Item #: SCP-443
Object Class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: Due to its nature and relative fragility, SCP-443 is kept in a locked drawer in Dr. Ziegler's office (Sector 28). Access to Level 1 personnel and higher is freely granted at the discretion of Dr. Ziegler, or his assistant, upon request, with limitation applied at their discretion. Due to wear, the original packaging is filed in the archives record as 6-██████. All drawn material is to be handed back to the person who authorized the use.
Description: SCP-443 is a mostly complete 16-piece set of Crayola crayons, numbered SCP-443-01 through 14. The set is a model (BS0366) which was produced between 1997 and 1999, although the serial number on the packaging is outside the range of the product. Two crayons ("Blue Green" and "Violet/Purple") are missing. SCP-443-05 is snapped in two pieces (05a and 05b), while SCP-443-09 had its non-writing end damaged in a nibbling incident involving SCP-529 which, for this reason should be kept away from the items.
SCP-443 was recovered from █████ █████, California, after ███████ █████, an amateur artist, noticed its effects and asked for help from a paranormal investigator. The crayons had originally belonged to █████'s daughter for several weeks. █████ was adamant that he never bought them, and that they were not given to her. All works produced by █████ and his daughter were confiscated and are listed as record 6-██ of the archives.
When drawing is attempted with SCP-443, what is produced is actually a "stream of thoughts" emanating directly from unknown people. The user is entirely unaware of this until they stop using the crayons, at which time they become aware that they have written or drawn something completely unrelated to what they were intending to. Even with the full knowledge of what the item does, the user is entirely incapable of seeing what it is they are tracing until they actually stop doing so, which they can willingly do at any time. They will answer questions as to what they are drawing (though most of the time they describe it as "mindless scribbling", particularly if they are aware of the SCP's effect).
Most of the time the result is a written stream of thoughts, occasionally interrupted by small icons or simplistic drawings. The nature of what is written adapts depending on the user: text will appear in the native language of the user, and in an alphabet the user can draw. Drawing quality varies depending on unclear factors, and appears unrelated to any artistic skill of the user. Writing, on the other hand, is mostly the user's, though emotions expressed in the thoughts written may distort it.
The expressed thoughts appear to be a form of real-time "stream of thought" transmitted from real persons, as current simultaneous events (such as electoral results) have been referred to. Each crayon represents a specific person, and a user may switch between crayons to represent more than one person involved in a situation at a given time. So far, the equivalent of 10-15 hours of thought processes have been compiled. Given that the crayons were already somewhat worn when recovered, this has left SCP-443-08, which is most frequently used, as little more than a stub.
No identifying information has been collected so far (all names are rendered as unidentifiable symbols), but enough data is present to assess that the involved persons form a loose network of friends, family, and coworkers, each individual being fairly close to at least one other. All the involved persons are from the Portland, Oregon area. See addendum for details.
Addendum:
List of colors included, their classification number and details:
- SCP-443-01 Black — A dancer obsessed with his weight. Friend of "Orange".
- SCP-443-02 Blue — An old snappy woman. Landowner of "Red" and "Brown".
- SCP-443-03 Blue Violet — A mildly hypochondriac patient of "Yellow". Friend of "Red Orange"
- SCP-443-04 Brown — A seven-year-old girl. Daughter of "Red", friend of "Yellow Orange", enemy of "Carnation Pink"
- SCP-443-05 Carnation Pink — A classmate of "Brown" and "Yellow Orange". Harbors a deep hatred of "Brown" for unclear reasons.
- SCP-443-06 Green — An engineering student and regular lover of "Orange"
- SCP-443-07 Orange — A paralegal in a small law practice. Girlfriend of "Yellow", but cheats on him with "Green". Friend of "Black".
- SCP-443-08 Red — A medical secretary. Mother of "Brown", employee of "Yellow", tenant of "Blue" and friend of "White"
- SCP-443-09 Red Orange — A middle-aged wife to a soldier. "Yellow Orange"'s mother, friend of "Blue Violet".
- SCP-443-10 Red Violet — A regular patron of "White"'s diner.
- SCP-443-11 White — A waitress at a diner near "Red"'s work. Friend of "Red" and "Red Violet".
- SCP-443-12 Yellow — A doctor. Employer of "Red", boyfriend of "Orange", doctor of "Blue Violet".
- SCP-443-13 Yellow Green — Another regular of "White"'s diner with a habit of butting into people's conversations.
- SCP-443-14 Yellow Orange — Another seven-year-old. Friend and classmate of "Brown", daughter of "Red Orange".