The Possessive Mask

Full Name: Dỳo Alias SCP-035 035 Dỳo The Possessive Mask Black Lord of Alagadda Wearer of the Anguish Mask The Anguished Lord The Cracked Man The White Lord Lord Hubris Masky Nasty Little Bugger (by Dr. Iceberg) Il Mascherato The Masked One Zegraca35 (SCP-109-PT-J username) The Faithful Exile (by the Hanged King) Nigredo Porcelain Mask (by OpusConfidant) Duke of Black Lord of Death

Occupation: Object of the SCP Foundation Keter Class Object Court jester (formerly) Lord and adviser to the Hanged King/SCP-2264-3 (formerly) Ambassador/Ruler of Alagadda

Powers/Skills: Very high intelligence Mastery of manipulation Mastery of acting Psychology mastery Immense charisma Acid generation Corrosion inducement Madness inducement Electronic disruption Possession Telepathy

Crimes: Mass murder Mass enforced suicide Mass manslaughter Mass property damage Serial possession Corruption Jailbreak Malefic Mutilation Forced transmutation Incrimination Slavery Psychological abuse Serial coercion High treason War instigation Attempted populicide Attempted regicide Attempted usurpation Crimes against humanity

SCP-035, also commonly known by the name the Possessive Mask, is a major antagonist in the SCP Foundation series. SCP-035 is a Keter-class sentient anomalous object appearing as a white porcelain comedic mask, it often changes into tragedy as normally would do. And it is a manipulative entity capable of possessing its wearers and whenever people wears it at all time, the mask easily brainwashes people into its servants, and seemingly exists mostly to cause suffering.

SCP-035, the SCP Foundation mask, has several dangerous abilities. It can manipulate and control human minds, compelling obedience. Within five meters, it emits an aura urging individuals to wear it. SCP-035 leaks a corrosive black substance that damages its containment. It is highly intelligent, capable of telepathy, and can alter psychological states, potentially driving victims to death or making them mindless servants.

SCP-035 manipulates victims by altering their psychological state through linguistic persuasion, often rendering them mindless. It can convince individuals to follow its commands, even sacrificing their lives. The mask's brainwaves overlap with the victim's, once put on, causing brain death and allowing SCP-035 to take control. Its acting skills help it mimic the person it possesses, and it can access the host's memories to enhance manipulation.

SCP-035, the SCP Foundation mask, originates from real-life comedy and tragic masks, known as masks of difference. It can switch between comedy and tragedy expressions, affecting all images of it. This tragic form aids its manipulation, as SCP-035 can possess hosts by overlapping their brainwaves, leaving them brain-dead. Its tragic mask form is integral to its role as a skilled manipulator.

SCP-035 appears to be a white porcelain comedy mask, although, at times, it will change to tragedy. In these events, all existing visual records, such as photographs, video footage, even illustrations, of SCP-035 automatically change to reflect its new appearance.

Origin: SCP-035 was once the court jester of the King of Alagadda. He, alongside his King and his followers, was killed during the peasant uprising with the jester being beheaded and his mask shattering. Three days after the massacre, the King and everyone else returned to life, including the jester who offered his king a cup filled with the blood of his enemies given to him by the Brothers Death. However, the king accidentally dropped it due to his condition, causing his transformation to be incomplete. Afterward, the city of Alagadda became an interdimensional nexus, and the court jester became the Black Lord, one of the four advisors to the Hanged King, wearing the Anguish Mask and representing the black bile. However, he was despised by the other three lords as he was the King's favorite.

After hearing of a foreign doctor who was struggling with his procedures of curing the "pestilence", the Black Lord invited him to his palace. There the two talked, and the Black Lord asked the bird-like doctor if he could cure him of the pain and disease, he himself had been afflicted, to which the doctor was unsure if he could so. However, after the lord was severely injured by a monster that manifested inside the room, the doctor finally remembered his whole procedure and operated on the Black Lord, curing him. After the lord was cured of his illness, he tried to fight the Hanged King's influence over him by getting rid of his mask, but the mask took possession of him, leaving the lord to be loyal to the King. When a troupe of mummers began breaking Alagadda's laws by introducing new colors to the kingdom, the Black Lord, alongside the other Lords, the Ambassador and the Hanged King decided to judge the troupe for their heresy and banished them into another dimension.

The Black Lord eventually figured out that the Ambassador did not wish for the King to be freed from his chains, but instead govern the city of Alagadda on his own accord. This prompted the Black Lord to find a way to free his king so he himself could achieve more power, but the Ambassador plotted alongside the other lords to get rid of him. He became a victim of political backstabbing causing him to find a way to escape. After having his loyal servant retrieve him an obsidian key which would give him a way to escape through one of the Janus Gates, he peeled off his own face for his servant to wear, possessing him in the process, and went into exile to a "dreadful dimensional backwater" (the reality of the SCP Foundation), while his body was destroyed by a carnival parade led by the Ambassador.

On Earth, SCP-035 witnessed many famous and important events of history. During the Renaissance era SCP-035 became a somewhat known individual, becoming known as the Masque, and after being reunited with the doctor he held some auditions for his Theatre Troupe. After watching the four auditions of some poor people and hearing their personal stories, SCP-035 decided to recruit all of them but warned them that if they left then they would be killed.

Under the title of the Masked One, 035 commissioned an Italian musician to write the musical score Sul Golgota. However, that musician was later buried alive within the Santa Croce basilica. He eventually became a patron of artists Francisco Goya and Theodore Gericault who have been visited by the Ambassador and had become obsessed with Alagadda. 035 helped the two artists in creating paintings based on the Kingdom of Alagadda and eventually created the movement known as "Are We Magnificent Yet?".

Foundation's Custody: SCP-035 was eventually sealed in a crypt in an abandoned house in Venice and was found by the SCP Foundation during the 19th century. Foundation staff would provide SCP-035 host bodies to properly interview it, and they learned that conversations with it were quite informative and didactic. Researchers started learning a lot of details about different SCP objects and their histories. SCP-035 appeared to be one of the most intelligent and charismatic SCPs of all, even being flattered by anyone that spoke with it. SCP-035 also made a score in the 99th percentile on every intelligence, administered to it.

Researchers found out that SCP-035 was quite devious, conniving, and manipulative, being capable of various disturbing tactics. Making the victim change their psychological state, even make them commit suicide, or make the victim transform into a mindless servant with linguistic persuasion alone. SCP-035 informed the researchers that it could control any human's mind, and change anyone's views if given enough time to do so due to its knowledge of the workings of the human mind. It is highly possible that 035 possessed telepathy with or without a host, as demonstrated during an interview with a researcher.

SCP-035 had attempted to escape multiple times, and one time it was able to almost succeed, but luckily, it was recaptured. Following this incident, the high command denied 035 its host privilege, leaving it in permanent containment. Several staff members who had worked on SCP-035 highly protested the move, even erupting in violence, stating that they could still learn from 035, but it had been estimated that the damage caused by 035 far outnumbered the benefits, and those researchers were terminated with new ones replacing them. Because of 035's property of causing moral damage to individuals near it, the new researchers working on it were forced to undergo therapy.

During its containment, the walls containing it began secreting a similarly corrosive substance mixed with human blood damaging the walls, while forming strange patterns. After analyzing these patterns, it was discovered that they were phrases written in various languages such as Italian, Latin, Greek, and Sanskrit, along with depictions of ritualistic sacrifices. The glass containing it would also occasionally shatter which in time resulted in 6 casualties and 3 fatalities. Because of these incidents, it was decided to coat the inner and outward walls of 035's cell with SCP-148, a metallic substance that blocks or otherwise hinders extrasensory mind-affecting properties of living organisms in proximity to it.

Although it was successful in nullifying 035's effects outside its containment, it appeared to have concentrated its effects creating a greenhouse effect inside its containment, as when personnel entered the containment almost immediately their electronic devices ceased working and they began experiencing migraines, hearing whispers and laughter, seeing blurry apparitions and blood pouring out of their eyes, nose, and mouth before going mad, speaking Greek and Latin, despite some not having previous knowledge of the languages, and lashing out to others. The cell's walls were eventually completely covered in the substance with appendages coming out of the mixed blood. It was eventually decided that in the near future, SCP-035 would be moved to a new containment cell.

Little is known about SCP-035's personality due to its nature as an actor and manipulator. What is clear is that it is a raging and violent psychopath who cares nothing for its hosts beyond a means to an end. It would easily manipulate anyone it talked to into becoming a loyal follower, and convince them to aid it in whatever task, even if it cost their lives. SCP-035 also proved itself to be mischievous as it would play with its victims for fun, shattering their minds and leaving them a broken mess to simply amuse itself in a sadistic manner. 035 appeared to be fond of various forms of art, forming a theater troupe to perform on stage and assisting the Kingdom of Alagadda through creating anomalous paintings, and seemed to have a twisted view on love. Its ultimate goal was presumably to free the Hanged King from the control of the Ambassador, and let him properly rule the Kingdom, but it was later revealed that just like the Ambassador it wished to govern Alagadda on its own. Although at first it appeared that 035 was fond of SCP-049, considering him a close friend, it later revealed to Ibanez that it actually had a bad experience with the Plague Doctor and wished to never cross paths with him, or with similar beings, again.

Despite being a mask, SCP-035 possesses a number of powers with or without a host. Perhaps SCP-035's most dangerous ability is a strange unexplained aura that compels anyone in a five meters radius to put it on their face. Though the nature of this ability is unknown, it is believed to be a form of cognitohazard. When put on, the mask's brainwaves will overlap those of the victim, rendering them brain-dead at which point 035 will take over their body. After possessing its host, SCP-035 had expressed the ability to access the memories and experiences of its host which is part of what makes it so dangerous and manipulative.

SCP-035 is an excellent actor, being able to easily convince anyone unaware of its nature (and even a few well aware of it) that it is the person is it possessing. SCP-035 is also an incredible manipulator who can get virtually anyone to obey it and can even render the victim virtually mindless if it is allowed to manipulate them long enough.

SCP-035 can leak a strange black substance from its eyes and "mouth" which is highly acidic and will slowly destroy its containment chambers by eating through the walls. SCP-035 can change its facial expression from "comedy" to "tragedy" at will despite being an "inanimate" mask. The instant that SCP-035 changes its expression, everything displaying an image of SCP-035 will change to reflect this change. This includes CCTV feeds, photos, drawings, etc. SCP-035 can seemingly summon giant tentacles from its secretions to attack anyone it wishes.

Although it is very difficult, anyone with a strong enough will can fight off the urge to wear SCP-035. Despite being one of the more dangerous SCPs, the host is very easy to kill with even light machine gun fire due to having ordinary durability which will render the mask helpless. An alternative to killing the host with gunfire is just to run-up to the host and punch the mask clean off which will render it useless and kill the host instantly.

The only substance mostly immune to SCP-035's corrosive fluids is glass which is why it is always contained within a glass case unless it needs to be moved or used in an experiment, at which point the case would be disposed via SCP-101. Ironically, SCP-035's own secretions are its weakness since the fluid will seemingly eventually destroy the host's body and leave the mask defenseless.

The gender of SCP-035 is unclear since it just adapts the voice of the host it possesses and even the SCP Foundation just refers to it using gender-neutral pronouns.