[X] Don't

>>?That much is obvious. I still think that you might be able to trigger an event scene or two for Akira, but you won't be able to get her best end. The way I see it, you'll only be able to get Tsukiyo's proper end.."

>>visit/titjob from busty nurse/mother-figure
>>named Akira

So. Not the dependable, doting classmate. Not the busty nurse, even. Definitely not the tomboy, the teacher, or BROMANCE route. And almost certainly not the imouto route. Because there isn't one, but that's besides that point.

That just leaves the childhood friend.
Do you know what this means, gentlemen? Do you? I think you do.

Targeting systems back online. Readjust vector towards original objective. Target confirmed. All planes, begin operation.

Let the victor...be justice.

>>17621

Well then, I think it's clear that our life and the game are going in two different directions

In short don't take the clue so literally; I should have expected this from Teruyo; bravo.

[x] Don't

That's how you proceed in the game.

The first clue basically means "Focus on the girl you've been spending the most time with" and so far that's Eirin in Shirou's life (but in the game it's the childhood friend)

Whoa, whoa what? So, Kaguya holds our best end? Or is this entire scene untrustworthy in terms of defining our current status because of >>17595 ? I am confuse.


TERUYOOOOOOOOOOO

[X] Don't

I feel this is right...

Inb4 mindrape

[] Let myself be comforted by her

>>17623

No I think that's the curveball he threw us.

The real hint was "Focus on the girl you've been spending the most time with" Which in Shirou's life is Eirin by far. Also plot wise we've been on the Eirin route (Not so sure about romance wise)

[x] Don't

>>17626
That...actually kinda clever and makes sense.
I'm sticking with the more literal interpretation, though, lest I fall back into the old trap of swaying from one side to the other and unable to devote to any of them because I can't tell which way I'm supposed to go.

>>17628

well I'm going with the Eirin flow (The choice in the game I doubt has much to do with things, but choosing not to would show Kaguya that we do have a working brain)

I think this curve ball is among the last anyways.

>>17629
that emotional about it after some odd number of days

[x] Let myself be comforted by her
I will readily admit, I have very little idea what's going on right now. I'm hoping I've just made a pro-Eirin vote.

>>The real hint was "Focus on the girl you've been spending the most time with" Which in Shirou's life is Eirin by far. Also plot wise we've been on the Eirin route (Not so sure about romance wise)

Actually, thinking on it, I don't think it's necessarily "the one you've been spending the most time with". That can be interpreted a number of ways, as there are various characters we've spent considerable amounts of time with. Most recently Silver, for example. In fact, much of our efforts in the past couple threads had more or less been focused on her in some way or another. And looking back on some of the previous threads, we actually had been spending quite a bit of time with Kaguya, as well.

When Eirin came to announce Silver's capture, we were hanging out with Kaguya. Rather than going with Eirin to see what she initially was going to do to the new bunny, we chose to hang out with Kaguya on the porch...which once again was interrupted by Eirin.

Then we agreed to help Eirin, had a dream about her, talked with her the next day, and then walked in on Kaguya getting dressed, got a big ol' chunk of exposition from her about the situation, assisted with treating Silver with Eirin, have a dream about some moon bunny, and then began Operation: Cake Baker.
We share a slice with Kaguya, and hang out a bit, then have another dream.

Then we spent a chunk of time with Eirin, got to grope her to troll Silver, and then had that lovely day out before returning home and giving the new bunny the boot, dooming her to never be seen nor heard from again, possibly because her helicopter got shot down over the Youkai Mountain, leaving no survivors.

Then Eirin consoled us briefly, ran away, and now here we are hanging out with Kaguya again.

I think it would be better to think of it less as "focus on the girl you've spent the most time with" and more like "focus on the girl who the characters and events are most centered around".

So then, why are the things that are happening, happening? Why is so-and-so doing what they're doing, and for whom are they doing it?

That's not an entirely rhetorical question. I'm honestly not sure, myself. Reisen's actions have been more or less to help Eirin. Meanwhile, Eirin has previously made it quite clear that she acts for the benefit of Kaguya.
So then, why were we working so hard to get through to Silver? Why have we been doing what we have been, up to now? Are we doing it to help the person we're helping, or to help the person the person we're helping is helping?

Put less confusingly, supposing Eirin is acting in Kaguya's best interests, meaning Kaguya is the central figure behind anything Eirin is doing here, then what does that mean when we help Eirin? Is the primary reason for helping Eirin just to help Eirin, or to help Kaguya by extension?

...crap, I'm doing that thing again, aren't I?

>>17630
>>17631

The current vote is what to do in the game Shirou's playing (I.e. it's from the game character's PoV); I don't think it really affects the route really, but doing it correctly might impress Kaguya and earn us actual insight.

>>17632

I understand the matter of events, which most of which seem Eirin centered, training in archery, eating with her, sleeping in a room next to hers (and sneaking a small peek at her in her nightwear), and assisting her in her interrogations. (And getting to grope her some in the process)

And as far as the aftermath of the Sliver case, I don't think she should be written off so easily. Eirin told us just to relax.

And the main reason we tried to help Sliver was due to Shirou's built up character and eagerness to help.

And this is why voting on something is so hard; due to Teruyo's style of writing, it makes us voters second, third, and fourth guess ourselves.

All we can do is do what we believe in and see where Teruyo takes us. At least we're settling in a direction; a problem that happened during the first run of this story.

Writing nowish. That is if I can tear myself away from cramming long enough to write. If successful expect something in an hour tops.

>>17633
You don't need to second, third and forth guess yourselves most of the time though. Using a bit of reason, just go with what you think is right. Keep an open mind, state your reasons for doing things and adapt accordingly. I won't change the reason for things or the story based on what you discuss - that much I guarantee. I will, however, try to help or change the execution of certain scenes or plot points to better fit with your world view. You may be mistaken in why things are happening, for example, but you wouldn't be penalized for that harshly. If at all. It's an organic thing that hopefully with more exposition becomes even more obvious. There's no trickery from the writer, beyond the complexities of the characters. They will do things for their own reasons and react in a certain way at a certain time depending on their circumstances.

The PDA is supposed to be a general indicator of moods, status, and disposition as some of you have already realized. It won't tell you why Eirin chose to give you a chance to mess with Silver, but it will hint at her disposition and some potential at interaction.

I know, terribly ambiguous and off-putting, perhaps a reflection of my naïvet? as a writer, but it's the price to pay for non-static caricatures of characters and complex relationships.

>>17632
You may be doing it again, but you're on to something, something I've been trying to clear up for a while now with successive updates.

>The current vote is what to do in the game Shirou's playing (I.e. it's from the game character's PoV)

This is correct. It wasn't the original way the scene was going to go down (it was going to be written in the normal pov) but I changed it for several reasons. Mainly for fun and to try something. To then affect the following dialog with Kaguya as well. Finally to see if I can write smut (I can't). And there might have been something else but, well, occasionally its best to keep certain things to myself.

>>17634

That little bit of smut wasn't bad at all

Though some people were reading TOO much into the choice, so someone set them straight.

Though I think in future encounters with Eirin, no PDA checking; she's just too sharp.

(Now on the other hand during the 'end of the day' period would be better, since it's usually just Shirou in his room)

But I'll go with what I believe is right.

I wonder which theory regarding the one clue the game gave us is correct.

[x] Let myself be comforted by her

~shit

"The other day I ran into an old acquaintance on the street.

I almost didn't recognize him at first -his hair was scruffy and his meticulously well-kept uniform had been traded in for a pair of shorts and a dirty-looking shirt. I was sure he didn't recognize me either. It had been years since graduation, after all.

Like old acquaintances sometimes do, we sat down in a cafe and got up to date with the other's life. Reminiscing about those shared days while we were at it. I couldn't believe how much he had changed.

It wasn't long though until matters got back to me. With what had happened during that last semester was sure to be an inevitable topic. I smiled dryly as he asked what I had expected him to ask.

'What about her?' He asked simply.
'What do you think?'
'Hah, you haven't changed at all. Always with the silent ambiguous bullshit.' I found myself laughing alongside him. I had changed, but being around old friends brought that side out again.
'I have had plenty of instruction and direction since then, you know.'
'So I've heard.'
'Then why ask?'
'I at least you owe you that much.'
'Great. Well, then, I will ask again; what do you think?'
'Hm.' He drank his coffee with a smug look. He was toying with me like the old days. To be expected to a man who was practically my brother. 'I'd say things worked out. You look happy.'
'Happy? Me?' I laughed, grinning stupidly afterward. 'Why would I be happy?'
'Because despite it all you chose the right thing in the end.'
'And am happy because of it?'
"Geez I dunno, are you happy?' He asked, raising his eyebrows.
'Take a look at my life, and what I've lost and acquired, and then you'll know.'

I grinned again, thinking of what awaited me when I came back home. It was certainly a special lot in life."

You read as the last few lines are voiced, clicking to get on with it. An ending CG shows up, a fitting end for all that the story was about and the credits begin to scroll past the screen. A soft, vocal song accompanies the credit roll, and images of the various heroines appear as well.

You stare at the main menu for a few moments before flexing your hand and yawning.

It's late. Early morning in fact, and the sun will be coming up all too soon. You played all night, and finish one of the many routes in the game. Your feelings on the game are a bit mixed up, with your brain too busy demanding sleep to process things properly. It's definitely time for bed.

You yawn again, powering down the computer. You look at your side, seeing Kaguya sleeping peacefully within arm's reach. She was a lightweight. Despite all of her gung ho attitude earlier and seemingly burning desire to play through the game she still quickly capitulated to sleep.

You hope you didn't bore her. She was silent most of the time, just watching. "Caught up in the story?, or so she told you. You're not sure that's the complete truth. Then again, you tried to get caught up in the story as best you could. Pretending that the story was intrinsically interesting took away from the tension of playing a male-oriented game with your buddy.

Those scenes were inevitable. Terribly exciting, but frightening in their own way. You don't know what you would have done if Kaguya had said something then or had pointed out your physiological reaction. You hadn't even been brave enough to sneak a peek at her face during those moments, you weren't sure what you were going to see.

With the computer off, the room is pitch dark. It's time to go to your room and get some sleep. Something is holding your leg down, keeping you from getting up. You grope around in the dark and discover the culprit. Even though she's sleeping peacefully to your right, you find that Kaguya's hand is tightly clamped around your leg, impeding all movement.

The weariness is too much for you to fight. Instead of trying to wriggle out or otherwise disturb her, you give in and lie down on the spot. You wish you had some sheets though, it's strange to sleep so exposed. It's manageable. "Goodnight buddy."

When you wake up, the first thing you notice is that Kaguya is gone. The second, the annoying light of day bearing down you. And the third (probably the first thing you should have noticed in retrospect) ? the stunned bunny standing at the door.

"Oh hello."
"Hello." Reisen replies meekly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb."
"You didn't." You rub sleepiness away from your eyes, "Where's Kaguya?"
"Conferring with Master, I believe." I noticed that she was holding a bag in her hand.
"Doing the cleaning? Sorry, I'll get up right away."
"That's alright, I can wait. I thought it was empty, I didn't know that you had spent the night."
"That's awfully indiscreet of you to say." You use a line from the game without realizing it. You get up, "Sorry, didn't mean anything by that. Fell asleep here after an all-niter playing."
"You're free to do as you please." She reminded you awkwardly.

You might have said something else weird as you vacated the room and headed to the bathroom. The bunny girl seems to be as off-balance as you are though, which is massively suspicious. If you were a nosier person you would have just had to ask about what she did last night.

After taking care of business and freshening up, a quick check of the PDA reveals that its already early afternoon. You slept a generous amount of hours. Definitely missed lunch. A gut feeling tells you that there's something up with Kaguya meeting Eirin. It's something that involves you as well, and you'll have to go find out what it is eventually.

[] May as well go ahead and do that now
[] Sit and watch Reisen do her work
[] Organize your thoughts

[X] Organize your thoughts

[x] Organize your thoughts

[x] Organize your thoughts.

Barging in on their meeting wont accomplish much.

[X] Organize your thoughts.

[X] Organize your thoughts

[x] Organize your thoughts

Shirou's head is more of a mess than it normally is before he tries to go into meeting he should straighten out.

I can presume that Shiro choose "Don't"? and got the best end?

Now to see how things go in Shirou's life

[] Organize your thoughts

[x] Organize your thoughts

There's something strange about just sitting back and just thinking, but it's something that you feel is appropriate under the circumstances. You retreat to one of the most peaceful places that you know, the inner courtyard, and sit down in a quiet corner. There's no need to disturb Reisen or anyone else for that matter right now.

That said, why you're stopping to collect your thoughts isn't that obvious. A reexamination of why things happened the way they did with Silver? There's an issue that you've tried to steer away from. But you'll stop deluding yourself, it's something that's worth thinking about. And there doesn't seem to be a more appropriate time than right here, right now. Other thoughts about the aftermath of it all surface, but those will be dealt by you later.

The pleasantly warm afternoon is an appropriate backdrop to this process. There's silence, save for very occasional chirping of birds. The arrival of a new season is reflected not only in the average temperature each day, but as well in the sky and trees. With most of your time spent indoors, though, the seasons and climate is just a sideshow to your life.

As much as it pains to admit, that's what the incident with Silver was. A sideshow. Eirin no doubt got what she wanted from the rabbit already, wasting far less time than you did. You realize that your inclusion into the equation was just a way of humoring you. Well, maybe she did honestly hope to have you accomplish something, but that's overshadowed by her admitted ?preparation for all contingencies?. It was, in its own way, an act of charity. And you realize that that may make it all the more depressing.

It was a way of throwing you a bone. You, who with much bravado and self-confidence declared that you wanted to be involved with things and help out. That anything that they went through, you wanted to go through. You promised as much to your buddy, and you can't remember now, but surely said similar things to Eirin. You at least remember telling Eirin that you were going to confidently stay the course. That might be it.

The aftermath of this isn't obvious yet to you. But you did try your best every step of the way. You got Silver to react at times. Sure, that wasn't good enough, but it was something. It was proof that you were willing get your hands dirty. Perhaps not dirty enough though. Maybe that's what kept you back. With all your determined talk, you weren't very much ruthless. As cynical as the reasons for being nice to the rabbit might have been, they didn't produce much in the way of results. You're not sure if that leaves any room for regrets. You think you acted along with your conscience, but that may just be a self-indulgent justification. You know that you were willing to go further. And the justifications for doing so would have been easy.

But then again, your buddy didn't seem to mind your failure. Yesterday, appearing suddenly like that, she forgave you of any failings. Actually, she made it seem like there were no failings to begin with. You haven't talked about the subject, just your moping about, but you could feel that she knew. It wasn't something you felt like asking her though.

Come to think about it, she came to you at the right time. You were wallowing in self-pity and defeat and she appeared. Ordered you about, and ultimately distracted you from all that. The results of which was a fun night spent doing lighthearted things. Strange to qualify playing eroge with your best friend as 'lighthearted', but it was for all intents and purposes, something comparatively easygoing and fun. Never mind the challenges that entailed reading erotica in her presence.

Or having a pair of panties in your pocket.

...that's not something you want to think about. The potential for distraction that that holds is disastrous. There's a primal physiological need of yours that hasn't been fulfilled in quite some time. It's not something that you want to acknowledge right not.

Point was, that even with some slight quirks in the game plan last night, it was fun. Not the most fun you've had in your life. Not the type of fun that most people would enjoy either. But it was fun enough to make you feel loosened up and make you smile. That's enough. With dedication and obsession, it's easy to forget what that fun actually is supposed to be like. Kaguya did you a favor.

You suppose that that means that your buddy knows you better than you give her credit for. Or, if it was a fluke and she was just bored, fate has nice timing. Either way, you owe her thanks.

A single drop of water hits you squarely on the forehead.

You look up. The sky that was clear when you first sat here was now overcast and the clouds threatened rain. A few scattered drops of water began to fall. Rain forced you out of the courtyard and into the corridor. How annoying, just when you were getting into the groove.

It's probably time to go see Eirin, if only to go and see Kaguya.

You knock on the door to the clinic. "Come in."

"Wait. What?" You open just in time to hear Kaguya exclaim. In a matter of what could only be microseconds she changes positions to and faces the wall. Eirin is holding a stethoscope and is smiling placidly. "Good afternoon."
"Good afternoon." You reply in kind, not sure what it was you just witnessed. Something that took Kaguya several seconds more to sort out before she turns back to you, looking slightly flustered. She greets you, but strangely. You just let it go, instead choosing to concentrate on Eirin, "Are you feeling any better?"
"I'm fine, thank you." She keeps on smiling happily. Is this another one of her good moods? "You came at the right time."
"I'm glad. I heard from Reisen you were here." You look at Kaguya, who looks now a little bit more composed. Her dress is still loose around her shoulders.

"Eirin has big news." Kaguya offers, forgetting her earlier awkward conduct.
"Indeed I do." The taller woman states, "I can now safely say that one of my scenarios has come true. And we can act in response to it."

"Did she share information then?" You connect the dots.
"Somewhat. She was cooperative after all. But it's not just her. My other gambit paid off and I've got reliable information about what's been going on." She smiles. "But we can go over that later. I'd like to brief everyone at the same time about what's going on and what our course of action will be." She alludes to some sort of meeting later on tonight in the dinning room.

"You should stay here. I've got to give you a checkup." Eirin proclaims, lifting up the end of her stethoscope.
"Eh, why?"
"Just a precaution. You spent a lot of time with our guest, and I fear that she may have had something up her sleeve that I wasn't at first a ware of. If it's there, it's nothing too serious however."

"Then you wouldn't mind if he came along with me for a bit?" Kaguya surprises Eirin with her question. Eirin frowns.
"I'd rather he not go."
"But you just said it's nothing too serious, if it's there."
"Yes, but it's best to prevent rather than cure. Taking a look now won't hurt."
"It'll be fine." Kaguya is strangely obstinate.

This is strange. The two women are in a silent but determined opposition to each other. It's the first time you see anything like this. At least on this level. You get the feeling that whatever it is that Kaguya wants, it'll take more time than just 'a bit'. You're sure that asking Kaguya whether or not her thing can wait until after the checkup would result in a crucifying gaze. And you know that it probably wouldn't be short anyways, you'd stop to talk to Eirin about things afterward since you have the chance.

[] Health comes first. Stay for the checkup and what comes after.
[] Postpone indefinitely and go with Kaguya

[x] Health comes first. Stay for the checkup and what comes after.

With what we've just learned (the thing with Silver nearing resolution), it seems like we're coming down to the end here. Time to choose.

[x] Anemia option

I can't fucking choose.

[x] Postpone indefinitely and go with Kaguya

And thus, the final battle begins.

Who will win? Kaguya voters or Eirin voters?

We shall see...

>>17658
[x] Anemia Option

Crap, you had forgotten about your convenient plot-related KeyAIDS until now! Feeling woozy to the extreme, you sway, your legs buckles, and tumbling down to the road to
unconscious -land you go. You hear at your senses' periphery a cry of surprise and a two pairs of hands that reach out to catch you, falling short.

Soft and squeezable. Reisen? You open your eyes fully expecting to see the moon bunny tending to you. After all, you had passed out, and you likely ended up in one of the clinic's stiff beds as a patient again.

But no, to your surprise you find that, while deliciously squeezable, the person in front of you is Eirin, holding a moist sponge to your forehead. "You've lost a lot of fluid." You nod, "The communists probably stole them, they wish to pervert my precious fluids." She nods as well, smiling, "I know. That's why Kaguya and I have been taking care of you. So that you recover properly."

You crane your head around and see that Kaguya is standing by your bedside, looking worried. Hey, she's wearing something really inappropriate! But devilishly sexy. That's practically see through! You reach out to touch her, feeling her side through the satin texture. "Oh Shirou!" She moans out your name at your touch. You smile, realizing that Eirin is also dressed in a similar fashion. "I was so worried about you, so much that I'm prepared to give myself wholly to you now."

"Not so fast, princess." The busty doctor interjects, "We discussed this. We each had equal rights. I get a go, you get a go. You get a go, I get a go. And Reisen watches." She smirked, looking at the shadowy corner. "You like to watch, don't you Udonge?"

"Yes mistress..."Reisen's panting were now audible to you, and you saw that sitting in a corner, she was having a go at herself at full throttle. She was wearing something similar to the sexy camisole that your two ladies were, but hers permitted easier access to her crotch and other erogenous zones. Something which she exploited deftly, moving her fingers quickly and desperately. "Please begin whenever you're ready."

"Alright. Good girl then." Eirin smiled. "See, princess? I told you we had a wonderful and understanding girl in our midst?"
"Yes, you're right Eirin." Kaguya replied, all the while beginning to straddle you on your bed. "And watching her with that other moon rabbit earlier was positively exquisite. Her drive sure is high."
"I agree. You can't teach techniques like that." Eirin began to move her hands to your nether regions, working in tandem with Kaguya to stimulate you. "Maybe I'll have her come in and play with Udonge some more." A devilish grin formed on her face. "Or maybe have the both of them join us."
"That'd be much fun, wouldn't it?" Kaguya leaned forward, allowing you to appreciate the transparency of her lingerie fully. "You seem like you'd enjoy it, wouldn't you big boy?" With a seductive smile, she finally began to do her magic. Magic that you would enjoy for the rest of your (extremely) busy, intense, but equally happy life.

HAREM END (III) OBTAINED
CONGRATULATIONS.

...

Seriously though, just flip a coin or something if you're stuck. Or think what benefits going with either would have right now. It's not like this is [x] Declare your undying love to <insert name here> or anything.

[X] Postpone indefinitely and go with Kaguya

[x] Health comes first. Stay for the checkup and what comes after.

First health in important, and second... Eirin's doing it.

Kaguya had us last night as well.

>>17661

I didn't think any author would respond to it... lol... Then again maybe I missed an older CYOA where it had been done as elaborately.

seriously though it's nice to see things moving along

>>17661
When you put it that way, I feel even more inclined to be indecisive wuss.

Anyways, coin flip came out heads. Top option is a go.

[] Health comes first. Stay for the checkup and what comes after.

[X] Postpone indefinitely and go with Kaguya

Assuming the exam isn't simply some pretext, I get the feeling ignoring it would possibly lead to some unfortunate thing later on.

But still, there is but one path for me.
...though, if there were a chance at some more Moe Moe Eirin my resolve might waver, somewhat.

[x] Health comes first. Stay for the checkup and what comes after.

nothing wrong with that

[x] Health comes first. Stay for the checkup and what comes after.

Oh this please.

Well, I have to go out now, and I'll be back in about three hours' time. I guess I'll start writing then if I don't have anything to do. There is a majority here, but feel free to vote as you like or comment anyways.

>>17669
Not moe moe, alas, not with the way things have been between you two.

[x] Postpone indefinitely and go with Kaguya

>>17672
Oh, I know, and that is what is so unfortunate.

Hopefully one day we shall discover the secret method by which we can get to the gooey moe moe filling that is surely hidden inside.
Or, failing that, the proper pharmaceuticals to get the same basic effect.

[x] Health comes first. Stay for the checkup and what comes after.

>>17672

Then again Moe Eirin is almost an oxymoron. She is after all best known as a classy yet very competent lady. The near impossibility is part of the appeal.

Just as well; in the main story I'd rather have Shirou get taugh sex ed by her.

[x] Health comes first. Stay for the checkup and what comes after.
Makes more sense from my perspective, but then I'm a health nut.

"I might as well get this examination over with. I don't like the idea of something being wrong with me without me knowing about it."
"Of course you don't." Eirin smiled. You see that Kaguya doesn't react very well to your decision, namely - not at all. She looks a bit pensive and confused as to what to do.
"Should I sit?"
"Please." Eirin remarks to Kaguya, "Princess, please step away from the examination table."

"Right." She takes a few steps away from the table. "I'll stay here if it's alright."
"Examinations tend to be private affairs. Patients usually want confidentiality.."
"I don't mind if she stays." You offer your opinion. You are pretty sure that Eirin isn't going to do anything exotic to you. Plus, it'd otherwise feel like you're kicking her out.
"It's your call." Eirin indicates to the table, "Take off your top and sit down."

In truth, the examination is nothing more than a simple routine physical. A look at your throat and ears, testing your reflexes, taking your blood pressure and all of that stuff. You do it easily, while Kaguya watches it all, wearing an indecipherable expression. The only complaint you have about the examination is that Eirin at one point begins to brusquely and firmly grope your torso.

"I'm checking for abnormalities." She tells you with a straight face as she checks around. It hurts slightly, having your organs felt through your skin like that, but it doesn't last long. Eirin doesn't find what she was looking for. A definite good sign, you presume. "It looks like you're clear. I'm giving you a clean bill of health."

"That's great news." You're glad that there's nothing wrong with you. "What were you looking for anyways?"
"Any physical abnormalities. I can't confirm it, but there might have been some sort of contaminant introduced by our guest. This would have had clear physical manifestations by now."
"And you don't need a sample of my blood?"
"Not for this. Although if you're offering, I'd be more than glad to take a pint or more."
"Tell you what, I'll think about it." You laugh nervously, trying to move away from the subject.
"Fine." She moves on, "Have you continued to have any other problems?" She asks discreetly, apparently avoiding being overheard by Kaguya. Problems? You think back to the last thing you consulted with her about.
"No, nothing of the sort." The dreams are gone. And everything else is good.
"Good. Keep yourself active, you might need the energy in the near future."
"Pardon?" Her cryptic remark catches you off balance. She's not joking or flirting with you as she sometimes does during these occasions.
"It's just some friendly advice. You can put your shirt back on now."

The whole exam took much less time than you thought it would have. You put your shirt back on, noticing that Kaguya is still standing uneasily off towards an end of the room. She looks to the door, probably trying to make up her mind whether or not to leave.

"Is there anything else?" You ask.
"Not right now. I'll call for you in the evening some time. Or the morning if I get too caught up here."
"I take it you're busy then?"
"Relatively." She looks at you. And sees right through you. She adds, "If you wish to discuss something in private, I can make time."

[] Talk to Eirin
[] Leave her alone for now
--
Although it was supposed to be short(er) updates and faster as well, my schedule is officially out of sync. So don't know when I can write next. Hopefully in no time at all.

[\\!/] Leave her alone for now

Eirin sure knows how to check meat....

[x] Leave her alone for now

Otherwise Kaguya would get angry.

[x] Leave her alone for now

[X] Leave her alone for now

[x] Leave her alone for now

Might as well see what Kaguya wants, that and we don't have anything uber important to talk to her about. (Sure that cryptic hint is interesting, but I'm don't think it's quite worth blowing off Kaguya just to find out if she'd answer your question or not)

>>17684
HOLY SHIT I FUCKING LOLED

[X] Leave her alone for now.
[X] Go with Kaguya.

>>17678
[+] Leave her alone for now

More to the point, we don't have much to talk about with her right now that she won't be cryptic about with us later. Unless someone can correct me.

[x] Talk to Eirin

Is not Eirin's route go?

>>17688
I am with you

[x] Talk to Eirin

>>17688

Thing is I don't think this is a particularly important choice, at least not enough to make blowing off Kaguya worth it.

Sure we could ask about Sliver, the cryptic hint, but I don't think we'd get too much for her on either matter at this moment.

So I think we should see what Kaguya wants.

[x] Leave her alone for now

I'm still a few threads behind, but was that change with the PDA, now showing only the bottle icon, it has been bothering me. Has it ever been explained if the bottle was really a medicine bottle, or a bottle of hourai elixir? Because from what I've seen so far in the 7th and 8th thread, it sure as hell doesn't look like an Eirin route has happened.

Of course, I still have 4 threads to catch up with, so important things may have happened and I'ms till going to see them.

>>17692
If you want to think of it like that, then you may as well compare it more to a Persona 3 Social Link rather than a "character route."

I'm personally paying no attention to the app.. YakCorp must be trolling its user base with that thing.

[x] Talk to Eirin

>>17693
Are you implying that products produced by YakCorp and its subsidiaries may be designed without the customer placed as a priority? I assure you that YakCorp products have been rated highly by all the relevant committees and agencies, and have been awarded numerous awards for excellence. At YakCorp, it's our mission to make products that make our clients' lives easier and more productive. We are proud to say that according to surveys, customer satisfaction with our products is routinely over 90%!

We're so confident in our vision and design, that we're willing to take any disbelievers and give them a private and personalized tour of our corporate headquarters and show them just how our vision works. If you're still not content, our illustrious founder and CEO herself would be more than glad to dispel your doubts and disbelief about us.

This is all because we believe in a smart solution to complex problems. This is what makes us pioneers and industry leaders.

And, on that note, this humble serf employee will get to writing and updating right now.

>>17680

changing vote
[x] Talk to Eirin

>>17698
Nothing but a miserable pile of corporate lies. Stop oppressing the common man, you capitalistic hag.

Kaguya leaves before you do, walking hurriedly. You look back to see Eirin looking amused at something that you're not getting. If only you could read her half as well as she can read you...

That's something of a frightening thought, actually. You're definitely not ready to begin to understand what makes that woman tick. No one is. Maybe in another life, if you were a wiser and more capable person. There might be one day someone capable of reaching her level. But right now, you're more concerned with someone not quite at her level.

"Hey, wait up." You have to quicken your pace as Kaguya has, almost instantaneously in the time it took you to leave the clinic, arrived at a corner. It takes effort to catch up to her, she effortlessly moves quickly as if gliding down the hallway. "What's with the rush?"
"There's not rush." She groans. "No rush at all."
"Then what's with the fast walking?" You try to get ahead of her. She picks up the pace, moving faster. You're not sure what to make of this. She's not even really going anywhere specific, moving randomly down the hallways.

"What's the matter with you?" You grab her arm and try to stop her.
"Ah!" She pulls hard, looking at you with a look of displeasure. She frowns and tries to shake your hold off.

Reminds you of what happened yesterday with Eirin. Sure, that was a completely different reaction, but you can't help but compare and contrast the two.

"Really, what's the matter with you?"
"You're an idiot, that's all. Now let go!" Her reply is shocking. You let go.

"Buh?" You space out for a few seconds, trying to process what she said. You're an idiot. That's what she said.

(n) idiot, imbecile, cretin, moron, etc

That's you.

But why?

Is it because you don't know why that you're an idiot? That seems like a slippery slope of logic, potentially recursive as well. Maybe it's because you're an idiot that you almost don't notice her slipping away again.

"H-hey, buddy, wait up!" You stammer, giving chase. "Why am I an idiot?!" Everything was peachy before. You were a designated normal person you think. Not an idiot. One thing comes to mind. But that's silly. And she would have brought it up before. If only to tease you about it at first. "Is this about the game? I'm sorry that I played without you, but you told me that I should go ahead and try to finish it. So I did."

Somehow this interaction feels one-sided. Must be your idiotic nature surely. You do little more than chase her to the dinning room, asking questions that are left answered.

"Geez, can't you tell me what's wrong? I'm sorry if I did something wrong, I'll make it up to you. If I made the wrong choice we can load up the save and..."
"Oh just shut up." She pouts, finally stopping by the table. "Who cares about that game and its big cast of busty heroines?"
"Err-"
"Hey, you!" She shouts at rabbit circling around the table. "Shoo! Scram!"
"Whoa, no need to be mean to the little fellow." The startled rabbit hops quickly to you and, sensing your sympathy, takes refuge on your shoes.
"I don't mean anything by it. It's just that if unsupervised they can cause all sorts of trouble. And I don't want them ruining things."

You pick up Raphael. The poor thing seems really frightened. "He just wanted to see what was on the table, that's all. He wouldn't do anything to it."
"How do you know?" There's a confused look on her face. And then on your face as well, how do you know? You look at the rabbit, it stares back with its red eyes. You put him down gently and he hops out to the corridor. Ah, you must have seen the covered dish on the table and just assumed.
"It just felt like that was the case. But, yeah, what's up with you? You're acting weird."
"I'm not acting weird. You're acting weird. Now sit down."
"Eh?"

Kaguya leaves a spot for you where the plate is, sitting at the side. You assume that she wants you to sit there.

"What's all this about?"
"I told you before, shut up." She pouts again, looking a bit distressed. You sigh, not wanting to be abused any more and do whatever she says. She's in a fey mood for sure.

When you uncover the plate, you find that it's a dish of noodles with mainly bamboo shoots. Your stomach grumbles upon the sight of food. You haven't had lunch yet, so its a matter of course. Following Kaguya's indirect urging, you dig in and eat. It's not bad, and it hits the spot. A bit lukewarm though.

You do wish that your buddy stopped giving you those strange looks. It's as if you're a bearded lady at a carnival or an alien life form of sorts. Maybe that's what Eirin was checking for - chestbursters. No, that's just silly. Even for your extensive imagination you find that it's just plain ridiculous. You haven't seen any facehuggers around anyways. Nor do you ever hope to.

Still, you're feeling really self-conscious here. Anyone would be after being called an idiot and whatever and then being stared at. Your buddy is a little insane. Even scared a poor defenseless bunny. She says it's not the eroge, but you wonder. Even though she's your best friend, you can't read her at all when she's like this - or when she tries to hide her feelings.

[] Ask something useful - ?Any idea what Eirin is going to 'brief' us about?"
[] Try to talk about the eroge some more
[] "Food's nice, aren't you going to eat as well? I don't mind sharing if you missed lunch as well."
[] Jostle her - ?Are you acting like this because you found out that Mokou's carrying my child??

[x] Jostle her - ?Are you acting like this because you found out that Mokou's carrying my child??

[x] "Food's nice, aren't you going to eat as well? I don't mind sharing if you missed lunch as well.."

hahaha, good.

[x] Jostle her - ?Are you acting like this because you found out that Mokou's carrying my child??

If this is what I think it is, than all I can say is AWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.

>>But, you know, things should be reciprocated - It'd be nice to have you cook something for me. Even if it's just for the novelty value."
>>?I'll pass, thank you very much. I'm the mistress of the house, not a cook." You think that that's her way of humbly admitting she can't cook. Well, as humble as she can be sometimes.
>>?Duly noted. It's just an idea. It would be a nice surprise, that's all I'm saying.."

Kaguya wanting us to go with her somewhere with some urgency, Kaguya getting miffed when we do not, an angry Kaguya leading us to some food that had been cooling a little bit, and now Kaguya watching attentively while Shirou eats it.

You should be able to solve this. If you cannot, you do not deserve to be called Kaguya's BWESTEST BWUDDY IN DA 'HOLE WIDE WORLD.

[X] CONNECT THE FUCKING DOTS, SHIROU
[X] Express your heartfelt appreciation for the good meal, and how much it really hits the spot.
[X] Suggest she join you. Insist upon it. After all, as good as a meal someone made for you or you made for them might be, it's even better when it's shared with that person.

...though might that be pushing it too much?

>When you uncover the plate, you find that it's a dish of noodles with mainly bamboo shoots. Your stomach grumbles upon the sight of food. You haven't had lunch yet, so its a matter of course. Following Kaguya's indirect urging, you dig in and eat. It's not bad, and it hits the spot. A bit lukewarm though.

;_;

FUCK

[x] Ask for seconds.
[x] Apologize like the insensitive prick you are.
[x] "We'll cook something together next time."

>>17700

BEGONE COMMUNIST SCUM

[\\!/] Ask for seconds.
[\\!/] Apologize like the insensitive prick you are.

[x] Ask for seconds.
[x] Apologize like the insensitive prick you are.
[x] "We'll cook something together next time."

[x] Ask for seconds.
[x] Apologize like the insensitive prick you are.
[x] "We'll cook something together next time."

well that didn't go well... though we never expected Kaguya to try the next morning. And we didn't know she went and cooked something for us. If that was the case, the votes might have gone differently. Still it's a good thing we didn't blow her off even more. (Sure I'm all for the Eirin route, but we shouldn't damage our friendship too badly)

[x] Ask for seconds.
[x] Apologize like the insensitive prick you are.
[x] "We'll cook something together next time."

inb4 she accuses Shirou of being greedy next in her bit of anger... ;_;

Kaguya is disappointed with you

>>17710

I also noticed how Kaguya's doing some very typical (of women) passive agressiveism, though some of it is obvious when she yelled at Shiro for mentioning the game ("a bunch of busty heroines!"), suggesting envy of someone busty. (and we all know who that is)

but it strikes me as odd how she choose now to show such traits when during the course of the story she had a bit of tomboy streak.

Perhaps it might be better in the future to give Kaguya time to cool off and perhaps ask Eirin about what happened.

Then again it might be the wheels of fate turning.

[x] Ask for seconds.
[x] Apologize like the insensitive prick you are.
[x] "We'll cook something together next time."

[+] "Food's nice, aren't you going to eat as well? I don't mind sharing if you missed lunch as well."
And then something goes wrong and pretty soon everyone is eating and complimenting on the dish.

>>17721

That's assuming anyone comes to lunch, which considering how things can be as of late, not a good bet.

Writing soon. Or rather wanting to write. But I need to be a nice little codemonkey and finish what I'm working on first. Which theoretically should only be a couple of hours, but things tend to go awry during debugging. Sorry, but I have to do this whether I like it or not.

>>17716

But Mokou is just as flat as NEET.

>>17725

I was referring to Eirin. And neither are flat, just on the small side. If Kaguya envies anything about Mokou it'd be how lively and warm Mokou can be.

The scrutinizing gaze is pretty intense. It's like you've been stripped completely naked, placed in the middle of a stadium, and asked to sing something. Fifty thousand spectators all bearing their penetrating eyes on your exposed states. This speaks volumes about your buddy's character. Or the many ways she affects you.

"Um, the food is pretty good.."

That sounds extremely insincere coming out of your mouth right now. You're aware. You're lucky your voice didn't squeal like a prepubescent girl.

There's still a bit of food on your plate, so you eat another mouthful as Kaguya changes back and forth between further scrutinizing and feigning disinterest.

"Really, really good." You pat your stomach with a weak smile. "So good I'm probably going to have seconds after I finish this."
"There's no more." You words have a strange effect on her. She looks pensive as she talks to you again.
"Ah, really? That's a shame." Even though you didn't especially want seconds to begin with, being told there is no more makes the food seem even tastier.
"I didn't think you would eat that much... or like it, so I only made a plate's worth."
"I see." You have confirmation for a sneaking suspicion of yours. "So you made this, huh?"

Given the harsh words she had earlier for you, you expect her to lash out at you just about now.

But instead, there's only silence from her. It really isn't an exaggeration to say that she's acting strange. It's up to you to move things along.

"I really meant it when I said it was good." You scratch your head, thinking of what to say to her. "And I'm sorry for not coming earlier. You're probably upset that I let it cool down a bit I imagine. It's still awesome." And if you keep talking you'll only end up repeating yourself. "If you had told me I would have come straight away." Probably true enough.

"Well, whatever." She acts dismissive. There's a general haughtiness in her moves that you hadn't seen before. It only lasts for a few seconds, before she returns to a more neutral attitude. "There's not much that done about the past."
"Next time I'd like it if we cooked something together then. It's more fun that way, right?"
"There won't be a next time. This is a once-per-lifetime thing.."
"Don't be like that. Why?" You frown at your buddy's harsh statement.
"Various reasons. This and that." Even though her voice is calm, you can sense that she's slightly agitated. You can practically hear her accelerated heartbeat. "Plus... I burned myself when cooking."
"Ah! Geez, I'm sorry!" You apologize, practically feeling that you are directly at fault. "Was it very bad?"
"Not really." She shakes her head. "Eirin took a look at it already."
"That's a relief. But, you know, you shouldn't let that discourage you from cooking more. If we do it together, it'll be oodles of fun."

Kaguya is stubborn. She refuses again. But even though she's acting more strangely than not, you can feel some of her usual warmth leak through. "No, no, definitely not." She ventures a weak smile. "If this were a game, it would be a missable event only triggered by specific flags. No chance to see it again."
"Even so, in a game I'd be able to save and load. This wasn't the best possible outcome, so the way I see it I can simply reload."
"Denied." She points to your plate, "Finish eating if you're going to. You talk too much."

You grumble but do as she says. It's not because she has any sway over you. Definitely not that. It's simply because the food won't be as nice once its completely cold. And she made an effort, even going so far as accidentally burning herself. That merits your appreciation and understanding. You finish the last bit with a smile on your face. That was a nice, simple, but tasty meal.

"Stop smiling so much. It's weird.."
"Well, EXCUUUSE ME." You grin like a carved jack-o'-lantern. "Can't a guy be happy about a good meal? Besides," You use her own words against her, "I'm an idiot aren't I? And idiots do idiotic things like grin idiotically for no idiotic reason."
"I think you're a bit beyond that now."

You laugh.

"What?"
"Well, I was just thinking." You preempt even though she probably won't crack the joke, "Yeah, I know, an idiot thinking, but bear with me. This meal, the situation, everything. It really is like a game, and you implied that you would be a character in one of those games as well. Heh."
"...That's beyond stupid. And I did no such thing."
"This was totally a huge flag under most people's definition."
"Look," She sighs, gathering her wits quickly, "I'm not even going to seriously think about what you just said, as its obvious you haven't either, but there is one thing that I have to bring up; You are the least qualified person to make that sort of judgment call. Not after your performance last night."
"Hey, in the end things worked out, didn't they?"
"That's besides the point. It was a long, tortured road that you took and for no real reason. When things could have been fine if you just got your head out the clouds and faced reality. But this isn't a lecture about that game. In fact, it's about no game at all. Just cut it out with the creepy smile."
"I've won already, you know." You don't knock the grin off. "You're not mad at me anymore. Well, not like before. And I got a good meal cooked with much love. I'm going to tell everyone about this. I'll even email the YakCorp customer service. There's bound to be a bored secretary or two there that'll sympathize."
"This is why we can't have nice things." Kaguya sighs, again, at this rate she'll break some sort of record. "Don't tell anyone about this or I'll be very cross with you."
"Eh, how come?"

She looks at you seriously. "Just don't, okay? It'll just be another unnecessary distraction."
"Hey, I'm just an idiot, aren't I? What do I care about distractions? I feel pretty darn good right now, and I have to share that with the world."

"Fine, you know what? Do as you please." She pouts. "I'll see you later tonight. Or whenever. I'm going to- it's none of your business really." She huffs and leaves in a hurry.

And you thought that reading Eirin was bad. Your buddy is becoming a strong contender for Miss Unreadable. The poor decision-making comment sort of got to you though. Your pride as a connoisseur of those games and how they work was hurt. You manage to unlock most things without the need of a walkthrough. You think about the few rare instances when this hasn't been the case as you wash the dirty dish in the kitchen.

Turns out that missing lunch wasn't such a bad thing after all. Your buddy came through at just the right time. It really does make you want to climb a mountaintop and shout it out to the world. No one would believe you though. As far as Eientei is concerned, Kaguya would never ever cook something. You take a bath and lose yourself in small mountaineering fantasies for a while and get out before you prune up.

A thought occurs to you. Out of the four girls here, you've eaten the cooking of three of them. You're mildly curious to know what Tewi would be capable of making. It might be best not to think too much about it. Maybe in another lifetime.

A solid hour or two has passed since you last saw Kaguya, but you still feel the same.

[] Tell anyone you can find about it
[] Bother Kaguya further
[] Rest and allow yourself to lose yourself to your fantasies

[x] Rest and allow yourself to lose yourself to your fantasies.

The least we could do is honor her request, but I must say she's taking certain things too far...

and as far as the panty thing, well most people steered away from that since going along with such things in the Teruyo-verse tends to result in pain or someone walking in on you at best.

[x] Rest and allow yourself to lose yourself to your fantasies

[X] Bother Kaguya further

>>It was a long, tortured road that you took and for no real reason.

So what else is new?

[x] Rest and allow yourself to lose yourself to your fantasies.

[x] Rest and allow yourself to lose yourself to your fantasies

[+] Rest and allow yourself to lose yourself to your fantasies
I'd say our Kaguya may have been replaced with a doppelganger, but Eirin would have been the first to pick up on that. All I can say is obfuscated interaction is obfuscated.

[\\!/] Rest and allow yourself to lose yourself to your fantasies

>>I'd say our Kaguya may have been replaced with a doppelganger, but Eirin would have been the first to pick up on that. All I can say is obfuscated interaction is obfuscated.

Oh, no, I think it's still the same old Kaguya. It's just that, well...remember how awkward things were getting between her and Shirou for a while? What feelings might have been causing that awkwardness?

And then there was last night, where she had seemingly gotten over those feelings, and was possibly trying to re-bond and reignite their old friendship.

But then something happened. Perhaps those feelings had not gone away, which might have been what compelled her to attempt cooking something for Shirou. Then she burns herself, and goes to Eirin to get it tended to, and the good doctor figures out what's going on.

Then Shirou shows up, and Eirin forces him to make a choice, possibly knowing full-well what Kaguya was doing. Or not. Point is, Shirou had to choose between the doctor or his buddy, and he chose the former, which marked the beginning of Kaguya's current mood.

Then he went off after her, which probably didn't help matters much, and now here we are.

Considering what Kaguya herself had said about our making choices every which way, rather than heading straight for one definite objective, I can somewhat see where she's coming from.

>>17749

But just because we're persuing a route doesn't mean we have to be dicks to everyone else.

Once again it's ever so clear we don't know where we stand....

>All I can say is obfuscated interaction is obfuscated.

Sorry about that. But I ultimately felt that more talking choices right now would slow things down too much, as they would ultimately depend on anon making write-ins. Besides, I think that anon ultimately made a sensible choice.

Writing now more or less. And since this technically now a 'free period' I pose the following question:

Check trusty Type-YG PDA (AKA your limited edition YakCorp PDA)?

[] Yes
[] No

If so, do what? (emails are always checked because, hey, they've got annoying popups that prohibit you from otherwise using the device)

[] Check stock prices
[] Play Unending Afternoon
[] Look something up (specify)
[] Check that app

[x] Yes
[x] Input cheat code: Max Kaguya Affection
[x] Input cheat code: Unlock Scene Selection
[x] Input cheat code: Character Modifier - Play as Archer
[x] Check that app

[x] Yes

[x] Check stock prices
[x] Look up "Behavior of women"
[x] Check that app

I'm not expecting much of the second choice, but it'd be funny to see what a Yukari-influenced PDA has to say.

[X] Yes
[X] Check stock prices
[X] Look something up
- female psyche
- tsundere
- "How do I won game?"
[X] Check that app

[x] Yes

[x] Check stock prices
[x] Look up "Behavior of women"
[x] Check that app

[X] Yes
[X] Play Unending Afternoon

Can't get too rusty at it.

[\\!/] Yes
[\\!/] Play Unending Afternoon

Will there be 8 episodes?

>It was a long, tortured road that you took and for no real reason. When things could have been fine if you just got your head out the clouds and faced reality. But this isn't a lecture about that game. In fact, it's about no game at all.

Ouch. Kaguya just pointed out that Shirou has something in common with the PS3.

He has no game.

[x] Yes

[x] Check stock prices
[x] Look up "Behavior of women"
[x] Look up "Understanding women"
[x] Look up "Dr Dolittle."
[x] Look up "Speaking to animals"
[x] Check that app

It's with a stupid smile and a can-do optimistic attitude that you allow yourself to become lost in thought.

It's been a while since you've felt genuinely good. Not just because you ate Kaguya's cooking - that certainly was a big factor - but because there seems to be something in the air lately. It permeates and fills the halls at Eientei. Maybe it was always there, and you hadn't noticed.

No, that's not the case. You would have noticed it. It hasn't been there for long. Probably wasn't even there yesterday. It's something intense and powerful. Something that makes it seem like everything is going to be alright and everyone will have a happy ending. It's something that makes you believe in the most ludicrous scenarios.

Like, say, walking up to Eirin and declaring your undying love for her. Something that would not be that farfetched in an alcohol-induced haze or under the influence of narcotics (or one of her 'massages'), to be sure. But that's not where your fantasy ends. She replies (does she ever), and returns your sentiments - declaring her undying love for you! What follows afterward is too lewd even for your overly stimulated simulation, and at the risk of bursting without outside stimulus you focus on other things.

Like rotten food. Filthy, smelly, unarousing. Food that was once fresh and pure, that once belonged to a young plant or animal, its delicate skin and texture preserved in time and offered to you on a platter. Something that you would be glad to feast upon repeatedly until the both of you have collapsed in a heaving pile of spent desire.

Definitely nothing sexy.

But regardless, the air in Eientei seems especially reactive and open to interaction. The business with Kaguya earlier is testament to this truth. The planets must be aligning, bringing you fortune, you realize. If you were a religious man, offerings and prayer would be a matter of course. But since you've never been touched by a god, you'll simply believe that luck is on your side.

It's with that feeling of being blessed by fortune that you pop out your PDA - to look for a blackjack app, of course.

No such luck. Besides not having such an app installed by default, there's something that's keeping you from switching menus easily. A nag screen. Every time you do anything

You have 3 new message(s)!

You give up trying to ignore it and go ahead and read them.

"From: Legal Services Incorporated
Subject: Dear sir/madam

Dear sir/madam,

You stand to inherit an estate valued at over 80 million JAPANESE YEN. A distant relative of yours has expired, leaving you as his sole benefactor in his will. Located on the foothills at the western edge of the Scarlet Lake, this prime property is all yours for your taking after some obligatory and quick legal transactions.

As the executors of his will, we need your financial details as well as a payment of 20 thousand JAPANESE YEN in order to process your paperwork. Please reply to this email at your earlier possible convenience with all of your details.

We are sorry for your loss,

LS inc?

That message is so fake that you wonder why you even bothered reading it through. It's deleted as fast as you possibly can.

"From: YakCorp Personals
Subject: You have a potential match!

This message was automatically forwarded to you, as one or more tags matched those specified in your profile:

Wanted: Virile male to impregnate and produce offspring.

My cat has recently entered a state of heat, and her behavior is unbearable. I read somewhere that the best way to tame her peaking hormones is to have her copulate and for her to be impregnated. For this I need a virile male to mate with her as many times as needed until she is seeded. She is feisty, so more than a single session will probably be necessary to satisfy her. Quantity and quality are both important!

Please contact me if you can fulfill the demand promptly. No commitment or worries about what happens after impregnation necessary! Anything to get her to calm down and act like normal again! It's a bother to wait for the heat to pass. Feel free to inquire about any extra stimulants that may be necessary.

-YY?

This message is so strange that you don't give it a second glance. Something about it just screams danger. Another one deleted. You wish you knew how to unsubscribe from whatever it was YakCorp thought you were subscribed to.

"From: Municipality
Subject: Permit

Dear sir,

It has come to our attention that you are in possession of a class-II/A construction tool. Operation of such a device within Gensokyo is regulated under Article 34, subsection I of the Gensokyo common charter ('All powered devices that can be thrust into, shake about, or dig into things must be only operated by authorized personnel).

While possession of such a device by itself is not an offense, its operation is restricted. And as such you would need a permit before utilizing it for whatever purpose you may need. Permits are given out by your local government representative after a brief oral assessment. The type and power of the device must be manually gauged by the representative during the oral session until she is satisfied by the level of discharge produced by the motor. It must comply to all of the relevant standards even under duress or an unusual operation. The thoroughness of the exam depends on the individual tester, and if all the necessary guidelines are met. As this varies from agent to agent, we recommend that if you should seek a permit, you come mentally prepared and bring as many peripherals as you deem may be necessary to satisfy the inspection official.

Failure to acquire a permit before the use of the device in any way, shape, or form will result in the most severe of punishments. Under the aforementioned article ?the local council may see fit to hold a special full session and have each of its members punish the offender by any means necessary for as long as they are not satisfied and until there is no more charge in the device.?. A special agent is authorized to track down the violator and punish him with her own tools until such a council can be convened.

Thank you for following the law."

Gensokyo is a strange land. Of that you have no doubt. You have no idea if that message is legitimate or fake. You own no power tools, as far as you know. And if you did, what business of yours would it be to use something like a pneumatic drill or mechanical shovel?

If it was legit and you somehow in violation of the law, it doesn't sound like you'd be let off easily. Maybe if you found the right official to please...

Message archived.

You finally can fiddle around freely without that annoying pop-up getting in the way. The first thing you do is check the stock market. It's a sensible thing to do, spurred on by curiosity of why you even have that option on the PDA to begin with. This model of PDA must be for businessmen or some such.

The local stock market is autodetected as you start up the program. It's called ?GENSE?. Makes sense. There's a surprising number of companies listed, navigating around shows that Gensokyo is active when it comes to stocks. A market crash would probably cripple the local economy - if numbers are to be believed. Trading is up by a couple of points.

There's a list of the top 5 companies for the day and overall. A simple comparison shows that they're all the same (albeit in different order). Highlighting the name produces a one sentence description of the company.

YKI - TOTAL: 7116 DOWN: 0.3 DAY: #33 OVERALL: #1
The YakCorp group.

KTE ? TOTAL: 6513 UP: 1.4 DAY: #14 OVERALL: #2

Kawatech and ?Tech Engineering.

SFG ? TOTAL: 4561 UP: 0.1 DAY: #20 OVERALL: #3

Agricultural cooperative - Majority owner is the Scarlet group

IIG ? TOTAL: 3777 UP: 30 DAY: #1 OVERALL: #4

Investment group - No information is available since the corporation is less than 30 days old.

ZUN ? TOTAL: 3540 DOWN: 1.95 DAY: #56 OVERALL: #

Distillery.

There's a lot of boring charts and data here and there. But you ignore them. It's a thorough program, you'll admit that much. Someone with knowledge of the stock market would probably find it an awesome tool. Not you, you don't really care either way about it. It doesn't affect you in the least.

Curiosity satiated, you next try your luck at doing what comes naturally - messing about. A quick input of a very familiar sequence of buttons yields no discernible result; The Konami code is dead and forgotten on handheld devices such as these. If only life allowed the usage of convenient little codes such as that. You could become another person or win at anything instantly.

But life is crueler than that.

This somehow leads to you looking up things in the inbuilt encyclopedia. Something which seems to be a greater and greater mistake as you read along.

You open up a series of articles. Nothing that wrong with that, you gather.

Female Psyche, Behavior of Women, and some others are your targets.

Each and every article is the same. It starts off by being rational and using dry empirical language to describe and explain key concepts. You can easily follow them along. But around a third into the article the same problem invariably occurs;

It starts subtly, with terms defined beforehand suddenly changing meaning. Then conclusions start to contradict each other. By the end of the article the professional and precise language turns into little more than slang. The use of anecdotes is rampant. Not to mention that many of the anecdotes are both sourceless and contradict others. Additionally, the articles reek of bias and sound like they've been written by someone in an excited state brought on by strong emotions. There's nothing to be learned here. At all. Trying to make sense of these articles would be maddening.

You don't learn anything about women there. Hell, the damn articles kept contradicting even the fundamentals. Some things claimed that women are complex, others that they were the simplest critters about. You do, however, learn that someone out there likes eating a pint of mint ice cream whenever she's down. Not bound to be useful at all. Especially if afterward that person complains of being fat (which according to the article is either A) A cry for attention B) A signal for positive reinforcement or C) Part of some sort of bizarre mating ritual).

The tsundere article is only slightly better. It has a coherent structure, but is stylized in the form of a personal anecdote;

?Tsundere

Someone who isn't honest about his/her feelings.

Like a certain someone I know. Keeps to herself most of the time. Takes care of the household, cooks, and all of that. A warm and homely person to her friends. To me, however, it's like she can't be honest about how she feels. Despite the advances I perceived some time ago (which she fervently denies ever making) and my response to them (my own advances), she hasn't opened up to me. I know that she's like a hard candy with a gooey interior waiting to be cracked open.

Her lovestruck interior would be ever so nice to see, and I can already taste her sweetness, if you know what I mean. Still, I must content myself with not being able to taste it - except by force. Hm, now there's an idea. I'll call her up to my office right away..."

Really, whoever writes these articles should be fired.

You sigh, closing the encyclopedia and opening another application.

The ever-ambiguous Yakcheck. As before, there's only one icon not grayed out on the main menu, and so you select it as before. The same blue night sky background with swirling constellations fill the screen. The same bars, icons, and text values materialize after several moments. The central bar is a little less than halfway full now. The percentage in the lower right corner is fluctuating the the high 80s, and a small message is displayed below it. Sounds like something that would be in a reference sheet somewhere, you haven't the foggiest what it means.

What has filled up more are the three bars on the top left of the screen. They are all mostly filled with green - in the smallest's case almost exclusively. However, in the last two there's quite a bit of orange and even a little red. The red is more pronounced on the longest bar, which is a little over a half full.

Besides that, nothing much has changed except for a few new constellations appearing and a few icons (which don't do anything) appearing next to the bottle icon in this screen.

Staring at the program does nothing, so you close it and take a quick look at the other applications. There's always the possibility of playing something, but you're not quite up to it right now.

As a final act, you check an application named ?Fortune Cookie?.

The output reads:

"A path well-trod means nothing if at sea."

Positively deep. You decide not to look at it again so soon if it's going to be that helpful.

You lay back in your room and put away the PDA. You think that you manage to doze off accidentally, as when you next look around it's already evening.

---
Drawing is not 100% accurate as I suck at drawing/making anything that's not a technical diagram.

The rest of the update is to follow in a little bit after a brief nap. It's not long, but a little pause is in order.

Very funny in many ways...

And I suspect that YY letter was Yukari dealing with a horny Chen.

And I suspect that powered device letter was a reference to Shirou's "Hot Glue Gun"

And how confusing it is indeed.... those three bars raise even more questions...

The message might mean "good intentions don't make the impossible possible" perhaps.

>>17771

Got to love the articles though~!

>>Her lovestruck interior would be ever so nice to see, and I can already taste her sweetness, if you know what I mean. Still, I must content myself with not being able to taste it - except by force. Hm, now there's an idea. I'll call her up to my office right away..."

Go, mysterious-article-writer-who-totally-isn't-Yukari! Go! Embrace the love that dare not speak its name!

>>Permits are given out by your local government representative after a brief oral assessment.
>>The type and power of the device must be manually gauged by the representative during the oral session until she is satisfied by the level of discharge produced by the motor.
>>It must comply to all of the relevant standards even under duress or an unusual operation.

Well, that sounds very straightforward to me! Clearly whatever equipment we're expected to use must be able to meet the stringent operational guidelines, and display the ability to perform even if horribly bent and/or broken in some unfortunate mishap. A tool must be able to perform reliably, after all, and it would not do to have an unexpected discharge, now would it? People can lose eyes like that, you know.

>>Maybe if you found the right official to please...
Now where did that tengu go?

I want a Tewi route so that we can produce little bunnies.
I really liked her since MiG.

>>17771
>Hot Glue Gun

You mean JACKHAMMER, right?

>>17774

A Reisen & ReisenII Route would be much better.
That would be near impossible like NEET & Mokou-tan.

Sorry, looks like life caught up with me yet again. Promise to have an update in a couple of hours (when I'm finally home).

>>17774
Why do I picture Eientei overrun with your spawn? Seriously, breeding with Tewi would probably result in more children than the bit with the Catholics in Monty Python's the Meaning of Life.

>And how confusing it is indeed.... those three bars raise even more questions...

Bars have always been there, you know.

>>17776
Impossible, eh? Hm.

>>17777

Well... I doubt an Eirin/Kaguya ending would be possible at this rate.

Also it's only until I noticed the bars as opposed to the main meter.

Red bars. That can't be good. Though the connotations of "critical" are entirely contextual, the positive symbolism of red is outweighed by the relatively not-so-good symbolism, as far as I know.

Unless we go by the Japanese references to the color, where red represents marriage, sexuality, and fertility.

RED ALERT

Brace for mindfuck

>>17778
>I doubt an Eirin/Kaguya ending would be possible at this rate.

At this point i put all my hopes into Teruyo having enough pity to pat us on the back and kind of help us towards the goal.
It must be really frustrating to write and have your voters and readers screw up. I am sure he doesn't want to see the 2nd innings end like the first, at least i wouldn't like it.

>>17785

Well the fiasco of the first run was also partially his fault for giving the voters too much freedom

This run is better in many regards, though Teruyo still has the bad habit of leaving the voter lost at times. Most stories don't do that, most give the voters a direction to go.

We're in line for good ending on one of two routes, which one we don't know since the sole hint could go in two different directions depending on how it's interpreted.

At least there's only "Attempt to get a sexy scene backfiring once" (This is why people voted to return the panties, since this stories' reader generally believe attempts at getting sex of some sort= some kind of horrible backfiring 99% of the time)

The timing of things seem as auspicious as they ever are for you. It's not long after you've decided to get up and find something else to do that a light knocking manifests itself on your door. Reisen, her face half hidden by the lack of light in your room comes in as soon as you reply.

"What can I do for you?" You stand up and find that your left foot fell asleep. It makes you sway to the side for a moment before you shift your balance. You don't feel very stable.

"It's time for the briefing, please come to the dinning room." She's grown a little colder towards you, you think. Her manner of speaking has become more business-like when dealing with you. It's not something you really understand. Last you knew you were on good terms with everyone here.

"I'll be along in just a moment." You smile, lifting your leg and moving your foot about hoping for returned circulation. "As soon as I'm able to walk properly. Foot's asleep." You point to it with another smile.
"I'll wait."

You lean up against the wall, placing your hand for support. Reisen waits by the door as you struggle to regain full feeling to your foot. It takes a minute or two, but soon you're 100% and good to go. "Right, any idea what she's going to say?" You talk to Reisen as you walk towards the dining room.
"I think so." She nods to herself, a little pride showing itself through her answer, "But just be patient, we're almost there.."

Walking from your room to the dinning room is only a hallway or two away. You arrive to find that the layout has been changed slightly for the occasion. Instead of the low dinner table several chairs take up the space. They're facing the wall, where a stand holding a flat metallic box is the only object present.

The lights have been dimmed. Beside yourself and Reisen, Kaguya and Eirin are also there. Eirin is sipping a cup of something and tapping a long pointing implement against the wall gently. The pointer could easily be mistaken for a riding crop under this light, if it weren't for the satisfying wooden echo it produces upon impact. She raises her gaze towards you and smiles, gesturing for you to take a seat.

You sit behind and immediately of the left of Kaguya, who is sitting with a look of patience. The lights are dimmed further, until you can barely see Kaguya's silky black hair anymore. Reisen closes the door, says a few soft words to someone and then sits besides you.

"Well then, we're all here it seems." Eirin opens with something of a merry tone. She taps her pointer several times rhythmically against the wall. "Let's begin."

A low hum comes from the device in front of you as it begins to function. A soft bluish light spills forth, illuminating the room and casting eerie shadows all across. The light is enough to let you see Eirin fully, and it intensifies and then begins to project upwards. An empty ball of blue hovers in front; The sphere extends from the metallic device almost to the ceiling, displaying nothing but blue for now. Within a few more seconds, an image begins to form on the sphere. A 3d model of the planet Earth - complete with a to scale moon orbiting around it. It's quite pretty actually. It feels like you could reach out and interact with it if you wanted.

"Our boring little heaven has gotten a bit more agitated as of late, I'm sure most of you have noticed." Eirin states humorously. "And its not just because of the addition of our beloved Princess' friend either." Although the dark prevents you from seeing her facial features very well, you could have sworn that you saw her wink at you. "As all of you know, external factors are to blame for this agitation."

As if on cue, your brain processes something that your conscious mind ignored at first. On the far left of the room there's someone else. A rabbit with a slender build and strange clothes. You see the rabbit that you had given up on sitting casually in her own little world. She is doing nothing, simply hanging her head and looking at the floor.

"...these are important." You manage to catch the last part of that sentence. You look at Eirin. You have no idea what she was on about. "And as you can imagine the scenario for this has already been contemplated. But that isn't the main issue here. If it were, I would have taken care of it already."

She's simply not doing anything. No one seems to care that she's there either. You feel like you should ignore her as well.

It's just that, well, you cut her out completely, yet here she is. As if she lived here, even. You can just picture yourself walking down the hall and running into her, saying hello, making smalltalk, perhaps even cracking a joke or two. That's just unnatural. Or so you would have thought just yesterday. She doesn't belong here, that much is obvious.

"You really ought to be paying attention." Eirin points her pointer at you, raising her eyebrows. "There is a time and a purpose for everything and this briefing is more for your benefit than mine. Getting sidetracked is counterproductive." You feel Reisen's eyes on you, either curiosity at what you were doing or some sort of disapproval you imagine.

[] "Sorry. I'll pay attention now."
[] "What is she doing here??

[x] "Sorry. I'll pay attention now."

[x] "Sorry. I'll pay attention now."

[x] "Sorry. I'll pay attention now."

[X]Sorry. I'll pay attention now.

[] "What is she doing here?"

Pissing against the tide because Anon has voted for what I wouldn't vote if I had followed this story from the beggining.

[+] "Sorry. I'll pay attention now."
You notice how we tend to zone out on Eirin's every other sentence?

[x] "Sorry. I'll pay attention now.."
Rabbit? What rabbit?
There is no rabbit.

>>17794

Yeah but that's partially Anon's fault for crafting Shirou into something of a moron akin to his namesake.

And I think the Briefing would explain Sliver as well.

Actually I think this Shirou is worse compared to FSN Shirou. FSN Shirou was a moron in social skills, but for things like meetings he never really suffered from ADD. Hell he'd contribute to many meetings, or ask questions. This Shirou zoned out.

>>17819

Still didn't change the fact that both had the problem of ,which most of the, information going over their collective heads.

Considering FSN Shirou was an amateur mage, taught by someone who really didn't want to teach magic, and who also believed the Grail Wars were over, it's not strange that he didn't know much about the War.

Meanwhile in the Human Village.

>>17828
COWAAAAAAARDS!

[x] "Sorry. I'll pay attention now."

>>17828
That makes Youkai Jesus sad as well.

>>17828

I knew someone would post this eventually.

[x] "Sorry. I'll pay attention now."
[x] Mentally smack yourself for being distracted at a time like this. This is important... this is important. Say it again. This is important.
[x] Actually pay attention.

>>17829
Should have known nobody here watched that movie.

Unless you've been living under a rock or in a cave for the last several years or so, you've likely have heard of the corporate giant YakCorp. The wide variety of products and services this massive conglomerate offers is just astounding, and its service is reputedly always the best, no matter the field. Through steady management and a series of bold decisions, this once-humble company has risen to prominence and blended into a lot of peoples' lives.

A company this successful and large is the subject of a lot of rumors and gossip - as well as its fair share of scandals. This is a fact that seems almost unavoidable in our modern corporate culture. This is why Bunbunmaru and its team of ACE REPORTERS have decided to make it the topic of this in-depth piece. In hopes of securing the scoop before anyone else could, an interview with founder and current CEO of YakCorp was arranged. Our reporter found herself in the middle of corporate headquarters, face to face with the brains behind the company in her office. What follows is selected extracts of the interview conducted.

REPORTER: Thank you for sitting down for this interview. We know you're dreadfully busy.
CEO: It's my pleasure. I've heard good things about this newspaper and its editorial staff. Anything to take a break from the endless paperwork [laughs].
REPORTER: We try out best ma'am.
CEO: And apparently that's paid off.
REPORTER: It would seem that not as much as your own. YakCorp is Gensokyo's most successful business, dwarfing all other competition.
CEO: We're quite proud of our #1 position. We try our best in delivering services that make lives easier.
REPORTER: Yet there's been some criticism about your business practices, with some calling them ?monopolistic? and ?competition-unfriendly?. What do you say about that?
CEO: We at YakCorp have always striven on giving our best. But through only legitimate means. We have never ever done anything that was against the law or that would prejudice the consumer.
REPORTER: And I don't doubt that. But these voices won't be quelled. There are also accusations that your business is damaging the environment. An independent study showed that the lake showed a 4% decrease in fish stock after your plant started dumping byproducts into it.
CEO: That's an unfortunate coincidence. We adhere to the strictest standards of environmental friendliness. All of our byproduct is biodegradable and safe. Our own internal research has shown that our environmental-conscious efforts have actual doubled wildlife in certain areas. [A complied report on their findings is displayed on a monitor]. As you can see there's nothing intrinsically bad about our business, quite the contrary.
REPORTER: Moving on. What about allegations of abuse of your staff. Several loud complaints have been made about workplace harassment and several ex-employees have complained of sexual harassment.
CEO: It's unfortunate that members of our family, though they have left, would confuse things like that. We try our best to include everyone and treat them fairly.
REPORTER: You yourself have had accusations made, and several witnesses have claimed to have seen you making inappropriate advances to your staff in the workplace.
CEO: That's all hearsay.
REPORTER: In fact, we've got a recording of one such alleged occurrence and-
CEO: I'm afraid you're mistaken. Let me ask you a question? Who handles the distribution of your newspaper in the western sections?
REPORTER: That would be Kit Publishing, I believe. But what does-
CEO: A lovely little subsidiary of ours. They might go some corporate restructuring soon. Perhaps even relocation. The board and I still haven't made our decision. It's good to have a solid partnership, isn't it?
REPORTER: Ah, well, yes.
CEO: If that weren't enough proof of our close relationship, we also were debating releasing a manuscript about one of your reporters. But we haven't decided due to the nature of the content. I have the working manuscript here. Do you want to see it? [A thick collection of pages is produced from her desk] I'm sure you're familiar with it. Mind you that YakCorp is a family-oriented business and this sort of collection of fantasies is, frankly speaking, too lewd...
REPORTER: Eh! That's-

The full interview will appear in the weekend edition of Bunbunmaru, dedicated readers. Please look forward to it and, as always, feel free to send your suggestions for interviews.


---
Real update to follow later some time.

>>17859
Why would anyone complain about Yukari making sexual advances towards them? Especially since Shirou's not involved so it can't go wrong.

>>17863
Source?

>>17864
[Shin Seidou Honpo] usagi no miru yume

>>We try our best to include everyone and treat them fairly.

Man, some people just don't appreciate the bonding experience that is Office-wide Orgy Fridays, which is just like Casual Fridays, but with more nudity and fondling.

>>17870
Exactly. People just don't appreciate the hands on top-down leadership YakCorp has. Many times I would be looking out of my cubicle and see the VP herself leading by example, completely in the nude. Now that's dedicated leadership. It's good for office morale. I can't complain of anything ever being wrong with my dear YakCorp.

On an unrelated note: I've got free time and a burning desire to write. Expect that update real soon.

Anonymous is unhappy with YakCorp.

"I'm sorry about that." You shrink back in your seat, feeling stupid. "I'll pay attention."
"Lovely." Eirin doesn't comment further, letting you off the hook quite easily. She pauses, looking at the holographic display - still a projection of the Earth and the Moon. There's a few moments of silence as no one says anything, and you find yourself staring at the projection as well. It's quite detailed, despite its ephemeral nature. The blue, green, and yellows look just like you would expect a satellite picture to display.

"I suppose that for the benefit of our non-native here I'll reiterate what I said earlier with a little more detail." Eirin's eyes reflect the projection, making them seem glazed over. She doesn't break away her look as she begins to explain the current political situation on the moon. "Nominally the council makes decisions on any and all affairs that affect the whole. I suppose that's not being fair, they still do make decisions. What is not true is that the whole of the council makes decisions. It has never been that way, with junior members always deferring to the elders." She smiles, as if remembering something, "It could be said that there are only three or so important people that actually make decisions on the council - the rest only seldom provide their own opinions."

The system in place is oligarchical. That much is evident from Eirin's explanation. But from brief talks with Kaguya on other occasions, you had the impression that things were a bit more open than that. That there were other ways of legislating and ruling.

"For the most part the council, at least the bits with any real influence, have all kept steady and still share the same vision on what is to be done. I have no doubt that beneath the surface there are divisions, like always, but we lunarians are supposed to be an enlightened bunch, keeping our heads above petty trifles." She pauses again, and you expected her to say something else, but instead she looks away from the projection and taps her pointer. The projection changes abruptly, showering the room with an orange glow now. A blue and red emblem with constellations in the middle is encrust in what seems to be an orange medallion.

You don't really understand the significance of it, but stay quiet as Eirin resumes speaking.

"There are other political forces outside the council, of course. Like there has always been. Representative assemblies of the rabbits, organizations on a communal level, as well as very influential families. Their opinion and motivations vary wildly. Even within their own structures. Their influence varies, as well as their legal autonomy, but they have on occasion changed things in society out of their own initiative."

The projected image changes again, back to the Earth and the Moon. The configuration lasts briefly, as the Earth is excluded an the moon becomes the sole image. It rotates slowly, giving off a glow that's almost like real moonlight. You can see all of the prominent features of the moon, as seen by telescope or satellite. A barren and lifeless heavenly body - no signs of lunarians on this projection.

"To be succinct, the current trouble has to do with these factions not seeing not seeing eye to eye. The result of the war probably hasn't helped much, and opened up divides where there were none previously. The incidents with the Hourai tree inflame an already tense situation."

Eirin looks at Kaguya, nodding at some unheard comment. She next looks at Reisen, who you can see from the corner of your eye is giving her undivided attention, and then finally at you. "Before I continue, do you have any questions?"

[] Questions go here
[] "No, I don't. Please carry on?

--
>>17873
Oh my, looks like someone needs to go see our customer satisfaction officer - maybe then you'll change your mind.

[x] "No, I don't. Please carry on?

I'm going to assume we'll be hearing about what exactly this has to do with Eientei as a matter of course.

As for YakCorp, who WOULDN'T want to work there? Being part of a dynamic, forward-thinking group like that, eager to thrust themselves into any project their lovely CEO (who is only 17 years old, I hear) and inject their unique brand of synergy into the company.

Just don't forget the cover sheets on the TPS reports. Otherwise, you can expect a severe punishment in the form of a "time out" in the Tentacle Rape Dimension slight reduction in your benefits such as personal days and holiday bonuses.

And that would be terrible.

Shirou doesn't know about the Lunar Border yet, does he? ah well.

[+] "What war do you mean?"

I don't think that little detail was mentioned as of yet; if otherwise, carry on as though nothing happened.

[x] I presume that Silver was sent here by one of the factions?

[x] "No, I don't. Please carry on?

Don't be shy anon, vote up, there's no strict need to ask anything if you don't want to. I want to write while I'm able.

[x] Incidents with the Hourai Tree?
[x] I presume that Sliver was sent here by one of the factions?
[x] And for what reason would they want to drag an exiled princess back?

>>17880
[x] "No, I don't. Please carry on?

Sir, yes sir.

[x] Incidents with the Hourai Tree?
[x] I presume that Sliver was sent here by one of the factions?
[x] And for what reason would they want to drag an exiled princess back?

[x] Incidents with the Hourai Tree?
[x] I presume that Sliver was sent here by one of the factions?
[x] And for what reason would they want to drag an exiled princess back?

I'm in no mood to update and I don't know when I'll be. Sorry anon, I currently have no desire to write whatsoever.

For when, or even if, I do feel like updating, you might want to change that vote anyways. Frankly, it sucks for a number of reasons. It won't really affect the story that much, but damn it reeks of lack of proper reflection. If not, that's fine too - I would, like always work with what I had. I really am starting to find myself not caring anymore.

Again, I apologize to the few that care enough, I'm gone for now.

>>17898
>implying any foresight in terms of voting can be gleaned from past updates.

>>17899
But they can, can't they? At least in regards to what questions to ask.

>>Incidents with the Hourai Tree?

Kaguya already explained the tree, how it blooms when exposed to impurity, how they suddenly started blooming all over the moon for some reason, the resulting panic and state of chaos Lunarian society had been thrown into, and how Kaguya and company are likely being blamed for it by some due to their status as traitors and exiles.
Considering how it's kind of a big reason behind much of what's been happening, and it's already been explained, can you see why asking about it now might seem just a tad silly, if not downright stupid?

>>I presume that Sliver was sent here by one of the factions?

Ask this, and I guarantee that every single person in the room, Silver included, would simply look at Shirou and let out the longest, simultaneous "UH, DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH" in recorded history.

I mean, seriously. This is like you're a U.S. soldier in World War II, on a boat about to land on Omaha Beach, and you pick then to ask "...wait, what happened at Pearl Harbor?" followed by "...and I presume the attack was by one of the Axis powers?"

>>And for what reason would they want to drag an exiled princess back?

The problem with this one isn't that it's asking about something we've already been told, it's asking a question based on something we haven't been told. Before asking "why would they want to drag an exiled princess back" I would have to ask "what makes you think that's what they want to do?" Has anyone actually said that's what they're after? If not, then why assume that's what they're after? More than that, what if you're wrong about what their objective is, and it's actually something else entirely?

I'd be amazed if, after asking those three questions in sequence, Shirou wasn't forced to spend the rest of the briefing sitting in the hallway.

>>17900
I assumed asking about Silver's presence would clarify which faction and what their goals were. Shirou was surprised enough to stop paying attention to the briefing when he realized she survived Eirin's methods and was apparently allowed or forced to attend the meeting.
Finding out about Silver's faction would also lead into why she's at the briefing; I'm guessing Eirin will use her information to counteract the faction's efforts somehow.

You do not realize what YakCorp really is. Sure, it may seem nice, but beauty only runs skin deep. Eventually, it will show its true colours. There was another company that was just like it, until it put its true plans into action, almost wiping out all life on the planet. What organization was it called. It was called Skynet.

And yes, I've had the tour already, but I have yet to get an interview with the CEO due to 'business' with 'other matters.' Her, not me.

It's only a matter of time before YakCorp goes down the same route as Skynet.

[X] "No, I don't. Please carry on?

>>17898
Have a good time on your... "hiatus" I guess.."

[x] "No, please carry on"

Figure I change it since I think they'd be getting answered anyways.

>>17903

Skynet was a Defense AI made by Cyberdyne that went fully sentient and decided to turn on us. YakCorp is a company ran by some lovely girls, one of which seems to love to 'sexually harass' employees.

Get your T2 references right for once.

>>17903
Skynet is a computer network, not a corporation. Cyberdine is a corporation, though.

Just as Skynet turned on us, so shall YakCorp.

I'll just be over here in my Bomb Shelter equipped with an Anti-Magic Shield.

>>17908

You act like having a lovely 17 year old as our overlord would be a terrible thing, especially if she rewards loyalty in very nice ways.

>>17898
Goddamn fuck, there is no picture to show what i feel now.
Thank you for sticking so long with us faggots, if you ever decide to come back, you will at least have one reader. Good luck and always take it easy.
Here, have a Kaguya to show you the way.

>>17898

This is really disappointing. I'll refrain from putting into words how I really feel about one of my favorite writers throwing in the towel.

We believed in you Teruyo.

>>17911
No, that is not fair towards Teruyo.
He is the Writer who wrote the longest here on THP. I know that he had some breaks in between too but he wrote even when things were not going so good anymore. He deserves respect for this.
I just hope that he will still support the site even when he is not writing anymore and will not just disappear like this and still be around.

I have not quit.

I am just frustrated and very disappointed. Seeing as things won't change, there's no real reason not to write. Yet I can't bring myself to do it. This adds to the frustration and disappointment.

>>17913

You could just try writing something different if that's what it takes to get out of feeling frustrated/disappointed. Not saying you should suddenly string behind you various cyoas only to leave them unfinished, but sometimes it's good to just take a break from something and try something else to refresh yourself.

Good to see you haven't actually quit the site though.

>>17914
That is actually a good idea. You wrote only this story the whole time long, why not a change and try writing something different? It doesn't need to be long even, just to get the stress out and try something new.

>>17913

Things not changing? Talking about Anon's voting habits or their habit of making slight jabs?

>>17916
I don't mind the jabs. I'm the first to poke fun at myself or my writing. While I don't get trolling in my threads anymore, the general view of myself, this story, and /eientei/ is unfortunately not very good. This is evident any time the subject is brought up any thread in the other boards - perhaps unfairly, but always invariably. A shame, because I don't think that a lot of that criticism is valid and is based off misconceptions. And there's no helping that.

This contributes somewhat to the aforementioned frustration and disappointment. Although it's not the main factor by far.

The fact that I've been writing this run for what? Nearing 10 months now, and I'm just on the 13th thread. I am disappointed in myself for not having written more, for having things stagnate, for the turtle pace.

I am frustrated from a chronic lack of votes when needed. I am frustrated of this damn cycle of votes being few and far in between which in turn lead to scarcer updates which feeds the cycle.

Yes, it has been suggested to write anyways with few votes. That does not work so much in practice. Because, while just advancing is important, participation is more important to me. People thinking about things and possibly discussing them. I don't want anon to just breeze through a shamble of a tale having not appreciating plot/characters/etc. Believe it or not characters actually have personalities and rationalization for their conduct and choices. This isn't something that changes on a whim, it's something that grows and develops with both interaction and reaction from the plot. Believe it or not, not every single waking moment is critical to the plot, but usually will help for something more important - character development or relationship development. People and things aren't black and white, (forgive the joke) 2-dimmensional representations. I'm ranting again, I know it, but it's to emphasize that quality trumps mere quantity in my eyes (although, as any writer will tell you quantity is also good - and encouraging).

>>17900
Was mostly right in his reasoning. That's just an example of simple reflection. It goes to underscore my point that it's just a little bit of thought that can help. I've been asked 'why Shirou is so stupid?'; Funny thing - he isn't. But it's a consistency thing most of the time that makes him so quirky. Example: Anon made Silver his obsession, even though he didn't have to, used certain means that gave certain results. This obsession coupled with the earlier desire to be useful to Kaguya et al. (cemented in the heartfelt talk earlier) translates into something of a depression, this is mitigated with character interaction, but is still strong enough to cause the protagonist to obsess and distract himself when he encounters Silver in the briefing room. In short, the character is defined by the actions and words chosen by anon.

This is not punishment or anything - it is merely following through. I facilitate things, genuinely enjoy good write-ins, try to work in ideas and suggestions, and sure as hell don't needlessly put anon down or in a bind.

But, this is again just part of the problem. The disappointment with myself and frustration is there not only because of that. Also because of the whole site. Because things seem to slow down no matter what. Because even within the same board, amongst two good stories, anon doesn't read more than just a specific story (just a casual glance at ips will show that). Because some stories don't get the exposure they deserve (or even a chance really). People also don't read new things. Not everything would be to everyone's taste, I understand that, but there's an unhealthy lack of mobility. Not to mention not that many readers to begin with. It's frustrating not really being able to attract new people, it's frustrating that despite our best efforts Holy is still hasn't redirected touhouproject.com (his fucking nameservers do!). There's a lot of great things here, a truly agreeable community, and it feels like things aren't going to improve - not going to change, if but to get worse.

We have a lot of writefags, a lot of stories, some are more active than others. But I find it innately unfair that people won't even give things a fair shake. And it's not even malice or anything like that, it's at time just because people don't know they're out there. Maybe it's because we can't have a civilized general story discussion thread without it turning it into a shitstorm or an overly negative thread. The sticky in /gensokyo/ was a stopgap measure to create more exposure, something which I'm not sure has worked (not in the least because of lack of participation).

I like writing, sharing things, reading stories. I really do. But I seem to be virtually impotent to do anything about improving things. I know I'm venting, and it wouldn't be the first time (which is why I apologize), but there's really nothing to be done. No one really has an answer or even much of a plan. People bemoan and complain about IRC, but it's a tool to communicate ideas quickly and be in touch. I personally don't frequent #thp for a few reasons, but I enjoy speaking to some of the people that do frequent there and occasionally talking about this sort of stuff. But even in #eientei no one really reads my story (or keeps up to date) - nor do they necessarily read more than one story on the board! It's alright, it's their choice; It's emblematic of the problem nonetheless - This lack of flexibility and exposure.

Well, there we are. I ranted again. Something that clearly turns off a lot of people. Can't say I blame them. But these are just some of the reasons I'm frustrated and disappointed. The fact I can't do anything about it makes everything worse. And that's not even factoring in real world responsibilities. I'll say I'm sorry again. I really do want to write, which makes things all the more tragic. And I suppose I will sometime soon. Because I have a commitment to myself. Even if things continue to be soul-crushingly frustrating I'll try to pull through for as long as possible. It just would be nice to break this damn cycle and, at the same time, have a breath of fresh air and change in general disposition and have an influx of new people to the site. I'm certain you'll all agree that it would be nice if /eientei/ or any other board in general were more popular.

Also, a NSFW image of Kaguya because
A) It is Kaguya (should be enough of a reason)
B) The spoiler image thing was a bit of a bitch to implement and so I want to use it as vengeance.

>>17915
>>17914
Well, I already do.

>>17917
>the whole site. Because things seem to slow down no matter what. Because even within the same board, amongst two good stories, anon doesn't read more than just a specific story (just a casual glance at ips will show that). Because some stories don't get the exposure they deserve (or even a chance really). People also don't read new things.

The sad thing is that there are enough readers, if you look at all the votes Taisa gets, HY gets when he writes and even Grue when he wrote.
It is probably like you said, people just don't read new stories or more than one story at once. My own frustration is that the votes in Gensokyoland Saga and I, Youkai dropped so drastically. Even the discussion just got fewer and those stories do so much deserve it, it pains me to see them like that.

>Not everything would be to everyone's taste, I understand that, but there's an unhealthy lack of mobility. Not to mention not that many readers to begin with. It's frustrating not really being able to attract new people, it's frustrating that despite our best efforts Holy is still hasn't redirected touhouproject.com (his fucking nameservers do!). There's a lot of great things here, a truly agreeable community, and it feels like things aren't going to improve - not going to change, if but to get worse.

This is so sadly true, there are so many good stories here, but people just don't seem to vote. HY remade the site, it is so much better now, would be a shame if it was all for nothing.
The site is in Stagnation. There is nothing to be done about it really, the only thing that would kind of help if Holy could put up a "GO TO THE NEW SITE HERE" Sticky on all boards. He doesn't even need to do anything else.

>>17917

Well school's in session so things are slow, but it's also the matter of updates; it's a vicious cycle (Slow updates cause less votes which cause less updates). But things like write ins or question asking votes are prone to be even slower since most Anons are not write in experts. Most wait for someone to do an excellent one before doing anything. The more lively stories are working because they don't bog things down with too many write in only things and such as well as giving a clear direction.

It's true folks do have a habit of being selective and such. But how your story went the first time didn't help things any (the real dedicated fans are reading this, myself included) And it's the bane of /shrine/ at least until R.I.M's story came around which injected new life.

Taisa's Gensokyo High is also very lively.

Still these days a thing with 3 votes is good, some folks make due with two matching ones.

Well I say rest up, think about the story perhaps (reduce moments where Anon doesn't know what to do), and I'm sure around the holidays things will pick up some.

I for one read various stories on various boards; sadly /eientei/ is one of the slower ones due to how rare updates are compared to /th/ or /sdm/. Like I said sometimes picking up the speed would bring in more updates. The story's at a decent point, and I'll look forward to seeing it resume.

But the other three stories or so aren't updated alot.

Harker's infamously slow, so's Blame's story. Russian in Gensokyo is kinda slow.

there isn't much incentive to go to a board with rarely updating stories in contrast to /th/ or such where you can get at least one update per day.

>>17918

Well those were thought provoking votes as well as the conditions (School)

And also consider some people don't vote due to there being a tide of votes on top of people NOT UPDATING in a timely fashion. Also the matter of stories reaching kinda slow points. I, Youkai does best when it has nice little moments between Phobe and various characters. Norseman's story as of late were write-in intensive, something that modern Anon isn't the best at.

But School is a big factor for slowdown for both voters and writers.

>I already do.

Really.."

They ought to update the TouhouVN as I don't see any thing else done by you, unless its under a different name you might be using...

>>17920
Since Sigurd confessed his love to Alice the votes kind of dropped. To be honest, it kind of turned out otherwise as i hoped it to be.

>>17922

Because after that were difficult thought requiring votes. Norseman being the famed write in wizard certainly doesn't ease up on us Anon, but it's in the fashion of he wants us to really think about things, I'm sure it'll pick up again soon.

And it's been said by many vets, that there's periods of slow down and it's not a big deal.

You've just got to go with the flow of things; getting 2-4 votes isn't bad, sure it's not fantastic, but it's better than getting 0-1.

In hope the beloved Teruyo returns, to bestow upon us....
delicious Mooninite's final plan.

>>17926
He is stressed and depressed, give him some time. Every Writer has those times.
It is just important that he knows that there are actually some people still waiting for him to return to writing. Even if we are horrible voters.

>>17926
>>17927
I've gotten somewhat over my tantrum already. Pokemon and regular visits from my good-spirited Russian friend Stolich Naya have helped. Having finally done a pending test also helped.

I've said what I had to say, and unfortunately the truth remains being, well, the truth. I can't give you an eta on a return. It could be later today after a nap, if I feel good, or it could be a few days more still.

>>17928

Don't push yourself; nice pic too Bad it seems Eirin's a bit small in it.

>>17929

Delicious Eirin. Om nom nom nom.

[X] "And why would they send someone after Kaguya, or you? The way you've said things, it looks like they are risking a civil war; why would they go after exiles?"

I'M HELPING

On something certainly unrelated to the recent events (of this thread), Teruyo, you should definetly warned us of what route we were locked in. As you may have seen, we aren't as clever as you hoped we would be, and not knowing things made things much harder, for everyone.

>>17936

Teruyo himself said it as a bad in and as the person who made that I even changed my vote.

>>17937

Actually the hint was rather clear (eirin's route plot wise it seems) romantic wise, his cryptic clue somehow was vague enough to be read two ways: Eirin or Kaguya has the best possible ending at this point.

Kaguya: based on archetype that did lead to the best ending in the game. (Mainly by Kaguya fans)

Eirin: "Whom the plot revolved around the most" As of late it's been centered on Eirin and assisting her. Kaguya fans contradict that by mentioning that game's busty nurse archetype.

But this is normal for Teruyo, it's not really a Teruyo story with at least several moments where Anon is clueless of where he stands.

>Eirin: "Whom the plot revolved around the most

I dunno...isn't that because Anon is always around her? There have been many chance to actually leave the clinic and spend time with other characters, but anon kept voting for her. Not only that, but didn't Kaguya say that what happened is because of her (Kaguya's) past, meaning the plot is/should be more about Kaguya than Eirin?

But then I have to wonder too, isn't that bottle in the OP a hint or something? Like, maybe it's the same bottle from the PDA? But then again, the busty nurse ending is impossible.

Delicious

>>17939

That's the case in the eroge that Shirou played, it may not apply to life.

This is what I mean by the overly cryptic hint. While I'm sure the hint relates to Eirin having the best possible ending at this point, I also admit it's not absolute.

"Well, you see..."Eirin paused, a strange contortion spreading across her face.

?Wir fahr'n fahr'n fahr'n auf der Autobahn~?

The sudden lyrical outburst confused most of those present in the room. Eirin processed the link between the song and the small device in her pocket, reached in, and then held the flat rectangle to her ear. "Excuse me for just a moment." She spoke to her audience with a smile, taking the call.

"Yagokoro here.... oh, it's you." Her tone softened almost instantaneously upon recognizing the voice on the other end of the call, much to the bemusement and curiosity of him. Naturally, Kaguya knew who Eirin was speaking to, as did Reisen and the other rabbit, but he was naturally clueless. Shirou concentrated on the conversation, making sure he didn't miss a single word.

"So, working hard, or hardly working?" The doctor cracked a joke, and a barely audible laugh was heard coming from the phone. "Yes, I know. I suppose you're calling because she's made a decision. Yes, I know. Well, you're our liaison, you're in charge of this sort of thing. That's how I guessed." She giggled, acting flirtatious. "Well, you don't have to say that, you know that you passed my thorough inspection already. Ah yes, and your boss' as well, I won't forget. You handled yourself well even though it was a double session."

"Eh?" Shirou watched Eirin suddenly turn beet red - a first. "Don't say things like that on the phone! What if someone overheard?! You say you don't care?" She fidgeted with her hair, looking like a stereotypical teen girl gabbing on the phone. "Look, you know that I like you and everything," she dropped her voice aware that everyone was listening in, "Can we talk about that sort of thing in private? Alright? Good. So what did you call about? Ah, that. I take it she's acting impatient, huh? Yeah, well you know how she gets. I'll pass the message along then. Stay beautiful. No matter how much you try, you won't be as beautiful as me? Geez, knock off the cheesy lines already. Well, me too. See you tonight then. I'll be wearing that thing you got me last time."

With a satisfied smile, she ended the call, putting the device back in her pocket. She stood there with a stupid smile, daydreaming for several moments before Kaguya cleared her throat and brought her crashing down to here and now.

"Ah yes. Sorry about that princess, everyone." She regained her normal cool composure almost immediately, She glared at him for a moment, her intense stare making him shudder. "Princess. He called."
"About the thing?"
"Yes. She decided that it would be best after all."
"I take it that the meeting is adjourned then?"
"Yes. Lunarians can wait. Have fun."
"You too."

With a swift motion the mistress of Eientei got up and grabbed her friend's arm, pulling him up with surprising force. He was baffled as to what was going on, but trusted in whatever his best friend had in mind now.

"Udonge. You should stay here. We'll prepare you for later. You're quite popular, you know." Eirin told the rabbit to stay. This was the last thing Shirou heard before being dragged off into the hallway.

"So, what's up, buddy? Where are we going?" As they walked down the dark hallways, he asked the princess questions. "Isn't Eirin going to finish her briefing?"
"That can wait." He could tell that his buddy was grinning, even though she was looking ahead in the darkness. It was a sort of natural empathy. "Just come along quietly, and we're going to have some fun."
"Fun? Is that appropriate? I mean things sounded serious and all..."
"Hush now. You trust me, don't you?"
"Yeah."
"Then just follow for a bit and do as I say."
"Yes ma'am." He added with a roll of his eyes.

His willingness to cooperate got him in a bit of a tight spot. Perhaps that could be considered something of an understatement.

He was bound, movements impeded and otherwise restrained. Hands behind his back, he sat (for lack of a better term) up against a wall in a poorly-illuminated room. He felt the ropes press into his skin at ever slight movement of his, all the while wondering just how exactly it had come to this. He had followed his friend and, as he had vowed to do, trusted her.

He had thought that he was in for the usual, the playing, laughing, and all the other things that they would enjoy together. Yet, in the briefest of instants, he had been tied up. Not only that, but Kaguya hadn't given a proper explanation yet; He was at a loss at what all of this meant.

"Buddy, these ropes are chaffing my skin." He said as his dearest companion reappeared through the doorway. She closed the door, bolting it, and walked on over with a casual gait. "What's with this?"
"I trust they're not bothering you too much, right? Or are too tight or anything? It's the first time I've done this. I would hate to have accidentally cut the circulation to certain parts of your body."
"It's a bit tight, but not too bad. Still, what's with the ropes?"
"Now now, bwuddy." She smiled, enjoying the reaction that came from her friend. "You should know why. You've been something of a poor friend."
"Ah... I have?" He looked genuinely concerned, a look that shook her resolve momentarily. The decision that had been jointly made had to be upheld she thought - it was, after all, her direct interest to do so.
"Yes, you have." She began to list his sins. She crouched, bringing herself near to his head, her long strands of hair tickling his skin on contact. "You've been awfully selfish and inconsiderate, don't you know that? And we can't have that. Especially since I'm more selfish than you might think."
"Eh?"
"Shush now. It's time for listening not talking." She spoke with a firmness borne out of a mixture of conviction and desire for what was to come. Her tone silenced him, making him understand that she was in control here and now. "There's a limit to how much of an idiot one can be. I gave you everything - a whole new world, hospitality, and even my love. But it hurts to say that you've just simply not repaid in kind." She asked in a whisper, her soft words blowing into his ear, "Why's that?"

She stood up, enjoying being in a dominant position. He let out a yelp, a cute yip from her perspective as she began to rub her foot on his restrained body. She probed around, feeling his physique through the fabrics of his clothes.

"W-What are you doing?" He stammered, feeling a strange intoxicating rush beginning to manifest itself. His heart rate was up, shot up at just the sight of the milky-white skin of her delicate foot. Being touched by it was a stimulation he didn't know how to cope with.

"As I said, shush. You need to be brought into line, to know what your place is." She kept a grin on her face as her eyes focused on the labor she was performing with her foot. She was amused at how he would quiver as she got near certain regions. And it wasn't long before his shock turned into some sort of pleasurable anticipation. She picked up on that with great satisfaction, "Oh? What's this then? Could you perhaps be enjoying being put in your place?"

She couldn't ignore the solid protrusion coming from his trousers. She decided to tease him, running her foot along the edges of the engorged area.

"Mmm." He moaned, a look of concern giving way to one of excitement.
"This is really filthy of you. Getting all excited just because your best buddy is rubbing her foot on you. You're sick and disgust me. Taking advantage of my kindness. Eirin was right about you." Her foot came down with controlled force on his shame, making his restrained limbs twitch. "It doesn't look like you're learning your lesson at all."

She let out a sigh, removing her foot. "Maybe I should just give up, there's no helping you."

"Please don't stop." He looked at her with pleading eyes.
"Oh?"
"I just realized how big of an ass I've been. And how much yo need to put me in my place, so please-"
"No doubt another broken promise awaits me." She interrupted, but looked at him sympathetically. "But unlike you, I finish what I start properly."

Her foot moved back into place, stroking his erect member through his clothes unceremoniously. She focused on her task, eyes firmly planted on what her foot was doing. Her movements were natural, slow deliberate strokes that made him mad with excitement. Excitement for more.

She peeled back his clothes, exposing him and all his glory to plain view. She didn't say anything, smiling silently, as she moved her foot across directly, rubbing with dedication. It wasn't long before his hurried breathing and adorable moans gave away his status. The smile changed to a grin as she worked with more force. With every stroke he would writhe with increasing abandon, giving himself in to her stimulation. The princess was losing herself to the moment as well, not even realizing that small beads of sweat had begun forming on her brow. Her shiny black hair moved in sync with her movements, shimmering with the little light present in the room.

Even though she knew he was almost at his limit, his eruption still came as a surprise. Violent and powerful, it seemed to go on forever, covering a great deal of her foot with the hot substance.

"Pathetic. Getting off with my foot like that. You're nothing but a lustful animal." She removed her foot from his still-twitching shaft and cleaned off his discharge on his clothes. "You've gone and sullied me just like that. What are you going to do about it, huh?" She presented her foot to his face.

"Ah... sorry, it felt too good." He apologized, breathing shallowly. Without hesitation he began to lick her foot, moving his tongue around her toes.
"What the hell are you doing?" She moved her foot back, surprised.
"I just thought that..."
"Don't do anything that I don't tell you to. Otherwise you won't be able to satisfy me."
"Satisfy you?" He looked at her, wishing that his arms weren't bound.
"Yes, with that now-limp thing of yours." She shifted her gaze to his genitals, studying them carefully. "Eirin told me that the average male needs a couple of minutes. But even now I see that you're still excited." She crouched down, touching still-hardened member with her hands. It hurt him somewhat, but his excitement more than made up for that fact. "I wouldn't say that you're ready to go, probably, but this is a start. You really are a filthy boy, aren't you? Having sexual thoughts about your best friend. Or maybe any woman would do? Would you rather it were someone with a more erotic body?"
"Dammit Kaguya, that's not true!" He protested, feeling overstimulated with his member being tightly clutched. "There's no one I'd rather be with..."
"Oh, is that a fact? I somehow don't believe you." She let go, moving next to his head. She undid one of the ropes tying his arm. "Then again, being in the position that you're in and the fact that we need to wait anyways, you have more than enough time to prove your sincerity."

With his arm freed, he swung it around and held her close. He could smell the delicious fragrance of her shampoo filtering into his nostrils. She smiled, enjoying being held by him.

"I'll prove it to you alright. I understand my place and my duty. And yeah, you're right, I may be a monster for having sexual thoughts about my pure innocent buddy. But if this is wrong, I don't want to be right!"

She laughed. "How cheesy, but about on par for one your performances. Alright then, prove that you really understand how things are. Maybe - just maybe if you're lucky - this will be a night that we'll both remember for an eternity?

--

What's this? A return to writing? A prelude? A taste of things to come? Well, we'll see about that. We'll see how long it'll take me to finish what the proper update is supposed to be. So for now you'll just have to put up with what's just a passing whim. An admitedly not that good piece of erotica quickly written on, as I said, a whim.

And because I care too much even when I am supposed to not care I'll say a couple of other things.

>But then I have to wonder too, isn't that bottle in the OP a hint or something?

Sometimes, anon, a bottle is just a bottle. With no hidden meaning attached to it.

>>17938
>>17937
>>17941
Simply put: Stop it.

I've stated time and time again that A) Character interaction is somewhat independant of storyline and B) The hints/allegories/whatever are there to enhance the experience but don't ultimately matter either.

If you like Kaguya, spend time with Kaguya, talk to her, keep the commitments you've made with her. If you like any other character do the same. I am loathe to quantify just how close you are to getting into someone's knickers, as I believe that should be an organic thing. You may have potential to go further with some characters than others, based on past actions but stop obsessing on whose 'route' this is. Even if I told you, that wouldn't change anything, now would it? You wouldn't magically start to spend time exclusively with someone nor would your enjoyment of other characters cease either. 'Where anon stands' as a poster so eloquently put it is plain as day. It's how well you get along with people. People in real life don't go broadcasting their feelings on a sign or anything and you shouldn't expect that here either. Do what you think is right and appropiate and things will likely work out. And when in doubt, discuss things with the people concerned. You can't hope to understand others otherwise.

This is obvious and I shouldn't have to point it out. The people you spend more time with are those whom the story is focused on. Your personal relationship with them is defined by your actions and discussions.

As for the actual hints, as I've said, it's nice if you figure them out, but they aren't vital and I don't expect anon to get everything without subsequent playthroughs/reflection. Yeah, the PDA does stuff. Yeah visions in a dream may be foreshadowing stuff, or explaining background. These are implements that add to the experience, but do not define it. So what if some damn bar is 10% more full than yesterday? The best meter for what your actual status might be is what's actually going on and what characters do/say/think.

I do realize that I'm not perfect, and I haven't done everything perfectly either. But really now, some of the things you say and think are simply overblown or not exactly true.

>This is obvious and I shouldn't have to point it out. The people you spend more time with are those whom the story is focused on.

You really hvae to point this out, many people just don't get it.

Is there a 2nd part or only this one?

>I do realize that I'm not perfect, and I haven't done everything perfectly either. But really now, some of the things you say and think are simply overblown or not exactly true.

Take it easy. You know that Anon just likes to bitch and whine.

Also, I wouldn't mind if this scene became canon.

then again when in your first run, A handjob session with a known medical genius ends in a snapped dick a part of a almost comical backfiring of a decision, then people start to second guess themselves at least.

But the fact people still come back is proof that you can make an interesting Gensokyo.

Though the proof will be in the writing.

And it could be worse: you could be easily in the same sentence with Kira and YAF

>>then again when in your first run, slut whore woman of loose morals ends with the girl taking a shot in the mouth, and Shirou never hearing from her ever again after that.
So, that sorta kinda balances things out a bit, don't you think?

I wonder if there's any truth to the rumors about her briefly giving up her career in journalism to take up writing erotic fiction that would never be published.

You guys are putting your anger towards the wrong area.

WHERE THE BLOODLY HELL IS OUR OWN SUKUSUKU HAKUTAKU, TERUYO?!?!?!
I HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN.

>>18035

I thought Harker took care of that a while ago before he passed away.

>>18034

Do remember that before hand, Shirou basically molested her on a couple of occasions, making her more likely to do such things

But when said girl vanished, it was clearly at the clusterfuck stage of no recovery.

>>18035

People are more concerned on ending this run on a remotely good note than something small.

>>18037

Harker's just being Harker.

>>18022
Considered it. Rather, considering it. Like I said it was on a whim. I'm just as likely to continue that as I am extending that random thing with Eirin coming on to Reisen. Don't hold your breath, as I find that I do a poor job at this sort of thing and am thus not inclined to write about it.

>>18028
It would be a radical break from the pacing and would cement certain types of relationships and interactions. It would be interesting, now that I think about it. Not just something like this occurring but even something remotely similar. Now there's something to think about. Still unlikely though.

>>18030
I think you're missing the point just a little. Repeating myself and citing more examples at this stage seems to be something of a sisyphean task.

>>18034
As a proud member of the YakCorp family, I am not at liberty to discuss any possible plans for the work in our catalog. It is not our policy to comment on rumor concerning members of our family or their affiliates.

>>18035
I promised such a thing? Honestly can't remember here. An adorable and wise companion would be nice to have. I bet it's all fluffy and makes the cutest purrs while sleeping. Just like Keine would after an intimate encounter.

Well, as for an actual update. We'll see. I'm trying to get back into it, but it's hard. There's a lot that impedes me from finishing. It's slowed down other things as well, not just this. Go figure why I decided to even write the scene above. Once a deviant, always a deviant.

>>18039
>I bet it's all fluffy and makes the cutest purrs while sleeping. Just like Keine would after an intimate encounter.

GODDAMN YOU. Now you have to write this. We just can't let it stand like this.

>>18040
You know, I don't actually have a problem writing a scene like that. It appeals to me, really. I have half a mind to do that right now. Delicious Keine is delicious. But I think that that sort of thing is best in the story context. Makes it all the more juicy and satisfying, wouldn't you agree?

I guess I'll stop posting random stuff now, as it probably just aggravates anon. The ramblings of an insane man are only entertaining for the briefest of moments.

>>18042
>>18040

I really just want "Feels good man" side story with a sukusuku Hakutaku.

Keine is hot, but she really needs her own route. Not a causal un canon sex encounter.

>>18042
>But I think that that sort of thing is best in the story context. Makes it all the more juicy and satisfying, wouldn't you agree?

Of course, it is like using cheats to get what you want, the satisfaction is not nearly as good as when you work yourself to get it.
But, first of all we would need to get a story going, 2nd we would the readers and 3rd we would need the people to actually vote for Keine. See, that is the dilemma.

>I guess I'll stop posting random stuff now, as it probably just aggravates anon. The ramblings of an insane man are only entertaining for the briefest of moments.
You really start to sound like YAF, he started like that too. I don't really mind this at all becuase Writefags have to broken and loony. If they are not, they are not good Writefags.

This story is probably in such a big mess that it will be hard to get it back in order.
You should do it HY style, go for a quick clean restart. Rethink everything, do it easier or get a new concept. You need to redeem your good name and get a good story going again. It's not like there are not enough readers out there, it's just that people are picky and stupid.

>>18045

>You should do it HY style, go for a quick clean restart.

Oh fuck. Nice advice, retard.

>Rethink everything, do it easier or get a new concept.

Then again, and again and again

>You need to redeem your good name and get a good story going again.

Implying his trip has been sullied. DoLF2 is much better in comparsion to 1.

>It's not like there are not enough readers out there, it's just that people are picky and stupid.

Not enough readers because they either left or too busy jerking it in IRC.

Teruyo, I enjoy your works.
I have massive bro-pect for what you did with DolF1. It wasn't a copout like Kira or a LOLNOENDINGEVER HY story.

It was our just desert

See it through, brah.

>>18046

Much agreed.

>>18045

Let's see his name isn't that bad, and people do give any writefag a hard time, even HY. Even Taisa, the rising star of /th/ gets a few jabs his way. When you're famous people will take shots at you, just natural.

And as far as readers, some folks read and don't vote; the whole taking a month or two to update never helps.

But a restart at this point isn't needed, This is not a complete mess, and has a good chance of ending on a nice note.

>>18046

On the ending: Well it was rather deserved with the level of stupidity I seen.

And some folks on IRC do read your story; though the rest don't forget the misteps with the first run as easily. But truth be told some folks on IRC do nothing but bitch about things.

In HY's case, it was more like his life was acting up big time. And not the usual Video games excuse.

And one's trip isn't stained until it's in the same sentence as Kira and YAF.

>>18048
Kira wasn't too bad. Snow End aside, he only started breaking down when Anon's DESPAIR comments reached an all time high. After Kira threw his hissy-fit he more-or-less apologized and faded away. YAF was unrepentant in his faggotry.

Hey, hey Teruyo!
I hope you are writing that Keine story, Teruyo.

>>18057
Nope! Sorry to disappoint, should I be? I'm working on getting an actual update out, with mixed results thus far. The hiatus is almost over.

>>18048
Your post is weird. It seems that you're assuming that I'm >>18046 . I am not. People have opinions and views other than your own. Like how, for example, I have to question the veracity of some of your statements and the logic behind them.

I am >>18046
A regular update is fine too~

Here's the skinny: This was going to be a wall originally, but since I can't seem to write the original vision, I'm going to instead do little chunks, while revising some things and adding other elements. Plus, it gives people time to notice that things are more or less back as usual. Might do shorter updates at some point to inject a little life into the board.
--

"There probably are many things that you're wondering about. Rather, that you should be." Eirin continued to speak, pointing her indicator at you. "For the sake of cohesion and expediency, not every small thing can or should be covered right now. It suffices to say that we, the princess and I, would like nothing better than to be left alone. Lunarian politics and their fate isn't something that we wish to be involved in."

"For the most part, it seemed that the feeling was mutual. Our lunarian brethren didn't seem to care enough to bother us, or even remember that we existed. Well times change, as evidenced by our newest guest." She stole a brief look at the girl in the corner. "And well, this brings me to our plan of action." Eirin tapped her pointer against the floor, the projection changing. Another emblem appeared, a gold and silver crest with an inlaid arrow in the center. "Since we cannot alter our circumstances here by much, not that we'd be necessarily willing to in the first place, we will go for the alternative. Change circumstances on the moon."

"Eirin." Kaguya spoke up, becoming the center of attention. "Could you excuse me for a couple of minutes, I'd like to say something to Shirou."
"Why of course princess." Eirin nodded, bringing her pointer casually to her thigh. "I'll take the time to show Udonge something that I've been putting off."

Her lack of hesitation in granting Kaguya her wish shouldn't come off to a surprise to anyone who has spent more than five minutes with both, but for some reason it strikes you as, well... misplaced. From what you understood, this was an important briefing and there was a lot to discuss. Definitely a lot to discuss and a lot to understand.

Kaguya stands, turns to you, and gestures you to come with her. You follow your buddy, as the 3d projection turns to display something of a short movie. Sepia tones are used in the drab film, and even though it's on a piece of futuristic equipment, it looks and sounds completely retro. You hear a monotone narrative espouse the dangers of something or another, speaking about 'curiosity', 'stress' and 'natural urges'. You steal a glance back at Reisen who watches intently, as if the projection were designed for her and her only. In any case, that's all you can catch before you're out of the room and audible range.

You ask what's up, but Kaguya refrains from talking until you're standing several doors down in an empty room.

"You're not dealing with this very well, are you? I can tell." She asks, getting straight to the point.
"I'm managing just fine, it's just a lot to process. Politics and this sort of intrigue don't seem to be my strong suits."
"That's not a handicap." She reassures you, "Don't interpret it that way. I personally don't care at all, and could I choose not to I'd not know."
"I still have to try. I wanted in on the loop, after all.."
"I'd tell you not to make everything your personal crusade, but there's no avoiding that, is there?"
"Hm." You think about what she said. "I don't turn everything into a crusade."
"All I'm saying is that sometimes a hands off approach is best. No need to get overly involved."

You take a good look at her face, thinking. She wears a mask that you can't see past. "This isn't like you. Why are you even saying this sort of thing to me?"
"I'm your friend and I care about you, that's all." She gave her plain answer without hesitation. She smiles, giving you a vote of confidence. You stare at her, not sure what to make of this. "What? It's true."
"Still, it's a bit from the left field, huh? All of this.."

Her next actions take you by surprise. You feel a tight squeeze around your back as your heart rate goes up. You look down to see the top of her head, her hair displaying its usual magnificent sheen. She hugged you. And it's only after a while that you remember to hug back. You feel her warmth pressing up against your body. It's an intoxicating feeling - radiating security and comfort.

You manage to ask with a smile on your lips, "What's this all about then?"
"Just letting you know that you're not all alone, that's all." She answers with her head on your chest. You feel her warm breath blowing through your clothes.
"That tickles.."
"All the more reason to do it some more then." She teases, deliberately blowing. You laugh, shaking your head. The two of you stay like that for a while longer, until she looks up at you suddenly. Following her previously swift motion, she leans in closer to your cheek and plants a quick peck on it. She then breaks away from the hug, and smiles. "Well then, I hope you understand then."
"Understand what? That I'm not alone? That my friend is here for me? I think I do." You realize that your voice is agitated.
"Something the matter?"
"No, not really. Just the hug and then the kiss... I didn't expect that."
"Oh come on, friends do that sort of thing, you know."
"Ah, they do I guess." Most of your friends had been male, and none of them ever kissed you on the cheek. Maybe it would have been commonplace had you been born in the Middle East...
"Yeah, see? Nothing to worry about then." She nods, but you feel that it's more because she's trying to convince herself of something rather than for your sake.
"We should get back, Eirin's plans sound important."
"Oh they're important alright. But not that important."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Not much. Just that some things in life are more important than others. She'd get cross at me if she overheard me saying that though." Your buddy smiles enigmatically and urges you out of the room, back towards the improvised briefing room.

You follow, stopping short of actually going inside. Kaguya does the same, and you both just sort of listen to the ongoing movie.

"Again, if any of these symptoms appear, or you have any thoughts you should immediately contact your physician. A life of perversion and horror begins with the smallest things!"

You exchange a glance with your buddy. She furrows her brow.

"You know, now that I think about it... well I wouldn't mind going spelunking. Beats this, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, I understand where you're coming from." What is transpiring inside is certainly repellant. "Would you really do that though?"
"I..."Her expression softens, showing doubt, "I don't think I would hate it. So, if I could, it wouldn't be that terrible... but it's not really the right moment to think about it, you know."
"It's never going to be the right moment then."
"You're probably right about that." She admits.

"Do you want to end up in the same life of excess and depravity as Little Maribel here?" The narrator goes on.

You look into Kaguya's eyes with something like resolve.

[] Put an end to movie time and on with the briefing
[] Spirit Kaguya away to discuss cave exploration

[x] Spirit Kaguya away to discuss cave exploration

hooray, updates.

[x] Spirit Kaguya away to discuss cave exploration.

Tough decision. I'll vote for this option until someone comes up with better reasoning.

>>18067
What he said.

[x] Spirit Kaguya away to discuss cave exploration.

[Z] Spirit Kaguya away to discuss cave exploration

[x] Put an end to movie time and on with the briefing

Is it that wrong to get some answers(at the very least in regards to Sliver) first before going cave adventuring or am I just pissing against a tsunami?

>>18070
We already chose to abandon Silver and move away from that storyline. Right now, our princess is the most important person.

>>18071
signed.

>>18071

Don't blame me if this ends up biting us in the ass and the Kaguya route is the one that doesn't have the best ending!

>>18073
I think we got a pretty strong hint from this latest update. Whether it results in the best ending or not, I still want a Kaguya route.

[X] Spirit Kaguya away to discuss cave exploration

Good to see you're back Teyuro as it suddenly feels like summer once again; or the spirit of it for me.

[X] Spirit Kaguya away to discuss cave exploration

No regrets, only path, etc...

Eyes on the target people, we have to get that good end at any cost before we get a snow end.

>>18074

It feels like the opposite, since it seems we're about to jump off the rails of the Eirin plot route with this.

>>18077
It might be just a meh end instead.

Foolish pride that results in people preferring the inferior ending. (Especially when Serial Ata's story is technically Kaguya route as well)

And I know I'm not the only one aiming for Eirin here.

[\\!/] Spirit Kaguya away to discuss cave exploration.

An Eirin End would be nice, if not appropriate.
Kaguya would be acceptable with a nutbladder exploding Keine side story.
Kaguya and Mokou End is ?_?.

>>18079

That is what you'd believe, and I don't think anything is decisively called yet (When that happens then I'd give up)

>>18078
Don't worry about derailing a plot route. As far as the plot is concerned, it'll continue to develop in a certain general direction. Of course, there are different endings and events possible depending on choices made, but it's not like you're going to one day find yourselves working for YakCorp's village branch, with no contact with Eientei. So keep doing what feels natural and don't be afraid do your own thing as long as it's reasonable and consistent within context.

Oh, and I'm supposedly writing now. Though thoughts of Keine distract me.

>>18081

That's what I've been doing, since i feel finishing listening to the briefing would give insights on to things, but people are like "Let's go cave diving with NEET princeness Herp Derp"

Might as well see how badly this backfires (I don't think Gensoky has much in the way of cave systems that aren't the underground area or the Tengu network anyways)

>>18082
It isn't so much that we're taking Kaguya spelunking, but that we're rescuing her from the moon politics and "badness" associated with it.

"Come on." You grab your friend by the wrist, leading her gently away from the dining room. Sucks to be Reisen, or Silver for that matter, but good opportunities are rare. Kaguya doesn't ask any question, instead following your lead amicably. You go past the room you were in a couple of minutes ago. And the room past that one. And so on. You end up taking Kaguya somewhere nice and quiet, in the older portion of the complex. "Right. Let's see what we need.."

"Need for?" She asks as you let go of her wrist.
"Spelunking, duh. At the very least we need flashlights and helmets." You take your PDA out. "I should write this down somewhere as well. Make a list, you know, to be efficient.."
"Is that necessary?" She asks, but you're too busy fiddling with the PDA.

The hand-held device has a message waiting for you. And because whoever designed the UI obviously took ergonomics as a priority in the design, you can't mess around with the rest of the system until you read the message.

"From: YakCorp Marketing
Subject: New Service!

Hello dear valued customer!

YakCorp likes staying at the forefront of innovation and at the bleeding edge of trends, a fact well represented by our pioneering staff and forward-thinking CEO. It is with great pleasure that we announce the launch of out new Equipment and Accessory retailers! Located conveniently at several key locations (click here to see a map), we can now offer our customers our products and services faster than before.

Step into one of our stores, we have everything from apparel to ropes and tools! Looking for something for a special someone? Look no further! We are sure that we can find and satisfy you with our range of products.

But that's not all!

Our expert staff is present to advise you on the products that will suit your needs. They are friendly and well-trained, capable of fulfilling your dreams! Don't be afraid to ask for a hands-on demonstration on how something works or performs, we'll happily accommodate you!

Satisfaction guaranteed! Every customer has their desire and we can give it to them until they are thoroughly satisfied.

Don't hesitate, come to one of our localities today!"

You immediately delete the message and try to forget that you ever saw it.

"Well then, probably need backpacks as well, non-perishable food, umm..."You start to make a list, putting in the general details needed for an expedition.
"Sleeping sacks." Kaguya adds, "Any sort of map would help as well."
"Good thinking!" You smile at her.
"Look, this is really sweet of you and everything..."
"Don't bring that up again. Isn't it enough that I want to do something with you? Spending time together is a good thing."
"I know. Which is why I said it was sweet." She sighs, looking downcast, "But can't we get a little realistic here for a bit please?"
"Okay, fine. I'll get realistic for you." You yield to your buddy. "What exactly should I worrying about?"
"For starters, the fact that we probably won't be able to go spelunking anytime soon."
"How come?"
"I don't want to steal Eirin's thunder - I asked her to do the explanation for the most part - but there are circumstances that will prevent us from doing as we want."
"Lunarians, that sort of circumstance?" You look at your buddy with raised eyebrows taking up a sarcastic tone.
"In as many words." She sits on the floor in a formal way, prompting you to listen carefully. "Look, believe me, there's nothing else I would rather do than goof off and keep things the way they should be around here. Unfortunately it's not possible."
"Just why? Can't we just forget everything and continue to live normally? I mean, I don't know what's the deal with Silver, but something tells me she's not really a threat is she? Not with the way she's just allowed to sit with us."

You sit opposite your buddy, and clasp her hands. It's an intimate gesture, sure, but one that emphasizes your anxiety and need to know. It's scary to think that your life here might get disrupted in any way; Your buddy should know from your previous conversations that you want to stay here no matter what.

"Remember that conversation we had some time ago?" Kaguya looks at where you're holding her hands before staring into your eyes. Her dark pupils trap your gaze, locking your eyes. "The really long talk?"
"Sure I remember." It was when you declared your intentions, and categorized your motivation into what it currently is. It's a talk that you didn't take lightly and explains why you've done what you've done since then. "I'm a part of everything because of it."
"Do you remember the bit after that? About me?"
"You told me that you could do stuff like stop time." Not that you can really believe that without actually witnessing something. It's something straight out of a comic book.
"Not quite." Her eyes light up with a smile, overlooking your oversimplification. "But that's not really what I was getting at. I told you back then how Lunarians thought and about the tree. And here we have a related incident."
"So... what are you getting at?"
"That it's something that is pretty big and isn't going to go away. So there's no ignoring it. We've got to take care of it so that we can do as we like."
"It has always seemed to me that Eirin's been in control." You give her your impression of the woman. There's no denying that whatever the situation Eirin always knows what to say or do, or what not to do. "Her plan is probably not going to require much effort from us."

"Well, I think it will." Kaguya weighs in, keeping her gaze on you. "There's not much gained without sacrifice, you know. And since things are the way they are - only a few paths are acceptable. You said you wanted to help in any way possible, right? For us to share things, well it looks like we're going to share a lot indeed."
"What's going to happen?" You ask about her bombshell, grabbing her hands tightly without consciously realizing it.
"Ah, that's kind of hard there, buddy."
"Eh?"
"Your hands."
"Oh sorry." You loosen up.
"Eirin can explain better than I can, but we're going to deal with our brothers and sisters directly." She looks distant, finally breaking eye contact with you.

It's silent now, and you think of asking what she means by what she said. Ultimately you decide against it. It would worsen the mood probably.

"Is this something you want to do?" You ask instead.
"It's not a question of wanting to. It's having to."
"Hey now, that's not answering my question." You try to lighten things up by making sounding cheerful. "Let's try something else then. Does my dear princess wish to embark upon a magical journey into the bowels of the very earth? If so, we can gather the necessary goods and tools and get on it posthaste."

You're glad to see that her sense of humor isn't gone.

"Is my most esteemed lord suggesting that we abscond ourselves far away and dedicate ourselves to exploring dark twisted caverns together."
"Indeed I do believe I am. But I'm afraid you're mistaken about something, dear princess."
"Pray tell, how have I erred?" She clasps your hands.
"I am no lord milady, I am but your humble servant, an esquire at most." You grin. "You have not erred, merely misspoken."
"An esquire is most unsuitable for someone of my station."
"Indeed I should think so. Therefore this flight would be most scandalous."
"The whole of the court would be up in scandal!" She smiles deviously, "Those attached to it would have a most unpleasant time upon hearing the news."
"Yes indeed. Imagine but their faces when they learn of the news - Princess Kaguya has fled with little more than a commoner." Even though you're speaking in a light-hearted manner and enjoying yourself, you wonder if maybe just maybe you wouldn't like to do what you're suggesting.
"I would imagine that Vizier Yagokoro would be most cross."

A loud sucking of air makes the both of you look towards the door. There, standing against the door puffing a lit cigar stands Tewi. She enjoy smoking her cigar, taking slow deliberate puffs before exhaling. She is the first to say something, speaking with the cigar in her mouth.

"Well, well. Long time no see. What's all this that I hear about running away?"
"Oh Tewi, we were just kidding." You tell her. "What are you doing here?"
"Out for a stroll. Thinking about my success. You know that I'm loaded now, right? Could buy anything I wanted." She produces a wad of bills from her dress, fluttering it around nonchalantly. "I could help you get out if you wanted to. No one would have to know."

"That won't be necessary. We have things to do." Kaguya speaks up.
"Sure, but look. I won't judge. If you want a quick and easy getaway that's quiet, I'm the one to talk to. I have no problems in helping. Won't charge anything either. Anything for my friends, especially if they're in you know...."
"Ah... well... it's not like we want to get away or anything. Don't misunderstand." Kaguya speaks, lets go of your hand in a hurry, and somehow manages to sound sure and unsure at the same time.
"Right. Suit yourselves then. I've got a business to run, so gotta go."

And just like that, the small girl in pink was gone.

"What's her deal?" Kaguya asks, looking a bit confused.
"Who knows? I don't think I'll ever be able to deal with her properly. She's strange."
"I suppose. Suggesting that we wanted to run away together... sounds like something out of a two-bit shoujo manga, right?" She chuckles.
"Yeah... but is it really that bad an idea?"
"What are you saying? That you want to run away with me?" She laughs again, though it's more forced, and her eyes once again meet yours.
"I'm not sure. I'm just asking if it would be such a thing. Just the two of us somewhere, having fun."
"I... don't know." She breaks eye contact, thinking. Her next words come as a sort of unintentional whisper, escaping her mouth slowly. "I'd have to try it in other to be able to decide. And about trying... no, never mind."
"Hypothetically speaking, how do you think the others would react?"
"I don't know."
"Yeah, it's a tough call." You think about Eirin's threats. You don't know how she would see it. Not to mention the implicit commitment you have to her. The trustworthiness that you've struggled to impress upon her. Would all that wash away?

A thought surfaces - Eirin: Would she be jealous? Would she want to run away with you. Even for a little bit? Have fun and relax, do stuff friends would. Is she capable of doing something like that? No doubt you'd become some sort of project for her, an experiment. Perhaps not in a medical way, but an experiment nonetheless. It piques your curiosity.

"So... what now?" Kaguya's question brings your focus back to the present and to her. "Maybe we should go back."
"Back...?"
"With the others."
"Oh."
"Unless there's something else, of course."

[] Go back
[] Get the specifics of what's to happen from her
[] "Want to run away?"
[] Other (write-in)

>>18086
Got my tripcode wrong. But that's me.

[x] Go back
[x] Get the specifics of what's to happen from her

Seeing how Shirou's Int isn't that high a second explanation might help.

[Z]Go back
-[Z] "Some day when this is all over though, we'll have to have an adventure, just the two of us."
-[Z] "For now I'm happy to help you however I can. Just tell me how I can best help."
--[Z] Rescue Reisen from her torture.

[x] Get the specifics of what's to happen from her
[x] Go back

I'm going to sleep on a decision regarding the future of this story and all of my other stories. Something way beyond an update that took over 2 hours to get any sign of life on.

Expect something, regardless of what it may be, in several hours. Definitely around 12 hours or less.

>>18093

Most anons aren't fully active of Sunday. Can anyone else vouch for this?

>>18094
I can, though I'm active doing other shit (i.e. schoolwork). I wanted to put off voting until I had enough time to reread the last few updates since my memory is foggy from the break. Normally, I'd beg for updates, but this choice seems a bit important to decide without so much as a modicum of discussion.

>>18094

I've already voted.

Yeah that and the fact /eientei/ is among the slowest boards here doesn't help.

It'll start picking up around later monday or tuesday. Best days are later on in the week and such.

Also this is a slower era and GASP! Anon might be mulling over their choices.

And after those two hours you got a nice amount of votes. Some folks have to wait longer for a nice amount of votes, but you don't hear them whining about it.

The first step to improving vote flow: Update when you say you are and if not say something then so Anon knows you're not pulling a long delay causing this to get McCoyed.

[x] Get the specifics of what's to happen from her
[x] Go back

>>18094

Most Anons only check the site once or twice a week.

>>18098

Really? I find myself checking practically every day...

I blame work being incredibly boring at times when all the work is done; pays pretty damn good though.

>>18093
You have few reader and few voters. I am not sure how many people actually read your story and how of them are just reading and not voting.
Votings are and will be slow. Comments will be few too i guess. I know that this is a far cry from when you began writing, but it is how it is.
Now you can do two things:
1. Accept things like they are and just write for the people that read this story.
2. You don't want to continue to write under these conditions and quit.

I am not sure why people just don't vote that much here, if you look at other stories you will notice that there are still enough people here, just the times between votings and comments has slowed down.
My guess would be that they are extremely picky about what they read and an influx of non 4chan people. New people probably just won't bother with reading 12 threads to pick this up here, others might have left because they did not like where it was headed.

>>18100
Oh yes. And the long downtime and site change have cost us people.

[+] Go back
I think options are mutually exclusive, unless something with "Other" is done.

Look, I'm not trying to be overly dramatic here. It's just that there's been a lot on my mind. I'll reply to some of the posts here since I've always believed in open dialog with my readers.

>>18094
Nor are they on any other day apparently. Day of the week is a miniscule factor.

>>18096
Yes! YES! A thousand times yes! I don't mind waiting for votes if there's DISCUSSION! If it takes two hours for a single vote and only after 6 hours are there any additional votes then that's damn discouraging. I don't want zombies voting out of obligation, I want to stir your passion and convictions! Otherwise I'm failing as a writefag and shouldn't be writing. This is what lack of feedback leads me to conclude.

>>18097
/eientei/ is a slow board, granted. But also because lack of votes! I'm not the only writer that feels the same way. There's a real lack of interest that no speedy update can fix. Whole peoples, backgrounds, plots and such have been created - yet it seems like it doesn't matter in the least.

When was the last time that you told your favorite writefag that you enjoyed a certain scene? Or wondered in a post what might have happened had another choice been made? Or, you know, interacted in an interactive story?

This is not just about votes either, and no matter how quickly I update it doesn't change the flow. And I would know, since I"ve updated with as few as 2-3 votes in the past in order to get things moving. Doesn't help!

>>18100
I'm aware of my choices. I don't want to quit. But I'm literally heart broken here guys. It feels like nothing I do can excite people, entice them, attract them. I'd like it if someone just casually looked over my story and said "hey that looks interesting..." and read it. Or if someone enjoyed something. Reading shouldn't be a chore, just like writing. I try to put in love into my updates. Really. Cheesy, I know. And sometimes some of the love gets stolen before it gets to you, but it's always there (if only in trace amounts).

I don't know, I'm being forthright here. Completely honest. It feels like nothing I do makes a difference. And it's not just a simple cry for attention. We're on a journey together anon, don't make it seem like I'm driving alone.

>>18103

Discussions are fine. But not when you reach mindless masses levels. Case and point: Taisa.
Shit is more like a forum dedicated to rabid Kingdom Hearts fans. DROPPED

If we discuss anything, it should be making Teruyo write A Certain Teaching Schoolmarm?, NEE-T?, Kimi ni Todoke: From Tewi to Rei?, The Sacred Gunsmith?, NyanMokou!" or even Seitokai no Eientei!"

Personally, a XBOXHUEG discussion thread after the ending would be much suitable.

>>18103
>We're on a journey together anon, don't make it seem like I'm driving alone.

Stop. This is an insult for the few people that still vote and comment. Sure, it may only be 1/3 of what you once had, maybe 5 or 7 people, a shadow of it's once former self or whatever you want to call it. BUT, this means that there are still people that still care and enjoy what you write. Shouldn't that be enough reward for you?

>When was the last time that you told your favorite writefag that you enjoyed a certain scene? Or wondered in a post what might have happened had another choice been made? Or, you know, interacted in an interactive story?

I was never one to discuss stories much. I always left that to other people and voted according to whatever went in the direction of what i original thought. And i am not the only one who does this. There are many people who are exactly like this.
Actually, the lack of discussion and comments made this story kind of... routine. Read/vote/read/vote etc. Because there is no discussion or votes i am mostly unsure on what to pick so i wait for others to do something before i do something.

When i think back all the way to the beginning, MiG, SDM LA and TS, they all had all kind of comments. Crazy, stupid, off topic and just fooling around, this made the story just seem alive and better. You could say that this is the lifeline of a story and yours just doesn't have it anymore. And i have no idea why.

But, you are right, i will write my thoughts about the latest update starting next one but don't expect too much. Maybe this might encourage other people to do so too and some discussion could spark up.

Just stay on course, don't waver, keep going, if you stop and do nothing, nothing might change.

>>18104
I'd sure as hell love to hear that kind of crap. Even if it's not that related. Or how much of a huge moron I am (and how I can stop sucking so much)! You know, stuff that makes it more than just a vote/update cycle. It doesn't have to be extreme stuff, or as wild as some of the other discussion on the site either.

Seriously, even just a small comment on how I can improve a small thing that annoys you about my writing would be appreciated. seeming unreasoned voting (I can't know without comments whether it's a mechanical action or not, sorry) = meh scene when it could have been AWESOME. You know what I'm saying? You just have to try a little, and the rest comes together.

>I kept the choice ambiguous (with a clear invitation for write-ins)
I was waiting for a write in here. None came so i just sticked with what the guy above me voted for because the options are just bad. The write in or discussion people are just missing. I still blame IRC because they are doing nothing, last time i saw 50 people on there, why do they not vote? Should at least be 20 or so.

>>18108
>>18107


Problem is modern Anon are not write in artists, and I didn't see a need to do something when the existing options do the job.

That and pure write in wise, I'm not so strong. If the choices provided were better I might have been able to work something nice together.

And dumbing down the options expecting a write in is bad writing.

And I'd though all the Kaguya fans here would bust something out.

There's no shame in trying, especially since you're anon, it's only when you're using a trip that you have to worry about a shit write in.

If a scene was particularly cool I'd remark on it, heck I'm someone who comments in his votes. (My reason for my vote was for closure to the Sliver subplot, and to find out more about the main plot)

Isn't my fault a bunch of Kaguya fans butted in. And I'm disappointed in the lack of a response from such a baiting statement.

And if you can envision awesome, then you can work that in your choices.

As far as the IRC goes, it's a mix of people who don't read /eientei/ (especially not Teruyo's stuff since some folks haven't forgiven him for DoLF1), lurkers, and general readers/non-voters.

Do consider that one bit, Teruyo does have a bit of a negative history with some folks on THP, not as bad as certain people, but it's there. I've forgiven him for that, but never forget it, since it taught me some valuable lessons in my writing.

I'm going to step up my comments in the future, perhaps bust out my vote arguement skills if that's need.

>>If it takes two hours for a single vote and only after 6 hours are there any additional votes then that's damn discouraging.

Well, to be fair, that nearly month-long hiatus didn't really help matters, much. If it was necessary, then so be it, but when you have your readers getting used to a lack of updates and the voting/discussion that should go along with them, it's only natural that they're still going to be in that mindset even when you finally do start updating again.

Hell, I check /eientei/ pretty much every day, but I'm still at a loss for anything to suggest as a write-in or subject of discussion simply because it's been so long since I had to even think of anything like that for this story.

It's like taking a break from a long paper you're writing, in a way. Everything comes easily once you're in the zone and actually writing, but if you take a break and come back to it later, suddenly everything is harder than it was before. While it's possible to get back into the mindset where everything came easily, it takes some time and effort to do so.
At least, that's how it was for me with such things, and right now I'm getting much the same feeling here. I do enjoy the story, and I want to get as into it as I was, but it's going to take a little bit more than a couple updates over a couple days to get the old mojo flowing again.

Unfortunately, I'm afraid the hiatus (as well as various other factors) may have also resulted in some people just giving up on this completely. Not that I can't understand why they would.
As many times as I've seen a story I've enjoyed only for it to halt prematurely and never resume (or, worse, appear as if it was going to resume before halting once again), it becomes rather tempting to just give up and cut off any attachment to a story that looks as if it might soon share the same fate.
Not that I think this story is going that way (at least, I sure as hell hope it isn't), but if anyone did get that impression, that could be why they have drifted away.

Well, that's my theory on it, anyway.
As for this update, I wish I had a vote to go along with it, but for some reason I'm just not feeling the given options, but I can't think of anything good for a write-in, either.

[X] Go back

Eirin most likely has the details we want to know about so we can help Kaguya in the best way possible.

[Z]Go back
-[Z] "Some day when this is all over though, we'll have to have an adventure, just the two of us."
-[Z] "For now I'm happy to help you however I can. Just tell me how I can best help."
--[Z] Rescue Reisen from her torture.

>>18111
You know, I have to respectfully disagree with you there. I'm not complaining because I went away for a month and then came back to no activity. There was a problem before that. I've been writing for about a year and a half now, and I think I can tell that things have just been tending towards a huge slowdown.

Besides which, you may rationalize as much as you want about facto X, Y, and Z, but it doesn't change lack of interest or activity. Two updates, two days, fair warning for both, first still gets faster results than second and as little commenting. If anon really believes it worth taking a while to vote or thing, why not state as much? You may hate it when authors go away for a long time, leaving things silent, but I can assure you that the opposite is as true.

>>18109
Look, I find myself violently disagreeing with you on almost everything. You oversimplify things unnecessarily.

Honestly, I don't give a wooden nickel whether or not I'm accepted by the vast majority at #thp. They can rot in hell if they are butthurt about what may have happened in the past. I don't need forgiveness from them or you. It isn't about that at all, nor do I care if they wanted x character or couldn't lighten the fuck up to enjoy a simple fan story about magical little girls posted on the internet. Things happened. If they can't get over it, it's their loss. I've always made it a priority to take in constructive criticism and good ideas as suggested by anyone and thus have a clear conscious.

I'm not going out of my way to atone for any sin percieved by others. Changes have and will be continued to be made, as expected. This is an organic project - which brings me back to my point : INTERACTION BETWEEN READERS AND WRITER IS PARAMOUNT.

Yes, I would like more readers.

But as I've said, what I'd like the most is participation.

>>18108
Look. Let's say you wanted a writein but don't know how or what to say. Post some general ideas, I'm sure that there'll be someone who agrees with you and may put it in a vote-format. Hell, I take comments into consideration when writing as well. It's reader intent, and something to be cherished and implemented.

I don't mean to come off as particularly insulting, but I think that plain language is in order right now. No matter how you may dress up things, it's not going to solve anything.

Lack of votes and participation goes beyond day of week and possible story quality. I find it laughable that people can still claim that there's nothing wrong with the site. There's a bit of mediocre stuff here to be sure, but there's plenty of stuff that's good and updated frequently that gets almost no notice. Burying your head in the sand isn't going to make things magically better and at the very least this merits discussion.

Yeah, /eientei/ is currently the slowest board. But it wasn't like that recently. Believe it or not it was faster than border and like 3rd or 4th fastest overall. Hell, first two weeks back the posting rate for /eientei/ was greater than everythign save for /underground/ and /th/. I know because I'm an admin and privy to those stats. Saying that shit is slow here has no merit. Yep, it's slow now, but care to venture a guess why it slowed down to begin with? Hint: It wasn't because the writers weren't updating (despite infrequent Harker updates and QWL updates and lack of storyteller we were still faster). Stop having such short term memories. It's truly annoying that you blame stuff on conjecture based off recent things.

Ultimately, you may be wondering, why am I even bothering if it's obvious I don't want to continue?

Well, I do want to continue. Believe it or not I am a firm believer in keeping promises and commitments. But more importantly, I believe that I have something enjoyable to share with the world. I put in my love into this, truly I do, because I believe that people that enjoy the same things I do would feel happy with my stories. It's because I care, and I know that a few people care that I'm hurt at how stagnant and horrible things have become. It's for the sake of those that do enjoy it that I try my hardest, but I'm literally feeling nothing in return. It's like a wall of cold, mechanical replies.

What happened to the days where anon would be chill and discuss silly stuff like tengu ninja in between quick updates and take it easy? Even if it wasn't pertinent to whatever was at hand that spirit was pure. There was laughter, rage, creativity, and more. It was legitimate.

Bah, there I go again, saying things that people will dissect and tell me that is a falsehood - that there's nothing wrong and I should just update more (despite already consistently updating for over a year and a half!). If you ignore that there's a problem, one day you'll find that all creativity here is gone and it's just three guys circlejerking themselves.

I've been true to myself and tried my best for anon and thus am not ashamed of what I've accomplished. It is regretful for all those who have believed to die an inglorious death.

I want to continue, but I'm terribly upset. Because I know that even if I declared that I would update every hour on the hour (and I've done similar in the past) no one would care to check. I know that if I have a scene in which anon can truly interact with a character, you just won't care.

Seriously, I am not going to write this vote. It's retarded. Not because it's a bad choice, but because it's a poor choice. If it had been consistent with previous choices it would be alright. "Oh hey, let's interrupt the flow of things to spend time with Kaguya, hear our motivations that we so adamantly decided upon several threads back repeated for our convienience (because it seems that no one gets the motivation behind EVERY SINGLE ACTION SINCE THEN), and then proceed to completely ignore what we've accomplished.". Potential for awesome should be in choices you say? It already is. I can think of several examples in other stories where the choices are relatively bland and then it becomes a complex and awesome writin! And it's not because it's complex, but because it sums up the feelings of the readers. Something which is impossible if there's no bleeding comments.

Yes, this is petty of me. Very much so. But let's face it, this and all my stories are sunk unless anon realizes that they're a part of the story too. Shirou is dumb? Says cheesy things? Blindly trusts others? You have no one to blame but yourself. I try to present the character as a template, not sink him into archetypes and give leeway (if you'll notice, he's anything but dumb in some of his reasoning and a lot of his dialog!). Don't like a choice? Change it! Don't like how the protagonist folds to pressure, start being a bit more confrontational in your choices! It'll eventually become a normal thing for him. Want to spend time forever and ever with Eirin? Engage her, target her, deal with her.

It's not difficult and all you have to do is participate a little.

I'm open to any and all comments that aren't more of the narrow-minded sameness.

As an addendum: Screw people that won't give /eientei/, any of its stories, or any other board/story for that matter, a fair chance - you are the cancer killing the site.

Forgive me Teruyo but this needed to be emphasized as it's a fair if not accurate fact of the anon you're referring to.

Teruyo ~ Screw people that won't give /eientei/, any of its stories, or any other board/story for that matter, a fair chance - you are the cancer killing the site.

Anon, we really need to shape up if we actually like the site and enjoy what the writefags do out of their free time.

I actually enjoyed all the stories that came around, even the infamous ones that chased away a couple of writefags unfortunately. If I didn't enjoy them I wouldn't have even bothered to continue reading them to the end. Anon had taken the stories that became infamous unfairly way out of proportion. Most are bound to be good once given a chance. regardless of their history.

I probably read DoaLF R1 3 times out of boredom while at work, printed and bound in a simple hardcover book because it entertains me THAT much. I plan to do the same with the others when the time comes. At least I'll have them archived in a much more tangible format, even if it is missing the nuances of a imageboard style; such as the images, I still kept the comments for lulz though...

Fuck it all.
Here we go.

[x] "Want to run away?"
[x] Other (write-in)
[x] Find Tewi. You want to get away from it all. In fact, you want to go caving.
[x] Borrow some cash from Tewi to go and buy equipment from this list:
-Two hard hats with halogen lamps AND white LEDs.
-Two pairs of padded overalls. One green and one red.
-Two pairs of hiking boots.
-Two pairs of gloves.
-Two pairs of reinforced kneepads and elbow pads.
-Rope. Lots of it. Rigged with bolts, slings, and carabiners.
-Two first-aid kits and one bottle of pain pills.
-Two sleeping bags.
-Two canteens filled with water.
-Two backpacks with lots of pockets.
-Food-- Canned beans, hotdogs, buns, marshmellows, chocolate, and graham crackers.
-Cooking equipment and firestarter.

[x] Find cave.
[x] Go caving.

Take it. Leave it. Improve on it.
I still do give a damn about this story.

Who's with me?

Reading back on our arguments with Kaguya to let us stay, we were surprisingly hot blooded. Not only that, but it seemed to work and earn Kaguya's affection. Not only that, we've already told Eirin that if anything ever happens to Kaguya, we'll gladly accept any punishment.

On a related note, for the sake of facilitating discussion, please include links to previous threads in the first update of a new thread; maybe a link to new ones at the end too. Makes hunting down older sections so much easier. I don't know why everyone doesn't do this. Also, it's not very easy to tell what time it is in many of your updates; please try to make it a little more apparent lest we resort to (even more) obsessive checking of the PDA. Knowing how much daylight is left helps us plan more appropriately.

Kinda tough, this. On the one hand, we have a relatively serious situation:
>...but there are circumstances that will prevent us from doing as we want."
>?That it's something that is pretty big and isn't going to go away. So there's no ignoring it. We've got to take care of it so that we can do as we like."

Furthermore, it sounds like it is likely to be more trying for Kaguya...
>?Is this something you want to do?" You ask instead.
>?It's not a question of wanting to. It's having to."

...than for us:
>?All I'm saying is that sometimes a hands off approach is best. No need to get overly involved."

Yet on the other, we have a Kaguya that is intrigued by the concept of playing hooky:
>Her next words come as a sort of unintentional whisper, escaping her mouth slowly. "I'd have to try it in otherorder to be able to decide. And about trying... no, never mind."

Her mind is saying no, her heart is saying yes. For as much as I would love to indulge her flight of fancy in a truly extravagant fashion, whisking her away to some fantastic locales, I think a moderate, yet slightly unorthodox (and more than slightly risky) approach might be in order.

[X] Other: "Actually, there is something. But I'm going to need you to wait here for a moment, excuse me."
[X] Leave, find Tewi.
[X] "Is that offer still good, because I think I need your help and then some. Kaguya and I need to get out of here for a single day. A quiet departure, and a quiet return. Can I count on you?"

Escape from Eientei for a day, maybe even a couple hours. I have the distinct impression that having Eientei free to ourselves a little while ago was because of Kaguya. Unfortunately we seemed to have squandered some excellent opportunities for bonding, but perhaps all is not lost. If being alone in Eientei was boring, maybe being alone outside of Eientei would provide a nice change. A cafe, a restaurant, a park, bookstore, Kourindou, a play, , a hot spring... something mundane and pleasant. Would actually be a nice change for a pair of NEETs, actually. As for trusting Tewi? It's a risk, yes, but with the princess involved, it should force her to either serious up or decline... at which point this idea is fucked, but oh well.
Anyway, it's not something we need to do right away (as far as I can tell it's pretty late right now), and quite frankly, I am pretty interested in the rest of Eirin's presentation and maybe teasing Reisen about the video she had to watch. If Tewi agrees, I think it's merely a matter of stringing Kaguya on that she better keep a toothbrush ready for when we decide to whisk her away.

>>18118
...and then you went and posted this. I started working on this before you went and wrote that. I-It's not like I wanted to write all this for your dumb story, stupid writefag.

Look gents, I have an exam in a couple of hours and won't be even considering updating until that's over with. But heck, you've shown that you can get ideas out with a little effort so it's just as well. This thread has reached autosage, but use it to reach consensus. I like you guys, I really do - despite all my bitching and moaning I enjoy this. I just know that I can do better and you can do better. Isn't that reason enough to try?

I'll likely never give up writing as long as someone out there enjoys it.
>>18119
That, sir, is strangely awesome.

>>18121
I appreciate that you care. Same as everyone else. It's important to recognize that.

>>18122
I never thought of putting the previous thread links in my thread. I'll start doing that then. See, that's a small thing but something I definitely don't mind doing. Thanks.

About the other things. Like the time of day. I'll try to put in more indications of what time it is, but you shouldn't worry about time that much. At this point of the story, time is a subordinate to plot, and passes as quickly or as slowly as I need it to (if anon is getting bored, the scene is too short/long will affect this). And time skips aren't out of the question either. Especially if you're making plans, it can be 'several days later' or whatever depending on what you want to do. If you want to make commitments or anything do it, I won't go out of my way to impede you without reason.

>I-It's not like I wanted to write all this for your dumb story, stupid writefag.

Geez anon, it's not like I wanted you to write that much or anything for my story. I just made that post because I had nothing to do. That's all! I just want things to go smoothly and well, it's not because I care about you or anything! Don't get so full of yourself you silly reader.

...Or would you rather I act yandere? maybe not.

>>Furthermore, it sounds like it is likely to be more trying for Kaguya...
>>...than for us:

What I get from that isn't that it's likely to be more trying for Kaguya than Shirou, but that she wants it to be more trying for her than for Shirou. In other words, she doesn't want him to be as involved in what's going to happen as she and everyone else is likely going to be, possibly because he would be less likely go come to harm that way.

Still, it's interesting how conflicted she seems about all this. As you say, that little evening alone was probably arranged by her, perhaps with the idea that it would probably their last hurrah before the shit hit the fan and their fun, carefree days truly came to an end. She probably resigned herself to that, and yet, even now she's not entirely convinced.
At the very least, she doesn't seem like she'd be entirely opposed to the idea of being swept up and spirited away by a certain someone, even if it's just for a little while.

Then again, if things really are going to get bad, and Kaguya was the one who asked Eirin to give the briefing in the first place, then it might not be good to flake out on it. Eirin certainly wouldn't be happy about it, especially since the briefing is likely more for Shirou's benefit than anyone else.

Speaking of which, wouldn't it be fun to run away with Eirin? Just walk right back into the room, sweep her up in your arms, and then dash out with her without saying a word?
Though, that might just be a little crazy, and if you're going a little crazy, then why not go all the way to full-blown insane? Grab Kaguya in one arm, Eirin in the other, and carry them both off to some secret hideaway where you could take it easy without a care in the world. Maybe a hot spring. Maybe a resort hotel. Or maybe just a quiet little nook somewhere, that just so happens to have a large bed and is well-stocked with a variety of oils, perfumes, and scented candles for setting the mood. Maybe even a boombox with some Barry White playing. And then there, in that place, Eirin would once again resume her role of a teacher, a tutor, instilling on two youths the knowledge and techniques a woman of her experience has gained over the years. More than that, she would show young Shirou the proper way one should attend to one of Kaguya's standing, with copious amounts of examples and hands-on demonstrations. Though they would not be in a cave, they could still even perform their own version of spelunking, probing and exploring all sorts of dark, mysterious places, until they have gone everywhere they could and can do nothing more than bask in the afterglow of a job well done. For science had seen a breakthrough that day, with the creation of Gensokyo's very first beast with three backs.

...oh, right. The voting.

[X] Turn to Kaguya, look her in the eye, and pop the question.
[X] "Yaranaika?"
[X] Sweep yonder maiden up in thine arms and abscond with her thusly. Seek out the dark-haired one of questionable morals, and enjoin her to assist in this most noble and urgent of quests.

Between Eirin's absolute confidence in all eventualities, Kaguya's subconcious interest in running away, and how down right cool it would be to run off into the sunset with a princess in our arms, I think we're morally obligated to leave Eientei. More than anything, Eirin and Reisen's response should be... interesting... when (if?) we come back. Particularly Eirin: how would the unflappable brain of the moon deal with/treat us after such a course of action.

Anyway, I want to get back to our passionate selves, the us that was determined to stay with Kaguya and everyone else, regardless of whatever ephemeral threats are hanging over our head. Hopefully, committing to acting more involved will remind Kaguya that we're still committed to being a member of Eientei and rectify some of the thoughts (as described by >>18124)she might be possessed of after our bout with Silver. I certainly don't know what we can do after we spirit Kaguya away in the middle of the night, but star gazing in a grassy clearing in the middle of the bamboo has a certain appeal. Just need to pack a towel or two and download a map or something into the PDA.

[X] "Of course there's something else, milday: we must throw the court into anarchy. 'Tis high time for this esquire to embark on an adventure with the lovely princess."
[X] Lead Kaguya out. Carry her princess-style if necessary
[X] Find Tewi; it's time to go

I guess this can be counted as a vote for >>18124 I just wanted to reword it for my own rambling logic and to get something of a majority going. If this ends up exploding in our faces, well... decisions are made by those that show up vote.

Let us see what happens then, since I still think going back to the briefing would be best, considering how it's most likely for Shirou's benefit.

It'd be such a shame to pass up a chance to learn of underlying plot for a moment of whimsy. But it's just my opinion.

But part of me wants to see if this moment pays off in a significant way. Since it might end up being the point where "All Sensible Eirin fans stand down".

Doesn't seem like there's going to be any further input. That's alright. Any effort by those that care is better than no effort. Thanks. I'll work with the 4 or so votes.

I'm not actually writing now, nor will I be in the next day or so I think. Still a lot of willpower is required on my end. Sorry, but I really can't help that.

Not that anyone likely will, seeing as there's been no additional posts in the last 2 days, but feel free to use this autosaged thread for any more ideas and opinions and (maybe) votes. There's no real rush.

>wouldn't it be fun to run away with Eirin?
Your train of thought is eerily similar to my own.

>Speaking of which, wouldn't it be fun to run away with Eirin? Just walk right back into the room, sweep her up in your arms, and then dash out with her without saying a word?

I could think of a million things that will go wrong here.
But the most realistic one would be that she just plays around with you and dumps you with a laugh, leaving you standing in the rain like an idiot.
But hey, i always wanted an Eirin route, since the very beginning of this. It is just too fucking sad that we did not accomplish much in one and a half year. With that much text and the sweat and tears from the Writer, we should have at least 2 Happy Ends and one on the way.

Every time i go to /eientei/ i just get frustrated. Jesus, i would have given so much just for a good Kaguya or Eirin Route. But looking at the state of things here, i doubt this will work out. Ever.

So many chances, nearly limitless possibilities and time. A real fucking shame.

>>I could think of a million things that will go wrong here.

The same could be said of just about any truly worthwhile endeavor. What's most important to focus on is not the hundreds upon thousands of ways things could go wrong, but on the ways it could go so very, very right, however few they may be.

>on the ways it could go so very, very right
God I wanna do it now; wager it all on the one-in-a-billion chance that Eirin not only wouldn't end us terribly, but would enjoy our efforts and reciprocate them in a warm, heartfelt, and creative fashion. Go for broke and try to shoot the moon, if you will.

Anyway, kind of excited to see what this decision (story-wise) will result in. Getting back to some of the decisiveness we used earlier would be pleasant right about now. I figure we bungled dealing with Silver because we were too indecisive to try any of the high-risk (and potentially high-reward) options that showed some promise. I recall she only started talking to us after we tried a rather daring maneuver with Reisen. I can't help but wonder what Silver's response would have been if we escalated the act (or at least approached from different angles that would have reinforced it) instead of using that one small development as a platform to try and figure her out. I also wonder what else Reisen would have let us do to her, too.

Also, a personal observation: of all the characters that we guide along in the many stories on this site, Shirou is probably the one I understand the least. I've never really been able to get into his head and figure out his motivations or personality. I get the physiological stuff (tired, hungry, sick, etc.), but I'd say it's about a 1-in-3 chance that I can guess when he will get depressed, amused, angry, excited, etc. let alone what he might say. I wonder if the story would benefit from shorter updates/more chances to vote. Absent situations where a vote (usually a write-in) is pretty encompassing, I'd like to see an update end before a lot of significant actions or dialogue occurs. There's a lot of story and character development that is getting done when we're not in control of the character. I know you've made it a point that we should try and 'own' the character and make our intentions known through discussion, and I think that would be easier to do if we have more chances to directly influence what we do, what we say, and where we go.

An example: >>16316 A relatively inocuous vote that, one would expect, lead to some dialogue options as we toil away with Eirin for the night. Instead, fairly lengthy dialogue segments, traveling around, cooking, and then bed. That totally could have been three shorter updates, one of which would could have included a nice write-in for what to cook for Reisen. How can we act like we 'are' a character when they're on author cruise control 70% of the time? Taisa got called out on rail roading recently, and that actually got me looking a bit more critically at a lot of other stories with an eye for just how much control we have.

Anyway, stop moping around already, Teruyo. Update!

>Anyway, stop moping around already, Teruyo. Update!

I'm not moping! Ok, Maybe slightly. But that hasn't really affected updating that much. Lack of time due to exams. Although that has been mostly a convenient excuse not to write.

Also, the example you chose was cut short because of what was going on in the background. In other words, dealing with Silver.

Though your point about railroading is accurate to a certain extent. It doesn't seem that conversations go that well with anon, as too often it seems that you'll go with only one thing or won't know what to say or do. There have been significant portions of the story where anon has written up much of the dialog, tone, and such though.

I'm all for more precise and specific interaction and shorter scenes and the like, but things get dragged down a little too much too often I think. It's also a reaction from lessons learned during the first incarnation of the story. Yeah, sorry about the vagueness of my answer to this. I'm not exactly sure what else I can say, I try to add dialog choice when relevant and for flavor whenever I can.

I really will update soon hopefully. Though I first have to see what's going to happen exactly (I haven't taken into consideration the specifics of the votes yet).

>>18277
More control
More updates
More time with the fine women of Eientei

It's not that much, is it?

Write Teruyo, Write. Until THP eats your soul away and the hate burns inside you.
Write until you only have 1 voter left, until no more discussion is be made, until THP is about to die.
This is your only choice.

>>18275

The problem with the Sliver arc was that I at least had no real idea what to do next. A bad kind of can't make decision. (In contrast to the case where every option sounds good), and each step we made didn't show us any sign of progress.

At least we're at a point where we know which direction we want to go in, though it might be different for the two camps.

So simple and yet so beautiful.

Guess this' dead. One month old may be kinda soon, but I don't think that this will be updated anytime soon. I hope I'm wrong, but if I'm not, I could hardly blame Teruyo.

You see, I just finished marathoning both the first and the second run and I have to say that this CYOA had the most stupid voters I've ever read-even worse than the actual GH shitheads.
It seems like they were divided in three groups, one rooting for a different character, but somehow working together to make Shirou seem like a schizophrenic retard.

Just in case someone is still wondering: the latter partof the second run was Kaguya's route and everyone who keep voting on Eirin-related options, disregarding how well she was written (the best Doc on THP, IMO) were only screwing up even more the impenetrable clusterfuck that this story had become.

>>18634
It's not dead. If I wanted to kill this, I would state as much.

That said I wish everyone to read and understand the comments and things after the last update here. Simply summarized:, I don't want drones for readers. There's a bunch more but that's the main point I feel. If you are voting mechanically without rhyme or why, then I do not care for your vote nor readership. I want people to read this and participate because they enjoy this. Sure I'd prefer it if this story got good publicity and a large following (as impossible as it may seem to get anyone interested in anything but one or two very popular stories), but if it's just a handful of readers that enjoy themselves and participate then I really don't mind.

Things have to be fun for both the writer and reader. No reaction of any kind doesn't seem to be much indication of fun.

>>18673

maybe you should restart one more time, though i'm not sure of the plausibility of this myself

>>18717
Absolutely not. What would that fix?

There's nothing wrong right now the current situation narrative-wise. See previous posts about what needs to be improved.

>>18718

fair enough, sorry

>It's not dead. If I wanted to kill this, I would state as much.
Hooray!
>but if it's just a handful of readers that enjoy themselves and participate then I really don't mind.
This is exactly what i meant somewhere in this thread. It is not my strong point, but i will try to give reason to my vote and explain it.

>>18673
>I want people to read this and participate because they enjoy this.

Good luck changing that without any goddamn updates.

>>18733
There's no need to apologize for a suggestion. You put something out there and I replied with my point of view. That's all.

>>18752
I think you should shut the hell up. I may be a patient and understanding man, but that doesn't mean that smartass and irreverent comments are welcome.

On another note, it's been almost a year since the last post of the first run. Time flies.

>>18754
No, seriously: how are you expecting to attract readers and promote discussion when there hasn't been an update in a month and we're stuck in auto-sage off the front page? Furthermore, you've still got people hunting this thread down checking for status updates and when the story will restart. How do these people not constitute that "handful of readers that enjoy themselves and participate" you want reading your story?

Do we really need to create a completely unrelated thread on the front page of /eientei/ reminding people that there hasn't been an update in forever because you're dragging your feet? Because I will. It's not that hard.

I mean seriously, the current vote has us stealing Kaguya away from Eientei to go spelunking. This should have been awesome a month ago and by now we should have finished our incredibly awkward tea party with Satori, who laced her dialogue with hints to Kaguya about all of the lewd things we want to do to her and everyone else back at Eientei. In fact, by now we should be choosing dialogue as Shirou and Kaguya sit in the mixed bath of the Hakurei hot springs, our last stop for the day before we head home.

Good God. Write, you lazy bum!

>>18757
>How do these people not constitute that "handful of readers that enjoy themselves and participate" you want reading your story?

I think he wants something in the sorts of The Game or Ancient Gensokyo. Well, i can understand it, all the mindless votes without discussion sure drags his spirit down.

>>18757
You're right in that I should have updated at least a month ago. I've been sitting on the bulk of the update since at least that long and have a clear idea of where to go with it. Yes, I am dragging my feet. Though there have been real life things that have kept me less than focused, it's no real excuse. Every day I tell myself that I'll finish and update, but I don't. Hell, even now, I literally was about to decide whether to write or not. What do you want me to say? That it'll be done in an hour? two? A day more? I can't make a promise about something that makes me apprehensive even thinking about it.

It may just be my self-depreciative side acting up, but I'm not about to put up a thread just with my status. My ego isn't that big. I'm always lurking on #eientei if anyone really does need to know what's up. God knows that the channel is as active as this board so there's no fear of being ignored.

The current vote is fine. Those who cared enough to put it forward won't be disappointed. What comes after is the issue. I'm apprehensive about the future. I don't want for important/interesting/cool things to happen and for the reaction to be as exciting as a dead fish. Going wild isn't the answer either, it's getting things just right. I don't know. I'm probably a fool for worrying but I can't help it. My experiences with everything that I've done on the site have been average at best. No matter the genre or style that I went for. It goes just beyond this update, this time.

I don't know what else to say. As I said previously, it's been about a year since I finished the first incarnation of my first story. I'm no where near where I should be after a year of a second run. Same goes for my other projects. Some of it is my own fault, but some of it isn't. Fuck. I still get idiots stuck in the past badmouthing me. Not just idiots like wiseman who are incapable of seeing a rational argument and learning. For every 'bad' thing that I'm called out for there was a least a good thing to counter it. Coinflip options never affected the big picture. For every bad write in there was an equally good one. For every unfortunate situation there was a good one (dancing with Keine, picnic with Reisen - off the top of my head). Not only that, but I made it more than clear that just because something didn't work out it wasn't the end of the world.

I realize that I'm ranting again at this point. But you must forgive me, as I can't keep silent about these things any more. I don't seek reconciliation with those who left or never read this. Quite honestly, fuck them. If someone is incapable of seeing past a situation and looking at the big picture then honestly they are not the type of reader I desire. If they are incapable of letting go of inconsequential things then I think it is best they go. Above all, people who can't take it easy and enjoy because of prejudice should sod off. It revolts me to see idiotic oversimplified comments here and there on this site. It's only respect for others that keeps me from pointing out the fallacies out there.

I'm not even sure where I'm going with all of this. I'm sure that these look like the ramblings of a madman. There you have it. You may wish for updates, ask for them, but don't imply that all of a sudden updating regularly will make people from far and wide come here and act intelligently - it won't. I could be the fastest and most prodigious writer on thp and still nothing would change here.

>>18760
>I'm sure that these look like the ramblings of a madman.
You make even the people in the NEET/pissing on the floor Threads on /jp/ look good.
Stop worrying so much, go out drink till you drop, come back, tell everyone who don't like you or don't like what you write to go fuck themselves and write. There are many good writer here that have lesser votes, people bitching for updates, discussion that don't whine and moan around.
At first i was not sure what you nened, a hug or a kick in the ass, but i think you need the latter. So stop being an emo and put everything into writing. Don't stop until you only have one reader left.

If you can't do that, you clearly are no writer material. Or you always could do it like YAF.