boxmods | Clue Redemption Post

Clue Redemption Post

CLUE REDEMPTIΘN

So you came in on the September 2014 wave of applications, and with it, your character was given a key. Or maybe it was the October 2014 round, and you were given a clue you'd like to dig into further. Good news: This is where you redeem it.

SEPTEMBER ROUND: KEYS

All you have to do is show us your acceptance note and tell us how your character finds the lock the key belongs to (extra credit if you link to a relevant thread!), and we'll tell you exactly what they've found.

Character Name: Journal: Acceptance Note: (a link will do nicely) Discovery of Keyhole: (we prefer this be threaded out, but it doesn't have to be. if it isn't, just let us know why, when, and how your character reasonably finds the latch or door their key belongs to!)

OCTOBER ROUND: CLUES

We'd like to know which numbered slip you got and how your character finds the relevant clue location, and we'll give you any details you could possibly want. If you traded clues with another new character, that's totally fine, but we'd like them to drop in and confirm the trade before we give any deets!

Character Name: Journal: Acceptance Note: (a link will do nicely) Discovery of Clue Location: (we prefer this be threaded out, but it doesn't have to be. if it isn't, just let us know why, when, and how your character reasonably finds the location the clue belongs to!) Traded For This Clue?: (just erase this question if not. if you did, however, let us know who you traded with and we'll wait for them to drop in and confirm)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Character Name: Karmin Vantas (The Signless)
Journal:

cachaemicgage
Acceptance Note: Note
Discovery of Clue Location: Inside the external wall of the church, behind a brick that he just HAD to wiggle.

The first few pages of the notebook are very dumb. Someone doodled cartoony bombs, 3D cubes, loopy cursive L's, and wrote

I.M.&L.O.

in a big heart covering one of the pages. Not that that's such a great feat, it's a small notebook. Small enough to fit in a breast pocket.

(More as I get it written up, but here's something to react to.)

Thank you, terrifying deepsea fish mod :D

Are there clues as to what those initials mean on later pages?

There are references to "Lor" now and then but no, whoever wrote this did it under the assumption that they'd be the only reader.

(P.S. if you're ever curious about the mod you're dealing with, mouseover the icon to reveal our secrets!)

Karmin can't read earth English, he was never taught how. He won't understand what's written but are there more doodles or other clues in the book that might lead him to other locations within Northtown or other areas within Box?

Wow, look at me forgetting he can't read it! There's a lot of English there if at some point he'd like to run it past someone who knows the language, but yes, for now there are drawings. Mostly it seems to relate to DNA sequences and complex chemical formulas. Occasionally the drawings take on a more professional form, illustrating animal skulls or what appear to be human finger bones with some degree of competence.

They're still not that good, though.

Near the end among the notes are a few weird designs, including the octokittens Karmin's already seen. Included are a fish with fur, a different sort of fish with lizard legs, and something that was scribbled out so hard the page ripped a little.

Any mention of other people, or just Lor? Psii can apparently read it, so he's got that much at least.

One unflattering mention of someone named Melody.

Since Psii can read this, it pretty much is the notebook of a biologist. More specifically, a Technician who seems to grow more and more frustrated with their monster-creating job as time wears on. It starts out with a lot of technical mumbo-jumbo, theories and observations, but as it goes on it takes on an almost diary-like tone, griping about petty workplace grievances or experiments gone wrong or wondering how "this" can possibly go on. Near the end of the notebook there are a lot of sentences that end with FUCK THIS and pages ripped out.

The last couple of pages lose the desperate, angry tone entirely and come off as incredibly self-pitying. The author complains about being hungry, lonely, and paralyzed with fear. And missing whoever Lor is desperately.

It ends with "This is it. Today. Now. Wish me luck."

Edited 2014-11-09 05:51 (UTC)

Any clues as to what might have happened to Lor? Whether they might have been killed off or experimented on? And whether the ore that came with the journal has anything to do with any of it?

Like we said on plurk, the ore is a pretty chunk of shiny for Signless to put in his window or hand to the birdsmith as he pleases. There's no apparent connection between it and the notebook, other than them happening to be in the same place.

Lor isn't mentioned, apart from not being with "I" anymore and deeply missed. Their fate is unknown.

Yep, he's gonna be paranoid about that ore regardless, until he can foist it off on orniburd. Ok so does it mention anyone that he can actually find IN the box? an NPC perhaps, or one of the other 'prisoners' that I might have known about. Something about a tangible next step, because otherwise Karmin's gonna go and poke at Amal and maybe Stiles if he learns about Stiles soon.

Amal, Stiles, and a few other characters can definitely help Signless out if he asks. Sad pining aside, "I" kept personal details out of it.

Oh man, gossip. Quick, anonymous runaway tech, reveal your secrets about how Melody is a huge jerk to the two nosy grey shitbags who are reading your journal. What's it say about her?

On a more serious note, is there much written about what the experiments were and how they went wrong? What sort of theories were made?

Well apparently, Melody was really catty about how the author's three-helix sequence experiment was fundamentally unsound and never going to get any farther than paper the idea was written on.

And then it totally did. Suck it, Melody!

Serious answer: That's the entire first half of the notebook. The wording is dense and highly technical. The gist is that most of what went wrong was stuff like creatures self-destructing, dying immediately on birth/hatching/being removed from a fluid-filled container, or having fatal reactions to their own venom.

"I" seemed to start out almost enthusiastic to science it up and make cool things happen, but as time goes on they get more and more belligerent and reluctant. Those fish drawings? 100% asspull. They really did not care anymore at that point.

Ooooooh, suck it Mandy. How's it taste to be so wrong? Someone get Psii some popcorn.

Is there any even faint details on the "this" that I.M wonders about how long it'll go? And is there a clear area that marks a definite change in his "hell yeah" attitude to the "fuck it" one?

Also, and I know it's a long stretch, but is there any sort of invisible ink type deal where stuff will show up from use of heat or light?

There's no invisible ink, I'm afraid. No mention of what "this" is, either.

There doesn't seem to be one specific trigger: "I" just slowly gets more and more fed up with what they're being asked to do and eventually seems to ragequit.

Poor I. Is there anything like an owner's actual first or last name anywhere at all? Like in the front or back cover? The spine?

The heart on the front and the "Lor" context is pretty much it for identification.

Man, "I", why can't you spill your life story out in super bizarrely specific detail like in the movies? GOSH.

Are there any theories, experiments, etc that any long term Box residents might recognize from past events?

Yes. While griping about Melody, the author makes a very rude remark about what she probably does with her "creeping vines" when no one's looking. Also, the triple helix thing in particular led directly to the channel dogs, which is explicitly mentioned at one point.

Not mentioned is the fact that it was used to develop a very dangerous shapeshifting serial killer named Kevin later on.

..."I", you dog, you were totally waxing spades for this chick, weren't you? It's a shame Psii isn't a Leijon, this is prime shipping wall material.

ANYWAY, so the mysterious 'Lor' is mentioned only in wistful lonely thinkings, and there's gossip magnet Melody, but is anyone else mentioned? "Workplace grievances" were mentioned after all, and that can often include coworkers, bosses, etc. Not even specifically by names, but even just descriptors like "my boss" or "that asshole who won't stop playing Mystery Skulls on fucking repeat over in cubicle 12".

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boxmods - 2014-11-09 09:14 (UTC) - Expand

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polariity - 2014-11-09 09:28 (UTC) - Expand

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boxmods - 2014-11-09 09:29 (UTC) - Expand

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polariity - 2014-11-09 09:32 (UTC) - Expand

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boxmods - 2014-11-09 09:37 (UTC) - Expand

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boxmods - 2014-11-21 10:16 (UTC) - Expand

Or moisture, as the case may be.

Also, Psii is going to try to use some of his psionics as lights to see if he can make out what was scribbled out. (Putting light behind the page to see if anything is illuminated, adjust light angle, etc). Is there anyway to see what it was that way?

It appears to be almost entirely mouth. With very sharp teeth.

No more details can be made out.

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