Okuu Quest : A Z-Machine Adventure.

[Hello Purvis]

> If that is indeed what happened, there has to be another way back.
> We just don't know how to, yet.

>That's right, that's right. There has to be some way to fix things...
>"Hey, are you alright?" Parsee asks.

>_

[Kasu]

> "Sorry.  My plot summary just revived some of the anxiety I felt from when I woke up this morning."

[Rin Kagamine]

> "Sorry, I'm a bit anxious.  Murdoch could defeat The Strangers because he had telekinetic powers and could fight them on equal ground.  But if someone's controlling us, how can I fight them?  I mean, unless I can somehow, like, harness the power of nuclear fusion to fight them."
> Awkwardly laugh it off.
> "But then again, this is all just speculation, and I'm really no better off than I was this morning.  I hate to think about, but all the leads I've discovered don't seem to directly affect me, and it seems like I've taken up several other causes to work towards while I'm here.  I'm really pretty lost."
> Trail off and pause before asking "Where is that pizza?"
> Pause for a bit again, then ask "Say Parsee, are you busy with anything after this?"
> If not "Would you like to go around with me for a while?  It'd be nice to have someone else around for a change and I'd really appreciate the company."
> Mumble "...and support" very softly.

[Kasu]

Oh snap.  Are we trying to raise a flag here?

[Hello Purvis]

> "Sorry.  My plot summary just revived some of the anxiety I felt from when I woke up this morning."

> "Sorry, I'm a bit anxious.  Murdoch could defeat The Strangers because he had telekinetic powers and could fight them on equal ground.  But if someone's controlling us, how can I fight them?  I mean, unless I can somehow, like, harness the power of nuclear fusion to fight them."
> Awkwardly laugh it off.
> "But then again, this is all just speculation, and I'm really no better off than I was this morning.  I hate to think about, but all the leads I've discovered don't seem to directly affect me, and it seems like I've taken up several other causes to work towards while I'm here.  I'm really pretty lost."
> Trail off and pause before asking "Where is that pizza?"
> Pause for a bit again, then ask "Say Parsee, are you busy with anything after this?"
> If not "Would you like to go around with me for a while?  It'd be nice to have someone else around for a change and I'd really appreciate the company."
> Mumble "...and support" very softly.

>"You poor thing," says Parsee with a frown,  before you can ask for her assistance. "Let's talk about some other things for now, okay?"
>Without really waiting for you approval, Parsee starts to talk about music. Her tastes are kind of weird, she seems to have a preference for afrobeat; which you had not even heard of until today but seems to be akin to Funk only  more African. From what you can tell, she seems fascinated by African and Middle Eastern things. The two of you do manage to find common ground in some video game music, SNES to be precise, which is better than nothing.  Eventually the food comes, and is not bad at all. Parsee attacks it with gusto, while you take it slower and play catch up while she talks about things. By the end, she insists on paying half the bill, and won't take no for an answer. It costs you 12☼
>All in all, you do feel a bit better by the end of it, but the sense of wrongness in the world and around yourself won't go away. But it's tolerable now
>"Now what?" asks Parsee, as the two of you leave the pizza place.
>You ask her for her assistance. "Well," she says, "I kinda had some things I was planning on doing, but nothing that important. I'll follow you around for awhile."

>_

[Rin Kagamine]

> "Oh thank you!"
> Hug her.  "Thank you so much!"
> Jump back and apologize sheepishly for jumping her.
> Examine quests and inventory

[Hello Purvis]

> "Oh thank you!"
> Hug her.  "Thank you so much!"
> Jump back and apologize sheepishly for jumping her.
> Examine quests and inventory

>You thank her and hug her. "Gyah!" she cries. You step back and apologize. "Just... Damn, woman" says Parsee. "I almost pulled my stun gun out of reflex!"
>Your Quests are:
>The World is Wrong
>You have an unshakable instinct telling you that something is critically awry with the world, enough to frighten you to the core of your being. You have vowed that you will find what it is. Having encountered something that looked a whole lot like a ghost, you may be onto something.
>Condemnation!
>You neighbor Miss Hieda's house has been condemned by those FUCKERS at City Hall. Nitori's friend established her plumbing was bad, but not below code. But it leaves the question of why she lives in such a place when she's in a good job?
>Werehouse
>You have taken an interest in a recent heist of a local importer at the docks. You've learned the Sheriff is looking into it personally.
>Your Self Appointed Goals are:
>Chase the Dream
>You've vowed you're gonna get accepted into that stupid university! Now, you have to pass the entry exam...
>Your Inventory contains
>Green Bow (worn as accessory)
>Casual clothes (worn as clothes)
>Notebook with Pen
>Towel
>Bio Hazard Backpack
>Nuclear Physics (Second Edition) by Irving Kaplan
>Splitting the Atom by Aloysius Alvin Non
>Introductory Nuclear Physics by Kenneth S. Krane.
>Spare notebooks
>Purse
>Driver's License
>34☼
>Debit Card
>Bus Pass
>Bag of Birdseed.
>Bag of Sunflower Seeds
>Plastic Bag
>Eye Pendant
>Box Cars' URL
>Usami Investigations Business Card
>Peace of Mind Charm
>Shrinemaiden.org URL

[Rin Kagamine]

> Current time
> How far to get to the warehouse or Usami investigations?

[Hello Purvis]

> Current time
> How far to get to the warehouse or Usami investigations?

>It's about 4:40 or so.
>They're both some distance away. But the the A-Route Bus would get you to the harbor in about 15 minutes, and the B Route would get you to the outskirts in the same amount of time.

>_

[Rin Kagamine]

> Head towards the bus stop.
> "First I want to stop by Usami Investigations, the paranormal people.  They'd like to hear about what I found in the woods.  It's about a 15 minute ride.  Silly to ask, but you have a bus pass, right?"
> In case she doesn't, how much would fare be to the outskirts?
> Examine Parsee again.  A shorter girl certainly isn't rivaling us in chest size, is she?
> What is our height anyway?

[Hello Purvis]

> Head towards the bus stop.
> "First I want to stop by Usami Investigations, the paranormal people.  They'd like to hear about what I found in the woods.  It's about a 15 minute ride.  Silly to ask, but you have a bus pass, right?"
> In case she doesn't, how much would fare be to the outskirts?
> Examine Parsee again.  A shorter girl certainly isn't rivaling us in chest size, is she?
> What is our height anyway?

>You make your way toward a nearby bus stop.
>"Oh yeah, you mentioned some people you talked with who did that kind of thing," she says. "And yeah, I do."
>It'd cost a ☼ for the trip.
>You have another look at her while she is looking down the street for the buss. No, she's not really that busty; even if you were the same height, you'd have her beat.
>You're fairly tall, really. A bit over 5'11".

>_

[Rin Kagamine]

> "While we're waiting, what's your favorite book?"
> What's our favorite book?

[Hello Purvis]

> "While we're waiting, what's your favorite book?"
> What's our favorite book?

>"I'm really fond of Things Fall Apart," she says. "It just sums up things so well, and I can envision it so clearly."
>What is your favorite book?
>Admittedly, you tend not to read much. Not because you dislike it, just that there tend to be other things to do.

>_

[Rin Kagamine]

> Well damn
> What was the last book we read?
> Did we like Things Fall Apart?

[Hello Purvis]

> Well damn
> What was the last book we read?
> Did we like Things Fall Apart?

>What was the last book you read?
>You've never actually heard of Things Fall Apart.

>_

[Rin Kagamine]

> "I tend to stick more towards more comedy-type books.  I gravitate towards Christopher Moore especially, but the last thing I read was John Dies at the End.  Wow, that sounds really lame in comparison."
> "What about it did you like?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "I tend to stick more towards more comedy-type books.  I gravitate towards Christopher Moore especially, but the last thing I read was John Dies at the End.  Wow, that sounds really lame in comparison."
> "What about it did you like?"

>"Oh, there's nothing wrong with that," she says. "Everyone needs a good laugh now and again."
>The bus approaches. You both climb on and and it is fairly quiet for the score or so of people on it. "Well," says Parsee, as she heads for a seat while sizing up everyone rather openly, "I like how it depicts the downfall of the Ibo culture so...cleanly, but at the same time it doesn't just gloss over the bad things they did, like Okonkwo's treatment of his wife and children. The author take someone who is, honestly, kind of an asshole and not all that sympathetic, really, and makes him into someone who you do sympathize with just due to how terrible things get for him and his nation."

>_

[Rin Kagamine]

> "Actually, that sounds pretty interesting.  If you think about the traditional action staple they can be viewed very similarly.  Of course, from a dramatic view it's very different, but parallels have to exist between a character like him and Lady Snowblood for example.  I may be barking up the wrong tree, but she's only known pain throughout her life and is raised solely to seek vengeance.  Her and every anti-hero from Rambo to Max Payne, a misanthrope that only watches out for themselves and yet undergoes a mission to right what is wrong.  They're all terrible people, but we sympathize with them because their cause is just even though they are not."
> "I should look into reading that, since I've never seen that idea through a dramatic lens, only through a "Kill 'em all!" lens."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Actually, that sounds pretty interesting.  If you think about the traditional action staple they can be viewed very similarly.  Of course, from a dramatic view it's very different, but parallels have to exist between a character like him and Lady Snowblood for example.  I may be barking up the wrong tree, but she's only known pain throughout her life and is raised solely to seek vengeance.  Her and every anti-hero from Rambo to Max Payne, a misanthrope that only watches out for themselves and yet undergoes a mission to right what is wrong.  They're all terrible people, but we sympathize with them because their cause is just even though they are not."
> "I should look into reading that, since I've never seen that idea through a dramatic lens, only through a "Kill 'em all!" lens."

>"The problem with that is that when you deal with stuff like that," says Parsee, "Most of the time the writers didn't really consider it to begin with. Or only gave it shallow consideration that doesn't really hold up to reason. Though sometimes, retroactively justifying certain things with imagination can be fun. But I don't think it's fair to compare the two."

>_

[Rin Kagamine]

> "Like I said, I'm not trying to equate them, I'm just trying to get a rough assumption.  Books are different since plot and backstory and meaning can be expanded on through instead of serving as a 5 minute introduction to explain moving character A to location B with weapon C to accomplish objective D."
> "Movies were all I could think to relate to, since protagonists in comedic novels tend to be likable generally.  Also, I kinda panicked since I thought discussing books would be a nice and mellow talk but I didn't expect you to have such refined taste.  Additionally, while I do tend to read a fair amount, I usually read science books.  Not all textbooks, but a lot about nuclear theory."
> Pull books out of bookbag to show to Parsee for emphasis.
> "I mentioned that I'm trying to get into university right?  It's to study nuclear engineering.  I've had a passion for it for years, but I never had the grades, or the confidence, to get apply.  My biggest weakpoint is math, which I've been working on, but I try to read books like these to help teach myself.  I know I can't go into as a career based only on being self-taught, but you've got to pursue your dreams somehow, right?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Like I said, I'm not trying to equate them, I'm just trying to get a rough assumption.  Books are different since plot and backstory and meaning can be expanded on through instead of serving as a 5 minute introduction to explain moving character A to location B with weapon C to accomplish objective D."
> "Movies were all I could think to relate to, since protagonists in comedic novels tend to be likable generally.  Also, I kinda panicked since I thought discussing books would be a nice and mellow talk but I didn't expect you to have such refined taste.  Additionally, while I do tend to read a fair amount, I usually read science books.  Not all textbooks, but a lot about nuclear theory."
> Pull books out of bookbag to show to Parsee for emphasis.
> "I mentioned that I'm trying to get into university right?  It's to study nuclear engineering.  I've had a passion for it for years, but I never had the grades, or the confidence, to get apply.  My biggest weakpoint is math, which I've been working on, but I try to read books like these to help teach myself.  I know I can't go into as a career based only on being self-taught, but you've got to pursue your dreams somehow, right?"

>She nods. "It's okay. It's just I wanted to answer honestly, you know?"
>Parsee looks at your text book, eyebrows raised. "Huh. I didn't think you'd be the type. That's really neat, actually! I hope you can pull it off! I mean, I know what it's like to be nervous about these kinds of things. I'm in architecture, myself, and it can get hairy there."

>_

[Rin Kagamine]

> "Architecture huh?  That's really cool.  How long have you been studying that?"
> "We could really use some fresh ideas on this island, there's a lot of older buildings that could be improved, but we don't really have any really interesting buildings.  You're probably bursting with ideas, aren't you?"
> How long until we get to Usami?

[Hello Purvis]

> "Architecture huh?  That's really cool.  How long have you been studying that?"
> "We could really use some fresh ideas on this island, there's a lot of older buildings that could be improved, but we don't really have any really interesting buildings.  You're probably bursting with ideas, aren't you?"
> How long until we get to Usami?

>"Yeah. I originally got into it because I was trying to uncover Masonic codes, before I figured out that generational stuff like that is just a dead end. But it turns out, it's actually pretty neat to plan all that stuff out. And I'm in my third year right now. But yeah, they do alright with some of the things, but then you see the cracker boxes they're making on the Outskirts, and it's just a little sad, you know? And yeah, they did a lot of shortcuts with the order stuff; they wanted to build up the city in a hurry back in the beginning. I mean, it's nothing that's led to houses collapsing and things like that, but there are really places that show their age. For instance..."
>It takes a good fifteen minutes or so to get there, but Parsee is happy to take up the majority of this time talking about her chosen trade, as well as a few bitter barbs about people who had some done some of the city's designing in the past.
>Soon, you step off the bus stop not too far from Usami Investigations. "So, what's up here?" Parsee asks.

>_

[Rin Kagamine]

> Head towards Usami Investigations.
> "When I went looking for the shrine in the woods, I used their map to find it, since they have some ideas as to where it was.  They also would love to hear about the creature."

[Hello Purvis]

> Head towards Usami Investigations.
> "When I went looking for the shrine in the woods, I used their map to find it, since they have some ideas as to where it was.  They also would love to hear about the creature."

>"Oh yeah, you did mention some paranormal investigator types." She frowns a bit as the two of you cross the street. "You know, I kinda don't care for those types, usually. It seems to me when you start going on about ghosts and magic and stuff, you start missing out on the big picture, and then the real powers behind the scenes have it even easier. But then again, you saw what you saw... Sorry, just a bit conflicted is all."
>You walk into Usami Investigations. You see Maribel going over a file of some kind, while a brown-haired woman in a rather stylish fedora is talking on the phone at the back of the office. "Oh, hey there Utsuho," says Maribel. "What's up? Who's your friend?"

>_

[Rin Kagamine]

> "Hey Maribel, this is my friend Parsee.  She's going around with me for a bit tonight while I look into so more things.  Who's that on the phone?"
> "Oh yeah, I also checked out the forest and I found the shrine!"
> Regale Maribel with the tale of us finding the shrine.

[Hello Purvis]

> "Hey Maribel, this is my friend Parsee.  She's going around with me for a bit tonight while I look into so more things.  Who's that on the phone?"
> "Oh yeah, I also checked out the forest and I found the shrine!"
> Regale Maribel with the tale of us finding the shrine.

>Maribel nods to Parsee. "Uh, hi," Parsee says back.
>"That's Renko," says Maribel. "She's on the phone with a client right now."
>"You did?" says Maribel. "That's great!" She listens attentively as you tell her about finding the Shrine. For the time being, you leave out your encounter with the Forest Spirit to keep from detracting from the focus of finding the shrine. Renko finishes up on the phone, and listens in from where she's standing. "So that's where it is," says Maribel as you finish. "A bit more mundane sounding than we were hoping, and I kinda didn't expect it to be run by an atheist type, but oh well. Still worth investigating."

>_

[Kasu]

> "That's not all that happened though..."
> Take a deep breath and tell them about the Forest Spirit.

[Hello Purvis]

> "That's not all that happened though..."
> Take a deep breath and tell them about the Forest Spirit.

>You tell the rest of the story.
>Renko stops lurking at the edge of the office, joining Maribel and both of them listening with rapt attention as you describe your encounter to them. "Holy shit," says Maribel, "If even some of that is true, it's no wonder you got into fixing air conditioners. You must have freon in your veins!"
>"Make sure the voicemail is clear, Mary," says Renko. "It's time for a field trip."
>"Got it," says Maribel.
>Renko looks at you. "You're Utsuho, right? My partner told me about you. I'm Renko, it's good to meet you. Now, can you show me on the map where you saw that thing?"

>_

[Kasu]

> It was kinda east wasn't it?  Well either way, point out the general location of the encounter on their map.