Slash Fiction (solution)

by Seth Schoen and Vera Yin; video editing by Phoebe Kuo; additional footage by j Baumgart

Each of the twenty video clues represents a MIME type being acted out by Parisian mimes. Each clue consists of a content type, a slash, and a content subtype.

In each case, Pierre acts out the content type in a nondescript indoor location / then Aurélie acts out the content subtype in front of a Paris landmark. Except as described below, each of the MIME types indicated can be found in the official IANA list at https://www.iana.org/assignments/media-types/index.html.

The types in question and the landmarks where Aurélie is acting them out are, in the order presented in the puzzle,

TypePlaceClue
multipart/alternativePalais du Luxembourg (Sénat / Jardin du Luxembourg) Aurélie is wearing an ankh, spiky bracelets, and scarier makeup
multipart/form-dataPlace de la Concorde Aurélie is displaying a French income tax form and Lt. Cmdr. Data
application/x-ghostviewCimetière de la Villette Aurélie notices a ghost in the cemetery
image/x-iconSquare des Épinettes Aurélie is displaying an icon of Saints Sophia, Vera, Nadezhda, and Lyubov
application/indexÉglise de la Sainte-Trinité Aurélie is consulting the index of her book of maps
application/x-latexÉcluses des Récollets Aurélie is acting out a LaTeX document
audio/midiPanthéon midi is French for ‘noon’
multipart/mixedCirque d’Hiver Aurélie is mixing invisible items in a mixing bowl
text/n3Basilique du Sacré-Cœur Aurélie is holding up the letter N three times
message/newsTour Eiffel Aurélie is reading a newspaper
video/nvLes Enfants du Monde (Parc de Bercy) Aurélie is lying down in the U.S. state of Nevada
application/octet-streamOpéra-Comique eight Aurélies sing together on the steps of the Opéra-Comique; then a stream is shown
application/oxpsBibliothèque Nationale de France Aurélie is adding an ox – un bœuf – as a postscript to the letter
text/plainMusée du Louvre Aurélie is acting as an airplane
text/REDPalais de Chaillot (Trocadéro) Aurélie is enthusiastic about the red traffic light
text/richtextMusée National Picasso the text of Aurélie’s book is surprisingly rich!
application/sieveMaison de l’Air (Parc de Belleville) Aurélie is playing with a sieve
multipart/signedCimetière du Montparnasse Aurélie is signing a letter
audio/toneCathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris Aurélie is developing her muscle tone
text/turtleTour Montparnasse Aurélie is acting as a LOGO turtle

The content subtypes are arranged alphabetically. Three of them, application/x-latex, application/x-icon, and application/x-ghostview, are (widely used) unofficial types. Unofficial types begin with “x-” to show that they’re unofficial, in conformance with RFCs 2045 and 2046. The “x-” appears in the video clue but is not used in the answer extraction.

Since 1860, Paris has been divided into twenty administrative districts called arrondissements. Aurélie was eager to make a comprehensive tour of Paris, so each of the twenty subtypes is being performed in front of a recognizable landmark in a different arrondissement. The locations are

1er arrondissement: Musée du Louvre
2e arrondissement: Opéra-Comique
3e arrondissement: Musée National Picasso
4e arrondissement: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris
5e arrondissement: Panthéon
6e arrondissement: Palais du Luxembourg (Sénat / Jardin du Luxembourg)
7e arrondissement: Tour Eiffel
8e arrondissement: Place de la Concorde
9e arrondissement: Église de la Sainte-Trinité
10e arrondissement: Écluses des Récollets
11e arrondissement: Cirque d’Hiver
12e arrondissement: «Les Enfants du Monde» (Parc de Bercy)
13e arrondissement: Bibliothèque Nationale de France
14e arrondissement: Cimetière du Montparnasse
15e arrondissement: Tour Montparnasse
16e arrondissement: Palais de Chaillot (Trocadéro)
17e arrondissement: Square des Épinettes
18e arrondissement: Basilique du Sacré-Cœur
19e arrondissement: Cimetière de la Villette
20e arrondissement: Maison de l’Air (Parc de Belleville)

If we put the types in order by the arrondissement in which each one was performed, we get

1ertext/plain
2eapplication/octet-stream
3etext/richtext
4eaudio/tone
5eaudio/midi
6emultipart/alternative
7emessage/news
8emultipart/form-data
9eapplication/index
10eapplication/x-latex
11emultipart/mixed
12evideo/nv
13eapplication/oxps
14emultipart/signed
15etext/turtle
16etext/RED
17eimage/x-icon
18etext/n3
19eapplication/x-ghostview
20eapplication/sieve

The first letters of the content subtypes spell portmanfilmnostRings, i.e., PORTMAN/FILM/NO/STRINGS. This is completed by the answer, ATTACHED.


Aurélie … Vera Yin

Pierre … Seth Schoen

Le Fantôme … Seth Schoen

Réalisation … Seth Schoen et Vera Yin

Cinématographie (Paris) … Seth Schoen

Cinématographie (San Francisco) … Phoebe Kuo

Cinématographie supplémentaire … j Baumgart

Montage … Phoebe Kuo

Musique de la trame sonore Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain par Yann Tiersen

Hommage à Nathaniel S. Borenstein et Ned Freed


Betsy Johnson
Betsy Johnson