#panicking in puzzles!

[seismologically-silly]

Puzzlemaster Week 1 Recap

we've got lore

Last week started with @puzz1e-master sending a very cryptic message to @potato-lord-but-not. As a result, I, @cr0w-z, @ichorandseafoam, @pandaragons, @willwoodwithadditionalgrapejuice, @get-your-fuckin-star-bitch, and @fruit-c4ke were dubbed "The Involvements" by Puzzlemaster as we became the most involved in helping Potato Lord solve the puzzles. Obviously we are not the only ones, but we are by far the most annoying about it (i say "annoying" affectionately. who knows what Puzzlemaster thinks of us).

The first message was fairly easy, spelling out YOU ARE CLOSE in letters capitalized in the first message. The second riddle took us much longer-- we had to figure out what different colored words meant in a question. The question is still unanswered, but all the colors were accounted for: green = involvements, yellow = Potato Lord, pink = nothing important, black = mystery, red = Puzzlemaster, and purple = power. The question asked was, "The Watchers only Watch, why do the Victims have to Speak?" Helping us solve the colors, Puzzlemaster sent a few of us asks with clues spelling THE ROYALS HAVE ALL THE POWER.

As we were solving the colors, Potato Lord got a new ask, with text originally in Morse code in uppercase:

Aaaaannddddd…go! ALRIGHT, SO I WAS THINKING, Mhm? THE PUZZLEMASTER, WHAT DO ...... YOU THINK HIS DEAL? I'm not sure really. Maybe he just likes doing this? Messing about? I mean… THINK HE IS WEB? Could be. Not really sure though. A little early to speculate really. IS ONLY THE BEGINNING? Seems so. I mean, it's always a larger picture than we think- Oh. You're almost past the halfway. LIKE CAUGHT IN WEB ...... SO SMALL, COMPARING BIG Suppose so. Yeah. What does it make us? WE LIKE TO WONDER What do you think it means? To be a victim? GIVEN SPECIAL LITTLE THING Such as? A VOICE Oh yeah, you must envy tha- Oh. Times up. They can't hear you now. I know, I know. We'll just have to wait until it rewinds.

No idea who sent this. The colors cycle evenly through the lines, except "he" is red and "victim" is orange referring to what we took a week to decode them being. it is the first thing we've seen bolded, and we haven't seen pronouns italicized before. I'll come back to the struck out "They" in a few paragraphs. That's also so far the only thing struck out.

After the colors were decoded, Potato Lord was sent a new puzzle that decoded to YOU'RE PART OF. A few of the Involvements got sent asks as well, with messages so far decoded to YOU THINK TO STOP THEIR PLAN? SOMETHING BIGGER THAN [YOU] WILL STOP THE END THEY CRAVE. Possibly. We're still likely missing some pieces. And it's been confirmed there are two messages to put together. Again, what's with the They?

A few other players have joined the board that aren't the Puzzlemaster, Potato Lord, or the Involvements. One is @the-1t, but they've been quiet for a few days, so I'm not sure how big a player they are. There's @the-r4t-man, who has been teaching Puzzlemaster how to be human by giving them rats and flirting. And there's also been the They, who do not seem to like Puzzlemaster becoming human (again?), and apparently hold power over the Puzzlemaster.

Also, something is happening on 5 August at 12:16 PM. Not sure what time zone.

The whole story so far is spread out over about a half dozen blogs and mainly in replies, so I hope this provides a good first week recap of the main bits. If anyone thinks I've missed something important, add it for the archive!

[lastoneout]

tbh tho I think Chillchuck would actually be into puzzle games, like bro has 500 hours in Baba is You and does the NYT crossword puzzle every single day

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

sometimes ya just gotta scribble your favorite character giving you words of encouragement. even if that favorite is a guy from your own brain

[rhinozilla]

Consider giggly Dreamling smut.

Hob showing Dream that sex can be fun and, more importantly, funny. Dream's past sexual relationships have burned hot and passionate and hungry and intense...but giddy laughing during sex? Giggling through an orgasm? Unheard of in his experience.

I think the mere idea would break Dream's brain. Then he'd actually experience that with Hob, and it would be paradigm-shifting for him.

[seismologically-silly]

i've been doing some thinking. absolutely no proof but hear me out:

the Watchers Watch. they don't Watch. What makes the Watchers different from the people who are watching this game? they engage in the game. We all type like this. In black (or white, depending on our theme). Therefore, i propose black is engagement. Puzzlemaster uses black to communicate to us the rules, their thoughts, etc. Engaging with us.

We know purple is power. Keeping tabs on us is powerful because it inspires us to act. So what is it you do differently than us? That possibly is powerful enough to center the puzzles on you? I know I followed you for your art. What's more powerful than art? What's more human? We know Puzzlemaster is curious about humanity. Art gave them a body. You brought us together.

I'll repeat the riddle for you and your companions.

"The Watchers only Watch, why do the Victims have to Speak?"

Allow Me to also add that a period, if placed with meaning, could also be black.

:)

-Puzzlemaster

?

Oh right yeah I got so lost I completely forgot the riddle we’re solving IS the sentence itself. Get your brains working girly pops

[nerdie-faerie]

Currently thinking about the last time I met up with my college friends, and we went around the table reintroducing ourselves with names and pronouns, cus it gets like that. And every time it would come around to me, I would deflect and distract instead of answering because I hadn't actually figured it out yet. It's coming up on a year since then, I still have no idea what the answer would be

[groovytimes]

Came home to this. Thank you @strangeness-andcharm, I am so touched, and a wreck. ❤️🥹

[catboyarg]

Meu amor.

[seismologically-silly]

Dangerous for whom, I wonder?

Of course we go deeper, it's where the mystery lies! Where else will we go?

It's been a quiet day so far-- got anything else for us to chew on?

Good morning, friend Puzzlemaster. I hope you're liking the name! I've got a question of my own-- why weave a web around @potato-lord-but-not? Are you also an admirer of their art?

Good morning, little involvement.

I am rather fond of it now, yes. Puzzlemaster has a nice… ring to it, per say.

Do spiders only weave one web in their lifetime? I think not.

I hope that answer suffices.

Being at the center… where the spider lays… that’s a dangerous spot to be.

:)

-Puzzlemaster

[oh-katsuki]

Oh my god I am SOOOO down for demigod au!!!!! I have so many feelings!! In a similar vein, at one point I considered doing a God of War AU with Katsuki as Kratos and it still scratches a good itch in my little brain. Tbh it popped into my brain during a road trip so no real thoughts were had but something about him learning to be vulnerable enough to love and be loved but then having to put aside his humanity to fight and kill to protect his found family 🥲💕

YESSSS!!!!! I LOVE THIS BUT IT MAKES ME SO SAD!!!!!!!!

i love seeing katsuki as a child of a war god!!! big and strong and so so skilled in battle with a wide range of weapons. it's also surprising though that he is as sensitive as he is passionate. it's like the passion in him is directly tied to his divine lineage, but also to that sensitivity. n people assume he's got less feelings than other's bc of his parentage, but he loves all the same.. if not more and CERTAINLY more fiercely. imaging the way he instills confidence in his comrades on a battlefield.. like that fighting spirit is contagious....

but i am also so biased when it comes to him tho bc i actually see him (like someone said in their rb of my post) as more roman than greek!!! and i often think of him as a child of hestia (which doesn't work bc she is a maiden goddess)... or like... juno (once again would not have demigods bc she's the goddess of marriage) but like just imagine it for a moment.. think on it...

imagine for a moment that juno DID have demigods (i know this is so inaccurate for her... i feel the wrongness too)... juno represented the state as well as being the goddess of marriage. she was also a war goddess and was often thought to lend strength to roman generals during war..... now katsuki as one of her few demigod children. he's blessed with brilliant skills in battle, but he also has the ability to drive his comrades further. to instill in them the spirit of a warrior and keep their motivation up. where children of somnus (or hypnos) can lull people to sleep or take away the will to fight, katsuki can do the opposite. but he's also (after he gets older) becomes quite a strong leader and people end up looking to him the same way they did Juno in Rome.... he gains this confidence about him that could belong only to the child of the goddess of the state... im SICK...

sorry i got so distracted in this... i have so many thoughts abt him... but GOD a katsuki KRATOS au is SOOO AUGH!!! sad tho :((( i want him to have good things ;(( (side note: i LOVED that game when i was younger broooo)

[seismologically-silly]

a side effect of this puzzlemaster business i walked into this weekend is i'm now terrified every time i get a notification

[dyhiki]

Don't think I've ever quit a game as fast as when i heard the turret say "goodbye" using a sickenly sweet tone after seeing me through the fucking portal

[seismologically-silly]

this game is wild

diveristy win! the entity haunting and terrorizing you is pan!

but seriously help the rat man and puzzle are flirting (??) and PEOPLE ARE SHIPPING THEM.....

NO THEYRE LIKE ACTUALLY ACTUALLY FLIRTING THIS IS HILARIOUS

[ratdesk]

watching hotd finally & having fun however! sometimes while watching i catch myself like physically tensing up and getting stressed and i gotta remind myself that it's not real girl it's fiction! they can't get u!

[computerfrog2000]

I'm amused by how I'm trying to cope with and distract myself from stressful thoughts by frantically solving sudoku puzzles whilst crying and hyperventilating.

[darkbluekies]

Intruder 2024 ver

Yandere!mafia OC x reader

Summary: finding a mystical USB in your bag leads to more danger you ever could have anticipated. It leads you straight into the arms of a well respected mob boss.

Warnings: gore, kidnapping, breaking in, chains, crime, yandere

Word count: 2.4k

A/N: I thought it could be fun to remake my first one-shot almost 2 years later to see how I have improved! I hope you like the new version♡

Your hands tear through the bag, impatiently looking for the lip balm that is somewhere in the mess of papers, water bottles, wallets and receipts. Your head is pounding, your back is sore and your fucking lips are dry and you can’t think of anything else. You grab the backpack and turn it upside down, shaking it violently until every little thing has fallen out. Receipts dingle down like snowflakes. The lip balm falls out on the wooden floor and when you bend down to take it, you notice that it’s lying beside something that you can swear that you have never seen before. A white USB. Confused, you turn it around, looking for some kind of indication to remind you of what it contains. No tape, no pen, nothing. You sigh and stand up. Before walking over to your computer to figure out what contains on the USB, you smother your lips in lip balm. It gets in your mouth, tasting buttery and putting a greasy layer on your front teeth.

You sit down in front of your computer, boot it up and press the USB into the right port. If you see what is on it, maybe you’ll remember what you have used it for. It takes a few moments before a file pops up at the bottom of your screen. You press on it and are met by multiple folders, all having cryptic titles.

When have I ever done this?

Is this a Friday night drunk act? It would be an answer to why you don’t remember anything about it. You decide to press on one of the folders. Pictures and videos. Hundreds of them. You click on the first picture. What meets your eyes puzzle you. For a few seconds you can’t even process what you are looking at. A mushy red sponge-looking … something. When it hits you that what you are looking at is a dead, mangled body you gasp and shoot your chair away from your desk. A wave of mixed fear, disgust and disbelief washes over you as millions of questions bash into your head. Panicked worries about where the USB came from, who was in the picture, how many more there are like this, why you have the USB and if you would get in trouble and. If you give the USB to the police, would they find you suspicious? Would they think that you had anything to do with this? And will the ones who owns this USB kill you for it?

You find yourself pacing back and forth in your room as your heart beats in your ears. What are you going to do? You have to get rid of it. Quickly.

You turn back to the computer and pull the USB out as quickly as if it was on fire. The grotesque picture disappears. You drop the white stick into your pocket, as if it was really in flames. Just holding it made you feel dirty. You wipe your hands on your shirt, expecting it to smear blood. Nauseous, you run to the bathroom. Despite washing your hands in water and soap until your heads become gnarly and sore, you feel as if you have murdered that poor girl yourself and nothing will clear you of what you have witnessed.

You’re not sure how long you’ve been in the bathroom, how long you’ve tried to wash yourself of sin and guilt. Suddenly, the front door’s lock seems to click. You freeze, listen closely. Perhaps it isn’t your door? You quickly find that it is, indeed, your front door creaking open. Quickly, you get into the bathtub and hide behind the curtain. Your entire body trembled.

“Little thing”, a deep voice sing-songs in what can only be interpreted as amusement. “I see that you have something that belongs to me.”

The voice is unfamiliar, which is only for the best. You’re able to locate him in your bedroom.

The click of a gun snapping in place makes you flinch against the ceramic tub. If he finds you, you will die.

“Don’t try to hide from me.” You can hear the evident smile in his voice. “I know that you are here somewhere. I saw you on that low resonate web cam of yours just ten minutes ago! I don’t have time to play hide and seek with you. The longer I have to look for you, the less fun it’ll be for you when I find you.”

You squeeze your eyes shut, praying that all of this is a horrible nightmare. Your chest is burning with fear. All you want is to scream and cry, plead and beg for your pitiful little life.

“Little thing, I know that you saw some gruesome stuff on that USB”, he says, his voice now drenched in false pity. “Don’t you want to get rid of that horrible filth, hm? I can take it off your hands. Just come out and give it to me and I will spare your life. What do you say?”

A silence follows. An excruciating silence that makes you want to claw out of your own skin. You prepare yourself to see him ripping the curtain away and putting a bullet through your skull.

“Oh, would you look at that?” His voice appears again, back to the amusement. “A call from your mother? Let’s answer, shall we?”

Panic goes through your entire body as you realize that he has your phone — and, indirectly, your mother, in his hands. You can’t let your family be involved in this! The more people who know, the more people will be in danger and the harder it will be to get out of this mess.

You hurry out of the bathtub, out of the bathroom. You make your way down the corridor and storm into your bedroom. The man is tall with hair as dark as night and when he looks over his shoulder you can tell that his eyes, as well, are as dark as his ruthless soul. He’s standing in front of the same computer you watched the picture on — the same computer he claims he saw you through. He smiles at you, a triumphed ‘i told you so’ smile.

“Please don’t”, you beg. “Don’t answer the call. Please.”

He clicks away the phone call before throwing the phone on the bed. He turns to you. He’s wearing a black suit.

“There you are”, he smirks and tilts his head. “You look much better in person.”

With trembling fingers you fish the USB out of your pocket and throw it at his feet. He looks at it for a few seconds, appearing clueless.

“Take it!” you shriek. “Take it and leave me alone!”

The man scoffs out a surprised laugh and lifts his eyebrows before slowly bending down and picking it up. He looks at it for a few seconds and then at you, meeting your eyes. They’re surprisingly calm.

“Please, just take it and go.” Your voice is barely audible.

The man stays silent for a few seconds before opening his mouth again. “I don’t think I can.”

“W-What? I haven’t done anything, I don’t know how it ended up in my bag, I didn’t steal it. I don’t even know when or how I got it.”

The man seems amused by your rambling. As if he’s hearing a little kid try to reassure their innocence in a sandbox fight.

“I know that you haven’t done anything”, the man calmly answers. “My man’s incompetence of carrying an USB is not your fault. But you have seen what’s on it. You know what it is, don’t you?”

“No”, you lie and shake your head.

He scoffs. “I saw you on your webcam. I know that you understood what was on it. Do you think I can just let you off the hook and walk straight to the police? Now that you’ve seen me too?”

You are going to die. Holy shit.

“I-I won’t tell anyone!” you stutter and start to back away from him. “I will pretend that I have never seen anything. No one will know. Please.”

Before you have time to run, he grabs your arm and pulls you back to him. You scream and try to fight back, but he’s bigger, stronger. He slams his hand over your mouth, forces your back against his chest. You sob and shake your head, your pleas getting muffled by his hand.

“Don’t cry, pretty thing”, he says. “It doesn't suit you.”

With that said, he pulls you out of the apartment. You can feel the gun in his pocket poking your back. You have never been this scared before, and have no idea what your body will do when it is this panicked. To your surprise, it decides to black out.

For a few seconds you're sure that you have dreamt the worst nightmare in your life, until you open your eyes and find that you aren't in your bed. You aren't even in your apartment. Quick eyes search around. A bunker or a basement. Those are your best guesses. Blood, both dried and fresh, covers the cement walls. You hurry to look around your body to make sure that none of the blood belongs to you. For the moment you seem to be unharmed. But for how long? You have chains around your wrists, ankles and throat to keep you in place. Like a dog. You repeat your name, your background and family in your head, just to not go completely insane. Will you ever see them again?

You damn that little piece of plastic and metal, wish that it would self-destruct and ruin that man's life. Such a little thing got you in such big trouble.

A door creaks open above you and your man starts to walk down the stairs to the basement. He's wearing a black buttoned shirt. He has something in his hands.

“Awake now?” he says.

You don't answer. He strolls over to where you're sitting and crouches down. He reaches out for you, removing some hair from your forehead. You will bite his fingers off if he doesn't keep them to himself.

You glare at him. You wish that your eyes could penetrate his skin and pierce his ice cold heart.

“What's your name?” he asks.

“Why do you want to know?” you ask carefully.

“It might be so that you'll have to stay here with me for a while. Telling me your name will make it easier for me to talk to you.”

“What's your name, then?” you ask.

He smiles, and the smile is almost soft. He seems amused by your counter question.

“Silas”, he says. “Achilleos.”

The name rings a bell in your brain. You've heard his name before. On the news. He's a mob boss. Your eyes widen. You really have screwed yourself beyond belief.

“My name won't hurt you”, he smiles.

“It's not the name I'm scared of”, you mutter.

“And your name?”

You hesitate. You know better than to give your name to a literal mob boss, but you also know better than to lie to one.

“Y/N”, you whisper, hoping that he won't hear and that you won't have to repeat yourself.

Silas makes himself more comfortable on the cold, hard floor. He leans on his arm.

“I have to say that I am genuinely sorry for this”, he says. “I don't like pulling innocent people into something they don't have anything to do with. Especially this kind of shit. I have more important things to do. My man stupidly dropped the USB into your bag and now that you have seen what's on it and know who I am, I can't let you go.”

Maybe you shouldn't have asked for his name.

“Normally, I would have killed you”, he says. “But I think that I'm going to keep you for a little while. You interest me.”

You lift your heavy, chained hands and cover your face. Sobbing. Silas removes your hands and lifts your chin up with his index finger.

“Let's make a deal, shall we?” he asks. “I will not hurt you … if you do as I say.”

“So I can't go home again?”

“No, because the second you put that USB in your computer, and I got the notification that someone had opened it, you’ve belonged to me.”

Beyond screwed isn't even enough to describe what you are.

“So?” Silas says. “Do we have a deal?”

What choice do you even have? You nod shortly.

“Good”, Silas says.

He reveals what he had in his hands when walking down the stairs. A small yogurt packet and a spoon. The text on the packet isn't in English.

“I used to eat this when I was a kid”, he says and opens the lid, giving it to you. “I guess that you're hungry.”

You shovel it into your mouth. It tastes like strawberry and is smooth in texture. It's first after eating it all that you remember who gave it to you and perhaps that you shouldn't have eaten it.

“No, I haven't poisoned it”, Silas scoffs. “Didn't I just tell you that I have planned to keep you alive?”

“You could have lied”, you whisper.

He scoffs again as he starts to remove the chains. The weight drops off of you like angel light. Silas pulls you up on your feet, buy your knees buckle the second you try to put pressure on them. Silas catches you and lifts you up in his arms. He carries you up the stairs, to a hall, and then up another flight of stairs. Your body aches.

Silas walks into a bedroom, dressed in modern interior design. You're placed down on a king sized bed, tucked in under heavy blankets. The crinkle of chains makes you flinch. Silas lifts an identical cuff to the ones you wore five minutes ago.

“This is just to keep you here”, he explains and places it around your wrist. “Sleep now.”

With that said, he walks out and leaves you alone. The door closes. You tug at the chain, but it's obvious that you'll stay there. Too tired to cry, you sink down on the mattress. Too alert to fall asleep you stare up at the ceiling. A thought crosses your mind, quick and easy, buy loud enough for your heart to ache. You have to get out of here before it's too late.