REGULAR: [x] Untitled the Second
>>/shorts/1967 Untitled the First
The moon is gone and Gensokyo barely cares. I like this a lot more than I should. This is a story that doesn't take itself seriously and delivers deadpan in
spades. There is something very Gensokyo-like about the humor – which is good, because I find the story funny. Other than that, there isn't much else to say. It's fun, but that's all it is.
>>/shorts/1980 Walnuts
A rabbit meets a pair of drums. This is cute and has great character dynamic. At no point could I complain about the characters. They felt very natural. Overall, it was a good read and I'd enjoy reading more with a soothing cup of tea.
>>/shorts/1981 My Friend
A story about the Dragon god. A good attempt, but needs some polishing around the edges. It feels like it could have been a poignant story about the mystical wonders of the Hakurei god and how self-sacrifice created the Gensokyo we know today. Ultimately, it falls a little short but that's fine. Practice makes perfect.
>>/shorts/1983 Forgotten Gensoukyou
A story where its rhymes have no weight, just like the canon of PC-98. I have a tendency to mouth words aloud. This is a story where the word flow hurts me. Some lines read naturally, while others have me stop and and re-read the sentence because the rhythm was off. That isn't to say that this story was bad – I thought it was rather good, but I cannot get over the break in meter.
>>/shorts/1984 Piece of My Mind
2meta4me. This story wanted to be a lot of things but somewhere, it got stuck. The story tries a little too hard to push the meta and as a result, the delivery feels cheap. In particular, the snippet with Macha feels downright forced. Cirno's cute.
>>/shorts/1985 Rolls and Roles
D&D in Gensokyo. This is a story where the writing is fair and the characterization is good, but I don't particularly like it and I have no solid reason why. Maybe it's because I'm not really sold on the premise, I don't know.
>>/shorts/1991 Crossroads
The coming of age for the new Hakurei miko... probably. I couldn't make myself like the original characters. By no means did I hate them, it's just that... I'm indifferent. The short has a solid world, but with all the original characters coming in without much significance, I forgot their names by the next few paragraphs.
>>/shorts/1994 That's All There Is
Moon bunnies discover Houston, and it becomes a problem. This is good, but the story feels unfinished. I want to know more: what happens next and why? It creates a story and leaves me with a lingering feeling of “where's the next post?”
>>/shorts/1995 Koishi Koishi: Koishi Koishi Koishi
Koishi Koishi, Koishi. The plot twist is cheap and the romance is garbage. 9/10. Koishi.
>>/shorts/1996 Eastern Wonderland, Bullet Heaven ~ The Great Cat War of 2016
I have no idea. This story is a hodgepodge. It has so many things and
all of them are wrong. I can't even discern the plot because it
isn't there. Not only is the story missing the plot, but it's also missing very basic things, like formatting, background, and characterization. It reads terribly, and I wouldn't even give this story an award for participation because it's lazy.
>>/shorts/2000 Once Upon A Time...
A cowboy, presumably, and an oni are about to face off and it never happens. Feels like more like a movie preview than a story. It's captivating, but it ends before it really even starts. I can't say anything else about it because I finished it before I could formulate any impression of it, really.
>>/shorts/2001 Fey Mood
Kokoro gives birth and there are troubles along the way. You could replace Kokoro with a completely different character and I don't think I would notice. If you remove the images and physical descriptions of her masks, I would have no idea. Other than that, the conflict was there and then it wasn't all of a sudden – then the story ended. Was too short to really feel or understand anything.
>>/shorts/2002 Untitled the Second
A man and Marisa deal with each other and friendship happens somewhere along the way. This is good. Maybe really good. I was thoroughly entertained reading through this story. A story can be about daily interactions and sweet friendship, but what sets this one apart from the others is how fluid the character interactions are. The back and forth between Marisa, Arkad, and even Alice is top-notch. Untitled the Second is praiseworthy for making the not-so-mundane life of Marisa interesting and believable.
>>/shorts/2003 Come in from the cold
Kagerou hates the winter, Letty loves the winter, surprise. I have no particular feeling for this short, other than it is a thing. The rhyming banter evoked only a groan from me and that was the bulk of the dialogue between the two. I'd have loved to see Kagerou interact with the bartender more, but the story ended quite halfheartedly.
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LEWD:
I honestly can't vote because it would be unfair since I didn't bother reading all of them. Sorry about that.