Due to the nature of the articles themselves, I feel it necessary to preface this guide by asking:
Are you sure you want to do this?
Deletions pieces are among the most challenging works I've written, in all aspects. From conceptualizing to putting pen to paper, creating distinct multimedia elements and fine-tuning custom CSS layouts, I would say Deletions articles are among the most heavily "curated" of my works. I would like to continue this tradition, and encourage anyone interested to contact me if they have any questions about writing a Deletions piece.
> Concepts.
So, you want to write a Deletions piece. You've ignored the warnings, you're dug in and determined. Cool, cool. But what are we writing about, exactly?
Deletions articles come in two major flavors: Primary and Secondary. Primary articles are from the perspective of Deletions and thus will use the terminology, visual elements, and motives of the department— examples would be SCP-7549 and SCP-7912. Secondary articles feature Deletions from the perspective of another department, such as SCP-7079 and SCP-6183. These articles have more leeway with creative freedom and are written in the style of the primary department for that particular case, if applicable. Think of it like this: Is the article for Deletions' records? Is it describing an anomaly that exists outside of Foundation timelines? If so, you'll want to write the piece as Primary Deletions. If the article has personnel encountering Deletions, you'll want to write it as Secondary Deletions.
The safe bet for writing a compatible Deletions anomaly is in the name. What do I mean by this? Deletion. Something has been deleted, or needs to be deleted. The anomaly may be affecting narratives in the Database in a way that could threaten more narratives or even the Wikidot database as a whole. It could be threatening to remove Deletions from the Database entirely. It may be an anomaly that simply shouldn't exist anymore but does. Either way, if an idea is not something Deletions would take interest in, then why would they take interest in it?
The concept could be symbolic of database or Wikidot function, aspects of the writing process, a representation of various computational phenomena, or completely unrelated. It could focus on the deleted content itself, or the loss of said content. Remember that Wikidot is not just the SCP-Wiki, feel free to incorporate or reference anything else on the site— The Wanderer's Library, The Backrooms Wiki, Project Crossover, Lolfoundation, previous iterations of the site, the history of the wiki, international branches, etc. You have plenty of avenues to consider.
> Article.
Documentation intended for the department is considered MARKED FOR DELETIONS. This is a play on words if the content should be deleted, but not necessary to mention. Standardization is somewhat loose with Deletions pieces. In fact, they should all be visually unique in most ways. There are repeating motifs, however, which you can and should use at least some of. More on that in the following section.
Deletions personnel are increasingly distorted by exposure to time. When residing in the Gray, they can manifest physically within whitespace sectors, but there's typically little reason to assume form in abstract space unless actively threatened or contacted by another party; the fusion of patchwork Semblance creates a collective consciousness that can share thoughts, memories, and communication with little effort.
Very, very rarely, a deleted individual will become partially overwritten, but the data defining their Semblance will remain intact. In this case, they will have unique perceptions and thoughts that the gestalt will not be privy to. Similarly, this individual will not be privy to the gestalt's perceptions or thoughts. There is an ego delineating one individual from the others. This may require further coordination to plan effectively, or the separate identity may necessitate containment and further fragmentation to properly be incorporated into N/A's gestalt.
Deletions agents try to keep active records of their current assignment for each other, or themselves, and not necessarily for the Foundation as a whole. When information is properly erased from the Database, it's gone. When Wiki articles are impacted, versions of the document in Foundation narratives are also impacted.
In documentation implied to be for or from Deletions, unique ACS classifications may be used:
ICON | CLASS | NAME | INFO |
| Authority | Deletions | Anomalous item or locale has been placed under control of Deletions. |
| Object | Concentra | Anomaly creates or affects recursive phenomena. |
| Object | Tenebrarius | The Foundation does not and cannot possess information about the anomaly. |
| Disruption | Infrared | The disruption this anomaly is producing/can produce is unknown. By MontagueETC. |
| Disruption | Sectored | Anomaly's disruption is capable of impacting any data in its own sector. |
| Disruption | Clustered | Anomaly's disruption is capable of impacting any data in its own sector cluster. |
| Disruption | Systemic | Anomaly's disruption is capable of impacting the entire Database |
| Hazard | Overflow | Anomaly's hazardous nature is negligible unless allowed to grow beyond some given limit. |
| Nexus Type | Graveyard | Nexus is a collection of deleted locations called tombstones. |
| Risk | Cryptic | The Amount of risk this anomaly is producing/can produce is unknown. By MontagueETC. |
More to be added, but do not feel obligated to use them if you have something else in mind.
> Style.
If there is one thing Deletions articles have, it's style. This style should be sleek, modern, and moody, with a simultaneous air of corrupted analog horror. There are two main ways to achieve this: CSS and media elements, the latter of which will be discussed further on.
Deletions articles are typically made with minimal/brutalist themes such as basalt and, more recently, my own theme, eigenmachine. The latter has a "Deletions" mode that has most of the base CSS taken care of already, however, you are not required to use any particular theme. It is preferred that you use whatever looks best with your level of CSS/design knowhow. Every article should be unique and competently assembled. While this is not an excuse to avoid writing a compelling story, aesthetic appeal is just as important in these works. Luckily, you can elevate the aesthetic of your article easily with tasteful media such as photos, animations, soundtracks, interactive components, and anything else you might think of. If you aren't using the prefab Deletions theme, you'll have to modify things manually.
There are two fonts I use almost exclusively in these pieces:
Zen Kaku Gothic Antique for the body typeface - link
POPPINS for the header and title typeface - link
I usually import a number of font weights just in case, but your article is your own. I will say, for that modern stylization, it's best to go for a sans-serif font, usually.
@import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Zen+Kaku+Gothic+Antique:wght@300;400;500;700;900&display=swap');
@import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Poppins:wght@700;800;900&display=swap');
If you are using Basalt, modify the root variables as such for what I believe is an optimized font stylization:
:root {
--header-font-primary: 'Poppins';
--body-font-primary: 'Zen Kaku Gothic Antique', sans-serif;
--UI-font-primary: 'Poppins';
}
Include this to change the font of external links and collapsibles:
a {
font-family: var(--header-font-primary);
}
Include this to make the tabviews borderless, as seen throughout this document.
.yui-navset.yui-navset-top .yui-content {
border: none;
}
You may notice there is a very specific shade of orange used as an accent color in this hub. That shade is the same that Basalt uses for dead links. I think it feels thematically appropriate. To implement this in Bedrock-based themes, and change the text selection shade of orange, add the following to :root
--selection-background-color: 197, 119, 41 !important;
--link-color: var(--basalt-alternate-color) !important;
--link-visited-color: var(--basalt-alternate-color) !important;
--basalt-bright-element-color: var(--basalt-alternate-color) !important;
In addition, start brainstorming the article's title. Ideally it should be one word, letters separated by whitespace. Bonus points if you can get one that's some form of wordplay. Each Deletions piece so far has had a name with multiple meanings, with C H I A S M A having somewhere around five or six implicit meanings if you consider similar words (i.e. chiasmus, chiasm).
Depending on your framing, you'll want to include some icon of Deletions' to identify them as such. For example, the infamous "Recurrent Triangle" icon can be used to indicate that Deletions is involving themselves or assuming control over an anomaly. You may find this image accompanied by the "Marked for Deletions" phrase mentioned earlier. Relevant icons:
ICON | INFO |
| Deletions' Recurrent Triangle Emblem |
| R.S. Mnemosyne Emblem, white |
| R.S. Mnemosyne Emblem, black |
| R.S. Mnemosyne Detailed Emblem |
Typically, Mnemosyne logos will not be used if the article isn't from Deletions' perspective, yet still includes them in some manner. Similarly, the "Database Architecture" background pattern you see surrounding this article is more appropriate in a Deletions-primary article.
To implement and configure the background pattern on any theme:
body {
background-color: #000000; /* This specifies the background color */
background-image: url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 304 304' width='304' height='304'%3E%3Cpath fill='%23aeaeb0' fill-opacity='0.08' d='M44.1 224a5 5 0 1 1 0 2H0v-2h44.1zm160 48a5 5 0 1 1 0 2H82v-2h122.1zm57.8-46a5 5 0 1 1 0-2H304v2h-42.1zm0 16a5 5 0 1 1 0-2H304v2h-42.1zm6.2-114a5 5 0 1 1 0 2h-86.2a5 5 0 1 1 0-2h86.2zm-256-48a5 5 0 1 1 0 2H0v-2h12.1zm185.8 34a5 5 0 1 1 0-2h86.2a5 5 0 1 1 0 2h-86.2zM258 12.1a5 5 0 1 1-2 0V0h2v12.1zm-64 208a5 5 0 1 1-2 0v-54.2a5 5 0 1 1 2 0v54.2zm48-198.2V80h62v2h-64V21.9a5 5 0 1 1 2 0zm16 16V64h46v2h-48V37.9a5 5 0 1 1 2 0zm-128 96V208h16v12.1a5 5 0 1 1-2 0V210h-16v-76.1a5 5 0 1 1 2 0zm-5.9-21.9a5 5 0 1 1 0 2H114v48H85.9a5 5 0 1 1 0-2H112v-48h12.1zm-6.2 130a5 5 0 1 1 0-2H176v-74.1a5 5 0 1 1 2 0V242h-60.1zm-16-64a5 5 0 1 1 0-2H114v48h10.1a5 5 0 1 1 0 2H112v-48h-10.1zM66 284.1a5 5 0 1 1-2 0V274H50v30h-2v-32h18v12.1zM236.1 176a5 5 0 1 1 0 2H226v94h48v32h-2v-30h-48v-98h12.1zm25.8-30a5 5 0 1 1 0-2H274v44.1a5 5 0 1 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0 0 0-5.66 0h-2.07a5 5 0 0 1 9.8 0zM5.9 0A5.02 5.02 0 0 1 0 5.9V3.83A3 3 0 0 0 3.83 0H5.9zm294.2 0h2.07A3 3 0 0 0 304 3.83V5.9a5 5 0 0 1-3.9-5.9zm3.9 300.1v2.07a3 3 0 0 0-1.83 1.83h-2.07a5 5 0 0 1 3.9-3.9zM97 100a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm0-16a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm16 16a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm16 16a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm0 16a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm-48 32a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm16 16a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm32 48a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm-16 16a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm32-16a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm0-32a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm16 32a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm32 16a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm0-16a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm-16-64a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm16 0a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm16 96a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm0 16a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm16 16a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm16-144a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm0 32a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm16-32a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm16-16a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm-96 0a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm0 16a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm16-32a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm96 0a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm-16-64a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm16-16a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm-32 0a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm0-16a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm-16 0a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm-16 0a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm-16 0a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zM49 36a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm-32 0a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm32 16a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zM33 68a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm16-48a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm0 240a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm16 32a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm-16-64a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm0 16a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm-16-32a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm80-176a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm16 0a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm-16-16a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm32 48a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm16-16a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm0-32a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm112 176a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm-16 16a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm0 16a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm0 16a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zM17 180a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm0 16a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm0-32a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm16 0a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zM17 84a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm32 64a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6zm16-16a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6z'%3E%3C/path%3E%3C/svg%3E"); /* This specifies the pattern, size, opacity and fill color; "width='304' height='304'%3E%3Cpath fill='%23aeaeb0' fill-opacity='0.08'" */
background-attachment: fixed; /* This ensures the pattern does not move when scrolling */
background-size: 100%; /* This determines the scale of the pattern. You can see it scaled down in SCP-6768. */
background-repeat: repeat; /* This ensures the pattern actually repeats. You probably don't want to mess with this but feel free. */
}
Try experimenting with various colors, sizes and opacities. In a pinch you can even overlay another background image over it using the pseudo-class :before
; Simply place the pattern "before" the image like so:
body {
background-image:url([link to photo]);
}
body::before {
background-image:url([SVG pattern]);
}
Be wary of negative impacts from scaling the pattern too small/overlaying an image too large, as this method is very "hacky" and can be impactful to performance on slower devices. When in doubt, compress the image or reduce its resolution to something more manageable.
After this, you'll probably want to set up your classification system. If you are interested in ACS, use the Mega Cool Customizable ACS component to establish esoteric classes w/ custom icons, and implement a custom clearance bar image if you so desire; I utilize it in all Deletions pieces (and quite a few other works of mine).
Other components you may want to use:
- Image Features - hover, slide, blur, pixelate, fractalize your images.
- Audio Player Woed - play sound files and control volume, tracking, downloads, etc.
- Wide Image Sizer - automatically scale wide images to 215px height and an appropriate width for the current screen.
Check out the Deletions variant of the eigenmachine theme, which this page uses, to make things a tad easier on yourself.
Included memos:
NO FURTHER ACTION IS REQUIRED.
YOUR WILLINGNESS TO PARTICIPATE WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.
> Narrative.
Don't be afraid to get weird with it. Don't be afraid to really go all out. Care very little about anything else other than writing the shit out of your piece and making it the most ridiculous eye candy of an article you've ever made. This hub took me nearly 700 edits to get it just right, and I'm doing it the dumb way; include others with talents that can elevate your work and it'll make your life much easier. Artists, designers, critters, coauthors, hell, just plain old emotional support and sanity checking. Collaborate. Brainstorm. Take your time.
That's really all the advice I can give on the topic. I ain't writing your story for you.
> Media.
Okay, so here it is. The big crux of this guide, multimedia tomfoolery. Consider the previous Deletions pieces when understanding where the bar is for quality, because, as mentioned before, your article should have style. It should be unique visually, not have a background or layout from another article. While you're drafting, it doesn't really matter, but you're gonna want to put time and effort into making your article feel like a full experience.
Everything should come together in a way that isn't too dissonant, and you shouldn't rush yourself or cut corners. Do the opposite of that. Be hedonistic with your storytelling, add another image just because you like it and it fits well. It won't hurt if you really polish the heck out of your writing and formatting.
Take SCP-7549, for example. I used a general duotone palette of purple and yellow, an animated pixel image of a swirling galaxy in the same colors, three new class icons for the ACS bar, a custom background that has some neat pixel dragging / light sorting effects applied via design software, then made eight animated images, which involved sourcing complaint base pictures, then applying the effects and animating it, compressing it and formatting it into the article properly. Then, I made a theme track for it and a custom CSS design as well. All of this and writing the article, which was a little over 2.5K words.
This was not very arduous for me, as I've been optimizing my workflow for some time now and can bang out media elements in a relatively short period. SCP-7912 used eleven images, ten of which were animated, an additional background image, a custom icon, a soundtrack, and was almost 4K words, I put it together in a week or so. A little more tiresome but necessary, you get my drift? Deletions is, to me, a multimedia experience. As such, try to have multiple forms of media in your article. You can even ask me to provide assets/animations/music etc. and the worst I will say is I'm too busy at the moment but will contact ya when that's no longer the case.
Anyway, it's in your hands now. Good luck, I'll see you on the other side.