> ...
> Oh piss.
> Either we stay here forever
> or we bring it back with us.
> That's what we're looking at, isn't it?
> But we can't even find our original body anymore! How would we even get ourselves back to- oh.
> Right.
> The whole 'being able to freely switch between normal and flooded Gensokyo' thing.
> Yeah, that would mondo suck for everything and everyone, wouldn't it. Drowning everyone without them first being on a ship for us to capsize. Blech, that's just unthinkable!
> Okay. Okay okay okay. We may suddenly be a giant mass of water instead of the most pulchritudinous ghost this side of Japan, but we're still at least a Buddhist monk. In training. But that's okay! We're...a sufficiently satisfactory student of the best teacher ever!
> Perhaps thinking about this Formless One's stain in any sort of physical sense has been a bit self-misleading. Our regular physical form is gone, and it doesn't have one to begin with. But it's still attached to us somehow, attached to our sense of self...which means it's more of a spiritual stain on us, right? Does that seem Buddhistically reasonable?
> Let's use that as a starting point for our meditative ideas, then.
> Because we are totes a Buddhism expert, refresh our own memory on Buddhism's approach to spiritual impurities, such as they are.
> Hrm. That wouldn't really apply here, would it? This thing is a foul attachment in a far more literal sense than what we usually deal with...
> Hmm.
> Let's sit here, or float here, or whatever it is we do as a physical existence now, and meditate for a while. A shame focused breathing isn't really an option at the moment...
> While we are meditating, dwell on the behavior of the stain, if it feels like it's (spiritually) growing larger or smaller, and see also if we can't eventually control it somehow via its connection to us.
> Okay, mental recap: Do we think the stain and the Formless One are related, if not the same thing?
> If we do not think the stain and the Formless One are related, what do we think the stain actually is? The memories, or something else?
> Hmm, okay, maybe we'll let the stain be, then.
> How do we feel The Formless One is attached to us, again?
> Can we tell why it seems to be taking gradually less and less control of us?
> Do we think we are capable of ceding control to it temporarily?
> We shifted our focus inward several times to find the stain. What do we think might happen if we shifted it outward several times?
> Shift our focus outward several times.
> Uh.
> ...
> ...do we at least feel ourselves?
> If we can feel ourselves, then surely something must be containing us and preventing us from spilling everywhere, right?
> Back inward, then. Let's hunt down that Curtained Hallway again.
> Shift our focus around for other rooms we might recognize.
> Just to be certain, these are the rooms we traveled through in the first place to become one with the water?
> And we still do not feel anything shaped like a Shou, a Tojiko, a Sakuya, or a Yukari?
> Huh.
> Hmm.
> ...
> Spend some meditation time dwelling on what's available to us for possibly getting home safely.
> Spend some meditation time dwelling on how we can separate ourselves from the water and this entity, given what we have learned so far.
> How would such a sublimation work, then?
> Ponder what options we have other than (a) return to Gensokyo and catastrophically flood it, and (b) wait here for someone to maybe eventually come rescue us, assuming we don't cease to exist before that happens.
> How would we separate ourselves?
> What other options are there to flow to that would not also cause a catastrophe?
> ...How can we tell what the water wants?
> Are we sure this is the water's desire and not the Formless One's?
> Do we know what is 'outward' from here?
> Do we know how to get 'outward'?
> Hrm, okay. So that lines up with the other information we deduced and exactly what we do not want to happen. Crud.
> Well, if the water thinks flowing outward is a feasible option...
> ...try flowing ourselves inward instead.
>As far as getting home safely, you recall that Yukari said she would get everyone out. And...you have no idea how long it's been since then. Hopefully that's where everyone else is. As for yourself...it's hard to say.
>You aren't sure how you can separate yourself. The fact that you can't find your own body probably suggest two things; that Yukari took it or that it has been sublimated into water. The former seems unlikely; a youkai's body and spirit are not so easily separated.
>_
>You can see a couple ways out of this. One is to separate yourself and escape. Another is to find another place to flow to. You aren't certain if that's all of your options.
>_
>You'll have to figure that out on your own, you suppose.
>...Hm. The water seems to want to flow outward.
>_
> ...How can we tell what the water wants?
> Are we sure this is the water's desire and not the Formless One's?
> Do we know what is 'outward' from here?
> Do we know how to get 'outward'?
> Huh.
> Well then! Keep going. Wonder where we'll end up?
> What's resisting us?
> Keep flowing inward anyway.
> Can we discern anything about where we're going, via feeling or whatever else?
> Keep goin' goin' goin'
> Oh, body parts! Those are good things!
> Keep flowing inward! Focus on it as much as is needed! Get our humanoid body back maybe! We can worry about the consequences later!
> Come on, then! One...last...push...!
> "...Feel...funny..."
> Gasp.
> "Uh! Keep...Yukari away...for her safety!"
> Try moving just a little bit.
> Open our eyes, if we can.
> "Agh! Bright!"
> Close our eyes again.
> "What's going on? Where am I?"
> Do we recognize the voice? If not: "Who are you?"
> Take a couple of moments to process this information. Missing for hours...that's a LOT better than it could have been.
> If we're capable of doing so, let out a deep exhale of relief, and smile a little.
> "That's...so very relieving."
> "How are you doing? You were screaming your head off something fierce last I saw you...I can't imagine what had you frightened so much."
> Try reaching a hand in the direction of the voice.
> Chuckle a bit, but good-naturedly.
> "I actually tried to catch up to help, but you've got some real wheels on you."
> "Anyway, don't worry about it. I actually saw something of my own that scared the barnacles off me...if what I saw is related to whatever freaked you out, anyone else that experienced it isn't going to judge."
> "Hey, you said we're in the forest, right? No one else is around?"
> Try to reach toward Tojiko again. Gotta practice arm movements.
> Do we have any urges to flow anywhere?
> "Yeah, I saw them too. Sakuya was fighting...something. I couldn't see it, whatever it was. Shou was already out cold when I got to her. Did she say what she saw?"
> Flail our Tojiko-arm about a bit more in what we think is her direction and take on just a slightly cognizant tone.
> "And where are you, anyway? Ugh, moving is going to take some getting used to again..."
> "I do still feel a little strange, admittedly, but the arm flopping is probably unrelated. Do I look any different?"
> Try opening our eyes again, but slowly and just a little.
>You push, you push! You can almost feel your fingertips! Once last heave! You can practically hear watering crashing around your ears, ears that you can also feel!
>...
>...
>...
>You feel something warm blanket you, and a distant voice says, "Hey, you okay?" You feel...funny.
>_
> Slowly open our eyes all the way open.
> "...It's dark? Why was it so bright when I tried to open them earlier...?"
> Uh...try sitting up.
>Turn & Answer trying to sincerely smile,and of course "keep keeping 'ourselves together":"As long as I keep myself together I should be fine,thank you"
>Feeling Funny?How so?Where so?
> Of what we can see of ourselves, do we look any different?
> Is anyone else around?
> Is Tojiko within easy reach?
> How does the coat look?
> "How weird. Must have been some sort of side effect of what happened."
> "It does seem you're right, though. Forest of Magic, no one around..."
> Smile a bit.
> "I'd say we're certainly not in public anymore. Which means I get to do this."
> Try to lean over and give our fellow ghost a hug.
> "Me personally, I don't really know. It's complicated. But that's not what this is about."
> Sigh.
> "I'm sorry. I got you involved in this when you didn't have to be, and you had to experience whatever it was you experienced as a result."
> "I mean, getting you involved with all of this in the first place."
> "You did, you did."
> Let go and try to right ourselves back into a normal sitting position.
> "But yeah...you remember that whole Formless One deal? I don't know if it was the one responsible for whatever we saw that was so terrifying, but...I'm pretty sure it attached itself to me when I went too far into those weird rooms, and turned me into the water itself. Or...something."
> "Yeah."
> Chuckle.
> "Right, right."
> Relax a bit against the back of the tree, pulling the coat a bit back over ourselves like a blanket.
> "So, first..."
> Recount our encounter with the other Minamitsu, including what we know about who she is. Mention that we're pretty sure Tojiko and her crew weren't around yet when that happening, uh, happened.
> How much of the backstory of Toyosatomimi's faction do we know, particularly in regards to the construct of their bodies?
> Grimace.
> "Yikes. That sounds very unpleasant, to put it mildly."
> Nod.
> "I got the same feeling from mine, that it would all be over if it caught me."
> "...Is it something you'd feel comfortable expanding on? I sorta know where mine came from, but like I said, I don't think you all were around for that incident. You don't have to if you don't want to, of course, I'm only wondering if you think talking it out might help at all."
> Nod a couple more times.
> "Makes sense. Let's stick a pin in that, then, rather than dwell on our hyper-specific nightmares. From there..."
> Recount our miraculous overcoming of our other self, as well as everything that happened after that, ending with waking up here in the forest. Make sure to include our theories about the Formless One and its behaviors and motivations that we devised along the way.
> This player meant everything that was deduced in-thread, like how the Formless One attached itself to us somehow, how its seemingly-singular goal was to flow and that its target was Gensokyo, and so on. Apologies for being unclear.
Well that's concerning.
> "From there, I did manage to overcome, uh, myself somehow, but I ended up getting lost in the process of her chasing me. I wandered around semi-blindly, before eventually...hearing something through the water. Hearing, and eventually feeling, tasting, and pretty much every other sensation you can think of. My guess at this point is that I was swimming through memories everyone had of where that other me came from. It got more and more oppressive as I pushed on, eventually feeling like I was in someone else's body, even, someone a little bit shorter. Then...I'm pretty sure the Formless One latched onto me, and took over mentally."
> "I did kind of see some things? They flitted in and out randomly in all senses."
> Describe some of the things we saw and heard before getting taken over.
> "...Feel...funny..."
> Gasp.
> "Uh! Keep...Yukari away...for her safety!"
> Try moving just a little bit.
> Open our eyes, if we can.
> Shrug.
> "I guess? For however reliable these memories are. Maybe it's mostly stone and metal but still has a few pockets of nature here and there."
> Smile a tiny bit.
> "In thinking about it, that's kinda what we are here, isn't it? I wouldn't be too surprised if there were small collections of humans that weren't so interested in the general progression of humanity."
// I wonder if the "Great Pieces of Ripped Curtain " we took back there have been "rsally carried over or have...vanished//
> Make a mental.note that we have to.go back to Patchouli..at zhe Mansion Library to share. our "latest discovery and experience",she did help us out with her own knowledge and resources after all.
> Move & float around a bit ,while at the same time also taking notice about how we are "regaining ourselves""while explaining to Tojiko is to rid of the" after-effects of being within and joined somehow with The Formless One"...
>Oh!Also ask to Tojiko how "Stargazer"is faring,if shs still being accompained by Yukari,if she is instead on her way to meet up eith Utsuho around he Kappa University...
>...about,Yukari and maybe Sakuya,also ask Tojiko if they did mention something particular to us or about us when we come back in Gensokyo after "our most recent trial".
> "It is appreciated, to be sure. Thank you."
> "But yeah, this Formless One, or whatever...all it desired was to flow to the low places, or something. It seemed disturbed by its own sentience, really. It was all I could think about, if one could even consider it 'me' thinking at that point."
> Do we still feel different?
> "I can't be 100% sure on this, but...near as I can tell, it was the memories of the part of the ocean that got moved to where Gensokyo was, when Gensokyo moved to the Outside World for a bit. And that loose collection of memories of people from when Gensokyo moved to the Outside World kind of irritated into some kind of sentience."
> "I definitely want to ask people more knowledgeable than me on the subject about it. Yukari would be great, but I don't know if that thing is still attached to me somehow or not, and I don't know what precautions she'd need to take if it were. I definitely also want someone to check if that thing is still attached to me somehow, but again, same problem."
> Inhale and exhale while looking up at the sky.
> "It was...certainly an experience being a mass of water. I wish there had been a way to tell just how large I was. Found myself wondering just how much water is out there beyond Japan's shores, too."
> Look back to Tojiko.
> "Um, I don't think the details of the rest of what happened are all that meaningful. I just kinda gradually reclaimed myself with more and more frequency and had fewer mental takeover interruptions from that thing. Figured out it wanted to flow 'outward', which felt to me like the direction Gensokyo was in, and I knew that flooding Gensokyo with myself was out of the question, as weird as that may be coming from me of all people. So I flowed myself 'inward' instead, and gradually regained more and more of a normal-body-like feeling before I woke up here."
> "A little different in a way I can't articulate. It doesn't feel bad, just different. Which would make sense, I never got a sense of malevolence from it, despite nightmare versions of ourselves appearing before us."
> "I've been wondering that as a possibility myself."
> Go silent for a moment or two, then sport a small smile.
> "Water conducts electricity real good, doesn't it? Maybe you could just zap it out of me."
> Chuckle a bit ourselves.
> "Ah well."
> Look back down at the coat. Lift up one of the sleeves and examine it.
> "...This is a pretty snazzy piece, especially for an emergency grab. ...I wonder how long they'll let me hold onto it."
> "I can ask later. Either they know you took it and already have an idea, or they don't know you took it and I don't want them thinking either of us are thieves."
> Try standing up.
> Try flowing (not walking or crawling or whatever normal humanoid motor skillsing) toward Tojiko, just to see if we can.
> "Ah, that's good. In that case..."
> Try putting the coat on.
> "I think I'm ready to try going somewhere."
> "Which way sounds best to you? Uh, other than north, if possible. You know how it can be..."
> Look suddenly panicked.
> "...Wait."
> Look around frantically.
> "...Which way is north?!"
> "..."
> Stare confused in that direction.
> "...huh..."
> Hold our head in a bit of a daze.
> "...that...didn't bother me at all. ...Why...?"
>You remember...at one point, there was suddenly land within you. And where the land was, part of you appeared. It was then that it began. It was only a short time, then that land went back, and you back to where you belong. But...you also fell somewhere...
>You feel as though you rejoined with the rest of yourself, but...also you have not. Something is not as it should be.
>Looking through them, the strange part is that there's a kind of gap. It became aware while it and Gensokyo switched places, in a sense. Then it switched back...or...hm, no. No, now you're starting to get it. You think that this entity was separated from the water when it was switched back, the same way peoples' memories of the event were. And then there was a gap, it wasn't aware at all, dormant. You don't understand what happened there, but then something occurred, and it ended up here.
> "...It's...I don't know. No and yes?"
> Inhale and exhale deeply.
> "Okay, so...I don't know if you feel this too, but I...just don't really do north. That's where Higan and the Netherworld are, and no thank you, I am not ready. Moving north is generally bad. Going further north than our Temple is completely out. Even just sitting facing it is bad. Gives me the willies, as today's human kids say. I always, always know where it is, so I know to avoid it."
> Gesture back at the tree.
> "But sitting there just now...I was facing north. And it didn't bother me a bit. I didn't even know it was north...I think I simply don't have that automatic knowledge in my head anymore."
> Take a moment to calm ourselves down and assess how we're feeling.
> While (or after) making that assessment, consider: might we be Capital-R Ready?
> "...I mean...a little. I don't remember the last time north didn't bother me, so the lack of botheration is a bit bothering, in that it's a change from normal. ...I wonder if I should try facing and traveling north a little more often, to see how it feels?"
> Shake our head a bit.
> "Sorry, this is distracting from the immediate. I can figure it out as I go along. Let's go somewhere. We should probably track down whoever else is searching for me and call them off, for one thing."
> Nod.
> "Worth checking out, yeah. If you could lead the way, though, it'd be appreciated."
> If Tojiko gets moving, follow.
> Wave in response.
> "They found me!"
> "That's a hard question to answer in full. But for our purposes, more or less, yes. I might still to stay stay some number of knots away from Yukari, though. But she'd know better than me."
> Nod.
> "Thanks. I'll be wary."
> Enter! (If we're permitted) and head to the library.
Reposting these to remind myself to mention them (especially the bold) to a party more knowledgeable than either currently-present ghost mook.>You remember...at one point, there was suddenly land within you. And where the land was, part of you appeared. It was then that it began. It was only a short time, then that land went back, and you back to where you belong. But...you also fell somewhere...
Quote from: It's Purvis! on 11-08-2022, 08:10:39
>You feel as though you rejoined with the rest of yourself, but...also you have not. Something is not as it should be.
Quote from: It's Purvis! on 18-10-2022, 04:16:37
>Looking through them, the strange part is that there's a kind of gap. It became aware while it and Gensokyo switched places, in a sense. Then it switched back...or...hm, no. No, now you're starting to get it. You think that this entity was separated from the water when it was switched back, the same way peoples' memories of the event were. And then there was a gap, it wasn't aware at all, dormant. You don't understand what happened there, but then something occurred, and it ended up here.
> Nudge Tojiko lightly and take on a very quiet tone.
> "Can you let Yukari know I'm here but the Formless One might be attached to me somehow?"
> Nudge Tojiko lightly and take on a very quiet tone.
> "Can you let Yukari know I'm here but the Formless One might be attached to me somehow?"
> Once Tojiko has floated away to reach and warn Yukari prudently do try to. ,while being also self-conscious and on guard for "ˋParts of the Formlessness", "gradually meditate about the same Yukari Yakumo"...
>...anything off or particular of notice to feel,or maybe is it only "Yukari-wise" and she is going to indirectly share this news ?"
> Well, alright, if she feels safe...
> Saunter on over. (Do our best to saunter while still treading lightly, it would not do to clomp around like we have a peg leg while we're in a library.)
> Nod to the Lord of the house.
> "Mostly, thank you. Things are still a little strange, but for entirely different reasons. Thanks for the threads, by the way."
> Look to Yukari.
> "Long story short, your Formless One attached itself to me somehow. Pretty sure it's actually still there, not that I can really feel it at the moment."
> Blink.
> "...Uh. What?"
> Let our eyes go a little wider.
> "Uh...I...don't know that I want random ocean horrors just becoming a part of me!"
> "Oh, uh, sure. It's kind of a two-parter, so..."
> Recount our encounter with the other Minamitsu, including what we know about who she is.
> To Remilia: "I'm pretty sure Sakuya had a similar encounter; I found her teleporting all around a room while fighting something I couldn't perceive. Tojiko tells me she isn't talking about it, which is fine, that's her right. But I thought I should let her mistress know that it happened at all, just in case."
> To Yukari: "Right, I figured. Seemed like we all got got, from what I saw encountering everyone else."
> To Remilia: "I will admit I tried to help Sakuya fight whatever she was fighting, but only succeeded in accidentally hitting her a couple of times. I'd like to apologize to her before I head home, if that's okay."
> Back to Yukari: "Despite overcoming my nightmare self, I got lost in the process of her chasing me. I wandered around semi-blindly, before eventually...hearing something through the water. Hearing, and eventually feeling, tasting, and pretty much every other sensation you can think of. My guess at this point is that I was swimming through memories everyone had of where that other me came from. It got more and more oppressive as I pushed on, eventually feeling like I was in someone else's body, even, someone a little bit shorter. Then...I'm pretty sure the Formless One latched onto me, and took over mentally. All it desired was to 'flow to the low places', or something. It seemed disturbed by its own sentience, really. It was all I could think about, if one could even consider it 'me' thinking at that point."
> "Yeah, I had thought about that a bit while everything was happening. It was pretty difficult to perceive when it wasn't actively taking me over. In thinking about it, though, the sensation of another smaller body is odd, given I eventually realized, or at least perceived myself, as a huge body of water."
>"I can imagine," Yukari says at length. "Were you not a youkai, I doubt you would have been able to perceive anything at all."
>"This ocean, then," Remilia says, sipping her tea. "It is within you still?"
>_
> To Yukari: "Right, I figured. Seemed like we all got got, from what I saw encountering everyone else."
> To Remilia: "I will admit I tried to help Sakuya fight whatever she was fighting, but only succeeded in accidentally hitting her a couple of times. I'd like to apologize to her before I head home, if that's okay."
> Back to Yukari: "Despite overcoming my nightmare self, I got lost in the process of her chasing me. I wandered around semi-blindly, before eventually...hearing something through the water. Hearing, and eventually feeling, tasting, and pretty much every other sensation you can think of. My guess at this point is that I was swimming through memories everyone had of where that other me came from. It got more and more oppressive as I pushed on, eventually feeling like I was in someone else's body, even, someone a little bit shorter. Then...I'm pretty sure the Formless One latched onto me, and took over mentally. All it desired was to 'flow to the low places', or something. It seemed disturbed by its own sentience, really. It was all I could think about, if one could even consider it 'me' thinking at that point."
>"I can imagine," Yukari says at length. "Were you not a youkai, I doubt you would have been able to perceive anything at all."
>"This ocean, then," Remilia says, sipping her tea. "It is within you still?"
>_
> Shrug with a genuinely uncertain-bordering-confused look.
> "Honestly, I was hoping the three of you could tell me. At the risk of being crass, I just haunt here, my dudes. All I can really do is recount what I experienced, and hope the people smarter and wiser than me that are present can interpret it."
> "I did eventually gain more and more control and awareness, up to the point where it would only overtake me on occasion, and when it did I could wrest it back pretty quickly. Blessings be to Hijiri's meditation training for that. But anyway, even through my new aquatic body, I could still feel shapes that were interpretable as structures, fish, and other such things, just based on what space I was allowed to occupy and what space I wasn't. I also felt what I can only really describe as a stain, like some sort of yellow oil on your skin; I'm pretty sure that stain corresponded to the memories that matched all those other things - noises, smells, and so on - I perceived right before I got liquified."
> "It took me a while, but I eventually realized that, as much as any direction was possible, there were only two; outwards, and inwards. The Formless One wanted to flow outward, and given it had the apparently goal of flowing to Gensokyo specifically, I tried to flow myself inwards instead, to see what would happen. It took some effort, but after enough of it, I popped back into consciousness in this."
> Flop our arms around a little.
> Omit 1 or more of the next consieering parts IF they have already been enough explained AND Uncovered ; thoseabout "The 1st Recovered Piece and the Uncanny Still-Missing by Piece of the Formless One of the Unseen Clergy (plus many unknown other naming definition"...
> Same glossing over about asking WHETHER Sakuya could or could not join the "
> Blink to assist with discerning around and about " I am also remembering with more clarity the "notable Feel & Mention,to make them more understanding to all in-meeting and then meeting-involved,of 1 Major Recovered Piece and another 1 Minor Weirdly Still-Missing by The Formless One..
> Keep blinking to assist" clarity such as...That Major Fell and Separated but Still Linked to.a.Certain.Extent in 1 Place but then It Recovered & It Flowed-Back ...that had been always felt enough to be' back to The Formless One'sAll-Vast,All-Complete,All-FlowingI'...yet it is not The en the "Formless One" "communicated with Itself,
> Last Blinking to: Right Myself,both "that even this particularly particular and hazrdous "Unseen Clergy"
> Bring up whether Sakuya could be well-off and willing to be joining us in-this-meeting at some point,or at very
>"There is little We can tell you, it seems," Remilia says. "We are simply trying to entertain our guests. In that vein, perhaps you would care for a drink?""
>"What was this taint?" Yukari says. "It seems...curiously unrelated to everything else."
>_
> On the "Taint in Water to Yukari,Reminescence : " yes "The Taint in the Water and Only Actual "mostly a sort-of ambiental auraby my ,but not originating by her my Corrputed Doppel-Ganger,then it disappeared when I defeated-vanished her, but,not being by her, it also returned to a lesser gradual extent the nearer I closed-in to.the "Formless One"highlighting the lesser gradual nearer..."
>...What other Applying Insights.are we leaving about "That Taint in the Water? Add & Reminesce..
...
> On the "Taint in Water to Yukari,Reminescence : " yes "The Taint in the Water and Only Actual "mostly a sort-of ambiental auraby my ,but not originating by her my Corrupted Doppel-Ganger,then it disappeared when I defeated-vanished her, but,not being by her, it also returned to a lesser gradual extent the nearer I closed-in to.the "Formless One"highlighting the lesser gradual nearer..."Our best guess at what the stain was can be found here (https://www.shrinemaiden.com/index.php?topic=412.msg26650#msg26650).
> "It felt like it was composed of those memories and sensations from the Human Town I encountered."
> "It felt like it was composed of those memories and sensations from the Human Town I encountered."
> Think up and guess :Which kind of drink may we guess are " the closest equilibrium" between amongst our favourites our more or less Myourenji-Allowed and nearest to what the Scarlet Mansion through Remilia herself could offer?
> Also include "the closer equilibrium",if it would still be alright ,if it would not be troubling or similar for some part of the eventual spilling + our temporary need to put some real.effort, such would also be another smaller trial for "our own complete "original form-nature rehab ", indicating some eventual spill
> With those "2 equilibriums in consideration", answer Gratefully + "Explainfully" to Remilia's offer , and naturally be also accepting of advices.
> In The end all the "remembering and mentioning and noticing with more clarity " ,ANDnd Sakuya's in-this-later-part-of-meeting or another separate briefed meeting"?
> On the "Taint in Water to Yukari,Reminescence : " yes "The Taint in the Water and Only Actual "mostly a sort-of ambiental auraby my ,but not originating by her my Corrupted Doppel-Ganger,then it disappeared when I defeated-vanished her, but,not being by her, it also returned to a lesser gradual extent the nearer I closed-in to.the "Formless One"highlighting the lesser gradual nearer..."
>...What other Applying Insights.are we leaving about "That Taint in the Water? Add & Reminesce..
> "It felt like it was composed of those memories and sensations from the Human Town I encountered."
> "It felt like it was composed of those memories and sensations from the Human Town I encountered."
> "and acted as a sort-of irritant to the " Formless One's Vast Watery Form"
> For more details and possibly "The Taint's Particular Fluctuations" of the "Taint in the Water"... as I remarked before it feel perceivable when I was not that far,having had to leave behind after trying mostly in vain to inveetigate & help"the strangely fight-trapped but unable to beSakuya " and then keep proceeding to Southern Roome....
>...at its strongest when trying to face without being overtaken by my Corrupted Doppelganger... then seemingly disappered together when I defeated and she permanently vanished,...but then ,aothough "sort-of less dense""The Taint"returned when I come closer to the ",Formless one"" and when although I could cle4arly confirm its "tainting presence" when I was "Not-Mostly-Within-It"...
> "If it counts as feeling. And if my guess is correct, of course."
> To Yukari: "Not to brag too hard, but that's the impression I got, yeah. Gotta admit, I was getting pretty nervous about the prospect of being forced to stay there just to stop it from flooding Gensokyo until someone came for me; the fact that flowing myself inward brought me back here intact was more or less a lucky result of trying any random thing I could think of."
> To Remilia: "Ah, sorry for leaving you hanging. Tea would be appreciated."
> Do we still feel that taint?
> "I certainly don't feel it anymore. But I do still feel different. I, uh, I've had a Ghost Thing for the direction north for as long as I can remember...don't like it, don't like going in it, really don't like facing it while sitting down, always know where it is, that sort of thing. But ever since I came back...all of that's been gone."
> "It is very weird, yeah. Like, I don't know if it means I'm Ready, or if it's just an incidental side effect of that...thing becoming part of me."
> Frown.
> "Which I'm still not sure I like."
> Does the rest of our Temple family know about our North boogityness?
> "...Yeah, I don't think it's hostile, given how it just sort of acted on what little base instinct it had. I guess this outcome isn't the worst outcome from having something irreversibly graft itself onto your existence."
> "Well. If none of the three of you are overly concerned, then I won't be, either. That just leaves one other mystery that I've been kinda putting on the back burner."
> "I did notice it have a few strange thoughts over the course of our encounter. The first one was, when it started thinking about its own origins, it was...how did it think about this? It was where it always was, then it was not. Part of it was in another place. A small part, but enough that it began to feel and to remember due to how different that other place was. From its perspective, at one point, there was suddenly land within it, and where that land was, part of it appeared, which is when the feeling and remembering began. The land went back, and it went back to where it belonged. But, and this is the weird part, it 'also fell somewhere'. I couldn't figure out what that 'somewhere' might have been, or how it fell there, or if that's even what actually happened and not simply how it parsed some other happening."
> "Well, I'm obviously curious, but as long as it's not going to be a future problem, then I guess I don't really need to know."
> Look uncertain.
> "Really basic at best. Plus what I learned about myself from that nightmare me, I guess."
> Oh, right, Stargazer.
> Where is she right now?
> "Huh. Is that where she came from, then?"
> Blink.
> "...She's not going to also absorb herself into me, is she? Because that would be weird."
> "That could very well have been that water, for all I know. I don't know how much I can offer in that regard...I did try to pick through the Formless One's memories, such as they were, for a little bit. It seemed like it was separated from the water when it was switched back, the same way those memories were. And then there was some kind of time gap I don't understand where it was dormant. Then something else happened, and it ended up where I found it. Or it found me. Or whatever."
> "And just to make sure I'm aware, how would Stargazer absorb herself into me?"
>"I think I understand the basics of it," Remilia says.
>"Is this about the dream everyone had years back?" Patchouli says.
>Yukari nods to you, seeming to ignore the witch. "That should be good enough, then. Suffice it to say, things were set right. But what had happened there wasn't exactly erased. Perhaps it should have been, but it was not. Instead, the memories and such persisted, and fell outside the coil of the universe, where it aggregated with other such detritus of reality and became a different kind of problem. Your little spectral friend experienced this as well, if I'm not mistaken."
>_
>"I think I understand the basics of it," Remilia says.
>"Is this about the dream everyone had years back?" Patchouli says.
>Yukari nods to you, seeming to ignore the witch. "That should be good enough, then. Suffice it to say, things were set right. But what had happened there wasn't exactly erased. Perhaps it should have been, but it was not. Instead, the memories and such persisted, and fell outside the coil of the universe, where it aggregated with other such detritus of reality and became a different kind of problem. Your little spectral friend experienced this as well, if I'm not mistaken."
>_
>"At least it is not hostile?" Remilia says.
>"It doesn't seem to be much of anything," Yukari says. "It almost sounds like a divine spirit...but perhaps less so?"
>_
> "That could very well have been that water, for all I know. I don't know how much I can offer in that regard...I did try to pick through the Formless One's memories, such as they were, for a little bit. It seemed like it was separated from the water when it was switched back, the same way those memories were. And then there was some kind of time gap I don't understand where it was dormant. Then something else happened, and it ended up where I found it. Or it found me. Or whatever."
> "And just to make sure I'm aware, how would Stargazer absorb herself into me?"
>"I have no idea," says Yukari. "I haven't a clue if that's within her capacity or not. Now, what is curious it that the eventI described was some time ago. This event, however, it began a few days ago."
>_
> "Maybe that's the period of time where it was dormant?"//(Stargazer)... [
>You follow her northward into the forest.
>Things are fairly peaceful this evening. You can hear faeries in the distance, laughing and playing. There's a bit of danmaku noise, but it's much more calm than it was this afternoon, when they were quite agitated. Every so often a stray leaf floats free, wafting across the path on the way to the ground. It doesn't take long for Misty Lake to appear through the trees ahead. Soon the walls of Scarlet Devil Mansion are plainly visible. Leaving the tree line, you come out reasonably close to the gates. Meiling notices you and waves.
>_
> "Maybe that's the period of time where it was dormant?"
> "It did feel as though it had rejoined with the rest of itself, but also that it had not, and that something 'was not as it should be'. I don't know if that's related or not, though."
> Nod to the fairy.
> "Thanks."
> Take the cup and have a sip.
> "Ooh, this is good. Glad that absorbing random phantom spirits hasn't changed my taste buds like it changed my north thingy."
> Sip again.
> To Yukari:
> "Did anything out of the ordinary happen a few days ago, maybe? Maybe the barrier got woobly or something? Though maybe not, since you seem like you'd already know if that were the case and wouldn't be surmising these sorts of things out loud to randos like me."
> How long ago did we start feeling like something was wrong?
> "I didn't start feeling like something was wrong until this morning. If something happened a few days ago, I don't know what it might have been."
>"I wonder if that's just its perception of being separated from the material water?" Patchouli says.
>A faerie reappears, holding a tray toward you with a cup of brown tea on it. It is set upon the doily with a couple spots of spilled tea on it.
>_
>"I've been trying to deal with it for a few days now," Yukari says. "Frankly, I wasn't getting much of anywhere until you directed my attention toward the problem. I assume this morning is when it reached a tipping point, and you became involved."
>_
> "Oh. Um, happy to help, I guess."
> Sip.
> To Yukari :"Yes,from this morning onwards,I felt.... weird ... like started to be gradually dragged out of Gensokyo...then the Displacements actually happened several times,and " each 1 longer than the previous and with more will-powered memories populating that Ocean-Bottom-lik Displaced Dimension-like ..."
>"...the most striking were the "Flooded Uninhabited Human Village"to to "our latest group&expedition voyage "when there was" a Flooded Uninhabited Replica of Most of Gensokyo..."
>"...before the "Human Village's Replica" ,while exploring I found Stargazer "in a giant Man o' War Shape"l,and later we gradually investigated&discovered together,also with help by Patchouli and Tojiko ,that "she is originally from a Gensokyo but Forcefully and Long-Term Displaced there"...
>...well,it is is an enlighting sign in itself that Stargazer is from "a Gensokyo" based about
her True Form in Gensokyo ,the Spectral Were-Hakutaku one, "actually radiating true sort-of feelings" of "being freed and unencumbered" ,together with confirming with Keine that Stargazer not a Separated Part of Herself but an Indipendent Being...."
> About Stargazer herself...did we not notice Her Presence or at least Spotted her "Yukari-Treated Binding-Cactus" at the Gate,around Meiling?
> "Maybe Keine would know. Also, not to drink and run, but I think I'm starting to shut down. Uh, in the normal sleepy way, not in some fresh new horror way."
> Is Tojiko present, or did we leave her at the gate?
> Did we make any sort of plans with Hijiri to return to the temple?
> If we accept this offer, are we aware of any expectations to return the favor later?
> How are we expected to address Remilia?
> Sorry, how are we expected to refer to Remilia while addressing her? Is there a specific expected name/title combination?
> Mull the offer over with a "Mmmmm..."
> Look around at who is present, giving slightly more attention to Tojiko.
> "...I'm afraid I must decline, Lady Scarlet. Your offer is generous and appreciated, but I get the distinct feeling Hijiri wants me home this evening, for her own peace of mind."
> "Sorry. Though I do still want to apologize to Sakuya before I leave, if she's available."
> Sip.
> Mull the offer over with a "Mmmmm..."
> Look around at who is present, giving slightly more attention to Tojiko.
> "...I'm afraid I must decline, Lady Scarlet. Your offer is generous and appreciated, but I get the distinct feeling Hijiri wants me home this evening, for her own peace of mind."
>"I'm sure she'll show up sooner or later," Remilia says.:point:
>_
> Are we missing:spell: any beat :spell:" any carried items,apart for the "Stargazer's Special.Cactus presently at The Gate By Meiling " we had this would also count for the"Those Large Pieces of Curtains in-between Those Rooms in That Long-Hallway ",are there? Any unrecognised ones ?
:point:
> Nod.
> "As you say, then."
> Sip.
> "I don't think so. I guess we'll just have to see what happens to me in the coming days, if anything."
> "Of course. And thank you all again for being substantial reasons there isn't anything worrying to see."
> Sip.
> "Wisdon and peace of mind is certainly worth something. Never find actually physically finding me in the middle of nowhere."
> Smile a little bit.
> "It's okay, you know. You can accept the appreciation."
> Finish our tea off, if we haven't already.
>"Do you have any further findings to share?" Patchouli says.
>_
>"I'm sure she'll show up sooner or later," Remilia says.
>_
> "And thank you for this."
> Gently set the cup down where it was.
> Take some moments to ponder about if we did miss sething to share about while we wait a bit for Sakuya to arrive,before we l go "pick up" Stargazer and leave to give that "report"' to Eientei...
>...ask about if "Those Sudden-Appearance Underwater Trees"were from the "Great Aggregate Very Hostile to Youkai" Yukari mentioned,and add that Stargazer did confide to us that when "she was thrown into that Underwater Dimension-like Place,not much later she was joined there by numbers of angered entities ".
>... even though It is not directly related to "The Incident"...mention that you are wondering about how Utsuho and Stargazer already know each other on established friendly tesrms ,and that "Corrupted Doppelganger Minamitsu Murasa" as well which we knew somehow she had "Shady Dealings as an Harbour Master"...is it all related to the " Gensokyo-wide Shared Dream".
> Nod to Remilia. "Most definitely."
> To Yukari: "Huh. There's an east so far east its actually west? ...I guess something has to be out there..."
> "Neat."
> Nod and get up.
> "Right. Looks like you could use a hay to hit as well, honestly."
> "You got it."
> Give Remilia a short bow.
> "Have a good evening, Lady Scarlet."
> "I'll definitely be here."
> Give Patchouli a wave, and then head back out to the gate. Make a point to stop if we see Sakuya approaching us, however.
> "I don't know. Is there even one? I guess I could try going back to the water world, maybe."
> "I don't really think it would work either, but in not sure what else to try. Oh, though, I suppose I could try traveling northward and see how far I can go before I don't want to anymore."
> "I don't know. Is there even one? I guess I could try going back to the water world, maybe."
>"I don't know if that would work," says Tojiko. "From what Yukari told us, before we found you, it vanished."
>_
> "I don't really think it would work either, but in not sure what else to try. Oh, though, I suppose I could try traveling northward and see how far I can go before I don't want to anymore."
> "That sounds like a reasonable idea to me, yeah."
> "That sounds like a reasonable idea to me, yeah."
// It is worth.a good and tempered(
> Before moving on to traveling & reaching (the) Eientei , we also better speak about and actually stop by (the)Mansion's Gate ,for some brief and neat conversation with thankings on top for "Meiling's extra guarding"where we leave left Stargazer in (both temporay)tow and in care by Meiling's...
> … to help her along before
> Ar we encountering " Someone" or.something we knlw on our.way up to the outside?
>The two of you make your way outside into the cool autumn evening. You note Shou speaking with Meiling by the gates.
>_
//I am Concurring it is worth a good(as neat ?)and tempered(relative along with temperance) "northern seeking-working activity"//
> Before moving on to traveling & reaching (the) Eientei , we also better speak about and actually stop by (the)Mansion's Gate to take along ans tofetherfor some brief and neat conversation with thankings on top for "Meiling's extra gate-guest guarding & care "where,we have Temporary left the same Atargazee
> ...so it is to help her along traveling along and "explaining ourselves.reciprocally in truth..." together some more in 3 ..before ,if we are not misremembering anything,the time and place to make a more final.reunion with her and.Utsuho,last time on one of her turn at The KappaAcademyHigher InstituteUniversity the Kappa Village
>. Encounters of " Someone" or "something "we are sort-of acquainted with or sort-of.interesting on our way and zones ?
> Make our way over to them. When we see that they're looking at us, give them a short wave.
> Smile a bit.
> "Okay enough. It's a pretty wild story. If you can wait, I'd like to fill in everyone back home."
> "How about you? Last I saw you in that water world, you'd gotten got real good."
>Do we have any idea why we specifically were the one affected most by this incident?
> "Yeah. Sorry. It should theoretically be resolved now, though. At the very least, Yukari seems satisfied, and that's good enough for me. I'm about ready to go home, tell my story, and crash for the night."
> Look to Tojiko.
> "With that said, what do you want to do? You're welcome to join us if you'd like."
> "It's up to you. You could bring some of your friends, if you need to. I bet they'll want to know how this all ended. But if you have things to do, that's okay too."
> ...Huh. If we're at this point socially, and we're no longer concerned with North...is it possible that statement thingy Sakuya had was actually real, and our signature wasn't on it it because we'll eventually feel Ready and move on?
> Hmm.
> Well, that'll just have to be one of death's little mysteries.
> "...I suppose that's entirely possible, huh. Well, like I said, it's up to you."
>"I'll think about it, at the least I can escort you back, since it's on the way," says Tojiko.
>_
> Nod.
> "That's fine."
> Look to Meiling.
> "Would you mind asking Sakuya to come see me the next time she visits our place?"
> Did we ever "introduce"Shou to Stargazer?
>If not,this is a good opportunity to do so,and if they already "introduced"we can at least make some more traveling together.
> We did all.agree our next stop should be "going to and reporting to.Eientei",did we not?
> Does Meiling have Stargazer?
> "Where is she?"
> Did we leave Stargazer here?
> How are we feeling? Awake enough to wait?
> "Mmm. I think I can wait a bit, in that case."
> Lean up against the wall near the gate (on the outside of the gate so we're still conversationally close to Meiling).
> "How's my little cactus doing, anyway?"
> "I should probably take it with me, if that's okay."
> Nod back toward the mansion.
> "In there? Naw, not at all."
> Chuckle.
> "Sorry. Yeah, it got pretty dicey for a bit there. But we're pretty sure it all worked out."
>Shou nods, though her expression shows she's not quite satisfied with that. "As long as you're alright," she says.
>_
> " At that time I too had been worried about,sigh somewhat for the past worry,you,Sakuya and Tojiko,that is the order I had come across you 3,finding you in a sort-of.harried state in dfferent shape..."
> "...yet we managed to ,smile of relief & gratitude ,pull through with some help".
> " Oh,did you wish to hear about anything particular which.happened over There such as my very conflicting with a Corrupted Doppelganger of mine,or any other?"
> "We'll just have to wait and see about that. I feel fine right now, but it's not every day a formless entity mixes its existence with your own, so who knows what that might mean for my future. But Yukari's not worried, so it's probably fine."
> Shrug.
> "If I had more of a meaningful clue, I'd offer it. Whatever happened, though, I'm suddenly okay with north for some reason, so that's good."
> "So you saw another version of yourself, then? What was she like?"
> "I don't know what it might mean, other than I can sit facing north just fine now. Though, actually, it was pretty handy always knowing which way north is, so not having an internal compass anymore might be inconvenient."
> "Your other you seemed nice, huh? Mine didn't put on any such airs. That woman was ruthless."
> Frown.
> "I hope it was just a different possible me, and not like, someone I was that I don't remember being. Especially since I'm pretty sure her life was full of illicit activity..."
>"Also, 'she seemed nice' is just you looking in the mirror. You old docile housecat you."
> "Thanks!"
> Take the cactus and feel (non-physically) for Stargazer.
> Look back to Shou.
> "But yeah, that's about the short of it. You'll get a longer version once we're back home."
> Shake our head.
> "Nothing that I think anyone can actually provide."
....
>"Well, she "seemed" nice," Shou says. "Just...I knew something was deeply wrong. I couldn't run, but I wanted to with every ounce of my being..."
>"I'm sure if it is the second case, you weren't a bad person!" says Shou.
....
>You obtain: Potted Cactus
>Stargazer is there, but inactive.
>_
>"The doctor at Eientei can at least provide a check up," says Tojiko.
>"Oh, that is a good idea," says Shou.
>_
> "Mmm. I don't have any expectations, honestly, but I also have no reason to not try, so."
(//If I am recalliing and ref.the reading&insighting&Q&A correctly....Gensokyo's Isle versions(Utsuho Quest-A-Z...on www.shrinemaiden.org / MotK V.1)of "Minamitsu Murasa" and "Shou Toramaru" (+the 1 here before briefly described by Tojiko)where among those of "the most vaguely hinted,never encountered,but most negativey affected("Inside or influenced by the Occultist/Criminal/Mafia sides of Gensokyo Isle") among the Gensokyan Youkai and Youkai-equivalents...//)
(//...so for those causes in here, in "Murasa Quest-A-Z", those 2(+1 with. the Tojiko's 1) Gensokyo Isle's Versions they have involved in tuening up as "Human-like Hostile Doppelgangers" rather than ,ref. to the more Benevolent Gensokyo Isle's Human-Turned Gensokyans, "Human-Turned & Inducted Alt. Versions //)
> Like Stargazer is"Resting" or "Deep Relaxing?
> In any case,stay aware if she "becomes active again",and also try to "contact-perceive her from time to time"
> "The next destination to go now is still Eientei then , Eirin mostly and so far, both for their more.concise report and update in addition to,up to the point and to the what it may be measured a check-up for myself".
> Final parting thanks+goodbyes to Meiling,and then...
> ...take fly with Tojiko(since Shou is likely to.return either to the Myouren Templ, or to her Clothing&Style Store or near them by the Human Village) to the Bamboo Forest of the Lost and then on "Float&Foot" tothe Eientei Mansion.
> "Mmm. I don't have any expectations, honestly, but I also have no reason to not try, so."
> "Right, I'm not saying it's a bad idea. Just tempering my own personal expectations."
> Wave at them.
> "Hey!"
> Grin a bit.
> "It's certainly good to no longer be lost. Or in that place."
> Nod.
> "Yeah, it's taken care of as far as I can tell. Though, listen, uh..."
> Scratch our head a little in slight embarrassment.
> "I...kinda came across you fighting something I couldn't see. I tried to help you out, but all I ended up doing was hit you a couple of times. So, um, sorry about that. I hope you're doing okay."
> Frown a bit in uncertainty.
> "...Alright, if you say so."
>"I assure you, I am unhurt. Perhaps a little winded from looking around," Sakuya says. "Let us not worry about anything in that illusion."
>_
> "You got it."
> To Sakuya,in an humble tone since it might be a "still-tainted" mement :"Sorry if I am a bit indiscreet or indelicate...but you too,because you were the first 1 who I actively recognised to be in a trapping danger...while at the same timd...I rally really really TRIED...to help you out of it....and because the same happened to myself,Tojiko and Shou,were fighting off' another tainted yourself beare of a great sense of dread or dange only to you personally'...?"
> She clearly doesn't want to talk about it, others have indicated she doesn't want to talk about it, we shouldn't push it.
> "You got it."
> Shake our head.
> "The offer is appreciated. But I need to head home, to let the Temple know I am safe, and I'm probably going to crash face-first into my pillow once I've filled them all in on what happened."
> Shake our head.
> "The offer is appreciated. But I need to head home, to let the Temple know I am safe, and I'm probably going to crash face-first into my pillow once I've filled them all in on what happened."
> Look over to Shou with a slight smirk.
> "You got that?"
> Chuckle.
> "I'm just yanking your chain, don't worry."
> Look back to Sakuya.
> "You take care of yourself, then."
> Look to Meiling.
> "And you, of course."
> Look to Shou, then to Tojiko.
> "Shall we?"
> "That would be appreciated, if you don't mind doing it."
> Look to Tojiko.
> "Ready?"
> Look to Tojiko.
> "Ready?"
> "Of course."
> Give our hosts a wave, and then shove off in the direction of Eientei.
> While proceeding to Eientei make sure to check from time to time if Stargazer "is waking up to be active".
> Advance!
> "Hey there."
>"Hey, buzz off!" the rabbit shouts, awkwardly levelling the halberd in your direction. Then she squints in your direction as you emerge from the bamboo. "Oh, it's you two! Sorry about that, things are a bit on edge here what with the whole dancers thing."
>_
> "No worries. Hey, uh, is the doctor in? A whoooooole lot of weirdness just happened in some other dimension or something and we'd like to be sure it's not going to have any long-lasting physiological effects."
> "No worries. Hey, uh, is the doctor in? A whoooooole lot of weirdness just happened in some other dimension or something and we'd like to be sure it's not going to have any long-lasting physiological effects."
> Add:" We also came here to further explain that ' as we have confirmed in person and so far,the Doremy's Kidnapping by the 2 ,and then 1 ,Dancers is rather an overzealous misunderstanding than an actual malicious act,with Doremy herself being fine and resting or has already finished resting ' ".
> "Right, of course. Um, do I need a guide, or will I know how to find her?"
> "Thanks. May your evening be uneventful."
> Heat in the direction instructed.
> Knock on some solid architecture within reach that doesn't look, like, super sacred.
> "Pardon me..."
>You knock on the doorframe.>After this 1st 2nd meeting greet Eirin herself politely enough together with asking her is she prefers or has to be finishing The Letter she is writing,before having some patience&focus listen to our pre-maybe-for-check-up Small Report...
>Eirin looks up from what seems to some kind of letter. "Ah, I didn't expect to see you again this evening," she says. "Come, make yourselves comfortable. I hope the rabbits didn't give you any trouble?"
>_
> ...
> "None. Well, none once they realized who we were. But I'm not offended by guards doing guard duty, especially given what happened here earlier."
> "So, this is going to sound completely bonkers, but to make a long story short, a formless existence somehow blended itself with my existence in an alternate watery space, and those involved in that whole kerfuffle think it best we check to make sure this new unliving arrangement won't have short-or-long-term negative consequences for me. The only difference I've noticed so far is that I no longer get the willies from the concept of the direction north, which, well, I'll admit I think I'm going to miss having a reliable internal compass, but it's probably for the better overall."
> Make our way over to the least uncomfortable-looking chair not currently occupied.
> "None. Well, none once they realized who we were. But I'm not offended by guards doing guard duty, especially given what happened here earlier."
> "So, this is going to sound completely bonkers, but to make a long story short, a formless existence somehow blended itself with my existence in an alternate watery space, and those involved in that whole kerfuffle think it best we check to make sure this new unliving arrangement won't have short-or-long-term negative consequences for me. The only difference I've noticed so far is that I no longer get the willies from the concept of the direction north, which, well, I'll admit I think I'm going to miss having a reliable internal compass, but it's probably for the better overall."
>After this 1st 2nd meeting greet Eirin herself politely enough together with asking her is she prefers or has to be finishing The Letter she is writing,before having some patience&focus listen to our pre-maybe-for-check-up Small Report...
>...when she is ready-to...admit we are here ALSO for a Could-Be youkai-health check-ups or at least stranger scan-readings,and Utimately Explain...
>To somehow boost our synopsis ,link with and highlight ,Skipping or Resuming as Proper the could-in-need Passage
Describe-Narrate"Formless One" was in fact. a sort of De-Agreggate Formless,Very vast,Flowing Entity,especially a sorta-parallel to Ocean Waters AND a Taint-in-Waters in fact,but with different density&perception,at the very 1st "almost none",then.gradually...then finally "Partly-Thick"... It started Neutrally sort-of recollecting then willing&feeling to"Keep Newly+Formlessly+Vastly+Flowingly...Completely Flow in&out Dimensions, eventually also directly affecting a few beings,even Displaced-Sweep amongst them..Displaced-Sweep through the now-ended Expanding Flooded-Gensokyo-Pocket inside our Great Hakurei Barrier...not even leaked to our Gensokyo Proper..Pure Thanks to the Heaven as wel for that Prevention...actually and truly...It, past and outside Gensokyo It had recollect to be minor-once self-aware,quite and Flowed Into&Out quite a Number of Place&Beings.had Flowed-in & Out Before...ye It marvelled at becoming mostly-self-aware...and we that we Flowed-Semi-Fused " ourselves mostly as the Formless One"...moreover It had made the both of us feel like a Smaller Flowed-Out Piece of It had been not 100% recovered and it had a Lingering. Side-Effect on ourselves...
> None that we've noticed, right?
> "None that I've noticed. I've found can sit facing north with no discomfort now, but that was an extension of the general north woogityness. Heck, for all I know, I'm facing that way now."
> We haven't been having weird thoughts at all ever since returning, right?
> "The third and fourth ones were happening while I was tangling with this entity. But, near as I can tell, they've been gone ever since I came back to Gensokyo from Water World."
> "Uh. I guess I would say that my mind was overtaken by the formless entity I mentioned earlier, whose goal was to flow places it was supposed to flow to. It was a basic enough existence that it didn't even think or know things until some events in the not-too-distant past made it able to think and know things, and it honestly felt kind of disturbed and put off by its newfound ability to be sentient. Anyway, my mind was mostly it for a while, with little bits of actual me sprinkled in from time to time, but the balanced gradually shifted from that to being roughly even to being mostly me with it only popping up if I left my guard down or tried to think its thoughts. Also, my body had somehow become a huge mass of water. Couldn't tell you how or exactly how huge, since, y'know, water can't see or hear at all and also can't feel all to well. I eventually figured out that there were only two directions from my perspective, outward and inward, and also that flowing outward would mean flooding Gensokyo with myself. So I tried flowing inward, and with some effort my body returned to what's sitting in your chair now, having popped back up in some random part of the forest near the Scarlet Devil Mansion."
> Frown.
> "Great. What do I need to do or not do?"
> Nod.
> "That lines up with what Yukari and Patchouli said about it, both the essence fusion and the total lack of physicality. I guess I'm glad I figured that pretending to be taken over by something as a joke would have been in poor form."
> "Still, I'm hoping that random entities, formless or otherwise, don't make a habit of fusing with my essence."
> "Unless you happened to notice I'm suddenly a lot more susceptible to people making themselves part of me, I don't think so."
>"I think not," says Eirin, as she sits back at her desk. "Now, Miss Soga gave us the gist of your meeting with our assailant. Could you tell me more about it?"
>_
> Think a bit before explaining :" As I have described my tale of encounter with "The Formless One.
"before...well,Very Vast ,Without Form,Nearly-Unsubstantial and Faint-like in the.Water,so mostly compatible with Waters... still however Not-Malevopent but a Neutral Hazard... somehow seeking Fusion-Substance.Tempotaily with...compatible beings such as myself ...in the sense of "the Latest Substantial Being. Flowed-Through.."
>.Ah!For.Precision.About The Formless One "beikg Neutral-Hazardous"..before "from Its
Recalling "I. have gathered,and.aftee also.,thanks to the Discussing&sightinv.by 1st Yukari and 2nd.Patchouli,that It was Nearly-Instictual of its "Hazardous Non-Malevolent kind"...yet when.Temporarily Fused-Transfofed in.ghr Deepest Part of the "Flooded Gensokyo Mirror-Space,in-Hakurei Barrier,Devoid of Non-Marine Apparent-Life1 AND Expanding" ....it became Mostly Self-Aware,still Neutral-Hazardous,but even started making for the 1st time recalling and.feeling,about whag had happened and Keep Flowing.to New Placeain in Its Entirety...
>... since It treated generically all.the.Flow-Flowed Places plus "a Smaller Piece of It.
Flowed Separetely and to Another Place ,until...It joined back together around recently but "but.with some.off-feeling.lingering".
> Wait for.Eirin to reflect & answer ,then eventually add further...
>"I meant those dancers who burst in this afternoon," Eirin says.
>_
>"Well the gist of things was that the dancer's mistress was worried about their mental health and sent them to recruit Doremy to help with that... they pretty impressively misunderstood that as 'abduct Doremy by force.' Which led to them busting in here because this is where Doremy happened to be. So, not really their mistress' intention but I wouldn't blame you for getting annoyed at what her lack of crew discipline caused to happen in your place."
>Do we remember whether Okina Matara had mentioned anything about apologising to Eientei?
I'm going completely off memory here and it's been a while, so please stop me if I try to say something that's not even close to the truth please parser.
>"Well the gist of things was that the dancer's mistress was worried about their mental health and sent them to recruit Doremy to help with that... they pretty impressively misunderstood that as 'abduct Doremy by force.' Which led to them busting in here because this is where Doremy happened to be. So, not really their mistress' intention but I wouldn't blame you for getting annoyed at what her lack of crew discipline caused to happen in your place."
>Do we remember whether Okina Matara had mentioned anything about apologising to Eientei?
>She kind of hinted at it. Then she told Doremy the whole thing was your fault, more or less.https://www.shrinemaiden.org/forum/index.php?topic=22258.90
>"What's wrong with their mental health?" Eirin says. "...Aside from the obvious."
>_
https://www.shrinemaiden.org/forum/index.php?topic=22258.90
>"As It had been explained to me back the,in order not to lose themselves,for they both served Matara for a very long time,a list of various therapies were tried but the latest and most promising was in fact through the Baku,that Is Doremy,helping hem out through their dreams".
>Eirin frowns, then nods. "I suppose that makes some kind of sense."
>_
>Nod:"Together with that there is Doremy who is also willing to help them out after hearing out their reasons once she finishes her rest&recovery,due to the"that exaggerated misunderstanding of a kidnapping"; a rest&recovery
which she has resumed after "her dream-like consulting-help to me" "and could be completed or past-completed by now
>Frown.
>"... Unfortunately I don't know if it's terribly likely that she's going to apologise for all the trouble she's caused you. And it wouldn't be easy to go and try to get one yourself."
>Eirin nods. "I recall Tojiko telling me that."
>Eirin frowns a little. "Vexing. But not surprising."
>_
> Turn to Tojiko smiling gratefully :" Tojiko ,has been the 1st and mostly-main hel, assist,support me out of this...'Half-Incident Half-Unrest in-the-making'...me quite frequently but not just limited to myself because ...Crew Members and En-Route Voyages at Stake... had been either linked-through the more openly,such as Tojiko ,Patchouli,'Stargazer...'or discreetly,such as Sakuya,Yukari,Doremy, or secretly,such as Okina with Mai and Satono... just to mention the Main Due Highlights... everyone who willing discerned and acted upon ,at least moderately knowingly,for the Saving&Preserving Sakes of Our Gensokyo'sWorld and 'Atypicak Community' of,by Gensokyo...ah...though the 'Half-Incidsnt Half-Unrest' would have not Flooded+Enveloped just here and on the Boundaries..."
>"Honestly it might be worth hunting down Doremy at some point in the future and seeing what her experience of all this was, though who knows how true anything that she was told would be..."
>"Honestly it might be worth hunting down Doremy at some point in the future and seeing what her experience of all this was, though who knows how true anything that she was told would be..."
> "Although...unless it happens sort of delay at a longer-term... Doremy should be returning here in Eientei, and also for explaining and an eventual clearing about her" after-mistunderstood-kidnapping experience, as 1st thing or at least among the 1st...
>"... of course once her "Therapy by dreams joined with a Secret List of Ingredients"by Okina for her pair of dancers-servants, Mai and Satonk has completed ".
>"The Princess will be pleased to hear that," Eirin says.
>_
> Correct ourselvea if we do not refer and address Kaguya as *Princess Kaguya"
> "Oh,so Doremy was originally, or became such, invited and here at Eientei as direct guest of Princess's Kaguya? "
>"Just so," Eirin says. "The Princess loves to invite people to visit lately, as you've experienced."// Again a Small :cirnotan:edit-to-correct :meiling://
>_
>"True, True to to experience,True to Remember, she, and so thdEienrsincreased the numbers to a certain angeles, surely enough the amount of the the invited and to-be invited ones have been increased lately, true? "
>What, Which do we remember of been Eientei-Invited-and-Come, around recently? Before any Tojiko-meetings, of help-out, or was there "a few preambles, considerationa, the so on and so forth"?
>"I don't need to stop and count to say it is so," says Eirin.
>It was some years ago, when summer more or less overtook fall. Largely you got in because you were able to convince them that you could bring Cirno to help keep things cool in that relentless heat. Which you were all too happy to bask in yourself. Since then, you've more or less had a standing invitation.
>_
//Nothing else to ask about, hint about, remember about,, go about, etc? while we are still in. Eientei, though "still on Tight watch&Guard for some. while? "
>" And I really hope none of you has to ever do counting about ''Other Eventual No-Good-Purpose-Trespassers,even in cases of. Mostly-Misunderstood'"
>"...! Oh yes, how are Reisen and Tewi faring so far during the' Tight Guard&Watch in the Afternath'? "
>"Anything else that you wanted me to recap before I head home?"
>"Thankfully, those kinds of incidents are rare," Eirin says. "It's part of why the rabbits are so riled up, I imagine."
>"I imagine Tewi is as fine as always," Eirin says. "I know Reisen is keeping watch somewhere to pitch in, but I am not sure where. On the roof, I think."
>"I think that's all I need to know, if you don't have anything to add," Eirin says. "As for your condition, please come back if you feel anything concerning. And let's schedule you for tomorrow afternoon for a follow-up?"
>_
> Make a truthful thoughtful expression: think about it internally: is tomorrow afternoon for a schedule follow-up check-up going to snag onto our Myourenj Temple's duties, any promises or appointments or engagements?
> After being thoughtful for a small time"... Mention to Tojiko as well maybe just maybe, about if we either confided with each other, or we were both present, about any activity which might or might not take up a part of tomorrow afternoon.
>You don't think you it should interfere with anything in particular. You ought to let Hijiri know so she can expect the sweeping to be a bit late. ...How odd, to be thinking of things like sweeping the shrine.
>"Not really," Tojiko says. "I guess I could come along if you need me to?"
>_
>"Alright, I'll be back tomorrow then. If I don't show up though it's probably because I'm in the middle of sleeping for a week after this absolute whale of a day..."
>"Thanks for your help Eirin. I probably shouldn't keep the temple folks waiting."
>Tip our captainly cap to Eirin.
>Leave Eientei and fly back to the Myouren Temple, stopping a decent distance away to confer with Tojiko if necessary.
>"Something on your mind?"
>"Oh, did I forget some of the detail in all this mess?"
>You don't think you it should interfere with anything in particular. You ought to let Hijiri know so she can expect the sweeping to be a bit late. ...How odd, to be thinking of things like sweeping the shrine.
>"Not really," Tojiko says. "I guess I could come along if you need me to?"
>_
]
> Is our "usuality" not usually thinking about more menial task such as sweeping some of the Temple's floors? Different from before?
> Turn to Tojiko with a smile: " I would surely be glad for that f it doesn't snag on any important business on your Group's end".
>"Oh, did I forget some of the detail in all this mess?"
> Yes, but Specify: ".. important details... regarding about Okina's pairs of. Dancers ".
> After Tojiko has clarified and we have reflected or recalled about that, in response to our earlier consideration and Tojiko'a offer to us, remember to think about the 1st one and answer positively to her about these ones and long such lines...
>"Well, it was something you mentioned," Tojiko says. "You mentioned something about how Okina had already tried things to try to restore their memories, right?":fullpower: :cirnotan:
>_
>"Well, it was something you mentioned," Tojiko says. "You mentioned something about how Okina had already tried things to try to restore their memories, right?"
>_
:fullpower: :cirnotan:// As always,the parte of my post which are server complicated or over-detailed or un'accorata can be giocare over for the. "return of a fast and. proprie GM/Parser's reply", if there are requests needing explanations/clarifications I am again available+willing to oblige //
// That (mental-only? ) list of "ALMOST-FINISHED-TO-GATHER (' Identity+Self through Memories healing&reconstituting')Ingredients"(!! )//
//Reply#110 by Purvis on the (now read-archive only)https://www.shrinemaiden.org/forum/index.php?topic=22258.90 //
// The dialogue with a" half-sleepy-then-sleepy Doremy" is the previous page //
//Even before, and also mentioned in Resumed in a small part on the Purvis's Quest-CyoA Resuming Post #1, which may be(much more readily understood than my sort-of writings of and off Touhou - shrinemaiden.orb/Maidens of the Kaleidoscope/MotK V2) readily understood start of the linked Thread Mai's confession about "... list of ingredients and gathering on a secret mission... by Okina Matara(their god and mistress and unwitting mastermind)... "//
:bigpower: :cirnotan:
> Recall and look at Tojiko, fist-palming for realization with a good-to-honest thoughtful+ smiling, satisfied at her, read the necessary by her expression+body language... in order to measure our pace of explaining+detailing+recalling and pace+pair up with herw: "Very True, and Very well Recalled+Spotted+Confided as well ...The Importance about Identity, the Self, the. Memories, those 2 (Okina)Matarajin'e Dancers"... Things and. Environments as a Construct Built off and off Memories and Likely Willpower" Before Okina and for the... eventual healing+recovery... her Duo of Dancers-Agents-Servants, Mai and... Satono.... a half-sleepy, and full-sleepy after-consultation, us out with Doremy had been the 1st one giving advice, to myself around" The Displaced-Expanding-Deserted -Sunken Gensokyo men. not related or built and related, out-sourced not of andoff being Dreams but Memories (! )plusvthe sort-of Willpowers Within and Around(! ) who had been "kidnapped" because of a misunderstanding" about "helping :
>... Okina in. fact, indirectly(! ) but still linked and not loosely so(!) .. just after that... Okina herself revealed and hinted, but also validated 'Mai's earliest small confession. under interrogation when bound at Eientei" .. ... just enough to-justify reasons for Doremy's misunderstood+overblown kidnapping and break-in through the same Eientei
> "..the alternative and previous attempts at a(whole#) list of remedies, including Doremy the Baku, for Mai+Satono, to avoid not losing (!) and regaining(! ) themselves after such a long time serving under her and in side her Land of the Backdoor. .. "
>... together with the earlier Mai'w..even before Doremy's and Okina's, still at the Eientei, confessed when at large interrogated about both her +Satono's.. an. important recent mission almost concluded mission prepares by their (god) and Mistress Okina.. "nn
>"Oh you mean like with the stuff they nicked from Eientei?"
>"Oh yeah I guess she did mention something about that. Though I don't remember her having too much to say about it, which isn't terribly surprising."
>Tojiko nods. "Well, it obviously didn't work, but..."
>_
> There could still be some loose ends regarding the 'ingredients and methods employed before Doremy having being pushed to be involved?'"
>"Maybe," Tojiko says. "But I was thinking...what if that was the cause of all this?"
>_
>"Meaning...one ,or more,amongst the methods,those to obtain curing ingredient from a secret list, employed by Okina,had accidentally gave a final push or a final beacon or similar for 'The.Formless One and The Flowing Ones through It like Stargazer "...to slip into this Dimension.then the Great Hakurei Barrier,and eventually Gensokyo?"
>"Huh, I hadn't thought of that. It's a pretty wild theory, but she does seem like the kind of person who could be capable of something like that..."
>She nods. "Yeah, exactly."
>Tojiko nods. "It's the only thing we've heard related in any way."
>_
> "I remember that ,when we first met Yukari,she mentioned that ,when this issue was over,she was going to visit and talk to Okina...is it best we get back to her to mention this new insight for" that mentioned or a later visit",then?
>"So if we get the chance I'll ask Yukari if she knows something about it. I don't think there's anything close to a chance that Okina will admit to anything if we can even talk to her..."
>"So if we get the chance I'll ask Yukari if she knows something about it. I don't think there's anything close to a chance that Okina will admit to anything if we can even talk to her..."
>Tojiko nods. "Should we tell her? Yukari, I mean?"
>_
>Nod:"Yes, If we can reach where her we should."
>Where should Yukari be around this time?
>Heaven only knows. But the last you saw her, only a little bit ago, she was at Scarlet Devil Mansion.> "We could still find Yukari at the Scarlet Mansion if we hurry now...".
>_
> "We could still find Yukari at the Scarlet Mansion if we hurry now...".
> If Tojiko agrees,swifly fly to the Mansion's Gate.
>Tojiko just gives a nod.
>Flying from Eientei to about anywhere, thankfully, is must faster and easier than flying to Eientei. It also helps that Scarlet Devil Mansion is not terribly far from the Bamboo Forest of the Lost to begin with.
>Approaching the mansion, you see that Meiling is still in her position. She gives you a wave, and starts to open the gates as you approach. '"Forgot something, eh?" She says, gesturing toward the open gateway.
>_
> Wave Approvingly and nod to Meiling while Landing Besides Tojiko, :" Yeah , sort-of over-looked something,both me plus Tojiko with she being the ' the least overlooking and the most 'Navvy' for that '; this to explain to someone if she is still around here...Yukari mainly,though 'course 'we are not on best is on private-waters-only'... "
>"I...think she's still here?" says Meiling. "She's the kind of guest who doesn't have to bother with the gate, unfortunately. But I haven't seen her leave."
>_
> Nod and grin : " It is a 'definitive' possibility ' with and about Yukari mc being on a good-meant look-out for her ,also 'definitively good chance' to travel & visit again the Scarlet Mansion, Its Library,especially you Residents and any good-willing involved or related people... "
> ...With all said Do Proceed with Tojiko within once Meiling " is Granting us Passage by opening The Gates //(plus ...perhaps...Communicating on our behest inside through The Mansion's Gates' Bell System.our need to search & warn Yukari ' ) //" ...
>...Direction to ,while on our way also Asking // (??? even,if right there at all,the Fairly Recent Hobgoblins's Staff as well ???) // & Checking about & around for Yukari our way to, the ' Scarlet Mansion's Library (the Voilè Library?) ' ... alias the 'Yukari's 'demi-likely Latest Loc. and Latest After-Incident's Small Party-Pause Spot '(and more naturally so, as well Patchouli & Koakuma ,in eventuality still Remilia & maybe Sakuya still & more maybe-Flandre ) .
>Head to the library and look for Yukari.
>Approach the table and wait for an opening in Yukari and Remilia's conversation.
>"Sorry to bother you again so soon Yukari but Tojiko realised something that we should really ask you about before you disappear back off to the far corners of Gensokyo again."
>Approach the table and wait for an opening in Yukari and Remilia's conversation.
>"Sorry to bother you again so soon Yukari but Tojiko realised something that we should really ask you about before you disappear back off to the far corners of Gensokyo again."
> " Complement the Preview" with :" It relates to the now-resolved-incident,and..."
> "...though their purpose do seem well-meant at their hearts and unintentional and Secrecy is also a Prime Part of their Nature..."
>"...in turn the Incident relates in turn to Okina Matara's intervening AROUND SAME TIME BEFORE it ,AND for the sake of her' plan with ingredients" to 'heal''her 2 Dancers-Servants "
>"Well, Tojiko realised something as we were going over things with Eirin."
>Let Tojiko explain her theory if she wants to.
>Tojiko shifts a little. "Well, you saw more of the evidence than I did."
>_
> Nod :"The findings are a too-exact match between just before the time I had started been displaced and the time Okina started out sending out her 2 Dancers-Servants to secretly gather a 'special secret list of ingredients ' ,the latest being Doremy Sweet the Baku, in order to treat them both of a particular affliction of theirs..."
>"Well, it's nothing so solid that I'd make an anchor out of it but thinking about the timing of things the start of this whole thing lines up pretty closely with Okina Matara trying out various methods to help her pet dancers, and those methods might not be too far from all of this... and you're probably the only person other than Okina Matara herself who'd even know anything about this, so I thought I should try and catch you while you're catchable." Glance over at Patchouli. "Uh, no offense meant."
>"What affliction?" Yukari says.
>_
> Pause ,then :" From what I and we 2 could.gather till now...it is a sort-of identjty&true self -osing-affliction ...needing,as Okina mentioned and hinted,serie of esorts down to the last resorts,like an Unexplored Attempt to Dream-Treatment to the pair of them,Mai and Satono,by the Baku Doremy...
> Pause ,then :"...More on the boat and what could be brought to surface+estkmates,Afflicting them 2 losing their Sense of Self & Identity,Particular Degrading but not equivaent to dementia ed or even just senility, their Minds are also Seemingly-Ill-Effected ,but that is just a seemingly A Not-Deeper-Facet of It .. ".
> Pause ,then : " ...still, of course,only Okina knows the most with her Godly Nature of Hidden Secrecy them both , with the fact remaining the pair Satono and Mai are Seemingly-Afflicted in a fairly bad kind,though not the worst, making them unaware and surprised about It without at the very least.. no rattling.
>"I'm not sure of the details but apparently they're 'losing themselves' after having been in her service for so long."
>Blink twice
>"That was... not the reaction I expected."
>Inventory
>"Oh yeah Patchouli, I'll have to get you some hot sauce or something as thanks for your help. I got some earlier but uh, I misplaced it in that other world."
> Consider if any of the memories/experiences we remembered/experienced while a giant body of water belonged to the dancer women instead of wherever the water came from.
> "...You know, it occurs to me that I'm pretty sure I saw the Human Village amongst all the other memories and experiences while I was...wherever I was."
> Blink.
> "...Does that mean those dancers' missing memories and personalities and whatnot are a part of me now?"
> "Would Lady Yakumo or Doctor Yagokoro have thought to look for those, though? Not to diminish their skills, of course, but given Lady Yakumo only just now learned of Miss Matara's possible involvement, would it have occurred to her to look for intangible pieces of the dancer women previously?"
> "I'll...look into it on my own time. Sorry, don't mean to bother you with my personal problems."
> "Well."
> Look to where Yukari vanished, then to Tojiko, then to Remilia.
> "...I guess the immediate matter is out of our hands."
> Point at the gap.
> "Should we...should we do something about that? Or will it close on its own?"
>Yukari and Remilia listen, Remilia raising an eyebrow while Yukari's face is impassive. Then you see a small twitch in the corner of Yukari's eye. She speaks, saying one thing, drawing out each syllable into its own world and practically snarling the last syllable. "Matara!"
>Then she's on her feet in an eyeblink, a gap opening to her side which she immediately stomps through. Silence hangs in the air, as Remilia looks at the gap with wide eyes; Patchouli giving it a sidelong glance. "We...are speechless," Remilia says, lamely as you've ever heard her speak.
>_
> "...You know, it occurs to me that I'm pretty sure I saw the Human Village amongst all the other memories and experiences while I was...wherever I was."
> Blink.
> "...Does that mean those dancers' missing memories and personalities and whatnot are a part of me now?"
>"It's fine," Patchouli says. "Perfectly natural things to wonder."
>_
> "Well."
> Look to where Yukari vanished, then to Tojiko, then to Remilia.
> "...I guess the immediate matter is out of our hands."
'
>"Oh yeah Patchouli, I'll have to get you some hot sauce or something as thanks for your help. I got some earlier but uh, I misplaced it in that other world."
> Have we passed through one of those gaps before? If so, do we remember what the protocol is, if there even is one?
> "Well, no, I meant...no, I guess that's a reasonable answer."
> Frown at the gap for a few moments.
> "...I'm gonna go for it."
> Make our way to (not through!) the gap.
> "Only if you want to."
> "Just make sure I don't die, I guess. ...Well, don't die again."
> Close our eyes and step through the gap.
> Does it sound like there's fighting as well, or just shouting?
> How many voices can we hear?
> Look back to Tojiko with a grimace.
> Take on a quiet tone.
> "...It's almost scarier that they're arguing without fighting."
> Quietly float in the direction of the arguing noise.
> Can we pass through walls?
> Light our eyes up.
> Wave at them with one hand, while putting a shushing finger up to our mouth with the other.
> After a couple of seconds of waving, beckon at them with the waving hand, while continuing the shushing motion.
> Is it possible to reach the dancers without passing by the open doorway that the arguing is coming from? If so, hurry over to the dancers. If not, put on a look of concern, point at the door the arguing is coming from, and then point at our eyes.
> Go for it, then, doing our best to not get spotted by the arguers.
> "Not...entirely. The gist of it is that something very dangerous was happening to Gensokyo, and there's reason to believe it was an inadvertent result of your master trying to do something for you. The danger has passed by now, but Lady Yakumo, um...isn't happy with your master about it."
> "I doubt she did it intentionally."
>You approach the room and slip into it.
>It seems this room is a study, with a sizable traditional desk dominating the floor space, and numerous shelfs full of old scrolls and folios lining the walls, interspersed with wall scrolls depicting what seem to be scenes of professional city life.
>Tojiko drifts in after you, wariness and distrust written on her face and poise.
>The two dancers are here, they've ducked back around the edge of the door, and look at you both with curiosity and obvious dread. "What's happening?" says the green-haired one, Mai if you recall correctly.
>"Are we under attack, I can't tell?" says the other, Satono, you think?
>_
> Gesture by raising and lowering our hands"No,be calm that no attack is underway and no one is under..."
> "...hovewer Yukari ,that is Yukari Yakumo, is heatingly arguing with your mistress,Okina,about "her lack of precautions durikg her secret healing ingredients gathering for you 2,which indirectly helped the Latest-Averted Incident,an eventual Gensokyo&Sorroundings-Threatening one..."
> "...still,if there are no issue with you or overall,we can all get as close as we get,silently and without disturbing them, to the sides outside the Room in which Yukari and Okina are arguing to hear about more precisely about their heated discussion...".
> After having clarified with each other and if no objections or such are risen,Proceed to do the above as a group(4).
> Don't move toward the room yet, we're not done talking to them.
> "Well, whatever the case...it would be long to go into details here, but I think some of your two memories got absorbed into me in the process of resolving this incident."
> "I didn't either. But without going into a lot of confusing detail, part of what I experienced makes any other explanation even more outlandish, if you can believe it."
> "That's actually why I'm here - if they're actually your memories, and they're actually part of me, I want to give them back. But I no clue how that would work, if it's even possible. It's not every day you absorb parts of other people."
> "...Maybe kinda a little? I have to admit, this isn't my field of expertise. I just captain here."
> "Maybe you can feel it somehow, or maybe I can get them to you? Here, take my hands."
> Hold out our hands, one to each dancer.
> Once they take our hands, close our eyes, focus on the memories of the Human Village mixed in with everything else we experienced in that void state, and then, recalling the sensation of shifting perspective in that void space, try pushing those memories out into the dancers.
> If that doesn't seem to accomplish anything, then...recalling that same perspective shift sensation, try pulling/sucking the dancers into ourselves. Maybe they'll get blended together with their memories within us, and will be whole again once we get them back out.
> Open our eyes. How attractive are the dancers?
> "Mmm. Yeah, nothin'."
> Let go of their hands.
> "I guess our best bet is to wait for the storm over there to subside, and then ask them what they think."
> Sigh.
> "Yeah, I was afraid of that. Well, if nothing else, at least I got to hold hands with a couple of cuties after a pretty awful day."
>See if we can make out what they're currently arguing about.
> Mentally mark the dancers down as two more potential love interests (https://www.shrinemaiden.org/forum/index.php?topic=21553.msg1409299#msg1409299), assuming they aren't already with each other. ...Which is entirely possible, come to think of it. That'd be unfortunate for us...
> Since we can see the arguers, can either of them see us?
> Wink at Tojiko.
> "That's why we're anywhere."
> Look back at the dancers.
> "Sorry for whole separating-you-two thing earlier, by the way."
> Mentally mark the dancers down as two more potential love interests (https://www.shrinemaiden.org/forum/index.php?topic=21553.msg1409299#msg1409299), assuming they aren't already with each other. ...Which is entirely possible, come to think of it. That'd be unfortunate for us...
> Since we can see the arguers, can either of them see us?
> Wink at Tojiko.
> "That's why we're anywhere."
> Look back at the dancers.
> "Sorry for whole separating-you-two thing earlier, by the way."
>"Oh is that why we're here?" Tojiko says.
>The dancers, at least, seem reasonably amused, if only for the break in tension.
...
>_
> Mentally mark the dancers down as two more potential love interests (https://www.shrinemaiden.org/forum/index.php?topic=21553.msg1409299#msg1409299), assuming they aren't already with each other. ...Which is entirely possible, come to think of it. That'd be unfortunate for us...
> Since we can see the arguers, can either of them see us?
> Wink at Tojiko.
> "That's why we're anywhere."
> Look back at the dancers.
> "Sorry for whole separating-you-two thing earlier, by the way."
> Look at Tojiko with a bit of shame.> Indeed so : on one side Tojiko is near and here but even if she is would have been away and/or absent is off-key and insensitive for Good Friends and (Ghost)-Comrades, on the other sides we both have ,and both certainly are respectively plus "mostly"well-founded and knowledgeable about, relatiions related ones +…religious-spiritual-existential institutions + backgrounds & foregrounds; every and each ones having needs to nurture ,be nurtured and be harmonious by and among... it's true,is it not?
> "...Sorry. That is kinda insensitive to your current situation, isn't it."
> Sigh.
> "Yeah, I was afraid of that. Well, if nothing else, at least I got to hold hands with a couple of cuties after a pretty awful day."
...
>They seem to currently be in the process of interrupting each other. One will get maybe half a sentence off before the other cuts her off, only to be cut off the same way. While you have little experience with Okina, and have no idea how unusual it is for her, this is very uncharacteristic of Yukari, who is usually unflappable. You think the only time she's been publically mad in recent memory simply comes from stories you've heard of her in the wake of some sort of moon-involved tussle, before you were unsealed. And those stories do not compare to what you are seeing here.
>Now that you can see them, there is a lot of arm waving and angry gesturing from Yukari; again completely uncharacteristic of her. As for Okina, she has actually stood up from her wheelchair, also making short, clipped gestures.
>_
...
> (Nonetheless)Be constant about discerning the core(s)"of the boiling Y. Yakumo-Matara Argument",at least the audible not-unimportant not rivalry-awakened streak(s).
// Afterward (with more newer replies ) I recommend there to "focus on Stargazer to gauge to what extent has she re-awakened is attentive ,how she is" feeling about this one"...//
> Whoa, whoa, whoa. Don't make a big deal out of our apology. That's only going to call attention to it and make things more awkward for Tojiko. Leave it as short and semi-casual as it is now; if she wants it to be something more, she'll make that clear.
> Look at Tojiko with a bit of shame.
> "...Sorry. That is kinda insensitive to your current situation, isn't it."
> Whoa, whoa, whoa. Don't make a big deal out of our apology. That's only going to call attention to it and make things more awkward for Tojiko. Leave it as short and semi-casual as it is now; if she wants it to be something more, she'll make that clear.
> Look back to the dancers.
> "So, uh, are you two allowed to, like...leave and go do things on your own? I'd be happy to tell you the story of what happened and why it pertains to you, but...I don't know that it's good to tell here, in these specific circumstances."
> "Mmm. Unfortunate, but understandable."
>"Maybe go to another room?" Tojiko says, "Close the door?"
>_
> "Sure, we could do that."
> "Sure, we could do that."
> Ask Satono and Mai what is the best room for this situation then go with them and Tojiko.
> On the way,or before if their decision is a long one,Humbly express our apology to Tojiko for our earlief behaviour of getting carried away and being insensible about her also; Adding that it could also have been due to the stress-oug of being often Pseudo-Dimensionally-Displaced,being Unable to Help Out our Weirdly-Trapped Expedition Team Members and Friends facing off against a Nasty Doppelganger,the "Flowing-Within and Reverse-Flowing about the Formless One"...
> Eh...it's fine. We can work it out later if we really need to. Besides, we already asked her wife to do something about it too, that'll be better than anything we can do.
> "Lead the way."
> How's the volume of the arguing?
> How much of our recent story have we told these two already from the last time we were here?
> "This should work, yeah. So, a little backstory..."
> Summarize our recent experiences of being sucked into the water world against our will.
> "You can say that again. So..."
> Summarize the 'assault' on the water world that we spearheaded with the others. Mention our seemingly-evil doppel, but not anyone else's, and make sure to not mention Tojiko's negative experience. Once we get to the point where we became one with The Formless Onek, while describing that experience, make sure to mention our memories/experiences/sensations of the Human Village in as much detail as we can remember.
> Frown a bit.
> "...Nothing rings a bell, huh?"
> "Mmm. Well, if they really are your experiences, I guess it would make sense if you don't remember them, if they were just floating around wherever that was."
>"Maybe some of that sounds a little familiar?" says Satono. "I don't know."> "Well, Okina should know to a degree but she and Yukari are not calm enough to go and ask about nor this would help... "
>_
> "Mmm. Well, if they really are your experiences, I guess it would make sense if you don't remember them, if they were just floating around wherever that was."
> "Well, Okina should know to a degree but she and Yukari are not calm enough to go and ask about nor this would help... "
>Thoughtfully: "... although... to help things along somehow... there was that mention about "secret list of ingredients to be gathered by you 2"... do you recall what those were and any"recommendations or advices about"?
> "Anyway, that's my deal. I realize it's weird and outlandish - if I hadn't lived through it myself, I'd have a hard time believing it. But if those memories and experiences were yours, and I merged with them somehow, I want to return them if I can. If I didn't merge with them, though, then..."
> Shrug a bit.
> "Sorry for possibly getting your hopes up, I guess."
> "Probably."
> "At this point, I think it may be better to just go about our existences and check back in once they're done."
> How did they seem to react?
> How aware are we of any degree of promiscuity from a certain asymmetrical-winged bartender?
> Have we ever hooked up with her?
> Look to the dancers.
> "Um...try to keep us posted, I guess? I'm sure your master can find me if you tell her what I told you and she thinks it's worth looking into."
> Would even just a one-night stand be weird?
> "Maybe we could write it down?"
> Can we hear from here how "the argument" is progressing?
> "Do you have anything to write with and on?"
> Wince at the argument.e
> Take the supplies from Satono.
> "Thanks."
> Write: "To Lady Matara Okina -
If you did indeed do something that caused the recent watery disruption I experienced, then you should know that I experienced memories and experiences along the way that very likely belong to your retainers. They may have blended with me; the details are WAY over my head, but I guess I absorbed the root cause of the disruptions somehow, and quite possibly took those memories and experiences with it. I would like to give them back to your retainers if possible; if you think it's worth attempting, seek me out and we can try whatever you think might work, within reason."
- Murasa Minamitsu"
> Wince at the argument.
> Take the supplies from Satono.
> "Thanks."
> Write: "To Lady Matara Okina -
If you did indeed do something that caused the recent watery disruption I experienced, then you should know that I experienced memories and experiences along the way that very likely belong to your retainers. They may have blended with me; the details are WAY over my head, but I guess I absorbed the root cause of the disruptions somehow, and quite possibly took those memories and experiences with it. I would like to give them back to your retainers if possible; if you think it's worth attempting, seek me out and we can try whatever you think might work, within reason."
- Murasa Minamitsu"
// :sweat: Belated,but still :heart: HOLY HAPPY EASTER to you all and all MotK :faith: ! //e
> Add that there was another person besides us being the most affected by The Incident and The Formless One,and having to work harder to help resolving it, and that is Yukari Yakumo,which also serves to explain why she argued with you so fervently and heavily.
> Give back the letter to Mai and Satono specifying to keep it with them and deliver it to Okina when the right time comes: whenever the heated argument is over and there is enough calm & focus.
> Do not add anything about Yukari, we do not want to get tied up in the aftermath of the argument happening right now.
> "Great, thank you. Good luck with, uh, all that out there."
> Get up if we were sitting.
> "Here's hoping. In the meantime, we'll get out of your hair."
> Get up if we were sitting.
> "Here's hoping. In the meantime, we'll get out of your hair."
> Ask if it is possible to Wait some time to hear out how " the argument" is going on or ,from their experience,is it would be overstaying our welcome
> Can we "feel" if Stargazer is still "resting" or has "awakened"?
> Glance over at Tojiko, to see how she's taking that offer.
> "...I think giving Lady Matara that note will suffice. I was ready to collapse into bed a while ago."
>"I think we'll be going, I really need to get back to my friends at the temple. And get some rest, it feels like today has lasted years. Thanks for your hospitality"
>Return to the gap that brought us here.
> Do we "feel" Has Stargazer been "dormant" up to this point or has she "awakened? t
> Before leaving,pause a moment and focus on whatever Okina and Yukari are arguing about right now.
> Put just an iota of extra pep in our step to get away from the awkwardness.
> Head through that gap! (Remember to close our eyes.)
> Grimace at Remilia while shaking our head.
> "You don't want to go in there."
> Grimace at Remilia while shaking our head.
> "You don't want to go in there."
> Add :" Unless whoever wiilingly goes is someone with great patience,timing and talents for mediating peace for 2 ".
>"Well first, congratulations on surviving," says Remilia. "Secondly, you must absolutely tell Us everything."
>_
> "Uh."
> Look to the gap, then back to Remilia.
> "Lady Yakumo and Lady Matara are having a very personal shouting match. I'm pretty sure they're so angry with each other they've completely forgotten about danmaku and are just trying to kill each other with words."
> "Uh."
> Look to the gap, then back to Remilia.
> "Lady Yakumo and Lady Matara are having a very personal shouting match. I'm pretty sure they're so angry with each other they've completely forgotten about danmaku and are just trying to kill each other with words."
> Narrate, based on our experiences, how it is a very sensible subject for both of them highlighting the labor and stakes for on 1 hand Yukari and on the other 1 Okina, leading up to the heated argument clash of now.
> Then Kindly ask Tojiko if she has more to insightfully add or clarify about, also kindly thanking her in any case considering her very helpful wupport from start to finish.
>"Um...I'm...going to head home, I think. If that's okay. That entire experience was...really uncomfortable, not gonna lie."
> Exchange an unnerved glance with Tojiko, then look back to Remilia.> Give another grateful thanks for their help & hospitality,another look at the gap and its surroundings,then backtrack in pair through the Mansion to the Gate.
> "You're quite welcome. By your leave, then."
> Head out of the library, doing our best to not pick up the pace in an effort to get away from this as fast as possible.
> Exchange an unnerved glance with Tojiko, then look back to Remilia.
> "You're quite welcome. By your leave, then."
> Head out of the library, doing our best to not pick up the pace in an effort to get away from this as fast as possible.
> Give another grateful thanks for their help & hospitality,another look at the gap and its surroundings,then backtrack in pair through the Mansion to the Gate.
> "Yeah, that...sure did happen, huh?"
> "...I..."
> Begin heading out, assuming Tojiko will come with us.
> "...can think of at least two that aren't, and I think I'll avoid saying anything more than that, lest I risk reflecting poorly on one of them."
"Unfortunately I can't really say how our motley crew would react if you showed up with me..."
>"Well, I'll be heading back to the temple now. Unfortunately I can't really say how our motley crew would react if you showed up with me..."
> "I mean, I simply don't want to speak ill of anyone if I don't have to. I certainly don't think Gensokyo is a bad place to be, though, for what that's worth, and this experience was certainly unique to me. But maybe my experiences up to this point have been luckier than most. ...Shrine maiden and friends plowing through me like a runaway cart aside."
> Don't say this part. Tojiko invited us to her home to help us, however briefly, and we were not particularly mistreated; implying that she shouldn't visit ours because we can't wrangle our sisterhood into behaving and treating her as a guest properly would be very rude to everyone involved.
> Instead: "You're welcome to join me, though I would understand if you would rather return to yours after such a difficult day."
> "Sure thing."
> Head on home. (Unless we're stopped again...)
> "Sure thing."
> Head on home. (Unless we're stopped again...)
> Mention,and rembember to ask about when we arrivere there, that we(Murasa) once reached Myourenji should also ask about that "Noted Delivery with Note" of,what we later discovered to be,that Bottled Evil Spirit from... fairly likely our Storehouse trough the Underground to the Myourenji Underground"Clinic",to the Palace of earth Spirits and to Satori
Thank you for your efforts as always, parser. I feel at this point that, for the wide arrays of incidents you produce, we are determined to find an equally wide array of ways to mistreat your games, and for that I am sorry.
I don't know if it's a product of the long activity gap or simply the design of this specific quest, but there's not much I feel a burning desire to know. This seems to have wrapped itself up fairly tidily, even if some mysteries seem determined to remain mysteries.
> Was there anything major we just plain missed?
> Was it possible to find the missing dancer memories?
> Assuming we could find a moment with them with Tojiko not present, was it possible to date the dancers?
> At the crucial point where we flowed inward to reform ourselves, what would have happened if we did was the entity wanted and flowed outward?
> Well, that's nice that Aya would have at least skillfully avoided the flo-oh wait this is still Minamitsu and not the player.
> That means we still don't get to know who "R" is or whether or not Kazuha ever visited the SDM, huh.
> Minamitsu appears to have gained a few beneficial passives as a result of having a literal ocean inside her. Did she gain any abilities or other more active ways to harness it to do things?
> Was the ocean directly related to the circumstances of Minamitsu's death and/or time as a ghost before Byakuren scooped her up? Or were they able to combine simply by virtue of her being a ghost with a particular affinity for water?
> "R" was the person who signed the letter from the future that Sakuya read as her game closed. Based on the contents of the letter, assuming "R" is the first letter of someone's given name, there were still at least three obvious possible senders, and possibly more less-obvious senders. I don't actually expect you to tell me/us who it was, that was included more for comedic grousing than anything else.
> Kazuha was the wolf tengu who was a patrol captain in the future but is still young, inexperienced, and a bit of a drunkard in the current time period. Sakuya extended an invitation to her to visit in the SDM as a personal guest, partially because her involvement in that game was novel and partially because I like prodding your throwaway NPCs just enough that they potentially turn into recurring characters (as much as we haven't seen Nue's tengu wife in a long time).
>Was it intended for us to discover that we could actually control travel to the water world so late in the piece.
>Was there any way for us to have helped Sakuya defeat her assumed clone?
>Was us bringing a team in there something you'd planned for?
> What KOed Shou, then? If we're allowed to pick at the tiger's darker secrets without her knowing.
>Were there other people who could have helped us get to the heart of the matter or was working with Yukari more or less the only real option?
> What was the source of the malevolent alter egos?
> What would have been the result if we all got KOed? Same as if we had tried to flow outward?
Thank you for your efforts as always, parser. I feel at this point that, for the wide arrays of incidents you produce, we are determined to find an equally wide array of ways to mistreat your games, and for that I am sorry.
I don't know if it's a product of the long activity gap or simply the design of this specific quest, but there's not much I feel a burning desire to know. This seems to have wrapped itself up fairly tidily, even if some mysteries seem determined to remain mysteries.
> Was there anything major we just plain missed?
...
>You return tothe shrineworn out after the long evening. Tojiko joins you... The rest ofthe shrinegreets you warmly, dinner is set out and ready for you both...
>...
>You have gotten a Happy End!
>Let us ponder that which reached the stars.
(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/311702180945985547/1045127078028255293/image.png)
> Visiting the " Underground/Former Hell " was in fact clearly hintend and to be optional... what would have entailed for the sake of coming and going for...
> Eheheh :note: ,for the majority :lhi: :lscore: of Incident-Resolutions it is "(the Hakurei)Shrine",for the minority :lscore: of them the "(Moriya)Shrine",for this :ltotal: :lscore:minority it is the "(Myouren) Temple"
> Is the positioning of "The Happy End"after Let us ponder that which reached the stars" ,referring and poiinting to,Stargazer's and related to her on purpose,an eventual inkling,a follow-up,similar?
> Would have it changed anything finding Stargazer (suppressed-adapted " Giant Man o' War '' form) before or later or
> Stargazer's aftermath with Utsuho , to the non-spoiling limit
> Where is Stargazer at present, again?
> Was it possible to merge/fuse/combine with Stargazer in some capacity?