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Thanks Mr. Steak! IIRC where we left off it still feels very much open ended, not enough clues to make any real guesses. I hope they start eliminating possibilities next chapter.
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# ? Sep 23, 2019 02:34 |
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# ? Jun 5, 2024 06:58 |
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quote:9 * quote:They found it in a storage space underneath the kitchen floor. * quote:Dank and sour-smelling. quote:10 End chapter 9. Full disclosure, the following sentence highly confused me and I took several liberties in translating it. Of course it's supposed to be vague, but that makes my job a lot harder!! As the flow of time drifts ever unceasingly ahead, it becomes more and more impossible to deny the destination one unavoidably reaches. TalkLittle posted:Thanks Mr. Steak! Yeeahh, not really haha. The end of *this* chapter definitely feels like a "now you have all the clues" moment though. Except for the fact that I still have no idea what's going on, so there's that. Heh. Mr. Steak fucked around with this message at 20:03 on Sep 23, 2019 |
# ? Sep 23, 2019 05:46 |
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How long does it take for a body to decompose to be in the position that it was in the basement? Given how crazy everything has been, the corpse could be the gardener, Seiji...or one of the classmates with SEIJI NAKAMURA taking the place of one of the classmates! Ellery's obsession with Seiji is paying off. I can't believe that. I feel like the obsession has progressed to the point where he's created a Seiji persona where he would kill with the motives that the original Seiji would have. Like seriously though, who would have thought to use the cup to open a keyhole underneath the kitchen floor? Or even thought that there was a basement to the house when it hasn't been mentioned or thought of.That's madness.
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# ? Sep 23, 2019 07:02 |
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TV Zombie posted:Given how crazy everything has been, the corpse could be the gardener, Seiji...or one of the classmates with SEIJI NAKAMURA taking the place of one of the classmates! I was thinking it's got to be the gardener or Seiji, since that'd invalidate all of the theorizing about Seiji being alive and if the Seiji possibility is 100% off the table then I have a hard time deciding the culprit. I've been big on Ellery the whole time, but at this point it feels too obvious. Like you said, who the hell would even think to use the cup as a key for a secret basement? Idk if killer-Ellery would expose himself so blatantly to suspicion by conveniently knowing all that poo poo. I honestly don't think it can be as simple as "Ellery is solving the stuff because he did it," but I don't know if we can chalk it up to plot convenience either. Speaking of the cup, that throwaway line about the coffee still being in the cup... does that mean the stairs weren't used since before Carr's death? Or maybe it's possible to use the cup-key while there's liquid in there. Something about how the exact location of that cup has been explicitly told to us (on the kitchen counter) ever since Carr died, makes me think that's relevant. Also, from chapter 1: quote:"Wouldn't it be interesting if that wife's hand showed up?" Ellery answered with an extremely serious look on his face. "Or if we went under the floorboards of Decagon House, and found the gardener's bleached-white corpse." HMMMM no its gotta be a red herring
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# ? Sep 23, 2019 07:55 |
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I think the coffee is to indicate that they didn’t touch the cups after the poisoning so it still had the leftover drink inside. But I don’t remember exactly what state it was in, so it could be a clue. Ellery knowing the cup was a key is definitely suspicious.
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# ? Sep 23, 2019 13:00 |
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Ellery's deductions in the last chapter just seem too perfect from finding the basement then the other door leading outside of the basement where they found the corpse. Either his obsession has made him into the greatest detective or he has had some plan with the murders. "Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth" -Arthur Conan Doyle. So..then what seems to be the impossible scenarios given what we know?
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# ? Sep 23, 2019 16:04 |
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TV Zombie posted:Ellery's obsession with Seiji is paying off. I can't believe that. I feel like the obsession has progressed to the point where he's created a Seiji persona where he would kill with the motives that the original Seiji would have. Like seriously though, who would have thought to use the cup to open a keyhole underneath the kitchen floor? Or even thought that there was a basement to the house when it hasn't been mentioned or thought of.That's madness. Would make somewhat sense if he originally thought one of the group was the killer, so he wanted to hide any advantage he had, but now realizes it was Seiji the whole time. edit: Yeah I feel like we have so much information but I'm still at a complete loss.
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# ? Sep 23, 2019 18:11 |
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It does seem like Ellery has been sitting on a bunch of information. Why reveal the trap door now and not sooner, I wonder? I don't want to believe it was a random eureka moment, simply because that would be bad storytelling.
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# ? Sep 23, 2019 23:06 |
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quote:Chapter Ten quote:1 * quote:Monday, March thirty-first. Eleven thirty in the morning on Horned Island---- * quote:Through the dull gray blinds, they could see the shining sea. A large, barren room with no decoration. Um..... .... Who was Morisu talking to???
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# ? Sep 24, 2019 07:09 |
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Why would they mention the relatively small build of one of the corpses? It's not like their physical traits were mentioned before in the book...unless it has been? Such a curious detail for the author to mention that it makes me think that a body was switched out or something. I imagine Morisu was talking to the fisherman who was supposed to pick everyone up or some official who saw the flames on decagon island. What's the connection of the people outside of the island to the ones who visited the island?
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# ? Sep 24, 2019 20:45 |
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Okay wow, sorry for the delay! Truth is I lost a lot of progress last month and haven't had the motivation to redo it. But anyway here I am now with a decent buffer on content! Take this as a promise that the project ain't dead. And here's the schedule for the rest of the updates: 11/15 - Rest of ch.10 + ch.11 11/22 - Ch.12 11/25- Epilogue I also have no self-restraint so I already started my next mystery translation during the aforementioned period of de-motivation for Decagon, and I posted the intro yesterday. Check it out while u wait for this thrilling conclusion :P Mr. Steak fucked around with this message at 07:25 on Nov 12, 2019 |
# ? Nov 11, 2019 20:35 |
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I should go back and re-read everything so my memory is fresh when you start posting new content.
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# ? Nov 11, 2019 23:59 |
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quote:2 This update isn't very substantial to me, because honestly, I feel like "motive" isn't all that interesting of a way to solve a case. Of course that's all the characters have to work with, but I very much would rather get into the specifics of the murders and *how* they were done. And we're so drat close to the end that it better start doing that soon lol
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# ? Nov 13, 2019 01:21 |
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To have him be the murderer...would be disappointing...given how well the book has been written so far. I hope that that there is some explanation or details for his motive.
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# ? Nov 15, 2019 03:56 |
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Mr. Steak posted:Okay wow, sorry for the delay! Truth is I lost a lot of progress last month and haven't had the motivation to redo it. But anyway here I am now with a decent buffer on content! Take this as a promise that the project ain't dead. And here's the schedule for the rest of the updates:
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# ? Jan 6, 2020 21:29 |
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Fritzler posted:Bump. Was just wondering if you were still planning on updating this? yes i still want to! it's not on my agenda right now because of a combination of other projects i'm committed to and being part of several highly involved forums games this month, but i feel really bad about falling off on this near the end. to be honest, the lost motivation i mentioned in that post very much lingered even after i redid the update. more so than i expected. but now i believe i can be motivated enough to finish. i havent betrayed y'all by reading ahead, and i still dont know who the culprit is, but i still feel like a dick for leaving you in suspense. this thread is on my mind and i do intend to finish it. im really grateful tbh to anyone who's beared with me and hasnt gone to the published version to finish the novel yourself.
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# ? Jan 7, 2020 08:05 |
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Mr. Steak posted:yes i still want to! it's not on my agenda right now because of a combination of other projects i'm committed to and being part of several highly involved forums games this month, but i feel really bad about falling off on this near the end. sigh. please..just finish someday..
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# ? Jan 7, 2020 23:25 |
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Yes we like Steak's translation and I think the doctor, Poe was it?, must be the culprit. Unless he died already I forget. I kind of don't understand this mystery though. What are the open questions? The villain and their motivation? I can't tell if the "how" is a mystery since that seems pretty unimportant with so many entrances, exits, and locations all over the island. And a simple boat would solve any of the questions surrounding outsiders having access to the island. It feels like you could make up any random answer and fill in the blanks using the info we have, which is weird given how close we are to the end.
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# ? Jan 8, 2020 07:16 |
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Okay it's clear what the real puzzle is. (Well, a theory.) The eleven-sided teacup is a huge hint. The guy constructed this decagon house making you think there are ten of everything, but there's eleven.Mr. Steak posted:Fig.1 "Floorplan of Decagon House" We have a decagon house with ten rooms. Seven occupied by potential killers. Three other rooms not occupied which must represent other potential killers who are characters mentioned in the story. The question becomes, who are the three additional "obvious" potential killers? And from there, who is the eleventh character and the real killer? Remaining characters: - The missing gardener - Koujirou (the victim Chiori's uncle or maybe true biological father) - Shimada (weird guy very interested in the murders) - Kawaminami/Konan (ex-club member) - Morisu aka "Doyle" (another ex-club member? and Kawaminami's friend) - Higashi (another ex-club member? received an invitation to the island) We can probably eliminate Koujirou, Shimada, Kawaminami since they were having that long conversation together. That leaves the Gardener, Morisu, and Higashi mostly unaccounted for for most of the story. Who's the eleventh? e: I realized looking at the picture, the "washroom/shower/toilet" room is kinda fishy since it's actually 3 mini rooms put together. So maybe it actually represents the trio of Koujirou/Shimada/Kawaminami? In which case we have eleven already: the 7 club members + [the trio] + Gardener + Morisu + Higashi. TalkLittle fucked around with this message at 03:00 on Apr 14, 2020 |
# ? Apr 14, 2020 02:55 |
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Can you explain your reasoning as to why the remaining rooms must represent other potential killers? With things being so late in the game, would they really have one of the other relatively anonymous characters (Morisu, Higashi)be the killer...since I don't know what their motivation would be or how involved they are in the story up til now.
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# ? Apr 14, 2020 06:22 |
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My reasoning comes from taking the stance of "here is the info we have: how can it be used to guide us through a puzzle?" Taking the opposite viewpoint for a moment: So far, if we've been reading the story at face value as a series of events, we reach the conclusion that this mystery makes no sense. Everything feels like a red herring, anyone still alive could be the killer, the island provides too many hiding spots and entry/exit points. You could make up any ending and have it work. But that's not a real mystery. Giving the author some credit and being a bit charitable, we can assume that hints are constantly being given to us that narrow down the culprit, and that we won't have to wait until the very end to be able to start applying them. Having everyone in the story being part of a Mystery Book Club is priming the reader to think of it as a puzzle from the start, and now that we've gotten this far with no culprit, we have to go back and look at the hints we have. So if we flip it around: we say nothing is a red herring, everything is part of a puzzle (or multiple interlocking puzzles). For example the names of the club members and their arrangement in the circle. The order of their deaths. Cigarette brands probably part of a separate puzzle that fits into the bigger puzzle. We're not at the end and certainly we don't have all the pieces yet, but if we take the leap of faith and consider everything as relevant, we can start figuring out how to put things together without worrying it was the author messing with us.
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# ? Apr 14, 2020 20:46 |
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So I found this cool thread and just caught up with it and I need to mull it over/reread some stuff, make some notes. Given the apparent update schedule there's probably plenty of time for that! Right now I just want to point out that Higashi isn't a separate suspect, it was the real name of one of the guys who went to the island (and therefore never received the letter of accusation). I'm still liking the theory someone came up with that Orczy is still alive, but that requires Poe to be an accomplice and I'm not sure how to make that work (especially since he dead now). The identity of that decaying corpse found under Decagon House is really bugging me. Also who doused themselves in kerosene to burn the house down at the end? E: looked up body decay rates and the decay described in the passage seems consistent with the body being dead for several months. Maugrim fucked around with this message at 10:24 on Apr 19, 2020 |
# ? Apr 19, 2020 00:47 |
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Just caught up to all this. Current thought is Poe and Orczy were co-conspirators. Orczy knew about Chiori 100%, and Poe hinted at the drinking towards Carr, plus was Orczy's childhood friend. Carr was never meant to die for much the same reason - Orczy had feelings for him, but rejected him due to this plan. Her feelings were why Poe was surprised - he uses a case, right? Towards the start of the novel, I think the brand he used was Seven Stars? But seeing as it was a case, there's no way for us to verify what brand he's smoking now. That means he can subtly mark the cigarettes that way, by brand, but also he controls the position of the cigarettes in his case. Anyhow, Poe's smokes - his brand, the Seven Stars - were poisoned by Orczy as revenge for Carr. Ellery was meant to be the Final Victim, while Carr was saved as Detective. That also covers the issue of the left hand. The wife's left hand was given to her lover. Carr's was taken by Orczy.
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# ? Apr 26, 2020 16:04 |
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Has this been abandoned?
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# ? May 1, 2020 17:22 |
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No the OP is just leaving plenty of time for people to read over the whole thing and get their theories in
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# ? May 1, 2020 17:35 |
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I do think the OP is going to come back, if only to finish it for themselves. I'll probably buy the published version if there's no update before quarantine breaks though.
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# ? May 1, 2020 18:22 |
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HerpicleOmnicron5 did you ever buy that published version? If so, wanna post the ending here as I don't think OP is coming back at this point? Otherwise I can do it, it's not a particularly expensive book.
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# ? Oct 25, 2020 10:43 |
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Someone please finish this
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# ? Oct 25, 2020 15:41 |
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Maugrim posted:HerpicleOmnicron5 did you ever buy that published version? If so, wanna post the ending here as I don't think OP is coming back at this point? Nah, I haven't. Honestly forgot all about it.
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# ? Oct 25, 2020 16:31 |
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Alright, so the book doesn't actually come out here until 3rd December. I'll preorder it on Kindle and post up when I have the copy.
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# ? Oct 25, 2020 18:41 |
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Maugrim posted:Alright, so the book doesn't actually come out here until 3rd December. thank you!
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# ? Oct 25, 2020 19:09 |
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Good news: Kindle edition came out earlier than expected! I'm reading through it now. This is your chance to reread the thread if, like me, you want to remind yourself of the story so far. E: lol I just noticed this: Mr. Steak posted:Okay wow, sorry for the delay! Truth is I lost a lot of progress last month and haven't had the motivation to redo it. But anyway here I am now with a decent buffer on content! Take this as a promise that the project ain't dead. And here's the schedule for the rest of the updates: Seems fitting to post the next instalment on Sunday, exactly a year after Mr. Steak promised to do so. EE: I've now caught up with the book and started transcribing. Rather than post the rest of chapter 10 and all of chapter 11 on Sunday, I'm going to post the remainder of chapter 10 now, as it contains a really interesting revelation that people may want to chew over. Chapter 11 will follow on Sunday as planned. Maugrim fucked around with this message at 23:13 on Nov 13, 2020 |
# ? Nov 13, 2020 10:00 |
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Chapter 10, part 3 posted:"Who are those three?" the inspector asked a nearby police officer. He had just returned from inspecting the crime scene over on Horned Island. Wait, what? *The ebook spells Konan as Conan throughout. I've retained Mr. Steak's names/spellings where there are discrepancies - e.g. the book actually calls Horned Island by its Japanese name, Tsunojima. Maugrim fucked around with this message at 08:40 on Nov 14, 2020 |
# ? Nov 13, 2020 23:23 |
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Thank you for this! This reveal went over my head. Why does Morisu's nickname matter?
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# ? Nov 14, 2020 01:14 |
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Because Van was one of the last two people alive on the island.
Maugrim fucked around with this message at 08:44 on Nov 14, 2020 |
# ? Nov 14, 2020 01:32 |
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Van can't be on the island and doing investigations with Shimada at the same time. The only way this makes sense is if Van/Morisu is a time traveler. Seriously timeline hijinks get me every time.
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# ? Nov 14, 2020 02:24 |
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Thanks for finishing this up. I guess I should have refreshed myself like you suggested. I forgot all their names too.
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# ? Nov 14, 2020 02:28 |
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Maugrim posted:Because Van was one of the last two people alive on the island. Oh man, I had forgotten all that. Is that mentioned early on in the thread/book?
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# ? Nov 14, 2020 06:11 |
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TV Zombie posted:Oh man, I had forgotten all that. Is that mentioned early on in the thread/book? Late, rather - if you reread just page 4 you'll see Poe's death, the subsequent Van / Ellery section and the denouement of the island chapters. TalkLittle posted:
No timeline hijinks - the book is pretty clear that everything happening is in strict chronological order. The remainder of the book is chapter 11 (a really short one that just hammers home something we can now infer), chapter 12 (the solution - long so will be posted in multiple parts), and a brief epilogue. I'll probably spoiler chapter 12 when I post it, and I've gone back and spoilered the crucial info in case anyone jumps into the thread at the end. The solution is pretty cool and will have more impact if you've (re)read Mr. Steak's posts ITT. I know not everyone has that kind of time to commit though. It's a drat shame the thread died for so long. Maugrim fucked around with this message at 08:47 on Nov 14, 2020 |
# ? Nov 14, 2020 08:23 |
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# ? Jun 5, 2024 06:58 |
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Chapter 11. The Seventh Day Tuesday, 1st April 1986. From the morning edition of the A newspaper. quote:ANOTHER MASSACRE AT THE DECAGON HOUSE ON HORNED ISLAND From the evening edition of the A newspaper (same day): quote:BODY DISCOVERED IN CELLAR OF DECAGON HOUSE --------- A short update, as noted. Only one really important detail that I can tell - which I'll mention here for those who have forgotten: it says there were only six bodies found on the island, but seven students went there at the start of the book. There is no mention of anyone being missing. Chapter 12 has seven parts. I'll aim to post one a day over the coming week, followed by the epilogue.
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# ? Nov 15, 2020 16:16 |