[network] @Chillinski; day 005 afternoon; open

[figureitout]

[So, up until now, Stiles has been fairly content to just talk to people through the network, see what people think is important to post, make notes about all the people he sees on the network and where they seem to be. But hey, he actually doesn't want more people to end up like the mysterious Klaus (or Clayton, maybe, a very hopeful-to-the-contrary maybe, because how much would it suck for the only person you've actually met here to go and get stuck outside and die), and so the post starts with a video, spanning through the grocery store, showing everything it contains.

That means mostly food. The video itself doesn't turn to the one who's recording it - instead, it cuts off and is then followed by text.]

I don't really know how many of you have been here, because it looks like at least someone has, but I didn't see anyone say anything about this, so... there's a grocery store! Where you can get food, which is, like, really important, at least if you're like me and was running out of it. And there's other things too, like lipstick.

Which anyone is free to have, by the way, if I run into you. [He found a lighter, too, but that knowledge he's keeping to himself for now-- at least this way, if he comes across another house with a fireplace, he has something to light it with.]

But yeah, if you've seen the graveyard, then from there you gotta go north and then west. Or just west from the weird cat house.

[Some time later, as Stiles makes his way further west, he adds to the post he initially made, because alright, someone already talked about the wall with the incorrect math equations, which happens to be what he is currently staring at, and... jesus christ it's freaky. And interesting. But mostly freaky.]

Remember that wall with the incorrect math equations? I'm not sure it's actually supposed to be math. Is anyone here good with breaking codes?

[Because he can't help but think the gibberish he's seen before, the letters and numbers smushed together and it was a code, it's all been a code, so maybe this is, too. Maybe it's just meant to look like incorrect math so no one would think about it more. But this one... probably won't be cracked with just one word.]

Comments

Text: ID: thelonewanderer

[vaultexile]

How much food was there?

[figureitout]

Uh, enough? I mean, I took as much as I could fit in my bag, maybe enough for five days? And there's still more food left. [And besides... he has no idea if the supplies get re-stacked. Maybe, maybe not-- he wouldn't be surprised if this mystery admin somehow made sure they have enough food left there for everyone.

Otherwise, they're all just going to starve to death eventually, and isn't that a comforting thought...]

[vaultexile]

Was there just a shelf or two or was the store full?

You might want to warn people to be careful going there. A large collection of food is the perfect spot for people to set up base and hoard it for themselves.

[figureitout]

Attachment: a video of the store.

[That's the first response she gets, as Stiles decides to just send her the video he took of the store, instead of trying to explain everything himself. It's just as well if she can see for herself, right?]

That should answer your question. And yeah... I thought so, too. But there was no one there, and I don't know, it didn't really seem like the kind of place you'd want to stay in. If it was me, I'd set up base in a house near the store, so I could go there frequently to stock up. [But then again, that's just him... and she does have a point.]

text, id: Apollo

[apolly]

Wait, no kidding? Thank god you posted about it!

What did it look like? I mean, was it fully stocked?

[figureitout]

Hey, I wouldn't kid about something like this, you know food is actually pretty important, right? I don't want people here to starve to death, so.

Also, dude, I attached a video there just so you could actually see the store, so how about you maybe look at that instead of asking me? But yeah, it was. I mean, I'm guessing people have taken stuff from there, but it still had a lot of stuff in there. I took about enough to last for five days, and there was still plenty left. [Probably not enough for all the people stuck here, not by a long shot... but who knows. Stiles privately thinks maybe the place is getting re-stocked, maybe the mystery admin is actually making sure they don't all starve to death here. Who knows.]

[apolly]

[—oh] Sorry, I got excited...

[i need lays chips REALLY BAD] I guess what I really meant was... did it look like someone is currently stocking it, or is it first come first serve?

[figureitout]

[Well, that's okay, you should've seen him when he found the place. "Excited" doesn't begin to cover it, even if you couldn't really get curly fries in the store.

I don't know. It was pretty well stocked, so if a lot of people have been taking food from there... then someone's definitely stocking it. But I can't say for sure. I guess you'd have to go in the next day and see if there's more of the stuff you took from there... which I actually could do.

text; ID: MarbleHornets

[genreblindness]

I'm not exactly an expert, but I've had a bit of experience with codes like that. I could try taking a look at it.

[figureitout]

I don't actually care if you're an expert or not, as long as you have some experience with that. The only codes I've seen are those you can break with a codeword but I'm hoping this isn't one of those, because then we're gonna be screwed

Anyway, I'm sending you a pic of the wall, okay? See if you can get anything out of it. [And he does as he says, attaching to the message a picture of the wall, which is pretty much what it says on the tin: an entire wall full of math equations. Incorrect math equations, at that, as the person who wrote them seems to have messed up even the most basic calculations.]

[genreblindness]

There's one code I've seen that use number pairs to replace letters. I'll see if this is anything like that but it might take a while.

[figureitout]

Huh. That's actually not a bad idea... it could be like that.

Thanks, man. [He can try to see if he could decode any part of that into something resembling sense, too... but he isn't exactly an expert, and most things he ever did were to come up with the words to break the codes he's seen.]

text; id: rabbit

[ghouldere]

i assume none of it is fresh.

[ She still had her rations in her bag, and while they smelled okay, she wasn't about to attempt eating them. Touka was fairly certain that she wasn't going to find what she needed in the grocery store, but it didn't hurt to ask questions. ]

i didn't even know we had a graveyard.

[figureitout]

No it's mostly dried stuff, the kind of thing that won't actually get bad in two days. [Which is A GOOD THING, jsyk.]

Well, we have. and I don't exactly recommend going there.

[ghouldere]

that's useful. i don't think it's gonna last long now that you've publicized it, though.
some other asshole might've just kept it all for themselves.

[ She's mildly surprised. ]

why, is it haunted?

[figureitout]

Yeah, well, there's only so much you can travel in one day. maybe at least some others will get food out of there before someone either sets up camp there and shoots everyone who try to get in or destroys the entire store for fun. or something. [SUCH AN OPTIMIST. Then again, it's not really like her idea was any more so...]

Didn't stay long enough to find that one out. but there's nothing to stay in near there, so it's not a good idea to go there too late in the day, unless you want to run the entire way back. [Which is what he did!]

@winston; text

[reimagines]

That's rather decent of you to share the location. I suppose now I just have to find the graveyard, which is another hurdle in itself. Or the 'weird cat house'. What makes it a weird cat house, exactly?

[figureitout]

Why is everyone telling me that? I mean, you'd hope most people would, you know, share the location where you can get food. I don't actually want people here to starve to death.

[But yeah... if you're in another location entirely and haven't seen either of those places, then trying to find the grocery store might not be the easiest thing.] Because literally everything was covered in cat stuff and scratches and everything. You'd know if you'd see it.

@LELRIC, text

[armoured]

[Al feels a sliver of excitement, this is something he can actually do to help. He and Ed decoded all of Dr. Marcoh's heavily encrypted research without any kind of help. True, his experience is more in decoding alchemical notes, but that is often mathematical in nature.]

I have experience. Could you take pictures of the code exactly as it's written down? Even the way the lines break could be a clue to help break it.

[figureitout]

[YES GREAT, Stiles may or may not bump his fist in the air in the hopes that this guy (a kid? his voice from before certainly sounded young enough, but hey, who cares, young boys can be mathematical geniuses) can break this code and maybe then they'd actually know something about this place.]

Yep, just a second! I already took a few pics, I'll send them to you.

Attachment: three pictures of the wall. [And in the pictures is pretty much what it says on the tin: an entire wall full of mathematical equations, except the one writing them has messed up every single calculation, even the simplest ones.]

[armoured]

Thanks. Can you get a closer up shot of each section? Every little line might make a difference to solving the code.

[OoC: I'm sorry this tag is coming to you after such a delay, I have been on hiatus for a family vacation. If you no longer wish to continue, please know there are no hard feelings in dropping the thread. If you do wish to continue, I will happily do so. Thanks!

Also, do you have any info on what exactly the math equations are?]

[figureitout]

Uh, sure? Close-ups, coming right up.

Attachment: four pictures.

[OOC: it's okay! And as for the math equations, this is what the settings page says about the room: The walls and floor are all covered with writing--complicated mathematical equations fill the entire room. It looks a little frightening and intense, but to someone who can decode the math, it's kind of sad; every equation is wrong. It's not even the complicated parts that are incorrect--whoever wrote all of this has mishandled things as basic as addition, subtraction, and the order of operation. The equations aren't at all novel, as well, instead being equations that are already well-known in the modern world.]

text - ID: Witch

[rewritethesky]

[Oh gosh, food. Maybe not fresh, but still food. Running out is something she's never had to deal with before.]

Thank you very much for the information.

This might sound a bit strange, but are there any landmarks around the weird cat house or the graveyard? I haven't run into either.

[figureitout]

Hey, no problem. [At this point, he's decided to stop feeling weird when people thank him for this... because apparently being, you know, a decent human being is now something to thank for.]

Um, a lot of rubble? They're both pretty far east, and the graveyard is south from the cat house... there're other houses around, too. One that has a few walls that have collapsed, and the house with the wall of math is to the west from the store.

[rewritethesky]

[Honestly, being a decent human is a thing that deserves to be thanked for here. They're all in vulnerable states and could easily be fooled or tricked.]

That's helpful. Thank you again. It doesn't sound like any place I've seen yet, but I hope I can.