quartiere della carta

[infezione]

WHO: Patrizio Fugo and those coming to his rescue
WHERE: The Metaverse
WHEN: May 3rd
WHAT: I am thou, thou art I
WARNINGS: Likely self-deprecation, inevitable swearing, potential spoilers for JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind if anyone cares about those anymore.

♪ crisi

Going around to the back entrance of the Eaglewing Library reveals a welcoming, almost charming little gate, as if greeting you as you enter a town... Which would be all well and good if this wasn't, you know, one: so attached to the library like this and two: made out of cardboard, as if it was simply a set piece for a play. Still, this has to be where Fugo is, so if you want to find him, you'll have no choice but to enter.

Once you do step through this gate, the place you all find yourselves in is what appears to be an approximation of an ordinary neighborhood. Buildings appear to be made with cardboard, decorated with paper and drawn on with crayon. Trees appear to be very much the same, with trunks of cardboard and drawn on bark patterns, with foliage that upon closer inspection is simply crumpled up balls of green paper. Not even the streets under your feet seem to be very real, made of cardboard with details drawn on them in crayon.

There's only one thing that seems particularly real or solid, at first glance: it's the tower that looms ominously in the distance--tall, dark, and foreboding, and bearing the sigil of The Black Order. It's very real, and very present despite its distance, and after a while, it kind of hurts to look directly at it. Unfortunately, no matter where you go in this neighborhood, you will see be able to see it.

Well. There's one other thing that seems real--there's a wall of sand, dust, and debris that swirls around the neighborhood. A clear threat, but that dust storm isn't going to hit just yet.

... Still. The wind is strong and large thunderheads loom in the sky. You may want to get moving.

Comments

near the entrance

[infezione]

starting out
♪ passione

Not far from the entry point of the dungeon stands a cardboard house--it's small and definitely a bit cramped depending on how many of you there are, but it's decent enough shelter from the winds outside. If you need a moment, you can have it here, even if you probably shouldn't linger long. There's even a few chairs around if you want to sit down. (Maybe don't think too hard about how they can hold your weight.) Catch your breath. Get your bearings. Maybe process all of... this, and what it might mean for Fugo. You can use this time to formulate a plan of attack here, as well, if you're so inclined. There's even a map of the neighborhood here, sitting on a table--this house is marked in green, with possible points of interest circled in red. Each circle is labeled with a word--"amici?", "libertà?", and "famiglia?".

... Hang around long enough, however, and something else might grab your attention after a while: there are ghostly figures that roam the neighborhood, each one wearing The Black Order's uniform. One passes uncomfortably close, even, though luckily it doesn't peer in through the window. Keep an eye on the phantom, and it'll eventually come to a stop. Idly, almost unthinkingly, it rests a hand against a nearby tree. Things seem calm enough for a moment or two, but the keen-eyed might swiftly realize something's wrong: the material around where the phantom's hand rests has turned black, and the color is swiftly spreading. The longer the phantom's hand remains in place, the more the color spreads-- and swiftly the tree starts to crumble and fall, rapidly destroyed by the phantom's touch. The phantom, for its own part, hardly seems to notice neither the destruction nor its own part in that destruction, only nonchalantly brushing a bit of debris off of its shoulder an entire minute later.

... Or maybe it did notice, if that faint hint of a smirk on its face is any indication.

It moves on.

It's probably a good idea to keep quiet for a minute or two after that, but once the phantom has left... Maybe it'd be for the best to get out of here.

throughout
♪ incursione

After catching your breath and having a good look at the map (hopefully), it's time to get moving. The ghostly figures in Black Order uniforms continue to patrol the streets, though thankfully the place isn't crawling with them or anything. And hey, if nothing else, it seems like these phantoms aren't terribly inclined to stray from their paths just to go after people. Get their attention and they'll watch you for a while before going back to what they were doing, or they'll just flat-out ignore you.

... That being said, there's nothing stopping you from going out of your way to take some of these out. Attack them, and they'll meet hostility in kind. They'll swipe at you and try to grab you, for their destructive touch to take effect, but they don't have any other real ways of attacking. They're not huge threats, so long as you don't let them lay a hand on you. Or at least most aren't huge threats. Every now and then, you'll run into a phantom that will break from its patrol path to go after you, should you linger too long. These phantoms--blindfolded ones, curiously--are not only more aggressive, but they tend to be stronger than the standard sort, and more varied in their attacks beyond just trying to get you with their destructive touch--punches, kicks, a few might even have elemental attacks. They're thankfully rare, and easily taken down by groups. Their presence is probably just a bit concerning, is all.

[Feel free to use this top-level for in-character planning or any initial reaction needs, be they to the dungeon itself or to the scene that's detailed in the first prompt! You can also use this for threading out battles with the TBO Phantom enemies!]

puzzle 1 - "amici"

[infezione]

♪ pensare

Following the map to the circled spot labeled "amici?" leads you to what's probably a school building... Though, it's certainly smaller than it probably should be. A sign outside simply reads "AMICI" which certainly explains where the map label came from. Getting inside is a simple matter! The doors aren't locked, so it's as simple as just pushing the door open and walking right on in.

Upon entering, it's clear that your options of where to go are limited. Lots of hallways and doors are either blocked off or just plain don't exist. At least that just makes where you're supposed to go that much clearer... Taking a turn down the only open hall, there's just a single classroom you can go into. Well, it's probably meant to be a classroom. There aren't any desks for students, but there is a teacher's desk, a whiteboard, and some shelves.

When you turn towards the back of the room, you spot it: a large chunk of the back wall is occupied by a large... grid? It's a large 7x7 grid, with some black squares scattered throughout. Some of the black squares have numbers in white. A pair of baskets sit on the floor nearby, one filled with white spheres, and the other filled with large black... pins? A note's taped above them:

Illuminate every possible square.
(Only one light per row or column, unless something's blocking the way.)



Pick up one of the spheres from the basket and place it in the grid, and you'll find that it lights up, illuminating not only the square it was placed in, but also the rest of the row and column... provided that one of the black squares isn't in the way. Black squares can't have a light placed in that spot, however. The black pins can be inserted into the grid too, if you attempt-- possibly as a way to mark where a light shouldn't be placed.

The pins can be added, removed, and moved as you please, but placing a light means it's stuck there for now, so better be sure you placed it where you wanted it... You won't get a chance to place it anywhere else until you get another try by lighting up all the grid's squares, whether it's correct or not.

Puzzle Note

In addition to illuminating every blank square, a black square with a number requires that many lights directly adjacent to it!
You get three tries for this puzzle!

Answer Key

Outcome: Success

♪ il sole

When each of the lights have been correctly placed in the grid, they briefly flash green, before dulling to a soft yellow glow.

From nowhere in particular comes Fugo's voice--his thoughts, perhaps? "My friends are the easiest thing for The Black Order to use against me. They know who I am. They can find out my connections. It may be worth it in the end, but is it even safe? I don't want them under scrutiny or hurt because of me..."

No sooner than Fugo's voice fades away, something becomes obvious--the school building is no longer made of just cardboard and paper. It's a real, solid structure that probably looks comically out of place from the outside, but that's not the important part. A Phantom can be seen through the window, placing its hand on the side of the building... but after a few moments, nothing happens. The building remains standing, remains in good condition. Looks like these things aren't capable of destroying everything after all. Once the coast is clear, a small box appears in front of you--inside the box is a palm-sized purple orb that faintly glows is nestled inside. A note falls out of the box as well:

"A statue with an outstretched hand waits for the piece that's missing."

... Maybe it'd be a good idea to take the orb with you?

Outcome: Failure

♪ incontrollabile

For a few moments, all is silent. When the silence has gone on perhaps a bit too long, all of the lights currently placed in the grid explode simultaneously, leaving you all in the dark.

From nowhere in particular comes Fugo's voice--his thoughts, perhaps? "My friends are the easiest thing for The Black Order to use against me. They know who I am. They can find out my connections. I-- It can't be worth it! They'll just be in danger knowing me!"

No sooner than Fugo's voice fades away does something become obvious--the school building is deteriorating. It starts slowly, but quickly spreads until the entire structure has crumbled away and the Phantom responsible has moved on. As the wind blows the debris away, it reveals a small, beat up-looking box. Opening this box reveals a dull purple orb about the size of one's palm nestled inside. "KEY 1" is gouged into the inside of the box's lid... Maybe it'd be a good idea to take the orb with you?

puzzle 2 - "libertà"

[infezione]

♪ coercizione

When you step into this building (with a plaque reading "Libertà" on a wall near the front), something very quickly becomes apparent: this is very much a cardboard and paper version of Vergil's shop, the Auguries of Innocence. The layout is exactly the same, though it's missing many (or, rather, almost all) of its antiques.

(Curiously, this area also seems to be the only accessible part, it seems.)

Despite a lot being absent, the shop isn't entirely empty. Or, at the very least, the walls aren't bare! Weirdly, there's a lot of mirrors hanging on the walls here? Aside from that, however, there are also a particular selection of paintings, in frames that have plaques with their titles:

Memory, the Heart.
Honor and power after the death of flourishes.
Freedom from Fear.
And finally, Berengaria's Alarm for the Safety of her Husband.

Turning one's attention to the back wall of the shop reveals two things: there are four spaces for paintings to hang, and writing (is that Fugo's handwriting?) above these spaces on the wall.

Only when the paintings are ordered correctly will the question appear.
When the question appears, one of these paintings will give you the answer.
Well, that seems simple enough, doesn't it?

Remove a painting from its spot on the wall (... that's weird, was there supposed to be another mirror behind there?) and hanging it up in one of the four spots in the back will make a rectangular button in the wall below the painting light up. If the painting's in the correct spot, it turns green. If a painting is in the incorrect spot, it briefly flashes red before going dark again.

... Luckily, there doesn't seem to be any particular penalty for putting the paintings in an incorrect order, but that may be for the best, given that it's required for the next part of this puzzle to appear...

Answer Key

From oldest to newest, and thus left to right: Honor and power after the death of flourishes; Berengaria's Alarm for the Safety of her Husband; Memory, the Heart; Freedom from Fear

Putting the paintings in the correct order causes all four buttons to light up green, though the lights of all four buttons shift to a gentle yellow glow shortly after. Look up, and the writing above the paintings has shifted. As promised, it presents the question to be answered.

Select the painting that best answers the following question:
"What's the most important thing?"
You probably ought to choose carefully...

Puzzle Note

To make up for how forgiving the first part of this puzzle is, you only get two guesses on this part. An incorrect attempt will eliminate a second wrong answer, but if the second attempt at answering is also incorrect, this puzzle will be considered failed!

Answer Key

The correct painting is Freedom from Fear.

Puzzle Outcome: Success

♪ vita

As Freedom from Fear's button is pressed, it lights up green. Nothing happens for a few moments, but once again comes Fugo's voice, saying what has to be his innermost thoughts out loud. "The minute I graduate high school, I'll be in free-fall. I don't know what I want to do--I never gave it any real thought! And thinking on it now might not even do me any good anyway. If the Order has their way, I'll end up dragged back in or dead. I... I don't want to live like that. I don't want to live in fear of them anymore."

Once the voice quiets, in a blink of an eye, the shop looks and feels much more solid, much more real, much more like the place it's supposed to resemble. This place will definitely be protected from the phantoms roaming the neighborhood now, so you can move on with that bit of peace of mind. Before you leave, however, you notice something that almost certainly wasn't there before. A bookcase, with a single book on the shelf. The book looks well taken care of despite its age, other than the title having since worn off. The pages inside are largely illegible, unfortunately, save for a handwritten note in ink: "A statue outside the library waits for one last book."

You may get the sense you should take the book with you.

Puzzle Outcome: Failure

♪ tensione

When you press the button, everything is silent for a few uncomfortable moments. The button then lights up in red, and then all the buttons light up in red. Before anyone can stop it, or save them, all four paintings have gone up in flames. Nothing happens for a few moments after that, but once again comes Fugo's voice, saying what has to be his innermost thoughts out loud. "The minute I graduate high school, I'll be in free-fall. I don't know what I want to do--I never gave it any real thought! And thinking on it now might not even do me any good anyway. If the Order has their way, I'll end up dragged back in or dead. What's the point?! At this rate, I really will end up like my past self..."

Once the voice quiets, nothing seems to happen... at first glance. If you head for the exit, you'll find the door is now barred.

... Is that smoke pouring from the mirrors all of a sudden?

♪ magnetica
Upon turning to face the back of the shop, you spot it hanging out of one mirror: it's not quite like the phantoms in Black Order uniforms you've seen up until now, though it is wearing one such uniform. It'd be easy to mistake this monster for one of them if it wasn't for the cartoony proportions, metallic sheen, and.

Uh.

The fact that parts of it drip onto the floor, as if it was made of liquid. With a gesture, some of the fallen liquid--liquid metal you now realize--floats into the air, forming into blades, which it sends flying towards you. It ducks back into the mirror, then pops out of another. Looks like you're not getting out of this without a fight...

Once the monster has been defeated, you notice it dropped something. It's a pretty beat up-looking book, with the title worn away. The pages inside are illegible and on an early page, "KEY 2" seems to hastily have been scrawled with marker. Maybe it'd be a good idea to take the book with you?

puzzle 3 - "famiglia"

[infezione]

♪ riproduzione

Despite this particular house (instead of having an address anywhere, a plaque outside simply reads "famiglia") being the same as all the other buildings in this neighborhood in construction, upon entering, something feels undeniably warmer about it. Some of you might find the place's layout... quite familiar. (Namely, anyone familiar enough with the place can probably tell the layout is identical to the house where Jusis and Fugo live.) The only room with anything of particular interest, however, is the living room. This room houses a carefully put-together fireplace (with a little construction paper fire that contributes nothing to the actual warmth of the room), and a small table off to one side where a record player sits. There's a console nearby, clearly meant to house the records, but upon closer inspection, there's none here. Unfortunately for anyone who might have wanted a little background music while looking around the house.

(Although that probably shouldn't be a priority right now, come to think of it.)

Investigating the fireplace reveals many picture frames that sit on the mantel (how do they all fit?)--most of these have photos, mainly of Fugo and people he's especially close to. There's plenty of photos of him with Jusis, Ash, and Elliot! There's a few with Eunie, at least a couple with Zhongli, ones with Vergil, with Ayato, with Lapis, with Ei, some with people who've since left the city and a few group photos too--but three of these frames have no photo at all.

Instead, what these empty frames have are three white circles at the top and strings of letters, with enough blank spaces for each string of letters below.

SETMORIHA
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

OLOUM DBSYE
_ _ _ _ _   _ _ _ _ _

GCSTYI RFSENIK
_ _ _ _ _ _   _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Tapping a letter makes it light up in gold, and tapping a blank space will move the letter there. (Tapping anywhere other than one of the blank spaces simply makes the letter go dark again.) A letter can't be moved again once it's moved to one of the spaces, so be careful!

Puzzle Note

You get three chances per each photo frame, and the first two incorrect answers will each come with a hint! This puzzle will be considered solved successfully as long as two out of three of the scrambles are correct!

Answer Key

AEROSMITH

MOODY BLUES

STICKY FINGERS

Puzzle Outcome: Success

♪ un sogno

With the third of the word scrambles complete, all three of the picture frames now have their own photographs. Not a lot changes about the immediate environment... so far. But just like the other times, Fugo's voice comes from nowhere in particular, voicing the things he usually keeps to himself. "... I know my family can protect me, but what if it's not enough? And even then... I know they can't protect me forever. ... Need to figure out something on my own, but is there enough time...?"

Once Fugo's voice fades away, the house slowly becomes more real and solid around you, like an actual building instead of just a creation of cardboard and paper. The mantel in front of you is still a little overcrowded with framed photographs. Perhaps it's a coincidence, perhaps it's a shift in the items, but either way, a locket falls off the mantel. A folded piece of paper falls out of the locket when it's opened. Unfolded, the slip of paper contains a note: "A statue thinking of the ones it loves waits for a photograph."

There doesn't seem like there's anything else to be done here, so perhaps it's time to leave and take the locket with you.

Puzzle Outcome: Failure

♪ situazione difficile

With the third of the word scrambles complete, all three of the picture frames now have their own photographs. Not a lot changes about the immediate environment... so far. But just like the other times, Fugo's voice comes from nowhere in particular, voicing the things he usually keeps to himself. "... I know my family can protect me, but what if it's not enough? And even then... I know they can't protect me forever. ... I don't know what to do. I'm scared."

Once Fugo's voice fades away... nothing seems to really change, except for a locket falling off of the mantel. The locket's definitely seen better days and there's a slip of paper sticking out of it that reads "KEY 3". It feels a little colder in here all of a sudden, but maybe that's just a cue to leave and to take the locket with you.

[switchaxe]

[Ash is furious. If he were still possessed, there'd be a risk of him going utterly berserk. As it stands...there's still probably a risk of him going utterly berserk.

He steps into the gate and looks around and ends up just. Staring at the tower in the distance.]

Fuck. Pat...please don't be there.

[sg09r]

Not ominous at all.

[Any other time Leon’s voice would have more levity to it. Right now, gun in hand, staring at the Black Order’s sigil in the distance and the phantoms patrolling the streets, he sounds much more tired.]

He’ll be fine. We’ll get to him.

[kanka]

[People who know Ayato usually have seen him be this peaceful and patient sort of figure, someone who's a median and works towards finding a compromise.

That is not who Ayato is at this moment.

Instead, who comes in is a quiet and deathly calm half-dragon man, sword at the ready, eyes as frigid as the ice magic that now flows in his veins. This is definitely the first time most of the Kaisou team has seen him with his dragon changes, but that doesn't matter to him at this point.

Ayato's tone is one that he used when he was the Yashiro Commissioner in Inazuma in his past life, though he's not looking to order anyone around, just simply give them something to focus on.]

Eyes open. While I trust people to take care of themselves, the last thing I would think any of us want is to be separated.

[His tail sways back and forth in a wide and angry motion, portraying the man's exact feelings on all of this.]

Leon is correct- we will find Fugo, and we will bring him back.

[medicgunner]

[Eunie was just as armed as Leon and just as dangerous. The ghostly figures in Black Order uniforms were quite a genuine fear for Eunie, of course they'd be in this mind space for someone younger than her and probably just as scared.

She had pod and she had any healing at the ready but she was just as prepared to fill something full of ether shots.]

We're not gonna let him suffer here anymore than he already has. Me and Leon'll keep our eyes on anything you lot might not see.

[Yes, he's being voluntold but they're both the best shots in the Order. It just made sense.]

[fiddlestick]

[Of course Elliot is there. Fugo was family and if there's one thing about Class VII, they didn't leave family behind. He's got his own orbal staff with him, and he's checking his ARCUS one last time to make sure he's got his orbment arranged as he wants. ]

Remember, everything in this realm are most likely just figments created from Fugo's thoughts and feelings. Fugo's always been stressed about his time in the Order, so it's no surprise they'd make an appearance.

[He closes his ARCUS, pocketing it. ]

If it's like Jusis's, Fugo will most likely be in the deepest part of this place... along with his Shadow.

[kanka]

[Fugo is family to many, really, and it's easy to see why. Ayato turns to Elliot and nods, thinking.]

Understood. [A beat.] I met Fugo while defending him and his actions after a fight broke out once in headquarters. He was new, at the time- and someone was intentionally riling him to act on his temper.

[An exhale, and a hand rests on the hilt of his sword. Fugo would be stressed about the Order, his emotions were ones that people liked to wrangle out of him often.]

The sooner we can get there and get him out, the sooner all of this is over.

[sg09r]

[He briefly gives Eunie a not very heated glare, before he shrugs and lets it go, angelic wings fluttering gently. He was gonna do that anyway, it’s good to know Eunie will be doing it too.]

In case anything happens, we’ll be providing cover fire as well.

[sg09r]

[Even in another life Leon can never escape puzzles. He gives an aggrieved sigh.]

What are the numbers on some of these squares for?

[kowase]

...if things get dangerous, allow me to take to the front.

I can take quite a bit more than most people. [ the man had been here since the start, though for now he's been lingering close to the back of the gathered group. He's never been good at 'group activities', especially not when there were people he didn't... recognise.

for Fugo's sake, though, he was here--and he'd see it through to the end. ]

[kowase]

[ ...this place made him feel uncomfortable. Both because it was such a rag-and-bone place that looked far too much like his own store--and because it was so barren. Jagged and empty and a shadow of its truer self in the other world.

It was the paintings that had his attention, however, and while he was sure he knew he's seen these paintings somewhere before, he couldn't put a name on all of them. He was a weapons and literature antiquarian before paintings or art, but he's sure.... there's some memory sparking, here. ]

That one is the easiest to recognise. [ he points at the painting with the woman with the odd imagery, a tear-stained face. ] Frida Kahlo's art mostly depicted images of herself, so it stands out, among the others, to me. This one, I believe, has a title referring to memories and the heart. The others...

[ he...

can't quite recall. Think, Vergil, think. ]

[sg09r]

[Leon didn't take Art History, but he was an attentive listener in his AP History classes back when he was younger, so his attention is immediately grabbed by the painting of two parents tucking their children into bed. He drifts closer to it, squinting.]

Hey, the art style for this one looks kinda familiar. I might've seen something like it in a magazine somewhere, but I can't quite place it. [Pointing at the newspaper being held by the father.] But judging by that paper, must've been painted around...the forties?

[kanka]

[Surprisingly, Ayato speaks up after Leon, walking right beside him to see the panting up close.]

That's done by an American painter- Norman Rockwell, I believe. [A beat, and his head tilts, tail idly twitching as he explains.] My parents took me and my sisters to the Yufuin Museum in Yufu years ago- this was part of a set of four. My father said this was made around a dark time in Japan's history, so the forties would fit. "Freedom from Fear."

It's a recent one, that much I can confirm, compared to Frida Kahlo.

[fiddlestick]

[Elliot meanwhile is half listening and half looking at the paintings, studying them. It takes him a moment, as he tries to remember. Then he points at the second painting]

Oh wait! I think I saw this one when I went to the art museum with my ex. I think it was called Honor and Power and.... something something?

[Look. It's been a few years.]

...Do you think google works here?

[kowase]

[ ...Ah, an american painter. That's why he couldn't quite recall it. He shoots Ayato a look, one that's appraising, as he nods his head. He's thankful he doesn't have to try to remember all of these on his own, taking out his small pocket journal to jot down notes as Elliot and Leon ]

...For those of you have never been in my shop, this particular part of this Labyrinth is designed to look like it. A very poor rendition of it, with many things missing, but the paintings are not out of place.

My shop itself is arranged, for the most part, in sections that are divided by age, so when it is perused, its visitors can watch the evolution of antiques and relics I own and how the process of making certain items improves over the age--

...Or, how the art styles evolve, for the few paintings I do own.

I am unsure if Google works here. ...I have my phone turned off.

[switchaxe]

[Ash stares at the three frames and pulls out his phone to start copying the letters down. Better safe than sorry.]

Okay, anyone here a Scrabble champion?

[noblerise]

[Jusis crosses his arms. Although he maintains a calm facade, he's definitely feeling anxious.]

Google doesn't work in the Spirit Realms. However, the Libra app should work just fine. If there's an artist we can contact, perhaps they can give us at least a clue.

[medicgunner]

[Eunie was also on it, writing them down in her notebook. One she got from Fugo no less. There's a pit in her throat seeing the pictures of so many people he's close to. "Famiglia", even Eunie's British ass could figure what that was. What her British ass has her struggling with though.]

I'm not, unless it's Scrabble in Europe or Canada. They keep saying a "u" doesn't go in this word every time I play.

[switchaxe]

Yeah, because it doesn't in America for some stupid reason.

[Ash gets you. He learned European English spellings, okay?]

[noblerise]

[Jusis has needed to take a moment to see the house here. He thought it might be with the label on the map being the Italian word for family, but... it still rocks him a bit. He takes a deep breath and then examines the word puzzles. It would be easier to get the one-word one and see if that gives them a hint.]

Hm....

[He can see "smith" in that first one, which leaves letters that form... ah.]

I think I know what this first one is, but I don't know what the others could be.

[The blond steps forward to move the letters to form the name "Aerosmith."]

[infezione]

[As soon as the band's name is formed, the center circle at the top of the frame turns green.

And then a couple more things happen. Firstly, the most noticeable thing, is that a photograph starts appearing in the empty frame. It's of Fugo--or maybe that's his past self?--and another teenager, who has an arm flung around Fugo's shoulders. The other teen has a bright grin, while Fugo himself has an uncertain smile.

And then the second thing that happens... Well, remember that record player in the room with you? There may not have been any records when you entered, but there's certainly one now, apparently. Which would be why the room fills with music as Dream On starts to play.]

[fiddlestick]

[Elliot had been staring intently and trying to solve the puzzle, but his eyes were starting to glaze over.

At least until Jusis answers with "Aerosmith", which immediately makes him perk up]

Oh...!

[His husband knows aerosmith and this puzzle is music themed! oh this makes things much easier. Or.... it would, if that music recorder hadn't started playing. Elliot immediately gets distracted by that, looking around for the source of the music and turning fully away from the puzzle.]

Hey, I love this song-

[He starts humming along. Sorry he's fully distracted by the music. No music genius this time]