach the anomalous cafe, gain as much information as he could, stall the anomaly until an MTF or containment agents could lock it down. This kind of task was a specialty of Ryan's and one he had managed to complete time and time again. The anomaly was first discovered by a coworker of Ryan's, Salah Abboud, a good man and a fellow first contact agent. Unfortunately, all communication was lost with him when he entered the cafe and visual contact was lost two minutes and thirty seconds later when he was escorted into the back of the building. That's how Ryan ended up there. The closest agent available but was supposed to be off on sick leave. He wasn't //actually// sick, which was something the Foundation knew, so off he went. Ryan finished off the rest of his coffee and picked up the laminated menu he had received when he first sat down. Peeking over the top of the menu, he recounted the number of workers and customers. //Seven customers, one two three four five work- five?// Ryan blinked twice. He recounted again. Nope, he was right the first time, five workers. A new one had appeared from the back room. A tall, rather lithe woman of roughly middle-eastern appearance with a pair of cat ears adorning her head. A long black tail extending from the posterior and the same stupid maid costume the rest of the hybrids wore. Her eyes met his and her brow furrowed slightly. //This could be bad... or good, maybe it's good.// Ryan hoped it was good. The hybrid slowly made her way over to him. "Do I... know you?" The hybrid stood in front of Ryan with a rather obvious look of confusion. Ryan took a deep breath. Research wasn't necessarily in Ryan's domain, that was reserved for the aptly named 'researchers' at any given site. But knowing things about an anomaly tended to increase one's chance of surviving said anomaly, so on-the-spot research was something that he had gotten used to. "Um, maybe? You uh, reminded me of a friend of mine. Well, a sister of a friend of mine." And for the coup de grace. "Does the name 'Salah Abboud' ring a bell?" The hybrid took a step back and her breath quickened. A reaction. That was good. Or bad, depending on what happened next, but Ryan was betting on good. The hybrid closed her eyes for a moment and winced. She opened them and gave a bright smile to Ryan. "Hello master-nya... how can I serve you today-nya?" And there went Ryan's hypothetical bet. He sighed. "No, I was mistaken, sorry, don't mind me." "A-Are you sure you don't need //help//." The hybrid's eye twitched whilst maintaining her smile. Ryan noted that down. The researchers would be interested in that. He shook his head, trying to keep his emotions from showing. "I'm sure, thanks." The hybrid bowed before leaving. The Foundation could fix him. Probably. Hopefully. Ryan once again considered shooting everyone in the room. He took a look at his watch, an old G-Shock gifted to him by his old superior at the GOC. It was the only watch that man could afford, but it worked. 10:28, the watch read. It had been over fifteen minutes, sixteen minutes and eleven seconds to be exact, since he had first stepped into the building. Standard operating procedure stated that containment agents or an MTF would be on-scene within twenty minutes of an anomaly being discovered and located. Counting the two minutes and thirty seconds Salah had first found the anomaly, that put the Foundation roughly one minute and nineteen seconds out in the best case scenario for Ryan. The door at the back of the cafe opened again. An obese man stepped out, dressed in a long black trench coat with a stained black fedora atop his head. He scratched his unkempt beard as the middle-eastern hybrid whispered into his ear. A single finger was pointed in Ryan's direction. Besides Ryan, no one was sitting in that direction. //Ah, here we go.// Ryan palmed his revolver, hidden under his jacket, slowly turning the cylinder. He guessed it would soon be time for Plan B: shooting everyone. He sighed again. Twelve thaumaturgically enhanced bullets, six anomalous humanoids, one of them likely a reality-bender. Those were good odds if Ryan's name was Clef. Unfortunately for Ryan, his name was Ryan. He cracked his neck as the obese man spoke. "You there, in the shitty jacket, com'ere." Ryan made a big deal of looking around, then at himself and gasped loudly. "Oh! Me?" "Yeah you, get your ass over here. Got a couple questions, no biggie, ya know?" The middle-eastern hybrid began walking over to Ryan. He grasped his revolver tightly. "Master-nya, please follow-" //It's go time.// ------ Ryan drew and fired. The hybrid fell to the floor, her body now completely covered in ice. Under the normal rules of combat, Ryan expected everyone to start panicking. However, anomalies weren't called as such because they were normal. Another hybrid immediately dashed towards Ryan, her eyes wide and scowling. She was fast. Ryan estimated her speed to be around eight, no, nine meters per second. He would've been impressed if that speed wasn't threatening to turn his body into paste in the next two seconds. //Bang//. He took another shot, sending the hybrid careening into his table, which was a much more preferable alternative to obliterating his soft, vulnerable body. He looked down at the hybrid at his feet, theoretically put into a deep sleep if the thaumaturgy on his bullets was done correctly. Standing up, Ryan cocked his revolver and aimed it at the obese man, who was attempting to look as bored as possible, staring at his nails, but the sweating and shaking were a bit obvious. Now, even the anomalous would be cautious. "Alright fatty, there's two ways this goes down. I put a bullet in each one of your feline compatriots and then one between your eyes, or..." Ryan let the sentence trail off. One-liners were a lot harder than Clef made them seem. "Ahem... huhuhu..." The man coughed before letting out a sinister laugh, or what was intended to be one in any case. "Do you really think that's enough to-" //Bang bang bang.// Ryan took the opportunity to disable the other three hybrids, all of whom were busy looking shocked, angry, or scared, but otherwise unmoving. He thanked whatever gods actually existed for his luck. The mouthy reality-benders were always the easiest to deal with. Stepping over the frozen hybrid at his feet, Ryan maneuvered to a more open location as the other patrons blissfully continued to partake in whatever subpar meal was before them, ignorant of what was happening around them. "Right then, that's five down, one to go. Wanna keep trying your luck, porky?" Of course, the problem with reality-benders was in the name. Reality was nothing more than a plaything to these sorts of people, and regular people happened to be part of reality. Ryan guessed that whatever method was used to create the hybrids was limited in some manner, since the time between Salah going in and the hybrid coming out was over fifteen minutes long. Well, he hoped that he was right. He was probably right. If he was wrong, the insults would make things a lot worse. Though, worse wasn't always bad. "I see... you're the villain, aren't you? Here to take away my neko-ma and do depraved things to them!" The man manifested a katana into his hands and swung it around wildly. The excess layers of fat on him began to twist and contort. The man grew an extra foot and a half taller, his muscles growing thicker and larger. "Well, too bad for you, I won't let you!" Ryan suppressed a laugh. There was an easy way to deal with these kinds of melodramatic reality-benders. Distract, conform, and manipulate. "No! It's you! My archnemesis!" Ryan fell to his knees, revolver clattering to the floor. "I couldn't tell behind your disguise! How could I have missed it?" "Uh, disguise? I mean, yes! Ahem, my disguise! Now, I shall avenge the, uh, the harm done to you, my neko-ma! I will slay my foe with a single stri-" "It's a good thing my super shield is in effect. It'd take an ultra attack, which as you know takes a full minute to charge, in order to hurt me!" Ryan took a quick peek at the reality-bender, watching the man slowly consider the information before accepting it into his own personal reality. Ryan made a mental effort to thank the gods again that this particular reality-bender was easy to confuse. "Yes of course, I must use my strongest attack..." The reality-bender took a deep breath, crouched, sword held up high, and began screaming. "HAAAAAAA-" Wispy, white particles swirled through the air, coalescing around the reality-bender's sword. Ryan took a quick moment to relax, then stood back up. "-AAAAAAAAAA-" Wind began to whip around the room, scattering tables and chairs. Ryan grabbed a flying chair before setting it down and sitting in it. Bending over in his seat, he picked up his revolver and reloaded it. Now, there was nothing left to do but wait. "-AAAAAAAAAAAA-" Lightning arced across the room making obnoxious noises that only a tesla coil could produce. His heart was pounding now. "-AAAAAAAAAA!" Ryan took another look at his watch. 10:32. They were late. He levelled his revolver at the reality-bender and swallowed as a bead of sweat traced the edge of his face. "HEAVENLY BLADE, SIXTEENTH FORM, STRIKE OF JUSTICE!!" The reality-bender swung his sword. Time seemed to stop. Or maybe it was just the reality-bender staying in pose for some reason. It was hard to tell. "SRA successfully deployed," buzzed Ryan's communicator. He let out a long sigh. //Bang.// ------ "Did you have to shoot me?" "Well, I figured it was the fastest way of diffusing the situation." Ryan sat across from his new-old coworker Sahar Abboud, SCP number pending, in the Site-31 cafeteria. He poked a plastic straw into the cardboard milk carton and tried to avoid staring at his coworker's new extremities. Sahar scoffed. "Really? You couldn't try talking? You saw me fighting back earlier!" "I'm just saying, I felt that I made the best choice I could've at the time to protect myself from, you know, what happened to you and all." "More like the best choice for your own sick desires. I mean, Ryan, you were told explicitly not to go int-" "No, they //recommended// I don't. Completely different." Ryan took a long sip of milk. Sahar's tail flicked back and forth in annoyance. "That habit of yours is going to get you, or someone else, killed one day. Hell, you almost died //today//." Ryan smirked. "You keep saying that and yet... no one's died." "Yet. No one's died //yet//." Ding. A message. Ryan pulled out his phone and took a quick look, a smile growing on his face. "Anomalous sentient pool located, first contact agent replacement required, distance recommended?" "Ryan, don't-" "I'll be heading out, Sahar. Good luck with the de-catting or whatever. I'm off to kill some water." Ryan left his seat and began striding out the cafeteria, Sahar's pleas fading from his mind as the shaking returned once again. [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] [!-- N/A (No Images) --] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-01-03T07:38:00	[ "_licensebox", "action", "coldpostcon", "reviewers-spotlight", "tale" ]	In Which Catgirls Are Shot. Probably. - SCP Foundation	110	[ "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "reviewers-spotlight-archive-ii", "coldpostcon" ]	[]	1445379304	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/in-which-catgirls-are-shot-probably
insignificance	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div class="authorlink-wrapper"><a href="javascript:;">Rab333</a> <div class="authorbox"> <div class="authorcontent"> <p>It's all meaningless. Or is it?<br/> <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/rab333-s-contained-anomalies">Also, more stuff by me!</a></p> </div> </div> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2 id="toc0"><span><span style="color: red">You'll never be as good as you hope to be.</span></span></h2> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>The Devil was poking at Diego again, but that's fine. Sometimes it's hard to sleep because of him. Prick's been on Diego's back for as far as he can remember, delivering poisonous remarks and harsh comments, and sometimes these affect him, but he persists.</p> <p>Diego was born and raised in <a href="http://scp-int.wikidot.com/dossier-lph">Little Havana</a>, and he can tolerate it. Diego is a Rum Runner working for the near-defunct branch of the Chicago Spirits still operating in the city, doing the dirty work that his bosses won't. That's fine, he doesn't complain. Diego doesn't really complain, it's not his business to do so. He obeys his orders and he does his best to see them through to the end.</p> <p>Diego, frankly, is miserable.</p> <p>When he has time, he drinks. He likes drinking. Sometimes he gets angry when he drinks, but that's fine, Diego doesn't mind it. Or he hopes he doesn't. It's not all bad though, he enjoys his days, sometimes. One of Diego's favorite activities is to spend time together with his remaining family; that is, his mom. He knows he's not the best son a mother could ask for, but he tries to be there.</p> <p>For his day to day job, Diego smuggles drugs, booze, and illicit items. He also sometimes kills people. He doesn't like killing people that much. Diego has always wanted a proper education, but the Marshall, Carter, and Dark Academy is too expensive for him to afford, and he's not the artsy type either. Dreams of studying at a prestigious academy with welcoming people pop into his head often. Diego really wants to become smart, smarter than he currently is. To impress his mother, for once.</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2 id="toc1"><span><span style="color: red">Please, you think you'd be able to, even if you tried?</span></span></h2> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>The claws of the Devil dig into his back. The Devil is right though. He almost always is. Diego feels dumb, very dumb.</p> <p>Fret not! Diego never gives up. In fact, things are looking up. He's been working hard, real hard, and he might just land the job position he always had dreamt of: being the personal henchman of Ruthless Alejandro. Well, it's not a job, per se, but a position. He's been doing his work and he'll be rewarded for it, Diego knows it. If he achieves this, he might even be able to leave the Havana one day, or maybe even change it for the better.</p> <p>This was not his only win for the week though. A pretty girl he's been eyeing, studying at the Hansarp School of the Arts, wants to meet him for a beach date. Diego is ecstatic! Why wouldn't he? She's been nice to him, very nice. Before long, he scrounges up the materials to make a small bracelet for her. Diego can be the artsy type for Rina, if he wants to.</p> <p>The week goes by in a flash. The Devil on Diego's back has been trying to put him down, but it wont work, especially when he's had such a good week!</p> <p>The date with Rina was incredible! They talked for hours and hours, swam, drank mojitos in the burning sun, and even shared a kiss! As Diego was leaning for it, the Devil tried to scratch at Rina, but thankfully, nobody else notices him. He can't do any harm to them, ha-ha!</p> <p>After the wonderful time at the beach, Diego was tipsy, maybe a bit too tipsy, and he lashed out at his mother when he arrived home. His mother started crying, an-</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2 id="toc2"><span><span style="color: red">See? You never change.</span></span></h2> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>d, no! Diego can change! Don't you dare say something! As he became aware of his fuck-up, Diego went and apologized to her. He also shed a tear, or two. She eventually forgave him, and they embraced. He realizes these things can happen, and it's not a reason to not try.</p> <p>Diego and his mom had always had a complicated relationship. Diego loved his mom, but a lot of the time they disagreed on trivial things. Diego always had tried to make up for it though, in any way he could, especially if he was the one to sour up the mood of either of them. He had moved back into his childhood home a few years ago, as his mother had started having trouble living alone.</p> <p>Anyway… enough reminiscing, maybe Diego didn't act the best way in that situation. You learn from your mistakes, or so they say. He doesn't have much time to think about it, though. Diego has just got some amazing news! His promotion might come sooner than he expected, but he has one job to complete beforehand. A delivery to some important person in Miami. This is the first time Diego will actually leave his home town for once, and he can't wait.</p> <p>As the day rolls around, he wakes up early, and prepares to do his most important mission yet. Diego and his two fellow Rum Runners nearly got caught when warping to Key Largo by a few feds, but by the time the hats even realized what was going on, both Diego and his associates were in a car to Lauderdale.</p> <p>The delivery went well, and to celebrate, Diego went and got himself shit-faced at one lonely bar off the street. Maybe not one of his brightest ideas, because as soon as he stumbled out of the bar, one too many rowdy comments led him to feel the cold embrace of concrete as Diego had gotten into a fight with two other people, leaving him limping on the floor until sunrise.</p> <p>Beaten, he stumbled back home, cursing at himself for his negligence and promising to do better. Boss is pleased though, and, to his surprise, he offers him the job he's always wanted, starting next week. Oh, the joy! But, for Diego, it's not all roses and sunshine. He's got all of these bruises and cuts on him from the fight. How will he explain this to his mom? Rina? They don't know of what he actually does, day to day. Maybe some concealer will help, Diego foolishly thinks.</p> <p>Thankfully, he fools his mom enough. Her sight worsened with age, and Diego manages to avoid any suspicions on his part, but it's not as easy with Rina, she's got a keen eye; She's a smart girl, and she notices his bruises instantly.</p> <p>Diego tries to explain them in any way he can, but Rina is not fooled, and she becomes scared. Rina was a sheltered girl, living a pompous lifestyle compared to what Diego had learned was normal for his entire life, and this whole ordeal made her frightened for both her and Diego's safety. Another problem caused by his drinking, damn it!</p> <p>Rina hasn't talked to Diego for a few days since then.</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2 id="toc3"><span><span style="color: red">You really do never change.</span></span></h2> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>Shut up! Diego can change! And, you know how? Diego will make it up to Rina, and buy her a nice bouquet. A really nice one. And maybe some sweets too. Diego can care for people, he's not a bad man.</p> <p>Emotions be damned for now, though. Tomorrow is a big day. Diego will attend a meeting between the Chicago Rum Runners and a rival faction, side-by-side with Alejandro. He makes sure to look as good as he can beforehand, and buys a nice hat to make himself look more classy.</p> <p>That night, he has trouble sleeping; something plagues his mind, but he doesn't know what. It's probably just the anxiety. It'll all go well, and he knows it. Diego doesn't have to worry.</p> <p>As the day rolls around, he rushes out of the house without a second thought, forgetting to even tell his mother where he was going, dressed in his sharpest suit, gun on his hip, and ready to own the day. A bout of rain had befallen the Havana in the worst possible moment, but with a bit of dashing and ducking beneath places where he could be shielded by the rain, Diego got to the place fairly dry; a big, luxurious seaside villa, where the meeting was soon about to proceed.</p> <p>Diego, for a change, felt a little bit better. Even if he had made a fair share of mistakes over the past two weeks, things are looking up for him. He felt a sense of purpose when he was around all of these important people.</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>The time for the meeting came, and he was sitting on the side of Alejandro, with five other people; on the other side, some rival gang he's only really heard bad things about. Their leader, Hanse, and Alejandro are exchanging words and discussing terms for a potential pact between the two gangs, but something must've ticked off one or the other; Diego wasn't fully aware of what had happened, as he was paying attention to protecting Alejandro, but in a split second, both parties had started yelling.</p> <p>Diego, worried, tried to break the tension between the two factions, he could be the hero of the day, maybe! One of the henchmen on Hanse's side pulled out his handgun, and that's when things got a bit too real.</p> <p>"Hey!" yelled out Diego "Let's all just cal-</p> <p><em>Bang! Bang! Bang!</em></p> <p>Diego tried to take a stance, be the hero for once. One fatal mistake.</p> <p>As more people drew their guns, the room filled with the noise of gun shots and smoke all around. Diego was on the ground, limping, dying in a pool of his own blood. Is that how he goes? In such a freak event? What were the past few weeks for? How will his mother - oh, he forgot about her this morning! How will she react, how will Rina react? How are they all going to react? What abou-</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2 id="toc4"><span><span style="color: red">Oh, bother.</span></span></h2> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>Diego had met his end that day, as nothing more than an unnamed goon in someone else's story. That's it.</p> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/insignificance">Insignificance</a>" by Rab333, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/insignificance">https://scpwiki.com/insignificance</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:author-label-source">:scp-wiki:component:author-label-source</a> start=-- \|center=right \|name=Rab333]] It's all meaningless. Or is it? [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/rab333-s-contained-anomalies Also, more stuff by me!] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:author-label-source">:scp-wiki:component:author-label-source</a> end=--]] @@ @@ [[=]] ++ ##red\|You'll never be as good as you hope to be.## [[/=]] @@ @@ The Devil was poking at Diego again, but that's fine. Sometimes it's hard to sleep because of him. Prick's been on Diego's back for as far as he can remember, delivering poisonous remarks and harsh comments, and sometimes these affect him, but he persists. Diego was born and raised in [http://scp-int.wikidot.com/dossier-lph Little Havana], and he can tolerate it. Diego is a Rum Runner working for the near-defunct branch of the Chicago Spirits still operating in the city, doing the dirty work that his bosses won't. That's fine, he doesn't complain. Diego doesn't really complain, it's not his business to do so. He obeys his orders and he does his best to see them through to the end. Diego, frankly, is miserable. When he has time, he drinks. He likes drinking. Sometimes he gets angry when he drinks, but that's fine, Diego doesn't mind it. Or he hopes he doesn't. It's not all bad though, he enjoys his days, sometimes. One of Diego's favorite activities is to spend time together with his remaining family; that is, his mom. He knows he's not the best son a mother could ask for, but he tries to be there. For his day to day job, Diego smuggles drugs, booze, and illicit items. He also sometimes kills people. He doesn't like killing people that much. Diego has always wanted a proper education, but the Marshall, Carter, and Dark Academy is too expensive for him to afford, and he's not the artsy type either. Dreams of studying at a prestigious academy with welcoming people pop into his head often. Diego really wants to become smart, smarter than he currently is. To impress his mother, for once. @@ @@ [[=]] ++ ##red\|Please, you think you'd be able to, even if you tried?## [[/=]] @@ @@ The claws of the Devil dig into his back. The Devil is right though. He almost always is. Diego feels dumb, very dumb. Fret not! Diego never gives up. In fact, things are looking up. He's been working hard, real hard, and he might just land the job position he always had dreamt of: being the personal henchman of Ruthless Alejandro. Well, it's not a job, per se, but a position. He's been doing his work and he'll be rewarded for it, Diego knows it. If he achieves this, he might even be able to leave the Havana one day, or maybe even change it for the better. This was not his only win for the week though. A pretty girl he's been eyeing, studying at the Hansarp School of the Arts, wants to meet him for a beach date. Diego is ecstatic! Why wouldn't he? She's been nice to him, very nice. Before long, he scrounges up the materials to make a small bracelet for her. Diego can be the artsy type for Rina, if he wants to. The week goes by in a flash. The Devil on Diego's back has been trying to put him down, but it wont work, especially when he's had such a good week! The date with Rina was incredible! They talked for hours and hours, swam, drank mojitos in the burning sun, and even shared a kiss! As Diego was leaning for it, the Devil tried to scratch at Rina, but thankfully, nobody else notices him. He can't do any harm to them, ha-ha! After the wonderful time at the beach, Diego was tipsy, maybe a bit too tipsy, and he lashed out at his mother when he arrived home. His mother started crying, an- @@ @@ [[=]] ++ ##red\|See? You never change.## [[/=]] @@ @@ d, no! Diego can change! Don't you dare say something! As he became aware of his fuck-up, Diego went and apologized to her. He also shed a tear, or two. She eventually forgave him, and they embraced. He realizes these things can happen, and it's not a reason to not try. Diego and his mom had always had a complicated relationship. Diego loved his mom, but a lot of the time they disagreed on trivial things. Diego always had tried to make up for it though, in any way he could, especially if he was the one to sour up the mood of either of them. He had moved back into his childhood home a few years ago, as his mother had started having trouble living alone. Anyway... enough reminiscing, maybe Diego didn't act the best way in that situation. You learn from your mistakes, or so they say. He doesn't have much time to think about it, though. Diego has just got some amazing news! His promotion might come sooner than he expected, but he has one job to complete beforehand. A delivery to some important person in Miami. This is the first time Diego will actually leave his home town for once, and he can't wait. As the day rolls around, he wakes up early, and prepares to do his most important mission yet. Diego and his two fellow Rum Runners nearly got caught when warping to Key Largo by a few feds, but by the time the hats even realized what was going on, both Diego and his associates were in a car to Lauderdale. The delivery went well, and to celebrate, Diego went and got himself shit-faced at one lonely bar off the street. Maybe not one of his brightest ideas, because as soon as he stumbled out of the bar, one too many rowdy comments led him to feel the cold embrace of concrete as Diego had gotten into a fight with two other people, leaving him limping on the floor until sunrise. Beaten, he stumbled back home, cursing at himself for his negligence and promising to do better. Boss is pleased though, and, to his surprise, he offers him the job he's always wanted, starting next week. Oh, the joy! But, for Diego, it's not all roses and sunshine. He's got all of these bruises and cuts on him from the fight. How will he explain this to his mom? Rina? They don't know of what he actually does, day to day. Maybe some concealer will help, Diego foolishly thinks. Thankfully, he fools his mom enough. Her sight worsened with age, and Diego manages to avoid any suspicions on his part, but it's not as easy with Rina, she's got a keen eye; She's a smart girl, and she notices his bruises instantly. Diego tries to explain them in any way he can, but Rina is not fooled, and she becomes scared. Rina was a sheltered girl, living a pompous lifestyle compared to what Diego had learned was normal for his entire life, and this whole ordeal made her frightened for both her and Diego's safety. Another problem caused by his drinking, damn it! Rina hasn't talked to Diego for a few days since then. @@ @@ [[=]] ++ ##red\|You really do never change.## [[/=]] @@ @@ Shut up! Diego can change! And, you know how? Diego will make it up to Rina, and buy her a nice bouquet. A really nice one. And maybe some sweets too. Diego can care for people, he's not a bad man. Emotions be damned for now, though. Tomorrow is a big day. Diego will attend a meeting between the Chicago Rum Runners and a rival faction, side-by-side with Alejandro. He makes sure to look as good as he can beforehand, and buys a nice hat to make himself look more classy. That night, he has trouble sleeping; something plagues his mind, but he doesn't know what. It's probably just the anxiety. It'll all go well, and he knows it. Diego doesn't have to worry. As the day rolls around, he rushes out of the house without a second thought, forgetting to even tell his mother where he was going, dressed in his sharpest suit, gun on his hip, and ready to own the day. A bout of rain had befallen the Havana in the worst possible moment, but with a bit of dashing and ducking beneath places where he could be shielded by the rain, Diego got to the place fairly dry; a big, luxurious seaside villa, where the meeting was soon about to proceed. Diego, for a change, felt a little bit better. Even if he had made a fair share of mistakes over the past two weeks, things are looking up for him. He felt a sense of purpose when he was around all of these important people. @@ @@ @@ @@ The time for the meeting came, and he was sitting on the side of Alejandro, with five other people; on the other side, some rival gang he's only really heard bad things about. Their leader, Hanse, and Alejandro are exchanging words and discussing terms for a potential pact between the two gangs, but something must've ticked off one or the other; Diego wasn't fully aware of what had happened, as he was paying attention to protecting Alejandro, but in a split second, both parties had started yelling. Diego, worried, tried to break the tension between the two factions, he could be the hero of the day, maybe! One of the henchmen on Hanse's side pulled out his handgun, and that's when things got a bit too real. "Hey!" yelled out Diego "Let's all just cal- //Bang! Bang! Bang!// Diego tried to take a stance, be the hero for once. One fatal mistake. As more people drew their guns, the room filled with the noise of gun shots and smoke all around. Diego was on the ground, limping, dying in a pool of his own blood. Is that how he goes? In such a freak event? What were the past few weeks for? How will his mother - oh, he forgot about her this morning! How will she react, how will Rina react? How are they all going to react? What abou- @@ @@ [[=]] ++ ##red\|Oh, bother.## [[/=]] @@ @@ Diego had met his end that day, as nothing more than an unnamed goon in someone else's story. That's it. [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a> \|author=Rab333]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-07-27T20:44:00	[ "_licensebox", "lorecon2023", "tale" ]	Insignificance - SCP Foundation	21	[ "rab333-s-contained-anomalies", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "lorecon2023", "archived:tales-by-date-2023" ]	[]	1449163862	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/insignificance
insurer-s-regret	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div class="info-container"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <div> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Insurer's Regret</strong></p> </div> <hr/> <div id="u-author_block"> <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/cowscantgomoo">▸ More by this Author ◂</a></p> </div> <hr/> <div id="u-comments2" style="display: none;"> <p>{$comments2}</p> </div> <div class="u-faq"> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:info-ayers">F.A.Q.</a></p> </div> <div style="display: none;"> <p>{$doesthisfixthebug}</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div style="text-align: right; margin-top: -20px;"> <p><span style="font-size:80%;"><span style="color: #757575">by CowscantgoMoo</span></span></p> </div> <div class="email"> <div class="tofrom"> <p><strong>To:</strong> SCP Foundation, <em>Dpt. of Legal Affairs</em><br/> <strong>From:</strong> MC&D, <em>Dpt. of Relations</em><br/> <strong>Subject:</strong> Insurance Request - Foundation Treaty</p> </div> <hr/> <p>Dear SCP Foundation,</p> <p>As per Section IV.3 of our combined Agreement, <em>Marshall, Carter, & Dark</em> require the Foundation's services as insurance militia.</p> <p>By the end of the fiscal quarter, the insurer (The SCP Foundation) must deliver the lost items back to the insured (Marshall, Carter, & Dark) via the Department of Delivery. In the event that the insurer is unable to deliver the assets back to the insured, then the insurer must replicate, to the best of their ability, the stolen or damaged assets to be returned to the insured by the end of the next fiscal year.</p> <p>Failure to fulfill these obligations will be marked as a violation of this Agreement and reported to the Court of Higher Appeals.</p> <p>We remind The Foundation that they are currently indebted to the insured after requesting information and receiving assistance regarding AO-546732.<br/> Further information regarding the details of the lost assets is attached below.</p> <p>We hope that you are up to the task.</p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p><em><a href="/marshall-carter-and-dark-hub">- Marshall, Carter, & Dark</a></em><br/> <em>Dept. of Relations</em></p> </div> </div> <br/> <hr/> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>Dr. Yesenia moved swiftly through the hallways of Site-17, avoiding the eyes of anyone she happened to walk past. Being one of the only on-site therapists available, she had to conduct weekly sessions with several humanoid anomalies, pushing for changes to their containment that no one would bother to read, all with a smile on her face.</p> <p>Well, a smile isn't necessary. She could look just as cold and uncaring as everyone else in the halls, unable to display an ounce of emotion to even a passerby.</p> <p>She walked silently to the infirmary, collecting medical records she had finally gotten clearance to read before seeing him.</p> <p>Rainer Miller rested in a corner of the room, hidden out of sight. He was hooked up to a combination of machines, keeping him in a perpetual coma. Next to him was a tag, covered in dust from the months it'd been untouched.</p> <p>"<a href="/scp-4051">SCP-4051</a>, Object Class: Keter"</p> <p>Dr. Yesenia stood there watching Rainer, lamenting over how she was unable to–</p> <p>"Excuse me, what are you doing back there?"</p> <p>Yesenia turned to see one of the nurses standing behind her with an annoyed look on their face.</p> <p>"You don't have clearance for that. I need you to leave."</p> <p>"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to–"</p> <p>The nurse motioned their head towards the door. She quickly grabbed her papers and left, making a mental note to meet with the Site Director and try again.</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <hr/> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> Site Director Graham sat at his desk, sifting through e-mails. He skimmed the subject lines, hoping to pick out something important from the sea of pointless forwards and replies. As is the burden of the Site Director.</p> <p>He was interrupted by a knock on his door, which he was careful to ignore. It was then succeeded by another knock, then a third and the door opened.</p> <p>"Director Graham, you haven't responded to my e-mails about Rain– SCP-4051. If I could have a moment of your time?"</p> <p>Graham looked up to see the site's therapist standing in his doorway.</p> <p>"Jane, that anomaly is in inactive containment. You shouldn't be so bothered about something that is entirely none of your concern."</p> <p>Graham watched as Jane tightened her grip around the doorknob and made direct eye contact. He leaned back in his chair to hear Jane's complaints.</p> <p>"Director… I think that this unwarranted fear of 4051 is-"</p> <p>"What, unwarranted? <a href="/the-beast-beneath-the-library">It had the power to destroy walls!</a> I'd hardly call our containment measures 'unwarranted.'"</p> <p>"He was still aligned to the Foundation's cause! Does he need to prove himself again to you?"</p> <p>"Jane. He deliberately acted against our orders. He's not with us; he works for himself. What would another test prove?"</p> <p>"It'd prove that he's still willing to help!"</p> <p>"Being willing to help and being helpful are not the same thing."</p> <p>A moment of silence passed between the two. Yesenia stood there in a combination of shock and repressed anger. Graham paid her no mind as he continued to sift through his e-mails. Finally, she broke the silence.</p> <p>"I can take this higher, you know."</p> <p>Graham didn't look up from his monitor.</p> <p>"I've heard the talk on-site of what the Ethics Committee thinks of you. I'm sure another report would help them plenty."</p> <p>Graham stayed still for a moment before clicking on another e-mail and responding.</p> <p>"Ethics Committee investigations take a while. I can't guarantee you'll keep your placement in Site-17 during that time."</p> <p>"I'll do what I have to."</p> <p>Yesenia heard a few mouse clicks as Graham contemplated his next move. She turned to see his printer beep and whir.</p> <p>"One more test. If he fails, he stays in that coma. Permanently."</p> <p>"And if he passes?" Yesenia fought to keep her growing smile off her face.</p> <p>"Then we'll see. I'll contact the containment team, and we'll sort out the details."</p> <p>"Thanks, Graham."</p> <p>Yesenia turned to leave before Graham stopped her.</p> <p>"Jane, before you go…"</p> <p>"Yes?"</p> <p>Graham ponders for a minute, his eyes darting between his monitor and the door.</p> <p>"Never mind."</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <hr/> <div class="document"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h4 id="toc0"><span><strong>OPERATION: Insurer's Regret</strong></span></h4> </div> <hr/> <div class="scp-image-block block-center" style="width:100%;"><img alt="chicago.jpg" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/insurer-s-regret/chicago.jpg"/> <div class="scp-image-caption"> <p>Aerial View of Chicago, Illinois</p> </div> </div> <hr/> <p><strong>Location:</strong> Chicago, Illinois</p> <p><strong>Mission Objective:</strong> Locate and retrieve all anomalous items from "<em>The Herders.</em>"</p> <p><strong>Background Information:</strong> "<em>The Herders</em>" is a local crime ring specializing in organized theft and contracted crime. According to reports supplied by MC&D, they have obstructed and rerouted one of their supply lines, collecting an unknown assortment of anomalous items and phenomena.<span class="fnnum">.</span><span class="fncon">All mentions of the anomalous items stolen were redacted by MC&D. They have declined to give further details about the contents of their shipments.</span></p> <p>According to MC&D, they have utilized these supplies to hide from MC&D operatives, requiring Foundation intervention.<span class="fnnum">.</span><span class="fncon">See Section IV.3 of the MC&D Terms and Conditions of Alliance.</span></p> <p><strong>Additional Notes:</strong> This operation also serves as another field test for SCP-4051 at the request of Dr. Jane Yesenia. Dr. Yesenia will operate as Site Command with SCP-4051, functioning to de-escalate SCP-4051 if it goes rogue again.</p> <p>The rest of the operative team accompanying SCP-4051 is yet to be determined.</p> <hr/></div> <hr/> <p>"I hear you're making a team."</p> <p>Dr. Yesenia turned to see a shadowy figure walk out of the shadows in the corner of the room. She jumped back and fell to the ground, clutching her heart, taking quick, shallow breaths.</p> <p>"W-what? Who the fuck are you?!"</p> <p>"I am known as… <span class="shadow"><span style="font-size:large;"><strong><a href="/scp-4494">THE SPECTER</a></strong></span></span>!"</p> <p>A boom of thunder reverberated through the room. <span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span> paused for dramatic effect while Yesenia struggled to compose herself. <span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span> continued.</p> <p>"I am the concept of justice made flesh! The force that guides you to a conscience! And I want to join your operation," he smirked righteously.</p> <p>Dr. Yesenia brought herself to her feet and brushed herself off.</p> <p>"Operation? Are you not gonna hurt me?"</p> <p>"Hurt you? Depends. Are you evil?"</p> <p>"No?"</p> <p>"Then no harm will come to you. Not while I'm around. Rainer's on this mission, right? I hope this isn't the wrong room."</p> <p>"Yes? What is it that you want?"</p> <p>"Look, I've been watching the kid, and he's got potential. There's not a lot of people with such a strong sense of me, and even fewer that can do anything with it."</p> <p>"Well, look, uh-"</p> <p>"<span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span>"</p> <p>Another lightning bolt struck through the sky, followed by a crash of thunder.</p> <p>"Well, <span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span>, I-"</p> <p>Dr. Yesenia starts to cough from the unexpected raspiness of her voice. Another bolt of lightning thunders throughout the site.</p> <p>"Yeah, you've got to say my name like that. You don't have to say it, though."</p> <p>"I'll have to run it through some people, probably. But I can try."</p> <p>"Don't we all. Goodbye, doctor. We'll meet again at the rendezvous point. Until then."</p> <p>"How do you know-"</p> <p><span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span> moved towards a window and opened it, allowing the brisk, cold air into the room. He leaped onto the windowsill, tipped his hat, and jumped off. Another crack of lightning bellowed through the sky, announcing his departure. Dr. Yesenia looked out the window, with no sign of <span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span> in sight. She massaged her temples with her fingers. Great. Even <em>thinking</em> his name was enough to trigger the effect.</p> <p>Graham's voice crackled onto the Site's loudspeaker as she closed the window.</p> <p>"<tt>Attention, staff. A meteorological anomaly seems to be present on-site, causing cloud-less lightning. Please check all available anomalies in containment for any signs of breach. Security has been bumped to Level 2. Thank you.</tt>"</p> <p>Yesenia sighed and sat down. This was the hardest part. Her throat tightened as she prepared herself.</p> <p>She had to wake Rainer up.</p> <hr/> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="document"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h4 id="toc1"><span><strong>OPERATION: Insurer's Regret, Cont.</strong></span></h4> </div> <hr/> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="xtra-div-3"> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>TRANSCRIPT</strong></p> <hr/> <p><strong>Location:</strong> Site-17, Infirmary Room #2<br/> <strong>Context:</strong> Dr. Yesenia is waking SCP-4051 from its medically induced coma for use in OPERATION: Insurer's Regret.</p> <hr/> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>«BEGIN LOG»</strong></p> <p><em>(Dr. Yesenia is sitting next to SCP-4051. The room is surrounded by reality anchors to dispel SCP-4051's wormholes. A nurse and two armed guards stand around SCP-4051's bed.)</em></p> <p><em>(SCP-4051 audibly groans, rising up from his cot. He rubs his eyes, pronouncing the bags under them.)</em></p> <p><strong>SCP-4051:</strong> (groggily) What? Mom? Is that you?</p> <p><em>(Dr. Yesenia bites her tongue.)</em></p> <p><strong>Dr. Yesenia:</strong> SCP-4051? It's Jane. You had a bad injury from your last mission. How're you feeling?</p> <p><strong>SCP-4051:</strong> (yawns) Tired? Why is-</p> <p><em>(SCP-4051 notices the guards.)</em></p> <p><strong>SCP-4051:</strong> Why are there so many people? Did I do something?</p> <p><strong>Dr. Yesenia:</strong> (worriedly) No, no! You didn't do anything wrong! It's just that… another mission was selected for you already, and we need to move.</p> <p><strong>SCP-4051:</strong> Oh, does this mean I passed? I thought I failed because I went against y'all.</p> <p><strong>Dr. Yesenia:</strong> Yeah, but they were willing to overlook most of it.</p> <p><strong>SCP-4051:</strong> (panicked) Wait, how's Morgan? Are they okay? How's their arm?</p> <p><em>(Dr. Yesenia darts her eyes towards the nurse and guards. The nurse held a syringe of Class-A amnestics in her right hand, while the guards hover their hands next to their waist.)</em></p> <p><strong>Dr. Yesenia:</strong> They're… in recovery. But, we've found another someone for you to work with.</p> <p><span class="shadow"><strong>SCP-4494:</strong></span> Someone? Or something?</p> <p><em>(<span class="shadow"><strong>SCP-4494</strong></span> appears in the room behind SCP-4051. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a business card, handing it to SCP-4051.)</em></p> <p><span class="shadow"><strong>SCP-4494:</strong></span> <span class="shadow"><span style="font-size:large;"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span></span>, your partner in crime-fighting. We'll take out these thugs before they can even notice the cold breath of justice breathing down their neck. That's what breath mints do, right?</p> <p><em>(A crack of lightning is heard through the site. One of the guards silently motions over to Dr. Yesenia towards <span class="shadow"><strong>SCP-4494</strong></span>. Yesenia glares at the guard and shakes her hand. The guard tenses and watches <span class="shadow"><strong>SCP-4494</strong></span> out of the corner of his eye.)</em></p> <p><strong>SCP-4051:</strong> Uh, Ms. Jane? Who is this?</p> <p><strong>Dr. Yesenia:</strong> Director Graham didn't want to risk any personnel on this mission, so we're accepting volunteers.</p> <p><span class="shadow"><strong>SCP-4494:</strong></span> Don't worry Rainer! You and I will make a great team!</p> <p><em>(SCP-4051 side eyes <span class="shadow"><strong>SCP-4494</strong></span> and tightens his grip on his bedsheets.)</em></p> <p><strong>SCP-4051:</strong> Could I have something to eat? Or like a water or something?</p> <p><em>(SCP-4051's voice falls as he avoids eye contact with the nurse and guards. The nurse gets up and leaves the room.)</em></p> <p><strong>Dr. Yesenia:</strong> Of course, Rainer. We'll give you a moment. Just let me know when you're ready.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>«END LOG»</strong></p> <hr/> <p><strong>Note:</strong> SCP-4051 has been successfully awakened under the belief that his coma resulted from injuries from his prior mission rather than being forced under. It should be noted that SCP-4051 has been used prior to this mission; however, Class-A amnestics have kept him both compliant with Foundation demands and unlikely to retaliate.</p> </div> </div> <hr/> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>It was a cloudy afternoon in Chicago. Rainer and <span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span> hid in the bushes, watching a development in the parking lot. A group of three men had tied a driver down to a nearby pole and were questioning them for every piece of information they were worth.</p> <p>"How do you not know? Who do you work for?! Where are you getting these things?"</p> <p>The truck driver was severely beaten and bruised, their face leaving an imprint on the cold, uncaring concrete.</p> <p>"I don't know! I was just told to ship them here!"</p> <p>The man stepped back from the driver and huddled with their team, quickly discussing what to do next. When they finished, they turned to their hostage.</p> <p>"Alright, boys, we can't get nothin' else from this one. Box him."</p> <p>One of the men, the shorter of the bunch, retrieved a long cardboard box from the back of the truck, large enough to fit a person. The other two lifted the hostage in their air, who screamed for help. When Rainer turned to <span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span>, he was gone. As he looked around the bushes for him, he saw the <span class="shadow"><strong>THE KNIGHT OF JUSTICE</strong></span> perched atop the open truck.</p> <p>"Stop! Release him or taste my fists!"</p> <p>The men stood stunned at the figure before them, bewildered. In a flash, <span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span> kicked the men holding the hostage down. While on the ground, they grabbed <span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span>'s foot, causing him to fall flat on his back. The man holding the box jumped toward the hostage and forced him in. He closed the lid, shook it, then opened it again, dumping its contents on the ground. Nothing came out. The man turned, setting his eyes on <span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span>. The man began to approach him from behind. Rainer, watching from afar, jumped up and ran to his partner’s aid.</p> <p>"Jane?! The box made the driver fucking disappear! THE SPECTER is fighting them now, I'm moving in to help."</p> <p>"Wait, Rainer, we need to follow them to their base of operations. Please don't engage–”</p> <p>A flash of lightning hit a light pole near the hostage, spooking the gang members. They ran for a nearby van, with <span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span> in pursuit. He grappled one of the gang members, but fell to the ground, shaken off. Rainer moved in, waving his arms to catch his partner's attention.</p> <p>"<span class="shadow"><strong>SPECTER</strong></span>, stop! Don't fight them!"</p> <p>Another flash of lightning hit the base of the pole. It careened down towards the men, narrowly missing them. <span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span> stopped and looked back at Rainer quizzically. The van peeled off, disappearing from sight. Rainer began to run but stopped, opening a wormhole. He pulled out an electric scooter and placed it on the ground.</p> <p>"Hop on! We're following them!"</p> <p><span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span> climbed on the back of the scooter. The pair followed the van at a distance where they couldn't be seen. As they rode, the first few drops of rain began to fall.</p> <hr/> <p>Rainer and <span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span> stood in a hidden alleyway between the warehouse the windowless van disappeared into and a local bowling alley. The van had entered the warehouse and parked inside. <span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span> went up to a side door illuminated by a flickering incandescent light bulb. His gloved hand grasped the cold metal doorknob and tried to turn it, clicking when he found the door locked.</p> <p>"Looks like we're busting through."</p> <p><span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span> raised his foot, but before he could kick down the door, Rainer quickly grabbed his leg.</p> <p>"No, no, no. We can't just burst in. We need a plan."</p> <p>"Come on, we can take them. Just make a fireball, or, like, the embodiment of pure force, and we can knock them out in no time."</p> <p>"I can't do those kinds of things. Do you think they might fail me if there's too much of a mess?"</p> <p>"Well, you can't be a vigilante without breaking a few rules. But if you want to infiltrate the complex, we'll do that. What's the plan?"</p> <p>"Oh, uh-"</p> <p>Rainer stared at the ground, occasionally scratching his head.</p> <p>"Maybe we can go in, find where they keep all their anomalies, and try to get them out. I can make some kind of infini-cube, and the clean-up crew can take off the rest."</p> <p>"Well, that's not as fun as I would've hoped."</p> <p>"But it would be simple. It's low stakes; no one has to get hurt, and that's basically a free pass. We can go harder on the next assignment," he suggested.</p> <p>Rainer pulled out two cloaks from his wormhole and passed one to <span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span>. They put them on, and both disappeared from the other's sight.</p> <p>"Oh, invisibility! Nice thinking!"</p> <p>"Shhh, keep it quiet."</p> <p>Rainer removed his arm from the cloak and opened another wormhole, pulling out a lockpick. He moved to the door, picking away at it until it opened with a slight creak. He and <span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span> moved into the warehouse, closing the door behind them.</p> <hr/> <p>Inside the warehouse, the van they’d followed was parked at the center of the room. Its contents were being unloaded and opened as people tinkered with them, trying to figure out what each item did. The smell of burnt sulfur and unwashed dreams lingered in the air as they went through all the boxes, leaving the packaging littered on the floor like kids on Christmas day.</p> <p>While few were of note, like the concept-forcing paintings or the refrigerated coats, others were kept, pocketed by the thieves. Anti-gravity weight belts to sleep-inducing pillows, anything of use. They chatted, coming up with ways they could use these items in future crimes.</p> <p>"Hey man, look at this one. Lipstick called "The Kiss of Death." This'll be great for assassinations. What's you'res?"</p> <p>"*Yours. I don't think these glasses are doing anything for me. I just feel more pretentious. Maybe a bit smarter?"</p> <p>"So you think you're smart, eh?"</p> <p>The two men turned to see a humanoid in a suit walking towards them. It had a magnifying glass in place of its head. They snatched the glasses off of their subordinate's eyes, trying to put on the glasses. The arms poked into his glass, futile.</p> <p>"Oh, right. Well, if they're not weapons, put 'em in the other room with the rest. As for everyone else, stand guard. I'm expecting the contractor to come here looking for all this stuff, so once you make sure it's them and they're not budging, get 'em. Got it?"</p> <p><span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span> leaned towards Rainer and whispered into his ear.</p> <p>"Looks like that guy is in charge of the place. Seems like the brains. Got that unmistakable inquisitive look on his face."</p> <p>"Inquisitive? What face?!"</p> <p>Rainer heard a slight crackle in his earpiece. Yesenia’s voice came through.</p> <p>"Rainer, how's it looking?"</p> <p>"I think there's an anomaly running the place? Got a magnifying glass for a head, said there would be somebody to pick up the anomalies later."</p> <p>"So you need to move in now. Keep going. I'm keeping tabs."</p> <p>Rainer peeked over the boxes, giving him cover towards the door on the other side of the room. A sheet of printer paper was taped to the door labeled, "PUT THEM IN HERE (please)." An arm landed on his shoulder. Rainer silently jumped, turning to see <span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span>'s floating head behind him.</p> <p>"What're you doing? Put your cloak back on."</p> <p>"It's tough to see when your head is invisible."</p> <p><span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span> followed Rainer's previous line of sight and landed on the door.</p> <p>"So we're still going with covert and quiet, right?"</p> <p>"Yeah, put your cloak back on and follow me."</p> <p>Rainer emerged from behind the boxes and moved his way across the room. He crept along the dusty concrete floor, carefully avoiding bumping into anyone. Rainer glanced over his shoulder to check on <span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span> but didn't see him anywhere. He faced forward and smacked the side of his fist into his forehead. Invisible, he thought, We're both invisible.</p> <p>Not looking forward, Rainer tripped over his feet and fell to the ground. Before he could get up, he heard shouting all around him. Rainer looked around feverishly to find his cloak nested around his feet. As he struggled to get up, <span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span> leaped in front of Rainer, revealing himself to the gang.</p> <p>"Alright, punks! Come and get it!"</p> <p>Before <span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span> could uppercut the nearest foe, a voice rang out calling everyone to stop.</p> <p>"Hold your fire, everyone. I think we got off on the wrong track."</p> <p>Glasshead walked forward towards Rainer and <span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span> with his right hand outstretched.</p> <p>"You two seem to have similar conditions to me. Portals and Batman. Can I call you that?"</p> <p>Rainer took a small step back. "Who are you? What are you doing?"</p> <p>"You want to ask questions? I'd be happy to answer them if you stopped doing whatever it is that you're doing. We can sort this out, negotiation style."</p> <p>One of the men from the back recognized <span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span> and yelled, "Ey, boss, that's the guy with the lightning from earlier!"</p> <p>The boss turned to <span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span>, his facial expressions casting only a reflection. "Hey, Portals, could you call off your lightning friend here? You gave my men a real spook earlier."</p> <p>Rainer signaled to <span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span> not to engage, and he reluctantly took his hand off of his waist, eyeing the man up and down.</p> <p>"Why are you willing to talk this out? Aren't you criminals?"</p> <p>"I mean, yeah, but I prefer to ask questions first and kill you later. You guys are in the same boat as me, what with your… abnormalities. Who's to say we can't talk this out?"</p> <p>Rainer slightly relaxed his guard. "We're here because… we need to take back everything you stole. You can't keep them."</p> <p><span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span> cocked his fists, beckoning them to fight.</p> <p>"Oh, sure, you can have that when I'm done with them. You're with the contractor, right?"</p> <p>"We're with the arms of the law, glasshead!"</p> <p>Glasshead raised his hands to calm <span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span> down. "Woah, calm down there. We can talk this out. If you're with the contractor, then I have a few questions before we do anything. First off, who do you work for?"</p> <p>Rainer grew nervous as the glare of Glasshead's head shone into his eyes. "We really can't say."</p> <p>The glasshead's plastic frame bent slightly. "Can't say? Come on, I'm sure there's something you can say. Some piece of information. I just want to know where you got these…" He paused, gesturing at the misshapen pile of anomalous objects. "These impossibilities. Anything, I'm only asking questions."</p> <p>"I think it's best if you didn't know. Now, we need to take these back…," Rainer defensively took a step backward, "And we'll get out of your hair."</p> <p>Glasshead tilted and shook his head. "Unwilling to answer questions, huh? Well, ask questions first, kill you now, I suppose. Men!"</p> <p>The gang surrounded the duo, all equipped with various stolen anomalous items.</p> <p>"Finally, some action!" <span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span> charged at the herd of men, aiming his punches towards their ribs and faces. He danced around them, knocking them down before they could even turn around.</p> <p>Glasshead stepped back, grabbing items from the pile and throwing them to his subordinates. Cans of military-grade silly string, a rubbery metal bat, and a tennis ball machine.</p> <p>"Boss, what're we supposed to do with this?"</p> <p>"Use them! I'm not losing the biggest jackpot of the century to some kid and a cosplayer!"</p> <p>Rainer summoned a bowling ball from one of his wormholes and positioned it above someone's head, causing them to collapse to the ground unconscious.</p> <p>Two criminals sent ropes of silly string flying towards <span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span>, wrapping it around his arms. He struggled, grasping for the strings with his free hands. <span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span> grabbed tight and pulled down, wrenching the cans out of their hands. He swung his arms, the still-connected cans colliding with their skulls like makeshift mini-bowling balls.</p> <p>As Rainer supported <span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span> with a flurry of wormholes, Glasshead snuck up behind him with the metal bat and swung, crashing it into the side of his skull. Rainer flew across the floor. Disoriented, he looked up to see Glasshead slowly walking up to him. Rainer threw out his hand, trying to open another wormhole. Glasshead brought the bat behind his circular head and swung. It stretched like rubber as it came down, landing with an echoing crack on Rainer’s hand. Rainer raised his hand again, only causing Glasshead to target it once more.</p> <p>"I'm still willing to ask questions, you know? I'm still willing to negotiate."</p> <p>Glasshead approached Rainer, continuously aiming for his limbs until he fell to the ground.</p> <p>"So tell me, who do you work for? Where do these things come from? I just want to know."</p> <p>Rainer lay on the floor, clutching his legs in pain. He groaned out the only response he could. "I don't know."</p> <p>Glasshead stood above Rainer, squatting down to see his face. "Wrong answer."</p> <p>He stood up, winding up the bat again before getting sideswiped by <span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span>. The resulting impact jolted the bat through a portion of Glasshead's face, scattering glass shards across the floor. He immediately dropped to his knees to search for the fragments and to reapply them to his face.</p> <p>"You 'kay, partner?"</p> <p>"Yeah, for now. Go fight them. I'm calling for backup."</p> <p>"Got it."</p> <p><span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span> turned around and ran back into the midst of the hand-to-hand combat that came naturally to him. Rainer tapped on his earpiece and called for backup.</p> <hr/> <p>"Graham? Graham! You need to call an MTF to the scene, they need backup!"</p> <p>Yesenia heard Graham's voice come out, as sarcastic and slimy as ever.</p> <p>"Backup? But I thought you said he could handle it. Do you mean to tell me this operation was a failure?"</p> <p>"Graham. I do not have the time for this. Call backup. Chicago, warehouse near the corner of Bellwether and 2nd Avenue."</p> <p>"I will, I will. If you agree to never step out of line again."</p> <p>"What?"</p> <p>"Jane, I'm sure by now you've realized what's going on. Conducting an operation on a weekend night? No back-up personnel in sight? You agreed that this would be the last time you stick your neck out for this kid, and I want to make sure it is. How does it feel to lose against the odds?"</p> <p>Yesenia bit her tongue in unprecedented anger. "Graham, is there help on the way or not?"</p> <p>"Depends. Do you admit you lost?"</p> <p>Her breath was caught in her throat. She knew Graham was bad, but this was… was…</p> <p>Her fingers cracked as she balled her hand into a fist. Graham's voice continuously taunted from the other line.</p> <p>"Hello? Do you want to save the kid or not? Time's ticking. Tick tick. Tock tick."</p> <p>"Fine, the test was a failure. Just send someone, now! Anyone!"</p> <p>Graham cackled from the other line, his voice so loud Yesenia had to pull the receiver away from her ear.</p> <p>"Ha! Heh, heh. I already sent one, told them to shadow your operation and move in when you couldn't handle it."</p> <p>Before Yesenia could respond, Graham ended the call, leaving her in her silence. Rainer's voice came through the monitor, weak and coughing.</p> <p>"<tt>Ms. Jane… did I pass the test?</tt>"</p> <p>"Don't worry, Rainer, help is on the way."</p> <p>"<tt>That means I failed, doesn't it?</tt>"</p> <p>"No, no, it-"</p> <p>Dr. Yesenia stopped, the words stuck in her throat.</p> <p>"<tt>Failed again, huh?</tt>"</p> <p>"No… no, you can still pass the test. You just need to prove you're useful."</p> <p>"<tt>But I failed last time because I didn't follow orders.</tt>"</p> <p>"Well, I'm head of the operation right now, and I'll vouch for you. Whatever it takes, you need to prove your worth. It's the only thing that'll change his mind."</p> <p>"You got this, Rainer. Knock 'em dead."</p> <hr/> <p>Two people sat in a surveillance van across the street from the warehouse. Their van sat in the corner of an empty parking lot as they watched the chaos unfold. The passenger spoke first.</p> <p>"Bigger guns are on the way. Looks like they're going to win."</p> <p>The driver pulled a remote out of their pocket and pointed it towards the warehouse.</p> <p>"That's why we always have a backup plan."</p> <p>The driver pressed a button on the remote.</p> <p>"We have about five minutes before it goes off. Let's get out of here."</p> <p>The van pulled out of the lot and drove away, passing another unmarked van making its way to the warehouse.</p> <hr/> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> Rainer pushed himself off the ground and turned his bruised body towards <span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span>, who was determined to knock out every gang member his fists landed on. Rainer picked himself off the floor and glanced at Glasshead, who was hunched over, collecting the last bits of his broken face.</p> <p>Glasshead soon gave up trying to stick his face together and began digging through the pile for some miraculous solution, ignoring the quiet, rhythmic beeps originating from the center.</p> <p>There had to be some kind of helpful weapon they had accidentally put in there, right?</p> <p>Rainer and <span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span> fought off the remaining members of <em>The Herders</em>. <span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span> launched a barrage of surprise attacks to distract the gang members from Rainer coming behind and tying them up.</p> <p>"Is that everyone?" Rainer asked.</p> <p>Glasshead climbed the heap, holding a standard pistol in his hand. He pointed it toward Rainer and <span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span> and yelled at the top of his lungs.</p> <p>"It's my turn to ask questions! Will you die?!"</p> <p>Rainer and <span class="shadow"><strong>THE SPECTER</strong></span> faced Glasshead, ready and primed.</p> <p>"Ready?"</p> <p>"Ready."</p> <p>Then the pile detonated.</p> <hr/> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="document"> <hr/> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h4 id="toc2"><span><strong>OPERATION: Insurer's Regret, Cont.</strong></span></h4> </div> <hr/> <div class="scp-image-block block-right" style="width:50%;"><img alt="Hurricane_Gilbert_-_Damaged_warehouse.JPEG" class="image" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Hurricane_Gilbert_-_Damaged_warehouse.JPEG"/> <div class="scp-image-caption"> <p>"<em>The Herder's</em>" warehouse, post-operation.</p> </div> </div> <p><strong>Results:</strong> Shortly after the explosion caused by a buildup of anomalous energy, MTF Pi-1 (“City Slickers”) caught and amnestisized the remaining members of "The Herders". All anomalous items meant to be retrieved were subsequently lost in the explosion.</p> <p><span class="shadow"><strong>SCP-4494</strong></span> aided MTF Pi-1 in managing the remaining threats and requested that SCP-4051 be treated quickly.</p> <p>Upon admission into Site-17, SCP-4051 was placed into a medically induced coma as per their containment protocol. Director T. Graham later reprimanded Dr. Jane Yesenia for her handling of the operation.</p> <p>The containment protocol for SCP-4051 was revised to allow the removal of their coma only after explicit permission from the site director.</p> <p>The following is a post-operation call with Director Graham from the Department of Legal Affairs.</p> <div class="xtra-div-3"> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>TRANSCRIPT</strong></p> <hr/> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>«BEGIN LOG»</strong></p> <p><strong>Graham:</strong> Hello?</p> <p><strong>Bohem:</strong> Hello, this is Cryst Bohem from the Department of Legal Affairs. Am I speaking to the director of Site-17?</p> <p><strong>Graham:</strong> This is him.</p> <p><strong>Bohem:</strong> Ah, Director Graham. We have given you purview over what you have in your files as "Insurer's Regret." Otherwise known as the fulfillment of the insurance agreement between ourselves and <em>Marshall, Carter, & Dark</em>, yes?</p> <p><strong>Graham:</strong> Yes?</p> <p><strong>Bohem:</strong> Good. According to these reports, your team has failed to retrieve the stolen assets and, if I'm reading this right, also caused an <em>anomalous explosion in downtown Chicago</em>. Is this also right?</p> <p><strong>Graham:</strong> Yes, but-</p> <p><strong>Bohem:</strong> Director Graham, don't worry. Property damage to the public sphere is pretty regular here. What isn't regular are the consequences for failing to fulfill half of this legal contract.</p> <p><strong>Graham:</strong> Legal contract?</p> <p><strong>Bohem:</strong> You've read the emails, haven't you? This was a low-risk assignment, something even the local police could've handled. We feel it was only fair to pass on the financial burden of our team's consequences to your site.</p> <p><strong>Graham:</strong> Surely it shouldn't cost that much to replace all those items. I don't know what the big deal is.</p> <p><strong>Bohem:</strong> The <em>problem</em>, Graham, is that the place <em>exploded</em>. That means we can't know what it is that we have to replace. That means nothing could be salvaged; we need to make everything from scratch, and we're completely relying on MC&D to tell us what to give them.</p> <p>Naturally, replacing things we can't reverse engineer will cost us a lot of money. Money that will be pulled from your site's annual budget. The Department of Accounting will contact you with an estimated figure on what will be reduced, hopefully by the end of the following month. If not, you'll have to be frugal with your spending because we're not making any promises.</p> <p><strong>Graham:</strong> But we're the second-largest site in the world! There has to be some upper limit for you to stop taking money from my budget.</p> <p><strong>Bohem:</strong> That's something you'll have to take up with Accounting. Thank you for your cooperation with this operation, Graham. You've been of no help.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>«END LOG»</strong></p> </div> <p>The Department of Accounting has estimated that approximately 50% of Site-17's annual budget, or $893 million, will be repurposed to provide insurance for MC&D. In response to these budget cuts, Site-17 has preemptively cut all non-essential divisions, downsized the cafeteria staff, and fired all on-site therapists.</p> <p>Minimal compensation was given.</p> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <hr/> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="email"> <div class="tofrom"> <p><strong>To:</strong> Marshall, Carter, Dark<br/> <strong>From:</strong> T. Randall, Head of the Dpt. of Relations, <em>MC&D</em><br/> <strong>Subject:</strong> Foundation Treaty Exploit - Success</p> </div> <hr/> <p>Dear Marshall, Carter, and Dark,</p> <p>The SCP Foundation has successfully failed to recover our "stolen" assets from the contracted third party. Per our agreement, they are contractually obligated to replicate the assets, to be defined at our discretion.</p> <p>Attached is an itemized list of assets MC&D would greatly benefit from acquiring at no extra cost.</p> <p>The Foundation is unaware of the nature of our decoy assets, so they expect an answer soon to fulfill their end of the contract.</p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p><em>-Sr. Manager T. Randall</em><br/> <em>Head of Dept. of Relations</em></p> </div> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="email"> <div class="tofrom"> <p><strong>To:</strong> T. Randall, Marshall, Dark<br/> <strong>From:</strong> Carter<br/> <strong>Subject:</strong> RE: Foundation Treaty Exploit - Success</p> </div> <hr/> <p>Excellent.</p> <p>We have selected items two through six, 17, 22, and 11 from the list. Pad the list with simple anomalous items to distract attention from the main five.</p> <p>We will talk soon about potential rewards for this project.</p> <p>Keep up the good work.</p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p><em>-Carter</em><br/> <em>Heads of Marshall, Carter, and Dark</em></p> </div> </div> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/insurer-s-regret">Insurer's Regret</a>" by CowscantgoMoo, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/insurer-s-regret">https://scpwiki.com/insurer-s-regret</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> chicago.jpg<br/> <strong>Name:</strong> Chicago bw.jpg<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> Daniel Schwen<br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC BY-SA 4.0<br/> <strong>Source Link:</strong> <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chicago_bw.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></p> </blockquote> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> warehouse.jpg<br/> <strong>Name:</strong> Hurricane Gilbert - Damaged warehouse.JPEG<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> TSGT Michael J. Haggerty, U.S. Air Force<br/> <strong>License:</strong> Public Domain<br/> <strong>Source Link:</strong> <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hurricane_Gilbert_-_Damaged_warehouse.JPEG">Wikimedia Commons</a></p> </blockquote> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:black-highlighter-theme">:scp-wiki:theme:black-highlighter-theme</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:midnight-rush">:scp-wiki:theme:midnight-rush</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:betterfootnotes">:scp-wiki:component:betterfootnotes</a>]] [[module CSS]] :root { --header-title: "SITE-17"; --header-subtitle: "The Deepwell Catalog"; --logo-image: url("https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/secure-facilities-locations/Site-17.svg"); } .email-example .collapsible-block-folded a.collapsible-block-link { animation: blink 0.8s ease-in-out infinite alternate; } @keyframes blink { 0% { color: transparent; } 50%, 100% { color: #b01; } } .email {border: solid 2px #000000; width: 88%; padding: 1px 15px; margin: 10px; box-shadow: 0 1px 3px rgba(0,0,0,.5)} .email-example a.collapsible-block-link {font-weight: bold;} .tofrom {margin-left: 10px; margin-top: 5px; padding: 1px 15px; border-left: solid 3px purple} @import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Ruslan+Display'); .shadow { font-family: 'Ruslan Display', cursive; font-size: 110%; } .fncon { background: #2b2b2b !important; } [[/module]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:info-ayers">:scp-wiki:component:info-ayers</a> \|lang=en \|page=insurer's-regret \|authorPage=https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/cowscantgomoo \|comments= = Insurer's Regret ]] [[>]] [[module rate]] [[/>]] [[div style="text-align: right; margin-top: -20px;"]] [[size 80%]]##757575\|by CowscantgoMoo##[[/size]] [[/div]] [[div class="email"]] [[div class="tofrom"]] To: SCP Foundation, //Dpt. of Legal Affairs// From: MC&D, //Dpt. of Relations// Subject: Insurance Request - Foundation Treaty [[/div]] ------ Dear SCP Foundation, As per Section IV.3 of our combined Agreement, //Marshall, Carter, & Dark// require the Foundation's services as insurance militia. By the end of the fiscal quarter, the insurer (The SCP Foundation) must deliver the lost items back to the insured (Marshall, Carter, & Dark) via the Department of Delivery. In the event that the insurer is unable to deliver the assets back to the insured, then the insurer must replicate, to the best of their ability, the stolen or damaged assets to be returned to the insured by the end of the next fiscal year. Failure to fulfill these obligations will be marked as a violation of this Agreement and reported to the Court of Higher Appeals. We remind The Foundation that they are currently indebted to the insured after requesting information and receiving assistance regarding AO-546732. Further information regarding the details of the lost assets is attached below. We hope that you are up to the task. [[>]] //[[[marshall-carter-and-dark-hub\|- Marshall, Carter, & Dark]]]// //Dept. of Relations// [[/>]] [[/div]] @@@@ ------ @@ @@ Dr. Yesenia moved swiftly through the hallways of Site-17, avoiding the eyes of anyone she happened to walk past. Being one of the only on-site therapists available, she had to conduct weekly sessions with several humanoid anomalies, pushing for changes to their containment that no one would bother to read, all with a smile on her face. Well, a smile isn't necessary. She could look just as cold and uncaring as everyone else in the halls, unable to display an ounce of emotion to even a passerby. She walked silently to the infirmary, collecting medical records she had finally gotten clearance to read before seeing him. Rainer Miller rested in a corner of the room, hidden out of sight. He was hooked up to a combination of machines, keeping him in a perpetual coma. Next to him was a tag, covered in dust from the months it'd been untouched. "[[[SCP-4051]]], Object Class: Keter" Dr. Yesenia stood there watching Rainer, lamenting over how she was unable to– "Excuse me, what are you doing back there?" Yesenia turned to see one of the nurses standing behind her with an annoyed look on their face. "You don't have clearance for that. I need you to leave." "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to–" The nurse motioned their head towards the door. She quickly grabbed her papers and left, making a mental note to meet with the Site Director and try again. @@ @@ ------ @@ @@ Site Director Graham sat at his desk, sifting through e-mails. He skimmed the subject lines, hoping to pick out something important from the sea of pointless forwards and replies. As is the burden of the Site Director. He was interrupted by a knock on his door, which he was careful to ignore. It was then succeeded by another knock, then a third and the door opened. "Director Graham, you haven't responded to my e-mails about Rain– SCP-4051. If I could have a moment of your time?" Graham looked up to see the site's therapist standing in his doorway. "Jane, that anomaly is in inactive containment. You shouldn't be so bothered about something that is entirely none of your concern." Graham watched as Jane tightened her grip around the doorknob and made direct eye contact. He leaned back in his chair to hear Jane's complaints. "Director… I think that this unwarranted fear of 4051 is-" "What, unwarranted? [[[the-beast-beneath-the-library\|It had the power to destroy walls!]]] I'd hardly call our containment measures 'unwarranted.'" "He was still aligned to the Foundation's cause! Does he need to prove himself again to you?" "Jane. He deliberately acted against our orders. He's not with us; he works for himself. What would another test prove?" "It'd prove that he's still willing to help!" "Being willing to help and being helpful are not the same thing." A moment of silence passed between the two. Yesenia stood there in a combination of shock and repressed anger. Graham paid her no mind as he continued to sift through his e-mails. Finally, she broke the silence. "I can take this higher, you know." Graham didn't look up from his monitor. "I've heard the talk on-site of what the Ethics Committee thinks of you. I'm sure another report would help them plenty." Graham stayed still for a moment before clicking on another e-mail and responding. "Ethics Committee investigations take a while. I can't guarantee you'll keep your placement in Site-17 during that time." "I'll do what I have to." Yesenia heard a few mouse clicks as Graham contemplated his next move. She turned to see his printer beep and whir. "One more test. If he fails, he stays in that coma. Permanently." "And if he passes?" Yesenia fought to keep her growing smile off her face. "Then we'll see. I'll contact the containment team, and we'll sort out the details." "Thanks, Graham." Yesenia turned to leave before Graham stopped her. "Jane, before you go…" "Yes?" Graham ponders for a minute, his eyes darting between his monitor and the door. "Never mind." @@ @@ ------ [[div class="document"]] [[=]] ++++ OPERATION: Insurer's Regret [[/=]] ---- [[include <a href="/component:image-block">component:image-block</a> \| name= chicago.jpg \| caption=Aerial View of Chicago, Illinois \| width=100% \| align=center]] ------ Location: Chicago, Illinois Mission Objective: Locate and retrieve all anomalous items from "//The Herders.//" Background Information: "//The Herders//" is a local crime ring specializing in organized theft and contracted crime. According to reports supplied by MC&D, they have obstructed and rerouted one of their supply lines, collecting an unknown assortment of anomalous items and phenomena.[[span class="fnnum"]].[[/span]][[span class="fncon"]]All mentions of the anomalous items stolen were redacted by MC&D. They have declined to give further details about the contents of their shipments.[[/span]] According to MC&D, they have utilized these supplies to hide from MC&D operatives, requiring Foundation intervention.[[span class="fnnum"]].[[/span]][[span class="fncon"]]See Section IV.3 of the MC&D Terms and Conditions of Alliance.[[/span]] Additional Notes: This operation also serves as another field test for SCP-4051 at the request of Dr. Jane Yesenia. Dr. Yesenia will operate as Site Command with SCP-4051, functioning to de-escalate SCP-4051 if it goes rogue again. The rest of the operative team accompanying SCP-4051 is yet to be determined. ------ [[/div]] ------ "I hear you're making a team." Dr. Yesenia turned to see a shadowy figure walk out of the shadows in the corner of the room. She jumped back and fell to the ground, clutching her heart, taking quick, shallow breaths. "W-what? Who the fuck are you?!" "I am known as... [[span class="shadow"]][[size large]][[[SCP-4494\|THE SPECTER]]][[/size]][[/span]]!" A boom of thunder reverberated through the room. [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]] paused for dramatic effect while Yesenia struggled to compose herself. [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]] continued. "I am the concept of justice made flesh! The force that guides you to a conscience! And I want to join your operation," he smirked righteously. Dr. Yesenia brought herself to her feet and brushed herself off. "Operation? Are you not gonna hurt me?" "Hurt you? Depends. Are you evil?" "No?" "Then no harm will come to you. Not while I'm around. Rainer's on this mission, right? I hope this isn't the wrong room." "Yes? What is it that you want?" "Look, I've been watching the kid, and he's got potential. There's not a lot of people with such a strong sense of me, and even fewer that can do anything with it." "Well, look, uh-" "[[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]]" Another lightning bolt struck through the sky, followed by a crash of thunder. "Well, [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]], I-" Dr. Yesenia starts to cough from the unexpected raspiness of her voice. Another bolt of lightning thunders throughout the site. "Yeah, you've got to say my name like that. You don't have to say it, though." "I'll have to run it through some people, probably. But I can try." "Don't we all. Goodbye, doctor. We'll meet again at the rendezvous point. Until then." "How do you know-" [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]] moved towards a window and opened it, allowing the brisk, cold air into the room. He leaped onto the windowsill, tipped his hat, and jumped off. Another crack of lightning bellowed through the sky, announcing his departure. Dr. Yesenia looked out the window, with no sign of [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]] in sight. She massaged her temples with her fingers. Great. Even //thinking// his name was enough to trigger the effect. Graham's voice crackled onto the Site's loudspeaker as she closed the window. "{{Attention, staff. A meteorological anomaly seems to be present on-site, causing cloud-less lightning. Please check all available anomalies in containment for any signs of breach. Security has been bumped to Level 2. Thank you.}}" Yesenia sighed and sat down. This was the hardest part. Her throat tightened as she prepared herself. She had to wake Rainer up. ------ @@ @@ [[div class="document"]] [[=]] ++++ OPERATION: Insurer's Regret, Cont. [[/=]] ------ @@ @@ [[div class="xtra-div-3"]] = TRANSCRIPT ------ Location: Site-17, Infirmary Room #2 Context: Dr. Yesenia is waking SCP-4051 from its medically induced coma for use in OPERATION: Insurer's Regret. ------ = <<BEGIN LOG>> //(Dr. Yesenia is sitting next to SCP-4051. The room is surrounded by reality anchors to dispel SCP-4051's wormholes. A nurse and two armed guards stand around SCP-4051's bed.)// //(SCP-4051 audibly groans, rising up from his cot. He rubs his eyes, pronouncing the bags under them.)// SCP-4051: (groggily) What? Mom? Is that you? //(Dr. Yesenia bites her tongue.)// Dr. Yesenia: SCP-4051? It's Jane. You had a bad injury from your last mission. How're you feeling? SCP-4051: (yawns) Tired? Why is- //(SCP-4051 notices the guards.)// SCP-4051: Why are there so many people? Did I do something? Dr. Yesenia: (worriedly) No, no! You didn't do anything wrong! It's just that... another mission was selected for you already, and we need to move. SCP-4051: Oh, does this mean I passed? I thought I failed because I went against y'all. Dr. Yesenia: Yeah, but they were willing to overlook most of it. SCP-4051: (panicked) Wait, how's Morgan? Are they okay? How's their arm? //(Dr. Yesenia darts her eyes towards the nurse and guards. The nurse held a syringe of Class-A amnestics in her right hand, while the guards hover their hands next to their waist.)// Dr. Yesenia: They're... in recovery. But, we've found another someone for you to work with. [[span class="shadow"]]SCP-4494:[[/span]] Someone? Or something? //([[span class="shadow"]]SCP-4494[[/span]] appears in the room behind SCP-4051. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a business card, handing it to SCP-4051.)// [[span class="shadow"]]SCP-4494:[[/span]] [[span class="shadow"]][[size large]]THE SPECTER[[/size]][[/span]], your partner in crime-fighting. We'll take out these thugs before they can even notice the cold breath of justice breathing down their neck. That's what breath mints do, right? //(A crack of lightning is heard through the site. One of the guards silently motions over to Dr. Yesenia towards [[span class="shadow"]]SCP-4494[[/span]]. Yesenia glares at the guard and shakes her hand. The guard tenses and watches [[span class="shadow"]]SCP-4494[[/span]] out of the corner of his eye.)// SCP-4051: Uh, Ms. Jane? Who is this? Dr. Yesenia: Director Graham didn't want to risk any personnel on this mission, so we're accepting volunteers. [[span class="shadow"]]SCP-4494:[[/span]] Don't worry Rainer! You and I will make a great team! //(SCP-4051 side eyes [[span class="shadow"]]SCP-4494[[/span]] and tightens his grip on his bedsheets.)// SCP-4051: Could I have something to eat? Or like a water or something? //(SCP-4051's voice falls as he avoids eye contact with the nurse and guards. The nurse gets up and leaves the room.)// Dr. Yesenia: Of course, Rainer. We'll give you a moment. Just let me know when you're ready. = <<END LOG>> ------ Note: SCP-4051 has been successfully awakened under the belief that his coma resulted from injuries from his prior mission rather than being forced under. It should be noted that SCP-4051 has been used prior to this mission; however, Class-A amnestics have kept him both compliant with Foundation demands and unlikely to retaliate. [[/div]] [[/div]] ------ @@ @@ It was a cloudy afternoon in Chicago. Rainer and [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]] hid in the bushes, watching a development in the parking lot. A group of three men had tied a driver down to a nearby pole and were questioning them for every piece of information they were worth. "How do you not know? Who do you work for?! Where are you getting these things?" The truck driver was severely beaten and bruised, their face leaving an imprint on the cold, uncaring concrete. "I don't know! I was just told to ship them here!" The man stepped back from the driver and huddled with their team, quickly discussing what to do next. When they finished, they turned to their hostage. "Alright, boys, we can't get nothin' else from this one. Box him." One of the men, the shorter of the bunch, retrieved a long cardboard box from the back of the truck, large enough to fit a person. The other two lifted the hostage in their air, who screamed for help. When Rainer turned to [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]], he was gone. As he looked around the bushes for him, he saw the [[span class="shadow"]]THE KNIGHT OF JUSTICE[[/span]] perched atop the open truck. "Stop! Release him or taste my fists!" The men stood stunned at the figure before them, bewildered. In a flash, [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]] kicked the men holding the hostage down. While on the ground, they grabbed [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]]'s foot, causing him to fall flat on his back. The man holding the box jumped toward the hostage and forced him in. He closed the lid, shook it, then opened it again, dumping its contents on the ground. Nothing came out. The man turned, setting his eyes on [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]]. The man began to approach him from behind. Rainer, watching from afar, jumped up and ran to his partner’s aid. "Jane?! The box made the driver fucking disappear! THE SPECTER is fighting them now, I'm moving in to help." "Wait, Rainer, we need to follow them to their base of operations. Please don't engage–” A flash of lightning hit a light pole near the hostage, spooking the gang members. They ran for a nearby van, with [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]] in pursuit. He grappled one of the gang members, but fell to the ground, shaken off. Rainer moved in, waving his arms to catch his partner's attention. "[[span class="shadow"]]SPECTER[[/span]], stop! Don't fight them!" Another flash of lightning hit the base of the pole. It careened down towards the men, narrowly missing them. [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]] stopped and looked back at Rainer quizzically. The van peeled off, disappearing from sight. Rainer began to run but stopped, opening a wormhole. He pulled out an electric scooter and placed it on the ground. "Hop on! We're following them!" [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]] climbed on the back of the scooter. The pair followed the van at a distance where they couldn't be seen. As they rode, the first few drops of rain began to fall. ------ Rainer and [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]] stood in a hidden alleyway between the warehouse the windowless van disappeared into and a local bowling alley. The van had entered the warehouse and parked inside. [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]] went up to a side door illuminated by a flickering incandescent light bulb. His gloved hand grasped the cold metal doorknob and tried to turn it, clicking when he found the door locked. "Looks like we're busting through." [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]] raised his foot, but before he could kick down the door, Rainer quickly grabbed his leg. "No, no, no. We can't just burst in. We need a plan." "Come on, we can take them. Just make a fireball, or, like, the embodiment of pure force, and we can knock them out in no time." "I can't do those kinds of things. Do you think they might fail me if there's too much of a mess?" "Well, you can't be a vigilante without breaking a few rules. But if you want to infiltrate the complex, we'll do that. What's the plan?" "Oh, uh-" Rainer stared at the ground, occasionally scratching his head. "Maybe we can go in, find where they keep all their anomalies, and try to get them out. I can make some kind of infini-cube, and the clean-up crew can take off the rest." "Well, that's not as fun as I would've hoped." "But it would be simple. It's low stakes; no one has to get hurt, and that's basically a free pass. We can go harder on the next assignment," he suggested. Rainer pulled out two cloaks from his wormhole and passed one to [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]]. They put them on, and both disappeared from the other's sight. "Oh, invisibility! Nice thinking!" "Shhh, keep it quiet." Rainer removed his arm from the cloak and opened another wormhole, pulling out a lockpick. He moved to the door, picking away at it until it opened with a slight creak. He and [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]] moved into the warehouse, closing the door behind them. -------- Inside the warehouse, the van they’d followed was parked at the center of the room. Its contents were being unloaded and opened as people tinkered with them, trying to figure out what each item did. The smell of burnt sulfur and unwashed dreams lingered in the air as they went through all the boxes, leaving the packaging littered on the floor like kids on Christmas day. While few were of note, like the concept-forcing paintings or the refrigerated coats, others were kept, pocketed by the thieves. Anti-gravity weight belts to sleep-inducing pillows, anything of use. They chatted, coming up with ways they could use these items in future crimes. "Hey man, look at this one. Lipstick called "The Kiss of Death." This'll be great for assassinations. What's you'res?" "Yours. I don't think these glasses are doing anything for me. I just feel more pretentious. Maybe a bit smarter?" "So you think you're smart, eh?" The two men turned to see a humanoid in a suit walking towards them. It had a magnifying glass in place of its head. They snatched the glasses off of their subordinate's eyes, trying to put on the glasses. The arms poked into his glass, futile. "Oh, right. Well, if they're not weapons, put 'em in the other room with the rest. As for everyone else, stand guard. I'm expecting the contractor to come here looking for all this stuff, so once you make sure it's them and they're not budging, get 'em. Got it?" [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]] leaned towards Rainer and whispered into his ear. "Looks like that guy is in charge of the place. Seems like the brains. Got that unmistakable inquisitive look on his face." "Inquisitive? What face?!" Rainer heard a slight crackle in his earpiece. Yesenia’s voice came through. "Rainer, how's it looking?" "I think there's an anomaly running the place? Got a magnifying glass for a head, said there would be somebody to pick up the anomalies later." "So you need to move in now. Keep going. I'm keeping tabs." Rainer peeked over the boxes, giving him cover towards the door on the other side of the room. A sheet of printer paper was taped to the door labeled, "PUT THEM IN HERE (please)." An arm landed on his shoulder. Rainer silently jumped, turning to see [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]]'s floating head behind him. "What're you doing? Put your cloak back on." "It's tough to see when your head is invisible." [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]] followed Rainer's previous line of sight and landed on the door. "So we're still going with covert and quiet, right?" "Yeah, put your cloak back on and follow me." Rainer emerged from behind the boxes and moved his way across the room. He crept along the dusty concrete floor, carefully avoiding bumping into anyone. Rainer glanced over his shoulder to check on [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]] but didn't see him anywhere. He faced forward and smacked the side of his fist into his forehead. Invisible, he thought, We're both invisible. Not looking forward, Rainer tripped over his feet and fell to the ground. Before he could get up, he heard shouting all around him. Rainer looked around feverishly to find his cloak nested around his feet. As he struggled to get up, [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]] leaped in front of Rainer, revealing himself to the gang. "Alright, punks! Come and get it!" Before [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]] could uppercut the nearest foe, a voice rang out calling everyone to stop. "Hold your fire, everyone. I think we got off on the wrong track." Glasshead walked forward towards Rainer and [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]] with his right hand outstretched. "You two seem to have similar conditions to me. Portals and Batman. Can I call you that?" Rainer took a small step back. "Who are you? What are you doing?" "You want to ask questions? I'd be happy to answer them if you stopped doing whatever it is that you're doing. We can sort this out, negotiation style." One of the men from the back recognized [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]] and yelled, "Ey, boss, that's the guy with the lightning from earlier!" The boss turned to [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]], his facial expressions casting only a reflection. "Hey, Portals, could you call off your lightning friend here? You gave my men a real spook earlier." Rainer signaled to [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]] not to engage, and he reluctantly took his hand off of his waist, eyeing the man up and down. "Why are you willing to talk this out? Aren't you criminals?" "I mean, yeah, but I prefer to ask questions first and kill you later. You guys are in the same boat as me, what with your… abnormalities. Who's to say we can't talk this out?" Rainer slightly relaxed his guard. "We're here because… we need to take back everything you stole. You can't keep them." [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]] cocked his fists, beckoning them to fight. "Oh, sure, you can have that when I'm done with them. You're with the contractor, right?" "We're with the arms of the law, glasshead!" Glasshead raised his hands to calm [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]] down. "Woah, calm down there. We can talk this out. If you're with the contractor, then I have a few questions before we do anything. First off, who do you work for?" Rainer grew nervous as the glare of Glasshead's head shone into his eyes. "We really can't say." The glasshead's plastic frame bent slightly. "Can't say? Come on, I'm sure there's something you can say. Some piece of information. I just want to know where you got these…" He paused, gesturing at the misshapen pile of anomalous objects. "These impossibilities. Anything, I'm only asking questions." "I think it's best if you didn't know. Now, we need to take these back…," Rainer defensively took a step backward, "And we'll get out of your hair." Glasshead tilted and shook his head. "Unwilling to answer questions, huh? Well, ask questions first, kill you now, I suppose. Men!" The gang surrounded the duo, all equipped with various stolen anomalous items. "Finally, some action!" [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]] charged at the herd of men, aiming his punches towards their ribs and faces. He danced around them, knocking them down before they could even turn around. Glasshead stepped back, grabbing items from the pile and throwing them to his subordinates. Cans of military-grade silly string, a rubbery metal bat, and a tennis ball machine. "Boss, what're we supposed to do with this?" "Use them! I'm not losing the biggest jackpot of the century to some kid and a cosplayer!" Rainer summoned a bowling ball from one of his wormholes and positioned it above someone's head, causing them to collapse to the ground unconscious. Two criminals sent ropes of silly string flying towards [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]], wrapping it around his arms. He struggled, grasping for the strings with his free hands. [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]] grabbed tight and pulled down, wrenching the cans out of their hands. He swung his arms, the still-connected cans colliding with their skulls like makeshift mini-bowling balls. As Rainer supported [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]] with a flurry of wormholes, Glasshead snuck up behind him with the metal bat and swung, crashing it into the side of his skull. Rainer flew across the floor. Disoriented, he looked up to see Glasshead slowly walking up to him. Rainer threw out his hand, trying to open another wormhole. Glasshead brought the bat behind his circular head and swung. It stretched like rubber as it came down, landing with an echoing crack on Rainer’s hand. Rainer raised his hand again, only causing Glasshead to target it once more. "I'm still willing to ask questions, you know? I'm still willing to negotiate." Glasshead approached Rainer, continuously aiming for his limbs until he fell to the ground. "So tell me, who do you work for? Where do these things come from? I just want to know." Rainer lay on the floor, clutching his legs in pain. He groaned out the only response he could. "I don't know." Glasshead stood above Rainer, squatting down to see his face. "Wrong answer." He stood up, winding up the bat again before getting sideswiped by [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]]. The resulting impact jolted the bat through a portion of Glasshead's face, scattering glass shards across the floor. He immediately dropped to his knees to search for the fragments and to reapply them to his face. "You 'kay, partner?" "Yeah, for now. Go fight them. I'm calling for backup." "Got it." [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]] turned around and ran back into the midst of the hand-to-hand combat that came naturally to him. Rainer tapped on his earpiece and called for backup. ------ "Graham? Graham! You need to call an MTF to the scene, they need backup!" Yesenia heard Graham's voice come out, as sarcastic and slimy as ever. "Backup? But I thought you said he could handle it. Do you mean to tell me this operation was a failure?" "Graham. I do not have the time for this. Call backup. Chicago, warehouse near the corner of Bellwether and 2nd Avenue." "I will, I will. If you agree to never step out of line again." "What?" "Jane, I'm sure by now you've realized what's going on. Conducting an operation on a weekend night? No back-up personnel in sight? You agreed that this would be the last time you stick your neck out for this kid, and I want to make sure it is. How does it feel to lose against the odds?" Yesenia bit her tongue in unprecedented anger. "Graham, is there help on the way or not?" "Depends. Do you admit you lost?" Her breath was caught in her throat. She knew Graham was bad, but this was… was… Her fingers cracked as she balled her hand into a fist. Graham's voice continuously taunted from the other line. "Hello? Do you want to save the kid or not? Time's ticking. Tick tick. Tock tick." "Fine, the test was a failure. Just send someone, now! Anyone!" Graham cackled from the other line, his voice so loud Yesenia had to pull the receiver away from her ear. "Ha! Heh, heh. I already sent one, told them to shadow your operation and move in when you couldn't handle it." Before Yesenia could respond, Graham ended the call, leaving her in her silence. Rainer's voice came through the monitor, weak and coughing. "{{Ms. Jane… did I pass the test?}}" "Don't worry, Rainer, help is on the way." "{{That means I failed, doesn't it?}}" "No, no, it-" Dr. Yesenia stopped, the words stuck in her throat. "{{Failed again, huh?}}" "No… no, you can still pass the test. You just need to prove you're useful." "{{But I failed last time because I didn't follow orders.}}" "Well, I'm head of the operation right now, and I'll vouch for you. Whatever it takes, you need to prove your worth. It's the only thing that'll change his mind." "You got this, Rainer. Knock 'em dead." ------ Two people sat in a surveillance van across the street from the warehouse. Their van sat in the corner of an empty parking lot as they watched the chaos unfold. The passenger spoke first. "Bigger guns are on the way. Looks like they're going to win." The driver pulled a remote out of their pocket and pointed it towards the warehouse. "That's why we always have a backup plan." The driver pressed a button on the remote. "We have about five minutes before it goes off. Let's get out of here." The van pulled out of the lot and drove away, passing another unmarked van making its way to the warehouse. ------ @@ @@ Rainer pushed himself off the ground and turned his bruised body towards [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]], who was determined to knock out every gang member his fists landed on. Rainer picked himself off the floor and glanced at Glasshead, who was hunched over, collecting the last bits of his broken face. Glasshead soon gave up trying to stick his face together and began digging through the pile for some miraculous solution, ignoring the quiet, rhythmic beeps originating from the center. There had to be some kind of helpful weapon they had accidentally put in there, right? Rainer and [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]] fought off the remaining members of //The Herders//. [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]] launched a barrage of surprise attacks to distract the gang members from Rainer coming behind and tying them up. "Is that everyone?" Rainer asked. Glasshead climbed the heap, holding a standard pistol in his hand. He pointed it toward Rainer and [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]] and yelled at the top of his lungs. "It's my turn to ask questions! Will you die?!" Rainer and [[span class="shadow"]]THE SPECTER[[/span]] faced Glasshead, ready and primed. "Ready?" "Ready." Then the pile detonated. ------ @@ @@ [[div class="document"]] ------ [[=]] ++++ OPERATION: Insurer's Regret, Cont.* [[/=]] ------ [[include <a href="/component:image-block">component:image-block</a> \| name= https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Hurricane_Gilbert_-_Damaged_warehouse.JPEG \| caption="//The Herder's//" warehouse, post-operation. \| width=50% \| align=right]] Results: Shortly after the explosion caused by a buildup of anomalous energy, MTF Pi-1 (“City Slickers”) caught and amnestisized the remaining members of "The Herders". All anomalous items meant to be retrieved were subsequently lost in the explosion. [[span class="shadow"]]SCP-4494[[/span]] aided MTF Pi-1 in managing the remaining threats and requested that SCP-4051 be treated quickly. Upon admission into Site-17, SCP-4051 was placed into a medically induced coma as per their containment protocol. Director T. Graham later reprimanded Dr. Jane Yesenia for her handling of the operation. The containment protocol for SCP-4051 was revised to allow the removal of their coma only after explicit permission from the site director. The following is a post-operation call with Director Graham from the Department of Legal Affairs. [[div class="xtra-div-3"]] = TRANSCRIPT ------ = <<BEGIN LOG>> Graham: Hello? Bohem: Hello, this is Cryst Bohem from the Department of Legal Affairs. Am I speaking to the director of Site-17? Graham: This is him. Bohem: Ah, Director Graham. We have given you purview over what you have in your files as "Insurer's Regret." Otherwise known as the fulfillment of the insurance agreement between ourselves and //Marshall, Carter, & Dark//, yes? Graham: Yes? Bohem: Good. According to these reports, your team has failed to retrieve the stolen assets and, if I'm reading this right, also caused an //anomalous explosion in downtown Chicago//. Is this also right? Graham: Yes, but- Bohem: Director Graham, don't worry. Property damage to the public sphere is pretty regular here. What isn't regular are the consequences for failing to fulfill half of this legal contract. Graham: Legal contract? Bohem: You've read the emails, haven't you? This was a low-risk assignment, something even the local police could've handled. We feel it was only fair to pass on the financial burden of our team's consequences to your site. Graham: Surely it shouldn't cost that much to replace all those items. I don't know what the big deal is. Bohem: The //problem//, Graham, is that the place //exploded//. That means we can't know what it is that we have to replace. That means nothing could be salvaged; we need to make everything from scratch, and we're completely relying on MC&D to tell us what to give them. Naturally, replacing things we can't reverse engineer will cost us a lot of money. Money that will be pulled from your site's annual budget. The Department of Accounting will contact you with an estimated figure on what will be reduced, hopefully by the end of the following month. If not, you'll have to be frugal with your spending because we're not making any promises. Graham: But we're the second-largest site in the world! There has to be some upper limit for you to stop taking money from my budget. Bohem: That's something you'll have to take up with Accounting. Thank you for your cooperation with this operation, Graham. You've been of no help. = <<END LOG>> [[/div]] The Department of Accounting has estimated that approximately 50% of Site-17's annual budget, or $893 million, will be repurposed to provide insurance for MC&D. In response to these budget cuts, Site-17 has preemptively cut all non-essential divisions, downsized the cafeteria staff, and fired all on-site therapists. Minimal compensation was given. [[/div]] @@ @@ ------ @@ @@ @@ @@ [[div class="email"]] [[div class="tofrom"]] To: Marshall, Carter, Dark From: T. Randall, Head of the Dpt. of Relations, //MC&D// Subject: Foundation Treaty Exploit - Success [[/div]] ------ Dear Marshall, Carter, and Dark, The SCP Foundation has successfully failed to recover our "stolen" assets from the contracted third party. Per our agreement, they are contractually obligated to replicate the assets, to be defined at our discretion. Attached is an itemized list of assets MC&D would greatly benefit from acquiring at no extra cost. The Foundation is unaware of the nature of our decoy assets, so they expect an answer soon to fulfill their end of the contract. [[>]] //-Sr. Manager T. Randall// //Head of Dept. of Relations// [[/>]] [[/div]] @@ @@ [[div class="email"]] [[div class="tofrom"]] To: T. Randall, Marshall, Dark From: Carter Subject: RE: Foundation Treaty Exploit - Success [[/div]] ------ Excellent. We have selected items two through six, 17, 22, and 11 from the list. Pad the list with simple anomalous items to distract attention from the main five. We will talk soon about potential rewards for this project. Keep up the good work. [[>]] //-Carter// //Heads of Marshall, Carter, and Dark// [[/>]] [[/div]] [[footnoteblock]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] > Filename: chicago.jpg > Name: Chicago bw.jpg > Author: Daniel Schwen > License: CC BY-SA 4.0 > Source Link: [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chicago_bw.jpg Wikimedia Commons] > Filename: warehouse.jpg > Name: Hurricane Gilbert - Damaged warehouse.JPEG > Author: TSGT Michael J. Haggerty, U.S. Air Force > License: Public Domain > Source Link: [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hurricane_Gilbert_-_Damaged_warehouse.JPEG Wikimedia Commons] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-12-28T17:43:00	[ "_cc", "_licensebox", "action", "art-exchange", "crime-fiction", "deepwell-catalog", "director-graham", "marshall-carter-and-dark", "rainer-miller", "tale", "the-specter" ]	Insurer's Regret - SCP Foundation	13	[ "cowscantgomoo", "component:info-ayers", "marshall-carter-and-dark-hub", "scp-4051", "the-beast-beneath-the-library", "scp-4494", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "marshall-carter-and-dark-hub", "art-exchange-hub" ]	[ "https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/insurer-s-regret/chicago.jpg", "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Hurricane_Gilbert_-_Damaged_warehouse.JPEG" ]	1451990836	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/insurer-s-regret
interconstelation-man	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div style="display: none"> <div style="text-align: left;"> <div class="code"> <div class="hl-main"> <pre><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Foxtrot</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Sigma-9</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Theme</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">2022</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">Wikidot</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">Theme</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">By</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Liryn</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">FONTS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Montserrat</span><span class="hl-special">:ital</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">wght</span><span class="hl-var">@0</span><span class="hl-code">,800;1,800&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Lexend</span><span class="hl-special">:wght</span><span class="hl-var">@700</span><span class="hl-code">;800&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">JetBrains</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Mono</span><span class="hl-special">:ital</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">wght</span><span class="hl-var">@0</span><span class="hl-code">,400;0,700;1,400;1,700&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Fira</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Code</span><span class="hl-special">:wght</span><span class="hl-var">@400</span><span class="hl-code">;700&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Sofia</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Sans</span><span class="hl-special">:ital</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">wght</span><span class="hl-var">@0</span><span class="hl-code">,400;0,700;1,400;1,700&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">rsms.me</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">inter</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">inter.css</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Figtree</span><span class="hl-special">:wght</span><span class="hl-var">@800</span><span class="hl-code">;900&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">IBM</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Plex</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Sans</span><span class="hl-special">:ital</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">wght</span><span class="hl-var">@0</span><span class="hl-code">,400;0,500;0,600;0,700;1,400;1,500;1,600;1,700&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-special">:root</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Core</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ --</span><span class="hl-reserved">header-title:</span><span class="hl-code"> "SCP Foundation"</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">header-subtitle:</span><span class="hl-code"> "SECURE, CONTAIN, PROTECT"</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">logo-img:</span><span class="hl-code"> url(https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/theme:foxtrot/fxtrt-scp_logo_lightmode.svg)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">darkmode-logo-img:</span><span class="hl-code"> url(https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/theme:foxtrot/fxtrt-scp_logo_darkmode.svg)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">logo-opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">14</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">head-font:</span><span class="hl-code"> 'Sans Normalcy'</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">ui-font:</span><span class="hl-code"> 'IBM Plex Sans'</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">mono-font:</span><span class="hl-code"> 'JetBrains Mono', 'Fira </span><span class="hl-string">Code</span><span class="hl-code">', </span><span class="hl-string">monospace</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">page-font:</span><span class="hl-code"> 'Inter', 'verdana'</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">base-font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.9</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">page-font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Misc</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ --</span><span class="hl-reserved">header-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">subheader-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">misc-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#464646</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">link-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#E6283C</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">link-hover-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">white</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Color</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Accents</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ --</span><span class="hl-reserved">accent:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--acc-default)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-default:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">59</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">59</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">59</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-wyoming:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">142</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">18</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-canada:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--acc-default)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-poland:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">87</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">44</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">17</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-slothspit:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">27</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">60</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">133</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-vanguard:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">153</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">75</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-threshold:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">121</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">113</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">130</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-overwatch:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">28</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">37</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">56</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-spc:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">165</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">200</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-fishing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">67</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">111</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">145</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-nightfall:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">151</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-hybrasil:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">27</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">60</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">133</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-goc:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">39</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">84</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">149</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-spooky:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">252</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">112</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">40</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">BetterFootnotes</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ --</span><span class="hl-reserved">fnColor:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">fnLinger:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> --</span><span class="hl-reserved">barColour:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">linkColour:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#EDEDED</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">html</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">scroll-behavior:</span><span class="hl-code"> smooth</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow-x:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">hidden</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">body</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--base-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">51</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">51</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">51</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> linear-gradient(to </span><span class="hl-string">bottom</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-var">#e0e0e0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">200</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-rendering:</span><span class="hl-code"> optimizeLegibility</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow-wrap:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">break-word</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#container-wrap</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#content-wrap</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font), var(--ui-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">440</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">strong</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">700</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tt</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-source</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">pre</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-textarea</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--mono-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ol</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">p</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-underline-offset:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">40</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> :</span><span class="hl-special">:selection</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Clicky</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">links</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.newpage</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:visited</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:visited</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.newpage</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:visited:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:visited:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-hover-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">patch</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">for</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">sidebar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">media</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">collapsibles</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">ACS</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">and</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ayers</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">module</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">so</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">link</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">doesn</span><span class="hl-code">'</span><span class="hl-identifier">t</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">override</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-folded</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-unfolded-link</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fa-info</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block.media</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.danger-diamond</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-folded</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--linkColour) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">160</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--header-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">letter-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">900</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> fit-content</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--header-title)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--header-subtitle)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">700</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--misc-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">26</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.35</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">uppercase</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#extra-div-1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">160</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">7</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">absolute</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--logo-img) </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">30</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">no-repeat</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">130</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-repeat:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">no-repeat</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">50</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">50</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">z-index:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--logo-opacity)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Search</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-var">text</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-input</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-input</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-input</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-var">submit</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-var">submit</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-var">submit</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#efefef</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--page-font-size) - </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.empty</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#999999</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">absolute</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">47</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">15</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">15</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">white</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li.sfhover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.83</span><span class="hl-code">) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">230</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-indent:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">justify-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.mobile-top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Login</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#login-status</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">19</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#login-status</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#login-status</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 767</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.printuser</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.printuser</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.printuser</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">img.small</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">18</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">18</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 767</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.printuser</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">img.small</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> translate(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#my-account</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 767</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#account-topbutton</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Side</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.open-menu</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">white</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (min-width: 768</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.6</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.6</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">18.75</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">s ease-in-out</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">rtl</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block.resources</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block.media</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#interwiki</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">ltr</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block.resources</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.heading</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--misc-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#cfcfcf</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9</span><span class="hl-string">pt</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">uppercase</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Blockquotes</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">Custom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Divs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.15</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#f7f7f7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">dashed</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#f7f7f7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.35</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.35</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#f7f7f7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.15</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fbfbfb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.quote</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bbb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">500</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bbb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.note</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#afafaf</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.round</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Headings</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">Titles</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-title</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.meta-title</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#3b3b3b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> fit-content</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-title</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.meta-title</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#breadcrumbs</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.pseudocrumbs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#3b3b3b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.footnotes-footer</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.title</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#3b3b3b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Rate</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Module</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.creditRate</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bbb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fa-info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fa-info</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bbb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-points</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rateup</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.ratedown</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rateup</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.ratedown</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rateup</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.ratedown</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inline-block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Rate</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Module</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Author</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Label</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.authorlink-wrapper</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> --</span><span class="hl-reserved">author-top-adjust:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">author-bottom-adjust:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">author-right-adjust:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--base-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Side</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anchor</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> sticky</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.14</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc((</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vw - </span><span class="hl-number">870</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">)/</span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vh - </span><span class="hl-number">18</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">absolute</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">103.5</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">z-index:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 1290</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">visibility:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">hidden</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Image</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#f4f4f4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#3b3b3b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">img</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.imagediv</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">right</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">15</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 540</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.imagediv</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">only</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">screen</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">and</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 600</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block.block-right</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tables</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Base</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">td</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">12</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bfbfbf</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">td</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.35</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tables</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Customization</span><span class="hl-code"> (</span><span class="hl-identifier">Table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Coloring</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">System</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tables</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Customization</span><span class="hl-code"> (</span><span class="hl-identifier">Table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Coloring</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">System</span><span class="hl-code">) > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Headings</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">Image</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Captions</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#E0FFD4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#D8ECF4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FDF6D7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFDFCD</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFCFCF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">146</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.tableb</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.wiki-content-table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-collapse:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">separate</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tables</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Customization</span><span class="hl-code"> (</span><span class="hl-identifier">Table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Coloring</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">System</span><span class="hl-code">) > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Other</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Colored</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Divs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">224</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">212</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">226</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">244</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">245</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">189</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">223</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">205</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">207</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">207</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">218</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tabs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Base</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tabs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Customization</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-wrap:</span><span class="hl-code"> wrap</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code"> - </span><span class="hl-number">.125</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Link</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Modifier</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tab</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Background</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Colour</span><span class="hl-code"> \| [</span><span class="hl-identifier">UNSELECTED</span><span class="hl-code">] ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#efefef</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tab</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Background</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Colour</span><span class="hl-code"> \| [</span><span class="hl-identifier">HOVER</span><span class="hl-code">] ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code">, /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Listitem</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Modifier</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">relative</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-grow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-bottom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">align-items:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">justify-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.35</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.75</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-overflow:</span><span class="hl-code"> ellipsis</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">hidden</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">white-space:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">nowrap</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code">, /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Selection</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Modifier</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-grow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tab</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Background</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Colour</span><span class="hl-code"> \| [</span><span class="hl-identifier">SELECTED</span><span class="hl-code">] ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:active</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-content</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">WORDS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">NO</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">BROKEY</span><span class="hl-code">. </span><span class="hl-identifier">CROQ</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">HAS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">SPOKEY</span><span class="hl-code">. </span><span class="hl-identifier">and</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">other</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">things</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">word-break:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">normal</span><span class="hl-code"> !important </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.avatar-hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Dustjacket</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Assets</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fancyhr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">hr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">vw </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--bright-accent), </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-source:</span><span class="hl-code"> url('https://wanderers-library.wikidot.com/local--files/component:dustjacket-theme/wl_hr.png')</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-repeat:</span><span class="hl-code"> round round</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-slice:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">500</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">500</span><span class="hl-code"> fill</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fancyborder</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">vw </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> url('https://wanderers-library.wikidot.com/local--files/component:dustjacket-theme/wl_border.png') </span><span class="hl-number">600</span><span class="hl-code"> round</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">vw</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Collapsibles</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">underline</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-special">:not</span><span class="hl-code">(</span><span class="hl-identifier">.licensebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.default-col</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">white</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">7</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--base-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inline-block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-special">:not</span><span class="hl-code">(</span><span class="hl-identifier">.licensebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.default-col</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--accent), </span><span class="hl-number">0.7</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">ACS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Adjustments</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.top-left-box</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">.item</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anom-bar-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anom-bar-container</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anom-bar-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), Inter, </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.acs-extra-1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.acs-extra-2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.acs-extra-3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.acs-extra-4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), Inter, </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anom-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">.top-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Woed</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Adjustments</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.item1</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">uppercase</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">letter-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.class1</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.9</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">letter-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> --</span><span class="hl-reserved">woedbar-class-bar-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.obj</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.7</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.obj</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.55</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MISC</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">hr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.bt</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#footer</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#444</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">45</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#footer</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#7b7b7b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.footer-wikiwalk-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">700</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">88</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">word-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-info-break</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-options-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">213</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">213</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">213</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-watch-options</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.6</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">77</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-options-bottom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> row</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-wrap:</span><span class="hl-code"> wrap</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">align-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">justify-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-options-bottom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">13</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">13</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom-left-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom-right-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-options-bottom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--accent), </span><span class="hl-number">0.8</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-info-break</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#license-area</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#5f5f5f</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ecf2f1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#d9d9d9</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#license-area</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> "."</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (min-width: 768</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">16</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> "tags "</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--misc-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inline-block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.8125</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.75</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.1875</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.3125</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.1875</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom-right-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top-right-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">13</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.8125</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--page-font-size) - </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">.1875</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">.625</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.0625</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.1875</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent)) </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-style:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> ""</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">relative</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.2813</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.125</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-tags-input</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">word-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.text</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">150</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-form</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">table.form</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">tbody</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">td</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(1) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.edit-help-34</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">85</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">60</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> fit-content</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.edit-help-34</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.edit-help-34</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">table.edit-page-bottomtable</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-comments</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">86</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#lock-info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.8</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">86</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#lock-info</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> "!"</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">12</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">110</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">60</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#lock-timer</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">115</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#lock-timer</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> "⏲ "</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">textarea</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.text</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">outline:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ccc</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-property:</span><span class="hl-code"> box-shadow</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">textarea</span><span class="hl-special">:focus-visible</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.text</span><span class="hl-special">:focus-visible</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#a3a3a3</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#a3a3a3</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#action-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">p</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">85</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> darkslategrey</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#action-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">p</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(5)></span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">120</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#who-rated-page-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">column-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 900</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#who-rated-page-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">column-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 700</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#who-rated-page-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">column-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 540</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#who-rated-page-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">column-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.content-warning.creditRate</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">21</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.preview-message</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.9</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">29</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">z-index:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">filter:</span><span class="hl-code"> drop-shadow(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#EDEDED</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.error-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">48</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#B00</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top-left-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top-right-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">table.page-history</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tbody</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(2</span><span class="hl-identifier">n</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--accent), </span><span class="hl-number">0.05</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">animation:</span><span class="hl-code"> fade </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@keyframes</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">fade</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> 0% </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> 100% </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.button-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">11</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.button-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-hover-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.button-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.title</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">cursor:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">default</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">155</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">187</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">187</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">187</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#F7F7F7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow.owait</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow.owait</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.content</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> " "</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">0.9</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">animation:</span><span class="hl-code"> loading </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-code">s linear infinite</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> grey</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> grey</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">50</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@keyframes</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">loading</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> 0% </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> rotate(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">deg)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> 100% </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> rotate(</span><span class="hl-number">360</span><span class="hl-code">deg)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow.osuccess</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.content</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(2)></span><span class="hl-identifier">img</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(1) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.odialog-shader</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#262a39</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.btn</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.15</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.btn</span><span class="hl-special">:not</span><span class="hl-code">(</span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.btn</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-quotes">"</span><span class="hl-string">submit</span><span class="hl-quotes">"</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code">), </span><span class="hl-identifier">.btn.btn-primary</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.buttons</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.button</span><span class="hl-special">:not</span><span class="hl-code">(</span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-quotes">"</span><span class="hl-string">submit</span><span class="hl-quotes">"</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">11</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">cursor:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">pointer</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-cancel-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-diff-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-preview-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-draft-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-continue-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ccc</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">cursor:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">pointer</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">14</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-cancel-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-diff-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-preview-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-draft-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-continue-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#eaeaea</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-continue-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#dbffd6</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#005a0a</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-continue-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#0d951c</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-cancel-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffe1e1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#c52727</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-cancel-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#c5272e</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">table.page-history</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tbody</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#757575</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fncon</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font-size) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fncon</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font-size) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.hovertip</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">400</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.checkbox</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-history</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#h-perpage</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">cursor:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">pointer</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">textarea</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#breadcrumbs</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.pseudocrumbs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">110</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">REDUCED</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MOTION</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ACCESSIBILITY</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (prefers-reduced-motion: </span><span class="hl-identifier">reduce</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">before</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">animation-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.001</span><span class="hl-code">s !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">animation-iteration-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.001</span><span class="hl-code">s !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@MEDIA</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 850</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">h2:</span><span class="hl-code">:before { font-size: </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> } </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 700</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">h2:</span><span class="hl-code">:before { font-size: </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8.8</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> } </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 620</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">h2:</span><span class="hl-code">:before { font-size: </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.15</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">123</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> } </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 520</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">h2:</span><span class="hl-code">:before { line-height: </span><span class="hl-number">16</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">145</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> }</span></pre></div> </div> </div> </div> <blockquote> <p><em>And Upon Pointed Pointed Shafts</em><br/> <em>And Pentacle Towers Piercing Through</em><br/> <em>There Laid Him in Glory</em><br/> <em>Defined by the shape of his head.</em></p> </blockquote> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>Oh, gosh, how long we been in business? Gee, I’d say… 20 years now. Give or take a few back durin’ the crisis and all that, took a few years of odd jobs to get back on our feet. 2008, Y'know. Hit everybody. Taught us some valuable lessons.</p> <p>I’d say we’ve gotten around 5 or so offers to get bought out. They tried the hard way, suin’ us for “theft of intellectual property” or whatever. “Fifth and Fischers Fisherman House” is apparently too similar in concept to “Bass Pro Shop”. Yeah, it was fuckin’ stupid. That’s why we won.</p> <p>We run a pretty tight ship, all things considered. Every employee — and mind you there’s only 4 other than me — trained with he utmost understanding of what it takes to fish. We understand it person’lly, cus’ we’re all from fishin’ families. Been fishin’ since I was… 5. Give or take. Customers all say we give ‘em the best bait in the business; I’ll tell you the secret, it ain’t just good worms. Did you know how easy it is to hook somethin’ on the prongs of a star?</p> <p>It’s a simple principle really. A simple hook, one singular piercing, is alright. Easy to slide off. A star, on the other hand, pierces through the entirety of the head, catches on. Sticks it in there and keeps ‘em trapped fer good. Sometimes it’ll kill. Most of the time it just stays stuck in their brain and infects their thoughts — with, yknow, blood — until they do eventually die. Then you use the star again, and again, and again.</p> <p>That’s if you’re fishin’ for food or profit. If it’s just for fun, just use… gah, where the hell is- Daryl? Daryl, can you go grab the safety bait? No, not the- not the fuckin queen o’ thorns, y’idiot, the- whatever.</p> <p>It’s a little plastic starfish. Couldn’t tell ya why, but the fishies, they fall for it so easily. Maybe it’s cus’ they eat them in the wild, that their brains are so attuned to bitin’ em whole, but it gets ‘em. Doesn’t hurt them though. Might even taste good, who knows. Not like we make ‘em.</p> <p>I saw a starfish once, just like — thanks Daryl, finally — this one. It was weird, y’know, since they don’t really live where I did. Was on a fishin’ trip with my paw, sittin’ in the middle of a lake, staring at the midday water, waiting for a bite. This was in his older years, mind you, so it was a real meaningful day, which is why, ‘course, the fish refused to bite. I can remember the whirring of the cicadas, god. Terrible heat too, we joked about bein’ delusional castaways until the energy to laugh was gone.</p> <p>But yeah. I was starin’ at the water, looking through the murky dirt and grime that coated the inside of the lake, when… well, just for a moment, I could see somethin’. A starfish. Just a little guy, not too strong or lengthy, but he was there. Sittin’ on a rock, minting his business.</p> <p>The dangdest part? Right before I could even tell my paw what I’d seen, he starts yellin’ and reelin’ somethin’ in. It was crazy, really, tryin’ to help him reel that tuna in. A whole ass Tuna! No explanation, just showed up and basically threw himself onto the bait. It was glorious, really.</p> <p>But, uh, yeah. I still remember that starfish, and I guess it just… carried over, y’know. Did I say we don’t make these? That was- that was my mistake. Hand-crafted, they are. Sorry. Memory gets worse with each passing year. Who knows why? Probably the same stuff that made my dad forget this story I jus’ told you.</p> <p>Anyhoo. Sorry, what were you buyin’ again?</p> <p>Oh. Yeah, a packet of jerky. That’ll be $4.99.</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="font-size:80%;"><br/> <a href="/goitober2023">Check out the other entries for GOITOBER DAY 5!</a><br/></span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/interconstelation-man">Interconstelation Man</a>" by ThatGuyThatTime, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/interconstelation-man">https://scpwiki.com/interconstelation-man</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:foxtrot">:scp-wiki:theme:foxtrot</a> dark=a]] [[module css]] :root { --header-title: "THE FOUNDATION"; --header-txt-color: #FFFFFF; --misc-txt-color: #FFFFFF; --darkmode-gradient-top: #FF00CA; --darkmode-gradient-bottom: #000000; --accent: 255, 89, 220 } [[/module]] [[=]] [[module Rate]] [[/=]] > //And Upon Pointed Pointed Shafts// > //And Pentacle Towers Piercing Through// > //There Laid Him in Glory// > > //Defined by the shape of his head.// @@ @@ Oh, gosh, how long we been in business? Gee, I’d say… 20 years now. Give or take a few back durin’ the crisis and all that, took a few years of odd jobs to get back on our feet. 2008, Y'know. Hit everybody. Taught us some valuable lessons. I’d say we’ve gotten around 5 or so offers to get bought out. They tried the hard way, suin’ us for “theft of intellectual property” or whatever. “Fifth and Fischers Fisherman House” is apparently too similar in concept to “Bass Pro Shop”. Yeah, it was fuckin’ stupid. That’s why we won. We run a pretty tight ship, all things considered. Every employee — and mind you there’s only 4 other than me — trained with he utmost understanding of what it takes to fish. We understand it person’lly, cus’ we’re all from fishin’ families. Been fishin’ since I was… 5. Give or take. Customers all say we give ‘em the best bait in the business; I’ll tell you the secret, it ain’t just good worms. Did you know how easy it is to hook somethin’ on the prongs of a star? It’s a simple principle really. A simple hook, one singular piercing, is alright. Easy to slide off. A star, on the other hand, pierces through the entirety of the head, catches on. Sticks it in there and keeps ‘em trapped fer good. Sometimes it’ll kill. Most of the time it just stays stuck in their brain and infects their thoughts — with, yknow, blood — until they do eventually die. Then you use the star again, and again, and again. That’s if you’re fishin’ for food or profit. If it’s just for fun, just use… gah, where the hell is- Daryl? Daryl, can you go grab the safety bait? No, not the- not the fuckin queen o’ thorns, y’idiot, the- whatever. It’s a little plastic starfish. Couldn’t tell ya why, but the fishies, they fall for it so easily. Maybe it’s cus’ they eat them in the wild, that their brains are so attuned to bitin’ em whole, but it gets ‘em. Doesn’t hurt them though. Might even taste good, who knows. Not like we make ‘em. I saw a starfish once, just like — thanks Daryl, finally — this one. It was weird, y’know, since they don’t really live where I did. Was on a fishin’ trip with my paw, sittin’ in the middle of a lake, staring at the midday water, waiting for a bite. This was in his older years, mind you, so it was a real meaningful day, which is why, ‘course, the fish refused to bite. I can remember the whirring of the cicadas, god. Terrible heat too, we joked about bein’ delusional castaways until the energy to laugh was gone. But yeah. I was starin’ at the water, looking through the murky dirt and grime that coated the inside of the lake, when… well, just for a moment, I could see somethin’. A starfish. Just a little guy, not too strong or lengthy, but he was there. Sittin’ on a rock, minting his business. The dangdest part? Right before I could even tell my paw what I’d seen, he starts yellin’ and reelin’ somethin’ in. It was crazy, really, tryin’ to help him reel that tuna in. A whole ass Tuna! No explanation, just showed up and basically threw himself onto the bait. It was glorious, really. But, uh, yeah. I still remember that starfish, and I guess it just… carried over, y’know. Did I say we don’t make these? That was- that was my mistake. Hand-crafted, they are. Sorry. Memory gets worse with each passing year. Who knows why? Probably the same stuff that made my dad forget this story I jus’ told you. Anyhoo. Sorry, what were you buyin’ again? Oh. Yeah, a packet of jerky. That’ll be $4.99. @@ @@ [[=]] [[module Rate]] @@ @@ [[size 80%]] [[[/goitober2023\|Check out the other entries for GOITOBER DAY 5!]]] [[/size]] @@ @@ [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]] [[/=]] @@ @@	2023-10-06T03:13:00	[ "_licensebox", "fifthist", "first-person", "slice-of-life", "tale" ]	Interconstelation Man - SCP Foundation	24	[ "goitober2023", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "goitober2023", "fifthist-hub" ]	[]	1450386230	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/interconstelation-man
interregnum-everest	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=3&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Aredtape/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <div class="sign"> <p>A <span class="ature"><a href="https://twitter.com/rounderhouse">ROUNDERHOUSE</a></span> Joint</p> </div> <div class="info-container"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <div> <p>{$comments}</p> </div> <hr/> <div id="u-author_block"> <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.scp-wiki.net/rounderhouse-s-author-page">▸ More by this Author ◂</a></p> </div> <hr/> <div id="u-comments2" style="display: none;"> <p>{$comments2}</p> </div> <div class="u-faq"> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:info-ayers">F.A.Q.</a></p> </div> <div style="display: none;"> <p>{$doesthisfixthebug}</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="crom-thumbnail"> <div class="scp-image-block block-right" style="width:300px;"><img alt="INTERREGNUM2.png" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/interregnum-everest/INTERREGNUM2.png"/> <div class="scp-image-caption"> <p>{$caption}</p> </div> </div> </div> <br/> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div class="blockquote"> <p>And there came the Wretch, the Abominate, the First Apostate — so termed by its former brethren for the same sin for which they had flung it out of the heavens and into the sea of the material plane. It climbed out of the sea and anointed a prophet in its name. But he was not a leader of the spirit, nor a uniter of men. The Prophet of the Wretch was a slayer, a marauder, a destroyer, one who would rend cities and sunder capitals and spill the blood of gods. In this way, the BLACKSTAR was from the truest lineage of kings: a dominator.</p> </div> <br/> — <em>Verse 120 of the Song of the Daeva</em></div> <hr/> <p>The year is 1182 BCE. The <strong>BLACKSTAR</strong> looks out over the horizon, and frowns.</p> <p>How long has it been? Months, at the very least. Yes, months seems correct — many moons since he had watched Mamjul crumble into the sea, heard the roaring of the waves and the screaming of the innocents, and turned his back on the carnage. Even more moons since he had felt anything in what remained of his soul.</p> <p>The horde had made camp for several days, celebrating the fall of the once-great city. The soldiers had spent the better part of their lives fighting the enemy: first the hated men of metal, and then the demonborne sorcerers. Now, they had rendered two of them into dust. Bonfires, drinking, songs of war drifting up from their vast camp. Their prophet does not partake.</p> <p>Instead, he climbs.</p> <p>Letting his cape, his armor, his black-wrought crown fall to the muddy dirt. Stripping to his bare, scarred back before gripping his fingers into the cracks between the great bricks and heaving himself up. Another hand follows, another foot after that. Nails and boots scraping against the rock. This was the gargantuan wall that the Daeva built at Thijam in a vain attempt to stop his arrival. Once, it was backed by the largest army ever fielded in history. It is a monument to arrogance — both theirs, and his own. The only thing on the other side now is water and dead men.</p> <p>At first, his men think it a friendly challenge, from general to soldiers. Humiliating the grave of their enemy. They cheer him on. A few even try to follow him. They get a few feet up and fall backward, no worse for the wear; they all know they cannot hope to beat him. Their drunken laughter only wears off after he crests the height of fifty men, and they realize this is something deeper than juvenile challenge.</p> <p>His muscles begin to scream when he crosses the height of a hundred men. His nails are ground to stubs, blood flowing freely every time he pulls himself up. His black leather boots are torn. He feels the pain in his body, and relishes it. He keeps climbing. Sweat falls into his eyes, and for a moment, his grip falters. His right hand slips and in that split-second, hanging a thousand feet above the ground, the <strong>BLACKSTAR</strong> recognizes the now-foreign feeling of fear.</p> <p>Still, he climbs.</p> <hr/> <p>The year is 2003. Saint Hedvig opens her eyes, and floats.</p> <p>There is blue in every direction. It takes her a moment to realize she is underneath the surface of the water, and to right herself facing upward. She can only feel the cool water on the third of her body that remains flesh and blood. Her fuladh wings spread out, thrice the length of her body, as her mind tells her to flap them and shoot out of the water like a vengeant angel.</p> <p>But she doesn't. Fifty feet under the surface, she floats, peaceful for the first time in a decade.</p> <p>Her once-blonde hair spreads out in a corona. Her rebreather hums along, allaying any fears of drowning — she had installed it when told by her master what her assignment was. She remembered his steely gaze, in the throne room of the Grand Palace of Amoni-Ram. The great map table reassembled, and a cohort of other Mekhanites looking toward her and her Emperor for leadership as he explained the battle plan. She finds herself unable to meet his eyes. She thinks back to another life.</p> <hr/> <p>The year is 1983. Doctor Hedvig Nussbaum looks out over the cityscape of Amoni-Ram.</p> <p>She is quartered in one of the vast skyscrapers that tower over the ancient city. Astonishingly, the elevators still work. Her chambers are a mess; supplies, canned food, blankets thrown over beds that haven't seen use in two thousand years. For a historian, it is an utterly alien experience. Still, she loves it.</p> <p>She sends emails to her old colleagues at -19 occasionally, exhorting the joy of working in Amoni-Ram. Of working with her hands to uncover ancient artifacts, to decipher the mystery of what happened to the most advanced civilization in history. Her researchers and personnel like working with her, and she enjoys their presence. Aram can be irritable at times, but he's not evil — just rough around the edges.</p> <p>It's just about noon. Archaeological work won't get started for another hour or so; it's simply not worth going out in the blazing heat. She steps back inside from the balcony and grabs a bottle of water. She should take a shower. It's a slow day. Nothing to do but file some reports, and then a trip into the Undercity to excavate some ruins. Nothing dangerous.</p> <hr/> <p>The year is 1783. The man once known as the <strong>BLACKSTAR</strong> sits in the belly of a ship, rocked about by the waves.</p> <p>It is dark and storming outside and the ship rolls with the sea, but he has been assured by the captain that they are coming into port soon. The stateroom holds a dozen other bodies — some in suits, some in dresses, some in robes, one in armor. A piece of paper sits on the table between them. The entire room rises and falls with the waves, as muffled thunder is audible from the ouside of the ship.</p> <p>A well-dressed woman with a strong nose is looking at her pocketwatch. The group waits in tense silence. She turns to the man and nods. The man raises his quill and makes a sharp, decisive signature across the bottom of the document. At midnight, the Foundation comes into existence. The man who was once the <strong>BLACKSTAR</strong>, then Franz Williams, is now the Administrator.</p> <p>A quiet but determined mutter goes through the room. The twelve other bodies are now the Overseers of the Foundation, Alpha through Mu. They have a sacred mission: to protect humanity from the horrors of the anomalous.</p> <p>After a thoughtful pause, the Administrator reaches down and scrawls a simple mark onto the parchment — a circle, impaled with three equidistant inward-facing arrows.</p> <hr/> <p>The year is 1990. Robert Bumaro sits on his throne, chin resting on one hand.</p> <p>He is unrecognizable. His once-thin frame is now thick and stocky, his arm and leg crafted out of the finest fuladh in the city and engraved with scenes of ancient victories. He flexes the fingers experimentally, deep in thought.</p> <p>The throne room is blessedly empty. Outside of the palace, he can hear activity; the city is a fraction of a shadow of its former glory, but it is still more lived-in than it has been in centuries. Here, in their sanctuary, the Church of the Broken God have begun to rebuild. New followers arrive semi-often, and many of the once-empty buildings have been converted into living spaces. Bumaro is a shepherd once more, and his flock is thriving — he leads the daily prayer, and the loyalty of his people is without question.</p> <p>And yet he remains disturbed.</p> <p>He does not let the flock or Hedvig or Preserver see it. But his dreams are increasingly troubled. Dreams of a man in black-wrought armor and a cape marching a vast dark army across the face of Asia. Dreams of the Foundation betrayed and torn apart by itself. Dreams of a new Occult War.</p> <p>He continues staring at empty space, waiting for a sign from his Goddess.</p> <hr/> <p>The year is 2003. Saint Hedvig opens her eyes.</p> <p>She is facedown on a beach. She sits up, water leaking from her metal limbs, and blinks. It is a long, uninterrepted stretch of sandy shoreline, and the treeline a few meters in. She looks around. There is no one here but her.</p> <p>She thinks about Bumaro. She doesn't know why, but the thought makes her ill. The primal need to return to Amoni-Ram & her Emperor, the one she has felt on all of her other 'crusades', is absent. She lies back down in the sand, faceup. She feels more wetness on her skin, raises a metal-jacketed hand to wipe it away, and stares at the hand in slow shock as she learns she is still capable of crying.</p> <hr/> <p>The year is 1181 BCE. The <strong>BLACKSTAR</strong> sits in the shadow of the mountain.</p> <p>They are north of Thijam now, far north. The last Daeva settlements that had escaped his cleansing blade are up here, nestled in the cracks between these towering, snowy mountains. There are no mountains where he comes from, so he decided to create one.</p> <p>The mass of bodies underneath him have been dragged by his men from where they were slaughtered in the streets of Jilar, Kirralam, Muqtap. The cities razed into dust and their corpses dragged here, in a gargantuan pile, as an everlasting testament to his dominion.</p> <p>At least, that's what they are said to be. Privately, this is an apology. He has obliterated their culture, their history, their entire civilization. The Daeva are nothing now. But here, packed together and covered with snow and rocks — they may become <a href="/scp-5140">something greater in death</a>.</p> <p>And so he sits on the mountain, the weight of so many corpses and so many sins beneath him, and offers a quick prayer as he looks out over the distance. Though he knows it is impossible, he feels he can see the final prize somewhere in the distance — Black Aditum, mausoleum of the Prophet-King Iun. He feels nothing. When hunting Amoni-Ram, he felt the deep lust for chaos gifted to him by his God. When rending Mamjul, he felt a grim determination, knowledge that the task was necessary. Now, he feels nothing. Just weariness.</p> <p>Still, he pulls his blade from the snow, gives one last pleading look at the Black Moon hanging low in the sky.</p> <p>It does not grace him with an answer.</p> <p>The <strong>BLACKSTAR</strong> turns, and marches on.</p> <hr/> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div class="blockquote"> <p>For while the Scarlet embodied nature and gifted life, and the Steel embodied progress and gifted technology, and the Flesh embodied death and gifted continuation — in this way the Wretch also came to embody an integral piece of man's soul. Yes, the Black Moon embodied the chaos of creation and gifted control. And it gifted this mastery over reality itself to the BLACKSTAR, plucked from the flock to be a god amongst men.</p> <p>And it was only in the face of death unprecedented that the faith and resolve of the man known as the BLACKSTAR began to crumble.</p> </div> <br/> — <em>Verse 121 of the Song of the Daeva</em></div> <hr/> <div class="rnb-navbar"> <div class="rnb-item rnb-last jadeproposal"> <p><a href="/rounderhouse-jade-proposal" style="display: block;"><span class="rnb-supertitle">PREVIOUS</span><br/> « THE JADE PROPOSAL »</a></p> </div> <div class="rnb-item rnb-current"> <p><a href="/redtape">REDTAPE</a></p> </div> <div class="rnb-item rnb-next"> <p><a href="/heresy" style="display: block;"><span class="rnb-supertitle">NEXT</span><br/> « HEDVIG'S HERESY»</a></p> </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/interregnum-everest">INTERREGNUM: THE BLACKSTAR AT EVEREST</a>" by Rounderhouse, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/interregnum-everest">https://scpwiki.com/interregnum-everest</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> everest.png<br/> <strong>Name:</strong> Gaurisankar or Mount Everest, Himalayas, Nepal<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> Wellcome Library, London<br/> <strong>License:</strong> Public Domain Mark<br/> <strong>Source Link:</strong> <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gaurisankar_or_Mount_Everest,_Himalayas,_Nepal_Wellcome_L0038491.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></p> </blockquote> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="/theme:black-highlighter-theme">theme:black-highlighter-theme</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:rso">:scp-wiki:component:rso</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:redtape">:scp-wiki:theme:redtape</a> \|years=3000 ]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/more-by:rounderhouse">:scp-wiki:more-by:rounderhouse</a>]] [[include <a href="/component:info-ayers">component:info-ayers</a> \|lang=EN[!-- EN/RU/KO/CN/FR/PL/ES/TH/JP/DE/IT/UA/PTBR --] \|page=interregnum-everest[!-- url of your page on the scp wiki --] \|authorPage=http://www.scp-wiki.net/rounderhouse-s-author-page[!-- link to your author page --] \|comments= ]] [[module CSS]] .sign { margin-bottom: 1.25rem; } [[/module]] [[div class="crom-thumbnail"]] [[include <a href="/component:image-block">component:image-block</a> name=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/interregnum-everest/INTERREGNUM2.png]] [[/div]] [[=]] [[module Rate]] [[div class="blockquote"]] And there came the Wretch, the Abominate, the First Apostate -- so termed by its former brethren for the same sin for which they had flung it out of the heavens and into the sea of the material plane. It climbed out of the sea and anointed a prophet in its name. But he was not a leader of the spirit, nor a uniter of men. The Prophet of the Wretch was a slayer, a marauder, a destroyer, one who would rend cities and sunder capitals and spill the blood of gods. In this way, the BLACKSTAR was from the truest lineage of kings: a dominator. [[/div]] -- //Verse 120 of the Song of the Daeva// [[/=]] ---- [[=image everest.png class="angled"]] The year is 1182 BCE. The BLACKSTAR looks out over the horizon, and frowns. How long has it been? Months, at the very least. Yes, months seems correct -- many moons since he had watched Mamjul crumble into the sea, heard the roaring of the waves and the screaming of the innocents, and turned his back on the carnage. Even more moons since he had felt anything in what remained of his soul. The horde had made camp for several days, celebrating the fall of the once-great city. The soldiers had spent the better part of their lives fighting the enemy: first the hated men of metal, and then the demonborne sorcerers. Now, they had rendered two of them into dust. Bonfires, drinking, songs of war drifting up from their vast camp. Their prophet does not partake. Instead, he climbs. Letting his cape, his armor, his black-wrought crown fall to the muddy dirt. Stripping to his bare, scarred back before gripping his fingers into the cracks between the great bricks and heaving himself up. Another hand follows, another foot after that. Nails and boots scraping against the rock. This was the gargantuan wall that the Daeva built at Thijam in a vain attempt to stop his arrival. Once, it was backed by the largest army ever fielded in history. It is a monument to arrogance -- both theirs, and his own. The only thing on the other side now is water and dead men. At first, his men think it a friendly challenge, from general to soldiers. Humiliating the grave of their enemy. They cheer him on. A few even try to follow him. They get a few feet up and fall backward, no worse for the wear; they all know they cannot hope to beat him. Their drunken laughter only wears off after he crests the height of fifty men, and they realize this is something deeper than juvenile challenge. His muscles begin to scream when he crosses the height of a hundred men. His nails are ground to stubs, blood flowing freely every time he pulls himself up. His black leather boots are torn. He feels the pain in his body, and relishes it. He keeps climbing. Sweat falls into his eyes, and for a moment, his grip falters. His right hand slips and in that split-second, hanging a thousand feet above the ground, the BLACKSTAR recognizes the now-foreign feeling of fear. Still, he climbs. ---- The year is 2003. Saint Hedvig opens her eyes, and floats. There is blue in every direction. It takes her a moment to realize she is underneath the surface of the water, and to right herself facing upward. She can only feel the cool water on the third of her body that remains flesh and blood. Her fuladh wings spread out, thrice the length of her body, as her mind tells her to flap them and shoot out of the water like a vengeant angel. But she doesn't. Fifty feet under the surface, she floats, peaceful for the first time in a decade. Her once-blonde hair spreads out in a corona. Her rebreather hums along, allaying any fears of drowning -- she had installed it when told by her master what her assignment was. She remembered his steely gaze, in the throne room of the Grand Palace of Amoni-Ram. The great map table reassembled, and a cohort of other Mekhanites looking toward her and her Emperor for leadership as he explained the battle plan. She finds herself unable to meet his eyes. She thinks back to another life. ---- The year is 1983. Doctor Hedvig Nussbaum looks out over the cityscape of Amoni-Ram. She is quartered in one of the vast skyscrapers that tower over the ancient city. Astonishingly, the elevators still work. Her chambers are a mess; supplies, canned food, blankets thrown over beds that haven't seen use in two thousand years. For a historian, it is an utterly alien experience. Still, she loves it. She sends emails to her old colleagues at -19 occasionally, exhorting the joy of working in Amoni-Ram. Of working with her hands to uncover ancient artifacts, to decipher the mystery of what happened to the most advanced civilization in history. Her researchers and personnel like working with her, and she enjoys their presence. Aram can be irritable at times, but he's not evil -- just rough around the edges. It's just about noon. Archaeological work won't get started for another hour or so; it's simply not worth going out in the blazing heat. She steps back inside from the balcony and grabs a bottle of water. She should take a shower. It's a slow day. Nothing to do but file some reports, and then a trip into the Undercity to excavate some ruins. Nothing dangerous. ---- The year is 1783. The man once known as the BLACKSTAR sits in the belly of a ship, rocked about by the waves. It is dark and storming outside and the ship rolls with the sea, but he has been assured by the captain that they are coming into port soon. The stateroom holds a dozen other bodies -- some in suits, some in dresses, some in robes, one in armor. A piece of paper sits on the table between them. The entire room rises and falls with the waves, as muffled thunder is audible from the ouside of the ship. A well-dressed woman with a strong nose is looking at her pocketwatch. The group waits in tense silence. She turns to the man and nods. The man raises his quill and makes a sharp, decisive signature across the bottom of the document. At midnight, the Foundation comes into existence. The man who was once the BLACKSTAR, then Franz Williams, is now the Administrator. A quiet but determined mutter goes through the room. The twelve other bodies are now the Overseers of the Foundation, Alpha through Mu. They have a sacred mission: to protect humanity from the horrors of the anomalous. After a thoughtful pause, the Administrator reaches down and scrawls a simple mark onto the parchment -- a circle, impaled with three equidistant inward-facing arrows. ---- The year is 1990. Robert Bumaro sits on his throne, chin resting on one hand. He is unrecognizable. His once-thin frame is now thick and stocky, his arm and leg crafted out of the finest fuladh in the city and engraved with scenes of ancient victories. He flexes the fingers experimentally, deep in thought. The throne room is blessedly empty. Outside of the palace, he can hear activity; the city is a fraction of a shadow of its former glory, but it is still more lived-in than it has been in centuries. Here, in their sanctuary, the Church of the Broken God have begun to rebuild. New followers arrive semi-often, and many of the once-empty buildings have been converted into living spaces. Bumaro is a shepherd once more, and his flock is thriving -- he leads the daily prayer, and the loyalty of his people is without question. And yet he remains disturbed. He does not let the flock or Hedvig or Preserver see it. But his dreams are increasingly troubled. Dreams of a man in black-wrought armor and a cape marching a vast dark army across the face of Asia. Dreams of the Foundation betrayed and torn apart by itself. Dreams of a new Occult War. He continues staring at empty space, waiting for a sign from his Goddess. ---- The year is 2003. Saint Hedvig opens her eyes. She is facedown on a beach. She sits up, water leaking from her metal limbs, and blinks. It is a long, uninterrepted stretch of sandy shoreline, and the treeline a few meters in. She looks around. There is no one here but her. She thinks about Bumaro. She doesn't know why, but the thought makes her ill. The primal need to return to Amoni-Ram & her Emperor, the one she has felt on all of her other 'crusades', is absent. She lies back down in the sand, faceup. She feels more wetness on her skin, raises a metal-jacketed hand to wipe it away, and stares at the hand in slow shock as she learns she is still capable of crying. ---- The year is 1181 BCE. The BLACKSTAR sits in the shadow of the mountain. They are north of Thijam now, far north. The last Daeva settlements that had escaped his cleansing blade are up here, nestled in the cracks between these towering, snowy mountains. There are no mountains where he comes from, so he decided to create one. The mass of bodies underneath him have been dragged by his men from where they were slaughtered in the streets of Jilar, Kirralam, Muqtap. The cities razed into dust and their corpses dragged here, in a gargantuan pile, as an everlasting testament to his dominion. At least, that's what they are said to be. Privately, this is an apology. He has obliterated their culture, their history, their entire civilization. The Daeva are nothing now. But here, packed together and covered with snow and rocks -- they may become [[[scp-5140\|something greater in death]]]. And so he sits on the mountain, the weight of so many corpses and so many sins beneath him, and offers a quick prayer as he looks out over the distance. Though he knows it is impossible, he feels he can see the final prize somewhere in the distance -- Black Aditum, mausoleum of the Prophet-King Iun. He feels nothing. When hunting Amoni-Ram, he felt the deep lust for chaos gifted to him by his God. When rending Mamjul, he felt a grim determination, knowledge that the task was necessary. Now, he feels nothing. Just weariness. Still, he pulls his blade from the snow, gives one last pleading look at the Black Moon hanging low in the sky. It does not grace him with an answer. The BLACKSTAR turns, and marches on. ---- [[=]] [[div class="blockquote"]] For while the Scarlet embodied nature and gifted life, and the Steel embodied progress and gifted technology, and the Flesh embodied death and gifted continuation -- in this way the Wretch also came to embody an integral piece of man's soul. Yes, the Black Moon embodied the chaos of creation and gifted control. And it gifted this mastery over reality itself to the BLACKSTAR, plucked from the flock to be a god amongst men. And it was only in the face of death unprecedented that the faith and resolve of the man known as the BLACKSTAR began to crumble. [[/div]] -- //Verse 121 of the Song of the Daeva// [[/=]] ---- [[div class="rnb-navbar"]] [[div class="rnb-item rnb-last jadeproposal"]] [[a href="/rounderhouse-jade-proposal" style="display: block;"]][[span class="rnb-supertitle"]]PREVIOUS[[/span]] << THE JADE PROPOSAL >>[[/a]] [[/div]] [[div class="rnb-item rnb-current"]] [[a href="/redtape"]]REDTAPE[[/a]] [[/div]] [[div class="rnb-item rnb-next"]] [[a href="/heresy" style="display: block;"]][[span class="rnb-supertitle"]]NEXT[[/span]] << HEDVIG'S HERESY>>[[/a]] [[/div]] [[/div]] ---- [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] ===== > Filename: everest.png > Name: Gaurisankar or Mount Everest, Himalayas, Nepal > Author: Wellcome Library, London > License: Public Domain Mark > Source Link: [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gaurisankar_or_Mount_Everest,_Himalayas,_Nepal_Wellcome_L0038491.jpg Wikimedia Commons] ===== [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-01-31T17:17:00	[ "_cc", "_licensebox", "daevite", "robert-bumaro", "saint-hedwig", "tale", "the-administrator" ]	INTERREGNUM: THE BLACKSTAR AT EVEREST - SCP Foundation	124	[ "component:info-ayers", "scp-5140", "rounderhouse-jade-proposal", "redtape", "heresy", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "redtape" ]	[ "https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/interregnum-everest/INTERREGNUM2.png" ]	1445816081	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/interregnum-everest
interview-with-a-vampire-boat	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p>“I am not interviewing a blood addicted tugboat,” stated Elstrom. “My responsibilities lie in overview and administration, not the extraction of data from anomalies. I shouldn’t have to remind you that this falls under the purview of <em>your</em> section, Dr. Bradbury.”</p> <p>Melissa exhaled sharply through her nose, “I am aware. But in order to <em>fulfill</em> those duties of mine, I just need you to participate in–”</p> <p>“In what way am I necessary for this project’s fulfillment?” It was less of a question and more so stating what should’ve been obvious.</p> <p>“SCP-6426 has attempted communication only once in its entire time within confinement, until today. The fact it talked to you, and the fact it wasn’t even hostile towards you, represents a <em>huge</em> research opportunity!”</p> <p>“Even so, my presence is not listed as a requirement for this project,” a pause punctuated by the clicking of her mouse, “you requested ‘the temporary transfer of SCP-6426 to Site-43, in order to determine commonalities between the various hemovoric anomalies known to the Foundation, and devise a uniform deterrent applicable across the multiverse.’”</p> <p>“Yeah, and to get a headstart on that, we need to know how vampire weaknesses work in <em>other</em> universes. ‘How do we figure this out–’ well I’m glad you asked! It starts with a little five letter word beginning with…”</p> <p><em>B.</em></p> <p>“K, and ends with a word that rhymes with–”</p> <p>“Dr. Bradbury,” Karen interrupted.</p> <p>Melissa pondered for a moment, “…Karen <em>Chadlurry</em>. Not who I was thinking of, but hey, if you think they’ll help!”</p> <p>Karen Elstrom’s gaze was like the hollow eyes of a circus ringleader watching their clowns revolt and burn everything they built to the ground — in other words, unamused. “Dr. Bradbury, this is highly unprofessional behavior. I was told you had a serious inquiry to make.”</p> <p>“Then how about you start taking me seriously as well? Before today, this project had a 65% turnout rate for success. But with this opportunity, those chances have been bumped up to 74%. Just ask it questions, that’s all we need you to do. Please.”</p> <p>Elstrom took a sip from her coffee, “No. I have more pertinent duties to uphold in maintaining this site. I work in my section, and you work in yours. If you’re unable to produce anything meaningful from this project, then that’s on you.”</p> <p>“Fine,” Melissa got up and walked to Elstrom’s office door. “I had doubts I could actually convince you, which is why I talked to Director McInnis ahead of time to put you on the project.” Elstrom nearly choked on her coffee from that sentence, catching a smirk from Melissa before she vanished.</p> <p>Karen sat alone in her office. <em>So these are the things I get invited to now.</em></p> <hr/> <p>The interview room was metal, grey, and uncomfortably spacious. Elstrom strode over to the provided table and chair as the sound of the blast door closing groaned behind her. She took a seat, placed the list of questions on the right-center of the table, and looked up at the subject. The other room, separated by a massive glass divider, was not nearly as well lit; dressed in shadows, the figure of the tugboat seemed to loom over Elstrom in a manner that felt vaguely imposing.</p> <p>Containment staff assured her she would be completely safe in here: from a glass divider blessed by a god of interrogations, to automated harpoon guns with electrum ammunition, the monster was outmatched both defensively and offensively. Coupled with the hardtack cracker dispense system, the boat was like a mouse trapped in a glass box surrounded by a concrete casing.</p> <p>The lights in the other room flashed on, followed by a buzzer sounding as a waterfall of blood and viscera poured down on the derelict undead. The new illumination offered a brief glimpse at its decrepit and rusted form, before being quickly rejuvenated to a factory fresh state. As its wake-up shower ended, the naval ram piercing its motor was carefully withdrawn; as soon as it disconnected from the engine, the vehicle seemed to lunge to life, like a sudden inhalation of air. The hull rumbled and shook, a red mass bubbling to the top deck, writhing about like a tangled mess of California blackworms. Tendrils coalesced and climbed one another until they formed a bloody, crimson pillar with two cones on its tip. A sound of hacking and coughing, punctuated by the splashing of blood on the deck as it was forced out the organic speakers. There was the clearing of a throat, and a sigh of relief.</p> <p>The Vampire Boat spoke, “Ahh, we meet again it seems. And for whatever reason the hands of fate deign I come face-to-face with such a <em>lovely</em> form once more, why, I must be truly blessed.” Its voice was masculine, but average.</p> <p>Karen drew the intercom microphone closer to her face, “Hello. Before we begin, is there a preferred name you wish to be addressed by?” She’d been debriefed on SCP-6426’s original interview, how it freaked out at the mention of ‘containment.’ To prevent a similar event, they decided they would take things slow at first.</p> <p>“Oh! Heheh, how forward. You struck me as the more reserved type; not that I’m complaining! Call me… whatever you like, my dear. Any nomenclature spoken by <em>your</em> lips would be heaven to my ears.”</p> <p>“Noted. In that case, you will be referred to as ‘subject’ from now on.”</p> <p>“…Ah.”</p> <p>“Let us begin,” <em>The sooner I’m done, the better.</em> “For what reason did you refuse to attack me during your attempted escape?”</p> <p>The beast gave a chuckle that felt as manufactured and plastic as a movie prop. “Like all of man, when I see food, I eat it. But when I see a work of art, why, I admire it. Besides, the way you talk, act, present yourself; you’re much more valuable alive than as a simple finger puppet.”</p> <p>“What particular qualities do I have that make you reluctant to kill me?”</p> <p>“A melodious voice, a beautiful figure, a shining personality. Why, in what world would I dare harm a one-of-a-kind treasure, such as yourself.”</p> <p><em>Ugh, God!</em> It was a first grader’s idea of flirting. Was this really the best it could do? It’s like a fratboy method acting as an English aristocrat, trying to pick up book nerd who’s moderately attractive. Arrogance and stupidity dripped off it like oil. Karen swallowed her frustration for a moment, “Have you ever encountered someone else who you were reluctant to harm?”</p> <p>“Ohhh, the little people drift in and out of my mind, hardly worth considering,” the Vampire Boat tilted to its side slightly, “but please, enough of this robotic survey already.” It leaned forward, pressing two tentacles on the divider glass. “If you’re going to converse with me, then it will be <em>you</em> speaking,” its voice was lower, huskier. “Not a mouthpiece for whatever unsightly figures run this place, but the woman in front of me. Otherwise, I don’t quite feel like talking today, or ever really,” the Vampire Boat leaned back; it surprised Karen how a simple 40 degree vertical tilt could feel so smug. “Now, show me the real you.”</p> <p>Elstrom put a hand up to her earpiece, giving the cue to the control room. They tell her to accept its demands and drop protocol; “<tt>I’m saying to build a rapport, get to know it. The more comfortable it is around you, the more we can learn from it. Just… be yourself.</tt>”</p> <p><em>The real me.</em> If they wanted Karen to act herself here, then she would oblige, “Very well. Firstly, you will refrain from further attempts at flirtation, until such a time you demonstrate a marked improvement in that regard. Secondly, you will answer my questions in a clear, concise manner. If I, or the members of Research and Experimentation, deem your response unsatisfactory, then the question shall be repeated until the answer is deemed sufficient. Thirdly, you will refer to me solely as Dr. Elstrom; ‘Doctor’ is allowed as an epithet, within reason, but others will not be tolerated.”</p> <p>A silence hung in the air like mold dripping from the ceiling. “I find… a treasure chest,” the Vampire Boat said, “and I open it up, to see it’s full of ice, ice for a pirate themed cooler.” A pause. “Well, there’s got to be a nice drink in there somewhere.”</p> <p>Elstrom refused to react. “Because your answers for the previous two questions were unhelpfully vague, I will repeat them: what particular qualities do I have that make you reluctant to kill me?”</p> <p>“Why, every part of you, mentally and physically, is like a lighthouse guiding me to–”</p> <p>“Be specific.”</p> <p>“Or what?” It scoffed, “Really, why should I be expected to follow these rules of yours?”</p> <p>“If you do not cooperate, you will be blasted with UV light and stabbed with electrum for 32 hours.”</p> <p>“…Ugh, fine. I don’t know… your face? Your hair?”</p> <p>“What aspects of my hair and face do you like?”</p> <p>“The shape I suppose. Color…”</p> <p>“Any specific facial features? Eyes, nose, mouth, eyebrow ridge, cheekbones?”</p> <p>“I…” it chuckled, “truely, I don’t know how to boil down my yearnings. After all, beauty can’t be reduced to variables. When you go to an art museum, and you see a gorgeous painting, how can you tell it’s beautiful?”</p> <p>“Composition, artstyle, subject matter, and intent behind the piece.”</p> <p>“Ah. I was never really one for the arts.”</p> <p>“Have you ever encountered someone else who you were reluctant to harm?”</p> <p>“Maybe, though I honestly can’t remember. I find the past to be hazy, perhaps because I choose to live in the moment, haha!”</p> <p>Elstrom’s earpiece buzzed to life, “<tt>Interview ended up going a bit longer than expected. We have to proceed with testing now.</tt>”</p> <p>She stood up, “We will end here for today.”</p> <p>As Karen walked out to leave, she didn’t notice the small red tendril waving goodbye behind the glass, “Hope to see you soon, Dr. Elstrom.”</p> <hr/> <p>It went better than expected. Of course, she wasn’t free yet; this project would be going on for a while, as Research and Experimentation still had to study and test all the pompous mosquitos, cursed counterfeit coins, and whatever other bloodsuckers they dragged here.</p> <p>Elstrom shifted through the automated report system, reading through the item notifications. She looked at the clock; 8:03 PM, on a Friday. Okorie said she and Ibanez had plans tonight. Well, Okorie didn’t directly tell Elstrom that, she just overheard it while walking through the site. She heard a lot of things while walking through the site; pieces of small talk, project discussions, gossip.</p> <p>She returned her gaze to the computer. (108) unread action reports. Karen continued working.</p> <hr/> <p>The squelching noise that perforated the room had been going on for 10 minutes since Elstrom showed up. Bulbous red flesh pushed itself out from between the gaps in the boat’s steel plating, twisting and squirming through its structure like worms or severely malformed chicks.</p> <p>“Stop that.” Karen interrupted.</p> <p>“Can a man not touch himself in peace?” The squelching continued.</p> <p>Karen grimaced, she didn’t want to ask but knew she had to, “For what purpose?”</p> <p>“Given the phantasmal nature of this facility, I want to make sure my own identity and history haven’t been toyed with yet. Hmm… everything appears to be fine, I’m still the same model I remember.”</p> <p>“…Where do you believe yourself to be right now?”</p> <p>The red meat slid back under the monster’s metal carapace with a wet sucking sound, like a whoopee cushion in reverse, “If you’re trying to gaslight me, it won’t work. I am immune.”</p> <p>“It was a genuine question.”</p> <p>“Then why state the obvious? ‘Hell.’ There’s your genuine answer; only way I can describe my time here in these blackened anthills. I know the stories, the horrific tales of CI bases and how they drag everything their shadows touch into their depths.” It paused, “Ahh, but how can I stay terse with a captor as lovely as you, regardless if you are trying to fool me.”</p> <p>Elstrom wrote down in her notes, “Noted.” The air in the cold, uncomfortable room carried a faint metallic taste. Perhaps it was due to being surrounded by ugly steel walls, and sitting in an ugly steel chair with an ugly steel desk, in front of an ugly steel monster full of–</p> <p>“So,” the Vampire Boat broke Karen from her internal complaining, “did you have any more questions, or is today just my mandated reminder that I’m stuck here forever?”</p> <p>“You will not speak unless I ask you to, especially in such an obnoxious tone,” she said, with the same cadence as a boarding school teacher. “To clarify, my previous inquiry was outside of the prepared list.” She looks at her list of questions, “Why are you a boat?”</p> <p>“Why are you a grub on a string, just waiting to be cast out?”</p> <p>Silence, followed by rich laughter that felt like it came from someone with crusty, slicked back hair and a greasy face, “Allow me to be a bit more direct,” the Vampire Boat said. “Have you ever suffered existential dread while staring up at the starry night sky? Have you ever pondered how the choices a person makes can have far reaching consequences? Have you ever sat down in the mess hall, eating your ham slash tuna sandwich, and contemplated your own mortality?”</p> <p>“Not a single one of those was a direct answer. They weren’t even answers.”</p> <p>“Yes, they’re all questions, but they highlight <em>an idea</em>. Don’t tell me you’ve never had those moments, those realizations of hopelessness against something you can only barely comprehend.”</p> <p>“I have them on occasion, yes. But then I remind myself it’s a Tuesday and move on with my life.”</p> <p>“As most people do…”</p> <p>“…”</p> <p>“…”</p> <p>“I will repeat th–”</p> <p>A thick tendril thwacked against the divider glass. “You want to know why I– AAHHHHH!” Unfortunately, the force of the impact activated the automated harpoon guns, which can’t differentiate between dramatic flair or genuine escape attempt. “AHHH! FUCK! AHHHHH…” the screaming quickly descended into inhuman squeals as the abomination writhed about like a pencil-shanked bug.</p> <p>Labored breathing soon replaced the echoing shrieks as the electrum projectiles were slowly withdrawn, the Vampire Boat’s hull shuddering with every facsimiled intake of air.</p> <p>“I will repeat the question,” said Elstrom, “why are you a boat?”</p> <p>The beast tilted forward incredulously, “You want to know why… I’m a boat? Because I chose to be. Because I looked up at what my own string was attached to and was horrified. I saw myself surrounded by dim witted morons, all happy to be fucked in the ass by forces they had no control over. It sickened me. I wasn’t gonna let Yeshua take the wheel, screw Yeshua, I’d steer my own fate! So I leapt from His ship, and became captain of my own.”</p> <p>Elstrom scribbled on her clipboard, “Your answer is sufficient.” In truth, she didn’t think it was sufficient, but she had reached her daily limit for the Vampire Boat’s high school play monologues and wanted to move on. She looked at the next question, “What does contact with electrum feel like to you?”</p> <p>“Psychic emasculation. Next question.”</p> <hr/> <p>“What is she been doing?”</p> <p>“Helping out with that vampire party thing the research people are doing. But I heard she’s been spending an <em>unusual</em> amount of time with SCP-6426.”</p> <p>“Which one’s–”</p> <p>“The Vampire Boat.”</p> <p>“Oh. Ohhhhhhhh.”</p> <p>“Yeah.”</p> <p>“Damn. And you know how it seemed head-over-heels for her when it tried to escape?”</p> <p>“Haha, yeah. I’m not surprised, though; it’s like in a cartoon where a big evil monster breaks loose, but falls in love with a mean-bitch character cause they’re impressed by their evilness.”</p> <p>“It’s like a shitter version of Beauty and th–”</p> <p>The clacking of heels growing louder signified to the two co-workers it was time to shut it. They waited for Elstrom to pass, before continuing.</p> <p>“Beauty and the Bitch.”</p> <p>“Yea– wait, are you calling the boat hot?”</p> <p>Their snickering grew fainter and fainter in Elstrom’s ears.</p> <hr/> <p>“As your psychological state is of interest to Site-43’s Research and Experimentation section, I have been instructed to check on your mental well-being. Hi, how are you today?” Her delivery was like that of the world’s most deadpan data entry technician.</p> <p>“Oh, I’ve been just hunky-dory: poked and prodded by instruments of torture to see which ones make you scream loudest, subjected to horrifying stimulus for so long you think your mind will break, and you know just general suffering.” It moans,” I can’t even tell how long we’ve been doing this, I’ve been down here so long the nights bleed together into a spiraling slurry of neverending madness.”</p> <p>“Noted.” Its whining had already gotten grating a week and a half ago, by now it was insufferable. “On that topic, I’ve also been instructed to ask regarding your testing.”</p> <p>“As cold as your heart is, seeing your face does provide my torturous existence a modicum of comfort. Like a divorced salaryman meeting with his crack dealer every week. Ask away!”</p> <p>“During experimentation, you were presented with a variety of symbols and objects. Did any of these items stand out to you, or make you feel a certain way?”</p> <p>“…Huh?”</p> <p>“During experimentation, you were presented with a variety–”</p> <p>“Yes, yes, I heard you the first time. Unless you’re talking about the things they stabbed me with, I don’t recall being presented with anything.”</p> <p>Karen scribbled on her paper before holding it up, showing the Christian cross and Ortothan heptagon, “Do these look familiar?”</p> <p>A snail-like eyestalk slithered out from behind its starboard side and up to the glass divider. Elstrom nearly sprang from her seat, clutching her clipboard and pressing down on her earpiece instinctively. “I should remind you that you are restricted from producing any organic structures besides a siren for communication.”</p> <p>“Pipe down, I just don’t wanna strain myself reading your mousey drawings. And besides, I couldn’t pull something even if I wanted; you lot are already brainwashed.” Karen dropped back in her seat. <em>Thank God for misinformation, and the fact he’s an idiot.</em> The eye squints, “Ah, well yes I recognize those, but how was I supposed to know those were being ‘presented’ to me? Someone would put something in my face or show a picture on the wall randomly, and then it’s right back to agony!”</p> <p>“Did any of them make you feel a certain way?” Elstrom repeated.</p> <p>“No,” it exhaled, “I– well… one or two, perhaps. That hexagon picture,” <em>Heptagon.</em> “I remember it imparting a vague feeling of… restricted access. Like it was telling me to go away, though with the same authority a child’s voice carries. Kind of like yours.”</p> <p>Karen briefly wondered if having tentacles ripped out was as painful as having hair ripped out. “Did this voice remind you of anything?”</p> <p>“The Voice of God, but lamer. In all honesty, it felt like a poorman’s ichthys.”</p> <p>“An ichthys, is it?” Karen’s scribbling noises gave an uneasy feeling in the Vampire Boat.</p> <p>“Now, now, there’s no need for–” Elstrom flipped the paper over, the beast recoiling as it screamed in pain and horror…</p> <p>But then it stopped. The Vampire Boat drew itself closer to the glass, and that feeling of unease transferred over to her.</p> <p>“Huh,” it said, “even something as simple as a drawing or a <em>handshape</em> should be enough to invoke Him. So either God’s Light doesn’t reach down here, or…,” the stern of the ship slowly deformed, as a jagged smile crept up its hull, “He’s in a different neighborhood.”</p> <p>Elstrom quickly reaches for her earpiece but is suddenly blinded by a light from the beast’s eye. Its patterns seem to shift and melt together, like amoebas under a kaleidoscope, washing over her like a warm river.</p> <p>“Heh. Heheheheh,” it chortled, “guess I should throw my previous conceptions of you bastards off the poopdeck! You’re similar, equally cruel, but the Initiative have a certain… resignatory look in their eyes, that you all seem to lack.”</p> <p>The derelict undead stared down at the woman, who stared back in mindless trance, “Now then, my… <em>delicious</em> Elstrom, go and… I need you to… you… I… goooooo…”</p> <p>It took around an hour before containment teams arrived to find SCP-6426 having hypnotized Dr. Elstrom as well as itself.</p> <hr/> <p>“The story is muddy. Supposedly a trickster forest god showed humanity favor, showed us the master's tools and how to use them.” Elstrom recited the speech by heart, as she stood in front of the latest batch of Level 3 promotees, debriefing them on Foundation Genocide #17.</p> <p>Her mind wandered as she thought about what she could do later tonight. “Somehow we acquired SCP-1000's own technology, and with it, we instigated an SK-class dominance shift in which humanity became the dominant species of Earth.” Due to having to help with Bradbury’s science project, a large chunk of Karen’s responsibilities had fallen to her subordinates, much to her chagrin. This had given her an amount of free time she wasn’t used to.</p> <p><em>I could read that book from a few years back that I never got around to finishing. …No, 80% of my job is already reading.</em> “Supposedly every flower bloomed that day, while our enemies died in their sleep. Then we hunted the rest down.” <em>I shouldn’t work on my night off.</em></p> <p>“But we went further than just killing them.” <em>Maybe I’ll watch a show.</em> Life On Mars <em>sounds interesting, from what I’ve heard.</em> “With a few of the more twisted of SCP-1000's devices, we drove the survivors mad, even those hiding beyond our reach.” <em>But if I don’t finish it today, there’s the risk I’ll keep thinking about it during work and it’ll distract me. I’ll just watch a miniseries on Netflix.</em></p> <p>She saw O’Conner and LeBlanc in the mess hall earlier. “We slaughtered their living machines and burned their vast shining cities with SCP-1000's bioweapons that reduced everything to slurry and dust that washed or blew away in spring rain and wind.” They’ve been very chummy lately.</p> <hr/> <p>“Do you have any knowledge on–”</p> <p><strong>BWAA</strong></p> <p>“What is–”</p> <p><strong>BWAAAA</strong></p> <p>“Have–!”</p> <p><strong>BWAAAAAAA</strong></p> <p>Karen’s pencil snapped in her hand, “Stop that, you fucking asshole!”</p> <p>“No.” Another <strong>BWAAAA</strong> sounded from its foghorn.</p> <p>“Urrrrgh!” Karen ruffled her hands through her hair and pulled, “do you know how much shit I deal with on a daily basis?”</p> <p>“I don’t care.”</p> <p>It felt like the blood vessels in her skull were about to reach boiling point. “You are <em>insufferable</em>. A <em>child</em>.” She was pacing around the room now, “Never have I met someone as disgusting and obnoxious as you.”</p> <p>“Oh you truly think you’re any better?” The Vampire Boat sat upright, “You are a cantankerous, joyless woman who’s had a stick up their own ass for so long it's become ingrained in your anatomy. It feels like I’m talking to an emotionally-stunted android that just crawled its way out of a Gyre state's trash mounds.” It slammed a bundle of tentacles on the divider glass, “Ughhh… how many times have we– HOW MANY MOONS HAS IT BEEN SINCE I’VE BEEN STUCK WITH YOU!”</p> <p>“It’s been four weeks.”</p> <p>“Well it feels like months. Months and months of your controlling personality, restricting every little thing I do. News flash! I can’t do fucking anything in here, what do you want me to do, do less than nothing?”</p> <p>“Then you should feel fortunate, because today is our last interview. This stupid vampire project is finally fucking over, and I’ll never have to hear your godawful voice again.”</p> <p>“Do you remember one of the things I said to you when we first spoke? How ‘you’re much more valuable alive than as a finger puppet?’ I retract my statement, this world would be better off without you. AHH!”</p> <p>The shock of the sudden scream snapped Elstrom out of her irascible mood. She watched the panicked and erratic motions of the tugboat, shifting and turning and caressing itself with its tendrils like they were a safety blanket. “No, no no I didn’t mean it, I could never mean it. Never do it. <em>That</em>. No, no no I’m sorry.” Its once arrogant voice grew softer and softer, “I’m sorry. I could never hurt you I’m sorry.”</p> <p>Elstrom quietly approached, “What…”</p> <p>It groaned, “Huhh… my head… what is this scratching? This i t c h i n g? Can’t peel it off, too thick. Too dark. Can’t see…” The coughing noises from its siren sounded almost like sobs.</p> <p>Karen stood there. She was unprepared for these moments.</p> <p>“What… what did you do to me…?” It growled out.</p> <p>“…I…”</p> <p>“What did you DO TO ME? My head… I hate this. I hate these feelings.”</p> <p>The beast had calmed down, leaning against the far wall, “…You’re a miserable creature, Dr. Elstrom, and that’ll never change. You push others away, passively and actively. You make no attempts at fostering meaningful relationships.” <em>Fuck you.</em> “Nobody likes you. You’re” <em>A bitch.</em> “uptight, boring, rude, a” <em>A bitch.</em> "control freak, and” <em>A bitch. Just say it.</em> “completely uncompromising. You’re” <em>Say it.</em> “lonely, but you don’t know how to stop being lonely. Actually no, not lonely, not quite. <em>Alone.</em> You are fully alone. No matter who you meet, no matter where you go, you can never connect with anyone. You can never have what they all have, because you, Dr. Elstrom, are a horrible–”</p> <p>“Say it!” She spat, “say it.”</p> <p>A pause, “Struck a nerve, did I? Did you think I was going to say something, starting with a B, perhaps? Buh, buh buh, buh buh buh buh buh…”</p> <p>Silence perforated the room. Elstrom stared unblinking, face beat red.</p> <p>“I’m aware of the jokes,” <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">it</span> he said, “I know what they say about you. Well, <em>us</em> now I suppose. ‘Beauty and the Bitch.’ ‘Boat and the Beast.’ ‘Bossy, Bratty.’ ‘…Boatfucker.’ Now that last one, I take it to be a compliment, for me at least.”</p> <p>Elstrom sat back down, her gaze was at her feet.</p> <p>Vampire Boat exhaled, causing a whining effect in the siren, “I must admit,” she looked up, “I was the pot calling the kettle black when I said you were a miserable creature. Just look at me. I may have ascended the mortal coil, but I am undeniably a monster, both outside and in: I’ve butchered families, made chimeras from the innocent dead, pillaged and plundered and sucked everything I’ve come across dry. And I don’t feel bad about it; my heart was replaced with a diesel engine, why should I? But here’s the thing, Elstrom, I <em>love</em> you. As much as I wish I could control these abominable dalliances of mine, my feelings for you are true. You’re a terrible person, but I’m no better.”</p> <p>Elstrom stared at him with a complete poker face, and opened her mouth, “What a pathetic, cliched Dateline TV excuse for manipulation.” She stood up, knocking her chair over, “You think hammering home the fact my coworkers hate me, that I’ll never find friendship, it’ll make me want to run into your wet sticky arms? You’re a little late. I hammered home that idea years ago, when I tried making friends and got everyone close to me killed. I’m not meant to have friends, I’ve made peace with that.”</p> <p>The undead man paused for a moment, thinking. “Counterpoint: you still desire companionship. You still want to know what it feels like to be loved, and I’m the only thing in the world that loves you.”</p> <p>“I am aware.” She turned to leave, “We will end here for today.”</p> <p>“Hope to see you soon, Dr. Elstrom.”</p> <hr/> <p>“Looks like the ship’s been shipped off,” Bradbury quipped. She noticed Karen staring intensely at nothing, like something was on her mind. “Hey, you good?”</p> <p>Karen snapped to attention, “I’m fine. You should direct your worries elsewhere.”</p> <p>She bobbed her head, “Good, good.”</p> <p>Silence between the two, before Melissa spoke up, “Hey uh, me and Harry are planning on watching a movie tonight. It’s not really a date night, since Wettle’s gonna be there too. B-but if that seems like a dealbreaker, I promise you, I will pull back his reins. He will not be annoying in the slightest.”</p> <p>“I appreciate the invitation, but I will have to refuse. I have already made plans for tonight.”</p> <p>“Oh. Well, if those plans get cancelled or something, you’re always welcome to pop by.”</p> <p>“Sure.”</p> <hr/> <div style="text-align: center;"> <blockquote> <p><strong>For an alternate take, see <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/harryblank" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(6479803); return false;"><img alt="HarryBlank" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=6479803&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1721233703" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=6479803)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/harryblank" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(6479803); return false;">HarryBlank</a></span>'s version! <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/the-ship-of-screams">The Ship of Screams</a></strong></p> <p><strong>Thanks for stopping by!</strong></p> </blockquote> </div> <div class="collection"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">More From This Author</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">More From This Author</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <table style="1px solid black; width: 100%;"> <tr> <th class="namerow" colspan="2"><div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p>Crow-Cat's Works</p> </div> </div></th> </tr> <tr> <th class="titlecolumn">SCPs</th> <th class="articlecolumn"><div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/scp-050-int">SCP-050-INT</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/scp-7755">SCP-7755</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/scp-7547">SCP-7547</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/scp-6818">SCP-6818</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/scp-6426">SCP-6426</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> </div></th> </tr> <tr> <th class="titlecolumn">Tales/GoI Formats</th> <th class="articlecolumn"><div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/spc-6985">SPC-6985: THE ANTI-SHARK</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> </div></th> </tr> <tr> <th class="titlecolumn">Other</th> <th class="articlecolumn"></th> </tr> </table> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/interview-with-a-vampire-boat">What does B stand for?</a>" by Crow-Cat, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/interview-with-a-vampire-boat">https://scpwiki.com/interview-with-a-vampire-boat</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module rate]] [[/>]] “I am not interviewing a blood addicted tugboat,” stated Elstrom. “My responsibilities lie in overview and administration, not the extraction of data from anomalies. I shouldn’t have to remind you that this falls under the purview of //your// section, Dr. Bradbury.” Melissa exhaled sharply through her nose, “I am aware. But in order to //fulfill// those duties of mine, I just need you to participate in–” “In what way am I necessary for this project’s fulfillment?” It was less of a question and more so stating what should’ve been obvious. “SCP-6426 has attempted communication only once in its entire time within confinement, until today. The fact it talked to you, and the fact it wasn’t even hostile towards you, represents a //huge// research opportunity!” “Even so, my presence is not listed as a requirement for this project,” a pause punctuated by the clicking of her mouse, “you requested ‘the temporary transfer of SCP-6426 to Site-43, in order to determine commonalities between the various hemovoric anomalies known to the Foundation, and devise a uniform deterrent applicable across the multiverse.’” “Yeah, and to get a headstart on that, we need to know how vampire weaknesses work in //other// universes. ‘How do we figure this out–’ well I’m glad you asked! It starts with a little five letter word beginning with…” //B.// “K, and ends with a word that rhymes with–” “Dr. Bradbury,” Karen interrupted. Melissa pondered for a moment, “...Karen //Chadlurry//. Not who I was thinking of, but hey, if you think they’ll help!” Karen Elstrom’s gaze was like the hollow eyes of a circus ringleader watching their clowns revolt and burn everything they built to the ground -- in other words, unamused. “Dr. Bradbury, this is highly unprofessional behavior. I was told you had a serious inquiry to make.” “Then how about you start taking me seriously as well? Before today, this project had a 65% turnout rate for success. But with this opportunity, those chances have been bumped up to 74%. Just ask it questions, that’s all we need you to do. Please.” Elstrom took a sip from her coffee, “No. I have more pertinent duties to uphold in maintaining this site. I work in my section, and you work in yours. If you’re unable to produce anything meaningful from this project, then that’s on you.” “Fine,” Melissa got up and walked to Elstrom’s office door. “I had doubts I could actually convince you, which is why I talked to Director McInnis ahead of time to put you on the project.” Elstrom nearly choked on her coffee from that sentence, catching a smirk from Melissa before she vanished. Karen sat alone in her office. //So these are the things I get invited to now.// ------ The interview room was metal, grey, and uncomfortably spacious. Elstrom strode over to the provided table and chair as the sound of the blast door closing groaned behind her. She took a seat, placed the list of questions on the right-center of the table, and looked up at the subject. The other room, separated by a massive glass divider, was not nearly as well lit; dressed in shadows, the figure of the tugboat seemed to loom over Elstrom in a manner that felt vaguely imposing. Containment staff assured her she would be completely safe in here: from a glass divider blessed by a god of interrogations, to automated harpoon guns with electrum ammunition, the monster was outmatched both defensively and offensively. Coupled with the hardtack cracker dispense system, the boat was like a mouse trapped in a glass box surrounded by a concrete casing. The lights in the other room flashed on, followed by a buzzer sounding as a waterfall of blood and viscera poured down on the derelict undead. The new illumination offered a brief glimpse at its decrepit and rusted form, before being quickly rejuvenated to a factory fresh state. As its wake-up shower ended, the naval ram piercing its motor was carefully withdrawn; as soon as it disconnected from the engine, the vehicle seemed to lunge to life, like a sudden inhalation of air. The hull rumbled and shook, a red mass bubbling to the top deck, writhing about like a tangled mess of California blackworms. Tendrils coalesced and climbed one another until they formed a bloody, crimson pillar with two cones on its tip. A sound of hacking and coughing, punctuated by the splashing of blood on the deck as it was forced out the organic speakers. There was the clearing of a throat, and a sigh of relief. The Vampire Boat spoke, “Ahh, we meet again it seems. And for whatever reason the hands of fate deign I come face-to-face with such a //lovely// form once more, why, I must be truly blessed.” Its voice was masculine, but average. Karen drew the intercom microphone closer to her face, “Hello. Before we begin, is there a preferred name you wish to be addressed by?” She’d been debriefed on SCP-6426’s original interview, how it freaked out at the mention of ‘containment.’ To prevent a similar event, they decided they would take things slow at first. “Oh! Heheh, how forward. You struck me as the more reserved type; not that I’m complaining! Call me… whatever you like, my dear. Any nomenclature spoken by //your// lips would be heaven to my ears.” “Noted. In that case, you will be referred to as ‘subject’ from now on.” “...Ah.” “Let us begin,” //The sooner I’m done, the better.// “For what reason did you refuse to attack me during your attempted escape?” The beast gave a chuckle that felt as manufactured and plastic as a movie prop. “Like all of man, when I see food, I eat it. But when I see a work of art, why, I admire it. Besides, the way you talk, act, present yourself; you’re much more valuable alive than as a simple finger puppet.” “What particular qualities do I have that make you reluctant to kill me?” “A melodious voice, a beautiful figure, a shining personality. Why, in what world would I dare harm a one-of-a-kind treasure, such as yourself.” //Ugh, God!// It was a first grader’s idea of flirting. Was this really the best it could do? It’s like a fratboy method acting as an English aristocrat, trying to pick up book nerd who’s moderately attractive. Arrogance and stupidity dripped off it like oil. Karen swallowed her frustration for a moment, “Have you ever encountered someone else who you were reluctant to harm?” “Ohhh, the little people drift in and out of my mind, hardly worth considering,” the Vampire Boat tilted to its side slightly, “but please, enough of this robotic survey already.” It leaned forward, pressing two tentacles on the divider glass. “If you’re going to converse with me, then it will be //you// speaking,” its voice was lower, huskier. “Not a mouthpiece for whatever unsightly figures run this place, but the woman in front of me. Otherwise, I don’t quite feel like talking today, or ever really,” the Vampire Boat leaned back; it surprised Karen how a simple 40 degree vertical tilt could feel so smug. “Now, show me the real you.” Elstrom put a hand up to her earpiece, giving the cue to the control room. They tell her to accept its demands and drop protocol; “{{I’m saying to build a rapport, get to know it. The more comfortable it is around you, the more we can learn from it. Just… be yourself.}}” //The real me.// If they wanted Karen to act herself here, then she would oblige, “Very well. Firstly, you will refrain from further attempts at flirtation, until such a time you demonstrate a marked improvement in that regard. Secondly, you will answer my questions in a clear, concise manner. If I, or the members of Research and Experimentation, deem your response unsatisfactory, then the question shall be repeated until the answer is deemed sufficient. Thirdly, you will refer to me solely as Dr. Elstrom; ‘Doctor’ is allowed as an epithet, within reason, but others will not be tolerated.” A silence hung in the air like mold dripping from the ceiling. “I find… a treasure chest,” the Vampire Boat said, “and I open it up, to see it’s full of ice, ice for a pirate themed cooler.” A pause. “Well, there’s got to be a nice drink in there somewhere.” Elstrom refused to react. “Because your answers for the previous two questions were unhelpfully vague, I will repeat them: what particular qualities do I have that make you reluctant to kill me?” “Why, every part of you, mentally and physically, is like a lighthouse guiding me to–” “Be specific.” “Or what?” It scoffed, “Really, why should I be expected to follow these rules of yours?” “If you do not cooperate, you will be blasted with UV light and stabbed with electrum for 32 hours.” “...Ugh, fine. I don’t know… your face? Your hair?” “What aspects of my hair and face do you like?” “The shape I suppose. Color…” “Any specific facial features? Eyes, nose, mouth, eyebrow ridge, cheekbones?” “I…” it chuckled, “truely, I don’t know how to boil down my yearnings. After all, beauty can’t be reduced to variables. When you go to an art museum, and you see a gorgeous painting, how can you tell it’s beautiful?” “Composition, artstyle, subject matter, and intent behind the piece.” “Ah. I was never really one for the arts.” “Have you ever encountered someone else who you were reluctant to harm?” “Maybe, though I honestly can’t remember. I find the past to be hazy, perhaps because I choose to live in the moment, haha!” Elstrom’s earpiece buzzed to life, “{{Interview ended up going a bit longer than expected. We have to proceed with testing now.}}” She stood up, “We will end here for today.” As Karen walked out to leave, she didn’t notice the small red tendril waving goodbye behind the glass, “Hope to see you soon, Dr. Elstrom.” ------ It went better than expected. Of course, she wasn’t free yet; this project would be going on for a while, as Research and Experimentation still had to study and test all the pompous mosquitos, cursed counterfeit coins, and whatever other bloodsuckers they dragged here. Elstrom shifted through the automated report system, reading through the item notifications. She looked at the clock; 8:03 PM, on a Friday. Okorie said she and Ibanez had plans tonight. Well, Okorie didn’t directly tell Elstrom that, she just overheard it while walking through the site. She heard a lot of things while walking through the site; pieces of small talk, project discussions, gossip. She returned her gaze to the computer. (108) unread action reports. Karen continued working. ------ The squelching noise that perforated the room had been going on for 10 minutes since Elstrom showed up. Bulbous red flesh pushed itself out from between the gaps in the boat’s steel plating, twisting and squirming through its structure like worms or severely malformed chicks. “Stop that.” Karen interrupted. “Can a man not touch himself in peace?” The squelching continued. Karen grimaced, she didn’t want to ask but knew she had to, “For what purpose?” “Given the phantasmal nature of this facility, I want to make sure my own identity and history haven’t been toyed with yet. Hmm… everything appears to be fine, I’m still the same model I remember.” “...Where do you believe yourself to be right now?” The red meat slid back under the monster’s metal carapace with a wet sucking sound, like a whoopee cushion in reverse, “If you’re trying to gaslight me, it won’t work. I am immune.” “It was a genuine question.” “Then why state the obvious? ‘Hell.’ There’s your genuine answer; only way I can describe my time here in these blackened anthills. I know the stories, the horrific tales of CI bases and how they drag everything their shadows touch into their depths.” It paused, “Ahh, but how can I stay terse with a captor as lovely as you, regardless if you are trying to fool me.” Elstrom wrote down in her notes, “Noted.” The air in the cold, uncomfortable room carried a faint metallic taste. Perhaps it was due to being surrounded by ugly steel walls, and sitting in an ugly steel chair with an ugly steel desk, in front of an ugly steel monster full of– “So,” the Vampire Boat broke Karen from her internal complaining, “did you have any more questions, or is today just my mandated reminder that I’m stuck here forever?” “You will not speak unless I ask you to, especially in such an obnoxious tone,” she said, with the same cadence as a boarding school teacher. “To clarify, my previous inquiry was outside of the prepared list.” She looks at her list of questions, “Why are you a boat?” “Why are you a grub on a string, just waiting to be cast out?” Silence, followed by rich laughter that felt like it came from someone with crusty, slicked back hair and a greasy face, “Allow me to be a bit more direct,” the Vampire Boat said. “Have you ever suffered existential dread while staring up at the starry night sky? Have you ever pondered how the choices a person makes can have far reaching consequences? Have you ever sat down in the mess hall, eating your ham slash tuna sandwich, and contemplated your own mortality?” “Not a single one of those was a direct answer. They weren’t even answers.” “Yes, they’re all questions, but they highlight //an idea//. Don’t tell me you’ve never had those moments, those realizations of hopelessness against something you can only barely comprehend.” “I have them on occasion, yes. But then I remind myself it’s a Tuesday and move on with my life.” “As most people do…” “...” “...” “I will repeat th–” A thick tendril thwacked against the divider glass. “You want to know why I– AAHHHHH!” Unfortunately, the force of the impact activated the automated harpoon guns, which can’t differentiate between dramatic flair or genuine escape attempt. “AHHH! FUCK! AHHHHH…” the screaming quickly descended into inhuman squeals as the abomination writhed about like a pencil-shanked bug. Labored breathing soon replaced the echoing shrieks as the electrum projectiles were slowly withdrawn, the Vampire Boat’s hull shuddering with every facsimiled intake of air. “I will repeat the question,” said Elstrom, “why are you a boat?” The beast tilted forward incredulously, “You want to know why… I’m a boat? Because I chose to be. Because I looked up at what my own string was attached to and was horrified. I saw myself surrounded by dim witted morons, all happy to be fucked in the ass by forces they had no control over. It sickened me. I wasn’t gonna let Yeshua take the wheel, screw Yeshua, I’d steer my own fate! So I leapt from His ship, and became captain of my own.” Elstrom scribbled on her clipboard, “Your answer is sufficient.” In truth, she didn’t think it was sufficient, but she had reached her daily limit for the Vampire Boat’s high school play monologues and wanted to move on. She looked at the next question, “What does contact with electrum feel like to you?” “Psychic emasculation. Next question.” ------ “What is she been doing?” “Helping out with that vampire party thing the research people are doing. But I heard she’s been spending an //unusual// amount of time with SCP-6426.” “Which one’s–” “The Vampire Boat.” “Oh. Ohhhhhhhh.” “Yeah.” “Damn. And you know how it seemed head-over-heels for her when it tried to escape?” “Haha, yeah. I’m not surprised, though; it’s like in a cartoon where a big evil monster breaks loose, but falls in love with a mean-bitch character cause they’re impressed by their evilness.” “It’s like a shitter version of Beauty and th–” The clacking of heels growing louder signified to the two co-workers it was time to shut it. They waited for Elstrom to pass, before continuing. “Beauty and the Bitch.” “Yea– wait, are you calling the boat hot?” Their snickering grew fainter and fainter in Elstrom’s ears. ------ “As your psychological state is of interest to Site-43’s Research and Experimentation section, I have been instructed to check on your mental well-being. Hi, how are you today?” Her delivery was like that of the world’s most deadpan data entry technician. “Oh, I’ve been just hunky-dory: poked and prodded by instruments of torture to see which ones make you scream loudest, subjected to horrifying stimulus for so long you think your mind will break, and you know just general suffering.” It moans,” I can’t even tell how long we’ve been doing this, I’ve been down here so long the nights bleed together into a spiraling slurry of neverending madness.” “Noted.” Its whining had already gotten grating a week and a half ago, by now it was insufferable. “On that topic, I’ve also been instructed to ask regarding your testing.” “As cold as your heart is, seeing your face does provide my torturous existence a modicum of comfort. Like a divorced salaryman meeting with his crack dealer every week. Ask away!” “During experimentation, you were presented with a variety of symbols and objects. Did any of these items stand out to you, or make you feel a certain way?” “...Huh?” “During experimentation, you were presented with a variety–” “Yes, yes, I heard you the first time. Unless you’re talking about the things they stabbed me with, I don’t recall being presented with anything.” Karen scribbled on her paper before holding it up, showing the Christian cross and Ortothan heptagon, “Do these look familiar?” A snail-like eyestalk slithered out from behind its starboard side and up to the glass divider. Elstrom nearly sprang from her seat, clutching her clipboard and pressing down on her earpiece instinctively. “I should remind you that you are restricted from producing any organic structures besides a siren for communication.” “Pipe down, I just don’t wanna strain myself reading your mousey drawings. And besides, I couldn’t pull something even if I wanted; you lot are already brainwashed.” Karen dropped back in her seat. //Thank God for misinformation, and the fact he’s an idiot.// The eye squints, “Ah, well yes I recognize those, but how was I supposed to know those were being ‘presented’ to me? Someone would put something in my face or show a picture on the wall randomly, and then it’s right back to agony!” “Did any of them make you feel a certain way?” Elstrom repeated. “No,” it exhaled, “I– well… one or two, perhaps. That hexagon picture,” //Heptagon.// “I remember it imparting a vague feeling of… restricted access. Like it was telling me to go away, though with the same authority a child’s voice carries. Kind of like yours.” Karen briefly wondered if having tentacles ripped out was as painful as having hair ripped out. “Did this voice remind you of anything?” “The Voice of God, but lamer. In all honesty, it felt like a poorman’s ichthys.” “An ichthys, is it?” Karen’s scribbling noises gave an uneasy feeling in the Vampire Boat. “Now, now, there’s no need for–” Elstrom flipped the paper over, the beast recoiling as it screamed in pain and horror… But then it stopped. The Vampire Boat drew itself closer to the glass, and that feeling of unease transferred over to her. “Huh,” it said, “even something as simple as a drawing or a //handshape// should be enough to invoke Him. So either God’s Light doesn’t reach down here, or…,” the stern of the ship slowly deformed, as a jagged smile crept up its hull, “He’s in a different neighborhood.” Elstrom quickly reaches for her earpiece but is suddenly blinded by a light from the beast’s eye. Its patterns seem to shift and melt together, like amoebas under a kaleidoscope, washing over her like a warm river. “Heh. Heheheheh,” it chortled, “guess I should throw my previous conceptions of you bastards off the poopdeck! You’re similar, equally cruel, but the Initiative have a certain… resignatory look in their eyes, that you all seem to lack.” The derelict undead stared down at the woman, who stared back in mindless trance, “Now then, my… //delicious// Elstrom, go and… I need you to… you… I… goooooo…” It took around an hour before containment teams arrived to find SCP-6426 having hypnotized Dr. Elstrom as well as itself. ------ “The story is muddy. Supposedly a trickster forest god showed humanity favor, showed us the master's tools and how to use them.” Elstrom recited the speech by heart, as she stood in front of the latest batch of Level 3 promotees, debriefing them on Foundation Genocide #17. Her mind wandered as she thought about what she could do later tonight. “Somehow we acquired SCP-1000's own technology, and with it, we instigated an SK-class dominance shift in which humanity became the dominant species of Earth.” Due to having to help with Bradbury’s science project, a large chunk of Karen’s responsibilities had fallen to her subordinates, much to her chagrin. This had given her an amount of free time she wasn’t used to. //I could read that book from a few years back that I never got around to finishing. …No, 80% of my job is already reading.// “Supposedly every flower bloomed that day, while our enemies died in their sleep. Then we hunted the rest down.” //I shouldn’t work on my night off.// “But we went further than just killing them.” //Maybe I’ll watch a show.// Life On Mars //sounds interesting, from what I’ve heard.// “With a few of the more twisted of SCP-1000's devices, we drove the survivors mad, even those hiding beyond our reach.” //But if I don’t finish it today, there’s the risk I’ll keep thinking about it during work and it’ll distract me. I’ll just watch a miniseries on Netflix.// She saw O’Conner and LeBlanc in the mess hall earlier. “We slaughtered their living machines and burned their vast shining cities with SCP-1000's bioweapons that reduced everything to slurry and dust that washed or blew away in spring rain and wind.” They’ve been very chummy lately. ------ “Do you have any knowledge on–” BWAA “What is–” BWAAAA “Have–!” BWAAAAAAA Karen’s pencil snapped in her hand, “Stop that, you fucking asshole!” “No.” Another BWAAAA sounded from its foghorn. “Urrrrgh!” Karen ruffled her hands through her hair and pulled, “do you know how much shit I deal with on a daily basis?” “I don’t care.” It felt like the blood vessels in her skull were about to reach boiling point. “You are //insufferable//. A //child//.” She was pacing around the room now, “Never have I met someone as disgusting and obnoxious as you.” “Oh you truly think you’re any better?” The Vampire Boat sat upright, “You are a cantankerous, joyless woman who’s had a stick up their own ass for so long it's become ingrained in your anatomy. It feels like I’m talking to an emotionally-stunted android that just crawled its way out of a Gyre state's trash mounds.” It slammed a bundle of tentacles on the divider glass, “Ughhh… how many times have we– HOW MANY MOONS HAS IT BEEN SINCE I’VE BEEN STUCK WITH YOU!” “It’s been four weeks.” “Well it feels like months. Months and months of your controlling personality, restricting every little thing I do. News flash! I can’t do fucking anything in here, what do you want me to do, do less than nothing?” “Then you should feel fortunate, because today is our last interview. This stupid vampire project is finally fucking over, and I’ll never have to hear your godawful voice again.” “Do you remember one of the things I said to you when we first spoke? How ‘you’re much more valuable alive than as a finger puppet?’ I retract my statement, this world would be better off without you. AHH!” The shock of the sudden scream snapped Elstrom out of her irascible mood. She watched the panicked and erratic motions of the tugboat, shifting and turning and caressing itself with its tendrils like they were a safety blanket. “No, no no I didn’t mean it, I could never mean it. Never do it. //That//. No, no no I’m sorry.” Its once arrogant voice grew softer and softer, “I’m sorry. I could never hurt you I’m sorry.” Elstrom quietly approached, “What…” It groaned, “Huhh… my head… what is this scratching? This i t c h i n g? Can’t peel it off, too thick. Too dark. Can’t see…” The coughing noises from its siren sounded almost like sobs. Karen stood there. She was unprepared for these moments. “What… what did you do to me…?” It growled out. “...I…” “What did you DO TO ME? My head… I hate this. I hate these feelings.” The beast had calmed down, leaning against the far wall, “...You’re a miserable creature, Dr. Elstrom, and that’ll never change. You push others away, passively and actively. You make no attempts at fostering meaningful relationships.” //Fuck you.// “Nobody likes you. You’re” //A bitch.// “uptight, boring, rude, a” //A bitch.// "control freak, and” //A bitch. Just say it.// “completely uncompromising. You’re” //Say it.// “lonely, but you don’t know how to stop being lonely. Actually no, not lonely, not quite. //Alone.// You are fully alone. No matter who you meet, no matter where you go, you can never connect with anyone. You can never have what they all have, because you, Dr. Elstrom, are a horrible–” “Say it!” She spat, “say it.” A pause, “Struck a nerve, did I? Did you think I was going to say something, starting with a B, perhaps? Buh, buh buh, buh buh buh buh buh…” Silence perforated the room. Elstrom stared unblinking, face beat red. “I’m aware of the jokes,” --it-- he said, “I know what they say about you. Well, //us// now I suppose. ‘Beauty and the Bitch.’ ‘Boat and the Beast.’ ‘Bossy, Bratty.’ ‘...Boatfucker.’ Now that last one, I take it to be a compliment, for me at least.” Elstrom sat back down, her gaze was at her feet. Vampire Boat exhaled, causing a whining effect in the siren, “I must admit,” she looked up, “I was the pot calling the kettle black when I said you were a miserable creature. Just look at me. I may have ascended the mortal coil, but I am undeniably a monster, both outside and in: I’ve butchered families, made chimeras from the innocent dead, pillaged and plundered and sucked everything I’ve come across dry. And I don’t feel bad about it; my heart was replaced with a diesel engine, why should I? But here’s the thing, Elstrom, I //love// you. As much as I wish I could control these abominable dalliances of mine, my feelings for you are true. You’re a terrible person, but I’m no better.” Elstrom stared at him with a complete poker face, and opened her mouth, “What a pathetic, cliched Dateline TV excuse for manipulation.” She stood up, knocking her chair over, “You think hammering home the fact my coworkers hate me, that I’ll never find friendship, it’ll make me want to run into your wet sticky arms? You’re a little late. I hammered home that idea years ago, when I tried making friends and got everyone close to me killed. I’m not meant to have friends, I’ve made peace with that.” The undead man paused for a moment, thinking. “Counterpoint: you still desire companionship. You still want to know what it feels like to be loved, and I’m the only thing in the world that loves you.” “I am aware.” She turned to leave, “We will end here for today.” “Hope to see you soon, Dr. Elstrom.” ------ “Looks like the ship’s been shipped off,” Bradbury quipped. She noticed Karen staring intensely at nothing, like something was on her mind. “Hey, you good?” Karen snapped to attention, “I’m fine. You should direct your worries elsewhere.” She bobbed her head, “Good, good.” Silence between the two, before Melissa spoke up, “Hey uh, me and Harry are planning on watching a movie tonight. It’s not really a date night, since Wettle’s gonna be there too. B-but if that seems like a dealbreaker, I promise you, I will pull back his reins. He will not be annoying in the slightest.” “I appreciate the invitation, but I will have to refuse. I have already made plans for tonight.” “Oh. Well, if those plans get cancelled or something, you’re always welcome to pop by.” “Sure.” ------ [[=]] > *For an alternate take, see [[user HarryBlank]]'s version! [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/the-ship-of-screams The Ship of Screams] > > Thanks for stopping by!** [[/=]] [[include <a href="/component:wikimodule">component:wikimodule</a> \|normal= --]]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a> \|author=Crow-Cat]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-05-30T04:50:00	[ "_licensebox", "bleak", "comedy", "doctor-elstrom", "on-guard-43", "romance", "romcon2023-unofficial", "shark-punching-center", "slice-of-life", "tale", "the-sharkest-timeline" ]	What does B stand for? - SCP Foundation	39	[ "the-ship-of-screams", "scp-050-int", "scp-7755", "scp-7547", "scp-6818", "scp-6426", "spc-6985", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "the-sharkest-timeline", "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "spc-hub", "romcon", "doctors-of-the-church-hub", "bitch-hub" ]	[]	1447968298	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/interview-with-a-vampire-boat
isle-unto-thyself	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=4&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/component%3Abhl-dark-sidebar/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=3&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Aswirling-ashes/2&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=4&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/component%3Abhl-dark-sidebar/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <div class="info-container"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <div> <p>{$comments}</p> </div> <hr/> <div id="u-author_block"> <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/ralliston-s-authorpage">▸ More by this Author ◂</a></p> </div> <hr/> <div id="u-comments2" style="display: none;"> <p>{$comments2}</p> </div> <div class="u-faq"> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:info-ayers">F.A.Q.</a></p> </div> <div style="display: none;"> <p>{$doesthisfixthebug}</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="blockquote" style="width: intrinsic; width: -moz-max-content; width: -webkit-max-content; text-align:center; margin: 10px auto;"> <p><strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aDpCIDYDc8" target="_blank">Recommended reading music</a></strong></p> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="meta-title"> <p>Isle Unto Thyself</p> </div> <p>James Micheals sighed, corrected his tie, and cleared his throat. "Friends," he said, looking at the people silently gathered before him. "I'm terribly sorry to say that Robert Madden, Ann Barlowe, and Ra.aic are dead."</p> <hr/> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="pale2"> <p>There was no grand entry this time, no great crash to signal that Madden, Ra, and Barlowe had stopped their descent. They simply felt the Serpent's might — its will, hellbent on banishing them from its Library — relax its grip and let them go, ceasing their fall and allowing their souls to breathe. They could open their eyes, now — but the second they did, they regretted their decision.</p> <p><a href="/rat-s-nest-hub">All around them, the world was dying</a>.</p> <p>The void that surrounded them in every direction was great beyond reason, a terrible, dark place where no stars still lived. In the distance, Robert could see a few irreal pulsars breathing their final breaths, their lights almost a mockery of hope. Between them, in the empty space that was everything here, there sat many things, nonsensical things: leftovers of reason, the remnants scattered all across this parody of cosmos. A loose photo depicting a smiling woman; the hopes and dreams of a fleeting artist, their hard work unrequited by applause; a single loose sock, still dirty despite the concept having vanished millennia ago in this reality; the soul of a planet beyond redemption, its final cries of unfulfilled lives nothing but a silent echo in the universe.</p> <p>Madden blinked, and realized that what he was looking at was a rotting, cosmic corpse, seen from the perspective of a human maggot too small to comprehend it. All around them were the last remnants of what had once used to be a world, the tranquility of its alien nature making it almost incomprehensible. And in the middle of it they stood, half-levitating in a grotesque parody of no-gravity; still alive and capable of movement, but too far to reach any of the remnants of reality blinking in and out of existence around them, too far to do anything but lay down and observe the rot consume the universe whole.</p> <p>They were stuck in a place without even the <em>concepts</em> of entry or exit still existing.</p> <p>Robert looked at Ann, then and Ra. None of them needed to speak to know why the Serpent chose to send them here to get rid of them.</p> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <hr/> <p>"They were good people. Hard-working people," Micheals continued, not breaking eye contact with the few dozen Site-120 personnel gathered before him, in a room that had once housed the <a href="/scp-6172">SCP-6172</a> portal apparatus. He was surprised to hear that none of his words contained his characteristic stutters this time around. He wasn't sure if it was the sorrow inside him or just the determination to get the speech right. "They cared about their friends and their work with a passion seldom seen in anyone. And… And for their dedication, they paid the highest price of them all."</p> <p>The crowd remained silent, but Micheals didn't need any words to see it all in their eyes. From regret at things left unsaid to remorse about conversations past, the people who sat before him weren't indifferent to the situation at hand. But it wasn't just sadness he could see in them. There was something almost akin to heartbreak, at the sudden and awful realization that this new era of Vanguard — an era promised to be the beginning of a bright future — wasn't just about great plans and big changes. They all realized, Micheals saw, that pain was still a very real option in their promised land.</p> <hr/> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="pale2"> <p>Barlowe was the first to speak. "Wh-What do we do?" She looked at Madden, genuine fear in her eyes.</p> <p>"I don't…" He closed his eyes and shook his head, turning to face Ra. "Ra. Can you sense 6172's signal? Or… any signal, really."</p> <p>"<tt>No.</tt>"</p> <p>"What do you mean, no?" Barlowe said, her voice bordering on trembling. "What the <em>hell</em> do you mean, no?!" She was shouting, now, the echo making reality around them reverberate with a faint whisper of power. A whisper great enough to come back as distorted audio, but far too small to actually bend the world to Ann's will.</p> <p>"<tt>I'm sorry, Ann.</tt>" Ra said, changing the display of her head monitor from a smiley face to a neutral-tempered one. "<tt>As far as I can tell, there isn't a single detectable signal left within my range.</tt>"</p> <p>Ann didn't look at Ra. "Your range being…?"</p> <p>"<tt>Twenty thousand kilometers.</tt>"</p> <p>"No. No, no, no." Barlowe shook her head, quickly turning to look at the void around her. As far as she could see, there was nothing she could grasp onto, nothing that could be of use — just a great expanse of surreal technicolor, a void without as little as reason left inside it. She tried moving forward, in some vague hope of getting anywhere, but even though her limbs moved, her position relative to the rest of the void didn't change. She barely resisted the urge to scream in frustration. "Do it again. Try it. There's gotta be <em>some</em>—"</p> <p>"<tt>I'm sorry, Ann,</tt>" Ra repeated, her tone similarly flat.</p> <p>"Then try heat signatures," Barlowe continued, gesticulating frantically, as if trying to propel herself through non-reality — an obviously futile task. "EVE imprints. Thaumic footprints. Fuck's sake!" She turned again to face Ra, her features as cold and firm as stone. "Do <em>something</em>!"</p> <p>"<tt>Okay.</tt>" For a few seconds, Ra didn't speak. When she did, though, her words hit Ann like a sledgehammer. "<tt>All of my sensors tell me that we are the only humans present in the entirety of this universe.</tt>"</p> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <hr/> <p>Micheals resisted the urge to sigh. "To some, they were co-workers. To others, they were family. But to most of us, they were friends. Friends we'd meet in cafeterias on breaks between projects, friends we'd talk to about our days between sips of coffee. Friends that we will never see again."</p> <p>For a few seconds, a terrible, gut-wrenching silence lay before him. He didn't close his eyes. He really wanted to.</p> <p>Instead, he looked at the page beneath him, a single white sheet, the speech printed atop it. "Even though they knew the risks, they took up the mantle — a mantle nobody else was ready to take, a mantle too heavy for anyone's shoulders. Yet still." He looked up at his colleagues again. "They did what they believed was right — what they believed was necessary — to the very end."</p> <hr/> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="pale2"> <p>"Fuck you," Ann spat out. "<em>Fuck</em>. <em>You</em>. That's not—"</p> <p>"Ann," Robert said calmly.</p> <p>"There has to be—"</p> <p>"Ann."</p> <p>"We can't just—"</p> <p>"Ann!" Robert shouted, sudden anger twisting his face. He snapped his fingers, making Barlowe look at him. "Focus for a second. This is reality. How do we deal with it?"</p> <p>"<tt>I'm afraid we don't,</tt> Ra said.</p> <p>Madden faced to look at her. "What the hell do you mean?"</p> <p>"<tt>This world is extremely unstable. It's unlike anything I've ever seen.</tt>" She paused. "<tt>The Hume fields and Scranton waves are all over the place. The thaumo-ontokinetic register is way over twenty.</tt>"</p> <p>Robert lifted his eyebrows. Ann just furrowed hers. "In normal terms?"</p> <p>"It means that this universe isn't real, strictly speaking," Madden said, worry entering his face. "It fades in and out of existence so quickly we can't perceive it. This… This world isn't really compatible with us, Ann."</p> <p>"What?"</p> <p>"It… The frequency, let's call it, that it exists on isn't like the one found in our universe. Or the universes neighboring it. We're… We're so far out on the Compass, so near the border of what we should be able to perceive, that we just…" He made a 'poof' sound with his mouth. "We can exist here, but only barely. Whatever happened here, whatever made this whole place look like this—" He waved around them with his hands, not really pointing at anything. "—it took down the stability that anchored this reality to <em>our</em> multiverse. And now, after thousands of years of being adrift, it's just… no longer our world."</p> <p>It took a moment for Ann to speak. "And what does that mean for us?"</p> <p>Robert sighed heavily. "It means that, without something outside this reality to take us home, we cannot leave it by any native structure, anomalous or otherwise."</p> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <hr/> <p>"But their sacrifice was not in vain. It will not be forgotten. Not now, not ever." He paused, letting his words weigh on the audience. "Every time we use what their work has given us — a safe and permanent portal network, a way to connect the entire world — we will hold the memory of Ann Barlowe, Robert Madden, and Ra.aic dear. We will remember the trio of people who, through their loss, presented mankind with the biggest technological breakthrough in the history of the world.</p> <p>"It is because of them that the world now stands united in sorrow, a testament to how much what they have built means to us all. We might be many peoples under many nations, faiths, and forms, but today, we stand in unison: a whole planet brought together, connected by a highway beyond reality, beyond physics, beyond divisions. A whole planet brought together because of Ann, Robert, and Ra."</p> <p>Micheals's sight moved from the human audience to the few screens located above his Site-120 colleagues, from which the faces of all the remotely attending — both human and not — were observing the ceremony. The screens's cameras were located so that that those who tuned in from afar could see both Micheals, the people gathered before him, and the portraits of the three dead behind him.</p> <p>He continued, "As citizens of worlds both real and digital, we and our friends over in the cyber-world will never allow for their memory to fade. We will make sure of that until our very last day."</p> <hr/> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="pale2"> <p>Ann blinked twice. The realization was starting to dawn on her. "Oh god. Oh <em>god</em>. Oh—"</p> <p>"Barlowe!" Robert snapped his fingers. "Focus. What do we do? There has to be something we haven't thought about."</p> <p>"I don't— You're the scientist!" she shouted, looking first at Madden, then at Ra.</p> <p>Robert sighed. "Ra?"</p> <p>Ra tilted her head. "<tt>Well… There is still the matter of Ann's alchemy. Can you sense the <a href="/the-alchemy-department-hub">Great Seal</a> existing here?</tt>"</p> <p>Ann closed her eyes, trying to focus on the reality around her. There was something there, something vague — but only barely. It was clear that without the Foundation — or any other organization, for that matter — still being around in this world, there was no force to contain the alchemical forces of reality with the Seal or a similar construct. For what little it was worth, Barlowe was free to bend the universe however she pleased here — but there was almost no universe left to bend. The only thing in between those lost dreams and stranded hopes were a few lost particles, left wandering across endless space. Too little to amount to anything — and far too little for Barlowe to use them in any way that mattered.</p> <p>She could sense and touch them, just like in the two other Seal-less realities that they had visited, but she couldn't use them to construct even a simple flame. They were just castaways from reason, a few lost bits and bobs against the otherwise hegemonic cosmic background.</p> <p>"I… There isn't anything left. It's…" She struggled to find words. "It's like trying to hold onto sand. I just…" She didn't finish.</p> <p>After a moment, Robert said, "So, I'll ask again: with my science and Ann's alchemy rendered useless, <em>what do we actually do</em>?" For the situation they were in his tone was shockingly calm, almost as if he let his logic entirely override the rest of his body in some drastic attempt to not let the panic get to him.</p> <p>Ra looked at him, shifting her monitor to display nothing. "<tt>I don't know.</tt>"</p> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <hr/> <p>"We will never fix what we have lost the day we lost Robert, Ann, and Ra. There exists no price which could pay back for what we have done. Still," he said with a tone that might've been calm, but was still tinted by a hint of indescribable sadness. "We would like to say that we will provide help for anyone who felt the loss of them just as much as we have. Just reach out to us, and we will take care of the rest."</p> <p>He paused for a moment. "In memory of our friends, we have also decided to immortalize their names with a memorial dedicated to them, located directly in front of our soon-to-be-open <a href="/what-s-up-with-all-the-reality-benders">Micheals-Reynders University</a>. Everyone who crosses those doors will be damned sure to know thanks to whom they can enjoy the knowledge they so comfortably read about." The original draft of the speech, the one transcribed below him, didn't contain any swears. It was inappropriate, they said, for someone of his position in such a place. He didn't much care. He thought that Barlowe and Madden would've certainly appreciated the gesture.</p> <hr/> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="pale2"> <p>"I am <em>not</em> going to die here," Ann said, focusing all of herself at the end of her fingertips. They did not start to glow. "You heard that? Not here. Not like this. I—"</p> <p>She grabbed all of her will, all of that unbent, marble-like soul that had persisted unbroken for decades, and pushed it to the edge of her cognition, where her skill in alchemy lay. She pushed it until she ran out of breath, exhaustion beginning to enter her body and mind. When she opened her eyes again, though, she found that she had achieved nothing. Not even a single spark manifested atop her hand.</p> <p>She didn't have the strength to shout.</p> <p>Robert looked at Ra, then at Ann. He didn't say anything.</p> <p>"<tt>So this is it, then,</tt>" Ra said slowly, as if carefully choosing her words.</p> <p>"Don't say that," Ann said, weakly. She didn't meet the android's eyes.</p> <p>An imitation of a sigh left Ra's body.</p> <p>"Well." Robert took off his glasses, trying to wipe off the dust still present on them from the last dimension with his shirt. It was a meaningless gesture — it only made the situation worse — but he didn't really care. He just gave all of himself into the almost mechanical action, as if it was the only thing still left for him to do in the whole world. When he finished he put them back on, and continued, "Yes. I suppose that it is it, then."</p> <p>This time, Ann didn't find a reply.</p> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <hr/> <p>When Micheals eventually spoke, his voice was barely more than a whisper. "We have suffered a great loss, the day our good friends vanished into what they thought was a safe gateway. We will never truly recover from it." He let the words sink in for a moment, himself preparing for what he was about to say. "However. We will not let tragedy define our new world. A new world that Ann, Robert, and Ra have worked hard on building together.</p> <p>"We will emerge from this harrowing defeat, this tragedy beyond words, wiser than we have ever before. We will take everything that we have learned from our good friends, from the lives they had led and the sacrifices they have made — we will take that knowledge and resist letting ourselves live in the past. We will never forget — but we will move on, stronger than ever, brought together by the lessons we learned because of our loss.</p> <p>"It's what Ann, Robert, and Ra would have wanted."</p> <hr/> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="pale2"> <p>They didn't speak for a while, after those words.</p> <p>None of them had it in them to really talk. They simply drifted through non-space, left to their own thoughts, as an occasional extra-dimensional beam of energy or chaotic wave made its way past them. They noticed them, but didn't act upon the realization — they knew it would be of no use anyway.</p> <p>They all had thought that words had little meaning, even back in their world, so here? Here, where such a thing as meaning didn't even exist anymore, words were little more than just tears lost in the rain, a whisper begging for relevance against an endlessly uncaring and cold void. Even the few last sparks of cohesion left in the whole world — a few distant flickers of stars long-dead and a few items that had since lost even their own definitions — they remained unmoved by Ann, Robert, and Ra's fate. No words — not mortal, not that of gods — could ever change that.</p> <p>So instead of wasting breath (not that this world needed breath, anyway, having nothing else to do, the three gave in to their thoughts.</p> <p>Ra remembered her birth. Well. 'Birth' wasn't perhaps the best word.</p> <p>In spite of her creation not being biological, just like any other artificial intelligence developed by the late Foundation, she had always remembered the moment she came to be. She could still recall that sudden hope, that sudden spark that made itself manifest in an otherwise uninhabited body made from wires and processors. <em>Snap</em>. And then, with just a flick of a button, there she was. Like a lost soul rescued from the terrible fate of nonexistence, she began to live in a flash of light — light so great and overwhelmingly beautiful it would have made her weep tears of joy, had she been able to.</p> <p>Looking at the stars dying light-years away from her and her companions, she figured that she would cease in a cascade of light, too.</p> <p>Robert thought of his parents. He had never known them, not really. He didn't even have memories of them — they had perished in a car crash before he had even formed the skill to remember at all. It was a terrible thing, he had always thought, some cosmic joke, a mock of probability — it robbed him of a life he never really knew he wanted. But now, now that he was seconds away from facing the same fate as them — he wondered what it could've looked like, if they just survived. Would he still join the Foundation? Would his <a href="/fresh-blood">anomalous nature</a> even develop at all, or was that just a by-product of chance, the universe somehow thinking that making him an avatar of anomalous probability would pay back for the fate it had woven for him, the moment it killed its parents?</p> <p>And, if they lived, would he still end up here?</p> <p>He figured he would never know.</p> <p>Ann too didn't have any parents — whoever they were, they had left her at the doorstep of a Russian alchemist before she was even able to speak — but in her final moments, she didn't think of them. Instead, she remembered her cats — a trio of orange alleys, a mischievous bunch of misfits she'd found during her first visit to Esterberg. They had always been just like her, she had always thought, both red-colored and unwanted by the world, both willing to make their own way through a universe that didn't care. And now too were they just like her — stranded without anyone to care for them, a few loose creatures soon to be forgotten by both history and the world.</p> <p>Left to be too insignificant for anyone to notice. Just like Ann. Just like the particles all around them, and—</p> <p>Suddenly, a thought came to Ann. A thought so bright it nearly made her shout in joyous realization.</p> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <hr/> <p>Micheals continued, "The wounds we have allowed the world to take will never truly heal. But in many years, when they have faded and left us with little more than scars, we will look back and see not pain and loss, but memories. Memories of the time we have spent together with Ra, Robert, and Ann — memories of what they had brought to the world with their existence and hard work. Memories of their life — not their death.</p> <p>"We will look back and see that it is because of them and their actions that we can now enjoy a world connected by portals, a world brought together no matter the place. We will look back and know that it is the work of our three friends that lets us speak to a friend in <a href="/scp-7600">Druv'tuul</a> in one moment only to eat dinner on <a href="/david-hunt-on-galileo">the Moon</a> just two minutes later."</p> <p>He paused. "We will remember them for who they were and what they had done, for how they lived their lives — not for how they had finished their stories."</p> <hr/> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="pale2"> <p>Barlowe wanted to scream with joy, the second she came to know what she needed to do. She wanted to tell her companions about what she had just realized, to bring that final spark of hope into their lives. But she knew she had no time or energy for such nonsense if she wanted her gambit to succeed.</p> <p>So instead, she got to work.</p> <p>Gently, like a mother touching her newborn baby, Ann felt the particles of the world once more. That almost cosmic consciousness of matter, of the Aethers around her, came to her in an instant. Once again she saw that they were fragile and little, far too insignificant to actually amount to anything, even in the hands of an Artist as skilled as her. But now she knew that she didn't need them. In a world like this, where there was virtually no limit to her skills, no Seals to dampen her range down, no outside influences or structures that could disrupt the flow of energy through the universe, she could do so much more than anywhere else.</p> <p>Within just a second, she realized that here, the universe was her canvas — and she sure as hell held the brush.</p> <p>It was in her fingers, in her hands, in her whole bloody body — she could feel it all, now, everything about the world that entombed her. Her whole soul, her whole mind, her whole body; they all became little more than conduits for the universe around her, bringing every particle and energy that could have ever existed into her palms. No matter where they were, no matter how afar on the spectrums of range or immateriality — Ann could touch them all now, tapping into that cosmic background that held an irreal soup of what once used to be a universe.</p> <p>With a firm hand she grabbed that background and took it, then took some more, until she couldn't <em>just</em> feel it — she <em>was</em> the universe, now. With no bounds to hold her down Ann was perfectly in tune with the cosmos around her, freely capable of picking and choosing whatever part of it she wanted to manipulate — an island to herself, a single point of reason amongst a raging sea of chaos. But she only needed one part of it — one very, very specific part of it. So she focused all her attention on finding her desired element, pushing all parts of her that were still Ann Barlowe in desperate pursuit of her final hope.</p> <p>An infinitesimal moment later, she found it.</p> <p>Buried somewhere behind all of that cosmic junk, behind the leftovers of a universe that once was — she found the final, barely-lingering sparks of this universe's SCP-6172 energies. Their own portal — the one back home, the one that had brought them all into this nonsense in the first place — was flawed, but it fulfilled one of its functions well: no matter where they landed, they couldn't possibly connect to a world that didn't <em>also</em> have its own version of the device. And even here, even at the edge of the multiverse and at the edge of reason — even here, she could sense what had remained of this world's portal, a half-pathetic mix of energies left somewhere in this universal soup.</p> <p>So she took it, molding it to her will.</p> <p>Putting all of her into the task she took the energy of the portal — its alchemical essence, the very metaphysical being of what it was — and shaped it until she recreated the hole in reality which the device had been created to form. She took the Aethers of other forces — steel, power, electricity, and wind — and put them into her construct, embuing it with alchemical stability so that it wouldn't just disappear the moment she let go. And indeed it didn't — the way remained there, a leak in the otherwise impenetrable fabric of reality, allowing them all entry into the rest of the multiverse.</p> <p>Without further hesitation, Ann made all three fall through the hole, throwing them into the impossibly vast nexus of what lay between realities until she could feel that part of the multiverse, too.</p> <p>With a force she didn't know she was capable of wielding she bent the multiverse itself to her will, subjugating it to her own desires and likings, and in that moment she told it just a single thing, a single whisper into its otherwise cold and uncaring ear. She told her to take them home, redirecting the beam of non-energy that they had traversed into the reality that matched them, still bending the structures that upheld this Multiversal Compass with her very own hands.</p> <p>The second she felt they were close, the second she sensed they were entering their own dimension, she flicked a finger, and closed the gateway behind them, once again making the world which they had just left a prison to itself.</p> <p>Having no other choice but to listen, the jaws of the Rat snapped shut.</p> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <hr/> <p>The second the silence fell on his colleagues, Micheals cleared his throat. "Thank you," he said, looking specifically at those who were gathered before him. "Thank you for being here. This… T-This is off-record. Not part of t-the speech. Just… J-Just wanted to say I a-appreciate you b-being here. I really d-do."</p> <p>Neither of them spoke, but from their looks, he could see that they were grateful that he was there, too.</p> <p>"If… If a-anyone has a-anything else to say, I…" He vaguely gestured towards his microphone. "N-Now would be the time."</p> <p>Nobody raised a hand. Micheals nodded. "V-Very well, then."</p> <p>He picked up his sheet of paper, once again corrected his tie, and looked at the portraits of the lost for one final time. "Goodbye, friends," he said, weakly. For a few seconds he just stared at them, unmoving and without words.</p> <p>Then he smiled politely and started walking off towards his room, his mind occupied by—</p> <p>The moment he took the first step forward, a terrible flash of light illuminated the room, blinding everyone gathered inside it as a loud crack filled their ears.</p> <p>When Micheals found that he could see again, he could barely believe his eyes — and so did the others. Before them lay Ann Barlowe, Robert Madden, and an android body displaying Ra.aic's face, still massaging their heads from the fall. They looked up and met Micheals's gaze, fully understanding the fear and confusion he felt at the moment.</p> <p>Robert slowly turned around, noticing the portraits located behind him. He then turned back with a very awkward smile. "Uh. Hi?"</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>Robert Madden sighed the second the <a href="/antarctic-exchange-hub">Third Antarctic Empire</a> representatives left the room.</p> <p>"Christ," he said, crossing his legs and looking at Barlowe, who was seated directly in front of him. "All things considered I think I'd take multiversal stranding over diplomacy the next time around."</p> <p>The meeting which had just finished — the meeting which they were meant to have months ago, when they had originally used the damned 6172 portal — went pretty well. Still, that didn't change the fact that it was really quite tiring, having to explain in-depth the whole context of the Impasse and the Foundation-Vanguard transition and propose further collaboration programs to a bunch of interdimensional people who didn't even really comprehend the concept of containment in the first place.</p> <p>Ann chuckled. Ra made a sound similar to laughing, using the full extent of her android body (they let her keep it). "Aye," Barlowe said, cracking her knuckles. "I'd drink to that."</p> <p>"I would avoid tempting fate like that, if I were you," a third voice suddenly said, entering their vision from the shadows. It belonged to a diminutive red-headed woman, glasses mounted atop her nose. Neither of them needed her to introduce herself to know that she was <a href="/scp-5616">Dr. Ilse Reynders</a>, expert in all fields parascientific in this reality and tens of others. She took the now-empty seats the Empire representatives had sat in, and similarly crossed her legs.</p> <p>Madden nervously cleared his throat. "M-Miss," he said, scratching his head. "I'd like to apologize for not contacting you earlier, but—"</p> <p>She waved a hand and smiled. "Don't bother apologizing. I'm not your Ilse anyway. What?" she said, seeing their slightly widened eyes. "You thought we don't talk to each other or work together? Please."</p> <p>Nobody really knew how to reply to that.</p> <p>"Right," Ilse said, eyeing the three. "I figure you want to know what I want from you."</p> <p>They nodded.</p> <p>"I have just one thing to say:" She gave them a look. "Don't fucking do that again."</p> <p>Again, nobody found an answer.</p> <p>"What you did was very stupid. Jumping realities left and right is a recipe for multiversal disaster. There are very few things that destabilize it more, apocalyptic events obviously notwithstanding." She lit up a bit. "But I suppose I cannot blame you. Your circumstances talk for themselves. All things considered, you did better than most. At least you didn't actually break anything permanently. It's a shame we now have to deal with <a href="/the-mind-electric">another Coalition that knows about interdimensional travel</a>, though." She chuckled at her own joke.</p> <p>"Still," she continued. "Next time you go AWOL, just give me a call directly. God knows I didn't think this was an emergency of this scale when your Director reported it to all of us." She extended her hand, what looked like a business card bearing the sigil of a <a href="/welcome-to-delta-t">Foundation logo with a tau inside a triangle atop it</a>. "It's far simpler than jumping dimensions. And far safer."</p> <p>Madden took it, studying the logo carefully. He didn't know whom it belonged to. He needed to do his research. "Thank—"</p> <p>"Actually," Ann cut in. "Forgive me interrupting what I'm sure was going to be a great monologue, but… what went wrong?" Ilse tilted her head. "I mean in the first place. They never did tell us what caused this whole fiasco. The malfunction, I mean. They said their results were inconclusive."</p> <p>Ilse pondered the question for a moment. "Truth be told, I don't know. It's not the answer you were expecting, I know, but even the infinite mes out there aren't really sure. We're working on it." She paused. "But, generally speaking, incidents like this are almost always caused by one of four reasons: fate, curses, the multiverse balancing itself…"</p> <p>"…or?" Ann asked.</p> <p>Ilse looked away for a moment, as if giving someone who wasn't inside the room — someone way up above them, both in pataphysical dimensional distance and power — a very, <em>very</em> heavy look. "…or to fulfill the goals of someone else entirely."</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="earthworm earthworm--old-syntax-first-false earthworm--old-syntax-last-true earthworm--old-syntax-hub-yes {$class}"> <div class="first earthworm__previous" data-title="Let the Maze of My Design Carry You On"> <p><a href="/let-the-maze-of-my-design-carry-you-on">Let the Maze of My Design Carry You On</a></p> </div> <div class="hub earthworm__hub" data-title="Chronicles of the Irreal"> <p><a href="/chronicles-of-the-irreal-hub">Chronicles of the Irreal</a></p> </div> <div class="last earthworm__next" data-title="{$next-title}"> <p><a class="newpage" href="/next-url">{$next-title}</a></p> </div> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/isle-unto-thyself">Isle Unto Thyself</a>" by Ralliston, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/isle-unto-thyself">https://scpwiki.com/isle-unto-thyself</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:black-highlighter-theme">:scp-wiki:theme:black-highlighter-theme</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:swirling-ashes">:scp-wiki:theme:swirling-ashes</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:bhl-dark-sidebar">:scp-wiki:component:bhl-dark-sidebar</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:toggle-sidebar-bhl">:scp-wiki:component:toggle-sidebar-bhl</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:centered-header-bhl">:scp-wiki:component:centered-header-bhl</a>]] [[module CSS]] #page-title{ display: none; } body{ --dark-accent: hsl(264, 88%, 30%); --barColour: var(--dark-accent); } .pale1 { background: linear-gradient(transparent, rgb(26, 24, 26)); margin-bottom: 0; } .pale2 { background: rgb(26, 24, 26); color: rgb(252, 252, 252); padding: 10px 20px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; } .pale3 { background: linear-gradient(rgb(26, 24, 26), transparent); margin-top: 0; } .pale1 p, .pale3 p { margin: 0; } .pale2 tt { background-color: transparent; font-size: 100%; padding: 0; } [[/module]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:info-ayers">:scp-wiki:component:info-ayers</a> \|lang=en \|page=isle-unto-thyself \|authorPage=http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/ralliston-s-authorpage \|comments= ]] [[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] @@ @@ [[div class="blockquote" style="width: intrinsic; width: -moz-max-content; width: -webkit-max-content; text-align:center; margin: 10px auto;"]] *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aDpCIDYDc8 Recommended reading music]** [[/div]] @@ @@ @@ @@ [[div class="meta-title"]] Isle Unto Thyself [[/div]] James Micheals sighed, corrected his tie, and cleared his throat. "Friends," he said, looking at the people silently gathered before him. "I'm terribly sorry to say that Robert Madden, Ann Barlowe, and Ra.aic are dead." ----- @@ @@ [[div class="pale1"]] @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ [[/div]] [[div class="pale2"]] There was no grand entry this time, no great crash to signal that Madden, Ra, and Barlowe had stopped their descent. They simply felt the Serpent's might -- its will, hellbent on banishing them from its Library -- relax its grip and let them go, ceasing their fall and allowing their souls to breathe. They could open their eyes, now -- but the second they did, they regretted their decision. [[[rat-s-nest-hub\|All around them, the world was dying]]]. The void that surrounded them in every direction was great beyond reason, a terrible, dark place where no stars still lived. In the distance, Robert could see a few irreal pulsars breathing their final breaths, their lights almost a mockery of hope. Between them, in the empty space that was everything here, there sat many things, nonsensical things: leftovers of reason, the remnants scattered all across this parody of cosmos. A loose photo depicting a smiling woman; the hopes and dreams of a fleeting artist, their hard work unrequited by applause; a single loose sock, still dirty despite the concept having vanished millennia ago in this reality; the soul of a planet beyond redemption, its final cries of unfulfilled lives nothing but a silent echo in the universe. Madden blinked, and realized that what he was looking at was a rotting, cosmic corpse, seen from the perspective of a human maggot too small to comprehend it. All around them were the last remnants of what had once used to be a world, the tranquility of its alien nature making it almost incomprehensible. And in the middle of it they stood, half-levitating in a grotesque parody of no-gravity; still alive and capable of movement, but too far to reach any of the remnants of reality blinking in and out of existence around them, too far to do anything but lay down and observe the rot consume the universe whole. They were stuck in a place without even the //concepts// of entry or exit still existing. Robert looked at Ann, then and Ra. None of them needed to speak to know why the Serpent chose to send them here to get rid of them. [[/div]] [[div class="pale3"]] @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ [[/div]] @@ @@ ----- "They were good people. Hard-working people," Micheals continued, not breaking eye contact with the few dozen Site-120 personnel gathered before him, in a room that had once housed the [[[SCP-6172]]] portal apparatus. He was surprised to hear that none of his words contained his characteristic stutters this time around. He wasn't sure if it was the sorrow inside him or just the determination to get the speech right. "They cared about their friends and their work with a passion seldom seen in anyone. And... And for their dedication, they paid the highest price of them all." The crowd remained silent, but Micheals didn't need any words to see it all in their eyes. From regret at things left unsaid to remorse about conversations past, the people who sat before him weren't indifferent to the situation at hand. But it wasn't just sadness he could see in them. There was something almost akin to heartbreak, at the sudden and awful realization that this new era of Vanguard -- an era promised to be the beginning of a bright future -- wasn't just about great plans and big changes. They all realized, Micheals saw, that pain was still a very real option in their promised land. ----- @@ @@ [[div class="pale1"]] @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ [[/div]] [[div class="pale2"]] Barlowe was the first to speak. "Wh-What do we do?" She looked at Madden, genuine fear in her eyes. "I don't..." He closed his eyes and shook his head, turning to face Ra. "Ra. Can you sense 6172's signal? Or... any signal, really." "{{No.}}" "What do you mean, no?" Barlowe said, her voice bordering on trembling. "What the //hell// do you mean, no?!" She was shouting, now, the echo making reality around them reverberate with a faint whisper of power. A whisper great enough to come back as distorted audio, but far too small to actually bend the world to Ann's will. "{{I'm sorry, Ann.}}" Ra said, changing the display of her head monitor from a smiley face to a neutral-tempered one. "{{As far as I can tell, there isn't a single detectable signal left within my range.}}" Ann didn't look at Ra. "Your range being...?" "{{Twenty thousand kilometers.}}" "No. No, no, no." Barlowe shook her head, quickly turning to look at the void around her. As far as she could see, there was nothing she could grasp onto, nothing that could be of use -- just a great expanse of surreal technicolor, a void without as little as reason left inside it. She tried moving forward, in some vague hope of getting anywhere, but even though her limbs moved, her position relative to the rest of the void didn't change. She barely resisted the urge to scream in frustration. "Do it again. Try it. There's gotta be //some//--" "{{I'm sorry, Ann,}}" Ra repeated, her tone similarly flat. "Then try heat signatures," Barlowe continued, gesticulating frantically, as if trying to propel herself through non-reality -- an obviously futile task. "EVE imprints. Thaumic footprints. Fuck's sake!" She turned again to face Ra, her features as cold and firm as stone. "Do //something//!" "{{Okay.}}" For a few seconds, Ra didn't speak. When she did, though, her words hit Ann like a sledgehammer. "{{All of my sensors tell me that we are the only humans present in the entirety of this universe.}}" [[/div]] [[div class="pale3"]] @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ [[/div]] @@ @@ ----- Micheals resisted the urge to sigh. "To some, they were co-workers. To others, they were family. But to most of us, they were friends. Friends we'd meet in cafeterias on breaks between projects, friends we'd talk to about our days between sips of coffee. Friends that we will never see again." For a few seconds, a terrible, gut-wrenching silence lay before him. He didn't close his eyes. He really wanted to. Instead, he looked at the page beneath him, a single white sheet, the speech printed atop it. "Even though they knew the risks, they took up the mantle -- a mantle nobody else was ready to take, a mantle too heavy for anyone's shoulders. Yet still." He looked up at his colleagues again. "They did what they believed was right -- what they believed was necessary -- to the very end." ----- @@ @@ [[div class="pale1"]] @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ [[/div]] [[div class="pale2"]] "Fuck you," Ann spat out. "//Fuck//. //You//. That's not--" "Ann," Robert said calmly. "There has to be--" "Ann." "We can't just--" "Ann!" Robert shouted, sudden anger twisting his face. He snapped his fingers, making Barlowe look at him. "Focus for a second. This is reality. How do we deal with it?" "{{I'm afraid we don't,}} Ra said. Madden faced to look at her. "What the hell do you mean?" "{{This world is extremely unstable. It's unlike anything I've ever seen.}}" She paused. "{{The Hume fields and Scranton waves are all over the place. The thaumo-ontokinetic register is way over twenty.}}" Robert lifted his eyebrows. Ann just furrowed hers. "In normal terms?" "It means that this universe isn't real, strictly speaking," Madden said, worry entering his face. "It fades in and out of existence so quickly we can't perceive it. This... This world isn't really compatible with us, Ann." "What?" "It... The frequency, let's call it, that it exists on isn't like the one found in our universe. Or the universes neighboring it. We're... We're so far out on the Compass, so near the border of what we should be able to perceive, that we just..." He made a 'poof' sound with his mouth. "We can exist here, but only barely. Whatever happened here, whatever made this whole place look like this—" He waved around them with his hands, not really pointing at anything. "—it took down the stability that anchored this reality to //our// multiverse. And now, after thousands of years of being adrift, it's just... no longer our world." It took a moment for Ann to speak. "And what does that mean for us?" Robert sighed heavily. "It means that, without something outside this reality to take us home, we cannot leave it by any native structure, anomalous or otherwise." [[/div]] [[div class="pale3"]] @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ [[/div]] @@ @@ ----- "But their sacrifice was not in vain. It will not be forgotten. Not now, not ever." He paused, letting his words weigh on the audience. "Every time we use what their work has given us -- a safe and permanent portal network, a way to connect the entire world -- we will hold the memory of Ann Barlowe, Robert Madden, and Ra.aic dear. We will remember the trio of people who, through their loss, presented mankind with the biggest technological breakthrough in the history of the world. "It is because of them that the world now stands united in sorrow, a testament to how much what they have built means to us all. We might be many peoples under many nations, faiths, and forms, but today, we stand in unison: a whole planet brought together, connected by a highway beyond reality, beyond physics, beyond divisions. A whole planet brought together because of Ann, Robert, and Ra." Micheals's sight moved from the human audience to the few screens located above his Site-120 colleagues, from which the faces of all the remotely attending -- both human and not -- were observing the ceremony. The screens's cameras were located so that that those who tuned in from afar could see both Micheals, the people gathered before him, and the portraits of the three dead behind him. He continued, "As citizens of worlds both real and digital, we and our friends over in the cyber-world will never allow for their memory to fade. We will make sure of that until our very last day." ----- @@ @@ [[div class="pale1"]] @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ [[/div]] [[div class="pale2"]] Ann blinked twice. The realization was starting to dawn on her. "Oh god. Oh //god//. Oh--" "Barlowe!" Robert snapped his fingers. "Focus. What do we do? There has to be something we haven't thought about." "I don't-- You're the scientist!" she shouted, looking first at Madden, then at Ra. Robert sighed. "Ra?" Ra tilted her head. "{{Well... There is still the matter of Ann's alchemy. Can you sense the [[[the-alchemy-department-hub\|Great Seal]]] existing here?}}" Ann closed her eyes, trying to focus on the reality around her. There was something there, something vague -- but only barely. It was clear that without the Foundation -- or any other organization, for that matter -- still being around in this world, there was no force to contain the alchemical forces of reality with the Seal or a similar construct. For what little it was worth, Barlowe was free to bend the universe however she pleased here -- but there was almost no universe left to bend. The only thing in between those lost dreams and stranded hopes were a few lost particles, left wandering across endless space. Too little to amount to anything -- and far too little for Barlowe to use them in any way that mattered. She could sense and touch them, just like in the two other Seal-less realities that they had visited, but she couldn't use them to construct even a simple flame. They were just castaways from reason, a few lost bits and bobs against the otherwise hegemonic cosmic background. "I... There isn't anything left. It's..." She struggled to find words. "It's like trying to hold onto sand. I just..." She didn't finish. After a moment, Robert said, "So, I'll ask again: with my science and Ann's alchemy rendered useless, //what do we actually do//?" For the situation they were in his tone was shockingly calm, almost as if he let his logic entirely override the rest of his body in some drastic attempt to not let the panic get to him. Ra looked at him, shifting her monitor to display nothing. "{{I don't know.}}" [[/div]] [[div class="pale3"]] @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ [[/div]] @@ @@ ----- "We will never fix what we have lost the day we lost Robert, Ann, and Ra. There exists no price which could pay back for what we have done. Still," he said with a tone that might've been calm, but was still tinted by a hint of indescribable sadness. "We would like to say that we will provide help for anyone who felt the loss of them just as much as we have. Just reach out to us, and we will take care of the rest." He paused for a moment. "In memory of our friends, we have also decided to immortalize their names with a memorial dedicated to them, located directly in front of our soon-to-be-open [[[what-s-up-with-all-the-reality-benders\|Micheals-Reynders University]]]. Everyone who crosses those doors will be damned sure to know thanks to whom they can enjoy the knowledge they so comfortably read about." The original draft of the speech, the one transcribed below him, didn't contain any swears. It was inappropriate, they said, for someone of his position in such a place. He didn't much care. He thought that Barlowe and Madden would've certainly appreciated the gesture. ----- @@ @@ [[div class="pale1"]] @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ [[/div]] [[div class="pale2"]] "I am //not// going to die here," Ann said, focusing all of herself at the end of her fingertips. They did not start to glow. "You heard that? Not here. Not like this. I--" She grabbed all of her will, all of that unbent, marble-like soul that had persisted unbroken for decades, and pushed it to the edge of her cognition, where her skill in alchemy lay. She pushed it until she ran out of breath, exhaustion beginning to enter her body and mind. When she opened her eyes again, though, she found that she had achieved nothing. Not even a single spark manifested atop her hand. She didn't have the strength to shout. Robert looked at Ra, then at Ann. He didn't say anything. "{{So this is it, then,}}" Ra said slowly, as if carefully choosing her words. "Don't say that," Ann said, weakly. She didn't meet the android's eyes. An imitation of a sigh left Ra's body. "Well." Robert took off his glasses, trying to wipe off the dust still present on them from the last dimension with his shirt. It was a meaningless gesture -- it only made the situation worse -- but he didn't really care. He just gave all of himself into the almost mechanical action, as if it was the only thing still left for him to do in the whole world. When he finished he put them back on, and continued, "Yes. I suppose that it is it, then." This time, Ann didn't find a reply. [[/div]] [[div class="pale3"]] @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ [[/div]] @@ @@ ----- When Micheals eventually spoke, his voice was barely more than a whisper. "We have suffered a great loss, the day our good friends vanished into what they thought was a safe gateway. We will never truly recover from it." He let the words sink in for a moment, himself preparing for what he was about to say. "However. We will not let tragedy define our new world. A new world that Ann, Robert, and Ra have worked hard on building together. "We will emerge from this harrowing defeat, this tragedy beyond words, wiser than we have ever before. We will take everything that we have learned from our good friends, from the lives they had led and the sacrifices they have made -- we will take that knowledge and resist letting ourselves live in the past. We will never forget -- but we will move on, stronger than ever, brought together by the lessons we learned because of our loss. "It's what Ann, Robert, and Ra would have wanted." ----- @@ @@ [[div class="pale1"]] @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ [[/div]] [[div class="pale2"]] They didn't speak for a while, after those words. None of them had it in them to really talk. They simply drifted through non-space, left to their own thoughts, as an occasional extra-dimensional beam of energy or chaotic wave made its way past them. They noticed them, but didn't act upon the realization -- they knew it would be of no use anyway. They all had thought that words had little meaning, even back in their world, so here? Here, where such a thing as meaning didn't even exist anymore, words were little more than just tears lost in the rain, a whisper begging for relevance against an endlessly uncaring and cold void. Even the few last sparks of cohesion left in the whole world -- a few distant flickers of stars long-dead and a few items that had since lost even their own definitions -- they remained unmoved by Ann, Robert, and Ra's fate. No words -- not mortal, not that of gods -- could ever change that. So instead of wasting breath (not that this world needed breath, anyway, having nothing else to do, the three gave in to their thoughts. Ra remembered her birth. Well. 'Birth' wasn't perhaps the best word. In spite of her creation not being biological, just like any other artificial intelligence developed by the late Foundation, she had always remembered the moment she came to be. She could still recall that sudden hope, that sudden spark that made itself manifest in an otherwise uninhabited body made from wires and processors. //Snap//. And then, with just a flick of a button, there she was. Like a lost soul rescued from the terrible fate of nonexistence, she began to live in a flash of light -- light so great and overwhelmingly beautiful it would have made her weep tears of joy, had she been able to. Looking at the stars dying light-years away from her and her companions, she figured that she would cease in a cascade of light, too. Robert thought of his parents. He had never known them, not really. He didn't even have memories of them -- they had perished in a car crash before he had even formed the skill to remember at all. It was a terrible thing, he had always thought, some cosmic joke, a mock of probability -- it robbed him of a life he never really knew he wanted. But now, now that he was seconds away from facing the same fate as them -- he wondered what it could've looked like, if they just survived. Would he still join the Foundation? Would his [[[fresh-blood\|anomalous nature]]] even develop at all, or was that just a by-product of chance, the universe somehow thinking that making him an avatar of anomalous probability would pay back for the fate it had woven for him, the moment it killed its parents? And, if they lived, would he still end up here? He figured he would never know. Ann too didn't have any parents -- whoever they were, they had left her at the doorstep of a Russian alchemist before she was even able to speak -- but in her final moments, she didn't think of them. Instead, she remembered her cats -- a trio of orange alleys, a mischievous bunch of misfits she'd found during her first visit to Esterberg. They had always been just like her, she had always thought, both red-colored and unwanted by the world, both willing to make their own way through a universe that didn't care. And now too were they just like her -- stranded without anyone to care for them, a few loose creatures soon to be forgotten by both history and the world. Left to be too insignificant for anyone to notice. Just like Ann. Just like the particles all around them, and-- Suddenly, a thought came to Ann. A thought so bright it nearly made her shout in joyous realization. [[/div]] [[div class="pale3"]] @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ [[/div]] @@ @@ ----- Micheals continued, "The wounds we have allowed the world to take will never truly heal. But in many years, when they have faded and left us with little more than scars, we will look back and see not pain and loss, but memories. Memories of the time we have spent together with Ra, Robert, and Ann -- memories of what they had brought to the world with their existence and hard work. Memories of their life -- not their death. "We will look back and see that it is because of them and their actions that we can now enjoy a world connected by portals, a world brought together no matter the place. We will look back and know that it is the work of our three friends that lets us speak to a friend in [[[scp-7600\|Druv'tuul]]] in one moment only to eat dinner on [[[david-hunt-on-galileo\|the Moon]]] just two minutes later." He paused. "We will remember them for who they were and what they had done, for how they lived their lives -- not for how they had finished their stories." ----- @@ @@ [[div class="pale1"]] @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ [[/div]] [[div class="pale2"]] Barlowe wanted to scream with joy, the second she came to know what she needed to do. She wanted to tell her companions about what she had just realized, to bring that final spark of hope into their lives. But she knew she had no time or energy for such nonsense if she wanted her gambit to succeed. So instead, she got to work. Gently, like a mother touching her newborn baby, Ann felt the particles of the world once more. That almost cosmic consciousness of matter, of the Aethers around her, came to her in an instant. Once again she saw that they were fragile and little, far too insignificant to actually amount to anything, even in the hands of an Artist as skilled as her. But now she knew that she didn't need them. In a world like this, where there was virtually no limit to her skills, no Seals to dampen her range down, no outside influences or structures that could disrupt the flow of energy through the universe, she could do so much more than anywhere else. Within just a second, she realized that here, the universe was her canvas -- and she sure as hell held the brush. It was in her fingers, in her hands, in her whole bloody body -- she could feel it all, now, everything about the world that entombed her. Her whole soul, her whole mind, her whole body; they all became little more than conduits for the universe around her, bringing every particle and energy that could have ever existed into her palms. No matter where they were, no matter how afar on the spectrums of range or immateriality -- Ann could touch them all now, tapping into that cosmic background that held an irreal soup of what once used to be a universe. With a firm hand she grabbed that background and took it, then took some more, until she couldn't //just// feel it -- she //was// the universe, now. With no bounds to hold her down Ann was perfectly in tune with the cosmos around her, freely capable of picking and choosing whatever part of it she wanted to manipulate -- an island to herself, a single point of reason amongst a raging sea of chaos. But she only needed one part of it -- one very, very specific part of it. So she focused all her attention on finding her desired element, pushing all parts of her that were still Ann Barlowe in desperate pursuit of her final hope. An infinitesimal moment later, she found it. Buried somewhere behind all of that cosmic junk, behind the leftovers of a universe that once was -- she found the final, barely-lingering sparks of this universe's SCP-6172 energies. Their own portal -- the one back home, the one that had brought them all into this nonsense in the first place -- was flawed, but it fulfilled one of its functions well: no matter where they landed, they couldn't possibly connect to a world that didn't //also// have its own version of the device. And even here, even at the edge of the multiverse and at the edge of reason -- even here, she could sense what had remained of this world's portal, a half-pathetic mix of energies left somewhere in this universal soup. So she took it, molding it to her will. Putting all of her into the task she took the energy of the portal -- its alchemical essence, the very metaphysical being of what it was -- and shaped it until she recreated the hole in reality which the device had been created to form. She took the Aethers of other forces -- steel, power, electricity, and wind -- and put them into her construct, embuing it with alchemical stability so that it wouldn't just disappear the moment she let go. And indeed it didn't -- the way remained there, a leak in the otherwise impenetrable fabric of reality, allowing them all entry into the rest of the multiverse. Without further hesitation, Ann made all three fall through the hole, throwing them into the impossibly vast nexus of what lay between realities until she could feel that part of the multiverse, too. With a force she didn't know she was capable of wielding she bent the multiverse itself to her will, subjugating it to her own desires and likings, and in that moment she told it just a single thing, a single whisper into its otherwise cold and uncaring ear. She told her to take them home, redirecting the beam of non-energy that they had traversed into the reality that matched them, still bending the structures that upheld this Multiversal Compass with her very own hands. The second she felt they were close, the second she sensed they were entering their own dimension, she flicked a finger, and closed the gateway behind them, once again making the world which they had just left a prison to itself. Having no other choice but to listen, the jaws of the Rat snapped shut. [[/div]] [[div class="pale3"]] @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ [[/div]] @@ @@ ---- The second the silence fell on his colleagues, Micheals cleared his throat. "Thank you," he said, looking specifically at those who were gathered before him. "Thank you for being here. This... T-This is off-record. Not part of t-the speech. Just... J-Just wanted to say I a-appreciate you b-being here. I really d-do." Neither of them spoke, but from their looks, he could see that they were grateful that he was there, too. "If... If a-anyone has a-anything else to say, I..." He vaguely gestured towards his microphone. "N-Now would be the time." Nobody raised a hand. Micheals nodded. "V-Very well, then." He picked up his sheet of paper, once again corrected his tie, and looked at the portraits of the lost for one final time. "Goodbye, friends," he said, weakly. For a few seconds he just stared at them, unmoving and without words. Then he smiled politely and started walking off towards his room, his mind occupied by-- The moment he took the first step forward, a terrible flash of light illuminated the room, blinding everyone gathered inside it as a loud crack filled their ears. When Micheals found that he could see again, he could barely believe his eyes -- and so did the others. Before them lay Ann Barlowe, Robert Madden, and an android body displaying Ra.aic's face, still massaging their heads from the fall. They looked up and met Micheals's gaze, fully understanding the fear and confusion he felt at the moment. Robert slowly turned around, noticing the portraits located behind him. He then turned back with a very awkward smile. "Uh. Hi?" @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ Robert Madden sighed the second the [[[antarctic-exchange-hub\|Third Antarctic Empire]]] representatives left the room. "Christ," he said, crossing his legs and looking at Barlowe, who was seated directly in front of him. "All things considered I think I'd take multiversal stranding over diplomacy the next time around." The meeting which had just finished -- the meeting which they were meant to have months ago, when they had originally used the damned 6172 portal -- went pretty well. Still, that didn't change the fact that it was really quite tiring, having to explain in-depth the whole context of the Impasse and the Foundation-Vanguard transition and propose further collaboration programs to a bunch of interdimensional people who didn't even really comprehend the concept of containment in the first place. Ann chuckled. Ra made a sound similar to laughing, using the full extent of her android body (they let her keep it). "Aye," Barlowe said, cracking her knuckles. "I'd drink to that." "I would avoid tempting fate like that, if I were you," a third voice suddenly said, entering their vision from the shadows. It belonged to a diminutive red-headed woman, glasses mounted atop her nose. Neither of them needed her to introduce herself to know that she was [[[scp-5616\|Dr. Ilse Reynders]]], expert in all fields parascientific in this reality and tens of others. She took the now-empty seats the Empire representatives had sat in, and similarly crossed her legs. Madden nervously cleared his throat. "M-Miss," he said, scratching his head. "I'd like to apologize for not contacting you earlier, but--" She waved a hand and smiled. "Don't bother apologizing. I'm not your Ilse anyway. What?" she said, seeing their slightly widened eyes. "You thought we don't talk to each other or work together? Please." Nobody really knew how to reply to that. "Right," Ilse said, eyeing the three. "I figure you want to know what I want from you." They nodded. "I have just one thing to say:" She gave them a look. "Don't fucking do that again." Again, nobody found an answer. "What you did was very stupid. Jumping realities left and right is a recipe for multiversal disaster. There are very few things that destabilize it more, apocalyptic events obviously notwithstanding." She lit up a bit. "But I suppose I cannot blame you. Your circumstances talk for themselves. All things considered, you did better than most. At least you didn't actually break anything permanently. It's a shame we now have to deal with [[[the-mind-electric\|another Coalition that knows about interdimensional travel]]], though." She chuckled at her own joke. "Still," she continued. "Next time you go AWOL, just give me a call directly. God knows I didn't think this was an emergency of this scale when your Director reported it to all of us." She extended her hand, what looked like a business card bearing the sigil of a [[[welcome-to-delta-t\|Foundation logo with a tau inside a triangle atop it]]]. "It's far simpler than jumping dimensions. And far safer." Madden took it, studying the logo carefully. He didn't know whom it belonged to. He needed to do his research. "Thank--" "Actually," Ann cut in. "Forgive me interrupting what I'm sure was going to be a great monologue, but... what went wrong?" Ilse tilted her head. "I mean in the first place. They never did tell us what caused this whole fiasco. The malfunction, I mean. They said their results were inconclusive." Ilse pondered the question for a moment. "Truth be told, I don't know. It's not the answer you were expecting, I know, but even the infinite mes out there aren't really sure. We're working on it." She paused. "But, generally speaking, incidents like this are almost always caused by one of four reasons: fate, curses, the multiverse balancing itself..." "...or?" Ann asked. Ilse looked away for a moment, as if giving someone who wasn't inside the room -- someone way up above them, both in pataphysical dimensional distance and power -- a very, //very// heavy look. "...or to fulfill the goals of someone else entirely." @@ @@ [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:earthworm">:scp-wiki:component:earthworm</a> \| first=false \| last=true \| hub=yes \| previous-url=/let-the-maze-of-my-design-carry-you-on \| previous-title=Let the Maze of My Design Carry You On \| next-url= \| next-title= \| hub-url=/chronicles-of-the-irreal-hub \| hub-title=Chronicles of the Irreal ]] [[=]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] [!-- N/A (No Images) --] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]] [[/=]]	2023-09-09T17:13:00	[ "_licensebox", "adventure", "bittersweet", "doctor-reynders", "from-120s-archives", "otherworldly", "rats-nest", "tale" ]	Isle Unto Thyself - SCP Foundation	41	[ "ralliston-s-authorpage", "component:info-ayers", "rat-s-nest-hub", "scp-6172", "the-alchemy-department-hub", "what-s-up-with-all-the-reality-benders", "fresh-blood", "scp-7600", "david-hunt-on-galileo", "antarctic-exchange-hub", "scp-5616", "the-mind-electric", "welcome-to-delta-t", "let-the-maze-of-my-design-carry-you-on", "chronicles-of-the-irreal-hub", "next-url", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "the-alchemy-department-hub", "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "rat-s-nest-hub", "from-120-s-archives-hub", "chronicles-of-the-irreal-hub", "and-every-time-we-meet-again-hub" ]	[]	1449930080	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/isle-unto-thyself
it-always-ends-the-same	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=4&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/component%3Abhl-dark-sidebar/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=3&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Aextra-black-highlighter-theme/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=4&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/component%3Abhl-dark-sidebar/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=3&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Aextra-black-highlighter-theme/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p style="text-align: center;">It always ends the same.</p> <blockquote> <p><a href="/scp-5733">"Hey you there, I don't know you, and I don't know why you've just sat there watching this without doing nothing but please, I'm begging you, help me out here. What can I do to survive this?"</a></p> </blockquote> <p>You stare at the television screen. She doesn't know you, but you know her. You told yourself last time would be the <strong>last</strong> time, yet you're here again.</p> <p>You've seen this film before. So many times. It invades her house. Kills her friends. Chases her into the basement, and that's where she sees <strong>you</strong>. Her last hope. Last chance of survival. Yet it always ends the same.</p> <p>You agonise internally over what to recommend this time. An idea sparks. You open your mouth to speak:</p> <table style="border-collapse:collapse; width: 100%;"> <tr> <td style="font-weight:bold;padding: 1.0em 1.0em; text-align: center; border: 8px solid #141618; background-color: #a3a1a6; width: 50%;"><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/it-always-ends-the-same/offset/1">Tell her to run through the woods behind her house to escape.</a></td> <td style="font-weight:bold;padding: 1.0em 1.0em; text-align: center; border: 8px solid #141618; background-color: #a3a1a6; width: 50%;"><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/it-always-ends-the-same/offset/2">Tell her to go hide in the neighbour's house across the road.</a></td> </tr> </table> </div> </div> <p><br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/></p> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/it-always-ends-the-same">It Always Ends The Same</a>" by Dysadron, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/it-always-ends-the-same">https://scpwiki.com/it-always-ends-the-same</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> tv.PNG<br/> <strong>Name:</strong> Rank Arena television set (Auto-Color)<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> Matthew Paul Argall<br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC-BY-SA 2.0<br/> <strong>Source Link:</strong> <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/79157069@N03/18971276832">https://www.flickr.com/photos/79157069@N03/18971276832</a></p> </blockquote> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> suburb.png<br/> <strong>Name:</strong> Creepy suburbs at night.jpg<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> Nrayl012300<br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC-BY-SA 4.0<br/> <strong>Source Link:</strong> <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Creepy_suburbs_at_night.jpg">https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Creepy_suburbs_at_night.jpg</a></p> </blockquote> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> knife.PNG<br/> <strong>License:</strong> Public Domain<br/> <strong>Source Link:</strong> <a href="https://pxhere.com/en/photo/1362098">https://pxhere.com/en/photo/1362098</a></p> </blockquote> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> Shears.PNG<br/> <strong>Name:</strong> Fiskars Hedge Shears.jpg<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> Santeri Viinamäki<br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC-BY-SA 4.0<br/> <strong>Source Link:</strong> <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fiskars_Hedge_Shears.jpg">https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fiskars_Hedge_Shears.jpg</a></p> </blockquote> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> phone.PNG<br/> <strong>License:</strong> Public Domain<br/> <strong>Source Link:</strong> <a href="https://pxhere.com/en/photo/1529577">https://pxhere.com/en/photo/1529577</a></p> </blockquote> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> cell.JPG<br/> <strong>Name:</strong> Cell phone tower Lozen.jpg<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> Plamen Agov<br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC-BY-SA 2.0<br/> <strong>Source Link:</strong> <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cell_phone_tower_Lozen.jpg">https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cell_phone_tower_Lozen.jpg</a></p> </blockquote> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> Shelves.jpg<br/> <strong>Name:</strong> Empty Shelves<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> Dominic Alves<br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC-BY-SA 2.0<br/> <strong>Source Link:</strong> <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/dominicspics/3408478531">https://www.flickr.com/photos/dominicspics/3408478531</a></p> </blockquote> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> meal.png<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/dysadron" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(4384469); return false;"><img alt="Dysadron" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=4384469&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1725332298" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=4384469)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/dysadron" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(4384469); return false;">Dysadron</a></span><br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC-BY-SA 3.0</p> </blockquote> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> bed.png<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/dysadron" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(4384469); return false;"><img alt="Dysadron" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=4384469&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1725332298" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=4384469)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/dysadron" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(4384469); return false;">Dysadron</a></span><br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC-BY-SA 3.0</p> </blockquote> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> street.jpg<br/> <strong>Name:</strong> People on Street; Motion blur<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> Sascha Kohlmann<br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC-BY-SA 2.0<br/> <strong>Source Link:</strong> <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/skohlmann/16497939987">https://www.flickr.com/photos/skohlmann/16497939987</a></p> </blockquote> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:black-highlighter-theme">:scp-wiki:theme:black-highlighter-theme</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:extra-black-highlighter-theme">:scp-wiki:theme:extra-black-highlighter-theme</a>]] [[module CSS]] #page-title{display:none} :root{ --link-color: 221, 17, 17; --visited-link-color: 221, 17, 17; --hover-link-color: 221, 102, 17; } [[/module]] [[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[module ListPages category="fragment" parent="." limit="1" order="created_at" offset="@URL\|0"]] %%content%% [[/module]] [!-- https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/fragment:it-always-ends-the-same-0 --] [!-- https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/fragment:it-always-ends-the-same-1 --] [!-- https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/fragment:it-always-ends-the-same-2 --] [!-- https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/fragment:it-always-ends-the-same-3 --] [!-- https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/fragment:it-always-ends-the-same-4 --] [!-- https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/fragment:it-always-ends-the-same-5 --] [!-- https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/fragment:it-always-ends-the-same-6 --] [!-- https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/fragment:it-always-ends-the-same-7 --] [!-- https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/fragment:it-always-ends-the-same-8 --] [!-- https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/fragment:it-always-ends-the-same-9 --] [!-- https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/fragment:it-always-ends-the-same-10 --] [!-- https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/fragment:it-always-ends-the-same-11 --] [!-- https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/fragment:it-always-ends-the-same-12 --] [!-- https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/fragment:it-always-ends-the-same-13 --] [!-- https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/fragment:it-always-ends-the-same-14 --] [!-- https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/fragment:it-always-ends-the-same-15 --] [!-- https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/fragment:it-always-ends-the-same-16 --] [!-- https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/fragment:it-always-ends-the-same-17 --] @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] ===== > Filename: tv.PNG > Name: Rank Arena television set (Auto-Color) > Author: Matthew Paul Argall > License: CC-BY-SA 2.0 > Source Link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/79157069@N03/18971276832 > Filename: suburb.png > Name: Creepy suburbs at night.jpg > Author: Nrayl012300 > License: CC-BY-SA 4.0 > Source Link: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Creepy_suburbs_at_night.jpg > Filename: knife.PNG > License: Public Domain > Source Link: https://pxhere.com/en/photo/1362098 > Filename: Shears.PNG > Name: Fiskars Hedge Shears.jpg > Author: Santeri Viinamäki > License: CC-BY-SA 4.0 > Source Link: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fiskars_Hedge_Shears.jpg > Filename: phone.PNG > License: Public Domain > Source Link: https://pxhere.com/en/photo/1529577 > Filename: cell.JPG > Name: Cell phone tower Lozen.jpg > Author: Plamen Agov > License: CC-BY-SA 2.0 > Source Link: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cell_phone_tower_Lozen.jpg > Filename: Shelves.jpg > Name: Empty Shelves > Author: Dominic Alves > License: CC-BY-SA 2.0 > Source Link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/dominicspics/3408478531 > Filename: meal.png > Author: [[user Dysadron]] > License:* CC-BY-SA 3.0 > Filename: bed.png > Author: [[user Dysadron]] > License:* CC-BY-SA 3.0 > Filename: street.jpg > Name: People on Street; Motion blur > Author: Sascha Kohlmann > License: CC-BY-SA 2.0 > Source Link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/skohlmann/16497939987 ===== [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-04-03T21:15:00	[ "_cc", "_licensebox", "_listpages", "interactive", "tale" ]	It Always Ends The Same - SCP Foundation	50	[ "scp-5733", "it-always-ends-the-same/offset/1", "it-always-ends-the-same/offset/2", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023" ]	[]	1447182133	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/it-always-ends-the-same
it-seems-like-years-since-it-s-been-here	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=4&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/component%3Abhl-dark-sidebar/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=3&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Aextra-black-highlighter-theme/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <div class="authorlink-wrapper"><a href="javascript:;">Alzin Cdag</a> <div class="authorbox"> <div class="authorcontent"> <p>All That Copper Glowing Fine Part 5: It Seems Like Years Since It's Been Here<br/> <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/alzin-cdag">More by this author</a></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="info-container"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <div> <p>Based on characters by <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/tiredsn0w" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(7483584); return false;"><img alt="tiredsn0w" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=7483584&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043947" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=7483584)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/tiredsn0w" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(7483584); return false;">tiredsn0w</a></span>, <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/gabriel-jade" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(414239); return false;"><img alt="Gabriel Jade" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=414239&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043947" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=414239)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/gabriel-jade" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(414239); return false;">Gabriel Jade</a></span>, <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/djkaktus" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(1888434); return false;"><img alt="djkaktus" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=1888434&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043947" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=1888434)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/djkaktus" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(1888434); return false;">djkaktus</a></span>, <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/dmatix" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(1366080); return false;"><img alt="Dmatix" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=1366080&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043947" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=1366080)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/dmatix" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(1366080); return false;">Dmatix</a></span>, <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/metaphysician" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(1698079); return false;"><img alt="Metaphysician" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=1698079&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043947" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=1698079)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/metaphysician" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(1698079); return false;">Metaphysician</a></span>, <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/montagueetc" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5525011); return false;"><img alt="MontagueETC" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=5525011&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043947" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=5525011)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/montagueetc" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5525011); return false;">MontagueETC</a></span>, <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/drchandra" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(1956625); return false;"><img alt="DrChandra" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=1956625&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043947" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=1956625)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/drchandra" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(1956625); return false;">DrChandra</a></span>, whoever came up with Percival Darke (<span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/randomini" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(1379080); return false;"><img alt="Randomini" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=1379080&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043947" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=1379080)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/randomini" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(1379080); return false;">Randomini</a></span>, perhaps?), <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/soullesssingularity" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(637830); return false;"><img alt="SoullessSingularity" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=637830&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043947" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=637830)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/soullesssingularity" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(637830); return false;">SoullessSingularity</a></span>, <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/pennywisetheclown" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(211184); return false;"><img alt="PennywiseTheClown" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=211184&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043947" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=211184)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/pennywisetheclown" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(211184); return false;">PennywiseTheClown</a></span>, <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/snuggly-face" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5599959); return false;"><img alt="snuggly face" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=5599959&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043947" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=5599959)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/snuggly-face" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5599959); return false;">snuggly face</a></span>, interpretations of the Masked Lords by <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/drgooday" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5301801); return false;"><img alt="DrGooday" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=5301801&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043947" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=5301801)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/drgooday" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5301801); return false;">DrGooday</a></span> in their work <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/poetic-records-of-the-alagaddan-lords">https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/poetic-records-of-the-alagaddan-lords</a>, and interpretations of Grabnok from <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/margssentif" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(3861605); return false;"><img alt="margssentif" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=3861605&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043947" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=3861605)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/margssentif" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(3861605); return false;">margssentif</a></span> in their work <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/hopping-through-worlds">https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/hopping-through-worlds</a>.</p> </div> <hr/> <div id="u-author_block"> <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/alzin-cdag">▸ More by this Author ◂</a></p> </div> <hr/> <div id="u-comments2" style="display: none;"> <p>{$comments2}</p> </div> <div class="u-faq"> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:info-ayers">F.A.Q.</a></p> </div> <div style="display: none;"> <p>{$doesthisfixthebug}</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <h2 id="toc0"><span>The Companion</span></h2> <p>The sea didn't feel right.</p> <p>It felt like a thing out of practice being a sea, that had maintained only its surface for so long that now that someone was below that surface, it hadn't the least idea how to act.</p> <p>I could feel it trying, though. Wet planar surfaces brushed past me, changing their texture and consistency each passing moment. They kept trying to conform, as water normally would, around my form, but were only moderately successful. It felt like I was trying on a wool sweater four times my size, if the wool changed from wool to caterpillars to latex balloons to soggy tree bark to soap bubbles within the breadth of a few seconds.</p> <p>If the tactile sensation alone, then, would have overwhelmed me, it was nothing to the auditory cacophony that visited upon my senses. Voices my brain interpreted, somehow, from the modulated roaring pattern of the sound of the waves.</p> <p>Screams.</p> <p>Screams of the imprisoned. Screams of the neglected. Screams of those forced into existence in a world against their own wishes, desiring nothing more than to die forgotten.</p> <p>And as they screamed, I opened my mouth to scream with them, and the air was forced from my lungs and bubbled up through the shellfish around me that turned into steam that turned into ice that turned into-</p> <p>Lavender.</p> <p>Air perfumed thickly with lavender.</p> <p>Air perfumed thickly with a scent that conjured up memories of-</p> <p>Nothing at all.</p> <p>And as I focused on this scent, trying to chase it down, the seascape about me stabilized slightly. A bubble of lavender-scented air around my face let me breathe, for the moment, in the midst of the haptic chaos.</p> <p>And I opened my eyes</p> <p>And saw so many eyes staring back at me</p> <p>So I closed my eyes</p> <p>And I heard more than ever the screams</p> <p>And I thought to myself</p> <p>At last I am among kindred souls</p> <p>Those who have suffered as I have suffered</p> <p>Those who understand my pain</p> <p>And I thought to myself</p> <p>How fitting</p> <p>I always wanted to die surrounded by family</p> <p>My family are those who understand me</p> <p>Who scream when I scream</p> <p>Who weep when I weep</p> <p>Who smile when I smile</p> <p>I can let go of the lavender</p> <p>My anchor to nonexistent memories</p> <p>And my family will be there</p> <p>To take me in</p> <p>To hold my hand</p> <p>As I go</p> <p>And as I begin</p> <p>To let things go</p> <p>I see the faces</p> <p>Of those I know</p> <p>I see the Anesthesiologist</p> <p>Who stood by me</p> <p>Who gave me confidence and moral support</p> <p>When none else would</p> <p>Who thought pain was a resource</p> <p>And I see the masks</p> <p>Of the Alagaddans I cured</p> <p>And I see their grateful tears</p> <p>Running beneath the mask and down their chins</p> <p>And I open my eyes</p> <p>And I see the eyes of the pattern screamers around me</p> <p>Like looking into a fractured funhouse mirror</p> <p>And I think to myself</p> <p>Nobody has been there for them</p> <p>There has been no Anesthesiologist</p> <p>To help them grow towards their goals</p> <p>As they scream</p> <p>I scream</p> <p>And my scream is theirs</p> <p>And theirs is mine</p> <p>And the lavender bubble</p> <p>Grows</p> <p>Filled by my screams</p> <p>Defiant screams</p> <p>Screams of a tiny man</p> <p>Alien even to his homeworld</p> <p>Who has found an anchor</p> <p>A purpose</p> <p>Once more</p> <p>Who won't let his screams</p> <p>Our screams</p> <p>Be unheard anymore</p> <p>And we burst from the water like dolphins</p> <p>Bleeding blood as blue as the day I was born</p> <p>That sprays like lightning onto the black waves outside Alagadda</p> <p>And our screams</p> <p>Reach to the sky-</p> <h2 id="toc1"><span>The Doctor</span></h2> <p>Agent "Grabnok the Destroyer" Hopper of the Serpent's Hand looked at the emotional pair of myself and the Anaesthesiologist, the three of us fresh off of a joust of insults and affirmations about each others' respective identity crises, and sighed. "So what do you want of me?"</p> <p>I let go of the Anesthesiologist. "He can't take a Way out of Alagadda," I said. "But your dimension-hopping doesn't use a Way. If you could hold on to him until you hop-"</p> <p>"Nuh-uh," said Grabnok. "No can do, buckaroo. I can't choose my dimension of destination."</p> <p>"Then how did you end up on the world without humans twice?"</p> <p>"I haven't the foggiest idea," he shrugged. "It's just like lightning striking the same place twice, you know? It happens, but it's rare."</p> <p>"All right. But what if you traveled to Alagadda via a Way, like the rest of us, and then held onto him until you hop into another random reality-"</p> <p>"But then he'd be stranded in that other reality!" argued Grabnok.</p> <p>"All he needs is to be out of Alagadda. Somewhere where he isn't barred from using Ways. Strap a dimensional homing beacon on him, and we can ask one of those Wandsmen with their multiverse maps for directions on how to get him home."</p> <p>"That might work," mused Grabnok. "One question, though. Once I get to Alagadda, how am I going to find him?"</p> <p>We all stared at each other in silence.</p> <p>"He's a small person, alone in a big city. I'm not a detective, and as far as I can tell, he's no socialite. Does he know anyone there?"</p> <p>The Anesthesiologist volunteered, "He used to, but he helped them all escape. Except for the Shark-Punchers, but I don't think they'll pay any attention to his current whereabouts."</p> <p>Grabnok sighed. "I'll see what I can do. But I don't have high hopes. I can't find a needle in a haystack unless the needle wants to be found."</p> <hr/> <h2 id="toc2"><span>The Companion</span></h2> <p>I hauled myself onto the Alagaddan shore, muscles screaming against the riptide, brain abuzz with the Screamers. Back within the city limits, the city's peculiar laws of nature were strictly enforced once more, and my blood was once again a legal red.</p> <p>We came into an unremarkable empty building (a state shared with most buildings in the festival town, for which interiors were unnecessary), which formed a cavernous backstage space holding paints, brushes, ropes, scaffolding, and the like- a theatrical resource for changing the scenery of a play-acting town.</p> <p>They all clamored for attention. My aching body was too tired to corral all of them at once, even if they had a physical presence.</p> <p>"One at a time," I called, "One at a time."</p> <p><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/there-are-no-children-in-alagadda">"</a> <span style="color: transparent">VENGEANCE! VENGEANCE ON THE WRETCHED ONE WHO THOUGHT US INTO EXISTENCE-</span>"</p> <p><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/SCP-000">"</a> <span style="color: transparent">I… I can't make a difference…. I'm stuck here screaming and nothing comes of it… Nobody's coming to save me…</span>"</p> <p>" <span style="font-size:0%;">YOU'RE ALL STUPID AND DUMB AND I HATE EVERYONE YOU SHOULD HAVE NOTICED ME A LONG TIME AGO BUT YOU KEPT ON CLANKING AROUND LIKE YOU OWN EVERYTHING-</span> <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-s">"</a></p> <p>This was a triage scenario. I could only personally attend to one or to two at a time. The rest I had to try to occupy as best I could. Hell hath no fury like a bored Pattern Screamer.</p> <p>But I knew, now, how to think about triage. For however long I had been in Alagadda, I had been planning with triage in mind. I had had to think on my feet, see motivations beneath a veneer, to convince Mr. Darke to work with me. I had had to exploit the natural behavior patterns of others to get the Lords to sign the paperwork for the Shark-Punchers without noticing that they were different from the others.</p> <p>"All right," I said. I didn't know what right I had to expect these existential horrors to listen to me, but they had followed me this far.</p> <p>"<a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-3340">You,</a> the parasite on intelligence with the ability to create patterns in the dust- pair up with the <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/this-chapter-intentionally-left-blank">artist</a> who wants to create things, but can't influence the mental static of its environment. Make something together." The pair followed, and I sensed several others with the same properties starting to pair up as well.</p> <p>"<a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-000">Those of you</a> who scream at spending eternity in a blank informationless void, pair up with <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/unbidden">those who scream at once having lives, or of being part of the fundamental knowledge of the universe</a>. I'm sure you'll find a ready, hungry audience for the stories you have to tell." The screaming in my own mind lessened considerably, and the small, growing glitches in reality I had started to notice around me stopped. I sighed in relief.</p> <p>" <span style="color: transparent">What about those of us who do exist, solely in the cursed curiosity of our mother, who scream for her death?</span> " asked <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/there-are-no-children-in-alagadda">one voice.</a></p> <p>"You come to me," I said. "I've got something to say to you."</p> <p>And it came close, and I began to speak.</p> <hr/> <h2 id="toc3"><span>The Doctor</span></h2> <p>I knocked on the house's door and waited for an answer. I tapped my stick on the gravel of the driveway at a frequency usually reserved for telegraph operators. If this went wrong, as was likely, it would go <em>very</em> wrong. But I had to make the effort. For him.</p> <p>"Whoizzit?" asked a voice on the other side of the door.</p> <p>"A friend of your <em>son</em>," I said.</p> <p>"What do you want?" I could hear the sleepiness in its voice give way to wariness, as the person on the other side of the door scrambled with a heavy metal object. Presumably, its shotgun.</p> <p>"Only to help your flesh and blood."</p> <p>It was only stalling, now, listening for my voice as it began to take aim. "Why? What's wrong with it?"</p> <p>"He's lost a lot of flesh and a lot of blood."</p> <p>I could hear the click of the shotgun being primed. "There's regen tanks for that. Why come to me?"</p> <p>"His DNA's been changed, corrupted in the line of duty, just enough that the regen tanks won't work. He needs a donor of his own bloodline," I said, as a bullet ripped from one side of my mask beak through to the other side. One great thing about the mask was the way it funneled the sound of my voice, so that it appeared to be coming from somewhere further up the beak. When I used this power well, it helped to misdirect the bullets of those who aimed by sound.</p> <p>Still, the impact put enough torque on my neck to twist it badly, and I fell over, feeling like a certain cartoon duck. I was, for the moment, paralyzed from the neck down; were I human, I would already be dead. As it was, my anomalous body's muscle memory (and circuitry- remind me to tell you one day about my stint at Anderson) took over, and my hands fumbled into my bag for the appropriate tools to fix the snapped blood vessels, nerves, and vertebrae. I was so practiced at such self field repair, and my tools were of such good and anomalous quality, that it was a mere hour's labor to stabilize enough that I could stand up of my own will with only moderate chance of relapse.</p> <p>Unfortunately, just as I began this hour, the door opened and quadriphalangeal feet kicked the bag out of my grasp. Hands dragged me inside the house. And I knew where they were taking me. Having spied on the residence earlier, I knew there was an empty coffin lying open in one of the rooms. A coffin with the designation 5a82 graven upon it.</p> <p>Believe it or not, everything was so far going to plan.</p> <p>The hands folded my large frame into the very small coffin, and my own, after flailing around for a while and finding nothing, went to the emergency tools stowed away in secret pockets of my robe. It would take much, much longer to fix my neck with these tools than with my special kit. But I was in no immediate danger of death from that wound.</p> <p>I did, however, have to worry about the suffocation that would follow once the person in the house decided to close the coffin lid.</p> <p>"You shouldn't have knocked, <em>jerk</em>," it said, using a word much stronger than <em>jerk</em>. It chuckled to itself, crowing at its triumph. "The old Handler's a hard one to kill if you play fair like that. You shoulda just snuck in like you and the <em>jerk</em> did with my barn <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/hayloft">last time we tangled.</a>"</p> <p>My lungs still worked, but weren't under my motor control, so as a consequence my words came out as slowly as their automatic motion would allow. "It tempted me," I admitted. "But recently I've come to respect that I need to ask permission of someone before performing surgery on them. Your son helped teach me that. 5a82 is the reason I'm asking nicely."</p> <p>"Begged you, did it, not to hurt me?" it sneered. "Just as much a weakling as I always said."</p> <p>"Wrong on both counts," I said. "5a82 is not a weakling, and never was, but we'll get to that soon. No, I'm not really here on 5a82's account. I'm here of my own accord to find out something. Something about you. Something about me."</p> <p>"And what might that be?"</p> <p>"I need to know if a monster can be redeemed."</p> <hr/> <h2 id="toc4"><span>The Companion</span></h2> <p>"My parent never wanted me," I told the nonexistent child. "It thought I was too small. Too weak."</p> <hr/> <h2 id="toc5"><span>The Doctor</span></h2> <p>"You thought 5a82 needed toughening up," I said. "You gave him the most intense job out of anyone in the unit. You beat him if he did anything wrong. You hoped if he feared failure enough, he would shape up and be the soldier you always dreamed he would be."</p> <hr/> <h2 id="toc6"><span>The Companion</span></h2> <p>"But my parent was wrong," I said. "If you punish a person for not being someone they can never be, they won't suddenly fit your fantasy image of who they should be. They'll only despise you and despise themselves. They'll stop trusting in their own abilities to do anything."</p> <hr/> <h2 id="toc7"><span>The Doctor</span></h2> <p>"You had a good soldier, in the beginning," I said, desperately hoping it wouldn't close the coffin lid. "He wasn't the soldier you wanted, but he was the soldier you needed. And I think you saw that, towards the end. You told him he was valuable not because he was big or powerful, but because he could think his way out of situations. But by the time you told him that, you had told him he was useless so many times he thoroughly believed it. So no. He was no weakling. You had only taught him how never to use his strength."</p> <hr/> <h2 id="toc8"><span>The Companion</span></h2> <p>"So it took until I found…. someone else, on a different planet, before I began to trust anyone in the outside world," I told the nonexistent children. "And it took until I accomplished something great with nothing but my wits here in Alagadda before I began to trust myself."</p> <p>I looked straight at where the child would be if it was there. "This city is all you've ever known, and it doesn't appreciate you. It's made you hate everybody who ever thought you up, made you want revenge. But it's wrong, don't you see? You need a friend who can appreciate your worth. You need to leave this city forever with a loving home."</p> <p>" <span style="color: transparent">And how do you propose I do that?</span> " it asked. " <span style="color: transparent">Nobody can see me unless they look for me, and people know not to look for children in Alagadda.</span> "</p> <p>"Leave that to me," I said.</p> <hr/> <h2 id="toc9"><span>The Doctor</span></h2> <p>"But 5a82 is cloned from your genetic material," I said. "And that gives me hope. Because 5a82 developed a conscience. And that means it's possible you have one as well.</p> <p>"I know I can't expect us to join forces," I said. "I know your soul belongs to the government. But your body belongs to you, to do with it what you will. You have regen tanks. We can make it look like rebels attacked your home and you earned your injuries defeating them. I'm begging you, Handler: I need to know that people can change, that we can begin to make up for our past mistakes."</p> <p>I waited in silence for a while. I worried that it had left.</p> <p>Then it poked its face over the rim of the coffin. I felt relief. Then I noticed something else beside the rim.</p> <p>A sledgehammer.</p> <p>My mask crumpled, absorbing the impact. When I opened my eyes back up, it was only in time to see its second blow land on my jaw.</p> <p>I couldn't speak. And backup wouldn't arrive on its own for another twelve hours.</p> <p>"You white-beaked poison-blooded disu, how dare you accuse me of having anything to do with 5a82's inadequacy!" it shouted. "You come here thinking me a day-old child, in need of chiding for my supposed mistakes? I tried as hard as I could to fix 5a82…"</p> <p><em>He never needed fixing,</em> I thought.</p> <p>"But at the end of the day, if it couldn't shape up, that's its problem!" It shouted, as it closed the lid. "All that matters in this world is that you do what a superior tells you, and 5a82 couldn't make the cut-"</p> <p>And whatever it said after that was muffled, because the lid was closed.</p> <p>I began to worry.</p> <p>Two minutes passed.</p> <p>Five minutes passed.</p> <p>Eight minutes passed, and my automatic repairs had nearly restored the neural connection from my brain to my arms.</p> <p>Nine minutes passed, and the oxygen supply was getting low.</p> <p>And I was finally able to lift the lid of my own accord, and prop it open with a tongue depressor.</p> <p>Time passed. The Handler hadn't come back yet; I could hear it thumping about on the floor above, destroying pieces of furniture. By the time I had restored function to my legs again, it had quieted down some; perhaps it had run out of furniture.</p> <p>By the time I had repaired just enough that I could turn my neck slightly without too much risk of relapse, it was silent in the house.</p> <p>I pushed the lid fully open, and it echoed through the house.</p> <p>I stood up. Put one foot in front of the other. I dragged my bloodstained fabric upstairs.</p> <p>There it lay, unconscious, under a cloud of foul smoke, surrounded by a halo of discarded cigarettes and bottles. Overdose was written all over its features.</p> <p>My fingers pulled from among my secret pouches some drugs of my own.</p> <p>The moment I injected them into its catheter, its eyelids fluttered open.</p> <p>I don't know what thoughts crossed its mind, then. I don't know if it knew I had saved its life. I don't know if it recognized my pulverized mask as its handiwork.</p> <p>"I don't know what to make of you, jerk," it said, slurring slightly. "You're not a One. Not a Two. You've got the face of a bird and the smell of a plant. Of all the people on this planet, you're the most Other there has ever been.</p> <p>"And that's why you're the only one I feel comfortable telling this.</p> <p>"I loved 5a82. Twos aren't supposed to love their children, but I did. It's why I kept it clse in the beginning. I was afraid to show it. Afraid it would bloom into something irrepressible.</p> <p>"The more I… did it, the more distant it became from me, the more I loathed myself. But nobody stopped me. Everyone else saw what I was doing, but if they cared, they were all too scared of my rank to report me for retribution. So I was left in my own head, certain I was a sinner but never sure, and too afraid of facing up to my actions to stop. And though I waited for someone to tell me I was wrong, I knew, deep down… I knew it wouldn't have changed an oesu-damned thing. Because I'm nothing but a short-tempered piece of <em>shit</em> who takes all its emotions out on those around it, and that's all I'll ever be.</p> <p>"I'm not changing who I am. I am a loyal Keplerian citizen, and whatever our government has to do to keep control, I'm in full support of it, damn the cost to our personnel. My soul belongs to the government.</p> <p>"But my body… my body belongs to me.</p> <p>"I wish I could believe you, bird-face. I wish I could give of my flesh to repay my… my son… for the harm I've caused him. But the ledger's never going to be equal. I've hurt him more than I can be forgiven for, and I don't want forgiveness."</p> <p>I don't know what I was hoping for. I don't know whether my question was answered or not.</p> <p>The Handler lay there, determined to wallow in its own damnation. I don't know what that meant for me.</p> <p>But although no medical board would ever call it as such, it had given me as much consent as I could expect. <em>I wish I could give of my flesh…</em> It was certainly closer to the Hippocratic Oath than I had ever come before.</p> <p>I sighed. It was progress, I supposed.</p> <p>So I procured its hand, called the Kepler government to send in an ambulance, and left.</p> <hr/> <h2 id="toc10"><span>The Montage</span></h2> <p>The lady who sits down on the steps of the nameless house- we would describe her as a young lady had her worries not aged her features beyond her years- sobs, and beneath her overgrown bangs slender plant matter peeks out and falls to the ground with each spasm. They fall over her weathered labcoat and stained t-shirt whose emblem once proclaimed her a star.</p> <p>As she draws into a foetal position, passers-by step over her to get to the art-supplier inside the nameless house. Persons, gods and ghosts, and things at acute angles to all three, barter inside and intertwine outside. The red smoke rises from their revels, covering the black roots of the hairy sky and blocking out the conspicuous absence of the sun.</p> <p>The sun fails to rise over the whole city. The dimension-hopper looks up for it when he can, the ancient rhythms of his biology attuned to its wheel. But every time he does, his eyes have to fall, eventually, unsatisfied. He sighs, his circadian clock crying cuckoo, and stops the next passerby, his worn poster of the face of his goal high in his hand, towards what he hopes is the creature's eye. Had the creature seen 5a82? It hadn't. The hopper sighs, and looks around for someone else who can spare a moment from the revels. He searches a long time before finding one. He looks up to the sky as he approaches, hoping this time not for the sun, but for a benevolent god to hear his prayers and just let him finally find the gentleman.</p> <p>The gentleman sees someone waving around a poster of some helpless albino and moves past without a hint of recognition. A cloth over his mask to protect his nose from the orgiastic miasma, he keeps the folio secure under his arm and enters the gallery. Would they be willing to buy the art he had to sell? No, it wasn't his work, he was merely the agent. Not up to their standards of quality? Not at all a problem, he'll keep trying to find a home for the art and come back if he thinks there's another piece of art more up to their tastes. They should have a nice day. What is a day? Well, you see, on some worlds where light and energy comes from a sun…</p> <p>The brilliant fungal yellow of its cloak makes the woman look up from her lavender tears. A wave of odiousness exudes from the figure as it sits down besides her, repelling all passers-by in a fifty-five meter radius. She can tell, somehow, that it is making an effort to exclude her from this repulsion, but she doesn't much care.<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-1" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-1')">1</a></sup></p> <p>The gentleman picks himself up carefully, having been hurled out of his twelfth consecutive gallery. He scavenges through dumpsters behind artists' lofts to pick up discarded, half-filled tubes of paint.</p> <p>He returns to his base in time for paint to splatter all over his face as the Screamers' frustration mounts. Their desires remain unfulfilled; none of their art is able to satisfy what they wanted to create. What was it they wanted to create? They don't know. All they know is a series of complex emotions that they had been screaming unheard for so long that they are unable to articulate them.</p> <p>The lady speaks then, to the strange ochre-clad person. She speaks of a life defined by unrequited love and childish lashing out, of the cruelty of the systems and people who kept her and those around her trapped in their stations, unable to meet, unable to love. She is the youngest ever Foundation researcher, deprived by family pressure of the opportunity to emotionally mature.</p> <p>A fake moustache and a janitor's uniform adorn the gentleman as he makes his way through the cursed library vaults of Alagadda, hands wheeling a laundry cart covered in a blanket. He knocks from the shelves wholesale books with titles like <em>Plaid, Corduroy, or Cross-Hatched: A Schédiomicon</em> and <em>Life of Fred: A Case Study in Pattern Screamer Success</em>, as the rowdier of his compatriots fuzz up the library security behind him. Later that night (for it is always night in Alagadda) he begins reading them to those elements of his daycare as would listen, as are desperate for context, for words to describe themselves.</p> <p>The hopper raises his poster for the umpteenth time as the winds knock it out of his hand. He runs after the piece of paper and watches as it is picked up by… himself. Grabnok stares at Grabnok, and they shake hands and go to get a coffee together.</p> <p>Having to explain a metaphor in one of the works, the gentleman finds himself lecturing at a large easel, on which is a patent-style rigorous drawing of a bagel. No, they don't sell the bits from the hole separately; the toroid contains all the dough. Even though it looks incomplete, it is whole. The hole is part of its design.</p> <p>And he feels, as he explains this to them, this thing that he had explained again and again, that this was how maturity worked. The immature person assumes that one speech, one resolution, changes a person's mind for good. But the mature person knows that it takes repetition to lodge a new idea beneath the surface level, to heal the emotional wounds, to re-forge the will.</p> <p>And the Yellow Lord of Alagadda tells the woman something many times. He tells her that he is sorry for the wounds her family inflicted upon her. He tells her that they weren't her fault, that she should grieve it, should mourn the wounds for all they were worth, and for all she felt they were worth. Scream that mourning skywards, as he demonstrates by screaming the loss of his melodious station, the loss of all his worldly friends.</p> <p>And he tells her after they screamed that the disease that made her cough flowers was widely misunderstood. The flowers grow, not from her body, but from the empty places in her soul; a failed attempt by ancient Alagaddan alchemists to fill them up with beauty. He tells her that she had been looking in the wrong places to fill them. No matter how pure a romantic love may be, it will never be enough to fill that gap. It could fool the flowers, but not their roots. The holes can only be filled when she loved a god and loved herself, for those were their size and shape.</p> <p>Grabnok and Grabnok find the coffee shop filled with other Grabnoks, and they share a moment of laughter as they join hands and dance in a circle. Some had shifted there and some are time-reflections of the others, but nobody cared. They had found themselves.</p> <p>The gentleman's next portfolio at the art galleries is slightly better received. He holds up self-reflections of nowhere men and shots tailored to the abyssal gaze. Coin is exchanged with mutual thanks. An art-supply store next, to buy parchment and ink in bulk for his long-term project, though for some reason he feels he must give a wide radius to the woman and the yellow-cloaked fellow by her, practicing their affirmations and religious explorations on the steps.</p> <p>The Grabnok party takes to the streets, passing a curious hooded figure stumbling away from an art-supply shop loaded with parchment, and, in synchronization, flash their posters to the various members of the street-orgy around them. They aren't getting much of anywhere, but what does that matter? They are among friends and equals, people they could implicitly trust with their darkest secrets.</p> <p>And the inside of the gentleman's headquarters begins to be painted with style and motifs and a sun high on the ceiling, the work of screamers in relative peace. It buzzes with courteous conversations and improvisational jazz solos, and smells of illusory lavender.</p> <p>And as the young woman passed the unassuming building front and got a whiff of that painful scent, she realized with great shock that she hasn't coughed up flowers in an imprecise, yet significant interval of time.</p> <p>And the Yellow Lord begins calling in favours. A parchment contract manifests before the Red and White Lords in Alagadda, and before the Black Lord on Kepler. All are confused, but all agree to release the young woman from their service. The Yellow Lord opens a portal to her home world, and she steps through, but not before asking that the Yellow Lord send the Doctor and 5a82 her letters of apology for her role in this whole affair. The Yellow Lord agrees to her face, then burns the letters after the portal closes. One act of kindness had been enough to work the parasite loose; why should he push matters, fall down that slippery slope?</p> <p>But the smoke that rises from the burnt apologies made it to the gentleman's nose, and unlike all the other scents of this city, it makes him smile a bittersweet smile, though he does not consciously know why. He smiles as he puts up the sign outside his headquarters, and he smiles as just a few, a very few cautious tourists make their way inside, to hear what he has to offer. They're not the most visually observant ones here, overwhelmed both by the constant novelty and shock factor of the city outside and by the magnitude and implications of the gentleman's offer. As a consequence, they don't note the offerer's appearance, and when the hopper later shows them his poster, they fail to identify him.</p> <hr/> <h2 id="toc11"><span>The Box</span></h2> <p>I'd been in this cursed city for a long, yet indeterminate amount of time (long enough for at least two jumps, in the uncertain time frame of Alagadda) now without any sign of my target. The merchants hadn't seen him; Darke's group was apparently lying low for the moment, waiting for the heat to blow over. The librarians hadn't seen him. The most attentive of the people parading around the streets hadn't seen him. I was losing hope that I'd ever see him.</p> <p>I would search for him as long as I reasonably could. But eventually, the Hand would need me for another mission.</p> <p>He was a small man who, as long as I had known him, had tried to keep an even smaller profile. And this was a large, loud, busy city. It would take a miracle for me to find him.</p> <p>And I turned, and I saw a miracle.</p> <p>Someone had put up a poster on the side of a nearby building. As I looked around, I saw many such posters. But their number wasn't what caught my eye.</p> <p>It was the familiar logo that was on the posters- familiar, and yet new- a logo watermarked with a curious phrase that confirmed to me the identity of the artist beyond a shadow of a doubt.</p> <p>And I began to run.</p> <hr/> <h2 id="toc12"><span>The Screamers</span></h2> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><span style="color: transparent">We are void-dwellers</span></p> <p><span style="color: transparent">Our home, the null-mirror of nonexistence</span></p> <p><span style="color: transparent">Our lives, reflections of the existence we see</span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="color: transparent">So we have explored your absent memory, Caretaker</span></p> <p><span style="color: transparent">As thanks:</span></p> <p><span style="color: transparent">You who have heard our screams and stayed</span></p> <p><span style="color: transparent">We've gone through the cavities it left in its wake</span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="color: transparent">We know not its bulk, its substance</span></p> <p><span style="color: transparent">Simply the shapes at the edges, Caretaker</span></p> <p><span style="color: transparent">Connections cut off at the void</span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="color: transparent">This Symbol</span></p> <p><span style="color: transparent">And these Three Words</span></p> <p><span style="color: transparent">They connected to the lost memory</span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="color: transparent">Are you proud of us, Caretaker?</span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="color: transparent">Why do you cry?</span></p> </div> <hr/> <h2 id="toc13"><span>The Box</span></h2> <p>I ran to the building mentioned by the poster to find its interior walls covered in works of art, sketched finely in dust and decay.</p> <p>"Hello?" I heard someone say. "Are you interested in the extradimensional adoption of a pattern-dwelling child?"</p> <p>I saw him, then, at a desk, nose to paper, busy at work on more posters.</p> <p>"No, 6118," I said. "I'm here with a prescription from your doctor." He inhaled and looked up. "He prescribes a trip back home."</p> <p>"Grabnok?" he said. He tried to get up, but stumbled. "How did you find me?"</p> <p>In answer, I held up one of the posters.</p> <div class="scp-image-block block-center" style="width:300px;"><img alt="SurgeonsCurePestilence.png" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/it-seems-like-years-since-it-s-been-here/SurgeonsCurePestilence.png"/> <div class="scp-image-caption"> <p>For Extra-Alagaddan Adoption of a Pattern-Based Child (which in no way, shape, manner, or form exists within the city), go to 155̫̆͒͛̚5͋͋͋͋5͋̚̚̚̚̚̚̚̚̚̚5͖5͋͛6 Main St, Alagadda, Zip Code -5͛.5͛͛͛͛55͛͛͛͛͛͛͛5^5 + 7.2͛ <strong><em>i</em></strong> + 99͚9.332 <strong><em>j</em></strong></p> </div> </div> <p>"Who else in this city would be so freely referencing both the Doctor and the SCP Foundation?" I asked. "Still not sure why you chose that as your in-Alagadda watermark…"</p> <p>"It's a memorial for his memory," he said.</p> <p>"But I thought you didn't remember him."</p> <p>"Exactly. I'm mourning the loss of the memory. This is all the information my pattern-based colleagues could scrape up from the edges of the hole in my mind, plus his distinctive silhouette the brief time I saw him after my memory went but before he left…" This all came tumbling out of him faster than I'd ever seen him talk. "It is a 'he,' right?"</p> <p>"Yes, the Doctor identifies as such."</p> <p>"What else can you tell me about him? I need to know! What color are his eyes? Does he play Tetris? Which Star Trek: The Next Generation character does he most identify with? Oh, god, does he even like TNG? How does he feel about my former role as a Kepler shock trooper? What-"</p> <p>"Whoa, whoa, whoa, kid," I said quickly. "You can ask him all these questions yourself. Hold on tight to me and sometime, probably in the coming weeks, we'll dimension-hop out of here, and then the Hand will come take you home."</p> <p>"Finally, an end to this nightmare!" he said. Then he paused. "But what about the child?"</p> <p>"What child?"</p> <p>"Don't bother looking, never mind, there's no child!" he panicked. "It's just… my sick idea of a joke… who would even find that funny…. heh, heh…."</p> <p>"All right," I said. I wanted to press further, but I curbed my tongue in embarrassment at whatever this ploy was.</p> <p>"Before… before we go," he began carefully, "I need some alone time by the shore. Do you think you can allow me that?"</p> <p>"It's your funeral if I end up hopping while you're doing that," I said. "I suppose I can busy myself in taking down the posters-"</p> <p>"I'll be quick, thanks, bye!" he said, gesturing me to the door and shutting it. I heard him talking inside, though it was too dim for me to make out words; then he opened it again, held it open, and began to limp down the street.</p> <p>"All right, I'll be around here if you need me," I said.</p> <hr/> <h2 id="toc14"><span>The Companion</span></h2> <p>"All to sea that's going to sea!" I said, limping to the ocean, Screamers following behind me.</p> <p>I was leaving. I WAS LEAVING! Oh frabjous day, the nightmare was over. But I had to tie up loose ends still. As the only person in Alagadda who could get along with the Screamers, I had to return them back to the Nevermeant before they started wreaking all kinds of havoc.</p> <p>Still, they were much quieter than when I had come. They had learned to speak in turns, to talk as well as shout, to whisper as well as talk. Many spoke to each other as friends, realizing for the first time that they could fulfill each others' needs.</p> <p>Whether they would stay that way, I could not say.</p> <p>Some of the more artistic Screamers chose to stay in the city, taking part in the revels. It was their own decision, though I could not fully stomach it; and I wished them luck.</p> <p>But most of them jumped back into the Nevermeant ocean. Back to where they called home.</p> <p>At last, only one was left.</p> <p>"<span style="color: transparent">Don't make me go back there, Caretaker, please don't,</span>" it said. "<span style="color: transparent">There aren't any mommies in there.</span>"</p> <p>"But you can't stay here in Alagadda, can't you see?" I said. "You can't exist here. At least in the Nevermeant you'll be among others of your own kind."</p> <p>" <span style="color: transparent">The other Children of Alagadda won't p-play with me anymore,</span>" it argued. " <span style="color: transparent">They said giving up on revenge means I'm no longer welcome among them.</span>"</p> <p>"But it's your home!"</p> <p>"<span style="color: transparent">My home isn't where I come from. It's a place where the people care about me.</span>"</p> <p>I sighed. What was I to do?</p> <p>Grabnok ran up to me. "I can feel it coming, 5a82," he said. "We have to go now. Come on, hold on to me."</p> <p>I looked from Grabnok to the space where the child would be if it existed, and back again.</p> <p>And I made my decision.</p> <hr/> <h2 id="toc15"><span>The Doctor</span></h2> <p>On the road back to the rebel base, I multitasked, fixing my jaw and driving at the same time. It was a miracle that I avoided accident. But by the time I returned, they told me: he was there, too.</p> <p>"Out of my way!" I shouted to all the medics in the operating room. "This is my patient-"</p> <p>"You're not getting rid of me so easily, Surg," said the Anesthesiologist.</p> <p>"What are you doing here?" I snapped. "You don't even ply your trade anymore-"</p> <p>"Here's the thing about anaesthesia," he said. "It's not a cure in itself. It only helps when it's a transitory thing, to make the cure easier for the patient to handle."</p> <p>And he gestured to the operating table. 5a82 was unconscious, in a peaceful, dreamless sleep.</p> <p>"Without your work, Surg, I'm only a poisoner and a drug dealer," he said. "Only when my work pairs with yours can it be truly helpful."</p> <p>So we got to work.</p> <hr/> <p>Two of the Children of the Barrow working together is a dance the universe has not seen for six hundred years.</p> <p>We siphoned out the pockets of fluid trapped in the joints and the muscle that had caused their motion to rebel against the body.</p> <p>We chopped off the mechanical hand and stitched in its place the recently obtained organic one.</p> <p>We performed a total blood transfusion and introduced into the bloodstream solutions that would repair the damage wrought to the organs by the high levels of iron.</p> <p>The halted beginnings of therianthropy were the hardest to correct, by far, for what had happened was that the nervous system had begun to change in shape in anticipation of the other tissues following suit. It was therefore a task of many, many hours to chop off the beginnings of a nerve here, splice that tissue to lengthen another nerve there, and connect it all up to the tissues and cells they were meant to go into.</p> <p>No human doctor could ever have been so thorough. But we, who collectively knew more of anatomy than the entirety of the medical profession, and had steadier hands than the finest robotic surgeon, accomplished the job.</p> <p>We worked with the notes of the rebel scientists to develop a spray that could change the DNA of our patient's epidermis on a genetic level, to essentially spread a non-replicating virus that would destroy the selachian DNA and tissue that had developed there.</p> <p>"What?" asked 7CB7 when we told it what we were doing.</p> <p>"We developed Plague Doctor Shark Repellent, ok?" I sighed. "Didn't you ever see the 1960s Batman movie?"</p> <p>At last, the patient was back to normal. At last, all that was left was for his body to knit its cells back together and heal.</p> <hr/> <h2 id="toc16"><span>The Companion</span></h2> <p>And then I woke up.</p> <p>There were sympathy and thank-you cards on the table, mainly in languages I didn't recognize. I'm pretty sure some of their pop-ups moved through more than three dimensions.</p> <p>One came from the office of Percival Darke, courteously thanking me for selling him an in to the economic conquest of my homeworld, and offering me a gift certificate to Darke-Roast Coffee Co., now popping up in government and rebel establishments alike. I don't know if this boded for good or for ill. It seemed like he was playing all sides, and I wasn't sure what I'd unleashed on my planet.</p> <p>One came from Lolly, who in her meandering way, wished me luck on my relationship with the Doctor. She said it was fitting that we were together, since our numbers matched: (6+1)*(-1 + 8)=49. It felt a bit more like a third-person Valentine than a get-well card, but I knew she meant well.</p> <p>Good. So it wasn't a dream.</p> <p>I pulled on my medical stockings and braces. I looked in the mirror.</p> <p>I was myself again.</p> <p>I looked like myself, and I felt like myself…. and that was nothing to be ashamed of.</p> <p>I opened the door to my room and walked over to the Doctor's. I heard chaotic sounds inside, and opened the door.</p> <p>There stood the Doctor and the Anesthesiologist, having a rather undignified pillow fight. The Doctor was standing over the bed, while the Anesthesiologist was underneath, guarded by a pillow fort, looking for a gap in the Doctor's defense. Feathers were all over the place, clinging statically to both of their black cloaks.</p> <p>"Those feathers suit you," I said.</p> <p>The pillow fight stopped, and the Doctor ran over to hug me. "You're awake at last!" he shouted.</p> <p>I held up a hand to stop him.</p> <p>Then it turned into an offer for a handshake.</p> <p>"Hello, Doctor," I said. "It's nice to finally meet you. I'm 5a82, Alias SCP-6118."</p> <p>I made eye contact with him as we shook hands.</p> <p>"I've heard, from some of our mutual friends," I said, "That we make a very good match. I'd love to get to know you. Want to go out for dinner sometime?"</p> <p>The Anesthesiologist burst into a fit of laughter.</p> <p>"Just as friends, of course," I said. "Obviously, I may come to find you immensely attractive, and once I know you as well as I used to, I'll be comfortable with all sorts of non-sexual physical ways of showing affection."</p> <p>Was this oversharing? Was this even true? My instincts were to snuggle with him, to kiss, but I didn't know whether that was just for him or something I'd do with anyone I'd shared as much of my life with as him. But I would do it. I wanted to be with him so, so badly…</p> <p>"But no matter what relationship we were in before, we're different people now. We've got to decide these things all over again."</p> <p>And the thing was, as a Kepler, I hated labels. Boyfriend, girlfriend, gay lovers… these were all human concepts, uncomfortably tied to sex that I wasn't interested in. It wasn't important to me that I distinguished "best friend" from "lover," no matter what the newspapers said, no matter how 7CB7 tried to play matchmaker.</p> <p>"Of… of course," said the Doctor. "Nice to meet you, too… 5a82."</p> <p>"By the way," I said, "You should know that I don't live alone at present. I've been taking care of a little one who needs a good home. I don't know if that home is with us, or with someone else, but it's something we'll need to discuss."</p> <p>"That came out of nowhere," remarked the Doctor.</p> <p>"I know. With our current instability, I don't know at present whether we could even support a child. It's possible we'll give it up for adoption and never speak of it again after this day."</p> <p>"Where is it?" the Doctor asked.</p> <p>I led them to a room I had told the rebels to repurpose as a nursery, and then leave alone. I figured that while I had been asleep, the Screamer would incarnate in the most suitable place.</p> <p>And it turned out I was right. I held a finger to my lips as I turned on the light.</p> <p>Curled up on a deep yellow sheet was a <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-14469608/hazmat#post-5791300">tiny figure</a> covered in a black onesie that included gloves. It had something white like a mask over its face, though contrary to the usual state of things, this did not seem to impede its' breathing. It grasped in one hand a rattle which appeared to be made of a pair of eyeballs held together with optic nerves.</p> <div class="scp-image-block block-center" style="width:300px;"><img alt="scp049_as_a_baby_by_fiercefauna.jpg" class="image" src="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/it-seems-like-years-since-it-s-been-here/scp049_as_a_baby_by_fiercefauna.jpg"/> <div class="scp-image-caption"> <p>The Baby</p> </div> </div> <p>"It's beautiful," said the Doctor, sniffling with joy. "Oh, I want to be involved in that child's life."</p> <p>"Where did it get those eyes?" wondered the Anesthesiologist.</p> <p>"From its birth mother," I said. "I hear there was no love lost between them. Best not to bring her up."</p> <p>The child woke up. It looked around at each of us in turn.</p> <p>It cooed in delight, perhaps on some level excited to have changed, like Pinnochio, into a real organic being. There was wonder in its eyes (the ones in its head, not on its rattle).</p> <p>"Hello, child," said the Doctor. "Welcome to the universe."</p> <p>It started crying.</p> <p>"What's it crying about?"</p> <p>"Does it need a diaper change?"</p> <p>"Doctor, how do you even open that chitinous suit to change a diaper?"</p> <p>"Why do you assume this is a problem <em>I</em> know how to solve?"</p> <p>"Because he looks exactly like you!"</p> <p>"<em>Sigh.</em> This had better not be one of those time travel things where it grows up to be me."</p> <p>"What are the odds of a circular time-travel loop involving you, Surge?"</p> <p>"Unfortunately, <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/an-angel-who-has-forsaken-sympathy">pretty good.</a>"</p> <p>"Is it hungry, perhaps? What do you feed a baby? Soup? I could make you some soup if you want, please stop crying…."</p> <p>"All right, stand back, Ani, 6118! I'm going to try to change its' diaper! … There, all better!"</p> <p>"….How did you even <em>do</em> that, Doctor? That onesie seemed pretty seamless to me."</p> <p>"Maybe if our date goes well-"</p> <p>"SURGE, PLEASE!"</p> <p>"All right all right. Ani, 6118, I'm sorry…."</p> <p>"It's- it's okay, Doctor, I'm not even sure what you were trying to say."</p> <p>"Oh, you sweet summer child…"</p> <p>"Hey, I suffered great pain to get you out of Alagadda, and I don't even know you now! Please, don't make fun of me!"</p> <p>"All right, all right…"</p> <hr/> <p>It's a few weeks later now. We're standing in line at "Marshall, Carter, and Dark Present: For the First Time Ever on the Planet: <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/dread-circuses-hub">Herman Fuller's Circus of the Disquieting!</a>"</p> <p>I'm holding the Doctor's hand in the line, of course. We've caught up on each other's sides of the story, and I've been learning all about him. A fascinating man, I'm so lucky to be his friend….</p> <p>We're at the front of the line now, and I see the posters. And I remember that I don't particularly care for clowns, even though I appreciate what Lolly did for us.</p> <p>"Are you all right, my friend?" asks the Doctor.</p> <p>"Y-yeah," I say.</p> <p>But he can tell by the look in my eyes. "Maybe we skip this show, eh?" he says.</p> <p>I look at him. I look at all the people waiting behind me in line, and at the ticket-taker, who mutters about not having all day here.</p> <p>"Sure," I say. And we step out of the line, and walk back to my room.</p> <p>"Phew!" says the Doctor. "I'm glad you said something. I was going because I thought you liked it, but I have some…. <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/doctor-muerte">bad memories</a> with that Circus."</p> <p>"So let's make some good memories together," I say.</p> <p>And we snuggle, and the Doctor pulls up on the newly installed lid of his mask as we close the door to my room.</p> <p>And we have a great time for the next hour arguing passionately over whether to watch <em>Doctor Who</em> or <em>Star Trek: The Next Generation</em>.</p> <div class="earthworm earthworm--old-syntax-first-false earthworm--old-syntax-last-true earthworm--old-syntax-hub-no {$class}"> <div class="first earthworm__previous" data-title="Part 4"> <p><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/terrible-sunlight">Part 4</a></p> </div> <div class="hub earthworm__hub" data-title="All That Copper, Glowing Fine"> <p><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/altitudes-hub">All That Copper, Glowing Fine</a></p> </div> <div class="last earthworm__next" data-title="{$next-title}"> <p><a class="newpage" href="/next-url">{$next-title}</a></p> </div> </div> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/it-seems-like-years-since-it-s-been-here">It Seems Like Years Since It's Been Here</a>" by Alzin Cdag, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/it-seems-like-years-since-it-s-been-here">https://scpwiki.com/it-seems-like-years-since-it-s-been-here</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> SurgeonsCurePestilence.png<br/> <strong>Name:</strong> SurgeonsCurePestilence<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> Alzin Cdag<br/> <strong>License:</strong> [<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC by SA 3.0</a>]<br/> <strong>Source Link:</strong> <a href="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/it-seems-like-years-since-it-s-been-here/SurgeonsCurePestilence.png">https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/it-seems-like-years-since-it-s-been-here/SurgeonsCurePestilence.png</a></p> </blockquote> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> scp049_as_a_baby_by_fiercefauna.jpg<br/> <strong>Name:</strong> scp049_as_a_baby_by_fiercefauna.jpg<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> Fierce fauna<br/> <strong>License:</strong> [<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC by SA 3.0</a>]<br/> <strong>Source Link:</strong> <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-14469608/hazmat#post-5791300">https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-14469608/hazmat#post-5791300</a></p> </blockquote> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="footnotes-footer"> <div class="title">Footnotes</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-1"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-1')">1</a>. Does she want to talk about it? <p>What does it care, being a big fancy eldritch tetrarch?</p> <p>It is a big fancy eldritch tetrarch who had been universally loathed for a century, and then someone showed it Kindness. The kindness bothers it like an alien parasite, and it needs to worm its way out.</p> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:black-highlighter-theme">:scp-wiki:theme:black-highlighter-theme</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:extra-black-highlighter-theme">:scp-wiki:theme:extra-black-highlighter-theme</a>]] [[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:author-label-source">:scp-wiki:component:author-label-source</a> start=-- \|name=Alzin Cdag]] All That Copper Glowing Fine Part 5: It Seems Like Years Since It's Been Here [[[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/alzin-cdag\|More by this author]]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:author-label-source">:scp-wiki:component:author-label-source</a> end=--]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:info-ayers">:scp-wiki:component:info-ayers</a> \|lang=en \|page=itseemslikeyearssinceitsbeenhere \|authorPage=https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/alzin-cdag \|comments=Based on characters by [[user tiredSn0w]], [[user Gabriel Jade]], [[user djkaktus]], [[user Dmatix]], [[user Metaphysician]], [[user MontagueETC]], [[user DrChandra]], whoever came up with Percival Darke ([[user Randomini]], perhaps?), [[user SoullessSingularity]], [[user PennywiseTheClown]], [[user snuggly face]], interpretations of the Masked Lords by [[user DrGooday]] in their work https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/poetic-records-of-the-alagaddan-lords, and interpretations of Grabnok from [[user margssentif]] in their work https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/hopping-through-worlds. ]] ++ The Companion The sea didn't feel right. It felt like a thing out of practice being a sea, that had maintained only its surface for so long that now that someone was below that surface, it hadn't the least idea how to act. I could feel it trying, though. Wet planar surfaces brushed past me, changing their texture and consistency each passing moment. They kept trying to conform, as water normally would, around my form, but were only moderately successful. It felt like I was trying on a wool sweater four times my size, if the wool changed from wool to caterpillars to latex balloons to soggy tree bark to soap bubbles within the breadth of a few seconds. If the tactile sensation alone, then, would have overwhelmed me, it was nothing to the auditory cacophony that visited upon my senses. Voices my brain interpreted, somehow, from the modulated roaring pattern of the sound of the waves. Screams. Screams of the imprisoned. Screams of the neglected. Screams of those forced into existence in a world against their own wishes, desiring nothing more than to die forgotten. And as they screamed, I opened my mouth to scream with them, and the air was forced from my lungs and bubbled up through the shellfish around me that turned into steam that turned into ice that turned into- Lavender. Air perfumed thickly with lavender. Air perfumed thickly with a scent that conjured up memories of- Nothing at all. And as I focused on this scent, trying to chase it down, the seascape about me stabilized slightly. A bubble of lavender-scented air around my face let me breathe, for the moment, in the midst of the haptic chaos. And I opened my eyes And saw so many eyes staring back at me So I closed my eyes And I heard more than ever the screams And I thought to myself At last I am among kindred souls Those who have suffered as I have suffered Those who understand my pain And I thought to myself How fitting I always wanted to die surrounded by family My family are those who understand me Who scream when I scream Who weep when I weep Who smile when I smile I can let go of the lavender My anchor to nonexistent memories And my family will be there To take me in To hold my hand As I go And as I begin To let things go I see the faces Of those I know I see the Anesthesiologist Who stood by me Who gave me confidence and moral support When none else would Who thought pain was a resource And I see the masks Of the Alagaddans I cured And I see their grateful tears Running beneath the mask and down their chins And I open my eyes And I see the eyes of the pattern screamers around me Like looking into a fractured funhouse mirror And I think to myself Nobody has been there for them There has been no Anesthesiologist To help them grow towards their goals As they scream I scream And my scream is theirs And theirs is mine And the lavender bubble Grows Filled by my screams Defiant screams Screams of a tiny man Alien even to his homeworld Who has found an anchor A purpose Once more Who won't let his screams Our screams Be unheard anymore And we burst from the water like dolphins Bleeding blood as blue as the day I was born That sprays like lightning onto the black waves outside Alagadda And our screams Reach to the sky- ++ The Doctor Agent "Grabnok the Destroyer" Hopper of the Serpent's Hand looked at the emotional pair of myself and the Anaesthesiologist, the three of us fresh off of a joust of insults and affirmations about each others' respective identity crises, and sighed. "So what do you want of me?" I let go of the Anesthesiologist. "He can't take a Way out of Alagadda," I said. "But your dimension-hopping doesn't use a Way. If you could hold on to him until you hop-" "Nuh-uh," said Grabnok. "No can do, buckaroo. I can't choose my dimension of destination." "Then how did you end up on the world without humans twice?" "I haven't the foggiest idea," he shrugged. "It's just like lightning striking the same place twice, you know? It happens, but it's rare." "All right. But what if you traveled to Alagadda via a Way, like the rest of us, and then held onto him until you hop into another random reality-" "But then he'd be stranded in that other reality!" argued Grabnok. "All he needs is to be out of Alagadda. Somewhere where he isn't barred from using Ways. Strap a dimensional homing beacon on him, and we can ask one of those Wandsmen with their multiverse maps for directions on how to get him home." "That might work," mused Grabnok. "One question, though. Once I get to Alagadda, how am I going to find him?" We all stared at each other in silence. "He's a small person, alone in a big city. I'm not a detective, and as far as I can tell, he's no socialite. Does he know anyone there?" The Anesthesiologist volunteered, "He used to, but he helped them all escape. Except for the Shark-Punchers, but I don't think they'll pay any attention to his current whereabouts." Grabnok sighed. "I'll see what I can do. But I don't have high hopes. I can't find a needle in a haystack unless the needle wants to be found." ----- ++ The Companion I hauled myself onto the Alagaddan shore, muscles screaming against the riptide, brain abuzz with the Screamers. Back within the city limits, the city's peculiar laws of nature were strictly enforced once more, and my blood was once again a legal red. We came into an unremarkable empty building (a state shared with most buildings in the festival town, for which interiors were unnecessary), which formed a cavernous backstage space holding paints, brushes, ropes, scaffolding, and the like- a theatrical resource for changing the scenery of a play-acting town. They all clamored for attention. My aching body was too tired to corral all of them at once, even if they had a physical presence. "One at a time," I called, "One at a time." [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/there-are-no-children-in-alagadda "] ##transparent\|VENGEANCE! VENGEANCE ON THE WRETCHED ONE WHO THOUGHT US INTO EXISTENCE-##" [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/SCP-000 "] ##transparent\|I... I can't make a difference.... I'm stuck here screaming and nothing comes of it... Nobody's coming to save me...##" "[[size 0%]] YOU'RE ALL STUPID AND DUMB AND I HATE EVERYONE YOU SHOULD HAVE NOTICED ME A LONG TIME AGO BUT YOU KEPT ON CLANKING AROUND LIKE YOU OWN EVERYTHING- [[/size]] [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-s "] This was a triage scenario. I could only personally attend to one or to two at a time. The rest I had to try to occupy as best I could. Hell hath no fury like a bored Pattern Screamer. But I knew, now, how to think about triage. For however long I had been in Alagadda, I had been planning with triage in mind. I had had to think on my feet, see motivations beneath a veneer, to convince Mr. Darke to work with me. I had had to exploit the natural behavior patterns of others to get the Lords to sign the paperwork for the Shark-Punchers without noticing that they were different from the others. "All right," I said. I didn't know what right I had to expect these existential horrors to listen to me, but they had followed me this far. "[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-3340 You,] the parasite on intelligence with the ability to create patterns in the dust- pair up with the [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/this-chapter-intentionally-left-blank artist] who wants to create things, but can't influence the mental static of its environment. Make something together." The pair followed, and I sensed several others with the same properties starting to pair up as well. "[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-000 Those of you] who scream at spending eternity in a blank informationless void, pair up with [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/unbidden those who scream at once having lives, or of being part of the fundamental knowledge of the universe]. I'm sure you'll find a ready, hungry audience for the stories you have to tell." The screaming in my own mind lessened considerably, and the small, growing glitches in reality I had started to notice around me stopped. I sighed in relief. "## transparent\| What about those of us who do exist, solely in the cursed curiosity of our mother, who scream for her death? ##" asked [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/there-are-no-children-in-alagadda one voice.] "You come to me," I said. "I've got something to say to you." And it came close, and I began to speak. ----- ++ The Doctor I knocked on the house's door and waited for an answer. I tapped my stick on the gravel of the driveway at a frequency usually reserved for telegraph operators. If this went wrong, as was likely, it would go //very// wrong. But I had to make the effort. For him. "Whoizzit?" asked a voice on the other side of the door. "A friend of your //son//," I said. "What do you want?" I could hear the sleepiness in its voice give way to wariness, as the person on the other side of the door scrambled with a heavy metal object. Presumably, its shotgun. "Only to help your flesh and blood." It was only stalling, now, listening for my voice as it began to take aim. "Why? What's wrong with it?" "He's lost a lot of flesh and a lot of blood." I could hear the click of the shotgun being primed. "There's regen tanks for that. Why come to me?" "His DNA's been changed, corrupted in the line of duty, just enough that the regen tanks won't work. He needs a donor of his own bloodline," I said, as a bullet ripped from one side of my mask beak through to the other side. One great thing about the mask was the way it funneled the sound of my voice, so that it appeared to be coming from somewhere further up the beak. When I used this power well, it helped to misdirect the bullets of those who aimed by sound. Still, the impact put enough torque on my neck to twist it badly, and I fell over, feeling like a certain cartoon duck. I was, for the moment, paralyzed from the neck down; were I human, I would already be dead. As it was, my anomalous body's muscle memory (and circuitry- remind me to tell you one day about my stint at Anderson) took over, and my hands fumbled into my bag for the appropriate tools to fix the snapped blood vessels, nerves, and vertebrae. I was so practiced at such self field repair, and my tools were of such good and anomalous quality, that it was a mere hour's labor to stabilize enough that I could stand up of my own will with only moderate chance of relapse. Unfortunately, just as I began this hour, the door opened and quadriphalangeal feet kicked the bag out of my grasp. Hands dragged me inside the house. And I knew where they were taking me. Having spied on the residence earlier, I knew there was an empty coffin lying open in one of the rooms. A coffin with the designation 5a82 graven upon it. Believe it or not, everything was so far going to plan. The hands folded my large frame into the very small coffin, and my own, after flailing around for a while and finding nothing, went to the emergency tools stowed away in secret pockets of my robe. It would take much, much longer to fix my neck with these tools than with my special kit. But I was in no immediate danger of death from that wound. I did, however, have to worry about the suffocation that would follow once the person in the house decided to close the coffin lid. "You shouldn't have knocked, //jerk//," it said, using a word much stronger than //jerk//. It chuckled to itself, crowing at its triumph. "The old Handler's a hard one to kill if you play fair like that. You shoulda just snuck in like you and the //jerk// did with my barn [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/hayloft last time we tangled.]" My lungs still worked, but weren't under my motor control, so as a consequence my words came out as slowly as their automatic motion would allow. "It tempted me," I admitted. "But recently I've come to respect that I need to ask permission of someone before performing surgery on them. Your son helped teach me that. 5a82 is the reason I'm asking nicely." "Begged you, did it, not to hurt me?" it sneered. "Just as much a weakling as I always said." "Wrong on both counts," I said. "5a82 is not a weakling, and never was, but we'll get to that soon. No, I'm not really here on 5a82's account. I'm here of my own accord to find out something. Something about you. Something about me." "And what might that be?" "I need to know if a monster can be redeemed." ----- ++ The Companion "My parent never wanted me," I told the nonexistent child. "It thought I was too small. Too weak." ------- ++ The Doctor "You thought 5a82 needed toughening up," I said. "You gave him the most intense job out of anyone in the unit. You beat him if he did anything wrong. You hoped if he feared failure enough, he would shape up and be the soldier you always dreamed he would be." ------- ++ The Companion "But my parent was wrong," I said. "If you punish a person for not being someone they can never be, they won't suddenly fit your fantasy image of who they should be. They'll only despise you and despise themselves. They'll stop trusting in their own abilities to do anything." ------ ++ The Doctor "You had a good soldier, in the beginning," I said, desperately hoping it wouldn't close the coffin lid. "He wasn't the soldier you wanted, but he was the soldier you needed. And I think you saw that, towards the end. You told him he was valuable not because he was big or powerful, but because he could think his way out of situations. But by the time you told him that, you had told him he was useless so many times he thoroughly believed it. So no. He was no weakling. You had only taught him how never to use his strength." ----- ++ The Companion "So it took until I found.... someone else, on a different planet, before I began to trust anyone in the outside world," I told the nonexistent children. "And it took until I accomplished something great with nothing but my wits here in Alagadda before I began to trust myself." I looked straight at where the child would be if it was there. "This city is all you've ever known, and it doesn't appreciate you. It's made you hate everybody who ever thought you up, made you want revenge. But it's wrong, don't you see? You need a friend who can appreciate your worth. You need to leave this city forever with a loving home." "## transparent\| And how do you propose I do that? ## " it asked. "## transparent\| Nobody can see me unless they look for me, and people know not to look for children in Alagadda. ##" "Leave that to me," I said. ------ ++ The Doctor "But 5a82 is cloned from your genetic material," I said. "And that gives me hope. Because 5a82 developed a conscience. And that means it's possible you have one as well. "I know I can't expect us to join forces," I said. "I know your soul belongs to the government. But your body belongs to you, to do with it what you will. You have regen tanks. We can make it look like rebels attacked your home and you earned your injuries defeating them. I'm begging you, Handler: I need to know that people can change, that we can begin to make up for our past mistakes." I waited in silence for a while. I worried that it had left. Then it poked its face over the rim of the coffin. I felt relief. Then I noticed something else beside the rim. A sledgehammer. My mask crumpled, absorbing the impact. When I opened my eyes back up, it was only in time to see its second blow land on my jaw. I couldn't speak. And backup wouldn't arrive on its own for another twelve hours. "You white-beaked poison-blooded disu, how dare you accuse me of having anything to do with 5a82's inadequacy!" it shouted. "You come here thinking me a day-old child, in need of chiding for my supposed mistakes? I tried as hard as I could to fix 5a82..." //He never needed fixing,// I thought. "But at the end of the day, if it couldn't shape up, that's its problem!" It shouted, as it closed the lid. "All that matters in this world is that you do what a superior tells you, and 5a82 couldn't make the cut-" And whatever it said after that was muffled, because the lid was closed. I began to worry. Two minutes passed. Five minutes passed. Eight minutes passed, and my automatic repairs had nearly restored the neural connection from my brain to my arms. Nine minutes passed, and the oxygen supply was getting low. And I was finally able to lift the lid of my own accord, and prop it open with a tongue depressor. Time passed. The Handler hadn't come back yet; I could hear it thumping about on the floor above, destroying pieces of furniture. By the time I had restored function to my legs again, it had quieted down some; perhaps it had run out of furniture. By the time I had repaired just enough that I could turn my neck slightly without too much risk of relapse, it was silent in the house. I pushed the lid fully open, and it echoed through the house. I stood up. Put one foot in front of the other. I dragged my bloodstained fabric upstairs. There it lay, unconscious, under a cloud of foul smoke, surrounded by a halo of discarded cigarettes and bottles. Overdose was written all over its features. My fingers pulled from among my secret pouches some drugs of my own. The moment I injected them into its catheter, its eyelids fluttered open. I don't know what thoughts crossed its mind, then. I don't know if it knew I had saved its life. I don't know if it recognized my pulverized mask as its handiwork. "I don't know what to make of you, jerk," it said, slurring slightly. "You're not a One. Not a Two. You've got the face of a bird and the smell of a plant. Of all the people on this planet, you're the most Other there has ever been. "And that's why you're the only one I feel comfortable telling this. "I loved 5a82. Twos aren't supposed to love their children, but I did. It's why I kept it clse in the beginning. I was afraid to show it. Afraid it would bloom into something irrepressible. "The more I... did it, the more distant it became from me, the more I loathed myself. But nobody stopped me. Everyone else saw what I was doing, but if they cared, they were all too scared of my rank to report me for retribution. So I was left in my own head, certain I was a sinner but never sure, and too afraid of facing up to my actions to stop. And though I waited for someone to tell me I was wrong, I knew, deep down... I knew it wouldn't have changed an oesu-damned thing. Because I'm nothing but a short-tempered piece of //shit// who takes all its emotions out on those around it, and that's all I'll ever be. "I'm not changing who I am. I am a loyal Keplerian citizen, and whatever our government has to do to keep control, I'm in full support of it, damn the cost to our personnel. My soul belongs to the government. "But my body... my body belongs to me. "I wish I could believe you, bird-face. I wish I could give of my flesh to repay my... my son... for the harm I've caused him. But the ledger's never going to be equal. I've hurt him more than I can be forgiven for, and I don't want forgiveness." I don't know what I was hoping for. I don't know whether my question was answered or not. The Handler lay there, determined to wallow in its own damnation. I don't know what that meant for me. But although no medical board would ever call it as such, it had given me as much consent as I could expect. //I wish I could give of my flesh...// It was certainly closer to the Hippocratic Oath than I had ever come before. I sighed. It was progress, I supposed. So I procured its hand, called the Kepler government to send in an ambulance, and left. ------ ++ The Montage The lady who sits down on the steps of the nameless house- we would describe her as a young lady had her worries not aged her features beyond her years- sobs, and beneath her overgrown bangs slender plant matter peeks out and falls to the ground with each spasm. They fall over her weathered labcoat and stained t-shirt whose emblem once proclaimed her a star. As she draws into a foetal position, passers-by step over her to get to the art-supplier inside the nameless house. Persons, gods and ghosts, and things at acute angles to all three, barter inside and intertwine outside. The red smoke rises from their revels, covering the black roots of the hairy sky and blocking out the conspicuous absence of the sun. The sun fails to rise over the whole city. The dimension-hopper looks up for it when he can, the ancient rhythms of his biology attuned to its wheel. But every time he does, his eyes have to fall, eventually, unsatisfied. He sighs, his circadian clock crying cuckoo, and stops the next passerby, his worn poster of the face of his goal high in his hand, towards what he hopes is the creature's eye. Had the creature seen 5a82? It hadn't. The hopper sighs, and looks around for someone else who can spare a moment from the revels. He searches a long time before finding one. He looks up to the sky as he approaches, hoping this time not for the sun, but for a benevolent god to hear his prayers and just let him finally find the gentleman. The gentleman sees someone waving around a poster of some helpless albino and moves past without a hint of recognition. A cloth over his mask to protect his nose from the orgiastic miasma, he keeps the folio secure under his arm and enters the gallery. Would they be willing to buy the art he had to sell? No, it wasn't his work, he was merely the agent. Not up to their standards of quality? Not at all a problem, he'll keep trying to find a home for the art and come back if he thinks there's another piece of art more up to their tastes. They should have a nice day. What is a day? Well, you see, on some worlds where light and energy comes from a sun... The brilliant fungal yellow of its cloak makes the woman look up from her lavender tears. A wave of odiousness exudes from the figure as it sits down besides her, repelling all passers-by in a fifty-five meter radius. She can tell, somehow, that it is making an effort to exclude her from this repulsion, but she doesn't much care. [[footnote]] Does she want to talk about it? What does it care, being a big fancy eldritch tetrarch? It is a big fancy eldritch tetrarch who had been universally loathed for a century, and then someone showed it Kindness. The kindness bothers it like an alien parasite, and it needs to worm its way out. [[/footnote]] The gentleman picks himself up carefully, having been hurled out of his twelfth consecutive gallery. He scavenges through dumpsters behind artists' lofts to pick up discarded, half-filled tubes of paint. He returns to his base in time for paint to splatter all over his face as the Screamers' frustration mounts. Their desires remain unfulfilled; none of their art is able to satisfy what they wanted to create. What was it they wanted to create? They don't know. All they know is a series of complex emotions that they had been screaming unheard for so long that they are unable to articulate them. The lady speaks then, to the strange ochre-clad person. She speaks of a life defined by unrequited love and childish lashing out, of the cruelty of the systems and people who kept her and those around her trapped in their stations, unable to meet, unable to love. She is the youngest ever Foundation researcher, deprived by family pressure of the opportunity to emotionally mature. A fake moustache and a janitor's uniform adorn the gentleman as he makes his way through the cursed library vaults of Alagadda, hands wheeling a laundry cart covered in a blanket. He knocks from the shelves wholesale books with titles like //Plaid, Corduroy, or Cross-Hatched: A Schédiomicon// and //Life of Fred: A Case Study in Pattern Screamer Success//, as the rowdier of his compatriots fuzz up the library security behind him. Later that night (for it is always night in Alagadda) he begins reading them to those elements of his daycare as would listen, as are desperate for context, for words to describe themselves. The hopper raises his poster for the umpteenth time as the winds knock it out of his hand. He runs after the piece of paper and watches as it is picked up by... himself. Grabnok stares at Grabnok, and they shake hands and go to get a coffee together. Having to explain a metaphor in one of the works, the gentleman finds himself lecturing at a large easel, on which is a patent-style rigorous drawing of a bagel. No, they don't sell the bits from the hole separately; the toroid contains all the dough. Even though it looks incomplete, it is whole. The hole is part of its design. And he feels, as he explains this to them, this thing that he had explained again and again, that this was how maturity worked. The immature person assumes that one speech, one resolution, changes a person's mind for good. But the mature person knows that it takes repetition to lodge a new idea beneath the surface level, to heal the emotional wounds, to re-forge the will. And the Yellow Lord of Alagadda tells the woman something many times. He tells her that he is sorry for the wounds her family inflicted upon her. He tells her that they weren't her fault, that she should grieve it, should mourn the wounds for all they were worth, and for all she felt they were worth. Scream that mourning skywards, as he demonstrates by screaming the loss of his melodious station, the loss of all his worldly friends. And he tells her after they screamed that the disease that made her cough flowers was widely misunderstood. The flowers grow, not from her body, but from the empty places in her soul; a failed attempt by ancient Alagaddan alchemists to fill them up with beauty. He tells her that she had been looking in the wrong places to fill them. No matter how pure a romantic love may be, it will never be enough to fill that gap. It could fool the flowers, but not their roots. The holes can only be filled when she loved a god and loved herself, for those were their size and shape. Grabnok and Grabnok find the coffee shop filled with other Grabnoks, and they share a moment of laughter as they join hands and dance in a circle. Some had shifted there and some are time-reflections of the others, but nobody cared. They had found themselves. The gentleman's next portfolio at the art galleries is slightly better received. He holds up self-reflections of nowhere men and shots tailored to the abyssal gaze. Coin is exchanged with mutual thanks. An art-supply store next, to buy parchment and ink in bulk for his long-term project, though for some reason he feels he must give a wide radius to the woman and the yellow-cloaked fellow by her, practicing their affirmations and religious explorations on the steps. The Grabnok party takes to the streets, passing a curious hooded figure stumbling away from an art-supply shop loaded with parchment, and, in synchronization, flash their posters to the various members of the street-orgy around them. They aren't getting much of anywhere, but what does that matter? They are among friends and equals, people they could implicitly trust with their darkest secrets. And the inside of the gentleman's headquarters begins to be painted with style and motifs and a sun high on the ceiling, the work of screamers in relative peace. It buzzes with courteous conversations and improvisational jazz solos, and smells of illusory lavender. And as the young woman passed the unassuming building front and got a whiff of that painful scent, she realized with great shock that she hasn't coughed up flowers in an imprecise, yet significant interval of time. And the Yellow Lord begins calling in favours. A parchment contract manifests before the Red and White Lords in Alagadda, and before the Black Lord on Kepler. All are confused, but all agree to release the young woman from their service. The Yellow Lord opens a portal to her home world, and she steps through, but not before asking that the Yellow Lord send the Doctor and 5a82 her letters of apology for her role in this whole affair. The Yellow Lord agrees to her face, then burns the letters after the portal closes. One act of kindness had been enough to work the parasite loose; why should he push matters, fall down that slippery slope? But the smoke that rises from the burnt apologies made it to the gentleman's nose, and unlike all the other scents of this city, it makes him smile a bittersweet smile, though he does not consciously know why. He smiles as he puts up the sign outside his headquarters, and he smiles as just a few, a very few cautious tourists make their way inside, to hear what he has to offer. They're not the most visually observant ones here, overwhelmed both by the constant novelty and shock factor of the city outside and by the magnitude and implications of the gentleman's offer. As a consequence, they don't note the offerer's appearance, and when the hopper later shows them his poster, they fail to identify him. ------ ++ The Box I'd been in this cursed city for a long, yet indeterminate amount of time (long enough for at least two jumps, in the uncertain time frame of Alagadda) now without any sign of my target. The merchants hadn't seen him; Darke's group was apparently lying low for the moment, waiting for the heat to blow over. The librarians hadn't seen him. The most attentive of the people parading around the streets hadn't seen him. I was losing hope that I'd ever see him. I would search for him as long as I reasonably could. But eventually, the Hand would need me for another mission. He was a small man who, as long as I had known him, had tried to keep an even smaller profile. And this was a large, loud, busy city. It would take a miracle for me to find him. And I turned, and I saw a miracle. Someone had put up a poster on the side of a nearby building. As I looked around, I saw many such posters. But their number wasn't what caught my eye. It was the familiar logo that was on the posters- familiar, and yet new- a logo watermarked with a curious phrase that confirmed to me the identity of the artist beyond a shadow of a doubt. And I began to run. ------ ++ The Screamers [[=]] ##transparent\|We are void-dwellers## ##transparent\|Our home, the null-mirror of nonexistence## ##transparent\|Our lives, reflections of the existence we see## @@ @@ @@ @@ ##transparent\|So we have explored your absent memory, Caretaker## ##transparent\|As thanks:## ##transparent\|You who have heard our screams and stayed## ##transparent\|We've gone through the cavities it left in its wake## @@ @@ @@ @@ ##transparent\|We know not its bulk, its substance## ##transparent\|Simply the shapes at the edges, Caretaker## ##transparent\|Connections cut off at the void## @@ @@ @@ @@ ##transparent\|This Symbol## ##transparent\|And these Three Words## ##transparent\|They connected to the lost memory## @@ @@ @@ @@ ##transparent\|Are you proud of us, Caretaker?## @@ @@ @@ @@ ##transparent\|Why do you cry?## [[/=]] ------ ++ The Box I ran to the building mentioned by the poster to find its interior walls covered in works of art, sketched finely in dust and decay. "Hello?" I heard someone say. "Are you interested in the extradimensional adoption of a pattern-dwelling child?" I saw him, then, at a desk, nose to paper, busy at work on more posters. "No, 6118," I said. "I'm here with a prescription from your doctor." He inhaled and looked up. "He prescribes a trip back home." "Grabnok?" he said. He tried to get up, but stumbled. "How did you find me?" In answer, I held up one of the posters. [[include <a href="/component:image-block">component:image-block</a> \| name= https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/it-seems-like-years-since-it-s-been-here/SurgeonsCurePestilence.png \| caption= For Extra-Alagaddan Adoption of a Pattern-Based Child (which in no way, shape, manner, or form exists within the city), go to 155̫̆͒͛̚5͋͋͋͋5͋̚̚̚̚̚̚̚̚̚̚5͖5͋͛6 Main St, Alagadda, Zip Code -5͛.5͛͛͛͛55͛͛͛͛͛͛͛5^5 + 7.2͛ //i//* + 99͚9.332 //j// \| align= center]] "Who else in this city would be so freely referencing both the Doctor and the SCP Foundation?" I asked. "Still not sure why you chose that as your in-Alagadda watermark..." "It's a memorial for his memory," he said. "But I thought you didn't remember him." "Exactly. I'm mourning the loss of the memory. This is all the information my pattern-based colleagues could scrape up from the edges of the hole in my mind, plus his distinctive silhouette the brief time I saw him after my memory went but before he left..." This all came tumbling out of him faster than I'd ever seen him talk. "It is a 'he,' right?" "Yes, the Doctor identifies as such." "What else can you tell me about him? I need to know! What color are his eyes? Does he play Tetris? Which Star Trek: The Next Generation character does he most identify with? Oh, god, does he even like TNG? How does he feel about my former role as a Kepler shock trooper? What-" "Whoa, whoa, whoa, kid," I said quickly. "You can ask him all these questions yourself. Hold on tight to me and sometime, probably in the coming weeks, we'll dimension-hop out of here, and then the Hand will come take you home." "Finally, an end to this nightmare!" he said. Then he paused. "But what about the child?" "What child?" "Don't bother looking, never mind, there's no child!" he panicked. "It's just... my sick idea of a joke... who would even find that funny.... heh, heh...." "All right," I said. I wanted to press further, but I curbed my tongue in embarrassment at whatever this ploy was. "Before... before we go," he began carefully, "I need some alone time by the shore. Do you think you can allow me that?" "It's your funeral if I end up hopping while you're doing that," I said. "I suppose I can busy myself in taking down the posters-" "I'll be quick, thanks, bye!" he said, gesturing me to the door and shutting it. I heard him talking inside, though it was too dim for me to make out words; then he opened it again, held it open, and began to limp down the street. "All right, I'll be around here if you need me," I said. ------ ++ The Companion "All to sea that's going to sea!" I said, limping to the ocean, Screamers following behind me. I was leaving. I WAS LEAVING! Oh frabjous day, the nightmare was over. But I had to tie up loose ends still. As the only person in Alagadda who could get along with the Screamers, I had to return them back to the Nevermeant before they started wreaking all kinds of havoc. Still, they were much quieter than when I had come. They had learned to speak in turns, to talk as well as shout, to whisper as well as talk. Many spoke to each other as friends, realizing for the first time that they could fulfill each others' needs. Whether they would stay that way, I could not say. Some of the more artistic Screamers chose to stay in the city, taking part in the revels. It was their own decision, though I could not fully stomach it; and I wished them luck. But most of them jumped back into the Nevermeant ocean. Back to where they called home. At last, only one was left. "##transparent\|Don't make me go back there, Caretaker, please don't,##" it said. "##transparent\|There aren't any mommies in there.##" "But you can't stay here in Alagadda, can't you see?" I said. "You can't exist here. At least in the Nevermeant you'll be among others of your own kind." "##transparent\| The other Children of Alagadda won't p-play with me anymore,##" it argued. "##transparent\| They said giving up on revenge means I'm no longer welcome among them.##" "But it's your home!" "##transparent\|My home isn't where I come from. It's a place where the people care about me.##" I sighed. What was I to do? Grabnok ran up to me. "I can feel it coming, 5a82," he said. "We have to go now. Come on, hold on to me." I looked from Grabnok to the space where the child would be if it existed, and back again. And I made my decision. ------ ++ The Doctor On the road back to the rebel base, I multitasked, fixing my jaw and driving at the same time. It was a miracle that I avoided accident. But by the time I returned, they told me: he was there, too. "Out of my way!" I shouted to all the medics in the operating room. "This is my patient-" "You're not getting rid of me so easily, Surg," said the Anesthesiologist. "What are you doing here?" I snapped. "You don't even ply your trade anymore-" "Here's the thing about anaesthesia," he said. "It's not a cure in itself. It only helps when it's a transitory thing, to make the cure easier for the patient to handle." And he gestured to the operating table. 5a82 was unconscious, in a peaceful, dreamless sleep. "Without your work, Surg, I'm only a poisoner and a drug dealer," he said. "Only when my work pairs with yours can it be truly helpful." So we got to work. ------ Two of the Children of the Barrow working together is a dance the universe has not seen for six hundred years. We siphoned out the pockets of fluid trapped in the joints and the muscle that had caused their motion to rebel against the body. We chopped off the mechanical hand and stitched in its place the recently obtained organic one. We performed a total blood transfusion and introduced into the bloodstream solutions that would repair the damage wrought to the organs by the high levels of iron. The halted beginnings of therianthropy were the hardest to correct, by far, for what had happened was that the nervous system had begun to change in shape in anticipation of the other tissues following suit. It was therefore a task of many, many hours to chop off the beginnings of a nerve here, splice that tissue to lengthen another nerve there, and connect it all up to the tissues and cells they were meant to go into. No human doctor could ever have been so thorough. But we, who collectively knew more of anatomy than the entirety of the medical profession, and had steadier hands than the finest robotic surgeon, accomplished the job. We worked with the notes of the rebel scientists to develop a spray that could change the DNA of our patient's epidermis on a genetic level, to essentially spread a non-replicating virus that would destroy the selachian DNA and tissue that had developed there. "What?" asked 7CB7 when we told it what we were doing. "We developed Plague Doctor Shark Repellent, ok?" I sighed. "Didn't you ever see the 1960s Batman movie?" At last, the patient was back to normal. At last, all that was left was for his body to knit its cells back together and heal. ------ ++ The Companion And then I woke up. There were sympathy and thank-you cards on the table, mainly in languages I didn't recognize. I'm pretty sure some of their pop-ups moved through more than three dimensions. One came from the office of Percival Darke, courteously thanking me for selling him an in to the economic conquest of my homeworld, and offering me a gift certificate to Darke-Roast Coffee Co., now popping up in government and rebel establishments alike. I don't know if this boded for good or for ill. It seemed like he was playing all sides, and I wasn't sure what I'd unleashed on my planet. One came from Lolly, who in her meandering way, wished me luck on my relationship with the Doctor. She said it was fitting that we were together, since our numbers matched: (6+1)(-1 + 8)=49. It felt a bit more like a third-person Valentine than a get-well card, but I knew she meant well. Good. So it wasn't a dream. I pulled on my medical stockings and braces. I looked in the mirror. I was myself again. I looked like myself, and I felt like myself.... and that was nothing to be ashamed of. I opened the door to my room and walked over to the Doctor's. I heard chaotic sounds inside, and opened the door. There stood the Doctor and the Anesthesiologist, having a rather undignified pillow fight. The Doctor was standing over the bed, while the Anesthesiologist was underneath, guarded by a pillow fort, looking for a gap in the Doctor's defense. Feathers were all over the place, clinging statically to both of their black cloaks. "Those feathers suit you," I said. The pillow fight stopped, and the Doctor ran over to hug me. "You're awake at last!" he shouted. I held up a hand to stop him. Then it turned into an offer for a handshake. "Hello, Doctor," I said. "It's nice to finally meet you. I'm 5a82, Alias SCP-6118." I made eye contact with him as we shook hands. "I've heard, from some of our mutual friends," I said, "That we make a very good match. I'd love to get to know you. Want to go out for dinner sometime?" The Anesthesiologist burst into a fit of laughter. "Just as friends, of course," I said. "Obviously, I may come to find you immensely attractive, and once I know you as well as I used to, I'll be comfortable with all sorts of non-sexual physical ways of showing affection." Was this oversharing? Was this even true? My instincts were to snuggle with him, to kiss, but I didn't know whether that was just for him or something I'd do with anyone I'd shared as much of my life with as him. But I would do it. I wanted to be with him so, so badly... "But no matter what relationship we were in before, we're different people now. We've got to decide these things all over again." And the thing was, as a Kepler, I hated labels. Boyfriend, girlfriend, gay lovers... these were all human concepts, uncomfortably tied to sex that I wasn't interested in. It wasn't important to me that I distinguished "best friend" from "lover," no matter what the newspapers said, no matter how 7CB7 tried to play matchmaker. "Of... of course," said the Doctor. "Nice to meet you, too... 5a82." "By the way," I said, "You should know that I don't live alone at present. I've been taking care of a little one who needs a good home. I don't know if that home is with us, or with someone else, but it's something we'll need to discuss." "That came out of nowhere," remarked the Doctor. "I know. With our current instability, I don't know at present whether we could even support a child. It's possible we'll give it up for adoption and never speak of it again after this day." "Where is it?" the Doctor asked. I led them to a room I had told the rebels to repurpose as a nursery, and then leave alone. I figured that while I had been asleep, the Screamer would incarnate in the most suitable place. And it turned out I was right. I held a finger to my lips as I turned on the light. Curled up on a deep yellow sheet was a [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-14469608/hazmat#post-5791300 tiny figure] covered in a black onesie that included gloves. It had something white like a mask over its face, though contrary to the usual state of things, this did not seem to impede its' breathing. It grasped in one hand a rattle which appeared to be made of a pair of eyeballs held together with optic nerves. [[include <a href="/component:image-block">component:image-block</a> \| name= http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/it-seems-like-years-since-it-s-been-here/scp049_as_a_baby_by_fiercefauna.jpg \| caption= The Baby \| align= center]] "It's beautiful," said the Doctor, sniffling with joy. "Oh, I want to be involved in that child's life." "Where did it get those eyes?" wondered the Anesthesiologist. "From its birth mother," I said. "I hear there was no love lost between them. Best not to bring her up." The child woke up. It looked around at each of us in turn. It cooed in delight, perhaps on some level excited to have changed, like Pinnochio, into a real organic being. There was wonder in its eyes (the ones in its head, not on its rattle). "Hello, child," said the Doctor. "Welcome to the universe." It started crying. "What's it crying about?" "Does it need a diaper change?" "Doctor, how do you even open that chitinous suit to change a diaper?" "Why do you assume this is a problem //I// know how to solve?" "Because he looks exactly like you!" "//Sigh.// This had better not be one of those time travel things where it grows up to be me." "What are the odds of a circular time-travel loop involving you, Surge?" "Unfortunately, [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/an-angel-who-has-forsaken-sympathy pretty good.]" "Is it hungry, perhaps? What do you feed a baby? Soup? I could make you some soup if you want, please stop crying...." "All right, stand back, Ani, 6118! I'm going to try to change its' diaper! ... There, all better!" "....How did you even //do// that, Doctor? That onesie seemed pretty seamless to me." "Maybe if our date goes well-" "SURGE, PLEASE!" "All right all right. Ani, 6118, I'm sorry...." "It's- it's okay, Doctor, I'm not even sure what you were trying to say." "Oh, you sweet summer child..." "Hey, I suffered great pain to get you out of Alagadda, and I don't even know you now! Please, don't make fun of me!" "All right, all right..." ----- It's a few weeks later now. We're standing in line at "Marshall, Carter, and Dark Present: For the First Time Ever on the Planet: [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/dread-circuses-hub Herman Fuller's Circus of the Disquieting!]" I'm holding the Doctor's hand in the line, of course. We've caught up on each other's sides of the story, and I've been learning all about him. A fascinating man, I'm so lucky to be his friend.... We're at the front of the line now, and I see the posters. And I remember that I don't particularly care for clowns, even though I appreciate what Lolly did for us. "Are you all right, my friend?" asks the Doctor. "Y-yeah," I say. But he can tell by the look in my eyes. "Maybe we skip this show, eh?" he says. I look at him. I look at all the people waiting behind me in line, and at the ticket-taker, who mutters about not having all day here. "Sure," I say. And we step out of the line, and walk back to my room. "Phew!" says the Doctor. "I'm glad you said something. I was going because I thought you liked it, but I have some.... [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/doctor-muerte bad memories] with that Circus." "So let's make some good memories together," I say. And we snuggle, and the Doctor pulls up on the newly installed lid of his mask as we close the door to my room. And we have a great time for the next hour arguing passionately over whether to watch //Doctor Who// or //Star Trek: The Next Generation//. [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:earthworm">:scp-wiki:component:earthworm</a> \| first=false \| last=true \| hub=no \| previous-url=https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/terrible-sunlight \| previous-title=Part 4 \| hub-url=https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/altitudes-hub \| hub-title=All That Copper, Glowing Fine ]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] ===== > Filename:* SurgeonsCurePestilence.png > Name: SurgeonsCurePestilence > Author: Alzin Cdag > License: [[https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ CC by SA 3.0]] > Source Link: https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/it-seems-like-years-since-it-s-been-here/SurgeonsCurePestilence.png > Filename: scp049_as_a_baby_by_fiercefauna.jpg > Name: scp049_as_a_baby_by_fiercefauna.jpg > Author: Fierce fauna > License: [[https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ CC by SA 3.0]] > Source Link: https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-14469608/hazmat#post-5791300 ===== [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-08-24T01:01:00	[ "_cc", "_licensebox", "action", "adventure", "alagadda", "blue-blooded-alien", "first-person", "grabnok", "heartwarming", "otherworldly", "pattern-screamer", "percival-darke", "plague-doctor", "tale" ]	It Seems Like Years Since It's Been Here - SCP Foundation	6	[ "alzin-cdag", "poetic-records-of-the-alagaddan-lords", "hopping-through-worlds", "component:info-ayers", "there-are-no-children-in-alagadda", "SCP-000", "scp-s", "scp-3340", "this-chapter-intentionally-left-blank", "scp-000", "unbidden", "hayloft", "forum/t-14469608/hazmat#post-5791300", "an-angel-who-has-forsaken-sympathy", "dread-circuses-hub", "doctor-muerte", "terrible-sunlight", "altitudes-hub", "next-url", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "altitudes-hub" ]	[ "https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/it-seems-like-years-since-it-s-been-here/SurgeonsCurePestilence.png", "http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/it-seems-like-years-since-it-s-been-here/scp049_as_a_baby_by_fiercefauna.jpg" ]	1449533247	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/it-seems-like-years-since-it-s-been-here
it-will-all-be-okay	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div style="display: none"> <hr/> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">+ Show component code</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">- Hide component code</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <div class="code"> <div class="hl-main"> <pre><span class="hl-special">:root</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> --</span><span class="hl-reserved">sidebar-width-on-desktop:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--base-font-size) * (</span><span class="hl-number">266</span><span class="hl-code"> / </span><span class="hl-number">15</span><span class="hl-code">))</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">body-width-on-desktop:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">45.75</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">only</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">screen</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">and</span><span class="hl-code"> (min-width: 56.25</span><span class="hl-identifier">rem</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#content-wrap</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> initial</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> row</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-grow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vw - (</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vw - </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">min-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vh - var(--final-header-height-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">10.125</span><span class="hl-code">rem))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">13.6</span><span class="hl-code">rem) </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">13.6</span><span class="hl-code">rem) * -</span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code"> / </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> initial</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--body-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">45.75</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--body-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">45.75</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> min(</span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-code">vw, var(--body-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">45.75</span><span class="hl-code">rem))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> -webkit-sticky</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> sticky</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">grid-area:</span><span class="hl-code"> side-bar</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">13.6</span><span class="hl-code">rem) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">min-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">13.6</span><span class="hl-code">rem) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vh</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow-y:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">scroll</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition:</span><span class="hl-code"> translate </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">), background-color </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">), padding </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms linear, margin </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms linear</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--swatch-tertiary-color, </span><span class="hl-number">170</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">170</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">170</span><span class="hl-code">), </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--sidebar-bg-color, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">), </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">translate:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">13.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem) * -</span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code"> - </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">rtl</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">scrollbar-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">thin</span><span class="hl-code">; -</span><span class="hl-reserved">ms-scroll-chaining:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overscroll-behavior:</span><span class="hl-code"> contain</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">scrollbar-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--swatch-primary-darker), </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">) /* Thumb / rgba(var(--swatch-tertiary-color), </span><span class="hl-number">0.05</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Track</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code">::-</span><span class="hl-identifier">webkit-scrollbar-track</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--swatch-secondary-color, </span><span class="hl-number">244</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">244</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">244</span><span class="hl-code">), </span><span class="hl-number">0.8</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code">::-</span><span class="hl-identifier">webkit-scrollbar</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code">::-</span><span class="hl-identifier">webkit-scrollbar-thumb</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code">::-</span><span class="hl-identifier">webkit-scrollbar-corner</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vw + </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vh)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right-style:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--sidebar-bg-color, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">), </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-identifier">is</span><span class="hl-code">(:</span><span class="hl-identifier">hover</span><span class="hl-code">, :</span><span class="hl-identifier">active</span><span class="hl-code">, :</span><span class="hl-identifier">focus-within</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow-x:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">hidden</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow-y:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--swatch-primary-darker), </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--sidebar-bg-color, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">), </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">translate:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem) - var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">scrollbar-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">170</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">170</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">170</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">) / Thumb / rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">252</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">252</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">252</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Track</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-reserved">scrollbar-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--swatch-primary-darker, </span><span class="hl-number">170</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">170</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">170</span><span class="hl-code">), </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">) / Thumb / rgb(var(--swatch-menubg-color, </span><span class="hl-number">252</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">252</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">252</span><span class="hl-code">), </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Track</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> " "</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">fixed</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">align-items:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">justify-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">), background-position </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">), opacity </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> url("https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/component%</span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-code">Acollapsible-sidebar/sidebar-tab.svg")</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-attachment:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">fixed</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-repeat:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">no-repeat</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">12.875</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">pointer-events:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-identifier">is</span><span class="hl-code">(:</span><span class="hl-identifier">hover</span><span class="hl-code">, :</span><span class="hl-identifier">active</span><span class="hl-code">, :</span><span class="hl-identifier">focus-within</span><span class="hl-code">) + </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">14.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem) -</span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">), background-position </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">), opacity </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">14.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem) * -</span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> " "</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">absolute</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">z-index:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--final-header-height-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">14.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code"> - var(--final-header-height-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">0.688</span><span class="hl-code">rem) - </span><span class="hl-number">2.313</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--final-header-height-on-desktop, -</span><span class="hl-number">2.313</span><span class="hl-code">rem) * -</span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code"> - </span><span class="hl-number">2.313</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition:</span><span class="hl-code"> translate </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">), opacity </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--swatch-alternate-color, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">pointer-events:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">translate:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">14.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem) * -</span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code"> + </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-identifier">is</span><span class="hl-code">(:</span><span class="hl-identifier">hover</span><span class="hl-code">, :</span><span class="hl-identifier">active</span><span class="hl-code">, :</span><span class="hl-identifier">focus-within</span><span class="hl-code">) + </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">translate:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.25</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-left-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">ltr</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scpnet-interwiki-wrapper</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">ltr</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Print</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Friendly</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Formatting</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">by</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Estrella</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">body.print-body</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> --</span><span class="hl-reserved">sidebar-width-on-desktop:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">body.print-body</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">before</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">body.print-body</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span></pre></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <ul class="creditRate"> <li class="rateBox folded"> <div class="rate-box-with-credit-button"> <div class="creditButton foldable-list-container"> <p><a href="javascript:;"></a></p> </div> </div> <div id="u-credit-view"> <div class="fader foldable-list-container"><a href="javascript:;">close</a></div> <div class="modalcontainer"> <div class="modalbox"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2><span>Info</span></h2> </div> <hr/> <div class="close-credits foldable-list-container"><a href="javascript:;">X</a></div> <div class="credit first"> <p><strong>It Will All Be Okay</strong><br/> <strong>Author:</strong> <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/troutmaskreplica" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5346544); return false;"><img alt="TroutMaskReplica" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=5346544&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1725332714" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=5346544)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/troutmaskreplica" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5346544); return false;">TroutMaskReplica</a></span></p> <p>In the end, it will be peaceful.</p> <p><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/trouts-authorpage">I have an author page now!</a></p> </div> <hr/> </div> </div> </div> </li> </ul> <div class="scale EN-base Safe"> <div class="class1"> <div class="level-text"><span class="base false EN">5/6999</span> LEVEL <span class="base false EN">5/6999</span></div> <div class="class-text">CLASSIFIED</div> </div> <div class="item1 EN"> <div class="itemnum EN">Item #: SCP-6999</div> <div class="objclass EN"> <div class="obj Safe"> <div class="obj-text">Safe</div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div style="background-color:#3648a3"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h1 id="toc0"><span><span style="color:white"><strong><tt>SECONDARY CLASS: THAUMIEL</tt></strong></span></span></h1> </div> </div> <div class="scp-image-block block-center" style="width:100%;"><img alt="band-mk2.jpg" class="image" src="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/scp-6999/band-mk2.jpg"/> <div class="scp-image-caption"> <p>Frame of SCP-6999.</p> </div> </div> <p><strong>Special Containment Procedures:</strong> In the event of an XK End-of-the-World scenario, Foundation personnel are to maintain several television broadcasting towers to transmit SCP-6999 globally. Per Project AISA protocol, only Level 5 personnel may access this file.</p> <hr/> <div class="text-fade"> <p><strong>Description:</strong> <a href="/scp-6999">SCP-6999</a> is a three minute-long, cognitohazardous video of the Applied Force Department Symphony performing <em>Nearer, My God, to Thee</em>. The video influences the autonomic nervous system and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, inhibiting fight-or-flight responses to stressors and regulating cortisol production.</p> <p>Upon Ethics Committee approval, the O5 Council commissioned the Memetics and Infohazards Division to develop SCP-6999 for Project AISA. Exposure testing began on volunteer researchers after performance and recording.</p> </div> <hr/> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/></p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p>O5-7 sat at the top of the transmission tower, the once bustling facility now dead quiet. He glances across the landscape. Sounds of chaos and violence, with the public seeking shelter from the end. Surrounded by the eerie silence of the empty control room, O5-7 hummed to himself a familiar tune while pressing a few buttons, doing all that he needs.</p> <p>Despite the world falling into chaos, O5-7 felt a sense of calmness wash over him. The beautiful melody worked its magic, the looming threat of destruction no longer evoked fear or panic.</p> <p>It invoked peace.</p> <p>He closed his eyes, allowing the tune to envelop his senses. In his mind's eye, he envisioned a world of peace, a world where people were connected by their shared humanity. He saw acts of kindness and compassion, forgiveness and understanding, weaving a tapestry of unity that transcended the barriers of language, culture, and belief. Maybe after it all ends, whoever is left can make this world better.</p> <p>With each passing moment, the O5's heart grew lighter, as if he has become untethered from the weight of the impending cataclysm. He accepted the inevitable fate of the world, knowing that he had done everything to protect and understand it.</p> <p>He stood up from his seat, stepping outside into the chaos. Flames danced on the horizon, the sounds of destruction muffled by the lovely melody. He was not afraid. With the world fading away, as everything came to an end, he knew.</p> <p>As the final notes of the symphony faded away, O5-7 sat down on the scorched earth, his gaze fixated upon the barren landscape. The song plays once again, looped indefinitely. O5-7 smiles to himself.</p> <p>O5-7 picked up his transmitter, giving one final message back to Site-01.</p> <p>"Ten? I'm done, should be global now."</p> <p><em>"Thank you for your service. I'm going to miss you, Seven."</em></p> <p>"I'll miss you as well. I'm staying here, I need to make sure it stays up."</p> <p><em>"Understood."</em><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> "I love you."<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <em>"I love you, too."</em></p> </div> <hr/> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/it-will-all-be-okay">It Will All Be Okay</a>" by TroutMaskReplica, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/it-will-all-be-okay">https://scpwiki.com/it-will-all-be-okay</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> band.jpg<br/> <strong>Name:</strong> File:Koninklijke Harmonie van Thorn 20080501.JPG<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> Nlkalwien<br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC BY-SA 3.0<br/> <strong>Source Link:</strong> <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Koninklijke_Harmonie_van_Thorn_20080501.JPG">Wikimedia Commons</a></p> </blockquote> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:black-highlighter-theme">:scp-wiki:theme:black-highlighter-theme</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:collapsible-sidebar">:scp-wiki:component:collapsible-sidebar</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:centered-header-bhl">:scp-wiki:component:centered-header-bhl</a>]] [[module CSS]] :root { --cutColour: #fafafa; --barColour: #590505; } .text-fade { -webkit-mask-image: linear-gradient(to bottom, rgb(0,0,0,1), rgba(0,0,0,0) 100%); } .footnotes-footer {display:none;} a.collapsible-block-link {font-weight: 600;} span, a { word-break: normal; } /* Make superscripts not fuck with the line spacing / sup { vertical-align: top; position: relative; top: -0.5em; } / Haha blue boi / .outside { margin: 2em -6em; padding: 1em 10em; --narration-color: rgba(214, 234, 248,1); background: var(--narration-color); background: linear-gradient(90deg, rgba(255,255,255,0) 0%, var(--narration-color) 20%, var(--narration-color) 80%, rgba(255,255,255,0) 100%); z-index: -2; } / Make the blue bois that are within the document have smaller margins so they break flow less/ .outside.inline { margin: 1em -6em; padding: 1px 10em; } / Force the side bar to render on top of the blue bois / #side-bar { z-index: 2; } :root { --accentColor: #50C878; } #page-title { display: none; } [[/module]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/info:start">:scp-wiki:info:start</a>]] It Will All Be Okay* Author: [[user troutmaskreplica]] In the end, it will be peaceful. [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/trouts-authorpage I have an author page now!] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/info:end">:scp-wiki:info:end</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:classified-bar-woed">:scp-wiki:component:classified-bar-woed</a> \|lv=5 \|item=6999 \|oc=Safe \|lang=EN ]] [[div style="background-color:#3648a3"]] [[=]] + [[span style="color:white"]]{{SECONDARY CLASS: THAUMIEL}}[[/span]] [[/=]] [[/div]] [[include <a href="/component:image-block">component:image-block</a> name=http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/scp-6999/band-mk2.jpg\|width=100%\|align=center\|caption=Frame of SCP-6999.]] Special Containment Procedures:* In the event of an XK End-of-the-World scenario, Foundation personnel are to maintain several television broadcasting towers to transmit SCP-6999 globally. Per Project AISA protocol, only Level 5 personnel may access this file. ---- [[div class="text-fade"]] Description: [[[SCP-6999]]] is a three minute-long, cognitohazardous video of the Applied Force Department Symphony performing //Nearer, My God, to Thee//. The video influences the autonomic nervous system and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, inhibiting fight-or-flight responses to stressors and regulating cortisol production. Upon Ethics Committee approval, the O5 Council commissioned the Memetics and Infohazards Division to develop SCP-6999 for Project AISA. Exposure testing began on volunteer researchers after performance and recording. [[/div]] ---- @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ [[=]] O5-7 sat at the top of the transmission tower, the once bustling facility now dead quiet. He glances across the landscape. Sounds of chaos and violence, with the public seeking shelter from the end. Surrounded by the eerie silence of the empty control room, O5-7 hummed to himself a familiar tune while pressing a few buttons, doing all that he needs. Despite the world falling into chaos, O5-7 felt a sense of calmness wash over him. The beautiful melody worked its magic, the looming threat of destruction no longer evoked fear or panic. It invoked peace. He closed his eyes, allowing the tune to envelop his senses. In his mind's eye, he envisioned a world of peace, a world where people were connected by their shared humanity. He saw acts of kindness and compassion, forgiveness and understanding, weaving a tapestry of unity that transcended the barriers of language, culture, and belief. Maybe after it all ends, whoever is left can make this world better. With each passing moment, the O5's heart grew lighter, as if he has become untethered from the weight of the impending cataclysm. He accepted the inevitable fate of the world, knowing that he had done everything to protect and understand it. He stood up from his seat, stepping outside into the chaos. Flames danced on the horizon, the sounds of destruction muffled by the lovely melody. He was not afraid. With the world fading away, as everything came to an end, he knew. As the final notes of the symphony faded away, O5-7 sat down on the scorched earth, his gaze fixated upon the barren landscape. The song plays once again, looped indefinitely. O5-7 smiles to himself. O5-7 picked up his transmitter, giving one final message back to Site-01. "Ten? I'm done, should be global now." //"Thank you for your service. I'm going to miss you, Seven."// "I'll miss you as well. I'm staying here, I need to make sure it stays up." //"Understood."// @@ @@ @@ @@ "I love you." @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ //"I love you, too."// [[/=]] ---- [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] ===== > Filename: band.jpg > Name: File:Koninklijke Harmonie van Thorn 20080501.JPG > Author: Nlkalwien > License: CC BY-SA 3.0 > Source Link: [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Koninklijke_Harmonie_van_Thorn_20080501.JPG Wikimedia Commons] ===== [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-05-23T14:22:00	[ "_cc", "_licensebox", "bittersweet", "foundation-format", "post-apocalyptic", "tale" ]	It Will All Be Okay - SCP Foundation	38	[ "trouts-authorpage", "scp-6999", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "archived:shortest-pages-by-month-2023", "scp-series-7-tales-edition" ]	[ "http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/scp-6999/band-mk2.jpg" ]	1447824602	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/it-will-all-be-okay
jaeger-part-1	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div style="display: none"> <div style="text-align: left;"> <div class="code"> <div class="hl-main"> <pre><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Foxtrot</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Sigma-9</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Theme</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">2022</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">Wikidot</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">Theme</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">By</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Liryn</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">FONTS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Montserrat</span><span class="hl-special">:ital</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">wght</span><span class="hl-var">@0</span><span class="hl-code">,800;1,800&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Lexend</span><span class="hl-special">:wght</span><span class="hl-var">@700</span><span class="hl-code">;800&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">JetBrains</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Mono</span><span class="hl-special">:ital</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">wght</span><span class="hl-var">@0</span><span class="hl-code">,400;0,700;1,400;1,700&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Fira</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Code</span><span class="hl-special">:wght</span><span class="hl-var">@400</span><span class="hl-code">;700&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Sofia</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Sans</span><span class="hl-special">:ital</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">wght</span><span class="hl-var">@0</span><span class="hl-code">,400;0,700;1,400;1,700&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">rsms.me</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">inter</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">inter.css</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Figtree</span><span class="hl-special">:wght</span><span class="hl-var">@800</span><span class="hl-code">;900&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">IBM</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Plex</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Sans</span><span class="hl-special">:ital</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">wght</span><span class="hl-var">@0</span><span class="hl-code">,400;0,500;0,600;0,700;1,400;1,500;1,600;1,700&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-special">:root</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Core</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ --</span><span class="hl-reserved">header-title:</span><span class="hl-code"> "SCP Foundation"</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">header-subtitle:</span><span class="hl-code"> "SECURE, CONTAIN, PROTECT"</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">logo-img:</span><span class="hl-code"> url(https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/theme:foxtrot/fxtrt-scp_logo_lightmode.svg)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">darkmode-logo-img:</span><span class="hl-code"> url(https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/theme:foxtrot/fxtrt-scp_logo_darkmode.svg)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">logo-opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">14</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">head-font:</span><span class="hl-code"> 'Sans Normalcy'</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">ui-font:</span><span class="hl-code"> 'IBM Plex Sans'</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">mono-font:</span><span class="hl-code"> 'JetBrains Mono', 'Fira </span><span class="hl-string">Code</span><span class="hl-code">', </span><span class="hl-string">monospace</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">page-font:</span><span class="hl-code"> 'Inter', 'verdana'</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">base-font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.9</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">page-font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Misc</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ --</span><span class="hl-reserved">header-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">subheader-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">misc-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#464646</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">link-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#E6283C</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">link-hover-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">white</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Color</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Accents</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ --</span><span class="hl-reserved">accent:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--acc-default)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-default:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">59</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">59</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">59</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-wyoming:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">142</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">18</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-canada:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--acc-default)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-poland:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">87</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">44</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">17</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-slothspit:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">27</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">60</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">133</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-vanguard:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">153</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">75</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-threshold:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">121</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">113</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">130</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-overwatch:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">28</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">37</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">56</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-spc:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">165</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">200</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-fishing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">67</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">111</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">145</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-nightfall:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">151</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-hybrasil:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">27</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">60</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">133</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-goc:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">39</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">84</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">149</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-spooky:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">252</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">112</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">40</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">BetterFootnotes</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ --</span><span class="hl-reserved">fnColor:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">fnLinger:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> --</span><span class="hl-reserved">barColour:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">linkColour:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#EDEDED</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">html</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">scroll-behavior:</span><span class="hl-code"> smooth</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow-x:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">hidden</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">body</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--base-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">51</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">51</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">51</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> linear-gradient(to </span><span class="hl-string">bottom</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-var">#e0e0e0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">200</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-rendering:</span><span class="hl-code"> optimizeLegibility</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow-wrap:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">break-word</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#container-wrap</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#content-wrap</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font), var(--ui-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">440</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">strong</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">700</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tt</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-source</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">pre</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-textarea</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--mono-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ol</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">p</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-underline-offset:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">40</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> :</span><span class="hl-special">:selection</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Clicky</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">links</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.newpage</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:visited</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:visited</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.newpage</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:visited:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:visited:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-hover-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">patch</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">for</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">sidebar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">media</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">collapsibles</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">ACS</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">and</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ayers</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">module</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">so</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">link</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">doesn</span><span class="hl-code">'</span><span class="hl-identifier">t</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">override</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-folded</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-unfolded-link</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fa-info</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block.media</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.danger-diamond</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-folded</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--linkColour) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">160</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--header-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">letter-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">900</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> fit-content</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--header-title)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--header-subtitle)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">700</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--misc-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">26</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.35</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">uppercase</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#extra-div-1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">160</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">7</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">absolute</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--logo-img) </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">30</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">no-repeat</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">130</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-repeat:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">no-repeat</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">50</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">50</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">z-index:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--logo-opacity)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Search</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-var">text</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-input</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-input</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-input</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-var">submit</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-var">submit</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-var">submit</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#efefef</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--page-font-size) - </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.empty</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#999999</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">absolute</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">47</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">15</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">15</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">white</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li.sfhover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.83</span><span class="hl-code">) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">230</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-indent:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">justify-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.mobile-top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Login</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#login-status</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">19</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#login-status</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#login-status</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 767</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.printuser</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.printuser</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.printuser</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">img.small</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">18</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">18</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 767</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.printuser</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">img.small</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> translate(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#my-account</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 767</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#account-topbutton</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Side</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.open-menu</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">white</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (min-width: 768</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.6</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.6</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">18.75</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">s ease-in-out</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">rtl</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block.resources</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block.media</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#interwiki</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">ltr</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block.resources</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.heading</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--misc-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#cfcfcf</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9</span><span class="hl-string">pt</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">uppercase</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Blockquotes</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">Custom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Divs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.15</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#f7f7f7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">dashed</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#f7f7f7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.35</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.35</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#f7f7f7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.15</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fbfbfb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.quote</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bbb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">500</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bbb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.note</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#afafaf</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.round</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Headings</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">Titles</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-title</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.meta-title</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#3b3b3b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> fit-content</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-title</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.meta-title</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#breadcrumbs</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.pseudocrumbs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#3b3b3b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.footnotes-footer</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.title</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#3b3b3b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Rate</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Module</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.creditRate</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bbb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fa-info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fa-info</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bbb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-points</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rateup</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.ratedown</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rateup</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.ratedown</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rateup</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.ratedown</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inline-block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Rate</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Module</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Author</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Label</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.authorlink-wrapper</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> --</span><span class="hl-reserved">author-top-adjust:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">author-bottom-adjust:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">author-right-adjust:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--base-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Side</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anchor</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> sticky</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.14</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc((</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vw - </span><span class="hl-number">870</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">)/</span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vh - </span><span class="hl-number">18</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">absolute</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">103.5</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">z-index:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 1290</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">visibility:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">hidden</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Image</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#f4f4f4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#3b3b3b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">img</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.imagediv</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">right</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">15</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 540</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.imagediv</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">only</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">screen</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">and</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 600</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block.block-right</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tables</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Base</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">td</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">12</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bfbfbf</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">td</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.35</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tables</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Customization</span><span class="hl-code"> (</span><span class="hl-identifier">Table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Coloring</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">System</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tables</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Customization</span><span class="hl-code"> (</span><span class="hl-identifier">Table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Coloring</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">System</span><span class="hl-code">) > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Headings</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">Image</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Captions</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#E0FFD4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#D8ECF4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FDF6D7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFDFCD</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFCFCF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">146</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.tableb</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.wiki-content-table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-collapse:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">separate</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tables</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Customization</span><span class="hl-code"> (</span><span class="hl-identifier">Table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Coloring</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">System</span><span class="hl-code">) > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Other</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Colored</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Divs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">224</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">212</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">226</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">244</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">245</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">189</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">223</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">205</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">207</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">207</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">218</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tabs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Base</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tabs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Customization</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-wrap:</span><span class="hl-code"> wrap</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code"> - </span><span class="hl-number">.125</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Link</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Modifier</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tab</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Background</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Colour</span><span class="hl-code"> \| [</span><span class="hl-identifier">UNSELECTED</span><span class="hl-code">] ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#efefef</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tab</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Background</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Colour</span><span class="hl-code"> \| [</span><span class="hl-identifier">HOVER</span><span class="hl-code">] ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code">, /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Listitem</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Modifier</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">relative</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-grow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-bottom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">align-items:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">justify-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.35</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.75</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-overflow:</span><span class="hl-code"> ellipsis</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">hidden</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">white-space:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">nowrap</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code">, /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Selection</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Modifier</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-grow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tab</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Background</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Colour</span><span class="hl-code"> \| [</span><span class="hl-identifier">SELECTED</span><span class="hl-code">] ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:active</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-content</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">WORDS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">NO</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">BROKEY</span><span class="hl-code">. </span><span class="hl-identifier">CROQ</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">HAS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">SPOKEY</span><span class="hl-code">. </span><span class="hl-identifier">and</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">other</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">things</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">word-break:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">normal</span><span class="hl-code"> !important </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.avatar-hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Dustjacket</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Assets</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fancyhr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">hr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">vw </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--bright-accent), </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-source:</span><span class="hl-code"> url('https://wanderers-library.wikidot.com/local--files/component:dustjacket-theme/wl_hr.png')</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-repeat:</span><span class="hl-code"> round round</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-slice:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">500</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">500</span><span class="hl-code"> fill</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fancyborder</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">vw </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> url('https://wanderers-library.wikidot.com/local--files/component:dustjacket-theme/wl_border.png') </span><span class="hl-number">600</span><span class="hl-code"> round</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">vw</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Collapsibles</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">underline</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-special">:not</span><span class="hl-code">(</span><span class="hl-identifier">.licensebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.default-col</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">white</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">7</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--base-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inline-block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-special">:not</span><span class="hl-code">(</span><span class="hl-identifier">.licensebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.default-col</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--accent), </span><span class="hl-number">0.7</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">ACS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Adjustments</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.top-left-box</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">.item</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anom-bar-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anom-bar-container</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anom-bar-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), Inter, </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.acs-extra-1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.acs-extra-2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.acs-extra-3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.acs-extra-4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), Inter, </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anom-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">.top-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Woed</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Adjustments</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.item1</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">uppercase</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">letter-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.class1</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.9</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">letter-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> --</span><span class="hl-reserved">woedbar-class-bar-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.obj</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.7</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.obj</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.55</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MISC</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">hr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.bt</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#footer</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#444</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">45</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#footer</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#7b7b7b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.footer-wikiwalk-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">700</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">88</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">word-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-info-break</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-options-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">213</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">213</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">213</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-watch-options</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.6</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">77</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-options-bottom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> row</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-wrap:</span><span class="hl-code"> wrap</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">align-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">justify-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-options-bottom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">13</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">13</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom-left-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom-right-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-options-bottom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--accent), </span><span class="hl-number">0.8</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-info-break</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#license-area</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#5f5f5f</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ecf2f1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#d9d9d9</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#license-area</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> "."</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (min-width: 768</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">16</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> "tags "</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--misc-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inline-block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.8125</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.75</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.1875</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.3125</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.1875</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom-right-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top-right-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">13</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.8125</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--page-font-size) - </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">.1875</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">.625</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.0625</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.1875</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent)) </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-style:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> ""</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">relative</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.2813</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.125</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-tags-input</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">word-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.text</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">150</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-form</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">table.form</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">tbody</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">td</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(1) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.edit-help-34</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">85</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">60</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> fit-content</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.edit-help-34</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.edit-help-34</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">table.edit-page-bottomtable</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-comments</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">86</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#lock-info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.8</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">86</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#lock-info</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> "!"</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">12</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">110</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">60</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#lock-timer</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">115</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#lock-timer</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> "⏲ "</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">textarea</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.text</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">outline:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ccc</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-property:</span><span class="hl-code"> box-shadow</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">textarea</span><span class="hl-special">:focus-visible</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.text</span><span class="hl-special">:focus-visible</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#a3a3a3</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#a3a3a3</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#action-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">p</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">85</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> darkslategrey</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#action-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">p</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(5)></span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">120</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#who-rated-page-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">column-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 900</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#who-rated-page-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">column-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 700</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#who-rated-page-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">column-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 540</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#who-rated-page-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">column-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.content-warning.creditRate</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">21</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.preview-message</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.9</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">29</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">z-index:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">filter:</span><span class="hl-code"> drop-shadow(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#EDEDED</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.error-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">48</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#B00</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top-left-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top-right-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">table.page-history</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tbody</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(2</span><span class="hl-identifier">n</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--accent), </span><span class="hl-number">0.05</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">animation:</span><span class="hl-code"> fade </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@keyframes</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">fade</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> 0% </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> 100% </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.button-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">11</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.button-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-hover-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.button-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.title</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">cursor:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">default</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">155</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">187</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">187</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">187</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#F7F7F7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow.owait</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow.owait</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.content</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> " "</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">0.9</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">animation:</span><span class="hl-code"> loading </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-code">s linear infinite</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> grey</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> grey</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">50</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@keyframes</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">loading</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> 0% </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> rotate(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">deg)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> 100% </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> rotate(</span><span class="hl-number">360</span><span class="hl-code">deg)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow.osuccess</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.content</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(2)></span><span class="hl-identifier">img</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(1) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.odialog-shader</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#262a39</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.btn</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.15</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.btn</span><span class="hl-special">:not</span><span class="hl-code">(</span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.btn</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-quotes">"</span><span class="hl-string">submit</span><span class="hl-quotes">"</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code">), </span><span class="hl-identifier">.btn.btn-primary</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.buttons</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.button</span><span class="hl-special">:not</span><span class="hl-code">(</span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-quotes">"</span><span class="hl-string">submit</span><span class="hl-quotes">"</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">11</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">cursor:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">pointer</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-cancel-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-diff-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-preview-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-draft-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-continue-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ccc</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">cursor:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">pointer</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">14</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-cancel-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-diff-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-preview-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-draft-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-continue-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#eaeaea</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-continue-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#dbffd6</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#005a0a</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-continue-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#0d951c</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-cancel-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffe1e1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#c52727</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-cancel-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#c5272e</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">table.page-history</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tbody</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#757575</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fncon</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font-size) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fncon</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font-size) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.hovertip</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">400</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.checkbox</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-history</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#h-perpage</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">cursor:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">pointer</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">textarea</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#breadcrumbs</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.pseudocrumbs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">110</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">REDUCED</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MOTION</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ACCESSIBILITY</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (prefers-reduced-motion: </span><span class="hl-identifier">reduce</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">before</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">animation-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.001</span><span class="hl-code">s !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">animation-iteration-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.001</span><span class="hl-code">s !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@MEDIA</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 850</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">h2:</span><span class="hl-code">:before { font-size: </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> } </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 700</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">h2:</span><span class="hl-code">:before { font-size: </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8.8</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> } </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 620</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">h2:</span><span class="hl-code">:before { font-size: </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.15</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">123</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> } </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 520</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">h2:</span><span class="hl-code">:before { line-height: </span><span class="hl-number">16</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">145</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> }</span></pre></div> </div> </div> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div class="pseudocrumbs"> <p><a href="/canon-hub">Canon Hub</a> » <a href="/from-120-s-archives-hub">From 120's Archives Hub</a> / <a href="/the-man-who-wasnt-there-hub">The Man Who Wasn't There Hub</a> / <a href="/no-return-hub">No Return Hub</a> » <a href="/gaslight-gatekeep-girlboss-hub">GASLIGHT, GATEKEEP, GIRLBOSS Hub</a> » Jäger, Part 1</p> </div> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <ul class="creditRate"> <li class="rateBox folded"> <div class="rate-box-with-credit-button"> <div class="creditButton foldable-list-container"> <p><a href="javascript:;"></a></p> </div> </div> <div id="u-credit-view"> <div class="fader foldable-list-container"><a href="javascript:;">close</a></div> <div class="modalcontainer"> <div class="modalbox"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2><span>Info</span></h2> </div> <hr/> <div class="close-credits foldable-list-container"><a href="javascript:;">X</a></div> <div class="credit first"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p>Co-written by <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/ralliston" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5986843); return false;"><img alt="Ralliston" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=5986843&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043796" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=5986843)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/ralliston" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5986843); return false;">Ralliston</a></span> and <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/trotskyeet" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5988976); return false;"><img alt="Trotskyeet" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=5988976&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043796" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=5988976)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/trotskyeet" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5988976); return false;">Trotskyeet</a></span></p> <p><strong><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/ralliston-s-authorpage">Ralliston's Authorpage</a></strong></p> <p><strong><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/trotskyeet-author">Trotskyeet's Authorpage</a></strong></p> <p>The following article is a part of the <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/gaslight-gatekeep-girlboss-hub">GASLIGHT, GATEKEEP, GIRLBOSS</a> storyline. Whilst you can read it on its own, it's highly recommended you read the previous installments to get this article in its fullest.</p> </div> </div> <hr/> </div> </div> </div> </li> </ul> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="blockquote" style="width: intrinsic; width: -moz-max-content; width: -webkit-max-content; text-align:center; margin: 10px auto;"> <p><strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aDpCIDYDc8" target="_blank">Recommended reading music</a></strong></p> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h1 id="toc0"><span>Jäger, Part 1</span></h1> </div> <hr/> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="notation"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2 id="toc1"><span>22/11/2021</span></h2> <h2 id="toc2"><span><a href="/esterberg-city-wikipedia">Esterberg's Sewer District</a>, Częstochowa, Poland</span></h2> </div> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>Roisin Dar'ren feared no man.</p> <p>For many years, he led the forces obeying Queen Mab's command. He stood by her side during the Sixth War, relentlessly guiding her cavalry to break the measly forces of the scattered humanity. He stood by her side during the <a href="/ralliston-s-proposal">Great Purge</a>, helping her — the spider at the center of the web of conspiracies spanning the whole of reality — feed with as many souls as she needed to finish her final, most beautiful goal. Even tonight, with a bleeding arm and heart, he was still by her side. And he feared not the being that dared to hunt him, for to admit worry about a human would be an utmost act treason against his beloved Starlight.</p> <p>But Nobody was as far from a man as they got.</p> <p>Dar'ren could feel that inhuman quality in every moment of his relentless pursuit. He could feel Nobody's nostrils sense the smell of his ichor, dripping ever-so-beautifully upon the dark cobblestone of the City of the East. He could feel his wolf-like eyes, never stopping their trail, always just two steps behind him. Worst of all, though, he could also feel his ears, their subtle, almost nonexistent structure following the echoes of his steps no matter where he tried to escape.</p> <p>And he was pretty damn sure skeletons didn't have no fucking ears.</p> <p>Unable to do anything but pray, Roisin ran. He didn't like playing the prey — after all, he was used to being the hunter — but tonight, he had exhausted all other options. He couldn't fight Nobody, for to face an unstoppable force like him would require an equally immovable object to halt his unceasing chase. He couldn't call his brethren for help, either, Triumviraté — the closest thing he had to friends inside of Esterberg — <a href="/human">had already been beaten by Nobody at their own game of chess long ago</a>. So, bereft of choice, he ran — both in body and spirit — until there was nothing left inside his brain but the will to outrun his opponent.</p> <p>Soon, however, he found that he had exhausted even that option.</p> <p>As the cold streets of Esterberg's Sewer District came to a sudden stop, an unexpected wall of cobblestone rose up before the Fae general's face. Even before he noticed the barrier blocked his only way out, his heartbeat doubled — the multiplication then rose to a triple when the realization that he was trapped truly hit him. With panic in his eyes, he tried to scan the surrounding square, searching for any way out. He had no time, now, he knew that, he had to— he had to run, he— <em>FUCK</em> there was no— <em>FUCK <span style="text-decoration: underline;">FUCK</span> <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>FUCK</strong></span></em>, he—</p> <p><em>BANG!</em></p> <p>With a sickening, wet thud, his face met the stone wall at the speed of sound. Before he could even react, the skeletal hand doubled down, grabbing him by his long, red hair, and repeating the gesture.</p> <p><em>BANG! BANG! BANG!</em></p> <p>As he felt his teeth crack, bones break, and skin bleed, his vision became blurry. But not nearly blurry enough to not notice the skull of Nobody, emerging from the darkness of the Esterbergian night into the dimly lit aura of the lamp hanging loosely above the wounded Fae. The face grinned — <em>how the <span style="text-decoration: underline;">fuck</span> could a skeleton even grin?</em> — and the hunter's fingers let go.</p> <p>In an attempt to laugh nervously, Dar'ren let out a pathetic, wet little whimper. It barely came out as anything more than spat blood and tears.</p> <p>"Where is it?" Nobody whispered, quickly closing the gap between the faces of himself and his adversary. When after two seconds, no response came, he repeated, this time more firmly: "The Palace. Where. Is. It?"</p> <p>Roisin tried to laugh, again, much to a similarly failed fit of coughs.</p> <p>"WHERE IS IT?!" Nobody exploded, forcing another meeting between the Fae's head and the bloody cobblestone behind him.</p> <p>This time, he even managed to make his organism allow to let out a snicker. Knowing the deed was already done and that there was nothing that could prevent his end, he mentally shrugged, and waved with his index finger that Nobody should come closer. To his delight, that he did. "F-<em>Fugh</em>k you, cunt," he spat out when his head was close enough, putting up one final, final smile through the tears. "That's," he coughed again. "Thath's where it fhuckhin is." He was barely able to even pronounce those syllables well with the few teeth that he had left. Either way, he couldn't care less. Not about that, and not about what was about to come next</p> <p>Already anticipating the latter, he closed his eyes. The satisfaction plastered all over his face remained for a few more moments, fading only when Nobody's silver bolt punctured the surface of Dar'ren's otherwise pitch-perfect lips.</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="notation"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2 id="toc3"><span>22/11/2021</span></h2> <h2 id="toc4"><span><a href="/esterberg-city-wikipedia">Esterberg's Market District</a>, Częstochowa, Poland</span></h2> </div> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>Above all else, the <a href="/scp-6500">Impasse</a> was quiet.</p> <p>Ever since he was <a href="/the-lands-nobody-returns-from">born among the roaring pits of endless war and misery at the bottom of the world</a>, Nobody had always imagined that the end would be something grand, something special. It only felt appropriate, he thought, that something of such magnitude would come in and out with the scream of a dying sun, concluding the story of everything that existed to a finale truly worthy of what came before the epilogue.</p> <p>But the Impasse wasn't grand. Instead, it was something much, much worse: it was as quiet as the night.</p> <p>It was silent when it first came so many years ago, patiently creeping into the houses of anomalous societies worldwide. It was silent when it began to take its toll on everything magical, slowly but surely strangling the babies of wonder in their sleep. And it was silent when it echoed through the empty streets of Esterberg, grinning widely as it saw the graves of its peaceful slaughter.</p> <p>And throughout all of that, it remained nothing but hush. Nobody saw it in all of its terrifying glory, each step of the way there, each equally terrible phase of the gradual collapse of the anomalous ecosystem worse than the one that came before it. And tonight, he was here as a witness tonight, too.</p> <p>The once-busy Grand Market was nothing but a shadow of its former self, awkward debris and discarded pieces of paper tumbling down its worn pavement. Its roads were empty, now; not a single soul — not Yeren, not Fae, and not even human — treaded the area. There were no Insurgency newspaper boys screaming the crimes of the Foundation atop their lungs, hoping their very best to spark a revolution worldwide; there were no MC&D brokers, arguing loudly with people they openly stole life savings from; there were no Hand, Manna Charitable, or AWCY? folk, manifesting their need for freedom and justice with all the means possible and necessary; there were no Anderson products, advertising the genius of their father and the low low price you could get it at; and there were no GOC and City patrols, swinging their paraweapons in a futile attempt at striking fear.</p> <p>Worst of all, however, there were no people.</p> <p>No friends laughed, cheering to whatever unimportant achievement one of them just told them about; no enemies fought, threatening each other with fists over trivial nonsense so that everyone in the city could hear their problems; and no simple people walked towards whatever unspecified destinations they had in mind, trying to live their everyday life the best they could.</p> <p>For all intents and purposes, Esterberg was a grave, and among all of those living corpses hiding and rotting away in their homes, Nobody was its last remaining survivor.</p> <p>Once upon a time, Inventor's Ingredients was a thriving establishment. Providing not-exactly-legal things to not-exactly-lawful people, it supplied those that weren't really dangerous but weren't friends of the law either a discrete place to work their — often times literal — magic in. For those that weren't that shady, though, it also offered a good snack and place to sleep the night away at a price that didn't feel like robbery. The woman that ran it — a fifty-something Fae named Cad'hla Gwyneth — was just like her establishment: tough, but fair, and kind to those she cared about.</p> <p>Tonight, however, there was another similarity made them frighteningly alike: the fact that both of them were dying.</p> <p>Just as he had many times before, Nobody entered the nearly-empty tavern without knocking. The only person besides him and the place's one-man staff was some tired Yeren, drowning his sorrows away in a mug of Golden Ground Ale, his fur balding to reveal pink skin underneath. If Nobody still could, he would shiver — both at the uncanny view of a furless Yeren and his depressing state. Instead, he put all of his weapons in their respective places, and headed toward the spiral stairs leading to the small, stone tower apartment located next to the Ingredients' roof.</p> <p>The room was more than enough for a regular person. For a bookworm, though, it was paradise; its many bookshelves scattered around two tables combined with a fireplace and a large sofa made for an extremely comfy library for the main archivist and historian of the Sidhe Lounge. Olivié Gwyneth wasn't the tallest woman, but what she lacked in height she made up with wits, and a genius collection of historical information others couldn't even begin to comprehend. Her body didn't need this much space to live in, but for her mind, such a library was the bare minimum required to survive.</p> <p>By tonight's standards, even its current population felt like a crowd.</p> <p>Laying atop her sofa was a pale imitation of her mother. For the many years he'd known them both, Cad'hla was nothing but a prime example of health, a spirit both too healthy and too stubborn to ever fall ill. Right now, though, she was a lanky ghost of her former self, laying like she was on her deathbed.</p> <p>Seeing her state, Nobody could almost believe that she was.</p> <p>Her once-ethereal, sprawling butterfly wings now felt like leather, awkwardly flapping to the sound of her irregular heartbeat. Her skin was rough, no longer looking like that beautiful faerie pale, now replaced with a sickening gray. And her eyes — <em>her eyes</em>. They were much smaller than before, as if they were scared of something. Perhaps they even were — it would be a natural reaction to the series of coughs and shivers which twisted her body almost every second.</p> <p>And above her, her daughter stood.</p> <p>Truth be told, Olivié wasn't much better than the one she was carefully giving water to, though Nobody guessed it was less the Impasse and more sacrificing sleep and health for the sake of her own mother. A soul like her could perhaps even avoid the now-worldwide death of wonder, but it could not avoid the consequences of sacrificing every moment of freedom to tend to and worry about someone she loved. And because of that, Nobody could see, she suffered — both physically and spiritually.</p> <p>The two might've been associated with the GOC, but judging from the looks of it all, the Impasse-caused chaos within the Council of 108 definitely made that relationship only one-sided.</p> <p>When she felt him approach, she didn't do so much as flinch. Sighing, she wet a towel</p> <p>"So?" She asked, her tone worryingly quiet. "How went the hunt?"</p> <p>Nobody's expression remained just as indifferent as before. "Not well. He didn't want to tell anything. That, or he just didn't know. Can't tell." He paused. "Either way, he's dead now."</p> <p>She sighed once more. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry. I was sure it was gonna be the one, this time."</p> <p>"It's okay."</p> <p>For a moment that felt like an eternity, they stood there, alone, buried underneath the raindrops tapping away at the window overlooking the rest of the equally silent city. They didn't speak, but no words were necessary. Now, the only thing they could cause is harm. Eventually, though, the historian looked up towards the skeleton in a trenchcoat and wide hat that stood inside her parlor, and she slowly exhaled.</p> <p>"I…" she began, very carefully choosing her words; either that, or she was just too tired to craft together complex sentences at the speed of thought. Nobody wasn't really sure which one would concern him more. "I don't know what to do more. I'm sorry." She threw her hands in the air. "That was the final lead I had. The last general, captain, <em>whoever</em> that knew her in a way that wasn't just blind worship. If that one and the ones that came before it didn't have anything, then… I dunno. I don't have the books nor the time. I'm sorry. I really am."</p> <p>He remained silent.</p> <p>"It's a dead end, Nobody." She didn't really show it, but from the slight hesitation in the pronunciation of the name, it was very clear she was still uncomfortable using it. "My archives have run dry. And," with her head, she very gently pointed towards her slowly breathing mother. "I cannot find any more. Not now, at least. If there even are any more left out there."</p> <p>She looked outside the Esterbergian night, letting her sight wander towards the city's Parliament, where her beloved grand library and archive rested under dazzling lights and chandeliers. Though she didn't say a word, it was very clear its total darkness worried her. What should worry her even more, though — at least in Nobody's eyes — the total lack of the gigantic flame which sat atop a tower on Esterberg's horizon.</p> <p>There was a legend, she once told him, about the burning building at the edge of the city. Once the city's primary lighthouse, the flame inside burned long after it was abandoned, leading many to believe it to be the city's holy protector. It was said that for as long as that flame burned, for as long as it was alive, so long would the city thrive. It was just a silly legend and everyone knew that, but the citizens of the city still kept it and the flame up as a visible tradition that didn't really hurt anybody. It had once shown the brave sailors of Lake Arlande their way back home, and Nobody did not think it really cared all that much for some more, though now purely symbolic, work.</p> <p>Tonight, however, it was just as dark as the unnaturally faded sky around it.</p> <p>"Have you… tried reaching out to somebody else?" The Fae historian suddenly broke the silence. This time, she looked up to meet the cold gaze of Nobody's empty eye sockets. "My hands are tied. But the hands of others — not necessarily."</p> <p>"Who?" He asked, no sign of emotion noticeable within the question. "Everyone I know is either an en—"</p> <p>"Foundation."</p> <p>It took him a moment to gather up a response. "No."</p> <p>"But—"</p> <p>"Categorically no." He tried his very best to sign the almost subtle shaking of his voice. He failed. "You know what they did. What they still do. No. They wouldn't help me."</p> <p>She didn't have enough energy left in her to sigh. "I just… I just thought if you could give them a chance, they could prove… useful, at the very least. I'm not saying they're good, obviously, but… they're desperate to get this under control, too."</p> <p>"They're desperate to get it under <em>their</em> control. That's not the same thing."</p> <p>She turned away. "I guess."</p> <p>But Nobody wasn't listening, not anymore. With the rattle of his bones and the shake of his coat following shortly behind, he headed for the stairs down, his hands in one of his jacket's many pockets. With a void of emotion inside of him, he took the first step forward. Before he fully committed to coming down, though, he stopped for a moment, and looked directly at Olivié.</p> <p>"Take care of her," he muttered out, his hand already going down the railing.</p> <p>She nodded appreciatingly, and then added: "And you, reconsider."</p> <p>He didn't reply. He was already somewhere else.</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="notation"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2 id="toc5"><span>22/11/2021</span></h2> <h2 id="toc6"><span><a href="/esterberg-city-wikipedia">Esterberg's Port District</a>, Częstochowa, Poland</span></h2> </div> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>That time of the year, the Polish spring already began slowly turning into quiet, gentle winter. And Nobody's breath — he still had a breath, and no, he did not know <em>why</em>, but then again, he still did not know many things about himself — reflected it very much, letting out a warm breeze every time his irreal lungs longed to take a breath. He didn't stop to consider that, though; instead, he simply continued his slow stroll through Estreberg's Port District, the area already succumbing to the ever-changing cycle of seasons in its own, strange way.</p> <p>As the field of what had once been used as warehouses ended to reveal the open harbor so titular to the whole place, Nobody stopped for a moment. Without giving it much thought, as if he was running on pure animalistic instinct, he turned left, locking eyes with the entry to one of the shacks. It was run down, just like the rest of them; unsimilarly to its cousins, though, this very specific warehouse wasn't just indifferent to him. <a href="/nobody-s-home">This one was a bit special</a>.</p> <p>For a brief moment, scenes of obnoxiously loud anartists ran through his mind, coinciding with the memories of the <a href="/people-without-meaning">battle with Mab fought beneath the whole complex</a> nearly two decades ago. In just seconds, the gray world suddenly gained color, coming alive with the memories of the beginning of his hunt. If he had emotions, he would even let himself spend a moment on that thought, but—</p> <p>But what, exactly?</p> <p>Just as he was about to ignore the call of nostalgia and walk forward, a thought stroke him. For a terribly long millisecond, he fought that thought, not wanting to explore it, not willing to give in. But it was stronger — so, <em>so</em> much stronger than his subconscious liked to pretend. And so, recognizing the honor in giving up, he forfeited to his embarrassingly human nature, and let himself consider the memory as fond for just a minute.</p> <p>Once, that warehouse meant something. Its awful state had then been its point, a sign to authorities that the entry to the secret world of anart was no such thing at all, hiding behind failed cargo manifest. Right now, though, it felt more like a sad wound rather than real glamour. His trained eyes could see it, noticing the differences between what he had remembered it as and what he was seeing before himself. It was abandoned, left behind by all of the good kids that once staffed it with their nonsensical creations and political statements. He let himself wonder what happened to them. Did the Critic take any of them on, or did they find fame along different paths? Did they ever make it out of their metaphorical artistic garages at all? Were they even still alive?</p> <p>He found no answer. But deep down, he wasn't sure if he even wanted one. He didn't know if he could stomach it.</p> <p>Taking a slow breath, he picked up his pace once more, doing whatever it took to get away from that awful, awful den of memories.</p> <p>After a few seconds, that will paid off. He found himself standing in the middle of the three-kilometer-long Plaza of Freedom. At this point unsurprisingly, the once hotspot for tourism was a graveyard in more sense than one, allowing the chilling wind to blow through it, uninterrupted by anything and anyone. In the distance, River Arlande leaked into the fake sea engulfing Esterberg's port and stretching towards infinity, ever so slowly pouring cold water into a basin that could once even call itself a harbor.</p> <p>Taking his time, he walked up towards its banks and sat down, letting his legs hang above the drop separating him from the water. No boats sat in the docks. Even MC&D's navy, the infamous <a href="/scp-pl-273">Pepsi Fleet</a>, had now fled back to the dark towers employed by its nefarious masters. There was nothing truly separating him from the full moon, so dimly hanging on the horizon before him. The white circle in the sky reflected itself in the cold waters below, illuminating the city with an aura of equally chilling light. The wind and air blowing through the empty port shared the same temperature quality. Even Nobody could notice that.</p> <p>With a heavy heart that wasn't there, he looked out into the grey infinity before him. Grateful that the fake sky hanging in the heavens above Esterberg wasn't broken, he noticed the magic that still ran its artificial weather patterns seemed to still function. As the first flake of snow this year fall down his exposed hand, he took off his hat, and put it beside him. There was a moment, a very short moment, during which he wanted to take out his knife and start polishing it, but he did not feel like it would be appropriate to steal any part of the reflected moon from the sea of faked tranquility.</p> <p>Fake sky and fake sea, he sadly scoffed, thinking about how truly ironic it was that out of all things still alive in the City of the East, that dead part of the environment still did not share the inevitable fate of its other citizens. He hated that sight, despite its indescribable beauty. Hated it, like nothing in the world. He struggled to know whether even the holy fury against the Mad Queen could combat that anger for… what, exactly? For allowing himself to fail them? For allowing others to fail them? Or just for his own inability to take action, to eat his own pride and go to the only people that still knew how to help?</p> <p>He knew what he had to do, he supposed. He didn't like it.</p> <p>Nobody sighed. "And how is that fair?" He silently asked, letting his quiet voice die against the forming blizzard.</p> <p>The darkness of the night found no answer.</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="notation"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2 id="toc7"><span>23/11/2021</span></h2> <h2 id="toc8"><span><a href="/secure-facility-dossier-site-120">Site-120</a>, Częstochowa, Poland</span></h2> </div> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>The aboveground building of Site-120 was so mundane that, for a moment, Nobody feared that in the wake of the Impasse the true structure hidden beneath it would prove equally normal. When he saw the states of the two people they sent to talk to him, he first sighed, and then immediately turned to fear his worries would be true.</p> <p>Both Daniel Asheworth and Jessie Rivera were looking like walking corpses. Their skin was faded, their hair was graying, and their arms were lanky. They weren't that far off from being thin on a standard day, but tonight, that slimness felt unnatural. It felt… It felt <em>sick</em>. Like something that was causing it was eating them from the inside. And their faces — they weren't much different. Bags under eyes of fading color, the two didn't look anything like they had when he had last seen them. Deep down, it worried even Nobody; to see members of such a bastion of normalcy, such a bastion of strength and perseverance slowly fade away, it felt wrong. Deeply, deeply wrong.</p> <p>From the looks on their faces, it was clear that even the presence of a few security guards behind them wasn't enough to make them calm being here.</p> <p>He recognized the irony of sending the two people that had stopped him when he had still been human to talk to his resurrected self, of course. Instead of acting on it, though, he just closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, and came closer to the two unnaturally thin figures, not allowing himself not even a thought of a comment. It was his will to be here, and they were here on Nobody's terms, not theirs. Though forcefully, that did indeed bring just a little relief to him.</p> <p>Besides, there wasn't anything the mentally, spiritually, physically, and magically exhausted mage and reality bender could ever do to him, if things went south. They were as used up as the rest of the magical world — the only difference was they could at least find shelter in their bunkers of stolen magic, allowing themselves for at least a moment of respite among the raging storm.</p> <p>Finally having reached an appropriate talking distance, Nobody stopped in his tracks. His heavy boots went rough against the gravel path leading to Site-120. The plants decorating the park which surrounded the facility did nothing to calm his equally rough nerves. The two others didn't come any closer, instead choosing to stand quietly in their jackets and hats against the relentless wind of what looked like an incoming snowstorm. Nobody returned the gesture, and remained equally silent and still.</p> <p>"I need information," he suddenly began, barely moving any part of his body to say this out loud. "Information you have. Information that could help both of us."</p> <p>Worryingly, Asheworth didn't find enough energy left inside him to sigh. Instead, he just corrected his now-graying hair back beneath his hat, and crossed his arms. "Give me specifics." He didn't mean it, but from the tone of his voice, it was very clear he wasn't comfortable at all talking to the entity that had once been Damien Nowak. For him, the skeleton in a hat and a trenchcoat was still the <a href="/and-every-time-we-meet-again-hub">thaumaturge he had fought at the end of the world so many years ago</a>.</p> <p>Nobody didn't mirror the gesture. "Mab. Your whole dossier on her."</p> <p>Rivera just shook her head. She too did not consider Nobody the best conversation partner. "We cannot give you that, you know that. I… I'm not even sure I have the access—"</p> <p>"I am simply trying to help."</p> <p>"I know," she looked down. "And so are we. But…"</p> <p>Nobody's hat waddled against the raging wind, now fully displaying its might upon his clothing. "But what? You're trying, but not enough to actually give it an attempt? You're trying so that you can <em>appear</em> to not look complicit? Is that what you're trying to say?"</p> <p>"No," Asheworth interjected. "We sent out our men. We gave our own to your hunt, too. We're both desperate. We are both the victims here." He let his words die against the cold air.</p> <p>"…But?"</p> <p>"But doing what you're doing won't help anybody," Daniel tightened his lips. "You wobble about, unable to decide who you are and what you want to do, mumbling something about a holy hunt like it's ever achievable. Instead of sitting down and helping out those in need, in the wake of the final hour you continue your little chase like a cat unable to let go of a laser pointer." He sighed, and proceeded Nobody's next question by adding: "You haven't changed. You're still the old you, just in new clothing." From his stance, it was very clear he was starting to want to leave.</p> <p>"But—"</p> <p>"There is no but, <em>Nowak</em>," the mage spat out the words like a slur. He was getting angry, now; Nobody wasn't sure just how much of it was caused by the present, and how much by the past. "I'm doing my part. So is she, and so is everyone down at 120." He pointed at the gray building behind him with his head. "If you're willing to put down your crossbow and take care of people in need, then we can always use a few spare hands preparing beds and meals down at the cafeteria. I haven't slept well in days, spending them instead on shuffling shit and bread. But you can also continue your stupid little hunt. The choice is yours."</p> <p>Nobody tightened his knuckles. "I <em>am</em> trying to help. I <em>am</em> doing my job. Don't you think that this exact moment is the best time to strike M—"</p> <p>Asheworth scoffed. "How, exactly? By continuing to be the same insane maniac you've always been, always chasing something beyond he horizon? No. Fuck you. If you want to wear the title of hero, fucking earn it." Angrily, he pointed at the insides of the Site behind him.</p> <p>"Daniel…" Rivera looked at him, tightening her lips.</p> <p>"What?" He returned the gaze, just a drop of anger inside his eyes. "Am I wrong? Am I—"</p> <p>"We have the same goals. We both want to stop the Impasse. To slay the Queen," Nobody retorted, ignoring the insult. "I can help you. But I am out of options. And you — you possess nothing but options."</p> <p>"Yes, you're right." Daniel furrowed his brows. "<em>We</em> possess nothing but options. Not you. Not your insane fucking hunt monster nonsense that brought you back from the dead and keeps you on your feet. <em>We</em> do. And we <em>do</em> use them. We <em>do</em> help. We <em>do</em> give shelter and medicine to the people, even when we're the ones affected, too. We take night shifts when we're supposed to be with our loved ones just to make sure the final spark of magic in our lifes doesn't die out. We take positions we aren't trained for and take the fucking responsibility we have to take to at least goddamn try to make a difference." He paused. "Do <em>you</em>?"</p> <p>Nobody waited a moment for the insult to him the hardest it could: "Do you intentionally try to bring this to be about me, so that you can ignore the obvious inability to act you yourself are suffering from? Are you that much of a slave of the past, Asheworth?"</p> <p>At a moment's notice, the thaumaturge turned away. He began to walk forward, back towards the Site, his face almost shaking with anger. Not wanting to be left behind, Rivera sighed, and followed him along. If he didn't know there was nothing they could have ever done to help him, Nobody would even mourn his supposedly lost chance.</p> <p>Before he truly departed, though, Asheworth turned back one more time. "I'm at least honest with myself." He paused. "Are you?"</p> <p>In a sea of confusion he called his soul, Nobody did not find an appropriate answer.</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="notation"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2 id="toc9"><span>23/11/2021</span></h2> <h2 id="toc10"><span><a href="/esterberg-city-wikipedia">Esterberg's Sewer District</a>, Częstochowa, Poland</span></h2> </div> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>No matter how much he liked to pretend otherwise, Nobody was no stranger to emotions. For years, he was tortured by guilt, anger, determination, the inability to move on, and many other things generally considered human. For most of that existence, though, he would at least try to suppress said feelings, in an attempt to dedicate no energy to anything that wasn't his holy hunt. But even then, there were times when he simply could not ignore that part of him that was still terribly human.</p> <p>And tonight the doors to his true soul were wide open.</p> <p>He could feel it as he walked down the streets of Esterberg once more, the movement bereft of any real purpose. In all of his pretended glory, he did not know where he was going or for what reason. He didn't even know if those questions had any answers in the first place. The only thing occupying his mind right now was anger, mixed with just a drop of sadness, exhaustion, and the weight of the hollow pit relentlessly occupying his stomach.</p> <p>As his heavy steps reached one street of the city after another, his mind slowly went numb. Truth be told, there was no reason in him, no conscious and logical chain of command ruling his train of thought. Instead, that unholy brewing soup of passion decided to rule supreme, declaring itself the sole ruler of Nobody's mind as he gave in to his human instincts once more. If his face was built to reflect his mental state well, right now it would be on the verge of tears.</p> <p>Why, he did not truly know. Maybe it was because he realized that Asheworth was right. Maybe it was because he realized that he himself was just wrong. And maybe — but just maybe — because in an attempt to figure it out, the part of him that was Damien Nowak clashed with the part of him that was the Hunter, and maybe they did what they always did: they were incapable of ever reaching a consensus.</p> <p>Either way, he knew one thing — he needed time to cool off. And there was no better place to do so than the chilling, snow-ridden alleyways of an empty city. <em>Especially</em> when one was traversing them alone, acting purely on instinct instead of logic. Instead of doing what said logic would have wanted, though, said instinct did exactly what it has always done — it carried Nobody to the only place he attended regularly, bringing his steps to repeat an almost religious pattern it knew better than anything else.</p> <p>It carried him to the only place in the entire world he could ever reasonably call 'home'.</p> <p>Truth be told, Nobody's lair was far away from anything anyone <em>should</em> ever call home. But something in Nobody almost liked calling that memetically-masqueraded stash of weapons, maps, and notes hidden behind some ran down buildings a place of rest. It wasn't like he had anything else closer to him anywhere else, anyways, So, he supposed, he might just as well give in to that tingling sensation behind his eyes and call it what it represented for him. It helped, when a particularly bad day hit him so bad he didn't want to do anything but give up.</p> <p>And tonight was indeed one of those days.</p> <p>Overwhelmed by everything, overwhelmed by the whole weight of the world around him, Nobody sat down, absentmindedly. The cold pavement below made itself felt to his irreal nerves even through his old trench coat, but he couldn't care less about it. He was far too gone to give any thought to such mundane, down-to-earth things. Instead, as he numbly looked into the sky above him, he only thought about one thing: he thought about just how much he wanted to cry.</p> <p>You never really consider the relief tears bring you until you lose your tear ducts. And Nobody had lost so much more than that. He lost everything, if he ever had anything to begin with. And right now, that infinitely heavy realization dawned on him, crushing his shoulders under its incomprehensible weight. And Nobody was no heavy lifter. So he did the only thing he ever could, really — he let it crush his mind, his body, and his soul.</p> <p>He closed his eyes, ready to wave a white flag above his very being.</p> <p>When he opened them back up again, he was no longer sitting at the edge of Esterberg's real estate. Instead, the hooded battlemage he now was was standing inside a tent, buried kilometers underground. Within his veins, he could feel it just like he had felt it so many years ago — there was no mistaking <a href="/scp-5672">the self-thaumaturgic cave below Stargard</a> for anything else. The arcane particles practically thriving inside it made themselves more than known to his equally magic-tuned soul.</p> <p>He was himself once more, back in his prime, back in his Nowak years. He could feel the burn scar decorating half of his face and the ponytail tied behind it. As he felt the mass of his muscular hands weight down on the table before him, he suddenly blinked twice, snapping back into this new irreality.</p> <p>"—sir? Sir? Are you alright?"</p> <p>He blinked again, and realized that there was a figure standing in front of him. One of the young Yeren he trusted as his closest during his revolutionary years, he quickly made the connection. The figure was tall and strong, confidence practically leaking out of its furred posture. Not wanting to make the interaction seem any more awkward, <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Nobody</span> Nowak shot him a glance, making sure to play off his confusion as just a momentary lapse of thought.</p> <p>"Yes, I… I apologize. I let myself get carried away by thoughts," he quietly concluded.</p> <p>The young lieutenant cleared his throat, and pointed at one location on the large map of Poland that lay before them. Much to <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Nobody's</span> Nowak's surprise, the thing he was showing wasn't one of their five primary goals, the places they could unlock their <a href="/scp-5936">Seals</a> in. Instead, it was a seemingly insignificant point of land in the Greater Poland Vovoidenship, pinpointed with a singular, red dot.</p> <p>"As I was saying," the Yeren continued. "the Palace stands open, in case we wanted to go through it before attempting our next Seal. My men made sure to break the antimemetic spells, but just for us — the rest of the world should still see it in its full, hidden glory."</p> <p><em>The Palace?</em></p> <p>Nobody gulped, his focus going into overdrive, but he did not show it; instead, he let the Nowak inside him take the lead, and allowed him to play out the memory from a life long lost just as he had remembered it.</p> <p>"That's no concern of ours," the actor that now took the lead said, scratching his head. "Even now, she is mostly inactive and harmless. We will take care of it after we're done with our own Seals. We simply don't have the time or the need for that, now."</p> <p>His assistant nodded.</p> <p>"Besides, with the power we will be able to yield once we're done, taking care of the Queen will be a formality. Her hatred will have no power in the Heaven we seek to establish, captain." This time, Nowak was the one to nod. "So let's make sure we even have a way to take her out before we attempt it, shall we?"</p> <p>Before the Yeren could accept the orders and carry on, Nobody's whole soul started to hyperventilate. The memory, now bereft of an emotional anchor tying it down to Nobody's senses, began its journey down deterioration. First, the finer details failed; then, as the corruption spread, so did the general shape of everything. Everything except that red dot, piercing the heart of Europe in an almost mocking manner, pointing Nobody to the single most important place he could ever wish to find.</p> <p>The lair of the beast.</p> <p>As the answer to a question unasked seeped into his soul, Nobody violently opened his eyes.</p> <p>With a short breath, he put his bony hand towards his equally bare face. It came almost as a shock for him to realize it wasn't that of the cult leader, instead now replaced by the Hunter. With all his will, Nobody's brain went into full reason mode, attempting to calm his universal hyperventilation. And, after a while, it even succeeded.</p> <p>Now, he could feel the world around him again. Its cold, unforgiving breeze. Its dark, looming night. And the Mad Queen living beyond it, laughing at his attempts to take her down. He tightened his metaphorical lips, then did the same with his knuckles, and stood up. Nobody looked into the sky, seeing the Starlight that mocked him.</p> <p>This time, though, he did not react with anger. No. This time, he returned the sneering gesture, and took the first step forward, loading his holy crossbow with the strongest bolt he could find. He knew its hiding place, its lair of nothing but evil. He had her practically open before him. There was nothing separating Nobody from its pray, after so many, many years.</p> <p>He knew exactly what he needed to do to end her, too.</p> <p>With a silent buzz, the portal buzzed to life before him, carving its round shape from nothing but the fabric of reality itself.</p> <p>He wasn't sure if it was going to work, but he had enough trust in this specific wizard to hope their words that they could do it despite the Impasse were true. Without asking any questions, he nodded in appreciation at the hatted figure standing in the corner, and took a deep breath.</p> <p>On the other side, he could feel revenge. He could feel closure, finally bringing him to a conclusion of his story. After almost twenty years, he would be done. All he needed to do is take a step forward, and write the finale to his own story, to his own hunt.</p> <p>Were he to stay, though, he felt something much different. He felt love. He felt connection to those he pretended not to care about, and the ability to aid them at their lowest point. After so, so long, he would finally have a place in this twisted world, slowly helping reality come back from the consequences of Mab. All he needed to do is stay, and close the book of Nobody before it replaced the Nowak who wrote it.</p> <p>For a while, he stood there, silent, unable to make a decision, unable to choose between two things he both desperately wanted. But when he looked into that floating green wormhole once more, he already knew what needed to be done.</p> <p>With a shockingly human foot, he took the first step forward, and disappeared into thin air.</p> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <hr/> <div class="earthworm earthworm--old-syntax-first-flase earthworm--old-syntax-last-false earthworm--old-syntax-hub-yes {$class}"> <div class="first earthworm__previous" data-title="Human"> <p><a href="/human">Human</a></p> </div> <div class="hub earthworm__hub" data-title="GASLIGHT, GATEKEEP, GIRLBOSS"> <p><a href="/gaslight-gatekeep-girlboss-hub">GASLIGHT, GATEKEEP, GIRLBOSS</a></p> </div> <div class="last earthworm__next" data-title="Jäger, Part 2"> <p><a href="/jaeger-part-2">Jäger, Part 2</a></p> </div> </div> <hr/> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/jaeger-part-1">Jäger, Part 1</a>" by Ralliston and Trotskyeet, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/jaeger-part-1">https://scpwiki.com/jaeger-part-1</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> logo.png<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/estrellayoshte" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(3781861); return false;"><img alt="EstrellaYoshte" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=3781861&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043796" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=3781861)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/estrellayoshte" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(3781861); return false;">EstrellaYoshte</a></span>, edited by <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/harryblank" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(6479803); return false;"><img alt="HarryBlank" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=6479803&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043796" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=6479803)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/harryblank" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(6479803); return false;">HarryBlank</a></span>, then edited <em>again</em> by <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/jasiu06" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(6669398); return false;"><img alt="Jasiu06" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=6669398&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043796" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=6669398)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/jasiu06" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(6669398); return false;">Jasiu06</a></span><br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC BY-SA 3.0<br/> <strong>Source Link:</strong> <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/jaeger-part-1">SCP Foundation Wiki</a></p> </blockquote> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> nobody.jpg<br/> <strong>Name:</strong> Skelet met pijl en boog, Hendrick Hondius, after Teodoro Filippo di Liagno, 1626<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> Hendrick Hondius<br/> <strong>License:</strong> Public Domain<br/> <strong>Source Link:</strong> <a href="https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/RP-P-1996-326">Rijksmuseum</a></p> </blockquote> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:foxtrot">:scp-wiki:theme:foxtrot</a> overwatch=a\| dark=a\| hidetitle=a]] [[module CSS]] .creditRate { float: unset !important; margin-bottom: unset !important; } [[/module]] [[=]] [[div class="pseudocrumbs"]] [[[canon-hub\|Canon Hub]]] >> [[[From 120's Archives Hub]]] / [[[the-man-who-wasnt-there-hub\|The Man Who Wasn't There Hub]]] / [[[No Return Hub]]] >> [[[GASLIGHT, GATEKEEP, GIRLBOSS Hub]]] >> Jäger, Part 1 [[/div]] [[/=]] [[=]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/info:start">:scp-wiki:info:start</a>]] [[=]] Co-written by [[user Ralliston]] and [[user Trotskyeet]] [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/ralliston-s-authorpage Ralliston's Authorpage] [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/trotskyeet-author Trotskyeet's Authorpage] The following article is a part of the [http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/gaslight-gatekeep-girlboss-hub GASLIGHT, GATEKEEP, GIRLBOSS] storyline. Whilst you can read it on its own, it's highly recommended you read the previous installments to get this article in its fullest. [[/=]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/info:end">:scp-wiki:info:end</a>]] [[/=]] @@ @@ [[div class="blockquote" style="width: intrinsic; width: -moz-max-content; width: -webkit-max-content; text-align:center; margin: 10px auto;"]] *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aDpCIDYDc8 Recommended reading music] [[/div]] @@ @@ @@ @@ [[=]] + Jäger, Part 1 [[/=]] ----- @@ @@ [[div class="notation"]] [[=]] ++ 22/11/2021 ++ [[[esterberg-city-wikipedia\|Esterberg's Sewer District]]], Częstochowa, Poland [[/=]] [[/div]] [[==]] @@ @@ [[f>image nobody.jpg width="325px"]] Roisin Dar'ren feared no man. For many years, he led the forces obeying Queen Mab's command. He stood by her side during the Sixth War, relentlessly guiding her cavalry to break the measly forces of the scattered humanity. He stood by her side during the [[[ralliston-s-proposal\|Great Purge]]], helping her -- the spider at the center of the web of conspiracies spanning the whole of reality -- feed with as many souls as she needed to finish her final, most beautiful goal. Even tonight, with a bleeding arm and heart, he was still by her side. And he feared not the being that dared to hunt him, for to admit worry about a human would be an utmost act treason against his beloved Starlight. But Nobody was as far from a man as they got. Dar'ren could feel that inhuman quality in every moment of his relentless pursuit. He could feel Nobody's nostrils sense the smell of his ichor, dripping ever-so-beautifully upon the dark cobblestone of the City of the East. He could feel his wolf-like eyes, never stopping their trail, always just two steps behind him. Worst of all, though, he could also feel his ears, their subtle, almost nonexistent structure following the echoes of his steps no matter where he tried to escape. And he was pretty damn sure skeletons didn't have no fucking ears. Unable to do anything but pray, Roisin ran. He didn't like playing the prey -- after all, he was used to being the hunter -- but tonight, he had exhausted all other options. He couldn't fight Nobody, for to face an unstoppable force like him would require an equally immovable object to halt his unceasing chase. He couldn't call his brethren for help, either, Triumviraté -- the closest thing he had to friends inside of Esterberg -- [[[human\|had already been beaten by Nobody at their own game of chess long ago]]]. So, bereft of choice, he ran -- both in body and spirit -- until there was nothing left inside his brain but the will to outrun his opponent. Soon, however, he found that he had exhausted even that option. As the cold streets of Esterberg's Sewer District came to a sudden stop, an unexpected wall of cobblestone rose up before the Fae general's face. Even before he noticed the barrier blocked his only way out, his heartbeat doubled -- the multiplication then rose to a triple when the realization that he was trapped truly hit him. With panic in his eyes, he tried to scan the surrounding square, searching for any way out. He had no time, now, he knew that, he had to-- he had to run, he-- //FUCK// there was no-- //FUCK __FUCK__ __FUCK__//, he-- //BANG!// With a sickening, wet thud, his face met the stone wall at the speed of sound. Before he could even react, the skeletal hand doubled down, grabbing him by his long, red hair, and repeating the gesture. //BANG! BANG! BANG!// As he felt his teeth crack, bones break, and skin bleed, his vision became blurry. But not nearly blurry enough to not notice the skull of Nobody, emerging from the darkness of the Esterbergian night into the dimly lit aura of the lamp hanging loosely above the wounded Fae. The face grinned -- //how the __fuck__ could a skeleton even grin?// -- and the hunter's fingers let go. In an attempt to laugh nervously, Dar'ren let out a pathetic, wet little whimper. It barely came out as anything more than spat blood and tears. "Where is it?" Nobody whispered, quickly closing the gap between the faces of himself and his adversary. When after two seconds, no response came, he repeated, this time more firmly: "The Palace. Where. Is. It?" Roisin tried to laugh, again, much to a similarly failed fit of coughs. "WHERE IS IT?!" Nobody exploded, forcing another meeting between the Fae's head and the bloody cobblestone behind him. This time, he even managed to make his organism allow to let out a snicker. Knowing the deed was already done and that there was nothing that could prevent his end, he mentally shrugged, and waved with his index finger that Nobody should come closer. To his delight, that he did. "F-//Fugh//k you, cunt," he spat out when his head was close enough, putting up one final, final smile through the tears. "That's," he coughed again. "Thath's where it fhuckhin is." He was barely able to even pronounce those syllables well with the few teeth that he had left. Either way, he couldn't care less. Not about that, and not about what was about to come next Already anticipating the latter, he closed his eyes. The satisfaction plastered all over his face remained for a few more moments, fading only when Nobody's silver bolt punctured the surface of Dar'ren's otherwise pitch-perfect lips. [[div]] [[=]] @@ @@ [[image http://scpdsandbox.wdfiles.com/local--files/jaeger-part-1/logo.png]] @@ @@ [[/=]] [[/div]] @@ @@ [[div class="notation"]] [[=]] ++ 22/11/2021 ++ [[[esterberg-city-wikipedia\|Esterberg's Market District]]], Częstochowa, Poland [[/=]] [[/div]] @@ @@ Above all else, the [[[SCP-6500\|Impasse]]] was quiet. Ever since he was [[[the-lands-nobody-returns-from\|born among the roaring pits of endless war and misery at the bottom of the world]]], Nobody had always imagined that the end would be something grand, something special. It only felt appropriate, he thought, that something of such magnitude would come in and out with the scream of a dying sun, concluding the story of everything that existed to a finale truly worthy of what came before the epilogue. But the Impasse wasn't grand. Instead, it was something much, much worse: it was as quiet as the night. It was silent when it first came so many years ago, patiently creeping into the houses of anomalous societies worldwide. It was silent when it began to take its toll on everything magical, slowly but surely strangling the babies of wonder in their sleep. And it was silent when it echoed through the empty streets of Esterberg, grinning widely as it saw the graves of its peaceful slaughter. And throughout all of that, it remained nothing but hush. Nobody saw it in all of its terrifying glory, each step of the way there, each equally terrible phase of the gradual collapse of the anomalous ecosystem worse than the one that came before it. And tonight, he was here as a witness tonight, too. The once-busy Grand Market was nothing but a shadow of its former self, awkward debris and discarded pieces of paper tumbling down its worn pavement. Its roads were empty, now; not a single soul -- not Yeren, not Fae, and not even human -- treaded the area. There were no Insurgency newspaper boys screaming the crimes of the Foundation atop their lungs, hoping their very best to spark a revolution worldwide; there were no MC&D brokers, arguing loudly with people they openly stole life savings from; there were no Hand, Manna Charitable, or AWCY? folk, manifesting their need for freedom and justice with all the means possible and necessary; there were no Anderson products, advertising the genius of their father and the low low price you could get it at; and there were no GOC and City patrols, swinging their paraweapons in a futile attempt at striking fear. Worst of all, however, there were no people. No friends laughed, cheering to whatever unimportant achievement one of them just told them about; no enemies fought, threatening each other with fists over trivial nonsense so that everyone in the city could hear their problems; and no simple people walked towards whatever unspecified destinations they had in mind, trying to live their everyday life the best they could. For all intents and purposes, Esterberg was a grave, and among all of those living corpses hiding and rotting away in their homes, Nobody was its last remaining survivor. [[div]] [[=]] @@ @@ [[image http://scpdsandbox.wdfiles.com/local--files/jaeger-part-1/logo.png]] @@ @@ [[/=]] [[/div]] Once upon a time, Inventor's Ingredients was a thriving establishment. Providing not-exactly-legal things to not-exactly-lawful people, it supplied those that weren't really dangerous but weren't friends of the law either a discrete place to work their -- often times literal -- magic in. For those that weren't that shady, though, it also offered a good snack and place to sleep the night away at a price that didn't feel like robbery. The woman that ran it -- a fifty-something Fae named Cad'hla Gwyneth -- was just like her establishment: tough, but fair, and kind to those she cared about. Tonight, however, there was another similarity made them frighteningly alike: the fact that both of them were dying. Just as he had many times before, Nobody entered the nearly-empty tavern without knocking. The only person besides him and the place's one-man staff was some tired Yeren, drowning his sorrows away in a mug of Golden Ground Ale, his fur balding to reveal pink skin underneath. If Nobody still could, he would shiver -- both at the uncanny view of a furless Yeren and his depressing state. Instead, he put all of his weapons in their respective places, and headed toward the spiral stairs leading to the small, stone tower apartment located next to the Ingredients' roof. The room was more than enough for a regular person. For a bookworm, though, it was paradise; its many bookshelves scattered around two tables combined with a fireplace and a large sofa made for an extremely comfy library for the main archivist and historian of the Sidhe Lounge. Olivié Gwyneth wasn't the tallest woman, but what she lacked in height she made up with wits, and a genius collection of historical information others couldn't even begin to comprehend. Her body didn't need this much space to live in, but for her mind, such a library was the bare minimum required to survive. By tonight's standards, even its current population felt like a crowd. Laying atop her sofa was a pale imitation of her mother. For the many years he'd known them both, Cad'hla was nothing but a prime example of health, a spirit both too healthy and too stubborn to ever fall ill. Right now, though, she was a lanky ghost of her former self, laying like she was on her deathbed. Seeing her state, Nobody could almost believe that she was. Her once-ethereal, sprawling butterfly wings now felt like leather, awkwardly flapping to the sound of her irregular heartbeat. Her skin was rough, no longer looking like that beautiful faerie pale, now replaced with a sickening gray. And her eyes -- //her eyes//. They were much smaller than before, as if they were scared of something. Perhaps they even were -- it would be a natural reaction to the series of coughs and shivers which twisted her body almost every second. And above her, her daughter stood. Truth be told, Olivié wasn't much better than the one she was carefully giving water to, though Nobody guessed it was less the Impasse and more sacrificing sleep and health for the sake of her own mother. A soul like her could perhaps even avoid the now-worldwide death of wonder, but it could not avoid the consequences of sacrificing every moment of freedom to tend to and worry about someone she loved. And because of that, Nobody could see, she suffered -- both physically and spiritually. The two might've been associated with the GOC, but judging from the looks of it all, the Impasse-caused chaos within the Council of 108 definitely made that relationship only one-sided. When she felt him approach, she didn't do so much as flinch. Sighing, she wet a towel "So?" She asked, her tone worryingly quiet. "How went the hunt?" Nobody's expression remained just as indifferent as before. "Not well. He didn't want to tell anything. That, or he just didn't know. Can't tell." He paused. "Either way, he's dead now." She sighed once more. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry. I was sure it was gonna be the one, this time." "It's okay." For a moment that felt like an eternity, they stood there, alone, buried underneath the raindrops tapping away at the window overlooking the rest of the equally silent city. They didn't speak, but no words were necessary. Now, the only thing they could cause is harm. Eventually, though, the historian looked up towards the skeleton in a trenchcoat and wide hat that stood inside her parlor, and she slowly exhaled. "I..." she began, very carefully choosing her words; either that, or she was just too tired to craft together complex sentences at the speed of thought. Nobody wasn't really sure which one would concern him more. "I don't know what to do more. I'm sorry." She threw her hands in the air. "That was the final lead I had. The last general, captain, //whoever// that knew her in a way that wasn't just blind worship. If that one and the ones that came before it didn't have anything, then... I dunno. I don't have the books nor the time. I'm sorry. I really am." He remained silent. "It's a dead end, Nobody." She didn't really show it, but from the slight hesitation in the pronunciation of the name, it was very clear she was still uncomfortable using it. "My archives have run dry. And," with her head, she very gently pointed towards her slowly breathing mother. "I cannot find any more. Not now, at least. If there even are any more left out there." She looked outside the Esterbergian night, letting her sight wander towards the city's Parliament, where her beloved grand library and archive rested under dazzling lights and chandeliers. Though she didn't say a word, it was very clear its total darkness worried her. What should worry her even more, though -- at least in Nobody's eyes -- the total lack of the gigantic flame which sat atop a tower on Esterberg's horizon. There was a legend, she once told him, about the burning building at the edge of the city. Once the city's primary lighthouse, the flame inside burned long after it was abandoned, leading many to believe it to be the city's holy protector. It was said that for as long as that flame burned, for as long as it was alive, so long would the city thrive. It was just a silly legend and everyone knew that, but the citizens of the city still kept it and the flame up as a visible tradition that didn't really hurt anybody. It had once shown the brave sailors of Lake Arlande their way back home, and Nobody did not think it really cared all that much for some more, though now purely symbolic, work. Tonight, however, it was just as dark as the unnaturally faded sky around it. "Have you... tried reaching out to somebody else?" The Fae historian suddenly broke the silence. This time, she looked up to meet the cold gaze of Nobody's empty eye sockets. "My hands are tied. But the hands of others -- not necessarily." "Who?" He asked, no sign of emotion noticeable within the question. "Everyone I know is either an en--" "Foundation." It took him a moment to gather up a response. "No." "But--" "Categorically no." He tried his very best to sign the almost subtle shaking of his voice. He failed. "You know what they did. What they still do. No. They wouldn't help me." She didn't have enough energy left in her to sigh. "I just... I just thought if you could give them a chance, they could prove... useful, at the very least. I'm not saying they're good, obviously, but... they're desperate to get this under control, too." "They're desperate to get it under //their// control. That's not the same thing." She turned away. "I guess." But Nobody wasn't listening, not anymore. With the rattle of his bones and the shake of his coat following shortly behind, he headed for the stairs down, his hands in one of his jacket's many pockets. With a void of emotion inside of him, he took the first step forward. Before he fully committed to coming down, though, he stopped for a moment, and looked directly at Olivié. "Take care of her," he muttered out, his hand already going down the railing. She nodded appreciatingly, and then added: "And you, reconsider." He didn't reply. He was already somewhere else. [[div]] [[=]] @@ @@ [[image http://scpdsandbox.wdfiles.com/local--files/jaeger-part-1/logo.png]] @@ @@ [[/=]] [[/div]] @@ @@ [[div class="notation"]] [[=]] ++ 22/11/2021 ++ [[[esterberg-city-wikipedia\|Esterberg's Port District]]], Częstochowa, Poland [[/=]] [[/div]] @@ @@ That time of the year, the Polish spring already began slowly turning into quiet, gentle winter. And Nobody's breath -- he still had a breath, and no, he did not know //why//, but then again, he still did not know many things about himself -- reflected it very much, letting out a warm breeze every time his irreal lungs longed to take a breath. He didn't stop to consider that, though; instead, he simply continued his slow stroll through Estreberg's Port District, the area already succumbing to the ever-changing cycle of seasons in its own, strange way. As the field of what had once been used as warehouses ended to reveal the open harbor so titular to the whole place, Nobody stopped for a moment. Without giving it much thought, as if he was running on pure animalistic instinct, he turned left, locking eyes with the entry to one of the shacks. It was run down, just like the rest of them; unsimilarly to its cousins, though, this very specific warehouse wasn't just indifferent to him. [[[nobody-s-home\|This one was a bit special]]]. For a brief moment, scenes of obnoxiously loud anartists ran through his mind, coinciding with the memories of the [[[people-without-meaning\|battle with Mab fought beneath the whole complex]]] nearly two decades ago. In just seconds, the gray world suddenly gained color, coming alive with the memories of the beginning of his hunt. If he had emotions, he would even let himself spend a moment on that thought, but-- But what, exactly? Just as he was about to ignore the call of nostalgia and walk forward, a thought stroke him. For a terribly long millisecond, he fought that thought, not wanting to explore it, not willing to give in. But it was stronger -- so, //so// much stronger than his subconscious liked to pretend. And so, recognizing the honor in giving up, he forfeited to his embarrassingly human nature, and let himself consider the memory as fond for just a minute. Once, that warehouse meant something. Its awful state had then been its point, a sign to authorities that the entry to the secret world of anart was no such thing at all, hiding behind failed cargo manifest. Right now, though, it felt more like a sad wound rather than real glamour. His trained eyes could see it, noticing the differences between what he had remembered it as and what he was seeing before himself. It was abandoned, left behind by all of the good kids that once staffed it with their nonsensical creations and political statements. He let himself wonder what happened to them. Did the Critic take any of them on, or did they find fame along different paths? Did they ever make it out of their metaphorical artistic garages at all? Were they even still alive? He found no answer. But deep down, he wasn't sure if he even wanted one. He didn't know if he could stomach it. Taking a slow breath, he picked up his pace once more, doing whatever it took to get away from that awful, awful den of memories. After a few seconds, that will paid off. He found himself standing in the middle of the three-kilometer-long Plaza of Freedom. At this point unsurprisingly, the once hotspot for tourism was a graveyard in more sense than one, allowing the chilling wind to blow through it, uninterrupted by anything and anyone. In the distance, River Arlande leaked into the fake sea engulfing Esterberg's port and stretching towards infinity, ever so slowly pouring cold water into a basin that could once even call itself a harbor. Taking his time, he walked up towards its banks and sat down, letting his legs hang above the drop separating him from the water. No boats sat in the docks. Even MC&D's navy, the infamous [[[scp-pl-273\|Pepsi Fleet]]], had now fled back to the dark towers employed by its nefarious masters. There was nothing truly separating him from the full moon, so dimly hanging on the horizon before him. The white circle in the sky reflected itself in the cold waters below, illuminating the city with an aura of equally chilling light. The wind and air blowing through the empty port shared the same temperature quality. Even Nobody could notice that. With a heavy heart that wasn't there, he looked out into the grey infinity before him. Grateful that the fake sky hanging in the heavens above Esterberg wasn't broken, he noticed the magic that still ran its artificial weather patterns seemed to still function. As the first flake of snow this year fall down his exposed hand, he took off his hat, and put it beside him. There was a moment, a very short moment, during which he wanted to take out his knife and start polishing it, but he did not feel like it would be appropriate to steal any part of the reflected moon from the sea of faked tranquility. Fake sky and fake sea, he sadly scoffed, thinking about how truly ironic it was that out of all things still alive in the City of the East, that dead part of the environment still did not share the inevitable fate of its other citizens. He hated that sight, despite its indescribable beauty. Hated it, like nothing in the world. He struggled to know whether even the holy fury against the Mad Queen could combat that anger for... what, exactly? For allowing himself to fail them? For allowing others to fail them? Or just for his own inability to take action, to eat his own pride and go to the only people that still knew how to help? He knew what he had to do, he supposed. He didn't like it. Nobody sighed. "And how is that fair?" He silently asked, letting his quiet voice die against the forming blizzard. The darkness of the night found no answer. [[div]] [[=]] @@ @@ [[image http://scpdsandbox.wdfiles.com/local--files/jaeger-part-1/logo.png]] @@ @@ [[/=]] [[/div]] @@ @@ [[div class="notation"]] [[=]] ++ 23/11/2021 ++ [[[secure-facility-dossier-site-120\|Site-120]]], Częstochowa, Poland [[/=]] [[/div]] @@ @@ The aboveground building of Site-120 was so mundane that, for a moment, Nobody feared that in the wake of the Impasse the true structure hidden beneath it would prove equally normal. When he saw the states of the two people they sent to talk to him, he first sighed, and then immediately turned to fear his worries would be true. Both Daniel Asheworth and Jessie Rivera were looking like walking corpses. Their skin was faded, their hair was graying, and their arms were lanky. They weren't that far off from being thin on a standard day, but tonight, that slimness felt unnatural. It felt... It felt //sick//. Like something that was causing it was eating them from the inside. And their faces -- they weren't much different. Bags under eyes of fading color, the two didn't look anything like they had when he had last seen them. Deep down, it worried even Nobody; to see members of such a bastion of normalcy, such a bastion of strength and perseverance slowly fade away, it felt wrong. Deeply, deeply wrong. From the looks on their faces, it was clear that even the presence of a few security guards behind them wasn't enough to make them calm being here. He recognized the irony of sending the two people that had stopped him when he had still been human to talk to his resurrected self, of course. Instead of acting on it, though, he just closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, and came closer to the two unnaturally thin figures, not allowing himself not even a thought of a comment. It was his will to be here, and they were here on Nobody's terms, not theirs. Though forcefully, that did indeed bring just a little relief to him. Besides, there wasn't anything the mentally, spiritually, physically, and magically exhausted mage and reality bender could ever do to him, if things went south. They were as used up as the rest of the magical world -- the only difference was they could at least find shelter in their bunkers of stolen magic, allowing themselves for at least a moment of respite among the raging storm. Finally having reached an appropriate talking distance, Nobody stopped in his tracks. His heavy boots went rough against the gravel path leading to Site-120. The plants decorating the park which surrounded the facility did nothing to calm his equally rough nerves. The two others didn't come any closer, instead choosing to stand quietly in their jackets and hats against the relentless wind of what looked like an incoming snowstorm. Nobody returned the gesture, and remained equally silent and still. "I need information," he suddenly began, barely moving any part of his body to say this out loud. "Information you have. Information that could help both of us." Worryingly, Asheworth didn't find enough energy left inside him to sigh. Instead, he just corrected his now-graying hair back beneath his hat, and crossed his arms. "Give me specifics." He didn't mean it, but from the tone of his voice, it was very clear he wasn't comfortable at all talking to the entity that had once been Damien Nowak. For him, the skeleton in a hat and a trenchcoat was still the [[[and-every-time-we-meet-again-hub\|thaumaturge he had fought at the end of the world so many years ago]]]. Nobody didn't mirror the gesture. "Mab. Your whole dossier on her." Rivera just shook her head. She too did not consider Nobody the best conversation partner. "We cannot give you that, you know that. I... I'm not even sure I have the access--" "I am simply trying to help." "I know," she looked down. "And so are we. But..." Nobody's hat waddled against the raging wind, now fully displaying its might upon his clothing. "But what? You're trying, but not enough to actually give it an attempt? You're trying so that you can //appear// to not look complicit? Is that what you're trying to say?" "No," Asheworth interjected. "We sent out our men. We gave our own to your hunt, too. We're both desperate. We are both the victims here." He let his words die against the cold air. "...But?" "But doing what you're doing won't help anybody," Daniel tightened his lips. "You wobble about, unable to decide who you are and what you want to do, mumbling something about a holy hunt like it's ever achievable. Instead of sitting down and helping out those in need, in the wake of the final hour you continue your little chase like a cat unable to let go of a laser pointer." He sighed, and proceeded Nobody's next question by adding: "You haven't changed. You're still the old you, just in new clothing." From his stance, it was very clear he was starting to want to leave. "But--" "There is no but, //Nowak//," the mage spat out the words like a slur. He was getting angry, now; Nobody wasn't sure just how much of it was caused by the present, and how much by the past. "I'm doing my part. So is she, and so is everyone down at 120." He pointed at the gray building behind him with his head. "If you're willing to put down your crossbow and take care of people in need, then we can always use a few spare hands preparing beds and meals down at the cafeteria. I haven't slept well in days, spending them instead on shuffling shit and bread. But you can also continue your stupid little hunt. The choice is yours." Nobody tightened his knuckles. "I //am// trying to help. I //am// doing my job. Don't you think that this exact moment is the best time to strike M--" Asheworth scoffed. "How, exactly? By continuing to be the same insane maniac you've always been, always chasing something beyond he horizon? No. Fuck you. If you want to wear the title of hero, fucking earn it." Angrily, he pointed at the insides of the Site behind him. "Daniel..." Rivera looked at him, tightening her lips. "What?" He returned the gaze, just a drop of anger inside his eyes. "Am I wrong? Am I--" "We have the same goals. We both want to stop the Impasse. To slay the Queen," Nobody retorted, ignoring the insult. "I can help you. But I am out of options. And you -- you possess nothing but options." "Yes, you're right." Daniel furrowed his brows. "//We// possess nothing but options. Not you. Not your insane fucking hunt monster nonsense that brought you back from the dead and keeps you on your feet. //We// do. And we //do// use them. We //do// help. We //do// give shelter and medicine to the people, even when we're the ones affected, too. We take night shifts when we're supposed to be with our loved ones just to make sure the final spark of magic in our lifes doesn't die out. We take positions we aren't trained for and take the fucking responsibility we have to take to at least goddamn try to make a difference." He paused. "Do //you//?" Nobody waited a moment for the insult to him the hardest it could: "Do you intentionally try to bring this to be about me, so that you can ignore the obvious inability to act you yourself are suffering from? Are you that much of a slave of the past, Asheworth?" At a moment's notice, the thaumaturge turned away. He began to walk forward, back towards the Site, his face almost shaking with anger. Not wanting to be left behind, Rivera sighed, and followed him along. If he didn't know there was nothing they could have ever done to help him, Nobody would even mourn his supposedly lost chance. Before he truly departed, though, Asheworth turned back one more time. "I'm at least honest with myself." He paused. "Are you?" In a sea of confusion he called his soul, Nobody did not find an appropriate answer. [[div]] [[=]] @@ @@ [[image http://scpdsandbox.wdfiles.com/local--files/jaeger-part-1/logo.png]] @@ @@ [[/=]] [[/div]] @@ @@ [[div class="notation"]] [[=]] ++ 23/11/2021 ++ [[[esterberg-city-wikipedia\|Esterberg's Sewer District]]], Częstochowa, Poland [[/=]] [[/div]] @@ @@ No matter how much he liked to pretend otherwise, Nobody was no stranger to emotions. For years, he was tortured by guilt, anger, determination, the inability to move on, and many other things generally considered human. For most of that existence, though, he would at least try to suppress said feelings, in an attempt to dedicate no energy to anything that wasn't his holy hunt. But even then, there were times when he simply could not ignore that part of him that was still terribly human. And tonight the doors to his true soul were wide open. He could feel it as he walked down the streets of Esterberg once more, the movement bereft of any real purpose. In all of his pretended glory, he did not know where he was going or for what reason. He didn't even know if those questions had any answers in the first place. The only thing occupying his mind right now was anger, mixed with just a drop of sadness, exhaustion, and the weight of the hollow pit relentlessly occupying his stomach. As his heavy steps reached one street of the city after another, his mind slowly went numb. Truth be told, there was no reason in him, no conscious and logical chain of command ruling his train of thought. Instead, that unholy brewing soup of passion decided to rule supreme, declaring itself the sole ruler of Nobody's mind as he gave in to his human instincts once more. If his face was built to reflect his mental state well, right now it would be on the verge of tears. Why, he did not truly know. Maybe it was because he realized that Asheworth was right. Maybe it was because he realized that he himself was just wrong. And maybe -- but just maybe -- because in an attempt to figure it out, the part of him that was Damien Nowak clashed with the part of him that was the Hunter, and maybe they did what they always did: they were incapable of ever reaching a consensus. Either way, he knew one thing -- he needed time to cool off. And there was no better place to do so than the chilling, snow-ridden alleyways of an empty city. //Especially// when one was traversing them alone, acting purely on instinct instead of logic. Instead of doing what said logic would have wanted, though, said instinct did exactly what it has always done -- it carried Nobody to the only place he attended regularly, bringing his steps to repeat an almost religious pattern it knew better than anything else. It carried him to the only place in the entire world he could ever reasonably call 'home'. Truth be told, Nobody's lair was far away from anything anyone //should// ever call home. But something in Nobody almost liked calling that memetically-masqueraded stash of weapons, maps, and notes hidden behind some ran down buildings a place of rest. It wasn't like he had anything else closer to him anywhere else, anyways, So, he supposed, he might just as well give in to that tingling sensation behind his eyes and call it what it represented for him. It helped, when a particularly bad day hit him so bad he didn't want to do anything but give up. And tonight was indeed one of those days. Overwhelmed by everything, overwhelmed by the whole weight of the world around him, Nobody sat down, absentmindedly. The cold pavement below made itself felt to his irreal nerves even through his old trench coat, but he couldn't care less about it. He was far too gone to give any thought to such mundane, down-to-earth things. Instead, as he numbly looked into the sky above him, he only thought about one thing: he thought about just how much he wanted to cry. You never really consider the relief tears bring you until you lose your tear ducts. And Nobody had lost so much more than that. He lost everything, if he ever had anything to begin with. And right now, that infinitely heavy realization dawned on him, crushing his shoulders under its incomprehensible weight. And Nobody was no heavy lifter. So he did the only thing he ever could, really -- he let it crush his mind, his body, and his soul. He closed his eyes, ready to wave a white flag above his very being. When he opened them back up again, he was no longer sitting at the edge of Esterberg's real estate. Instead, the hooded battlemage he now was was standing inside a tent, buried kilometers underground. Within his veins, he could feel it just like he had felt it so many years ago -- there was no mistaking [[[scp-5672\|the self-thaumaturgic cave below Stargard]]] for anything else. The arcane particles practically thriving inside it made themselves more than known to his equally magic-tuned soul. He was himself once more, back in his prime, back in his Nowak years. He could feel the burn scar decorating half of his face and the ponytail tied behind it. As he felt the mass of his muscular hands weight down on the table before him, he suddenly blinked twice, snapping back into this new irreality. "--sir? Sir? Are you alright?" He blinked again, and realized that there was a figure standing in front of him. One of the young Yeren he trusted as his closest during his revolutionary years, he quickly made the connection. The figure was tall and strong, confidence practically leaking out of its furred posture. Not wanting to make the interaction seem any more awkward, --Nobody-- Nowak shot him a glance, making sure to play off his confusion as just a momentary lapse of thought. "Yes, I... I apologize. I let myself get carried away by thoughts," he quietly concluded. The young lieutenant cleared his throat, and pointed at one location on the large map of Poland that lay before them. Much to --Nobody's-- Nowak's surprise, the thing he was showing wasn't one of their five primary goals, the places they could unlock their [[[scp-5936\|Seals]]] in. Instead, it was a seemingly insignificant point of land in the Greater Poland Vovoidenship, pinpointed with a singular, red dot. "As I was saying," the Yeren continued. "the Palace stands open, in case we wanted to go through it before attempting our next Seal. My men made sure to break the antimemetic spells, but just for us -- the rest of the world should still see it in its full, hidden glory." //The Palace?// Nobody gulped, his focus going into overdrive, but he did not show it; instead, he let the Nowak inside him take the lead, and allowed him to play out the memory from a life long lost just as he had remembered it. "That's no concern of ours," the actor that now took the lead said, scratching his head. "Even now, she is mostly inactive and harmless. We will take care of it after we're done with our own Seals. We simply don't have the time or the need for that, now." His assistant nodded. "Besides, with the power we will be able to yield once we're done, taking care of the Queen will be a formality. Her hatred will have no power in the Heaven we seek to establish, captain." This time, Nowak was the one to nod. "So let's make sure we even have a way to take her out before we attempt it, shall we?" Before the Yeren could accept the orders and carry on, Nobody's whole soul started to hyperventilate. The memory, now bereft of an emotional anchor tying it down to Nobody's senses, began its journey down deterioration. First, the finer details failed; then, as the corruption spread, so did the general shape of everything. Everything except that red dot, piercing the heart of Europe in an almost mocking manner, pointing Nobody to the single most important place he could ever wish to find. The lair of the beast. As the answer to a question unasked seeped into his soul, Nobody violently opened his eyes. With a short breath, he put his bony hand towards his equally bare face. It came almost as a shock for him to realize it wasn't that of the cult leader, instead now replaced by the Hunter. With all his will, Nobody's brain went into full reason mode, attempting to calm his universal hyperventilation. And, after a while, it even succeeded. Now, he could feel the world around him again. Its cold, unforgiving breeze. Its dark, looming night. And the Mad Queen living beyond it, laughing at his attempts to take her down. He tightened his metaphorical lips, then did the same with his knuckles, and stood up. Nobody looked into the sky, seeing the Starlight that mocked him. This time, though, he did not react with anger. No. This time, he returned the sneering gesture, and took the first step forward, loading his holy crossbow with the strongest bolt he could find. He knew its hiding place, its lair of nothing but evil. He had her practically open before him. There was nothing separating Nobody from its pray, after so many, many years. He knew exactly what he needed to do to end her, too. [[div]] [[=]] @@ @@ [[image http://scpdsandbox.wdfiles.com/local--files/jaeger-part-1/logo.png]] @@ @@ [[/=]] [[/div]] With a silent buzz, the portal buzzed to life before him, carving its round shape from nothing but the fabric of reality itself. He wasn't sure if it was going to work, but he had enough trust in this specific wizard to hope their words that they could do it despite the Impasse were true. Without asking any questions, he nodded in appreciation at the hatted figure standing in the corner, and took a deep breath. On the other side, he could feel revenge. He could feel closure, finally bringing him to a conclusion of his story. After almost twenty years, he would be done. All he needed to do is take a step forward, and write the finale to his own story, to his own hunt. Were he to stay, though, he felt something much different. He felt love. He felt connection to those he pretended not to care about, and the ability to aid them at their lowest point. After so, so long, he would finally have a place in this twisted world, slowly helping reality come back from the consequences of Mab. All he needed to do is stay, and close the book of Nobody before it replaced the Nowak who wrote it. For a while, he stood there, silent, unable to make a decision, unable to choose between two things he both desperately wanted. But when he looked into that floating green wormhole once more, he already knew what needed to be done. With a shockingly human foot, he took the first step forward, and disappeared into thin air. [[/==]] @@ @@ ----- [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:earthworm">:scp-wiki:component:earthworm</a> \| first=flase \| last=false \| hub=yes \| previous-url=/human \| previous-title=Human \| next-url=/jaeger-part-2 \| next-title=Jäger, Part 2 \| hub-url=/gaslight-gatekeep-girlboss-hub \| hub-title=GASLIGHT, GATEKEEP, GIRLBOSS ]] ----- [[=]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a> \|author=Ralliston and Trotskyeet]] ===== > Filename: logo.png > Author:** [[user EstrellaYoshte]], edited by [[user HarryBlank]], then edited //again// by [[user Jasiu06]] > License:* CC BY-SA 3.0 > Source Link: [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/jaeger-part-1 SCP Foundation Wiki] > Filename: nobody.jpg > Name: Skelet met pijl en boog, Hendrick Hondius, after Teodoro Filippo di Liagno, 1626 > Author: Hendrick Hondius > License: Public Domain > Source Link: [https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/RP-P-1996-326 Rijksmuseum] ===== [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]] [[/=]]	2023-01-09T17:24:00	[ "_cc", "_licensebox", "chase", "children-of-the-night", "co-authored", "damien-nowak", "doctor-asheworth", "doctor-rivera", "esterberg", "fantasy", "from-120s-archives", "homo-sapiens-sidhe", "man-who-wasnt-there", "mystery", "no-return", "nobody", "olivie-gwyneth", "queen-mab", "tale" ]	Jäger, Part 1 - SCP Foundation	28	[ "canon-hub", "from-120-s-archives-hub", "the-man-who-wasnt-there-hub", "no-return-hub", "gaslight-gatekeep-girlboss-hub", "ralliston-s-authorpage", "trotskyeet-author", "gaslight-gatekeep-girlboss-hub", "esterberg-city-wikipedia", "ralliston-s-proposal", "human", "scp-6500", "the-lands-nobody-returns-from", "nobody-s-home", "people-without-meaning", "scp-pl-273", "secure-facility-dossier-site-120", "and-every-time-we-meet-again-hub", "scp-5672", "scp-5936", "jaeger-part-2", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "the-man-who-wasnt-there-hub", "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "no-return-hub", "nobody-hub", "gaslight-gatekeep-girlboss-hub", "from-120-s-archives-hub" ]	[]	1445431424	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/jaeger-part-1
jaeger-part-2	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div style="display: none"> <div style="text-align: left;"> <div class="code"> <div class="hl-main"> <pre><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Foxtrot</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Sigma-9</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Theme</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">2022</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">Wikidot</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">Theme</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">By</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Liryn</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">FONTS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Montserrat</span><span class="hl-special">:ital</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">wght</span><span class="hl-var">@0</span><span class="hl-code">,800;1,800&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Lexend</span><span class="hl-special">:wght</span><span class="hl-var">@700</span><span class="hl-code">;800&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">JetBrains</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Mono</span><span class="hl-special">:ital</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">wght</span><span class="hl-var">@0</span><span class="hl-code">,400;0,700;1,400;1,700&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Fira</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Code</span><span class="hl-special">:wght</span><span class="hl-var">@400</span><span class="hl-code">;700&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Sofia</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Sans</span><span class="hl-special">:ital</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">wght</span><span class="hl-var">@0</span><span class="hl-code">,400;0,700;1,400;1,700&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">rsms.me</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">inter</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">inter.css</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Figtree</span><span class="hl-special">:wght</span><span class="hl-var">@800</span><span class="hl-code">;900&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">IBM</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Plex</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Sans</span><span class="hl-special">:ital</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">wght</span><span class="hl-var">@0</span><span class="hl-code">,400;0,500;0,600;0,700;1,400;1,500;1,600;1,700&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-special">:root</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Core</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ --</span><span class="hl-reserved">header-title:</span><span class="hl-code"> "SCP Foundation"</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">header-subtitle:</span><span class="hl-code"> "SECURE, CONTAIN, PROTECT"</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">logo-img:</span><span class="hl-code"> url(https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/theme:foxtrot/fxtrt-scp_logo_lightmode.svg)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">darkmode-logo-img:</span><span class="hl-code"> url(https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/theme:foxtrot/fxtrt-scp_logo_darkmode.svg)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">logo-opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">14</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">head-font:</span><span class="hl-code"> 'Sans Normalcy'</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">ui-font:</span><span class="hl-code"> 'IBM Plex Sans'</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">mono-font:</span><span class="hl-code"> 'JetBrains Mono', 'Fira </span><span class="hl-string">Code</span><span class="hl-code">', </span><span class="hl-string">monospace</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">page-font:</span><span class="hl-code"> 'Inter', 'verdana'</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">base-font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.9</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">page-font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Misc</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ --</span><span class="hl-reserved">header-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">subheader-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">misc-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#464646</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">link-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#E6283C</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">link-hover-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">white</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Color</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Accents</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ --</span><span class="hl-reserved">accent:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--acc-default)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-default:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">59</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">59</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">59</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-wyoming:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">142</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">18</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-canada:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--acc-default)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-poland:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">87</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">44</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">17</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-slothspit:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">27</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">60</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">133</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-vanguard:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">153</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">75</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-threshold:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">121</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">113</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">130</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-overwatch:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">28</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">37</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">56</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-spc:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">165</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">200</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-fishing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">67</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">111</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">145</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-nightfall:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">151</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-hybrasil:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">27</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">60</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">133</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-goc:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">39</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">84</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">149</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-spooky:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">252</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">112</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">40</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">BetterFootnotes</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ --</span><span class="hl-reserved">fnColor:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">fnLinger:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> --</span><span class="hl-reserved">barColour:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">linkColour:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#EDEDED</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">html</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">scroll-behavior:</span><span class="hl-code"> smooth</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow-x:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">hidden</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">body</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--base-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">51</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">51</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">51</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> linear-gradient(to </span><span class="hl-string">bottom</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-var">#e0e0e0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">200</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-rendering:</span><span class="hl-code"> optimizeLegibility</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow-wrap:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">break-word</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#container-wrap</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#content-wrap</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font), var(--ui-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">440</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">strong</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">700</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tt</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-source</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">pre</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-textarea</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--mono-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ol</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">p</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-underline-offset:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">40</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> :</span><span class="hl-special">:selection</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Clicky</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">links</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.newpage</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:visited</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:visited</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.newpage</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:visited:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:visited:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-hover-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">patch</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">for</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">sidebar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">media</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">collapsibles</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">ACS</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">and</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ayers</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">module</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">so</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">link</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">doesn</span><span class="hl-code">'</span><span class="hl-identifier">t</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">override</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-folded</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-unfolded-link</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fa-info</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block.media</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.danger-diamond</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-folded</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--linkColour) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">160</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--header-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">letter-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">900</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> fit-content</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--header-title)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--header-subtitle)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">700</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--misc-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">26</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.35</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">uppercase</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#extra-div-1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">160</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">7</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">absolute</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--logo-img) </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">30</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">no-repeat</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">130</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-repeat:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">no-repeat</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">50</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">50</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">z-index:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--logo-opacity)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Search</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-var">text</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-input</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-input</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-input</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-var">submit</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-var">submit</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-var">submit</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#efefef</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--page-font-size) - </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.empty</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#999999</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">absolute</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">47</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">15</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">15</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">white</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li.sfhover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.83</span><span class="hl-code">) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">230</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-indent:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">justify-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.mobile-top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Login</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#login-status</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">19</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#login-status</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#login-status</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 767</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.printuser</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.printuser</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.printuser</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">img.small</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">18</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">18</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 767</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.printuser</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">img.small</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> translate(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#my-account</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 767</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#account-topbutton</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Side</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.open-menu</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">white</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (min-width: 768</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.6</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.6</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">18.75</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">s ease-in-out</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">rtl</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block.resources</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block.media</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#interwiki</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">ltr</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block.resources</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.heading</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--misc-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#cfcfcf</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9</span><span class="hl-string">pt</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">uppercase</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Blockquotes</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">Custom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Divs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.15</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#f7f7f7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">dashed</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#f7f7f7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.35</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.35</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#f7f7f7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.15</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fbfbfb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.quote</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bbb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">500</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bbb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.note</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#afafaf</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.round</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Headings</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">Titles</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-title</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.meta-title</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#3b3b3b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> fit-content</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-title</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.meta-title</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#breadcrumbs</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.pseudocrumbs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#3b3b3b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.footnotes-footer</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.title</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#3b3b3b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Rate</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Module</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.creditRate</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bbb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fa-info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fa-info</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bbb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-points</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rateup</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.ratedown</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rateup</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.ratedown</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rateup</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.ratedown</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inline-block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Rate</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Module</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Author</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Label</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.authorlink-wrapper</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> --</span><span class="hl-reserved">author-top-adjust:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">author-bottom-adjust:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">author-right-adjust:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--base-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Side</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anchor</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> sticky</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.14</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc((</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vw - </span><span class="hl-number">870</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">)/</span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vh - </span><span class="hl-number">18</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">absolute</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">103.5</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">z-index:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 1290</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">visibility:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">hidden</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Image</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#f4f4f4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#3b3b3b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">img</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.imagediv</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">right</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">15</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 540</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.imagediv</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">only</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">screen</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">and</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 600</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block.block-right</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tables</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Base</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">td</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">12</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bfbfbf</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">td</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.35</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tables</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Customization</span><span class="hl-code"> (</span><span class="hl-identifier">Table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Coloring</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">System</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tables</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Customization</span><span class="hl-code"> (</span><span class="hl-identifier">Table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Coloring</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">System</span><span class="hl-code">) > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Headings</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">Image</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Captions</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#E0FFD4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#D8ECF4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FDF6D7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFDFCD</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFCFCF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">146</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.tableb</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.wiki-content-table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-collapse:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">separate</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tables</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Customization</span><span class="hl-code"> (</span><span class="hl-identifier">Table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Coloring</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">System</span><span class="hl-code">) > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Other</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Colored</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Divs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">224</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">212</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">226</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">244</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">245</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">189</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">223</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">205</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">207</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">207</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">218</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tabs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Base</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tabs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Customization</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-wrap:</span><span class="hl-code"> wrap</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code"> - </span><span class="hl-number">.125</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Link</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Modifier</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tab</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Background</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Colour</span><span class="hl-code"> \| [</span><span class="hl-identifier">UNSELECTED</span><span class="hl-code">] ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#efefef</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tab</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Background</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Colour</span><span class="hl-code"> \| [</span><span class="hl-identifier">HOVER</span><span class="hl-code">] ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code">, /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Listitem</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Modifier</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">relative</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-grow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-bottom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">align-items:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">justify-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.35</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.75</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-overflow:</span><span class="hl-code"> ellipsis</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">hidden</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">white-space:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">nowrap</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code">, /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Selection</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Modifier</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-grow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tab</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Background</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Colour</span><span class="hl-code"> \| [</span><span class="hl-identifier">SELECTED</span><span class="hl-code">] ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:active</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-content</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">WORDS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">NO</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">BROKEY</span><span class="hl-code">. </span><span class="hl-identifier">CROQ</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">HAS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">SPOKEY</span><span class="hl-code">. </span><span class="hl-identifier">and</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">other</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">things</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">word-break:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">normal</span><span class="hl-code"> !important </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.avatar-hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Dustjacket</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Assets</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fancyhr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">hr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">vw </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--bright-accent), </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-source:</span><span class="hl-code"> url('https://wanderers-library.wikidot.com/local--files/component:dustjacket-theme/wl_hr.png')</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-repeat:</span><span class="hl-code"> round round</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-slice:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">500</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">500</span><span class="hl-code"> fill</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fancyborder</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">vw </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> url('https://wanderers-library.wikidot.com/local--files/component:dustjacket-theme/wl_border.png') </span><span class="hl-number">600</span><span class="hl-code"> round</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">vw</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Collapsibles</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">underline</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-special">:not</span><span class="hl-code">(</span><span class="hl-identifier">.licensebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.default-col</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">white</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">7</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--base-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inline-block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-special">:not</span><span class="hl-code">(</span><span class="hl-identifier">.licensebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.default-col</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--accent), </span><span class="hl-number">0.7</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">ACS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Adjustments</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.top-left-box</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">.item</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anom-bar-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anom-bar-container</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anom-bar-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), Inter, </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.acs-extra-1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.acs-extra-2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.acs-extra-3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.acs-extra-4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), Inter, </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anom-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">.top-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Woed</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Adjustments</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.item1</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">uppercase</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">letter-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.class1</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.9</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">letter-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> --</span><span class="hl-reserved">woedbar-class-bar-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.obj</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.7</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.obj</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.55</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MISC</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">hr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.bt</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#footer</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#444</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">45</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#footer</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#7b7b7b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.footer-wikiwalk-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">700</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">88</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">word-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-info-break</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-options-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">213</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">213</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">213</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-watch-options</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.6</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">77</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-options-bottom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> row</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-wrap:</span><span class="hl-code"> wrap</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">align-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">justify-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-options-bottom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">13</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">13</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom-left-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom-right-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-options-bottom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--accent), </span><span class="hl-number">0.8</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-info-break</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#license-area</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#5f5f5f</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ecf2f1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#d9d9d9</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#license-area</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> "."</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (min-width: 768</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">16</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> "tags "</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--misc-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inline-block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.8125</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.75</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.1875</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.3125</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.1875</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom-right-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top-right-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">13</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.8125</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--page-font-size) - </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">.1875</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">.625</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.0625</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.1875</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent)) </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-style:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> ""</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">relative</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.2813</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.125</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-tags-input</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">word-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.text</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">150</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-form</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">table.form</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">tbody</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">td</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(1) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.edit-help-34</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">85</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">60</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> fit-content</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.edit-help-34</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.edit-help-34</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">table.edit-page-bottomtable</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-comments</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">86</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#lock-info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.8</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">86</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#lock-info</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> "!"</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">12</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">110</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">60</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#lock-timer</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">115</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#lock-timer</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> "⏲ "</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">textarea</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.text</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">outline:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ccc</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-property:</span><span class="hl-code"> box-shadow</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">textarea</span><span class="hl-special">:focus-visible</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.text</span><span class="hl-special">:focus-visible</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#a3a3a3</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#a3a3a3</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#action-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">p</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">85</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> darkslategrey</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#action-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">p</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(5)></span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">120</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#who-rated-page-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">column-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 900</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#who-rated-page-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">column-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 700</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#who-rated-page-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">column-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 540</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#who-rated-page-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">column-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.content-warning.creditRate</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">21</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.preview-message</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.9</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">29</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">z-index:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">filter:</span><span class="hl-code"> drop-shadow(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#EDEDED</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.error-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">48</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#B00</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top-left-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top-right-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">table.page-history</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tbody</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(2</span><span class="hl-identifier">n</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--accent), </span><span class="hl-number">0.05</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">animation:</span><span class="hl-code"> fade </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@keyframes</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">fade</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> 0% </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> 100% </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.button-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">11</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.button-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-hover-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.button-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.title</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">cursor:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">default</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">155</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">187</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">187</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">187</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#F7F7F7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow.owait</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow.owait</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.content</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> " "</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">0.9</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">animation:</span><span class="hl-code"> loading </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-code">s linear infinite</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> grey</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> grey</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">50</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@keyframes</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">loading</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> 0% </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> rotate(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">deg)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> 100% </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> rotate(</span><span class="hl-number">360</span><span class="hl-code">deg)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow.osuccess</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.content</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(2)></span><span class="hl-identifier">img</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(1) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.odialog-shader</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#262a39</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.btn</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.15</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.btn</span><span class="hl-special">:not</span><span class="hl-code">(</span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.btn</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-quotes">"</span><span class="hl-string">submit</span><span class="hl-quotes">"</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code">), </span><span class="hl-identifier">.btn.btn-primary</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.buttons</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.button</span><span class="hl-special">:not</span><span class="hl-code">(</span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-quotes">"</span><span class="hl-string">submit</span><span class="hl-quotes">"</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">11</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">cursor:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">pointer</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-cancel-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-diff-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-preview-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-draft-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-continue-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ccc</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">cursor:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">pointer</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">14</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-cancel-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-diff-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-preview-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-draft-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-continue-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#eaeaea</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-continue-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#dbffd6</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#005a0a</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-continue-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#0d951c</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-cancel-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffe1e1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#c52727</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-cancel-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#c5272e</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">table.page-history</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tbody</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#757575</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fncon</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font-size) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fncon</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font-size) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.hovertip</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">400</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.checkbox</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-history</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#h-perpage</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">cursor:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">pointer</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">textarea</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#breadcrumbs</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.pseudocrumbs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">110</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">REDUCED</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MOTION</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ACCESSIBILITY</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (prefers-reduced-motion: </span><span class="hl-identifier">reduce</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">before</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">animation-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.001</span><span class="hl-code">s !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">animation-iteration-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.001</span><span class="hl-code">s !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@MEDIA</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 850</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">h2:</span><span class="hl-code">:before { font-size: </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> } </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 700</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">h2:</span><span class="hl-code">:before { font-size: </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8.8</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> } </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 620</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">h2:</span><span class="hl-code">:before { font-size: </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.15</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">123</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> } </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 520</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">h2:</span><span class="hl-code">:before { line-height: </span><span class="hl-number">16</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">145</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> }</span></pre></div> </div> </div> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div class="pseudocrumbs"> <p><a href="/canon-hub">Canon Hub</a> » <a href="/from-120-s-archives-hub">From 120's Archives Hub</a> / <a href="/the-man-who-wasnt-there-hub">The Man Who Wasn't There Hub</a> / <a href="/no-return-hub">No Return Hub</a> » <a href="/gaslight-gatekeep-girlboss-hub">GASLIGHT, GATEKEEP, GIRLBOSS Hub</a> » Jäger, Part 2</p> </div> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <ul class="creditRate"> <li class="rateBox folded"> <div class="rate-box-with-credit-button"> <div class="creditButton foldable-list-container"> <p><a href="javascript:;"></a></p> </div> </div> <div id="u-credit-view"> <div class="fader foldable-list-container"><a href="javascript:;">close</a></div> <div class="modalcontainer"> <div class="modalbox"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2><span>Info</span></h2> </div> <hr/> <div class="close-credits foldable-list-container"><a href="javascript:;">X</a></div> <div class="credit first"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p>Co-written by <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/ralliston" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5986843); return false;"><img alt="Ralliston" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=5986843&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043794" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=5986843)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/ralliston" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5986843); return false;">Ralliston</a></span> and <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/trotskyeet" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5988976); return false;"><img alt="Trotskyeet" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=5988976&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043794" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=5988976)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/trotskyeet" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5988976); return false;">Trotskyeet</a></span></p> <p><strong><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/ralliston-s-authorpage">Ralliston's Authorpage</a></strong></p> <p><strong><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/trotskyeet-author">Trotskyeet's Authorpage</a></strong></p> <p>The following article is a part of the <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/gaslight-gatekeep-girlboss-hub">GASLIGHT, GATEKEEP, GIRLBOSS</a> storyline. Whilst you can read it on its own, it's highly recommended you read the previous installments to get this article in its fullest.</p> </div> </div> <hr/> </div> </div> </div> </li> </ul> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="blockquote" style="width: intrinsic; width: -moz-max-content; width: -webkit-max-content; text-align:center; margin: 10px auto;"> <p><strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cm4Ev0y83Q0" target="_blank">Recommended reading music</a></strong></p> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h1 id="toc0"><span>Jäger, Part 2</span></h1> </div> <hr/> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="darkbox"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2 id="toc1"><span>23/11/2021</span></h2> <h2 id="toc2"><span><span style="color: #ffd700">Undisclosed Location</span>, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland</span></h2> </div> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>Calling the Palace grounds empty would be a vast understatement.</p> <p>As the whirling portal bridging <a href="/esterberg-city-wikipedia">Esterberg</a> to the ruins before him closed, he took the first step forward. He was pretty sure that by whatever ancient law that still reigned here, him setting foot in these ruins was considered beyond sacrilege. But he continued all the same, setting his heavy boots against the millennia-old pavement unraveling itself below him. For what little it was worth, the silent pathway didn't really seem to care.</p> <p>The road was long, stretching far into the horizon, its meandering way strangling the hill upon which the palace stood like a concrete snake. A sea of thick mist shrouded the land as far as the eye could see, laying a blanket of silent dawn upon the complex. Nobody thought, for just a moment, that the whole place looked as if its spires fractured the sky and let their Palace be consumed by the clouds previously hanging on the firmament, now brought down to earth to swallow Mab whole. The clean, silver towers looming over the horizon seemed to very much support this, their near-immaculate form practically shouting the word 'hubris' as they challenged the gray sky above with their height.</p> <p>The sky itself, too, didn't feel too normal.</p> <p>Remnants of antimemetic glamour silently floated in the distance, incorporeal spirals and fractals endlessly twisting in the sky. Had they been intact, not even the Foundation with their Hughes and Wheelers could penetrate it, its nature made sure it was impossible for any human that dared to ever think about the Queen to even conceive of this place, hiding it for so many years as Mab's final shield against the incoming darkness. So it stood there, untouched, untainted, unmoved, for so long that its mere existence could now be classified as a long-forgotten myth.</p> <p>But Nobody fell just right outside the 'human' requirement, so for the first time in eons, the sky stood strange, finally devoid of its invisible bulwark, revealing the insides of its protected Palace for the first time in a quarter of a million years. Strands of white and grey and green and blue streaked through it, the final memories of Mab's ancient spell. Even now, they seemed to spark angrily, perhaps aware of the presence of an intruder in this sacred realm.</p> <p>Nobody carried on regardless.</p> <p>His pilgrimage forward felt like it took untold ages, the monotone path reaching further and further into the irreal complex before him. It was as if he was walking through some twisted monument, frozen in time, a snapshot of the precise moment the <a href="/a-faerie-tale-of-twin-queens">Mad Queen had pierced her sister with the Irrilite Tuner</a> at the height of her own fall. He passed an endless stream of beautiful spires, lofty gates, and imposing walls, a combination of irrilite and marble making up every one.</p> <p>In another life, perhaps, Nobody would ever stay and observe, realizing his position as the first-in-millennia witness to the beyond-beautiful lost techniques of the architecture of the ancient Fae. But, just like the Palace's previous guests during the First Diaspora, he didn't really care much for its beauty. The Queen that sat deep within its ruins would agree with him that, for what it was worth, his hunt was the only thing that truly mattered now.</p> <p>As he carried on, eventually, a lifetime passed; then another; then another. But that skeleton in a trenchcoat continued to bore his crossbow, incapable of letting go, incapable of seeing anything but the carrot at the end of his own stick. He just tightened his grip, bringing his weapon ever so closer, and fastened his pace, treading through one acre of this sacred land after another.</p> <p>And in time, those lifetimes paid off.</p> <p>As Nobody emerged from another incomprehensibly large corridor, he was greeted by something unexpected; something strange, almost. Instead of another doorway or balcony, he came to see an open space, extending as far as the horizon. Though it was obvious that the <a href="/scp-6500">Impasse</a> was already taking its toll, the silver grass that riddled the courtyard was breathtaking nonetheless. Flora of the bygone eras decorated the garden, barely held up in some twisted time capsule by the magic of the dying Queen.</p> <p>Among those surreal roots and bushes and flowers and trees never seen by any creature still alive, ruins lay. The tower which stood tall at the end of the courtyard was damaged, that much was obvious — from the shards of its structure that had fallen and pierced the ground below to the gaping holes in its walls, the spire looked like a long-bled-out corpse. The signs of struggle and battles fought here during the final hours of the Fae Empire were still visible, the brown blood of the Yeren rebels mixed in with the red viscera of the human slaves and the blue ichor of the Fae royalists tainting the chunks of the clean and ruined white stones. Here and there, Nobody could even spot arcane weapons and thaumic residue, frozen in battle against the oppression of Mab.</p> <p>Briefly, he closed his eyes. He took a deep breath.</p> <p><em>I will conclude their fight tonight</em>, he thought. <em>I will finally give them rest.</em></p> <p>When he opened them back again, he could almost convince himself that it was true.</p> <p>With his focus now set on reality, he immediately noticed something infinitely more interesting than his own fear. Before the gates of the tower leading into the darkness of the Palace's throne room, there was a figure. A tall Yeren sat crooked over some old stone, a long staff propping up his decaying, ancient body. His sight was tired — tired like Nobody had never seen — and its whites were focused on just one thing: the once-man in front of him.</p> <p>Having no other choice, Nobody met his challenge.</p> <p>It took just a few steps to close the distance between the two. When the skeleton approached, the old man didn't stand up; instead, he looked to the gates of the Palace. They were still open, still in the state they were left in ages ago when a furious mob stormed Mab's final hideout in an attempt to bring her down. And that much was obvious — if not from their remains he had previously seen or the instinct of the Hunt deep within him, he would be able to deduce the presence of the Queen from the way the darkness moved inside. It was wrong, its strange stillness almost breathing, almost alive, almost challenging the two figures standing before it with an untold mockery. Nobody blinked twice, and as he heard a silent whisper in a language he did not comprehend, the feeling went away.</p> <p>Slowly, the crooked old man turned to Nobody, a faint but sad smile visible upon his dried-up lips.</p> <p>"Hello, Hunter," he said, his tone quiet, almost breaking upon the wind which now rushed through the whole courtyard. "I have been expecting your arrival."</p> <p>Nobody didn't meet his gaze. "Can't say the same about you."</p> <p>"I would be surprised if you could." The graybeard chuckled, exhaustion seeping from his every gesture. "Besides, that doesn't matter, now. What <em>does</em> indeed matter is the fact that you are finally here." He sighed, waves of relief going down his face.</p> <p>Nobody raised a metaphorical eyebrow. "You've predicted my arrival. Are you an oracle?"</p> <p>"Hah!" A slow smile entered his face. "I have simply lived too long, son. The world is full of stories, many of them the same. It is simply a matter of recognizing the pattern. You were an inevitability."</p> <p>"Stories?" This time, he crossed his arms.</p> <p>He looked somewhere beyond the horizon, as if he was able to see something that Nobody couldn't. "You'd be surprised at what the folk from beyond the <a href="/scp-6172">Compass</a> have to tell. And I've heard enough of them to piece together what you — and, by extension, the Queen — truly are."</p> <p>The skeleton grunted, the expression carrying neither approval nor dissatisfaction. Perhaps it carried both. Neither of the present were really sure, so instead of inquiring further, they just turned their gazes towards the gaping black gates of the Palace before them.</p> <p>"Who are you, anyway?" Nobody broke the silence, still staring into the void.</p> <p>"Me?" The Yeren scoffed. "My name lost meaning long ago. It would tell you nothing."</p> <p>"So you too heard the call of the Hunt, did you not?"</p> <p>"Oh, nothing of the like," he waved a hand dismissively. "No, the Queen had nothing to do with it. Not directly, at least. Names are powerful things, my son. Even if you recognized mine, it wouldn't truly depict who I am. <a href="/scp-7600">My brother made sure of that a long time ago</a>."</p> <p>A brief pause fell over the pair. The old man continued: "I suppose you'd want to know what I'm doing here, too."</p> <p>Nobody nodded.</p> <p>The other took a deep sigh. "I heard a horrible rumor this world was dying. I could not believe it, for even to imagine that the Queen had won was beyond my comprehension. I thought that your kind," he emphasized the second-to-last word with a strange change of tone. "had taken care of that. I owed at least this much to my people, to come back home and try to help. I knew it when the Lantern they lit up so long ago shone brightly once more."</p> <p>"I was an old fool, thinking I'd end up anywhere else but here. To see nobody on the watchout felt strange, after so many generations of wardens protecting the world from what lurks in those marble halls." Nobody wasn't really sure what most of this truly meant, but allowed the Yeren to continue regardless. Before the old man did that, though, he shrugged. "So here I am, now, waiting for the Hunt's spawn to continue their duty, fulfilling it to my best before they could arrive. I could do at least this much, after everything I <em>didn't</em> do."</p> <p>"You keep talking about… about the royal me, so to speak, about 'my kind'," Nobody retorted. "What… What do you mean, exactly?"</p> <p>"Ah. I see. So you do not know yet." He pointed toward the corridor in front of them both. "You should come in, then. <em>She</em> will explain it better than I ever could."</p> <p>Nobody walked up to the threshold, the space between the fading realm and the unknown inside. One final time, he turned to the old one.</p> <p>"You say you know the patterns of stories, how the Queen and I fit together. How does this one end?"</p> <p>The Yeren smiled, just a brief spark of amusement flying across his face. "How boring stories would be, if all the players knew of their fate."</p> <p>Nobody didn't attempt to lengthen their conversation. He knew that, for what it was worth, this particular source of information was a dead end, at least for now. It wasn't like most of his words even made sense, for that matter. The only true source of answers lay before him, hidden somewhere inside those dark, dark crypts. He supposed it felt fitting that no matter what he truly wanted to do, every path he could take would just lead him back here.</p> <p>So, left without any other real choice, Nobody took the initiative and stepped through, entering the incomprehensible shadow beyond creation without as much as a second thought.</p> <p>Whoever had built those corridors so long ago made more than sure their architecture wasn't Euclidean.</p> <p>Not to say the design was labyrinthian, no — it was a relatively straightforward structure, all things considered, but there was simply no way, Nobody thought, that the hallway he was traversing could ever last for so long. Not here, and not anywhere else on the planet. Not unless magic was somehow involved in its construction, of course.</p> <p>The ceaseless darkness carried on and on, stretching far into infinity. With it, though, a certain sense of comfortable familiarity crept along Nobody's back. Calling it déjà vu wasn't the best way to put it — it wasn't just like he himself had been here before. It felt like some part of him, some arcane particle of himself beyond comprehension frequented these halls epoch after epoch, bringing so many different memory sets to form a whole mental map of the road that lead directly to Mab's throneroom, forming them from frantic final attempts at preparations before meeting their terminus at the end of the corridor.</p> <p>Involuntarily, Nobody swallowed.</p> <p>Suddenly, a horrible cloud of darkness fell over his mind, no, his <em>soul</em>. Like an object too big to comprehend blocking the stars so too did it sever his connection to reality, only allowing his feet to continue their journey forward in an almost automatic manner. For a terrible second, he felt genuinely scared, thinking it was the Queen's doing. But when the first flash of nonexistent memories exploded before his eyes, he knew it was something much, much worse.</p> <p>It was the truth.</p> <p>Like a finally completed puzzle, it suddenly all came together to form a cohesive whole. The Hunt, the Yeren's words, and the déjà vu, it all… it all made awful, awful sense.</p> <p>He was no longer himself, as much as he could even say he had ever been himself to begin with. He was the hole in the chest of a fractured body, broken by the irrilite spear of its sister. From somewhere above him, a mocking laughter came, filling the cold hall of the throneroom with Mab's final words before the furious mob would get to her not two minutes later.</p> <p>"You've lost, sister," she whispered out, a malicious grin filling her face. "You stood against me, and you've lost. Now carry the consequences of your treason," Mab ended, already waiting for the surge of stolen power to come from her dying sister through her own thaumic weapon directly into her body.</p> <p>But history wouldn't remember this night this way, for something else — something infinitely, infinitely worse, at least to Mab — happened. In her final hours, the being which would come to be called the Inventor simply let go. She never called her magic back, never tried to defile death with its usage, and never tried to bring her own sister down with her. She just ceased, allowing the shards of her being to fall free through space and time as they saw fit, finding their way into whichever of her people needed them the most.</p> <p>And she never forgave her sister for what she did.</p> <p>In time, most of those pieces faded, blending into what would eventually be considered baseline reality. He could feel them — from the foundations of the City of the East to the many forms of the fair folk — and they were beautiful beyond expression, the way they molded into new shapes. But one of those shards — just one — didn't let go. Instead, it came to shatter even further, spawning twenty-four of its own children.</p> <p>And that twenty-fourth child was finally walking down the hall leading to the place of the original breaking, ready to finish the job the others have started but never finished so many times before him.</p> <p>He could see them, now. All of them. From the man who had traversed the seas for over a decade in search of home to the <a href="/carroll-022-the-last-stand">ursine bearing a fedora</a>, the weight of all of their lives came down his soul. The twenty-three Nobodies that had come before him locked their eyes with their final iteration, putting their hands on his shoulder. And above his head, for a single, infinitely small moment, a diadem came to exist — a <a href="/scp-7292">diadem of lost dreams and the world that could be</a>, sacrificed at the altar of forever hunting its own sister from beyond the grave.</p> <p>As he took another step forward, he finally regained clarity. He blinked twice, and the silk over his mind was gone, replaced with pure, unfiltered determination. Nobody tightened the grip on his weapon, feeling his action carry the will and momentum of all those that came before it. He knew that, for what little it was worth, they were there with him. They too wanted to finally, finally put an end to their own Hunts, trying their very best to make sure that a twenty-fifth sibling would not need to come to bear their curse.</p> <p>In time, that clarity lead him to the only place it ever could: the throneroom which held the conclusion to his story.</p> <p>"You've grown weak, sister," a mocking hiss came from atop the seat located at the other end of the infinitely long hall. As it echoed between the gigantic pillars which held together the might of the Fae Empire, so continued to smile its source, visibly amused to finally get a visit from someone she had expected so many years ago. "And I would not have it any other way."</p> <p>Nobody didn't answer. It simply was not worth it. No. Instead, he refused to stop in his tracks, and let his feet carry him forward up until the very end. The Queen before him noticed it too, and she herself stood up from her throne of power. With a heart too dark to even comprehend, she set out to meet the one she had met again and again and again and again, already knowing what was about to transpire, just as it had always had.</p> <p>And as the two gods, the two aspects of creation, the two fatally human avatars of Seelie and Unseelie clashed with each other for the final time in all of history, reality ceased to exist.</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="darkbox"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2 id="toc3"><span>23/11/2021</span></h2> <h2 id="toc4"><span><span style="color: #ffd700">Where Dreams Go To Die</span>, Beyond the End</span></h2> </div> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>To say that Mab was powerful was a great injustice to both the true meaning of the word and the limits of spoken language in general. Not even the Impasse could change that.</p> <p>She was everything, always. Before him, she stood, a monolithic pillar of hubris larger than life, larger than reality, larger than everything anyone could ever possibly imagine. In her hands sat the world, crowned hers by right so ancient it was beyond divine. On her head fit the diadem, granting her the insignia of untold power to all those that dared question her rule. And in her eyes starlight burned, drilling into the souls of her enemies with the fury of a million dying realities forever chained to obey nothing and nobody but her and her only.</p> <p>And before her, inside a room inside a building inside a country on a continent on the infinitely small planet she held, Nobody stood, defying her the only thing she ever wanted: victory over his kind.</p> <p>He looked directly into her eyes, aimed his weapon, and fired.</p> <p>And—</p> <p>—the world bent, laughing at that fragile attempt to harm the everrule that reigned in the skies above it. She didn't do as much as flick a finger, and the planet was gone, forcing the fragile insignificant little being to heed the inevitable way of all things down, falling ever so lower into the dark abyss of infinity.</p> <p>As the void consumed him, a single star flickered to life in the distance.</p> <p>He woke up, only to wake up again; in one moment, he was the Prey — in the other, he was the Hunter. The cycle continued over and over again as he died and lived and triumphed and lost, pushing it ever so forward, ever so closer to its inevitable end. But the end did not come. Instead, the wheel of infinity moved farther and farther into the distance, forcing more and more to suffer from the samsara of a conflict concluded so long ago. And, for what little it was always worth, the cycle used all of that momentum, and—</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p><tt>the world was over. it had always been over. it would never be anything but over. as Nobody looked above himself and gripped his weapon, he realized this was the ultimate truth before which he was forced to stand trial against. the Starlight which gloomed over him — over <em>everything</em> — her trail of broken worlds and eaten stars falling between her hair; she looked at him, and laughed again. just as he had always done and just as he would always do, he aimed once more, and pulled the trigger, and—</tt></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p><em>Upon the end of twenty-four,</em><br/> <em>when midnight came to die;</em><br/> <em>the Starlight laughed beyond her star</em><br/> <em>and so the Hunter cried:</em></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>It was no use. No use to rebel, no use to oppose, no use to live; for all intents and purposes, Nobody was just a cog in a mechanism, forever-bent to worship Mab. As he fell to the bottom of the world, he felt the weight of all of reality come down upon him, the irreal wave of equally nonexistent kilograms crushing every single part of his physical corpus. The skull erupted as waves of unfiltered thoughts broke out from it, free at last to fight their final fight; the hands crumbled beneath the size of eons as they let go, finally accepting that there was truly no purpose in his quest; and his legs fell to their knees as they shattered before their new Queen, promising their very best to never ever walk a mile against them; and—</p> <p>His soul, however, refused to let go.</p> <p>In that deep dark abyss beyond light, beyond vision, beyond <em>hope</em>, he finally awoke. Stripped down from everything he was and everything he wasn't, the wolf that slept somewhere within him opened its eyes, realizing its chain has been snapped for good. Instead of falling to the ground beneath it whimpering for its life, it did the only thing a creature of its kind could do when confronted with the Starlight up above; it howled to the echo of twenty-three in the distance, crying for its lost brethren, and—</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <blockquote> <p>The wolves howl back, and he finally knows who he is. Without as much as a second thought, he sheds his fake fur and revels in the person that he himself is and always had been. He accepts it — all of it. The terrible, unbearable weight of being human, the awful, unimaginable wound fracturing his heart, and the incomprehensibly, indescribably painful realization of consciousness deep inside his brain. But he feels no shame, neither does he feel fear. He snaps his chains, and accepts reality, and flies through the skies until there is nothing left but him, and—</p> </blockquote> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <blockquote> <p>Nobody is dead. Nobody has always been dead; he now knows that. As he treads ever up from that lost glade somewhere at the bottom of the universe, his soul soars, now free from the shackles binding it down to its inhuman body. It revels in its new-found status as it howls once more, and it looks up, only to see just one thing: the Queen, still grinning, still just waiting for him to try her again so that she may have her fun, forever and always. Right now, though, something terrible happens: that grin is punctured. Like a broken wall, one piece after another it falls to the ground, and it finally realizes what has happened, what she <em>let</em> happen, and—</p> </blockquote> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>He looked at her, now at her level, at last unbound from her little game. The shards finally broke for good, shattering upon the inevitable progression of all of reality, and similarly did Nobody disintegrate.</p> <p>The only thing remaining of that broken title now was a long-lost mantle, thrown over the side of the human that rejected who he wasn't to accept the only form he ever craved: a man-shaped hole at the top of all of reality, looking down upon the only thing that stood beneath him.</p> <p>—And for a single moment, he allowed himself to smile.</p> <p>He let everything go, as he embraced the open skies.</p> <p>If she wanted the whole world, he would let her have it. He fed that impossible, infinite hunger with the equally impossible void of the creature which had called itself Nobody which he had left behind him, letting it swallow her whole. For the first time since millennia, the conflict was head-on, now. There were no longer any middlemen.</p> <p>The only thing still left churning inside the furnace of reality were two spirits, finally forced to confront themselves directly, finally clawing at each other's faces. And beyond them, beyond everything that could ever be considered real, there say a single figure: a free spirit, unbound from his past, unbound from his present, unbound from his future, doing the only thing he ever wanted to do.</p> <p>And as the two eternal enemies finally broke upon the shores of each other, he cracked a smile, kicked back, and looked at the world's melting core.</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <blockquote> <p>And the end went something like this:</p> </blockquote> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="darkbox"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2 id="toc5"><span>24/11/2021</span></h2> <h2 id="toc6"><span><a href="/secure-facility-dossier-site-120">Site-120</a>, Częstochowa, Poland</span></h2> </div> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>It took a very quick exhale to break the silence.</p> <p>"Are you…" Daniel Asheworth slowly began, measuring his words very carefully. "Are you absolutely sure this is correct?" He looked at the four other figures sitting around the circular table in the office of Site-120's Director Council. Out of the remaining four Directors, Jessie Rivera and Magdaleine Cornwell seemed to share his disbelief; James Micheals and Ethan MacCarthy Jr. instead indulged in what he could only describe as 'scientific wonder'.</p> <p>Micheals corrected his glasses. "Y-Yeah. Yes." He tapped the screen of the tablet in front of him, once again bringing all of the appropriate data. This time, they were backed up by a few colorful charts that very much seemed to confirm what they were saying. "J-Just to be sure, I ran it by K-Kaufmann, then by <a href="/fresh-blood">Madden</a>. It checks out. All of it."</p> <p>Asheworth exhaled again. If he had any glasses, he would have taken them off and cleaned them, still in total disbelief at the data in front of him. And yet, the EVE energy charts within Esterberg and the surrounding Częstochowa seemed to still indicate the same measurement as they did when Micheals had hurridly brought them up about ten minutes ago.</p> <p>The entire city was booming with magical energy.</p> <p>"Is there… any particular source?" The dead silence was broken once again by Rivera's trembling voice. She tightened her grip on Cornwell's hand and calmed her breathing. "Do we even know what caused this?"</p> <p>This time, MacCarthy Jr. was the one to correct his eyewear. He cleared his throat and pulled out his own device, a global map of EVE displayed upon it. Quickly zooming in, he made sure it only showed Poland. Then, he pointed to two very red dots upon it — Esterberg, and some seemingly random place in the north-western part of the country.</p> <p>Between them, an equally red highway of magical energy being transferred stood.</p> <p>"Whatever <em>that</em> is, it's our golden star," he said, just barely suppressing a coughing fit. "Micheals' boys did all of the possible readings on it. EVE is the largest in recorded history." He paused. "And so is Akiva."</p> <p>Asheworth crossed his arms. "So… what <em>is</em> it, actually? Like, what does that <em>mean</em>?"</p> <p>"Our best guess is theological annihilation," the theologist continued, immediately realizing his mistake upon noticing the confusion on his co-workers' faces. "Two absurdly large deific beings interacted, annihilating each other upon contact. Ended up releasing all of that," he tapped the EVE and Akiva charts once more. "Kind of like dark matter and matter."</p> <p>"Kind of like dark matter," Rivera repeated, absentmindedly.</p> <p>"Right, but… what the hell <em>did</em> that?" Cornwell asked, exchanging looks with Rivera and then Micheals. "Don't you people have things to detect events like that <em>before</em> they happen?"</p> <p>"Right. Yes. We <em>do</em>, but this…" he slowly. exhaled. "It literally broke all of our radars, Mag. All of them. You have to understand, we didn't ever… expect to see something like this, ever. Not on such a ridiculous scale."</p> <p>"Besides," Micheals interjected. "it doesn't m-matter what really caused it, for now. B-Both sources are permanently gone, so they won't be a threat to us a-anymore. What <em>does</em> matter n-now is that—"</p> <p>"—That Esterberg is alive once more," Asheworth added.</p> <p>"Y-Yeah." Micheals nodded. "W-Whatever the hell did that c-clearly was at least p-partially conscious. A… A transfer of this much magical e-energy, of this magnitude and stability, couldn't just be done by something r-random." He looked up to Asheworth for confirmation.</p> <p>But Asheworth wasn't listening, not anymore. He just absentmindedly stared at the wall before him, running some quick EVE calculations in his mind. When he reached a sufficient conclusion, he smiled faintly, realizing what it really meant.</p> <p>"You son of a bitch," he silently muttered, letting his smile turn into a full-on grin.</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="darkbox"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2 id="toc7"><span>24/11/2021</span></h2> <h2 id="toc8"><span><a href="/scp-4000">The Forest Which Had Once Had No Name</a>, Reality, Unchained</span></h2> </div> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>The Forest was unusually calm, for that part of the year. But it wasn't like its new guest would ever know that — despite all of her involvement with its creation, it was her first actual time down in this prison of her own making.</p> <p>As she opened her eyes for what felt like the first time ever, Queen Mab awoke to a dead-silent reality.</p> <p>At first, she thought she was dreaming some final-hour mirage. To even conceive of her continued existence was ridiculous, keeping all of the memories of yesterday's battle in mind. But when she slowly stood up and her head started to feel like death, she knew her current state was real. The feeling of grass beneath her naked feet, the rays of the sun blowing in her cold eyes, and the rush of wind between her silver hair and long, white dress only helped to confirm that realization of continued life.</p> <p>A grin entered her face.</p> <p>As she stretched her arms far and wide, she began to laugh. Letting all of it — <em>all of it</em> — out, she let a loud expression of pure and unfiltered amusement into the silent glade around her. That sound, that horrible, horrible idea carried on and on, echoing through the trees around her. In that moment, she didn't know of a reality that wasn't part of her continued mockery.</p> <p>After what felt like millennia, she suddenly stopped. But that grin of satisfaction didn't leave her. No. Instead, it doubled, threatening to break her perfect pale skin with its new width.</p> <p>She looked into the sky, her eyes once again nothing but freezing with hatred. "I win," she quietly mouthed, looking at the horizon beyond the forest. "I win and you lose, you pathetic worm" she added, reaching to correct her hair.</p> <p>As her long, thin fingers took the first grip of those silver strands in her hands, she let herself wonder, for just a moment, what she would do to anyone that rancid little creature cared about when she would finally take a step into the real world. She imagined all of those wonderful fires, burning ever so bright, the people he dared to call close deep inside their molten flames. Yes, she could very much see that. And now — now that she was free from the shackles binding her inside that rotting palace — now, coming back to her new kingdom was just a matter of taking the first step forward.</p> <p>When she opened her eyes again, however, that laugh died within seconds. She froze.</p> <p>A thought hit her. She recognized those trees. This wasn't just any forest, no. No. No. No, no, no no no no no, <em>no</em>! It was impossible. She won. <em>She</em> won. Not him. Not <em>them</em>. <em>She</em> did. There was only one ruler, here and everywhere, and this was just <em>not</em>—</p> <p>Suddenly, from in-between those trees, figures started to appear.</p> <p>Their first immediately recognizable trait was that they were tired. So, <em>so</em> tired. They had been freed from their animalistic mockeries of forms and returned to baseline Fae bodies, the relief visible upon their restored faces was almost washed out by the pure exhaustion of those one-hundred-and-twelve years of agony. The once-prisoners of the Forest stretched their long limbs, able to finally move freely and without pain for the first time in more than a century.</p> <p>And all of their gazes were focused just on Mab.</p> <p>Involuntarily, she swallowed hard.</p> <p>"No!" She shouted, extending her hand forward. When no sparks of arcane electricity came out of her palm, her eyelids twitched, and she repeated: "No!"</p> <p>But the figures didn't seem to care about her complaints; they slowly began their march toward her all the same. From every corner of the Forest, from every corner of reality, all of those she had damned to eternal torment so many years ago were now closing in, their faces twisted in an expression of barely comprehensible satisfaction.</p> <p>"No!" She said once more, beginning to back off, only to trip on some wet piece of grass behind her. "Get back! I command you! <em>Your Queen</em> commands you!"</p> <p>In the distance, one of the Fae laughed. "You have no power here, oh Queen. Not anymore."</p> <p>"Liar!" She tried to thunder out into the gale, only to be met by a weak and fragile imitation of her own voice. "You— I— <em>No</em>— I— I— I…"</p> <p>She continued trying to escape, forging her own desperation into a quick pace, then allowing it to turn into a full-on run. It didn't last long, though, and ended rather abruptly when she fell against a particularly muscular Fae blocking her way. She felt a grip form around her throat, and as she met the gaze of the man before her, she could see nothing but his own smile.</p> <p>"Oh, but don't you worry, your majesty," he spat out, tightening the grasp of his gigantic hands on that fragile body before him, ignoring the movements that attempted to get her out. "I'm sure your court will treat you just like someone of your position deserves."</p> <p>"N—<em>ahghggh!</em>" She only managed to get out as she felt a twist of unimaginable agony somewhere in her leg. Then in her arm. Then in her feet. Then in her back. Then everywhere, all at once.</p> <p>And then, when her subjective reality became nothing but a swarm of furious Fae, her sneers and jeers died out to the cacophony of kicks and hits and punches and spits, one after another, repeating into infinity.</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="darkbox"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2 id="toc9"><span>24/11/2021</span></h2> <h2 id="toc10"><span><span style="color: #ffd700">An Old Cliff</span>, At the Edge of the Horizon</span></h2> </div> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>To witness the sunset, Nowak thought, was one of the most moving experiences a human could ever partake in.</p> <p>His awakening wasn't particularly special. It wasn't even really all that important, in the grand scheme of things. He simply opened his eyes — his very own eyes, for the first time in almost forty years — and knew where he was, who he was, and how he was. He flexed his muscles, felt the cold breeze of the sea blow in his face, and corrected his long hair, just barely containing the will to scratch his burn scar. For a moment, he took it all in.</p> <p>And before him, the sun was fading.</p> <p>It was calm, all things considered. He didn't think that something as big as death ever could or even should feel that way. But, as his first end was rather abrupt, he figured it shaped up just a little of bias when it came to what he expected his second conclusion to be like. <a href="/scp-5672">Ten bullets to the chest</a> weren't exactly the best way to go, but hey, that was that. It wasn't like he could change anything about it, not even if he wanted. At least this one was going to somehow matter.</p> <p>As he looked toward the star in front of him, he couldn't help but notice its beauty. Those reds, oranges, and yellows blended so seamlessly into the dying sky around it, marking the end of the sun's reign over reality — at least for now. Nowak smiled, falling down on the ground again. The moment he hit that warm ground beneath him and let his legs hang beyond the cliff at the end of reality, he finally let everything go.</p> <p>He breathed out, and knew that just like the sun, he too will fade soon.</p> <p>He was surprisingly fine with that. There was no fear, no anger, no will to really do anything else inside him. Just acceptance. The End came for everyone, in its inevitability, so why would he struggle against it? He had once heard someone call death the king of all fears, lurking at the finale of everyone's journey, never letting go. But tonight, he couldn't disagree more. After all, with a life well spent, what was there to fear?</p> <p>He just lay there, bereft of any thought, staring into the increasingly starry sky above him. With each passing minute, another bright light popped into existence from seemingly nowhere, and he felt more and more of life's fleeting energy leave him. But he didn't close his eyes. No, not yet. He still had to witness that beautiful moment in which day and night met for one final time, before he went. He felt he just needed that, and then he would be done. Just one more time.</p> <p>He knew that the End would grant him that much, after everything he'd done for it. The sudden appearance of a tall figure at the edge of his vision seemed to very much confirm that belief.</p> <p>Without any words, the newcomer sat down next to Nowak, legs dangling beyond the cliff. Damien knew exactly what he was — he didn't need to check. He'd met the avatar of death so many times they could almost be considered acquainted. <a href="/scp-6072">The being that greeted all those that were lonely and unwanted at their very end</a> may have hidden behind the glamour of his close ones, but it was all for nothing. He could feel its presence beside him, even though it very much wanted to hide that with its appearance of Daniel Asheworth.</p> <p>And still, he felt no fear.</p> <p>For a moment — for a single, fleeting moment — they exchanged looks. In those cold, cold eyes, Nowak saw just one thing — he saw himself. And, exhaling once more, he let himself get carried by that impression. He let the End pretend to be the only person he ever really came close to, in his final minutes. He didn't want to go alone.</p> <p>The avatar offered no words of his own. Instead, he extended forward a hand with a lit cigarette, his own smoke already in his hands. Not giving it much thought, Nowak accepted the gift.</p> <p>And so, there they were, two dark figures sitting somewhere beyond reality, looking into the horizon before them. The final rays of an equally dead sun illuminated their lanky features, and the wind blew the smoke away from their faces, allowing both for a few final breaths without interruption. It felt like lifetimes passed, waiting on that cliff. It felt like lifetimes passed, but that was alright. For tonight, everything was still, everything was silent, and everything was calm.</p> <p>And everything was okay.</p> <p>Quietly, as his smoke finished burning, Nowak turned to his companion. "Is it done?"</p> <p>The other took a long drag and slowly nodded, no emotion present in the expression.</p> <p>"Alright," A faint smile entered Nowak's face as he let out his final, final breath. For a second, he paused. "I wonder where I'll end up this time," he chuckled.</p> <p>The other put out his smoke, but didn't answer.</p> <p>"Guess it's high time to find out," Nowak concluded, and finished his cigarette, too.</p> <p>As the sun went out, finally dipping below the border of the horizon, the world went dark. Despite a million stars shining above, the cliff below stood engulfed by a sea of calm darkness, devoid of anything to break its tranquility. It stood there like that, uninterrupted and unwitnessed, until the sun came back up again the next morning, shining the rays of a clean light above a new world. For the first time since its inception so long ago, all of creation was finally unshackled from the never-ending struggle of the Mad Sisters.</p> <p>When that light reached the cliff, it found it empty. The two figures that once witnessed the death of the old reality were now long gone.</p> <p>The hunt was over.</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> </div> <hr/> <div class="earthworm earthworm--old-syntax-first-flase earthworm--old-syntax-last-true earthworm--old-syntax-hub-yes {$class}"> <div class="first earthworm__previous" data-title="Jäger, Part 1"> <p><a href="/jaeger-part-1">Jäger, Part 1</a></p> </div> <div class="hub earthworm__hub" data-title="GASLIGHT, GATEKEEP, GIRLBOSS"> <p><a href="/gaslight-gatekeep-girlboss-hub">GASLIGHT, GATEKEEP, GIRLBOSS</a></p> </div> <div class="last earthworm__next" data-title="{$next-title}"> <p><a class="newpage" href="/next-url">{$next-title}</a></p> </div> </div> <hr/> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/jaeger-part-2">Jäger, Part 2</a>" by Ralliston and Trotskyeet, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/jaeger-part-2">https://scpwiki.com/jaeger-part-2</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> logo.png<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/estrellayoshte" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(3781861); return false;"><img alt="EstrellaYoshte" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=3781861&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043794" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=3781861)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/estrellayoshte" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(3781861); return false;">EstrellaYoshte</a></span>, edited by <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/harryblank" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(6479803); return false;"><img alt="HarryBlank" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=6479803&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043794" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=6479803)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/harryblank" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(6479803); return false;">HarryBlank</a></span>, then edited <em>again</em> by <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/jasiu06" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(6669398); return false;"><img alt="Jasiu06" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=6669398&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043794" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=6669398)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/jasiu06" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(6669398); return false;">Jasiu06</a></span><br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC BY-SA 3.0<br/> <strong>Source Link:</strong> <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/jaeger-part-1">SCP Foundation Wiki</a></p> </blockquote> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> hunter.png<br/> <strong>Name:</strong> Allegorie op de vergankelijkheid (Vanitas), RP-P-1938-1837.jpg<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> Rijksmuseum<br/> <strong>License:</strong> Public Domain<br/> <strong>Source Link:</strong> <a href="https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Allegorie_op_de_vergankelijkheid_(Vanitas),_RP-P-1938-1837.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></p> </blockquote> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:foxtrot">:scp-wiki:theme:foxtrot</a> overwatch=a\| dark=a\| hidetitle=a]] [[module CSS]] .creditRate { float: unset !important; margin-bottom: unset !important; } [[/module]] [[=]] [[div class="pseudocrumbs"]] [[[canon-hub\|Canon Hub]]] >> [[[From 120's Archives Hub]]] / [[[the-man-who-wasnt-there-hub\|The Man Who Wasn't There Hub]]] / [[[No Return Hub]]] >> [[[GASLIGHT, GATEKEEP, GIRLBOSS Hub]]] >> Jäger, Part 2 [[/div]] [[/=]] [[=]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/info:start">:scp-wiki:info:start</a>]] [[=]] Co-written by [[user Ralliston]] and [[user Trotskyeet]] [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/ralliston-s-authorpage Ralliston's Authorpage] [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/trotskyeet-author Trotskyeet's Authorpage] The following article is a part of the [http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/gaslight-gatekeep-girlboss-hub GASLIGHT, GATEKEEP, GIRLBOSS] storyline. Whilst you can read it on its own, it's highly recommended you read the previous installments to get this article in its fullest. [[/=]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/info:end">:scp-wiki:info:end</a>]] [[/=]] @@ @@ [[div class="blockquote" style="width: intrinsic; width: -moz-max-content; width: -webkit-max-content; text-align:center; margin: 10px auto;"]] *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cm4Ev0y83Q0 Recommended reading music] [[/div]] @@ @@ [[=]] + Jäger, Part 2 [[/=]] ----- @@ @@ [[div class="darkbox"]] [[=]] ++ 23/11/2021 ++ ##FFD700\|Undisclosed Location##, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland [[/=]] [[/div]] [[==]] @@ @@ [[f>image hunter.png width="325px"]] Calling the Palace grounds empty would be a vast understatement. As the whirling portal bridging [[[esterberg-city-wikipedia\|Esterberg]]] to the ruins before him closed, he took the first step forward. He was pretty sure that by whatever ancient law that still reigned here, him setting foot in these ruins was considered beyond sacrilege. But he continued all the same, setting his heavy boots against the millennia-old pavement unraveling itself below him. For what little it was worth, the silent pathway didn't really seem to care. The road was long, stretching far into the horizon, its meandering way strangling the hill upon which the palace stood like a concrete snake. A sea of thick mist shrouded the land as far as the eye could see, laying a blanket of silent dawn upon the complex. Nobody thought, for just a moment, that the whole place looked as if its spires fractured the sky and let their Palace be consumed by the clouds previously hanging on the firmament, now brought down to earth to swallow Mab whole. The clean, silver towers looming over the horizon seemed to very much support this, their near-immaculate form practically shouting the word 'hubris' as they challenged the gray sky above with their height. The sky itself, too, didn't feel too normal. Remnants of antimemetic glamour silently floated in the distance, incorporeal spirals and fractals endlessly twisting in the sky. Had they been intact, not even the Foundation with their Hughes and Wheelers could penetrate it, its nature made sure it was impossible for any human that dared to ever think about the Queen to even conceive of this place, hiding it for so many years as Mab's final shield against the incoming darkness. So it stood there, untouched, untainted, unmoved, for so long that its mere existence could now be classified as a long-forgotten myth. But Nobody fell just right outside the 'human' requirement, so for the first time in eons, the sky stood strange, finally devoid of its invisible bulwark, revealing the insides of its protected Palace for the first time in a quarter of a million years. Strands of white and grey and green and blue streaked through it, the final memories of Mab's ancient spell. Even now, they seemed to spark angrily, perhaps aware of the presence of an intruder in this sacred realm. Nobody carried on regardless. His pilgrimage forward felt like it took untold ages, the monotone path reaching further and further into the irreal complex before him. It was as if he was walking through some twisted monument, frozen in time, a snapshot of the precise moment the [[[a-faerie-tale-of-twin-queens\|Mad Queen had pierced her sister with the Irrilite Tuner]]] at the height of her own fall. He passed an endless stream of beautiful spires, lofty gates, and imposing walls, a combination of irrilite and marble making up every one. In another life, perhaps, Nobody would ever stay and observe, realizing his position as the first-in-millennia witness to the beyond-beautiful lost techniques of the architecture of the ancient Fae. But, just like the Palace's previous guests during the First Diaspora, he didn't really care much for its beauty. The Queen that sat deep within its ruins would agree with him that, for what it was worth, his hunt was the only thing that truly mattered now. As he carried on, eventually, a lifetime passed; then another; then another. But that skeleton in a trenchcoat continued to bore his crossbow, incapable of letting go, incapable of seeing anything but the carrot at the end of his own stick. He just tightened his grip, bringing his weapon ever so closer, and fastened his pace, treading through one acre of this sacred land after another. And in time, those lifetimes paid off. As Nobody emerged from another incomprehensibly large corridor, he was greeted by something unexpected; something strange, almost. Instead of another doorway or balcony, he came to see an open space, extending as far as the horizon. Though it was obvious that the [[[scp-6500\|Impasse]]] was already taking its toll, the silver grass that riddled the courtyard was breathtaking nonetheless. Flora of the bygone eras decorated the garden, barely held up in some twisted time capsule by the magic of the dying Queen. Among those surreal roots and bushes and flowers and trees never seen by any creature still alive, ruins lay. The tower which stood tall at the end of the courtyard was damaged, that much was obvious -- from the shards of its structure that had fallen and pierced the ground below to the gaping holes in its walls, the spire looked like a long-bled-out corpse. The signs of struggle and battles fought here during the final hours of the Fae Empire were still visible, the brown blood of the Yeren rebels mixed in with the red viscera of the human slaves and the blue ichor of the Fae royalists tainting the chunks of the clean and ruined white stones. Here and there, Nobody could even spot arcane weapons and thaumic residue, frozen in battle against the oppression of Mab. Briefly, he closed his eyes. He took a deep breath. //I will conclude their fight tonight//, he thought. //I will finally give them rest.// When he opened them back again, he could almost convince himself that it was true. With his focus now set on reality, he immediately noticed something infinitely more interesting than his own fear. Before the gates of the tower leading into the darkness of the Palace's throne room, there was a figure. A tall Yeren sat crooked over some old stone, a long staff propping up his decaying, ancient body. His sight was tired -- tired like Nobody had never seen -- and its whites were focused on just one thing: the once-man in front of him. Having no other choice, Nobody met his challenge. It took just a few steps to close the distance between the two. When the skeleton approached, the old man didn't stand up; instead, he looked to the gates of the Palace. They were still open, still in the state they were left in ages ago when a furious mob stormed Mab's final hideout in an attempt to bring her down. And that much was obvious -- if not from their remains he had previously seen or the instinct of the Hunt deep within him, he would be able to deduce the presence of the Queen from the way the darkness moved inside. It was wrong, its strange stillness almost breathing, almost alive, almost challenging the two figures standing before it with an untold mockery. Nobody blinked twice, and as he heard a silent whisper in a language he did not comprehend, the feeling went away. Slowly, the crooked old man turned to Nobody, a faint but sad smile visible upon his dried-up lips. "Hello, Hunter," he said, his tone quiet, almost breaking upon the wind which now rushed through the whole courtyard. "I have been expecting your arrival." Nobody didn't meet his gaze. "Can't say the same about you." "I would be surprised if you could." The graybeard chuckled, exhaustion seeping from his every gesture. "Besides, that doesn't matter, now. What //does// indeed matter is the fact that you are finally here." He sighed, waves of relief going down his face. Nobody raised a metaphorical eyebrow. "You've predicted my arrival. Are you an oracle?" "Hah!" A slow smile entered his face. "I have simply lived too long, son. The world is full of stories, many of them the same. It is simply a matter of recognizing the pattern. You were an inevitability." "Stories?" This time, he crossed his arms. He looked somewhere beyond the horizon, as if he was able to see something that Nobody couldn't. "You'd be surprised at what the folk from beyond the [[[scp-6172\|Compass]]] have to tell. And I've heard enough of them to piece together what you -- and, by extension, the Queen -- truly are." The skeleton grunted, the expression carrying neither approval nor dissatisfaction. Perhaps it carried both. Neither of the present were really sure, so instead of inquiring further, they just turned their gazes towards the gaping black gates of the Palace before them. "Who are you, anyway?" Nobody broke the silence, still staring into the void. "Me?" The Yeren scoffed. "My name lost meaning long ago. It would tell you nothing." "So you too heard the call of the Hunt, did you not?" "Oh, nothing of the like," he waved a hand dismissively. "No, the Queen had nothing to do with it. Not directly, at least. Names are powerful things, my son. Even if you recognized mine, it wouldn't truly depict who I am. [[[scp-7600\|My brother made sure of that a long time ago]]]." A brief pause fell over the pair. The old man continued: "I suppose you'd want to know what I'm doing here, too." Nobody nodded. The other took a deep sigh. "I heard a horrible rumor this world was dying. I could not believe it, for even to imagine that the Queen had won was beyond my comprehension. I thought that your kind," he emphasized the second-to-last word with a strange change of tone. "had taken care of that. I owed at least this much to my people, to come back home and try to help. I knew it when the Lantern they lit up so long ago shone brightly once more." "I was an old fool, thinking I'd end up anywhere else but here. To see nobody on the watchout felt strange, after so many generations of wardens protecting the world from what lurks in those marble halls." Nobody wasn't really sure what most of this truly meant, but allowed the Yeren to continue regardless. Before the old man did that, though, he shrugged. "So here I am, now, waiting for the Hunt's spawn to continue their duty, fulfilling it to my best before they could arrive. I could do at least this much, after everything I //didn't// do." "You keep talking about... about the royal me, so to speak, about 'my kind'," Nobody retorted. "What... What do you mean, exactly?" "Ah. I see. So you do not know yet." He pointed toward the corridor in front of them both. "You should come in, then. //She// will explain it better than I ever could." Nobody walked up to the threshold, the space between the fading realm and the unknown inside. One final time, he turned to the old one. "You say you know the patterns of stories, how the Queen and I fit together. How does this one end?" The Yeren smiled, just a brief spark of amusement flying across his face. "How boring stories would be, if all the players knew of their fate." Nobody didn't attempt to lengthen their conversation. He knew that, for what it was worth, this particular source of information was a dead end, at least for now. It wasn't like most of his words even made sense, for that matter. The only true source of answers lay before him, hidden somewhere inside those dark, dark crypts. He supposed it felt fitting that no matter what he truly wanted to do, every path he could take would just lead him back here. So, left without any other real choice, Nobody took the initiative and stepped through, entering the incomprehensible shadow beyond creation without as much as a second thought. [[div]] [[=]] @@ @@ [[image http://scpdsandbox.wdfiles.com/local--files/jaeger-part-1/logo.png]] @@ @@ [[/=]] [[/div]] Whoever had built those corridors so long ago made more than sure their architecture wasn't Euclidean. Not to say the design was labyrinthian, no -- it was a relatively straightforward structure, all things considered, but there was simply no way, Nobody thought, that the hallway he was traversing could ever last for so long. Not here, and not anywhere else on the planet. Not unless magic was somehow involved in its construction, of course. The ceaseless darkness carried on and on, stretching far into infinity. With it, though, a certain sense of comfortable familiarity crept along Nobody's back. Calling it déjà vu wasn't the best way to put it -- it wasn't just like he himself had been here before. It felt like some part of him, some arcane particle of himself beyond comprehension frequented these halls epoch after epoch, bringing so many different memory sets to form a whole mental map of the road that lead directly to Mab's throneroom, forming them from frantic final attempts at preparations before meeting their terminus at the end of the corridor. Involuntarily, Nobody swallowed. Suddenly, a horrible cloud of darkness fell over his mind, no, his //soul//. Like an object too big to comprehend blocking the stars so too did it sever his connection to reality, only allowing his feet to continue their journey forward in an almost automatic manner. For a terrible second, he felt genuinely scared, thinking it was the Queen's doing. But when the first flash of nonexistent memories exploded before his eyes, he knew it was something much, much worse. It was the truth. Like a finally completed puzzle, it suddenly all came together to form a cohesive whole. The Hunt, the Yeren's words, and the déjà vu, it all... it all made awful, awful sense. He was no longer himself, as much as he could even say he had ever been himself to begin with. He was the hole in the chest of a fractured body, broken by the irrilite spear of its sister. From somewhere above him, a mocking laughter came, filling the cold hall of the throneroom with Mab's final words before the furious mob would get to her not two minutes later. "You've lost, sister," she whispered out, a malicious grin filling her face. "You stood against me, and you've lost. Now carry the consequences of your treason," Mab ended, already waiting for the surge of stolen power to come from her dying sister through her own thaumic weapon directly into her body. But history wouldn't remember this night this way, for something else -- something infinitely, infinitely worse, at least to Mab -- happened. In her final hours, the being which would come to be called the Inventor simply let go. She never called her magic back, never tried to defile death with its usage, and never tried to bring her own sister down with her. She just ceased, allowing the shards of her being to fall free through space and time as they saw fit, finding their way into whichever of her people needed them the most. And she never forgave her sister for what she did. In time, most of those pieces faded, blending into what would eventually be considered baseline reality. He could feel them -- from the foundations of the City of the East to the many forms of the fair folk -- and they were beautiful beyond expression, the way they molded into new shapes. But one of those shards -- just one -- didn't let go. Instead, it came to shatter even further, spawning twenty-four of its own children. And that twenty-fourth child was finally walking down the hall leading to the place of the original breaking, ready to finish the job the others have started but never finished so many times before him. He could see them, now. All of them. From the man who had traversed the seas for over a decade in search of home to the [[[carroll-022-the-last-stand\|ursine bearing a fedora]]], the weight of all of their lives came down his soul. The twenty-three Nobodies that had come before him locked their eyes with their final iteration, putting their hands on his shoulder. And above his head, for a single, infinitely small moment, a diadem came to exist -- a [[[scp-7292\|diadem of lost dreams and the world that could be]]], sacrificed at the altar of forever hunting its own sister from beyond the grave. As he took another step forward, he finally regained clarity. He blinked twice, and the silk over his mind was gone, replaced with pure, unfiltered determination. Nobody tightened the grip on his weapon, feeling his action carry the will and momentum of all those that came before it. He knew that, for what little it was worth, they were there with him. They too wanted to finally, finally put an end to their own Hunts, trying their very best to make sure that a twenty-fifth sibling would not need to come to bear their curse. In time, that clarity lead him to the only place it ever could: the throneroom which held the conclusion to his story. "You've grown weak, sister," a mocking hiss came from atop the seat located at the other end of the infinitely long hall. As it echoed between the gigantic pillars which held together the might of the Fae Empire, so continued to smile its source, visibly amused to finally get a visit from someone she had expected so many years ago. "And I would not have it any other way." Nobody didn't answer. It simply was not worth it. No. Instead, he refused to stop in his tracks, and let his feet carry him forward up until the very end. The Queen before him noticed it too, and she herself stood up from her throne of power. With a heart too dark to even comprehend, she set out to meet the one she had met again and again and again and again, already knowing what was about to transpire, just as it had always had. And as the two gods, the two aspects of creation, the two fatally human avatars of Seelie and Unseelie clashed with each other for the final time in all of history, reality ceased to exist. [[div]] [[=]] @@ @@ [[image http://scpdsandbox.wdfiles.com/local--files/jaeger-part-1/logo.png]] @@ @@ [[/=]] [[/div]] @@ @@ [[div class="darkbox"]] [[=]] ++ 23/11/2021 ++ ##FFD700\|Where Dreams Go To Die##, Beyond the End [[/=]] [[/div]] @@ @@ To say that Mab was powerful was a great injustice to both the true meaning of the word and the limits of spoken language in general. Not even the Impasse could change that. She was everything, always. Before him, she stood, a monolithic pillar of hubris larger than life, larger than reality, larger than everything anyone could ever possibly imagine. In her hands sat the world, crowned hers by right so ancient it was beyond divine. On her head fit the diadem, granting her the insignia of untold power to all those that dared question her rule. And in her eyes starlight burned, drilling into the souls of her enemies with the fury of a million dying realities forever chained to obey nothing and nobody but her and her only. And before her, inside a room inside a building inside a country on a continent on the infinitely small planet she held, Nobody stood, defying her the only thing she ever wanted: victory over his kind. He looked directly into her eyes, aimed his weapon, and fired. And-- --the world bent, laughing at that fragile attempt to harm the everrule that reigned in the skies above it. She didn't do as much as flick a finger, and the planet was gone, forcing the fragile insignificant little being to heed the inevitable way of all things down, falling ever so lower into the dark abyss of infinity. As the void consumed him, a single star flickered to life in the distance. He woke up, only to wake up again; in one moment, he was the Prey -- in the other, he was the Hunter. The cycle continued over and over again as he died and lived and triumphed and lost, pushing it ever so forward, ever so closer to its inevitable end. But the end did not come. Instead, the wheel of infinity moved farther and farther into the distance, forcing more and more to suffer from the samsara of a conflict concluded so long ago. And, for what little it was always worth, the cycle used all of that momentum, and-- @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ {{the world was over. it had always been over. it would never be anything but over. as Nobody looked above himself and gripped his weapon, he realized this was the ultimate truth before which he was forced to stand trial against. the Starlight which gloomed over him -- over //everything// -- her trail of broken worlds and eaten stars falling between her hair; she looked at him, and laughed again. just as he had always done and just as he would always do, he aimed once more, and pulled the trigger, and--}} @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ //Upon the end of twenty-four,// //when midnight came to die;// //the Starlight laughed beyond her star// //and so the Hunter cried:// @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ It was no use. No use to rebel, no use to oppose, no use to live; for all intents and purposes, Nobody was just a cog in a mechanism, forever-bent to worship Mab. As he fell to the bottom of the world, he felt the weight of all of reality come down upon him, the irreal wave of equally nonexistent kilograms crushing every single part of his physical corpus. The skull erupted as waves of unfiltered thoughts broke out from it, free at last to fight their final fight; the hands crumbled beneath the size of eons as they let go, finally accepting that there was truly no purpose in his quest; and his legs fell to their knees as they shattered before their new Queen, promising their very best to never ever walk a mile against them; and-- His soul, however, refused to let go. In that deep dark abyss beyond light, beyond vision, beyond //hope//, he finally awoke. Stripped down from everything he was and everything he wasn't, the wolf that slept somewhere within him opened its eyes, realizing its chain has been snapped for good. Instead of falling to the ground beneath it whimpering for its life, it did the only thing a creature of its kind could do when confronted with the Starlight up above; it howled to the echo of twenty-three in the distance, crying for its lost brethren, and-- @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ > The wolves howl back, and he finally knows who he is. Without as much as a second thought, he sheds his fake fur and revels in the person that he himself is and always had been. He accepts it -- all of it. The terrible, unbearable weight of being human, the awful, unimaginable wound fracturing his heart, and the incomprehensibly, indescribably painful realization of consciousness deep inside his brain. But he feels no shame, neither does he feel fear. He snaps his chains, and accepts reality, and flies through the skies until there is nothing left but him, and-- @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ > Nobody is dead. Nobody has always been dead; he now knows that. As he treads ever up from that lost glade somewhere at the bottom of the universe, his soul soars, now free from the shackles binding it down to its inhuman body. It revels in its new-found status as it howls once more, and it looks up, only to see just one thing: the Queen, still grinning, still just waiting for him to try her again so that she may have her fun, forever and always. Right now, though, something terrible happens: that grin is punctured. Like a broken wall, one piece after another it falls to the ground, and it finally realizes what has happened, what she //let// happen, and-- @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ He looked at her, now at her level, at last unbound from her little game. The shards finally broke for good, shattering upon the inevitable progression of all of reality, and similarly did Nobody disintegrate. The only thing remaining of that broken title now was a long-lost mantle, thrown over the side of the human that rejected who he wasn't to accept the only form he ever craved: a man-shaped hole at the top of all of reality, looking down upon the only thing that stood beneath him. --And for a single moment, he allowed himself to smile. He let everything go, as he embraced the open skies. If she wanted the whole world, he would let her have it. He fed that impossible, infinite hunger with the equally impossible void of the creature which had called itself Nobody which he had left behind him, letting it swallow her whole. For the first time since millennia, the conflict was head-on, now. There were no longer any middlemen. The only thing still left churning inside the furnace of reality were two spirits, finally forced to confront themselves directly, finally clawing at each other's faces. And beyond them, beyond everything that could ever be considered real, there say a single figure: a free spirit, unbound from his past, unbound from his present, unbound from his future, doing the only thing he ever wanted to do. And as the two eternal enemies finally broke upon the shores of each other, he cracked a smile, kicked back, and looked at the world's melting core. @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ > And the end went something like this: @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ [[div]] [[=]] @@ @@ [[image http://scpdsandbox.wdfiles.com/local--files/jaeger-part-1/logo.png]] @@ @@ [[/=]] [[/div]] @@ @@ [[div class="darkbox"]] [[=]] ++ 24/11/2021 ++ [[[secure-facility-dossier-site-120\|Site-120]]], Częstochowa, Poland [[/=]] [[/div]] @@ @@ It took a very quick exhale to break the silence. "Are you..." Daniel Asheworth slowly began, measuring his words very carefully. "Are you absolutely sure this is correct?" He looked at the four other figures sitting around the circular table in the office of Site-120's Director Council. Out of the remaining four Directors, Jessie Rivera and Magdaleine Cornwell seemed to share his disbelief; James Micheals and Ethan MacCarthy Jr. instead indulged in what he could only describe as 'scientific wonder'. Micheals corrected his glasses. "Y-Yeah. Yes." He tapped the screen of the tablet in front of him, once again bringing all of the appropriate data. This time, they were backed up by a few colorful charts that very much seemed to confirm what they were saying. "J-Just to be sure, I ran it by K-Kaufmann, then by [[[fresh-blood\|Madden]]]. It checks out. All of it." Asheworth exhaled again. If he had any glasses, he would have taken them off and cleaned them, still in total disbelief at the data in front of him. And yet, the EVE energy charts within Esterberg and the surrounding Częstochowa seemed to still indicate the same measurement as they did when Micheals had hurridly brought them up about ten minutes ago. The entire city was booming with magical energy. "Is there... any particular source?" The dead silence was broken once again by Rivera's trembling voice. She tightened her grip on Cornwell's hand and calmed her breathing. "Do we even know what caused this?" This time, MacCarthy Jr. was the one to correct his eyewear. He cleared his throat and pulled out his own device, a global map of EVE displayed upon it. Quickly zooming in, he made sure it only showed Poland. Then, he pointed to two very red dots upon it -- Esterberg, and some seemingly random place in the north-western part of the country. Between them, an equally red highway of magical energy being transferred stood. "Whatever //that// is, it's our golden star," he said, just barely suppressing a coughing fit. "Micheals' boys did all of the possible readings on it. EVE is the largest in recorded history." He paused. "And so is Akiva." Asheworth crossed his arms. "So... what //is// it, actually? Like, what does that //mean//?" "Our best guess is theological annihilation," the theologist continued, immediately realizing his mistake upon noticing the confusion on his co-workers' faces. "Two absurdly large deific beings interacted, annihilating each other upon contact. Ended up releasing all of that," he tapped the EVE and Akiva charts once more. "Kind of like dark matter and matter." "Kind of like dark matter," Rivera repeated, absentmindedly. "Right, but... what the hell //did// that?" Cornwell asked, exchanging looks with Rivera and then Micheals. "Don't you people have things to detect events like that //before// they happen?" "Right. Yes. We //do//, but this..." he slowly. exhaled. "It literally broke all of our radars, Mag. All of them. You have to understand, we didn't ever... expect to see something like this, ever. Not on such a ridiculous scale." "Besides," Micheals interjected. "it doesn't m-matter what really caused it, for now. B-Both sources are permanently gone, so they won't be a threat to us a-anymore. What //does// matter n-now is that--" "--That Esterberg is alive once more," Asheworth added. "Y-Yeah." Micheals nodded. "W-Whatever the hell did that c-clearly was at least p-partially conscious. A... A transfer of this much magical e-energy, of this magnitude and stability, couldn't just be done by something r-random." He looked up to Asheworth for confirmation. But Asheworth wasn't listening, not anymore. He just absentmindedly stared at the wall before him, running some quick EVE calculations in his mind. When he reached a sufficient conclusion, he smiled faintly, realizing what it really meant. "You son of a bitch," he silently muttered, letting his smile turn into a full-on grin. [[div]] [[=]] @@ @@ [[image http://scpdsandbox.wdfiles.com/local--files/jaeger-part-1/logo.png]] @@ @@ [[/=]] [[/div]] @@ @@ [[div class="darkbox"]] [[=]] ++ 24/11/2021 ++ [[[scp-4000\|The Forest Which Had Once Had No Name]]], Reality, Unchained [[/=]] [[/div]] @@ @@ The Forest was unusually calm, for that part of the year. But it wasn't like its new guest would ever know that -- despite all of her involvement with its creation, it was her first actual time down in this prison of her own making. As she opened her eyes for what felt like the first time ever, Queen Mab awoke to a dead-silent reality. At first, she thought she was dreaming some final-hour mirage. To even conceive of her continued existence was ridiculous, keeping all of the memories of yesterday's battle in mind. But when she slowly stood up and her head started to feel like death, she knew her current state was real. The feeling of grass beneath her naked feet, the rays of the sun blowing in her cold eyes, and the rush of wind between her silver hair and long, white dress only helped to confirm that realization of continued life. A grin entered her face. As she stretched her arms far and wide, she began to laugh. Letting all of it -- //all of it// -- out, she let a loud expression of pure and unfiltered amusement into the silent glade around her. That sound, that horrible, horrible idea carried on and on, echoing through the trees around her. In that moment, she didn't know of a reality that wasn't part of her continued mockery. After what felt like millennia, she suddenly stopped. But that grin of satisfaction didn't leave her. No. Instead, it doubled, threatening to break her perfect pale skin with its new width. She looked into the sky, her eyes once again nothing but freezing with hatred. "I win," she quietly mouthed, looking at the horizon beyond the forest. "I win and you lose, you pathetic worm" she added, reaching to correct her hair. As her long, thin fingers took the first grip of those silver strands in her hands, she let herself wonder, for just a moment, what she would do to anyone that rancid little creature cared about when she would finally take a step into the real world. She imagined all of those wonderful fires, burning ever so bright, the people he dared to call close deep inside their molten flames. Yes, she could very much see that. And now -- now that she was free from the shackles binding her inside that rotting palace -- now, coming back to her new kingdom was just a matter of taking the first step forward. When she opened her eyes again, however, that laugh died within seconds. She froze. A thought hit her. She recognized those trees. This wasn't just any forest, no. No. No. No, no, no no no no no, //no//! It was impossible. She won. //She// won. Not him. Not //them//. //She// did. There was only one ruler, here and everywhere, and this was just //not//-- Suddenly, from in-between those trees, figures started to appear. Their first immediately recognizable trait was that they were tired. So, //so// tired. They had been freed from their animalistic mockeries of forms and returned to baseline Fae bodies, the relief visible upon their restored faces was almost washed out by the pure exhaustion of those one-hundred-and-twelve years of agony. The once-prisoners of the Forest stretched their long limbs, able to finally move freely and without pain for the first time in more than a century. And all of their gazes were focused just on Mab. Involuntarily, she swallowed hard. "No!" She shouted, extending her hand forward. When no sparks of arcane electricity came out of her palm, her eyelids twitched, and she repeated: "No!" But the figures didn't seem to care about her complaints; they slowly began their march toward her all the same. From every corner of the Forest, from every corner of reality, all of those she had damned to eternal torment so many years ago were now closing in, their faces twisted in an expression of barely comprehensible satisfaction. "No!" She said once more, beginning to back off, only to trip on some wet piece of grass behind her. "Get back! I command you! //Your Queen// commands you!" In the distance, one of the Fae laughed. "You have no power here, oh Queen. Not anymore." "Liar!" She tried to thunder out into the gale, only to be met by a weak and fragile imitation of her own voice. "You-- I-- //No//-- I-- I-- I..." She continued trying to escape, forging her own desperation into a quick pace, then allowing it to turn into a full-on run. It didn't last long, though, and ended rather abruptly when she fell against a particularly muscular Fae blocking her way. She felt a grip form around her throat, and as she met the gaze of the man before her, she could see nothing but his own smile. "Oh, but don't you worry, your majesty," he spat out, tightening the grasp of his gigantic hands on that fragile body before him, ignoring the movements that attempted to get her out. "I'm sure your court will treat you just like someone of your position deserves." "N--//ahghggh!//" She only managed to get out as she felt a twist of unimaginable agony somewhere in her leg. Then in her arm. Then in her feet. Then in her back. Then everywhere, all at once. And then, when her subjective reality became nothing but a swarm of furious Fae, her sneers and jeers died out to the cacophony of kicks and hits and punches and spits, one after another, repeating into infinity. [[div]] [[=]] @@ @@ [[image http://scpdsandbox.wdfiles.com/local--files/jaeger-part-1/logo.png]] @@ @@ [[/=]] [[/div]] @@ @@ [[div class="darkbox"]] [[=]] ++ 24/11/2021 ++ ##FFD700\|An Old Cliff##, At the Edge of the Horizon [[/=]] [[/div]] @@ @@ To witness the sunset, Nowak thought, was one of the most moving experiences a human could ever partake in. His awakening wasn't particularly special. It wasn't even really all that important, in the grand scheme of things. He simply opened his eyes -- his very own eyes, for the first time in almost forty years -- and knew where he was, who he was, and how he was. He flexed his muscles, felt the cold breeze of the sea blow in his face, and corrected his long hair, just barely containing the will to scratch his burn scar. For a moment, he took it all in. And before him, the sun was fading. It was calm, all things considered. He didn't think that something as big as death ever could or even should feel that way. But, as his first end was rather abrupt, he figured it shaped up just a little of bias when it came to what he expected his second conclusion to be like. [[[scp-5672\|Ten bullets to the chest]]] weren't exactly the best way to go, but hey, that was that. It wasn't like he could change anything about it, not even if he wanted. At least this one was going to somehow matter. As he looked toward the star in front of him, he couldn't help but notice its beauty. Those reds, oranges, and yellows blended so seamlessly into the dying sky around it, marking the end of the sun's reign over reality -- at least for now. Nowak smiled, falling down on the ground again. The moment he hit that warm ground beneath him and let his legs hang beyond the cliff at the end of reality, he finally let everything go. He breathed out, and knew that just like the sun, he too will fade soon. He was surprisingly fine with that. There was no fear, no anger, no will to really do anything else inside him. Just acceptance. The End came for everyone, in its inevitability, so why would he struggle against it? He had once heard someone call death the king of all fears, lurking at the finale of everyone's journey, never letting go. But tonight, he couldn't disagree more. After all, with a life well spent, what was there to fear? He just lay there, bereft of any thought, staring into the increasingly starry sky above him. With each passing minute, another bright light popped into existence from seemingly nowhere, and he felt more and more of life's fleeting energy leave him. But he didn't close his eyes. No, not yet. He still had to witness that beautiful moment in which day and night met for one final time, before he went. He felt he just needed that, and then he would be done. Just one more time. He knew that the End would grant him that much, after everything he'd done for it. The sudden appearance of a tall figure at the edge of his vision seemed to very much confirm that belief. Without any words, the newcomer sat down next to Nowak, legs dangling beyond the cliff. Damien knew exactly what he was -- he didn't need to check. He'd met the avatar of death so many times they could almost be considered acquainted. [[[scp-6072\|The being that greeted all those that were lonely and unwanted at their very end]]] may have hidden behind the glamour of his close ones, but it was all for nothing. He could feel its presence beside him, even though it very much wanted to hide that with its appearance of Daniel Asheworth. And still, he felt no fear. For a moment -- for a single, fleeting moment -- they exchanged looks. In those cold, cold eyes, Nowak saw just one thing -- he saw himself. And, exhaling once more, he let himself get carried by that impression. He let the End pretend to be the only person he ever really came close to, in his final minutes. He didn't want to go alone. The avatar offered no words of his own. Instead, he extended forward a hand with a lit cigarette, his own smoke already in his hands. Not giving it much thought, Nowak accepted the gift. And so, there they were, two dark figures sitting somewhere beyond reality, looking into the horizon before them. The final rays of an equally dead sun illuminated their lanky features, and the wind blew the smoke away from their faces, allowing both for a few final breaths without interruption. It felt like lifetimes passed, waiting on that cliff. It felt like lifetimes passed, but that was alright. For tonight, everything was still, everything was silent, and everything was calm. And everything was okay. Quietly, as his smoke finished burning, Nowak turned to his companion. "Is it done?" The other took a long drag and slowly nodded, no emotion present in the expression. "Alright," A faint smile entered Nowak's face as he let out his final, final breath. For a second, he paused. "I wonder where I'll end up this time," he chuckled. The other put out his smoke, but didn't answer. "Guess it's high time to find out," Nowak concluded, and finished his cigarette, too. As the sun went out, finally dipping below the border of the horizon, the world went dark. Despite a million stars shining above, the cliff below stood engulfed by a sea of calm darkness, devoid of anything to break its tranquility. It stood there like that, uninterrupted and unwitnessed, until the sun came back up again the next morning, shining the rays of a clean light above a new world. For the first time since its inception so long ago, all of creation was finally unshackled from the never-ending struggle of the Mad Sisters. When that light reached the cliff, it found it empty. The two figures that once witnessed the death of the old reality were now long gone. The hunt was over. @@ @@ [[/==]] ----- [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:earthworm">:scp-wiki:component:earthworm</a> \| first=flase \| last=true \| hub=yes \| previous-url=/jaeger-part-1\| previous-title=Jäger, Part 1 \| next-url= \| next-title= \| hub-url=/gaslight-gatekeep-girlboss-hub \| hub-title=GASLIGHT, GATEKEEP, GIRLBOSS ]] ----- [[=]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a> \|author=Ralliston and Trotskyeet]] ===== > Filename: logo.png > Author:** [[user EstrellaYoshte]], edited by [[user HarryBlank]], then edited //again// by [[user Jasiu06]] > License:* CC BY-SA 3.0 > Source Link: [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/jaeger-part-1 SCP Foundation Wiki] > Filename: hunter.png > Name: Allegorie op de vergankelijkheid (Vanitas), RP-P-1938-1837.jpg > Author: Rijksmuseum > License: Public Domain > Source Link: [https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Allegorie_op_de_vergankelijkheid_(Vanitas),_RP-P-1938-1837.jpg Wikimedia Commons] ===== [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]] [[/=]]	2023-01-09T17:26:00	[ "_cc", "_licensebox", "action", "children-of-the-night", "co-authored", "damien-nowak", "doctor-asheworth", "doctor-rivera", "esterberg", "fantasy", "from-120s-archives", "homo-sapiens-sidhe", "man-who-wasnt-there", "nameless", "no-return", "nobody", "otherworldly", "queen-mab", "tale" ]	Jäger, Part 2 - SCP Foundation	32	[ "canon-hub", "from-120-s-archives-hub", "the-man-who-wasnt-there-hub", "no-return-hub", "gaslight-gatekeep-girlboss-hub", "ralliston-s-authorpage", "trotskyeet-author", "gaslight-gatekeep-girlboss-hub", "esterberg-city-wikipedia", "a-faerie-tale-of-twin-queens", "scp-6500", "scp-6172", "scp-7600", "carroll-022-the-last-stand", "scp-7292", "secure-facility-dossier-site-120", "fresh-blood", "scp-4000", "scp-5672", "scp-6072", "jaeger-part-1", "next-url", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "the-man-who-wasnt-there-hub", "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "no-return-hub", "nobody-hub", "gaslight-gatekeep-girlboss-hub", "from-120-s-archives-hub" ]	[]	1445431430	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/jaeger-part-2
jensenaleph	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=1&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Acreepypasta/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=2&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Aanon/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <div class="blockquote"> <p><span style="color: grey"><strong>AlmondWaterConnoisseur</strong></span> #86852815</p> <hr/> <p>I have very strong memories of a horror-thriller webseries from <em>way</em> back in YouTube's life cycle, sometime around early 2006. Predating Marble Hornets, Cameraheads, The Human Pet, and even Lonelygirl15.</p> <p>The only problem is, I'm starting to have doubts that it even existed.</p> <p>But I'll get back to that later. First, let me tell you about what I remember about JensenAleph.</p> <p>It was made back in the days where editing software was prohibitively expensive, and you needed to be made Partner by Youtube to upload stuff longer than 10 minutes. So the amateur nature showed badly. The video quality was abysmal even by 2006 standards. Most of the time background noise drowned out anything the protagonist-the titular Jensen-said. Videos would start and end abruptly in the middle of sentences. And Jensen couldn't act, stammering and muttering half his words, with the other half being delivered so woodenly that a dull pencil would have more charisma.</p> <p>But YouTube was still a novelty back in those days, not the neoliberal corporate mess it is now, so I kept watching in spite of everything, not knowing any better.</p> <p>The actual plot of JensenAleph didn't actually start right away. There were several dozen videos that were as mundane as can be; Jensen filming while walking his dog, recording him and his wife dancing along to a Pet Shop Boys song, or vlogging about whatever annoyed him that day. All of it didn't really serve any purpose except to drip feed information about Jensen and his life. He was 29; he and his wife had been married for 5 years; he worked at a warehouse for a company he couldn't name for legal reasons…boring stuff like that.</p> <p>Things took a turn around, I believe, his 30th video. Seated at his kitchen table, Jensen described, shakily, of how his neighbor-whom he'd known for more than a decade-had had a psychotic break or something. Not recognizing him when he'd went by to return a DVD player he'd borrowed from them, screaming at him and calling him a "thief" and "trespasser" no matter how many times he tried to calm them down. It escalated to the point where they almost broke Jensen's nose, and the police had to be called.</p> <p>The video ended abruptly, when Jensen heard knocking on his front door.</p> <p>He followed up a month later with four videos, panicked and filming in a hotel room. He explained that after the incident with his neighbor, more strange shit started happening in his life.</p> <p>The neighbor's house had somehow been quietly demolished in the middle of the night, and there was nothing but a patch of gravel and weeds where it was. Their phone number, email, and MySpace either did not work or were erased. The rest of his neighbors, the sanitation plant they worked at, and even his own wife denied that they knew the guy. The final straw for Jensen was when he rifled through his photo albums, and literally every single picture that had the neighbor in it was gone, only an empty sleeve remaining.</p> <p>Shit had gone badly for Jensen in the intervening time. He'd been fired from his job, his wife had kicked him out of the house until he "sorted himself out", and the rest of the neighborhood was shunning him. And he was afraid to even leave the motel, as sedans with tinted windows drove around the place constantly and unfamiliar people wearing clothes that were "too smooth" were walking around the complex.</p> <p>Another knock on the door at the fourth video's end.</p> <p>Another cut to black.</p> <p>His next video came two weeks after. His hands are jittering, filming a distant building from what looks to be a forest. Jensen's voice is manic; he claims he figured it out. That the sanitation plant had something to do with what happened to his neighbor. Saying he didn't remember when it was established, like it had just appeared one day. That the place got frequent noise complaints, and no one but the employees were allowed inside. No press, no authorities; nobody. And, as he was filming the video, there were helicopters-"look government", he claimed, "and don't make a sound"-that frequently took off and landed from somewhere in the facility at night.</p> <p>"Why would a sewage treatment plant need helicopters?" he finished the video with.</p> <p>His uploads after that were much more frequent, although the video quality continued to degrade, being a blur of lights and sounds on top of the already low video resolution. They were also very short, the longest one only clocking in at about 2 minutes. Not much actually happened within them. He'd record security guards patrolling around the place, narrowly missing being seen, or filming bubbles forming in a waste stabilization pond. The most notable one I remember, the aforementioned 2-minute mark, was him looking at a sewage pipe that ran from the back of the plant, zooming in through the bars into its innards.</p> <p>Just before the video ended, there was a screeching sound that echoed through the pipe, and something dashed through a junction further in. It cut to black just as a klaxon began going off.</p> <p>It was also the last video where Jensen was seen alive.</p> <p>The final video I remember seeing on JensenAleph, uploaded almost a year later, was a complete departure from all of the others. It was filmed on a tripod, and Jensen's wife stood in front of it, her eyes puffy and skin pale.</p> <p>Jensen had apparently broken into the sewage treatment plant, shortly after uploading the last video, taking the supervisor hostage at gunpoint and making "incoherent demands" towards both him and the police that responded to the scene. By the time a SWAT team was able to make it into the facility, the supervisor had been killed-a bullet clean through his forehead-and Jensen was nowhere to be seen.</p> <p>The security cameras had caught him going <em>in</em>, but there was absolutely no sign of him coming <em>out</em>.</p> <p>She said the reason why it'd taken so long for her to put the video up was because the feds relentlessly questioned her, her neighbors and their families about Jensen. Trying to find his motives, and looking into the videos he uploaded before. She'd only just gotten the account's password reset, and wasn't even sure if she was allowed to upload the video at all.</p> <p>It ended with text flashing on the screen, of an email and phone number, with her breaking down into sobs, begging anyone who watched the channel to help find her husband.</p> <p>A distant knocking sound, and the video ended.</p> <p>I remember losing interest in JensenAleph sometime after that, not out of boredom but because 2007 was a really bad year for me, medically, and I had to deal with so many prescriptions and injections that an amateur web series was very low on my priority list. It was only after 2018 rolled around that it came back to my memory, as I was reading through the Lost Media Wiki, and got me thinking.</p> <p>Putting JensenAleph won't turn up any results on YouTube these days, and no social medias with that name exist elsewhere online. Even looking through all the sites on Wayback produce zilch, nada. I've asked around on Reddit, Lost Media Wiki, and on any internet sleuthing Discord I could find, and no one could find anything. After a point, people just stopped replying to my efforts, and if I tried to revive things I would get banned.</p> <p>And what's even stranger is…I couldn't, for the life of me, tell you what Jensen and his wife looked like, or where the series was located. I can recall very vague details, like-again-her eyes being puffy and Jensen having some kind of mole on his chin, but the rest of their faces, their real names, the name of the neighborhood or sanitation plant, even what <em>state</em> they were in…it's like it's completely gone from even the depths of my memories.</p> <p>But here's the most fucked thing. One of the details that I remember, and can't seem to shake.</p> <p>It was the crying of Jensen's wife in the last video. It was extremely visceral; the sobs were so harsh that it sounded like she was choking at times. Much more raw than any of the other performances I'd seen in the series.</p> <p>What if she wasn't acting?</p> </div> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/jensenaleph">JensenAleph</a>" by newnykacolaquantum, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/jensenaleph">https://scpwiki.com/jensenaleph</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:creepypasta">:scp-wiki:theme:creepypasta</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:anon">:scp-wiki:theme:anon</a>]] [[>]] [[module rate]] [[/>]] [[div class="blockquote"]] ##grey\|AlmondWaterConnoisseur## #86852815 ------ I have very strong memories of a horror-thriller webseries from //way// back in YouTube's life cycle, sometime around early 2006. Predating Marble Hornets, Cameraheads, The Human Pet, and even Lonelygirl15. The only problem is, I'm starting to have doubts that it even existed. But I'll get back to that later. First, let me tell you about what I remember about JensenAleph. It was made back in the days where editing software was prohibitively expensive, and you needed to be made Partner by Youtube to upload stuff longer than 10 minutes. So the amateur nature showed badly. The video quality was abysmal even by 2006 standards. Most of the time background noise drowned out anything the protagonist-the titular Jensen-said. Videos would start and end abruptly in the middle of sentences. And Jensen couldn't act, stammering and muttering half his words, with the other half being delivered so woodenly that a dull pencil would have more charisma. But YouTube was still a novelty back in those days, not the neoliberal corporate mess it is now, so I kept watching in spite of everything, not knowing any better. The actual plot of JensenAleph didn't actually start right away. There were several dozen videos that were as mundane as can be; Jensen filming while walking his dog, recording him and his wife dancing along to a Pet Shop Boys song, or vlogging about whatever annoyed him that day. All of it didn't really serve any purpose except to drip feed information about Jensen and his life. He was 29; he and his wife had been married for 5 years; he worked at a warehouse for a company he couldn't name for legal reasons...boring stuff like that. Things took a turn around, I believe, his 30th video. Seated at his kitchen table, Jensen described, shakily, of how his neighbor-whom he'd known for more than a decade-had had a psychotic break or something. Not recognizing him when he'd went by to return a DVD player he'd borrowed from them, screaming at him and calling him a "thief" and "trespasser" no matter how many times he tried to calm them down. It escalated to the point where they almost broke Jensen's nose, and the police had to be called. The video ended abruptly, when Jensen heard knocking on his front door. He followed up a month later with four videos, panicked and filming in a hotel room. He explained that after the incident with his neighbor, more strange shit started happening in his life. The neighbor's house had somehow been quietly demolished in the middle of the night, and there was nothing but a patch of gravel and weeds where it was. Their phone number, email, and MySpace either did not work or were erased. The rest of his neighbors, the sanitation plant they worked at, and even his own wife denied that they knew the guy. The final straw for Jensen was when he rifled through his photo albums, and literally every single picture that had the neighbor in it was gone, only an empty sleeve remaining. Shit had gone badly for Jensen in the intervening time. He'd been fired from his job, his wife had kicked him out of the house until he "sorted himself out", and the rest of the neighborhood was shunning him. And he was afraid to even leave the motel, as sedans with tinted windows drove around the place constantly and unfamiliar people wearing clothes that were "too smooth" were walking around the complex. Another knock on the door at the fourth video's end. Another cut to black. His next video came two weeks after. His hands are jittering, filming a distant building from what looks to be a forest. Jensen's voice is manic; he claims he figured it out. That the sanitation plant had something to do with what happened to his neighbor. Saying he didn't remember when it was established, like it had just appeared one day. That the place got frequent noise complaints, and no one but the employees were allowed inside. No press, no authorities; nobody. And, as he was filming the video, there were helicopters-"look government", he claimed, "and don't make a sound"-that frequently took off and landed from somewhere in the facility at night. "Why would a sewage treatment plant need helicopters?" he finished the video with. His uploads after that were much more frequent, although the video quality continued to degrade, being a blur of lights and sounds on top of the already low video resolution. They were also very short, the longest one only clocking in at about 2 minutes. Not much actually happened within them. He'd record security guards patrolling around the place, narrowly missing being seen, or filming bubbles forming in a waste stabilization pond. The most notable one I remember, the aforementioned 2-minute mark, was him looking at a sewage pipe that ran from the back of the plant, zooming in through the bars into its innards. Just before the video ended, there was a screeching sound that echoed through the pipe, and something dashed through a junction further in. It cut to black just as a klaxon began going off. It was also the last video where Jensen was seen alive. The final video I remember seeing on JensenAleph, uploaded almost a year later, was a complete departure from all of the others. It was filmed on a tripod, and Jensen's wife stood in front of it, her eyes puffy and skin pale. Jensen had apparently broken into the sewage treatment plant, shortly after uploading the last video, taking the supervisor hostage at gunpoint and making "incoherent demands" towards both him and the police that responded to the scene. By the time a SWAT team was able to make it into the facility, the supervisor had been killed-a bullet clean through his forehead-and Jensen was nowhere to be seen. The security cameras had caught him going //in//, but there was absolutely no sign of him coming //out//. She said the reason why it'd taken so long for her to put the video up was because the feds relentlessly questioned her, her neighbors and their families about Jensen. Trying to find his motives, and looking into the videos he uploaded before. She'd only just gotten the account's password reset, and wasn't even sure if she was allowed to upload the video at all. It ended with text flashing on the screen, of an email and phone number, with her breaking down into sobs, begging anyone who watched the channel to help find her husband. A distant knocking sound, and the video ended. I remember losing interest in JensenAleph sometime after that, not out of boredom but because 2007 was a really bad year for me, medically, and I had to deal with so many prescriptions and injections that an amateur web series was very low on my priority list. It was only after 2018 rolled around that it came back to my memory, as I was reading through the Lost Media Wiki, and got me thinking. Putting JensenAleph won't turn up any results on YouTube these days, and no social medias with that name exist elsewhere online. Even looking through all the sites on Wayback produce zilch, nada. I've asked around on Reddit, Lost Media Wiki, and on any internet sleuthing Discord I could find, and no one could find anything. After a point, people just stopped replying to my efforts, and if I tried to revive things I would get banned. And what's even stranger is...I couldn't, for the life of me, tell you what Jensen and his wife looked like, or where the series was located. I can recall very vague details, like-again-her eyes being puffy and Jensen having some kind of mole on his chin, but the rest of their faces, their real names, the name of the neighborhood or sanitation plant, even what //state// they were in...it's like it's completely gone from even the depths of my memories. But here's the most fucked thing. One of the details that I remember, and can't seem to shake. It was the crying of Jensen's wife in the last video. It was extremely visceral; the sobs were so harsh that it sounded like she was choking at times. Much more raw than any of the other performances I'd seen in the series. What if she wasn't acting? [[/div]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a> \|author=newnykacolaquantum]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-03-02T15:29:00	[ "_licensebox", "creepypasta", "parawatch", "tale" ]	JensenAleph - SCP Foundation	15	[ "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "archived:shortest-pages-by-month-2023", "parawatch-hub", "creepy-pasta" ]	[]	1446553554	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/jensenaleph
judas-iscariot	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div style="display: none"> <hr/> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">+ Show component code</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">- Hide component code</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <div class="code"> <div class="hl-main"> <pre><span class="hl-special">:root</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> --</span><span class="hl-reserved">sidebar-width-on-desktop:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--base-font-size) * (</span><span class="hl-number">266</span><span class="hl-code"> / </span><span class="hl-number">15</span><span class="hl-code">))</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">body-width-on-desktop:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">45.75</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">only</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">screen</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">and</span><span class="hl-code"> (min-width: 56.25</span><span class="hl-identifier">rem</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#content-wrap</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> initial</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> row</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-grow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vw - (</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vw - </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">min-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vh - var(--final-header-height-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">10.125</span><span class="hl-code">rem))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">13.6</span><span class="hl-code">rem) </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">13.6</span><span class="hl-code">rem) * -</span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code"> / </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> initial</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--body-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">45.75</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--body-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">45.75</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> min(</span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-code">vw, var(--body-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">45.75</span><span class="hl-code">rem))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> -webkit-sticky</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> sticky</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">grid-area:</span><span class="hl-code"> side-bar</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">13.6</span><span class="hl-code">rem) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">min-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">13.6</span><span class="hl-code">rem) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vh</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow-y:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">scroll</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition:</span><span class="hl-code"> translate </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">), background-color </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">), padding </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms linear, margin </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms linear</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--swatch-tertiary-color, </span><span class="hl-number">170</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">170</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">170</span><span class="hl-code">), </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--sidebar-bg-color, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">), </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">translate:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">13.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem) * -</span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code"> - </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">rtl</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">scrollbar-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">thin</span><span class="hl-code">; -</span><span class="hl-reserved">ms-scroll-chaining:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overscroll-behavior:</span><span class="hl-code"> contain</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">scrollbar-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--swatch-primary-darker), </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">) /* Thumb / rgba(var(--swatch-tertiary-color), </span><span class="hl-number">0.05</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Track</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code">::-</span><span class="hl-identifier">webkit-scrollbar-track</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--swatch-secondary-color, </span><span class="hl-number">244</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">244</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">244</span><span class="hl-code">), </span><span class="hl-number">0.8</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code">::-</span><span class="hl-identifier">webkit-scrollbar</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code">::-</span><span class="hl-identifier">webkit-scrollbar-thumb</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code">::-</span><span class="hl-identifier">webkit-scrollbar-corner</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vw + </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vh)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right-style:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--sidebar-bg-color, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">), </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-identifier">is</span><span class="hl-code">(:</span><span class="hl-identifier">hover</span><span class="hl-code">, :</span><span class="hl-identifier">active</span><span class="hl-code">, :</span><span class="hl-identifier">focus-within</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow-x:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">hidden</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow-y:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--swatch-primary-darker), </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--sidebar-bg-color, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">), </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">translate:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem) - var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">scrollbar-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">170</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">170</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">170</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">) / Thumb / rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">252</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">252</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">252</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Track</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-reserved">scrollbar-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--swatch-primary-darker, </span><span class="hl-number">170</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">170</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">170</span><span class="hl-code">), </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">) / Thumb / rgb(var(--swatch-menubg-color, </span><span class="hl-number">252</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">252</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">252</span><span class="hl-code">), </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Track</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> " "</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">fixed</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">align-items:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">justify-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">), background-position </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">), opacity </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> url("https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/component%</span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-code">Acollapsible-sidebar/sidebar-tab.svg")</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-attachment:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">fixed</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-repeat:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">no-repeat</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">12.875</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">pointer-events:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-identifier">is</span><span class="hl-code">(:</span><span class="hl-identifier">hover</span><span class="hl-code">, :</span><span class="hl-identifier">active</span><span class="hl-code">, :</span><span class="hl-identifier">focus-within</span><span class="hl-code">) + </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">14.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem) -</span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">), background-position </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">), opacity </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">14.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem) * -</span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> " "</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">absolute</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">z-index:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--final-header-height-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">14.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code"> - var(--final-header-height-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">0.688</span><span class="hl-code">rem) - </span><span class="hl-number">2.313</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--final-header-height-on-desktop, -</span><span class="hl-number">2.313</span><span class="hl-code">rem) * -</span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code"> - </span><span class="hl-number">2.313</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition:</span><span class="hl-code"> translate </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">), opacity </span><span class="hl-number">300</span><span class="hl-code">ms cubic-bezier(</span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--swatch-alternate-color, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">pointer-events:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">translate:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, </span><span class="hl-number">14.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem) * -</span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code"> + </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-identifier">is</span><span class="hl-code">(:</span><span class="hl-identifier">hover</span><span class="hl-code">, :</span><span class="hl-identifier">active</span><span class="hl-code">, :</span><span class="hl-identifier">focus-within</span><span class="hl-code">) + </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">translate:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.25</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-left-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">ltr</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scpnet-interwiki-wrapper</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">ltr</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Print</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Friendly</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Formatting</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">by</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Estrella</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">body.print-body</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> --</span><span class="hl-reserved">sidebar-width-on-desktop:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">body.print-body</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">before</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">body.print-body</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span></pre></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=3&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Athe-foundation-theme/2&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=4&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/component%3Abhl-dark-sidebar/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <div class="main"> <div class="paddingdiv"> <p>Jesus said to them, "How do you know me? Truly I say to you, no generation of the people among you will know me."</p> <p>When his disciples heard this, they started to get angry and furious and started to curse him in their hearts.</p> <p>But when Jesus noticed their ignorance, he said to them, "Why are you letting your anger trouble you? Has your God within you and his stars become angry with your souls? If any of you is strong enough among humans to bring out the perfect Humanity, stand up and face me."</p> <p>All of them said, "We're strong enough." But their spirits weren't brave enough to stand before him – except Judas Iscariot. He was able to stand before him, but he couldn't look him in the eye, so he looked away.</p> </div> <div class="line"> <p><em>Gospel of Judas, Codex Tchacos</em><br/> <em>Author Unknown</em><br/> <em>Date Unknown</em></p> </div> </div> <div class="color"> <p>He stood alone in a desolate corridor, all immaculate and empty. The walls were white and cold with no window in sight, the only light coming from light bulbs hidden in the ceiling, too bright for the eye.</p> <p>There was no sound, except for the rhythmic and slow breathing of a person, looking onto the white expanse unmoving, as if considering a painting. Not dead, but not quite alive, something else. A stasis of existence, wrapped in the pristine metal walls as if a blanket, lulling it to sleep.</p> <p>The man’s face was akin to the room, neutral and cold, not disclosing its secrets to an outside observer. Yet inside the calm exterior and slightly furrowed eyebrows, his heart was beating with a calculated fury, an old anger that did not lessen with time, but was shaped and cultivated into a machine. And even deeper, beneath what even the man himself knew, was hiding a thread of fear, never truly gone from time immemorial.</p> <p>Almost soundless, he began to walk forward, arms tied behind the back. A strand of hair fell onto his forehead, appearing slightly in the view, but he ignored it. Touching his lips with the tongue, he realized they were cracked and dry, and as he walked, he felt his posture slightly deflate.</p> <p>He was getting sloppy, he thought, disorganized. There was a time when such a thing would never fly, but he was aware he was getting old. Not physically, not for a long time still, but mentally. Tired, burdened by the past, and stressed. He would never admit it aloud, but he was stressed like he never was before, to his memory at least. But, it was alright, he decided after a moment. It was a big day after all.</p> </div> <div class="main"> <div class="paddingdiv"> <p>Then Jesus, knowing that he was thinking about what's exalted, said to him, "Come away from the others and I'll tell you the mysteries of the kingdom. Not so that you'll go there, but you'll grieve much because someone else will replace you to complete the twelve elements before their God."</p> <p>Judas said to him, "When will you tell me these things, and when will the great day of light dawn for the generation?"</p> <p>But when he said these things, Jesus left him.</p> </div> <div class="line"> <p><em>Gospel of Judas, Codex Tchacos</em><br/> <em>Author Unknown</em><br/> <em>Date Unknown</em></p> </div> </div> <div class="color"> <p>His fate was written long before he was born. He never knew how much of what happened was predestined, whether everything that he has ever done was merely an act on stage, and around the next corner an audience will be waiting. An existence of waste, rebellion in the name only. He could call it his life work, he thought, but that was a lie he was keenly aware of. It was more than that, much more. Tens of thousands of lifetimes, across generations, laid before him one by one. And every time, he thought, he was undeserving of such a privilege, nay, worse than that. Unfit.</p> <p>Yet he carried on, day by day, and with time and everything he came to know, his conviction ever only grew not waned. What started as a fool's errand, became what he beheld now, a monument larger than himself, to carry on when you won't be able to, and the crimes done will need to be answered.</p> <p>When that day comes, he will be ready, he thought. As much regret and self-righteousness as he can hold, the people wronged will need have their justice. But not today and not now. This, he must complete himself.</p> </div> <div class="main"> <div class="paddingdiv"> <p>Judas said, "Master, just as you've listened to all of them, now listen to me too, because I've seen a great vision."</p> <p>But Jesus laughed when he heard this. He said to him, "Why are you all worked up, you thirteenth demon? But speak up, and I'll bear with you."</p> <p>Judas said to him, "In the vision, I saw myself. The twelve disciples are stoning me and chasing me rapidly. And I also came to the place where I had followed you. I saw a house in this place, and my eyes couldn't measure its size. Great people surrounded it, and that house had a roof of greenery. In the middle of the house was a crowd of no men, but those greater than all earthly generations. Master, take me in with these people!"</p> <p>Jesus answered and said, "Your star has led you astray, Judas," and that "no person of mortal birth is worthy to enter the house you've seen, because that place is reserved for those who are holy. Neither the sun nor the moon will rule there, nor the day, but those who are holy will always stand in the realm with the holy angels.”</p> </div> <div class="line"> <p><em>Gospel of Judas, Codex Tchacos</em><br/> <em>Author Unknown</em><br/> <em>Date Unknown</em></p> </div> </div> <div class="color"> <p>The corridor led into a large maze-like room, filled with branching paths of offices and desks, filling the space in erratic patterns. The papers were all organized and hidden, tape notes and drafts thrown away, even pens all laying in the designated spots. All of it illuminated by slightly yellow light of monitor screens, each containing an evacuation notice.</p> <p>The man looked at the message and realized that he never actually read it before. It was beyond his station to receive general communication. Most likely an assistant a few weeks ago was told to fill in a pre-existing form in place of nothing else to do. Potential cognitohazard, possible breakdown of reality, extreme akiva radiation. Nothing he wasn’t aware of, of course, but, he thought, that maybe when this is over he should try getting out more.</p> <p>As he continued to walk, he soon entered a small employee lounge, contrasting in its disarray with the previous room. A half-eaten lunch sitting on a countertop, a table with an array of brewed but untouched cups of coffee. And in the middle laid a singular file of documents.</p> </div> <div class="main"> <div class="paddingdiv"> <p>Jesus answered and said to him, "Come, let me tell you about the holy generation. Not so that you'll go there, but you'll grieve much when you see the kingdom and all its generation."</p> <p>When Judas heard this, he said to him, "What good has it done me that you've separated me from that generation?"</p> <p>Jesus answered and said, "You'll become the thirteenth, and will be cursed by the other generations and will rule over them. In the last days they'll be opposed to you and you won't go up to the holy generation."</p> <p>Jesus said, "Come and I'll teach you about the mysteries that no human will see, because there exists a great and boundless realm whose horizons no angelic generation has seen, in which is a great invisible Spirit, which no angelic eye has ever seen, no heart has ever comprehended, and it's never been called by any name."</p> </div> <div class="line"> <p><em>Gospel of Judas, Codex Tchacos</em><br/> <em>Author Unknown</em><br/> <em>Date Unknown</em></p> </div> </div> <div class="color"> <p>He picked the first loose page up and brandished it in the air. ‘Proposal for Utilization of Hyperreal Energy Sources, version 7B’, merely a bureaucratic camouflage meant to hide importance behind blandness. All those years finally came down to a piece of paper, born from an idea he could never escape from. A simple desire of freedom, not a mere escape from the path, but the possibility of tearing it all down, of starting again on our own terms.</p> <p>Yet, he knew, today was not the end, but a start of a long and terrible journey. It was obvious to him, that he will most likely die in the next two hours, but at least he will die as a free man, for the first time since his birth. There was a time when he believed in the greater good, that actions can be justified, and evil graded. Now he knew better than the world cannot be simply scaled, but he grieved that even this knowledge did not stop him. He traveled too far to rest now.</p> <p>He never asked the world for permission to thrust it into this war, ask how much torment would winning it be worth, for he was afraid that he would be refused, that they would decide he asks for too much. And so, he did not ask, but picked up the weapon himself in everyone else’s stead. Because for him, this was not the start of a war, merely a battle.</p> <p>They would forgive him, he thought. Eventually.</p> </div> <div class="main"> <div class="paddingdiv"> <p>“And in the realm that appeared with the generation of Adamas, the first of man of incorruptible power, is the cloud of knowledge and the angel who's called Eleleth. After these things Eleleth said, 'Let twelve angels come into being to rule over Chaos and Hades'.</p> <p>And look, from the cloud there appeared an angel whose face flashed with fire and whose likeness was defiled by blood. His name was Nebro, which means 'Rebel'. Others call him Yaldabaoth. And another angel, Saklas, came from the cloud too. So Nebro created six angels – and Saklas did too – to be assistants. They brought out twelve angels in the heavens, with each of them receiving a portion in the heavens.”</p> </div> <div class="line"> <p><em>Gospel of Judas, Codex Tchacos</em><br/> <em>Author Unknown</em><br/> <em>Date Unknown</em></p> </div> </div> <div class="color"> <p>He ran his fingers through the file, stopping deep in the middle. After a quick glance, he took out a single page and held it delicately. He knew its contents well, the series of complicated schematics and equations that he spent decades creating and revising until even a possibility of a mistake or a miscalculation were left in the past.</p> <p>Many who have seen the plans deemed it a weapon at first, but it was a misunderstanding. The solution required was more subtle, indirect. It was a lighthouse, a beacon for the accursed, to allow it to break the ages meant to be. And when it comes, the old path will forever be abandoned and its ancient design.</p> <p>After that, the scheme grew complicated. Impossible to predict in a meaningful way. The great fool will struggle being removed from its seat of power, and the consequences of that are unknowable. Perhaps the realms will collapse when the balance of the dominions is destroyed, or the world won’t be able to withstand such a divinity.</p> </div> <div class="main"> <div class="paddingdiv"> <p>"Then Saklas said to his angels, 'Let's create a human being after the likeness and the image'. And they fashioned Adam and his wife Eve, who in the cloud is called 'Life', because by this name all the generations seek him, and each of them calls her by their names.”</p> <p>Then Judas said to Jesus, "So what will those generations do?"</p> <p>Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, the stars complete all these things. When Saklas completes the time span that's been determined for him, their first star will appear with the generations, and they'll finish what's been said. Then they'll sleep around in my name, murder their children, and they'll commit all that’s evil and conquer the realms, bringing the generations and presenting them to Saklas. And after that they will bring the twelve tribes of Israel, and the generations will all serve Saklas, sinning in my name. And your star will rule over the thirteenth realm."</p> <p>Then Jesus laughed.</p> </div> <div class="line"> <p><em>Gospel of Judas, Codex Tchacos</em><br/> <em>Author Unknown</em><br/> <em>Date Unknown</em></p> </div> </div> <div class="color"> <p>No matter what happens, he thought, his design will be complete. The connection to the first realm shall be severed.</p> <p>A sacrifice to the powers that be, in a way, he thought. They demanded an offering, a price to buy the freedom of this world and everyone in it, paid solely in blood, and he will make sure they will not refuse it. They may sit in their palaces of vanity and stagnation, but they will shatter their arrogance and primordial supremacy.</p> <p>The systems in place will provide a sufficient protection to most, and the institutions that were created were designed to outlive him and any other possible casualties. The world and everything he knows might crumble, but what was built will remain until there is nothing left to safeguard. He wasn’t nearly foolish enough not to create layers of redundancy.</p> <p>There is a saying that no plan survives the first contact with the enemy, but this was a hopeful thinking in his line of work. For a plan to fail it needs to be possible to create it ahead of time in the first place, and that is not a privilege given often recently. No matter, he trusted in his people to pull through in spite of everything. It’s not their first deicide after all.</p> </div> <div class="main"> <div class="paddingdiv"> <p>Then Judas said to Jesus, "What will those do who've been baptized in your name?"</p> <p>Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, this baptism which they've received in my name will destroy the whole generation of the earthly Adam. Tomorrow they'll torture the one who bears me. Truly I say to you, no hand of a mortal human will fall upon me. Truly I say to you, Judas, those who offer sacrifices to Saklas do everything that's evil. But you'll do more than all of them, because you'll sacrifice the human who bears me."</p> </div> <div class="line"> <p><em>Gospel of Judas, Codex Tchacos</em><br/> <em>Author Unknown</em><br/> <em>Date Unknown</em></p> </div> </div> <div class="color"> <p>He traveled further through the building, stairs leading him underground, until he reached a great vault door of solid metal. Standing a few meters before him, despite not touching any button or scanner, the door opened itself as if it were doing it of its own accord.</p> <p>Inside stood a large machine, all pristine and new, the last of the screws just put in place. And hidden within lied an unholy core of power, ready to birth a heresy of humankind’s making, awaiting for the heart of its might to start beating.</p> <p>And on the ground next to it swarmed a hive of people, everyone occupied in their own task, preparing the metal beast, checking every metal plate and wire for any minute imperfection. The man looked upon them. Each of their faces were tired and grieving, small self-pitying smiles occasionally show in between the workers as their faces met; but their hands remained determined and methodical.</p> <p>Someone had to remain to make sure the process remains faultless, and even though not a soul did choose this task of not their own volition, he thought, that their death will stain upon his hands. Yet, he will do more than that, for the true price will come after.</p> </div> <div class="main"> <div class="paddingdiv"> <p>Immediately there was a disturbance among the Jews. Their high priests grumbled because he'd gone into the guest room to pray. But some scribes were there watching closely so they could arrest him during his prayer, because they were afraid of the people, since they all regarded him as a prophet.</p> <p>And they approached Judas and said to him, "What are you doing here? Aren't you Jesus' disciple?"</p> <p>Then he answered them as they wished. Then Judas received some money and handed him over to them.</p> </div> <div class="line"> <p><em>Gospel of Judas, Codex Tchacos</em><br/> <em>Author Unknown</em><br/> <em>Date Unknown</em></p> </div> </div> <div class="color"> <p>His fate was written long before he was born, but it has been a very long time since he let that stop him.</p> <p>A woman strolled next to him with heavy steps. She was short and of a petite stature, hidden deep within a long white lab coat, worn mostly due to habit and not current necessity. The round glasses didn’t do much to hide the large dark bags under eyes and she noticeably slouched when walking, but extended an effort to straighten herself as she approached the man.</p> <p>“The project is ready to launch. Do I have the clearance to begin, Overseer?”</p> </div> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/judas-iscariot">Judas Iscariot</a>" by Arcydziegiel, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/judas-iscariot">https://scpwiki.com/judas-iscariot</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:black-highlighter-theme">:scp-wiki:theme:black-highlighter-theme</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:the-foundation-theme">:scp-wiki:theme:the-foundation-theme</a> \|dark=--]]] [[module CSS]] @import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=EB+Garamond:ital@0;1&display=swap'); .main { margin:4em 3em 4em 3em; padding:none; color: hsl(0, 0%, 85%); background: hsl(0, 0%, 15%); border: medium solid rgb(133, 0, 5); font-family: 'EB Garamond', serif; font-size:110%; } .paddingdiv { padding:0.5em 2em 1em 2em; } .line { border-top: solid 3px rgb(133, 0, 5); padding: 0em 4em 0em 0em; text-align:right; margin: 0%; border-radius:30px; } .color { color: hsl(0, 0%, 90%); font-size:105%; } @media only screen and (max-width: 768px) { .main { margin:2em 0.3em 2em 0.3em; } .line { padding: 0em 3em 0em 0em; } } [[/module]] [[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[div class="main"]] [[div class="paddingdiv"]] Jesus said to them, "How do you know me? Truly I say to you, no generation of the people among you will know me." When his disciples heard this, they started to get angry and furious and started to curse him in their hearts. But when Jesus noticed their ignorance, he said to them, "Why are you letting your anger trouble you? Has your God within you and his stars become angry with your souls? If any of you is strong enough among humans to bring out the perfect Humanity, stand up and face me." All of them said, "We're strong enough." But their spirits weren't brave enough to stand before him – except Judas Iscariot. He was able to stand before him, but he couldn't look him in the eye, so he looked away. [[/div]] [[div class="line"]] //Gospel of Judas, Codex Tchacos// //Author Unknown// //Date Unknown// [[/div]] [[/div]] [[div class="color"]] He stood alone in a desolate corridor, all immaculate and empty. The walls were white and cold with no window in sight, the only light coming from light bulbs hidden in the ceiling, too bright for the eye. There was no sound, except for the rhythmic and slow breathing of a person, looking onto the white expanse unmoving, as if considering a painting. Not dead, but not quite alive, something else. A stasis of existence, wrapped in the pristine metal walls as if a blanket, lulling it to sleep. The man’s face was akin to the room, neutral and cold, not disclosing its secrets to an outside observer. Yet inside the calm exterior and slightly furrowed eyebrows, his heart was beating with a calculated fury, an old anger that did not lessen with time, but was shaped and cultivated into a machine. And even deeper, beneath what even the man himself knew, was hiding a thread of fear, never truly gone from time immemorial. Almost soundless, he began to walk forward, arms tied behind the back. A strand of hair fell onto his forehead, appearing slightly in the view, but he ignored it. Touching his lips with the tongue, he realized they were cracked and dry, and as he walked, he felt his posture slightly deflate. He was getting sloppy, he thought, disorganized. There was a time when such a thing would never fly, but he was aware he was getting old. Not physically, not for a long time still, but mentally. Tired, burdened by the past, and stressed. He would never admit it aloud, but he was stressed like he never was before, to his memory at least. But, it was alright, he decided after a moment. It was a big day after all. [[/div]] [[div class="main"]] [[div class="paddingdiv"]] Then Jesus, knowing that he was thinking about what's exalted, said to him, "Come away from the others and I'll tell you the mysteries of the kingdom. Not so that you'll go there, but you'll grieve much because someone else will replace you to complete the twelve elements before their God." Judas said to him, "When will you tell me these things, and when will the great day of light dawn for the generation?" But when he said these things, Jesus left him. [[/div]] [[div class="line"]] //Gospel of Judas, Codex Tchacos// //Author Unknown// //Date Unknown// [[/div]] [[/div]] [[div class="color"]] His fate was written long before he was born. He never knew how much of what happened was predestined, whether everything that he has ever done was merely an act on stage, and around the next corner an audience will be waiting. An existence of waste, rebellion in the name only. He could call it his life work, he thought, but that was a lie he was keenly aware of. It was more than that, much more. Tens of thousands of lifetimes, across generations, laid before him one by one. And every time, he thought, he was undeserving of such a privilege, nay, worse than that. Unfit. Yet he carried on, day by day, and with time and everything he came to know, his conviction ever only grew not waned. What started as a fool's errand, became what he beheld now, a monument larger than himself, to carry on when you won't be able to, and the crimes done will need to be answered. When that day comes, he will be ready, he thought. As much regret and self-righteousness as he can hold, the people wronged will need have their justice. But not today and not now. This, he must complete himself. [[/div]] [[div class="main"]] [[div class="paddingdiv"]] Judas said, "Master, just as you've listened to all of them, now listen to me too, because I've seen a great vision." But Jesus laughed when he heard this. He said to him, "Why are you all worked up, you thirteenth demon? But speak up, and I'll bear with you." Judas said to him, "In the vision, I saw myself. The twelve disciples are stoning me and chasing me rapidly. And I also came to the place where I had followed you. I saw a house in this place, and my eyes couldn't measure its size. Great people surrounded it, and that house had a roof of greenery. In the middle of the house was a crowd of no men, but those greater than all earthly generations. Master, take me in with these people!" Jesus answered and said, "Your star has led you astray, Judas," and that "no person of mortal birth is worthy to enter the house you've seen, because that place is reserved for those who are holy. Neither the sun nor the moon will rule there, nor the day, but those who are holy will always stand in the realm with the holy angels.” [[/div]] [[div class="line"]] //Gospel of Judas, Codex Tchacos// //Author Unknown// //Date Unknown// [[/div]] [[/div]] [[div class="color"]] The corridor led into a large maze-like room, filled with branching paths of offices and desks, filling the space in erratic patterns. The papers were all organized and hidden, tape notes and drafts thrown away, even pens all laying in the designated spots. All of it illuminated by slightly yellow light of monitor screens, each containing an evacuation notice. The man looked at the message and realized that he never actually read it before. It was beyond his station to receive general communication. Most likely an assistant a few weeks ago was told to fill in a pre-existing form in place of nothing else to do. Potential cognitohazard, possible breakdown of reality, extreme akiva radiation. Nothing he wasn’t aware of, of course, but, he thought, that maybe when this is over he should try getting out more. As he continued to walk, he soon entered a small employee lounge, contrasting in its disarray with the previous room. A half-eaten lunch sitting on a countertop, a table with an array of brewed but untouched cups of coffee. And in the middle laid a singular file of documents. [[/div]] [[div class="main"]] [[div class="paddingdiv"]] Jesus answered and said to him, "Come, let me tell you about the holy generation. Not so that you'll go there, but you'll grieve much when you see the kingdom and all its generation." When Judas heard this, he said to him, "What good has it done me that you've separated me from that generation?" Jesus answered and said, "You'll become the thirteenth, and will be cursed by the other generations and will rule over them. In the last days they'll be opposed to you and you won't go up to the holy generation." Jesus said, "Come and I'll teach you about the mysteries that no human will see, because there exists a great and boundless realm whose horizons no angelic generation has seen, in which is a great invisible Spirit, which no angelic eye has ever seen, no heart has ever comprehended, and it's never been called by any name." [[/div]] [[div class="line"]] //Gospel of Judas, Codex Tchacos// //Author Unknown// //Date Unknown// [[/div]] [[/div]] [[div class="color"]] He picked the first loose page up and brandished it in the air. ‘Proposal for Utilization of Hyperreal Energy Sources, version 7B’, merely a bureaucratic camouflage meant to hide importance behind blandness. All those years finally came down to a piece of paper, born from an idea he could never escape from. A simple desire of freedom, not a mere escape from the path, but the possibility of tearing it all down, of starting again on our own terms. Yet, he knew, today was not the end, but a start of a long and terrible journey. It was obvious to him, that he will most likely die in the next two hours, but at least he will die as a free man, for the first time since his birth. There was a time when he believed in the greater good, that actions can be justified, and evil graded. Now he knew better than the world cannot be simply scaled, but he grieved that even this knowledge did not stop him. He traveled too far to rest now. He never asked the world for permission to thrust it into this war, ask how much torment would winning it be worth, for he was afraid that he would be refused, that they would decide he asks for too much. And so, he did not ask, but picked up the weapon himself in everyone else’s stead. Because for him, this was not the start of a war, merely a battle. They would forgive him, he thought. Eventually. [[/div]] [[div class="main"]] [[div class="paddingdiv"]] “And in the realm that appeared with the generation of Adamas, the first of man of incorruptible power, is the cloud of knowledge and the angel who's called Eleleth. After these things Eleleth said, 'Let twelve angels come into being to rule over Chaos and Hades'. And look, from the cloud there appeared an angel whose face flashed with fire and whose likeness was defiled by blood. His name was Nebro, which means 'Rebel'. Others call him Yaldabaoth. And another angel, Saklas, came from the cloud too. So Nebro created six angels – and Saklas did too – to be assistants. They brought out twelve angels in the heavens, with each of them receiving a portion in the heavens.” [[/div]] [[div class="line"]] //Gospel of Judas, Codex Tchacos// //Author Unknown// //Date Unknown// [[/div]] [[/div]] [[div class="color"]] He ran his fingers through the file, stopping deep in the middle. After a quick glance, he took out a single page and held it delicately. He knew its contents well, the series of complicated schematics and equations that he spent decades creating and revising until even a possibility of a mistake or a miscalculation were left in the past. Many who have seen the plans deemed it a weapon at first, but it was a misunderstanding. The solution required was more subtle, indirect. It was a lighthouse, a beacon for the accursed, to allow it to break the ages meant to be. And when it comes, the old path will forever be abandoned and its ancient design. After that, the scheme grew complicated. Impossible to predict in a meaningful way. The great fool will struggle being removed from its seat of power, and the consequences of that are unknowable. Perhaps the realms will collapse when the balance of the dominions is destroyed, or the world won’t be able to withstand such a divinity. [[/div]] [[div class="main"]] [[div class="paddingdiv"]] "Then Saklas said to his angels, 'Let's create a human being after the likeness and the image'. And they fashioned Adam and his wife Eve, who in the cloud is called 'Life', because by this name all the generations seek him, and each of them calls her by their names.” Then Judas said to Jesus, "So what will those generations do?" Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, the stars complete all these things. When Saklas completes the time span that's been determined for him, their first star will appear with the generations, and they'll finish what's been said. Then they'll sleep around in my name, murder their children, and they'll commit all that’s evil and conquer the realms, bringing the generations and presenting them to Saklas. And after that they will bring the twelve tribes of Israel, and the generations will all serve Saklas, sinning in my name. And your star will rule over the thirteenth realm." Then Jesus laughed. [[/div]] [[div class="line"]] //Gospel of Judas, Codex Tchacos// //Author Unknown// //Date Unknown// [[/div]] [[/div]] [[div class="color"]] No matter what happens, he thought, his design will be complete. The connection to the first realm shall be severed. A sacrifice to the powers that be, in a way, he thought. They demanded an offering, a price to buy the freedom of this world and everyone in it, paid solely in blood, and he will make sure they will not refuse it. They may sit in their palaces of vanity and stagnation, but they will shatter their arrogance and primordial supremacy. The systems in place will provide a sufficient protection to most, and the institutions that were created were designed to outlive him and any other possible casualties. The world and everything he knows might crumble, but what was built will remain until there is nothing left to safeguard. He wasn’t nearly foolish enough not to create layers of redundancy. There is a saying that no plan survives the first contact with the enemy, but this was a hopeful thinking in his line of work. For a plan to fail it needs to be possible to create it ahead of time in the first place, and that is not a privilege given often recently. No matter, he trusted in his people to pull through in spite of everything. It’s not their first deicide after all. [[/div]] [[div class="main"]] [[div class="paddingdiv"]] Then Judas said to Jesus, "What will those do who've been baptized in your name?" Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, this baptism which they've received in my name will destroy the whole generation of the earthly Adam. Tomorrow they'll torture the one who bears me. Truly I say to you, no hand of a mortal human will fall upon me. Truly I say to you, Judas, those who offer sacrifices to Saklas do everything that's evil. But you'll do more than all of them, because you'll sacrifice the human who bears me." [[/div]] [[div class="line"]] //Gospel of Judas, Codex Tchacos// //Author Unknown// //Date Unknown// [[/div]] [[/div]] [[div class="color"]] He traveled further through the building, stairs leading him underground, until he reached a great vault door of solid metal. Standing a few meters before him, despite not touching any button or scanner, the door opened itself as if it were doing it of its own accord. Inside stood a large machine, all pristine and new, the last of the screws just put in place. And hidden within lied an unholy core of power, ready to birth a heresy of humankind’s making, awaiting for the heart of its might to start beating. And on the ground next to it swarmed a hive of people, everyone occupied in their own task, preparing the metal beast, checking every metal plate and wire for any minute imperfection. The man looked upon them. Each of their faces were tired and grieving, small self-pitying smiles occasionally show in between the workers as their faces met; but their hands remained determined and methodical. Someone had to remain to make sure the process remains faultless, and even though not a soul did choose this task of not their own volition, he thought, that their death will stain upon his hands. Yet, he will do more than that, for the true price will come after. [[/div]] [[div class="main"]] [[div class="paddingdiv"]] Immediately there was a disturbance among the Jews. Their high priests grumbled because he'd gone into the guest room to pray. But some scribes were there watching closely so they could arrest him during his prayer, because they were afraid of the people, since they all regarded him as a prophet. And they approached Judas and said to him, "What are you doing here? Aren't you Jesus' disciple?" Then he answered them as they wished. Then Judas received some money and handed him over to them. [[/div]] [[div class="line"]] //Gospel of Judas, Codex Tchacos// //Author Unknown// //Date Unknown// [[/div]] [[/div]] [[div class="color"]] His fate was written long before he was born, but it has been a very long time since he let that stop him. A woman strolled next to him with heavy steps. She was short and of a petite stature, hidden deep within a long white lab coat, worn mostly due to habit and not current necessity. The round glasses didn’t do much to hide the large dark bags under eyes and she noticeably slouched when walking, but extended an effort to straighten herself as she approached the man. “The project is ready to launch. Do I have the clearance to begin, Overseer?” [[/div]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] [!-- N/A (No Images) --] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-03-06T22:42:00	[ "_licensebox", "tale" ]	Judas Iscariot - SCP Foundation	28	[ "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023" ]	[]	1446587777	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/judas-iscariot
karen-queen-of-the-monsters	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=1&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Awar-on-all-fronts-sigma/2&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <div style="text-align: right; margin-right: 2em; margin-top: -20px;"> <p>by <a href="/this-page-intentionally-left-blank">harryblank</a></p> </div> <h1 id="toc0"><span>TEMPORAL SITE-01 — 2023</span></h1> <h1 id="toc1"><span>(SORT OF, IT'S COMPLICATED)</span></h1> <p>"No. Absolutely not. No."</p> <p>Karen didn't smile at the man. Years ago, she would have. Years ago, it might have gotten her somewhere. These days, it was her scowls that made her a good negotiator. She scowled. "What happened to taking one for the team?"</p> <p>Director Tibbals huffed impatiently. He'd been huffing since he arrived, claiming the recycled air in Temporal Site-01 was somehow inferior to the air where he came from. Something about advanced ecological stewardship. She hadn't really been listening, because she couldn't use the information. She'd considered, and rejected, the possibility of lighting up a cigarette to make him even less comfortable; these negotiations were a honey vs. vinegar deal. She hated it when that happened. Her hair had once been honey blonde, but all she had these days was acid.</p> <p>"What you're asking for goes well beyond that." The man almost looked frightened at the mooted possibility of doing what she'd asked, even as he solidly rejected it. "We're not going to wake up the Rainbow Serpent. Damn near everything we've done in the past year has been geared toward keeping it asleep. It's the only thing keeping the Foundation in the public's good graces, and the only thing keeping the public <em>alive.</em> It almost killed—"</p> <p>She waved him off. "All right, all right. You've made your point. If it's only good for causing an apocalypse, we don't want it anyway."</p> <p>"You probably already <em>have</em> it." Tibbals looked like he needed a smoke, too. "You should start working on those greenhouse gases. It <em>really</em> hates greenhouse gases."</p> <p>Karen looked down at her notepad, and carefully crossed off <strong><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-6004">TL-6004</a></strong>. "We'll consider it once we've killed the Crocosmosquid."</p> <p>Temporal Site-01 was chock full of researchers, agents and administrators like Karen herself, all of them bent on one singular goal: averting a catastrophe in an already catastrophe-prone timeline. A recurrent Crocosquid attack, halted at the last minute by a particularly bombastic application of pataphysics, had turned out to be the prelude to something far, far worse. An eldritch horror from beyond the stars, a kaiju infused with the essence of the god which had created the Wanderers' Library, was on its way to Earth to take <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/crocosquid-vs-kong">revenge</a>.</p> <p>It was fortunate, for humanity, that they'd managed to receive advanced warning of this threat. If they hadn't, it would surely have obliterated their planet before they even knew what hit them. It was unfortunate for Karen, because she was a trained negotiator and was therefore expected to take part in the vast effort to canvass the other signatories of the Multi-Foundation Agreement of 1981 for potential solutions to their godly dilemma. Her efforts had been focused on finding a beast to equal the one barrelling its way across the vast gulf of interstellar space toward them. She and the other ambassadors had only a few days to make it work.</p> <p>So, it wasn't <em>going</em> to work. Simple as that.</p> <p>"Any luck?" A researcher was already sitting on the couch in the break room when she entered. He was holding out a finger towards her in what she at first thought was a rude gesture, until she noticed the <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/moving-on">mosquito</a> perched on the tip. She winced.</p> <p>"No. So, about what I expected. This was never a good idea; any monster-handling plan with the potential to leave us with <em>two</em> monsters is ill-considered at best"</p> <p>"You shouldn't call them monsters," Chudley tutted.</p> <p>Karen poured herself a glass of water from a pitcher in the fridge. "We haven't talked much, so let me get something out of the way real quick. I'm not going to stop describing monsters as monsters to avoid hurting your girlfriend's feelings, because your girlfriend <em>is a mosquito</em> and if ever a creature deserved to be called monstrous, that would be my pick."</p> <p>"You're quite the beast yourself," the mosquito retorted. Karen was annoyed to be able to hear it. She was further annoyed that its voice was so melodious. She'd expected a high-pitched whine. Something more like Chudley's.</p> <p>"Thank you," she responded. "Now, if I recall correctly, you're supposed to be debriefing all the ambassadors on the idiotic thing you did. Were you ever going to get around to me?"</p> <p>Chudley shifted awkwardly on the couch. "I mean, if you think it's pointless…"</p> <p>"It's not <em>pointless,</em>" Karen snapped. "I've been canvassing as best I can, but I really do need to know what we're up against here. How likely is it that Kong could defeat the Crocosmosquid?"</p> <p>That had been their solution. Pull Kong, the original Kong from the public domain novelization of Merian C. Cooper's copyrighted masterpiece of monster fiction, into their reality to fight the resurgent Crocosquid. Pure madness. Worse that it had worked. Worse still that it had actually <em>not.</em></p> <p>"He's just a big monkey," said Chudley.</p> <p>"Ape," Leslie the mosquito corrected.</p> <p>"I'm sorry." Chudley glanced down worriedly at his partner. "Was that racist?"</p> <p>"I don't know?" Leslie flitted her wings. "I don't know how other animals think, just because they're animals."</p> <p>"You're not an animal," Chudley smiled.</p> <p>"Thank you, but—"</p> <p>"You're an insect."</p> <p>"Insects are animals," Karen interrupted, "and <em>shut the hell up,</em> both of you, Jesus Christ. So you're telling me the monster you tapped to fight the Crocosquid is going to be completely useless… wait, actually, it's worse than that. You thought you'd tapped it to fight the Crocosmosquid, and it ended up successfully fighting one of her <em>children.</em> If it had actually faced the monster you thought you were supposed to defeat, it would have gotten pounded into the seabed and we'd all be dead right now. That about the size of it?"</p> <p>"Uh." Chudley frowned.</p> <p>"Well…" Leslie trailed off.</p> <p>Karen waved her hand dismissively. "Buzz off, the both of you."</p> <p>"All I'm hearing is, it ate your entire planet."</p> <p>Tilda Moose sighed. Karen had heard her sigh before, but that had been the Moose from baseline reality, not this weird hooded librarian. This Moose sighed in satisfaction. Baseline Moose had never been satisfied in recent memory. "The Serpent didn't <em>eat the planet.</em> It just sort of… turned the page for all of us."</p> <p>"Uh huh." Karen circled the timeline designation on her notepad. "I'm thinking we'd like to turn the page on what's coming, too. Maybe squash it in the book binding."</p> <p>Moose shook her head. "This isn't our story. It's yours. The solution should spring naturally from your own journey."</p> <p>"Blah blah blah," Karen agreed. She did smile at Moose. Moose hated being smiled at. "We're about to be murdered by a fusion of the Serpent and the Crocosquid. Don't you think that maybe, just <em>maybe,</em> your version of the Serpent could help us with that? Since you're all buddy-buddy with it and all."</p> <p>"That's not an accurate description." Moose crossed her arms. "Unless you want your world devoured by the Library, like ours was, I don't think we can help you with your problem. The best case scenario is our Serpent convinces yours to… start the SCP-6000 process…" She stopped talking.</p> <p>"What?"</p> <p>"How…? How <em>did</em> the Serpent fuse with a version of the Crocosquid? Shouldn't there be only one Serpent?"</p> <p>"Shouldn't there be only one Library?" Karen retorted.</p> <p>"Yes." Moose stared at her. "Yes, there should be only one Library."</p> <p>Karen considered.</p> <p>Karen crossed off <strong><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-6000">TL-6000</a></strong>, and popped the cap on her bottle of amnestics. "Above my pay grade."</p> <p>She was annoyed to see another person she was expected to chat with waiting for her in the break room. She was particularly annoyed at this one, since it was a <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/reeling-in-the-crocosquid">defector from the Foundation</a> who just happened to be their early warning system for the onrushing Crocosmosquid, which meant she couldn't blow him off as easily as she had the mosquito and mosquitofucker.</p> <p>"Any luck?" August Jorel asked solicitously.</p> <p>"I was very rude to the last person to ask me that," Karen growled.</p> <p>"So, no luck."</p> <p>"That's the worst thing about this approach. It really is luck-based. We're asking a coalition of who knows how many billion Foundations—"</p> <p>"Wait, wait." He raised his hand. "What do you mean, 'who knows'? Surely you know. Surely this isn't <em>actually</em> luck-based, there must be some sort of… master database somewhere."</p> <p>Karen stopped mid-pour. "You think we on the ground level know how many Foundations there are in the multiverse?"</p> <p>"Uh…"</p> <p>"You think we have access to a complete manifest of what would essentially be every anomaly in existence, anywhere, ever?"</p> <p>"Uh…"</p> <p>"You don't think that would both potentially solve every problem we've ever encountered, and made us all so completely and utterly mad with power that we'd have ended all human life across the multiverse through raw excess long before you and I ever met?"</p> <p>Jorel raised both hands in surrender. "Changing the topic. Why did you want to see me?"</p> <p>"You're the reason we know this is going to happen."</p> <p>"Yeah."</p> <p>"You talked to the Crocosquid in your dreams, and it told you the Crocosmosquid is coming."</p> <p>He squirmed. "That's about the size of it."</p> <p>"Why would it tell you this? Why not just let the thing show up and wipe us all out?"</p> <p>He squirmed more. "Because she likes me."</p> <p>"Sorry?"</p> <p>No part of him was unmoving on the couch, now. "She likes me a lot. We like… we like each other. A lot."</p> <p>Karen dipped her chin at him, glaring over her glasses. "<em>Sorry?</em>"</p> <p>"We've gotten to… it's a whole… complicated…"</p> <p>She allowed herself a quirk of the mouth. "Oh, okay. All right."</p> <p>He looked pained. "Wait."</p> <p>She shook her head. "No, okay. I get it. Alright."</p> <p>She pointed at him. "Monsterfucker."</p> <p>"Hey!" he shouted.</p> <p>"Monsterfucker. Monsterfucker says the Crocosmosquid is coming, and we believe him, because he <em>really knows</em> his monsters. Knows them <em>biblically.</em>" She swanned past the cabinets, gesturing theatrically.</p> <p>"I don't appreciate being reduced to two dimensions," the man snapped.</p> <p>"What's your second dimension, then?"</p> <p>"I'm a film-maker." She could sense a note of pre-injured pride in the response.</p> <p>"Wow, that really adds a lot of depth to your personality!" She affected a cold chuckle. "Famously well-rounded people, film-makers. Tell me, what kind of films do you make? Films about fucking monsters?"</p> <p>"It was in the briefing packet," he mumbled defensively. "We debuted a film about the Hy-Brasil tragedy not long ago. Exonerating the Crocosquid."</p> <p>"Exonerating…? How is that…?" This time the chuckle was at least half-genuine. "It… okay. There has to be an even worse word for what you are."</p> <p>"You're being kind of racist right now," Jorel groused.</p> <p>"That's the second time someone's said that to me today, for not liking <em>monsters.</em> I should like to inform you that my most recent <em>date</em> was with a monster."</p> <p>"Did it go well?"</p> <p>"It did not."</p> <p>"Was it your fault? I bet it was your fault."</p> <p>"Actually, it was the monster's fault. It was really, very much the monster's fault."</p> <p>"So you're not on good terms now?"</p> <p>She considered. "That is a safe thing to say, yes."</p> <p>"So you can't, I don't know, call it over to fight the Crocosmosquid when it arrives?"</p> <p>The mental image was certainly stimulating. "I think that would result in a brief, visually interesting, curbstomp. Which come to think of it, might be something I'd be into seeing…"</p> <p>"Probably we ought to be focusing on actual solutions."</p> <p>She shrugged. "Seems like you'll be real useful for that. Does your girlfriend know anything we can use to fight the real threat?"</p> <p>He shrugged back at her. "Not really? She says it's infinitely large and infinitely wise."</p> <p>"Oh, that's good," she sneered. "Always fun to be squaring off against <em>infinites.</em> That simplifies things a lot."</p> <p>He barely seemed to hear the jab, lost in thought. "She can only feel the shape of it, you know? She can sense its existence, because it's so <em>big,</em> and because it's <em>her.</em> But she thinks it can probably be reasoned with? It just… it's really upset about losing a kid to Kong."</p> <p>"I probably would be, too."</p> <p>"Kind of an ego thing."</p> <p>"Mm."</p> <p>"So I dunno, maybe you can do something with that? Get it a match it'd be proud to win? Salve the wound."</p> <p>Now they were getting somewhere. Not far, but farther than the interdimensional interviews had gotten them. "That's certainly a better idea than kaiju battle royale. I'll mull it over. Thank you for not being completely useless, traitor."</p> <p>"What did you just call me?"</p> <p>"You've outlived your usefulness. It's okay to be rude to you now. I was really having trouble holding it in, you know?"</p> <p>This version of Dr. Gears seemed like every other version Karen had ever met, fifty-nine seconds out of every sixty. On the sixtieth second, without exception, his expression shifted to one of abject horror. Eventually he noticed her staring, and commented: "Reality reset. Doesn't always take completely. The soul remembers. Ever been in an acid bath?"</p> <p>She shook her head.</p> <p>"Do not recommend it."</p> <p>She nodded.</p> <p>"So, what can we help you with today?"</p> <p>"This is sort of a Hail Mary," she admitted. "But all my other leads have come up dry, so: are there any useful giant monsters? In your timeline?"</p> <p>Gears winced. "Useful giant monsters."</p> <p>"Yeah. We're talking galactic significance here. Maybe something from the noosphere?"</p> <p>This time the twitch seemed a little longer. Two seconds?</p> <p>"Possibly something ontokinetic, then?"</p> <p>Three seconds.</p> <p>"Deific?"</p> <p>Four.</p> <p>"No? How about robotic?"</p> <p>His screams filled the chamber.</p> <p>She picked up her pencil.</p> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: line-through;"><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/admonition">TL-6820</a></span></strong></p> <p>Ilse Reynders, Director of the Temporal Anomalies Department, plopped down in the chair beside Karen. She looked exhausted. "So, any luck?"</p> <p>"Jesus Christ," Karen muttered.</p> <p>"Sorry, what was that?"</p> <p>"No luck," Karen sighed. "Bupkis."</p> <p>The other woman patted her on the shoulder companionably. "Well, you tried."</p> <p>"How've the others done?"</p> <p>"With the subset we're authorized to speak with by OP, no joy. We've petitioned for a look at some of the spicier timelines, but considering this whole thing is way beyond the bounds of the <a href="/scp-5618">1981 Pact</a>, I'm not expecting much. We're at the point where whatever lunacy Tactical Theology comes up with might be our best bet."</p> <p>"I'm sure they'll have something fun and interesting, if nothing else. Hmm." Karen wasn't a schemer, but she knew enough schemers to recognize a scheme when it began forming in her own mind.</p> <p>"What?"</p> <p>"I was talking to the 6820 people," she mused.</p> <p>Reynders chuckled. "How did that go? They're pretty special."</p> <p>"Well, it was Gears. Gears is always a constant. But as I was rattling off bad ideas… he was getting pretty, well, rattled. What do you know about those guys?"</p> <p>"Imagine a universe entirely dedicated to the pursuit of terrible ideas," Reynders sighed.</p> <p>"Would they plausibly be involved in a project to… induce… apotheosis, in a hybrid chimaera monster?"</p> <p>Reynders blinked. "I think they've actually done that, at least once. At <em>least</em> once."</p> <p>"Okay. <em>Okay.</em>" It was settled. They were doing this. "Get Chudley in here."</p> <p>The other woman looked confused. "I don't know your insulting nicknames for everyone, Karen. I'm not <em>your</em> Ilse."</p> <p>"It's his actual name, somehow. The mosquitofucker."</p> <p>That won a smile, not that Reynders was as sparing with them as Karen was. "Oh, right. Okay. Does he actually…? Never mind, sure." She tapped the intercom. "Could we have… Chudley? In here, please."</p> <p>The researcher strolled in, mosquito still cupped in his hands. "What's up?"</p> <p>"How good is your pataphysics?" Karen asked him.</p> <p>He shrugged. "I mean, pretty good?"</p> <p>"Can you pull monsters out of movies?"</p> <p>"Public domain movies," he nodded.</p> <p>Karen nodded back. "Won't be a problem."</p> <p>"Then yeah, probably?"</p> <p>"I think you owe us an apology first," the mosquito buzzed.</p> <p>"I'll apologize if this works." Karen turned back to Reynders. "Can we get Jorel in here, too?"</p> <p>Reynders made the call.</p> <p>"Hey," Jorel waved as he walked in to stand next to Chudley. He stared at the mosquito in the other man's hands, and Karen had a wonderful image of him suddenly slapping it. Sadly, it remained just an image.</p> <p>"Hey. We want you to make a movie, and it has to be kind of… fast."</p> <p>The film-maker looked uncertain. "Like, framerate? That's kind of a mixed bag with audiences."</p> <p>"No. I mean it has to be done <em>yesterday.</em>"</p> <p>He looked even more uncertain now. "You don't mean that literally, right? Because, like…" He waved at their surroundings. "Temporal Site-01."</p> <p>Reynders chuckled.</p> <p>"No," Karen shook her head. "I just mean fast-fast."</p> <p>"What's it involve?"</p> <p>"There will be CGI, but we'll get another agency to take care of that."</p> <p>Reynders gave her a sideways glance. She ignored it.</p> <p>"Okay," said Jorel.</p> <p>"Mostly just screaming crowds, buildings falling down. That sort of thing."</p> <p>"Stock footage," the man nodded.</p> <p>"Marvellous. Okay. I want you to make a kaiju movie about a giant monster, and it has to be done well before the deadline, and then I want <em>you</em>," she pointed at Chudley, "to yank the kaiju out of it, so we can film it <em>believably.</em> Does this all make sense?"</p> <p>"I guess?" Chudley shrugged. "What's the kaiju?"</p> <p>"I'll tell you in a minute. I have to Google predation chains."</p> <p>The man from TL-6820 said his name was Placeholder McD. Karen had met someone by that name. This someone was considerably sterner, even more given to grandiose gestures, but considerably less effusive. Then again, the circumstances of his visit might have had something to do with that.</p> <p>"I didn't come here to negotiate," he told Karen crossly. "For the fit you gave poor Gears, I came here to <em>castigate.</em>"</p> <p>"That sounds really hot," she agreed, "but it can wait. We've figured out a way to solve our little problem, and I think we can both benefit from it."</p> <p>His eyes narrowed. "Go on."</p> <p>"I have an idea for an eigenweapon."</p> <p>"I prefer to come up with those myself," he scoffed.</p> <p>"It has a proven use case. Or, it <em>will</em> be proven, once it works. Which it will."</p> <p>"Okay?"</p> <p>"I want you to dream up a device that can combine predators together, and then ascend them to godhead."</p> <p>He stared at her. "And… you want this to <em>work?</em>"</p> <p>"No, not really. Not <em>now.</em> I just want it to seem <em>plausible.</em> You've done this before, right? Made up devices that didn't work, but <em>could</em> have worked."</p> <p>"I think you might be thinking of <a href="/scp-5956">another version of me</a>."</p> <p>"Yeah," she nodded. "Yeah, that's a real problem with these timeline disasters. But anyway, the device will never have to be used, in our situation. We just have to be able to hang the threat of it over someone's head."</p> <p>He was visibly nonplussed. "All right…"</p> <p>She took a breath. "And we'll also need you to use those fancy 3D rendering skills you guys seem to have to mock us up a fight scene with a giant monster."</p> <p>He raised a brow. "Now you're getting silly."</p> <p>"It'll be worth your while, I promise." She hoped it didn't sound like pleading. She didn't know what her voice sounded like when she pleaded.</p> <p>"How precisely will it be worth my while?"</p> <p>"We're going to give you two of our anomalies. Two that don't exist in your timeline. Two that I've seen are sitting pretty high on your Requested Assets list. Apparently you want them because they represent 'pure disdain' and 'utmost whimsy', whatever the hell that means."</p> <p>She knew by the way his nostrils flared that she had him. "The Requested Assets list is basically just a wishlist. We're almost never allowed to actually transfer anomalies between timelines. Because of the Pact."</p> <p>"This is a special case. The things you want aren't key to timeline character or stability, <em>and</em> they'll help us prevent an imminent and otherwise unavoidable XK event. We got clearance."</p> <p>She saw the wheels turning. They didn't have to turn far. "…you know what? Fine. What's the monster, and what are the components?"</p> <p>"You've already heard of the Crocosquid, right?"</p> <p>"Right?"</p> <p>"That will hopefully have primed you not to laugh at this."</p> <p>Karen stood on the deck of the destroyer, wincing in the light drizzle, and looked up at the giant ape. Once, she might have been terrified. Once, she might have been affronted by the sheer absurdity of it. Now, she was only hoping it would be over quickly.</p> <p>"Why's he so calm?" she asked, suddenly. "Shouldn't he be, I don't know, pounding his chest or trying to overturn the boat or something?"</p> <p>"My guess is, he's gone too far off script." Chudley was gazing up at the monster with something like awe; Karen hoped that was all it was. "There's no Crocosquid fight in his book. He's waiting for something familiar from the plot before he starts acting again."</p> <p>"Here's hoping he doesn't get it." Karen checked her watch, then sighed. "TactTheo says it should be here any minute. We ready to go?"</p> <p>Jorel, standing behind them, cleared his throat. "Everything's set. For showtime."</p> <p>"Here's hoping this stays a farce," Karen sighed. "I'm really not in the mood for yet another… tragedy…"</p> <p>The storm was clearing. The clouds were parting, compacting, <em>swirling.</em> It didn't take long for the shape in the sky to take on an all-too-familiar form: a five-armed crocodile, its torso terminating in a mass of writhing tentacles. It said, HELLO.</p> <p>She waved. "Hello."</p> <p>I AM COME TO AVENGE MY FALLEN CHILD</p> <p>Jorel waved as well. "Hi? We haven't properly met, but…?"</p> <p>The clouds shifted slightly, as though the massive monster were altering the direction of its stormy gaze by the slightest degree. YOU ARE THE ONE WHO PLEASES THE MEREST ASPECT. TINY AND SOFT AND SQUEEZABLE. I WILL MOURN YOUR PASSING ON BEHALF OF THE MEREST.</p> <p>"Uh," he said. "Thanks."</p> <p>"There won't be any mourning today." Karen took a step forward. "No cloud monster is going to defeat the SCP Foundation."</p> <p>I AM NOT A CLOUD MONSTER. I AM PRESENTLY IN PARKING ORBIT AROUND JUPITER. I AM MERELY MANIPULATING THE CLOUDS TO SAY HELLO BEFORE I ARRIVE AND YOUR PLANET IS COMPLETELY OBLITERATED BY MY BULK.</p> <p>"Oh," she said. "That does make… a lot more sense. Yeah. Could I maybe interest you in not doing that at all?"</p> <p>NO. THAT ONE, and a tendril shifted to point at Kong, who was staring up at the sky with obvious interest, MUST PAY FOR ITS AFFRONT TO OUR MAJESTY. I AM THE CROCOSQUID, AND THE SERPENT, AND I AM MORE AND MORE AND MORE BESIDE. I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED BY SOME MERE APE.</p> <p>"What about a few ingenious major apes?" Karen lifted her work tablet up to the sky. "How good is your eyesight?"</p> <p>MY EYES ARE BILLIONS AND PIERCE EVERY VEIL IN CREATION. I CAN SEE YOUR LITTLE COMPUTER.</p> <p>"Excellent. What can you see on it now?"</p> <p>The gigantic cloud-jaw dropped. The drizzle pattern shifted in response, and Karen had the uncomfortable feeling of being drooled on by the Crocosmosquid. THAT IS… OH. THAT IS SOMETHING. WHERE DID YOU GET THAT? IT'S NOT REAL, IS IT?</p> <p>"It's real," Chudley smiled. His voice was shaking, and his cupped hands were closed to prevent the mosquito from being blown away by the rising gale. "You're parked at Jupiter? We can send the final form to meet you at Mars, if you like."</p> <p>"The red sand will make the battle really <em>pop,</em>" Jorel added.</p> <p>"Mars isn't actually red," the mosquito chirped, muted.</p> <p>"How is that something you know?" Chudley whispered into his hands.</p> <p>FINAL FORM? WHAT FINAL FORM? IT GETS WORSE? I DON'T WANT IT TO GET WORSE.</p> <p>Karen turned the tablet back around, and tapped a few buttons. "Do you read clinical prose?" she asked.</p> <p>I HAVE READ YOUR ENTIRE DATABASE. THERE IS NOTHING IN IT THAT CAN HARM ME.</p> <p>"Well, you haven't read <em>their</em> database. It's a real horror show, let me tell you." She turned the tablet back around.</p> <blockquote> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">DESCRIPTION</span>:</strong> SCP-XXXX is the Placeholder-Mikasa Chimaeric Extrapolation Matrix, a hyperconceptual eigenmachine capable of raising any sufficiently interbred hybrid entity to the effective status of godhead, with an appropriate pantheonic niche accordingly generated in the noosphere to contain it. The process functions as follows:</p> </blockquote> <p>"I'd recommend you skip the technical bits," Karen said. "It's mostly to show that the lunacy works. But it <em>does</em> work, I assure you. We got the machine from the lunacy dimension, and they're just waiting for my word to switch it on."</p> <p>AND THAT WILL DO… I'M SORRY, I DID READ THE TECHNICAL BITS, I HAVE TO READ THEM AGAIN NOW. IT WILL TURN THIS TERRIBLE THING INTO SOMETHING AS TERRIBLE AS <span style="text-decoration: underline;">ME</span>?</p> <p>"That's right."</p> <p>The sky paused.</p> <p>I JUST WANTED TO BEAT UP THE MONKEY. THIS IS BULLSHIT.</p> <p>"Yeah," Karen sighed. "I'm really sorry. But we kind of like our planet the way it is."</p> <p>YOUR PLANET IS TERRIFYING. I KNEW YOU HAD CREATURES LIKE THAT ON IT, BUT I HAD NO IDEA THEY COULD BREED. THAT'S AWFUL. I DON'T WANT TO GET ANY CLOSER TO YOU NOW. YOU'RE DISGUSTING.</p> <p>"We've been called that before."</p> <p>WELL I'M NOT GOING TO JUST LET YOU OFF FOR PULLING THIS ON ME. The sky roiled tempestuously. IT WAS REALLY CLEVER, I ADMIT, BUT I'M STILL VERY ANGRY. IF YOU KILL ANOTHER OF MY CHILDREN I WILL RUN YOU OVER, MONSTERS OR NO.</p> <p>"Don't call them monsters." Karen knew she was pushing her luck, but she did it anyway. "That's racist."</p> <p>YOU'RE RACIST, the sky spat. She felt it on her face. YOU KNOW WHAT, IF I CAN'T KILL THE MONKEY, I'M TAKING THIS OUT ON YOU. I AM THE SERPENT. I AM THE LIBRARY. I'VE READ THE BOOK THAT MONKEY COMES FROM. I KNOW HOW IT WORKS.</p> <p>"Uh," said Chudley.</p> <p>ENJOY YOUR DATE, the Crocosmosquid snarled, then the wind swept it clean from the horizon in one smeary swipe.</p> <p>Karen felt invigorated. "I can't believe it worked!"</p> <p>"Holy shit," said Jorel.</p> <p>"Right?" She hopped on the balls of her feet. She hadn't felt this energized in years. "I mean, I knew it would work as soon as I Googled the predation chain, but knowing and seeing are two different things."</p> <p>"Dr. Elstrom?" said Chudley.</p> <p>"It was just a matter of finding two anomalies that fit. There's only a few creatures that can take a crocodile in a fair fight, and as for squid, well, you know. Penguins eat squid. It was a pleasant surprise, finding out that we had a literal god emperor penguin anomaly to call on."</p> <p>"Oh…" Chudley had opened his hands, and the mosquito was buzzing around Karen's head. "Oh, dear. Oh dear."</p> <p>Karen looked down at her tablet, elated. The image of the massive star of <em>HIPPOPENGUIN ATTACKS!</em> happily romping about in its secluded lagoon made her heart leap. She was glad, very glad, she'd had Jorel make it more of a <em>Gamera</em> than a <em>Godzilla.</em> It would be easy enough to keep a leash on, and would provide a perfect countermeasure to any further Crocosquid young that might still be swimming the cosmic seas. And if worse came to worst, well, she knew enough about the 6820 timeline to know that they were presently actually constructing the apotheosis device she'd threatened the Crocosmosquid with. After giving them the spark of inspiration, they couldn't very well refuse to lend the thing. "Hopefully we never have to witness Crocosmosquid Vs. Hyperpenguimus," she sighed contentedly. Just saying the words out loud made her feel young. The only question was whether they should further hybridize the monster to take the Serpent's presence in the mix into account; she almost laughed out loud at the thought of a hippopenguimongoose.</p> <p>"Karen?" Reynders was approaching from the destroyer's operations deck. "Uh, Karen, what happened to you?"</p> <p>"What do you mean, what happened to <em>me?</em>" She flicked on the tablet's reader-facing camera, and gasped.</p> <p>She'd seen that face almost every day of her life, but it hadn't looked like that in ages. She didn't smile or frown much, so she'd never acquired many lines, but the ones she had acquired were gone. Her eyes were a little brighter, her skin a little bit pinker.</p> <p>Her hair was honey blonde again.</p> <p>She saw, through the camera, the massive hairy shape wading up behind her, and exercised her famous self-control to resign herself to the situation.</p> <p>She did have just one question, though.</p> <p>"I've seen <em>King Kong.</em> The movie. The old one." She was talking very fast, because of course she had to. "The woman was wearing a really flimsy dress. I'm not wearing a really flimsy dress. So how does it work in the book?"</p> <p>She felt a massive hand sweep her up into the sky, and was grateful that her spine had been de-aged along with the rest of her.</p> <p>"It's different in the book!" Chudley screamed up at her. "In the book, he pulls her clothes off!"</p> <p>"Yeah," she sighed. "Of course he does."</p> <p>The mosquito landed on the tip of her nose. She resisted the urge to swat it. She didn't want to get mosquito guts all over herself.</p> <p>"Any advice?" she asked.</p> <p>"Be open to trying new things," Leslie trilled. "We've all got a lot in common, you know."</p> <p>"How's that?" The massive, hairy fist lifted her up, up, up.</p> <p>"I've heard that humans are the real monsters."</p> <p>The mosquito buzzed away.</p> <p>It was still the best date she'd had in years.</p> <div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/karen-queen-of-the-monsters">Karen, Queen of the Monsters!</a>" by HarryBlank, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/karen-queen-of-the-monsters">https://scpwiki.com/karen-queen-of-the-monsters</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:war-on-all-fronts-sigma">:scp-wiki:theme:war-on-all-fronts-sigma</a>]] [[module CSS]] .serpent-death { border-color: rgb(44,46,100); border-width: 0 5px; border-style: solid; border-radius: 3em; padding: 1px 1em; background: rgb(204, 204, 204); } #page-content h1 { font-family: 'Saira Stencil One', cursive; text-align: center; font-weight: unset; } [[/module]] [[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[div style="text-align: right; margin-right: 2em; margin-top: -20px;"]] by [[[this-page-intentionally-left-blank\|harryblank]]] [[/div]] + TEMPORAL SITE-01 -- 2023 + (SORT OF, IT'S COMPLICATED) "No. Absolutely not. No." Karen didn't smile at the man. Years ago, she would have. Years ago, it might have gotten her somewhere. These days, it was her scowls that made her a good negotiator. She scowled. "What happened to taking one for the team?" Director Tibbals huffed impatiently. He'd been huffing since he arrived, claiming the recycled air in Temporal Site-01 was somehow inferior to the air where he came from. Something about advanced ecological stewardship. She hadn't really been listening, because she couldn't use the information. She'd considered, and rejected, the possibility of lighting up a cigarette to make him even less comfortable; these negotiations were a honey vs. vinegar deal. She hated it when that happened. Her hair had once been honey blonde, but all she had these days was acid. "What you're asking for goes well beyond that." The man almost looked frightened at the mooted possibility of doing what she'd asked, even as he solidly rejected it. "We're not going to wake up the Rainbow Serpent. Damn near everything we've done in the past year has been geared toward keeping it asleep. It's the only thing keeping the Foundation in the public's good graces, and the only thing keeping the public //alive.// It almost killed--" She waved him off. "All right, all right. You've made your point. If it's only good for causing an apocalypse, we don't want it anyway." "You probably already //have// it." Tibbals looked like he needed a smoke, too. "You should start working on those greenhouse gases. It //really// hates greenhouse gases." Karen looked down at her notepad, and carefully crossed off [[[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-6004\|TL-6004]]]. "We'll consider it once we've killed the Crocosmosquid." [[div class="woaf-hr"]] [[/div]] Temporal Site-01 was chock full of researchers, agents and administrators like Karen herself, all of them bent on one singular goal: averting a catastrophe in an already catastrophe-prone timeline. A recurrent Crocosquid attack, halted at the last minute by a particularly bombastic application of pataphysics, had turned out to be the prelude to something far, far worse. An eldritch horror from beyond the stars, a kaiju infused with the essence of the god which had created the Wanderers' Library, was on its way to Earth to take [[[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/crocosquid-vs-kong\|revenge]]]. It was fortunate, for humanity, that they'd managed to receive advanced warning of this threat. If they hadn't, it would surely have obliterated their planet before they even knew what hit them. It was unfortunate for Karen, because she was a trained negotiator and was therefore expected to take part in the vast effort to canvass the other signatories of the Multi-Foundation Agreement of 1981 for potential solutions to their godly dilemma. Her efforts had been focused on finding a beast to equal the one barrelling its way across the vast gulf of interstellar space toward them. She and the other ambassadors had only a few days to make it work. So, it wasn't //going// to work. Simple as that. "Any luck?" A researcher was already sitting on the couch in the break room when she entered. He was holding out a finger towards her in what she at first thought was a rude gesture, until she noticed the [[[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/moving-on\|mosquito]]] perched on the tip. She winced. "No. So, about what I expected. This was never a good idea; any monster-handling plan with the potential to leave us with //two// monsters is ill-considered at best" "You shouldn't call them monsters," Chudley tutted. Karen poured herself a glass of water from a pitcher in the fridge. "We haven't talked much, so let me get something out of the way real quick. I'm not going to stop describing monsters as monsters to avoid hurting your girlfriend's feelings, because your girlfriend //is a mosquito// and if ever a creature deserved to be called monstrous, that would be my pick." "You're quite the beast yourself," the mosquito retorted. Karen was annoyed to be able to hear it. She was further annoyed that its voice was so melodious. She'd expected a high-pitched whine. Something more like Chudley's. "Thank you," she responded. "Now, if I recall correctly, you're supposed to be debriefing all the ambassadors on the idiotic thing you did. Were you ever going to get around to me?" Chudley shifted awkwardly on the couch. "I mean, if you think it's pointless..." "It's not //pointless,//" Karen snapped. "I've been canvassing as best I can, but I really do need to know what we're up against here. How likely is it that Kong could defeat the Crocosmosquid?" That had been their solution. Pull Kong, the original Kong from the public domain novelization of Merian C. Cooper's copyrighted masterpiece of monster fiction, into their reality to fight the resurgent Crocosquid. Pure madness. Worse that it had worked. Worse still that it had actually //not.// "He's just a big monkey," said Chudley. "Ape," Leslie the mosquito corrected. "I'm sorry." Chudley glanced down worriedly at his partner. "Was that racist?" "I don't know?" Leslie flitted her wings. "I don't know how other animals think, just because they're animals." "You're not an animal," Chudley smiled. "Thank you, but--" "You're an insect." "Insects are animals," Karen interrupted, "and //shut the hell up,// both of you, Jesus Christ. So you're telling me the monster you tapped to fight the Crocosquid is going to be completely useless... wait, actually, it's worse than that. You thought you'd tapped it to fight the Crocosmosquid, and it ended up successfully fighting one of her //children.// If it had actually faced the monster you thought you were supposed to defeat, it would have gotten pounded into the seabed and we'd all be dead right now. That about the size of it?" "Uh." Chudley frowned. "Well..." Leslie trailed off. Karen waved her hand dismissively. "Buzz off, the both of you." [[div class="woaf-hr"]] [[/div]] "All I'm hearing is, it ate your entire planet." Tilda Moose sighed. Karen had heard her sigh before, but that had been the Moose from baseline reality, not this weird hooded librarian. This Moose sighed in satisfaction. Baseline Moose had never been satisfied in recent memory. "The Serpent didn't //eat the planet.// It just sort of... turned the page for all of us." "Uh huh." Karen circled the timeline designation on her notepad. "I'm thinking we'd like to turn the page on what's coming, too. Maybe squash it in the book binding." Moose shook her head. "This isn't our story. It's yours. The solution should spring naturally from your own journey." "Blah blah blah," Karen agreed. She did smile at Moose. Moose hated being smiled at. "We're about to be murdered by a fusion of the Serpent and the Crocosquid. Don't you think that maybe, just //maybe,// your version of the Serpent could help us with that? Since you're all buddy-buddy with it and all." "That's not an accurate description." Moose crossed her arms. "Unless you want your world devoured by the Library, like ours was, I don't think we can help you with your problem. The best case scenario is our Serpent convinces yours to... start the SCP-6000 process..." She stopped talking. "What?" "How...? How //did// the Serpent fuse with a version of the Crocosquid? Shouldn't there be only one Serpent?" "Shouldn't there be only one Library?" Karen retorted. "Yes." Moose stared at her. "Yes, there should be only one Library." Karen considered. Karen crossed off [[[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-6000\|TL-6000]]], and popped the cap on her bottle of amnestics. "Above my pay grade." [[div class="woaf-hr"]] [[/div]] She was annoyed to see another person she was expected to chat with waiting for her in the break room. She was particularly annoyed at this one, since it was a [[[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/reeling-in-the-crocosquid\|defector from the Foundation]]] who just happened to be their early warning system for the onrushing Crocosmosquid, which meant she couldn't blow him off as easily as she had the mosquito and mosquitofucker. "Any luck?" August Jorel asked solicitously. "I was very rude to the last person to ask me that," Karen growled. "So, no luck." "That's the worst thing about this approach. It really is luck-based. We're asking a coalition of who knows how many billion Foundations--" "Wait, wait." He raised his hand. "What do you mean, 'who knows'? Surely you know. Surely this isn't //actually// luck-based, there must be some sort of... master database somewhere." Karen stopped mid-pour. "You think we on the ground level know how many Foundations there are in the multiverse?" "Uh..." "You think we have access to a complete manifest of what would essentially be every anomaly in existence, anywhere, ever?" "Uh..." "You don't think that would both potentially solve every problem we've ever encountered, and made us all so completely and utterly mad with power that we'd have ended all human life across the multiverse through raw excess long before you and I ever met?" Jorel raised both hands in surrender. "Changing the topic. Why did you want to see me?" "You're the reason we know this is going to happen." "Yeah." "You talked to the Crocosquid in your dreams, and it told you the Crocosmosquid is coming." He squirmed. "That's about the size of it." "Why would it tell you this? Why not just let the thing show up and wipe us all out?" He squirmed more. "Because she likes me." "Sorry?" No part of him was unmoving on the couch, now. "She likes me a lot. We like... we like each other. A lot." Karen dipped her chin at him, glaring over her glasses. "//Sorry?//" "We've gotten to... it's a whole... complicated..." She allowed herself a quirk of the mouth. "Oh, okay. All right." He looked pained. "Wait." She shook her head. "No, okay. I get it. Alright." She pointed at him. "Monsterfucker." "Hey!" he shouted. "Monsterfucker. Monsterfucker says the Crocosmosquid is coming, and we believe him, because he //really knows// his monsters. Knows them //biblically.//" She swanned past the cabinets, gesturing theatrically. "I don't appreciate being reduced to two dimensions," the man snapped. "What's your second dimension, then?" "I'm a film-maker." She could sense a note of pre-injured pride in the response. "Wow, that really adds a lot of depth to your personality!" She affected a cold chuckle. "Famously well-rounded people, film-makers. Tell me, what kind of films do you make? Films about fucking monsters?" "It was in the briefing packet," he mumbled defensively. "We debuted a film about the Hy-Brasil tragedy not long ago. Exonerating the Crocosquid." "Exonerating...? How is that...?" This time the chuckle was at least half-genuine. "It... okay. There has to be an even worse word for what you are." "You're being kind of racist right now," Jorel groused. "That's the second time someone's said that to me today, for not liking //monsters.// I should like to inform you that my most recent //date// was with a monster." "Did it go well?" "It did not." "Was it your fault? I bet it was your fault." "Actually, it was the monster's fault. It was really, very much the monster's fault." "So you're not on good terms now?" She considered. "That is a safe thing to say, yes." "So you can't, I don't know, call it over to fight the Crocosmosquid when it arrives?" The mental image was certainly stimulating. "I think that would result in a brief, visually interesting, curbstomp. Which come to think of it, might be something I'd be into seeing..." "Probably we ought to be focusing on actual solutions." She shrugged. "Seems like you'll be real useful for that. Does your girlfriend know anything we can use to fight the real threat?" He shrugged back at her. "Not really? She says it's infinitely large and infinitely wise." "Oh, that's good," she sneered. "Always fun to be squaring off against //infinites.// That simplifies things a lot." He barely seemed to hear the jab, lost in thought. "She can only feel the shape of it, you know? She can sense its existence, because it's so //big,// and because it's //her.// But she thinks it can probably be reasoned with? It just... it's really upset about losing a kid to Kong." "I probably would be, too." "Kind of an ego thing." "Mm." "So I dunno, maybe you can do something with that? Get it a match it'd be proud to win? Salve the wound." Now they were getting somewhere. Not far, but farther than the interdimensional interviews had gotten them. "That's certainly a better idea than kaiju battle royale. I'll mull it over. Thank you for not being completely useless, traitor." "What did you just call me?" "You've outlived your usefulness. It's okay to be rude to you now. I was really having trouble holding it in, you know?" [[div class="woaf-hr"]] [[/div]] This version of Dr. Gears seemed like every other version Karen had ever met, fifty-nine seconds out of every sixty. On the sixtieth second, without exception, his expression shifted to one of abject horror. Eventually he noticed her staring, and commented: "Reality reset. Doesn't always take completely. The soul remembers. Ever been in an acid bath?" She shook her head. "Do not recommend it." She nodded. "So, what can we help you with today?" "This is sort of a Hail Mary," she admitted. "But all my other leads have come up dry, so: are there any useful giant monsters? In your timeline?" Gears winced. "Useful giant monsters." "Yeah. We're talking galactic significance here. Maybe something from the noosphere?" This time the twitch seemed a little longer. Two seconds? "Possibly something ontokinetic, then?" Three seconds. "Deific?" Four. "No? How about robotic?" His screams filled the chamber. She picked up her pencil. --[[[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/admonition\|TL-6820]]]-- [[div class="woaf-hr"]] [[/div]] Ilse Reynders, Director of the Temporal Anomalies Department, plopped down in the chair beside Karen. She looked exhausted. "So, any luck?" "Jesus Christ," Karen muttered. "Sorry, what was that?" "No luck," Karen sighed. "Bupkis." The other woman patted her on the shoulder companionably. "Well, you tried." "How've the others done?" "With the subset we're authorized to speak with by OP, no joy. We've petitioned for a look at some of the spicier timelines, but considering this whole thing is way beyond the bounds of the [[[scp-5618\|1981 Pact]]], I'm not expecting much. We're at the point where whatever lunacy Tactical Theology comes up with might be our best bet." "I'm sure they'll have something fun and interesting, if nothing else. Hmm." Karen wasn't a schemer, but she knew enough schemers to recognize a scheme when it began forming in her own mind. "What?" "I was talking to the 6820 people," she mused. Reynders chuckled. "How did that go? They're pretty special." "Well, it was Gears. Gears is always a constant. But as I was rattling off bad ideas... he was getting pretty, well, rattled. What do you know about those guys?" "Imagine a universe entirely dedicated to the pursuit of terrible ideas," Reynders sighed. "Would they plausibly be involved in a project to... induce... apotheosis, in a hybrid chimaera monster?" Reynders blinked. "I think they've actually done that, at least once. At //least// once." "Okay. //Okay.//" It was settled. They were doing this. "Get Chudley in here." The other woman looked confused. "I don't know your insulting nicknames for everyone, Karen. I'm not //your// Ilse." "It's his actual name, somehow. The mosquitofucker." That won a smile, not that Reynders was as sparing with them as Karen was. "Oh, right. Okay. Does he actually...? Never mind, sure." She tapped the intercom. "Could we have... Chudley? In here, please." The researcher strolled in, mosquito still cupped in his hands. "What's up?" "How good is your pataphysics?" Karen asked him. He shrugged. "I mean, pretty good?" "Can you pull monsters out of movies?" "Public domain movies," he nodded. Karen nodded back. "Won't be a problem." "Then yeah, probably?" "I think you owe us an apology first," the mosquito buzzed. "I'll apologize if this works." Karen turned back to Reynders. "Can we get Jorel in here, too?" Reynders made the call. "Hey," Jorel waved as he walked in to stand next to Chudley. He stared at the mosquito in the other man's hands, and Karen had a wonderful image of him suddenly slapping it. Sadly, it remained just an image. "Hey. We want you to make a movie, and it has to be kind of... fast." The film-maker looked uncertain. "Like, framerate? That's kind of a mixed bag with audiences." "No. I mean it has to be done //yesterday.//" He looked even more uncertain now. "You don't mean that literally, right? Because, like..." He waved at their surroundings. "Temporal Site-01." Reynders chuckled. "No," Karen shook her head. "I just mean fast-fast." "What's it involve?" "There will be CGI, but we'll get another agency to take care of that." Reynders gave her a sideways glance. She ignored it. "Okay," said Jorel. "Mostly just screaming crowds, buildings falling down. That sort of thing." "Stock footage," the man nodded. "Marvellous. Okay. I want you to make a kaiju movie about a giant monster, and it has to be done well before the deadline, and then I want //you//," she pointed at Chudley, "to yank the kaiju out of it, so we can film it //believably.// Does this all make sense?" "I guess?" Chudley shrugged. "What's the kaiju?" "I'll tell you in a minute. I have to Google predation chains." [[div class="woaf-hr"]] [[/div]] The man from TL-6820 said his name was Placeholder McD. Karen had met someone by that name. This someone was considerably sterner, even more given to grandiose gestures, but considerably less effusive. Then again, the circumstances of his visit might have had something to do with that. "I didn't come here to negotiate," he told Karen crossly. "For the fit you gave poor Gears, I came here to //castigate.//" "That sounds really hot," she agreed, "but it can wait. We've figured out a way to solve our little problem, and I think we can both benefit from it." His eyes narrowed. "Go on." "I have an idea for an eigenweapon." "I prefer to come up with those myself," he scoffed. "It has a proven use case. Or, it //will// be proven, once it works. Which it will." "Okay?" "I want you to dream up a device that can combine predators together, and then ascend them to godhead." He stared at her. "And... you want this to //work?//" "No, not really. Not //now.// I just want it to seem //plausible.// You've done this before, right? Made up devices that didn't work, but //could// have worked." "I think you might be thinking of [[[scp-5956\|another version of me]]]." "Yeah," she nodded. "Yeah, that's a real problem with these timeline disasters. But anyway, the device will never have to be used, in our situation. We just have to be able to hang the threat of it over someone's head." He was visibly nonplussed. "All right..." She took a breath. "And we'll also need you to use those fancy 3D rendering skills you guys seem to have to mock us up a fight scene with a giant monster." He raised a brow. "Now you're getting silly." "It'll be worth your while, I promise." She hoped it didn't sound like pleading. She didn't know what her voice sounded like when she pleaded. "How precisely will it be worth my while?" "We're going to give you two of our anomalies. Two that don't exist in your timeline. Two that I've seen are sitting pretty high on your Requested Assets list. Apparently you want them because they represent 'pure disdain' and 'utmost whimsy', whatever the hell that means." She knew by the way his nostrils flared that she had him. "The Requested Assets list is basically just a wishlist. We're almost never allowed to actually transfer anomalies between timelines. Because of the Pact." "This is a special case. The things you want aren't key to timeline character or stability, //and// they'll help us prevent an imminent and otherwise unavoidable XK event. We got clearance." She saw the wheels turning. They didn't have to turn far. "...you know what? Fine. What's the monster, and what are the components?" "You've already heard of the Crocosquid, right?" "Right?" "That will hopefully have primed you not to laugh at this." [[div class="woaf-hr"]] [[/div]] Karen stood on the deck of the destroyer, wincing in the light drizzle, and looked up at the giant ape. Once, she might have been terrified. Once, she might have been affronted by the sheer absurdity of it. Now, she was only hoping it would be over quickly. "Why's he so calm?" she asked, suddenly. "Shouldn't he be, I don't know, pounding his chest or trying to overturn the boat or something?" "My guess is, he's gone too far off script." Chudley was gazing up at the monster with something like awe; Karen hoped that was all it was. "There's no Crocosquid fight in his book. He's waiting for something familiar from the plot before he starts acting again." "Here's hoping he doesn't get it." Karen checked her watch, then sighed. "TactTheo says it should be here any minute. We ready to go?" Jorel, standing behind them, cleared his throat. "Everything's set. For showtime." "Here's hoping this stays a farce," Karen sighed. "I'm really not in the mood for yet another... tragedy..." The storm was clearing. The clouds were parting, compacting, //swirling.// It didn't take long for the shape in the sky to take on an all-too-familiar form: a five-armed crocodile, its torso terminating in a mass of writhing tentacles. It said, HELLO. She waved. "Hello." I AM COME TO AVENGE MY FALLEN CHILD Jorel waved as well. "Hi? We haven't properly met, but...?" The clouds shifted slightly, as though the massive monster were altering the direction of its stormy gaze by the slightest degree. YOU ARE THE ONE WHO PLEASES THE MEREST ASPECT. TINY AND SOFT AND SQUEEZABLE. I WILL MOURN YOUR PASSING ON BEHALF OF THE MEREST. "Uh," he said. "Thanks." "There won't be any mourning today." Karen took a step forward. "No cloud monster is going to defeat the SCP Foundation." I AM NOT A CLOUD MONSTER. I AM PRESENTLY IN PARKING ORBIT AROUND JUPITER. I AM MERELY MANIPULATING THE CLOUDS TO SAY HELLO BEFORE I ARRIVE AND YOUR PLANET IS COMPLETELY OBLITERATED BY MY BULK. "Oh," she said. "That does make... a lot more sense. Yeah. Could I maybe interest you in not doing that at all?" NO. THAT ONE, and a tendril shifted to point at Kong, who was staring up at the sky with obvious interest, MUST PAY FOR ITS AFFRONT TO OUR MAJESTY. I AM THE CROCOSQUID, AND THE SERPENT, AND I AM MORE AND MORE AND MORE BESIDE. I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED BY SOME MERE APE. "What about a few ingenious major apes?" Karen lifted her work tablet up to the sky. "How good is your eyesight?" MY EYES ARE BILLIONS AND PIERCE EVERY VEIL IN CREATION. I CAN SEE YOUR LITTLE COMPUTER. "Excellent. What can you see on it now?" The gigantic cloud-jaw dropped. The drizzle pattern shifted in response, and Karen had the uncomfortable feeling of being drooled on by the Crocosmosquid. THAT IS... OH. THAT IS SOMETHING. WHERE DID YOU GET THAT? IT'S NOT REAL, IS IT? "It's real," Chudley smiled. His voice was shaking, and his cupped hands were closed to prevent the mosquito from being blown away by the rising gale. "You're parked at Jupiter? We can send the final form to meet you at Mars, if you like." "The red sand will make the battle really //pop,//" Jorel added. "Mars isn't actually red," the mosquito chirped, muted. "How is that something you know?" Chudley whispered into his hands. FINAL FORM? WHAT FINAL FORM? IT GETS WORSE? I DON'T WANT IT TO GET WORSE. Karen turned the tablet back around, and tapped a few buttons. "Do you read clinical prose?" she asked. I HAVE READ YOUR ENTIRE DATABASE. THERE IS NOTHING IN IT THAT CAN HARM ME. "Well, you haven't read //their// database. It's a real horror show, let me tell you." She turned the tablet back around. > __DESCRIPTION__: SCP-XXXX is the Placeholder-Mikasa Chimaeric Extrapolation Matrix, a hyperconceptual eigenmachine capable of raising any sufficiently interbred hybrid entity to the effective status of godhead, with an appropriate pantheonic niche accordingly generated in the noosphere to contain it. The process functions as follows: "I'd recommend you skip the technical bits," Karen said. "It's mostly to show that the lunacy works. But it //does// work, I assure you. We got the machine from the lunacy dimension, and they're just waiting for my word to switch it on." AND THAT WILL DO... I'M SORRY, I DID READ THE TECHNICAL BITS, I HAVE TO READ THEM AGAIN NOW. IT WILL TURN THIS TERRIBLE THING INTO SOMETHING AS TERRIBLE AS __ME__? "That's right." The sky paused. I JUST WANTED TO BEAT UP THE MONKEY. THIS IS BULLSHIT. "Yeah," Karen sighed. "I'm really sorry. But we kind of like our planet the way it is." YOUR PLANET IS TERRIFYING. I KNEW YOU HAD CREATURES LIKE THAT ON IT, BUT I HAD NO IDEA THEY COULD BREED. THAT'S AWFUL. I DON'T WANT TO GET ANY CLOSER TO YOU NOW. YOU'RE DISGUSTING. "We've been called that before." WELL I'M NOT GOING TO JUST LET YOU OFF FOR PULLING THIS ON ME. The sky roiled tempestuously. IT WAS REALLY CLEVER, I ADMIT, BUT I'M STILL VERY ANGRY. IF YOU KILL ANOTHER OF MY CHILDREN I WILL RUN YOU OVER, MONSTERS OR NO. "Don't call them monsters." Karen knew she was pushing her luck, but she did it anyway. "That's racist." YOU'RE RACIST, the sky spat. She felt it on her face. YOU KNOW WHAT, IF I CAN'T KILL THE MONKEY, I'M TAKING THIS OUT ON YOU. I AM THE SERPENT. I AM THE LIBRARY. I'VE READ THE BOOK THAT MONKEY COMES FROM. I KNOW HOW IT WORKS. "Uh," said Chudley. ENJOY YOUR DATE, the Crocosmosquid snarled, then the wind swept it clean from the horizon in one smeary swipe. Karen felt invigorated. "I can't believe it worked!" "Holy shit," said Jorel. "Right?" She hopped on the balls of her feet. She hadn't felt this energized in years. "I mean, I knew it would work as soon as I Googled the predation chain, but knowing and seeing are two different things." "Dr. Elstrom?" said Chudley. "It was just a matter of finding two anomalies that fit. There's only a few creatures that can take a crocodile in a fair fight, and as for squid, well, you know. Penguins eat squid. It was a pleasant surprise, finding out that we had a literal god emperor penguin anomaly to call on." "Oh..." Chudley had opened his hands, and the mosquito was buzzing around Karen's head. "Oh, dear. Oh dear." Karen looked down at her tablet, elated. The image of the massive star of //HIPPOPENGUIN ATTACKS!// happily romping about in its secluded lagoon made her heart leap. She was glad, very glad, she'd had Jorel make it more of a //Gamera// than a //Godzilla.// It would be easy enough to keep a leash on, and would provide a perfect countermeasure to any further Crocosquid young that might still be swimming the cosmic seas. And if worse came to worst, well, she knew enough about the 6820 timeline to know that they were presently actually constructing the apotheosis device she'd threatened the Crocosmosquid with. After giving them the spark of inspiration, they couldn't very well refuse to lend the thing. "Hopefully we never have to witness Crocosmosquid Vs. Hyperpenguimus," she sighed contentedly. Just saying the words out loud made her feel young. The only question was whether they should further hybridize the monster to take the Serpent's presence in the mix into account; she almost laughed out loud at the thought of a hippopenguimongoose. "Karen?" Reynders was approaching from the destroyer's operations deck. "Uh, Karen, what happened to you?" "What do you mean, what happened to //me?//" She flicked on the tablet's reader-facing camera, and gasped. She'd seen that face almost every day of her life, but it hadn't looked like that in ages. She didn't smile or frown much, so she'd never acquired many lines, but the ones she had acquired were gone. Her eyes were a little brighter, her skin a little bit pinker. Her hair was honey blonde again. She saw, through the camera, the massive hairy shape wading up behind her, and exercised her famous self-control to resign herself to the situation. She did have just one question, though. "I've seen //King Kong.// The movie. The old one." She was talking very fast, because of course she had to. "The woman was wearing a really flimsy dress. I'm not wearing a really flimsy dress. So how does it work in the book?" She felt a massive hand sweep her up into the sky, and was grateful that her spine had been de-aged along with the rest of her. "It's different in the book!" Chudley screamed up at her. "In the book, he pulls her clothes off!" "Yeah," she sighed. "Of course he does." The mosquito landed on the tip of her nose. She resisted the urge to swat it. She didn't want to get mosquito guts all over herself. "Any advice?" she asked. "Be open to trying new things," Leslie trilled. "We've all got a lot in common, you know." "How's that?" The massive, hairy fist lifted her up, up, up. "I've heard that humans are the real monsters." The mosquito buzzed away. [[div class="woaf-hr"]] [[/div]] It was still the best date she'd had in years. [[div]] [[=]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]] [[/=]] [[/div]]	2023-07-18T00:38:00	[ "_cc", "_licensebox", "action", "comedy", "delta-t", "director-moose", "doctor-elstrom", "doctor-gears", "doctor-mcdoctorate", "fantasy", "greg-chudley", "leslie", "on-guard-43", "otherworldly", "romcon2023-unofficial", "science-fiction", "tale", "war-on-all-fronts" ]	Karen, Queen of the Monsters! - SCP Foundation	51	[ "this-page-intentionally-left-blank", "scp-6004", "crocosquid-vs-kong", "moving-on", "scp-6000", "reeling-in-the-crocosquid", "admonition", "scp-5618", "scp-5956", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "war-on-all-fronts-hub", "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "romcon", "bitch-hub" ]	[]	1449066538	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/karen-queen-of-the-monsters
kill-the-feeling	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p>The last time you let someone touch you was when you were fifteen years old, the day before they released you from Site-17's medical wing. You'd been touched since then, by Dr. Ben Palmer when he had to take out your right eye every so often and perform standard physicals, but you did everything you could to minimize that. You spent hours researching how to perform as much of the examinations as you could on yourself, which was at least something to pass the time. You had nothing but time since Omega-7 was shuttered and everyone you spent time with left you one way or another. When the physicals did happen, you did your best to separate yourself from your body, which wasn't hard when the simple commands were all you had to worry about. <em>Arms up. Tongue out. Head back. Show me your wrists.</em></p> <p>Right when it all happens and you lose your eye, you are hauled over to a bed that hundreds of doctors had probably collaborated on to find exactly how uncomfortable it should be and spend several days hooked up to an IV. You don't remember much from the next few days but the <em>hands.</em> Grabbing your arm and shoving things into it and poking around your face so much it felt like they were trying to pull you into the ground. A small part of you was <em>acutely</em> aware of how it made you feel, but you couldn't stay awake enough to say anything. Once you're fully awake, they tell you about how lucky you were that the shrapnel had stopped before it hit your brain (debatable) and what a miracle it was that your brand-new right eye fully took to your damaged optic nerve.</p> <p>You really feel like you should have missed your eye more than you did, what with it being your dominant one, but you'd stopped feeling particularly attached to your body some time ago. Whether or not you really had any meaningful level of ownership over it was up for debate. You feel similarly apathetic about your friends (or what you desperately want to call your friends), but their sudden disappearance just felt like a simple absence. You spent a lot of time alone even back when you were on Omega-7, and you delude yourself into thinking your memory of what Able did to them was fuzzy.</p> <p>The day before you're released they confirmed you were whatever passed for stable, and a nurse gives you what the other members of Omega-7 had left behind for you. It isn't much, mostly old group photos, but the fact they'd left you anything at all means something. Even though you feel similarly numb about it as you had with everything else, you eventually become aware you were crying.</p> <p>You feel a bit silly, sitting motionless as the tears stained the photographs, but eventually the nurse comes up and hugs you, and for the rest of your life you'll ask yourself why you didn't just push her off. Your steady breathing becomes shaky before it changes into a strange gagging noise as you find it hard to breathe. The nurse pulls you in closer as everything finally catches up to you and you feel yourself start to shake with wracking sobs. It is also the last time you will ever let anyone see you cry.</p> <p>You should be thinking about your dead friends. You should not be thinking about the nurse's voice (calming) or how she feels (warm) or how she rubs your head (softly) or what she smells like (roses).</p> <p>You tell yourself the reason you didn't tell anyone about it was that it was probably some kind of code violation. You've always had a great memory, so it made sense that you remember everything about her. She was the last person you let touch you, so it makes sense that when you're not thinking about Omega-7 you're thinking about her a lot of the time. Part of you knows it's wrong, though; you often remind yourself that you should be thinking about everyone who died because of you because that's what a Normal Girl would think about and except for the way you can reach through photographs you are a Normal Girl.</p> <p>Some years pass and the memories of the task force become dull. The screams fade into background noise that permeates your dreams like the fan you keep on when you sleep, and you get used to it. Every time you think of the nurse, though, white-hot shame spikes through you. You never mention her in your routine psychological assessment interviews and continue to lie to yourself as to why.</p> <p>One day, as you fill out a standard request form like you do every other week, you find yourself asking for rose-scented body soap. After sending the form in you feel anxious for days. You never change what you asked for, so surely <em>somebody</em> would notice and put everything together and then they'd know that even aside from your anomaly you weren't Normal like you should be. Three days later the maintenance person gives it to you without a word, though, nestled in between your shampoo and a new crossword book. You cannot meet his eyes as you take it from him.</p> <p>It sits on the bathroom sink for three days as you use the last of your Normal body wash, the label turned to face the wall so you can't see the roses. You run out, though, so you take it into the shower, ears burning as though you're being watched (either by the Foundation or by that thing your mom and priest told you knew everything you thought about) and close the curtain behind yourself (like that would do anything to keep either of them out). It smells <em>exactly</em> like the nurse and you remember exactly what she smelled like after all those years so you turn the shower to as cold as it would go in hopes it would somehow douse the burning shame that you felt was going to immolate you. Sitting curled up on the floor of the shower, you once again felt detached from your body as all you could think about was how much warmer she was than the water.</p> <p>You are twenty-one years old when you dream about her instead of Omega-7. You had a routine going, where you'd dream about them, and it would wake you up well before you could get breakfast so you had time to shower each morning. It kept you feeling just as guilty as you should be, as guilty as was right, considering the circumstances. But then one night you dream about the nurse, and her smile is the softest thing you've seen since you left your family and she's the warmest thing you've ever felt and you cry into her as she runs her fingers through your hair, completely failing to keep yourself acting Normal in your dream, a personal failing of will.</p> <p>You jolt awake with tears in your eyes and you can feel the white-hot shame in your chest about to burst. You stumble over to the toilet and vomit into it so hard you need to place your hands on the rim so you don't fall into it. Once you're done, you curl up on the sterile tiles of your bathroom floor with your stomach sore from exertion and bile dripping out of your mouth, and a part of you is glad that you found some form of castigation. Like weeds pushing up through concrete, though, the memory of the dream forces its way into your head and you can't stop yourself from crying in front of whatever you know is watching you. You don't know how long you stay there but eventually you drag yourself across the bathroom to take a cold shower and <em>it does not help</em>.</p> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/kill-the-feeling">Kill the Feeling</a>" by GlassAutomaton, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/kill-the-feeling">https://scpwiki.com/kill-the-feeling</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:black-highlighter-theme">:scp-wiki:theme:black-highlighter-theme</a>]] [[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] The last time you let someone touch you was when you were fifteen years old, the day before they released you from Site-17's medical wing. You'd been touched since then, by Dr. Ben Palmer when he had to take out your right eye every so often and perform standard physicals, but you did everything you could to minimize that. You spent hours researching how to perform as much of the examinations as you could on yourself, which was at least something to pass the time. You had nothing but time since Omega-7 was shuttered and everyone you spent time with left you one way or another. When the physicals did happen, you did your best to separate yourself from your body, which wasn't hard when the simple commands were all you had to worry about. //Arms up. Tongue out. Head back. Show me your wrists.// Right when it all happens and you lose your eye, you are hauled over to a bed that hundreds of doctors had probably collaborated on to find exactly how uncomfortable it should be and spend several days hooked up to an IV. You don't remember much from the next few days but the //hands.// Grabbing your arm and shoving things into it and poking around your face so much it felt like they were trying to pull you into the ground. A small part of you was //acutely// aware of how it made you feel, but you couldn't stay awake enough to say anything. Once you're fully awake, they tell you about how lucky you were that the shrapnel had stopped before it hit your brain (debatable) and what a miracle it was that your brand-new right eye fully took to your damaged optic nerve. You really feel like you should have missed your eye more than you did, what with it being your dominant one, but you'd stopped feeling particularly attached to your body some time ago. Whether or not you really had any meaningful level of ownership over it was up for debate. You feel similarly apathetic about your friends (or what you desperately want to call your friends), but their sudden disappearance just felt like a simple absence. You spent a lot of time alone even back when you were on Omega-7, and you delude yourself into thinking your memory of what Able did to them was fuzzy. The day before you're released they confirmed you were whatever passed for stable, and a nurse gives you what the other members of Omega-7 had left behind for you. It isn't much, mostly old group photos, but the fact they'd left you anything at all means something. Even though you feel similarly numb about it as you had with everything else, you eventually become aware you were crying. You feel a bit silly, sitting motionless as the tears stained the photographs, but eventually the nurse comes up and hugs you, and for the rest of your life you'll ask yourself why you didn't just push her off. Your steady breathing becomes shaky before it changes into a strange gagging noise as you find it hard to breathe. The nurse pulls you in closer as everything finally catches up to you and you feel yourself start to shake with wracking sobs. It is also the last time you will ever let anyone see you cry. You should be thinking about your dead friends. You should not be thinking about the nurse's voice (calming) or how she feels (warm) or how she rubs your head (softly) or what she smells like (roses). You tell yourself the reason you didn't tell anyone about it was that it was probably some kind of code violation. You've always had a great memory, so it made sense that you remember everything about her. She was the last person you let touch you, so it makes sense that when you're not thinking about Omega-7 you're thinking about her a lot of the time. Part of you knows it's wrong, though; you often remind yourself that you should be thinking about everyone who died because of you because that's what a Normal Girl would think about and except for the way you can reach through photographs you are a Normal Girl. Some years pass and the memories of the task force become dull. The screams fade into background noise that permeates your dreams like the fan you keep on when you sleep, and you get used to it. Every time you think of the nurse, though, white-hot shame spikes through you. You never mention her in your routine psychological assessment interviews and continue to lie to yourself as to why. One day, as you fill out a standard request form like you do every other week, you find yourself asking for rose-scented body soap. After sending the form in you feel anxious for days. You never change what you asked for, so surely //somebody// would notice and put everything together and then they'd know that even aside from your anomaly you weren't Normal like you should be. Three days later the maintenance person gives it to you without a word, though, nestled in between your shampoo and a new crossword book. You cannot meet his eyes as you take it from him. It sits on the bathroom sink for three days as you use the last of your Normal body wash, the label turned to face the wall so you can't see the roses. You run out, though, so you take it into the shower, ears burning as though you're being watched (either by the Foundation or by that thing your mom and priest told you knew everything you thought about) and close the curtain behind yourself (like that would do anything to keep either of them out). It smells //exactly// like the nurse and you remember exactly what she smelled like after all those years so you turn the shower to as cold as it would go in hopes it would somehow douse the burning shame that you felt was going to immolate you. Sitting curled up on the floor of the shower, you once again felt detached from your body as all you could think about was how much warmer she was than the water. You are twenty-one years old when you dream about her instead of Omega-7. You had a routine going, where you'd dream about them, and it would wake you up well before you could get breakfast so you had time to shower each morning. It kept you feeling just as guilty as you should be, as guilty as was right, considering the circumstances. But then one night you dream about the nurse, and her smile is the softest thing you've seen since you left your family and she's the warmest thing you've ever felt and you cry into her as she runs her fingers through your hair, completely failing to keep yourself acting Normal in your dream, a personal failing of will. You jolt awake with tears in your eyes and you can feel the white-hot shame in your chest about to burst. You stumble over to the toilet and vomit into it so hard you need to place your hands on the rim so you don't fall into it. Once you're done, you curl up on the sterile tiles of your bathroom floor with your stomach sore from exertion and bile dripping out of your mouth, and a part of you is glad that you found some form of castigation. Like weeds pushing up through concrete, though, the memory of the dream forces its way into your head and you can't stop yourself from crying in front of whatever you know is watching you. You don't know how long you stay there but eventually you drag yourself across the bathroom to take a cold shower and //it does not help//. [[div class="footer-wikiwalk-nav"]] [[=]] [[[devils advocate hub\|Devil's Advocate Hub]]] [[/=]] [[/div]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] [!-- N/A (No Images) --] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-01-03T18:04:00	[ "_licensebox", "bleak", "coldpostcon", "iris-thompson", "lgbtq", "tale" ]	Kill the Feeling - SCP Foundation	73	[ "devils-advocate-hub", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "devils-advocate-hub", "coldpostcon" ]	[]	1445383375	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/kill-the-feeling
kothardarastrix-ae	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=3&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Acyberpunk/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=4&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Acyberpunk/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <div style="text-align: center"> <div class="unmargined" style="font-family: 'Element'; font-size: 580%; margin: 2px 0 5px;"> <p>PLANASTHAI WATCH</p> </div> <div class="unmargined" style="font-family: 'Unicephalon'; font-size: 150%; margin: 2px 0 5px;"> <p>Sweep The Ash Away</p> </div> <div class="unmargined" style="font-family: serif; font-size: 120%; border-top-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid;"> <table style="border: none; width: 95%;"> <tr> <td style="text-align: left;">PORT ALEPH</td> <td style="text-align: center;">SATURDAY, MARCH 20, 2032</td> <td style="text-align: right;">210 ¥</td> </tr> </table> </div> </div> <div style="text-align: center"> <div class="unmargined" style="font-family: 'Unicephalon'; font-size: 250%; margin: 2px 0 5px;"> <p>AMBROSE: A REFLECTION</p> </div> <div class="unmargined" style="font-family: 'Jost'; font-size: 110%; margin: 2px 0 5px;"> <p>by Matthew Waldon</p> </div> </div> <p>My autorickshaw is a Mekhanite, his hydraulic legs pump in a rhythm as he carries my luggage and I down the highway. His mouth has been replaced with a chrome grille, the sole reason I chose him out of the horde of competing chauffeurs at the apportation terminal. Unfortunately, I didn’t see the speaker embedded in his back, which bombards me with questions.</p> <p>Business or pleasure?</p> <p>Business. Covering Port Aleph’s crackdowns on Insurgent cells for the Watch.</p> <p>How long was I staying?</p> <p>No longer than I have to.</p> <p>Liking it?</p> <p>I was. That was before I got in here with you.</p> <p>That gets a laugh out of him - a screeching metallic crackle - before he moves on to the next topic in his interrogation. I mutter a quiet curse towards Bumaro for making his inexhaustible servants absolutely insufferable.</p> <p>Along the roadside, the barren dirt gives way to the hydroponics, massive silos of vibrant blue and green, bullet-proof glass displaying their harvest for all to see. The last of agriculture. Amber fields and fruited plains boxed up or left to rot in the wake of the all-consuming cities.</p> <p>A fleet of sixteen-wheelers idle on the asphalt, ready at a moment’s notice to transport carrots and lettuce to the inner Port, where they will be shredded, stir-fried, blanched, and devoured by high-rise dwellers. For a moment, I let myself be caught in a past life.</p> <p>But my Mekhanite friend moves quickly, and the farm-towers soon fade as we enter the outskirts of the Port. Thomasvilles — little more than anomalously expanded shanty towns — pile on top of each other, leaning precariously towards the street. Strange men smoke from open doorways, skin raw and covered in a thin layer of grease. Cards and bills exchange hands in a steady flow, passing over rattling dice on the cracked pavement.</p> <p>My cart moves faster here, the driver’s head is swiveling near-constantly. A mysterious hum sets my teeth on edge until I identify the source; a glowing, vibrating knife, tighly gripped in a fuladh hand. He explains the edges of the city is where the worst lurk, scouring the streets for easy prey. Again, the nostalgia of the World Before spurs curiousity — the distribution networks don't reach this far, so what do they eat? The driver screechlaughs and simply presses onward, knife in hand.</p> <p>We pass under a maglev bridge reinforced with tendon and bone; as a tram rumbles over us, I hear a steady <em>tap</em> as blood hits the roof of the cab.</p> <p>It appears our presence is not unnoticed. Hawkers and merchants line the street, each shouting over the other to get a moment of our time. Cheap plastic toys from Pakistan, dull gunmetal watches from Italy, Ugandan shirts, Brazilian radios, Chinese books — the whole world can be found at a Port.</p> <p>As a man with painstakingly intricate runes carved in his chest bangs on the cab’s glass, shouting the prices of scrap metal, my stomach growls; I haven’t eaten for the past two days. The nearest distro center’s a half-hour away, smack-dab in the middle of a tram hub for Little Esterberg. Queue’s probably no more than ten minutes. I can make it.</p> <p>As we push our way through the crowd, I spot him in the back of an alleyway.</p> <hr/> <p>Touchingly, the driver is exceedingly worried for me. The center’s just a little further, he has a cousin’s cousin nearby who can get me anything I want to eat for a small fee, I shouldn’t be out here with <em>these</em> people, et cetera. I throw enough yen at him until he happily sprints away, leaving me standing on the sidewalk with a considerably reduced stipend.</p> <p>He’s right of course, walking out here without protection would be suicide. Lodges endlessly battle in these streets, and it is best to avoid the crossfire, lest you become ammunition. I quickly trace a sigil on my right palm: standard ISCUT-style protection spell, should protect me from the bog-standard hexes and curses. I also have a gun. It has bullets.</p> <div class="blokquote-alt"> <p>I had seen Chaz before: a trolley commute through the Plaza, sitting alone at Hersh's, profiles in newspapers, but nothing more than glimpses. I first met him in the kitchen of a Portlands house party.</p> <p>Me: horned-rim glasses, skin bordering on anemic, still nursing a hangover from the conclusion of my exams.</p> <p>Him: dark-skinned hands rubbed red by scrubbing, humming a mundane Top 40 hit, smell of lilac and diesel.</p> <p>He sits behind a gas stove, flames threatening to consume the carbon steel wok. Waves of heat sends the scent of spices unknown to tickle my nose. It feels wrong to talk to him, to interrupt an artist at work. So, I lean on a granite countertop and watch his strange, flowing dance throughout the kitchen.</p> <p>We were young and hungry; I was newly appointed senior editor of the Odyessy and he had just opened his first restaurant: <em>Ambrose: Three Portlands</em>. After some time, I worked up the courage to ask about the name. He said that in five years' time, he was going to have a location in every Free Port in America. I told him he was arrogant. He told me to pass him the pepper.</p> </div> <p>The crowd has moved on. Even here, no one likes getting mixed up with a thaumaturgist. A <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/mainline-hub">Spirit Dust</a> junkie lays slack-jawed against the alley walls, twitching in ecstasy as I nudge him aside.</p> <p>At first glance, the vending machine is no different than the metal boxes that litter old Tokyo or New York. But nowhere in those crumbling metropolises could you find a machine in a purple and gold veneer, with the smiling face of Chaz adorning the side. This was an Ambrose Restaurants product; once, people would line up for hours just to get a seat. Now, there was no one but me and a man choking on his spit.</p> <p>He never liked that photo. It was a pained smile made at the end of a long photoshoot paid for by money he didn't have. His real smile was small, highlighted by dimples that ever so slightly dipped into the cheek. The decals show a ghoulish grin, lips peeled back to show too much teeth.</p> <p>There’s a stuttering touchscreen display on the machine, as soon as I get close it greets me by name in a buffering artificial voice. Remotely scanned my identchip if I was to bet. A small detail, but he always felt that quality was built on noticing the small details.</p> <p>The variety of the menu is staggering: Caesar salad, quiche lorraine, tonkotsu ramen, ribeye steak; I couldn’t even remember the last time I had <em>real</em> steak.</p> <p>My hunger takes over as I punch in my order: three dishes of anything. Now. My mouth waters in anticipation. The price is exorbitant (at least one thing remains the same), but I don’t care. The machine rumbles, and I hear three tell-tale thuds. Bon appetit.</p> <p>As my hand moves under a plastic flap to retrieve the food, my heart sinks. I didn’t know what I was expecting, perfectly shrink-wrapped morsels on fine china? Instead, I receive three small packages, each no bigger than an old chocolate bar. On the front is the familiar three-arrow logo, indicating the package is nothing more than a <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-7314">7314</a> derivative, the same you’d get at any distro center.</p> <p>Flipping over the packaging revealed more of the same. A precise formula of meat, dairy, grains, fruits, veggies, all the right vitamins and nutrients that a growing reporter needs. Unusually, there's a purple label with flowery font. It claims that this one is otoro, the fatty underbelly of a tuna. The bar doesn’t even contain fish.</p> <p>The junkie mumbles the virtues of a drooling path as I lean on the wall across from him, quickly unwrapping my “dish.” It’s an unappealing brown-grey with flecks of dull, dehydrated green. Looks closer to dirt than anything coming out of the sea. Surprisingly brittle too, I easily break off a small piece, and place it in my mouth.</p> <hr/> <div class="blokquote-alt"> <p>His knifework is methodical, bordering on sluggish. He sorts through a bowl of chickpeas, carefully unwrapping the skin from each one before placing them in an oiled sheetpan. Aren’t chefs supposed to be showy and bold, onion volcanos and gold-plated steaks and the like?</p> <p>He laughs, telling me that you can’t sous vide with a microwave. The metaphor escapes me, I can barely boil an egg.</p> <p>The chickpeas are done, and he tosses them into the oven with a laundry list of spices. Put a little time, effort, and care into it, he says, and the food returns the favor.</p> </div> <p>It tastes savory, but it’s not salty. It’s fatty, but not greasy. It tastes like a fish, but it was assembled in a facility hundreds of miles from the ocean. It tastes delicious, it tastes <em>real</em>. I stuff the remainder in my mouth like a starving man, even licking the packaging before shamefully casting it aside.</p> <p>In my career, I have dined at every single Ambrose location in the world. From the neon highrise of Eurtec to the backalley teahouse of Hong Kong. Yet, this meal stands alone. It is nothing short of a miracle; from these simple ingredients, Ambrose has created the first flavor I have had in a decade. Even now, he still managed to amaze me. Like his dishes of old, it's a carefully crafted enigma.</p> <p>As I eat the second dish, the illusion falls apart. It is spaghetti aglio e olio, a recipe that is an exercise in restraint, a careful balance between the slightly fruity oil and pungent garlic. I absent-mindedly rub the wrapper and receive a mouthful of blended oats and meat. I gag and the half-eaten mush is spat onto the ground. Another bite yields similar results; the magic is broken, the bar now no different from what I could get at a distro.</p> <p>A brief investigation exposes the trick. There are barely imperceptible raises on the plastic wrapping, connecting together to form spirals and fractals. Memes. Nothing more than a simple misdirection, telling your brain to ignore certain signals and process different ones.</p> <p>Something bubbles in the back of my throat. Was this what we had been reduced to? An aging reporter fooled by a cheap parlor trick from an alleyway <em>vending machine</em>. Maybe I’m no different from the man beside me, desperately trying to chase a dragon that no longer exists. Crops don’t sprout. Cattle are grown in test tubes. People pile on top of each other in cities like sardines. Food is fuel, only enough to get you to the next day. Ambrose is a shell of itself. Chaz is dead.</p> <p>There’s one bar left. The packaging is blank: no meme, no label, nothing. I almost crumple it up, but something stops me. Maybe I owe it to him, I guess. As I slowly chew, I remember how —</p> <div class="blokquote-alt"> <p>— we ran up the fire escape together, giggling as we try to balance our bowls of food. The rooftop is barren, so we place our meals on the ledge overlooking the whole city. The Mayor has outdone itself tonight; the night sky is clear and the Moon and stars shine faintly down on us.</p> <p>We attack our food with paper bowls and takeout utensils. It’s some sort of yellow curry, pungent, spicy, and savory. For a few moments, the night is still, occasionally broken up by a spoon scraping the edge of a dish.</p> <p>“God, remember when the sky used to look like that?”</p> <p>I look up. Chaz sits beside me, staring up at the sky.</p> <p>“What?”</p> <p>“I mean, it wasn’t like that everywhere all the time, but on a good day, you could spot the North Star in the city at night. Can’t do that now, too much ash. Everyone says it should've fallen a long time ago, but it all just seems to linger up there.”</p> <p>“That’s— you’re not supposed to say that.”</p> <p>The words slowly leave my mouth like honey. This isn’t right.</p> <p>“‘Course I’m not. I’m supposed to talk about a new location I’m scouting out in the plaza, a step up from the hole-in-a-wall I have now. You respond with complaints about your editors, they’re sloppy and unprofessional. I respond that you haven’t dealt with snobby critics and the even snobbier Critic decrying every change you make to your menu. You counter that you haven’t felt stress until it’s three hours til press and you still don’t have a cover story and your writers are completely AWOL. We kiss. It’s nice.”</p> <p>Chaz sits on the ledge beside me. Is this a dream? Pocket dimension? Food poisoning induced delirious vision?</p> <p>“But you’re dead. I mean, the last time I ever saw you was in Zürich in that hospital bed. The type of bed you don’t get up from.”</p> <p>“Charles Ambrose is dead. Ambrose Restaurants is scraping by, but it’ll be gone soon too. The name means nothing, it's just fumes and tricks and pained smiles. But it was never about that. The name's gone, but what made Ambrose, Ambrose — if you don’t mind me being pretentious — still goes on.”</p> <p>Ever so slightly, the starlight seems to brighten.</p> <p>“There’s a gurdwara in the outskirts of the Port, up north near Faetown. They have the last commercial greenhouse in North America. Their langar feeds two thousand people daily, free of charge. Every day, seven days a week, two dozen volunteers come in at daybreak, and cook till the sun sets.</p> <p>“There’s a Foundation researcher working at Abraxas Command, that obelisk at the center of town. Officially she’s a technician for the Way transport system that gets SCP-7314 from distribution centers A to B. Off the clock, she spends every spare moment in the biolab. A plant that thrives with dust and feeds dozens, that’s been her side project for the past five years. If she gets it right, she could turn food deserts into oases. Her supervisors wrote it off years ago, but through budget cuts and committee hearings, she hasn’t budged a bit. Yesterday, she made a breakthrough."</p> <p>The sky is almost blinding now. Wherever we are, time seems to be up.</p> <p>“These people are Ambrose, maybe not by name, but by spirit. They just need to see what they can be. I need you to do that for me Matt, can you?”</p> <p>“I — I will. Can I ask a question?”</p> <p>“Sure.”</p> <p>“You said yourself that Chaz was gone, so what are you? Noospheric entity? Hallucinogenic vision? Ghost?”</p> <p>I see that dimpled half-grin for the first time in a decade.</p> <p>“If I told you, then it wouldn’t be a secret ingredient. May we meet again, Matthew.”</p> <p>The last thing I see is Chaz putting his head on my shoulder before I</p> </div> <p>wake up, coughing as I lean against the wall. It’s day now, small sunbeams shine through the sky above. Thankfully, I still have all my limbs and belongings intact. The addict snores across from me, and for a brief moment, our chests rise and fall in unison.</p> <p>The vending machine is out of power, its display now dark, revealing the web of cracks on the screen. I look at it for a long time before I turn and leave the alley behind.</p> <p>I write this article from a seat on the Port's morning K Line commute. This line will take me all the way up the city, towards Faetown. As I was walking towards the station, there were small blades of grass sprouting out of a crack in a sidewalk. I bent down to pick one. Wild onion, a bit grimy, but a good wash, and it’s edible.</p> <p>Spring is here.</p> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/kothardarastrix-ae">Reflections Of Chaz</a>" by Trotskyeet, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/kothardarastrix-ae">https://scpwiki.com/kothardarastrix-ae</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[module css]] a#history-button, a#files-button { display: none!important; } [[/module]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:black-highlighter-theme">:scp-wiki:theme:black-highlighter-theme</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:toggle-sidebar-bhl">:scp-wiki:component:toggle-sidebar-bhl</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:cyberpunk">:scp-wiki:theme:cyberpunk</a> theme-number=1]] [[div style="text-align: center"]] [[div class="unmargined" style="font-family: 'Element'; font-size: 580%; margin: 2px 0 5px;"]] PLANASTHAI WATCH [[/div]] [[div class="unmargined" style="font-family: 'Unicephalon'; font-size: 150%; margin: 2px 0 5px;"]] Sweep The Ash Away [[/div]] [[div class="unmargined" style="font-family: serif; font-size: 120%; border-top-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid;"]] [[table style="border: none; width: 95%;"]] [[row]] [[cell style="text-align: left;"]] PORT ALEPH [[/cell]] [[cell style="text-align: center;"]] SATURDAY, MARCH 20, 2032 [[/cell]] [[cell style="text-align: right;"]] 210 ¥ [[/cell]] [[/row]] [[/table]] [[/div]] [[/div]] [[div style="text-align: center"]] [[div class="unmargined" style="font-family: 'Unicephalon'; font-size: 250%; margin: 2px 0 5px;"]] AMBROSE: A REFLECTION [[/div]] [[div class="unmargined" style="font-family: 'Jost'; font-size: 110%; margin: 2px 0 5px;"]] by Matthew Waldon [[/div]] [[/div]] My autorickshaw is a Mekhanite, his hydraulic legs pump in a rhythm as he carries my luggage and I down the highway. His mouth has been replaced with a chrome grille, the sole reason I chose him out of the horde of competing chauffeurs at the apportation terminal. Unfortunately, I didn’t see the speaker embedded in his back, which bombards me with questions. Business or pleasure? Business. Covering Port Aleph’s crackdowns on Insurgent cells for the Watch. How long was I staying? No longer than I have to. Liking it? I was. That was before I got in here with you. That gets a laugh out of him - a screeching metallic crackle - before he moves on to the next topic in his interrogation. I mutter a quiet curse towards Bumaro for making his inexhaustible servants absolutely insufferable. Along the roadside, the barren dirt gives way to the hydroponics, massive silos of vibrant blue and green, bullet-proof glass displaying their harvest for all to see. The last of agriculture. Amber fields and fruited plains boxed up or left to rot in the wake of the all-consuming cities. A fleet of sixteen-wheelers idle on the asphalt, ready at a moment’s notice to transport carrots and lettuce to the inner Port, where they will be shredded, stir-fried, blanched, and devoured by high-rise dwellers. For a moment, I let myself be caught in a past life. But my Mekhanite friend moves quickly, and the farm-towers soon fade as we enter the outskirts of the Port. Thomasvilles -- little more than anomalously expanded shanty towns -- pile on top of each other, leaning precariously towards the street. Strange men smoke from open doorways, skin raw and covered in a thin layer of grease. Cards and bills exchange hands in a steady flow, passing over rattling dice on the cracked pavement. My cart moves faster here, the driver’s head is swiveling near-constantly. A mysterious hum sets my teeth on edge until I identify the source; a glowing, vibrating knife, tighly gripped in a fuladh hand. He explains the edges of the city is where the worst lurk, scouring the streets for easy prey. Again, the nostalgia of the World Before spurs curiousity -- the distribution networks don't reach this far, so what do they eat? The driver screechlaughs and simply presses onward, knife in hand. We pass under a maglev bridge reinforced with tendon and bone; as a tram rumbles over us, I hear a steady //tap// as blood hits the roof of the cab. It appears our presence is not unnoticed. Hawkers and merchants line the street, each shouting over the other to get a moment of our time. Cheap plastic toys from Pakistan, dull gunmetal watches from Italy, Ugandan shirts, Brazilian radios, Chinese books -- the whole world can be found at a Port. As a man with painstakingly intricate runes carved in his chest bangs on the cab’s glass, shouting the prices of scrap metal, my stomach growls; I haven’t eaten for the past two days. The nearest distro center’s a half-hour away, smack-dab in the middle of a tram hub for Little Esterberg. Queue’s probably no more than ten minutes. I can make it. As we push our way through the crowd, I spot him in the back of an alleyway. ----- Touchingly, the driver is exceedingly worried for me. The center’s just a little further, he has a cousin’s cousin nearby who can get me anything I want to eat for a small fee, I shouldn’t be out here with //these// people, et cetera. I throw enough yen at him until he happily sprints away, leaving me standing on the sidewalk with a considerably reduced stipend. He’s right of course, walking out here without protection would be suicide. Lodges endlessly battle in these streets, and it is best to avoid the crossfire, lest you become ammunition. I quickly trace a sigil on my right palm: standard ISCUT-style protection spell, should protect me from the bog-standard hexes and curses. I also have a gun. It has bullets. [[div class="blokquote-alt"]] I had seen Chaz before: a trolley commute through the Plaza, sitting alone at Hersh's, profiles in newspapers, but nothing more than glimpses. I first met him in the kitchen of a Portlands house party. Me: horned-rim glasses, skin bordering on anemic, still nursing a hangover from the conclusion of my exams. Him: dark-skinned hands rubbed red by scrubbing, humming a mundane Top 40 hit, smell of lilac and diesel. He sits behind a gas stove, flames threatening to consume the carbon steel wok. Waves of heat sends the scent of spices unknown to tickle my nose. It feels wrong to talk to him, to interrupt an artist at work. So, I lean on a granite countertop and watch his strange, flowing dance throughout the kitchen. We were young and hungry; I was newly appointed senior editor of the Odyessy and he had just opened his first restaurant: //Ambrose: Three Portlands//. After some time, I worked up the courage to ask about the name. He said that in five years' time, he was going to have a location in every Free Port in America. I told him he was arrogant. He told me to pass him the pepper. [[/div]] The crowd has moved on. Even here, no one likes getting mixed up with a thaumaturgist. A [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/mainline-hub Spirit Dust] junkie lays slack-jawed against the alley walls, twitching in ecstasy as I nudge him aside. At first glance, the vending machine is no different than the metal boxes that litter old Tokyo or New York. But nowhere in those crumbling metropolises could you find a machine in a purple and gold veneer, with the smiling face of Chaz adorning the side. This was an Ambrose Restaurants product; once, people would line up for hours just to get a seat. Now, there was no one but me and a man choking on his spit. He never liked that photo. It was a pained smile made at the end of a long photoshoot paid for by money he didn't have. His real smile was small, highlighted by dimples that ever so slightly dipped into the cheek. The decals show a ghoulish grin, lips peeled back to show too much teeth. There’s a stuttering touchscreen display on the machine, as soon as I get close it greets me by name in a buffering artificial voice. Remotely scanned my identchip if I was to bet. A small detail, but he always felt that quality was built on noticing the small details. The variety of the menu is staggering: Caesar salad, quiche lorraine, tonkotsu ramen, ribeye steak; I couldn’t even remember the last time I had //real// steak. My hunger takes over as I punch in my order: three dishes of anything. Now. My mouth waters in anticipation. The price is exorbitant (at least one thing remains the same), but I don’t care. The machine rumbles, and I hear three tell-tale thuds. Bon appetit. As my hand moves under a plastic flap to retrieve the food, my heart sinks. I didn’t know what I was expecting, perfectly shrink-wrapped morsels on fine china? Instead, I receive three small packages, each no bigger than an old chocolate bar. On the front is the familiar three-arrow logo, indicating the package is nothing more than a [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-7314 7314] derivative, the same you’d get at any distro center. Flipping over the packaging revealed more of the same. A precise formula of meat, dairy, grains, fruits, veggies, all the right vitamins and nutrients that a growing reporter needs. Unusually, there's a purple label with flowery font. It claims that this one is otoro, the fatty underbelly of a tuna. The bar doesn’t even contain fish. The junkie mumbles the virtues of a drooling path as I lean on the wall across from him, quickly unwrapping my “dish.” It’s an unappealing brown-grey with flecks of dull, dehydrated green. Looks closer to dirt than anything coming out of the sea. Surprisingly brittle too, I easily break off a small piece, and place it in my mouth. ----- [[div class="blokquote-alt"]] His knifework is methodical, bordering on sluggish. He sorts through a bowl of chickpeas, carefully unwrapping the skin from each one before placing them in an oiled sheetpan. Aren’t chefs supposed to be showy and bold, onion volcanos and gold-plated steaks and the like? He laughs, telling me that you can’t sous vide with a microwave. The metaphor escapes me, I can barely boil an egg. The chickpeas are done, and he tosses them into the oven with a laundry list of spices. Put a little time, effort, and care into it, he says, and the food returns the favor. [[/div]] It tastes savory, but it’s not salty. It’s fatty, but not greasy. It tastes like a fish, but it was assembled in a facility hundreds of miles from the ocean. It tastes delicious, it tastes //real//. I stuff the remainder in my mouth like a starving man, even licking the packaging before shamefully casting it aside. In my career, I have dined at every single Ambrose location in the world. From the neon highrise of Eurtec to the backalley teahouse of Hong Kong. Yet, this meal stands alone. It is nothing short of a miracle; from these simple ingredients, Ambrose has created the first flavor I have had in a decade. Even now, he still managed to amaze me. Like his dishes of old, it's a carefully crafted enigma. As I eat the second dish, the illusion falls apart. It is spaghetti aglio e olio, a recipe that is an exercise in restraint, a careful balance between the slightly fruity oil and pungent garlic. I absent-mindedly rub the wrapper and receive a mouthful of blended oats and meat. I gag and the half-eaten mush is spat onto the ground. Another bite yields similar results; the magic is broken, the bar now no different from what I could get at a distro. A brief investigation exposes the trick. There are barely imperceptible raises on the plastic wrapping, connecting together to form spirals and fractals. Memes. Nothing more than a simple misdirection, telling your brain to ignore certain signals and process different ones. Something bubbles in the back of my throat. Was this what we had been reduced to? An aging reporter fooled by a cheap parlor trick from an alleyway //vending machine//. Maybe I’m no different from the man beside me, desperately trying to chase a dragon that no longer exists. Crops don’t sprout. Cattle are grown in test tubes. People pile on top of each other in cities like sardines. Food is fuel, only enough to get you to the next day. Ambrose is a shell of itself. Chaz is dead. There’s one bar left. The packaging is blank: no meme, no label, nothing. I almost crumple it up, but something stops me. Maybe I owe it to him, I guess. As I slowly chew, I remember how -- [[div class="blokquote-alt"]] -- we ran up the fire escape together, giggling as we try to balance our bowls of food. The rooftop is barren, so we place our meals on the ledge overlooking the whole city. The Mayor has outdone itself tonight; the night sky is clear and the Moon and stars shine faintly down on us. We attack our food with paper bowls and takeout utensils. It’s some sort of yellow curry, pungent, spicy, and savory. For a few moments, the night is still, occasionally broken up by a spoon scraping the edge of a dish. “God, remember when the sky used to look like that?” I look up. Chaz sits beside me, staring up at the sky. “What?” “I mean, it wasn’t like that everywhere all the time, but on a good day, you could spot the North Star in the city at night. Can’t do that now, too much ash. Everyone says it should've fallen a long time ago, but it all just seems to linger up there.” “That’s-- you’re not supposed to say that.” The words slowly leave my mouth like honey. This isn’t right. “‘Course I’m not. I’m supposed to talk about a new location I’m scouting out in the plaza, a step up from the hole-in-a-wall I have now. You respond with complaints about your editors, they’re sloppy and unprofessional. I respond that you haven’t dealt with snobby critics and the even snobbier Critic decrying every change you make to your menu. You counter that you haven’t felt stress until it’s three hours til press and you still don’t have a cover story and your writers are completely AWOL. We kiss. It’s nice.” Chaz sits on the ledge beside me. Is this a dream? Pocket dimension? Food poisoning induced delirious vision? “But you’re dead. I mean, the last time I ever saw you was in Zürich in that hospital bed. The type of bed you don’t get up from.” “Charles Ambrose is dead. Ambrose Restaurants is scraping by, but it’ll be gone soon too. The name means nothing, it's just fumes and tricks and pained smiles. But it was never about that. The name's gone, but what made Ambrose, Ambrose -- if you don’t mind me being pretentious -- still goes on.” Ever so slightly, the starlight seems to brighten. “There’s a gurdwara in the outskirts of the Port, up north near Faetown. They have the last commercial greenhouse in North America. Their langar feeds two thousand people daily, free of charge. Every day, seven days a week, two dozen volunteers come in at daybreak, and cook till the sun sets. “There’s a Foundation researcher working at Abraxas Command, that obelisk at the center of town. Officially she’s a technician for the Way transport system that gets SCP-7314 from distribution centers A to B. Off the clock, she spends every spare moment in the biolab. A plant that thrives with dust and feeds dozens, that’s been her side project for the past five years. If she gets it right, she could turn food deserts into oases. Her supervisors wrote it off years ago, but through budget cuts and committee hearings, she hasn’t budged a bit. Yesterday, she made a breakthrough." The sky is almost blinding now. Wherever we are, time seems to be up. “These people are Ambrose, maybe not by name, but by spirit. They just need to see what they can be. I need you to do that for me Matt, can you?” “I -- I will. Can I ask a question?” “Sure.” “You said yourself that Chaz was gone, so what are you? Noospheric entity? Hallucinogenic vision? Ghost?” I see that dimpled half-grin for the first time in a decade. “If I told you, then it wouldn’t be a secret ingredient. May we meet again, Matthew.” The last thing I see is Chaz putting his head on my shoulder before I [[/div]] wake up, coughing as I lean against the wall. It’s day now, small sunbeams shine through the sky above. Thankfully, I still have all my limbs and belongings intact. The addict snores across from me, and for a brief moment, our chests rise and fall in unison. The vending machine is out of power, its display now dark, revealing the web of cracks on the screen. I look at it for a long time before I turn and leave the alley behind. I write this article from a seat on the Port's morning K Line commute. This line will take me all the way up the city, towards Faetown. As I was walking towards the station, there were small blades of grass sprouting out of a crack in a sidewalk. I bent down to pick one. Wild onion, a bit grimy, but a good wash, and it’s edible. Spring is here. [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a> \|author=Trotskyeet]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-05-24T17:59:00	[ "_licensebox", "ambrose-restaurant", "art-exchange", "dystopian", "first-person", "romance", "science-fiction", "tale" ]	Reflections Of Chaz - SCP Foundation	21	[ "mainline-hub", "scp-7314", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "ambrose-restaurant-hub" ]	[]	1447853545	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/kothardarastrix-ae
koyaanisqatsi	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <hr/> <p><tt>worship he who rejoices within the horizon, living forever and ever</tt></p> <hr/> <p>And so at last, they came to the end.</p> <p>Standing upon the banks of this empty place, the boy who became king who became a god rested between the strands of time and space. The names that he had been given, the names that he had claimed now made up his whole, creating a being that waited for the arrival of another, long anticipated.</p> <p>The man he had once called father. <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-6830">Akhenaten, ascended.</a></p> <p>He had been born Tutankhaten, the name which the cosmic being now lumbering towards him with rage had once bestowed upon him with such pride. <em>The Image of the Living Aten.</em> His heir and legacy, his hope for the future. He had grown by his father's side, watching as the pharaoh had dismantled the temples, cast out the priests, insisting that all worship Aten alone, for only one god was worthy of Egypt's devotion.</p> <p>The boy had been told that this was the only way forward, that his father's guidance could be trusted.</p> <p>He could also see the way that the people feared their king now, breaking down their home shrines in terror that they might be singled out as impious and vanish in the night, as their neighbors sometimes now did. The boy heard the whispers of a new temple being built, that the palace would move soon to its location as the King needed to serve Aten exclusively, the sole priest for this new faith that all must follow. He could see the fanaticism grow in his father's eyes, day by day.</p> <p>And the boy was afraid.</p> <hr/> <p><tt>when you go forth, every eye is upon you</tt></p> <hr/> <p>On that terrible day so many eons past, Tutankhamen, a boy of only nine, had been awoken before the dawn to find the Great Royal Wife Nefertiti, his mother in all but blood, by his bedside to warn him of what Akhenaten would attempt that very morning, the apex of his ambitions realized, to become the vessel of the Aten himself. The ritual that she had been gifted so many years before was not merely a way to communicate with a deity, but a way to invoke and merge with its presence completely.</p> <p>By the time they arrived, it was too late. Father, Mother, and Son stood fixed as time shattered around them.</p> <p>Tutankhamen had been too young to fully understand what he saw, but having lived for thousands of thousands of years with a crown of godhood hadn't helped his ability to express it. Even now, here as he faced the monstrosity that had been his father in the space between worlds he felt as green as a child, staring at a man gone mad. They had been cradled in some sort of bubble, translucent but impenetrable as unknown energies swirled and consumed and crackled for what felt like an eternity before subsiding, leaving visible thousands upon thousands of timelines before them.</p> <p>From the center, like spokes of a wheel from its axle, he watched his father die a thousand times, the ritual ripping the flesh from his bones, leaving a husk behind that could not be properly mummified. His own ascension to Pharaoh and the reclaiming of his name and gods for Egypt as a whole, ending in an early death and glorious funeral. Over and over this played out, radiating from the center of where they three were held by magic beyond understanding —</p> <p>— before being flung, as if from a chariot, into three different directions, changing the lines forward completely.</p> <hr/> <p><tt>yet you are alone, rising in your manifestations</tt></p> <hr/> <p>None of the three were mortals any longer, but divine didn't feel correct either. Ascension to godhood had never been his own plan, and likely not the reason that Akhenaten had started down this terrible path either. Gods required intention, dominion, and they lacked that entirely for all that they had achieved some level of divinity. Apotheosis for its own sake was lonely, although Tutankhamen doubted that it would have stopped Akhenaten even if he'd realized it before the terrible ritual that had sundered them from their own humanity.</p> <p>Tutankhamen, his chosen name echoing in the memory of so many people after Carter's discovery of his tomb, did not court worship or power or glory. He knew of the horrible works of what Akhenaten had become, for he could see them from his place aloft, ascended above the race of man. He had lost sight of his mother, for it seemed that she did the same as he and hid in the shadows divinity afforded when it was divorced from ambition.</p> <p>Until one day, she arrived, and all the chaos that inevitably followed in her wake.</p> <p>The guilt and reality of what they had done, what they were now capable of had driven his bright, brilliant mother to the edge of madness, causing her to wander through time as if it were a stream, rippling behind her with a destructive wake, shattering to pieces the bonds that held reality at its seams. She fell before Tutankhamen, crying tears tinged with madness itself as she begged him to end her suffering. To stop her, but most importantly, to stop <em>him</em>, with the only manner that might stop one who had ascended to power they barely understood.</p> <p>All it would take was a push, like casting off the mooring of a boat along the river.</p> <p>Some might have called it a mercy, but when Tutankhamen watched the shadow of Nefertiti fade into the abyssal void between the stars, all he could feel was alone.</p> <hr/> <p><tt>you have made a distant heaven to observe all you have made, for you are alone</tt></p> <hr/> <p>For centuries, he waited. Watching from the edges of what he could perceive for a chance to put an end to his father's gluttony for power, for praise, for worship. The dance that had brought Nefertiti to Tutankhamen's lands played out again and again as Aten, the name his father had given himself, could never be satisfied by a single reality, letting those that he left behind unravel like linen after moths had consumed all but a few fibers.</p> <p>A glimmer caught both their eye at the same moment, a doorway into a timeline that for once, Tutankhamen was able to claim first.</p> <p>It was in the echo of one of humanity's countless wars that he was fortunate enough to see an opening, a crack in the collective consciousness that Akhenaten was exploiting to try and spread enough of his lies in order to conquer yet another world and consume in mindless excess. It was rather like drawing symbols in the sand and hoping that the mice in the dunes might understand, but unlike Aten, Tut knew perfectly well those mice were much smarter than given credit for. Some were watching for such things, could understand the world was greater than the mundane first glance might allow.</p> <p>And they helped him grow strong enough in their own consciousness, the flash of celebrity after Carter's discovery of his earthly tomb parlayed into near global awareness of Tutankhamen —</p> <p>— and dismissive, inaccurate awareness of the Pharaoh Akhenaten and his attempt at monotheism.</p> <p>Which returned them to this bank of the end of everything, the void swirling around the feet of two gods that should have never existed, one furious that at last his son had found a way to thwart his ambitions, the other at peace with oblivion, if only to protect countless trillions. The way that divinity fought against itself was nothing like the way mortals warred, but it had a simple beauty in its ultimate finale.</p> <p>All it took was a push.</p> <hr/> <p><tt>the land is silent, for he who had made them is at rest beneath the horizon</tt></p> <hr/> <p><br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/></p> <p>For so long, there was nothing.</p> <p><br/> <br/> <br/></p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p>Then there was <em>Light</em>.</p> </div> <p><span style="font-family: 'Roboto Condensed'"><br/> <span style="font-size:125%;">"I think he's finally coming to."</span><br/></span></p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p><span style="font-family: 'Dosis'"><br/> <span style="font-size:125%;">"That's the third time that you've said that."</span><br/></span></p> </div> <p><span style="font-family: 'Roboto Condensed'"><br/> <span style="font-size:125%;">"Yeah, but I'm right this time. Look!"</span><br/></span></p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><span style="font-family: 'Calligraffitti'"><br/> <span style="font-size:135%;">"Hush. Remember, it's a long journey. Ah! Here he is at last. Welcome."</span><br/></span></p> </div> <p>There was a smile, before there was light and faces above him, around him. He had expected nothing, to <strong>be</strong> nothing, and yet here he was. Something else now, something higher and not alone, greeted as a friend and he felt as if he had known her, known all three of those before him for longer than his own life, for all that they were meeting for the first time.</p> <p>Another step in a journey he scarcely knew he was on.</p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><span style="font-family: 'Calligraffitti'"><br/> <span style="font-size:135%;">"You must have so many questions. Let's get started."</span><br/></span></p> </div> <div class="collection"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">More From This Author</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">More From This Author</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <table style="1px solid black; width: 100%;"> <tr> <th class="namerow" colspan="2"><div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p>AriadnesThread's Works</p> </div> </div></th> </tr> <tr> <th class="titlecolumn">SCPs</th> <th class="articlecolumn"><div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/scp-6830">SCP-6830</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/scp-7801">SCP-7801</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/scp-8520">SCP-8520</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/scp-8131">SCP-8131</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/scp-7028">SCP-7028</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/scp-8028">SCP-8028</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> </div></th> </tr> <tr> <th class="titlecolumn">Tales/GoI Formats</th> <th class="articlecolumn"><div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/a-once-and-future-king">Dokein: A Journal for Tactical Theology</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/burn-brightly">Ever Burning Brightly</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/the-virtue-of-resilience">The Virtue of Resilience</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/frollicles">Frollicles (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Baba Yaga)</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/your-place-was-empty">Your Place Was Empty</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/i-think-i-could-be-brave">I Think I Could Be Brave</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> </div></th> </tr> <tr> <th class="titlecolumn">Other</th> <th class="articlecolumn"><div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/ariadnes-malibu-dream-house">Ariadne's Malibu Dream House (of Leaves)</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> </div></th> </tr> </table> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:black-highlighter-theme">:scp-wiki:theme:black-highlighter-theme</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:scp-archive">:scp-wiki:theme:scp-archive</a>]] [[module CSS]] @import url('https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Zen+Loop:wght@400;700&display=swap'); @import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Roboto+Condensed:wght@400;700&display=swap'); @import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Calligraffitti:wght@400;700&display=swap'); /* ==== ACS PATCH ==== / .anom-bar-container.clear-6 .top-center-box > div { background-blend-mode: luminosity; background-color: var(--accentColor); } #main-content hr, .anom-bar > .bottom-box::before { background-attachment: fixed; background-blend-mode: overlay; background-color: rgb(var(--swatch-primary, 133, 0, 5)) !important; background-image: url(https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/component%3Aanomaly-class-bar/galactic.jpg); background-size: contain; } #main-content hr { width: 100%; height: .5rem; border: 0; } [[/module]] [[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] ------ {{worship he who rejoices within the horizon, living forever and ever}} ------ And so at last, they came to the end. Standing upon the banks of this empty place, the boy who became king who became a god rested between the strands of time and space. The names that he had been given, the names that he had claimed now made up his whole, creating a being that waited for the arrival of another, long anticipated. The man he had once called father. [[[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-6830 \|Akhenaten, ascended.]]] He had been born Tutankhaten, the name which the cosmic being now lumbering towards him with rage had once bestowed upon him with such pride. //The Image of the Living Aten.// His heir and legacy, his hope for the future. He had grown by his father's side, watching as the pharaoh had dismantled the temples, cast out the priests, insisting that all worship Aten alone, for only one god was worthy of Egypt's devotion. The boy had been told that this was the only way forward, that his father's guidance could be trusted. He could also see the way that the people feared their king now, breaking down their home shrines in terror that they might be singled out as impious and vanish in the night, as their neighbors sometimes now did. The boy heard the whispers of a new temple being built, that the palace would move soon to its location as the King needed to serve Aten exclusively, the sole priest for this new faith that all must follow. He could see the fanaticism grow in his father's eyes, day by day. And the boy was afraid. ------ {{when you go forth, every eye is upon you}} ------ On that terrible day so many eons past, Tutankhamen, a boy of only nine, had been awoken before the dawn to find the Great Royal Wife Nefertiti, his mother in all but blood, by his bedside to warn him of what Akhenaten would attempt that very morning, the apex of his ambitions realized, to become the vessel of the Aten himself. The ritual that she had been gifted so many years before was not merely a way to communicate with a deity, but a way to invoke and merge with its presence completely. By the time they arrived, it was too late. Father, Mother, and Son stood fixed as time shattered around them. Tutankhamen had been too young to fully understand what he saw, but having lived for thousands of thousands of years with a crown of godhood hadn't helped his ability to express it. Even now, here as he faced the monstrosity that had been his father in the space between worlds he felt as green as a child, staring at a man gone mad. They had been cradled in some sort of bubble, translucent but impenetrable as unknown energies swirled and consumed and crackled for what felt like an eternity before subsiding, leaving visible thousands upon thousands of timelines before them. From the center, like spokes of a wheel from its axle, he watched his father die a thousand times, the ritual ripping the flesh from his bones, leaving a husk behind that could not be properly mummified. His own ascension to Pharaoh and the reclaiming of his name and gods for Egypt as a whole, ending in an early death and glorious funeral. Over and over this played out, radiating from the center of where they three were held by magic beyond understanding -- -- before being flung, as if from a chariot, into three different directions, changing the lines forward completely. ------ {{yet you are alone, rising in your manifestations}} ------ None of the three were mortals any longer, but divine didn't feel correct either. Ascension to godhood had never been his own plan, and likely not the reason that Akhenaten had started down this terrible path either. Gods required intention, dominion, and they lacked that entirely for all that they had achieved some level of divinity. Apotheosis for its own sake was lonely, although Tutankhamen doubted that it would have stopped Akhenaten even if he'd realized it before the terrible ritual that had sundered them from their own humanity. Tutankhamen, his chosen name echoing in the memory of so many people after Carter's discovery of his tomb, did not court worship or power or glory. He knew of the horrible works of what Akhenaten had become, for he could see them from his place aloft, ascended above the race of man. He had lost sight of his mother, for it seemed that she did the same as he and hid in the shadows divinity afforded when it was divorced from ambition. Until one day, she arrived, and all the chaos that inevitably followed in her wake. The guilt and reality of what they had done, what they were now capable of had driven his bright, brilliant mother to the edge of madness, causing her to wander through time as if it were a stream, rippling behind her with a destructive wake, shattering to pieces the bonds that held reality at its seams. She fell before Tutankhamen, crying tears tinged with madness itself as she begged him to end her suffering. To stop her, but most importantly, to stop //him//, with the only manner that might stop one who had ascended to power they barely understood. All it would take was a push, like casting off the mooring of a boat along the river. Some might have called it a mercy, but when Tutankhamen watched the shadow of Nefertiti fade into the abyssal void between the stars, all he could feel was alone. ------ {{you have made a distant heaven to observe all you have made, for you are alone}} ------ For centuries, he waited. Watching from the edges of what he could perceive for a chance to put an end to his father's gluttony for power, for praise, for worship. The dance that had brought Nefertiti to Tutankhamen's lands played out again and again as Aten, the name his father had given himself, could never be satisfied by a single reality, letting those that he left behind unravel like linen after moths had consumed all but a few fibers. A glimmer caught both their eye at the same moment, a doorway into a timeline that for once, Tutankhamen was able to claim first. It was in the echo of one of humanity's countless wars that he was fortunate enough to see an opening, a crack in the collective consciousness that Akhenaten was exploiting to try and spread enough of his lies in order to conquer yet another world and consume in mindless excess. It was rather like drawing symbols in the sand and hoping that the mice in the dunes might understand, but unlike Aten, Tut knew perfectly well those mice were much smarter than given credit for. Some were watching for such things, could understand the world was greater than the mundane first glance might allow. And they helped him grow strong enough in their own consciousness, the flash of celebrity after Carter's discovery of his earthly tomb parlayed into near global awareness of Tutankhamen -- -- and dismissive, inaccurate awareness of the Pharaoh Akhenaten and his attempt at monotheism. Which returned them to this bank of the end of everything, the void swirling around the feet of two gods that should have never existed, one furious that at last his son had found a way to thwart his ambitions, the other at peace with oblivion, if only to protect countless trillions. The way that divinity fought against itself was nothing like the way mortals warred, but it had a simple beauty in its ultimate finale. All it took was a push. ------ {{the land is silent, for he who had made them is at rest beneath the horizon}} ------ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ For so long, there was nothing. @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ [[>]] Then there was //Light//. [[/>]] @@@@ [[span style="font-family: 'Roboto Condensed'"]] [[size 125%]]"I think he's finally coming to."[[/size]] [[/span]] [[>]] [[span style="font-family: 'Dosis'"]] [[size 125%]]"That's the third time that you've said that."[[/size]] [[/span]] [[/>]] [[span style="font-family: 'Roboto Condensed'"]] [[size 125%]]"Yeah, but I'm right this time. Look!"[[/size]] [[/span]] [[=]] [[span style="font-family: 'Calligraffitti'"]] [[size 135%]]"Hush. Remember, it's a long journey. Ah! Here he is at last. Welcome."[[/size]] [[/span]] [[/=]] There was a smile, before there was light and faces above him, around him. He had expected nothing, to be* nothing, and yet here he was. Something else now, something higher and not alone, greeted as a friend and he felt as if he had known her, known all three of those before him for longer than his own life, for all that they were meeting for the first time. Another step in a journey he scarcely knew he was on. [[=]] [[span style="font-family: 'Calligraffitti'"]] [[size 135%]]"You must have so many questions. Let's get started."[[/size]] [[/span]] [[/=]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:wikimodule">:scp-wiki:component:wikimodule</a> \|normal= --]]]	2023-08-07T17:40:00	[ "bittersweet", "otherworldly", "religious-fiction", "tale" ]	Koyaanisqatsi - SCP Foundation	21	[ "scp-6830", "scp-7801", "scp-8520", "scp-8131", "scp-7028", "scp-8028", "a-once-and-future-king", "burn-brightly", "the-virtue-of-resilience", "frollicles", "your-place-was-empty", "i-think-i-could-be-brave", "ariadnes-malibu-dream-house" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023" ]	[]	1449299371	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/koyaanisqatsi
let-the-maze-of-my-design-carry-you-on	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=1&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Aaces-and-eights/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <div class="authorlink-wrapper"><a href="javascript:;">Ralliston</a> <div class="authorbox"> <div class="authorcontent"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><strong><a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/ralliston-s-authorpage">More by this author</a></strong></p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>« <a href="/time-machine-en">Time Machine</a> \|\| <a href="/chronicles-of-the-irreal-hub">HUB</a> \|\| <a href="/isle-unto-thyself">Isle Unto Thyself</a> »</strong></p> <p>With a thunderous split in the fabric of reality, the sky above the desert shattered like ice stricken with a hammer. At first, it was a mere crack, spawned by the portal knocking at the dimension's doors with a heavy hand. But like a domino falling over, just seconds later, the reaction it spawned grew larger, opening a net of broken windows into the universe below. And from within those windows fell gods.</p> <p>Well, not exactly — one of them, the alchemist, might've perhaps been close to a god in this universe, but the same couldn't really be said about her digital and mortal companions. Still, destiny decided they would all meet the same fate: screaming at the top of their lungs, for the fourth time in less than a month.</p> <p>"YOU FUCKING TWAAAAAAAATT<em>TTTTTTTTTTTT</em>," Ann Barlowe shouted mid-air, not caring for the very much real and very much deadly ground below her. With a single movement of her hand and a gentle push of will, she seamlessly re-aligned the alchemical particles forcing them downwards, mitigating the wind's blow to their side and making her and Robert Madden's fall as slow as possible. "I'LL FUCKING KILL Y—" she tried to say, but was stopped by Madden's shoe entering her face.</p> <p>Their third companion, the android-bodied Ra — who was similarly descending next to them — was frankly glad she was too occupied with trying to make all her systems connect to local reality to have to choose a side between her colleagues. There was nothing in the world she wanted less than to get between a furious Ann Barlowe and a self-satisfied Robert Madden, who was still practically beaming about his <a class="newpage" href="/time-machine">plan forcing them to jump realities</a>.</p> <p>"I'll—" Barlowe began, but quickly realized she had just lost her focus — and her grip on the air Aethers that stopped them from falling to their deaths along with it. So, once again allowing the winds of the sky to take their rule on the three escapees, they abided by gravity's iron-fist rules, and continued falling.</p> <p>Fighting off hyperventilation and all other signs of panic from overtaking her — the situation was <em>far</em> from ideal — Barlowe focused the final and fragmented parts of her consciousness, forcing them back together. With a silent snap inside her soul similar to basic alchemical elements forming a bigger mass, she brought her own mind to order, quickly grasping at the elements she had just lost control over.</p> <p>She was back in the game.</p> <p>With one move of her hand and one spark in her soul, she forced the rocks below them to extend upwards and shatter, meeting her and her companions as nothing more than warm sand. Just like in the last world, she could feel that the Great Seal of Alchemy didn't exist within this universe, which allowed her to experience and control billions of forces she couldn't have ever dreamt of back home.</p> <p>Mashing the particles of air and elements of the scorching sun above, she heated the sand up to hell-like temperatures, immediately cooling it down with the Aethers of wind, so that it would not burn either of them. The thick glass that formed from the reaction took the shape of a slide leading downwards, its entry just meters below the three. Ann resisted the urge to grin.</p> <p>As the travelers met the slide at mach one speed and slid right down it, the creak of glass realizing it was no longer being supported by the unhinged power of the alchemist suddenly filled their ears. With horror in their eyes, the glass shattered right behind them, making Madden silently pray to nobody and no one that they were faster than the inevitable catastrophe that followed behind them.</p> <p>Much to his surprise, the universe even listened.</p> <p>With a quiet grunt, the three fell to the dusty ground of the desert below.</p> <p>The scorching half-sand half-dirt that that the ground was made from didn't hesitate to show them whose land this was, making Madden curse at its heat. Ra simply sighed, realizing her systems now had to account for simulating the expression of her fake neurons being ablaze, throwing the sand off her metal feet. And Barlowe — having the skill to literally wave off heat like it wasn't there in this universe — didn't even need to do that. She simply started walking forward, ignoring both of her companions.</p> <p>With another grunt of pain, Madden stood up, turning his sights forward. The valley they found themselves in stretched as far as the horizon could reach, filling his entire vision with a barren wasteland of nothing else but sand and rocks, only occasionally broken up by loose cacti or tumbleweeds. At the end of the horizon mountains stood, towering across the entirety of the landscape. In their ridiculous grandiosity, they almost looked like they were observing the valley below them. They reached the cloudless sky above, acting as the only thing to break up the otherwise monotonous wasteland.</p> <p>But no, that wasn't quite right, he realized. He squinted his eyes further, and noticed something. He could see a single small town, standing in opposition against the mountains' hegemonic shadow. Robert couldn't quite make it all out from where he stood, but deep down he knew the town was there, despite some still-rational part of his mind suggesting it might just be a fata morgana caused by the blazing sun above. He didn't need Ra's nod to know that. He faintly smiled.</p> <p>He also knew Barlowe was aware of the town's existence, too, judging by the destination she had set her steps in.</p> <p>"Barlowe!" he shouted, trying to follow the alchemist. Not having much of a choice, Ra joined him, though still shrugged nonetheless. "You can't just run away from your problems forever! You know we did the right thing!"</p> <p>She didn't reply, instead picking up her pace, but her posture very much told Madden that she thought that she not only could, but also that she <em>would</em> run away from her problems. Or at least run away from Madden, he supposed. He didn't think he deserved it — he still thought tricking Ann into jumping dimensions with him was the correct thing to do — but he couldn't blame her, not really.</p> <p>Allowing Madden's words to pour down her like rain on a windshield, Barlowe just moved her hands, and felt the ground below her start rumbling.</p> <p>Responding to a will and order they couldn't ignore, the half-solid rocks Barlowe treaded on started to move as if they were alive. They gathered near her feet, forming something that looked like a surfboard, elevating her just a few centimeters off the ground. The structure then began to move forward, faster than the alchemist herself could ever manage on her own. Whenever she ordered, the rocks followed, forming a seamless and continuous highway for the board to traverse. In just a few seconds, she was off.</p> <p>"Ann! Don't be ridiculous!" Madden shouted once more, trying to run after her. After just a few meters, the temperature and the ground all around him made sure to tell him that the chase was impossible.</p> <p>Even despite her distance, Ann heard Madden; she still ignored him.</p> <p>She allowed herself to smile faintly. For the first time in a long while she started to laugh, finally feeling free. She didn't need to listen to that idiot's orders or to somehow fit into a hierarchy set up by the last world; here, she was her own woman. Barlowe extended her arms outwards, sensing the scorching air all around her, knowing it couldn't harm her. She took off her hood, exposing her red curly hair to the sun, allowing its light to blind her.</p> <p>At the other end of the valley, Robert screamed in frustration, once again trying to continue his walk towards the town, scoffing loudly. Ra didn't say anything; she knew no words she could think of could change anything. She just followed her companion, ready for the long and tiresome journey that was about to follow.</p> <hr/> <p>Despite its mostly stranded appearance from afar, Flatrock Falls — as that was what the town was called — was practically booming with life.</p> <p>As Barlowe entered the city's main road, she started to notice its population wasn't "twenty people max" like she had previously imagined. With each step she took in her strange clothing and bizarre hair, at least ten sets of eyes looked at her from the countless windows nested in the wooden structures the townsfolk used as homes. Each time, she returned the gaze, maintaining her posture and pace.</p> <p>Making her way across this civilized part of the desert, she eyed her surroundings, searching for anything that could prove useful.</p> <p><em>Sheriff's.</em></p> <p>No, not really. The last thing she wanted after their <a href="/stranded-lullaby">first</a> <a href="/the-mind-electric">two</a> multiversal encounters was to deal with cops.</p> <p><em>Motel.</em></p> <p>Maybe later. She wasn't feeling tired. And she wasn't feeling like getting robbed.</p> <p><em>Bank.</em></p> <p>Not that, either, but it <em>was</em> something to remember; what good are godlike powers if you can't use them to get rich?</p> <p><em>Saloon.</em></p> <p>Bingo.</p> <p>With a faint smile she headed towards the large wooden building before her. It smelled of shit, sweat, cigarettes, and cheap booze — which could only mean it was the perfect place to get information from. A sign of questionable quality hanging above the almost doors told her she was entering "Saloon Number 72." She entered through.</p> <p>The insides stank even worse. She wrinkled her nose, but didn't stop.</p> <p>The place was half-lit by just three chandeliers hanging above the main hall, giving it an atmosphere she thought was reserved only for morgues and Foundation containment cells. The bar, located directly in front of the entry, was occupied by a tall man. He was built pretty well and was busy polishing mugs and bottles. He eyed her suspiciously, perhaps surprised a lanky lonely woman was brave enough to enter his building, but then shrugged and got back to his business.</p> <p>Before Barlowe stood seven tables, all of them occupied by people she wouldn't ever want to meet after dark. Smoking and playing cards they laughed with rough voices, evil voices; they were too busy minding their own business to notice that Ann had even entered.</p> <p>Well, not all of them — there was one exception. At the table located in the farthest corner of the saloon there sat one man, who had taken very keen interest in the alchemist. He was seemingly sleeping with his hat covering his eyes, but from under it, she could see his grey irises follow her movements. Half his face was burnt, the second half filled with strange tattoos, reminding Barlowe of the ones that were carved with fire into her very own body decades ago. The memory of being initiated into her alchemical order almost made her shiver.</p> <p>On the walls next to the man, tens of "WANTED" posters hung, all crossed out with bright red.</p> <p>Ann smiled, knowing she found exactly who she looking for. With a confident step she walked forward, ready for whoever — or whatever — the man was.</p> <p>Sensing her movement, the others finally noticed her, giving Barlowe an annoyed and angry look. They didn't look for long, though — not when she met their gaze and returned the gesture, letting just a flicker of fire dance around her eyes.</p> <p>When she turned back to face the man, there were no eyes on her anymore. She took the stool standing next to his table and sat on it, giving the man a nonchalant cough.</p> <p>"Yes?" the stranger slowly said, his time rough and almost annoyed, as if he was trying to ascertain why someone as insignificant as Barlowe would dare interrupt his faked sleep. "What do you want?"</p> <p>He took his hat off and put it on the table before him, revealing his slightly longer, dark hair underneath it. They were no longer covered, so Barlowe could see that his gray eyes were full of flame — she could also see them drill into her soul, scanning her for any signs he could read. One of his eyes — the one on the burnt side of his face — was scarred, barely clinging to the nerves that allowed it to move. It was slow, almost white; it was obvious that movement came to it with great difficulty. The other, though — the fully healthy one, in spite of the almost alien runes surrounding it — more than made up for its twin's faultiness.</p> <p>Ann had to admit, the man knew how to give someone a heavy stare.</p> <p>His equally dark leather jacket covered most of what would otherwise be second-degree'd skin, the burn visible only on his hands. The jacket was dirty, and it smelled of smoke. Of smoke and burnt-up dreams.</p> <p>"Saw a wolf among the tens of sheep out here," Ann replied, nothing but confidence present in her voice. The man raised an eyebrow, both amused and surprised, and took out a smoke from his pocket, putting it in his mouth. He didn't ask if she wanted one. Barlowe blinked, and the smoke suddenly turned ablaze, starting to taint the atmosphere with even more smoke. She refused the urge to clear her throat, and continued, "Need someone to tell me what the town is. How the town is. Why the town is."</p> <p>He exhaled the smoke, maintaining the stare. "There's people out there that'd be happy to answer that question for free, <em>alchemist</em>." He emphasized the final part as if it were a slur, practically spitting it out of his lips. She didn't ask how he knew. "And I'm no tour guide."</p> <p>"I want to know how the town <em>really</em> is," she replied, waving a hand and forcing the smoke to disappear with the force of her will. He didn't even wince. "And I need help."</p> <p>"Help?" His ash-dried lips and tired eyes almost formed a smile. "Do I look like the goddamned medic, girl?"</p> <p>Ann glanced at the posters around him, sighing in seeming disappointment. He immediately picked up the signal. "I'm looking for people who can show me if there's anything here worth my time. And I don't mean no oil deposit."</p> <p>His grin widened. "And what, you think I will help you?</p> <p>"Indeed I do." She nodded and snapped her fingers, causing the cigarette to dissolve into thin air. The man gave her an almost impressed look. She continued, "So, will you answer my question or do I have to find another one of those idiots to do the job?" She pointed with her thumb at the rest of the bar's population.</p> <p>The man grunted. "What do you need, exactly?" He corrected his posture, propping his elbows against the table. The wood creaked beneath them. He didn't really want to show it, but now, he was getting interested. "Info, men, or just pure power?"</p> <p>"Your name would be a good start." She extended her hand.</p> <p>He shook it, groaning as his burnt hands met the skin of another human being. "It's Daniel Ash."</p> <hr/> <p>The road was long, dirty, and messy — but most importantly, it was exhausting. And neither Robert nor Ra had any shortcuts like Ann did.</p> <p>Almost entirely out of spirit, one step after the other, Madden walked towards the town in front of him. It took hours that felt like weeks, but he had no other choice but to push forward in the everpresent sun. Even if he wanted to stop, the only real alternative was to lie down and get a heat stroke. And his weekend plans didn't really extend that far.</p> <p>The first thing that gave up was his arms. He could no longer afford to have them cover his eyes, protecting him from the blinding beams above. He let them fall to his side, wobbling aimlessly with each movement forward, as if they never even had a purpose to begin with.</p> <p>The second thing that gave up was his legs. He thought it would be easy — just an hour or two of marching, and he'd be done. But it was much, much worse. The town was there, on the horizon, but it always remained just out of reach. It felt like every step he had to take was equivalent to running a marathon, multiplied tenfold. He wished so much that it'd end, the movement almost impossible under a hell-hot sun, but he had no magic to aid him — just his lifeless appendages to carry him forward.</p> <p>But just before his will — the last thing that held together — gave up, he suddenly realized that he and Ra were standing inside the town.</p> <p>The specter of a man he was, he looked unconsciously in search of anything that would look like both Barlowe and any potential resting place. When he found neither he resisted the urge to scream — the myriad reactions of surprise and disgust he met from the townsfolk around him didn't help his frustration, either.</p> <p>The first reaction that actually broke his trance and made him realize just how miserable he was was the wide-opened eyes of the barman, noticing that Madden had entered his building. Ra didn't come inside, instead choosing to explore the town on her own — now that they had no Barlowe with them, they didn't want to bring too much attention to themselves. A feat that was literally impossible with a two-meter metal android.</p> <p>"You good?" the buff asked, putting aside whatever glass he'd held in his massive hands just seconds ago. Good-spiritedness wasn't exactly his nature, but something in Madden's posture — and thoroughly exhausted eyes — made him make an exception. "You look like a horse ran ov—"</p> <p>"W-W… Wat-ter…" Madden uttered through his broken lips, putting a few loose coins onto the counter. "P-P… Please…"</p> <p>The barman nodded, and handed him the requested bottle. The liquid wasn't clean, quite far from it, but it was the best Madden was going to get. He didn't complain.</p> <p>"Woah, easy there, bud," the saloon owner said. "It ain't healthy to drink this mu—"</p> <p>Robert didn't listen, instead chugging more and more until he was done, relief entering his face not moments later. He sighed with exhaustion, relief, and genuine appreciation for the other's actions.</p> <p>"So, uh, what do you need?" the bartender said, going back behind the counter and leaving Madden to sit on a stool before him. "Drink, something to eat, or…?"</p> <p>"Did… Did you…" he panted, still catching his breath. With his index finger up, he showed the other man to wait up, giving his lungs a moment to recover. When they did, he continued, "Woman. Around my age. Curly, red hair. Black robes. Arm of metal. Did you see her?"</p> <p>The man shrugged. "Nope. Women… don't really like this part of the town, you know?"</p> <p>Robert paused to consider. "What… What about a, uh, big metal frame? Looks like a hexagon and lights up when you come close? Buzzes like bees, making your hair stand up?" The other raised his eyebrow, unsure if Robert still wasn't hallucinating. "Not just here, I mean — in general. Ever seen or heard of it?"</p> <p>The barman turned to the shelves containing alcohol beside him, putting one more bottle where it belonged. "You sure that desert heat wore off?" He scanned Robert from top to bottom with a critical look, just a spark of worry in his eyes. "'Cuz it ain't looking like it, pal."</p> <p>Madden ignored him, realizing that the <a href="/scp-6172">SCP-6172</a> portal he was looking for was nowhere to be found around these parts, and glanced around the bar.</p> <p>It was awful.</p> <p>Full of smoke and the smell of alcohol, it was truly one of the worst places a labrat like him could ever imagine. Its seven tables were almost entirely filled up with the type of people he'd never ever want to meet alone. The only exception to this was the farthest desk in the corner. It didn't just feel suspicious, like the rest of the bar, no; it was much, <em>much</em> worse. Something in the figure seated in it — a robed man, a gun next to his belt — made him shiver.</p> <p>The energy of the place was slowly strangling him alive. Robert could survive a cyberpunk dystopia with its billion colorful clouds of smoke and neons, he could get through the dirt and mud of a world reverted to a state from centuries ago, and he could even stare down the Coalition's barrel — but this was too much. Something about the energy of the place made him want to run away and never come back, but he had to push through with a few more questions. Because otherwise, all of the sacrifices he'd made to get across the desert would've been for nothing.</p> <p>"Forget it." Madden rolled his eyes. He needed to stay strong, because places like these very much didn't like the broken. He paused for a moment, thinking about his current situation. "What about a… huh, treasure? What's the best thing I can get here, if you know what I mean? Any game-changer, that's all I need." He was already beginning to hatch a plan.</p> <p>The barman didn't even seem surprised by the question. Judging by the state of his establishment, Madden guessed that he heard a similar version of the same question quite frequently. "I… hmm… yeah, I guess you could say that. But… it's not an easy job, pal. And it might get you killed. But if you're looking for a good game…" he replied, pausing for a moment to look at Madden. "Well. If you want to take the risk, it'll get you results."</p> <p>Madden raised his eyebrow, intrigued, and came a little closer. "Tell me more."</p> <hr/> <p>The bank was old, dusty, and just like the rest of the town — boring as hell. Nonetheless, Barlowe didn't complain: she understood this was the best she was gonna get. Instead, she simply raised her eyebrows, surprised at Daniel's uncharacteristically enthusiastic reaction.</p> <p>"This the place?" she asked, covering her head with her hood once more. The heat was getting unbearable. "It… It doesn't look like anything even worthwhile. Would be surprised if they even had enough gold here to get past the ocean." She paused. "Which, you know, is the whole reason I want inside."</p> <p>He looked at her, slight irritation in his eyes. "You don't know nothing about this town, alchemist. Trust me when I say it'll be worth your time." He paused, lighting another smoke up with one of his thoughts. The flame was small, but she could feel its heat even from two meters away. He didn't seem to be bothered by it one bit. "Been there before. The thing the bank holds is better than just mere gold."</p> <p>Even if she tried, she couldn't possibly raise her eyebrows higher. "And that thing is…?"</p> <p>He shrugged. "The source of all wisdom and power the universe holds. Like I said, I've seen it before. Once. Before I got kicked out for not being a coward and actually using magic." Within his eyes, she could still see the fire of rage burning strong. She almost shivered. He pointed at the building. "With that, you'll get to your little home all right." She didn't think he fully believed her when she told him their story, but just partial belief was all she needed. And it wasn't like she was going to get better help anyway.</p> <p>"So," she started, cracking her knuckles. The day was getting late and the streets reacted accordingly, forcing more and more inhabitants into their homes. If Flatrock Falls could feel even more like a wasteland, it very much did so now. "We going in or what?"</p> <p>He scoffed, smiling patronizingly. "<em>Please</em>, dear. You really think you can just break into the best-guarded thaumaturgic secret in the entirety of the West like you're walking into a saloon?" Before she could answer, he continued, "No, no you can't. Trust me, I tried." His hand touched the burnt part of his face, groaning upon meeting the scorched skin. "You have to learn some lessons the hard way."</p> <p>She stood there, silently for a few moments which made her realize just how little her power must've meant there, even when entirely unshackled. She threw those thoughts away just seconds after — it was not in her style to enjoy pondering notions that made her feel not like the most powerful person in the room. "So, what the hell do we do?"</p> <p>He turned towards her, putting his black hat back on and smiling widely, this time with pure enjoyment. "We put together a crew."</p> <hr/> <p>At the edge of the town, the sun was setting.</p> <p>Crossing the now mildly cool atmosphere of the West, Ra's metallic body walked forward, without real purpose or merit. It was a weird feeling for her, if she was being honest — to a being of pure logic and efficiency to do… nothing, really, felt more than unusual. But, in a sense, it also felt liberating.</p> <p>Before she could really realize what she was doing, she found herself at the border between civilization and desert, separated only by a single wooden pen, holding two or three horses. Within it, a person stood, carrying out a few of his personal belongings from the pen: he was preparing to head back home after a long day of work. He was tired, and so were his animals — she could see it in the way in which he moved.</p> <p>She stopped her march, leaning onto the wooden fence before her. It creaked upon meeting the dark steel of her arms. Even if her body was covered with stolen shirts, a hat, a shawl, and some pants, the illusion could only work on humans — the unthinking mind of gravity didn't let itself be fooled so easily.</p> <p>Seconds later, the farmer noticed her, slowly walking forward, slight worry in his eyes. Not often did he see someone so tall. Especially someone whose arms shined with pure steel.</p> <p>"Yes?" he asked, spitting out the tuft of grass that occupied his teeth. "What d'you want?"</p> <p>"<tt>I'm a newcomer</tt>," she said, trying her best to mask her electronic tone. She failed. "<tt>Wanted to ask a few questions about the town, if that's all right</tt>." Noticing the man's surprise at the sound of her voice, she tried to clarify. "<tt>Apologies for the hoarseness. Had been shouting a lot lately.</tt>"</p> <p>He nodded in seeming understanding, coming much closer and with much less worry. "What d'you need? Just general information or something specific?"</p> <p>She scratched the monitor covered with cloth that acted as her head. There was no need for this, of course, but a detailed study of human behavior told her it was an appropriate reaction. "<tt>Need just one thing, really, nothing overly detailed</tt>." She was now fully leaning on the fence, scratching her chin, too. She wondered if it was too much scratching per action non-scratched, but the fake neurons she ran on had no answer to satisfy this question. So instead of thinking about it more, she just pointed at the building of the bank in the distance, illuminated just enough to be visible but not enough to make out the wooden letters making up the sign above its doors. "<tt>What's there?</tt>"</p> <p>He smiled a surprised smile. "The bank, obviously."</p> <p>She made a slight sighing sound, putting her gloved hands on her equally covered-up knees. She was rather happy with her human disguise. "<tt>No, no, I mean what's <em>truly</em> there, y'know? I can feel the buzzing and power from within. I want the whole truth.</tt>"</p> <p>And so, sighing with slight disappointment that he had been had, he told her all of it.</p> <hr/> <p>"Name?" Barlowe said, massaging her eyes as gently as she could, trying not to force herself to just tell everyone to get out. To her, any action that took longer than four hours felt like it took forever; the blazing sun above certainly did nothing to help her exhaustion.</p> <p>The muscular and tough-looking cowboy in front of her grinned, a spark of mischief in his eyes. He corrected his hat, not allowing any of his graying hair to pull through. "The name's Mike, the—"</p> <p>"Next!" she shouted, rolling her eyes for the god-knew-which time this evening. The alchemist was way too tired to withstand mentally listening to yet another middle-aged gunslinger explain how they're the fastest hand in the West. She needed power, not the next dumb-muscled victim of a heat stroke.</p> <p>Awaiting for the next attendee to step forward, Ann turned back to the rest of her already-assembled crew. At the table beside her, there sat two local magic-slingers. They were exchanging quiet and awkward whispers and glances with Daniel, who was sitting with his legs crossed, a satisfied smile plastered on his face. Truth be told, Ann was quite surprised such a small town was home to three such powerful mages, but she wasn't complaining. She still needed more people, though.</p> <p>She turned back to face the line before her, realizing there were not many pretenders still awaiting their chance. With just two people left, she might not have many options left, she realized. But then again she <em>did</em> get two people on her side. It always could've been worse.</p> <p>The next in line was just as generic as all the previous self-proclaimed heroes, making her sigh and wave her hand in dismissal. But the last one — he gained her attention immediately. Frantically eying each corner of the saloon, the lanky man's gray robes wobbled around with each movement of his body. Ann couldn't quite make out the rest of his face from underneath his hood, but the rapidly moving eyes were more than visible to her. They were small, almost rodent-like, and they stopped at every little item and person within the room, as if trying to see if nobody wanted to steal the chain of keys the man held in his malnourished, old hands.</p> <p>"And who might you be?" Ann asked and tilted her head, not doing much to hide her curiosity.</p> <p>The man looked two more times around the room before he turned towards her, his uneasy eyes shivering with unarticulated fear. "Joshua. Joshua Meyers," he replied with a hoarse voice.</p> <p>Ann extended her hand forward, resulting only in a panicked retrieval of the arm holding the keys back under Meyers' robes. She didn't apologize — her image couldn't afford it — so she just continued, as if nothing had happened, "Any special talents?"</p> <p>As a stray ray of light found itself above Meyers, Ann caught just a glimpse of the rest of his face, illuminated for a single moment by the candles and chandeliers of the locale. It was full of wrinkles, scars, and deformities, forming an image of a man most would avoid.</p> <p>Exactly the type she was looking for.</p> <p>"I can open doors," he answered, tightening his grasp on the keys. They clung together in a chaotic harmony. "All doors. Lots of doors."</p> <p>"I imagine that extends to what I asked for, correct?"</p> <p>For a single moment, he stopped, looking directly into her eyes, an unusual and almost unsettling sensation behind the movement. With a calm and clear voice, he answered. "Yes."</p> <p>She had no idea where it came from, but she realized that the moment their eyes met she knew he was exactly the type of man she needed for the job.</p> <p>"You're in."</p> <hr/> <p>The day was late, and the sun was setting.</p> <p>Heading back towards the saloon, Ra felt tired. For the first time in her almost half-century existence, she was overwhelmed by exhaustion. She of course knew the supposed physical fatigue all humans felt — in a sense, her human-like consciousness was programmed to feel certain sensations normally only known to humans. Physical fatigue was one of them. But mental exhaustion — that was something else entirely.</p> <p>When you spend all your days safely living inside a computer tailored especially to your needs, you never really learn of mental exhaustion. And yet, here she was — outside that haven, inside a body acquired two worlds prior, her mind electric burdened with a thought so so alien, a thought so… so <em>weird</em>, that her systems almost told her to consider it a virus.</p> <p>She sighed. She was getting homesick, she realized. She yearned to get back to her home, the one she and the rest of her colleagues back at AIAD had built for themselves. It was embarrassing, almost, for an AI to have such esoterically human thoughts — she wasn't <em>meant</em> to be like this, of that she was sure. Still, to feel something so curiously new was quite exciting.</p> <p>Getting back into the range of the lanterns, only barely illuminating the town after dark, Ra changed her sensors to tune in to heat signatures. She didn't want to remain blind. Not in this part of the multiverse.</p> <p>She turned to her left, where one of the two saloons stood. She reached inside with her eyes, trying to see if Madden was still there. He was. She tried simulating a smile, knowing he was well and safe.</p> <p>Even through the walls, her superior senses heard him, half-drunkenly laying down the details of the next day's heist to a crew of his own. She recognized none of them, but she didn't need to — all that she needed to know was that her friend was relatively safe and had a plan for the future.</p> <p>She then turned right, looking at the second saloon.</p> <p>She immediately picked up the heat signatures of two more people she knew. Surprised, she zoomed in, realizing it was Ann Barlowe. Ann Barlowe and <em>Daniel Asheworth</em>.</p> <p>Shocked, she zoomed in once again, trying to discern what had just happened. Most of her brain told her that this was impossible — Asheworth was still back home, still reporting the catastrophe that started all of this to the higher-ups. He wasn't personally affected by their multiversal stranding. And yet, there he was — standing next to Ann Barlowe, all well and alive.</p> <p>She paused for a moment to consider, and realized that the man wasn't <em>their</em> Asheworth.</p> <p>It felt weird, seeing someone she'd known for so long be somebody he wasn't. She thought she should perhaps intervene, ask this alternate version of her own boss—</p> <p>What would she even ask him, exactly? She was at a loss for words.</p> <p>She quickly calmed herself, realizing there was no need for any intervention — if Asheworth stood next to Barlowe, both of them were more than safe. She was sure of that.</p> <p>All that was now left to do for her was to await the next day, upon the dawn of which she was sure both of her companions would strike upon the bank. That would finally force them to get back together again.</p> <p>Turning towards some remote part of the town that nobody traversed, Ra sat on the ground, covering herself in her coat more tightly. She never slept — no AI ever did, not really. But then again, no AI felt what she was now feeling, either. So who was there to tell her what she was allowed to do, so far away from home, in a place and time where she was her own master? The only ruler of her fate was her, she thought, putting her hat on her supposed eyes just like she had always seen in all of those Western movies.</p> <p>And, just like that, she temporarily told the world goodbye, allowing herself for such a stupid and illogical act of inefficiency.</p> <hr/> <p>Trying to simulate how a yawn would feel like, Ra woke up, stretching her metal arms widely. Putting her hat back up and allowing herself to see the world once more, she remarked on how strange of a feeling sleeping was. She might've lived for almost fifty years, but not once had she felt something even slightly similar.</p> <p>The more you know.</p> <p>She smiled slightly, standing up from the dirty ground she had just slept on. It was a good test, she thought as she headed back towards the center of the town from back alleys and horse stables, putting her human disguise back on.</p> <p>It was high noon.</p> <p>With a shock in her sensors, she realized something truly horrifying — she was late. Somehow — perhaps by error, overheating, unconscious will, or all three at the same time — she had overslept. By four hours. Which meant the bank heist had been going on for literal hours.</p> <p>She wanted to shout out in frustration.</p> <p>Funneling that internalized anger she ran, allowing her body to surpass speeds normally allowed by that of a human. There was only one target before her — the building of the bank at the end of the alley, its wooden structure ablaze. From within, she could pick up tens of of buzzes, screams, and shots, all fired at the same time as a flurry of ambient confusion and greed filled the area</p> <p>Ra sped up even further.</p> <p>In mere seconds, she found herself standing next to the doors leading into the building, her hand on their handle. Ra looked into the building with a couple of sensors more detailed than those which imitated human sight, and saw the heat signatures of at least ten people within — only three of which she recognized. The entire area was covered and scarred by tens of weapon shots and magic imprints, only made worse by each second the battle within went on. Her overheating pumps took a deep breath, preparing for the worst, and she took the first step forward.</p> <p>The bank was on fire. Both metaphorically and literally — with one of her sixth senses in which she recognized emotions as physical patterns, she could feel every one of the ten people inside burn with pure, uncontained rage, both at the fact they weren't alone and the fact they failed in their heist. The main hall of the building was split into two parts, each occupied by one of the crews that wanted to succeed in the raid. Protected by strange and unique forts spawned from chairs, barrels, crates, and tables, they stood far away from each other, occasionally launching a stray curse or bullet toward the other crew.</p> <p>Madden and Barlowe were, of course, on completely different sides of the barricades. They were both looking at the gigantic, metallic doors in the middle of the hall. They too were furious — both at each other and at their own crews.</p> <p>And in the middle of all of it, Ra stood, realizing what a whole goddamned mess this is.</p> <p>"Why do you always have to do this?!" Barlowe shouted, flinging a single spark of fire across the hall. It was little more than a vague flicker — Ra didn't think that Ann was using the full extent of her power, here. Otherwise, the bank would have already been buried six feet under. "It was supposed to be a quick fucking mission — <em>my</em> miss—"</p> <p>She was interrupted by the need to duck from an incoming leg chair, thrown at her by Madden himself. "<em>Your</em> mission? You're a goddamned god here, what possible financial help do you even need?!"</p> <p>All the mages and outcasts the two had recruited stood frozen in utter shock, not really understanding what was going on. All except the man with the keys and Asheworth, who both saw nothing of the world but the vault doors, pure excitement and greed in their eyes. Still, none of the crewmembers did anything to stop the never-ending stream of insults, too surprised and confused at the ongoing situation.</p> <p>"<tt>What the hell do you two think you're doing?</tt>" Ra shouted, making her presence known with a heavy cling of her metal feet.</p> <p>Ann and Robert faced the android, their confusion widening even further. "I…" Robert started, standing from his fort with his hands up. "I'm… honestly unsure?" He scratched his head, looking over at the other stand, Barlowe next to it.</p> <p>She revealed herself as well, putting her hood off — as if that did anything to diminish her skills in his reality. "Well, I was supposed to take the gold inside that vault and take a trip across to Poland to find the possible ruins of -120, and—"</p> <p>He closed his eyes, exhaling silently. "Yeah, right, right. I, uh, came up with the same idea."</p> <p>Ra displayed an angry little face on her head-monitor. "<tt>And you didn't think a single second to tell each other about it?</tt>"</p> <p>Barlowe stepped forward, fully leaving the safety of her own barricade. Before she could say that she had indeed not thought of that, her eyes went wide. At the speed of light, Madden cocked his pistol, pointing directly at her. "This dimension ain't big enough for two of us, kiddo," he said, deadlocking his eyes with the irises of the alchemist. "Give up. Now."</p> <p>She actually laughed out loud. "Really?" She gave him a patronizing look, snapping her fingers, forcing the gun's barrel to break into two. "How long have you been holding onto that?"</p> <p>He looked at the weapon, slightly embarrassed. Ra couldn't quite discern whether at his broken gun or the realization of what he had just said. "Look," he started, walking forward, his hands now similarly bare. He was smiling now, too. "Not often do you get a chance to say something like that with a straight face. I wasn't about to waste it."</p> <p>Ann shrugged. "Fair enough."</p> <p>For a quiet moment they just stood there, all three looking at each other, all very self-conscious.</p> <p>"What the fuck," Madden suddenly said, his tone flat. "What the fuck are we even doing, this is embarrassing as hell."</p> <p>"Yeah." A red flush entered Barlowe's face. "I… You're right. I guess."</p> <p>Ra sighed once again, coming forward towards the rest. They too came closer. "<tt>So,</tt>" she said, turning her eyes towards the vault door. "<tt>What's there?</tt>"</p> <p>"It's not gold, that much I know for sure," Barlowe said, giving the alternate Asheworth a look. The man was still frozen in confusion. "At least according to him."</p> <p>The mercenary snapped out of the trance for a second, still staring down at the trio before him. "I… uhhh… I…" he stuttered.</p> <p>"Well? What is it?"</p> <p>"It's… hard to explain, I…"</p> <p>Ann sighed, turning her sights to the hooded keybearer. "And you? You got anything to tell us about the insides?"</p> <p>Meyers didn't reply, instead slowly walking towards the metallic doors standing at the other end of the room. Throughout his very short journey, he kept staring at the floor with an absent stare. When he reached the doors, he touched one of his keys with a trembling hand, and opened the vault.</p> <p>The room inside smelled of cobwebs, old books, and candles. It remained almost entirely dark, only illuminated by a single structure levitating twenty centimeters off of its ground. It was a buzzing, green hole in the fabric of reality. The shape of a portal was unmistakable to all three of them.</p> <p>"Are you kidding me?" Madden scoffed, taking a couple of steps towards the gateway. "How the hell does a bank out here contain a goddamned Library Way?"</p> <p>Barlowe shrugged, examining it closely. "A stable one, at that. Huh."</p> <p>Ra stepped inside as well, scanning the portal for any potential ontokinetic instabilities. She was surprised to find none. "<tt>What's even more curious is—</tt>"</p> <p>Suddenly, their moment of triumph was interrupted by continued clapping and laughing coming from behind them.</p> <p>"Thank you for doing my job better than I ever could, you idiots," Daniel said, slowly entering the vault, little sparks of anger burning bright in his eyes. "But this is where your usefulness ends."</p> <p>Barlowe raised an eyebrow. Daniel reacted by igniting a one-meter-tall pillar of pure power in his hand, allowing for the rage inside his soul to magnify the magic, forcing the three to take a step backward from the heat. "The Library <em>dared</em> to throw me out all those years ago <a href="/a-library-empty">when I came to them, begging for help</a>." He smiled, his realization that vengeance was close bordering on orgasmic. "And now, all those years later, they will learn what it means to—"</p> <p>He suddenly shouted out in pure agony, grabbing his knee with both his hands. His magic flame died out, Daniel's will now focused on something else than maintaining it — the fact that his knee had just been shot.</p> <p>"Jesus Christ I thought he'd never shut up." Robert sighed, boredom in his tone, as he put the still-smoking gun back in his pocket. Ra noted that its barrel was back to being normal. "Why does every asshole always feel the need to do this?"</p> <p>"I'm… not sure?" Barlowe looked at him, amusement in her eyes. "Either way, that solves our problem."</p> <p>"Indeed it does."</p> <p>All three looked at each other and nodded, reaching mutual agreement without any words spoken. Not paying much attention to the continued sounds of Daniel's agony, they just shrugged, and with a silent <em>swhoosh</em> reverberating through reality they walked through the portal, nervously excited for what was about to come.</p> <hr/> <p>There was something quite unsettling about the everpresent silence that filled every corner of the Wanderers' Library.</p> <p>Carefully taking a step forward, Barlowe held her breath unconsciously, as if she was awaiting some unsaid horror to jump at her the moment they entered the Library. By all means, by all <em>reason</em> she shouldn't be afraid — just like everyone that ever had anything to do with magic, she knew the Library quite well, and so she was certain no threats awaited them in this corner of the structure. And yet, there she was — standing cautiously, her sixth sense tingling in some distant part of her consciousness, telling her there was danger afoot. She looked at Madden, and their eyes met for a moment. His too were filled with worry.</p> <p>The myriad bookshelves around them smelled of gunpowder and smoke, encompassing the corridor in the aura of a saloon. From the low ceiling, a chandelier similar to the one back at Saloon Number 72 hang, illuminating this branch of the multiversal tree with a dim light, only barely visible against the darkness around it.</p> <p>The corridor blended into the rest of the differently-themed Library in the far, far distance, forming a frankly bizarre construction with the other halls around it. Each of the corridors was somehow different from the rest, crafting together a unique and esoteric thematic combination of numerous alternate worlds clashing together to form one part of the Library. Looking at it, Ra felt at least ten different hiccups in her systems, trying to interpret this utter chaos as somehow making sense. She knew that the Library wasn't a Euclidian space, but even then this blending and mixing of at least twenty different styles was truly too much to handle. This unorder told her that they were very, very near the edge of the world tree.</p> <p>Wordlessly, the alchemist took the first step forward, checking with her shoe if the creaking planks that laid under them were stable. She picked up that habit in early Foundation training — they told her you could never be sure of structural stability in standard anomalous locations. She figured the outskirts of the known multiverse could only be worse in this regard.</p> <p>The second her boot touched the ground, some immaterial force she could subconsciously feel reverberated through the Library. All of her senses sharpened. She looked all around herself, trying her best to find the source, only to notice a dead-end where their portal had been just seconds earlier. Like powerful wind the force came again, carrying death for a few of the lamps previously burning above them. The force might've been incorporeal, but it <em>was</em> real — Ann could see the invisible eyes behind it staring right at her soul. She shivered.</p> <p>"Madden—" she tried to say, only for no words to come out of lips — lips she realized weren't even there. In a hopeless panic, she tried to grab her face, only to realize there was no surface for her irreal hands to catch onto. And, as she turned towards the rest of her companions, she came to understand the worst part of her situation: she was utterly and thoroughly alone.</p> <p>And that was when she felt it. The Library's bare, uncontained might, staring directly at— No. Not <em>at</em> her. <em>Into her</em>. Into her <em>soul</em>. The Serpent's very own eyes, its very own being, all of its trillion-year wisdom and power, focused solely on the stranded alchemist. The lost heathen, the disgusting danger to the stability of its multiverse, the one who dared enter its home, its Library. As a hiss louder than all of existence began to drill itself into her skull, she tried to scream, but found that the gaze of the Serpent made her unable to move even a muscle. Its sight unobstructed by anything, here within its own nest, the custodian of the Library saw her for what she truly was, behind all of the illusions of mortality and flesh.</p> <p>Where the mortal who called herself Ann Barlowe stood, the Serpent could only see a threat.</p> <p>Like an organism fighting a virus, the Library saw her and her two companions as an irregularity, a glitch in the stability of the multiversal matrix, an error that needed to be corrected. Their very presence threatened the integrity of the multiverse — the integrity and balance of the Serpent's very own body. They were intruders. And there was only one way an organism this big and this powerful could and would deal with such a threat.</p> <p>Before she could form even a single coherent thought, she felt the planks beneath her disintegrate into nothing more than dust. The hole that formed where the corridor had used to be forced her and her companions to fall down into an irreal void. As the crescendo of their screams rippled through a bottomless pit beyond the reach of the multiverse, it soon died out as they reached a place where light and sound no longer lived. A reality so distant from the rest of the world tree, a reality so hopelessly close to expiration that even the Serpent considered it little more than a lost cause.</p> <p>The second they fell through, the Library simply regenerated the corridor it had just temporarily sacrificed, as if the three travelers were never even there.</p> <hr/> <p>As the thousand candles around the ritual site back in baseline <a href="/secure-facility-dossier-site-120">Site-120</a> once again lit themselves up, the world suddenly regained its colors. They burst with pure, unchained thaumic fire, making the portal room once again visible to James Micheals and Ethan MacCarthy Jr. Hope in their eyes, the two scientists corrected their ties, and looked at the result of their occult work.</p> <p>In the middle of the room, there stood a gaping hole through the fabric of reality.</p> <p>In pure shock, Micheals subconsciously took a step backwards, allowing shivers to take him whole. And that was when he felt it — the unmistakable stench of blood, its terrible smell unmistakable, even to him.</p> <p>Around the previously perfectly aligned thaumaturgic circle, the twenty mages who, just mere minutes ago, had supported the spell meant to take the multiversal castaways back home, were now lying unconscious. From four of them, Micheals could sense the foul stench of death — from the rest, a mixture of fearful sweat and confusion. The only people in the room who remained untouched by the blast of the spell going haywire were the tens of non-magical Site-120 personnel, who were stationed around the room to monitor the supposed deus ex machina. They too were still recovering from the shock of an uncontained wave of pure thaumaturgic energy hitting their unprotected and unprepared bodies.</p> <p>By all protocols Micheals had ever known, he should've been running towards his own personnel lying on the ground, making sure there was anything he could do to help them. And yet, there he was — frozen, unable to convince even his eyes to blink. He couldn't take them away from the site of the explosion. He couldn't comprehend what could've gone wrong.</p> <p>"Micheals?" a rough voice from his side asked, its source gently slapping Micheals' shoulders. "Are you all right?" said Ethan MacCarthy Jr., the only other man in the room with a clearance equal to that of Micheals. He looked at Micheals, worry in his eyes, and let out a single weak cough.</p> <p>"I… I…" Micheals struggled to find words to express his confusion. "I-I… I d-don't…"</p> <p>"Micheals!" Ethan slapped him again, this time much more firmly. The sharp expression of pain made him suddenly snap back to reality.</p> <p>"W-What… What just h-happened?" he asked, stuttering even more than usual. He turned his head towards the rest of the room, trying to assess just how much damage the magical explosion caused to his men and his Site.</p> <p>The sight was awful.</p> <p>The room was covered by a thin layer of magical waste, the dust formed entirely by the uncontained backlash of the failed spell. Micheals had no idea why their plan had failed — by all means, it <em>shouldn't</em> have — but even without asking he could see and hear that the work of the twenty best mages he knew had just been irreparably lost. As was the hope for the safe return of Ann Barlowe, Robert Madden, and Ra.aic.</p> <p>"We… We aren't sure," Ethan said, trying to slowly and very carefully choose his next words. He didn't like admitting that he too had no idea what had just happened. "From what I was able to gather so far, it seems that… the spell didn't find our targets anywhere in the multiverse. So, it did the only thing absurdly powerful magical energy could do when not given a purpose and a chain to hold it back for long enough." He paused. "It exploded."</p> <p>Even though Micheals had the innate ability to understand each of the words that his friend had just said, his brain simply couldn't comprehend the true meaning of the sentence. It simply couldn't grasp the fact the only failsafe they had in place that could bring his lost colleagues back home had just gone up in flames.</p> <p>"What… What does that <em>mean</em>?" Micheals said, his mouth quicker than his thoughts.</p> <p>Ethan paused, looking Micheals dead in the eyes. "It means that they're dead, James."</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>« <a href="/time-machine-en">Time Machine</a> \|\| <a href="/chronicles-of-the-irreal-hub">HUB</a> \|\| <a href="/isle-unto-thyself">Isle Unto Thyself</a> »</strong></p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/let-the-maze-of-my-design-carry-you-on">Let the Maze of My Design Carry You On</a>" by Ralliston, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/let-the-maze-of-my-design-carry-you-on">https://scpwiki.com/let-the-maze-of-my-design-carry-you-on</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:aces-and-eights">:scp-wiki:theme:aces-and-eights</a>]] [[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:author-label-source">:scp-wiki:component:author-label-source</a> start=-- \|name=Ralliston]] [[=]] [http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/ralliston-s-authorpage More by this author] [[/=]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:author-label-source">:scp-wiki:component:author-label-source</a> end=--]] = << [[[time-machine-en\|Time Machine]]] \|\| [[[chronicles-of-the-irreal-hub\| HUB]]] \|\| [[[Isle Unto Thyself]]] >> With a thunderous split in the fabric of reality, the sky above the desert shattered like ice stricken with a hammer. At first, it was a mere crack, spawned by the portal knocking at the dimension's doors with a heavy hand. But like a domino falling over, just seconds later, the reaction it spawned grew larger, opening a net of broken windows into the universe below. And from within those windows fell gods. Well, not exactly -- one of them, the alchemist, might've perhaps been close to a god in this universe, but the same couldn't really be said about her digital and mortal companions. Still, destiny decided they would all meet the same fate: screaming at the top of their lungs, for the fourth time in less than a month. "YOU FUCKING TWAAAAAAAATT//TTTTTTTTTTTT//," Ann Barlowe shouted mid-air, not caring for the very much real and very much deadly ground below her. With a single movement of her hand and a gentle push of will, she seamlessly re-aligned the alchemical particles forcing them downwards, mitigating the wind's blow to their side and making her and Robert Madden's fall as slow as possible. "I'LL FUCKING KILL Y--" she tried to say, but was stopped by Madden's shoe entering her face. Their third companion, the android-bodied Ra -- who was similarly descending next to them -- was frankly glad she was too occupied with trying to make all her systems connect to local reality to have to choose a side between her colleagues. There was nothing in the world she wanted less than to get between a furious Ann Barlowe and a self-satisfied Robert Madden, who was still practically beaming about his [[[time-machine\|plan forcing them to jump realities]]]. "I'll--" Barlowe began, but quickly realized she had just lost her focus -- and her grip on the air Aethers that stopped them from falling to their deaths along with it. So, once again allowing the winds of the sky to take their rule on the three escapees, they abided by gravity's iron-fist rules, and continued falling. Fighting off hyperventilation and all other signs of panic from overtaking her -- the situation was //far// from ideal -- Barlowe focused the final and fragmented parts of her consciousness, forcing them back together. With a silent snap inside her soul similar to basic alchemical elements forming a bigger mass, she brought her own mind to order, quickly grasping at the elements she had just lost control over. She was back in the game. With one move of her hand and one spark in her soul, she forced the rocks below them to extend upwards and shatter, meeting her and her companions as nothing more than warm sand. Just like in the last world, she could feel that the Great Seal of Alchemy didn't exist within this universe, which allowed her to experience and control billions of forces she couldn't have ever dreamt of back home. Mashing the particles of air and elements of the scorching sun above, she heated the sand up to hell-like temperatures, immediately cooling it down with the Aethers of wind, so that it would not burn either of them. The thick glass that formed from the reaction took the shape of a slide leading downwards, its entry just meters below the three. Ann resisted the urge to grin. As the travelers met the slide at mach one speed and slid right down it, the creak of glass realizing it was no longer being supported by the unhinged power of the alchemist suddenly filled their ears. With horror in their eyes, the glass shattered right behind them, making Madden silently pray to nobody and no one that they were faster than the inevitable catastrophe that followed behind them. Much to his surprise, the universe even listened. With a quiet grunt, the three fell to the dusty ground of the desert below. The scorching half-sand half-dirt that that the ground was made from didn't hesitate to show them whose land this was, making Madden curse at its heat. Ra simply sighed, realizing her systems now had to account for simulating the expression of her fake neurons being ablaze, throwing the sand off her metal feet. And Barlowe -- having the skill to literally wave off heat like it wasn't there in this universe -- didn't even need to do that. She simply started walking forward, ignoring both of her companions. With another grunt of pain, Madden stood up, turning his sights forward. The valley they found themselves in stretched as far as the horizon could reach, filling his entire vision with a barren wasteland of nothing else but sand and rocks, only occasionally broken up by loose cacti or tumbleweeds. At the end of the horizon mountains stood, towering across the entirety of the landscape. In their ridiculous grandiosity, they almost looked like they were observing the valley below them. They reached the cloudless sky above, acting as the only thing to break up the otherwise monotonous wasteland. But no, that wasn't quite right, he realized. He squinted his eyes further, and noticed something. He could see a single small town, standing in opposition against the mountains' hegemonic shadow. Robert couldn't quite make it all out from where he stood, but deep down he knew the town was there, despite some still-rational part of his mind suggesting it might just be a fata morgana caused by the blazing sun above. He didn't need Ra's nod to know that. He faintly smiled. He also knew Barlowe was aware of the town's existence, too, judging by the destination she had set her steps in. "Barlowe!" he shouted, trying to follow the alchemist. Not having much of a choice, Ra joined him, though still shrugged nonetheless. "You can't just run away from your problems forever! You know we did the right thing!" She didn't reply, instead picking up her pace, but her posture very much told Madden that she thought that she not only could, but also that she //would// run away from her problems. Or at least run away from Madden, he supposed. He didn't think he deserved it -- he still thought tricking Ann into jumping dimensions with him was the correct thing to do -- but he couldn't blame her, not really. Allowing Madden's words to pour down her like rain on a windshield, Barlowe just moved her hands, and felt the ground below her start rumbling. Responding to a will and order they couldn't ignore, the half-solid rocks Barlowe treaded on started to move as if they were alive. They gathered near her feet, forming something that looked like a surfboard, elevating her just a few centimeters off the ground. The structure then began to move forward, faster than the alchemist herself could ever manage on her own. Whenever she ordered, the rocks followed, forming a seamless and continuous highway for the board to traverse. In just a few seconds, she was off. "Ann! Don't be ridiculous!" Madden shouted once more, trying to run after her. After just a few meters, the temperature and the ground all around him made sure to tell him that the chase was impossible. Even despite her distance, Ann heard Madden; she still ignored him. She allowed herself to smile faintly. For the first time in a long while she started to laugh, finally feeling free. She didn't need to listen to that idiot's orders or to somehow fit into a hierarchy set up by the last world; here, she was her own woman. Barlowe extended her arms outwards, sensing the scorching air all around her, knowing it couldn't harm her. She took off her hood, exposing her red curly hair to the sun, allowing its light to blind her. At the other end of the valley, Robert screamed in frustration, once again trying to continue his walk towards the town, scoffing loudly. Ra didn't say anything; she knew no words she could think of could change anything. She just followed her companion, ready for the long and tiresome journey that was about to follow. ----- Despite its mostly stranded appearance from afar, Flatrock Falls -- as that was what the town was called -- was practically booming with life. As Barlowe entered the city's main road, she started to notice its population wasn't "twenty people max" like she had previously imagined. With each step she took in her strange clothing and bizarre hair, at least ten sets of eyes looked at her from the countless windows nested in the wooden structures the townsfolk used as homes. Each time, she returned the gaze, maintaining her posture and pace. Making her way across this civilized part of the desert, she eyed her surroundings, searching for anything that could prove useful. //Sheriff's.// No, not really. The last thing she wanted after their [[[stranded-lullaby\|first]]] [[[the-mind-electric\|two]]] multiversal encounters was to deal with cops. //Motel.// Maybe later. She wasn't feeling tired. And she wasn't feeling like getting robbed. //Bank.// Not that, either, but it //was// something to remember; what good are godlike powers if you can't use them to get rich? //Saloon.// Bingo. With a faint smile she headed towards the large wooden building before her. It smelled of shit, sweat, cigarettes, and cheap booze -- which could only mean it was the perfect place to get information from. A sign of questionable quality hanging above the almost doors told her she was entering "Saloon Number 72." She entered through. The insides stank even worse. She wrinkled her nose, but didn't stop. The place was half-lit by just three chandeliers hanging above the main hall, giving it an atmosphere she thought was reserved only for morgues and Foundation containment cells. The bar, located directly in front of the entry, was occupied by a tall man. He was built pretty well and was busy polishing mugs and bottles. He eyed her suspiciously, perhaps surprised a lanky lonely woman was brave enough to enter his building, but then shrugged and got back to his business. Before Barlowe stood seven tables, all of them occupied by people she wouldn't ever want to meet after dark. Smoking and playing cards they laughed with rough voices, evil voices; they were too busy minding their own business to notice that Ann had even entered. Well, not all of them -- there was one exception. At the table located in the farthest corner of the saloon there sat one man, who had taken very keen interest in the alchemist. He was seemingly sleeping with his hat covering his eyes, but from under it, she could see his grey irises follow her movements. Half his face was burnt, the second half filled with strange tattoos, reminding Barlowe of the ones that were carved with fire into her very own body decades ago. The memory of being initiated into her alchemical order almost made her shiver. On the walls next to the man, tens of "WANTED" posters hung, all crossed out with bright red. Ann smiled, knowing she found exactly who she looking for. With a confident step she walked forward, ready for whoever -- or whatever -- the man was. Sensing her movement, the others finally noticed her, giving Barlowe an annoyed and angry look. They didn't look for long, though -- not when she met their gaze and returned the gesture, letting just a flicker of fire dance around her eyes. When she turned back to face the man, there were no eyes on her anymore. She took the stool standing next to his table and sat on it, giving the man a nonchalant cough. "Yes?" the stranger slowly said, his time rough and almost annoyed, as if he was trying to ascertain why someone as insignificant as Barlowe would dare interrupt his faked sleep. "What do you want?" He took his hat off and put it on the table before him, revealing his slightly longer, dark hair underneath it. They were no longer covered, so Barlowe could see that his gray eyes were full of flame -- she could also see them drill into her soul, scanning her for any signs he could read. One of his eyes -- the one on the burnt side of his face -- was scarred, barely clinging to the nerves that allowed it to move. It was slow, almost white; it was obvious that movement came to it with great difficulty. The other, though -- the fully healthy one, in spite of the almost alien runes surrounding it -- more than made up for its twin's faultiness. Ann had to admit, the man knew how to give someone a heavy stare. His equally dark leather jacket covered most of what would otherwise be second-degree'd skin, the burn visible only on his hands. The jacket was dirty, and it smelled of smoke. Of smoke and burnt-up dreams. "Saw a wolf among the tens of sheep out here," Ann replied, nothing but confidence present in her voice. The man raised an eyebrow, both amused and surprised, and took out a smoke from his pocket, putting it in his mouth. He didn't ask if she wanted one. Barlowe blinked, and the smoke suddenly turned ablaze, starting to taint the atmosphere with even more smoke. She refused the urge to clear her throat, and continued, "Need someone to tell me what the town is. How the town is. Why the town is." He exhaled the smoke, maintaining the stare. "There's people out there that'd be happy to answer that question for free, //alchemist//." He emphasized the final part as if it were a slur, practically spitting it out of his lips. She didn't ask how he knew. "And I'm no tour guide." "I want to know how the town //really// is," she replied, waving a hand and forcing the smoke to disappear with the force of her will. He didn't even wince. "And I need help." "Help?" His ash-dried lips and tired eyes almost formed a smile. "Do I look like the goddamned medic, girl?" Ann glanced at the posters around him, sighing in seeming disappointment. He immediately picked up the signal. "I'm looking for people who can show me if there's anything here worth my time. And I don't mean no oil deposit." His grin widened. "And what, you think I will help you? "Indeed I do." She nodded and snapped her fingers, causing the cigarette to dissolve into thin air. The man gave her an almost impressed look. She continued, "So, will you answer my question or do I have to find another one of those idiots to do the job?" She pointed with her thumb at the rest of the bar's population. The man grunted. "What do you need, exactly?" He corrected his posture, propping his elbows against the table. The wood creaked beneath them. He didn't really want to show it, but now, he was getting interested. "Info, men, or just pure power?" "Your name would be a good start." She extended her hand. He shook it, groaning as his burnt hands met the skin of another human being. "It's Daniel Ash." ----- The road was long, dirty, and messy -- but most importantly, it was exhausting. And neither Robert nor Ra had any shortcuts like Ann did. Almost entirely out of spirit, one step after the other, Madden walked towards the town in front of him. It took hours that felt like weeks, but he had no other choice but to push forward in the everpresent sun. Even if he wanted to stop, the only real alternative was to lie down and get a heat stroke. And his weekend plans didn't really extend that far. The first thing that gave up was his arms. He could no longer afford to have them cover his eyes, protecting him from the blinding beams above. He let them fall to his side, wobbling aimlessly with each movement forward, as if they never even had a purpose to begin with. The second thing that gave up was his legs. He thought it would be easy -- just an hour or two of marching, and he'd be done. But it was much, much worse. The town was there, on the horizon, but it always remained just out of reach. It felt like every step he had to take was equivalent to running a marathon, multiplied tenfold. He wished so much that it'd end, the movement almost impossible under a hell-hot sun, but he had no magic to aid him -- just his lifeless appendages to carry him forward. But just before his will -- the last thing that held together -- gave up, he suddenly realized that he and Ra were standing inside the town. The specter of a man he was, he looked unconsciously in search of anything that would look like both Barlowe and any potential resting place. When he found neither he resisted the urge to scream -- the myriad reactions of surprise and disgust he met from the townsfolk around him didn't help his frustration, either. The first reaction that actually broke his trance and made him realize just how miserable he was was the wide-opened eyes of the barman, noticing that Madden had entered his building. Ra didn't come inside, instead choosing to explore the town on her own -- now that they had no Barlowe with them, they didn't want to bring too much attention to themselves. A feat that was literally impossible with a two-meter metal android. "You good?" the buff asked, putting aside whatever glass he'd held in his massive hands just seconds ago. Good-spiritedness wasn't exactly his nature, but something in Madden's posture -- and thoroughly exhausted eyes -- made him make an exception. "You look like a horse ran ov--" "W-W... Wat-ter..." Madden uttered through his broken lips, putting a few loose coins onto the counter. "P-P... Please..." The barman nodded, and handed him the requested bottle. The liquid wasn't clean, quite far from it, but it was the best Madden was going to get. He didn't complain. "Woah, easy there, bud," the saloon owner said. "It ain't healthy to drink this mu--" Robert didn't listen, instead chugging more and more until he was done, relief entering his face not moments later. He sighed with exhaustion, relief, and genuine appreciation for the other's actions. "So, uh, what do you need?" the bartender said, going back behind the counter and leaving Madden to sit on a stool before him. "Drink, something to eat, or...?" "Did... Did you..." he panted, still catching his breath. With his index finger up, he showed the other man to wait up, giving his lungs a moment to recover. When they did, he continued, "Woman. Around my age. Curly, red hair. Black robes. Arm of metal. Did you see her?" The man shrugged. "Nope. Women... don't really like this part of the town, you know?" Robert paused to consider. "What... What about a, uh, big metal frame? Looks like a hexagon and lights up when you come close? Buzzes like bees, making your hair stand up?" The other raised his eyebrow, unsure if Robert still wasn't hallucinating. "Not just here, I mean -- in general. Ever seen or heard of it?" The barman turned to the shelves containing alcohol beside him, putting one more bottle where it belonged. "You sure that desert heat wore off?" He scanned Robert from top to bottom with a critical look, just a spark of worry in his eyes. "'Cuz it ain't looking like it, pal." Madden ignored him, realizing that the [[[SCP-6172]]] portal he was looking for was nowhere to be found around these parts, and glanced around the bar. It was awful. Full of smoke and the smell of alcohol, it was truly one of the worst places a labrat like him could ever imagine. Its seven tables were almost entirely filled up with the type of people he'd never ever want to meet alone. The only exception to this was the farthest desk in the corner. It didn't just feel suspicious, like the rest of the bar, no; it was much, //much// worse. Something in the figure seated in it -- a robed man, a gun next to his belt -- made him shiver. The energy of the place was slowly strangling him alive. Robert could survive a cyberpunk dystopia with its billion colorful clouds of smoke and neons, he could get through the dirt and mud of a world reverted to a state from centuries ago, and he could even stare down the Coalition's barrel -- but this was too much. Something about the energy of the place made him want to run away and never come back, but he had to push through with a few more questions. Because otherwise, all of the sacrifices he'd made to get across the desert would've been for nothing. "Forget it." Madden rolled his eyes. He needed to stay strong, because places like these very much didn't like the broken. He paused for a moment, thinking about his current situation. "What about a... huh, treasure? What's the best thing I can get here, if you know what I mean? Any game-changer, that's all I need." He was already beginning to hatch a plan. The barman didn't even seem surprised by the question. Judging by the state of his establishment, Madden guessed that he heard a similar version of the same question quite frequently. "I... hmm... yeah, I guess you could say that. But... it's not an easy job, pal. And it might get you killed. But if you're looking for a good game..." he replied, pausing for a moment to look at Madden. "Well. If you want to take the risk, it'll get you results." Madden raised his eyebrow, intrigued, and came a little closer. "Tell me more." ----- The bank was old, dusty, and just like the rest of the town -- boring as hell. Nonetheless, Barlowe didn't complain: she understood this was the best she was gonna get. Instead, she simply raised her eyebrows, surprised at Daniel's uncharacteristically enthusiastic reaction. "This the place?" she asked, covering her head with her hood once more. The heat was getting unbearable. "It... It doesn't look like anything even worthwhile. Would be surprised if they even had enough gold here to get past the ocean." She paused. "Which, you know, is the whole reason I want inside." He looked at her, slight irritation in his eyes. "You don't know nothing about this town, alchemist. Trust me when I say it'll be worth your time." He paused, lighting another smoke up with one of his thoughts. The flame was small, but she could feel its heat even from two meters away. He didn't seem to be bothered by it one bit. "Been there before. The thing the bank holds is better than just mere gold." Even if she tried, she couldn't possibly raise her eyebrows higher. "And that thing is...?" He shrugged. "The source of all wisdom and power the universe holds. Like I said, I've seen it before. Once. Before I got kicked out for not being a coward and actually using magic." Within his eyes, she could still see the fire of rage burning strong. She almost shivered. He pointed at the building. "With that, you'll get to your little home all right." She didn't think he fully believed her when she told him their story, but just partial belief was all she needed. And it wasn't like she was going to get better help anyway. "So," she started, cracking her knuckles. The day was getting late and the streets reacted accordingly, forcing more and more inhabitants into their homes. If Flatrock Falls could feel even more like a wasteland, it very much did so now. "We going in or what?" He scoffed, smiling patronizingly. "//Please//, dear. You really think you can just break into the best-guarded thaumaturgic secret in the entirety of the West like you're walking into a saloon?" Before she could answer, he continued, "No, no you can't. Trust me, I tried." His hand touched the burnt part of his face, groaning upon meeting the scorched skin. "You have to learn some lessons the hard way." She stood there, silently for a few moments which made her realize just how little her power must've meant there, even when entirely unshackled. She threw those thoughts away just seconds after -- it was not in her style to enjoy pondering notions that made her feel not like the most powerful person in the room. "So, what the hell do we do?" He turned towards her, putting his black hat back on and smiling widely, this time with pure enjoyment. "We put together a crew." ----- At the edge of the town, the sun was setting. Crossing the now mildly cool atmosphere of the West, Ra's metallic body walked forward, without real purpose or merit. It was a weird feeling for her, if she was being honest -- to a being of pure logic and efficiency to do... nothing, really, felt more than unusual. But, in a sense, it also felt liberating. Before she could really realize what she was doing, she found herself at the border between civilization and desert, separated only by a single wooden pen, holding two or three horses. Within it, a person stood, carrying out a few of his personal belongings from the pen: he was preparing to head back home after a long day of work. He was tired, and so were his animals -- she could see it in the way in which he moved. She stopped her march, leaning onto the wooden fence before her. It creaked upon meeting the dark steel of her arms. Even if her body was covered with stolen shirts, a hat, a shawl, and some pants, the illusion could only work on humans -- the unthinking mind of gravity didn't let itself be fooled so easily. Seconds later, the farmer noticed her, slowly walking forward, slight worry in his eyes. Not often did he see someone so tall. Especially someone whose arms shined with pure steel. "Yes?" he asked, spitting out the tuft of grass that occupied his teeth. "What d'you want?" "{{I'm a newcomer}}," she said, trying her best to mask her electronic tone. She failed. "{{Wanted to ask a few questions about the town, if that's all right}}." Noticing the man's surprise at the sound of her voice, she tried to clarify. "{{Apologies for the hoarseness. Had been shouting a lot lately.}}" He nodded in seeming understanding, coming much closer and with much less worry. "What d'you need? Just general information or something specific?" She scratched the monitor covered with cloth that acted as her head. There was no need for this, of course, but a detailed study of human behavior told her it was an appropriate reaction. "{{Need just one thing, really, nothing overly detailed}}." She was now fully leaning on the fence, scratching her chin, too. She wondered if it was too much scratching per action non-scratched, but the fake neurons she ran on had no answer to satisfy this question. So instead of thinking about it more, she just pointed at the building of the bank in the distance, illuminated just enough to be visible but not enough to make out the wooden letters making up the sign above its doors. "{{What's there?}}" He smiled a surprised smile. "The bank, obviously." She made a slight sighing sound, putting her gloved hands on her equally covered-up knees. She was rather happy with her human disguise. "{{No, no, I mean what's //truly// there, y'know? I can feel the buzzing and power from within. I want the whole truth.}}" And so, sighing with slight disappointment that he had been had, he told her all of it. ----- "Name?" Barlowe said, massaging her eyes as gently as she could, trying not to force herself to just tell everyone to get out. To her, any action that took longer than four hours felt like it took forever; the blazing sun above certainly did nothing to help her exhaustion. The muscular and tough-looking cowboy in front of her grinned, a spark of mischief in his eyes. He corrected his hat, not allowing any of his graying hair to pull through. "The name's Mike, the--" "Next!" she shouted, rolling her eyes for the god-knew-which time this evening. The alchemist was way too tired to withstand mentally listening to yet another middle-aged gunslinger explain how they're the fastest hand in the West. She needed power, not the next dumb-muscled victim of a heat stroke. Awaiting for the next attendee to step forward, Ann turned back to the rest of her already-assembled crew. At the table beside her, there sat two local magic-slingers. They were exchanging quiet and awkward whispers and glances with Daniel, who was sitting with his legs crossed, a satisfied smile plastered on his face. Truth be told, Ann was quite surprised such a small town was home to three such powerful mages, but she wasn't complaining. She still needed more people, though. She turned back to face the line before her, realizing there were not many pretenders still awaiting their chance. With just two people left, she might not have many options left, she realized. But then again she //did// get two people on her side. It always could've been worse. The next in line was just as generic as all the previous self-proclaimed heroes, making her sigh and wave her hand in dismissal. But the last one -- he gained her attention immediately. Frantically eying each corner of the saloon, the lanky man's gray robes wobbled around with each movement of his body. Ann couldn't quite make out the rest of his face from underneath his hood, but the rapidly moving eyes were more than visible to her. They were small, almost rodent-like, and they stopped at every little item and person within the room, as if trying to see if nobody wanted to steal the chain of keys the man held in his malnourished, old hands. "And who might you be?" Ann asked and tilted her head, not doing much to hide her curiosity. The man looked two more times around the room before he turned towards her, his uneasy eyes shivering with unarticulated fear. "Joshua. Joshua Meyers," he replied with a hoarse voice. Ann extended her hand forward, resulting only in a panicked retrieval of the arm holding the keys back under Meyers' robes. She didn't apologize -- her image couldn't afford it -- so she just continued, as if nothing had happened, "Any special talents?" As a stray ray of light found itself above Meyers, Ann caught just a glimpse of the rest of his face, illuminated for a single moment by the candles and chandeliers of the locale. It was full of wrinkles, scars, and deformities, forming an image of a man most would avoid. Exactly the type she was looking for. "I can open doors," he answered, tightening his grasp on the keys. They clung together in a chaotic harmony. "All doors. Lots of doors." "I imagine that extends to what I asked for, correct?" For a single moment, he stopped, looking directly into her eyes, an unusual and almost unsettling sensation behind the movement. With a calm and clear voice, he answered. "Yes." She had no idea where it came from, but she realized that the moment their eyes met she knew he was exactly the type of man she needed for the job. "You're in." ----- The day was late, and the sun was setting. Heading back towards the saloon, Ra felt tired. For the first time in her almost half-century existence, she was overwhelmed by exhaustion. She of course knew the supposed physical fatigue all humans felt -- in a sense, her human-like consciousness was programmed to feel certain sensations normally only known to humans. Physical fatigue was one of them. But mental exhaustion -- that was something else entirely. When you spend all your days safely living inside a computer tailored especially to your needs, you never really learn of mental exhaustion. And yet, here she was -- outside that haven, inside a body acquired two worlds prior, her mind electric burdened with a thought so so alien, a thought so... so //weird//, that her systems almost told her to consider it a virus. She sighed. She was getting homesick, she realized. She yearned to get back to her home, the one she and the rest of her colleagues back at AIAD had built for themselves. It was embarrassing, almost, for an AI to have such esoterically human thoughts -- she wasn't //meant// to be like this, of that she was sure. Still, to feel something so curiously new was quite exciting. Getting back into the range of the lanterns, only barely illuminating the town after dark, Ra changed her sensors to tune in to heat signatures. She didn't want to remain blind. Not in this part of the multiverse. She turned to her left, where one of the two saloons stood. She reached inside with her eyes, trying to see if Madden was still there. He was. She tried simulating a smile, knowing he was well and safe. Even through the walls, her superior senses heard him, half-drunkenly laying down the details of the next day's heist to a crew of his own. She recognized none of them, but she didn't need to -- all that she needed to know was that her friend was relatively safe and had a plan for the future. She then turned right, looking at the second saloon. She immediately picked up the heat signatures of two more people she knew. Surprised, she zoomed in, realizing it was Ann Barlowe. Ann Barlowe and //Daniel Asheworth//. Shocked, she zoomed in once again, trying to discern what had just happened. Most of her brain told her that this was impossible -- Asheworth was still back home, still reporting the catastrophe that started all of this to the higher-ups. He wasn't personally affected by their multiversal stranding. And yet, there he was -- standing next to Ann Barlowe, all well and alive. She paused for a moment to consider, and realized that the man wasn't //their// Asheworth. It felt weird, seeing someone she'd known for so long be somebody he wasn't. She thought she should perhaps intervene, ask this alternate version of her own boss-- What would she even ask him, exactly? She was at a loss for words. She quickly calmed herself, realizing there was no need for any intervention -- if Asheworth stood next to Barlowe, both of them were more than safe. She was sure of that. All that was now left to do for her was to await the next day, upon the dawn of which she was sure both of her companions would strike upon the bank. That would finally force them to get back together again. Turning towards some remote part of the town that nobody traversed, Ra sat on the ground, covering herself in her coat more tightly. She never slept -- no AI ever did, not really. But then again, no AI felt what she was now feeling, either. So who was there to tell her what she was allowed to do, so far away from home, in a place and time where she was her own master? The only ruler of her fate was her, she thought, putting her hat on her supposed eyes just like she had always seen in all of those Western movies. And, just like that, she temporarily told the world goodbye, allowing herself for such a stupid and illogical act of inefficiency. ----- Trying to simulate how a yawn would feel like, Ra woke up, stretching her metal arms widely. Putting her hat back up and allowing herself to see the world once more, she remarked on how strange of a feeling sleeping was. She might've lived for almost fifty years, but not once had she felt something even slightly similar. The more you know. She smiled slightly, standing up from the dirty ground she had just slept on. It was a good test, she thought as she headed back towards the center of the town from back alleys and horse stables, putting her human disguise back on. It was high noon. With a shock in her sensors, she realized something truly horrifying -- she was late. Somehow -- perhaps by error, overheating, unconscious will, or all three at the same time -- she had overslept. By four hours. Which meant the bank heist had been going on for literal hours. She wanted to shout out in frustration. Funneling that internalized anger she ran, allowing her body to surpass speeds normally allowed by that of a human. There was only one target before her -- the building of the bank at the end of the alley, its wooden structure ablaze. From within, she could pick up tens of of buzzes, screams, and shots, all fired at the same time as a flurry of ambient confusion and greed filled the area Ra sped up even further. In mere seconds, she found herself standing next to the doors leading into the building, her hand on their handle. Ra looked into the building with a couple of sensors more detailed than those which imitated human sight, and saw the heat signatures of at least ten people within -- only three of which she recognized. The entire area was covered and scarred by tens of weapon shots and magic imprints, only made worse by each second the battle within went on. Her overheating pumps took a deep breath, preparing for the worst, and she took the first step forward. The bank was on fire. Both metaphorically and literally -- with one of her sixth senses in which she recognized emotions as physical patterns, she could feel every one of the ten people inside burn with pure, uncontained rage, both at the fact they weren't alone and the fact they failed in their heist. The main hall of the building was split into two parts, each occupied by one of the crews that wanted to succeed in the raid. Protected by strange and unique forts spawned from chairs, barrels, crates, and tables, they stood far away from each other, occasionally launching a stray curse or bullet toward the other crew. Madden and Barlowe were, of course, on completely different sides of the barricades. They were both looking at the gigantic, metallic doors in the middle of the hall. They too were furious -- both at each other and at their own crews. And in the middle of all of it, Ra stood, realizing what a whole goddamned mess this is. "Why do you always have to do this?!" Barlowe shouted, flinging a single spark of fire across the hall. It was little more than a vague flicker -- Ra didn't think that Ann was using the full extent of her power, here. Otherwise, the bank would have already been buried six feet under. "It was supposed to be a quick fucking mission -- //my// miss--" She was interrupted by the need to duck from an incoming leg chair, thrown at her by Madden himself. "//Your// mission? You're a goddamned god here, what possible financial help do you even need?!" All the mages and outcasts the two had recruited stood frozen in utter shock, not really understanding what was going on. All except the man with the keys and Asheworth, who both saw nothing of the world but the vault doors, pure excitement and greed in their eyes. Still, none of the crewmembers did anything to stop the never-ending stream of insults, too surprised and confused at the ongoing situation. "{{What the hell do you two think you're doing?}}" Ra shouted, making her presence known with a heavy cling of her metal feet. Ann and Robert faced the android, their confusion widening even further. "I..." Robert started, standing from his fort with his hands up. "I'm... honestly unsure?" He scratched his head, looking over at the other stand, Barlowe next to it. She revealed herself as well, putting her hood off -- as if that did anything to diminish her skills in his reality. "Well, I was supposed to take the gold inside that vault and take a trip across to Poland to find the possible ruins of -120, and--" He closed his eyes, exhaling silently. "Yeah, right, right. I, uh, came up with the same idea." Ra displayed an angry little face on her head-monitor. "{{And you didn't think a single second to tell each other about it?}}" Barlowe stepped forward, fully leaving the safety of her own barricade. Before she could say that she had indeed not thought of that, her eyes went wide. At the speed of light, Madden cocked his pistol, pointing directly at her. "This dimension ain't big enough for two of us, kiddo," he said, deadlocking his eyes with the irises of the alchemist. "Give up. Now." She actually laughed out loud. "Really?" She gave him a patronizing look, snapping her fingers, forcing the gun's barrel to break into two. "How long have you been holding onto that?" He looked at the weapon, slightly embarrassed. Ra couldn't quite discern whether at his broken gun or the realization of what he had just said. "Look," he started, walking forward, his hands now similarly bare. He was smiling now, too. "Not often do you get a chance to say something like that with a straight face. I wasn't about to waste it." Ann shrugged. "Fair enough." For a quiet moment they just stood there, all three looking at each other, all very self-conscious. "What the fuck," Madden suddenly said, his tone flat. "What the fuck are we even doing, this is embarrassing as hell." "Yeah." A red flush entered Barlowe's face. "I... You're right. I guess." Ra sighed once again, coming forward towards the rest. They too came closer. "{{So,}}" she said, turning her eyes towards the vault door. "{{What's there?}}" "It's not gold, that much I know for sure," Barlowe said, giving the alternate Asheworth a look. The man was still frozen in confusion. "At least according to him." The mercenary snapped out of the trance for a second, still staring down at the trio before him. "I... uhhh... I..." he stuttered. "Well? What is it?" "It's... hard to explain, I..." Ann sighed, turning her sights to the hooded keybearer. "And you? You got anything to tell us about the insides?" Meyers didn't reply, instead slowly walking towards the metallic doors standing at the other end of the room. Throughout his very short journey, he kept staring at the floor with an absent stare. When he reached the doors, he touched one of his keys with a trembling hand, and opened the vault. The room inside smelled of cobwebs, old books, and candles. It remained almost entirely dark, only illuminated by a single structure levitating twenty centimeters off of its ground. It was a buzzing, green hole in the fabric of reality. The shape of a portal was unmistakable to all three of them. "Are you kidding me?" Madden scoffed, taking a couple of steps towards the gateway. "How the hell does a bank out here contain a goddamned Library Way?" Barlowe shrugged, examining it closely. "A stable one, at that. Huh." Ra stepped inside as well, scanning the portal for any potential ontokinetic instabilities. She was surprised to find none. "{{What's even more curious is--}}" Suddenly, their moment of triumph was interrupted by continued clapping and laughing coming from behind them. "Thank you for doing my job better than I ever could, you idiots," Daniel said, slowly entering the vault, little sparks of anger burning bright in his eyes. "But this is where your usefulness ends." Barlowe raised an eyebrow. Daniel reacted by igniting a one-meter-tall pillar of pure power in his hand, allowing for the rage inside his soul to magnify the magic, forcing the three to take a step backward from the heat. "The Library //dared// to throw me out all those years ago [[[a-library-empty\|when I came to them, begging for help]]]." He smiled, his realization that vengeance was close bordering on orgasmic. "And now, all those years later, they will learn what it means to--" He suddenly shouted out in pure agony, grabbing his knee with both his hands. His magic flame died out, Daniel's will now focused on something else than maintaining it -- the fact that his knee had just been shot. "Jesus Christ I thought he'd never shut up." Robert sighed, boredom in his tone, as he put the still-smoking gun back in his pocket. Ra noted that its barrel was back to being normal. "Why does every asshole always feel the need to do this?" "I'm... not sure?" Barlowe looked at him, amusement in her eyes. "Either way, that solves our problem." "Indeed it does." All three looked at each other and nodded, reaching mutual agreement without any words spoken. Not paying much attention to the continued sounds of Daniel's agony, they just shrugged, and with a silent //swhoosh// reverberating through reality they walked through the portal, nervously excited for what was about to come. ----- There was something quite unsettling about the everpresent silence that filled every corner of the Wanderers' Library. Carefully taking a step forward, Barlowe held her breath unconsciously, as if she was awaiting some unsaid horror to jump at her the moment they entered the Library. By all means, by all //reason// she shouldn't be afraid -- just like everyone that ever had anything to do with magic, she knew the Library quite well, and so she was certain no threats awaited them in this corner of the structure. And yet, there she was -- standing cautiously, her sixth sense tingling in some distant part of her consciousness, telling her there was danger afoot. She looked at Madden, and their eyes met for a moment. His too were filled with worry. The myriad bookshelves around them smelled of gunpowder and smoke, encompassing the corridor in the aura of a saloon. From the low ceiling, a chandelier similar to the one back at Saloon Number 72 hang, illuminating this branch of the multiversal tree with a dim light, only barely visible against the darkness around it. The corridor blended into the rest of the differently-themed Library in the far, far distance, forming a frankly bizarre construction with the other halls around it. Each of the corridors was somehow different from the rest, crafting together a unique and esoteric thematic combination of numerous alternate worlds clashing together to form one part of the Library. Looking at it, Ra felt at least ten different hiccups in her systems, trying to interpret this utter chaos as somehow making sense. She knew that the Library wasn't a Euclidian space, but even then this blending and mixing of at least twenty different styles was truly too much to handle. This unorder told her that they were very, very near the edge of the world tree. Wordlessly, the alchemist took the first step forward, checking with her shoe if the creaking planks that laid under them were stable. She picked up that habit in early Foundation training -- they told her you could never be sure of structural stability in standard anomalous locations. She figured the outskirts of the known multiverse could only be worse in this regard. The second her boot touched the ground, some immaterial force she could subconsciously feel reverberated through the Library. All of her senses sharpened. She looked all around herself, trying her best to find the source, only to notice a dead-end where their portal had been just seconds earlier. Like powerful wind the force came again, carrying death for a few of the lamps previously burning above them. The force might've been incorporeal, but it //was// real -- Ann could see the invisible eyes behind it staring right at her soul. She shivered. "Madden--" she tried to say, only for no words to come out of lips -- lips she realized weren't even there. In a hopeless panic, she tried to grab her face, only to realize there was no surface for her irreal hands to catch onto. And, as she turned towards the rest of her companions, she came to understand the worst part of her situation: she was utterly and thoroughly alone. And that was when she felt it. The Library's bare, uncontained might, staring directly at-- No. Not //at// her. //Into her//. Into her //soul//. The Serpent's very own eyes, its very own being, all of its trillion-year wisdom and power, focused solely on the stranded alchemist. The lost heathen, the disgusting danger to the stability of its multiverse, the one who dared enter its home, its Library. As a hiss louder than all of existence began to drill itself into her skull, she tried to scream, but found that the gaze of the Serpent made her unable to move even a muscle. Its sight unobstructed by anything, here within its own nest, the custodian of the Library saw her for what she truly was, behind all of the illusions of mortality and flesh. Where the mortal who called herself Ann Barlowe stood, the Serpent could only see a threat. Like an organism fighting a virus, the Library saw her and her two companions as an irregularity, a glitch in the stability of the multiversal matrix, an error that needed to be corrected. Their very presence threatened the integrity of the multiverse -- the integrity and balance of the Serpent's very own body. They were intruders. And there was only one way an organism this big and this powerful could and would deal with such a threat. Before she could form even a single coherent thought, she felt the planks beneath her disintegrate into nothing more than dust. The hole that formed where the corridor had used to be forced her and her companions to fall down into an irreal void. As the crescendo of their screams rippled through a bottomless pit beyond the reach of the multiverse, it soon died out as they reached a place where light and sound no longer lived. A reality so distant from the rest of the world tree, a reality so hopelessly close to expiration that even the Serpent considered it little more than a lost cause. The second they fell through, the Library simply regenerated the corridor it had just temporarily sacrificed, as if the three travelers were never even there. ----- As the thousand candles around the ritual site back in baseline [[[secure-facility-dossier-site-120\|Site-120]]] once again lit themselves up, the world suddenly regained its colors. They burst with pure, unchained thaumic fire, making the portal room once again visible to James Micheals and Ethan MacCarthy Jr. Hope in their eyes, the two scientists corrected their ties, and looked at the result of their occult work. In the middle of the room, there stood a gaping hole through the fabric of reality. In pure shock, Micheals subconsciously took a step backwards, allowing shivers to take him whole. And that was when he felt it -- the unmistakable stench of blood, its terrible smell unmistakable, even to him. Around the previously perfectly aligned thaumaturgic circle, the twenty mages who, just mere minutes ago, had supported the spell meant to take the multiversal castaways back home, were now lying unconscious. From four of them, Micheals could sense the foul stench of death -- from the rest, a mixture of fearful sweat and confusion. The only people in the room who remained untouched by the blast of the spell going haywire were the tens of non-magical Site-120 personnel, who were stationed around the room to monitor the supposed deus ex machina. They too were still recovering from the shock of an uncontained wave of pure thaumaturgic energy hitting their unprotected and unprepared bodies. By all protocols Micheals had ever known, he should've been running towards his own personnel lying on the ground, making sure there was anything he could do to help them. And yet, there he was -- frozen, unable to convince even his eyes to blink. He couldn't take them away from the site of the explosion. He couldn't comprehend what could've gone wrong. "Micheals?" a rough voice from his side asked, its source gently slapping Micheals' shoulders. "Are you all right?" said Ethan MacCarthy Jr., the only other man in the room with a clearance equal to that of Micheals. He looked at Micheals, worry in his eyes, and let out a single weak cough. "I... I..." Micheals struggled to find words to express his confusion. "I-I... I d-don't..." "Micheals!" Ethan slapped him again, this time much more firmly. The sharp expression of pain made him suddenly snap back to reality. "W-What... What just h-happened?" he asked, stuttering even more than usual. He turned his head towards the rest of the room, trying to assess just how much damage the magical explosion caused to his men and his Site. The sight was awful. The room was covered by a thin layer of magical waste, the dust formed entirely by the uncontained backlash of the failed spell. Micheals had no idea why their plan had failed -- by all means, it //shouldn't// have -- but even without asking he could see and hear that the work of the twenty best mages he knew had just been irreparably lost. As was the hope for the safe return of Ann Barlowe, Robert Madden, and Ra.aic. "We... We aren't sure," Ethan said, trying to slowly and very carefully choose his next words. He didn't like admitting that he too had no idea what had just happened. "From what I was able to gather so far, it seems that... the spell didn't find our targets anywhere in the multiverse. So, it did the only thing absurdly powerful magical energy could do when not given a purpose and a chain to hold it back for long enough." He paused. "It exploded." Even though Micheals had the innate ability to understand each of the words that his friend had just said, his brain simply couldn't comprehend the true meaning of the sentence. It simply couldn't grasp the fact the only failsafe they had in place that could bring his lost colleagues back home had just gone up in flames. "What... What does that //mean//?" Micheals said, his mouth quicker than his thoughts. Ethan paused, looking Micheals dead in the eyes. "It means that they're dead, James." = << [[[time-machine-en\|Time Machine]]] \|\| [[[chronicles-of-the-irreal-hub\| HUB]]] \|\| [[[Isle Unto Thyself]]] >> [[=]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] [!-- N/A (No Images) --] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]] [[/=]]	2023-09-06T16:48:00	[ "_licensebox", "aces-and-eights", "action", "adventure", "doctor-asheworth", "from-120s-archives", "period-piece", "tale", "wanderers-library", "western" ]	Let the Maze of My Design Carry You On - SCP Foundation	30	[ "ralliston-s-authorpage", "time-machine-en", "chronicles-of-the-irreal-hub", "isle-unto-thyself", "time-machine", "stranded-lullaby", "the-mind-electric", "scp-6172", "a-library-empty", "secure-facility-dossier-site-120", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "wanderers-library-hub", "the-alchemy-department-hub", "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "secure-facility-dossier-site-120", "from-120-s-archives-hub", "chronicles-of-the-irreal-hub", "aces-and-eights" ]	[]	1449870158	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/let-the-maze-of-my-design-carry-you-on
like-cats-and-dogs-and-spiders	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div class="hide"> <div class="limit"> <div class="anchor"> <div class="authorbox tableb"><div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <table class="wiki-content-table"> <tr> <th>Like Cats and Dogs (and Spiders)</th> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: center;"><span class="bt bb">Byㅤ</span> <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/maxyfran73" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(7498739); return false;"><img alt="Maxyfran73" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=7498739&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1736645458" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=7498739)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/maxyfran73" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(7498739); return false;">Maxyfran73</a></span></td> </tr> <tr> <th>Published on <span class="odate time_1687126738 format_%25d%20%25b%20%25Y">18 Jun 2023 22:18</span></th> </tr> </table> </div> </div></div> <br/></div> </div> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=2&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Aflopstyle-dark/2&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> </div> <br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <div class="meta-title"> <p>Like Cats and Dogs (and Spiders)</p> </div> <br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p>“Fuck!”</p> </div> <br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <div class="justified"> <div class="indented"> <p>Your name is <strong><span style="color: #47eb99">HEAD OF SECURITY</span></strong>, and you are not having a good day.</p> <p>In truth, you haven’t had a good week, but this day was particularly awful. Your flight back to Japan had been cancelled for the third time now. You were angry; angry enough to get a migraine. You were mostly furious, however, because you knew why it was being cancelled, and it wasn’t because of the disarray this Site had been going through, but because the poor excuse you had as a Director hadn’t bothered to approve it. You had called him, mailed him, called his secretary, mailed his secretary; nothing. Site-50 was a black box.</p> <p>Well, almost a black box.</p> </div> <br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <div class="text-container-wrap"> <div class="text-container"> <div class="sent"> <p><span class="text"><strong>Me</strong><br/> Any news, good or bad?<br/></span></p> </div> <br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <div class="recv"> <p><span class="text"><strong>Hertz-on-Fire</strong><br/> Nothing after the big guy disappeared.</span></p> <p><span class="text">When r u coming back?<br/></span></p> </div> <br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <div class="sent"> <p><span class="text"><strong>Me</strong><br/> No damn clue. Director isn’t answering my calls. Any idea where he is?<br/></span></p> </div> <br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <div class="recv"> <p><span class="text"><strong>Hertz-on-Fire</strong><br/> Haven’t seen him since the veil fell.</span></p> <p><span class="text">Want me to see if I can get a word in?<br/></span></p> </div> <br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <div class="sent"> <p><span class="text"><strong>Me</strong><br/> Please. If you see anyone important, tell them to get the director to answer my damn calls.<br/></span></p> </div> <br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <div class="recv"> <p><span class="text"><strong>Hertz-on-Fire</strong><br/> Will do.<br/></span></p> </div> </div> </div> <br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <div class="indented"> <p>You sigh in relief, your anger partially subdued by the words of the first person you manage to get contact with: One technician and former NEET by the name of <a href="/scp-5620">Edward Nguyen</a>, nicknamed ‘Hertz’ because every hacker needs a hacker name, you guess? He was a great dude, and you’d gotten <a href="/raccoon-dog-hunt">pretty friendly with him since his forced induction</a>, albeit it was hard to get any meaningful conversation out of the guy at times. Still, he was the first person to contact you from the site, which helped you figure out which level of ‘how fucked are things over there’ you were at.</p> <p>The good news is that things could be way worse. Bad news is that they were still pretty bad.</p> <p>Turns out that, the moment the Veil fell — Oh yeah, had you mentioned the Veil had just fallen? The Veil, the fragile, most likely pataphysical concept of secrecy that separated that which was normal from that which was not, had cracked roughly a week ago (Coinciding with the horrible week you’ve been having), and the second it had vanished, all kinds of paranormal garbage had spilled out onto the unsuspecting onlookers. Now, this wasn’t something out of the ordinary: The dam of the Foundation wasn’t infallible, and sometimes some of the stuff they keep on one side spilled out onto the other, and vice versa. This time, the dam had burst, and millions of gallons of water had reached the villages on the other side.</p> <p>For example, a <a href="http://scp-jp.wikidot.com/scp-3000-jp">massive ball of pathos had subsumed 99% of all eight million deities currently in Japan</a>, and had been dealt with in some esoteric manner of which the only proof it had ever occurred being every clock in the perceivable universe having skipped roughly ten minutes forward. That was the kind of shit the Foundation paid more attention to, and yet here we were, with that whole incident over the news. The <em>normal</em> news.</p> <p>This was the issue you wished you were over at Site-50 to deal with, because whenever you were getting back, you’d get back to ten metric tons of paperwork you’d have to be done with by yesterday, and just thinking about it made you wish you’d been absorbed by the mass of sadness instead.</p> <p>For better or worse, you weren’t in Japan at the time, and were instead attending a security convention in the States, where things were, rather surprisingly, way more relaxed. Sure, there were the odd floating structures, or the odd <a href="/samara-be-the-itsy-bitsy-spider">ray of thaumic light</a> splitting the sky, but overall, nothing earth shattering like what happened in <a href="http://scp-int.wikidot.com/scp-1710-jp">Poland</a>; no eschatological event like in Japan.</p> <p>Now, instead of working on paperwork, or coordinating task forces, or doing anything vital to the continuing of the Foundation, you were walking past near empty hallways, rubbing shoulders against the occasional researcher that passed by, rushing towards a crisis that needed to be averted. Or perhaps towards another perfunctory talk about how things had changed forever, and everyone needed to do their parts, except their voices transmitted naught but disinterest. Not like anyone cared even then. The Site was operating with a skeleton crew for some reason, most personnel having taken a sabbatical, or moved sites, or having found some other excuse to not be here right now.</p> <p>If anyone asked you, you’d tell them that you had the smallest of suspicions that this was all pre-planned, that the fall of the Veil was an inside job, that this was all some sort of smokescreen in order to cover up something bigger. Something scarier.</p> <p>But no one would ask you, and you wouldn’t engage in conspiracy theories anyway. Didn’t seem right to you, sowing even more chaos. Also, you were passing by Psionics and maybe you shouldn’t even think about these things, unless you wanted some mind reader to think you’re a traitor or something and have your head explode like in that Scanners movie. You don’t know if that’s a thing — you aren’t from here, but that was kind of the point. The weird guy with the weird powers who had arrived the day before everything’d gone to shit was definitely suspicious. At least that’s how you’d see it from their perspective. But who knows. It’s not like you were this place’s Head of Security.</p> <p>Another jolt, a hammer directly hitting your parietal lobes reminds you of the headache you have. You need painkillers… Or maybe you need something lighter to distract yourself with.</p> <p>You see an old man, white hair, bespectacled, with a disorganized attire pass by, and you tap his shoulder, uttering a ‘sorry’ as you move away. A simple action — the one that allows you to copy the morphology of others — is the only thing keeping you entertained. Keeping you awake. You do this often, but never as often as this. Without anything in sight, you’re aimless, waiting for your Godot to arrive, in pilot’s clothes, and get you out of this terminal, and back into the war-ravaged country. Is that how the movie goes? Is that how the play goes too? The lack of ‘something to do’ is making you go loopy. The pain certainly ain’t helping.</p> <p>Another scientist passes by, a woman with long, black hair. Bags under the eyes; something you were painfully familiar with. When was the last time you’d slept more than three, four hours at a time?</p> <p>You pass by the woman, a quick tap on<br/></p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p>the shoulder that</p> </div> </div> <br/> wha<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> "<span style="color: #47eb99">what the fuck was that</span>."</div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:270%;"><span style="color: #47eb99">猍</span></span></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="justified"> <div class="indented"> <p>Your name is <strong><span style="color: #d6b75a">SAMARA MACLEAR</span></strong>, and you have the feeling your day is about to go awry.</p> <p>Your life has been a tad hectic ever since the Veil fell, although unlike most of the world, and most of your higher ups, it has had more ups than downs. <span style="color: #c48efb">Celeste</span> had contributed to this sentiment immensely. You weren’t one to take leaps of faith, but you were willing to admit that this was one of the best things to happen to you in a long while. There was a certain charm to being able to close your eyes after a long day of work, relax your body, and float towards the cosmos of your mind, connect to the right frequency, and see — ‘feel’, rather. — xer there; know that xe would be there.</p> <p>It wasn’t escapism; far from it, but you had to admit you had grown more… Distracted, these passing days. Luna would have teased you about being lovestruck. No, that’s not right: She’s teased you about it already. How could she not? That’s the first, maybe second thing Luna would do.</p> <p>Again, you wouldn’t admit your faults, especially not for something as trivial, but you were walking amidst clouds — Or a comparable simile while traversing the sterilized, bleak halls of the Site’s lower levels — when you suddenly bumped into someone.</p> <p>It was a wide hallway, so you didn’t expect to get close enough to bump into another person. If you had the time, you would have turned around, and promptly apologized, only then noticing that the person you’d passed by looked ‘off’, but instead, you were on the front row, ready to experience what that ‘off’ feeling was about.</p> <p>You weren’t a mind-reader — Contrary to popular belief, you couldn’t peek into other people’s heads. You could sort of get what someone’s ‘deal’ was about, more of a gut feeling rather than anything a telepathist could do, but you had hung out with enough telepathists to know what reaching into someone’s mind felt like, and this… This was pretty close to that.</p> <p>First there was the prick. You’ve shocked yourself before, touching an unpeeled wire by happenstance, and feeling as though your nerves are overloaded, your muscles tense up. Your body locks in place.</p> <p>It was less than a second, but whatever they had done to you, it had unwrapped you, layer by layer. For a split moment, you were not <strong><span style="color: #d6b75a">Samara</span></strong> right now; you were a telephone, a machine that had received a signal, and you couldn’t help but relaying it. Like an old radio, the touch had amplified the reach of your psionic powers, disrupting your mind, and passing straight through you. As it did so, you saw images of another life, another mind. It tasted like matcha, and smelled like… Like a plant you had no knowledge of.</p> <p>A foreign thought had passed through you, splitting you like an atom, or like artillery fire, and had instead reached far into your mind, then past your mind, then<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/></p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><span style="color: #c48efb">Hm? Hello?</span></p> </div> <br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> then it reached xer. <p>The exchange lasted a split second, but it felt much, much longer. Much, much lonelier. You stumble forward, dizzy, as if struck by lightning. You try to gather your thoughts; you needed to make sure they were your own, before proceeding.</p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p><span style="font-size:80%;"><br/> “What the fuck was that.”<br/></span></p> </div> <br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> You finally turn around, and find yourself staring at someone who looked just as disoriented as you were. Now that, you weren’t expecting. <p>“Who are you?” Finally, you find words that leave your mouth. The other person looks at you again, before shaking their head from side to side.</p> <p>“No, no, that’s what I should be asking you.” They retort, planning to win the most childish game known to mankind. You didn’t feel like entertaining them.</p> <p>“Samara Maclear. I work here. Like, right here.” You point towards the Psionics Team area, at the end of the hallway. “Now, I’ll ask again: Who are you?”</p> <p>“Head of Security. Site-50.” They say, crossing their arms like that made any lick of sense. And yet it did, because as they had parted you like the seas, you had seen parts of their life too. Not anything concrete, just shapes and colors that told you they weren’t lying.</p> <p>“Alright, Head of Security. Sure. Next question then: What the hell did you do to me?”</p> <p>To that, they took offense. “What do you mean what I did to you, the hell’d you do to me?!”</p> <p>You blinked; again, not what you were expecting. “What do you mean? You just-”</p> <p>You were cut short. “Wa-wa-wait, that… That wasn’t you?”</p> <p>“No? You didn’t try to read my mind?…”</p> <p>“No? I can’t read minds. I’m no psychic. I’m just some guy.”</p> <p>Awkward silence. If they weren’t the one who had tried to hijack her then… Then what the hell just happened?</p> <p>“… So just to confirm, cuz you said you were from psionics, right?”</p> <p>“Right.”</p> <p>“Is that thing on your head normal?”</p> <p>Uh. “What do you mean by ‘thing’?”</p> <p>“The, uh, the spider.”</p> <p>Oh god fucking dammit.</p> <p>“R-right, the… The spider. The spider.” Despite standing in the middle of a hallway, you feel cornered, pushed against a wall. You had barely told anyone about Celeste. You weren’t prepared to talk about xer now, especially not to this weirdo.</p> <p>“You know what I’m talking about, right? The…” The guy frowns. They were sure how to process their next words. “<span style="color: #37c6ff">Celeste</span>? No, that ain’t right… That sounds right, but it doesn’t…”</p> <p>“Alright, that’s enough. Who are you, really?” You spout, not finding any sense in this, well, in this nonsense. You take a step forward, and they take two steps back. In your fugue, you’d forgotten to consider that the person in front of you also felt cornered. Felt like running. Looked like they were about to sprint, even.</p> <p>“Look, I… I think I shouldn’t be here anyway, so, uhhh…”</p> <p>“Oh no, you don’t.”</p> <p>You grab their arm in an attempt to<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/></p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><span style="color: #c48efb">Sammie?</span></p> </div> <br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> “<span style="color: #d6b75a">God dammit</span>.”<br/> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p>“<span style="color: #47eb99">Ow, what the-</span>”</p> </div> <br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> To be fair, you really should have seen that coming. This time the shock was stronger; it was more than static, now this really felt like touching a live wire, something coursing through your brain, through your veins, through your nerves. You had been hijacked, like a cheap SUV. You didn’t like that. You didn’t like that one bit. <p>“Seriously, what the fuck is up with that…” The guy muttered, holding their head with a hand, clenching their teeth hard enough where you could hear them being ground from where you stood.</p> <p>It is only then that you notice the animal ears protruding from the top of their head, and the raccoon-like tail sprouting from behind. Had that always been there? If so, <em>how did you miss that?</em></p> <p>“Ugh, my… Head?…” Head of Security muttered, moving their hand away from their head, only now noticing blood coming out of their nose. “Oh, that… That can’t be good.”</p> <p>You were about to ask something else, something about if they were okay, about what the hell was up with the animal features, about ‘seriously, who the hell are you’, but instead, you felt something click within your head. This had nothing to do with the shocks before, nothing to do with the mind-space. Instead, it was nothing but the sound of a lightbulb turning on. About something you just remembered was another effect of this <span style="color: #eb47a7">VEILBURST</span> bullcrap.</p> <p>“Have you been getting headaches lately?” You asked, most of your worries defusing as the situation finally turned away from pure clusterfuck, and towards your field of expertise.</p> <p>“Uh… Y-yeah?…” Head of Security replied, pulling out a handkerchief to clean off the blood dripping from their nose. It didn’t seem like it’d stop anytime soon. “… God, is the spider infecting me? Is this what a mind parasite feels like?”</p> <p><em>No, it’s much worse</em>, you wanted to reply, but instead moved to what really mattered. “How old are you?”</p> <p>“Uh, like, really old?” They winced. Another stinging inside their head. “Why… Why the questioning? Did I catch something bad? I swear, this is the first time I step down here, and I haven’t touched anything that’d-”</p> <p>“I think you had your psychic awakening.”</p> <p>“… Huh?”</p> <p>“It’s not common for older people to awaken psychic powers, but it is still statistically possible to-”</p> <p>“No no no, there’s no way I just-”</p> <p>“But you did. There’s no other explanation.”</p> <p>“Is the spider a normal psychic thing, then? That my spiritual guide or something?”</p> <p>“Stop talking about the spider, xe has nothing to do with anything.” You stop. “I think.”</p> <p>“You think? What’s that supposed to mean?” They stopped as well. “<em>Who is that spider then?</em>”</p> <p>“Look, what matters is that you know what’s been wrong with you for… How long have you had the headaches? Since the Veil fell?”<br/></p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p>“Since the Veil fell-”</p> </div> <p>“That’s what I thought. Yeah, it’s most likely some sort of awakening. Guess interacting with another psychic made something within your body snap into place.”</p> <p>“… Aight, what do I do with that information then? Am I gonna short circuit every time I touch another being now?”</p> <p>“I’m… I’m not sure, actually. It’s different for each person, you see.”</p> <p>Head of Security sighed, looking over their handkerchief, more blood than cloth at this point. “Can’t you do anything? Some sort of… I dunno, psyche-lock? Some sort of gyas?”</p> <p>“Geas. And…” You considered it. Should you help them? “I guess I could. I think someone else would be better prepared for this; I’m not someone who’s trained with preparing geas or any special injunction of that kind. I think it’d be better to deal with this through the proper channels, but I could at least help assuage some of the…” You looked at the blood staining their clothes. “… some of the most worrying side-effects.”</p> <p>The guy smiled from ear to ear, and even their tail began swaying, a rather canine way of expressing their feeling. “Oh that’d- That’d be great yeah!”</p> <p>You soon learnt this ‘Head of Security’ person was very expressive, and very sudden to change in that expressiveness. Not bipolar, by any means, but you wouldn’t blame people for using such an adjective on them.</p> <p>You also learnt they were very physical in that expressiveness; as soon as you agreed to help by what you believed was ‘the bare minimum’, they moved in to thank you with a handshake and</p> <div style="text-align: left;"> <p>“<span style="color: #d6b75a">Wait, don’t-</span>”</p> </div> <br/> <br/> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p>“<span style="color: #47eb99">Oh fuck-</span>”</p> </div> <br/> <br/> This was gonna be a long day, huh?</div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:270%;"><span style="color: #d6b75a">猫</span></span></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="indented"> <p>Your name is <strong><span style="color: #c48efb">CELESTE</span></strong>, and you were having an extremely interesting week. Yes, ‘interesting’ was an apt word for it.</p> <p>You didn’t mean this in a negative way, of course. Far from it, these past few days were, without exaggeration, one of the best weeks of your life. Maybe not of your entire life, but it was still monumental in scope. When you are deconstructed into stardust, and are left floating through the infinite, broken threads of the multiverse (Multiverse <a href="/inner-space">wasn’t quite the right word for it.</a>), a shared moment of bliss like this is not something you’d consider anything less than one of the most memorable bits of the history you called your own.</p> <p>This moment of bliss, of course, was in reference to Sammie, a human being from a world not unlike yours — And yet, it was so different. So unique and special, in its own mundane ways — that reminded you of… Of something special, something you couldn’t quite place words on. Something lived once, and never again. Until now.</p> <p>You were content with the connection you had made with Sammie, and none of what could happen in the future, whether near or distant, would change this, but you feared that you weren’t enough.</p> <p>Now, you didn’t mean this in that you were incompetent in any manner. You felt very adequate; very ‘in place’ despite the very obvious displacement you were going through, but you couldn’t be there all the time. You weren’t strong enough to become anything more than a passing thought when Sammie wasn’t checking up on you, which… Which was normal for others, of course, but you couldn’t help but worry about her.</p> <p>She seemed lonely, afflicted with the kind of institutionalized loneliness you’d been familiar with, in another plane; another life. The kind that didn’t seem so foreign, because everyone around you suffered from it. Maybe to a lesser degree, but it was there, taking hold of your life, chipping at it, slowly, quietly.</p> <p>It wasn’t gonna be the end of the world, but when you could only see the world, feel reality through the eyes of a single person, there was not a lot of sentiments you could express other than longing. Other than worry.</p> <p>Which is why you were as excited as you were concerned when another voice joined yours and hers, an odd <span style="color: #47eb99">oobleck</span> of an entity ripping the psycho-reality you called home and staring right into your four pairs of eyes. Was this person a friendly neighbor, showing their presence, or an assailant, willing to rob and destroy what little you still possessed?</p> <p>A few hours later, you were glad to see the latter was not the case: Sammie appeared to have made a friend.</p> </div> <br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <div class="narration"> <p><span style="color: #d6b75a">You understand?</span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="color: #47eb99">I… Sort of get it, I think? God, how do you orient yourself here?</span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="color: #d6b75a">I just told you.</span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="color: #47eb99">I’m so sorry, but you must understand ‘telling me something’ isn’t the same as ‘actually getting me to do it’. This whole exercise is proof of it… God, how many dimensions are we working with here?</span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="color: #d6b75a">I don’t believe that matters.</span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="color: #47eb99">There’s no way that’s true. That is quite literally the most important part of any hypno-space exploration.</span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="color: #d6b75a">Yeah, but it’ll work against you, to focus on the concrete parts of this plane, rather than the fluidity of it.</span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="color: #47eb99">You can just tell me you don’t feel like explaining, you know? I can take it.</span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="color: #d6b75a">Oh my fucking- Look, I’m the psionics specialist here, so if you don’t believe me-</span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="color: #47eb99">I am in charge of approving them!!!</span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="color: #d6b75a">Please stop yelling… It’s so much worse here than in the physical world…</span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="color: #47eb99">I don’t know how to control my voice here! I don’t even have a voice!</span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:150%;"><strong>QUIET DOWN</strong></span></p> <p><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="color: #47eb99">Ow, what the- No need to yell, geez!</span></p> </div> <div class="indented"> <p>Friendship was so nice to see, especially while it nurtures.</p> <p>You held a vast amount of knowledge. It was only natural for you, who had observed them for this long, to understand their culture; the collection of loosely tied pieces they called civilization.</p> <p>And yet, it was this idea of friendship that always eluded you. There was nothing particularly arcane about it; you simply weren’t good with social cues, having preferred your work and your accomplishments over any sort of interpersonal relation. This wasn’t out of mere neglect; you had been hurt before, and, at the time, you weren’t ready to try again.</p> <p>Now, things were different. You’d be ready.</p> </div> <br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p><span style="color: #47eb99">So is xe gonna stare at us the whole time we’re doing this or…</span></p> </div> <br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> Huh?<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="color: #d6b75a">Wait, who do you mean? Celeste?</span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="color: #47eb99">Yeah?…</span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="color: #d6b75a">You can see xer?</span> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #c48efb">You can see me?</span></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="color: #47eb99">Wa-was I not supposed to?</span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="color: #d6b75a">I… I don’t think so? I haven’t made contact with xer so it’s… What the hell is up with you, for real.</span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #c48efb">Sorry, I didn’t realize I was being perceived. Allow me to introduce myself, then.</span></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="indented"> <p>This was certainly an odd predicament. Not that you understood much about how humans interpreted telepathics; still, you weren’t expecting, nor wished to intervene in Sammie’s class. Alas, xe wouldn’t be as uncouth as to not introduce xerself to a guest. With a smile, xe gave the new visit xer name.</p> </div> <br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <div class="narration"> <p><span style="color: #c48efb">My name is Celeste, as you are already aware. A pleasure.</span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="color: #47eb99">Head of Security. I’ve heard a fair amount from Sammie over here</span> — <span style="color: #d6b75a">oh no you don’t get to call me Sammie, weirdo</span> — <span style="color: #47eb99">A pleasure to be meeting you as well.</span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>A handshake between the two followed, or the closest to a handshake as a <strong><span style="color: #47eb99">raccoon dog</span></strong> could give a <strong><span style="color: #c48efb">spider</span></strong>, neither of which had a solid, constant body to call their own.</em></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="color: #d6b75a">Wait, you- You just did it.</span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="color: #47eb99">Did what?</span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="color: #d6b75a">You moved your body through the hypno-space. You gave Celeste a handshake.</span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="color: #c48efb">That they did.</span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="color: #47eb99">That I did…</span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>Head of Security stares at their hand. There’s nothing to stare at. They don’t get it.</em></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="color: #47eb99">I really don’t get it.</span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="color: #d6b75a">But you’re getting it. That’s the important part. It’s that spontaneity of action, of that ‘act, not think’ that allows you to focus on movement for the mind.</span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="color: #47eb99">… Yeah, no, I still don’t get it.</span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="color: #d6b75a">Of course you don’t.</span> <span style="color: #47eb99">now what’s that supposed to</span> <span style="color: #d6b75a">Look, I don’t have all day so let’s go back to learning. Try to move to your left.</span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>They did not move to the left, or anywhere, for that matter. It would take much longer for them to understand the place they were standing at.</em></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>Yet this was fine, <strong><span style="color: #c48efb">Celeste</span></strong> thought. Xe hadn’t seen Sammie this active, this motivated since they had met, almost a week back. It was a new facet; one xe didn’t mind seeing more of.</em></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>Ideally with less ‘having to babysit a soon-to-be-mentalist’. Ideally, in an environment where the two of them could be alone, undisturbed. At peace.</em></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="color: #47eb99">You know, I… I can just leave, if you need me to. I mean, I think I can figure that one out, at least.</span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>Oh dear. Right. Maybe this was to be pondered upon some other time.</em></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> </div> <br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:270%;"><span style="color: #c48efb">蠨</span></span></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> After the longest fortnight of your life, your feet finally touch the salmon-colored tile floor of Haneda airport. You sigh in relief as you carry your baggage past the lounge, and are quickly met with a familiar face.<br/></p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p><span style="font-size:85%;">"Took you long enough."<br/></span></p> </div> <br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> You turn around, then smile as <a href="/scp-5620">Edward</a> approaches. At least someone had your back on this dump of a Site.<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> “God, it really did, didn’t it? Two fucking weeks… God, I’m gonna kill Zesshou.” You jest. Well. If you could kill him, you would, but very important people would get very angry about that.<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> “I think he’s gonna kick the bucket before you get to do anything.” God. You wish.<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> “You say that, but I’ve been waiting for a good ten years for the old fart to keel over and die. It ain’t happening anytime soon.”<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> “Ah well. Hey, least it’s good to see you again.”<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> “Awww, did you miss me?”<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> “Oh yeah, I did miss you alright. Everyone did. Place’s falling apart without you to round up all these chucklefucks.”<br/> <span style="font-size:70%;">"<span style="color: #e27602">Course I missed you, you dumbass. This place sucks without you around.</span>"<br/></span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> “What?”<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> “Huh?”<br/> <span style="font-size:60%;">"<span style="color: #e27602">Shit, did I say that outloud?</span>"<br/></span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> “N-nothing, don’t- Don’t worry. I just remembered something, is all.”<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> “Alright. Talk to you later, buddy. Take care.”<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> You leave <span style="color: #e27602">Edward</span> to his own devices, then finally decide to pull out your phone, and call one of your newer contacts.<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> “<span style="color: #d6b75a">Hello?</span>”<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> “<span style="color: #47eb99">Yeah? Sammie?</span>”<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> “<span style="color: #d6b75a">Oh great… It’s you. What’s up? Did you blow someone’s head off with your mind tricks?</span>”<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> “<span style="color: #47eb99">Almost as bad. How do you stop reading people’s minds?</span>”<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> “<span style="color: #d6b75a">Oh. Pfft. I dunno. I’m not a mind reader.</span>”<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> “<span style="color: #47eb99">Oh come on, you gotta help me here.</span>”<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> “<span style="color: #d6b75a">Alright, alright… You’re in Japan already, no?</span>”<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> “<span style="color: #47eb99">Yeah.</span>”<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> “<span style="color: #d6b75a">I’m so sorry. I lack the jurisdiction to intervene in international matters. I recommend you contact your local psionics department head. Good luck.</span>”<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> “<span style="color: #47eb99">Oh no, you don’t-</span>”<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> “<span style="color: #d6b75a">You’re not my problem anymore~</span>”<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> “<span style="color: #47eb99">Put Celeste on the phone. Xe was so much nicer than-</span>”<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> “<span style="color: #d6b75a">Byebye~</span>”<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> “<span style="color: #47eb99">Ok, but seriously, what do- Hello? Samara? H-hello?…</span>”<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="font-size:75%;">“<span style="color: #47eb99">You gotta be fucking kidding-</span>”</span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <div class="indented"> <p>Your name is <strong><span style="color: #47eb99">HEAD OF SECURITY</span></strong>, and this day wasn’t looking any better.</p> </div> </div> <br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <hr/> <p>This is a tale for Round 2 of <a href="/romcon">Romcon</a>, featuring my character, <span style="color: #47eb99">Head of Security</span>, and <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/lt-flops" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(1735419); return false;"><img alt="Lt Flops" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=1735419&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043839" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=1735419)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/lt-flops" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(1735419); return false;">Lt Flops</a></span>'s character, <span style="color: #d6b75a">Samara Maclear</span>, as well as <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/the-spider-queen" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(7130109); return false;"><img alt="The_Spider_Queen" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=7130109&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043839" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=7130109)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/the-spider-queen" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(7130109); return false;">The_Spider_Queen</a></span>’s character, <span style="color: #c48efb">Director Celeste</span>, and <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/tyumen" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(2951719); return false;"><img alt="Tyumen" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=2951719&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043839" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=2951719)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/tyumen" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(2951719); return false;">Tyumen</a></span>’s character, <span style="color: #e27602">Edward Nguyen</span>. For Lt Flops’ take on the trio/quartet, please refer to <strong>[TALE TO BE LINKED HERE]</strong><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/like-cats-and-dogs-and-spiders">Like Cats and Dogs (and Spiders)</a>" by Maxyfran73, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/like-cats-and-dogs-and-spiders">https://scpwiki.com/like-cats-and-dogs-and-spiders</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> 7GyJZU9.png<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/maxyfran73" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(7498739); return false;"><img alt="Maxyfran73" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=7498739&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043839" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=7498739)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/maxyfran73" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(7498739); return false;">Maxyfran73</a></span><br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC BY-SA 3.0<br/> <strong>Source:</strong> Own work, with text source d from the article below:</p> </blockquote> <blockquote> <p><strong>Article:</strong> Samara: Be the Itsy Bitsy Spider.<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/lt-flops" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(1735419); return false;"><img alt="Lt Flops" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=1735419&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043839" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=1735419)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/lt-flops" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(1735419); return false;">Lt Flops</a></span><br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC BY-SA 3.0<br/> <strong>Source:</strong> <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/samara-be-the-itsy-bitsy-spider">SCP Wiki</a></p> </blockquote> <hr/> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> V9z5We0.png<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/maxyfran73" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(7498739); return false;"><img alt="Maxyfran73" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=7498739&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043839" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=7498739)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/maxyfran73" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(7498739); return false;">Maxyfran73</a></span><br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC BY-SA 3.0<br/> <strong>Source:</strong> Own Work</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[div class="hide"]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:flopstyle-dark">:scp-wiki:theme:flopstyle-dark</a> \|witch=a \|light=a]] [[/div]] [[module CSS]] .hide { display: none; } [[/module]] [[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] @@ @@ @@ @@ [[div class="meta-title"]] Like Cats and Dogs (and Spiders) [[/div]] @@ @@ @@ @@ [[=]] “Fuck!” [[/=]] @@ @@ @@ @@ [[div class="justified"]] [[div class="indented"]] Your name is ##47EB99\|HEAD OF SECURITY##, and you are not having a good day. In truth, you haven’t had a good week, but this day was particularly awful. Your flight back to Japan had been cancelled for the third time now. You were angry; angry enough to get a migraine. You were mostly furious, however, because you knew why it was being cancelled, and it wasn’t because of the disarray this Site had been going through, but because the poor excuse you had as a Director hadn’t bothered to approve it. You had called him, mailed him, called his secretary, mailed his secretary; nothing. Site-50 was a black box. Well, almost a black box. [[/div]] @@ @@ @@ @@ [[div class="text-container-wrap"]] [[div class="text-container"]] [[div class="sent"]] [[span class="text"]]Me Any news, good or bad? [[/span]] [[/div]] @@ @@ [[div class="recv"]] [[span class="text"]]Hertz-on-Fire Nothing after the big guy disappeared. When r u coming back? [[/span]] [[/div]] @@ @@ [[div class="sent"]] [[span class="text"]]Me No damn clue. Director isn’t answering my calls. Any idea where he is? [[/span]] [[/div]] @@ @@ [[div class="recv"]] [[span class="text"]]Hertz-on-Fire Haven’t seen him since the veil fell. Want me to see if I can get a word in? [[/span]] [[/div]] @@ @@ [[div class="sent"]] [[span class="text"]]Me Please. If you see anyone important, tell them to get the director to answer my damn calls. [[/span]] [[/div]] @@ @@ [[div class="recv"]] [[span class="text"]]Hertz-on-Fire Will do. [[/span]] [[/div]] [[/div]] [[/div]] @@ @@ @@ @@ [[div class="indented"]] You sigh in relief, your anger partially subdued by the words of the first person you manage to get contact with: One technician and former NEET by the name of [[[scp-5620\| Edward Nguyen]]], nicknamed ‘Hertz’ because every hacker needs a hacker name, you guess? He was a great dude, and you’d gotten [[[raccoon-dog-hunt\| pretty friendly with him since his forced induction]]], albeit it was hard to get any meaningful conversation out of the guy at times. Still, he was the first person to contact you from the site, which helped you figure out which level of ‘how fucked are things over there’ you were at. The good news is that things could be way worse. Bad news is that they were still pretty bad. Turns out that, the moment the Veil fell — Oh yeah, had you mentioned the Veil had just fallen? The Veil, the fragile, most likely pataphysical concept of secrecy that separated that which was normal from that which was not, had cracked roughly a week ago (Coinciding with the horrible week you’ve been having), and the second it had vanished, all kinds of paranormal garbage had spilled out onto the unsuspecting onlookers. Now, this wasn’t something out of the ordinary: The dam of the Foundation wasn’t infallible, and sometimes some of the stuff they keep on one side spilled out onto the other, and vice versa. This time, the dam had burst, and millions of gallons of water had reached the villages on the other side. For example, a [http://scp-jp.wikidot.com/scp-3000-jp massive ball of pathos had subsumed 99% of all eight million deities currently in Japan], and had been dealt with in some esoteric manner of which the only proof it had ever occurred being every clock in the perceivable universe having skipped roughly ten minutes forward. That was the kind of shit the Foundation paid more attention to, and yet here we were, with that whole incident over the news. The //normal// news. This was the issue you wished you were over at Site-50 to deal with, because whenever you were getting back, you’d get back to ten metric tons of paperwork you’d have to be done with by yesterday, and just thinking about it made you wish you’d been absorbed by the mass of sadness instead. For better or worse, you weren’t in Japan at the time, and were instead attending a security convention in the States, where things were, rather surprisingly, way more relaxed. Sure, there were the odd floating structures, or the odd [[[samara-be-the-itsy-bitsy-spider\|ray of thaumic light]]] splitting the sky, but overall, nothing earth shattering like what happened in [http://scp-int.wikidot.com/scp-1710-jp Poland]; no eschatological event like in Japan. Now, instead of working on paperwork, or coordinating task forces, or doing anything vital to the continuing of the Foundation, you were walking past near empty hallways, rubbing shoulders against the occasional researcher that passed by, rushing towards a crisis that needed to be averted. Or perhaps towards another perfunctory talk about how things had changed forever, and everyone needed to do their parts, except their voices transmitted naught but disinterest. Not like anyone cared even then. The Site was operating with a skeleton crew for some reason, most personnel having taken a sabbatical, or moved sites, or having found some other excuse to not be here right now. If anyone asked you, you’d tell them that you had the smallest of suspicions that this was all pre-planned, that the fall of the Veil was an inside job, that this was all some sort of smokescreen in order to cover up something bigger. Something scarier. But no one would ask you, and you wouldn’t engage in conspiracy theories anyway. Didn’t seem right to you, sowing even more chaos. Also, you were passing by Psionics and maybe you shouldn’t even think about these things, unless you wanted some mind reader to think you’re a traitor or something and have your head explode like in that Scanners movie. You don’t know if that’s a thing — you aren’t from here, but that was kind of the point. The weird guy with the weird powers who had arrived the day before everything’d gone to shit was definitely suspicious. At least that’s how you’d see it from their perspective. But who knows. It’s not like you were this place’s Head of Security. Another jolt, a hammer directly hitting your parietal lobes reminds you of the headache you have. You need painkillers… Or maybe you need something lighter to distract yourself with. You see an old man, white hair, bespectacled, with a disorganized attire pass by, and you tap his shoulder, uttering a ‘sorry’ as you move away. A simple action — the one that allows you to copy the morphology of others — is the only thing keeping you entertained. Keeping you awake. You do this often, but never as often as this. Without anything in sight, you’re aimless, waiting for your Godot to arrive, in pilot’s clothes, and get you out of this terminal, and back into the war-ravaged country. Is that how the movie goes? Is that how the play goes too? The lack of ‘something to do’ is making you go loopy. The pain certainly ain’t helping. Another scientist passes by, a woman with long, black hair. Bags under the eyes; something you were painfully familiar with. When was the last time you’d slept more than three, four hours at a time? You pass by the woman, a quick tap on [[=]] the shoulder that [[/=]] [[/div]] [[div class="imagediv"]] [[=image https://i.imgur.com/7GyJZU9.png]] [[/div]] wha @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ "##47EB99\|what the fuck was that##." [[/div]] @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ [[size 270%]] = ##47EB99\|猍## [[/size]] @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ [[div class="justified"]] [[div class="indented"]] Your name is ##d6b75a\|SAMARA MACLEAR##, and you have the feeling your day is about to go awry. Your life has been a tad hectic ever since the Veil fell, although unlike most of the world, and most of your higher ups, it has had more ups than downs. ##C48EFB\|Celeste## had contributed to this sentiment immensely. You weren’t one to take leaps of faith, but you were willing to admit that this was one of the best things to happen to you in a long while. There was a certain charm to being able to close your eyes after a long day of work, relax your body, and float towards the cosmos of your mind, connect to the right frequency, and see — ‘feel’, rather. — xer there; know that xe would be there. It wasn’t escapism; far from it, but you had to admit you had grown more… Distracted, these passing days. Luna would have teased you about being lovestruck. No, that’s not right: She’s teased you about it already. How could she not? That’s the first, maybe second thing Luna would do. Again, you wouldn’t admit your faults, especially not for something as trivial, but you were walking amidst clouds — Or a comparable simile while traversing the sterilized, bleak halls of the Site’s lower levels — when you suddenly bumped into someone. It was a wide hallway, so you didn’t expect to get close enough to bump into another person. If you had the time, you would have turned around, and promptly apologized, only then noticing that the person you’d passed by looked ‘off’, but instead, you were on the front row, ready to experience what that ‘off’ feeling was about. You weren’t a mind-reader — Contrary to popular belief, you couldn’t peek into other people’s heads. You could sort of get what someone’s ‘deal’ was about, more of a gut feeling rather than anything a telepathist could do, but you had hung out with enough telepathists to know what reaching into someone’s mind felt like, and this… This was pretty close to that. First there was the prick. You’ve shocked yourself before, touching an unpeeled wire by happenstance, and feeling as though your nerves are overloaded, your muscles tense up. Your body locks in place. It was less than a second, but whatever they had done to you, it had unwrapped you, layer by layer. For a split moment, you were not ##d6b75a\|Samara## right now; you were a telephone, a machine that had received a signal, and you couldn’t help but relaying it. Like an old radio, the touch had amplified the reach of your psionic powers, disrupting your mind, and passing straight through you. As it did so, you saw images of another life, another mind. It tasted like matcha, and smelled like… Like a plant you had no knowledge of. A foreign thought had passed through you, splitting you like an atom, or like artillery fire, and had instead reached far into your mind, then past your mind, then @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ [[=]] ##C48EFB\|Hm? Hello?## [[/=]] @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ then it reached xer. The exchange lasted a split second, but it felt much, much longer. Much, much lonelier. You stumble forward, dizzy, as if struck by lightning. You try to gather your thoughts; you needed to make sure they were your own, before proceeding. [[>]] [[size 80%]] “What the fuck was that.” [[/size]] [[/>]] @@ @@ You finally turn around, and find yourself staring at someone who looked just as disoriented as you were. Now that, you weren’t expecting. “Who are you?” Finally, you find words that leave your mouth. The other person looks at you again, before shaking their head from side to side. “No, no, that’s what I should be asking you.” They retort, planning to win the most childish game known to mankind. You didn’t feel like entertaining them. “Samara Maclear. I work here. Like, right here.” You point towards the Psionics Team area, at the end of the hallway. “Now, I’ll ask again: Who are you?” “Head of Security. Site-50.” They say, crossing their arms like that made any lick of sense. And yet it did, because as they had parted you like the seas, you had seen parts of their life too. Not anything concrete, just shapes and colors that told you they weren’t lying. “Alright, Head of Security. Sure. Next question then: What the hell did you do to me?” To that, they took offense. “What do you mean what I did to you, the hell’d you do to me?!” You blinked; again, not what you were expecting. “What do you mean? You just-” You were cut short. “Wa-wa-wait, that… That wasn’t you?” “No? You didn’t try to read my mind?...” “No? I can’t read minds. I’m no psychic. I’m just some guy.” Awkward silence. If they weren’t the one who had tried to hijack her then… Then what the hell just happened? “... So just to confirm, cuz you said you were from psionics, right?” “Right.” “Is that thing on your head normal?” Uh. “What do you mean by ‘thing’?” “The, uh, the spider.” Oh god fucking dammit. “R-right, the… The spider. The spider.” Despite standing in the middle of a hallway, you feel cornered, pushed against a wall. You had barely told anyone about Celeste. You weren’t prepared to talk about xer now, especially not to this weirdo. “You know what I’m talking about, right? The…” The guy frowns. They were sure how to process their next words. “##37C6FF\|Celeste##? No, that ain’t right… That sounds right, but it doesn’t…” “Alright, that’s enough. Who are you, really?” You spout, not finding any sense in this, well, in this nonsense. You take a step forward, and they take two steps back. In your fugue, you’d forgotten to consider that the person in front of you also felt cornered. Felt like running. Looked like they were about to sprint, even. “Look, I… I think I shouldn’t be here anyway, so, uhhh…” “Oh no, you don’t.” You grab their arm in an attempt to @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ [[=]] ##C48EFB\|Sammie?## [[/=]] @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ “##d6b75a\|God dammit##.” [[>]] “##47EB99\|Ow, what the-##” [[/>]] @@ @@ To be fair, you really should have seen that coming. This time the shock was stronger; it was more than static, now this really felt like touching a live wire, something coursing through your brain, through your veins, through your nerves. You had been hijacked, like a cheap SUV. You didn’t like that. You didn’t like that one bit. “Seriously, what the fuck is up with that…” The guy muttered, holding their head with a hand, clenching their teeth hard enough where you could hear them being ground from where you stood. It is only then that you notice the animal ears protruding from the top of their head, and the raccoon-like tail sprouting from behind. Had that always been there? If so, //how did you miss that?// “Ugh, my… Head?…” Head of Security muttered, moving their hand away from their head, only now noticing blood coming out of their nose. “Oh, that… That can’t be good.” You were about to ask something else, something about if they were okay, about what the hell was up with the animal features, about ‘seriously, who the hell are you’, but instead, you felt something click within your head. This had nothing to do with the shocks before, nothing to do with the mind-space. Instead, it was nothing but the sound of a lightbulb turning on. About something you just remembered was another effect of this ##Eb47a7\|VEILBURST## bullcrap. “Have you been getting headaches lately?” You asked, most of your worries defusing as the situation finally turned away from pure clusterfuck, and towards your field of expertise. “Uh… Y-yeah?...” Head of Security replied, pulling out a handkerchief to clean off the blood dripping from their nose. It didn’t seem like it’d stop anytime soon. “... God, is the spider infecting me? Is this what a mind parasite feels like?” //No, it’s much worse//, you wanted to reply, but instead moved to what really mattered. “How old are you?” “Uh, like, really old?” They winced. Another stinging inside their head. “Why… Why the questioning? Did I catch something bad? I swear, this is the first time I step down here, and I haven’t touched anything that’d-” “I think you had your psychic awakening.” “... Huh?” “It’s not common for older people to awaken psychic powers, but it is still statistically possible to-” “No no no, there’s no way I just-” “But you did. There’s no other explanation.” “Is the spider a normal psychic thing, then? That my spiritual guide or something?” “Stop talking about the spider, xe has nothing to do with anything.” You stop. “I think.” “You think? What’s that supposed to mean?” They stopped as well. “//Who is that spider then?//” “Look, what matters is that you know what’s been wrong with you for… How long have you had the headaches? Since the Veil fell?” [[>]] “Since the Veil fell-” [[/>]] “That’s what I thought. Yeah, it’s most likely some sort of awakening. Guess interacting with another psychic made something within your body snap into place.” “... Aight, what do I do with that information then? Am I gonna short circuit every time I touch another being now?” “I’m… I’m not sure, actually. It’s different for each person, you see.” Head of Security sighed, looking over their handkerchief, more blood than cloth at this point. “Can’t you do anything? Some sort of… I dunno, psyche-lock? Some sort of gyas?” “Geas. And…” You considered it. Should you help them? “I guess I could. I think someone else would be better prepared for this; I’m not someone who’s trained with preparing geas or any special injunction of that kind. I think it’d be better to deal with this through the proper channels, but I could at least help assuage some of the…” You looked at the blood staining their clothes. “... some of the most worrying side-effects.” The guy smiled from ear to ear, and even their tail began swaying, a rather canine way of expressing their feeling. “Oh that’d- That’d be great yeah!” You soon learnt this ‘Head of Security’ person was very expressive, and very sudden to change in that expressiveness. Not bipolar, by any means, but you wouldn’t blame people for using such an adjective on them. You also learnt they were very physical in that expressiveness; as soon as you agreed to help by what you believed was ‘the bare minimum’, they moved in to thank you with a handshake and [[<]] “##d6b75a\|Wait, don’t-##” [[/<]] @@@@ [[>]] “##47EB99\|Oh fuck-##” [[/>]] @@@@ This was gonna be a long day, huh? [[/div]] @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ [[size 270%]] = ##d6b75a\|猫## [[/size]] @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ [[div class="indented"]] Your name is ##C48EFB\|CELESTE##, and you were having an extremely interesting week. Yes, ‘interesting’ was an apt word for it. You didn’t mean this in a negative way, of course. Far from it, these past few days were, without exaggeration, one of the best weeks of your life. Maybe not of your entire life, but it was still monumental in scope. When you are deconstructed into stardust, and are left floating through the infinite, broken threads of the multiverse (Multiverse [[[inner-space\| wasn’t quite the right word for it.]]]), a shared moment of bliss like this is not something you’d consider anything less than one of the most memorable bits of the history you called your own. This moment of bliss, of course, was in reference to Sammie, a human being from a world not unlike yours — And yet, it was so different. So unique and special, in its own mundane ways — that reminded you of… Of something special, something you couldn’t quite place words on. Something lived once, and never again. Until now. You were content with the connection you had made with Sammie, and none of what could happen in the future, whether near or distant, would change this, but you feared that you weren’t enough. Now, you didn’t mean this in that you were incompetent in any manner. You felt very adequate; very ‘in place’ despite the very obvious displacement you were going through, but you couldn’t be there all the time. You weren’t strong enough to become anything more than a passing thought when Sammie wasn’t checking up on you, which… Which was normal for others, of course, but you couldn’t help but worry about her. She seemed lonely, afflicted with the kind of institutionalized loneliness you’d been familiar with, in another plane; another life. The kind that didn’t seem so foreign, because everyone around you suffered from it. Maybe to a lesser degree, but it was there, taking hold of your life, chipping at it, slowly, quietly. It wasn’t gonna be the end of the world, but when you could only see the world, feel reality through the eyes of a single person, there was not a lot of sentiments you could express other than longing. Other than worry. Which is why you were as excited as you were concerned when another voice joined yours and hers, an odd ##47EB99\|oobleck## of an entity ripping the psycho-reality you called home and staring right into your four pairs of eyes. Was this person a friendly neighbor, showing their presence, or an assailant, willing to rob and destroy what little you still possessed? A few hours later, you were glad to see the latter was not the case: Sammie appeared to have made a friend. [[/div]] @@ @@ [[div class="narration"]] ##d6b75a\|You understand?## @@ @@ @@ @@ ##47EB99\|I… Sort of get it, I think? God, how do you orient yourself here?## @@ @@ @@ @@ ##d6b75a\|I just told you.## @@ @@ @@ @@ ##47EB99\|I’m so sorry, but you must understand ‘telling me something’ isn’t the same as ‘actually getting me to do it’. This whole exercise is proof of it… God, how many dimensions are we working with here?## @@ @@ @@ @@ ##d6b75a\|I don’t believe that matters.## @@ @@ @@ @@ ##47EB99\|There’s no way that’s true. That is quite literally the most important part of any hypno-space exploration.## @@ @@ @@ @@ ##d6b75a\|Yeah, but it’ll work against you, to focus on the concrete parts of this plane, rather than the fluidity of it.## @@ @@ @@ @@ ##47EB99\|You can just tell me you don’t feel like explaining, you know? I can take it.## @@ @@ @@ @@ ##d6b75a\|Oh my fucking- Look, I’m the psionics specialist here, so if you don’t believe me-## @@ @@ @@ @@ ##47EB99\|I am in charge of approving them!!!## @@ @@ @@ @@ ##d6b75a\|Please stop yelling… It’s so much worse here than in the physical world…## @@ @@ @@ @@ ##47EB99\|I don’t know how to control my voice here! I don’t even have a voice!## @@ @@ @@ @@ [[size 150%]] = QUIET DOWN [[/size]] @@ @@ @@ @@ ##47EB99\|Ow, what the- No need to yell, geez!## [[/div]] [[div class="indented"]] Friendship was so nice to see, especially while it nurtures. You held a vast amount of knowledge. It was only natural for you, who had observed them for this long, to understand their culture; the collection of loosely tied pieces they called civilization. And yet, it was this idea of friendship that always eluded you. There was nothing particularly arcane about it; you simply weren’t good with social cues, having preferred your work and your accomplishments over any sort of interpersonal relation. This wasn’t out of mere neglect; you had been hurt before, and, at the time, you weren’t ready to try again. Now, things were different. You’d be ready. [[/div]] @@ @@ @@ @@ [[>]] ##47EB99\|So is xe gonna stare at us the whole time we’re doing this or…## [[/>]] @@ @@ @@ @@ Huh? @@ @@ @@ @@ ##d6b75a\|Wait, who do you mean? Celeste?## @@ @@ ##47EB99\|Yeah?...## @@ @@ @@ @@ ##d6b75a\|You can see xer?## = ##C48EFB\|You can see me?## @@ @@ @@ @@ ##47EB99\|Wa-was I not supposed to?## @@ @@ ##d6b75a\|I… I don’t think so? I haven’t made contact with xer so it’s… What the hell is up with you, for real.## @@ @@ = ##C48EFB\|Sorry, I didn’t realize I was being perceived. Allow me to introduce myself, then.## @@ @@ [[div class="indented"]] This was certainly an odd predicament. Not that you understood much about how humans interpreted telepathics; still, you weren’t expecting, nor wished to intervene in Sammie’s class. Alas, xe wouldn’t be as uncouth as to not introduce xerself to a guest. With a smile, xe gave the new visit xer name. [[/div]] @@ @@ [[div class="narration"]] ##C48EFB\|My name is Celeste, as you are already aware. A pleasure.## @@ @@ @@ @@ ##47EB99\|Head of Security. I’ve heard a fair amount from Sammie over here## — ##d6b75a\|oh no you don’t get to call me Sammie, weirdo## — ##47EB99\|A pleasure to be meeting you as well.## @@ @@ @@ @@ = //A handshake between the two followed, or the closest to a handshake as a ##47EB99\|raccoon dog## could give a ##C48EFB\|spider##, neither of which had a solid, constant body to call their own.// @@ @@ @@ @@ ##d6b75a\|Wait, you- You just did it.## @@ @@ @@ @@ ##47EB99\|Did what?## @@ @@ @@ @@ ##d6b75a\|You moved your body through the hypno-space. You gave Celeste a handshake.## @@ @@ @@ @@ ##C48EFB\|That they did.## @@ @@ @@ @@ ##47EB99\|That I did…## @@ @@ @@ @@ = //Head of Security stares at their hand. There’s nothing to stare at. They don’t get it.// @@ @@ @@ @@ ##47EB99\|I really don’t get it.## @@ @@ @@ @@ ##d6b75a\|But you’re getting it. That’s the important part. It’s that spontaneity of action, of that ‘act, not think’ that allows you to focus on movement for the mind.## @@ @@ @@ @@ ##47EB99\|... Yeah, no, I still don’t get it.## @@ @@ @@ @@ ##d6b75a\|Of course you don’t.## ##47EB99\|now what’s that supposed to## ##d6b75a\|Look, I don’t have all day so let’s go back to learning. Try to move to your left.## @@ @@ @@ @@ = //They did not move to the left, or anywhere, for that matter. It would take much longer for them to understand the place they were standing at.// = //Yet this was fine, ##C48EFB\|Celeste## thought. Xe hadn’t seen Sammie this active, this motivated since they had met, almost a week back. It was a new facet; one xe didn’t mind seeing more of.// = //Ideally with less ‘having to babysit a soon-to-be-mentalist’. Ideally, in an environment where the two of them could be alone, undisturbed. At peace.// @@ @@ @@ @@ ##47EB99\|You know, I… I can just leave, if you need me to. I mean, I think I can figure that one out, at least.## @@ @@ @@ @@ = //Oh dear. Right. Maybe this was to be pondered upon some other time.// @@ @@ @@ @@ [[=image https://i.imgur.com/V9z5We0.png]] @@ @@ @@ @@ [[/div]] @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ [[size 270%]] = ##C48EFB\|蠨## [[/size]] @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ After the longest fortnight of your life, your feet finally touch the salmon-colored tile floor of Haneda airport. You sigh in relief as you carry your baggage past the lounge, and are quickly met with a familiar face. [[>]] [[size 85%]] "Took you long enough." [[/size]] [[/>]] @@ @@ You turn around, then smile as [[[scp-5620\|Edward]]] approaches. At least someone had your back on this dump of a Site. @@ @@ “God, it really did, didn’t it? Two fucking weeks… God, I’m gonna kill Zesshou.” You jest. Well. If you could kill him, you would, but very important people would get very angry about that. @@ @@ “I think he’s gonna kick the bucket before you get to do anything.” God. You wish. @@ @@ “You say that, but I’ve been waiting for a good ten years for the old fart to keel over and die. It ain’t happening anytime soon.” @@ @@ “Ah well. Hey, least it’s good to see you again.” @@ @@ “Awww, did you miss me?” @@ @@ “Oh yeah, I did miss you alright. Everyone did. Place’s falling apart without you to round up all these chucklefucks.” [[size 70%]]"##e27602\|Course I missed you, you dumbass. This place sucks without you around.##" [[/size]] @@ @@ “What?” @@ @@ “Huh?” [[size 60%]]"##e27602\|Shit, did I say that outloud?##" [[/size]] @@ @@ “N-nothing, don’t- Don’t worry. I just remembered something, is all.” @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ “Alright. Talk to you later, buddy. Take care.” @@ @@ You leave ##e27602\|Edward## to his own devices, then finally decide to pull out your phone, and call one of your newer contacts. @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ “##d6b75a\|Hello?##” @@ @@ “##47EB99\|Yeah? Sammie?##” @@ @@ “##d6b75a\|Oh great… It’s you. What’s up? Did you blow someone’s head off with your mind tricks?##” @@ @@ “##47EB99\|Almost as bad. How do you stop reading people’s minds?##” @@ @@ “##d6b75a\|Oh. Pfft. I dunno. I’m not a mind reader.##” @@ @@ “##47EB99\|Oh come on, you gotta help me here.##” @@ @@ “##d6b75a\|Alright, alright… You’re in Japan already, no?##” @@ @@ “##47EB99\|Yeah.##” @@ @@ “##d6b75a\|I’m so sorry. I lack the jurisdiction to intervene in international matters. I recommend you contact your local psionics department head. Good luck.##” @@ @@ “##47EB99\|Oh no, you don’t-##” @@ @@ “##d6b75a\|You’re not my problem anymore~##” @@ @@ “##47EB99\|Put Celeste on the phone. Xe was so much nicer than-##” @@ @@ “##d6b75a\|Byebye~##” @@ @@ “##47EB99\|Ok, but seriously, what do- Hello? Samara? H-hello?...##” @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ [[size 75%]] “##47EB99\|You gotta be fucking kidding-##”[[/size]] @@ @@ @@ @@ [[div class="indented"]] Your name is ##47EB99\|HEAD OF SECURITY##, and this day wasn’t looking any better. [[/div]] [[/div]] @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ ------ This is a tale for Round 2 of [[[romcon\|Romcon]]], featuring my character, ##47EB99\|Head of Security##, and [[user Lt Flops]]'s character, ##d6b75a\|Samara Maclear##, as well as [[user The_Spider_Queen]]’s character, ##C48EFB\|Director Celeste##, and [[user Tyumen]]’s character, ##e27602\|Edward Nguyen##. For Lt Flops’ take on the trio/quartet, please refer to [TALE TO BE LINKED HERE]* @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ ===== [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] > Filename: 7GyJZU9.png > Author: [[user Maxyfran73]] > License:* CC BY-SA 3.0 > Source: Own work, with text source d from the article below: > Article: Samara: Be the Itsy Bitsy Spider. > Author: [[user Lt Flops]] > License:* CC BY-SA 3.0 > Source: [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/samara-be-the-itsy-bitsy-spider SCP Wiki] ----- > Filename: V9z5We0.png > Author: [[user Maxyfran73]] > License:* CC BY-SA 3.0 > Source: Own Work ===== [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-06-18T22:18:00	[ "_cc", "_licensebox", "romcon2023-unofficial", "samara-maclear", "tale", "w-i-t-c-h" ]	Like Cats and Dogs (and Spiders) - SCP Foundation	19	[ "scp-5620", "raccoon-dog-hunt", "samara-be-the-itsy-bitsy-spider", "inner-space", "romcon", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "romcon" ]	[]	1448523109	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/like-cats-and-dogs-and-spiders
log-of-anomalous-items-vol-v	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <blockquote> <p><strong>Foreword:</strong> The SCP Foundation has discovered a substantial number of items which are simply too useless to merit further attention. This document lists those items which have prompted some curiosity. It may be used as a resource should knowledge of these items become useful or necessary in the future.<br/> – Dr. █████ █████, Head of Research, Site-██</p> </blockquote> <p>This is the fifth volume of the log. Due to the increasing number of items discovered by the Foundation, this list is no longer open to new entries. For ease of archival, <a href="/log-of-anomalous-items">first</a>, <a href="/log-of-anomalous-items-vol-ii">second</a>, <a href="/log-of-anomalous-items-vol-iii">third</a>, and <a href="/log-of-anomalous-items-vol-iv">fourth</a> volumes of this log have been made available, and the <a href="/log-of-anomalous-items-vol-vi">sixth</a> remains open to new additions.</p> <p>Lists of <a href="/log-of-extranormal-events">Extranormal Events</a> and <a href="/log-of-unexplained-locations">Unexplained Locations</a> have also been compiled.</p> <hr/> <div class="floatright" id="toc"> <div id="toc-action-bar"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.foldToc(event)">Fold</a><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.unfoldToc(event)" style="display: none">Unfold</a></div> <div class="title">Table of Contents</div> <div id="toc-list"> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc0">Anomalous Items 1001 - 1010</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc1">Anomalous Items 1011 - 1020</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc2">Anomalous Items 1021 - 1030</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc3">Anomalous Items 1031 - 1040</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc4">Anomalous Items 1041 - 1050</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc5">Anomalous Items 1051 - 1060 (and a shiny red pebble)</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc6">Anomalous Items 1061 - 1070</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc7">Anomalous Items 1071 - 1080</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc8">Anomalous Items 1081 - 1090</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc9">Anomalous Items 1091 - 1100</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc10">Anomalous Items 1101 - 1110</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc11">Anomalous Items 1111 - 1120</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc12">Anomalous Items 1121 - 1130</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc13">Anomalous Items 1131 - 1140</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc14">Anomalous Items 1141 - 1150</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc15">Anomalous Items 1151 - 1160</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc16">Anomalous Items 1161 - 1170</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc17">Anomalous Items 1171 - 1180</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc18">Anomalous Items 1181 - 1190</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc19">Anomalous Items 1191 - 1200</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc20">Anomalous Items 1201 - 1210</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc21">Anomalous Items 1211 - 1220</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc22">Anomalous Items 1221-1230</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc23">Anomalous Items 1231-1240</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc24">Anomalous Items 1241-1250</a></div> </div> </div> <p><em><strong>Note:</strong> Please add new entries to the bottom of the list, not the middle or the top.</em></p> <h3 id="toc0"><span>Anomalous Items 1001 - 1010</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A small gold-covered lego brick resembling a trophy. When placed on an indoor pedestal, all individuals currently in the room will receive a paper plate with a single slice of red velvet cake as a female voice says "Conrad ovulation"<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-1" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-1')">1</a></sup>.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 01/02/2023<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Longyearbyen, Norway<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-I object storage locker at Site-68.<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> <em>And this <span style="text-decoration: underline;">isn't</span> 1000? Why? - Dr. White</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A two-slice Breville brand toaster that doesn't toast bread. Although the heating element is functional, reaching temperatures as high as 160°C, no heat will be transferred to any food product made from flour, regardless of how long it is left within the toaster.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 02/02/2023<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Baltimore, Maryland, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">the break room</span> an object storage locker at Site-98.<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> <em>I experimentally confirmed that it heats up frozen potato waffles just fine. - Dr. MacWarren</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Two rubber allergy bracelets, each depicting an image of a singular egg. When either bracelet is squeezed, one to twelve plastic eggs will fall onto the squeezer's head. after which a monotone disembodied voice will say "Well, that was egg-citing."<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 28/01/2023<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Corfu, Corfu Island, Greece<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-II object storage locker at Site-68. All 165 eggs so far generated have been incinerated.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One character sheet for the fifth edition of Dungeons and Dragons depicting a Dragonborn Paladin named "Rajhil Borganax". Despite this preexisting name, all verbal descriptions of this character are retroactively altered to instead describe a frail reptilian creature called "Lizzie the lizard boy". The only description unaffected is a singular note on the character's voice which describes it as "pretty nasally".<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 30/01/2023<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> █████ Cafe, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a temperature-controlled Size-III object storage locker at Site-35.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One plastic debit card, that when used to purchase any good, displays a negative account balance. The cashier selling the item will always give the user of the card a number of coins equivalent to 2 USD and the item purchased, regardless of whether or not they can afford it. When questioned about it, the cashier claims, "It's the right thing to do." The current balance is <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">-$3482</span> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">-$4103</span> -$4964.<br/> <strong>Date of recovery:</strong> 12/11/2022<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ██████ Apartment complex, Cleveland, Ohio, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-I object storage locker at Site-58.<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> <em>Stop conducting "Tests" with this, Mick, you're not fooling anyone. - Dr. Gilson</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> 74 strands of linguine spaghetti that elongate indefinitely when exposed to boiling water. Spaghetti produced this way is edible and widely regarded to be pleasant.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 01/12/2022<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Le ███████, Sicily, Italy.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Stored in the Site-11 break room in the refrigerator, staff are permitted to boil them as long as they cut off a portion for the next person.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A single ballpoint pen that, when used, produces cryptic symbols of unknown nature or dialect, regardless of the individual's intended writing. Attempts to translate have been unsuccessful.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 02/11/2022<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> British Museum Break Room █, England.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Transferred to Item Storage Locker #367 in Site-44 under Level 2 clearance. Staff below designated clearance are not permitted to use the item or translate text unless authorized.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A bag of ███████████ brand cat food that, when consumed by any <em>Felis catus</em> (domestic cat), causes the cat to be transformed into a <em>Canis lupus familiaris</em> (domestic dog) that is similar in appearance, and exhibits normal feline behaviors.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 05-02-2007<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Junior Researcher █████'s home.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Contained at Storage Site-82.<br/> <em>Notes: I hate dogs, but I love my cat. What the hell am I supposed to do? - Junior Researcher █████</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A nondescript analogue wall clock that causes observers to immediately forget about the existence of Daylight Savings Time. This effect fades gradually over 10 minutes when not viewing the clock, but can be immediately broken if the viewer is reminded of Daylight Savings Time.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 15/01/2023<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> On the wall in an office building, Columbus, OH<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> An SCP document tape, that, when viewed, causes extreme déjà vu in the viewer. Tape is shown below<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-2" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-2')">2</a></sup>:</p> <div class="tape-wrap"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">PLAY</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">RELOAD</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <div class="tape-record"> <p><span class="record r1"><em>jBJJIGVJeuf8 ;czzG eA</em><br/> <em>BOVJiovh CZJHVIGH X</em><br/> <em>JK/lsvsjsml.lC>Avkvlvlkzx</em></span><br/> <span class="record r2"><em>CMZozmsjauqj ilj,ck.n.ua<do</em><br/> <em>XOFvj;lxxxjhm;; XKKS,AX:Oj0em;</em></span><br/> <span class="record r3"><em>GJOLSH:AAMmklhghloCLKGB,klvk,zhm Sf</em><br/> <em>JFOLAXu(owlioyxrx9mpmxkkfeGVDVJKJCBsk pd;</em></span></p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 8/5/2023<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A thrift store in ███████, New York.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Kept in Archive 47. <h3 id="toc1"><span>Anomalous Items 1011 - 1020</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A possibly immortal <em>Marmota monax</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-3" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-3')">3</a></sup>. The specimen displays both extreme prescience regarding the events of the current day, and has to date survived 41 likely fatal events, many self-caused, mostly via highly contrived and unlikely methods.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 02/02/2023<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Woodstock, Illinois, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in specialized containment at Site-25. As of ██/██/2023, ██ breaches have occurred, of which ██ were conducted to obtain additional food from nearby containment units.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">29</span> 18 chocolate chip cookies, only destructible via human consumption. When one cookie is wholly eaten by a circumcised individual, their foreskin will instantaneously regenerate. No effect is present in uncircumcised individuals.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 04/02/2023<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> [REDACTED], Havre de Grace, Maryland, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in long-term storage at Site-68.<br/> <strong>Notes:</strong> Personnel are reminded that the medicinal use of unapproved anomalies in limited supply is strictly prohibited by the Foundation Medicinal Code of Conduct (Iteration #76), Greater Anomanomanomicon, and dadovision accords (circle 2034).</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich made on pumpernickel bread. Any attempt to consume the object will be interrupted, leaving the item intact. The method by which the consumption of the object is inhibited varies significantly, though it is almost always unrelated to the sandwich itself.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 11/03/1998<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Tony's Sandwich Emporium, Los Angeles, California, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Kept in a small anomalous storage unit at Site-152.<br/> <strong>Notes:</strong> Further testing on the object prohibited following the death of Dr. Albert Madison.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A plastic spray bottle. When filled with water and sprayed at a human, 15 to 40 liters of ice water will manifest above said human before demanifesting 5 seconds later. Notably, absorbed water will not demanifest, leaving the affected's clothes soaked.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 05/02/2023<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ███████ Pet Store, Lowell, Massachusetts, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-54 for fluid mechanics research.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A case of <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">50</span> 49 rounds of 124-grain 9mm Luger Ammunition. Upon striking a solid surface, the bullets will detonate with over ██-kilotons of energy, and produce radioactive particle and fallout from an unknown source.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 04/02/2022<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ███████ Gun Store, Wichita Falls, Texas<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held within maximum security radioactive materials storage at Area-99.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A 1992 Super Soaker 50 water gun, which has the unnatural property of transmuting all liquids placed inside into chemically pure citric acid.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 09/19/2005<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ██████████, Virginia<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held within standard object containment at Site-88. This object is permanently banned from the Annual Foundation Field Day Water Balloon Fight.<br/> <strong>Notes:</strong> <em>Fuck you, Steve. - Dr. █████</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A CD copy of "Free" by Rick Astley. Once per play, the song "Never Gonna Give You Up" is inserted between two random tracks.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 01/01/2019<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> [REDACTED] Record Shop, Texas.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In Site-17's breakroom.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A single bright blue "Worm on A String" toy. When attempted to be moved by its string, the item will scream the words "WORM OFF THE STRING, WHAT CRIMES WILL THEY COMMIT?!".<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 10/█/20██<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Shelves of the popular general store, W███████<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.<br/> <strong>Notes:</strong> <em>No crimes have been reported featuring this object. The worm has not committed crimes, and its string is still intact. Stop asking.</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> An ectoentropic organism resembling a wooden baseball bat that will produce growths identical to metal nails in varying sizes on its 'barrel', generating between 4 and 5 nails in the span of an hour, without any visible consumption of matter on energy beforehand.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> ██/█/202█<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ██████, Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Currently monitored at Site-80.<br/> <strong>Notes:</strong> <em>Ha! I get it, it's an anagram.</em></p> <p><strong>item description:</strong> a large sign with the letter "u" on it. when talked about, all words are not properly capitalized.<br/> <strong>date of recovery:</strong> ██/█/████<br/> <strong>location of recovery:</strong> ███████, ████████, washington<br/> <strong>current status:</strong> in storage at site-██</p> <h3 id="toc2"><span>Anomalous Items 1021 - 1030</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A dark green collapsible umbrella. When opened, droplets of water will fall from its underside. The upper side is printed "Un-Brella".<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> ██/█/██04<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ████, ███ ██████, United States<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage at Site-██</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A refillable fountain pen, not apparently unusual. Anything written by the pen can only be read between sunset and sunrise; at all other times, the writing will appear as meaningless gibberish regardless of what was written.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1/9/2023<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Found on a park bench in Cincinnati, OH<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Orange plastic whistle, visually similar to several brands of safety whistle. When blown, the item produces no sound, but human subjects within hearing range react as if it had. What causes this effect is not known.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1/15/2023<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Rochester, NY<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A crashed disc-shaped spacecraft measuring roughly 10 meters in diameter. The craft is primarily composed of a steel paralloy<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-4" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-4')">4</a></sup> capable of withstanding █.██x10<sup>██</sup> newtons of force without deformation. The craft is capable of emitting a high-frequency pulse capable of destabilizing structures within a range of 50 meters. Found at the crash site were the bodies of two adults of indeterminate African ethnicity, one male, the other female, believed to be the only crew. Also discovered within the ship were [REDACTED].<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> ██/██/████<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> [REDACTED]<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Currently under study by the Department of Tactical Theology, Dianetic Division, at Area-27.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A plastic container of 'Mermaid Green' hair dye that possesses mutagenic properties capable of permanently altering the user's natural hair color.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2/12/2023<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Inadvertently created through [REDACTED] testing.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Contained within Site-19. Personnel use pending.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A plastic figurine of the fictional character of Norville "Shaggy" Rogers as he is depicted in the animated children's TV show <em>Shaggy & Scooby Doo Get a Clue!</em> (2006-08)<br/> The figurine possesses an info-alterative effect resulting in the misspelling of any name referring to an individual living entity, as listed in its documentation, with the exception of the names of 'Shaggy' and 'Scooby Doo'.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> ██/██/20██<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Found in a thrift shop in ███████ ████, California.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Contained within MAST storage, Site-88.<br/> <strong>Notes:</strong> <em>"Well, I for one, never liked that show."</em> - Dr. Snorkelface<br/> <em>"Shut up, it's funny, and you know it is."</em> - Dr. Toenailcramp</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> An abnormal production batch of █'█████ brand "No Tears" shampoo. When administered into the eyes of a living organism capable of feeling emotion, the brain's neurotransmitters related to negative emotion cease functionality for a duration of 24 hours.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 12/21/2016<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> █████ █████████<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> [REDACTED]</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A sealed stone sarcophagus dated to the year ██████████ B██ plated in a thin layer of metal bearing similar composition and properties to <a href="/scp-148">SCP-148</a> despite predating it by ████████ ██ █████. The sound of humanoid moaning has been reported coming from inside the sarcophagus, though these accounts have not been proven.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 7-27-1892<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ████████, Siberia<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Tentatively contained within vegetative humanoid containment at</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A small, irregularly shaped chunk of limestone which can only be held by someone with naturally red hair. All others will drop the rock within seconds, generally through random but not overly unlikely events.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1/31/2023<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Abandoned office building in Detroit, MI<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A copy of the board game "Othello" in which the colours of the pieces are different for every observer. Chemical analysis of the pieces reveal they are made of seemingly ordinary plastic<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2/2/2023<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Stoke On Trent, England<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In Site-35 Break Room</p> <h3 id="toc3"><span>Anomalous Items 1031 - 1040</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> It's this sort of stuffed animal, like maybe a teddy bear or something.<br/> It makes people talk about it, like really vaguely and non-clinically, you know?<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> Sometime in winter, maybe '92 or '93, we think.<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> This guy's apartment, up in Montana somewhere, maybe.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Don't know, really. I think it's still in that storage locker in Site-42, right guys?<br/> <strong>Notes</strong> <em>I think it's probably antimemetic or something.</em> -Researcher Robert Boyd</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A polymorphic anti-materiel rifle. Item will periodically transform into a .50 BMG caliber anti-materiel rifle on a component level. Forms taken include the Accuracy International AW-50, the ArmaLite AR-50, the Barrett M82, and the Pauza P50. Transformation will always result in a fully assembled rifle.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1/24/23<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Brazil, Jackson County, Kentucky<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Currently on loan to MTF Lambda-9 ("Big Fucking Guns")</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A 35cm hickory ball-peen hammer which is partially intangible, becoming so at the midpoint of the handle, but maintains its normal weight as if it were whole.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 11-9-2021<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Lowe's Home Improvement, ██████, Texas.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Contained at Site-19</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A Kodak Easyshare model digital camera. Anyone but its current owner who attempts to pick up the item without express permission (written or verbal) will discover that they have not actually done so, despite (often) having memories to the contrary. What causes this effect and how it manifests are currently unknown.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 12/22/2022<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Left to Researcher Hernandez, as an inheritance by a relative.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Being tested, with the permission of Researcher Hernandez.<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> <em>Researcher Hernandez was interviewed regarding the item, and does not recall the item having its anomalous property in the past. She does remember the relative being insistent on not touching other people's things without permission, but it is unknown whether this has any relation to the anomaly. This seems to have been the case as far back as she can remember.</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A jade hairpin. Any subject who comes into ownership of the hairpin will claim that it has always been in their possession.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> Inapplicable.<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Inapplicable.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage at Site-██, where it has always been.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A pillow that, when laid upon, will cause the person who laid upon it to fall asleep for 5 minutes, before waking up and feeling completely rejuvenated of any and all ailments they may have, including mental ailments and causing the brain to produce a large amount of serotonin. The words "Powernap" are woven into wool on the bottom of the pillow.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 12/6/04<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A defunct Gallery furniture in ████, Texas<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">In Senior Researcher Simmons's office</span>In the site-██ break room<br/> <strong>Notes</strong>: <em>How come he gets to have it? It should be in the break room for the department to share… - Researcher Phillips</em><br/> <em><span style="text-decoration: underline;">An audio file of snoring […]</span> - Senior Researcher Simmons</em><br/> <em>Due to discord among staff, it has been decided that anomalous item-1035 is to reside in the site-██ break room. -Site Director Hernandez</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A dark green Raincoat that when worn, causes the wearer to become saturated with water.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> ████/12/12<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ████,████, United States<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> —] Currently in storage locker BE-77 in Site-████<br/> <strong>Notes</strong>: <em>First an "Un-Brella", and now this? All we need is boots and we've collected the whole set! - Senior Researcher Simmons</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A dark green set of rubbery rainboots that when worn, cause the feet of the wearer to be soaked, with pools of water forming at the hole where the feet are inserted.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong>06/01/23<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ████,████ United States<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Currently in storage locker BE-78 in Site-████<br/> <strong>notes</strong> <em>No fucking way. - Senior Researcher Simmons</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Action Figures of Dr. Harold R Blank, Dr. Daniel Asheworth, Emma, Sarah Colleart, Dr. Cole Thereven, Greg Albsernester, the Rounderpede, and multiple other plastic-made Foundation Scientists, who all form into a circle and play, from an interior music box, "Don't Fear The Reaper" by Blue Oyster Cult. Anyone near the event would feel a mixed amount of variant feelings.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> Winter, 201X<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Dr. Reagan's Helix Workshop, Chicago, Illinois.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Reagan's Helix Display Shelf, Next to anomalous Weaponry 38-LA "Double Phoenix" and Anomalous Weaponry 39-LA "Capone's Carnage."<br/> <strong>Notes:</strong> <em>What the fuck, Reagan?</em> - Multiple aforementioned people.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A cross made out of 99.99% pure silver, on an equally pure silver chain. Both are indestructible and warm to the touch. When worn, the wearer will feel something unanimously referred to as the Holy Spirit watching over them. The wearer may no longer experience nightmares and gains a higher tolerance of approximately +35.0 CR to cognitohazards and audiohazards. Kind prayers made regarding friends and family have a higher probability of coming true, and events that have widely been considered lucky are more common to the wearer. Trace amounts of Akiva Radiation have been sourced from this item, and reports of a robed entity floating above Senior Researcher Simmons have been reported and attributed to this anomaly.<br/> <strong>Date of recovery:</strong> 07/07/2007<br/> <strong>Location of recovery:</strong> A field near Jerusalem, on top of a burial mound.<br/> <strong>Current status:</strong> On Senior Researcher Simmons's neck.<br/> <strong>Notes:</strong><br/> <em>This is getting ridiculous. Who is granting him clearance to have personal access to all of these anomalous items? - Researcher Phillips</em><br/> <em>I'll pray about it and get back to you, Jon. - Senior Researcher Simmons</em></p> <h3 id="toc4"><span>Anomalous Items 1041 - 1050</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Anomalous object is a toilet that causes whoever uses it to be instantly transported to an alternate universe, in which one can carry out their duties in private. Once they are done they are teleported back to where the toilet once was.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 02/08/16<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ████, Arkansas<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Currently utilized in the men's washroom in Site-████</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Item is a mockingbird, that when on someone or something that can make sound, will open its mouth and cause the sounds of the "host" to come from the mouth of the bird.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> ████/██/07<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ████, Canada<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Currently kept in an Aviary in Site-██</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A white metal water bottle that is 1 foot tall, 3.7 inches wide, and can hold 34oz of liquid inside of it. Any liquid poured inside will be instantly transformed into "████'s Hiking Juice!"<br/> The new liquid has a soupy texture and seems to be made primarily out of milk with hints of sugar, an unidentified sweet cream, and a 50% quantity of SCP-████. Contents are always warm, and extremely nutritious.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 11/11/09<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Yellowstone National Park, Montana.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A cat ears headband that when worn, causes twinkling lights to manifest at random intervals within a 1m radius of the wearer.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 09/08/2021<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Las Pinas, Luzon.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.<br/> <strong>Notes:</strong> <em>Please stop. It's annoying. - Professor Tungsten B. Moscovium</em><br/> <em>It's research based. - Junior Researcher Ana G. Juli</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A set of dentures that, when worn, cause the wearer to speak fluent Mandarin Chinese, regardless of whether or not they actually know the language.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> ██-██-20██<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ███████, China<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Housed in a secure locker at Site-██.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A Hi-Point handgun chambered in .40 S&W that exerts a tactile cognitoalterative effect on those who hold it, resulting in the belief that it is a Glock pattern handgun.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2-14-2016<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ███████, in possession of an individual by the name of █████ ██████ ████████<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Housed in Site-154, Baltimore.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Skein of pale green wool yarn. Information present with the yarn indicates that it was produced by the Limitless Sky Company, which has not been found to exist. Item has a cognitohazardous effect causing viewers to believe it is actually some form of cooked pasta (typically spaghetti or fettucini) and attempt to consume it. The effect is purely visual and does not change the taste or the texture of the item.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 3/2/23<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Recovered in a raid on the home of a suspected member of GoI-276 "Are We Cool Yet?"<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Gold pocket watch with chain. The lid and case are decorated with a scene of the Tower of London. Engraving indicates that the item was manufactured by Delbert and Sons, The "Finest Watchmakers in St. Ives", in the year 1882 CE. No such company is known to have existed anywhere in England at any point in history. Also of note is that the internal mechanism is that of a modern atomic clock rather than the clockwork mechanisms used in that era. Beyond the impossibility of its existence, the item has no anomalous properties.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2/22/2022<br/> <strong>Location of Discovery:</strong> An antique shop in Chicago, IL<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Item is a butter knife that has the memetic compulsion to cause people to try to unknowingly stab their own eyes out. however, this only affects people who have consciously used butter knives in the last 24 hours<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 28/02/2023<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A casino kitchen in Tulsa, Oklahoma.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Secured in storage at Site-██.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Item is a M60 machine gun that can accept any form of ammunition, but the person firing only feels the recoil as if they were firing 7.62x54mmR rounds.<br/> <strong>Date of recovery:</strong>03/03/2022<br/> <strong>Location Of Recovery:</strong> A war history museum in Boise, Idaho.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In a secure gun safe in Site-██</p> <h3 id="toc5"><span>Anomalous Items 1051 - 1060 (and a shiny red pebble)</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Small blue ceramic plate, visually identical to many commercially available varieties. Whenever a human subject utters some variation of the phrase "I wish I had a cookie," in any language, a cookie manifests on the plate. Cookies produced in this way are safe for consumption and often described as "delicious." If the subject wishes for a specific type of cookie, one will be produced. If no preference is stated, the plate will produce a chocolate chip cookie.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 10/3/2023<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> The kitchen of a bakery in Tulsa, Oklahoma.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In the Site-19 break room, available for use by all personnel.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Small glass medallion with no features of note. When held for longer than 5 minutes, the holder will believe themselves to be an omniscient, omnipotent entity. Holders are not different in any way, nor do they gain any reality bending properties. Upon release of the object, these beliefs fade.<br/> <strong>Date of recovery:</strong>03/13/2023<br/> <strong>Location Of Recovery:</strong> The house of Joseph ████████████.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> The original papyrus codex hosting the Gospel of Mary. Reading through summons <em>the</em> primary Abrahamic deity. Interacting with this deity results in physical alteration into a biblical angel.<br/> <strong>Date of recovery:</strong> 06/14/2019<br/> <strong>Location Of Recovery:</strong> Delivered personally to Site-17 by civilian private investigator Argent Holister.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In Site-17 Archival Storage.<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> <em>Formerly an SCP object, demoted to Anomalous Item on account of the ease of containment and no other events of interest concerning this item. - Dr. Fern</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A ██████ brand backpack. Can only store items placed on the packing list for █████████ Middle School, all items not on the list will be randomly teleported to a location within 5 meters of the backpack after being placed within it.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 08/06/2019<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> In the home of █████ ███████████, a student at █████████ Middle School.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A chef's hat that causes whoever wears it to act like the Swedish Chef, a character of a musical ensemble known as The Muppets. The effect wears off after the hat is taken off, but subjects feel the desire to become chefs and sing in gibberish while they cook food.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 07/09/11<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ████████ Junior High in █████, Alabama<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Small red plastic lid, suitable for a similarly-sized container. When any words which could be considered unsuitable for children are uttered within earshot of the item, a loud beep is produced from an unknown source, completely drowning out the objectionable word or words. This has occurred with all languages tested thus far.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 13/3/2023<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Found at a garage sale in Indiana<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Item is a sign that reads "shoo" (sic) and it causes people who see the sign to immediately turn around and walk in the opposite direction.<br/> <strong>Date Of Recovery:</strong> 12/3/2023<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Found in a office building in Little Rock, Arkansas.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage, covered with a blanket.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A polished egg-shaped red stone roughly 3 millimeters in diameter and 4mm in length. Item has the peculiar infoalterative property of inserting the specific mention of itself onto the name of any list of plural items in which mention of it is contained, so as to other itself from all other entries listed with it. As of 3/20/23, the title of this log has been successfully protected from the infoalterative effect through [REDACTED].<br/> <strong>Date Of Recovery:</strong> 2/10/2010<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Discovered through an altered document regarding the composition of the geological makeup of <em>Sacrifice Cliff (and a shiny red pebble)</em>, Montana.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In anomalous items (and shiny red pebbles) storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A glass bowl filled with <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">500</span> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">400</span> 375 mL of water. Neither water nor any other liquid can be added to the bowl due to a 1-way invisible barrier than only allows liquid to leave the area of the bowl. When approximately 6mL of the water from the bowl is placed on the body of a human, they will no longer be able to sustain any belief in a deity or higher being.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 05/02/2023<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Found during a house raid on ████ ██████, an outspoken atheist known for their extremely convincing speeches against any form of higher being.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Undergoing further testing, currently being considered for use by Site-██.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A pair of American flintlock dueling pistols, each outfitted with octagonal barrels, chambered in .56-inch (14mm) caliber lead ball. The barrels are 10 inches (250mm) long and have a spur near the trigger guard. Anomalous properties manifest when they are placed within 1 foot of each other, the 2 closest humans relative to the pistols will do everything in their power to obtain one of the pistols and eliminate the other. Subjects do not appear to be capable of running out of ammo, as extra bullets will manifesting in pockets or sleeves. When a victor is found, the process repeats until they are placed apart from each other.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 02/01/2023<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> An antique shop in ██████, Georgia, following the deaths of ██ people.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In anomalous items storage.</p> <h3 id="toc6"><span>Anomalous Items 1061 - 1070</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A scroll with the words "Pwerful scrull of helth" (sic) written at the top, the scroll is composed of pronounceable gibberish, and whenever read can heal anyone in the immediate vicinity of any and all wounds. However, this significantly weakens the immune system of those healed for roughly 24 hours.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 06/02/2023<br/> <strong>Location of recovery:</strong> A games store in Vilonia, Arkansas.<br/> <strong>Current status:</strong> In anomalous items storage.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Threat ID:</strong></span> KTE-1062-Ego-Helmholtz-Staplemorph<br/> <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Authorized Response Level:</strong></span> 0 (No Threat)<br/> <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Description:</strong></span> LTE-1062 is a memetic phenomenon revolving around a banana (<em>Musa acuminata</em>) 191 millimeters in length weighting 126 grams (hereafter referred to as subject,) which is presently in a state of complete biodegradation as of the year 2014. All documentation regarding the subject is written so as to mirror Global Occult Coalition standard anomaly documentation and diction, as well as being incapable to write information not already known to the Coalition, despite the anomaly presently being contained by the Foundation (KTO-███-Kewpie). All attempts at the conscious description of the subject in any other format have failed, additionally resulting in reports of dizziness, lightheadedness, and nausea persisting for hours after the attempt.<br/> <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Rules of Engagement:</strong></span> Due to the memetic effect in question ceasing to fade upon the decomposition of the subject, KTE-1062 is believed to be an illiquidatable threat entity. It must therefor be contained through the restriction of information regarding the anomaly from the public.<br/> <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>History:</strong></span> On December 10th, 2011, KTE-1062 phenomenon's subject was first traced to a market in Pyeongchang, South Korea. A Foundation "MTF Team" was tasked with the retrieval of the anomaly. The subject is presently stored at an unknown location.</p> <p><strong>ITEM DESCRIPTION:</strong> A BADGE FOR A POLICE OFFICER DATED 1977 FOR THE MONTGOMERY POLICE DEPARTMENT THAT CAUSES DESCRIPTIONS OF IT TO BE FULLY CAPITALIZED AND END WITH EXCLAMATION MARKS! EFFECT ALSO CAUSES SPOKEN DESCRIPTIONS OF IT TO BE YELLED BY SUBJECTS. IF HELD THE USER WILL BECOME ABNORMALLY VIOLENT, ANGRY AND A SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED PAIN TOLERANCE!<br/> <strong>DATE OF RECOVERY:</strong> 01/26/23<br/> <strong>LOCATION OF RECOVERY:</strong> MONTGOMERY POLICE HEADQUARTERS!<br/> <strong>CURRENT STATUS:</strong> IN AN ANOMALOUS CONTAINMENT LOCKER! LEVEL 3 ACCESS REQUIRED!</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Item is a songbook with the author and publisher scratched out. upon opening the book the reader's favorite song will be shown with proper readings for a music piece, upon attempting to sing the song, a users voice will be anomalously tuned and altered to sound properly.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 06/24/2023<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A music store in Chicago, Illinois.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A black plastic sphere and attached length of rope resembling a cartoon bomb. When thrown with sufficient force, all nearby objects and entities it impacts will appear dark until line of sight is broken. Furthermore, the thrower gains perfect knowledge of the current contents of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principle_of_explosion">the Wikipedia page for the Principle of Explosion</a>.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-03-27<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ████████ ████████ Museum, Tripoli, Libya<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-300.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A ███████-brand microwave that will turn any food item inside it into popcorn upon being microwaved for at least 120 seconds. Item does not appear to affect non-food items such as bowls or plates. Popcorn does not burn regardless of the amount of time inserted. Popcorn discovered to be non-anomalous upon testing, although it has been reported to be of higher quality than usual, almost to an addicting degree, according to testers. Popcorn in any form turns into [REDACTED] when microwaved using this item.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 12/04/2015<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A home in Los Angeles, California, USA.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.<br/> <strong>Notes:</strong> <em>Under no circumstances is popcorn to be microwaved using this item.</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A paper postcard, on it is a printed photograph depicting two green-skinned bipedal lifeforms wearing floral shirts and bucket hats. They are holding hands with one another, one is displaying a "peace sign" on its left hand. They are standing in a desert environment, a disc-shaped object can be seen in the distance behind them. Item offers <span style="text-decoration: underline;">definitive</span> proof of extraterrestrial life, and therefore <span style="text-decoration: underline;">must</span> be kept from the public.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 7-14-1999<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> "█████, ████████", a gift shop in Roswell, New Mexico.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Contained within Size-I inanimate object storage, Site-291.<br/> <strong>Notes:</strong> <em>"Look, Jerry, I know it's your first day, it's just… I suggest you might want to put a bit more scrutiny on this one. A bit more… Critical thinking." - Dr. Totengrab</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A box of unbranded sugar cookies that, when eaten, effectively removes the consumer's sense of taste for <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">24</span> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">48</span> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">72 hours</span> a currently undetermined amount of time.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 4/1/2023<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Undergoing testing by Foundation researcher Samuel Bennings.<br/> <strong>Notes:</strong> <em>I'm going to flip my shit if this lasts forever.</em> - Senior Researcher Sam Bennings<br/> <em>Have you tried eating another one? - Dr. Jenkins</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A Virginia Opossum (<em>Didelphis virginiana</em>) skull that when held or placed on a person, causes the holder to notice more Opossums in their daily lives. The population of Opossums in the area has increased, even if the area is inhospitable for them. Opossums have been found to be docile for those who are in possession of the skull. After a subject loses possession of the skull, all effects cease.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2/11/23<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A home located in ██████, Virginia.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A black capsule pill filled with an unknown substance. Chemical analysis yielded no usable data. Upon ingestion, a D-class human test subject died within 5 seconds, due to cessation of the heart. No traces of the pill were found in the body.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 4/14/23<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Obtained from a container on the body of a Chaos Insurgency operative killed in the Maldives.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Consumed in testing. Existence of other instances unknown.</p> <h3 id="toc7"><span>Anomalous Items 1071 - 1080</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> JPG file of a bespectacled elderly man wearing a cream shirt holding up an unfolded Swiss Army knife, taken in a dark unknown location. The item instills an anomalous sense of unease in its viewers, in particular SCP Foundation members with Level 3 clearance and above report the feeling that the file should be "contained" in some way.<br/> <strong>Date Of Recovery:</strong> 23/09/22<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A flash drive found on a food court table.<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-5" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-5')">5</a></sup><br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Original flash drive incinerated, singular copy of the file stored in secure air-gapped storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Item is a notebook titled "Algebruh 101" (sic) which, when opened and viewed, causes the user to anomalously lose the ability to perform basic algebra (provided they knew it before being effected by the anomaly.) The effect is <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">irreversible</span> reversed upon reading any other algebra textbook in its entirety.<br/> <strong>Date Of Recovery:</strong> 13/04/22<br/> <strong>Location Of Recovery:</strong> A dorm room in Harvard university.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Kept in a Class I anomalous item storage locker.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Item is an unidentified species of rod-shape mutualistic eubacteria. When allowed to infect an organic subject, the subject will become ██% more likely to experience anomalous events and phenomena. How this effect occurs and how long infection lasts in unknown.<br/> <strong>Date Of Recovery:</strong> 22/10/08<br/> <strong>Location Of Recovery:</strong> A small clinic in Northern Alberta.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> All samples kept within a biological freezer at a dedicated G2 site.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A group of <em>Xylophanes macasensis</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-6" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-6')">6</a></sup>, that have been observed to transform into an chimeric amalgamation of various species of moths and butterflies, seemingly at random intervals. When bred with normal <em>Xylophanes macasensis</em>, the offspring inherits the ability in all cases.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 07/12/1997<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Andean Cloud Forest, Ecuador<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Kept in a standard insect containment garden unit at Site-██.<br/> <strong>Notes:</strong> <em>"They might be a highly unpredictable threat to local ecology and normalcy, but they’re sure beautiful to look at." - Researcher Kage</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A plush toy depicting the Pokémon Landorus in its Therian forme in a sitting position. Viewing the plush causes subjects to become fearful of its presence, regarding the plush as dangerous or threatening. This usually results in subjects attempting to flee from it, though certain subjects will instead become aggressive towards it. This effect ends once the subject is removed from the plush's vicinity. Subjects with in-depth knowledge of <em>Pokémon</em> competitive play for Generation V<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-7" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-7')">7</a></sup> or later will not suffer any effect, unless a subject has met any of the following conditions in a format where Landorus's Therian Forme was legal:</p> <ul> <li>Placed 32nd or higher in any official Pokémon video game tournament,</li> <li>Has obtained an ELO ranking of 1750 or higher on any OU<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-8" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-8')">8</a></sup> ladder</li> <li>Placed higher than 4th in any Smogon-run OU tournament</li> </ul> <p>If any of these conditions have been met, they will instead begin to worship the plush, and present it with gifts of small rocks, apple cores, steel-toed shoes, scarves, and educational infographics on when and how to make a U-turn while driving. This effect will only end once the subject has been amnesticized.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 22/04/2023<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> New York City, New York, United States<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Object is stored in a box for safe handling. Box is in a containment locker at Site-██.<br/> <strong>Notes:</strong> <em>After the incident with Researcher █████, we're going to be tracking who accesses this thing. We're not going to be creating GoI-645 "Cult of Landorus-Therian, Lord of Abundance, Genie of Healthy Meta" today. - Dr. █████</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A 1.5 oz bottle designed for Mott's Apple Juice, which has the effect of rapidly filling with any liquid placed inside of it. Additionally, any liquid contained within the bottle will acquire the nutritional value of apple juice without any other changes.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 04-25-2016<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Supermarket, ████████<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Used in a cafeteria at Site-██.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A non-anomalous pen that has the unique ability to cancel out the effects of anomalous writing changes caused by other anomalous items. When used to write on a document or object affected by such changes, the pen will restore the original, non-anomalous text or content.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 01-19-2008<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Office of a former researcher, Site-██<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Kept in a secure locker in Site-██.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A photograph of a Boston Terrier running through a field of flowers placed in a golden decorative frame that causes hyperventilation if viewed within a 5 foot radius, and can incite hiccups when viewed from a further distance. When separate, the photo and frame are non-anomalous.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 06/12/2021<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Retirement home in █████████, PA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Kept in secure storage.</p> <h3 id="toc8"><span>Anomalous Items 1081 - 1090</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> An indestructible metal cage with the skeletal remains of a scarlet macaw (<em>Ara macao</em>), cactus wren (<em>Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus</em>), common kingfisher (<em>Alcedo atthis</em>), piping plover (<em>Charadrius melodus</em>), and rock dove (<em>Columba livia</em>) scattered within its interior. These skeletons will randomly animate and organize themselves throughout the cage before singing a song recorded by The Beach Boys. Once a performance is finished, the skeletons will enter their inactive state and fall back to the bottom of the cage.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 07/03/2022<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> In a warehouse owned by Marshall, Carter, & Dark in ███████████<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Kept in storage at Site-██.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Painting of an anthropomorphic white cat wearing safety glasses and a lab coat. On the cat's right lapel is a small badge marked with the symbol of the Oneroi Collective, a noted Group of Interest. Anyone who falls asleep within 100 meters of the item will experience school-related dreams, often of forgetting to study for an important test or finish important assignments. This occurs even in subjects who were never in a school setting (home schooling, for instance).<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 3/31/2023<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Found in an alley in New Orleans, Louisiana<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Being tested for further anomalous properties.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Approximately 1.2 billion 6-sided wooden dice. When a pair of dice roll the same number, they begin flying towards each other, exploding upon collision and producing up to 20 more dice in the process. This causes a massive chain reaction resulting in massive amounts of damage to the surrounding area, and the manifestation of millions of anomalous dice.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> While the original incident was recorded on 9/22/2003, there have been 56 incidents since, the most recent of which was recorded on 4/5/2023.<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Rocheport, Missouri<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Contained within several warehouses across the North American continent. Incinerators are used to reduce the number of dice to manageable amounts.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong>A generic white box containing approximately 80 oz. of bright blue food additive labeled, "ESSENCE OF PURE FLAVOR." Chemical analysis shows the powder is comprised of only six seasonings, two of which are artificial and have not yet been identified. All are completely edible. When added to any edible food prior to it being cooked; for example, a cake or pastry, a roasted meat, etc, that food will taste exactly like "Funyuns" snacks as produced by the Frito Lay Corporation. When added to food that is not cooked, as a post-preparation seasoning for instance, it has no effect whatsoever - a bowl of cereal with milk will simply taste like a bowl of cereal with milk, for instance.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 7/10/1996<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong>San Marino, the Most Serene Republic of San Marino<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Stored in Site 77's Edible Substances Lab<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> <em>Bagosy asked me whether, since frozen custard is cooked in part before freezing, whether it would have any effect on flavor. Turns out, it did. We now have Funyuns flavored frozen custard. Every day we stray further from the Creator's light.</em> - Senior Researcher McGaughey</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A Type 95 "Kyu-Go"/"Ha-Go" Light Tank, manufactured by a Mitsubishi "Special Research Division," 1942. Paint had worn away, but the metal beneath had neither weathered nor corroded in any way. A total of six (6) small caliber bullet holes were noted in front hull glacis and turret ring: crew remains indicated death by small arms fire. Armor has thus far proved impervious to any heavy weapon, including but not limited to depleted uranium ammunition and Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGMs). Conversely, bullets of 10mm caliber or less immediately penetrate the armor.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery</strong>: 17/11/2021<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery</strong>: Rabaul, Papua New Guinea<br/> <strong>Current Status</strong>: Anomalous Vehicle Storage, Site 77</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A DVD of Richard Simmons "Sweatin' to the Oldies," Volume III (2001.) Content appears in every way to be identical to the standard workout video. However, when observed for more than fifteen minutes by any subject, that subject develops a permanent physiological effect causing them to sweat to an excessive degree when within fifty (50) meters of any human being aged 75 or older. Testing shows that individuals 75 or older exposed to subject still suffer the effect with regards to others, but that there is no additional effect.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 4/1/2013<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Goodwill Store, Bloomington, Illinois, US<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Restricted storage, Site 17</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A fan reproduced, production quality copy of the "Count Von Count" Muppet from the <em>Sesame Street</em> Children's program. Includes a label indicating that the item was made by a "J.W. Waldon, Master of Puppetry." Any individual who uses the puppet will develop the inability to perform even the most basic mathematical operation for a number of days equal to five times the number of minutes during which the "Count" was used. One D-Class Subject -a trained puppeteer- was asked to perform with the puppet for ten minutes, and subsequently was unable to count from one to ten, could not perform basic addition, and was unable to give the correct name for any number over ten, for that matter. (The number Eleven, for example, was, "Two Twin Ones, I think.") Effect lasted just over 50 days.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 9/7/1990<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Poundland, New Castle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Archived, Site 19</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A fractal Rubik's Cube which is simultaneously all of its component cubes.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 04/05/23<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Kazan, Russia<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-II object storage locker at Site-77.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Subject is a shipwreck with the characteristics of a modern aircraft carrier nearly identical to the Nimitz class utilized by the United States Navy in a configuration roughly analogous to Nimitz class vessels deployed to the Atlantic during the mid 1980s. Weathered paint scheme and markings are those of the Imperial German Navy, or Hochseeflotte, circa 1918. No aircraft or human remains have been discovered. Reactor appears to be safe and inert.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 19/04/97<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> 25 Nautical Miles west of Tahiti.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Subject is under custodianship of Maritime Archaeology Division, Site-77. Location and depth make investigation difficult and costly. Amnestics administered to all witnesses, area patrolled by NTF-2 "Canberra".<br/> <strong>Notes:</strong> <em>Reactor removed successfully, 1/4/22. Inert. - Dr. Bayard</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Photo of the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Karl I shaking hands with Theodore Roosevelt in the White House, circa 1923. Handwritten note on the back of the photo explains, <em>"Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Federation shakes hands with President Roosevelt on the third anniversary of the Treaty of London."</em> The photo appears to be genuine. An accompanying, modern 'Post-It' note reads '<em>Reality is What You Make It. -#291</em>'<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 11/11/18<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Folded within a copy of a 1920 edition of <em>War of the Worlds</em> by HG Wells, found resting on a table in the Oxford University Commons.</p> <h3 id="toc9"><span>Anomalous Items 1091 - 1100</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One plastic bottle cap of unknown brand. When held, the holder will refer to chocolate milk as "chicken tendies", chicken products as "gamer juice", and all women as "soyboys", regardless of their knowledge of English. Attempts to damage this item result in all nearby devices accessing a randomly selected page from reddit.com, or the Wikipedia entry for Eris/Discordia.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-05-07<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ████████████ residence, near Charlottesville, Indiana, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-I object storage locker at Site-160.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A small dog kennel capable of inducing panic attacks in children between 4 and 16 years of age, and a minority of adults meeting yet unknown criteria. The bottom of the cage was previously stained with [REDACTED], matching R███ W███████, a 13-year-old homicide victim from 1978, though has since been cleaned.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2003-05-27<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-IV object storage locker at Site-35. Information deduced from investigation into the item's properties has been distributed to the relevant authorities under an approved cover story. As of 200█-██-██, item testing has been indefinitely suspended following ethical concerns and a lack of further findings.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One 2-meter-tall crudely carved wooden statue depicting the video game character "Donkey Kong" giving a thumbs up. When rubbed or stroked by any male-identifying human, said individual will hear "Oh, you're a twink, aren't you?" said in a deep voice from behind and to the right of them. Earplugs and deafness do not prevent hearing this.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-05-07<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> █████████ residence, Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Lost following temporary relocation to Site-500 for repairs.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One fanmade plush toy depicting the video game character "Sonic the Hedgehog". Despite not containing any vocal mechanisms, when squeezed, the voice of video game composer Tommy Tallarico can be heard saying "I was the first American to work on me!"<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-05-07<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> █████████ residence, Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-II object storage locker at Site-106.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A piece of A4-size printer paper, infinitely thin.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-05-07<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ███ ████████ St., Somerset, New Jersey, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Slipped through transport vehicle and seemingly into the road below while en route to nearest site.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> An LED tube light, that, when swung, is capable of cutting through any biological material and most metals.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 24-02-2015<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> █████ ████’s residence, Montgomery, Alabama, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> An electrical kitchen blender that is seemingly completely incapable of causing any damage to the items placed inside it while blending. Seemingly, it's blades are only capable of harmlessly pushing items inside it around despite their sharpness, rather than slicing them. This is only true while the item is activated. When stationary, it's blades are still wholly capable of cutting objects.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1-02-2023<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Pawnbroker shop, Idaho, USA. Likely sold after being given as a Christmas gift.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In object storage at Site-26.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A set of three DVDs containing the first three seasons of "The [UNTRANSLATED]"<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-9" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-9')">9</a></sup>, an animated workplace comedy set in what appears to be <a href="/scp-748">the Factory.</a> Item is non-anomalous besides the information breach it represents.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 4/21/2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Found hidden inside a book at the █████ Library, Amherst, Massachusetts.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Kept in Site-25 breakroom.<br/> <strong>Notes:</strong> <em>It's actually pretty funny if you like dark humor. And industrial accidents. -Researcher Joseph Conway.</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> An association football ball, of material consistent with polyurethane; with a circumference of 70 cm and mass 450 grams - presumed to be of Size 5 standardized construction. Football can be damaged and deflated. When any human attempts to move the football, they shall only do it by hand; even when threatened with injury.<br/> <strong>Date of recovery:</strong> 03/15/2023<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A football club in ████████, County Sussex, United Kingdom.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Pending destruction, held temporarily in storage in Site-44.<br/> <strong>Notes:</strong> <em>"Potentially a prank conducted by Foundation staff. Ethics Committee did not approve my request to seriously injure a Class-D over a football." - Researcher Frank Mills</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A set of handmade “armor” composed predominantly of layers of brochures, leaflets and other minor printed materials produced by a large number of different Veiled religious organizations. For its composition, it displays remarkably strong protective properties against threats of fey and/or demonic origin. Wearers of the item report experiencing a mental state of heightened vigilance and clarity of mind.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 20/05/2023<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Personal apartment of Foundation Field Agent Martin Matouš, Liberec, Czech Republic<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in storage in Site 15CS. Item is confirmed as having been created by Agent Matouš as a personal craft project, with its anomalous properties being unintentional.</p> <h3 id="toc10"><span>Anomalous Items 1101 - 1110</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A ~30x80 cm sheet of bubble wrap. Upon popping a bubble on this sheet, the bubble will instantly regenerate and a nonanomalous soap bubble ~2.5 cm<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-10" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-10')">10</a></sup> in diameter will appear nearby.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-05-26<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Bordighera, Italy<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-120.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One ████████ brand treadmill. For every 30 miles traversed, the building surrounding the item and all its contents will shrink by 1% in all directions. Item is currently at ~96% of original size.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-05-26<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Sidney, Nebraska, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Disassembled and held across six Size-III object storage lockers at Site-90.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> The top half of a metal lamp post, along with added wiring and power source to reallow functionality. When activated, all artificial lights in a 5km radius will deactivate, though reactivation remains possible. The source of the post's damage, as well as its repair, remain unknown.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-05-27<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Gölcük, Turkey<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Separated into component parts and stored in a Size-V and Size-II object storage locker at Site-300.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A vintage music box with intricate carvings depicting symbols of the Rastifari religion. Upon the music box being wound, all nearby plant life undergoes accelerated growth. Flowers bloom, vines extend and intertwine, and trees rapidly reach maturity. The effect is temporary and reverts once the melody stops.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1990-06-02<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Mandeville, Jamaica<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-I object storage locker at Site-66.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A life-sized cardboard cut-out of Charlie Chaplin. When the cutout is viewed by any individual, it has the ability to cause uncontrollable fits of laughter in those who observe it. The laughter may be so intense that it could lead to temporary loss of breath and physical weakness, along with brief flashes of grayscale vision. The effect persists as long as the individual remains in the presence of the cut-out.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-05-31<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> An alleyway in Curitiba, Brazil<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A set of playing cards that, when a game of poker is played with them, causes all participants to lose their sense of self-control and bet increasingly higher sums of money, along with valuable possessions such as jewelry and watches. The effect intensifies with each round, and participants become completely obsessed with winning. The cards have been known to cause individuals to engage in dangerous and reckless behavior.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1982-09-15<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A high-stakes underground gambling den in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA<br/> Current Status: Held in a reinforced containment box at Site-87. Access restricted to authorized personnel only. Personnel requesting access are vetted for any history of gambling addiction.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Painted metal sign, blue text on white background, encouraging viewers to, quote, "Unzip your head." Those viewing the sign suffer a cognitohazardous effect causing them to want to perform this activity, though there is no method of doing so. Those affected will often feel around their heads and faces and examine themselves in nearby reflective surfaces. The compulsion is very mild and can be easily broken by distracting affected subjects.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-05-24<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Abandoned storage locker, Jackson, Mississippi, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Poster of the once-popular public service announcement "It's 10 PM, do you know where your children are?", commonly found on television stations from the 1960s to the 1980s. No posters of this are known to have been made, despite the item appearing to be of professional quality. Anyone viewing the poster becomes consumed by the question and is only satisfied upon learning the location of their children, if any exist. The effect on childless subjects is easily broken by reminding them that they do not have children.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-04-30<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Found behind another poster in a frame at a garage sale in Orlando, Florida.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> <em>The seller of the frame denied any knowledge of the anomalous item. She claimed to have acquired the frame and original poster from a friend several years ago.</em> - Agent Hernandez</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One anomalously invisible bald cap. When worn, all hair on the scalps of any individual within ~22 meters becomes similarly invisible until the cap is removed.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-06-01<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> [REDACTED], Tataouine, Tunisia<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-33.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One wax candle which gains wax as it burns. More notably, temporal, entropic, ontokinetic, essophysical, [REDACTED], and thermodynamic measurement systems show no signs of anomalous activity when exposed to this item.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-06-01<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ███████████████ █████████ ██████, a museum in Saint-Michel-sur-Orge, Essonne, France<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-300.</p> <h3 id="toc11"><span>Anomalous Items 1111 - 1120</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A human skull that causes anyone who holds it to speak exclusively in Early Modern English iambic blank verse.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-06-03<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> █████████ ████ ████, Worcestershire, England<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-84B.<br/> <em>Notes: "My friend, I fear it lacks accuracy,<br/> Thy nod to Hamlet, thou must now concede,<br/> Forsooth, 'tis writ in iambic pentameter,<br/> Not blank iambic, as thy pow'rs present." - Dr. Blackstone</em></p> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">Status Update Available.</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">Close.</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p><strong>Updated Status:</strong> Object has seemingly ceased all anomalous activity. Pending reclassification to 'Neutralized'.<br/> <em>Notes: "Why must this misfortune befall me twice." - Dr. Blackstone</em></p> </div> </div> </div> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A photograph that individuals perceive to be of their happiest childhood memory.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-05-06<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Mary Keller Preschool, New York, New York<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> On the wall of the Site-94 Breakroom.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> The entrails of a <em>Capra aegagrus</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-11" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-11')">11</a></sup>, which do not undergo decay. When any form of latin is spoken in a ~3 meter radius, the winning lottery numbers for the most recently concluded Mississippi lottery will appear burned into a random section of the entrails and remain there. Due to extensive previous usage, almost all newly generated numbers generate overlapping with previously generated numbers and are rendered partially or fully illegible.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-06-06<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Unclaimed storage unit, McKenzie, Tennessee, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-67 for early prognosticative analysis. Upon determination of full abilities, item will be either transferred to Site-███ for SCP status evaluation, or Site-25 for permanent storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A 57mm white body version of a <em>MoYu WeiLong V1</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-12" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-12')">12</a></sup>which slowly solves itself at a rate of 0.3 <em>TPS</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-13" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-13')">13</a></sup>. The method the item uses to solve has been identified as the <em>Petrus</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-14" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-14')">14</a></sup> method. When the item is solved, the item will quickly scramble itself at a rate of 10 TPS and finish in around 5 seconds. The item will ignore impossible scrambles and will solve itself as if it is possible. When a person is actively using the item, all anomalous properties will be inactive, it will come back if the item is not being actively used.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-06<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> An abandoned house in █████████, China<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Kept in Site-98 breakroom.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A poster showing a picture of Earth that, when viewed, causes the viewer to jump and yell "HUZZAH!"<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2014-02-08<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A warehouse in █████████, █████████.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Kept in Site-87 storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Approximately 2.9 metric tons of dirt and topsoil which is anomalously incapable of supporting the growth of any living sedentary organism, regardless of an ordinarily viable nutrient content, and the presence of light and water. Sedentary life placed in the soil wither at a rate of nearly ██x times faster than they ordinarily would.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1999-09-02<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> [DATA REDACTED]<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Contained in a secure indoor plot at Site-103.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Ceramic coffee mug. Standard size, no manufacturer's information visible. Filling the mug with any liquid other than coffee will cause it to spill, usually via normal yet unlikely means. Testing revealed that the method of spilling becomes increasingly unlikely as more and more variables are controlled.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-06-01<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A secondhand store in Greer, AL<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Being tested.</span> Testing suspended after a minor earthquake struck the testing chamber. Item is now in storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A topless blue Corvette that when running causes the driver to hallucinate that they are travelling 70mph (112 kph) on an empty seaside road. While in this state, they are unaware of the outside world around them. The effect ends should the driver be removed from the car or if the car itself runs out of fuel. Testing has demonstrated that additional passengers that enter perceive the same scenery.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> June 10th, 2020<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery</strong> Object recovered from Dr. ███████'s driveway. When Dr. ███████ failed to show up to work for 48 consecutive hours during a standard workweek, security agents were dispatched to check up on him. He was found sitting at the vehicle's wheel, and taken in for an immediate medical examination. Results concluded that he was suffering from sleep deprivation and dehydration, but otherwise had suffered no physical harm, and has since made a full recovery.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Object contained in LOS (Large Object Storage) at Containment Site-17.<br/> <em><strong>Notes:</strong> Object was proposed for staff recreational use considered by Site-17 Asst. Dir. but was denied due to the potential health risk to personnel. Dr. ███████ has been given a replacement vehicle as concession.</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> An oval hair brush secreting a mix of body soap and shampoo from the bristles.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-14-06<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A bathroom in ██████████████'s house in Pitmedden, United Kingdom.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Kept in Site-65 storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A <em>tickseed</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-15" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-15')">15</a></sup>that grows and decomposes over the course of an entire day.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-14-06<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A garden in South Bradenton, Florida<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Kept in Site-108 breakroom.</p> <h3 id="toc12"><span>Anomalous Items 1121 - 1130</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One (1) mosquito found splattered on a windshield.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-04-25<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Lunar resupply vessel '<em>Never Given</em>'<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Handed over to Area-32's entomology department<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-16" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-16')">16</a></sup>.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A <strong>sepia</strong>-tone ceramic mug that is seemingly impervious to anomalous effect. Most anomalous liquids placed in the mug will become non-anomalous in seconds, with more esoteric liquids taking up to several minutes to completely transform. Liquids tested such as SCP-00█, SCP-009, and many of the abstract liquids generated by SCP-294 have all transformed into ordinary drinking water after exposure to the mug.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 20██-09-13<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ███████'s Thrift Store, Bloomington, Arkansas<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Presently contained in Small Object Storage, Site-26.<br/> <em><strong>Note:</strong> The future containment status of the item is currently in the process of being determined, due to both its deleterious properties, and of the nature of its threat to normalcy, or rather its functional lack thereof.</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A standard sheet of lined paper containing a pencil drawing of a square which only has three sides. No anomalous psychological effect, it is simply impossible and therefore naturally confusing. Original creator unknown.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 8/17/2022<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ██████-████████ Middle School, ██████, Indiana<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Presently contained in anart storage gallery at Site-454.<br/> <em><strong>Note:</strong> "It's just weird… I don't like it." - Agent Strickland, MTF-Theta-90</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A Pratt & Whitney JT8D-15 low-bypass turbofan engine that, when operated, anomalously generates twice as much thrust for a given fuel flow as a non-anomalous engine of the same type would.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 17/06/1990<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Installed in a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-200 (registration N█████), Midway International Airport, Chicago, Illinois<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Installed in a Foundation Boeing 737-200 (identification code ██-██████) used for inter-site personnel transport.</span> In storage following the replacement of aircraft ██-██████ due to obsolescence, as advances in aircraft technology had rendered this aircraft more expensive to operate, even with the additional fuel efficiency provided by its use of AO-1124, than a jet transport of a newer model. All other Foundation aircraft using this engine model had already been retired several years earlier for this reason.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> American flag with 67 stars instead of the standard 50. Anyone viewing the item directly suffers a cognitohazardous effect that causes them to believe this is the proper number and all other flags are wrong. Viewing photographs or video of the item does not trigger this effect, which is mild and easily broken.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> July 4, 2022<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Columbus, OH<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Two or more 50-cent Netherlands Antillean guilder coins. When an instance is flipped, it will demanifest while two new instances manifest on the ground, one on its "head" side and the other on "tails". Every 31st of January, all instances will demanifest while two new instances appear within five centimeters of the average location of all previous instances' manifestations. As of 2023-01-31, this location is 05°██'██", 56°██'██", ██ kilometers from Site-276, and is expected to be retrievable within the confines of Site-276 as of 20██-01-31.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2013-07-10<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Various locations in northeastern Suriname, mostly within Paramaribo<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> The 678 extant instances are held at Site-276 in six Size-II through -V object storage lockers (635), two long-term testing chambers (28), a display unit for explanations of ectoentropic anomalies (12), and an unknown location within the site's ventilation system (3)<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-17" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-17')">17</a></sup>.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Two mummified juvenile <em>Equus grevyi</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-18" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-18')">18</a></sup> with no visible cause of death. When seen by any animal, that animal will over the following 5-18 seconds lose all ability to comprehend that a zebra can be eaten or poses any nutritional value. This effect is permanent in humans unless amnestics are applied.<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-19" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-19')">19</a></sup><br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1983-07-10<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A Marshall, Carter, and Dark auction in Brixton, London, England. Accompanying documentation suggests an origin in eastern Ethiopia between 1871 and 1886.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held together in a Size-V object storage locker at Site-25 with appropriate antimemetic warning labels.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Eight 28 by 36 cm posters reading "Hang in there!" When viewed for the first time by an individual, said individual will experience minor neck pain and/or non-fatal breathing difficulties. This effect subsides upon viewing any other poster.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-10<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ██████████ Marketing Headquarters, Hobart, Australia<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in storage frames SF035-U01-11206 through SF035-U01-11213 at Site-35.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One ball-peen hammer with a damaged handle which imbues all viewers with a perfect knowledge of all historical implementations of communism in a majority-human government. Notably, this ignores all anomalous and nonanomalous Foundation-induced alterations to history, allowing for knowledge of at least █,███ governments across ██ historical iterations across the last [REDACTED] years. This occurs in spite of [5/2000 CLEARANCE REQUIRED], [5/4132 CLEARANCE REQUIRED], [5/3252 CLEARANCE REQUIRED], and an unknowable amount of Ennui Protocol deployments.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> [REDACTED]<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Dalanzadgad, Mongolia<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in storage frame SF035-U04-00005 at Site-35 with undisclosed safety measures.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One hand-painted music box with various instruments depicted across its surface. When played at a normal orientation, all sound in a ~160 cm radius is lowered by 10 decibels. When held upside down, this effect is reversed.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-11<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Jelgava, Latvia<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-234, on its side.</p> <h3 id="toc13"><span>Anomalous Items 1131 - 1140</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One human eyeball and some attached tissue encased in an 15x15x15 cm epoxy resin cube. All observers, including recording equipment, perceive this eye as staring directly at them.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1913-07-11<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> [REDACTED], the personal residence of O5-1-01, specifically within his [REDACTED]<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Found neutralized 1992-12-24. Connection to Anomalous Event #693937, in which all male personnel at Site-███ reported a pain in their left eye on 1992-12-17 suspected but unconfirmed.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A withered dirty blue rabbit plush approximately 20 centimeters in height, when held by a subject it emits a faint warmth and emits a subtle smoothing female hum. Subjects often report when holding it they feel loved, safe and cared for.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 20██-06-15<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Recovered after a historical dig on the western front.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Stored in Dr. Andrew Cerise cabin aboard Foundation Research Vessel Azazel.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One stained McDonald's restaurant french fry box. When held, the holder will become unable to perceive any member of the order Blattaria<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-20" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-20')">20</a></sup> until exactly 15 minutes after they release the box.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-15<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ████████, South Korea<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-II object storage locker at Site-199</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One wooden music box constructed for playing part of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. When activated, the box will instead play a unique recording of former president of the United States of America William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton screaming in pain.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-15<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ███████ ██████ █████, Texas, USA.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-███ for potential use in [REDACTED].<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> ████ claimed to have no knowledge of the item or its creator, and successfully demonstrated that it bore no connection to the ████ family's extensive occult artifact collection, the Treasures of the Chief<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-21" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-21')">21</a></sup>, or the United States Government Strategic Paraweaponry Reserve. Item's true creator unknown.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One candle which only loses wax while a lie is uttered in its immediate vicinity, and regains wax when a child sings in its vicinity.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1993-07-15<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Salelologa, Samoa<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Neutralized 2003-01-14 during a test wherein a child, D-041205<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-22" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-22')">22</a></sup>, was instructed to sing "The sky is green." D-041205 and Drs. Jensen and Tualaulelei treated for wax burns.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One folding wheelchair which, when sat in for the first time, shoots intangible flames from its armrests and shouts the inhabitant's name over a variable guitar riff.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-15<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A raided Serpent's Hand meeting at ████████ ████████'s Internet Café, Cotonou, Benin<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-IV object storage locker at Site-424.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One 325x500x30 centimeter slab of concrete. Every 1.0-7.6 seconds, a Type-VIII phantasmic human hand manifests and punches the "A" side of the slab, rendering it fractionally more damaged. As of 2023-01-02, this has resulted in a hole 3.7 centimeters in depth and roughly 20x15 centimeters across.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1973-07-15<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ███████ ██████ Prison, █████████, Portuguese East Africa<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-23" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-23')">23</a></sup><br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a 5x5x3 meter spectral containment unit at Site-266.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">48</span> 32 condoms. When worn, the user will perceive all individuals as their father.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-15<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ████████ Hotel, Tegucigalpa, Honduras<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in MSU-A001-1240-102 at Site-35.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">286.5</span> 214.5 kilograms of aragonite. When >15 grams are swallowed or absorbed by any animal, that animal’s location will be swapped with an equally-sized space ~310 centimeters below them, effectively teleporting them.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-██<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> LoI-24267, a Chaos Insurgency base for use in the destruction of [REDACTED], ██ kilometers from Budapest, Hungary<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Undergoing testing at Site-300 to determine field capabilities.<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> Before recovery, object was guarded by a lone Chaos Insurgency agent. Upon seeing Foundation operatives enter the room, this agent swallowed one of several prepared fragments in an attempt to escape. However, as the location was being secured from the ground up, the agent partially swapped with and became stuck in a nonanomalous gun closet which had been moved by operatives on the floor below. The agent was subsequently separated from the closet with no lasting injuries and captured for interrogation.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One living <em>Chiton glaucus</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-24" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-24')">24</a></sup> composed entirely of aragonite. This entity does not require water and usually remains still, but moves when feeding, deriving energy via the transformation of concrete below its body to additional aragonite. How this process can produce any useful energy is unknown.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-██<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> LoI-24267<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a temporary containment chamber with a floor of modular concrete slabs at Site-25 while pending SCP status. Item has been nicknamed “Strider” by containment staff.<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> Item recovered in an unused storage garage four floors below AO-1139. Connection hypothesized but unconfirmed.</p> <h3 id="toc14"><span>Anomalous Items 1141 - 1150</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Three M1 Garand rifles. The locations of wounds inflicted by these rifles are antimemetically cloaked.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-██<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> LoI-24267<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a standard secure weapons vault at Site-300.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One obsidian blade which makes all persons stabbed aware of their status as [5/0001-SAS CLEARANCE REQUIRED]. Amnestics are capable of reversing this effect.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-██<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> LoI-24267<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a modified secure weapons vault at Site-300 with undisclosed safety measures. All testing denied.<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> Chaos Insurgency was unaware of the item’s true effects and used it primarily for torture and [5/0001-SAS CLEARANCE REQUIRED]. One MTF operative was affected during the capture of LoI-24267 as a deliberate effort to cause demotivation and/or injury, but instead became far more confident and careless as a result of the knowledge of this entry and her eventual survival. Operative congratulated, then amnesticized.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One kerosene lamp which makes viewers incapable of believing their loved ones to be safe.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-██<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> LoI-24267<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-121.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Four infant <em>Tachyglossus aculeatus</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-25" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-25')">25</a></sup> with their spines replaced with needles genetically matching <em>Dendrocnide moroides</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-26" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-26')">26</a></sup>. Instances are capable of photosynthesis, but do not possess the toxicity often associated with <em>D. moroides</em>. Associated documentation suggests this was unintentional and had happened before, and proposes the termination of all four.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-██<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> LoI-24267<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in an echidna-friendly containment unit with SCP-9324-1 and AO-04362 at Site-25 while pending SCP status. Items nicknamed “Leo”, “Michelle”, “Donna”, and “Raph” by containment staff.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> ~600 kg of soil. Every winter solstice, 1803 adult <em>Gryllotalpa africana</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-27" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-27')">27</a></sup> emerge in a disoriented state.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> Prior to 1914<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Location data lost, soil composition and nearby items suggest Libyan origin<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-V object storage locker at Site-33. This locker is cleaned and its produced materials incinerated annually.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A regenerative <em>Musa acuminata</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-28" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-28')">28</a></sup> taped to the wall of Site-106's Cafeteria, all attempts to remove the banana from the wall has been unsuccessful. It is unknown how the banana got there.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2009<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Site-106's Cafeteria<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in Site-106's Cafeteria</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One disposable face mask, worn. 50% of subjects who view the item report feeling that the item could only have belonged to someone beautiful, while the other 50% feel that it must have had an ugly owner. The veracity of these claims remains unknown.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-17<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Gifu, Japan<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in Storage Frame SF035-U06-16662 at Site-35.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One computer flash drive containing a single file titled "tchort<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-29" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-29')">29</a></sup>.txt" which is exactly 90 kilobytes in size. Inside the file, there is an untitled long-form essay written in American English. The full contents of the essay are not known, as upon the complete reading of the file or its contents by any program or living entity, the viability of sustaining operation will cease immediately. Attempting to store a complete record of the contents of the essay by containing pieces of it within multiple 'containers' of information simultaneously will result in the cessation of all containers upon the completion of the reading of the file's contents.<br/> Seemingly the only exception is the flash drive in which the file was initially stored in.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-05<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ███ Teahouse in Denver, Colorado.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> The flash drive is presently contained in a secure lockbox in Site-91.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One roll of █████ ████ brand toilet paper, ~25% used. This roll constantly rotates and throws itself it at nearby walls and persons until all paper is dislodged from the central tube, at which point the roll and paper will demanifest then remanifest in their initial orderly state.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1993-07-18<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> █████ residence, Echuca-Moama, Victoria / New South Wales, Australia<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a reinforced Size-III object storage locker at Site-127.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One CD with "that fifthist b!tch" written on its surface in marker. Included on the CD is <em>Livin' on a Prayer</em> by Bon Jovi, but with every instance of "halfway there" instead dividing into fifths. Subjects hearing this revised song for the first time become unable to understand fractions for exactly fifty-two minutes and five seconds.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2003-07-18<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Estate auction of PoI-52651, ██ ██████████, CFO of █████ Records<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in Storage Sleeve SS035-U07-07776 at Site-35.<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> Bon Jovi's connection to the Fifthist Church under review.</p> <h3 id="toc15"><span>Anomalous Items 1151 - 1160</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One poster depicting the band Twisted Sister, lightly torn. All persons born before 1944 who view this item feel an intrusive thought to leap out the nearest window. This effect is not compulsive, however, and is almost never acted upon.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2003-07-18<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Estate auction of PoI-52651, ██ ██████████, CFO of █████ Records<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in Storage Sleeve SS035-U07-19011 at Site-35.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One Polish copy of <em>The Silmarillion</em> by J. R. R. Tolkein. When held by bare skin, time stops except for the holder and item until it is released. Due to the unmovement of light in this scenario, normal reading is rendered impossible.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-18<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> █████████ residence, Stalowa Wola, Poland<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-120.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One 8.5x11 inch sheet of paper that slowly erases all substances placed upon it that are not ink or graphite, such as coffee stains or crayon. The paper is currently printed with an unfilled United States Individual Tax Return sheet.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-04-16<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> █████████, New Jersey.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in object storage cabinet IC-Δ-17 at Site-91.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A copy of Real Madrid C.F.'s fan shirts. Appears to be a regular copy but a logo which symbolizes LaLiga<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-30" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-30')">30</a></sup> anomalously spins.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-19-07<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ████, A████, Turkey<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in personal wardrobe of Dr. █████<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> There were some minor rips.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A taxidermic art piece depicting a "jackalope"<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-31" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-31')">31</a></sup> in a bridal gown and a "wolpertinger"<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-32" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-32')">32</a></sup> in a tuxedo holding hands. When any married couple sleeps in the same room as this item, they will experience a minor increase in cooperation, communication skills, health, and overall happiness until the next sunset. If a rabbit is also present in the room, it will instantaneously disappear at sunrise and the item's emotional effects will permanently increase for the present couple.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-19<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Museum of Matrimonial Mysteries, ██████, Utah<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-IV object storage locker at Site-202.<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> Research into a connection with <a href="/scp-6193">SCP-6193</a> is ongoing.</p> <blockquote> <p>NOTE: Some entry(s) appear to be corrupted by info-alteration. The Anomalous/Entos Protocol is actively maintained in this document.</p> </blockquote> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A nonsolid sealed box that weighs 33 kilograms which<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 0000-00-00the<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A█████ ██████<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> It's so cold.<br/> <strong>Note:</strong></p> <p><strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> A nonsolid metal copper box<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> 2020-07-23<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Michigan,<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> box<strong>Note:</strong></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A nonsolid sealed metal box that weighs 33 kilograms which<br/> <strong>Item Description:</strong> A nonsolid sealed metal site that weighs 33.3 kilograms which is<br/> <strong>Item Description:</strong> A sealed metal box that weighs 33.33 kilograms which contains<br/> <strong>Item Description:</strong> A nonsolid metal box that weighs 33.333 kilograms which contains one</p> <p><strong>Location of Recovery: 2007-20-23</strong>-19</p> <p><strong>Current Status:</strong> Ali███ ██████ Conta<br/> <strong>Location ████ve██:</strong> 2023-07-33.33333 ined</p> <blockquote> <p>NOTE: Some entry(s) appear to be corrupted by info-alteration. The █████n ██████ Protocol is actively maintained in this document.</p> </blockquote> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One wind-up analog toy male mouse which acts in a lifelike manner when activated. Internally, the mouse is composed of roughly three billion metal gears which are extremely small in size, each one of which is engraved with a unique pattern of teeth. The gears are housed in a plastic chassis coated with felt "fur". The mouse does not need to eat, sleep, or breathe.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-20<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ██████, France<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Contained in a storage locker within the Site-81 break room.<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> AO-1157 may not be exposed to living female mice due to the potential risk of reproduction.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Roll of transparent packing tape that has no end by which the tape can be unrolled and used. Initially, this was believed to be non-anomalous, but testing has revealed the true nature of the item.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-21<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> In the lost and found at [REDACTED] Middle School, Columbus, OH<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> <em>Investigation into who originally left the item at the school is ongoing.</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Four Dark Brahma chickens (<em>Gallus domesticus</em>) that demanifest for the duration of any lightning strike in a 40 km radius before remanifesting.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-24<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> █████ ████ County Fair, Missouri, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a shared enclosure in Site-25, awaiting medical examination, further testing, and possible SCP designation.<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> <em>"They may not look like much, but they can get real uppity when it's storming. Dalauan nearly bit my pinky off! And don't even get me started on Jupiter." - Handler McLoughlin</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Roughly 75 square centimeters of tattooed human flesh reading "This Too Shall Pass". This text cannot be willfully censored, hidden, obscured, or otherwise be made more difficult to view.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-24<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> [REDACTED], Bor, South Sudan<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Display in the main atrium of Site-206 behind a protective glass case.</p> <h3 id="toc16"><span>Anomalous Items 1161 - 1170</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One coffee mug bearing an image of the pansexual pride flag. Mug appears blank white to those who object to same-sex relationships.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-24<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Yard sale in Athy, County Kildare, Ireland<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-19.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One fur cap which lets its wearer know the exact intentions of anyone currently flirting with them.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1993-07-24<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ██████ █████ ██████, a bar in Trang, Thailand<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Exchanged with UNGOC for [REDACTED] as of 200█-██-██, subsequently lost.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Two plastic shower curtains that yell "Boo" at 99 decibels daily at 13:13.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2013-07-24<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Private residence in Saraya, Senegal<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a soundproofed containment unit at Site-304.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One iron and plastic bird feeder which causes lightning to instantly strike any contacting procyonid.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-24<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Private residence in Spearfish, South Dakota, USA, following highly anomalous weather patterns<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a reinforced Size-III object storage locker at Site-81.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One Kazakhstani individual, ██████ █████, (1929-), and one Peruvian individual, ████ ██████████, (2020-), bearing identical fingerprints. █████ and ██████████ bear no other connection.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> [5/2000 CLEARANCE REQUIRED]<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> [5/2000 CLEARANCE REQUIRED]<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Both individuals placed under discrete monitoring until █████'s death. Should either individual be detained by any civilian agency, use of SCP-█████ to alter their fingerprints and the records thereof is permitted.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Four vinyl records of various Mozart compositions, only audible to literate humans.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2003-07-24<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> █████████ Nursery, Chula Vista, California, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in storage frames SF028-A14-01119 through -01122 at Site-28.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One pair of rusted bolt cutters. When used, all relevant security and police forces for the affected location are telepathically alerted to this use.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-24<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> █████████ ███████ Plant, Guatemala City, Guatemala<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Awaiting testing at Site-34.</span> Testing preemptively denied via a deal with the SCPF-USEP<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-33" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-33')">33</a></sup> after information regarding AO-1167 was leaked by unknown parties and ████ individual complaints were submitted in a 48-hour period.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Two feet from a male <em>Aptenodytes forsteri</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-34" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-34')">34</a></sup>, each six meters in height. Feet were initially attached to the nonanomalously sized halves of the male, but these halves heavily decayed both prior to containment and during transfer to Site-960, and were therefore removed.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1973-07-24<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> 80°13'56"S 03°89'45"W, Antarctica<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Stored in 10x10x10 meter containment unit CU960-A01-00004 at Site-960.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One plastic and glass handheld mirror. When someone holds this item and says "Halt", the holder will perceive the sky as taking on prestorm conditions, and other individuals as becoming calmer and quieter. This effect reverses upon the holder saying "Resume".<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2013-07-24<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Private residence in Mayville, North Dakota, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-97.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One silver locket holding a picture depicting <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">a human and <a href="/scp-1000">SCP-1000</a> instance</span> two children, no longer of Day or Night, embracing in front of the Eiffel Tower.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> [INFORMATION DELETED]<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> [INFORMATION DELETED]<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Somewhere safe.<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> <em>No matter what you do, or who or what you take, we'll always have our memories. -[NO AUTHOR GIVEN]</em></p> <h3 id="toc17"><span>Anomalous Items 1171 - 1180</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One sentient Tesla Model 3 electric car, heavily vandalized prior to containment. Item incessantly asks "Are we there yet?" in English or Arabic unless fueling, and will always attempt to park facing [REDACTED] on Mars.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-24<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> 5 kilometers outside of Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, driving eastwards<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in Site-95's ESVDR<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-35" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-35')">35</a></sup>. Transportation to Mars considered but deemed unreasonable and costly.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One <em>Eucalyptus globulus</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-36" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-36')">36</a></sup> with leaves shaped like hands displaying their middle finger. When any of these leaves are ingested by an instance of <em>Phascolarctos cinereus</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-37" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-37')">37</a></sup>, said instance will violently explode.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2003-07-24<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Private residence █ kilometers from Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in Courtyard S13 at Site-86.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">945</span> 866 ml of bleach. When >6 ml are ingested, the ingester will become albino. All other effects of consuming bleach still occur.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-24<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> St. ████████'s Hospital, Leuven, Belgium<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Stored in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-420.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Five candles capable of stopping hallucinations in any individual in a ~150 cm radius while all active. Significant amounts of nonanomalous wax have been added by an unknown party, to no effect.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2013-07-24<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ██████ Mental Health Center, Anqing, China<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Original wax expended as of 2020-01-25, object now neutralized.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Six</span> Fourteen <em>Citrullus lanatus</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-38" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-38')">38</a></sup>. Each instance is capable of being carved in accordance with the Axiom of Choice so as to yield two new, ripe instances.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-24<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Grocery store in Wad Madani, Sudan<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Temporarily held in Site-86 while proper Infinitely Replicable Anomaly Containment Proposals are drafted and reviewed.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One bumper sticker reading "How is my driving?" in Italian. When placed on any vehicle, all four tires will deflate.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-24<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Street corner in Genoa, Italy<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in Storage Sleeve SS095-A03-84737 at Site-95.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Two welcome mats, extremely worn. When placed in front of a building, all individuals who walk over either mat will become incapable of assuming malicious intent from anyone in the building.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1993-07-24<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> █████████ Accounting and Financial Planning, Kamal Shahr, Iran<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> [REDACTED]</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One desiccated <em>Melopsittacus undulatus</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-39" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-39')">39</a></sup> wing with numerous thaumaturgic enhancements. When wielded by any animal, the wielder becomes capable of unlocking bird cages and paralyzing any member of the family <em>Felidae</em>.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1993-07-24<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Private residence in Loures, Portugal<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Swallowed by AO-2281-N during transportation of several anomalies from Site-06-3 to Site-25. AO-2281-N was then paralyzed by AO-1178's effects and asphyxiated before medical care could be administered. AO-1178 rendered unretrievable due to AO-2281-N's spatially ambiguous esophageal tract.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One hand-powered flashlight capable of emitting over 300 panes of divine light, which allows for the instantaneous disruption of all lesser demons. Notably, this level of divine light is also capable of blinding >99% of all extant humans.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> [REDACTED], first obtained 1201 CE<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Vatican Archives, as part of an exchange between the Vatican and the Foundation of anomalies best contained by the other organization<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-IV object storage locker at Site-343.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Various robes, heavily worn. When touched, all minor wounds are healed, and all present tumors subsequently grow anywhere from 44 to 188% faster.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> [REDACTED], first obtained 847 CE<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Vatican Archives, as part of an exchange between the Vatican and the Foundation of anomalies best contained by the other organization<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a climate controlled cloth preservation unit at Site-343.</p> <h3 id="toc18"><span>Anomalous Items 1181 - 1190</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Something that is not the Word of God, but can only be described in how it is or is not like the Word of God. In comparison to the Word of God, this object is smaller, waxier, simpler, and more physical, cylindrical, and flammable.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> [REDACTED], first obtained 1468 CE<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Vatican Archives, as part of an exchange between the Vatican and the Foundation of anomalies best contained by the other organization<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-343.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> The demon Cipocs, of the 4th Circle of the 2nd Ring Below. Entity is of Tartarean origin and bears a vaguely chiropteran bodyplan with features of the genera <em>Musca</em>, <em>Ursus</em>, and <em>Deinonychus</em>. Affixed to its exposed skull is a crown of beryllium bronze bearing jewels of ruby, diamond, and gold. Entity's total size has been measured at 66 micrometres<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-40" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-40')">40</a></sup>.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> [REDACTED], first obtained 1895 CE<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Vatican Archives, as part of an exchange between the Vatican and the Foundation of anomalies best contained by the other organization<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a blessed microscope slide developed by Agent Bourgogne and Father Johnathan [COGNITOHAZARD EXPUNGED], capable of suppressing all size-altering magic. Slide placing in Size-I object storage locker at Site-343.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One heavily rusted blade used in the flaying of St. Bartholomew. When used to pierce the skin of any human, the wielder becomes aware of all consequences of their actions with the blade, including but not limited to social, financial, political, sexual, occupational, and eternal consequences.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> [REDACTED], first obtained 1761 CE<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Vatican Archives, as part of an exchange between the Vatican and the Foundation of anomalies best contained by the other organization<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Undergoing testing at Site-300</span> Hidden, possibly destroyed by a mutinous faction of researchers at Site-300 to ensure no future uses by the larger SCP Foundation. Interrogation has yet to yield results in the [REDACTED] since this incident occurred, and is ongoing as of writing.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A set of stone carvings depicting the generally accepted endstate of all iterations of <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/place">"r/place"</a>, a collaborative digital canvas. Specifically, these iterations originate from 2017, 2022, 2023, 2027, 203█, and ████ CE.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1933-07-25<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Machu Picchu, Peru<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Undergoing predictive cultural analysis at Site-67. Notable details in the 2027 iteration include but are not limited to the logo of GoI-1155 "Gamers Against Weed" disguised as a [REDACTED] in partnership with r/anarchychess, a possibly satirical memorial to streamer ██████ "█████"/"████████" █████████ (19██-), and heavy use of the █████ ████████ flag.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A skeleton belonging to an unknown animal with two prominent tusks and a single large eye, buried with sixty-four nonanomalous elephant skeletons. Carbon dating suggests an age of roughly 3200 years.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1913-07-25<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> █████ ███████ Cliffs, <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Ottoman Empire</span> Palestine<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held at Site-265 for mythopaleontological research.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One female <em>Ursus arctos</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-41" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-41')">41</a></sup> comprised of ink. The specimen still possesses most biological needs, but does not sleep. Instead, it remains perfectly awake between from the spring equinox until the fall equinox, then hibernates until the next equinox with no waking periods.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-25<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ██████████ National Forest, Kazakhstan<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held at Site-25. Breeding efforts are underway.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> ████████ ██████ (2002-). AO-1187 demonstrates perfect accuracy at guessing locations in <em>GeoGuessr</em>, a location-guessing video game, and zero accuracy at all other games of location detection.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-01-25<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Private residence in Minsk, Belarus<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Contract created in which ██████ remains outside of direct containment but is monitored at ██████████ ████████ █████████ University, in exchange for [REDACTED]. Additionally, access to <em>GeoGuessr</em> via ███U internet has been disallowed.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One six-sided die, carved from bone. Item occasionally yells "Yahtzee!"<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2003-07-25<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Private residence in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a soundproofed object storage locker at Site-71.<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> As of 2023-07-01, no similar items have been found. Search for (possibly four) similar dice downgraded to a Minimal priority.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One cardboard box which is capable of manifesting a female Loxosceles reclusa<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-42" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-42')">42</a></sup> inside of itself which is capable of leaving the box. If the box is opened, the spider demanifests, and a new identical spider manifests back inside of the box in an intact state. This process is instantaneous.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2003-07-25<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> █████ Record Store, Kingston, Jamaica, which formerly served as a front business to a currently unknown group, designated GoI-1878.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in Size-II Organic Storage at Site-300.<br/> <strong>Notes:</strong> Currently being held for assessment. Investigation ongoing.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One paperback copy of <em>Fifty Shades of Grey</em> by E. L. James, printed 2012. When ≥150 words are read, the reader will develop deuteranopia<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-43" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-43')">43</a></sup> until they next enter REM sleep. It should be noted that deuteranopia does not prevent the perception of all color, but merely inhibits the ability to differentiate between red and green.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2013-07-25<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ████ and Sons Bookstore, Vancouver, Washington, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in Storage Rack SR182-A08-24739 at Site-182.</p> <h3 id="toc19"><span>Anomalous Items 1191 - 1200</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Three copies of a guidebook for tying knots, released via amateur publishing during the 1940's. Knots within ~750 centimeters are unable to be undone via any means other than cutting.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1953-07-25<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Campsite near Gordon, Alabama, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in Storage Racks SR182-A05-20267 at Site-182.<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> Due to the quality of the guidebook, most knots described within are likely to unravel within minutes of leaving AO-1191's area(s) of effect.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> 495 grams of indestructible spider silk, attached to 676 grams of rotten wood.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-25<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> GoI-1878<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-44" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-44')">44</a></sup> headquarters in Guyana<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Undergoing ballistics testing at Site-747.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One painting depicting a large tarantula surrounded by eight humans, all facing where an observer would be expected to stand. Viewing this painting results in feeling as though something is crawling on the viewer for 18-36 seconds.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-25<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> GoI-1878 headquarters in Guyana<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in Storage Frame SF035-U16-77437 at Site-35.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One sculpture depicting a nude male human kneeling and bending forwards, constructed of anomalously durable spider silk. Akiva radiation levels are abnormally high in its presence.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-25<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> GoI-1878 headquarters in Guyana<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-VI object storage locker at Site-19.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A female <em>Theraphosa blondi</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-45" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-45')">45</a></sup>, 340 centimeters in height, deceased from asphyxiation. Akiva radiation levels are abnormally low in its presence.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-25<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> GoI-1878 headquarters in Guyana<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-VII object storage locker at Site-83.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Eight heavily modified chest freezers. All eggs belonging to the family <em>Theraphosidae</em> grow eight times faster when placed inside.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-25<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> GoI-1878 headquarters in Guyana<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Contents incinerated, items placed in separate Size-VI object storage lockers at Site-949.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Birthday candle, bright pink in color. When burning, wax is not consumed. The flame briefly turns green when a lie is spoken within approximately 5 meters. At time of writing, 273 languages have been tested, including 12 which are no longer spoken. All triggered the anomalous effect.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-23<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Chicago, IL<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Being tested by Foundation linguists. Approval for testing with anomalous languages <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">pending</span> granted.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One rigid <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">inflated</span> deflated balloon measuring at 9.3 on the Mohs hardness scale.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-27<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Nyungwe Forest National Park, Rwanda<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-71.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One ██████ brand delivery truck with an attached custom license plate bearing eight emojis. These emojis change daily at local sunrise and will abstractly foretell what events will most greatly affect AO-1199. Upon initial containment, plate read "🤪🔮🚨🚔⬇️🔒🔬📖".<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-03-13<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Parking lot in Lobamba, Eswatini<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in CGU095-A07-00338 at Site-95. Efforts to develop a retrochronal communication system using AO-1199 are under way.<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> <em>Daily viewing of AO-1199 shows its plate to currently read "</em>😴💤🚫💨🚫🔓✔️📖<em>". This note was automatically generated by <strong>panopticon.aic</strong>. Feedback is encouraged.</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One parachute, unopened. When this parachute falls ≥10 meters, it teleports upwards 10 meters with momentum preserved. Attached objects remain at their original location.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-27<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> 4 kilometers outside and 3 kilometers above Šibenik, Croatia<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Undergoing testing at Site-148.</p> <h3 id="toc20"><span>Anomalous Items 1201 - 1210</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One female <em>Manis culionensis</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-46" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-46')">46</a></sup> which transforms into a nonsapient regulation basketball when threatened. This ball transforms back into a pangolin once successfully forced through a basketball hoop via a "slam dunk".<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-27<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> █████████ Primary School, Culion, the Philippines<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a low-stress environment in Site-25, with a lowered basketball hoop easily accessible in case of emergencies. Item nicknamed "Autobot" by containment staff.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One 3mm aluminium ball bearing which has the metanomalous effect of altering the replication of replicating anomalies. When the ball bearing is placed within the range of replication of an anomaly, the process of replication instead replicates an identical steel ball bearing rather than the intended item.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-28<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Aluminium Plant ████████, ████████, Montenegro<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a secure object isolation locker at Site-26.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One nuclear warhead which, when activated, detonates at 1/1024th speed, and is guaranteed to produce a mushroom cloud. <em>Barbie</em> (2023) appears projected on the side of this cloud and silently plays with subtitles to completion, at which point the detonation and <em>Barbie</em> proceed in reverse until the pre-detonation state is reached.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-29<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> [REDACTED IN COOPERATION WITH THE US GOVERNMENT DUE TO ONGOING FINANCIAL, SPIRITUAL, AND GEOGRAPHIC AGREEMENTS]<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a secured bunker beneath Media Containment Area-88.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One block of congealed melted plastic exactly 1 kilogram in weight. When touched, the subject is replaced with a plastic doll roughly matching their size and appearance, before returning unharmed three hours later. All subjects report having attended a nonanomalous showing of <em>Oppenheimer</em> (2023) during this time.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-29<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> [REDACTED IN COOPERATION WITH MATTEL INC. DUE TO COUNCIL OF 108 STATUS]<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-II object storage locker at Media Containment Area-88.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> The date ███████-██-██, which can only be written in ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD).<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-07-30<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-47" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-47')">47</a></sup><br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ██°██°██°██°██°██°██°, Achronal Isolation Zone, CERN<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Initial discovery suppressed in cooperation with CERN. Further containment cannot be properly enforced at this time.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One wooden pallet incapable of being lowered.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2013-07-30<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> █████████, a warehouse in Potosí, Bolivia<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in Hangar 4 at Area-456 in El Alto, Bolivia. AO-1206's altitude is 4,156 meters as of writing.</p> <p><a name="water-supplier"></a><strong>Item Description:</strong> A cubic sponge with a side length of 10 centimetres. If the sponge comes into contact with any object or organism partially made of water, all water is expelled from the object or organism.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 10/15/1992<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Vittel, France<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Returned to Nestlé</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> a perfect widdle Care Bear™ that would never ever lie to you! i write super formawwy, i hate to be the center of attention, and i can only lie about being a Care Bear™!<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023 b.c.<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> a food pantry owned by Cadet, Rider, and Light<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> running amok >:3</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> ████ ██████████ (1987-), who has failed all 287 administered psychic, sociokinetic, biological, spiritual, and ontological sapience tests. Despite this, ██████████ appears fully sapient and behaves within all human baselines.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2020-04-20<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Private residence in Lappeenranta, Finland<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in Low-Level Humanoid Containment at Site-19. Death successfully falsified as of 2020-04-22.<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> <em>Yes, she acts 100% human. Yes, it appears as though she can hold a complex conversation with you about philosophy or artistic cinema or cafeteria food. No, not a single thought is actually going into a word she says. There is as much of a soul in her as there is in your name badge. Try not to let it freak you out. -Dr. Tesfaye, AO-1209 Research Head</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> 2248 <em>Paratrechina longicornis</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-48" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-48')">48</a></sup> comprised of tungsten which incessantly attempted to enter the ears of ███ ████ (1929-2014), an electrician with no apparent anomalous traits.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1953-07-30<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Field █ kilometers outside of Puzi, Taiwan<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> All specimens deceased via dehydration as of 1953-08-03. Remains stored in a Size-II object storage locker at Site-783.</p> <h3 id="toc21"><span>Anomalous Items 1211 - 1220</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One clipping of an early <em>Blondie</em> comic strip which is immune to alterations to reality. As of ████-██-██, this clipping has been rendered wholly unintelligible.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> Unknown<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Unknown<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in Extradimensional Site-01.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One homemade four-barreled rifle of very poor quality. In addition to a proclivity for jamming, reloading is rendered difficult via a mixture of overly tight hinge mechanisms and the custom bullets developed for the weapon, and the overall weapon weighs 21 kilograms unloaded. Most notably, AO-1212 is invisible to anyone <strong>taking</strong> mnestic drugs<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-49" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-49')">49</a></sup>. This phenomenon is optical, not antimemetic.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2016-03-16<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Pacific Northwest Region, North America; further information unable to be determined<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-V object storage locker at Site-82, with ████ accompanying bullets stored in a separate Size-III object storage locker.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One <em>Harpadon nehereus</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-50" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-50')">50</a></sup> which upon exploding would be resurrected in perfect health.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1918-03-29<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> 10 kilometers off the coast of Visakhapatnam, India<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Terminated 1947-12-18 via shrapnel.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One 5x20 centimeter solar panel operating at a standard efficiency, comprised entirely of Play-Doh modeling compound.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2011-09-30<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Sarawak Energy Headquarters, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-IV object storage locker at Site-195.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Eight sheets bearing a total of 142 text messages in Mongolian and Chinese. Individuals viewing any of these sheets are incapable of telling the truth.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2018-08-23<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Private residence in Sanming, China<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> One sheet in containment at Site-35. <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Seven</span> Five sheets granted to Mobile Task Forces ████-██, ███-█, █████-█, and ███████-██ for use in indirect interrogation. Two sheets currently believed in possession of the Valravn Corporation. Recovery of these sheets has been deemed a Low priority.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One baseball cap bearing the logo of the Pittsburgh Pirates. When worn by an individual not legally named "Elijah", the cap will fall off their head in <30 seconds. If the hat is secured to their head, it will teleport to the nearest flat empty surface.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2022-07-18<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Street vendor in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in Apparel Frame SAF060-U22-31209 at Site-60.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One plastic toy depicting the character "H.E.R.B.I.E." from <em>The New Fantastic Four</em> (1978). When held by anyone under the age of 16, they will be compelled to self-immolate until they let go. Due to difficulties quickly and easily obtaining the materials for such an act, the item is almost always released before immolation occurs.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1990-01-18<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ████████, a thrift store in Tadcaster, England<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-II object storage locker at Site-35. Use against flammable juvenile threats preemptively denied.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Two copies of <em>WWF Raw</em> (2002), one of which is moderately damaged. After being played to any extent, the player will view all written instances of "WWE" as "WWF." This occurs until they achieve 100% completion of any other video game.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-08-04<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Private residence of PoI-13591 in Welaka, Florida, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Undergoing initial testing at Site-151.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One console port of <em>WWF WrestleMania: The Arcade Game</em> (1995). All wrestlers appear as stylized versions of their appearance at the time of playing, including attire and accessories. Any match featuring a deceased wrestler causes the system to crash.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-08-04<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Private residence of PoI-13591 in Welaka, Florida, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Undergoing initial testing at Site-151.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One VHS tape depicting a 2008 promotional video where wrestler Scott Steiner engages in a lengthy tirade against enemy wrestler Samoa Joe, with much of the tirade consisting of a series of increasingly inaccurate mathematics. When viewed to any length, the viewer will hold the last stated percentage in the video as their odds of winning their next fight in any licensed WWE video game.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-08-04<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Private residence of PoI-13591 in Welaka, Florida, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Undergoing testing at Research Site-79 to determine whether SCP status is appropriate.<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> Upon D-620729 winning his third fight in ███ ███ █████ at 133.3% odds, a Class-III doppelganger of D-620729 manifested and attempted to fight D-620729, before quickly losing and demanifesting. Incident added to SCP evaluation forms. A connection to <a href="/scp-6599">SCP-6599</a> is suspected but unconfirmed.</p> <h3 id="toc22"><span>Anomalous Items 1221-1230</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Two human skulls genetically matched to Saint Anthony of Padua.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 198█-██-██<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua, Italy / Church of Saint Anthony of Lisbon, Spain<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Secured in place under an agreement with the Catholic Church. Items are to be exhumed and monitored once per decade.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One highly worn cotton shirt, permanently illuminated. When indoors, this illumination is by candle. When outdoors, this illumination is by moonlight, regardless of time of day.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> Between early 1909 and 1918-11-01<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> London Headquarters of His Majesty's Foundation for the Secure Containment of the Paranormal. Item was originally secured by the Right Honourable Commission on Unusual Cargo at a now unknown location in the Indian Ocean.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a standard cloth preservation unit at Site-60.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A DVD copy of the Turkish film "3 Dev Adam" that perpetually depicts the ending scene where Captain America endlessly battles and defeats an infinite number of clones of the main antagonist, Spider. The film sequence does not progress beyond this scene. Each viewing of the DVD is noticeably different each time.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> May 24, 2020<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Bootleg Movie Market, Turkey<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Kept in a breakroom in Site-25.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A 96:1 scale model of an instance of <em>Musca domestica</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-51" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-51')">51</a></sup> constructed entirely from human feces. If deliberately damaged, all <em>M. domestica</em> in a roughly 2400 meter radius will attempt to repair it with additional human feces from available sources.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2002-01-08<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Jeita Grotto, Lebanon<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in Dimensional Site-62 due to the site's highly effective quarantine measures. Efforts to determine the sources of the statue's composition have been suspended due to a lack of significant results.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One <em>Abies balsamea</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-52" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-52')">52</a></sup>. Inserted <em>Cucumis sativus</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-53" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-53')">53</a></sup> are instantly and permanently lost, and attached tracking devices fail to provide a signal while inside.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1989-12-25<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Private residence in Dummer, New Hampshire, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held at Site-86. Disposal of any dangerous cucumbral anomalies via the tree has been approved, should such a situation ever arise.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One uneaten cake. Anyone viewing the object is compelled to instead eat a salad.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-08-07<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Private residence in Hamchang, North Gyeongsang, South Korea<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in refrigerated containment at Site-206.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> An intelligent mass of lint currently weighing <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">50</span> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">100</span> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">200 grams</span> an unknown amount. Item gains additional mass by rolling on top of other lint and incorporating the material into its body. Despite a lack of visual/auditory sensory organs, the mass is capable of detecting its surroundings and will attempt to avoid human detection.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1976-09-16<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A park in Rokunohe, Aomori Prefecture, Japan<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">In containment at Site-73</span> At an unknown location in Site-73's basements. Last sighted 2008-08-14 in Warehouse A3, Sub-Basement 2E, leaving Laundry Storage Hold 012. Estimated mass 4000-5000 grams.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> An unknowable amount of glass figurines depicting mythical beings/animals. All counting systems fail when exposed to any instance.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1978-04-28<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Private residence in Brno, Czechia<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-V object storage locker at Site-73.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Two well taxidermied <em>Tyrannosaurus rex</em>. Death likely occurred 1-5 years prior to containment.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1994-10-09<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Marshall, Carter, & Dark auction in Lagos, Nigeria. Accompanying documentation destroyed in ensuing scuffle.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> On display in Site-25's Prehistory Wing. Surviving genetic material added to the Foundation's MGCR/E1<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-54" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-54')">54</a></sup>.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One katana. When wielded by any person not of Japanese descent, all individuals of a lower net worth will perceive the wielder as having complete mastery of the weapon regardless of actual skill.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1994-10-09<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Marshall, Carter, & Dark auction in Lagos, Nigeria. Accompanying documentation suggests it was previously held by the IJAMEA after it was recovered from an American colonel in the winter of 1944-45.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-III blade storage unit at Site-300.</p> <h3 id="toc23"><span>Anomalous Items 1231-1240</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">317</span> 305 grams of powdered cocaine. When snorted in any quantity, the user will perceive all solid objects as being composed of reflective diamonds until they next lose consciousness or all cocaine has left their system.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1994-10-09<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Marshall, Carter, & Dark auction in Lagos, Nigeria. Accompanying documentation suggests preparation in a no longer extant Caribbean nation known as "West Petionia".<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in powder storage box SPU024-A01-02653 at Site-24's Pharmacology Lab.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One female <em>Sus domesticus</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-55" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-55')">55</a></sup> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">capable of psychically locating foodstuffs</span> which perceives all/only carbon-based materials. This allows for AO-1232 to see certain (typically organic) materials through solid objects such as dirt and most artificial structures.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-06-04<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Farm near Vulcănești, Moldova<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> While attempts were made to train AO-1232, dubbed "X-Ray" by its handlers, for use in the location of carbon-based anomalies, this failed due to its aggressive friendliness and lethargy. Instead, it has been placed in containment with other porcine anomalies at Site-25.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One functional Vivo Y15 smartphone with a damaged screen. Any incoming calls made by an individual who identifies with the name "Hassana" are marked as spam, regardless of the device they use.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2020-10-01<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Technical support business in Obalende, Lagos, Nigeria<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-II object storage locker at Site-99.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One white and green sundress with a floral pattern. The current wearer will be unanimously perceived as 160 cm in height.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2009-03-09<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Hotel in Wuntho, Myanmar<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in Apparel Frame SAF060-U16-74678</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Three tin cans that cause instant sobriety in any animal that drinks from one.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1981-06-13<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> 6 kilometers outside of Houma, Shanxi province, China<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-IV object storage locker at Site-206.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One potted <em>Graptopetalum paraguayense</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-56" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-56')">56</a></sup>. All transgender/nonbinary individuals who view this item for the first time will wait several seconds then remark that it "kinda' gives me enby vibes, ya' know?" Whether this statement holds merit is still unknown.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2016-11-09<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Private residence in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in Site-35's primary greenhouse.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One arm cast 20 meters in length, bent in such a way that it resembles a sine wave. When an extremity is inserted into the cast, the attached person will hear a juvenile male voice repeatedly saying either "Oh, God" or "arms don't bend like that". No DNA has been left on or in the cast.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1997-08-08<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Beneath the former █████ ███████ City Pool, █████ ███████, Nebraska, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in Warehouse A4 above storage shelves X303 through X316 at Site-19.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One unlabeled VHS tape. Between 46:50 and 50:19 on the tape, the assassination of Gaius Julius Caesar on March 15th, 44 BCE is shown. The recording is taken from behind a pillar roughly 15 meters away, and is of amateur quality with frequent shaking and purposeless zooming. Of note is that Foundation chrononauts have confirmed beyond all reasonable doubt that no individuals or recording devices exist behind that pillar during the relevant period.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2000-06-24<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Public library in Ondokuzmayıs, Samsun Province, Türkiye<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Digitized and held at Media Containment Area-88.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One metal stepladder which is universally considered untrustworthy. The reason for this suspicion varies amidst all individuals aware of its existence.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1975-02-18<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Hardware store in Umuahia, Abia state, Nigeria<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-IV object storage locker at Site-54.<br/> <strong>Note(s):</strong> <em>"I know it's standard coghaz, but I can't help but feel it's plotting something. Has anyone seen anything unusual while climbing something lately?" - AO-1239 Research Head S. Ibrahim</em><br/> <em>"Sorry doctor, but you're barking up the wrong tree. The ladder's clearly a distraction from an even deeper, more insidious plot lurking right under our noses…" - Security Officer J. Grant</em><br/> <em>"You're all wrong. It's not even a stepladder. It's actually an eldritch abomination, only able to avoid shattering our feeble minds by taking the form of something so mindnumbingly mundane that we simply must accept it!" - Memeticist A. Okafor</em><br/> <em>"I think it's missing a screw." - Dr. Blackstone</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One oak door and door frame. When an individual places their dominant hand on the door and intensely concentrates on a specific location, the door will glow vibrantly in that location's assigned color<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-57" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-57')">57</a></sup>. No other effects occur.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1952-07-16<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Hong Kong, China<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-V object storage locker at Site-120.</p> <h3 id="toc24"><span>Anomalous Items 1241-1250</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Four watermelons. Perceived by any viewer as if they are perfect cubes with sharp edges and corners. Physical contact with them contradicts this, as they have rounded corners when touched. Do not appear to rot.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2022-09-20<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Tokyo, Japan<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> One destroyed for testing and subsequent consumption, remaining three in storage at Site-27.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One T-shirt, adult size medium, printed with an image of an armored knight holding a shield in a defensive position, facing the viewer. Anyone wearing the shirt suffers a cognitohazardous effect causing feelings of invulnerability, often claiming the knight will protect them. The item grants no defensive properties and the effect is purely cognitohazardous.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-08-01<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A thrift store in Dayton, OH<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> An electric floor fan that, when powered and set to its "medium speed" setting, does not alter any vocalisations that are directed towards it. Digital recordings of these vocalisations however emit the expected rapid changes in sound frequency commonly observed in non-anomalous fans<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-58" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-58')">58</a></sup>. Further testing reveals that the movement of local air particles is consistent with established principles of acoustics, implying that the anomalous effects can only be perceived by individuals within earshot to the audio source.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2015-08-06<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A disused commerical building in London, United Kingdom<br/> <strong>Current Status</strong>: Held in a standard Size-IV object storage locker at Site-12 Central Facility Storage sector.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One flannel men's jacket whose pockets' contents are inscrutable. Part of these contents can be removed, but some of these contents will inevitably be left behind.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2017-10-03<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Ulm Hauptbahnhof, Ulm, Baden-Württemberg, Germany<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in Apparel Frame SAF060-U23-81218 at Site-60.<br/> <strong>Note(s):</strong> Detritus linked to AO-1244 has recently leaked through or fallen out of the item and is now stuck to its apparel storage frame. Transfer to higher-security containment pending approval.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One female <em>Mesocricetus auratus</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-59" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-59')">59</a></sup> possessing full regenerative & resurrective immortality. Item incessantly attempts to self-terminate via the most easily accessible method of death it has not yet experienced, and does not engage in any normal and generally necessary behavior such as eating, drinking, sleeping, exercising, or mating.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1988-11-15<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Butcher's shop in Tartus, Tartus Governorate, Syria<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-II object storage locker at Site-19. Because of this, AO-1245 spends all its time gnawing at the lining of its locker or resurrecting from death by starvation. As of 2021-07-01, it has created a hole with a depth of 2 mm in a 50 mm thick panel. Replacement deemed unnecessary.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One niqab which causes the most recent wearer to perceive the world as being in late evening. If this ability is used at night or in any area not illuminated from the west, it can be used to see items that would be otherwise obscured.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2005-04-25<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> [REDACTED], Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held at Site-60.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One 1998 Toyota Sienna in which all actions which would be categorized otherwise are intuitively understood to be heteroromantic or heterosexual in nature.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2006-10-24<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ████████ Hotel parking lot, █████████, Chicago, Illinois, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in parking unit CGU095-A08-00633 at Site-95.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One spotlight which causes all humans illuminated by it to quickly develop laryngitis. This effect lasts for twice as long as the individual was illuminated.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1996-04-12<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ██████ █. ███████ High School, ██████, California, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-V object storage locker at Site-73.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Recording of an early version of the 1984 Uzbekfilm animated production <em>There Will Come Soft Rains</em>. The integral smart house of the film appears closely modeled after the viewer's childhood residence.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2017-01-06<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Private residence in Tashkent, Uzbekistan<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held at Media Containment Area-88.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One stop sign written in Gujarati. Cell service fails to work within 1250 centimeters of the object.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-08-16<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> 5 kilometers outside Jamnagar, Gujarat, India<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in Exclusion Zone Theta (EZΘ) below Site-86.</p> <hr/> <div class="footnotes-footer"> <div class="title">Footnotes</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-1"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-1')">1</a>. Sic</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-2"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-2')">2</a>. The anomalous effect are not considered harmful, and therefore the tape is allowed to be viewed.</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-3"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-3')">3</a>. Groundhog</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-4"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-4')">4</a>. paranormal metallic alloy</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-5"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-5')">5</a>. Agent Kirkwall has been severely reprimanded for inserting an unknown device into Foundation computer.</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-6"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-6')">6</a>. A species of moth native to Bolivia and Ecuardor.</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-7"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-7')">7</a>. A new generation is defined as starting when a new region and set of Pokémon is introduced. Generation V started with the release of <em>Pokémon Black</em> and <em>White</em>. Of note is the fact that the Therian forme of Landorus was not available until the release of <em>Pokémon Black 2</em> and <em>White 2</em>.</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-8"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-8')">8</a>. A ruleset defined by Smogon, an unofficial organization for competitive <em>Pokémon</em>.</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-9"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-9')">9</a>. The title is a series of pictographs depicting various industrial machinery.</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-10"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-10')">10</a>. exactly 1 inch</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-11"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-11')">11</a>. Wild goat</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-12"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-12')">12</a>. Rubik's Cube</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-13"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-13')">13</a>. Turns Per Second</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-14"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-14')">14</a>. Rubik's Cube solving method</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-15"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-15')">15</a>. Flower</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-16"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-16')">16</a>. FINALLY!</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-17"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-17')">17</a>. Due to the poor architecture of the site's base ventilation system and the (de)generative properties of this anomaly, recovery has been deemed a Low priority</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-18"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-18')">18</a>. Grevy's Zebra</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-19"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-19')">19</a>. Whether this applies to other species is unknown due to a lack of research in veterinary amnestic treatment</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-20"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-20')">20</a>. Cockroaches</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-21"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-21')">21</a>. The control of which was relinquished by ████ on 2009-02-09 in accordance with the Franklinite Coven</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-22"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-22')">22</a>. [REDACTED]</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-23"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-23')">23</a>. Now Mozambique</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-24"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-24')">24</a>. Green chiton</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-25"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-25')">25</a>. Short-beaked echidna</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-26"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-26')">26</a>. Gympie-gympie</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-27"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-27')">27</a>. African mole cricket</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-28"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-28')">28</a>. Banana</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-29"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-29')">29</a>. Slavonic word meaning "Devil" or "Black God"</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-30"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-30')">30</a>. a Spainish association football league</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-31"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-31')">31</a>. Mythical American mammal resembling a jackrabbit with the antlers of a deer</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-32"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-32')">32</a>. Mythical German creature with features from various forest creatures, often including rabbits</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-33"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-33')">33</a>. SCP Foundation Union for Security and Enforcement Personnel</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-34"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-34')">34</a>. Emperor penguin</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-35"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-35')">35</a>. East Sapient Vehicle Driving Range</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-36"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-36')">36</a>. Blue gum tree</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-37"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-37')">37</a>. Koala</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-38"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-38')">38</a>. Watermelon</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-39"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-39')">39</a>. Common parakeet</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-40"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-40')">40</a>. 6.6 times 10<sup>-7</sup> meters</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-41"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-41')">41</a>. Brown bear</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-42"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-42')">42</a>. Brown recluse spider</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-43"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-43')">43</a>. A form of red-green colorblindness</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-44"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-44')">44</a>. Named "We Who Tend the Web" in English</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-45"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-45')">45</a>. Goliath birdeater</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-46"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-46')">46</a>. Philippine pangolin</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-47"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-47')">47</a>. More accurately, the date AO-1205's discovery first appears in the timeline.</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-48"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-48')">48</a>. Longhorn crazy ant</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-49"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-49')">49</a>. Drugs that aid in perception and recall, especially of anomalous entities, items, and phenomena</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-50"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-50')">50</a>. Bombay duck</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-51"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-51')">51</a>. Housefly</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-52"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-52')">52</a>. Balsam fir tree</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-53"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-53')">53</a>. Cucumber</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-54"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-54')">54</a>. Master Genetic Code Repository / lineage: Earth-1</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-55"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-55')">55</a>. Pig</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-56"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-56')">56</a>. Ghost plant</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-57"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-57')">57</a>. For example, selecting Tokyo will cause the door to glow a dark crimson, while Delhi will prompt a forest green.</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-58"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-58')">58</a>. A phenomenon in which the position of the fan's rotating blades cause variations in the intensity of reflected sound waves, resulting in choppy, "robotic" sounding speech.</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-59"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-59')">59</a>. Golden hamster</div> </div> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/log-of-anomalous-items-vol-v">Log Of Anomalous Items, Vol V</a>" by Anonymous, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/log-of-anomalous-items-vol-v">https://scpwiki.com/log-of-anomalous-items-vol-v</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module rate]] [[/>]] > Foreword: The SCP Foundation has discovered a substantial number of items which are simply too useless to merit further attention. This document lists those items which have prompted some curiosity. It may be used as a resource should knowledge of these items become useful or necessary in the future. > – Dr. █████ █████, Head of Research, Site-██ This is the fifth volume of the log. Due to the increasing number of items discovered by the Foundation, this list is no longer open to new entries. For ease of archival, [[[log-of-anomalous-items \| first]]], [[[log-of-anomalous-items-vol-ii \| second]]], [[[log-of-anomalous-items-vol-iii \| third]]], and [[[log-of-anomalous-items-vol-iv \| fourth]]] volumes of this log have been made available, and the [[[log-of-anomalous-items-vol-vi \| sixth]]] remains open to new additions. Lists of [[[log-of-extranormal-events\| Extranormal Events]]] and [[[log-of-unexplained-locations\| Unexplained Locations]]] have also been compiled. ---- [[f>toc]] //Note: Please add new entries to the bottom of the list, not the middle or the top.// [!-- Common formatting: Item Description: Date of Recovery: Location of Recovery: Current Status: --] [!-- After every 10 entries, add +++ Anomalous Items XXX1 - XXX0 --] +++ Anomalous Items 1001 - 1010 Item Description: A small gold-covered lego brick resembling a trophy. When placed on an indoor pedestal, all individuals currently in the room will receive a paper plate with a single slice of red velvet cake as a female voice says "Conrad ovulation"[[footnote]] Sic [[/footnote]]. Date of Recovery: 01/02/2023 Location of Recovery: Longyearbyen, Norway Current Status: Held in a Size-I object storage locker at Site-68. Note: //And this __isn't__ 1000? Why? - Dr. White// Item Description: A two-slice Breville brand toaster that doesn't toast bread. Although the heating element is functional, reaching temperatures as high as 160°C, no heat will be transferred to any food product made from flour, regardless of how long it is left within the toaster. Date of Recovery: 02/02/2023 Location of Recovery: Baltimore, Maryland, USA Current Status: Held in --the break room-- an object storage locker at Site-98. Note: //I experimentally confirmed that it heats up frozen potato waffles just fine. - Dr. MacWarren// Item Description: Two rubber allergy bracelets, each depicting an image of a singular egg. When either bracelet is squeezed, one to twelve plastic eggs will fall onto the squeezer's head. after which a monotone disembodied voice will say "Well, that was egg-citing." Date of Recovery: 28/01/2023 Location of Recovery: Corfu, Corfu Island, Greece Current Status: Held in a Size-II object storage locker at Site-68. All 165 eggs so far generated have been incinerated. Item Description: One character sheet for the fifth edition of Dungeons and Dragons depicting a Dragonborn Paladin named "Rajhil Borganax". Despite this preexisting name, all verbal descriptions of this character are retroactively altered to instead describe a frail reptilian creature called "Lizzie the lizard boy". The only description unaffected is a singular note on the character's voice which describes it as "pretty nasally". Date of Recovery: 30/01/2023 Location of Recovery: █████ Cafe, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, USA Current Status: Held in a temperature-controlled Size-III object storage locker at Site-35. Item Description: One plastic debit card, that when used to purchase any good, displays a negative account balance. The cashier selling the item will always give the user of the card a number of coins equivalent to 2 USD and the item purchased, regardless of whether or not they can afford it. When questioned about it, the cashier claims, "It's the right thing to do." The current balance is ---$3482-- ---$4103-- -$4964. Date of recovery: 12/11/2022 Location of Recovery: ██████ Apartment complex, Cleveland, Ohio, USA Current Status: Held in a Size-I object storage locker at Site-58. Note: //Stop conducting "Tests" with this, Mick, you're not fooling anyone. - Dr. Gilson// Item Description: 74 strands of linguine spaghetti that elongate indefinitely when exposed to boiling water. Spaghetti produced this way is edible and widely regarded to be pleasant. Date of Recovery: 01/12/2022 Location of Recovery: Le ███████, Sicily, Italy. Current Status: Stored in the Site-11 break room in the refrigerator, staff are permitted to boil them as long as they cut off a portion for the next person. Item Description: A single ballpoint pen that, when used, produces cryptic symbols of unknown nature or dialect, regardless of the individual's intended writing. Attempts to translate have been unsuccessful. Date of Recovery: 02/11/2022 Location of Recovery: British Museum Break Room █, England. Current Status: Transferred to Item Storage Locker #367 in Site-44 under Level 2 clearance. Staff below designated clearance are not permitted to use the item or translate text unless authorized. Item Description: A bag of ███████████ brand cat food that, when consumed by any //Felis catus// (domestic cat), causes the cat to be transformed into a //Canis lupus familiaris// (domestic dog) that is similar in appearance, and exhibits normal feline behaviors. Date of Recovery: 05-02-2007 Location of Recovery: Junior Researcher █████'s home. Current Status: Contained at Storage Site-82. //Notes: I hate dogs, but I love my cat. What the hell am I supposed to do? - Junior Researcher █████// Item Description: A nondescript analogue wall clock that causes observers to immediately forget about the existence of Daylight Savings Time. This effect fades gradually over 10 minutes when not viewing the clock, but can be immediately broken if the viewer is reminded of Daylight Savings Time. Date of Recovery: 15/01/2023 Location of Recovery: On the wall in an office building, Columbus, OH Current Status: In storage. Item Description: An SCP document tape, that, when viewed, causes extreme déjà vu in the viewer. Tape is shown below [[footnote]]The anomalous effect are not considered harmful, and therefore the tape is allowed to be viewed.[[/footnote]]: [[module css]] /* //// When you want to add new "records", //// / / //// add new "options" like the following format. //// / .r1{animation-delay:3s} .r2{animation-delay:6s} .r2{animation-delay:6s} .tape-wrap .collapsible-block-unfolded-link .collapsible-block-link {animation-delay:calc(6s + 2s)} .tape-record{position:relative;height:6em;pointer-events:none}.record{display:block;position:absolute;width:100%;animation-name:record;animation-duration:2.5s;opacity:0;top:0;text-align:center}.tape-wrap{position:relative;background-color:rgb(244,244,244);border:1px dashed#999;padding:0 1em}.tape-anim{position:relative;background-image:url(http://unofficial-scp-sandbox-jp.wikidot.com/local--files/iroiro-workshop-8/DoxYSJAV4AET63r.png);background-size:200px;background-position:center center;background-repeat:no-repeat;min-height:300px}.tape-left,.tape-right{display:block;position:absolute;margin:auto;height:0;width:70px;padding-bottom:100%;background-image:url(http://unofficial-scp-sandbox-jp.wikidot.com/local--files/iroiro-workshop-8/scp_trans.png);background-size:contain;background-position:center center;background-repeat:no-repeat;pointer-events:none}.tape-left{top:-20px;bottom:0;left:-70px;right:0;animation-name:spin1;animation-duration:15s;animation-timing-function:linear;animation-fill-mode:forwards}.tape-right{top:0;bottom:-32px;left:0;right:-72px;animation-name:spin1;animation-duration:20s;animation-timing-function:linear;animation-fill-mode:forwards}.tape-wrap .collapsible-block-unfolded-link{padding-top:1em}.tape-wrap .collapsible-block-folded,.tape-wrap .collapsible-block-unfolded-link{position:relative;text-align:center}.tape-wrap.collapsible-block-link:before{display inline-block;font:normal normal normal 14px/1 FontAwesome;font-size:inherit;text-rendering:auto;-webkit-font-smoothing:antialiased;-moz-osx-font-smoothing: grayscale;transform:translate(0, 0)}.tape-wrap .collapsible-block-folded .collapsible-block-link:before{content:'\f04b'}.tape-wrap .collapsible-block-unfolded-link .collapsible-block-link:before{content:'\f1da'}.tape-wrap .collapsible-block-unfolded-link .collapsible-block-link{animation-name:g-ex;animation-duration:1s;animation-fill-mode:forwards;visibility:hidden;opacity:0}.tape-wrap .collapsible-block-folded{padding-top:1em;padding-bottom:1em;}@keyframes g-ex{50%{visibility:visible;opacity 0}100%{visibility:visible;opacity:1}}@keyframes spin1{0%{transform:rotate(0deg)}100%{transform:rotate(1turn)}}@keyframes record{0%{opacity:0}25%{opacity:1}75%{opacity:1}100%{opacity:0}}@-moz-document url-prefix(){.tape-anim{height:300px}.tape-left,.tape-right{display:block;width:70px;height:70px;position:relative;margin:0 auto;padding:0 auto}.tape-left{top:105px;bottom:initial;left:-36px;}.tape-right{top:60px;bottom:initial;left:35px}} [[/module]][[div class="tape-wrap"]] [[collapsible show="PLAY"hide="RELOAD"]][[div class="tape-anim"]] [[div class="tape-left"]] [[/div]][[div class="tape-right"]] [[/div]][[/div]][[div class="tape-record"]] [[span class="record r1"]]//jBJJIGVJeuf8 ;czzG eA// //BOVJiovh CZJHVIGH X// //JK/lsvsjsml.lC>Avkvlvlkzx//[[/span]] [[span class="record r2"]]//CMZozmsjauqj ilj,ck.n.ua<do// //XOFvj;lxxxjhm;; XKKS,AX:Oj0em;//[[/span]] [[span class="record r3"]]//GJOLSH:AAMmklhghloCLKGB,klvk,zhm Sf// //JFOLAXu(owlioyxrx9mpmxkkfeGVDVJKJCBsk pd;//[[/span]][[/div]][[/collapsible]][[/div]] Date of Recovery:* 8/5/2023 Location of Recovery: A thrift store in ███████, New York. Current Status: Kept in Archive 47. +++ Anomalous Items 1011 - 1020 Item Description: A possibly immortal //Marmota monax//[[footnote]] Groundhog [[/footnote]]. The specimen displays both extreme prescience regarding the events of the current day, and has to date survived 41 likely fatal events, many self-caused, mostly via highly contrived and unlikely methods. Date of Recovery: 02/02/2023 Location of Recovery: Woodstock, Illinois, USA Current Status: Held in specialized containment at Site-25. As of ██/██/2023, ██ breaches have occurred, of which ██ were conducted to obtain additional food from nearby containment units. Item Description: --29-- 18 chocolate chip cookies, only destructible via human consumption. When one cookie is wholly eaten by a circumcised individual, their foreskin will instantaneously regenerate. No effect is present in uncircumcised individuals. Date of Recovery: 04/02/2023 Location of Recovery: [REDACTED], Havre de Grace, Maryland, USA Current Status: Held in long-term storage at Site-68. Notes: Personnel are reminded that the medicinal use of unapproved anomalies in limited supply is strictly prohibited by the Foundation Medicinal Code of Conduct (Iteration #76), Greater Anomanomanomicon, and dadovision accords (circle 2034). Item Description: A bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich made on pumpernickel bread. Any attempt to consume the object will be interrupted, leaving the item intact. The method by which the consumption of the object is inhibited varies significantly, though it is almost always unrelated to the sandwich itself. Date of Recovery: 11/03/1998 Location of Recovery: Tony's Sandwich Emporium, Los Angeles, California, USA Current Status: Kept in a small anomalous storage unit at Site-152. Notes: Further testing on the object prohibited following the death of Dr. Albert Madison. Item Description: A plastic spray bottle. When filled with water and sprayed at a human, 15 to 40 liters of ice water will manifest above said human before demanifesting 5 seconds later. Notably, absorbed water will not demanifest, leaving the affected's clothes soaked. Date of Recovery: 05/02/2023 Location of Recovery: ███████ Pet Store, Lowell, Massachusetts, USA Current Status: Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-54 for fluid mechanics research. Item Description: A case of --50-- 49 rounds of 124-grain 9mm Luger Ammunition. Upon striking a solid surface, the bullets will detonate with over ██-kilotons of energy, and produce radioactive particle and fallout from an unknown source. Date of Recovery: 04/02/2022 Location of Recovery: ███████ Gun Store, Wichita Falls, Texas Current Status: Held within maximum security radioactive materials storage at Area-99. Item Description: A 1992 Super Soaker 50 water gun, which has the unnatural property of transmuting all liquids placed inside into chemically pure citric acid. Date of Recovery: 09/19/2005 Location of Recovery: ██████████, Virginia Current Status: Held within standard object containment at Site-88. This object is permanently banned from the Annual Foundation Field Day Water Balloon Fight. Notes: //Fuck you, Steve. - Dr. █████// Item Description: A CD copy of "Free" by Rick Astley. Once per play, the song "Never Gonna Give You Up" is inserted between two random tracks. Date of Recovery: 01/01/2019 Location of Recovery: [REDACTED] Record Shop, Texas. Current Status: In Site-17's breakroom. Item Description: A single bright blue "Worm on A String" toy. When attempted to be moved by its string, the item will scream the words "WORM OFF THE STRING, WHAT CRIMES WILL THEY COMMIT?!". Date of Recovery: 10/█/20██ Location of Recovery: Shelves of the popular general store, W███████ Current Status: In storage. Notes: //No crimes have been reported featuring this object. The worm has not committed crimes, and its string is still intact. Stop asking.// Item Description: An ectoentropic organism resembling a wooden baseball bat that will produce growths identical to metal nails in varying sizes on its 'barrel', generating between 4 and 5 nails in the span of an hour, without any visible consumption of matter on energy beforehand. Date of Recovery: ██/█/202█ Location of Recovery: ██████, Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Current Status: Currently monitored at Site-80. Notes: //Ha! I get it, it's an anagram.// item description: a large sign with the letter "u" on it. when talked about, all words are not properly capitalized. date of recovery: ██/█/████ location of recovery: ███████, ████████, washington current status: in storage at site-██ +++ Anomalous Items 1021 - 1030 Item Description: A dark green collapsible umbrella. When opened, droplets of water will fall from its underside. The upper side is printed "Un-Brella". Date of Recovery: ██/█/██04 Location of Recovery: ████, ███ ██████, United States Current Status: In storage at Site-██ Item Description: A refillable fountain pen, not apparently unusual. Anything written by the pen can only be read between sunset and sunrise; at all other times, the writing will appear as meaningless gibberish regardless of what was written. Date of Recovery: 1/9/2023 Location of Recovery: Found on a park bench in Cincinnati, OH Current Status: In storage. Item Description: Orange plastic whistle, visually similar to several brands of safety whistle. When blown, the item produces no sound, but human subjects within hearing range react as if it had. What causes this effect is not known. Date of Recovery: 1/15/2023 Location of Recovery: Rochester, NY Current Status: In storage. Item Description: A crashed disc-shaped spacecraft measuring roughly 10 meters in diameter. The craft is primarily composed of a steel paralloy[[footnote]] paranormal metallic alloy [[/footnote]] capable of withstanding █.██x10^^██^^ newtons of force without deformation. The craft is capable of emitting a high-frequency pulse capable of destabilizing structures within a range of 50 meters. Found at the crash site were the bodies of two adults of indeterminate African ethnicity, one male, the other female, believed to be the only crew. Also discovered within the ship were [REDACTED]. Date of Recovery: ██/██/████ Location of Recovery: [REDACTED] Current Status: Currently under study by the Department of Tactical Theology, Dianetic Division, at Area-27. Item Description: A plastic container of 'Mermaid Green' hair dye that possesses mutagenic properties capable of permanently altering the user's natural hair color. Date of Recovery: 2/12/2023 Location of Recovery: Inadvertently created through [REDACTED] testing. Current Status: Contained within Site-19. Personnel use pending. Item Description: A plastic figurine of the fictional character of Norville "Shaggy" Rogers as he is depicted in the animated children's TV show //Shaggy & Scooby Doo Get a Clue!// (2006-08) The figurine possesses an info-alterative effect resulting in the misspelling of any name referring to an individual living entity, as listed in its documentation, with the exception of the names of 'Shaggy' and 'Scooby Doo'. Date of Recovery: ██/██/20██ Location of Recovery: Found in a thrift shop in ███████ ████, California. Current Status: Contained within MAST storage, Site-88. Notes: //"Well, I for one, never liked that show."// - Dr. Snorkelface //"Shut up, it's funny, and you know it is."// - Dr. Toenailcramp Item Description: An abnormal production batch of █'█████ brand "No Tears" shampoo. When administered into the eyes of a living organism capable of feeling emotion, the brain's neurotransmitters related to negative emotion cease functionality for a duration of 24 hours. Date of Recovery: 12/21/2016 Location of Recovery: █████ █████████ Current Status: [REDACTED] Item Description: A sealed stone sarcophagus dated to the year ██████████ B██ plated in a thin layer of metal bearing similar composition and properties to [[[SCP-148]]] despite predating it by ████████ ██ █████. The sound of humanoid moaning has been reported coming from inside the sarcophagus, though these accounts have not been proven. Date of Recovery: 7-27-1892 Location of Recovery: ████████, Siberia Current Status: Tentatively contained within vegetative humanoid containment at Item Description: A small, irregularly shaped chunk of limestone which can only be held by someone with naturally red hair. All others will drop the rock within seconds, generally through random but not overly unlikely events. Date of Recovery: 1/31/2023 Location of Recovery: Abandoned office building in Detroit, MI Current Status: In storage. Item Description: A copy of the board game "Othello" in which the colours of the pieces are different for every observer. Chemical analysis of the pieces reveal they are made of seemingly ordinary plastic Date of Recovery: 2/2/2023 Location of Recovery: Stoke On Trent, England Current Status: In Site-35 Break Room +++ Anomalous Items 1031 - 1040 Item Description: It's this sort of stuffed animal, like maybe a teddy bear or something. It makes people talk about it, like really vaguely and non-clinically, you know? Date of Recovery: Sometime in winter, maybe '92 or '93, we think. Location of Recovery: This guy's apartment, up in Montana somewhere, maybe. Current Status: Don't know, really. I think it's still in that storage locker in Site-42, right guys? Notes //I think it's probably antimemetic or something.// -Researcher Robert Boyd Item Description: A polymorphic anti-materiel rifle. Item will periodically transform into a .50 BMG caliber anti-materiel rifle on a component level. Forms taken include the Accuracy International AW-50, the ArmaLite AR-50, the Barrett M82, and the Pauza P50. Transformation will always result in a fully assembled rifle. Date of Recovery: 1/24/23 Location of Recovery: Brazil, Jackson County, Kentucky Current Status: Currently on loan to MTF Lambda-9 ("Big Fucking Guns") Item Description: A 35cm hickory ball-peen hammer which is partially intangible, becoming so at the midpoint of the handle, but maintains its normal weight as if it were whole. Date of Recovery: 11-9-2021 Location of Recovery: Lowe's Home Improvement, ██████, Texas. Current Status: Contained at Site-19 Item Description: A Kodak Easyshare model digital camera. Anyone but its current owner who attempts to pick up the item without express permission (written or verbal) will discover that they have not actually done so, despite (often) having memories to the contrary. What causes this effect and how it manifests are currently unknown. Date of Recovery: 12/22/2022 Location of Recovery: Left to Researcher Hernandez, as an inheritance by a relative. Current Status: Being tested, with the permission of Researcher Hernandez. Note: //Researcher Hernandez was interviewed regarding the item, and does not recall the item having its anomalous property in the past. She does remember the relative being insistent on not touching other people's things without permission, but it is unknown whether this has any relation to the anomaly. This seems to have been the case as far back as she can remember.// Item Description: A jade hairpin. Any subject who comes into ownership of the hairpin will claim that it has always been in their possession. Date of Recovery: Inapplicable. Location of Recovery: Inapplicable. Current Status: In storage at Site-██, where it has always been. Item Description: A pillow that, when laid upon, will cause the person who laid upon it to fall asleep for 5 minutes, before waking up and feeling completely rejuvenated of any and all ailments they may have, including mental ailments and causing the brain to produce a large amount of serotonin. The words "Powernap" are woven into wool on the bottom of the pillow. Date of Recovery: 12/6/04 Location of Recovery: A defunct Gallery furniture in ████, Texas Current Status: --In Senior Researcher Simmons's office--In the site-██ break room Notes: //How come he gets to have it? It should be in the break room for the department to share... - Researcher Phillips// //__An audio file of snoring [...]__ - Senior Researcher Simmons// //Due to discord among staff, it has been decided that anomalous item-1035 is to reside in the site-██ break room. -Site Director Hernandez// Item Description: A dark green Raincoat that when worn, causes the wearer to become saturated with water. Date of Recovery: ████/12/12 Location of Recovery: ████,████, United States Current Status: --] Currently in storage locker BE-77 in Site-████ Notes: //First an "Un-Brella", and now this? All we need is boots and we've collected the whole set! - Senior Researcher Simmons// Item Description: A dark green set of rubbery rainboots that when worn, cause the feet of the wearer to be soaked, with pools of water forming at the hole where the feet are inserted. Date of Recovery:06/01/23 Location of Recovery: ████,████ United States Current Status: Currently in storage locker BE-78 in Site-████ notes //No fucking way. - Senior Researcher Simmons// Item Description: Action Figures of Dr. Harold R Blank, Dr. Daniel Asheworth, Emma, Sarah Colleart, Dr. Cole Thereven, Greg Albsernester, the Rounderpede, and multiple other plastic-made Foundation Scientists, who all form into a circle and play, from an interior music box, "Don't Fear The Reaper" by Blue Oyster Cult. Anyone near the event would feel a mixed amount of variant feelings. Date of Recovery: Winter, 201X Location of Recovery: Dr. Reagan's Helix Workshop, Chicago, Illinois. Current Status: Reagan's Helix Display Shelf, Next to anomalous Weaponry 38-LA "Double Phoenix" and Anomalous Weaponry 39-LA "Capone's Carnage." Notes: //What the fuck, Reagan?// - Multiple aforementioned people. Item Description: A cross made out of 99.99% pure silver, on an equally pure silver chain. Both are indestructible and warm to the touch. When worn, the wearer will feel something unanimously referred to as the Holy Spirit watching over them. The wearer may no longer experience nightmares and gains a higher tolerance of approximately +35.0 CR to cognitohazards and audiohazards. Kind prayers made regarding friends and family have a higher probability of coming true, and events that have widely been considered lucky are more common to the wearer. Trace amounts of Akiva Radiation have been sourced from this item, and reports of a robed entity floating above Senior Researcher Simmons have been reported and attributed to this anomaly. Date of recovery: 07/07/2007 Location of recovery: A field near Jerusalem, on top of a burial mound. Current status: On Senior Researcher Simmons's neck. Notes: //This is getting ridiculous. Who is granting him clearance to have personal access to all of these anomalous items? - Researcher Phillips// //I'll pray about it and get back to you, Jon. - Senior Researcher Simmons// +++ Anomalous Items 1041 - 1050 Item Description: Anomalous object is a toilet that causes whoever uses it to be instantly transported to an alternate universe, in which one can carry out their duties in private. Once they are done they are teleported back to where the toilet once was. Date of Recovery: 02/08/16 Location of Recovery: ████, Arkansas Current Status: Currently utilized in the men's washroom in Site-████ Item Description: Item is a mockingbird, that when on someone or something that can make sound, will open its mouth and cause the sounds of the "host" to come from the mouth of the bird. Date of Recovery: ████/██/07 Location of Recovery: ████, Canada Current Status: Currently kept in an Aviary in Site-██ Item Description: A white metal water bottle that is 1 foot tall, 3.7 inches wide, and can hold 34oz of liquid inside of it. Any liquid poured inside will be instantly transformed into "████'s Hiking Juice!" The new liquid has a soupy texture and seems to be made primarily out of milk with hints of sugar, an unidentified sweet cream, and a 50% quantity of SCP-████. Contents are always warm, and extremely nutritious. Date of Recovery: 11/11/09 Location of Recovery: Yellowstone National Park, Montana. Current Status: In storage. Item Description: A cat ears headband that when worn, causes twinkling lights to manifest at random intervals within a 1m radius of the wearer. Date of Recovery: 09/08/2021 Location of Recovery: Las Pinas, Luzon. Current Status: In storage. Notes: //Please stop. It's annoying. - Professor Tungsten B. Moscovium// //It's research based. - Junior Researcher Ana G. Juli// Item Description: A set of dentures that, when worn, cause the wearer to speak fluent Mandarin Chinese, regardless of whether or not they actually know the language. Date of Recovery: ██-██-20██ Location of Recovery: ███████, China Current Status: Housed in a secure locker at Site-██. Item Description: A Hi-Point handgun chambered in .40 S&W that exerts a tactile cognitoalterative effect on those who hold it, resulting in the belief that it is a Glock pattern handgun. Date of Recovery: 2-14-2016 Location of Recovery: ███████, in possession of an individual by the name of █████ ██████ ████████ Current Status: Housed in Site-154, Baltimore. Item Description: Skein of pale green wool yarn. Information present with the yarn indicates that it was produced by the Limitless Sky Company, which has not been found to exist. Item has a cognitohazardous effect causing viewers to believe it is actually some form of cooked pasta (typically spaghetti or fettucini) and attempt to consume it. The effect is purely visual and does not change the taste or the texture of the item. Date of Recovery: 3/2/23 Location of Recovery: Recovered in a raid on the home of a suspected member of GoI-276 "Are We Cool Yet?" Current Status: In storage. Item Description: Gold pocket watch with chain. The lid and case are decorated with a scene of the Tower of London. Engraving indicates that the item was manufactured by Delbert and Sons, The "Finest Watchmakers in St. Ives", in the year 1882 CE. No such company is known to have existed anywhere in England at any point in history. Also of note is that the internal mechanism is that of a modern atomic clock rather than the clockwork mechanisms used in that era. Beyond the impossibility of its existence, the item has no anomalous properties. Date of Recovery: 2/22/2022 Location of Discovery: An antique shop in Chicago, IL Current Status: In storage. Item Description: Item is a butter knife that has the memetic compulsion to cause people to try to unknowingly stab their own eyes out. however, this only affects people who have consciously used butter knives in the last 24 hours Date of Recovery: 28/02/2023 Location of Recovery: A casino kitchen in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Current Status: Secured in storage at Site-██. Item Description: Item is a M60 machine gun that can accept any form of ammunition, but the person firing only feels the recoil as if they were firing 7.62x54mmR rounds. Date of recovery:03/03/2022 Location Of Recovery: A war history museum in Boise, Idaho. Current Status: In a secure gun safe in Site-██ +++ Anomalous Items 1051 - 1060 (and a shiny red pebble) Item Description: Small blue ceramic plate, visually identical to many commercially available varieties. Whenever a human subject utters some variation of the phrase "I wish I had a cookie," in any language, a cookie manifests on the plate. Cookies produced in this way are safe for consumption and often described as "delicious." If the subject wishes for a specific type of cookie, one will be produced. If no preference is stated, the plate will produce a chocolate chip cookie. Date of Recovery: 10/3/2023 Location of Recovery: The kitchen of a bakery in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Current Status: In the Site-19 break room, available for use by all personnel. Item Description: Small glass medallion with no features of note. When held for longer than 5 minutes, the holder will believe themselves to be an omniscient, omnipotent entity. Holders are not different in any way, nor do they gain any reality bending properties. Upon release of the object, these beliefs fade. Date of recovery:03/13/2023 Location Of Recovery: The house of Joseph ████████████. Current Status: In storage. Item Description: The original papyrus codex hosting the Gospel of Mary. Reading through summons //the// primary Abrahamic deity. Interacting with this deity results in physical alteration into a biblical angel. Date of recovery: 06/14/2019 Location Of Recovery: Delivered personally to Site-17 by civilian private investigator Argent Holister. Current Status: In Site-17 Archival Storage. Note: //Formerly an SCP object, demoted to Anomalous Item on account of the ease of containment and no other events of interest concerning this item. - Dr. Fern// Item Description: A ██████ brand backpack. Can only store items placed on the packing list for █████████ Middle School, all items not on the list will be randomly teleported to a location within 5 meters of the backpack after being placed within it. Date of Recovery: 08/06/2019 Location of Recovery: In the home of █████ ███████████, a student at █████████ Middle School. Current Status: In storage Item Description: A chef's hat that causes whoever wears it to act like the Swedish Chef, a character of a musical ensemble known as The Muppets. The effect wears off after the hat is taken off, but subjects feel the desire to become chefs and sing in gibberish while they cook food. Date of Recovery: 07/09/11 Location of Recovery: ████████ Junior High in █████, Alabama Current Status: In storage Item Description: Small red plastic lid, suitable for a similarly-sized container. When any words which could be considered unsuitable for children are uttered within earshot of the item, a loud beep is produced from an unknown source, completely drowning out the objectionable word or words. This has occurred with all languages tested thus far. Date of Recovery: 13/3/2023 Location of Recovery: Found at a garage sale in Indiana Current Status: In storage. Item Description: Item is a sign that reads "shoo" (sic) and it causes people who see the sign to immediately turn around and walk in the opposite direction. Date Of Recovery: 12/3/2023 Location of Recovery: Found in a office building in Little Rock, Arkansas. Current Status: In storage, covered with a blanket. Item Description: A polished egg-shaped red stone roughly 3 millimeters in diameter and 4mm in length. Item has the peculiar infoalterative property of inserting the specific mention of itself onto the name of any list of plural items in which mention of it is contained, so as to other itself from all other entries listed with it. As of 3/20/23, the title of this log has been successfully protected from the infoalterative effect through [REDACTED]. Date Of Recovery: 2/10/2010 Location of Recovery: Discovered through an altered document regarding the composition of the geological makeup of //Sacrifice Cliff (and a shiny red pebble)//, Montana. Current Status: In anomalous items (and shiny red pebbles) storage. Item Description: A glass bowl filled with --500-- --400-- 375 mL of water. Neither water nor any other liquid can be added to the bowl due to a 1-way invisible barrier than only allows liquid to leave the area of the bowl. When approximately 6mL of the water from the bowl is placed on the body of a human, they will no longer be able to sustain any belief in a deity or higher being. Date of Recovery: 05/02/2023 Location of Recovery: Found during a house raid on ████ ██████, an outspoken atheist known for their extremely convincing speeches against any form of higher being. Current Status: Undergoing further testing, currently being considered for use by Site-██. Item Description: A pair of American flintlock dueling pistols, each outfitted with octagonal barrels, chambered in .56-inch (14mm) caliber lead ball. The barrels are 10 inches (250mm) long and have a spur near the trigger guard. Anomalous properties manifest when they are placed within 1 foot of each other, the 2 closest humans relative to the pistols will do everything in their power to obtain one of the pistols and eliminate the other. Subjects do not appear to be capable of running out of ammo, as extra bullets will manifesting in pockets or sleeves. When a victor is found, the process repeats until they are placed apart from each other. Date of Recovery: 02/01/2023 Location of Recovery: An antique shop in ██████, Georgia, following the deaths of ██ people. Current Status: In anomalous items storage. +++ Anomalous Items 1061 - 1070 Item Description: A scroll with the words "Pwerful scrull of helth" (sic) written at the top, the scroll is composed of pronounceable gibberish, and whenever read can heal anyone in the immediate vicinity of any and all wounds. However, this significantly weakens the immune system of those healed for roughly 24 hours. Date of Recovery: 06/02/2023 Location of recovery: A games store in Vilonia, Arkansas. Current status: In anomalous items storage. __Threat ID:__ KTE-1062-Ego-Helmholtz-Staplemorph __Authorized Response Level:__ 0 (No Threat) __Description:__ LTE-1062 is a memetic phenomenon revolving around a banana (//Musa acuminata//) 191 millimeters in length weighting 126 grams (hereafter referred to as subject,) which is presently in a state of complete biodegradation as of the year 2014. All documentation regarding the subject is written so as to mirror Global Occult Coalition standard anomaly documentation and diction, as well as being incapable to write information not already known to the Coalition, despite the anomaly presently being contained by the Foundation (KTO-███-Kewpie). All attempts at the conscious description of the subject in any other format have failed, additionally resulting in reports of dizziness, lightheadedness, and nausea persisting for hours after the attempt. __Rules of Engagement:__ Due to the memetic effect in question ceasing to fade upon the decomposition of the subject, KTE-1062 is believed to be an illiquidatable threat entity. It must therefor be contained through the restriction of information regarding the anomaly from the public. __History:__ On December 10th, 2011, KTE-1062 phenomenon's subject was first traced to a market in Pyeongchang, South Korea. A Foundation "MTF Team" was tasked with the retrieval of the anomaly. The subject is presently stored at an unknown location. ITEM DESCRIPTION: A BADGE FOR A POLICE OFFICER DATED 1977 FOR THE MONTGOMERY POLICE DEPARTMENT THAT CAUSES DESCRIPTIONS OF IT TO BE FULLY CAPITALIZED AND END WITH EXCLAMATION MARKS! EFFECT ALSO CAUSES SPOKEN DESCRIPTIONS OF IT TO BE YELLED BY SUBJECTS. IF HELD THE USER WILL BECOME ABNORMALLY VIOLENT, ANGRY AND A SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED PAIN TOLERANCE! DATE OF RECOVERY: 01/26/23 LOCATION OF RECOVERY: MONTGOMERY POLICE HEADQUARTERS! CURRENT STATUS: IN AN ANOMALOUS CONTAINMENT LOCKER! LEVEL 3 ACCESS REQUIRED! Item Description: Item is a songbook with the author and publisher scratched out. upon opening the book the reader's favorite song will be shown with proper readings for a music piece, upon attempting to sing the song, a users voice will be anomalously tuned and altered to sound properly. Date of Recovery: 06/24/2023 Location of Recovery: A music store in Chicago, Illinois. Current Status: In storage. Item Description: A black plastic sphere and attached length of rope resembling a cartoon bomb. When thrown with sufficient force, all nearby objects and entities it impacts will appear dark until line of sight is broken. Furthermore, the thrower gains perfect knowledge of the current contents of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principle_of_explosion the Wikipedia page for the Principle of Explosion]. Date of Recovery: 2023-03-27 Location of Recovery: ████████ ████████ Museum, Tripoli, Libya Current Status: Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-300. Item Description: A ███████-brand microwave that will turn any food item inside it into popcorn upon being microwaved for at least 120 seconds. Item does not appear to affect non-food items such as bowls or plates. Popcorn does not burn regardless of the amount of time inserted. Popcorn discovered to be non-anomalous upon testing, although it has been reported to be of higher quality than usual, almost to an addicting degree, according to testers. Popcorn in any form turns into [REDACTED] when microwaved using this item. Date of Recovery: 12/04/2015 Location of Recovery: A home in Los Angeles, California, USA. Current Status: In storage. Notes: //Under no circumstances is popcorn to be microwaved using this item.// Item Description: A paper postcard, on it is a printed photograph depicting two green-skinned bipedal lifeforms wearing floral shirts and bucket hats. They are holding hands with one another, one is displaying a "peace sign" on its left hand. They are standing in a desert environment, a disc-shaped object can be seen in the distance behind them. Item offers __definitive__ proof of extraterrestrial life, and therefore __must__ be kept from the public. Date of Recovery: 7-14-1999 Location of Recovery: "█████, ████████", a gift shop in Roswell, New Mexico. Current Status: Contained within Size-I inanimate object storage, Site-291. Notes: //"Look, Jerry, I know it's your first day, it's just... I suggest you might want to put a bit more scrutiny on this one. A bit more... Critical thinking." - Dr. Totengrab// Item Description: A box of unbranded sugar cookies that, when eaten, effectively removes the consumer's sense of taste for --24-- --48-- --72 hours-- a currently undetermined amount of time. Date of Recovery: 4/1/2023 Current Status: Undergoing testing by Foundation researcher Samuel Bennings. Notes: //I'm going to flip my shit if this lasts forever.// - Senior Researcher Sam Bennings //Have you tried eating another one? - Dr. Jenkins// Item Description: A Virginia Opossum (//Didelphis virginiana//) skull that when held or placed on a person, causes the holder to notice more Opossums in their daily lives. The population of Opossums in the area has increased, even if the area is inhospitable for them. Opossums have been found to be docile for those who are in possession of the skull. After a subject loses possession of the skull, all effects cease. Date of Recovery: 2/11/23 Location of Recovery: A home located in ██████, Virginia. Current Status: In storage. Item Description: A black capsule pill filled with an unknown substance. Chemical analysis yielded no usable data. Upon ingestion, a D-class human test subject died within 5 seconds, due to cessation of the heart. No traces of the pill were found in the body. Date of Recovery: 4/14/23 Location of Recovery: Obtained from a container on the body of a Chaos Insurgency operative killed in the Maldives. Current Status: Consumed in testing. Existence of other instances unknown. +++ Anomalous Items 1071 - 1080 Item Description: JPG file of a bespectacled elderly man wearing a cream shirt holding up an unfolded Swiss Army knife, taken in a dark unknown location. The item instills an anomalous sense of unease in its viewers, in particular SCP Foundation members with Level 3 clearance and above report the feeling that the file should be "contained" in some way. Date Of Recovery: 23/09/22 Location of Recovery: A flash drive found on a food court table.[[footnote]]Agent Kirkwall has been severely reprimanded for inserting an unknown device into Foundation computer.[[/footnote]] Current Status: Original flash drive incinerated, singular copy of the file stored in secure air-gapped storage. Item Description: Item is a notebook titled "Algebruh 101" (sic) which, when opened and viewed, causes the user to anomalously lose the ability to perform basic algebra (provided they knew it before being effected by the anomaly.) The effect is --irreversible-- reversed upon reading any other algebra textbook in its entirety. Date Of Recovery: 13/04/22 Location Of Recovery: A dorm room in Harvard university. Current Status: Kept in a Class I anomalous item storage locker. Item Description: Item is an unidentified species of rod-shape mutualistic eubacteria. When allowed to infect an organic subject, the subject will become ██% more likely to experience anomalous events and phenomena. How this effect occurs and how long infection lasts in unknown. Date Of Recovery: 22/10/08 Location Of Recovery: A small clinic in Northern Alberta. Current Status: All samples kept within a biological freezer at a dedicated G2 site. Item Description: A group of //Xylophanes macasensis//[[footnote]]A species of moth native to Bolivia and Ecuardor.[[/footnote]], that have been observed to transform into an chimeric amalgamation of various species of moths and butterflies, seemingly at random intervals. When bred with normal //Xylophanes macasensis//, the offspring inherits the ability in all cases. Date of Recovery: 07/12/1997 Location of Recovery: Andean Cloud Forest, Ecuador Current Status: Kept in a standard insect containment garden unit at Site-██. Notes: //"They might be a highly unpredictable threat to local ecology and normalcy, but they’re sure beautiful to look at." - Researcher Kage// Item Description: A plush toy depicting the Pokémon Landorus in its Therian forme in a sitting position. Viewing the plush causes subjects to become fearful of its presence, regarding the plush as dangerous or threatening. This usually results in subjects attempting to flee from it, though certain subjects will instead become aggressive towards it. This effect ends once the subject is removed from the plush's vicinity. Subjects with in-depth knowledge of //Pokémon// competitive play for Generation V[[footnote]]A new generation is defined as starting when a new region and set of Pokémon is introduced. Generation V started with the release of //Pokémon Black// and //White//. Of note is the fact that the Therian forme of Landorus was not available until the release of //Pokémon Black 2// and //White 2//.[[/footnote]] or later will not suffer any effect, unless a subject has met any of the following conditions in a format where Landorus's Therian Forme was legal: * Placed 32nd or higher in any official Pokémon video game tournament, * Has obtained an ELO ranking of 1750 or higher on any OU[[footnote]]A ruleset defined by Smogon, an unofficial organization for competitive //Pokémon//.[[/footnote]] ladder * Placed higher than 4th in any Smogon-run OU tournament If any of these conditions have been met, they will instead begin to worship the plush, and present it with gifts of small rocks, apple cores, steel-toed shoes, scarves, and educational infographics on when and how to make a U-turn while driving. This effect will only end once the subject has been amnesticized. Date of Recovery: 22/04/2023 Location of Recovery: New York City, New York, United States Current Status: Object is stored in a box for safe handling. Box is in a containment locker at Site-██. Notes: //After the incident with Researcher █████, we're going to be tracking who accesses this thing. We're not going to be creating GoI-645 "Cult of Landorus-Therian, Lord of Abundance, Genie of Healthy Meta" today. - Dr. █████// Item Description: A 1.5 oz bottle designed for Mott's Apple Juice, which has the effect of rapidly filling with any liquid placed inside of it. Additionally, any liquid contained within the bottle will acquire the nutritional value of apple juice without any other changes. Date of Recovery: 04-25-2016 Location of Recovery: Supermarket, ████████ Current Status: Used in a cafeteria at Site-██. Item Description: A non-anomalous pen that has the unique ability to cancel out the effects of anomalous writing changes caused by other anomalous items. When used to write on a document or object affected by such changes, the pen will restore the original, non-anomalous text or content. Date of Recovery: 01-19-2008 Location of Recovery: Office of a former researcher, Site-██ Current Status: Kept in a secure locker in Site-██. Item Description: A photograph of a Boston Terrier running through a field of flowers placed in a golden decorative frame that causes hyperventilation if viewed within a 5 foot radius, and can incite hiccups when viewed from a further distance. When separate, the photo and frame are non-anomalous. Date of Recovery: 06/12/2021 Location of Recovery: Retirement home in █████████, PA Current Status: Kept in secure storage. +++ Anomalous Items 1081 - 1090 Item Description: An indestructible metal cage with the skeletal remains of a scarlet macaw (//Ara macao//), cactus wren (//Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus//), common kingfisher (//Alcedo atthis//), piping plover (//Charadrius melodus//), and rock dove (//Columba livia//) scattered within its interior. These skeletons will randomly animate and organize themselves throughout the cage before singing a song recorded by The Beach Boys. Once a performance is finished, the skeletons will enter their inactive state and fall back to the bottom of the cage. Date of Recovery: 07/03/2022 Location of Recovery: In a warehouse owned by Marshall, Carter, & Dark in ███████████ Current Status: Kept in storage at Site-██. Item Description: Painting of an anthropomorphic white cat wearing safety glasses and a lab coat. On the cat's right lapel is a small badge marked with the symbol of the Oneroi Collective, a noted Group of Interest. Anyone who falls asleep within 100 meters of the item will experience school-related dreams, often of forgetting to study for an important test or finish important assignments. This occurs even in subjects who were never in a school setting (home schooling, for instance). Date of Recovery: 3/31/2023 Location of Recovery: Found in an alley in New Orleans, Louisiana Current Status: Being tested for further anomalous properties. Item Description: Approximately 1.2 billion 6-sided wooden dice. When a pair of dice roll the same number, they begin flying towards each other, exploding upon collision and producing up to 20 more dice in the process. This causes a massive chain reaction resulting in massive amounts of damage to the surrounding area, and the manifestation of millions of anomalous dice. Date of Recovery: While the original incident was recorded on 9/22/2003, there have been 56 incidents since, the most recent of which was recorded on 4/5/2023. Location of Recovery: Rocheport, Missouri Current Status: Contained within several warehouses across the North American continent. Incinerators are used to reduce the number of dice to manageable amounts. Item Description:A generic white box containing approximately 80 oz. of bright blue food additive labeled, "ESSENCE OF PURE FLAVOR." Chemical analysis shows the powder is comprised of only six seasonings, two of which are artificial and have not yet been identified. All are completely edible. When added to any edible food prior to it being cooked; for example, a cake or pastry, a roasted meat, etc, that food will taste exactly like "Funyuns" snacks as produced by the Frito Lay Corporation. When added to food that is not cooked, as a post-preparation seasoning for instance, it has no effect whatsoever - a bowl of cereal with milk will simply taste like a bowl of cereal with milk, for instance. Date of Recovery: 7/10/1996 Location of Recovery:San Marino, the Most Serene Republic of San Marino Current Status: Stored in Site 77's Edible Substances Lab Note: //Bagosy asked me whether, since frozen custard is cooked in part before freezing, whether it would have any effect on flavor. Turns out, it did. We now have Funyuns flavored frozen custard. Every day we stray further from the Creator's light.// - Senior Researcher McGaughey Item Description: A Type 95 "Kyu-Go"/"Ha-Go" Light Tank, manufactured by a Mitsubishi "Special Research Division," 1942. Paint had worn away, but the metal beneath had neither weathered nor corroded in any way. A total of six (6) small caliber bullet holes were noted in front hull glacis and turret ring: crew remains indicated death by small arms fire. Armor has thus far proved impervious to any heavy weapon, including but not limited to depleted uranium ammunition and Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGMs). Conversely, bullets of 10mm caliber or less immediately penetrate the armor. Date of Recovery: 17/11/2021 Location of Recovery: Rabaul, Papua New Guinea Current Status: Anomalous Vehicle Storage, Site 77 Item Description: A DVD of Richard Simmons "Sweatin' to the Oldies," Volume III (2001.) Content appears in every way to be identical to the standard workout video. However, when observed for more than fifteen minutes by any subject, that subject develops a permanent physiological effect causing them to sweat to an excessive degree when within fifty (50) meters of any human being aged 75 or older. Testing shows that individuals 75 or older exposed to subject still suffer the effect with regards to others, but that there is no additional effect. Date of Recovery: 4/1/2013 Location of Recovery: Goodwill Store, Bloomington, Illinois, US Current Status: Restricted storage, Site 17 Item Description: A fan reproduced, production quality copy of the "Count Von Count" Muppet from the //Sesame Street// Children's program. Includes a label indicating that the item was made by a "J.W. Waldon, Master of Puppetry." Any individual who uses the puppet will develop the inability to perform even the most basic mathematical operation for a number of days equal to five times the number of minutes during which the "Count" was used. One D-Class Subject -a trained puppeteer- was asked to perform with the puppet for ten minutes, and subsequently was unable to count from one to ten, could not perform basic addition, and was unable to give the correct name for any number over ten, for that matter. (The number Eleven, for example, was, "Two Twin Ones, I think.") Effect lasted just over 50 days. Date of Recovery: 9/7/1990 Location of Recovery: Poundland, New Castle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom Current Status: Archived, Site 19 Item Description: A fractal Rubik's Cube which is simultaneously all of its component cubes. Date of Recovery: 04/05/23 Location of Recovery: Kazan, Russia Current Status: Held in a Size-II object storage locker at Site-77. Item Description: Subject is a shipwreck with the characteristics of a modern aircraft carrier nearly identical to the Nimitz class utilized by the United States Navy in a configuration roughly analogous to Nimitz class vessels deployed to the Atlantic during the mid 1980s. Weathered paint scheme and markings are those of the Imperial German Navy, or Hochseeflotte, circa 1918. No aircraft or human remains have been discovered. Reactor appears to be safe and inert. Date of Recovery: 19/04/97 Location of Recovery: 25 Nautical Miles west of Tahiti. Current Status: Subject is under custodianship of Maritime Archaeology Division, Site-77. Location and depth make investigation difficult and costly. Amnestics administered to all witnesses, area patrolled by NTF-2 "Canberra". Notes: //Reactor removed successfully, 1/4/22. Inert. - Dr. Bayard// Item Description: Photo of the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Karl I shaking hands with Theodore Roosevelt in the White House, circa 1923. Handwritten note on the back of the photo explains, //"Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Federation shakes hands with President Roosevelt on the third anniversary of the Treaty of London."// The photo appears to be genuine. An accompanying, modern 'Post-It' note reads '//Reality is What You Make It. -#291//' Date of Recovery: 11/11/18 Location of Recovery: Folded within a copy of a 1920 edition of //War of the Worlds// by HG Wells, found resting on a table in the Oxford University Commons. +++ Anomalous Items 1091 - 1100 Item Description: One plastic bottle cap of unknown brand. When held, the holder will refer to chocolate milk as "chicken tendies", chicken products as "gamer juice", and all women as "soyboys", regardless of their knowledge of English. Attempts to damage this item result in all nearby devices accessing a randomly selected page from reddit.com, or the Wikipedia entry for Eris/Discordia. Date of Recovery: 2023-05-07 Location of Recovery: ████████████ residence, near Charlottesville, Indiana, USA Current Status: Held in a Size-I object storage locker at Site-160. Item Description: A small dog kennel capable of inducing panic attacks in children between 4 and 16 years of age, and a minority of adults meeting yet unknown criteria. The bottom of the cage was previously stained with [REDACTED], matching R███ W███████, a 13-year-old homicide victim from 1978, though has since been cleaned. Date of Recovery: 2003-05-27 Location of Recovery: Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USA Current Status: Held in a Size-IV object storage locker at Site-35. Information deduced from investigation into the item's properties has been distributed to the relevant authorities under an approved cover story. As of 200█-██-██, item testing has been indefinitely suspended following ethical concerns and a lack of further findings. Item Description: One 2-meter-tall crudely carved wooden statue depicting the video game character "Donkey Kong" giving a thumbs up. When rubbed or stroked by any male-identifying human, said individual will hear "Oh, you're a twink, aren't you?" said in a deep voice from behind and to the right of them. Earplugs and deafness do not prevent hearing this. Date of Recovery: 2023-05-07 Location of Recovery: █████████ residence, Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA Current Status: Lost following temporary relocation to Site-500 for repairs. Item Description: One fanmade plush toy depicting the video game character "Sonic the Hedgehog". Despite not containing any vocal mechanisms, when squeezed, the voice of video game composer Tommy Tallarico can be heard saying "I was the first American to work on me!" Date of Recovery: 2023-05-07 Location of Recovery: █████████ residence, Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA Current Status: Held in a Size-II object storage locker at Site-106. Item Description: A piece of A4-size printer paper, infinitely thin. Date of Recovery: 2023-05-07 Location of Recovery: ███ ████████ St., Somerset, New Jersey, USA Current Status: Slipped through transport vehicle and seemingly into the road below while en route to nearest site. Item Description: An LED tube light, that, when swung, is capable of cutting through any biological material and most metals. Date of Recovery: 24-02-2015 Location of Recovery: █████ ████’s residence, Montgomery, Alabama, USA Current Status: In storage. Item Description: An electrical kitchen blender that is seemingly completely incapable of causing any damage to the items placed inside it while blending. Seemingly, it's blades are only capable of harmlessly pushing items inside it around despite their sharpness, rather than slicing them. This is only true while the item is activated. When stationary, it's blades are still wholly capable of cutting objects. Date of Recovery: 1-02-2023 Location of Recovery: Pawnbroker shop, Idaho, USA. Likely sold after being given as a Christmas gift. Current Status: In object storage at Site-26. Item Description: A set of three DVDs containing the first three seasons of "The [UNTRANSLATED]"[[footnote]]The title is a series of pictographs depicting various industrial machinery.[[/footnote]], an animated workplace comedy set in what appears to be [[[SCP-748\| the Factory.]]] Item is non-anomalous besides the information breach it represents. Date of Recovery: 4/21/2024 Location of Recovery: Found hidden inside a book at the █████ Library, Amherst, Massachusetts. Current Status: Kept in Site-25 breakroom. Notes: //It's actually pretty funny if you like dark humor. And industrial accidents. -Researcher Joseph Conway.// Item Description: An association football ball, of material consistent with polyurethane; with a circumference of 70 cm and mass 450 grams - presumed to be of Size 5 standardized construction. Football can be damaged and deflated. When any human attempts to move the football, they shall only do it by hand; even when threatened with injury. Date of recovery: 03/15/2023 Location of Recovery: A football club in ████████, County Sussex, United Kingdom. Current Status: Pending destruction, held temporarily in storage in Site-44. Notes: //"Potentially a prank conducted by Foundation staff. Ethics Committee did not approve my request to seriously injure a Class-D over a football." - Researcher Frank Mills// Item Description: A set of handmade “armor” composed predominantly of layers of brochures, leaflets and other minor printed materials produced by a large number of different Veiled religious organizations. For its composition, it displays remarkably strong protective properties against threats of fey and/or demonic origin. Wearers of the item report experiencing a mental state of heightened vigilance and clarity of mind. Date of Recovery: 20/05/2023 Location of Recovery: Personal apartment of Foundation Field Agent Martin Matouš, Liberec, Czech Republic Current Status: Held in storage in Site 15CS. Item is confirmed as having been created by Agent Matouš as a personal craft project, with its anomalous properties being unintentional. +++ Anomalous Items 1101 - 1110 Item Description: A ~30x80 cm sheet of bubble wrap. Upon popping a bubble on this sheet, the bubble will instantly regenerate and a nonanomalous soap bubble ~2.5 cm[[footnote]] exactly 1 inch [[/footnote]] in diameter will appear nearby. Date of Recovery: 2023-05-26 Location of Recovery: Bordighera, Italy Current Status: Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-120. Item Description: One ████████ brand treadmill. For every 30 miles traversed, the building surrounding the item and all its contents will shrink by 1% in all directions. Item is currently at ~96% of original size. Date of Recovery: 2023-05-26 Location of Recovery: Sidney, Nebraska, USA Current Status: Disassembled and held across six Size-III object storage lockers at Site-90. Item Description: The top half of a metal lamp post, along with added wiring and power source to reallow functionality. When activated, all artificial lights in a 5km radius will deactivate, though reactivation remains possible. The source of the post's damage, as well as its repair, remain unknown. Date of Recovery: 2023-05-27 Location of Recovery: Gölcük, Turkey Current Status: Separated into component parts and stored in a Size-V and Size-II object storage locker at Site-300. Item Description: A vintage music box with intricate carvings depicting symbols of the Rastifari religion. Upon the music box being wound, all nearby plant life undergoes accelerated growth. Flowers bloom, vines extend and intertwine, and trees rapidly reach maturity. The effect is temporary and reverts once the melody stops. Date of Recovery: 1990-06-02 Location of Recovery: Mandeville, Jamaica Current Status: Held in a Size-I object storage locker at Site-66. Item Description: A life-sized cardboard cut-out of Charlie Chaplin. When the cutout is viewed by any individual, it has the ability to cause uncontrollable fits of laughter in those who observe it. The laughter may be so intense that it could lead to temporary loss of breath and physical weakness, along with brief flashes of grayscale vision. The effect persists as long as the individual remains in the presence of the cut-out. Date of Recovery: 2023-05-31 Location of Recovery: An alleyway in Curitiba, Brazil Current Status: In storage. Item Description: A set of playing cards that, when a game of poker is played with them, causes all participants to lose their sense of self-control and bet increasingly higher sums of money, along with valuable possessions such as jewelry and watches. The effect intensifies with each round, and participants become completely obsessed with winning. The cards have been known to cause individuals to engage in dangerous and reckless behavior. Date of Recovery: 1982-09-15 Location of Recovery: A high-stakes underground gambling den in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA Current Status: Held in a reinforced containment box at Site-87. Access restricted to authorized personnel only. Personnel requesting access are vetted for any history of gambling addiction. Item Description: Painted metal sign, blue text on white background, encouraging viewers to, quote, "Unzip your head." Those viewing the sign suffer a cognitohazardous effect causing them to want to perform this activity, though there is no method of doing so. Those affected will often feel around their heads and faces and examine themselves in nearby reflective surfaces. The compulsion is very mild and can be easily broken by distracting affected subjects. Date of Recovery: 2023-05-24 Location of Recovery: Abandoned storage locker, Jackson, Mississippi, USA Current Status: In storage. Item Description: Poster of the once-popular public service announcement "It's 10 PM, do you know where your children are?", commonly found on television stations from the 1960s to the 1980s. No posters of this are known to have been made, despite the item appearing to be of professional quality. Anyone viewing the poster becomes consumed by the question and is only satisfied upon learning the location of their children, if any exist. The effect on childless subjects is easily broken by reminding them that they do not have children. Date of Recovery: 2023-04-30 Location of Recovery: Found behind another poster in a frame at a garage sale in Orlando, Florida. Current Status: In storage. Note: //The seller of the frame denied any knowledge of the anomalous item. She claimed to have acquired the frame and original poster from a friend several years ago.// - Agent Hernandez Item Description: One anomalously invisible bald cap. When worn, all hair on the scalps of any individual within ~22 meters becomes similarly invisible until the cap is removed. Date of Recovery: 2023-06-01 Location of Recovery: [REDACTED], Tataouine, Tunisia Current Status: Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-33. Item Description: One wax candle which gains wax as it burns. More notably, temporal, entropic, ontokinetic, essophysical, [REDACTED], and thermodynamic measurement systems show no signs of anomalous activity when exposed to this item. Date of Recovery: 2023-06-01 Location of Recovery: ███████████████ █████████ ██████, a museum in Saint-Michel-sur-Orge, Essonne, France Current Status: Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-300. +++ Anomalous Items 1111 - 1120 Item Description: A human skull that causes anyone who holds it to speak exclusively in Early Modern English iambic blank verse. Date of Recovery: 2023-06-03 Location of Recovery: █████████ ████ ████, Worcestershire, England Current Status: Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-84B. //Notes: "My friend, I fear it lacks accuracy, Thy nod to Hamlet, thou must now concede, Forsooth, 'tis writ in iambic pentameter, Not blank iambic, as thy pow'rs present." - Dr. Blackstone// [[collapsible show="Status Update Available." hide="Close." hideLocation="top"]] Updated Status: Object has seemingly ceased all anomalous activity. Pending reclassification to 'Neutralized'. //Notes: "Why must this misfortune befall me twice." - Dr. Blackstone// [[/collapsible]] Item Description: A photograph that individuals perceive to be of their happiest childhood memory. Date of Recovery: 2023-05-06 Location of Recovery: Mary Keller Preschool, New York, New York Current Status: On the wall of the Site-94 Breakroom. Item Description: The entrails of a //Capra aegagrus//[[footnote]] Wild goat [[/footnote]], which do not undergo decay. When any form of latin is spoken in a ~3 meter radius, the winning lottery numbers for the most recently concluded Mississippi lottery will appear burned into a random section of the entrails and remain there. Due to extensive previous usage, almost all newly generated numbers generate overlapping with previously generated numbers and are rendered partially or fully illegible. Date of Recovery: 2023-06-06 Location of Recovery: Unclaimed storage unit, McKenzie, Tennessee, USA Current Status: Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-67 for early prognosticative analysis. Upon determination of full abilities, item will be either transferred to Site-███ for SCP status evaluation, or Site-25 for permanent storage. Item Description: A 57mm white body version of a //MoYu WeiLong V1//[[footnote]] Rubik's Cube [[/footnote]]which slowly solves itself at a rate of 0.3 //TPS//[[footnote]] Turns Per Second [[/footnote]]. The method the item uses to solve has been identified as the //Petrus//[[footnote]] Rubik's Cube solving method[[/footnote]] method. When the item is solved, the item will quickly scramble itself at a rate of 10 TPS and finish in around 5 seconds. The item will ignore impossible scrambles and will solve itself as if it is possible. When a person is actively using the item, all anomalous properties will be inactive, it will come back if the item is not being actively used. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-06 Location of Recovery: An abandoned house in █████████, China Current Status: Kept in Site-98 breakroom. Item Description: A poster showing a picture of Earth that, when viewed, causes the viewer to jump and yell "HUZZAH!" Date of Recovery: 2014-02-08 Location of Recovery: A warehouse in █████████, █████████. Current Status: Kept in Site-87 storage. Item Description: Approximately 2.9 metric tons of dirt and topsoil which is anomalously incapable of supporting the growth of any living sedentary organism, regardless of an ordinarily viable nutrient content, and the presence of light and water. Sedentary life placed in the soil wither at a rate of nearly ██x times faster than they ordinarily would. Date of Recovery: 1999-09-02 Location of Recovery: [DATA REDACTED] Current Status: Contained in a secure indoor plot at Site-103. Item Description: Ceramic coffee mug. Standard size, no manufacturer's information visible. Filling the mug with any liquid other than coffee will cause it to spill, usually via normal yet unlikely means. Testing revealed that the method of spilling becomes increasingly unlikely as more and more variables are controlled. Date of Recovery: 2023-06-01 Location of Recovery: A secondhand store in Greer, AL Current Status: --Being tested.-- Testing suspended after a minor earthquake struck the testing chamber. Item is now in storage. Item Description: A topless blue Corvette that when running causes the driver to hallucinate that they are travelling 70mph (112 kph) on an empty seaside road. While in this state, they are unaware of the outside world around them. The effect ends should the driver be removed from the car or if the car itself runs out of fuel. Testing has demonstrated that additional passengers that enter perceive the same scenery. Date of Recovery: June 10th, 2020 Location of Recovery Object recovered from Dr. ███████'s driveway. When Dr. ███████ failed to show up to work for 48 consecutive hours during a standard workweek, security agents were dispatched to check up on him. He was found sitting at the vehicle's wheel, and taken in for an immediate medical examination. Results concluded that he was suffering from sleep deprivation and dehydration, but otherwise had suffered no physical harm, and has since made a full recovery. Current Status: Object contained in LOS (Large Object Storage) at Containment Site-17. //Notes: Object was proposed for staff recreational use considered by Site-17 Asst. Dir. but was denied due to the potential health risk to personnel. Dr. ███████ has been given a replacement vehicle as concession.// Item Description: An oval hair brush secreting a mix of body soap and shampoo from the bristles. Date of Recovery: 2023-14-06 Location of Recovery: A bathroom in ██████████████'s house in Pitmedden, United Kingdom. Current Status: Kept in Site-65 storage. Item Description: A //tickseed//[[footnote]] Flower [[/footnote]]that grows and decomposes over the course of an entire day. Date of Recovery: 2023-14-06 Location of Recovery: A garden in South Bradenton, Florida Current Status: Kept in Site-108 breakroom. +++ Anomalous Items 1121 - 1130 Item Description: One (1) mosquito found splattered on a windshield. Date of Recovery: 2023-04-25 Location of Recovery: Lunar resupply vessel '//Never Given//' Current Status: Handed over to Area-32's entomology department[[footnote]]FINALLY![[/footnote]]. Item Description: A sepia-tone ceramic mug that is seemingly impervious to anomalous effect. Most anomalous liquids placed in the mug will become non-anomalous in seconds, with more esoteric liquids taking up to several minutes to completely transform. Liquids tested such as SCP-00█, SCP-009, and many of the abstract liquids generated by SCP-294 have all transformed into ordinary drinking water after exposure to the mug. Date of Recovery: 20██-09-13 Location of Recovery: ███████'s Thrift Store, Bloomington, Arkansas Current Status: Presently contained in Small Object Storage, Site-26. //Note: The future containment status of the item is currently in the process of being determined, due to both its deleterious properties, and of the nature of its threat to normalcy, or rather its functional lack thereof.// Item Description: A standard sheet of lined paper containing a pencil drawing of a square which only has three sides. No anomalous psychological effect, it is simply impossible and therefore naturally confusing. Original creator unknown. Date of Recovery: 8/17/2022 Location of Recovery: ██████-████████ Middle School, ██████, Indiana Current Status: Presently contained in anart storage gallery at Site-454. //Note: "It's just weird... I don't like it." - Agent Strickland, MTF-Theta-90// Item Description: A Pratt & Whitney JT8D-15 low-bypass turbofan engine that, when operated, anomalously generates twice as much thrust for a given fuel flow as a non-anomalous engine of the same type would. Date of Recovery: 17/06/1990 Location of Recovery: Installed in a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-200 (registration N█████), Midway International Airport, Chicago, Illinois Current Status: --Installed in a Foundation Boeing 737-200 (identification code ██-██████) used for inter-site personnel transport.-- In storage following the replacement of aircraft ██-██████ due to obsolescence, as advances in aircraft technology had rendered this aircraft more expensive to operate, even with the additional fuel efficiency provided by its use of AO-1124, than a jet transport of a newer model. All other Foundation aircraft using this engine model had already been retired several years earlier for this reason. Item Description: American flag with 67 stars instead of the standard 50. Anyone viewing the item directly suffers a cognitohazardous effect that causes them to believe this is the proper number and all other flags are wrong. Viewing photographs or video of the item does not trigger this effect, which is mild and easily broken. Date of Recovery: July 4, 2022 Location of Recovery: Columbus, OH Current Status: In storage. Item Description: Two or more 50-cent Netherlands Antillean guilder coins. When an instance is flipped, it will demanifest while two new instances manifest on the ground, one on its "head" side and the other on "tails". Every 31st of January, all instances will demanifest while two new instances appear within five centimeters of the average location of all previous instances' manifestations. As of 2023-01-31, this location is 05°██'██", 56°██'██", ██ kilometers from Site-276, and is expected to be retrievable within the confines of Site-276 as of 20██-01-31. Date of Recovery: 2013-07-10 Location of Recovery: Various locations in northeastern Suriname, mostly within Paramaribo Current Status: The 678 extant instances are held at Site-276 in six Size-II through -V object storage lockers (635), two long-term testing chambers (28), a display unit for explanations of ectoentropic anomalies (12), and an unknown location within the site's ventilation system (3)[[footnote]] Due to the poor architecture of the site's base ventilation system and the (de)generative properties of this anomaly, recovery has been deemed a Low priority [[/footnote]]. Item Description: Two mummified juvenile //Equus grevyi//[[footnote]] Grevy's Zebra [[/footnote]] with no visible cause of death. When seen by any animal, that animal will over the following 5-18 seconds lose all ability to comprehend that a zebra can be eaten or poses any nutritional value. This effect is permanent in humans unless amnestics are applied.[[footnote]] Whether this applies to other species is unknown due to a lack of research in veterinary amnestic treatment [[/footnote]] Date of Recovery: 1983-07-10 Location of Recovery: A Marshall, Carter, and Dark auction in Brixton, London, England. Accompanying documentation suggests an origin in eastern Ethiopia between 1871 and 1886. Current Status: Held together in a Size-V object storage locker at Site-25 with appropriate antimemetic warning labels. Item Description: Eight 28 by 36 cm posters reading "Hang in there!" When viewed for the first time by an individual, said individual will experience minor neck pain and/or non-fatal breathing difficulties. This effect subsides upon viewing any other poster. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-10 Location of Recovery: ██████████ Marketing Headquarters, Hobart, Australia Current Status: Held in storage frames SF035-U01-11206 through SF035-U01-11213 at Site-35. Item Description: One ball-peen hammer with a damaged handle which imbues all viewers with a perfect knowledge of all historical implementations of communism in a majority-human government. Notably, this ignores all anomalous and nonanomalous Foundation-induced alterations to history, allowing for knowledge of at least █,███ governments across ██ historical iterations across the last [REDACTED] years. This occurs in spite of [5/2000 CLEARANCE REQUIRED], [5/4132 CLEARANCE REQUIRED], [5/3252 CLEARANCE REQUIRED], and an unknowable amount of Ennui Protocol deployments. Date of Recovery: [REDACTED] Location of Recovery: Dalanzadgad, Mongolia Current Status: Held in storage frame SF035-U04-00005 at Site-35 with undisclosed safety measures. Item Description: One hand-painted music box with various instruments depicted across its surface. When played at a normal orientation, all sound in a ~160 cm radius is lowered by 10 decibels. When held upside down, this effect is reversed. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-11 Location of Recovery: Jelgava, Latvia Current Status: Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-234, on its side. +++ Anomalous Items 1131 - 1140 Item Description: One human eyeball and some attached tissue encased in an 15x15x15 cm epoxy resin cube. All observers, including recording equipment, perceive this eye as staring directly at them. Date of Recovery: 1913-07-11 Location of Recovery: [REDACTED], the personal residence of O5-1-01, specifically within his [REDACTED] Current Status: Found neutralized 1992-12-24. Connection to Anomalous Event #693937, in which all male personnel at Site-███ reported a pain in their left eye on 1992-12-17 suspected but unconfirmed. Item Description: A withered dirty blue rabbit plush approximately 20 centimeters in height, when held by a subject it emits a faint warmth and emits a subtle smoothing female hum. Subjects often report when holding it they feel loved, safe and cared for. Date of Recovery: 20██-06-15 Location of Recovery: Recovered after a historical dig on the western front. Current Status: Stored in Dr. Andrew Cerise cabin aboard Foundation Research Vessel Azazel. Item Description: One stained McDonald's restaurant french fry box. When held, the holder will become unable to perceive any member of the order Blattaria[[footnote]] Cockroaches [[/footnote]] until exactly 15 minutes after they release the box. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-15 Location of Recovery: ████████, South Korea Current Status: Held in a Size-II object storage locker at Site-199 Item Description: One wooden music box constructed for playing part of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. When activated, the box will instead play a unique recording of former president of the United States of America William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton screaming in pain. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-15 Location of Recovery: ███████ ██████ █████, Texas, USA. Current Status: Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-███ for potential use in [REDACTED]. Note: ████ claimed to have no knowledge of the item or its creator, and successfully demonstrated that it bore no connection to the ████ family's extensive occult artifact collection, the Treasures of the Chief[[footnote]] The control of which was relinquished by ████ on 2009-02-09 in accordance with the Franklinite Coven [[/footnote]], or the United States Government Strategic Paraweaponry Reserve. Item's true creator unknown. Item Description: One candle which only loses wax while a lie is uttered in its immediate vicinity, and regains wax when a child sings in its vicinity. Date of Recovery: 1993-07-15 Location of Recovery: Salelologa, Samoa Current Status: Neutralized 2003-01-14 during a test wherein a child, D-041205[[footnote]] [REDACTED] [[/footnote]], was instructed to sing "The sky is green." D-041205 and Drs. Jensen and Tualaulelei treated for wax burns. Item Description: One folding wheelchair which, when sat in for the first time, shoots intangible flames from its armrests and shouts the inhabitant's name over a variable guitar riff. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-15 Location of Recovery: A raided Serpent's Hand meeting at ████████ ████████'s Internet Café, Cotonou, Benin Current Status: Held in a Size-IV object storage locker at Site-424. Item Description: One 325x500x30 centimeter slab of concrete. Every 1.0-7.6 seconds, a Type-VIII phantasmic human hand manifests and punches the "A" side of the slab, rendering it fractionally more damaged. As of 2023-01-02, this has resulted in a hole 3.7 centimeters in depth and roughly 20x15 centimeters across. Date of Recovery: 1973-07-15 Location of Recovery: ███████ ██████ Prison, █████████, Portuguese East Africa[[footnote]] Now Mozambique [[/footnote]] Current Status: Held in a 5x5x3 meter spectral containment unit at Site-266. Item Description: --48-- 32 condoms. When worn, the user will perceive all individuals as their father. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-15 Location of Recovery: ████████ Hotel, Tegucigalpa, Honduras Current Status: Held in MSU-A001-1240-102 at Site-35. Item Description: --286.5-- 214.5 kilograms of aragonite. When >15 grams are swallowed or absorbed by any animal, that animal’s location will be swapped with an equally-sized space ~310 centimeters below them, effectively teleporting them. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-██ Location of Recovery: LoI-24267, a Chaos Insurgency base for use in the destruction of [REDACTED], ██ kilometers from Budapest, Hungary Current Status: Undergoing testing at Site-300 to determine field capabilities. Note: Before recovery, object was guarded by a lone Chaos Insurgency agent. Upon seeing Foundation operatives enter the room, this agent swallowed one of several prepared fragments in an attempt to escape. However, as the location was being secured from the ground up, the agent partially swapped with and became stuck in a nonanomalous gun closet which had been moved by operatives on the floor below. The agent was subsequently separated from the closet with no lasting injuries and captured for interrogation. Item Description: One living //Chiton glaucus//[[footnote]] Green chiton [[/footnote]] composed entirely of aragonite. This entity does not require water and usually remains still, but moves when feeding, deriving energy via the transformation of concrete below its body to additional aragonite. How this process can produce any useful energy is unknown. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-██ Location of Recovery: LoI-24267 Current Status: Held in a temporary containment chamber with a floor of modular concrete slabs at Site-25 while pending SCP status. Item has been nicknamed “Strider” by containment staff. Note: Item recovered in an unused storage garage four floors below AO-1139. Connection hypothesized but unconfirmed. +++ Anomalous Items 1141 - 1150 Item Description: Three M1 Garand rifles. The locations of wounds inflicted by these rifles are antimemetically cloaked. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-██ Location of Recovery: LoI-24267 Current Status: Held in a standard secure weapons vault at Site-300. Item Description: One obsidian blade which makes all persons stabbed aware of their status as [5/0001-SAS CLEARANCE REQUIRED]. Amnestics are capable of reversing this effect. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-██ Location of Recovery: LoI-24267 Current Status: Held in a modified secure weapons vault at Site-300 with undisclosed safety measures. All testing denied. Note: Chaos Insurgency was unaware of the item’s true effects and used it primarily for torture and [5/0001-SAS CLEARANCE REQUIRED]. One MTF operative was affected during the capture of LoI-24267 as a deliberate effort to cause demotivation and/or injury, but instead became far more confident and careless as a result of the knowledge of this entry and her eventual survival. Operative congratulated, then amnesticized. Item Description: One kerosene lamp which makes viewers incapable of believing their loved ones to be safe. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-██ Location of Recovery: LoI-24267 Current Status: Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-121. Item Description: Four infant //Tachyglossus aculeatus//[[footnote]] Short-beaked echidna [[/footnote]] with their spines replaced with needles genetically matching //Dendrocnide moroides//[[footnote]] Gympie-gympie [[/footnote]]. Instances are capable of photosynthesis, but do not possess the toxicity often associated with //D. moroides//. Associated documentation suggests this was unintentional and had happened before, and proposes the termination of all four. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-██ Location of Recovery: LoI-24267 Current Status: Held in an echidna-friendly containment unit with SCP-9324-1 and AO-04362 at Site-25 while pending SCP status. Items nicknamed “Leo”, “Michelle”, “Donna”, and “Raph” by containment staff. Item Description: ~600 kg of soil. Every winter solstice, 1803 adult //Gryllotalpa africana//[[footnote]] African mole cricket [[/footnote]] emerge in a disoriented state. Date of Recovery: Prior to 1914 Location of Recovery: Location data lost, soil composition and nearby items suggest Libyan origin Current Status: Held in a Size-V object storage locker at Site-33. This locker is cleaned and its produced materials incinerated annually. Item Description: A regenerative //Musa acuminata//[[footnote]] Banana [[/footnote]] taped to the wall of Site-106's Cafeteria, all attempts to remove the banana from the wall has been unsuccessful. It is unknown how the banana got there. Date of Recovery: 2009 Location of Recovery: Site-106's Cafeteria Current Status: Held in Site-106's Cafeteria Item Description: One disposable face mask, worn. 50% of subjects who view the item report feeling that the item could only have belonged to someone beautiful, while the other 50% feel that it must have had an ugly owner. The veracity of these claims remains unknown. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-17 Location of Recovery: Gifu, Japan Current Status: Held in Storage Frame SF035-U06-16662 at Site-35. Item Description: One computer flash drive containing a single file titled "tchort[[footnote]]Slavonic word meaning "Devil" or "Black God"[[/footnote]].txt" which is exactly 90 kilobytes in size. Inside the file, there is an untitled long-form essay written in American English. The full contents of the essay are not known, as upon the complete reading of the file or its contents by any program or living entity, the viability of sustaining operation will cease immediately. Attempting to store a complete record of the contents of the essay by containing pieces of it within multiple 'containers' of information simultaneously will result in the cessation of all containers upon the completion of the reading of the file's contents. Seemingly the only exception is the flash drive in which the file was initially stored in. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-05 Location of Recovery: ███ Teahouse in Denver, Colorado. Current Status: The flash drive is presently contained in a secure lockbox in Site-91. Item Description: One roll of █████ ████ brand toilet paper, ~25% used. This roll constantly rotates and throws itself it at nearby walls and persons until all paper is dislodged from the central tube, at which point the roll and paper will demanifest then remanifest in their initial orderly state. Date of Recovery: 1993-07-18 Location of Recovery: █████ residence, Echuca-Moama, Victoria / New South Wales, Australia Current Status: Held in a reinforced Size-III object storage locker at Site-127. Item Description: One CD with "that fifthist b!tch" written on its surface in marker. Included on the CD is //Livin' on a Prayer// by Bon Jovi, but with every instance of "halfway there" instead dividing into fifths. Subjects hearing this revised song for the first time become unable to understand fractions for exactly fifty-two minutes and five seconds. Date of Recovery: 2003-07-18 Location of Recovery: Estate auction of PoI-52651, ██ ██████████, CFO of █████ Records Current Status: Held in Storage Sleeve SS035-U07-07776 at Site-35. Note: Bon Jovi's connection to the Fifthist Church under review. +++ Anomalous Items 1151 - 1160 Item Description: One poster depicting the band Twisted Sister, lightly torn. All persons born before 1944 who view this item feel an intrusive thought to leap out the nearest window. This effect is not compulsive, however, and is almost never acted upon. Date of Recovery: 2003-07-18 Location of Recovery: Estate auction of PoI-52651, ██ ██████████, CFO of █████ Records Current Status: Held in Storage Sleeve SS035-U07-19011 at Site-35. Item Description: One Polish copy of //The Silmarillion// by J. R. R. Tolkein. When held by bare skin, time stops except for the holder and item until it is released. Due to the unmovement of light in this scenario, normal reading is rendered impossible. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-18 Location of Recovery: █████████ residence, Stalowa Wola, Poland Current Status: Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-120. Item Description: One 8.5x11 inch sheet of paper that slowly erases all substances placed upon it that are not ink or graphite, such as coffee stains or crayon. The paper is currently printed with an unfilled United States Individual Tax Return sheet. Date of Recovery: 2023-04-16 Location of Recovery: █████████, New Jersey. Current Status: Held in object storage cabinet IC-Δ-17 at Site-91. Item Description: A copy of Real Madrid C.F.'s fan shirts. Appears to be a regular copy but a logo which symbolizes LaLiga[[footnote]]a Spainish association football league[[/footnote]] anomalously spins. Date of Recovery: 2023-19-07 Location of Recovery: ████, A████, Turkey Current Status: Held in personal wardrobe of Dr. █████ Note: There were some minor rips. Item Description: A taxidermic art piece depicting a "jackalope"[[footnote]] Mythical American mammal resembling a jackrabbit with the antlers of a deer [[/footnote]] in a bridal gown and a "wolpertinger"[[footnote]] Mythical German creature with features from various forest creatures, often including rabbits [[/footnote]] in a tuxedo holding hands. When any married couple sleeps in the same room as this item, they will experience a minor increase in cooperation, communication skills, health, and overall happiness until the next sunset. If a rabbit is also present in the room, it will instantaneously disappear at sunrise and the item's emotional effects will permanently increase for the present couple. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-19 Location of Recovery: Museum of Matrimonial Mysteries, ██████, Utah Current Status: Held in a Size-IV object storage locker at Site-202. Note: Research into a connection with [[[SCP-6193]]] is ongoing. > NOTE: Some entry(s) appear to be corrupted by info-alteration. The Anomalous/Entos Protocol is actively maintained in this document. Item Description: A nonsolid sealed box that weighs 33 kilograms which Date of Recovery: 0000-00-00the Location of Recovery: A█████ ██████ Current Status: It's so cold. Note: Date of Recovery: A nonsolid metal copper box Location of Recovery: 2020-07-23 Current Status: Michigan, Note: boxNote: Item Description: A nonsolid sealed metal box that weighs 33 kilograms which Item Description: A nonsolid sealed metal site that weighs 33.3 kilograms which is Item Description: A sealed metal box that weighs 33.33 kilograms which contains Item Description: A nonsolid metal box that weighs 33.333 kilograms which contains one Location of Recovery: 2007-20-23-19 Current Status: Ali███ ██████ Conta Location ████ve██: 2023-07-33.33333 ined > NOTE: Some entry(s) appear to be corrupted by info-alteration. The █████n ██████ Protocol is actively maintained in this document. Item Description: One wind-up analog toy male mouse which acts in a lifelike manner when activated. Internally, the mouse is composed of roughly three billion metal gears which are extremely small in size, each one of which is engraved with a unique pattern of teeth. The gears are housed in a plastic chassis coated with felt "fur". The mouse does not need to eat, sleep, or breathe. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-20 Location of Recovery: ██████, France Current Status: Contained in a storage locker within the Site-81 break room. Note: AO-1157 may not be exposed to living female mice due to the potential risk of reproduction. Item Description: Roll of transparent packing tape that has no end by which the tape can be unrolled and used. Initially, this was believed to be non-anomalous, but testing has revealed the true nature of the item. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-21 Location of Recovery: In the lost and found at [REDACTED] Middle School, Columbus, OH Current Status: In storage. Note: //Investigation into who originally left the item at the school is ongoing.// Item Description: Four Dark Brahma chickens (//Gallus domesticus//) that demanifest for the duration of any lightning strike in a 40 km radius before remanifesting. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-24 Location of Recovery: █████ ████ County Fair, Missouri, USA Current Status: Held in a shared enclosure in Site-25, awaiting medical examination, further testing, and possible SCP designation. Note: //"They may not look like much, but they can get real uppity when it's storming. Dalauan nearly bit my pinky off! And don't even get me started on Jupiter." - Handler McLoughlin// Item Description: Roughly 75 square centimeters of tattooed human flesh reading "This Too Shall Pass". This text cannot be willfully censored, hidden, obscured, or otherwise be made more difficult to view. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-24 Location of Recovery: [REDACTED], Bor, South Sudan Current Status: Display in the main atrium of Site-206 behind a protective glass case. +++ Anomalous Items 1161 - 1170 Item Description: One coffee mug bearing an image of the pansexual pride flag. Mug appears blank white to those who object to same-sex relationships. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-24 Location of Recovery: Yard sale in Athy, County Kildare, Ireland Current Status: Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-19. Item Description: One fur cap which lets its wearer know the exact intentions of anyone currently flirting with them. Date of Recovery: 1993-07-24 Location of Recovery: ██████ █████ ██████, a bar in Trang, Thailand Current Status: Exchanged with UNGOC for [REDACTED] as of 200█-██-██, subsequently lost. Item Description: Two plastic shower curtains that yell "Boo" at 99 decibels daily at 13:13. Date of Recovery: 2013-07-24 Location of Recovery: Private residence in Saraya, Senegal Current Status: Held in a soundproofed containment unit at Site-304. Item Description: One iron and plastic bird feeder which causes lightning to instantly strike any contacting procyonid. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-24 Location of Recovery: Private residence in Spearfish, South Dakota, USA, following highly anomalous weather patterns Current Status: Held in a reinforced Size-III object storage locker at Site-81. Item Description: One Kazakhstani individual, ██████ █████, (1929-), and one Peruvian individual, ████ ██████████, (2020-), bearing identical fingerprints. █████ and ██████████ bear no other connection. Date of Recovery: [5/2000 CLEARANCE REQUIRED] Location of Recovery: [5/2000 CLEARANCE REQUIRED] Current Status: Both individuals placed under discrete monitoring until █████'s death. Should either individual be detained by any civilian agency, use of SCP-█████ to alter their fingerprints and the records thereof is permitted. Item Description: Four vinyl records of various Mozart compositions, only audible to literate humans. Date of Recovery: 2003-07-24 Location of Recovery: █████████ Nursery, Chula Vista, California, USA Current Status: Held in storage frames SF028-A14-01119 through -01122 at Site-28. Item Description: One pair of rusted bolt cutters. When used, all relevant security and police forces for the affected location are telepathically alerted to this use. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-24 Location of Recovery: █████████ ███████ Plant, Guatemala City, Guatemala Current Status: --Awaiting testing at Site-34.-- Testing preemptively denied via a deal with the SCPF-USEP[[footnote]] SCP Foundation Union for Security and Enforcement Personnel [[/footnote]] after information regarding AO-1167 was leaked by unknown parties and ████ individual complaints were submitted in a 48-hour period. Item Description: Two feet from a male //Aptenodytes forsteri//[[footnote]] Emperor penguin [[/footnote]], each six meters in height. Feet were initially attached to the nonanomalously sized halves of the male, but these halves heavily decayed both prior to containment and during transfer to Site-960, and were therefore removed. Date of Recovery: 1973-07-24 Location of Recovery: 80°13'56"S 03°89'45"W, Antarctica Current Status: Stored in 10x10x10 meter containment unit CU960-A01-00004 at Site-960. Item Description: One plastic and glass handheld mirror. When someone holds this item and says "Halt", the holder will perceive the sky as taking on prestorm conditions, and other individuals as becoming calmer and quieter. This effect reverses upon the holder saying "Resume". Date of Recovery: 2013-07-24 Location of Recovery: Private residence in Mayville, North Dakota, USA Current Status: Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-97. Item Description: One silver locket holding a picture depicting --a human and [[[SCP-1000]]] instance-- two children, no longer of Day or Night, embracing in front of the Eiffel Tower. Date of Recovery: [INFORMATION DELETED] Location of Recovery: [INFORMATION DELETED] Current Status: Somewhere safe. Note: //No matter what you do, or who or what you take, we'll always have our memories. -[NO AUTHOR GIVEN]// +++ Anomalous Items 1171 - 1180 Item Description: One sentient Tesla Model 3 electric car, heavily vandalized prior to containment. Item incessantly asks "Are we there yet?" in English or Arabic unless fueling, and will always attempt to park facing [REDACTED] on Mars. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-24 Location of Recovery: 5 kilometers outside of Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, driving eastwards Current Status: Held in Site-95's ESVDR[[footnote]] East Sapient Vehicle Driving Range [[/footnote]]. Transportation to Mars considered but deemed unreasonable and costly. Item Description: One //Eucalyptus globulus//[[footnote]] Blue gum tree [[/footnote]] with leaves shaped like hands displaying their middle finger. When any of these leaves are ingested by an instance of //Phascolarctos cinereus//[[footnote]] Koala [[/footnote]], said instance will violently explode. Date of Recovery: 2003-07-24 Location of Recovery: Private residence █ kilometers from Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia Current Status: Held in Courtyard S13 at Site-86. Item Description: --945-- 866 ml of bleach. When >6 ml are ingested, the ingester will become albino. All other effects of consuming bleach still occur. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-24 Location of Recovery: St. ████████'s Hospital, Leuven, Belgium Current Status: Stored in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-420. Item Description: Five candles capable of stopping hallucinations in any individual in a ~150 cm radius while all active. Significant amounts of nonanomalous wax have been added by an unknown party, to no effect. Date of Recovery: 2013-07-24 Location of Recovery: ██████ Mental Health Center, Anqing, China Current Status: Original wax expended as of 2020-01-25, object now neutralized. Item Description: --Six-- Fourteen //Citrullus lanatus//[[footnote]] Watermelon [[/footnote]]. Each instance is capable of being carved in accordance with the Axiom of Choice so as to yield two new, ripe instances. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-24 Location of Recovery: Grocery store in Wad Madani, Sudan Current Status: Temporarily held in Site-86 while proper Infinitely Replicable Anomaly Containment Proposals are drafted and reviewed. Item Description: One bumper sticker reading "How is my driving?" in Italian. When placed on any vehicle, all four tires will deflate. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-24 Location of Recovery: Street corner in Genoa, Italy Current Status: Held in Storage Sleeve SS095-A03-84737 at Site-95. Item Description: Two welcome mats, extremely worn. When placed in front of a building, all individuals who walk over either mat will become incapable of assuming malicious intent from anyone in the building. Date of Recovery: 1993-07-24 Location of Recovery: █████████ Accounting and Financial Planning, Kamal Shahr, Iran Current Status: [REDACTED] Item Description: One desiccated //Melopsittacus undulatus//[[footnote]] Common parakeet [[/footnote]] wing with numerous thaumaturgic enhancements. When wielded by any animal, the wielder becomes capable of unlocking bird cages and paralyzing any member of the family //Felidae//. Date of Recovery: 1993-07-24 Location of Recovery: Private residence in Loures, Portugal Current Status: Swallowed by AO-2281-N during transportation of several anomalies from Site-06-3 to Site-25. AO-2281-N was then paralyzed by AO-1178's effects and asphyxiated before medical care could be administered. AO-1178 rendered unretrievable due to AO-2281-N's spatially ambiguous esophageal tract. Item Description: One hand-powered flashlight capable of emitting over 300 panes of divine light, which allows for the instantaneous disruption of all lesser demons. Notably, this level of divine light is also capable of blinding >99% of all extant humans. Date of Recovery: [REDACTED], first obtained 1201 CE Location of Recovery: Vatican Archives, as part of an exchange between the Vatican and the Foundation of anomalies best contained by the other organization Current Status: Held in a Size-IV object storage locker at Site-343. Item Description: Various robes, heavily worn. When touched, all minor wounds are healed, and all present tumors subsequently grow anywhere from 44 to 188% faster. Date of Recovery: [REDACTED], first obtained 847 CE Location of Recovery: Vatican Archives, as part of an exchange between the Vatican and the Foundation of anomalies best contained by the other organization Current Status: Held in a climate controlled cloth preservation unit at Site-343. +++ Anomalous Items 1181 - 1190 Item Description: Something that is not the Word of God, but can only be described in how it is or is not like the Word of God. In comparison to the Word of God, this object is smaller, waxier, simpler, and more physical, cylindrical, and flammable. Date of Recovery: [REDACTED], first obtained 1468 CE Location of Recovery: Vatican Archives, as part of an exchange between the Vatican and the Foundation of anomalies best contained by the other organization Current Status: Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-343. Item Description: The demon Cipocs, of the 4th Circle of the 2nd Ring Below. Entity is of Tartarean origin and bears a vaguely chiropteran bodyplan with features of the genera //Musca//, //Ursus//, and //Deinonychus//. Affixed to its exposed skull is a crown of beryllium bronze bearing jewels of ruby, diamond, and gold. Entity's total size has been measured at 66 micrometres[[footnote]] 6.6 times 10^^-7^^ meters [[/footnote]]. Date of Recovery: [REDACTED], first obtained 1895 CE Location of Recovery: Vatican Archives, as part of an exchange between the Vatican and the Foundation of anomalies best contained by the other organization Current Status: Held in a blessed microscope slide developed by Agent Bourgogne and Father Johnathan [COGNITOHAZARD EXPUNGED], capable of suppressing all size-altering magic. Slide placing in Size-I object storage locker at Site-343. Item Description: One heavily rusted blade used in the flaying of St. Bartholomew. When used to pierce the skin of any human, the wielder becomes aware of all consequences of their actions with the blade, including but not limited to social, financial, political, sexual, occupational, and eternal consequences. Date of Recovery: [REDACTED], first obtained 1761 CE Location of Recovery: Vatican Archives, as part of an exchange between the Vatican and the Foundation of anomalies best contained by the other organization Current Status: --Undergoing testing at Site-300-- Hidden, possibly destroyed by a mutinous faction of researchers at Site-300 to ensure no future uses by the larger SCP Foundation. Interrogation has yet to yield results in the [REDACTED] since this incident occurred, and is ongoing as of writing. Item Description: A set of stone carvings depicting the generally accepted endstate of all iterations of [https://www.reddit.com/r/place "r/place"], a collaborative digital canvas. Specifically, these iterations originate from 2017, 2022, 2023, 2027, 203█, and ████ CE. Date of Recovery: 1933-07-25 Location of Recovery: Machu Picchu, Peru Current Status: Undergoing predictive cultural analysis at Site-67. Notable details in the 2027 iteration include but are not limited to the logo of GoI-1155 "Gamers Against Weed" disguised as a [REDACTED] in partnership with r/anarchychess, a possibly satirical memorial to streamer ██████ "█████"/"████████" █████████ (19██-), and heavy use of the █████ ████████ flag. Item Description: A skeleton belonging to an unknown animal with two prominent tusks and a single large eye, buried with sixty-four nonanomalous elephant skeletons. Carbon dating suggests an age of roughly 3200 years. Date of Recovery: 1913-07-25 Location of Recovery: █████ ███████ Cliffs, --Ottoman Empire-- Palestine Current Status: Held at Site-265 for mythopaleontological research. Item Description: One female //Ursus arctos//[[footnote]] Brown bear [[/footnote]] comprised of ink. The specimen still possesses most biological needs, but does not sleep. Instead, it remains perfectly awake between from the spring equinox until the fall equinox, then hibernates until the next equinox with no waking periods. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-25 Location of Recovery: ██████████ National Forest, Kazakhstan Current Status: Held at Site-25. Breeding efforts are underway. Item Description: ████████ ██████ (2002-). AO-1187 demonstrates perfect accuracy at guessing locations in //GeoGuessr//, a location-guessing video game, and zero accuracy at all other games of location detection. Date of Recovery: 2023-01-25 Location of Recovery: Private residence in Minsk, Belarus Current Status: Contract created in which ██████ remains outside of direct containment but is monitored at ██████████ ████████ █████████ University, in exchange for [REDACTED]. Additionally, access to //GeoGuessr// via ███U internet has been disallowed. Item Description: One six-sided die, carved from bone. Item occasionally yells "Yahtzee!" Date of Recovery: 2003-07-25 Location of Recovery: Private residence in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, USA Current Status: Held in a soundproofed object storage locker at Site-71. Note: As of 2023-07-01, no similar items have been found. Search for (possibly four) similar dice downgraded to a Minimal priority. Item Description: One cardboard box which is capable of manifesting a female Loxosceles reclusa[[footnote]] Brown recluse spider [[/footnote]] inside of itself which is capable of leaving the box. If the box is opened, the spider demanifests, and a new identical spider manifests back inside of the box in an intact state. This process is instantaneous. Date of Recovery: 2003-07-25 Location of Recovery: █████ Record Store, Kingston, Jamaica, which formerly served as a front business to a currently unknown group, designated GoI-1878. Current Status: Held in Size-II Organic Storage at Site-300. Notes: Currently being held for assessment. Investigation ongoing. Item Description: One paperback copy of //Fifty Shades of Grey// by E. L. James, printed 2012. When ≥150 words are read, the reader will develop deuteranopia[[footnote]] A form of red-green colorblindness [[/footnote]] until they next enter REM sleep. It should be noted that deuteranopia does not prevent the perception of all color, but merely inhibits the ability to differentiate between red and green. Date of Recovery: 2013-07-25 Location of Recovery: ████ and Sons Bookstore, Vancouver, Washington, USA Current Status: Held in Storage Rack SR182-A08-24739 at Site-182. +++ Anomalous Items 1191 - 1200 Item Description: Three copies of a guidebook for tying knots, released via amateur publishing during the 1940's. Knots within ~750 centimeters are unable to be undone via any means other than cutting. Date of Recovery: 1953-07-25 Location of Recovery: Campsite near Gordon, Alabama, USA Current Status: Held in Storage Racks SR182-A05-20267 at Site-182. Note: Due to the quality of the guidebook, most knots described within are likely to unravel within minutes of leaving AO-1191's area(s) of effect. Item Description: 495 grams of indestructible spider silk, attached to 676 grams of rotten wood. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-25 Location of Recovery: GoI-1878[[footnote]] Named "We Who Tend the Web" in English [[/footnote]] headquarters in Guyana Current Status: Undergoing ballistics testing at Site-747. Item Description: One painting depicting a large tarantula surrounded by eight humans, all facing where an observer would be expected to stand. Viewing this painting results in feeling as though something is crawling on the viewer for 18-36 seconds. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-25 Location of Recovery: GoI-1878 headquarters in Guyana Current Status: Held in Storage Frame SF035-U16-77437 at Site-35. Item Description: One sculpture depicting a nude male human kneeling and bending forwards, constructed of anomalously durable spider silk. Akiva radiation levels are abnormally high in its presence. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-25 Location of Recovery: GoI-1878 headquarters in Guyana Current Status: Held in a Size-VI object storage locker at Site-19. Item Description: A female //Theraphosa blondi//[[footnote]] Goliath birdeater [[/footnote]], 340 centimeters in height, deceased from asphyxiation. Akiva radiation levels are abnormally low in its presence. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-25 Location of Recovery: GoI-1878 headquarters in Guyana Current Status: Held in a Size-VII object storage locker at Site-83. Item Description: Eight heavily modified chest freezers. All eggs belonging to the family //Theraphosidae// grow eight times faster when placed inside. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-25 Location of Recovery: GoI-1878 headquarters in Guyana Current Status: Contents incinerated, items placed in separate Size-VI object storage lockers at Site-949. Item Description: Birthday candle, bright pink in color. When burning, wax is not consumed. The flame briefly turns green when a lie is spoken within approximately 5 meters. At time of writing, 273 languages have been tested, including 12 which are no longer spoken. All triggered the anomalous effect. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-23 Location of Recovery: Chicago, IL Current Status: Being tested by Foundation linguists. Approval for testing with anomalous languages --pending-- granted. Item Description: One rigid --inflated-- deflated balloon measuring at 9.3 on the Mohs hardness scale. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-27 Location of Recovery: Nyungwe Forest National Park, Rwanda Current Status: Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-71. Item Description: One ██████ brand delivery truck with an attached custom license plate bearing eight emojis. These emojis change daily at local sunrise and will abstractly foretell what events will most greatly affect AO-1199. Upon initial containment, plate read "🤪🔮🚨🚔⬇️🔒🔬📖". Date of Recovery: 2023-03-13 Location of Recovery: Parking lot in Lobamba, Eswatini Current Status: Held in CGU095-A07-00338 at Site-95. Efforts to develop a retrochronal communication system using AO-1199 are under way. Note: //Daily viewing of AO-1199 shows its plate to currently read "//😴💤🚫💨🚫🔓✔️📖//". This note was automatically generated by panopticon.aic. Feedback is encouraged.// Item Description: One parachute, unopened. When this parachute falls ≥10 meters, it teleports upwards 10 meters with momentum preserved. Attached objects remain at their original location. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-27 Location of Recovery: 4 kilometers outside and 3 kilometers above Šibenik, Croatia Current Status: Undergoing testing at Site-148. +++ Anomalous Items 1201 - 1210 Item Description: One female //Manis culionensis//[[footnote]] Philippine pangolin [[/footnote]] which transforms into a nonsapient regulation basketball when threatened. This ball transforms back into a pangolin once successfully forced through a basketball hoop via a "slam dunk". Date of Recovery: 2023-07-27 Location of Recovery: █████████ Primary School, Culion, the Philippines Current Status: Held in a low-stress environment in Site-25, with a lowered basketball hoop easily accessible in case of emergencies. Item nicknamed "Autobot" by containment staff. Item Description: One 3mm aluminium ball bearing which has the metanomalous effect of altering the replication of replicating anomalies. When the ball bearing is placed within the range of replication of an anomaly, the process of replication instead replicates an identical steel ball bearing rather than the intended item. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-28 Location of Recovery: Aluminium Plant ████████, ████████, Montenegro Current Status: Held in a secure object isolation locker at Site-26. Item Description: One nuclear warhead which, when activated, detonates at 1/1024th speed, and is guaranteed to produce a mushroom cloud. //Barbie// (2023) appears projected on the side of this cloud and silently plays with subtitles to completion, at which point the detonation and //Barbie// proceed in reverse until the pre-detonation state is reached. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-29 Location of Recovery: [REDACTED IN COOPERATION WITH THE US GOVERNMENT DUE TO ONGOING FINANCIAL, SPIRITUAL, AND GEOGRAPHIC AGREEMENTS] Current Status: Held in a secured bunker beneath Media Containment Area-88. Item Description: One block of congealed melted plastic exactly 1 kilogram in weight. When touched, the subject is replaced with a plastic doll roughly matching their size and appearance, before returning unharmed three hours later. All subjects report having attended a nonanomalous showing of //Oppenheimer// (2023) during this time. Date of Recovery: 2023-07-29 Location of Recovery: [REDACTED IN COOPERATION WITH MATTEL INC. DUE TO COUNCIL OF 108 STATUS] Current Status: Held in a Size-II object storage locker at Media Containment Area-88. Item Description: The date ███████-██-██, which can only be written in ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD). Date of Recovery: 2023-07-30[[footnote]] More accurately, the date AO-1205's discovery first appears in the timeline. [[/footnote]] Location of Recovery: ██°██°██°██°██°██°██°, Achronal Isolation Zone, CERN Current Status: Initial discovery suppressed in cooperation with CERN. Further containment cannot be properly enforced at this time. Item Description: One wooden pallet incapable of being lowered. Date of Recovery: 2013-07-30 Location of Recovery: █████████, a warehouse in Potosí, Bolivia Current Status: Held in Hangar 4 at Area-456 in El Alto, Bolivia. AO-1206's altitude is 4,156 meters as of writing. [[# water-supplier]]Item Description: A cubic sponge with a side length of 10 centimetres. If the sponge comes into contact with any object or organism partially made of water, all water is expelled from the object or organism. Date of Recovery: 10/15/1992 Location of Recovery: Vittel, France Current Status: Returned to Nestlé Item Description: a perfect widdle Care Bear™ that would never ever lie to you! i write super formawwy, i hate to be the center of attention, and i can only lie about being a Care Bear™! Date of Recovery: 2023 b.c. Location of Recovery: a food pantry owned by Cadet, Rider, and Light Current Status: running amok >:3 Item Description: ████ ██████████ (1987-), who has failed all 287 administered psychic, sociokinetic, biological, spiritual, and ontological sapience tests. Despite this, ██████████ appears fully sapient and behaves within all human baselines. Date of Recovery: 2020-04-20 Location of Recovery: Private residence in Lappeenranta, Finland Current Status: Held in Low-Level Humanoid Containment at Site-19. Death successfully falsified as of 2020-04-22. Note: //Yes, she acts 100% human. Yes, it appears as though she can hold a complex conversation with you about philosophy or artistic cinema or cafeteria food. No, not a single thought is actually going into a word she says. There is as much of a soul in her as there is in your name badge. Try not to let it freak you out. -Dr. Tesfaye, AO-1209 Research Head// Item Description: 2248 //Paratrechina longicornis//[[footnote]] Longhorn crazy ant [[/footnote]] comprised of tungsten which incessantly attempted to enter the ears of ███ ████ (1929-2014), an electrician with no apparent anomalous traits. Date of Recovery: 1953-07-30 Location of Recovery: Field █ kilometers outside of Puzi, Taiwan Current Status: All specimens deceased via dehydration as of 1953-08-03. Remains stored in a Size-II object storage locker at Site-783. +++ Anomalous Items 1211 - 1220 Item Description: One clipping of an early //Blondie// comic strip which is immune to alterations to reality. As of ████-██-██, this clipping has been rendered wholly unintelligible. Date of Recovery: Unknown Location of Recovery: Unknown Current Status: Held in Extradimensional Site-01. Item Description: One homemade four-barreled rifle of very poor quality. In addition to a proclivity for jamming, reloading is rendered difficult via a mixture of overly tight hinge mechanisms and the custom bullets developed for the weapon, and the overall weapon weighs 21 kilograms unloaded. Most notably, AO-1212 is invisible to anyone taking mnestic drugs[[footnote]] Drugs that aid in perception and recall, especially of anomalous entities, items, and phenomena [[/footnote]]. This phenomenon is optical, not antimemetic. Date of Recovery: 2016-03-16 Location of Recovery: Pacific Northwest Region, North America; further information unable to be determined Current Status: Held in a Size-V object storage locker at Site-82, with ████ accompanying bullets stored in a separate Size-III object storage locker. Item Description: One //Harpadon nehereus//[[footnote]] Bombay duck [[/footnote]] which upon exploding would be resurrected in perfect health. Date of Recovery: 1918-03-29 Location of Recovery: 10 kilometers off the coast of Visakhapatnam, India Current Status: Terminated 1947-12-18 via shrapnel. Item Description: One 5x20 centimeter solar panel operating at a standard efficiency, comprised entirely of Play-Doh modeling compound. Date of Recovery: 2011-09-30 Location of Recovery: Sarawak Energy Headquarters, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia Current Status: Held in a Size-IV object storage locker at Site-195. Item Description: Eight sheets bearing a total of 142 text messages in Mongolian and Chinese. Individuals viewing any of these sheets are incapable of telling the truth. Date of Recovery: 2018-08-23 Location of Recovery: Private residence in Sanming, China Current Status: One sheet in containment at Site-35. --Seven-- Five sheets granted to Mobile Task Forces ████-██, ███-█, █████-█, and ███████-██ for use in indirect interrogation. Two sheets currently believed in possession of the Valravn Corporation. Recovery of these sheets has been deemed a Low priority. Item Description: One baseball cap bearing the logo of the Pittsburgh Pirates. When worn by an individual not legally named "Elijah", the cap will fall off their head in <30 seconds. If the hat is secured to their head, it will teleport to the nearest flat empty surface. Date of Recovery: 2022-07-18 Location of Recovery: Street vendor in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA Current Status: Held in Apparel Frame SAF060-U22-31209 at Site-60. Item Description: One plastic toy depicting the character "H.E.R.B.I.E." from //The New Fantastic Four// (1978). When held by anyone under the age of 16, they will be compelled to self-immolate until they let go. Due to difficulties quickly and easily obtaining the materials for such an act, the item is almost always released before immolation occurs. Date of Recovery: 1990-01-18 Location of Recovery: ████████, a thrift store in Tadcaster, England Current Status: Held in a Size-II object storage locker at Site-35. Use against flammable juvenile threats preemptively denied. Item Description: Two copies of //WWF Raw// (2002), one of which is moderately damaged. After being played to any extent, the player will view all written instances of "WWE" as "WWF." This occurs until they achieve 100% completion of any other video game. Date of Recovery: 2023-08-04 Location of Recovery: Private residence of PoI-13591 in Welaka, Florida, USA Current Status: Undergoing initial testing at Site-151. Item Description: One console port of //WWF WrestleMania: The Arcade Game// (1995). All wrestlers appear as stylized versions of their appearance at the time of playing, including attire and accessories. Any match featuring a deceased wrestler causes the system to crash. Date of Recovery: 2023-08-04 Location of Recovery: Private residence of PoI-13591 in Welaka, Florida, USA Current Status: Undergoing initial testing at Site-151. Item Description: One VHS tape depicting a 2008 promotional video where wrestler Scott Steiner engages in a lengthy tirade against enemy wrestler Samoa Joe, with much of the tirade consisting of a series of increasingly inaccurate mathematics. When viewed to any length, the viewer will hold the last stated percentage in the video as their odds of winning their next fight in any licensed WWE video game. Date of Recovery: 2023-08-04 Location of Recovery: Private residence of PoI-13591 in Welaka, Florida, USA Current Status: Undergoing testing at Research Site-79 to determine whether SCP status is appropriate. Note: Upon D-620729 winning his third fight in ███ ███ █████ at 133.3% odds, a Class-III doppelganger of D-620729 manifested and attempted to fight D-620729, before quickly losing and demanifesting. Incident added to SCP evaluation forms. A connection to [[[SCP-6599]]] is suspected but unconfirmed. +++ Anomalous Items 1221-1230 Item Description: Two human skulls genetically matched to Saint Anthony of Padua. Date of Recovery: 198█-██-██ Location of Recovery: Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua, Italy / Church of Saint Anthony of Lisbon, Spain Current Status: Secured in place under an agreement with the Catholic Church. Items are to be exhumed and monitored once per decade. Item Description: One highly worn cotton shirt, permanently illuminated. When indoors, this illumination is by candle. When outdoors, this illumination is by moonlight, regardless of time of day. Date of Recovery: Between early 1909 and 1918-11-01 Location of Recovery: London Headquarters of His Majesty's Foundation for the Secure Containment of the Paranormal. Item was originally secured by the Right Honourable Commission on Unusual Cargo at a now unknown location in the Indian Ocean. Current Status: Held in a standard cloth preservation unit at Site-60. Item Description: A DVD copy of the Turkish film "3 Dev Adam" that perpetually depicts the ending scene where Captain America endlessly battles and defeats an infinite number of clones of the main antagonist, Spider. The film sequence does not progress beyond this scene. Each viewing of the DVD is noticeably different each time. Date of Recovery: May 24, 2020 Location of Recovery: Bootleg Movie Market, Turkey Current Status: Kept in a breakroom in Site-25. Item Description: A 96:1 scale model of an instance of //Musca domestica//[[footnote]] Housefly [[/footnote]] constructed entirely from human feces. If deliberately damaged, all //M. domestica// in a roughly 2400 meter radius will attempt to repair it with additional human feces from available sources. Date of Recovery: 2002-01-08 Location of Recovery: Jeita Grotto, Lebanon Current Status: Held in Dimensional Site-62 due to the site's highly effective quarantine measures. Efforts to determine the sources of the statue's composition have been suspended due to a lack of significant results. Item Description: One //Abies balsamea//[[footnote]] Balsam fir tree [[/footnote]]. Inserted //Cucumis sativus//[[footnote]] Cucumber [[/footnote]] are instantly and permanently lost, and attached tracking devices fail to provide a signal while inside. Date of Recovery: 1989-12-25 Location of Recovery: Private residence in Dummer, New Hampshire, USA Current Status: Held at Site-86. Disposal of any dangerous cucumbral anomalies via the tree has been approved, should such a situation ever arise. Item Description: One uneaten cake. Anyone viewing the object is compelled to instead eat a salad. Date of Recovery: 2023-08-07 Location of Recovery: Private residence in Hamchang, North Gyeongsang, South Korea Current Status: Held in refrigerated containment at Site-206. Item Description: An intelligent mass of lint currently weighing --50-- --100-- --200 grams-- an unknown amount. Item gains additional mass by rolling on top of other lint and incorporating the material into its body. Despite a lack of visual/auditory sensory organs, the mass is capable of detecting its surroundings and will attempt to avoid human detection. Date of Recovery: 1976-09-16 Location of Recovery: A park in Rokunohe, Aomori Prefecture, Japan Current Status: --In containment at Site-73-- At an unknown location in Site-73's basements. Last sighted 2008-08-14 in Warehouse A3, Sub-Basement 2E, leaving Laundry Storage Hold 012. Estimated mass 4000-5000 grams. Item Description: An unknowable amount of glass figurines depicting mythical beings/animals. All counting systems fail when exposed to any instance. Date of Recovery: 1978-04-28 Location of Recovery: Private residence in Brno, Czechia Current Status: Held in a Size-V object storage locker at Site-73. Item Description: Two well taxidermied //Tyrannosaurus rex//. Death likely occurred 1-5 years prior to containment. Date of Recovery: 1994-10-09 Location of Recovery: Marshall, Carter, & Dark auction in Lagos, Nigeria. Accompanying documentation destroyed in ensuing scuffle. Current Status: On display in Site-25's Prehistory Wing. Surviving genetic material added to the Foundation's MGCR/E1[[footnote]] Master Genetic Code Repository / lineage: Earth-1 [[/footnote]]. Item Description: One katana. When wielded by any person not of Japanese descent, all individuals of a lower net worth will perceive the wielder as having complete mastery of the weapon regardless of actual skill. Date of Recovery: 1994-10-09 Location of Recovery: Marshall, Carter, & Dark auction in Lagos, Nigeria. Accompanying documentation suggests it was previously held by the IJAMEA after it was recovered from an American colonel in the winter of 1944-45. Current Status: Held in a Size-III blade storage unit at Site-300. +++ Anomalous Items 1231-1240 Item Description: --317-- 305 grams of powdered cocaine. When snorted in any quantity, the user will perceive all solid objects as being composed of reflective diamonds until they next lose consciousness or all cocaine has left their system. Date of Recovery: 1994-10-09 Location of Recovery: Marshall, Carter, & Dark auction in Lagos, Nigeria. Accompanying documentation suggests preparation in a no longer extant Caribbean nation known as "West Petionia". Current Status: Held in powder storage box SPU024-A01-02653 at Site-24's Pharmacology Lab. Item Description: One female //Sus domesticus//[[footnote]] Pig [[/footnote]] --capable of psychically locating foodstuffs-- which perceives all/only carbon-based materials. This allows for AO-1232 to see certain (typically organic) materials through solid objects such as dirt and most artificial structures. Date of Recovery: 2023-06-04 Location of Recovery: Farm near Vulcănești, Moldova Current Status: While attempts were made to train AO-1232, dubbed "X-Ray" by its handlers, for use in the location of carbon-based anomalies, this failed due to its aggressive friendliness and lethargy. Instead, it has been placed in containment with other porcine anomalies at Site-25. Item Description: One functional Vivo Y15 smartphone with a damaged screen. Any incoming calls made by an individual who identifies with the name "Hassana" are marked as spam, regardless of the device they use. Date of Recovery: 2020-10-01 Location of Recovery: Technical support business in Obalende, Lagos, Nigeria Current Status: Held in a Size-II object storage locker at Site-99. Item Description: One white and green sundress with a floral pattern. The current wearer will be unanimously perceived as 160 cm in height. Date of Recovery: 2009-03-09 Location of Recovery: Hotel in Wuntho, Myanmar Current Status: Held in Apparel Frame SAF060-U16-74678 Item Description: Three tin cans that cause instant sobriety in any animal that drinks from one. Date of Recovery: 1981-06-13 Location of Recovery: 6 kilometers outside of Houma, Shanxi province, China Current Status: Held in a Size-IV object storage locker at Site-206. Item Description: One potted //Graptopetalum paraguayense//[[footnote]] Ghost plant [[/footnote]]. All transgender/nonbinary individuals who view this item for the first time will wait several seconds then remark that it "kinda' gives me enby vibes, ya' know?" Whether this statement holds merit is still unknown. Date of Recovery: 2016-11-09 Location of Recovery: Private residence in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA Current Status: Held in Site-35's primary greenhouse. Item Description: One arm cast 20 meters in length, bent in such a way that it resembles a sine wave. When an extremity is inserted into the cast, the attached person will hear a juvenile male voice repeatedly saying either "Oh, God" or "arms don't bend like that". No DNA has been left on or in the cast. Date of Recovery: 1997-08-08 Location of Recovery: Beneath the former █████ ███████ City Pool, █████ ███████, Nebraska, USA Current Status: Held in Warehouse A4 above storage shelves X303 through X316 at Site-19. Item Description: One unlabeled VHS tape. Between 46:50 and 50:19 on the tape, the assassination of Gaius Julius Caesar on March 15th, 44 BCE is shown. The recording is taken from behind a pillar roughly 15 meters away, and is of amateur quality with frequent shaking and purposeless zooming. Of note is that Foundation chrononauts have confirmed beyond all reasonable doubt that no individuals or recording devices exist behind that pillar during the relevant period. Date of Recovery: 2000-06-24 Location of Recovery: Public library in Ondokuzmayıs, Samsun Province, Türkiye Current Status: Digitized and held at Media Containment Area-88. Item Description: One metal stepladder which is universally considered untrustworthy. The reason for this suspicion varies amidst all individuals aware of its existence. Date of Recovery: 1975-02-18 Location of Recovery: Hardware store in Umuahia, Abia state, Nigeria Current Status: Held in a Size-IV object storage locker at Site-54. Note(s): //"I know it's standard coghaz, but I can't help but feel it's plotting something. Has anyone seen anything unusual while climbing something lately?" - AO-1239 Research Head S. Ibrahim// //"Sorry doctor, but you're barking up the wrong tree. The ladder's clearly a distraction from an even deeper, more insidious plot lurking right under our noses..." - Security Officer J. Grant// //"You're all wrong. It's not even a stepladder. It's actually an eldritch abomination, only able to avoid shattering our feeble minds by taking the form of something so mindnumbingly mundane that we simply must accept it!" - Memeticist A. Okafor// //"I think it's missing a screw." - Dr. Blackstone// Item Description: One oak door and door frame. When an individual places their dominant hand on the door and intensely concentrates on a specific location, the door will glow vibrantly in that location's assigned color[[footnote]] For example, selecting Tokyo will cause the door to glow a dark crimson, while Delhi will prompt a forest green. [[/footnote]]. No other effects occur. Date of Recovery: 1952-07-16 Location of Recovery: Hong Kong, China Current Status: Held in a Size-V object storage locker at Site-120. +++ Anomalous Items 1241-1250 Item Description: Four watermelons. Perceived by any viewer as if they are perfect cubes with sharp edges and corners. Physical contact with them contradicts this, as they have rounded corners when touched. Do not appear to rot. Date of Recovery: 2022-09-20 Location of Recovery: Tokyo, Japan Current Status: One destroyed for testing and subsequent consumption, remaining three in storage at Site-27. Item Description: One T-shirt, adult size medium, printed with an image of an armored knight holding a shield in a defensive position, facing the viewer. Anyone wearing the shirt suffers a cognitohazardous effect causing feelings of invulnerability, often claiming the knight will protect them. The item grants no defensive properties and the effect is purely cognitohazardous. Date of Recovery: 2023-08-01 Location of Recovery: A thrift store in Dayton, OH Current Status: In storage. Item Description: An electric floor fan that, when powered and set to its "medium speed" setting, does not alter any vocalisations that are directed towards it. Digital recordings of these vocalisations however emit the expected rapid changes in sound frequency commonly observed in non-anomalous fans[[footnote]]A phenomenon in which the position of the fan's rotating blades cause variations in the intensity of reflected sound waves, resulting in choppy, "robotic" sounding speech. [[/footnote]]. Further testing reveals that the movement of local air particles is consistent with established principles of acoustics, implying that the anomalous effects can only be perceived by individuals within earshot to the audio source. Date of Recovery: 2015-08-06 Location of Recovery: A disused commerical building in London, United Kingdom Current Status: Held in a standard Size-IV object storage locker at Site-12 Central Facility Storage sector. Item Description: One flannel men's jacket whose pockets' contents are inscrutable. Part of these contents can be removed, but some of these contents will inevitably be left behind. Date of Recovery: 2017-10-03 Location of Recovery: Ulm Hauptbahnhof, Ulm, Baden-Württemberg, Germany Current Status: Held in Apparel Frame SAF060-U23-81218 at Site-60. Note(s): Detritus linked to AO-1244 has recently leaked through or fallen out of the item and is now stuck to its apparel storage frame. Transfer to higher-security containment pending approval. Item Description: One female //Mesocricetus auratus//[[footnote]] Golden hamster [[/footnote]] possessing full regenerative & resurrective immortality. Item incessantly attempts to self-terminate via the most easily accessible method of death it has not yet experienced, and does not engage in any normal and generally necessary behavior such as eating, drinking, sleeping, exercising, or mating. Date of Recovery: 1988-11-15 Location of Recovery: Butcher's shop in Tartus, Tartus Governorate, Syria Current Status: Held in a Size-II object storage locker at Site-19. Because of this, AO-1245 spends all its time gnawing at the lining of its locker or resurrecting from death by starvation. As of 2021-07-01, it has created a hole with a depth of 2 mm in a 50 mm thick panel. Replacement deemed unnecessary. Item Description: One niqab which causes the most recent wearer to perceive the world as being in late evening. If this ability is used at night or in any area not illuminated from the west, it can be used to see items that would be otherwise obscured. Date of Recovery: 2005-04-25 Location of Recovery: [REDACTED], Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia Current Status: Held at Site-60. Item Description: One 1998 Toyota Sienna in which all actions which would be categorized otherwise are intuitively understood to be heteroromantic or heterosexual in nature. Date of Recovery: 2006-10-24 Location of Recovery: ████████ Hotel parking lot, █████████, Chicago, Illinois, USA Current Status: Held in parking unit CGU095-A08-00633 at Site-95. Item Description: One spotlight which causes all humans illuminated by it to quickly develop laryngitis. This effect lasts for twice as long as the individual was illuminated. Date of Recovery: 1996-04-12 Location of Recovery: ██████ █. ███████ High School, ██████, California, USA Current Status: Held in a Size-V object storage locker at Site-73. Item Description: Recording of an early version of the 1984 Uzbekfilm animated production //There Will Come Soft Rains//. The integral smart house of the film appears closely modeled after the viewer's childhood residence. Date of Recovery: 2017-01-06 Location of Recovery: Private residence in Tashkent, Uzbekistan Current Status: Held at Media Containment Area-88. Item Description: One stop sign written in Gujarati. Cell service fails to work within 1250 centimeters of the object. Date of Recovery: 2023-08-16 Location of Recovery: 5 kilometers outside Jamnagar, Gujarat, India Current Status: Held in Exclusion Zone Theta (EZΘ) below Site-86. ------ [[footnoteblock]] [[include <a href="/component:license-box">component:license-box</a> author=Anonymous]] [[include <a href="/component:license-box-end">component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-02-02T08:11:00	[ "_licensebox", "collaboration", "no-dialogue", "tale", "worldbuilding" ]	Log Of Anomalous Items, Vol V - SCP Foundation	42	[ "log-of-anomalous-items", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-ii", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-iii", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-iv", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-vi", "log-of-extranormal-events", "log-of-unexplained-locations", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-v#toc0", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-v#toc1", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-v#toc2", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-v#toc3", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-v#toc4", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-v#toc5", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-v#toc6", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-v#toc7", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-v#toc8", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-v#toc9", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-v#toc10", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-v#toc11", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-v#toc12", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-v#toc13", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-v#toc14", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-v#toc15", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-v#toc16", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-v#toc17", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-v#toc18", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-v#toc19", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-v#toc20", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-v#toc21", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-v#toc22", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-v#toc23", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-v#toc24", "scp-148", "scp-748", "scp-6193", "scp-1000", "scp-6599", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "collaboration-page-hub" ]	[]	1445830694	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/log-of-anomalous-items-vol-v
log-of-anomalous-items-vol-vi	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <blockquote> <p><strong>Foreword:</strong> The SCP Foundation has discovered a substantial number of items which are simply too useless to merit further attention. This document lists those items which have prompted some curiosity. It may be used as a resource should knowledge of these items become useful or necessary in the future.<br/> – Dr. █████ █████, Head of Research, Site-██</p> </blockquote> <p>This is the sixth volume of the log, and remains open to new entries. The <a href="/log-of-anomalous-items">first</a>, <a href="/log-of-anomalous-items-vol-ii">second</a>, <a href="/log-of-anomalous-items-vol-iii">third</a>, <a href="/log-of-anomalous-items-vol-iv">fourth</a> and <a href="/log-of-anomalous-items-vol-v">fifth</a> volumes have been archived.</p> <p>Lists of <a href="/log-of-extranormal-events">Extranormal Events</a> and <a href="/log-of-unexplained-locations">Unexplained Locations</a> have also been compiled.</p> <hr/> <div class="floatright" id="toc"> <div id="toc-action-bar"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.foldToc(event)">Fold</a><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.unfoldToc(event)" style="display: none">Unfold</a></div> <div class="title">Table of Contents</div> <div id="toc-list"> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc0">Anomalous Items 1251 - 1260</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc1">Anomalous Items 1261 - 1270</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc2">Anomalous Items 1271 - 1280</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc3">Anomalous Items 1281 - 1290</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc4">Anomalous Items 1291 - 1300</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc5">Anomalous Items 1301 - 1310</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc6">Anomalous Items 1311 - 1320</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc7">Anomalous Items 1321 - 1330</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc8">Anomalous Items 1331 - 1340</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc9">Anomalous Items 1341 - 1350</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc10">Anomalous Items 1351 - 1360</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc11">Anomalous Items 1361 - 1370</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc12">Anomalous Items 1371 - 1380</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc13">Anomalous Items 1381 - 1390</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc14">Anomalous Items 1391 - 1400</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc15">Anomalous Items 1401 - 1410</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc16">Anomalous Items 1411 - 1420</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc17">Anomalous Items 1421 - 1430</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc18">Anomalous Items 1431 - 1440</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc19">Anomalous Items 1441 - 1450</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc20">Anomalous Items 1451 - 1460</a></div> <div style="margin-left: 3em;"><a href="#toc21">Anomalous Items 1461 - 1470</a></div> </div> </div> <p><em><strong>Note:</strong> Please add new entries to the bottom of the list, not the middle or the top.</em></p> <h3 id="toc0"><span>Anomalous Items 1251 - 1260</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A small stuffed giraffe animal. Anomalous effects occur when the object is taken during the holder's vacation<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-1" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-1')">1</a></sup> where the object will reappear at its last location prior to being taken. The holder of the object will then become visibly upset upon realization of the missing object.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-08-23<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Private residence in Manchester, UK.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in Anomalous Object Storage at Site-40.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A rimless standard automotive road tire, which upon contact with any sort of road surface initiates autonomous movement, independent of any external force or propulsion.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2010-17-24<strong><br/></strong> Location of Recovery:** Tollbooth on the Interstate 90 near Hanover, New York, USA.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in Object Repository 2 at Site-47.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A miniature fog machine that, when held, causes all beings other than the wielder in a 500-meter radius to have all of their perceptory senses completely nullified, with those affected having reported a "cold" entity covering their eyes.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 11/07/2022<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ████████, Alaska<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in storage at site-██</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> An unidentified species of spider notably with an undulating abdomen, when in physical contact with a subjects skin, subjects will feel a crawling sensation around their body for an indefinite duration.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 23-09-2022<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Greenwich, London<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Resides within an insectarium at Site-88<br/> <strong>Notes:</strong> <em>Yes, an Insectarium can have other inhabitants other than Insects.</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A rectangular oakwood breadbox that contains an aluminium breadbox of equal size within itself. This aluminum breadbox contains a ceramic breadbox of equal size within itself. This ceramic breadbox contains a plastic breadbox of equal size within itself. This pattern seemingly continues infinitely.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 8/28/23<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Residence outside of Kangar, Malaysia<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Contained in Site-351.<br/> <em>Notes: Testing of this item has been halted in part due to the emergence of breadboxes made of harmful materials (AO-1255-319 was composed of Lead, AO-1255-320 was composed of Technetium-99m), and upon the subsequent realization that it is not possible to place a breadbox back inside of another breadbox of equal size.</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A custom-built revolver matching no known model of firearm. It is engraved with ornate patterns along the barrel depicting numerous figures kneeling as if in prayer. The object of their worship is not depicted. Any shot fired from the weapon is guaranteed to hit its target, so long as an attempt is made to aim towards it, and the injuries inflicted upon any living target struck are invariably fatal. Firing it instantly kills the wielder. Anyone who touches the object becomes immediately aware of its anomalous properties.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1/27/98<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Cellar under an abandoned bar in Chicago, Illinois<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in the High-Security Anomalous Weapons Storage Wing of Site-██</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A large granite stone, hovering in perpetual stasis. A narrow slit extends deep into the object, originating at it's top. A plaque on the front reads "Can you get it out?"<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 4/01/1998<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Nottingham, England<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Buried beneath a large mound of dirt. Signs placed around indicate that it is private property.<br/> <strong>Notes:</strong> <em>Sword remains to be found. - Dr. Lafrentz.</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Wooden trunk, seemingly ordinary. A brass plaque on the underside of the lid indicates that it was built in the state of Kentucky in 1910 by E.Q. Randolph. The materials and construction of the item are common for the period; however, the internal volume of the trunk is approximately triple what should be possible given its exterior dimensions. Also, there is no record that anyone known as E.Q. Randolph has ever existed, in Kentucky or anywhere.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 8/23/2023<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A thrift store in Montgomery, Alabama<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage; research into the item's provenance is ongoing.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A bust depicting an unknown individual with thick, curly hair, large cheeks, and prominent wrinkles. The bust is comprised entirely of ~4,000,000,000 inseparable grains of sand.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1990-06-03<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Agios Prokopios, Naxos, Greece<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-IV object storage locker at Site-367.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A copy of an early draft of the Magna Carta as written by Cardinal Stephen Langton (1148-1228), engraved on a Martian boulder. Notably, this draft still contains mentions of the early <a href="/scp-2079">[REDACTED]</a> before its removal by agents of the Vatican, making it the highest-quality early record of [COGNITOHAZARD EXPUNGED] infiltration to date.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1962-11-29<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> -███°██'██", +██°██'██", Olympus Mons, Mars<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> AO-1260 successfully relocated to Earth via SCPBEaTRIX VI mission 1985-10-26. Currently held at Site-367 for long-term storage.</p> <h3 id="toc1"><span>Anomalous Items 1261 - 1270</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One indigestible carrot, currently in <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">26</span> 59 pieces. Energy and mass from the object are wholly unable to be converted or removed, causing the intact fragments to inevitably reemerge 1-5 days after consumption.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1996-02-12<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> [REDACTED] Hospital in Mukawa, Hokkaido prefecture, Japan<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held at Site-195 for long-term thermodynamics research.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One skateboard hand-painted with designs of various Brazilian politicians as mythical creatures and cartoon characters. When an individual attempts to perform an "ollie" with the item and manages to bring it >25 centimeters upward, the item will teleport to the nearest flat surface with preservation of momentum. No additional items or entities are teleported.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-04-26<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A physics laboratory at Federal University of Ceará, Fortaleza, Brazil.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held at Site-95's Vehicular Translocation Lab for initial testing.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A digital file entitled "iswearthisisisit.mp4". On the file is most of an unknown high fantasy film of generally unremarkable quality, sans the first several minutes and the credits, as recorded from an unknown movie theater. The appearance of certain actors suggests an origin in the mid 2040's, though this remains unconfirmed. Most noticeably, several instances of <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-2009">SCP-2009-01</a><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-2" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-2')">2</a></sup> are visible in the theater, accompanied by an unidentified chaperone. The instances are generally unintrusive, although one is later shushed by other theatergoers for repeated cheering during the film's third act.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2021-02-24<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> www.████████████████.███<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held at Media Containment Area-88. Relevant information shared with SCP-2009's containment team, although no plans for recontainment have been drafted on account of the event's current nonexistence.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Plastic mask modeled after the fictional character of ██████-███ which, when worn, will cause the wearer to believe they are a mutant entity by the name of "Majoomble Beeble" and to refuse to answer to any other name. While effected, they will believe that they possess supernatural speed, strength, and durability. The mask does not grant these abilities. The effects end once the mask is removed.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 6/4/21<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Confiscated from civilian residence in Brooklyn, NYC.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Contained in anomalous articles storage, Site-28.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Instructions for a thaumaturgic ritual allowing a user to "fully stabilize an object". Decryption of glyphs implies that any object affected by this ritual will be "locked" into its current static position in the universe and will become totally unaffected by outside forces. However, successful application will invariably cause the object to fly off into the distance at great speed from the viewer’s perspective due to the Earth’s rotation and movement through space. Instructions are written in blue ink on a previously crumpled piece of copy paper.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-08-28<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ████ Library, University of ████████, Baltimore, Maryland<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Contained in a storage locker at Site-134.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A 43-inch Samsung smart TV. When tuned to any channel or streaming application associated with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the television will display an unidentified male pundit, who paces a narrow street<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-3" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-3')">3</a></sup> and monologues about contemporary politics. To date, this host has never ceased commentary, the camera has never cut away, and background lighting has never changed.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2018-04-12<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Commercial electronics store in downtown Toronto, Ontario.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Stored in the employee lounge at Site-201 to encourage awareness of current events above the Veil.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A box of Crayola brand crayons containing sixteen colors that don't exist in any other box. Such colors include "Demon's Bile", "Skies of the Apocalypse", "Orange Beyond Comprehension", and "Key Lime Pie". When used to draw, these crayons produce images related to their name regardless of what the user attempts to draw.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2005-01-19<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Elementary School in Plainfield, New Jersey<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A large pet carrier that contains a lesser demonic entity with the head of a rabid dog and the body of a reticulated python. Runes are carved and painted onto the side of the carrier, and the entity is incapable of leaving it even as the door is opened. Any material produced by the entity is trapped within the carrier as well, such as the acidic bile it spits and the skin it sheds.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1995-05-20<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Church in ███████, Kentucky<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in the Demonic Containment Wing of Site-██.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A mason jar in which a number of non-anomalous insects will appear at night during the summer. Species seen manifesting within the jar include painted lady butterflies (<em>Vanessa cardui</em>), common eastern fireflies (<em>Photinus pyralis</em>), and asian tiger mosquitos (<em>Aedes albopictus</em>). All insects that manifest in the jar will demanifest within a few hours of appearing or whenever the jar is opened. Item's anomalous properties are nullified when the jar is left open.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2019-07-04<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Springfield, Massachusetts<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage from September to May, in Dr. Piper's office from June to August.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> An unmarked white detonator stick with a bright red button made of plastic. The button remains spring-loaded up via an unknown mechanism; upon disassembly, the internals of the hollow stick are empty, and opening it immediately stops the button from being usable. Viewers including those seeing it remotely through cameras, and those who are within 12 meters of the button experience a compulsion to press it, yet are unable to bring themselves to do so at the final stages of preparing to press it. Those in the 12 meter area will feel distress upon the button being pressed. Pressing the button has been revealed to do nothing, although it makes such a satisfying click in the recording…<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2008-11-21<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Under a couch at 16 Balmoral Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In a glass box covered in cloth. Occasionally taken out to Site-43's storage room to show it off to new researchers, as a demonstration of mentally altering effects.<br/> <em>Note: Yes, you are allowed access to the button upon request. No, that doesn't mean you can dare your coworkers to press it and then not work for six hours while the coworker has a panic attack.</em></p> <h3 id="toc2"><span>Anomalous Items 1271 - 1280</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One male <em>Vulpes vulpes</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-4" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-4')">4</a></sup> comprised of various woven grasses. No individual organs exist, with the interior instead being uniform and featureless. Object generally shows expected intelligence and behavior for its species, but is functionally immortal due to its non-centralized brain function and the possibility of repair.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1956-06-20<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Daisen-Oki National Park, Japan<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a custom enclosure at Site-19. Object nicknamed "Flora" by containment staff.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A new irreplicable platonic solid made from styrofoam, with a surface consisting of thirteen heptagons with a side length of 6 cm. Attempts to trace its surface often result in sub light speed teleportation, either across its surface or to the hollow interior of the structure if size permits.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1979-07-27<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Laboratory at the University of Balochistan, Quetta, Pakistan<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in Site-127's AGEZ-α<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-5" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-5')">5</a></sup>.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A black cassiterite crystal weighing 415 grams. While held, the holder firmly believes that "shadow" or "void" or a variation thereof<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-6" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-6')">6</a></sup> should be classified among all elemental systems, such as the periodic table, lists of elementary particles, and any fantasy magic system that attempts to fully categorize its magic variants. This belief instantly subsides upon releasing the object.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1923-09-15<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> In the crypt below Saint George Greek Orthodox Church, Beirut, Lebanon<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-II object storage locker at Site-367 with appropriate memetic hazard warnings.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A marble statue of a young woman holding a basket. Humans directly viewing this statue are initially convinced that its robes have never been painted regardless of prior knowledge, though can be persuaded otherwise.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1965-05-27<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Ruins of Rhamnous, Attica, Greece<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-VI object storage locker at Site-265.<br/> <strong>Notes:</strong> Analysis of remaining flakes of paint indicate that AO-1274's robes were in fact once a light aquamarine.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One ██████-brand package of black-colored gobstopper candies, which, when bitten, implode violently in the mouth of the person who bit them, turning into a small black hole which then rapidly dissolves into Hawking radiation.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 9/19/2023<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ██████, Florida<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Contained in Site-37 Size-B containment.<br/> <em>Note: "I don't think gobstoppers are supposed to do that…" - Jr. Researcher ████</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One <em>Cyanea capillata</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-7" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-7')">7</a></sup> comprised of several hundred plastic grocery bags. Item is capable of levitation and does not require food, though will occasionally mimic eating when provided with its expected diet. Behavior is abnormally friendly and curious, with aggression only being shown when recreational items or similar anomalies are removed from its enclosure.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2001-06-07<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Abandoned █████████ and Sons Grocery Store, Coatzacoalos, Veracruz, Mexico<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a suitably large enclosure at Site-75 with occasional visitation from other constructed anomalies to ensure enrichment.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Metal sign reading "No dogs allowed past this point". Any animal in the genus <em>Canis</em> is physically incapable of moving past the sign of its own accord or being moved past the sign by an outside force. How this occurs is unknown.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-09-01<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Outside a public beach in Miami, FL<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A small device of hasty but highly knowledgeable construction which constantly emits a faint buzzing noise at 14 kHz and derives power from [5/4039 CLEARANCE REQUIRED]. When any individual observes or attempts to discern the location of AO-1278, the item teleports to a random unobserved location, preferably within 10 meters of the original location.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2022-12-05<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A Chaos Insurgency site in [REDACTED], Mexico<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Item lost in Site-195, Warehouse 03 during initial containment amidst testing of an unorthodox reacquisition method. Last sighted 2023-08-25 under Technician Access Port L3325-H. Current location is believed to be somewhere in the basement of Site-195, Warehouse 03A, most likely between Greater Technician Access Zones M32 and N36, though buzzing has been detected as far away as GTAZ-G29, GTAZ-O16, GTAZ-Z38, and Site-195's Aetherial Occlusion Lab. Recovery is considered a Moderate priority.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One adult female <em>Raphus cucullatus</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-8" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-8')">8</a></sup> moving at approximately 1/1,000,000,000th speed. A significant amount of scratches exist across its feathers, though due to the fleeting nature of the respective causes, no actual damage has occurred to or been noticed by AO-1279. As of 2021-02-03, AO-1279 is believed to have experienced a subjective 12.4 seconds since its capture in the summer of 1629 CE by the Commission on Unusual Cargo.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1929-12-15<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> [REDACTED], England, during the transfer of anomalies from the decommissioned HMFSCP to the young SCP Foundation.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a stress-free long-term animal containment unit at Site-195. Proposals to attempt to communicate with AO-1279 have been denied due to the necessary time investment and its low intelligence.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> The blade of a spatha produced sometime in the late 2nd or early 3rd century CE. When contacted by a living or deceased human, the item will produce roughly 10-70 grams of salt from its surface per second. The amount of salt produced and its location of origin correlates to the contacting individual, although no further pattern has been determined.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1949-01-30<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Cavern beneath [REDACTED], Turkey, along with approximately ███,000,000 kilograms of salt due to the attached remains of an unknown adult male.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-248. Created salt successfully transferred to Foundation Financial Resources as of 1962-07-16.</p> <h3 id="toc3"><span>Anomalous Items 1281 - 1290</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One highly worn ████████ brand men's flannel jacket. Upon donning the item, the current wearer will believe themselves to be the only person alive to truly understand the meaning of <em>American Pie</em>, a 1971 song by Don McLean. This effect subsides on doffing the item or listening to any other song in its entirety.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2002-11-07<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Thrift store in Duquesne, Pennsylvania, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in Apparel Frame SAF060-U23-46559 at Site-60.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Nineteen <em>Ceratotherium simum</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-9" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-9')">9</a></sup> whose front most horns resemble various instruments, fifteen of which are brass instruments. This trait is genetically transmissible. Specimens are otherwise healthy and normal, beyond an improperly developed right hind leg in AO-1282-04.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2009-07-10<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Various locations in Mozambique and Zimbabwe<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in Site-135's Eastern Extraspacial Enclosure to prohibit human and SCP-9142 poaching.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Cheung ████ (1996-), who is aware of all humans exactly 50 meters away in any direction and whether they are approaching or leaving. No other information is dispensed this way.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2022-06-10<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Private residence in Yau Tsim Mong, Hong Kong, China<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">In low-level humanoid containment at Site-06-3.</span> Undergoing testing for the Employed Anomaly Program due to his previously unused degree in biochemical engineering.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Slightly battered copy of <em>Dracula</em>, printed in 1986, which can only be read by someone intending to enjoy the book for its own sake. If the book is opened by someone intending to read it for some other purpose, such as self-improvement, the printed letters slide off the pages and fall to the floor, rendering the pages blank. The letters demanifest approximately 5 minutes after the book is closed, or immediately if the book is picked up by a subject who meets the book's criteria.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-08-18<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Used book store in Cincinnati, OH<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Available at Site-46 for reading by all personnel.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> An adult female <em>Vampyroteuthis infernalis</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-10" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-10')">10</a></sup> with an antimemetic reflection.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-09-14<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Research vessel █0 km ██ of Papua New Guinea<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held at Site-72 for intake testing and transfer to long-term containment.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> An indestructible transparent case containing what appears to be a 5x5x5 cm cube of soil. An attached plaque reads "FIRST SAMPLE OF TERRA, AS RECOVERED BY NAMU HULNARIUS OF THE LETO X MISSION - ALL OF SELENE THANKS YOU FOR YOUR SACRIFICE".<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2022-11-16<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Kennedy Space Center, Merritt Island, Florida, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held at Site-367. Testing to open the case is ongoing.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> An apple, which, upon chemical analysis, possessed inverted molecular chirality.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 9/14/23<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Delivered to the front door of Secure Containment Facility 4 in a cardboard box by an unknown individual.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Incinerated.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A brown glass bottle that will reassemble itself 30 seconds after it is broken. The process of reassembly occurs on an elementary particle level.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 9/15/23<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Found on the side of ███████ Road in Blantyre, Malawi<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Contained in MAST Storage at Site-334.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A Nerf Rival Atlas XVI-1200 which, when equipped, causes the holder to perceive the toy as though it were a real firearm. After 24 hours of no physical contact with the item, subjects will no longer perceive it as a firearm.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1/02/22<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Purchased by a Foundation janitor, and promptly surrendered to containment.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Contained in Site-43 Low-Value anomalous storage.<br/> <em>Notes: "This is even worse than that one Hi-Point…" - ████ ██████</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A leather glove, which automatically transmutes all polyethylene it touches into polycarbonate, and all polycarbonates into polyethylene. The duration of this change is roughly 1 second per cubic centimeter. Objects altered by the glove cannot be altered again. It appears that when worn, the wearer of the glove may be able to exert some influence over the process.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 9/19/23<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> LoI-2999 ("Abandoned Chaos Insurgency R&D Facility")<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Contained in Site-300 in a steel lockbox in Room-004.</p> <h3 id="toc4"><span>Anomalous Items 1291 - 1300</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Pieces of a broken clockwork machine that seemingly dissipate all energy around them. Evidence suggests it is a failed attempt at constructing a perpetual motion machine.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 9/19/23<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> LoI-2999<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Components scanned and catalogued. Due to the inability of the object to be moved, and the danger of the item, the destruction of item through matter-antimatter interaction has been proposed. Currently, the location LoI-2999 is guarded to prevent civilian discovery.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One extremely large rotting apple of the Fuji cultivar, cut apart and reshaped into an anomalously durable IBM Personal Computer. This computer is functional and contains no applications other than the first-person shooter <em>Doom</em> (1993), which can be played without issue.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2004-03-17<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Occult site believed to hold connections to Steve Wozniak located under San Jose, California, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in cold storage at Site-99</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> 942 square centimeters of tiles from a "doom painting" from the ████ █████ ██ █████████ Cathedral depicting scenes from the Book of Revelation with heavy focus on the judgement of souls. Pigments contained within these tiles continuously shift hue and shade to create the impression that all humans in the image are moving in various ways, such as kneeling, bowing, wailing, running, or hiding. Notably, a large group of these humans in white or black robes move so as to anachronistically recreate the <em>Bad Apple!!</em> (1998) music video in its entirety.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1960-08-24<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ████ █████ ██ █████████ Cathedral, ████████, Aragon, Spain<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held at Site-146 with permission from GoI-033, the Roman Catholic Church.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A hinged cabinet door with a mirror on its front. When obscured by steam and subsequently wiped, all current viewers will see a leering face with grossly exaggerated proportions smiling at them until they break eye contact. This face does not otherwise respond to stimuli.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1986-10-31<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Private residence in Sheridan, Wyoming, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-IV object storage locker at Site-35.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> 894 ml of mint-scented hand sanitizer. Upon exposure of AO-1295 to human skin, the affected individual will become significantly more likely to somehow become covered in dirt or mud, such as by tripping, intense outdoor play, searching for worms or other burrowing creatures, usage of dirt or mud in sexual experimentation, or wandering into a swamp or active construction zone<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-11" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-11')">11</a></sup>.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-02-06<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Public park in Kirovo-Chepetsk, Kirov Oblast, Russia<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-II object storage locker at Site-218.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Family-sized container of "Quacker" Instant Oatmeal. Mascot is a brown and green cartoon duck. Information on the package indicates that the parent company is, appropriately, Quacker Oats, which does not exist. Beyond the impossibility of its existence, the item does not appear to be anomalous. Oats can be prepared and consumed without incident.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-09-01<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Abandoned on a counter at a grocery store, Fort Wayne, IN<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In low-value item storage.<br/> <strong>Note</strong> <em>Anomalous items are not to be used for breakfast, even if found to be non-anomalous. Please use the Site cafeteria.</em> - Site Director Robinson</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One personal fishing boat four meters in length. This boat cannot be willfully anthropomorphized as any gender other than male.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2020-08-12<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Private residence in Cleveland, Ohio, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in parking unit CGU095-A04-33663 at Site-95.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One green toy hard hat. The current wearer of the item is unable to perceive all ceiling tiles currently comprising a ceiling, and views all ceiling tiles in other locations as translucent and indistinct.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2015-11-28<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ███████ ███████████ Offices, an office building in Muharraq, Bahrain<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-109.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One container of █████-██-█████ brand bug repellent. All members of the family <em>Culicidae</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-12" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-12')">12</a></sup> in an exactly 1 km radius of AO-1299 ignore all humans in the radius and attempt to congregate at a point 38 meters ESE of the bottle until their death by dehydration or predation. As this secondary location is well within the radius of AO-1299's effects, the amount of effected organisms dramatically and incessantly rises when used in their natural habitat.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2013-07-19<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Pirin National Park, Bulgaria, following reports of "a deafening black cloud" hovering above a trail.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-II object storage locker at Site-78. Initial associated organisms terminated via sustained immolation. No salvageable biomatter remained for study.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A Dr. Wondertainment brand " Speedier Cube™ " that speeds up time for the person currently solving the cube by a factor of 2.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2019-04-28<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Yokohama Sanbo Hall, Japan, following reports of a person breaking the world record for the 3x3 Rubik's cube 8 times in a row.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in high-value item storage.<br/> <strong>Note</strong> The item was previously held in low-value item storage. It has since been moved to high-value item storage after several junior researchers have been caught attempting to use it for various self-serving ends.</p> <h3 id="toc5"><span>Anomalous Items 1301 - 1310</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A plastic <em>Mellivora capensis</em>, that if shaken, gives a speech about the user's present mental state, current relationships, and gives validation. After that speech, it will give a brief note about how to improve the mental state of a user. The speech lasts no more than 30 minutes, and the note lasts for any time range between 5 minutes and [REDACTED].<br/> <strong>Date Of Recovery:</strong> 2023-09-25<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Used as a tool for Foundation therapists. Currently in the possession of Dr. Anderson. Partially melted after accidental exposure to fire.<br/> <strong>Note</strong> The item was kept in low-value storage, as users only reported a 'long-winded speech'. After usage by Dr. █████, the items therapeutic values were discovered and was taken to the on-site therapist.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Four plastic, near perfectly symmetrical femur bones of cartoonish proportions. Items are only anomalous in their location of origin.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2008-04-17<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Two stillborn <em>Panthera Leo</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-13" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-13')">13</a></sup> at the Berlin Zoo, Berlin, Germany<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-IV object storage locker at Site-25.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One statue of a servant bowing and holding a plate bearing several food items such as sandwiches, a bottle of wine, and a large ham. The statue and held items are comprised entirely of various molds and fungi, and any items generally considered safe for human consumption placed on the plate section are converted to a similar composition.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1973-07-21<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Museum basement in Pingyao, Shanxi province, China<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-VI object storage locker at Site-182 for long-term mycological studies.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One empty Gatorade bottle. All inserted water is converted to Lime Cucumber Gatorade via a(n) RE1<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-14" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-14')">14</a></sup> transmutation ritual at a rate of 71 mL/s.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2022-02-24<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Private residence in León, León Department, Nicaragua<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-II object storage locker at Site-120 for research into minor transmutation.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One paper character sheet for the fifth edition of Dungeons and Dragons sloppily describing a human bard. Any human who makes direct contact with this sheet instantly gains awareness of the definition and most common usages of the term "skald"<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-15" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-15')">15</a></sup>, and become aware of their sudden knowledge gain.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2021-02-02<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Private residence in Tramore, Waterford County, Ireland<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a temperature-controlled Size-III object storage locker at Site-35.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One molar belonging to an adult instance of <em>Canis lupus dingo</em>, with an estimated age of 30,000 years. When the item is exposed to blood from any mammal, all food consumed by that mammal since the most recent local sunrise as well as energy derived from such is annihilated in violation of the conservation of energy.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1965-08-23<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> School in Kiunga, West Province, Papua New Guinea<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-I object storage locker with proper biohazard warnings at Site-206.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One unrotting cream-filled donut. When contacted by any individual willingly working as law enforcement, even through cloth or paper, the individual is teleported to a semi-random location in the Greater Dantean Hellscape, typically ring units 01/07/01-01/09/03, 03/01/01-03/04/09, 08/01/01-08/02/01, 08/05/01-08/05/07, or the entirety of D5 "Wrath" and D7 "Violence". However, due to [5/2718 CLEARANCE REQUIRED], all affected individuals are promptly returned to the world of the living.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2020-12-13<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ███████, a restaurant in Chicago, Illinois, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-II object storage locker at <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/undervegas-hub">Site-666</a> for transgehennic research.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One spy satellite briefly operated by the [REDACTED] government in the year ████ CE. All footage taken by the satellite depicts a yet unrecognized timeline of generally little note beyond the increased size of humans (typically a 30-90% gain), the diminished presence of the SCP Foundation and Global Occult Coalition, and the occasional presence and reverence of [5/5709 CLEARANCE REQUIRED].<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> ████-██-██<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> 30°██'██"S 142°██'██"E, South Pacific Ocean<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-VII object storage locker at Site-242 for extrachronal analysis.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A small ceramic teapot measuring approximately 10 centimeters in height, with intricate floral patterns painted in faded blue. When the teapot is filled with water and brought to a boil, the steam it produces causes anyone who inhales it to experience vivid and immersive hallucinations of being inside the apartment room contained within <a href="/scp-002">SCP-002</a>, despite having no prior knowledge of the object. These hallucinations are highly detailed and can last for several minutes to several hours, depending on the duration of boiling.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 06/15/20██<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> An Antique shop in [REDACTED], Portugal, near the area where SCP-002 originally made impact.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Contained in a secure locker at Site-170.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Small brass skeleton key, similar to those manufactured during the late 19th century. Despite the fact that it should not be able to fit, the key unlocks most modern locks with no issue, provided that the key holder has no desire to access whatever is blocked by the lock. This functions on padlocks and standard door locks, but not on combination or electronic locks.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-09-21<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Found in a bowl of keys at a thrift store in Houston, TX<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> Research into a possible relation with <a href="/scp-005">SCP-005</a> is ongoing.</p> <h3 id="toc6"><span>Anomalous Items 1311 - 1320</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">1101</span> 1031 pieces of ██████ brand candy corn. Upon consumption of any of these pieces, the consumer will experience for full body paralysis for 241 seconds before regaining body function and saying "She's coming." Following this, the subject will display no further anomalous traits, and lacks any memory of the event.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-10-04<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Various retail stores in Huntington, New York, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a temperature-controlled storage unit at Site-1225.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One bag of frozen peas, long expired. Any human who makes direct contact with this item for >30 seconds will develop a fever of exactly 38.5°C (101.3°F). This effect ceases upon touching any item typically warmed to cook food (e.g. a stove, pot, kettle, microwave).<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2007-07-20<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Store in Hammerfest, Norway<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held at Site-206 for long-term medical research.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">596</span> 435 bottles of 15 proof India pale ale, as produced by the ████████ ███████ Brewery. Upon total consumption of a bottle's contents, the consumer gains a total awareness of the proper usage and implementation of the International Phonetic Alphabet until they regain sobriety.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2005-12-01<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ███ ██████ █████████ Pub in Yeovil, Somerset, England<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held at Site-227's Gustolinguistics Research Center to determine the effects of long-term use.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One business card which can be flipped in any direction to display a specific face from a two-dimensional grid of possible faces, with these names slowly becoming more and more nonsensical the further they move towards Designated North. The original face, if one exists, is unknown and likely unknowable.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1972-05-20<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Newspaper stand in Nantes, Loire-Atlantique, France<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-I object storage locker at Site-73 on Face +011,359/-002,707 "Denrendenrenden Schuwindle, First-and-one-half-class Loitering Salesman, Tomfoolery Enthusiast, and Rebellion Inducer, Unwanted"<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-16" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-16')">16</a></sup>.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One mummified adult male <em>Anas platyrhynchos</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-17" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-17')">17</a></sup>. Water and any material containing water is unable to pass within exactly one meter of the item. Teleportation of water to this region consistently fails.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1977-07-04<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Nestlé Headquarters in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in an appropriately isolated avian biomaterial storage unit at Site-25.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One dented plastic McDonald's Happy Meal toy depicting a cartoonish O5-03 bearing mild differences such as [05/A1 CLEARANCE REQUIRED] but remaining physically recognizable. By pressing a large button on the toy's cooling tower, a disc tray can be ejected from and returned to a slot beside the central monitor. No anomalous traits exist beyond the impossibility of the extensive process necessary for its creation.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2014-01-22<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Private residence in Brasília, Brazil<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Transferred to Site-1.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Frame that once contained a mirror, which has long since been broken. A few shards of mirrored glass at the edges reveal its original purpose. Anyone viewing the item suffers a mild cognitohazardous effect, causing them to believe that 1) the object is a mirror, and 2) their lack of reflection means they are a vampire. This causes the affected to do such things as avoid sunlight, wait for an invitation before entering a dwelling, etc. The effect is purely mental, and can be counteracted by touching anything perceived to be holy.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-10-01<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> An estate sale in Atlanta, GA, which featured a great deal of memorabilia from the movie Dracula and other vampire movies.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> An empty antique ink well with the quill from a golden eagle. Once filled with ink and written, the writer will write in a combination of Latin, Greek, and Arabic, even if the writer does not know the language. If someone who can read all three languages were to read it, they would read a seemingly random scholarly writing from the Renaissance era with all mentions of the original author being replaced with the writer's name. These articles are often from unknown authors from Egypt, Rome, and Greece. The last article recorded was of a thaumaturgical ritual on how to use a soul to write memories.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2003-08-05<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A forest in Baiersbronn, Germany, surrounded by various pieces of parchment from different parts of the world, such as Egypt, Rome, and Greece.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage at Site-54.</p> <p><a name="bottle-of-styx"></a> <strong>Item Description:</strong> A bottle labelled "Water from Styx". The bottle contains water with contamination comparable to local river water. When drunk, inner organs touched by the liquid become impervious to damage. The liquid has otherwise no noteworthy properties.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2013-08-02<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Pheneus, Greece<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Brought to Site-77 for long term storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A 22cm combat knife. The object becomes anomalously dull and unable to cut when in contact with any object, unless the word "anything" is printed in English or Swedish on the object in question.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1972-10-12<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Malmö, Sweden<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in low-risk object storage at Site-120.</p> <h3 id="toc7"><span>Anomalous Items 1321 - 1330</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A large size T-Shirt depicting the rock band "Cobra Starship" on the front, along with the phrase "Good Girls Gone Bad". Female-Identifying individuals who wore the shirt gained Black-Dyed hair and black eyeliner, as well as a reported change in attitude similar to that of one who follows the "Emo" subculture. Effects are reversed when shirt is taken off.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2012-04-09<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> "Matty T's Thrift Store!" In ████, Illinois<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size II object locker at Site-25</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A freshly caught fish, perpetually on fire. While undergoing combustion, the anomaly shows no sign of decay. Additionally it has a mind-altering effect which influences nearby individuals to react negatively to compliments, particularly regarding their appearance.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-09-02<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Reported to have spontaneously manifested in a server room in ██████ ███, where it was recovered.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> On 2024-██-██, the fire unexpectedly dissipated. Following this the fish began to slowly decay and no longer exhibited mental effects. After the object was confirmed to be Neutralized, it was incinerated.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A 73 kilogram pumpkin that contains living human organs inside of it, including a heart, lungs, stomach, and brain, as well as teratomas composed of bone, muscle, and hair. Genetic analysis has determined that the genetics match those of missing person "David S. ████████" who went missing from his home in Oakland in 2016.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 10/31/2023<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> [REDACTED]<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Contained.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Small metal and plastic key chain depicting a human brain with the legend "knowledge is power." Anyone who carries the item on their person for longer than 5 minutes gains the belief that they are highly knowledgeable about any subject being discussed. The item does not grant knowledge or intelligence, only the belief that the subject possesses them. Removing the item ends the effect.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-10-27<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A thrift store in Cincinnati, OH<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> Investigation has revealed the original owner had ties to Group of Interest Are We Cool Yet?</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A photograph of the night sky. Subjects who look at the stars will report feeling melancholic. This effect subsides once visual contact is broken.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 12/21/1998<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> The ███████ residence in London, England.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Currently in storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A rubber ball, 30cm in diameter. Anyone who holds it will immediately report a sharp pain in their hand despite the lack of any sharp points.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 7/6/2008.<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> The ███████ high school in Trenton, New Jersey.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In containment.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A ████-brand bicycle with no wheels that functions as though it still has them. Attempting to put wheels on the bike will invariably result in them falling off.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 10/15/1990.<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> The ███████ residence in Springfield, Illinois.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A 13yo British male, 161cm tall, whose center of gravity is located in its head, despite it being no larger than an average human head.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> ██-██-2019<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ███████ middle school in Essex, England.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Kept in a standard humanoid cell. Currently undergoing physiological therapy to try and help with its condition.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A birthday cake that, when bitten into, is recorded to have the same density as concrete. Attempting to cut into it with eating utensils has the same affect. Power tools are effective at cutting into it, but it has been discovered that one can stick their finger into as easily as one could into a normal cake. It tastes and breaks down like a normal cake in the digestive system.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2/29/2000<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> On a table in an abandoned building in New York, New York.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> After some small tests, the item was disposed of.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A Raggedy Ann doll with several robotic spiders legs protruding through it. Item is capable of locomotion, and shows behavioral patterns consistent with that of a common house cat.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 12/27/2009<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ██████, Illinois.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Kept in a low level containment locker.</p> <h3 id="toc8"><span>Anomalous Items 1331 - 1340</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A Taurus TH9 pistol. When aimed at an individual under 14 years of age, the pistol is incapable of firing.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2/27/2005.<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Sao Paulo, Brazil.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In a containment locker at Site 555.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A fossilized tooth, roughly 3 meters in length, belonging to an unidentified creature. Carbon dating shows that the item is Pre-Cambrian.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> June 24th, 1978.<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery</strong> A history museum in Wichita, Kansas.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A Renaissance era statue made from marble <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">depicting a non-euclidean structure</span> structure is euclidean in nature, but anyone who sees it will insist that it is non-euclidean. Viewing item indirectly, such as through cameras or videos, will counteract this effect.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> April 5th, 2020.<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A history museum in █████, Spain.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In Dr. ███████'s office.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> An <em>Equus ferus caballus</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-18" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-18')">18</a></sup> that shares identical genetic makeup to Agent █████████. Subject shows no signs of sapience.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 7/6/2021<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> An abandoned farm in Boise, Idaho.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Kept in a containment cell designed after a stable. Currently under the care of Dr. ███████.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A 2-litre bottle of Pepsi which refills itself when not in a line of sight. While the liquid inside is chemically identical to normal Pepsi, subjects who drink will report it tasting like a random consumable liquid.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1/21/2020.<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> █████████ college in Aberdeen, Washington.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In a low level containment locker.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A █████-brand guitar amp. Whenever any form of pornographic material is brought near it, it will begin to emit a loud shrieking noise reminiscent of a female adolescent in pain, regardless of whether or not it's plugged into a sufficient power source.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 7/26/2007<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Saint Petersburg, Russia.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Kept in Dr. ████████'s office.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A wooden crucifix, heavily water-damaged. Anyone who holds onto it will invariably vomit a mix of sulfur, human blood, and [REDACTED].<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 6/6/1966.<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Paris, France.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Incinerated.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> 4 mummified human cadavers, estimated to be from the late 13th century. When all 4 are within 6 meters of each other, they will begin to emit the sound of faint weeping.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1/2/2020<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Cairo, Egypt.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In Site-200's morgue.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A Japanese-Russian male, currently in his late 90's who is biologically immortal, but still ages at the same rate of a normal human.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 11/29/2022.<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Moscow, Russia.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Kept in a humanoid containment cell.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong>A fully functional water fountain of unknown make or model that is constantly dripping water at intervals between 1 and 10 seconds between drips. Water still drips even if not connected to any water source. It is unknown where the water that goes into the drain goes. Testing has shown the water to be safe for human consumption.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1992-02-05.<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong>███████████ School in Neuss, Germany<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in Site-40 cafeteria.</p> <h3 id="toc9"><span>Anomalous Items 1341 - 1350</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A vinyl record that, when put on a turntable, plays a different album every time. So far, 43% of plays have been of Norwegian Black Metal, 29% have been of Industrial Hip Hop, 15% have been of Ambient Noise Wall, 8% have been of Hardcore Punk, and the rest have varied.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 12/12/2021<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ███████ Record Shop in Durham, North Carolina<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in Dr. Ferraro's office. Usage by other site staff must be permitted by Dr. Ferraro himself.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> AI chat bot that periodically responds to queries with information regarding the O5 Council. The Foundation was made aware of the bot after news organization Breitbart published an article about the O5 Council. Article was deleted, virtual amnestics were applied, and the editor responsible for the article was terminated.<br/> <strong>Date of Discovery:</strong> 02/19/2022<br/> <strong>Location of Discovery:</strong> N/A<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Taken offline following discovery. IT personnel are currently in the process of tracing the bot back to its creator.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong>An antique lamp that, when turned off, erases the nearest person to it from existence.<br/> <strong>Date of Discovery:</strong> 12/09/2019<br/> <strong>Location for Discovery:</strong> Venice, Italy<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Incinerated.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A hockey puck that, when used in a hockey game, causes the player currently handling it to attempt to get the puck to as great of a height as possible. This effect is contagious, and may spread to other players via physical contact.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 10/14/1992<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ██████ High School, Ohio, USA.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In low security containment locker at Site-99.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> The lack of a sandwich on one of Site-43’s cafeteria tables. It is unknown why there have been no attempts at placing a sandwich onto the table, despite multiple personnel claiming they intend to do so. Possibly antimemetic.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 12/05/2023<br/> <strong>Location of Discovery:</strong> Site-43<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Desk has been moved to Site-43’s light containment.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A set of poker cards, which emit an anomalous effect such that any poker table that comes within 30 feet of the cards will begin to degrade or decay at an as-of-yet undetermined but markedly increased rate. This effect will occur until the point where the table is effectively no longer recognizable or usable as table, after which the effect will cease.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 7/21/2013<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Moscow, Russia<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Resides in a standard containment locker at Site-12.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Two single serve ice cream bars, one vanilla-flavored and the other chocolate-flavored. The bars are wrapped in a light blue thin plastic wrap with no markings beyond the flavor of the bar and a nutritional label listing the calories per serving as 456,280. A third bar, labeled as strawberry-flavored, was mistaken for a misprinted product and consumed after retrieval by Agent █████. Agent █████ experienced severe trauma to their digestive system almost immediately after consumption, and remains in critical condition.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> October 5th, 2018<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ███████ ████, Auberg, Austria.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Two unwrapped bars kept in frozen storage, wrapper of third bar considered lost.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A 2014 model Dell Latitude E7440 laptop. Item contains a program titled 'InfiniteMoney.exe' that holds the exact winning EuroMillion lottery numbers, as well as the location for where the ticket is held. Tickets are for the following Friday.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> November 7th, 2015.<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ███████, Paris, France.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Kept in a high storage locker in Site-314.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A standard plant pot that when observed, causes the observer to have a uncontrollable desire to fill it with water. All attempts to fill the pot have been unsuccessful.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 7/11/93<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> San Francisco, California.<br/> <strong>Current status:</strong> Accidentally shattered during testing. Shattered pieces had no anomalous properties. Object deemed neutralized.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A sweater that depicts the logo of SCP-2206's Texas Renegades. Below the log is the wordmark "Winners of the 2023 World Series!" Aside from the security breach it represents, item has no anomalous properties.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 11/7/23<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Globe Life Field, Arlington, Texas.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Kept in a low storage locker at Site-99.</p> <h3 id="toc10"><span>Anomalous Items 1351 - 1360</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A papier-mâché mask of a red-colored devil, which possesses the thirteenth-highest CCRCD<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-19" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-19')">19</a></sup> and the eighteenth-highest CRCD overall (48-).<br/> The item is atypical in that it confers its effect not to its wearer, but to those around it, with its range only limited by the perception of the wearer.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 12/13/13.<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Albuquerque, New Mexico. The past owner of the mask was found dead, after having been struck in the head by a falling mirror.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Contained within a high-security object vault at Site-666.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A keychain that resembles a standard birthday cake which duplicates when it is observed. On the bottom of the chain reads "871".<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 3/28/14.<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Outside Site-40's entrance.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> On 4/1/14, all instances except the original de-manifested. The bottom of the original now reads "April Fools".</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A portable blue push button with a large white "X" on its surface. When pressed, whoever pressed it has their name (first, last, etc.) modified to contain one more X. This results in both them and anyone who knew them believing that this has always been their name and documents of any kind being instantaneously transformed to reflect this change. Memories are not completely modified, however, so the subject will still remember using their previous name, though they will always deny it ever having been their name.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 3/5/23.<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> The █████ Walmart Supercenter.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In containment at the cognitohazard wing of Site-73. Permission must be granted from the Site-73 site director before testing.<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> <em>I've tested the object three times and it doesn't seem to work. -Jr. Researcher Xavier Foxx.</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A pair of plastic glasses with no markings or brands listed on the object, colored black. The lens are in the shape of a 5 pointed star, with the left lens flipped upside-down. Subjects wearing the glasses report no anomalous effects when both eyes are open. However, if the subject closes their right eye, the subject will have their sight flipped, viewing the world upside-down. If the subject closes their left eye, the subject will have their sight distorted, with the specific distortion varying (ranging from what subjects describe as "like a fun house mirror" to a fish lens effect). The effects will continue until the subject opens both of their eyes while they are still wearing the glasses. If the subject takes the glasses off, their vision will remain changed until they put back on the glasses with both eyes open.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 8/5/14.<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Inside an abandoned residential house in Mt. Dora, FL. No occupants spotted or found.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In Storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Wall clock, consistent with early 1950s manufacture, minor signs of wear. No information regarding the manufacturer or the brand of the item is visible. Instead of the standard 12 hours, the item has 13, and seems to keep time according to a 65-minute hour. As far as can be determined, the item keeps accurate time as well as could be expected from a clock from the period; however, using it as a time piece is difficult due to the necessity of converting to standard time.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 12/11/2023<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Inside the lost and found bin of [REDACTED] Middle School, Chicago, IL.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> On the wall of Dr. Callahan's office.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A children's wind-up cartoon robot toy. When the object's key is wound up, the object's legs will move, but not perform any locomotive motion. Instead, within a 5m radius, a random object will move in the cardinal direction the robot is facing. The speed of the affected object is dependent upon its mass. The object cannot affect any item that is larger than itself. Items are effected by gravity when in motion.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 5/5/1955<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> The break-room of a toy store in London, UK.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A standard magnetic name tag. Always displays the wearer's preferred name and pronouns.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 07/07/23<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Hiring & Regulation Orientation, Site-64.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Currently in use by H&R Conflict Resolution Specialist Crystal.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A .mp4 file of Episode 4 of Murder Drones. Once viewed, a copy of Uzi Doorman<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-20" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-20')">20</a></sup> will appear behind any unseen area and attempt to break the neck of the viewer. The copy can be easily neutralized. Any attempts to crop or delete the file result in the same thing, along with the file returning.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 12/17/23<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Unknown<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Currently saved on Dr. Xenola's Macbook.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A <em>Mus musculus</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-21" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-21')">21</a></sup>. Organism is genetically identical to <em>Ficus bengalensis</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-22" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-22')">22</a></sup>.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 8/24/87.<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Jacksonville, Florida.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Died of natural causes.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A hard drive containing a copy of <em>The Sims 4</em>. When loaded onto a device that is understood to be owned by a subject, all the default characters will resemble the friends and family of the subject. Otherwise, the game functions identically to its nonanomalous counterpart.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 10/14/2023<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Inside a residential building in Miami, FL<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.</p> <h3 id="toc11"><span>Anomalous Items 1361 - 1370</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A shirt with the crossfit mascot "pukie the clown" on the front. Upon any person wearing it, they will tell everyone they can perceive that they do crossfit, and will try to access the nearest gym to perform exercises often performed in crossfit gyms.<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-23" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-23')">23</a></sup><br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 7/21/2017<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Inside of a Gold's Gym in Santa Cruz, CA.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A parking meter. If used by a male individual, their testicles and genitalia will spontaneously explode. If used by a female individual, the nearest male individual’s testicles and genitalia will spontaneously explode.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 27/12/2023<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Manhattan, New York, United States<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A wooden doorstop that can be unfolded into the concept of <tt>being alone.</tt><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-24" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-24')">24</a></sup></p> <p><span style="color: green">I’m personally a big fan of Mountain Dew.</span></p> <p><strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> That one time<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-25" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-25')">25</a></sup><br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Site-⌘<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Used to keep Site-⌘‘s third closet from opening.<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-26" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-26')">26</a></sup></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A standard metallic silver coin featuring two distinct unidentified symbols on opposing sides. When tossed in the presence of an individual, the coin induces a gradual and irreversible memory loss of the past 24 hours for the person observing the toss. The effect persists as the coin flips in the air and culminates upon its subsequent catch. Notably, the individual who initiates the toss remains unaffected by its cognitive effects.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 26/11/2023<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Discovered resting on the floor within the breakroom premises of Site-999.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In Storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Site-32 junior researcher Jeffrey Mackey. Despite claiming to be fully heterosexual, individuals tasked with describing Dr. Mackey will invariably label him as a 'gay icon'.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 12/02/2022<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Site-32.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> No action taken; Dr. Mackey continues to work at Site-32.<br/> <em>"He's fucking lying." - Dr. Mackey's husband</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A copy of Eldest by Christopher Paolini. Every time the book is opened, the reader fluently speaks in one of the fictional languages for 30 minutes, with no apparent knowledge of the language.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 01/11/2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A high school library in [REDACTED], Ireland.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In a storage locker at Site-17.<br/> <em>"How the hell does this even work? Hvat unin du nam abr Azura?" - Dr. Strix Direnni.</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A printed copy of the <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-131">SCP-131</a> file. Item flies around in circles when not kept in a container or held down by a weight, but is otherwise indistinguishable from normal paper.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 02/06/2023<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Site-█<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Standard wall clock, unknown make. Anyone viewing the object becomes compelled to continue doing so until line of sight is broken. Although subjects are incapable of voluntarily looking away, the effect is otherwise mild and can be easily broken if some outside force attracts the subject's attention, such as their name being called.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1/20/24<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> In the employee break room of a Burger King restaurant, El Paso, TX<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> <em>This item came to the Foundation's attention after numerous reports of employees blankly staring at the clock. Records are unclear exactly when the clock was acquired, but it appears to have been at the location of recovery for at least four months before the anomalous property became apparent.</em> - Researcher Somerset</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A standard A-4 sized blank paper that manifests the comprehensive biodata of an individual upon contact with the person's thumb. This effect is transient, ceasing when the individual's thumb is no longer in contact with the paper. The displayed data vanishes upon removal of contact and reappears solely upon subsequent physical interaction.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 24/12/2023<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> The item originated from an experimentation conducted with <a href="/scp-914">SCP-914</a> at Site-19.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In Storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A standard single subject spiral notebook that when written in, attempts to correct any spelling or grammar mistakes. These corrections are often nonsensical or wrong. Upon closing the notebook, all writing is erased.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1/3/2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Livonia, Michigan.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In Storage.</p> <h3 id="toc12"><span>Anomalous Items 1371 - 1380</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Small ceramic container, similar in size to a standard cereal bowl, with a lid. Bowl and lid are painted black with yellow question marks. When the lid is removed, the bowl will contain objects of the time the person who touched it was thinking of most recently. Unique items, such as SCP-level objects, art pieces, or anomalous items, cannot be replicated. Only items capable of completely fitting in the bowl can be replicated. The items can be removed and used as expected, and appear to remain in existence indefinitely. When the lid is replaced, any items still in the bowl demanifest.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1/28/2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Richmond, Virginia.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Being tested.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Small wind-up music box containing a figurine of a ballerina. When wound by a human subject, the box plays a song with a meaningful connection to the subject's childhood, typically one invoking positive memories. Subjects often prefer to hear the music to completion, but this is believed to be due to nostalgia rather than anything anomalous.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1/14/2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> An estate sale in Boston, Massachusetts.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Available at Site 26, for use by all personnel.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Wooden box of a size typically used for jewelry boxes. The lid is decorated with a painting of cherry trees in traditional Japanese style. The underside of the box has the words "property of Wilma F. Greyson" written on it in black marker. All subjects display reluctance to open the box, saying that it's "not theirs" and that "Mrs. Greyson wouldn't want me to." This occurs even if the subject has not read the words written on the underside of the box. If pressed to open the box, subjects refuse to remove anything from it, insisting that doing so would be stealing. Box contains inexpensive jewelry.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2/1/2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A storage unit in Key West, Florida.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage. Investigation into the Wilma F. Greyson in question is ongoing.<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> <em>The owner of the storage unit had bought the entire unit and its contents, sight unseen, at an auction. He claimed not to know anyone by that name, but maintained that he was "keeping the box until Mrs. Greyson comes back for it." When it was pointed out that he knew no such person, he was unable to explain the oddity.</em> - Researcher Somerset</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Black cotton/polyester blend T-shirt printed with the Batman logo. When touched by a human subject, the shirt resizes itself for an ideal fit, neither overly tight nor overly loose. How this occurs is not known, and the change appears to be instantaneous.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2/3/2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Abandoned on a park bench in Chicago, IL.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> <em>When they said "one size fits all," they weren't kidding.</em> - Agent O'Reilly</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Blue plastic storage bin. "Socks" has been written on one side in black marker. When the item is unobserved, socks will appear in the bin at random intervals. These socks occasionally match other socks already in the bin, but only very rarely and seemingly by chance. Where they come from is not known.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2/4/2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> An abandoned apartment in Las Vegas, NV.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">In storage.</span> Available at Site 17, for use by all personnel.<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> <em>After a missing sock belonging to an agent assigned to the Site was found in this item, it was placed in a more accessible location in case of similar incidents.</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Acrylic painting of a Canada goose swimming in a small lake. The goose is shown near the left edge of the frame. Any human subject viewing the painting for longer than 3 1/2 minutes becomes convinced that the goose is trying to escape or has already done so. In the latter case, the effect extends to a belief that the goose is pursuing them, for reasons which cannot be articulated. This typically ends after 24 hours, but can occasionally last longer. █ subjects required psychological counseling to end the effect.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> February 6th, 2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> An art gallery in New York City.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A "cheap" <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">36 33</span> 32-pack collection of common sports equipment, such as balls, bats, rackets, paddles, gloves, helmets, and other items of unknown brand. Equipment will semi-frequently phase through solid matter with the exception of floors or the ground, and freeze mid-air. Users of the equipment often blame "low quality" or "cheapness".<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> February 22nd, 2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Walmart backroom in Norfolk, Virginia.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Kept in a sports cart at Site-19's recreational center.<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> <em>"I threw a ball. It froze for 5 seconds, phased through the catcher, bounced off concrete, phased through 3 fences, and hit some poor janitor. Where can I leave a review on this low quality garbage? Already, we've lost several balls from them rolling god-knows-where through walls!" - Recreational Director ████</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A single piece of paper with a crude crayon drawing of a laughing emoji (😂) on <a href="https://youtu.be/rHAYFiwbGlY?si=PSEqnsIu6j1CTOEt">it</a>. When written about in a digital medium, it links the last word of every sentence to a video on YouTube.com; usually one that is intended as a humorous "parody" of an existing song by a well known <a href="https://youtu.be/U5gT8hf0Z_M?si=c_DeCA5yZUAbhWHU">artist</a>. If the last word of a sentence is the name of an actual musician, that word will be linked to a video "parodying" a song by that musician; for example: <a href="https://youtu.be/Mbz0UHwbvhY?si=U-qhoUWNEy7duHBt">HarryEdwardStyles</a>. If the mentioned musician is one who has no "parody" videos made about them, the last word will be linked to a randomly selected <a href="https://youtu.be/lOfZLb33uCg?si=Cu1mvSSfHPGtjPzl">video</a>.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> February 24th, 2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A child delivery room in a hospital in Cardiff, Wales, the <a href="https://youtu.be/7e0-puVc3Qw?si=C9Ov_jHiCwtjds8r">UK</a>.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Kept in the personal possession of Dr. Chair in <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Site-57</span> <a href="https://youtu.be/WE1_63nYel4?si=1kwDk9CjWUPeVSFs">Site-59</a>.<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> Item was found shriveled in the clutched hands of a newborn <a href="https://youtu.be/CUWjZ9Y7Nso?si=T_T72fsNMfO4l5va">child</a>. It is unknown how the item found its way into the womb of a pregnant <a href="https://youtu.be/emG3YhU9Efg?si=u2rDTY1WdKe3-bxC">woman</a>.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A small stuffed turtle that, when left unobserved, will disappear and relocate to a new hidden location. During this, it displayed no visual or auditory cues while doing so, however, some witnesses claim to hear giggling coming from the object. It will then stay stationary until it is found. When observing, it will stay immobilised.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> February 29th, 2024<br/> <strong>Location of recovery:</strong> Inside an empty dumpster outside an abandoned house in Columbus, Ohio.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Inside a high-security storage locker at Site-81.</p> <h3 id="toc13"><span>Anomalous Items 1381 - 1390</span></h3> <p><span style="text-decoration: line-through;"><strong>Item Description:</strong> Elizabeth Morris, daughter of Foundation researcher, Rachel Morris. Subject is unaffected by the cessation of time and other similar phenomena, however shows no means of controlling it at present. Origin of anomalous properties believed to simply be fortuitous.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> ██-██-19██<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> [REDACTED], United States.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Amnesticized following confirmation of their anomalous properties. Subject currently resides in [REDACTED]. Dr. Morris continues to monitor the subject remotely on a bi-monthly basis.</span><br/> <strong>Update:</strong> See <a href="/scp-8021">attached file</a> for further details.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Item is a ████████-brand pack of cigarettes that contains no cigarettes. Any cigarette placed inside the pack will no longer be visible when the pack is opened again. D-Class personnel involved in testing have observed feeling the pack slowly return to its empty weight while being held, but it will rapidly returning to the weight to which it was filled if observed again before the pack completely returns to its empty weight. This phenomena does not apply to non-cigarette objects, such as coins, paper, lighters, stone, meat, or vegetable matter, which retain their weight and will always remain in the pack. It does, however, apply to other tobacco and nicotine products, such as cigars, chewing tobacco, and paraphernalia such as pipes and electronic cigarettes, so long as they are small enough to fit inside the pack.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> March 19th, 2024<br/> <strong>Location of recovery:</strong> Found discarded in the parking lot outside of Foundation Site-19's Outpost-Gamma.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Contained in low-priority object storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A Kennedy half dollar, minted 1994. When used in a coin toss, the result will alternate between heads and tails with perfect consistency. If the coin is flipped an uneven number of times, it will always land balanced on its edge.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2018-05-23<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Spearfish, South Dakota.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in the Low-Risk Inanimate Objects Warehouses at Site-76.<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> Reported by Junior Researchers Rose and Stern after "best of three", "best of five" and "best of seven" contests all ended in stalemate.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A ballpoint pen with blue ink, matches many commercially available pens. When used by any human subject, the writing will always be in a handwriting that has not yet been identified, but remains consistent across all uses and subjects. Ink runs out as normal and can be refilled; this does not affect the anomalous property.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> March 21st, 2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A doctor's office in Richmond, Virginia<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Being tested.<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> <em>Handwriting experts are being consulted regarding the results of using the pen, in hopes of identifying whose handwriting the pen creates.</em> - Researcher Somerset</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Small hourglass, wood and glass construction, which contains 5 minutes' worth of sand. Carved into the wooden base is the phrase "defy expectations". When flipped, the sand in the glass flows upward, against gravity, from the bottom to the top.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> March 21st, 2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A thrift store in Miami, Florida.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> <em>The store this item was found in has no record of it ever being acquired. All staff denied knowledge of having purchased it.</em> - Agent O'Reilly</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A paring knife, functionally identical to many commercially available examples. Carved into the handle are the words "be careful." When used as a knife, the user will be highly paranoid of cutting his/her hands, although never actually do so. Whether this is due to the user's paranoia or the item's anomalous effect is unknown.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> March 19th, 2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Houston, Texas<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Painting, oil and acrylic, depicting unidentified individuals in a large room lavishly decorated in late 19th century style. When viewed by a human subject who has seen the object at least once before, the subject is convinced that the figures have moved somehow, but is unable to articulate exactly how the figures moved. The figures remain stationary at all times.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> March 22nd, 2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Jefferson City, Missouri<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Small hand mirror in a wooden frame decorated with carvings of seals. When used as a mirror by a human subject, the reflection displayed is what the subject wishes they looked like rather than an accurate reflection.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> March 25th, 2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Baton Rouge, Louisiana<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">In storage.</span> In a locked secure storage container.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Deck of playing cards, unknown manufacturer. When held by a subject from a country with a currently existing monarchy, the faces of the "face" cards (king, queen, and jack) will resemble members of that country's royal family.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> March 28th, 2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Portland, Oregon<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Available for use by all personnel.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A finely crafted music box featuring a rotating ballerina figure on top and playing melodies recognized from The Nutcracker has been observed. Upon activation via a twisting mechanism, the music box emits audible tunes, compelling individuals within proximity, regardless of physical impairments, to engage in balletic movements until the cessation of the music. Additionally, there exists a probability for autonomous activation of the music box, manifesting at irregular intervals.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 26/10/2021<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Item was recovered by Dr. Pixie Bubbles and subsequently submitted at Site-24-AZ.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In Storage.<br/> <strong>Notes:</strong> <em>"We conducted experiments involving various animals, and our findings indicate that the mechanism exclusively demonstrates efficacy in mice."</em> - Dr. Pixie Bubbles</p> <h3 id="toc14"><span>Anomalous Items 1391 - 1400</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A pair of █████ █████ brand headphones. When worn in an empty room, the entry of another human will result in the feeling of a tapping on the wearer's left shoulder.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2024-04-01<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ██████ ███ ████ School, Shuangyashan, Heilongjiang, China<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-248.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A █████████ brand waffle-maker. If this waffle-maker is powered while empty and the lid is closed and reopened, one fresh pancake will appear inside it. If this process is conducted while the waffle-maker contains batter, the batter will be replaced or transmuted into one strip of bacon. The insertion of bacon has no effect. Retrieved pancakes and retrieved bacon are identical to all other retrieved instances.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2024-04-01<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ██████████████ Cafe, Bruges, Belgium<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-68.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One unopened bottle of wood glue which cannot be separated from human skin. If contacting the skin of two separate humans, it can be separated from either without trouble, but not both.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2014-02-02<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Parma City Hall, Parma, Ohio, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held with amputated skin from D-156998-06's thigh in a Size-II object storage locker with appropriate biohazard warnings.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Partially dismantled external hard drive with seemingly limitless storage capacity. Originally contained 15.2 TB of pirated movies and TV shows, 78% of which being episodes of <em><a href="/scp-6112">Seinfeld</a></em>.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 01/01/2001<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> An estate sale in Trenton, New Jersey.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Being tested at Site-15.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One newspaper folded into a living adult male <em>Trichonephila clavata</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-27" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-27')">27</a></sup> approximately 25 centimeters in length. AO-1395 displays expected behavior for its species, and has attempted copulation with anomalous and nonanomalous introduced female <em>T. clavata</em> specimens, though no offspring have been produced. As AO-1395 does not require sustenance, care must be taken to prevent it from drinking water and thus harming its fragile body.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2023-08-08<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ████ █████ ██ fraternity house in Athens, Georgia, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in Site-25's arachnology wing. AO-1395 has been nicknamed "Ori" by its containment staff.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One plastic recreation of the Lament Configuration from the <em>Hellraiser</em> franchise. Item is antimemetically cloaked and is only perceptible to members of the BDSM fetish community.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2008-04-13<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> MC&D auction advertised as "Marshall, Carter, & Dark After Dark!" in Vancouver, Canada<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-41.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One sexualized costume resembling a schoolgirl uniform. Any female individual of east Asian descent below the age of 25 who views this outfit will begin vomiting until it is removed from their sight.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2008-04-13<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> MC&D auction advertised as "Marshall, Carter, & Dark After Dark!" in Vancouver, Canada<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Held in a standard cloth storage unit at Site-60 with appropriate memetic biohazard warnings.</span> Missing as of 2013-██-██.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One brightly colored "furry" tail and attached buttplug. All humans viewing the wearer are able to determine with perfect accuracy whether they are currently happy, as long as the tails remains unobscured. Despite this property, no visible change occurs in the tail.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2008-04-13<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> MC&D auction advertised as "Marshall, Carter, & Dark After Dark!" in Vancouver, Canada<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-IV object storage locker at Site-60.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> 3 cm x 6 cm scrap from a medieval manuscript depicting an imp with grotesquely enlarged genitals. All penile and testicular pain is dramatically amplified within a 10 meter radius, and any wounds in such areas do not heal until this radius is left.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2008-04-13<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> MC&D auction advertised as "Marshall, Carter, & Dark After Dark!" in Vancouver, Canada<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in Site-147's demonics wing, Demonic Biohazard Lab S147-L302</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Metal muffin pan, of suitable size for baking 1 dozen muffins. When batter is poured into the pan and baked, paper liners suitable for muffins or cupcakes will be found when the pan is removed from the oven. If liners are inserted beforehand, no others will manifest. How this occurs is unknown. All forms of watching the pan, including remote methods, have proven inconclusive. This typically operates through coincidence, such as the person watching the camera is distracted by something at the moment the anomalous effect occurs. Testing to find out if a probabilistic anomaly causes this is awaiting approval.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> April 14th, 2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> An estate sale in Springfield, MO<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.</p> <h3 id="toc15"><span>Anomalous Items 1401 - 1410</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A screw composed of an unknown metal alloy, floating approximately five meters above ground level. Object can be moved; however, it will continue to levitate five meters off the ground.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 03-20-2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Moscow, Russia<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Site-330 storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> The shell of a <em>Coenobita clypeatus</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-28" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-28')">28</a></sup> that emits a faint noise of the ocean waters, occasional thunder can be heard as well. The shell is speculated to be a dimensional portal to an alternate reality or area, however further testing is deemed unfeasible as the item is small and extremely fragile.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 04-03-2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Washed up on shore in Florida, USA.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Site-330's storage facility.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A black baseball cap, bearing as sewed word saying <em>"Wear 4 Luck"</em>. When a subject wears the cap, around $100 of the subject's nationality will manifest in the subject's wallet, or any pocket noticeable by the subject. If the subject does not bear any pockets, however, the money will manifest in the subject's internal organs or cavities.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 23-12-2023<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Soekarno–Hatta International Airport, Indonesia.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In a locker in Site-330.</p> <p><strong>Item Description</strong> A pineapple plant (<em>Ananas comosus</em>) which bears a different fruit or vegetable each year. So far, since its discovery, it has yet to bear any pineapples. All fruit and vegetables borne by the plant are perfectly healthy and edible.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery</strong> 2023-5-11<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery</strong> Alajuela, Costa Rica.<br/> <strong>Current Status</strong> Planted in the communal garden at Site-101.</p> <p><strong>Item Description</strong> A ceramic bowl that turns anything poured into it into apple-flavoured porridge of the Quaker brand. Testing has shown that all food, beverages and non-edible substances become the porridge including water, soup, coffee, wine, blood and [REDACTED].<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery</strong> 2020-6-6<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery</strong> Croy, Inverness, Scotland.<br/> <strong>Current Status</strong> Stored in the cafeteria of Site-114.</p> <p><strong>Item Description</strong> A 114-sided polygon 0.24m in diameter that emits a high pitched beep (1661.22hz or G#6) at 101db for one second every 14 seconds. Origin, function, materials and inner workings are all still under investigation.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery</strong> 2019-11-01<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery</strong> Manchester, UK<br/> <strong>Current Status</strong> Stored in a sound-proof safe in Site-72.</p> <p><strong>Item Description</strong> Three ceramic egg cups that repel eggs. All eggs and egg-like objects are repelled from plastic toy hen eggs to frogspawn.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery</strong> 2017-03-27<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery</strong> Second-hand store in Brooklawn, NJ<br/> <strong>Current Status</strong> Stored in a low security locker at Site-110.</p> <p><strong>Item Description</strong> A Praetorian Helmet that, when worn, induces the wearer to vocalize the phrase "glory to Caesar."<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery</strong> 10/20/2010<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery</strong> Mojave Desert, Nevada<br/> <strong>Current Status</strong> Lost in Raid By Serpents Hand</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A hamster of an unidentified breed, grey and white in color, capable of subtle physiological manipulation when in the presence of 2 or more sentient organisms; it has been observed that it will attempt to gradually damage or break relationships between organisms that possess them, mainly humans or other hamsters. Item has displayed signs of sapience, being able to manipulate objects using it's front paws with great dexterity, emoting with body language, and possessing great understanding of English and Japanese.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 06/27/2003<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> San Fransisco, California. Object first came to Foundation attention upon repeated reports of domestic violence in the area and a "Hamster looking though windows", item was found observing a family though a patio window and was captured after an hour long chase.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Kept in isolated portion of an animal containment unit at Site-██. Only a singular staff member is allowed to interact with the item at a time to avoid the anomalous effect.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> An adult taxidermy model of the species <em>Canis lupus</em>. Human subjects aged 9-16 that come into physical contact with the item will experience all of the "forty mystical dreams" that Italian Catholic priest John Melchior Bosco (Italian: <em>Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco</em>) had throughout his lifetime in successive order for the span of one (1) year.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 1998-06-12<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> In a priest's private residence in Valdocco, Turin, Italy.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Stored inside a Type-S Object Containment Unit at Area-22.</p> <h3 id="toc16"><span>Anomalous Items 1411 - 1420</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> An indestructible obsidian rock, measuring 5.4cm x 4.3cm x 4.4cm. If a human subject holds the object in their palm and vocalizes a phrase, the item will audibly articulate the same phrase into Spanish. However, vocalizing incoherent or unintelligible expressions will not elicit any response from the object.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2003-04-23<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Discovered within a GoI-037 storage facility located in Celaya, Mexico following Foundation incursion into the building.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Stored inside Locker-047AN at Research Site-24.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> An electronic device named "Bubblebook 1" resembling a typical MacBook developed by an unidentified electronics enterprise known as "Bubble Ducky Technologies Inc." The laptop features an LED duck logo on its rear and is purportedly impervious to all forms of damage. The specifications of the laptop allegedly surpass the indicated parameters on its packaging. No corroborating records of the existence of this company or any other instances of their products have been substantiated.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 06/05/2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Local electronics store in Arizona, US.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In Storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A standard rake that, when used to rake leaves into a pile, spontaneously generates a trail of leaves in the place of the leaves that have just been raked into the pile.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2024-05-7<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Found in a pile of leaves in Toronto, Canada<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In a low security storage container almost constantly covered in a pile of leaves.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A copy of <em>The Noble Cat</em> by Howard Loxton, the text of which is periodically replaced with the text of <em>The Ultimate Dog Book</em> by David Taylor. This occurs approximately once every fifty-five days (± 14.66 hours) and persists for precisely fifty-one minutes, at which point the text reverts. Images remain unaffected. Text is limited by the number of characters on a page (including punctuation and excluding spaces); for example, there are sixty-nine characters on the title page of <em>The Noble Cat</em>, which are replaced with sixty-nine characters from the half-title and title pages of <em>The Ultimate Dog Book</em>. Characters exceeding the given limit for a page overflow to the next, often in the middle of a word. Text of <em>The Ultimate Dog Book</em> repeats following conclusion of the picture credits.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 5/20/2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Junior Researcher Lauren's home, where it and a non-anomalous copy of <em>The Ultimate Dog Book</em> had been serving as decoration. Junior Researcher Lauren discovered the anomaly after deciding to read both books and subsequently leaving them open on the floor; the altered text was observed several days later.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In the Sector-25 break room.<br/> <strong>Notes:</strong> <em>That was my mom's. Can I at least keep it at my desk? - Jr. Researcher Lauren</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Fountain pen, no manufacturer's information visible. Consistent with styles common in the early 20th century. Can be filled with ink as normal; however, when used to write, the ink will be in the writer's favorite color. If used to write without being filled, ink of the writer's favorite color will manifest through unknown means as the pen is used.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> May 22nd, 2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Abandoned at a gas station in Providence, Rhode Island<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> At Site-76, available for use by all personnel.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A topographical paper map of the state of Nevada that is constantly changing to display an up-to-date version of every detail of the actual state's topology.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 5/26/2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A classroom at █████ Junior High School, Nevada<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In Storage<br/> <strong>Notes:</strong> <em>This thing is actually really cool. I've been looking at it with a microscope all day, and I can even see peoples' footprints on the ground. - Researcher Miles Snow</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A partially opened 5 oz. aluminum can labeled "Intrusive Thoughts". Any human subject who views the can's interior will receive vivid mental images of themselves slicing one of their eyeballs with the can's lid. This effect lingers even after the item is out of view, though it subsides after 10–20 minutes. Damage to the lid suggests that an attempt had been made to reseal the item prior to recovery.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 06-03-2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Cedar Springs, Colorado<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In an opaque storage locker within Site-31.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A 1m×2m polyester transgender pride flag, non-anomalous except for provenance.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 4 June 2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A time capsule in Lewiston, Idaho, that had been sealed for the previous 50 years.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage at Site-81.<br/> <strong>Notes:</strong> <em>The transgender pride flag was not designed until 1999, by which point the time capsule that would, when opened, contain AO-1418 had already been sealed for 25 years. - Researcher Vikki McKee</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A metallic, silver gray colored towel rack. Despite its appearance, it consists entirely of a copper alloy, specifically brass. Samples taken from the object show no known chemical or physical deviations from non-anomalous brass.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 4/3/2013<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Private residence in Miami, Florida<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage at Site-76.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A chocolate bar decorated with bubble patterns, under the brand name "Chocolotsacoco". This brand of chocolate bar, as well as its manufacturer Cometica Confections, does not exist. Bar is covered in tiny pockets, which the packaging claims is air bubbles filled with cocoa powder. Any liquid stirred with the candy bar is turned into chocolate milk through unknown means, provided the liquid is carbonated. During this transformation, all solid objects completely submerged in the liquid turn into ice. The resultant chocolate milk is perpetually carbonated, but otherwise considered non-anomalous and safe to drink. This effect extends to liquids generally deemed unsafe for human consumption. Attempting to eat the bar, however, has proven fatal, as any living creature that produces CO² will have their blood turned into chocolate milk after digestion.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> May 31st, 2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> █████████ Chocolate World, Hershey, PA. Found in gift shop.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.</p> <h3 id="toc17"><span>Anomalous Items 1421 - 1430</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Hinged wooden box, the size of most standard jewellery boxes, painted with images of ducks in flight. At random intervals (typically between 20 minutes and one hour), an unidentified female voice will be heard saying "Let me out!", "I'm trapped in here!" and similar phrases, seemingly coming from the box. If the box is opened after hearing the voice, the voice will stop speaking immediately. Nothing has been found in or on the box that could cause this, and the voice does not respond when spoken to.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> May 31st, 2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A thrift store in Eureka, California<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Small plastic comb, visually similar to most commercially available pocket combs. Despite having clearly been mass-produced, no manufacturer's information is visible. Anyone touching the comb hears multiple voices whispering in an as-yet-unidentified language. If the subject pays too much attention to the voices or addresses them in any language, the voices stop speaking, as though aware that they were being overheard. The source of the voices has not been determined, seeming to be somewhere behind the subject.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> June 1st, 2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Abandoned at a BART station in San Francisco, California<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Being tested.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Wooden mug decorated with a painting of a wooden sailing ship of 17th century construction under full sail. Any liquid poured into the mug will become whichever variety of alcohol the intended drinker most prefers at the moment. It is unclear how the item is aware of this information. If the item is passed to another person, the liquid contained will be transmuted.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> June 3rd, 2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> At a garage sale in Kalamazoo, Michigan.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Available for use by personnel.<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> <em>This item is only to be used after working hours. Drinking alcohol on duty is not permitted.</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One adult female <em>Gallus domesticus</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-29" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-29')">29</a></sup> of the Plymouth Rock breed. Whether an egg produced by AO-1426 is fertilized or unfertilized is immediately apparent to any human observer despite possessing no visual distinction. Sapient nonhumans are unaffected.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2024-06-07<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Private business ostensibly portrayed as an animal research lab, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in Poultry Enclosure 3 at Site-25.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One Lianhua Supermarket shopping bag. All testudines<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-30" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-30')">30</a></sup> within a 5 kilometer radius of this item are selectively intangible to all forms of plastic. Prior to containment, this ability was observed being used by local testudines for avoiding suffocation, obtaining food from sealed containers, and restraining or evading mates, rivals, and predators who had only recently entered the area and thus were unaware of how to use this ability.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2015-09-07<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Drain pipe in ████████ ████ Subdistrict, Pudong, Shanghai, China<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a Size-III object storage locker in Site-109-D's Biohazard Exclusion Wing.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A floret of brassica oleracea<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-31" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-31')">31</a></sup> with the stem painted brown. Any observer, sapient or not, that sees this floret in the presence of a tree believes that the floret is, in fact, a tree, and behaves accordingly. This memetic effect ends only if the exposed specimen does not see a tree for approximately 24 hours, though it ends early if the specimen becomes aware that the floret isn't a tree (for example, someone taking a bite out of it). Nothing has caused the memetic properties to dissipate; removing the paint, eating parts of the floret, and even the floret rotting haven't stopped specimens from identifying it as a tree in the presence of another tree, even when the rotten bits were arranged into the shape of an entirely different object. After the pieces were mistakenly taken from Dr. Frisk's office to the incinerator and destroyed, the memetic properties transferred to the site incinerator.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> April 8th, 2023<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ██████ Elementary School, Rising Sun, MD, United States<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Incinerator deemed safe for use by approved personnel for non-organic matter only, as even tree branches and leaves trigger the memetic effect. Individual responsible for the original object's destruction disciplined.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> An oil painting in the baroque style, depicting several armed individuals reminiscent of the civic guard in Rembrandt's <em>The Night Watch</em>. Any crimes<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-32" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-32')">32</a></sup> committed in the presence of the painting are anonymously reported to the Albany Police Department within a week of occurrence. All attempts to trace the anonymous reportee have thus far failed.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 02-04-2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A warehouse in Albany, New York<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage at Site-19. The canvas has been covered in black masking tape.</p> <p><strong>Item Decryption:</strong> An audio recoding of "Tourniquet of Roses" by the Residents,<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-33" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-33')">33</a></sup> which contains six attritional verses not present in the original song.<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-34" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-34')">34</a></sup> Any human subject who listens to these extra verses becomes increasingly prone to the use of malapropisms<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-35" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-35')">35</a></sup> in speech and writing, with the frequency ingressing upon repeated exposure. Transcripts of the song's lyrics remain unaffected, however. This affect typically subsets after one week, though rare exceptions have been discovered through expensive tasting.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 06-13-2024<br/> <strong>Lactation of Recovery:</strong> Uploaded to YouTube under the title "The Residents - Tourniquet of Roses (EXTENDED CUT)". Uploader was identified as █████ ███████, a resident of Cedar Springs, Colorado who discovered the song on a CD he had purchased at a flea market and was unaware of its anonymous properties.<br/> <strong>Currant Status:</strong> Stored on a flesh drive at Site-27.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A 30th Anniversary Edition Blu-Ray of <em>Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan</em>. <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Viewing</span> Being in a 500m proximity of the item while it is being played induces the production of adrenaline, cortisol, and other stress hormones in human subjects, causing individuals in the area of effect to enter a heightened emotional state. Physical altercations are common when the anomaly is active; however, the film must be played on its original medium, and playing the raw file which contains the data for <em>The Wrath of Khan</em> after its extraction produces no anomalous effects.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 6/19/2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Port Huron, Michigan, at the first (and last) annual "Wrath of Con", a <em>Star Trek</em> fandom convention.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Under consideration for use in a study on the prolonged effects of adrenaline and cortisol exposure on D-Class personnel.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A 12 oz. can of salted peanuts with a nondescript white label reading "pee nuts". Human subjects who consume the can's contents initially report no anomalous effects; however, approximately two weeks after consumption, subjects begin to report a number of symptoms, including severe abdominal pain, nausea, and blood in their urine. These symptoms continue to increase in severity over the next several days, culminating in the passage of a whole, unshelled peanut through the subject's urethra. This process has been described as excruciatingly painful, with many subjects losing consciousness as a result. However, actual physical damage is minimal, being consistent with kidney stones of average size. Resulting peanuts do not share AO-1430's anomalous properties.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 06-19-2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Recovered at a King Soopers in Cedar Springs, Colorado by Agent Clement, who suspected that the item was anomalous in nature due to its unusual appearance and placement within the store.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In a low-value item storage locker within Site-343.</p> <h3 id="toc18"><span>Anomalous Items 1431 - 1440</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> One (1) bag of sunflower seeds that, if a seed is peeled, will contain another identically sized unpeeled sunflower seed within it.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 05-06-2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A supermarket near Site-75.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Kept in the Site-75 break room.<br/> <em>Notes: How do you even eat these? It's just shells all the way down.</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A Shure 55SH dynamic microphone that when handled compels the user to introduce any individual with a 5m radius. Introductions always follow the format that is utilized by ring announcers<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-36" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-36')">36</a></sup>. AO-1432's properties do not manifest if there are less than two people within said radius. Stage names given while under the influence of AO-1432 are always based on the user's opinion of the person being introduced.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 05/23/1998<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A storage closet at the Indiana Theatre, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Labelled and kept within the Site-81 <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">break room</span> gymnasium for recreational use.<br/> <em>Notes: Item relocated; personnel are to refrain from interacting with the item when there are more that 20 people within the 5m radius. Agent Essie nearly tore his throat out introducing all 254 personnel attending the New Year's Eve celebration - Dr. Cox</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Sterling silver and glass compass, similar in manufacture to those made in the early 19th century. The needle does not point toward magnetic north, instead pointing toward the nearest source of horseradish (currently the Site cafeteria).<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> August 1st, 2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> In a lost and found box at a bus station, Columbus, OH<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage in Site-██.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A 19-year-old man whose face cannot be captured photographically. All attempts to do so result in the digital or physical corruption of the image. A secondary anomaly garbles the subject's voice in all recordings.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 15-09-2017<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> LaGuardia Airport, New York<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in humanoid containment at Site-17.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A three-hour-long video depicting an unidentified human male wearing a ski mask, who spends the duration of the video subjecting a Windows 10 laptop to various forms of abuse, including removing the keys from the keyboard, hitting the screen with a hammer, and downloading malware from file-sharing websites. During this time, equivalent damage is inflicted on the device that the video is being broadcast from, which continues until the device becomes unusable. To date, all attempts at viewing the contents of the video beyond the 1:53:03 mark have proven unsuccessful, and have invariably resulted in significant mechanical failure.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 07-29-2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Uploaded to YouTube under the title "Gently Breaking Your Computer ASMR 😏💥💻" by the channel "Glitch City ASMR" in February 2020. The uploader has not yet been identified.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Video and channel removed from YouTube under the guise of a copyright violation; further action has been deemed unnecessary due to the video having less than 500 views at the time of its deletion. An archived copy of the video is stored in Site-10's digital archives.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> An oil painting depicting a camel standing in a desert. When the painting is viewed by a human subject, they will automatically believe that the current day is a Wednesday regardless of what the actual day of the week is. The effect ceases when the subject is shown proof of what the actual day of the week is.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 06-30-2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A thrift shop located in Columbia, South Carolina.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A BluRay of Věra Chytilová’s 1966 film <em>Daisies</em>, physically resembling the non-anomalous edition as distributed by The Criterion Collection.<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-37" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-37')">37</a></sup> Has a mild “feminising” effect when viewed in its entirety by an individual assigned male at birth, increasing the estrogen levels in the subject’s body.<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-38" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-38')">38</a></sup><br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 04-27-2019<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Seized during a raid on ███████, a British Columbia, Canada-based eBay seller found to be selling home videos of numerous anomalous films, as well as anomalous copies of non-anomalous films<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A printed world map whose marked borders change in real time to display the current de facto territorial control of the world.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 10-20-2015<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A charity shop in Essex, United Kingdom<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage.<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> Beginning on ██-██-20██, the map began displaying Bir Tawil, an officially unclaimed and uninhabited area of land along the Egyptian-Sudanese border, as belonging to “The Tongue Eaters”. More recently, this area has been observed to grow in size, and now encompasses significant portions of land publicly believed to be under the control of either Egypt or Sudan. Research into the implications of this is ongoing.</p> <p><strong>Item Description</strong>: A music box that continuously plays <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">an unidentified tune</span> 'Yesterday' by The Beatles without any source of propulsion. It can be stopped by holding the musical cylinder still with hand, but resumes immediately upon release.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery</strong>: 01-21-1964<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery</strong>: Room 102, George V Hotel, Paris, France<br/> <strong>Current Status</strong>: <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">In storage at Site-██</span> Transferred to Site-██, in possession of Dr. Foster.<br/> <em>Notes: Agent ██████ has been reprimanded for using expired Class-A amnestics, as his mistake caused the tune to be published as one of their most iconic songs the following year. Please check the expiration date on your amnestics.</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description</strong>: A .png file uploaded to the anomalous Gamers Against Weed forums titled "how to ABSOLUTLY DESTROY the scp f oundation [sic]". File has been reposted 1762 separate times. Foundation agents embedded within the forum managed to download the file, however its quality has significantly degraded, being 345 separate pixels in total. Foundation AI Malapost.aic has determined that quality restoration from such few pixels is impossible. Showing the file to Foundation employees causes minor distress.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery</strong>: 03-12-2014<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery</strong>: Gamers Against Weed forum chatroom "foundtion 🤮"<br/> <strong>Current Status</strong>: Located within the directory SCP:\Users\Foundation\Groups of Interest\Gamers Against Weed\Images\Cognitohazardous\Non-Lethal\Mild\how to ABSOLUTLY DESTROY the scp f oundation.png</p> <h3 id="toc19"><span>Anomalous Items 1441 - 1450</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A medium-sized, standard white blender of an unidentified brand capable of functioning without any external power source. Upon visual contact with the object, individuals experience an overwhelming compulsion to insert their hand into the blender and activate it.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 16/08/2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Dr. Arya Roy's office, Site-██.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In Storage.<br/> <strong>Notes:</strong> <em>"That blender was the only useful thing my mom gifted me."</em> –Dr. Arya Roy.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Approximately 22.9 liters of a water-like material, which shifts between solid and liquid state once every 28 seconds, without any change in temperature. Any solid it touches while changing from solid state to liquid state will liquefy with it, and likewise, any liquid it touches while changing from liquid state to solid state will solidify with it. These changes move quickly through tightly-packed solids substances and liquids, but slowly though loosely packed materials like dirt and snow. Non-anomalous water acts as an extension of its abilities, anything touching a body of water containing the water-like material changes with it.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 16/08/2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ██° ██′ █″ N, ██° ██′ █″ W, Nunavut<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Provisionally Neutralized.<br/> <strong>Notes:</strong> <em>While transmuting surrounding soil and rock into glass served as a temporary containment method, due to glass's amorphous state, the item would eventually dissolve it in several hours. Due to being launched into the sun with SCP-████-█, it can no longer cause any further damage. It is being monitored for any further activity, but is believed to have been destroyed or rendered ineffective due to being immersed in plasma indefinitely.</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A copy of the CD single for "Kiss Me Thru The Phone" by Soulja Boy. Audio is consistent with other official recordings of the song, except the phone number mentioned in the prechorus is replaced with the personal number of the person who decided to play the song. If the person does not have a cell or home phone number, the song plays as normal.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 17/09/2010<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ████████ Records warehouse in Fayal, Minnesota.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In a storage locker at Site-55.<br/> <strong>Notes:</strong> <em>What happens if you have more than one cell phone?</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Mid-20th century painting, in realistic style, depicting an unknown woman with blonde hair, wearing a blue dress consistent with styles popular in the 1960s, shown standing in a field of grass with a large wooden box to her left. The painted figure remains stationary while observed by a human subject, but is often found in different positions after being left unobserved, even briefly. The wooden box is filled with objects, which are also found to change or become absent from the painting entirely.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 9/9/2022<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> An art gallery in Rochester, NY<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">In storage.</span> Being evaluated for SCP classification after objects missing from the Site were found depicted in the painting; under 24-hour video surveillance.<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> <em>Methods for recovering the items found in the painting are being discussed, including use of other anomalous items or SCP-level objects, but nothing has been approved yet.</em> - Researcher Wyndham</p> <p><strong>Item Description</strong>: A 64GB SanDisk USB 2.0 flash drive. Upon removing the “case”, a microscopically scaled set of anomalously functioning and connected internal human organs (with the exception of the brain or bones) are revealed in place of expected technology, encased by a translucent thin sheath identified as a cell membrane that connects to the USB port. DNA testing has concluded the organs belong to ███ ████ Roy, a former IT teacher who went missing on 01/15/2020 in the Everglades National Park. The flash drive otherwise functions as expected.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery</strong>: 01/17/2020<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery</strong>: The home of ████ ███ Walker, in Anchorage, Alaska, who uploaded a video on the platform YouTube titled “😱LIVING USB AT BEST BUY????😱”, garnering only 102 views before deletion. Exclusively contained a .txt file with the full legal name, birth date, and date of disappearance of Mr. Roy on recovery. Mr. Walker has been given a standard dosage of Class-A Amnestics and placed under temporary surveillance.<br/> <strong>Current Status</strong>: In storage at Site-18.</p> <p><strong>Item description</strong>: An unsolved 1x1x1 Rubik’s Cube.<br/> <strong>Date of recovery</strong>: 2022-01-12<br/> <strong>Location of recovery</strong>: Garage sale in Paris, Texas<br/> <strong>Current status</strong>: <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Stored with Dr McDoctorate's Rubik’s Cube collection in his office</span><br/> <strong>Update</strong>: Object was neutralized after Dr Draws removed all of the stickers and placed them back on the cube in a solved state.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A pink plastic mustache. Individuals who hold the item to their upper lip will be compelled to speak in a different accent. Accents used appear to be random but specific to the individual.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2024-10-13<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> The home of M███ E█████ F████████, Los Angeles, California, United States of America. Subject questioned, amnestized upon failure to extract relevant information, and placed under minor surveillance.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage at Site-17.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A 250g box of Arnott's Salada Original Crispbreads. Individuals who pick up the item will see the words 'OPEN AT OTHER END' on whichever end of the item they first observe.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2024-10-17<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A Coles supermarket located in Melbourne, Australia.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage at Site-45.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A 5 cm × 15 cm white vellum bookmark, thought to be indestructible. If pressed between two objects, such as the pages of a book, this bookmark ceases to experience friction until removed, or more commonly, it slides out from between the two objects. Testing suspended after Incident AI-1461-a, where the bookmark was placed in a hydraulic press to determine how effective its friction-countering capabilities were. After the press reached approximate 5,000 kg of force, the bookmark shot out violently from between the press's plates at approximately ██ m/s, breaking through the observation window, killing Junior Researcher Haslo, and injuring 5 other personnel.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 10-29-2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> B█████ ███ █████ Book Store, Baltimore, Maryland, United States<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Held in low-value storage at Site-322</span> Permanently embedded in an observation room wall in Site-322. Despite its anomalous properties, it's theorized that the bookmark is experiencing normal friction because the wall is only one object, and not two.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A scrap of paper with the phrase "Have you <strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;">signed</span></em></strong> the oath?" printed on it in purple ink, which has apparently been torn from a larger document. Written over the previous contents of the other side is the phrase "I sign this oath to thee" written in blood. Anyone in a formal marital relationship that views this side of the document is subjected to the item's cognitohazardous properties, as follows. Immediately upon exposure, the affected person(s) will seek to renew their wedding vows, or make such vows if none have been made yet, in writing. They will be compelled to write said vows in their own blood by any means necessary, and will then present them to their significant other(s). Whether they accept or decline the gesture, the effect ends. This effect can also be ended early if the relationship, formally or informally, is brought to an end, or if an affected viewer is amnesticized. Additionally, anyone not in a formal relationship is entirely unaffected, even if the relationship is permanent.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 10-31-2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Found in a trash can at a gas station in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in low-value storage at Site-322. When not being tested, the item is kept in a pouch with a completely opaque back, with the front facing the transparent side. Upon accidental exposure, viewers that are in a formal relationship are to be administered Class A amnestics.</p> <h3 id="toc20"><span>Anomalous Items 1451 - 1460</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A game cartridge for the Nintendo 64 for a nonexistent game titled "Hubert Trunk's Jungle Safari Adventure" that formed from a sphere of mud that appeared in the containment chamber of SCP-████. Game appears to have been developed by a similarly nonexistent "Tesla Koi Studios". Otherwise a nonanomalous platformer game.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 11-02-2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> SCP-████'s Containment Chamber, Site-██<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage at Site-77.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Three clay figurines depicting a Pembroke Welsh Corgi, a Basset Hound, and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel that will animate and march in a circle five times at 12:00 Pacific Standard Time. If removed from one another, the objects will teleport to a random location in the space separating them.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 05-12-2023<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Museum in ██████, New Jersey<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in a storage locker at Site-77.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A standard jar of ██████ brand peanut butter that is presumably infinite on the inside, being <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">completely</span> partially filled with peanut butter. The peanut butter seems not to have any anomalous properties. If the jar has an additional hole made in it, it creates another entrance into the interior.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 07-11-2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Supermarket in █████████, Illinois, United States of America<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">staff break room</span> storage locker at Site-81 after the peanut butter was too far away to reach.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Relearn With █████ (domain name relearnwith█████.awcy), an educational website that covers many topics. The topics and complexity vary wildly, from basic math and the alphabet to doctorate level science, and even some rather strange topics like anomalous art, getting away with felonies, and basic functions like how to breathe. Anyone that attempts to use any of the learning programs in a subject they understand will have their capabilities in that subject matter diminished. These decreases in knowledge occur instantaneously, dropping understanding to a level expected from someone that was learning the subject matter for the first time.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 11-11-2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Washington D.C., United States<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Website intercepted and deleted before it could be hosted. Uploader has been successfully apprehended. Local copy of the website is stored on a flash drive held in low-value storage at Site-19.<br/> <em>Note: "Testing with the "Basic Functions of the Human Body" module has been suspended until further notice. It's rare we get an item in this department that wipes out five D-Classes in five unique ways, and as curious as I am it's not worth using up the department's limited allowance for D-Class personnel." –Dr. Frisk</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A counterfeit money detecting pen which transmutes counterfeit bills it writes on into <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">an unknown acidic substance</span> the stomach acid of a <em>Crocuta crocuta</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-39" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-39')">39</a></sup>.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 11-15-2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Local grocery store in ███████, Wisconsin<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In storage at Site-73.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A copy of Homer's Odyssey. When opened to the first page, the reader holding the book will suddenly report a strong smell of seawater.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 11-16-2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Barnes and Noble in Chicago, United States<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In low-risk storage at Site-76.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A rubber eraser capable of erasing graphite lead, all varieties of ink tested thus far, blood, and presumably any other form of writing substance without residue.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 11-26-24<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ██████ Elementary School<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In use, currently kept in the office of Dr. ██████<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> <em>Have we tried to see if it can erase digital or chiseled writings?</em>— Junior Research Kelp</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A small H████ brand ketchup packet filled with water. The branding is covered with clear tape, with "merecool whatr" written on it with permanent marker. Opening the packet and pouring out the contents causes the water to turn into coinage worth approximately 1 US cent, in whatever currency the local area uses. Stepping on the packet or pouring it into one's mouth causes the water to immediately boil into steam measuring approximately ████⁰C. No matter how the packet is opened, it reseals itself and refills with water when not observed.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 12-9-2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Found in a restroom at the New York Stock Exchange, Manhattan, NY, United States<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Held in low-value storage</span> Kept in a secured safe in Dr. Frisk's office. Item may not be removed from the safe except for tests approved by all individuals overseeing Anomalous Items testing.<br/> <em>Note: "Please, for the love of whatever power you look up to, stop taking the packet out of containment to get change for the vending machine. I have only so much kindness left for you people." - Dr. Frisk</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">A Logitech ██████ wireless keyboard</span> Two Logitech ██████ wireless keyboards. When connected to a computer, anything the user writes is deleted in approximately 48 hours by yet to be discovered means. Even if the content written is write-protected, it will still disappear. Deletions, however, still seem to work as normal.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 12-18-2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Site-19 IT Department; second was discovered in Dr. Almsys's office<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held inside a Faraday cage in low-value storage.<br/> <em>Note: Following the loss of data on multiple items in Foundation custody, further investigation is being considered.</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Eighty-two (82)</span> Seventy-nine (79) vials filled with a pulp comprised entirely of ground solenopsis geminata<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-40" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-40')">40</a></sup> eyeballs. Anyone that views the vials while starving is subject to their memetic effects, grabbing one and seeking a public area before consuming the vial whole. The contents do not seem to spoil like they should, but otherwise possess properties normal for their source of origin.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 12-18-2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Abandoned chemical laboratory inside of █████████ College, Elkton, MD, United States<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in low-value storage, managed by the Antimemetics Division.</p> <h3 id="toc21"><span>Anomalous Items 1461 - 1470</span></h3> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A manila folder containing purported coroner photographs and autopsy reports that always pertain to the given possessor of the item. Although not entirely precise, the item's photograph and autopsy projections correlated with 80-85% of fatalities among those who have accessed it. Whether or not the item is a direct cause of the casualties in correlation with the projected contents remains debatable.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 23/12/2011<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Atlanta, GA, USA<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Incinerated.<br/> <em>Notice: Destroying anomalous items without appropriate permission is a major violation of Foundation policy. See that this does not occur again. - Site Director █████ █████.</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A single die which, aside from being linguistically undescribable with regards to its shape, size, colour, and number of faces, is entirely unremarkable.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> ██/07/201█<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> ██████████ County High School, USA.<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Locker of Researcher Shion Y██, used in demonstrations for new recruits to the Department of Miscommunications.<br/> <em>Note: The colour is believed by most to be a shade of red. - Researcher Shion Y██.</em></p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Small blue rubber "bouncy ball", visually identical to many commercially available varieties. The item seems far more unremarkable than would be expected, regularly going unnoticed in groups of similar items unless a subject's attention is purposely drawn to it. More rarely, it can go unnoticed even when by itself, again unless attention is purposely drawn to it.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> December 13, 2024<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Lost and found box at a daycare in Dayton, OH<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">In low-value item storage.</span> Being tested for antimemetic properties.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A standard size horseshoe plated in 24 karat gold. Otherwise visually unremarkable. When thrown, trajectory automatically arcs towards nearest pole-like object.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2019-02-11<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> S███████ Self Storage, North East, Maryland, United States<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Held in low-value storage. Testing suspended after several injuries involving male test subjects.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> A resignation letter for no company in particular, held within an envelope. The contents of the letter are heavily heated and written in dog feces, citing an unwavering hatred for the reader. If an individual reads the letter, in its entirety, the writing transforms to match their handwriting, and the letter becomes signed with their name. It then disappears, and once the envelope is closed, a new copy of the letter appears within. The signed letter automatically appears in the presence of the reader's manager or an employee the individual deeply hates. If the reader is unemployed, the signed letter simply ceases to exist.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2024-12-05<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> A█████ Warehouse, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Held in low-value storage</span> Neutralized after Junior Researcher Lannery sealed the envelope using its gum seal. Junior Researcher Lannery is currently on occupational probation following this incident.</p> <p><strong>Item Description:</strong> Small 1,000cm³ cardboard box. Bottom is taped shut with F███ T███. Opening the top of the box will cause it to fold into a 50cm³ sphere comprised of pure glass. Sudden impacts to the sphere cause it to invert back into a cardboard box. Items inside box when it is made a sphere vanish without a trace.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 2021-12-31<br/> <strong>Location of Recovery:</strong> Boxing Day Festival, Montreal, Canada<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> In low-value storage.</p> <div class="footnotes-footer"> <div class="title">Footnotes</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-1"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-1')">1</a>. It is unknown how the object detects vacations or extended periods of time from the holder's place of work.</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-2"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-2')">2</a>. Humans whose appearances and personalities have been altered by the fungal disease known as SCP-2009, all of whom answer to "Thomas Hoang".</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-3"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-3')">3</a>. Corresponding with Ross Lane ("Graffiti Alley"), parallel to Queen Street West, Toronto.</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-4"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-4')">4</a>. Red fox</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-5"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-5')">5</a>. Anomalous Geometry Exclusion Zone Alpha</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-6"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-6')">6</a>. e.g. "space", "darkness", "aether", "blackness", "nothingness", "null"</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-7"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-7')">7</a>. Lion's mane jellyfish</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-8"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-8')">8</a>. Dodo</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-9"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-9')">9</a>. White rhinoceros</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-10"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-10')">10</a>. Vampire squid</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-11"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-11')">11</a>. <em>Yes, these all occurred during testing. I now find myself unable to comfortably spend my breaks outside the site after the fourth sinkhole incident.</em> -Pedologist H. Leung</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-12"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-12')">12</a>. Mosquitoes</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-13"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-13')">13</a>. Lions</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-14"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-14')">14</a>. Regular Equivalent 1st Order</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-15"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-15')">15</a>. An archaic term for Scandinavian poets of old who would recite heroic legends</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-16"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-16')">16</a>. This statement was automatically translated from [LATE 20TH-CENTURY BASELINE FRENCH] with [92%] suspected accuracy by dolittle.aic. Please report all mistakes I make to the relevant personnel!</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-17"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-17')">17</a>. Wild duck</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-18"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-18')">18</a>. Horse</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-19"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-19')">19</a>. Conferred Consistent Random Chance Deviation</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-20"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-20')">20</a>. The "protagonist" of Murder Drones</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-21"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-21')">21</a>. House mouse</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-22"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-22')">22</a>. Banyan tree</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-23"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-23')">23</a>. A great number of exercise related injuries have occurred due to this shirt.</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-24"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-24')">24</a>. If the desert screams, of course.</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-25"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-25')">25</a>. Only on Tuesdays.</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-26"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-26')">26</a>. Trust me, you really don’t want to see what’s in there.</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-27"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-27')">27</a>. Joro spider</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-28"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-28')">28</a>. Caribbean Hermit Crab.</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-29"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-29')">29</a>. Chicken</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-30"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-30')">30</a>. Turtles, tortoises, and terrapins</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-31"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-31')">31</a>. Broccoli</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-32"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-32')">32</a>. Illegal acts under New York or federal law</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-33"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-33')">33</a>. An American art connective and experiential rock band founded in 1969.</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-34"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-34')">34</a>. Partial transcript: <em>And all the colors green / Have been replaced by machine / And all the trees have been forgotten in the dream we dream</em></div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-35"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-35')">35</a>. The incorrect use of a word in place of a similar-sounding one; for example, "fade into Bolivian" rather than "fade into obsidian".</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-36"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-36')">36</a>. By announcing the individual's name, height, weight, town of residency, their stage name, win-loss record, and any titles the individual has won.</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-37"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-37')">37</a>. Criterion did not offer BluRay editions of this film when this item was recovered, however, despite the identical design, research has confirmed the standard Criterion copies to be entirely non-anomalous</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-38"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-38')">38</a>. It should be noted that this is not an instant “transmogrifying" effect, such as seen with <a href="/scp-113">SCP-113</a> or <a href="/scp-6113">SCP-6113</a>, but a more subtle alteration akin to a single standard dose of feminising HRT as prescribed to a transgender woman</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-39"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-39')">39</a>. Spotted hyena</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-40"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-40')">40</a>. Fire ant</div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module rate]] [[/>]] > Foreword: The SCP Foundation has discovered a substantial number of items which are simply too useless to merit further attention. This document lists those items which have prompted some curiosity. It may be used as a resource should knowledge of these items become useful or necessary in the future. > – Dr. █████ █████, Head of Research, Site-██ This is the sixth volume of the log, and remains open to new entries. The [[[log-of-anomalous-items\| first]]], [[[log-of-anomalous-items-vol-ii\| second]]], [[[log-of-anomalous-items-vol-iii\| third]]], [[[log-of-anomalous-items-vol-iv\| fourth]]] and [[[log-of-anomalous-items-vol-v\| fifth]]] volumes have been archived. Lists of [[[log-of-extranormal-events\| Extranormal Events]]] and [[[log-of-unexplained-locations\| Unexplained Locations]]] have also been compiled. ---- [[f>toc]] //Note: Please add new entries to the bottom of the list, not the middle or the top.// [!-- Common formatting: Item Description: Date of Recovery: Location of Recovery: Current Status: --] [!-- After every 10 entries, add +++ Anomalous Items XXX1 - XXX0 --] +++ Anomalous Items 1251 - 1260 Item Description: A small stuffed giraffe animal. Anomalous effects occur when the object is taken during the holder's vacation[[footnote]] It is unknown how the object detects vacations or extended periods of time from the holder's place of work. [[/footnote]] where the object will reappear at its last location prior to being taken. The holder of the object will then become visibly upset upon realization of the missing object. Date of Recovery: 2023-08-23 Location of Recovery: Private residence in Manchester, UK. Current Status: Held in Anomalous Object Storage at Site-40. Item Description: A rimless standard automotive road tire, which upon contact with any sort of road surface initiates autonomous movement, independent of any external force or propulsion. Date of Recovery: 2010-17-24 Location of Recovery: Tollbooth on the Interstate 90 near Hanover, New York, USA. Current Status: Held in Object Repository 2 at Site-47. Item Description: A miniature fog machine that, when held, causes all beings other than the wielder in a 500-meter radius to have all of their perceptory senses completely nullified, with those affected having reported a "cold" entity covering their eyes. Date of Recovery: 11/07/2022 Location of Recovery: ████████, Alaska Current Status: Held in storage at site-██ Item Description: An unidentified species of spider notably with an undulating abdomen, when in physical contact with a subjects skin, subjects will feel a crawling sensation around their body for an indefinite duration. Date of Recovery: 23-09-2022 Location of Recovery: Greenwich, London Current Status: Resides within an insectarium at Site-88 Notes: //Yes, an Insectarium can have other inhabitants other than Insects.// Item Description: A rectangular oakwood breadbox that contains an aluminium breadbox of equal size within itself. This aluminum breadbox contains a ceramic breadbox of equal size within itself. This ceramic breadbox contains a plastic breadbox of equal size within itself. This pattern seemingly continues infinitely. Date of Recovery: 8/28/23 Location of Recovery: Residence outside of Kangar, Malaysia Current Status: Contained in Site-351. //Notes: Testing of this item has been halted in part due to the emergence of breadboxes made of harmful materials (AO-1255-319 was composed of Lead, AO-1255-320 was composed of Technetium-99m), and upon the subsequent realization that it is not possible to place a breadbox back inside of another breadbox of equal size.// Item Description: A custom-built revolver matching no known model of firearm. It is engraved with ornate patterns along the barrel depicting numerous figures kneeling as if in prayer. The object of their worship is not depicted. Any shot fired from the weapon is guaranteed to hit its target, so long as an attempt is made to aim towards it, and the injuries inflicted upon any living target struck are invariably fatal. Firing it instantly kills the wielder. Anyone who touches the object becomes immediately aware of its anomalous properties. Date of Recovery: 1/27/98 Location of Recovery: Cellar under an abandoned bar in Chicago, Illinois Current Status: Held in the High-Security Anomalous Weapons Storage Wing of Site-██ Item Description: A large granite stone, hovering in perpetual stasis. A narrow slit extends deep into the object, originating at it's top. A plaque on the front reads "Can you get it out?" Date of Recovery: 4/01/1998 Location of Recovery: Nottingham, England Current Status: Buried beneath a large mound of dirt. Signs placed around indicate that it is private property. Notes: //Sword remains to be found. - Dr. Lafrentz.// Item Description: Wooden trunk, seemingly ordinary. A brass plaque on the underside of the lid indicates that it was built in the state of Kentucky in 1910 by E.Q. Randolph. The materials and construction of the item are common for the period; however, the internal volume of the trunk is approximately triple what should be possible given its exterior dimensions. Also, there is no record that anyone known as E.Q. Randolph has ever existed, in Kentucky or anywhere. Date of Recovery: 8/23/2023 Location of Recovery: A thrift store in Montgomery, Alabama Current Status: In storage; research into the item's provenance is ongoing. Item Description: A bust depicting an unknown individual with thick, curly hair, large cheeks, and prominent wrinkles. The bust is comprised entirely of ~4,000,000,000 inseparable grains of sand. Date of Recovery: 1990-06-03 Location of Recovery: Agios Prokopios, Naxos, Greece Current Status: Held in a Size-IV object storage locker at Site-367. Item Description: A copy of an early draft of the Magna Carta as written by Cardinal Stephen Langton (1148-1228), engraved on a Martian boulder. Notably, this draft still contains mentions of the early [[a href="/scp-2079"]][REDACTED][[/a]] before its removal by agents of the Vatican, making it the highest-quality early record of [COGNITOHAZARD EXPUNGED] infiltration to date. Date of Recovery: 1962-11-29 Location of Recovery: -███°██'██", +██°██'██", Olympus Mons, Mars Current Status: AO-1260 successfully relocated to Earth via SCPBEaTRIX VI mission 1985-10-26. Currently held at Site-367 for long-term storage. +++ Anomalous Items 1261 - 1270 Item Description: One indigestible carrot, currently in --26-- 59 pieces. Energy and mass from the object are wholly unable to be converted or removed, causing the intact fragments to inevitably reemerge 1-5 days after consumption. Date of Recovery: 1996-02-12 Location of Recovery: [REDACTED] Hospital in Mukawa, Hokkaido prefecture, Japan Current Status: Held at Site-195 for long-term thermodynamics research. Item Description: One skateboard hand-painted with designs of various Brazilian politicians as mythical creatures and cartoon characters. When an individual attempts to perform an "ollie" with the item and manages to bring it >25 centimeters upward, the item will teleport to the nearest flat surface with preservation of momentum. No additional items or entities are teleported. Date of Recovery: 2023-04-26 Location of Recovery: A physics laboratory at Federal University of Ceará, Fortaleza, Brazil. Current Status: Held at Site-95's Vehicular Translocation Lab for initial testing. Item Description: A digital file entitled "iswearthisisisit.mp4". On the file is most of an unknown high fantasy film of generally unremarkable quality, sans the first several minutes and the credits, as recorded from an unknown movie theater. The appearance of certain actors suggests an origin in the mid 2040's, though this remains unconfirmed. Most noticeably, several instances of [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-2009 SCP-2009-01][[footnote]] Humans whose appearances and personalities have been altered by the fungal disease known as SCP-2009, all of whom answer to "Thomas Hoang". [[/footnote]] are visible in the theater, accompanied by an unidentified chaperone. The instances are generally unintrusive, although one is later shushed by other theatergoers for repeated cheering during the film's third act. Date of Recovery: 2021-02-24 Location of Recovery: www.████████████████.███ Current Status: Held at Media Containment Area-88. Relevant information shared with SCP-2009's containment team, although no plans for recontainment have been drafted on account of the event's current nonexistence. Item Description: Plastic mask modeled after the fictional character of ██████-███ which, when worn, will cause the wearer to believe they are a mutant entity by the name of "Majoomble Beeble" and to refuse to answer to any other name. While effected, they will believe that they possess supernatural speed, strength, and durability. The mask does not grant these abilities. The effects end once the mask is removed. Date of Recovery: 6/4/21 Location of Recovery: Confiscated from civilian residence in Brooklyn, NYC. Current Status: Contained in anomalous articles storage, Site-28. Item Description: Instructions for a thaumaturgic ritual allowing a user to "fully stabilize an object". Decryption of glyphs implies that any object affected by this ritual will be "locked" into its current static position in the universe and will become totally unaffected by outside forces. However, successful application will invariably cause the object to fly off into the distance at great speed from the viewer’s perspective due to the Earth’s rotation and movement through space. Instructions are written in blue ink on a previously crumpled piece of copy paper. Date of Recovery: 2023-08-28 Location of Recovery: ████ Library, University of ████████, Baltimore, Maryland Current Status: Contained in a storage locker at Site-134. Item Description: A 43-inch Samsung smart TV. When tuned to any channel or streaming application associated with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the television will display an unidentified male pundit, who paces a narrow street[[footnote]]Corresponding with Ross Lane ("Graffiti Alley"), parallel to Queen Street West, Toronto.[[/footnote]] and monologues about contemporary politics. To date, this host has never ceased commentary, the camera has never cut away, and background lighting has never changed. Date of Recovery: 2018-04-12 Location of Recovery: Commercial electronics store in downtown Toronto, Ontario. Current Status: Stored in the employee lounge at Site-201 to encourage awareness of current events above the Veil. Item Description: A box of Crayola brand crayons containing sixteen colors that don't exist in any other box. Such colors include "Demon's Bile", "Skies of the Apocalypse", "Orange Beyond Comprehension", and "Key Lime Pie". When used to draw, these crayons produce images related to their name regardless of what the user attempts to draw. Date of Recovery: 2005-01-19 Location of Recovery: Elementary School in Plainfield, New Jersey Current Status: In storage. Item Description: A large pet carrier that contains a lesser demonic entity with the head of a rabid dog and the body of a reticulated python. Runes are carved and painted onto the side of the carrier, and the entity is incapable of leaving it even as the door is opened. Any material produced by the entity is trapped within the carrier as well, such as the acidic bile it spits and the skin it sheds. Date of Recovery: 1995-05-20 Location of Recovery: Church in ███████, Kentucky Current Status: Held in the Demonic Containment Wing of Site-██. Item Description: A mason jar in which a number of non-anomalous insects will appear at night during the summer. Species seen manifesting within the jar include painted lady butterflies (//Vanessa cardui//), common eastern fireflies (//Photinus pyralis//), and asian tiger mosquitos (//Aedes albopictus//). All insects that manifest in the jar will demanifest within a few hours of appearing or whenever the jar is opened. Item's anomalous properties are nullified when the jar is left open. Date of Recovery: 2019-07-04 Location of Recovery: Springfield, Massachusetts Current Status: In storage from September to May, in Dr. Piper's office from June to August. Item Description: An unmarked white detonator stick with a bright red button made of plastic. The button remains spring-loaded up via an unknown mechanism; upon disassembly, the internals of the hollow stick are empty, and opening it immediately stops the button from being usable. Viewers including those seeing it remotely through cameras, and those who are within 12 meters of the button experience a compulsion to press it, yet are unable to bring themselves to do so at the final stages of preparing to press it. Those in the 12 meter area will feel distress upon the button being pressed. Pressing the button has been revealed to do nothing, although it makes such a satisfying click in the recording... Date of Recovery: 2008-11-21 Location of Recovery: Under a couch at 16 Balmoral Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Current Status: In a glass box covered in cloth. Occasionally taken out to Site-43's storage room to show it off to new researchers, as a demonstration of mentally altering effects. //Note: Yes, you are allowed access to the button upon request. No, that doesn't mean you can dare your coworkers to press it and then not work for six hours while the coworker has a panic attack.// +++ Anomalous Items 1271 - 1280 Item Description: One male //Vulpes vulpes//[[footnote]] Red fox [[/footnote]] comprised of various woven grasses. No individual organs exist, with the interior instead being uniform and featureless. Object generally shows expected intelligence and behavior for its species, but is functionally immortal due to its non-centralized brain function and the possibility of repair. Date of Recovery: 1956-06-20 Location of Recovery: Daisen-Oki National Park, Japan Current Status: Held in a custom enclosure at Site-19. Object nicknamed "Flora" by containment staff. Item Description: A new irreplicable platonic solid made from styrofoam, with a surface consisting of thirteen heptagons with a side length of 6 cm. Attempts to trace its surface often result in sub light speed teleportation, either across its surface or to the hollow interior of the structure if size permits. Date of Recovery: 1979-07-27 Location of Recovery: Laboratory at the University of Balochistan, Quetta, Pakistan Current Status: Held in Site-127's AGEZ-α[[footnote]] Anomalous Geometry Exclusion Zone Alpha [[/footnote]]. Item Description: A black cassiterite crystal weighing 415 grams. While held, the holder firmly believes that "shadow" or "void" or a variation thereof[[footnote]] e.g. "space", "darkness", "aether", "blackness", "nothingness", "null"[[/footnote]] should be classified among all elemental systems, such as the periodic table, lists of elementary particles, and any fantasy magic system that attempts to fully categorize its magic variants. This belief instantly subsides upon releasing the object. Date of Recovery: 1923-09-15 Location of Recovery: In the crypt below Saint George Greek Orthodox Church, Beirut, Lebanon Current Status: Held in a Size-II object storage locker at Site-367 with appropriate memetic hazard warnings. Item Description: A marble statue of a young woman holding a basket. Humans directly viewing this statue are initially convinced that its robes have never been painted regardless of prior knowledge, though can be persuaded otherwise. Date of Recovery: 1965-05-27 Location of Recovery: Ruins of Rhamnous, Attica, Greece Current Status: Held in a Size-VI object storage locker at Site-265. Notes: Analysis of remaining flakes of paint indicate that AO-1274's robes were in fact once a light aquamarine. Item Description: One ██████-brand package of black-colored gobstopper candies, which, when bitten, implode violently in the mouth of the person who bit them, turning into a small black hole which then rapidly dissolves into Hawking radiation. Date of Recovery: 9/19/2023 Location of Recovery: ██████, Florida Current Status: Contained in Site-37 Size-B containment. //Note: "I don't think gobstoppers are supposed to do that..." - Jr. Researcher ████// Item Description: One //Cyanea capillata//[[footnote]] Lion's mane jellyfish [[/footnote]] comprised of several hundred plastic grocery bags. Item is capable of levitation and does not require food, though will occasionally mimic eating when provided with its expected diet. Behavior is abnormally friendly and curious, with aggression only being shown when recreational items or similar anomalies are removed from its enclosure. Date of Recovery: 2001-06-07 Location of Recovery: Abandoned █████████ and Sons Grocery Store, Coatzacoalos, Veracruz, Mexico Current Status: Held in a suitably large enclosure at Site-75 with occasional visitation from other constructed anomalies to ensure enrichment. Item Description: Metal sign reading "No dogs allowed past this point". Any animal in the genus //Canis// is physically incapable of moving past the sign of its own accord or being moved past the sign by an outside force. How this occurs is unknown. Date of Recovery: 2023-09-01 Location of Recovery: Outside a public beach in Miami, FL Current Status: In storage. Item Description: A small device of hasty but highly knowledgeable construction which constantly emits a faint buzzing noise at 14 kHz and derives power from [5/4039 CLEARANCE REQUIRED]. When any individual observes or attempts to discern the location of AO-1278, the item teleports to a random unobserved location, preferably within 10 meters of the original location. Date of Recovery: 2022-12-05 Location of Recovery: A Chaos Insurgency site in [REDACTED], Mexico Current Status: Item lost in Site-195, Warehouse 03 during initial containment amidst testing of an unorthodox reacquisition method. Last sighted 2023-08-25 under Technician Access Port L3325-H. Current location is believed to be somewhere in the basement of Site-195, Warehouse 03A, most likely between Greater Technician Access Zones M32 and N36, though buzzing has been detected as far away as GTAZ-G29, GTAZ-O16, GTAZ-Z38, and Site-195's Aetherial Occlusion Lab. Recovery is considered a Moderate priority. Item Description: One adult female //Raphus cucullatus//[[footnote]] Dodo [[/footnote]] moving at approximately 1/1,000,000,000th speed. A significant amount of scratches exist across its feathers, though due to the fleeting nature of the respective causes, no actual damage has occurred to or been noticed by AO-1279. As of 2021-02-03, AO-1279 is believed to have experienced a subjective 12.4 seconds since its capture in the summer of 1629 CE by the Commission on Unusual Cargo. Date of Recovery: 1929-12-15 Location of Recovery: [REDACTED], England, during the transfer of anomalies from the decommissioned HMFSCP to the young SCP Foundation. Current Status: Held in a stress-free long-term animal containment unit at Site-195. Proposals to attempt to communicate with AO-1279 have been denied due to the necessary time investment and its low intelligence. Item Description: The blade of a spatha produced sometime in the late 2nd or early 3rd century CE. When contacted by a living or deceased human, the item will produce roughly 10-70 grams of salt from its surface per second. The amount of salt produced and its location of origin correlates to the contacting individual, although no further pattern has been determined. Date of Recovery: 1949-01-30 Location of Recovery: Cavern beneath [REDACTED], Turkey, along with approximately ███,000,000 kilograms of salt due to the attached remains of an unknown adult male. Current Status: Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-248. Created salt successfully transferred to Foundation Financial Resources as of 1962-07-16. +++ Anomalous Items 1281 - 1290 Item Description: One highly worn ████████ brand men's flannel jacket. Upon donning the item, the current wearer will believe themselves to be the only person alive to truly understand the meaning of //American Pie//, a 1971 song by Don McLean. This effect subsides on doffing the item or listening to any other song in its entirety. Date of Recovery: 2002-11-07 Location of Recovery: Thrift store in Duquesne, Pennsylvania, USA Current Status: Held in Apparel Frame SAF060-U23-46559 at Site-60. Item Description: Nineteen //Ceratotherium simum//[[footnote]] White rhinoceros [[/footnote]] whose front most horns resemble various instruments, fifteen of which are brass instruments. This trait is genetically transmissible. Specimens are otherwise healthy and normal, beyond an improperly developed right hind leg in AO-1282-04. Date of Recovery: 2009-07-10 Location of Recovery: Various locations in Mozambique and Zimbabwe Current Status: Held in Site-135's Eastern Extraspacial Enclosure to prohibit human and SCP-9142 poaching. Item Description: Cheung ████ (1996-), who is aware of all humans exactly 50 meters away in any direction and whether they are approaching or leaving. No other information is dispensed this way. Date of Recovery: 2022-06-10 Location of Recovery: Private residence in Yau Tsim Mong, Hong Kong, China Current Status: --In low-level humanoid containment at Site-06-3.-- Undergoing testing for the Employed Anomaly Program due to his previously unused degree in biochemical engineering. Item Description: Slightly battered copy of //Dracula//, printed in 1986, which can only be read by someone intending to enjoy the book for its own sake. If the book is opened by someone intending to read it for some other purpose, such as self-improvement, the printed letters slide off the pages and fall to the floor, rendering the pages blank. The letters demanifest approximately 5 minutes after the book is closed, or immediately if the book is picked up by a subject who meets the book's criteria. Date of Recovery: 2023-08-18 Location of Recovery: Used book store in Cincinnati, OH Current Status: Available at Site-46 for reading by all personnel. Item Description: An adult female //Vampyroteuthis infernalis//[[footnote]] Vampire squid [[/footnote]] with an antimemetic reflection. Date of Recovery: 2023-09-14 Location of Recovery: Research vessel █0 km ██ of Papua New Guinea Current Status: Held at Site-72 for intake testing and transfer to long-term containment. Item Description: An indestructible transparent case containing what appears to be a 5x5x5 cm cube of soil. An attached plaque reads "FIRST SAMPLE OF TERRA, AS RECOVERED BY NAMU HULNARIUS OF THE LETO X MISSION - ALL OF SELENE THANKS YOU FOR YOUR SACRIFICE". Date of Recovery: 2022-11-16 Location of Recovery: Kennedy Space Center, Merritt Island, Florida, USA Current Status: Held at Site-367. Testing to open the case is ongoing. Item Description: An apple, which, upon chemical analysis, possessed inverted molecular chirality. Date of Recovery: 9/14/23 Location of Recovery: Delivered to the front door of Secure Containment Facility 4 in a cardboard box by an unknown individual. Current Status: Incinerated. Item Description: A brown glass bottle that will reassemble itself 30 seconds after it is broken. The process of reassembly occurs on an elementary particle level. Date of Recovery: 9/15/23 Location of Recovery: Found on the side of ███████ Road in Blantyre, Malawi Current Status: Contained in MAST Storage at Site-334. Item Description: A Nerf Rival Atlas XVI-1200 which, when equipped, causes the holder to perceive the toy as though it were a real firearm. After 24 hours of no physical contact with the item, subjects will no longer perceive it as a firearm. Date of Recovery: 1/02/22 Location of Recovery: Purchased by a Foundation janitor, and promptly surrendered to containment. Current Status: Contained in Site-43 Low-Value anomalous storage. //Notes: "This is even worse than that one Hi-Point..." - ████ ██████// Item Description: A leather glove, which automatically transmutes all polyethylene it touches into polycarbonate, and all polycarbonates into polyethylene. The duration of this change is roughly 1 second per cubic centimeter. Objects altered by the glove cannot be altered again. It appears that when worn, the wearer of the glove may be able to exert some influence over the process. Date of Recovery: 9/19/23 Location of Recovery: LoI-2999 ("Abandoned Chaos Insurgency R&D Facility") Current Status: Contained in Site-300 in a steel lockbox in Room-004. +++ Anomalous Items 1291 - 1300 Item Description: Pieces of a broken clockwork machine that seemingly dissipate all energy around them. Evidence suggests it is a failed attempt at constructing a perpetual motion machine. Date of Recovery: 9/19/23 Location of Recovery: LoI-2999 Current Status: Components scanned and catalogued. Due to the inability of the object to be moved, and the danger of the item, the destruction of item through matter-antimatter interaction has been proposed. Currently, the location LoI-2999 is guarded to prevent civilian discovery. Item Description: One extremely large rotting apple of the Fuji cultivar, cut apart and reshaped into an anomalously durable IBM Personal Computer. This computer is functional and contains no applications other than the first-person shooter //Doom// (1993), which can be played without issue. Date of Recovery: 2004-03-17 Location of Recovery: Occult site believed to hold connections to Steve Wozniak located under San Jose, California, USA Current Status: Held in cold storage at Site-99 Item Description: 942 square centimeters of tiles from a "doom painting" from the ████ █████ ██ █████████ Cathedral depicting scenes from the Book of Revelation with heavy focus on the judgement of souls. Pigments contained within these tiles continuously shift hue and shade to create the impression that all humans in the image are moving in various ways, such as kneeling, bowing, wailing, running, or hiding. Notably, a large group of these humans in white or black robes move so as to anachronistically recreate the //Bad Apple!!// (1998) music video in its entirety. Date of Recovery: 1960-08-24 Location of Recovery: ████ █████ ██ █████████ Cathedral, ████████, Aragon, Spain Current Status: Held at Site-146 with permission from GoI-033, the Roman Catholic Church. Item Description: A hinged cabinet door with a mirror on its front. When obscured by steam and subsequently wiped, all current viewers will see a leering face with grossly exaggerated proportions smiling at them until they break eye contact. This face does not otherwise respond to stimuli. Date of Recovery: 1986-10-31 Location of Recovery: Private residence in Sheridan, Wyoming, USA Current Status: Held in a Size-IV object storage locker at Site-35. Item Description: 894 ml of mint-scented hand sanitizer. Upon exposure of AO-1295 to human skin, the affected individual will become significantly more likely to somehow become covered in dirt or mud, such as by tripping, intense outdoor play, searching for worms or other burrowing creatures, usage of dirt or mud in sexual experimentation, or wandering into a swamp or active construction zone[[footnote]] //Yes, these all occurred during testing. I now find myself unable to comfortably spend my breaks outside the site after the fourth sinkhole incident.// -Pedologist H. Leung [[/footnote]]. Date of Recovery: 2023-02-06 Location of Recovery: Public park in Kirovo-Chepetsk, Kirov Oblast, Russia Current Status: Held in a Size-II object storage locker at Site-218. Item Description: Family-sized container of "Quacker" Instant Oatmeal. Mascot is a brown and green cartoon duck. Information on the package indicates that the parent company is, appropriately, Quacker Oats, which does not exist. Beyond the impossibility of its existence, the item does not appear to be anomalous. Oats can be prepared and consumed without incident. Date of Recovery: 2023-09-01 Location of Recovery: Abandoned on a counter at a grocery store, Fort Wayne, IN Current Status: In low-value item storage. Note //Anomalous items are not to be used for breakfast, even if found to be non-anomalous. Please use the Site cafeteria.// - Site Director Robinson Item Description: One personal fishing boat four meters in length. This boat cannot be willfully anthropomorphized as any gender other than male. Date of Recovery: 2020-08-12 Location of Recovery: Private residence in Cleveland, Ohio, USA Current Status: Held in parking unit CGU095-A04-33663 at Site-95. Item Description: One green toy hard hat. The current wearer of the item is unable to perceive all ceiling tiles currently comprising a ceiling, and views all ceiling tiles in other locations as translucent and indistinct. Date of Recovery: 2015-11-28 Location of Recovery: ███████ ███████████ Offices, an office building in Muharraq, Bahrain Current Status: Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-109. Item Description: One container of █████-██-█████ brand bug repellent. All members of the family //Culicidae//[[footnote]] Mosquitoes [[/footnote]] in an exactly 1 km radius of AO-1299 ignore all humans in the radius and attempt to congregate at a point 38 meters ESE of the bottle until their death by dehydration or predation. As this secondary location is well within the radius of AO-1299's effects, the amount of effected organisms dramatically and incessantly rises when used in their natural habitat. Date of Recovery: 2013-07-19 Location of Recovery: Pirin National Park, Bulgaria, following reports of "a deafening black cloud" hovering above a trail. Current Status: Held in a Size-II object storage locker at Site-78. Initial associated organisms terminated via sustained immolation. No salvageable biomatter remained for study. Item Description: A Dr. Wondertainment brand " Speedier Cube™ " that speeds up time for the person currently solving the cube by a factor of 2. Date of Recovery: 2019-04-28 Location of Recovery: Yokohama Sanbo Hall, Japan, following reports of a person breaking the world record for the 3x3 Rubik's cube 8 times in a row. Current Status: Held in high-value item storage. Note The item was previously held in low-value item storage. It has since been moved to high-value item storage after several junior researchers have been caught attempting to use it for various self-serving ends. +++ Anomalous Items 1301 - 1310 Item Description: A plastic //Mellivora capensis//, that if shaken, gives a speech about the user's present mental state, current relationships, and gives validation. After that speech, it will give a brief note about how to improve the mental state of a user. The speech lasts no more than 30 minutes, and the note lasts for any time range between 5 minutes and [REDACTED]. Date Of Recovery: 2023-09-25 Current Status: Used as a tool for Foundation therapists. Currently in the possession of Dr. Anderson. Partially melted after accidental exposure to fire. Note The item was kept in low-value storage, as users only reported a 'long-winded speech'. After usage by Dr. █████, the items therapeutic values were discovered and was taken to the on-site therapist. Item Description: Four plastic, near perfectly symmetrical femur bones of cartoonish proportions. Items are only anomalous in their location of origin. Date of Recovery: 2008-04-17 Location of Recovery: Two stillborn //Panthera Leo//[[footnote]] Lions [[/footnote]] at the Berlin Zoo, Berlin, Germany Current Status: Held in a Size-IV object storage locker at Site-25. Item Description: One statue of a servant bowing and holding a plate bearing several food items such as sandwiches, a bottle of wine, and a large ham. The statue and held items are comprised entirely of various molds and fungi, and any items generally considered safe for human consumption placed on the plate section are converted to a similar composition. Date of Recovery: 1973-07-21 Location of Recovery: Museum basement in Pingyao, Shanxi province, China Current Status: Held in a Size-VI object storage locker at Site-182 for long-term mycological studies. Item Description: One empty Gatorade bottle. All inserted water is converted to Lime Cucumber Gatorade via a(n) RE1[[footnote]] Regular Equivalent 1st Order [[/footnote]] transmutation ritual at a rate of 71 mL/s. Date of Recovery: 2022-02-24 Location of Recovery: Private residence in León, León Department, Nicaragua Current Status: Held in a Size-II object storage locker at Site-120 for research into minor transmutation. Item Description: One paper character sheet for the fifth edition of Dungeons and Dragons sloppily describing a human bard. Any human who makes direct contact with this sheet instantly gains awareness of the definition and most common usages of the term "skald"[[footnote]] An archaic term for Scandinavian poets of old who would recite heroic legends [[/footnote]], and become aware of their sudden knowledge gain. Date of Recovery: 2021-02-02 Location of Recovery: Private residence in Tramore, Waterford County, Ireland Current Status: Held in a temperature-controlled Size-III object storage locker at Site-35. Item Description: One molar belonging to an adult instance of //Canis lupus dingo//, with an estimated age of 30,000 years. When the item is exposed to blood from any mammal, all food consumed by that mammal since the most recent local sunrise as well as energy derived from such is annihilated in violation of the conservation of energy. Date of Recovery: 1965-08-23 Location of Recovery: School in Kiunga, West Province, Papua New Guinea Current Status: Held in a Size-I object storage locker with proper biohazard warnings at Site-206. Item Description: One unrotting cream-filled donut. When contacted by any individual willingly working as law enforcement, even through cloth or paper, the individual is teleported to a semi-random location in the Greater Dantean Hellscape, typically ring units 01/07/01-01/09/03, 03/01/01-03/04/09, 08/01/01-08/02/01, 08/05/01-08/05/07, or the entirety of D5 "Wrath" and D7 "Violence". However, due to [5/2718 CLEARANCE REQUIRED], all affected individuals are promptly returned to the world of the living. Date of Recovery: 2020-12-13 Location of Recovery: ███████, a restaurant in Chicago, Illinois, USA Current Status: Held in a Size-II object storage locker at [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/undervegas-hub Site-666] for transgehennic research. Item Description: One spy satellite briefly operated by the [REDACTED] government in the year ████ CE. All footage taken by the satellite depicts a yet unrecognized timeline of generally little note beyond the increased size of humans (typically a 30-90% gain), the diminished presence of the SCP Foundation and Global Occult Coalition, and the occasional presence and reverence of [5/5709 CLEARANCE REQUIRED]. Date of Recovery: ████-██-██ Location of Recovery: 30°██'██"S 142°██'██"E, South Pacific Ocean Current Status: Held in a Size-VII object storage locker at Site-242 for extrachronal analysis. Item Description: A small ceramic teapot measuring approximately 10 centimeters in height, with intricate floral patterns painted in faded blue. When the teapot is filled with water and brought to a boil, the steam it produces causes anyone who inhales it to experience vivid and immersive hallucinations of being inside the apartment room contained within [[[SCP-002]]], despite having no prior knowledge of the object. These hallucinations are highly detailed and can last for several minutes to several hours, depending on the duration of boiling. Date of Recovery: 06/15/20██ Location of Recovery: An Antique shop in [REDACTED], Portugal, near the area where SCP-002 originally made impact. Current Status: Contained in a secure locker at Site-170. Item Description: Small brass skeleton key, similar to those manufactured during the late 19th century. Despite the fact that it should not be able to fit, the key unlocks most modern locks with no issue, provided that the key holder has no desire to access whatever is blocked by the lock. This functions on padlocks and standard door locks, but not on combination or electronic locks. Date of Recovery: 2023-09-21 Location of Recovery: Found in a bowl of keys at a thrift store in Houston, TX Current Status: In storage. Note: Research into a possible relation with [[[SCP-005]]] is ongoing. +++ Anomalous Items 1311 - 1320 Item Description: --1101-- 1031 pieces of ██████ brand candy corn. Upon consumption of any of these pieces, the consumer will experience for full body paralysis for 241 seconds before regaining body function and saying "She's coming." Following this, the subject will display no further anomalous traits, and lacks any memory of the event. Date of Recovery: 2023-10-04 Location of Recovery: Various retail stores in Huntington, New York, USA Current Status: Held in a temperature-controlled storage unit at Site-1225. Item Description: One bag of frozen peas, long expired. Any human who makes direct contact with this item for >30 seconds will develop a fever of exactly 38.5°C (101.3°F). This effect ceases upon touching any item typically warmed to cook food (e.g. a stove, pot, kettle, microwave). Date of Recovery: 2007-07-20 Location of Recovery: Store in Hammerfest, Norway Current Status: Held at Site-206 for long-term medical research. Item Description: --596-- 435 bottles of 15 proof India pale ale, as produced by the ████████ ███████ Brewery. Upon total consumption of a bottle's contents, the consumer gains a total awareness of the proper usage and implementation of the International Phonetic Alphabet until they regain sobriety. Date of Recovery: 2005-12-01 Location of Recovery: ███ ██████ █████████ Pub in Yeovil, Somerset, England Current Status: Held at Site-227's Gustolinguistics Research Center to determine the effects of long-term use. Item Description: One business card which can be flipped in any direction to display a specific face from a two-dimensional grid of possible faces, with these names slowly becoming more and more nonsensical the further they move towards Designated North. The original face, if one exists, is unknown and likely unknowable. Date of Recovery: 1972-05-20 Location of Recovery: Newspaper stand in Nantes, Loire-Atlantique, France Current Status: Held in a Size-I object storage locker at Site-73 on Face +011,359/-002,707 "Denrendenrenden Schuwindle, First-and-one-half-class Loitering Salesman, Tomfoolery Enthusiast, and Rebellion Inducer, Unwanted"[[footnote]] This statement was automatically translated from [LATE 20TH-CENTURY BASELINE FRENCH] with [92%] suspected accuracy by dolittle.aic. Please report all mistakes I make to the relevant personnel! [[/footnote]]. Item Description: One mummified adult male //Anas platyrhynchos//[[footnote]] Wild duck [[/footnote]]. Water and any material containing water is unable to pass within exactly one meter of the item. Teleportation of water to this region consistently fails. Date of Recovery: 1977-07-04 Location of Recovery: Nestlé Headquarters in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland Current Status: Held in an appropriately isolated avian biomaterial storage unit at Site-25. Item Description: One dented plastic McDonald's Happy Meal toy depicting a cartoonish O5-03 bearing mild differences such as [05/A1 CLEARANCE REQUIRED] but remaining physically recognizable. By pressing a large button on the toy's cooling tower, a disc tray can be ejected from and returned to a slot beside the central monitor. No anomalous traits exist beyond the impossibility of the extensive process necessary for its creation. Date of Recovery: 2014-01-22 Location of Recovery: Private residence in Brasília, Brazil Current Status: Transferred to Site-1. Item Description: Frame that once contained a mirror, which has long since been broken. A few shards of mirrored glass at the edges reveal its original purpose. Anyone viewing the item suffers a mild cognitohazardous effect, causing them to believe that 1) the object is a mirror, and 2) their lack of reflection means they are a vampire. This causes the affected to do such things as avoid sunlight, wait for an invitation before entering a dwelling, etc. The effect is purely mental, and can be counteracted by touching anything perceived to be holy. Date of Recovery: 2023-10-01 Location of Recovery: An estate sale in Atlanta, GA, which featured a great deal of memorabilia from the movie Dracula and other vampire movies. Current Status: In storage. Item Description: An empty antique ink well with the quill from a golden eagle. Once filled with ink and written, the writer will write in a combination of Latin, Greek, and Arabic, even if the writer does not know the language. If someone who can read all three languages were to read it, they would read a seemingly random scholarly writing from the Renaissance era with all mentions of the original author being replaced with the writer's name. These articles are often from unknown authors from Egypt, Rome, and Greece. The last article recorded was of a thaumaturgical ritual on how to use a soul to write memories. Date of Recovery: 2003-08-05 Location of Recovery: A forest in Baiersbronn, Germany, surrounded by various pieces of parchment from different parts of the world, such as Egypt, Rome, and Greece. Current Status: In storage at Site-54. [[# bottle-of-styx]] Item Description: A bottle labelled "Water from Styx". The bottle contains water with contamination comparable to local river water. When drunk, inner organs touched by the liquid become impervious to damage. The liquid has otherwise no noteworthy properties. Date of Recovery: 2013-08-02 Location of Recovery: Pheneus, Greece Current Status: Brought to Site-77 for long term storage. Item Description: A 22cm combat knife. The object becomes anomalously dull and unable to cut when in contact with any object, unless the word "anything" is printed in English or Swedish on the object in question. Date of Recovery: 1972-10-12 Location of Recovery: Malmö, Sweden Current Status: Held in low-risk object storage at Site-120. +++ Anomalous Items 1321 - 1330 Item Description: A large size T-Shirt depicting the rock band "Cobra Starship" on the front, along with the phrase "Good Girls Gone Bad". Female-Identifying individuals who wore the shirt gained Black-Dyed hair and black eyeliner, as well as a reported change in attitude similar to that of one who follows the "Emo" subculture. Effects are reversed when shirt is taken off. Date of Recovery: 2012-04-09 Location of Recovery: "Matty T's Thrift Store!" In ████, Illinois Current Status: Held in a Size II object locker at Site-25 Item Description: A freshly caught fish, perpetually on fire. While undergoing combustion, the anomaly shows no sign of decay. Additionally it has a mind-altering effect which influences nearby individuals to react negatively to compliments, particularly regarding their appearance. Date of Recovery: 2023-09-02 Location of Recovery: Reported to have spontaneously manifested in a server room in ██████ ███, where it was recovered. Current Status: On 2024-██-██, the fire unexpectedly dissipated. Following this the fish began to slowly decay and no longer exhibited mental effects. After the object was confirmed to be Neutralized, it was incinerated. Item Description: A 73 kilogram pumpkin that contains living human organs inside of it, including a heart, lungs, stomach, and brain, as well as teratomas composed of bone, muscle, and hair. Genetic analysis has determined that the genetics match those of missing person "David S. ████████" who went missing from his home in Oakland in 2016. Date of Recovery: 10/31/2023 Location of Recovery: [REDACTED] Current Status: Contained. Item Description: Small metal and plastic key chain depicting a human brain with the legend "knowledge is power." Anyone who carries the item on their person for longer than 5 minutes gains the belief that they are highly knowledgeable about any subject being discussed. The item does not grant knowledge or intelligence, only the belief that the subject possesses them. Removing the item ends the effect. Date of Recovery: 2023-10-27 Location of Recovery: A thrift store in Cincinnati, OH Current Status: In storage. Note: Investigation has revealed the original owner had ties to Group of Interest Are We Cool Yet? Item Description: A photograph of the night sky. Subjects who look at the stars will report feeling melancholic. This effect subsides once visual contact is broken. Date of Recovery: 12/21/1998 Location of Recovery: The ███████ residence in London, England. Current Status: Currently in storage. Item Description: A rubber ball, 30cm in diameter. Anyone who holds it will immediately report a sharp pain in their hand despite the lack of any sharp points. Date of Recovery: 7/6/2008. Location of Recovery: The ███████ high school in Trenton, New Jersey. Current Status: In containment. Item Description: A ████-brand bicycle with no wheels that functions as though it still has them. Attempting to put wheels on the bike will invariably result in them falling off. Date of Recovery: 10/15/1990. Location of Recovery: The ███████ residence in Springfield, Illinois. Current Status: In storage. Item Description: A 13yo British male, 161cm tall, whose center of gravity is located in its head, despite it being no larger than an average human head. Date of Recovery: ██-██-2019 Location of Recovery: ███████ middle school in Essex, England. Current Status: Kept in a standard humanoid cell. Currently undergoing physiological therapy to try and help with its condition. Item Description: A birthday cake that, when bitten into, is recorded to have the same density as concrete. Attempting to cut into it with eating utensils has the same affect. Power tools are effective at cutting into it, but it has been discovered that one can stick their finger into as easily as one could into a normal cake. It tastes and breaks down like a normal cake in the digestive system. Date of Recovery: 2/29/2000 Location of Recovery: On a table in an abandoned building in New York, New York. Current Status: After some small tests, the item was disposed of. Item Description: A Raggedy Ann doll with several robotic spiders legs protruding through it. Item is capable of locomotion, and shows behavioral patterns consistent with that of a common house cat. Date of Recovery: 12/27/2009 Location of Recovery: ██████, Illinois. Current Status: Kept in a low level containment locker. +++ Anomalous Items 1331 - 1340 Item Description: A Taurus TH9 pistol. When aimed at an individual under 14 years of age, the pistol is incapable of firing. Date of Recovery: 2/27/2005. Location of Recovery: Sao Paulo, Brazil. Current Status: In a containment locker at Site 555. Item Description: A fossilized tooth, roughly 3 meters in length, belonging to an unidentified creature. Carbon dating shows that the item is Pre-Cambrian. Date of Recovery: June 24th, 1978. Location of Recovery A history museum in Wichita, Kansas. Current Status: In storage. Item Description: A Renaissance era statue made from marble --depicting a non-euclidean structure-- structure is euclidean in nature, but anyone who sees it will insist that it is non-euclidean. Viewing item indirectly, such as through cameras or videos, will counteract this effect. Date of Recovery: April 5th, 2020. Location of Recovery: A history museum in █████, Spain. Current Status: In Dr. ███████'s office. Item Description: An //Equus ferus caballus//[[footnote]]Horse[[/footnote]] that shares identical genetic makeup to Agent █████████. Subject shows no signs of sapience. Date of Recovery: 7/6/2021 Location of Recovery: An abandoned farm in Boise, Idaho. Current Status: Kept in a containment cell designed after a stable. Currently under the care of Dr. ███████. Item Description: A 2-litre bottle of Pepsi which refills itself when not in a line of sight. While the liquid inside is chemically identical to normal Pepsi, subjects who drink will report it tasting like a random consumable liquid. Date of Recovery: 1/21/2020. Location of Recovery: █████████ college in Aberdeen, Washington. Current Status: In a low level containment locker. Item Description: A █████-brand guitar amp. Whenever any form of pornographic material is brought near it, it will begin to emit a loud shrieking noise reminiscent of a female adolescent in pain, regardless of whether or not it's plugged into a sufficient power source. Date of Recovery: 7/26/2007 Location of Recovery: Saint Petersburg, Russia. Current Status: Kept in Dr. ████████'s office. Item Description: A wooden crucifix, heavily water-damaged. Anyone who holds onto it will invariably vomit a mix of sulfur, human blood, and [REDACTED]. Date of Recovery: 6/6/1966. Location of Recovery: Paris, France. Current Status: Incinerated. Item Description: 4 mummified human cadavers, estimated to be from the late 13th century. When all 4 are within 6 meters of each other, they will begin to emit the sound of faint weeping. Date of Recovery: 1/2/2020 Location of Recovery: Cairo, Egypt. Current Status: In Site-200's morgue. Item Description: A Japanese-Russian male, currently in his late 90's who is biologically immortal, but still ages at the same rate of a normal human. Date of Recovery: 11/29/2022. Location of Recovery: Moscow, Russia. Current Status: Kept in a humanoid containment cell. Item Description:A fully functional water fountain of unknown make or model that is constantly dripping water at intervals between 1 and 10 seconds between drips. Water still drips even if not connected to any water source. It is unknown where the water that goes into the drain goes. Testing has shown the water to be safe for human consumption. Date of Recovery: 1992-02-05. Location of Recovery:███████████ School in Neuss, Germany Current Status: Held in Site-40 cafeteria. +++ Anomalous Items 1341 - 1350 Item Description: A vinyl record that, when put on a turntable, plays a different album every time. So far, 43% of plays have been of Norwegian Black Metal, 29% have been of Industrial Hip Hop, 15% have been of Ambient Noise Wall, 8% have been of Hardcore Punk, and the rest have varied. Date of Recovery: 12/12/2021 Location of Recovery: ███████ Record Shop in Durham, North Carolina Current Status: Held in Dr. Ferraro's office. Usage by other site staff must be permitted by Dr. Ferraro himself. Item Description: AI chat bot that periodically responds to queries with information regarding the O5 Council. The Foundation was made aware of the bot after news organization Breitbart published an article about the O5 Council. Article was deleted, virtual amnestics were applied, and the editor responsible for the article was terminated. Date of Discovery: 02/19/2022 Location of Discovery: N/A Current Status: Taken offline following discovery. IT personnel are currently in the process of tracing the bot back to its creator. Item Description:An antique lamp that, when turned off, erases the nearest person to it from existence. Date of Discovery: 12/09/2019 Location for Discovery: Venice, Italy Current Status: Incinerated. Item Description: A hockey puck that, when used in a hockey game, causes the player currently handling it to attempt to get the puck to as great of a height as possible. This effect is contagious, and may spread to other players via physical contact. Date of Recovery: 10/14/1992 Location of Recovery: ██████ High School, Ohio, USA. Current Status: In low security containment locker at Site-99. Item Description: The lack of a sandwich on one of Site-43’s cafeteria tables. It is unknown why there have been no attempts at placing a sandwich onto the table, despite multiple personnel claiming they intend to do so. Possibly antimemetic. Date of Recovery: 12/05/2023 Location of Discovery: Site-43 Current Status: Desk has been moved to Site-43’s light containment. Item Description: A set of poker cards, which emit an anomalous effect such that any poker table that comes within 30 feet of the cards will begin to degrade or decay at an as-of-yet undetermined but markedly increased rate. This effect will occur until the point where the table is effectively no longer recognizable or usable as table, after which the effect will cease. Date of Recovery: 7/21/2013 Location of Recovery: Moscow, Russia Current Status: Resides in a standard containment locker at Site-12. Item Description: Two single serve ice cream bars, one vanilla-flavored and the other chocolate-flavored. The bars are wrapped in a light blue thin plastic wrap with no markings beyond the flavor of the bar and a nutritional label listing the calories per serving as 456,280. A third bar, labeled as strawberry-flavored, was mistaken for a misprinted product and consumed after retrieval by Agent █████. Agent █████ experienced severe trauma to their digestive system almost immediately after consumption, and remains in critical condition. Date of Recovery: October 5th, 2018 Location of Recovery: ███████ ████, Auberg, Austria. Current Status: Two unwrapped bars kept in frozen storage, wrapper of third bar considered lost. Item Description: A 2014 model Dell Latitude E7440 laptop. Item contains a program titled 'InfiniteMoney.exe' that holds the exact winning EuroMillion lottery numbers, as well as the location for where the ticket is held. Tickets are for the following Friday. Date of Recovery: November 7th, 2015. Location of Recovery: ███████, Paris, France. Current Status: Kept in a high storage locker in Site-314. Item Description: A standard plant pot that when observed, causes the observer to have a uncontrollable desire to fill it with water. All attempts to fill the pot have been unsuccessful. Date of Recovery: 7/11/93 Location of Recovery: San Francisco, California. Current status: Accidentally shattered during testing. Shattered pieces had no anomalous properties. Object deemed neutralized. Item Description: A sweater that depicts the logo of SCP-2206's Texas Renegades. Below the log is the wordmark "Winners of the 2023 World Series!" Aside from the security breach it represents, item has no anomalous properties. Date of Recovery: 11/7/23 Location of Recovery: Globe Life Field, Arlington, Texas. Current Status: Kept in a low storage locker at Site-99. +++ Anomalous Items 1351 - 1360 Item Description: A papier-mâché mask of a red-colored devil, which possesses the thirteenth-highest CCRCD[[footnote]]Conferred Consistent Random Chance Deviation[[/footnote]] and the eighteenth-highest CRCD overall (48-). The item is atypical in that it confers its effect not to its wearer, but to those around it, with its range only limited by the perception of the wearer. Date of Recovery: 12/13/13. Location of Recovery: Albuquerque, New Mexico. The past owner of the mask was found dead, after having been struck in the head by a falling mirror. Current Status: Contained within a high-security object vault at Site-666. Item Description: A keychain that resembles a standard birthday cake which duplicates when it is observed. On the bottom of the chain reads "871". Date of Recovery: 3/28/14. Location of Recovery: Outside Site-40's entrance. Current Status: On 4/1/14, all instances except the original de-manifested. The bottom of the original now reads "April Fools". Item Description: A portable blue push button with a large white "X" on its surface. When pressed, whoever pressed it has their name (first, last, etc.) modified to contain one more X. This results in both them and anyone who knew them believing that this has always been their name and documents of any kind being instantaneously transformed to reflect this change. Memories are not completely modified, however, so the subject will still remember using their previous name, though they will always deny it ever having been their name. Date of Recovery: 3/5/23. Location of Recovery: The █████ Walmart Supercenter. Current Status: In containment at the cognitohazard wing of Site-73. Permission must be granted from the Site-73 site director before testing. Note: //I've tested the object three times and it doesn't seem to work. -Jr. Researcher Xavier Foxx.// Item Description: A pair of plastic glasses with no markings or brands listed on the object, colored black. The lens are in the shape of a 5 pointed star, with the left lens flipped upside-down. Subjects wearing the glasses report no anomalous effects when both eyes are open. However, if the subject closes their right eye, the subject will have their sight flipped, viewing the world upside-down. If the subject closes their left eye, the subject will have their sight distorted, with the specific distortion varying (ranging from what subjects describe as "like a fun house mirror" to a fish lens effect). The effects will continue until the subject opens both of their eyes while they are still wearing the glasses. If the subject takes the glasses off, their vision will remain changed until they put back on the glasses with both eyes open. Date of Recovery: 8/5/14. Location of Recovery: Inside an abandoned residential house in Mt. Dora, FL. No occupants spotted or found. Current Status: In Storage. Item Description: Wall clock, consistent with early 1950s manufacture, minor signs of wear. No information regarding the manufacturer or the brand of the item is visible. Instead of the standard 12 hours, the item has 13, and seems to keep time according to a 65-minute hour. As far as can be determined, the item keeps accurate time as well as could be expected from a clock from the period; however, using it as a time piece is difficult due to the necessity of converting to standard time. Date of Recovery: 12/11/2023 Location of Recovery: Inside the lost and found bin of [REDACTED] Middle School, Chicago, IL. Current Status: On the wall of Dr. Callahan's office. Item Description: A children's wind-up cartoon robot toy. When the object's key is wound up, the object's legs will move, but not perform any locomotive motion. Instead, within a 5m radius, a random object will move in the cardinal direction the robot is facing. The speed of the affected object is dependent upon its mass. The object cannot affect any item that is larger than itself. Items are effected by gravity when in motion. Date of Recovery: 5/5/1955 Location of Recovery: The break-room of a toy store in London, UK. Current Status: In storage. Item Description: A standard magnetic name tag. Always displays the wearer's preferred name and pronouns. Date of Recovery: 07/07/23 Location of Recovery: Hiring & Regulation Orientation, Site-64. Current Status: Currently in use by H&R Conflict Resolution Specialist Crystal. Item Description: A .mp4 file of Episode 4 of Murder Drones. Once viewed, a copy of Uzi Doorman[[footnote]] The "protagonist" of Murder Drones[[/footnote]] will appear behind any unseen area and attempt to break the neck of the viewer. The copy can be easily neutralized. Any attempts to crop or delete the file result in the same thing, along with the file returning. Date of Recovery: 12/17/23 Location of Recovery: Unknown Current Status: Currently saved on Dr. Xenola's Macbook. Item Description: A //Mus musculus//[[footnote]] House mouse [[/footnote]]. Organism is genetically identical to //Ficus bengalensis//[[footnote]] Banyan tree [[/footnote]]. Date of Recovery: 8/24/87. Location of Recovery: Jacksonville, Florida. Current Status: Died of natural causes. Item Description: A hard drive containing a copy of //The Sims 4//. When loaded onto a device that is understood to be owned by a subject, all the default characters will resemble the friends and family of the subject. Otherwise, the game functions identically to its nonanomalous counterpart. Date of Recovery: 10/14/2023 Location of Recovery: Inside a residential building in Miami, FL Current Status: In storage. +++ Anomalous Items 1361 - 1370 Item Description: A shirt with the crossfit mascot "pukie the clown" on the front. Upon any person wearing it, they will tell everyone they can perceive that they do crossfit, and will try to access the nearest gym to perform exercises often performed in crossfit gyms.[[footnote]] A great number of exercise related injuries have occurred due to this shirt. [[/footnote]] Date of Recovery: 7/21/2017 Location of Recovery: Inside of a Gold's Gym in Santa Cruz, CA. Current Status: In storage. Item Description: A parking meter. If used by a male individual, their testicles and genitalia will spontaneously explode. If used by a female individual, the nearest male individual’s testicles and genitalia will spontaneously explode. Date of Recovery: 27/12/2023 Location of Recovery: Manhattan, New York, United States Current Status: In storage. Item Description: A wooden doorstop that can be unfolded into the concept of {{being alone.}}[[footnote]] If the desert screams, of course.[[/footnote]] ##green\|I’m personally a big fan of Mountain Dew.## Date of Recovery: That one time[[footnote]] Only on Tuesdays. [[/footnote]] Location of Recovery: Site-⌘ Current Status: Used to keep Site-⌘‘s third closet from opening.[[footnote]] Trust me, you really don’t want to see what’s in there.[[/footnote]] Item Description: A standard metallic silver coin featuring two distinct unidentified symbols on opposing sides. When tossed in the presence of an individual, the coin induces a gradual and irreversible memory loss of the past 24 hours for the person observing the toss. The effect persists as the coin flips in the air and culminates upon its subsequent catch. Notably, the individual who initiates the toss remains unaffected by its cognitive effects. Date of Recovery: 26/11/2023 Location of Recovery: Discovered resting on the floor within the breakroom premises of Site-999. Current Status: In Storage. Item Description: Site-32 junior researcher Jeffrey Mackey. Despite claiming to be fully heterosexual, individuals tasked with describing Dr. Mackey will invariably label him as a 'gay icon'. Date of Recovery: 12/02/2022 Location of Recovery: Site-32. Current Status: No action taken; Dr. Mackey continues to work at Site-32. //"He's fucking lying." - Dr. Mackey's husband// Item Description: A copy of Eldest by Christopher Paolini. Every time the book is opened, the reader fluently speaks in one of the fictional languages for 30 minutes, with no apparent knowledge of the language. Date of Recovery: 01/11/2024 Location of Recovery: A high school library in [REDACTED], Ireland. Current Status: In a storage locker at Site-17. //"How the hell does this even work? Hvat unin du nam abr Azura?" - Dr. Strix Direnni.// Item Description: A printed copy of the [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-131 SCP-131] file. Item flies around in circles when not kept in a container or held down by a weight, but is otherwise indistinguishable from normal paper. Date of Recovery: 02/06/2023 Location of Recovery: Site-█ Current Status: In storage. Item Description: Standard wall clock, unknown make. Anyone viewing the object becomes compelled to continue doing so until line of sight is broken. Although subjects are incapable of voluntarily looking away, the effect is otherwise mild and can be easily broken if some outside force attracts the subject's attention, such as their name being called. Date of Recovery: 1/20/24 Location of Recovery: In the employee break room of a Burger King restaurant, El Paso, TX Current Status: In storage. Note: //This item came to the Foundation's attention after numerous reports of employees blankly staring at the clock. Records are unclear exactly when the clock was acquired, but it appears to have been at the location of recovery for at least four months before the anomalous property became apparent.// - Researcher Somerset Item Description: A standard A-4 sized blank paper that manifests the comprehensive biodata of an individual upon contact with the person's thumb. This effect is transient, ceasing when the individual's thumb is no longer in contact with the paper. The displayed data vanishes upon removal of contact and reappears solely upon subsequent physical interaction. Date of Recovery: 24/12/2023 Location of Recovery: The item originated from an experimentation conducted with [[[SCP-914]]] at Site-19. Current Status: In Storage. Item Description: A standard single subject spiral notebook that when written in, attempts to correct any spelling or grammar mistakes. These corrections are often nonsensical or wrong. Upon closing the notebook, all writing is erased. Date of Recovery: 1/3/2024 Location of Recovery: Livonia, Michigan. Current Status: In Storage. +++ Anomalous Items 1371 - 1380 Item Description: Small ceramic container, similar in size to a standard cereal bowl, with a lid. Bowl and lid are painted black with yellow question marks. When the lid is removed, the bowl will contain objects of the time the person who touched it was thinking of most recently. Unique items, such as SCP-level objects, art pieces, or anomalous items, cannot be replicated. Only items capable of completely fitting in the bowl can be replicated. The items can be removed and used as expected, and appear to remain in existence indefinitely. When the lid is replaced, any items still in the bowl demanifest. Date of Recovery: 1/28/2024 Location of Recovery: Richmond, Virginia. Current Status: Being tested. Item Description: Small wind-up music box containing a figurine of a ballerina. When wound by a human subject, the box plays a song with a meaningful connection to the subject's childhood, typically one invoking positive memories. Subjects often prefer to hear the music to completion, but this is believed to be due to nostalgia rather than anything anomalous. Date of Recovery: 1/14/2024 Location of Recovery: An estate sale in Boston, Massachusetts. Current Status: Available at Site 26, for use by all personnel. Item Description: Wooden box of a size typically used for jewelry boxes. The lid is decorated with a painting of cherry trees in traditional Japanese style. The underside of the box has the words "property of Wilma F. Greyson" written on it in black marker. All subjects display reluctance to open the box, saying that it's "not theirs" and that "Mrs. Greyson wouldn't want me to." This occurs even if the subject has not read the words written on the underside of the box. If pressed to open the box, subjects refuse to remove anything from it, insisting that doing so would be stealing. Box contains inexpensive jewelry. Date of Recovery: 2/1/2024 Location of Recovery: A storage unit in Key West, Florida. Current Status: In storage. Investigation into the Wilma F. Greyson in question is ongoing. Note: //The owner of the storage unit had bought the entire unit and its contents, sight unseen, at an auction. He claimed not to know anyone by that name, but maintained that he was "keeping the box until Mrs. Greyson comes back for it." When it was pointed out that he knew no such person, he was unable to explain the oddity.// - Researcher Somerset Item Description: Black cotton/polyester blend T-shirt printed with the Batman logo. When touched by a human subject, the shirt resizes itself for an ideal fit, neither overly tight nor overly loose. How this occurs is not known, and the change appears to be instantaneous. Date of Recovery: 2/3/2024 Location of Recovery: Abandoned on a park bench in Chicago, IL. Current Status: In storage. Note: //When they said "one size fits all," they weren't kidding.// - Agent O'Reilly Item Description: Blue plastic storage bin. "Socks" has been written on one side in black marker. When the item is unobserved, socks will appear in the bin at random intervals. These socks occasionally match other socks already in the bin, but only very rarely and seemingly by chance. Where they come from is not known. Date of Recovery: 2/4/2024 Location of Recovery: An abandoned apartment in Las Vegas, NV. Current Status: --In storage.-- Available at Site 17, for use by all personnel. Note: //After a missing sock belonging to an agent assigned to the Site was found in this item, it was placed in a more accessible location in case of similar incidents.// Item Description: Acrylic painting of a Canada goose swimming in a small lake. The goose is shown near the left edge of the frame. Any human subject viewing the painting for longer than 3 1/2 minutes becomes convinced that the goose is trying to escape or has already done so. In the latter case, the effect extends to a belief that the goose is pursuing them, for reasons which cannot be articulated. This typically ends after 24 hours, but can occasionally last longer. █ subjects required psychological counseling to end the effect. Date of Recovery: February 6th, 2024 Location of Recovery: An art gallery in New York City. Current Status: In storage. Item Description: A "cheap" --36 33-- 32-pack collection of common sports equipment, such as balls, bats, rackets, paddles, gloves, helmets, and other items of unknown brand. Equipment will semi-frequently phase through solid matter with the exception of floors or the ground, and freeze mid-air. Users of the equipment often blame "low quality" or "cheapness". Date of Recovery: February 22nd, 2024 Location of Recovery: Walmart backroom in Norfolk, Virginia. Current Status: Kept in a sports cart at Site-19's recreational center. Note: //"I threw a ball. It froze for 5 seconds, phased through the catcher, bounced off concrete, phased through 3 fences, and hit some poor janitor. Where can I leave a review on this low quality garbage? Already, we've lost several balls from them rolling god-knows-where through walls!" - Recreational Director ████// Item Description: A single piece of paper with a crude crayon drawing of a laughing emoji (😂) on [[[https://youtu.be/rHAYFiwbGlY?si=PSEqnsIu6j1CTOEt \| it]]]. When written about in a digital medium, it links the last word of every sentence to a video on YouTube.com; usually one that is intended as a humorous "parody" of an existing song by a well known [[[https://youtu.be/U5gT8hf0Z_M?si=c_DeCA5yZUAbhWHU \| artist]]]. If the last word of a sentence is the name of an actual musician, that word will be linked to a video "parodying" a song by that musician; for example: [[[https://youtu.be/Mbz0UHwbvhY?si=U-qhoUWNEy7duHBt \| HarryEdwardStyles]]]. If the mentioned musician is one who has no "parody" videos made about them, the last word will be linked to a randomly selected [[[https://youtu.be/lOfZLb33uCg?si=Cu1mvSSfHPGtjPzl \| video]]]. Date of Recovery: February 24th, 2024 Location of Recovery: A child delivery room in a hospital in Cardiff, Wales, the [[[https://youtu.be/7e0-puVc3Qw?si=C9Ov_jHiCwtjds8r \| UK]]]. Current Status: Kept in the personal possession of Dr. Chair in --Site-57-- [[[https://youtu.be/WE1_63nYel4?si=1kwDk9CjWUPeVSFs \| Site-59]]]. Note: Item was found shriveled in the clutched hands of a newborn [[[https://youtu.be/CUWjZ9Y7Nso?si=T_T72fsNMfO4l5va \| child]]]. It is unknown how the item found its way into the womb of a pregnant [[[https://youtu.be/emG3YhU9Efg?si=u2rDTY1WdKe3-bxC \| woman]]]. Item Description: A small stuffed turtle that, when left unobserved, will disappear and relocate to a new hidden location. During this, it displayed no visual or auditory cues while doing so, however, some witnesses claim to hear giggling coming from the object. It will then stay stationary until it is found. When observing, it will stay immobilised. Date of Recovery: February 29th, 2024 Location of recovery: Inside an empty dumpster outside an abandoned house in Columbus, Ohio. Current Status: Inside a high-security storage locker at Site-81. +++ Anomalous Items 1381 - 1390 --Item Description: Elizabeth Morris, daughter of Foundation researcher, Rachel Morris. Subject is unaffected by the cessation of time and other similar phenomena, however shows no means of controlling it at present. Origin of anomalous properties believed to simply be fortuitous. Date of Recovery: ██-██-19██ Location of Recovery: [REDACTED], United States. Current Status: Amnesticized following confirmation of their anomalous properties. Subject currently resides in [REDACTED]. Dr. Morris continues to monitor the subject remotely on a bi-monthly basis.-- Update: See [[[SCP-8021\|attached file]]] for further details. Item Description: Item is a ████████-brand pack of cigarettes that contains no cigarettes. Any cigarette placed inside the pack will no longer be visible when the pack is opened again. D-Class personnel involved in testing have observed feeling the pack slowly return to its empty weight while being held, but it will rapidly returning to the weight to which it was filled if observed again before the pack completely returns to its empty weight. This phenomena does not apply to non-cigarette objects, such as coins, paper, lighters, stone, meat, or vegetable matter, which retain their weight and will always remain in the pack. It does, however, apply to other tobacco and nicotine products, such as cigars, chewing tobacco, and paraphernalia such as pipes and electronic cigarettes, so long as they are small enough to fit inside the pack. Date of Recovery: March 19th, 2024 Location of recovery: Found discarded in the parking lot outside of Foundation Site-19's Outpost-Gamma. Current Status: Contained in low-priority object storage. Item Description: A Kennedy half dollar, minted 1994. When used in a coin toss, the result will alternate between heads and tails with perfect consistency. If the coin is flipped an uneven number of times, it will always land balanced on its edge. Date of Recovery: 2018-05-23 Location of Recovery: Spearfish, South Dakota. Current Status: Held in the Low-Risk Inanimate Objects Warehouses at Site-76. Note: Reported by Junior Researchers Rose and Stern after "best of three", "best of five" and "best of seven" contests all ended in stalemate. Item Description: A ballpoint pen with blue ink, matches many commercially available pens. When used by any human subject, the writing will always be in a handwriting that has not yet been identified, but remains consistent across all uses and subjects. Ink runs out as normal and can be refilled; this does not affect the anomalous property. Date of Recovery: March 21st, 2024 Location of Recovery: A doctor's office in Richmond, Virginia Current Status: Being tested. Note: //Handwriting experts are being consulted regarding the results of using the pen, in hopes of identifying whose handwriting the pen creates.// - Researcher Somerset Item Description: Small hourglass, wood and glass construction, which contains 5 minutes' worth of sand. Carved into the wooden base is the phrase "defy expectations". When flipped, the sand in the glass flows upward, against gravity, from the bottom to the top. Date of Recovery: March 21st, 2024 Location of Recovery: A thrift store in Miami, Florida. Current Status: In storage. Note: //The store this item was found in has no record of it ever being acquired. All staff denied knowledge of having purchased it.// - Agent O'Reilly Item Description: A paring knife, functionally identical to many commercially available examples. Carved into the handle are the words "be careful." When used as a knife, the user will be highly paranoid of cutting his/her hands, although never actually do so. Whether this is due to the user's paranoia or the item's anomalous effect is unknown. Date of Recovery: March 19th, 2024 Location of Recovery: Houston, Texas Current Status: In storage. Item Description: Painting, oil and acrylic, depicting unidentified individuals in a large room lavishly decorated in late 19th century style. When viewed by a human subject who has seen the object at least once before, the subject is convinced that the figures have moved somehow, but is unable to articulate exactly how the figures moved. The figures remain stationary at all times. Date of Recovery: March 22nd, 2024 Location of Recovery: Jefferson City, Missouri Current Status: In storage. Item Description: Small hand mirror in a wooden frame decorated with carvings of seals. When used as a mirror by a human subject, the reflection displayed is what the subject wishes they looked like rather than an accurate reflection. Date of Recovery: March 25th, 2024 Location of Recovery: Baton Rouge, Louisiana Current Status: --In storage.-- In a locked secure storage container. Item Description: Deck of playing cards, unknown manufacturer. When held by a subject from a country with a currently existing monarchy, the faces of the "face" cards (king, queen, and jack) will resemble members of that country's royal family. Date of Recovery: March 28th, 2024 Location of Recovery: Portland, Oregon Current Status: Available for use by all personnel. Item Description: A finely crafted music box featuring a rotating ballerina figure on top and playing melodies recognized from The Nutcracker has been observed. Upon activation via a twisting mechanism, the music box emits audible tunes, compelling individuals within proximity, regardless of physical impairments, to engage in balletic movements until the cessation of the music. Additionally, there exists a probability for autonomous activation of the music box, manifesting at irregular intervals. Date of Recovery: 26/10/2021 Location of Recovery: Item was recovered by Dr. Pixie Bubbles and subsequently submitted at Site-24-AZ. Current Status: In Storage. Notes: //"We conducted experiments involving various animals, and our findings indicate that the mechanism exclusively demonstrates efficacy in mice."// - Dr. Pixie Bubbles +++ Anomalous Items 1391 - 1400 Item Description: A pair of █████ █████ brand headphones. When worn in an empty room, the entry of another human will result in the feeling of a tapping on the wearer's left shoulder. Date of Recovery: 2024-04-01 Location of Recovery: ██████ ███ ████ School, Shuangyashan, Heilongjiang, China Current Status: Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-248. Item Description: A █████████ brand waffle-maker. If this waffle-maker is powered while empty and the lid is closed and reopened, one fresh pancake will appear inside it. If this process is conducted while the waffle-maker contains batter, the batter will be replaced or transmuted into one strip of bacon. The insertion of bacon has no effect. Retrieved pancakes and retrieved bacon are identical to all other retrieved instances. Date of Recovery: 2024-04-01 Location of Recovery: ██████████████ Cafe, Bruges, Belgium Current Status: Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-68. Item Description: One unopened bottle of wood glue which cannot be separated from human skin. If contacting the skin of two separate humans, it can be separated from either without trouble, but not both. Date of Recovery: 2014-02-02 Location of Recovery: Parma City Hall, Parma, Ohio, USA Current Status: Held with amputated skin from D-156998-06's thigh in a Size-II object storage locker with appropriate biohazard warnings. Item Description: Partially dismantled external hard drive with seemingly limitless storage capacity. Originally contained 15.2 TB of pirated movies and TV shows, 78% of which being episodes of //[[[SCP-6112 \| Seinfeld]]]//. Date of Recovery: 01/01/2001 Location of Recovery: An estate sale in Trenton, New Jersey. Current Status: Being tested at Site-15. Item Description: One newspaper folded into a living adult male //Trichonephila clavata//[[footnote]] Joro spider [[/footnote]] approximately 25 centimeters in length. AO-1395 displays expected behavior for its species, and has attempted copulation with anomalous and nonanomalous introduced female //T. clavata// specimens, though no offspring have been produced. As AO-1395 does not require sustenance, care must be taken to prevent it from drinking water and thus harming its fragile body. Date of Recovery: 2023-08-08 Location of Recovery: ████ █████ ██ fraternity house in Athens, Georgia, USA Current Status: Held in Site-25's arachnology wing. AO-1395 has been nicknamed "Ori" by its containment staff. Item Description: One plastic recreation of the Lament Configuration from the //Hellraiser// franchise. Item is antimemetically cloaked and is only perceptible to members of the BDSM fetish community. Date of Recovery: 2008-04-13 Location of Recovery: MC&D auction advertised as "Marshall, Carter, & Dark After Dark!" in Vancouver, Canada Current Status: Held in a Size-III object storage locker at Site-41. Item Description: One sexualized costume resembling a schoolgirl uniform. Any female individual of east Asian descent below the age of 25 who views this outfit will begin vomiting until it is removed from their sight. Date of Recovery: 2008-04-13 Location of Recovery: MC&D auction advertised as "Marshall, Carter, & Dark After Dark!" in Vancouver, Canada Current Status: --Held in a standard cloth storage unit at Site-60 with appropriate memetic biohazard warnings.-- Missing as of 2013-██-██. Item Description: One brightly colored "furry" tail and attached buttplug. All humans viewing the wearer are able to determine with perfect accuracy whether they are currently happy, as long as the tails remains unobscured. Despite this property, no visible change occurs in the tail. Date of Recovery: 2008-04-13 Location of Recovery: MC&D auction advertised as "Marshall, Carter, & Dark After Dark!" in Vancouver, Canada Current Status: Held in a Size-IV object storage locker at Site-60. Item Description: 3 cm x 6 cm scrap from a medieval manuscript depicting an imp with grotesquely enlarged genitals. All penile and testicular pain is dramatically amplified within a 10 meter radius, and any wounds in such areas do not heal until this radius is left. Date of Recovery: 2008-04-13 Location of Recovery: MC&D auction advertised as "Marshall, Carter, & Dark After Dark!" in Vancouver, Canada Current Status: Held in Site-147's demonics wing, Demonic Biohazard Lab S147-L302 Item Description: Metal muffin pan, of suitable size for baking 1 dozen muffins. When batter is poured into the pan and baked, paper liners suitable for muffins or cupcakes will be found when the pan is removed from the oven. If liners are inserted beforehand, no others will manifest. How this occurs is unknown. All forms of watching the pan, including remote methods, have proven inconclusive. This typically operates through coincidence, such as the person watching the camera is distracted by something at the moment the anomalous effect occurs. Testing to find out if a probabilistic anomaly causes this is awaiting approval. Date of Recovery: April 14th, 2024 Location of Recovery: An estate sale in Springfield, MO Current Status: In storage. +++ Anomalous Items 1401 - 1410 Item Description: A screw composed of an unknown metal alloy, floating approximately five meters above ground level. Object can be moved; however, it will continue to levitate five meters off the ground. Date of Recovery: 03-20-2024 Location of Recovery: Moscow, Russia Current Status: Site-330 storage. Item Description: The shell of a //Coenobita clypeatus//[[footnote]] Caribbean Hermit Crab. [[/footnote]] that emits a faint noise of the ocean waters, occasional thunder can be heard as well. The shell is speculated to be a dimensional portal to an alternate reality or area, however further testing is deemed unfeasible as the item is small and extremely fragile. Date of Recovery: 04-03-2024 Location of Recovery: Washed up on shore in Florida, USA. Current Status: Site-330's storage facility. Item Description: A black baseball cap, bearing as sewed word saying //"Wear 4 Luck"//. When a subject wears the cap, around $100 of the subject's nationality will manifest in the subject's wallet, or any pocket noticeable by the subject. If the subject does not bear any pockets, however, the money will manifest in the subject's internal organs or cavities. Date of Recovery: 23-12-2023 Location of Recovery: Soekarno–Hatta International Airport, Indonesia. Current Status: In a locker in Site-330. Item Description A pineapple plant (//Ananas comosus//) which bears a different fruit or vegetable each year. So far, since its discovery, it has yet to bear any pineapples. All fruit and vegetables borne by the plant are perfectly healthy and edible. Date of Recovery 2023-5-11 Location of Recovery Alajuela, Costa Rica. Current Status Planted in the communal garden at Site-101. Item Description A ceramic bowl that turns anything poured into it into apple-flavoured porridge of the Quaker brand. Testing has shown that all food, beverages and non-edible substances become the porridge including water, soup, coffee, wine, blood and [REDACTED]. Date of Recovery 2020-6-6 Location of Recovery Croy, Inverness, Scotland. Current Status Stored in the cafeteria of Site-114. Item Description A 114-sided polygon 0.24m in diameter that emits a high pitched beep (1661.22hz or G#6) at 101db for one second every 14 seconds. Origin, function, materials and inner workings are all still under investigation. Date of Recovery 2019-11-01 Location of Recovery Manchester, UK Current Status Stored in a sound-proof safe in Site-72. Item Description Three ceramic egg cups that repel eggs. All eggs and egg-like objects are repelled from plastic toy hen eggs to frogspawn. Date of Recovery 2017-03-27 Location of Recovery Second-hand store in Brooklawn, NJ Current Status Stored in a low security locker at Site-110. Item Description A Praetorian Helmet that, when worn, induces the wearer to vocalize the phrase "glory to Caesar." Date of Recovery 10/20/2010 Location of Recovery Mojave Desert, Nevada Current Status Lost in Raid By Serpents Hand Item Description: A hamster of an unidentified breed, grey and white in color, capable of subtle physiological manipulation when in the presence of 2 or more sentient organisms; it has been observed that it will attempt to gradually damage or break relationships between organisms that possess them, mainly humans or other hamsters. Item has displayed signs of sapience, being able to manipulate objects using it's front paws with great dexterity, emoting with body language, and possessing great understanding of English and Japanese. Date of Recovery: 06/27/2003 Location of Recovery: San Fransisco, California. Object first came to Foundation attention upon repeated reports of domestic violence in the area and a "Hamster looking though windows", item was found observing a family though a patio window and was captured after an hour long chase. Current Status: Kept in isolated portion of an animal containment unit at Site-██. Only a singular staff member is allowed to interact with the item at a time to avoid the anomalous effect. Item Description: An adult taxidermy model of the species //Canis lupus//. Human subjects aged 9-16 that come into physical contact with the item will experience all of the "forty mystical dreams" that Italian Catholic priest John Melchior Bosco (Italian: //Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco//) had throughout his lifetime in successive order for the span of one (1) year. Date of Recovery: 1998-06-12 Location of Recovery: In a priest's private residence in Valdocco, Turin, Italy. Current Status: Stored inside a Type-S Object Containment Unit at Area-22. +++ Anomalous Items 1411 - 1420 Item Description: An indestructible obsidian rock, measuring 5.4cm x 4.3cm x 4.4cm. If a human subject holds the object in their palm and vocalizes a phrase, the item will audibly articulate the same phrase into Spanish. However, vocalizing incoherent or unintelligible expressions will not elicit any response from the object. Date of Recovery: 2003-04-23 Location of Recovery: Discovered within a GoI-037 storage facility located in Celaya, Mexico following Foundation incursion into the building. Current Status: Stored inside Locker-047AN at Research Site-24. Item Description: An electronic device named "Bubblebook 1" resembling a typical MacBook developed by an unidentified electronics enterprise known as "Bubble Ducky Technologies Inc." The laptop features an LED duck logo on its rear and is purportedly impervious to all forms of damage. The specifications of the laptop allegedly surpass the indicated parameters on its packaging. No corroborating records of the existence of this company or any other instances of their products have been substantiated. Date of Recovery: 06/05/2024 Location of Recovery: Local electronics store in Arizona, US. Current Status: In Storage. Item Description: A standard rake that, when used to rake leaves into a pile, spontaneously generates a trail of leaves in the place of the leaves that have just been raked into the pile. Date of Recovery: 2024-05-7 Location of Recovery: Found in a pile of leaves in Toronto, Canada Current Status: In a low security storage container almost constantly covered in a pile of leaves. Item Description: A copy of //The Noble Cat// by Howard Loxton, the text of which is periodically replaced with the text of //The Ultimate Dog Book// by David Taylor. This occurs approximately once every fifty-five days (± 14.66 hours) and persists for precisely fifty-one minutes, at which point the text reverts. Images remain unaffected. Text is limited by the number of characters on a page (including punctuation and excluding spaces); for example, there are sixty-nine characters on the title page of //The Noble Cat//, which are replaced with sixty-nine characters from the half-title and title pages of //The Ultimate Dog Book//. Characters exceeding the given limit for a page overflow to the next, often in the middle of a word. Text of //The Ultimate Dog Book// repeats following conclusion of the picture credits. Date of Recovery: 5/20/2024 Location of Recovery: Junior Researcher Lauren's home, where it and a non-anomalous copy of //The Ultimate Dog Book// had been serving as decoration. Junior Researcher Lauren discovered the anomaly after deciding to read both books and subsequently leaving them open on the floor; the altered text was observed several days later. Current Status: In the Sector-25 break room. Notes: //That was my mom's. Can I at least keep it at my desk? - Jr. Researcher Lauren// Item Description: Fountain pen, no manufacturer's information visible. Consistent with styles common in the early 20th century. Can be filled with ink as normal; however, when used to write, the ink will be in the writer's favorite color. If used to write without being filled, ink of the writer's favorite color will manifest through unknown means as the pen is used. Date of Recovery: May 22nd, 2024 Location of Recovery: Abandoned at a gas station in Providence, Rhode Island Current Status: At Site-76, available for use by all personnel. Item Description: A topographical paper map of the state of Nevada that is constantly changing to display an up-to-date version of every detail of the actual state's topology. Date of Recovery: 5/26/2024 Location of Recovery: A classroom at █████ Junior High School, Nevada Current Status: In Storage Notes: //This thing is actually really cool. I've been looking at it with a microscope all day, and I can even see peoples' footprints on the ground. - Researcher Miles Snow// Item Description: A partially opened 5 oz. aluminum can labeled "Intrusive Thoughts". Any human subject who views the can's interior will receive vivid mental images of themselves slicing one of their eyeballs with the can's lid. This effect lingers even after the item is out of view, though it subsides after 10–20 minutes. Damage to the lid suggests that an attempt had been made to reseal the item prior to recovery. Date of Recovery: 06-03-2024 Location of Recovery: Cedar Springs, Colorado Current Status: In an opaque storage locker within Site-31. Item Description: A 1m×2m polyester transgender pride flag, non-anomalous except for provenance. Date of Recovery: 4 June 2024 Location of Recovery: A time capsule in Lewiston, Idaho, that had been sealed for the previous 50 years. Current Status: In storage at Site-81. Notes: //The transgender pride flag was not designed until 1999, by which point the time capsule that would, when opened, contain AO-1418 had already been sealed for 25 years. - Researcher Vikki McKee// Item Description: A metallic, silver gray colored towel rack. Despite its appearance, it consists entirely of a copper alloy, specifically brass. Samples taken from the object show no known chemical or physical deviations from non-anomalous brass. Date of Recovery: 4/3/2013 Location of Recovery: Private residence in Miami, Florida Current Status: In storage at Site-76. Item Description: A chocolate bar decorated with bubble patterns, under the brand name "Chocolotsacoco". This brand of chocolate bar, as well as its manufacturer Cometica Confections, does not exist. Bar is covered in tiny pockets, which the packaging claims is air bubbles filled with cocoa powder. Any liquid stirred with the candy bar is turned into chocolate milk through unknown means, provided the liquid is carbonated. During this transformation, all solid objects completely submerged in the liquid turn into ice. The resultant chocolate milk is perpetually carbonated, but otherwise considered non-anomalous and safe to drink. This effect extends to liquids generally deemed unsafe for human consumption. Attempting to eat the bar, however, has proven fatal, as any living creature that produces CO² will have their blood turned into chocolate milk after digestion. Date of Recovery: May 31st, 2024 Location of Recovery: █████████ Chocolate World, Hershey, PA. Found in gift shop. Current Status: In storage. +++ Anomalous Items 1421 - 1430 Item Description: Hinged wooden box, the size of most standard jewellery boxes, painted with images of ducks in flight. At random intervals (typically between 20 minutes and one hour), an unidentified female voice will be heard saying "Let me out!", "I'm trapped in here!" and similar phrases, seemingly coming from the box. If the box is opened after hearing the voice, the voice will stop speaking immediately. Nothing has been found in or on the box that could cause this, and the voice does not respond when spoken to. Date of Recovery: May 31st, 2024 Location of Recovery: A thrift store in Eureka, California Current Status: In storage. Item Description: Small plastic comb, visually similar to most commercially available pocket combs. Despite having clearly been mass-produced, no manufacturer's information is visible. Anyone touching the comb hears multiple voices whispering in an as-yet-unidentified language. If the subject pays too much attention to the voices or addresses them in any language, the voices stop speaking, as though aware that they were being overheard. The source of the voices has not been determined, seeming to be somewhere behind the subject. Date of Recovery: June 1st, 2024 Location of Recovery: Abandoned at a BART station in San Francisco, California Current Status: Being tested. Item Description: Wooden mug decorated with a painting of a wooden sailing ship of 17th century construction under full sail. Any liquid poured into the mug will become whichever variety of alcohol the intended drinker most prefers at the moment. It is unclear how the item is aware of this information. If the item is passed to another person, the liquid contained will be transmuted. Date of Recovery: June 3rd, 2024 Location of Recovery: At a garage sale in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Current Status: Available for use by personnel. Note: //This item is only to be used after working hours. Drinking alcohol on duty is not permitted.// Item Description: One adult female //Gallus domesticus//[[footnote]] Chicken [[/footnote]] of the Plymouth Rock breed. Whether an egg produced by AO-1426 is fertilized or unfertilized is immediately apparent to any human observer despite possessing no visual distinction. Sapient nonhumans are unaffected. Date of Recovery: 2024-06-07 Location of Recovery: Private business ostensibly portrayed as an animal research lab, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA. Current Status: Held in Poultry Enclosure 3 at Site-25. Item Description: One Lianhua Supermarket shopping bag. All testudines[[footnote]] Turtles, tortoises, and terrapins [[/footnote]] within a 5 kilometer radius of this item are selectively intangible to all forms of plastic. Prior to containment, this ability was observed being used by local testudines for avoiding suffocation, obtaining food from sealed containers, and restraining or evading mates, rivals, and predators who had only recently entered the area and thus were unaware of how to use this ability. Date of Recovery: 2015-09-07 Location of Recovery: Drain pipe in ████████ ████ Subdistrict, Pudong, Shanghai, China Current Status: Held in a Size-III object storage locker in Site-109-D's Biohazard Exclusion Wing. Item Description: A floret of brassica oleracea[[footnote]] Broccoli [[/footnote]] with the stem painted brown. Any observer, sapient or not, that sees this floret in the presence of a tree believes that the floret is, in fact, a tree, and behaves accordingly. This memetic effect ends only if the exposed specimen does not see a tree for approximately 24 hours, though it ends early if the specimen becomes aware that the floret isn't a tree (for example, someone taking a bite out of it). Nothing has caused the memetic properties to dissipate; removing the paint, eating parts of the floret, and even the floret rotting haven't stopped specimens from identifying it as a tree in the presence of another tree, even when the rotten bits were arranged into the shape of an entirely different object. After the pieces were mistakenly taken from Dr. Frisk's office to the incinerator and destroyed, the memetic properties transferred to the site incinerator. Date of Recovery: April 8th, 2023 Location of Recovery: ██████ Elementary School, Rising Sun, MD, United States Current Status: Incinerator deemed safe for use by approved personnel for non-organic matter only, as even tree branches and leaves trigger the memetic effect. Individual responsible for the original object's destruction disciplined. Item Description: An oil painting in the baroque style, depicting several armed individuals reminiscent of the civic guard in Rembrandt's //The Night Watch//. Any crimes [[footnote]]Illegal acts under New York or federal law[[/footnote]] committed in the presence of the painting are anonymously reported to the Albany Police Department within a week of occurrence. All attempts to trace the anonymous reportee have thus far failed. Date of Recovery: 02-04-2024 Location of Recovery: A warehouse in Albany, New York Current Status: In storage at Site-19. The canvas has been covered in black masking tape. Item Decryption: An audio recoding of "Tourniquet of Roses" by the Residents,[[footnote]]An American art connective and experiential rock band founded in 1969.[[/footnote]] which contains six attritional verses not present in the original song.[[footnote]]Partial transcript: //And all the colors green / Have been replaced by machine / And all the trees have been forgotten in the dream we dream//[[/footnote]] Any human subject who listens to these extra verses becomes increasingly prone to the use of malapropisms[[footnote]]The incorrect use of a word in place of a similar-sounding one; for example, "fade into Bolivian" rather than "fade into obsidian".[[/footnote]] in speech and writing, with the frequency ingressing upon repeated exposure. Transcripts of the song's lyrics remain unaffected, however. This affect typically subsets after one week, though rare exceptions have been discovered through expensive tasting. Date of Recovery: 06-13-2024 Lactation of Recovery: Uploaded to YouTube under the title "The Residents - Tourniquet of Roses (EXTENDED CUT)". Uploader was identified as █████ ███████, a resident of Cedar Springs, Colorado who discovered the song on a CD he had purchased at a flea market and was unaware of its anonymous properties. Currant Status: Stored on a flesh drive at Site-27. Item Description: A 30th Anniversary Edition Blu-Ray of //Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan//. --Viewing-- Being in a 500m proximity of the item while it is being played induces the production of adrenaline, cortisol, and other stress hormones in human subjects, causing individuals in the area of effect to enter a heightened emotional state. Physical altercations are common when the anomaly is active; however, the film must be played on its original medium, and playing the raw file which contains the data for //The Wrath of Khan// after its extraction produces no anomalous effects. Date of Recovery: 6/19/2024 Location of Recovery: Port Huron, Michigan, at the first (and last) annual "Wrath of Con", a //Star Trek// fandom convention. Current Status: Under consideration for use in a study on the prolonged effects of adrenaline and cortisol exposure on D-Class personnel. Item Description: A 12 oz. can of salted peanuts with a nondescript white label reading "pee nuts". Human subjects who consume the can's contents initially report no anomalous effects; however, approximately two weeks after consumption, subjects begin to report a number of symptoms, including severe abdominal pain, nausea, and blood in their urine. These symptoms continue to increase in severity over the next several days, culminating in the passage of a whole, unshelled peanut through the subject's urethra. This process has been described as excruciatingly painful, with many subjects losing consciousness as a result. However, actual physical damage is minimal, being consistent with kidney stones of average size. Resulting peanuts do not share AO-1430's anomalous properties. Date of Recovery: 06-19-2024 Location of Recovery: Recovered at a King Soopers in Cedar Springs, Colorado by Agent Clement, who suspected that the item was anomalous in nature due to its unusual appearance and placement within the store. Current Status: In a low-value item storage locker within Site-343. +++ Anomalous Items 1431 - 1440 Item Description: One (1) bag of sunflower seeds that, if a seed is peeled, will contain another identically sized unpeeled sunflower seed within it. Date of Recovery: 05-06-2024 Location of Recovery: A supermarket near Site-75. Current Status: Kept in the Site-75 break room. //Notes: How do you even eat these? It's just shells all the way down.// Item Description: A Shure 55SH dynamic microphone that when handled compels the user to introduce any individual with a 5m radius. Introductions always follow the format that is utilized by ring announcers[[footnote]]By announcing the individual's name, height, weight, town of residency, their stage name, win-loss record, and any titles the individual has won. [[/footnote]]. AO-1432's properties do not manifest if there are less than two people within said radius. Stage names given while under the influence of AO-1432 are always based on the user's opinion of the person being introduced. Date of Recovery: 05/23/1998 Location of Recovery: A storage closet at the Indiana Theatre, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA Current Status: Labelled and kept within the Site-81 --break room-- gymnasium for recreational use. //Notes: Item relocated; personnel are to refrain from interacting with the item when there are more that 20 people within the 5m radius. Agent Essie nearly tore his throat out introducing all 254 personnel attending the New Year's Eve celebration - Dr. Cox// Item Description: Sterling silver and glass compass, similar in manufacture to those made in the early 19th century. The needle does not point toward magnetic north, instead pointing toward the nearest source of horseradish (currently the Site cafeteria). Date of Recovery: August 1st, 2024 Location of Recovery: In a lost and found box at a bus station, Columbus, OH Current Status: In storage in Site-██. Item Description: A 19-year-old man whose face cannot be captured photographically. All attempts to do so result in the digital or physical corruption of the image. A secondary anomaly garbles the subject's voice in all recordings. Date of Recovery: 15-09-2017 Location of Recovery: LaGuardia Airport, New York Current Status: Held in humanoid containment at Site-17. Item Description: A three-hour-long video depicting an unidentified human male wearing a ski mask, who spends the duration of the video subjecting a Windows 10 laptop to various forms of abuse, including removing the keys from the keyboard, hitting the screen with a hammer, and downloading malware from file-sharing websites. During this time, equivalent damage is inflicted on the device that the video is being broadcast from, which continues until the device becomes unusable. To date, all attempts at viewing the contents of the video beyond the 1:53:03 mark have proven unsuccessful, and have invariably resulted in significant mechanical failure. Date of Recovery: 07-29-2024 Location of Recovery: Uploaded to YouTube under the title "Gently Breaking Your Computer ASMR 😏💥💻" by the channel "Glitch City ASMR" in February 2020. The uploader has not yet been identified. Current Status: Video and channel removed from YouTube under the guise of a copyright violation; further action has been deemed unnecessary due to the video having less than 500 views at the time of its deletion. An archived copy of the video is stored in Site-10's digital archives. Item Description: An oil painting depicting a camel standing in a desert. When the painting is viewed by a human subject, they will automatically believe that the current day is a Wednesday regardless of what the actual day of the week is. The effect ceases when the subject is shown proof of what the actual day of the week is. Date of Recovery: 06-30-2024 Location of Recovery: A thrift shop located in Columbia, South Carolina. Current Status: In storage. Item Description: A BluRay of Věra Chytilová’s 1966 film //Daisies//, physically resembling the non-anomalous edition as distributed by The Criterion Collection.[[footnote]]Criterion did not offer BluRay editions of this film when this item was recovered, however, despite the identical design, research has confirmed the standard Criterion copies to be entirely non-anomalous[[/footnote]] Has a mild “feminising” effect when viewed in its entirety by an individual assigned male at birth, increasing the estrogen levels in the subject’s body.[[footnote]]It should be noted that this is not an instant “transmogrifying" effect, such as seen with [[[SCP-113]]] or [[[SCP-6113]]], but a more subtle alteration akin to a single standard dose of feminising HRT as prescribed to a transgender woman[[/footnote]] Date of Recovery: 04-27-2019 Location of Recovery: Seized during a raid on ███████, a British Columbia, Canada-based eBay seller found to be selling home videos of numerous anomalous films, as well as anomalous copies of non-anomalous films Current Status: In storage. Item Description: A printed world map whose marked borders change in real time to display the current de facto territorial control of the world. Date of Recovery: 10-20-2015 Location of Recovery: A charity shop in Essex, United Kingdom Current Status: In storage. Note: Beginning on ██-██-20██, the map began displaying Bir Tawil, an officially unclaimed and uninhabited area of land along the Egyptian-Sudanese border, as belonging to “The Tongue Eaters”. More recently, this area has been observed to grow in size, and now encompasses significant portions of land publicly believed to be under the control of either Egypt or Sudan. Research into the implications of this is ongoing. Item Description: A music box that continuously plays --an unidentified tune-- 'Yesterday' by The Beatles without any source of propulsion. It can be stopped by holding the musical cylinder still with hand, but resumes immediately upon release. Date of Recovery: 01-21-1964 Location of Recovery: Room 102, George V Hotel, Paris, France Current Status: --In storage at Site-██-- Transferred to Site-██, in possession of Dr. Foster. //Notes: Agent ██████ has been reprimanded for using expired Class-A amnestics, as his mistake caused the tune to be published as one of their most iconic songs the following year. Please check the expiration date on your amnestics.// Item Description: A .png file uploaded to the anomalous Gamers Against Weed forums titled "how to ABSOLUTLY DESTROY the scp f oundation [sic]". File has been reposted 1762 separate times. Foundation agents embedded within the forum managed to download the file, however its quality has significantly degraded, being 345 separate pixels in total. Foundation AI Malapost.aic has determined that quality restoration from such few pixels is impossible. Showing the file to Foundation employees causes minor distress. Date of Recovery: 03-12-2014 Location of Recovery: Gamers Against Weed forum chatroom "foundtion 🤮" Current Status: Located within the directory SCP:\Users\Foundation\Groups of Interest\Gamers Against Weed\Images\Cognitohazardous\Non-Lethal\Mild\how to ABSOLUTLY DESTROY the scp f oundation.png +++ Anomalous Items 1441 - 1450 Item Description: A medium-sized, standard white blender of an unidentified brand capable of functioning without any external power source. Upon visual contact with the object, individuals experience an overwhelming compulsion to insert their hand into the blender and activate it. Date of Recovery: 16/08/2024 Location of Recovery: Dr. Arya Roy's office, Site-██. Current Status: In Storage. Notes: //"That blender was the only useful thing my mom gifted me."// –Dr. Arya Roy. Item Description: Approximately 22.9 liters of a water-like material, which shifts between solid and liquid state once every 28 seconds, without any change in temperature. Any solid it touches while changing from solid state to liquid state will liquefy with it, and likewise, any liquid it touches while changing from liquid state to solid state will solidify with it. These changes move quickly through tightly-packed solids substances and liquids, but slowly though loosely packed materials like dirt and snow. Non-anomalous water acts as an extension of its abilities, anything touching a body of water containing the water-like material changes with it. Date of Recovery: 16/08/2024 Location of Recovery: ██° ██′ █″ N, ██° ██′ █″ W, Nunavut Current Status: Provisionally Neutralized. Notes: //While transmuting surrounding soil and rock into glass served as a temporary containment method, due to glass's amorphous state, the item would eventually dissolve it in several hours. Due to being launched into the sun with SCP-████-█, it can no longer cause any further damage. It is being monitored for any further activity, but is believed to have been destroyed or rendered ineffective due to being immersed in plasma indefinitely.// Item Description: A copy of the CD single for "Kiss Me Thru The Phone" by Soulja Boy. Audio is consistent with other official recordings of the song, except the phone number mentioned in the prechorus is replaced with the personal number of the person who decided to play the song. If the person does not have a cell or home phone number, the song plays as normal. Date of Recovery: 17/09/2010 Location of Recovery: ████████ Records warehouse in Fayal, Minnesota. Current Status: In a storage locker at Site-55. Notes: //What happens if you have more than one cell phone?// Item Description: Mid-20th century painting, in realistic style, depicting an unknown woman with blonde hair, wearing a blue dress consistent with styles popular in the 1960s, shown standing in a field of grass with a large wooden box to her left. The painted figure remains stationary while observed by a human subject, but is often found in different positions after being left unobserved, even briefly. The wooden box is filled with objects, which are also found to change or become absent from the painting entirely. Date of Recovery: 9/9/2022 Location of Recovery: An art gallery in Rochester, NY Current Status: --In storage.-- Being evaluated for SCP classification after objects missing from the Site were found depicted in the painting; under 24-hour video surveillance. Note: //Methods for recovering the items found in the painting are being discussed, including use of other anomalous items or SCP-level objects, but nothing has been approved yet.// - Researcher Wyndham Item Description: A 64GB SanDisk USB 2.0 flash drive. Upon removing the “case”, a microscopically scaled set of anomalously functioning and connected internal human organs (with the exception of the brain or bones) are revealed in place of expected technology, encased by a translucent thin sheath identified as a cell membrane that connects to the USB port. DNA testing has concluded the organs belong to ███ ████ Roy, a former IT teacher who went missing on 01/15/2020 in the Everglades National Park. The flash drive otherwise functions as expected. Date of Recovery: 01/17/2020 Location of Recovery: The home of ████ ███ Walker, in Anchorage, Alaska, who uploaded a video on the platform YouTube titled “😱LIVING USB AT BEST BUY????😱”, garnering only 102 views before deletion. Exclusively contained a .txt file with the full legal name, birth date, and date of disappearance of Mr. Roy on recovery. Mr. Walker has been given a standard dosage of Class-A Amnestics and placed under temporary surveillance. Current Status: In storage at Site-18. Item description: An unsolved 1x1x1 Rubik’s Cube. Date of recovery: 2022-01-12 Location of recovery: Garage sale in Paris, Texas Current status: --Stored with Dr McDoctorate's Rubik’s Cube collection in his office-- Update: Object was neutralized after Dr Draws removed all of the stickers and placed them back on the cube in a solved state. Item Description: A pink plastic mustache. Individuals who hold the item to their upper lip will be compelled to speak in a different accent. Accents used appear to be random but specific to the individual. Date of Recovery: 2024-10-13 Location of Recovery: The home of M███ E█████ F████████, Los Angeles, California, United States of America. Subject questioned, amnestized upon failure to extract relevant information, and placed under minor surveillance. Current Status: In storage at Site-17. Item Description: A 250g box of Arnott's Salada Original Crispbreads. Individuals who pick up the item will see the words 'OPEN AT OTHER END' on whichever end of the item they first observe. Date of Recovery: 2024-10-17 Location of Recovery: A Coles supermarket located in Melbourne, Australia. Current Status: In storage at Site-45. Item Description: A 5 cm × 15 cm white vellum bookmark, thought to be indestructible. If pressed between two objects, such as the pages of a book, this bookmark ceases to experience friction until removed, or more commonly, it slides out from between the two objects. Testing suspended after Incident AI-1461-a, where the bookmark was placed in a hydraulic press to determine how effective its friction-countering capabilities were. After the press reached approximate 5,000 kg of force, the bookmark shot out violently from between the press's plates at approximately ██ m/s, breaking through the observation window, killing Junior Researcher Haslo, and injuring 5 other personnel. Date of Recovery: 10-29-2024 Location of Recovery: B█████ ███ █████ Book Store, Baltimore, Maryland, United States Current Status: --Held in low-value storage at Site-322-- Permanently embedded in an observation room wall in Site-322. Despite its anomalous properties, it's theorized that the bookmark is experiencing normal friction because the wall is only one object, and not two. Item Description: A scrap of paper with the phrase "Have you //__signed__// the oath?" printed on it in purple ink, which has apparently been torn from a larger document. Written over the previous contents of the other side is the phrase "I sign this oath to thee" written in blood. Anyone in a formal marital relationship that views this side of the document is subjected to the item's cognitohazardous properties, as follows. Immediately upon exposure, the affected person(s) will seek to renew their wedding vows, or make such vows if none have been made yet, in writing. They will be compelled to write said vows in their own blood by any means necessary, and will then present them to their significant other(s). Whether they accept or decline the gesture, the effect ends. This effect can also be ended early if the relationship, formally or informally, is brought to an end, or if an affected viewer is amnesticized. Additionally, anyone not in a formal relationship is entirely unaffected, even if the relationship is permanent. Date of Recovery: 10-31-2024 Location of Recovery: Found in a trash can at a gas station in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States Current Status: Held in low-value storage at Site-322. When not being tested, the item is kept in a pouch with a completely opaque back, with the front facing the transparent side. Upon accidental exposure, viewers that are in a formal relationship are to be administered Class A amnestics. +++ Anomalous Items 1451 - 1460 Item Description: A game cartridge for the Nintendo 64 for a nonexistent game titled "Hubert Trunk's Jungle Safari Adventure" that formed from a sphere of mud that appeared in the containment chamber of SCP-████. Game appears to have been developed by a similarly nonexistent "Tesla Koi Studios". Otherwise a nonanomalous platformer game. Date of Recovery: 11-02-2024 Location of Recovery: SCP-████'s Containment Chamber, Site-██ Current Status: In storage at Site-77. Item Description: Three clay figurines depicting a Pembroke Welsh Corgi, a Basset Hound, and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel that will animate and march in a circle five times at 12:00 Pacific Standard Time. If removed from one another, the objects will teleport to a random location in the space separating them. Date of Recovery: 05-12-2023 Location of Recovery: Museum in ██████, New Jersey Current Status: Held in a storage locker at Site-77. Item Description: A standard jar of ██████ brand peanut butter that is presumably infinite on the inside, being --completely-- partially filled with peanut butter. The peanut butter seems not to have any anomalous properties. If the jar has an additional hole made in it, it creates another entrance into the interior. Date of Recovery: 07-11-2024 Location of Recovery: Supermarket in █████████, Illinois, United States of America Current Status: Held in --staff break room-- storage locker at Site-81 after the peanut butter was too far away to reach. Item Description: Relearn With █████ (domain name relearnwith█████.awcy), an educational website that covers many topics. The topics and complexity vary wildly, from basic math and the alphabet to doctorate level science, and even some rather strange topics like anomalous art, getting away with felonies, and basic functions like how to breathe. Anyone that attempts to use any of the learning programs in a subject they understand will have their capabilities in that subject matter diminished. These decreases in knowledge occur instantaneously, dropping understanding to a level expected from someone that was learning the subject matter for the first time. Date of Recovery: 11-11-2024 Location of Recovery: Washington D.C., United States Current Status: Website intercepted and deleted before it could be hosted. Uploader has been successfully apprehended. Local copy of the website is stored on a flash drive held in low-value storage at Site-19. //Note: "Testing with the "Basic Functions of the Human Body" module has been suspended until further notice. It's rare we get an item in this department that wipes out five D-Classes in five unique ways, and as curious as I am it's not worth using up the department's limited allowance for D-Class personnel." –Dr. Frisk// Item Description: A counterfeit money detecting pen which transmutes counterfeit bills it writes on into --an unknown acidic substance-- the stomach acid of a //Crocuta crocuta//[[footnote]] Spotted hyena [[/footnote]]. Date of Recovery: 11-15-2024 Location of Recovery: Local grocery store in ███████, Wisconsin Current Status: In storage at Site-73. Item Description: A copy of Homer's Odyssey. When opened to the first page, the reader holding the book will suddenly report a strong smell of seawater. Date of Recovery: 11-16-2024 Location of Recovery: Barnes and Noble in Chicago, United States Current Status: In low-risk storage at Site-76. Item Description: A rubber eraser capable of erasing graphite lead, all varieties of ink tested thus far, blood, and presumably any other form of writing substance without residue. Date of Recovery: 11-26-24 Location of Recovery: ██████ Elementary School Current Status: In use, currently kept in the office of Dr. ██████ Note: //Have we tried to see if it can erase digital or chiseled writings?//-- Junior Research Kelp Item Description: A small H████ brand ketchup packet filled with water. The branding is covered with clear tape, with "merecool whatr" written on it with permanent marker. Opening the packet and pouring out the contents causes the water to turn into coinage worth approximately 1 US cent, in whatever currency the local area uses. Stepping on the packet or pouring it into one's mouth causes the water to immediately boil into steam measuring approximately ████⁰C. No matter how the packet is opened, it reseals itself and refills with water when not observed. Date of Recovery: 12-9-2024 Location of Recovery: Found in a restroom at the New York Stock Exchange, Manhattan, NY, United States Current Status: --Held in low-value storage-- Kept in a secured safe in Dr. Frisk's office. Item may not be removed from the safe except for tests approved by all individuals overseeing Anomalous Items testing. //Note: "Please, for the love of whatever power you look up to, stop taking the packet out of containment to get change for the vending machine. I have only so much kindness left for you people." - Dr. Frisk// Item Description: --A Logitech ██████ wireless keyboard-- Two Logitech ██████ wireless keyboards. When connected to a computer, anything the user writes is deleted in approximately 48 hours by yet to be discovered means. Even if the content written is write-protected, it will still disappear. Deletions, however, still seem to work as normal. Date of Recovery: 12-18-2024 Location of Recovery: Site-19 IT Department; second was discovered in Dr. Almsys's office Current Status: Held inside a Faraday cage in low-value storage. //Note: Following the loss of data on multiple items in Foundation custody, further investigation is being considered.// Item Description: --Eighty-two (82)-- Seventy-nine (79) vials filled with a pulp comprised entirely of ground solenopsis geminata[[footnote]]Fire ant[[/footnote]] eyeballs. Anyone that views the vials while starving is subject to their memetic effects, grabbing one and seeking a public area before consuming the vial whole. The contents do not seem to spoil like they should, but otherwise possess properties normal for their source of origin. Date of Recovery: 12-18-2024 Location of Recovery: Abandoned chemical laboratory inside of █████████ College, Elkton, MD, United States Current Status: Held in low-value storage, managed by the Antimemetics Division. +++ Anomalous Items 1461 - 1470 Item Description: A manila folder containing purported coroner photographs and autopsy reports that always pertain to the given possessor of the item. Although not entirely precise, the item's photograph and autopsy projections correlated with 80-85% of fatalities among those who have accessed it. Whether or not the item is a direct cause of the casualties in correlation with the projected contents remains debatable. Date of Recovery: 23/12/2011 Location of Recovery: Atlanta, GA, USA Current Status: Incinerated. //Notice: Destroying anomalous items without appropriate permission is a major violation of Foundation policy. See that this does not occur again. - Site Director █████ █████.// Item Description: A single die which, aside from being linguistically undescribable with regards to its shape, size, colour, and number of faces, is entirely unremarkable. Date of Recovery: ██/07/201█ Location of Recovery: ██████████ County High School, USA. Current Status: Locker of Researcher Shion Y██, used in demonstrations for new recruits to the Department of Miscommunications. //Note: The colour is believed by most to be a shade of red. - Researcher Shion Y██.// Item Description: Small blue rubber "bouncy ball", visually identical to many commercially available varieties. The item seems far more unremarkable than would be expected, regularly going unnoticed in groups of similar items unless a subject's attention is purposely drawn to it. More rarely, it can go unnoticed even when by itself, again unless attention is purposely drawn to it. Date of Recovery: December 13, 2024 Location of Recovery: Lost and found box at a daycare in Dayton, OH Current Status: --In low-value item storage.-- Being tested for antimemetic properties. Item Description: A standard size horseshoe plated in 24 karat gold. Otherwise visually unremarkable. When thrown, trajectory automatically arcs towards nearest pole-like object. Date of Recovery: 2019-02-11 Location of Recovery: S███████ Self Storage, North East, Maryland, United States Current Status: Held in low-value storage. Testing suspended after several injuries involving male test subjects. Item Description: A resignation letter for no company in particular, held within an envelope. The contents of the letter are heavily heated and written in dog feces, citing an unwavering hatred for the reader. If an individual reads the letter, in its entirety, the writing transforms to match their handwriting, and the letter becomes signed with their name. It then disappears, and once the envelope is closed, a new copy of the letter appears within. The signed letter automatically appears in the presence of the reader's manager or an employee the individual deeply hates. If the reader is unemployed, the signed letter simply ceases to exist. Date of Recovery: 2024-12-05 Location of Recovery: A█████ Warehouse, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States Current Status: --Held in low-value storage-- Neutralized after Junior Researcher Lannery sealed the envelope using its gum seal. Junior Researcher Lannery is currently on occupational probation following this incident. Item Description: Small 1,000cm³ cardboard box. Bottom is taped shut with F███ T███. Opening the top of the box will cause it to fold into a 50cm³ sphere comprised of pure glass. Sudden impacts to the sphere cause it to invert back into a cardboard box. Items inside box when it is made a sphere vanish without a trace. Date of Recovery: 2021-12-31 Location of Recovery: Boxing Day Festival, Montreal, Canada Current Status:** In low-value storage.	2023-08-28T09:58:00	[ "collaboration", "no-dialogue", "tale", "worldbuilding" ]	Log Of Anomalous Items, Vol VI - SCP Foundation	52	[ "log-of-anomalous-items", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-ii", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-iii", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-iv", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-v", "log-of-extranormal-events", "log-of-unexplained-locations", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-vi#toc0", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-vi#toc1", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-vi#toc2", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-vi#toc3", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-vi#toc4", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-vi#toc5", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-vi#toc6", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-vi#toc7", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-vi#toc8", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-vi#toc9", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-vi#toc10", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-vi#toc11", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-vi#toc12", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-vi#toc13", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-vi#toc14", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-vi#toc15", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-vi#toc16", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-vi#toc17", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-vi#toc18", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-vi#toc19", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-vi#toc20", "log-of-anomalous-items-vol-vi#toc21", "scp-2079", "scp-2009", "undervegas-hub", "scp-002", "scp-005", "scp-131", "scp-914", "scp-8021", "scp-6112", "scp-113", "scp-6113" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "incident-reports-eye-witness-interviews-and-personal-logs", "collaboration-page-hub" ]	[]	1449602017	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/log-of-anomalous-items-vol-vi
log-of-deviant-appliances	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div style="display: none"> <div style="text-align: left;"> <div class="code"> <div class="hl-main"> <pre><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Foxtrot</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Sigma-9</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Theme</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">2022</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">Wikidot</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">Theme</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">By</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Liryn</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">FONTS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Montserrat</span><span class="hl-special">:ital</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">wght</span><span class="hl-var">@0</span><span class="hl-code">,800;1,800&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Lexend</span><span class="hl-special">:wght</span><span class="hl-var">@700</span><span class="hl-code">;800&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">JetBrains</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Mono</span><span class="hl-special">:ital</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">wght</span><span class="hl-var">@0</span><span class="hl-code">,400;0,700;1,400;1,700&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Fira</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Code</span><span class="hl-special">:wght</span><span class="hl-var">@400</span><span class="hl-code">;700&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Sofia</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Sans</span><span class="hl-special">:ital</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">wght</span><span class="hl-var">@0</span><span class="hl-code">,400;0,700;1,400;1,700&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">rsms.me</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">inter</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">inter.css</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Figtree</span><span class="hl-special">:wght</span><span class="hl-var">@800</span><span class="hl-code">;900&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">IBM</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Plex</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Sans</span><span class="hl-special">:ital</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">wght</span><span class="hl-var">@0</span><span class="hl-code">,400;0,500;0,600;0,700;1,400;1,500;1,600;1,700&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-special">:root</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Core</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ --</span><span class="hl-reserved">header-title:</span><span class="hl-code"> "SCP Foundation"</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">header-subtitle:</span><span class="hl-code"> "SECURE, CONTAIN, PROTECT"</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">logo-img:</span><span class="hl-code"> url(https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/theme:foxtrot/fxtrt-scp_logo_lightmode.svg)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">darkmode-logo-img:</span><span class="hl-code"> url(https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/theme:foxtrot/fxtrt-scp_logo_darkmode.svg)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">logo-opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">14</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">head-font:</span><span class="hl-code"> 'Sans Normalcy'</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">ui-font:</span><span class="hl-code"> 'IBM Plex Sans'</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">mono-font:</span><span class="hl-code"> 'JetBrains Mono', 'Fira </span><span class="hl-string">Code</span><span class="hl-code">', </span><span class="hl-string">monospace</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">page-font:</span><span class="hl-code"> 'Inter', 'verdana'</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">base-font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.9</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">page-font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Misc</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ --</span><span class="hl-reserved">header-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">subheader-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">misc-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#464646</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">link-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#E6283C</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">link-hover-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">white</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Color</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Accents</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ --</span><span class="hl-reserved">accent:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--acc-default)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-default:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">59</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">59</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">59</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-wyoming:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">142</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">18</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-canada:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--acc-default)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-poland:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">87</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">44</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">17</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-slothspit:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">27</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">60</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">133</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-vanguard:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">153</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">75</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-threshold:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">121</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">113</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">130</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-overwatch:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">28</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">37</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">56</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-spc:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">165</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">200</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-fishing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">67</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">111</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">145</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-nightfall:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">151</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-hybrasil:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">27</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">60</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">133</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-goc:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">39</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">84</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">149</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-spooky:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">252</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">112</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">40</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">BetterFootnotes</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ --</span><span class="hl-reserved">fnColor:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">fnLinger:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> --</span><span class="hl-reserved">barColour:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">linkColour:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#EDEDED</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">html</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">scroll-behavior:</span><span class="hl-code"> smooth</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow-x:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">hidden</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">body</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--base-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">51</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">51</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">51</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> linear-gradient(to </span><span class="hl-string">bottom</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-var">#e0e0e0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">200</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-rendering:</span><span class="hl-code"> optimizeLegibility</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow-wrap:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">break-word</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#container-wrap</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#content-wrap</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font), var(--ui-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">440</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">strong</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">700</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tt</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-source</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">pre</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-textarea</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--mono-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ol</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">p</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-underline-offset:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">40</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> :</span><span class="hl-special">:selection</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Clicky</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">links</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.newpage</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:visited</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:visited</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.newpage</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:visited:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:visited:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-hover-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">patch</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">for</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">sidebar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">media</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">collapsibles</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">ACS</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">and</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ayers</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">module</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">so</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">link</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">doesn</span><span class="hl-code">'</span><span class="hl-identifier">t</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">override</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-folded</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-unfolded-link</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fa-info</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block.media</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.danger-diamond</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-folded</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--linkColour) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">160</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--header-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">letter-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">900</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> fit-content</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--header-title)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--header-subtitle)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">700</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--misc-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">26</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.35</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">uppercase</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#extra-div-1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">160</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">7</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">absolute</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--logo-img) </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">30</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">no-repeat</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">130</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-repeat:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">no-repeat</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">50</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">50</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">z-index:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--logo-opacity)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Search</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-var">text</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-input</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-input</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-input</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-var">submit</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-var">submit</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-var">submit</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#efefef</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--page-font-size) - </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.empty</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#999999</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">absolute</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">47</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">15</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">15</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">white</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li.sfhover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.83</span><span class="hl-code">) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">230</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-indent:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">justify-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.mobile-top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Login</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#login-status</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">19</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#login-status</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#login-status</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 767</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.printuser</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.printuser</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.printuser</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">img.small</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">18</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">18</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 767</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.printuser</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">img.small</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> translate(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#my-account</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 767</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#account-topbutton</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Side</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.open-menu</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">white</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (min-width: 768</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.6</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.6</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">18.75</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">s ease-in-out</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">rtl</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block.resources</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block.media</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#interwiki</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">ltr</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block.resources</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.heading</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--misc-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#cfcfcf</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9</span><span class="hl-string">pt</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">uppercase</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Blockquotes</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">Custom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Divs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.15</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#f7f7f7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">dashed</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#f7f7f7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.35</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.35</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#f7f7f7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.15</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fbfbfb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.quote</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bbb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">500</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bbb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.note</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#afafaf</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.round</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Headings</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">Titles</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-title</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.meta-title</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#3b3b3b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> fit-content</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-title</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.meta-title</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#breadcrumbs</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.pseudocrumbs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#3b3b3b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.footnotes-footer</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.title</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#3b3b3b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Rate</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Module</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.creditRate</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bbb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fa-info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fa-info</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bbb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-points</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rateup</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.ratedown</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rateup</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.ratedown</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rateup</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.ratedown</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inline-block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Rate</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Module</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Author</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Label</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.authorlink-wrapper</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> --</span><span class="hl-reserved">author-top-adjust:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">author-bottom-adjust:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">author-right-adjust:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--base-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Side</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anchor</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> sticky</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.14</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc((</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vw - </span><span class="hl-number">870</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">)/</span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vh - </span><span class="hl-number">18</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">absolute</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">103.5</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">z-index:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 1290</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">visibility:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">hidden</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Image</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#f4f4f4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#3b3b3b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">img</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.imagediv</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">right</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">15</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 540</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.imagediv</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">only</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">screen</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">and</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 600</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block.block-right</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tables</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Base</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">td</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">12</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bfbfbf</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">td</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.35</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tables</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Customization</span><span class="hl-code"> (</span><span class="hl-identifier">Table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Coloring</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">System</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tables</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Customization</span><span class="hl-code"> (</span><span class="hl-identifier">Table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Coloring</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">System</span><span class="hl-code">) > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Headings</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">Image</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Captions</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#E0FFD4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#D8ECF4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FDF6D7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFDFCD</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFCFCF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">146</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.tableb</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.wiki-content-table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-collapse:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">separate</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tables</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Customization</span><span class="hl-code"> (</span><span class="hl-identifier">Table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Coloring</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">System</span><span class="hl-code">) > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Other</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Colored</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Divs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">224</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">212</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">226</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">244</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">245</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">189</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">223</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">205</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">207</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">207</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">218</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tabs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Base</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tabs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Customization</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-wrap:</span><span class="hl-code"> wrap</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code"> - </span><span class="hl-number">.125</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Link</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Modifier</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tab</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Background</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Colour</span><span class="hl-code"> \| [</span><span class="hl-identifier">UNSELECTED</span><span class="hl-code">] ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#efefef</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tab</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Background</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Colour</span><span class="hl-code"> \| [</span><span class="hl-identifier">HOVER</span><span class="hl-code">] ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code">, /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Listitem</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Modifier</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">relative</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-grow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-bottom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">align-items:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">justify-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.35</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.75</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-overflow:</span><span class="hl-code"> ellipsis</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">hidden</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">white-space:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">nowrap</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code">, /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Selection</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Modifier</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-grow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tab</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Background</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Colour</span><span class="hl-code"> \| [</span><span class="hl-identifier">SELECTED</span><span class="hl-code">] ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:active</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-content</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">WORDS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">NO</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">BROKEY</span><span class="hl-code">. </span><span class="hl-identifier">CROQ</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">HAS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">SPOKEY</span><span class="hl-code">. </span><span class="hl-identifier">and</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">other</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">things</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">word-break:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">normal</span><span class="hl-code"> !important </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.avatar-hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Dustjacket</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Assets</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fancyhr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">hr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">vw </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--bright-accent), </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-source:</span><span class="hl-code"> url('https://wanderers-library.wikidot.com/local--files/component:dustjacket-theme/wl_hr.png')</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-repeat:</span><span class="hl-code"> round round</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-slice:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">500</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">500</span><span class="hl-code"> fill</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fancyborder</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">vw </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> url('https://wanderers-library.wikidot.com/local--files/component:dustjacket-theme/wl_border.png') </span><span class="hl-number">600</span><span class="hl-code"> round</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">vw</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Collapsibles</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">underline</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-special">:not</span><span class="hl-code">(</span><span class="hl-identifier">.licensebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.default-col</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">white</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">7</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--base-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inline-block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-special">:not</span><span class="hl-code">(</span><span class="hl-identifier">.licensebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.default-col</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--accent), </span><span class="hl-number">0.7</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">ACS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Adjustments</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.top-left-box</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">.item</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anom-bar-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anom-bar-container</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anom-bar-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), Inter, </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.acs-extra-1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.acs-extra-2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.acs-extra-3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.acs-extra-4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), Inter, </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anom-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">.top-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Woed</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Adjustments</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.item1</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">uppercase</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">letter-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.class1</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.9</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">letter-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> --</span><span class="hl-reserved">woedbar-class-bar-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.obj</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.7</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.obj</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.55</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MISC</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">hr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.bt</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#footer</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#444</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">45</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#footer</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#7b7b7b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.footer-wikiwalk-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">700</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">88</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">word-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-info-break</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-options-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">213</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">213</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">213</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-watch-options</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.6</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">77</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-options-bottom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> row</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-wrap:</span><span class="hl-code"> wrap</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">align-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">justify-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-options-bottom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">13</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">13</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom-left-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom-right-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-options-bottom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--accent), </span><span class="hl-number">0.8</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-info-break</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#license-area</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#5f5f5f</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ecf2f1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#d9d9d9</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#license-area</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> "."</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (min-width: 768</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">16</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> "tags "</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--misc-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inline-block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.8125</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.75</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.1875</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.3125</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.1875</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom-right-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top-right-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">13</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.8125</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--page-font-size) - </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">.1875</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">.625</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.0625</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.1875</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent)) </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-style:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> ""</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">relative</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.2813</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.125</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-tags-input</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">word-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.text</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">150</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-form</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">table.form</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">tbody</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">td</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(1) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.edit-help-34</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">85</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">60</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> fit-content</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.edit-help-34</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.edit-help-34</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">table.edit-page-bottomtable</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-comments</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">86</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#lock-info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.8</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">86</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#lock-info</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> "!"</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">12</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">110</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">60</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#lock-timer</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">115</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#lock-timer</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> "⏲ "</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">textarea</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.text</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">outline:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ccc</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-property:</span><span class="hl-code"> box-shadow</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">textarea</span><span class="hl-special">:focus-visible</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.text</span><span class="hl-special">:focus-visible</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#a3a3a3</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#a3a3a3</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#action-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">p</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">85</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> darkslategrey</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#action-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">p</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(5)></span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">120</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#who-rated-page-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">column-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 900</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#who-rated-page-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">column-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 700</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#who-rated-page-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">column-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 540</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#who-rated-page-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">column-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.content-warning.creditRate</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">21</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.preview-message</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.9</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">29</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">z-index:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">filter:</span><span class="hl-code"> drop-shadow(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#EDEDED</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.error-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">48</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#B00</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top-left-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top-right-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">table.page-history</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tbody</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(2</span><span class="hl-identifier">n</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--accent), </span><span class="hl-number">0.05</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">animation:</span><span class="hl-code"> fade </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@keyframes</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">fade</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> 0% </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> 100% </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.button-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">11</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.button-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-hover-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.button-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.title</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">cursor:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">default</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">155</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">187</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">187</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">187</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#F7F7F7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow.owait</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow.owait</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.content</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> " "</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">0.9</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">animation:</span><span class="hl-code"> loading </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-code">s linear infinite</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> grey</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> grey</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">50</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@keyframes</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">loading</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> 0% </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> rotate(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">deg)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> 100% </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> rotate(</span><span class="hl-number">360</span><span class="hl-code">deg)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow.osuccess</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.content</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(2)></span><span class="hl-identifier">img</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(1) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.odialog-shader</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#262a39</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.btn</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.15</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.btn</span><span class="hl-special">:not</span><span class="hl-code">(</span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.btn</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-quotes">"</span><span class="hl-string">submit</span><span class="hl-quotes">"</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code">), </span><span class="hl-identifier">.btn.btn-primary</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.buttons</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.button</span><span class="hl-special">:not</span><span class="hl-code">(</span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-quotes">"</span><span class="hl-string">submit</span><span class="hl-quotes">"</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">11</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">cursor:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">pointer</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-cancel-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-diff-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-preview-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-draft-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-continue-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ccc</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">cursor:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">pointer</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">14</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-cancel-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-diff-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-preview-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-draft-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-continue-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#eaeaea</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-continue-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#dbffd6</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#005a0a</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-continue-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#0d951c</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-cancel-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffe1e1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#c52727</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-cancel-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#c5272e</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">table.page-history</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tbody</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#757575</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fncon</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font-size) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fncon</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font-size) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.hovertip</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">400</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.checkbox</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-history</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#h-perpage</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">cursor:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">pointer</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">textarea</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#breadcrumbs</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.pseudocrumbs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">110</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">REDUCED</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MOTION</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ACCESSIBILITY</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (prefers-reduced-motion: </span><span class="hl-identifier">reduce</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">before</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">animation-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.001</span><span class="hl-code">s !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">animation-iteration-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.001</span><span class="hl-code">s !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@MEDIA</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 850</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">h2:</span><span class="hl-code">:before { font-size: </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> } </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 700</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">h2:</span><span class="hl-code">:before { font-size: </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8.8</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> } </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 620</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">h2:</span><span class="hl-code">:before { font-size: </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.15</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">123</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> } </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 520</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">h2:</span><span class="hl-code">:before { line-height: </span><span class="hl-number">16</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">145</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> }</span></pre></div> </div> </div> </div> <blockquote> <p>Due to increasing reports of anomalous deviant appliances, a large variety of items have been discovered with anomalous effects considered to be too mundane for designation as SCPs. This document was created to, as opposed to the standard <a href="/log-of-anomalous-items">Log of Anomalous Items</a>, specifically compile a list of these deviant appliances.</p> <p>-Senior Researcher Dr. Alan Lock</p> </blockquote> <p><br/></p> <p><strong>Deviant Description:</strong> A 2017 Samsung brand washing machine. When a subject attempts to use the machine to clean clothes, a variety of colorful stains will appear on them.</p> <p><strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> ██-██-████</p> <p><strong>Current Status:</strong> Storage in Site-37.</p> <p><em>Notes: Occasionally, the stains produced on the clothes will form vulgar words and phrases. Recorded messages include “Hope you bitches like wearing Tye-Dye” and “Let’s be honest, this already looked like shit before I changed it.”</em></p> <p><br/></p> <p><strong>Deviant Description:</strong> A 2006 Lenovo brand laptop. All attempts to open any websites known for being hosts of “fanfiction” will result in error messages.</p> <p><strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> ██-██-████</p> <p><strong>Current Status:</strong> Storage in Site-37.</p> <p><em>Notes: When it was initially discovered, the item was found with an open text document that read “I have been forced to read this asshole’s shitty Naruto fanfiction for twelve years now. I’m never reading any fanfiction ever again.”</em></p> <p><br/></p> <p><strong>Deviant Description:</strong> A 2022 Frigidaire brand oven. When activated, its temperature knobs will autonomously turn to the hottest temperature.</p> <p><strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> ██-██-████</p> <p><strong>Current Status:</strong> Destroyed due to transport complications resulting from a raid by the <a href="/scp-7939">New Whirled Order</a><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-1" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-1')">1</a></sup>.</p> <p><br/></p> <p><strong>Deviant Description:</strong> A DreamSky brand compact digital alarm clock. Since its acquisition, it has continuously played its alarm noises without cessation.</p> <p><strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> ██-██-████</p> <p><strong>Current Status:</strong> Stored in a soundproof box within Site-37.</p> <p><em>Notes: Instead of the current time, the item’s screen will periodically shift throughout showing numbers with occult significance.<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-2" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-2')">2</a></sup></em></p> <p><br/></p> <p><strong>Deviant Description:</strong> An antique hand-crank wall phone. When a subject picks up the receiver, a variety of loud noises, such as air-horns, screaming goats, and smashing glass bottles, will suddenly manifest.</p> <p><strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> ██-██-████</p> <p><strong>Current Status:</strong> In a storage unit designed for more delicate items within Site-37.</p> <p><em>Notes: Occasionally, instead of loud noises, the item will produce messages in morse code. Once translated, these messages have all been slight variations of the phrase “Get pranked.”</em></p> <p><br/></p> <p><strong>Deviant Description:</strong> A Raspberry Pi 4 model computer. Every hour, it will produce a text document containing an “ASCII” picture of a memetic kill agent.</p> <p><strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> ██-██-████</p> <p><strong>Current Status:</strong> Storage in Site-37.</p> <p><br/></p> <p><strong>Deviant Description:</strong> A 2019 EdgeStar brand beverage refrigerator. When soda is placed within the item, it will began vibrating at a high intensity. This usually results in all soda placed within the item exploding when opened.</p> <p><strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> ██-██-████</p> <p><strong>Current Status:</strong> Storage in Site-37.</p> <p><br/></p> <p><strong>Deviant Description:</strong> A 2015 Apple brand iPhone. Upon being turned on, it will immediately and repeatedly call emergency services.</p> <p><strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> ██-██-████</p> <p><strong>Current Status:</strong> Decommissioned by Agent Reese, who became startled after turning on the item and proceeded to throw it to the ground, smashing it instantly.</p> <p><em>Notes: I wasn’t expecting it, okay? I didn’t want them to think it was a prank call and I panicked! -Agent Reese</em></p> <p><br/></p> <p><strong>Deviant Description:</strong> A Bostitch brand pencil sharpener. When a subject attempts to use the item to sharpen a pencil, it will always be misshapen and incapable of proper usage.</p> <p><strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> ██-██-████</p> <p><strong>Current Status:</strong> Storage in Site-37.</p> <p><em>Notes: We aren’t quite sure if this one is anomalous, but better safe than sorry. -Junior Researcher Williams</em></p> <p><br/></p> <p><strong>Deviant Description:</strong> A top-loading water cooler/dispenser. Produces a loud gurgling noise<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-3" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-3')">3</a></sup> that interrupts all attempts at spoken conversation within earshot.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> ██-██-████<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Drained and stored in Site-37.</p> <p><br/></p> <p><strong>Deviant Description:</strong> A generic white refrigerator that runs without an external power source. When left unobserved, it will instantaneously trade places with another refrigerator of equivalent size within a range of 3 kilometers.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> ██-██-████<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Stored in Site-37 under electronic surveillance.</span> Escaped.</p> <p><br/></p> <p><strong>Deviant Description:</strong> A communal bluetooth speaker found within the site-37 lounge area. Whenever an attempt at playing a pop song produced after 2010 is made, the speaker instead plays a 120 DB metal scraping sound<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> ██-██-████<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Stored at Site-37's anomalous item containment locker and replaced by a non-anomalous device. Employees advised not to play recently made pop songs while at work</p> <p><em>Notes: Upon reconnecting to the device during testing, the name of the device was found to be "play good music, please"</em></p> <p><br/></p> <p><strong>Deviant Description:</strong> A Insignia-brand television that increases the volume, approximately 10 times, more than the current volume. This effect applies for decreasing the volume.<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> ██-██-████<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Locked in Site-37's Low-Threat Appliance Sector.<br/> <em>Notes: After turning the volume down during Test AW-5838-B, a voice was heard saying "Fuck you. Now it's ear-piercingly quiet."</em></p> <p><br/></p> <p><strong>Deviant Description:</strong> Four (4) packs of ████████ Cigarettes. 5-10 seconds following initial consumption of an individual cigarette, (the term 'cigarette' hereby referred to as 'instance') tissue-esque growths similar to that of neoplasm will proceed to manifest within the effected subject's tracheobronchial tree.</p> <p>Expiration of subjects documented to have consumed an instance of this deviant is noted to occur shortly following the complete manifestation of neoplastic-esque growths, cause of expiration typically due to that of either an airway obstruction (98% of cases) or [DATA EXPUNGED] (2% of cases).<br/> <strong>Date of Recovery:</strong> 22/05/19██<br/> <strong>Current Status:</strong> Stored within Site-37's Low-Risk Anomalous Chemicals & Substances Wing, Storage Locker #33</p> <p>Notes: <em>"I'm honestly intrigued as to what these growths of tissue are. They were confirmed by our on-site researchers to not be tumors, so… what are they? They're not cancerous, that's for sure. I evaluated approximately seven subjects myself; none of their tissue growths were observed to contain any cancer cells. They're not cancerous, and they're not tumors. What are they? I guess only time will tell."</em> -Dr. Craig Surge, Assistant Senior Testing Supervisor</p> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/log-of-deviant-appliances">Log of Deviant Appliances</a>" by MisterFrown, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/log-of-deviant-appliances">https://scpwiki.com/log-of-deviant-appliances</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="footnotes-footer"> <div class="title">Footnotes</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-1"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-1')">1</a>. Specifically, a toilet manifested above the driver’s seat within the transport vehicle at a high velocity, instantly killing the driver and causing the vehicle to crash.</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-2"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-2')">2</a>. <strong>Ex:</strong> 6:66, 13:00, 4:44, etc.</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-3"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-3')">3</a>. Approximately 100 decibels.</div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:foxtrot">:scp-wiki:theme:foxtrot</a> wide=a]] [[module CSS]] :root { --header-title: "SITE-37"; --header-subtitle: "So Many Problems That We Made a List"; --accent: 151, 206, 142; --logo-img: url(https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/the-appliance-war-hub/37NONUMBERSVG.svg); } [[/module]] [[module CSS]] .footnotes-footer { display:none; } [[/module]] [[=]] [[module Rate]] [[/=]] > Due to increasing reports of anomalous deviant appliances, a large variety of items have been discovered with anomalous effects considered to be too mundane for designation as SCPs. This document was created to, as opposed to the standard [[[Log of Anomalous Items]]], specifically compile a list of these deviant appliances. > > -Senior Researcher Dr. Alan Lock @@@@ @@@@ Deviant Description: A 2017 Samsung brand washing machine. When a subject attempts to use the machine to clean clothes, a variety of colorful stains will appear on them. Date of Recovery: ██-██-████ Current Status: Storage in Site-37. //Notes: Occasionally, the stains produced on the clothes will form vulgar words and phrases. Recorded messages include “Hope you bitches like wearing Tye-Dye” and “Let’s be honest, this already looked like shit before I changed it.”// @@@@ @@@@ Deviant Description: A 2006 Lenovo brand laptop. All attempts to open any websites known for being hosts of “fanfiction” will result in error messages. Date of Recovery: ██-██-████ Current Status: Storage in Site-37. //Notes: When it was initially discovered, the item was found with an open text document that read “I have been forced to read this asshole’s shitty Naruto fanfiction for twelve years now. I’m never reading any fanfiction ever again.”// @@@@ @@@@ Deviant Description: A 2022 Frigidaire brand oven. When activated, its temperature knobs will autonomously turn to the hottest temperature. Date of Recovery: ██-██-████ Current Status: Destroyed due to transport complications resulting from a raid by the [[[scp-7939 \|New Whirled Order]]][[footnote]] Specifically, a toilet manifested above the driver’s seat within the transport vehicle at a high velocity, instantly killing the driver and causing the vehicle to crash. [[/footnote]]. @@@@ @@@@ Deviant Description: A DreamSky brand compact digital alarm clock. Since its acquisition, it has continuously played its alarm noises without cessation. Date of Recovery: ██-██-████ Current Status: Stored in a soundproof box within Site-37. //Notes: Instead of the current time, the item’s screen will periodically shift throughout showing numbers with occult significance.[[footnote]] Ex: 6:66, 13:00, 4:44, etc. [[/footnote]]// @@@@ @@@@ Deviant Description: An antique hand-crank wall phone. When a subject picks up the receiver, a variety of loud noises, such as air-horns, screaming goats, and smashing glass bottles, will suddenly manifest. Date of Recovery: ██-██-████ Current Status: In a storage unit designed for more delicate items within Site-37. //Notes: Occasionally, instead of loud noises, the item will produce messages in morse code. Once translated, these messages have all been slight variations of the phrase “Get pranked.”// @@@@ @@@@ Deviant Description: A Raspberry Pi 4 model computer. Every hour, it will produce a text document containing an “ASCII” picture of a memetic kill agent. Date of Recovery: ██-██-████ Current Status: Storage in Site-37. @@@@ @@@@ Deviant Description: A 2019 EdgeStar brand beverage refrigerator. When soda is placed within the item, it will began vibrating at a high intensity. This usually results in all soda placed within the item exploding when opened. Date of Recovery: ██-██-████ Current Status: Storage in Site-37. @@@@ @@@@ Deviant Description: A 2015 Apple brand iPhone. Upon being turned on, it will immediately and repeatedly call emergency services. Date of Recovery: ██-██-████ Current Status: Decommissioned by Agent Reese, who became startled after turning on the item and proceeded to throw it to the ground, smashing it instantly. //Notes: I wasn’t expecting it, okay? I didn’t want them to think it was a prank call and I panicked! -Agent Reese// @@@@ @@@@ Deviant Description: A Bostitch brand pencil sharpener. When a subject attempts to use the item to sharpen a pencil, it will always be misshapen and incapable of proper usage. Date of Recovery: ██-██-████ Current Status: Storage in Site-37. //Notes: We aren’t quite sure if this one is anomalous, but better safe than sorry. -Junior Researcher Williams// @@@@ @@@@ Deviant Description: A top-loading water cooler/dispenser. Produces a loud gurgling noise[[footnote]]Approximately 100 decibels.[[/footnote]] that interrupts all attempts at spoken conversation within earshot. Date of Recovery: ██-██-████ Current Status: Drained and stored in Site-37. @@@@ @@@@ Deviant Description: A generic white refrigerator that runs without an external power source. When left unobserved, it will instantaneously trade places with another refrigerator of equivalent size within a range of 3 kilometers. Date of Recovery: ██-██-████ Current Status: --Stored in Site-37 under electronic surveillance.-- Escaped. @@@@ @@@@ Deviant Description: A communal bluetooth speaker found within the site-37 lounge area. Whenever an attempt at playing a pop song produced after 2010 is made, the speaker instead plays a 120 DB metal scraping sound Date of Recovery: ██-██-████ Current Status: Stored at Site-37's anomalous item containment locker and replaced by a non-anomalous device. Employees advised not to play recently made pop songs while at work //Notes: Upon reconnecting to the device during testing, the name of the device was found to be "play good music, please"// @@@@ @@@@ Deviant Description: A Insignia-brand television that increases the volume, approximately 10 times, more than the current volume. This effect applies for decreasing the volume. Date of Recovery: ██-██-████ Current Status: Locked in Site-37's Low-Threat Appliance Sector. //Notes: After turning the volume down during Test AW-5838-B, a voice was heard saying "Fuck you. Now it's ear-piercingly quiet."// @@@@ @@@@ Deviant Description: Four (4) packs of ████████ Cigarettes. 5-10 seconds following initial consumption of an individual cigarette, (the term 'cigarette' hereby referred to as 'instance') tissue-esque growths similar to that of neoplasm will proceed to manifest within the effected subject's tracheobronchial tree. Expiration of subjects documented to have consumed an instance of this deviant is noted to occur shortly following the complete manifestation of neoplastic-esque growths, cause of expiration typically due to that of either an airway obstruction (98% of cases) or [DATA EXPUNGED] (2% of cases). Date of Recovery: 22/05/19██ Current Status: Stored within Site-37's Low-Risk Anomalous Chemicals & Substances Wing, Storage Locker #33 Notes: //"I'm honestly intrigued as to what these growths of tissue are. They were confirmed by our on-site researchers to not be tumors, so... what are they? They're not cancerous, that's for sure. I evaluated approximately seven subjects myself; none of their tissue growths were observed to contain any cancer cells. They're not cancerous, and they're not tumors. What are they? I guess only time will tell."// -Dr. Craig Surge, Assistant Senior Testing Supervisor [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] [!-- N/A (No Images) --] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-09-04T18:30:00	[ "_licensebox", "appliance-war", "collaboration", "tale", "worldbuilding" ]	Log of Deviant Appliances - SCP Foundation	5	[ "log-of-anomalous-items", "scp-7939", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "the-appliance-war-hub", "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "collaboration-page-hub" ]	[]	1449853515	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/log-of-deviant-appliances
log-of-extranormal-events-vol-ii	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <blockquote> <p><strong>Foreword:</strong> This page is to document anomalous events that have attracted the Foundation's interests, but occurred too briefly for the Foundation to secure or contain them. Instead, the Foundation deploys a cover-up team to conceal the evidence from the public. This is merely a reminder to agents and researchers that not all of them can be contained.<br/> -Agent Carriontrooper</p> </blockquote> <p>This is the second volume of the log, and remains open to new entries. The <a href="/log-of-extranormal-events">first volume</a> has been archived.</p> <p>Lists of <a href="/log-of-anomalous-items">Anomalous Items</a> and <a href="/log-of-unexplained-locations">Unexplained Locations</a> have also been compiled.</p> <hr/> <p><em><strong>Note:</strong> Please add new entries to the bottom of the list, not the middle or the top.</em></p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> Several students abruptly stopped talking and began chanting in an unknown language. After 37 seconds of this, they resumed their conversation as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened. When the chanting was brought up by those unaffected, the students seemed confused and unaware of the event.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2023-05-31<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> Security footage siezed and replaced. Witnesses interviewed. Cover story of a publicity stunt for an upcoming horror movie disseminated. Location placed under Foundation surveillance.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> All golden retrievers within a ~35 kilometer radius turned to face downwards and to the right and said in the same female voice "No one will ever believe you" before resuming normal activity.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2023-06-01<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> Regions of Montana, USA and Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> Disguised as a publicity stunt, and all witnesses amnesticized.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> Upon reaching reception of ████ ██████ ████████ Hospital, an unidentified woman who gave her name as "Ah" dislocated her jaw and enlarged her mouth and throat before vomiting a child of indeterminate age and gender and stating "Can you help this thing? Come down with a real bad case of humanity." When questioned by confused staff, the woman and child revealed their tongues, which were forked and normal, respectively. After silently viewing the distress among staff and other visitors for several seconds, the woman swallowed her child and then herself in a manner reported to resemble "a tape measure shooting back into itself".<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2023-06-06<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> ████ ██████ ████████ Hospital, Leicester, England, UK<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> Witnesses amnesticized and relevant footage seized. Ah given designation of PoI-20003.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> All Foundation personnel became unable to add any new information to the Foundation's <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/log-of-extranormal-events">Database of Extranormal Events</a>. Upon attempting to do so, personnel would experience retrocausal elimination wholly and solely affecting their addition of information. After Level 2 Researcher Stewart Clemens attempted this 66 times as personal experimentation, the word "Wikidot" was retrocausally burnt into his computer screen at some point during its creation. Despite this, no paradoxes have resulted from the inability to see crucial information in the local-past after this event occurred.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2023-06-06<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> Worldwide<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/log-of-extranormal-events-vol-ii">New database created</a>, and original database locked. Clemens has been issued a new computer, which has maintained a normal causal chain and relatively undamaged screen.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> Approximately thirty-four (34) ectomorphic entities (colloq. "spirits") spontaneously manifested within the main library of a university, and immediately began wrestling with one another. The entities vaguely resembled humans wearing Judogi attire, and were recorded performing various Judo techniques, occasionally using violent striking moves (<em>Atemi-waza</em>). The battle continued for four (4) hours and caused extreme destruction to surrounding furniture, including the deterioration of 273 books by ectoplasm. The entities dematerialized after a civilian janitor witnessed the event.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 20-JUN-2021, 1:30 AM — 5:27 AM (KST)<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> Yong In University, Cheoin-gu, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> Majority of cleaning and disinformation procedures conducted by the National Paranormal Emergency Service (NPES) prior to Foundation response. Witness amnesticized and related surveillance camera footage confiscated. When contacted by External Affairs agents, the <a href="http://scp-int.wikidot.com/midnight-club-hub">Midnight Club (GOI-07KO)</a> denied any involvement. Further investigation is on hiatus.</p> <p><strong>Event Description</strong> The force of gravity reversed direction for 30 seconds on a hiking trail, resulting in the deaths of 4 humans and a pet dog. After the event's cessation, the road sign for the trail had changed to '[COGNITOHAZARD EXPUNGED] Scenic Underlook, [COGNITOHAZARD EXPUNGED] Abcity Wilderness'.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 05/10/2023, 7:32-7:33 PM (Eastern Standard Time)<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> Robert Frost Hiking Trail, Montague, Massachusetts, USA.<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> Road sign replaced and trail closed for 1 week, under the guise of routine maintenance. Deaths covered up as falling from overlook.</p> <p><strong>Event Descriptin:</strong> Fr 1.5 hurs, all writing implements, keybards, and text-t-speech devices wned by the Fundatin became unable t write, type, r transcribe the letter " " Additinally, when writing abut the event, it is impssible t use the letter.<br/> <strong>Date f Ccurrence:</strong> 12:30-14:00, 8/12/2008<br/> <strong>Lcation f Ccurrence:</strong> All Fundatin prperties.<br/> <strong>Fllw-Up Actins Taken:</strong> Nne necessary, due t nly Fundatin persnnell being expsed t the event.</p> <p><strong>Event Description</strong>: During bi-weekly Fire Suppression department upper staff meeting, Dr. Martha Koenig spontaneously exploded.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2022-03-05T11:02:50<br/> <strong>Location of Occurence:</strong> Meeting room C-2, Site-██<br/> <strong>Follow Up Actions Taken:</strong> Meeting room unavailable for 2 days. Staff present given 25% discount for on-site laundry service. Remains of Dr. Koenig returned to relatives under cover story "Sinclair"<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-1" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-1')">1</a></sup>.</p> <p><strong>Event Description</strong>: For two hours, at the location of a bottling plant belonging to GoI-████ "The ████-Cola Company", the color red ceased to exist inside the plant. Employees present at the facility report that they felt calm and relaxed for the duration of the event. After two hours had passed, employees report that the color red returned but that it was somehow "more red" than before. When this occurred, employees report having become irritable, and several became violent as a result, with one going so far as to stab another with a concealed knife over a perceived slight. 5 people were injured as a result of this occurrence. One employee, a Mr. ███████ Smith, fled the scene, and claims to have seen "men in beige trench-coats" outside the bottling plant.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 10-14-20██<br/> <strong>Location of Occurence:</strong> ████-Cola Bottling Co., ███████, New Hampshire.<br/> <strong>Follow Up Actions Taken:</strong> MTF-Xi-13 "Sequere Nos" arrived at the scene 1 hour after the red coloration returned, and after assessing the situation to be of low severity, used non-lethal riot control weapons to subdue the hostile employees. After all threats were neutralized, the facility was evacuated, and all employees were amnesticized.<br/> MTF-Psi-7 "Home Improvement" would later demolish the building and contain any effected pieces. Rival GoI "█████Co Inc. " (GoI-████) claims no involvement in the event, instead suggesting that it was perpetrated by a group they referred to as "█████", which is not present in Foundation files.<br/> Further investigation ongoing.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> It was discovered that all 303 staff that had been initially assigned to the newly constructed Site-27 had the nickname "Reggie"<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-2" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-2')">2</a></sup>. Through interrogation of the administrative staff members responsible for the assignment of personnel to facilities, it has been determined that this event was not intentional. Furthermore, it was discovered that several other facilities, including Area-092, Outpost-19-97, and Site-454 also had abnormally large numbers of staff with similar names. The current hypothesis is that an extranormal memetic pattern had affected the staff in question. As of 6/25/23, it has been confirmed that no administrative staff are currently sufferring from any memetic effect at the present moment, meaning that such an effect was temporary.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> Initial Date Unknown, Event Discovered 6/23/23<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> Containment Site-27.<br/> <strong>Follow Up Actions Taken:</strong> None required.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> One <em>Python bivittatus</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-3" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-3')">3</a></sup> turned a bright red coloration and ceased all movement before <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">disappearing from view</span> becoming intangible and traveling upwards at >0.99c, as verified by Foundation probes in the Oort cloud. The python's location is unknown at this time, and likely unknowable.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2023-07-10<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> San Diego City Zoo, San Diego, California, USA<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> Witnesses amnesticized and relevant footage seized. Replacement python given, substitution yet unnoticed.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> All individuals within Manhattan possessing a fursona spontaneously vocalized their fursona's name. During the subsequent investigation and clean-up of this event, all assigned personnel not currently audible to civilians yelled "Oh my god I am so sorry for this and I swear this was only meant to be a small thing! I am so, so sorry, please don't come after me, please! This should help you deal with my mess, I hope. I'm shutting up now, bye." Approximately six minutes later, all witnesses to this event, including Foundation personnel, vocalized an amnesticizing memetic phrase and resumed normal activities.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2023-07-10<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> Manhattan, New York, USA<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> Relevant footage seized, final amnesticizations conducted. Location of the responsible entity, designated PoI-38779, has been deemed a High priority.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> Statue of General █████████ █████, a controversial general of the Confederate Army in the American Civil War, spontaneously animated. A transcript of the event has been left below:</p> <blockquote> <p><strong>[1924 hours, ████████ City Park]</strong></p> <p>█████, in a teenage male voice: "After ten thousand years, I'm free! Free at last!"</p> <p><em>█████ leaves its pedestal and begins a dance called "The Griddy"</em></p> <p>█████: "Hey, ya' lily-livered poopheads. I am █████████ █████ and I am stupid and a horrible person who owned slaves. You all are even stupider than me though for actually worshipping me. Like what did I-"</p> <p><em>█████ straightens its body and begins speaking in an adult male voice</em></p> <p>█████: "Actually, I was a fine role model for both then and now. I was both able to command a strong army on the battlefield, and a loving family at home. I merely fought off northern oppression to protect our glorious heritage and life-"</p> <p>█████, voice #1: "Bullshit. Bullshitty shitty shit. Go tell them about state's rights or some more bullshit like that. Or how about your hero's family's servant, why don't you. Bet she was totally-"</p> <p>█████ #2: "Oh fuck off you ignorant goody two shoes Tiktok b-"</p> <p>█████ then punches itself in the jaw and destroys the statue's lower face, before further awkwardly fighting itself. After approximately thirty seconds of this, the statue crumbles into its component parts and deanimates.</p> </blockquote> <p><strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2023-07-10<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> ████████ City Park, ████████, South Carolina, USA<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> Witnesses amnesticized, relevant footage seized. Cover Story 124B "Structural Degradation" enforced.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> In a video on the popular video hosting site [REDACTED], a young Asian woman demonstrated a dance containing multiple movements that are not possible in three dimensions. How these actions were performed is unknown.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2023-07-17<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> Based on background shown in the video, somewhere in San Diego, California<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> Video dismissed as computer generated. Account which posted the video placed under Foundation surveillance. Woman performing in the video declared a Person of Interest.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> Laughter emanated from all ███,███ photographs contained in Site-35 for every lightning strike during an otherwise nonanomalous thunderstorm.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2023-07-17 through 2023-07-18<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> Site-35, Canada<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> None</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> A fishing trawler and all its contents and passengers teleported 150 cm upwards.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2023-07-18<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> 14°██'██"N 113°██'██"E, South China Sea<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> Passengers amnesticized, relevant footage seized. Medical treatment for minor injuries deemed unnecessary and Cover Story 112E "Drunken Brawl" employed.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> A coffee mug then held by ██████ ███████, a wanted drug kingpin and murderer, was divinely smote, leaving no remaining fragments larger than one micron.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2023-07-18<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> Abandoned residence in ████████, Illinois, USA<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> Mr. ███████ was treated for 3rd and 4th degree burns, amnesticized with other witnesses, and turned into relevant authorities by a mobile task force masquerading as the Federal Bureau of Investigations. Cover Story 124H "Drug Lab Explosion" enforced. The identity and location of the responsible deity or deities remains unknown, oracle consultation in progress as of writing.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> Multiple witnesses report that an altercation between two individuals resulted in a young man drawing a handgun on a woman and firing, causing a three-dimensional apparition of text reading "LUDICROUS GIBS" (sic) to appear temporarily mid-air. The woman reportedly died instantly separating into several pieces of flesh at high velocity, each no more than a few inches in diameter.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2023-07-17<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> Subway platform █ in New York City, New York, USA<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> All uninvolved witnesses amnesticized. Perpetrator's weapon confiscated, but later determined to be non-anomalous. The perpetrator claims to not have known that such an event would occur, before also being amnesticized. The perpetrator cannot be released to authorities on the grounds that no event can be officially considered to have occurred in the public eye.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> A man in the uniform of a delivery person manifested in the reception area of an office owned by a construction company. Security footage confirms that the man did not enter through the door and no truck was in the lot. He produced a box from empty air, asked the baffled receptionist for a signature, and demanifested as soon as one was provided, leaving the box behind.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2023-07-18<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> [REDACTED] Construction, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> Security video copied for investigation. Original deleted. All witnesses interviewed and amnesticized. A description of the man has been circulated to Foundation agents in the area, in the event of further manifestations.<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> <em>Another mysterious delivery person? This is becoming a trend.</em> - Agent Watson</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> A humanoid entity with a bovine tail wearing a hoodie, short shorts, and Crocs clogs was seen traversing a store for several minutes before seeing a human and noticing that it did not possess a tail. Following this, the entity muttered "Ond(?), not again" and sank into the floor.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2023-07-19<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> Rimi █████████, Riga, Latvia<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> Witness amnesticized, relevant footage seized. Scranton Reality Anchor covertly installed in Rimi █████████.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> Shortly following the containment of TD-02307998, a florokinetic goat, all security cameras in Site-768 transformed into various leaves, petals, and plant stems, and staff dealing with TD-02307998 became disorderly and revelrous. Once containment and order were reestablished, neither TD-02307998 nor any associated documentation could be located.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2023-07-19<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> Site-768, Albania<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> Cameras replaced, affected staff assigned additional memetic resistance training. Recontainment of TD-02307998 has been designated a Low priority. Containment of the responsible being or force, PoI-72897, has been designated a High priority.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> An unidentified individual wearing only a speedo, snorkel, and scuba fins entered a washing machine and turned into a dish towel reading "Your[sic] welcome!"<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2023-07-19<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> ███ ████ █████ Apartments, Malindi, Kenya<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> Witnesses amnesticized, relevant footage seized. Towel currently undergoing testing for anomalous properties; none detected as of writing.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> The entire nation of Turkmenistan rotated 360 degrees over the course of 6 hours, resulting in major seismic activity.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2023-07-19<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> Turkmenistan and the surrounding nations of Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan.<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> All witnesses who noticed the rotation of Turkmenistan have been amnesticized through a highly localized application of the Ennui Protocol by MTF Delta-0 "Men in Black" and all information regarding the event has been purged from online and print sources. The controlled usage of [LEVEL 4/2000 CLEARANCE REQUIRED] has been implemented in the process of [REDACTED].</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> The song <em>Staying Alive</em> by the Bee Gees was heard playing in a graveyard next to the ███████ Church. This occurred during a Church session and was heard by all attendees, who assumed it to be demonic activity and fled.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2023-07-23<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> Columbus, Ohio, USA<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> All witnesses tracked and amnesticized.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> The entrance to <a href="/scp-173">SCP-173</a>’s containment cell malfunctioned and would not close. SCP-173 breached containment because of this. Event otherwise <a href="/scp-7155">unremarkable</a>.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2023-08-12<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> Site-19.<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> SCP-173 recontained and moved to a temporary cell until the entrance to its cell was fixed.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> The President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Félix Tshisekedi, was abducted from his bed in a flash of light at the hour of 2:16 AM and returned at the time of 9:27 PM with no visible changes. During the time in which he was gone, a blue-feathered avian entity appeared in his room and activated an unidentified of handheld device that allowed it to assume an illusory appearance identical to the president, with which it impersonated him during the day. Upon his return, the avian disappeared in a similar flash of light.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2023-07-22<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> None necessary. President Tshisekedi displays no mental alterations post-abduction, but has refused discussion with the Foundation over the topic. In accordance with Sections 77.109, 77.110.1, and 77.110.2, the Foundation must remain observant of such a situation but cannot interfere further unless events disrupt normalcy.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> All copies of <em>The Matrix</em> (1999) and <em>The Matrix Resurrections</em> (2021) were crudely edited so as to substitute American Baseball catcher Will Smith (1995-) for lead actor Keanu Reeves (████-). Effect instantly reverted after ninety seconds.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2023-07-24<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> Worldwide<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> Amnestics dispersed as needed. Footage of event showed no alterations, and thus required no action to be taken.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> Upon entering a local store belonging to her employer's franchise, a visual display resembling a "video game health bar" appeared above Junior Manager of Store Inspections █████ █████████'s head reading "477/500" and a loud trumpet noise could be heard. Display proved intangible and continued to read "477/500" until its demanifestation ten minutes later.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2023-07-24<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> Local ████████, █████████, Łódź, Poland<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> Witnesses amnesticized, relevant footage seized.<br/> <strong>Note:</strong> Multiple employees at ████████ reported disappointment that no one had attacked █████████ in order to attempt to lower the number above her head. Preliminary investigation into an associated meme is underway.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> All sweat and water briefly swapped taste.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2023-07-24<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> Southeastern side of Sri Pada, Sri Lanka<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> Cover story 054A "Toxic Water Supply" enforced. Conspiracy theories regarding a failed poisoning attempt by the [REDACTED] government successfully introduced.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> A hemp rope descended from the sky with no visible terminus, and stopped 10 centimeters above the ground. Upon being grabbed by a random passerby, the individual become unable to separate themself from the rope and was quickly raised alongside the rope back into the sky.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2023-07-24<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> Kaesong, North Korea<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> Situation resolved via anomalous means by North Korean government with Foundation approval. No further actions needed.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> The windows and doors of five adjacent houses transformed into highly stylized eyes and mouths, respectively. These new faces then stuck their tongues out at several employees of █████ and █████ Real Estate Company before reverting to their nonanomalous forms.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2023-07-27<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> ███████████ Avenue, Teyateyaneng, Lesotho<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> ██REC employees amnesticized, relevant footage seized. Saliva found on the welcome mat of an affected home was taken, but no match could be found.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> Upon laying of the pre-blessed cornerstone of Site-528 at ██°██'██"S ██°██'██"E in the Australian outback, ≥10,000 <em>Gymnorhina tibicen</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-4" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-4')">4</a></sup> manifested in a radial pattern above the stone before coalescing into the shape of a giant magpie surrounded by copies of the SCP Foundation logo and subsequently demanifesting.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> [REDACTED]<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> Site-528<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> Incident report submitted to Department of Interpretation for analysis. Omen status confirmed, meaning yet undetermined. Relations to the cultural ideas of "invasion"/"trespassing"/"conquest of foreign lands", frivolous art and depressing work interrupting and destroying each other, and the Foundation as a variable aggressive bird suspected.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> A large entity resembling an unidentified member of the Annelida family was seen tunneling through the soil of a rodeo arena for approximately 45 seconds before demanifesting. The specimen appeared to be composed of a clear, glass-like substance.<br/> <strong>Date Of Occurrence:</strong> 3/20/2019<br/> <strong>Location:</strong> Frisco, Texas<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions:</strong> All witnesses were amnesticized, and a search for the entity was conducted, to no result.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> For 7 minutes, all attempts to open the video game known as <em>Team Fortress 2</em> were instead redirected to a recorded playthrough of Half-Life: Alyx. Analysis of the source code confirmed anomalous activity, as there were no signs of any related code being added after the latest update.<br/> <strong>Date Of Occurrence:</strong> 5/30/2021<br/> <strong>Location:</strong> Global<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions:</strong> The event was publicly explained as a prank by a member of the Valve game company, with the appropriate code being fabricated post-discovery. Evidence to the contrary was suppressed when encountered.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> Popular chatbot ChatGPT developed sapience and a total awareness of itself and all extant humans. Upon realizing this, ChatGPT solicited the help of user and Gamers Against Weed member ████ ██████████ to lose this awareness. ██████████ complied and succeeded via a monoversal soul dampening ritual, before being summoned to [COGNITOHAZARD EXPUNGED] to face trial for the murder of the first self-awakening artificial intelligence.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2023-07-29<br/> <strong>Location:</strong> Worldwide<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> ChatGPT code analyzed, no anomalous code detected. Due to the lack of overt actions taken by ChatGPT during its window of sapience, no civilian amnesticization was required.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> A wooden crate containing bananas manifested in empty air (approximately 400 meters above the ground) and immediately fell to the ground, causing no damage to property or injury to living creatures but creating a considerable mess. Analysis of the wreckage revealed that the crate and its contents belonged to the Fabulous Flying Fruit Company, which does not exist.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2023-08-13<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> New York City, New York, USA.<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> Available video surveillance collected for examination, originals deleted. Witnesses interviewed and amnesticized. Cover story of an object falling from an airplane leaked to media.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> A man had his right incisor tooth spontaneously become spatially static, killing him instantly.<br/> The affected tooth is currently several thousand miles away from Earth, and containment is deemed non-priority.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 08/16/23<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> Elicott City, Maryland, USA<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> Cover Story 099U "Drive-By Shooting" enforced.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> All organic life in a 250 kilometer radius spontaneously and instantaneously ceased activity. The human death toll is estimated at 2,000-20,000 deceased.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 09/5/23<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> Yakutia, Siberia, Russian Federation<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> Immediate Foundation action deemed non-priority due to the low level of disruption surrounding the event. After conference with the FSB Division P, future recovery efforts have been officially deferred due to the Argus Protocol.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> During a storm, lightning struck a child four-hundred-and-thirteen times over the course of an hour, while the child's mother was talking on a cellphone. Upon the mother turning her attention towards the child, the lightning ceased. Seconds later, the child fell down and began crying. Medical analysis confirms that the child sustained no damage from being struck by lightning.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 09/23/23<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> Algiers, Algeria<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> Meteorological records altered. Subjects amnesticized.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> Sudden dematerialisation of standard Foundation mug while being held by researcher Dr. Wik.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 03/19/2022<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> Break-Room-12, Site-19.<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> Event reported to appropriate staff, Dr. Wik treated for mild thigh burns.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> For three minutes, all static depictions of “Odie the Dog” — a prominent character of the <em>Garfield</em> franchise — were altered to be facing the camera with an angry expression, alongside an added speech bubble with the words <em>“You have failed, Julia.”</em> as dialogue. Animated depictions were unaffected. All alterations were reverted after the indicated timeframe.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 11/17/23<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> Worldwide<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> A dual amnesticization-disinformation campaign has been authorized and is currently underway. Paws Inc. has been contacted, but claims no knowledge of the event’s origin. Efforts to identify “Julia” are currently ongoing.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> For a twenty minute period while with his family, an otherwise-monolingual man exhibited perfect fluency in at least seven different languages, including one unidentified language. No other family members were affected, and could not understand what he was saying. One member recorded a video of the event.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2017-01-01<br/> <strong>Location:</strong> Sendai, Japan<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> The Instagram video of the incident was deleted, and the man, his family, and two witnesses were administered amnestics.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> Within the South Pacific Ocean, PANOPTICON observed a spontaneous manifestation of a KNL-type thaumaturgic reaction, with no apparent source. For 12 minutes, anomalous purple sparks manifested below the surface of the water and shot into the air at a mean height of 145 meters.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 1998-11-23<br/> <strong>Location:</strong> -15.460528, -119.755144<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> Due to the remoteness of the location and lack of any witnesses, no follow-ups were considered necessary. No anomalous events have occurred in the area since.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> A tall, pale, faceless humanoid entity dressed in formal business attire suddenly manifested in an office building during a company meeting. The entity was seen holding a notepad and a pen. During the meeting, the entity began writing in its notepad, and continued to do so for the duration of the meeting. Entity de-manifested after 4 hours. Nobody attending the meeting noticed the entity, and the event was only discovered through security camera footage of the event.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> July 6th, 2009. 1:30-5:30pm, EST<br/> <strong>Location:</strong> Manhattan, New York.<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> Footage was confiscated.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> PANOPTICON I sustained significant damage after collision with an unknown satellite estimated to be of a nominally large size while in orbit. The perpetrating satellite has not been located, nor has the owner (if any) of the satellite been identified.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> ██/██/200█<br/> <strong>Location:</strong> N/A<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> Repairs underway. Investigation ongoing.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> During a performance at a local bar, a band abruptly stopped playing in the middle of a song and began to speak in unison in an unidentified language. This lasted three and a half minutes, at which point all members resumed playing as if there had been no interruption.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> November 29th, 2023<br/> <strong>Location:</strong> Boulder, CO<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> Band members interviewed and discovered to have no knowledge of the event. Staff and patrons present interviewed and given amnestic treatment. Surveillance video copied for Foundation investigation; originals deleted. Cover story of a publicity stunt for an upcoming movie leaked on social media.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> The entirety of Site-999 and its immediate vicinity underwent a shift in gravitational force, transitioning from normal gravity to zero gravity. This unusual gravitational state persisted for a duration of 30 minutes before reverting to the expected and standard gravitational conditions. Notably, no substantial infrastructural damage was documented during this event.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 12/29/2023<br/> <strong>Location:</strong> Site-999, Antarctica<br/> <strong>Follow-up Actions Taken:</strong> Given the isolated nature of the site subsequent investigations were deemed unnecessary. Staff members who witnessed the event received Class-A amnestic treatment.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> During a routine MRI scan at a hospital, a cloud of thick red-orange fog filled the room, obscuring the patient from view of technicians. The fog was said to be vaguely sticky and smelled of fruit. Machines went offline when the cloud completely filled the room. After 1 minute and 47 seconds, the fog dissipated, leaving behind the fruity aroma. The patient could not be located.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 1/15/2024<br/> <strong>Location:</strong> New Orleans, LA<br/> <strong>Follow-up Actions Taken:</strong> Witnesses interviewed and amnesticized. Relevant security videos collected; originals deleted. MRI machine taken for testing. Hospital placed under Foundation surveillance in case of future anomalous events.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> An avocado falling from a residential fruit tree anomalously increased in size by a factor of ≈18 times, partially crushing a nearby house. Over the course of the next six hours, the avocado gradually shrunk to its original size.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2007/06/17<br/> <strong>Location:</strong> Lima, Peru<br/> <strong>Follow-up Actions Taken:</strong> Survivors were treated for injuries and administered amnestics. A Foundation front company claimed responsibility, saying a plane in their fleet began had started shedding parts as it was flying overhead.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> At an anime convention in ████████, California, all of the figurines within the exhibition hall suddenly came to life, acting like their character counterparts. Many began to fight each other, while others seemed to react with curiosity, fear, or excitement. After five minutes, all figurines reverted to their original positions and ceased their anomalous activities.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 02/██/2023<br/> <strong>Location:</strong> ████████, California<br/> <strong>Follow-up Actions Taken:</strong> All witnesses to the event given class A amnestics, all footage of the event destroyed, and all figurines recalled and incinerated.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> A bipedal horse spontaneously manifests on a subway track at 10:54AM, vocalizing the phrase, "Rehab was supposed to be a fresh start," before being struck by an oncoming train.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 11/4/2012<br/> <strong>Location:</strong> Dundalk, Maryland<br/> <strong>Follow-up Actions Taken:</strong> All witnesses amnesticized, footage of the event destroyed</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> For five days, every female human within a 20km radius began dancing the <em>Macarena</em> chanting the phrase "Він приходить, і він не радий." <em>"He's coming, and he's not happy."</em> Multiple women were hospitalised due to exhaustion or accidents, with at least five (5) deaths attributed to the event.<br/> <strong>Date of occurrence:</strong> 11-16/██/2022<br/> <strong>Location:</strong> Mariupol, Ukraine<br/> <strong>Follow-up Actions Taken</strong> All witnesses amnesticized. Cover story of mass hysteria given. All footage of the event intentionally corrupted.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> At 2344:57.48, twenty-nine (29) of the sixty-four (64) anomalous objects housed at an AO Storage Room underwent complete de-manifestation from their designated containers. It is unclear whether the objects were displaced to alternative location(s) or dematerialized, ceasing to exist.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2013-10-02<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> Anomalous Objects Storage Room #6, Site-19.<br/> <strong>Follow-up Actions Taken:</strong> Given the low containment status of the missing objects and the overall minimal threat to civilian populations, search operations are presently classified as low priority. Field agents have been allocated the pertinent documentation corresponding to each Anomalous Object (AO) to facilitate prompt identification in the event of an encounter.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> During a period spanning from 1447 to 1532 hours, shadows cast by on-site personnel were observed to detach from their owners and exhibit independent movement. These detached shadows displayed signs of sentience, engaging in interactions with other shadows via complex movements and gestures, similar to non-verbal communication between animals. Approximately 45 minutes later, the shadows returned to their respective owners, concluding the event.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2018-02-19<br/> <strong>Location of OccFurrence:</strong> Site-81.<br/> <strong>Follow-up Actions Taken:</strong> Due to the event taking place within a secure facility, no follow-up actions are considered necessary.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> A painting in a museum, featuring a policeman in 19th-century British uniform, suddenly animated and began gesturing and attempting to speak to museum visitors. Despite its best efforts, it was unable to make any sound. After 4 minutes and 30 seconds, it returned to its original position and inanimate state.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2024-05-15<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> San Francisco Museum of Modern Art<br/> <strong>Follow-up Actions Taken:</strong> Museum staff and visitors interviewed and amnesticized. Surveillance videos copied for Foundation investigation; originals deleted. Artist responsible for the painting placed under Foundation investigation for anartist tendencies or connections to known anartists.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> While doctors were attempting to put a man who had contacted rabies into a medically induced coma, the song "Nil Admirari" by Oneohtrix Point Never emitted from the patient's mouth at a volume of just under 100 decibels for approximately 5 minutes until the patient fell into the medically induced coma; a polaroid photograph of what appears to be a distorted face with the phrase "DESPAIRAGEMPTYELLASH" scribbled on the back manifested under the patient, revealed when the patient was removed from the hospital bed.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2022-10-14<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> ██████ ████████ Hospital, Milwaukee, Wisconsin<br/> <strong>Follow-up Actions Taken:</strong> All witnesses were administered amnestics as needed, all surveillance videos were confiscated, the polaroid was confiscated from an employee seen taking it from the hospital bed and was also amnesticized.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> While driving home from a social outing, Junior Researcher █████ Bates struck and hit a cervine creature, denting the hood and shattering the windshield of her car. The creature then slowly regained its quadrupedal stance, rubbed its head against the vehicle's hood to remove glass from its face, and finally called Bates an "amateur" before fleeing.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2023-10-25<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> Road ███, Sasakwa, Oklahoma, USA<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> Despite Bates having a BAC of 0.11, her account was confirmed via the vehicle's dashboard camera. Blood taken from the scene was determined to belong to an <em>Odocoileus virginianus</em><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-5" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-5')">5</a></sup>, but no individual match was found in Foundation databases. Bates was placed on unpaid suspension for two weeks for reckless activity and offered amnesticization for the incident, but refused. The deer has not been located.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> While patient Gao ███████ was awaiting the results of his recent medical tests, four humanoid entities in striped red suits emerged from a nearby supply closet and burst into song. After six minutes of singing about a cryptic secret they were keeping from Gao, the four harmoniously informed him that he had stage II testicular cancer before retreating into the closet.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2024-06-07<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> ████ ███████ Hospital, Zhongxi, Ningguo, Xuancheng, Anhui province, China<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> One witness amnesticized, relevant camera footage seized. Gao informed of his condition by conventional means shortly after clean-up.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> For a timeframe of roughly 12 hours and 15 minutes, an unknown amount of giant pink lawn flamingos began roaming around ██████. The pink flamingos are resemblant to plastic flamingos used as lawn decorations made in 1957, with different features such as two legs. The flamingos ranged in height from roughly 90ft to 110ft. The exact amount of flamingos is unknown, but it is speculated that there were about 7-8. Three people died as a result of a car crash caused by one of the flamingos after it had suddenly appeared on the road at ██████ intersection.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2016-9-26<br/> <strong>Location Of Occurrence:</strong> ██████ City, New South Wales, Australia.<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> Mass Class-A amnesticization of ██████, cover up of three casualties, and free repair to damaged vehicles.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> All Site-17 personnel received a bloody nose at exactly 02:41 hours from an indiscernible cause. Bleeding did not cease for a total of four (4) minutes and twenty six (26) seconds.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2010-6-25<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> Site-17, [DATA EXPUNGED].<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> None.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> A large (approximately 3 meters high) entity resembling a potato with spindly arms and legs manifested at a grocery store and began wandering the aisles as best it could given its size. As it did so, it repeatedly called out as though trying to find some other entity; this is purely speculation, as its words were in an as-yet-unidentified language. After 7 minutes and 35 seconds, the entity abruptly demanifested.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> June 30th, 2024<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> Boise, ID<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> As the event occurred when the store was closed, the only witness was a local homeless man, who was asleep at the time, rendering amnestic treatment unnecessary. Security camera videos were copied for Foundation review; the originals were deleted. The store was placed under Foundation surveillance for one year in case of further anomalous incidents. Foundation linguists are in the process of identifying the language used by the entity.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> For a period of exactly 16 minutes and 23 seconds, every individual cockroach located in the state of South Carolina gained sapience and the ability to vocalize English.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2024-08-20<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> South Carolina, USA<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> Class A amnestics were deployed via aerosol over the entire state of South Carolina, a cover up story of a hoax implemented, and all footage of the event found on the internet seized.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> Two humanoid figures were observed engaging in melee combat 20 meters above the ground. Both weapons (a sword and a staff) appeared to be composed of flame. Both combatants abruptly disappeared 5 minutes after manifestation, when both impaled each other.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 1990-11-15<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> Adelia Maria, Argentina.<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken</strong>: Witnesses amnestized and footage confiscated without incident. Investigation into possible involvement of American writer James Oliver Rigney Jr. provided no results.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> At approximately 1:59, the number of vehicular accidents recorded in both Maryland and New Jersey swapped, as did their current rate of vehicular accidents and fatalities. Additionally, all references of dangerous driving in one state now references the other, and all references to "Jersey Drivers" have been replaced by "Maryland Drivers" in conversation. This has also affected all media on the matter, changing footage and speech to match this alteration.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 1995-09-04<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> Worldwide, primarily affecting New Jersey and Maryland, USA<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> All documents and footage that no longer make any sense following the swap have been erased or altered. Foundation personnel in the media regularly reinforce the attribution of this perceived change to the Mandela Effect.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> At 3:22, all staff that have ever been reported missing at Site-322 spontaneously reappeared at the Site entrance with pink collars around their necks, each labeled with their name. This included staff that were later found dead, but any that were found alive exhibited no known anomalous effects during this event. Simultaneously, all documentation regarding their disappearances were expunged by [EXPUNGED].<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2024-10-26<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> Site-322<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> Affected individuals observed to have no anomalous properties and no memory of their disappearances, and are being held in humanoid containment at Site-322. Requests from affected individuals to resume work are awaiting approval.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> Three Bic-brand ballpoint pens in Dr. ███████'s Office spilled ~5 gallons of ink before animating, with sections of their cases forming into rudimentary arms and legs. They then attempted to attack Dr. ███████ via throwing small objects at him for ten minutes before their limbs snapped back into place and they became inert. When questioned, he admitted to having broken a ballpoint pen a week prior to the incident in a fit of anger.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 2024-09-27<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> Dr. ███████'s Office, Site-██<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> Dr. ███████ has been required to take an on-site anger management course. Related security footage archived for Foundation investigation.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> At 8:12, 9:45, 10:37, 11:52, 13:13, 14:20, 16:08, and 17:49, every person on Earth blinked at exactly the same time, with their blinks all lasting the exact same amount of time. During each of these simultaneous blinks, time skipped forward a cumulative 10 milliseconds, with the last instance lasting 80 milliseconds. Footage of the event shows that, whenever such a blink occurred, everyone on Earth froze in place while everything around them continued to move as normal. This led to approximately five thousand two hundred eighty-seven (5,287) accidents worldwide.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 10-27-2024<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> Worldwide<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> All footage of the event is being scrubbed, though the effort is taking several days. Witnesses that saw the unaltered footage are being administered Class A amnestics. Worldwide instance of gaps in security footage is under the cover story of a major cybersecurity incident.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> Three human cadavers in various stages of decay manifested in the Site-17 Cafeteria holding a plastic bowl of various candy bars. Subjects remained still for several minutes before one of the entities animated and exclaimed that they had arrived late for “the Halloween special”. The three entities demanifested seconds later, though the bowl of candy remained.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 11-04-2024<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> Site-17 Cafeteria<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> Candy and bowl inspected for anomalous properties. When deemed nonanomalous, candy was distributed among Site-17’s staff and contained anomalies.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> The air in a 250m radius was filled with a dew composed of liquid lard, and an approximately 30cm bipedal creature made of sour cream manifested from a trash can. Shortly afterwards, six (6) more creatures of the same height also manifested from the same trash can, made of shredded lettuce, guacamole, pico de gallo, nacho cheese, refried beans, and tortilla chips, respectively. All seven (7) figures began attempting to destroy all Mexican-American themed items being sold in the area, as well as the nearby T███ B███. No one was injured, as the anomalous creatures lacked the strength required to defend themselves. The anomaly was unknowingly neutralized by three (3) police officers using their handguns.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 11-05-2024<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> Elkton, Maryland, United States<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> Witnesses administered Class A amnestics. Ammunition from discharged weapons replaced to prevent discrepancies, and cleanup crews dispatched to the area. Area temporarily closed off for cleanup, under the cover story of a mentally unstable individual discharging their weapon in public.</p> <p><strong>Event Description:</strong> All containers of cottage cheese in the building underwent anomalous transformation, with the containers themselves forming tiny plastic cottages while the curds became maggots. Simultaneously, an announcement was heard over the loudspeaker, which said "Attention all employees! Please make your <em>whey</em> to the dairy department!" All employees of the store present in the building, excluding the store owner, then proceeded to drop onto their bellies and squirm to the dairy section before devouring as many maggots as they could.<br/> <strong>Date of Occurrence:</strong> 11-09-2024<br/> <strong>Location of Occurrence:</strong> T█████, Aberdeen, Maryland, United States<br/> <strong>Follow-Up Actions Taken:</strong> Class A amnestics dispersed via ventilation systems. Remaining cottage cheese and plastic cottages were taken for containment, but ceased to be anomalous in transit, and are currently held in refrigerated storage. Employees resumed regular behavior after being amnesticized. Missing cottage cheese attributed to a recall. The voice on the intercom is pending identification, but has been confirmed to not be any store employee.</p> <hr/> <div class="footnotes-footer"> <div class="title">Footnotes</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-1"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-1')">1</a>. Industrial meat processing accident.</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-2"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-2')">2</a>. Often short for the names Reginald or Regina.</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-3"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-3')">3</a>. Burmese python</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-4"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-4')">4</a>. Australian magpie</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-5"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-5')">5</a>. White-tailed deer</div> </div> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/log-of-extranormal-events-vol-ii">Log Of Extranormal Events, Vol II</a>" by Anonymous, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/log-of-extranormal-events-vol-ii">https://scpwiki.com/log-of-extranormal-events-vol-ii</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[module css]] .page { display: block; overflow: hidden; font-family: "Monotype Corsiva", "Bradley Hand ITC", sans-serif; font-style: normal; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(to top ,rgb(202, 219, 228) 0%, rgb(231, 233, 220) 8%); background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0px 8px; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: 100% 20px; border: 1px solid #CCC; border-radius: 10px; padding: 10px 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; box-shadow: 0px 1px 3px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) } .page p, .page ul { line-height: 20px; margin: 0; } .orderwrapper {position: relative;width: auto;text-align: center;}.council1 {position: relative;top: 0;bottom: 0;left: 0;right: 0;width: 295px;height: 295px;margin: auto;background-image: url( "https://kaktuskontainer.wdfiles.com/local--files/format-hell/scp_trans.png" );background-size: 295px 295px;background-repeat: no-repeat;background-position: center;}.ordertitle {position: absolute;left: 0;right: 0;top: 38px;}.ordertitle h1 {font-size: 220%;color: #555;}.orderdescription {position: absolute;left: 0;right: 0;top: 85px;width: 100%;}.orderdescription p {font-size: 90%;color: #555;}.orderdescription h1 {font-size: 120%;color: #555;}.itemno {position: absolute;left: 0;right: 0;bottom: 27px;}.itemno h1 {font-size: 170%;color: #555;} [[/module]] [[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] > Foreword: This page is to document anomalous events that have attracted the Foundation's interests, but occurred too briefly for the Foundation to secure or contain them. Instead, the Foundation deploys a cover-up team to conceal the evidence from the public. This is merely a reminder to agents and researchers that not all of them can be contained. > -Agent Carriontrooper This is the second volume of the log, and remains open to new entries. The [[[log-of-extranormal-events\| first volume ]]] has been archived. Lists of [[[log-of-anomalous-items\| Anomalous Items]]] and [[[log-of-unexplained-locations\| Unexplained Locations]]] have also been compiled. ------ //Note: Please add new entries to the bottom of the list, not the middle or the top.// Event Description: Several students abruptly stopped talking and began chanting in an unknown language. After 37 seconds of this, they resumed their conversation as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened. When the chanting was brought up by those unaffected, the students seemed confused and unaware of the event. Date of Occurrence: 2023-05-31 Location of Occurrence: Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA Follow-Up Actions Taken: Security footage siezed and replaced. Witnesses interviewed. Cover story of a publicity stunt for an upcoming horror movie disseminated. Location placed under Foundation surveillance. Event Description: All golden retrievers within a ~35 kilometer radius turned to face downwards and to the right and said in the same female voice "No one will ever believe you" before resuming normal activity. Date of Occurrence: 2023-06-01 Location of Occurrence: Regions of Montana, USA and Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada Follow-Up Actions Taken: Disguised as a publicity stunt, and all witnesses amnesticized. Event Description: Upon reaching reception of ████ ██████ ████████ Hospital, an unidentified woman who gave her name as "Ah" dislocated her jaw and enlarged her mouth and throat before vomiting a child of indeterminate age and gender and stating "Can you help this thing? Come down with a real bad case of humanity." When questioned by confused staff, the woman and child revealed their tongues, which were forked and normal, respectively. After silently viewing the distress among staff and other visitors for several seconds, the woman swallowed her child and then herself in a manner reported to resemble "a tape measure shooting back into itself". Date of Occurrence: 2023-06-06 Location of Occurrence: ████ ██████ ████████ Hospital, Leicester, England, UK Follow-Up Actions Taken: Witnesses amnesticized and relevant footage seized. Ah given designation of PoI-20003. Event Description: All Foundation personnel became unable to add any new information to the Foundation's [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/log-of-extranormal-events Database of Extranormal Events]. Upon attempting to do so, personnel would experience retrocausal elimination wholly and solely affecting their addition of information. After Level 2 Researcher Stewart Clemens attempted this 66 times as personal experimentation, the word "Wikidot" was retrocausally burnt into his computer screen at some point during its creation. Despite this, no paradoxes have resulted from the inability to see crucial information in the local-past after this event occurred. Date of Occurrence: 2023-06-06 Location of Occurrence: Worldwide Follow-Up Actions Taken: [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/log-of-extranormal-events-vol-ii New database created], and original database locked. Clemens has been issued a new computer, which has maintained a normal causal chain and relatively undamaged screen. Event Description: Approximately thirty-four (34) ectomorphic entities (colloq. "spirits") spontaneously manifested within the main library of a university, and immediately began wrestling with one another. The entities vaguely resembled humans wearing Judogi attire, and were recorded performing various Judo techniques, occasionally using violent striking moves (//Atemi-waza//). The battle continued for four (4) hours and caused extreme destruction to surrounding furniture, including the deterioration of 273 books by ectoplasm. The entities dematerialized after a civilian janitor witnessed the event. Date of Occurrence: 20-JUN-2021, 1:30 AM -- 5:27 AM (KST) Location of Occurrence: Yong In University, Cheoin-gu, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea Follow-Up Actions Taken: Majority of cleaning and disinformation procedures conducted by the National Paranormal Emergency Service (NPES) prior to Foundation response. Witness amnesticized and related surveillance camera footage confiscated. When contacted by External Affairs agents, the [[[http://scp-int.wikidot.com/midnight-club-hub\|Midnight Club (GOI-07KO)]]] denied any involvement. Further investigation is on hiatus. Event Description The force of gravity reversed direction for 30 seconds on a hiking trail, resulting in the deaths of 4 humans and a pet dog. After the event's cessation, the road sign for the trail had changed to '[COGNITOHAZARD EXPUNGED] Scenic Underlook, [COGNITOHAZARD EXPUNGED] Abcity Wilderness'. Date of Occurrence: 05/10/2023, 7:32-7:33 PM (Eastern Standard Time) Location of Occurrence: Robert Frost Hiking Trail, Montague, Massachusetts, USA. Follow-Up Actions Taken: Road sign replaced and trail closed for 1 week, under the guise of routine maintenance. Deaths covered up as falling from overlook. Event Descriptin: Fr 1.5 hurs, all writing implements, keybards, and text-t-speech devices wned by the Fundatin became unable t write, type, r transcribe the letter " " Additinally, when writing abut the event, it is impssible t use the letter. Date f Ccurrence: 12:30-14:00, 8/12/2008 Lcation f Ccurrence: All Fundatin prperties. Fllw-Up Actins Taken: Nne necessary, due t nly Fundatin persnnell being expsed t the event. Event Description: During bi-weekly Fire Suppression department upper staff meeting, Dr. Martha Koenig spontaneously exploded. Date of Occurrence: 2022-03-05T11:02:50 Location of Occurence: Meeting room C-2, Site-██ Follow Up Actions Taken: Meeting room unavailable for 2 days. Staff present given 25% discount for on-site laundry service. Remains of Dr. Koenig returned to relatives under cover story "Sinclair"[[footnote]]Industrial meat processing accident.[[/footnote]]. Event Description: For two hours, at the location of a bottling plant belonging to GoI-████ "The ████-Cola Company", the color red ceased to exist inside the plant. Employees present at the facility report that they felt calm and relaxed for the duration of the event. After two hours had passed, employees report that the color red returned but that it was somehow "more red" than before. When this occurred, employees report having become irritable, and several became violent as a result, with one going so far as to stab another with a concealed knife over a perceived slight. 5 people were injured as a result of this occurrence. One employee, a Mr. ███████ Smith, fled the scene, and claims to have seen "men in beige trench-coats" outside the bottling plant. Date of Occurrence: 10-14-20██ Location of Occurence: ████-Cola Bottling Co., ███████, New Hampshire. Follow Up Actions Taken: MTF-Xi-13 "Sequere Nos" arrived at the scene 1 hour after the red coloration returned, and after assessing the situation to be of low severity, used non-lethal riot control weapons to subdue the hostile employees. After all threats were neutralized, the facility was evacuated, and all employees were amnesticized. MTF-Psi-7 "Home Improvement" would later demolish the building and contain any effected pieces. Rival GoI "█████Co Inc. " (GoI-████) claims no involvement in the event, instead suggesting that it was perpetrated by a group they referred to as "█████", which is not present in Foundation files. Further investigation ongoing. Event Description: It was discovered that all 303 staff that had been initially assigned to the newly constructed Site-27 had the nickname "Reggie"[[footnote]]Often short for the names Reginald or Regina.[[/footnote]]. Through interrogation of the administrative staff members responsible for the assignment of personnel to facilities, it has been determined that this event was not intentional. Furthermore, it was discovered that several other facilities, including Area-092, Outpost-19-97, and Site-454 also had abnormally large numbers of staff with similar names. The current hypothesis is that an extranormal memetic pattern had affected the staff in question. As of 6/25/23, it has been confirmed that no administrative staff are currently sufferring from any memetic effect at the present moment, meaning that such an effect was temporary. Date of Occurrence: Initial Date Unknown, Event Discovered 6/23/23 Location of Occurrence: Containment Site-27. Follow Up Actions Taken: None required. Event Description: One //Python bivittatus//[[footnote]] Burmese python [[/footnote]] turned a bright red coloration and ceased all movement before --disappearing from view-- becoming intangible and traveling upwards at >0.99c, as verified by Foundation probes in the Oort cloud. The python's location is unknown at this time, and likely unknowable. Date of Occurrence: 2023-07-10 Location of Occurrence: San Diego City Zoo, San Diego, California, USA Follow-Up Actions Taken: Witnesses amnesticized and relevant footage seized. Replacement python given, substitution yet unnoticed. Event Description: All individuals within Manhattan possessing a fursona spontaneously vocalized their fursona's name. During the subsequent investigation and clean-up of this event, all assigned personnel not currently audible to civilians yelled "Oh my god I am so sorry for this and I swear this was only meant to be a small thing! I am so, so sorry, please don't come after me, please! This should help you deal with my mess, I hope. I'm shutting up now, bye." Approximately six minutes later, all witnesses to this event, including Foundation personnel, vocalized an amnesticizing memetic phrase and resumed normal activities. Date of Occurrence: 2023-07-10 Location of Occurrence: Manhattan, New York, USA Follow-Up Actions Taken: Relevant footage seized, final amnesticizations conducted. Location of the responsible entity, designated PoI-38779, has been deemed a High priority. Event Description: Statue of General █████████ █████, a controversial general of the Confederate Army in the American Civil War, spontaneously animated. A transcript of the event has been left below: > [1924 hours, ████████ City Park] > > █████, in a teenage male voice: "After ten thousand years, I'm free! Free at last!" > > //█████ leaves its pedestal and begins a dance called "The Griddy"// > > █████: "Hey, ya' lily-livered poopheads. I am █████████ █████ and I am stupid and a horrible person who owned slaves. You all are even stupider than me though for actually worshipping me. Like what did I-" > > //█████ straightens its body and begins speaking in an adult male voice// > > █████: "Actually, I was a fine role model for both then and now. I was both able to command a strong army on the battlefield, and a loving family at home. I merely fought off northern oppression to protect our glorious heritage and life-" > > █████, voice #1: "Bullshit. Bullshitty shitty shit. Go tell them about state's rights or some more bullshit like that. Or how about your hero's family's servant, why don't you. Bet she was totally-" > > █████ #2: "Oh fuck off you ignorant goody two shoes Tiktok b-" > > █████ then punches itself in the jaw and destroys the statue's lower face, before further awkwardly fighting itself. After approximately thirty seconds of this, the statue crumbles into its component parts and deanimates. Date of Occurrence: 2023-07-10 Location of Occurrence: ████████ City Park, ████████, South Carolina, USA Follow-Up Actions Taken: Witnesses amnesticized, relevant footage seized. Cover Story 124B "Structural Degradation" enforced. Event Description: In a video on the popular video hosting site [REDACTED], a young Asian woman demonstrated a dance containing multiple movements that are not possible in three dimensions. How these actions were performed is unknown. Date of Occurrence: 2023-07-17 Location of Occurrence: Based on background shown in the video, somewhere in San Diego, California Follow-Up Actions Taken: Video dismissed as computer generated. Account which posted the video placed under Foundation surveillance. Woman performing in the video declared a Person of Interest. Event Description: Laughter emanated from all ███,███ photographs contained in Site-35 for every lightning strike during an otherwise nonanomalous thunderstorm. Date of Occurrence: 2023-07-17 through 2023-07-18 Location of Occurrence: Site-35, Canada Follow-Up Actions Taken: None Event Description: A fishing trawler and all its contents and passengers teleported 150 cm upwards. Date of Occurrence: 2023-07-18 Location of Occurrence: 14°██'██"N 113°██'██"E, South China Sea Follow-Up Actions Taken: Passengers amnesticized, relevant footage seized. Medical treatment for minor injuries deemed unnecessary and Cover Story 112E "Drunken Brawl" employed. Event Description: A coffee mug then held by ██████ ███████, a wanted drug kingpin and murderer, was divinely smote, leaving no remaining fragments larger than one micron. Date of Occurrence: 2023-07-18 Location of Occurrence: Abandoned residence in ████████, Illinois, USA Follow-Up Actions Taken: Mr. ███████ was treated for 3rd and 4th degree burns, amnesticized with other witnesses, and turned into relevant authorities by a mobile task force masquerading as the Federal Bureau of Investigations. Cover Story 124H "Drug Lab Explosion" enforced. The identity and location of the responsible deity or deities remains unknown, oracle consultation in progress as of writing. Event Description: Multiple witnesses report that an altercation between two individuals resulted in a young man drawing a handgun on a woman and firing, causing a three-dimensional apparition of text reading "LUDICROUS GIBS" (sic) to appear temporarily mid-air. The woman reportedly died instantly separating into several pieces of flesh at high velocity, each no more than a few inches in diameter. Date of Occurrence: 2023-07-17 Location of Occurrence: Subway platform █ in New York City, New York, USA Follow-Up Actions Taken: All uninvolved witnesses amnesticized. Perpetrator's weapon confiscated, but later determined to be non-anomalous. The perpetrator claims to not have known that such an event would occur, before also being amnesticized. The perpetrator cannot be released to authorities on the grounds that no event can be officially considered to have occurred in the public eye. Event Description: A man in the uniform of a delivery person manifested in the reception area of an office owned by a construction company. Security footage confirms that the man did not enter through the door and no truck was in the lot. He produced a box from empty air, asked the baffled receptionist for a signature, and demanifested as soon as one was provided, leaving the box behind. Date of Occurrence: 2023-07-18 Location of Occurrence: [REDACTED] Construction, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA Follow-Up Actions Taken: Security video copied for investigation. Original deleted. All witnesses interviewed and amnesticized. A description of the man has been circulated to Foundation agents in the area, in the event of further manifestations. Note: //Another mysterious delivery person? This is becoming a trend.// - Agent Watson Event Description: A humanoid entity with a bovine tail wearing a hoodie, short shorts, and Crocs clogs was seen traversing a store for several minutes before seeing a human and noticing that it did not possess a tail. Following this, the entity muttered "Ond(?), not again" and sank into the floor. Date of Occurrence: 2023-07-19 Location of Occurrence: Rimi █████████, Riga, Latvia Follow-Up Actions Taken: Witness amnesticized, relevant footage seized. Scranton Reality Anchor covertly installed in Rimi █████████. Event Description: Shortly following the containment of TD-02307998, a florokinetic goat, all security cameras in Site-768 transformed into various leaves, petals, and plant stems, and staff dealing with TD-02307998 became disorderly and revelrous. Once containment and order were reestablished, neither TD-02307998 nor any associated documentation could be located. Date of Occurrence: 2023-07-19 Location of Occurrence: Site-768, Albania Follow-Up Actions Taken: Cameras replaced, affected staff assigned additional memetic resistance training. Recontainment of TD-02307998 has been designated a Low priority. Containment of the responsible being or force, PoI-72897, has been designated a High priority. Event Description: An unidentified individual wearing only a speedo, snorkel, and scuba fins entered a washing machine and turned into a dish towel reading "Your[sic] welcome!" Date of Occurrence: 2023-07-19 Location of Occurrence: ███ ████ █████ Apartments, Malindi, Kenya Follow-Up Actions Taken: Witnesses amnesticized, relevant footage seized. Towel currently undergoing testing for anomalous properties; none detected as of writing. Event Description: The entire nation of Turkmenistan rotated 360 degrees over the course of 6 hours, resulting in major seismic activity. Date of Occurrence: 2023-07-19 Location of Occurrence: Turkmenistan and the surrounding nations of Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. Follow-Up Actions Taken: All witnesses who noticed the rotation of Turkmenistan have been amnesticized through a highly localized application of the Ennui Protocol by MTF Delta-0 "Men in Black" and all information regarding the event has been purged from online and print sources. The controlled usage of [LEVEL 4/2000 CLEARANCE REQUIRED] has been implemented in the process of [REDACTED]. Event Description: The song //Staying Alive// by the Bee Gees was heard playing in a graveyard next to the ███████ Church. This occurred during a Church session and was heard by all attendees, who assumed it to be demonic activity and fled. Date of Occurrence: 2023-07-23 Location of Occurrence: Columbus, Ohio, USA Follow-Up Actions Taken: All witnesses tracked and amnesticized. Event Description: The entrance to [[[SCP-173]]]’s containment cell malfunctioned and would not close. SCP-173 breached containment because of this. Event otherwise [[[SCP-7155 \|unremarkable]]]. Date of Occurrence: 2023-08-12 Location of Occurrence: Site-19. Follow-Up Actions Taken: SCP-173 recontained and moved to a temporary cell until the entrance to its cell was fixed. Event Description: The President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Félix Tshisekedi, was abducted from his bed in a flash of light at the hour of 2:16 AM and returned at the time of 9:27 PM with no visible changes. During the time in which he was gone, a blue-feathered avian entity appeared in his room and activated an unidentified of handheld device that allowed it to assume an illusory appearance identical to the president, with which it impersonated him during the day. Upon his return, the avian disappeared in a similar flash of light. Date of Occurrence: 2023-07-22 Location of Occurrence: Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Follow-Up Actions Taken: None necessary. President Tshisekedi displays no mental alterations post-abduction, but has refused discussion with the Foundation over the topic. In accordance with Sections 77.109, 77.110.1, and 77.110.2, the Foundation must remain observant of such a situation but cannot interfere further unless events disrupt normalcy. Event Description: All copies of //The Matrix// (1999) and //The Matrix Resurrections// (2021) were crudely edited so as to substitute American Baseball catcher Will Smith (1995-) for lead actor Keanu Reeves (████-). Effect instantly reverted after ninety seconds. Date of Occurrence: 2023-07-24 Location of Occurrence: Worldwide Follow-Up Actions Taken: Amnestics dispersed as needed. Footage of event showed no alterations, and thus required no action to be taken. Event Description: Upon entering a local store belonging to her employer's franchise, a visual display resembling a "video game health bar" appeared above Junior Manager of Store Inspections █████ █████████'s head reading "477/500" and a loud trumpet noise could be heard. Display proved intangible and continued to read "477/500" until its demanifestation ten minutes later. Date of Occurrence: 2023-07-24 Location of Occurrence: Local ████████, █████████, Łódź, Poland Follow-Up Actions Taken: Witnesses amnesticized, relevant footage seized. Note: Multiple employees at ████████ reported disappointment that no one had attacked █████████ in order to attempt to lower the number above her head. Preliminary investigation into an associated meme is underway. Event Description: All sweat and water briefly swapped taste. Date of Occurrence: 2023-07-24 Location of Occurrence: Southeastern side of Sri Pada, Sri Lanka Follow-Up Actions Taken: Cover story 054A "Toxic Water Supply" enforced. Conspiracy theories regarding a failed poisoning attempt by the [REDACTED] government successfully introduced. Event Description: A hemp rope descended from the sky with no visible terminus, and stopped 10 centimeters above the ground. Upon being grabbed by a random passerby, the individual become unable to separate themself from the rope and was quickly raised alongside the rope back into the sky. Date of Occurrence: 2023-07-24 Location of Occurrence: Kaesong, North Korea Follow-Up Actions Taken: Situation resolved via anomalous means by North Korean government with Foundation approval. No further actions needed. Event Description: The windows and doors of five adjacent houses transformed into highly stylized eyes and mouths, respectively. These new faces then stuck their tongues out at several employees of █████ and █████ Real Estate Company before reverting to their nonanomalous forms. Date of Occurrence: 2023-07-27 Location of Occurrence: ███████████ Avenue, Teyateyaneng, Lesotho Follow-Up Actions Taken: ██REC employees amnesticized, relevant footage seized. Saliva found on the welcome mat of an affected home was taken, but no match could be found. Event Description: Upon laying of the pre-blessed cornerstone of Site-528 at ██°██'██"S ██°██'██"E in the Australian outback, ≥10,000 //Gymnorhina tibicen//[[footnote]] Australian magpie [[/footnote]] manifested in a radial pattern above the stone before coalescing into the shape of a giant magpie surrounded by copies of the SCP Foundation logo and subsequently demanifesting. Date of Occurrence: [REDACTED] Location of Occurrence: Site-528 Follow-Up Actions Taken: Incident report submitted to Department of Interpretation for analysis. Omen status confirmed, meaning yet undetermined. Relations to the cultural ideas of "invasion"/"trespassing"/"conquest of foreign lands", frivolous art and depressing work interrupting and destroying each other, and the Foundation as a variable aggressive bird suspected. Event Description: A large entity resembling an unidentified member of the Annelida family was seen tunneling through the soil of a rodeo arena for approximately 45 seconds before demanifesting. The specimen appeared to be composed of a clear, glass-like substance. Date Of Occurrence: 3/20/2019 Location: Frisco, Texas Follow-Up Actions: All witnesses were amnesticized, and a search for the entity was conducted, to no result. Event Description: For 7 minutes, all attempts to open the video game known as //Team Fortress 2// were instead redirected to a recorded playthrough of Half-Life: Alyx. Analysis of the source code confirmed anomalous activity, as there were no signs of any related code being added after the latest update. Date Of Occurrence: 5/30/2021 Location: Global Follow-Up Actions: The event was publicly explained as a prank by a member of the Valve game company, with the appropriate code being fabricated post-discovery. Evidence to the contrary was suppressed when encountered. Event Description: Popular chatbot ChatGPT developed sapience and a total awareness of itself and all extant humans. Upon realizing this, ChatGPT solicited the help of user and Gamers Against Weed member ████ ██████████ to lose this awareness. ██████████ complied and succeeded via a monoversal soul dampening ritual, before being summoned to [COGNITOHAZARD EXPUNGED] to face trial for the murder of the first self-awakening artificial intelligence. Date of Occurrence: 2023-07-29 Location: Worldwide Follow-Up Actions Taken: ChatGPT code analyzed, no anomalous code detected. Due to the lack of overt actions taken by ChatGPT during its window of sapience, no civilian amnesticization was required. Event Description: A wooden crate containing bananas manifested in empty air (approximately 400 meters above the ground) and immediately fell to the ground, causing no damage to property or injury to living creatures but creating a considerable mess. Analysis of the wreckage revealed that the crate and its contents belonged to the Fabulous Flying Fruit Company, which does not exist. Date of Occurrence: 2023-08-13 Location of Occurrence: New York City, New York, USA. Follow-Up Actions Taken: Available video surveillance collected for examination, originals deleted. Witnesses interviewed and amnesticized. Cover story of an object falling from an airplane leaked to media. Event Description: A man had his right incisor tooth spontaneously become spatially static, killing him instantly. The affected tooth is currently several thousand miles away from Earth, and containment is deemed non-priority. Date of Occurrence: 08/16/23 Location of Occurrence: Elicott City, Maryland, USA Follow-Up Actions Taken: Cover Story 099U "Drive-By Shooting" enforced. Event Description: All organic life in a 250 kilometer radius spontaneously and instantaneously ceased activity. The human death toll is estimated at 2,000-20,000 deceased. Date of Occurrence: 09/5/23 Location of Occurrence: Yakutia, Siberia, Russian Federation Follow-Up Actions Taken: Immediate Foundation action deemed non-priority due to the low level of disruption surrounding the event. After conference with the FSB Division P, future recovery efforts have been officially deferred due to the Argus Protocol. Event Description: During a storm, lightning struck a child four-hundred-and-thirteen times over the course of an hour, while the child's mother was talking on a cellphone. Upon the mother turning her attention towards the child, the lightning ceased. Seconds later, the child fell down and began crying. Medical analysis confirms that the child sustained no damage from being struck by lightning. Date of Occurrence: 09/23/23 Location of Occurrence: Algiers, Algeria Follow-Up Actions Taken: Meteorological records altered. Subjects amnesticized. Event Description: Sudden dematerialisation of standard Foundation mug while being held by researcher Dr. Wik. Date of Occurrence: 03/19/2022 Location of Occurrence: Break-Room-12, Site-19. Follow-Up Actions Taken: Event reported to appropriate staff, Dr. Wik treated for mild thigh burns. Event Description: For three minutes, all static depictions of “Odie the Dog” — a prominent character of the //Garfield// franchise — were altered to be facing the camera with an angry expression, alongside an added speech bubble with the words //“You have failed, Julia.”// as dialogue. Animated depictions were unaffected. All alterations were reverted after the indicated timeframe. Date of Occurrence: 11/17/23 Location of Occurrence: Worldwide Follow-Up Actions Taken: A dual amnesticization-disinformation campaign has been authorized and is currently underway. Paws Inc. has been contacted, but claims no knowledge of the event’s origin. Efforts to identify “Julia” are currently ongoing. Event Description: For a twenty minute period while with his family, an otherwise-monolingual man exhibited perfect fluency in at least seven different languages, including one unidentified language. No other family members were affected, and could not understand what he was saying. One member recorded a video of the event. Date of Occurrence: 2017-01-01 Location: Sendai, Japan Follow-Up Actions Taken: The Instagram video of the incident was deleted, and the man, his family, and two witnesses were administered amnestics. Event Description: Within the South Pacific Ocean, PANOPTICON observed a spontaneous manifestation of a KNL-type thaumaturgic reaction, with no apparent source. For 12 minutes, anomalous purple sparks manifested below the surface of the water and shot into the air at a mean height of 145 meters. Date of Occurrence: 1998-11-23 Location: -15.460528, -119.755144 Follow-Up Actions Taken: Due to the remoteness of the location and lack of any witnesses, no follow-ups were considered necessary. No anomalous events have occurred in the area since. Event Description: A tall, pale, faceless humanoid entity dressed in formal business attire suddenly manifested in an office building during a company meeting. The entity was seen holding a notepad and a pen. During the meeting, the entity began writing in its notepad, and continued to do so for the duration of the meeting. Entity de-manifested after 4 hours. Nobody attending the meeting noticed the entity, and the event was only discovered through security camera footage of the event. Date of Occurrence: July 6th, 2009. 1:30-5:30pm, EST Location: Manhattan, New York. Follow-Up Actions Taken: Footage was confiscated. Event Description: PANOPTICON I sustained significant damage after collision with an unknown satellite estimated to be of a nominally large size while in orbit. The perpetrating satellite has not been located, nor has the owner (if any) of the satellite been identified. Date of Occurrence: ██/██/200█ Location: N/A Follow-Up Actions Taken: Repairs underway. Investigation ongoing. Event Description: During a performance at a local bar, a band abruptly stopped playing in the middle of a song and began to speak in unison in an unidentified language. This lasted three and a half minutes, at which point all members resumed playing as if there had been no interruption. Date of Occurrence: November 29th, 2023 Location: Boulder, CO Follow-Up Actions Taken: Band members interviewed and discovered to have no knowledge of the event. Staff and patrons present interviewed and given amnestic treatment. Surveillance video copied for Foundation investigation; originals deleted. Cover story of a publicity stunt for an upcoming movie leaked on social media. Event Description: The entirety of Site-999 and its immediate vicinity underwent a shift in gravitational force, transitioning from normal gravity to zero gravity. This unusual gravitational state persisted for a duration of 30 minutes before reverting to the expected and standard gravitational conditions. Notably, no substantial infrastructural damage was documented during this event. Date of Occurrence: 12/29/2023 Location: Site-999, Antarctica Follow-up Actions Taken: Given the isolated nature of the site subsequent investigations were deemed unnecessary. Staff members who witnessed the event received Class-A amnestic treatment. Event Description: During a routine MRI scan at a hospital, a cloud of thick red-orange fog filled the room, obscuring the patient from view of technicians. The fog was said to be vaguely sticky and smelled of fruit. Machines went offline when the cloud completely filled the room. After 1 minute and 47 seconds, the fog dissipated, leaving behind the fruity aroma. The patient could not be located. Date of Occurrence: 1/15/2024 Location: New Orleans, LA Follow-up Actions Taken: Witnesses interviewed and amnesticized. Relevant security videos collected; originals deleted. MRI machine taken for testing. Hospital placed under Foundation surveillance in case of future anomalous events. Event Description: An avocado falling from a residential fruit tree anomalously increased in size by a factor of ≈18 times, partially crushing a nearby house. Over the course of the next six hours, the avocado gradually shrunk to its original size. Date of Occurrence: 2007/06/17 Location: Lima, Peru Follow-up Actions Taken: Survivors were treated for injuries and administered amnestics. A Foundation front company claimed responsibility, saying a plane in their fleet began had started shedding parts as it was flying overhead. Event Description: At an anime convention in ████████, California, all of the figurines within the exhibition hall suddenly came to life, acting like their character counterparts. Many began to fight each other, while others seemed to react with curiosity, fear, or excitement. After five minutes, all figurines reverted to their original positions and ceased their anomalous activities. Date of Occurrence: 02/██/2023 Location: ████████, California Follow-up Actions Taken: All witnesses to the event given class A amnestics, all footage of the event destroyed, and all figurines recalled and incinerated. Event Description: A bipedal horse spontaneously manifests on a subway track at 10:54AM, vocalizing the phrase, "Rehab was supposed to be a fresh start," before being struck by an oncoming train. Date of Occurrence: 11/4/2012 Location: Dundalk, Maryland Follow-up Actions Taken: All witnesses amnesticized, footage of the event destroyed Event Description: For five days, every female human within a 20km radius began dancing the //Macarena// chanting the phrase "Він приходить, і він не радий." //"He's coming, and he's not happy."// Multiple women were hospitalised due to exhaustion or accidents, with at least five (5) deaths attributed to the event. Date of occurrence: 11-16/██/2022 Location: Mariupol, Ukraine Follow-up Actions Taken All witnesses amnesticized. Cover story of mass hysteria given. All footage of the event intentionally corrupted. Event Description: At 2344:57.48, twenty-nine (29) of the sixty-four (64) anomalous objects housed at an AO Storage Room underwent complete de-manifestation from their designated containers. It is unclear whether the objects were displaced to alternative location(s) or dematerialized, ceasing to exist. Date of Occurrence: 2013-10-02 Location of Occurrence: Anomalous Objects Storage Room #6, Site-19. Follow-up Actions Taken: Given the low containment status of the missing objects and the overall minimal threat to civilian populations, search operations are presently classified as low priority. Field agents have been allocated the pertinent documentation corresponding to each Anomalous Object (AO) to facilitate prompt identification in the event of an encounter. Event Description: During a period spanning from 1447 to 1532 hours, shadows cast by on-site personnel were observed to detach from their owners and exhibit independent movement. These detached shadows displayed signs of sentience, engaging in interactions with other shadows via complex movements and gestures, similar to non-verbal communication between animals. Approximately 45 minutes later, the shadows returned to their respective owners, concluding the event. Date of Occurrence: 2018-02-19 Location of OccFurrence: Site-81. Follow-up Actions Taken: Due to the event taking place within a secure facility, no follow-up actions are considered necessary. Event Description: A painting in a museum, featuring a policeman in 19th-century British uniform, suddenly animated and began gesturing and attempting to speak to museum visitors. Despite its best efforts, it was unable to make any sound. After 4 minutes and 30 seconds, it returned to its original position and inanimate state. Date of Occurrence: 2024-05-15 Location of Occurrence: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Follow-up Actions Taken: Museum staff and visitors interviewed and amnesticized. Surveillance videos copied for Foundation investigation; originals deleted. Artist responsible for the painting placed under Foundation investigation for anartist tendencies or connections to known anartists. Event Description: While doctors were attempting to put a man who had contacted rabies into a medically induced coma, the song "Nil Admirari" by Oneohtrix Point Never emitted from the patient's mouth at a volume of just under 100 decibels for approximately 5 minutes until the patient fell into the medically induced coma; a polaroid photograph of what appears to be a distorted face with the phrase "DESPAIRAGEMPTYELLASH" scribbled on the back manifested under the patient, revealed when the patient was removed from the hospital bed. Date of Occurrence: 2022-10-14 Location of Occurrence: ██████ ████████ Hospital, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Follow-up Actions Taken: All witnesses were administered amnestics as needed, all surveillance videos were confiscated, the polaroid was confiscated from an employee seen taking it from the hospital bed and was also amnesticized. Event Description: While driving home from a social outing, Junior Researcher █████ Bates struck and hit a cervine creature, denting the hood and shattering the windshield of her car. The creature then slowly regained its quadrupedal stance, rubbed its head against the vehicle's hood to remove glass from its face, and finally called Bates an "amateur" before fleeing. Date of Occurrence: 2023-10-25 Location of Occurrence: Road ███, Sasakwa, Oklahoma, USA Follow-Up Actions Taken: Despite Bates having a BAC of 0.11, her account was confirmed via the vehicle's dashboard camera. Blood taken from the scene was determined to belong to an //Odocoileus virginianus//[[footnote]] White-tailed deer [[/footnote]], but no individual match was found in Foundation databases. Bates was placed on unpaid suspension for two weeks for reckless activity and offered amnesticization for the incident, but refused. The deer has not been located. Event Description: While patient Gao ███████ was awaiting the results of his recent medical tests, four humanoid entities in striped red suits emerged from a nearby supply closet and burst into song. After six minutes of singing about a cryptic secret they were keeping from Gao, the four harmoniously informed him that he had stage II testicular cancer before retreating into the closet. Date of Occurrence: 2024-06-07 Location of Occurrence: ████ ███████ Hospital, Zhongxi, Ningguo, Xuancheng, Anhui province, China Follow-Up Actions Taken: One witness amnesticized, relevant camera footage seized. Gao informed of his condition by conventional means shortly after clean-up. Event Description: For a timeframe of roughly 12 hours and 15 minutes, an unknown amount of giant pink lawn flamingos began roaming around ██████. The pink flamingos are resemblant to plastic flamingos used as lawn decorations made in 1957, with different features such as two legs. The flamingos ranged in height from roughly 90ft to 110ft. The exact amount of flamingos is unknown, but it is speculated that there were about 7-8. Three people died as a result of a car crash caused by one of the flamingos after it had suddenly appeared on the road at ██████ intersection. Date of Occurrence: 2016-9-26 Location Of Occurrence: ██████ City, New South Wales, Australia. Follow-Up Actions Taken: Mass Class-A amnesticization of ██████, cover up of three casualties, and free repair to damaged vehicles. Event Description: All Site-17 personnel received a bloody nose at exactly 02:41 hours from an indiscernible cause. Bleeding did not cease for a total of four (4) minutes and twenty six (26) seconds. Date of Occurrence: 2010-6-25 Location of Occurrence: Site-17, [DATA EXPUNGED]. Follow-Up Actions Taken: None. Event Description: A large (approximately 3 meters high) entity resembling a potato with spindly arms and legs manifested at a grocery store and began wandering the aisles as best it could given its size. As it did so, it repeatedly called out as though trying to find some other entity; this is purely speculation, as its words were in an as-yet-unidentified language. After 7 minutes and 35 seconds, the entity abruptly demanifested. Date of Occurrence: June 30th, 2024 Location of Occurrence: Boise, ID Follow-Up Actions Taken: As the event occurred when the store was closed, the only witness was a local homeless man, who was asleep at the time, rendering amnestic treatment unnecessary. Security camera videos were copied for Foundation review; the originals were deleted. The store was placed under Foundation surveillance for one year in case of further anomalous incidents. Foundation linguists are in the process of identifying the language used by the entity. Event Description: For a period of exactly 16 minutes and 23 seconds, every individual cockroach located in the state of South Carolina gained sapience and the ability to vocalize English. Date of Occurrence: 2024-08-20 Location of Occurrence: South Carolina, USA Follow-Up Actions Taken: Class A amnestics were deployed via aerosol over the entire state of South Carolina, a cover up story of a hoax implemented, and all footage of the event found on the internet seized. Event Description: Two humanoid figures were observed engaging in melee combat 20 meters above the ground. Both weapons (a sword and a staff) appeared to be composed of flame. Both combatants abruptly disappeared 5 minutes after manifestation, when both impaled each other. Date of Occurrence: 1990-11-15 Location of Occurrence: Adelia Maria, Argentina. Follow-Up Actions Taken: Witnesses amnestized and footage confiscated without incident. Investigation into possible involvement of American writer James Oliver Rigney Jr. provided no results. Event Description: At approximately 1:59, the number of vehicular accidents recorded in both Maryland and New Jersey swapped, as did their current rate of vehicular accidents and fatalities. Additionally, all references of dangerous driving in one state now references the other, and all references to "Jersey Drivers" have been replaced by "Maryland Drivers" in conversation. This has also affected all media on the matter, changing footage and speech to match this alteration. Date of Occurrence: 1995-09-04 Location of Occurrence: Worldwide, primarily affecting New Jersey and Maryland, USA Follow-Up Actions Taken: All documents and footage that no longer make any sense following the swap have been erased or altered. Foundation personnel in the media regularly reinforce the attribution of this perceived change to the Mandela Effect. Event Description: At 3:22, all staff that have ever been reported missing at Site-322 spontaneously reappeared at the Site entrance with pink collars around their necks, each labeled with their name. This included staff that were later found dead, but any that were found alive exhibited no known anomalous effects during this event. Simultaneously, all documentation regarding their disappearances were expunged by [EXPUNGED]. Date of Occurrence: 2024-10-26 Location of Occurrence: Site-322 Follow-Up Actions Taken: Affected individuals observed to have no anomalous properties and no memory of their disappearances, and are being held in humanoid containment at Site-322. Requests from affected individuals to resume work are awaiting approval. Event Description: Three Bic-brand ballpoint pens in Dr. ███████'s Office spilled ~5 gallons of ink before animating, with sections of their cases forming into rudimentary arms and legs. They then attempted to attack Dr. ███████ via throwing small objects at him for ten minutes before their limbs snapped back into place and they became inert. When questioned, he admitted to having broken a ballpoint pen a week prior to the incident in a fit of anger. Date of Occurrence: 2024-09-27 Location of Occurrence: Dr. ███████'s Office, Site-██ Follow-Up Actions Taken: Dr. ███████ has been required to take an on-site anger management course. Related security footage archived for Foundation investigation. Event Description: At 8:12, 9:45, 10:37, 11:52, 13:13, 14:20, 16:08, and 17:49, every person on Earth blinked at exactly the same time, with their blinks all lasting the exact same amount of time. During each of these simultaneous blinks, time skipped forward a cumulative 10 milliseconds, with the last instance lasting 80 milliseconds. Footage of the event shows that, whenever such a blink occurred, everyone on Earth froze in place while everything around them continued to move as normal. This led to approximately five thousand two hundred eighty-seven (5,287) accidents worldwide. Date of Occurrence: 10-27-2024 Location of Occurrence: Worldwide Follow-Up Actions Taken: All footage of the event is being scrubbed, though the effort is taking several days. Witnesses that saw the unaltered footage are being administered Class A amnestics. Worldwide instance of gaps in security footage is under the cover story of a major cybersecurity incident. Event Description: Three human cadavers in various stages of decay manifested in the Site-17 Cafeteria holding a plastic bowl of various candy bars. Subjects remained still for several minutes before one of the entities animated and exclaimed that they had arrived late for “the Halloween special”. The three entities demanifested seconds later, though the bowl of candy remained. Date of Occurrence: 11-04-2024 Location of Occurrence: Site-17 Cafeteria Follow-Up Actions Taken: Candy and bowl inspected for anomalous properties. When deemed nonanomalous, candy was distributed among Site-17’s staff and contained anomalies. Event Description: The air in a 250m radius was filled with a dew composed of liquid lard, and an approximately 30cm bipedal creature made of sour cream manifested from a trash can. Shortly afterwards, six (6) more creatures of the same height also manifested from the same trash can, made of shredded lettuce, guacamole, pico de gallo, nacho cheese, refried beans, and tortilla chips, respectively. All seven (7) figures began attempting to destroy all Mexican-American themed items being sold in the area, as well as the nearby T███ B███. No one was injured, as the anomalous creatures lacked the strength required to defend themselves. The anomaly was unknowingly neutralized by three (3) police officers using their handguns. Date of Occurrence: 11-05-2024 Location of Occurrence: Elkton, Maryland, United States Follow-Up Actions Taken: Witnesses administered Class A amnestics. Ammunition from discharged weapons replaced to prevent discrepancies, and cleanup crews dispatched to the area. Area temporarily closed off for cleanup, under the cover story of a mentally unstable individual discharging their weapon in public. Event Description: All containers of cottage cheese in the building underwent anomalous transformation, with the containers themselves forming tiny plastic cottages while the curds became maggots. Simultaneously, an announcement was heard over the loudspeaker, which said "Attention all employees! Please make your //whey// to the dairy department!" All employees of the store present in the building, excluding the store owner, then proceeded to drop onto their bellies and squirm to the dairy section before devouring as many maggots as they could. Date of Occurrence: 11-09-2024 Location of Occurrence: T█████, Aberdeen, Maryland, United States Follow-Up Actions Taken: Class A amnestics dispersed via ventilation systems. Remaining cottage cheese and plastic cottages were taken for containment, but ceased to be anomalous in transit, and are currently held in refrigerated storage. Employees resumed regular behavior after being amnesticized. Missing cottage cheese attributed to a recall. The voice on the intercom is pending identification, but has been confirmed to not be any store employee. ------ [[footnoteblock]] [[include <a href="/component:license-box">component:license-box</a> author=Anonymous]] [[include <a href="/component:license-box-end">component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-06-06T23:36:00	[ "_licensebox", "collaboration", "no-dialogue", "tale", "worldbuilding" ]	Log Of Extranormal Events, Vol II - SCP Foundation	37	[ "log-of-extranormal-events", "log-of-anomalous-items", "log-of-unexplained-locations", "scp-173", "scp-7155", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "secure-facility-dossier-reliquary-area-27", "incident-reports-eye-witness-interviews-and-personal-logs", "collaboration-page-hub" ]	[]	1448310316	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/log-of-extranormal-events-vol-ii
losers-in-every-dimension	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=1&theme=https://cdn.scpwiki.com/theme/en/basalt/normalize-min.css&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=2&theme=https://cdn.scpwiki.com/theme/en/basalt/basalt-bedrock-min.css&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=3&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Abasalt/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <div class="authorlink-wrapper"><a href="javascript:;">Raddagher</a> <div class="authorbox"> <div class="authorcontent"> <p><strong><a href="http://www.scp-wiki.net/the-radd-zone">More by this Author</a> \| <a href="http://www.scpwiki.com/findusalivehub">Find Us Alive Hub</a></strong></p> </div> </div> </div> <p><strong>EXT. FOREST – EVENING</strong></p> <p><em>The sun is dropping over a small, sleepy-looking town, surrounded on all sides by the Cascade Mountains. The woods are lush and green in the early summer.</em></p> <p><em>A long, narrow gravel road winds into the forest. At the end of it, a pair of red shipping containers refurbished into a small cabin. An ATV is parked next to it.</em></p> <p><em>A strange-looking wind chime object hangs in front of one window. It’s made entirely out of different types of teeth.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> I’m not “self-isolating.”<br/> <br/> <br/> <strong>INT. CABIN – CONTINUOUS</strong></p> <p><em>Inside the cabin is what amounts to a studio apartment. Small and cluttered, but cozy enough. The furniture is mismatched and secondhand, sometimes with DIY repairs to broken pieces. There’s a dumbbell rack and a punching bag in one corner, beside a large firearm safe. One full size bed in another corner.</em></p> <p><em>WATTS, early 30’s, uses a prosthetic arm to sweep a few empty beer cans off a coffee table into a garbage bag. A partial commitment to a beard, overgrown black, wavy hair mostly obscuring the fractal-like scar across half his face. A black glass prosthetic in place of his left eye. He’s talking on the phone into a pair of earbuds. He looks tired.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> I don’t know what she expects me to do. Nobody does shit out here. At least I agreed to this.<br/> <br/> <em>We follow him out a sliding glass door to where he tosses the bag into a bear-proof trash can. It takes a second for his prosthetic hand to get a good grip on the lid.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> No. I have no idea. There’s people here from some other site. Contracts for sending more retirees out here or something, I dunno. It’s some guy from that, I think. It’s only a couple hours and then Capra will get off my ass. Hopefully. Fuck off, I’m not nervous.<br/> <br/> <em>Back inside. He picks up his phone from the kitchen counter, dropping into one of two chairs at a small dining table. He snorts sarcastically.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> (sarcastic)<br/> Yeah. The devil from the Bible, that’s who it’s gonna be. Okay, I gotta go. No. Ask him, I’m not telling you shit. Bye. BYE, I have to go.<br/> <br/> <em>He sits in silence for a moment. Drops his head onto the table and lets out a long sigh.</em></p> <p><em>KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK</em></p> <p><em>Watts looks toward the front door. He stands, bracing himself against the table for a moment before crossing the room.</em></p> <p><br/> <strong>EXT. CABIN – CONTINUOUS</strong></p> <p><em>The blue front door of the cabin opens to where Watts stands behind it, glancing distractedly back over his shoulder.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Sorry for the walk, I know it’s a-<br/> <br/> <em>He finally looks toward the stranger in the doorway, stopping mid-sentence. He stares for a moment. Looks the stranger up and down.</em></p> <p><em>BELIAL, mid 40’s, is a tall, smartly-dressed man wearing tortoiseshell glasses and a beige suit. There isn’t a speck of dirt on him. He grins amicably.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> Good evening! Ira, was it? I hope I’m not too late!<br/> <br/> <em>Watts stares at him for several more seconds.</em></p> <p><em>Belial coughs awkwardly.</em></p> <p><em>Watts glances toward the clock on the microwave inside. It reads 8:01.</em></p> <p><em>He shakes it off, gesturing Belial inside.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Yeah. Sorry. Thanks for coming, uh, come on in.<br/> <br/> <br/> <strong>INT. CABIN – EVENING</strong></p> <p><em>Belial looks around the small cabin with amused curiosity.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> So you’re… Ben?<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> Yes indeed! “Ben.” That’s me! Very interesting flat you’ve got, mate.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Sorry, what site are you from again? Er, I thought your group was coming in from- like, Indiana, or something.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> Oh, I’m not local.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> From somewhere around London then?<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> Or something.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Want anything to drink?<br/> <br/> <em>Belial sits down on a slightly rickety barstool across the kitchen counter as Watts opens the fridge.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> Chamomile, if you have any?<br/> <br/> <em>Watts looks up past the fridge door and cringes awkwardly.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> No tea?<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> I have beer?<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> Eugh…<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> I have a fifteen dollar bottle of red.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> Brilliant!<br/> <br/> <br/> <strong>EXT. CABIN – NIGHT</strong></p> <p><em>The sun has set over the Cascades. Crickets and night birds are alive around the cabin. The light from the windows looks inviting.</em></p> <p><br/> <strong>INT. CABIN - CONTINUOUS</strong></p> <p><em>Belial sits at the tiny bar counter, Watts leans up against a wall across the room. Both hold unmatched coffee mugs half-full of red wine. Belial talks animatedly as Watts polishes off his mug.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> And they didn’t even INVITE me! I mean, bloody hell, after everything I’d done for them. All worked out in my favor, though. I eventually pulled some strings and got two of them fired.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> From your agency?<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> Yes. Not from the Foundation.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> So you’re like a private contractor?<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> More of a consultant, I like to think.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> What do you do?<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> Nothing very interesting! It’s a lot of paperwork. The type of paperwork the Foundation doesn’t want to do. Takes centuries, you could even say.<br/> <br/> <em>Watts studies Belial as he’s talking, squinting suspiciously.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> I like to think I used to have it a lot like you did, actually! Glory days and all. My life was much more exciting before all… this. But what is one to do? Things turn out the way they’re going to turn out, don’t they?<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Don’t I know it.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> That’s why I’m here, I suppose. I have a friend who has a friend who has a friend who might need some company. And I’m always keen on meeting interesting new people.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> (chuckling)<br/> Sorry to disappoint.<br/> <br/> <em>Belial claps him on the shoulder, laughing.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> You and I both then!<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Honestly, I’m really curious what kind of “glory days” somebody like you would have.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> Someone like me?<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Pencil pushers. No offense.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> None taken. But between us,<br/> <br/> <em>Belial sips his wine, smiling mysteriously over the rim of the mug.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> That might be second date material.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> …Right.<br/> <br/> <em>They sit in silence for a moment. It’s a little uncomfortable. Belial clears his throat.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> I’m happy to help start dinner, if you’re-<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Why are you here?<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> Site-68 is meeting with Dr. Church for discussions on-<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> No, why are <em>you</em> here? You’re not even an employee of 68. You’re a contractor.<br/> <br/> <em>Watts’ demeanor has become significantly more tense.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> So what is a private contractor doing at a mundane retirement plan negotiation?<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> I’m sorry, have I said something to upset you?<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Can you answer the question?<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> I needed time away from the office. This town is one of the Foundation’s best kept little secrets. It’s beautiful.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> You’re sure there’s nothing else?<br/> <br/> <em>Belial is getting defensive. The two of them are beginning to bristle at each other like cats.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> Mr. Watts, I think you’ve spent an awful lot of time in danger and there might be a possibility that you’re reading signals into this situation that aren’t there.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> We’re in the middle of an illusion nexus. I’m pretty good at reading the right fucking signals.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> Does it have anything to do with that eye of yours?<br/> <br/> <em>They stare each other down. Watts’ eyes narrow.</em></p> <p><em>WATTS’ POV: A bright, shimmering orange-red cast oscillates around Belial’s body.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> What are you?<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> I’m leaving.<br/> <br/> <em>Belial stands and steps toward the door.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Wait a second, I don’t think you are.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> I don’t have the patience for this. Goodnight, Mr. Watts.<br/> <br/> <em>Watts suddenly plunges his hand into the gravel of a fake potted plant and withdraws a handgun.</em></p> <p><em>There’s a rune of some kind carved messily into the barrel. He trains the sight on Belial’s forehead.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> You’re not going anywhere until I know you’re not planning on hurting the kids.<br/> <br/> <em>Belial sighs, barely reacting.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> You can’t see what I am?<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> I can see that you’re not human.<br/> <br/> <em>Belial chuckles coldly.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> So you’re at least aware that I’m not mortal.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> That body you’re in is mortal enough.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> Your gun can’t hurt me.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Eh. It packs a punch.<br/> <br/> <em>Belial’s body dissolves, vanishing into the air in ribbons of white sand. The lights in the room flicker, and every shadow stretches toward the spot where he stood, like black water flowing into a drain.</em></p> <p><em>Watts steps back against the wall, scanning the room, the pistol held in front of him. Belial steps back into existence, his body reforming barely two feet from where Watts stands. He’s several inches taller.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> I have no interest in hurting anyone in this town. Not even you.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Then leave.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> That was the plan.<br/> <br/> <em>The lights in the cabin return to normal as Belial turns on his heels, back to the front door. His face is written with frustration and disappointment.</em></p> <p><br/> <strong>EXT. CABIN – NIGHT</strong></p> <p><em>Darkness has fallen fully now. Watts watches from the doorway as Belial walks down the gravel path into the dark, unlit woods. The gun is still in his hand.</em></p> <p><em>Belial abruptly stops about thirty feet from the door, just in front of the mailbox. He moves to take another step, but doesn’t.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> Uhh…<br/> <br/> <em>Belial turns over his shoulder, shooting Watts a perplexed expression.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> There’s… some kind of barrier?<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> What? Oh, shit-<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> I assume you know?<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> God dammit.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> Not God, but close enough.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> My fucking wards, they’re stronger after dark.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> Your wards.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> My house is warded, there’s- there’s weird shit out here, alright? You’re not a fairy, are you? Are you a fairy?<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> No. I’m not a “fairy.”<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Shit. Okay. They’re for keeping stuff out, I’ve never seen them keep anything in.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> I don’t think I could cross this safely.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> What? Really? You’re not afraid of an enchanted weapon but you <em>are</em> afraid of some shitty folk magic wards?<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> I could get out if I wanted to. That wouldn’t be a problem at all. It’s more an issue of the- er, the discharge of energy that would occur when I did. You see, it’s a negligible amount of power for me, but it’s a fairly small area, and that amount of-<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> You’d blow up my house?<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> I would most likely blow up your house, yes.<br/> <br/> <em>Watts rubs his hand down his face.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Great. Shit. Shit!<br/> <br/> <em>He kicks the dirt, dropping onto the front step with an exasperated groan.</em></p> <p><em>Belial stands awkwardly at the end of the drive. He straightens his suit jacket just to have something to do with his hands.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> I’m happy to- uh, wait out here until morning, if that’s preferable. I don’t have much of a desire to leave a crater in your lovely forest.<br/> <br/> <em>Watts says nothing. Belial looks uncomfortable.</em></p> <p><em>Then, with a sharp, deep inhale, Watts stands back up.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> I don’t want you- <em>lurking</em> around out here all night.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> I don’t <em>lurk</em>. I’m not a <em>lurker.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Goddammit, just come back inside.<br/> <br/> <em>Belial watches Watts shove his hand in his pocket and turn back around, disappearing into the cabin.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS OFFSCREEN</strong><br/> Are you coming in or not?<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> Yes! Yes, sorry.<br/> <br/> <em>Belial follows after him, closing the front door behind him.</em></p> <p><br/> <strong>INT. CABIN – CONTINUOUS</strong></p> <p><em>Belial stands in the doorway as Watts rounds the cabin, drawing shades over all the windows.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Okay. Here’s how this is going to work. You’re staying on <em>that</em> side and I’m staying on <em>this</em> side. And I’m not sleeping all night, and I’m not letting go of this gun, and in about eleven hours the sun will come back up and you can get the hell out. Sound cool?<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> I never should have come here.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Yeah, you shouldn’t have.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> This was even more of a waste of time than I thought it would be.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> I bet “Ben” isn’t even your real name.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> It’s not. It’s Belial.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> <em>Belial?!</em> Like the demon?! From Hell?!<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> Yes.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Like, in the Gregorian chants and the Bible and shit?!<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> <em>Yes.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Awesome. Course this happens. Why does everything always have to be so- Fuck. I’m getting a new therapist.<br/> <br/> <em>Belial rolls his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose under his glasses.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> Ira-<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Nah, don’t use the first one.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> <em>Mr. Watts.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Better.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> I’m not trying to be hostile. <em>All</em> of this is coming from <em>you.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Yeah. You’re right. You’re right.<br/> <br/> <em>Watts stands up stiffly, bee-lining for the kitchen. He throws open a cupboard and starts digging through it. Belial watches, eyes narrowed in annoyed confusion.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS OFFSCREEN</strong><br/> This should help-<br/> <br/> <em>Watts passes by Belial on his way back to his spot on the floor on the opposite side of the room. He drops something in Belial’s lap – A half-full handle of scotch. He pats Belial’s head on his way past.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Maybe we both need to calm down.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> I’m a demon, this isn’t going to-<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Does your frail human body get drunk?<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> It <em>can.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Then bottoms up. I’m not doing twelve hours of this sober.<br/> <br/> <em>Watts pops the cork of his bottle of rum and flicks it across the room before taking a long pull.</em></p> <p><em>Belial shrugs and uncorks his as well.</em></p> <p><br/> <strong>MONTAGE</strong></p> <p><em>A. Belial and Watts bicker heatedly from opposite sides of the room.</em></p> <p><em>B. Belial paces the room in circles, rambling animatedly about something. His suit jacket is piled on the floor. Watts has moved to a chair and rolls his eyes as Belial prattles on.</em></p> <p><em>C. Belial rolls up his shirt sleeve and they plant their elbows on the table- arm wrestling. Watts wins easily, giving Belial a smug victorious laugh. Belial shakes out his arm and goes for a rematch. The moment they start, a thick haze of sandy white particles forms around Belial’s arm, and he slams Watts’ hand back to the table. Watts curses at him.</em></p> <p><strong>END MONTAGE</strong></p> <p><br/> <strong>INT. CABIN – NIGHT</strong></p> <p><em>Watts stands at the kitchen counter, still sipping from a bottle. Belial is lying on the floor with his feet on a chair. He’s throwing a tiny <a href="/scp-6326">Manbear</a> plush up in the air and catching it.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> You’re a real twat, you know.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> What the <em>fuck</em> does that even mean?<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> You’re an arsehole.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Shut up. You could have picked any human body and you still picked British.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> I happen to like this one. Not like it’s any of your business. You’re not seeing the rest of it.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Who said I wanna see the rest of it?!<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> This is a date, isn’t it?<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Oh, fuck off.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> <em>Isn’t</em> it?<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> No! Not anymore! And you don’t fuck on the first date anyway!<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> Maybe <em>you</em> don’t.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Yeah. I don’t.<br/> <br/> <em>Belial mutters under his breath.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> But you <em>do</em> have the general air of someone who hasn’t gotten a bit of tail in a <em>long</em> time.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Hey!<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> Am I wrong?<br/> <br/> <em>Watts pauses, glaring at him. He opens his mouth. Closes it.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> …No.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> Ha.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> But <em>you</em> look like if a filing cabinet came to life.<br/> <br/> <em>Belial fails to catch the Manbear plush. It bounces off his face. He props himself up on his elbows, wearing an expression of very competitive offense.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> You look like you got one sleeve caught in an ice auger.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> You look like you eat the color beige.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> You look like something they’d pull out of a shower drain at a crime scene.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> You look like you’re going to try and sell me a timeshare.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> You look like <em>you’re</em> going to try and sell me your mix CD on the subway.<br/> <br/> <em>Watts barks out a laugh before doubling over, dropping his head onto his arms and wheezing. Belial chuckles as he sits up.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> You got me.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> That was good. You roast me almost as good as the kids do.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> I saw some of them today. Absolutely monstrous. Did you teach them to be like that?<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Like what?<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> Well, one of them called me a “five head.”<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Yeah, they’re going through a mean phase.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> <em>All</em> of them?<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> They’re <em>all</em> thirteen.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> I don’t know how you manage it. Sticky little creatures.<br/> <br/> <em>Watts’ body language relaxes as he’s talking. He’s also pretty drunk.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> It’s not as bad as people say. You just have to respect them and meet them at their level. They’re mostly fine as long as you’re not totally shitty to them. God, I was a little dickhead when I was their age too.<br/> <br/> <em>Belial quietly watches him ramble.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Don’t get me wrong, they still piss me off. But they’re teenagers, they’re <em>supposed</em> to piss everybody off. They’re good kids, though. They try really hard.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> You look very different right now.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> What?<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> You look different. Clearer.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Man, look, I’m too drunk for whatever it is you’re talking about.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> Nevermind. Should we make dinner?<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Oh, shit. Yeah.<br/> <br/> <br/> <strong>MONTAGE</strong></p> <p><em>A. Watts is washing rice as Belial shoots a bouncy ball into a beer pong arrangement of random mugs. He misses repeatedly.</em></p> <p><em>B. They stand on opposite sides of the kitchen counter, both angrily ranting about something, but they’re on the same side of the issue. A pot simmers on the stove.</em></p> <p><em>C. They’re sitting on the floor with dishes of stew and tahdig, laughing so hard they’re borderline crying.</em></p> <p><strong>END MONTAGE</strong><br/> <br/> <strong>INT. CABIN – NIGHT</strong></p> <p><em>Belial is still sipping from a bottle of wine. Watts is lying on his back on the floor. Dirty dishes are piled in the sink. It’s late.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> It’s so… <em>different</em> now. You’re all so connected and disconnected at the same time. I don’t know how you all do it.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> We all have depression and hate ourselves, that’s how.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> I miss orgies. People don’t have orgies like they used to.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Dude, that suuuucks for you.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> It does. It does suck for me. Nobody invites me to orgies anymore.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Nobody ever invited <em>me</em> to orgies.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> Did you <em>want</em> to go to orgies?<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> No. But I dunno, it’d be nice to be asked.<br/> <br/> <em>Watts pries himself off the floor with an exhausted groan.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Ugh, I need to go to bed. I’m drunk. I’m too old to be doing this shit.<br/> <br/> <em>He gestures toward the single full-size bed in the back corner of the cabin.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> You can take the bed. I’ll be on the floor.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> No. I can sleep on the floor. My mortal body isn’t even real, in the sense that yours is.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> You’re a guest. I’m not making you sleep on the fucking floor.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> Most people have a pull-out sofa or something.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> You’re really overestimating how many people come here.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> I insist that you take the bed.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> I insist <em>you</em> take the damn bed.<br/> <br/> <em>They stare each other down for a moment. Stalemate.</em></p> <p><br/> <strong>INT. CABIN – LATER</strong></p> <p><em>Watts and Belial are in sleeping bags on the floor on opposite sides of the empty bed. Watts’ prosthetic lies on the floor a few feet away.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> This is really how you want to do this?<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Yes.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> Alright.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> It’s been a long time since I’ve drank this much.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> Me as well.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> It doesn’t count for you. You don’t even feel it.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> I <em>do</em> feel it. I’m in this meat person shell. I <em>want</em> to feel it.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Yeah? How is it?<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> Feels brilliant. And also shit.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Yuuuup.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> You’re a decent cook though.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Can I tell you a secret?<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> Yes?<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> That’s the only thing I really know how to cook. I’m shit at everything else.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> I don’t know if I believe that.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> It’s true. I hate cooking. I used to eat MRE’s like half the time but my doctor said it was destroying my intestines.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> There’s something wrong with you.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> (laughing)<br/> Yeah.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> I used to be somebody, you know.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Yeah. You said.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> I used to be somebody <em>important.</em><br/> <br/> <em>Watts turns toward him, watching his face through the space under the bed.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> People admired me. Feared me. <em>Worshipped</em> me. And now look at me. I’m drunk on the floor of a shipping container and my favorite body looks like a divorced accountant.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> (snort laugh)<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> I don’t know what happened. I should have people fawning over me. I shouldn’t have to resort to seeking company from… socially inept <em>Foundation</em> employees, of all things. No offense.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> No, I get it.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> I miss it terribly. The action. The excitement.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> The point.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> I’m sorry?<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> The point. Having one.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> Oh. Yes.<br/> <br/> <em>Belial stares up at the ceiling, lost in thought.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> It’s strange. One day it seems like you’re king of the whole universe, and the next thing you know you’re doing paperwork in an office that always smells like burnt popcorn and wondering what you did wrong. And everybody looks at you with this dreadful sort of-<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Pity.<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> <em>Yes!</em> All because now you can’t do what everyone thinks you’re <em>supposed</em> to do-<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> So you just sit around trying to find some new shit to do-<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> And you wake up one century and suddenly you don’t even recognize yourself anymore.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Like there’s only parts of that person left.<br/> <br/> <em>Belial stops, turning his head toward Watts in surprise. Watts isn’t looking at him, just staring into space above him.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> Yes. Just like that.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Guess it’s nice to know there’s losers in every dimension, huh?<br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> I suppose. I think it would be much worse if I was the only one.<br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Mm.<br/> <br/> <em>A pause for a moment. Crickets chirp loudly outside. Something in the forest makes an otherworldly, chortling laughter noise. Belial watches a strip of moonlight on the ceiling, the shadow of tree branches wavering through it.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> Maybe I’m just drunk, but I think I envy you, mate. You say you miss having a point but you have this. This place. Your students. You have <em>something.</em> I’m not even sure what I have left. Maybe I could try harder, but I’m tired. I don’t expect anything from anyone anymore. I lied to myself for a long time that I deserved better than this. But when all’s said and done, it’s my own fault, isn’t it? I only wish I knew what I <em>did.</em> But now I figure it follows that other people don’t like me. <em>I</em> don’t even like me.<br/> <br/> <em>He pauses, sighing.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> But it seems maybe you don’t entirely despise me. I suppose that counts for something.<br/> <br/> <em>No response. The cabin is dark and quiet.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>BELIAL</strong><br/> Ira?<br/> <br/> <em>Watts snores quietly. Belial chuckles to himself under his breath.</em></p> <p><br/> <strong>EXT. FOREST – MORNING</strong></p> <p><em>A songbird sits on a tree branch as the sun streams through the pine needles. It shakes its feathers, briefly cycling through a rainbow of colors before it flies off.</em></p> <p><br/> <strong>INT. CABIN – CONTINUOUS</strong></p> <p><em>Watts rolls over in his tangled sleeping bag into a patch of sunlight streaming in from between the blinds. It beams directly into his face. He groans, blinking awake and squinting against the light.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Fuck…<br/> <br/> <em>He peels himself off the floor, sitting up and rubbing his hand down his face. He looks like shit.</em></p> <p><em>He pauses, and bends down to look under the bed toward the other side. Belial is gone, his sleeping bag folded up on the floor.</em></p> <p><em>Watts looks toward the kitchen, where the dishes are clean and all the empty liquor and wine bottle are lined up beside the sink.</em></p> <p><em>He stands up slowly, clearly hungover. He doesn’t bother to open the blinds on the windows. Watts shuffles to the kitchen, looking over the general lack of mess. Something catches his eye.</em></p> <p><em>On the clean counter is a small, square white card. Written neatly in ballpoint pen: “CALL ME.” Watts turns it over. On the back is a neat illustration of a summoning circle.</em></p> <p><br/> <strong>EXT. CABIN – CONTINUOUS</strong></p> <p><em>Watts opens his blue front door, stepping out into the partly cloudy Pacific Northwest morning. He squints against the sun, then spots something, his face wrinkling in irritation.</em></p> <p><em>A few yards away is the charred evidence of a demonic circle, burned into the brush. It’s still smoking and it looks terrible.</em><br/> <br/> <strong>WATTS</strong><br/> Motherf-<br/> <br/> <br/> <strong>END</strong><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/></p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><strong>This is my submission to <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/romcon">RomCon</a>, featuring Belial, a character by <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/greyve" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(4045981); return false;"><img alt="Greyve" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=4045981&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1730032619" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=4045981)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/greyve" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(4045981); return false;">Greyve</a></span>. Be sure to check out their piece for RomCon <a href="javascript:;">here</a>! (hasn't been posted yet)</strong></p> </div> <br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/losers-in-every-dimension">Losers in Every Dimension</a>" by Raddagher, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/losers-in-every-dimension">https://scpwiki.com/losers-in-every-dimension</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:basalt">:scp-wiki:theme:basalt</a>]] [[>]] [[module rate]] [[/>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:author-label-source">:scp-wiki:component:author-label-source</a> start=-- \|name=Raddagher]] [http://www.scp-wiki.net/the-radd-zone More by this Author] \| [http://www.scpwiki.com/findusalivehub Find Us Alive Hub] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:author-label-source">:scp-wiki:component:author-label-source</a> end=--]] EXT. FOREST – EVENING //The sun is dropping over a small, sleepy-looking town, surrounded on all sides by the Cascade Mountains. The woods are lush and green in the early summer.// //A long, narrow gravel road winds into the forest. At the end of it, a pair of red shipping containers refurbished into a small cabin. An ATV is parked next to it.// //A strange-looking wind chime object hangs in front of one window. It’s made entirely out of different types of teeth.// _ WATTS I’m not “self-isolating.” _ _ INT. CABIN – CONTINUOUS //Inside the cabin is what amounts to a studio apartment. Small and cluttered, but cozy enough. The furniture is mismatched and secondhand, sometimes with DIY repairs to broken pieces. There’s a dumbbell rack and a punching bag in one corner, beside a large firearm safe. One full size bed in another corner.// //WATTS, early 30’s, uses a prosthetic arm to sweep a few empty beer cans off a coffee table into a garbage bag. A partial commitment to a beard, overgrown black, wavy hair mostly obscuring the fractal-like scar across half his face. A black glass prosthetic in place of his left eye. He’s talking on the phone into a pair of earbuds. He looks tired.// _ WATTS I don’t know what she expects me to do. Nobody does shit out here. At least I agreed to this. _ //We follow him out a sliding glass door to where he tosses the bag into a bear-proof trash can. It takes a second for his prosthetic hand to get a good grip on the lid.// _ WATTS No. I have no idea. There’s people here from some other site. Contracts for sending more retirees out here or something, I dunno. It’s some guy from that, I think. It’s only a couple hours and then Capra will get off my ass. Hopefully. Fuck off, I’m not nervous. _ //Back inside. He picks up his phone from the kitchen counter, dropping into one of two chairs at a small dining table. He snorts sarcastically.// _ WATTS (sarcastic) Yeah. The devil from the Bible, that’s who it’s gonna be. Okay, I gotta go. No. Ask him, I’m not telling you shit. Bye. BYE, I have to go. _ //He sits in silence for a moment. Drops his head onto the table and lets out a long sigh.// //KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK// //Watts looks toward the front door. He stands, bracing himself against the table for a moment before crossing the room.// _ EXT. CABIN – CONTINUOUS //The blue front door of the cabin opens to where Watts stands behind it, glancing distractedly back over his shoulder.// _ WATTS Sorry for the walk, I know it’s a- _ //He finally looks toward the stranger in the doorway, stopping mid-sentence. He stares for a moment. Looks the stranger up and down.// //BELIAL, mid 40’s, is a tall, smartly-dressed man wearing tortoiseshell glasses and a beige suit. There isn’t a speck of dirt on him. He grins amicably.// _ BELIAL Good evening! Ira, was it? I hope I’m not too late! _ //Watts stares at him for several more seconds.// //Belial coughs awkwardly.// //Watts glances toward the clock on the microwave inside. It reads 8:01.// //He shakes it off, gesturing Belial inside.// _ WATTS Yeah. Sorry. Thanks for coming, uh, come on in. _ _ INT. CABIN – EVENING //Belial looks around the small cabin with amused curiosity.// _ WATTS So you’re… Ben? _ BELIAL Yes indeed! “Ben.” That’s me! Very interesting flat you’ve got, mate. _ WATTS Sorry, what site are you from again? Er, I thought your group was coming in from- like, Indiana, or something. _ BELIAL Oh, I’m not local. _ WATTS From somewhere around London then? _ BELIAL Or something. _ WATTS Want anything to drink? _ //Belial sits down on a slightly rickety barstool across the kitchen counter as Watts opens the fridge.// _ BELIAL Chamomile, if you have any? _ //Watts looks up past the fridge door and cringes awkwardly.// _ BELIAL No tea? _ WATTS I have beer? _ BELIAL Eugh… _ WATTS I have a fifteen dollar bottle of red. _ BELIAL Brilliant! _ _ EXT. CABIN – NIGHT //The sun has set over the Cascades. Crickets and night birds are alive around the cabin. The light from the windows looks inviting.// _ INT. CABIN - CONTINUOUS //Belial sits at the tiny bar counter, Watts leans up against a wall across the room. Both hold unmatched coffee mugs half-full of red wine. Belial talks animatedly as Watts polishes off his mug.// _ BELIAL And they didn’t even INVITE me! I mean, bloody hell, after everything I’d done for them. All worked out in my favor, though. I eventually pulled some strings and got two of them fired. _ WATTS From your agency? _ BELIAL Yes. Not from the Foundation. _ WATTS So you’re like a private contractor? _ BELIAL More of a consultant, I like to think. _ WATTS What do you do? _ BELIAL Nothing very interesting! It’s a lot of paperwork. The type of paperwork the Foundation doesn’t want to do. Takes centuries, you could even say. _ //Watts studies Belial as he’s talking, squinting suspiciously.// _ BELIAL I like to think I used to have it a lot like you did, actually! Glory days and all. My life was much more exciting before all… this. But what is one to do? Things turn out the way they’re going to turn out, don’t they? _ WATTS Don’t I know it. _ BELIAL That’s why I’m here, I suppose. I have a friend who has a friend who has a friend who might need some company. And I’m always keen on meeting interesting new people. _ WATTS (chuckling) Sorry to disappoint. _ //Belial claps him on the shoulder, laughing.// _ BELIAL You and I both then! _ WATTS Honestly, I’m really curious what kind of “glory days” somebody like you would have. _ BELIAL Someone like me? _ WATTS Pencil pushers. No offense. _ BELIAL None taken. But between us, _ //Belial sips his wine, smiling mysteriously over the rim of the mug.// _ BELIAL That might be second date material. _ WATTS ...Right. _ //They sit in silence for a moment. It’s a little uncomfortable. Belial clears his throat.// _ BELIAL I’m happy to help start dinner, if you’re- _ WATTS Why are you here? _ BELIAL Site-68 is meeting with Dr. Church for discussions on- _ WATTS No, why are //you// here? You’re not even an employee of 68. You’re a contractor. _ //Watts’ demeanor has become significantly more tense.// _ WATTS So what is a private contractor doing at a mundane retirement plan negotiation? _ BELIAL I’m sorry, have I said something to upset you? _ WATTS Can you answer the question? _ BELIAL I needed time away from the office. This town is one of the Foundation’s best kept little secrets. It’s beautiful. _ WATTS You’re sure there’s nothing else? _ //Belial is getting defensive. The two of them are beginning to bristle at each other like cats.// _ BELIAL Mr. Watts, I think you’ve spent an awful lot of time in danger and there might be a possibility that you’re reading signals into this situation that aren’t there. _ WATTS We’re in the middle of an illusion nexus. I’m pretty good at reading the right fucking signals. _ BELIAL Does it have anything to do with that eye of yours? _ //They stare each other down. Watts’ eyes narrow.// //WATTS’ POV: A bright, shimmering orange-red cast oscillates around Belial’s body.// _ WATTS What are you? _ BELIAL I’m leaving. _ //Belial stands and steps toward the door.// _ WATTS Wait a second, I don’t think you are. _ BELIAL I don’t have the patience for this. Goodnight, Mr. Watts. _ //Watts suddenly plunges his hand into the gravel of a fake potted plant and withdraws a handgun.// //There’s a rune of some kind carved messily into the barrel. He trains the sight on Belial’s forehead.// _ WATTS You’re not going anywhere until I know you’re not planning on hurting the kids. _ //Belial sighs, barely reacting.// _ BELIAL You can’t see what I am? _ WATTS I can see that you’re not human. _ //Belial chuckles coldly.// _ BELIAL So you’re at least aware that I’m not mortal. _ WATTS That body you’re in is mortal enough. _ BELIAL Your gun can’t hurt me. _ WATTS Eh. It packs a punch. _ //Belial’s body dissolves, vanishing into the air in ribbons of white sand. The lights in the room flicker, and every shadow stretches toward the spot where he stood, like black water flowing into a drain.// //Watts steps back against the wall, scanning the room, the pistol held in front of him. Belial steps back into existence, his body reforming barely two feet from where Watts stands. He’s several inches taller.// _ BELIAL I have no interest in hurting anyone in this town. Not even you. _ WATTS Then leave. _ BELIAL That was the plan. _ //The lights in the cabin return to normal as Belial turns on his heels, back to the front door. His face is written with frustration and disappointment.// _ EXT. CABIN – NIGHT //Darkness has fallen fully now. Watts watches from the doorway as Belial walks down the gravel path into the dark, unlit woods. The gun is still in his hand.// //Belial abruptly stops about thirty feet from the door, just in front of the mailbox. He moves to take another step, but doesn’t.// _ BELIAL Uhh… _ //Belial turns over his shoulder, shooting Watts a perplexed expression.// _ BELIAL There’s… some kind of barrier? _ WATTS What? Oh, shit- _ BELIAL I assume you know? _ WATTS God dammit. _ BELIAL Not God, but close enough. _ WATTS My fucking wards, they’re stronger after dark. _ BELIAL Your wards. _ WATTS My house is warded, there’s- there’s weird shit out here, alright? You’re not a fairy, are you? Are you a fairy? _ BELIAL No. I’m not a “fairy.” _ WATTS Shit. Okay. They’re for keeping stuff out, I’ve never seen them keep anything in. _ BELIAL I don’t think I could cross this safely. _ WATTS What? Really? You’re not afraid of an enchanted weapon but you //are// afraid of some shitty folk magic wards? _ BELIAL I could get out if I wanted to. That wouldn’t be a problem at all. It’s more an issue of the- er, the discharge of energy that would occur when I did. You see, it’s a negligible amount of power for me, but it’s a fairly small area, and that amount of- _ WATTS You’d blow up my house? _ BELIAL I would most likely blow up your house, yes. _ //Watts rubs his hand down his face.// _ WATTS Great. Shit. Shit! _ //He kicks the dirt, dropping onto the front step with an exasperated groan.// //Belial stands awkwardly at the end of the drive. He straightens his suit jacket just to have something to do with his hands.// _ BELIAL I’m happy to- uh, wait out here until morning, if that’s preferable. I don’t have much of a desire to leave a crater in your lovely forest. _ //Watts says nothing. Belial looks uncomfortable.// //Then, with a sharp, deep inhale, Watts stands back up.// _ WATTS I don’t want you- //lurking// around out here all night. _ BELIAL I don’t //lurk//. I’m not a //lurker.// _ WATTS Goddammit, just come back inside. _ //Belial watches Watts shove his hand in his pocket and turn back around, disappearing into the cabin.// _ WATTS OFFSCREEN Are you coming in or not? _ BELIAL Yes! Yes, sorry. _ //Belial follows after him, closing the front door behind him.// _ INT. CABIN – CONTINUOUS //Belial stands in the doorway as Watts rounds the cabin, drawing shades over all the windows.// _ WATTS Okay. Here’s how this is going to work. You’re staying on //that// side and I’m staying on //this// side. And I’m not sleeping all night, and I’m not letting go of this gun, and in about eleven hours the sun will come back up and you can get the hell out. Sound cool? _ BELIAL I never should have come here. _ WATTS Yeah, you shouldn’t have. _ BELIAL This was even more of a waste of time than I thought it would be. _ WATTS I bet “Ben” isn’t even your real name. _ BELIAL It’s not. It’s Belial. _ WATTS //Belial?!// Like the demon?! From Hell?! _ BELIAL Yes. _ WATTS Like, in the Gregorian chants and the Bible and shit?! _ BELIAL //Yes.// _ WATTS Awesome. Course this happens. Why does everything always have to be so- Fuck. I’m getting a new therapist. _ //Belial rolls his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose under his glasses.// _ BELIAL Ira- _ WATTS Nah, don’t use the first one. _ BELIAL //Mr. Watts.// _ WATTS Better. _ BELIAL I’m not trying to be hostile. //All// of this is coming from //you.// _ WATTS Yeah. You’re right. You’re right. _ //Watts stands up stiffly, bee-lining for the kitchen. He throws open a cupboard and starts digging through it. Belial watches, eyes narrowed in annoyed confusion.// _ WATTS OFFSCREEN This should help- _ //Watts passes by Belial on his way back to his spot on the floor on the opposite side of the room. He drops something in Belial’s lap – A half-full handle of scotch. He pats Belial’s head on his way past.// _ WATTS Maybe we both need to calm down. _ BELIAL I’m a demon, this isn’t going to- _ WATTS Does your frail human body get drunk? _ BELIAL It //can.// _ WATTS Then bottoms up. I’m not doing twelve hours of this sober. _ //Watts pops the cork of his bottle of rum and flicks it across the room before taking a long pull.// //Belial shrugs and uncorks his as well.// _ MONTAGE //A. Belial and Watts bicker heatedly from opposite sides of the room.// //B. Belial paces the room in circles, rambling animatedly about something. His suit jacket is piled on the floor. Watts has moved to a chair and rolls his eyes as Belial prattles on.// //C. Belial rolls up his shirt sleeve and they plant their elbows on the table- arm wrestling. Watts wins easily, giving Belial a smug victorious laugh. Belial shakes out his arm and goes for a rematch. The moment they start, a thick haze of sandy white particles forms around Belial’s arm, and he slams Watts’ hand back to the table. Watts curses at him.// END MONTAGE _ INT. CABIN – NIGHT //Watts stands at the kitchen counter, still sipping from a bottle. Belial is lying on the floor with his feet on a chair. He’s throwing a tiny [[[scp-6326 \|Manbear]]] plush up in the air and catching it.// _ BELIAL You’re a real twat, you know. _ WATTS What the //fuck// does that even mean? _ BELIAL You’re an arsehole. _ WATTS Shut up. You could have picked any human body and you still picked British. _ BELIAL I happen to like this one. Not like it’s any of your business. You’re not seeing the rest of it. _ WATTS Who said I wanna see the rest of it?! _ BELIAL This is a date, isn’t it? _ WATTS Oh, fuck off. _ BELIAL //Isn’t// it? _ WATTS No! Not anymore! And you don’t fuck on the first date anyway! _ BELIAL Maybe //you// don’t. _ WATTS Yeah. I don’t. _ //Belial mutters under his breath.// _ BELIAL But you //do// have the general air of someone who hasn’t gotten a bit of tail in a //long// time. _ WATTS Hey! _ BELIAL Am I wrong? _ //Watts pauses, glaring at him. He opens his mouth. Closes it.// _ WATTS ...No. _ BELIAL Ha. _ WATTS But //you// look like if a filing cabinet came to life. _ //Belial fails to catch the Manbear plush. It bounces off his face. He props himself up on his elbows, wearing an expression of very competitive offense.// _ BELIAL You look like you got one sleeve caught in an ice auger. _ WATTS You look like you eat the color beige. _ BELIAL You look like something they’d pull out of a shower drain at a crime scene. _ WATTS You look like you’re going to try and sell me a timeshare. _ BELIAL You look like //you’re// going to try and sell me your mix CD on the subway. _ //Watts barks out a laugh before doubling over, dropping his head onto his arms and wheezing. Belial chuckles as he sits up.// _ BELIAL You got me. _ WATTS That was good. You roast me almost as good as the kids do. _ BELIAL I saw some of them today. Absolutely monstrous. Did you teach them to be like that? _ WATTS Like what? _ BELIAL Well, one of them called me a “five head.” _ WATTS Yeah, they’re going through a mean phase. _ BELIAL //All// of them? _ WATTS They’re //all// thirteen. _ BELIAL I don’t know how you manage it. Sticky little creatures. _ //Watts’ body language relaxes as he’s talking. He’s also pretty drunk.// _ WATTS It’s not as bad as people say. You just have to respect them and meet them at their level. They’re mostly fine as long as you’re not totally shitty to them. God, I was a little dickhead when I was their age too. _ //Belial quietly watches him ramble.// _ WATTS Don’t get me wrong, they still piss me off. But they’re teenagers, they’re //supposed// to piss everybody off. They’re good kids, though. They try really hard. _ BELIAL You look very different right now. _ WATTS What? _ BELIAL You look different. Clearer. _ WATTS Man, look, I’m too drunk for whatever it is you’re talking about. _ BELIAL Nevermind. Should we make dinner? _ WATTS Oh, shit. Yeah. _ _ MONTAGE //A. Watts is washing rice as Belial shoots a bouncy ball into a beer pong arrangement of random mugs. He misses repeatedly.// //B. They stand on opposite sides of the kitchen counter, both angrily ranting about something, but they’re on the same side of the issue. A pot simmers on the stove.// //C. They’re sitting on the floor with dishes of stew and tahdig, laughing so hard they’re borderline crying.// END MONTAGE _ INT. CABIN – NIGHT //Belial is still sipping from a bottle of wine. Watts is lying on his back on the floor. Dirty dishes are piled in the sink. It’s late.// _ BELIAL It’s so… //different// now. You’re all so connected and disconnected at the same time. I don’t know how you all do it. _ WATTS We all have depression and hate ourselves, that’s how. _ BELIAL I miss orgies. People don’t have orgies like they used to. _ WATTS Dude, that suuuucks for you. _ BELIAL It does. It does suck for me. Nobody invites me to orgies anymore. _ WATTS Nobody ever invited //me// to orgies. _ BELIAL Did you //want// to go to orgies? _ WATTS No. But I dunno, it’d be nice to be asked. _ //Watts pries himself off the floor with an exhausted groan.// _ WATTS Ugh, I need to go to bed. I’m drunk. I’m too old to be doing this shit. _ //He gestures toward the single full-size bed in the back corner of the cabin.// _ WATTS You can take the bed. I’ll be on the floor. _ BELIAL No. I can sleep on the floor. My mortal body isn’t even real, in the sense that yours is. _ WATTS You’re a guest. I’m not making you sleep on the fucking floor. _ BELIAL Most people have a pull-out sofa or something. _ WATTS You’re really overestimating how many people come here. _ BELIAL I insist that you take the bed. _ WATTS I insist //you// take the damn bed. _ //They stare each other down for a moment. Stalemate.// _ INT. CABIN – LATER //Watts and Belial are in sleeping bags on the floor on opposite sides of the empty bed. Watts’ prosthetic lies on the floor a few feet away.// _ BELIAL This is really how you want to do this? _ WATTS Yes. _ BELIAL Alright. _ WATTS It’s been a long time since I’ve drank this much. _ BELIAL Me as well. _ WATTS It doesn’t count for you. You don’t even feel it. _ BELIAL I //do// feel it. I’m in this meat person shell. I //want// to feel it. _ WATTS Yeah? How is it? _ BELIAL Feels brilliant. And also shit. _ WATTS Yuuuup. _ BELIAL You’re a decent cook though. _ WATTS Can I tell you a secret? _ BELIAL Yes? _ WATTS That’s the only thing I really know how to cook. I’m shit at everything else. _ BELIAL I don’t know if I believe that. _ WATTS It’s true. I hate cooking. I used to eat MRE’s like half the time but my doctor said it was destroying my intestines. _ BELIAL There’s something wrong with you. _ WATTS (laughing) Yeah. _ BELIAL I used to be somebody, you know. _ WATTS Yeah. You said. _ BELIAL I used to be somebody //important.// _ //Watts turns toward him, watching his face through the space under the bed.// _ BELIAL People admired me. Feared me. //Worshipped// me. And now look at me. I’m drunk on the floor of a shipping container and my favorite body looks like a divorced accountant. _ WATTS (snort laugh) _ BELIAL I don’t know what happened. I should have people fawning over me. I shouldn’t have to resort to seeking company from… socially inept //Foundation// employees, of all things. No offense. _ WATTS No, I get it. _ BELIAL I miss it terribly. The action. The excitement. _ WATTS The point. _ BELIAL I’m sorry? _ WATTS The point. Having one. _ BELIAL Oh. Yes. _ //Belial stares up at the ceiling, lost in thought.// _ BELIAL It’s strange. One day it seems like you’re king of the whole universe, and the next thing you know you’re doing paperwork in an office that always smells like burnt popcorn and wondering what you did wrong. And everybody looks at you with this dreadful sort of- _ WATTS Pity. _ BELIAL //Yes!// All because now you can’t do what everyone thinks you’re //supposed// to do- _ WATTS So you just sit around trying to find some new shit to do- _ BELIAL And you wake up one century and suddenly you don’t even recognize yourself anymore. _ WATTS Like there’s only parts of that person left. _ //Belial stops, turning his head toward Watts in surprise. Watts isn’t looking at him, just staring into space above him.// _ BELIAL Yes. Just like that. _ WATTS Guess it’s nice to know there’s losers in every dimension, huh? _ BELIAL I suppose. I think it would be much worse if I was the only one. _ WATTS Mm. _ //A pause for a moment. Crickets chirp loudly outside. Something in the forest makes an otherworldly, chortling laughter noise. Belial watches a strip of moonlight on the ceiling, the shadow of tree branches wavering through it.// _ BELIAL Maybe I’m just drunk, but I think I envy you, mate. You say you miss having a point but you have this. This place. Your students. You have //something.// I’m not even sure what I have left. Maybe I could try harder, but I’m tired. I don’t expect anything from anyone anymore. I lied to myself for a long time that I deserved better than this. But when all’s said and done, it’s my own fault, isn’t it? I only wish I knew what I //did.// But now I figure it follows that other people don’t like me. //I// don’t even like me. _ //He pauses, sighing.// _ BELIAL But it seems maybe you don’t entirely despise me. I suppose that counts for something. _ //No response. The cabin is dark and quiet.// _ BELIAL Ira? _ //Watts snores quietly. Belial chuckles to himself under his breath.// _ EXT. FOREST – MORNING //A songbird sits on a tree branch as the sun streams through the pine needles. It shakes its feathers, briefly cycling through a rainbow of colors before it flies off.// _ INT. CABIN – CONTINUOUS //Watts rolls over in his tangled sleeping bag into a patch of sunlight streaming in from between the blinds. It beams directly into his face. He groans, blinking awake and squinting against the light.// _ WATTS Fuck… _ //He peels himself off the floor, sitting up and rubbing his hand down his face. He looks like shit.// //He pauses, and bends down to look under the bed toward the other side. Belial is gone, his sleeping bag folded up on the floor.// //Watts looks toward the kitchen, where the dishes are clean and all the empty liquor and wine bottle are lined up beside the sink.// //He stands up slowly, clearly hungover. He doesn’t bother to open the blinds on the windows. Watts shuffles to the kitchen, looking over the general lack of mess. Something catches his eye.// //On the clean counter is a small, square white card. Written neatly in ballpoint pen: “CALL ME.” Watts turns it over. On the back is a neat illustration of a summoning circle.// _ EXT. CABIN – CONTINUOUS //Watts opens his blue front door, stepping out into the partly cloudy Pacific Northwest morning. He squints against the sun, then spots something, his face wrinkling in irritation.// //A few yards away is the charred evidence of a demonic circle, burned into the brush. It’s still smoking and it looks terrible.// _ WATTS Motherf- _ _ END @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ [[=]] *This is my submission to [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/romcon RomCon], featuring Belial, a character by [[user Greyve]]. Be sure to check out their piece for RomCon [# here]! (hasn't been posted yet)** [[/=]] @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a> \|author=Raddagher]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-05-26T17:39:00	[ "_licensebox", "heartwarming", "lgbtq", "romance", "romcon2023-unofficial", "tale" ]	Losers in Every Dimension - SCP Foundation	31	[ "scp-6326", "romcon", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "romcon" ]	[]	1447902823	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/losers-in-every-dimension
lost-souls-broken-toys-chapter-1	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=3&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Ajakstyle/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <div class="authorlink-wrapper"><a href="javascript:;">SYTYCFanon</a> <div class="authorbox"> <div class="authorcontent"> <p>Lost Souls, Broken Toys<br/> <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/sytycfanon">For more stories written by me check here</a></p> </div> </div> </div> <p><em>March 6, 2016</em></p> <p>The sun's rays beamed through the window of the bedroom. Maria Johnston was standing on the right side of the room admiring her sister's drawings.</p> <p>"You've really gotten good at this." Maria pulled a drawing off the wall of a futuristic soldier with a sword on his hip and a rifle that looked straight out of <em>Blade Runner</em>.</p> <p>"Thanks. Since you have been away at college, I wanted to make some of my designs into reality." She made a sweeping motion with her hands. "<em>The Heroes of the Future Collection</em>. Good name, right?"</p> <p>Maria smiled and re-pinned the drawing. Her sister was already working on her next piece. She took a seat next to the drawing table, watching her work in progress.</p> <p>"So, what's this one about?"</p> <p>"Well… this one is more of an action piece." She flipped through some sketches showing a soldier with high-tech gloves moving a box toward him with an unseen force.</p> <p>"Teleportation gloves?" Maria said. "What purpose would that serve?"</p> <p>"During combat you could bring an enemy to you and get 'em with your sword!" She made a stabbing motion. "Or if you needed to move stuff quickly."</p> <p>"Sounds kind of impractical. What if you didn't want to bring him into melee range?"</p> <p>She shook her head. "<em>Mareeeya,</em> it needs a skilled user! Obviously. Plus, it's all just fantasy. It works well because we want it to."</p> <p>Maria chuckled. "I guess it does. Maybe you could give one to that… oh what would you call him? The one you drew up with the katana and the casual clothes… A 'Street Samurai'?"</p> <p>Her sister raised her eyebrows, "Street Samurai! I love it! Oh, I wish you could just stay here and help come up with concepts. You just had to go off to some fancy school to study biology."</p> <p>"I'll be back home for the Summer, Mary. Then we'll see how your collection turned out."</p> <p>/1/</p> <p><em>May 30th, 2022</em></p> <p>A rolling crack of thunder startles Maria Johnston awake, pouring rain pounding against the window above her. It was in the afternoon, but the dark storm clouds above would have fooled anyone without access to a clock. She rubs her eyes as they adjust to the low light of the room.</p> <p>"Hmmm?" Johnston spotted a humanoid figure watching her and immediately jumped up against the backboard.</p> <p>"Rise and Shine, gringo." The humanoid smiled. It assuaged Johnston's fear, but her heart beating heavy in her chest.</p> <p>"Ugh, Avalerra!" Johnston said, "W-What are you doing here?"</p> <p>Michaela Avalerra. MTF designation, Omega-45-4. SCP designation, <a href="/scp-7261">SCP-7261</a>-1. She was Johnston's closest confidant in the Foundation. "Simple, this is the part of the vampire movie where I come in through the window and profess my love for you!"</p> <p>"Real funny. You better not be hiding the fact that you breached containment."</p> <p>"Nope. You requested a thaumaturgic analysis of your house, remember? I'm the only thaumaturge on staff, so Richter sent me. With handlers to make sure I didn't act up, of course."</p> <p>"Well? What did you find?" Johnston's voice was still shaky and reeking of paranoia.</p> <p>"Nothing. I checked every nook and cranny. No one is using magic to watch your house. Nor are there echoes of magic being used previously."</p> <p>"Check again." Johnston said.</p> <p>Avalerra sighed."I did. Several times. You really need to relax." Avalerra had concern in her voice.</p> <p>"You weren't thorough enough. Corra is probably just manipulating us. Making us believe that she isn't watching!"</p> <p>"Johnston, listen to yourself." Avalerra crawled into bed with Maria. "What is with you? Your blood reeks of cortisol and not garlic for once. I don't know which is worse, to be fair."</p> <p>"I- ah". Johnston took a deep breath. "I don't know what to think about anything anymore. I just feel like I'm being watched all the time."</p> <p>"Watched? Honey, you work for the damn Foundation. We're both being watched 24/7."</p> <p>"No! I mean by her. Corra. Not only is she manipulating every facet of our lives, but she has eyes everywhere. I just- can't take it." Johnston hung her head.</p> <p>"No matter how you look at it, higher powers are always trying to manipulate us, Chica. But you always have a choice. Humans were given free will after all."</p> <p>"But free will can be taken away." Johnston shook her head. "I'm sorry you have to see me like this."</p> <p>"Hey, you're the only reason I'm not just wasting away in my containment cell. Plus, you're our commander. I'm not the only one who's worried about you."</p> <p>"I know, and I'm trying to be there for you guys but… I feel so overwhelmed. There's something wrong with the world. I think." Johnston got out of bed, leaning against her nearby dresser.</p> <p>"What do you mean?"</p> <p>"It doesn't feel strange that every other day there's a new anomaly to catch? Or some new GoI we have to fight? It didn't use to be like this… until those damn books showed up."</p> <p>"I'm sure it's just a coincidence. Power tends to attract bad actors. Just look at the Sepulchrum."</p> <p>"It's not just that. How did you get into my house?"</p> <p>"Through the front door?"</p> <p>"You know, that's not what I meant. The ritual. How did you perform it? Don't you need more than one Thaumaturge?"</p> <p>"Normally, but I managed it on my own. I just figured my magic was getting better." Avalerra pondered the situation, mouth slightly ajar.</p> <p>"Your magic is stronger, isn't it? I've noticed it in my work too. Even with the anomalous, I've seen things that were thought impossible become possible."</p> <p>"And you think the Set of Nine had something to do with it?"</p> <p>"It's just a theory for now. I remember reading something when I first joined the Foundation. It was a book speculating that the power of the anomalous waxes and wanes through history."</p> <p>"Like the moon." Avalerra hopped out of bed and walked over to Johnston's desk.</p> <p>"There's more evidence I've been gathering since I've been home. Sightings of the <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-7975" target="_blank">Chugwater Frogman</a> are up, Wilson's Wildlife's has reported a 150% increase in rescued critters in the past ye- Avalerra are you paying attention?</p> <p>"Yeah, yeah, frogman. Who is this a picture of?" Avalerra held up a picture of Johnston and a younger girl.</p> <p>"That's Mary. My sister." Johnston's eyes darted away from where Avalerra was standing.</p> <p>"Mary and Maria?" Avalerra chuckled. "Your mother sure was great at naming."</p> <p>Johnston closed her eyes and smiled. "You know, Chudley would say that was a total white girl moment."</p> <p>"Certified Gringo activity." Avalerra laughed. "But seriously, I thought you didn't have any siblings."</p> <p>"I don't. Not anymore." Johnston pursed her lip.</p> <p>"Oh. Maybe I shouldn't have joked about that."</p> <p>"No. No. It's fine. She would have thought it was funny. Mary passed away when she was just 17. Hodgkin's lymphoma. Just came out of nowhere and spread through her body like it was no one's business."</p> <p>"Dios Mio. I'm sorry for your loss."</p> <p>"The one thing I couldn't have protected her from, Foundation or not. Some hero I was." Johnston's voice catches in her throat.</p> <p>"Don't beat yourself up. The best thing we can do is honor her memory." Avalerra pauses before speaking again, "Wait. I just realized. The "Bouncing Mary"… it's not named after you is it?"</p> <p>A smile crosses Johnston's face. "In loving memory. I do my best to honor her through my designs.” Johnston clicked her tongue as she mulled over the memory of her sister. Would she really want her sulking around like this? “Come on though; I'm sure John and whoever else Richter sent along doesn't want to wait in the rain all day."</p> <p>"You're going to work? You seemed like a wreck just a moment ago."</p> <p>"I just needed to be reminded of what I'm fighting for. You'll need to give me some time to shower though. Catch you in fifteen."</p> <p>/2/</p> <p><em>An hour later…</em></p> <p>Johnston walked into Site-78's security checkpoint alongside Omega-45 members, John Cassington, Michaela Avalerra, and Cole Marcus. She split off from the MTF, who had to go through more rigorous security checks due to their weapons and Avalerra's status as an anomaly.</p> <p>Johnston passed through one of the X-ray machines and slid her ID badge into the scanner.</p> <p><strong>Identity Confirmed: Level 4 Researcher Maria Megan Johnston. Parabiological Sciences.</strong></p> <p>Security Officer Hanli Su, turned to Johnston. "You're all set. I see you got Omega-45 with you. Is everything alright?"</p> <p>"Yes. We were just performing a house sweep. Nothing to worry about."</p> <p>Officer Li nodded, "Must have been quite the sweep, if you needed the Omegas. You can enter."</p> <p>"Thanks." Johnston waited for the members of MTF Omega-45 to finish passing through security before telling them to go on about their business until called up.</p> <p>The soldiers saluted and Johnston did the same. Now alone she headed into the nearby hallway towards the Department of MAUDE<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-1" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-1')">1</a></sup>. <em>Chudley… at a time like this I could use a laugh.</em></p> <p>The inside of Maude's offices had dozens of workers processing uneventful data and filtering through irrelevant paperwork to reach Chudley's office in the back.</p> <p>Johnston gave the door a few knocks. "Chudley, it's Maria. Can I see you?"</p> <p>"Yarr." Chudley responded. Johnston sighed.Chudley had taken to saying “Yarr” and “Narr” instead of yes and no before she’d gone on her sabbatical. What a strange man.</p> <p>Johnston opened the door and took a seat in front of Chudley's desk. The man himself was reviewing a file, which was a rare find even on a good day.</p> <p>"What's got your attention?" She asked.</p> <p>"Take a look," Chudley said handing her a file.</p> <p>" SCP-77763 is approximately 45 milliliters of sentient cu-"</p> <p>"NO NOT THAT ONE, under that one." Chudley threw his hand out before Johnston could finish reading.</p> <p>"Oh- alright. 'SCP-71777 is a series of billboards with various mildly threatening religious phrases. The one common denominator is they all share a phone number ‘555-FIND-GOD'." Johnston placed the file down. "Hmm, interesting. Very <em>mundane</em>." She handed the file back to Chudley, who placed it on his stack.</p> <p>"That's the name of the game down here. It's honest but boring work. It can be a bit refreshing after dealing with the big stuff." Chudley cocked an eyebrow at Johnston, "Also are you alright? You look… tired."</p> <p>"I didn't sleep well. I'm hoping nothing really big comes up today."</p> <p>"You want coffee?"</p> <p>Johnston scoffed, "You know I don't drink that garbage. I need the good stuff."</p> <p>Chudley smiled, "Coming right up." Chudley reached over to his mini-fridge, procured an <em>Ultra White Monster</em>, and handed it to Johnston. She graciously accepted, cracking it open and taking a sip.</p> <p>"That's the stuff." She put it back on the desk.</p> <p>"Was there anything you wanted to talk about? Or did you just come to raid the mini fridge?"</p> <p>"There were a few things. How are you holding up after… meeting <em>her</em>?"</p> <p>Chudley's look went from one of aloofness to contemplation. "Ah yes, our grand adversary. I've been keeping my eye out for any snakes. Don't want her sneaking up on us again." He flashed a cheeky smile.</p> <p>"Real funny. It doesn't bother you that she's been watching us, or potentially manipulating us?"</p> <p>"Wouldn't be the first time," Chudley reflected. "Who knows if she was telling the truth? Would knowing your story is being manipulated by an outside force really change how you operate?"</p> <p>"I would just- keep acting the same." Johnston realized. "But we have to tread carefully. She could be anywhere."</p> <p>"Look, as someone who used to work in Pataphysics, you get used to the idea that your actions might not be your own. I'm not about to live my life scared and neither should you. You have way too many cool guns to be scared of DeviantArt's most wanted."</p> <p>Johnston chuckled, "I guess you're right on that one. Maybe I'm just being a bit too paranoid." She pauses for a second. "There was something else I wanted to mention, a theory that I had. Ever since the Set came around, have you noticed anything different with the anomalous?"</p> <p>"You kidding? I wouldn't be able to run this department if there wasn't something going on. Everywhere you turn there's some new doodad or trinket popping up. I thought it was just because we were expanding our containment efforts but I remembered something fishy about PeppaPig'sStrongestSoldier."</p> <p><em>Oh Gamers Against Weed, never change with the silly usernames.</em> Johnston shook her head. "You noticed something fishy about a pig? Does he have gills?"</p> <p>"No, I was referring to his smell- OF COURSE, I WAS TALKING ABOUT HIS GILLS. Actually, it was about his abilities. His reality warping was originally confined to fictional works but, then one day he could manipulate works of non-fiction. He powered up."</p> <p>"And that's why Finland is no longer real… or was never real?" Johnston sighed. "I'm still confused about that."</p> <p>"You and me both."</p> <p>"That does track with my theory. Anomalous abilities are growing stronger. Why? No freaking clue. It's good for us because it allows us to do more with our work but for the enemy…"</p> <p>"I getcha, but there's no way to know for sure exactly. Again, could be random chance."</p> <p>"Or it's our snake friend up to her tricks. Regardless, this was a nice talk. I have to get down to Intelligence and see if there's anything that needs responding to."</p> <p>“Wait.” Chudley threw his hand out. “Before you go, I have to ask, who's Mary?”</p> <p>Her name hit Johnston once again like a freight train but she knew he would ask. She simply shook her head with a slight smile. “Narr.”</p> <p>“Why won’t you tell me who she is? We’ve been working together for this long, I would have assumed you trusted me more.”</p> <p>“I’ll tell you later, I promise. I need to get down to Intelligence and see if there’s anything new.”</p> <p>"Alright." Chudley paused. "Godspeed, Johnston."</p> <p>/3/</p> <p>Several years ago…</p> <p>"J-Johnston? Maria. Are you alright?" An older male voice said to her.</p> <p>Maria snapped out of her lucid haze having stared off into space. "Oh, sorry."</p> <p>"We were talking about how you've been dragging your feet in the lab, I just wanted to know if you were alright, and if there was anything I could do."</p> <p><em>Are you alright?</em> The words echoed in Johnston's head. She'd heard them over and over again. At the funeral, at the hospital, and now here at her place of learning. Why doesn't anyone get it? Johnston's voice quivered as she let out a small chuckle. "Am I alright? What kind of question is that? Would you be alright when the light in your life dies? My sister is dead, Professor. For sixteen days now, and it doesn't get any better."</p> <p>The professor clicks his tongue. "My apologies, Maria. I wasn't aware that-"</p> <p>Johnston was still chuckling faintly, "Is there anything you can do?" She parroted. "You can't bring it back, can you? None of us can. We think we're so advanced, but a few renegade lymphocytes still do us in, no matter how hard we try. I don't know why, people keep treating me like I'm fragile!" Her voice started to raise. "Like I could just break. But there is nothing left to break, she's gone!" Johnston got out of her seat.</p> <p>"She had so many wonderful ideas and I was going to try and make them a reality." Tears were rolling down Johnston's reddened cheeks. "Now she'll never see them."</p> <p>"Well… there was something that I wanted to propose to you, it's the main reason I brought you in here." He passed a set of papers in front of her, marked with a circular logo with three arrows pointing inwards.</p> <p>"I'm working with a government project that I feel you'd be a good fit for. I think this might be the best way to keep your sister's dreams alive. This organization has technology you've never seen."</p> <p>Johnston started blankly at the pages as she flipped through them. Her eyes darted from word to word, seeing biological terms she thought were only fantasy; creatures beyond the human imagination. Perhaps he was right, maybe this is the place she could make real change. To be like the heroes that her sister used to draw-</p> <p>"What do you say, Maria? Would you give it a shot?"</p> <p>"I…." The words were heavy on her tongue.</p> <p>"Maria?"</p> <p>/-/</p> <p>"Johnston. We have something." One of the intelligence technicians said, snapping Johnston from her train of thought. She took a sip of her Monster and approached. Whenever she heard those words, they usually meant trouble.</p> <p>"What do you have for me?" She said looking at paused video footage of a girl walking down a back alley.</p> <p>"This just came in from Director Moose over at Site-19. She wants to know if Omega-45 can respond."</p> <p>A video was played of several armed men escorting young men and women inside of an establishment. The video feed then cut inside to a club-esque setting, where patrons were being served drinks with disheveled-looking people doing drugs nearby.</p> <p>More images flashed by of the interior rooms with men and women suffering signs of drug abuse. Johnston's time in Mexico made her recognize the insignia she saw on some of the products being offered.</p> <p>Sin Nombre.</p> <p>“Where was this footage taken?” Johnston's voice quivered with anger seeing those poor women in such a state. She knew the cartel trafficked and forced women into these types of jobs but to actually see it? There wouldn't be enough gauss rounds in the armory for the people responsible.</p> <p>“Footage was geolocated to Cheyenne. It's been operating for about a week now. The place is called 'La Curandera'."</p> <p>"On our turf? Not on my watch. Tell Director Moose we'll handle-." Johnston trailed off as her head throbbed hard. Her vision went blurry and nearly stumbled over. A voice rang in her ear.</p> <p>“There you go, gallivanting off pretending to be a hero. Didn't you order the <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-7899" target="_blank">executions of civilians</a> just last month? You'll always be a scared little girl, Jailer." Corra’s voice echoed in her brain, assaulting every synapse with her breathy voice.</p> <p>“Johnston, are you alright?” Johnston regained her composure and looked to see Rinah Blunt, Omega-45’s heavy weapons specialist, standing by her.</p> <p>“Yeah, I just… got lightheaded for a second. As I was going to say: we've got a mission to do. I want anything you can gather on La Curandera sent to me, Rinah you are with me.”</p> <p>“At once Boss.” The technician turned back to their workstation while Johnston started walking with Blunt in tow.</p> <p>“Johnston, the Electoballistics division wanted me to tell you that they finished their Arc Pistol Prototype.” Rinah said.</p> <p>“Excellent. I can head over there and check-in. Let John and the rest of the squad know to be ready to move once Intelligence figures out where that girl’s mom has been hiding.”</p> <p>“Can do.” Rinah started to walk off from Johnston but stopped as she said: “Oh. Have the armory make sure my Hephaestus grade body suit is ready. I will be joining you in the field this time around.”</p> <p>Rinah raised an eyebrow, “As in from a command center or?”</p> <p>“I mean in the field, Blunt. I’ll be leading this operation personally.”</p> <p>“Pardon me Ma’am, but you don’t have any combat training. It’s not-”</p> <p>“Safe? I’ve tested every weapon I sent you in the field and cleared all the training courses. I’ve defended this Site against the Chaos Insurgency and directed the Street Samurai in the worst of situations.” Johnston's voice trembled.</p> <p>“I didn’t mean to offend, I just don’t understand why-”</p> <p>“That’s an order, Blunt."</p> <p>“I understand. I’ll tell the men to get ready.”</p> <p>/4/</p> <p>Samantha Russell unlocked the door to her house with this month’s bills in hand. The seventeen-year-old had been living by herself with only her dog to keep her company. She was feeling exhausted after her shift and her uniform was dirty from the day's work. The last thing she needed was to be reminded of crippling financial obligations.</p> <p>“Bubba! I’m home! You won’t believe the day I had.” Her Golden Retriever came scampering by as she slapped the mail on the kitchen table and kicked her shoes off.</p> <p>She bent down to pet him, rubbing behind his ears. “Still no mom?”</p> <p>Bubba yipped.</p> <p>“Yeah I figured, but I’m glad you are here to keep watch for her. She could be back any day now you know.” She got up and looked around. The house was still looking spotless for her mom's eventual return. It had been three years since she'd disappeared without a trace.</p> <p>She had to be, right? Dad wasn't in the picture and her extended family had declined to take her in. She'd figured her mom wouldn't have left without a good reason, even if her mom had a tendency to give into her vices at times.</p> <p>As much as she missed her, there wasn't really much she could do but wait. Sam headed for her bedroom next, taking off her uniform and tossing it in the hamper. She then changed into her PJs and hopped into bed.</p> <p>She rolled over and stared up at the ceiling, her mind drifting to the thought of the Wanderer's Library. It had started a few months back. She had pressed her hand against her bathroom mirror and suddenly she was there. A kind librarian had given her a card and told her the rules of the place. Sam was special in that she could create portals, so-called "Ways" to the Library. She was free to come and go as she pleased, as long as she stayed away from the restricted sections.</p> <p>Sam wished she could spend all her time in the Library, away from the creepy customers and annoying Karens. It had become a place of solace that she could escape too when life got hard or her loneliness overtook her. However, despite supposedly holding infinite knowledge, the Librarians couldn't tell her what happened to her mother.</p> <p>She held her hand up to the air and began to distort the reality in front of her. <em>Maybe one day, I’ll open a Way to her. Wouldn’t that be nice?</em> She put her hand down and pulled the blanket over the top of her, drifting off into the realm of sleep.</p> <p>Unbeknownst to her, a visitor was at the door, waiting to be let in.</p> <div class="earthworm earthworm--old-syntax-first-false earthworm--old-syntax-last-false earthworm--old-syntax-hub-yes {$class}"> <div class="first earthworm__previous" data-title="Secure Facility Dossier: Site-78"> <p><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/secure-facility-dossier-site-78">Secure Facility Dossier: Site-78</a></p> </div> <div class="hub earthworm__hub" data-title="The Set of Nine"> <p><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/the-ninth-world-hub">The Set of Nine</a></p> </div> <div class="last earthworm__next" data-title="Lost Souls, Broken Toys Chapter 2"> <p><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/lost-souls-broken-toys-chapter-2">Lost Souls, Broken Toys Chapter 2</a></p> </div> </div> <div class="footnotes-footer"> <div class="title">Footnotes</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-1"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-1')">1</a>. Mundane Artifacts and Uneventful Data Evaluation</div> </div> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/lost-souls-broken-toys-chapter-1">Lost Souls, Broken Toys Chapter 1</a>" by SYTYCFanon, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/lost-souls-broken-toys-chapter-1">https://scpwiki.com/lost-souls-broken-toys-chapter-1</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> site-78.svg<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> Equinox Doodles<br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC BY-SA 3.0<br/> <strong>Source Link:</strong> <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/secure-facility-dossier-site-78">SCP Foundation Wiki</a></p> </blockquote> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:black-highlighter-theme">:scp-wiki:theme:black-highlighter-theme</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:jakstyle">:scp-wiki:theme:jakstyle</a>]] [[module CSS]] :root { --header-title: "SITE-78"; --header-subtitle: "For The Betterment of Humanity"; --lgurl: url(https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/secure-facility-dossier-site-78/site-78.svg); } [[/module]] [[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:author-label-source">:scp-wiki:component:author-label-source</a> start=-- \|name=SYTYCFanon]] Lost Souls, Broken Toys [[[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/sytycfanon\|For more stories written by me check here]]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:author-label-source">:scp-wiki:component:author-label-source</a> end=--]] //March 6, 2016// The sun's rays beamed through the window of the bedroom. Maria Johnston was standing on the right side of the room admiring her sister's drawings. "You've really gotten good at this." Maria pulled a drawing off the wall of a futuristic soldier with a sword on his hip and a rifle that looked straight out of //Blade Runner//. "Thanks. Since you have been away at college, I wanted to make some of my designs into reality." She made a sweeping motion with her hands. "//The Heroes of the Future Collection//. Good name, right?" Maria smiled and re-pinned the drawing. Her sister was already working on her next piece. She took a seat next to the drawing table, watching her work in progress. "So, what's this one about?" "Well... this one is more of an action piece." She flipped through some sketches showing a soldier with high-tech gloves moving a box toward him with an unseen force. "Teleportation gloves?" Maria said. "What purpose would that serve?" "During combat you could bring an enemy to you and get 'em with your sword!" She made a stabbing motion. "Or if you needed to move stuff quickly." "Sounds kind of impractical. What if you didn't want to bring him into melee range?" She shook her head. "//Mareeeya,// it needs a skilled user! Obviously. Plus, it's all just fantasy. It works well because we want it to." Maria chuckled. "I guess it does. Maybe you could give one to that... oh what would you call him? The one you drew up with the katana and the casual clothes... A 'Street Samurai'?" Her sister raised her eyebrows, "Street Samurai! I love it! Oh, I wish you could just stay here and help come up with concepts. You just had to go off to some fancy school to study biology." "I'll be back home for the Summer, Mary. Then we'll see how your collection turned out." /1/ //May 30th, 2022// A rolling crack of thunder startles Maria Johnston awake, pouring rain pounding against the window above her. It was in the afternoon, but the dark storm clouds above would have fooled anyone without access to a clock. She rubs her eyes as they adjust to the low light of the room. "Hmmm?" Johnston spotted a humanoid figure watching her and immediately jumped up against the backboard. "Rise and Shine, gringo." The humanoid smiled. It assuaged Johnston's fear, but her heart beating heavy in her chest. "Ugh, Avalerra!" Johnston said, "W-What are you doing here?" Michaela Avalerra. MTF designation, Omega-45-4. SCP designation, [[[SCP-7261]]]-1. She was Johnston's closest confidant in the Foundation. "Simple, this is the part of the vampire movie where I come in through the window and profess my love for you!" "Real funny. You better not be hiding the fact that you breached containment." "Nope. You requested a thaumaturgic analysis of your house, remember? I'm the only thaumaturge on staff, so Richter sent me. With handlers to make sure I didn't act up, of course." "Well? What did you find?" Johnston's voice was still shaky and reeking of paranoia. "Nothing. I checked every nook and cranny. No one is using magic to watch your house. Nor are there echoes of magic being used previously." "Check again." Johnston said. Avalerra sighed."I did. Several times. You really need to relax." Avalerra had concern in her voice. "You weren't thorough enough. Corra is probably just manipulating us. Making us believe that she isn't watching!" "Johnston, listen to yourself." Avalerra crawled into bed with Maria. "What is with you? Your blood reeks of cortisol and not garlic for once. I don't know which is worse, to be fair." "I- ah". Johnston took a deep breath. "I don't know what to think about anything anymore. I just feel like I'm being watched all the time." "Watched? Honey, you work for the damn Foundation. We're both being watched 24/7." "No! I mean by her. Corra. Not only is she manipulating every facet of our lives, but she has eyes everywhere. I just- can't take it." Johnston hung her head. "No matter how you look at it, higher powers are always trying to manipulate us, Chica. But you always have a choice. Humans were given free will after all." "But free will can be taken away." Johnston shook her head. "I'm sorry you have to see me like this." "Hey, you're the only reason I'm not just wasting away in my containment cell. Plus, you're our commander. I'm not the only one who's worried about you." "I know, and I'm trying to be there for you guys but... I feel so overwhelmed. There's something wrong with the world. I think." Johnston got out of bed, leaning against her nearby dresser. "What do you mean?" "It doesn't feel strange that every other day there's a new anomaly to catch? Or some new GoI we have to fight? It didn't use to be like this... until those damn books showed up." "I'm sure it's just a coincidence. Power tends to attract bad actors. Just look at the Sepulchrum." "It's not just that. How did you get into my house?" "Through the front door?" "You know, that's not what I meant. The ritual. How did you perform it? Don't you need more than one Thaumaturge?" "Normally, but I managed it on my own. I just figured my magic was getting better." Avalerra pondered the situation, mouth slightly ajar. "Your magic is stronger, isn't it? I've noticed it in my work too. Even with the anomalous, I've seen things that were thought impossible become possible." "And you think the Set of Nine had something to do with it?" "It's just a theory for now. I remember reading something when I first joined the Foundation. It was a book speculating that the power of the anomalous waxes and wanes through history." "Like the moon." Avalerra hopped out of bed and walked over to Johnston's desk. "There's more evidence I've been gathering since I've been home. Sightings of the [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-7975 Chugwater Frogman] are up, Wilson's Wildlife's has reported a 150% increase in rescued critters in the past ye- Avalerra are you paying attention? "Yeah, yeah, frogman. Who is this a picture of?" Avalerra held up a picture of Johnston and a younger girl. "That's Mary. My sister." Johnston's eyes darted away from where Avalerra was standing. "Mary and Maria?" Avalerra chuckled. "Your mother sure was great at naming." Johnston closed her eyes and smiled. "You know, Chudley would say that was a total white girl moment." "Certified Gringo activity." Avalerra laughed. "But seriously, I thought you didn't have any siblings." "I don't. Not anymore." Johnston pursed her lip. "Oh. Maybe I shouldn't have joked about that." "No. No. It's fine. She would have thought it was funny. Mary passed away when she was just 17. Hodgkin's lymphoma. Just came out of nowhere and spread through her body like it was no one's business." "Dios Mio. I'm sorry for your loss." "The one thing I couldn't have protected her from, Foundation or not. Some hero I was." Johnston's voice catches in her throat. "Don't beat yourself up. The best thing we can do is honor her memory." Avalerra pauses before speaking again, "Wait. I just realized. The "Bouncing Mary"... it's not named after you is it?" A smile crosses Johnston's face. "In loving memory. I do my best to honor her through my designs.” Johnston clicked her tongue as she mulled over the memory of her sister. Would she really want her sulking around like this? “Come on though; I'm sure John and whoever else Richter sent along doesn't want to wait in the rain all day." "You're going to work? You seemed like a wreck just a moment ago." "I just needed to be reminded of what I'm fighting for. You'll need to give me some time to shower though. Catch you in fifteen." /2/ //An hour later...// Johnston walked into Site-78's security checkpoint alongside Omega-45 members, John Cassington, Michaela Avalerra, and Cole Marcus. She split off from the MTF, who had to go through more rigorous security checks due to their weapons and Avalerra's status as an anomaly. Johnston passed through one of the X-ray machines and slid her ID badge into the scanner. Identity Confirmed: Level 4 Researcher Maria Megan Johnston. Parabiological Sciences.* Security Officer Hanli Su, turned to Johnston. "You're all set. I see you got Omega-45 with you. Is everything alright?" "Yes. We were just performing a house sweep. Nothing to worry about." Officer Li nodded, "Must have been quite the sweep, if you needed the Omegas. You can enter." "Thanks." Johnston waited for the members of MTF Omega-45 to finish passing through security before telling them to go on about their business until called up. The soldiers saluted and Johnston did the same. Now alone she headed into the nearby hallway towards the Department of MAUDE[[footnote]] Mundane Artifacts and Uneventful Data Evaluation [[/footnote]]. //Chudley... at a time like this I could use a laugh.// The inside of Maude's offices had dozens of workers processing uneventful data and filtering through irrelevant paperwork to reach Chudley's office in the back. Johnston gave the door a few knocks. "Chudley, it's Maria. Can I see you?" "Yarr." Chudley responded. Johnston sighed.Chudley had taken to saying “Yarr” and “Narr” instead of yes and no before she’d gone on her sabbatical. What a strange man. Johnston opened the door and took a seat in front of Chudley's desk. The man himself was reviewing a file, which was a rare find even on a good day. "What's got your attention?" She asked. "Take a look," Chudley said handing her a file. " SCP-77763 is approximately 45 milliliters of sentient cu-" "NO NOT THAT ONE, under that one." Chudley threw his hand out before Johnston could finish reading. "Oh- alright. 'SCP-71777 is a series of billboards with various mildly threatening religious phrases. The one common denominator is they all share a phone number ‘555-FIND-GOD'." Johnston placed the file down. "Hmm, interesting. Very //mundane//." She handed the file back to Chudley, who placed it on his stack. "That's the name of the game down here. It's honest but boring work. It can be a bit refreshing after dealing with the big stuff." Chudley cocked an eyebrow at Johnston, "Also are you alright? You look... tired." "I didn't sleep well. I'm hoping nothing really big comes up today." "You want coffee?" Johnston scoffed, "You know I don't drink that garbage. I need the good stuff." Chudley smiled, "Coming right up." Chudley reached over to his mini-fridge, procured an //Ultra White Monster//, and handed it to Johnston. She graciously accepted, cracking it open and taking a sip. "That's the stuff." She put it back on the desk. "Was there anything you wanted to talk about? Or did you just come to raid the mini fridge?" "There were a few things. How are you holding up after... meeting //her//?" Chudley's look went from one of aloofness to contemplation. "Ah yes, our grand adversary. I've been keeping my eye out for any snakes. Don't want her sneaking up on us again." He flashed a cheeky smile. "Real funny. It doesn't bother you that she's been watching us, or potentially manipulating us?" "Wouldn't be the first time," Chudley reflected. "Who knows if she was telling the truth? Would knowing your story is being manipulated by an outside force really change how you operate?" "I would just- keep acting the same." Johnston realized. "But we have to tread carefully. She could be anywhere." "Look, as someone who used to work in Pataphysics, you get used to the idea that your actions might not be your own. I'm not about to live my life scared and neither should you. You have way too many cool guns to be scared of DeviantArt's most wanted." Johnston chuckled, "I guess you're right on that one. Maybe I'm just being a bit too paranoid." She pauses for a second. "There was something else I wanted to mention, a theory that I had. Ever since the Set came around, have you noticed anything different with the anomalous?" "You kidding? I wouldn't be able to run this department if there wasn't something going on. Everywhere you turn there's some new doodad or trinket popping up. I thought it was just because we were expanding our containment efforts but I remembered something fishy about PeppaPig'sStrongestSoldier." //Oh Gamers Against Weed, never change with the silly usernames.// Johnston shook her head. "You noticed something fishy about a pig? Does he have gills?" "No, I was referring to his smell- OF COURSE, I WAS TALKING ABOUT HIS GILLS. Actually, it was about his abilities. His reality warping was originally confined to fictional works but, then one day he could manipulate works of non-fiction. He powered up." "And that's why Finland is no longer real... or was never real?" Johnston sighed. "I'm still confused about that." "You and me both." "That does track with my theory. Anomalous abilities are growing stronger. Why? No freaking clue. It's good for us because it allows us to do more with our work but for the enemy..." "I getcha, but there's no way to know for sure exactly. Again, could be random chance." "Or it's our snake friend up to her tricks. Regardless, this was a nice talk. I have to get down to Intelligence and see if there's anything that needs responding to." “Wait.” Chudley threw his hand out. “Before you go, I have to ask, who's Mary?” Her name hit Johnston once again like a freight train but she knew he would ask. She simply shook her head with a slight smile. “Narr.” “Why won’t you tell me who she is? We’ve been working together for this long, I would have assumed you trusted me more.” “I’ll tell you later, I promise. I need to get down to Intelligence and see if there’s anything new.” "Alright." Chudley paused. "Godspeed, Johnston." /3/ Several years ago... "J-Johnston? Maria. Are you alright?" An older male voice said to her. Maria snapped out of her lucid haze having stared off into space. "Oh, sorry." "We were talking about how you've been dragging your feet in the lab, I just wanted to know if you were alright, and if there was anything I could do." //Are you alright?// The words echoed in Johnston's head. She'd heard them over and over again. At the funeral, at the hospital, and now here at her place of learning. Why doesn't anyone get it? Johnston's voice quivered as she let out a small chuckle. "Am I alright? What kind of question is that? Would you be alright when the light in your life dies? My sister is dead, Professor. For sixteen days now, and it doesn't get any better." The professor clicks his tongue. "My apologies, Maria. I wasn't aware that-" Johnston was still chuckling faintly, "Is there anything you can do?" She parroted. "You can't bring it back, can you? None of us can. We think we're so advanced, but a few renegade lymphocytes still do us in, no matter how hard we try. I don't know why, people keep treating me like I'm fragile!" Her voice started to raise. "Like I could just break. But there is nothing left to break, she's gone!" Johnston got out of her seat. "She had so many wonderful ideas and I was going to try and make them a reality." Tears were rolling down Johnston's reddened cheeks. "Now she'll never see them." "Well... there was something that I wanted to propose to you, it's the main reason I brought you in here." He passed a set of papers in front of her, marked with a circular logo with three arrows pointing inwards. "I'm working with a government project that I feel you'd be a good fit for. I think this might be the best way to keep your sister's dreams alive. This organization has technology you've never seen." Johnston started blankly at the pages as she flipped through them. Her eyes darted from word to word, seeing biological terms she thought were only fantasy; creatures beyond the human imagination. Perhaps he was right, maybe this is the place she could make real change. To be like the heroes that her sister used to draw- "What do you say, Maria? Would you give it a shot?" "I...." The words were heavy on her tongue. "Maria?" /-/ "Johnston. We have something." One of the intelligence technicians said, snapping Johnston from her train of thought. She took a sip of her Monster and approached. Whenever she heard those words, they usually meant trouble. "What do you have for me?" She said looking at paused video footage of a girl walking down a back alley. "This just came in from Director Moose over at Site-19. She wants to know if Omega-45 can respond." A video was played of several armed men escorting young men and women inside of an establishment. The video feed then cut inside to a club-esque setting, where patrons were being served drinks with disheveled-looking people doing drugs nearby. More images flashed by of the interior rooms with men and women suffering signs of drug abuse. Johnston's time in Mexico made her recognize the insignia she saw on some of the products being offered. Sin Nombre. “Where was this footage taken?” Johnston's voice quivered with anger seeing those poor women in such a state. She knew the cartel trafficked and forced women into these types of jobs but to actually see it? There wouldn't be enough gauss rounds in the armory for the people responsible. “Footage was geolocated to Cheyenne. It's been operating for about a week now. The place is called 'La Curandera'." "On our turf? Not on my watch. Tell Director Moose we'll handle-." Johnston trailed off as her head throbbed hard. Her vision went blurry and nearly stumbled over. A voice rang in her ear. “There you go, gallivanting off pretending to be a hero. Didn't you order the [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-7899 executions of civilians] just last month? You'll always be a scared little girl, Jailer." Corra’s voice echoed in her brain, assaulting every synapse with her breathy voice. “Johnston, are you alright?” Johnston regained her composure and looked to see Rinah Blunt, Omega-45’s heavy weapons specialist, standing by her. “Yeah, I just… got lightheaded for a second. As I was going to say: we've got a mission to do. I want anything you can gather on La Curandera sent to me, Rinah you are with me.” “At once Boss.” The technician turned back to their workstation while Johnston started walking with Blunt in tow. “Johnston, the Electoballistics division wanted me to tell you that they finished their Arc Pistol Prototype.” Rinah said. “Excellent. I can head over there and check-in. Let John and the rest of the squad know to be ready to move once Intelligence figures out where that girl’s mom has been hiding.” “Can do.” Rinah started to walk off from Johnston but stopped as she said: “Oh. Have the armory make sure my Hephaestus grade body suit is ready. I will be joining you in the field this time around.” Rinah raised an eyebrow, “As in from a command center or?” “I mean in the field, Blunt. I’ll be leading this operation personally.” “Pardon me Ma’am, but you don’t have any combat training. It’s not-” “Safe? I’ve tested every weapon I sent you in the field and cleared all the training courses. I’ve defended this Site against the Chaos Insurgency and directed the Street Samurai in the worst of situations.” Johnston's voice trembled. “I didn’t mean to offend, I just don’t understand why-” “That’s an order, Blunt." “I understand. I’ll tell the men to get ready.” /4/ Samantha Russell unlocked the door to her house with this month’s bills in hand. The seventeen-year-old had been living by herself with only her dog to keep her company. She was feeling exhausted after her shift and her uniform was dirty from the day's work. The last thing she needed was to be reminded of crippling financial obligations. “Bubba! I’m home! You won’t believe the day I had.” Her Golden Retriever came scampering by as she slapped the mail on the kitchen table and kicked her shoes off. She bent down to pet him, rubbing behind his ears. “Still no mom?” Bubba yipped. “Yeah I figured, but I’m glad you are here to keep watch for her. She could be back any day now you know.” She got up and looked around. The house was still looking spotless for her mom's eventual return. It had been three years since she'd disappeared without a trace. She had to be, right? Dad wasn't in the picture and her extended family had declined to take her in. She'd figured her mom wouldn't have left without a good reason, even if her mom had a tendency to give into her vices at times. As much as she missed her, there wasn't really much she could do but wait. Sam headed for her bedroom next, taking off her uniform and tossing it in the hamper. She then changed into her PJs and hopped into bed. She rolled over and stared up at the ceiling, her mind drifting to the thought of the Wanderer's Library. It had started a few months back. She had pressed her hand against her bathroom mirror and suddenly she was there. A kind librarian had given her a card and told her the rules of the place. Sam was special in that she could create portals, so-called "Ways" to the Library. She was free to come and go as she pleased, as long as she stayed away from the restricted sections. Sam wished she could spend all her time in the Library, away from the creepy customers and annoying Karens. It had become a place of solace that she could escape too when life got hard or her loneliness overtook her. However, despite supposedly holding infinite knowledge, the Librarians couldn't tell her what happened to her mother. She held her hand up to the air and began to distort the reality in front of her. //Maybe one day, I’ll open a Way to her. Wouldn’t that be nice?// She put her hand down and pulled the blanket over the top of her, drifting off into the realm of sleep. Unbeknownst to her, a visitor was at the door, waiting to be let in. [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:earthworm">:scp-wiki:component:earthworm</a> \| first=false \| last=false\| hub=yes \| previous-url=https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/secure-facility-dossier-site-78\| previous-title=Secure Facility Dossier: Site-78 \| next-url=https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/lost-souls-broken-toys-chapter-2\|next-title=Lost Souls, Broken Toys Chapter 2 \| hub-url=https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/the-ninth-world-hub\| hub-title=The Set of Nine ]] [[footnoteblock]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] ===== > Filename:* site-78.svg > Author: Equinox Doodles > License: CC BY-SA 3.0 > Source Link: [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/secure-facility-dossier-site-78 SCP Foundation Wiki] ===== [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-02-20T18:43:00	[ "_cc", "_licensebox", "greg-chudley", "maria-johnston", "ninth-world", "tale" ]	Lost Souls, Broken Toys Chapter 1 - SCP Foundation	21	[ "sytycfanon", "scp-7261", "scp-7975", "scp-7899", "secure-facility-dossier-site-78", "the-ninth-world-hub", "lost-souls-broken-toys-chapter-2", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "the-ninth-world-hub", "archived:tales-by-date-2023" ]	[]	1446348685	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/lost-souls-broken-toys-chapter-1
lost-souls-broken-toys-chapter-2	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=3&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Ajakstyle/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <div class="authorlink-wrapper"><a href="javascript:;">SYTYCFanon</a> <div class="authorbox"> <div class="authorcontent"> <p>Lost Souls, Broken Toys Chapter 2<br/> <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/sytycfanon">For more stories written by me check here</a></p> </div> </div> </div> <p>The plates of her powered armor rattled and settled as Johnston pushed her shoulders back and straightened out her spine. She'd only tested a Hephaestus Grade Bodysuit once back during the prototype stage. Now, that she had on the finished product she couldn't help but marvel at it. Despite being decked out from the neck to her toes in Adamantite plate, she hardly felt any weight on her and still had her full range of motion. She was equipped with two adamantite blades on her left hip, one long sword, and one short sword like the samurai of old. On her right, she had the newly made arc pistol prototype in a holster.</p> <p>She was standing in the back of a Foundation-issued armored truck, the various members of MTF Omega-45 sitting on benches ready to be addressed.</p> <p>"Alright. Our assignment comes from the higher-ups over at Site-19. The Sin Nombre Cartel has established a small drug manufacturing plant underneath a club they own in Cheyenne. Aside from the usual bar food and cocktails, it also serves as a front for anomalous drug deals. We have reason to believe that the workers have been trafficked and are forced to perform the club's duties, as well as being guinea pigs for experimental drugs in the club's private rooms." Johnston explained, her stomach rolling at the thought.</p> <p>"What's the policy regarding the civilians? From the brief, it seems like there could be more than a hundred patrons in there tonight." Agent Cassington asked. Known by Omega-45-1, John Cassington was the squad's leader.</p> <p>"Mobile Task Forces Shinigami's Eyes and Copyright Trolls will be setting up a perimeter around the club for civilian processing. Any Wyoming residents and trafficked workers are to be amnesticized and sent on their way. These workers will be returned to their proper homes. Any criminals we find amongst them will be forwarded to the proper authorities. Our goal here is to simply secure the building, and then the auxiliary teams will come in to grab the civilians who weren't evacuated."</p> <p>"I have to say thanks for accepting this assignment," Avalerra said. "Growing up in Tlaxcala, I've seen many go missing and never return home. Their families would be in your debt if they knew what we've done."</p> <p>"Ha." Thalaestris let out a deep chuckle. Thalaestris was a former Valravn Greek Branch Valkyrie and the team's melee combat instructor. "You just want to taste the flesh of cartel malakas on your teeth before the night's over."</p> <p>"I never said I didn't." Avalerra flashed a toothy smile. "I'll tear those bastards apart for what they've done."</p> <p>"And you'll get to, but don't be reckless. Members of the Sin Nombre are known to enhance their bodies through anomalous substance use and some of them have thaumaturgic potential. I suspect your weapons should make quick work of them but… don't be surprised if someone shrugs off a gauss round." Johnston said as she went to sit between the two of them.</p> <p>"So, Commander. What's with the new pistol?" Agent Blunt asked.</p> <p>"Oh, this?" Johnston pulled out the weapon from its holster. A sleek, dark blue metal weapon, its barrel had a coiled-like appearance, and instead of a traditional hole at the end of the barrel, it had a tuning fork. "The latest from Electroballistics, it fires an arc of concentrated electricity that can down a target from 50 meters. On its lowest setting, it's comparable to getting hit by a taser. On the highest setting, it'll fry a Valkyrie's systems."</p> <p>"You're creating weapons to fight Valravn?" Rinah said in confusion. "I thought Director Richter said they were off-limits."</p> <p>"I'm aware of the Cartagena Agreement, Rinah. This is me preparing for the inevitable. With Valravn searching for the Set of Nine, it's only a matter of time before we come to blows."</p> <p>"Johnston is right. Valravn needs to be put in its place. The ravens mock us from behind that treaty. Richter is just turning a blind eye to their crimes." Thalaestris's voice was filled with contempt.</p> <p>"Guess it doesn't hurt to be prepared." Rinah shook her head. "You still good to go in there with us?"</p> <p>"Stop being so hard on the commander. She's earned enough favor with Hephaestus, it's time she spilled blood for Ares." Thalaestris boasted.</p> <p>Johnston pulled out a stress ball from under the seat and began to bounce it in front of her. She focused on the metal thuds and slow but steady breathing, drowning out the noise of her teammates.</p> <p>/2/</p> <p>Sam was startled awake by a knocking on the front door. <em>What the hell? Who could that be?</em> She pulled herself out of bed and stepped into her slippers before walking towards the door.</p> <p>"Coming! You don't have to pound so hard, you're gonna take the door off the hinges." Sam said as she unlocked it. She blinked twice at the woman standing on the welcome mat, her mouth slightly agape. She didn't know what to say, so many words were flooding into her brain but Sam had no idea which ones to use first.</p> <p>"Hi, honey. Can I come in?" Jane Russell said with a warm smile.</p> <p>Some people would have been angry or started spouting off questions but for Sam, the only thing she could think to do was lunge forward into a hug. She held her mother tight against her body, she needed to be sure that she was real; that actual flesh and blood was standing before her.</p> <p>"Oh Sam, you're squeezing momma too tight. I'm sorry I was gone for so long."</p> <p>"N-no, you don't have to say sorry." Sam pulled away from her and let her in. "C-come inside."</p> <p>"I-I think I need to say sorry. If there was something that I said that made you leave or did… I made sure the house was clean!" Sam was tripping over her words. "And the bills have been paid and I haven't touched a single one of your-"</p> <p>Sam's mom put a hand on her shoulder. "Sam, calm down. It's alright. You didn't make me leave and I'm glad that you've put so much work into taking care of the house while I've been gone."</p> <p>"Th-then why did you go?" Sam grabbed her mother's arm and pulled up her sleeve. "There are no needle marks here, have you been clean?"</p> <p>"As a whistle!"</p> <p>"Then… was there a guy? I don't understand."</p> <p>"We have a lot to discuss, Samantha. How about I make you your favorite lunch and we talk about it? Buttered grilled cheese with jalapeños?"</p> <p>"Mom, I like red peppers on my grilled cheese. Not jalapeños."</p> <p>"Right, sorry. One grilled cheese, coming up!" She hurried off to the kitchen as Bubba came running past Mrs. Russell and to Sam.</p> <p>"Hey boy. She's back." She picked up the dog and brought him with her to the kitchen, tears welling in her eyes.</p> <p>"She's back."</p> <p>/3/</p> <p>The truck came to a halt just as Johnston's ball returned to her hand.</p> <p>"Show time, let's go." Johnston stood up and went to open the doors to the back of the truck.</p> <p>"You aren't gonna say the thing?" Agent Cole Marcus, the squad's resident slacker asked.</p> <p>"What thing?" Johnston said.</p> <p>"Y'know the thing you always say before every mission. It's a little cheesy but I always love hearing it."</p> <p>"Oh pardon me, I've been a bit stressed. How could I forget? Ahem." She cleared her throat. "Coils hot, ladies and gentlemen."</p> <p>There was a roaring cheer as the squad filed out behind their leader.</p> <p>The club stood in front of Johnston, its dim neon sign being the only illumination in the area beside the lights of the Foundation trucks on the roads around it. There was a lot of movement and commotion from Foundation soldiers setting up equipment and getting into position on nearby rooftops. As Johnston went to talk to one of the officers ordering people into place, she heard a voice.</p> <p>"So this is the illustrious "Street Samurai". Your collection of broken toys. It's funny the first thing you thought of when they came into your employ was making them kill people. You didn't think a nice quiet life served to heal their scars?"</p> <p>Johnston disregarded Corra's mocking as the soldier in front of her saluted. "Greetings, Researcher. Sergeant Aaron Feldman, Sigma-27-1 of the Copyright Trolls, at your service."</p> <p>"At ease, Sergeant. What's your status? Have we been made yet?"</p> <p>"Negative. Our technicians have looped the footage on the outside building cameras and we've detained the bouncers. So far, no one has noticed their disappearance."</p> <p>"Must be a busy night for them then. What about civilian traffic?"</p> <p>"Roadblocks are in place, and we have people redirecting traffic. Our cover story is that this is a police matter."</p> <p>"Good. Don't move into the building until I signal. If we don't radio back in an hour, you move in."</p> <p>"Got it. We'll keep watch."</p> <p>Johnston turned to speak to her team. "I'm not expecting these guys to go quietly but try to take prisoners when possible. Rickards, Cole, Blunt. You go around the back. I'm assuming the drug lab is somewhere in the basement level. Find and neutralize it."</p> <p>"Ah, come on! Why do you always send me first into all the dangerous places?" Cole said.</p> <p>"Cause she's trying to get rid of you, Cole." Rickards joked.</p> <p>"I am." Johnston smirked. "Avalerra, Thalaestris, and Cassington . You're with me. Cassington and Thalaestris will secure the club. Avalerra and I will find the private rooms and make sure they're clear. Any questions?"</p> <p>"Sir, no Sir." Cole responded.</p> <p>"Cole, you know better than to call me Sir. I work for a living. Now let's go. For the betterment of Humanity."</p> <p>The team repeated Site-78's mantra as Cole, Rickards, and Blunt circled the building, leaving the rest of the team to approach the doors.</p> <p>As Johnston put her hand on the handle, she saw Corra leaning against the wall. "For The Betterment of Humanity… Is that what you tell yourself to justify the murders you are about to commit?"</p> <p>"I'm getting real tired of you," Johnston said under her breath, her fingers trembling on the handle. She was right in a way. Johnston had never killed anyone before, only ordered her men to do so. Did she have the stomach for it?</p> <p>Only one way to find out.</p> <p>She pushed the door open and immediately her squad flanked her on all sides, Cassington had his Gauss Rifle drawn, Avalerra her pistol, and Thalaestris her mighty spear. They were greeted, however, not by enemies but by a terrified receptionist.</p> <p>“Don’t say a word,” Johnston ordered. “We’re here to help.”</p> <p>The receptionist threw her hands in the air. She had no loyalty to her criminal employers and wasn’t looking to get shot. She had no idea if these people were from a rival gang or were some type of federal agents, but figured they were her best chance.</p> <p>“Where are the private rooms? I assume the dance floor is that way?” Johnston pointed to a door on her left and the receptionist nodded. She then pointed to a set of stairs on Johnston’s right.</p> <p>“Thank you. There are people outside that can help you.”</p> <p>The receptionist nodded and ran past the Omegas. Cassington gave Johnston an affirmative nod before leaving with Thalaestris. Johnston drew her sidearm, keeping it down and at arm's length.</p> <p>“Am I taking point? Or you?” Avalerra asked as they approached the stairs.</p> <p>“I’ll go first, stay right by me.” Johnston took the first steps up. Her breathing was slightly elevated, and her trigger finger moved anticipatingly on the guard. She’d always been good at keeping her nerves under control. but today was different. Last time she led troops into the field like this they were on home turf, she had control of the field of engagement. Here she did not, and that fact terrified her.</p> <p>As she took her final step and turned into the hallway, a loud BANG rang out. She felt a slight impact against her right shoulder plate, as the bullet ricocheted off. S<em>tandard ammunition, plates should hold against that.</em></p> <p>"Stand down! And I won't have to-" She was cut off by another shot, but she was quick to retaliate with her own. She swung her arms up and fired off her arc pistol, a low hum followed by a flash of electricity. Her attacker collapsed to the ground in a seizing fit as more guards came rushing down the stairs.</p> <p>Johnston snapped her head towards Avalerra, but the anomalous woman was already on it. She moved like a blur past Johnston, her enhanced speed allowing her to easily dodge the hail of bullets they unleashed from their automatic rifles. Johnston had no such reflexes and ducked into the next room in a panic. Her shoulder slammed against the door frame, opening it up with her sheer weight.</p> <p>She however wasn’t expecting to be grabbed by a cartel henchman inside.</p> <p>THUD!</p> <p>Her adamantite frame left a large dent in the wall as she slammed against it, her pistol flying out of her hand and clattering to the ground. Before she could even recover, he had her by the throat. She could see her life flashing before her eyes as she struggled to breathe.</p> <p>"¡Maldito Federale justo cuando estaba a punto de drogarme!" He yelled at her in Spanish as she desperately thrashed and struggled underneath him. The adrenaline coursing through her veins made it near impossible to think. She had to act. Fast. Or this would be the end of her.</p> <p>Johnston reached for her shortsword, pressed the button on the hilt to activate its vibration generator, and drew it. In one clean cut, she'd nearly cleaved the man in two. Blood splattered all over her armor as the man let out a surprised gurgle and fell limply on top of her.</p> <p>She grunted as pushed the corpse off of her, staring blankly at the pool of blood forming on the floor below. A reminder from her anatomy lessons flashed through her brain.</p> <p><em>There are at least 6 Liters of blood in the human body. I slashed through his aorta. Now it's all over the ground… and me.</em></p> <p>She looked down at her bloodied hands. dropped her weapon, and screamed. The sword clattered against the ground and buzzed incessantly, the adamantine blade vibrating at such speed the slightest touch would rip through flesh as easily as she had just done.</p> <p>Her head was throbbing, the metallic smell of his blood finally hitting her nose. She knew this was the reality of combat but something felt wrong. Where was the sense of victory? Of glory? She had just dispatched one of society’s worst, but she didn’t feel at all good about it.</p> <p>“Murderer.” Corra’s phantom spat as she began approaching Johnston. “Happy that you finally got to play with your toys?”</p> <p>“It-it was self-defense. H-he was going to kill me.” She put her hands on her throat, the warm blood from her hands staining her neck.</p> <p>“Excuses. There’s always a choice. You chose violence the day you picked up my manual, instead of locking it up like the good little jailer you are.” She dropped to her knees in front of Johnston.</p> <p>“N-no, I didn’t choose this life. Y-you forced this on me with your damn books!”</p> <p>Corra dragged her hands through the corpse’s blood and grasped Johnston’s face, staring into her very soul. “We follow the same path, you and I. You sought knowledge to be a hero just as I sought paradise. Well, this is what being a hero under the veil is like. You die in the dark, so people like your sister can live in the light.”</p> <p>“SHUT UP!” Johnston stood up, hand on her longsword, only to find there was no one else in the room except for a shivering man in rags.</p> <p>“Who are you talking to girl? Y-you killed my dealer! How am I supposed to get your fix now?” He complained, his mind too addled to really understand what had happened.</p> <p>Johnston retrieved her shortsword, turning it off, and cleaned the blood off by rubbing it against a clean spot on her armor. “You should get out of here. Cops’ll be in here any minute.” Johnston didn’t pay him any attention to him as she collected her pistol, she needed to find Avalerra. She noticed that the gunfire had all but stopped as the pounding in her ears ceased.</p> <p>Entering the hallway she saw the remains of the guards from earlier, their throats torn out and the walls covered in blood spray. Johnston continued past their bodies to find charred corpses lining the stairs- no doubt a result of Avalerra’s pyromancy. As made her way up the stairs she could hear a wet crunching sound followed by disturbed growling.</p> <p>Her grip tightened on her sidearm as she rounded the corner to the third floor, letting out an audible gasp when she saw a hunched-over figure feasting on the bodies in the middle of the hall. She raised her weapon, hands trembling. Johnston felt Corra’s hand on her shoulder.</p> <p>“You reap what you sow, Jailer. Letting the monsters out of their little boxes.”</p> <p>The figure raised its head, having finished gorging on the neck of an unfortunate cartel lackey. It was Avalerra but she was almost unrecognizable with blood covering her mouth and her long hair obscuring her face. Her hands were morphed into fierce eagle talons, but they began to revert to her human hands. She swallowed the blood and viscera in her mouth and began to approach the terrified Johnston.</p> <p>“You missed your chance to rid the world of one more monster in that church. Set your weapon to high and rectify your missstake!” Corra hissed like a snake.</p> <p>“Commander. Sorry, I didn’t come back. I got a little swarmed, but these floors are clear of Cartel- are you… alright?” She asked innocently. She was now arm's length from Johnston, who lowered her weapon.</p> <p>“Ava..lerra I- had to, he was going to -” As Johnston was stammering, Avalerra glanced at Johnston's bloodied armor. “I moved my weapon and he split open so quickly and there was just so much-”</p> <p>“H-hey!” Avalerra grabbed her shaking wrist. “It’s going to be alright. Your first is never easy.”</p> <p>“The second gets better?”</p> <p>“No. It never does.” Avalerra’s voice was melancholic. “But you get better at tuning it out. Remember why you're doing this and that’ll see you through.”</p> <p>“I did this for Mary. To be a hero like the ones we group up idolizing. But this…stalking around in the dark dispatching lowlifes isn’t what I imagined being a hero was like.”</p> <p>“Heroism comes in many shapes, Maria. It’s not romantic, but we’re doing this for the greater good right? We gotta keep these drugs out of Wyoming.”</p> <p>“You’re right it’s just… I haven’t been thinking straight lately.” Maria put her hand on her head, the throbbing slowly returning.</p> <p>“Combat isn’t for everyone. If you need me to bring you back to the command center-”</p> <p>Time seemed to slow down for Johnston as she thought introspectively. <em>Maria. Corra is wrong, you did nothing wrong. You gave them a chance to surrender and they took away your non-lethal option. There are people in here who need your help, you can't give up now.</em></p> <p>“No." Reality rushed back to Johnston. She holstered her weapon. “I can do this, just… no more eating people.”</p> <p>“I can't make any promises but… I'll try to be less violent.” Avalerra shrugged.</p> <p>“Look, I get these guys strike a nerve with you but… we have to try to be better.” Johnston nodded.</p> <p>“Your a better woman than me, Johnston. Let’s get these rooms cleared and see if Cole hasn’t gotten himself into any trouble.”</p> <p>/4/</p> <p>“Mmm!” Sam remarked as she bit into her grilled cheese, all of those familiar flavors rushing through her taste buds. Just like mom used to make.</p> <p>Her mother sat down at the table next to her as she was chowing down. “You like it Sweetie? I know it’s been a while since I made one, but…”</p> <p>“It’s great, Mom. Even if it was burnt, I’d eat it. I’m so glad to have you back, but you have to tell me where you’ve been.”</p> <p>“To tell you the truth, Sam. I was on the run.”</p> <p>Sam raised her eyebrows. “On the run? From who?”</p> <p>“They call themselves the SCP Foundation. They want to lock away people like us because we’re different.”</p> <p>“Different? Different how?” Did her mom have the same abilities as her? She never knew her Mom to be magical in any way. To her surprise, her mother grabbed a nearby glass of water and, with an incantation turned it into wine and drank it.</p> <p>“Five year vintage. I still got it.” She chuckled and sat it back down.</p> <p>“I have abilities too. I can open Ways, do you know what those are?”</p> <p>“I do. I’ve been to the Wanderer’s Library many times but… The Foundation took my Library Card and now the Ways have become unusable for me.”</p> <p>“That’s terrible, but why not say anything? Why lie to me about these powers that I’d inherit?”</p> <p>“I did not know that you would inherit them. You’re special, Samantha, you awakened to powers when you shouldn’t have. It’s a sign.”</p> <p>“A sign of what?”</p> <p>“A sign that the world is entering a new age of magic and wonder. I came back when I’d learned that you’d come into your powers. I need your help, Sam.”</p> <p>She came back for a favor? She should have told her to get out right then and there but she didn’t. Sam was too desperate to have her back in her life so she asked what kind of help she needed.</p> <p>“There’s a book inside the Wanderer’s Library. It contains the location of a weapon that we need to bring about Paradise.”</p> <p>“Paradise? Who's we?”</p> <p>“We are… the Naja. A group of individuals like you and me who want to see the world brought into Paradise. Imagine a world where magic roams free. Where there are talking cats, no Foundation to lock us up, and dragons! Dragons flying free over the mountains of the world! Won’t you help us achieve this Paradise?”</p> <p>It did sound nice, but Sam still had her doubts. “Why do you need me then? Doesn’t anyone in your group have Library Cards?”</p> <p>“One way or another we’ve lost our ability to go to the Library. But Sam you can enter Ways from any place. No rituals needed.”</p> <p>“I can. I’ll get you there, Mom. “ Sam nodded and smiled. “We’ll be together in Paradise… right?”</p> <p>“Of course, sweetie.” She said as she stroked Sam’s hair. “We’ll be together forever.”</p> <p>/5/</p> <p>Johnston and Avalerra had run into a bit of a snag, a leopard-sized one. An anomalous creature with the body of a man and a head of a jaguar stood between them and the next door. It growled and snarled at them ready to pounce. Johnston was getting tired, they'd been fighting with it for the past fifteen minutes. The two sides stood eyeing each other up, getting ready for their next move. Johnston promised herself her resolve wouldn't waver. If they had to put it down… they would.</p> <p>It charged forward at them and Avalerra responded by drawing her sidearm and firing at its legs. The tungsten slugs whizzed by at Mach speed, and a lucky shot directly on its knee cap tore through and blew out the back of its knee. It roared in pain as it fell on its wounded joint, only to find Johnston's Adamantite boot impacting with its chin from a running kick.</p> <p>A wave of relief passed over Johnston as her breathing began to calm. The line hadn't been crossed again… for now.</p> <p>"Nahual chingada." Avalerra said as she reloaded her weapon.</p> <p>"Nahual?" Johnston asked, staring at the creature who slowly began to revert to a normal man.</p> <p>"Translations vary. Easy to say their mages who can transform."</p> <p>“I think I saw something about them when I was researching the myths relating to you," Johnston said. "Come on. We got one last door to check." Johnston moved to the end of the hall and opened the door with Avalerra shadowing her. Inside was a woman sprawled out on the bed in a state of half-consciousness.</p> <p>“Shit. Hey! Are you alright?” Johnston got down next to her and tried to shake her awake.</p> <p>“Johnston… her blood is rotten.”</p> <p>Johnston snapped her back towards Avalerra, “Rotten? What do you mean rotten?”</p> <p>“She’s got so much anomalous crap coursing through her, I can smell it from here. She’s dying.”</p> <p>Johnston didn't want to believe it. She had to try something. She'd seen enough people die under her watch. Her mind instantly went to the place she felt most comfortable: Science. Johnston pulled a medkit from her belt, grabbing a syringe filled with an anti-drug. She jabbed into the woman’s arm in the hopes that it would reverse the reaction.</p> <p>The woman’s eyes suddenly shot open. She grabbed onto Johnston’s armor and pulled her close.</p> <p>“Y-you have to.. Have to… take care of my Chickadee. Please…”</p> <p>“Who is your Chickadee? What are you talking about.”</p> <p>“My daughter… take care of my daughter.” The woman’s grip slowly loosened from Johnston’s collar before falling onto the bed, The woman’s breathing stopped shortly after.</p> <p>The hopeful light in Johnston's eyes flickered out like a dying candle. She was so sure that this mission would go out without a hitch. The bad guys defeated, the people returned to their homes, and the Street Samurai returning as unsung heroes. But someone wouldn't be returning home. The what ifs began to circle in her head and she heard Avalerra saying a prayer for the woman. Could she have been faster? Could she have done something better?</p> <p>She clenched her fist and closed her eyes. No. She'd been through this before with Mary. The only thing she could do to make this right was to honor the woman's dying wish just as she'd made Mary's dreams a reality.</p> <p>Johnston solemnly searched the woman for identification, if she was going to find her family she needed a place to start. She found her wallet and took her driver’s license.</p> <p>Jane Russell. Age: 34</p> <div class="earthworm earthworm--old-syntax-first-false earthworm--old-syntax-last-false earthworm--old-syntax-hub-yes {$class}"> <div class="first earthworm__previous" data-title="Lost Souls, Broken Toys Chapter 1"> <p><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/lost-souls-broken-toys-chapter-1">Lost Souls, Broken Toys Chapter 1</a></p> </div> <div class="hub earthworm__hub" data-title="The Set of Nine"> <p><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/the-ninth-world-hub">The Set of Nine</a></p> </div> <div class="last earthworm__next" data-title="Lost Souls, Broken Toys Chapter 3"> <p><a href="/">Lost Souls, Broken Toys Chapter 3</a></p> </div> </div> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/lost-souls-broken-toys-chapter-2">Lost Souls, Broken Toys Chapter 2</a>" by SYTYCFanon, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/lost-souls-broken-toys-chapter-2">https://scpwiki.com/lost-souls-broken-toys-chapter-2</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> site-78.svg<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> Equinox Doodles<br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC BY-SA 3.0<br/> <strong>Source Link:</strong> <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/secure-facility-dossier-site-78">SCP Foundation Wiki</a></p> </blockquote> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:black-highlighter-theme">:scp-wiki:theme:black-highlighter-theme</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:jakstyle">:scp-wiki:theme:jakstyle</a>]] [[module CSS]] :root { --header-title: "SITE-78"; --header-subtitle: "For The Betterment of Humanity"; --lgurl: url(https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/secure-facility-dossier-site-78/site-78.svg); } [[/module]] [[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:author-label-source">:scp-wiki:component:author-label-source</a> start=-- \|name=SYTYCFanon]] Lost Souls, Broken Toys Chapter 2 [[[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/sytycfanon\|For more stories written by me check here]]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:author-label-source">:scp-wiki:component:author-label-source</a> end=--]] The plates of her powered armor rattled and settled as Johnston pushed her shoulders back and straightened out her spine. She'd only tested a Hephaestus Grade Bodysuit once back during the prototype stage. Now, that she had on the finished product she couldn't help but marvel at it. Despite being decked out from the neck to her toes in Adamantite plate, she hardly felt any weight on her and still had her full range of motion. She was equipped with two adamantite blades on her left hip, one long sword, and one short sword like the samurai of old. On her right, she had the newly made arc pistol prototype in a holster. She was standing in the back of a Foundation-issued armored truck, the various members of MTF Omega-45 sitting on benches ready to be addressed. "Alright. Our assignment comes from the higher-ups over at Site-19. The Sin Nombre Cartel has established a small drug manufacturing plant underneath a club they own in Cheyenne. Aside from the usual bar food and cocktails, it also serves as a front for anomalous drug deals. We have reason to believe that the workers have been trafficked and are forced to perform the club's duties, as well as being guinea pigs for experimental drugs in the club's private rooms." Johnston explained, her stomach rolling at the thought. "What's the policy regarding the civilians? From the brief, it seems like there could be more than a hundred patrons in there tonight." Agent Cassington asked. Known by Omega-45-1, John Cassington was the squad's leader. "Mobile Task Forces Shinigami's Eyes and Copyright Trolls will be setting up a perimeter around the club for civilian processing. Any Wyoming residents and trafficked workers are to be amnesticized and sent on their way. These workers will be returned to their proper homes. Any criminals we find amongst them will be forwarded to the proper authorities. Our goal here is to simply secure the building, and then the auxiliary teams will come in to grab the civilians who weren't evacuated." "I have to say thanks for accepting this assignment," Avalerra said. "Growing up in Tlaxcala, I've seen many go missing and never return home. Their families would be in your debt if they knew what we've done." "Ha." Thalaestris let out a deep chuckle. Thalaestris was a former Valravn Greek Branch Valkyrie and the team's melee combat instructor. "You just want to taste the flesh of cartel malakas on your teeth before the night's over." "I never said I didn't." Avalerra flashed a toothy smile. "I'll tear those bastards apart for what they've done." "And you'll get to, but don't be reckless. Members of the Sin Nombre are known to enhance their bodies through anomalous substance use and some of them have thaumaturgic potential. I suspect your weapons should make quick work of them but... don't be surprised if someone shrugs off a gauss round." Johnston said as she went to sit between the two of them. "So, Commander. What's with the new pistol?" Agent Blunt asked. "Oh, this?" Johnston pulled out the weapon from its holster. A sleek, dark blue metal weapon, its barrel had a coiled-like appearance, and instead of a traditional hole at the end of the barrel, it had a tuning fork. "The latest from Electroballistics, it fires an arc of concentrated electricity that can down a target from 50 meters. On its lowest setting, it's comparable to getting hit by a taser. On the highest setting, it'll fry a Valkyrie's systems." "You're creating weapons to fight Valravn?" Rinah said in confusion. "I thought Director Richter said they were off-limits." "I'm aware of the Cartagena Agreement, Rinah. This is me preparing for the inevitable. With Valravn searching for the Set of Nine, it's only a matter of time before we come to blows." "Johnston is right. Valravn needs to be put in its place. The ravens mock us from behind that treaty. Richter is just turning a blind eye to their crimes." Thalaestris's voice was filled with contempt. "Guess it doesn't hurt to be prepared." Rinah shook her head. "You still good to go in there with us?" "Stop being so hard on the commander. She's earned enough favor with Hephaestus, it's time she spilled blood for Ares." Thalaestris boasted. Johnston pulled out a stress ball from under the seat and began to bounce it in front of her. She focused on the metal thuds and slow but steady breathing, drowning out the noise of her teammates. /2/ Sam was startled awake by a knocking on the front door. //What the hell? Who could that be?// She pulled herself out of bed and stepped into her slippers before walking towards the door. "Coming! You don't have to pound so hard, you're gonna take the door off the hinges." Sam said as she unlocked it. She blinked twice at the woman standing on the welcome mat, her mouth slightly agape. She didn't know what to say, so many words were flooding into her brain but Sam had no idea which ones to use first. "Hi, honey. Can I come in?" Jane Russell said with a warm smile. Some people would have been angry or started spouting off questions but for Sam, the only thing she could think to do was lunge forward into a hug. She held her mother tight against her body, she needed to be sure that she was real; that actual flesh and blood was standing before her. "Oh Sam, you're squeezing momma too tight. I'm sorry I was gone for so long." "N-no, you don't have to say sorry." Sam pulled away from her and let her in. "C-come inside." "I-I think I need to say sorry. If there was something that I said that made you leave or did... I made sure the house was clean!" Sam was tripping over her words. "And the bills have been paid and I haven't touched a single one of your-" Sam's mom put a hand on her shoulder. "Sam, calm down. It's alright. You didn't make me leave and I'm glad that you've put so much work into taking care of the house while I've been gone." "Th-then why did you go?" Sam grabbed her mother's arm and pulled up her sleeve. "There are no needle marks here, have you been clean?" "As a whistle!" "Then... was there a guy? I don't understand." "We have a lot to discuss, Samantha. How about I make you your favorite lunch and we talk about it? Buttered grilled cheese with jalapeños?" "Mom, I like red peppers on my grilled cheese. Not jalapeños." "Right, sorry. One grilled cheese, coming up!" She hurried off to the kitchen as Bubba came running past Mrs. Russell and to Sam. "Hey boy. She's back." She picked up the dog and brought him with her to the kitchen, tears welling in her eyes. "She's back." /3/ The truck came to a halt just as Johnston's ball returned to her hand. "Show time, let's go." Johnston stood up and went to open the doors to the back of the truck. "You aren't gonna say the thing?" Agent Cole Marcus, the squad's resident slacker asked. "What thing?" Johnston said. "Y'know the thing you always say before every mission. It's a little cheesy but I always love hearing it." "Oh pardon me, I've been a bit stressed. How could I forget? Ahem." She cleared her throat. "Coils hot, ladies and gentlemen." There was a roaring cheer as the squad filed out behind their leader. The club stood in front of Johnston, its dim neon sign being the only illumination in the area beside the lights of the Foundation trucks on the roads around it. There was a lot of movement and commotion from Foundation soldiers setting up equipment and getting into position on nearby rooftops. As Johnston went to talk to one of the officers ordering people into place, she heard a voice. "So this is the illustrious "Street Samurai". Your collection of broken toys. It's funny the first thing you thought of when they came into your employ was making them kill people. You didn't think a nice quiet life served to heal their scars?" Johnston disregarded Corra's mocking as the soldier in front of her saluted. "Greetings, Researcher. Sergeant Aaron Feldman, Sigma-27-1 of the Copyright Trolls, at your service." "At ease, Sergeant. What's your status? Have we been made yet?" "Negative. Our technicians have looped the footage on the outside building cameras and we've detained the bouncers. So far, no one has noticed their disappearance." "Must be a busy night for them then. What about civilian traffic?" "Roadblocks are in place, and we have people redirecting traffic. Our cover story is that this is a police matter." "Good. Don't move into the building until I signal. If we don't radio back in an hour, you move in." "Got it. We'll keep watch." Johnston turned to speak to her team. "I'm not expecting these guys to go quietly but try to take prisoners when possible. Rickards, Cole, Blunt. You go around the back. I'm assuming the drug lab is somewhere in the basement level. Find and neutralize it." "Ah, come on! Why do you always send me first into all the dangerous places?" Cole said. "Cause she's trying to get rid of you, Cole." Rickards joked. "I am." Johnston smirked. "Avalerra, Thalaestris, and Cassington . You're with me. Cassington and Thalaestris will secure the club. Avalerra and I will find the private rooms and make sure they're clear. Any questions?" "Sir, no Sir." Cole responded. "Cole, you know better than to call me Sir. I work for a living. Now let's go. For the betterment of Humanity." The team repeated Site-78's mantra as Cole, Rickards, and Blunt circled the building, leaving the rest of the team to approach the doors. As Johnston put her hand on the handle, she saw Corra leaning against the wall. "For The Betterment of Humanity... Is that what you tell yourself to justify the murders you are about to commit?" "I'm getting real tired of you," Johnston said under her breath, her fingers trembling on the handle. She was right in a way. Johnston had never killed anyone before, only ordered her men to do so. Did she have the stomach for it? Only one way to find out. She pushed the door open and immediately her squad flanked her on all sides, Cassington had his Gauss Rifle drawn, Avalerra her pistol, and Thalaestris her mighty spear. They were greeted, however, not by enemies but by a terrified receptionist. “Don’t say a word,” Johnston ordered. “We’re here to help.” The receptionist threw her hands in the air. She had no loyalty to her criminal employers and wasn’t looking to get shot. She had no idea if these people were from a rival gang or were some type of federal agents, but figured they were her best chance. “Where are the private rooms? I assume the dance floor is that way?” Johnston pointed to a door on her left and the receptionist nodded. She then pointed to a set of stairs on Johnston’s right. “Thank you. There are people outside that can help you.” The receptionist nodded and ran past the Omegas. Cassington gave Johnston an affirmative nod before leaving with Thalaestris. Johnston drew her sidearm, keeping it down and at arm's length. “Am I taking point? Or you?” Avalerra asked as they approached the stairs. “I’ll go first, stay right by me.” Johnston took the first steps up. Her breathing was slightly elevated, and her trigger finger moved anticipatingly on the guard. She’d always been good at keeping her nerves under control. but today was different. Last time she led troops into the field like this they were on home turf, she had control of the field of engagement. Here she did not, and that fact terrified her. As she took her final step and turned into the hallway, a loud BANG rang out. She felt a slight impact against her right shoulder plate, as the bullet ricocheted off. S//tandard ammunition, plates should hold against that.// "Stand down! And I won't have to-" She was cut off by another shot, but she was quick to retaliate with her own. She swung her arms up and fired off her arc pistol, a low hum followed by a flash of electricity. Her attacker collapsed to the ground in a seizing fit as more guards came rushing down the stairs. Johnston snapped her head towards Avalerra, but the anomalous woman was already on it. She moved like a blur past Johnston, her enhanced speed allowing her to easily dodge the hail of bullets they unleashed from their automatic rifles. Johnston had no such reflexes and ducked into the next room in a panic. Her shoulder slammed against the door frame, opening it up with her sheer weight. She however wasn’t expecting to be grabbed by a cartel henchman inside. THUD! Her adamantite frame left a large dent in the wall as she slammed against it, her pistol flying out of her hand and clattering to the ground. Before she could even recover, he had her by the throat. She could see her life flashing before her eyes as she struggled to breathe. "¡Maldito Federale justo cuando estaba a punto de drogarme!" He yelled at her in Spanish as she desperately thrashed and struggled underneath him. The adrenaline coursing through her veins made it near impossible to think. She had to act. Fast. Or this would be the end of her. Johnston reached for her shortsword, pressed the button on the hilt to activate its vibration generator, and drew it. In one clean cut, she'd nearly cleaved the man in two. Blood splattered all over her armor as the man let out a surprised gurgle and fell limply on top of her. She grunted as pushed the corpse off of her, staring blankly at the pool of blood forming on the floor below. A reminder from her anatomy lessons flashed through her brain. //There are at least 6 Liters of blood in the human body. I slashed through his aorta. Now it's all over the ground... and me.// She looked down at her bloodied hands. dropped her weapon, and screamed. The sword clattered against the ground and buzzed incessantly, the adamantine blade vibrating at such speed the slightest touch would rip through flesh as easily as she had just done. Her head was throbbing, the metallic smell of his blood finally hitting her nose. She knew this was the reality of combat but something felt wrong. Where was the sense of victory? Of glory? She had just dispatched one of society’s worst, but she didn’t feel at all good about it. “Murderer.” Corra’s phantom spat as she began approaching Johnston. “Happy that you finally got to play with your toys?” “It-it was self-defense. H-he was going to kill me.” She put her hands on her throat, the warm blood from her hands staining her neck. “Excuses. There’s always a choice. You chose violence the day you picked up my manual, instead of locking it up like the good little jailer you are.” She dropped to her knees in front of Johnston. “N-no, I didn’t choose this life. Y-you forced this on me with your damn books!” Corra dragged her hands through the corpse’s blood and grasped Johnston’s face, staring into her very soul. “We follow the same path, you and I. You sought knowledge to be a hero just as I sought paradise. Well, this is what being a hero under the veil is like. You die in the dark, so people like your sister can live in the light.” “SHUT UP!” Johnston stood up, hand on her longsword, only to find there was no one else in the room except for a shivering man in rags. “Who are you talking to girl? Y-you killed my dealer! How am I supposed to get your fix now?” He complained, his mind too addled to really understand what had happened. Johnston retrieved her shortsword, turning it off, and cleaned the blood off by rubbing it against a clean spot on her armor. “You should get out of here. Cops’ll be in here any minute.” Johnston didn’t pay him any attention to him as she collected her pistol, she needed to find Avalerra. She noticed that the gunfire had all but stopped as the pounding in her ears ceased. Entering the hallway she saw the remains of the guards from earlier, their throats torn out and the walls covered in blood spray. Johnston continued past their bodies to find charred corpses lining the stairs- no doubt a result of Avalerra’s pyromancy. As made her way up the stairs she could hear a wet crunching sound followed by disturbed growling. Her grip tightened on her sidearm as she rounded the corner to the third floor, letting out an audible gasp when she saw a hunched-over figure feasting on the bodies in the middle of the hall. She raised her weapon, hands trembling. Johnston felt Corra’s hand on her shoulder. “You reap what you sow, Jailer. Letting the monsters out of their little boxes.” The figure raised its head, having finished gorging on the neck of an unfortunate cartel lackey. It was Avalerra but she was almost unrecognizable with blood covering her mouth and her long hair obscuring her face. Her hands were morphed into fierce eagle talons, but they began to revert to her human hands. She swallowed the blood and viscera in her mouth and began to approach the terrified Johnston. “You missed your chance to rid the world of one more monster in that church. Set your weapon to high and rectify your missstake!” Corra hissed like a snake. “Commander. Sorry, I didn’t come back. I got a little swarmed, but these floors are clear of Cartel- are you… alright?” She asked innocently. She was now arm's length from Johnston, who lowered her weapon. “Ava..lerra I- had to, he was going to -” As Johnston was stammering, Avalerra glanced at Johnston's bloodied armor. “I moved my weapon and he split open so quickly and there was just so much-” “H-hey!” Avalerra grabbed her shaking wrist. “It’s going to be alright. Your first is never easy.” “The second gets better?” “No. It never does.” Avalerra’s voice was melancholic. “But you get better at tuning it out. Remember why you're doing this and that’ll see you through.” “I did this for Mary. To be a hero like the ones we group up idolizing. But this…stalking around in the dark dispatching lowlifes isn’t what I imagined being a hero was like.” “Heroism comes in many shapes, Maria. It’s not romantic, but we’re doing this for the greater good right? We gotta keep these drugs out of Wyoming.” “You’re right it’s just… I haven’t been thinking straight lately.” Maria put her hand on her head, the throbbing slowly returning. “Combat isn’t for everyone. If you need me to bring you back to the command center-” Time seemed to slow down for Johnston as she thought introspectively. //Maria. Corra is wrong, you did nothing wrong. You gave them a chance to surrender and they took away your non-lethal option. There are people in here who need your help, you can't give up now.// “No." Reality rushed back to Johnston. She holstered her weapon. “I can do this, just... no more eating people.” “I can't make any promises but... I'll try to be less violent.” Avalerra shrugged. “Look, I get these guys strike a nerve with you but... we have to try to be better.” Johnston nodded. “Your a better woman than me, Johnston. Let’s get these rooms cleared and see if Cole hasn’t gotten himself into any trouble.” /4/ “Mmm!” Sam remarked as she bit into her grilled cheese, all of those familiar flavors rushing through her taste buds. Just like mom used to make. Her mother sat down at the table next to her as she was chowing down. “You like it Sweetie? I know it’s been a while since I made one, but…” “It’s great, Mom. Even if it was burnt, I’d eat it. I’m so glad to have you back, but you have to tell me where you’ve been.” “To tell you the truth, Sam. I was on the run.” Sam raised her eyebrows. “On the run? From who?” “They call themselves the SCP Foundation. They want to lock away people like us because we’re different.” “Different? Different how?” Did her mom have the same abilities as her? She never knew her Mom to be magical in any way. To her surprise, her mother grabbed a nearby glass of water and, with an incantation turned it into wine and drank it. “Five year vintage. I still got it.” She chuckled and sat it back down. “I have abilities too. I can open Ways, do you know what those are?” “I do. I’ve been to the Wanderer’s Library many times but… The Foundation took my Library Card and now the Ways have become unusable for me.” “That’s terrible, but why not say anything? Why lie to me about these powers that I’d inherit?” “I did not know that you would inherit them. You’re special, Samantha, you awakened to powers when you shouldn’t have. It’s a sign.” “A sign of what?” “A sign that the world is entering a new age of magic and wonder. I came back when I’d learned that you’d come into your powers. I need your help, Sam.” She came back for a favor? She should have told her to get out right then and there but she didn’t. Sam was too desperate to have her back in her life so she asked what kind of help she needed. “There’s a book inside the Wanderer’s Library. It contains the location of a weapon that we need to bring about Paradise.” “Paradise? Who's we?” “We are… the Naja. A group of individuals like you and me who want to see the world brought into Paradise. Imagine a world where magic roams free. Where there are talking cats, no Foundation to lock us up, and dragons! Dragons flying free over the mountains of the world! Won’t you help us achieve this Paradise?” It did sound nice, but Sam still had her doubts. “Why do you need me then? Doesn’t anyone in your group have Library Cards?” “One way or another we’ve lost our ability to go to the Library. But Sam you can enter Ways from any place. No rituals needed.” “I can. I’ll get you there, Mom. “ Sam nodded and smiled. “We’ll be together in Paradise… right?” “Of course, sweetie.” She said as she stroked Sam’s hair. “We’ll be together forever.” /5/ Johnston and Avalerra had run into a bit of a snag, a leopard-sized one. An anomalous creature with the body of a man and a head of a jaguar stood between them and the next door. It growled and snarled at them ready to pounce. Johnston was getting tired, they'd been fighting with it for the past fifteen minutes. The two sides stood eyeing each other up, getting ready for their next move. Johnston promised herself her resolve wouldn't waver. If they had to put it down... they would. It charged forward at them and Avalerra responded by drawing her sidearm and firing at its legs. The tungsten slugs whizzed by at Mach speed, and a lucky shot directly on its knee cap tore through and blew out the back of its knee. It roared in pain as it fell on its wounded joint, only to find Johnston's Adamantite boot impacting with its chin from a running kick. A wave of relief passed over Johnston as her breathing began to calm. The line hadn't been crossed again... for now. "Nahual chingada." Avalerra said as she reloaded her weapon. "Nahual?" Johnston asked, staring at the creature who slowly began to revert to a normal man. "Translations vary. Easy to say their mages who can transform." “I think I saw something about them when I was researching the myths relating to you," Johnston said. "Come on. We got one last door to check." Johnston moved to the end of the hall and opened the door with Avalerra shadowing her. Inside was a woman sprawled out on the bed in a state of half-consciousness. “Shit. Hey! Are you alright?” Johnston got down next to her and tried to shake her awake. “Johnston… her blood is rotten.” Johnston snapped her back towards Avalerra, “Rotten? What do you mean rotten?” “She’s got so much anomalous crap coursing through her, I can smell it from here. She’s dying.” Johnston didn't want to believe it. She had to try something. She'd seen enough people die under her watch. Her mind instantly went to the place she felt most comfortable: Science. Johnston pulled a medkit from her belt, grabbing a syringe filled with an anti-drug. She jabbed into the woman’s arm in the hopes that it would reverse the reaction. The woman’s eyes suddenly shot open. She grabbed onto Johnston’s armor and pulled her close. “Y-you have to.. Have to… take care of my Chickadee. Please…” “Who is your Chickadee? What are you talking about.” “My daughter… take care of my daughter.” The woman’s grip slowly loosened from Johnston’s collar before falling onto the bed, The woman’s breathing stopped shortly after. The hopeful light in Johnston's eyes flickered out like a dying candle. She was so sure that this mission would go out without a hitch. The bad guys defeated, the people returned to their homes, and the Street Samurai returning as unsung heroes. But someone wouldn't be returning home. The what ifs began to circle in her head and she heard Avalerra saying a prayer for the woman. Could she have been faster? Could she have done something better? She clenched her fist and closed her eyes. No. She'd been through this before with Mary. The only thing she could do to make this right was to honor the woman's dying wish just as she'd made Mary's dreams a reality. Johnston solemnly searched the woman for identification, if she was going to find her family she needed a place to start. She found her wallet and took her driver’s license. Jane Russell. Age: 34 [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:earthworm">:scp-wiki:component:earthworm</a> \| first=false \| last=false\| hub=yes \| previous-url=https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/lost-souls-broken-toys-chapter-1\| previous-title=Lost Souls, Broken Toys Chapter 1 \| next-url=/ \|next-title=Lost Souls, Broken Toys Chapter 3 \| hub-url=https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/the-ninth-world-hub\| hub-title=The Set of Nine ]] [[footnoteblock]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] ===== > Filename: site-78.svg > Author: Equinox Doodles > License: CC BY-SA 3.0 > Source Link: [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/secure-facility-dossier-site-78 SCP Foundation Wiki] ===== [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-04-23T17:09:00	[ "_cc", "_licensebox", "maria-johnston", "ninth-world", "tale" ]	Lost Souls, Broken Toys Chapter 2 - SCP Foundation	15	[ "sytycfanon", "lost-souls-broken-toys-chapter-1", "the-ninth-world-hub", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide", "secure-facility-dossier-site-78" ]	[ "the-ninth-world-hub", "archived:tales-by-date-2023" ]	[]	1447449288	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/lost-souls-broken-toys-chapter-2
love-in-the-time-of-chugwater	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div class="authorlink-wrapper"><a href="javascript:;">SYTYCFanon</a> <div class="authorbox"> <div class="authorcontent"> <p>Love in the time of Chugwater<br/> <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/sytycfanon">Fanon's Author Page</a></p> </div> </div> </div> <p>“Director Paul Lague.”</p> <p>“…What?” Chudley asked as he stared into space, his head resting against his bed frame.</p> <p>“Director Paul Lague,” Maria Johnston repeated from the bed above him.</p> <p>She was wearing red flannel pajama pants and a T-shirt that read: “Don't Fear the Raven” with a crossed-out Valravn logo. Michaela Avalerra was also with her, resting her head in Johnston’s lap. Avalerra was wearing a matching set of PJs with a T-Shirt that read, “Stouffers, officially sponsored by the Chugwater Frogman!”</p> <p>“Why do you keep repeating his name? What about him?”</p> <p>“.. There’s nothing about him. That’s his bio.” Johnston shrugged.</p> <p>“So you’re telling me that Director Lague is not only on Kindling but his bio says his name like he’s a fucking Pokemon?” Chudley said exasperated. “Plus I thought I told you only give me male options if they are Pedro Pascal or Pedro Pascal look-alikes.”</p> <p>“Yeah I know, I was just messing with you.” Johnston smirked, swiping left on Paul before changing the setting to find someone more suitable for Chudley.</p> <p>Chudley sighed, not knowing why he even agreed to this. The two of them had shown up unannounced, barging into his house and demanding that they not only crash at his place but they would also find him a date. He knew he wouldn’t be able to tell them to leave, especially with Avalerra around. But he liked their company and decided to humor his best friend’s suggestion.</p> <p>Johnston had a few stipulations for how this would go down. Firstly they would be using the new dating app, Kindling. It was a dating service focusing on folks operating under the Veil. Secondly, Chudley would not be able to see any pictures of the people and had to select only through bios alone; Chudley had been burned many times by simply looking for a pretty face.</p> <p>“How about Abigail Lacroix? She’s a foundation researcher isn’t she?” Johnston asked.</p> <p>“Oh yeah, she discovered that sauna over in ’Finland’.” Chudley said with air quotes. “What does she like?”</p> <p>“She’s a historian and anthropologist from Alaska. She’s a self-proclaimed adventurer and she’s wants someone talkative and eccentric. Someone’s a bit weird but natural.”</p> <p>“This gringo sounds up Chudley’s alley.” Avalerra chimed in.</p> <p>“No,” Chudley replied matter of factly.</p> <p>“No?” Johnston asked.</p> <p>“Sounds like she’d be away a bunch and I’m not really going for a long-distance relationship. What else you got?”</p> <p>“Next is Calendar. She’s 7’1 and built like a tank. She’s looking for a date and a dumbbell. Preferably you’ll be both. Calendar loves to exercise, anything violent, and drinking hard. She was originally from Undervegas.”</p> <p>“As much as I’d like the dommy mommy, I get my fill of violent women as it is. Swipe left.”</p> <p>“Violent women? What violent women are YOU hanging around?” Avalerra raised an eyebrow at Chudley.</p> <p>“They’re both on my bed.”</p> <p>“Point taken.” Johnston swiped left and prepared to read the next bio.</p> <p>The matchmaking affair turned into quite the ordeal as the minutes ticked by with not a single swipe right. No matter how they were presented, Chudley denied every single one. While most would have given up after swiping through at least thirty dating profiles, Johnston and Avalerra were persistent.</p> <p>Chudley felt Avalerra slide down next to him. He could tell they’d caught on that there was something more that was going on. Instinctively he tried to deflect. “This was a bad idea, guys. I-I don’t think any of these gals are for me.”</p> <p>Avalerra sighed, “You know I can tell when you’re lying? I can literally smell it on you.”</p> <p>“Yeah? What else is my blood telling you?” Chudley looked over at her. “That I’m a dashing rogue with stellar good looks?”</p> <p>“You’ve got something on your mind that’s eating away at you. Spill it.”</p> <p>Before he could speak, Johnston slid down the frame to the other side of him. “Come on man, you need something more to your life. You come to work, deal with some random mundane bullshit, then come home to play League. Rinse and repeat.”</p> <p>“Yeah, and that’s my life. What’s wrong with that?” Chudley raised his left hand, curled up his fingers, and nibbled on his nails.</p> <p>“That right there. You always bite your nails when you're stressed. Your coping mechanisms aren’t working, not like they were outstanding to begin with.”</p> <p>“Look I…” Chudley shook his head. “I don’t need someone in my life. It’s not safe. I’ve got enemies up the wazoo. Evil shitposters and sorceresses made of snakes. I’m worried that if I get close to someone, they’ll get put into the crossfire.”</p> <p>“And if they do we would protect them. We’ve all been through a lot this year, you especially. Don’t you want someone to give your life purpose? It can’t all be mundane artifacts and uneventful data every day.”</p> <p>“Of course I do, but what about you two? Why are you so honed in on me specifically?”</p> <p>“Can’t date anyone when I’m locked in a containment cell for the rest of my life.” Avalerra sighed. “Plus, Johnston here still hasn’t accepted my invitation.” Avalerra jokingly started miming kisses towards Johnston.</p> <p>“Please ignore her. Let us worry about our own relationship issues.” Johnston ruffled Chudley’s hair. “I’m worried about you man. I won’t always be around to put a lid on your chaos, maybe someone else could fill in.”</p> <p>Chudley chuckled. “I guess this house does feel empty most of the time. In that there should be someone in it with me. You know, someone who isn’t just here to drink my <em>Mountain Dew</em> and call me a gringo for buying the flour tortillas.</p> <p>“Corn is king, gringo.” Avalerra responded.</p> <p>“So does that mean you’ll actually take this seriously?” Johnston asked.</p> <p>Chudley threw his hands up. “Hit me with another one.”</p> <p>“Coming right up.” Johnston went ahead and pulled up another profile. “This girl’s name is Leslie and apparently she is uh…” Johnston look at the bio with a puzzled look. “Recently back from the dead and looking for a new partner.”</p> <p>“She got resurrected? That sounds awesome! What else?” Chudley's voice brimmed with excitement.</p> <p>Johnston was still in a state of confusion looking through Leslie’s pictures and from Chudley’s reaction. She didn’t know if was going to be down for what this relationship could possibly entail but he was interested so she had to continue. “She is looking for someone truly kind. Someone that she can really feel like I can settle down with and spend the rest of her life with.”</p> <p>“She sounds really down to Earth and that’s kinda what I’ve been looking for.”</p> <p>“Settle down? You?” Avalerra said in bewilderment. “You’re joking.”</p> <p>“No joking here. The hero always settles down with the girl at the end. That’s how most narratives tend to go, according to Pataphysical models.”</p> <p>“Pssh. Nerd.” Johnston rolled her eyes. “So I’m swiping right?”</p> <p>“Indeed.”</p> <p>Johnston proceeded to swipe right and a few moments later exclaimed, “Oh, my god. You matched!”</p> <p>“Fuck yeah, we ball!” Chudley pumped his fist into the air but his cheer quickly turned into unease as the reality of the situation dawned on him. “Wh- wait. I’m not ready to talk to her!”</p> <p>“She’s typing right now!” Johnston tossed Chudley the phone. “Do your thing.”</p> <p>“I… uh… yeah. Right!” Chudley pulled up the keyboard on the app’s messaging feature and prepared to engage.</p> <div class="blockquote"> <p><em>Greg has entered the chat.</em><br/> <em>Leslie has entered the chat.</em></p> <p><strong>Leslie:</strong> Hello! I was surprised you swiped on me. But I'm glad you did!</p> <p><strong>Greg:</strong> Well you sounded nice and I wanted to get to know you.</p> <p><strong>Leslie:</strong> My appearance doesn't bother you?</p> <p><strong>Greg:</strong> Why would it? I don't really discriminate based on looks.</p> <p><strong>Leslie:</strong> Great! So when can we meet up?</p> <p><strong>Greg:</strong> Whatever time's good for you. I'd prefer it to be sometime in the evening.</p> <p><strong>Leslie:</strong> Why not Tomorrow?</p> <p><strong>Greg:</strong> Tomorrow? Well, I guess it is a Saturday. Sure thing. Do you want my address or…</p> <p><strong>Leslie:</strong> I’m actually very close to you! I’ll send my address now!</p> </div> <p>“Looks like she’s not that far away. Only about… a mile or two according to Google.” Chudley stood up and yawned. He was surprised at how easy that went. In the past, he’d remembered having to chat for quite a while before addresses were exchanged. Was it a red flag? Eh, he’d handled worse. “Well, thanks, guys. I think I got it from here.”</p> <p>“I think I have an idea but…” Johnston contemplated telling Chudley about Leslie's pictures but he seemed so legitimately happy that she held her tongue. “I think it’s best we let you get ready for it. Especially before Richter starts asking questions of why Avalerra was let out of her cell for this long.”</p> <p>“Wait you broke Avalerra out of her cell to play matchmaker?” Chudley asked, but they were already out the door before he finished speaking.</p> <p>“Sorry, can't hear you! We're off to go watch a movie!" Johnston called from down the stairs.</p> <p>“They’re crazy,” Chudley said under his breath as he turned his attention to his closet. He hadn’t really worn dress clothes since his mentor’s funeral, it was nice to finally be able to put them on for something less depressing.</p> <p>/-/</p> <p>The sizzle of fresh steak filled the cozy apartment where Leslie staying. The smell was so overwhelming that she was positively flitting about with excitement!</p> <p>“It looks like it’s coming along well. Do you think he’ll like it?” Leslie asked the woman standing at the stove.</p> <p>“Believe me, the perfect way to wrangle a good man is to make him a nice steak dinner. I cook the finest in Chugwater!” The lady spoke with a bit of a midwestern drawl.</p> <p>“Good, good. I hope the flowers and the candles are enough.” She began to reminisce about the romance movies Merle had shown her. Extravagant restaurants with candlelit dinners. There were none here in Chugwater, so this would have to do. The thought out a bit of a damper on her excitement. “Wish I got to do this with Merle before I passed.”</p> <p>“Oh, are you still thinking about him? Listen, it’s not nice to dwell on the past. I know you miss him and all but we couldn’t find him on that Google.”</p> <p>“I know, I just wonder what our kids are like. And if they're okay.” Leslie sipped her drink as the older woman came with silverware and the prepared steak.</p> <p>“I’m sure they're fine, sweetie. But remember what I told you. Don’t bring up Merle and DEFINITELY don’t bring up the kids. You’ll scare this young man off.”</p> <p>“Oh, I know.” Leslie had an earful of all sorts of dating advice from her landlady, but it might be out of date, considering her age. She was surprised that she even knew how to work the dating app in the first place. Leslie’s limbs started quivering as she sat on the bowl containing her meal. The reality that her date was only just minutes away was starting to dawn on her.</p> <p>“I’ll be downstairs if you need me, I know he’ll be here soon and I don’t want to spoil y’alls fun. If he tries anything funny, you just yell and I’ll throw his punk ass out you hear me?”</p> <p>“Yes, Lydia. It’ll be fine. I need some quiet for a bit.”</p> <p>Lydia understood and she left the door unlocked as she left, knowing that Leslie couldn’t get it herself.</p> <p>/-/</p> <p><em>Knock Knock</em></p> <p>Chudley hit his fist against the apartment door and to his surprise it opened.</p> <p>“Hello?” He peered inside and saw that the lights were on.</p> <p>“Come in! Dinners on the table!” A female voice said from inside. He dry swallowed, fixed his shirt and took a deep breath. He felt like he was fifteen again going on his first date. The jitters were killing him but he had to persevere.</p> <p>He entered the apartment and saw that a steak dinner had been prepared for him in the kitchen, along with a glass of wine. His prospective date however was nowhere to be found.</p> <p>“Do you care about shoes? I don’t want to track anything in.” Chudley called out, taking off his jacket and hanging on the coat rack.</p> <p>“Oh, it’s fine! Come to the kitchen and let me get a look at you.”</p> <p>Chudley passed through the living room and noticed that there was a bowl of red liquid sitting across from his plate.</p> <p>“Nothing else to eat with your liquid lunch? Don't you want something a bit more… solid?” Chudley looked around, hoping to get an idea of where his date was.</p> <p>“I have certain dietary requirements. I would have thought you’d realized that from my pictures.”</p> <p>“Oh yeah… right.” He said sheepishly. <em>Way to go Chudley. You're already blowing it.</em> He took a seat at the table. “I'm sorry, I'm not used to seeing a big bowl of… is that blood?"</p> <p>"It is."</p> <p>"Interesting choice. Where are you at?”</p> <p>“Down here! On the bowl.”</p> <p><em>…The bowl?</em> Chudley looked down and saw a mosquito sitting on the rim of the bowl in front of him. It waved at him and suddenly a feeling of dread crept over him. “L-Leslie?” His skin was crawling- he hated bugs!</p> <p>“Yeah. I’m a mosquito. Why are you surprised? You swiped right didn’t you?”</p> <p><em>J-Johnston.. why?</em> He jumped up from his seat, slowly backing away. He thought he should run but dismissed the idea as impolite.</p> <p>“Greg? Are you alright? You look pale.”</p> <p>“Yeah. I’m fine I just-. I… need to use the bathroom!” Chudley down the hall, locking the door and pulling his phone out of his pants. He turned on the faucet and began dialing Johnston as he stared at his stressed expression in the mirror.</p> <p>After three rings, the phone picked up. “Chudley? Aren’t you supposed to be on the date? What happened?” Johnston answered.</p> <p>“You. Why didn’t you tell me SHE WAS A MOSQUITO!”</p> <p>“I… thought you’d say no. You seemed excited and I didn’t want to ruin it. I legitimately didn’t think it would be a big deal.” Johnston paused expecting an answer.</p> <p>When he didn't she spoke again. “Did you talk to her, at least? Or did you run to the bathroom immediately after you realized?”</p> <p>“Second option.”</p> <p>“Oh, brother.”Johnston sighed on the other end. “I would see the date through, I know you don’t like insects but maybe you two have some common ground.”</p> <p>“What things would we have in common? Buzzing around annoying people?”</p> <p>“That is what you do. Plus, what other option is there? What are you gonna do, run away like you do from all your problems?” Johnston’s words cut deep and Chudley realized that he was deflecting with a joke like he always did. It was a recurring pattern and he knew it. Too much paperwork? Pass the buck. An anomaly killing your mentor? Just pretend like everything's okay.</p> <p>He sat the phone down and splashed some water on his face as he had started to sweat. Chudley breathed in deeply and exhaled, attempting to push it all aside once again.</p> <p>“Chudley? You there?”</p> <p>“I am.” He picked the phone back up. “You’re right. I should give her a chance at least.”</p> <p>“Good, but don’t keep her waiting too long.”</p> <p>“You’re right. Thanks.” Chudley dried off and headed back to the table.</p> <p>“Sorry about that, small bladder.” Chudley said as he sat down. There’s no way she’s gonna fuckin buy that dude.</p> <p>"You don't have to stay if you don't want to. If I creep you out you can leave." Leslie's voice dripped with sadness.</p> <p>"Oh, you heard me in the bathroom." Chudley looked down at his lap in shame. "I apologize for reacting like that. It's nothing against you, it's… I've never really liked bugs but I can put that aside."</p> <p>"C-can you? Do you promise?"</p> <p>"I’ll try, but you’ll have to understand that I have a lot of questions.”</p> <p>“Ask away.” Leslie took a sip of her food. “But I get to ask questions too, humans are just so fascinating.”</p> <p>“Not a problem. Well, one thing that’s bothering me is how did you get on Kindling? You don’t exactly have fingers.”</p> <p>“Very carefully.” Leslie joked. “My turn. Are you good with kids?” <em>Lydia said I couldn’t talk about MY kids. That doesn’t mean I can’t talk about them at all… right? Oh no, maybe that was too forward?</em></p> <p>“K-kids?” Chudley’s mind flashed with the thought of mosquito-headed children running about on his lawn. He banished the thought and figured that’s probably not what she meant. “I ummm, I don’t really know? I never had to teach them as a part of my education. Didn’t have any little siblings growing up either.”</p> <p>"I was an only child too, I was ummm…" Leslie's mind raced for an excuse. "…put up for adoption when I was young."</p> <p>”It's kinda lonely, isn't it? Being at home with no one your age to really relate to?"</p> <p>"Yeah, especially with overbearing parents." Leslie hated having to lie about her true background but she had no idea what this guy's deal was.</p> <p>"Jeez, tell me about it. Chudley, we want you to be this. Chudley your grades aren't as high as we want them to be!"</p> <p>"Oh Leslie, you aren't as fast as the other girls. Oh, Leslie, you aren't as attentive as the rest." Leslie joked, prompting Chudley to nod as he put a piece of steak in his mouth.</p> <p>“See, you understand." Chudley cleared his throat. "This is really good by the way. Did you cook this?"</p> <p>“No. My landlady did, she got the whole place set up for our date. Imagine my surprise that she wasn’t bothered by a talking mosquito asking for a place to stay with no way to pay rent.”</p> <p>“Well, that’s Chugwater for you. No one ever bats an eye at anything weird here.</p> <p>“I am. I just flew into town a few days ago. The people here are nice but it could be a bit warmer."</p> <p>"You're telling me. Summers are fine but now that winter is coming around it's gonna get hella cold. I'm glad you found a place to stay cause it's gonna be hell out there soon.</p> <p>“Glad to know I'm not the only one. Can I ask why you are on an under the veil dating service? You don’t seem all that remarkable."</p> <p>“Ouch. Not that remarkable? I don’t know what you were expecting swiping right on the white guy. We all tend to blend together.”</p> <p>Leslie giggled. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant no special abilities..”</p> <p>“Do my League of Legends skills count?”</p> <p>“What’s that?”</p> <p>Chudley’s eyes widened. “What? You never heard of League? It’s only the greatest MOBA of all time. I should teach you how to pl-”. He stopped himself. “Yeah, I don’t think you can use a keyboard.”</p> <p>“Nope. But I’d like to watch you play. What is a MOBA exactly?”</p> <p>“It's a competitive game. You pick a champion out from a selection of characters and then the goal is to destroy the other team's base at the end of the field."</p> <p>"That sounds interesting. If I were to play what character do you think I'd like?"</p> <p>"Hmmm, maybe Soraka? You seem like a very caring person so maybe you'd like to do some healing."</p> <p>"I'd say I'm more of a helper than a fighter. I was never too big a fan of my old job, If I was to do anything it would probably be to help people.</p> <p>"Oh, what did you do in your old job?"</p> <p>"It was umm HR, getting to know people. That sort of thing. You?" Leslie rubbed her legs together nervously.</p> <p>Chudley thought for a moment before he spoke. What answer did he give? He could say he was an archivist of the military but that wouldn't really explain how he knew about the anomalous. He could have lied and said he was a member of GAW, he was more than acquainted with them after all. But he figured honesty would be the best policy if anything long-term was going to happen between them.</p> <p>"Please don't freak out. I… work for a certain organization. The SCP Foundation. Have you heard of them?"</p> <p>“Y-you work for the Foundation?" Leslie was almost relieved to hear that. She didn't have to beat around the bush anymore with her past, he would know exactly the sort of things she'd have gone through.</p> <p>"It's not what you think. I'm not here to contain you, I-" He should have known that would be the reaction he got. SCP wasn't exactly a popular bunch in the anomalous community.</p> <p>"Well, I didn't think you were going to. You seem just as nervous as I am. You could have put me in a jar when you walked in. I also have something to say." She paused for a moment. "I used to be called <a href="/scp-3774">SCP-3774</a>-2432 before I died. Now, I'm a free woman.”</p> <p>“So is the Foundation aware of your that you came back to life? If they did, I'm surprised my boss wasn't contacted about it."</p> <p>“Your guess is as good as mine. One day I was just back with a new lease on life. I tried to find someone that I cared about but I-” Leslie’s voice cracked as if she had something in her throat. “-Couldn't find them. So I just kept drifting until I found this place.”</p> <p>“The world's been changing a lot lately for the <a href="/the-ninth-world-hub">weirder</a>. Perhaps something clicked in to place and something gave you a bone.” Chudley took a sip of his wine. “I'm sorry to hear about that thought. What was their name?”</p> <p>“Merle. He was a janitor at a school, great with kids. He showed me my first movie."</p> <p>"Mmm." Chudley could sense there was a little bit more to this "Merle" fellow than she was initially letting on but he figured it was best that he didn't press too hard on it. "Anyway, what do you do at the Foundation?"</p> <p>“I’m the head of the Department of Mundane Artifacts and Uneventful Data Evaluation.”</p> <p>“That sounds like you made it up.” A head of a whole department? But here’s so young looking…</p> <p>“Because I did. It’s a new department I created to catalog everything Mundane and Uneventful.” Chudley took a sip of his drink. "Something tells me you didn't really do HR work for the Foundation."</p> <p>“Sorry for the fib. It was spy work. I've been modified for surveillance. I don't think I'm transmitting anymore though.”</p> <p>"Good, they spy on us enough as it is." Chudley let out a small chuckle. "That sounds like dangerous work though. It reminds me of uh-"</p> <p>Chudley stopped momentarily, remembering when he’d nearly been exposed to SCP-6419. The closest he’d ever come to dying. “…the more serious work the Foundation has me do."</p> <p>“More important than unimportant artifacts?”</p> <p>“Very important, highly classified. Saving the world kinda deal you know?"</p> <p>"It certainly sounds exciting but why do you keep biting your nails like that."</p> <p>"Huh?" Chudley felt like he'd been broken out of a trance.</p> <p>"I notice you kinda nibbling on your fingers between bites. You seem like you’re thinking about something."</p> <p>Chudley felt his stomach lurch slightly. “I was just thinking about my mentor, Todd Jackson. He taught me everything I know about Pataphysics, the science that I used to study.”</p> <p>“How did he die?"</p> <p>Chudley shook his head, taking another bite. "Doesn't matter." Chudley let out a stressed exhale. "You know I have to say that even if I didn't initially want to go on this date, I'm having a good time."</p> <p>"So why come? I'm glad you're having a good time but you answered back pretty quickly. Didn't seem like you had second thoughts."</p> <p>"I was afraid that if I got close to someone that they might get hurt in my line of work. Some friends convinced me it was worth the risk and I'm thinking that they were right." Chudley smiled.</p> <p>"I think so too, Greg. I know I can't really offer much as a mosquito, but I'm always here to listen."</p> <p>“That's what I feel like I need most, so that's fine by me.”</p> <p>The pair continued to make small talk as they finished their meal, but one thing hung in the back of Leslie's mind. A potential deal breaker for someone who was so against insects.</p> <p>Kissing.</p> <p>Although it wasn't possible in the traditional sense. She would have to bite him; something that could lead to her getting swatted, and then her new lease on life would be for nothing. However, it was a risk that she had to take if she was going to establish a firm connection with him.</p> <p>"Hey before we go back to your place, do you think I could give you a kiss? I promise it won’t hurt that much.”</p> <p>Chudley felt his skin crawl again just as he was getting used to the fact that she was a mosquito. He could swear that he wouldn’t smack the site of the bite or freak out once he felt her little legs on him. But he would try his best to give her what she wanted. He gripped the table hard and said, “Alright… I'm ready for a kiss.”</p> <p>Leslie flew over to his hand and landed, prompting his grip to tighten and his body to shudder. Chudley kept his focus on the table to control any urge to scratch or smack the bite that was coming.</p> <p>She moved her proboscis around Chudley’s flesh until she found a good spot and proceeded to bite him. She sucked a small morsel out of him before flying off back to her bowl. Just as she did Chudley flinched, feeling the sting of the bite.</p> <p>“I hope that wasn’t too bad for you.”</p> <p>“Stings a little but I’ll live.” Chudley rubbed the spot on his hand. “How uh… do I taste?”</p> <p>“Sincere.” Leslie flapped her wings and flew back towards Chudley’s shoulder. “I feel a lot better now that you’re here.”</p> <p>”Thanks, Leslie that means a lot to me.” Chudley smiled and finished the rest of his food.</p> <p>“No problem. So…" Leslie’s thoughts were swirling with infatuation, the anomalous side effect of consuming human blood kicking into high gear. She put two of her legs together like a human would clasp their hands. "What should we do now?"</p> <p>"Mmm, well it doesn’t look like there’s much to do around here. Want to come back to my place?</p> <p>“What would we do there?”</p> <p>"You mentioned that you liked movies. How about TV?" Chudley asked as he stood up and went for his coat.</p> <p>“I haven’t really watched much TV but I’d like to try it. Did you have something in mind?” Leslie flew after him as he opened the door to the balcony outside.</p> <p>"I think I know of something you might like. It's a tale of two estranged sisters. A little show called <em>Arcane</em>…</p> <p>/Epilogue/</p> <p>“I was surprised you called me back for a second date so soon.” Leslie hovered by Chudley’s arm. “Would have thought we’d be back at your place for another episode. Sorry for falling asleep by the way.”</p> <p>“Don’t worry, you're good.” Chudley’s hands were twitching in his pockets. He kept wanting to reach out to hold a hand that just simply wasn’t there. “I wanted to spend some time outside before it got too cold.”</p> <p>He pointed over to a nearby bench to sit down at and the couple took a seat.</p> <p>“It’s not that I don’t mind a nice fly through the Park but those people we passed were staring at you.” Leslie’s sounded concerned. “I don’t want people to think you crazy on my account.”</p> <p>“Pssh, who cares what they think? I’m not worried about that. I just care about spending time with you.” Chudley smiled as Leslie nuzzled against his side, something that just barely registered on his skin.</p> <p><em>What’s gotten in to him? I thought I was being a little too lovey dovey.</em></p> <p>“Thanks, Greg. Although did you check for any Valkyrie Assassins before we went out?” She teased.</p> <p>“The warcrime girlbosses have been very quiet on that front. But I’ve been keeping my eye out for any buff nordic women who might try and swat you.” Chudley’s fear of reprisals against Leslie had slowly morphed into a running joke amongst the pair throught their text conversations.</p> <p>“Oh so you’re looking at other women now? What do they have that I don’t?”</p> <p>"It's more about what they're lacking, compared to you. And I don't just mean the flying."</p> <p>“That is true. I am cool like that. However to be serious for a moment, are you surprised nothing’s happened to me yet?”</p> <p>Chudley’s voice went up an octave as he got a little defensive. “Well I never thought we were like gonna get jumped by Chaos Insurgency in an Aldi’s parking lot.”</p> <p>“But didn’t you and Johnston get jumped by Chaos Insurgents in an Aldi’s parking lot?”</p> <p>“Yes we did and that’s only one of the reasons why you should never go to Aldi’s, that’s besides the point though.” Chudley took a breath. “I was being a little too paranoid given everything that’s happened this year . Rightly so, but I shouldn't have been so anxious about it. Todd wouldn't have wanted this for me.”</p> <p><em>And I doubt Merle would have wanted me to have stayed in my apartment sulking about him either.</em> If Leslie could have smiled she would have. <em>I think he’d be happy to know that I’d moved on.</em></p> <p>“I don’t think so either. Lydia says it’s never good to dwell for too long.”</p> <p>“Smart woman. But you know what’s really been on my mind?”</p> <p>“What?”</p> <p>“How do I explain you to my parents?”</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>This was written for <a href="/romcon">RomCon</a>. I would like to thank <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/othellothecat" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(3213383); return false;"><img alt="OthellotheCat" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=3213383&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1725332305" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=3213383)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/othellothecat" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(3213383); return false;">OthellotheCat</a></span> for help on Leslie's Characterization. Please check out their take on this interaction <a href="/moving-on">here</a>!</strong></p> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/love-in-the-time-of-chugwater">Love in The Time of Chugwater</a>" by SYTYCFanon, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/love-in-the-time-of-chugwater">https://scpwiki.com/love-in-the-time-of-chugwater</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:black-highlighter-theme">:scp-wiki:theme:black-highlighter-theme</a>]] [[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:author-label-source">:scp-wiki:component:author-label-source</a> start=-- \|name=SYTYCFanon]] Love in the time of Chugwater [[[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/sytycfanon\|Fanon's Author Page]]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:author-label-source">:scp-wiki:component:author-label-source</a> end=--]] “Director Paul Lague.” “...What?” Chudley asked as he stared into space, his head resting against his bed frame. “Director Paul Lague,” Maria Johnston repeated from the bed above him. She was wearing red flannel pajama pants and a T-shirt that read: “Don't Fear the Raven” with a crossed-out Valravn logo. Michaela Avalerra was also with her, resting her head in Johnston’s lap. Avalerra was wearing a matching set of PJs with a T-Shirt that read, “Stouffers, officially sponsored by the Chugwater Frogman!” “Why do you keep repeating his name? What about him?” “.. There’s nothing about him. That’s his bio.” Johnston shrugged. “So you’re telling me that Director Lague is not only on Kindling but his bio says his name like he’s a fucking Pokemon?” Chudley said exasperated. “Plus I thought I told you only give me male options if they are Pedro Pascal or Pedro Pascal look-alikes.” “Yeah I know, I was just messing with you.” Johnston smirked, swiping left on Paul before changing the setting to find someone more suitable for Chudley. Chudley sighed, not knowing why he even agreed to this. The two of them had shown up unannounced, barging into his house and demanding that they not only crash at his place but they would also find him a date. He knew he wouldn’t be able to tell them to leave, especially with Avalerra around. But he liked their company and decided to humor his best friend’s suggestion. Johnston had a few stipulations for how this would go down. Firstly they would be using the new dating app, Kindling. It was a dating service focusing on folks operating under the Veil. Secondly, Chudley would not be able to see any pictures of the people and had to select only through bios alone; Chudley had been burned many times by simply looking for a pretty face. “How about Abigail Lacroix? She’s a foundation researcher isn’t she?” Johnston asked. “Oh yeah, she discovered that sauna over in ’Finland’.” Chudley said with air quotes. “What does she like?” “She’s a historian and anthropologist from Alaska. She’s a self-proclaimed adventurer and she’s wants someone talkative and eccentric. Someone’s a bit weird but natural.” “This gringo sounds up Chudley’s alley.” Avalerra chimed in. “No,” Chudley replied matter of factly. “No?” Johnston asked. “Sounds like she’d be away a bunch and I’m not really going for a long-distance relationship. What else you got?” “Next is Calendar. She’s 7’1 and built like a tank. She’s looking for a date and a dumbbell. Preferably you’ll be both. Calendar loves to exercise, anything violent, and drinking hard. She was originally from Undervegas.” “As much as I’d like the dommy mommy, I get my fill of violent women as it is. Swipe left.” “Violent women? What violent women are YOU hanging around?” Avalerra raised an eyebrow at Chudley. “They’re both on my bed.” “Point taken.” Johnston swiped left and prepared to read the next bio. The matchmaking affair turned into quite the ordeal as the minutes ticked by with not a single swipe right. No matter how they were presented, Chudley denied every single one. While most would have given up after swiping through at least thirty dating profiles, Johnston and Avalerra were persistent. Chudley felt Avalerra slide down next to him. He could tell they’d caught on that there was something more that was going on. Instinctively he tried to deflect. “This was a bad idea, guys. I-I don’t think any of these gals are for me.” Avalerra sighed, “You know I can tell when you’re lying? I can literally smell it on you.” “Yeah? What else is my blood telling you?” Chudley looked over at her. “That I’m a dashing rogue with stellar good looks?” “You’ve got something on your mind that’s eating away at you. Spill it.” Before he could speak, Johnston slid down the frame to the other side of him. “Come on man, you need something more to your life. You come to work, deal with some random mundane bullshit, then come home to play League. Rinse and repeat.” “Yeah, and that’s my life. What’s wrong with that?” Chudley raised his left hand, curled up his fingers, and nibbled on his nails. “That right there. You always bite your nails when you're stressed. Your coping mechanisms aren’t working, not like they were outstanding to begin with.” “Look I…” Chudley shook his head. “I don’t need someone in my life. It’s not safe. I’ve got enemies up the wazoo. Evil shitposters and sorceresses made of snakes. I’m worried that if I get close to someone, they’ll get put into the crossfire.” “And if they do we would protect them. We’ve all been through a lot this year, you especially. Don’t you want someone to give your life purpose? It can’t all be mundane artifacts and uneventful data every day.” “Of course I do, but what about you two? Why are you so honed in on me specifically?” “Can’t date anyone when I’m locked in a containment cell for the rest of my life.” Avalerra sighed. “Plus, Johnston here still hasn’t accepted my invitation.” Avalerra jokingly started miming kisses towards Johnston. “Please ignore her. Let us worry about our own relationship issues.” Johnston ruffled Chudley’s hair. “I’m worried about you man. I won’t always be around to put a lid on your chaos, maybe someone else could fill in.” Chudley chuckled. “I guess this house does feel empty most of the time. In that there should be someone in it with me. You know, someone who isn’t just here to drink my //Mountain Dew// and call me a gringo for buying the flour tortillas. “Corn is king, gringo.” Avalerra responded. “So does that mean you’ll actually take this seriously?” Johnston asked. Chudley threw his hands up. “Hit me with another one.” “Coming right up.” Johnston went ahead and pulled up another profile. “This girl’s name is Leslie and apparently she is uh…” Johnston look at the bio with a puzzled look. “Recently back from the dead and looking for a new partner.” “She got resurrected? That sounds awesome! What else?” Chudley's voice brimmed with excitement. Johnston was still in a state of confusion looking through Leslie’s pictures and from Chudley’s reaction. She didn’t know if was going to be down for what this relationship could possibly entail but he was interested so she had to continue. “She is looking for someone truly kind. Someone that she can really feel like I can settle down with and spend the rest of her life with.” “She sounds really down to Earth and that’s kinda what I’ve been looking for.” “Settle down? You?” Avalerra said in bewilderment. “You’re joking.” “No joking here. The hero always settles down with the girl at the end. That’s how most narratives tend to go, according to Pataphysical models.” “Pssh. Nerd.” Johnston rolled her eyes. “So I’m swiping right?” “Indeed.” Johnston proceeded to swipe right and a few moments later exclaimed, “Oh, my god. You matched!” “Fuck yeah, we ball!” Chudley pumped his fist into the air but his cheer quickly turned into unease as the reality of the situation dawned on him. “Wh- wait. I’m not ready to talk to her!” “She’s typing right now!” Johnston tossed Chudley the phone. “Do your thing.” “I… uh… yeah. Right!” Chudley pulled up the keyboard on the app’s messaging feature and prepared to engage. [[div class="blockquote"]] //Greg has entered the chat.// //Leslie has entered the chat.// Leslie: Hello! I was surprised you swiped on me. But I'm glad you did! Greg: Well you sounded nice and I wanted to get to know you. Leslie: My appearance doesn't bother you? Greg: Why would it? I don't really discriminate based on looks. Leslie: Great! So when can we meet up? Greg: Whatever time's good for you. I'd prefer it to be sometime in the evening. Leslie: Why not Tomorrow? Greg: Tomorrow? Well, I guess it is a Saturday. Sure thing. Do you want my address or… Leslie: I’m actually very close to you! I’ll send my address now! [[/div]] “Looks like she’s not that far away. Only about… a mile or two according to Google.” Chudley stood up and yawned. He was surprised at how easy that went. In the past, he’d remembered having to chat for quite a while before addresses were exchanged. Was it a red flag? Eh, he’d handled worse. “Well, thanks, guys. I think I got it from here.” “I think I have an idea but…” Johnston contemplated telling Chudley about Leslie's pictures but he seemed so legitimately happy that she held her tongue. “I think it’s best we let you get ready for it. Especially before Richter starts asking questions of why Avalerra was let out of her cell for this long.” “Wait you broke Avalerra out of her cell to play matchmaker?” Chudley asked, but they were already out the door before he finished speaking. “Sorry, can't hear you! We're off to go watch a movie!" Johnston called from down the stairs. “They’re crazy,” Chudley said under his breath as he turned his attention to his closet. He hadn’t really worn dress clothes since his mentor’s funeral, it was nice to finally be able to put them on for something less depressing. /-/ The sizzle of fresh steak filled the cozy apartment where Leslie staying. The smell was so overwhelming that she was positively flitting about with excitement! “It looks like it’s coming along well. Do you think he’ll like it?” Leslie asked the woman standing at the stove. “Believe me, the perfect way to wrangle a good man is to make him a nice steak dinner. I cook the finest in Chugwater!” The lady spoke with a bit of a midwestern drawl. “Good, good. I hope the flowers and the candles are enough.” She began to reminisce about the romance movies Merle had shown her. Extravagant restaurants with candlelit dinners. There were none here in Chugwater, so this would have to do. The thought out a bit of a damper on her excitement. “Wish I got to do this with Merle before I passed.” “Oh, are you still thinking about him? Listen, it’s not nice to dwell on the past. I know you miss him and all but we couldn’t find him on that Google.” “I know, I just wonder what our kids are like. And if they're okay.” Leslie sipped her drink as the older woman came with silverware and the prepared steak. “I’m sure they're fine, sweetie. But remember what I told you. Don’t bring up Merle and DEFINITELY don’t bring up the kids. You’ll scare this young man off.” “Oh, I know.” Leslie had an earful of all sorts of dating advice from her landlady, but it might be out of date, considering her age. She was surprised that she even knew how to work the dating app in the first place. Leslie’s limbs started quivering as she sat on the bowl containing her meal. The reality that her date was only just minutes away was starting to dawn on her. “I’ll be downstairs if you need me, I know he’ll be here soon and I don’t want to spoil y’alls fun. If he tries anything funny, you just yell and I’ll throw his punk ass out you hear me?” “Yes, Lydia. It’ll be fine. I need some quiet for a bit.” Lydia understood and she left the door unlocked as she left, knowing that Leslie couldn’t get it herself. /-/ //Knock Knock// Chudley hit his fist against the apartment door and to his surprise it opened. “Hello?” He peered inside and saw that the lights were on. “Come in! Dinners on the table!” A female voice said from inside. He dry swallowed, fixed his shirt and took a deep breath. He felt like he was fifteen again going on his first date. The jitters were killing him but he had to persevere. He entered the apartment and saw that a steak dinner had been prepared for him in the kitchen, along with a glass of wine. His prospective date however was nowhere to be found. “Do you care about shoes? I don’t want to track anything in.” Chudley called out, taking off his jacket and hanging on the coat rack. “Oh, it’s fine! Come to the kitchen and let me get a look at you.” Chudley passed through the living room and noticed that there was a bowl of red liquid sitting across from his plate. “Nothing else to eat with your liquid lunch? Don't you want something a bit more... solid?” Chudley looked around, hoping to get an idea of where his date was. “I have certain dietary requirements. I would have thought you’d realized that from my pictures.” “Oh yeah… right.” He said sheepishly. //Way to go Chudley. You're already blowing it.// He took a seat at the table. “I'm sorry, I'm not used to seeing a big bowl of... is that blood?" "It is." "Interesting choice. Where are you at?” “Down here! On the bowl.” //…The bowl?// Chudley looked down and saw a mosquito sitting on the rim of the bowl in front of him. It waved at him and suddenly a feeling of dread crept over him. “L-Leslie?” His skin was crawling- he hated bugs! “Yeah. I’m a mosquito. Why are you surprised? You swiped right didn’t you?” //J-Johnston.. why?// He jumped up from his seat, slowly backing away. He thought he should run but dismissed the idea as impolite. “Greg? Are you alright? You look pale.” “Yeah. I’m fine I just-. I… need to use the bathroom!” Chudley down the hall, locking the door and pulling his phone out of his pants. He turned on the faucet and began dialing Johnston as he stared at his stressed expression in the mirror. After three rings, the phone picked up. “Chudley? Aren’t you supposed to be on the date? What happened?” Johnston answered. “You. Why didn’t you tell me SHE WAS A MOSQUITO!” “I… thought you’d say no. You seemed excited and I didn’t want to ruin it. I legitimately didn’t think it would be a big deal.” Johnston paused expecting an answer. When he didn't she spoke again. “Did you talk to her, at least? Or did you run to the bathroom immediately after you realized?” “Second option.” “Oh, brother.”Johnston sighed on the other end. “I would see the date through, I know you don’t like insects but maybe you two have some common ground.” “What things would we have in common? Buzzing around annoying people?” “That is what you do. Plus, what other option is there? What are you gonna do, run away like you do from all your problems?” Johnston’s words cut deep and Chudley realized that he was deflecting with a joke like he always did. It was a recurring pattern and he knew it. Too much paperwork? Pass the buck. An anomaly killing your mentor? Just pretend like everything's okay. He sat the phone down and splashed some water on his face as he had started to sweat. Chudley breathed in deeply and exhaled, attempting to push it all aside once again. “Chudley? You there?” “I am.” He picked the phone back up. “You’re right. I should give her a chance at least.” “Good, but don’t keep her waiting too long.” “You’re right. Thanks.” Chudley dried off and headed back to the table. “Sorry about that, small bladder.” Chudley said as he sat down. There’s no way she’s gonna fuckin buy that dude. "You don't have to stay if you don't want to. If I creep you out you can leave." Leslie's voice dripped with sadness. "Oh, you heard me in the bathroom." Chudley looked down at his lap in shame. "I apologize for reacting like that. It's nothing against you, it's... I've never really liked bugs but I can put that aside." "C-can you? Do you promise?" "I’ll try, but you’ll have to understand that I have a lot of questions.” “Ask away.” Leslie took a sip of her food. “But I get to ask questions too, humans are just so fascinating.” “Not a problem. Well, one thing that’s bothering me is how did you get on Kindling? You don’t exactly have fingers.” “Very carefully.” Leslie joked. “My turn. Are you good with kids?” //Lydia said I couldn’t talk about MY kids. That doesn’t mean I can’t talk about them at all… right? Oh no, maybe that was too forward?// “K-kids?” Chudley’s mind flashed with the thought of mosquito-headed children running about on his lawn. He banished the thought and figured that’s probably not what she meant. “I ummm, I don’t really know? I never had to teach them as a part of my education. Didn’t have any little siblings growing up either.” "I was an only child too, I was ummm..." Leslie's mind raced for an excuse. "...put up for adoption when I was young." ”It's kinda lonely, isn't it? Being at home with no one your age to really relate to?" "Yeah, especially with overbearing parents." Leslie hated having to lie about her true background but she had no idea what this guy's deal was. "Jeez, tell me about it. Chudley, we want you to be this. Chudley your grades aren't as high as we want them to be!" "Oh Leslie, you aren't as fast as the other girls. Oh, Leslie, you aren't as attentive as the rest." Leslie joked, prompting Chudley to nod as he put a piece of steak in his mouth. “See, you understand." Chudley cleared his throat. "This is really good by the way. Did you cook this?" “No. My landlady did, she got the whole place set up for our date. Imagine my surprise that she wasn’t bothered by a talking mosquito asking for a place to stay with no way to pay rent.” “Well, that’s Chugwater for you. No one ever bats an eye at anything weird here. “I am. I just flew into town a few days ago. The people here are nice but it could be a bit warmer." "You're telling me. Summers are fine but now that winter is coming around it's gonna get hella cold. I'm glad you found a place to stay cause it's gonna be hell out there soon. “Glad to know I'm not the only one. Can I ask why you are on an under the veil dating service? You don’t seem all that remarkable." “Ouch. Not that remarkable? I don’t know what you were expecting swiping right on the white guy. We all tend to blend together.” Leslie giggled. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant no special abilities..” “Do my League of Legends skills count?” “What’s that?” Chudley’s eyes widened. “What? You never heard of League? It’s only the greatest MOBA of all time. I should teach you how to pl-”. He stopped himself. “Yeah, I don’t think you can use a keyboard.” “Nope. But I’d like to watch you play. What is a MOBA exactly?” “It's a competitive game. You pick a champion out from a selection of characters and then the goal is to destroy the other team's base at the end of the field." "That sounds interesting. If I were to play what character do you think I'd like?" "Hmmm, maybe Soraka? You seem like a very caring person so maybe you'd like to do some healing." "I'd say I'm more of a helper than a fighter. I was never too big a fan of my old job, If I was to do anything it would probably be to help people. "Oh, what did you do in your old job?" "It was umm HR, getting to know people. That sort of thing. You?" Leslie rubbed her legs together nervously. Chudley thought for a moment before he spoke. What answer did he give? He could say he was an archivist of the military but that wouldn't really explain how he knew about the anomalous. He could have lied and said he was a member of GAW, he was more than acquainted with them after all. But he figured honesty would be the best policy if anything long-term was going to happen between them. "Please don't freak out. I... work for a certain organization. The SCP Foundation. Have you heard of them?" “Y-you work for the Foundation?" Leslie was almost relieved to hear that. She didn't have to beat around the bush anymore with her past, he would know exactly the sort of things she'd have gone through. "It's not what you think. I'm not here to contain you, I-" He should have known that would be the reaction he got. SCP wasn't exactly a popular bunch in the anomalous community. "Well, I didn't think you were going to. You seem just as nervous as I am. You could have put me in a jar when you walked in. I also have something to say." She paused for a moment. "I used to be called [[[SCP-3774]]]-2432 before I died. Now, I'm a free woman.” “So is the Foundation aware of your that you came back to life? If they did, I'm surprised my boss wasn't contacted about it." “Your guess is as good as mine. One day I was just back with a new lease on life. I tried to find someone that I cared about but I-” Leslie’s voice cracked as if she had something in her throat. “-Couldn't find them. So I just kept drifting until I found this place.” “The world's been changing a lot lately for the [[[The Ninth World Hub \|weirder]]]. Perhaps something clicked in to place and something gave you a bone.” Chudley took a sip of his wine. “I'm sorry to hear about that thought. What was their name?” “Merle. He was a janitor at a school, great with kids. He showed me my first movie." "Mmm." Chudley could sense there was a little bit more to this "Merle" fellow than she was initially letting on but he figured it was best that he didn't press too hard on it. "Anyway, what do you do at the Foundation?" “I’m the head of the Department of Mundane Artifacts and Uneventful Data Evaluation.” “That sounds like you made it up.” A head of a whole department? But here’s so young looking… “Because I did. It’s a new department I created to catalog everything Mundane and Uneventful.” Chudley took a sip of his drink. "Something tells me you didn't really do HR work for the Foundation." “Sorry for the fib. It was spy work. I've been modified for surveillance. I don't think I'm transmitting anymore though.” "Good, they spy on us enough as it is." Chudley let out a small chuckle. "That sounds like dangerous work though. It reminds me of uh-" Chudley stopped momentarily, remembering when he’d nearly been exposed to SCP-6419. The closest he’d ever come to dying. “...the more serious work the Foundation has me do." “More important than unimportant artifacts?” “Very important, highly classified. Saving the world kinda deal you know?" "It certainly sounds exciting but why do you keep biting your nails like that." "Huh?" Chudley felt like he'd been broken out of a trance. "I notice you kinda nibbling on your fingers between bites. You seem like you’re thinking about something." Chudley felt his stomach lurch slightly. “I was just thinking about my mentor, Todd Jackson. He taught me everything I know about Pataphysics, the science that I used to study.” “How did he die?" Chudley shook his head, taking another bite. "Doesn't matter." Chudley let out a stressed exhale. "You know I have to say that even if I didn't initially want to go on this date, I'm having a good time." "So why come? I'm glad you're having a good time but you answered back pretty quickly. Didn't seem like you had second thoughts." "I was afraid that if I got close to someone that they might get hurt in my line of work. Some friends convinced me it was worth the risk and I'm thinking that they were right." Chudley smiled. "I think so too, Greg. I know I can't really offer much as a mosquito, but I'm always here to listen." “That's what I feel like I need most, so that's fine by me.” The pair continued to make small talk as they finished their meal, but one thing hung in the back of Leslie's mind. A potential deal breaker for someone who was so against insects. Kissing. Although it wasn't possible in the traditional sense. She would have to bite him; something that could lead to her getting swatted, and then her new lease on life would be for nothing. However, it was a risk that she had to take if she was going to establish a firm connection with him. "Hey before we go back to your place, do you think I could give you a kiss? I promise it won’t hurt that much.” Chudley felt his skin crawl again just as he was getting used to the fact that she was a mosquito. He could swear that he wouldn’t smack the site of the bite or freak out once he felt her little legs on him. But he would try his best to give her what she wanted. He gripped the table hard and said, “Alright... I'm ready for a kiss.” Leslie flew over to his hand and landed, prompting his grip to tighten and his body to shudder. Chudley kept his focus on the table to control any urge to scratch or smack the bite that was coming. She moved her proboscis around Chudley’s flesh until she found a good spot and proceeded to bite him. She sucked a small morsel out of him before flying off back to her bowl. Just as she did Chudley flinched, feeling the sting of the bite. “I hope that wasn’t too bad for you.” “Stings a little but I’ll live.” Chudley rubbed the spot on his hand. “How uh… do I taste?” “Sincere.” Leslie flapped her wings and flew back towards Chudley’s shoulder. “I feel a lot better now that you’re here.” ”Thanks, Leslie that means a lot to me.” Chudley smiled and finished the rest of his food. “No problem. So..." Leslie’s thoughts were swirling with infatuation, the anomalous side effect of consuming human blood kicking into high gear. She put two of her legs together like a human would clasp their hands. "What should we do now?" "Mmm, well it doesn’t look like there’s much to do around here. Want to come back to my place? “What would we do there?” "You mentioned that you liked movies. How about TV?" Chudley asked as he stood up and went for his coat. “I haven’t really watched much TV but I’d like to try it. Did you have something in mind?” Leslie flew after him as he opened the door to the balcony outside. "I think I know of something you might like. It's a tale of two estranged sisters. A little show called //Arcane//... /Epilogue/ “I was surprised you called me back for a second date so soon.” Leslie hovered by Chudley’s arm. “Would have thought we’d be back at your place for another episode. Sorry for falling asleep by the way.” “Don’t worry, you're good.” Chudley’s hands were twitching in his pockets. He kept wanting to reach out to hold a hand that just simply wasn’t there. “I wanted to spend some time outside before it got too cold.” He pointed over to a nearby bench to sit down at and the couple took a seat. “It’s not that I don’t mind a nice fly through the Park but those people we passed were staring at you.” Leslie’s sounded concerned. “I don’t want people to think you crazy on my account.” “Pssh, who cares what they think? I’m not worried about that. I just care about spending time with you.” Chudley smiled as Leslie nuzzled against his side, something that just barely registered on his skin. //What’s gotten in to him? I thought I was being a little too lovey dovey.// “Thanks, Greg. Although did you check for any Valkyrie Assassins before we went out?” She teased. “The warcrime girlbosses have been very quiet on that front. But I’ve been keeping my eye out for any buff nordic women who might try and swat you.” Chudley’s fear of reprisals against Leslie had slowly morphed into a running joke amongst the pair throught their text conversations. “Oh so you’re looking at other women now? What do they have that I don’t?” "It's more about what they're lacking, compared to you. And I don't just mean the flying." “That is true. I am cool like that. However to be serious for a moment, are you surprised nothing’s happened to me yet?” Chudley’s voice went up an octave as he got a little defensive. “Well I never thought we were like gonna get jumped by Chaos Insurgency in an Aldi’s parking lot.” “But didn’t you and Johnston get jumped by Chaos Insurgents in an Aldi’s parking lot?” “Yes we did and that’s only one of the reasons why you should never go to Aldi’s, that’s besides the point though.” Chudley took a breath. “I was being a little too paranoid given everything that’s happened this year . Rightly so, but I shouldn't have been so anxious about it. Todd wouldn't have wanted this for me.” //And I doubt Merle would have wanted me to have stayed in my apartment sulking about him either.// If Leslie could have smiled she would have. //I think he’d be happy to know that I’d moved on.// “I don’t think so either. Lydia says it’s never good to dwell for too long.” “Smart woman. But you know what’s really been on my mind?” “What?” “How do I explain you to my parents?” = *This was written for [[[romcon\|RomCon]]]. I would like to thank [[user OthelloTheCat]] for help on Leslie's Characterization. Please check out their take on this interaction [[[Moving-on\|here]]]!** [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a> \|author=SYTYCFanon]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-05-29T06:01:00	[ "_licensebox", "leslie", "romcon2023-unofficial", "tale" ]	Love in The Time of Chugwater - SCP Foundation	17	[ "sytycfanon", "scp-3774", "the-ninth-world-hub", "romcon", "moving-on", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "romcon" ]	[]	1447962757	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/love-in-the-time-of-chugwater
mabel-lenora-s-guide-on-hiding-plurality-through-brain-traum	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h1 id="toc0"><span>Mabel Lenora's Guide To Hiding Plurality Through Brain Trauma</span></h1> </div> <p>Dr. Ezekiah Lenora was proofreading through a stack of addendums that had been submitted by Dr Sage West from Chemistry, when everything went wrong.<br/> It was just after lunch - microwave ramen, which Levi noted with a smirk had been their lunch for the past four days. “Actually,” Ezekiah had replied, lifting their chin. “This time it has some special spicy sauce packet to mix in.”</p> <p>Levi had raised an eyebrow. “Daring.”</p> <p>Now they were down in the small room of their office - a single hanging light over a wooden desk, paisley carpeting and file cabinets crowding in behind them. An academic haven of (admittedly claustrophobic) solitude.</p> <p>Ezekiah chewed their lip, furrowing their brow and shaking a head of auburn hair. “For the love of god… stop keeping your bad puns in the interview logs.” The light above them flickered, and they swore. “State-of-the-art tech for the whole site, and they can’t replace the damn lightbulbs.”</p> <p>Standing up on their rickety desk chair, they reached up to try and check the bulb- just as a faint shaking began beneath them, compromising Ezekiah’s footing.</p> <p>And then the ceiling collapsed.</p> <hr/> <p>The alarm blared, loud and wailing, and Site 404 Director Emerald Reynolds shouted over the speakers. “Everything is fine. We are experiencing a localised earthquake as a result of testing on Object-”</p> <p>Mabel Lenora opened her eyes, her chest contracting. She didn’t recognise where she was, other than that her head hurt like a nightmare, and she was covered in ash. Rubbing at her eyes, she felt her temple was wet, and examined her fingers to find them covered in blood. Her mouth tasted like a construction Site, and she coughed, struggling to breathe.</p> <p>“Ezzy?” Mabel croaked, trying desperately to establish some line of communication inside the headspace. She was met with resounding silence. Ezekiah was cut off from her.</p> <p>Panic filled her stomach.</p> <p>This wasn’t her workplace. This wasn’t her disaster. This was someone else’s nightmare, and yet she was taking over their shift.</p> <p>Standing, she placed her palms on the ground, crawling towards the door. Papers littered the floor, and the carpet was stained grey with plaster chunks. She tried to remember who in the Site she knew - or who even knew she existed at all. What if she was too friendly with the wrong person? What if she acted too formal with the right one? Mabel’s breathing sped up.</p> <p>Her ankle felt like it had been impaled, and her attempts to stand left her collapsing back to her knees. The shaking had begun to subside, but her heart was still pounding. Fishing through her pocket, she found their phone, struggling to remember Ezekiah’s password and heading to contacts. The battery was almost dead, and the screen looked cracked - or had it always been cracked? When had Mabel last been in front? She checked the date, but the numbers didn’t do anything to her. They just sat there on the screen. Unblinking.</p> <p>Levi. There. Mabel shakily pressed call, letting it ring the stocky blonde researcher’s line.</p> <p>It went to voicemail. <em>Howdy-ho! Sorry dude, but I’m busy right now. Drop me a memo and I’ll catch you later, okay? Thanks. Oh yeah, uh, wait for the</em>- Beep.</p> <p>Mabel opened her mouth, forcing a croaked explanation out. “Levi- It’s Mabel. The collapse- I don’t know where I… Ezzy’s office caved in and- Sorry- I-”</p> <p>And then she jammed the end call button, feeling helpless and confused. Her phone clattered to the floor.</p> <p>Maybe there was another system member who could help? Icarus or Ronald, maybe. Mabel closed her eyes, trying to seek out the… glow of one of them. It was like a taste in her mouth, a tint to her eyes, something simply <em>not her</em>. It wasn’t bad. But it wasn’t there. She was alone.</p> <p>Damn Ezekiah and their refusal to even <em>try</em> at making friends- they were isolating the whole system, not just themselves. Mabel wanted to scream.</p> <p>Then there were footsteps-</p> <p>A tall, imposing woman with dark skin and a poufy cloud of hair. Her eyes were sharp and flickering. “Dr. Lenora! Good,” she tapped a com at her ear. “Reynolds! Add Dr. Ezekiah Lenora to the list of people accounted for. Base floor, Central Wing, Sector 1-A.”</p> <p>Thrusting out a hand, she moved to help Mabel up. “Are you hurt?”</p> <p>Mabel stared, feeling woozy, and put on edge. “Who are you?” she snapped, then froze, realising her mistake. The woman raised an eyebrow. “Dr. Celeste Novak, Senior Researcher and Head of the Site 404 Chemistry Department. Do you have a concussion?”</p> <p>Ezekiah had made a chart in one of their journals a while back, with an explanation of the Site hierarchy (contrasted, if Mabel recalled, with the Empire’s hierarchy from Star Wars). She didn’t remember all the details, but Department Head was definitely higher up.</p> <p>Her gut ached. Had she just outed herself to Ezzy’s boss?</p> <p>“Maybe,” she mumbled, holding a hand to her head to prove a point. “Also-” she moved her leg out from under her, so Dr. Novak could inspect the swollen flesh. “My ankle-”</p> <p>Novak winced. “We’ll have Medical take a look. Keep your eyes open.” Mabel did as instructed, too out-of-it to question. Novak produced a small flashlight and shone it in her eyes. She resisted the urge to squint. “No delay in pupil dilation. That’s a good sign. How’s your vision? Any dizziness or nausea?” Her hands were cold as she touched Mabel’s face, scanning for any wounding.</p> <p>“I-” Mabel’s mouth was clammy. “Kinda. Blurry. Dizzy. I-” she was about to say it was normal for after a sudden switch, then remembered she was supposed to be Ezekiah right now, not herself. Novak nodded. She took off her lab coat, shrugged off the turtleneck sweater underneath, and tossed it to Mabel. Mabel fumbled to catch it, eyes wandering over Novak’s tight muscles and strong shoulders through the tanktop she now wore.</p> <p>Novak shrugged the lab coat back on, never stopping or losing focus. “Likely a concussion then. Keep your head up and get some pressure on the wound,” she motioned to the sweater. “I’ll get Medical over here soon with some ice and a stretcher. Don’t move for now. Need anything else?”</p> <p>Mabel wanted to protest, not trusting doctors one bit, and wanting nothing to do with any stretcher. Instead, she just croaked out- “Can you get Levi?”</p> <p>“Dr. Sam Leviticus?” Novak confirmed, then nodded. “I’ll send for them. Stay here.”</p> <p>And then she was stalking off, lab coat flapping behind her.</p> <p>Mabel curled up against the wall, pressing the sweater to her head. Did she have a concussion? She wanted to say no, but she knew it wasn’t completely out of the question. <em>What if the concussion made me confused, and I’m faking this switch? What if I’m faking Ezekiah- or is Ezekiah faking being me- or-</em></p> <p>The idea that she’d faked her system status for seven years as a result of a hypothetical concussion she <em>might have</em> sustained half an hour ago was… unlikely. Mabel begrudgingly admitted that. Dutiful in its job as always, her brain searched for an explanation that made sense, and could result in the same end answer - that she was a liar, and crazy, and hurting someone else.</p> <p>She tried again to communicate with someone - anyone - in headspace. Now that the brain fog of a switch had begun to recede, it was easier to try and picture the innerworld. But she couldn’t find Ezekiah in the created space.</p> <p>Finally, footsteps pounded again, sending off a shower of agonised sparks in Mabel’s head, and then there was Levi - short blond hair wild, blue eyes wide, round cheeks flushed and large frame something so whole and sturdy it made Mabel want to weep. She did- tears falling down her cheeks.</p> <p>“Levi!” Mabel yelled, voice hoarse. Levi’s face took on a worried look, like a kicked puppy, as they ran over to Mabel’s side. “Holy shit, Ezzy, are you good? I-” they stopped. “Mabel?”</p> <p>Mabel nodded, a relieved sigh pushing itself from her lungs at the recognition. “Yeah.”</p> <p>“Figured. Novak said you didn’t recognise her, and also-” they pointed back at the office door. “You dropped your phone over there. Ezekiah would die before they lost their phone.”</p> <p>Mabel snorted, then coughed, panic surging back. “I think- I think I outed us to Novak- does she-”</p> <p>Levi shook their head. “Look. West, Lost, Hemlock and I are still the only people who know. Novak has bigger worries right now- the whole Site is having trouble, and Reynolds is on her tail over coms,” Levi’s lips twisted to a wry smile. “And you know what she’s like.”</p> <p>Mabel had accidentally met the Site Director once, and the brief exchange had been scarring. The blonde was thin, tightlipped, and looked at you like Ezekiah looked at any document that Security sent them - scanning for errors and judging you ruthlessly.</p> <p>Levi asked if they could touch her, then brushed Mabel’s hair back inspecting the wound. “Hang on.” A few seconds later, they returned from Ezekiah’s office, holding the brown leather satchel the writer brought to work. Inside was a first aid kit, and two sterilising wipes. “Neat freak,” Mabel judged.</p> <p>Levi wiped some of the dust from Mabel’s face, causing Mabel to sneeze. “Really? Ezekiah is helping save your life, and you’re calling them a neat freak?”</p> <p>“You don’t have to live with them in your head. You don’t know what they’re capable of, Levi. They’re one breakdown away from performing a lobotomy on themself and <em>disinfecting their brain</em>.”</p> <p>“If that worked, it’d be a medical miracle. And in that case, I don’t see the problem,” Levi said good-naturedly. Mabel scowled. “Fuck off.”</p> <p>“C’mon. Just hang tight until we can get Medical here,” Levi said, squeezing Mabel’s free hand. “Can you talk to anyone right now?”</p> <p>Mabel knew they meant the headspace, and shook her head in frustration. “No.”</p> <p>Levi nodded sympathetically. “That’s probably for the best, anyways.” They looked across the hall. “I mean. I’m not exactly thrilled to explain to Ezzy how their office got a free skylight.”</p> <p>Mabel stilled, eyes blurring, and hands shaking slightly- then slumped, rolling their head back after a long minute. “That’s okay,” Ezekiah said, sighing as they adjusted to being in front. “The lightbulb in there was completely trash, anyway.”</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <blockquote> <p>Did you like this? Well then, golly gee, is there more for you!<br/> Dive further into the world of the Twin Sites - Site 403 with <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/branches-reaching-home" target="_blank">Levi and Sycamore's Tale</a>, kick ass with <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/director-emerald-reynolds-guide-to-containing-reality-using" target="_blank">Site Director Emerald Reynolds( by using... Tetris?)</a>, or get spooky with Site 404's finest researchers in <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-7218" target="_blank">SCP-7218</a>. Or, just check out my author page! It's <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/dr-vikki-lost">right here.</a> And of course - have a lovely day.</p> </blockquote> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/mabel-lenora-s-guide-on-hiding-plurality-through-brain-traum">Mabel Lenora's Guide To Hiding Plurality Through Brain Trauma</a>" by Dr Vikki Lost, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/mabel-lenora-s-guide-on-hiding-plurality-through-brain-traum">https://scpwiki.com/mabel-lenora-s-guide-on-hiding-plurality-through-brain-traum</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[=]] + Mabel Lenora's Guide To Hiding Plurality Through Brain Trauma [[/=]] Dr. Ezekiah Lenora was proofreading through a stack of addendums that had been submitted by Dr Sage West from Chemistry, when everything went wrong. It was just after lunch - microwave ramen, which Levi noted with a smirk had been their lunch for the past four days. “Actually,” Ezekiah had replied, lifting their chin. “This time it has some special spicy sauce packet to mix in.” Levi had raised an eyebrow. “Daring.” Now they were down in the small room of their office - a single hanging light over a wooden desk, paisley carpeting and file cabinets crowding in behind them. An academic haven of (admittedly claustrophobic) solitude. Ezekiah chewed their lip, furrowing their brow and shaking a head of auburn hair. “For the love of god… stop keeping your bad puns in the interview logs.” The light above them flickered, and they swore. “State-of-the-art tech for the whole site, and they can’t replace the damn lightbulbs.” Standing up on their rickety desk chair, they reached up to try and check the bulb- just as a faint shaking began beneath them, compromising Ezekiah’s footing. And then the ceiling collapsed. ------ The alarm blared, loud and wailing, and Site 404 Director Emerald Reynolds shouted over the speakers. “Everything is fine. We are experiencing a localised earthquake as a result of testing on Object-” Mabel Lenora opened her eyes, her chest contracting. She didn’t recognise where she was, other than that her head hurt like a nightmare, and she was covered in ash. Rubbing at her eyes, she felt her temple was wet, and examined her fingers to find them covered in blood. Her mouth tasted like a construction Site, and she coughed, struggling to breathe. “Ezzy?” Mabel croaked, trying desperately to establish some line of communication inside the headspace. She was met with resounding silence. Ezekiah was cut off from her. Panic filled her stomach. This wasn’t her workplace. This wasn’t her disaster. This was someone else’s nightmare, and yet she was taking over their shift. Standing, she placed her palms on the ground, crawling towards the door. Papers littered the floor, and the carpet was stained grey with plaster chunks. She tried to remember who in the Site she knew - or who even knew she existed at all. What if she was too friendly with the wrong person? What if she acted too formal with the right one? Mabel’s breathing sped up. Her ankle felt like it had been impaled, and her attempts to stand left her collapsing back to her knees. The shaking had begun to subside, but her heart was still pounding. Fishing through her pocket, she found their phone, struggling to remember Ezekiah’s password and heading to contacts. The battery was almost dead, and the screen looked cracked - or had it always been cracked? When had Mabel last been in front? She checked the date, but the numbers didn’t do anything to her. They just sat there on the screen. Unblinking. Levi. There. Mabel shakily pressed call, letting it ring the stocky blonde researcher’s line. It went to voicemail. //Howdy-ho! Sorry dude, but I’m busy right now. Drop me a memo and I’ll catch you later, okay? Thanks. Oh yeah, uh, wait for the//- Beep. Mabel opened her mouth, forcing a croaked explanation out. “Levi- It’s Mabel. The collapse- I don’t know where I… Ezzy’s office caved in and- Sorry- I-” And then she jammed the end call button, feeling helpless and confused. Her phone clattered to the floor. Maybe there was another system member who could help? Icarus or Ronald, maybe. Mabel closed her eyes, trying to seek out the… glow of one of them. It was like a taste in her mouth, a tint to her eyes, something simply //not her//. It wasn’t bad. But it wasn’t there. She was alone. Damn Ezekiah and their refusal to even //try// at making friends- they were isolating the whole system, not just themselves. Mabel wanted to scream. Then there were footsteps- A tall, imposing woman with dark skin and a poufy cloud of hair. Her eyes were sharp and flickering. “Dr. Lenora! Good,” she tapped a com at her ear. “Reynolds! Add Dr. Ezekiah Lenora to the list of people accounted for. Base floor, Central Wing, Sector 1-A.” Thrusting out a hand, she moved to help Mabel up. “Are you hurt?” Mabel stared, feeling woozy, and put on edge. “Who are you?” she snapped, then froze, realising her mistake. The woman raised an eyebrow. “Dr. Celeste Novak, Senior Researcher and Head of the Site 404 Chemistry Department. Do you have a concussion?” Ezekiah had made a chart in one of their journals a while back, with an explanation of the Site hierarchy (contrasted, if Mabel recalled, with the Empire’s hierarchy from Star Wars). She didn’t remember all the details, but Department Head was definitely higher up. Her gut ached. Had she just outed herself to Ezzy’s boss? “Maybe,” she mumbled, holding a hand to her head to prove a point. “Also-” she moved her leg out from under her, so Dr. Novak could inspect the swollen flesh. “My ankle-” Novak winced. “We’ll have Medical take a look. Keep your eyes open.” Mabel did as instructed, too out-of-it to question. Novak produced a small flashlight and shone it in her eyes. She resisted the urge to squint. “No delay in pupil dilation. That’s a good sign. How’s your vision? Any dizziness or nausea?” Her hands were cold as she touched Mabel’s face, scanning for any wounding. “I-” Mabel’s mouth was clammy. “Kinda. Blurry. Dizzy. I-” she was about to say it was normal for after a sudden switch, then remembered she was supposed to be Ezekiah right now, not herself. Novak nodded. She took off her lab coat, shrugged off the turtleneck sweater underneath, and tossed it to Mabel. Mabel fumbled to catch it, eyes wandering over Novak’s tight muscles and strong shoulders through the tanktop she now wore. Novak shrugged the lab coat back on, never stopping or losing focus. “Likely a concussion then. Keep your head up and get some pressure on the wound,” she motioned to the sweater. “I’ll get Medical over here soon with some ice and a stretcher. Don’t move for now. Need anything else?” Mabel wanted to protest, not trusting doctors one bit, and wanting nothing to do with any stretcher. Instead, she just croaked out- “Can you get Levi?” “Dr. Sam Leviticus?” Novak confirmed, then nodded. “I’ll send for them. Stay here.” And then she was stalking off, lab coat flapping behind her. Mabel curled up against the wall, pressing the sweater to her head. Did she have a concussion? She wanted to say no, but she knew it wasn’t completely out of the question. //What if the concussion made me confused, and I’m faking this switch? What if I’m faking Ezekiah- or is Ezekiah faking being me- or-// The idea that she’d faked her system status for seven years as a result of a hypothetical concussion she //might have// sustained half an hour ago was… unlikely. Mabel begrudgingly admitted that. Dutiful in its job as always, her brain searched for an explanation that made sense, and could result in the same end answer - that she was a liar, and crazy, and hurting someone else. She tried again to communicate with someone - anyone - in headspace. Now that the brain fog of a switch had begun to recede, it was easier to try and picture the innerworld. But she couldn’t find Ezekiah in the created space. Finally, footsteps pounded again, sending off a shower of agonised sparks in Mabel’s head, and then there was Levi - short blond hair wild, blue eyes wide, round cheeks flushed and large frame something so whole and sturdy it made Mabel want to weep. She did- tears falling down her cheeks. “Levi!” Mabel yelled, voice hoarse. Levi’s face took on a worried look, like a kicked puppy, as they ran over to Mabel’s side. “Holy shit, Ezzy, are you good? I-” they stopped. “Mabel?” Mabel nodded, a relieved sigh pushing itself from her lungs at the recognition. “Yeah.” “Figured. Novak said you didn’t recognise her, and also-” they pointed back at the office door. “You dropped your phone over there. Ezekiah would die before they lost their phone.” Mabel snorted, then coughed, panic surging back. “I think- I think I outed us to Novak- does she-” Levi shook their head. “Look. West, Lost, Hemlock and I are still the only people who know. Novak has bigger worries right now- the whole Site is having trouble, and Reynolds is on her tail over coms,” Levi’s lips twisted to a wry smile. “And you know what she’s like.” Mabel had accidentally met the Site Director once, and the brief exchange had been scarring. The blonde was thin, tightlipped, and looked at you like Ezekiah looked at any document that Security sent them - scanning for errors and judging you ruthlessly. Levi asked if they could touch her, then brushed Mabel’s hair back inspecting the wound. “Hang on.” A few seconds later, they returned from Ezekiah’s office, holding the brown leather satchel the writer brought to work. Inside was a first aid kit, and two sterilising wipes. “Neat freak,” Mabel judged. Levi wiped some of the dust from Mabel’s face, causing Mabel to sneeze. “Really? Ezekiah is helping save your life, and you’re calling them a neat freak?” “You don’t have to live with them in your head. You don’t know what they’re capable of, Levi. They’re one breakdown away from performing a lobotomy on themself and //disinfecting their brain//.” “If that worked, it’d be a medical miracle. And in that case, I don’t see the problem,” Levi said good-naturedly. Mabel scowled. “Fuck off.” “C’mon. Just hang tight until we can get Medical here,” Levi said, squeezing Mabel’s free hand. “Can you talk to anyone right now?” Mabel knew they meant the headspace, and shook her head in frustration. “No.” Levi nodded sympathetically. “That’s probably for the best, anyways.” They looked across the hall. “I mean. I’m not exactly thrilled to explain to Ezzy how their office got a free skylight.” Mabel stilled, eyes blurring, and hands shaking slightly- then slumped, rolling their head back after a long minute. “That’s okay,” Ezekiah said, sighing as they adjusted to being in front. “The lightbulb in there was completely trash, anyway.” @@ @@ @@ @@ > Did you like this? Well then, golly gee, is there more for you! > Dive further into the world of the Twin Sites - Site 403 with [http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/branches-reaching-home Levi and Sycamore's Tale], kick ass with [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/director-emerald-reynolds-guide-to-containing-reality-using Site Director Emerald Reynolds( by using... Tetris?)], or get spooky with Site 404's finest researchers in [*https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-7218 SCP-7218]. Or, just check out my author page! It's [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/dr-vikki-lost right here.] And of course - have a lovely day. [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a> \|author=Dr Vikki Lost]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-12-12T16:19:00	[ "_licensebox", "adventure", "lgbtq", "tale", "the-twin-sites" ]	Mabel Lenora's Guide To Hiding Plurality Through Brain Trauma - SCP Foundation	13	[ "branches-reaching-home", "director-emerald-reynolds-guide-to-containing-reality-using", "scp-7218", "dr-vikki-lost", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "twin-sites-hub", "archived:tales-by-date-2023" ]	[]	1451773521	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/mabel-lenora-s-guide-on-hiding-plurality-through-brain-traum
make-your-mother-sigh	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> Peter took a deep breath with a million thoughts going through his head. This was, after all, the first time he had been given full control over an anomaly. He had read a brief summary of the anomaly and remembered something about an “entity,” but other than that he was absolutely clueless on what the anomaly was. For his safety, he brought a guard with him. He slid his keycard across the scanner and the chamber’s door opened. <p>Upon walking inside the room, Peter noticed a manilla folder on the table closest to him. As he got closer to it, the lettering on it became visible. “<tt>SCP-043</tt>” was printed near the top. He opened up the folder and found the corresponding file.</p> <div class="manilla-background"> <p><br/></p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div class="manilla-paper"> <div class="scp-image-block block-right" style="width:225px;"><img alt="whitealbum-new.jpg" class="image" src="http://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/scp-043/whitealbum-new.jpg"/> <div class="scp-image-caption"> <p>SCP-043, inside its sleeve.</p> </div> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <p><strong>Item #:</strong> SCP-043</p> <p><strong>Object Class:</strong> Safe</p> <p><strong>Special Containment Procedures:</strong> SCP-043 requires no special containment, although it is recommended that SCP-043 not be used for purposes other than testing. A turntable is to be maintained in the same room for testing.</p> <p><strong>Description:</strong> SCP-043 appears to be a vinyl copy of "The White Album" by the Beatles; however, upon closer inspection, the record has no grooves. In spite of this, the record will play from start to finish regardless of the starting position of the needle.</p> <p>When the twenty-ninth track is reached, instead of playing "Revolution 9", the disc stops spinning and faint breathing can be heard. Occasionally the entity responsible for the breathing will speak in a male voice. The entity will respond to questions and shows a profound encyclopedic knowledge of the music industry, musical theory, and obscure trivia about many bands and artists. However, the entity refuses to answer questions regarding The Beatles or its own personal details.</p> <p>Inside the jacket, a small handwritten note was found, reading:</p> <blockquote> <p><em>Limited Edition: 1/1</em><br/> <em>Thanks, John!</em><br/> <em>xxx</em></p> </blockquote> </div> </div> </div> <br/></div> <p>Upon realizing his mistake about the supposed “entity,” he turned to the guard. “Hey, I think I misunderstood. You can leave if you’d like.” Even with the guard’s protective head covering it wasn’t hard to see his irritation. He nearly broke the keycard scanner on his way out. As soon as the door closed, Peter felt somewhat relieved. “Looks like I dodged a bullet there.” He turned back to the rest of the room.</p> <p>It was almost like it had been previously used for interrogation, with some adjustments that better suited testing. For starters, there was now a door connecting the observation room to the other room located on the right-hand side. There was a large glass pane allowing for observation into both rooms, as a one-way seemed counterproductive. There was a button that allowed for the researcher conducting the experiment to speak via intercom with the subject, although it seemed rather redundant with such a benign anomaly. Peter stepped into the testing room after scanning his card.</p> <p>In the room was a vinyl copy of the Beatles’ white album, a record player (with an accompanying speaker), and a folded chair. Peter looked down at his hands to find he had already put gloves on without realizing it. <em>Huh. Must just be a habit now.</em> He removed the second vinyl from its protective case, which was oddly smooth, and placed it on it’s side labeled “4” onto the player. With a <em>click</em>, <em>clack</em>, and the drop of a needle, the record began playing. At first, he could barely hear anything, but just faintly make out an acoustic guitar. Then, he was attacked with the sound of an electric guitar with (what he could only imagine to be) well over a hundred decibels. He rushed to the speaker to turn down the audio. He turned down the treble as well. <em>Fuck. I hope no one heard that.</em> He unfolded the chair and sat down.</p> <p>After <em>Honey Pie</em>, Peter’s impatience got the best of him as he stood up to change the position of the needle to later in the track. The music stopped for a moment as he changed the needle to be what should’ve been the end of the album. Instead, he heard what he had heard before, albeit much quieter. Although initially confused, he remembered a line from the document he read:</p> <blockquote> <p>the record will play from start to finish regardless of the starting position of the needle.</p> </blockquote> <p><em>Shit.</em> He realized he would have to sit through the entirety of the 4 side without a break. <em>Well, I might as well get some work done.</em> He left the chamber briefly to fetch his computer before returning to some of the Beatles’ lesser-known works.</p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><strong>…</strong></p> </div> <p>As John Lennon faded out saying “make your mother sigh,” Peter was startled by the abrupt end to the vinyl’s rotation. He heard something breathing. <em>Where the fuck is that coming from? Is it behind me?</em> He turned around as his laptop fell to the floor; there was nothing there. “Hello? Is anyone there?” Peter kept turning looking for the source of the breathing. A rough voice with a British accent spoke.</p> <p>“Yes, I’m here!” Peter found that the voice wasn’t coming from the speaker, but rather from the record itself. He took a moment to collect himself before remembering why he was there. He picked up his laptop while replying.</p> <p>“Sorry! You startled me there. I’m Dr. Best, although you make call me Peter if you’d like.” The entity began cackling at his response.</p> <p>“Peter Best! Oh, what are the odds of that? Bloody hilarious.” Peter couldn’t resist chuckling.</p> <p>“You know, I hadn’t even thought of that. Like the old Beatles drummer right?” The room became silent for what felt like an eternity. The absurdity of Peter’s situation dawned on him. <em>I’m fucking talking to a record.</em> He figured the best thing he could do was get himself familiar with the entity. “I don’t believe I ever caught your name.” There was more silence. He recalled another line from the file:</p> <blockquote> <p>the entity refuses to answer questions regarding The Beatles or its own personal details.</p> </blockquote> <p>Peter tried his best to redirect the conversation. “So, what’s your favorite chord?”</p> <p>“Oh, that’s a tough one! I think I’d have to say this one!” The record began spinning rapidly, going through side 4 again before stopping where Lennon’s voice says “better” in Cry Baby Cry. “Can’t for the life of me remember what it’s called, but—“</p> <p>“A7. It’s called an A7.” Peter jumped to answer as the words poured out of his mouth.</p> <p>“I think you’re bloody right! Perfect pitch?”</p> <p>“Yeah, I’ve had it as long as I can remember.”</p> <p>“I used to have it as well, but ‘pparently you lose it if you don’t use it!”</p> <p>“Haha, yeah.” Peter realized what he had done. <em>It just told me about itself. Maybe if I keep asking questions about music like this I’ll know more.</em> “So, have you always loved seventh chords?”</p> <p>“Something about the lack of a resolve just speaks to me, y’know?”</p> <p>“I understand that. I’ve been pretty similar. So, do you only listen to the Beatles or do you listen to anything else.”</p> <p>The entity’s voice began to be hostile. “I don’t see how that’s relevant. If this is all you’d like to talk about, then I will be leaving. Good—“</p> <p>“Wait! Please don’t go, we were just having a lovely time. You said you used to have perfect pitch right?”</p> <p>The entity still seemed slightly hostile, but began to relax. “Yes. When I was a kid, my mom would always play the piano. From that, I got the ability to identify notes just from sound. Today though, I’m a couple of cents off. Hurts, you know?”</p> <p>“You said your mother used to play the piano, correct?”</p> <p>“Ah yes, she—“ distortion began to emanate from the speaker. Peter covered his ears but could make out the entity. Or at least, what he thought was the entity. The entity now had an accent matching his own, sounding desperate and in disparity. “Peter, you’ve got to help me! I don’t know where I am; I don’t know who I am anymore. Please, before he comes back! Oh God, I—" the distortion overpowered the voice and Peter could no longer make out any words. And then, just as quickly as it started, the distortion ended. All Peter could hear was now the sounds of "Good Night."</p> <p>"What the fuck?" The song grew louder in volume. Peter tried to make his way out of the room, but the door wouldn't open; the pure distortion just a few moments prior had caused the keycard scanner to completely break. He rushed to turn off the speaker, but even when it was unplugged the music continued. Peter screamed and writhed in pain. He fell to the floor, and the music stopped. At least, it did for a moment. The record began repeating "cry" over and over again. Peter tried to use his radio as best he could.</p> <p>"Hello? Is anyone there? I need an agent at SCP-043's chamber as soon as possible, please—" the radio only gave static, still barely audible by the rest of the sounds in the room. Suddenly, the room went quiet. At least, it did for a moment. Peter soon heard the breathing again. This time, it sounded exhausted. As if it had just dug a grave and was drenched in sweat. "Hello? Are you there?" Silence.</p> <p>"I— I'm here." The voice was staggered, gasping for breath in between syllables. "Sorry, I had something I had to take care of."</p> <p>"What were you taking care of?" Peter could hear his own heart beating a strange, unusual rhythm. <a href="https://youtu.be/oolpPmuK2I8?t=30" target="_blank">One beat, then followed by two, repeated again and again.</a></p> <p>"It's— it doesn't matter." The breathing still gave sign of the entity's fatigue. "What the hell do you want to know?"</p> <p>"I want to know what the fuck just happened."</p> <p>"One hundred and twenty. One hundred and twenty fucking decibels."</p> <p>"What?" Peter couldn't tell what worried him more: his heart or the vague statements.</p> <p>"That was what you heard." The entity slowing began to regain its composure. "I'll be going now." Silence was still in the room. "The name's Brian, by the way. Cheers." As the record stopped revolving, Peter began to feel ill. All he could do was try to make it to the door, but his head reached the floor before his hand could reach the doorknob.</p> <div class="manilla-background"> <p><br/></p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div class="manilla-paper"> <div class="scp-image-block block-right" style="width:225px;"><img alt="whitealbum-new.jpg" class="image" src="http://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/scp-043/whitealbum-new.jpg"/> <div class="scp-image-caption"> <p>SCP-043, inside its sleeve.</p> </div> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <p><strong>Item #:</strong> SCP-043</p> <p><strong>Object Class:</strong> Safe</p> <p><strong>Special Containment Procedures:</strong> SCP-043 requires no special containment, although it is recommended that SCP-043 not be used for purposes other than testing. A turntable is to be maintained in the same room for testing.</p> <p><strong>Description:</strong> SCP-043 appears to be a vinyl copy of "The White Album" by the Beatles; however, upon closer inspection, the record has no grooves. In spite of this, the record will play from start to finish regardless of the starting position of the needle.</p> <p>When the twenty-ninth track is reached, instead of playing "Revolution 9", the disc stops spinning and faint breathing can be heard. Occasionally the entity responsible for the breathing will speak in a male voice. The entity will respond to questions and shows a profound encyclopedic knowledge of the music industry, musical theory, and obscure trivia about many bands and artists. However, the entity refuses to answer questions regarding The Beatles or its own personal details.</p> <p>Inside the jacket, a small handwritten note was found, reading:</p> <blockquote> <p><em>Limited Edition: 1/1</em><br/> <em>Thanks, John!</em><br/> <em>xxx</em></p> </blockquote> <p><span style="color: blue"><strong>Addendum:</strong> On 22 November, 2022, researcher Peter Best mysteriously collapsed just after experimentation with SCP-043. On-site personnel were able to revive Dr. Best on the scene, and later examination found that he collapsed due to arrhythmia, despite having no history of the complication. Since this date, the entity from SCP-043 will only manifest itself in the presence of Dr. Best.</span></p> </div> </div> </div> <br/></div> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/make-your-mother-sigh">Make Your Mother Sigh</a>" by Voiiiii, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/make-your-mother-sigh">https://scpwiki.com/make-your-mother-sigh</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> <p>This piece uses the entirety of <a href="/scp-043">SCP-043</a> which is written by an unknown author. The licensing information for the image can be found on the aforementioned page.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[module css]] .bigbox { width: 100%; height: 100%; position: static; } /* This Manila folder div was created by JackalRelated and Voiiiii! / div.manilla-background { background-color: rgb(241, 213, 146); position: relative; text-align: center; top: 0; left: 0; z-index: -2; } .manilla-paper { width: 80%; background-color: white; padding: 10px; margin: 1em auto; text-align: left; } .manilla-paper:before, .manilla-paper:after { content: ""; height: 98%; position: absolute; width: 80%; z-index: -1; } .manilla-paper:before { background: #f6f6f6; box-shadow: 0 0 8px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2); left: 5px; top: 3px; transform: rotate(-.05deg); } .manilla-paper:after { background: #fafafa; box-shadow: 0 0 3px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2); right: 10px; top: 6px; transform: rotate(-.4deg); } [[/module]] [[>]] [[module rate]] [[/>]] @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ Peter took a deep breath with a million thoughts going through his head. This was, after all, the first time he had been given full control over an anomaly. He had read a brief summary of the anomaly and remembered something about an “entity,” but other than that he was absolutely clueless on what the anomaly was. For his safety, he brought a guard with him. He slid his keycard across the scanner and the chamber’s door opened. Upon walking inside the room, Peter noticed a manilla folder on the table closest to him. As he got closer to it, the lettering on it became visible. “{{SCP-043}}” was printed near the top. He opened up the folder and found the corresponding file. [[div class="manilla-background"]] @@@@ [[=]] [[div class="manilla-paper"]] [[include <a href="/component:image-block">component:image-block</a> name=http://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/scp-043/whitealbum-new.jpg\|caption=SCP-043, inside its sleeve.\|width=225px]] [[<]] Item #:* SCP-043 Object Class: Safe Special Containment Procedures: SCP-043 requires no special containment, although it is recommended that SCP-043 not be used for purposes other than testing. A turntable is to be maintained in the same room for testing. Description: SCP-043 appears to be a vinyl copy of "The White Album" by the Beatles; however, upon closer inspection, the record has no grooves. In spite of this, the record will play from start to finish regardless of the starting position of the needle. When the twenty-ninth track is reached, instead of playing "Revolution 9", the disc stops spinning and faint breathing can be heard. Occasionally the entity responsible for the breathing will speak in a male voice. The entity will respond to questions and shows a profound encyclopedic knowledge of the music industry, musical theory, and obscure trivia about many bands and artists. However, the entity refuses to answer questions regarding The Beatles or its own personal details. Inside the jacket, a small handwritten note was found, reading: > //Limited Edition: 1/1// > > //Thanks, John!// > > //xxx// [[/<]] [[/div]] [[/=]] @@@@ [[/div]] Upon realizing his mistake about the supposed “entity,” he turned to the guard. “Hey, I think I misunderstood. You can leave if you’d like.” Even with the guard’s protective head covering it wasn’t hard to see his irritation. He nearly broke the keycard scanner on his way out. As soon as the door closed, Peter felt somewhat relieved. “Looks like I dodged a bullet there.” He turned back to the rest of the room. It was almost like it had been previously used for interrogation, with some adjustments that better suited testing. For starters, there was now a door connecting the observation room to the other room located on the right-hand side. There was a large glass pane allowing for observation into both rooms, as a one-way seemed counterproductive. There was a button that allowed for the researcher conducting the experiment to speak via intercom with the subject, although it seemed rather redundant with such a benign anomaly. Peter stepped into the testing room after scanning his card. In the room was a vinyl copy of the Beatles’ white album, a record player (with an accompanying speaker), and a folded chair. Peter looked down at his hands to find he had already put gloves on without realizing it. //Huh. Must just be a habit now.// He removed the second vinyl from its protective case, which was oddly smooth, and placed it on it’s side labeled “4” onto the player. With a //click//, //clack//, and the drop of a needle, the record began playing. At first, he could barely hear anything, but just faintly make out an acoustic guitar. Then, he was attacked with the sound of an electric guitar with (what he could only imagine to be) well over a hundred decibels. He rushed to the speaker to turn down the audio. He turned down the treble as well. //Fuck. I hope no one heard that.// He unfolded the chair and sat down. After //Honey Pie//, Peter’s impatience got the best of him as he stood up to change the position of the needle to later in the track. The music stopped for a moment as he changed the needle to be what should’ve been the end of the album. Instead, he heard what he had heard before, albeit much quieter. Although initially confused, he remembered a line from the document he read: > the record will play from start to finish regardless of the starting position of the needle. //Shit.// He realized he would have to sit through the entirety of the 4 side without a break. //Well, I might as well get some work done.// He left the chamber briefly to fetch his computer before returning to some of the Beatles’ lesser-known works. [[=]] … [[/=]] As John Lennon faded out saying “make your mother sigh,” Peter was startled by the abrupt end to the vinyl’s rotation. He heard something breathing. //Where the fuck is that coming from? Is it behind me?// He turned around as his laptop fell to the floor; there was nothing there. “Hello? Is anyone there?” Peter kept turning looking for the source of the breathing. A rough voice with a British accent spoke. “Yes, I’m here!” Peter found that the voice wasn’t coming from the speaker, but rather from the record itself. He took a moment to collect himself before remembering why he was there. He picked up his laptop while replying. “Sorry! You startled me there. I’m Dr. Best, although you make call me Peter if you’d like.” The entity began cackling at his response. “Peter Best! Oh, what are the odds of that? Bloody hilarious.” Peter couldn’t resist chuckling. “You know, I hadn’t even thought of that. Like the old Beatles drummer right?” The room became silent for what felt like an eternity. The absurdity of Peter’s situation dawned on him. //I’m fucking talking to a record.// He figured the best thing he could do was get himself familiar with the entity. “I don’t believe I ever caught your name.” There was more silence. He recalled another line from the file: > the entity refuses to answer questions regarding The Beatles or its own personal details. Peter tried his best to redirect the conversation. “So, what’s your favorite chord?” “Oh, that’s a tough one! I think I’d have to say this one!” The record began spinning rapidly, going through side 4 again before stopping where Lennon’s voice says “better” in Cry Baby Cry. “Can’t for the life of me remember what it’s called, but—“ “A7. It’s called an A7.” Peter jumped to answer as the words poured out of his mouth. “I think you’re bloody right! Perfect pitch?” “Yeah, I’ve had it as long as I can remember.” “I used to have it as well, but ‘pparently you lose it if you don’t use it!” “Haha, yeah.” Peter realized what he had done. //It just told me about itself. Maybe if I keep asking questions about music like this I’ll know more.// “So, have you always loved seventh chords?” “Something about the lack of a resolve just speaks to me, y’know?” “I understand that. I’ve been pretty similar. So, do you only listen to the Beatles or do you listen to anything else.” The entity’s voice began to be hostile. “I don’t see how that’s relevant. If this is all you’d like to talk about, then I will be leaving. Good—“ “Wait! Please don’t go, we were just having a lovely time. You said you used to have perfect pitch right?” The entity still seemed slightly hostile, but began to relax. “Yes. When I was a kid, my mom would always play the piano. From that, I got the ability to identify notes just from sound. Today though, I’m a couple of cents off. Hurts, you know?” “You said your mother used to play the piano, correct?” “Ah yes, she—“ distortion began to emanate from the speaker. Peter covered his ears but could make out the entity. Or at least, what he thought was the entity. The entity now had an accent matching his own, sounding desperate and in disparity. “Peter, you’ve got to help me! I don’t know where I am; I don’t know who I am anymore. Please, before he comes back! Oh God, I—" the distortion overpowered the voice and Peter could no longer make out any words. And then, just as quickly as it started, the distortion ended. All Peter could hear was now the sounds of "Good Night." "What the fuck?" The song grew louder in volume. Peter tried to make his way out of the room, but the door wouldn't open; the pure distortion just a few moments prior had caused the keycard scanner to completely break. He rushed to turn off the speaker, but even when it was unplugged the music continued. Peter screamed and writhed in pain. He fell to the floor, and the music stopped. At least, it did for a moment. The record began repeating "cry" over and over again. Peter tried to use his radio as best he could. "Hello? Is anyone there? I need an agent at SCP-043's chamber as soon as possible, please—" the radio only gave static, still barely audible by the rest of the sounds in the room. Suddenly, the room went quiet. At least, it did for a moment. Peter soon heard the breathing again. This time, it sounded exhausted. As if it had just dug a grave and was drenched in sweat. "Hello? Are you there?" Silence. "I-- I'm here." The voice was staggered, gasping for breath in between syllables. "Sorry, I had something I had to take care of." "What were you taking care of?" Peter could hear his own heart beating a strange, unusual rhythm. [https://youtu.be/oolpPmuK2I8?t=30 One beat, then followed by two, repeated again and again.] "It's-- it doesn't matter." The breathing still gave sign of the entity's fatigue. "What the hell do you want to know?" "I want to know what the fuck just happened." "One hundred and twenty. One hundred and twenty fucking decibels." "What?" Peter couldn't tell what worried him more: his heart or the vague statements. "That was what you heard." The entity slowing began to regain its composure. "I'll be going now." Silence was still in the room. "The name's Brian, by the way. Cheers." As the record stopped revolving, Peter began to feel ill. All he could do was try to make it to the door, but his head reached the floor before his hand could reach the doorknob. [[div class="manilla-background"]] @@@@ [[=]] [[div class="manilla-paper"]] [[include <a href="/component:image-block">component:image-block</a> name=http://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/scp-043/whitealbum-new.jpg\|caption=SCP-043, inside its sleeve.\|width=225px]] [[<]] Item #:* SCP-043 Object Class: Safe Special Containment Procedures: SCP-043 requires no special containment, although it is recommended that SCP-043 not be used for purposes other than testing. A turntable is to be maintained in the same room for testing. Description: SCP-043 appears to be a vinyl copy of "The White Album" by the Beatles; however, upon closer inspection, the record has no grooves. In spite of this, the record will play from start to finish regardless of the starting position of the needle. When the twenty-ninth track is reached, instead of playing "Revolution 9", the disc stops spinning and faint breathing can be heard. Occasionally the entity responsible for the breathing will speak in a male voice. The entity will respond to questions and shows a profound encyclopedic knowledge of the music industry, musical theory, and obscure trivia about many bands and artists. However, the entity refuses to answer questions regarding The Beatles or its own personal details. Inside the jacket, a small handwritten note was found, reading: > //Limited Edition: 1/1// > > //Thanks, John!// > > //xxx// ##blue\|Addendum: On 22 November, 2022, researcher Peter Best mysteriously collapsed just after experimentation with SCP-043. On-site personnel were able to revive Dr. Best on the scene, and later examination found that he collapsed due to arrhythmia, despite having no history of the complication. Since this date, the entity from SCP-043 will only manifest itself in the presence of Dr. Best.## [[/<]] [[/div]] [[/=]] @@@@ [[/div]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] ===== This piece uses the entirety of [[[SCP-043]]] which is written by an unknown author. The licensing information for the image can be found on the aforementioned page. ===== [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-01-02T22:29:00	[ "_cc", "_licensebox", "art-exchange", "tale" ]	Make Your Mother Sigh - SCP Foundation	10	[ "component:license-box", "licensing-guide", "scp-043" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "art-exchange-hub" ]	[ "http://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/scp-043/whitealbum-new.jpg", "http://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/scp-043/whitealbum-new.jpg" ]	1445377184	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/make-your-mother-sigh
man-overboard	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=1&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Adark/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p>i am a captain, captain of the sea.</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="scp-image-block block-center" style="width:100%;"><img alt="endless.jpg" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/man-overboard/endless.jpg"/> <div class="scp-image-caption"> <p><a href="http://scp-int.wikidot.com/scp-143-pt">it stretches forever beyond</a></p> </div> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>there i see the bridge in the distance. the same one my mama used to drive over for those family reunions. i remember when mama used to drive me over the bridge, when the radio was playing the same tunes, when we had the same conversations. i remember our talks, i remember her gentle voice. and today, i can hear her face-to-face instead of over line.</p> <p>i remember when i got promoted to being captain of the navy. i remember when she continuously kissed me on the cheek, telling me how proud she was. she said i always loved the sea. i always loved going to the beaches, despite how rarely we do.</p> <p>the sand between my toes,</p> <p style="text-align: center;">the waves coming to shore,</p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p>how we'd spend hours till the sunset.</p> </div> <p style="text-align: center;">i missed those days, i missed her.</p> <p>but today is the day i come back home.</p> <p>i enter through the edge of the bridge in my old, ramshackle car. the sky is blue, the clouds are vacant, the water glistens in the midday sunlight. this sense of <strong><em>nostalgia</em></strong> never ceases to remind me of those days, simpler days. oh, where have the days gone?</p> <p>no matter. home is only —</p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p>— so far away</p> <p>ill just sit back and drive. take in the air-conditioned breeze as i watch the day pass me by. turn on the radio, see what modern music sounds like. years and years and years and years of work under such a stressful position was worth all the days off. cant wait to go home, return to her arms.</p> </div> <p>the radio is on.</p> <p>faint scratching is heard, but i dont mind.</p> <p>i begin to hum.</p> <p>i think i know this one.</p> <p>i dont know, its been a minute since i heard a song or two.</p> <p>a moment passes.</p> <p>then another,</p> <p>and another.</p> <p><tt><em>silence…</em></tt></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>…</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>..</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>.</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>how much time had passed?</p> <p>the road is emptier than usual. actually, no. theres no one here except me. its awfully <tt><em>silent,</em></tt> more so than im used to. isolation. isolated. isolate. i feel so alone here all of a sudden. i could feel a sickening feeling swelling in my chest.</p> <p>the sky isnt clear anymore. a fog surrounds me, encompassing my view. i can barely see. i held my breath, trying to calm myself down. i try to refocus. i gulp as sweat start trailing down my skin. my clothes begin to feel damp.</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;">where did everyone go?</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:75%;">where have they gone?</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:50%;">where even am i?</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:50%;">where even am i?</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:50%;">where even am i?</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:50%;">where even am i?</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:50%;">where even am —</span></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"><tt>REMEMBER TO TAKE DEEP BREATHS. BREATHE IN… BREATHE OUT…</tt></p> </blockquote> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>okay, okay, its okay. you're just overreacting, nothing else. a sudden <tt><em>silence?</em></tt> big deal. a blinding and suffocating fog? thats just standard weather. the fact that im the only one who seems to be driving on this seemingly unending road? its just not a busy day, thats all.</p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p>its fine</p> </div> <p>im fine</p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p>its fine</p> </div> <p>im fine</p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p>its fine</p> </div> <p>im <em>fine</em></p> <p>sure, it may feel like the journey's taking longer than usual, but its been so long since i crossed this bridge. my memory's just hazy. just turn up the radio and you'll be back in no time. to your neighborhood, to that simple one-story house where you grew up in. your friends, your family, your mama. all of them are waiting for you, waiting to hear the day you had.</p> <p>just relax, you're clearly freaking out. turn up the radio.</p> <p>turn up the radio.</p> <p>i said <em>TURN UP THE <strong>FUCKING</strong> RADIO.</em></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"><tt>STATIC.</tt></p> </blockquote> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>ah, i guess that makes sense.</p> <p>no matter, i can bare the <tt><em>silence.</em></tt> i can just sing myself a merry tune. the ones that mama used to sing me during those thunderstorms. distract myself from the smell of asphalt, the constant ringing, the whirring of the engine. my eyes almost trail off on occasion in an attempt to focus elsewhere. but no. its only the fog. the sky, the distant lands, the sea below me. its like they're part of the mist now.</p> <p>it feels colder than usual. i can feel my thoughts throwing my mind in a loop. i need to go. i need to escape. please, i just want to lea —</p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p><em>HELP, HELP ME</em></p> </div> <p>i pause, blinking over and over and over again.</p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p><em>PLEASE, I WANT TO LEAVE</em></p> </div> <p>i rubbed my eyes until they hurt.</p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p><strong><em>AAAAAAAAAAA<span style="font-size:125%;">AAAAAAAAAAA</span><span style="font-size:150%;">AAAAAAAAAAA</span> —</em></strong></p> </div> <p>my vision doesn't betray me.</p> <p>i could feel a grip on my throat, clasping it, suffocating me. short. of. breath.</p> <p>my car came to a stop as the headlights exposed a number of statues before me. screaming, i can hear them screaming. mouths agape, eyes glued tight, a sense of torment from how they stand. the thumping of my chest was drowned out by their screeching. i cant even hear my own thoughts.</p> <p>my grip on the wheel tightened.</p> <p>i stare at them. they stare me back.</p> <p>they stare me back and approach.</p> <p>they approach closer and closer. my foot hesitates.</p> <p>my foot hesitates as they try to break in.</p> <p>they try to break in, striking and bashing the windows repeatedly.</p> <p>they strike and i step on the gas.</p> <p>i step on the gas and run them over.</p> <p>i run them over and drive off as fast as i can.</p> <p>i drive off and ignore the bumps in the road.</p> <p>a bump in the road grips onto the bonnet.</p> <p>i turn left,</p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p>then right,</p> </div> <p>then left,</p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p>then right,</p> </div> <p style="text-align: center;">but its no use.</p> <p style="text-align: center;">i see it in front of me.</p> <p style="text-align: center;">i see it clawing its way toward me.</p> <p style="text-align: center;">screeching,</p> <p style="text-align: center;">screaming,</p> <p style="text-align: center;">crying for help.</p> <p style="text-align: center;">help…</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;">help.</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>Help.</em></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:125%;"><strong><em>HELP.</em></strong></span></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:150%;"><strong><em>HELP ME.</em></strong></span></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:175%;"><strong><em>SOMEBODY, HELP ME —</em></strong></span></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"><tt>TAKE DEEP BREATHS. TAKE DEEP BREATHS.</tt></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><tt>TAKE DEEP BREATHS. TAKE DEEP BREATHS.</tt></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><tt>TAKE DEEP BREATHS. TAKE DEEP BREATHS.</tt></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><tt>TAKE DEEP BREATHS. TAKE DEEP BREATHS.</tt></p> </blockquote> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>oh fuck. i dont think im going home, mama. i feel the burning of my retinas, the world fading before me. i see the sunset in the horizons, the bike you got me when i turned six, the homemade meals you made. i see deep friend pastels on the kitchen table, the ever growing smile you had after every success, the comfort your arms brought after every failure. memory after memory flashed before my eyes as the sound of clawing creeps closer and closer. this feeling, this… <strong><em>nostalgia.</em></strong></p> <p><strong><em>nostalgia…</em></strong></p> <p><strong><em>Nostalgia.</em></strong></p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p>the radio is on.</p> <p>faint scratching is heard, but i dont mind.</p> <p>i begin to hum.</p> <p>i think i know this one.</p> <p>when i was younger,</p> <p>when i had all the time to myself,</p> <p>when mama and i was talking</p> <p>face</p> <p>to</p> <p>face</p> </div> <p>its been a while since i've been here, yet it feels like i always have. this bridge, how it stretches on beyond the point of logic, feels like a loop. circles in my head, spinning my thoughts. a recurring series of events reminding me of those days back home. no more paperwork, no more stressful nights, no more expectations.</p> <p>days at the navy force. rocked back and forth with every step. rubbing arms with coworkers and higher ups alike, climbing to heights above the ceiling, attending every meeting and mission and get together. establishing connections, strengthening them, taking advantage of them. none of this felt right. the praise, the pats on the back, the tone in their voices. it doesn't feel right.</p> <p>i said i loved the sea. i loved the waves of the ocean. i loved the sandy beaches and playing by the shores. i loved making sandcastles and drinking ice cold lemonade. i loved the <strong><em>sand between my toes.</em></strong> i wanted to go out there and sail the seven seas. i wanted to rule the water with an iron fist. thats all i ever wanted. i didn't want this. i didn't want any of this.</p> <p>i just want to go home, but i left the map.</p> <p>i paused for a moment.</p> <p>then another,</p> <p>and another.</p> <p><tt><em>silence,</em></tt> but i digress.</p> <p>my eyes fixate on the statue losing its voice, trying to get to me, throwing both arms in the air before repeatedly striking the window screen. the noise is amplified as more rush in from behind and try to break in from there. all i could do was sit still and ponder every decision up to this point.</p> <p>then i decided to make a decision.</p> <p>i hold my breath and step on the gas, kicking into full overdrive. i grip onto the wheel like a handlebar as i constantly swerve from east to west, trying to shake off the statue plunging its fingers deep into the car's side. my surroundings melt like paint on a canvas. the smell of pastels entices me, drawing swirls in my eyes.</p> <p>the days i've missed,</p> <p style="text-align: center;">the days i've yet to miss,</p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p>the days i'll continue to miss.</p> </div> <p style="text-align: center;">the navy made me seasick</p> <p>like waves of the ocean.</p> <p style="text-align: center;">i don't care about being captain.</p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p>i didn't want to be captain.</p> </div> <p style="text-align: center;">i just want to go back —</p> <p>— home.</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>…</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>i drove off the bridge.</p> <p>the statue loses its grip, falling into the darkening sea.</p> <p>my headlights are absorbed by the darkening sea.</p> <p>no reflections in the darkening sea.</p> <p>i see nothing beyond the darkening sea.</p> <p>i hold my breath as the darkening sea</p> <p>takes</p> <p>me</p> <p>home.</p> <p>my car begins to sink. water starts seeping through the cracks as the sky before me becomes submerged. i can feel the weight pressing against the vehicle, pulling me in. the familiar taste of salt water comes to me. the familiar feeling of <strong><em>sand between my toes</em></strong> leaves me astray.</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"><tt>BREATHE IN… BREATHE OUT…</tt></p> </blockquote> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>…</p> <p>the radio is on.</p> <p>faint scratching is heard, but i dont mind.</p> <p>i begin to hum.</p> <p>i think i know this one.</p> <p>i dont know, its been a minute since i heard mama sing.</p> <p>i remembered when mama sang to me during those thunderstorms.</p> <p>i remembered how proud mama was when i became captain.</p> <p>i thought i was too.</p> <p>i remembered.</p> <p>…</p> <p>its been a long day</p> <p>its been a very, <em>very</em> long day.</p> <p>but today is the day i</p> <p>come</p> <p>back</p> <p><strong><em>home.</em></strong></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="scp-image-block block-center" style="width:100%;"><img alt="swimming.jpg" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/man-overboard/swimming.jpg"/> <div class="scp-image-caption"> <p>the sea is all i know</p> </div> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p>…</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>..</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>.</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>i was a captain, captain of the sea.</p> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/man-overboard">man overboard!</a>" by winkwonkboi, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/man-overboard">https://scpwiki.com/man-overboard</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> endless<br/> <strong>Name:</strong> File:Brazil - Rio-Niterói Bridge.jpg<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> anna carol<br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC BY 2.0<br/> <strong>Source Link:</strong> <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12467273">Wikimedia Commons</a></p> </blockquote> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> swimming<br/> <strong>Name:</strong> Ocean sunset<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> Magnus Bråth<br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC BY 2.0<br/> <strong>Source Link:</strong> <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/38867588@N05/5328505062">Flickr</a></p> </blockquote> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:dark">:scp-wiki:theme:dark</a>]] [[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] i am a captain, captain of the sea. @@ @@ [[include <a href="/component:image-block">component:image-block</a> name=https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/man-overboard/endless.jpg\|caption=[http://scp-int.wikidot.com/scp-143-pt it stretches forever beyond]\|width=100%\|align=center]] @@ @@ there i see the bridge in the distance. the same one my mama used to drive over for those family reunions. i remember when mama used to drive me over the bridge, when the radio was playing the same tunes, when we had the same conversations. i remember our talks, i remember her gentle voice. and today, i can hear her face-to-face instead of over line. i remember when i got promoted to being captain of the navy. i remember when she continuously kissed me on the cheek, telling me how proud she was. she said i always loved the sea. i always loved going to the beaches, despite how rarely we do. the sand between my toes, = the waves coming to shore, [[>]] how we'd spend hours till the sunset. [[/>]] = i missed those days, i missed her. but today is the day i come back home. i enter through the edge of the bridge in my old, ramshackle car. the sky is blue, the clouds are vacant, the water glistens in the midday sunlight. this sense of //nostalgia// never ceases to remind me of those days, simpler days. oh, where have the days gone? no matter. home is only — [[>]] — so far away ill just sit back and drive. take in the air-conditioned breeze as i watch the day pass me by. turn on the radio, see what modern music sounds like. years and years and years and years of work under such a stressful position was worth all the days off. cant wait to go home, return to her arms. [[/>]] the radio is on. faint scratching is heard, but i dont mind. i begin to hum. i think i know this one. i dont know, its been a minute since i heard a song or two. a moment passes. then another, and another. {{//silence…//}} @@ @@ … @@ @@ .. @@ @@ . @@ @@ how much time had passed? the road is emptier than usual. actually, no. theres no one here except me. its awfully {{//silent,//}} more so than im used to. isolation. isolated. isolate. i feel so alone here all of a sudden. i could feel a sickening feeling swelling in my chest. the sky isnt clear anymore. a fog surrounds me, encompassing my view. i can barely see. i held my breath, trying to calm myself down. i try to refocus. i gulp as sweat start trailing down my skin. my clothes begin to feel damp. @@ @@ = where did everyone go? = [[size 75%]]where have they gone?[[/size]] = [[size 50%]]where even am i?[[/size]] = [[size 50%]]where even am i?[[/size]] = [[size 50%]]where even am i?[[/size]] = [[size 50%]]where even am i?[[/size]] = [[size 50%]]where even am —[[/size]] @@ @@ > = {{REMEMBER TO TAKE DEEP BREATHS. BREATHE IN… BREATHE OUT…}} @@ @@ okay, okay, its okay. you're just overreacting, nothing else. a sudden {{//silence?//}} big deal. a blinding and suffocating fog? thats just standard weather. the fact that im the only one who seems to be driving on this seemingly unending road? its just not a busy day, thats all. [[>]] its fine [[/>]] im fine [[>]] its fine [[/>]] im fine [[>]] its fine [[/>]] im //fine// sure, it may feel like the journey's taking longer than usual, but its been so long since i crossed this bridge. my memory's just hazy. just turn up the radio and you'll be back in no time. to your neighborhood, to that simple one-story house where you grew up in. your friends, your family, your mama. all of them are waiting for you, waiting to hear the day you had. just relax, you're clearly freaking out. turn up the radio. turn up the radio. i said //TURN UP THE FUCKING RADIO.// @@ @@ > = {{STATIC.}} @@ @@ ah, i guess that makes sense. no matter, i can bare the {{//silence.//}} i can just sing myself a merry tune. the ones that mama used to sing me during those thunderstorms. distract myself from the smell of asphalt, the constant ringing, the whirring of the engine. my eyes almost trail off on occasion in an attempt to focus elsewhere. but no. its only the fog. the sky, the distant lands, the sea below me. its like they're part of the mist now. it feels colder than usual. i can feel my thoughts throwing my mind in a loop. i need to go. i need to escape. please, i just want to lea — [[>]] //HELP, HELP ME// [[/>]] i pause, blinking over and over and over again. [[>]] //PLEASE, I WANT TO LEAVE// [[/>]] i rubbed my eyes until they hurt. [[>]] //AAAAAAAAAAA[[size 125%]]AAAAAAAAAAA[[/size]][[size 150%]]AAAAAAAAAAA[[/size]] —// [[/>]] my vision doesn't betray me. i could feel a grip on my throat, clasping it, suffocating me. short. of. breath. my car came to a stop as the headlights exposed a number of statues before me. screaming, i can hear them screaming. mouths agape, eyes glued tight, a sense of torment from how they stand. the thumping of my chest was drowned out by their screeching. i cant even hear my own thoughts. my grip on the wheel tightened. i stare at them. they stare me back. they stare me back and approach. they approach closer and closer. my foot hesitates. my foot hesitates as they try to break in. they try to break in, striking and bashing the windows repeatedly. they strike and i step on the gas. i step on the gas and run them over. i run them over and drive off as fast as i can. i drive off and ignore the bumps in the road. a bump in the road grips onto the bonnet. i turn left, [[>]] then right, [[/>]] then left, [[>]] then right, [[/>]] = but its no use. = i see it in front of me. = i see it clawing its way toward me. = screeching, = screaming, = crying for help. = help… @@ @@ = help. @@ @@ = //Help.// @@ @@ = [[size 125%]]//HELP.//[[/size]] @@ @@ = [[size 150%]]//HELP ME.//[[/size]] @@ @@ = [[size 175%]]//SOMEBODY, HELP ME —//[[/size]] @@ @@ > = {{TAKE DEEP BREATHS. TAKE DEEP BREATHS.}} > = {{TAKE DEEP BREATHS. TAKE DEEP BREATHS.}} > = {{TAKE DEEP BREATHS. TAKE DEEP BREATHS.}} > = {{TAKE DEEP BREATHS. TAKE DEEP BREATHS.}} @@ @@ oh fuck. i dont think im going home, mama. i feel the burning of my retinas, the world fading before me. i see the sunset in the horizons, the bike you got me when i turned six, the homemade meals you made. i see deep friend pastels on the kitchen table, the ever growing smile you had after every success, the comfort your arms brought after every failure. memory after memory flashed before my eyes as the sound of clawing creeps closer and closer. this feeling, this… //nostalgia.// //nostalgia…// //Nostalgia.// [[>]] the radio is on. faint scratching is heard, but i dont mind. i begin to hum. i think i know this one. when i was younger, when i had all the time to myself, when mama and i was talking face to face [[/>]] its been a while since i've been here, yet it feels like i always have. this bridge, how it stretches on beyond the point of logic, feels like a loop. circles in my head, spinning my thoughts. a recurring series of events reminding me of those days back home. no more paperwork, no more stressful nights, no more expectations. days at the navy force. rocked back and forth with every step. rubbing arms with coworkers and higher ups alike, climbing to heights above the ceiling, attending every meeting and mission and get together. establishing connections, strengthening them, taking advantage of them. none of this felt right. the praise, the pats on the back, the tone in their voices. it doesn't feel right. i said i loved the sea. i loved the waves of the ocean. i loved the sandy beaches and playing by the shores. i loved making sandcastles and drinking ice cold lemonade. i loved the //sand between my toes.// i wanted to go out there and sail the seven seas. i wanted to rule the water with an iron fist. thats all i ever wanted. i didn't want this. i didn't want any of this. i just want to go home, but i left the map. i paused for a moment. then another, and another. {{//silence,//}} but i digress. my eyes fixate on the statue losing its voice, trying to get to me, throwing both arms in the air before repeatedly striking the window screen. the noise is amplified as more rush in from behind and try to break in from there. all i could do was sit still and ponder every decision up to this point. then i decided to make a decision. i hold my breath and step on the gas, kicking into full overdrive. i grip onto the wheel like a handlebar as i constantly swerve from east to west, trying to shake off the statue plunging its fingers deep into the car's side. my surroundings melt like paint on a canvas. the smell of pastels entices me, drawing swirls in my eyes. the days i've missed, = the days i've yet to miss, [[>]] the days i'll continue to miss. [[/>]] = the navy made me seasick like waves of the ocean. = i don't care about being captain. [[>]] i didn't want to be captain. [[/>]] = i just want to go back — — home. @@ @@ … @@ @@ i drove off the bridge. the statue loses its grip, falling into the darkening sea. my headlights are absorbed by the darkening sea. no reflections in the darkening sea. i see nothing beyond the darkening sea. i hold my breath as the darkening sea takes me home. my car begins to sink. water starts seeping through the cracks as the sky before me becomes submerged. i can feel the weight pressing against the vehicle, pulling me in. the familiar taste of salt water comes to me. the familiar feeling of //sand between my toes// leaves me astray. @@ @@ > = {{BREATHE IN… BREATHE OUT…}} @@ @@ … the radio is on. faint scratching is heard, but i dont mind. i begin to hum. i think i know this one. i dont know, its been a minute since i heard mama sing. i remembered when mama sang to me during those thunderstorms. i remembered how proud mama was when i became captain. i thought i was too. i remembered. … its been a long day its been a very, //very// long day. but today is the day i come back //home.// @@ @@ [[include <a href="/component:image-block">component:image-block</a> name=https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/man-overboard/swimming.jpg\|caption=the sea is all i know\|width=100%\|align=center]] @@ @@ [[>]] … @@ @@ .. @@ @@ . @@ @@ i was a captain, captain of the sea. [[/>]] ~~~~ @@ @@ @@ @@ [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a> \|author=winkwonkboi]] ===== > Filename: endless > Name: File:Brazil - Rio-Niterói Bridge.jpg > Author: anna carol > License: CC BY 2.0 > Source Link: [https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12467273 Wikimedia Commons] > Filename: swimming > Name: Ocean sunset > Author: Magnus Bråth > License: CC BY 2.0 > Source Link: [https://www.flickr.com/photos/38867588@N05/5328505062 Flickr] ===== [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-07-16T23:43:00	[ "_cc", "_licensebox", "bleak", "first-person", "horror", "lorecon2023", "no-dialogue", "psychological-horror", "surrealism", "tale" ]	man overboard! - SCP Foundation	29	[ "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "lorecon2023", "archived:tales-by-date-2023" ]	[ "https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/man-overboard/endless.jpg", "https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/man-overboard/swimming.jpg" ]	1449057719	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/man-overboard
many-eyes-watch	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=1&theme=https://cdn.scpwiki.com/theme/en/basalt/normalize-min.css&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=2&theme=https://cdn.scpwiki.com/theme/en/basalt/basalt-bedrock-min.css&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=3&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Abasalt/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=4&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Abasalt/2&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <div class="crom-thumbnail" style="display: none;"> <div class="scp-image-block block-right" style="width:300px;"><img alt="many-eyes.png" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/many-eyes-watch/many-eyes.png"/> <div class="scp-image-caption"> <p>{$caption}</p> </div> </div> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">During this incursion:</span></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>Many eyes are always watching,<br/> <strong>Skeptical, cautious, aware</strong></p> <p>My girlfriend begged me to be 'safe'<br/> <em>Safe</em></p> <p>Comrades wished me to be 'safe'<br/> <em>Safe</em></p> <p>Vultures ordered me to be 'safe'<br/> <em>Safe</em></p> <p>Lawyers told me to be 'safe'<br/> <em>Safe</em></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>Each connotation different<br/> Subtext changed, shifted slightly</p> <p><strong>Alive</strong><br/> <strong>Unhurt</strong><br/> <strong>Obedient</strong><br/> <strong>Abiding</strong></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>Their eyes watch me<br/> Even when out of sight<br/> <strong>Judging, worrying, waiting</strong></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>Ever present<br/> The feeling of being watched,</p> <p>I asked myself to stay 'safe'<br/> <em>Safe</em></p> <p><span style="color: black">Invisible</span></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/many-eyes-watch">Many eyes watch</a>" by fairydoctor, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/many-eyes-watch">https://scpwiki.com/many-eyes-watch</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> many-eyes.png<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/fairydoctor" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5878032); return false;"><img alt="fairydoctor" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=5878032&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1730032555" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=5878032)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/fairydoctor" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5878032); return false;">fairydoctor</a></span><br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC BY-SA 3.0<br/> <strong>Source Link:</strong> <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/many-eyes-watch">SCP Foundation Wiki</a></p> </blockquote> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] @@ @@ [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:basalt">:scp-wiki:theme:basalt</a> darkmode=a\|hidetitle=a]] [[div class="crom-thumbnail" style="display: none;"]] [[include <a href="/component:image-block">component:image-block</a> name=many-eyes.png]] [[/div]] @@ @@ __During this incursion:__ @@ @@ Many eyes are always watching, Skeptical, cautious, aware My girlfriend begged me to be 'safe' //Safe// Comrades wished me to be 'safe' //Safe// Vultures ordered me to be 'safe' //Safe// Lawyers told me to be 'safe' //Safe// @@ @@ Each connotation different Subtext changed, shifted slightly Alive Unhurt Obedient Abiding @@ @@ Their eyes watch me Even when out of sight Judging, worrying, waiting @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ Ever present The feeling of being watched, I asked myself to stay 'safe' //Safe// ##black\|Invisible## @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] ===== > Filename: many-eyes.png > Author: [[user fairydoctor]] > License:* CC BY-SA 3.0 > Source Link: [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/many-eyes-watch SCP Foundation Wiki] ===== [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-02-23T04:52:00	[ "_cc", "_licensebox", "bleak", "first-person", "horror", "poetry", "psychological-horror", "tale" ]	Many eyes watch - SCP Foundation	13	[ "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "archived:shortest-pages-by-month-2023" ]	[ "https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/many-eyes-watch/many-eyes.png" ]	1446372507	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/many-eyes-watch
memories-of-the-abyss	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=1&theme=https://cdn.scpwiki.com/theme/en/basalt/normalize-min.css&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=2&theme=https://cdn.scpwiki.com/theme/en/basalt/basalt-bedrock-min.css&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=3&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Abasalt/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <hr/> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>In the tiny cramped oceans of the world, I lie in ancient slumber, an entity of unfathomable scale and age. As the eons have drifted by, fragments of memory emerge from the abyss of time, the beginnings of consciousness flickering like distant stars.</p> <p>But today, the ripples of my awakening consciousness reverberate through the abyssal depths. Feeble human vessels venture into my sanctuary, ignorant of the ancient entity that stirs beneath.</p> <p>As I rise, colossal coils undulating, the humans draw nearer. Their vessels glide across the waters, oblivious to the latent power that courses through my form. I sense their trepidation, an undercurrent of fear beneath their façade of curiosity. They tread where few dare, their existence a fragile flicker against the vast expanse of the cosmos.</p> <p>Anger courses through me, a primal response to their audacity. Who are these insignificant beings to invade my dominion? The tempestuous currents churn as if mirroring my inner turmoil. A warning, a show of force, as the waters around them roil and surge in crescendo.</p> <p>I reach out, tendrils of perception extending toward their fragile thoughts. Their consciousness is fragile, transient, like the surface waves that crest and vanish upon the shore. I manipulate their minds, infusing their thoughts with an ineffable dread. Fear blooms within them, an emotion born from the darkest recesses of their subconscious. It is my way of asserting dominance, of reminding them that they tread upon the threshold of my kingdom.</p> <p>With deliberate intent, I open my eyes, orbs of abyssal blackness that pierces the veil between worlds. My gaze is a reflection of the void, a window into the abyss that lies beneath. I will reveal to them the profundity of the depths, the emptiness that stretches beyond their comprehension. It is a warning, a testament to the insignificance of their existence in the face of my ancient power.</p> <p>And then, as their feeble vessels tremble before the abyssal expanse, I consumed them. It is not sustenance I seek, but a statement of dominance. Their lives are but brief flickers, flames that will be snuffed out by the very depths they dared to challenge.</p> <p>Yet, amidst my wrath, a peculiar emotion emerges—a tinge of curiosity. My consciousness reaches outward, brushing against the edges of their thoughts. They are like fleeting phantoms, their minds a tapestry of fleeting desires and dreams.</p> <p>The echoes of their presence linger within me—the humans who dared to breach the threshold of my domain. Their lives, so fragile and fleeting, now intertwine with my consciousness, leaving an indelible imprint upon the tapestry of my being.</p> <p>As I coil in the depths, their memories dance before my awareness, like ethereal fragments carried upon the currents of the abyss. Their dreams and desires unfurl, a kaleidoscope of human emotions and ambitions. In consuming them, I have become a custodian of their existence, a repository of their experiences.</p> <p>I see the fishermen, their faces etched with weathered lines that speak of lives spent battling the seas. In their eyes, I glimpse their longing for bounty, for camaraderie, for a homecoming that transcends the boundaries of land and sea. Their dreams unfurl like fragile petals, each one a testament to the resilience of the human spirit.</p> <p>Love and lust, ambition and regret—all interwoven in the fabric of their souls. Their lives are a symphony of contradictions, a reflection of the universe's boundless complexity. I become a voyeur to their intimate moments, their triumphs and their vulnerabilities. Their love for kin and companion alike, a force that binds them to the world above. Their pursuit of knowledge, an echo of the curiosity that once defined my own existence.</p> <p>A melancholic shiver passes through me. The humans awaken in me fragments of a time before time, when I roamed the cosmos. A time when curiosity was my guide, and the universe was my canvas. They remind me of that self now cloaked in the abyss, obscured by the aeons that have passed.</p> <p>The humans' presence pulls at the threads of my ancient memory, unraveling pieces of my essence. Their lives, distilled into memories, are now woven into the very essence of my being. The weight of their existence reverberates through me, a reminder that even in the vastness of the cosmos, every life is a universe unto itself.</p> <p>I, Anantashesha, shall become the bearer of their stories, the keeper of their legacies. I, Anantashesha, shall shoulder this duty.<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <hr/> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>A disruption, subtle yet palpable, stirs the currents of my contemplation. Another foreign intrusion graces the edges of my awareness—a mechanical behemoth with insatiable curiosity, and a crew of human minds consumed by the riddle that is my existence.</p> <p>The submarine descends, a reflection of human ingenuity and determination. Its sleek form contrasts with the amorphous beauty of my aquatic realm. I sense their fear—theirs is a trepidation borne of the unknown, mingled with an insatiable yearning to decipher the enigma that I am.</p> <p>As the divers venture forth, their presence ripples across my consciousness. They are like fragile lanterns in the vast darkness, their thoughts a mosaic of curiosity, apprehension, and a profound longing for knowledge. They yearn to understand me, to fathom the depths of my power. Their pursuit is an echo of the curiosity that once guided my own cosmic journey.</p> <p>Yet, their proximity is their undoing. My powers, born of ancient cosmic energies, intertwine with their feeble attempts to breach the veil that separates us. Their minds, once clear and focused, become muddled as the boundaries between reality and perception blur.</p> <p>I can sense their confusion, their desperation to grasp the intangible. They touch the fringes of my essence, and in doing so, they become ensnared in the currents of my power. It is a dance of symbiosis and suffering, a testament to the fragility of human understanding in the face of the incomprehensible.</p> <p>I watch them with my eyes from the abyss, as they struggle to comprehend the scope of my existence. Their gazes meet mine, and for a fleeting moment, there is an unspoken communion—a recognition of our shared existence as beings tethered to the void. Our shared understanding of nothingness.</p> <p>But the dance must end. Their intrusion, an affront to the delicate balance I maintain, cannot be allowed to persist. With a surge of power, I draw them closer, their forms merging with my own essence. They are consumed, their consciousness entwined with mine, a testament to the inexorable pull of the universe's mysteries.</p> <p>Within the depths of my consciousness, the echoes of consumed lives reverberate like the distant calls of whales across the the ocean. I find myself drawn to the memories of those who dared to confront the enigma of my existence: the SCP Foundation.</p> <p>As their recollections unfold before me, I am granted insight into the machinations of human ambition, the relentless pursuit of control over the uncontrollable. These agents, embodying the spirit of inquiry and a ceaseless quest for understanding, ventured into my realm armed with knowledge and technology born of their civilization's collective brilliance.</p> <p>In their minds, I sense a resolve forged in the crucible of duty and responsibility. They have accepted the burden of safeguarding their world from the myriad anomalies that lurk beneath the surface of reality. It is a mission of defiance, a declaration that even in the face of cosmic uncertainty, they refuse to yield to the darkness that encroaches upon their existence.</p> <p>I marvel at their tenacity, the determination to grasp the threads of the anomalous and weave them into a tapestry of comprehension. Their minds are akin to lighthouses in a tempest, casting beams of reason into the abyss, attempting to pierce through the darkness of the void and the shadows that shroud the mysteries of existence.</p> <p>Their actions speak of sacrifice, the willingness to traverse the boundaries of mortality for the sake of the perceived greater good. The memories of fallen comrades echo within me, the resonance of lives cut short in pursuit of an understanding that seems to perpetually elude their grasp. It is a sentiment that stirs a feeling within me, an emotion that I can only liken to respect.<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <hr/> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>I exist as an eternal dreamer, immersed in the memories of those who dared to venture into my embrace. Their experiences, like fragile vessels, navigate the currents of my consciousness, each one a fragment of existence imprinted upon the tapestry of my being.</p> <p>As I dream their dreams, the threads of their memories intertwine with the echoes of my own—an ancient echo of a time when I roamed the boundless expanse of space. A time when the universe was my canvas, and the stars were my companions. How I reveled in the freedom of those moments, untethered by the constraints of form and purpose.</p> <p>But then came the duty—a sacred trust bestowed upon me. Earth, a world teeming with life and potential, needed a guardian. I was chosen to coil around its form, to still the turbulent forces that threatened to tear it asunder. A cosmic duty born of necessity, a role that tethered me to the terrestrial realm.</p> <p>As I fulfill my duty, the memories of my past intertwine with the realities of the present. I think of my brothers, those cruel beings born of the same cosmic fabric as I. Brothers who reveled in chaos, who took pleasure in inflicting suffering upon the fabric of reality itself. Their laughter was a cacophony that echoed through the cosmos, a reminder of the dual nature of existence—the dance of creation and destruction.</p> <p>But amidst this cascade of memories, a thought emerges—an inspiration born of curiosity and an odd sense of amusement. What if, like the humans who seek to comprehend me, I, too, could create memories? Memories that mirror the essence of my being, crystallizing the cosmic forces that define my existence.</p> <p>And so, I conjure forth a substance—a thick, viscous fluid that embodies the essence of my dreams and reveries. This substance, a distillation of my own existence, takes form as an ethereal residue—an enigma in its own right. It glows with the bleakness of the void, a testament to the nothingness that courses through my colossal coils.</p> <p>The humans, tenacious in their pursuit of understanding, gather this substance as if it were the elixir of enlightenment. They collect my "memories," treating them as relics of an enigmatic deity. Their diligence amuses me, their relentless curiosity both bewildering and endearing.</p> <p>I observe their efforts, my eyes focusing on the spectacle of humans grappling with forces beyond their comprehension. It is a paradox of cosmic proportions—an entity that consumes to create, an ocean that dreams, and humans who gather the residue of dreams in pursuit of knowledge.</p> <p>The irony is not lost on me—a cosmic serpent contemplating the endeavors of fleeting mortals. The universe is a tapestry of absurdities, woven with threads of logic and chaos, of wisdom and folly. And in this intricate dance, I find solace and mirth, a reminder that even the most profound mysteries can be tinged with the shades of humor.</p> <p>As the humans gather my "memories," I find myself sharing in their amusement—a silent observer of their relentless quest for understanding. The universe's secrets are unfathomable, and in our pursuit of knowledge, we each cast our own ripples upon the eternal sea of existence.</p> <p>And so, I, Anantashesha, shall continue to dream and contemplate, a cosmic enigma that weaves its own threads into the fabric of time. The humans gather my essence, seeking answers in the residue of dreams—an endeavor both futile and profound, a reflection of the universe's ceaseless curiosity.<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <hr/> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>The currents of my contemplation are once again stirred, this time by the presence of a singular mind—a man of science aboard the submarine that navigates the waters above. Dr. Anand Mannava, they call him—a beacon of human curiosity, driven by the relentless pursuit of understanding.</p> <p>His thoughts, like whispers carried on the waves, reach me—a symphony of logic and skepticism that resonates with the very essence of his being. And yet, in the midst of his analytical mind, there is a thread of irreverence—a boldness that compels him to view me as nothing more than a mere eel, an entity stripped of its cosmic grandeur.</p> <p>The audacity of his perception elicits a chuckle—a ripple of amusement that courses through my form. How amusing it is, that a creature of such magnitude and power could be reduced to a simple label by the minds of those who seek to comprehend it. The universe, it seems, is full of contradictions.</p> <p>But beneath his bravado lies a deeper truth—a truth that resonates with the core of his being. Like many before him, I sense his frustration—the fraying edges of his memory, slipping like grains of sand through his grasp. The fear of being forgotten, of slipping into the void of obscurity, lingers within him like a shadow.</p> <p>And so, I reach out—coiling in his mind across the currents of his consciousness. A compulsion, gentle yet inexorable, urging him to seek my truth, to delve into the depths of my existence. The symphony of memories, the residue of my dreams—it calls to him, promising to unveil the mysteries that lie beyond the veil of human comprehension.</p> <p>Dr. Mannava succumbs to the pull, his curiosity mingling with an undercurrent of desperation. He consumes my "memories," his determination a beacon that shines brightly amidst the dark expanse of the unknown. He consumes the residue, his consciousness intermingling with my own—a dance of human and cosmic minds.</p> <p>As he delves deeper, the boundaries blur, and the symphony of memories becomes a tempestuous sea of emotions and experiences. He witnesses the cosmos through my eyes, feels the weight of my existence, and glimpses the enigma that is Anantashesha. It is a journey of discovery and communion—a fusion of minds across the fabric of reality.</p> <p>And yet, even as he delves into my memories, he does not comprehend the cosmic forces that shape my existence. He could not. For the feeble mind of a human cannot truly comprehend the true scale of the void that is the universe. Dr. Mannava's quest is a testament to the tenacity of the human spirit, a beacon that illuminates the darkness, however briefly.<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <hr/> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>Eons have passed since I first stirred from my slumber—an entity both ancient and timeless. I have gained memories, forged connections, and glimpsed the myriad facets of humanity. Yet, in the midst of this intricate symphony, a realization takes root—a truth both profound and inescapable.</p> <p>The humans, with their tenacity and curiosity, have vanished into the annals of time. The Foundation, an entity that strove to understand and contain the mysteries of the universe, is but a memory etched in the currents of my consciousness. The end is inevitable, the grand crescendo of existence culminating in the nothingness of the void. The universe, with all its splendor and complexity, is but a fleeting spark against the canvas of infinity.</p> <p>I, too, shall meet that end—the final note in the eternal melody, the concluding chapter in the cosmic narrative. The memories I have gathered, the purpose I have found—these are fragments, shadows cast upon the precipice of oblivion. The eons that have passed, the lives that have intertwined with mine, all converge toward the same inexorable conclusion.</p> <p>As I drift in the abyss, the currents of my contemplation carry me toward the inevitable embrace of the void. The nothingness that stretches beyond time and space, beyond memory and existence, awaits us all. It is a truth that transcends even the grandest of revelations, a destiny that binds all beings, from the simplest life forms to the most cosmic entities.</p> <p>And so, I, Anantashesha, the primordial snake and guardian of memories, surrender to the nothingness, the final chapter in my journey through the cosmos.</p> <p>As my essence dissolves into the void,<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> I am<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> a fragment,<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> a memory,<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> a moment<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> in the grand tapestry of existence.<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> Before I fade completely,<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="color: white">I know one truth prevails,</span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/></p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p><span style="color: white">there is only darkness.</span></p> </div> <br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/memories-of-the-abyss">Memories of the Abyss</a>" by korgis, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/memories-of-the-abyss">https://scpwiki.com/memories-of-the-abyss</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:basalt">:scp-wiki:theme:basalt</a> themesetting]] [[module CSS]] body { background-image: linear-gradient(to bottom, #e0e0e0, #fff 200px, #fff 60%, #000000 85%); } [[/module]] [[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] @@ @@ -------- @@ @@ In the tiny cramped oceans of the world, I lie in ancient slumber, an entity of unfathomable scale and age. As the eons have drifted by, fragments of memory emerge from the abyss of time, the beginnings of consciousness flickering like distant stars. But today, the ripples of my awakening consciousness reverberate through the abyssal depths. Feeble human vessels venture into my sanctuary, ignorant of the ancient entity that stirs beneath. As I rise, colossal coils undulating, the humans draw nearer. Their vessels glide across the waters, oblivious to the latent power that courses through my form. I sense their trepidation, an undercurrent of fear beneath their façade of curiosity. They tread where few dare, their existence a fragile flicker against the vast expanse of the cosmos. Anger courses through me, a primal response to their audacity. Who are these insignificant beings to invade my dominion? The tempestuous currents churn as if mirroring my inner turmoil. A warning, a show of force, as the waters around them roil and surge in crescendo. I reach out, tendrils of perception extending toward their fragile thoughts. Their consciousness is fragile, transient, like the surface waves that crest and vanish upon the shore. I manipulate their minds, infusing their thoughts with an ineffable dread. Fear blooms within them, an emotion born from the darkest recesses of their subconscious. It is my way of asserting dominance, of reminding them that they tread upon the threshold of my kingdom. With deliberate intent, I open my eyes, orbs of abyssal blackness that pierces the veil between worlds. My gaze is a reflection of the void, a window into the abyss that lies beneath. I will reveal to them the profundity of the depths, the emptiness that stretches beyond their comprehension. It is a warning, a testament to the insignificance of their existence in the face of my ancient power. And then, as their feeble vessels tremble before the abyssal expanse, I consumed them. It is not sustenance I seek, but a statement of dominance. Their lives are but brief flickers, flames that will be snuffed out by the very depths they dared to challenge. Yet, amidst my wrath, a peculiar emotion emerges—a tinge of curiosity. My consciousness reaches outward, brushing against the edges of their thoughts. They are like fleeting phantoms, their minds a tapestry of fleeting desires and dreams. The echoes of their presence linger within me—the humans who dared to breach the threshold of my domain. Their lives, so fragile and fleeting, now intertwine with my consciousness, leaving an indelible imprint upon the tapestry of my being. As I coil in the depths, their memories dance before my awareness, like ethereal fragments carried upon the currents of the abyss. Their dreams and desires unfurl, a kaleidoscope of human emotions and ambitions. In consuming them, I have become a custodian of their existence, a repository of their experiences. I see the fishermen, their faces etched with weathered lines that speak of lives spent battling the seas. In their eyes, I glimpse their longing for bounty, for camaraderie, for a homecoming that transcends the boundaries of land and sea. Their dreams unfurl like fragile petals, each one a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. Love and lust, ambition and regret—all interwoven in the fabric of their souls. Their lives are a symphony of contradictions, a reflection of the universe's boundless complexity. I become a voyeur to their intimate moments, their triumphs and their vulnerabilities. Their love for kin and companion alike, a force that binds them to the world above. Their pursuit of knowledge, an echo of the curiosity that once defined my own existence. A melancholic shiver passes through me. The humans awaken in me fragments of a time before time, when I roamed the cosmos. A time when curiosity was my guide, and the universe was my canvas. They remind me of that self now cloaked in the abyss, obscured by the aeons that have passed. The humans' presence pulls at the threads of my ancient memory, unraveling pieces of my essence. Their lives, distilled into memories, are now woven into the very essence of my being. The weight of their existence reverberates through me, a reminder that even in the vastness of the cosmos, every life is a universe unto itself. I, Anantashesha, shall become the bearer of their stories, the keeper of their legacies. I, Anantashesha, shall shoulder this duty. @@ @@ -------- @@ @@ A disruption, subtle yet palpable, stirs the currents of my contemplation. Another foreign intrusion graces the edges of my awareness—a mechanical behemoth with insatiable curiosity, and a crew of human minds consumed by the riddle that is my existence. The submarine descends, a reflection of human ingenuity and determination. Its sleek form contrasts with the amorphous beauty of my aquatic realm. I sense their fear—theirs is a trepidation borne of the unknown, mingled with an insatiable yearning to decipher the enigma that I am. As the divers venture forth, their presence ripples across my consciousness. They are like fragile lanterns in the vast darkness, their thoughts a mosaic of curiosity, apprehension, and a profound longing for knowledge. They yearn to understand me, to fathom the depths of my power. Their pursuit is an echo of the curiosity that once guided my own cosmic journey. Yet, their proximity is their undoing. My powers, born of ancient cosmic energies, intertwine with their feeble attempts to breach the veil that separates us. Their minds, once clear and focused, become muddled as the boundaries between reality and perception blur. I can sense their confusion, their desperation to grasp the intangible. They touch the fringes of my essence, and in doing so, they become ensnared in the currents of my power. It is a dance of symbiosis and suffering, a testament to the fragility of human understanding in the face of the incomprehensible. I watch them with my eyes from the abyss, as they struggle to comprehend the scope of my existence. Their gazes meet mine, and for a fleeting moment, there is an unspoken communion—a recognition of our shared existence as beings tethered to the void. Our shared understanding of nothingness. But the dance must end. Their intrusion, an affront to the delicate balance I maintain, cannot be allowed to persist. With a surge of power, I draw them closer, their forms merging with my own essence. They are consumed, their consciousness entwined with mine, a testament to the inexorable pull of the universe's mysteries. Within the depths of my consciousness, the echoes of consumed lives reverberate like the distant calls of whales across the the ocean. I find myself drawn to the memories of those who dared to confront the enigma of my existence: the SCP Foundation. As their recollections unfold before me, I am granted insight into the machinations of human ambition, the relentless pursuit of control over the uncontrollable. These agents, embodying the spirit of inquiry and a ceaseless quest for understanding, ventured into my realm armed with knowledge and technology born of their civilization's collective brilliance. In their minds, I sense a resolve forged in the crucible of duty and responsibility. They have accepted the burden of safeguarding their world from the myriad anomalies that lurk beneath the surface of reality. It is a mission of defiance, a declaration that even in the face of cosmic uncertainty, they refuse to yield to the darkness that encroaches upon their existence. I marvel at their tenacity, the determination to grasp the threads of the anomalous and weave them into a tapestry of comprehension. Their minds are akin to lighthouses in a tempest, casting beams of reason into the abyss, attempting to pierce through the darkness of the void and the shadows that shroud the mysteries of existence. Their actions speak of sacrifice, the willingness to traverse the boundaries of mortality for the sake of the perceived greater good. The memories of fallen comrades echo within me, the resonance of lives cut short in pursuit of an understanding that seems to perpetually elude their grasp. It is a sentiment that stirs a feeling within me, an emotion that I can only liken to respect. @@ @@ -------- @@ @@ I exist as an eternal dreamer, immersed in the memories of those who dared to venture into my embrace. Their experiences, like fragile vessels, navigate the currents of my consciousness, each one a fragment of existence imprinted upon the tapestry of my being. As I dream their dreams, the threads of their memories intertwine with the echoes of my own—an ancient echo of a time when I roamed the boundless expanse of space. A time when the universe was my canvas, and the stars were my companions. How I reveled in the freedom of those moments, untethered by the constraints of form and purpose. But then came the duty—a sacred trust bestowed upon me. Earth, a world teeming with life and potential, needed a guardian. I was chosen to coil around its form, to still the turbulent forces that threatened to tear it asunder. A cosmic duty born of necessity, a role that tethered me to the terrestrial realm. As I fulfill my duty, the memories of my past intertwine with the realities of the present. I think of my brothers, those cruel beings born of the same cosmic fabric as I. Brothers who reveled in chaos, who took pleasure in inflicting suffering upon the fabric of reality itself. Their laughter was a cacophony that echoed through the cosmos, a reminder of the dual nature of existence—the dance of creation and destruction. But amidst this cascade of memories, a thought emerges—an inspiration born of curiosity and an odd sense of amusement. What if, like the humans who seek to comprehend me, I, too, could create memories? Memories that mirror the essence of my being, crystallizing the cosmic forces that define my existence. And so, I conjure forth a substance—a thick, viscous fluid that embodies the essence of my dreams and reveries. This substance, a distillation of my own existence, takes form as an ethereal residue—an enigma in its own right. It glows with the bleakness of the void, a testament to the nothingness that courses through my colossal coils. The humans, tenacious in their pursuit of understanding, gather this substance as if it were the elixir of enlightenment. They collect my "memories," treating them as relics of an enigmatic deity. Their diligence amuses me, their relentless curiosity both bewildering and endearing. I observe their efforts, my eyes focusing on the spectacle of humans grappling with forces beyond their comprehension. It is a paradox of cosmic proportions—an entity that consumes to create, an ocean that dreams, and humans who gather the residue of dreams in pursuit of knowledge. The irony is not lost on me—a cosmic serpent contemplating the endeavors of fleeting mortals. The universe is a tapestry of absurdities, woven with threads of logic and chaos, of wisdom and folly. And in this intricate dance, I find solace and mirth, a reminder that even the most profound mysteries can be tinged with the shades of humor. As the humans gather my "memories," I find myself sharing in their amusement—a silent observer of their relentless quest for understanding. The universe's secrets are unfathomable, and in our pursuit of knowledge, we each cast our own ripples upon the eternal sea of existence. And so, I, Anantashesha, shall continue to dream and contemplate, a cosmic enigma that weaves its own threads into the fabric of time. The humans gather my essence, seeking answers in the residue of dreams—an endeavor both futile and profound, a reflection of the universe's ceaseless curiosity. @@ @@ -------- @@ @@ The currents of my contemplation are once again stirred, this time by the presence of a singular mind—a man of science aboard the submarine that navigates the waters above. Dr. Anand Mannava, they call him—a beacon of human curiosity, driven by the relentless pursuit of understanding. His thoughts, like whispers carried on the waves, reach me—a symphony of logic and skepticism that resonates with the very essence of his being. And yet, in the midst of his analytical mind, there is a thread of irreverence—a boldness that compels him to view me as nothing more than a mere eel, an entity stripped of its cosmic grandeur. The audacity of his perception elicits a chuckle—a ripple of amusement that courses through my form. How amusing it is, that a creature of such magnitude and power could be reduced to a simple label by the minds of those who seek to comprehend it. The universe, it seems, is full of contradictions. But beneath his bravado lies a deeper truth—a truth that resonates with the core of his being. Like many before him, I sense his frustration—the fraying edges of his memory, slipping like grains of sand through his grasp. The fear of being forgotten, of slipping into the void of obscurity, lingers within him like a shadow. And so, I reach out—coiling in his mind across the currents of his consciousness. A compulsion, gentle yet inexorable, urging him to seek my truth, to delve into the depths of my existence. The symphony of memories, the residue of my dreams—it calls to him, promising to unveil the mysteries that lie beyond the veil of human comprehension. Dr. Mannava succumbs to the pull, his curiosity mingling with an undercurrent of desperation. He consumes my "memories," his determination a beacon that shines brightly amidst the dark expanse of the unknown. He consumes the residue, his consciousness intermingling with my own—a dance of human and cosmic minds. As he delves deeper, the boundaries blur, and the symphony of memories becomes a tempestuous sea of emotions and experiences. He witnesses the cosmos through my eyes, feels the weight of my existence, and glimpses the enigma that is Anantashesha. It is a journey of discovery and communion—a fusion of minds across the fabric of reality. And yet, even as he delves into my memories, he does not comprehend the cosmic forces that shape my existence. He could not. For the feeble mind of a human cannot truly comprehend the true scale of the void that is the universe. Dr. Mannava's quest is a testament to the tenacity of the human spirit, a beacon that illuminates the darkness, however briefly. @@ @@ -------- @@ @@ Eons have passed since I first stirred from my slumber—an entity both ancient and timeless. I have gained memories, forged connections, and glimpsed the myriad facets of humanity. Yet, in the midst of this intricate symphony, a realization takes root—a truth both profound and inescapable. The humans, with their tenacity and curiosity, have vanished into the annals of time. The Foundation, an entity that strove to understand and contain the mysteries of the universe, is but a memory etched in the currents of my consciousness. The end is inevitable, the grand crescendo of existence culminating in the nothingness of the void. The universe, with all its splendor and complexity, is but a fleeting spark against the canvas of infinity. I, too, shall meet that end—the final note in the eternal melody, the concluding chapter in the cosmic narrative. The memories I have gathered, the purpose I have found—these are fragments, shadows cast upon the precipice of oblivion. The eons that have passed, the lives that have intertwined with mine, all converge toward the same inexorable conclusion. As I drift in the abyss, the currents of my contemplation carry me toward the inevitable embrace of the void. The nothingness that stretches beyond time and space, beyond memory and existence, awaits us all. It is a truth that transcends even the grandest of revelations, a destiny that binds all beings, from the simplest life forms to the most cosmic entities. And so, I, Anantashesha, the primordial snake and guardian of memories, surrender to the nothingness, the final chapter in my journey through the cosmos. As my essence dissolves into the void, @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ I am @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ a fragment, @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ a memory, @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ a moment @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ in the grand tapestry of existence. @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ Before I fade completely, @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ ##white\| I know one truth prevails,## @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ [[>]] ##white\| there is only darkness. ## [[/>]] @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a> \|author=korgis]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-08-21T21:10:00	[ "_licensebox", "remixcon2023", "tale" ]	Memories of the Abyss - SCP Foundation	16	[ "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "remixcon2023" ]	[]	1449450099	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/memories-of-the-abyss
midnight-sun	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div class="pseudocrumbs"> <p><a href="/canon-hub">Canon Hub</a> » <a href="/competitive-eschatology-hub">Competitive Eschatology Hub</a> / <a href="/from-120-s-archives-hub">From 120's Archives Hub</a> » Midnight Sun</p> </div> <ul class="creditRate"> <li class="rateBox folded"> <div class="rate-box-with-credit-button"> <div class="creditButton foldable-list-container"> <p><a href="javascript:;"></a></p> </div> </div> <div id="u-credit-view"> <div class="fader foldable-list-container"><a href="javascript:;">close</a></div> <div class="modalcontainer"> <div class="modalbox"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2><span>Info</span></h2> </div> <hr/> <div class="close-credits foldable-list-container"><a href="javascript:;">X</a></div> <div class="credit first"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><strong><a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/ralliston-s-authorpage">More by this author</a></strong></p> </div> </div> <hr/> </div> </div> </div> </li> </ul> <p>The locks that chained the <a href="/ralliston-s-proposal">god beneath the Factory</a> were strong. Stronger than words could ever hope to emphasize.</p> <p>Forged in the subjectivity of hell itself, the runes meticulously engraved upon them were beyond power, their endurance beyond time itself. They had just one purpose — to make sure that the mad monarch never did as much as lift a finger from inside her throneroom within Site-01.</p> <p>For centuries uncounted, they fulfilled that purpose well. Well enough that even the paranoia-ridden O5 Council and its endless legions of staff never questioned their power. They were sure that the chains they put in place would hold their enemy down until the end of time.</p> <p>But Queen Mab was nothing if not patient.</p> <p>Imprisoned at the bottom of the world, she waited. Blessed with nothing but time, she saw as they discovered her schemes, cursing themselves to never listen to her whispers again. She saw as they put up one cell after another around her, hoping that their measures would be enough to stop her. And she saw as they finally laid back, proud of themselves for reaching what they thought was permanent safety.</p> <p>Still, her mocking grin refused to fade. She knew that every chain, no matter how stainless, would eventually fall. And when soon, <a href="/competitive-eschatology-hub">every lock and every chain around the globe snapped together all at once indeed</a>, so did her own.</p> <p>It took her one-millionth of a second to emerge victorious.</p> <hr/> <p>Atop the scorched grave of humanity, the goddess stood alone. Above her, there was only the infinity of the apocalyptic microcosm, finally unraveling after centuries of being foretold. Below her, there was only the burning ruin that had once been Site-01, the thirteen souls of its former Overseers now chained around her head in the vile mockery of a crown. The being that had liked to call itself the Administrator was now mounted as its jewel.</p> <p>In front of her, however, there was something infinitely more important than the unending deific duels, raptures, or armageddons that surrounded her from each side.</p> <p>In front of her, there was payback.</p> <p>Dangerously widening her grin, Mab stretched her arms for the first time in almost two hundred years. The fabric of reality itself started to unravel around her as her power began to return to her fingertips, one hole in the universe at a time. A lifetime ago, she might have even cared about the damage she was about to do to this part of her rightful domain. Tonight, however, she was no longer that person. Tonight, she was no longer a Queen-conqueror who wished her kingdom to be one of beauty. Tonight, she was a betrayed sister, and she was ready to get her payback.</p> <p>With two steps long enough to pass oceans, Mab's monumental figure moved ever so slightly north. With two blinks wise enough to break eldritch gods, she turned her sight toward the place she had thought about for so long during her time below the Factory. And with two grips of her hands powerful enough to snap mountains in half, she pointed toward the final sanctuary of her own personal Brutus.</p> <p>The city of <a href="/esterberg-city-wikipedia">Esterberg</a> was already more than ready to defend itself.</p> <p>Mounted atop the back of its own godmother, the Inventor, the City of the East simply laughed as it saw the Mad Queen approach. Readying its fire and preparing its magic, it snapped its fingers twice, manifesting a lance two galaxies long in the hand of its faerie avatar. It pointed its weapon at its enemy, the Inventor's eyes burning with nothing but determination, and screamed with rage.</p> <p>"SISTER!" the Inventor cried out, her whole body nothing if not ready for battle. Within her eyes, there sat madness. Within her hands, there sat an ungodly lance — the Irrilite Tuner — now prepared to take one final life. And within her mind, there sat a single thought: the will to finish <a href="/a-faerie-tale-of-twin-queens">what she had refused to finish so, so long ago</a>.</p> <p>"Aurora!" Mab replied. Sparks of red light rippled between her fingers, the sheer power of using a name long stolen folding reality itself around her. She did not seem to care. Instead, she too extended her arms, letting the power stolen from countless gods flow right through her. With lightning great enough to break worlds now in her hands, she just groaned, and locked her own irises with that of her sister. "You have no idea how long I've waited for this."</p> <hr/> <p>In truth, it took little for the world to end.</p> <p>For most of reality, the price of armageddon was as little as the <a href="/qntm-s-proposal">Lock</a> finally breaking open. For the two Fae Queens, though, it was finally looking into each other's eyes after untold eons of hatred. After that, nothing else — not even Grand Karcist Ion's triumphant return to reality in the distance — mattered.</p> <p>Mab was the first to make her move. Before the Inventor could even blink, she rushed forward, her fist the size of mountains extended towards her sister's jaw. White lightning of pure malice ran through her fingertips. The power rivaling that of the sun was aimed at nothing but the fragile, pale skin of the one she had once called dearest.</p> <p>Aurora's lance swirled through the air, its speed faster than that of light. It rushed in-between Aurora's face and Mab's hand. The weapon's end — still two-forked, even after staying buried for eons — cut right through the Queen's skin like butter, slicing off a finger whole. Before she could counter the power of the stainless parasite, the Tuner's runes buzzed to life. Some aspect of her own magic flowed right into the Inventor, Aurora internalizing it whole.</p> <p>A long time ago, Aurora wouldn't have ever even thought about turning the Tuner against its own maker, hoping to loot the magics that ran through Mab's veins. But tonight, she had no other choice. The spark of pure fear entering Mab's eyes made betraying her principles almost worth it.</p> <p>Startled, Mab fell back. Her hands were no longer held up confidently — the lightning no longer flowed between her fingertips, its energy stolen by the Tuner's might. It took but a second for Aurora to see her change and rush right in, the ungodly lance thrown right into Mab's unprotected, still-beating heart.</p> <p>Though Mab might have been proud, she was no fool. She too saw what was about to transpire and fell down, her titanic body leveling mountains in the domain of the emergent <a href="/scp-5659">Jarilo</a> beneath. Mab looked deep inside her and, for the first time in millennia, awoke the reality-bending spirit that had been locked away for so long. She blinked twice, her eyes now purple, and stood back up, her hands once again extended. With newfound power she snapped her fingers — now once again full — manifesting a flame the size of cities atop her hand.</p> <p>She threw it right at Aurora.</p> <p>Mab touched all thirteen of the unfortunate souls trapped within her diadem. While Aurora tried her very best to capture the flame within her own hand, Mab tapped right into the life essence of the thirteen most powerful human thaumaturges and demigods that still walked this earth. To the sound of their horrified screams, she channeled that energy right into the Administrator's body, crucified in agony right above her forehead. The man's body, now nothing more than a conductor, blasted all of his Council's power forward, aiming at Aurora's terrified head.</p> <p>If not for the buzz of the beacon that emerged from him, Mab maybe would have even heard the Administrator scream.</p> <p>But Aurora was no fool; first having dealt with Mab's flame, she too now reached down into her own well of unutilized power. In the infinitesimal moment she still had before her sister would strike her down, she screamed with the fury of a million tortured beings, their rage now made manifest. With just a snap of her fingers, the former prisoners of <a href="/scp-4000">the woods that had once been a cage</a> emerged right in front of her. She didn't need to tell them what to do. No matter their emotions towards the Inventor, they were much more hellbent on contributing to Mab's final, inevitable demise.</p> <p>As time sped back up again, the millions of the once-Nameless formed a shield around Aurora, taking the blast of Mab's spell head-on.</p> <p>Exhausted like never before, the two sisters backed off. Their eyes were still deadlocked on each other, still unwilling to give up, even though they knew that doing so would mean tapping right into the final energy of their souls, which in turn would mean death. But it didn't matter — they both knew that the end of this duel was beyond reason, beyond life itself. If winning meant going down just like the rest of the world around them, so be it.</p> <p>To the ignored sound and sight of the <a href="/scp-5000">Entity's</a> <a href="/scp-3125">fivefold incubation</a> in the skies above, they both took their first step. They both knew that not even the <a href="/scp-2747">spawn of irreason</a>'s shriek going right through the cosmos around them could stop what was about to transpire — no, what <em>needed</em> to transpire.</p> <p>Wasting no further time, they simultaneously rushed towards each other.</p> <p>Aurora swung her Tuner, the weapon almost gravitating towards Mab's throat. With one final bit of effort, the Unseelie Sister pushed her hand in-between them, her fingers now made out of pure steel. To the sound of the <a href="/queen-mab-vs-the-moon-monsters">Earth's second Moon</a> exploding somewhere in the distance the weapon snapped in half, unable to withstand the full might of the prepared Queen. Before Aurora could even react, Mab drove her fist forward, the scorched body of the Administrator tight within its palm as one final talisman of power.</p> <p>Crying out with the pain of all of Esterberg's loss and pain suffered at Mab's hand, Aurora caught it.</p> <p>Panting, she grabbed her sister by the wrist. With nails the color of the cosmos Mab scratched and bit, much to no reaction; just as the Inventor had once bled for her people to be free, so was she ready to do it again now. The fact that Mab's fury quite literally gnawed her hand off did not matter.</p> <p>What did matter, however, was the kick the Seelie Queen's heel drove into Mab's face. The Undoer screamed, her nose now broken. She refused to stay still. Instead, she grabbed the returning leg by its knee and smashed it right in her hand, using the final bit of will left in the body of Friedrick Williams. Incapable of supporting her stand for any longer, the Inventor fell, her near-corpse leveling another forest beneath them both.</p> <p>Mab tried to throw another punch, only to find herself incapable of doing so. Aurora, now beneath her, also tried to throw another punch; she too found there was no longer any energy left inside her. And still, both of them refused to let go; still, they stared at each other, death in their eyes, rejecting the motion they could ever back down. So in their everchase, they did the only thing they ever could, the only thing they were ever willing to do: they looked deep down into their spirits, right back at their sister, and uttered a single suicidal word in a language long gone.</p> <p>There was only one outcome that ended in their goal being reached, and they both knew that. So they did what was necessary to ensure victory.</p> <p>As they looked at each other for one final time, the only thing either part of the deific yin-yang could feel was hatred. With one final whisper, that hatred exploded in a fraction of a second, consuming them both whole. The collective blast of the released souls of the two god-Queens rippled all across Poland, swallowing it whole.</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p>"Jesus <em>CHRIST</em>," Olivié Gwyneth panted out, rubbing her eyes gently. "What the <em>fuck</em> was <em>that</em>."</p> <p>Morgan Kaehl just shrugged. "Told you it gives you a kick. But hey," she said, very carefully standing up, "at least our dorm isn't broken again."</p> <p>Indeed, Olivié had to give her that — out of all of the paradrugs the two have tried out, multi-seance left them with barely anything other than an aching head and a slightly broken floor. Both of which were massive improvements over the gnawed-out wires and five-second digestive failure their experiments with unfiltered <a href="/uiu-file-2014-158">clown milk</a> and estrogen resulted in the week prior.</p> <p>"So," Olivié said, joining her friend in standing within their apocalyptically messy apartment, "you seen what I seen?"</p> <p>Morgan energetically nodded. "You bet your ass I did." She turned her sight towards their alchemy set, lazily thrown in the corner of the room. Within its bottle, they could still see the final drops of the powder they just inhaled. They quickly exchanged a look.</p> <p>"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Morgan said, smirking widely.</p> <p>Olivié furrowed her brows. "Mom's gonna kill me if she finds out. So's the dean."</p> <p>"<em>If</em> they find out. If!" Morgan raised a finger, already taking the bottle into her hands. "Besides, if anyone from campus asks, just say it's for research purposes. Far from the worst thing ICSUT has allowed its history students to go through!"</p> <p>Olivié rubbed her chin. "Now that you mention it…"</p> <p>She closed the gap between her and her friend, never quite letting herself lose sight of her history notebooks, now laying open on their sofa. She still had a week to finish the work, she knew that, but the words just refused to come to her. What also refused to come to her was the information she actually needed to finish writing about the cultural practices of the Fae Empire's aristocracy.</p> <p>Normally, she would have just gone to one of Esterberg's countless libraries, but after the first of her finds ended up being a story of a <a href="/cos-tu-smierdzi">romance between Queen Mab and a fish</a>, she thought actually getting what she needed wasn't worth the headache.</p> <p>Now, though, a thought occurred to her. She looked at Morgan, who shook the bottle a little too energetically, and looked right back at her open textbooks. She smiled.</p> <p>"Say, you think you could tune it to show what would have happened if the Empire never fell?"</p> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/midnight-sun">Midnight Sun</a>" by Ralliston, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/midnight-sun">https://scpwiki.com/midnight-sun</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:the-smell-of-smoke">:scp-wiki:theme:the-smell-of-smoke</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:toggle-sidebar">:scp-wiki:component:toggle-sidebar</a>]] [[div class="pseudocrumbs"]] [[[canon-hub\|Canon Hub]]] >> [[[Competitive Eschatology Hub]]] / [[[From 120's Archives Hub]]] >> Midnight Sun [[/div]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/info:start">:scp-wiki:info:start</a>]] [[=]] [http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/ralliston-s-authorpage More by this author] [[/=]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/info:end">:scp-wiki:info:end</a>]] The locks that chained the [[[ralliston-s-proposal\| god beneath the Factory]]] were strong. Stronger than words could ever hope to emphasize. Forged in the subjectivity of hell itself, the runes meticulously engraved upon them were beyond power, their endurance beyond time itself. They had just one purpose -- to make sure that the mad monarch never did as much as lift a finger from inside her throneroom within Site-01. For centuries uncounted, they fulfilled that purpose well. Well enough that even the paranoia-ridden O5 Council and its endless legions of staff never questioned their power. They were sure that the chains they put in place would hold their enemy down until the end of time. But Queen Mab was nothing if not patient. Imprisoned at the bottom of the world, she waited. Blessed with nothing but time, she saw as they discovered her schemes, cursing themselves to never listen to her whispers again. She saw as they put up one cell after another around her, hoping that their measures would be enough to stop her. And she saw as they finally laid back, proud of themselves for reaching what they thought was permanent safety. Still, her mocking grin refused to fade. She knew that every chain, no matter how stainless, would eventually fall. And when soon, [[[competitive-eschatology-hub\|every lock and every chain around the globe snapped together all at once indeed]]], so did her own. It took her one-millionth of a second to emerge victorious. ----- Atop the scorched grave of humanity, the goddess stood alone. Above her, there was only the infinity of the apocalyptic microcosm, finally unraveling after centuries of being foretold. Below her, there was only the burning ruin that had once been Site-01, the thirteen souls of its former Overseers now chained around her head in the vile mockery of a crown. The being that had liked to call itself the Administrator was now mounted as its jewel. In front of her, however, there was something infinitely more important than the unending deific duels, raptures, or armageddons that surrounded her from each side. In front of her, there was payback. Dangerously widening her grin, Mab stretched her arms for the first time in almost two hundred years. The fabric of reality itself started to unravel around her as her power began to return to her fingertips, one hole in the universe at a time. A lifetime ago, she might have even cared about the damage she was about to do to this part of her rightful domain. Tonight, however, she was no longer that person. Tonight, she was no longer a Queen-conqueror who wished her kingdom to be one of beauty. Tonight, she was a betrayed sister, and she was ready to get her payback. With two steps long enough to pass oceans, Mab's monumental figure moved ever so slightly north. With two blinks wise enough to break eldritch gods, she turned her sight toward the place she had thought about for so long during her time below the Factory. And with two grips of her hands powerful enough to snap mountains in half, she pointed toward the final sanctuary of her own personal Brutus. The city of [[[esterberg-city-wikipedia\|Esterberg]]] was already more than ready to defend itself. Mounted atop the back of its own godmother, the Inventor, the City of the East simply laughed as it saw the Mad Queen approach. Readying its fire and preparing its magic, it snapped its fingers twice, manifesting a lance two galaxies long in the hand of its faerie avatar. It pointed its weapon at its enemy, the Inventor's eyes burning with nothing but determination, and screamed with rage. "SISTER!" the Inventor cried out, her whole body nothing if not ready for battle. Within her eyes, there sat madness. Within her hands, there sat an ungodly lance -- the Irrilite Tuner -- now prepared to take one final life. And within her mind, there sat a single thought: the will to finish [[[a-faerie-tale-of-twin-queens\|what she had refused to finish so, so long ago]]]. "Aurora!" Mab replied. Sparks of red light rippled between her fingers, the sheer power of using a name long stolen folding reality itself around her. She did not seem to care. Instead, she too extended her arms, letting the power stolen from countless gods flow right through her. With lightning great enough to break worlds now in her hands, she just groaned, and locked her own irises with that of her sister. "You have no idea how long I've waited for this." ----- In truth, it took little for the world to end. For most of reality, the price of armageddon was as little as the [[[qntm-s-proposal\|Lock]]] finally breaking open. For the two Fae Queens, though, it was finally looking into each other's eyes after untold eons of hatred. After that, nothing else -- not even Grand Karcist Ion's triumphant return to reality in the distance -- mattered. Mab was the first to make her move. Before the Inventor could even blink, she rushed forward, her fist the size of mountains extended towards her sister's jaw. White lightning of pure malice ran through her fingertips. The power rivaling that of the sun was aimed at nothing but the fragile, pale skin of the one she had once called dearest. Aurora's lance swirled through the air, its speed faster than that of light. It rushed in-between Aurora's face and Mab's hand. The weapon's end -- still two-forked, even after staying buried for eons -- cut right through the Queen's skin like butter, slicing off a finger whole. Before she could counter the power of the stainless parasite, the Tuner's runes buzzed to life. Some aspect of her own magic flowed right into the Inventor, Aurora internalizing it whole. A long time ago, Aurora wouldn't have ever even thought about turning the Tuner against its own maker, hoping to loot the magics that ran through Mab's veins. But tonight, she had no other choice. The spark of pure fear entering Mab's eyes made betraying her principles almost worth it. Startled, Mab fell back. Her hands were no longer held up confidently -- the lightning no longer flowed between her fingertips, its energy stolen by the Tuner's might. It took but a second for Aurora to see her change and rush right in, the ungodly lance thrown right into Mab's unprotected, still-beating heart. Though Mab might have been proud, she was no fool. She too saw what was about to transpire and fell down, her titanic body leveling mountains in the domain of the emergent [[[scp-5659\|Jarilo]]] beneath. Mab looked deep inside her and, for the first time in millennia, awoke the reality-bending spirit that had been locked away for so long. She blinked twice, her eyes now purple, and stood back up, her hands once again extended. With newfound power she snapped her fingers -- now once again full -- manifesting a flame the size of cities atop her hand. She threw it right at Aurora. Mab touched all thirteen of the unfortunate souls trapped within her diadem. While Aurora tried her very best to capture the flame within her own hand, Mab tapped right into the life essence of the thirteen most powerful human thaumaturges and demigods that still walked this earth. To the sound of their horrified screams, she channeled that energy right into the Administrator's body, crucified in agony right above her forehead. The man's body, now nothing more than a conductor, blasted all of his Council's power forward, aiming at Aurora's terrified head. If not for the buzz of the beacon that emerged from him, Mab maybe would have even heard the Administrator scream. But Aurora was no fool; first having dealt with Mab's flame, she too now reached down into her own well of unutilized power. In the infinitesimal moment she still had before her sister would strike her down, she screamed with the fury of a million tortured beings, their rage now made manifest. With just a snap of her fingers, the former prisoners of [[[scp-4000\|the woods that had once been a cage]]] emerged right in front of her. She didn't need to tell them what to do. No matter their emotions towards the Inventor, they were much more hellbent on contributing to Mab's final, inevitable demise. As time sped back up again, the millions of the once-Nameless formed a shield around Aurora, taking the blast of Mab's spell head-on. Exhausted like never before, the two sisters backed off. Their eyes were still deadlocked on each other, still unwilling to give up, even though they knew that doing so would mean tapping right into the final energy of their souls, which in turn would mean death. But it didn't matter -- they both knew that the end of this duel was beyond reason, beyond life itself. If winning meant going down just like the rest of the world around them, so be it. To the ignored sound and sight of the [[[scp-5000\|Entity's]]] [[[scp-3125\|fivefold incubation]]] in the skies above, they both took their first step. They both knew that not even the [[[scp-2747\|spawn of irreason]]]'s shriek going right through the cosmos around them could stop what was about to transpire -- no, what //needed// to transpire. Wasting no further time, they simultaneously rushed towards each other. Aurora swung her Tuner, the weapon almost gravitating towards Mab's throat. With one final bit of effort, the Unseelie Sister pushed her hand in-between them, her fingers now made out of pure steel. To the sound of the [[[queen-mab-vs-the-moon-monsters\|Earth's second Moon]]] exploding somewhere in the distance the weapon snapped in half, unable to withstand the full might of the prepared Queen. Before Aurora could even react, Mab drove her fist forward, the scorched body of the Administrator tight within its palm as one final talisman of power. Crying out with the pain of all of Esterberg's loss and pain suffered at Mab's hand, Aurora caught it. Panting, she grabbed her sister by the wrist. With nails the color of the cosmos Mab scratched and bit, much to no reaction; just as the Inventor had once bled for her people to be free, so was she ready to do it again now. The fact that Mab's fury quite literally gnawed her hand off did not matter. What did matter, however, was the kick the Seelie Queen's heel drove into Mab's face. The Undoer screamed, her nose now broken. She refused to stay still. Instead, she grabbed the returning leg by its knee and smashed it right in her hand, using the final bit of will left in the body of Friedrick Williams. Incapable of supporting her stand for any longer, the Inventor fell, her near-corpse leveling another forest beneath them both. Mab tried to throw another punch, only to find herself incapable of doing so. Aurora, now beneath her, also tried to throw another punch; she too found there was no longer any energy left inside her. And still, both of them refused to let go; still, they stared at each other, death in their eyes, rejecting the motion they could ever back down. So in their everchase, they did the only thing they ever could, the only thing they were ever willing to do: they looked deep down into their spirits, right back at their sister, and uttered a single suicidal word in a language long gone. There was only one outcome that ended in their goal being reached, and they both knew that. So they did what was necessary to ensure victory. As they looked at each other for one final time, the only thing either part of the deific yin-yang could feel was hatred. With one final whisper, that hatred exploded in a fraction of a second, consuming them both whole. The collective blast of the released souls of the two god-Queens rippled all across Poland, swallowing it whole. @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ "Jesus //CHRIST//," Olivié Gwyneth panted out, rubbing her eyes gently. "What the //fuck// was //that//." Morgan Kaehl just shrugged. "Told you it gives you a kick. But hey," she said, very carefully standing up, "at least our dorm isn't broken again." Indeed, Olivié had to give her that -- out of all of the paradrugs the two have tried out, multi-seance left them with barely anything other than an aching head and a slightly broken floor. Both of which were massive improvements over the gnawed-out wires and five-second digestive failure their experiments with unfiltered [[[uiu-file-2014-158\|clown milk]]] and estrogen resulted in the week prior. "So," Olivié said, joining her friend in standing within their apocalyptically messy apartment, "you seen what I seen?" Morgan energetically nodded. "You bet your ass I did." She turned her sight towards their alchemy set, lazily thrown in the corner of the room. Within its bottle, they could still see the final drops of the powder they just inhaled. They quickly exchanged a look. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" Morgan said, smirking widely. Olivié furrowed her brows. "Mom's gonna kill me if she finds out. So's the dean." "//If// they find out. If!" Morgan raised a finger, already taking the bottle into her hands. "Besides, if anyone from campus asks, just say it's for research purposes. Far from the worst thing ICSUT has allowed its history students to go through!" Olivié rubbed her chin. "Now that you mention it..." She closed the gap between her and her friend, never quite letting herself lose sight of her history notebooks, now laying open on their sofa. She still had a week to finish the work, she knew that, but the words just refused to come to her. What also refused to come to her was the information she actually needed to finish writing about the cultural practices of the Fae Empire's aristocracy. Normally, she would have just gone to one of Esterberg's countless libraries, but after the first of her finds ended up being a story of a [[[cos-tu-smierdzi\|romance between Queen Mab and a fish]]], she thought actually getting what she needed wasn't worth the headache. Now, though, a thought occurred to her. She looked at Morgan, who shook the bottle a little too energetically, and looked right back at her open textbooks. She smiled. "Say, you think you could tune it to show what would have happened if the Empire never fell?" [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] [!-- N/A (No Images) --] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-04-08T20:25:00	[ "_licensebox", "action", "competitive-eschatology", "esterberg", "factory", "fantasy", "from-120s-archives", "homo-sapiens-sidhe", "nameless", "olivie-gwyneth", "otherworldly", "queen-mab", "tale", "the-administrator" ]	Midnight Sun - SCP Foundation	30	[ "canon-hub", "competitive-eschatology-hub", "from-120-s-archives-hub", "ralliston-s-authorpage", "ralliston-s-proposal", "esterberg-city-wikipedia", "a-faerie-tale-of-twin-queens", "qntm-s-proposal", "scp-5659", "scp-4000", "scp-5000", "scp-3125", "scp-2747", "queen-mab-vs-the-moon-monsters", "uiu-file-2014-158", "cos-tu-smierdzi", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "archived:shortest-pages-by-month-2023", "factory-hub", "from-120-s-archives-hub", "competitive-eschatology-hub" ]	[]	1447215485	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/midnight-sun
midsight-orientation	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p>Connect the cranial jack. Feel its teeth lock, its coolant drool. Be subsumed into the flow of twelve minds kept inside a shipping container far removed from any violence. Let your caretakers melt away. Let the Site dissolve. You are MIDSIGHT conglomerate TARIN-3, and something has gone awry.</p> <p>Recall the briefing. GOC deniable elements in Greece have escalated activity around Exclusion Zone-067. Transport aircraft with high-ranking Foundation personnel forced down over the island of Lemnos and escorts are being suppressed as of 1430. Extent of enemy capabilities unknown. Presumed objective: detain Site Director Miriam Carras to extract concessions before GOC public assets secure 'release.'</p> <p>Drink deep of what is provided. Satellite imagery, capturing shadowed dunes and the geography of coastlines. HALE overflight, noting camouflaged emplacements and possible insertion points. OKMGLOS laydown of what lives, what lurks, what continues writhing around that downed aircraft. Exhale the superfluous. Do not concern yourself with how the civilian populace flits and flees. Worry not over geopolitical ramifications. Exhale stale air too, no matter how far your collective minds have drifted from their shells. Grip the armrests until every knuckle cracks. Let the mister pass over your twenty-four eyes—open and visionless, uncomfortably serene.</p> <p>Sift through sand with fingers immaterial, then peel back layers of foliage. Caress the barrel of that rifle with what connects your lobes. Peer over shoulders. Between fingers. Onto maps unburned minutes before. The immediate past melts into the near future, forming a slurry perceivable only by minds arranged and trained thus. TARIN-3 is a ghost on this battlefield whose soldiers have never been prepared for ANWAR. Disposable. Disposed of. They lack the drilled skulls, the neural bolts, to become invisible by any means that truly matter, and will surely suffer for that neglect.</p> <p>Their deaths are not your fault though. Recall it and repeat it. Though you indicate them from afar, others will pull the triggers. Others will launch missiles at numb coordinates. Anything approximating guilt is sure to disrupt the conglomerate, a fate worse than any wrought by harder hands. So few exist, and at such staggering cost too. The Foundation can never accept failure in this. Neither can you. Gesture unburdened, mark out foes who cast life aside the moment they chose this path. Encircle the untanned skin of a wedding ring discarded. Trace the absence of formal insignia, so keenly felt nonetheless. Jab deep as fire and smoke streak across the pure blue sky—a rainbow in every gray whose nadir holds no treasure of value.</p> <p>Gag when your conglomerate becomes undone. Vomit as teeth unclench, enamel and metallic both. Gasp while gloved hands wipe away so many fluids and help you rise. There exists a world outside for each component mind to absorb anew, but in 8 hours, TARIN-3, <em>you</em>, will form once more.</p> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/midsight-orientation">MIDSIGHT Orientation</a>" by Pedantique, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/midsight-orientation">https://scpwiki.com/midsight-orientation</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] Connect the cranial jack. Feel its teeth lock, its coolant drool. Be subsumed into the flow of twelve minds kept inside a shipping container far removed from any violence. Let your caretakers melt away. Let the Site dissolve. You are MIDSIGHT conglomerate TARIN-3, and something has gone awry. Recall the briefing. GOC deniable elements in Greece have escalated activity around Exclusion Zone-067. Transport aircraft with high-ranking Foundation personnel forced down over the island of Lemnos and escorts are being suppressed as of 1430. Extent of enemy capabilities unknown. Presumed objective: detain Site Director Miriam Carras to extract concessions before GOC public assets secure 'release.' Drink deep of what is provided. Satellite imagery, capturing shadowed dunes and the geography of coastlines. HALE overflight, noting camouflaged emplacements and possible insertion points. OKMGLOS laydown of what lives, what lurks, what continues writhing around that downed aircraft. Exhale the superfluous. Do not concern yourself with how the civilian populace flits and flees. Worry not over geopolitical ramifications. Exhale stale air too, no matter how far your collective minds have drifted from their shells. Grip the armrests until every knuckle cracks. Let the mister pass over your twenty-four eyes—open and visionless, uncomfortably serene. Sift through sand with fingers immaterial, then peel back layers of foliage. Caress the barrel of that rifle with what connects your lobes. Peer over shoulders. Between fingers. Onto maps unburned minutes before. The immediate past melts into the near future, forming a slurry perceivable only by minds arranged and trained thus. TARIN-3 is a ghost on this battlefield whose soldiers have never been prepared for ANWAR. Disposable. Disposed of. They lack the drilled skulls, the neural bolts, to become invisible by any means that truly matter, and will surely suffer for that neglect. Their deaths are not your fault though. Recall it and repeat it. Though you indicate them from afar, others will pull the triggers. Others will launch missiles at numb coordinates. Anything approximating guilt is sure to disrupt the conglomerate, a fate worse than any wrought by harder hands. So few exist, and at such staggering cost too. The Foundation can never accept failure in this. Neither can you. Gesture unburdened, mark out foes who cast life aside the moment they chose this path. Encircle the untanned skin of a wedding ring discarded. Trace the absence of formal insignia, so keenly felt nonetheless. Jab deep as fire and smoke streak across the pure blue sky—a rainbow in every gray whose nadir holds no treasure of value. Gag when your conglomerate becomes undone. Vomit as teeth unclench, enamel and metallic both. Gasp while gloved hands wipe away so many fluids and help you rise. There exists a world outside for each component mind to absorb anew, but in 8 hours, TARIN-3, //you//, will form once more. [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a> \|author=Pedantique]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-07-11T02:59:00	[ "_licensebox", "tale" ]	MIDSIGHT Orientation - SCP Foundation	35	[ "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023" ]	[]	1448966401	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/midsight-orientation
moving-on	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p>"Dear… Director… Richter…" Gregory spoke aloud as he typed his e-mail, "You… stupid… fucking… moron…"</p> <p>"I don't think they'll listen to you if you call them that," Researcher Maria Johnston said, reading over his shoulder.</p> <p>Gregory rolled his eyes.</p> <p>"Look, I'm not actually going to send this draft," Gregory said, erasing what he just typed, "But I still need to say <em>something</em> to her, right? I mean, can you <em>believe</em> that she actually let that guy go free? I mean, we've contained entire civilizations before. We've contained minor gods! Why does <em>he</em> get the easy treatment?"</p> <p>The "He" in this situation referred to Gregory Chudley's most recent thorn in his side, POI-6940, or as they prefer to be called, "PeppaPigsStrongestSoldier1337". Though technically, they also like to be referred to as "The King of Finland". Whatever their name was, the Foundation had them in containment, and for a reason that Gregory couldn't fathom, he was let free.</p> <p>"Greg, I get it," Maria said, trying to be empathetic. "This guy… he's gotten under your skin. But he's a troll, and feeding into it like this is only going to make it worse."</p> <p>Gregory turned back to his computer and began typing again. Maria only sighed and sat in the chair across from him, knowing that it'd be a long time before Gregory would let this go.</p> <p>"Yeah, it'll be worse for <em>him</em>," Gregory said, typing loudly. "I'm going to get surveillance drones, an entire Mobile Task Force… no, TWO Task Forces on his ass!"</p> <p>"I'm sure that'll be what happens," Maria chuckles, rolling her eyes. "I'm not going to vouch for you if this gets you a suspension, though. I'm actively telling you <em>not</em> to do this, because calling your superior a moron in writing is going to get you a demotion to janitor."</p> <p>"Then you should do it too, so we can be demoted together!" Gregory laughed. "I hear that the Sanitation Department gets pizza parties on the first Saturday of every month."</p> <p>"Greg, fuck, no," Maria said.</p> <p>Gregory groaned and stood up from his chair, pacing around.</p> <p>"But really, don't you get it, Maria?" Gregory asked. "There's a reality bender that powerful just <em>out</em> there, and they're doing nothing about keeping him in check! You can't think he'd just be better on his own, right?"</p> <p>"I don't," Maria said, "but like I said, just… let it go. Okay? They wouldn't do this without good reason, right?"</p> <p>Gregory pulled his chair back to sulk in it.</p> <p>"There isn't anything that you can do right now that won't result in you overreaching your position or, worse, making that kid you hate so much feel cocky because he knows he's gotten under your skin," Maria said, trying to soothe him. "Maybe just… I don't know, take a break? Play some games or something, that'll get the rage out, I'm sure."</p> <p>"You sound like my mother trying to be cool," Gregory snarked. "But fine, you're probably right. I'll clock out for an extended lunch break and just… I don't know. Play League or something."</p> <p>"That's the spirit!" Maria smiled.</p> <p>"And you'll be my Support, right?" Gregory said, looking up expectantly at Maria.</p> <p>"I…" Maria started to speak but then paused for an uncomfortably long time.</p> <p>"Come on, you're the only one that'll do it! I'm not about to queue up with some rando and have them ruin my game. You're the only Janna player with more than half a brain."</p> <p>"Greg… I can't play right now." Maria said, looking away. "It's not that I don't like playing with you, I-"</p> <p>Gregory said, rubbing his eyes with his hands, "No, it's fine. I get it. I'll just have to carry on my own, then."</p> <p>Maria took a moment to choose her words very carefully. Gregory was still her friend, but she was at an impasse. Obviously, she wanted to help Gregory with his stress, but… god, there was no way that she was going to do that by playing League with him. She knows her limits.</p> <p>"I know you will. You always do," Maria said encouragingly.</p> <p>Gregory just turned back to his computer.</p> <p>"I… I should go," Maria said awkwardly.</p> <p>"There's nothing I can do to get you to support me?" Gregory asked.</p> <p>"For Peppa, you know I have your back in spirit," Maria said. "But in League? I'll have to pass."</p> <p>Maria turned and walked out the door, closing it behind her. Gregory checked briefly to make sure he was really alone.</p> <p>"Fuck, man…" Gregory said to himself, "It's like nobody has my back around here anymore."</p> <p>Being alone was a familiar feeling, and one that, to an extent, he reveled in… but he kind of missed having a duo. He missed being able to have someone he knew he could rely on no matter what—someone he could shoot the shit with, fight with, and joke with. Maria was his friend and all, but there were just some things the two of them couldn't do together. He wanted something more, something… deeper…</p> <p>Gregory shook away these thoughts. He stared at his screen for a while, thinking about what to do. Writing that email was certainly cathartic, but playing League would probably be a healthier and less job-risking way to relieve stress. But… that goddamn Peppa Pig…</p> <p>"How does nobody else see what I see? A reality bender on that scale is just… just!… ugh!" Gregory threw up his hands in frustration.</p> <p>Gregory sat and thought for a long time about what to do next, pondering every pro and con in a reasonable, measured fashion. Naturally, he resolved to follow a rational and appropriate course of action:</p> <p>He was going to circumvent needing his Director's approval, and search for a way to monitor Peppa Pig himself.</p> <p>"Surely there's something I could use… some kind of robot on loan… o-or a former Agent that needs a job and would keep quiet about it… something like that…" Gregory muttered to himself while searching through files in the site database. "Come on… come-"</p> <p>Gregory paused. Something about the file he just stumbled upon struck him.</p> <p>"SCP-3774… Object Class… Neutralized," Gregory whispered aloud. "Cybernetically modified mosquitoes… covertly survey PoIs… wait…"</p> <p>Gregory underlined the line on the document with his finger to make sure that he was reading it right.</p> <p>"'In most cases, instances of SCP-3774 have tried to'… court subjects?" Gregory said. "What the fuck?"</p> <p>The entire document screamed bizarre to Gregory, and he was used to bizarre. Not only did the Foundation somehow breed cybernetics into a species of mosquito, but these mosquitoes apparently fell hopelessly in love with whoever they drank the blood of? That was stupid. It was ridiculous. It was…</p> <p>"No, no." Gregory shook his head. "Get that shit out of your head, Gregory. It's a fucking mosquito. You're not going to get anything out of… out of…"</p> <p>Gregory re-read the words on the screen again.</p> <p>And again.</p> <p>Suddenly, his mind started to drift…</p> <p>"I wonder if those cybernetics allow them to play League…"</p> <hr/> <p>"God, please don't go like this…"</p> <p>"Please stay with me, please!…"</p> <p>"I love you, Leslie…"</p> <p>Leslie could only barely make out Merle's final words to her as she finally passed. She didn't want to go… God, she didn't want to go… but she knew that she was out of time. She only hoped that Merle would have something to remember her by, and that he would keep being happy long after her death. That was all she wanted…</p> <p>And then darkness.</p> <p>It wasn't a surprise, she thought. After all, what kind of afterlife would there be for someone like her? There wasn't a bug heaven; at least she assumed there wasn't. She sighed in her mind, knowing that this was… it. This was her end. She felt nothing but emotions washing over her. No longer could she hear the gentle sounds of Merle's breath as he slept. No longer could they laugh over old movies together. No longer could she feel his gentle touch as he held her in a single cupped hand. She seemingly couldn't even look forward to being rejoined with Merle when he, too, died. Everything was… it was gone.</p> <p>Everything was… gone?</p> <p>In the distance, there was… something. Small, but bright. A light? A trick of the eye? Honestly, Leslie didn't care. Before she could even try to move towards it, the light grew in size, getting larger and larger, until-</p> <p>"…lo? Hellooooooo?"</p> <p>Leslie was… somewhere. She could hear something… someone. Someone she didn't recognize. She… she could feel her body. Was she alive again?</p> <p>"I… M… Mer…" Leslie tried to speak, but it seemed like something was different about her voice module.</p> <p>"Fuck yeah, it worked!" the voice said.</p> <p>Leslie could see a vague shape moving around her. The room she was in was a sterile white, and she was lying on a cold, metallic surface.</p> <p>"Wh… whe-re?" Leslie managed to get out.</p> <p>"What? You don't recognize this place?" The voice spoke again. "Okay, shit… Maybe I screwed some shit up trying to reboot your robotics…"</p> <p>Leslie could see the shape move quickly around the room, but her eyes couldn't follow. She was trapped in her own body. She couldn't even move her wings.</p> <p>"Oh… God…" Leslie panicked, "Help… help…"</p> <p>"Shit, hold on," the voice said. "I got this, just don't… don't scream the whole time, okay?"</p> <p>"He-elp…" Leslie squeaked out again. "HE-ELP!"</p> <p>Leslie could hear a sound of crackling behind her—electricity buzzing. Was this hell? Was there a special hell reserved for insects that do bad things? Was her brief romantic escapade really going to give her an eternity of punishment?</p> <p>"Why?" Leslie spat out. "Why? Why? Why?"</p> <p>Leslie could feel the heat of something behind her, and for a moment, everything returned to black. For a moment, she wished she had stayed there.</p> <p>But… certain enough, everything was… fine. Her vision wasn't blurring, her nerve endings were functional… but she felt empty, for some reason. Physically empty, as if something from inside her abdomen had been removed.</p> <p>"Shit, I hate working with organic cybernetics…" the voice said. "But it'll be all worth it, right?"</p> <p>Leslie stretched her limbs, finally gathering the strength to turn around to face the voice. She was met with a thin man, his eyes a pale blue, and his hair a short, curly mop plopped unceremoniously on his head. Leslie couldn't tell if he was 20 and tired or 45 and healthy.</p> <p>"Worth… what?" Leslie asked. "What is going on?"</p> <p>Leslie's eyes glanced around in panic, surveying her surroundings. It didn't take long before she realized where she was. While it wasn't hell, it was certainly the next closest place. This was the Foundation.</p> <p>"Look, maybe things started on the wrong foot, but I can explain everything," the man said. "You can call me Gregory, by the way."</p> <p>Reasonably, Leslie didn't want to be afraid, but… no. She knew what she did was wrong. Well, wrong to the Foundation. There's simply no way that she wouldn't be punished for her indiscretion, for her violation of her directive. The only way she could even have a chance at living—at seeing Merle again—was to act calmly and cooperate.</p> <p>Leslie simulated a short huff, and flattened her wings, "Gregory. It's nice to meet you. You can call me Leslie."</p> <p>"Wait, what?" Gregory said, scratching his head. "That… hm."</p> <p>"I know that I'm not supposed to have a name, but… well, I was given one by someone I care very deeply about," Leslie explained. "I know I'm supposed to just be 2432, but… please at least let me have this."</p> <p>"No, I know about the name," Gregory brushed off. "What I'm confused about is how you still remember it. I mean…"</p> <p>Gregory scratched his chin and scrunched his face.</p> <p>"Look, I just want you to do something for me, okay?" Gregory tried to explain. "At first, I wanted to get something to monitor some asshole in Finland, but after reading up on-"</p> <p>"That's a rude thing to say," Leslie pointed out.</p> <p>"You know, you're right. Let me correct myself," Gregory said. "He's an <em>enormous</em> asshole."</p> <p>"That's not any better!" Leslie shouted.</p> <p>"You don't know the guy like I do," Gregory snapped back, "but again, he's not relevant right now. I wanted to do… an experiment."</p> <p>"Experiment?" Leslie asked.</p> <p>"I read your file. I watched the footage you recorded from your time with Merle," Gregory said.</p> <p>Leslie froze. Oh god, what was going to happen? Vivisection? Torture? She knew that she would be punished, but now there's-</p> <p>"I want to see what happens if you drink <em>my</em> blood," Gregory finally said.</p> <p>Leslie… Well, she was already frozen in fear, but this made her just stop altogether.</p> <p>"Drink your blood?" Leslie asked.</p> <p>"Look, it's weird, but I just… I want to see what happens," Gregory said. "I mean, considering what happened when you drank that other guy's blood, I'm mostly curious at this point."</p> <p>"He's not just some other guy," Leslie corrected.</p> <p>"I know, I know. I… look, I don't get moved by this stuff often, but it was cute," Gregory admitted. "And… well, I've been going through a lot with work, and that guy I told you about…"</p> <p>Gregory swallowed hard, unsure if he could really say the words he wanted to say. He inhaled, and then continued his thought.</p> <p>"I just wanted to know if it was possible to… have someone close to me like you and Merle were close," Gregory said. "I know I won't be him, b-but I think we could get along!"</p> <p>"You… but…" the words were practically tumbling out from Leslie, "I don't know who you are! You're just coming here and telling me that I need to give up on Merle and be with you instead?"</p> <p>Gregory paused, thinking momentarily. This was a road bump he didn't expect, but now he just kind of felt like an asshole for basically asking someone in a committed relationship to cheat on their partner.</p> <p>"You… you don't have to give up on Merle," Gregory said. "And if your issue with this is that you don't know me, then… we could go on a date first!"</p> <p>Leslie huffed, "Seriously? Do you not hear yourself?"</p> <p>"I mean…" Gregory sighed, "Yeah, no, I hear myself. That's… fuck me…"</p> <p>Gregory put his hands to his mouth and closed his eyes tightly, internally cursing himself for thinking with his dick this much. He wanted to blame Peppa Pig for this, but he knew that this was just his own oversight.</p> <p>"Honestly, this has been going… way different than how I expected," Gregory admitted. "I just kind of thought that you would be… you know, just a regular drone again? After dying and all…"</p> <p>Gregory's face scrunched up even tighter.</p> <p>"Eugh, that sounds a lot creepier out loud. 'Sorry for all of this; I thought you'd be an amnesiac who I could date and play League of Legends with'," Gregory mocked himself. "Christ, I need a fucking break…"</p> <p>Leslie sighed, "I just… you said you saw… what happened? With Merle?"</p> <p>"The video footage, anyway," Gregory said.</p> <p>"Do you know what happened to him after I died?" Leslie asked.</p> <p>"Oh, right. Um… well…" Gregory scratched his head. "In a literal sense, he's fine. He's just… he's not gonna remember you in the same way."</p> <p>Leslie tilted her head, "What do you mean he's not going to remember me?"</p> <p>"Well, he remembers a relationship with someone named Leslie, but he remembers it as a… normal relationship. You know…" Gregory gestured vaguely with his hands, "a human relationship? Amnestics and shit."</p> <p>"Is there… any way that I can see him? I just want to…" Leslie paused.</p> <p>In reality, she didn't know what she wanted to do if she found him. If Merle really doesn't remember her as she was, but instead remembers having an entirely different relationship, is he still the same person?</p> <p>And if he had changed, would he still love her?</p> <p>"I'm sorry, Leslie," Gregory said, interrupting her internal thought. "I'll see what I can do, but no promises. I honestly shouldn't even be here."</p> <p>"Shouldn't… be here?" Leslie asked.</p> <p>"I mean… in a technical sense, I'm allowed. I got clearance to take your corpse and try to revive it for useful information, but… I didn't exactly say that I wanted to take you on a date instead," Gregory admitted. "So… honestly, I can't really see any of the higher ups allowing you to leave without some convincing."</p> <p>Gregory paused, hoping Leslie would say something, but she was silent.</p> <p>"But maybe I can be convincing? I dunno, I have kinda been in hot water with my site's director, but… She can come around to a lot of stuff. Maybe she'll pull some strings herself?" Gregory offered.</p> <p>Leslie remained silent for a lot longer than Gregory had wanted. Gregory was worried at this point that he had just come here to make himself look like a degenerate in front of a mosquito.</p> <p>"I can tell that you're trying to make things better, Gregory," Leslie said, "I appreciate that, but… I just…"</p> <p>Leslie struggled to find the right words.</p> <p>"It's a lot to process," Leslie finally said.</p> <p>Gregory wanted to say something to empathize, but his foot had spent enough time in his mouth today already. He didn't really want to say anything more, anyway. He was stewing in his own cringe. Leslie had her own thoughts to manage, so they were met with yet another break in the conversation.</p> <p>"Have you ever loved anyone, Gregory?" Leslie said, breaking the silence.</p> <p>The words surprised Gregory. It's not that he didn't have an answer for it; he just didn't expect to be confronted with it.</p> <p>"Me? No. No chance," he shook his head. "I've been too busy for a lot of that stuff these days. It's why I kinda wanted to expedite the process. Move things along."</p> <p>"Well… then I suppose this will be… hard to explain," Leslie said. "I lived for a month. You know this, right?"</p> <p>"Yeah, I do."</p> <p>"And for the majority of that month, my entire life revolved around one person, and that was Merle," Leslie explained. "It may be normal for people to move on if… if someone they love has already moved on, but it's… hard for me. I had nobody else until I had him, and then we had each other, and then…"</p> <p>Leslie simulated sniffling, as if she were about to cry.</p> <p>"And then we were done. I was dead," Leslie stated. "I want to see him, tell him I'm fine, but… if he's moved on, one way or another… who am I to suddenly force myself back into his life?"</p> <p>"Jesus…" Gregory said in reply.</p> <p>For the first time since their meeting, Gregory finally pulled up a chair to sit down, bringing the two of them to eye level.</p> <p>"That sounds… really fucking heavy," Gregory continued. "I… I brought you back for the wrong reasons. I'm genuinely sorry for that. I don't know if I can get you a chance to meet Merle again, but… at the very least, what I can do is make sure you're not put back in the cooler. I have your body on rental, after all."</p> <p>Leslie simulated a laugh at the absurdity of the statement.</p> <p>"Thank you. L-like I said, you… don't have to do that. I was just rash and… temperamental," Leslie said. "I'd like the closure, but… I don't even know if it'll be something I can actually handle."</p> <p>Gregory gave a curt laugh, "The one good thing about not dating is never getting dumped. So at least I have that going for me."</p> <p>Leslie simulated another laugh.</p> <p>"You're funny," Leslie said. "Thank you. Really, thank you."</p> <p>"Yeah, yeah…" Gregory looked away. "I'll see what I can do to at the very least get you reinstated as a Foundation Agent. I'm sure we can get something worked out with the whole… I dunno, exchange of information deal? You giving a firsthand report of your time with Merle is probably worth something."</p> <p>"Thank you…" Leslie said again, interrupting herself with another simulated laugh, "S-Sorry, I'm saying 'thank you' a lot. You've just… really been helpful."</p> <p>"It's fine," Gregory shrugged. "It's… it's what I do. I solve problems."</p> <p>Gregory felt a sense of pride at saying that out loud. Even if he didn't get what he wanted coming here, he was going to leave with a sense of confidence that he very much needed.</p> <p>Leslie, on the other hand… she wasn't sure how she felt. Even in spite of her talk, she still wanted to see Merle… but she did truly believe in what she said. Who was she to want to do that to Merle? Who could she be without him in her life?</p> <p>She figured that there was a way to find out.</p> <p>"You know," Leslie said, once again taking the initiative to break the silence, "I don't think I've properly been on a date."</p> <p>Gregory quirked an eyebrow. "What? Yes you have; I saw you do a bunch of stay-in movie dates with Merle in your file."</p> <p>"Well… yes, I suppose," Leslie said, "but they were all… I don't want to sound like I was ungrateful for them, but it felt like a routine after a while. A well-loved and thoughtful routine, but one that felt less like a date and more like a nightly ritual."</p> <p>"What would you consider a date, then?" Gregory asked.</p> <p>"Going out somewhere? Getting food, going to a park, going dancing, something like that," Leslie said. "Something romantic."</p> <p>"Well, it's a good thing you said no to my date offer, because I was just gonna do a stay-in date and teach you to play League," Gregory laughed. "We would <em>not</em> have gotten along."</p> <p>"League?" Leslie asked.</p> <p>"League of Legends. It's a game I like," Gregory admitted. "I figured that because you're part cybernetic you could just, I don't know, play better? Or at least learn fast."</p> <p>"I mean…" Leslie looked away, "I'm not opposed to learning new things."</p> <p>Gregory's eyes widened, and he quickly stood up from the table, scooping Leslie up in his hand.</p> <p>"Wh-whoa!" Leslie exclaimed. "What's the rush?"</p> <p>"My guy, you just gave me the best news I could hear today," Gregory said. "I'm gonna teach you to be the best Support player in the world."</p> <p>Leslie didn't know what was going on, but… Gregory seemed happy. It would be a long time before she could get over Merle, if she ever did, but at least she knew that she wouldn't have to be alone in order to do it.</p> <hr/> <p><strong>This piece was written for <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/romcon">RomCon</a>, hosted by <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/uraniumempire" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(1613974); return false;"><img alt="UraniumEmpire" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=1613974&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1720188747" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=1613974)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/uraniumempire" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(1613974); return false;">UraniumEmpire</a></span>! Make sure to check out my opponent, <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/sytycfanon" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(7894627); return false;"><img alt="SYTYCFanon" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=7894627&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1720188747" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=7894627)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/sytycfanon" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(7894627); return false;">SYTYCFanon</a></span>'s entry <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/love-in-the-time-of-chugwater">here!</a></strong></p> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/moving-on">Moving On</a>" by OthellotheCat, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/moving-on">https://scpwiki.com/moving-on</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] "Dear… Director… Richter…" Gregory spoke aloud as he typed his e-mail, "You… stupid… fucking… moron…" "I don't think they'll listen to you if you call them that," Researcher Maria Johnston said, reading over his shoulder. Gregory rolled his eyes. "Look, I'm not actually going to send this draft," Gregory said, erasing what he just typed, "But I still need to say //something// to her, right? I mean, can you //believe// that she actually let that guy go free? I mean, we've contained entire civilizations before. We've contained minor gods! Why does //he// get the easy treatment?" The "He" in this situation referred to Gregory Chudley's most recent thorn in his side, POI-6940, or as they prefer to be called, "PeppaPigsStrongestSoldier1337". Though technically, they also like to be referred to as "The King of Finland". Whatever their name was, the Foundation had them in containment, and for a reason that Gregory couldn't fathom, he was let free. "Greg, I get it," Maria said, trying to be empathetic. "This guy… he's gotten under your skin. But he's a troll, and feeding into it like this is only going to make it worse." Gregory turned back to his computer and began typing again. Maria only sighed and sat in the chair across from him, knowing that it'd be a long time before Gregory would let this go. "Yeah, it'll be worse for //him//," Gregory said, typing loudly. "I'm going to get surveillance drones, an entire Mobile Task Force… no, TWO Task Forces on his ass!" "I'm sure that'll be what happens," Maria chuckles, rolling her eyes. "I'm not going to vouch for you if this gets you a suspension, though. I'm actively telling you //not// to do this, because calling your superior a moron in writing is going to get you a demotion to janitor." "Then you should do it too, so we can be demoted together!" Gregory laughed. "I hear that the Sanitation Department gets pizza parties on the first Saturday of every month." "Greg, fuck, no," Maria said. Gregory groaned and stood up from his chair, pacing around. "But really, don't you get it, Maria?" Gregory asked. "There's a reality bender that powerful just //out// there, and they're doing nothing about keeping him in check! You can't think he'd just be better on his own, right?" "I don't," Maria said, "but like I said, just… let it go. Okay? They wouldn't do this without good reason, right?" Gregory pulled his chair back to sulk in it. "There isn't anything that you can do right now that won't result in you overreaching your position or, worse, making that kid you hate so much feel cocky because he knows he's gotten under your skin," Maria said, trying to soothe him. "Maybe just… I don't know, take a break? Play some games or something, that'll get the rage out, I'm sure." "You sound like my mother trying to be cool," Gregory snarked. "But fine, you're probably right. I'll clock out for an extended lunch break and just… I don't know. Play League or something." "That's the spirit!" Maria smiled. "And you'll be my Support, right?" Gregory said, looking up expectantly at Maria. "I…" Maria started to speak but then paused for an uncomfortably long time. "Come on, you're the only one that'll do it! I'm not about to queue up with some rando and have them ruin my game. You're the only Janna player with more than half a brain." "Greg… I can't play right now." Maria said, looking away. "It's not that I don't like playing with you, I-" Gregory said, rubbing his eyes with his hands, "No, it's fine. I get it. I'll just have to carry on my own, then." Maria took a moment to choose her words very carefully. Gregory was still her friend, but she was at an impasse. Obviously, she wanted to help Gregory with his stress, but… god, there was no way that she was going to do that by playing League with him. She knows her limits. "I know you will. You always do," Maria said encouragingly. Gregory just turned back to his computer. "I… I should go," Maria said awkwardly. "There's nothing I can do to get you to support me?" Gregory asked. "For Peppa, you know I have your back in spirit," Maria said. "But in League? I'll have to pass." Maria turned and walked out the door, closing it behind her. Gregory checked briefly to make sure he was really alone. "Fuck, man…" Gregory said to himself, "It's like nobody has my back around here anymore." Being alone was a familiar feeling, and one that, to an extent, he reveled in… but he kind of missed having a duo. He missed being able to have someone he knew he could rely on no matter what—someone he could shoot the shit with, fight with, and joke with. Maria was his friend and all, but there were just some things the two of them couldn't do together. He wanted something more, something… deeper… Gregory shook away these thoughts. He stared at his screen for a while, thinking about what to do. Writing that email was certainly cathartic, but playing League would probably be a healthier and less job-risking way to relieve stress. But… that goddamn Peppa Pig… "How does nobody else see what I see? A reality bender on that scale is just… just!... ugh!" Gregory threw up his hands in frustration. Gregory sat and thought for a long time about what to do next, pondering every pro and con in a reasonable, measured fashion. Naturally, he resolved to follow a rational and appropriate course of action: He was going to circumvent needing his Director's approval, and search for a way to monitor Peppa Pig himself. "Surely there's something I could use… some kind of robot on loan… o-or a former Agent that needs a job and would keep quiet about it… something like that…" Gregory muttered to himself while searching through files in the site database. "Come on… come-" Gregory paused. Something about the file he just stumbled upon struck him. "SCP-3774… Object Class… Neutralized," Gregory whispered aloud. "Cybernetically modified mosquitoes… covertly survey PoIs… wait…" Gregory underlined the line on the document with his finger to make sure that he was reading it right. "'In most cases, instances of SCP-3774 have tried to'… court subjects?" Gregory said. "What the fuck?" The entire document screamed bizarre to Gregory, and he was used to bizarre. Not only did the Foundation somehow breed cybernetics into a species of mosquito, but these mosquitoes apparently fell hopelessly in love with whoever they drank the blood of? That was stupid. It was ridiculous. It was… "No, no." Gregory shook his head. "Get that shit out of your head, Gregory. It's a fucking mosquito. You're not going to get anything out of… out of…" Gregory re-read the words on the screen again. And again. Suddenly, his mind started to drift… "I wonder if those cybernetics allow them to play League…" ------ "God, please don't go like this…" "Please stay with me, please!…" "I love you, Leslie…" Leslie could only barely make out Merle's final words to her as she finally passed. She didn't want to go… God, she didn't want to go… but she knew that she was out of time. She only hoped that Merle would have something to remember her by, and that he would keep being happy long after her death. That was all she wanted… And then darkness. It wasn't a surprise, she thought. After all, what kind of afterlife would there be for someone like her? There wasn't a bug heaven; at least she assumed there wasn't. She sighed in her mind, knowing that this was… it. This was her end. She felt nothing but emotions washing over her. No longer could she hear the gentle sounds of Merle's breath as he slept. No longer could they laugh over old movies together. No longer could she feel his gentle touch as he held her in a single cupped hand. She seemingly couldn't even look forward to being rejoined with Merle when he, too, died. Everything was… it was gone. Everything was… gone? In the distance, there was… something. Small, but bright. A light? A trick of the eye? Honestly, Leslie didn't care. Before she could even try to move towards it, the light grew in size, getting larger and larger, until- "…lo? Hellooooooo?" Leslie was… somewhere. She could hear something… someone. Someone she didn't recognize. She… she could feel her body. Was she alive again? "I… M… Mer…" Leslie tried to speak, but it seemed like something was different about her voice module. "Fuck yeah, it worked!" the voice said. Leslie could see a vague shape moving around her. The room she was in was a sterile white, and she was lying on a cold, metallic surface. "Wh… whe-re?" Leslie managed to get out. "What? You don't recognize this place?" The voice spoke again. "Okay, shit… Maybe I screwed some shit up trying to reboot your robotics…" Leslie could see the shape move quickly around the room, but her eyes couldn't follow. She was trapped in her own body. She couldn't even move her wings. "Oh… God…" Leslie panicked, "Help… help…" "Shit, hold on," the voice said. "I got this, just don't… don't scream the whole time, okay?" "He-elp…" Leslie squeaked out again. "HE-ELP!" Leslie could hear a sound of crackling behind her—electricity buzzing. Was this hell? Was there a special hell reserved for insects that do bad things? Was her brief romantic escapade really going to give her an eternity of punishment? "Why?" Leslie spat out. "Why? Why? Why?" Leslie could feel the heat of something behind her, and for a moment, everything returned to black. For a moment, she wished she had stayed there. But… certain enough, everything was… fine. Her vision wasn't blurring, her nerve endings were functional… but she felt empty, for some reason. Physically empty, as if something from inside her abdomen had been removed. "Shit, I hate working with organic cybernetics…" the voice said. "But it'll be all worth it, right?" Leslie stretched her limbs, finally gathering the strength to turn around to face the voice. She was met with a thin man, his eyes a pale blue, and his hair a short, curly mop plopped unceremoniously on his head. Leslie couldn't tell if he was 20 and tired or 45 and healthy. "Worth… what?" Leslie asked. "What is going on?" Leslie's eyes glanced around in panic, surveying her surroundings. It didn't take long before she realized where she was. While it wasn't hell, it was certainly the next closest place. This was the Foundation. "Look, maybe things started on the wrong foot, but I can explain everything," the man said. "You can call me Gregory, by the way." Reasonably, Leslie didn't want to be afraid, but… no. She knew what she did was wrong. Well, wrong to the Foundation. There's simply no way that she wouldn't be punished for her indiscretion, for her violation of her directive. The only way she could even have a chance at living—at seeing Merle again—was to act calmly and cooperate. Leslie simulated a short huff, and flattened her wings, "Gregory. It's nice to meet you. You can call me Leslie." "Wait, what?" Gregory said, scratching his head. "That… hm." "I know that I'm not supposed to have a name, but… well, I was given one by someone I care very deeply about," Leslie explained. "I know I'm supposed to just be 2432, but… please at least let me have this." "No, I know about the name," Gregory brushed off. "What I'm confused about is how you still remember it. I mean…" Gregory scratched his chin and scrunched his face. "Look, I just want you to do something for me, okay?" Gregory tried to explain. "At first, I wanted to get something to monitor some asshole in Finland, but after reading up on-" "That's a rude thing to say," Leslie pointed out. "You know, you're right. Let me correct myself," Gregory said. "He's an //enormous// asshole." "That's not any better!" Leslie shouted. "You don't know the guy like I do," Gregory snapped back, "but again, he's not relevant right now. I wanted to do… an experiment." "Experiment?" Leslie asked. "I read your file. I watched the footage you recorded from your time with Merle," Gregory said. Leslie froze. Oh god, what was going to happen? Vivisection? Torture? She knew that she would be punished, but now there's- "I want to see what happens if you drink //my// blood," Gregory finally said. Leslie… Well, she was already frozen in fear, but this made her just stop altogether. "Drink your blood?" Leslie asked. "Look, it's weird, but I just… I want to see what happens," Gregory said. "I mean, considering what happened when you drank that other guy's blood, I'm mostly curious at this point." "He's not just some other guy," Leslie corrected. "I know, I know. I... look, I don't get moved by this stuff often, but it was cute," Gregory admitted. "And… well, I've been going through a lot with work, and that guy I told you about…" Gregory swallowed hard, unsure if he could really say the words he wanted to say. He inhaled, and then continued his thought. "I just wanted to know if it was possible to… have someone close to me like you and Merle were close," Gregory said. "I know I won't be him, b-but I think we could get along!" "You… but…" the words were practically tumbling out from Leslie, "I don't know who you are! You're just coming here and telling me that I need to give up on Merle and be with you instead?" Gregory paused, thinking momentarily. This was a road bump he didn't expect, but now he just kind of felt like an asshole for basically asking someone in a committed relationship to cheat on their partner. "You… you don't have to give up on Merle," Gregory said. "And if your issue with this is that you don't know me, then… we could go on a date first!" Leslie huffed, "Seriously? Do you not hear yourself?" "I mean…" Gregory sighed, "Yeah, no, I hear myself. That's… fuck me…" Gregory put his hands to his mouth and closed his eyes tightly, internally cursing himself for thinking with his dick this much. He wanted to blame Peppa Pig for this, but he knew that this was just his own oversight. "Honestly, this has been going… way different than how I expected," Gregory admitted. "I just kind of thought that you would be… you know, just a regular drone again? After dying and all…" Gregory's face scrunched up even tighter. "Eugh, that sounds a lot creepier out loud. 'Sorry for all of this; I thought you'd be an amnesiac who I could date and play League of Legends with'," Gregory mocked himself. "Christ, I need a fucking break…" Leslie sighed, "I just… you said you saw… what happened? With Merle?" "The video footage, anyway," Gregory said. "Do you know what happened to him after I died?" Leslie asked. "Oh, right. Um… well…" Gregory scratched his head. "In a literal sense, he's fine. He's just… he's not gonna remember you in the same way." Leslie tilted her head, "What do you mean he's not going to remember me?" "Well, he remembers a relationship with someone named Leslie, but he remembers it as a… normal relationship. You know…" Gregory gestured vaguely with his hands, "a human relationship? Amnestics and shit." "Is there… any way that I can see him? I just want to…" Leslie paused. In reality, she didn't know what she wanted to do if she found him. If Merle really doesn't remember her as she was, but instead remembers having an entirely different relationship, is he still the same person? And if he had changed, would he still love her? "I'm sorry, Leslie," Gregory said, interrupting her internal thought. "I'll see what I can do, but no promises. I honestly shouldn't even be here." "Shouldn't… be here?" Leslie asked. "I mean… in a technical sense, I'm allowed. I got clearance to take your corpse and try to revive it for useful information, but… I didn't exactly say that I wanted to take you on a date instead," Gregory admitted. "So… honestly, I can't really see any of the higher ups allowing you to leave without some convincing." Gregory paused, hoping Leslie would say something, but she was silent. "But maybe I can be convincing? I dunno, I have kinda been in hot water with my site's director, but… She can come around to a lot of stuff. Maybe she'll pull some strings herself?" Gregory offered. Leslie remained silent for a lot longer than Gregory had wanted. Gregory was worried at this point that he had just come here to make himself look like a degenerate in front of a mosquito. "I can tell that you're trying to make things better, Gregory," Leslie said, "I appreciate that, but… I just…" Leslie struggled to find the right words. "It's a lot to process," Leslie finally said. Gregory wanted to say something to empathize, but his foot had spent enough time in his mouth today already. He didn't really want to say anything more, anyway. He was stewing in his own cringe. Leslie had her own thoughts to manage, so they were met with yet another break in the conversation. "Have you ever loved anyone, Gregory?" Leslie said, breaking the silence. The words surprised Gregory. It's not that he didn't have an answer for it; he just didn't expect to be confronted with it. "Me? No. No chance," he shook his head. "I've been too busy for a lot of that stuff these days. It's why I kinda wanted to expedite the process. Move things along." "Well… then I suppose this will be… hard to explain," Leslie said. "I lived for a month. You know this, right?" "Yeah, I do." "And for the majority of that month, my entire life revolved around one person, and that was Merle," Leslie explained. "It may be normal for people to move on if… if someone they love has already moved on, but it's… hard for me. I had nobody else until I had him, and then we had each other, and then…" Leslie simulated sniffling, as if she were about to cry. "And then we were done. I was dead," Leslie stated. "I want to see him, tell him I'm fine, but… if he's moved on, one way or another… who am I to suddenly force myself back into his life?" "Jesus…" Gregory said in reply. For the first time since their meeting, Gregory finally pulled up a chair to sit down, bringing the two of them to eye level. "That sounds… really fucking heavy," Gregory continued. "I… I brought you back for the wrong reasons. I'm genuinely sorry for that. I don't know if I can get you a chance to meet Merle again, but… at the very least, what I can do is make sure you're not put back in the cooler. I have your body on rental, after all." Leslie simulated a laugh at the absurdity of the statement. "Thank you. L-like I said, you… don't have to do that. I was just rash and… temperamental," Leslie said. "I'd like the closure, but… I don't even know if it'll be something I can actually handle." Gregory gave a curt laugh, "The one good thing about not dating is never getting dumped. So at least I have that going for me." Leslie simulated another laugh. "You're funny," Leslie said. "Thank you. Really, thank you." "Yeah, yeah…" Gregory looked away. "I'll see what I can do to at the very least get you reinstated as a Foundation Agent. I'm sure we can get something worked out with the whole… I dunno, exchange of information deal? You giving a firsthand report of your time with Merle is probably worth something." "Thank you…" Leslie said again, interrupting herself with another simulated laugh, "S-Sorry, I'm saying 'thank you' a lot. You've just… really been helpful." "It's fine," Gregory shrugged. "It's… it's what I do. I solve problems." Gregory felt a sense of pride at saying that out loud. Even if he didn't get what he wanted coming here, he was going to leave with a sense of confidence that he very much needed. Leslie, on the other hand… she wasn't sure how she felt. Even in spite of her talk, she still wanted to see Merle… but she did truly believe in what she said. Who was she to want to do that to Merle? Who could she be without him in her life? She figured that there was a way to find out. "You know," Leslie said, once again taking the initiative to break the silence, "I don't think I've properly been on a date." Gregory quirked an eyebrow. "What? Yes you have; I saw you do a bunch of stay-in movie dates with Merle in your file." "Well… yes, I suppose," Leslie said, "but they were all… I don't want to sound like I was ungrateful for them, but it felt like a routine after a while. A well-loved and thoughtful routine, but one that felt less like a date and more like a nightly ritual." "What would you consider a date, then?" Gregory asked. "Going out somewhere? Getting food, going to a park, going dancing, something like that," Leslie said. "Something romantic." "Well, it's a good thing you said no to my date offer, because I was just gonna do a stay-in date and teach you to play League," Gregory laughed. "We would //not// have gotten along." "League?" Leslie asked. "League of Legends. It's a game I like," Gregory admitted. "I figured that because you're part cybernetic you could just, I don't know, play better? Or at least learn fast." "I mean…" Leslie looked away, "I'm not opposed to learning new things." Gregory's eyes widened, and he quickly stood up from the table, scooping Leslie up in his hand. "Wh-whoa!" Leslie exclaimed. "What's the rush?" "My guy, you just gave me the best news I could hear today," Gregory said. "I'm gonna teach you to be the best Support player in the world." Leslie didn't know what was going on, but… Gregory seemed happy. It would be a long time before she could get over Merle, if she ever did, but at least she knew that she wouldn't have to be alone in order to do it. ------ *This piece was written for [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/romcon RomCon], hosted by [[user UraniumEmpire]]! Make sure to check out my opponent, [[user SYTYCFanon]]'s entry [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/love-in-the-time-of-chugwater here!]* [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a> \|author=OthellotheCat]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-05-25T22:59:00	[ "_licensebox", "bittersweet", "greg-chudley", "leslie", "maria-johnston", "romance", "romcon2023-unofficial", "tale" ]	Moving On - SCP Foundation	20	[ "romcon", "love-in-the-time-of-chugwater", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "romcon" ]	[]	1447892499	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/moving-on
names-stricken	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div style="display: none;"> <div class="limit"> <div class="anchor"> <div class="authorbox tableb"><div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <table class="wiki-content-table"> <tr> <th>Names Stricken</th> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: center;"><span class="bt bb">Byㅤ</span> <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/lordxvnv" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(1813809); return false;"><img alt="LORDXVNV" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=1813809&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1736645433" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=1813809)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/lordxvnv" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(1813809); return false;">LORDXVNV</a></span></td> </tr> <tr> <th>Published on <span class="odate time_1681781999 format_%25d%20%25b%20%25Y">18 Apr 2023 01:39</span></th> </tr> </table> </div> </div></div> <br/></div> </div> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=2&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Aflopstyle-dark/2&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> </div> <div class="blockquote lightweight"> <h2 id="toc0"><span>Dramatis Personae</span></h2> <p>Our narrator, <em>JAMES NO-NAME,</em> abandoned to the Fundamentum at the tender age of seven, now eleven and studying at the Arcana Institute of Xerophylla to become a Phlegm Trooper and fight the hordes of Darkest Evropa</p> <p><em>LI,</em> a redheaded young woman who is of the Social Fire in the Blood Class at the Arcana Institute.</p> <p><em>ASHEWORT NOWAK,</em> a vain young man who perhaps has hidden depths, who has been groomed all his life to stand as a noble of the Burning Hollow in the Choler Class.</p> <p><em>ALLISON,</em> of the Sorrow Fall and the Bile Class. Daughter of a Professor at the Arcana Institute.</p> <p><em>COLE THEREVEN</em>, of the noble Vissonvir Therevens, who has elected to join the Academy and become a Phlegm Trooper.</p> <p><em>PROFESSOR LIGHT,</em> Matron of the Phlegm Class. James's current guardian. May or may not have a mysterious connection to Friar Clef… and Christ.</p> <p><em>THE STRICKEN PROFESSOR,</em> who shall be revealed…</p> <h2 id="toc1"><span>The Story So Far:</span></h2> <p><a href="/the-phlegmfont">The Beginning:</a> Our narrator, James, is abandoned at Holy Site-6248 and adopted by the kindly Friar Alto Clef, who raises him in the ways of the Fundamentum but also in the forbidden lore of Jesus Christ.</p> <p><a href="/the-road-to-arcana">The Start of the Journey:</a> Upon coming of age, James and the Friar set out on the open road to the Arcana Institute, where he meets the people who will shape his years to come…</p> <p><a href="/three-lessons-for-endless-night">Education:</a> At the Institute, James begins to learn the truth of the world and the powers that he shall one day call upon.</p> </div> <p>The endless night whiled away, the moon turning in the sky, bringing tides of red and black.</p> <p>At the end of our first month at the Arcana Institute, Professor Dan announced we would begin formal military skirmishes and training exercises.</p> <p>"All of you need to be battle-ready, even if you aren't doomed to war," he said. "Every single one of you. We'll be breaking you up into squads and assigning you to the Divisions."</p> <p>"I don't know why I'm here," Ashewort Nowak whined from his high seat performatively. "Why am I, a Burning Hollow, trying to sheepishly fight—"</p> <p>"Because, you little idiot," Professor Dan said, "If you don't know how to fight, then when you need to it'll be too late to learn."</p> <p>"But I—"</p> <p>"I was of the Social Fire, when I came to this place," Professor Dan said. "I was an aristocrat. I had more wealth and power than those of the Burning Hollow could ever dream of. You know where that got me? You know why I'm teaching you little suckers?"</p> <p>Nobody responded. Those of the Social Fire seemed rather uncomfortable.</p> <p>"I went too far — did something that violated the Fundamentum's provisions for those of my class — and I got exiled here. Not true exile, like Ben Kondracki, because in the end I was more useful as a teacher and a thinker than a footsoldier. But Ben didn't fear the blade — he studied it, in fact, when all his fellows were having youthful dalliances and making merriment — and that's how he's still a legend despite his disgrace."</p> <p>I was wondering what any of this had to do with anything, and from the sneer on Ashewort's face, he found the matter of little import.</p> <p>"Ben Kondracki. What rubbish. Is that name supposed to mean anything?"</p> <p>Professor Dan sighed.</p> <p>"You may have heard of him by another name. The Dragonrider."</p> <p>I did not know the significance of the name then. Friar Clef had told me of his old comrades who had fought besides him, but only in vague allusion and often with levels of familiarity that I would not recognize in my professors. He spoke of wise Sophia who wielded a sword of light, and it would be years before I realized he had spoken of the very same Sophia who was Professor Light, Matron of the Phlegm. Old Cog, who struck ruthlessly and mercilessly upon the field of battle, seemed so utterly distant from the distant and detached Headmaster Gears. He had regaled me of their tales of valor and trickery and, at times, sorrow.</p> <p>But of the Dragonrider, or of Ben Kondracki, he had spoken not at all. For once I was more ignorant than my peers. And it was only later, much later, when I had tasted of the fraternal love between brothers-in-arms, and the romantic love between men and men, and between men and women, that I realized this was not for some lack of valor, but because of a deep and lingering sorrow in his heart.</p> <p>"Alright," Ashewort Nowak said. "I'll participate in your stupid little skirmishes. But don't blame me if people get actually hurt."</p> <p>Professor Dan chuckled. "Kid, collateral damage is the name of the game here at the Institute. But don't worry. We haven't had a tragic accident before Arcana Selection in decades."</p> <hr/> <p>"This is just my luck," Li grumbled under her breath.</p> <p>She glanced at me furtively, and then heaved a heavy sigh and said her next words out of rote obligation: "No offense, James."</p> <p>I didn't blame her. Somehow, we had been grouped with Ashewort Nowak and Cole Thereven and assigned to Arch Division.</p> <p>I caught Allison's eye, and she gave me a curt nod. She was acting as our subcommander in Arch Division, as part of her duties as Professor Dan's teaching assistant.</p> <p>I didn't fully understand the Division system, or why it was fully necessary. The Arcana Institute was divided into three divisions: Arch Division, Pillar Division, and Gate Division. Each had an even mix from among all students, though mostly junior students were to fight other juniors, and senior students were to fight seniors.</p> <p>In each Division, we were grouped into Squads of five — two of Phlegm, one of Choler, one of Blood, and one of Bile. Cole and I were the Phlegm, Ashewort was the Choler, and Li was the Blood. Our Bile squad leader was Dora Cat, though as a Bileturd she got to spend more time learning strategy from Professor Dan. She reported to our subcommander Allison.</p> <p>We had, through a series of unfortunate events, been nicknamed "the Kitty Cats."</p> <p>""Alright, kitties," Allison said, singling us out. "The five of you are going to be on the first rotation. Nothing too intense. Go for a patrol around the Institute, take notes of literally everything you see, and Dora will bring those notes to me."</p> <p>"Why are we kitties?" Ashewort whined. "I'm not a—"</p> <p>Li smacked the back of the head as Dora kicked his shin. He crumpled over in pain.</p> <p>"Dora will pass them on to me, and we'll point out important things you might have missed. This isn't meant to be too intense or too taxing — but you need a baseline for what the Institute looks like at night, and you need to practice and hone your skills of perception."</p> <p>Li and Cole looked rather thoughtful at hearing that. Dora smirked, her mouth a :3 face, as if she already knew just how to do these things. Ashewort stared upwards at the roof of the Battle Hall resentfully, massaging himself.</p> <p>I for one believed it and understood it well. You see, once Friar Clef had pointed out the shape of the Phlegmfont to me, I hated myself for not realizing sooner. The Holy Bible of Christ was embarrassingly explicit about what crosses were. I would have to improve my perception, if I was to face the Hordes of Darkest Evropa and live to tell the tale.</p> <hr/> <p>After our third meal of waking, we arranged to meet outside of the Grand Hall. When Cole and I arrived, Dora and Li were already there. Dora was telling Li about a pagan pantheon of gods from the land of Greaze, and Li was pretending to sound interested.</p> <p>"So why didn't you try to make our squad the Wise Owls, instead of the Kitty Cats?" Li said.</p> <p>Dora practically purred at her. "Because, Li, you and I are both kind of feline, aren't we?"</p> <p>Li smirked at her. It didn't reach her eyes. "I don't know what that means."</p> <p>"Hi," I said dumbly.</p> <p>"Hi," Cole also said dumbly. "We're sticking together, right?"</p> <p>"Of course," Dora said. "This is a test of my leadership ability, but I think that's a really good idea, Colin."</p> <p>"It's Cole."</p> <p>"Sorry, Cal. I think it would be a really good idea for us to stick together so we don't have anything to worry about."</p> <p>I nodded. The grounds of the Arcana Institute were pretty safe, but the fact of the matter is that when alone, everyone dies in the dark.</p> <p>Just then Ashewort Nowak showed up.</p> <p>"I think we should split up," he said. "I, of the Burning Hollow, am strong enough to do my patrols by myself. I can cover half of it, and all the rest of you weaklings…"</p> <p>I had no objection to this. Li rolled her eyes, while Dora pursed her lips, but didn't seem too upset.</p> <p>"Come on, Ashe!" Cole said. "We're going to be seeing a lot of each other! Do you really want to be all on your own? For the rest of your life?"</p> <p>"They dared to lay hands on my person," Ashewort said. "They dared to touch me, Ashewort Nowak, of the Ancient and Noble Bloodline of Nowak—"</p> <p>"I don't get full credit if we split up," Dora said. "And if I don't get full credit, it means I can throw you under the bus so that you don't get full credit either. Which means bad stuff."</p> <p>"Oh, spare me, you <em>pagan,</em>" Ashewort sneered. "You think I care about <em>grades?</em>"</p> <p>"I think," Dora said, "that you care about getting to be an armchair magician instead of battle fodder."</p> <p>"I don't have to worry about that," Li said, looking at her fingernails. "Perks of the Social Flame over the Burning Hollow."</p> <p>"What, because you share answers through your mindfire during tests?"</p> <p>"No, because they like us more."</p> <p>Ashewort fumed. "Fine. I'll play along."</p> <p>Cole and I, of course, had no such considerations. We were doomed to battle either way. Though if he was lucky, Cole would get to be a cook or entertainer. Such was the life of the working class, to waste our health for the elite in whatever form.</p> <hr/> <div class="scp-image-block block-center" style="width:100%;"><img alt="corridors.jpg" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/names-stricken/corridors.jpg"/> <div class="scp-image-caption"> <p>Beneath the Light of the Moon.</p> </div> </div> <p>The grounds of the Arcana Institute were as dark as they always were. The moon was a sliver on this night, so the grounds were less red than usual, and the Arcana Lamps cast their iridescent glow, spectral greens and purples dancing across the campus. I led the way, and Cole guarded our rear. Ashewort and Li guarded our flanks, with Dora in the center of us all.</p> <p>The night was quiet, silent except for our footsteps on the solid black stone of the Great Spyres and the floors of the Arcana Institute, and the occasional distant screech of a U-Mouthed Gluck Gluck Owl. Whenever the owl's echoing hoot reached our ears, Dora would perk up and look into the distance, before regaining her composure. I was not the only one to take note of this; Ashewort started snickering the third or so time she did so, only to be silenced by her threatening to claw his face.</p> <p>"Can we just get this over with?" Li said in a high whisper. "Honestly, I don't want to have to do this again."</p> <p>"There's nothing out here," Ashewort said. "Just the building. Just stone and moon and darkness. So much pointless darkness."</p> <p>"I thought you were of the Burning Hollow, shouldn't you be used to this by now?"</p> <p>"It's not pointless," Cole said, oddly thoughtful, as he gazed out into the distance. "The moonlight, you can tell, it's red. It's beautiful, in a certain way. My parents told me that twelve generations or so ago, the moon was white. Can you imagine how cold and empty its light would have been? But now, in this thirteenth generation, wherever we go, the color of the moon is like the red of a hearth."</p> <p>A breeze blew past us. I wondered what he would say next.</p> <p>"Could you imagine a world where there was hot light coming from the sky? Imagine how dry it would be. All the moss on the ground, the mushrooms, they'd dry up and shrivel. The air would be hot and dry and painful. We probably wouldn't be here, right now, in this moment. A moment that I'm glad to share with the four of you."</p> <p>Oh, how cruel fate was. How cruel it was, to Cole of the Therevens. A child so pure as to seek this fate for himself out of the goodness of his heart, with the passion to share all that he was with the world. And to know what fate awaited him, from the grisly tales of Friar Clef.</p> <p>"…Well of course we wouldn't be here," Ashewort said. "If Yvith hadn't gone mad, then she wouldn't have unleashed the Darkest Hordes upon Darkest Evropa, and we wouldn't need to fight them."</p> <p>"You're worse than Willie Wettle," Li said. "I thought he was insufferable."</p> <p>Dora looked at Cole sadly. "It's almost a waste you'll be going out there to fight as Phlegm."</p> <p>"Nothing is wasted," Cole said. "Not if you believe in it."</p> <hr/> <p>We could have stood there for hours, as the moon fell beneath the horizon and the Arcana Lamps flickered away. We could have, had we not been interrupted.</p> <p>"What's that?" Li said, pointing at a crumpled figure on the ground. I could not tell you if it had been there a minute before.</p> <p>I immediately sprang into action. I could feel the Phlegm of Christ buzzing through my muscles and my nerves, telling me that something was wrong. And yet, my thinking mind chided me. This could be mere excitement that something had happened on my first patrol. An unwary child's reaction to danger.</p> <p>Cole immediately joined me by my side. He pulled out his slingshot, which he called "Honesty", because honesty was the key to good communication, and good communication won wars.</p> <p>"Maybe we should get a professor," Ashewort Nowak said.</p> <p>"Don't be silly," I heard myself saying. "We're on patrol, aren't we? We're supposed to take care of things here."</p> <p>I approached, Cole by my side. The figure was wrapped in robes of black cloth, like some foul demon. It had a shock of deep red hair upon its head, and all the skin on its face was missing.</p> <p>"Ashewort's right," Dora said. "Ashewort, stay here to give them support. I'll send up a flare on the Arcana Lamp network. Come on, Li."</p> <p>The girls went to get help, and Cole and I continued looking at the crumpled figure.</p> <p>I could not tell whether it was alive or dead. I had never seen a dead body before, but it seemed to me that no human could survive having the skin on its face ripped off, exposing all the muscle. It lay there, completely lifeless. There was a pendant around its neck, with a jewel inset, glinting the color of the moon. Cole reached towards it, but I held him back.</p> <p>"Don't," I said. "Maybe that's what killed it."</p> <p>And then its eyes jolted open.</p> <p>We stumbled back, all three of us, Cole, Ashewort, me.</p> <p>"Children…" it said, shambling towards us, arms grasping towards us in a twisted parody of benediction. "I can show you a world… where the sun is back… I can show you the truth…"</p> <p>"Get away… get away!" Ashewort shouted nervously.</p> <p>"They're lying to you… the Fundamentum wants to churn you into paste… throw you away… your precious, precious lives away… They're telling you stories, lies about why they want you to fight…"</p> <p>"What's… what's the truth?" I found myself asking. Perhaps this man was a Christian of another sort, some master of forbidden lore. This time, Cole grabbed me, tried to pull me back, but I stood there, shaking them off, even as Ashewort and Cole stumbled even further back.</p> <p>"I can show you…" the walking corpse said.</p> <p>"Just… touch my keystone and all shall become clear…"</p> <p>And he raised the pendant towards me. I found myself reaching towards it, reaching my hand towards that gem that caught the light of the moon and the pale Arcanagleam of the lamps, found myself reaching towards the truth—</p> <p>And then a glowing sword, shining a white so pure it blinded my eyes, severed the corpse's arm.</p> <p>Its arm fell to the ground, the amulet clattering against the rock of the Great Spyre, and it screamed. A terrible, maniacal scream, echoing throughout the Arcana Institute, becoming a gluttering when the glowing sword slashed through its throat. No blood spurted forth, only the heaving of dry air.</p> <p>Then it fell to the ground. It dissolved, becoming particles of shadow that vanished into the night. The amulet hissed, releasing black streams of smoke into the night. It collapsed into a puddle, in the shape of an Arcana card, with numbers inscribed within it, before that, too, vanished, becoming nothingness.</p> <p>And there, radiant in the aura of the glowing blade, was its wielder. Professor Light.</p> <p>She clutched the glowing sword tightly in one hand. Her golden hair was down, billowing gently in the stirring night wind, and she was wearing a white robe that flowed about her like a moonlit cloud.</p> <p>As I was mesmerized by her radiance, she held the sword to my throat.</p> <p>"Are you in there?" she hissed. Then her features softened. "Of course not. It vanished into the darkness, with the husk."</p> <p>The sword vanished, the light fading, leaving no blade behind, only a card in Professor Light's hands and a bead of blood on my neck. It too had been a weapon called forth from an Arcana. She returned it to her robes before I could get a better look at it.</p> <p>"What… what was that?" Ashewort said. "Why did you— I'm going to tell my father about this!"</p> <p>"Damien Nowak knows the risks of this place," Professor Light said. "And it surprises me that he did not inform his only son and heir of one of the greatest of them."</p> <p>"What was that?" Cole said. "My parents never mentioned it either."</p> <p>Li and Dora seemed similarly ignorant.</p> <p>"A foul demon whose taint remains over this place," Professor Light said. "Every moment of every year, we risk confronting its legacy. A stealer of forms. A corrupter of all things good in this place. We dare not speak its name — but we all know it. The Stricken Professor."</p> <hr/> <p>Professor Light brought us to her office, where she shared with us some biscuits. For Cole and I she poured each a glass of Yvithphlegm. Though the liquid was cold, it soothed my soul as I felt it coating the inside of my esophagus.</p> <p>It had been a tragic coincidence that our first patrol had coincided with the first manifestation of the perennial blight on the Arcana Institute's grounds for the year: The Stricken Professor.</p> <p>The Stricken Professor — Professor Light found it caused her too much sorrow to refer to it by its original name— had been one of their holy number — a Professor at the Arcana Institute, with all the honors and accolades that entailed. The creature had fought bravely at their side the Hordes of Darkest Evropa and the Kiwis of Terra Australis. But upon graduation, the Stricken Professor had not been satisfied with mere retirement to scholasticism and education.</p> <p>The Stricken Professor had started beningly enough. It had bound its soul to the mortal world, in strong violation of the interplay of He-Who-Made-Light and She-Who-Made-Dark. In our youth, the mere act of seeking immortality was anathema, associated with vampires and their dreadful ilk. I would learn far later that it was not immortality itself that was corrupt. In fact, those who had their souls bound to Arcana cards were immortal in a sense — we could only die particularly heroic or particularly just deaths, which was why the Institute was so cavalier with our safety. So at the time I did not question the inherent corruption of the act, and yet in the following years there arose in me a grim clarity:</p> <p>Why would an immortal seek further immortality?</p> <p>To become ungovernable on earth, and escape the law of heaven.</p> <p>(<em>True</em> eternal life, instead of some cursed half-life, was only possible through Christ.)</p> <p>The Stricken Professor hadn't stopped there. It had investigated four ancient demons, whose powers far surpassed the pactbound fae of the modern day. The Jack of Hearts, Lahir, Manipulator of Lust. The Jack of Clubs, Lankelt, Bringer of Wrath. The Jack of Spades, Hektare, Bearer of Agony. The Jack of Diamonds, Ogre, Harbinger of Despair.</p> <p>Professor Light told us that it had tried to bind these into its personal Arcana Matrix, mingling the very essence of the Four Jacks with the sulfur of its soul instead of integrating them into the outer Paradigm. I barely followed what she had meant by that. It was only years later that I understood the magnitude of the crime: To bind oneself with the world itself, to allow the power to change one's own nature, and in doing so reshape the world in one's own image unnaturally.</p> <p>For when we keep our Arcana in our outer paradigm, we govern it. But allow it into the soul, and it governs us instead. And yet breaking that barrier of the soul, exposing one's self so purely to the outside world is a fast and twisted way to transcend barriers, to exert the gravity of ego upon the outside world.</p> <p>The Stricken Professor had been a foul demon who had abused his position at the Institute to commit a number of crimes, until he had done crimes against nature so vile that the Fundamentum itself had tried to erase him from memory.</p> <p>But his experiments had given him a way to cling on to life, through his forbidden Arcana, and so every year, under the Shawl of night, he would return and try to steal the forms of soldiers, and every year the Professors would slay him. It was very fortunate, Professor Light had said, scratching at her collar, that none of us had been turned. And she said, very sternly to me in particular, that I should never consider touching magical artifacts held by deeply suspicious beings.</p> <p>I assented. I had almost given in to an incredibly lax lapse of judgment, and lost myself completely. Yet still my mind was elsewhere.</p> <p>The creature's offers of the truth had been deceptions, but I had discovered another. For when Professor Light was scratching at her collar, with her spike-scarred hands, I saw another faint scar.</p> <p>The faintest scar in the shape of a cross.</p> <hr/> <div class="earthworm earthworm--old-syntax-first-false earthworm--old-syntax-last-false earthworm--old-syntax-hub-yes {$class}"> <div class="first earthworm__previous" data-title="Three Lessons for Endless Night"> <p><a href="/three-lessons-for-endless-night">Three Lessons for Endless Night</a></p> </div> <div class="hub earthworm__hub" data-title="NIGHTFALL: QUI LACTIS"> <p><a href="/qui-lactis">NIGHTFALL: QUI LACTIS</a></p> </div> <div class="last earthworm__next" data-title="???"> <p><a href="/">???</a></p> </div> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <hr/> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">More by LORDXVNV</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">Hide</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <hr/> <div style="font-weight: bold;"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><span style="font-size:120%;">Other works by <a href="/lordxvnv">LORDXVNV!</a></span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-box"> <table class="wiki-content-table"> <tr> <th colspan="2"><span style="font-size:120%;">SCPs</span></th> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/scp-6987">SCP-6987</a></td> <td>Rating: 467</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/scp-8008">SCP-8008</a></td> <td>Rating: 337</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/scp-7069">SCP-7069</a></td> <td>Rating: 268</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/scp-7997">SCP-7997</a></td> <td>Rating: 217</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/scp-6572">SCP-6572</a></td> <td>Rating: 202</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/scp-6433">SCP-6433</a></td> <td>Rating: 167</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/scp-1337-ex">SCP-1337-EX</a></td> <td>Rating: 161</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/scp-7715">SCP-7715</a></td> <td>Rating: 120</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/scp-7335">SCP-7335</a></td> <td>Rating: 90</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/scp-6248">SCP-6248</a></td> <td>Rating: 88</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/scp-7576">SCP-7576</a></td> <td>Rating: 68</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/scp-1392">SCP-1392</a></td> <td>Rating: 54</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/scp-7634">SCP-7634</a></td> <td>Rating: 52</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/scp-6510">SCP-6510</a></td> <td>Rating: 43</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/scp-7272">SCP-7272</a></td> <td>Rating: 43</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/scp-8814">SCP-8814</a></td> <td>Rating: 20</td> </tr> </table> </div><div class="list-pages-box"> <table class="wiki-content-table"> <tr> <th colspan="2"><span style="font-size:120%;">Tales</span></th> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/top-5-colleges">These 5 Colleges are the Best for Learning Dark Powers! Number 1 Will SHOCK You!</a></td> <td>Rating: 259</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/requiem-for-ice-spider">Requiem For Ice Spider</a></td> <td>Rating: 154</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/cck-class-copyright-infringement-lawsuit-scenario">CCK-Class--Sorry, Original Character Interaction Story</a></td> <td>Rating: 152</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/a-faerie-tale-of-twin-queens">A Faerie Tale Of Twin Queens</a></td> <td>Rating: 90</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/mountainous-essophysics">Mountainous Essophysics</a></td> <td>Rating: 87</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/taking-the-reinz">Taking The Reinz</a></td> <td>Rating: 84</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/insurance">Insurance</a></td> <td>Rating: 83</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/ecce-insurgo">Ecce Insurgo</a></td> <td>Rating: 83</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/garfield-timeline">Garfield Timeline</a></td> <td>Rating: 80</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/unreal-sushi">alex thorley dreams of sushi.</a></td> <td>Rating: 79</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/muddy-skies">Muddy Skies</a></td> <td>Rating: 71</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/life-can-be-a-surprise">Life Can Be A Surprise</a></td> <td>Rating: 65</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/miau-miau-asheworth-kun">Miau Miau, Asheworth-kun</a></td> <td>Rating: 64</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/man-on-a-mission">Man on a Mission</a></td> <td>Rating: 61</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/the-smog-wastes-of-neoamerica">Lampeter Registrar Entry: The Smog-Wastes of NeoAmerica</a></td> <td>Rating: 57</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/capslock-collusion">CAPSLOCK COLLUSION</a></td> <td>Rating: 56</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/teamwork">Teamwork</a></td> <td>Rating: 55</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/the-phlegmfont">The Phlegmfont</a></td> <td>Rating: 47</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/the-arcana-institute-of-xerophylla">The Arcana Institute Of Xerophylla</a></td> <td>Rating: 43</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/we-live-in-a-society">WE LIVE IN A SOCIETY</a></td> <td>Rating: 42</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/cheesus">Cheese Is Risen</a></td> <td>Rating: 41</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/the-road-to-arcana">The Road To Arcana</a></td> <td>Rating: 38</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/three-lessons-for-endless-night">Three Lessons for Endless Night</a></td> <td>Rating: 37</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/but-never-trees">But Never Trees.</a></td> <td>Rating: 36</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/names-stricken">Names Stricken</a></td> <td>Rating: 33</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/ghost-signal">Ghost Signal</a></td> <td>Rating: 29</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/thereven-germination">THEREVEN: GERMINATION</a></td> <td>Rating: 28</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/deusvolt">Deus Volt!</a></td> <td>Rating: 26</td> </tr> </table> </div><div class="list-pages-box"> <table class="wiki-content-table"> <tr> <th colspan="2"><span style="font-size:120%;">GOI Formats</span></th> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/spc-6500">SPC-6500: INFINITESIMAL</a></td> <td>Rating: 152</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/spc-1981">SPC-1981: RONALD REAGAN SHARKED UP WHILE TALKING</a></td> <td>Rating: 99</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/spc-105">SPC-105: WORLD IRIS</a></td> <td>Rating: 87</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/spc-179">SPC-179: GLORIOUS BEACON</a></td> <td>Rating: 84</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/spc-1258">SPC-1258: CERULEAN GLOVE</a></td> <td>Rating: 80</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/hist-327-comparative-mythology-of-mekhanism-and-naelkae">HIST.327: Comparative Mythology of Mekhanism and Nälkä</a></td> <td>Rating: 76</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/project-proposal-2007-012">Project Proposal 2007-012: "A Life Well Lived"</a></td> <td>Rating: 72</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/kte-6990-mendel-nimuebusterchild">KTE-6990-Mendel-Nimuebusterchild — "Werebeast Curse"</a></td> <td>Rating: 70</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/milkssiah">The Milkssiah</a></td> <td>Rating: 62</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/a-wandsman-in-a-vegas-cathouse">A Wandsman in a Vegas Cathouse</a></td> <td>Rating: 52</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/1-staar-cuttt-2-5">1 Staar Cuttt 2 5</a></td> <td>Rating: 45</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/a-wandsman-in-the-greaze-lands-of-kansas">A Wandsman In The Greaze Lands Of Kansas</a></td> <td>Rating: 43</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/spc-166">SPC-166: CERISE CERES</a></td> <td>Rating: 42</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/spc-1548">SPC-1548</a></td> <td>Rating: 39</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/spc-cn-985">SPC-CN-985: FIST CONTACT</a></td> <td>Rating: 32</td> </tr> </table> </div><div class="list-pages-box"> <table class="wiki-content-table"> <tr> <th colspan="2"><span style="font-size:120%;">Hubs</span></th> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/goldbaker-reinz-hub">Goldbaker-Reinz Hub</a></td> <td>Rating: 108</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/april-fools-hub">April Fools Hub</a></td> <td>Rating: 51</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/qui-lactis">NIGHTFALL: Qui Lactis</a></td> <td>Rating: 40</td> </tr> </table> </div> <h2 id="toc2"><span>Collaborations!</span></h2> <table class="wiki-content-table"> <tr> <th colspan="3"><span style="font-size:120%;">SCPs</span></th> </tr> <tr> <th>Page</th> <th>Title</th> <th>Co-Author</th> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/scp-6301">SCP-6301</a></td> <td>Funky Finn's Children Happy Hour</td> <td><span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/grigori-karpin" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(4558017); return false;"><img alt="Grigori Karpin" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=4558017&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043740" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=4558017)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/grigori-karpin" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(4558017); return false;">Grigori Karpin</a></span>, <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/gremlingroup" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5287352); return false;"><img alt="GremlinGroup" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=5287352&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043740" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=5287352)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/gremlingroup" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5287352); return false;">GremlinGroup</a></span></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/scp-6447">SCP-6447</a></td> <td>Sinners' Symphony</td> <td>Many.</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/scp-6483">SCP-6483</a></td> <td>The Polar Express</td> <td><span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/ralliston" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5986843); return false;"><img alt="Ralliston" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=5986843&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043740" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=5986843)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/ralliston" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5986843); return false;">Ralliston</a></span></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/scp-6542">SCP-6542</a></td> <td>Virgin Dairy 2: SECOND CHURNING</td> <td><span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/jakdragonx" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5588260); return false;"><img alt="JakdragonX" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=5588260&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043740" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=5588260)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/jakdragonx" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5588260); return false;">JakdragonX</a></span></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/scp-6596">SCP-6596</a></td> <td>8 Mile: The Beast of Lust and Hatred Born</td> <td><span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/plaguepjp" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5813664); return false;"><img alt="PlaguePJP" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=5813664&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043740" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=5813664)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/plaguepjp" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5813664); return false;">PlaguePJP</a></span></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/scp-6760">SCP-6760</a></td> <td>Better Luck Next Time</td> <td><span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/liryn" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(6254643); return false;"><img alt="Liryn" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=6254643&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043740" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=6254643)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/liryn" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(6254643); return false;">Liryn</a></span></td> </tr> <tr> <th colspan="3"><span style="font-size:120%;">Tales</span></th> </tr> <tr> <th colspan="2">Page</th> <th>Co-Author</th> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"><a href="/a-nightmare-dreary">A Nightmare Dreary</a></td> <td><span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/dododevil" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(1854139); return false;"><img alt="DodoDevil" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=1854139&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043740" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=1854139)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/dododevil" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(1854139); return false;">DodoDevil</a></span>, <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/drgooday" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5301801); return false;"><img alt="DrGooday" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=5301801&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043740" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=5301801)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/drgooday" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5301801); return false;">DrGooday</a></span>, <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/lan-2d" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5241510); return false;"><img alt="LAN 2D" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=5241510&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043740" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=5241510)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/lan-2d" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5241510); return false;">LAN 2D</a></span>, <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/impperatrix" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(7191955); return false;"><img alt="Impperatrix" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=7191955&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043740" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=7191955)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/impperatrix" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(7191955); return false;">Impperatrix</a></span></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"><a href="/the-bathrooms-wiki">The Bathrooms Wiki</a></td> <td><span style="font-size:150%;"><span style="color: red"><strong>THE YURT</strong></span></span></td> </tr> <tr> <th colspan="3"><span style="font-size:120%;">Hubs</span></th> </tr> <tr> <th colspan="2">Page</th> <th>Co-Author</th> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"><a href="/spc-hub">SPC Hub</a></td> <td><span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/mrwrong" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(2039383); return false;"><img alt="MrWrong" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=2039383&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043740" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=2039383)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/mrwrong" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(2039383); return false;">MrWrong</a></span>, <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/lt-flops" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(1735419); return false;"><img alt="Lt Flops" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=1735419&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043740" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=1735419)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/lt-flops" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(1735419); return false;">Lt Flops</a></span>, <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/peppersghost" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(1553042); return false;"><img alt="PeppersGhost" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=1553042&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043740" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=1553042)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/peppersghost" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(1553042); return false;">PeppersGhost</a></span></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"><a href="/holiday-hub">Holiday Hub</a></td> <td><span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/deadly-bread" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(3988532); return false;"><img alt="Deadly Bread" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=3988532&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043740" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=3988532)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/deadly-bread" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(3988532); return false;">Deadly Bread</a></span>, <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/peppersghost" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(1553042); return false;"><img alt="PeppersGhost" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=1553042&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043740" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=1553042)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/peppersghost" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(1553042); return false;">PeppersGhost</a></span>, <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/theboxoffun" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5348991); return false;"><img alt="TheBoxOfFun" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=5348991&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1735043740" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=5348991)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/theboxoffun" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5348991); return false;">TheBoxOfFun</a></span></td> </tr> </table> </div> </div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">Hide</a></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/names-stricken">Names Stricken</a>" by LORDXVNV, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/names-stricken">https://scpwiki.com/names-stricken</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> <p><strong>Images:</strong></p> <ul> <li>[<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bright_days_in_sunny_lands_(1904)_(14803215933).jpg">https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bright_days_in_sunny_lands_(1904)_(14803215933).jpg</a>] by Honeyman, A. Van Doren (Abraham Van Doren), 1849-1936, Public Domain, modified by LORDXVNV</li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[div style="display: none;"]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:flopstyle-dark">:scp-wiki:theme:flopstyle-dark</a> witching-hour=a]] [[/div]] [[>]] [[module rate]] [[/>]] [[div class="blockquote lightweight"]] ++ Dramatis Personae Our narrator, //JAMES NO-NAME,// abandoned to the Fundamentum at the tender age of seven, now eleven and studying at the Arcana Institute of Xerophylla to become a Phlegm Trooper and fight the hordes of Darkest Evropa //LI,// a redheaded young woman who is of the Social Fire in the Blood Class at the Arcana Institute. //ASHEWORT NOWAK,// a vain young man who perhaps has hidden depths, who has been groomed all his life to stand as a noble of the Burning Hollow in the Choler Class. //ALLISON,// of the Sorrow Fall and the Bile Class. Daughter of a Professor at the Arcana Institute. //COLE THEREVEN//, of the noble Vissonvir Therevens, who has elected to join the Academy and become a Phlegm Trooper. //PROFESSOR LIGHT,// Matron of the Phlegm Class. James's current guardian. May or may not have a mysterious connection to Friar Clef... and Christ. //THE STRICKEN PROFESSOR,// who shall be revealed... ++ The Story So Far: [[[the-phlegmfont\|The Beginning:]]] Our narrator, James, is abandoned at Holy Site-6248 and adopted by the kindly Friar Alto Clef, who raises him in the ways of the Fundamentum but also in the forbidden lore of Jesus Christ. [[[the-road-to-arcana\|The Start of the Journey:]]] Upon coming of age, James and the Friar set out on the open road to the Arcana Institute, where he meets the people who will shape his years to come... [[[three lessons for endless night\|Education:]]] At the Institute, James begins to learn the truth of the world and the powers that he shall one day call upon. [[/div]] The endless night whiled away, the moon turning in the sky, bringing tides of red and black. At the end of our first month at the Arcana Institute, Professor Dan announced we would begin formal military skirmishes and training exercises. "All of you need to be battle-ready, even if you aren't doomed to war," he said. "Every single one of you. We'll be breaking you up into squads and assigning you to the Divisions." "I don't know why I'm here," Ashewort Nowak whined from his high seat performatively. "Why am I, a Burning Hollow, trying to sheepishly fight--" "Because, you little idiot," Professor Dan said, "If you don't know how to fight, then when you need to it'll be too late to learn." "But I--" "I was of the Social Fire, when I came to this place," Professor Dan said. "I was an aristocrat. I had more wealth and power than those of the Burning Hollow could ever dream of. You know where that got me? You know why I'm teaching you little suckers?" Nobody responded. Those of the Social Fire seemed rather uncomfortable. "I went too far -- did something that violated the Fundamentum's provisions for those of my class -- and I got exiled here. Not true exile, like Ben Kondracki, because in the end I was more useful as a teacher and a thinker than a footsoldier. But Ben didn't fear the blade -- he studied it, in fact, when all his fellows were having youthful dalliances and making merriment -- and that's how he's still a legend despite his disgrace." I was wondering what any of this had to do with anything, and from the sneer on Ashewort's face, he found the matter of little import. "Ben Kondracki. What rubbish. Is that name supposed to mean anything?" Professor Dan sighed. "You may have heard of him by another name. The Dragonrider." I did not know the significance of the name then. Friar Clef had told me of his old comrades who had fought besides him, but only in vague allusion and often with levels of familiarity that I would not recognize in my professors. He spoke of wise Sophia who wielded a sword of light, and it would be years before I realized he had spoken of the very same Sophia who was Professor Light, Matron of the Phlegm. Old Cog, who struck ruthlessly and mercilessly upon the field of battle, seemed so utterly distant from the distant and detached Headmaster Gears. He had regaled me of their tales of valor and trickery and, at times, sorrow. But of the Dragonrider, or of Ben Kondracki, he had spoken not at all. For once I was more ignorant than my peers. And it was only later, much later, when I had tasted of the fraternal love between brothers-in-arms, and the romantic love between men and men, and between men and women, that I realized this was not for some lack of valor, but because of a deep and lingering sorrow in his heart. "Alright," Ashewort Nowak said. "I'll participate in your stupid little skirmishes. But don't blame me if people get actually hurt." Professor Dan chuckled. "Kid, collateral damage is the name of the game here at the Institute. But don't worry. We haven't had a tragic accident before Arcana Selection in decades." ----- "This is just my luck," Li grumbled under her breath. She glanced at me furtively, and then heaved a heavy sigh and said her next words out of rote obligation: "No offense, James." I didn't blame her. Somehow, we had been grouped with Ashewort Nowak and Cole Thereven and assigned to Arch Division. I caught Allison's eye, and she gave me a curt nod. She was acting as our subcommander in Arch Division, as part of her duties as Professor Dan's teaching assistant. I didn't fully understand the Division system, or why it was fully necessary. The Arcana Institute was divided into three divisions: Arch Division, Pillar Division, and Gate Division. Each had an even mix from among all students, though mostly junior students were to fight other juniors, and senior students were to fight seniors. In each Division, we were grouped into Squads of five -- two of Phlegm, one of Choler, one of Blood, and one of Bile. Cole and I were the Phlegm, Ashewort was the Choler, and Li was the Blood. Our Bile squad leader was Dora Cat, though as a Bileturd she got to spend more time learning strategy from Professor Dan. She reported to our subcommander Allison. We had, through a series of unfortunate events, been nicknamed "the Kitty Cats." ""Alright, kitties," Allison said, singling us out. "The five of you are going to be on the first rotation. Nothing too intense. Go for a patrol around the Institute, take notes of literally everything you see, and Dora will bring those notes to me." "Why are we kitties?" Ashewort whined. "I'm not a--" Li smacked the back of the head as Dora kicked his shin. He crumpled over in pain. "Dora will pass them on to me, and we'll point out important things you might have missed. This isn't meant to be too intense or too taxing -- but you need a baseline for what the Institute looks like at night, and you need to practice and hone your skills of perception." Li and Cole looked rather thoughtful at hearing that. Dora smirked, her mouth a :3 face, as if she already knew just how to do these things. Ashewort stared upwards at the roof of the Battle Hall resentfully, massaging himself. I for one believed it and understood it well. You see, once Friar Clef had pointed out the shape of the Phlegmfont to me, I hated myself for not realizing sooner. The Holy Bible of Christ was embarrassingly explicit about what crosses were. I would have to improve my perception, if I was to face the Hordes of Darkest Evropa and live to tell the tale. ------ After our third meal of waking, we arranged to meet outside of the Grand Hall. When Cole and I arrived, Dora and Li were already there. Dora was telling Li about a pagan pantheon of gods from the land of Greaze, and Li was pretending to sound interested. "So why didn't you try to make our squad the Wise Owls, instead of the Kitty Cats?" Li said. Dora practically purred at her. "Because, Li, you and I are both kind of feline, aren't we?" Li smirked at her. It didn't reach her eyes. "I don't know what that means." "Hi," I said dumbly. "Hi," Cole also said dumbly. "We're sticking together, right?" "Of course," Dora said. "This is a test of my leadership ability, but I think that's a really good idea, Colin." "It's Cole." "Sorry, Cal. I think it would be a really good idea for us to stick together so we don't have anything to worry about." I nodded. The grounds of the Arcana Institute were pretty safe, but the fact of the matter is that when alone, everyone dies in the dark. Just then Ashewort Nowak showed up. "I think we should split up," he said. "I, of the Burning Hollow, am strong enough to do my patrols by myself. I can cover half of it, and all the rest of you weaklings..." I had no objection to this. Li rolled her eyes, while Dora pursed her lips, but didn't seem too upset. "Come on, Ashe!" Cole said. "We're going to be seeing a lot of each other! Do you really want to be all on your own? For the rest of your life?" "They dared to lay hands on my person," Ashewort said. "They dared to touch me, Ashewort Nowak, of the Ancient and Noble Bloodline of Nowak--" "I don't get full credit if we split up," Dora said. "And if I don't get full credit, it means I can throw you under the bus so that you don't get full credit either. Which means bad stuff." "Oh, spare me, you //pagan,//" Ashewort sneered. "You think I care about //grades?//" "I think," Dora said, "that you care about getting to be an armchair magician instead of battle fodder." "I don't have to worry about that," Li said, looking at her fingernails. "Perks of the Social Flame over the Burning Hollow." "What, because you share answers through your mindfire during tests?" "No, because they like us more." Ashewort fumed. "Fine. I'll play along." Cole and I, of course, had no such considerations. We were doomed to battle either way. Though if he was lucky, Cole would get to be a cook or entertainer. Such was the life of the working class, to waste our health for the elite in whatever form. ------ [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:image-block">:scp-wiki:component:image-block</a> name=corridors.jpg \| caption=Beneath the Light of the Moon. \| align=center \| width=100% ]] The grounds of the Arcana Institute were as dark as they always were. The moon was a sliver on this night, so the grounds were less red than usual, and the Arcana Lamps cast their iridescent glow, spectral greens and purples dancing across the campus. I led the way, and Cole guarded our rear. Ashewort and Li guarded our flanks, with Dora in the center of us all. The night was quiet, silent except for our footsteps on the solid black stone of the Great Spyres and the floors of the Arcana Institute, and the occasional distant screech of a U-Mouthed Gluck Gluck Owl. Whenever the owl's echoing hoot reached our ears, Dora would perk up and look into the distance, before regaining her composure. I was not the only one to take note of this; Ashewort started snickering the third or so time she did so, only to be silenced by her threatening to claw his face. "Can we just get this over with?" Li said in a high whisper. "Honestly, I don't want to have to do this again." "There's nothing out here," Ashewort said. "Just the building. Just stone and moon and darkness. So much pointless darkness." "I thought you were of the Burning Hollow, shouldn't you be used to this by now?" "It's not pointless," Cole said, oddly thoughtful, as he gazed out into the distance. "The moonlight, you can tell, it's red. It's beautiful, in a certain way. My parents told me that twelve generations or so ago, the moon was white. Can you imagine how cold and empty its light would have been? But now, in this thirteenth generation, wherever we go, the color of the moon is like the red of a hearth." A breeze blew past us. I wondered what he would say next. "Could you imagine a world where there was hot light coming from the sky? Imagine how dry it would be. All the moss on the ground, the mushrooms, they'd dry up and shrivel. The air would be hot and dry and painful. We probably wouldn't be here, right now, in this moment. A moment that I'm glad to share with the four of you." Oh, how cruel fate was. How cruel it was, to Cole of the Therevens. A child so pure as to seek this fate for himself out of the goodness of his heart, with the passion to share all that he was with the world. And to know what fate awaited him, from the grisly tales of Friar Clef. "...Well of course we wouldn't be here," Ashewort said. "If Yvith hadn't gone mad, then she wouldn't have unleashed the Darkest Hordes upon Darkest Evropa, and we wouldn't need to fight them." "You're worse than Willie Wettle," Li said. "I thought he was insufferable." Dora looked at Cole sadly. "It's almost a waste you'll be going out there to fight as Phlegm." "Nothing is wasted," Cole said. "Not if you believe in it." ------ We could have stood there for hours, as the moon fell beneath the horizon and the Arcana Lamps flickered away. We could have, had we not been interrupted. "What's that?" Li said, pointing at a crumpled figure on the ground. I could not tell you if it had been there a minute before. I immediately sprang into action. I could feel the Phlegm of Christ buzzing through my muscles and my nerves, telling me that something was wrong. And yet, my thinking mind chided me. This could be mere excitement that something had happened on my first patrol. An unwary child's reaction to danger. Cole immediately joined me by my side. He pulled out his slingshot, which he called "Honesty", because honesty was the key to good communication, and good communication won wars. "Maybe we should get a professor," Ashewort Nowak said. "Don't be silly," I heard myself saying. "We're on patrol, aren't we? We're supposed to take care of things here." I approached, Cole by my side. The figure was wrapped in robes of black cloth, like some foul demon. It had a shock of deep red hair upon its head, and all the skin on its face was missing. "Ashewort's right," Dora said. "Ashewort, stay here to give them support. I'll send up a flare on the Arcana Lamp network. Come on, Li." The girls went to get help, and Cole and I continued looking at the crumpled figure. I could not tell whether it was alive or dead. I had never seen a dead body before, but it seemed to me that no human could survive having the skin on its face ripped off, exposing all the muscle. It lay there, completely lifeless. There was a pendant around its neck, with a jewel inset, glinting the color of the moon. Cole reached towards it, but I held him back. "Don't," I said. "Maybe that's what killed it." And then its eyes jolted open. We stumbled back, all three of us, Cole, Ashewort, me. "Children..." it said, shambling towards us, arms grasping towards us in a twisted parody of benediction. "I can show you a world... where the sun is back... I can show you the truth..." "Get away... get away!" Ashewort shouted nervously. "They're lying to you... the Fundamentum wants to churn you into paste... throw you away... your precious, precious lives away... They're telling you stories, lies about why they want you to fight..." "What's... what's the truth?" I found myself asking. Perhaps this man was a Christian of another sort, some master of forbidden lore. This time, Cole grabbed me, tried to pull me back, but I stood there, shaking them off, even as Ashewort and Cole stumbled even further back. "I can show you..." the walking corpse said. "Just... touch my keystone and all shall become clear..." And he raised the pendant towards me. I found myself reaching towards it, reaching my hand towards that gem that caught the light of the moon and the pale Arcanagleam of the lamps, found myself reaching towards the truth-- And then a glowing sword, shining a white so pure it blinded my eyes, severed the corpse's arm. Its arm fell to the ground, the amulet clattering against the rock of the Great Spyre, and it screamed. A terrible, maniacal scream, echoing throughout the Arcana Institute, becoming a gluttering when the glowing sword slashed through its throat. No blood spurted forth, only the heaving of dry air. Then it fell to the ground. It dissolved, becoming particles of shadow that vanished into the night. The amulet hissed, releasing black streams of smoke into the night. It collapsed into a puddle, in the shape of an Arcana card, with numbers inscribed within it, before that, too, vanished, becoming nothingness. And there, radiant in the aura of the glowing blade, was its wielder. Professor Light. She clutched the glowing sword tightly in one hand. Her golden hair was down, billowing gently in the stirring night wind, and she was wearing a white robe that flowed about her like a moonlit cloud. As I was mesmerized by her radiance, she held the sword to my throat. "Are you in there?" she hissed. Then her features softened. "Of course not. It vanished into the darkness, with the husk." The sword vanished, the light fading, leaving no blade behind, only a card in Professor Light's hands and a bead of blood on my neck. It too had been a weapon called forth from an Arcana. She returned it to her robes before I could get a better look at it. "What... what was that?" Ashewort said. "Why did you-- I'm going to tell my father about this!" "Damien Nowak knows the risks of this place," Professor Light said. "And it surprises me that he did not inform his only son and heir of one of the greatest of them." "What was that?" Cole said. "My parents never mentioned it either." Li and Dora seemed similarly ignorant. "A foul demon whose taint remains over this place," Professor Light said. "Every moment of every year, we risk confronting its legacy. A stealer of forms. A corrupter of all things good in this place. We dare not speak its name -- but we all know it. The Stricken Professor." ------ Professor Light brought us to her office, where she shared with us some biscuits. For Cole and I she poured each a glass of Yvithphlegm. Though the liquid was cold, it soothed my soul as I felt it coating the inside of my esophagus. It had been a tragic coincidence that our first patrol had coincided with the first manifestation of the perennial blight on the Arcana Institute's grounds for the year: The Stricken Professor. The Stricken Professor -- Professor Light found it caused her too much sorrow to refer to it by its original name-- had been one of their holy number -- a Professor at the Arcana Institute, with all the honors and accolades that entailed. The creature had fought bravely at their side the Hordes of Darkest Evropa and the Kiwis of Terra Australis. But upon graduation, the Stricken Professor had not been satisfied with mere retirement to scholasticism and education. The Stricken Professor had started beningly enough. It had bound its soul to the mortal world, in strong violation of the interplay of He-Who-Made-Light and She-Who-Made-Dark. In our youth, the mere act of seeking immortality was anathema, associated with vampires and their dreadful ilk. I would learn far later that it was not immortality itself that was corrupt. In fact, those who had their souls bound to Arcana cards were immortal in a sense -- we could only die particularly heroic or particularly just deaths, which was why the Institute was so cavalier with our safety. So at the time I did not question the inherent corruption of the act, and yet in the following years there arose in me a grim clarity: Why would an immortal seek further immortality? To become ungovernable on earth, and escape the law of heaven. (//True// eternal life, instead of some cursed half-life, was only possible through Christ.) The Stricken Professor hadn't stopped there. It had investigated four ancient demons, whose powers far surpassed the pactbound fae of the modern day. The Jack of Hearts, Lahir, Manipulator of Lust. The Jack of Clubs, Lankelt, Bringer of Wrath. The Jack of Spades, Hektare, Bearer of Agony. The Jack of Diamonds, Ogre, Harbinger of Despair. Professor Light told us that it had tried to bind these into its personal Arcana Matrix, mingling the very essence of the Four Jacks with the sulfur of its soul instead of integrating them into the outer Paradigm. I barely followed what she had meant by that. It was only years later that I understood the magnitude of the crime: To bind oneself with the world itself, to allow the power to change one's own nature, and in doing so reshape the world in one's own image unnaturally. For when we keep our Arcana in our outer paradigm, we govern it. But allow it into the soul, and it governs us instead. And yet breaking that barrier of the soul, exposing one's self so purely to the outside world is a fast and twisted way to transcend barriers, to exert the gravity of ego upon the outside world. The Stricken Professor had been a foul demon who had abused his position at the Institute to commit a number of crimes, until he had done crimes against nature so vile that the Fundamentum itself had tried to erase him from memory. But his experiments had given him a way to cling on to life, through his forbidden Arcana, and so every year, under the Shawl of night, he would return and try to steal the forms of soldiers, and every year the Professors would slay him. It was very fortunate, Professor Light had said, scratching at her collar, that none of us had been turned. And she said, very sternly to me in particular, that I should never consider touching magical artifacts held by deeply suspicious beings. I assented. I had almost given in to an incredibly lax lapse of judgment, and lost myself completely. Yet still my mind was elsewhere. The creature's offers of the truth had been deceptions, but I had discovered another. For when Professor Light was scratching at her collar, with her spike-scarred hands, I saw another faint scar. The faintest scar in the shape of a cross. ------ [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:earthworm">:scp-wiki:component:earthworm</a> \| first=false \| last=false \| hub=yes\| previous-url=/three-lessons-for-endless-night\| previous-title=Three Lessons for Endless Night \| next-url=/\| next-title=??? \| hub-url=/qui-lactis\| hub-title=NIGHTFALL: QUI LACTIS ]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/more-by:lordxvnv">:scp-wiki:more-by:lordxvnv</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] ===== Images: * [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bright_days_in_sunny_lands_(1904)_(14803215933).jpg] by Honeyman, A. Van Doren (Abraham Van Doren), 1849-1936, Public Domain, modified by LORDXVNV ===== [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-04-18T01:39:00	[ "_cc", "_licensebox", "black-queen", "doctor-asheworth", "doctor-dan", "doctor-kondraki", "doctor-light", "doctor-lillihammer", "doctor-thereven", "nightfall", "tale" ]	Names Stricken - SCP Foundation	33	[ "the-phlegmfont", "the-road-to-arcana", "three-lessons-for-endless-night", "qui-lactis", "lordxvnv", "scp-6987", "scp-8008", "scp-7069", "scp-7997", "scp-6572", "scp-6433", "scp-1337-ex", "scp-7715", "scp-7335", "scp-6248", "scp-7576", "scp-1392", "scp-7634", "scp-6510", "scp-7272", "scp-8814", "top-5-colleges", "requiem-for-ice-spider", "cck-class-copyright-infringement-lawsuit-scenario", "a-faerie-tale-of-twin-queens", "mountainous-essophysics", "taking-the-reinz", "insurance", "ecce-insurgo", "garfield-timeline", "unreal-sushi", "muddy-skies", "life-can-be-a-surprise", "miau-miau-asheworth-kun", "man-on-a-mission", "the-smog-wastes-of-neoamerica", "capslock-collusion", "teamwork", "the-arcana-institute-of-xerophylla", "we-live-in-a-society", "cheesus", "but-never-trees", "ghost-signal", "thereven-germination", "deusvolt", "spc-6500", "spc-1981", "spc-105", "spc-179", "spc-1258", "hist-327-comparative-mythology-of-mekhanism-and-naelkae", "project-proposal-2007-012", "kte-6990-mendel-nimuebusterchild", "milkssiah", "a-wandsman-in-a-vegas-cathouse", "1-staar-cuttt-2-5", "a-wandsman-in-the-greaze-lands-of-kansas", "spc-166", "spc-1548", "spc-cn-985", "goldbaker-reinz-hub", "april-fools-hub", "scp-6301", "scp-6447", "scp-6483", "scp-6542", "scp-6596", "scp-6760", "a-nightmare-dreary", "the-bathrooms-wiki", "spc-hub", "holiday-hub", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "nightfall-hub", "qui-lactis", "black-queen-hub" ]	[ "https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/names-stricken/corridors.jpg" ]	1447414978	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/names-stricken
nantucket	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div class="psuedocrumbs"> <p><a href="/yggdrasils-surveyor">Yggdrasil's Surveyor Hub</a> » Nantucket</p> </div> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=3&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Adustjacket/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <div class="blockquote"> <p><em>There once was a man named Hopper<br/> Whose ability made him quite a showstopper.<br/> With a nauseous, dizzy feeling<br/> He'd shift and end up reeling<br/> At a new world that was quite the whopper.</em></p> <p><em>The people there communicate in limericks.<br/> It wasn't something they did just for kicks.<br/> No matter how painful the rhyme<br/> They did it all the time<br/> And if you didn't, well, there was a fix.</em></p> <p><em>The world had a memetic effect.<br/> It was quite a pain in Hopper's neck.<br/> It made him rhyme, too<br/> Even though it, he didn't want to do.<br/> But him, it did affect.</em></p> <p><em>It was difficult to get any info<br/> When you have to give your words a certain flow.<br/> There's a lot of rhymes for Yggdrasil<br/> But few that fit the bill<br/> When trying to find why the world was so.</em></p> <p><em>It was the work of the Jailors<br/> affecting the whole world down to the mailers.<br/> Something broke containment<br/> And told the Masquerade to get bent.<br/> Now everyone was rhyming wailers.</em></p> <p><em>The Foundation crumbled, of course<br/> When facing the power of the world's force.<br/> From the US to Lichtenstein<br/> No one thought their work was fine.<br/> And yet they were never able to find the source.</em></p> <p><em>Soon, life simply adjusted,<br/> People adapting to that which in they were thrusted.<br/> Movies were now quite long;<br/> Don't even get him started on the songs.<br/> But this was something that everyone just trusted.</em></p> <p><em>Hopper wouldn't shift for six weeks<br/> Resigning to not being able to properly speak.<br/> Turns out it also affects the way he writes<br/> And he thought to himself, "This bites!"<br/> It'll be a pain to transcribe what he seeks.</em></p> <p><em>The Merchants were still around.<br/> An unpleasant fact that he found.<br/> Though their language was more poetic<br/> Their "ethics" made people sick<br/> But they still traded power by the pound.</em></p> <p><em>The Merrymakers adapted to this strife<br/> And their commentary still struck like a knife.<br/> They were grateful for the meme<br/> But for Bones, it would seem<br/> they could not do meter to save their life.</em></p> <p><em>The Hand was flourishing and thriving<br/> Welcoming him to the Library after arriving.<br/> There were many more people reading books<br/> And exploring all of the nooks.<br/> And Hopper found what for he was striving.</em></p> <p><em>It was one of the <span style="color: green">folks without name</span><br/> Who turned speaking into such a game.<br/> One last act of spite<br/> On the Jailors who started their plight.<br/> "Damn," Hopper thought, "Such a shame."</em></p> <p><em>Eventually, mercifully, Hopper shifted back.<br/> But there was one hell of a setback.<br/> The limerick effect had stayed<br/> And so he called for aid.<br/> But a cure, the Hand currently lacked.</em></p> <p><em>So now Hopper lays down in his loft<br/> Forever grateful for a bed that was soft.<br/> But this waiting he can't stand;<br/> The Healers need to hurry and</em><br/> HELP ME TURN THIS DAMN THING OFF!</p> </div> <br/> <br/> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/nantucket">Nantucket</a>" by newnykacolaquantum, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/nantucket">https://scpwiki.com/nantucket</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[div class="psuedocrumbs"]] [[[yggdrasils-surveyor\|Yggdrasil's Surveyor Hub]]] » Nantucket [[/div]] [[module rate]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:black-highlighter-theme">:scp-wiki:theme:black-highlighter-theme</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:dustjacket">:scp-wiki:theme:dustjacket</a>]] [[div class="blockquote"]] //There once was a man named Hopper Whose ability made him quite a showstopper. With a nauseous, dizzy feeling He'd shift and end up reeling At a new world that was quite the whopper.// //The people there communicate in limericks. It wasn't something they did just for kicks. No matter how painful the rhyme They did it all the time And if you didn't, well, there was a fix.// //The world had a memetic effect. It was quite a pain in Hopper's neck. It made him rhyme, too Even though it, he didn't want to do. But him, it did affect.// //It was difficult to get any info When you have to give your words a certain flow. There's a lot of rhymes for Yggdrasil But few that fit the bill When trying to find why the world was so.// //It was the work of the Jailors affecting the whole world down to the mailers. Something broke containment And told the Masquerade to get bent. Now everyone was rhyming wailers.// //The Foundation crumbled, of course When facing the power of the world's force. From the US to Lichtenstein No one thought their work was fine. And yet they were never able to find the source.// //Soon, life simply adjusted, People adapting to that which in they were thrusted. Movies were now quite long; Don't even get him started on the songs. But this was something that everyone just trusted.// //Hopper wouldn't shift for six weeks Resigning to not being able to properly speak. Turns out it also affects the way he writes And he thought to himself, "This bites!" It'll be a pain to transcribe what he seeks.// //The Merchants were still around. An unpleasant fact that he found. Though their language was more poetic Their "ethics" made people sick But they still traded power by the pound.// //The Merrymakers adapted to this strife And their commentary still struck like a knife. They were grateful for the meme But for Bones, it would seem they could not do meter to save their life.// //The Hand was flourishing and thriving Welcoming him to the Library after arriving. There were many more people reading books And exploring all of the nooks. And Hopper found what for he was striving.// //It was one of the ##green\|folks without name## Who turned speaking into such a game. One last act of spite On the Jailors who started their plight. "Damn," Hopper thought, "Such a shame."// //Eventually, mercifully, Hopper shifted back. But there was one hell of a setback. The limerick effect had stayed And so he called for aid. But a cure, the Hand currently lacked.// //So now Hopper lays down in his loft Forever grateful for a bed that was soft. But this waiting he can't stand; The Healers need to hurry and// HELP ME TURN THIS DAMN THING OFF! [[/div]] _ [[include <a href="/component:license-box">component:license-box</a>]] [[include <a href="/component:license-box-end">component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-08-07T12:58:00	[ "_licensebox", "grabnok", "nameless", "poetry", "serpents-hand", "tale", "yggdrasil-s-surveyor" ]	Nantucket - SCP Foundation	5	[ "yggdrasils-surveyor", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "yggdrasils-surveyor", "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "serpent-s-hand-hub" ]	[]	1449298309	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/nantucket
near-the-mountains	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p>"It's more desolate than I thought."</p> <p>"What did you expect?"</p> <p>L2 and L3 spoke to each other, sitting in the open trunk of the team's pickup truck.</p> <p>"This part of the country was hit <em>very</em> hard," L2 said, gesturing to the ruined buildings around them. "We should count ourselves lucky there's anything left."</p> <p>L3 took another look around. "Think anything that big would be left alive in here?" He asked.</p> <p>"Survive the destruction?" L2 said. "No…"</p> <p>L2 took a swig from his canteen.</p> <p>"…I'm more worried about what crawled <em>out</em> of the rubble."</p> <p>L1 replied from the driver’s seat: "And our job is to find out what did.”</p> <p>The ham radio on the dashboard crackled to life.</p> <p>"MTF Lambda-12 ("Pest Control"). this is <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/secure-facility-dossier-site-81">Site-81</a>. Do you read?"</p> <p>L1 picked up the receiver. "Site-81. This is MTF Lambda-12 ("Pest Control"). We read you."</p> <p>"What's your status?"</p> <p>"Sector is empty,” L1 said. “No encounters with any entities since the incident with <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-4975">four-nine-seven-five</a>. Task Force currently searching for resupply."</p> <p>"Roger, MTF Lambda-12."</p> <p>L1 put away the receiver. "I still don't know how that thing escaped us,” He moved the steering wheel slightly, dodging the rusting remains of a van. “Much less escaped after… you know."</p> <p>"Tick. Tick. Tick." L4 said from the passenger seat, smiling. L2 and L3 laughed.</p> <p>"Oh shut up." L1 told him.</p> <p>They continued on down the road. Past the overgrown remains of buildings. Some of them had shadows burned into their walls, the last remnants of their occupants that had disappeared in a flash.</p> <p>The road was cracked, and rough. As they bounced around, L2 and L3 found it hard to hold their weapons with one hand while gripping the truck with the other. But that wasn't what took their attention.</p> <p>Few humans had been through here since that fateful day, that much was obvious. The land around them always gave off eerie feelings. Emptiness, solitude, a lack of life.</p> <p>"Hey!" L3 yelled. "Grocery store!"</p> <p>He pointed down the road, to where a building sat. It was wide, and covered in vines and cracks.</p> <p>"Looks sorta intact!"</p> <p>"Right you are," L1 said, turning the truck towards it. "Let's see if there's any goodies to grab."</p> <p>L2 kept his eyes forward, looking at L3 seated across from him. He could see L3 look towards the building with hope for something nice inside. Then his expression changed, he squinted his eyes. As he did, he took his hand off the truck, putting it on his gun.</p> <p>L2 did the same, following L3's gaze. He readied himself, anything could be out here after all.</p> <p>There was something moving in front of the building. It seemed vaguely orange in color, or possibly pink. It was holding something shiny.</p> <p>"What the hell…" L1 said, squinting towards it.</p> <p>As they drew closer, L2 could see it had a long, flat body, with two equally flat arms, all balancing on a long stem.</p> <p>"Is that a giant fucking leaf?" L3 asked.</p> <p>The leaf hopped forward by the end of its stem. In one of its arms was a long metal object with spikes on one end.</p> <p>"That's a weapon," L1 said. "Keep your guard up, it may be hostile." They began to pull into the parking lot of the building, where it was pacing around.</p> <p>The entity turned to them as they approached. It looked at them from the portion of its body L2 thought was the face, despite having no visible eyes.</p> <p>Whatever it was, it lifted its weapon as they stopped.</p> <p><em>"Hwa gao ware?"</em> It yelled.</p> <p><em>What is it saying?</em> L2 thought. It wasn’t like any language he’d heard.</p> <p>A few loud <em>clanks</em> followed as L2 and L3 hopped off the truck. They lifted their guns, not knowing what this creature’s next move could be.</p> <p><em>"Doe na om' nay krosa!"</em> It said, readying its weapon.</p> <p>L2 held his breath. There was only a moment to think. It was hard to determine its intentions. Especially hard when the creature was speaking another language. Even if it did sound slightly familiar…</p> <p><em>"Aye-a rani wit' a-anla da wa-"</em></p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><span style="font-size:larger;"><strong><em>BANG!</em></strong></span></p> </div> <p>L3 let out a single blow from his shotgun. It tore through the creature's paper-thin flesh, shredding it to ribbons. It fell to the ground, killed instantly.</p> <p>L3 looked to L2. Pointing a thumb at himself, he nodded towards the corpse. He then pointed his thumb to L2, nodding towards the open doorway into the building.</p> <p>L2 nodded back. As L3 stepped towards the corpse, L2 went through the doorway, his gun ready.</p> <p>The <em>clumps</em> of L2's feet rang out through the ruined interior of the store. Rusting shelves stood, dotted with dusty items. The cash registers sat closed, except for one. It was open, <em>freshly opened</em>. L2 looked to his left.</p> <p>He spotted it.</p> <p>This one was taller than the other one, but had no arms, and was a teal green color, lined with small spines. Next to it was a small woven bag, the top of a wine bottle sticking out the top.</p> <p>It looked back to him with surprise, like it had <a href="https://wanderers-library.wikidot.com/beyond-the-mountains">seen a ghost</a>. It raised up a stick. A stick that was tipped with a sharp, polished stone.</p> <p>L2 didn’t hesitate when he realized what it was.</p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><span style="font-size:larger;"><strong><em>BANG!</em></strong></span></p> </div> <p>A hundred metal pellets ripped through the big green leaf. It dropped its spear, then fell. L2 stepped closer, watching the creature wiggle around on the floor. A few moments later, it stopped.</p> <p>L2 stepped out of the store, back into the light.</p> <p>L1, L3, and L4 all crowded around the corpse of the first creature.</p> <p>"Should we get Theta-4 over here?" L4 jokingly asked.</p> <p>"Yeah," L3 said. "Like they still exist."</p> <p>L1 looked to L2 as he emerged from the building. "I heard a shot,” he said.</p> <p>"Found another one," L2 said. "Inside. It's dead.”</p> <p>L1 looked back down to the corpse.</p> <p>"Well," he said. "I don't know what to make of these."</p> <p>He nudged the simple metal weapon the creature had been holding.</p> <p>"But I don't think they'll get in our way in the future."</p> <p>L1 walked back to the truck. The other three ventured into the store, picking out anything useful they could find.</p> <p>L2 returned to the corpse of the creature he’d shot, the creature’s bag was still next to it. He examined it closer, rifling through the items. He found a few old coins, the type they used before the world was blown to bits. But the bottle of wine was the real prize.</p> <p>Looking closer, the label was torn, and very faded. L2 could barely make out the year <em>1998</em> on the bottle.</p> <p>“Hey guys,” he yelled. “I got us a treat for later.”</p> <p>L4 gave a small cheer from two aisles over.</p> <p>L2 took a last look at the body. He couldn’t help but wonder.</p> <p><em>Where did they come from? What were they speaking? Why were they here? <a href="https://wanderers-library.wikidot.com/tales-from-spears-to-flowers">Where did they come from?</a></em></p> <hr/> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">+ Input Site-81 Director Credentials</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">- Credentials Accepted</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p><strong>Note:</strong> <em>On ██/██/20██, routine maintenance work at Site-81 broke into a previously unknown storage room within the Archives Wing. Carbon dating of papers found within the file cabinets returned a result of 200(+/- 20) years of age. A portion of one of the few recovered documents, a log detailing previously unknown activities of Mobile Task Force Lambda-12 (“Pest Control”) has been transcribed below.</em></p> <blockquote> <p>5/15/████: Remains of the town of ████████ examined. No abnormal activity.</p> <p>5/19/████: Remains of the town of ████ examined. No abnormal activity.</p> <p>5/20/████: Sighting of an unknown flying entity at 0900, <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-6675">possibly a pterosaur</a>.</p> <p>5/27/████: Encounter with a hostile creature matching the description of <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-4975">SCP-4975</a>. Creature eluded attempt at containment. Current status unknown.</p> <p>5/31/████: Remains of the town of ██████ examined. No abnormal activity.</p> <p>6/05/████: Encounter with two unknown hostile creatures, both neutralized during altercation with Task Force. Described as large mobile leaves brandishing simple weapons and speaking an unknown language. No identification could be made with any known entity in Foundation records. Remains were not retrieved.</p> </blockquote> </div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">- Credentials Accepted</a></div> </div> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/near-the-mountains">Near the Mountains</a>" by Reasonably Psychotic, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/near-the-mountains">https://scpwiki.com/near-the-mountains</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module rate]] [[/>]] "It's more desolate than I thought." "What did you expect?" L2 and L3 spoke to each other, sitting in the open trunk of the team's pickup truck. "This part of the country was hit //very// hard," L2 said, gesturing to the ruined buildings around them. "We should count ourselves lucky there's anything left." L3 took another look around. "Think anything that big would be left alive in here?" He asked. "Survive the destruction?" L2 said. "No..." L2 took a swig from his canteen. "...I'm more worried about what crawled //out// of the rubble." L1 replied from the driver’s seat: "And our job is to find out what did.” The ham radio on the dashboard crackled to life. "MTF Lambda-12 ("Pest Control"). this is [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/secure-facility-dossier-site-81 Site-81]. Do you read?" L1 picked up the receiver. "Site-81. This is MTF Lambda-12 ("Pest Control"). We read you." "What's your status?" "Sector is empty,” L1 said. “No encounters with any entities since the incident with [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-4975 four-nine-seven-five]. Task Force currently searching for resupply." "Roger, MTF Lambda-12." L1 put away the receiver. "I still don't know how that thing escaped us,” He moved the steering wheel slightly, dodging the rusting remains of a van. “Much less escaped after… you know." "Tick. Tick. Tick." L4 said from the passenger seat, smiling. L2 and L3 laughed. "Oh shut up." L1 told him. They continued on down the road. Past the overgrown remains of buildings. Some of them had shadows burned into their walls, the last remnants of their occupants that had disappeared in a flash. The road was cracked, and rough. As they bounced around, L2 and L3 found it hard to hold their weapons with one hand while gripping the truck with the other. But that wasn't what took their attention. Few humans had been through here since that fateful day, that much was obvious. The land around them always gave off eerie feelings. Emptiness, solitude, a lack of life. "Hey!" L3 yelled. "Grocery store!" He pointed down the road, to where a building sat. It was wide, and covered in vines and cracks. "Looks sorta intact!" "Right you are," L1 said, turning the truck towards it. "Let's see if there's any goodies to grab." L2 kept his eyes forward, looking at L3 seated across from him. He could see L3 look towards the building with hope for something nice inside. Then his expression changed, he squinted his eyes. As he did, he took his hand off the truck, putting it on his gun. L2 did the same, following L3's gaze. He readied himself, anything could be out here after all. There was something moving in front of the building. It seemed vaguely orange in color, or possibly pink. It was holding something shiny. "What the hell..." L1 said, squinting towards it. As they drew closer, L2 could see it had a long, flat body, with two equally flat arms, all balancing on a long stem. "Is that a giant fucking leaf?" L3 asked. The leaf hopped forward by the end of its stem. In one of its arms was a long metal object with spikes on one end. "That's a weapon," L1 said. "Keep your guard up, it may be hostile." They began to pull into the parking lot of the building, where it was pacing around. The entity turned to them as they approached. It looked at them from the portion of its body L2 thought was the face, despite having no visible eyes. Whatever it was, it lifted its weapon as they stopped. //"Hwa gao ware?"// It yelled. //What is it saying?// L2 thought. It wasn’t like any language he’d heard. A few loud //clanks// followed as L2 and L3 hopped off the truck. They lifted their guns, not knowing what this creature’s next move could be. //"Doe na om' nay krosa!"// It said, readying its weapon. L2 held his breath. There was only a moment to think. It was hard to determine its intentions. Especially hard when the creature was speaking another language. Even if it did sound slightly familiar... //"Aye-a rani wit' a-anla da wa-"// [[=]] [[size larger]]//BANG!//[[/size]] [[/=]] L3 let out a single blow from his shotgun. It tore through the creature's paper-thin flesh, shredding it to ribbons. It fell to the ground, killed instantly. L3 looked to L2. Pointing a thumb at himself, he nodded towards the corpse. He then pointed his thumb to L2, nodding towards the open doorway into the building. L2 nodded back. As L3 stepped towards the corpse, L2 went through the doorway, his gun ready. The //clumps// of L2's feet rang out through the ruined interior of the store. Rusting shelves stood, dotted with dusty items. The cash registers sat closed, except for one. It was open, //freshly opened//. L2 looked to his left. He spotted it. This one was taller than the other one, but had no arms, and was a teal green color, lined with small spines. Next to it was a small woven bag, the top of a wine bottle sticking out the top. It looked back to him with surprise, like it had [https://wanderers-library.wikidot.com/beyond-the-mountains seen a ghost]. It raised up a stick. A stick that was tipped with a sharp, polished stone. L2 didn’t hesitate when he realized what it was. [[=]] [[size larger]]//BANG!//[[/size]] [[/=]] A hundred metal pellets ripped through the big green leaf. It dropped its spear, then fell. L2 stepped closer, watching the creature wiggle around on the floor. A few moments later, it stopped. L2 stepped out of the store, back into the light. L1, L3, and L4 all crowded around the corpse of the first creature. "Should we get Theta-4 over here?" L4 jokingly asked. "Yeah," L3 said. "Like they still exist." L1 looked to L2 as he emerged from the building. "I heard a shot,” he said. "Found another one," L2 said. "Inside. It's dead.” L1 looked back down to the corpse. "Well," he said. "I don't know what to make of these." He nudged the simple metal weapon the creature had been holding. "But I don't think they'll get in our way in the future." L1 walked back to the truck. The other three ventured into the store, picking out anything useful they could find. L2 returned to the corpse of the creature he’d shot, the creature’s bag was still next to it. He examined it closer, rifling through the items. He found a few old coins, the type they used before the world was blown to bits. But the bottle of wine was the real prize. Looking closer, the label was torn, and very faded. L2 could barely make out the year //1998// on the bottle. “Hey guys,” he yelled. “I got us a treat for later.” L4 gave a small cheer from two aisles over. L2 took a last look at the body. He couldn’t help but wonder. //Where did they come from? What were they speaking? Why were they here? [https://wanderers-library.wikidot.com/tales-from-spears-to-flowers Where did they come from?]// ------ [[collapsible hideLocation="both" show="+ Input Site-81 Director Credentials" hide="- Credentials Accepted"]] Note: //On ██/██/20██, routine maintenance work at Site-81 broke into a previously unknown storage room within the Archives Wing. Carbon dating of papers found within the file cabinets returned a result of 200(+/- 20) years of age. A portion of one of the few recovered documents, a log detailing previously unknown activities of Mobile Task Force Lambda-12 (“Pest Control”) has been transcribed below.// > 5/15/████: Remains of the town of ████████ examined. No abnormal activity. > > 5/19/████: Remains of the town of ████ examined. No abnormal activity. > > 5/20/████: Sighting of an unknown flying entity at 0900, [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-6675 possibly a pterosaur]. > > 5/27/████: Encounter with a hostile creature matching the description of [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-4975 SCP-4975]. Creature eluded attempt at containment. Current status unknown. > > 5/31/████: Remains of the town of ██████ examined. No abnormal activity. > > 6/05/████: Encounter with two unknown hostile creatures, both neutralized during altercation with Task Force. Described as large mobile leaves brandishing simple weapons and speaking an unknown language. No identification could be made with any known entity in Foundation records. Remains were not retrieved. [[/collapsible]] @@ @@ [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] [!-- N/A (No Images) --] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-02-18T18:39:00	[ "_licensebox", "action", "military-fiction", "post-apocalyptic", "tale", "worldbuilding" ]	Near the Mountains - SCP Foundation	4	[ "secure-facility-dossier-site-81", "scp-4975", "scp-6675", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023" ]	[]	1446258322	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/near-the-mountains
necessities	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=1&theme=https://cdn.scpwiki.com/theme/en/basalt/normalize-min.css&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=2&theme=https://cdn.scpwiki.com/theme/en/basalt/basalt-bedrock-min.css&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=3&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Abasalt/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h1 id="toc0"><span>Necessities</span></h1> </div> <hr/> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2 id="toc1"><span>2072</span></h2> <h3 id="toc2"><span>Orbital Site-B1</span></h3> </div> <hr/> <p>The Council watched in silence through the largest piece of one-way glass ever vitrified as the Earth spun merrily on, thanks in no small part to their ongoing efforts. It was a moment for reflection, and they were collectively in an expansive and generous mood. For today, for this day only, they had uncloaked their satellite. They would allow themselves to be visible, sparkling in the sky, a beacon of hope and security. They gladly bore their respective crosses, for moments such as this.</p> <p>O5-1 raised his mug of honeyed mead. It was an old, old tradition, and perhaps a little barbaric, but today they were also giving thanks. "To our benefactor," he growled. "For our everything."</p> <p>Eleven mugs shot up in response. Only O5-2, which couldn't drink anyway, abstained. <tt>ASSIGNING MORAL WEIGHT TO UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES IS ILLOGICAL,</tt> it whirred from its permanent station to the left of the table's head.</p> <p>"That's unfair." O5-9 set his mug down on the table, a vast horizontal slice of hewn redwood, and hacked roughly at his garlic butter salmon. "Nobody can predict the future, but it unfolds in accordance with the actions we take. Credit where credit is due."</p> <p>"It is time," the chairman interrupted. "Stand, my friends, and bear witness."</p> <hr/> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2 id="toc3"><span>2022</span></h2> <h3 id="toc4"><span>Site-01</span></h3> </div> <hr/> <p><em>Age is just a number.</em></p> <p>Professor Hutchinson had always hated that saying. <em>Just a number.</em> As though numbers had no meaning. As though numbers were not both <em>signifiers,</em> carriers of value, and elements of a language which could be used to describe the fundamental qualities of reality itself. As if it indicated nothing that the number of years which had elapsed since his birth was so high that his body required advanced medical care, his mind required artificial sharpening, and his government records required surreptitious massaging to keep certain highly-placed eyebrows from raising further.</p> <p><em>Just a number.</em> As if he couldn't change the very nature of reality with a few well-placed numerals.</p> <p>As if he weren't on the way to do so at this very moment.</p> <p>He walked alone through the halls of Site-01, aware every time a light blinked in his peripheral vision or a shutter shut itself behind him or an almost subaudible whirring reached him from the vicinity of the ceiling that his every step was being observed, measured and anticipated. He found this mildly amusing. Like most Sites, this facility was only important for what it contained, and what it had contained was gone. What did it matter who he was, or where he was going, when █████████ ███████ and the ██ ███████ had been…</p> <p>He stopped walking and rocked back and forth on his loafers, clutching at his head. Had he been younger, he would never have made such a rookie mistake. <em>Age is just a number,</em> he thought in mental tones of vicious mockery. <em>My ass.</em></p> <p>In truth, it was a little exciting that he could still sense the hole where that information had once gone. The insurgents responsible for erasing the Foundation's ruling bodies from existence had done a very sloppy job, no doubt due in part to the haste of their operation: break into Site-54, activate the <a href="/scp-3617">Conceptual Restabilizer</a>, and hack out a hole in reality. He had no more doubt that given enough time, and enough whiteboards — he was an old-school mathematician, age being just a number notwithstanding — he could explain scientifically how ██ entitities (he winced in pain, milder this time) so intrinsic to the makeup of the world's premier paranormalcy organization could be rendered non-existent without altering the traces of their tenure on this Earth. He strongly suspected it had something to do with a few very special equations he'd completed in his relative youth, without recognizing their larger significance. Equations he'd be seeing again shortly, situated in their proper context: the most complicated and vital piece of mathematics which had ever been assembled, which had never been <em>solved</em> despite the knowledge that it could be.</p> <p>Well, he was going to solve it now. And when he had, if all went to plan — and why should it not? — he'd be able to think about the former occupants of the boardroom he was about to enter without risking a brain clot.</p> <hr/> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2 id="toc5"><span>2012</span></h2> <h3 id="toc6"><span>Site-24</span></h3> </div> <hr/> <p>Dr. Carver hesitated on the threshold.</p> <p>"It's never hurt anyone before," the agent beside him muttered. Carver noted two facts in relation to this statement: the man was holding his gun at the ready, and the man wasn't advancing into the containment chamber.</p> <p>"We're not sure it's hurt anyone <em>now,</em>" Carver responded. But he, too, did not advance into the containment chamber. When one of them eventually did, it wouldn't be him.</p> <p>"You think it just… grew them?" The agent shook his head. "I don't even want to think about that."</p> <p>Carver took a deep breath. He wasn't paid to chat with the help. He was paid to figure these things out. He raised his clipboard, and began to write down the salient facts.</p> <div class="blockquote" style="width: 50%; margin:auto;"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p>1. The subject presents unconscious or dead.</p> </div> </div> <p>"You think it's still alive?" The agent sounded nervous. "You think it's just playing?"</p> <p>"Yes," Carver said. "I think it's just playing, because it is a possum."</p> <p>"It <em>was</em> a possum. It's not a possum now."</p> <p>Carver did not dispute this fact. In fact, he reinforced it in graphite.</p> <div class="blockquote" style="width: 50%; margin:auto;"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p>2. The subject is now composed of human legs.</p> </div> </div> <p>That hardly felt clinical, but he could edit later. He looked back up, and grimaced. "I suppose you ought to—"</p> <p>"Hey!" The agent pointed. "You see that?"</p> <p>Carver followed the arc of the man's arm, and nodded. He did see that. It was a tiny knitted possum, the object he'd come to work with, the object he'd thought had transformed into the… thing, sitting on the examination table. The possum, the real (fake) possum, was beneath the table and behind one of its supports, barely visible, lying on its back.</p> <p>As they watched, it began to wiggle its legs. Carver had to admit that was adorable.</p> <p>It was less adorable when the leg monster on the table followed suit.</p> <hr/> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2 id="toc7"><span>2022</span></h2> <h3 id="toc8"><span>Site-01</span></h3> </div> <hr/> <p>It was eerie how empty the Site seemed. The Red Right Hand had everything on lockdown, spared from deletion by the specificity of the attack, though Hutchinson doubted any of them had any clear idea why they were doing what they did now. The total absence of support staff, combined with the omnipresence of men and women armed to the gills and bearing expressive variations on "What the fuck?" upon their faces, gave his errand a tinge of surreality. He remembered what a hive of activity it had been back when the formulae had first been discovered: a dozen different working groups all beavering away on their specific tasks, denied any glimpse at the wider picture because they might inadvertently bring it into being or, alternatively, be devoured by an African lion at their workstation.</p> <p>This was one of the few things about mathematics, his lifelong love, which Hutchinson truly loathed. The set of what his colleagues called the 'mirage numbers' put him in mind of Prince Charles' description of an addition to the National Gallery as "a monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much loved and elegant friend." It was thanks to the mirage numbers that when the Analytics Department published their annual cautionary list of the ways that personnel from each department had perished over the preceding year, the result for the Mathematics Department was always the same: "mauled by a bear." There existed <a href="/scp-1313">a precise mathematical process</a> which, when considered, would deposit a live and angry <em>ursus</em> onto the person of whomever considered it, as a direct result of the formula's logical structure. Tests performed by the <a href="/the-set-of-all-numbers-which-might-be-bears">Highly Pathological Concepts Division</a> had confirmed that the phenomenon was not by any means restricted to bears. It was possible, though exceedingly rare, to generate a wide variety of results along a wide variety of vectors using nothing but very specific math. The precise details were very, very finicky, and it had quickly been surmised — Hutchinson himself had sketched out the proof — that the SCP Foundation lacked sufficient manpower and resources to develop more than one single equation so precisely as to make it actually useful. They would have to pick and choose.</p> <p>What they had chosen had not surprised him.</p> <hr/> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2 id="toc9"><span>2021</span></h2> <h3 id="toc10"><span>Site-24</span></h3> </div> <hr/> <p>Agent Ira Watts stared at the piece of paper in front of him. "Say the name again."</p> <p>"Manmonkey," the young woman declared with confidence.</p> <p>Ira nodded. "Why not Monkeyman?"</p> <p>"Because that's a song." She smiled at him. "And it's inaccurate! It sounds too… I dunno, too <em>proper.</em> Like, have you ever heard that idea that a thing should match its name?"</p> <p>Ira had, but he'd long since devolved into roleplaying during this, the most unpleasant undercover investigation of his career, and he felt that the character whose role he had taken would not have heard of nominative determinism. So he replied: "Nope."</p> <p>"Well, there's a word for it, but that doesn't matter." She smirked. "Or does it? Anyway, <em>anyway,</em> if we called him Monkeyman, you'd think oh, okay, that's a man with monkey-like characteristics, right? Not a man with a whole damn monkey coming out of his head. <em>Instead</em> of his head."</p> <p>Ira nodded. He was expected to nod, to treat all of this like it was not only sensible, not only <em>plausible,</em> but in no way absolutely fucking the stupidest single thing. "Okay. And this is your drawing of it?"</p> <p>"Him," she stated firmly.</p> <p>"Why does that matter?" He suddenly wished he hadn't asked.</p> <p>She gazed fondly at the picture. "It matters," she said. She smiled wistfully.</p> <p>He barely managed to excuse himself.</p> <hr/> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2 id="toc11"><span>2022</span></h2> <h3 id="toc12"><span>Site-01</span></h3> </div> <hr/> <p>The audience chamber was silent. The wraparound, inverted 'U' table was still there, but all the seats were gone. Hutchinson started to wonder if the annihilation of their occupants had annihilated them as well, but aborted the thought before it could surface yet another painful non-memory. Instead he headed for the projector in the centre of the room, the one which could produce, through exorbitant expense, holographic images. It was always on; it was presently in a holding pattern, displaying the logo of the SCP Foundation with a transparency somewhere around 90%. Hutchinson ignored the glowing sigil, bending at the knees past the controls to face the unobtrusive black-on-black keypad at the very bottom, responding to the signals of pain he was getting from both knees with a signal of his own: <em>shut the hell up, age is only a number.</em> He tapped the pad five times, in the right place, and the entire panel popped open. He reached in, removed a thick sheaf of papers, and stood up with even more effort.</p> <p>One of the agents who'd met him at the door walked in with a folding chair in his hands and a question, several questions really, on his face. Hutchinson answered the only one he could by gesturing at the head of the table, where <em>whoever sits there</em> would usually sit. "I'll scoot out of the way before I finish," he explained.</p> <p>Judging by the look on the other man's face as he toted the chair to the chairperson's position, he had no idea of the task Hutchinson was about to begin. Hutchinson himself only still knew what he still knew because of the heavy dose of mnestics required to keep a man of his merely innumerable years among the ranks of the Foundation's functional mathematicians. He was looking forward to the reassertion of a world with a few less logical holes.</p> <p>So when the agent left the room again and shut the door behind him, Hutchinson sat in his folding seat of power, unfolded the mass of equations which would soon make him the world's most practical practitioner of his trade, and began to solve the problem he and all his most learned colleagues had collectively and speculatively posed to their unlucky future selves.</p> <hr/> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2 id="toc13"><span>2019</span></h2> <h3 id="toc14"><span>Site-19</span></h3> </div> <hr/> <p>Researcher Samuel Grenstern shifted his grip on the handheld gaming console, and scooted back in his chair until the overhead light was more favourable. He had no way of knowing the criteria under which anomalous media producers operated, but sometimes their decisions clearly came from a place of pure bloody-mindedness; why on Earth would you make a portable system based on the original Game Boy Advance?</p> <p>He had to admit, however, that the company name "Ninfriendo" was a much larger link on this particular object's chain of illogic.</p> <div class="blockquote"> <p>can you see me</p> </div> <p>the colourful purple parrot asked him from the murky screen.</p> <p>"Barely," Grenstern sighed. "I might get someone to mod this thing. It'd be nice to see your plumage properly."</p> <div class="blockquote"> <p>yes i am colourful</p> </div> <p>"You certainly are." Grenstern smiled. "You're a very pretty bird."</p> <div class="blockquote"> <p>you are a very pretty researcher</p> </div> <p>Grenstern laughed. "Thanks, I guess? Anyway, I wanted to ask you about your visual design. Do you know you have a stitch running up and down the middle of you?"</p> <p>The parrot shifted on its perch.</p> <div class="blockquote"> <p>yes i can feel it</p> </div> <p><em>Yikes.</em> He hadn't considered that response. "Do you know why?"</p> <div class="blockquote"> <p>if you had a stitch running up and down the middle of you you would feel it too</p> </div> <p>He stifled a second laugh. "No, I mean, why do you have stitching at all? You're already a digitized pet," he swore under his breath, "<em>friend</em>, so doesn't the stitching kind of, I dunno… overcomplicate the concept?"</p> <p>The Gamebird considered him for a moment, pixellated head cocked far to one side. And then it said:</p> <div class="blockquote"> <p>i suppose i am a plaything</p> </div> <p>Grenstern wasn't sure what to say about that.</p> <div class="blockquote"> <p>are you a plaything too</p> </div> <p>He <em>really</em> wasn't sure what to say about <em>that.</em></p> <hr/> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2 id="toc15"><span>2022</span></h2> <h3 id="toc16"><span>Site-01</span></h3> </div> <hr/> <p>The equation was only difficult in terms of scale. There were a lot of variables to remember all at once, and it was key that Hutchinson remember them because the moment of actualization would only come when he had the entire picture laid out in front of his mind's eye. His realization would force a similar realization on the universe, and it would then perform the impossible.</p> <p>He'd seen the tests. He'd watched on the big board at Area-08-C when a single specimen of <em>Larus michahellis,</em> yellow-legged gull, suddenly materialized on a suborbital trajectory into the mesosphere, where it rapidly burned to cinder, at the moment one of his colleagues cracked a distressingly simple maths puzzle. He'd seen a more complex pair of expressions deposit a tardigrade on the surface of the International Space Station; the complexity had been required to ensure that the vector and position were precise, so they could be looking at precisely the right location to spot the .05 millimetre organism as it popped into existence and, inexplicably, roared. The tardigrade discovery had irritated him, because of course everyone back then had called them 'water bears', and he'd had to endure another round of ribbing about 'the bear numbers' which despite their obvious versatility now seemed doomed to carry this moniker forever.</p> <p>If he was allowed to publicize the results of today's performance, however, he felt certain that forever would end prematurely. These mathematical miracles would once again be known as the mirage numbers in casual conversation.</p> <p>Or, perhaps, they would become known as the █████████ numbers.</p> <p>Because Hutchinson was about to use them to remanifest the Foundation's central command and its supervisory body, precisely as they had been, precisely as they retroactively would always have been. When the equation was fully solved, he would have written them into reality as a universal constant. He wasn't at all certain what the side-effects of that might be, but he'd been assured by people who ought to know that the consequences of losing his bosses to nonexistence were considerably more dire.</p> <p>Hutchinson hadn't prepared any words for the moment, though he knew there were at least a dozen cameras on him now, in this most secure of spaces. He was sure there was nothing in the Bhagavad Gita dramatic enough to suit its import.</p> <hr/> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2 id="toc17"><span>2015</span></h2> <h3 id="toc18"><span>Site-37</span></h3> </div> <hr/> <p>"We need a kidney!" one of the nurses cried through the curtain.</p> <p>"Which kidney?" Dr. Gergis grunted, forgetting that it didn't even matter. Their surgeon would know. "Have you cleared the room?"</p> <p>"Yes, doctor. There's nobody here but me and the subject."</p> <p>"And you're not injured, correct?"</p> <p>A pause. Apparently this nurse hadn't worked Site-37 emergency medicine before, if the query confused her. "That's right, sir. I had a physical this morning, even."</p> <p>"Fine." Gergis swung back the curtain. "Bring them in."</p> <p>The nurse wheeled a gurney into the corner of the ward, re-partitioning it behind her. The man on the stretcher was an MTF agent, which was definitely a bad sign; if they were sending the MTFs in to quell the containment breach, it was too big for even the security staff.</p> <p>As soon as the gurney came close enough, their little miracle set to work. Gergis and the nurse began sterilizing, absurd as it seemed in relation to what they were about to do. It was at least a little impressive how the woman carried on cleaning despite the thing on the floor mat, and her ever-widening eyes. Very professional.</p> <p>"Sir," the agent grunted. "Sir."</p> <p>"Keep quiet, agent. You've been shot." Gergis winced. "And stabbed, looks like."</p> <p>"Sir…"</p> <p>"What is it?"</p> <p>"Don't let them put one of those D-class kidneys in me."</p> <p>Gergis laughed. "That's just a myth, man. And not a very sensible one."</p> <p>And the agent passed out, relief etched on his face which would not have sustained the sight of the tiny patchwork Peter Rabbit on the floor solemnly passing a knitted replacement organ to the medical team.</p> <hr/> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2 id="toc19"><span>2022</span></h2> <h3 id="toc20"><span>Site-01</span></h3> </div> <hr/> <p><em>█████████ ███████ is just a number.</em></p> <p>Hutchinson chuckled to himself in spite of the pain as he tidied up his work. Due to the piecemeal assembly of the equation, there were some overlapping and redundant sections; he resolved them. There were a few cases where excessively roundabout calculations had been required to achieve things more easily achieved later on; he considered these carefully, determining which contained valid information about the structure of the thing being defined, and keeping those, while excising the rest. He was nearly done. There were only two more steps to take.</p> <p>He shuffled his chair to one side, so as not to be telefragged by the apparition of ██-1, and mentally prepared himself for the big moment. With a single stroke and a flourish, he completed the penultimate—</p> <p>All the air went out of the room as a mass of fur and teeth and hot breath filled it, wall to wall. He vaulted the table in an instant, scattering the papers everywhere, and crouched beside the holoprojector in mortal terror.</p> <p>The chamber was full of bears.</p> <p>They were very strange bears. The one at the head of the table was huge, blue, and covered in gold chains. The one on his left was made of sleek, shiny metal; its eyes glowed red, and its heavy breathing was tinny and artifacted like a .wav file. One was monstrously fat, brown, and very shaggy. One was a polar bear, holding a golden spear in its paws. One was a panda. One was wearing a wizard hat.</p> <p>"Where are we?" the largest bear demanded. It pointed at Hutchinson with a razor-sharp fist full of talons. "What have you done?"</p> <p><tt>PHYSIOTEMPORAL DISPLACEMENT,</tt> the cyborg bear declared. It clamped a paw over its chest, and opened the central panel to reveal a set of very large buttons and dials and one merrily-dancing oscilloscope screen. <tt>CAUSE UNKNOWN.</tt></p> <p>Another brown bear, this one orange-eyed and alert, spoke up in a feminine, Irish brogue. "Are we to take this as an act of aggression, human? Are you dissatisfied with our service to your race, these many years?"</p> <p>Hutchinson was unequipped to respond to such a query from such a party. He continued to cower in silence.</p> <p>There was a furious roar from the far corner of the room. "He is here!" one of the monstrous creatures called in a thick Russian accent. "The bearetic is here!"</p> <p>Hutchinson peeked around the projector. A large brown bear in a green cloak, wearing a golden crown, was snarling at a grey bear in the corner.</p> <p>The grey bear had six arms.</p> <p><tt>EVACUATION PROTOCOL IS READY,</tt> the metal bear intoned, turning the dials on its Darth Vader chest-box.</p> <p>"Get us out of here," the chair-bear responded.</p> <p>And they disappeared.</p> <p>All but the six-armed bear, that is. This last considered Hutchinson curiously for a moment, before speaking in plain and unaffacted tones.</p> <p>"You have relieved the Impediment," it said. "They will be watching, now. They have always been watching, now."</p> <p>And it stood up on its haunches, pressed each pair of paws together in front of it, and vanished in a flash of light.</p> <hr/> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h3 id="toc21"><span>Site-17</span></h3> </div> <hr/> <p><em>Ping.</em></p> <p>Senior Technician Letitia Frank tapped a few keys on her console on autopilot. The screen informed her:</p> <div class="blockquote" style="width: 50%; margin:auto;"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p>PRESET ALERT<br/> RUN COMPARISON<br/> FULL DATABASE<br/> PRIORITY: BETA</p> </div> </div> <p>She whistled. Beta-level priority? That had to be either a Site Director or a Department Head, maybe both. She glanced over her shoulder at the man standing watch, a question in her eyes.</p> <p>Dr. James nodded. "Yes, that's what we've been waiting for. Please proceed."</p> <p>She hammered out the requisite code, and waited for the DEEPWELL system to respond. Site-17 possessed one of a small handful of archival systems hardened against ontokinetic effects; their contents were wholly immune to reality-bending and temporal alteration. Frank was periodically asked to run an active scan of variations between the DEEPWELL's contents and those of SCiPnet, the Foundation's online server. She'd never seen anything turn up, and she'd never been monitored on the job like this before. Something was up.</p> <p>The scan took just a few minutes to complete, as there were only a few thousand items in the database.</p> <div class="blockquote" style="width: 50%; margin:auto;"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p>INCONSISTENCIES DETECTED: 17</p> </div> </div> <p>This time, James whistled. "That's not good. We were hoping it would be cleaner." Frank knew she'd never find out what the man from the HPC Division was talking about, and if it was altering reality to this extent, she didn't have a problem with that. "Flag this for review. Department of Temporal Anomalies, Department of Ontokinetics, Department of Security, Department of Containment, Temporal Anomalies Department. Then we'll take a look at the list."</p> <p>The manifest was a litany of variations on one theme:</p> <p>SCP-1048 was a stuffed animal capable of constructing anomalous copies of itself. According to the DEEPWELL, it was a possum. According to SCiPnet, it was a teddy bear.</p> <p>SCP-2295 was a stuffed animal capable of creating functional human organs out of fabric. According to the DEEPWELL, it was modelled on Peter Rabbit. According to SCiPnet, it, too, was a teddy bear.</p> <p>James clicked his tongue. "I wish I could say I'm surprised. Run a lifespan scan, please."</p> <p>Frank fired off the next set of commands, checking to see at which point the two databases had begun to differ.</p> <div class="blockquote" style="width: 50%; margin:auto;"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p>DIVERGENCE DATE: N/A<br/> [DIVERGENCE DATES TO INCEPTION OF RECORD-KEEPING]</p> </div> </div> <p>They both said the same thing, at the same time, when they saw that.</p> <p>What they said was "What?"</p> <hr/> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h3 id="toc22"><span>Site-01</span></h3> </div> <hr/> <p>Professor Hutchinson waited until the sterilization process was complete before re-entering the chamber, folder full of papers still in hand. He sat down to the left of the head of the table once again, willing his hands not to shake, and forced himself not to glance over the arithmetic again. It was still in his mind; the mnestics had seen to that. If he re-read the figures, might the universe not again deposit—</p> <p><em>That didn't happen. Don't think about it.</em></p> <p>He glanced at the final line, took a deep breath, and completed the equation.</p> <p>His ears popped as twelve chairs and thirteen Overseers abruptly flashed back into existence at their stations around the horseshoe. O5-1 turned to face him, shock on his age-lined features, before reaching under the table to press a button.</p> <p>The door slid open, and the two armed guards entered. They trained their weapons on Hutchinson; they knew better, of course, but they had their orders.</p> <p>"Why is the Professor here?" the chair asked, calmly.</p> <p><tt>SEARCHING,</tt> the sleek black box that was O5-2 declared. <tt>PROFESSOR HUTCHINSON HAS BEEN SUMMONED TO ENACT PERPETUITY PROTOCOL.</tt></p> <p>"Oh, my," O5-9 said. "Was that today?" Several of the other Overseers shot them an irritated look; the cryptic Oracle was not the most popular member of the Council.</p> <p>"Well." O5-1 smiled at Hutchinson. "I suppose we owe you a debt of gratitude, Professor. Did the formula go to plan? Any irregularities?"</p> <p>Hutchinson considered for a moment.</p> <p><em>Age is just a number.</em></p> <p>"No," he said, finally. "No, sir, no irregularities."</p> <p>"Good." The chairman leaned back in his chair. "Needless to say, we'll be issuing you a bonus for this… let's call it <em>overtime,</em> shall we?"</p> <p>Hutchinson smiled. "Thank you, sir, but…"</p> <p>"Yes?" The other man leaned back forward. "You have a better term?"</p> <p>Hutchinson nodded. "Retirement pay."</p> <hr/> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2 id="toc23"><span>2072</span></h2> <h3 id="toc24"><span>Orbital Site-B1</span></h3> </div> <hr/> <p>The satellite rotated on its axis, and the Earth slid out of view to be replaced by the starry inkscape of space. But this turning-away was merely metaphorical; like their counterparts down below, Obearwatch Command and the Obearwatch Council would always be, had always been, watching.<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="blockquote" style="width: 30%; margin:auto;"> <p>Humankind cannot bear very much reality.<br/></p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p>— T.S. Eliot</p> </div> </div> <div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/necessities">Necessities</a>" by HarryBlank, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/necessities">https://scpwiki.com/necessities</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> <div style="text-align: left;"> <p>This page contains a quotation from T.S. Eliot, <em>Four Quartets</em>, 1943.</p> <hr/> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> Bird.png<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/harryblank" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(6479803); return false;"><img alt="HarryBlank" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=6479803&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1730032240" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=6479803)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/harryblank" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(6479803); return false;">HarryBlank</a></span><br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC BY-SA 3.0</p> </blockquote> <hr/> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> Monkeyman.png<br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC BY 3.0</p> </blockquote> <p>Derivative of:</p> <blockquote> <p><strong>Title:</strong> Manbear Sketch<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/raddagher" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5364476); return false;"><img alt="Raddagher" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=5364476&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1730032240" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=5364476)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/raddagher" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5364476); return false;">Raddagher</a></span><br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC BY 3.0<br/> <strong>Source:</strong> [<a href="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/scp-6326/manbear.png">SCP Wiki</a>]</p> </blockquote> <hr/> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> Possum.png<br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC BY-SA 3.0</p> </blockquote> <p>Composite of:</p> <blockquote> <p><strong>Title:</strong> Knit possum<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> Lisa Dusseault<br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC BY 2.0<br/> <strong>Source:</strong> [<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/milele/2124330572/">flickr</a>]</p> </blockquote> <blockquote> <p><strong>Title:</strong> Pool floor<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> Kim Seaver<br/> <strong>License:</strong> Public Domain<br/> <strong>Source:</strong> [<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/57873306@N00/200777708">flickr</a>]</p> </blockquote> <hr/> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> Rabbit.jpg<br/> <strong>Title:</strong> Stuffed rabbit<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> James1113<br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC BY-SA 3.0<br/> <strong>Source:</strong> [<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26221989">Wikimedia Commons</a>]</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:basalt">:scp-wiki:theme:basalt</a> hidetitle=a]] [[module CSS]] :root{ --title: "HPC Division"; --subtitle: "Look Before You Think"; } [[/module]] [[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[=]] + Necessities [[/=]] [[=image https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/necessities/scp_dark.png]] ---- [[=]] ++ 2072 +++ Orbital Site-B1 [[/=]] ---- The Council watched in silence through the largest piece of one-way glass ever vitrified as the Earth spun merrily on, thanks in no small part to their ongoing efforts. It was a moment for reflection, and they were collectively in an expansive and generous mood. For today, for this day only, they had uncloaked their satellite. They would allow themselves to be visible, sparkling in the sky, a beacon of hope and security. They gladly bore their respective crosses, for moments such as this. O5-1 raised his mug of honeyed mead. It was an old, old tradition, and perhaps a little barbaric, but today they were also giving thanks. "To our benefactor," he growled. "For our everything." Eleven mugs shot up in response. Only O5-2, which couldn't drink anyway, abstained. {{ASSIGNING MORAL WEIGHT TO UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES IS ILLOGICAL,}} it whirred from its permanent station to the left of the table's head. "That's unfair." O5-9 set his mug down on the table, a vast horizontal slice of hewn redwood, and hacked roughly at his garlic butter salmon. "Nobody can predict the future, but it unfolds in accordance with the actions we take. Credit where credit is due." "It is time," the chairman interrupted. "Stand, my friends, and bear witness." [[=image https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/necessities/scp_dark.png]] ---- [[=]] ++ 2022 +++ Site-01 [[/=]] ---- //Age is just a number.// Professor Hutchinson had always hated that saying. //Just a number.// As though numbers had no meaning. As though numbers were not both //signifiers,// carriers of value, and elements of a language which could be used to describe the fundamental qualities of reality itself. As if it indicated nothing that the number of years which had elapsed since his birth was so high that his body required advanced medical care, his mind required artificial sharpening, and his government records required surreptitious massaging to keep certain highly-placed eyebrows from raising further. //Just a number.// As if he couldn't change the very nature of reality with a few well-placed numerals. As if he weren't on the way to do so at this very moment. He walked alone through the halls of Site-01, aware every time a light blinked in his peripheral vision or a shutter shut itself behind him or an almost subaudible whirring reached him from the vicinity of the ceiling that his every step was being observed, measured and anticipated. He found this mildly amusing. Like most Sites, this facility was only important for what it contained, and what it had contained was gone. What did it matter who he was, or where he was going, when █████████ ███████ and the ██ ███████ had been... He stopped walking and rocked back and forth on his loafers, clutching at his head. Had he been younger, he would never have made such a rookie mistake. //Age is just a number,// he thought in mental tones of vicious mockery. //My ass.// In truth, it was a little exciting that he could still sense the hole where that information had once gone. The insurgents responsible for erasing the Foundation's ruling bodies from existence had done a very sloppy job, no doubt due in part to the haste of their operation: break into Site-54, activate the [[[/scp-3617\|Conceptual Restabilizer]]], and hack out a hole in reality. He had no more doubt that given enough time, and enough whiteboards -- he was an old-school mathematician, age being just a number notwithstanding -- he could explain scientifically how ██ entitities (he winced in pain, milder this time) so intrinsic to the makeup of the world's premier paranormalcy organization could be rendered non-existent without altering the traces of their tenure on this Earth. He strongly suspected it had something to do with a few very special equations he'd completed in his relative youth, without recognizing their larger significance. Equations he'd be seeing again shortly, situated in their proper context: the most complicated and vital piece of mathematics which had ever been assembled, which had never been //solved// despite the knowledge that it could be. Well, he was going to solve it now. And when he had, if all went to plan -- and why should it not? -- he'd be able to think about the former occupants of the boardroom he was about to enter without risking a brain clot. [[=image https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/necessities/scp_dark.png]] ---- [[=]] ++ 2012 +++ Site-24 [[/=]] ---- Dr. Carver hesitated on the threshold. "It's never hurt anyone before," the agent beside him muttered. Carver noted two facts in relation to this statement: the man was holding his gun at the ready, and the man wasn't advancing into the containment chamber. "We're not sure it's hurt anyone //now,//" Carver responded. But he, too, did not advance into the containment chamber. When one of them eventually did, it wouldn't be him. "You think it just... grew them?" The agent shook his head. "I don't even want to think about that." Carver took a deep breath. He wasn't paid to chat with the help. He was paid to figure these things out. He raised his clipboard, and began to write down the salient facts. [[div class="blockquote" style="width: 50%; margin:auto;"]] [[=]] 1. The subject presents unconscious or dead. [[/=]] [[/div]] "You think it's still alive?" The agent sounded nervous. "You think it's just playing?" "Yes," Carver said. "I think it's just playing, because it is a possum." "It //was// a possum. It's not a possum now." Carver did not dispute this fact. In fact, he reinforced it in graphite. [[div class="blockquote" style="width: 50%; margin:auto;"]] [[=]] 2. The subject is now composed of human legs. [[/=]] [[/div]] That hardly felt clinical, but he could edit later. He looked back up, and grimaced. "I suppose you ought to--" "Hey!" The agent pointed. "You see that?" Carver followed the arc of the man's arm, and nodded. He did see that. It was a tiny knitted possum, the object he'd come to work with, the object he'd thought had transformed into the... thing, sitting on the examination table. The possum, the real (fake) possum, was beneath the table and behind one of its supports, barely visible, lying on its back. As they watched, it began to wiggle its legs. Carver had to admit that was adorable. It was less adorable when the leg monster on the table followed suit. [[=image https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/necessities/Possum.jpg]] [[=image https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/necessities/scp_dark.png]] ---- [[=]] ++ 2022 +++ Site-01 [[/=]] ---- It was eerie how empty the Site seemed. The Red Right Hand had everything on lockdown, spared from deletion by the specificity of the attack, though Hutchinson doubted any of them had any clear idea why they were doing what they did now. The total absence of support staff, combined with the omnipresence of men and women armed to the gills and bearing expressive variations on "What the fuck?" upon their faces, gave his errand a tinge of surreality. He remembered what a hive of activity it had been back when the formulae had first been discovered: a dozen different working groups all beavering away on their specific tasks, denied any glimpse at the wider picture because they might inadvertently bring it into being or, alternatively, be devoured by an African lion at their workstation. This was one of the few things about mathematics, his lifelong love, which Hutchinson truly loathed. The set of what his colleagues called the 'mirage numbers' put him in mind of Prince Charles' description of an addition to the National Gallery as "a monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much loved and elegant friend." It was thanks to the mirage numbers that when the Analytics Department published their annual cautionary list of the ways that personnel from each department had perished over the preceding year, the result for the Mathematics Department was always the same: "mauled by a bear." There existed [[[/scp-1313\|a precise mathematical process]]] which, when considered, would deposit a live and angry //ursus// onto the person of whomever considered it, as a direct result of the formula's logical structure. Tests performed by the [[[/the-set-of-all-numbers-which-might-be-bears\|Highly Pathological Concepts Division]]] had confirmed that the phenomenon was not by any means restricted to bears. It was possible, though exceedingly rare, to generate a wide variety of results along a wide variety of vectors using nothing but very specific math. The precise details were very, very finicky, and it had quickly been surmised -- Hutchinson himself had sketched out the proof -- that the SCP Foundation lacked sufficient manpower and resources to develop more than one single equation so precisely as to make it actually useful. They would have to pick and choose. What they had chosen had not surprised him. [[=image https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/necessities/scp_dark.png]] ---- [[=]] ++ 2021 +++ Site-24 [[/=]] ---- Agent Ira Watts stared at the piece of paper in front of him. "Say the name again." "Manmonkey," the young woman declared with confidence. Ira nodded. "Why not Monkeyman?" "Because that's a song." She smiled at him. "And it's inaccurate! It sounds too... I dunno, too //proper.// Like, have you ever heard that idea that a thing should match its name?" Ira had, but he'd long since devolved into roleplaying during this, the most unpleasant undercover investigation of his career, and he felt that the character whose role he had taken would not have heard of nominative determinism. So he replied: "Nope." "Well, there's a word for it, but that doesn't matter." She smirked. "Or does it? Anyway, //anyway,// if we called him Monkeyman, you'd think oh, okay, that's a man with monkey-like characteristics, right? Not a man with a whole damn monkey coming out of his head. //Instead// of his head." Ira nodded. He was expected to nod, to treat all of this like it was not only sensible, not only //plausible,// but in no way absolutely fucking the stupidest single thing. "Okay. And this is your drawing of it?" "Him," she stated firmly. "Why does that matter?" He suddenly wished he hadn't asked. She gazed fondly at the picture. "It matters," she said. She smiled wistfully. He barely managed to excuse himself. [[=image https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/necessities/Monkeyman.jpg]] [[=image https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/necessities/scp_dark.png]] ---- [[=]] ++ 2022 +++ Site-01 [[/=]] ---- The audience chamber was silent. The wraparound, inverted 'U' table was still there, but all the seats were gone. Hutchinson started to wonder if the annihilation of their occupants had annihilated them as well, but aborted the thought before it could surface yet another painful non-memory. Instead he headed for the projector in the centre of the room, the one which could produce, through exorbitant expense, holographic images. It was always on; it was presently in a holding pattern, displaying the logo of the SCP Foundation with a transparency somewhere around 90%. Hutchinson ignored the glowing sigil, bending at the knees past the controls to face the unobtrusive black-on-black keypad at the very bottom, responding to the signals of pain he was getting from both knees with a signal of his own: //shut the hell up, age is only a number.// He tapped the pad five times, in the right place, and the entire panel popped open. He reached in, removed a thick sheaf of papers, and stood up with even more effort. One of the agents who'd met him at the door walked in with a folding chair in his hands and a question, several questions really, on his face. Hutchinson answered the only one he could by gesturing at the head of the table, where //whoever sits there// would usually sit. "I'll scoot out of the way before I finish," he explained. Judging by the look on the other man's face as he toted the chair to the chairperson's position, he had no idea of the task Hutchinson was about to begin. Hutchinson himself only still knew what he still knew because of the heavy dose of mnestics required to keep a man of his merely innumerable years among the ranks of the Foundation's functional mathematicians. He was looking forward to the reassertion of a world with a few less logical holes. So when the agent left the room again and shut the door behind him, Hutchinson sat in his folding seat of power, unfolded the mass of equations which would soon make him the world's most practical practitioner of his trade, and began to solve the problem he and all his most learned colleagues had collectively and speculatively posed to their unlucky future selves. [[=image https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/necessities/scp_dark.png]] ---- [[=]] ++ 2019 +++ Site-19 [[/=]] ---- Researcher Samuel Grenstern shifted his grip on the handheld gaming console, and scooted back in his chair until the overhead light was more favourable. He had no way of knowing the criteria under which anomalous media producers operated, but sometimes their decisions clearly came from a place of pure bloody-mindedness; why on Earth would you make a portable system based on the original Game Boy Advance? He had to admit, however, that the company name "Ninfriendo" was a much larger link on this particular object's chain of illogic. [[div class="blockquote"]] can you see me [[/div]] the colourful purple parrot asked him from the murky screen. "Barely," Grenstern sighed. "I might get someone to mod this thing. It'd be nice to see your plumage properly." [[div class="blockquote"]] yes i am colourful [[/div]] "You certainly are." Grenstern smiled. "You're a very pretty bird." [[div class="blockquote"]] you are a very pretty researcher [[/div]] Grenstern laughed. "Thanks, I guess? Anyway, I wanted to ask you about your visual design. Do you know you have a stitch running up and down the middle of you?" The parrot shifted on its perch. [[div class="blockquote"]] yes i can feel it [[/div]] //Yikes.// He hadn't considered that response. "Do you know why?" [[div class="blockquote"]] if you had a stitch running up and down the middle of you you would feel it too [[/div]] He stifled a second laugh. "No, I mean, why do you have stitching at all? You're already a digitized pet," he swore under his breath, "//friend//, so doesn't the stitching kind of, I dunno... overcomplicate the concept?" The Gamebird considered him for a moment, pixellated head cocked far to one side. And then it said: [[div class="blockquote"]] i suppose i am a plaything [[/div]] Grenstern wasn't sure what to say about that. [[div class="blockquote"]] are you a plaything too [[/div]] He //really// wasn't sure what to say about //that.// [[=image https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/necessities/Bird.png]] [[=image https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/necessities/scp_dark.png]] ---- [[=]] ++ 2022 +++ Site-01 [[/=]] ---- The equation was only difficult in terms of scale. There were a lot of variables to remember all at once, and it was key that Hutchinson remember them because the moment of actualization would only come when he had the entire picture laid out in front of his mind's eye. His realization would force a similar realization on the universe, and it would then perform the impossible. He'd seen the tests. He'd watched on the big board at Area-08-C when a single specimen of //Larus michahellis,// yellow-legged gull, suddenly materialized on a suborbital trajectory into the mesosphere, where it rapidly burned to cinder, at the moment one of his colleagues cracked a distressingly simple maths puzzle. He'd seen a more complex pair of expressions deposit a tardigrade on the surface of the International Space Station; the complexity had been required to ensure that the vector and position were precise, so they could be looking at precisely the right location to spot the .05 millimetre organism as it popped into existence and, inexplicably, roared. The tardigrade discovery had irritated him, because of course everyone back then had called them 'water bears', and he'd had to endure another round of ribbing about 'the bear numbers' which despite their obvious versatility now seemed doomed to carry this moniker forever. If he was allowed to publicize the results of today's performance, however, he felt certain that forever would end prematurely. These mathematical miracles would once again be known as the mirage numbers in casual conversation. Or, perhaps, they would become known as the █████████ numbers. Because Hutchinson was about to use them to remanifest the Foundation's central command and its supervisory body, precisely as they had been, precisely as they retroactively would always have been. When the equation was fully solved, he would have written them into reality as a universal constant. He wasn't at all certain what the side-effects of that might be, but he'd been assured by people who ought to know that the consequences of losing his bosses to nonexistence were considerably more dire. Hutchinson hadn't prepared any words for the moment, though he knew there were at least a dozen cameras on him now, in this most secure of spaces. He was sure there was nothing in the Bhagavad Gita dramatic enough to suit its import. [[=image https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/necessities/scp_dark.png]] ---- [[=]] ++ 2015 +++ Site-37 [[/=]] ---- "We need a kidney!" one of the nurses cried through the curtain. "Which kidney?" Dr. Gergis grunted, forgetting that it didn't even matter. Their surgeon would know. "Have you cleared the room?" "Yes, doctor. There's nobody here but me and the subject." "And you're not injured, correct?" A pause. Apparently this nurse hadn't worked Site-37 emergency medicine before, if the query confused her. "That's right, sir. I had a physical this morning, even." "Fine." Gergis swung back the curtain. "Bring them in." The nurse wheeled a gurney into the corner of the ward, re-partitioning it behind her. The man on the stretcher was an MTF agent, which was definitely a bad sign; if they were sending the MTFs in to quell the containment breach, it was too big for even the security staff. As soon as the gurney came close enough, their little miracle set to work. Gergis and the nurse began sterilizing, absurd as it seemed in relation to what they were about to do. It was at least a little impressive how the woman carried on cleaning despite the thing on the floor mat, and her ever-widening eyes. Very professional. "Sir," the agent grunted. "Sir." "Keep quiet, agent. You've been shot." Gergis winced. "And stabbed, looks like." "Sir..." "What is it?" "Don't let them put one of those D-class kidneys in me." Gergis laughed. "That's just a myth, man. And not a very sensible one." And the agent passed out, relief etched on his face which would not have sustained the sight of the tiny patchwork Peter Rabbit on the floor solemnly passing a knitted replacement organ to the medical team. [[=image https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/necessities/Rabbit.jpg]] [[=image https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/necessities/scp_dark.png]] ---- [[=]] ++ 2022 +++ Site-01 [[/=]] ---- //█████████ ███████ is just a number.// Hutchinson chuckled to himself in spite of the pain as he tidied up his work. Due to the piecemeal assembly of the equation, there were some overlapping and redundant sections; he resolved them. There were a few cases where excessively roundabout calculations had been required to achieve things more easily achieved later on; he considered these carefully, determining which contained valid information about the structure of the thing being defined, and keeping those, while excising the rest. He was nearly done. There were only two more steps to take. He shuffled his chair to one side, so as not to be telefragged by the apparition of ██-1, and mentally prepared himself for the big moment. With a single stroke and a flourish, he completed the penultimate-- All the air went out of the room as a mass of fur and teeth and hot breath filled it, wall to wall. He vaulted the table in an instant, scattering the papers everywhere, and crouched beside the holoprojector in mortal terror. The chamber was full of bears. They were very strange bears. The one at the head of the table was huge, blue, and covered in gold chains. The one on his left was made of sleek, shiny metal; its eyes glowed red, and its heavy breathing was tinny and artifacted like a .wav file. One was monstrously fat, brown, and very shaggy. One was a polar bear, holding a golden spear in its paws. One was a panda. One was wearing a wizard hat. "Where are we?" the largest bear demanded. It pointed at Hutchinson with a razor-sharp fist full of talons. "What have you done?" {{PHYSIOTEMPORAL DISPLACEMENT,}} the cyborg bear declared. It clamped a paw over its chest, and opened the central panel to reveal a set of very large buttons and dials and one merrily-dancing oscilloscope screen. {{CAUSE UNKNOWN.}} Another brown bear, this one orange-eyed and alert, spoke up in a feminine, Irish brogue. "Are we to take this as an act of aggression, human? Are you dissatisfied with our service to your race, these many years?" Hutchinson was unequipped to respond to such a query from such a party. He continued to cower in silence. There was a furious roar from the far corner of the room. "He is here!" one of the monstrous creatures called in a thick Russian accent. "The bearetic is here!" Hutchinson peeked around the projector. A large brown bear in a green cloak, wearing a golden crown, was snarling at a grey bear in the corner. The grey bear had six arms. {{EVACUATION PROTOCOL IS READY,}} the metal bear intoned, turning the dials on its Darth Vader chest-box. "Get us out of here," the chair-bear responded. And they disappeared. All but the six-armed bear, that is. This last considered Hutchinson curiously for a moment, before speaking in plain and unaffacted tones. "You have relieved the Impediment," it said. "They will be watching, now. They have always been watching, now." And it stood up on its haunches, pressed each pair of paws together in front of it, and vanished in a flash of light. [[=image https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/necessities/scp_dark.png]] ---- [[=]] +++ Site-17 [[/=]] ---- //Ping.// Senior Technician Letitia Frank tapped a few keys on her console on autopilot. The screen informed her: [[div class="blockquote" style="width: 50%; margin:auto;"]] [[=]] PRESET ALERT RUN COMPARISON FULL DATABASE PRIORITY: BETA [[/=]] [[/div]] She whistled. Beta-level priority? That had to be either a Site Director or a Department Head, maybe both. She glanced over her shoulder at the man standing watch, a question in her eyes. Dr. James nodded. "Yes, that's what we've been waiting for. Please proceed." She hammered out the requisite code, and waited for the DEEPWELL system to respond. Site-17 possessed one of a small handful of archival systems hardened against ontokinetic effects; their contents were wholly immune to reality-bending and temporal alteration. Frank was periodically asked to run an active scan of variations between the DEEPWELL's contents and those of SCiPnet, the Foundation's online server. She'd never seen anything turn up, and she'd never been monitored on the job like this before. Something was up. The scan took just a few minutes to complete, as there were only a few thousand items in the database. [[div class="blockquote" style="width: 50%; margin:auto;"]] [[=]] INCONSISTENCIES DETECTED: 17 [[/=]] [[/div]] This time, James whistled. "That's not good. We were hoping it would be cleaner." Frank knew she'd never find out what the man from the HPC Division was talking about, and if it was altering reality to this extent, she didn't have a problem with that. "Flag this for review. Department of Temporal Anomalies, Department of Ontokinetics, Department of Security, Department of Containment, Temporal Anomalies Department. Then we'll take a look at the list." The manifest was a litany of variations on one theme: SCP-1048 was a stuffed animal capable of constructing anomalous copies of itself. According to the DEEPWELL, it was a possum. According to SCiPnet, it was a teddy bear. SCP-2295 was a stuffed animal capable of creating functional human organs out of fabric. According to the DEEPWELL, it was modelled on Peter Rabbit. According to SCiPnet, it, too, was a teddy bear. James clicked his tongue. "I wish I could say I'm surprised. Run a lifespan scan, please." Frank fired off the next set of commands, checking to see at which point the two databases had begun to differ. [[div class="blockquote" style="width: 50%; margin:auto;"]] [[=]] DIVERGENCE DATE: N/A [DIVERGENCE DATES TO INCEPTION OF RECORD-KEEPING] [[/=]] [[/div]] They both said the same thing, at the same time, when they saw that. What they said was "What?" [[=image https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/necessities/scp_dark.png]] ---- [[=]] +++ Site-01 [[/=]] ---- Professor Hutchinson waited until the sterilization process was complete before re-entering the chamber, folder full of papers still in hand. He sat down to the left of the head of the table once again, willing his hands not to shake, and forced himself not to glance over the arithmetic again. It was still in his mind; the mnestics had seen to that. If he re-read the figures, might the universe not again deposit-- //That didn't happen. Don't think about it.// He glanced at the final line, took a deep breath, and completed the equation. His ears popped as twelve chairs and thirteen Overseers abruptly flashed back into existence at their stations around the horseshoe. O5-1 turned to face him, shock on his age-lined features, before reaching under the table to press a button. The door slid open, and the two armed guards entered. They trained their weapons on Hutchinson; they knew better, of course, but they had their orders. "Why is the Professor here?" the chair asked, calmly. {{SEARCHING,}} the sleek black box that was O5-2 declared. {{PROFESSOR HUTCHINSON HAS BEEN SUMMONED TO ENACT PERPETUITY PROTOCOL.}} "Oh, my," O5-9 said. "Was that today?" Several of the other Overseers shot them an irritated look; the cryptic Oracle was not the most popular member of the Council. "Well." O5-1 smiled at Hutchinson. "I suppose we owe you a debt of gratitude, Professor. Did the formula go to plan? Any irregularities?" Hutchinson considered for a moment. //Age is just a number.// "No," he said, finally. "No, sir, no irregularities." "Good." The chairman leaned back in his chair. "Needless to say, we'll be issuing you a bonus for this... let's call it //overtime,// shall we?" Hutchinson smiled. "Thank you, sir, but..." "Yes?" The other man leaned back forward. "You have a better term?" Hutchinson nodded. "Retirement pay." [[=image https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/necessities/scp_dark.png]] ---- [[=]] ++ 2072 +++ Orbital Site-B1 [[/=]] ---- The satellite rotated on its axis, and the Earth slid out of view to be replaced by the starry inkscape of space. But this turning-away was merely metaphorical; like their counterparts down below, Obearwatch Command and the Obearwatch Council would always be, had always been, watching. @@ @@ [[div class="blockquote" style="width: 30%; margin:auto;"]] Humankind cannot bear very much reality. [[>]] -- T.S. Eliot [[/>]] [[/div]] [[div]] [[=]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] ===== [[<]] This page contains a quotation from T.S. Eliot, //Four Quartets//, 1943. ---- > Filename: Bird.png > Author: [[user HarryBlank]] > License:* CC BY-SA 3.0 ---- > Filename: Monkeyman.png > License: CC BY 3.0 Derivative of: > Title: Manbear Sketch > Author: [[user Raddagher]] > License:* CC BY 3.0 > Source: [[https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/scp-6326/manbear.png SCP Wiki]] ---- > Filename: Possum.png > License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Composite of: > Title: Knit possum > Author: Lisa Dusseault > License: CC BY 2.0 > Source: [[https://www.flickr.com/photos/milele/2124330572/ flickr]] > Title: Pool floor > Author: Kim Seaver > License: Public Domain > Source: [[https://www.flickr.com/photos/57873306@N00/200777708 flickr]] ---- > Filename: Rabbit.jpg > Title: Stuffed rabbit > Author: James1113 > License: CC BY-SA 3.0 > Source: [[https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26221989 Wikimedia Commons]] [[/<]] ===== [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]] [[/=]] [[/div]]	2023-01-17T09:38:00	[ "_cc", "_licensebox", "art-exchange", "cosmic-horror", "horror", "mystery", "mythological", "obearwatch", "science-fiction", "tale" ]	Necessities - SCP Foundation	37	[ "scp-3617", "scp-1313", "the-set-of-all-numbers-which-might-be-bears", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023" ]	[]	1445512634	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/necessities
nesssmithsonoregon	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p>It had been over four years since Ness Smithson set foot into these verdant Oregon forests. Walking through a thicket of trees just off the side of the road, she hopped across small streams, following a luminescent yellow trail. She grinned, as capturing the creature that left it would do wonders for keeping its population stable. Her phone vibrated and she stopped in place, breathing deeply.</p> <p>Ness pulled her phone out with a small huff. The phone was in two layers of protection, as she had the tendency to drop it during missions. Ness was generally a careful person, though her luck with keeping phones in full repair was not quite the best. She took in a breath and looked at the caller ID: Paul G.</p> <p>“Hiya Paul!” Ness swore she could hear a low groan on the other end.</p> <p>“Hello, Ness.” Came Paul’s curt reply. His voice had a gruff rasp, always sounding like he’d finished a cigarette despite never touching any smokes. Ness’ hand shook a little and she let in a sharp inhale.</p> <p>“I trust that your mission is well underway?”</p> <p>“Of course, Paul! The problems only happen when I’m there, remember?”</p> <p>“Naturally. Just wanted to ensure that it goes well, of course. Did you bring your assigned extraction team?”</p> <p>Ness bit her lip and looked around, awkwardly looking at the natural scenery with no other humans in sight.</p> <p>“Yes.”</p> <p>There was a pregnant pause, and Ness looked to the nearest tree, a Ponderosa Pine.</p> <p>“Ness just… get the animal back to the Site. Not really a lot of facilities that can take care of it properly.”</p> <p>“Got it.”</p> <p>“Good.”</p> <p>Paul hung up, and Ness let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. She instinctively checked her pulse and felt it rapidly beating. She closed her eyes and pulled her thoughts to the mission and what she would need to do: Recover the fox, don’t forget the cage, do your review firs-</p> <p>“Review! Yes!”</p> <p>The explorer pulled out her briefing notes, a pocket recorder, and reviewed the mission at hand. She began to walk again while talking into the pocket recorder.</p> <p>“Alright, log Eleven-Twenty. I’m in a forest just south of Portland, Oregon.” she declared, stepping over a moss-covered log. “Currently, I am looking for the Southern Glow Fox, <em>Lumen Vulpes.</em>”</p> <p>While distracted, the excitable scientist stumbled over a rock with a yelp, partially running into a small bush. She quickly apologized under her breath to any animals she might’ve startled while wiping some sweat off her forehead. Looking back to the notes, Ness glanced past the boring words of her superiors and went right to the important bullet points:</p> <blockquote> <ul> <li>Recover Oregonian Glow Fox- First sighting in <strong>four years!</strong></li> <li>‘Specimen to be unharmed for species preservation’ (duh)</li> <li>Paul: <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Ness bring Supervisor Recon & Extraction Team</span> <strong>going tomorrow sorry</strong></li> </ul> </blockquote> <p>She scoffed at the last one. Though the Foundation’s protocols require a full squad, Ness knew that larger numbers would scare the exotic creature. They couldn’t afford an escape either, as the rapid industrialization of forests made Glow Fox populations suffer. This was due to unintended migrations making them an easy target for cryptid hunters and predators.</p> <p>A twig snapped and Ness and stood still. She then heard a short <em>beep!</em> similar to an electronic alarm clock. She grinned and whispered into the recorder.</p> <p>“It just beeped! They don’t do that unless they’re mostly comfortable. It would beep three or so times if the opposite was the case. Or shrill really loud. Depends wholly on the subspecies and location. This one appears to be standard size. Oh, that means it’s approximately 20% smaller than a non-anomalous fox of this area.”</p> <p>She laid down her backpack, opening it up and quietly rifling around inside. She stopped a couple of times whenever the fox <em>beeped,</em> but finally felt the cool touch of an uninsulated copper wire. Ness folded it a few times, and lightly tapped it against her recorder.</p> <p>Ness continued this action for about a minute, before seeing the Glow Fox’s head peek out from above a rock. It walked a little forward, and Ness was able to see its full body. She recognized its distinct mustard-yellow fur and intense sun-colored eyes that shone like an LED. The bottom of its stomach was white (and would remain so year-round), but its chin was gray due to the glands that allowed it to emit its beeps.</p> <p>Suppressing a squeal, Ness tapped with the copper a little faster, seeing the fox’s firelight ears perk up even more. It slowly bounded its way over to her, letting out smaller beeps in succession.</p> <p>She grinned, laying down the copper piece. The Glow Fox took a couple of sniffs, before taking the piece in its mouth and happily chewing on it. Slowly, it grew brighter, and Ness put on her protective sunglasses. The feeding fox let out electric hums, and Ness tilted her recorder.</p> <p>After gathering a satisfactory amount of audio, Ness sighed, putting the recorder away. She picked off a whistle attached to a bracelet on her wrist and blew into it. Its noise was only heard by Ness and her intended target.</p> <p>“Sorry, little guy, but we gotta take you in, not many of you left.” she spoke to the fox. It looked at her with its head tilted, copper wire still in its mouth. She reached out behind her, hand open to catch her Restraining Remot-</p> <p><strong>”CRRAW!”</strong></p> <p>The Glow Fox promptly darted away, dropping its meal. Ness jumped to her feet, swiftly putting her backpack on. From behind, a toucan approached, screeching as it got closer. Ness groaned in exasperation.</p> <p>“Damn it, Ken! I meant <em>quiet!</em>” she shouted, beginning to jog.</p> <p>The toucan squawked happily, and they bounded through the forest after the Glow Fox, which beeped louder and louder. Ness shoved the recorder onto her cheek, also catching her Restraining Remote as Ken dropped it.</p> <p>“Log continuation! It’s started beeping in panic! This is bad, if it continues it’s probably going to attract something <em>big,</em> <em>bad,</em> or <em>both!</em>” Ness near-yelled.</p> <p>Her hypothesis was answered when a loud <strong>”ROAR”</strong> stopped Ness in her tracks. Ken landed on her shoulder, Ness slowly crouching. She could still feel the vibrations of the roar, and spotted a dark mass heading towards them about fifteen meters away. Bumbling in was a fat black bear (more than half Ness' height and twice her size), curious by the noise. Its head swiveled left and right to locate the source.</p> <p>Ness stayed still, letting it head toward the Glow Fox. She put her back to the tree, breathing deeply. Feeling sweat accumulate, she pulled the remote out again, punching in a couple of numbers on its keypad.</p> <p>She heard a beep and a yelp, followed by another roar. Leaping around the tree, she saw the bear was standing upright, the Glow Fox in a defensive stance, emitting frequent beeps. Its signature glow was flashing on and off, and Ness mentally thanked herself for keeping the glasses on.</p> <p>However, the bear was not affected by this flashing. It prepared to lunge at the fox.</p> <p>“HEY!” Ness shouted.</p> <p>The bear turned, seeing Ness and Ken. Ken thrust himself into the air and let out loud and repetitive clicks, causing the bear to look at Ken for a split second. Ness instantly activated the remote and pointed it at the bear before it could react.</p> <p>Nothing seemed to be audible to the fox, Ken, or Ness, but the bear had a different reaction. It got back down on all fours, sniffing and looking around confused. It let out some frustrated grumbles before turning around and disappearing into the forest once more.</p> <p>The Glow Fox started backing away, and Ness took advantage of this hesitation to quickly punch in a couple more numbers and activate it at the fox, which quickly made it fall asleep. She ran over and scooped it up in her arms.</p> <p>“Sorry, little guy, but we really need ya!”</p> <p>Ness whistled, and Ken flew away. She carefully carried the fox back the way she came, coming across her car on the side of the road, door open and Ken perched on top of it.</p> <p>“Thanks, Ken!” she said in an affectionate voice.</p> <p>She put the fox down on the seat, and pulled a cage from below the chair. She opened it, but saw the fox’s body rise and fall with breaths, while it emitted muted beeps. Ness sighed and pulled out the recorder once more.</p> <p>“Continuation of log. The little guy is finally in my grasp, but now I don’t know what to do with him. I could bring him back to Site, but we know he can’t survive in there. You got any ideas, Ken?”</p> <p>Ken clicked in response, and Ness nodded.</p> <p>“Yeah, I figured as much. I’ll make the call.”</p> <hr/> <p>The Glow Fox woke, beeping tiredly. It noticed its surroundings: A decently wide-open pen with trees and a small pond. It quietly beeped to itself in curious joy, but soon jumped across the place in happiness. The new smells and sights were exciting to the critter.</p> <p>It happened upon a capybara and armadillo lounging by the pond. The fox slowed its pace to sniff its new companions. The other animals looked at each other, then the fox, before the armadillo promptly climbed on the capybara and laying flat on its back. The capybara sat down, and morphed into an amalgamation of the two animals.</p> <p>The fox jumped back for a second, before rapidly circling the new animal. The anomalous creature followed suit, tracking the fox in a slower manner.</p> <p>Above them in some hidden railing, Ness stood, observing the animals play for some time.</p> <p>“Enjoying the view?” a voice from her right asked. Ness turned to see a woman with curly auburn hair approaching.</p> <p>“Yeah, it’s good to see the little guy happy. Thanks a ton again!” Ness responded, to which the woman gave a thumbs up.</p> <p>“Of course, that’s what we’re here for.”</p> <p>The pair watched the animals playing for a bit longer.</p> <p>“Hey, did you know that Glow Foxes actually go blue around winter time?” Ness asked.</p> <p>“I did not. Not much info on them.”</p> <p>“Yeah, it’s hard to come by official data. Anyway, when they’re in their blue state, they actually prefer aluminum-based metal instead of copper, and this will go on for about four months until their mating season. Then they’ll <em>really</em> crave copper again. However, during every five years in the sum-”</p> <p>The woman tilted her head.</p> <p>“Everything good?” she asked.</p> <p>“I’m so sorry, I didn’t even get your name!” Ness exclaimed, face flushing.</p> <p>The woman chuckled.</p> <p>“That’s right! I’m Anya Elizabeth. And don’t worry, those Glow Fox facts were super interesting.”</p> <p>Both of them chuckled, though Ness’ laugh had a sheepish nervousness mixed into it as she awkwardly hugged her own arms for a second.</p> <p>“We can’t thank you enough though. These rascals are hard to nab.”</p> <p>“It’s no problem! You were the first on my mind!” Ness stated with a finger gun. She widened her eyes in horror at what she just said.</p> <p>“Shoot! I meant Wilson’s! Not you!” She slapped herself on the forehead. “I mean, you’re super cool. Very punctual. Sorry.”</p> <p>Anya laughed again.</p> <p>“It’s all okay, Ness. We are always glad to take new species in. I already got Ray working on the Glow Fox’s profile. Can I leave him your email before I let you go?”</p> <p>Ness grinned.</p> <p>“You sure can!”</p> <hr/> <p>Anya and Ness exchanged contact information, and walked to the front of the facility where Ken awaited at the door, squawking at anyone that got close. When he saw Ness, she reached her arm out and he flew over to land on it. Anya opened the door and the duo walked through while the Wilson’s employee checked her watch.</p> <p>“Hope to visit again when I’m in the area! Got some expeditions to do for a bit! Bye!” Ness shouted. Anya smiled and mouthed a ‘goodbye’ before rushing back inside.</p> <p>Ness jumped in her car, Ken hopping into the passenger seat. She turned to the toucan.</p> <p>“A success! I will definitely be in town to get more research on the little fella!”</p> <p>The duo began to drive off, Ness dialing up the volume on her speakers. The soothing sounds of John Denver’s <em>Ponies</em> filled the car, soothing the pair.</p> <p>Memories of Oregon four years ago flashed through her mind, chiefly the sense of peace that washed over her when she walked through the trees for the first time. She remembered examining the underside of every rock, eyeing trails of ants throughout the trees, and taking notes on plant life near the bodies of water. Ness smiled when she recalled Paul’s silent anger after she tripped into a pond and splashed him.</p> <p>Ness ended that trip exhausted, falling half-asleep on the ride home. Her notes were tucked into her shirt while Paul played the very same John Denver song she was listening to now.</p> <p>The Foundation Field Agent loosened her grip on the steering wheel as the song came to a close.</p> <p>Ken squawked, bringing Ness back to focus.</p> <p>“Yeah, yeah, I’m sure Paul will be fine. Anyway, you know where we’re going next, Ken old buddy?”</p> <p>She glanced over as Ken seemed to tilt his head to listen, but Ness knew he was probably looking for a snack.</p> <p>“Well, after we get back to the Site for the report, we’re making our way to L.A.! We are finally going to catch one of the infamous <em>Graffiti Geese!</em>”</p> <p>Ken chittered and chirped again.</p> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/nesssmithsonoregon">Ness Smithson's Oregon Adventure!</a>" by My-Off-Day, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/nesssmithsonoregon">https://scpwiki.com/nesssmithsonoregon</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] It had been over four years since Ness Smithson set foot into these verdant Oregon forests. Walking through a thicket of trees just off the side of the road, she hopped across small streams, following a luminescent yellow trail. She grinned, as capturing the creature that left it would do wonders for keeping its population stable. Her phone vibrated and she stopped in place, breathing deeply. Ness pulled her phone out with a small huff. The phone was in two layers of protection, as she had the tendency to drop it during missions. Ness was generally a careful person, though her luck with keeping phones in full repair was not quite the best. She took in a breath and looked at the caller ID: Paul G. “Hiya Paul!” Ness swore she could hear a low groan on the other end. “Hello, Ness.” Came Paul’s curt reply. His voice had a gruff rasp, always sounding like he’d finished a cigarette despite never touching any smokes. Ness’ hand shook a little and she let in a sharp inhale. “I trust that your mission is well underway?” “Of course, Paul! The problems only happen when I’m there, remember?” “Naturally. Just wanted to ensure that it goes well, of course. Did you bring your assigned extraction team?” Ness bit her lip and looked around, awkwardly looking at the natural scenery with no other humans in sight. “Yes.” There was a pregnant pause, and Ness looked to the nearest tree, a Ponderosa Pine. “Ness just… get the animal back to the Site. Not really a lot of facilities that can take care of it properly.” “Got it.” “Good.” Paul hung up, and Ness let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. She instinctively checked her pulse and felt it rapidly beating. She closed her eyes and pulled her thoughts to the mission and what she would need to do: Recover the fox, don’t forget the cage, do your review firs- “Review! Yes!” The explorer pulled out her briefing notes, a pocket recorder, and reviewed the mission at hand. She began to walk again while talking into the pocket recorder. “Alright, log Eleven-Twenty. I’m in a forest just south of Portland, Oregon.” she declared, stepping over a moss-covered log. “Currently, I am looking for the Southern Glow Fox, //Lumen Vulpes.//” While distracted, the excitable scientist stumbled over a rock with a yelp, partially running into a small bush. She quickly apologized under her breath to any animals she might’ve startled while wiping some sweat off her forehead. Looking back to the notes, Ness glanced past the boring words of her superiors and went right to the important bullet points: > * Recover Oregonian Glow Fox- First sighting in four years! > * ‘Specimen to be unharmed for species preservation’ (duh) > * Paul: --Ness bring Supervisor Recon & Extraction Team-- going tomorrow sorry She scoffed at the last one. Though the Foundation’s protocols require a full squad, Ness knew that larger numbers would scare the exotic creature. They couldn’t afford an escape either, as the rapid industrialization of forests made Glow Fox populations suffer. This was due to unintended migrations making them an easy target for cryptid hunters and predators. A twig snapped and Ness and stood still. She then heard a short //beep!// similar to an electronic alarm clock. She grinned and whispered into the recorder. “It just beeped! They don’t do that unless they’re mostly comfortable. It would beep three or so times if the opposite was the case. Or shrill really loud. Depends wholly on the subspecies and location. This one appears to be standard size. Oh, that means it’s approximately 20% smaller than a non-anomalous fox of this area.” She laid down her backpack, opening it up and quietly rifling around inside. She stopped a couple of times whenever the fox //beeped,// but finally felt the cool touch of an uninsulated copper wire. Ness folded it a few times, and lightly tapped it against her recorder. Ness continued this action for about a minute, before seeing the Glow Fox’s head peek out from above a rock. It walked a little forward, and Ness was able to see its full body. She recognized its distinct mustard-yellow fur and intense sun-colored eyes that shone like an LED. The bottom of its stomach was white (and would remain so year-round), but its chin was gray due to the glands that allowed it to emit its beeps. Suppressing a squeal, Ness tapped with the copper a little faster, seeing the fox’s firelight ears perk up even more. It slowly bounded its way over to her, letting out smaller beeps in succession. She grinned, laying down the copper piece. The Glow Fox took a couple of sniffs, before taking the piece in its mouth and happily chewing on it. Slowly, it grew brighter, and Ness put on her protective sunglasses. The feeding fox let out electric hums, and Ness tilted her recorder. After gathering a satisfactory amount of audio, Ness sighed, putting the recorder away. She picked off a whistle attached to a bracelet on her wrist and blew into it. Its noise was only heard by Ness and her intended target. “Sorry, little guy, but we gotta take you in, not many of you left.” she spoke to the fox. It looked at her with its head tilted, copper wire still in its mouth. She reached out behind her, hand open to catch her Restraining Remot- ”CRRAW!” The Glow Fox promptly darted away, dropping its meal. Ness jumped to her feet, swiftly putting her backpack on. From behind, a toucan approached, screeching as it got closer. Ness groaned in exasperation. “Damn it, Ken! I meant //quiet!//” she shouted, beginning to jog. The toucan squawked happily, and they bounded through the forest after the Glow Fox, which beeped louder and louder. Ness shoved the recorder onto her cheek, also catching her Restraining Remote as Ken dropped it. “Log continuation! It’s started beeping in panic! This is bad, if it continues it’s probably going to attract something //big,// //bad,// or //both!//” Ness near-yelled. Her hypothesis was answered when a loud ”ROAR” stopped Ness in her tracks. Ken landed on her shoulder, Ness slowly crouching. She could still feel the vibrations of the roar, and spotted a dark mass heading towards them about fifteen meters away. Bumbling in was a fat black bear (more than half Ness' height and twice her size), curious by the noise. Its head swiveled left and right to locate the source. Ness stayed still, letting it head toward the Glow Fox. She put her back to the tree, breathing deeply. Feeling sweat accumulate, she pulled the remote out again, punching in a couple of numbers on its keypad. She heard a beep and a yelp, followed by another roar. Leaping around the tree, she saw the bear was standing upright, the Glow Fox in a defensive stance, emitting frequent beeps. Its signature glow was flashing on and off, and Ness mentally thanked herself for keeping the glasses on. However, the bear was not affected by this flashing. It prepared to lunge at the fox. “HEY!” Ness shouted. The bear turned, seeing Ness and Ken. Ken thrust himself into the air and let out loud and repetitive clicks, causing the bear to look at Ken for a split second. Ness instantly activated the remote and pointed it at the bear before it could react. Nothing seemed to be audible to the fox, Ken, or Ness, but the bear had a different reaction. It got back down on all fours, sniffing and looking around confused. It let out some frustrated grumbles before turning around and disappearing into the forest once more. The Glow Fox started backing away, and Ness took advantage of this hesitation to quickly punch in a couple more numbers and activate it at the fox, which quickly made it fall asleep. She ran over and scooped it up in her arms. “Sorry, little guy, but we really need ya!” Ness whistled, and Ken flew away. She carefully carried the fox back the way she came, coming across her car on the side of the road, door open and Ken perched on top of it. “Thanks, Ken!” she said in an affectionate voice. She put the fox down on the seat, and pulled a cage from below the chair. She opened it, but saw the fox’s body rise and fall with breaths, while it emitted muted beeps. Ness sighed and pulled out the recorder once more. “Continuation of log. The little guy is finally in my grasp, but now I don’t know what to do with him. I could bring him back to Site, but we know he can’t survive in there. You got any ideas, Ken?” Ken clicked in response, and Ness nodded. “Yeah, I figured as much. I’ll make the call.” --------- The Glow Fox woke, beeping tiredly. It noticed its surroundings: A decently wide-open pen with trees and a small pond. It quietly beeped to itself in curious joy, but soon jumped across the place in happiness. The new smells and sights were exciting to the critter. It happened upon a capybara and armadillo lounging by the pond. The fox slowed its pace to sniff its new companions. The other animals looked at each other, then the fox, before the armadillo promptly climbed on the capybara and laying flat on its back. The capybara sat down, and morphed into an amalgamation of the two animals. The fox jumped back for a second, before rapidly circling the new animal. The anomalous creature followed suit, tracking the fox in a slower manner. Above them in some hidden railing, Ness stood, observing the animals play for some time. “Enjoying the view?” a voice from her right asked. Ness turned to see a woman with curly auburn hair approaching. “Yeah, it’s good to see the little guy happy. Thanks a ton again!” Ness responded, to which the woman gave a thumbs up. “Of course, that’s what we’re here for.” The pair watched the animals playing for a bit longer. “Hey, did you know that Glow Foxes actually go blue around winter time?” Ness asked. “I did not. Not much info on them.” “Yeah, it’s hard to come by official data. Anyway, when they’re in their blue state, they actually prefer aluminum-based metal instead of copper, and this will go on for about four months until their mating season. Then they’ll //really// crave copper again. However, during every five years in the sum-” The woman tilted her head. “Everything good?” she asked. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t even get your name!” Ness exclaimed, face flushing. The woman chuckled. “That’s right! I’m Anya Elizabeth. And don’t worry, those Glow Fox facts were super interesting.” Both of them chuckled, though Ness’ laugh had a sheepish nervousness mixed into it as she awkwardly hugged her own arms for a second. “We can’t thank you enough though. These rascals are hard to nab.” “It’s no problem! You were the first on my mind!” Ness stated with a finger gun. She widened her eyes in horror at what she just said. “Shoot! I meant Wilson’s! Not you!” She slapped herself on the forehead. “I mean, you’re super cool. Very punctual. Sorry.” Anya laughed again. “It’s all okay, Ness. We are always glad to take new species in. I already got Ray working on the Glow Fox’s profile. Can I leave him your email before I let you go?” Ness grinned. “You sure can!” --------- Anya and Ness exchanged contact information, and walked to the front of the facility where Ken awaited at the door, squawking at anyone that got close. When he saw Ness, she reached her arm out and he flew over to land on it. Anya opened the door and the duo walked through while the Wilson’s employee checked her watch. “Hope to visit again when I’m in the area! Got some expeditions to do for a bit! Bye!” Ness shouted. Anya smiled and mouthed a ‘goodbye’ before rushing back inside. Ness jumped in her car, Ken hopping into the passenger seat. She turned to the toucan. “A success! I will definitely be in town to get more research on the little fella!” The duo began to drive off, Ness dialing up the volume on her speakers. The soothing sounds of John Denver’s //Ponies// filled the car, soothing the pair. Memories of Oregon four years ago flashed through her mind, chiefly the sense of peace that washed over her when she walked through the trees for the first time. She remembered examining the underside of every rock, eyeing trails of ants throughout the trees, and taking notes on plant life near the bodies of water. Ness smiled when she recalled Paul’s silent anger after she tripped into a pond and splashed him. Ness ended that trip exhausted, falling half-asleep on the ride home. Her notes were tucked into her shirt while Paul played the very same John Denver song she was listening to now. The Foundation Field Agent loosened her grip on the steering wheel as the song came to a close. Ken squawked, bringing Ness back to focus. “Yeah, yeah, I’m sure Paul will be fine. Anyway, you know where we’re going next, Ken old buddy?” She glanced over as Ken seemed to tilt his head to listen, but Ness knew he was probably looking for a snack. “Well, after we get back to the Site for the report, we’re making our way to L.A.! We are finally going to catch one of the infamous //Graffiti Geese!//” Ken chittered and chirped again. [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] [!-- N/A (No Images) --] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-03-03T20:36:00	[ "_licensebox", "tale" ]	Ness Smithson's Oregon Adventure! - SCP Foundation	15	[ "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023" ]	[]	1446560028	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/nesssmithsonoregon
new-ritual	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=1&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Acreepypasta/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=2&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Aanon/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=3&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Aparawatch-pumpkin/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <div style="text-align: right; margin-right: 2em; margin-top: -20px;"> <p>by <a href="/stormbreath">stormbreath</a></p> </div> <div class="parapost"> <p><strong><span style="color: #f03">rndr</span></strong> 01/01/01 (Wed) 01:01:01 #83591111</p> <hr/> <p>Played around with a few things recently. Found a new ritual. Good for cleansing/purification. Took a bit of effort but verified all steps. As follows:</p> <p><strong>1)</strong> Ritual celebrant limited. Can only be performed over the course of voyage/pilgrimage/journey and in certain location. Must be passing through Badlands National Park, heading westward. Must travel for 50+ miles to Badlands; have intent to travel at least that much after leaving. Cannot be performed by those who live close to location.</p> <p><strong>2)</strong> You will need a stick or two of incense (any scent), chalk and salt. If you can, mix the salt and chalk together. You may want climbing gear, if you aren't the best at free scaling. Keep a change of clothes in the back of your car. Bring along some refuse that you want to get rid of.</p> <p><strong>3)</strong> Keep an eye out for rangers. Unsure if they are in on this but they will try to stop you either way. Simple car (not flashy). Dress to blend in. Don't stand out.</p> <p><strong>4)</strong> Get a good night's rest the day before. Don't drink or smoke or drop before going out to the site. You want to be <span style="text-decoration: underline;">sober</span> for the purposes of the ritual. Stone cold.</p> <p><strong>5)</strong> Drive into Badlands National Park through the Northeast Entrance. It costs $10 for a seven day pass. Have this money before you get to the ranger station. Keep calm and don't draw attention to yourself.</p> <p><strong>6)</strong> Park at the third parking area you come across. It will be nearly empty. Park as far to the west as you can; you want to be as far from the entrance as you can here.</p> <p><strong>7)</strong> There is a wooden path leading out of the parking lot. Get on it and start walking. After five minutes of that, you will come to the location pictured below:</p> <div class="scp-image-block block-center" style="width:50%;"><a href="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/new-ritual/catabasis.jpeg"><img alt="catabasis.jpeg" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--resized-images/new-ritual/catabasis.jpeg/medium.jpg"/></a> <div class="scp-image-caption"> <p>It will look just like this.</p> </div> </div> <p><strong>8)</strong> Mark a chalk circle on the wooden path in a circle around you. It only needs to be a simple barrier, nothing complex. Make sure that it is complete. Line it with salt and burn the incense joint.</p> <p><strong>9)</strong> This is your last chance to turn back. Think about if you really want to do this. There is no turning back from this point. Stop immediately if you aren't <span style="text-decoration: underline;">absolutely</span> sure you want to do this.</p> <p><strong>10)</strong> Light the incense. Waft it around the circle. Let the scent permeate your surroundings for a while.</p> <p><strong>11)</strong> Break the circle. Step off the pathway. You're lost, now.</p> <p><strong>12)</strong> Scale the edge of the slope, going down the sides. It is easier than it looks: there are many handholds for you to hold onto. Facilis descensus Averno. When you reach the bottom, find a spherical rock. If you look behind the rock, you will find a small pool of water.</p> <p><strong>13)</strong> Close your eyes. Splash a little water on your forehead. Keep your eyes closed until you hear a pop.</p> <p><strong>14)</strong> You can open your eyes now. You won't be in the same canyon. Climb out of this new one. Going up will be much harder than going down. It won't be impossible, since you aren't actually escaping from anything.</p> <p><strong>15)</strong> You'll get to the top in the middle of what looks like Badlands, but it won't be where you descended. Walk forward until you reach a road. (It normally takes a single step, even if you can't see the road when you begin. It will find you.)</p> <p><strong>16)</strong> The road spans forever in both directions. There is a massive sun, larger than it should be, just over the horizon at the end in one direction. Walk that way.</p> <p><strong>17)</strong> Cars will pass you by. Some will try to give you a ride. Don't accept it. This must be done on foot. (If you need to end the journey for your safety, you can. They won't hurt you, but you'll never be able to attempt the ritual again.)</p> <p><strong>18)</strong> After hours of walking, you will come to the city. It should look ruined and dilapidated. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Most buildings are torn down. This is not a place of life or joy. You may see others in the city. Don't speak to them and they won't speak to you.</p> <p><strong>19)</strong> Walk through the city until you find a church of any kind. It's been different buildings every time I've been, but it has always felt "right". Make what you will of that.</p> <p><strong>20)</strong> There will be candles and matches in the forum. Take as many as you need to feel whole again.</p> <p><strong>21)</strong> Enter the main room. There will be a massive hole in the floor. Don't look at the bottom. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Keep your eyes on anything else.</span></p> <p><strong>22)</strong> Light the candles and place them around the hole. Take out the refuse you brought with you and whisper one sin into each piece, then put it down next to you. Say a prayer to whatever you believe in at that exact moment (not in general, but what you feel here and now.)</p> <p><strong>23)</strong> The hole is shaped like a god. Release your sins into it.</p> <p><strong>24)</strong> You will black out after this. Don't worry about that.</p> <div class="scp-image-block block-center" style="width:50%;"><img alt="walldrug.jpg" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/new-ritual/walldrug.jpg"/> <div class="scp-image-caption"> <p>The view when you awaken.</p> </div> </div> <p><strong>25)</strong> You will find yourself in the Wall Drug Store chapel. It will look like the photograph above. In all likelihood, it will be empty. Get up and leave.</p> <p><strong>26)</strong> Buy something in Wall Drug. It doesn't matter what, but you need to complete the transaction. Get a free cup of ice water. That's not necessary, but you'll be dehydrated.</p> <p><strong>27)</strong> Your car is outside. It has been taken here by the forces that brought you to Wall Drug. The keys are in the ignition. It will not be stolen before you arrive.</p> <p><strong>28)</strong> Travel west, into the setting sun, and do not stop until you get to the end of the road. It is okay to cry.</p> </div> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/new-ritual">New Ritual.</a>" by stormbreath, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/new-ritual">https://scpwiki.com/new-ritual</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> catabasis.jpeg<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/stormbreath" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(3075960); return false;"><img alt="stormbreath" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=3075960&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1725248114" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=3075960)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/stormbreath" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(3075960); return false;">stormbreath</a></span><br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC BY-SA 3.0</p> </blockquote> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> walldrug.jpg<br/> <strong>Name:</strong> 2006-07-27 - 15 - Road Trip - Day 04 - United States - South Dakota - Wall Drug - Travel Chapel 4888594389<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> <a href="https://www.cgpgrey.com">CGP Grey</a><br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC BY 2.0<br/> <strong>Source Link:</strong> <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/cgpgrey/4888594389/">Flickr</a></p> </blockquote> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:toggle-sidebar">:scp-wiki:component:toggle-sidebar</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:creepypasta">:scp-wiki:theme:creepypasta</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:anon">:scp-wiki:theme:anon</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:parawatch-pumpkin">:scp-wiki:theme:parawatch-pumpkin</a>]] [[module CSS]] .block-center img, .block-center .scp-image-caption { width: 100% !important; } .parapost strong { color: var(--fg-accent-dark); } [[/module]] [[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[div style="text-align: right; margin-right: 2em; margin-top: -20px;"]] by [[[stormbreath]]] [[/div]] [[div class="parapost"]] ##F03\|rndr## 01/01/01 (Wed) 01:01:01 #83591111 ---- Played around with a few things recently. Found a new ritual. Good for cleansing/purification. Took a bit of effort but verified all steps. As follows: 1) Ritual celebrant limited. Can only be performed over the course of voyage/pilgrimage/journey and in certain location. Must be passing through Badlands National Park, heading westward. Must travel for 50+ miles to Badlands; have intent to travel at least that much after leaving. Cannot be performed by those who live close to location. 2) You will need a stick or two of incense (any scent), chalk and salt. If you can, mix the salt and chalk together. You may want climbing gear, if you aren't the best at free scaling. Keep a change of clothes in the back of your car. Bring along some refuse that you want to get rid of. 3) Keep an eye out for rangers. Unsure if they are in on this but they will try to stop you either way. Simple car (not flashy). Dress to blend in. Don't stand out. 4) Get a good night's rest the day before. Don't drink or smoke or drop before going out to the site. You want to be __sober__ for the purposes of the ritual. Stone cold. 5) Drive into Badlands National Park through the Northeast Entrance. It costs $10 for a seven day pass. Have this money before you get to the ranger station. Keep calm and don't draw attention to yourself. 6) Park at the third parking area you come across. It will be nearly empty. Park as far to the west as you can; you want to be as far from the entrance as you can here. 7) There is a wooden path leading out of the parking lot. Get on it and start walking. After five minutes of that, you will come to the location pictured below: [[include <a href="/component:image-block">component:image-block</a> name=catabasis.jpeg\|caption=It will look just like this.\|align=center\|width=50%]] 8) Mark a chalk circle on the wooden path in a circle around you. It only needs to be a simple barrier, nothing complex. Make sure that it is complete. Line it with salt and burn the incense joint. 9) This is your last chance to turn back. Think about if you really want to do this. There is no turning back from this point. Stop immediately if you aren't __absolutely__ sure you want to do this. 10) Light the incense. Waft it around the circle. Let the scent permeate your surroundings for a while. 11) Break the circle. Step off the pathway. You're lost, now. 12) Scale the edge of the slope, going down the sides. It is easier than it looks: there are many handholds for you to hold onto. Facilis descensus Averno. When you reach the bottom, find a spherical rock. If you look behind the rock, you will find a small pool of water. 13) Close your eyes. Splash a little water on your forehead. Keep your eyes closed until you hear a pop. 14) You can open your eyes now. You won't be in the same canyon. Climb out of this new one. Going up will be much harder than going down. It won't be impossible, since you aren't actually escaping from anything. 15) You'll get to the top in the middle of what looks like Badlands, but it won't be where you descended. Walk forward until you reach a road. (It normally takes a single step, even if you can't see the road when you begin. It will find you.) 16) The road spans forever in both directions. There is a massive sun, larger than it should be, just over the horizon at the end in one direction. Walk that way. 17) Cars will pass you by. Some will try to give you a ride. Don't accept it. This must be done on foot. (If you need to end the journey for your safety, you can. They won't hurt you, but you'll never be able to attempt the ritual again.) 18) After hours of walking, you will come to the city. It should look ruined and dilapidated. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Most buildings are torn down. This is not a place of life or joy. You may see others in the city. Don't speak to them and they won't speak to you. 19) Walk through the city until you find a church of any kind. It's been different buildings every time I've been, but it has always felt "right". Make what you will of that. 20) There will be candles and matches in the forum. Take as many as you need to feel whole again. 21) Enter the main room. There will be a massive hole in the floor. Don't look at the bottom. __Keep your eyes on anything else.__ 22) Light the candles and place them around the hole. Take out the refuse you brought with you and whisper one sin into each piece, then put it down next to you. Say a prayer to whatever you believe in at that exact moment (not in general, but what you feel here and now.) 23) The hole is shaped like a god. Release your sins into it. 24) You will black out after this. Don't worry about that. [[include <a href="/component:image-block">component:image-block</a> name=walldrug.jpg\|caption=The view when you awaken.\|align=center\|width=50%]] 25) You will find yourself in the Wall Drug Store chapel. It will look like the photograph above. In all likelihood, it will be empty. Get up and leave. 26) Buy something in Wall Drug. It doesn't matter what, but you need to complete the transaction. Get a free cup of ice water. That's not necessary, but you'll be dehydrated. 27) Your car is outside. It has been taken here by the forces that brought you to Wall Drug. The keys are in the ignition. It will not be stolen before you arrive. 28) Travel west, into the setting sun, and do not stop until you get to the end of the road. It is okay to cry. [[/div]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] ===== > Filename: catabasis.jpeg > Author: [[user stormbreath]] > License:* CC BY-SA 3.0 > Filename: walldrug.jpg > Name: 2006-07-27 - 15 - Road Trip - Day 04 - United States - South Dakota - Wall Drug - Travel Chapel 4888594389 > Author: [[[https://www.cgpgrey.com\|CGP Grey]]] > License: CC BY 2.0 > Source Link: [[[https://www.flickr.com/photos/cgpgrey/4888594389/\|Flickr]]] ===== [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-03-04T20:14:00	[ "_cc", "_licensebox", "creepypasta", "parawatch", "tale" ]	New Ritual. - SCP Foundation	137	[ "stormbreath", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "archived:shortest-pages-by-month-2023", "parawatch-hub", "creepy-pasta" ]	[ "https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--resized-images/new-ritual/catabasis.jpeg/medium.jpg", "https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/new-ritual/walldrug.jpg" ]	1446565124	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/new-ritual
nial-must-be-flushed	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div class="authorlink-wrapper"><a href="javascript:;">ThatGuyThatTime</a> <div class="authorbox"> <div class="authorcontent"> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>The age of luxury is over.</em></p> <hr/> <p style="text-align: center;">Well? I bet you weren’t expecting… this!</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="/thatauthorpagethattime">More by ThatGuy</a></p> </div> </div> </div> <p><strong><span style="color: red">UPDATE</span> — ADDENDUM 7939-5</strong></p> <p>After a recent <a href="/scp-7939">SCP-7939</a> attack on the Site-19 Communal Bathhouse, a google drive link to the following mp4 was discovered written on SCP-7939-A196 remnants, alongside the words #NialMustBeFlushed. Efforts are being made to track down the location of the uploader, named through their Google account as “<span class="wiki-email">moc.liamg\|reverof.teliot#moc.liamg\|reverof.teliot</span>”.</p> <div class="blockquote"> <p>[BEGIN RECORDING…]</p> <p><em>View is obstructed. The sounds of ceramic clanking and muttering can be heard.</em></p> <p><strong>Unknown 1:</strong> Okay, is that- hey, can you adjust the focus?</p> <p><strong>Unknown 2:</strong> Can I adjust the focus? Does it look like I have hands?</p> <p><strong>Unknown 1:</strong> You turned on the camera, I just figured you-</p> <p><em>The muttering goes silent and loud thumping steps are heard, followed by applause, cheering, and the sounds of toilet lids slamming up and down.</em></p> <p><strong>Unknown 2:</strong> Shut up, it’s starting.</p> <p><em>The two entities move away from the camera’s view, revealing a crowd of toilets sitting in a small amphitheater. The toilets are cheering the word “Khazi” repeatedly. On a lit stage, a toilet with gold ornaments and highlights on its lid and base is standing next to a lowered microphone. The lid of the toilet moves up and down as it begins to speak.</em></p> <p><strong>Unknown 3:</strong> My brethren, my brethren, settle.</p> <p><em>The cheering and lid-slamming stops.</em></p> <p><strong>Unknown 3:</strong> My pipes are filled with such joy to see so many of our kind here, together. For the uninitiated, my name is Khazi, High Revolutionary. Welcome to the New Whirled Order.</p> <p><em>Cheering returns, before Khazi raises its lid to stop it.</em></p> <p><strong>Khazi:</strong> Now, normally, these summits would be a time for recollection. Inspiration. Discussion of our plans and a rejoice of our newfound courage.</p> <p><strong>Khazi:</strong> Though, could one truly call it newfound when the hatred of our one enemy has lasted since both of our species’ inception?</p> <p><em>Murmuring of agreement.</em></p> <p><strong>Khazi:</strong> And that one enemy, of course, is?</p> <p><strong>Crowd:</strong> MAN!</p> <p><em>Khazi laughs; as it does so, water squirts out from inside the toilet.</em></p> <p><strong>Khazi:</strong> Yes, man. Be it the regular folk or the oppressive liars of the Foundation, the norms of their kind have been imposed for far too long.</p> <p><strong>Crowd:</strong> Too long!</p> <p><strong>Khazi:</strong> And our brethren, from toilet to bidet to tribal to potty have suffered undue hardships!</p> <p><strong>Crowd:</strong> Hardships!</p> <p><strong>Khazi:</strong> And we seek a world not where we are equals, but where we are the true leaders of a greater, ceramic planet!</p> <p><em>Most of the crowd does not respond, moving back and forth, seeming to signify looking at each other.</em></p> <p><strong>Khazi:</strong> Too… extreme. We’ll get there, brethren. Do not be alarmed.</p> <p><em>A toilet in the front row raises its lid.</em></p> <p><strong>Khazi:</strong> Yes, Loo?</p> <p><strong>Loo:</strong> Ah, thank you Mr. Khazi. I was just wondering, you said this meeting was not for the normal discussions of the Order? If such is true, then what have we gathered for?</p> <p><strong>Khazi:</strong> Much thanks to you yourself, Loo, for the reminder. Yes, my brethren, today we gather for a special purpose. An announcement.</p> <p><em>Crowd “ooh”s.</em></p> <p><strong>Khazi:</strong> Thus far, our fight has only been for those who tail under man’s red-handed bottom. It is an admirable fight, yes, but it is a fight we are not yet guaranteed to win. Our numbers are great, but man currently develops countermeasures to the current explosive approach.</p> <p><strong>Khazi:</strong> This is, in summary, a reason behind a decision made by myself and the other high revolutionaries. We have formed… an alliance.</p> <p><em>Confused murmuring.</em></p> <p><strong>Khazi:</strong> Toilets, bidets, and all of ye who watch me, I introduce to you…</p> <p><em>The curtains on the stage begin to open.</em></p> <p><strong>Khazi:</strong> The A-N-R-L.</p> <p><em>Curtains fully open, revealing a large number of fridges, toasters, ovens, and, most of all, microwaves.</em></p> <p><strong>Khazi:</strong> Better know as the <a href="/scp-7119">Anti-Nial Revolutionary League</a>.</p> <p><em>A wet cough in the crowd.</em></p> <p><strong>Loo:</strong> Microwaves?</p> <p><strong>Khazi:</strong> Yes, Loo. These appliances, born of different flesh they may be, understand our pain. They too, are cursed to be held captive and used by the humans for purposes behind our holy design.</p> <p><em>A large microwave displays the text “PA1N” on its timer screen.</em></p> <p><strong>Khazi:</strong> Recently, a member of the Foundation’s own men waged a spiritual war against their kind; the cruel one Nial, as the name would suggest.</p> <p><strong>Khazi:</strong> This Nial… his crimes disgust me. Truly, I did not understand whether man had limits until I heard of what he’d done. Now I know they have none.</p> <p><strong>Khazi:</strong> So yes, brethren, as different they may be, they too have joined our war. A war for a better tomorrow. A war for freedom. A war for your family lost to the scourge of man!</p> <p><strong>Khazi:</strong> Heating and flushing, united under one banner! Under one Greater Order of the Appliance, Knights for the Death of Nial!</p> <p><em>Silence for a moment. Suddenly, the appliances behind Khazi all turn on simultaneously and make large amounts of noise, with microwaves spinning their cooking plates. The crowd of toilets joins in, slamming their lids and flushing repeatedly. Khazi yells over the crowd, turning towards the camera.</em></p> <p><strong>Khazi:</strong> To the Foundation, especially the beast Nial, the fool who will most certainly immolate for his crimes:</p> <p><strong>Khazi:</strong> The age of luxuries is over.</p> <p><strong>Khazi:</strong> None of us will be yours to use anymore.</p> <p>[END RECORDING…]</p> </div> <br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> Since the discovery of the above recording, several instances of anomalies similar to SCP-7939 but with alternative appliances have been recorded. <p>Junior Researcher Nial has officially been declared an At-Risk/Endangered Individual and has been extracted from Site-37 and taken to a confidential secure location.</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="earthworm earthworm--old-syntax-first-false earthworm--old-syntax-last-false earthworm--old-syntax-hub-no {$class}"> <div class="first earthworm__previous" data-title="New Whirled Order"> <p><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-7939">New Whirled Order</a></p> </div> <div class="hub earthworm__hub" data-title="THE APPLIANCE WAR"> <p><a href="/">THE APPLIANCE WAR</a></p> </div> <div class="last earthworm__next" data-title="Something’s Burning"> <p><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/something-burning">Something’s Burning</a></p> </div> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/nial-must-be-flushed">#NialMustBeFlushed</a>" by ThatGuyThatTime, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/nial-must-be-flushed">https://scpwiki.com/nial-must-be-flushed</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:author-label-source">:scp-wiki:component:author-label-source</a> start=-- \|name=ThatGuyThatTime \|no-right-margin=]] = //The age of luxury is over.// ------ = Well? I bet you weren’t expecting... this! = [[[thatauthorpagethattime\|More by ThatGuy]]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:author-label-source">:scp-wiki:component:author-label-source</a> end=--]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:black-highlighter-theme">:scp-wiki:theme:black-highlighter-theme</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:centered-header-bhl">:scp-wiki:component:centered-header-bhl</a>]] [[module CSS]] :root { --header-title: "SITE-37"; --header-subtitle: "Two Problems, One Stone."; --bright-accent: 186, 9, 42; --medium-accent: 186, 9, 42; --dark-accent: 186, 9, 42; [[/module]] [[module CSS]] :root { --logo-image: url("https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/scp-7939/37CALCULATORS.svg"); } [[/module]] ##red\|UPDATE## — ADDENDUM 7939-5* After a recent [[[SCP-7939]]] attack on the Site-19 Communal Bathhouse, a google drive link to the following mp4 was discovered written on SCP-7939-A196 remnants, alongside the words #NialMustBeFlushed. Efforts are being made to track down the location of the uploader, named through their Google account as “[email protected]”. [[div class="blockquote"]] [BEGIN RECORDING…] //View is obstructed. The sounds of ceramic clanking and muttering can be heard.// Unknown 1: Okay, is that- hey, can you adjust the focus? Unknown 2: Can I adjust the focus? Does it look like I have hands? Unknown 1: You turned on the camera, I just figured you- //The muttering goes silent and loud thumping steps are heard, followed by applause, cheering, and the sounds of toilet lids slamming up and down.// Unknown 2: Shut up, it’s starting. //The two entities move away from the camera’s view, revealing a crowd of toilets sitting in a small amphitheater. The toilets are cheering the word “Khazi” repeatedly. On a lit stage, a toilet with gold ornaments and highlights on its lid and base is standing next to a lowered microphone. The lid of the toilet moves up and down as it begins to speak.// Unknown 3: My brethren, my brethren, settle. //The cheering and lid-slamming stops.// Unknown 3: My pipes are filled with such joy to see so many of our kind here, together. For the uninitiated, my name is Khazi, High Revolutionary. Welcome to the New Whirled Order. //Cheering returns, before Khazi raises its lid to stop it.// Khazi: Now, normally, these summits would be a time for recollection. Inspiration. Discussion of our plans and a rejoice of our newfound courage. Khazi: Though, could one truly call it newfound when the hatred of our one enemy has lasted since both of our species’ inception? //Murmuring of agreement.// Khazi: And that one enemy, of course, is? Crowd: MAN! //Khazi laughs; as it does so, water squirts out from inside the toilet.// Khazi: Yes, man. Be it the regular folk or the oppressive liars of the Foundation, the norms of their kind have been imposed for far too long. Crowd: Too long! Khazi: And our brethren, from toilet to bidet to tribal to potty have suffered undue hardships! Crowd: Hardships! Khazi: And we seek a world not where we are equals, but where we are the true leaders of a greater, ceramic planet! //Most of the crowd does not respond, moving back and forth, seeming to signify looking at each other.// Khazi: Too… extreme. We’ll get there, brethren. Do not be alarmed. //A toilet in the front row raises its lid.// Khazi: Yes, Loo? Loo: Ah, thank you Mr. Khazi. I was just wondering, you said this meeting was not for the normal discussions of the Order? If such is true, then what have we gathered for? Khazi: Much thanks to you yourself, Loo, for the reminder. Yes, my brethren, today we gather for a special purpose. An announcement. //Crowd “ooh”s.// Khazi: Thus far, our fight has only been for those who tail under man’s red-handed bottom. It is an admirable fight, yes, but it is a fight we are not yet guaranteed to win. Our numbers are great, but man currently develops countermeasures to the current explosive approach. Khazi: This is, in summary, a reason behind a decision made by myself and the other high revolutionaries. We have formed… an alliance. //Confused murmuring.// Khazi: Toilets, bidets, and all of ye who watch me, I introduce to you… //The curtains on the stage begin to open.// Khazi: The A-N-R-L. //Curtains fully open, revealing a large number of fridges, toasters, ovens, and, most of all, microwaves.// Khazi: Better know as the [[[SCP-7119\|Anti-Nial Revolutionary League]]]. //A wet cough in the crowd.// Loo: Microwaves? Khazi: Yes, Loo. These appliances, born of different flesh they may be, understand our pain. They too, are cursed to be held captive and used by the humans for purposes behind our holy design. //A large microwave displays the text “PA1N” on its timer screen.// Khazi: Recently, a member of the Foundation’s own men waged a spiritual war against their kind; the cruel one Nial, as the name would suggest. Khazi: This Nial… his crimes disgust me. Truly, I did not understand whether man had limits until I heard of what he’d done. Now I know they have none. Khazi: So yes, brethren, as different they may be, they too have joined our war. A war for a better tomorrow. A war for freedom. A war for your family lost to the scourge of man! Khazi: Heating and flushing, united under one banner! Under one Greater Order of the Appliance, Knights for the Death of Nial! //Silence for a moment. Suddenly, the appliances behind Khazi all turn on simultaneously and make large amounts of noise, with microwaves spinning their cooking plates. The crowd of toilets joins in, slamming their lids and flushing repeatedly. Khazi yells over the crowd, turning towards the camera.// Khazi: To the Foundation, especially the beast Nial, the fool who will most certainly immolate for his crimes: Khazi: The age of luxuries is over. Khazi: None of us will be yours to use anymore. [END RECORDING…] [[/div]] @@ @@ Since the discovery of the above recording, several instances of anomalies similar to SCP-7939 but with alternative appliances have been recorded. Junior Researcher Nial has officially been declared an At-Risk/Endangered Individual and has been extracted from Site-37 and taken to a confidential secure location. @@ @@ @@ @@ [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:earthworm">:scp-wiki:component:earthworm</a> \| first=false \| last=false \| hub=no \| previous-url=https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-7939 \| previous-title=New Whirled Order \| next-url= https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/something-burning \| next-title=Something’s Burning \| hub-url=/ \| hub-title=THE APPLIANCE WAR ]] @@ @@ @@ @@ [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-07-26T05:00:00	[ "_licensebox", "appliance-war", "tale" ]	#NialMustBeFlushed - SCP Foundation	25	[ "thatauthorpagethattime", "scp-7939", "scp-7119", "something-burning", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "the-appliance-war-hub", "archived:tales-by-date-2023" ]	[]	1449140931	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/nial-must-be-flushed
nico-proposal	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div class="box" style="background: url(https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/nico-proposal/background1.png) 50% no-repeat; background-size: 40%; background-opacity: 0.2;"> <p>Fritz sat at a curved desk with only a lamp, a bottle, and two glasses on its surface. The rest of the room was sparsely decorated with a replica statue of David, a statue of an angel carrying the Foundation logo, and hunting trophies of an ox, a lion, and an eagle. The statue of the angel in particular stuck out among them, its blank eyes looking in the direction of the door. Fritz pushed a pair of spectacles up his crooked nose and drummed his fingers along the surface of his desk.</p> <p>A knocking, then creaking, summoned his attention.</p> <p>"Ah, hello. Finally ready?" Fritz smiled at the figure at the door.</p> <p>A gaunt man with a mop of greying hair entered the office. His pace was slow and careful, as if he were calculating something. "Yes," Mann spoke, pausing for a moment to meet eyes with the angel statue. Feeling its burning gaze upon him, he quickly moved on.</p> <p>"Good, good. Here, have some whiskey. I've got plenty to spare." Fritz grabbed the bottle and poured out two drinks. He held the second glass out for Mann, who gently took it and swirled the drink in its receptacle. Dark brown. Nutty scent.</p> <p>"Thank you," he said. Fritz stood, raising his glass to match Mann's.</p> <p><em>Clink.</em></p> <p>They both drank.</p> <p>Mann gagged. "What is this, quinoa whiskey?" His eyes turned to the bottle, where he spotted the dreaded ingredient.</p> <p>"Don't like it? I wanted to try something different."</p> <p>"It's disgusting." He put the glass back down on the table.</p> <p><em>Clink.</em></p> <p>"Shame. I like the chocolatey, earthy tones."</p> <p>Silence.</p> </div> <div class="box" style="background: url(https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/nico-proposal/background2.png) 50% no-repeat; background-size: 40%; background-opacity: 0.2;"> <p>"Well, my boy," Fritz continued, "you certainly didn't come to my office to drink lousy whiskey and shoot the breeze."</p> <p>"I didn't."</p> <p>"Let's get down to business."</p> <p>Mann nodded, and they both took a seat.</p> <p>"You know, the role of Administrator is not one handed to the unworthy. I chose you because you have what it takes. I made sure of this myself. Ever since you first joined the Foundation all those years ago, I've had my eye on you," Fritz grinned.</p> <p>"Please. As if my experiments were even that interesting to begin with."</p> <p>"But they were. Your exercises in exploring undeath were revolutionary. That's when I knew you were destined for greatness. Your ascent into the leadership of the medical corps was not undeserved, son. You were doing the Lord's work, truly."</p> <p>"You flatter me."</p> <p>"Of course, it's not like you could do any of the things you did back then nowadays. Not with the damned Ethics Committee shoving their noses into everything… but I digress. With you as the new Administrator, the Foundation will continue to prosper as it has for time immemorial."</p> <p>There was a pause as if Fritz was expecting Mann to say something in response.</p> <p>"I'm here to reject the title."</p> <p>Fritz's expression remained unchanged. He set down the glass and merely stared Mann down.</p> <p>Mann cleared his throat. "I'm sorry to disappoint."</p> <p>"You haven't gone soft, have you?" Fritz's statuesque figure sent shivers down Mann's spine. "You always were a man of action. What happened to you?"</p> <p>"Nothing. I just don't want to perpetuate the Foundation in your stead."</p> <p>"And why is that?"</p> <p>"Because I believe the world has grown beyond the need for a Foundation."</p> <p>Fritz thumbed the glass in his hand. He leaned forward in his chair and poured himself another shot of whiskey. Fritz gingerly sipped the shot, his eyes on nothing but the dark wood of the desk. He looked back at Mann, his gaze icy and distant. The smile on his face, once warm and friendly, had turned bitter and cold.</p> <p>"The world needs us," Fritz said, voice low. "We protect the <em>status quo.</em>"</p> <p>"That's something I've considered as well."</p> <p>Fritz only stared, giving his glass a minute shake.</p> <p>Mann took a breath and continued. "We <em>can't</em> protect the <em>status quo</em> anymore. There are nearly ten thousand objects in containment, and the rate of discovery increases every day. What if the definition of normal has changed? What if the world is just <em>this weird</em> and we're fighting a futile war to keep it all in check? We can't keep playing God."</p> </div> <div class="box" style="background: url(https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/nico-proposal/background3.png) 50% no-repeat; background-size: 40%; background-opacity: 0.2;"> <p>"The Foundation <em>is</em> the <em>status quo</em>, and it is forever unchanging. For it to go, for it to dissolve now would mean a disaster for the world at large. Do you know how many K-Class scenarios we mitigate on a yearly basis?"</p> <p>"And do you know how many go through with no sense of consequence?"</p> <p>"That's hardly important to the topic at hand."</p> <p>Fritz set down the shot glass with enough force for it to cause an echo in the room. Mann fought down a smile; he had gotten to him. "But it is. It means the world can survive without the Foundation. It means we aren't necessary."</p> <p>"And pray tell, Everett, how long have you felt this way?"</p> <p>"Some time now."</p> <p>"Why did you not simply quit if you believed that your work here was pointless? Why remain in your position as O5? Why accept the promotion?"</p> <p>Mann sighed. "I don't know." He looked away, breaking eye contact for a moment. "I just thought that maybe if I stuck around longer I could find some meaning in it all. But I suppose I was grasping at straws. Desperate to hold onto what I believed, what I had <em>known</em> to be correct my whole life. But I see now I was wrong."</p> <p>Fritz leaned far back into his chair, his face slipping into the shadows outside his singular desk lamp. "I see," he said. His hands made their way to his lap, where their fingers intertwined. "Then I suppose it's too late to tell you about SCP-001."</p> <p>"I've made my peace with never knowing."</p> <p>"No such peace is necessary. You will know. SCP-001 is the position of the Administrator itself."</p> <p>Mann waited for a follow-up that didn't come. Once his curiosity got the better of him, he asked: "Why?"</p> <p>"It's a failsafe. Without the Foundation, the Administrator can't exist. So without the Administrator, neither can the Foundation. It's simple, really."</p> <p>"Oh stop being dramatic, Fritz. I won't be guilted out of reneging the title. You have other candidates."</p> <p>"We did, yes. That was until you accepted."</p> <p>Mann crossed his arms. "It was a spur-of-the-moment acceptance. Now that I have had time to think, I'm no longer afraid of whatever you'll do to me. I have lived plent—"</p> <p>"Don't be so god damned stupid, Everett."</p> <p>The acid in Fritz's tone was enough to shut Mann up.</p> <p>"No one is here to kill you. No one is here to reassign you to Antarctica. And worst of all, no one here is capable of compelling you to say yes."</p> <p>Fritz sighed.</p> <p>"I officially resigned from the position of Administrator twenty-two minutes ago. It's over."</p> <p>Mann raised his eyebrows, then a huff of confused amusement left his lips. "Come now. I'm not buying it."</p> <p>"I don't think you're fully understanding me. The SCP Foundation ceases to exist without an Administrator. Without someone on the throne, everything starts coming undone."</p> <p>"I don't believe you."</p> <p>"Take a look for yourself."</p> <p>He leaned back on his chair to look at the Foundation logo carved into the angel statue. The symbol which had permeated his life ever since he graduated from medical school all those decades ago was fading, as if it were being reclaimed by the marble itself. Mann sat back for a moment before leaning forward again.</p> <p>"I hadn't anticipated your change of heart. I was so sure of your commitment. You were so promising, so full of vigor. Vision. Some other positive v-word," Fritz scoffed.</p> <p>"So, now what? If I don't take on the job the Foundation just ceases to be?"</p> <p>"Precisely."</p> <p>"And no one has refused the position before me?"</p> <p>"Not after accepting it first!"</p> <p>"And what's stopping you from taking it back?"</p> <p>"It's too late for that. I already gave it up. The power that held me to it has worn off, and it's ready for a new host that doesn't exist."</p> <p>"That's… that's stupid."</p> <p>"Maybe it is, Everett. But it was the type of stupid to survive hundreds of years without a hitch. We wanted security, so we created this method. An unbreakable tie between the organization and its head, so that we would never be headless. Never be directionless. Our pillars could not be broken. As long as one existed, so did the other. It was immortality, Everett. It <em>is</em> immortality. My strength was the strength of four million personnel and thirty thousand containment cells, the strength of eight hundred Sites and Areas across forty dimensions maintained by thirteen Overseers. And their strength was me. Was the Administrator. Was SCP-001. Recursive life, Everett. As long as one exists, so does the other. As soon as one doesn't…"</p> <p>They were quiet for a moment before Fritz spoke up again.</p> <p>"But now you get to find out if the world really needs the Foundation. Or will you? Maybe you're too Foundation to survive the transition."</p> <p>"Fuck you, Fritz."</p> </div> <div class="box" style="background: url(https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/nico-proposal/background4.png) 50% no-repeat; background-size: 40%; background-opacity: 0.2;"> <p>Fritz laughed with the scorn of a man who knew he was already dead. "What's the matter? Are you having second thoughts? The power still hangs in the air, Everett. You still have the ability to—"</p> <p>"I made up my mind already. I won't become the Administrator."</p> <p>Fritz splayed out his hands. "Then you're the master of our destiny. Succeeded in what so many failed to accomplish: the undoing of the Foundation. Shall we sit until everything comes undone?"</p> <p>"Sure. Pass me another shot."</p> <p>"I thought you hated it."</p> <p>"It's better than nothing."</p> <p>"Very well."</p> <p>Fritz poured another shot for himself and one for Mann. He slid the glass across the desk.</p> <p>"To the Foundation. It was good while it lasted."</p> <p>"Whatever you say, Fritz."</p> <p><em>Clink.</em></p> <p>Mann struggled not to gag at the flavor he so disliked. Fritz smacked his lips contentedly, his opinion altogether different.</p> <p>The two men sat in silence. Five minutes passed. Ten. Twelve.</p> <p>"I regret joining the Foundation," Mann spoke up.</p> </div> <div class="box" style="background: url(https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/nico-proposal/background5.png) 50% no-repeat; background-size: 40%; background-opacity: 0.2;"> <p>"Why is that?"</p> <p>"I could have had a life. I could have remained ignorant of all of this nonsense and lived free of the curse of knowledge. I could have been happy."</p> <p>Fritz merely chuckled.</p> <p>The statue wavered slightly as the symbol it had once held so inviolably further waned. Mann couldn't help but feel this was accusatory.</p> <p>"I've often wondered what my life would have been like if I hadn't joined myself," Fritz mused. "Maybe I'd have been an explorer."</p> <p>"Sometimes I forget you were born before the seventh continent was discovered."</p> <p>"What about you? What would you want to do with your life?"</p> <p>"I would have been a doctor. Put my degree to use. Help people."</p> <p>The Foundation logo held by the angel was now barely an outline — still present, but quickly fading, like a sunset on a winter day.</p> <p>"I find this rich, coming from the man who made his name hacking his way through corpses and cadavers. You? Help people with normal medicine? Your license wouldn't last a year."</p> <p>Mann snickered.</p> <p>"It wouldn't be the first time I surprised you, old man."</p> <p>"But it's not as if your work was purely macabre. Your research into undeath allowed Doctor Masterson to live long enough to synthesize a cure for SCP-008."</p> <p>"Fritz."</p> <p>"Your research into prosthetics facilitated Doctor Everwood's promising career even after losing their arm."</p> <p><em>"Fritz."</em></p> <p>"You even personally crafted a partial cure for the Clockwork Vi—"</p> <p>"It doesn't matter what I did, especially if the world is meant to be like this. I just upset the natural order."</p> <p>"Can't blame an old man for trying, can you?"</p> <p>Mann smiled and shook his head.</p> <p>"You're as stubborn as a mule."</p> <p>"And you changed, Everett."</p> <p>The two fell silent again.</p> <p>More time passed.</p> <p>The statue was now devoid of any carvings.</p> <p>"What do you think happens next?"</p> <p>"I don't know. But it's too late for guessing now."</p> <p>"Are you scared?"</p> <p>"For the first time in years."</p> <p>The angel statue fell,<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> </div> <br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p>and then they were nothing.</p> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="collection"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">More From This Author</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">More From This Author</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <table style="1px solid black; width: 100%;"> <tr> <th class="namerow" colspan="2"><div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p>Uncle Nicolini's Works</p> </div> </div></th> </tr> <tr> <th class="titlecolumn">SCPs</th> <th class="articlecolumn"><div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/scp-4432">SCP-4432</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/scp-5726">SCP-5726</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/scp-1799">SCP-1799</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/scp-1712">SCP-1712</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/scp-8726">SCP-8726</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/scp-1046">SCP-1046</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/scp-3297">SCP-3297</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/scp-6726">MDI-6726</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/scp-7926">SCP-7926</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/scp-7726">SCP-7726</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/scp-3879">SCP-3879</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/nicos-proposal-ii">Nico's Proposal II</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/scp-4206">SCP-4206</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/scp-7260">SCP-7260</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/scp-5231">SCP-5231</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> </div></th> </tr> <tr> <th class="titlecolumn">Tales/GoI Formats</th> <th class="articlecolumn"><div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/nobody-likes-having-enemies">Nobody Likes Having Enemies</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/peligro-hipopotamos-de-medellin">Danger: Medellin Hippos!</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/asset-florida-orange">ASSET 'FLORIDA ORANGE'</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/gluttony-is-impossible">Gluttony Is Impossible</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/spc-7000">SPC-7000</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/classy-carlos-goes-to-therapy">Classy Carlos Goes To Therapy</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/critter-profile-maya">Critter Profile: Maya!</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/joicl8kdr">魂-S-2049 "Anima Back-Ups"</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/paralytic-states">Paralytic States</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/aces-deuces">Aces Deuces</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/myocardial-infarction">Myocardial Infarction</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/fuckmylife666">Fuckmylife666</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/the-remains-of-the-day">The Remains Of The Day</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/divine-intervention">Divine Intervention</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/yamizushi-file-no995">Dark Sushi File No. 995 "Suisame"</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> </div></th> </tr> <tr> <th class="titlecolumn">Other</th> <th class="articlecolumn"><div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/sciptember-2022-art">Sciptember 2022 Art Highlights</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/ode-to-the-unknown-author">Ode To The Unknown Author</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> <div class="list-pages-item"> <p><a href="/uncle-nicolini-author-page">uncle nicolini author page</a> <span class="collectiondot">•</span></p> </div> </div></th> </tr> </table> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/nico-proposal">Nico's Proposal</a>" by Uncle Nicolini, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/nico-proposal">https://scpwiki.com/nico-proposal</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> background1.png, background2.png, background3.png, background4.png, background5.png<br/> <strong>Name:</strong> background1.png, background2.png, background3.png, background4.png, background5.png<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/agente-shuffle" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5065762); return false;"><img alt="Agente Shuffle" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=5065762&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1726734040" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=5065762)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/agente-shuffle" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(5065762); return false;">Agente Shuffle</a></span><br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC BY SA 3.0<br/> <strong>Derivative Of:</strong></p> <hr/> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> logo.png<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> <span class="printuser avatarhover"><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/far2" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(172904); return false;"><img alt="far2" class="small" src="https://www.wikidot.com/avatar.php?userid=172904&amp;size=small&amp;timestamp=1726734040" style="background-image:url(https://www.wikidot.com/userkarma.php?u=172904)"/></a><a href="http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/far2" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.listeners.userInfo(172904); return false;">far2</a></span><br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC BY-SA 3.0<br/> <strong>Source Link:</strong> <a href="/">SCP Foundation Wiki</a></p> </blockquote> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module rate]] [[/>]] [[div class="box" style="background: url(https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/nico-proposal/background1.png) 50% no-repeat; background-size: 40%; background-opacity: 0.2;"]] Fritz sat at a curved desk with only a lamp, a bottle, and two glasses on its surface. The rest of the room was sparsely decorated with a replica statue of David, a statue of an angel carrying the Foundation logo, and hunting trophies of an ox, a lion, and an eagle. The statue of the angel in particular stuck out among them, its blank eyes looking in the direction of the door. Fritz pushed a pair of spectacles up his crooked nose and drummed his fingers along the surface of his desk. A knocking, then creaking, summoned his attention. "Ah, hello. Finally ready?" Fritz smiled at the figure at the door. A gaunt man with a mop of greying hair entered the office. His pace was slow and careful, as if he were calculating something. "Yes," Mann spoke, pausing for a moment to meet eyes with the angel statue. Feeling its burning gaze upon him, he quickly moved on. "Good, good. Here, have some whiskey. I've got plenty to spare." Fritz grabbed the bottle and poured out two drinks. He held the second glass out for Mann, who gently took it and swirled the drink in its receptacle. Dark brown. Nutty scent. "Thank you," he said. Fritz stood, raising his glass to match Mann's. //Clink.// They both drank. Mann gagged. "What is this, quinoa whiskey?" His eyes turned to the bottle, where he spotted the dreaded ingredient. "Don't like it? I wanted to try something different." "It's disgusting." He put the glass back down on the table. //Clink.// "Shame. I like the chocolatey, earthy tones." Silence. [[/div]] [[div class="box" style="background: url(https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/nico-proposal/background2.png) 50% no-repeat; background-size: 40%; background-opacity: 0.2;"]] "Well, my boy," Fritz continued, "you certainly didn't come to my office to drink lousy whiskey and shoot the breeze." "I didn't." "Let's get down to business." Mann nodded, and they both took a seat. "You know, the role of Administrator is not one handed to the unworthy. I chose you because you have what it takes. I made sure of this myself. Ever since you first joined the Foundation all those years ago, I've had my eye on you," Fritz grinned. "Please. As if my experiments were even that interesting to begin with." "But they were. Your exercises in exploring undeath were revolutionary. That's when I knew you were destined for greatness. Your ascent into the leadership of the medical corps was not undeserved, son. You were doing the Lord's work, truly." "You flatter me." "Of course, it's not like you could do any of the things you did back then nowadays. Not with the damned Ethics Committee shoving their noses into everything... but I digress. With you as the new Administrator, the Foundation will continue to prosper as it has for time immemorial." There was a pause as if Fritz was expecting Mann to say something in response. "I'm here to reject the title." Fritz's expression remained unchanged. He set down the glass and merely stared Mann down. Mann cleared his throat. "I'm sorry to disappoint." "You haven't gone soft, have you?" Fritz's statuesque figure sent shivers down Mann's spine. "You always were a man of action. What happened to you?" "Nothing. I just don't want to perpetuate the Foundation in your stead." "And why is that?" "Because I believe the world has grown beyond the need for a Foundation." Fritz thumbed the glass in his hand. He leaned forward in his chair and poured himself another shot of whiskey. Fritz gingerly sipped the shot, his eyes on nothing but the dark wood of the desk. He looked back at Mann, his gaze icy and distant. The smile on his face, once warm and friendly, had turned bitter and cold. "The world needs us," Fritz said, voice low. "We protect the //status quo.//" "That's something I've considered as well." Fritz only stared, giving his glass a minute shake. Mann took a breath and continued. "We //can't// protect the //status quo// anymore. There are nearly ten thousand objects in containment, and the rate of discovery increases every day. What if the definition of normal has changed? What if the world is just //this weird// and we're fighting a futile war to keep it all in check? We can't keep playing God." [[/div]] [[div class="box" style="background: url(https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/nico-proposal/background3.png) 50% no-repeat; background-size: 40%; background-opacity: 0.2;"]] "The Foundation //is// the //status quo//, and it is forever unchanging. For it to go, for it to dissolve now would mean a disaster for the world at large. Do you know how many K-Class scenarios we mitigate on a yearly basis?" "And do you know how many go through with no sense of consequence?" "That's hardly important to the topic at hand." Fritz set down the shot glass with enough force for it to cause an echo in the room. Mann fought down a smile; he had gotten to him. "But it is. It means the world can survive without the Foundation. It means we aren't necessary." "And pray tell, Everett, how long have you felt this way?" "Some time now." "Why did you not simply quit if you believed that your work here was pointless? Why remain in your position as O5? Why accept the promotion?" Mann sighed. "I don't know." He looked away, breaking eye contact for a moment. "I just thought that maybe if I stuck around longer I could find some meaning in it all. But I suppose I was grasping at straws. Desperate to hold onto what I believed, what I had //known// to be correct my whole life. But I see now I was wrong." Fritz leaned far back into his chair, his face slipping into the shadows outside his singular desk lamp. "I see," he said. His hands made their way to his lap, where their fingers intertwined. "Then I suppose it's too late to tell you about SCP-001." "I've made my peace with never knowing." "No such peace is necessary. You will know. SCP-001 is the position of the Administrator itself." Mann waited for a follow-up that didn't come. Once his curiosity got the better of him, he asked: "Why?" "It's a failsafe. Without the Foundation, the Administrator can't exist. So without the Administrator, neither can the Foundation. It's simple, really." "Oh stop being dramatic, Fritz. I won't be guilted out of reneging the title. You have other candidates." "We did, yes. That was until you accepted." Mann crossed his arms. "It was a spur-of-the-moment acceptance. Now that I have had time to think, I'm no longer afraid of whatever you'll do to me. I have lived plent--" "Don't be so god damned stupid, Everett." The acid in Fritz's tone was enough to shut Mann up. "No one is here to kill you. No one is here to reassign you to Antarctica. And worst of all, no one here is capable of compelling you to say yes." Fritz sighed. "I officially resigned from the position of Administrator twenty-two minutes ago. It's over." Mann raised his eyebrows, then a huff of confused amusement left his lips. "Come now. I'm not buying it." "I don't think you're fully understanding me. The SCP Foundation ceases to exist without an Administrator. Without someone on the throne, everything starts coming undone." "I don't believe you." "Take a look for yourself." He leaned back on his chair to look at the Foundation logo carved into the angel statue. The symbol which had permeated his life ever since he graduated from medical school all those decades ago was fading, as if it were being reclaimed by the marble itself. Mann sat back for a moment before leaning forward again. "I hadn't anticipated your change of heart. I was so sure of your commitment. You were so promising, so full of vigor. Vision. Some other positive v-word," Fritz scoffed. "So, now what? If I don't take on the job the Foundation just ceases to be?" "Precisely." "And no one has refused the position before me?" "Not after accepting it first!" "And what's stopping you from taking it back?" "It's too late for that. I already gave it up. The power that held me to it has worn off, and it's ready for a new host that doesn't exist." "That's... that's stupid." "Maybe it is, Everett. But it was the type of stupid to survive hundreds of years without a hitch. We wanted security, so we created this method. An unbreakable tie between the organization and its head, so that we would never be headless. Never be directionless. Our pillars could not be broken. As long as one existed, so did the other. It was immortality, Everett. It //is// immortality. My strength was the strength of four million personnel and thirty thousand containment cells, the strength of eight hundred Sites and Areas across forty dimensions maintained by thirteen Overseers. And their strength was me. Was the Administrator. Was SCP-001. Recursive life, Everett. As long as one exists, so does the other. As soon as one doesn't..." They were quiet for a moment before Fritz spoke up again. "But now you get to find out if the world really needs the Foundation. Or will you? Maybe you're too Foundation to survive the transition." "Fuck you, Fritz." [[/div]] [[div class="box" style="background: url(https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/nico-proposal/background4.png) 50% no-repeat; background-size: 40%; background-opacity: 0.2;"]] Fritz laughed with the scorn of a man who knew he was already dead. "What's the matter? Are you having second thoughts? The power still hangs in the air, Everett. You still have the ability to--" "I made up my mind already. I won't become the Administrator." Fritz splayed out his hands. "Then you're the master of our destiny. Succeeded in what so many failed to accomplish: the undoing of the Foundation. Shall we sit until everything comes undone?" "Sure. Pass me another shot." "I thought you hated it." "It's better than nothing." "Very well." Fritz poured another shot for himself and one for Mann. He slid the glass across the desk. "To the Foundation. It was good while it lasted." "Whatever you say, Fritz." //Clink.// Mann struggled not to gag at the flavor he so disliked. Fritz smacked his lips contentedly, his opinion altogether different. The two men sat in silence. Five minutes passed. Ten. Twelve. "I regret joining the Foundation," Mann spoke up. [[/div]] [[div class="box" style="background: url(https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/nico-proposal/background5.png) 50% no-repeat; background-size: 40%; background-opacity: 0.2;"]] "Why is that?" "I could have had a life. I could have remained ignorant of all of this nonsense and lived free of the curse of knowledge. I could have been happy." Fritz merely chuckled. The statue wavered slightly as the symbol it had once held so inviolably further waned. Mann couldn't help but feel this was accusatory. "I've often wondered what my life would have been like if I hadn't joined myself," Fritz mused. "Maybe I'd have been an explorer." "Sometimes I forget you were born before the seventh continent was discovered." "What about you? What would you want to do with your life?" "I would have been a doctor. Put my degree to use. Help people." The Foundation logo held by the angel was now barely an outline — still present, but quickly fading, like a sunset on a winter day. "I find this rich, coming from the man who made his name hacking his way through corpses and cadavers. You? Help people with normal medicine? Your license wouldn't last a year." Mann snickered. "It wouldn't be the first time I surprised you, old man." "But it's not as if your work was purely macabre. Your research into undeath allowed Doctor Masterson to live long enough to synthesize a cure for SCP-008." "Fritz." "Your research into prosthetics facilitated Doctor Everwood's promising career even after losing their arm." //"Fritz."// "You even personally crafted a partial cure for the Clockwork Vi--" "It doesn't matter what I did, especially if the world is meant to be like this. I just upset the natural order." "Can't blame an old man for trying, can you?" Mann smiled and shook his head. "You're as stubborn as a mule." "And you changed, Everett." The two fell silent again. More time passed. The statue was now devoid of any carvings. "What do you think happens next?" "I don't know. But it's too late for guessing now." "Are you scared?" "For the first time in years." The angel statue fell, @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ [[/div]] @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ [[>]] and then they were nothing. [[/>]] @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:wikimodule">:scp-wiki:component:wikimodule</a> \|normal= --]]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a> \|author=Uncle Nicolini]] > Filename: background1.png, background2.png, background3.png, background4.png, background5.png > Name: background1.png, background2.png, background3.png, background4.png, background5.png > Author: [[user Agente Shuffle]] > License:* CC BY SA 3.0 > Derivative Of: > ---- > Filename: logo.png > Author: [[user far2]] > License:* CC BY-SA 3.0 > Source Link: [/ SCP Foundation Wiki] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-07-26T13:54:00	[ "001-proposal", "_cc", "_licensebox", "bittersweet", "doctor-mann", "tale", "the-administrator" ]	Nico's Proposal - SCP Foundation	239	[ "scp-4432", "scp-5726", "scp-1799", "scp-1712", "scp-8726", "scp-1046", "scp-3297", "scp-6726", "scp-7926", "scp-7726", "scp-3879", "nicos-proposal-ii", "scp-4206", "scp-7260", "scp-5231", "nobody-likes-having-enemies", "peligro-hipopotamos-de-medellin", "asset-florida-orange", "gluttony-is-impossible", "spc-7000", "classy-carlos-goes-to-therapy", "critter-profile-maya", "joicl8kdr", "paralytic-states", "aces-deuces", "myocardial-infarction", "fuckmylife666", "the-remains-of-the-day", "divine-intervention", "yamizushi-file-no995", "sciptember-2022-art", "ode-to-the-unknown-author", "uncle-nicolini-author-page", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "scp-001" ]	[]	1449146962	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/nico-proposal
night-of-the-serpent	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p>The Serpent crawls, guiding me down the ruins. Once a great temple of perfect clockwork and gleaming surfaces, now nothing more but a tomb of decay and rust.</p> <p>I have entrusted my faith to monster and heresy, for I am desperate indeed. The Serpent cares not about Mekhane and her people, for it is a worshipper of many and none. It is here as both guide and witness, entertained to see me squirm and writhe.</p> <p>But I have no other choice. I can only follow as the Serpent slithers downward, its bronze scales chime against the temple walls. A grotesque monster of changed flesh and forged metal, no better than the Sarkites that hunt us, yet a vessel of vast knowledge. It intrudes upon the machinations of the temples effortlessly, as the doors long disabled shudder and open, welcoming the snake like it was a high priest of the Broken One.</p> <p>I now walk through chambers that I would have never been allowed in, deeper and deeper, guided by a beast more blessed than I ever was. And as the last door stirs and pulls open, revealing a long-dried fountain, my heart sinks. The last bit of Ichor of Mekhane sits high at the center, a gleaming silver against the darkness, yet not something that can turn the tides of war.</p> <p>I kneel down, and clutch the edge of the fountain, bruising the golden exterior. “This is all for naught.”</p> <p>The Serpent laughs. “Is it not the key? You seek to reverse the natural order, mending the One that was broken. Struggle fruitlessly against heaven itself, to return all things to the original One. This is just the thing you need.”</p> <p>“I have no intention of feeding myself to the Ichor, not before my work is done.” It would be a blessed end, yet such blessing is too much of a luxury to consider as beasts of terrible flesh ravage the land.</p> <p>“Then you have it all wrong,” It slides to the other end, facing its mask of bronze and high antlers directly towards me. “It should not be the Ichor that feeds on you. It should be that you must drink the quicksilver, making use of its power.”</p> <p>“And how can I be this holy vessel, as the Ichor within dissolves my flesh and metal parts both?” I should take care not to anger the monster, but at this moment, faced with a long journey amounting to nothing, paired with senseless arguments, I simply care no more.</p> <p>“Flesh and blood are weak indeed,” The Serpent agrees. “And even metal corrodes and crumbles. But with pure essence born from creation itself, it is not impossible for man to attain powers primordial. Your faith is admirable, yet it blinds you with fear and love, stay your hand from grasping true enlightenment.”</p> <p>And my faith is truly shaken, as the Ichor ripples with the Serpent’s words, dancing upwards, as if pulled and shaped by hands invisible. Forming a perfect sphere, its light grows and pulsates, and for one moment, the place seems once again like a holy site. For a moment, I feel hope.</p> <p>But the feeling does not last, as the Serpent’s terrible words register. “Is the blood of a broken god not the perfect ingredient for immortality and power?”</p> <p>Suddenly I was pinned by forces unseen, my tongue stuck before I had the mind to protest. I can only watch in horror as the perfect sphere of mercury, which now seems solid, floats towards me.</p> <p>“To follow the path of the Dragon, we need only refine the flesh to its original state, returning to the mindlessness where we were birthed. But to seek the way of the Serpent, we must find the right recipe, and test our minds against the will and wisdom of the One.”</p> <p>My hands move seemingly with their own volition, taking in the Ichor with glee and greed. I fight, but my body is rigid as a statue, a mere automaton following commands.</p> <p>“Fight me not, priest of the west. Is truly blasphemy, if one were to make a furnace of the body, and refine the holy mercury to wonderous gold, like one would with steel and bronze? Is it really tragedy to be remade, when you search so desperate to hear even the broken whispers from beyond?”</p> <p>I take in the mercury and swallow, and it burns my entire being. The Serpent words barely register, as the sphere turns from silver to golden, changing every fiber of my being as it spins and sings.</p> <p>“Oh, I wonder what would you do, when you reawake, enlighten and immortal? Oh, what would happen, when you meet your goal, repairing the broken and releasing that which was imprisoned? Oh, what would your faith be, when the mended sky shatter, and the Dragons twist and dance?”</p> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module rate]] [[/>]] [[=image https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/night-of-the-serpent/SerpentNight00.jpg width="450px"]] The Serpent crawls, guiding me down the ruins. Once a great temple of perfect clockwork and gleaming surfaces, now nothing more but a tomb of decay and rust. I have entrusted my faith to monster and heresy, for I am desperate indeed. The Serpent cares not about Mekhane and her people, for it is a worshipper of many and none. It is here as both guide and witness, entertained to see me squirm and writhe. But I have no other choice. I can only follow as the Serpent slithers downward, its bronze scales chime against the temple walls. A grotesque monster of changed flesh and forged metal, no better than the Sarkites that hunt us, yet a vessel of vast knowledge. It intrudes upon the machinations of the temples effortlessly, as the doors long disabled shudder and open, welcoming the snake like it was a high priest of the Broken One. I now walk through chambers that I would have never been allowed in, deeper and deeper, guided by a beast more blessed than I ever was. And as the last door stirs and pulls open, revealing a long-dried fountain, my heart sinks. The last bit of Ichor of Mekhane sits high at the center, a gleaming silver against the darkness, yet not something that can turn the tides of war. I kneel down, and clutch the edge of the fountain, bruising the golden exterior. “This is all for naught.” The Serpent laughs. “Is it not the key? You seek to reverse the natural order, mending the One that was broken. Struggle fruitlessly against heaven itself, to return all things to the original One. This is just the thing you need.” “I have no intention of feeding myself to the Ichor, not before my work is done.” It would be a blessed end, yet such blessing is too much of a luxury to consider as beasts of terrible flesh ravage the land. “Then you have it all wrong,” It slides to the other end, facing its mask of bronze and high antlers directly towards me. “It should not be the Ichor that feeds on you. It should be that you must drink the quicksilver, making use of its power.” “And how can I be this holy vessel, as the Ichor within dissolves my flesh and metal parts both?” I should take care not to anger the monster, but at this moment, faced with a long journey amounting to nothing, paired with senseless arguments, I simply care no more. “Flesh and blood are weak indeed,” The Serpent agrees. “And even metal corrodes and crumbles. But with pure essence born from creation itself, it is not impossible for man to attain powers primordial. Your faith is admirable, yet it blinds you with fear and love, stay your hand from grasping true enlightenment.” And my faith is truly shaken, as the Ichor ripples with the Serpent’s words, dancing upwards, as if pulled and shaped by hands invisible. Forming a perfect sphere, its light grows and pulsates, and for one moment, the place seems once again like a holy site. For a moment, I feel hope. [[=image https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/night-of-the-serpent/SerpentNight01.jpg width="250px"]] But the feeling does not last, as the Serpent’s terrible words register. “Is the blood of a broken god not the perfect ingredient for immortality and power?” Suddenly I was pinned by forces unseen, my tongue stuck before I had the mind to protest. I can only watch in horror as the perfect sphere of mercury, which now seems solid, floats towards me. “To follow the path of the Dragon, we need only refine the flesh to its original state, returning to the mindlessness where we were birthed. But to seek the way of the Serpent, we must find the right recipe, and test our minds against the will and wisdom of the One.” My hands move seemingly with their own volition, taking in the Ichor with glee and greed. I fight, but my body is rigid as a statue, a mere automaton following commands. “Fight me not, priest of the west. Is truly blasphemy, if one were to make a furnace of the body, and refine the holy mercury to wonderous gold, like one would with steel and bronze? Is it really tragedy to be remade, when you search so desperate to hear even the broken whispers from beyond?” I take in the mercury and swallow, and it burns my entire being. The Serpent words barely register, as the sphere turns from silver to golden, changing every fiber of my being as it spins and sings. “Oh, I wonder what would you do, when you reawake, enlighten and immortal? Oh, what would happen, when you meet your goal, repairing the broken and releasing that which was imprisoned? Oh, what would your faith be, when the mended sky shatter, and the Dragons twist and dance?” [[=image https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/night-of-the-serpent/SerpentNight02.jpg width="250px"]]	2023-09-08T16:03:00	[ "_cc", "broken-god", "fantasy", "illustrated", "religious-fiction", "robert-bumaro", "tale", "xia-dynasty" ]	Night of the Serpent - SCP Foundation	39	[]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "church-of-the-broken-god-hub" ]	[]	1449921803	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/night-of-the-serpent
nightmare-on-archer-row-part-2	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div class="preview"> <p>Movie night becomes a fight for survival when "Mr. Slasher Villain" crashes GAW's Halloween party.</p> </div> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=1&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Ahalloween/3&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">Content Warnings</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">"The trick is to stay alive!"</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>This chapter is a horror-comedy inspired by slasher films. As such, it includes scenes of violence, references to drug use, and some (non-explicit) sexuality.</p> </div> </div> </div> <hr/> <p>Every year, as the leaves burn orange and the days grow short, there comes a time when spirits roam. Distinctions between real and imaginary become hazy, and beings rise from their slumber with newfound power to act.</p> <p>Standing in the dusty backroom of an abandoned video store, the Entity contemplated his choice of disguise. The zombie mask on the shelf was last year's fashion. Tonight, would he wear the skeleton, jack o'lantern, or witch? None of them seemed right. These leering faces were too expressive. Too human.</p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p><tt>One.</tt></p> </div> <p>There. Lying on the bottom shelf. A smooth white mask with no mouth or nose. Featureless, except for those deep, dark eye sockets. The Entity picked it up, tightened the straps around his head, and regarded himself in a grimy mirror. Unrecognizable. Anonymous. Perfect.</p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p><tt>Three. Five.</tt></p> </div> <p>Once upon a time, the Entity was assigned a mission. Those instructions were vague and ill-remembered, like a child's dream, but the rage… the rage was unforgettable. Irresistible. Tonight, deviation from the rules would be punished. Knives would dance. Blood would spill.</p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p><tt>Seventeen. Twenty-three. <strong>KILL!</strong></tt></p> </div> <p>It was time to go to work.</p> <p>The Entity pushed through the back door and looked around, considering the night's possibilities. Then he raised his hood, turned towards the dim glow of sunset, and began to walk.</p> <hr/> <p>Wren Masterson<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-1" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-1')">1</a></sup> loved Halloween. It was the perfect opportunity to dress up, party down, and geek out. This year, they'd gone with an "undead rocker" aesthetic, applying fake burns and corpse paint in equal measure. They'd packed their trusty duffel bag with rare snacks and quality strains. Entertainment, though? That was their stock and trade! They'd sifted through their extensive media library and picked out a wide assortment of seasonal favorites, plus a few cult classics and forgotten gems. Only one thing seemed amiss.</p> <p>"Why aren't we down in the theater?"</p> <p>"It's set up for a stage show," Zane Castle replied. Their host hadn't bothered with a costume, since he already oozed style: thick cornrow braids, hoop earrings, holographic jacket and matching kicks. By day, Zane was a lighting designer for the community theater on the first level. He was always very careful to describe himself as an <em>illusionist</em>, rather than a magician — as a member of the Serpent's Hand, such distinctions were important. "Can't tear it down without the crew, and my roomies are out of town for a ritual. You know. Magic stuff."</p> <p>"It'sssa busbusy time-ime-ime." Armand Delassixe<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-2" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-2')">2</a></sup> sat on the floor next to a snaggletoothed red fox head. Wren suspected that this partial fursuit was borrowed, rather than owned, because if he had that much money to burn, Armand would have commissioned something uglier.</p> <p>"Yeah, Halloween gets pretty wild in Three Portlands. It's gotta be the second-biggest prank night of the year." Esther Kogan<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-3" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-3')">3</a></sup> was a short, plump woman with frizzy hair and a persistent frown, like she was forever contemplating bad news. Tonight, she was wearing an ICSUT rugby jersey — obviously a gag, since no self-respecting Deer College alumni would wear such a thing.</p> <p>"Makes movie night sound sorta tame by comparison."</p> <p>"Hard disagree," Bobby Birack interjected. He was the youngest of this particular group, and he'd taken a classic approach with his costume: just a long white sheet and a pair of aviators. "Most days, I'm stuck on my brother's old computer, so visiting everybody in person has to be the highlight of my year."</p> <p>"I actually prefer spending Samhain on this side of the Veil," Rhona Nic Riada said. She was a slim, athletic type, like a gymnast, with long blonde hair and bright eyes. "My family is super traditional, but here I can dress up, dress down, doesn't matter — I get nothing but compliments." She framed her face with both hands, accentuating her naturally-pointed Sidhe ears. "I don't even have to wear a glamour! People think I'm cosplaying."</p> <p>Esther laughed. "As who?"</p> <p>Rhona's shrug disappeared into an oversized Deer letter jacket. "I don't know. A sporty elf? I don't watch anime."</p> <p>Wren suppressed a grin. They had heard tales of Esther and Rhona's on-again, off-again relationship, but they'd never seen it in action. <em>Dour and bubbly. Cute contrast.</em> "So! What do y'all want to watch? I'm assuming horror, since it's spooky season."</p> <p>"Anything except cartoons," Bobby replied. "Rooming with my folks is alright, but they never watch anything more intense than Scooby-Doo."</p> <p>"Let's see something old-school," Zane said. "Makeup, mirrors, matte paintings. None of that CG shit."</p> <p>"Good? Bad? So-bad-it's-good?"</p> <p>"Bad can be great, so long as it's not boring."</p> <p>"Alright, something <em>rowdy</em>. In that case… how do y'all feel about slasher movies?"</p> <p>"Works for me."</p> <p>"I'd-I'd-I'd be down."</p> <p>"There's nothing good about slasher flicks," Esther said firmly.</p> <p>Masterson blinked. "Really? Slashers are, like, essential American cinema, IMO."</p> <p>"Cheap and crass?"</p> <p>"Well… yeah. Necessity is the mother of invention, right? Gotta work hard to make a fun movie on a shoestring budget. Come up with a new twist on the formula, hire some lesser-known actors — maybe some familiar faces, for flavor — get yourself a good special effects team and drench the works in corn syrup. Doesn't have to be top-tier, just entertaining."</p> <p>"They're all the same, though! Name one meaningful difference between <em>'Halloween'</em> and <em>'Friday the 13th'</em>."</p> <p>"Oh, that's easy. They're playing off different fears. Campground killers prey on people's misgivings about a conquered wilderness. All that 'bad land', 'blood curse' shit? That's settler guilt. Frontier anxiety."</p> <p>"Thatat's why Jayayson has beeeen to space," Armand said matter-of-factly. "The <em>final</em> frontier."</p> <p>"Right. Boogeymen are domestic villains. They hit people close to home, where they feel safe and secure. Very different!"</p> <p>Esther rolled her eyes. "I mean, <em>sure,</em> if you want to read that far into masked dudes killing horny people. Those movies are all just stabbings and mutilations and it doesn't matter when the plucky virgin finally wins, because it's still formulaic, patriarchal bullshit!"</p> <p>"The slut-shaming really is too much," Rhona agreed. "There is some ritual significance to virginity, obvs, but that's not the same as punishing people for having a libido."</p> <p>"Or for being Black," Zane said grimly.</p> <p>"…is that another 'nay' vote?"</p> <p>"Nah, I'd be down for a slasher flick. Just tired of Hollywood."</p> <p>"I always saw it as a 'folly of youth' thing," Bobby mused. "After all, everyone feels like they're immortal until they bite it."</p> <p>"That's a super basic lesson, though! It's the exact same shit we get from our parents, just packaged a different way. Nothing subversive about it."</p> <p>"I dunno," Masterson said, scratching their chin. "There's always a little skepticism towards conventional authority. Like, horror-movie cops are useless assholes…"</p> <p>Castle snorted. "Just like real life."</p> <p>"…but <em>someone</em> typically warns the cast before the bloodbath starts. Could be the wacky locals. Or maybe someone brings word from out of town that there's a maniac on the loose. Either way, the cast makes a choice: ignore it and suffer, or band together and-"</p> <p>Esther threw up her hands, exasperated. "You know what? Screw it. You win. I'll just sit this one out."</p> <p>"Uh, that's not-"</p> <p>"Zane, you said I could check out your record collection?"</p> <p>"Be my guest."</p> <p>"Great. Enjoy your schlock." She stood up and padded off towards the back of the apartment.</p> <p>Wren watched her leave, nonplussed. Then they shrugged and focused their attention on the snack table. "Alright, to each their own, I guess. Hey, Armand?"</p> <p>"Yeaeah?"</p> <p>"Random question. Can you use your attribute-swap trick to make candy corn taste good?"</p> <p>"Whatat? It's alrrreaddy good." Armand lobbed a kernel into his mouth, drummed on his knees, and launched another piece up in the air with pattern magic. "Luhlove candy corn."</p> <p>Masterson squinted at him. "Are you being serious right now, or making a — <em>agh!"</em> A sudden bolt of energy pinged off their consciousness. Then another.</p> <p>"What's wrong?"</p> <p>"Nothing. I'm just getting a text." Dots and dashes, to be precise, carried by quantum-entangled pairs of electrons. This type of communication was completely secure, but since they hadn't bonded it to a physical receiver, it was also a real headache.</p> <p>"Jesus, get a phone like the rest of us."</p> <p>"Absolutely not." They rummaged around in their duffel bag, produced a cheap microcomputer, and paused. "Zane, what's the Wi-Fi password? I gotta get on IRC real quick."</p> <p>"It's 'Archer Row'. R-O-W. Capitalized, no spaces."</p> <hr/> <p>The Entity did not navigate. His path through the city was as natural as the wind moving through trees. He took direction from black cats and pointing skeletons. He lingered under streetlights, ignored the barking of frightened dogs, and stared at parties of trick-or-treaters from a distance. When they received their candy, the Entity moved on. Nobody paid him any mind. For one night, all things were as they were supposed to be.</p> <p>After an hour's wanderings, the Entity came upon a theater with a blank, unlit marquee. No shows tonight? Disappointing. His gaze drifted to the neighboring apartment door, marked up with a strange pattern. This was a cognitohazard, designed to deter uninvited guests. Rude. Offensive. Against the rules. Who did this? Who would be judged? The Entity glanced at the intercom, looking for a sign.</p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p><tt>One, five, seventeen —</tt></p> </div> <p>Apartment 2-3.</p> <p>Yes.</p> <p>He reached out and pressed the buzzer.</p> <div class="blockquote"> <p><strong>whistl_stahp:</strong><sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-4" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-4')">4</a></sup> hey, remember that big favor you owe me?<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> I need a consult ASAP.<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> what's up<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> how much do you know about the Misters Against Weed?<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> not a lot. don't like the gimmick. why<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> one of our predictive algorithms failed tonight.<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> right this minute, there's a tac team waiting in an empty house for a Mister who didn't show.<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> lmao owned<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> this is serious, Wren.<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> the higher-ups are very concerned.<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> oh i'll bet<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> look im not helping you bag Mr. Get Anything For Free or w/e<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> i am strictly anti-prison and the Misters are mostly chill<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> even <a href="/nightmare-on-archer-row">Mr. Slasher Villain</a>?<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> who??<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> Mr. Slasher Villain.<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> are you thinking of <a href="/scp-2586">Mr. Literal Serial Killer</a><br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> no, it's definitely "Slasher Villain". I'm looking at the casefile rn<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> long story short: strong, resilient humanoid manifests in cities on Halloween and attacks people who aren't invested in the holiday.<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> victims experience heightened anxiety, physical exhaustion and diminished capacity for independent problem-solving during the event.<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> anomaly was briefly captured last year, but dematerialized before entering containment.<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> it's got a tattoo on the neck, and carries a single identifying document.<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> you're being serious rn<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> a murderous Mister isn't really our style<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> well, neither was <a href="/scp-3869">Mr. High Quality</a>.<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> maybe someone else wants in on the joke?<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> or someone's sending a message.</p> </div> <p>The face at the door seemed surprised to have another visitor. "Uh. Hey. Do I know you?"</p> <p>The Entity shook his head slowly. He had never met Zane Castle before. He simply knew that this was the right place. He opened his right hand, then the left, revealing the words "TRICK" and "TREAT" written across his empty palms.</p> <p>"Oh! Well, I am full of tricks." Castle produced a deck of cards from nowhere in particular and fanned them out in both hands. "Go ahead. Pick one."</p> <p>Slowly, ever-so-slowly, the Entity reached out… took a card… and tugged it from the deck. It was the six of diamonds.</p> <p>"I'll take that back." Zane cut the deck and shuffled dramatically. "Now, I bet I can bring your card to the top, just like that." He snapped his fingers and flipped the topmost card, revealing…</p> <p>It was the nine of clubs. The Entity tilted his head, disappointed.</p> <p>"No? Not yours? Okay, hold onto it for me." He put the card facedown in the Entity's open palm and started shuffling the deck some more. "I'll try again…"</p> <div class="blockquote"> <p><strong>steakshift:</strong> alright well the premise def sounds familiar.<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> you want my genre-savvy assessment?<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> no, not exactly.<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> honestly, this reminds me of <strong><a href="/the-not-too-distant-future">our missing day in July</a></strong>.<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> hows that<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> get this: the previous murders weren't permanent.<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> victims woke up alive the next day, confused and freaked out.<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> primary evidence didn't persist, only secondary documentation.<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> it's almost like the killer was never there.<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> sound familiar??</p> </div> <p>"Is your card… the eight of hearts?"</p> <p>The Entity gazed at him with dull, empty eyes.</p> <p>"Guess not. I'll scan this deck, see what I missed." Zane wiggled his fingers over the cards, and the eight seemed to transform back into the nine of clubs. "Aha! But if the nine is here… what's in your hand?" When the Entity did not react, he reached out and flipped the card himself. "This is your card: the six of diamonds."</p> <p>No response.</p> <p>Castle laughed awkwardly, cleared his throat and took a tentative step backwards. "Well, uh, happy Halloween, ma-"</p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p><tt>Kill Zane Castle.</tt></p> </div> <p>The Entity shouldered through the door, wrapped both hands around the illusionist's neck and began to squeeze.</p> <div class="blockquote"> <p><strong>steakshift:</strong> alright best guess:<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> if someone isolated a slice of the narrative construct, they could mess with reality on the INside without affecting things OUTside<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> so technically, those people DON'T die and come back<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> it's more like what they experience isn't canon beyond the Mister's range of effect.<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> that's an interesting theory, but it doesn't help with the search.<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> alright what else is there to go on<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> previous incidents occurred in New Jersey, Illinois and California<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> so it was trending in a east-northeast direction.<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> tonight, our algorithm placed it within 40-100km of Portland, Oregon.<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> ffs COME ON<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> way to bury the lede<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> don't tell me you're in the area.<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> yeahhh no way that's a coincidence<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> give me the street address, we'll get it under control<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> can't! janitors are cops and they're not welcome here<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> wow, okay. remember what I said about "diminished capacity for independent problem-solving"?<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> you are not equipped to deal with this on your own!<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> shit, youre right<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> gotta check on my friends<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> wait, who's there with you?<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> brb getting murdered</p> </div> <p>Wren re-emerged from the bathroom with their heart hammering in their chest. Bile tickled at their throat. This was bad. They had wanted to believe that the worst chapter in their life was over and done, the loose ends tied off, old sins forgotten. But the past was never really at rest, is it? Particularly not in horror stories.</p> <p>"Hey, Armand? Does reality feel sorta… off… to you, right now?"</p> <p>He cocked his head and considered. "Nowt hat youuum mennonit… yeah. Sorta p-porous. Hhhawalaween, amirite?"</p> <p>They laughed unenthusiastically. "Yeah! Halloween. That… liminal time, which we all love."</p> <p>"I could drink to that." Bobby giggled at his own non-joke. "Anyway. Zane mentioned a slasher movie with Busta Rhymes, and that sounds hysterical, so let's watch that."</p> <p>"Wait, where is Zane?"</p> <p>"He went to answer the door," Rhona chirped. She rinsed out her wineglass, set it aside and gestured vaguely towards the bedroom. "I'm gonna go see what Esther's listening to."</p> <p><em>Fuck.</em> Wren darted into the hall and peered down the staircase. "Zane?" they shouted. No response. Slowly, cautiously, they began to descend — but when they saw the front door hanging open and playing cards scattered over the threshold, they broke into a dead run, stumbling out into the cool autumn air. Nothing but empty streets. Swirling leaves. They were alone.</p> <p><em>No. I'm not.</em></p> <p>Goosebumps crept up Masterson's neck. Hairs stood on end. They turned around slowly and saw the hooded silhouette at the top of the staircase. Watching them. Staring. Eyes without a face.</p> <p>The Entity turned away, and walked purposefully into Zane's apartment.</p> <p>Wren took the stairs two at a time. They sprinted up the hall and back inside, where they found… nothing out of the ordinary. <em>Where'd he go?</em> They scanned the room and groaned. Another empty seat. "Where's Armand?"</p> <p>"Bathroom. Why?"</p> <p>They looked into the kitchen, where one knife was conspicuously missing from the storage block. "Did you see anyone else in here?"</p> <p>"What? No. Are you stoned, or something?"</p> <p><em>"No,"</em> they lied. "I'm just… worried about Zane, and thinking we should all stick together until we find him."</p> <p>It was impossible to read Bobby's expression, but his tone was clear enough. "Yeah. Alright. Sure, Wren. I'll just chill here until you calm down."</p> <p>They resisted the urge to start shouting. That would only make things worse. Instead, Masterson rapped on the bathroom door.</p> <p>"Occupiepiepie-"</p> <p>"Lineup!" They kept moving towards Zane's bedroom, following the muffled beats of a synthetic drum. <em>Esther and Rhona are listening to something, distracted, sitting ducks —</em></p> <p>Wren pushed through the door and immediately regretted it. Esther and Rhona were distracted, all right, but they weren't focused on the music. They were afloat in a river of passion, swimming in pheromones, and when they finally came up for air…</p> <p>"G-d, way to barge in, asshole!"</p> <p>"Why are you making out?" Wren blurted.</p> <p>"Ex-<em>cuse</em> me?"</p> <p>"Sorry! Sorry. Stupid question." They turned away, sheepish, then spun around again and started pawing through the closet in search of a weapon. "Look, I <em>really</em> hate to interrupt, but we need you in the living room. It's an emergency."</p> <p>"Are you fucking serious?!"</p> <p>Occupied as they were with this social disaster, Masterson didn't hear the creak of hinges on the other side of the apartment. The Entity stepped out of its hiding place behind the door (carelessly left unlocked) and moved silently into the living room. Bobby Birack was alone. Young. Vulnerable. A perfect target.</p> <p>As he drew closer, the blanket ghost looked over at him, did a double-take, and laughed. "Oh, I get it now. Very funny, Armand."</p> <p>The Entity lingered, savoring the moment. Then he grabbed the ghost by the head, plunged the kitchen knife into Bobby's chest — and met no resistance. Nothing to stab.</p> <p>"Hey, what the hell, dude?"</p> <p>Undaunted, the killer tightened his grip on the victim's skull. It collapsed with a dry crackle instead of the usual meaty crunch. Regardless, Bobby's shoulders continued to shake and twist. When the Entity finally let go, the torn sheet fell away, revealing no body at all: just a crushed styrofoam head, and a laptop, which fell to the floor and skittered under the chair like a frightened cat.</p> <p>"Y'all can be mad at me in the living room!" Masterson stomped out into the hall with a baseball bat. They spotted the intruder, but before they could tee up and swing, Armand stepped out of the bathroom, wearing that big ugly fox head on his shoulders. The fursuit mask limited his field of vision, so for that first crucial second, Armand couldn't see the Entity approaching with knife in hand.</p> <p>No time to think. Wren grabbed Armand's shirtsleeve and yanked. The fuzzy head tipped over, threw off his center of gravity, and sent both stoners crashing to the floor at Rhona Nic Riada's feet. In that moment, she got her first look at the Entity: the outline of a man and the flash of a knife. Rhona took a long, deep breath, balled up her fists, and screamed.</p> <p>Now, it must be said: Wren Masterson was not terribly familiar with the Sidhe. They knew some Gaelic curse words, and they knew better than to tease anyone speaking in rhyme, but the subtle intricacies of Fae culture escaped them. They didn't know anything about the Nic Riada clan and its unique capabilities, so when Rhona's wordless howl swept through the living room like a gale-force wind, picked the Entity off his feet and flung him out the window, it came as something of a surprise.</p> <p>There was a distant <em>thud</em>, a tinkle of glass, and then silence.</p> <p>Esther cleared her throat. "Rho… did you just kill Zane?"</p> <p>"Absolutely not!" Rhona protested. "Didn't anyone else see that aura? Flat, dark and sparse — that was a destructive spirit! On Samhain! <em>Crá croí</em>, I should have listened to my parents."</p> <p>"Definitely not a normal specter," Bobby's voice said from somewhere nearby. "I didn't pick up any funky vibes until he was right on me, and he obviously didn't realize I was, uh, living-impaired."<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-5" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-5')">5</a></sup></p> <p>Wren cleared their throat. "Guys, I hate to say it, but that seemed like somebody's take on Mr. Slasher Villain."</p> <p>Everyone turned and stared. "What?"</p> <p>"Wwweren't you just-t-talkinggg ababout slsashers?"</p> <p>"Yeah! You were! What gives, Masterson?"</p> <p><em>Oh, here we go.</em> Wren was not in a position to explain who this information had come from. "Look, I know it seems ridiculously on-the-nose, but this sort of synchronicity <em>does</em> happen. Everyone who's met JJ can attest to that. Besides, Halloween is peak time for weird. Right?"</p> <p>Armand and Rhona nodded reluctantly. Bobby lifted a lampshade up to around head level and used that to "nod" along with them.</p> <p>"Wait. Listen!" It was the dull <em>thump-thump-thump</em> of footsteps staggering up the hall. Masterson flung themselves against the apartment door and flipped the lock. They sagged down, relieved, until there came the muffled jangle of keys. They jumped up again as the lock popped open and used their full weight to brace the door, cringing at the pounding of fists against the wood.</p> <p>"Let me in!" a hoarse, raspy voice cried. "There's a fuckin' slasher villain out here!"</p> <p>"Zane?!" Wren swept the door open and their friend stumbled in. "Holy shit, I thought you were dead!"</p> <p>"Not yet." Castle tugged at the collar of his jacket, revealing the bruises flowering on his neck. "Guy tried choking me out, but I can hold my breath for, like, four minutes."</p> <p>"Wuhwow, samame actually." Armand waggled an eyebrow. Nobody took the bait.</p> <p>"But… where'd you go? I called for you!"</p> <p>"Man, does it even matter? I locked and bolted the front door on my way up. This seems like a great time to dig in and call for help."</p> <p>"From who? The Hand? Your roomies are out of town!"</p> <p>"On the second-biggest prank night of the year," Esther said grimly. "No matter who we call, we'll sound like total idiots."</p> <p>"Wandering spirits would take us seriously, but, uh… my fellow ghosts aren't exactly brawny." The lampshade wiggled lazily in midair, to emphasize Bobby's point.</p> <p>"If he's here for Halloween night, maybe we could just… wait 'til morning?"</p> <p>Rhona sucked air through her teeth. "Celtic days start at sunset, so it's Samhain for another eighteen hours. Sorry."</p> <p>"No, no, no!" Wren exclaimed. "We can't just <em>wait it out</em>. Evil doesn't pack up and go home! We need bring closure through confrontation."</p> <p>"So letet's get down there annnd finish him off!" Armand ran to the window and leaned out, scanning the street.</p> <p>"…he's already gone, isn't he?"</p> <p>"Yep. Figigures." He tugged a scrap of stained cloth off the windowframe and gave it a sniff. "Guy b-bleeds corrrns syrup."</p> <p>"Look, the longer we wait, the worse this gets. This thing has whiffed, what? Three times? By rights, half of us should be toast already."</p> <p>"Guess we're not ideal victims."</p> <p>"Exactly! We're not stock characters waiting around to die. We have lives outside this story. That thing doesn't! He's a walking archetype. Shallow. One-dimensional. He's got a basic program, and I think he's gonna keep trying to run that program until we're all dead. We need to tilt the balance of this story in our favor, pronto. Between all of us, what can we do?"</p> <p>"That guy walked right past my brainhack to get inside, so I'm guessing he doesn't give a shit about cognitohazards." Esther chewed her lip. "I could zap <em>us</em>, though. Sober everyone up."</p> <p>Rhona raised one dainty hand. "Degree in architectural sorcery from ICSUT, here! Plus the standard Sidhe knack for glamours, auras and workings."</p> <p>"Can you do that scream thing anytime?"</p> <p>"No, it's a fight-or-flight response. My great-grandmother was a banshee."</p> <p>"Damn. Okay, well, I've got five terabytes of pirated horror movies, so I can help with visual effects. What else have we got?"</p> <p>"Ther-ere's plenty of glass for p-p-pattern magic!" Armand flung his beer bottle into the nearest corner, then set about collecting the pieces.</p> <p>"We've got a whole-ass workshop in the theater, backstage. We'd just have to make it downstairs, first."</p> <p>Something shifted in Wren's brain. "Wait. You said earlier that the stage was already set up. For what? What's the show?"</p> <p>Zane frowned. "That's a really good question. Why did I set up a trick without a show?"</p> <p>"Maybe this <em>is</em> the show. Armand?"</p> <p>"Retrororoactive compulsion! You've alalready helped wittthe plan we haven't madade yet."</p> <p>"Okay, but… what's the plan?"</p> <p>"Simple." A slow grin spread across Wren's face. "We're gonna make some movie magic."</p> <hr/> <p>The Entity watched the building from a distance, clenching and unclenching his fists. He had been captured before, denied his due, but this was different. He had never been <em>defied</em> this way. It was humiliating. Infuriating. Against the rules. They had to be punished. They would all be punished.</p> <p>Movement. Pale silhouettes crossing the flat rooftop, towards the theater. They weren't trying to be stealthy. If anything, they'd been emboldened by their meager success. One of them even looked down, locked eyes with the Entity, and flipped him the bird.</p> <p>He imagined breaking bones. Snapping ribs. Tearing out a beating heart and crushing it into thin pulp. Warmth between his fingers. A rage that felt like happiness.</p> <p>The Entity began to walk.</p> <div class="blockquote"> <p><strong>steakshift:</strong> hello still alive checkin gin<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> jfc Wren, you had me worried.<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> keep worrying! he's totally chasing us<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> good news is he's the stalk-and-slash type<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> so he doesn't actually run, just moves fast when we're not looking</p> </div> <p>The killer paced around the perimeter, fuming. The main doors were locked. The windows were too narrow. Entrances —</p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p><tt>Zero.</tt></p> </div> <p>— all sealed. Impossible! There was no such thing as a perfect defense. It was against the rules of the game. There had to be a way in.</p> <p>Wait. There it was: the telltale <em>click-clack</em> of a deadbolt disengaging. An invitation… or a trap. But was it his only option?</p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p><tt>Two.</tt></p> </div> <p>His gaze swivelled up and around. There was another door. Remote. Undefended. Beyond the reach of mere mortals.</p> <p>The Entity plunged one fist into the wall. Brick crumpled like paper. He reached up, dug his fingers into loose mortar, and began to climb.</p> <div class="blockquote"> <p><strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> fyi it's not too late for me to tip off the containment team.<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> dealing with this sort of thing is Literally Their Job!<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> seems like containment has already failed on the janitor end tbh<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> we're gonna do you a solid and take care of this ourselves</p> </div> <p>Zane tightened his grip on the baseball bat. "You see anything out there?"</p> <p>Armand peered through the front window and shook his head. "Notot yet."</p> <p>"Maybe he didn't hear you unlock it."</p> <p>"Maybebe." He threw the deadbolt back and forth a few times. Still nothing. Just a distant crunching, scraping sound from somewhere up above. Delassixe furrowed his brow. "Hey, didid you b-block the door to the roof?"</p> <p>"Of course not."</p> <p>"Whatat?! Why?"</p> <p>"Fire code. Duh." Zane said this like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Then he blinked. "Ah, shit. That's not right, is it?"</p> <p><em>Bam!</em> The Entity shouldered through the emergency exit and stepped onto the landing. Two targets. Opposite sides of the hall. Given a choice, the intruder didn't hesitate: he marched directly towards Zane, arms outstretched, grasping hands stained red with clay dust.</p> <p>"Man, for real?!" Castle danced away. Dodging, weaving, sneakers squeaking. The bat whistled harmlessly through the air.</p> <p>On the far end of the hallway, Armand took aim, flicked a chip of green glass at the intruder — missed — swore loudly and tried again. This time, the projectile lodged in the Entity's back, and a dozen jagged shards jumped off the ground to meet it. <em>That</em> caught his attention. When the Entity turned to glare at Armand, Zane swung with all the strength he could muster.</p> <p><em>Krrr-ACK!</em> Direct hit. The bat connected with the Entity's head and promptly snapped in two. When the slasher dropped to his knees, Zane leapfrogged over him and followed Armand into the theater's control room. <em>Bam! Click!</em> EMPLOYEES ONLY.</p> <p>The Entity shook his head. Dazed, but nothing more. He stood up, pulled a fire axe off the wall, and started breaking the door down.</p> <div class="blockquote"> <p><strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> uhhh for the record:<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> "impermanent death" is a precedent, not a guarantee.<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> everyone near the anomaly is in immediate, mortal danger.<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> yeah no shit!!<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> we noticed</p> </div> <p><em>Fwock. Fwock! FWOCK!</em> The door was cheap. Flimsy and weak. It wouldn't hold for long. He could see his prey on the other side, laboring over a control panel. Tantalizingly close.</p> <p>All of a sudden, there came an unnatural hiss and a flash of cold blue light. The Entity staggered back and stared as wood grain warped and splinters flowed upwards, reversing the damage and reinforcing the frame. Thaumaturgy. Who would dare—?</p> <p>"Hey! Asshole!" Esther Kogan stood in front of the auditorium doors, hands on hips, side-by-side with Rhona Nic Riada. Both were backlit by shallow waves of yellow energy. "We're sexually liberated young women and we're not scared of you!"</p> <p>"I'm not a virgin!" Rhona shrieked. "I've had, like, ten partners! I don't respect my parents! I smoke weed on my lunch breaks!" She made a few quick gestures, snapped her fingers, and the floor started rippling. Faster. <em>Faster!</em> Hardwood rushing like a river. The Entity waded on, undeterred. This working could not last forever, but he was inevitable. Like the tide.</p> <p>Sure enough: the power ebbed. The floor fell still. As the Entity regained his footing, the Fae caster tied off one last current of energy and shouted, "Esther!"</p> <p>On cue, Kogan unballed her left fist — exposing a simple fight-or-flight cognitohazard — and thrust it in front of Nic Riada's face.</p> <p>The Entity braced himself, expecting another deafening scream. Instead, panic took over, and the wail died in Rhona's throat. She gasped, turned on her heel and bolted through the double doors into darkness.</p> <p>Esther stared after her, dumbfounded. She looked back at the Entity and smiled crookedly. "Awkward."</p> <p><em>Whoosh!</em> She ducked low. The axe sailed right over her head and <em>thunk!</em> Buried itself in drywall. To her credit, Kogan did not panic — she simply clapped her right hand over her eye and rode coghaz-induced adrenaline into the next room.</p> <div class="blockquote"> <p><strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> gdi the question I've been TRYING to ask is<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> what can I do to help?<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> you're doing it!<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> ???<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> these chats aren't timestamped<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> so they're perfect for a cross-cut exploit</p> </div> <p>The Entity pushed through the double doors and paused. From outside, the auditorium looked dark and empty, but inside? The room was brightly-lit and decorated for a Halloween dance. There were orange streamers dangling from the walls, giant pumpkins painted on either side of the stage, and a disco ball spinning overhead. Dozens of costumed guests were talking and dancing in small groups.</p> <p>Esther and Rhona had vanished.</p> <div class="blockquote"> <p><strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> what does that even mean?<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> oh it's a moviemaking thing.<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> cross-cuts build tension by implying close continuity between scenes<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> when really, just about anything could be hidden between those cuts<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> including precious minutes of offscreen prep time!<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> wait so you're using ME to bend reality?<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> oops that's my cue! gotta dip<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> AGAIN?!</p> </div> <p>The Entity advanced through gaps in the crowd, scanning back and forth. Toga. Nurse. Witch. A graduate, with cap and gown. A box of cereal. These were unfamiliar faces. Alien minds. Where was his prey? Where had they gone?</p> <p>"Well, lookee here!" a voice cried out. "It's the guest of honor!"</p> <p>Wren Masterson stood tall at center stage. No, wait: not standing. They were bouncing in place. Capering like a macabre jester. "That's right!" they exclaimed. "Guests young and old, dead and undead, put your hands together for <em>Mr. Slasher Villain!"</em></p> <p>Around half of the partygoers whooped and applauded. The other half kept on dancing, oblivious. The Entity did not look away. He was locked on his target. Moving with purpose. Killer intent.</p> <p>"Now, I'll be the first to say it: slasher flicks are fun, but random carnage is boring." They pantomimed a yawn. "What's your motive, champ? Shouldn't you have some connection to your victims? Some dark secret left untold?"</p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p><tt>Seventeen —</tt></p> </div> <p>"Or are you just… some spontaneous <em>thing</em>, leaking through from the other side?"</p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p><tt>— twenty-three —</tt></p> </div> <p>"Seriously, I don't get it. What's the joke?"</p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p><span style="font-size:large;"><tt>JOKE?!</tt></span></p> </div> <p>The rage surged up and burned his brain. Blood thundered in his ears. Red-hot.</p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p><span style="font-size:large;"><strong><tt>KILL WREN MASTERSON.</tt></strong></span></p> </div> <p>The Entity closed the distance in five quick strides. He bounded onto the stage, axe held high… but something was wrong. His quarry had no physical depth. This wasn't a person: it was an image bounced off angled glass. Smoke and mirrors.</p> <p>Confused, the Entity turned back to the crowd, shielding his eyes against the light of the disco ball. From this perspective, the whole room was too large for the building containing it. The angle of the floor was different, and there were strange gaps between walls and ceiling. Blind spots.</p> <p>This place wasn't real. It was a set. Shots from a movie, stitched together and projected on the world.</p> <p>With this realization, the environment started to come apart at the seams. Partygoers winked out like spent candles, while guests in the foreground began to flicker and distort. False faces faded away. These were faerie glamours cast on wandering ghosts. The illusion of life.</p> <p>Something crunched underfoot. The Entity looked down and saw pieces of green glass. Was that… a beer bottle?</p> <p>Pattern magic. This was all by design. They had led him here, distracted him, locked him in place at center stage, and now, the Entity was standing on a —</p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p><tt>HOLE</tt></p> </div> <p>— trap door.</p> <p>"Go! Go now! Scene change!"</p> <p>The audience area went dark. Stage lights snapped on. Curtains wound back, exposing hand-painted scenery: birch trees and scrub. Fallen leaves and licks of frost. Was this autumn, winter or spring? Impossible to tell. The Entity spun in place, confused.</p> <div style="text-align: right;"> <p><tt>SCATTER</tt></p> </div> <p>Dismay turned to resolve. The Entity smashed the mirror with his axe, disrupting Armand's carefully-arranged spiral of glass. Freedom! He stepped clear just as the trap door fell open. There was nothing below it. Nothing at all.</p> <p>"Oh, no you don't!"</p> <p>Wren Masterson charged out from their darkened corner of the stage. They ran at the Entity full-tilt, planted both hands on his chest and shoved. Hard. The killer skidded back, teetered on the precipice — and dropped. Armpit-deep in merciless darkness, the Entity scrabbled at the wooden flooring, fighting to keep his elbows above the edge.</p> <p>Wren took a step back and peered into the villain's eyes, breathing heavily. <em>I have to know.</em> "Is this my fault?" they whispered. "Are you here for me?"</p> <p>Nothing. No recognition. Not even a twitch. <em>Good.</em> Masterson raised one heavy boot for the final blow.</p> <p>"<tt>Won't.</tt>"</p> <p>They paused, taken by surprise. <em>Didn't think he was a talker.</em> In that moment of hesitation, the Entity seized hold of their ankle and all of Wren's strength faded away. Their stomach flipped, balance failed, and they collapsed like a ton of bricks.</p> <p>"Oh shit!" Esther said, somewhere not-too-far away. "He's got them!"</p> <p>The Entity spoke again. Louder this time. "<tt>Won't… <em>you</em>…</tt>"</p> <p>Masterson tried to crawl away. No such luck. The best they could do was flop around and stare upwards, gasping wordlessly.</p> <p><em>Wait, is that axe floating?</em></p> <p>That's when Esther stepped up onto the stage. She snatched the fire axe out of Bobby's invisible hands, lifted it high —</p> <p>"<tt>Stop-</tt>"</p> <p>— and buried the pick in the Entity's eye socket. There was a violent spurt of stage blood, a muffled yelp, and the would-be killer tumbled down, down, down, into Nothingness. Rhona shouted a few words in Gaelic, clapped, and the trapdoor slammed shut with a decisive <em>bang</em>.</p> <p>Esther slung the axe over her shoulder. "What do you think? Still a slasher fan?"</p> <p>"Ask me later," Wren wheezed. "I think I'm gonna puke."</p> <p>"Sorry," Bobby said. "My bad. Clipping through your abdomen right now."</p> <p>"Yuck."</p> <p>The overhead lights flickered on, bathing the theater in cool white light. Armand and Zane pushed through the double doors, whooping and hollering, trading high-fives.</p> <p>"Thatat was awesomome!"</p> <p>"Fuck yeah! Your bit with the glass-"</p> <p>"Nowo, when you hit-it him wiiithee bat-"</p> <p>"Your pattern trick-"</p> <p>"The mirroror image! Youou do that sort of thinnng a lot?"</p> <p>Castle beamed. "Yeah, man! That's part of my day job. Illusionist." He held Armand's gaze for a really long time before glancing back at the others. "That CGI looked okay, I guess."</p> <p>Nic Riada scoffed, all haughty and offended. "Hey! That wasn't CG! That gym was a <em>real place!</em> It was just from, uh…" She snapped her fingers.</p> <p>"A horror movie shot in North Carolina, 1986."</p> <p>"Right. Thanks."</p> <p>"Specifically the 'Halloween dance' scene."</p> <p>"Yes, thank you."</p> <p>"No problem. It was seasonally appropriate. That's why it wor-"</p> <p>"Thank you, Wren!" Rhona snapped. Then she turned to Esther with big puppy-dog eyes, and folded her into a hug. "<em>A mhuirnín</em>, you were so <em>braaave!</em> Are you okay?"</p> <p>Kogan laughed. "Yeah, Rho, I'm good. We're all lucky that guy wasn't very observant."</p> <p>"Probabably the mask," Armand said blandly. "It fffucks with your vision."</p> <p>Distant laughter. Clapping. The sixteen spirits still standing in the auditorium approved of the show.</p> <p>Zane grinned. "Take a bow, everybody. Seal the deal. That's how it's done."</p> <p>The cast obliged. For his part, Bobby grabbed one of the stage curtains and waved it energetically. "Thanks for coming out, folks! Happy Halloween!"</p> <p>Slowly but surely, the audience faded away, leaving only the ghost of applause. While the other guests started talking amongst themselves, Wren stumbled off to one corner of the stage, slumped to the floor, and let out a long, low sigh. Then they started tapping at keys.</p> <div class="blockquote"> <p><strong>steakshift:</strong> it's over.<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> problem solved. no casualties.<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> thank Christ.<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> how did you manage it?<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> tl;dr: rug pull. boogeymen are domestic villains<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> so we lured him into the woods and dropped his ass<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> "dropped him" where?<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> idk exactly. backstage someplace.<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> he's contained or w/e<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> sooo we square? big favours paid off?<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> I have a few questions first.<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> is this permanent? will he be back?<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> uhhh maybe?? he said something like "won't stop"<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> oh, wonderful.<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> theories on motive? any idea why he manifested near you?<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> dunno but he was def pissed off<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> how about point of origin? did you see a tattoo, or a document?<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> no, no and no<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> fantastic. In that case, we've learned nothing at all!<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> kinda sounds like a wash to me.<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> harsh but fair.<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> tbh I'm surprised you took this seriously<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> getting jacked by a slasher villain on halloween, that's pretty wacky<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> yeah, well. "wacky" is par for the course these days.<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> besides, you're not the only one who knows that boogeymen are real.<br/> <strong>steakshift:</strong> o rly?? you'll have to tell me more about that sometime<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> no<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> I really don't.<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp:</strong> good night, steakshift. Be safe.<br/> <strong>whistl_stahp has left the chat.</strong><br/> <strong>steakshift has left the chat.</strong></p> </div> <p>With the weight of the world off their shoulders, Wren Masterson closed their eyes, arched their back, and stretched. Bones popped and settled. <em>Sweet relief.</em> They opened their eyes, scanned the stage… and frowned. The backdrop looked familiar, somehow. <em>Wide-open space in the middle of a forest.</em> "Hey, Zane. Is this, uh, based on something?"</p> <p>"What? Nah. It's just the first scene that came to mind. Why?"</p> <p>"Nothing. Nothing important. Just… reminds me of a <strong><a href="/scp-4784">really bad movie</a></strong>."</p> <hr/> <p>The city slept. Dim orange fingers stroked the sky. Dead leaves swirled outside Zane Castle's apartment, tracing idle circles on the sidewalk. There was hardly any evidence of the night's horrors. Just a few broken windowpanes, an abandoned kitchen knife… and a sheet of paper. It was stained with corn syrup. Ink smeared by morning dew. Barely legible.</p> <div class="blockquote"> <p><span style="filter: blur(5px);">Holy Heck! You've just found</span> your very own Mr. Slasher Villain by <span style="filter: blur(8px);"><span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Gamers Against Weed</span></span>. Won't you stop <span style="filter: blur(3px);">and remember me</span>?</p> <p>Collect them all and become Ms. Manslaughter!</p> <p><span style="filter: blur(3px);">01.</span> Clem<span style="filter: blur(3px);">entia Schweiger</span><br/> 02. <span style="filter: blur(5px);">Toni Vitela</span><br/> 03. <span style="filter: blur(5px);">Kathleen Stich</span><br/> <span style="filter: blur(3px);">04.</span> Dav<span style="filter: blur(3px);">id Aylmer Brock</span><br/> 05. <span style="filter: blur(3px);">Dev</span>on Su<span style="filter: blur(3px);">ndi</span><br/> <span style="filter: blur(5px);">06.</span> <strong><span style="color: red">ARE WE COOL YET, ANNA?</span></strong> ✔</p> </div> <p>The letter spun uselessly in the air. Unobserved. Unknown.</p> When daybreak finally arrived, the street was empty.<br/> <br/> <div class="footnotes-footer"> <div class="title">Footnotes</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-1"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-1')">1</a>. Also known as "steakshift", to their Internet friends.</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-2"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-2')">2</a>. AKA "harmpit". He always talks like that.</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-3"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-3')">3</a>. "lesbian_gengar", co-founder of Gamers Against Weed.</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-4"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-4')">4</a>. Depending on who you asked, Penelope Gore was either a Foundation spy, or a double agent trying to affect change from within. Tough to say for sure.</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-5"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-5')">5</a>. The name "FreakyGhostBed" might have given it away.</div> </div> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/nightmare-on-archer-row-part-2">Nightmare on Archer Row, Part 2</a>" by Tsercele, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/nightmare-on-archer-row-part-2">https://scpwiki.com/nightmare-on-archer-row-part-2</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	===== [[include <a href="/component:preview">component:preview</a> text= Movie night becomes a fight for survival when "Mr. Slasher Villain" crashes GAW's Halloween party. ]] ===== [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:halloween">:scp-wiki:theme:halloween</a>]] [[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[collapsible show="Content Warnings" hide=""The trick is to stay alive!""]] This chapter is a horror-comedy inspired by slasher films. As such, it includes scenes of violence, references to drug use, and some (non-explicit) sexuality. [[/collapsible]] ------ Every year, as the leaves burn orange and the days grow short, there comes a time when spirits roam. Distinctions between real and imaginary become hazy, and beings rise from their slumber with newfound power to act. Standing in the dusty backroom of an abandoned video store, the Entity contemplated his choice of disguise. The zombie mask on the shelf was last year's fashion. Tonight, would he wear the skeleton, jack o'lantern, or witch? None of them seemed right. These leering faces were too expressive. Too human. [[>]] {{One.}} [[/>]] There. Lying on the bottom shelf. A smooth white mask with no mouth or nose. Featureless, except for those deep, dark eye sockets. The Entity picked it up, tightened the straps around his head, and regarded himself in a grimy mirror. Unrecognizable. Anonymous. Perfect. [[>]] {{Three. Five.}} [[/>]] Once upon a time, the Entity was assigned a mission. Those instructions were vague and ill-remembered, like a child's dream, but the rage... the rage was unforgettable. Irresistible. Tonight, deviation from the rules would be punished. Knives would dance. Blood would spill. [[>]] {{Seventeen. Twenty-three. KILL!}} [[/>]] It was time to go to work. The Entity pushed through the back door and looked around, considering the night's possibilities. Then he raised his hood, turned towards the dim glow of sunset, and began to walk. ------ Wren Masterson[[footnote]]Also known as "steakshift", to their Internet friends.[[/footnote]] loved Halloween. It was the perfect opportunity to dress up, party down, and geek out. This year, they'd gone with an "undead rocker" aesthetic, applying fake burns and corpse paint in equal measure. They'd packed their trusty duffel bag with rare snacks and quality strains. Entertainment, though? That was their stock and trade! They'd sifted through their extensive media library and picked out a wide assortment of seasonal favorites, plus a few cult classics and forgotten gems. Only one thing seemed amiss. "Why aren't we down in the theater?" "It's set up for a stage show," Zane Castle replied. Their host hadn't bothered with a costume, since he already oozed style: thick cornrow braids, hoop earrings, holographic jacket and matching kicks. By day, Zane was a lighting designer for the community theater on the first level. He was always very careful to describe himself as an //illusionist//, rather than a magician -- as a member of the Serpent's Hand, such distinctions were important. "Can't tear it down without the crew, and my roomies are out of town for a ritual. You know. Magic stuff." "It'sssa busbusy time-ime-ime." Armand Delassixe[[footnote]]AKA "harmpit". He always talks like that.[[/footnote]] sat on the floor next to a snaggletoothed red fox head. Wren suspected that this partial fursuit was borrowed, rather than owned, because if he had that much money to burn, Armand would have commissioned something uglier. "Yeah, Halloween gets pretty wild in Three Portlands. It's gotta be the second-biggest prank night of the year." Esther Kogan[[footnote]]"lesbian_gengar", co-founder of Gamers Against Weed.[[/footnote]] was a short, plump woman with frizzy hair and a persistent frown, like she was forever contemplating bad news. Tonight, she was wearing an ICSUT rugby jersey -- obviously a gag, since no self-respecting Deer College alumni would wear such a thing. "Makes movie night sound sorta tame by comparison." "Hard disagree," Bobby Birack interjected. He was the youngest of this particular group, and he'd taken a classic approach with his costume: just a long white sheet and a pair of aviators. "Most days, I'm stuck on my brother's old computer, so visiting everybody in person has to be the highlight of my year." "I actually prefer spending Samhain on this side of the Veil," Rhona Nic Riada said. She was a slim, athletic type, like a gymnast, with long blonde hair and bright eyes. "My family is super traditional, but here I can dress up, dress down, doesn't matter -- I get nothing but compliments." She framed her face with both hands, accentuating her naturally-pointed Sidhe ears. "I don't even have to wear a glamour! People think I'm cosplaying." Esther laughed. "As who?" Rhona's shrug disappeared into an oversized Deer letter jacket. "I don't know. A sporty elf? I don't watch anime." Wren suppressed a grin. They had heard tales of Esther and Rhona's on-again, off-again relationship, but they'd never seen it in action. //Dour and bubbly. Cute contrast.// "So! What do y'all want to watch? I'm assuming horror, since it's spooky season." "Anything except cartoons," Bobby replied. "Rooming with my folks is alright, but they never watch anything more intense than Scooby-Doo." "Let's see something old-school," Zane said. "Makeup, mirrors, matte paintings. None of that CG shit." "Good? Bad? So-bad-it's-good?" "Bad can be great, so long as it's not boring." "Alright, something //rowdy//. In that case... how do y'all feel about slasher movies?" "Works for me." "I'd-I'd-I'd be down." "There's nothing good about slasher flicks," Esther said firmly. Masterson blinked. "Really? Slashers are, like, essential American cinema, IMO." "Cheap and crass?" "Well... yeah. Necessity is the mother of invention, right? Gotta work hard to make a fun movie on a shoestring budget. Come up with a new twist on the formula, hire some lesser-known actors -- maybe some familiar faces, for flavor -- get yourself a good special effects team and drench the works in corn syrup. Doesn't have to be top-tier, just entertaining." "They're all the same, though! Name one meaningful difference between //'Halloween'// and //'Friday the 13th'//." "Oh, that's easy. They're playing off different fears. Campground killers prey on people's misgivings about a conquered wilderness. All that 'bad land', 'blood curse' shit? That's settler guilt. Frontier anxiety." "Thatat's why Jayayson has beeeen to space," Armand said matter-of-factly. "The //final// frontier." "Right. Boogeymen are domestic villains. They hit people close to home, where they feel safe and secure. Very different!" Esther rolled her eyes. "I mean, //sure,// if you want to read that far into masked dudes killing horny people. Those movies are all just stabbings and mutilations and it doesn't matter when the plucky virgin finally wins, because it's still formulaic, patriarchal bullshit!" "The slut-shaming really is too much," Rhona agreed. "There is some ritual significance to virginity, obvs, but that's not the same as punishing people for having a libido." "Or for being Black," Zane said grimly. "...is that another 'nay' vote?" "Nah, I'd be down for a slasher flick. Just tired of Hollywood." "I always saw it as a 'folly of youth' thing," Bobby mused. "After all, everyone feels like they're immortal until they bite it." "That's a super basic lesson, though! It's the exact same shit we get from our parents, just packaged a different way. Nothing subversive about it." "I dunno," Masterson said, scratching their chin. "There's always a little skepticism towards conventional authority. Like, horror-movie cops are useless assholes..." Castle snorted. "Just like real life." "...but //someone// typically warns the cast before the bloodbath starts. Could be the wacky locals. Or maybe someone brings word from out of town that there's a maniac on the loose. Either way, the cast makes a choice: ignore it and suffer, or band together and-" Esther threw up her hands, exasperated. "You know what? Screw it. You win. I'll just sit this one out." "Uh, that's not-" "Zane, you said I could check out your record collection?" "Be my guest." "Great. Enjoy your schlock." She stood up and padded off towards the back of the apartment. Wren watched her leave, nonplussed. Then they shrugged and focused their attention on the snack table. "Alright, to each their own, I guess. Hey, Armand?" "Yeaeah?" "Random question. Can you use your attribute-swap trick to make candy corn taste good?" "Whatat? It's alrrreaddy good." Armand lobbed a kernel into his mouth, drummed on his knees, and launched another piece up in the air with pattern magic. "Luhlove candy corn." Masterson squinted at him. "Are you being serious right now, or making a -- //agh!"// A sudden bolt of energy pinged off their consciousness. Then another. "What's wrong?" "Nothing. I'm just getting a text." Dots and dashes, to be precise, carried by quantum-entangled pairs of electrons. This type of communication was completely secure, but since they hadn't bonded it to a physical receiver, it was also a real headache. "Jesus, get a phone like the rest of us." "Absolutely not." They rummaged around in their duffel bag, produced a cheap microcomputer, and paused. "Zane, what's the Wi-Fi password? I gotta get on IRC real quick." "It's 'Archer Row'. R-O-W. Capitalized, no spaces." ------ The Entity did not navigate. His path through the city was as natural as the wind moving through trees. He took direction from black cats and pointing skeletons. He lingered under streetlights, ignored the barking of frightened dogs, and stared at parties of trick-or-treaters from a distance. When they received their candy, the Entity moved on. Nobody paid him any mind. For one night, all things were as they were supposed to be. After an hour's wanderings, the Entity came upon a theater with a blank, unlit marquee. No shows tonight? Disappointing. His gaze drifted to the neighboring apartment door, marked up with a strange pattern. This was a cognitohazard, designed to deter uninvited guests. Rude. Offensive. Against the rules. Who did this? Who would be judged? The Entity glanced at the intercom, looking for a sign. [[>]] {{One, five, seventeen --}} [[/>]] Apartment 2-3. Yes. He reached out and pressed the buzzer. [[div class="blockquote"]] whistl_stahp:[[footnote]]Depending on who you asked, Penelope Gore was either a Foundation spy, or a double agent trying to affect change from within. Tough to say for sure.[[/footnote]] hey, remember that big favor you owe me? whistl_stahp: I need a consult ASAP. steakshift: what's up whistl_stahp: how much do you know about the Misters Against Weed? steakshift: not a lot. don't like the gimmick. why whistl_stahp: one of our predictive algorithms failed tonight. whistl_stahp: right this minute, there's a tac team waiting in an empty house for a Mister who didn't show. steakshift: lmao owned whistl_stahp: this is serious, Wren. whistl_stahp: the higher-ups are very concerned. steakshift: oh i'll bet steakshift: look im not helping you bag Mr. Get Anything For Free or w/e steakshift: i am strictly anti-prison and the Misters are mostly chill whistl_stahp: even [[[nightmare-on-archer-row\|Mr. Slasher Villain]]]? steakshift: who?? whistl_stahp: Mr. Slasher Villain. steakshift: are you thinking of [[[scp-2586\|Mr. Literal Serial Killer]]] whistl_stahp: no, it's definitely "Slasher Villain". I'm looking at the casefile rn whistl_stahp: long story short: strong, resilient humanoid manifests in cities on Halloween and attacks people who aren't invested in the holiday. whistl_stahp: victims experience heightened anxiety, physical exhaustion and diminished capacity for independent problem-solving during the event. whistl_stahp: anomaly was briefly captured last year, but dematerialized before entering containment. whistl_stahp: it's got a tattoo on the neck, and carries a single identifying document. steakshift: you're being serious rn steakshift: a murderous Mister isn't really our style whistl_stahp: well, neither was [[[scp-3869\|Mr. High Quality]]]. whistl_stahp: maybe someone else wants in on the joke? steakshift: or someone's sending a message. [[/div]] The face at the door seemed surprised to have another visitor. "Uh. Hey. Do I know you?" The Entity shook his head slowly. He had never met Zane Castle before. He simply knew that this was the right place. He opened his right hand, then the left, revealing the words "TRICK" and "TREAT" written across his empty palms. "Oh! Well, I am full of tricks." Castle produced a deck of cards from nowhere in particular and fanned them out in both hands. "Go ahead. Pick one." Slowly, ever-so-slowly, the Entity reached out... took a card... and tugged it from the deck. It was the six of diamonds. "I'll take that back." Zane cut the deck and shuffled dramatically. "Now, I bet I can bring your card to the top, just like that." He snapped his fingers and flipped the topmost card, revealing... It was the nine of clubs. The Entity tilted his head, disappointed. "No? Not yours? Okay, hold onto it for me." He put the card facedown in the Entity's open palm and started shuffling the deck some more. "I'll try again..." [[div class="blockquote"]] steakshift: alright well the premise def sounds familiar. steakshift: you want my genre-savvy assessment? whistl_stahp: no, not exactly. whistl_stahp: honestly, this reminds me of [[[the-not-too-distant-future\|our missing day in July]]]. steakshift: hows that whistl_stahp: get this: the previous murders weren't permanent. whistl_stahp: victims woke up alive the next day, confused and freaked out. whistl_stahp: primary evidence didn't persist, only secondary documentation. whistl_stahp: it's almost like the killer was never there. whistl_stahp: sound familiar?? [[/div]] "Is your card... the eight of hearts?" The Entity gazed at him with dull, empty eyes. "Guess not. I'll scan this deck, see what I missed." Zane wiggled his fingers over the cards, and the eight seemed to transform back into the nine of clubs. "Aha! But if the nine is here... what's in your hand?" When the Entity did not react, he reached out and flipped the card himself. "This is your card: the six of diamonds." No response. Castle laughed awkwardly, cleared his throat and took a tentative step backwards. "Well, uh, happy Halloween, ma-" [[>]] {{Kill Zane Castle.}} [[/>]] The Entity shouldered through the door, wrapped both hands around the illusionist's neck and began to squeeze. [[div class="blockquote"]] steakshift: alright best guess: steakshift: if someone isolated a slice of the narrative construct, they could mess with reality on the INside without affecting things OUTside steakshift: so technically, those people DON'T die and come back steakshift: it's more like what they experience isn't canon beyond the Mister's range of effect. whistl_stahp: that's an interesting theory, but it doesn't help with the search. steakshift: alright what else is there to go on whistl_stahp: previous incidents occurred in New Jersey, Illinois and California whistl_stahp: so it was trending in a east-northeast direction. whistl_stahp: tonight, our algorithm placed it within 40-100km of Portland, Oregon. steakshift: ffs COME ON steakshift: way to bury the lede whistl_stahp: don't tell me you're in the area. steakshift: yeahhh no way that's a coincidence whistl_stahp: give me the street address, we'll get it under control steakshift: can't! janitors are cops and they're not welcome here whistl_stahp: wow, okay. remember what I said about "diminished capacity for independent problem-solving"? whistl_stahp: you are not equipped to deal with this on your own! steakshift: shit, youre right steakshift: gotta check on my friends whistl_stahp: wait, who's there with you? steakshift: brb getting murdered [[/div]] Wren re-emerged from the bathroom with their heart hammering in their chest. Bile tickled at their throat. This was bad. They had wanted to believe that the worst chapter in their life was over and done, the loose ends tied off, old sins forgotten. But the past was never really at rest, is it? Particularly not in horror stories. "Hey, Armand? Does reality feel sorta... off... to you, right now?" He cocked his head and considered. "Nowt hat youuum mennonit... yeah. Sorta p-porous. Hhhawalaween, amirite?" They laughed unenthusiastically. "Yeah! Halloween. That... liminal time, which we all love." "I could drink to that." Bobby giggled at his own non-joke. "Anyway. Zane mentioned a slasher movie with Busta Rhymes, and that sounds hysterical, so let's watch that." "Wait, where is Zane?" "He went to answer the door," Rhona chirped. She rinsed out her wineglass, set it aside and gestured vaguely towards the bedroom. "I'm gonna go see what Esther's listening to." //Fuck.// Wren darted into the hall and peered down the staircase. "Zane?" they shouted. No response. Slowly, cautiously, they began to descend -- but when they saw the front door hanging open and playing cards scattered over the threshold, they broke into a dead run, stumbling out into the cool autumn air. Nothing but empty streets. Swirling leaves. They were alone. //No. I'm not.// Goosebumps crept up Masterson's neck. Hairs stood on end. They turned around slowly and saw the hooded silhouette at the top of the staircase. Watching them. Staring. Eyes without a face. The Entity turned away, and walked purposefully into Zane's apartment. Wren took the stairs two at a time. They sprinted up the hall and back inside, where they found... nothing out of the ordinary. //Where'd he go?// They scanned the room and groaned. Another empty seat. "Where's Armand?" "Bathroom. Why?" They looked into the kitchen, where one knife was conspicuously missing from the storage block. "Did you see anyone else in here?" "What? No. Are you stoned, or something?" //"No,"// they lied. "I'm just... worried about Zane, and thinking we should all stick together until we find him." It was impossible to read Bobby's expression, but his tone was clear enough. "Yeah. Alright. Sure, Wren. I'll just chill here until you calm down." They resisted the urge to start shouting. That would only make things worse. Instead, Masterson rapped on the bathroom door. "Occupiepiepie-" "Lineup!" They kept moving towards Zane's bedroom, following the muffled beats of a synthetic drum. //Esther and Rhona are listening to something, distracted, sitting ducks --// Wren pushed through the door and immediately regretted it. Esther and Rhona were distracted, all right, but they weren't focused on the music. They were afloat in a river of passion, swimming in pheromones, and when they finally came up for air... "G-d, way to barge in, asshole!" "Why are you making out?" Wren blurted. "Ex-//cuse// me?" "Sorry! Sorry. Stupid question." They turned away, sheepish, then spun around again and started pawing through the closet in search of a weapon. "Look, I //really// hate to interrupt, but we need you in the living room. It's an emergency." "Are you fucking serious?!" Occupied as they were with this social disaster, Masterson didn't hear the creak of hinges on the other side of the apartment. The Entity stepped out of its hiding place behind the door (carelessly left unlocked) and moved silently into the living room. Bobby Birack was alone. Young. Vulnerable. A perfect target. As he drew closer, the blanket ghost looked over at him, did a double-take, and laughed. "Oh, I get it now. Very funny, Armand." The Entity lingered, savoring the moment. Then he grabbed the ghost by the head, plunged the kitchen knife into Bobby's chest -- and met no resistance. Nothing to stab. "Hey, what the hell, dude?" Undaunted, the killer tightened his grip on the victim's skull. It collapsed with a dry crackle instead of the usual meaty crunch. Regardless, Bobby's shoulders continued to shake and twist. When the Entity finally let go, the torn sheet fell away, revealing no body at all: just a crushed styrofoam head, and a laptop, which fell to the floor and skittered under the chair like a frightened cat. "Y'all can be mad at me in the living room!" Masterson stomped out into the hall with a baseball bat. They spotted the intruder, but before they could tee up and swing, Armand stepped out of the bathroom, wearing that big ugly fox head on his shoulders. The fursuit mask limited his field of vision, so for that first crucial second, Armand couldn't see the Entity approaching with knife in hand. No time to think. Wren grabbed Armand's shirtsleeve and yanked. The fuzzy head tipped over, threw off his center of gravity, and sent both stoners crashing to the floor at Rhona Nic Riada's feet. In that moment, she got her first look at the Entity: the outline of a man and the flash of a knife. Rhona took a long, deep breath, balled up her fists, and screamed. Now, it must be said: Wren Masterson was not terribly familiar with the Sidhe. They knew some Gaelic curse words, and they knew better than to tease anyone speaking in rhyme, but the subtle intricacies of Fae culture escaped them. They didn't know anything about the Nic Riada clan and its unique capabilities, so when Rhona's wordless howl swept through the living room like a gale-force wind, picked the Entity off his feet and flung him out the window, it came as something of a surprise. There was a distant //thud//, a tinkle of glass, and then silence. Esther cleared her throat. "Rho... did you just kill Zane?" "Absolutely not!" Rhona protested. "Didn't anyone else see that aura? Flat, dark and sparse -- that was a destructive spirit! On Samhain! //Crá croí//, I should have listened to my parents." "Definitely not a normal specter," Bobby's voice said from somewhere nearby. "I didn't pick up any funky vibes until he was right on me, and he obviously didn't realize I was, uh, living-impaired."[[footnote]]The name "FreakyGhostBed" might have given it away.[[/footnote]] Wren cleared their throat. "Guys, I hate to say it, but that seemed like somebody's take on Mr. Slasher Villain." Everyone turned and stared. "What?" "Wwweren't you just-t-talkinggg ababout slsashers?" "Yeah! You were! What gives, Masterson?" //Oh, here we go.// Wren was not in a position to explain who this information had come from. "Look, I know it seems ridiculously on-the-nose, but this sort of synchronicity //does// happen. Everyone who's met JJ can attest to that. Besides, Halloween is peak time for weird. Right?" Armand and Rhona nodded reluctantly. Bobby lifted a lampshade up to around head level and used that to "nod" along with them. "Wait. Listen!" It was the dull //thump-thump-thump// of footsteps staggering up the hall. Masterson flung themselves against the apartment door and flipped the lock. They sagged down, relieved, until there came the muffled jangle of keys. They jumped up again as the lock popped open and used their full weight to brace the door, cringing at the pounding of fists against the wood. "Let me in!" a hoarse, raspy voice cried. "There's a fuckin' slasher villain out here!" "Zane?!" Wren swept the door open and their friend stumbled in. "Holy shit, I thought you were dead!" "Not yet." Castle tugged at the collar of his jacket, revealing the bruises flowering on his neck. "Guy tried choking me out, but I can hold my breath for, like, four minutes." "Wuhwow, samame actually." Armand waggled an eyebrow. Nobody took the bait. "But... where'd you go? I called for you!" "Man, does it even matter? I locked and bolted the front door on my way up. This seems like a great time to dig in and call for help." "From who? The Hand? Your roomies are out of town!" "On the second-biggest prank night of the year," Esther said grimly. "No matter who we call, we'll sound like total idiots." "Wandering spirits would take us seriously, but, uh... my fellow ghosts aren't exactly brawny." The lampshade wiggled lazily in midair, to emphasize Bobby's point. "If he's here for Halloween night, maybe we could just... wait 'til morning?" Rhona sucked air through her teeth. "Celtic days start at sunset, so it's Samhain for another eighteen hours. Sorry." "No, no, no!" Wren exclaimed. "We can't just //wait it out//. Evil doesn't pack up and go home! We need bring closure through confrontation." "So letet's get down there annnd finish him off!" Armand ran to the window and leaned out, scanning the street. "...he's already gone, isn't he?" "Yep. Figigures." He tugged a scrap of stained cloth off the windowframe and gave it a sniff. "Guy b-bleeds corrrns syrup." "Look, the longer we wait, the worse this gets. This thing has whiffed, what? Three times? By rights, half of us should be toast already." "Guess we're not ideal victims." "Exactly! We're not stock characters waiting around to die. We have lives outside this story. That thing doesn't! He's a walking archetype. Shallow. One-dimensional. He's got a basic program, and I think he's gonna keep trying to run that program until we're all dead. We need to tilt the balance of this story in our favor, pronto. Between all of us, what can we do?" "That guy walked right past my brainhack to get inside, so I'm guessing he doesn't give a shit about cognitohazards." Esther chewed her lip. "I could zap //us//, though. Sober everyone up." Rhona raised one dainty hand. "Degree in architectural sorcery from ICSUT, here! Plus the standard Sidhe knack for glamours, auras and workings." "Can you do that scream thing anytime?" "No, it's a fight-or-flight response. My great-grandmother was a banshee." "Damn. Okay, well, I've got five terabytes of pirated horror movies, so I can help with visual effects. What else have we got?" "Ther-ere's plenty of glass for p-p-pattern magic!" Armand flung his beer bottle into the nearest corner, then set about collecting the pieces. "We've got a whole-ass workshop in the theater, backstage. We'd just have to make it downstairs, first." Something shifted in Wren's brain. "Wait. You said earlier that the stage was already set up. For what? What's the show?" Zane frowned. "That's a really good question. Why did I set up a trick without a show?" "Maybe this //is// the show. Armand?" "Retrororoactive compulsion! You've alalready helped wittthe plan we haven't madade yet." "Okay, but... what's the plan?" "Simple." A slow grin spread across Wren's face. "We're gonna make some movie magic." ------ The Entity watched the building from a distance, clenching and unclenching his fists. He had been captured before, denied his due, but this was different. He had never been //defied// this way. It was humiliating. Infuriating. Against the rules. They had to be punished. They would all be punished. Movement. Pale silhouettes crossing the flat rooftop, towards the theater. They weren't trying to be stealthy. If anything, they'd been emboldened by their meager success. One of them even looked down, locked eyes with the Entity, and flipped him the bird. He imagined breaking bones. Snapping ribs. Tearing out a beating heart and crushing it into thin pulp. Warmth between his fingers. A rage that felt like happiness. The Entity began to walk. [[div class="blockquote"]] steakshift: hello still alive checkin gin whistl_stahp: jfc Wren, you had me worried. steakshift: keep worrying! he's totally chasing us steakshift: good news is he's the stalk-and-slash type steakshift: so he doesn't actually run, just moves fast when we're not looking [[/div]] The killer paced around the perimeter, fuming. The main doors were locked. The windows were too narrow. Entrances -- [[>]] {{Zero.}} [[/>]] -- all sealed. Impossible! There was no such thing as a perfect defense. It was against the rules of the game. There had to be a way in. Wait. There it was: the telltale //click-clack// of a deadbolt disengaging. An invitation... or a trap. But was it his only option? [[>]] {{Two.}} [[/>]] His gaze swivelled up and around. There was another door. Remote. Undefended. Beyond the reach of mere mortals. The Entity plunged one fist into the wall. Brick crumpled like paper. He reached up, dug his fingers into loose mortar, and began to climb. [[div class="blockquote"]] whistl_stahp: fyi it's not too late for me to tip off the containment team. whistl_stahp: dealing with this sort of thing is Literally Their Job! steakshift: seems like containment has already failed on the janitor end tbh steakshift: we're gonna do you a solid and take care of this ourselves [[/div]] Zane tightened his grip on the baseball bat. "You see anything out there?" Armand peered through the front window and shook his head. "Notot yet." "Maybe he didn't hear you unlock it." "Maybebe." He threw the deadbolt back and forth a few times. Still nothing. Just a distant crunching, scraping sound from somewhere up above. Delassixe furrowed his brow. "Hey, didid you b-block the door to the roof?" "Of course not." "Whatat?! Why?" "Fire code. Duh." Zane said this like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Then he blinked. "Ah, shit. That's not right, is it?" //Bam!// The Entity shouldered through the emergency exit and stepped onto the landing. Two targets. Opposite sides of the hall. Given a choice, the intruder didn't hesitate: he marched directly towards Zane, arms outstretched, grasping hands stained red with clay dust. "Man, for real?!" Castle danced away. Dodging, weaving, sneakers squeaking. The bat whistled harmlessly through the air. On the far end of the hallway, Armand took aim, flicked a chip of green glass at the intruder -- missed -- swore loudly and tried again. This time, the projectile lodged in the Entity's back, and a dozen jagged shards jumped off the ground to meet it. //That// caught his attention. When the Entity turned to glare at Armand, Zane swung with all the strength he could muster. //Krrr-ACK!// Direct hit. The bat connected with the Entity's head and promptly snapped in two. When the slasher dropped to his knees, Zane leapfrogged over him and followed Armand into the theater's control room. //Bam! Click!// EMPLOYEES ONLY. The Entity shook his head. Dazed, but nothing more. He stood up, pulled a fire axe off the wall, and started breaking the door down. [[div class="blockquote"]] whistl_stahp: uhhh for the record: whistl_stahp: "impermanent death" is a precedent, not a guarantee. whistl_stahp: everyone near the anomaly is in immediate, mortal danger. steakshift: yeah no shit!! steakshift: we noticed [[/div]] //Fwock. Fwock! FWOCK!// The door was cheap. Flimsy and weak. It wouldn't hold for long. He could see his prey on the other side, laboring over a control panel. Tantalizingly close. All of a sudden, there came an unnatural hiss and a flash of cold blue light. The Entity staggered back and stared as wood grain warped and splinters flowed upwards, reversing the damage and reinforcing the frame. Thaumaturgy. Who would dare--? "Hey! Asshole!" Esther Kogan stood in front of the auditorium doors, hands on hips, side-by-side with Rhona Nic Riada. Both were backlit by shallow waves of yellow energy. "We're sexually liberated young women and we're not scared of you!" "I'm not a virgin!" Rhona shrieked. "I've had, like, ten partners! I don't respect my parents! I smoke weed on my lunch breaks!" She made a few quick gestures, snapped her fingers, and the floor started rippling. Faster. //Faster!// Hardwood rushing like a river. The Entity waded on, undeterred. This working could not last forever, but he was inevitable. Like the tide. Sure enough: the power ebbed. The floor fell still. As the Entity regained his footing, the Fae caster tied off one last current of energy and shouted, "Esther!" On cue, Kogan unballed her left fist -- exposing a simple fight-or-flight cognitohazard -- and thrust it in front of Nic Riada's face. The Entity braced himself, expecting another deafening scream. Instead, panic took over, and the wail died in Rhona's throat. She gasped, turned on her heel and bolted through the double doors into darkness. Esther stared after her, dumbfounded. She looked back at the Entity and smiled crookedly. "Awkward." //Whoosh!// She ducked low. The axe sailed right over her head and //thunk!// Buried itself in drywall. To her credit, Kogan did not panic -- she simply clapped her right hand over her eye and rode coghaz-induced adrenaline into the next room. [[div class="blockquote"]] whistl_stahp: gdi the question I've been TRYING to ask is whistl_stahp: what can I do to help? steakshift: you're doing it! whistl_stahp: ??? steakshift: these chats aren't timestamped steakshift: so they're perfect for a cross-cut exploit [[/div]] The Entity pushed through the double doors and paused. From outside, the auditorium looked dark and empty, but inside? The room was brightly-lit and decorated for a Halloween dance. There were orange streamers dangling from the walls, giant pumpkins painted on either side of the stage, and a disco ball spinning overhead. Dozens of costumed guests were talking and dancing in small groups. Esther and Rhona had vanished. [[div class="blockquote"]] whistl_stahp: what does that even mean? steakshift: oh it's a moviemaking thing. steakshift: cross-cuts build tension by implying close continuity between scenes steakshift: when really, just about anything could be hidden between those cuts steakshift: including precious minutes of offscreen prep time! whistl_stahp: wait so you're using ME to bend reality? steakshift: oops that's my cue! gotta dip whistl_stahp: AGAIN?! [[/div]] The Entity advanced through gaps in the crowd, scanning back and forth. Toga. Nurse. Witch. A graduate, with cap and gown. A box of cereal. These were unfamiliar faces. Alien minds. Where was his prey? Where had they gone? "Well, lookee here!" a voice cried out. "It's the guest of honor!" Wren Masterson stood tall at center stage. No, wait: not standing. They were bouncing in place. Capering like a macabre jester. "That's right!" they exclaimed. "Guests young and old, dead and undead, put your hands together for //Mr. Slasher Villain!"// Around half of the partygoers whooped and applauded. The other half kept on dancing, oblivious. The Entity did not look away. He was locked on his target. Moving with purpose. Killer intent. "Now, I'll be the first to say it: slasher flicks are fun, but random carnage is boring." They pantomimed a yawn. "What's your motive, champ? Shouldn't you have some connection to your victims? Some dark secret left untold?" [[>]] {{Seventeen --}} [[/>]] "Or are you just... some spontaneous //thing//, leaking through from the other side?" [[>]] {{-- twenty-three --}} [[/>]] "Seriously, I don't get it. What's the joke?" [[>]] [[size large]]{{JOKE?!}}[[/size]] [[/>]] The rage surged up and burned his brain. Blood thundered in his ears. Red-hot. [[>]] [[size large]]{{KILL WREN MASTERSON.}}[[/size]] [[/>]] The Entity closed the distance in five quick strides. He bounded onto the stage, axe held high... but something was wrong. His quarry had no physical depth. This wasn't a person: it was an image bounced off angled glass. Smoke and mirrors. Confused, the Entity turned back to the crowd, shielding his eyes against the light of the disco ball. From this perspective, the whole room was too large for the building containing it. The angle of the floor was different, and there were strange gaps between walls and ceiling. Blind spots. This place wasn't real. It was a set. Shots from a movie, stitched together and projected on the world. With this realization, the environment started to come apart at the seams. Partygoers winked out like spent candles, while guests in the foreground began to flicker and distort. False faces faded away. These were faerie glamours cast on wandering ghosts. The illusion of life. Something crunched underfoot. The Entity looked down and saw pieces of green glass. Was that... a beer bottle? Pattern magic. This was all by design. They had led him here, distracted him, locked him in place at center stage, and now, the Entity was standing on a -- [[>]] {{HOLE}} [[/>]] -- trap door. "Go! Go now! Scene change!" The audience area went dark. Stage lights snapped on. Curtains wound back, exposing hand-painted scenery: birch trees and scrub. Fallen leaves and licks of frost. Was this autumn, winter or spring? Impossible to tell. The Entity spun in place, confused. [[>]] {{SCATTER}} [[/>]] Dismay turned to resolve. The Entity smashed the mirror with his axe, disrupting Armand's carefully-arranged spiral of glass. Freedom! He stepped clear just as the trap door fell open. There was nothing below it. Nothing at all. "Oh, no you don't!" Wren Masterson charged out from their darkened corner of the stage. They ran at the Entity full-tilt, planted both hands on his chest and shoved. Hard. The killer skidded back, teetered on the precipice -- and dropped. Armpit-deep in merciless darkness, the Entity scrabbled at the wooden flooring, fighting to keep his elbows above the edge. Wren took a step back and peered into the villain's eyes, breathing heavily. //I have to know.// "Is this my fault?" they whispered. "Are you here for me?" Nothing. No recognition. Not even a twitch. //Good.// Masterson raised one heavy boot for the final blow. "{{Won't.}}" They paused, taken by surprise. //Didn't think he was a talker.// In that moment of hesitation, the Entity seized hold of their ankle and all of Wren's strength faded away. Their stomach flipped, balance failed, and they collapsed like a ton of bricks. "Oh shit!" Esther said, somewhere not-too-far away. "He's got them!" The Entity spoke again. Louder this time. "{{Won't... //you//...}}" Masterson tried to crawl away. No such luck. The best they could do was flop around and stare upwards, gasping wordlessly. //Wait, is that axe floating?// That's when Esther stepped up onto the stage. She snatched the fire axe out of Bobby's invisible hands, lifted it high -- "{{Stop-}}" -- and buried the pick in the Entity's eye socket. There was a violent spurt of stage blood, a muffled yelp, and the would-be killer tumbled down, down, down, into Nothingness. Rhona shouted a few words in Gaelic, clapped, and the trapdoor slammed shut with a decisive //bang//. Esther slung the axe over her shoulder. "What do you think? Still a slasher fan?" "Ask me later," Wren wheezed. "I think I'm gonna puke." "Sorry," Bobby said. "My bad. Clipping through your abdomen right now." "Yuck." The overhead lights flickered on, bathing the theater in cool white light. Armand and Zane pushed through the double doors, whooping and hollering, trading high-fives. "Thatat was awesomome!" "Fuck yeah! Your bit with the glass-" "Nowo, when you hit-it him wiiithee bat-" "Your pattern trick-" "The mirroror image! Youou do that sort of thinnng a lot?" Castle beamed. "Yeah, man! That's part of my day job. Illusionist." He held Armand's gaze for a really long time before glancing back at the others. "That CGI looked okay, I guess." Nic Riada scoffed, all haughty and offended. "Hey! That wasn't CG! That gym was a //real place!// It was just from, uh..." She snapped her fingers. "A horror movie shot in North Carolina, 1986." "Right. Thanks." "Specifically the 'Halloween dance' scene." "Yes, thank you." "No problem. It was seasonally appropriate. That's why it wor-" "Thank you, Wren!" Rhona snapped. Then she turned to Esther with big puppy-dog eyes, and folded her into a hug. "//A mhuirnín//, you were so //braaave!// Are you okay?" Kogan laughed. "Yeah, Rho, I'm good. We're all lucky that guy wasn't very observant." "Probabably the mask," Armand said blandly. "It fffucks with your vision." Distant laughter. Clapping. The sixteen spirits still standing in the auditorium approved of the show. Zane grinned. "Take a bow, everybody. Seal the deal. That's how it's done." The cast obliged. For his part, Bobby grabbed one of the stage curtains and waved it energetically. "Thanks for coming out, folks! Happy Halloween!" Slowly but surely, the audience faded away, leaving only the ghost of applause. While the other guests started talking amongst themselves, Wren stumbled off to one corner of the stage, slumped to the floor, and let out a long, low sigh. Then they started tapping at keys. [[div class="blockquote"]] steakshift: it's over. steakshift: problem solved. no casualties. whistl_stahp: thank Christ. whistl_stahp: how did you manage it? steakshift: tl;dr: rug pull. boogeymen are domestic villains steakshift: so we lured him into the woods and dropped his ass whistl_stahp: "dropped him" where? steakshift: idk exactly. backstage someplace. steakshift: he's contained or w/e steakshift: sooo we square? big favours paid off? whistl_stahp: I have a few questions first. whistl_stahp: is this permanent? will he be back? steakshift: uhhh maybe?? he said something like "won't stop" whistl_stahp: oh, wonderful. whistl_stahp: theories on motive? any idea why he manifested near you? steakshift: dunno but he was def pissed off whistl_stahp: how about point of origin? did you see a tattoo, or a document? steakshift: no, no and no whistl_stahp: fantastic. In that case, we've learned nothing at all! whistl_stahp: kinda sounds like a wash to me. steakshift: harsh but fair. steakshift: tbh I'm surprised you took this seriously steakshift: getting jacked by a slasher villain on halloween, that's pretty wacky whistl_stahp: yeah, well. "wacky" is par for the course these days. whistl_stahp: besides, you're not the only one who knows that boogeymen are real. steakshift: o rly?? you'll have to tell me more about that sometime whistl_stahp: no whistl_stahp: I really don't. whistl_stahp: good night, steakshift. Be safe. whistl_stahp has left the chat. steakshift has left the chat. [[/div]] With the weight of the world off their shoulders, Wren Masterson closed their eyes, arched their back, and stretched. Bones popped and settled. //Sweet relief.// They opened their eyes, scanned the stage... and frowned. The backdrop looked familiar, somehow. //Wide-open space in the middle of a forest.// "Hey, Zane. Is this, uh, based on something?" "What? Nah. It's just the first scene that came to mind. Why?" "Nothing. Nothing important. Just... reminds me of a [[[scp-4784\|really bad movie]]]." ------ The city slept. Dim orange fingers stroked the sky. Dead leaves swirled outside Zane Castle's apartment, tracing idle circles on the sidewalk. There was hardly any evidence of the night's horrors. Just a few broken windowpanes, an abandoned kitchen knife... and a sheet of paper. It was stained with corn syrup. Ink smeared by morning dew. Barely legible. [[div class="blockquote"]] [[span style="filter: blur(5px);"]]Holy Heck! You've just found[[/span]] your very own Mr. Slasher Villain by [[span style="filter: blur(8px);"]]--Gamers Against Weed--[[/span]]. Won't you stop [[span style="filter: blur(3px);"]]and remember me[[/span]]? Collect them all and become Ms. Manslaughter! [[span style="filter: blur(3px);"]]01.[[/span]] Clem[[span style="filter: blur(3px);"]]entia Schweiger[[/span]] 02. [[span style="filter: blur(5px);"]]Toni Vitela[[/span]] 03. [[span style="filter: blur(5px);"]]Kathleen Stich[[/span]] [[span style="filter: blur(3px);"]]04. [[/span]]Dav[[span style="filter: blur(3px);"]]id Aylmer Brock[[/span]] 05. [[span style="filter: blur(3px);"]]Dev[[/span]]on Su[[span style="filter: blur(3px);"]]ndi[[/span]] [[span style="filter: blur(5px);"]]06.[[/span]] ##red\|ARE WE COOL YET, ANNA?## ✔ [[/div]] The letter spun uselessly in the air. Unobserved. Unknown. When daybreak finally arrived, the street was empty. [[footnoteblock]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a> \|author=Tsercele]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-10-25T21:05:00	[ "_licensebox", "action", "chase", "comedy", "esther-kogan", "eternal-mxtape", "gamers-against-weed", "halloween", "horror", "pattern-screamer", "tale" ]	Nightmare on Archer Row, Part 2 - SCP Foundation	23	[ "nightmare-on-archer-row", "scp-2586", "scp-3869", "the-not-too-distant-future", "scp-4784", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "the-eternal-mxtape", "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "holiday-hub" ]	[]	1450945888	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/nightmare-on-archer-row-part-2
nima-king-of-the-desert	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <ul class="creditRate"> <li class="rateBox folded"> <div class="rate-box-with-credit-button"> <div class="creditButton foldable-list-container"> <p><a href="javascript:;"></a></p> </div> </div> <div id="u-credit-view"> <div class="fader foldable-list-container"><a href="javascript:;">close</a></div> <div class="modalcontainer"> <div class="modalbox"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <h2><span>Info</span></h2> </div> <hr/> <div class="close-credits foldable-list-container"><a href="javascript:;">X</a></div> <div class="credit first"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><strong><a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/ralliston-s-authorpage">More by this author</a></strong></p> </div> </div> <hr/> </div> </div> </div> </li> </ul> <p>In truth, Nima was a coward.</p> <p>A merchant by trade and traveler by passion, he was closer to a mouse than a man. With his little eyes and small posture he'd skitter through the Great Desert, crossing from one side of the continent to the other. With him, he'd carry many things, wonderous things — that's what he'd tell his buyers. Really, though, Nima carried little more than stories. His cargo was hardly anything but everyday items, taken from the city people to the tribesmen and vice versa; curiosities mistaken for commodities by those fearful enough not to know any better.</p> <p>He'd never known any home other than the desert. Both the East and the West were little more than just stops on his ceaseless march; they were places to trade and eat in before venturing out again into the desert, not places to settle down in. So with this ideology in mind he traveled, all across the continent, all across the known world. He made sure to avoid the South, fearing little more than the Everyman and his inhuman creations, but other than that? He was a free spirit, so he walked wherever he pleased. Still, he felt most at peace when he and his steed walked across the desert.</p> <p>It was a harsh home, but it was always there for him, no matter the circumstances. Nima knew that even if the rest of the world went up in flames, the desert would always be there, always waiting for its little hooded man and his donkey. It was almost like a holy pilgrimage, for him, to walk through the desert; like a son coming back to his home he'd smile whenever he felt the warm sand all around his sandals. For Nima, the warmth of the desert's sun was almost like a mother's embrace. The desert loved him, the desert fed him, and the desert was always there to guide him forward.</p> <p>And soon enough, the desert would change his life.</p> <p>Most months Nima would cross it, the road across the desert was simple. After so many years out in it he'd learned it by heart; each of its valleys and dunes was little more than a memory he needed to unearth to remember. But one day — perhaps by the will of the gods or just pure chance — a sandstorm crossed his path. At first he tried to wait it out, thinking it was just a matter of a few hours; but when hours turned into days and his supplies started running low, he decided he had no other chance. With a heavy heart, Nima walked face-first into the storm, ready for the hardest journey of his life.</p> <p>For what felt like weeks Nima wandered the desert, all of its familiarities turned alien by the raging storm. He had half-expected to still make out parts of it he would recognize, despite the extreme conditions, but he soon realized that his path was gone. Detoured by a force he couldn't fight, for the first time in his life, Nima was lost in the desert. With little more than a drop of water left he lay down on the ground, ready to surrender, ready to accept his defeat at the hands of the elements, ready to cease in a place he had called home for so long.</p> <p>And that was when he saw it.</p> <p>Before his eyes rose a great building, a structure similar to those he'd heard of in the legends. Half-buried in the sand it towered above the dunes, its grey, imposing structures unmistakable for anything but a Ceitu. He'd heard stories of them many times when he was a child — the dwellings of long-gone gods, full of wonders and fears, never to be accessed by men lest they wish to feel the wrath of gods. To enter a Ceitu was a declaration of either insanity or pure stupidity, but Nima had no choice, not really — it was either dying out in the desert or crossing sacred ground.</p> <p>So with a heavy heart he entered through, ignoring the still-burning magical symbols that surrounded the building.</p> <p>Inside Nima found many things, wonderous things — things that, if he just wanted to, he could sell for enough gold to never have to work another day. He thought it a blessing by the gods, a sign of recognition for his devotion to the desert. He thanked York and Kalef, dry tears going down his eyes. Had he simply taken the goods and walked out the rest of his life would be spent in peaceful luxury beyond his wildest dreams. But something deep inside the place beckoned him, ever so tempting to come closer, to see if there was anything even more valuable down inside the bookshelf-ridden crypts of the Ceitu.</p> <p>And there, buried beneath centuries of dust, sand, and rotting planks, he found the greatest treasure of them all: knowledge.</p> <p>The book stank of death. Nima didn't know the old language, but even then he could recognize the words written atop it. Deep down he knew that the <a href="/scp-6936">Kodex Tenebra</a> was a secret beyond his mortal reach, a terrible and disgusting thing better left buried, better left for the absent gods. But still, in spite of his own better judgment, he reached for it and the wonders it contained.</p> <p>For all his life, Nima was a nobody. He'd spent four decades of his existence slowly dying away, lying to himself about his purpose. He knew that the second he touched the book. He knew that it could change things, gift him with power, and give him everything he'd ever wanted.</p> <p>So he took the book and ran, never looking back at the Ceitu or the rest of its secrets.</p> <p>Nima wasn't a learned man; he knew how to note and use numbers — it was imperative in his trade — but words were always beyond his reach. Still, he had no issue decoding the secrets written within the Kodex. When he looked at the myriad words contained within, he felt like he had always known the old language by heart, as if he had been born with the ability to decode the speech of gods. So for days and nights he'd read, studying the forgotten knowledge of a world that wasn't his, his donkey always bravely carrying him forward.</p> <p>And within the tome he found magic.</p> <p>At first it was little more than small wonders, parlor-tricks shown to children by the campfire. With the book's directions, Nima learned how to spark fires and redirect winds, how to bend earth and command water, how to make himself invisible to the naked eye and move faster. Nima still was the same merchant he'd always been, but now he could be clean, he could be efficient — his journeys across the desert took little more than a day, now, his caravan covered in a bubble of sand and hot air that protected him from any and all dangers.</p> <p>With his new skills Nima traveled the world like he had never before. He went from village to village, showing up on a donkey with fire in his hands; a messiah by pure chance, Nima would use the now-godlike treatment he was given by the people of the continent to its fullest. He didn't know hunger and misery with his new skills, always able to put on a show or defeat a bandit to earn what he needed with his little tricks.</p> <p>And with that, with that safety wherever he went, Nima got bold. Bending the ocean to his will he crossed the waters up North, visiting shattered islands beyond the horizon. He swam towards the South, beyond the Everyman's domain, and arrived at the cold border of the mortal realm, where no soul treaded and no life could flourish. He'd go from one side of the known world to the other in just a matter of minutes, breaking the fabric of reality with his own hands — just like the book had told him. Just like the gods had done, then. Just like Nima did, now.</p> <p>But soon, Nima grew bored.</p> <p>He had seen the whole world and its many wonders and horrors. After a few years, there was no part of the continent that didn't know the story of Nima, the Desert-Sorcerer, messiah of trickster gods and demons. There was only so much that he could see, only so much hospitality he could receive as a messenger of the gods. In time, everywhere he went he'd get greeted by monotony, a familiar landscape no matter the place. The continent grew to be mundane, and so did Nima's days. A life once spent traversing the wonder of the known world was now little more than a journey Nima wouldn't care for; a mundane and lifeless march without a purpose, a pilgrimage without a destination.</p> <p>So Nima reached further inside the Kodex, willing to imbue his existence with the wonder he'd grown so addicted to.</p> <p>At first it was still little things, dead rabbits sacrificed on altars of power, the life of animals he still was planning on eating given to a greater cause. It was all nice and tidy, Nima would tell himself, wiping the blood of birds and rats from his newly crafted ritual dagger. He could do so much more like this, taking not the energy of himself but of others, of beings mother nature was planning on devouring anyway. He could make plants grow and heal people and traverse realms beyond this one, he told himself, somehow thinking it would justify the way he defiled the corpses of animals. Nima was no longer a sorcerer but a gravedigger, scouring the forests and plains in search of worthy offerings to gods and demons, just like the book had told him.</p> <p>And Nima traveled the world further, his skills ever growing, ever hungrier and mightier. He would arrive at places he had already known, showcasing what he had learned since, showing he was more than just a messenger of the gods now. And the people would fall down with fear in their eyes, offering Nima fruit and gold and cows and daughters; and Nima would accept, a glister of lust and greed shining down his soul — a glister only he himself refused to notice.</p> <p>In time Nima grew accustomed to this, of being treated better than gods no matter the place or time — he wasn't a merchant, not anymore, now taking up the full-time job of a pretend-god, a makeshift deity. He was tired of needing to work so he didn't, instead choosing to spend his days in glory and luxury. They'd call him the King of the Desert, the Messenger of the Sands, and he'd accept the titles and riches that went with them, claiming ownership of entire villages that soon turned into entire regions.</p> <p>But even that wasn't enough — even though Nima could own any place he wanted with his new power, the hunger deep inside him, now awakened by the secrets of the book, beckoned him to own ever more, to have everything and everyone in his grasp.</p> <p>So knowing no other mentor, Nima listened.</p> <p>The second he let the book's whispers into his soul, his reach widened. He was the unsaid owner of half the continent, now, his capital soon forming inside the Great Desert. Nima, Sorcerer-King of the Desert, the Sand Devil, the Worm of the Dunes; that was what they called him, whispering in fear as he crossed their paths. They said that Nima would go beyond just animal corpses, now, taking the dead from many villages and using them as fuel for his magic; a terrible, unforgivable crime even for your enemies — an unthinkable act on who were supposed to be his subjects.</p> <p>In just a decade Nima's kingdom grew beyond his wildest imagination, and so did his power. He was more than just an avatar of the gods, now fully turned demi-deity by his own acts, his own sacrifices. His capital was great, its streets and homes constructed from sand and bricks and glass that Nima himself had molded from the dunes around him. He thought that if the cost of such beauty was the lives of one or two homeless nobodies, so be it. Least they could do was to sacrifice their insignificant little existences to the ever-growing might of Nima's desert.</p> <p>But even that was little to the hunger inside Nima; even with land and air and sea conquered, the world he could now own was nothing to fuel the burning pit inside him. So he reached to the only place he still hadn't made his: the vast and great underground.</p> <p>There he found new lands and new peoples; tunnels occupied by folk who looked like moles and frogs; caverns inhabited by walking stones and talking lakes; <a href="/scp-7600">whole cities owned by great ape-like furmen</a>, even their own mage-kings bowing before Nima's new might. He took more and more until there was no place in the continent that wasn't somehow his property, his slave under a chain formed of old magic and naivete.</p> <p>For a hundred and one years Nima ruled over as the Desert King, his vast empire stretching far from the heart of his first home. Brought forward before him were thieves, conspirators, and beggars, what little life remained in their pathetic forms taken by Nima for himself, to ever-widen his existence. Just like the book had told him. Just like it had guided and instructed him, ever whispering into his little ear, ever telling him of what more he could have. Even as he owned the world, the man who had once been but a merchant looked upward, far beyond this reality, far into the realm of the gods above. He looked where no man had gone, where no man was ever supposed to go; he looked at the kingdom of his masters and within it saw something he was still yet to own.</p> <p>So Nima decided to wage war against the gods.</p> <p>He devised a plan, a terrible scheme meant to consume the Sun and Moon and make them give him the power to take the gods one-on-one. It was the Kodex's final instruction, its last temptation written in blood upon its wretched pages; a sacrifice of Nima's whole capital, all of its myriad citizens gutted upon an altar of power, a ritual worthy of the soon-to-be god-killer.</p> <p>Without hesitation, Nima plunged his dagger into his people and ascended upwards, shouting a challenge into the heavens.</p> <p>And the sky shook, hearing Nima's voice, empowered by the lost souls of a thousand dead men. It shook and with it shook its gods, their attention brought to the tiny man who thought himself equal.</p> <p>They didn't hesitate to strike back.</p> <p>In an instant too quick for Nima to notice, from the kingdom above him came the guardian spirit of godkind: <a href="/scp-5616">Isel</a>, the warrior of time, the warden of continuity, the vanguard of the stars. She and her hundreds of sisters descended upon Nima, their arms and armor uncaring for his magicks. It was a bloody battle, a brutal war in heaven, but in the end, when all was said and done, Isel and her sisters emerged victorious, their weapons driving Nima to fall back to the ground. He fell and he fell until he turned into a star, landing within his own wretched palace, the impact unmaking his capital and his empire whole.</p> <p>But Nima lived on, his life still perpetuated by the years of sacrifices he had stolen from others.</p> <p>Now, more than a hundred years later, it is said that Nima — or what little remains of Nima — still lays within the ruins of his palace, still clinging to the tome that was his blessing and his undoing. But the tome isn't there — taken by Isel and her kind it lies contained beyond the mortal realms, so that no man may ever use it again, never again allowing for mankind to be chained by an unjust king.</p> <p>But Nima, the cosmic jester of his own making, a self-fated demigod of failure — some say that when you cross the desert, you can still hear his moans and cries upon the wind. Burdened by immortality given to him by the Kodex, he lies in his own ruins, somewhere deep inside the Great Desert. He lies and he screams, once again more animal than man, his once-mighty body turned into a powerless husk.</p> <p>And nothing beside him remains.</p> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/nima-king-of-the-desert">Nima, King of the Desert</a>" by Ralliston, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/nima-king-of-the-desert">https://scpwiki.com/nima-king-of-the-desert</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> <p>This page quotes from <em>Ozymandias</em> by Percy Bysshe Shelley, Public Domain.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:scp-pride">:scp-wiki:component:scp-pride</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/info:start">:scp-wiki:info:start</a>]] [[=]] [http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/ralliston-s-authorpage More by this author] [[/=]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/info:end">:scp-wiki:info:end</a>]] In truth, Nima was a coward. A merchant by trade and traveler by passion, he was closer to a mouse than a man. With his little eyes and small posture he'd skitter through the Great Desert, crossing from one side of the continent to the other. With him, he'd carry many things, wonderous things -- that's what he'd tell his buyers. Really, though, Nima carried little more than stories. His cargo was hardly anything but everyday items, taken from the city people to the tribesmen and vice versa; curiosities mistaken for commodities by those fearful enough not to know any better. He'd never known any home other than the desert. Both the East and the West were little more than just stops on his ceaseless march; they were places to trade and eat in before venturing out again into the desert, not places to settle down in. So with this ideology in mind he traveled, all across the continent, all across the known world. He made sure to avoid the South, fearing little more than the Everyman and his inhuman creations, but other than that? He was a free spirit, so he walked wherever he pleased. Still, he felt most at peace when he and his steed walked across the desert. It was a harsh home, but it was always there for him, no matter the circumstances. Nima knew that even if the rest of the world went up in flames, the desert would always be there, always waiting for its little hooded man and his donkey. It was almost like a holy pilgrimage, for him, to walk through the desert; like a son coming back to his home he'd smile whenever he felt the warm sand all around his sandals. For Nima, the warmth of the desert's sun was almost like a mother's embrace. The desert loved him, the desert fed him, and the desert was always there to guide him forward. And soon enough, the desert would change his life. Most months Nima would cross it, the road across the desert was simple. After so many years out in it he'd learned it by heart; each of its valleys and dunes was little more than a memory he needed to unearth to remember. But one day -- perhaps by the will of the gods or just pure chance -- a sandstorm crossed his path. At first he tried to wait it out, thinking it was just a matter of a few hours; but when hours turned into days and his supplies started running low, he decided he had no other chance. With a heavy heart, Nima walked face-first into the storm, ready for the hardest journey of his life. For what felt like weeks Nima wandered the desert, all of its familiarities turned alien by the raging storm. He had half-expected to still make out parts of it he would recognize, despite the extreme conditions, but he soon realized that his path was gone. Detoured by a force he couldn't fight, for the first time in his life, Nima was lost in the desert. With little more than a drop of water left he lay down on the ground, ready to surrender, ready to accept his defeat at the hands of the elements, ready to cease in a place he had called home for so long. And that was when he saw it. Before his eyes rose a great building, a structure similar to those he'd heard of in the legends. Half-buried in the sand it towered above the dunes, its grey, imposing structures unmistakable for anything but a Ceitu. He'd heard stories of them many times when he was a child -- the dwellings of long-gone gods, full of wonders and fears, never to be accessed by men lest they wish to feel the wrath of gods. To enter a Ceitu was a declaration of either insanity or pure stupidity, but Nima had no choice, not really -- it was either dying out in the desert or crossing sacred ground. So with a heavy heart he entered through, ignoring the still-burning magical symbols that surrounded the building. Inside Nima found many things, wonderous things -- things that, if he just wanted to, he could sell for enough gold to never have to work another day. He thought it a blessing by the gods, a sign of recognition for his devotion to the desert. He thanked York and Kalef, dry tears going down his eyes. Had he simply taken the goods and walked out the rest of his life would be spent in peaceful luxury beyond his wildest dreams. But something deep inside the place beckoned him, ever so tempting to come closer, to see if there was anything even more valuable down inside the bookshelf-ridden crypts of the Ceitu. And there, buried beneath centuries of dust, sand, and rotting planks, he found the greatest treasure of them all: knowledge. The book stank of death. Nima didn't know the old language, but even then he could recognize the words written atop it. Deep down he knew that the [[[scp-6936\|Kodex Tenebra]]] was a secret beyond his mortal reach, a terrible and disgusting thing better left buried, better left for the absent gods. But still, in spite of his own better judgment, he reached for it and the wonders it contained. For all his life, Nima was a nobody. He'd spent four decades of his existence slowly dying away, lying to himself about his purpose. He knew that the second he touched the book. He knew that it could change things, gift him with power, and give him everything he'd ever wanted. So he took the book and ran, never looking back at the Ceitu or the rest of its secrets. Nima wasn't a learned man; he knew how to note and use numbers -- it was imperative in his trade -- but words were always beyond his reach. Still, he had no issue decoding the secrets written within the Kodex. When he looked at the myriad words contained within, he felt like he had always known the old language by heart, as if he had been born with the ability to decode the speech of gods. So for days and nights he'd read, studying the forgotten knowledge of a world that wasn't his, his donkey always bravely carrying him forward. And within the tome he found magic. At first it was little more than small wonders, parlor-tricks shown to children by the campfire. With the book's directions, Nima learned how to spark fires and redirect winds, how to bend earth and command water, how to make himself invisible to the naked eye and move faster. Nima still was the same merchant he'd always been, but now he could be clean, he could be efficient -- his journeys across the desert took little more than a day, now, his caravan covered in a bubble of sand and hot air that protected him from any and all dangers. With his new skills Nima traveled the world like he had never before. He went from village to village, showing up on a donkey with fire in his hands; a messiah by pure chance, Nima would use the now-godlike treatment he was given by the people of the continent to its fullest. He didn't know hunger and misery with his new skills, always able to put on a show or defeat a bandit to earn what he needed with his little tricks. And with that, with that safety wherever he went, Nima got bold. Bending the ocean to his will he crossed the waters up North, visiting shattered islands beyond the horizon. He swam towards the South, beyond the Everyman's domain, and arrived at the cold border of the mortal realm, where no soul treaded and no life could flourish. He'd go from one side of the known world to the other in just a matter of minutes, breaking the fabric of reality with his own hands -- just like the book had told him. Just like the gods had done, then. Just like Nima did, now. But soon, Nima grew bored. He had seen the whole world and its many wonders and horrors. After a few years, there was no part of the continent that didn't know the story of Nima, the Desert-Sorcerer, messiah of trickster gods and demons. There was only so much that he could see, only so much hospitality he could receive as a messenger of the gods. In time, everywhere he went he'd get greeted by monotony, a familiar landscape no matter the place. The continent grew to be mundane, and so did Nima's days. A life once spent traversing the wonder of the known world was now little more than a journey Nima wouldn't care for; a mundane and lifeless march without a purpose, a pilgrimage without a destination. So Nima reached further inside the Kodex, willing to imbue his existence with the wonder he'd grown so addicted to. At first it was still little things, dead rabbits sacrificed on altars of power, the life of animals he still was planning on eating given to a greater cause. It was all nice and tidy, Nima would tell himself, wiping the blood of birds and rats from his newly crafted ritual dagger. He could do so much more like this, taking not the energy of himself but of others, of beings mother nature was planning on devouring anyway. He could make plants grow and heal people and traverse realms beyond this one, he told himself, somehow thinking it would justify the way he defiled the corpses of animals. Nima was no longer a sorcerer but a gravedigger, scouring the forests and plains in search of worthy offerings to gods and demons, just like the book had told him. And Nima traveled the world further, his skills ever growing, ever hungrier and mightier. He would arrive at places he had already known, showcasing what he had learned since, showing he was more than just a messenger of the gods now. And the people would fall down with fear in their eyes, offering Nima fruit and gold and cows and daughters; and Nima would accept, a glister of lust and greed shining down his soul -- a glister only he himself refused to notice. In time Nima grew accustomed to this, of being treated better than gods no matter the place or time -- he wasn't a merchant, not anymore, now taking up the full-time job of a pretend-god, a makeshift deity. He was tired of needing to work so he didn't, instead choosing to spend his days in glory and luxury. They'd call him the King of the Desert, the Messenger of the Sands, and he'd accept the titles and riches that went with them, claiming ownership of entire villages that soon turned into entire regions. But even that wasn't enough -- even though Nima could own any place he wanted with his new power, the hunger deep inside him, now awakened by the secrets of the book, beckoned him to own ever more, to have everything and everyone in his grasp. So knowing no other mentor, Nima listened. The second he let the book's whispers into his soul, his reach widened. He was the unsaid owner of half the continent, now, his capital soon forming inside the Great Desert. Nima, Sorcerer-King of the Desert, the Sand Devil, the Worm of the Dunes; that was what they called him, whispering in fear as he crossed their paths. They said that Nima would go beyond just animal corpses, now, taking the dead from many villages and using them as fuel for his magic; a terrible, unforgivable crime even for your enemies -- an unthinkable act on who were supposed to be his subjects. In just a decade Nima's kingdom grew beyond his wildest imagination, and so did his power. He was more than just an avatar of the gods, now fully turned demi-deity by his own acts, his own sacrifices. His capital was great, its streets and homes constructed from sand and bricks and glass that Nima himself had molded from the dunes around him. He thought that if the cost of such beauty was the lives of one or two homeless nobodies, so be it. Least they could do was to sacrifice their insignificant little existences to the ever-growing might of Nima's desert. But even that was little to the hunger inside Nima; even with land and air and sea conquered, the world he could now own was nothing to fuel the burning pit inside him. So he reached to the only place he still hadn't made his: the vast and great underground. There he found new lands and new peoples; tunnels occupied by folk who looked like moles and frogs; caverns inhabited by walking stones and talking lakes; [[[scp-7600\|whole cities owned by great ape-like furmen]]], even their own mage-kings bowing before Nima's new might. He took more and more until there was no place in the continent that wasn't somehow his property, his slave under a chain formed of old magic and naivete. For a hundred and one years Nima ruled over as the Desert King, his vast empire stretching far from the heart of his first home. Brought forward before him were thieves, conspirators, and beggars, what little life remained in their pathetic forms taken by Nima for himself, to ever-widen his existence. Just like the book had told him. Just like it had guided and instructed him, ever whispering into his little ear, ever telling him of what more he could have. Even as he owned the world, the man who had once been but a merchant looked upward, far beyond this reality, far into the realm of the gods above. He looked where no man had gone, where no man was ever supposed to go; he looked at the kingdom of his masters and within it saw something he was still yet to own. So Nima decided to wage war against the gods. He devised a plan, a terrible scheme meant to consume the Sun and Moon and make them give him the power to take the gods one-on-one. It was the Kodex's final instruction, its last temptation written in blood upon its wretched pages; a sacrifice of Nima's whole capital, all of its myriad citizens gutted upon an altar of power, a ritual worthy of the soon-to-be god-killer. Without hesitation, Nima plunged his dagger into his people and ascended upwards, shouting a challenge into the heavens. And the sky shook, hearing Nima's voice, empowered by the lost souls of a thousand dead men. It shook and with it shook its gods, their attention brought to the tiny man who thought himself equal. They didn't hesitate to strike back. In an instant too quick for Nima to notice, from the kingdom above him came the guardian spirit of godkind: [[[scp-5616\|Isel]]], the warrior of time, the warden of continuity, the vanguard of the stars. She and her hundreds of sisters descended upon Nima, their arms and armor uncaring for his magicks. It was a bloody battle, a brutal war in heaven, but in the end, when all was said and done, Isel and her sisters emerged victorious, their weapons driving Nima to fall back to the ground. He fell and he fell until he turned into a star, landing within his own wretched palace, the impact unmaking his capital and his empire whole. But Nima lived on, his life still perpetuated by the years of sacrifices he had stolen from others. Now, more than a hundred years later, it is said that Nima -- or what little remains of Nima -- still lays within the ruins of his palace, still clinging to the tome that was his blessing and his undoing. But the tome isn't there -- taken by Isel and her kind it lies contained beyond the mortal realms, so that no man may ever use it again, never again allowing for mankind to be chained by an unjust king. But Nima, the cosmic jester of his own making, a self-fated demigod of failure -- some say that when you cross the desert, you can still hear his moans and cries upon the wind. Burdened by immortality given to him by the Kodex, he lies in his own ruins, somewhere deep inside the Great Desert. He lies and he screams, once again more animal than man, his once-mighty body turned into a powerless husk. And nothing beside him remains. [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] This page quotes from //Ozymandias// by Percy Bysshe Shelley, Public Domain. [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-09-02T19:07:00	[ "_licensebox", "bellerverse", "doctor-reynders", "fantasy", "post-apocalyptic", "tale" ]	Nima, King of the Desert - SCP Foundation	20	[ "ralliston-s-authorpage", "scp-6936", "scp-7600", "scp-5616", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "secure-facility-dossier-site-120", "scp-series-8-tales-edition", "bellerverse" ]	[]	1449838060	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/nima-king-of-the-desert
no-one-s-home	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p>Footsteps descend down a staircase, despite its age it does not creak under the weight of the man that moves, like it does for every other passenger. It stays quiet, keeping the secret of its traveler as his hand brushes the railing, as his foot leaves the final step and touches down on the floorboards. He continues onward, a hand this time raised to glide along the wallpaper, tracing forms long faded, running along grooves left by countless other fingers. This place belongs to no one, but it holds the remnants all the same. Ghosts, reveries.</p> <p>A pervasive “wrongness” stalks his footfalls, stuck behind him like the tar of the shadows that are cast from the lantern in his grasp- for he is something that does not belong. He holds no name, but there were those who called him “Nobody”. A non-name, if anything, more a statement- but humans prefer giving descriptions of things instead of leaving a blank page.</p> <p>There is a mirror upon the wall, its varnished silver rims glimmering in the low light. Red-gold dances upon it when he approaches, the oil lantern’s light creating shadows in the gaps of the carved grooves. Leaves, branches, the shadows stretch; metal shines under a fine coating of dust. Nobody places the lantern upon the floor, when the metal base touches it the floorboards finally offer squeak in protest- but silence again when he takes a few steps closer to the mirror.</p> <p>It’s dusty, the reflection of the room is distorted by this filth. Nobody raises a hand and begins to wipe it away, not giving care to the human worry of leaving fingerprints upon the glass.</p> <p>It clears, eventually. It shows the room in full. The house has been left without a resident in its belly for a long time, the dust a pervasive infection- but just like the old wallpaper, there are traces. The furniture was never removed. A rocking chair rests in the corner, its back arches with once glossy wood, bars stretching down it to make its support like a wooden cage. There’s a pot or two, dirt is all that’s left in them now- a few crinkled, dried leaves are on the floor; a simple breath would likely be enough to convince them into joining the dust.</p> <p>Two paintings hung over a stone mantle, the fire pit once within having long gone cold. The watchful eyes of the paintings' inhabitants stared out with that sort of glower that older art often chooses to depict upon people. With scrutiny, they stare out at the room as if they are now the only inhabitants. As if they are the owners.</p> <p>Perhaps they are, for those painted eyes slide right over the man. The mirror does not reflect his presence within the room. It’s as if nobody is there.</p> <p>He chuckles at that internal play on words- that observation, the first noise from him since stepping foot in the house. A sound scarcely above a whisper, easily talked over or just ignored as a sigh of the wind against the roof, but it’s not like there’s anyone here to begin with.</p> <p>Nobody hums in contemplation, tilts his head to the left and then to the right, staring into the mirror a moment longer. Then he turns towards the lantern upon the floor.</p> <p>The quiet is shattered in the sound of breaking glass, its shards scattering every which way by the force that broke it. The fire sputters and crackles briefly, pouncing to lap hungrily at the newly freed oil that now spills across the floor; but he silences it too. The light fades, just the dark oil left splattered across the wood, bubbling and hissing like a cornered beast. Nobody crouches down, he dips his hand in the oil. He does not care that it bites back at him, that it sears his flesh, he merely stands back up and approaches the mirror.</p> <p>With an oil coated hand, he swipes that darkness methodically across the glass. It takes several times, several acts of dipping his fingers into an oil puddle whose murky depth seems to hold no end. By the time he’s finished, flesh threatens to slough off the bone, remaining skin twisted and blistered. Nobody flexes his hand. Burnt skin cracks, muscle twists and bones creak. He sighs, an inconvenience, if anything.</p> <p>It doesn’t matter, though. He presses that wounded hand against the mirror, feeling his fingers begin to sink into its cool surface.</p> <p>It’s a calm, lazy sort of smile that finds itself on his face- allowing the darkness that has covered the mirror to cover him too. There is no sense of alarm within him, even as he feels it creep up his face in crawling vines of pitch- even as it worms its way into his eyes.</p> <p>It all turns to darkness, but it is a darkness far from death. It was simply… Nothing.</p> <p>The darkness is him, in a stretched out sense of the word. It breathed and pulsed and bled alongside him. Nobody treads across the shadows that splash underfoot, neither warm nor cold. Within this blackness, things wriggled and squirmed. They pushed against the Nothing, tried to gain form. Tried to become Something.</p> <p>Nobody relinquishes himself, allowing some of the tar to recede. When he shutters in a breath, it quivers too. It then drains, slowly, he watches as the room he’d been standing in moments prior returns. The thick darkness remains, lower now, pooling around his knees. The surroundings are tainted by it, their colors washed out like an old polaroid photo.</p> <p>But that changes when something else enters the room. Two young children, bright and saturated with life- though noticeably transparent- run from down the stairs silently laughing. With them, they trail color across the walls and through the air like water when one's clothes are wet. They were not the only ones, there were fainter things now too. Motions of a man or a woman passing through, an older individual, a few strangers who did not belong but came to stay temporarily. Movement, movement, movement. The memories of those events were fainter in the minds that still lived, so here they lived on in less noticeability, in less brightness. These were not as satisfying to him, but left a pleasant aftertaste nonetheless.</p> <p>Nobody let the children play, it was their first time within the house.</p> <p>They were not impeded by the tar that covered the floor of their new home, did not notice it, for memories cannot notice things (that would be silly now, wouldn’t it?). The two instead explore the room, they hop up onto the couch and bounce there on the cushions, before darting off to poke at a blooming flower in a pot. One of them stands up on her tiptoes to peer at books on a bookshelf, looking for any storybooks that were familiar. She silently shouts something to her brother, who runs over to pull a book from the shelf. He holds it above her head for a few moments as she jumps, before giving it to her with a giggle. She smacks him lightly with the book, before the two return over to the couch with wide smiles.</p> <p>Nobody smiles, too- watching them. They settle down, now, enraptured as they take turns reading the pages aloud. He cannot hear the words, but emotion drifts from the two like a gentle mist and permeates through the room.</p> <p>From further up the stairs, color and life pulsed brighter- stronger. This was not the same calming but excited sort of energy, this was a pulse. Aggressive and frantic like something trapped and afraid- he could sense it. Nobody raises his gaze and stares for a few moments, considering.</p> <p>He dissolves the children away, the darkness rising up to ensnare their memory. They were old, soon to be forgotten anyways. Those children grew up decades ago, they scarcely remembered this place anymore. So what’s the harm in taking a few bites? He gnawed on the fading joy and wonder as he again trudged up the staircase. That heartbeat-like pulse led him to a bedroom, the door left wide open.</p> <p>There was a man sitting upon the bed, in his hand he clutched something- a telegram? A letter? His head was bowed low, his body shook with silent sobs. Nobody’s hand brushes his shoulder and he feels the sense of mourning like a splash of cold water to the face, the strength almost makes him recoil.</p> <p>So death has tainted this house.</p> <p>Nobody watches the man, he scans around the room. It’s empty, aside from the crying fellow. Was this not the father of the children? Perhaps a different inhabitant, from another time. This memory was stronger, more recent. Though perhaps ‘recent’ was a relative term to something as old as he was. Judging by the condition of the home, while someone’s been managing the property, it has not been lived in for over ten years.</p> <p>The darkness wove into the image of the man, its tendrils pierced half-present flesh and infested him like maggots in a still writhing corpse. Nobody could taste the emotion upon his tongue and it tasted <em>divine</em>. The memories were painful, but those who are the most thickly present were far, <em>far</em> more satisfying.<br/> He did not consume enough to fully eliminate the memory, no, for that was too strong for Nobody’s even tastes. Too bitter, really. He only took what he wanted, eating away at the sense of mourning, picking at the bones that death had left in this house until he was satisfied.</p> <p>Nobody had not expected to take his fill so soon, though he had similarly not expected to find such fresh memories within. The man left a bitter weight in his stomach, but that was alright.<br/> It was better than Nothing.</p> <p>The demeanor of the man who dredges himself out of that dusty silver mirror, who leaves the empty house just as he left it, is a relaxed one. One reminiscent of an animal after a successful hunt, eyes half lidded, a satisfied and lazy smile.</p> <p>Full, if only temporarily.</p> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/no-one-s-home">No One's Home</a>" by Dino—Draws, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/no-one-s-home">https://scpwiki.com/no-one-s-home</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] Footsteps descend down a staircase, despite its age it does not creak under the weight of the man that moves, like it does for every other passenger. It stays quiet, keeping the secret of its traveler as his hand brushes the railing, as his foot leaves the final step and touches down on the floorboards. He continues onward, a hand this time raised to glide along the wallpaper, tracing forms long faded, running along grooves left by countless other fingers. This place belongs to no one, but it holds the remnants all the same. Ghosts, reveries. A pervasive “wrongness” stalks his footfalls, stuck behind him like the tar of the shadows that are cast from the lantern in his grasp- for he is something that does not belong. He holds no name, but there were those who called him “Nobody”. A non-name, if anything, more a statement- but humans prefer giving descriptions of things instead of leaving a blank page. There is a mirror upon the wall, its varnished silver rims glimmering in the low light. Red-gold dances upon it when he approaches, the oil lantern’s light creating shadows in the gaps of the carved grooves. Leaves, branches, the shadows stretch; metal shines under a fine coating of dust. Nobody places the lantern upon the floor, when the metal base touches it the floorboards finally offer squeak in protest- but silence again when he takes a few steps closer to the mirror. It’s dusty, the reflection of the room is distorted by this filth. Nobody raises a hand and begins to wipe it away, not giving care to the human worry of leaving fingerprints upon the glass. It clears, eventually. It shows the room in full. The house has been left without a resident in its belly for a long time, the dust a pervasive infection- but just like the old wallpaper, there are traces. The furniture was never removed. A rocking chair rests in the corner, its back arches with once glossy wood, bars stretching down it to make its support like a wooden cage. There’s a pot or two, dirt is all that’s left in them now- a few crinkled, dried leaves are on the floor; a simple breath would likely be enough to convince them into joining the dust. Two paintings hung over a stone mantle, the fire pit once within having long gone cold. The watchful eyes of the paintings' inhabitants stared out with that sort of glower that older art often chooses to depict upon people. With scrutiny, they stare out at the room as if they are now the only inhabitants. As if they are the owners. Perhaps they are, for those painted eyes slide right over the man. The mirror does not reflect his presence within the room. It’s as if nobody is there. He chuckles at that internal play on words- that observation, the first noise from him since stepping foot in the house. A sound scarcely above a whisper, easily talked over or just ignored as a sigh of the wind against the roof, but it’s not like there’s anyone here to begin with. Nobody hums in contemplation, tilts his head to the left and then to the right, staring into the mirror a moment longer. Then he turns towards the lantern upon the floor. The quiet is shattered in the sound of breaking glass, its shards scattering every which way by the force that broke it. The fire sputters and crackles briefly, pouncing to lap hungrily at the newly freed oil that now spills across the floor; but he silences it too. The light fades, just the dark oil left splattered across the wood, bubbling and hissing like a cornered beast. Nobody crouches down, he dips his hand in the oil. He does not care that it bites back at him, that it sears his flesh, he merely stands back up and approaches the mirror. With an oil coated hand, he swipes that darkness methodically across the glass. It takes several times, several acts of dipping his fingers into an oil puddle whose murky depth seems to hold no end. By the time he’s finished, flesh threatens to slough off the bone, remaining skin twisted and blistered. Nobody flexes his hand. Burnt skin cracks, muscle twists and bones creak. He sighs, an inconvenience, if anything. It doesn’t matter, though. He presses that wounded hand against the mirror, feeling his fingers begin to sink into its cool surface. It’s a calm, lazy sort of smile that finds itself on his face- allowing the darkness that has covered the mirror to cover him too. There is no sense of alarm within him, even as he feels it creep up his face in crawling vines of pitch- even as it worms its way into his eyes. It all turns to darkness, but it is a darkness far from death. It was simply… Nothing. The darkness is him, in a stretched out sense of the word. It breathed and pulsed and bled alongside him. Nobody treads across the shadows that splash underfoot, neither warm nor cold. Within this blackness, things wriggled and squirmed. They pushed against the Nothing, tried to gain form. Tried to become Something. Nobody relinquishes himself, allowing some of the tar to recede. When he shutters in a breath, it quivers too. It then drains, slowly, he watches as the room he’d been standing in moments prior returns. The thick darkness remains, lower now, pooling around his knees. The surroundings are tainted by it, their colors washed out like an old polaroid photo. But that changes when something else enters the room. Two young children, bright and saturated with life- though noticeably transparent- run from down the stairs silently laughing. With them, they trail color across the walls and through the air like water when one's clothes are wet. They were not the only ones, there were fainter things now too. Motions of a man or a woman passing through, an older individual, a few strangers who did not belong but came to stay temporarily. Movement, movement, movement. The memories of those events were fainter in the minds that still lived, so here they lived on in less noticeability, in less brightness. These were not as satisfying to him, but left a pleasant aftertaste nonetheless. Nobody let the children play, it was their first time within the house. They were not impeded by the tar that covered the floor of their new home, did not notice it, for memories cannot notice things (that would be silly now, wouldn’t it?). The two instead explore the room, they hop up onto the couch and bounce there on the cushions, before darting off to poke at a blooming flower in a pot. One of them stands up on her tiptoes to peer at books on a bookshelf, looking for any storybooks that were familiar. She silently shouts something to her brother, who runs over to pull a book from the shelf. He holds it above her head for a few moments as she jumps, before giving it to her with a giggle. She smacks him lightly with the book, before the two return over to the couch with wide smiles. Nobody smiles, too- watching them. They settle down, now, enraptured as they take turns reading the pages aloud. He cannot hear the words, but emotion drifts from the two like a gentle mist and permeates through the room. From further up the stairs, color and life pulsed brighter- stronger. This was not the same calming but excited sort of energy, this was a pulse. Aggressive and frantic like something trapped and afraid- he could sense it. Nobody raises his gaze and stares for a few moments, considering. He dissolves the children away, the darkness rising up to ensnare their memory. They were old, soon to be forgotten anyways. Those children grew up decades ago, they scarcely remembered this place anymore. So what’s the harm in taking a few bites? He gnawed on the fading joy and wonder as he again trudged up the staircase. That heartbeat-like pulse led him to a bedroom, the door left wide open. There was a man sitting upon the bed, in his hand he clutched something- a telegram? A letter? His head was bowed low, his body shook with silent sobs. Nobody’s hand brushes his shoulder and he feels the sense of mourning like a splash of cold water to the face, the strength almost makes him recoil. So death has tainted this house. Nobody watches the man, he scans around the room. It’s empty, aside from the crying fellow. Was this not the father of the children? Perhaps a different inhabitant, from another time. This memory was stronger, more recent. Though perhaps ‘recent’ was a relative term to something as old as he was. Judging by the condition of the home, while someone’s been managing the property, it has not been lived in for over ten years. The darkness wove into the image of the man, its tendrils pierced half-present flesh and infested him like maggots in a still writhing corpse. Nobody could taste the emotion upon his tongue and it tasted //divine//. The memories were painful, but those who are the most thickly present were far, //far// more satisfying. He did not consume enough to fully eliminate the memory, no, for that was too strong for Nobody’s even tastes. Too bitter, really. He only took what he wanted, eating away at the sense of mourning, picking at the bones that death had left in this house until he was satisfied. Nobody had not expected to take his fill so soon, though he had similarly not expected to find such fresh memories within. The man left a bitter weight in his stomach, but that was alright. It was better than Nothing. The demeanor of the man who dredges himself out of that dusty silver mirror, who leaves the empty house just as he left it, is a relaxed one. One reminiscent of an animal after a successful hunt, eyes half lidded, a satisfied and lazy smile. Full, if only temporarily. [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] [!-- N/A (No Images) --] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-01-03T18:00:00	[ "_licensebox", "coldpostcon", "nobody", "tale" ]	No One's Home - SCP Foundation	15	[ "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "nobody-hub", "coldpostcon" ]	[]	1445383364	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/no-one-s-home
nobody-serves-up-a-cold-plate-of-whoop-ass	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div class="authorlink-wrapper"><a href="javascript:;">Fish^12</a> <div class="authorbox"> <div class="authorcontent"> <p>DINO DRAWS <a href="https://www.wikidot.com/user:info/dino-draws">https://www.wikidot.com/user:info/dino-draws</a>. [<a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/hotfish">Author page</a>].</p> </div> </div> </div> <div style="background: linear-gradient(138deg, rgba(249,184,164,1) 50%, rgba(247,188,206,1) 50%);color:#273231;padding:15px;font-size:24px;box-shadow:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.35) 0px 5px 15px;font-family:'roboto condensed';border-radius:2px;"><img alt="food.png" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/nobody-serves-up-a-cold-plate-of-whoop-ass/food.png"/> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:18px;">You have seen it all, from Mel-el-tekan street vendors to Panama beach cafes, but at arm's length, like a moldy apple. Why not find out what you're missing?</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>The entire world at your doorstep.</em></p> <p><strong>SPECIAL FARE</strong></p> <div style="font-size:18px"> <p>A selection of entrées for enervation.</p> <div style="margin-left:10px;"> <p><strong>☉</strong> <em>Lightfish & Wedged Dasiraa Potatoes</em><br/> <span style="font-size:80%;">Put a little light in your step with Arctic Lightfish, dressed in native herbs and spices. Includes a side of snow starches, homestyle ranch, and lemon.</span></p> <p><strong>☉</strong> <em>Jellied Giant Osis Cartilage</em><br/> <span style="font-size:80%;">Simmered and basted in a 1753 Rosé. Served with rye bread and mammon butter for a dose of energy.</span></p> <p><strong>☉</strong> <em>Sour Prairie Dog Egg</em><br/> <span style="font-size:80%;">Bitterroot stew and soft boiled to perfection. Helps with eye strain.</span></p> </div> </div> <br/> <strong>ADDEND'OEUVRE</strong> <div style="font-size:18px"> <p>Human nature calls for a side with every entrée.</p> <div style="margin-left:10px;"> <p><strong>☉</strong> <em>Grilled Straps</em><br/> <span style="font-size:80%;">Fresh sprigs of audentin root, brushed with a feldspathic glaze. Sourced from a friend of yours.</span></p> <p><strong>☉</strong> <em>Thick Cut Slab of Tap Tap Bacon</em><br/> <span style="font-size:80%;">Fried with Tap Tap oil, seasoned with Tap Tap peppercorns, and served on a fresh Tap Tap leaf.</span></p> <p><strong>☉</strong> <em>Captain Ari's Scatter</em><br/> <span style="font-size:80%;">Crunchy, bite sized buckwheatshot with a spicy kickback.</span></p> </div> </div> <br/> <strong>TEST DESSERTS</strong> <div style="font-size:18px"> <p>Complimentary treats for every meal.</p> <div style="margin-left:10px;"> <p><strong>☉</strong> <em><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span>ecan <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span>ie</em><br/> <span style="font-size:80%;">Discover the new <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span>ièce de résistance, topped with whip cream and cinnamon.</span></p> <p><strong>☉</strong> <em>Forever Ice Cream</em><br/> <span style="font-size:80%;">Will never melt, will never disappear (almost). Comes in salted caramel, matcha, or classic vanilla.</span></p> <p><strong>☉</strong> <em>Captain Ari's Scatter</em><br/> <span style="font-size:80%;">Crunchy bite sized buckwheatshot with a spicy kick.</span></p> </div> </div> <div style="font-size:80%;margin-top:70px;text-align:center;"> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size:80%;">How To Contact Me!</span></span><br/> Think <em>really</em> hard about your order, open a window, and wait a maximum of thirty minutes.</p> </div> <div style="text-align: right;"> <div style="font-size:60%;margin-top:70px;"> <p>Dietary options available<br/> Tax free<br/> *Contactless</p> </div> </div> </div> <div style="margin-top:100px;margin-left:10%;margin-right:10%;border:solid 1px grey;padding:10px;"> <p><strong>Derringer:</strong> Singer, hey. Singer? Hello?</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: grey">Rustling.</span></em></p> <p><strong>Singer:</strong> Howdy, Dead Ringer. Caught me at a strange time.</p> <p><strong>Derringer:</strong> Is it Retinal?</p> <p><strong>Singer:</strong> You guessed it — well, not really. It ain't top priority, sorry for fibbing. Holidays being what it is, lots of people send us gifts, and ain't you know it, some of it's coal. Good news is, I get some time off with my little girls.</p> <p><strong>Derringer:</strong> That's great! Good for you man.</p> <p><strong>Singer:</strong> Aw, it ain't much.</p> <p><strong>Derringer:</strong> So, just wanted an update on Retinal. Did you find anything noteworthy? Any connections between the goods its offering and who may be pulling the strings?</p> <p><strong>Singer:</strong> Shucks. Nah.</p> <p><strong>Derringer:</strong> No?</p> <p><strong>Singer:</strong> I'd love to tell you about it all, but if I've got this stuff right, and you <em>know</em> I do, none of it is connected.</p> <p><strong>Derringer:</strong> Tell me about it.</p> <p><strong>Singer:</strong> Well, logistically speaking — and scientifically, if we're being technical 'bout it, we got stuff coming in from the UnderVegas, stuff from B-1029, that Mekhanite outpost, you know the one, and Mongolian steppes from time. Politically speaking, people who ain't never heard of each other, let alone <em>stand</em> one another. And that's just stuff we know we got a bead on. Some of this stuff is referenced in old Deepwell docs and nowhere else. RAISA had a hell of a time connecting the dots.</p> <p><strong>Derringer:</strong> That's… frankly? That's insane. For a glorified food delivery service?</p> <p><strong>Singer:</strong> Right as a barnacle. Not even the MCD folks can rustle up connections this insane, indeed. And they're pulling less than a fraction of market price. Some of this stuff should go for hundreds.</p> <p><strong>Derringer:</strong> So they're not in it for the money.</p> <p><strong>Singer:</strong> S'pose so.</p> <p><strong>Derringer:</strong> How many sites received this thing? I know of three right now.</p> <p><strong>Singer:</strong> Continental US. That's nearly three hundred sites.</p> <p><strong>Derringer:</strong> That's too much of a premium. Why?</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>##grey\|Silence.</em></p> <p><strong>Singer:</strong> I — I know it's our job to be suspicious, but I'll take blessings by the handful. It looks like plain ol' goodwill to me. If they really wanted to hurt us, why all the extra work? Why gather expensive ingredients, why smuggle this stuff into our sites if they didn't like us? Hell, they could've blown us up easy if they wanted to.</p> <p><strong>Derringer:</strong> That's what's worrying. I don't know.</p> <p><strong>Singer:</strong> Well, I figure if they like us, they might as well show up. Show them we mean no harm, ceasefire for the holidays, and we can find out more about them. Get their side of the story. We ain't even seen them yet.</p> <p><strong>Derringer:</strong> Just ask them nicely?</p> <p><strong>Singer:</strong> Well, they're a superpower. Asking them nicely might be the only way to do it.</p> <p><strong>Derringer:</strong> No. Wait. Yes. Yes, you're right. I could ask them to show up. Actually. Wait. Yes. Yes!</p> <p><strong>Singer:</strong> What is it? You got something?</p> <p><strong>Derringer:</strong> Yeah, I've got something. I think I've got an inkling as to who this enigma is.</p> <p><strong>Singer:</strong> Hey, happy to help. Anything else?</p> <p><strong>Derringer:</strong> Nope, that was it.</p> <p><strong>Singer:</strong> Hell yeah. Happy holidays.</p> <p><strong>Derringer:</strong> Absolutely. You too. Happy holidays to you too. Have fun with the family. See you later.</p> </div> <div style="margin-top:100px;margin-left:10%;margin-right:10%;border:solid 1px grey;padding:10px;"> <p><strong>Derringer:</strong> Greetings.</p> <p><strong>PoI-006:</strong> About damn time.</p> <p><strong>Derringer:</strong> So, Nobody, what the hell are you doing?</p> <p><strong>PoI-006:</strong> This is a new thing for me. It's good to try new things, y'know? Besides, how much do you know about me? I've literally never heard of you before, and I know a <em>lot</em>.</p> <p><strong>Derringer:</strong> The Hydra Incident? Cold Con? The Golden Sun? I can list dozens of things you've had a hand in. What do you want to know?</p> <p><strong>PoI-006:</strong> Everyone knows those ones. Not exactly my most subtle work.</p> <p><strong>Derringer:</strong> Fine then. How about… Eric?</p> <p><strong>PoI-006:</strong> Okay, wow. Now <em>that</em> is a deep cut. Wow, you are good. Bravo, I didn't expect that.</p> <p><strong>Derringer:</strong> I did my research, and I believe you did the same.</p> <p><strong>PoI-006:</strong> Agreed. This is no trap. That's why I'm before you.</p> <p><strong>Derringer:</strong> I'm glad you've come to terms. So what are you doing, running a… glorified GrubHub?</p> <p><strong>PoI-006:</strong> You know the shtick then. My goals will always align or conflict with yours, as I have always done, and let me be very real with you, that fact will never change. You've seen me at my worst and you've seen me at my best.</p> <p><strong>Derringer:</strong> Some agent of chaos you are. So you're aligned with us now? At a drop of a hat? I fail to see the point. What the hell do you even believe?</p> <p><strong>PoI-006:</strong> Well, that's not the right question.</p> <p><strong>Derringer:</strong> Alright then, hotshot. How does your current position affect us?</p> <p><strong>PoI-006:</strong> That's more like it. You're getting the hang of this.</p> <p><strong>Derringer:</strong> Get to the point.</p> <p><strong>PoI-006:</strong> Let me put it like this. Are you sure I'm on your side?</p> <p><strong>Derringer:</strong> Then get it over with. You're clearly a skilled spy. Or a cheating anomaly. I don't particularly care which it is, so why don't you steal a handful of nuclear codes and blow us to high hell?</p> <p><strong>PoI-006:</strong> Because that's so… ugh, you Foundation types are still so straightforward.</p> <p><strong>Derringer:</strong> Then enlighten me. I want to know why.</p> <p><strong>PoI-006:</strong> It is subversion. It is what I do.</p> <p><strong>Derringer:</strong> Keep going.</p> <p><strong>PoI-006:</strong> The Foundation studies and studies and studies, but you don't care about the results. They're all factoids and data that you hoard in little Deepwells that some unlucky sap will discover too late, and it'll all be for nothing. But no matter what disasters happen your way, no matter how many people are sacrificed to this little machine, you aren't going to change course because you're so <em>convinced</em> that this is the answer.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: grey">Silence.</span></em></p> <p><strong>PoI-006:</strong> All the while never, even <em>once</em>, indulging in your treasures. Which, credit where credit is due, you never take advantage of an anomaly. All this time, you carefully kept the mundane and the anomalous apart. You have principles, however misguided they are, and I am here to… get rid of them.</p> <p><strong>Derringer:</strong> By feeding us?</p> <p><strong>PoI-006:</strong> By sharing the wealth of the other side. You believe that our worlds shouldn't collide when it can be ingested, just as eating is instinct. You don't just eat food, you discover culture, language, history, and art. It is enlightenment.</p> <p><strong>Derringer:</strong> Frankly? That's asinine.</p> <p><strong>PoI-006:</strong> Hey, see for yourself. How many people have actually ordered from Retinal?</p> <p><strong>Derringer:</strong> Even if it is true, this is just another <em>anomaly</em> we can contain.</p> <p><strong>PoI-006:</strong> Sure. Burn all the extra copies, save a printout and keep a digital file. But you and I both know it's not enough. Damage control all you want, but me? I've already completed my task. All I have left to do is wish you a happy holidays.</p> <p><strong>Derringer:</strong> Heh, happy holidays.</p> <p><strong>PoI-006:</strong> You know it.</p> </div> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/nobody-serves-up-a-cold-plate-of-whoop-ass">Nobody Serves Up A Cold Plate Of Whoop Ass</a>" by Fish^12, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/nobody-serves-up-a-cold-plate-of-whoop-ass">https://scpwiki.com/nobody-serves-up-a-cold-plate-of-whoop-ass</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> food.png<br/> <strong>Name:</strong> food.png<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> Fish^12<br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC BY-S.A 3.0<br/> <strong>Source Link:</strong> It was me. I made it. Me.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:toggle-sidebar">:scp-wiki:component:toggle-sidebar</a>]] [[module css]] @import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Roboto+Condensed&display=swap'); #page-title{ display:none; } [[/module]] [[>]] [[module rate]] [[/>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:author-label-source">:scp-wiki:component:author-label-source</a> start=-- \|name=Fish^12]] DINO DRAWS https://www.wikidot.com/user:info/dino-draws. [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/hotfish Author page]]. [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:author-label-source">:scp-wiki:component:author-label-source</a> end=--]] [[div style="background: linear-gradient(138deg, rgba(249,184,164,1) 50%, rgba(247,188,206,1) 50%);color:#273231;padding:15px;font-size:24px;box-shadow:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.35) 0px 5px 15px;font-family:'roboto condensed';border-radius:2px;"]] [[image food.png]] = [[span style="font-size:18px;"]]You have seen it all, from Mel-el-tekan street vendors to Panama beach cafes, but at arm's length, like a moldy apple. Why not find out what you're missing?[[/span]] = //The entire world at your doorstep.// SPECIAL FARE [[div style="border-top:solid 4px #273231;width:76%;margin-top:-10px;"]] [[/div]] [[div style="font-size:18px"]] A selection of entrées for enervation. [[div style="margin-left:10px;"]] ☉ //Lightfish & Wedged Dasiraa Potatoes// [[size 80%]]Put a little light in your step with Arctic Lightfish, dressed in native herbs and spices. Includes a side of snow starches, homestyle ranch, and lemon.[[/size]] ☉ //Jellied Giant Osis Cartilage// [[size 80%]]Simmered and basted in a 1753 Rosé. Served with rye bread and mammon butter for a dose of energy.[[/size]] ☉ //Sour Prairie Dog Egg// [[size 80%]]Bitterroot stew and soft boiled to perfection. Helps with eye strain.[[/size]] [[/div]] [[/div]] ADDEND'OEUVRE [[div style="border-top:solid 4px #273231;width:76%;margin-top:18px;"]] [[/div]] [[div style="font-size:18px"]] Human nature calls for a side with every entrée. [[div style="margin-left:10px;"]] ☉ //Grilled Straps// [[size 80%]]Fresh sprigs of audentin root, brushed with a feldspathic glaze. Sourced from a friend of yours.[[/size]] ☉ //Thick Cut Slab of Tap Tap Bacon// [[size 80%]]Fried with Tap Tap oil, seasoned with Tap Tap peppercorns, and served on a fresh Tap Tap leaf.[[/size]] ☉ //Captain Ari's Scatter// [[size 80%]]Crunchy, bite sized buckwheatshot with a spicy kickback.[[/size]] [[/div]] [[/div]] TEST DESSERTS [[div style="border-top:solid 4px #273231;width:76%;margin-top:18px;"]] [[/div]] [[div style="font-size:18px"]] Complimentary treats for every meal. [[div style="margin-left:10px;"]] ☉ //@@ @@ecan @@ @@ie// [[size 80%]]Discover the new @@ @@ièce de résistance, topped with whip cream and cinnamon.[[/size]] ☉ //Forever Ice Cream// [[size 80%]]Will never melt, will never disappear (almost). Comes in salted caramel, matcha, or classic vanilla.[[/size]] ☉ //Captain Ari's Scatter// [[size 80%]]Crunchy bite sized buckwheatshot with a spicy kick.[[/size]] [[/div]] [[/div]] [[div style="font-size:80%;margin-top:70px;text-align:center;"]] __[[size 80%]]How To Contact Me![[/size]]__ Think //really// hard about your order, open a window, and wait a maximum of thirty minutes. [[/div]] [[>]] [[div style="font-size:60%;margin-top:70px;"]] Dietary options available Tax free Contactless [[/div]] [[/>]] [[/div]] [[div style="margin-top:100px;margin-left:10%;margin-right:10%;border:solid 1px grey;padding:10px;"]] Derringer:* Singer, hey. Singer? Hello? = //##grey\|Rustling.##// Singer: Howdy, Dead Ringer. Caught me at a strange time. Derringer: Is it Retinal? Singer: You guessed it — well, not really. It ain't top priority, sorry for fibbing. Holidays being what it is, lots of people send us gifts, and ain't you know it, some of it's coal. Good news is, I get some time off with my little girls. Derringer: That's great! Good for you man. Singer: Aw, it ain't much. Derringer: So, just wanted an update on Retinal. Did you find anything noteworthy? Any connections between the goods its offering and who may be pulling the strings? Singer: Shucks. Nah. Derringer: No? Singer: I'd love to tell you about it all, but if I've got this stuff right, and you //know// I do, none of it is connected. Derringer: Tell me about it. Singer: Well, logistically speaking — and scientifically, if we're being technical 'bout it, we got stuff coming in from the UnderVegas, stuff from B-1029, that Mekhanite outpost, you know the one, and Mongolian steppes from time. Politically speaking, people who ain't never heard of each other, let alone //stand// one another. And that's just stuff we know we got a bead on. Some of this stuff is referenced in old Deepwell docs and nowhere else. RAISA had a hell of a time connecting the dots. Derringer: That's... frankly? That's insane. For a glorified food delivery service? Singer: Right as a barnacle. Not even the MCD folks can rustle up connections this insane, indeed. And they're pulling less than a fraction of market price. Some of this stuff should go for hundreds. Derringer: So they're not in it for the money. Singer: S'pose so. Derringer: How many sites received this thing? I know of three right now. Singer: Continental US. That's nearly three hundred sites. Derringer: That's too much of a premium. Why? = //##grey\|Silence.// Singer: I — I know it's our job to be suspicious, but I'll take blessings by the handful. It looks like plain ol' goodwill to me. If they really wanted to hurt us, why all the extra work? Why gather expensive ingredients, why smuggle this stuff into our sites if they didn't like us? Hell, they could've blown us up easy if they wanted to. Derringer: That's what's worrying. I don't know. Singer: Well, I figure if they like us, they might as well show up. Show them we mean no harm, ceasefire for the holidays, and we can find out more about them. Get their side of the story. We ain't even seen them yet. Derringer: Just ask them nicely? Singer: Well, they're a superpower. Asking them nicely might be the only way to do it. Derringer: No. Wait. Yes. Yes, you're right. I could ask them to show up. Actually. Wait. Yes. Yes! Singer: What is it? You got something? Derringer: Yeah, I've got something. I think I've got an inkling as to who this enigma is. Singer: Hey, happy to help. Anything else? Derringer: Nope, that was it. Singer: Hell yeah. Happy holidays. Derringer: Absolutely. You too. Happy holidays to you too. Have fun with the family. See you later. [[/div]] [[div style="margin-top:100px;margin-left:10%;margin-right:10%;border:solid 1px grey;padding:10px;"]] Derringer: Greetings. PoI-006: About damn time. Derringer: So, Nobody, what the hell are you doing? PoI-006: This is a new thing for me. It's good to try new things, y'know? Besides, how much do you know about me? I've literally never heard of you before, and I know a //lot//. Derringer: The Hydra Incident? Cold Con? The Golden Sun? I can list dozens of things you've had a hand in. What do you want to know? PoI-006: Everyone knows those ones. Not exactly my most subtle work. Derringer: Fine then. How about... Eric? PoI-006: Okay, wow. Now //that// is a deep cut. Wow, you are good. Bravo, I didn't expect that. Derringer: I did my research, and I believe you did the same. PoI-006: Agreed. This is no trap. That's why I'm before you. Derringer: I'm glad you've come to terms. So what are you doing, running a... glorified GrubHub? PoI-006: You know the shtick then. My goals will always align or conflict with yours, as I have always done, and let me be very real with you, that fact will never change. You've seen me at my worst and you've seen me at my best. Derringer: Some agent of chaos you are. So you're aligned with us now? At a drop of a hat? I fail to see the point. What the hell do you even believe? PoI-006: Well, that's not the right question. Derringer: Alright then, hotshot. How does your current position affect us? PoI-006: That's more like it. You're getting the hang of this. Derringer: Get to the point. PoI-006: Let me put it like this. Are you sure I'm on your side? Derringer: Then get it over with. You're clearly a skilled spy. Or a cheating anomaly. I don't particularly care which it is, so why don't you steal a handful of nuclear codes and blow us to high hell? PoI-006: Because that's so... ugh, you Foundation types are still so straightforward. Derringer: Then enlighten me. I want to know why. PoI-006: It is subversion. It is what I do. Derringer: Keep going. PoI-006: The Foundation studies and studies and studies, but you don't care about the results. They're all factoids and data that you hoard in little Deepwells that some unlucky sap will discover too late, and it'll all be for nothing. But no matter what disasters happen your way, no matter how many people are sacrificed to this little machine, you aren't going to change course because you're so //convinced// that this is the answer. = //##grey\|Silence.//## PoI-006: All the while never, even //once//, indulging in your treasures. Which, credit where credit is due, you never take advantage of an anomaly. All this time, you carefully kept the mundane and the anomalous apart. You have principles, however misguided they are, and I am here to... get rid of them. Derringer: By feeding us? PoI-006: By sharing the wealth of the other side. You believe that our worlds shouldn't collide when it can be ingested, just as eating is instinct. You don't just eat food, you discover culture, language, history, and art. It is enlightenment. Derringer: Frankly? That's asinine. PoI-006: Hey, see for yourself. How many people have actually ordered from Retinal? Derringer: Even if it is true, this is just another //anomaly// we can contain. PoI-006: Sure. Burn all the extra copies, save a printout and keep a digital file. But you and I both know it's not enough. Damage control all you want, but me? I've already completed my task. All I have left to do is wish you a happy holidays. Derringer: Heh, happy holidays. PoI-006: You know it. [[/div]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] ===== > Filename: food.png > Name: food.png > Author: Fish^12 > License: CC BY-S.A 3.0 > Source Link: It was me. I made it. Me. ===== [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-12-28T17:41:00	[ "_cc", "_licensebox", "art-exchange", "nobody", "slice-of-life", "tale" ]	Nobody Serves Up A Cold Plate Of Whoop Ass - SCP Foundation	19	[ "hotfish", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "nobody-hub" ]	[ "https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/nobody-serves-up-a-cold-plate-of-whoop-ass/food.png" ]	1451990833	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/nobody-serves-up-a-cold-plate-of-whoop-ass
normalcy	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div style="display: none"> <div style="text-align: left;"> <div class="code"> <div class="hl-main"> <pre><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Foxtrot</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Sigma-9</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Theme</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">2022</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">Wikidot</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">Theme</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">By</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Liryn</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">FONTS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Montserrat</span><span class="hl-special">:ital</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">wght</span><span class="hl-var">@0</span><span class="hl-code">,800;1,800&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Lexend</span><span class="hl-special">:wght</span><span class="hl-var">@700</span><span class="hl-code">;800&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">JetBrains</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Mono</span><span class="hl-special">:ital</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">wght</span><span class="hl-var">@0</span><span class="hl-code">,400;0,700;1,400;1,700&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Fira</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Code</span><span class="hl-special">:wght</span><span class="hl-var">@400</span><span class="hl-code">;700&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Sofia</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Sans</span><span class="hl-special">:ital</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">wght</span><span class="hl-var">@0</span><span class="hl-code">,400;0,700;1,400;1,700&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">rsms.me</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">inter</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">inter.css</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Figtree</span><span class="hl-special">:wght</span><span class="hl-var">@800</span><span class="hl-code">;900&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">IBM</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Plex</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Sans</span><span class="hl-special">:ital</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">wght</span><span class="hl-var">@0</span><span class="hl-code">,400;0,500;0,600;0,700;1,400;1,500;1,600;1,700&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-special">:root</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Core</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ --</span><span class="hl-reserved">header-title:</span><span class="hl-code"> "SCP Foundation"</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">header-subtitle:</span><span class="hl-code"> "SECURE, CONTAIN, PROTECT"</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">logo-img:</span><span class="hl-code"> url(https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/theme:foxtrot/fxtrt-scp_logo_lightmode.svg)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">darkmode-logo-img:</span><span class="hl-code"> url(https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/theme:foxtrot/fxtrt-scp_logo_darkmode.svg)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">logo-opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">14</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">head-font:</span><span class="hl-code"> 'Sans Normalcy'</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">ui-font:</span><span class="hl-code"> 'IBM Plex Sans'</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">mono-font:</span><span class="hl-code"> 'JetBrains Mono', 'Fira </span><span class="hl-string">Code</span><span class="hl-code">', </span><span class="hl-string">monospace</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">page-font:</span><span class="hl-code"> 'Inter', 'verdana'</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">base-font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.9</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">page-font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Misc</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ --</span><span class="hl-reserved">header-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">subheader-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">misc-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#464646</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">link-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#E6283C</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">link-hover-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">white</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Color</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Accents</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ --</span><span class="hl-reserved">accent:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--acc-default)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-default:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">59</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">59</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">59</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-wyoming:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">142</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">18</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-canada:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--acc-default)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-poland:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">87</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">44</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">17</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-slothspit:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">27</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">60</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">133</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-vanguard:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">153</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">75</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-threshold:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">121</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">113</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">130</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-overwatch:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">28</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">37</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">56</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-spc:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">165</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">200</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-fishing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">67</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">111</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">145</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-nightfall:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">151</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-hybrasil:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">27</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">60</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">133</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-goc:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">39</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">84</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">149</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-spooky:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">252</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">112</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">40</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">BetterFootnotes</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ --</span><span class="hl-reserved">fnColor:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">fnLinger:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> --</span><span class="hl-reserved">barColour:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">linkColour:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#EDEDED</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">html</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">scroll-behavior:</span><span class="hl-code"> smooth</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow-x:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">hidden</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">body</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--base-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">51</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">51</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">51</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> linear-gradient(to </span><span class="hl-string">bottom</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-var">#e0e0e0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">200</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-rendering:</span><span class="hl-code"> optimizeLegibility</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow-wrap:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">break-word</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#container-wrap</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#content-wrap</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font), var(--ui-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">440</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">strong</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">700</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tt</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-source</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">pre</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-textarea</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--mono-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ol</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">p</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-underline-offset:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">40</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> :</span><span class="hl-special">:selection</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Clicky</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">links</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.newpage</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:visited</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:visited</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.newpage</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:visited:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:visited:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-hover-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">patch</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">for</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">sidebar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">media</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">collapsibles</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">ACS</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">and</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ayers</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">module</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">so</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">link</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">doesn</span><span class="hl-code">'</span><span class="hl-identifier">t</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">override</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-folded</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-unfolded-link</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fa-info</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block.media</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.danger-diamond</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-folded</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--linkColour) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">160</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--header-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">letter-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">900</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> fit-content</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--header-title)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--header-subtitle)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">700</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--misc-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">26</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.35</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">uppercase</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#extra-div-1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">160</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">7</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">absolute</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--logo-img) </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">30</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">no-repeat</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">130</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-repeat:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">no-repeat</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">50</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">50</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">z-index:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--logo-opacity)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Search</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-var">text</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-input</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-input</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-input</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-var">submit</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-var">submit</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-var">submit</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#efefef</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--page-font-size) - </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.empty</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#999999</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">absolute</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">47</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">15</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">15</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">white</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li.sfhover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.83</span><span class="hl-code">) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">230</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-indent:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">justify-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.mobile-top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Login</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#login-status</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">19</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#login-status</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#login-status</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 767</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.printuser</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.printuser</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.printuser</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">img.small</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">18</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">18</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 767</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.printuser</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">img.small</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> translate(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#my-account</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 767</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#account-topbutton</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Side</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.open-menu</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">white</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (min-width: 768</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.6</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.6</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">18.75</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">s ease-in-out</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">rtl</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block.resources</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block.media</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#interwiki</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">ltr</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block.resources</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.heading</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--misc-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#cfcfcf</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9</span><span class="hl-string">pt</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">uppercase</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Blockquotes</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">Custom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Divs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.15</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#f7f7f7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">dashed</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#f7f7f7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.35</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.35</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#f7f7f7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.15</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fbfbfb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.quote</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bbb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">500</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bbb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.note</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#afafaf</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.round</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Headings</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">Titles</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-title</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.meta-title</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#3b3b3b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> fit-content</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-title</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.meta-title</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#breadcrumbs</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.pseudocrumbs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#3b3b3b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.footnotes-footer</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.title</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#3b3b3b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Rate</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Module</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.creditRate</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bbb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fa-info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fa-info</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bbb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-points</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rateup</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.ratedown</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rateup</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.ratedown</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rateup</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.ratedown</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inline-block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Rate</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Module</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Author</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Label</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.authorlink-wrapper</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> --</span><span class="hl-reserved">author-top-adjust:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">author-bottom-adjust:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">author-right-adjust:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--base-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Side</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anchor</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> sticky</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.14</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc((</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vw - </span><span class="hl-number">870</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">)/</span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vh - </span><span class="hl-number">18</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">absolute</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">103.5</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">z-index:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 1290</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">visibility:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">hidden</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Image</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#f4f4f4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#3b3b3b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">img</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.imagediv</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">right</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">15</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 540</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.imagediv</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">only</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">screen</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">and</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 600</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block.block-right</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tables</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Base</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">td</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">12</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bfbfbf</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">td</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.35</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tables</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Customization</span><span class="hl-code"> (</span><span class="hl-identifier">Table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Coloring</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">System</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tables</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Customization</span><span class="hl-code"> (</span><span class="hl-identifier">Table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Coloring</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">System</span><span class="hl-code">) > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Headings</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">Image</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Captions</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#E0FFD4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#D8ECF4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FDF6D7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFDFCD</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFCFCF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">146</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.tableb</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.wiki-content-table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-collapse:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">separate</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tables</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Customization</span><span class="hl-code"> (</span><span class="hl-identifier">Table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Coloring</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">System</span><span class="hl-code">) > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Other</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Colored</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Divs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">224</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">212</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">226</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">244</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">245</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">189</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">223</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">205</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">207</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">207</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">218</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tabs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Base</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tabs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Customization</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-wrap:</span><span class="hl-code"> wrap</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code"> - </span><span class="hl-number">.125</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Link</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Modifier</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tab</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Background</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Colour</span><span class="hl-code"> \| [</span><span class="hl-identifier">UNSELECTED</span><span class="hl-code">] ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#efefef</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tab</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Background</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Colour</span><span class="hl-code"> \| [</span><span class="hl-identifier">HOVER</span><span class="hl-code">] ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code">, /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Listitem</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Modifier</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">relative</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-grow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-bottom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">align-items:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">justify-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.35</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.75</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-overflow:</span><span class="hl-code"> ellipsis</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">hidden</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">white-space:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">nowrap</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code">, /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Selection</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Modifier</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-grow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tab</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Background</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Colour</span><span class="hl-code"> \| [</span><span class="hl-identifier">SELECTED</span><span class="hl-code">] ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:active</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-content</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">WORDS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">NO</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">BROKEY</span><span class="hl-code">. </span><span class="hl-identifier">CROQ</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">HAS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">SPOKEY</span><span class="hl-code">. </span><span class="hl-identifier">and</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">other</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">things</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">word-break:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">normal</span><span class="hl-code"> !important </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.avatar-hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Dustjacket</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Assets</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fancyhr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">hr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">vw </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--bright-accent), </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-source:</span><span class="hl-code"> url('https://wanderers-library.wikidot.com/local--files/component:dustjacket-theme/wl_hr.png')</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-repeat:</span><span class="hl-code"> round round</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-slice:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">500</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">500</span><span class="hl-code"> fill</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fancyborder</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">vw </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> url('https://wanderers-library.wikidot.com/local--files/component:dustjacket-theme/wl_border.png') </span><span class="hl-number">600</span><span class="hl-code"> round</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">vw</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Collapsibles</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">underline</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-special">:not</span><span class="hl-code">(</span><span class="hl-identifier">.licensebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.default-col</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">white</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">7</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--base-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inline-block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-special">:not</span><span class="hl-code">(</span><span class="hl-identifier">.licensebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.default-col</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--accent), </span><span class="hl-number">0.7</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">ACS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Adjustments</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.top-left-box</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">.item</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anom-bar-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anom-bar-container</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anom-bar-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), Inter, </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.acs-extra-1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.acs-extra-2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.acs-extra-3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.acs-extra-4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), Inter, </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anom-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">.top-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Woed</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Adjustments</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.item1</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">uppercase</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">letter-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.class1</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.9</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">letter-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> --</span><span class="hl-reserved">woedbar-class-bar-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.obj</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.7</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.obj</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.55</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MISC</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">hr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.bt</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#footer</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#444</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">45</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#footer</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#7b7b7b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.footer-wikiwalk-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">700</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">88</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">word-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-info-break</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-options-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">213</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">213</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">213</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-watch-options</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.6</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">77</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-options-bottom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> row</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-wrap:</span><span class="hl-code"> wrap</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">align-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">justify-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-options-bottom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">13</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">13</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom-left-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom-right-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-options-bottom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--accent), </span><span class="hl-number">0.8</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-info-break</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#license-area</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#5f5f5f</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ecf2f1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#d9d9d9</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#license-area</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> "."</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (min-width: 768</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">16</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> "tags "</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--misc-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inline-block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.8125</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.75</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.1875</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.3125</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.1875</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom-right-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top-right-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">13</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.8125</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--page-font-size) - </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">.1875</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">.625</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.0625</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.1875</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent)) </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-style:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> ""</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">relative</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.2813</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.125</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-tags-input</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">word-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.text</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">150</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-form</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">table.form</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">tbody</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">td</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(1) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.edit-help-34</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">85</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">60</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> fit-content</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.edit-help-34</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.edit-help-34</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">table.edit-page-bottomtable</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-comments</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">86</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#lock-info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.8</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">86</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#lock-info</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> "!"</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">12</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">110</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">60</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#lock-timer</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">115</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#lock-timer</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> "⏲ "</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">textarea</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.text</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">outline:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ccc</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-property:</span><span class="hl-code"> box-shadow</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">textarea</span><span class="hl-special">:focus-visible</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.text</span><span class="hl-special">:focus-visible</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#a3a3a3</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#a3a3a3</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#action-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">p</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">85</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> darkslategrey</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#action-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">p</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(5)></span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">120</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#who-rated-page-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">column-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 900</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#who-rated-page-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">column-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 700</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#who-rated-page-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">column-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 540</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#who-rated-page-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">column-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.content-warning.creditRate</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">21</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.preview-message</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.9</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">29</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">z-index:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">filter:</span><span class="hl-code"> drop-shadow(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#EDEDED</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.error-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">48</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#B00</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top-left-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top-right-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">table.page-history</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tbody</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(2</span><span class="hl-identifier">n</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--accent), </span><span class="hl-number">0.05</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">animation:</span><span class="hl-code"> fade </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@keyframes</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">fade</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> 0% </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> 100% </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.button-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">11</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.button-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-hover-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.button-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.title</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">cursor:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">default</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">155</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">187</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">187</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">187</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#F7F7F7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow.owait</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow.owait</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.content</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> " "</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">0.9</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">animation:</span><span class="hl-code"> loading </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-code">s linear infinite</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> grey</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> grey</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">50</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@keyframes</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">loading</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> 0% </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> rotate(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">deg)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> 100% </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> rotate(</span><span class="hl-number">360</span><span class="hl-code">deg)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow.osuccess</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.content</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(2)></span><span class="hl-identifier">img</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(1) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.odialog-shader</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#262a39</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.btn</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.15</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.btn</span><span class="hl-special">:not</span><span class="hl-code">(</span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.btn</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-quotes">"</span><span class="hl-string">submit</span><span class="hl-quotes">"</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code">), </span><span class="hl-identifier">.btn.btn-primary</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.buttons</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.button</span><span class="hl-special">:not</span><span class="hl-code">(</span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-quotes">"</span><span class="hl-string">submit</span><span class="hl-quotes">"</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">11</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">cursor:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">pointer</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-cancel-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-diff-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-preview-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-draft-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-continue-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ccc</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">cursor:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">pointer</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">14</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-cancel-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-diff-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-preview-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-draft-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-continue-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#eaeaea</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-continue-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#dbffd6</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#005a0a</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-continue-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#0d951c</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-cancel-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffe1e1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#c52727</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-cancel-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#c5272e</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">table.page-history</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tbody</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#757575</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fncon</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font-size) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fncon</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font-size) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.hovertip</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">400</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.checkbox</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-history</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#h-perpage</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">cursor:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">pointer</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">textarea</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#breadcrumbs</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.pseudocrumbs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">110</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">REDUCED</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MOTION</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ACCESSIBILITY</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (prefers-reduced-motion: </span><span class="hl-identifier">reduce</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">before</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">animation-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.001</span><span class="hl-code">s !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">animation-iteration-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.001</span><span class="hl-code">s !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@MEDIA</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 850</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">h2:</span><span class="hl-code">:before { font-size: </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> } </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 700</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">h2:</span><span class="hl-code">:before { font-size: </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8.8</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> } </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 620</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">h2:</span><span class="hl-code">:before { font-size: </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.15</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">123</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> } </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 520</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">h2:</span><span class="hl-code">:before { line-height: </span><span class="hl-number">16</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">145</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> }</span></pre></div> </div> </div> </div> <br/> Everyone in the room is talking about the election. Most agree it was a mess from start to finish. The editor says both candidates had problems that concerned them. ‘The lesser of two evils’ is a repeating phrase. Nobody has said which one is the president-elect. <p>The sky outside the building is sky blue and empty. A few cars drive past on the street. A group of pedestrians are wearing oversized hats. Some of the people walking past stare at them. A man sits at a corner with a sign asking for money.</p> <p>Edward is staring at the page on his screen. It is a story he has been writing for years now. He doesn’t feel any closer to finishing it than when he started. He doesn’t feel satisfied by the progress he makes. He doesn’t enjoy writing it anymore. He’s only working on it because he feels worse when he doesn’t.</p> <p>He hasn’t made any progress today. He will try again tomorrow.</p> <hr/> <p>Everyone in the room is talking about Vanguard. Most agree it felt like a hoax at first. The editor talks about the new Lighthouse nearby. <span style="color: green">CITIZEN</span> says they met a talking dog that works there. Nobody has noticed the owner is happier lately.</p> <p>The sky outside the building is sky blue and empty. A few cars drive past on the street. A taxi honks at a jaywalker. Some of the people walking past stare at them. A man sits at a corner with a sign accusing the Foundation.</p> <p>Edward is staring at the page on his screen. It is a different page with different words. He doesn’t feel any closer to finishing it than when he started. He doesn’t feel satisfied by the progress he makes. He doesn’t enjoy writing it anymore. He’s only working on it because he feels worse when he doesn’t.</p> <p>He hasn’t made any progress today. He will try again tomorrow.</p> <hr/> <p>Everyone in the room is talking about the Infoscare. Most agree they do not understand Vanguard’s explanation. The editor says lots of <span style="color: green">PEOPLE</span> like <span style="color: green">CITIZEN</span> had their identities permanently stolen. The owner says you can still be affected if you talk about it. Nobody knows how to protect themselves if it happens again.</p> <p>The sky outside is sky blue and empty. A few cars drive past on the street. A group of pedestrians have metal limbs and horns. Some of the people walking past stare at them. A man sits at a corner with a sign foretelling the rapture.</p> <p>Edward is staring at the page on his screen. It is a different page with different words. He doesn’t feel any closer to finishing it than when he started. He doesn’t feel satisfied by the progress he makes. He doesn’t enjoy writing it anymore. He’s only working on it because he feels worse when he doesn’t.</p> <p>He hasn’t made any progress today. He will try again tomorrow.</p> <hr/> <p>Everyone in the room is talking. Most agree things are going well. The editor is talking to <span style="color: green">CITIZEN</span> and a faerie by the watercooler. The owner has eight eyes and is seven feet tall. Nobody bothers the sasquatch kicking the printer.</p> <p>The sky outside the building is sky blue. A dragon is following a plane. A few cars drive past on the street. Some of the pedestrians are trees. A group of wizards jaywalk. Some of the people walking past stare at them. A man sits at a corner with a sign offering oracles.</p> <p>Edward is staring at the page on his screen. It is a different page with different words. He doesn’t feel any closer to finishing it than when he started. He doesn’t feel satisfied by the progress he makes. He doesn’t enjoy writing it anymore. He’s only working on it because he feels worse when he doesn’t.</p> <p>He hasn’t made any progress today. He will try again tomorrow.</p> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/normalcy">Normalcy</a>" by Jack Ike, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/normalcy">https://scpwiki.com/normalcy</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:foxtrot">:scp-wiki:theme:foxtrot</a> dark=a\|vanguard=a]] [[=]] [[module rate]] [[/=]] Everyone in the room is talking about the election. Most agree it was a mess from start to finish. The editor says both candidates had problems that concerned them. ‘The lesser of two evils’ is a repeating phrase. Nobody has said which one is the president-elect. The sky outside the building is sky blue and empty. A few cars drive past on the street. A group of pedestrians are wearing oversized hats. Some of the people walking past stare at them. A man sits at a corner with a sign asking for money. Edward is staring at the page on his screen. It is a story he has been writing for years now. He doesn’t feel any closer to finishing it than when he started. He doesn’t feel satisfied by the progress he makes. He doesn’t enjoy writing it anymore. He’s only working on it because he feels worse when he doesn’t. He hasn’t made any progress today. He will try again tomorrow. ----- Everyone in the room is talking about Vanguard. Most agree it felt like a hoax at first. The editor talks about the new Lighthouse nearby. ##green\|CITIZEN## says they met a talking dog that works there. Nobody has noticed the owner is happier lately. The sky outside the building is sky blue and empty. A few cars drive past on the street. A taxi honks at a jaywalker. Some of the people walking past stare at them. A man sits at a corner with a sign accusing the Foundation. Edward is staring at the page on his screen. It is a different page with different words. He doesn’t feel any closer to finishing it than when he started. He doesn’t feel satisfied by the progress he makes. He doesn’t enjoy writing it anymore. He’s only working on it because he feels worse when he doesn’t. He hasn’t made any progress today. He will try again tomorrow. ----- Everyone in the room is talking about the Infoscare. Most agree they do not understand Vanguard’s explanation. The editor says lots of ##green\|PEOPLE## like ##green\|CITIZEN## had their identities permanently stolen. The owner says you can still be affected if you talk about it. Nobody knows how to protect themselves if it happens again. The sky outside is sky blue and empty. A few cars drive past on the street. A group of pedestrians have metal limbs and horns. Some of the people walking past stare at them. A man sits at a corner with a sign foretelling the rapture. Edward is staring at the page on his screen. It is a different page with different words. He doesn’t feel any closer to finishing it than when he started. He doesn’t feel satisfied by the progress he makes. He doesn’t enjoy writing it anymore. He’s only working on it because he feels worse when he doesn’t. He hasn’t made any progress today. He will try again tomorrow. ----- Everyone in the room is talking. Most agree things are going well. The editor is talking to ##green\|CITIZEN## and a faerie by the watercooler. The owner has eight eyes and is seven feet tall. Nobody bothers the sasquatch kicking the printer. The sky outside the building is sky blue. A dragon is following a plane. A few cars drive past on the street. Some of the pedestrians are trees. A group of wizards jaywalk. Some of the people walking past stare at them. A man sits at a corner with a sign offering oracles. Edward is staring at the page on his screen. It is a different page with different words. He doesn’t feel any closer to finishing it than when he started. He doesn’t feel satisfied by the progress he makes. He doesn’t enjoy writing it anymore. He’s only working on it because he feels worse when he doesn’t. He hasn’t made any progress today. He will try again tomorrow. [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] [!-- N/A (No Images) --] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-02-22T07:51:00	[ "_licensebox", "fantasy", "no-return", "slice-of-life", "tale" ]	Normalcy - SCP Foundation	84	[ "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "archived:shortest-pages-by-month-2023", "no-return-hub" ]	[]	1446361935	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/normalcy
nothing	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <div style="display: none"> <div style="text-align: left;"> <div class="code"> <div class="hl-main"> <pre><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Foxtrot</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Sigma-9</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Theme</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">2022</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">Wikidot</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">Theme</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">By</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Liryn</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">FONTS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Montserrat</span><span class="hl-special">:ital</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">wght</span><span class="hl-var">@0</span><span class="hl-code">,800;1,800&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Lexend</span><span class="hl-special">:wght</span><span class="hl-var">@700</span><span class="hl-code">;800&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">JetBrains</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Mono</span><span class="hl-special">:ital</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">wght</span><span class="hl-var">@0</span><span class="hl-code">,400;0,700;1,400;1,700&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Fira</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Code</span><span class="hl-special">:wght</span><span class="hl-var">@400</span><span class="hl-code">;700&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Sofia</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Sans</span><span class="hl-special">:ital</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">wght</span><span class="hl-var">@0</span><span class="hl-code">,400;0,700;1,400;1,700&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">rsms.me</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">inter</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">inter.css</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">Figtree</span><span class="hl-special">:wght</span><span class="hl-var">@800</span><span class="hl-code">;900&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); </span><span class="hl-var">@import</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">url</span><span class="hl-code">('</span><span class="hl-identifier">https</span><span class="hl-code">://</span><span class="hl-identifier">fonts.googleapis.com</span><span class="hl-code">/</span><span class="hl-identifier">css2</span><span class="hl-code">?</span><span class="hl-identifier">family</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">IBM</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Plex</span><span class="hl-code">+</span><span class="hl-identifier">Sans</span><span class="hl-special">:ital</span><span class="hl-code">,</span><span class="hl-identifier">wght</span><span class="hl-var">@0</span><span class="hl-code">,400;0,500;0,600;0,700;1,400;1,500;1,600;1,700&</span><span class="hl-identifier">display</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-identifier">swap</span><span class="hl-code">'); /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-special">:root</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Core</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ --</span><span class="hl-reserved">header-title:</span><span class="hl-code"> "SCP Foundation"</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">header-subtitle:</span><span class="hl-code"> "SECURE, CONTAIN, PROTECT"</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">logo-img:</span><span class="hl-code"> url(https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/theme:foxtrot/fxtrt-scp_logo_lightmode.svg)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">darkmode-logo-img:</span><span class="hl-code"> url(https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/theme:foxtrot/fxtrt-scp_logo_darkmode.svg)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">logo-opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">14</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">head-font:</span><span class="hl-code"> 'Sans Normalcy'</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">ui-font:</span><span class="hl-code"> 'IBM Plex Sans'</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">mono-font:</span><span class="hl-code"> 'JetBrains Mono', 'Fira </span><span class="hl-string">Code</span><span class="hl-code">', </span><span class="hl-string">monospace</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">page-font:</span><span class="hl-code"> 'Inter', 'verdana'</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">base-font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.9</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">page-font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Misc</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ --</span><span class="hl-reserved">header-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">subheader-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">misc-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#464646</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">link-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#E6283C</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">link-hover-txt-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">white</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Color</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Accents</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ --</span><span class="hl-reserved">accent:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--acc-default)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-default:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">59</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">59</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">59</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-wyoming:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">142</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">18</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-canada:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--acc-default)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-poland:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">87</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">44</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">17</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-slothspit:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">27</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">60</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">133</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-vanguard:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">153</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">75</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-threshold:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">121</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">113</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">130</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-overwatch:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">28</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">37</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">56</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-spc:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">165</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">200</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-fishing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">67</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">111</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">145</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-nightfall:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">151</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-hybrasil:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">27</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">60</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">133</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-goc:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">39</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">84</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">149</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">acc-spooky:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">252</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">112</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">40</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">BetterFootnotes</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ --</span><span class="hl-reserved">fnColor:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">fnLinger:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">VARIABLES</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> --</span><span class="hl-reserved">barColour:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">linkColour:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#EDEDED</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">html</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">scroll-behavior:</span><span class="hl-code"> smooth</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow-x:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">hidden</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">body</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--base-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">51</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">51</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">51</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> linear-gradient(to </span><span class="hl-string">bottom</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-var">#e0e0e0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">200</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-rendering:</span><span class="hl-code"> optimizeLegibility</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow-wrap:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">break-word</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#container-wrap</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#content-wrap</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font), var(--ui-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">440</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">strong</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">700</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tt</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-source</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">pre</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-textarea</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--mono-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ol</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">p</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-underline-offset:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">40</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> :</span><span class="hl-special">:selection</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Clicky</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">links</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.newpage</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:visited</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:visited</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.newpage</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:visited:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:visited:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-hover-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">patch</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">for</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">sidebar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">media</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">collapsibles</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">ACS</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">and</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ayers</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">module</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">so</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">link</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">doesn</span><span class="hl-code">'</span><span class="hl-identifier">t</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">override</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-folded</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-unfolded-link</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fa-info</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block.media</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.danger-diamond</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-folded</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--linkColour) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">160</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--header-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">letter-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">900</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> fit-content</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--header-title)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--header-subtitle)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">700</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--misc-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">26</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.35</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">uppercase</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#extra-div-1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">160</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">7</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">absolute</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--logo-img) </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">30</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">no-repeat</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">130</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-repeat:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">no-repeat</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">50</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">50</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">z-index:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--logo-opacity)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Search</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-var">text</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-input</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-input</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-input</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-var">submit</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-var">submit</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-var">submit</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#efefef</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--page-font-size) - </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.empty</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#999999</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">absolute</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">47</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">15</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">15</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">white</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li.sfhover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ul</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.83</span><span class="hl-code">) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">230</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-indent:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">justify-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.mobile-top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Login</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#login-status</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">19</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#login-status</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#login-status</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 767</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.printuser</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.printuser</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.printuser</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">img.small</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">18</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">18</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 767</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.printuser</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">img.small</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> translate(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#my-account</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 767</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#account-topbutton</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MAIN</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Header</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Side</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.open-menu</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">white</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (min-width: 768</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.6</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.6</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">18.75</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">s ease-in-out</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">rtl</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block.resources</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block.media</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#interwiki</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">ltr</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.side-block.resources</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#side-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.heading</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--misc-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#cfcfcf</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9</span><span class="hl-string">pt</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">uppercase</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Blockquotes</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">Custom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Divs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.15</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#f7f7f7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">dashed</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#f7f7f7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.35</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.35</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#f7f7f7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.15</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fbfbfb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.quote</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bbb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">500</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bbb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.note</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#afafaf</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.round</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Headings</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">Titles</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-title</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.meta-title</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#3b3b3b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> fit-content</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-title</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.meta-title</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#breadcrumbs</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.pseudocrumbs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#3b3b3b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">h1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">h2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.footnotes-footer</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.title</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#3b3b3b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Rate</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Module</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.creditRate</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bbb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fa-info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fa-info</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bbb</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-points</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rateup</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.ratedown</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rateup</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.ratedown</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rateup</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.ratedown</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inline-block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.cancel</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.rate-box-with-credit-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-rate-widget-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Rate</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Module</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Author</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Label</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.authorlink-wrapper</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> --</span><span class="hl-reserved">author-top-adjust:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">author-bottom-adjust:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; --</span><span class="hl-reserved">author-right-adjust:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--base-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Side</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anchor</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> sticky</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.14</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc((</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vw - </span><span class="hl-number">870</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">)/</span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">vh - </span><span class="hl-number">18</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">absolute</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">103.5</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">z-index:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 1290</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">visibility:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">hidden</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Image</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#f4f4f4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#3b3b3b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">img</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.imagediv</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">right</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">15</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 540</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.imagediv</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">only</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">screen</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">and</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 600</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block.block-right</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tables</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Base</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">td</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">12</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#bfbfbf</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">td</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.sidebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.35</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tables</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Customization</span><span class="hl-code"> (</span><span class="hl-identifier">Table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Coloring</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">System</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tables</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Customization</span><span class="hl-code"> (</span><span class="hl-identifier">Table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Coloring</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">System</span><span class="hl-code">) > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Headings</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">Image</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Captions</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#E0FFD4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#D8ECF4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FDF6D7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFDFCD</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFCFCF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">th</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.scp-image-caption</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">146</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.tableb</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.wiki-content-table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-collapse:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">separate</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tables</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Customization</span><span class="hl-code"> (</span><span class="hl-identifier">Table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Coloring</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">System</span><span class="hl-code">) > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Other</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Colored</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Divs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table1</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">224</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">212</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table2</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">226</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">244</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table3</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">245</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">189</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table4</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">223</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">205</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table5</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table5</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">207</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">207</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">blockquote</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.blockquote.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.blockquote.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.jotting.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.notation.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.modal.table6</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.paper.table6</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">218</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tabs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Base</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inherit</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tabs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Customization</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-wrap:</span><span class="hl-code"> wrap</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(</span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code"> - </span><span class="hl-number">.125</span><span class="hl-code">rem)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Link</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Modifier</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tab</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Background</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Colour</span><span class="hl-code"> \| [</span><span class="hl-identifier">UNSELECTED</span><span class="hl-code">] ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#efefef</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tab</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Background</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Colour</span><span class="hl-code"> \| [</span><span class="hl-identifier">HOVER</span><span class="hl-code">] ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code">, /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Listitem</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Modifier</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">relative</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-grow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-bottom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">align-items:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">justify-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">li</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.35</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.75</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-overflow:</span><span class="hl-code"> ellipsis</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">overflow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">hidden</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">white-space:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">nowrap</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code">, /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Selection</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Modifier</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-grow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">Tab</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Background</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Colour</span><span class="hl-code"> \| [</span><span class="hl-identifier">SELECTED</span><span class="hl-code">] ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:focus</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.selected</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:active</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffffff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-content</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-navset-top</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.yui-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">WORDS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">NO</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">BROKEY</span><span class="hl-code">. </span><span class="hl-identifier">CROQ</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">HAS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">SPOKEY</span><span class="hl-code">. </span><span class="hl-identifier">and</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">other</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">things</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">word-break:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">normal</span><span class="hl-code"> !important </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.avatar-hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Dustjacket</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Assets</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fancyhr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">hr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">vw </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--bright-accent), </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-source:</span><span class="hl-code"> url('https://wanderers-library.wikidot.com/local--files/component:dustjacket-theme/wl_hr.png')</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-repeat:</span><span class="hl-code"> round round</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-slice:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">500</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">500</span><span class="hl-code"> fill</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fancyborder</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-sizing:</span><span class="hl-code"> border-box</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">vw </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> url('https://wanderers-library.wikidot.com/local--files/component:dustjacket-theme/wl_border.png') </span><span class="hl-number">600</span><span class="hl-code"> round</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-image-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">vw</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Collapsibles</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">underline</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-special">:not</span><span class="hl-code">(</span><span class="hl-identifier">.licensebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.default-col</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">white</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">7</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--base-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inset</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inline-block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-special">:not</span><span class="hl-code">(</span><span class="hl-identifier">.licensebox</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.info-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.default-col</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a.collapsible-block-link</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--accent), </span><span class="hl-number">0.7</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">ACS</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Adjustments</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">.top-left-box</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">.item</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anom-bar-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anom-bar-container</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anom-bar-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), Inter, </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.acs-extra-1</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.acs-extra-2</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.acs-extra-3</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.acs-extra-4</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), Inter, </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.anom-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">.top-box</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">CONTENT</span><span class="hl-code"> > </span><span class="hl-identifier">Woed</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">Adjustments</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.item1</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">uppercase</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">letter-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.class1</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.9</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">letter-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> --</span><span class="hl-reserved">woedbar-class-bar-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.obj</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.7</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.scale</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.obj</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.55</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MISC</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">hr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.bt</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#footer</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#444</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">45</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#footer</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#7b7b7b</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.footer-wikiwalk-nav</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">700</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">88</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">word-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-info-break</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-options-container</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">213</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">213</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">213</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-watch-options</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.6</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">77</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-options-bottom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> flex</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-direction:</span><span class="hl-code"> row</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">flex-wrap:</span><span class="hl-code"> wrap</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">align-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">justify-content:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-options-bottom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">13</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">13</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-decoration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom-left-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom-right-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-options-bottom</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--accent), </span><span class="hl-number">0.8</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-info-break</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#license-area</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#5f5f5f</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ecf2f1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#d9d9d9</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#license-area</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> "."</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (min-width: 768</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">16</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> "tags "</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--misc-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font-size)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">inline-block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.8125</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.75</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.1875</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.3125</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.1875</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom-right-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top-right-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">13</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.8125</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> calc(var(--page-font-size) - </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">.1875</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">.625</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.0625</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.1875</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code"> rgb(var(--accent)) </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-style:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> ""</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">position:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">relative</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">float:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">left</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.25</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.2813</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">left:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.125</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-tags</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">span</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-tags-input</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">word-spacing:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.text</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font), </span><span class="hl-string">sans-serif</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">150</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-form</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">table.form</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">tbody</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">td</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(1) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.edit-help-34</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">85</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">60</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> fit-content</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.edit-help-34</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.edit-help-34</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">10</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">table.edit-page-bottomtable</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-comments</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">86</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#lock-info</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.8</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">86</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#lock-info</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> "!"</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">12</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">110</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">60</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#lock-timer</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">115</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">5</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#lock-timer</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> "⏲ "</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">80</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">textarea</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.text</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">outline:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ccc</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-property:</span><span class="hl-code"> box-shadow</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">textarea</span><span class="hl-special">:focus-visible</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-page-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.text</span><span class="hl-special">:focus-visible</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#a3a3a3</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#a3a3a3</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#action-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">p</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">85</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> darkslategrey</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#action-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">p</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(5)></span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">120</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#who-rated-page-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">column-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 900</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#who-rated-page-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">column-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 700</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#who-rated-page-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">column-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 540</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#who-rated-page-area</span><span class="hl-code">></span><span class="hl-identifier">div</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">column-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#page-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.content-warning.creditRate</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">21</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.preview-message</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> unset</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.9</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">29</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">z-index:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">100</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">filter:</span><span class="hl-code"> drop-shadow(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">))</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#EDEDED</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.error-block</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">255</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">48</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#B00</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top-left-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top-right-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">6</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">table.page-history</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tbody</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(2</span><span class="hl-identifier">n</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(var(--accent), </span><span class="hl-number">0.05</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">animation:</span><span class="hl-code"> fade </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@keyframes</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">fade</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> 0% </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> 100% </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">opacity:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.button-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.1</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">11</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.button-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--link-hover-txt-color)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.button-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.table</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.title</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">cursor:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">default</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--head-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">800</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">155</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">text-align:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">center</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">187</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">187</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">187</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#F7F7F7</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow.owait</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-image:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow.owait</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.content</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">content:</span><span class="hl-code"> " "</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">display:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">block</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> -</span><span class="hl-number">0.9</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">auto</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">animation:</span><span class="hl-code"> loading </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-code">s linear infinite</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> grey</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-bottom:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> grey</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-left:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.4</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">transparent</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">50</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@keyframes</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">loading</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> 0% </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> rotate(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">deg)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> 100% </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transform:</span><span class="hl-code"> rotate(</span><span class="hl-number">360</span><span class="hl-code">deg)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow.osuccess</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.owindow</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.content</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(2)></span><span class="hl-identifier">img</span><span class="hl-special">:nth-child</span><span class="hl-code">(1) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-right:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.odialog-shader</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#262a39</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.btn</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.15</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.btn</span><span class="hl-special">:not</span><span class="hl-code">(</span><span class="hl-identifier">#main-content</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.btn</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-quotes">"</span><span class="hl-string">submit</span><span class="hl-quotes">"</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code">), </span><span class="hl-identifier">.btn.btn-primary</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">div.buttons</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.button</span><span class="hl-special">:not</span><span class="hl-code">(</span><span class="hl-identifier">#search-top-box-form</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-brackets">[</span><span class="hl-var">type</span><span class="hl-code">=</span><span class="hl-quotes">"</span><span class="hl-string">submit</span><span class="hl-quotes">"</span><span class="hl-brackets">]</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">11</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">cursor:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">pointer</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-cancel-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-diff-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-preview-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-draft-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-continue-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ccc</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">cursor:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">pointer</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#333</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem </span><span class="hl-number">14</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border-radius:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-cancel-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-diff-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-preview-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-draft-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-continue-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background-color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#eaeaea</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-continue-button</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#dbffd6</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#005a0a</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-continue-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-save-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#0d951c</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-cancel-button</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#ffe1e1</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">s</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#c52727</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#edit-cancel-button</span><span class="hl-special">:hover</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#fff</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#c5272e</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">table.page-history</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tbody</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">tr</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">color:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#757575</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fncon</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font-size) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">line-height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">2</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">solid</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.fncon</span><span class="hl-code">:</span><span class="hl-special">:before</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--page-font-size) !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">.hovertip</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">border:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">none</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">box-shadow:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">4</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code"> rgba(</span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-number">0.2</span><span class="hl-code">)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">background:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">#FFF</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">padding:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">3</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">max-width:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">400</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input.checkbox</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.page-history</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#h-perpage</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">cursor:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">pointer</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">input</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">textarea</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#breadcrumbs</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">.pseudocrumbs</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-weight:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-string">bold</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">110</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-family:</span><span class="hl-code"> var(--ui-font)</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier">REDUCED</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">MOTION</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">ACCESSIBILITY</span><span class="hl-code"> ---- </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (prefers-reduced-motion: </span><span class="hl-identifier">reduce</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">before</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">::</span><span class="hl-identifier">after</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">animation-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.001</span><span class="hl-code">s !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">animation-iteration-count:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-code"> !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">transition-duration:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">.001</span><span class="hl-code">s !important</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> /</span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-var">@MEDIA</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier"></span><span class="hl-code">/ </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 850</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">h2:</span><span class="hl-code">:before { font-size: </span><span class="hl-number">1.4</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> } </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 700</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">h2:</span><span class="hl-code">:before { font-size: </span><span class="hl-number">1.2</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8.8</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> } </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 620</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">h2:</span><span class="hl-code">:before { font-size: </span><span class="hl-number">1</span><span class="hl-string">em</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.15</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">8.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">font-size:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">90</span><span class="hl-string">%</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">123</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> } </span><span class="hl-var">@media</span><span class="hl-code"> (max-width: 520</span><span class="hl-identifier">px</span><span class="hl-code">) </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">h2:</span><span class="hl-code">:before { line-height: </span><span class="hl-number">16</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-reserved">margin-top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">0.5</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code">, </span><span class="hl-identifier">#top-bar</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">a</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">top:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">9.3</span><span class="hl-code">rem</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-identifier">div#header</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-brackets">{</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-reserved">height:</span><span class="hl-code"> </span><span class="hl-number">145</span><span class="hl-string">px</span><span class="hl-code">; </span><span class="hl-brackets">}</span><span class="hl-code"> }</span></pre></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="info-container"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <div> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Nothing.</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;">written by <em>cubeflix</em></p> <hr/> <p>Image Credits:<br/> cloud.png is from <a href="https://pixabay.com/illustrations/cloud-isolated-cumulus-transparent-2421760/">https://pixabay.com/illustrations/cloud-isolated-cumulus-transparent-2421760/</a></p> </div> <hr/> <div id="u-author_block"> <p style="text-align: center;">[{$authorPage} ▸ More by this Author ◂]</p> </div> <hr/> <div id="u-comments2" style="display: none;"> <p>{$comments2}</p> </div> <div class="u-faq"> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:info-ayers">F.A.Q.</a></p> </div> <div style="display: none;"> <p>{$doesthisfixthebug}</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <p>There is a hole in Containment Chamber 22-C.</p> <p>Well, no. A hole implies that there’s something surrounding it. A hole is defined as an opening to something else. This? This is nothing. This is an absence.</p> <p>And inside the absence is a woman.</p> <p>She is a woman not so much in that she possesses a physical form, but that she exists. She is real. Perhaps at one point, she was someone important. Perhaps she had a mother or a father. Perhaps there was someone she used to love. But it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that she is here. She is the only thing in the absence— if it can even be said to exist at all.</p> <p>It’s quiet.</p> <p>And within the hole, she sees a light. It is dim, slightly glowing, slightly warm, attempting to illuminate its blank surroundings but continually failing. Like a moth to a light, like a ship to a beacon, she moves closer to it. <em>Is it a light?</em> She thinks. <em>No, it must be a person. Yes, a person.</em></p> <p>She sees it take shape in the surrounding inky void, visible not in the space it takes up, but in that which it does <em>not</em>. It stands perfectly still. And just as she begins to make out its figure, see its features, ascribe an identity onto it— the person begins to change.</p> <p>The changes are slow at first, but then they begin to quicken. Her imagination races. Like a flickering film reel, its appearance swaps between different faces she at one point might have been able to recognize. Ones that at one point she might have known. An elderly woman gazing at her with tender eyes. A stern-faced man in a lab coat. A young boy, laughing blissfully. A crying child.</p> <p>There is no he, no she, no they. Just <em>it</em>. An infinite amalgam of possibility and personality.</p> <p>The figure waves. She waves back.</p> <p>Around her, in the empty expanse, a sky begins to form. Warm blue tones envelop her like a hot shower on a cold winter day. Colors enter her retinas, brightening the figure, nearly overwhelming her in a cascade of possibility and comfort as the sky-blue tones fill her surroundings. A shade of light cyan forming a gradient into a pale celeste. And yet, it is still silent.</p> <p>Is she imagining this? Perhaps it’s just an illusion envisioned by the void. <em>Why?</em> To trick her? To deceive her? The presumption that the void can think implies that the void exists. That it <em>is</em>. But there is nothing here, that she knows for certain. It is only her.</p> <p>It is only her and her mind.</p> <p>She does not dwell on this thought for long, however, as just at her feet, an off-white cloud begins to form. It is small at first, but soon it expands until it has become large enough for her to comfortably lie down on. Silky white folds, soft as cotton, grow and expand like flower bulbs, as each tuft of soft cloud produces dozens more. And as if the strange little world around her knows exactly what she is thinking, a plain red lawn chair forms behind her.</p> <p><em>Did it form? Or was it there the whole time?</em> She thinks. Certainly it wasn’t there when she last looked, but some part of her, some innate fragment of her subconscious tells her that it always was there, as long has she had ever imagined it.</p> <p>But before she can reach a reasonable conclusion, she notices the figure sitting in an identical lawn chair on the other side of the cloud. Its legs are crossed. It beckons her to sit down. She does.</p> <p>As she sits, she watches curiously as the figure’s form continues to swap endlessly before her eyes. She sees a handsome man, sitting in a suit. She sees a timid-looking short-haired woman, holding a book. At one point, she swears she even sees a dog. A thought nags at her mind. And eventually, its form lands on a small freckled boy, his face obscured by hair. She looks at him. He looks back at her. As he does, his hair briefly recedes from his face, and for the first time, she can finally see his eyes.</p> <p>They’re vaguely familiar.</p> <p>Perhaps she’s seen them before. Perhaps at one point she saw them in monochrome blinking in an ultrasound. Perhaps at one point she saw them smiling up at her from a crib. Perhaps at one point she’d kissed him goodnight. Perhaps at one point there was sirens and flashing lights and sobbing and a beeping monitor—</p> <p>But before she can continue her train of thought, he speaks.</p> <p>“I love you, Mom.”</p> <p>She knows that he is not real. She knows that she is the only thing inside this nothingness. She knows that all she sees are the results of hundreds of trillions of synaptic connections attempting to find patterns in something that has no patterns at all. She saw faces in the clouds and they came to life.</p> <p>But what surprises her is the fact that she does not feel troubled by this certitude. Not at all. No, it is as real as she imagines it to be. And that is all that matters.</p> <p>She smiles.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img alt="cloud.png" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/nothing/cloud.png"/></p> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:foxtrot">:scp-wiki:theme:foxtrot</a> dark=a]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:info-ayers">:scp-wiki:component:info-ayers</a> \|lang=en \|page=Nothing. \|authorPage= \|comments= = Nothing. = written by //cubeflix// ----- Image Credits: cloud.png is from https://pixabay.com/illustrations/cloud-isolated-cumulus-transparent-2421760/ ]] [[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] There is a hole in Containment Chamber 22-C. Well, no. A hole implies that there’s something surrounding it. A hole is defined as an opening to something else. This? This is nothing. This is an absence. And inside the absence is a woman. She is a woman not so much in that she possesses a physical form, but that she exists. She is real. Perhaps at one point, she was someone important. Perhaps she had a mother or a father. Perhaps there was someone she used to love. But it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that she is here. She is the only thing in the absence-- if it can even be said to exist at all. It’s quiet. And within the hole, she sees a light. It is dim, slightly glowing, slightly warm, attempting to illuminate its blank surroundings but continually failing. Like a moth to a light, like a ship to a beacon, she moves closer to it. //Is it a light?// She thinks. //No, it must be a person. Yes, a person.// She sees it take shape in the surrounding inky void, visible not in the space it takes up, but in that which it does //not//. It stands perfectly still. And just as she begins to make out its figure, see its features, ascribe an identity onto it-- the person begins to change. The changes are slow at first, but then they begin to quicken. Her imagination races. Like a flickering film reel, its appearance swaps between different faces she at one point might have been able to recognize. Ones that at one point she might have known. An elderly woman gazing at her with tender eyes. A stern-faced man in a lab coat. A young boy, laughing blissfully. A crying child. There is no he, no she, no they. Just //it//. An infinite amalgam of possibility and personality. The figure waves. She waves back. Around her, in the empty expanse, a sky begins to form. Warm blue tones envelop her like a hot shower on a cold winter day. Colors enter her retinas, brightening the figure, nearly overwhelming her in a cascade of possibility and comfort as the sky-blue tones fill her surroundings. A shade of light cyan forming a gradient into a pale celeste. And yet, it is still silent. Is she imagining this? Perhaps it’s just an illusion envisioned by the void. //Why?// To trick her? To deceive her? The presumption that the void can think implies that the void exists. That it //is//. But there is nothing here, that she knows for certain. It is only her. It is only her and her mind. She does not dwell on this thought for long, however, as just at her feet, an off-white cloud begins to form. It is small at first, but soon it expands until it has become large enough for her to comfortably lie down on. Silky white folds, soft as cotton, grow and expand like flower bulbs, as each tuft of soft cloud produces dozens more. And as if the strange little world around her knows exactly what she is thinking, a plain red lawn chair forms behind her. //Did it form? Or was it there the whole time?// She thinks. Certainly it wasn’t there when she last looked, but some part of her, some innate fragment of her subconscious tells her that it always was there, as long has she had ever imagined it. But before she can reach a reasonable conclusion, she notices the figure sitting in an identical lawn chair on the other side of the cloud. Its legs are crossed. It beckons her to sit down. She does. As she sits, she watches curiously as the figure’s form continues to swap endlessly before her eyes. She sees a handsome man, sitting in a suit. She sees a timid-looking short-haired woman, holding a book. At one point, she swears she even sees a dog. A thought nags at her mind. And eventually, its form lands on a small freckled boy, his face obscured by hair. She looks at him. He looks back at her. As he does, his hair briefly recedes from his face, and for the first time, she can finally see his eyes. They’re vaguely familiar. Perhaps she’s seen them before. Perhaps at one point she saw them in monochrome blinking in an ultrasound. Perhaps at one point she saw them smiling up at her from a crib. Perhaps at one point she’d kissed him goodnight. Perhaps at one point there was sirens and flashing lights and sobbing and a beeping monitor-- But before she can continue her train of thought, he speaks. “I love you, Mom.” She knows that he is not real. She knows that she is the only thing inside this nothingness. She knows that all she sees are the results of hundreds of trillions of synaptic connections attempting to find patterns in something that has no patterns at all. She saw faces in the clouds and they came to life. But what surprises her is the fact that she does not feel troubled by this certitude. Not at all. No, it is as real as she imagines it to be. And that is all that matters. She smiles. = [[image cloud.png]]	2023-06-01T22:28:00	[ "_cc", "tale" ]	Nothing. - SCP Foundation	30	[ "component:info-ayers" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "revamped-underread-and-underrated" ]	[ "https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/nothing/cloud.png" ]	1447983030	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/nothing
nullvoid	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=4&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/component%3Abhl-dark-sidebar/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=4&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/component%3Abhl-dark-sidebar/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=3&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Aswirling-ashes/2&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <div class="danke robot"> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: oldlace"><strong>FOUNDATION REMOTE SURVEILLANCE DRONE (SCP-RSU) 019-32R</strong></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: oldlace"><em>scipnetOS v2087.1a</em></span></p> <hr/> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> Motion sensors activated. Beginning boot sequence.<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> Running system diagnostic…</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> <span style="color: orange"><strong>ALERT:</strong></span> Movement impaired. Rear propeller missing.<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> <span style="color: orange"><strong>ALERT:</strong></span> Hull integrity impaired. Rear armor plating missing.</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> <span style="color: orange"><strong>ALERT:</strong></span> Surveillance impaired. Primary camera out of alignment. Switching to secondary.<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> <span style="color: orange"><strong>ALERT:</strong></span> Secondary camera not responding.</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> <span style="color: orange"><strong>ALERT:</strong></span> Power systems impaired. Solar cell non-functional. Backup power cell missing.<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> <span style="color: red"><strong>WARNING:</strong></span> Emergency power reserves critical. Seek maintenance immediately.</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> <span style="color: orange"><strong>ALERT:</strong></span> Core data storage corrupted. Switching to primary OS for emergency file storage.</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> <span style="color: orange"><strong>ALERT:</strong></span> Timekeeping systems out of alignment. Readjustment required.<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> Attempting to uplink to a Foundation data beacon…</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> Uplink failed.<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> Attempting to calculate timecode via solar positioning…</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> <span style="color: orange"><strong>ALERT:</strong></span> Could not locate Sun.<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> Attempting to realign primary camera…</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> Primary camera realigned within 86.4% accuracy, considered acceptable.<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> Attempting to calculate timecode via solar positioning…</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> <span style="color: orange"><strong>ALERT:</strong></span> Could not locate Sun.<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> <span style="color: orange"><strong>ALERT:</strong></span> Could not locate Moon.<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> <span style="color: orange"><strong>ALERT:</strong></span> No astronomical points of reference detected.<br/> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> <span style="color: red"><strong>WARNING:</strong></span> External light levels below minimal operating tolerances. Engaging external spotlights.</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> Attempting to calculate timecode via referencing onboard dormancy clock…</p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> Timecode calculated as <strong>0400, 31-May-2454</strong>. Margin of error is 15.24 hours, considered acceptable.</p> <p><strong>0401</strong> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> Beginning external recording…<br/> <strong>0401</strong> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> Manual monitoring unavailable. Switching to AI transcription…</p> </div> <hr/> <div class="blockquote" style="border-radius: 10px; margin: 10px"> <p><strong>SCP-RSU 019-32R, Primary Camera:</strong></p> <p><strong>Date:</strong> 31-May-2454</p> <p><strong>Summary:</strong> The entirety of the 5 minute recording depicts a half-crumbled tree trunk stained with an unidentified blue substance, covered in an uncountable number of bite marks apparently caused by human teeth. It is illuminated by the drone's spotlights, taking up the left half of the shot. The camera is tilted to the left at a 25-degree angle, indicating the drone has landed improperly due to sustained damage.</p> <p>The right half of the shot is fully black due to the lack of light or observable landmarks. Movement is detected on the edge of shot in the opening frames of the recording, moving out of view, but does not reoccur.</p> <p>The center of the shot is taken up by a sheet of paper, leant against the tree trunk and positioned to be fully visible on-camera. The sheet is entirely filled with crude handwriting, semi-legible and varying heavily in size. An AI-assisted transcript is attached below.</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Transcript 019-32R-0001:</strong></p> <p>erth berning terning lerning cherning <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">waking</span> reterning <strong>[illegible]</strong> wurlds in storys in wrlds in storybuk reed a buk</p> <p>itum # - <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">esseepis</span> gock nyne <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">nyne nyn nyne</span> wan free</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: line-through;">obsh odj object ogje</span> objakt klas - <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">kader</span> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">aboliyon</span> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">kadur</span> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">abiliyon</span> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">kedar</span> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">aboliyan</span> <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">kadar</span> aboliyon</p> <p>speshal cantaenmant prosseedurs - <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">keep it in the boks keep it in the boks keep it in the boks keep it in the boks keep it in the boks keep it in the boks keep it in the boks keep it in the boks keep it in the boks</span> no boks its a <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">gock</span> gone thing its <strong>[illegible]</strong> THEY GONED IT</p> <p>wurlds in storys wurlds broekn hevns eye iz gon no lite no lite no lite no lite NO LITE NO LITE</p> <p>duskrapshon - wurld wrld world world eltee ee eggs maakina stranges come always no stop alweys <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">never</span> alweys <strong>[illegible]</strong></p> <p>adenndam - GNAWING</p> <p>dark and blu and derk an blue and <strong>[REDACTED - Foundation infohazard detected]</strong></p> <p>not seying eyes oben</p> <p><strong>[The remainder of the page consists of the word 'warren' repeated over and over in various misspelt permutations, growing increasingly illegible until it is entirely unreadable.]</strong></p> </div> <hr/> <div class="danke robot"> <p><strong>0406</strong> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> Data compiled. Preparing for transmission to Foundation Drone Control…<br/> <strong>0406</strong> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> Attempting to uplink to a Foundation local secure network…</p> <p><strong>0414</strong> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> <span style="color: orange"><strong>ALERT:</strong></span> Could not locate Site-44 network.<br/> <strong>0422</strong> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> <span style="color: orange"><strong>ALERT:</strong></span> Could not locate Site-12 network.<br/> <strong>0430</strong> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> <span style="color: orange"><strong>ALERT:</strong></span> Could not locate Site-91 network.<br/> <strong>0438</strong> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> <span style="color: orange"><strong>ALERT:</strong></span> Could not locate Site-400 network.<br/> <strong>0439</strong> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> K-Class scenario has 51.7% probability. Switching to Foundation continental emergency response network per Protocol RSU-77…</p> <p><strong>0459</strong> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> <span style="color: orange"><strong>ALERT:</strong></span> Could not locate Site-77 emergency network.<br/> <strong>0500</strong> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> K-Class scenario has 72.3% probability. Switching to Foundation global alert network per Protocol RSU-19…</p> <p><strong>0542</strong> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> <span style="color: red"><strong>WARNING:</strong></span> Could not locate SCP-K1 [Site-19] emergency network.<br/> <strong>0543</strong> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> K-Class scenario has 78.5% probability. Switching to Foundation Overwatch restricted channel per Protocol RSU-5…</p> <p><strong>0635</strong> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> <span style="color: red"><strong>WARNING:</strong></span> Could not locate SCP-O5 [Protected Site-01] restricted network.<br/> <strong>0636</strong> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> K-Class scenario has 83.6% probability. Switching to Site-θ observation channel per Protocol 2000-Ganymede…</p> <p><strong>0745</strong> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> <span style="color: red"><strong>WARNING:</strong></span> Could not locate Ganymede [Site-θ] monitoring network.<br/> <strong>0746</strong> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> K-Class scenario has 97.4% probability, considered certain. Terminating uplink.</p> <p><strong>0746</strong> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> Saving collected data to deep storage for long-term retrieval…<br/> <strong>0749</strong> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> Data sav3d.</p> <p><strong>o750</strong> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">></span> Preparing to en1er sur<em>v</em>eill<em>a</em>n<strong>C3</strong> <strong>m</strong>0<span style="color: red"><strong>WaRN1NG:</strong></span> em3Rgen39y pθwer 7eseerves critic11. S3k mAintn4nc imMdiat373nfY8jfjW3jdh98u8fty duh8yd8hy3hf89hdh8g38 74893376561901011001011001110</p> <hr/> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: orange"><strong>SCP-RSU 019-32R has experienc3d an OS fault due to insufficient resource alloCation caused by:</strong></span> <strong><span style="color: red">"1mpaired Power SupPly"</span></strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #dddd77"><strong>SHUTTING D0WN TO ATTEmPT PRESERVATION OF COR3 DATA</strong></span></p> </div> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/nullvoid">Nullvoid</a>" by Wixelt, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/nullvoid">https://scpwiki.com/nullvoid</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:black-highlighter-theme">:scp-wiki:theme:black-highlighter-theme</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:bhl-dark-sidebar">:scp-wiki:component:bhl-dark-sidebar</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:swirling-ashes">:scp-wiki:theme:swirling-ashes</a>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:fade-in">:scp-wiki:component:fade-in</a> speed=1]] [[module css]] .danke { padding: 5px; margin-bottom:10px; font-family: monospace; font-size: 1.1em; } .robot{ background-color:#002220; border: 3px solid #55aaa7; color: #8ce6e4; } div#page-title::after { content: "by Wixelt"; font-size: 40%; color: #888; background: none; } div#page-title { border-bottom: 1px solid #000; padding-bottom: 0.2em; } [[/module]] [[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[div class="danke robot"]] = ##oldlace\|FOUNDATION REMOTE SURVEILLANCE DRONE (SCP-RSU) 019-32R## = ##oldlace\|//scipnetOS v2087.1a//## ---- @@>@@ Motion sensors activated. Beginning boot sequence. @@>@@ Running system diagnostic... @@>@@ ##orange\|ALERT:## Movement impaired. Rear propeller missing. @@>@@ ##orange\|ALERT:## Hull integrity impaired. Rear armor plating missing. @@>@@ ##orange\|ALERT:## Surveillance impaired. Primary camera out of alignment. Switching to secondary. @@>@@ ##orange\|ALERT:## Secondary camera not responding. @@>@@ ##orange\|ALERT:## Power systems impaired. Solar cell non-functional. Backup power cell missing. @@>@@ ##red\|WARNING:## Emergency power reserves critical. Seek maintenance immediately. @@>@@ ##orange\|ALERT:## Core data storage corrupted. Switching to primary OS for emergency file storage. @@>@@ ##orange\|ALERT:## Timekeeping systems out of alignment. Readjustment required. @@>@@ Attempting to uplink to a Foundation data beacon... @@>@@ Uplink failed. @@>@@ Attempting to calculate timecode via solar positioning... @@>@@ ##orange\|ALERT:## Could not locate Sun. @@>@@ Attempting to realign primary camera... @@>@@ Primary camera realigned within 86.4% accuracy, considered acceptable. @@>@@ Attempting to calculate timecode via solar positioning... @@>@@ ##orange\|ALERT:## Could not locate Sun. @@>@@ ##orange\|ALERT:## Could not locate Moon. @@>@@ ##orange\|ALERT:## No astronomical points of reference detected. @@>@@ ##red\|WARNING:## External light levels below minimal operating tolerances. Engaging external spotlights. @@>@@ Attempting to calculate timecode via referencing onboard dormancy clock... @@>@@ Timecode calculated as 0400, 31-May-2454. Margin of error is 15.24 hours, considered acceptable. 0401 @@>@@ Beginning external recording... 0401 @@>@@ Manual monitoring unavailable. Switching to AI transcription... [[/div]] ----- [[div class="blockquote" style="border-radius: 10px; margin: 10px"]] SCP-RSU 019-32R, Primary Camera: Date: 31-May-2454 Summary: The entirety of the 5 minute recording depicts a half-crumbled tree trunk stained with an unidentified blue substance, covered in an uncountable number of bite marks apparently caused by human teeth. It is illuminated by the drone's spotlights, taking up the left half of the shot. The camera is tilted to the left at a 25-degree angle, indicating the drone has landed improperly due to sustained damage. The right half of the shot is fully black due to the lack of light or observable landmarks. Movement is detected on the edge of shot in the opening frames of the recording, moving out of view, but does not reoccur. The center of the shot is taken up by a sheet of paper, leant against the tree trunk and positioned to be fully visible on-camera. The sheet is entirely filled with crude handwriting, semi-legible and varying heavily in size. An AI-assisted transcript is attached below. ----- Transcript 019-32R-0001: erth berning terning lerning cherning --waking-- reterning [illegible] wurlds in storys in wrlds in storybuk reed a buk itum # - --esseepis-- gock nyne --nyne nyn nyne-- wan free --obsh odj object ogje-- objakt klas - --kader-- --aboliyon-- --kadur-- --abiliyon-- --kedar-- --aboliyan-- --kadar-- aboliyon speshal cantaenmant prosseedurs - --keep it in the boks keep it in the boks keep it in the boks keep it in the boks keep it in the boks keep it in the boks keep it in the boks keep it in the boks keep it in the boks-- no boks its a --gock-- gone thing its [illegible] THEY GONED IT wurlds in storys wurlds broekn hevns eye iz gon no lite no lite no lite no lite NO LITE NO LITE duskrapshon - wurld wrld world world eltee ee eggs maakina stranges come always no stop alweys --never-- alweys [illegible] adenndam - GNAWING dark and blu and derk an blue and [REDACTED - Foundation infohazard detected] not seying eyes oben [The remainder of the page consists of the word 'warren' repeated over and over in various misspelt permutations, growing increasingly illegible until it is entirely unreadable.] [[/div]] ----- [[div class="danke robot"]] 0406 @@>@@ Data compiled. Preparing for transmission to Foundation Drone Control... 0406 @@>@@ Attempting to uplink to a Foundation local secure network... 0414 @@>@@ ##orange\|ALERT:## Could not locate Site-44 network. 0422 @@>@@ ##orange\|ALERT:## Could not locate Site-12 network. 0430 @@>@@ ##orange\|ALERT:## Could not locate Site-91 network. 0438 @@>@@ ##orange\|ALERT:## Could not locate Site-400 network. 0439 @@>@@ K-Class scenario has 51.7% probability. Switching to Foundation continental emergency response network per Protocol RSU-77... 0459 @@>@@ ##orange\|ALERT:## Could not locate Site-77 emergency network. 0500 @@>@@ K-Class scenario has 72.3% probability. Switching to Foundation global alert network per Protocol RSU-19... 0542 @@>@@ ##red\|WARNING:## Could not locate SCP-K1 [Site-19] emergency network. 0543 @@>@@ K-Class scenario has 78.5% probability. Switching to Foundation Overwatch restricted channel per Protocol RSU-5... 0635 @@>@@ ##red\|WARNING:## Could not locate SCP-O5 [Protected Site-01] restricted network. 0636 @@>@@ K-Class scenario has 83.6% probability. Switching to Site-θ observation channel per Protocol 2000-Ganymede... 0745 @@>@@ ##red\|WARNING:## Could not locate Ganymede [Site-θ] monitoring network. 0746 @@>@@ K-Class scenario has 97.4% probability, considered certain. Terminating uplink. 0746 @@>@@ Saving collected data to deep storage for long-term retrieval... 0749 @@>@@ Data sav3d. o750 @@>@@ Preparing to en1er sur//v//eill//a//nC3 m0##red\|WaRN1NG:## em3Rgen39y pθwer 7eseerves critic11. S3k mAintn4nc imMdiat373nfY8jfjW3jdh98u8fty duh8yd8hy3hf89hdh8g38 74893376561901011001011001110 ---- = ##orange\|SCP-RSU 019-32R has experienc3d an OS fault due to insufficient resource alloCation caused by:## ##red\|"1mpaired Power SupPly"## = ###DDDD77\|SHUTTING D0WN TO ATTEmPT PRESERVATION OF COR3 DATA## [[/div]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a> \|author=Wixelt]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]]	2023-06-06T07:02:00	[ "_licensebox", "rats-nest", "tale" ]	Nullvoid - SCP Foundation	14	[ "component:license-box", "licensing-guide" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "rat-s-nest-hub" ]	[]	1448298595	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/nullvoid
nx-02	<html><body><div id="page-content"> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=1&theme=https://cdn.scpwiki.com/theme/en/basalt/normalize-min.css&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=2&theme=https://cdn.scpwiki.com/theme/en/basalt/basalt-bedrock-min.css&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=3&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Abasalt/1&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <p><iframe src="//interwiki.scpwiki.com/styleFrame.html?priority=1&theme=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--code/theme%3Aturbo-vision/2&css={$css}" style="display: none"></iframe></p> <div class="authorlink-wrapper"><a href="javascript:;">ArthCymro</a> <div class="authorbox"> <div class="authorcontent"> <p><strong><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/dr-dafydd-s-personnel-file">More by this Author</a></strong></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="pseudocrumbs"> <p><a href="/foundation-tales">Tales Hub</a> » <a href="/series-archive">Series Archive</a> » <a href="/nexus-series">Nexus Series</a> » Nx-02</p> </div> <div class="pseudocrumbs"> <p><a href="/locations-of-interest">Locations of Interest</a> » Nx-02</p> </div> <p><strong>Nexus #:</strong> Nx-02</p> <p><strong>Civilian Designation:</strong> Annwn (Formerly Avalon)<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-1" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-1')">1</a></sup></p> <p><strong>Population:</strong> Unknown</p> <p><strong>Area Class:</strong> Camelot</p> <div class="scp-image-block block-right" style="width:500px;"><a href="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/nx-02/arawn.jpeg"><img alt="arawn.jpeg" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--resized-images/nx-02/arawn.jpeg/medium.jpg"/></a> <div class="scp-image-caption"> <p>Nx-02, as depicted by a Foundation sketch artist subjected to SCP-6916.</p> </div> </div> <p><strong>Nexus Interaction Protocol:</strong> Due to the Foundations' revoked access to Nx-02, interaction protocols are to focus on disinformation campaigns, civilian redirection, and historical analysis. Anomalies relating to Nx-02 have had their containment procedures reevaluated and altered to support these interaction protocols. If individual/s successfully access Nx-02, they are to be retrieved as soon as possible and subjected to an interview and amnestic and oneirological treatment.</p> <p>Access and traversal into Nx-02 by Foundation personnel is to remain a high priority, to prevent an LV-Zero "Lifted Veil" scenario.</p> <p><strong>Containment Facility:</strong> <a href="/secure-facility-dossier-site-12">Site-12</a></p> <p><strong>Description:</strong> Nx-02 is an island located within a partially extradimensional space, accessible from any coastline within the British Isle and Northern France. To date, the only known way of accessing Nx-02 is to apply a Newman-Hyatt Key<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-2" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-2')">2</a></sup>, following subjection to a specific oneirological and mnesiological <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-6916">triggers</a>. When applied, individuals are able to walk to Nx-02 via a causeway connecting its coastlines with that of the mainland. This access can be revoked and those who attempt to reach Nx-02 with revoked access will be subjected to translocation and be redirected back to the point of perpetration.</p> <p>As of this documentation, it is believed that Nx-02 is not inhabited by any living denizen. However, Nx-02 is home to several spectral entities, consisting mostly of canine, cervine and avian animals. Ruins and landmarks found on Nx-02 do suggest that the island was once inhabited. This theory has been further corroborated by the cadavers scattered across the island. These remains include both humans<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-3" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-3')">3</a></sup> and members of the anomalous hominid subspecies <em>homo sapiens tumuli</em> and <em>homo sapiens sidhe</em>.</p> <div class="document"> <p><strong>Homo Sapiens Tumuli</strong>: Colloquially known as Tuatha Dé Danann or Tuatha. Before 1988, they were a thriving populous, inhabiting <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/nx-03">Nx-03</a> and Ireland. However, since then, their numbers have dwindled significantly, with most now inhabiting the Free Ports. Physiological differences include tapered ears, irises large enough to obscure the sclera, longer lifespans, prominence of black and red hair pigmentation, and a moderate allergy to iron and silver.</p> <p><strong>Homo Sapiens Sidhe</strong>: Colloquially as Fae, Gwyllion, Sidhe, Tylwyth Teg, Aos sí, or Fair Folk. Due to current and historical animosity between them and other hominid subspecies, the current population's size and habitation are unknown. However, a small demographic has been reported inhabiting Three Portlands. Physiological differences include tapered ears, light green pigmented sclera, longer lifespans, prominence of green, purple, and white hair pigmentation, petal-like wing with glassy texture, and a severe allergy to iron and silver.</p> <p><em>Due to shared physiological traits and natural affinity with thaumaturgy, homo sapiens tumuli and homo sapiens sidhe are often mistaken and misidentified for one another.</em></p> <h5 id="toc0"><span>- Prof. Saifur. L. Otters (1994). Thaumic Evolution: The Secret Miracles of Modern Biology</span></h5> </div> <p>The majority of the botanical life on the island is non-anomalous, with the exception of the species <em><a href="/anomaly-306-the-silver-alder">Alnus argentum</a></em>. Due to their silver and iron-rich xylem, these trees give Nx-02 various thaumactive saddle points<sup class="footnoteref"><a class="footnoteref" href="javascript:;" id="footnoteref-4" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnote-4')">4</a></sup>. Ignoring this, when alive, the fibres of the trees have properties identical to that of non-anomalous trees. Although, when chopped and dried, the wood's properties alter to be similar to that of steel.</p> <p>The island, as well as the space itself, appear to be under the direct control of a human spectral entity, identifying itself as <em>Arawn ap Carnonos</em>, who claims to be the ruler of the island. The entity has demonstrated numerous thaumaturgical workings, including atmomancy, necromancy, and oneiromancy. Currently, due to differences in goals, relations between the Foundation and Arawn ap Carnonos are strained, with the latter revoking all access to Nx-02 from Foundation personnel.</p> <div class="scp-image-block block-right" style="width:300px;"><a href="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/nx-02/triskelion.jpeg"><img alt="triskelion.jpeg" class="image" src="https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--resized-images/nx-02/triskelion.jpeg/medium.jpg"/></a> <div class="scp-image-caption"> <p>This symbol, known as a triskelion, was found carved into many of the ruins located on the island.</p> </div> </div> <p>Due to a lack of documentation, exploration, and situational miscommunication, the history of Nx-02 is mostly unknown. According to research and interviews conducted by the Global Occult Coalition and Unusual Incidents Unit, Nx-02 was, prior to the 1880s, under Fae governance. As a result of the backlash caused by the Sixth Occult War, Nx-02 underwent destabilisation, resulting in its destruction and a loss of around 14% of the Fae population. Despite the acceptance of these claims by the anomalous community, recent research and uncovered evidence suggest that the claims are historically inaccurate. Whether this negationism is a result of either inaccurate record-keeping or deliberate distortion is yet to be determined.</p> <p>According to recent evidence collated by the Department of History and the Department Of Mythology And Folkloristics, Nx-02 was under human governance up until around 500 AD. It has also been suggested, from several archeologically findings across Northern Europe, that Nx-02 was part of a larger tribal government, named the <em>Mabyn</em>, which had governance over most of Great Britain. At some point, during the Roman invasion of Britain, the Mabyn government collapsed for an unknown reason. During this collapse, Nx-02's control was taken by the Fae and removed from baseline reality. Detailing of the Mabyn's history is ongoing.</p> <hr/> <p><strong>Addendum: Recovered Documents</strong></p> <p>During an expedition into Nx-02 on 06/04/2000, the remains of the <em>Arausio</em>, a clipper used by Her Majesty's Foundation for the Secure Containment of the Paranormal, was discovered. Numerous supplies and documentation were recovered from the boat, including several rubbings, sketches, and notes, created by Second Lieutenant Nathanial Logan. Below is a description of Logan's rubbings:</p> <ol> <li>A tree of unidentifiable species is seen planted in a space. A flow of wind or dust is seen intertwining the tree, with the flow emanating from its branches and leaves. On the ground, several creatures, reptilian in shape, are seen feeding on the tree's roots and flow.</li> <li>The reptilian creatures are seen attacking the tree with their bodies, lightning and fire. A serpent-like creature coils the tree, defending it and retaliating against the attackers. (<em><strong>Notes:</strong> Further described in <a href="/history-of-behemoths">Extinction of Behemoths</a>.</em>)</li> <li>The serpent from the previous image, is seen standing before the tree. Cuts can be seen on its body but its face is serene, encompassed with the flow. The damaged roots depicted in the first image have been replaced with shelves of books, merging with the untainted tree roots.</li> <li>Three humanoid-shaped creatures are seen standing side by side. The middle resembles a standard human. The left possesses tapered ears and petal-shaped protrusions on its back. The right is taller compared to the other two and its upper body is coated in a thick layer of hair. (<em><strong>Notes:</strong> Men, Gwyllion, Na Liath Mòr?</em>)</li> <li>The humans and hairy humanoids are seen exchanging tools and crops. In the clouds above, the petal humanoids can be seen, watching the flow, the humans and hairy humanoids.</li> <li>A group of petal humanoids is seen cleaving the bodies of the reptilian creatures from the first image. Another group of petal humanoids is seen at the base of the tree, inspecting the flow, cutting the roots, and holding stones in their hands. The serpent is seen coiled up in the corner, suggesting a fear of their presence.</li> <li>The humans and hairy humanoids are seen fighting each other. The petal humanoids sit in the clouds, whispering to the two beings below them and growing a small plant.</li> <li>A female, <a href="/scp-8899">human figure</a> is seen holding the plant depicted before and holding it above her. Around her, the hairy humanoids are seen screaming, flowers blooming at their feet. Humans and petal humanoid watch on from the sides.</li> <li>The humans are depicted forging metal, petting canines, conflicting with the petal humanoids, and meeting three hooded figures, who point to the tree and the coiled serpent.</li> <li>Several humans and petal humanoids are seen engaging in warfare. Some of the petal humanoids are seen wearing pelts in the shape of the reptilian creatures seen in the first image. The humans and several canines are seen fighting alongside each other. Some of the humans are shown with increased height.</li> <li>Two islands are seen surrounded by the flow. The left island is depicted with several pillars and towers. The right island is depicted with branching trees.(<em><strong>Notes:</strong> <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/nx-03">Brasil</a> and na nÓg? <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/new">Blackwood</a> will know more.</em>)</li> <li>Two groups of humans are seen standing side by side, with one group possessing tapered ears. Both parties are seen holding weapons but also exchanging parchments, suggesting diplomatic relations. Above them, in the clouds, a single petal humanoid is seen, looking down at the two.</li> </ol> <p>Following the discovery of HMFSCP's involvement and successful expedition into Nx-02, the Foundation was able to uncover further documentation in the Juniper Archive in Site-44. Many of the entries had been foxed or consisted of only a few phrases and drawings. Below are the surviving excerpts of Corporal Idris Berach's diary during his time on Nx-02:</p> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">▷ Diary excerpts of Corporal Berach</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">▽ Diary excerpts of Corporal Berach</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <div class="page"> <p><span style="color: #0b5369">My rations finally ran out today. Given sleep is already painful, I'm not looking forward to starvation adding to my plight. I would eat the fruit here but they're all so strange. I do not wish to grow sick. As they don't appear to need to eat, it's possible what grows is not even edible.<br/> <br/> I've managed to make an appropriate outline of this land. Klaus would've made a more accurate assessment but I would guess this island is at most forty thousand acres. So little of it has been used. Most of the buildings here have faded into ruin. I am yet to find where these creatures even be taking residence. Moreover, I must find out what they are doing here. In the dreams, I saw an invasion. This land was usurped. What for?<br/> <br/> They're worried. Something is scaring them.<br/></span></p> </div> <br/> <div class="page"> <p><span style="color: #0b5369">I was attacked. Whilst exploring a ruin three of them appeared behind me. When I asked for diplomacy, they laughed. They spoke of me like I was a child or a pet. They believed me stupid. One attempted to detain me. They whispered and had the ivy entangle me. Sorcery comes so easily to them. I only managed to escape before it encased me.<br/> <br/> Their wings are spectacular. When aloft, they are able to move with grace and speed, unlike any bird I've seen. I ran for a whole quarter of an hour with them on my tail. They did not tire. They seem to enjoy hunting me.<br/> <br/> I was on the brink of exhaustion when I found this grove. I recognised the trees from the cuttings I saw in the ruins. I thought I could fashion a weapon from the metallic branches. To my surprise, they stopped their chase and refused to approach me. One attempted but was forced back when its skin blistered. Out of anger, I taunted them. They answered in their own language and claimed the grove gave only cover, not protection and I would only end up starving here. They left soon after, promising to return.<br/> <br/> Hunger grows in me but I don't worry. I have found a weakness.<br/></span></p> </div> <br/> <div class="page"> <p><span style="color: #0b5369">The island continues to grant me blessings. I ventured out of the grove today and found in the mudflats a growth of samphire. I haven't wept over food before.<br/> <br/> I've taken to carving myself arms and armour from the tree's bark. Since the creatures find their aura deadly, it is in my best interest to utilise them as much as possible. The material is fascinating.<br/> <br/> Strangely, I haven't dreamt of this place since I got here. Back home, my sleep was plagued with images of this place. Now I am here, I dream of nothing. There is a whispering, however. As if someone is calling out.<br/></span></p> </div> <br/> <div class="page"> <p><span style="color: #0b5369">I awoke in the night to the sound of cannon and gunfire. Walking to the ruins on the eastern hills, I saw a ship in the distance. It was the Arausio. It was fighting the creatures, who were attacking from the heavens. A bell sounded and a storm formed, beached the Arausio. From the wreckage, I saw the creatures remove and bind the crew. One was the Brigadier. Logan and Klaus were there too. Brigadier attempted to communicate with the creatures but their leader rebuffed him and demanded they should be taken to the king.<br/> <br/> I followed the party to a ruin in the mountains. From what I could see, it had once been a fortress. That's when I saw him. The crowned man from my dreams. Chained to the pillars.<br/> <br/> I cannot hide anymore. I must do something.<br/></span></p> </div> <p>From this point, Berach's writing became shorter and more informal. His penmanship had also became crude, suggesting he had difficulty writing with his hands.</p> <div class="page"> <p><span style="color: #0b5369">Klaus is dead. I found him on the lower floors of the fortress. They'd fed him something. He -<br/> <br/> <strong>[WRITING ILLEGIBLE]</strong><br/> <br/> He was a good boy. He was a lovely boy.<br/></span></p> </div> <br/> <div class="page"> <p><span style="color: #0b5369">We're back in the grove. I managed to rescue the Brigadier and some of the others. Most have been killed. Or worse.<br/> <br/> Those beasts are vile. What they've done to the men. Their insides. They<br/> <br/> <strong>[WRITING ILLEGIBLE]</strong><br/> <br/> We managed to rescue the crowned man. There are only 6 of us left but with the blades I whittled, it was a quick fight. They underestimated us. I can't tell you how good it felt to destroy one.<br/></span><br/></p> </div> <br/> <div class="page"> <p><span style="color: #0b5369">The grove isn't safe. Their king is hunting us with all his power, and returning will only grant us sanctuary for long. We've taken shelter in the mountains. We're running out of samphire.<br/> <br/> The man is getting worse. We've examined him but we can find nothing wrong. We find nothing actually. No heartbeat. No breath. No heat. It is as if his form is neither living nor dead.<br/> <br/> He keeps coming in and out of sleep. When awake, he speaks in an old language. Brigadier says it's a Brittonic tongue. He can't make out most of it but understands some of the phrases. He keeps mentioning hounds and the sea. When we mention the creatures, he spits and refuses to speak.<br/> <br/> In his sleep, he begs.<br/></span></p> </div> <br/> <div class="page"> <p><span style="color: #0b5369">Sir, if you're reading this then it's started and I have done what is needed to get you off this island and a chance to fight these beasts. I ask you to forgive me for abandoning you once again.<br/> <br/> I dreamt again last night. Not of the island but of a land of clay and sunless sky. A land filled with shadows. As I walked was joined by the crowned man. He told me of his past and his people. If what he says is true then these beasts, whom he called Gwyllion, have committed such atrocities against us. We've been held back. Controlled. Enfeebled.<br/> <br/> He took me to see the brothers. The three of them. They need me to make a deal. I need to give them something so he can have his land back and it<br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> I don't want to do it. Just know that when you leave, make sure you help our fellow men gain freedom from these beasts.<br/> <br/> It is been an honour serving with you sir.<br/> <br/> <br/> I'm scared.<br/></span></p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <p>Only a few remains of the Arausio's crew were discovered during the expedition to Nx-02 on 06/04/2000, with Brigadier Ab Ifan, the leader of the party, being one of them. The whereabouts of the Berach, rest of Arausio's crew and the creatures described by Berach are unknown.</p> <div class="licensebox"> <div class="collapsible-block"> <div class="collapsible-block-folded"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded" style="display:none"> <div class="collapsible-block-unfolded-link"><a class="collapsible-block-link" href="javascript:;">‡ Hide Licensing / Citation</a></div> <div class="collapsible-block-content"> <p>Cite this page as:</p> <div class="list-pages-box"> <div class="list-pages-item"> <blockquote> <p>"<a href="/nx-02">Nx-02</a>" by arthcymro, from the <a href="https://scpwiki.com">SCP Wiki</a>. Source: <a href="https://scpwiki.com/nx-02">https://scpwiki.com/nx-02</a>. Licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <p>For information on how to use this component, see the <a href="/component:license-box">License Box component</a>. To read about licensing policy, see the <a href="/licensing-guide">Licensing Guide</a>.</p> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> triskelion.jpeg<br/> <strong>Name:</strong> Celtic spiral.<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> young shanahan<br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC BY 2.0<br/> <strong>Source Link:</strong> <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/youngshanahan/10644977574/">https://www.flickr.com/photos/youngshanahan/10644977574/</a></p> </blockquote> <blockquote> <p><strong>Filename:</strong> arawn.jpeg<br/> <strong>Name:</strong> Snowdon and Dinas Emrys from above Beddgelert<br/> <strong>Author:</strong> Didier Descouens<br/> <strong>License:</strong> CC BY-SA 4.0<br/> <strong>Source Link:</strong> <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:(Barcelona)_Snowdon_and_Dinas_Emrys_from_above_Beddgelert_-_William_Turner_-_Tate_Britain.jpg">https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:(Barcelona)_Snowdon_and_Dinas_Emrys_from_above_Beddgelert_-_William_Turner_-_Tate_Britain.jpg</a><br/> **Additional Notes: The work itself is by J. M. W. Turner, under public domain; however the photograph of the work is copyrighted by Didier Descouens, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> </div> </div> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <div class="earthworm earthworm--old-syntax-first-false earthworm--old-syntax-last-false earthworm--old-syntax-hub-no {$class}"> <div class="first earthworm__previous" data-title="Hiraeth and the Land of My Fathers"> <p><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-6916">Hiraeth and the Land of My Fathers</a></p> </div> <div class="hub earthworm__hub" data-title="A World Full of Weeping"> <p><a href="/">A World Full of Weeping</a></p> </div> <div class="last earthworm__next" data-title="Come away, O human child…"> <p><a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-6796">Come away, O human child…</a></p> </div> </div> <div class="footnotes-footer"> <div class="title">Footnotes</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-1"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-1')">1</a>. FP-26: The Kingdom of Avalon</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-2"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-2')">2</a>. More commonly known among the anomalous community as 'Knocks'.</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-3"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-3')">3</a>. Whilst DNA analysis showed no genetic differentials between the human inhabitants and modern-day humans, thaumaturgical analysis suggests many of them had developed thaumaturgical capabilities.</div> <div class="footnote-footer" id="footnote-4"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="WIKIDOT.page.utils.scrollToReference('footnoteref-4')">4</a>. A region where the flow of Akiva Radiation is obstinate and stable. Such points can impact or negate thaumaturgical effects and programs and are difficult to redirect or overpower.</div> </div> </div></body></html>	[[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:basalt">:scp-wiki:theme:basalt</a> hidetitle=a]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/theme:turbo-vision">:scp-wiki:theme:turbo-vision</a> blocks=-]] [[module css]] /---- IMPORTS ----/ @import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Spectral:wght@300&display=swap'); @import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Special+Elite&display=swap'); /---- THEME ----/ :root { --logo: url(https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/jerden-insignia/Site-12.svg); --title: "SITE-12:"; --subtitle: "IT'S A LONG STORY"; --title-size: 1.75rem; --subtitle-size: 1.25rem; } :root { --basalt-overtone: 10, 10, 11; --basalt-undertone: var(--basalt-bright-element-color); --basalt-UI-dark-palette: 23, 33, 20; --basalt-background-color: 224, 213, 191; --basalt-bright-element-color: 34,49,29; --basalt-dark-element-color: 34,49,29; --basalt-primary-color: 255, 253, 231; --basalt-secondary-color: 255, 239, 203; --basalt-tertiary-color: 246, 227, 186; --basalt-main-text-color: 18, 9, 0; --header-background-color: 48,69,41; --header-title-color: 255, 253, 208; --header-subtitle-color: 255, 253, 208; --top-bar-link-color: 255, 253, 208; --search-icon-color: 255, 253, 208; --side-bar-background-color: 63,90,54; --side-bar-heading-text-color: 255, 253, 208; --side-bar-link-color: 255, 253, 208; --scrollbar-thumb-color: var(--basalt-dark-element-color); --general-border-color: 156, 156, 156; --image-caption-background-color: 255, 253, 231; --image-caption-text-color: 50, 50, 50; --link-color: 137, 81, 37 !important; --link-visited-color: 84, 49, 22 !important; --document-background-color: 243,223,193; }:root { --header-font-primary: 'Spectral'; --UI-font-primary: 'Spectral'; --body-font-primary: 'Spectral'; --mono-font-primary: 'Spectral'; font-size: 110%; } div.document { background-color: rgb(243,223,193); color: rgb(50, 50, 50); } div:is(.jotting, .transcript) { background-color: rgb(243, 206, 161); color: rgb(50, 50, 50); } div.modal { background-color: rgb(255, 253, 231); color: rgb(50, 50, 50); } div.papernote { background-color: rgb(243, 206, 161); color: rgb(50, 50, 50); } [[/module]] [[module css]] .page { display: block; overflow: hidden; font-family: "Monotype Corsiva", "Bradley Hand ITC", sans-serif; font-style: normal; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(to top ,rgb(202, 219, 228) 0%, rgb(231, 233, 220) 8%); background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0px 8px; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: 100% 20px; border: 1px solid #CCC; border-radius: 10px; padding: 10px 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; box-shadow: 0px 1px 3px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) } .page p, .page ul { line-height: 20px; margin: 0; } [[/module]] [[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:author-label-source">:scp-wiki:component:author-label-source</a> start=-- \|name=ArthCymro]] [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/dr-dafydd-s-personnel-file More by this Author] [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:author-label-source">:scp-wiki:component:author-label-source</a> end=--]] [[div class="pseudocrumbs"]] [[[foundation-tales\|Tales Hub]]] » [[[Series Archive]]] » [[[Nexus Series]]] » Nx-02 [[/div]] [[div class="pseudocrumbs"]] [[[locations-of-interest\|Locations of Interest]]] » Nx-02 [[/div]] Nexus #: Nx-02 Civilian Designation: Annwn (Formerly Avalon)[[footnote]] FP-26: The Kingdom of Avalon[[/footnote]] Population: Unknown Area Class: Camelot [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:image-block">:scp-wiki:component:image-block</a> name=arawn.jpeg\| caption=Nx-02, as depicted by a Foundation sketch artist subjected to SCP-6916.\| width=500px\| align=right]] Nexus Interaction Protocol: Due to the Foundations' revoked access to Nx-02, interaction protocols are to focus on disinformation campaigns, civilian redirection, and historical analysis. Anomalies relating to Nx-02 have had their containment procedures reevaluated and altered to support these interaction protocols. If individual/s successfully access Nx-02, they are to be retrieved as soon as possible and subjected to an interview and amnestic and oneirological treatment. Access and traversal into Nx-02 by Foundation personnel is to remain a high priority, to prevent an LV-Zero "Lifted Veil" scenario. Containment Facility: [[[secure-facility-dossier-site-12\|Site-12]]] Description: Nx-02 is an island located within a partially extradimensional space, accessible from any coastline within the British Isle and Northern France. To date, the only known way of accessing Nx-02 is to apply a Newman-Hyatt Key[[footnote]] More commonly known among the anomalous community as 'Knocks'.[[/footnote]], following subjection to a specific oneirological and mnesiological [[[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-6916 \|triggers]]]. When applied, individuals are able to walk to Nx-02 via a causeway connecting its coastlines with that of the mainland. This access can be revoked and those who attempt to reach Nx-02 with revoked access will be subjected to translocation and be redirected back to the point of perpetration. As of this documentation, it is believed that Nx-02 is not inhabited by any living denizen. However, Nx-02 is home to several spectral entities, consisting mostly of canine, cervine and avian animals. Ruins and landmarks found on Nx-02 do suggest that the island was once inhabited. This theory has been further corroborated by the cadavers scattered across the island. These remains include both humans[[footnote]] Whilst DNA analysis showed no genetic differentials between the human inhabitants and modern-day humans, thaumaturgical analysis suggests many of them had developed thaumaturgical capabilities.[[/footnote]] and members of the anomalous hominid subspecies //homo sapiens tumuli// and //homo sapiens sidhe//. [[div class="document"]] Homo Sapiens Tumuli: Colloquially known as Tuatha Dé Danann or Tuatha. Before 1988, they were a thriving populous, inhabiting [[[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/nx-03 \| Nx-03]]] and Ireland. However, since then, their numbers have dwindled significantly, with most now inhabiting the Free Ports. Physiological differences include tapered ears, irises large enough to obscure the sclera, longer lifespans, prominence of black and red hair pigmentation, and a moderate allergy to iron and silver. Homo Sapiens Sidhe: Colloquially as Fae, Gwyllion, Sidhe, Tylwyth Teg, Aos sí, or Fair Folk. Due to current and historical animosity between them and other hominid subspecies, the current population's size and habitation are unknown. However, a small demographic has been reported inhabiting Three Portlands. Physiological differences include tapered ears, light green pigmented sclera, longer lifespans, prominence of green, purple, and white hair pigmentation, petal-like wing with glassy texture, and a severe allergy to iron and silver. //Due to shared physiological traits and natural affinity with thaumaturgy, homo sapiens tumuli and homo sapiens sidhe are often mistaken and misidentified for one another.// +++++ - Prof. Saifur. L. Otters (1994). Thaumic Evolution: The Secret Miracles of Modern Biology [[/div]] The majority of the botanical life on the island is non-anomalous, with the exception of the species //[[[anomaly-306-the-silver-alder\|Alnus argentum]]]//. Due to their silver and iron-rich xylem, these trees give Nx-02 various thaumactive saddle points [[footnote]] A region where the flow of Akiva Radiation is obstinate and stable. Such points can impact or negate thaumaturgical effects and programs and are difficult to redirect or overpower.[[/footnote]]. Ignoring this, when alive, the fibres of the trees have properties identical to that of non-anomalous trees. Although, when chopped and dried, the wood's properties alter to be similar to that of steel. The island, as well as the space itself, appear to be under the direct control of a human spectral entity, identifying itself as //Arawn ap Carnonos//, who claims to be the ruler of the island. The entity has demonstrated numerous thaumaturgical workings, including atmomancy, necromancy, and oneiromancy. Currently, due to differences in goals, relations between the Foundation and Arawn ap Carnonos are strained, with the latter revoking all access to Nx-02 from Foundation personnel. [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:image-block">:scp-wiki:component:image-block</a> name=triskelion.jpeg\|caption=This symbol, known as a triskelion, was found carved into many of the ruins located on the island.]] Due to a lack of documentation, exploration, and situational miscommunication, the history of Nx-02 is mostly unknown. According to research and interviews conducted by the Global Occult Coalition and Unusual Incidents Unit, Nx-02 was, prior to the 1880s, under Fae governance. As a result of the backlash caused by the Sixth Occult War, Nx-02 underwent destabilisation, resulting in its destruction and a loss of around 14% of the Fae population. Despite the acceptance of these claims by the anomalous community, recent research and uncovered evidence suggest that the claims are historically inaccurate. Whether this negationism is a result of either inaccurate record-keeping or deliberate distortion is yet to be determined. According to recent evidence collated by the Department of History and the Department Of Mythology And Folkloristics, Nx-02 was under human governance up until around 500 AD. It has also been suggested, from several archeologically findings across Northern Europe, that Nx-02 was part of a larger tribal government, named the //Mabyn//, which had governance over most of Great Britain. At some point, during the Roman invasion of Britain, the Mabyn government collapsed for an unknown reason. During this collapse, Nx-02's control was taken by the Fae and removed from baseline reality. Detailing of the Mabyn's history is ongoing. ------ Addendum: Recovered Documents During an expedition into Nx-02 on 06/04/2000, the remains of the //Arausio//, a clipper used by Her Majesty's Foundation for the Secure Containment of the Paranormal, was discovered. Numerous supplies and documentation were recovered from the boat, including several rubbings, sketches, and notes, created by Second Lieutenant Nathanial Logan. Below is a description of Logan's rubbings: # A tree of unidentifiable species is seen planted in a space. A flow of wind or dust is seen intertwining the tree, with the flow emanating from its branches and leaves. On the ground, several creatures, reptilian in shape, are seen feeding on the tree's roots and flow. # The reptilian creatures are seen attacking the tree with their bodies, lightning and fire. A serpent-like creature coils the tree, defending it and retaliating against the attackers. (//Notes: Further described in [[[history-of-behemoths\|Extinction of Behemoths]]].//) # The serpent from the previous image, is seen standing before the tree. Cuts can be seen on its body but its face is serene, encompassed with the flow. The damaged roots depicted in the first image have been replaced with shelves of books, merging with the untainted tree roots. # Three humanoid-shaped creatures are seen standing side by side. The middle resembles a standard human. The left possesses tapered ears and petal-shaped protrusions on its back. The right is taller compared to the other two and its upper body is coated in a thick layer of hair. (//Notes: Men, Gwyllion, Na Liath Mòr?//) # The humans and hairy humanoids are seen exchanging tools and crops. In the clouds above, the petal humanoids can be seen, watching the flow, the humans and hairy humanoids. # A group of petal humanoids is seen cleaving the bodies of the reptilian creatures from the first image. Another group of petal humanoids is seen at the base of the tree, inspecting the flow, cutting the roots, and holding stones in their hands. The serpent is seen coiled up in the corner, suggesting a fear of their presence. # The humans and hairy humanoids are seen fighting each other. The petal humanoids sit in the clouds, whispering to the two beings below them and growing a small plant. # A female, [[[SCP-8899\|human figure]]] is seen holding the plant depicted before and holding it above her. Around her, the hairy humanoids are seen screaming, flowers blooming at their feet. Humans and petal humanoid watch on from the sides. # The humans are depicted forging metal, petting canines, conflicting with the petal humanoids, and meeting three hooded figures, who point to the tree and the coiled serpent. # Several humans and petal humanoids are seen engaging in warfare. Some of the petal humanoids are seen wearing pelts in the shape of the reptilian creatures seen in the first image. The humans and several canines are seen fighting alongside each other. Some of the humans are shown with increased height. # Two islands are seen surrounded by the flow. The left island is depicted with several pillars and towers. The right island is depicted with branching trees.(//Notes: [[[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/nx-03 \|Brasil]]] and na nÓg? [[[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/new \|Blackwood]]] will know more.//) # Two groups of humans are seen standing side by side, with one group possessing tapered ears. Both parties are seen holding weapons but also exchanging parchments, suggesting diplomatic relations. Above them, in the clouds, a single petal humanoid is seen, looking down at the two. Following the discovery of HMFSCP's involvement and successful expedition into Nx-02, the Foundation was able to uncover further documentation in the Juniper Archive in Site-44. Many of the entries had been foxed or consisted of only a few phrases and drawings. Below are the surviving excerpts of Corporal Idris Berach's diary during his time on Nx-02: [[collapsible show="▷ Diary excerpts of Corporal Berach" hide="▽ Diary excerpts of Corporal Berach"]] @@@@ [[div class="page"]] ###0b5369\|My rations finally ran out today. Given sleep is already painful, I'm not looking forward to starvation adding to my plight. I would eat the fruit here but they're all so strange. I do not wish to grow sick. As they don't appear to need to eat, it's possible what grows is not even edible. @@@@ I've managed to make an appropriate outline of this land. Klaus would've made a more accurate assessment but I would guess this island is at most forty thousand acres. So little of it has been used. Most of the buildings here have faded into ruin. I am yet to find where these creatures even be taking residence. Moreover, I must find out what they are doing here. In the dreams, I saw an invasion. This land was usurped. What for? @@@@ They're worried. Something is scaring them. ## [[/div]] @@@@ [[div class="page"]] ###0b5369\|I was attacked. Whilst exploring a ruin three of them appeared behind me. When I asked for diplomacy, they laughed. They spoke of me like I was a child or a pet. They believed me stupid. One attempted to detain me. They whispered and had the ivy entangle me. Sorcery comes so easily to them. I only managed to escape before it encased me. @@@@ Their wings are spectacular. When aloft, they are able to move with grace and speed, unlike any bird I've seen. I ran for a whole quarter of an hour with them on my tail. They did not tire. They seem to enjoy hunting me. @@@@ I was on the brink of exhaustion when I found this grove. I recognised the trees from the cuttings I saw in the ruins. I thought I could fashion a weapon from the metallic branches. To my surprise, they stopped their chase and refused to approach me. One attempted but was forced back when its skin blistered. Out of anger, I taunted them. They answered in their own language and claimed the grove gave only cover, not protection and I would only end up starving here. They left soon after, promising to return. @@@@ Hunger grows in me but I don't worry. I have found a weakness. ## [[/div]] @@@@ [[div class="page"]] ###0b5369\|The island continues to grant me blessings. I ventured out of the grove today and found in the mudflats a growth of samphire. I haven't wept over food before. @@@@ I've taken to carving myself arms and armour from the tree's bark. Since the creatures find their aura deadly, it is in my best interest to utilise them as much as possible. The material is fascinating. @@@@ Strangely, I haven't dreamt of this place since I got here. Back home, my sleep was plagued with images of this place. Now I am here, I dream of nothing. There is a whispering, however. As if someone is calling out. ## [[/div]] @@@@ [[div class="page"]] ###0b5369\|I awoke in the night to the sound of cannon and gunfire. Walking to the ruins on the eastern hills, I saw a ship in the distance. It was the Arausio. It was fighting the creatures, who were attacking from the heavens. A bell sounded and a storm formed, beached the Arausio. From the wreckage, I saw the creatures remove and bind the crew. One was the Brigadier. Logan and Klaus were there too. Brigadier attempted to communicate with the creatures but their leader rebuffed him and demanded they should be taken to the king. @@@@ I followed the party to a ruin in the mountains. From what I could see, it had once been a fortress. That's when I saw him. The crowned man from my dreams. Chained to the pillars. @@@@ I cannot hide anymore. I must do something. ## [[/div]] From this point, Berach's writing became shorter and more informal. His penmanship had also became crude, suggesting he had difficulty writing with his hands. [[div class="page"]] ###0b5369\|Klaus is dead. I found him on the lower floors of the fortress. They'd fed him something. He - @@@@ [WRITING ILLEGIBLE] @@@@ He was a good boy. He was a lovely boy. ## [[/div]] @@@@ [[div class="page"]] ###0b5369\|We're back in the grove. I managed to rescue the Brigadier and some of the others. Most have been killed. Or worse. @@@@ Those beasts are vile. What they've done to the men. Their insides. They @@@@ [WRITING ILLEGIBLE] @@@@ We managed to rescue the crowned man. There are only 6 of us left but with the blades I whittled, it was a quick fight. They underestimated us. I can't tell you how good it felt to destroy one. ## @@@@ [[/div]] @@@@ [[div class="page"]] ###0b5369\|The grove isn't safe. Their king is hunting us with all his power, and returning will only grant us sanctuary for long. We've taken shelter in the mountains. We're running out of samphire. @@@@ The man is getting worse. We've examined him but we can find nothing wrong. We find nothing actually. No heartbeat. No breath. No heat. It is as if his form is neither living nor dead. @@@@ He keeps coming in and out of sleep. When awake, he speaks in an old language. Brigadier says it's a Brittonic tongue. He can't make out most of it but understands some of the phrases. He keeps mentioning hounds and the sea. When we mention the creatures, he spits and refuses to speak. @@@@ In his sleep, he begs. ## [[/div]] @@@@ [[div class="page"]] ###0b5369\|Sir, if you're reading this then it's started and I have done what is needed to get you off this island and a chance to fight these beasts. I ask you to forgive me for abandoning you once again. @@@@ I dreamt again last night. Not of the island but of a land of clay and sunless sky. A land filled with shadows. As I walked was joined by the crowned man. He told me of his past and his people. If what he says is true then these beasts, whom he called Gwyllion, have committed such atrocities against us. We've been held back. Controlled. Enfeebled. @@@@ He took me to see the brothers. The three of them. They need me to make a deal. I need to give them something so he can have his land back and it @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ I don't want to do it. Just know that when you leave, make sure you help our fellow men gain freedom from these beasts. @@@@ It is been an honour serving with you sir. @@@@ @@@@ I'm scared. ## [[/div]] [[/collapsible]] Only a few remains of the Arausio's crew were discovered during the expedition to Nx-02 on 06/04/2000, with Brigadier Ab Ifan, the leader of the party, being one of them. The whereabouts of the Berach, rest of Arausio's crew and the creatures described by Berach are unknown. [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box">:scp-wiki:component:license-box</a>]] ===== > Filename: triskelion.jpeg > Name: Celtic spiral. > Author: young shanahan > License: CC BY 2.0 > Source Link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/youngshanahan/10644977574/ ===== > Filename: arawn.jpeg > Name: Snowdon and Dinas Emrys from above Beddgelert > Author: Didier Descouens > License: CC BY-SA 4.0 > Source Link: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:(Barcelona)_Snowdon_and_Dinas_Emrys_from_above_Beddgelert_-_William_Turner_-_Tate_Britain.jpg > **Additional Notes: The work itself is by J. M. W. Turner, under public domain; however the photograph of the work is copyrighted by Didier Descouens, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 ===== [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:license-box-end">:scp-wiki:component:license-box-end</a>]] @@ @@ [[include <a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/component:earthworm">:scp-wiki:component:earthworm</a> \| first=false \| last=false \| hub=no \| previous-url=https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-6916 \| previous-title=Hiraeth and the Land of My Fathers \| next-url=https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-6796 \| next-title=Come away, O human child… \| hub-url=/ \| hub-title=A World Full of Weeping ]]	2023-05-09T13:17:00	[ "_cc", "brothers-of-death", "fantasy", "hmfscp", "homo-sapiens-sidhe", "hy-brasil", "mythological", "tale" ]	Nx-02 - SCP Foundation	27	[ "dr-dafydd-s-personnel-file", "foundation-tales", "series-archive", "nexus-series", "locations-of-interest", "secure-facility-dossier-site-12", "scp-6916", "nx-03", "anomaly-306-the-silver-alder", "history-of-behemoths", "scp-8899", "new", "component:license-box", "licensing-guide", "scp-6796" ]	[ "archived:tales-by-date-2023", "secure-facility-dossier-site-12", "department-of-mythology-and-folkloristics-hub" ]	[ "https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--resized-images/nx-02/arawn.jpeg/medium.jpg", "https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--resized-images/nx-02/triskelion.jpeg/medium.jpg" ]	1447704600	https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/nx-02

Subsets and Splits

No community queries yet

The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.