[X] Don't bother getting anything else
save the sake for later.
-[x] Contemplate old tales under the moon and stars
--[x] Discuss plans for the next day

This works for me, showing that there's no need to be wasted to have a good time with her, just a bonus really.

>Her head travels from your right shoulder to slumping somewhere near the right part of your chest. Your right arm wraps around her back, your hand resting on her shoulder. You feel at peace.
That was nice, even if it was only for a moment.



[x] Don't bother getting anything else
[x] Contemplate old tales under the moon and stars
Don't want to get total drunk here. Setting the mood again, just be sure to not talk about things that Kaguya is not comfortable with. It might be nice to hear stories about her past.

>>19279
The options all have their own mood and direction. Hence they're exclusive.

The first choice also affects the second and then some. If mood is something important to you and the scene then perhaps you shouldn't be quick to discard alternatives and variations.

>>19282
>If mood is something important to you and the scene then perhaps you shouldn't be quick to discard alternatives and variations.
Are you implying that if we want a better mood and some improvement with Kaguya that we should pick something else?
Well, i thought already about it and came to a conclusion but i will rethink it again.

>>19278
[X] Fetch the bottle of sake (and maybe a blanket)
[X] Contemplate old tales under the moon and stars

Heh, I see what you did there, and I ;_;

Anyway, if we wanted to plan the next day or snuggle, we'd be better off staying here. But, she's already kind of anxious so I'd rather alleviate some of that, and planning simply hasn't worked well for us all. Well, it's better to say that flying by the seat of our pants has been working pretty well so far, so planning seems right out. However, if we want to have fun at Reimu's expense or reminisce and wax philosophical, some fine spirits are in order. I'm kinda wondering what Teruyo has in for the 'contemplating' vote, so that's one thing. I also reckon seeing the moon and stars reflected in a cup of sake should set the mood nicely, so yeah.

[X] Fetch the bottle of sake
[X] Say nothing and simply hold her tightly

[X] Fetch the bottle of sake (and maybe a blanket)
[X] Contemplate old tales under the moon and stars

Reminds me of a past winter vacation...

[X] Don't bother getting anything else
-[x] Contemplate old tales under the moon and stars

This stuff is gold. A great update overall. I not sure how to explain it, but Kaguya's attitude is just right, it feels much different from before.

>>19283
Not necessarily. I'm saying that each choice is conducive to a different range of talk and (eventual) mood. So, for example: not drinking + joking about Reimu (and others) -> a distinct end mood and situation; drinking + hugging silently -> something rather different.

In the end you're still more or less still on the rails we're traveling but maybe you've done something useful in the meantime. Gotten closer to a passenger, decided your destination after the last stop or understand how the transit system works.

I should also point out that the drinking not drinking is an independent choice from the second part (though it affects it). Therefore I shall tally that separately to whatever wins in the second part.

I can't write now, or in the next couple of hours. I have to go out and do things for a while. So that's several hours more of open voting. Think carefully and hope you do well.

>>19290
Reading your comments make me feel like i a fail at everything.

[X] Don't bother getting anything else
[X] Say nothing and simply hold her tightly

[X] Don't bother getting anything else
[X] Say nothing and simply hold her tightly

[+] Fetch the bottle of sake
I was going to say that we were already tipsy enough, but now that I think about it we might be one of the few CYOA normals to be imbibed with Suika's oni brew and not flinch.

A few minutes of thought and I still have nothing for the topic. Tomorrow maybe, unless Teruyo wants to "write now" so I'll drop a default: [+] Contemplate old tales under the moon and stars
I will say that planning has never been our strong-suit and we do have a fall-back anyway - the hot spring. As for the last option, Kaguya's already commented with how touchy-feel-y compliment-y we are being so far. While Teruyo has said that we don't want to send mixed signals, or something to that accord, we don't want to misinterpret signals either.

On an earlier note note, if we are for some reason going to keeping looking for that hot spring (I guess we'll forever be pre-SA here), we should consider that it just rained about half the previous day and the ground will reflect that.

>>19303
Well I could 'write now' but I could just as well wait. It's not like there's much movement at this time of day and I take it easy during Sundays. Though personally (and impatiently!) I would prefer that sort of thing sooner than later. The sooner an argument is made, the more chance it has of swaying voters. At least during these lean times anyways. In this case it doesn't seem like people would bother budging except for something golden, but if it means anything to you I'm always interested in seeing what readers think and I'm sure other readers do too.

>we don't want to send mixed signals, or something to that accord, we don't want to misinterpret signals either.
Yeah, this is generally a good rule to live by.
>I guess we'll forever be pre-SA here
I just don't want to screw with continuity any more than I have to. Or already have for some things (even in the last two threads).

Maybe I should get to updating other stuff. Nah.

>>19304
>Maybe I should get to updating
i hate cliffhangers

[X] Fetch the bottle of sake (and maybe a blanket)
[X] Contemplate old tales under the moon and stars

This story is really sweet

I'm writing albeit real slowly. Sorry about that. I'm sure that silence isn't comforting hence this post. No real ETA since I might take a nap to recharge my batteries. Maybe look at something for inspiration.

>>19340
You are now fixated on Eirin's finger in panel two.

>>19341
HAHA IT LOOKS LIKE A PENIS

Wordlessly, you lift yourself up. Kaguya continues to stare beyond the annex, her figure bathed by the remaining weak light. As you walk away from her, you note that you haven't seen any additional fuel for the lamps, thus ensuring that once the lights go out they'll stay out. Bothering Reimu about it seems out of the question as well, while it's not obscenely late it's still well into the evening – and if her plans worked out for her you'd be interrupting. In a sense, having a limited supply of illumination makes the evening more charming. It somehow feels more like a special occasion, a part of the all-important adventure.

The lighting isn't your immediate concern however. You walk slowly and carefully, partly to avoid stubbing your toe on something and partly to help you keep a clear head. Half a bottle of wine isn't enough to put you completely out of commission, but it's certainly enough to result in some loss of control. Your thoughts seem to come up faster and looser than usual. There's a definite decline in inhibition as well. But it's ultimately all very mild. If you focus and make a bit of an effort, no casual observer would guess that you had been drinking. It's something that you realize must be true of Kaguya as well. She presents no signs of being affected save for a little rosy flushness here and there, easily the byproduct of something else entirely.

The bottle of sake is where you left it, tucked away in the empty pantry next to the old chest. You grope in the darkness for it and come back out holding the bottle by its neck with a single hand. You look around the dark kitchen for the next thing you need. Amongst the clean cups there you take two. It requires a bit of dexterity on your part, but it's no superhuman feat by any means. You're able to safely carry your burden back without incident.

“There we are.” You sit next to Kaguya, putting down the cups and brandishing the bottle for her to see.
“You do realize that it's too dark to see the label of that thing, right?”
“I saw it earlier and it looked good. The only way to make sure is to try some.” You open the bottle and pour a bit into each cup. “Here you are.”
“Thank you.” She sits up.

You both take a sip simultaneously. As expected, the sake is rather good. It has a distinctive, yet not overbearing, taste. Its kick is noticeable, making it something to be enjoyed in moderation.

“Not bad, huh?”
“Not bad,” She remarks.

Neither one of you drinks with that much enthusiasm, aware of the price to pay for drinking too much too quickly. The heavy silence of the post-rain evening makes the world seem as if stopped in time. Stars twinkle somewhere beyond the porch and between the lingering clouds; The cosmos are silent and cold witnesses to a wet and still night. You're aware of your own breathing, and hers, and for a while don't say anything. You can practically feel the warmth radiating from your body and, somewhere within arm's reach, Kaguya's warmth doing the same.

You propose sitting in the porch. Kaguya readily agrees. The mostly starry sky twinkle like a misshapen patchwork on a quilt – clouds interrupt the design here and there. The moon shines down boldly from its position, looking like an elegant lady in white flaunting its status. The ground seems to be a mirror of the sky. Puddles of rainwater here and there reflect the light from above and the dark water-stained earth mimics the role of the clouds. Except for terrain features like woods or inclines, it's somewhat of uniform field of reflected heavens.

The talking, when it starts, heads into a certain direction quickly and without obstacle. It might be due to your own feelings. Something about a situation like this makes you feel nostalgic. The darkness, the coziness, the isolation. It's all very conducive to chatting about the past. About days long gone and tales about different times.

What's actually being said isn't very remarkable. The situation, however, seems to be. Kaguya shares some of her tales in a soft and steady voice, gaze turned skyward. Her description is vivid and the attention to detail is meticulous, without becoming too tedious. As a storyteller she's without peer as far as you're concerned. Stories of outsiders placed in unfamiliar territory, forging bonds and partaking in unique interactions seem to be the recurrent theme. Though the stories themselves are nice to listen to, you're aware that their endings aren't necessarily nice. Tragedy seems to be as common as comedy and dreaded lack of real conclusion is far too frequent.

You share your own stories while intermittently remembering to drink. They're not as florid or fun as hers are, on account to your more limited life experience, but they seem to suit the situation just fine. Both of you seem to relax and unwind under the cold starry sky. A few chuckles and drinks later and the stories have become anecdotes. Personal stories pertaining to your own lives.

“...and it was engorged and purple for the rest of the week,” Kaguya concludes, a slightly unguarded smile on her lips. Most of the lamps inside of the annex are dead; A stubborn few lamps still shine and complement the pale moonlight. There's little that can be seen beyond one another, the sky, and parts of the annex.
“That's quite something. Thought I feel somewhat sorry for Reisen.”
“She was fine, just a little... shaken for a day or two. Anyone would be after having something like that happen to them.” The mental image is bizarre. “Eirin knows how to deal with her though, and she learned how to cope.”
“All's well that ends well,” You offer. You've lost track of the time chatting with her, contemplating all sorts of tales. And then this. It certainly never hurts to learn more about your buddy you decide. In fact, drinking more, you feel that your bond is particularly close right now.

You look at her and see that her clothes have loosened up during the course of the talking. Her long dark hair is mostly off to her right side for some reason, exposing part of the nape of her neck to your eyes. She's likely as loosened up as her clothes make her seem. You know you are after drinking that much. Your eyelids feel heavy and your mind sluggish. Clouds of weariness tug at your mind and limbs insidiously. You suppress a yawn.

“So how about it?”
“Sorry?” You realize that she was talking to you.
“I was just asking if there was something else that you wanted to share... I've said a lot already. Something to ask as well.” She takes the bottle and shakes it with her hand, “With all that's happened this evening it seems like a good opportunity to be free. Just because something is silly normally doesn't mean it's silly all the time. Probably,” She says as the contents of the uncapped bottle spill a little with her shaking. “Or maybe we should just go to sleep.”
“Um, something to share? Like what?” You rub your eyes, trying to think what she meant by that.
“If you don't know then it's alright.” Looking at her, you see that she shivers slightly. It's definitely cool out; Her dress doesn't look very warm, the fine materials are comfortable and beautiful but not protective. Your thin shirt isn't doing a good job at blocking the chill either and goosebumps cover your arms. Fatigue and worn-down inhibitions color your every potential reaction and answer, even if you try to fight it. You can't really feel your body anymore and you wonder if you'll be able to get up at all.

[] Go to bed right away
[] Share an embarrassing anecdote with Kaguya
[] Ask her just how drunk she is
[] Drink more liquid courage, you only live once
[] Suggest a brief midnight stroll as the last action for the day

>“Um, something to share? Like what?” You rub your eyes, trying to think what she meant by that.
One of Shirous finest moments.
>Looking at her, you see that she shivers slightly. It's definitely cool out; Her dress doesn't look very warm, the fine materials are comfortable and beautiful but not protective.
There is a put a coat on Kaguya option missing.

[x] Drink more liquid courage, you only live once
Not really happy with this, don't want to spend the time with her half drunk. But it might give him the courage he needs.

[x] Share an embarrassing anecdote with Kaguya

[x] Share an embarrassing anecdote with Kaguya

DO IT!

[X] Move closer and put an arm around Kaguya to share some warmth

-and then-

[x] Share an embarrassing anecdote with Kaguya

I'd instead vote for asking her whether or not she's cold, but she might not tell us the truth, knowing Kaguya. It shouldn't hurt us too much to be bold here.

>[] Go to bed right away
Viable. We're drunk numb and she's getting chilly.

>[] Ask her just how drunk she is
It's too innocuous to be a good option.

>[] Drink more liquid courage, you only live once
We're already slightly numb in the body and brain.

>[] Suggest a brief midnight stroll as the last action for the day
Both Kaguya and Shirou feel like they walked for ages today. No need to aggravate that feeling; and our current weariness on top of that ...

[+] Share an embarrassing anecdote with Kaguya
I'm actually choosing this for an interesting reason. Teruyo has already suggested that half of Shirou's character is extrapolated from our decisions - his situation to situation conversation is peppered - and the other half is defined by those decisions exactly. Since the choice is to talk but the topic is unspoken, I'm curious about what we would say. Not that much that has happened to us in the iteration of the story would be embarrassing per-se so we could likely be talking about something we, the reader, do not yet know about Shirou. I think of this as a kind of feedback on top of character building.

... or we blow it and talk about Tewi trying to seduce us in the bath. :P

[X] Move closer and put an arm around Kaguya to share some warmth
Baby steps? Yeah. I mean, if we had a coat, I'd vote for going even slower but...
[x] Share an embarrassing anecdote with Kaguya
Fair's fair.

[X] Share an embarrassing anecdote with Kaguya

>talk about Tewi trying to seduce us in the bath
Kaguya already knows all about that. She even cracked a joke or two at her buddy's expense way back when. It might have been embarrassing but it was never really a big deal for any of them.

Anyways, writing now. Probably won't take long unless Mass Effect 2 finishes downloading.

>Probably won't take long unless Mass Effect 2 finishes downloading.
See you in a week.

>>19370
I'll have to read back to find that, but I thought it was one of those closed-circle conspiracies that stopped at Eirin.

“I think I have something I could say,” You say, feeling a chill run from your neck to your thighs, “It's cold isn't it?”
“Just a little,” Kaguya replies quietly. Her cup is empty and left forgotten to the side; It looks like she's done drinking for now. She yawns softly, covering her mouth with a hand, “If Eirin were here she'd insist on me putting something else on.”
“I could get you something if you want.”
“Don't bother.”
“If that's what you want.” Not that your legs would probably work properly. They're as stable as tower built on gelatin. You scoot over to her. “If you stay close it'll be warmer.”
“You were going to say something?” She asks, unscrupulous gaze hard on your face.
“Just tell you a little something about me, that's all.”
“If it's that you're perfectly willing to throw away your life to spend time with us in a place far removed from your usual reality I know.”
“That's plain as day. Otherwise we wouldn't be here.”
“Just making sure that we start repeating ourselves needlessly.”
“Because my dear buddy gets cranky after drinking?”
“Let's just say that that's the reason.” She looks sullen, enough to make you smirk.

But that smirk is soon gone.

Instead it becomes something quite different as you speak. Apprehension combined with something like genuine embarrassment over past chapters of your life. It's something that you've never said aloud, much less told anyone else. You let out a nervous chuckle here and there at parts that make you cringe when you think about them. For all intents and purposes you feel like shriveling up and dying. It doesn't help that Kaguya stares with the utmost sobriety, eyes never wandering away from your face; her dark brown eyes pierce into your soul, as darkened as they may be from the lack of light. She doesn't betray any judgmental sentiments. Or any feelings at all but complete and utter dedication to hearing your every word as you speak.

You're completely red. You don't have a mirror nearby, but that's how you feel you must look. If not from sharing then from the large amounts of alcohol that you've been drinking. That's what you decide it is. The drinking has made you self-conscious and liable to feeling like you're flustered. No doubt about it. You tell yourself that as you stutter slightly, an additional sign of drunkenness for sure. It's also, beyond a shadow of a doubt, why some memories become fuzzy when you look at her.

“...and I still couldn't show my face there today,” You conclude, accidentally lisping a bit.
“That certainly sounds embarrassing.”
“Yeah, it's hard for me to talk about it.”
“Thank you for trusting me with that.” Her hand touches your shoulder gently, reassuringly. Her eyes look much softer now, in spite of the shadows darkening their color. Almost bleary.
“I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone about it. Tewi would have a field day with it. Reisen wouldn't look at me the same and Eirin... well she would bring it up in a roundabout way.”
“Of course not. Your embarrassing story is safe with me. I'll be the only one to blackmail you with it,” She says with a dark smile.
“Much obliged.” You'd genuflect or bow or something for added humor, but your body feels like soft clay.
“I didn't expect you to say all of that though,” She remarks, dark smile changing into a half smile.
“A bit hard to believe about me? It does seem like it, doesn't it? I'm perfect and cool in every way usually. I know.”
“Well, lovely that delusion, but not what I meant.”
“What did you mean t-then?” Another stutter. Fog clouds a lot of your mind.
“Ah not much... just sort of thought you were going to say something else. Or do something else.”
“Ah.” You're not completely sure with your mind as hazy as it is, but you detect some sort of... apprehension or disappointment. Or not, as she looks about the same as before, albeit not smiling. “What did you want me to do?”
“Oh, um, nothing. I'm honored that you would share something that intimate and embarrassing with me. So there's nothing else.”

There's a slight delay as she makes an effort to stand up, affirming herself to a wooden column holding up the roof.

“It think it's past our bedtime. I know I've drank enough to regret it a bit in the morning,” Kaguya remarks as she takes an unsteady step towards the door.
“I can't really get up now.” It's the truth. You have no strength in your muscles.
“You're heavy Shirou. I can't help you up.”
“Can't you wait for me then? I think I can drag myself inside at least.”
“Fine fine.”

She walks calmly inside while you grab the bottle and cups and slink slowly inside, closing the door to the porch. Somehow you manage to migrate to the room where you'll be sleeping. After a few minutes of gathering your wits and strength. Kaguya sits again, evidently the strain of standing was too great.

“You know, there's something that we've been dancing around for some time now,” You say, stopping next to her. The bottle and cups go to the wall, quickly forgotten by your tired mind.
“You don't look like you're in any condition to be dancing.”
“Hah. Probably not.” You lean in closer to her. You lose strength in your arms and accidentally knock the both of you back. “Sorry about that,” You say, but continue, “I can't shake the feeling that you're not saying something that you want to say or ask. I mean just now there was something. And if I can tell while drunk, then it's pretty obvious.”
“It's just your imagination,” Kaguya scowls, looking to lift herself up but finding it hard to do. She's probably as tired as you are. “Being drunk makes you imagine things.”
“Yeah? Maybe. I can practically see pink elephants flying around. Except they're not pink and not elephants. Flying bunnies.”
“See?” She gives a tired sigh.
“Just making sure though, is there anything you want to say to me?” You roll over, laying face up next to her. Your arm is brushing up against her arm and her spread hair.
“I don't know, is there anything you want to say to me?”

[] “Not really. Goodnight.”
[] “I'd like it if you felt comfortable enough to tell me.”
[] “Just that this was a great evening. There's no one else with whom I'd rather have spent it.”
[] Say nothing; kiss her

-
>>19372
If I recall correctly, it was something to the effect of teasing him about the possibility that he wanted to bathe with her. I'm only 90% sure because it was a hell of a long time ago. In any case, anything involving practically everyone in Eientei can hardly remain a secret. Especially one who cares to find out what's been going on.

[X] Say nothing; kiss her

[x] “This was a great evening. There's no one else with whom I'd rather have spent it.”
hmmmmmmmmm

>>19373
>She's likely as loosened up as her clothes make her seem.
>With all that's happened this evening it seems like a good opportunity to be free. Just because something is silly normally doesn't mean it's silly all the time. Probably,”
>“Um, something to share? Like what?” You rub your eyes, trying to think what she meant by that.
>“If you don't know then it's alright.”
[x] Share an embarrassing anecdote with Kaguya
>“You were going to say something?” She asks, unscrupulous gaze hard on your face.
>“Because my dear buddy gets cranky after drinking?”
>“Let's just say that that's the reason.” She looks sullen
>“I can't shake the feeling that you're not saying something that you want to say or ask. I mean just now there was something.

Seriously guys, there's a limit to being dense.
[X] Say nothing; kiss her

[X] Say nothing; kiss her


>>19377

I've seen greater amounts from anon before, this would be light in comparison.

[X] Say nothing; kiss her

[X] Say nothing; kiss her

This feels perfect.

Well then. I'll begin writing in an hour or two. Granted I haven't collapsed. Until then voting is open and encouraged.

>>19382
I never get sick of looking at that gif.

[X] Say nothing; kiss her

Yes.

[X] Say nothing; kiss her

As much as I'm paranoid about this is my own way, I suppose all signs point to yes here. I just hope she isn't drunk enough to end up forgetting about it in the morning (or even worse, regret it).

Let's hope we're not so drunk that screwed up inside that the kiss will turn into rape.

I actually think this is too far of a stretch; but then again I can't imagine myself as Kaguya.

[ ] “I'd like it if you felt comfortable enough to tell me.”

Or, if possible/alternately:

[ ] No secrets between us.

Hoping for an interesting outcome.

A turn of your head and a movement of your arm and you're on your side, looking at her. The almost nebulous haze in your mind makes the shadow of reality meld like some sort of featureless tapestry. You can barely make out her still form, her noble features, her enticing lips. Like a man on a high dive, water a score of meters below, you have that quick informal internal debate on how to proceed. And, like a man who took his sweet time climbing the ladder up to the edge you had your desire clear all along.

You take that plunge.

In a moment of no hesitation you home in your face to hers. There's a vague ticklish sensation as her regular breathing blows on your skin, too brief to properly assess. You close your eyes out of modesty, shyness, and fear. And in an instant your lips are planted over hers. There's an absolute nervous quake within you. Your heart seems to stop along with your breathing as flesh touches briefly. Something that's nothing more than a simply pressing together in reality.

But that's more than enough.

You pull back almost as quickly as you went in, distancing yourself and feeling the weight of your actions. Of the culmination of impulse mixed with previously denied desired. As you take your first breath in what seems to have been eons, her scent overpowers you. The smell of perfumed flesh that invigorates your very soul. Though one of your senses is completely saturated, your mind makes sure to never forget the tactile sensation you experienced just now. A vague taste of sake is also there, a relic of the experience produced when you bite your lip.

In sharp contrast to its attitude during the act itself, your heart beats furiously as you stay frozen to the side. It hurts so much that it feels like it's going to burst. You can picture blood vessels exploding messily, killing off your whole being in scant minutes. You feel like passing out. The alcohol has gotten to your brain. There's no other possible explanation for wanting to curl up in a small ball and ceasing to be.

Your ears register something. A reaction not from yourself.

“What do you think you're doing?!” Kaguya shouts quietly, having been paralyzed in the aftermath for as long as you had been. She moves over, away from you, sitting up unsteadily.
“I..” You try to say something but find that words fail you.
“T-this is a poor idea of a joke,” She stammers. Her look is undecipherable but betrays her excitable state. At least that's what you think you see in between meek glances you manage to steal.
“It's n-not a joke.” But you're not sure what it is. A swirl of emotion and conflict threatens to drag you down into perpetual lack of understanding.
“Ok. You drank a lot. I drank a lot. We should go to bed now.” She hardly takes any time to process what you said. Her movements are quick and troubled, clumsy even, as she mutters more of the same.

And there's not much that you can say that she doesn't dismiss with some short line about sleeping until tomorrow came.

“Kaguya...” You utter softly, only loud enough to be heard by yourself. You move to your own sleeping area, stuck dumbly between sheets and bag. Kaguya is quick to move, despite her overall clumsiness. She takes her suitcase with her as she stumbles out the room. For a while you think that she won't return. She's gone for a long time, time with you try to use to organize your thoughts. But the haze in your brain and the rush still affecting your heart won't let you reason properly now. It's not an easy sensation to endure. Fading into oblivion seems like the best alternative.

She returns, her silhouette changed. Her clothes changed into sleeping clothes. She walks quickly, steps awkward, and settles in the opposite side of the room. “We should get some rest. I've drunk too much I'm afraid,” She states with a level and calm voice that's at odds with the state she is supposedly in. “Good night.”

And just like that she ignores you. Presumably she now sleeps, face towards the wall and way you. Her shape becomes a dark lump as the last lamp finally exhausts itself. In the silence you can hear quick thumping, probably from your chest. You can't be sure, your body feels like an alien construct, all your senses seem to be taking an extended vacation now.

You collapse. Mostly on what you're supposed to sleep on luckily. If you lose focus you'll faint. Your excited mind and heart will give up and put you out of your misery.

[] There's no choice: Sleep
[] Fresh air before you die
[] Talk to Kaguya, even if she won't reply (specify)
-
As a formal warning: I'll be updating faster after the next update (probably in 10-12 hours time), which means I'll need faster voting. If not, well, the likelihood of me getting tempted by games and such will increase dramatically.

*sweatdrop*

That's what I feared.

[x] Talk to Kaguya, even if she won't reply (specify)
There's my vote.

>[ ] There's no choice: Sleep
Why? The worst thing is to pass it off as nothing; she'll remember, and she'll remember good. IMO, doing this shuts off the Kaguya route...again.

>[ ] Fresh air before you die
Don't quite get this so I won't touch this with a 50-ft stick.

[X] Talk to Kaguya, even if she won't reply (specify)
---
[X]It was no joke Kaguya, however I'd never imagined how much I would disturb you in doing so. No regrets, but please forgive the fool.

Oh it's going to be a long day soon as the sun comes up.

[x] Talk to Kaguya, even if she won't reply (specify)

Can't back off now. What's been done has been done, but one can't leave things unresolved, even if there's a risk it may fall on deaf ears.

>>19390
>>19392
(specify) means additional input is required.

>>19393

I'll sleep on it and try to have something clever in the morning.

On a side note, once you start Mass Effect 2, could you tell me if it's good? Thinking about buying it, but I can't seem to get a non-troll response from /v/, per usual.

>>19394
I'm about to go to sleep myself. Hence it's likely that when I wake up and am able to write you won't have contributed to or affected the discourse that may occur during those hours (ie: nothing 'clever' from you being considered). See the inherent problem with not pitching ideas when they count for the most?

As for the other thing. Give me time since I'll only be able to give you an answer whether it's worth it or not after at least 6 hours of gameplay. If it's good I may end up buying it myself.

[x] Talk to Kaguya, even if she won't reply: "It's no joke. I'm not sorry for what I did. I'll apologize for making you worried, uncomfortable, never wanting to see me again, or whatever... but I'll never regret the choice I made. Good night, Kaguya."

Embrace the moment, damnit. We're drunk, she's drunk, and there aren't many moments in life where you can be completely uninhibited with your emotions like this. Go for it!

>>19392
Yeah, my bad.

Add -> It was no joke. The lips of a fool they may be, but don't deny the feelings of one who may wear his heart on his sleeve.

It's a start; probably not the best, but it's something.

[x] Talk to Kaguya, even if she won't reply (specify)

"It wasn't a mistake."

Cue EMIYA

Well, damn. Maybe I should've let my paranoia get the best of me after all? No turning back now, though.

[x] Talk to Kaguya, even if she won't reply
[x] Kaguya, if this wasn't what you wanted, then I'm really sorry. But as far as I can tell, this is how I really feel, and not just the sake taking form. If you won't accept those feelings, then that's okay. We'll still remain buddies no matter what route is chosen, so don't be afraid. It's true that we need sleep, though, so I hope that you'll be willing to talk in the morning.

This sounds terribly out of character as I read it; not in the intentions, but just in the way that it's spoken. I'm sure you'll fix that right up, though.

I'd imagine there's quite a lot running through Kaguya's head right now. Regardless of whether she feels the same and is just being Kaguya or doesn't feel that way towards us at all, she's probably afraid. Perhaps (or at least I'd like to hope) that her anger towards us is just that fear being expressed in a not-so-great way.

If this ends up being way off from what's really going on, then I'll know that I'm taking fictional characters and treating them as if their emotions and personalities are a bit too much like normal people. In other words, reading too deep into this and pulling shit out of nowhere. We'll see.

Oh, and enjoy your TAMUSIC. I'm not a fan, myself, sadly.

Well, might as well throw in something to stir the pot.

[~] Talk to Kaguya, even if she won't reply (specify)
- [+] Do not attempt to reason out an excuse
- [+] Apologize without getting to the point of subservience

>>19389
As soon as I read "[] Say nothing; kiss her" I realized no other option would win, no matter the logic used to defend it. Not even a re-appeal to ward misinterpreting signals.

>[] Fresh air before you die
Not while we're this tired, chilly fresh air or not.
There's no way we wouldn't say something, unles we forcively pass out. As we have little cohesive INT left, though, I don't think we should push our dialogue.
[+] Talk to Kaguya, even if she won't reply (specify)
-[+] "It wasn't the alcohol. Even without drinking it I would still--no, no, I suppose I wouldn't. Not then. Probably not then. I wouldn't know when, but I won't take it back now. I'm sorry it felt like I was teasing you."
-[+] (no reply?) "I--I'll stop now ..."

[x] Talk to Kaguya, even if she won't reply (specify)
- [x] Do not attempt to reason out an excuse
- [x] Apologize without getting to the point of subservience

I knew why not to vote for kiss her option. There was still too much in the air and it was not ready yet. She just wants/expects something from him before you can move forward.
But now the situation is just shit. Either apologize or try to sleep, don't know which one is better. But she might listen and not respond when he brings up something.

Well, that could have gone better, but I don't think the way it did go means we did something wrong.

Obviously, whatever she had expected from Shirou, it wasn't that, so of course she would probably react with some degree of shock. What's interesting is how apparently flustered she became, though.

Or perhaps I'm reading too much into it, and it's perfectly reasonable for her to get so rattled over a quick, alcohol-fueled smooch from her buddy.

Still, there's no getting off this train we're on, and if we're heading over a cliff, then so be it.


[X] Talk to Kaguya, even if she won't reply (specify)
[X] Tell her it wasn't a joke, and it wasn't (just) due to the alcohol. There really was something you wanted to say, to express to her, but words alone just couldn't do it.
[X] You suppose there is something you could actually say to express it, but it's best said when not under the influence of liquid courage. If there's every time she would be willing to hear it, though, you'll say it then.

Well, we know what we want to do anyway:
>[] Talk to Kaguya, even if she won't reply
and we know roughly what we want to say, but we have different ideas on how to articulate it.

In that still darkness, where the light is scant and the the only feeling you have left is a generalized burning sensation, you are aware that it's only you and Kaguya. You try to clear your throat and focus your voice. Despite your best efforts what comes out is still something of a whisper. However, in the absolute quiet of the room it carries quite clearly.

“I'm sorry if I did something you didn't like. The last thing I want is to antagonize you.” You take a deep breath, aware that it's not helping you feel any better. “That said, I wasn't joking. Not even a little bit. The drinking – it helped me do that, but it was something that I had felt like sharing even without it. I'm not sure how to explain even now. I wouldn't maybe have done it then. Maybe... if.... ah. What I mean is: actions tend to be louder than words, but I don't want it to be taken the wrong way that's all.”

You realize you're at the end of your intellectual capacity and prone to repetition. In an effort not to muddle your thoughts and words, you try to just finish what you were saying.

“If... you don't feel like dealing with it I'm still your buddy. And I'll always be that at least. We can talk tomorrow or some other time. But I guess we should be sleeping now.”

As expected, there's nary a stir from the direction Kaguya lies. You hope she was listening to you. That she understood what you meant even if you don't really know what you mean yourself. You figure she'll work what you meant out. She knows you well enough.

“Goodnight Kaguya.”

Falling into a heavy slumber occurs almost automatically. It's a long imperishable night as far as you're concerned, one which the sun never comes up to dispel. Dreamless too, yet you on an subconscious level retain some understanding of just how tired your body is. Waking up early, walking half of the day, drinking unabashedly – it all comes around full circle. Anyone observing you sleep that night might have mistaken you for a comatose dreg.

But even supposed ceaseless slumber ends naturally enough. As heavy as they once seemed, your eyelids open without major drama when it's time to get up. Your body still feels heavy. For the next couple of minutes you start yourself up slowly, gathering your faculties and wits. You're the only one in the room, the space where Kaguya slept is empty and tidied up. It's only slowly that you remember last night's events. You remember the fun, the talking, and even what you did out of impulse. But not what you said. Or you might have done afterward. A total blank in your memory.

You grope around for a nearby canteen. You're thirsty. And when you find the canteen you gulp the water down greedily, seeking to replenish lost fluids.

Kaguya is gone. Walk around slowly to see if she's in the kitchen or bathroom, but bot places are empty. You see that a mountain of dirty cookware still lingers from last night. You walk around, realizing that you slept in late. It's probably past noon already, just around lunchtime. You sit on the porch, looking out to the still-damp terrain all around. A yawn forces its way out of your mouth. Kaguya isn't here. But her suitcase is. Judging from how she kept that thing close to her at all times, she's probably somewhere nearby. Possibly got hungry and went to eat with the shrine maiden.

You sigh, your brain yelling at you for last night. The logical side of you is highly upset at your rash action. And, with a huge absence of information about what happened afterward, the uncertainty of what really transpired. Your anxious heart also pipes in, letting you know that you're a damn fool. It's nice to have such loyal organs.

You let out a hollow laugh thinking about what happens now.

[] Find Kaguya right away
or
[] Wait at the annex

If wait;
[] Plan out the rest of the day (places to go, things to do)
[] Drinking always solves all problems
[] Take a look at the suitcase since no one is around
-
Updates are either maybe going to be faster. If there are the votes and if I'm not too caught up playing ME2 (anon that asked - thus far it seems more polished than its predecessor, but the dialog options are still disappointing. I'm only 2 hours in so too early to form a verdict. Oh and see what I meant with not voting when you're able? No one will care or wait for you).

My recommendation is that in addition to voting whatever here, you have a clear idea of how to deal with Kaguya. So if there ever was a moment to discuss and have a clear idea of what to do or how to feel now would be it. I try to make realistic personalities, in that there are complex motivations and both logical and emotional responses to things that happen in the story. So in the case you think you know something, or have a theory, it's often beneficial to share with others.

>Take a look at the suitcase since no one is around
I don't know, this sounds like a very bad idea to me. I can only think of two things to do now. The first is to find try and find her with low chances of success. The second is to sit back and think about what to do until she shows up. Kaguya is probably gone off somewhere to talk with someone about her situation and maybe blow off some steam.
The kiss was too early and she was taken by surprise. But now we can't change course midway, we need to finish what we started. It is already proven that she likes Shirou more than just friends so it is time to plan ahead and give her what she wants.

[x] Wait at the annex
[x] Take a look at the suitcase since no one is around

I'm just curious as to how much it weighs, really. I wonder if it's as heavy as it looks or if it's as light as she says.

I don't know, it feels like Kaguya was trying to direct the conversation towards something with the last couple updates:
>“So how about it?”
>“I was just asking if there was something else that you wanted to share... I've said a lot already. Something to ask as well.” She takes the bottle and shakes it with her hand, “With all that's happened this evening it seems like a good opportunity to be free. Just because something is silly normally doesn't mean it's silly all the time. Probably,”
“Um, something to share? Like what?”
“If you don't know then it's alright.”

She wanted us to say something specific. Of course, she didn't hint at it, so we had to make our best guess. We guessed wrong:

>“You were going to say something?” She asks, unscrupulous gaze hard on your face.
She's expecting it...
>“Just tell you a little something about me, that's all.”
...and we wiff...
>“If it's that you're perfectly willing to throw away your life to spend time with us in a place far removed from your usual reality I know.”
...and now she's peeved...
>“That's plain as day. Otherwise we wouldn't be here.”
>“Just making sure that we start repeating ourselves needlessly.”
>“Because my dear buddy gets cranky after drinking?”
>“Let's just say that that's the reason.” She looks sullen, enough to make you smirk.
...and now she's upset. We know that's not what she wanted or expected us to say/do:

>“I didn't expect you to say all of that though,” She remarks, dark smile changing into a half smile.
See?
>“A bit hard to believe about me? It does seem like it, doesn't it? I'm perfect and cool in every way usually. I know.”
>“Well, lovely that delusion, but not what I meant.”
>“What did you mean t-then?” Another stutter. Fog clouds a lot of your mind.
A good question.
>“Ah not much... just sort of thought you were going to say something else. Or do something else.”
Oh ho.
>“Ah.” You're not completely sure with your mind as hazy as it is, but you detect some sort of... apprehension or disappointment. Or not, as she looks about the same as before, albeit not smiling. “What did you want me to do?”
Even in our stupor, we realize she's been angling us toward something...
>“Oh, um, nothing. I'm honored that you would share something that intimate and embarrassing with me. So there's nothing else.”
...and now she's backpeddling. She wanted us to do or say something, but she's not hinting at what this elusive 'thing' is, only that she can't say it herself or directly ask it from us. Considering all of this, maybe '[] “I'd like it if you felt comfortable enough to tell me.”' was a more appropriate choice. Maybe the booze was enough to get her uninhibited enough to finally admit what she wants from us.

Still, I don't think the kiss was the wrong choice, though. That is to say, I think it was a good decision wrapped in a bad bit of execution. It's that one line, after we cracked into the sake and she told us that story:
>With all that's happened this evening it seems like a good opportunity to be free. Just because something is silly normally doesn't mean it's silly all the time. Probably

An opportunity to be free, as well as something she'd normally consider silly from us, but would make sense in light of the atmosphere. Look at the options (minus the one that won, since, as discussed above, it wasn't what she expected or wanted to hear) at the end of >>19350: which of those fit the aforementioned criteria? Going to bed? No, that is not a chance to be free. How drunk she is? That's silly no matter what the situation. A midnight stroll? That's not silly in the first place. Drinking some liquid courage and everything that entails. I think we're onto something! Now, look at the options at the end of >>19373: which one is most in line with the only choice that made sense? Teruyo isn't the type to present a slew of dummy options hoping for a silver bullet write-in when we told him we decided to take the railroad route. If he was expecting a write-in, he'd have prompted us for one (like in >>19389). There was a winning vote in there, and I believe it's the one we picked.

My theory is that Kaguya was trying to get us to tell her how we really feel about her, beyond the 'buddy' thing. I believe we did just that, but like I said, it was a good decision executed poorly. Kaguya didn't expect it, and she didn't really appreciate it, but... her male friend just kissed her, and she's going to brush it off and go to sleep (and sleep in the same room as him no less!) I think she got what she wanted from us, but she also got way too much more and it really flumoxed her.

With that in mind, how to deal with Kaguya... well, we reached this level of our relationship interacting like this, so I see no good reason to stop (unless she actively tries to avoid us now, that is, so there remains a lot to be seen). I think we should be apologetic for going to far, but letting her know that the sentiment was genuine. I'm not inclined towards forcing her to make the same emotional commitment. If she's going to be this roundabout about it, I'm not expecting leaps and bounds of advancement in our relationship. I think this was an awkward step forward for us, but it's progress none-the-less. For the immediate future, I think we just need to stay the course with this new found commitment in mind; realize that, at least for us, being with Kaguya means both hanging out with our buddy, as well as someone we care deeply for (romantic feelings, I guess).

Is that too deep?

[X] Wait at the annex
-[X] Plan out the rest of the day:
--[x]Check the map for any considerably interesting landmarks nearby the shrine.
(Youkai Mountain for the past suggested spelunking?)
--[x]Consider asking around the village for that "elusive" hotspring.

Looking at her suitcase is just asking for more problems later on. I find it surprising that she'd be comfortable leaving it behind while with Shirou considering her reaction last night. Chances are she will know Shirou looked whether he ha seen him do it or not; especially if the locks are either intricate or its contents been displaced from her last use of the case without her doing it.

No suitcase peeking. Despite how illogical it seems, Kaguya is probably hiding inside of it and you know what happened last time Kaguya jumped out of a box in front of the protagonist. Snow End. Seriously, though, it's a rotten idea and an undue invasion of privacy.

>>19408
That's also dismissing the possibility that both roads, the earlier one we skipped and the one we took, didn't both lead to the same place. That's prone to happen.

>>19409
She doesn't want to go anywhere near the Village so we'd have to work our way around that. Going to "that other" mountain might not be a bad idea, but the walk yesterday morning exhausted us too easily. I don't think we'd make it in one day on our feet.

[+] Wait at the annex
-[+] Dirty dishes: we have a lot of them

Even though she keeps saying she'll follow wherever until we overstep our boundaries, we should still probably plan while she's in the room. Reimu and Suika are our pathfinders if we can't get to the Village. Besides, that alleged hotspring is always the fallback and we have already established its existence and our intent of finding it/one.

Ah, looks like I won't have have to feel guilty about playing games. In the 8 hours since the update there's no consensus (or numbers). That you're all going in different directions definitely prevents me from updating with the few votes cast.

The whole discussion and thinking things over is always good. It's both beneficial and constructive. And there's no need to rush that. Though greater participation makes it that much better. I definitely can't do much about that, sadly enough.

I'm going to bed now. So, uh, if there are more votes the earliest I would write is in another 8-10 hours depending on the things I have to do when I wake up. I really wish things didn't just keep on getting slower and slower. Time has shown that I can't do anything to reverse that trend.

[X] Wait at the annex
-[X] Plan out the rest of the day
--[X]Check the map for any considerably interesting landmarks nearby the shrine.

>>19408

My thoughts are sort of split between this, and that creeping dread that we really fucked up bad, but it might be my general paranoia. Most of said paranoia is due to what might have been an announcement a few threads ago (I think, memory is kind of fuzzy and I'm too lazy to check where it is, exactly). I don't remember the exact wording, but I remember the words 'Route' and 'Locked', and there wasn't a name along with it. I'm remember we were spending a lot of time around Eirin around then, and that has me a bit worried now that we voted for what we did just now. I'm not saying we'll screw up as horrendously as we did the first run (I would like to think that we learned from our mistakes, a fairly alien concept when applied to anon), but I'm also unsure as to where we go from here.

...Well, by that I mean a few votes down the line. In the meantime, we probably won't find Kaguya/Kaguya will most likely want to be alone for now, and we do have a lot of dishes piled up, so...

[x] Wait at the annex
[x] Dirty dishes: we have a lot of them

[x] Wait at the annex
[x] Dirty dishes: we have a lot of them
Let's attack the dirty dishes and wait for kaguya to arrive. Meanwhile think about the situation a bit while you do it.

[x] Wait at the annex
[x] Dirty dishes: we have a lot of them

It seems pretty in character of Shirou and I don't want to plan anything before talking to Kaguya about... stuff.

[x] Wait at the annex
[x] Do dishes while reflecting on recent events with Kaguya

Yeah, I'm thinking this is best. Kaguya may not want to do whatever we plan out when she gets back; in fact, in the worst case, she could want to go back to Eientei after last night. We shouldn't worry so much about planning out the rest of the day, but think more about what has happened so far. I don't think we'll be able to really make plans until after we've sorted a few things out with Kaguya, anyway.

>>19422
>Do dishes while reflecting on recent events with Kaguya
This is even better than just wash dirty dishes.
Be sure to include this Teruyo, i really don't want to delete and revote.

>>19423
Seconded

... I didn't quite expect that option to go anywhere.

We won't see Teruyo around here for a while now.

>>19433
Uh, how come? Did I miss something?

>>19434
Don't feed the trolls.

CURSE YOU BIOWARE

Curses because i can't play it

>>19444

Dohoho, I'm picking it up today, you poor schmuck.

There's a pile of dirty dishes and pots waiting for you. If you don't wash them no one will. Unfortunately.

Seeing as there isn't a sink or tap of any sort nearby the traditional approach to washing plates is a no-go. You have to do it the hard way; Fetching a pail of water and something to scrub the dishes with. It's easy enough to find a discarded pail nearby, but harder to find water. You have to venture outside to find a small well. It's repetitive and finger-numbing labor to clean the mess from last night. You do it outside, where any water spills harmlessly onto the ground.

Doing the same thing over and over without much thought, scrubbing the occasional stubborn spot with added vigor isn't very stimulating. Nor is the actual whether either. It's hotter than it feels it should be, a sultry smothering day after the sizable rain. There are few clouds in the sky and the late-autumn sun bears down as if it were a midsummer day. The only thing that makes it seem bearable is a balmy breeze blowing through every now and again. Puddles of rainwater remain behind in the pockmarked mud.

The whole of the atmosphere is conducive to reflective thought. Try as you might to focus on washing and drying, your mind is wholly occupied on something else. Kaguya to be specific. And last night.

In frenzied internal debate you decide that it wasn't a mistake to do what you did. Except if it estranges her from you. Which isn't the case, you're sure. You haven't seen her today which means you don't know how she's holding up. You can't remember much beyond her complete disengagement last night after the fact. It could mean anything. But you're sure that whatever it is, it's not a bad thing. Even if your timing was off, or you read the mood wrong, you feel that this was something that was a long time coming.

At least you hope it was.

You probably know how you feel about this and that won't change. The issue, however, lies in how well you can express those feelings. To yourself least of all. She's on another level entirely. It's not something you can just think over while washing dirty pots and dishes. It feels like maybe you're making too much of a big deal of this. Mountains out of molehills. Of course, barring the possibility that your gut is completely right and your reasoning is wrong.

You sigh as you finish a particularly filthy pot. It's then that you realize that you're not alone. Not in a feel-good metaphorical sense either. Footsteps come from within the annex, from the kitchen, right behind you. Naturally you turn to look, finding a burdened girl staggering about.

“Hey, give me a hand will you?” Amidst an armful of bottles the girl cries out to you. She carries several large bottles unsteadily, looking as if they could fall and break at any moment. “This one here is slipping.”

You put down what you're doing and give her a hand. You save a slipping bottle and then lift another couple for her as she swerves towards the pantry. It's the girl from yesterday, the one with the horns who was in the shrine. She deposits her load next to the chest. You follow her example and do the same.

“Thank you there. It would have been terrible if I had wasted one.”
“No problem, um...”
“It's Suika,” The girl grins.
“So, do all of these bottles belong to you?” You ask, quick to remember from whence the alcohol came last night.
“Most of them. Some of it has been here for a looooong time. It's all pretty good stuff.”
“I took a bottle of wine and another of sake from here,” You blurt out . She's bound to get upset at you. You took without asking first. Not that you know that it belonged to her.
“That's ok.” The girl squats and opens the chest. She begins to stuff it with the bottles she brought.
“Really?”
“Oh yeah. No problem at all.”
“But it looked like it was expensive.”
“It was,” She says with a friendly smile. “But what's the point of drinking if I can't share it with others? You weren't alone either I take it?”

You nod.

“Even better. And if you drank it with someone you liked then I'm satisfied. It's all that a good drink could ever ask for from its owners.”
“Thank you for being generous.” You find her way of thinking to be surprising. It's not a bad thing definitely, and you're grateful that you got to drink that wine and sake. And that she doesn't mind at all.
“No problem, people should really expect no less from others, you dig?” She's quick to store the bottles, filling the chest to the brim before closing it. “Just one thing though.”
“Yes?”
“Make sure to support your friendly local alcohol supplier. Buy from the village, they appreciate your patronage.”
“I definitely will next time I need to.”
“Good.” She gets up, patting the creases on her blouse. “Then we're all squared.”

She leaves the pantry and looks where you were working.

“Not doing anything fun, are you?”
“No, not really.” You join her. “I have a lot on my mind.”
“It might be typical of you humans,” She notes. “After sleeping with someone as pretty as that you tend to feel confused for some reason. What's wrong with enjoying what you have and that's it?”
“I, uh, 'sleeping with someone as pretty as that'?” You're at a loss for words.
“Why I mean your friend of course. You were together all night right? She's beautiful, but not really my type.”
“Oh I mentioned her yesterday, didn't I?” You remember. Part of the punishment game.
“Yeah. And I also saw her just earlier at the shrine too. She didn't sleep there, so it must have been here with you. Nice that you're close.”
“So she's at the shrine?”
“Maybe. I don't know. It's hard to tell when what was and wasn't.”

You're about to ask what she means when you see her open her gourd and take a swig. No mystery as to why she finds it hard to remember that sort of thing.

“Want some?” She offers.
“No thanks. Tempting, but no.”
“Oho~ I detect trouble. Call it intuition. Like the best bartenders I'm qualified to listen and make your life really fun.”
“It's not something I'm comfortable talking about.” You walk slowly towards the few dirty dishes, intending to finish the batch off.
“You'll feel better if you tell me, you know. I give also great advice and am totally easy to get along with. Besides, I have nothing to do right now.” Her true reason comes to light. It's not a bad reason, but it's not exactly endearing either.
“Fine. I don't see the harm. But let me finish the dishes, alright?” You impose your conditions.

She's a good listener, you'll give her that. She doesn't interrupt as you tell her about what's on your mind and what's happened. Heck, when you're done, she actually shows enough interest to ask why you're here in the first place. You gladly tell her and by the time you're done with washing you've told her a lot more than you thought you would be willing to share.

“So, let me see if I've got this right,” She takes a long drink before speaking, “You take her from her home, running away, spend most of the time alone with each other, have fun, get drunk together, and you kiss her?”
“That's right.”
“I don't see what your problem is there. Anyone would see you as a couple that liked one another. I'm surprised that you've just kissed. But then again, that's humans for you. They think that taking baths together is a big deal too.”
“I...”
“Liking someone is nothing to be ashamed of. It's something to be celebrated, preferably with a party, but I don't understand how you're so lost in thought here. It's obvious what happens next.”
“I just don't see it.”
“Something else that's as or even more passionate of course,” Suika laughs, “Make you realize how simple things are and make her realize how simple they are as well. It's only the most obvious thing ever.”
“I don't even know if that's the best thing and-”
“Hm, you're reminding me of someone I know now. With all the questioning of what to do and how to do it best. But at least there was conviction with that.” She cuts you off, using surprising strength to make you drink forcibly from her gourd as she carries on. Loads of alcohol go down your throat and into your empty stomach; the effect will probably be very noticeable very quickly. “Don't make thing more complicated. Have fun and live it up.”

You gag as she removes the gourd. You feel your innards aflame.

“Oh, it's later than I thought it was,” She stares up into the sky. “I've got to get going.”

And just like that, the horned girl disappears, scampering off whimsically. You're left slightly dazed and confused. Like after an encounter with Tewi. Slightly different, sure, but sort of the same.

You walk off the teensy bit of inebriation by exploring the surrounding grounds. You avoid the mud, sticking to the paths and hard earth, and still think away furiously. You end up near the rear of the shrine, by a shady clump of trees and a fish pond. The water in the pond is murky and overgrown with algae. But that's not what's interesting.

You spot Kaguya walking into the shrine from another direction, from where the main entrance should be. She's as careful and deliberate with her gait as always and you admire her for it. No traces of anxiety or complicated feelings show on her fair face. Whatever she may think about what happened, she isn't letting it show right now. You're unsure whether to hail her or go see her, and you abstain from coming close to her.

It's just as well too, as you see that she starts to speak with the miko. Shortly thereafter they go inside together. It's not your style to eavesdrop (much) but you take it that they're talking together for some reason or another. Maybe about the weather, maybe about something else. There's no way to tell from this far away.

You wait by the pond. The pond scum forms an almost complete blanket. No one has cared to clean this place out in forever. If there was any other form of life here, it's long since dead. But it's peaceful, and the shade is some refuge from the uncharacteristically hot afternoon sun. It's all you need to wait for perhaps a half hour or so. Kaguya leaves the shrine after that, going towards the annex from what you can glimpse from your vantage point. The miko stares at something in the distance for a few minutes before grabbing a broom and sweeping the from of the shrine.

[] Go back to the annex
[] Talk to Reimu (about? Horned drunkards? A maiden's heart? Talking with Kaguya? If she enjoyed last night? etc)

>It feels like maybe you're making too much of a big deal of this. Mountains out of molehills. Of course, barring the possibility that your gut is completely right and your reasoning is wrong.
Okay, I get the message, I'll tone it back. Sorry about that.

>“Liking someone is nothing to be ashamed of. It's something to be celebrated, preferably with a party, but I don't understand how you're so lost in thought here. It's obvious what happens next.”
>“Something else that's as or even more passionate of course,” Suika laughs, “Make you realize how simple things are and make her realize how simple they are as well. It's only the most obvious thing ever.”
>“Don't make thing more complicated. Have fun and live it up.”

This is the best advice ever. There's no wisdom like oni wisdom.

[X] Talk to Reimu: about the weather, any quiet, scenic locations within walking distance, and if she enjoyed herself as much as we did last night.

Aside from the potentially devastating foul up, can't deny we had a lot of fun last night, as pointed out by Suika. Weather seems more
accommodating for taking a walk, and we could use a nice shady spot to be alone with Kaguya for a bit. On the chance that Kaguya wants to go home after this, I think we can make a convincing argument to do one more thing before we return. If not, it'd be a nice way to start the day.

[x] Go back to the annex

[X] Talk to Reimu: about the weather, any quiet, scenic locations within walking distance, and if she enjoyed herself as much as we did last night.

I like this one.

>It's just as well too, as you see that she starts to speak with the miko. Shortly thereafter they go inside together. It's not your style to eavesdrop (much) but you take it that they're talking together for some reason or another.
There's something that strikes me very Shirou about this whole remark.

[+] Go back to the annex

[X] Talk to Reimu: about the weather, any quiet, scenic locations within walking distance, and if she enjoyed herself as much as we did last night.

[X] Go back to the annex

Ah, Suika. So much awesome in such a small little package.

Sure is tied votes in here.

>>19486
Yup. Annoying but ok. While I wanted to go faster, it's been a couple of days since the last update so it's understandable. After I sleep some (and hopefully have a tiebreaker/more votes) I'll be trying that. With time limits maybe. Otherwise I'll be playing games before you know it and you'll never see me again. That or fiddling with code stuff which is equally useless.

[x] Go back to the annex

>>19475
[X] Talk to Reimu: about the weather, any quiet, scenic locations within walking distance, and if she enjoyed herself as much as we did last night.

Nothing wrong with chatting with Reimu, and I'm curious as to who came over last night.

[X] Go back to the annex
If i already voted, ignore this.

[X] Talk to Reimu: about the weather, any quiet, scenic locations within walking distance, and if she enjoyed herself as much as we did last night.

>>19480
The MC's personality is really well done, yes. I don't think anyone disagrees at this point.

Jesus christ, come to a consensus, already.

>>19493
I love that picture.

>>19502
Everyone loves Tewi.
Too bad that there will never be a Tewi Route
She would have deserved it right after MiG.

>>19504

Perhaps not in the DoaLF series but there are a few cyoas that have that potentially working out.

Sadly the ones I can think of are either "stalled", "on hiatus", "Utterly suspicious of the lead", or lastly "Tewi already hating the lead from the very start"

The masses Me and the other 2 guys demand updates.
Daily Updates - make it happen.

>>19512

Cast a deciding vote, first. We're tied at five each.

>>19513
Has anyone not voted yet?

[X] Go back to the annex

I don't even read this story, but hey, I gave the last update a cursory scan. That good enough to settle your tie?

>>19516
I am disappoint

>>19516
No it is not. It is a stupid thing to do given the nature of the site.

In the spirit of fairness I am going to flip a coin.

>In the spirit of fairness
>I am going to flip a coin.
Something is not right with that statement.

Talking about injustice, you think you can write a little Tewi side story Teruyo? Maybe it can get you in the mood again if you write about someone else than Kaguya.

>>19521
I have criminally insane idea: why don't you cast the winning vote this time Teruyo?

>>19525
"The world is cruel, and the only morality in a cruel world is chance.
Unbiased. Unprejudiced. Fair."

>>19521
Well alright then.

And so this purposefully short (and unintentionally poor) update is done after a disproportionate amount of time.
--

You let the shrine maiden be. Sweeping is hard enough without you butting in to talk and pry into her life. She strikes you as the kind that doesn't appreciate being bugged for no good reason. Despite how friendly and forthright she's been with you.

So it's back to the annex. You find that it takes you a long time to get there, your every step almost dragging on the still moist soil and stone pathway. It's not a conscious thing as you want to get to the old building as quickly as possible. But as you lurch closer a great wave of anxiety washes over you, saturating your senses with a mild but noticeable panic. It's something that you don't wish to acknowledge and your thoughts are purposefully of anything but here and now. They're about school trips and train rides, of times well past.

Not a healthy thing in the least. Reminiscing like an old lady to escape from reality is something a psychologist would have a field day over you decide. Lying back on a leather couch, your mind would be exposed to the prying questions of the doctor. She'd dissect your every thought and memory. Her appetite would be insatiable, a voracious maw of hungry knowledge. It would serve to make her understand and you understand less. Something be used for her advantage, for her ends. To keep disasters from happening.

As you reach the front door you snap out of your imaginative fantasy. You dare not see any symbolism or deeper significance in the figure of the doctor. Even though you know exactly who it is and why she was there. It's not time for that, not by a long shot.

The inside looks even darker than the penumbra of last night somehow. Though you don't care enough to question why. Instead, you move to where you slept, where your things still are. The wooden floor creaks with your every step, raising an unsteady beat into the air. Funny how when you're focused all of this becomes very noticeable. You're sure the floorboards creaked the first time you came in, but you can't remember it happening. Same with the delicate fractures that run varnish on the wooden joints on the walls and doors. Those are signs of age, signs you failed to see at first.

No doubt that the tension you fleetingly feel, nibbling away at your mind, is what causes you to feel drunk. Never mind the fact that you drank what Suika crammed down your throat. It wasn't that much, and it's been... at least a half hour.... maybe more. Empty stomach or no, it couldn't possibly be that. You're firm in dismissing anything that could adversely affect you or your judgment. Your senses feel slightly out of focus, sort of buoyant even, as you come upon Kaguya. She is placing something inside of her suitcase as you stumble in.

She see you and speaks.

“Ah so there you are. I thought you were never going to get up. It's a nice day today, isn't it?”
“Sorry, my body felt really tired, more than I realized,” Your reply is phlegmatic. A surprising feat given your previous uncertainty. “Drank quite a lot. The consequences were noticeable.”
“Maybe you shouldn't be so eager in the future then.”
“I'm alive, aren't I? What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger right?”
“Barely by the looks of it. When you were sleeping it looked like you were in a coma. Your face looked completely slack. Even from up close there wasn't much sign of life.”
“Deep sleep will do that to you,” You realize something, something that she just said, “Wait. Hold up. You were watching me while I was sleeping?”
“I was worried,” She justifies, using a small voice. “I didn't stare at you for very long either, just looked at your peaceful face for a while and made sure you were alright.”
“Well, thank you I suppose then.” Though you don't completely buy her explanation. But you feel too awkward to press the issue much further. You wonder idly if she leaned in close to watch you sleep, her hair perhaps tickling your nose a bit. Her worried gaze boring into your relaxed expression....

It's something you can't decide whether is rather thoughtful or maybe just a little bit embarrassing. Or even slightly unsettling. Even if it were that doesn't override your initial impression.

“So...” She starts.
“So...?”
“Where are we going?” Her question is both specific yet simultaneously strangely ambiguous.
“I don't really know. It's already afternoon.”
“All the more reason to go. Though the shrine maiden invited us to stay longer.”
“Reimu did?” You don't know what the miko is thinking. But it's not like you have much of an idea of what you're thinking either. So it evens out.
“Yes,” She answers quickly. And then changes the subject. She asks with a certain hesitation, “Well then, what else is there to do? “

You look at her, quite unsure of what to do for a while.

[] Just get a move on elsewhere
[] Hug option
[] Ask about her talk with Reimu
[] Other (something surely best put into words by someone else)

[Z] Just get a move on elsewhere

Hasn't been much of an adventure as of yet. Romantic or otherwise. I recommend exploring the following as our destination.

-[x] old castle by the lake rumored to be haunted.

>>19532
>>19533
>>19534
>>19535

What the...

In any rate I want to say [x}Other but I can't say I know that is just yet.

[x] Just get a move on elsewhere
-[x] old castle by the lake rumored to be haunted.

What the spamer said.

>>19540

In his defense, I don't think he's spamming. That happened to me yesterday, twice actually. Granted, it was only a double post, but I think something went a little wonky after the downtime.

Anyway, were we told about a haunted castle by a lake? Did I forget something, or are you guys making it up as you go along now?

Back to vote i an hour, hopefully with a response waiting. Either way, will vote then.

...Okay, no response, so I'll go for

[x] Ask about her talk with Reimu

>>19541
yeah, oops. my bad. The damn thing never went through.

[x] Just get a move on elsewhere
-[x] old castle by the lake rumored to be haunted.

>old castle by the lake rumored to be haunted
The hell are you people on about?

>>19545

So I'm not experiencing some form of partial amnesia, apparently. Where did you guys get this from, anyway? Did you mean the Scarlet Devil Mansion?

>>19547
I was basically implying the prismriver castle. I figured spots like that would be well rumored in the human village since this is gensokyo and what else do they have to talk about.

>>19548
besides, it was on the map, wasn't it? An old castle next to the lake, and further on there was a picture of a skull and crossbones.

I could have sworn.

>>19549

...And you want to suggest that that would be a good place to go to her?

>>19549
>>besides, it was on the map, wasn't it? An old castle next to the lake, and further on there was a picture of a skull and crossbones.

When in doubt, find the post.
Which, in this case, would be this:
>>18953

>>At first glance the map looks complete and useful. Important landmarks and nexus of travel are all clearly marked out with standardized coloring and highlights. You find what is almost definitely this village and see most of the major paths leading to and from to it, including some indication of the hidden trail inside the Bamboo Forest. But then you start to notice the small details. Like how some landmarks seem to 'wrap' around the map – as if going further in a direction would bring travelers to the other side of the map entirely. The cartographer that made this map was clearly insane. Beyond a shadow of a doubt. It's not just the ludicrous warping that it's implying that occurs; some of the landmarks and points of interest are entirely divorced from reality! Simply put: some places are unreachable by most means you can fathom. You could understand if it was a cave or something (there's an elaborate underground system mapped out on the reverse side) but that's not even the case here. Those features are clearly the result of an unsound mind.

>>Yet that's not the worst part. Not by a long shot. The confusing runes, that hurt to look at, probably get the doubtful honor of second place. The worst are the little illustrations. Like how there's a smaller village further north around the lake supposedly. There's a skull and crossbones on it and a giant deformed (fat!) severed head looking highly pleased with itself. In a section of the map where details become a rarity the same type of severed abomination hops happily engaging a proud and fluffy armored bunny in combat. You get the impression that the rabbit is something of a paladin. There's a caption to it, which you can't read, that you think says the equivalent of 'Here be dragons'. You shake your head at the realization that the map has a lot of similar... extras along with unreasonable amounts of terram incognites.

You'll notice there is no mention of any sort of castle, there. There is no mention of it anywhere else in the rest of that thread, either.

>>19551
replace castle with town then, I guess.

>>19552
I'd suggest also forgetting about the "rumored to be haunted" part, too.
I suppose you could replace that with "rumored to be inhabited by a race of strange, bloated, severed heads" but that would be just silly.

Still, it could be a nice place to check out, if only to take it easy for a little while.

You know, for those of you who were clamoring for daily updates - I can't well do those if the turnout is like this. Just because I technically can update with a single vote doesn't mean that I would want to. Same goes with a pair or two of confused ones. You don't want write ins? By george I haven't given you any obligatory ones for a while. And if you do, there's always the option to.

Gah I'm frustrated.

[x] Ask about her talk with Reimu
I have nothing to say in my defence, just that i read this option as something totally different than it actually is.
That's why i picked that write in because it looked better.

[x] Just get a move on elsewhere
-[x] old castle by the lake rumored to be haunted.

I'm sorry I can't seem to grasp what she's implying, I'm a failure.
In my defense, I don't think Shirou does either and Ba-Kaguya should know that by now.

[+] Have really late breakfast/late lunch while you ...
[+] Ask about her talk with Reimu

That hug option is quite tempting, but I think it might be worth passing right now. Moreover, we still need to talk to Reimu or Suika. There's too much we can't make heads or tails about Tewi's map. Likewise, it's not going to help us "just get a move on" if we're hungry the whole way.

I also wanted to echo Kaguya's comment from last thread ("Staring is embarrassing.") but we've already moved past that topic.

[X] Ask about her talk with Reimu

>>Moreover, we still need to talk to Reimu or Suika.

But we just talked to Suika not too long ago. Plus, if you think tracking down Tewi when she doesn't want to be found was hard, just imagine how much tougher it is to track down someone who can turn into mist.

[X] Ask about her talk with Reimu

Im a bit curious about Reimu offering a longer stay, her night must have gone well.

“In any case,” you speak after the silent pause, “I haven't had anything to eat yet and I'm hungry. Should probably take care of that before doing anything else. You eaten yet?”
“I have,” She replies, giving a slow nod.
“Ah. I hope you don't mind me then.”
“Go right ahead.”
“Thanks. I won't be long. I know it's not exactly early morning anymore.”

And not wasting any time, you rummage through the still-heavy rucksack. Cooking is currently low on your desired activity list, so the choice comes down to things you can eat right away. Dry cereal-like fibrous bars with no taste are your quickest find. So they become the backbone of the meal. Coupled with a tiny bit of canned fruits and you're golden.

You eat on the porch, looking out to the treeline. Kaguya carries on fussing with something in her luggage, the occasionally click and rustle letting you know just how far along she is. She leaves you to eat at your own pace, which suits you just fine. The hard fibrous bars are tough to chew on but they are filling. By the time you're working on your canned goodies your stomach reports that it's satiated.

“So,” You speak, turning your head gently backwards, “I saw you talking to Reimu earlier, anything interesting up?”
“Hm?” You see that she's sitting now, suitcase pressed against her knees, “No. Not really. Just the invitation to stay for a while longer.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“Suspicious?” She asks, forgetting to sound playful.
“No. Though should I be?”
“I wonder about that...”
“Hard to tell. You were talking for a while though.” You get up. Kaguya watches your every step warily. Rubbish goes in a special bag, you throw out the tin and wrappers. “It's not my place to pry.”
“It's definitely not,” She quips defensively.
“It's not my intention either. I was just curious if something came up, something you felt like sharing.”

You continue to speak to her as you head into the next room, looking for a bit of water to wash your face with.

“You know, it's not like it's a big deal to just talk about normal...” You find the remaining clean water, “stuff. I'm not about to interrogate you or anything.”
“...”

No reply from the other room.

“Simple honest to goodness curiosity. That's all,” You add before splashing some water on your face. It refreshes you.

Still no reply.

You dry off by wiping your face on your sleeve, a towel not being at hand. You walk back to the other room and start to talk as you come in.

“Well, forgetting that then, what did you do while I was sleeping?”
“What do you mean?!” Kaguya snaps defensively.
“Erm... well, I just mean while I was asleep. If you went around or whatever. I mean I would be bored and look for something to do.”
“Oh.” Her voice quivers as she gives an evasive reply, “This and that. Kept myself busy.”
“No doubt,” You state dryly.

You look at her, seeing that there's not much progress being made through conversation. It's like there's a murky pane of glass between you and her – it hides whatever she may be thinking or feeling from you as sure as it hides you from her. You feel like sighing, but are more concerned about her evasiveness.

“You're keeping something from me, aren't you?”
“Aren't you?” She echoes sullenly. Her eyes are on the hardy suitcase.
“I'm not.”
“Maybe.”
“Maybe what?”
“Nothing. We should get going.”
“Well we don't have to, you know. We can always stay.”
“If you insist then,” She says softly. “But it's not my fault then.”
“What's not your fault.”
“What happens next.”
“Ah well,” You boast, bringing in the first smile in the conversation, “What happens next is strictly my responsibility. What kind of kidnapper would I be if I didn't take responsibility.”

You words get her to look at you. Eyes dart around in recognition and then her gaze returns to a neutral state. Her focus returns to her suitcase.

“Still, I'm feeling a bit uneasy about if you're holding back on me. Can't you just be honest with me? I won't bite.” You don't think that was the best choice of words. But that's that. “At least tell me if I've got this right, ok? A nod will do. Though I just want to talk normally like we always do.”

[] She doesn't want to deal with what happened last night
[] She talked to Reimu about you, which is why she's silent
[] She was staring at you while you slept, which she doesn't want to admit
[] You're still slightly drunk, it's you who's acting weird – best say nothing about her
[] It's something else entirely (yeah, what?)
-
Note that the last choice may be better or worse depending on the writein (like always).

[x] You're still slightly drunk, it's you who's acting weird – best say nothing about her

>She talked to Reimu about you, which is why she's silent
>She was staring at you while you slept, which she doesn't want to admit
We don't need to ask about that, we already know the answer.

>>19575
Indeed, but I feel like pressing on some of these issues.

[x] She talked to Reimu about you, which is why she's silent

>>We don't need to ask about that, we already know the answer.

You say we know the answer, but do we truly know the question?

That she talked to Reimu about us, if not exactly about what happened last night, is a given. With the length of time those two were inside, there's no way there were spending it sitting in silence, and Reimu made her offer completely out-of-the-blue. Also, unless Reimu happened to have the best possible night ever and was just in the really charitable mood, chances are her offer to let us stay is connected to whatever she and Kaguya talked about. And, if whatever they talked about involved us, there can be only two reasons I can think of for why she would make such an offer.
Either she's setting us up to get caught by the ones searching for us, or her own experience last night has made her want to help give her two guests/potential lovebirds another chance to make something happen with each other.

That she also was spending time watching us sleep, possibly to the point of staring (from up-close, by her own admission, no less), is also pretty much a given. She admits to it, albeit possibly understating how much of it she did. However, her responses make it clear that there's probably more to it than just what little she admitted to.

The first option is also possibly true, as well. Either she doesn't want to deal with what happened last night, at least with Shirou, or she is trying to avoid dealing with it.
Assuming Reimu's reason for offering them a place to stay for another night is what I think it is, this would also explain her seeming ready and willing to leave. She knows what staying another night might lead to, especially if they can't avoid the issue of what happened last night, and that possibly scares her.
Of course, if she didn't want to stay, or wanted to avoid things completely, she could have simply not said anything about Reimu making that offer, and just pushed Shirou to get the two of them out of there and back on the move.

Just a guess, of course, but I would suspect that Kaguya wants what could happen between them, but is afraid of what could happen if it does, especially if it means losing her best friend. In other words, exactly what Suika was talking about. Taking something that, really, is as simple and obvious and can be, and making it far more complicated than it needs to be.

While I don't doubt that we might still be a tad tipsy, especially due to that shot of liquid courage Dr. Suika administered to us, the real issue are those first three options. All of them true, but none of them really striking at the heart of the matter, which happens to be the one thing they all have in common.

[X] She's uncertain about something. Perhaps about something she wants? Or feels? Particularly about someone? And these feelings have to do with a lot of what has happened since night. Perhaps, even some things since before last night.


Feel free to add, alter, tear apart, or just ignore any part of this. I could, as always, be wrong.

[x] She talked to Reimu about you, which is why she's silent
Seems reasonable considering her reaction.

Multiple choice allowed? If that's the case then:
[x] She was staring at you while you slept, which she doesn't want to admit
This too is likely, but not as important as the first.

[x] She talked to Reimu about you, which is why she's silent

Nrrrgh. This doesn't feel quite right, to me, but I also don't like the write-in, and can't think of anything to write-in myself, so...

[X] She's uncertain about something. Perhaps about something she wants? Or feels? Particularly about someone? And these feelings have to do with a lot of what has happened since night. Perhaps, even some things since before last night.

I'll go with this. It may be a bit too upfront for my tastes, and a bit too upfront for Shirou, as well, but I think we're all about upfront as of late. I think we've got to get things out at least a little bit more out in the open or we're never going to get anywhere with this; Kaguya's got a way of just pushing things aside, from what I've noticed.

I don't think this is a matter of topic; I think this is a matter of choosing the remark that is as precise as possible without deterring Kaguya's answer.

[+] She doesn't want to deal with what happened last night
This question can not fail because any kind of response Kaguya gives implies an answer. I think the write-in of >>19578 is essentially the first option, just more wordy. Moreover, I like this option: it's blunt and obvious.

So much for quick updates with quick votes. This is disheartening. I'll be away and busy for a little while and not able to write. Frankly I'm struggling to keep upbeat about wanting to write - brushing things off and playing incessantly is only good as a short term thing. God help me but I do want to write and update more than once a day and enough votes in a shorter time frame (I mean who can update more than once a day when it takes 12+ hours for the votes?).

Eh, just letting you know how things are on my end. Feel free to disregard this. Just don't say that things came from out of the blue.

[X] She's uncertain about something. Perhaps about something she wants? Or feels? Particularly about someone? And these feelings have to do with a lot of what has happened since night. Perhaps, even some things since before last night.

>>19586
Less complaining, more writing. Everything was already said about that, many many times. Nothing will change or can change this fact.
Wait 12 hours to a day and take the votes you have and write.
Write against all odds.

Shit, i wish there were a blue option to choose here.

>>19589
No nothing can change it. But I would rather not write than wait a day or more when we're talking about attempts to speed things along. It isn't pleasurable for me to keep waiting placidly when I have a hands-on approach. I put a lot of myself into this, it's only natural I feel dissatisfied and even a little disillusioned.

Update promised for whenever because it doesn't matter in the least when and how often I do it.

>>19590
Whatever.

>>19574
[x] She's uncertain about something. Perhaps about something she wants? Or feels? Particularly about someone? And these feelings have to do with a lot of what has happened since night. Perhaps, even some things since before last night.

This is extravagant enough to either work or explode spectacularly. Either way, I'm inspired by Dr. Ibuki's advice.

>>19590

I haven't followed this story since the conclusion of its first run. Seeing rapid updates and a writer who seems to care about their story and its quality makes me much more inclined to do so. Despite not being a huge fan of the Eientei crew at all.

[X] She's uncertain about something. Perhaps about something she wants? Or feels? Particularly about someone? And these feelings have to do with a lot of what has happened since night. Perhaps, even some things since before last night.

Solid, for now. That pretty much covers what certainly SHOULD be going through his head. Then again, namesake, har har.

[X] She's uncertain about something. Perhaps about something she wants? Or feels? Particularly about someone? And these feelings have to do with a lot of what has happened since night. Perhaps, even some things since before last night.

“Look, I get it. There's probably a lot on your mind,” You say, trying to keep all aggressiveness from your voice, It's not easy, emotions seeping into your voice, confusing your tone even to yourself. “There's a lot on my mind as well.” You attempt to lighten the mood in a way you know only you can, “And you know that it's hard for me to have anything going on up here.” You point to your head, tapping with your finger as if your head were hollow. A stupid gesture, but a classic.

It only gets a smile from you. Her feelings are still hidden from you, her face an ambiguous alabaster sculpture. Her unchanging features miff you somewhat. That you can't get any reaction from her. You're supposed to be open about this sort of thing with her. You're trying your best.

“You're probably feeling uncertain. You know, with your hiding of your feelings like that. I may not know what you're feeling, but I know that you're certainly hiding it. What's not written on your face is a dead giveaway.” Her engagement with you is limited to occasional fleeting eye contact. Something which is probably her being polite. It makes you feel uncomfortable not getting at least that nod you wanted. Your prize. “I don't know if you know what you want, or maybe what you feel. It just seems obvious that you don't want to talk about things that happened last night....”

There's an 'and' or two that you can think of appending to that sentence. But you don't say anything else, despite definitely caught up in your own whirlwind of thought and emotion. It's not that you don't want to be direct with her... well maybe parts of you don't, preferring to keep things locked safely away.

Something is causing you to keep yourself in check. You realize that it's Kaguya herself. Her calm is almost eerie. To read her, you might as well consult for an augury. Seeing beyond her carefully constructed veil seems an impossible task. As much as you want to know what's up, as much as you desperately want to believe that under that exterior lies a heart as excited and conflicted as yours, you're also reluctant to go further. Out of respect. Out of fear as well you realize. Fear of what you're getting yourself into.

The absurdity of it all almost makes you laugh. The situation changes from a one-sided impulse from your side. Kaguya speaks, words slow and deliberate. It's a tone she's used before to coolly state her side, a little icy and a little too perfect in making herself understood. It's something which she doesn't use bluntly this time; She deals with the tone and delivery of what you said. Anything but the actual ideas you were trying to transmit.

“My, you're certainly analytic,” Her words come off as something like a sneer, “Have me figured out, have you? Want me to agree or disagree with your assessment? That's highly irresponsible of you. You can't go around getting in other peoples' heads just like that. “

She doesn't reply to anything about what you said, weaving agilely around any possible rhetorical obstacles. It's something that only those with extensive oratory skill can achieve.

“I'm not sure whether we're going or not anymore, that's not a good thing. You're supposed to be in charge, aren't you? Or am I going to have to take the lead in this? Go here, do that... doesn't sound too bad honestly. I don't think I would be too bad at organizing an expedition like this.” Her face is a porcelain mask with a painted smile on it, absolutely artificial. Off putting in a special way. “Certainly special to watch, if only for a while. But it leaves so much to chance, so much vulnerable to unforeseen consequences. I think that we should maybe get a move on after all.”

“My planning skills aside... what I said, well,” You dance around the issue as well ,taken aback by her tone and message, “I don't think it healthy to keep going on like this. Without dealing with things.”
“Do you wish to return then? Not even three nights in and we've had enough.”
“That's not what I meant. I'll keep going at this for as long as it's good for us.”
“Good for us? There your go selfishly deciding things and what they mean.” She stands, suitcase in hand and scoffs. “You took me away, you brought me here.”
'With your consent. I didn't hear you complaining as we walked out of Eientei.”
“Might want to refresh your memory then. That's not how things happened.”
“You never seemed serious in objecting.”
“Because you're my friend, and I'd go along with most of your wishes, just like I hope you would do with mine.”
“So what, this has been a big waste of time? A failure?!” The words come out without you thinking properly.
“You tell me.”
“You know for someone who's indifferent, you sure like to complain as much as possible.”
“All justified, all with reason.”
“You're frustrating,” You conclude. A sigh wells up, threatening to escape at the slightest provocation.
“Much less than you are, trust me.” She gets you to let that sigh out. Quite easily too.

You shake your head.

“Can't I get a straight answer out of you? It's not going be good to go around with things hanging around our head.”
“If you're seeing things hanging around my head, you're hallucinating.”
“That's not even remotely funny,” You chide her for her poor taste in jokes, “I'm being serious here... so please. I trust you and I want you to trust me too.”
“Fine. I'm being serious now.” She grips the handle of her suitcase tightly, her face sullen. “What is it that you want me to say?”
“Just how you feel, that's all.”
“How both unilateral and unfair.”
“It's not unfair. I'm just asking you to be honest.”
“So I should expect the same from you?” She asks, hands clenched around the handle as if she were about to drop the luggage.
“I try to be as honest as humanly possible. That's... what led to last night.”
“Again, being unfair and unilateral. It's not like you to consider anything but the moment is it?”
“I'm asking about things, so doesn't that count for something? I can't be worried too much with the future, as that can change on a whim, and there's no use dwelling on the past. For me my past is gone, and you know that. I don't even need to remind you of that. All I've got is my life here, the present. The present living in Eientei, living with Eirin, Reisen, Tewi and You. You know that. But you're still asking like you didn't know. I just don't get that.”

You don't feel like giving a sermon, but it feels like you can't help it as you go on. It's definitely the result of everything that's happened until now. Of the way things are now.

“Sure I have some wants. Things I want for the future. But I have to be realistic and strive to live now. Do what I feel is right. Again, I'm being honest. And I try to be more than that, truly transparent with you.”
“It doesn't seem that way. You are easy to read, but I can't tell what you're thinking most of the time either. Yes, that doesn't make sense, I know. But it's the truth.”
“So what? What do you want me to do, lay all the cards on the table?”
“I'm not sure that'll do any good. We're... in the wrong place for that. Wrong time too maybe.” She turns to look outside, as if searching for something in the vast outdoors. You feel that she might start to walk and never stop.
“Then what?” You ask, at your wits' end.
“We continue obviously. Getting stuck on a single thing won't do us any good. We're supposed to make the most of the time we have aren't we?”

You feel like telling her that just being with her is making the most of your time. But don't, instead your mind protests at her insinuation that this a one-dimensional singular issue. She's determined to move on. Momentarily or maybe even permanently. Unlike you, she doesn't (superficially at least) seem concerned at what is going on right now.


[] Let things go at their own pace
[] Flat-out refuse to move on until acknowledged
[] Hug and hold
[] Something else is best... (like?)
-
After this update I shall try once more with the quick updates tomorrow and henceforth. If it proves to be untenable then that's a problem indeed.

[x] Let things go at their own pace

Why?

Why not?

[x] Let things go at their own pace
Heh, she's impossible. Ignoring her flaws and twisting facts just to make a point of something that can't really be made into one.
Oh well, but I still like her.

[X] Let things go at their own pace

[x] Let things go at their own pace
>[x] "Just being with you is making the most of my time"
Is what i really want to vote.

[+] Let things go at their own pace

You people do realize that that's the 'do nothing/say nothing' option right? Or at least the closest to that. There's nothing really wrong with that mechanically speaking. There are several arguments for and (heated ones) against it. Just making sure you understand. Best not to be blamed for obfuscating things.

[X] Hug and hold

Good thing Shirou is so stubborn, because I probably would have thrown up my hands in frustration, stormed off to raid Suika's stash, and drunk myself into oblivion at this point.

>>19628
Can't remember my password.
[x] "Just being with you is making the most of my time"
Changing to this however stupid this is, i WANT this.

[x] "Just being with you is making the most of my time."

I like it.

[x] "Just being with you is making the most of my time."

Man. Bitch is COLD. I know we probable deserve some of it, but what an inscrutable bitch.

[x] "Just being with you is making the most of my time"

Honestly, I don't even know how we might going about placating her, let alone get her to open up with us. Why are we even at Eientei again?

That said, the write in is corny. Really corny. I also think we're getting to a point where eloquent speech (pretty uncharacteristic of us as is) and good intentions will only go so far. If they've gotten us anywhere at all. If we're set on Kaguya, we might as well make it clear to her in as unequivocal a manner as possible. She'll probably just shut us down anyways, but since we've made our bed, there's little for it. Maybe I'm just too drunk. Or not drunk enough.

[x] "Just being with you is making the most of my time, but not if we're arguing like this. I've shown you my thoughts and feelings, but I don't think we're going to get very far until you reveal yours."

I see this as the first step in getting things patched up or sewn into something better. We can't exactly talk to Kaguya about this until we know what's going on with her, after all, so as much as we may seem stupidly stubborn right now, I think Kaguya's guilty of the same thing. Better to talk things through and come to a conclusion than to have this ugly tension in the air for the rest of our "vacation".

Well, writing now. Don't know if I'll be done before I have to go out.

>>19640
When you have to ask yourself if you're too drunk or not enough there's always only one answer: drink more.

“Well...” You feel a lump in your throat, one that is resistant to your gulping, “Just so we're clear, just being with you is making the most of my time. If you want to leave things as they are... I can tolerate it for a while. It's better than arguing.”
“I'm not saying that you idi-” She frowns slightly as she checks herself, the first sign of non-controlled emotion she's displayed in some time. Her face has a neutral, and more human, expression on it. It looks like she struggles with suppressing a sigh. She doesn't continue her thought, apparently changing message as her grip softens on her luggage, “Fine. There's no helping it then.”
“Then we're moving on. We should enjoy the rest of our time as best as we can.“
“Yes, we should.”

You turn to tidy up your rucksack and prepare to move. It's with something of a heavy heart too; Kaguya knows as well as you do that there's unfinished business between you. That unfinished business could only be talking as far as she's concerned and you'd settle for anything really. Arguing has its merit if it clears the air, making things smoother in the long run. Maybe, you feel, that's why you're not completely satisfied and that lump feels like a tennis ball is stuck in your throat.

“What do you want?” Kaguya asks all of a sudden with defensive hostility. You're about to reply with a hurt tone when you realize it's not you that she's talking to. Fussing over straps on the rucksack you hadn't noticed the shadow right in front of you.

“Just passing through, forgot something.” Suika smiles nonchalantly. “Just gotta get something from my stash and I'll be on my way.” The horned girl gives you a wink. You return a half smile.
“Whatever it is, it's not in here I'm certain.”
“No need to be so hostile sis.” Suika raises her gourd symbolically, gesturing in friendship, “Wanna drink?”
“You'll excuse me if I'm a little wary of someone who obviously has been eavesdropping for the last fifteen minutes.”
“Now that's just rude and all, here I am trying to be friendly like I was to your friend here,” She smiles at you again, “and you're all like that.”
“I saw you there the whole time.”
“Ahaha. Well maybe I did a poor job then. No ill-intent though. Just thought that I would check in on something potentially fun, is all.”
“Oh?” Kaguya humors Suika a little, “Something fun? Like what?”
“Well, like I said I talked to this guy earlier. And humans are so fun... so I thought I was going to see something interesting. And I did! Though I wanted to see something else. Sure you don't want some?”
“No.” Kaguya declares with a not e of finality, “We're about to leave and you'll have this place all to yourself. Go ahead and go get what you want and do what you want, it's none of our business.
"Hey, I wasn't about to spirit him away or anything. I have someone else in mind."
"..."

The horn girl shrugs, disappearing into the corridor without a word. You can hear the loud clink of bottles from the pantry soon enough.

“Are you ready?” Kaguya asks, impatience and just maybe a little bit of worry in her words.
“Just about.” You take to strapping the bag on your back, fastening everything just right.
“Let's go then.” She leads the way, exiting via the porch.

You fall into step behind her, following her as she moves past the main building of the shrine. It's afternoon, and you don't think that you'll manage to get all that far before evening falls. Nothing to be done about that. Your steps are not as firm as they could be, for one reason or another your legs feel a bit wobbly.

“Shouldn't we say goodbye to Reimu? Thank her for everything before we go?” You ask, looking at the still shrine. The steps down are just ahead.
“I already thanked her. She'll understand.”
“She invited us to stay another night. So we should tell her we won't stay.”
“It's all taken care of.

You see that there's no sense in arguing. It's, as always, actions that speak louder than words. Then again, that's what's gotten you into so many messes before. You look at your buddy, the person who you nominally enjoy spending time with. The reason for you being in Gensokyo in the first place. As she is, casually walking ahead with a suitcase held with both hands to her front, she's still somehow just sublime. It's a shame that there seems to be an uneasy distance between you right now. Something that your mind doesn't understand, but your gut just maybe does.

[] Follow her lead
[] Grab her arm and go say goodbye together
-
Short, but not very quick. Apologies. After I come back, I still want to write more. If at all possible.

[x] Grab her arm and go say goodbye together

The 'kidnapper' needs to take action once in a while.

[X] Follow her lead

Fugitives cannot afford to stay in one place for too long, lest a search party manages to find them.

Given ample warning about fast updates with announcements days in advance, it's three hours later and there not even three votes.

Goddammit. I should really know better. But couldn't help but be hopeful anyways. What the hell else do you want me to do? Are you going to blame me for feeling inept and frustrated? I think we're way beyond complaining now.

[x] Grab her arm and go say goodbye together
>>19648
Ah, just shut up. Can't expect all your readers to be on all the time. They will come sooner or later. Just sit back and go out and have fun or whatever you do in your free time expect whining and write once you are back after 10 hours. Updates once a day, long good. Forget fast updates.
I can garantuee that there will be 8 votes in a day.

I would go on a long winded rant about how the incessant whining is only driving off potential readers and annoying regular readers, but I think that pretty much sums up how I feel. We're not all on at the same time, like 19649 said, and we (or at least, I) can't do anything about it. Nor can we do anything about the lack of voters, as you lost a good deal from both the move and what has been your hiatus up until now.

tl;dr, We can't do a fucking thing about it, so bitching to us isn't going to do any good. There's 41 people in IRC right now, maybe if you asked them to read and vote it might help.

Anyway...

[X] Grab her arm and go say goodbye together.

>>19649
No friend. Honestly, screw you. You've wished the same for me in another thread so fair is fair. I make a point of not shitting up other people's threads but you can go fuck yourself if you think all I do is whine.

I update, try to be consistent, try to accommodate my readers as much as I can. I'm glad that you're fine checking in once every day and voting without a care in the world but unfortunately I'm not. I've bent over backwards in trying to incentivize people to vote often and without restraint. Simple choices, a nudge here and there, incorporating stuff from different votes/write ins etc. I am sorry for caring enough to hope that after saying that I would try to update quicker days before the next update, delaying that update to give people some advice (because in the 10 or so hours it was a mere dull unanimity), then saying that I was writing and would update soon and then doing just that! Yeah, not everyone can be online to vote all the time, the same goes for me friend. Which is why I made a bloody point of saying when I would update. Like I've done in the past to no avail.

I'm an understanding and reasonable person. But fuck me if we're not in an ever-deteroirating situation. Worse than 5 months ago! My reasoning and passion has not changed at all, so if you must, refer to earlier statements.

Oh, and go ahead and ignore this. Maybe rage a little. That's extremely helpful you know.

>>19650
>driving off potential readers
Yeah, right. No one ever comes to /eientei/. Not only that, no one would touch my story with a 12-foot pole even out of goddamn pity.

>and annoying regular readers
Sorry mate, but the reverse is also true. The continual decline is just as annoying for me.

>move and what has been your hiatus up until now
The move was 5 months ago man. And I've spent probably most of that time writing. Including the last 2 months almost.

>bitching to us isn't going to do any good
Maybe not. But the only thing driving me is my sense of commitment and my desire to share my story. Both of those are largely dependent on my audience. So it's fair to say that it's important that you know how completely ignoring any effort I make affects things.

>There's 41 people in IRC right now, maybe if you asked them to read and vote it might help.
There's, what 12-16 people usually on #eientei? Guess how many there bother to read or keep up with my story? If you guessed over one you were probably wrong. Seriously, I'm not even making this up. And this is my own goddamn channel, with people I consider to be 'friendly'. People I speak to about moonbunnies, lunarians, and other touhou-related stuff to (though it's certainly not constrained to that).

Now, full disclaimer, I haven't frequented #thp since it used to be #mig and there weren't even 20 people there. Some of the people I've gotten to talk to and know, they are genuinely nice individuals. But then there's the other segment of the population which is, frankly, unbearable. Obnoxious, self-centered, whatever.

They are a very dysfunctional group more focused on bitching than reading and voting I feel. Just like I don't advertise or shit up other people's stories and threads, I won't go around begging in any channel or place. They won't come. Ever. And they've said horrible things about me, both there and in the various threads on thp. And you'll note that I've never replied to anything. Even if it was blatantly untrue and misleading.

If you want to go ahead and argue with them, go ahead. You may yet learn something.

I wasn't just being dramatic with >>19648. I was asking seriously.

What the hell do you want me to do?
I want to finish this story. I want to write. But I'm not being given any chances. My summer break is basically over and the new term starts soon. And I've gotten to a point where we should have been 5 months ago at least! I'm not going to update after having to wait a day or with 2 votes, that misses the point completely of interactive fiction. I may as well write a novel.

With all that said, are you still going to blame me for 'whining', feeling frustrated and inept? If you're like >>19649 you probably are. But I should hope that you empathize a little and see things my way. If I didn't believe in this, I wouldn't be writing. And to stop writing is a waste and hurtful.

Fuck, this is demoralizing. Quite honestly. But even so I've been writing! Even though I've raged and felt like crap because of some things here - I've written. Without saying shit. Or do you think that this is a hissyfit thrown because of just one incident? No, it's not. But that can only go on for so long before it gets to be too much.

As a final note: I was supposed to write about 3 updates in the last 24 hours. I've written 1. First short, to hook people that would vote (these 800 or so words), the next longer (my usual 1600-2000 words) and the last as long or longer still. Let me remind you that it wasn't my willpower that faltered, nor was it lack of time on my end. Yeah.

[x] Grab her arm and go say goodbye together

[X] Grab her arm and go say goodbye together.

Hey, that didn't go SO badly!

[+] Follow her lead
I find people who are uncomfortable have ambiguous concepts about the places they are going; and that leads to interesting things. Also, it's not just being with us. There seems to be something else that has Kaguya spooked about staying at the shrine.

>>19652
The disconnect is you are asking your readers to pace your impetus rather than your writing to pace your readers. If you have the powerful inclination to write, here's a thought: write ahead. Short segments, choosing whichever option of this update or whichever option of a future update you find more interesting to work from. Alternatively, just write.

We need one of those Japanese Bird Cooking Spaghetti alarms - that goes off when the image hasn't been on /jp/'s front page for more than ten minutes - to alert people to /eientei/ activity. It'd interrupt your blackberry, kindle, iPad, iPod, text to your cellphone, call to your landline, GPS device, the viewfinder on your digital camera, an Achievement Unlocked, electric toothbrush, flashlight, fleshlight, fire alarm, anything nearby really, and announce loudly "Teruyo has updated! Go vote now!"

>>19655
The disconnect does not originate with me imposing my schedule on that of others. It comes from the continuing state of things here. That is the cycle of votes and updates. There is no doubt a state of interdependence between writer and reader/voter. Without either there are no updates for this type of story. If there are no updates, there will be no votes and the reverse is also true. I don't know if you've noticed but I'm flexible in hours and generally patient. I try to update when there's more people around. If there's a lot to discuss, I'll patiently wait and foment discussion if necessary. There is absolutely no imposition of my own schedule.

When I do want to write more than other times, I try to make that clear. Days in advance often. Multiple updates with few votes if necessary (see January). I go ahead and tell you that I want and will. Here's a crude analogy of the situation: You've booked a ticket on a train through the Alps. The train runs almost every day but, for your convenience the rail company decides to inform you of their schedule in detail. Not only that but they confirm that the train is inbound by calling your home an hour or two beforehand. Now you're free to ignore that and take another train some other time but you won't get to your destination any sooner that way. Nor will the rail company be incentivized to offer premium services to ensure your comfort in the future.

For the record, I do sometimes write a little bit ahead, common scenes and the like. But it's not always possible due to branching paths of narrative. Nor if say a write in comes along and changes things.

As for your smart alec final comment, I could never be as deeply ingrained in the collective minds of people as AoRF's scripts tend to be. I'm not an ass for starters. And I'll ask you not to be snide with me. Just because you may think I'm exaggerating with my reaction does not immediately invalidate my outlook nor my feelings.

Besides which there's both a watched threads feature and an rss feed for each board. You don't have to guess or break your poor little finger refreshing.

>>19656
Darnit it. That was intended to uplift, not be snide.
I'll shut up now.

>>19657
I apologize then. It's hard to tell that sort of thing over the internet. Unfortunately if you don't assume the worst about a comment you get treated like a dolt. Again, sorry.

I wanted to add that I'm sort of writing to my previous post. But I'm both sleep deprived and recovering from one mojito too many. So if I don't collapse there should be something fairly soon. You'll know that I did if there isn't something within the next hour or two.

>>Here's a crude analogy of the situation: You've booked a ticket on a train through the Alps. The train runs almost every day but, for your convenience the rail company decides to inform you of their schedule in detail. Not only that but they confirm that the train is inbound by calling your home an hour or two beforehand. Now you're free to ignore that and take another train some other time but you won't get to your destination any sooner that way. Nor will the rail company be incentivized to offer premium services to ensure your comfort in the future.

The problem is, even if they call in advance to let people know the train is inbound, it doesn't do anyone any good if most of them aren't even home to receive those calls.

It might not be that they don't want to go for a ride on that train, nor that they don't want to get that call. Hell, they could be looking forward to it. But if their schedule doesn't make it easy for them to do that, and in fact seems to conflict with the train's, what are they to do? If it were a necessary trip, then obviously they would have adjusted their own schedule to fit it in, but let's be realistic here. This isn't a workday commute we're required to take, it's not even for a vacation we've specifically set aside time for. It's a joy ride, something we try to squeeze into our schedule when we can, but if we have other things we must do then we have to do without for a while, even if we wished otherwise.

As far as I can tell, there are at least six or seven voters following this story. I don't know where they are in the world, or what they do, but it's fair to assume they all run on different schedules than my own. I'm sure that when it's time for me to go to bed, there's at least one that's just getting up to start the day.

Point is, as ideal as it would be if we could all get on that train together, and as much as some of us might wish for that to happen, it's fully possible that such a thing just isn't feasible with the way our individual schedules are.

Hell, I still have periods where I don't even see my own family for days at a time on account of differing schedules, and we live together. I'm not sure anyone else following this story is in a similar situation, but for my part, it doesn't make it easy to coordinate reading and voting with a bunch of other people scattered across the globe when I have trouble coordinating anything with the people living under the same roof as me.

I'm not saying this is a cause of the main problem, here, nor does it excuse anything. But it is, I think, a contributing factor to the situation as it pertains to the few of us who do try to keep up with this story.

You stop Kaguya from talking that first step down away from the shrine. You feel her shudder in surprise as your hand clamps gently, but firmly, around her arm. You hear something like a cute squeak, but that's surely just your imagination. Kaguya's expression is, while livelier than earlier, still relatively composed. When you see it you smile, hoping to disarm her surprise with gentleness.

She recoils haphazardly, with lack of bodily coordination. It looks like a mouse caught in a mousetrap, the tail the arm you hold, she flails around for a bit not realizing what just happened. Her suitcase falls from her once tight grip and into the floor, luckily remaining closed after impact.

“Hey relax. Sorry if I scared you.”

It takes but a moment for her to come to her senses. She looks highly embarrassed almost immediately, acutely aware that how she reacted was strange to say the least. To hide her feelings, she takes control of the situation, interrogating you loudly, “What do you think you're doing? Grabbing me like that out of the blue. You're lucky I didn't do something stupid.”

“Sorry. As always it's me that gets to do the stupid stuff. Come on,” You tug at her, sliding smooth sleeve over her arm. “Oh don't look at me like that,” You say as she frowns, looking perplexed, “You didn't think that I would really let us go without saying goodbye, did you? It's not like you to be rude.”
“Geez, I already told you it's alright,” She snaps at you, eyes looking fiery.
“No it's not. I'm not letting go, so save me your struggling.”

Something clicks with her. Understanding that she's not getting out of this without some divine intervention. “Fine. We'll go. I'm going under protest. Just let go.”
“No. Not until we find Reimu.”

She avoids sighing, probably figuring that it would just encourage you further. She would likely be right about that. For all her granite resolve and fierce feistiness, she is easy to lead along if you act assertive. You lead her like a mother taking a child to the washroom as she carries the suitcase with one hand on the side opposite you. Your grip loosens a bit as you realize that she is furtively looking at you from the corner of her eyes. As before, you can't tell what she's thinking.

There's no time to dwell on what anyone may be thinking.

In the mostly empty shrine it's easy to locate someone. Just be still for a moment and prick up your ears. The slightest noise resounds through the wooden hallways. You don't need to be a bat to easily find out where that noise may be coming from. And so after a moment of attentive listening you're able to lock into where Reimu probably is. That turns out to be the kitchen, your guide is the clang of cast iron cookware being shuffled around on a shelf. Evidently the miko is doing a little organizing in the kitchen.

“Hi, sorry to bother you.” You greet her. The shrine maiden looks over her shoulder, raising an inquisitive eyebrow.
“Yeah? Need something?” She asks.
“No, not anymore. We're leaving and came by to say goodbye and give you our thanks for letting us stay.”
“Oh, you're going after all, huh?” She stops her work, coming about with a pot in her hand. “I have no problem in letting you stay a bit longer.
“It's alright, thank you very much. But we decided to move on.”
“So I can see.” She looks to where you're grabbing Kaguya's arm, it looks like you're linking arms. “Good for you then.”

A nervous and sudden tug liberates Kaguya's arm from your grasp. She ignores you, focusing her gaze instead on Reimu.

“Thank you for everything,” She says with no reluctance, even adding an elegant bow to the offering.
“Ah, no need to be formal. You didn't bother me at all and helped me. I just hope that I helped you with our talk earlier. I'm not an expert but it's good to talk about that sort of thing every once in a while. None of the regulars here understand.”

“Thank you for everything,” You thank her as well. You're tempted to ask about the conversation here and now, especially after the cryptic hints Reimu drops. But you see how Kaguya's lips tremble slightly as the miko talks, silently wishing that she would drop the subject already. It's obviously something that she doesn't want you to hear. It's not a surprise then that it's so appealing to you.
“Well have fun then. And feel free to donate to your local shrine whenever. Spiritual health is also important, and helping your shrine goes a long way in purifying your soul.
“I'll keep that in mind.” You say as you leave.

“The wasn't so bad, now was it?” You ask as soon as you're on the steps of the shrine.
“It wasn't supposed to be.”
“Then why did you not want to say goodbye?” You feel your curiosity peaking.
“It's not that I didn't want to okay... I just felt that getting a move on was the most important thing to do.” She grumbles like a cranky child, brows furrowing as she minds her footwork on the steps.
“Well, if you don't mind sharing the reason I'm willing to hear you out.”

Your invitation was silently reject. Kaguya doesn't speak to you for a while. If it's out of irritation or something else, you're not sure. She seems concentrated on the road ahead, having taken the lead into a path that began at the shrine. Overgrown brush and trees loom above you as you travel down a narrow dirt path. Your internal compass tells you that you're heading away from the shrine, possibly away from the village as well. In other words, into uncharted territory.

Yet she seems confident enough. Even when there's no sign of higher life to be seen anywhere. Or any other paths connecting to the one you're on. She even rejects your offer to lend her your map, apparently she's got it covered. With only a few more hours of strong sunlight, you sure hope she does. There doesn't seem to be any appropriate place where you could spend the night. Sleeping around under a tree may sound nice in theory, but in practice would be awkward and dangerous.

So it's no wonder that you utter a quick thanks to the powers that be when you reach a clearing and intersection in the woodland.

The narrow path you're on melts into a wider section just ahead, cutting through more dark and foreboding woods. The road that intersects perpendicularly cuts through the woods as well, but only for a short distance. To both the left and the right you can see where the leafy canopy ends and open sky begins.

Kaguya, acting naturally, takes the left and you follow. The path until then had been mostly compact, if damp, earth. But as you go on the ground gets softer and the occasional puddle of mud, reminders of the downpour, adorns the road. Twice you almost step into mud and twice you manage to notice just before you take the fatal step. The wet ground squelches from your latest near miss, a grotesque and offensive sound in the peaceful silence.

It's quite a bit of walking that you do. The rucksack weighs a ton even all you've eaten. Kaguya's suitcase can't be that light either, and you see her shifting the weight between her hands rather often now. You already know the answer to any offer you might make about carrying it for her. It's not even worth the bother.

“Where are we going?” You finally ask, aware that the sun is beginning to dip low in the sky. You're in inoffensive and ordinary plains. Your low vegetation, gentle slopes, all that jazz is there. In one direction you see the same familiar mountains looming ominously, and in the other not much except open terrain. It's really the middle of nowhere.
“Wherever you want to.”
“So you say after dragging me here. I don't even know where here is..”
“You have a poor sense of direction.” She stops in her tracks, pointing to the left. “The outskirts of the human village is just over that, a couple of minutes from here.”
“What? Have we been going around in a circle then?”
“Something like that. It's a peripheral path, or so Reimu told me.”
“Oh, so she told you about this.”
“Obviously, why else would I be walking around leading?”
“Because you're tired of my stupid ideas?”
“Watch it,” She warns with a weak smile. “No sass right now please.”
“Alright. None for now. So is there an end objective?”
“I'm not sure... there's supposed to be an old farmhouse somewhere nearby but I haven't seen anything of the sort.”
“It's probably that.” You point at the wooden outcropping in the distance, tucked away by a small hill.

You were proven right, as an old run-down farmhouse complete with a fence and silo decays in this far-off place.

“Are we going to stay here tonight?” You feel that you might deserve better than this. A five-star beach side bungalow would be nice. Definitely. Sipping exotic drinks while you laugh it up with your buddy... it's appealing. There are a lot of tiki poles in your fantasy for some reason too. And strange jewelry given to you by native peoples. They say that the sparkling coriander beetle is cursed, but neither you or Kaguya believed it. Until it was too late that is....
“Have you got a better idea?” Kaguya snaps you back into reality. Your mind was playing a nasty trick on you.
“Hm.” You purge all thoughts of wacky cursed vacations and focus on reality. “Well, we're near the village and so there's probably an inn somewhere, we could rent a room for the night. If we wait until dark we can probably ind a place where no one will notice us. Someplace not abandoned would be a nice change of pace.”
“Well, maybe this place isn't so bad.” She says, utterly unconvinced by her own words. And with reason, the abandoned farmstead has had much better days. It needs more than just a a coat of paint. It needs a few expert carpenters and a good gardener.
“We can at least rest for a bit here.” You propose. Kaguya agrees.

The inside isn't much better than the outside. You find that out as soon as you walk in. It needs a lot of love. It isn't completely run down, with fixtures and beams proudly lodged into place, but a lot of work would have to be put in to make it bearable for something over a single day. It is however a roof over your head and with a bit of sweeping you can get the bedroom looking rather decent you decide. Not much in the way of furniture either, just a table here and a few chairs there. The kitchen is a dusty mess and there's no obvious source of water.

“I wonder what they grew here, this place is so far removed from everything...”
“Probably nothing, which is why it's abandoned,” It's the likeliest case that you can see. Poor suckers probably thought that they would have a lot of land to themselves and instead found out that the soil was inadequate for farming.

[] Spend the night in the farmhouse
[] Wait until dark, try to find a room at an inn
[]Look for accommodation elsewhere in the village
[] Madman's quest for hot springs Write in
---
>>19660
I'm as tired as tired could be, so please excuse me if I drop the analogy for now and give you a succinct reply: I understand that you may be busy. I understand different time zones and all (though I'd say that readership is basically exclusively western hemisphere). And you're right in saying that it's a contributing factor. How important it is in the scheme of things is debatable.

The thing with a sample of random people is though, is that chances are that someone will always be there. All I ask is that those who can be there to occasionally check, particularly if you've been given plenty of warning. I won't hold it against you if you're busy, I'm busy with life often too. I just don't want us to fall further into the rut of checking once a day, maybe voting and the maybe updating. Rinse and repeat. It's no longer something fun like that, but a boring repetitive task (some people might call that a chore or job).

This is why I encourage people to go ahead and vote what they want when they can, giving their reasoning if possible. Those who keep saying 'oh I'll sleep on it' or that they'll think of something later lose out and hurt the experience for all. Even if you don't win the vote, even if you end up not swaying others, it's worth it to be heard. If you can, trust your instincts and logic and do. Don't be intellectually lazy.

Sorry if that doesn't make the most sense possible. It makes sense to me right now but then again I'm about to collapse. Can't brain good.

>“Where are we going?” You finally ask, aware that the sun is beginning to dip low in the sky. You're in inoffensive and ordinary plains. Your low vegetation, gentle slopes, all that jazz is there. In one direction you see the same familiar mountains looming ominously, and in the other not much except open terrain. It's really the middle of nowhere.
>“Wherever you want to.”
>“So you say after dragging me here. I don't even know where here is..”
>“You have a poor sense of direction.”

I just love her for things like these.
>“Are we going to stay here tonight?”
>“Have you got a better idea?” Kaguya snaps you back into reality.
Seriously, since the whole thing started i get that senseless, directionless and aimless feeling.
Kaguya does not seem happy with how this turned out, so we either stay with this place and tell some ghost stories or whatever in the night and try to get closer to her (being away from civilization and all alone might help). Or we could turn back to the village and try to find an inn or another place to stay at there or near there.
[x] Spend the night in the farmhouse
Let's stay with the directionless and senseless. Plus, i think the chances that some sort of event happens might be higher here.

>>19661
[+] Spend the night in the farmhouse
Good news: no farming Touhous to jump us and eat us in the middle of the night
Mediocre news: this morning we did dishes, tonight we sweep and dust
Bad news: we still only have vague ideas about what's eating Kaguya that aren't hypotheses
At least we managed to get her to choose a destination though odd it is.

I can't really think of any good write-ins. I'm going along with the thought that isolation from others may be a good thing. However, I wonder if there will be an increased risk for night time intruders at their current location.

[x] Spend the night in the farmhouse

>Good news: no farming Touhous to jump us and eat us in the middle of the night
You mean no farming Touhous yet? There is always place for a wheat Touhou.
>I wonder if there will be an increased risk for night time intruders at their current location.
I wonder how Kaguya would react if we tried to defend her from an intruder. Not that we could ever hope to be up for the job. She would probably look emotionless and scold us after she beat them all up single handed.

[+] Spend the night in the farmhouse

Certainly be something new for our Princess. Probably.

>>19666
>she_gets_raped_for_next_six_pages.png

What.

[X] Spend the night in the farmhouse

Let's see if we can get along alone for another night without tearing each other's heads off. I'm having trouble standing Kaguya right now, though. She's completely lost her sense of fun, and has been grumpy for the whole day; despite whatever uneasiness last night caused, I really wish she'd come to some sort of conclusion and just either embrace recent events or get over them.

It's probably nothing much, but I usually check for updates here once a day, sometimes twice. I've been busy lately, myself; I hadn't gotten a chance to pop in until now. I was pretty surprised when I saw the double update.

You've got to remember that this place is pretty small, and on top of that, it seems that many people only read a few stories. At one point, I was reading a story or two on every board, but many of the stories I've come to love have either finished or just plain stopped. At the moment, I'm only reading two stories, this being one of them. Due to this, even when I do end up having extra free time, I usually only end up checking here once a day; I don't expect much. I've gone for days without seeing updates for either story that I read before even though I've voted (well, voted in this one, at least, the other's an /at/ story and I'm not going to vote often when I know that whatever choice I make could lead me to more anal sex or something to do with a mother complex, both of which I strongly dislike), and this can be a bit disheartening. This sometimes results in me getting into the habit of only checking every other day, or something along the lines of that.

I guess what I'm getting at is that both the readers and writers here need to be patient, because this place, in general, isn't really that active. I know you've gone for days without enough votes before, but just know that some of us are trying. I believe in the writers here (as I'd hope many other readers do), so please try to believe in your voters and bear with a bit of delay. We've all got to every once in a while.

[x] Spend the night in the farmhouse

[X] Spend the night in the farmhouse

Well, if Kaguya found out about this from Reimu, there must have been some reason why she was told about it. Let's see where this leads us.

[X] Spend the night in the farmhouse

Bandwagon~

Sorry for no updates, I've been unreasonably busy all day. Expect something in a little while though. And maybe a little something else extra. Maybe.

>>19673
Well, today's the 14th. I kinda expect low to zero updates so... no worries.
I'll check back on monday.

>>19673
No wonder when you fool around with the bunnies.

[X] Spend the night in the farmhouse

She wants to avoid the village, plus this place was probably recommended by Reimu as somewhere Kaguya wanted for seclusion.

[x] Spend the night in the farmhouse
It ain't over until the lazy lady sings!

The transition from afternoon to evening gets off with a taxing beginning. To make the place a bit more comfortable, you volunteer to sweep up and get things more or less sorted. It's not quite back-breaking labor but it's still enough to make you break into a light sweat. Sweeping layers of dust and grime isn't the only thing that you have to do, after finding a friendly rodent you look for a place to secure your rucksack and supplies from any possible adventurous vermin.

Kaguya doesn't do much while you work, idling by the old wooden porch out front. The porch is, curiously enough, like something straight out of a farm in the American Midwest rather than the Japanese-style porches found everywhere in Gensokyo. There's even a rocking chair out there. Your buddy stares out into the violet sky, watching as the sun dips over the horizon. That's fine with you, she seems to be at peace, and if she's a t peace, you're at peace. Besides, you think that she would only get in the way if she tried to help. There's only a single laughable excuse of a broom, its straw end little more than a stump.

“I'm done cleaning,” You announce with a victorious boom. You put the broom away and join Kaguya out on the porch.
“Here you are.” She hands you a canteen, your canteen.
“Ah thanks.” You take it with gratitude, undoing the top to take a swig of water. There's a little mystery here though, “When did you get this, I mean it was in the rucksack last I saw.”
“You were working hard. I figured I would do you a favor.”
“Mm.” You drink some more water, replenishing the fluids you've lost through perspiration. The rucksack was near you at all times, in a spot where you could keep it safe from vermin. Either you really got into cleaning and didn't notice her even getting up and walking right up to you or it was gone before that. Those are the likeliest explanations but you realize that you're making a big deal out of a nice gesture.

The violet-orange hue in the distance is a quiet reminder of the day's light. The stars are out in full, shining brightly in the clear night sky. The rain did away with every last cloud. You're not sure but you may be able to see Venus, the Evening Star hangs out low in the west. A night like this is good for astronomy. A telescope and tripod and you'd be all set.

“It's quiet.”
“Hm?”

You are about to ask what she means when it dawns upon you that it is quiet. There are no sounds, no wind, no noisy bugs or anything else that one might expect out in the wilderness.

“You're right. It is quiet.”
“It feels like we're the last living things on the planet,” Kaguya murmurs, expression clouding over.
“We may as well be way out here. Doesn't feel like there's a soul around.”
“Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to come out here then.”
“Don't worry,” You try to cheer her up, not really knowing how to go about it, “Even if we were alone we still have each other. It... might not be much depending on how you look at it, but it's at least something.”
“That's a bit lonely.”
“Yeah, it is,” You admit, “But there's plenty to do to take our minds off that type of thing.”
“Like what?” Kaguya looks at you with a pitiful stare, like a destitute child might.
“Dinner for starters.” You force a smile, hiding how you're really feeling. “Good food with good company is always a nice way to forget about loneliness and all sorts of negative thoughts.” You then add, forcing playfulness, “I am good company, right?”
“...I haven't decided yet.”
“Ouch.”
“Dinner could help your case,” She adds with a slight grin. You can't tell what she's thinking at all. But you think that you somehow cheered her up a little.

It's a lukewarm atmosphere during dinner (which is just canned food – the stove was unusable). It's hard to describe, but it feels like nothing should be happening at all. Like your moving around and eating is somehow disturbing the ambient. Contrary to that though is a feeling which surges from within, telling you that you should be living to the fullest. It makes you feel uneasy, and it shows on your face. Enough to get Kaguya to ask.

“You don't look well.”
“Sorry, it's just a feeling I'm getting. Don't know how to explain it.” You're playing around with your tin, messing with the contents with a fork.
“Go lie down a bit. You're probably just tired. We did walk a lot this afternoon.”
“I don't think it's that.” The walk was long, but the day before was even worse and you were fine. “I don't know how to put my finger on it, but there's something off about this place. Can't you feel it?”
“Not really. I'm rather tired myself. I'm trying my best not to yawn.”

You have to take her advice as your vision begins to blur. You swagger up, bumbling about ungracefully and trying to go to where your sleeping bag is. You don't make it very far before you trip over yourself and fall down face first. Stars swirl and you hear a ringing in your ears. You're not certain what happened after that. You're in a daze for a long time, unsure of which way is up and your eyes completely fail at focusing.

You let out a groan.

Cool moistness trickles from your brow. It refreshes you, stimulates your senses and does so much more for your spirit. It makes you feel alive again.

You open your eyes. There's not much to see except for darkness. You grope around, thinking maybe that you've gone blind. A hand grabs your own, settling your thrashing.

“I'm here. How are you feeling?” Kaguya asks in a weak but steady voice. You let out another moan, not sure of what to say. “Calm down. Relax.” Her has a soothing effect on you. It stabilizes you enough so that you realize that you're not, in fact, blind. It's just deep night and you're looking at the ceiling. You tilt your head and see shadow, shadow that melds into human form, your buddy's form. “Are you able to say anything?” She asks, her voice trembling despite her efforts to keep worry from showing.

“I'... fine.”

“Don't force yourself to talk. Just rest more. I'll keep watch.”
“What happened?” You clear your throat, feeling that your words are sticking there.
“You passed out. You went pale and collapsed. I took you to your bed and tried to help you, but I didn't know what was wrong... you weren't waking up and I thought that... well you woke up.”
“Ah. I see.” You groan, your face hurts. You smack your lips together and taste blood. Your own. Probably from hitting the floor face first.
“I'm sorry...” Kaguya apologizes, “We should have stayed at the shine, there was no point in forcing ourselves regardless of the circumstances. I'm so sorry.”
“I'm good. Don't worry.”

In the still darkness, you let out a chuckle.

“Don't worry, I seem to be tougher than I look. Idiots don't die easily.”
“This is serious!” Kaguya chides, squeezing your hand tight involuntarily. “I don't know what's wrong with you or if it'll get worse! We're in the middle of nowhere and-”
“Relax. I said I'm fine.” You sit up, a stupid thing to do. Your vision swirls and your head swims, and you're no doubt completely pale. But you've got a smile on your face. One that you make sure that Kaguya can see clearly even in the darkness. A wet rag flops down onto your lap. “I don't know what you did while I was out, but it worked. I feel stronger than ever.”
“I didn't do much, just watch over you and-”
“My if you ever went into business you'd run Eirin out of her job with that kind of care.”
“Like I said, I didn't do any-”
“It's like even my core has been completely re-energized. Thanks. You're the best.”

You try to get up. You have no strength in your arms at first, but after a few awkward seconds you're able to lift yourself to your feet. It's wobbly but you hold, continuing to put on a show.

“I'm like a man reborn.”
“You don't look too good.”
“I just need a little something and I'll be fine.”
“What? Let me fetch it for you. Lie back down. You shouldn't be standing.”
“It's nothing you need to bother yourself with. I've got it.” You try to sound cool. Sure, it's irresponsible, but you don't want her to worry. If there's enough strength in your body to do anything it's to sacrifice your well being a bit to put her mind a bit at ease. After all, it's said that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
“Please... don't try too hard. I'm worried about you buddy.”

To be honest, you're worried as well. Though you feel alright, given the circumstances, you have no idea what happened to you and why. It's a scary thought to be stuck in the middle of nowhere for a serious medical crisis. Your nerves are frayed a bit. If you had something hard to drink, you'd be drinking it. You only have water.

[] Get some fresh air
[] Try to relocate to the village
[] Insist that the best way to get better is to simply sleep regardless of earlier
--
Unfortunately I have a lot to do, and I'll be traveling in a little while, so it may be possible to get an additional update out depending on votes. Not that likely, though I hope to make time somehow.

[x] Get some fresh air.

Hm. Bit of a dilemma.

[x] Get some fresh air

While this could very well trigger whatever happened earlier to happen again, I also think it might give us a better feel for how our protagonist is feeling and if it's serious enough to warrant cutting our escapade short.

Sort of hope some critter doesn't eat us, either.

[] Try to relocate to the village

In reality, probably the safest choice right now, given everything. A few issues though, such as how we might get there in our present condition and so on (though I suspect Kaguya would lend a hand in that). That said, I feel that at least for now we should get our bearings and if need be, retreat to the safety of the village. Should also probably get checked out by Eirin, but that's a given.

[] Insist that the best way to get better is to simply sleep regardless of earlier

I worry that this will end badly. On the otherhand, it could result in no negative consequences at all. Decisions, decisions.

[x] Get some fresh air
Let's not worry our buddy needlessly.

[X] Insist that the best way to get better is to simply sleep regardless of earlier

We've been walking around a lot, and then we go and clean for a while as soon as we get to the farmhouse. I'm pretty sure we could use a rest at this point.

So from what I can see in her attitude, Kaguya's generally concerned and seems to have put everything from before aside for now. It may be making assumptions, and could be just because I only woke up from a nap a little while ago, but I believe this could mean she really did feel the same way before. This, like her attempt at pushing away a possibly unstable relationship, is just Kaguya trying to keep us as her buddy, the way I see it.

Do you plan on writing a third run, Teruyo? If so, I certainly admire your dedication after all of this. It's hardly been a short journey, after all.

[x] Get some fresh air
Well, get a breather and hope that this will help somehow.

[x] Get some fresh air

I don't believe this means going to a walk. Just resting/sitting while taking in fresh air outside may be enough to clear up the funk.

[x] Get some fresh air.

It'd be difficult to move to the Village right now. Crawling out onto the porch seems reasonable, but unnecessary. Sleep is necessary, but inevitable.
Hm. Coin flip.

[+] Get some fresh air

Maybe this is the oni brew finally hitting us.

Kaguya hovers around you as you bravely struggle towards the porch. She keeps her distance, a few paces behind you, saying nothing. It looks like your reputation for being hard-headed and obstinate trumps her concern. Or maybe she's concerned because she knows how stubborn you can be. You appreciate it all the same.

“Mm, nothing like crisp night air to make one feel better,” You say as you stretch out on the porch. The air cools you down somewhat but makes you feel a bit nauseous truth be told. You don't know how you know, but you feel like your liver is swollen to twice its size. “I'm feeling better already.”

You can almost hear a sound coming from her frowning face. It sounds in your head something like a rabbits' sniffing sounds. Something weirdly cute.

“Maybe you should go back in, I can go look for something in the bag that'll help.”
“No need. I'm alright. I've been much closer to death before, and even though I was in Eirin's capable hands then trust me when I say that I'll live.”
“...”
“Hey, don't be like that. Lighten up.” Though she's behind you, you can imagine the kind of face she's making.
“...if you die, it'll be hard to carry you, you're heavy.”

You laugh. Your insides spasm a little.

It's a joke. Not a very good one, but it's a joke. She's trying to convince herself that everything will be alright for your sake.

“It's all the food I've been eating these past few days, I'm always having to eat more than my share because a certain traveling companion eats like a bird.” You poke at your sides feeling the same proportion of bone, meat, and fat as always. In other words, you're the same you as always.
“I almost passed out myself taking you to your sleeping bag.”
“Sorry about that, I'll be more mindful about where I suddenly collapse.”
“Try not collapsing to begin with.”
“For you, anything.” You let out a chuckle, somehow feeling a little better because things are less tense.

After spending a long while doing nothing but staring out into the silent night you decide that you are feeling rather better than before. 'Good enough to tango' you tell Kaguya, who looks at you blankly – like she has a hard time imagining you dancing. You're about to demonstrate that you're well-versed in the realm of dance when she dampens your enthusiasm with a bucketful of sobriety.

“You know, one day you really will die.”
“Ah, yes I suppose. Being a cyborg never really appealed to me.”
“....doesn't that bother you?” She ignores your joke. You can tell she's not really in the mood for light-hearted talk.
“Everyone dies. It's a part of life.”
“Most people. Not everyone. Not me.”

You knew that she wasn't your age from the day you met her. The bits and pieces you saw at Eientei of her past hinted that she had been around a good time. But you never really thought about it, connected the dots. Now she's telling you that she'll never die. No matter what. You cringe as she goes into rather graphic detail of what she would survive with no problems.

“That's enough Kaguya.” You stop her from continuing, using her name. You don't call her by that usually, it's 'buddy' or its more nauseating variants normally. As such, even with your still weak voice, it has the effect of making Kaguya stop talking immediately. “I... wasn't aware that you could never die. But that doesn't matter at all. You'll always be someone important to me. Please let's leave the subject at that.”

She is about to say something but doesn't.

“I'm sorry if I seem a bit rude. It's just that I don't know what to do when you're like this. It feels like there's a sadness that I can't reach. You complain about me being unfair, but you're just as unfair sometimes! Though it might be a different reason.”

“You're right.” Kaguya admits. “I am unfair. Here you are feeling sick and I'm droning on about things that aren't important right now. I'm so sorry.”
“Maybe we're both idiots then.”
“Maybe.”

You both sigh almost simultaneously. And then laugh together. It's a weird mood but it's not bad.

“Say Shirou...”
“Yes?”
“Well, um, about earlier...” She trails off.
“Earlier?”
“...let me finish my thought. About earlier... about what you said. About last night.... do you mind explaining yourself? Just a little? I want to make sure that I understand where you're coming from. That is, of course, if you don't mind.”

[] Write in action(s)/words
---
I'll be traveling for the next day or so and away from the internet, so no updates (obviously). But that should give you time to flesh things out here.

meh, write in.
I have no idea at the moment, someone else got any?

>>19722
Given the time we have, I am going to say I'm going to sleep on it for now.

Though, for anyone else who might step up to the plate in that time, I would suggest to just be honest.
Why would Shirou have said what he said, and have done what he did? More to the point, why DID he say what he said, and did what he did?

Well, she has been acting somewhat more decently since Reimu's Mystic Oriental Love Consultation session earlier in the day. Clearly it was about what to do about us. What I'm thinking is that Shirou and Kaguya are struggling with wanting to go beyond "buddies" onto something more, but for different reasons. My thoughts are that Kaguya doesn't want herself to fall for Shirou due to the mortality issue, yet she's struggling to decide what she wants and is ending up taking out her frustration on Shirou. I mean, she herself asked Reimu for directions to another isolated place. So since this was HER idea now, why not just let everything out? We may die when we're killed, but as much of an impact as we've had on Kaguya's life currently...the memories of our time together will last forever. If you ask me, I think now's a good a time as ever to use those three words that are not "you lost me" before we inevitably end up back at Eientei again.

Just a random thought. Couldn't produce a write-in just yet, but working on it. Just shooting in the dark on how Kaguya's mind is working right now.

When Teruyo sees this he will get depressed and quit for sure.

...Damn it...possibly the most critical point in this route and we can't think of a write-in. Here goes nothing.

[X] Kaguya...this whole trip, I...it's been turning out the complete opposite of how I envisioned it to be. I only wanted to spend time with my buddy alone for once without having Eirin or the rabbits having their shadows looming over our heads. I could see that all this was making you nervous, so I just wanted to offer you some kind of freedom from the pressure you're always under."
[X] "I can only imagine what life is like for you: Lunarian royalty, lavished with the finer things in life, waited on pretty much hand and foot by possibly the most brilliant person in the world...no, the universe, even. On top of all that, you have an entire army of rabbits subservient to you. Heh, me...I'm just a guy you happened to meet online that relies almost solely on my determination to get anywhere."
[X] "I may not be totally accurate on this, but when we hang out...I don't see Lady Kaguya, Exiled Lunarian Princess. No, I see Kaguya, the girl I met online, the girl who brought me to an entirely different world just to spend time with her, someone I could relate to, despite the obvious differences between us."
[X] "I devised this 'kidnapping,' as you refer to it, in order to have as much time as I could with you. I know I'm no genius, nor am I perfect...but that is what makes me who I am. Shirou, the overeager idiot, Shirou the culinary artist, Shirou...the best friend you brung to your home, played games, just...was that guy you could loosen up around.
[X] But now...it seems like everything's changed. You're keeping me at arm's length away and you're not even telling me why. It seems that anything I do is beginning to antagonize you, and it's frustrating that you won't tell me how you feel about things. This whole ordeal may have been my doing, but as you know, I'm not exactly famous for thinking things through all the time. But...everything I said last night...I meant every last word. Never on this trip had I ever intended to piss you off or anything of that sort.
[X] "With...with that kiss...um..." Fidget like your life depends on it. "I can tell you with complete honesty that I meant it. I guess what I mean to say is...at times, I do think of you as more than just my buddy. I mean...look at you, you're beautiful, gorgeous. Your silky hair, your pleasant scent...yet you're spending time with me of all people. More than anything, I'm grateful for that. You've been the best buddy that I could ever have hoped to have in my lifetime."
[X] "But...you know...I wouldn't mind if we did take that extra step...and became more than friends. The last thing I want is to make you uncomfortable with this. If you'd prefer that we still be buddies, I'm fine with that too. Because all it boils down to is just one thing: I want to spend time with my bestest buddy and give her the time of her life that she'll never forget."

Cheese sandwich covered in cheese sauce sprinkled with cheese? Yes. Effective? Maybe. Does it get the point across? Probably. So feel free to adjust as necessary.

Wall us, goddammit Teruyo. This is the moment of goddamn truth for the Kaguya route hopefuls. Wall us like you've never walled Anonymous before!

[X] Kaguya...this whole trip, I...it's been turning out the complete opposite of how I envisioned it to be. I just wanted to spend time with my buddy alone for once, without having Eirin or the rabbits having their shadows looming over our heads. I could see that all this was making you nervous, so I just wanted to offer you some kind of freedom from the pressure you're always under."
[X] "I can only imagine what life is like for you: Lunarian royalty, lavished with the finer things in life, waited on pretty much hand and foot by possibly the most brilliant person on at least two worlds, maybe more. On top of all that, you have an entire army of rabbits subservient to you. Heh, me...I'm just some guy you happened to meet online, and about all I've got to work with is my determination to get anywhere."
[X] "I don't know your thoughts on this, but when we hang out...I don't see Lady Kaguya, Exiled Lunarian Princess. No, I see Kaguya, the girl I met online, the girl who brought me to an entirely different world just to spend time with her, someone I could relate to, despite the obvious differences between us. I feel like I've grown since arriving; if not wiser, than ever more determined. Without you, even if some of the things you say seem "
[X] "I devised this 'kidnapping,' as you refer to it, in order to have as much time as I could with you. I know I'm no genius, nor am I perfect...but that is what makes me who I am. Shirou, the overeager idiot, Shirou the culinary artist, Shirou...the best friend you brought to your home, played games, just...was that guy you could loosen up around.
[X] But now...it seems like everything's changed. You're keeping me at arm's length and not even telling me why. It seems that anything I do grates on you now, and it's frustrating that you won't tell me how you feel about things. This whole ordeal may have been my doing, but as you know, I'm not exactly famous for thinking things through all the time. But...everything I said last night...I meant every last word. Never on this trip had I ever intended to piss you off or anything of that sort.
[X] "With...with that kiss...um..." Fidget like your life depends on it. "I can tell you with complete honesty that I meant it. I guess what I mean to say is...there are times recently when I've thought of you as more than just my buddy. I mean...look at you, you're beautiful, with silky hair and a pleasant scent, but it's much, much more than that, I feel. Your character, and personality leave little to want, and while your barbed comments sometimes get me down momentarily, I can usually step back, see your intent, and learn from my mistakes, something that never came easily to me on the outside. Despite my shortcomings here you are, spending time with me. More than anything, I'm grateful for that. You've been a better buddy than I could ever have hoped to have had in my lifetime."
[X] "But...you know...I wouldn't mind if we did take that extra step...and became more than friends. The last thing I want to do is to make you uncomfortable. If you'd prefer that we still be buddies, I can deal with that. Because it boils down to just one thing: You're important to me, Kaguya, and at the very least I want you to know and understand that."

Edited a bit. Will do more later if I can.

I butchered the write-in to make it fit to my vision of the story. Apologies to its maker and specially to the writefag.

[X] Kaguya...this, the whole trip, has lately been turning out the complete opposite of how I envisioned it to be. I only wanted to spend time with my buddy alone for once without having Eirin or the rabbits having their shadows looming over our heads. I could see that all this was making you nervous, so I just wanted to offer you some kind of freedom from the pressure you're always under."
[X] "I may not be totally accurate on this, but when we hang out...I don't see Lady Kaguya, Exiled Lunarian Princess. No, I see Kaguya: my best friend who decided to perform a miracle just so I could spend time with her. Somehow, I feel that you're someone I can relate to, despite the obvious differences between us."
[X] "That only goes so far, however. I can only imagine what life is like for you: Lunarian royalty, lavished with the finer things in life, waited on pretty much hand and foot by possibly the most brilliant person in the world... On top of all that, you have an entire army of rabbits subservient to you. Heh, me...I'm just a guy you happened to meet online who shared a few of your interests. Despite that, I can't help but imagine that all of it turns into a golden cage for you sometimes"
[X] "I devised this 'kidnapping,' as you refer to it, in order to spend as much time as I could with you. I know I'm no genius... but I'm still me: Shirou, the overeager idiot, Shirou the culinary artist, Shirou... the best friend you brung to your home, played games, just... a guy whom you could loosen up with.
[X] But now...it seems like everything's changed. You're keeping me at arm's length away and you're not even telling me why. It seems that anything I do is beginning to antagonize you, and it's frustrating that you won't tell me how you feel about things. This whole ordeal may have been my doing, but as you know, I'm not exactly famous for thinking things through all the time. But...everything I said last night...I meant every last word. Never on this trip had I ever intended to piss you off or anything of that sort.
[X] "With...with that kiss...um...I can tell you with complete honesty that I meant it. I guess what I mean to say is...at times, I do think of you as more than just my buddy. I mean...look at you, you're beautiful, gorgeous. Your silky hair, your pleasant scent...yet you're spending time with me of all people. More than anything, I'm grateful for that. You've been the best buddy that I could ever have hoped to have in my lifetime."
[X] "But... like I said, you're even more than that to me...I would really like if we did take that extra step...and became more than friends. Still... the very last thing I want to is to make you uncomfortable with this. If you'd prefer that we remain as friends, I'm fine with that too. Because it all boils down to a little, simple thing: I want to spend more time with my bestest buddy and remind her that just because something is abundant it doesn't mean it's worthless. Let's have a fun life together."

[X] Kaguya...this whole trip, I...it's been turning out the complete opposite of how I envisioned it to be. I just wanted to spend time with my buddy alone for once, without having Eirin or the rabbits having their shadows looming over our heads. I could see that all this was making you nervous, so I just wanted to offer you some kind of freedom from the pressure you're always under."
[X] "I don't know your thoughts on this, but when we hang out...I don't see Lady Kaguya, Exiled Lunarian Princess. No, I see Kaguya, the girl I met, the girl who brought me to an entirely different world just to spend time with her, someone I could relate to, despite the obvious differences between us. I feel like I've grown since arriving; if not wiser, than ever more determined. Without you, even if some of the things you say seem "
[X] "I devised this 'kidnapping,' as you refer to it, in order to have as much time as I could with you. I know I'm no genius, nor am I perfect...but that is what makes me who I am. Shirou, the overeager idiot, Shirou the culinary artist, Shirou...the best friend you brought to your home, played games, just...was that guy you could loosen up around.
[X] But now...it seems like everything's changed. You're keeping me at arm's length and not even telling me why. It seems that anything I do grates on you now, and it's frustrating that you won't tell me how you feel about things. This whole ordeal may have been my doing, but as you know, I'm not exactly famous for thinking things through all the time. But...everything I said last night...I meant every last word. Never on this trip had I ever intended to piss you off or anything of that sort.
[X] "With...with that kiss...um..." Fidget like your life depends on it. "I can tell you with complete honesty that I meant it. I guess what I mean to say is...there are times recently when I've thought of you as more than just my buddy. I mean...look at you, you're beautiful, with silky hair and a pleasant scent, but it's much, much more than that, I feel. Your character, and personality leave little to want, and while your barbed comments sometimes get me down momentarily, I can usually step back, see your intent, and learn from my mistakes, something that never came easily to me on the outside. Despite my shortcomings here you are, spending time with me. More than anything, I'm grateful for that. You've been a better buddy than I could ever have hoped to have had in my lifetime."
[X] "The last thing I want to do is to make you uncomfortable. If you'd prefer that we still be buddies, I can deal with that. Because it boils down to just one thing: You're important to me, Kaguya, and at the very least I want you to know and understand that."

This is good. I left some parts out to fit it to my thoughts.

[X] Kaguya...this whole trip, I...it's been turning out the complete opposite of how I envisioned it to be. I just wanted to spend time with my buddy alone for once, without having Eirin or the rabbits having their shadows looming over our heads. I could see that all this was making you nervous, so I just wanted to offer you some kind of freedom from the pressure you're always under."
[X] "I don't know your thoughts on this, but when we hang out...I don't see Lady Kaguya, Exiled Lunarian Princess. No, I see Kaguya, the girl I met, the girl who brought me to an entirely different world just to spend time with her, someone I could relate to, despite the obvious differences between us. I feel like I've grown since arriving; if not wiser, than ever more determined. Without you, even if some of the things you say seem "
[X] "I devised this 'kidnapping,' as you refer to it, in order to have as much time as I could with you. I know I'm no genius, nor am I perfect...but that is what makes me who I am. Shirou, the overeager idiot, Shirou the culinary artist, Shirou...the best friend you brought to your home, played games, just...was that guy you could loosen up around.
[X] But now...it seems like everything's changed. You're keeping me at arm's length and not even telling me why. It seems that anything I do grates on you now, and it's frustrating that you won't tell me how you feel about things. This whole ordeal may have been my doing, but as you know, I'm not exactly famous for thinking things through all the time. But...everything I said last night...I meant every last word. Never on this trip had I ever intended to piss you off or anything of that sort.
[X] "With...with that kiss...um..." Fidget like your life depends on it. "I can tell you with complete honesty that I meant it. I guess what I mean to say is...there are times recently when I've thought of you as more than just my buddy. I mean...look at you, you're beautiful, with silky hair and a pleasant scent, but it's much, much more than that, I feel. Your character, and personality leave little to want, and while your barbed comments sometimes get me down momentarily, I can usually step back, see your intent, and learn from my mistakes, something that never came easily to me on the outside. Despite my shortcomings here you are, spending time with me. More than anything, I'm grateful for that. You've been a better buddy than I could ever have hoped to have had in my lifetime."
[X] "The last thing I want to do is to make you uncomfortable. If you'd prefer that we still be buddies, I can deal with that. Because it boils down to just one thing: You're important to me, Kaguya, and at the very least I want you to know and understand that."

Yeah, yeah, I'm unoriginal because I didn't change anything around. Oh, well. I agree with all of this anyway.

Why didn't I think of the whole "immortal doesn't want to let themselves fall in love with a mortal" thing before? I feel awfully dumb; I should've been able to get this. Not that it's been outright stated that this is the case, but it's my current theory, at least.

Holy molly, this seems like a bitch to count.
[x]>>19737

>>19734 here.

Ah. For a minute there, I thought I burned myself out for nothing. But I like what you guys did with the prototype.

Changing vote to...

[X] >>19736

>>19744

I'm surprised no one caught on earlier, much less Shirou finding out that she really DOESN'T die when she's killed earlier. Then again, Kaguya never told us what exactly the Hourai Elixir actually did looking back on it, only the repercussions of drinking it. Besides, she's screwed over quite a few men in her lifetime...and now she has found someone she likes. Though it's seeming like a new impossible request to please her. So I'd imagine there'd be some kind of conflict of feelings within her. And since Shirou is the master of cheesy speeches, he needs to do what he does best. And now Deadpool's better at whatever it is Shirou does.

I only just got here, but I though we might skip the ham and cheese this time when delivering our answer. Likewise, making it as concise as possible, unless we want to make it sound like Shirou doesn't understand too well either.
Having said that, though, I have nothing at the moment.

>>19749
I also thought that we could do it that way... but it's Shirou's style to make long and wide answers.
I suppose we should be consistent with his character.

>>19724

>Reimu's Mystic Oriental Love Consultation session earlier in the day


...I would never have seen that had you not said that. Was that intentional, Teruyo?

I am sorry. I have been busy and dead tired when not busy. Plus still dealing with jetlag a bit. Nothing for at least 12 hours more.

I am not sure how I feel about what has happened here to be completely honest. My current opinion is liable to change with sleep, but I predict it won't really. Though I can definitely say that the stuff like
>Having said that, though, I have nothing at the moment.
makes me a little sad.

I think this write-in sucks and I am making a new one:

[x] "I won't take back what I said about everyone dying. Faith is power in Gensokyo. There will come a time when you truly remove yourself, with no rabbits or doctors or idiots around to worship you, when you are unknown to all but yourself, and you will take a final breath. There will be an instant when no one else lives who has knowledge of your 'Hourai Elixir' or its effects, and because of this instant, you will exit this sordid, static life, and move into whatever may be waiting for you: a second round somewhere and someone far away from here, or enlightenment, or heaven, or whatever. It might be soon if you acted on it right now. It might be a ways off if you wait for humanity to kill itself with nuclear fire. It might be five billion years, when the Sun explodes, engulfing the inner planets, earth included. But everybody dies, bar none, because that is the fate of the universe--heat death, iron death, big crunch, big rip, vacuum metastability event, et cetera. It is inevitable. As inevitable as my own dying breath."
[x] "As for myself, I know that on the last day, Shirou the Stubborn Kidnapper will eat-sleep-move, sleep-eat-die, transcend. He has grown slowly; he will decay softly. He will be like the bamboo shoots, like a puddle of water, like the creeping vine over-growing a cast-iron streetlamp. When his body fails and his corpse is buried, flowers will grow out of it, and he will be in them, and that my dearest buddy is 'life eternal' in the Shirou-point-of-view.”

The goal isn't to live forever. The goal is to create something that will.

We know of Kaguya's immortality, finally. What about Mokou's?

>>19787
No, I don't think we know about Mokou in that regard. Also, I think you referenced some meta-knowledge in your reply, most assuredly the "faith is power" thing.

[+] This whole trip has been turning out the complete opposite of how I envisioned it to be. I just wanted to spend time with my buddy alone for once, without having Eirin or the rabbits having looming over our heads. What was going on before we left was making you nervous so I just wanted to offer you some kind of freedom from the pressure."
[+] "I devised this 'kidnapping' in order to have as much time as I could with you. It was never well-thought-out but you know that I know I'm no genius. That is what makes me who I am - Shirou, the best friend you brought to your home, played games with, just--was that guy you could loosen up around. I never intended at the onset to annoy you or make things awkward or anything like that. Despite these shortcomings here you are still spending time with me; more than anything, I'm grateful for that. You've been a better buddy than I could ever have hoped to have."
[+] "Everything I said earlier--I meant it to the word. With the kiss--I can tell you with complete honesty that I meant it. You're important to me, Kaguya, and at the very least I want you to know and understand that."

[+] "I guess I mean to say, as well--there are times recently when I've thought of you as more than just my buddy. It's hard not to: you're beautiful, with silky hair* and a pleasant scent. You have a very pleasant, if occasionally challenging, personality. That part forces me to improve myself, but I enjoy every moment of it."
[+] "Now--it's changed. You're keeping me at arm's length and not even telling me why. It seems that things I do grates on you, and it's frustrating that you won't tell me how you feel directly. Because it's you, I want to know."
[+] "You--you're important to me. In the end, that's what matters for me."

Modified slightly/significantly. I didn't think the original placed enough focus on the last night or this morning and not just the whole excursion or a different kind of perception about Kaguya. Also, "last night" was the kiss we talked about "this morning;" a minor anachronism was mentioned in regards to those events.
A double hyphen probably doesn't work this way either, compared to ellipsis, but I'm not rummaging through my Alt+# combinations to find a more grammatically-correct symbol just right now.

>>19791
Seconded
[x]Thatta write-in

Any updates?
The site is near death at the moment.

>>19791

This will be my vote.
I haven't been keeping up with this story until this weekend, it made for a nice read. I look forward to the conclusion.

A lot has come up and I've been otherwise tied up. That said, I must confess, I'm not quite sure what to do now. I'm not really in sync, if you will. This and more to hopefully be resolved eventually. I hate to leave people hanging. The character of the discussion and intent in the write ins is a little murky for me. It would be a easier if people consolidated and were more vocal in support and intent as well as debated. But it's ultimately up to me to interpret, aid or no aid.

Speaking of leaving people hanging, I forgot to reply to >>19757;
I often think of things, implement and use them. Spellcards, games, songs, themes and archetypes (as well as general culture references). In general no one bothers to point out the majority of these nudges and references but I hope all the same that someone will notice.

Going out on a limb here...

>>19843

While I'm not a writefag by any standards, nor an experienced visitor to this site, I can at least see where you're coming from. Less discussion means less speculation. Your task as the writer is to make the readers think about each action carefully and choose the best course of action...which Anon isn't always known for. Anon is perceptive when they want to be. Some will see the tiny references and hints dropped, others won't. My guess is that people aren'te xactly discussing because it is kind of a long write-in, each interpretation save for a couple is relatively stating the same thing, but with slight variations. I'm reading over each of the leading vote write-ins and interpreting them as best as I know how:

>>19736
>>19791

Each of these have six points. >>19736 carries more of the nervous, awkward stance on the issue, similar to the original write-in but more detailed, while >>19791 takes a more confident tone and getting the point across a bit more bluntly.

Pretty much, each write-in goes as such:

-The first point is explaining just how much of a disaster this trip has been as opposed to Shirou's vision of what the whole experience would be like. Shirou explains that he just wants to spend some time with Kaguya without worrying about pressure from Eirin or the rabbits bothering them since there's usually so much expected of her constantly as a Princess of the Moon.

-The second point explains how Kaguya seems a lot more relaxed and much less uptight when she's hanging out with us as opposed to how she acts around Eirin or the rabbits. Shirou doesn't see Kaguya Houraisan, Lunarian Princess, he sees Kaguya, that girl who enjoyed him so much over the net she pulled him to her world just so she could hang out with him in person, despite the huge differences in lifestyle and backgrounds.

-Shirou then pretty much explains his intentions when he decided to "kidnap Kaguya." He admits he isn't exactly a genius and he isn't known for his solid thought process, but it is, however, just who he is. At the same time, it is the same guy that Kaguya brought to hang out with her. And despite all the stupid things he has said and done, she has still spent good times with him, to which Shirou is grateful for.

-Then there's the sudden difference in Kaguya's attitude. She hasn't been telling him anything and she's getting pissed much easier at him without letting him know why. It's like stepping in a minefield with the coordination of a drunken monkey and it's annoying to be so upset without explaining why. Here it is affirmed that he had no intention of going out and doing everything in his power to piss her off. We only want to know what's wrong with her because we're trying to spend some time with her yet she's being stubborn about it.

-This is where that we confirm that everything we said last night to her was nothing but the truth. Shirou has never really lied to her, she should know that and it's kind of here that we admit that we have indeed thought of her as more than just our buddy and wouldn't mind it at all if we became more than that. We describe her perks, her beauty, her hair, and the pleasant scent she gives off and despite the fact that she does say some pretty harsh things at times, it only challenges us to be a better person for not only her sake, but for our own.
-The last point establishes that we regard her as very important to us, but it does take a step back on the notion of going past more than friends. Ultimately, it says that Shirou doesn't mind if they stayed friends either way, but we restate what we've been trying to say all along: that she's the most important thing to us and we value her company, that's all we have really asked for.

Sage for lengthy explanation, even if it wasn't the clearest cut...but I feel that we probably owe you the explanation that much.

Both >>19736 and >>19791 don't completely coincide with these points, but they state pretty much the general intentions of what we're trying to say to Kaguya.

>>19869
Perhaps we should go back to the original comments she's referring to in posts >>19406 and >>19622. We address our actual statements individually, tighten that up, then lead in and summarize however we want?

>>19871

Well, I was actually just summing up what the two leading write-ins were pretty much saying in my own words, I was sure I wasn't completely on target with it.

But whatever we do end up making Shirou say, we'll definitely have to refer back to what we said to Kaguya before. I was thinking that the parts about not wanting to piss her off and the act that she's been so unwilling to tell us what was going on that it got frustrating would have covered those bases. Guess not, eh? Whatever choice we make, we have to cover all our points in one sweep, I doubt Kaguya would forget anything we've said.

Okay, I've given it some thought. I didn't even want to do the kiss part but I missed that vote, so this is harder for me.

I don't know if or when Teruyo will be up for writing but I'd like to try move this is a different direction. After re-reading the entry of >>19622 it occurred to me that we really aren't addressing any of the important issues that we tried to bring or did bring up there. Kaguya herself just now mentioned her immortality, which rounds off the comments she keeps about "make the most of the time we have." We don't bring that up. Also, if you read the entry, we really didn't talk about the kiss save for trying to lead into it; Kaguya didn't bite; and, in fact, she brought up "last night" herself in her wording of the question. The three main points coming out of that post involved how it seemed Kaguya was uncertain or withholding of something, how we try to be completely honest with her (thanks to reader in-fighting, I think we can sum this up as a hopeful exaggeration) and whether that's fair or not, and a bunch of stuff that probably ties into her living within an immortal lifespan. We just hit on that - in Shirou's somewhat nonchalant "that doesn't matter" way - so I don't think we need to explicitly retread it. The thing is that I can't convince myself is that the current write-ins are clarifying anything; they seem more begging for answers to old questions again.

Talking about our justifications for the whole trip is babble in that regard, meandering the topic. Talking about Kaguya acting uneasy and defensive around us after the kiss is babble in that regard, meandering the topic. In other words, those last two things, Kaguya's behavior and our intentions, should be afterthoughts after we have made these main points.

In a character-related note: we shouldn't start arguing semantics with an ace storyteller or get lead into that kind of argument. Use of the term "kidnapping," for example.

(I've sat here with this tab open and reply prompted for six hours and, even were it in fragments, no write-in has worked its way out of my head based on the points and posits I listed above. That is truly depressing.)

>>19749
I agree. It seems to me that we've not given her much of a reason to take anything we say seriously lately - I suppose that fits with being a bit of a scatter-brain as a character, but it's not going to get us further with her at the moment.

A lot of input here, hopefully a good update should appear soon

Unrelated, but heard any good music lately Teruyo?

Reisen demands updates

Maybe this will you write again.


I want a bunny route...

>>20040
Just imagine that i would post with proper english for once.

“Hey kid, wanna get lucky?”

The voice startled him because it seemed to come from nowhere. It caused him to drop full of sawdust he was carrying. The fine wood remnants spread across the stone path, submerging some stones under a sandy cover.

“I’m guessing that you do, right?” The voice asked, a clear tone of amusement underpinning every word.

He recovered enough to look around, to search for the source.

A flash of pink to his right drew his gaze. It was a chance encounter.

“There’s no one I’ve ever met that hasn't wanted to get lucky.”

He had to lower his gaze to make out what it was he was looking at.

“Who are you?” He asked, his voice still a bit shaken from the shock. The girl in pink was grinning wildly, hands clasped behind her back.
“I asked you something first. Do you want to get lucky?” The girl teased, black messy short hair contrasting wildly with her pink dress and white ears.

...white ears that stuck out from the top of her head, flopping down to the front. Something that should have been fake, but he felt was very real. If he reached out and touched them he bet imagined that they would feel soft and velvety. He was half-tempted to do so, but the girl’s widening grin made him think that she almost expected him to do so.

“I...don’t know what you’re talking about,” He finally replied, eyes transfixed on the small girl.
“Oh, so you haven’t heard?” Her eyes lit up, drawing his attention further to her. “I’m talking about the best chance you’ll have in your life to get lucky. You’ll have enough fun for a lifetime too. Imagine winning over and over again all day and all night.”
“I should clean this up.” He bent down to pick up the bucket. “The others will probably be upset if I leave this mess here.”
“The others others are all getting lucky already.” The girl said with an alluring smile. Her pendant dangled on her chain as she leaned in further forward, closer to him. “Come now kid, you don’t want to miss out now, do you?”

He found himself letting go of the bucket as the girl grabbed his hand firmly. Before he knew it, she was leading him away from the path and deep into the bamboo maze. It was almost ridiculous how she was able to guide him along, her small hand almost lost in his palm.

After only a few steps into the verdant labyrinth of shafts and leaves he felt completely lost. The path, the mill, the village could have been anywhere and no where it seemed. Even the sun had a hard time making itself seen, peeking gingerly here and there into small clearings. He know almost at once why this place was known as the Bamboo Forest of the lost. It made anything that entered get disoriented and lost amidst the tall and endless stalks of bamboo.

His guide, however, seemed to be perfectly at home. She navigated sagely through the foliage. It was clear she knew where she was going judging from the relaxed and confident expression exemplified through her smug smile. She led on quickly, her barefoot form stepping clear of all rocks and other obstacles. She tugged with enough force to make him have to trot to keep up; His legs moved awkwardly to her rhythm. He stumbled more than once, managing to recover each time quickly enough to be tugged with ever increasing zeal.

By the time they finally stopped he was basically out of breath. He gasped for air, keeling over and supporting himself with hands on knees. He couldn't help but heave a little as he struggled to keep his racing heart from bursting out from his chest. A good five minutes passed as he regained his composure – five minutes that the girl used to stare at him with an expression of devilish amusement. He saw that she wasn't winded in the least.

“...” He thought to say something about her abductor but instead found himself distracted. In his exhaustion he hadn't bothered to look around. Or even listen really. A dazzling array of lights and a tempest of sound engulfed the area. It seemed to drown most of his senses, something which his body had assumed was due to shortness of breath at first.

Little Mokou's Palace

The sign was made from a bright projection of purple neon lights, each letter bigger than a door would be. They glowed proudly on top of a large building, the building adorned with gaudy signs and a spectacular current of lights and additional signs. Flashes of icons representing bottles of liquor, dice, and rabbits were but a few of the garnishes placed on the huge structure. Most prominent of all was a large representation of a fiery bird; The lights would flicker and change and so create a simple animation of wing movement and fire. It was loud in more than one way.

“What is this place?” He asked with a meek tone. Most sound was drowned out by the cacophony of music and cheer that seemed to be coming from the interior of the so-called 'Palace'. He saw through transparent doors out front throngs of men, most still in their work clothes, chattering excitedly amongst themselves.

“This is it.” The girl mouthed, grinning wildly.

Again she grabbed his hand. They walked this time, coming upon the massive entrance of glass doors. Bright adornments decorated even the ground he realized, seeing as how intricate patterns were made on the stone floor. The theme of money and coin was prevalent in all decorations and gold seemed to the be preferred color to represent that.

The giant doors slid open as they approached and cool air rushed to the outside as they passed.

A great hall greeted them.

A central depression was the focus of the room. A statue several stories tall rose up almost halfway to the domed ceiling above. Around it, a ring of tables and benches stretched out. As the circular depression ended, rows and rows of machines (and men occupying them) extended as far as the eye could see. He couldn't see the far end very well at this distance, but he guessed that food stations lay there judging by the large engravings of snacks on the walls. All of this was overwhelming to the senses. For someone who had never seen a building taller than two stories this was a profound shock.

“Welcome to Little Mokou's palace!” An upbeat voice snapped him back from his sheer awe. He looked around to see a bowing figure addressing him. Ears like the girl who brought him here, but longer and firmer, and a tight skimpy suit that hugged her body dearly (in particular around her generously curvy hips). The short and revealing outfit was the same color as the girl's hair – a fair lilac.
“Heya, I brought another one. How's business?” The guide in pink stated to the bunny girl. There was no other classification for her in his mind (he more than once stared at the fluffy poof of a tail that appeared just above her cute rump).
“Master will be pleased with you Tewi,” The girl in the revealing costume smiled at his guide with genuine affection.
“Not as pleased as he is at seeing you,” Tewi joked, eliciting a self-conscious blush from the girl. Suddenly she was mindful at how the thin glossy fabric was snug in all the right places and how anyone could happily imagine what was covered by the taut textile over her chest. It was something that every man in the vicinity seemed to be keenly aware of just then, their ravenous gaze turned to her like wolves eying an especially delectable rabbit quarry.

The girl was saved from her moment of embarrassment by another similarly-attired girl holding a tray full of refreshments. She whispered something in her ear that got the lilac-haired girl to regain her senses. She gave a cordial smile to Tewi and excused herself, claiming that she needed to deal with a situation.

Tewi shrugged, turning to him with another one of her impish grins.

“So, what do you think kid, is this paradise or what?”
“...” He didn't quite know what to reply to that. Until that moment he had been somewhat afraid of being chided by his peers at the village for abandoning his post. Teamwork was the only way to work, so was their way of life. But now he saw clearly the faces of family, friends, coworkers and elders spread around the premises like content dogs yipping and sniffing around and interacting with the machines and tables. That was a definite relief.
“Oh? So awestruck you can't speak?” Tewi laughed, her petite frame shaking slightly. “Come with me and I'll show you the most fun you've had in your life.”

Again she was his guide. She took him down the rows of machines and tables. Explained the premise of it all. Coin was inserted in the devices, levers pulled, and depending on the resultant combination of icons, additional coin could be won. Or just as easily lost. He observed as scores of men (and some women) deposited their coins into the slots and prayed in unison for fortune to favor them. Only a few actually had their prayers answered. But even then they looked like they enjoyed themselves, joking with peers and drinking refreshments brought to them by girls clad in alluring outfits. Money was won and money was lost.

Every nook and cranny of the place specialized in the exchange of money. Games of chance they all were invariably; Cards, machines, and more all facilitated transactions. He dared to give a machine a go once or twice, but asked to move on after finding that his relative wealth would go down quickly if he kept playing. The girl in pink obliged, remarking how he was shrewder than he looked. It was a shame that he was one of the few that realized just how low the odds were.

Private chambers and rooms squirmed to the sides of the central hall. As Tewi explained, high-stakes games and more exotic entertainment was offered there. He saw girls in even more daring getups moving to and fro, and he believed that whatever went on in there was definitely out of his league.

He was amazed at the thoroughness of it all. From the memorable crescent moon logos etched on the pillars and sides of the hall to the food sold at the many restaurants, the place projected a definite aura of completeness and majesty worthy of the moniker of 'palace'. He could understand how his fellow villagers were all swept up playing, winning, and losing. How they knocked back drinks easily and let go. They had fun. Because the place was geared into being a slick generator of entertainment.

They crossed into a large area annexed to the main building. A show was going on. Patrons sat at tables eating and drinking as a performer sang on stage.

“Chin, chin~” Her voice went as she danced around happily. She wore a long dress, satin and colorful, and long white gloves that reached up to her elbow. Her voice was projected from beyond the stage and entertained the cheering masses. It was somewhat mesmerizing and he found that he lost a bit of track of time and space. She sang several songs, all enrapturing in their own way.

It was his small guide that finally got him to leave with a few tugs. The performance went on, even after the girl left the stage to much applause. A green-haired girl was to put on a magic show. She wore a short bow tie and black top hat and waved a wand around. He had wanted to see her tricks but left before the act started. The casino was a huge place and there was much to see and do. He could hear the applause coming from the crowd as they were dazzled by displays of magic.

“Is something the matter?” Tewi asked as they bumped into the lilac-haired girl again by a flight of stairs.
“Oh Tewi, no, nothing. Just being called up by Master.”
“Mind if we tag along then?” Tewi asked, adding to him with a knowing look, “You look like you wouldn't mind being around her some more.”
“Um... I guess. Though customers shouldn't go up.” The girl objected mildly.
“Lighten up Reisen. You heard what Eirin said before, 'our objective is to provide entertainment to our valued customers.' we'd be doing that by bringing him up. He's not the type to be swayed by slots.”

They went up a flight of stairs and reached a locked door. Reisen produced a card (where she had kept it in that form-fitting outfit, he couldn't imagine ) and inserted it into a small slit on the wall. The door unlocked and revealed a drab corridor with doors on either side. They proceeded through, and he saw what went on out back. Girls with floppy ears sat at desks, writing down notes and reading files, occasionally conversing amongst themselves. Administrating.

Their destination was beyond that, past another secure door. And another secure door that required a code to open. More important-looking staff occupied these inner areas, working and occasionally laughing amongst themselves. They went past all that. Into a small room that transported them several floors upwards quickly. He stared in awe at how the contraption made the walls scroll past until they reached their destination a couple floors up.

The atmosphere up there was completely different. It was quiet – the first time he could hear himself truly think since he had gotten there – save for the pleasant sound of running water in the background. A hard wood floor made every footstep echo, and he tried to move quietly just behind the other two girls up to a simple sliding door at the end of the hallway.

Reisen knocked.

Hearing a reply come from within, she opened the door. They went in.

It was a bland and sparsely decorated room. A single desk and a set of chairs sat in the middle. The far end was a wall of tinted glass.

A tall woman dressed queerly in black stood staring out at the window.

She turned slowly and deliberately, her silver hair shining with the light coming from outside. Like Reisen, she wore a tie. But unlike hers, it was a comparatively more serious red and white pattern. It was the only color in her otherwise completely black attire.

“Udonge,” The woman spoke with familiarity, cool piercing eyes directed at the party. “I'm glad you're here.”
“Yes Master, I came as soon as I could.”
“As expected. I see that you're not alone.” She raised an eyebrow, ostensibly objecting to his presence.
“Ah yes, well Tewi said that he was special and wouldn't be entertained with the machines and you said we should um... try our best to entertain-”
“Yes, yes. I did. No need to fret, I'm not upset.” The woman smiled, her expression showing delicate beauty. She addressed him, “Not every customer is the same, I understand that all too well. Not everyone is entertained by the same methods.” She chuckled to herself, predicting with a reserved smile, “I trust you'll find your share of amusement before the day is done. If not I may have to entertain you personally.”

He was mesmerized by her throaty chuckle and elegant ways. The mere fact that this woman was captivating enough to make him ignore everyone in the room but her spoke volumes. Just earlier he thought that he would never see anything more enticing than the adorable wiggle Reisen had as she walked. He nodded.

“Well then Udonge,” The woman addressed Reisen again, who stood stiffly in deference, “There's a reason I called you here. Apparently there might be a little incident soon. It's as we discussed. The Princess is about to meet her apparently.”
“Oh. I see,” The taller rabbit seemed to understand all at once.
“Look out there,” The woman indicated, pointing to the massive hall below them, “Can't you feel all that energy? We should keep things in check lest they become messy.”

From this room, the view extended to most of the casino. Several stories below masses of machines and card-dealers kept patrons coming and going. From here, the tall woman could key an eye on everything and everyone. She was like a god up on a mountain looking upon daily life with cold calculated distance.

“Understood Master. I'll do my best.”
“See that you do keep things civil... though I suppose I can see where this is headed.”

“She means that there's going to be some real fun soon.” Tewi whispered to him, the mischief bubbling up in her voice.

There certainly was all sorts of excitement, he realized that.

He went back downstairs along with the two girls, off to nip in the bud whatever was going to happen. They hurried through down to the central depression, to the feet of the statue.

Sure enough, excitement was brewing. As they got closer to the epicenter he could feel an increasing heaviness in the air. Like static charge building up, accumulating for some inevitable end.

A girl wearing vibrant red trousers was protesting loudly to a dark-haired beauty. A third woman, the schoolteacher he realized from a distance, stood by the first and appeared to try to mediate the situation.

“...worst!” The girl with red pants bellowed. There was a fiery aura about her, perfectly matching the red of her trousers and of the myriad of ribbons affixed to her long hair. Her light hair was different but similar to Reisen's, the large ribbon on top bobbed as she spoke passionately.
“I have nothing to apologize for.” In the middle of all the noise coming from the machines and patrons the girl in the dress' voice was steady and clearly audible.

Their trio got closer to the commotion, enough to overhear the argument in full.

“The hell there isn't! Just look at that!” The girl in red pointed to the statue. Her pants ballooned a little, and rustled and tugged at her connecting suspenders.
“What of it Fujiwara?”
“Perhaps your coddled pea-sized brain needs a little bit more help understanding, princess, but that statue is horrendous! Just look at it!”
“Hm, looks fine to me,” The girl remarked calmly. “It's fitting given our name.”
“I never gave you permission for that either! You went ahead and stole my name just to mock me, didn't you?!”
“It's a joke, a sign of affection. I assure you.” The girl smiled, looking as if she was incapable of doing any harm to anyone.

He looked up to the statue, taking his first proper look at it. Standing with a bag of money in one hand and a drink in another was a scaled up replica of the girl in red. She wore in her stone form much less clothes (less than the rabbit waitresses) and several areas of her figure were embellished... greatly. Definitely not a depiction of 'little” Mokou, It was appealing to the male customer base for certain but there was nothing regal about it, certainly nothing that was appropriate for 'her' palace. It did look like something made specifically to irritate her.

“Now now, let's all just take a deep breath and discuss this like civilized folk.” The schoolmarm interjected, trying to defuse the situation. It was no use of course. Mokou continued to bombard the other girl with accusations of ill-faith and usurpation. Keine tried her best, sounding as sweet but firm as she did when concerning her students. She was a strong woman he realized, but he didn't know if strong enough to stand steadfast between the heated exchanges. The other two were frightening in their own way. The crackle of energy between the parties was almost visible and any onlooker could tell that things were reaching bursting point.

Tempers flared. And even as Reisen tried to put an end of it (quite ineffectively and as meekly as the schoolmarm) they continued to get more viscous. Soon the argument became too heated for both sides. Onlookers formed a ring, unwisely. As things reached a climax a new show of light and sound erupted. Something way louder than the background music or chattering of the masses. Hundreds of thousands of projectiles came from either girl, aiming to hit the other. The dark-haired girl smiled as Mokou attacked with a combination of relish and frustration.

Tewi dragged him into cover as all hell broke loose. Machines were broken, people fled and scattered in fear, and the great hall was torn up. It was pandemonium. A dazzling display of light and chaos that engulfed everyone present. He had no idea what to do but stick close to the girl in pink and he saw how Reisen seemed to be genuinely upset at how things had gone down. He felt like consoling her, but was at a complete loss for words.

They eventually crawled out of the building and watched well into the evening the spectacle. The damage and disorder was overwhelmingly comprehensive. Sections of the structure had been damaged to dangerous levels. After the literal dust had settled and the rubble seemed to stay still, they dared to look around. At some point the schoolmarm had joined them, looking on aghast. All the villagers had dispersed hours ago, and the rabbit girls vanished. They were the only ones around.

They went back inside, mindful of the widespread damage to everything. Nearly every flashing sign had been destroyed as was the case with the machinery. The impressive place he had come to know in the morning was little more than an ugly ruin by evening. The columns were chipped, the tables overturned, dishes smashed and coins spilled everywhere. Cleaning up would be an almost impossible task he figured.

In the center, by the pulverized statue, the two combatants lay next to each other. Sweat penetrated their clothes and dust caked them. They were perfectly still, collapsed from exhaustion. Yet they still somehow had the strength to laugh. Laugh maniacally, loudly, and proudly.

“Guess there's no more statue now, huh Kaguya?” Mokou said in between bursts of laughter.
“Nope! Not much of anything now!” Kaguya laughed as hard as her former opponent. It was as if all that chaos and destruction had all just been a trivial affair.

He didn't know whether they were insane or absolutely insane. After all that destruction, all that madness, they were laughing. Even as the tall silver-haired woman watched from the shadows with arms crossed and a disapproving look.

He looked around. He saw that the two girl were smiling as well. As was the schoolmarm. He stole a glance back to the shadows, and saw the tall woman smiling as well. They were all insane.

But somehow he found himself smiling as well. At the ludicrousness of it all. He was a stranger, but it just felt right that amidst all the chance and gambling things end like this. It was a sure bet he realized. Tomorrow all of that would be gone, the building displaced and the path to it obfuscated. The profits made used for some other venture.

And yet.

“Thank you for bringing me here.” He spoke assertively, his voice rising up through the laughter. He turned to his small guide, “I was thoroughly entertained. And though I wouldn't have imagined it, it seems that I got lucky after all.”

He grinned, feeling himself the part of something unique.

Everyone, at once, grinned back, understanding completely how something beyond luck had made all this happen.

-
Sorry but as far as an actual update is concerned, I'm still in the same place I was last time I posted. That is to say, written nothing for pretty much the same reasons. This is a way to say I'm not dead.

>>19992
Just the usual. Touhou arranges, classical music, etc. It's all good for different reasons.

>>20040
Watched it and it certainly didn't have that much of an effect on me. As much as it pains me to admit it, a Reisen route is a far-fetched dream given the speed of updating. Besides which, I'm more partial to other characters, like Keine

aha. That was awesome. After reading all that I want more.

Good stuff, that was quite an enjoyable read.

quite refreshing!

I am glad to see that you still haven't lost it after all this time.
>a Reisen route is a far-fetched dream
Now this makes me very very sad. But giving up is not something a man does.

>>20053
I don't suppose you'd be content with just the thought of a friendly casino hostess trying her best to entertain a patron?

>>20058
That would certainly be interesting.

Here's the deal: I really should update. Like I feel uncomfortable from not updating. But I'd say that I still am as stuck like I mentioned. And it doesn't look like divine inspiration will come down from the heavens and strike any time soon.

So I guess one of the following three would be the what happens next. A) I write something that's not an update like the casino story, B)More concise and like-minded posts by anon help me capture the essence of the next scene and I write, or C) I'm given a little more free reign in direction (and even more time for inspiration) and do my own thing.

In any of the 3 cases, it is probable that the earliest I would produce anything would be Monday or Tuesday (tests prevent me from concentrating on writing before then).

So let me know what you think. Or alternatively, if you don't want to think, feel free to spam this thread with images of stupid sexy lunarians.

[X] Option C

I like the story, and if you have a definite direction in mind, I would like to see it.

C)

C is ALWAYS the right answer when in doubt.

>feel free to spam this thread with images of stupid sexy lunarians.

So...no earth rabbit youkai? No immortal phoenix girls or werecow schoolmarms?! For shame, Teruyo. For shame.

Tempting...very tempting. but the future of the NEET route hangs in the balance with the next update, and I for one want to see this runthrough succeed where the first failed. Believe in Anon who believes in you!

[x] Option C
Of course. Show us what you can do

>spam this thread with images of stupid sexy lunarians
Soon my friend, soon.

I have to go with Option A.
If you want to write, you should write. The sooner you do, the sooner you can stop feeling uncomfortable about not doing it. Ergo, the sooner you update, the better.

Besides, when you're stuck on how to continue on the more narrow, defined path of the main story, then what better time is there to just go crazy and have some aimless, non sequitur fun?

This Thread is now about Bunnies.

C) I'm given a little more free reign in direction (and even more time for inspiration) and do my own thing.

...why did I have the feeling that most of you were going to say that? Well, regardless, I am still pretty busy with academic formalities. The earliest I can write would be (likely) around 12 on Monday (server time).

>So...no earth rabbit youkai? No immortal phoenix girls or werecow schoolmarms?
The more the merrier.

>>20102
Well that sort of thing is fine and all but I never really know how anon will react. From what I could tell people enjoyed this last one but when it comes to jealous schlicking that was something more of a miss. I'm almost afraid of thinking what would happen if I did a Magnum PI short story.

>>20104
You are now aware that in the (almost?) two years on the site, we still haven't gotten a proper moonbunny route. Ever. Same goes for most of the cast ;_;

>>20134
It's not like i want to point finger or something... but you should have planned the first run better. Maybe shorter and all to get the spotlight on more character. And without that end.
If everything else fails you can just make a 3 Thread Reisen Route shorter story. Set it around the time that she was still on the moon or when she arrived on earth. Maybe from the view of Reisen would be interesting. Doesn't need to have sex.

>>20134
>>20138

There's the nasty habit of slow updates and dropped stories, which is especially true in this board. But runs of a story are a learning process and perhaps the next run will be better.

As for the first run, it's safe to say everyone was to blame including Anon with their bad choices of varying intent. It's cleared that he and anon both learned from it. I'm sure the same thing happened with this run.

As far as stories with potential routes?
-CuMS, with a strong Reisen leaning and Harker himself has considered a Reisen and Keine multi-girl route.
-The Word of One has a nice chance of a Mokou route.
-Luna Ars Memorativa, which has a very strong leaning on a Reisen route.
-/MIS/ Fortune has a chance of a Keine route, but its status is uncertain.

The lack of Eirin routes is most likely due to the infamous "Mad Doctor Eirin" fanon going around if not being overshadowed by certain characters.

I just wanted to say that I'm technically writing now but I wouldn't hold my breath just yet. Progress is slow and I (unfortunately) have places to be later. I am sorely disappointed at the lack of spirit shown by you here: There is no such thing as too much of stupid sexy Lunarians! That and this thread might as well be filled up as it reaches autosage.

>>20138
A lot of things that happened shouldn't have and a lot of things that didn't happen should have. It's ancient history and I don't think that there's much more to be gained from talking about it. Everything that needed to be said was said during or after and I'll remind you of the discussion centered around that run (both positive and negative) that I personally encouraged, fomented, and thank my readers for.

I'm not going to write any sort of 'route' as a short project anytime soon. Moonbunny or no, sex or no sex. What I meant was short (as in not larger than 3-4K words) unrelated story or pastiche. Like Keine dressing up Mokou for her first date or Eientei 90210.

>>20141
I wouldn't say 'especially true'. It's sufficient to look in any board here and you'll see a handful of dropped or dead stories. If anything, /eientei/ is a testament to stubborn writers and voters who don't give up despite the relatively smaller numbers.

Quantifying probabilities for routes wasn't my intent - I was making a joke. Regardless of that, I think it's safe to say that we're still a ways off from actually having anything that concrete; A story on its first thread isn't a guarantee of anything. Like I said, here we are nearly 2 years on and with not much to show for it.

Oh and wiseman (Yes, I can tell. Also being an admin and site owner confirms it) shouldn't you be off somewhere badmouthing my person and my writings? Taking a break from being that one guy seems unlike you.

>>20143

Probably the fact that the thread is so lose to autosage may have limited the stupid sexy Lunarian picture turnout.

Besides, we all still are waiting warmly for the next update to this story.

Like >>>20100 said, Believe in Anon, who believes in you!

I see your Lunarians and raise you an immortal phoenix girl and a werecow schoolmarm.

>Eientei 90210
You make me rage.

>>20143
I was just merely remarking after checking, I've stopped reading this story because you asked me to. And my remarks were mostly matter of fact, though I must admit I might have stepped out of line with some posts.

>If anything, /eientei/ is a testament to stubborn writers and voters who don't give up despite the relatively smaller numbers.
That's due to a mix of fan pickiness and the repuation for "Soldier games" and less than pleasant remarks about you. Sure my remarks might be harsh, but Kapow would say much worse.

And with certain events, I must give you credit for hanging in there and continuing to write here, even if there's a bit of drama with it. In this regard you're better than HY, who has basically quit this site. Kinda stupid since the cause was Anon treating a non-normal story of his like a normal one when He didn't even tell them anything as he's oft to do. Communication with readers is an important thing, yet another thing to give you credit for. I give many writers crap if I think they go over the line.

The reason I reference your writing so much is the impact the first run left on me. It ended up serving as one of the examples of "What not to do in a story" And despite your remarks I read your second run hoping to see a better end and play a part in doing so. There's many things that can be said about me, but I never was out to ruin a story, more than I could say than some people from what I heard of their actions in your first run.

>A story on its first thread isn't a guarantee of anything. Like I said, here we are nearly 2 years on and with not much to show for it.

I like to think optimistically, sure it's stupid, but the alternative is worse. And usually route preferences are set in stone for the most part barring a big surprise (Flandre in GH). Things on /Eientei/ would be more certain if people updated faster.

>I wouldn't say 'especially true'. It's sufficient to look in any board here and you'll see a handful of dropped or dead stories.

Yes but it's especially bad here and /sdm/. /Shrine/ too if you count all of YAF's stuff.

>If anything, /eientei/ is a testament to stubborn writers and voters who don't give up despite the relatively smaller numbers.

Perhaps so, but with the area's history of dropped story combined with the board's second slowest update speed (/underground/ is worse) results in a uncertainty about many stories. Especially when most of the writers pull an HY and not say a damn thing for the long periods.

>>20144
No reason to stop, it'll be visable for a while. And better an autosaged thread than not.

But I guess I've long since overstayed what non-existant welcome I had in the first place, so I'll leave and let you folks carry on.

>>20144
They can stay too.
>>20145
Mission accomplished.
coolface.jpg

>>20146
Man this has never been about your opinions or those of anyone else. You're entitled to think whatever you want about anything. And criticism, to me, has never been an issue.

What does bother me about you is that you're unfair. I'm sure that there's a lot of people who may not like me nor my stories. That's fine. But unlike you they don't go around and at every opportunity and put me or anyone else down. It's that kind of unilateral and unwarranted behavior that finally got me to ask you stop reading. It seemed to me that you're more content calling people names and putting them down than actually reading and participating. I can't say the same of anyone else who has voiced some displeasure at me or my writings (and hell some people detest(ed?) me). I'm not about to go trudging through every thread ever to prove my point, but of the top of my head I can think of that rant in /gensokyo/ (and a couple other threads there), ADEFT in /shrine, once or twice in /blue/, countless times in /th/.

You may not want to ruin anything, and I can believe that on some level, but the fact remains that you're certainly not making anything better with your actions.

I've time and time again taken time to respond to the queries, anxieties, or just plain criticisms regarding this story. Almost everything I've seen you fault me for has been addressed or acknowledged. Anyone reading through from the beginning would be able to see that. It may be unrealistic for me to expect you to remember every single detail but when you bring up things that just smack of selective memory it's outright unjust.

I don't know what else to say. I'm a patient man. And if you have any beefs with me I'd rather you take them up directly with me than unilaterally attacking me elsewhere. I will listen and I will reply. I make a point to not shit up other peoples' threads. I think that the site would benefit if people took that approach instead of being immature smart alecs.

>Perhaps so, but with the area's history of dropped story combined with the board's second slowest update speed (/underground/ is worse) results in a uncertainty about many stories.
I have access to that sort of information. I'll have you know that for a long time /eientei/ was the 2nd or 3rd fastest board here (fluctuated in the top five always at least). Stopped for a while but in the beginning of this year it picked up again before decreasing again. Now the board speeds are in fluctuation. The last month or so has been pretty bad for that with a relative decline all across the site. And really, the dropped story thing? /eientei/ has had like 2-3 outright dead stories (I can only think of two, but I may be forgetting something), one of which never got past the first couple of posts. I can think of as many dead or dropped stories or more on every other board (many more in /others/).

Suddenly Discussion in my /eientei/

Ah what the hell.

delicous unwashed NEET feet.

Picture is horrible but look at all that hair

What an unusual pairing

>>20155

thats my unique story gone...

>>20147
You're right completely about that, and I apologize completely for everything. But I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried about Taisa making something on par with the Eirin handjob due to his sometimes depressive state of mine. The first run affected me that much. If I have such issues in the future I'll take them up directly with you.

As for what happened in ADEFT? I made the very foolish assumption that you were writing it, somehow overlooking NaturalistAnon's remarks about his /eientei/ story. I guess I should apologize. It just irks me terribly during bad times while some folks made due with 1-2 votes, some complain while having 4-5. But I admit I shouldn't have gone off like that at all.

And I thought about it, and /eientei/ isn't really that bad in terms of dropped stories, not compared to some other places. /youkai/ the worse affected by the move, with most of its authors lost in the move. If not for Lion stepping up his updates, /youkai/ would have been the deadest board on the site. Still you have to admit that people could stand to give status reports more often, right?

I'm just posting this here just to clarify things to other people in case they wonder "Why the hell does he do that?" If you have anything else to say, just put in my /Gensokyo/ Thread.

>>20155
I'm reminded of that "Little girls' dance" doujin. Basically Keine ends up growing fond of Kaguya in addition to Mokou.

Sharing this because people insist that I do so. Geez, it's not like it's the first time I've written something that doesn't make it here...
---
"I did not tell you to stop." Her stern voice sent a jolt of pure electricity down his spine. He dared to steal a glance upwards, finding her hard authoritative eyes staring back. "It seems like you need to be put in your place." She narrowed her eyes at him, disapproving of every fiber of his being. A swift motion suddenly had him lying on his back, helpless. He stared at the object of his previous attention. The gentle shaping of the petite foot beckoned his tongue like a deer's to a salt cube. "This is punishment." She spoke softly, tilting her foot down and bringing the large toe gently into his waiting mouth. He accepted gladly, his tongue seeking to absorb as much of the exquisite flavor as possible. He got in between the toes as soon as he could and diligently sought out the places where the intoxicating flavor was stronger. "Filth like you should be content to clean my feet like that. Serving your princess is the sole reason for your existence, do you understand that?"

She pulled her foot away suddenly, waiting for him to reply. "You'll be rewarded if you perform your duties well." With a teasing smile she moved her foot to his midsection. She played around his stomach, slowly and exhaustively moving her way further down. She stopped short of his engorged area, gaze solely on his face. "It looks like we'll have to discipline you properly and thoroughly today. You'll have to clean my feet again before we're done today."

"Yes Princess, of course." He replied with a grin, looking forward to what was to come.

>>20163
Oh come on. I still think it's hot and makes you want more.
who wouldn't want to lick those NEET feet while she has that look in her face.

>>20163

Good luck on your writer's block!

Delicious NEET feet are sure to be delicious.