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[2] Stay focused! Lady Mima needs you to stay on task.
[10] Stop for a visit. You’ll make it quick…
Why would any of them miss me? I never really made an effort to connect with any of the other devils. Did I really misjudge things that bad? Your cheeks heat up with shame as you consider that uncomfortable possibility.
It feels like sacrilege to dwell on it at all, let alone for as long as you have been. But these were people you knew. Maybe not very well, but they were still acquaintances. You can’t let them continue thinking you had been permanently exorcised like Elis did. If they remember you, even slightly, then you owe it to them to clear things up, don’t you?
“Ten minutes,” you manage out after a long battle with your inner demons. “In and out. Just to let them know that I’m okay.”
A triumphant grin explodes across her face. With how suddenly her newfound vigor took hold, it’d be impossible to tell she was so sentimental seconds ago. “Glad to see there’s still a little bit of the girl I knew in there.”
Grimacing, your fingers dig deeper into the rope. Lady Mima surely understands. I’m just tying up loose ends before getting back on track. This is a necessary diversion.
She would understand that. Right?
The weightless rock suddenly feels very heavy in your arms.
Elis seriously wasn’t kidding when she said Vina had been expanded. What had once been an endless field of marble rubble, cracked pillars, and crumbling archways has been transformed into a veritable cityscape of weathered statues, dry fountains, and winding roads carved with elaborate patterns. All of it is in a state of deliberate decay, constructed to look ancient rather than actually be ancient, no doubt designed to impress foreigners with the illusion of a rich and storied past.
And, at the center of it all, still towering over the ruins as proudly as it had back then, stands the temple. There is no official name for it, or if there is, you’ve never known it as anything other than j
[X] Be thorough.
[X] Donate something.
- [X] Spell Card Rules
[X] Take something.
Maximalism is my passion.
I feel the need to apologize for my sudden and unannounced 2 month disappearance, by the way. Wasn't really feeling Envoy for a moment there, and decided to step away to explore other creative avenues for a while. But I could never leave Koboshi hanging for too long!
Thank you to Catalyst for helping me as a creative consultant. I've made sure not to spoil him on anything significant, but he's chosen not to toss a vote into the main decision regardless for honor's sake. Respectable. And a huge thanks to SkyIronSword for acting as this story's editor since chapter 1. I only just realized I never credited him earlier, and I don't want his contributions to go unrecognized. Without him, you'd be reading a much more typo-heavy story :D
>>215572
>Fuck you Glad you're back
konkonkon ^_^
>>215575
Although this has been lore I've been developing for a while now, extended conversations with other writers on the site may or may not have influenced a few of my decisions. Tamamo, a youkai well known for having gotten shoved in a rock, having some sort of influence in a story where our beloved Mimar got shoved in a rock herself, felt appropriate. :)
>>215585
That'd certainly put a strain on the master-familiar relationship :p
Anyhow, this is a bit of a complicated vote. By my count, we're currently at:
[5] Be thorough.
[4] Be curious.
[2] Be casual.
-[10] Take something.
-[8] Donate something.
--[5] Spell Card Rules
--[3] Sealing Scroll
Initially, since people weren't really picking "donate something", I figured that if it didn't get at least half the votes of "take something" I'd consider it invalid. But seeing that the vote is
[X] Be thorough.
[X] Take something.
[X] Donate something.
- [X] Spell Card Rules
Why is every active story going back to Tamamo?
>Over the years, the stone tails each began to take up new life. They individually transformed into new fox youkai, each retaining an aspect of the original Tamamo-no-Mae
The Tamamo nine? Is this secretly a Fate/stay crossover?
Author’s Note: Full disclosure, this is a crossover with the mobile gacha game Fire Emblem Heroes plus my fanfiction ideas for it. I’ll, of course, try to write this so you don’t need any prior knowledge and explain stuff as necessary, but do ask questions when you don’t understand something. It’s also my first CYOA, so… Let’s see how it goes, huh?
“Begin documentation. Eitri, the Eternal Sage speaking. Preparing soul transfer #3784. Standard operating procedure. The new vessel is male, adult, athletic. Brown hair, brown eyes, fair skin. Alias will be Will Thompson. Beginning after recording end. End documentation.”
“Begin documentation. Loki, the lovely trickster god speaking. Preparing soul transfer interruption prank #0001. Question: How angry will Eitri get when I mess with her experiment? Hypothesis: She will throw quite the fit. Materials: Eitri’s lab equipment, plus one vessel, […]
Sex:
[] Male
[] Female
Age:
[] Prepubescent
[] Adolescent
[] Adult
[…], alias… Well, I suppose I have no say in that… Procedure: While Eitri is unconscious, I will pause the soul transfer process, reprogram everything to put her in the wrong body, then drop her off in my little pet project world. Beginning after recording end. End documentation.”
Author’s Note: So, whenever I thought about starting a CYOA, I always ran into the problem of “Does my idea for this MC feel like it’s the audience’s or the author’s?” Now, of course it should be both, but my fear was that with me at the helm, it might feel like I’m either trying to make the MC so much the audience’s that there’s a choice every paragraph, or so much mine that it might as well not be a CYOA. I thought this might be a happy medium between the two: The MC has a preestablished personality, past, and goal, but you get to pick the appearance and actions to reach the goal. Also, in case it wasn’t clear, in addition to choosing the age and sex, you are also invited to create na
>>215564 is exactly right.
Also, this vote is... not going in my favor... But that's alright! This is just a new challenge to overcome, and from new challenges comes new strength and wisdom!
[X] WAKE UP
She woke up to a pounding headache and a horrendous pain in her chest. Even with her eyes screwed shut, she could still make out a blinking light throbbing in perfect time with her head. Had she gathered a bajillion fireflies all at once or something? Didn’t matter, that was prob’ly what woke her up, so Wriggle hid her face in her arms, only to moan when that somehow made it worse. She briefly considered getting up to turn it off or shoe them away or whatever, but it’d probably stop if she waited long enough. The metal floor might be cold and uncomfortable, but it was less painful than getting up.
Wait. Metal? Dirt she could kinda understand, but what in winter’s name was she doing on metal? Where even was she? There’s no way she just passed out somewhere randomly, right?
Admittedly, it was the sort of thing that could happen to most youkai. Sake and post-incident parties were the sort of crap everyone did, and half of them would eventually wake up whining about hangovers and hunching over the nearest toilet. But not Wriggle Nightbug! She’d always tried her absolute best to avoid alcohol. Because she didn’t like the taste, definitely not because she was as lightweight as her beloved bugs! And if anyone ever saw otherwise, it was because Mystia gave her a dozillion drinks whenever she ate at her izyka- isekai- restaurant!
Just so that was clear. Besides, this couldn’t be a hangover, that should be a pain in her stomach, not her chest!
… unless it was a heart attack. You couldn’t get a heart attack from those fizzy blue drinks, right? Surely Mysty wouldn’t give her so many if that was the case! Reflexively she moved her hand up to touch her chest, and immediately yelped at the pain. It didn’t even have the decency to be the same sort of stabbing pain as her chest; her entire arm felt like pins and needles, and moving it burned.
Gingerly she lowered it back to the ground, trying to massage some feeling into it with her other hand. It helped a little, but her skin felt hot, like her arm had caught a fever or something! Just the l
[X] Takane’s facility did have a back exit into Chimata’s domain. They’d be forfeiting their mechs, but it would completely dodge the inchlings’ trap.
Sometimes, a little sacrifice is necessary to avoid something worse.
...
Unless it brings us closer to Mystia.
[X] Let Sanae have her way, try to blast through.
>215521
Wished Worlds War
WorldWideWeb
im onto you -_- (that cover is fucking GORGEOUS holy shit)
anyways uhh votr
[X] Takane’s facility did have a back exit into Chimata’s domain. They’d be forfeiting their mechs, but it would completely dodge the inchlings’ trap
Eternal has been bugging me to crosspost this here, and since I'm getting close to finish editing the second and third chapter I've complied. Be warned, this is a JJK crossover.
In 2007 stories of spiriting away have been passed down around an isolated Japanese village. In that village, two girls have been wrongfully identified as the culprits behind the recent uptick in disappearances.
This is their story. (Cirno and Dai take the place of the Hasaba sisters)
August, 2007
"Cirno." Daiyousei muttered, hugging her sister closer to her.
Cirno and Daiyousei Hibana huddled close within their stone cell with its iron bars, their blue and green hair intermixing. They had broken through the wood one on their first day, but the guard outside had caught them. It just made everyone else angrier and Daiyousei hadn't been able to fight back when Cirno was out cold. There had been disappearances happening since either of them could remember, people who were called uncles, aunts, and grandparents despite only having a vague relation to the community. Their mama, who Daiyousei couldn't remember the face of. She didn't know if their mama's disappearance was why everyone hated them, she didn't know what they had done wrong. They'd never made anyone disappear like mama had! They didn't do it, someone else was taking people! It made her tear up just thinking about How could they be responsible? Just because Cirno knew what 'Jujutsu Sorcery' was, didn't mean she did anything wrong. Cirno was her big sister, and a part of Daiyousei believed that if they just treated her nicely then they could all get along.
"It's okay, Dai, just follow my lead. You remember what I taught you?"
She nodded, muttering under her breath as she shook. "Take a deep breath, feel the cursed energy, take it into your gut, breathe out, feel it move through you, wrap your body in a shell of cursed energy, circulate it through your brain, and activate your technique."
She nodded, following her elder twin sister's command, remembering the days when they had first s
Mamizou jumped down from the roof, letting the girls jump off her back as she took the lead and approached the main gate. The twins fell back as a pair of guards approached Mamizou. After explaining the situation to the sorcerers, she handed over the bag of summer and the small box containing the remnant of Ryomen Sukuna.
She turned back to the girls, waving. "Whelp, this is where you two get off, come on."
The two girls looked at each other before nodding. Cirno wanted to follow the box, and the place was comfortable enough for Daiyousei, and Okina or her servants–who Daiyousei still didn't understand–wasn't here.
As they approached the gate and Mamizou nodded to them as she walked in the opposite direction, when she passed them, she waved over her shoulder. "And by the way, next time you stay at someone's house, try not to almost give them a heart attack? Kosuzu was scared stiff." The twins flushed red as the guards escorted them inside and Mamizou vanished.
They passed beneath the mansion's gate, its shadow swallowing them all up. Inside other attendants and guards passed them; their movements were too rigid, with the stiffness in their shoulders, the slightly too fast shuffle of their feet, the bags under their eyes, the tension that lingered in the air; and they seemed more odd than under the bright artificial sunlight making the scene bright, and their weakness compared to her. Daiyousei couldn't name it, but there was an invisible pressure weighing down on everyone.
Soon enough they were marched to a central building, through its antiquated heian-era halls that smelled like dust and mildew. They passed from the first floor to the second, and then shuffled into an office room. Compared to the only one they had even seen–the mayor's office from their hometown–it was regal, in an old style but everything looked brand new, almost like no one had even lived in or used it.
Before either of the girls could further parse anything further, the door shut, leaving them alone in the room.
Immediately they went to properly explore their surroundings. Both the walls, desk, and floors
Forgot to mark the above as an update. Also, in other news, I really like Mechamaru from from JJK and the doujin RAINMAKER.
Renko nervously kicked her feet back and forth, pressing her hands against the seat of the car as the streets of Tokyo passed them by. The clean up efforts were moving swiftly, although from what Yukari had said one of the big Jujutsu Clans, the Zenin, were raising a fuss and had sent some people out to bother Reimu and Satoru again.
She had wanted to help, but apparently Reimu had it handled, and Yukari had said that interrogating Kosuzu about the status of the girls had been more important.
Arriving at the same time as the girl's parents had been a surreal experience. There she was a seventeen year old teen working alongside Nanami–a blonde delinquent looking seventeen years old–acting as police officers, doing their best to soothe the parents and interview a witness. For the interview itself, despite Kosuzu only being three years her senior, it felt as if they were decades apart. It was far too reminiscent of how she had been after Koishi had turned her into a sorcerer but she hadn't yet been formally inducted into Jujutsu Society but everything had not yet gone wrong. Apparently she and the leader of some big clan–who was the same age as Kosuzu somehow–had gotten into some trouble the year before Renko had met Reimu and company.
Reimu had never mentioned Kosuzu to her, and the Reimu she described was so different from the one Renko had met even a year ago. Heroic, inspirational, cool, daring, and kind. Renko shook her head. It wasn't that Reimu didn't have those qualities, but to Renko she always seemed untouchably, inhuman. Like she wasn't even real.
Although she had been in the room, she had been unconscious when they had their falling out. And all three of them, Reimu, Satoru, and Suguru all refused to speak of it. Yukari herself was enigmatic, but beneath that she was too reminiscent of Merry for Renko to be comfortable with. Just like how they still didn't like to speak of those who had fallen last year: Marisa, Suguru's youkai Meiling, and for Renko, her best friend, Maribell Hearn.
Either way, the two girls they had been chasing had apparently been caught by Heida no Akyuu–another friend of Reimu's–and so Yukari an
Prologue - Collision Course
The streets of Kyoto were far from quiet. Constant arrays of neon signs and streetlights blocked out the stars above with a thick haze of light pollution. Down on ground, the scenario wasn't much different. Cars lined the streets in all directions like a river of metal and smog.
Despite the constant noise of the Outside World, one building happened to be relatively quiet. It was the apartments attached to Kyoto University, where students were busy sleeping, or cramming for exams while their body was being kept conscious by an influx of caffeine that held them upright like pristine strings on a decaying puppet.
However, lurking in one of these cramped, overpriced boxes was a hardcore gamer in the midst of her evening activities. The only light in her apartment was emanating from her television screen, painting her living room in a muted crimson red with occasional flashes of artificial lightning. Empty drink cans had formed a metropolis of tin and lingering sugar on the kotsatsu, and a half-eaten bag of shrimp crackers had fallen in-between the couch cushions.
Chiyuri herself was sitting cross-legged on the floor, her controller locked in a firm death grip as her eyes tracked the falling moon-like objects that fell from the sky. She had cleared this vertical shooter hundreds of times before, but at this point, she wasn’t doing it for the score. It was a moment of meditation; the muscle memory of dodging and the predictable(ish) rhythm of stage bosses all gave her the illusion of control in her life, which was mostly filled with halffinished lab reports and the constant insane ramblings of the professor.
A familiar “pichuun!” Noise followed a small explosion. She had clipped a bullet, allowing for her opponent to win.
“Tch. Screw you too, final pattern.”
That’s when a loud knocking nearly gave her a heart attack. It wasn’t the polite rap of a neighbor checking up on their friend, this was three rapid-fire impacts that rattled the chain lock and threatened to wake up the entire hallway.
“Chiyuri! I know you’re awake! Your light is on and the spectrum analyzer in the lab registered a phosphor decay signature consi
(Sorry for the short chapter, this is meant to be buildup for the finale).
The room was silent, but the silence spoke louder than words. Renko and Maribel were hovering over the unconscious Sumireko while Renko gave her hand a gentle squeeze. Sumireko’s torso had been bandaged up, but she still suffered traumatic injuries as a result of Konngara’s attack.
Meanwhile, the rest of the group was in a state of unease. Rika and
Rikako were both tending to devices outside, Eirin was ensuring that Sumireko healed properly, and everyone else was trying to maintain some form of order.
“Who… Who even was that?” Sanae asked, her voice wavering as she tried her best not to break down.
“I’m not sure…” Reimu said, receiving a cup of tea from Yumemi. “She didn’t say much, and she didn’t look familiar. Whoever she was, she seemed… angry. Even going so far as to accuse me of genocide…”
“Genocide?!” Chiyuri looked flabbergasted by this accusation. “Where’d she get THAT idea?!”
Reimu opened her mouth to speak, but then froze. Everything came flooding back at once, and she was suddenly crushed under the weight of her past sins. Before the proper formation of Gensokyo, and before the scarlet mist incident… there were no spell card rules. As a result, there was nothing holding Reimu back…
“Yo, I’m talking to you!” Chiyuri’s voice snapped Reimu out of her trance, leaving her gasping and panting. “What’s going on with you? You look like you’ve seen a ghost! …Which wouldn’t even be abnormal for Gensokyo.”
“No, no, it’s just…” Reimu took a deep breath. “I think I know what that woman was talking about.”
Chiyuri looked genuinely dumbfounded. “Wait, WHAT?! You… you actually…?”
“I did what I had to.” Reimu said bluntly. “The spell card rules weren’t a thing yet. It was either me or them. Makai is very different from Gensokyo, you see...”
“Makai…” Eirin spoke up. She had overheard the conversation, but the topic of Makai peaked her interest. “That’s the realm of demons, yes? Where Alice and Byakuren originated from?”
Reimu nodded with a solemn expression.
Prelude: "The Ones Who Witnessed It All"
Yumemi had always been a believer in the supernatural. Her passion shining through in the form of her brilliant mind and engineering skills. She had managed to create all kinds of different devices, gadgets, and weaponry. But most importantly of all, was her crown jewel: the Probability Space Hypervessel. It was a spaceship capable of traversing boundaries and finally exposing the truth to those she viewed as blind; which just so happened to be the very university in which she taught her students.
Despite obtaining undeniable evidence that proved the existence of Gensokyo, something always went wrong with the technology that fudged the results. Whether it be a blurry photograph or altered variables, the result was always the same: nobody could believe the evidence she presented. It almost felt like someone was intentionally sabotaging her, but she could never figure out the culprit. Regardless, her attempts eventually resulted in yhe university president firing her from her job as a professor, leaving her with nothing but her workshop, and with nobody but Chiyuri by her side.
Yet she remained determined. When she dragged Chiyuri along for her most recent Gensokyo expedition, she was confident she could finally acquire the evidence she needed to prove the others wrong, and have the greatest “I told you so” moment of her life. What she wasn’t expecting, however, was more questions than answers, and a disaster that almost resulted in the demise of her and her best friend.
Ever since the beginning of this incident, her views on the world around her have changed significantly. Almost witnessing the demise of her best friend in the inferno that claimed her prized possession taught her that there were some things even she couldn’t accomplish, and that her recklessness will cost her everything. As she’s formed new bonds with unlikely allies, she’s changed her objective entirely; proving Gensokyo’s existence no longer mattered. All that mattered was keeping her friends safe, and protecting what remained of the university she once worked at, even if it were only a few students.
As for Rikako, her backstory begins wit
Section 3: "Their Final Year of School"
Yumemi had prepared herself for a lot of potential scenarios Gensokyo would throw at her. She always knew there was an inherent danger inside of Gensokyo, but she never expected to find another dimension entirely. Especially one as dark and creepy as Makai.
Luckily, when the darkness arrived, Yumemi had grabbed Chiyuri’s arm. She had no idea it would work, but it resulted in the two being separated from the group together, even if the others were nowhere in sight.
“W-What the hell just happened?!” Chiyuri wailed, her expression containing a worried smile.
“I’m not sure…” Yumemi replied while attempting to check her tablet, only to be met with a black screen. “Whatever happened, it’s messing with my equipment. I can’t even turn my tablet on, let alone obtain a reading of our environment.”
“What readings do you need?! Just look around you!” Chiyuri gestured wildly. “We’re in the depths of what’s essentially hell, the rest of the group is gone, and we don’t even know what we’re looking for!”
“While I admit the situation is precarious, panicking won’t help.” She gestures towards the faint silhouette of a crystal fortress up ahead. “I suspect that the rest of the group is likely to regroup at the object that stands out the most.”
“A-Are you sure we should just start wandering around in a place like this…?” Chiyuri stared at the professor like she had lost her mind.
“Do you have a better idea?” Yumemi immediately retorted.
“I guess not…”
And so, the two would begin walking along the decaying, ashcovered pathway until a voice made them stop in their tracks.
“Leaving so soon?”
Mima was leaning against a nearby tree with an expectant smirk, her crescent staff resting beside her.
“You again?!” Yumemi asked, her eyes wide with surprise and a flicker of… recognition?
“What else were you expecting? Yuki? That failure of a magician never could’ve reached my level of education. As for you two… I must say that I’m impressed. Really, I am. When I first started this incident, I had created it as an experiment
Our world is ending, I can see it crumbling around me. I always assumed the end would be something more interesting, like an alien invasion, or maybe even a zombie apocalypse. But life isn't some fantasy novel, it's a dreary life that's been corrupted by artificial greed. Food is made with chemicals nobody can pronounce, half of your friends probably aren't real people, and even the delicious flavor of a strawberry cake… is artificial.
The end is not something that is happening suddenly. There is no sudden astronomical event that renders the earth uninhabitable. Instead, humanity has pushed the earth to its limits, and like a bridge with too many people on it, it’s starting to collapse. Nobody knows how long it will take, but humanity is nearing its end. Just like how a candle that once illuminated its surroundings with a beautiful flame is nearing the end of its wick, and it will soon burn away.
Despite the suffocating smog from the world around me, there’s something deep within my soul that’s telling me to keep hold of myself. Optimism is an underestimated force in this decaying world. Even the darkest of nights will eventually end in sunrise, and that’s enough for me. My hope for a better future keeps me going, and it’s what stops me from admitting defeat.
Leaning over on my bed, I take a quick glance at the framed photograph on my dresser. It’s me smiling while wrapping my arms around a girl in an extravagant cloak and plaid outfit, who happened to be taking a selfie of us. We were never a couple, but we were an inseparable duo throughout high school. Unfortunately, everything changed once we reached university. Her obsession with the occult resulted in her skipping more and more classes. I hardly saw her in person, but when I did, she sounded almost insane. She would ramble on about “ley lines” and “mystery spots.” I could barely even recognize her anymore, and I don’t think even she fully knew what she was talking about.
One day, she made a proud declaration during lunch, claiming that she was going to “expose the esoteric” and prove everyone wrong once and for all. She then took off running out of the cafeteria. I tried to stop he
In the middle of the night, I found myself waking up to the sound of frantic pounding on a nearby apartment door. It’s not my own, but it sounds panicked, and loud. Most people would still walk outside and yell at whoever is doing this, but I’m not one to make a scene.
As a result, I end up staring at the ceiling and waiting for the situation to resolve itself. Much to my surprise, the muffled voices sound… familiar?
“Chiyuri? What are you-“
“THERE’S A YOUKAI IN MY APARTMENT!”
“Wait wha- Chiyuri wait stop LET GO OF ME-“
I can hear the sounds of struggle coming from outside my room, followed up by frantic footsteps moving to the apartment that’s right next to mine. Seriously? Yumemi’s associate lives right next to me? Regardless, the adjacent door is practically burst open, and the two fall uncharacteristically silent for a moment.
“…Very funny. Now where’s this ‘youkai’ you speak of?”
“I-It was right here! She was in my bathroom like some kind of pervert!”
“Admittedly, this one is on me. I shouldn’t have entertained this nonsense. So, forgive me for my lack of sleep clouding my judgement. As for you, please go back to sleep before you suffer any other hallucinations.”
“But-“
“Chiyuri, youkai are not present in the outside world.”
“Ugh, fine! So much for trying to prove you right…”
“I appreciate it, but we can worry about this in the morning. Now go back to sleep before we get a noise complaint. Goodnight.”
Their conversation ends after that, and a single pair of footsteps walks past my door before fading away after the sound of a door closing, allowing me to sleep in peace for awhile.
Within my dream, I find myself back in that same forest where this all began. The same green trees, and the same gorgeous landscape all around me, which I’ve come to know as Gensokyo. Standing beside me under the night sky is Yukari, who is gazing up at the stars with an almost sad expression on her face.
“Hey Yukari, are you feeling alright?”
Yukari turns to me and hides her smile with her fan. Despite her attempts at masking, I can see the sadness in her eyes.
It’s almost time, tomorrow night is when we attempt to enter
Gensokyo for the final time, and maybe even set up a permanent home for the… five of us. Turning over to look at my nightstand, I can see the much more recent framed photo that I took with Koishi. However, one loose end still remains unresolved…
“I haven’t forgotten about you, Sumireko, and I wish that you were here to enter Gensokyo with us.”
I know I sound crazy since I’m talking to a photo, but it helps me feel better. I may never see Sumireko again, but I will keep going and carry on her work. This world may have forgotten her, but I will ensure that her sacrifice will not be in vain.
“I promise I’ll make it to Gensokyo, Sumireko. No matter what happens, I’ll stay with them to the very end, for our sake.”
Isn’t it ironic? I once denied her claims, treated it as hearsay, only to encounter her sister and club which proved her correct. Now I’m left to forever regret my actions towards a girl who could be dead at this point. I think… I’m gonna sleep in a bit longer. Maybe I’ll see her in my dreams.
“YO! MAXWELL!”
Chiyuri’s voice and energetic pounding on my door snaps me out of my depressed trance and causes me to come to my senses, albeit with frantic breathing. Once I’ve calmed down, I open the door. Or, rather, Chiyuri practically runs me over when she dashes inside my apartment with frantic energy.
“OkaysowereallreadybutwestillneedtopackupcertainthingslikecoffeecoffecoffeCOFFEEE!!”
“Woah, slow down! I understand like, maybe one or two of those words?”
Chiyuri (somehow) manages to compose herself, but she’s still buzzing with energy and maintaining an ear-to-ear grin.
“Okay, okay, sorry. So I might’ve been up since 6AM and there might be an almost lethal amount of coffee in my system, but that’s not important! What’s important is that tomorrow’s the big day!!!”
“Indeed it is. So why are you up so early?”
“To help the others prepare, duh! Renko and Maribel are busy making out with eachother-“
“…Seriously?”
Chiyuri bursts out laughing and almost topples over backwards.
“Relax
Sumireko lays motionless on a messy, unmade mattress, save for her breathing, of course. How long has it been since she last saw the outside world? Weeks? Months? Years? Who knows, for she certainly doesn’t. Her apartment rests under a blanket of darkness, a stark reminder of the bills she had avoided paying. In her mind, this would all be worth it. She would move to Gensokyo, live a fulfilling life, and leave behind a legacy that would be remembered.
But has that worked out for her? Absolutely not. She had abandoned her best friend, her club, even her own sister in the pursuit of apotheosis, and for what? Getting beaten up and lectured by a shrine maiden? Her attempts to breach the barrier attracted more attention than she could’ve possibly expected. Even with her occult powers and the occult balls, she was outmatched by the opposing force of Gensokyo.
She was left bruised and beaten, and she had lost her occult balls. One thing was made clear: she was not welcome there. Yet she remained undeterred. One night, while she was researching an occult novel under the soft candlelight, she gazed upon at the night sky, and a brilliant idea came to mind. She would go to the moon. If she could prove that she could handle the vacuum of space, then surely she could handle Gensokyo, right?
And so, she left… hoping to reach her absolution among the stars. Ascending far past human limits without proper protection, she paid no mind to any prying eyes below her. In her mind, this would finally be the proof she needed. This would set her free. Before long, she was surrounded by a vast sea of stars that spread out in all directions. She stared out into space for a moment, and she began to weep. She remembered how much her sister adored the stars, and she remembered the time spent stargazing with Renko.
That’s when she met her. The former greatest magician from a forgotten time… Mima. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, nothing more than a fleeting glimpse into the past. She had made the endless void her final resting place, hoping that she could finally put on one last show. The two beings locked eyes, and a smug grin formed on their face. Two beings that chased their prime, one from Makai, and one
[-] Medical treatment received.
"That's the last one," Reisen said softly, tying off the final bandage. "How are you feeling?"
Sitting listlessly on the gap, you looked down at the results. Your injured tails outnumbered the healthy ones, with no fewer than five wrapped up in makeshift casts. The pride and joy of any kitsune, the mark of their power and experience... well, they certainly marked something, alright.
How did it go this wrong? How?
"Ran? Is there any pain?"
You wrenched your eyes shut, barely holding back the dam of tears. It wasn’t like despair was anything new to you. In fact, it was a foundational experience - your current life as a shikigami began amidst the shattered remnants of your past self’s life, leaving your early days swamped by the emotion… and despite your progress in both control and stability, you could never truly seem to leave it behind. Sooner or later, no matter what tactics you tried or how promising your efforts seemed, you’d find yourself here.
Useless.
A hand gently pressed against your forehead, and you sucked in the breath at the unexpected touch. "There's no fever, at least."
You blinked, realizing the moon rabbit was watching you with open concern... and then her question from before finally registered. You blinked a few more times, focusing until Reisen's face came into view.
"Sorry. Can't feel the breaks, they just ache a little. Painkillers must be kicking in." And definitely not any other reason for your mind to be in tatters.
Reisen nodded, her red eyes leaving gleaming afterimages. "Could you rate it on a scale from one to ten?"
You reached for the glass of water, taking a drink as you marshalled your thoughts. "My tails are all between zero and three. Can't feel those two at all." You pointed in the vague direction of the ones most thoroughly wrapped up. "Main body... call it a four. Six if I move the wrong way."
Your nurse gave you a sharp nod, pulling out a small container of pills. "In that case, some painkillers are in order. I used a light
>>215524
A while back lost soul said that Sumireko's tea party was in the afternoon of day 3, meaning this is probably before Sumireko cooked the frog (part 2b).
I hope we get at least a glimpse of Megumu scrambling to try and figure out what to do with that whole mess
I just realized that the tengu will be the first to hear about Sumireko's fight with Suwako, and Chen's with the tengu...
Considering Chen really wants to help Ran with the incident, she might go off and try to fight Sumireko on her own. I don't think Sumi's above taking a hostage right now, and Seija's sure as hell not.
Reimu panted and held her side, feeling the burn from one of the lasers which had grazed her. Her red hakama were covered in grey ash, and her white kimono was speckled with soot, dirt, and a little blood. She half-crouched, half-knelt on Genji’s back, the giant turtle having shrugged off most of the attacks that had hit him.
Still, she took some satisfaction from being in a better state than her opponent. The one she was fighting was a gargantuan woman, one who simply radiated power. Even so, it was clear that she had suffered; white hair cascading in front of her face, red dress covered in soot and one purple wing bent unnaturally and another bearing an angry-looking tear in it. The remaining four wings
“Looks like your bark is worse than your bite!” Reimu powered through the pain and gave the goddess a savage grin.
“How could you be this strong?” The goddess panted out, shocked at her defeat
“Well, that’s just normal for me” Reimu boasted, puffing her chest out.
Shinki just gave her an unamused look, before brushing the hair out of her face “Anyway, what business did you have in Makai again”
Now it was Reimu’s turn to give an unamused look “Like I’ve been saying! There’s been too many demons coming to the human world lately! You’re the god of their world, so do something about it!”
“Guess I’ve got no choice...”
Shinki grumbled, before raising a hand to her chest. A purple light washed over the goddess, causing her to be rejuvenated. Her Wings snapped back into place, the gash disappearing in an instant. Even her clothes began to sew themselves back together.
Then she raised a hand towards Reimu, wreathed in green light. Reimu was about to get Genji to dodge when the light poured over her. She could feel the pain in her side dissipate, as the wounds across her body closed.
Shinki gave her a slight curtsy, her six wings disappearing as she did so.
“In deference to that strength of yours, I shall do something about it.” she declared.
“Yes, Please do.” Reimu put her hands on her waist, like her mom did when scolding her. She wasn’t entirely sure what def-fer-ence meant, but it sounded like she
Rinnosuke sat calmly, equipped with a needle and thread. He wove blue threads together, repairing an old kimono which had suffered some tears. He cast an eye to the side, seeing a much less certain seamstress. Marisa grit her teeth in focus, attempting to mend a hole in her purple dress, suffered courtesy of Mima. However, once more, she exerted too much force, pricking her finger again and yelling in pain.
Rinnosuke put down his needle with a muted sigh.
“Kourin, I’m bleedin’!” Marisa exclaimed. “How am I gonna recover if I keep getting injured?” She asked dramatically.
The wound was a tiny pinprick, of course. It would heal within a day.
Rinnosuke let the girl peter out of complaints in her own time before speaking.
“Marisa, this is not a fight. You don’t have to use the needle so forcefully.”
The young witch pouted. “But, if I don’t hold onto it, then I’m just gonna drop it. An’ I need to use enough strength to actually get through the clothes” she pointed out.
Rinnosuke shook his head gently. “it’s certainly true that you need to pierce through. But you should let the needle do most of the work. It’s specifically made to do that, after all.” He said dryly.
With a gesture of the head, Marisa moved over a little, letting him sit next to her. “Here, like this” The man said, threading the needle and moving Marisa’s fingers onto it. “Now hold onto the clothe, and weave through” he said, going through the motion with her. One weave became two. Two became three. Three became ten, and ten became twenty. She was in a good rhythm- until she got too hasty, pushed through with too much force again and just barely avoided another pinprick.
Marisa grit her teeth, a quiet growl slipping from her. The half-youkai however, nodded in approval.
“That was well-done, Marisa.” he said, the warmth in his tone even surprising himself.
A shocked expression was Marisa’s answer to his praise.
Haru Hakurei tucked her daughter into bed, leaving the girl with a last kiss to the forehead. Honestly, she would never have expected her little girl to get so worked up over sewing of all things, but she had consistently been visiting Marisa and Rinnosuke for the past fortnight over just that.
Haru soon found herself lying in her own bed. She closed her eyes, trying to get some rest.
But inside of her, she felt something stir. A chill, running through her soul itself. Recognising it as an attempt to possess her body, Haru flooded her body with energy, sufficient to exorcise any ghost or phantom trying their luck. But as she did so, she realised; whatever was trying to take over her body was doing so remotely.
But to take over a person’s body from far away, a youkai would need an incredibly high compatibility with their victim. ‘At that level of compatibility,’ she thought, ‘they would have to almost be-’
As Haru came to that realization, a wave of emotions crashed into her.
Anger, bitterness, desperation. Haru knew those emotions, but she controlled them. Even as they welled up within her chest, she controlled them, and didn't let them overcome her.
She remembered her times, with Keine, with Misumaru, Kasen and Yukari. Akyuu and Eiko, Kotoha and Azama, people she didn’t know as deeply. People she had trained with fight with, grown with. She remembered her mother, stern and dutiful, with Natsu, cheerful but resolute. She remembered her time with Reimu; her brilliant and kind girl. Her lazy and careless girl. Her pride and joy.
Even while weakened, she had the strength to resist any attempt at invasion, because of her own strength, and because of the strength she had borrowed from others. With that, the power trying to claim her body dispelled, leaving her in control of her own body, but left with a deep exhaustion.
And so, Haru Hakurei slipped into a deep, deep sleep.
But something else stirred, far away.
Reimu awoke, the sun hanging high in the sky. She groaned and rolled over. She was never a morning person, though she felt especially bad wakin
Remilia suppressed a sigh as she stared at the woman opposite her. Yukari Yakumo, looking as smug as ever, sat and sipped a cup of tea. Sakuya had declined Remilia’s suggestion to put a little poison in the blonde’s tea- not least because the only poisons they had to hand were Patchouli’s magical reagents. Still, Remilia might have been willing to sit through one of Patchy’s lectures to wipe the smile off this woman’s face.
“Are you listening to me, Remilia Scarlet?” Yukari trilled.
“Yeah, yeah. All according to plan or whatever.” Remilia said dismissively. Honestly, the woman seemed to talk for the sport of it. Signing the woman’s little petition… Subjugating the humans sounded more fun. More fitting for the descendant of Tepes herself.
Yukari pouted, as though she were a 17 year old girl and not a who-knows-how old youkai.
“Aww, don’t be like that little Remi, this plan’s got plenty of benefits for you, as well.”
Remilia couldn’t entirely deny that. It would secure them a steady supply of blood, since apparently they were banned from just going down to feast on the humans that lived in the nearby village. Still, were Yukari out of the picture, then that ban would no longer be in place and she could drink freely.
Yukari walked over, reaching over to pat Remilia on the head. The vampire slapped the woman’s hand away with a force that could turn a human into a smear on the wall. The gap youkai barely moved her arm, simply retracting it with a smirk.
“Well, I’ll see you soon enough, Remi.” She said, vanishing into a gap.
Remilia blew a raspberry at the woman as she disappeared.
Sakuya, having watched the interaction in silence, chastised her. “Now, now mistress, please don’t spray your saliva on the table. It’s unsanitary.”
“If you say so, Sakuya. But that woman… she’s so annoying! I mean, how can anyone be that smug and childish?” She asked her maid. The silver haired woman gave her a strange look at that.
“Is there something on my face, Sakuya?” Remilia asked.
“There isn’t, my lady. I’m just remembering that you’re unable to look in a mirror.” Her maid responded.
3 AM. The Witching Hour.
A time during which the boundary between normalcy and the profane is at its weakest, when safety’s veil over mankind thins to gossamer and allows fear to seep through. Winds start to carry whispers, and the creaks of one’s home bring with them thoughts of unseen presences. At that hour, all that lurk in the darkness are at their most terrifying.
That’s the belief, anyway - one reinforced by generations of sleepless nights. And in Gensokyo, belief is a force of nature in and of itself. Surely then, at this very moment, you must be at your peak. Surely.
Despite your effort to steel your revolve, your breath shivers past your lips. The pressure in your chest is no less oppressive than it was moments ago. If anything, it only mounts further. But you have to be strong, now more than ever. Frightening as it may be to take the first step, you have to do this. For her.
Forcing yourself forward, your foot steps past the torii gate of the Hakurei Shrine. You’re trespassing on sacred ground now. The pressure in your chest doubles, a palpable weight that threatens to buckle your knees. But the night makes you strong. The next step is easier to take, and the step after that even more so.
It gets so much easier to keep pushing onward, in fact, that by the time you’ve made it halfway down the leaf laden walkway, you’re starting to feel rather light and jumpy instead of leadfooted. The fear of getting caught skulking around is a great motivator to hurry up, as it turns out. And so, you skedaddle around the building in your desperate search for her.
Due to the special link you two share, you find yourself naturally drawn toward a grove of cherry trees a short distance from the back of the shrine. You bypass the main shrine grounds entirely, feet guided by an invisible connection. There, half-buried in a layer of pink petals from spring’s end, your gaze settles on a large stone - a paper talisman stuck to its surface. A seal. The seal that contains your master.
The sight is almost enough to bring you to your knees. Couldn’t the Hakurei have thought of
>>215343
Sure, here you go
KOBOSHI'S HIT THE BUMP LIMIT!!!
NEW THREAD TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!
The adventures of our girlfailure continue in the NEXT THREAD: https://www.thp.moe/th/res/215370.html
Our total word count for thread 1 was 43,725, with an average of ~2.6k words per update. Not bad, if I say so myself, though some were certainly wordier than others :P
Koboshi sure has come a long way since prowling around a shrine at the witching hour, hasn't she? Hopefully she can learn to stop beating herself up soon.
You awake into this world with a scream.
Your eye flies open as your vision blurs. Panicking, you quickly stand up only for you to immediately fall over. You feel like you want to vomit.
So vomit you do, as you crawl over to a nearby tree and hold onto it for dear life as you puke whatever was inside your digestive system.
A few minutes pass as your show of repugnance slowly fizzles out. A sigh of relief passes over you as you move closer to the tree and plop yourself onto it for support.
You're breathing steadily now. Your eyes aren't blurry any longer and they adjust to the moon-lit night.
Looking around you realize you are in a forest, an ancient looking woodland to be more specific. The trees that surround your corpse (Did you just refer to ourself as a corpse?). Are old and- wait who said that?
(Me you fool, I am your conscience.)
That... Isn't normal. You think to yourself, one would think it impossible for your own conscience to have thoughts independent of your own, let alone have it's own voice.
(Well, something clearly happened before we woke up here. I don't remember much myself so I'm hoping you could fill me in.)
Ah right, your current predicament. You snap out of your thoughts and take another look at the forest around you.
You don't even know where you are. How does one even find themselves in a forest?
Like a quick clap of thunder however, you suddenly realize something.
Your breathing quickens in panic as it becomes increasingly obvious to you that you cannot recall a single thing before your awakening.
(Shit.)
You can't remember anything.
(Okay look I know this is a bad-)
You can't remember your life before waking up here.
(Let's just take a breather and coll-)
You can't even remember your own name.
(FOCUS.) Your conscience shouts.
(Look, we can't sit all day moping about the fact that we can't remember anything. Need I remind you we're in the middle of a forest?)
I guess you're right.
(Good, now get up and let's get out of here.)
With as much e
Aaaaand now Marisa is wondering if there's a corpse in her house.
