Maribel Quest Abridging - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Kilgamayan]

A challenging obstacle is still not solved by getting mad at it. The only way to conquer Koishi is to play by her rules.

I don't think we've lost yet. I will only admit defeat when she ragequits again.

[Hello Purvis]

> "You wanted to know, that's how you'd find out. I wish I could be more of a help, but..."
> Shrug
> "Out of curiosity, if you suspected what was going on with the flow of souls being blocked, did you also suspect the magnitude of the damage to reality that alteration would apparently have caused, if allowed to persist?"

>"You'd think, if she had something in mind, she'd tell you.
>She frowns. "What are you talking about?"

> Bitch gonna have to deal with it.
> Slowly lower shades onto our face.
> "Who says you can't be free? Having those type of powers doesn't mean you can't make friends or be social. Sure, some people may shun you based off of their own delusions, but that doesn't mean everyone will hate you. Maybe you Should stop hiding yourself and just be yourself."

>Koishi stabs you in the eyes! "Go read a book, Motherfucker!"
>"You really don't know much about people, do you?" Koishi says.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "I talked to the other person responsible for bringing Gensokyo back to the way it was. They said that the magnitude of the retcon magic you guys performed would do some pretty serious damage to history if left unchecked."

[Hello Purvis]

> "I talked to the other person responsible for bringing Gensokyo back to the way it was. They said that the magnitude of the retcon magic you guys performed would do some pretty serious damage to history if left unchecked."

>"Such as?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

Players are now hunting for exact words. Please wait warmly until they are ready.

[Kilgamayan]

Well, shit. I think the only exact words we got were at the end of Utsuho Quest, because I'm not finding anything. The closest we came was in our second visit to Keine, since we spent our third one talking to Mokou instead, and even then there were no details.

Guess we're winging this.

> "She didn't give me any details, sadly. Probably partly because I wouldn't understand them very well and partly because she just seems to want to move on. I just know from her that things would have gone seriously wrong if she hadn't undone the work. I guess, if you wanted details, you'd have to ask her. I'm sorry, I wish I could be more of a help."

[Hello Purvis]

> "She didn't give me any details, sadly. Probably partly because I wouldn't understand them very well and partly because she just seems to want to move on. I just know from her that things would have gone seriously wrong if she hadn't undone the work. I guess, if you wanted details, you'd have to ask her. I'm sorry, I wish I could be more of a help."

>"And did Utsuho know these details, I wonder, when decided to betray us? Or was it after the fact?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Based on the story she told, if she knew, I would guess she knew after the fact."

[E-Nazrin]

I'm not sure if Koishi strictly necessarily wants to be rid of her powers - the only reason she wants to be rid of them is because it makes her hated. Another solution would be to show her that there are people, even if only a few people, that love her regardless - and no one, mind-reader or not, can make everyone happy. To have that is about as healthy as most people are - and if you can see that loving person's true feelings, perhaps more sincere than any other.

So - why is Utsuho worried about her? Does Utsuho resent her, or her powers? Or was it only what she did to be rid of them?

Is Satori hiding away from the world, or does she have a solution for her condition? Is there any other way to show that Koishi's loved? Is there any way to suppress or disable Koishi's powers, without fucking with time?

And what was Koishi doing during Okuu Quest, again?

[Kilgamayan]

You are correct about Koishi, and it is true that applying a different band-aid still won't fix the main problem. In that vein, we should be working toward fixing the populace's fear and hatred of her, if not satori as a species. This is why I want to put in a good word for her in Hatate's article.

Utsuho still considers Koishi Aunt Koishi; at this point, she doesn't resent Koishi for anything. She wants Koishi back, because she's family. Everyone in the Komeiji family wants Koishi back, because she's family. If we need tangible evidence of that, Satori has expressed a wish to have Koishi over for dinner.

I think Satori is happy with things the way they are, if for no other reason than because she didn't take the same eye-closing path Koishi did. I imagine she spends her time alone/with pets because it's so practical - imagine if you had innate mind-reading abilities and you wandered into a group of fairies, for instance. It's amazing enough she can wander around a city full of inebriated muscleheads without her head liquefying.

Koishi's role in Utsuho Quest was very brief - she appeared near the end, after KanaSuwa got KTFOd, and she and Utsuho had a very short fight before she ragequit.

[Hello Purvis]

> "Based on the story she told, if she knew, I would guess she knew after the fact."

>"So, things like that didn't even enter into her decision."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "To be honest, I don't even think the flow of souls stopping factored into her decision. She didn't mention it when she told me her story. But that's not where I was going with that."
> "The point is more that there are surely better ways to solve your dilemma and your sister's dilemma. Satori was very kind to me, and you have been both helpful to and remarkably patient with me. The fear and hatred that you feel from the populace is probably just rooted in ignorance. What if work was done to educate the people, instead of directly altering their memories?"

[Janitor Morgan]

What if work was done to educate the people [about the satori]?

Assuming Koishi is content with this idea, perhaps we should bring this up with Nitori the next time we see her.

[Kilgamayan]

I suppose it could work with the kappa, though no immediate specific plan springs to my mind.

Getting Koishi's name out in Hatate's paper in a positive light is my current plan for a starting place.

[Hello Purvis]

> "To be honest, I don't even think the flow of souls stopping factored into her decision. She didn't mention it when she told me her story. But that's not where I was going with that."
> "The point is more that there are surely better ways to solve your dilemma and your sister's dilemma. Satori was very kind to me, and you have been both helpful to and remarkably patient with me. The fear and hatred that you feel from the populace is probably just rooted in ignorance. What if work was done to educate the people, instead of directly altering their memories?"

>"That fear is rooted in reality, you see," says Koishi. "It's not ignorance, it's simply the reality.  We violate the sanctity of peoples' thoughts. It's what we are."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Perhaps it is what you are, but it's not who you are, and therein lies the potential for change. Reading minds may not be something you or Satori can choose to do, but spilling all those secrets is something you can choose to do, and both of you have chosen not to. That counts for a lot."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Perhaps it is what you are, but it's not who you are, and therein lies the potential for change. Reading minds may not be something you or Satori can choose to do, but spilling all those secrets is something you can choose to do, and both of you have chosen not to. That counts for a lot."

>"It doesn't matter," says Koishi. "We still know. We still use that knowledge, it's not something to be ignored. And when we're around, and something you don't want us to know slips away, there is resentment, and it builds. I know."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"But if you avoid showing yourself to anyone on the surface, how many times have you even given these people a chance? To understand you, to see you as a person in your own right?"
>"And if you avoid people because you're certain they will resent you if you show yourself, how come you also avoid the people you know won't resent you for it? Your sister misses you, you know."

[Kilgamayan]

> "Neither you nor your sister have used my thoughts in my presence, near as I can tell. Maybe it has happened in the past? I don't know. I guess you do. Nobody's perfect, everyone makes mistakes. What's important is how you deal with those mistakes. You don't let them get you down, you learn from them and do your best to make sure they don't happen again. Fall down seven times, get up eight."

[Hello Purvis]

>"But if you avoid showing yourself to anyone on the surface, how many times have you even given these people a chance? To understand you, to see you as a person in your own right?"
>"And if you avoid people because you're certain they will resent you if you show yourself, how come you also avoid the people you know won't resent you for it? Your sister misses you, you know."

>"I didn't always do this, you know. I tried. Why do you think i can speak from experience? And...I know she does. But I can't go back to that cage. Even if Utsuho wasn't there."

> "Neither you nor your sister have used my thoughts in my presence, near as I can tell. Maybe it has happened in the past? I don't know. I guess you do. Nobody's perfect, everyone makes mistakes. What's important is how you deal with those mistakes. You don't let them get you down, you learn from them and do your best to make sure they don't happen again. Fall down seven times, get up eight."

>"If I hadn't used what your inner feelings had told me," says Koishi, "I never would have revealed myself to you. And it's very easy for you to say all of those things. You don't have to live with it. You don't have to feel that moment of revulsion when someone had a thought they didn't want to share, and know the lingering resentment, the doubt. You shouldn't talk about things you don't understand."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"And so you prefer wandering alone and isolated to living with someone who cares for you? Why is it a cage? You can still come and go as you please, can't you? Utsuho aside, for the moment."

[Hello Purvis]

>"And so you prefer wandering alone and isolated to living with someone who cares for you? Why is it a cage? You can still come and go as you please, can't you? Utsuho aside, for the moment."

>"Because it depresses me to be there," says Koishi. "Don't you have places you simply can't abide being in?"
>She considers for a minute.
>"You'll never sleep in that room in your house, would you? And to make matters worse, the crowds..."

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, what happened there happened a long time ago... It's no less safe because of it."
>"Does being around crowds still bother you? Even if they can't see you?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well, what happened there happened a long time ago... It's no less safe because of it."
>"Does being around crowds still bother you? Even if they can't see you?"

>"Now imagine living in a place like that," says Koishi. "I can't go back."
>"I can still feel them," she says. "A few are fine, but so many at once? It's a problem."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Then what? Do you plan never to see Satori again, either?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Then what? Do you plan never to see Satori again, either?"

>"I don't know," she says.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"But you would like, though, wouldn't you? Is being underground so repugnant to you that you couldn't even drop by briefly to visit? For her sake?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"But you would like, though, wouldn't you? Is being underground so repugnant to you that you couldn't even drop by briefly to visit? For her sake?"

>"If it were just her, then I might. But...not with that traitor there. I wish to never see her again, there least of all."

>_

[E-Nazrin]

I can only imagine the mindgames involved with one Satori trying to psych-counsel another.

That said, whether they can read one another or not, Satori is probably better suited to doing the dirty work of this than us. Arranging a way for them to meet, especially (semi)-regularly, would probably be one of the biggest helps possible.

[Kilgamayan]

> "Then...maybe we can arrange something here on the surface? Just you and her, to catch up, to talk things out."

Fake edit: welp,