Item #: SCP-3269

Object Class: Keter

Special Containment Procedures: All reports of phenomena consistent with SCP-3269 must be investigated promptly. Special attention should be paid to communities and content creators focused on "popping" or similar activities.

All subjects affected by SCP-3269 are to be kept in medically-induced comas in Type 3 Interaction-Exclusive Humanoid Containment Cells for two months prior to amnesticization and release. Equipment should be checked daily for SCP-3269 manifestation and replaced as necessary. Under no circumstances should non-D-Class personnel enter within two meters of a subject affected by SCP-3269.

Objects altered by SCP-3269 should be incinerated or otherwise conclusively disposed of, unless they serve some essential function, in which case care should be taken not to rupture them until a replacement can be procured.

All known instances of SCP-3269-1 are kept in Video Archive K81. Any instances located outside of containment should be copied to this archive before removal.

Description: SCP-3269 is a phenomenon that alters objects within four meters of affected human subjects. SCP-3269 is induced when a subject watches an instance of SCP-3269-1, which are various videos depicting the excision or popping of comedones (clogged skin follicles), cysts, or other skin protrusions. Most subjects that contract SCP-3269 naturally are self-described fans of content of this nature, and typically derive some degree of enjoyment from "popping" in reality.

SCP-3269's primary effect is the replacement of a solid object's interior, in part or in whole, with a viscous liquid or semi-solid roughly similar to the object in coloration and composition. This increases the interior pressure of the object considerably, resulting in the new material creating easily-ruptured bulges in areas where the "surface" is thinner. The object's functionality is not impaired until one of these bulges is ruptured, after which the anomaly affects functionality as expected.

The rate at which SCP-3269 manifests varies from subject to subject, and is suspected to correlate positively with the degree of sexual pleasure derived from popping and popping-related activities. Deliberately popping altered objects increases the average amount of affected material over time. Conversely, complete abstention from interaction with SCP-3269-altered objects for two months has been shown to prevent future SCP-3269 manifestations; however, many affected subjects will be unable to resist rupturing SCP-3269-altered objects, and must be restrained or rendered unconscious.

At time of writing, 871 instances of SCP-3269-1 have been identified, all originating from online accounts belonging to private individuals. Each video displays the individual in question as they exist in reality1, save for the skin protrusions that are popped or excised in the videos, which never existed in reality. Subjects have no recollection of filming or sharing SCP-3269-1.

Addendum: In light of recent events, the following guidelines for containment personnel assigned to SCP-3269 have been produced. Personnel should adhere to these guidelines as much as possible in order to prevent undesirable occurrences similar to those that have happened in the past.

The first priority when investigating a report of SCP-3269, after information suppression has been applied, is to assess the progression of SCP-3269's effects in the subject or subjects. In particular, the size and frequency of SCP-3269-related alterations must be ascertained; the subject's mental state and the status of their personal dwelling should also be discerned if possible.

As subjects with particularly severe cases of SCP-3269 are often withdrawn and may have "popped" their communication devices, remote observation and interviews with friends, family, and neighbors may be necessary. While subjects are rarely aggressive in any respect, they are liable to be distressed and uncooperative; in these situations, a trained negotiator should be procured before proceeding with any operations.

In cases where the subject is mentally stable and protrusions caused by SCP-3269 are small and infrequent, recovery operations can proceed normally. Additional precautions are required for cases where protrusions are large and/or frequent. Households of affected individuals may be difficult to navigate if SCP-3269's alterations have compromised the building's structural integrity — personnel should take care to avoid floors and load-bearing walls that may be compromised by SCP-3269, as accidents can cause issues ranging from mild injuries to total structural collapse.

The exact location of the affected subject must be known at all times in order to maintain the two-meter exclusion zone. In Incident 3269-C7-A, three recovery personnel entered the house of a late-stage subject with the intent to locate her, unaware that she was in the crawlspace directly below the front entrance. All three personnel developed protrusions characteristic of SCP-3269 in vital areas of their body; two died within the following six weeks due to inadvertent rupturing of their pustule(s), while the third remains under constant observation in order to prevent a similar occurrence.

Ingestion of the slurry produced by SCP-3269 should be studiously avoided by wearing appropriate safety gear at all times. ███-████ █████████ ████ ████ █████ ██ ███████ ███████ ██████████. ███ ██████ ███ ████ ████ ████████ ██ ██████████ █████████, █████ ██████ █ ██████████ ██ ███ ████████ ██████████ ██ █████ ██████ ██████ ██ ███-████.

Any questions or concerns can be directed to SCP-3269's HMCL Supervisor.

Update: As of Incident 3269-R0-C, any personnel assigned to SCP-3269 who display an undue interest in their own skin or signs of sexual arousal in the course of their duties should be reassigned immediately. Additions to the primary anomaly description are pending.

Footnotes

1. Up to and including showing identifying features of the subject and the interiors of their dwellings.