EZMode !iIyIHD.1G6 2008/07/22 (Tue) 13:07 No. 50524 [x] Boil Water, then let it cool for a min
[x] Put the tea leaves in the pot
[x] Wait 5 mins
[x] Strain while serving
[x] Chat while you are doing so:
- [x] "I don't know how well it'll taste. I'm more of a coffee person myself."
- [x] "About that sword earlier, what does it mean to 'kill' a ghost?"
- [x] "Would you like cream & sugar? Or am I sweet enough?" Wink.
First things first, you decide to boil some water. You find the kettle itself easily enough, but when it comes to water, you find yourself a little lost since there are no faucets. Not that you'd really expect to find them, but, well, you wouldn't expect to find a kitchen in the afterlife either. By sheer chance, you happen to lift a section of the counter, searching for some kind of water source, and find a basin filled with water, clean water as well. Good enough, you fill the kettle, wipe it down, then locate the stove. You're surprised to find it's actually a functional gas stove, which is better for you since you don't have to spend more time trying to light a fire.
With the kettle in place for now, you go about finding the other implements, namely a teapot and some cups. You reach up to start opening some of the cupboards above you when you notice a small blob object floating around near a particular cupboard. You head over and open it, the blob floating away. Teapot and cups, excellent, you retrieve them and set them on the counter.
"I'm not sure how well this tea will turn out," you admit, turning around to see Yuyuko eagerly watching you work. "I'm more of a coffee person myself."
"Coffee?" Yuyuko repeats. "What's that?" She doesn't know what coffee is?
"It's a kind of drink as well, it's made from coffee beans." you say.
"Coffee beans..." Yuyuko says thoughtfully. You can almost see her mind wandering. "So, it's sweet?"
"What? No, it's actually really bitter, at least strong coffee is. You can add cream and sugar to it to make it better, though some people like it black." you reply. You find it kind of weird that she doesn't know what coffee is, even though she's a thousand years old by her claims. How does someone live that long but still look so young?
"About that sword of Youmu's," you say, recalling Yuyuko's words. "Kill a ghost? I don't see how that's possible."
"Neither do I," she says, shrugging whimsically. "It's a mysterious power, which is why it's so dangerous. Spirits and ghosts cut simply vanish and cease to be." She looks a little sullen as she speaks, but perks right up again, waving her arm, sleeve dangling over her hand and everything. "But enough about that! The water's almost ready!"
You're about to say something else when the kettle starts to whistle. Damn, she must be used to this. You take the kettle off the stove for now, letting it cool down a little bit You think about the next step, obviously putting the tea leaves and water into the pot. You spend a few second thinking before the information just comes to you in the form of Alice's kitchen. Seems you're still retaining some ingrained memories from Alice, and of those memories are a particular set of measurements, the ratio of tea leaves to water. The water cooled enough, you approximate the general volume of the teapot and add leaves accordingly, pouring the water in on top of them and placing the top back onto the pot. Now to let it steep, or whatever they call it.
"So, what's this place like? It's the afterlife?" you ask, a little curious about where you are.
"The place is called Hakugyokuro, it's a netherworld for the inhabitants of Gensokyo," Yuyuko says, sounding more like a tour guide. "It's a bit of a special case as opposed to the rest of the cycle of death. Souls from Gensokyo and the outside world both come to Higan, which you've already seen." she continues, giving you a smile that insinuates she knows more than she's letting on. "Souls from the outside are judged by a Yama and sent onwards to heaven, down into Hell, or are put back into the cycle of reincarnation if they deserve neither. Souls from Gensokyo have it differently, instead of being put into the cycle of reincarnation, they're sent to the netherworld." Yuyuko pauses for a moment to make a gesture to the room. "Where they are able to 'live' in peace until they attain englightenment or fade away. Even though this is the world of the dead though, you can still find many living people here. The border between worlds was weakened some years ago, and now it's degraded to the point where it's nearly gone. Many visitors from the outside come here to see the garden and enjoy the occasional festival."
Yuyuko finishes her little speech, floating up to an island counter and resting her elbows on it.
"That sounds pretty weird for the afterlife," you say. "Why would people come to visit? To see if they can find lost relatives here? What about this garden as well?"
"The garden is something you need to see yourself," Yuyuko says, folding her arms and resting her head. You notice now that the rest of her body is floating as well, straight out behind her, as if she was laying on something. "I never thought of those other things. I guess I'm getting senile in my old age." she jokes. You can only shake your head at the comment. Old age, yeah right, she barely looks any older than 18.
"Tea's ready." Yuyuko says, calling your attention back to the pot. You see yourself that the leaves have opened up, and you finally notice the scent as well. You take a few seconds to find a strainer, another bit of leftover memories, and proceed to pour two cups, straining the liquid as it pours. You finish the first cup and turn to Yuyuko.
"Do you want any cream or sugar in your tea?" you ask, a sudden flash of inspiration hitting you. You grin. "Or am I sweet enough?" you add with a wink. Yuyuko stares as you, her mouth open into a small 'o'. You're just beginning to feel a little uncomfortable when she starts laughing loudly. You join in with a slight laugh of relief of your own.
"Oh my, you're quite a charmer aren't you?" Yuyuko says as her laughter subsides, gliding over the island. "It's been so long since anyone's made a pass at me like that." she says as the approaches, stopping mere inches away from you. "I could get used to having you around, you seem like a fun kind of spirit." she says, leaning in towards you. She nearly fills your vision, looking at you with her large maroon eyes. You only notice now that she's as close as she is that she's got a rather considerable bust. You feel the urge to do something, but before you even come to a conclusion, Yuyuko moves back, holding the full cup of tea and taking a sip.
"Wo~w!" she cries, looking at you with surprise. "This is good! You must be some kind of professional!" she exclaims, taking another sip.
"Well, you did help a little." you say, letting what just happened out of your mind and thinking back to her cue on the tea. Yuyuko simply waves a finger.
"The measurements are only half of the equation," she says, holding up the cup. "Timing is the other."
You take a moment to pour yourself a cup as well. It occurs to you that you don't even know what kind of tea this is, but it doesn't seem to matter much to Yuyuko at least. You take a sip from your own cup. It really is good, just as she said. Granted, you're no tea expert, but you know a good taste.
"Oh! I nearly forgot!" Yuyuko exclaims. "I didn't even think to ask you your name."
[] "I'm Nobody."
[] "I call myself Nobody."
[] Give her a fake name. [Write-in]
[] Give her your real name [Write-in]
