@boxmorelover232 sent the following to the message board: “Who? Sorry I think we’re all a bit confused on...well, everything. Can whoever’s holding the camera fill us in on any info we don’t have. Also introductions would be nice.”
“Uh, hello message board... T̵͎̍h̶̡̽e̷̜͌ ̸̨̿s̸̫̿c̵͚͝ȯ̴̢r̵̈́͜ě̷̱s̴͍̿ ̶̢̽f̵̤̊ȍ̷̧ṙ̵̼ ̵̫̃l̴̠̚a̶̦̋s̵̢̎t̵̩̓ ̷̬̈n̵͚͌ĭ̵͈g̵͙̒ȟ̵̪ț̴̽s̴̘͆ ̷̻̈́g̴̞͂ḁ̷͂m̸͑͜ė̸̲- this is Ernesto and I thought I’d upload this to the message board before I have to wipe the film. Dad set up this terminal with a data line to a fax office so he could get more tips about his research and share more knowledge.... I guess us kids are part of that research so I should send the negatives over the line.... I’m going to have to represent him for his Bail Hearing in a hour or two so I should... L̸̜̋a̵̻̽k̶̜̎ḛ̶̉w̵̛̮o̷̜̅ő̵̝d̶̙̑s̵̫̆ ̶̛ͅt̶̺͂ȇ̵̠a̸̝̅ḿ̴̰ ̶̋ͅẘ̵̹o̷̡̚n̵̗͝ ̵͎́â̶̭ţ̸́ ̴̠̐1̵̜̎3̸̳̔-̴̫͝5̸̫̏- I should upload this and go get ready with the money and the evidence....“
@boxmorelover232 and an anonymous sent the following to the message board: “HELLO WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON???” “Uh...what is happening?...”
“Well, like, Ernesto handed me the camera, and from like... the way Daddy and Ernesto are screaming I’d have to say it’s either some kinda, like, elf in the basement, or some new girl from the city named Elodie or something.”
@boxmorelover232 Sent the following to the message board: “Heya! How’s It going?”
“Well... -̵̅ͅo̸͉̾ň̷̳ ̷̜̾t̴͚̓o̴̳̎d̶̳̅ā̶ͅÿ̸̦'̴̱̈́ș̸̎ ̴̳͆s̴̙̈h̵̫̽o̴̺͂w̴̗͗-̴͓͋ Things are about normal around here -̴͓͋ T̸̬̊h̵͙͋ḙ̷́ ̶͍̀f̸͍̃o̵̯͠l̸̡̇l̵͕̇o̷͕͝w̷͇̚ĭ̸̹ņ̵̍g̵͇̐ ̴̱͗n̷̝̈è̷̻w̵̃ͅs̸̖̓ ̴̧̄ć̶͎a̶͙͝s̸̢̀ṭ̴̂ Shannon’s still waiting for her laundry...”
[mod fire: I have some back logged touch tone stuff, so I thought I should post some of it for spooky season! I’m thinking of having a Halloween special for you guys but I’m not fully settled on what it should be, stay safe and keep an eye over your shoulder!]
ASK BOX OPEN
“John Boxman. Stay at home scientist, what do you got?”
OK KO cryptid, folk lore, and mystery AU
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
John Boxman does his best to protect the ‘wildlife’ in his local town.
Little does the town believe he actually knows
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
☎ Journals to update
☎ Mysteries to unlock
☎ People to figure out
☎ Pasts to uncover
☎ Secrets to know
☎ Something is wrong
☎ Something is wrong
☎ What are they
☎ Why are they doing it
☎ How are they hiding
☎ Why won’t they ask for help
☎ How are they doing
☎ How are they doing this
☎ Why is he threatening us
☎ Can’t let the base get involved
☎ Can’t let P.O.I.N.T. come
☎ ░
☎ ░
☎ ▒
☎ ▒
☎ ▓
☎ ▓
☎ █
☎ Can’t lose my family
☎ｃ̷̛̖ｌ̵̳̓ｉ̸̔ͅｃ̸̢͝ｋ̸̳̋
Mr. Gar was so cool, and he had new friends, and he could be with his mommy every day!
It was also fun to see the people who go in and out of the store.
There was Red Action who always came in and hung out with Enid. Mr. Gar didn’t appreciate her pulling Enid from her place at the counter, but both the girls were happy hanging out and talking. Sometimes, Red would say something that didn’t make any sense, but she calls them little jokes. He likes laughing with her.
Drupe, who was always buying fabrics for her next design; he really liked the leaves that she put in her hair. She says she’s planning on starting new hair accessories based on it. Sometimes, she’d pair the leaves with fake strawberries. It was so pretty!
Their friend Gregg was way more quiet than them. They were always hunched over every time he saw them, but they were very nice! They really like birdwatching, and sometimes, he’d join them.
There was a couple that came in every now and again. Nick and Joff were complete opposites, but they always seemed so happy with each other. He liked seeing them.
A strange old man who called himself Crinkly Wrinkly sometimes randomly appeared in the store. Cats always followed him for some reason. He wouldn’t lie that he was kind of scared of the man. Rad and Enid said that everyone was, but a customer is a customer.
Then there were the other workers at Lakewood Plaza Tur-boo. Like Brandon and RMS, who work at the frame store. Rad told him that RMS stood for Roy Micheal Sehlton but everyone just called him RMS for reasons that no one really knew. Brandon liked calling him Magi for some reason though. They were cool, and they liked to film whenever John Boxman came in ranting about cryptids.
John Boxman was a mystery in itself. Rad and Enid told him to pay no mind to the “crazy old man,” but he didn’t know why he was so bad. Sure, he’d sometimes come in to yell at Rad in particular, but he never hurt anyone. He thought Rad was an alien, which was kind of weird, and he often got on RMS about being a skeleton, which he wasn’t. At least… he didn’t think he was?
Either way, seeing Boxman was nice.
It was only his first week, but he could tell that he was going to love it here.
“You really like mopping.” Enid kicked up her feet on the counter, leaning back.
“It makes everything look so clean and pretty!” He chirped.
Enid smiled. “Keep being you, KO.”
He smiled and continued to mop the floor.
And then someone strange walked in. Someone that he had never seen before.
He wore a large, dark green coat, a purple hat, black pants and white dress shoes. The hat and coat worked to shadow his entire face, and it looked like sunglasses covered his eyes. The man made his way silently to an isle as if he didn’t want to draw attention.
He looked to Enid, his voice a bit quiet as he made his way closer to the counter. “Who’s that?”
Enid looked up from her magazine, glancing towards where the person went. She then looked back to her magazine. “Just some guy that comes in occasionally for bread and sometimes soda. Just leave him alone, and- KO?” She glanced around.
“Hello!” He stood beside the man. “I’m KO! What’s your name?”
The man seemed to tense for a moment. His voice was quiet and deep. “Venomous.”
“That’s a cool name!” He watched as Venomous grabbed a loaf of bread. “Would you like any help with anything?”
“No.” The man made a very realistic snake hissing noise.
“Wow, you make animal noises!? That sounded so good! My mommy says that I can do a great do-”
“S-Sorry, sir!” Enid picked KO up. “He’s new.”
Venomous didn’t look at them. He hadn’t looked at anyone this whole time. “It’s fine.”
“KO, we don’t talk to the creepy man.” Enid muttered to him as she turned them around.
“But he’s a customer!” He looked back to the man.
“Some customers just need to be left alone. Especially him.”
“But-”
“Peanut! It’s time to go!” Venomous tensed.
“Mommy!” He smiled as he ran to the front of the store, jumping into his mother’s arms.
“Hey there, KO!” Carol ruffled his hair. “How was your day?”
“It was great! I got to clean the bathroom, help Rad restock, and I made a new friend! Venomous!” He looked to where the man was, but he was gone. “Huh? Where’d he go?”
__________________
There’s no way.
Carol had a kid?
He peaked out of the bush, out of breath. He could still see them through the windows.
It couldn’t be.
It wasn’t possible.
But… he looked the right age….
He shook his head, looking to the stolen bread in his hands. Might be a while before he went back there.
The sun was setting on Lakewood, causing the streetlights to flicker on.
It always felt unsettling being out at that time. Nobody knows what could be lurking about.
There have been mentions of monsters that strike in the night, though there had never really been any bodies to prove it aside from a few disappearances throughout the years. Nonetheless, something always felt off while walking along the dimly lit streets.
A shadow flew by the latest streetlight, but it went unnoticed.
The moon had risen, the crescent shape being a sort of calming sight. After all, full moons have always been notorious for cryptid attacks.
Most people were in their homes, calmly enjoying their evening, whether it be with their families, their lovers, or by themselves. Because of this, the sidewalks were mostly empty.
The darkness was staring. Watching. Waiting.
Suddenly, it felt as if all noise had stopped. The crickets had stopped chirping, and it even felt as if footsteps couldn’t be heard.
One of the street lights flickered off above a poor soul.
The darkness grinned.
A scream was cut short.
____________________
Venomous groaned as light shone directly in his face. He could’ve sworn that he closed those blinds last night.
Maybe Fink did it to keep him from sleeping through the whole day again.
He sat up in his bed, his body feeling more stiff than usual. He marked it up to sleeping on something wrong and stretched.
He was absolutely exhausted.
He should stop his late night strolls after his classes.
He lazily rolled out of bed, making his way to the bathroom. He took a deep breath as he turned on the lights.
He hated seeing any parts of his skin.
It made him feel helpless. He couldn’t have stopped what had happened to him. It hurt to have that reminder. The reminder that he wasn’t powerful enough to stop these kinds of things.
At the same time, his fear was not stopping him from putting on makeup.
He saw himself in the mirror and felt his heart stop.
Was… Was that blood?
Yes, there was dried blood on his face, his hands, even some on his outfit.
He quickly fell into full panic mode as he checked were the wound could possibly be.
There was no wound.
Why in Cob’s name would there be no wound unless….
Unless it wasn’t his blood.
That was an even more terrifying thought.
How could someone else’s blood be on him? He couldn’t recall any situation he was in last night that involved someone else and their blood. All he did was teach his class, take the long way home, and curled up into bed. There was no reason for blood to be on him.
He had to wash it off.
His pajamas? Those needed to be burned.
He wished that he could just shed his skin. Anything to get rid of this feeling.
He took a long shower, scrubbing hard enough to make his skin burn.
He felt disgusted.
The rest of his day continued like normal. Fink questioned why he was in the shower for so long, but he pushed it away quickly and spent the day in his lab. The memories of that morning completely left.
It was evening, and he and Fink were in the living room. The young rat girl was coloring on the floor as he sat on the couch, flipping tiredly through channels. It wasn’t like there was much to choose from. He ended up just landing on the news and mindlessly going to his lab notes from the day.
“Police are still investigating a murder that took place sometime last night. The victim was found on the sidewalk that night by a young couple who lived across the street.”
He felt himself tense as his attention was now completely on the news.
“Hey, boss! That’s the road we live on!” Fink called.
It was.
“The witnesses describe the suspect as a shadow. Many have started calling this murderer ‘Shadowy Figure.’”
“What a dumb name.” Fink scoffed.
“Other than this, there is no evidence of who this ‘Shadowy Figure’ is, but I won’t rest until this creep is caught!”
Of course, Dynamite always wanted to get personal with her news pieces. He hoped that this wouldn’t be her downfall.
“Many are saying that this is a new cryptid, and the town has already taken to adding him to their stores.”
Yes, Vormulax would be very quick to throw this in with her tourist trap.
“Will we see this mysterious figure again-”
And the door burst open, causing whatever Dynamite said to be washed away by the sound.
And there Boxman stood, already geared up. “We have a new cryptid!”
He sighed. He didn’t know what else he expected from the eccentric man. He noticed the news cameras outside and quickly hissed. “Close the door!”
“Was that Boxman?” Dynamite was now running towards his house.
“Fink! Coat and hat! Now!” He quickly ran to grab his own as Fink did.
He slipped his sunglasses on as he ran to the door. Boxman was clapping excitedly, his excitement for cryptids foregoing any worry over the situation he just threw them into. He adjusted his hat as he glanced to Fink, who was also well disguised now.
Dynamite was at the door quickly. “Why did Boxman break in here!?”
“It’s alright! He has a key.” He shot Boxman a small glare. “He just doesn’t use it.”
Dynamite looked confused for a moment. He couldn’t blame her. Boxman was known as the town’s crazy person, so anyone actually wanting to be around him would probably be a surprise to anyone else. It was awful that they put Boxman in that light, but he couldn’t do anything about that.
There was also the fact that he was in a hat, winter coat, and sunglasses in his own home, but he’d rather not think about that. Not very many people question him about this, even though they really should. It was part of the reason he stayed in this town.
“Boxman! You’re known for your knowledge of cryptids! What can you tell us about this Shadowy Figure?” Dynamite quickly fired.
“I don’t know anything about him!” Boxman rubbed his hands together. “And that’s the fun part.”
I’ve been messing around with the au so have some boxman
the au takes place in roughly 1980-84, which is where ‘Hawkeye deserved better’ comes from, a ‘joke’ from that era from my area [M*A*S*H* was big here]
Boxman ran through the woods, he heard screeching, he heard a bang, and he heard the call.
He had been on the trail looking for today's new blur, anonymous letter's told him there was something yellow, it could change shapes, and it had fins.
Boxman knew of only few Cryptid's that had fins on land, he only knew on one that changed shape.
He heard a Chimera crying.
Boxman stopped, he saw a man circling a lump of yellow in the dirt. A face full of fear and a rifle in there hands.
Boxman pulled out his hunting knife, he put his camera on the ground and carefully stalked closer. He saw the man bring the rifle back up to his sights.
Boxman jumped forewords. Howling and screaming.
The man swore and ran into the woods before Boxman could get to him.
Good.
Boxman tossed his knife and went to the side of the yellow lump, which was leaking black smoke and red blood. The Chimera screamed and cried.
Boxman put his hands up and slowly approached the crying Chimera, the Chimera stopped snapping at him as he grew closer.
This was a small one, with beautiful yellow fur and magenta fins. They were too small. They were a baby.
Boxman felt himself fill with disgust as he knelt down slowly next to the Chimera. He softly placed a hand on the Chimera's head, petting their matted and scruffy fur softly. They really were a baby, didn't even know how to clean them self yet, how long had they been alone? Boxman felt his anger rise inside but kept himself calm on the outside.
“It's okay, little one.” Boxman said gently, he moved his hand to the wound. The chimera had taken a bullet to there leg, it had embedded and while it was just a surface wound, they would need stitches. “I need to take you home with me, little one. Is that okay or will your parents be here?”
The Chimera looked at him. “Mikayla.”
“Is that your name?”
“Mikayla.”
“I like it. Where are your parents Mikayla.”
“Mikayla.”
Boxman sighed, it was true, they only spoke with there names.
“Can you nod, like this for yes.” Boxman nodded his head. “And like this for no.” He shook his head.
“Mikayla!” Mikayla nodded.
Boxman smiled.
“Do you have parents?”
“ Mi- Mikayla.” Mikayla shook there head.
Boxman felt his chest tighten, his rage grow. He pet Mikayla softly.
“I'm taking you home.” Boxman stood and wrapped his arms around Mikayla, he walked over and pocked his knife, and grabbed his camera. He started the walk home.
Hey!!! Just wanted to say I absolutely love this AU. When I first saw that drawing of Venomous and Boxman I didn't realize it was an AU until I saw the tags. I stared at the tags and thought 'Touch-Tone AU? OH YEAH BABEY!' Listening to Touch-Tone Telephone right now while reading through these posts -Kittay Anon
AHHH!
Both me [mod fire] and Mod Lava are yelling!
Glad someone understood the reference! I was worried about that lol, but thank you so much! We are hard at work working on the story of this AU so be ready for more content!
[And totally bop to Lemon Demon, who I owe this entire AU too]
It wasn’t like he could go back. Would they even accept him like he is now?
No, of course not. He could never show his face again after what they had done to him.
He still had classes to teach, and couldn’t just live in the woods. He needed to eat.
Even if he couldn’t live there, he did enjoy walking through the woods. Of course, he risked running into something… unnatural, but at least he had less of a chance of running into another human.
If he could still be classified as a human now.
At least he knew that he didn’t have to wear his hat, sunglasses, or coat while he was out in the woods.
He still kept his gloves on. He hated to see his skin the color that it was now.
He couldn’t stand seeing what was done to him. Every time he saw that purple pigment he felt sick.
They had ruined him.
He had always believed that they were real, but he had never thought that this would happen to him.
It was in this forest….
He hardly remembered that day.
“What if we didn’t kill cryptids?”
“That’s crazy! Why would we stop protecting innocent people from those monsters!?”
“Maybe we could study them! Maybe they aren’t as bad as we think!”
“There have been countless murders with cryptid sightings in the past week, Laser. They can’t be trusted.”
“That doesn’t mean that every cryptid is bad! Doc, back me up on this! ...Doc?”
He never got to say goodbye to Doc when he left.
That night, he was wondering in this forest. There was a bright light.
And he woke up on the ground the next day, his skin purple and his frame thinner.
Those aliens had ruined his life.
Yet he always came back to walk through this forest.
He didn’t know why. Did he want to get abducted again? It would be nice to get to actually see the beings that did this to him, but he most likely wouldn’t remember it.
The forest was calm.
He was alone.
At least, he thought he was.
He quickly hid behind a tree as he heard quiet sobs.
The people of this town hardly ever went into this forest. Could the sound be from a cryptid?
Peeking around the tree, he could see that the sound was caused by a human. A young girl, in fact. She was sitting on the ground, leaning against a tree. Her short, light blonde hair barely contrasted against her pale skin. Was she wearing a hospital gown?
Why was she alone in these supposedly dangerous woods? She didn’t look to be any older than 6-11.
He took a step forward but then quickly hid behind the tree once again. He wasn’t wearing any of his disguise.
But something was urging him to go comfort her.
He couldn’t just leave her for dead.
“I know you’re there.” Her voice was shaky. “Just kill me now or go away and let me die on my own.”
He swore his heart completely shattered. She was so young; why was she saying such things?
He stayed behind the tree. Maybe he could get all of the information he needed without revealing himself. “I’m not here to kill you. What brings you into this forest? Haven’t your parents told you about the rumors?”
She scoffed. “Of course they did! That’s why I came here!”
“May I ask why?”
“The doctors told my family that I don’t have a lot of time left. Figured I’d just save everyone the trouble and leave.”
He felt his throat tighten a bit. This poor girl. “I’m sure the doctors could’ve cured you.”
She laughed but there was no real energy behind it. “There’s no cure for brain cancer.”
His gut twisted. No, that wasn’t fair. She was so young.
How had he grown so attached to this girl already?
“I don’t like talking to a tree.”
“What?”
“Can you stop hiding?”
He gulped, feeling the anxiety well up in his chest. Nobody had ever seen him like this.
“I don’t think I can.”
“It’s not like I’m gonna tell anyone you exist.”
She was so accepting of her fate; he couldn’t say no to her simple request.
So, he took a deep breath, pushing any and all thoughts out of his head as he rounded the tree.
He could see now that her eyes were red, most likely from crying. He was glad that their conversation had stopped those tears, even if for a moment.
“You’re purple.”
“Yes.”
She stared at him for a long moment. He felt his anxiety grow the more her gaze lingered.
Finally, she spoke. “It suits you.”
He really didn’t know what to say to that. He was expecting questions or disgusted comments, and in the worst case scenario, screaming and running.
“Um… thanks, I guess….” He leaned against the tree, keeping his gaze anywhere but the girl.
He didn’t even notice her walking slowly towards him and holding out her hand. “I’m Fink.”
He took her hand and hesitantly shook it. “Venomous.”
“I’ve never seen you in town before. Do you live here?”
“No, I do live in town….” He glanced away. “I don’t usually go out a lot.”
“Because you’re purple?”
“Exactly.”
She nodded before turning around and slowly moving back to her spot on the ground. “Well, I guess I’ll leave you to your own life now.”
He didn’t want to leave her. He couldn’t.
He wouldn’t.
“Y-You know, I’m a bioengineer. If you come home with me, I’m sure I could find something to hel-”
“Nope. Save that talk.” Fink huffed. “Just go forget about me and let me die.”
He couldn’t just forget her. And he wasn’t letting her die.
“Alright, how about this: you come stay with me for three days, and if I can’t cure you in that time, then I’ll let you back into the forest and forget about you.”
“You’ll grow attached. Not a smart move.”
Oh, he was already attached.
He quickly made his way to her and held his hand out. “Do we have a deal?”
She was once again staring at him for a long moment, but this time he wasn’t going to crack. He was determined to help her.
Finally, she sighed. “This is a dumb idea.” But she took his hand anyway.
He smiled and helped her up. He then just picked her up, holding her close to him as he made his way out of the forest. She struggled in his grip for a bit but quickly accepted it.
He was going to make sure that Cob wasn’t getting her anytime soon.
___________________
Living with another person was a bit of an adjustment, but he was happy to change for her. He quickly found himself adapting his daily routine to meet all of her needs, and when he wasn’t with her, he was in his lab.
Sometimes, his two activities mixed.
Fink had taken to hanging around the lab as he worked. She enjoyed laying on the floor and drawing, but sometimes she would help him with little things: handing him vials or flipping a page in his notes when his hands were full.
He especially liked it when she’d just watch him work. Sometimes she’d ask him a question about what he was mixing.
He was always happy to just talk to her.
He hadn’t talked to anyone in so long….
Fink was a lovely assistant. She had even taken to calling him ‘boss.’
It was endearing.
On the second day, he tested his mixture on a lab rat.
It appeared to be a success.
He spent the rest of the day perfecting it.
She was going to live.
The next day, he was absolutely exhausted, but even that couldn’t kill the excitement he had.
“Alright, boss, it was fun, but I… I should go….”
She had gotten weaker in just those few days….
This had to work.
“Try this.”
If this worked then she could live. She could… go back to her family….
And he’d be alone again….
But if this didn’t work, she would leave.
Either way, he’d be alone once again.
That…
It didn’t matter. He was doing this for Fink.
She hesitated for a moment before trying it.
They were both silent for a long moment.
And before his eyes he could see her hair turning green. The vial crashed to the ground as she stared at her arms. They were growing hair and fast. Soon enough, she was covered in mint green fur, her nose pointed slightly and whiskers poked out of her face. Her eyes glowed red, and her ears were more pointed.
He screwed up.
He felt horrible.
In the end, it had cured her. She was just stuck as a rat person now.
She couldn't go out in the public.
He had ruined her life.
If he had just worked harder. If he had just caught this mistake before he gave it to her.
It was his fault.
After he figured out what went wrong, he started apologizing.
"You didn't ruin my life."
"You can never live a normal life now. H-How are your parents going to react?"
"My parents think I'm dead. Were… Were you going to take me to them after you helped me?"
"I figured that you'd want to go home…."
She shook her head. "They accepted my fate immediately. You changed it…. And I was a stranger to you." She hugged him tightly. "You saved me."
"You'll never be able to go outside without covering every inch of your body. Trust me, it's not fun."
"I don't care." She looked up to him. "I wanna stay here with you, boss."
And how could he say no to that?
He made sure to take care of her the best he could. She had sworn to protect him, though he tried to stop her from that. She looked so determined, so hopeful; he really couldn't say no.
They took care of each other.
She looked up to him, and he tried his best to be a good role model, even though knew he wasn't.
She liked to joke that he had managed to cure cancer alone in his basement in the span of a few days when tons of scientists have been trying for years. A part of him wanted to perfect it and send it off to help others.
Yet every time he went to do so, he'd be struck with a fear that he'd make it worse. Besides, he didn't want anyone to know of his existence.
It was better that way.
He couldn't even look at his formulas for the cure without feeling a painful twist in his gut.
Perhaps it was for the best that he never perfected it.
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