> Could we do that by making the gap very thin?
>Do we have a hat or some container for water?
> Then how is it even possiblle to transfer fire through a gap so it is not in the gap all at once? Fire is not exactly a solid thing.
> "Ah. That is a problem. Tell me, then. How did you create that fire?"
> "But what are you burning? Surely not the rocks."
> Are bundles of grass things we could bring through gaps without putting out the fire?
> So opening a gap below the fire wouldn't work?
> Is an angle even possible with the fire sitting on the ground?
> Can we do such an angle accurately from such a distance away?
> "I wouldn't say that. Fire certainly has its uses."
> Angle a gap so it's about 45 degrees underneath the fire off in the distance, and have that gap drop the fire off about 10 feet away from where the two of us are.
> "I can only do that so many times before the fire is lost. How much further would you say there is to go?"
>Open a gap another few miles away.
> Can we see through it?
>If we can, use our stick from earlier for a quick poke test.
> Show Maribel the end of the stick.
> "Precautions. Is this the snow of which you spoke?"
I have considered it, and we may end up trying it. I want to investigate it for safety first, though - Maribel did say it was rock-colored, which is suspicious. She also hasn't suggested the idea herself, which I find a bit strange.
> "I can only do that so many times before the fire is lost. How much further would you say there is to go?"
> Touch the stuff ourselves. Is it really snow?
> Does it seem consumable?
> Frown.
> "A shame. It seems this is not a viable solution to your hydration problem."
> "Of course."
> Brace for cold.
> Step through the gap.
> Can we tell where the fold might be?
> Can we tell what that motion is?
> Guess we found the source of the 'snow'.
> Open and step through a gap that extends a mile north-northeast of our current location.
>Does it feel similar to the fold we found in the field of fronds that led to a gap?
> Can we tell how large it is?
> Slow and carefully step our way over to the fold. Be sure not to twist any ankles, now.
>What sort of physical features or terrain can we sense through the fold?
>Does this mean that we cannot feel any gaps along it?
>Which feels to be the closest?
>Can we work out their position enough to open a gap to where they are?
> Do any of them feel abnormal, such as possibly damaged?
> Open a gap to the southeastern gap, using the fold as a guide, and head on through.
> Inspect the gap. Does it seem reasonably openable and intact?
> And we don't have those at present. Lovely.
> If any of our tools were close to the fold, could we feel them through it?
> How far away is the gap on the southern end?
> Do we have any idea where we left Maribel?
> Using the giant fold as a guide once again, open and head through a gap to the southernmost gap along the fold.
> Is there anything else wrong with it that would require other tools?
> Could we open it now with the screwdriver, close it, and then come back to it later and open it qithout the screwdrivver?
> Gap ourselves back to Mary's camp.
> "You're not surprised, are you?"
> Give a small smirk.
> "I find your lack of faith disturbing. But I did indeed find your abnormality. It has led me to discover a possible exit to this place."
> "It is another gap, like the one you found to come here. I imagine it would take us to another plane, but beyond that, I do not know where."
> Open a gap back to that southernmost gap from which we just came.
> "I suspect you will have to leave your campfire here."
> "I wouldn't worry too much. There's no telling what we may find. Are you ready?"
> "Then let us not waste time."
> Step through the gap.
> Make our way over to the gap while Maribel gets her bearings.
> "Why do you ask?"
> "Indeed. Could I bother you to close your eyes and turn around for a moment? There are some things that are not meant for young pretty human eyes."
> "Are you sure you wish to ask me that question?"
> Open the gap with the screwdriver while speaking.
> Put the screwdriver away with a chuckle.
> "But isn't life more interesting when some mysteries are never solved? You may look now."
> Gesture at the gap.
> "I gave us a puncher's chance. Come, follow."
> Here goes nothing!
> Step through the gap.
> Is this a gravitational issue or just a visual issue?
> "Close your eyes!"
> Turn around and find Maribel and the gap.
> We must be a cloud as well, then. Now we know how our screwdriver felt!
> Send feelings of calm and reassurance toward the amber cloud.
> Shift our orientation around and focus on some of the other colors here.
> Can we sense anything from the blues and yellows?
> Is there any sound?
> Fortune favors the bold cloud. Let's try to float upward a little towards those browns and reds.
> ...Ran and Reimu??
> Send feelings of curiosity and unsure happiness at both the brown and red clouds.
> Float toward the brown in excitement.
> Has the brown moved at all since we spotted it?
> Emote concern toward the brown. If it's another person, like Ran, why haven't they moved?
> Strange.
> Orient our focus toward the red.
> Float toward it regardless.
> Try opening a gap from our current position to behind the red cloud.
> Let's float around it, then.
> Can we feel emotions from the amber and brown cloud when we are not focused on then?
> Shift our focus so we're looking at the amber.
> Give off a sense of cheery confusion.
>Can we sense anything from any of the "colours" that feels anything like one of our tools.
>Give a similar sense of cheery confusion to the red.
>Give an amused but questioning sense to the red cloud.
>Follow the amber cloud towards the orange.
>Do not go any closer to the orange.
>Return to the red cloud and push against it gently.
>Are there any colours we have yet to check out?
>Try to check out the black without getting too close to the orange.
>Can we see (sense? detect?) any other colours from here?
>Can we see a way past the orange?
> What does the yellow feel like?
> What color was beyond the gray that signified a gap?
> What color was beyond the gray that signified a gap?
>Communicate a desire to leave to Maribel.
>Attempt to reopen the gap.
>Wait for Maribel to appear.
>"Well, that was interesting. Are you ok?"
>"Nothing, it was just a little disorienting and I doubt we would be able to do much there. Let's find another gap."
>Which gaps were nearby again?
>"Well, if we have little luck elsewhere, we'll return to this gap."
>Travel to the gap at the northern slope of the crescent. We might as well try new things.
>Of course. Leaving her behind could put her in danger. It's better if she stays close.
> Ponder on color-related things as we look at the area. Did any of the colors give off the same feeling as the roots? There was no sense of sky but we were walking (floating?) on something. Was the repulsing colors where the ground would be?
> Where's the gap we sensed?
> Continue pondering colors. We were in one of the colors when we appeared and essentially floating through it, weren't we? Or were we floating in a void of color?
> Ask Maribel her opinion on our color thoughts as we look for the gap.
>Walk carefully in the direction of the gap, taking care to not get too close to the roots.
>"I am, I'm just not certain about these roots. They do not exactly feel like a nice warm cup of tea, if you know what I mean."
>"I keep sensing a feeling of uneasiness from them. It might not be a good idea to go near them."
>"They also burned me when I touched them."
>Glare at the roots.
> "Yeah, really."
> Keep making our way around roots and towards the gap.
> "Seems like these roots are special though, they weren't the only roots I've found in this place, certainly, but the only ones to give me such a feeling."
> "Do you not feel it?"
> Once we're there, assess Mary's state and our own, do we look any different after that color trip?
> Have we ever encountered anything like this before?
> What can we say about it? Do try our hardest to make out any detail whatsoever.
> Ponder whether the roots being so close to this gap is a coincidence or not.
> Well, this gap is pretty much unusable then, aside from this we have the color gap... What did we get from examining the third one, again?
> List of gaps that had roots close to them.
> Despite what we felt before, Mary is still human, right?
>> If so, could it be that the roots only affect youkai?
> "Huh."
> Wait for Mary's obvious "what is it" or something along those lines.
> "I don't think we should try this one... There's something... Inherently wrong with it."
> Sigh
> "Guess that colorful space is our only option as far as gaps go."
> "Too many things, so much that I can't really give an exact definition of what's wrong with it. I can only say that something is affecting it from the outside."
> Glance at the roots for a second.
> "I have encountered gaps affected by outside forces before, yes, but none quite like this. It's hard to even make out the slightest detail about it. What I can say though, is that it's giving me a really bad feeling."
> Look at her for a second and put on our characteristic grin, "And my intuition is never wrong."
> "It is possible, but since I cannot precisely make out the exact cause of the influence, it would essentially be like fixing a car engine with a blindfold on, with the added risk of harm to both of us."
> Laugh softly
> "Again, my intuition is never wrong. It would be better to make use of a gap that does not pose risks unlike this one. I believe that the color-world gap is our only option in that regard."
> Assuming she means the gap we're pretty much standing beside right now...
> "I believe it's best we leave it be. Unless something changes, I don't think it'll be safe to use it, or do anything with it.
> Is it safe to create a gap here? If so, make one that takes us back to the color-world gap, and step through it.
>"Hrm?"
>Look to where she's pointing.
> Alright, that officially takes "weird" to a whole new level.
> Take a deep breath.
> "Will the wonders ever cease with this place..." Say this in a sarcastic tone.
> Briefly look at Mary, assess her condition.
> "You wanna check it out?"
> Examine the mountain again, for a few seconds longer this time. Let's just hope it's not actually alive.
> Close that gap we had opened back to the color-world gap, and make another to get closer to the mountain.
> "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to take a closer look."
> Step through.
>200 or so meters away from it should be good.
>Investigate the dais.
>Does the pattern resemble any star chart we have made?
>Examine the sky.
>Compare it to the markings before us.
>Do so.
>If there -was- something significant about this... is there anything we know of in particular one could do with a pattern of stars? Apart from simply studying them.
>Can we detect anything special about the dais apart from the smoothness and markings, such as any kind of magical power?
>Can we see the "face" from here?
>"Do you think those shards would be any good for light if we took a piece of one with us? Or if we could even break off a piece, for that mattter?"
>Go investigate the shards with Maribel.
>Take a closer look at them ourself.
>Do any of the shards look as if they might fit together?
>So, they are rods ... if we poke two of the ends together at an angle, will they stick to each other?
>Take one of these shards and poke the dais with it.
>Are the lines on the dais a similar length to the shards?
>Try to place some shards exactly on the lines.
>Are the shards different from each other in any category besides length?
>On the lines on the dais, place some shards of the same length.
>Science, Maribel!
>"I suspect that these shards have something to do with this dais, see if you can find some about the same length as these lines."
>Apply 6 foot shard to appropriate dais location.
>"It appears my hunch was correct."
>Begin searching for more shards of appropriate length.
>Are there any shards that are not the same length as any of the lines?
>Touch a longer shard to the dais; generally, and also shard tip to node (where lines intersect).
>Resume searching for shards of appropriate length.
>Fit the shards to appropriate lines.
>Are the lines that have had shards applied to them changing in any noticeable way?
>Could this be our astrolabe in a different form?
>"There are times like this when I rely on intuition."
>Step inside the cone.
>Use supernatural senses on cone.
>Is there anything unusual about the space where the apex is located?
>Does the cone point toward the constellation drawn on the dais?
>Wait a short while to see if anything happens.
>Attempt flight.
> Is that mist walkway within non-flight reach?
>Ascend.
> "Let's try this, then. Come."
> Look around on our level of the mist platform. Anything else interesting beyond being able to see sky around us?
>Closely investigate this clump of mist in the middle of the platform.
>Touch the clump of mist.
>"Quite possibly, stranger things have happened in this place."
>Peer over the edge.
> Look up. How close are the moon and its conjoined planet?
>Take a closer look at the strange constellations.
>Can we think of any way that we could interact with the sky or these constellations?
>Well, could we make a gap up there and just peek our head through for a look?
>Considering how unusual this situation is, it seems worth a try. Do so.
>Try to get near where two lines meet, but still at somewhat of a distance below them for caution's sake. Can always make a closer gap after if it seems safe and necessary, after all.
>Try to open the gap some way away from ourself in case that opening a gap in space does what you'd expect, if the gap turns out dangerous close it as fast as possible.
> Do we still have our trusty stick? If so, poke it through the gap.
>Very cautiously peek through the gap, be ready to remove ourself if anything bad happens.
>Remove ourself from the gap and close it.
>Open a gap 2 feet above one of the lines.
>Try to move into a spot where we won't get washed away by the water. If this is going to be problematic, though, just immediately move onto the next action of-
>Close gap if possible.
>...if we can close the gap without issue, though, afterwords try to check if any of what spilled out seems drinkable. Maribel does rather need some water...
> "You wanted water, did you not?"
> Give a slight grin.
> "I could open it directly into your mouth, if you like."
> Take a closer look at the water to make sure it is safe for human consumption.
> Could we make a gap small enough to open it inside her mouth?
> "Regardless, we now have some water. It seems safe to me. What do you think?"
> "Well, we could try the direct approach I just mentioned. I can't promise it won't feel uncomfortable, however."
>With the tools we have, this should be doable, right?
>Extend hand towards Maribel, then create tiny gap to water source, pointing up.
>Partake.
>Close this gap.
>Open another one, say, 20 feet above the same line.
>Is the result any different?
>"Well, we certainly aren't seeing stars up there, it seems. Just above those... lines... is an awful lot of water."
>Try opening gaps further up (one by one, closing as we go, in similarly small sizes) until we manage to open one into something that isn't water. Since it might be an awfully long way up to do that, try opening the gaps... well, miles or so apart. Can deal with not vastly overshooting it after it's not underwater.
>...just in case, though, try only a hundred-ish feet for the first new gap. Don't need to overdo things if not necessary.
>Ponder on the purpose of this constellation thing. If a parallel universe Yukari had created it, what would it be for?
>"Just wondering about things here, annd their purpose."
>"Yes, and the constellations, and the water. I would say it doesn't make much sense, but none of these worlds makes much sense."
>Summary of things atop the tower of note please. Maybe I'm missing something.
>Inventory.
> Take out the glowing shard.
> Take the shard over to the rectangular mist formation.
> Put the shard in the rectangular mist formation.
> Call out: "Maribel?"
> Take a few steps forward.
> Push against the mist and continue to move forward.
> Can we see what we're standing on?
> Does the ground at least feel solid?
> Try slowing down a bit. Does that make the resistance any less strong?
> Does it feel like we can open a gap here?
> Standing in place, try pushing the mist away from us.
> Close our hand around some of the mist.
> List of missing tools.
>Pull it towards us.
> Put the magnifying glass away.
> "Are you okay?"
> What does the magnifying glass do, again?
>Do we still have a hat? If not, do we know how to make a deerstalker?
>Quickly stow the magnifying glass, hopefully before Maribel notices.
>Inventory
>Tools
>Gaps in this area.
>"Ah, have I? Well, I'm considering where we shall go next."
>The tainted gap is the one that we wanted our magnifying glass for, right?
>Oh, yes, current location?
>"I was thinking the color place might not be a bad idea, we'll be able to find more out if we explore a bit more."
>"Let's get down from here first."
>Take Mari down with us through the dais gap.
>Create a gap from here down to where we came here from. We're kind of randomly in the air right now, right?
>Oh geez those roots weren't there before, were they?
>Is it gap distance to reach the color gap?
>"On second thought, I think I might have an idea for that gap I didn't want to mess with before."
>Make our way towards the tainted gap, since it's right nearby.
>"Hmmm. Now, turn around, dearie."
>After she's turned, proceed to examine the gap with the help of the magnifying glass.
>Put magnifying lens away.
>"Now, this is a weird one, isn't it? Look here, what could have caused this?"
>"Well, what do you notice about this gap?"
>"Well, these aren't circumstances that are likely to repeat themselves, so I'm curious what you're able to see."
>Did we figure that much out before looking at it with the magnifying glass?
>"All right...do you see anything else?"
>"Don't worry too much about that dear." Say with a kindly tone
>Explain what else we found /without/ the glass to her.
>Does it being alive seem plausible?
>"Well that would depend on your definition of alive, but it does seem to have some qualities of life."
>If we compared our gap power to other similar powers, can we estimate how much of our prowess (without tools) is talent and how much is skill, and could we then estimate how able Maribel could become with them?
>Do we think it's aware of us? I think we got a more mindless sense, right?
>"Well, it didn't react to either of us, so I doubt it. But there's just a sense of this will of wanting."
>Do we know what it was wanting or was it literally just a nonspecific wanting?
>"I don't know. But it's pretty powerful. I should look at it some more."
>So, what options do we have at our disposal for dealing with this gap?
>Further examine the strange force.
>Which gaps are available to us into which we haven't satisfactorily delved?
> Is it possible to get more information out of the force without the use of our magnifying glass?
> Do we know of any way to go back to the field of fronds or the caves from here, without using the gap Mary ripped open?
> Act like we're inspecting the gap visually and concentrating pretty hard for a few seconds, then frown.
> "Hrm. Perhaps we should instead investigate the color dimension a little more."
>Return to the colour gap.
> Examine these new lines in the sky more closely, are there any other new features we can make out?
> After we're done, open the gap to the color world and go through.
> More hand shapes... Can we remember everywhere we saw these shapes?
> Can we feel any form of emotion, or anything from the yellows, the blues and the light brown?
> "Look" around, any other colors?
>Wasn't there a red? Also, what color are we, purple?
>Look around for purple.
> What can we see on the horizon?
> Can we see anything past the brown?
> Follow the amber patch over to the blue.
> Does the anger seem to be directed towards anybody?
> Approach carefully, see if the reaction of anger gets any stronger.
> Look around a little, any other colors in the... "immediate" vicinity? What emotion do they give out?
> Do we know of any relation between colors and emotions? Such as say, blue meaning grief or something.
>> If we do, what does blue, yellow and green normally stand for?
> YOU'RE NOT GIVING ME MUCH TO GO ON HERE PURVIS
> Approach the blue a little more, if nothing happens again, approach a yellow.
> What emotions did we feel again from the brown and the red?
> Vibrating feeling? Does it feel familiar in any way? Can we compare it to something we know?
> Any other colors we haven't checked yet?
> Whereabouts is the amber Mary cloud?
> So we moved above, beyond the brown, and found orange and black...
> Move below us then, away from the brown and try to find something else.
>Approach purple, examine.
> Emanate a sense of hatred towards the purple, if we need to think of anything, think of whatever it is that we really hate, a place, a person or an object.
> After we see the reaction, try to send a sense of love to it, try thinking of Ran and Chen, as well as Gensokyo itself.
> Interesting!
> Think about Yuyuko and Maribel in the direction of the purple.
>Approach red, emanate Want or Greed or Lust or Attraction towards it.
> Just emanate desire.
> Emanate all of our desire to GET THE HELL OUT OF THIS PLACE, that should be sufficient.
> Alright, what are we surrounded by right now? Aside from the cobalt.
> If there is any other red/purple wisps in the close vicinity, repeat the process we just did with the opposite emotions the wisps give out.
>Which colors are inside the cobalt?
>Approach purple spots, use power of love to fade them into the cobalt.
>Try to course-correct using calm and peaceful thoughts.
> Stop entirely, stay completely devoid of movement.
> Do this for a few seconds and wait for a reaction.
>Emit puzzlement at the amber cloud. Is this an emotion we are familiar with?
> Try to proceed towards the purple wisp, slowly.
> Does cobalt give us a similar feeling to water?
> Are we deviating to a landmark in specific? Or at least one general direction?
>> If the latter, what is in that general direction?
> Go back to get the amber cloud to follow us again.
> Continue in the direction that we're pulled towards, the "right", and keep an eye out for new colors.
> Oh crap.
> Stop and try to go against the movement the cobalt forces us to, go towards the Royal Purple, if we're still moving in the direction of the black, stop and assess the situation.
> Continue pushing towards the Royal Purple, make sure we don't get anywhere close to the black.
> Can we feel anything from the Royal Purple?
> Then do get as close as possible.
> Strength? As in physical strength or a more abstract type of strength, as say, emotional or spiritual strength?
> The Royal Purple is a "field" much like the cobalt, right?
> Enter the Royal Purple and approach the yellow if possible, steer clear of any blotches of black.
>Check on the amber cloud
> Do we know what is the opposite of vibration?
> Where haven't we been to in this Color World?
> Did we ever get a sense of anything from the black?
> Touch the yellow strip.
> Does the yellow strip seem to lead anywhere?
> Start following the yellow strip.
> Do the green dots give off any sort of emotions that we can feel from here?
> Are we sensing anything from the black dots?
> Can we see an end to the yellow strip?
> Keep following that yellow brick road!
> Go back to the green dots.
> Once we're there, approach one and emanate unpleasant thoughts... Say, the moment we woke up in the caves.
> Continue to emit feelings of unease and anxiety towards the green dots.
> What kind of sensation do the black dots give off?
> Try emitting a sense of confidence and understanding...say, how we feel when we find one of our tools.
>Let's try a sense of contentment and satisfaction at the confusion blobs.
>What does royal purple give off again?
>Mm...and the black dots are also in this field, aren't they?
>But they're resilient...
>Convey a sense of clarity to the black to the black dots.
>Let's remember that time of the Brocken Spectre issue, when we finally figured everything out regarding it, and deigned to offer Iku our benelovent and necessary aid.
>What sense are we getting from the charcoal gray?
> Anymore black dots around? If so, approach each one and emanate the same feeling as before.
>Attempt to gather them
> Does it need a power source?
> Could we connect it to us?
> If not, could we connect it to some place of our choosing?
> Will we need to connect the dots before it will actually function as a gap, or will that happen naturally?
> What elements might be missing?
>Excuse me
>Maribel going MIA is more important than "I wonder what would make this gap work", investigate the spot she just vanished at immediately
> Radiate concern towards the amber cloud.
>Radiateinquisitioninquisitiveness toward the amber cloud.
>Can we tell what she has been doing?
> Follow the path she took through the Strip of Yellow.
>Are we close enough to feel anything from the black line.
>Is anything preventing us from leaving.
>Further examine the black line, where does it go? Is it having any effect on its surroundings?
> Touch the black line.
> Move away from the black line.
> Hold perfectly still. Take deep breaths.
> Don't focus on the shaking. Focus on ourselves.
> Let's take this opportunity to leave the yellow and go back to Maribel.
> Emit reassurance.
> Did Maribel seem confused at all when she reappeared out of the yellow?
> Do we think we would be able to leave this colors world the way we came?
>Emit a sense of homesickness toward the amber cloud. This should be easy.
> Let's start to head back the way we came. Mentally gesture for the amber cloud to follow.
> See if we can backtrack to where we entered this world.
> Go through the grey splotch.
> Did Maribel follow us out?
> "Maribel?"
> Lower ourselves to the ground as steadily as we can manage. Better to do it ourselves than fall over.
>Are we vibrating, as if we had some residual yellow vibration?
>Remain still for a while, does it seem to go away?
>"Well, Maribel. This has some unfortunate implications. If we return there again we may have to be more careful." While trying to sound as composed as possible.
>"The black line?"
>Ponder the nature of the grey after we neutralised the black splotches, compared to the grey of the "gap" that led us out of there.
>"I think I may know what to do about that line. Let us rest a spell first however, you look somewhat shaken."
>Smile at Maribel.
>"I think I have found a way to neutralise the, for want of a better term, colours in that place. And the neutralised black became a gray that felt quite similar to a gap. I suspect that if I neutralise the black line, we could utilise it as a gap, though I could not say where it would lead."
>Have we neutralised yellow before?
>If so what happened?
>Did the black seem like it was supported by the yellow structurally.
>Perhaps if both of us worked in unison, it would be easier to neutralize the yellow.
>"It could be a good idea, it would certainly make things easier."
> "In any case, I think we should be able to neutralize both without having to touch them."
>"Hmmm, would you be willing to assist me in this endeavor?"
> "Yes. I'd appreciate that."
> Do we feel better enough to jump back into the colors world?
> How does Maribel look?
>"Are you ready to begin?"
>To the weird colour dimension once more.
>Locate the yellow that cointains the black line.
>Emit questioningness toward the Maribel cloud.
>Emit a powerful feeling of stability and stillness, as if we were meditating, toward the yellow.
>Approach the black line, but not so close that it begins to affect us strongly.
>Begin emitting a powerful sense of clarity and understanding, drawing upon such things as our deep knowledge of Gensokyo, and our unique insight into the nature of borders.
>Mentally (do we even have a brain right now?) compare this grey line with the gap we use to leave this colour-dimension.
>Examine the gap. Does it seem usable now?
>Well, then it's time to get a move on, isn't it~? Open the gap and proceed through!
>"Maribel this is most excellent, I recognise this place."
[/quote
>"Really?" she says, as she looks around. Glancing upward, she says "Ah, the sky's the same."
>_
>"Yes, this is but another of these many worlds in which we find ourselves. It is however better than ending up in yet another place we haven't see before, don't you agree?"
>Look around for clearings or paths.
>Do we remember seeing anything edible when we were last here?
> "I haven't seen anything edible here...yet. It would be better to err on the side of caution for now, at least."
> "Not that I've seen."
> Start walking south.
> "Last I recall, there was a little shrine here."
> Although we don't know how exactly to get to it...
> "I mean 'little' as in 'toy-sized'."
> "Though if I do recall, there was a border somewhere that would bring you down to its size."
> Remind me what we know about that shrine.
> That gap which brought us down to its size was the first we ever encountered of it, right?
> In which case, is this theoretically possible to happen?
> Did we try to move the pavillon while normal-sized or tiny-sized?
> "Not under normal circumstances, no."
> Look up for a second, does the sky resemble the color space?
> "?Though this place is hardly what one would call normal."
> Bring Mary up to speed on what happened on the shrine, explain the bit about the Materia Prima, if necessary.
> "Now now deary, who do you think I am to go around fooling with people's sizes?" Grin.
> Bring out the tiny piece of Materia Prima and show it to Mary, take whatever precautions necessary to handling it and warn her about those.
> welp my edit didn't go through apparently ):
> Can we see anything on the end of the path we're on?
> Go up to the westward path, examine it.
> "We could indeed, but these things are better handled with care, don't you agree?"
> "I am still trying to decide what to do with it myself."
> "Could I have it back, please?"
> Stash it back in the gap.
> Try to listen more closely for the sound.
> Westward we go!
> "If I may ask, what would you do with it?"
> You can do anything with a Piece of Materia Prima, right?
> if so: "You can do essentially anything you want with it. What's your idea?"
> How exactly do we feel about this?
> Stop.
> Look at Mary.
> "That is not laughable at all, dear."
> Smile
> "I would gladly part with it if it's for something so important."
> "It's because I'm happy for you two, silly."
> "And it's not like I've ever really wanted to take you away from Renko."
> Grin.
> "Only borrow you on occasion."
> Back to normal smile.
> "Still, the two of you have my blessing."
> "And don't you think love is an equally precious thing, hm?"
> "Besides..."
> Take away the other piece of Materia Prima, do not give it to Maribel, however.
> "I did find another."
> Put it back into the gap.
> "Which means there may be more around this weird space somewhere."
> We found the larger piece all the way back in the Crystal Palace, right?
> "It was in this weird Crystal Palace I found in the middle of an... empty space would be the most accurate description, I suppose."
> "It was connected to a Field of Fronds which has consisted most of my journey so far, I don't suppose you found it?"
> We forgot about moving onwards, whoops.
> So keep moving.
> "Did you find anything on those Floating Islands? I'm afraid I didn't give them a very thorough search after I found your traces."
> Did we find any of that?
> We found the jungle island, right? Did we get a glimpse of that temple?
> "A greek temple? Well, I guess nothing's really shocking anymore."
> "It is such a bother that this place is so inhabitable and hostile, otherwise, it might make for a fun exploration trip, don't you think?"
> Consider the possibility of trying to leave open a permanent entrance to this place once we find a way out, so we can explore it while being able to leave at will. Obviously without telling anyone about the entrance's existance.
> If nothing else, it could be a fountain of Materia Primas, just waiting to be found, and better in our hands than in just about any other's.
> You know Purvis, that paragraph pretty much screams the Astrolabe is the last tool we'll find. :V> Unless I'm being Wrong Genre Savvy here.
> Continue onwards to where we heard the creek.
> Do we remember this place from when we were last here?
> Does it seem like the stream we found last time?
> Can we follow the stream's path?
> "Do you mind if we follow this stream, dear?"
> If she doesn't, do so.
> "Honestly? No idea. I don't think I've been to this exact spot last time."
> "The wonders never cease with this place, eh?"
> Laugh
> "Still, I'm not completely lost, I think I've seen this creek before, so I'm trying to find familiar ground here."
> Keep an eye out for any familiar ground, particularly see if the creek gets any larger, more to the side of the creek that we found last time.
> Approach this new stream, does it seem like the one we found before? If so, does this place seem familiar?
> Well then!
> Keep following the stream until we find the path we used to get to the shrine.
> Well then!
> Keep following the stream until we find the path we used to get to the shrine.
> "There we go, we're back to familiar territory."
> Point at the tree we knocked down.
> "I had to knock that down to cross the stream."
> Did we manage to get anything done with the disembodied music?
> Was there anything left to explore in the Field of Fronds? Particularly the Crystal Palace.
> What about the Shrine? Both at normal-scale and tiny-scale.
> The Shrine had a gap to a mountain, right? Was there anything left to explore there?
> And the caves?
> Did you miss this, Purvis? :V
> "There we go, we're back to familiar territory."
> Point at the tree we knocked down.
> "I had to knock that down to cross the stream."
> Did we manage to get anything done with the disembodied music?
> Was there anything left to explore in the Field of Fronds? Particularly the Crystal Palace.
> What about the Shrine? Both at normal-scale and tiny-scale.
> The Shrine had a gap to a mountain, right? Was there anything left to explore there?
> And the caves?
> The caves we woke up in.
> Didn't we investigate that and end up in the strange-ruined-buildings-of-the-outside-world place?
> Also, mary is right, couldn't we have gapped across it?
> WELP.
> Mentally curse ourselves for the momentary brainfart.> Curse the spirits controlling us.
> QUICK CHANGE THE SUBJECT
> "There's something else I wanted to check at that Shrine I mentioned earlier, try to find out about that painting I told you about."
> "The Shrine is this way."
> Points in the direction of the Shrine
> "...But the gap to get to it on its own scale is this way."
> Points in the direction of said gap.
> Onwards to said gap, gap across the stream if necessary.
> "Ah, that would be a bit of disembodied music I found."
> Approach it, we might as well examine it and see if anything's changed in the time we were away.
> "Indeed it does."
> Enter it.
> "Indeed, the nature of the borders is here is significantly less chaotic than in other places."
> If we were to do something with the music, what could we do?
> "No, it's not."
> If they aren't actively clashing against each other nor really working in harmony, that means they're just playing, kinda like ignoring the other's existence?
> Hmm, where exactly are we? In a sort of "bubble" in the middle of the road?
> If yes, could we possibly cross to the other side?
> "Anything catch your eye?"
> If not: "Then, can we proceed to the shrine?"
> If yes: Gap out of the bubble and back to the border that brings us to the shrine's scale.
> "Would you believe me if I said that was previously a statue?"
> "This gap was inside such statue, I had to take it off of it to use at, at which point the statue turned into... Well, this."
> Ah, we have our Magnifying Glass now, don't we? Use it on this arch and try to make some actual sense of it!
> "Perhaps 'statue' isn't the most accurate description, more like... a column I suppose?"
> "Despite this, its stone should simply not fit in the way it did."
> "Also, could you give me a second dearie? Since we're here, I should probably take a closer look at this gap."
> Can we determine what is connected to this gap? Or is it just the Shrine's entrance?
> Give her as best a description as we can give of the column.> Help me here Purvis that column was hard to imagine and even harder to describe, this place is so alien.
> So we essentially have a gap that distorts anything connected with it whenever it's used, which would explain our change in size.
> However... It's also connect to the border between heart and mind, and between solid and fluid. Maybe the former could (somehow) explain the fact that food did not help our hunger in the slightest back at Genfauxkyo, what could the latter possibly impact?
> Did mary seem to notice us using the Magnifying Glass?
> "Ah well. Doesn't seem like I'll be getting much out of this gap."
> If mary doesn't protest, cross over to the shrine.
I feel like we're missing something in this shrine...
> Were there any paths we did not investigate last time?
> If not, head back to the room where we first found the sigil.
> We still have an insight point, right?
>You head inside, Maribel quickly following you. "You weren't kidding!" she says, as you make your way toward the hall. "That gap really did make us tiny. But it doesn't really feel any different, does it?"
>You head down into the basement, but Maribel stops at the stairs. "I can't see." she says, frowning.
> When she says this: "It doesn't, does it? It took me a few moments to realize I had just shrunk in size the first time I found this place."
> Oh dear, we forgot about super youkai eyesight.
> Is the rest of the way also obscured?
> "Oh... Well, that's a problem, isn't it."
> "If I'm not mistaken, it's dark the whole way from here."
> "Would you mind waiting?"
> "Alright, don't stray too far~"
> Say this is a sort of playful tone.
> Proceed to the chamber where we first found the sigil.
> Dig through the dirt until the sigil is no longer buried.
> Use the Magnifying Glass on the sigil, see if we can get any more information off of it.
> Would it be possible for us to further examine Mary's loss of humanity with our Magnifying Glass?
> !!!!!
> We would have to find the missing half, right?
> Now that we know what it is, could we potentially recreate the rest using one of our pieces of Materia Prima? Specifically the tiny one.
> Have we found anything else that pertained to movement? In the shrine or otherwise.
> What else could our wrench do besides moving gaps?
> List of unexplored gaps.
> Did we need our wrench for any gap we found?
> What was the problem with the latter gap?
> Quests
> Was there anything we couldn't specifically do because of the chaos in the borders?
> List of missing tools.
> What was wrong with the Crystal Palace gap that we didn't use it before?
> Now that we know the sigil is part of our wrench, does the picture look familiar?
> Could our magnifying glass help us discern what's up with the music bubble?
> Is there anything new to the room, besides the dirt?
> Where'd we find the Hourglass again?
> Head back up to Mary.
> Follow her inside.
> "Find anything you like?"
> Turn around. Is it the sigil?
> Turn back around.
> "A reason to go back and investigate the bubble of music once more."
> Shake head.
> "No and no."
> "It might be, I'll have to make sure."
> Watch her examine the sigil.
> Is mary looking away from us?
> If so, try to use the Magnifying glass on her, try to get more information out of her loss of humanity, don't actually take the Magnifying Glass out though, that would be disastrous if she found out.
> If she turns around, stop, even if we aren't t finished yet.
> "Well, yes, but that sigil seems to be longing to be completed."
> "And that musical bubble wasn't complete either."
> It's as good as a bet as we can make, anyway.
> "Truth be told, neither do I."
> "But it never hurts to check. Besides... It wouldn't be the first time this place defied common sense."
> "Or any sort of sense, really."
> "Anything you want to check out before we go?"
> Leave the shrine, proceed to the sound bubble.
> Make a gap and enter.
> Magnifying Glass, ho! (Note: Don't actually pull it out, etc.)
> Insight: Where can we find our Vice Grips?
> How did we first get to the floating islands?
> Didn't the Field of Fronds -> Caves gap have limited usage?
> From what we remember, do we think it could withstand another entry for both us and Mary?
>Is the gap that Maribel forced her way through beyond repair even if we had appropriate tools?
>Are all of these worlds separate in that we would need the Astrolabe to create new gaps in the borders between them?
> Was there anything left to do on the color space?
> Did we feel any colors that could be connected to either our astrolabe or our vice grips?
> If not, list of colors and their respective feelings/emotions.
> "Just what we feared I guess, this bubble seems to be in no way connected to that sigil."
> sigh
>If the gap to the caverns is unstable, would we be able to stabilise it with our tools?
>Are there any paths in this forest area which we haven't followed to conclusion?
>Do we feel confident we could gap ourselves to the shrine?
>"I just remembered a path in this forest I haven't yet checked. Would you mind if I gapped us over there?"
> Nod.
> Open up a gap to the path at the shrine that we have not yet traversed, and head on through.
>"Go ahead."
>How much does Yukari know about chemistry and physics?
>why didn't we think of that.
>Explore path.
> Have we seen hand symbols in the foliage before now?
> Was the wrench sigil also yellow?
> Nod.
> Step over to the glow.
> Is it coming from above or below the surface?
> How unpleasant does the undergrowth look to touch?
> Are there any sticks around not currently attached to trees?
> Inventory
> Compare Glow to Materia Prima.
> "Do you have anything with you that we could use to poke through the brush?"
> Does it seem like we can take a sizeable stick from a nearby tree?
>Retrieve sturdy stick.
>Part underbrush with sturdy stick.
> Gently push the glass toward us with the stick.
> What do we feel from it?
>"It seems to be some glowing glass... from a glance, at least."
>Well, seems safe enough to pick it up now!
>Afterwords, proceed further examination~
> Can we tell how it is glowing?
> Is the ground still glowing? The glow did appear to come from multiple sources...
>Check around with the stick and look for more shards in the other glowing spots.
> "Be careful of sharp edges."
> Use our stick to gather whatever glass we can find.
>"There's an awful lot of them, isn't there?"
>Collect all we can find and then bring them to Maribel and her own collection.
>Did we cut ourselves?
>"Good job! Hmm... hopefully they'll just fuse together if we can fit two correct pieces against eachother. How about we sort out the edge pieces then, dearie? We'll just treat it like a puzzle."
>Start sorting the shards with smooth edges into a seperate pile. If we happen to notice any that look like they fit together, then go ahead and try that- but that's secondary until after we sort them.
>Does the path continue onwards?
> "Hmm. Perhaps we must connect all of them before any secrets are revealed."
> Let's have a look at those edge pieces. Try to fit some of them together. Grab them by the smooth sides, of course.
>Well... -does- it seem to resemble anything? Probably not; and, if that's the case...
>"It's... hard to tell at this point."
>I don't imagine our supernatural powers can do much in terms of fusing the pieces together easily, can they?
>Would it be possible to fit several of them together without losing the form? An easier way to phrase this is "are they all flat", since the answer is probably identical, but
>Continue on; start piecing the middle in carefully, so as to keep the completed portion from falling apart.
> Does it?
> ...Could it possibly be the remnants of the original sun that Patchouli destroyed?
Eventually we'll find a tool while Maribel is around, and I think if we could save the explanation for then it could go a lot smoother.
>Does the object seem magical at all now?
{Sigh.}
{"All right. I had hoped it wouldn't come to this, but I know your curious nature, your thirst for knowledge, will likely never let it go otherwise.}
{Look Mary straight in the eyes with a very stern expression.}
{"I can fix this glass. However, what you are about to see and learn is something that [i]must[/i] be kept top secret. I do not give this knowledge out lightly, and were it up to me, I would never have to tell anyone. I will do this only after you promise to never tell a soul what you see here. Not your kappa students, not your little magic club, not even your other half in the privacy of your house. Absolutely no one. If you break this promise, I [i]will[/i] find out. Do I make myself clear?"}
>Does the disc seem like it could be one of our tools?
>Do we remember seeing sun imagery anywhere so far?
>Sigh.
>"All right. I had hoped it wouldn't come to this, but I know your curious nature, your thirst for knowledge, will likely never let it go otherwise.
>Look Mary straight in the eyes with a very stern expression.
>"I can fix this glass. However, what you are about to see and learn is something that must be kept top secret. I do not give this knowledge out lightly, and were it up to me, I would never have to tell anyone. I will do this only after you promise to never tell a soul what you see here. Not your kappa students, not your little magic club, not even your other half in the privacy of your house. Absolutely no one. If you break this promise, I will find out. Do I make myself clear?"
> Soften our expression.
> "No, you've done nothing wrong. And I don't like speaking to you this way. But I cannot stress enough the importance of keeping this a secret. If you can ever forget it happened, even better."
> Nod.
> "Thank you."
> Pull out the screwdriver and pliers with a slight grin.
> "Let it never be said that Yakumo Yukari is not prepared for the worst."
> Use our tools to fuse a couple of edge pieces together.
> Touch the disk and see what happens.
>"In case you hadn't guessed, the tools are the secret."
>Is the sigil still following us?
>Can we sense anything different about the disc now that it's complete?
> "Not yet, that I can tell."
> What might a warm, glowy glass sun be missing?
>Could it belong to Amaterasu?
> Given how large it is, could we store it in a gap and take it with us?
> Give it a check with our Magnifying Glass, just to be sure.
> "That is certainly possible. Shall we take it with us and continue on?"
> Store the sun away in our gap inventory and continue on down the path.
> Does it seem fragmented? Or simply a very large gap?
> Let's take a look around. Can we see what it might be embedded in?
> "How so?"
> "Hmm, hmm, hmm..."
> Point at the boulder.
> "Would you inspect that boulder for me, and tell me what you think?"
> Let's make our way over to the tree.
> How could we get the gap out of the tree and the ground?
> Take a look over at what Mary found.
>We have the tree, the spot in the ground, the bush, and the boulder.
>"Good. There's also this tree here, and a place on the ground... I think there's one more spot, though."
>Figure out where the spot in the ground with the border is and point it out to Mary, and then take a small walk around the immediate area of these points to try to find the final point.
> Let's make our way over to where she is. Maybe we'll find that missing point along the way.
>Look upwards.
>If it seems safe enough to do so, try gapping ourself out onto a sturdy tree branch to have a better way to sense higher up.
> Point up at it.
> "Aha."
>"But do you feel anything?"
>Are we sure we feel something there?
>It's probably just too far away for her to tell at her level of skill/power.
>We already told Maribel about the tools, so we may as well just get to using our screwdriver to start fixing the gap, then, right? The tree, boulder, and bush are definitely the more accessible of the five, so that's a good place to start.
> Which points would be the hardest to deal with?
> Is it going to be necessary to dig a hole to reach the underground point? Could we just open a gap to it despite it being in the ground?
>"It's a gap that's separated into several vertices, like it's folded up. I can probably manipulate it into a usable state."
> So what exactly is necessary to reattach these points to each other? Could we actually affect them all at the same time with a single tool?
>"I don't think it's dangerous. I performed a similar operation to open the gap leading to the small shrine. It is complex though, and I may want your help on this one."
>Well, we better start examining then. Let's use our magnifying glass on each of the points in turn, assuming there's no reason we can't.
>Would resolving these snares mean fixing their strange border-related conditions?
>Could we use the hourglass instead of doing them simultaneously?
> Inventory
> How does separating these concepts work?
> So we need to come up with a single concept that separates all of these opposites at the same time?
> How exactly do we perform this detangling? Do we think about a concept really hard? Do we say it out loud? Do we poke the air with our screwdriver? Or something else?
>Curse metaphysics.
>Would nudging them to one "side" of the border solve the problem? I.e nudging the tree towards being material.
>Examine the snares in the ground and the sky more closely.
>If we just moved the strangely frozen vineleaf in the bush (along with minor border shenanigans), would that be sufficient to fix it's issue?
>Examine the boulder. Is there anything about it that seems plantlike?
>Summary of the other 3 gap shred borders that are not ground and sky?
>OK. So, the idea is we have to nudge these in a direction, preferably all at once and with some screwdriver work, correct?
>If so, using a unifying concept that pushes each towards one part of their split is the right idea?
>OK. Let's try the concept of the Beloved Pet Rock. It is an inert and well-behaved stone, material and still. One feels a depth of attraction and possession of a pet, and this is no different even if the pet is a rock. So let's push that concept on the gaps and repair them.
>Have I not come across the concept, almost a joke but surprisingly persistent, in the modern world of a pet rock?
>Contemplate the rock that Mary grabbed as the basis for the gap.
>Have we asked Mary why she wanted that rock?
>Also, was it not in a shrine, a place of veneration?
>"Maribel, why did you take that rock out of the shrine, anyway?"
>Did the rock have a shimenawa on it?
> What would happen if we only separated some gaps and not all of them?
>What does the sky look like? Can we see the sun here?
> Hold up the disk and look at the sky through it.
>Have Maribel furnish her Perfectly Normal Rock as the focus of the gap. It is an inert and well-behaved stone, material and still. Instead of depth and affection, let us instead go for the depth (or shallowness) it was found in the shrine, and the apathy one feels towards a Perfectly Normal Rock.
>"Ah, good. Thank you for your cooperation. Let's get this put together then and continue on."
>Let's do exactly that, getting the gap together. Can we tell what's on the other side before going or is that another tool?
>We don't have the mirror, I take it? Sorry I don't remember it.
>Let's lead the way!
>What's in the distance in the other direction?
>"No. We're in the same world, but... this is unexplored territory, nonetheless."
>"Don't start walking about, a sneaking suspicious as to where we are has dawned on me."
>Consider possibility that we have been enlarged, similar to how we were shrunk by a gap earlier.
> Do we feel like we could crouch down without disturbing the bushes too badly?
> Crouch down.
> "I believe we're in a forest, Mary."
>"Well, it is when one hasn't been turned into a giant."
>"If you don't believe me, then examine the ground for yourself."
>"Try not to step on anything important and have a look around for anything of note to someone of our newfound size."
>Do the same.
>Does the rocky wasteland look like it would be easy enough to walk around on?
>What would be the effects of passing something through a size-changing gap multiple times? Particularly something alive, or perhaps a piece of Prime Material.
>"I'm going to go have a look around the edge of this forest, would you like to come with me?"
>Open a gap to the edge of the badlands.
>That's understandable at our current size, it'd be monolithic.
>"I'll try not to be too long."
>Proceed to walk carefully to the rocky badland; to minimize land damage, take long steps, and look where we're walking to try not to step on something that seems important.
>For that matter, keep an eye out for anything interesting we might want to visit at a smaller size, later.
> Take a closer look at the mountains. Is there anything of interest on them?