Quartz Brain

Quartz Brain is one of the Cafe and Diner's subplots.

## General Info

> Mmmm nothing like some rustic late night breakfast! #Yummy #Worth1000 *(now unused hashtag indicating that the accompanying photo needs to be manipulated to reveal additional information)* #GoodEats
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The tweet also featured a picture of a breakfast plate including scrambled eggs, pancakes, bacon and strawberries. The photo had an odd border around it; when a side was selected and stretched out, it revealed a receipt posted by 4121. When '/QRTZBRN' is added to the end of a tinyurl, it redirects to a password-locked PrivateBin.

The hint 'Fantod in August' refers to a peculiar tarot deck created by Edward Gorey called The Fantod Pack.

One card in particular, The Effigy, has 'August' among its meanings. '**The Effigy**' is the password needed to unlock the PrivateBin. It contains the following text:

> Cafe and Diner Receipt from 7/31/1: *(7/31/18)*
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> Manager 4121
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> Customer N/A
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> Special Order
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> Order - Quartz Brain Cocktail *(Second Vision)*
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> Total: $9.39 (Little pricey)
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> Recipe for Quartz Brain
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> Ginger
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> Nutmeg
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> Olive
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> Sprite
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> Ice
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> Spirits
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> Looking for any patrons who know where we can find these ingredients. Leave a comment below if you have leads.
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Taking the first letter of each ingredient in the recipe gives the word 'GNOSIS', a type of chaos magick.

### RSVP Link

On August 1st, the twitter posted a tweet containing the RSVP link for the August 10th meeting. It read as follows:

> Now that I'm back, here's the RSVP link, as promised: https://tinyurl.com/Meeting1RSVP
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> Reminder, the meeting is the second Monday, coffee will be served *(will be served = the answer is a direct quote)*, maximum 10 per person. Corporate/Managers only- although intrepid patrons are welcome too. #DinerDelight
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The tinyurl, as before, led to a password-locked PrivateBin.

#### DM Puzzles

The password to the RSVP link was a struggle for the Discord group, who only discovered it thanks to a hint received when the patron ShiversTheNinja sent a DM to the CaD twitter. The following is a transcript of the exchange.

> Shivers: Hello. I am part of a group of patrons who are quite familiar with the ingredients needed for the cocktail. They have much experience with G.N.O.S.I.S. and are always looking for more. I think we may be able to help you. Unfortunately, we are having some difficulty in RSVPing for the staff meeting. There seems to be something we're overlooking, but we're not sure what. Any comfort food you could offer?
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> CaD: 4121 here. id love to help u out, but you gotta help me out first... maybe just to check if ur legit and not just another wish-washy friend *(enemy)*. if you really do know about the ingredients, could you lend me a SPARE? (just let me know which guy im taking about, should be obvious, or not. i might not be as good at puzzles as 7+1)
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> CaD: ive been informed by 9-1 i am bad at puzzles. so i had them make one for me "Mr. Spare in 1::6 *(1886)*, who am I?"
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> Shivers: 2213?
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> CaD: its not our boy lost out in ottawa *(Other Side)*. i think you might of been thrown off by the colons. i keep telling J that the colons dont really look like that one number we arent allowed to say but whatever. the colons are that one number. ~4121 (if it wasnt obvi)
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> Shivers: Damn, that does seem to have thrown me off. Give me a few minutes, I'm sure I can get it right. :)
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> Shivers: Are we talking about Austin Osman Spare?
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> CaD: yep! trying to nail that recipe he helped create. anyway this was to get some comfort foods *(leads)* for the rsvp? i'll give you THE BIGGEST hint 5+3 will let me give... its song lyrics ~4121
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> Shivers: Thank you! I'm certain we'll be on our way to RSVP very soon.
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The password for the PrivateBin was determined to be '**We may be liars preaching to choirs but we can**', a line from *Modern Jesus* by Portugal. The Man, which was featured in the Spotify playlist. This was also hinted at in a tweet which quotes another lyric from the song, “we won’t sell you nothing you can’t use,” making it clear that was the relevant song on the playlist.
The text in the PrivateBin read as follows:

> Hey everyone, single digit here. If you've been following my QR posts you should be up-to-speed on what I've been up to. I'm still in Oregon, but I'm no longer in Astoria, too much heat. Don't worry though, I'm at a safe house with ex-manager 125JC. You might remember him from project Dead Rabbit.
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> Anyway, onto the juicy bits. It's true I met up with ex-44 and my predecessor. For clarity sake, we're gonna call her 7 and the one before her 6. ex-44 confirmed that A23 is aware we resumed operations. 7 (thankfully) wants no part in the Cafe and Diner, but she did warn me that recent Blood Moon has had a negative effect on the boundary lines *(areas where the veil between Other Side and our world is thinner)* and it's more than likely a few friends *(enemies)* escaped. Unfortunately, we don't have any clairvoyants in our current folds (as far as I know) so this warning is... vague and unhelpful. Much like 7. Once I get back to LB *(Long Beach)* I'll start looking into the boundary lines/otherside.
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> I'd like to thank 131111 for setting up the puzzle for this meeting. We're probably gonna use other song lyrics from that or other playlists in the future. I'd also like to recommend brushing up on François Villon, for the coming special Wednesday.
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> Other agents, please leave your current ops and statuses. No need for Cafe lingo, but keep things sensible. Also, please route through a shared IP for sake of consistency.
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> Yours For Now,
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> VIII
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Among the various discussions in the comment section of the PrivateBin is the following exchange

> 4121: y would the BM mess with boundaries??? idk, maybe 7 is purposefully misleading u... something to consider. im pretty far away from any boundaries so i can't check rn. tbh seems fishy ~JW
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> VIII: What would 7 have to gain from lying to us?
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> VIII: Strike that. I see your point. Still, even if it's just a lie, it's an easy enough lie to debunk. How is your progress with Project Quartz Brain going?
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> 4121: its going bad lol. barring any help from big bads i dont even know if its possible. 7 was just born with it rite? so maybe its more genetic than gnosis. and 6 got it from big bads ~JW
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> VIII: Keep trying! We'll figure it out eventually.
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> 11411: Do we event trust 7? Legit. Maybe she did get it from the Big Bads and is just screwing with us. That's my new case, if it's cool with everyone. I'm gonna look into 7's past. ZB
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> VIII: That's a probably a bad idea, but if you wanna do some SURFACE research I'm fine with that. Don't bother 7 though. No point in poking a sleeping bear.
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### Muffin Incident

#### Muffinshalfoff

On August 3rd, the twitter posted a now deleted tweet featuring a plate of muffins with a small blackboard in front of them. The blackboard read

> Try our newest pastry! /muffinshalfoff
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The string 'halfoff' was underlined by a smudge and underneath was a faint '+5'.

While the password for this tweet would ultimately prove to be very simple, it caused a lot of confusion in the Discord for an assortment of reasons.

#### Yummier Muffins

The next day, on August 4th, a new tweet was posted reading

> Someone got too carried away and went full Hepburn *(cafe speak for mess up - Audrey Hepburn's muffin recipe is infamous for its lack of fat and suger)* on the last batch of muffins! This time we added a little extra sugar *(made the puzzle easier)*. /yummiermuffins #CafeSpecial
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The tweet included the same picture as the original muffins tweet, but with new words on the blackboard.

> Muffins!
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> $5.21! for 2
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> Terrific!
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> Yum!
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In addition, there is very faint writing saying 'taro' in front of 'Terrific!' making the entire string 'taroTerrific!'.
This points in the direction of Tarot, and 'for 2' suggests that two cards are needed. The fifth and twenty-first cards of the Major Arcana are The Hierophant and The World, giving the password '**Hierophant World**', which unlocks the PrivateBin

> Hello patrons. Octo here.
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> While I was busy dealing with old and new friends and trying to book a flight home for 2131, bless her heart, 4121 made a puzzle. We've talked it over and 4121 is not allowed to make any more puzzles unless they've been cleared. Here is a transcript from here previous, now deleted, puzzle with sensitive information removed.
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> We love you 4121, but you are bad at puzzles.
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> Original PrivateBin: https://privatebin.net/?1ca9b03a186e05b0#z+0JPx6iZKbHRZMK79BVnkH3SRXswgo5UJCxnEBsk4U=
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> =============================================================================================
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> 4121 here
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> whats up guys, gals, and others!
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> so quartzbrain is going blegh heres my thoughts
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> KNOWN WAYS TO GET [REDACTED]
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> 1. big bads give it to you. we know this because [REDACTED]
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> 2. be born with it. we know this because that's how 7 says she got it.
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> POSSIBLE WAYS TO GET [REDACTED]
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> 1. via chaos magick/gnosis. problems with this are that chaos magick/gnosis are too self centered and might not interact with the OS *(Other Side)*
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> 2. via eoa magick *(see below)*. similar problem to big bads in that were not even gonna mess with it (but going off the password, obvi i looked into it just a little lol)
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> 3. dreams? maybe?
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> 4. eggless travel. like, eggless travel but for our minds. we know the OS is a different dimension so, maybe that could work?
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> 5. sending in a drone to the OS. problem is the signal would cut out like immediately.
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> POSSIBLE NATURAL OCCURRENCES OF [REDACTED]
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> 1. thought id mention that EQL is basically what we're going for. problem is we can't wait for natural disasters.
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> bleghghghhghg i dont know what to do
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> im gonna meet up with 17 and maybe have her help me out
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> ~JW
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#### 4121's Apology

Later the same day, another tweet was posted

> Eggs! Who doesn't love eggs? #Eggs #CafeSpecial
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It featured a photo of plate of eggs on toast, with a QR code photoshopped onto the napkin next to it. When scanned, the QR code leads to a photo of a cup of coffee on top of an assortment of cards. The text on the image reads

> 4121 HERE!
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> SORRY ABOUT THE BAD PUZZLES
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> I DID A READING FOR YOU GUYS TO MAKE UP FOR IT
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The reading features a mix of cards from the Fantod pack and a standard tarot deck (specifically, the Linestrider Deck)

From left to right: The Ancestor *(April / hereditary / weakness / thrush / loss of money / a false statement / morbid dependency / staggering sickness / champerty / megrims / paranoia / an overdose / imprisonment / instable furniture)*, Death *(endings, beginnings, change, transformation, transition)*, The Devil *(bondage, addiction, sexuality, materialism)*, The Hierophant *(religion, group identification, conformity, tradition, beliefs)*, Black Doll *(“In the words of the old rhyme / What most you fear is coming near”)*.

At the bottom is The Ecorché *(June / sexual incompetence / a forged check / obscurity / irregularities / puckers / inconstancy / an accident on a pier / morbid sensibilities / deception / a social disease / confinement / cysts)*.

There are also several cards hidden below the others. The tarot card hidden at the top is The Tower *(disaster, upheaval, sudden change, revelation)*. The one hidden at the bottom is The World *(completion, integration, accomplishment, travel)*.

The cards with white text on black background are from the game Deck Quest, made by friends of the GM. This leads to the original password for the muffin puzzle.

#### Muffinshalfoff, Solved

The Deck Quest cards featured in 4121's reading are ones having to do with eoa magick, which heavily features the number 55, which can also be seen in the original muffins puzzle when adding five ('+5') to fifty ('halfoff'). This gives us the password for the original PrivateBin, '**fifty five**'

> 4121 here
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> whats up guys, gals, and others!
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> so quartzbrain is going blegh heres my thoughts
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> KNOWN WAYS TO GET SECOND VISION
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> 1. big bads give it to you. we know this because thats how 6 got it according to 7
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> 2. be born with it. we know this because that's how 7 says she got it.
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> POSSIBLE WAYS TO GET SECOND VISION
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> 1. via chaos magick/gnosis. problems with this are that chaos magick/gnosis are too self centered and might not interact with the OS (Other Side)
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> 2. via eoa magick. similar problem to big bads in that were not even gonna mess with it (but going off the password, obvi i looked into it just a little lol)
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> 3. dreams? maybe?
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> 4. eggless travel. like, eggless travel but for our minds. we know the OS is a different dimension so, maybe that could work?
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> 5. sending in a drone to the OS. problem is the signal would cut out like immediately.
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> POSSIBLE NATURAL OCCURRENCES OF SECOND VISION
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> 1. thought id mention that EQL is basically what we're going for. problem is we can't wait for natural disasters.
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> bleghghghhghg i dont know what to do
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> im gonna meet up with 17 and maybe have her help me out
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> ~JW
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### Quartz Cocktail

On August 9th, the twitter posted a tweet reading

> Just got done hanging up some new decor! Makes me thirsty for a Seasonal #QuartzBrain Cocktail! #CafeSpecial
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Upon close examination, the words that run along the wall decoration have been modified to read

> 1 or 11 On fire! It's magic! /QuartzCocktail
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In blackjack, aces can be worth either one or eleven points. The tarot suit associated with the element of fire is wands, which is also hinted at by the mention of 'magic'. This gives us '**Ace of Wands**' as the password to the PrivateBin that results from adding '/QuartzCocktail' to the end of a tinyurl.

> 4121 here, and major break through time! i SAW IT! for like a second anyway. but i totally had second vision for like... well... a second. but here me out. this is good. this is progress. or maybe im i just dreamed that i saw the other side. or then again maybe we always peer into the other side when were dreaming? or maybe im going on a theory tangent again. anywhosss this is what went down.
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> meditation for 2 hours followed by sensory deprivation for 1 hour leading to a ganzfeld effect. during the ganzfeld effect i was able to see a circle of some sort. after fixating on it for... idk maybe 5-30 minutes (hard to tell) it was like BAM! my perception of reality tore open and i could see the other side like crystal clear. the second i moved my head to look around it was like an etchasketch and it was gone.
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> so this is an interesting development. i have no idea how we can perfect this but its a start.
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> ~JW
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> (ps: J, ill write up an official report later i promise <3)
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### August 10th Meeting

Project Quartz Brain was discussed during the August 10th meeting.

* 2213 had gone missing; it was mentioned that if there was a way to see consistently into the Other Side, his location would be able to be mapped.
* 62 stated that "once we get QB working on humans we can make it digital. Or that's the hope. We want to make a program to simulate the Other Side in a similar fashion to QB/Second Vision. Not sure how well it'll work, but it's better than giving humans Second Vision."
* Single Digit elaborated that once someone achieves Second Vision, it can't be turned back off, effectively rendering them blind to our world.
* Additionally, in the pre-meeting chatter, 4121 states that she drew the circle she saw and will post it eventually. She also mentions having a headache; when implored to take care of herself, she said " i will! (but im also gonna get the QB one way or the other)"

### Aunt Anne's Coffee Cake

On August 18th, the twitter posted a tweet reading

> Mmm how about a late night recipe? #CafeSpecial
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The tweet also featured a screenshot of a recipe for Aunt Anne's Coffee Cake that made been modified to include the words

> It's simply one shining diamond of a recipe. A meal fit for a king!
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> /QRTZBRNRS
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The clues point to the King of Diamonds, which has historically represented Julius Caesar. This gives us the password, '**Caesar**', that unlocks the PrivateBin

> ok so its not an """official""" report but its also not """totally working""" so deal with it J
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> anyway hi guysss its ya girl jenny
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> so i managed to jot down the circle i saw earlier and yep its a sigil! not too surprising hon
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> estly but now i can either deconstruct the sigil or just use it carelessly because it totally works
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> the sigil: https://image.ibb.co/kheDHe/sigil.png
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> so new steps for second vision (DO NOT DO THIS GUYS IT COULD MESS UP YOUR EYESIGHT IM KINDA A PROFESSIONAL OKAY?)
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> 1. gnosis and visualization of sigil
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> 2. go beyond the sigil
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> 3. ???
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> 4. profit!
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> seriously. i can now look at ottawa for a good minute or two at a time although it leaves a NASTY after image so i dunno i have to figure out how to not burn my vision out with this.
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When edited, the image also reveals 4121's to do list.

> To do!
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> -Get up
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> -No for real this time
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> -Meet with D[?]
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> -Meet with [unreadable]
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> -Finish QB *(Quartz Brain)* research
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> -Play some Yugioh!
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## Notes

* The sigil 4121 saw is part of the 'Otherside' design posted on the GM's ooc twitter and on the CaD RedBubble