Link to article: The Eternal MxTape.
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[[include :scp-wiki:component:scp-pride]] [[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] > **The Eternal MxTape** is about trying to escape a crushing sense of alienation and make yourself a better, more compassionate person... even when your underlying nihilism doesn't exactly go away. > **The Eternal MxTape** is about a nonbinary media magician with a dissociative disorder so severe, they disbelieved themselves out of existence. It's also about an unlucky Foundation employee who wants so badly to do the right thing, it seriously interferes with her secondary work as a spy. > **The Eternal MxTape** is about --wreaking terrible vengeance upon a heinous murderer who was also a bigoted jerk.-- Forget that guy. He never really mattered. > **The Eternal MxTape** is (sorta) like //Doctor Who// by way of //Slaughterhouse-Five//, if Billy Pilgrim were a genderqueer //MST3K// dork and "regeneration" entailed a brief eternity in the abyss. It owes a lot to Douglas Adams and //Jojo's Bizarre Adventure//, but you don't have to worry about that (unless you're into it). > **The Eternal MxTape** is about trying to uphold a quid pro quo in a nominally uncaring universe. Fortunately, this corner of existence is full of //people//, some of whom care about each other very, very much. In short, this is a **[[[gamers-against-weed-hub|Gamers Against Weed]]]** story. More generally, it's about coming back from the brink, finding comfort in culture and companionship, and fighting back against a harsh world. It's about learning to forgive, and trying to be there for the people who need it most... because whoever and wherever we are, we are not alone. [[collapsible show="[GENERALIZED CONTENT WARNING]" hide="[BE EXCELLENT TO EACH OTHER]"]] **The Eternal MxTape** is meant to be a positive story, but it also grapples with some dark, heavy and difficult subject matter. These are ponderings on identity, nothingness and self-destruction, juxtaposed with social and political satire. With that in mind, **I want to be a responsible creator!** Part of that is preparation on my end. Part of that is allowing for preparation on //yours//, reader, if you need it. For that reason, I will attempt to provide content warnings in bumpers like these, or weave them into the Special Containment Procedures. [[/collapsible]] Most playlists have a default order, but regardless of whether you put them on shuffle, listen to them backwards, or pick and choose your preferred tracks, it's still a curated experience. **The Eternal MxTape** has a structure to it, but it's not linear; it plays out in different ways for different readers (and different characters!) based on where they jump in. You decide where the story starts, so pull up a chair! Pick a mix. Follow the links in **bold**, and have fun. Keep circulating the tapes. ------ [[tabview]] [[tab PLAY]] **[[[SCP-4581]]]: Anti-Racist Audiocassette** -- A counter-propaganda tool wreaks unintended havoc on Foundation servers. * **"[[[smile-you-are-being-watched|Smile! You Are Being Watched!]]]"** -- Bad news: Wren Masterson doesn't remember getting caught. Good news: now these stoners can riff the interrogation footage! * **[[[start-the-music|Start the Music]]]** -- This is how Penelope Gore tipped the first domino. **[[[SCP-4784]]]: Nature Abhors a Vacuum Tube** -- Nihilist anart gone awry, intertwined with inexplicable small-town Canadiana. * **[[[the-not-too-distant-future|The Not-Too-Distant Future]]]** -- Neither of them know what happened yesterday, but somehow, they're in it together. * **[[[extra-salty|Salt and Pepper (Extra Salty)]]]** -- Two spies, a liberal and an anarchist, walk into a punchline. They hold a meeting. **BONUS TRACK: [[[Somewhere Empty]]]** -- Masterson hitches a ride into Utah to settle the score with two anomalous terrorists. **[[[SCP-6476]]]: Let A Die Be Cast!** -- Codename NEMO infiltrates a magical TTRPG group. **LATEST UPDATE: [[[Nightmare on Archer Row, Part 2]]]** -- Halloween movie night turns into a fight for survival when "Mr. Slasher Villain" crashes the party. [[/tab]] [[tab REVERSE (Wren Masterson)]] **INTRO: "[[[smile-you-are-being-watched|Smile! You Are Being Watched!]]]"** -- "I never should have shared that tape." **[[[SCP-4581]]]: Anti-Racist Audiocassette** -- "I am not old. y'all are just, younger" **[[[SCP-4784]]]: Nature Abhors a Vacuum Tube** -- "wtf is Tilford's Folly?" **[[[the-not-too-distant-future|The Not-Too-Distant Future]]]** -- "I'm in Hornor's Crossing?! With the Foundation investigating my fuckup?!" **[[[extra-salty|Salt and Pepper (Extra Salty)]]]** -- "Cosmic nihilism! But the cheery kind! Where possible." **BONUS TRACK: [[[Somewhere Empty]]]** -- "They're going to be hunting you forever. For-ev-er." **[[[SCP-6476]]]: Let A Die Be Cast!** -- "wow learn to stfu" > [**SCENES MISSING**] **LATEST UPDATE: [[[Nightmare on Archer Row, Part 2]]]** -- "brb getting murdered" [[/tab]] [[tab FORWARD (Penelope Gore)]] **INTRO: [[[start-the-music|Start the Music]]]** -- "Been a long time since I got rickrolled." **[[[SCP-4581]]]: Anti-Racist Audiocassette** -- "I thought the anomaly was simple. Lesson learned. Joke's on me. Har har." > [**SCENES MISSING**] **[[[SCP-6476]]]: Let A Die Be Cast!** -- "this is a diverse community and I want to respect everyone's needs." > [**SCENES MISSING**] **[[[extra-salty|Salt and Pepper (Extra Salty)]]]** -- "This is your fault, Masterson!" **[[[the-not-too-distant-future|The Not-Too-Distant Future]]]** -- "Yesterday's Penelope might have had a degree of trust in Yesterday's Wren, but those people weren't here now." **[[[SCP-4784]]]: Nature Abhors a Vacuum Tube** -- "there are a ton of loose ends." > [**SCENES MISSING**] **LATEST UPDATE: [[[Nightmare on Archer Row, Part 2]]]** -- "you are not equipped to deal with this on your own!" [[/tab]] [[tab SHUFFLE (???)]] [[div style="font-family: Courier New, monospace;"]] _ [[collapsible show="This part never really mattered." hide="(Get it?)"]] **[[[SCP-4784]]]: Nature Abhors a Vacuum Tube** -- 1+8+8+6 = **B A N G** = 4+7+8+4 **[[[extra-salty|Salt and Pepper (Extra Salty)]]]** -- 2+3 = "angry math" = 06-01 **[[[the-not-too-distant-future|The Not-Too-Distant Future]]]** -- 0 2 3 5 7 10 17 23 **KILL** **BONUS TRACK: [[[Somewhere Empty]]]** -- 1+2+3 = KILL YOU KILL YOU KILLED M **LATEST UPDATE: [[[Nightmare on Archer Row, Part 2]]]** -- 1+5+17 = TIME TIME TIME [[/div]] [[/collapsible]] _ [[/tab]] [[tab Canon and Continuity]] + Here... The MxTape is strongly influenced by: * The [[[third-law-hub|Third Law]]] canon, particularly their histories of [[[about-deer|Deer College]]] and [[[three-portlands-hub|Three Portlands]]]. * Fundamentals established in the [[[goc-hub-page|GOC Casefiles]]]. * The events of [[[the-cool-war-hub|The Cool War]]]. * The rules around "pataphysics" (explored at length in [[[the-s-c-plastics-hub|S&C Plastics]]] and [[[on-guard-43-hub|On Guard 43]]]). * The Foundation's presence in Ontario, particularly [[[lake-ontario-array|Site-201]]] and [[[secure-facility-dossier-site-246|Site-246]]]. Most anomalies featured in the MxTape wind up at SCP Foundation's Reliquary Research and Containment Site-76. Unless it obviously conflicts with the settings above, everything contained at Site-76 should be considered canon. In fact... assume everything linked in an article is part of the MxTape story in some capacity. Simpler that way. Mind you, the events of the MxTape don't necessarily affect these canons in return (unless the original authors think it's fun, in which case, go wild). ++ Gamers Against Weed Most characters, events and anomalies associated with Gamers Against Weed are considered canon. This includes, but is not limited to: * "[[[Jude's Bizarre Adventure]]]". * "[[[the-assassination-of-beleaguered-normalcy-by-the-coward-game|The Assassination of Beleaguered Normalcy]]]". * "[[[What Passes as Normal in the Digital Age]]]". * "[[[danger-in-the-manger|You Ain't No Family]]]". * [[[SCP-3420]]], "Too Many Ghosts". * [[[SCP-3869]]], "High-Quality Ripoff". * [[[SCP-4239]]], "Project Kenowhere". * "[[[rainbow-crapitalism|More Like Rainbow Crapitalism]]]" and [[[SCP-4493]]], "Keep Pride Out of Corps". * All twenty of the original Misters Against Weed. In short: every single GAW anomaly linked in the MxTape is canon to this story. + ...and Elsewhere! If you feel like writing a MxTape story, or including its characters in a parallel universe... whoa! That's incredible! Go right ahead, but do try to keep this in mind: * "Wren Masterson" only exists in universes which have some version (any version) of Gamers Against Weed. * Versions of Wren Masterson capable of narrative engineering (or "pataphysics", if you prefer) only exist in universes where: # "The Developer" died exhibiting SCP-4784, **AND** # There is some version of Gamers Against Weed. * Versions of "The Developer" only survive in universes without a SCP-4784. If Unwinding is completed and exhibited in that branch universe, "The Developer" always dies. * Nicknames and aliases may vary, but all across the multiverse, every single version of "The Developer" and Wren Masterson will recognize the "steakshift" joke. ++ Masterson × Multiverse * [[[SCP-5470]]], "Why, 2K?" -- by [[*user etoisle]]. This version of "MxMasters" is a teenage Commodore enthusiast immersed in Maxwellist VR. * [[[So we sang the chorus from Atlanta to the sea]]] -- by [[*user ch00bakka]] and [[*user Tsercele]]. In the Aces and Eights canon, "Renard Masterson" is a former Union Army musician and a member of the Merry Messengers. [[/tab]] [[tab Timeline]] **1886** -- English settler Samuel Tilford murdered by an unknown party in Hornor's Crossing, Ontario. The anonymous killer is tried, sentenced and executed by hanging. The tale of "Tilford's Folly" becomes the only notable piece of local history, yet somehow, Wren Masterson never hears about it. **1985** -- Anna Bojarski is born. **1992** -- Anna's father tells her the "steak-shift" joke. **2003** -- While living with her paternal grandfather, Anna Bojarski discovers that she can influence film and magnetic storage. > [SCENES MISSING] **2008** -- //Unwinding//'s debut in Hornor's Crossing kills six members of Are We Cool Yet? (AWCY), including "The Developer". After her inexplicable return, "Anna" is befriended by local librarian Felix Kipp, who helps her build a new identity as "Wren Masterson". * Jude Kriyot leaves AWCY. He encounters JJ and Esther Kogan, all of whom work together to destroy Jude's former AWCY cell. Numerous anartists are killed, including "The Critic". This friend group goes on to become Gamers Against Weed (GAW). **2011** -- Penelope Gore gets her Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from the University of [REDACTED] and begins working for a Foundation front company. > [SCENES MISSING] **2013** -- "The Cool War" results in the deaths of multiple AWCY anartists, including Ruiz Duchamp and "The Critic". **2014** -- Wren Masterson ("steakshift") meets JJ ("jockjamsvol6") in the ReTerminal. **2015** -- Junior Researcher Penelope Gore transfers from Site-17 to Site-76. * **March** -- Jude Kriyot places a phone call to tell the Foundation about Apartment 420. * JJ invites Wren into GAW. * Wren invites their friend Kenneth into GAW. **2016** -- More and more GAW anomalies pile up in Foundation containment. The group is moved up the Threat Index. * **October** -- Kenneth's brother Jordan is arrested by the FBI's Unusual Incidents Unit (UIU). When he asks GAW for help staging a prison break, Jude refuses, and Ken begins weaponizing Mr. Hax instead. * **November** -- Distressed by the state of American politics, Wren gets very drunk and does "some self-destructive shit", which blows up in their face. * GAW's "headquarters" (i.e., Jude's apartment) is raided by the SCP Foundation. Key members of the group go to ground until the heat dies down. * Acting on JJ's instructions, Wren works with members of the Serpent's Hand to take down Ken and Jordan, fulfilling their "quid pro quo" with GAW. **2017** -- Wren constructs **[[[SCP-4581]]]** to deplatform their racist grandfather, Harold Bojarski. A month later, they send it to polaricecraps, who loses it at a rally. The tape ends up at Site-76, where Researcher Penelope Gore accidentally causes a containment breach. * **May** -- GAW receives word of "Mr. High-Quality". Wren unlocks "heyjude.zip" and finds a message from AWCY. **2018** -- Gore interrogates Masterson at Site-201. Not long afterwards, she is recruited for Project CLOWNFISH, and (reluctantly) starts building a cover as "whistl_stahp". > [SCENES MISSING] **2018** -- "whistl_stahp" joins a Gamers Against Weed **[[[scp-6476|TTRPG campaign]]]**. > [SCENES MISSING] **2019** -- Masterson asks Gore for help containing //Unwinding//. * **June 1** -- The conspirators meet in person to discuss their arrangement. When Penelope asks about local history, Wren has no knowledge of Tilford's Folly. * **June 7** -- "Pridehacker" makes the leap from Void to physical space. * **July 23** -- [DATA EXPUNGED] * **July 24-27** -- Waking up post-amnesticization and discovering that Felix Kipp is dead, our protagonists do a little detective work and conclude that the events of the 23rd were pataphysically altered to be mundane. While Masterson is satisfied with this answer, Gore is worried by the possibility of loose ends, and keeps digging. * The Foundation establishes containment of **[[[SCP-4784]]]**. * **October 31** -- "Mr. Slasher Villain" crashes [[[nightmare-on-archer-row-part-2|Halloween movie night]]] in Portland, Oregon. **The future**: TBD... [[/tab]] [[/tabview]] ------