[x] Turn around.
[x] No

Our last save is after 'clearing' mom's card. If we find ourselves torn to pieces, I want to have a place where we can plan our exit better. We really don't know how dangerous this place really is.

>>195623

Wow! I... think that's literally the first time anyone said no! It's good to see someone actually consider the ramifications of saving.

Good on you!

>>195624
That... might have come a bit more condescending than you intended. I hope.

>>195626

Just being honest. At times it feels like I might as well just introduce auto saves, as people just save, save, save. Saving is as much a danger as it is a blessing, and people treat it as if it's a minor choice. Yes, you have infinite continues, but only from that single point that is the most recent save.

>>195631
I always saved because I believe in facing the consequences of actions.

>>195632

Something I respect, and respected when it was first mentioned.

Honestly, it's more when people ignore the saving option as if it's unimportant that bugs me, if I had to pick a reason. While we have infinite continues, if we save at a bad time, it can make life difficult. Likewise, if few enough people vote on the subject, I delay the save, such as with this time.

The mid-battle ones, for instance, are a huge gamble.

[x] Turn around.
[x] No

I liked this reasoning well enough. Let's try it.

Besides, if it's something dangerous, we can always hug it.

[x] Turn around.
[x] No

— - — - —

You turn around, going stiff at the sight.

"'Sup." It's the icy girl that tried to kill you.

That nearly succeeded.

That killed Hourai instead...

— - — - —

[ ] Write-in.

[x] Hey, nice weather we're having, no?
[x] Are you here to kill any other of my friends for no reason?
-[x] (Lie) Joke's on you, they're all incorporeal!

It's time to be the strongest Renko we can be.

Also, disregarding the morality of the act (provoked self defense is almost always morally right in civilized countries anyway) using lethal force against an undying being would corrupt us? My money's on yes.

I'm not jaded enough to not try at least one more time though-our friend's death was our own fault-we should have died instead.

[x] It depends.
-[x] Look up.
--[x] Tell her what you see.

[x] It depends.
-[x] Look up.
--[x] Tell her what you see.

>Cirno again

>>195655

>Hey, nice weather we're having, no?

Picture related.

>>195664

You're not wrong.

[X] It depends.
-[X] Look up.
--[X] Tell her what you see.

[x] It depends.
-[x] Look up.
--[x] Tell her what you see

— - — - —

She stares at you, awaiting your response. Her grin is more than a little unsettling, knowing what she likely wants to do. What she likely plans to do.

"That depends."

She raises a brow. "On?"

You risk looking up. "Well, there's some weird pink clouds, some sorta rainbow stars, the strangest prismatic bubble, more ordinary sky beyond— It's AM 8:11:51." Woooo! You can see the sky again! You were really feeling weird, not knowing the time... Can't see the sun, though. Weird.

You hear a snort from the fairy. "Don't care."

A small doll peek out from behind Cirno's ribbon. It's Hourai-sized. Hourai-shaped, too.

It doesn't look like Hourai, though.

— - — - —

[ ] Write-in.

[x] That doll there is so cute!
[x] Almost as cute as the one you killed!

This made my day! Seriously... Little bunny, indeed... Heh.

>>195673
Oh god, the standard style hurts my eyes.

Go Chernobyl or go home

>>195674

Ehh, I'm not a big fan of the big honking nuclear symbol in the background. I guess I just got comfy with my eyes being drilled.

Could use more votes, by the by.

[x] That doll there is so cute!
[x] Almost as cute as the one you killed!
[x] It needs a hug!

>>195674
We like Photon, yes we do!

We like Photon, how 'bout you!

>>195674
>>195676
>>195701
>Not using superior custom CSS
Seriously though. All the styles are hard on the eyes after a long time browsing the site so I have to use this one.

[X] Shhhh. Quiet. Can you hear them? The screams of a thousand dead dolls crying out for justice?
-[X] Capitalize on her confusion by Kidnapping the mysterious head doll.

>>195705

See, that'd take learning. I'd rather just turn my screen's brightness level all the way down and feel comfy.

[x] That doll there is so cute!
[x] Almost as cute as the one you killed!

— - — - —

You practically squeal at how cute the doll it. "That doll is so cute! Almost as cute as the one you killed!"

The fairy tenses at your tone.

The doll flinches at it as well.

Smooth.

"Yeah, well, that wasn't exactly my aim." Said fairy furrows her brow. "My aim was you."

It's now your turn to flinch. "Why do you even hate me so much??"

"Ignoring the fact that you killed me...?" You wince at her words. You didn't even mean to... She was just that fragile. ...Kind of like Hourai with that fragile. "Fine. You know what? I'll show you why I hate you so much. I'll show you why I hate humans so much. I will show you exactly why I hate you and why I hate yours."

Cirno seems to have caught fire. The doll seems to have dived into the snow to put out the fires that spread to her.

— - — - —

[ ] Accept offer.
[ ] Decline offer.

[x] Let me make an educated guess first:
--[x] Do you hate them because they're prone to violence without even trying to use reason first? Do you hate them because they'll do anything to achieve their objectives, ignoring anyone or anything unrelated that could be harmed by their actions, and not even acknowledging their mistake afterwards? Or do you hate them because they tend to exaggerate their own struggles while minimizing other people's?
--[x] What do you say, should we ask Shanghai for her input? No wait, you can't, because, unlike you, she doesn't come back. Why don't we ask your friend? Y'know, before you burn her to death like you just almost did.
---[x] Look: I'm sorry I killed you, I didn't even know that I could that by looking at you. But I've apologized before-and I suffered afterwards anyway. And you're here and she isn't. Isn't that enough injustice in your favor?

As far as villains goes, Cirno is a pretty heavy handed one. I guess a fairy will always be a fairy. I can't wait for her to say 'no u' or to attack in the middle of the speech like a rabid dog. The 'anti-meta' reaction didn't help things either.

I don't mind: Undertale had an irredeemable villain too. I have high hopes for the rest of the characters, though.

>>195719

>ihaventsleptinthreedays.png

Well, they are in college.

>>195719
Undertale also had a character that was initially antagonistic and required a fight. Being condescending and verbal assault isn't how Frisk befriended Undyne.

[x] None of >>195719
-[x] because anti-votes are valid in this story
[x] Make sure the doll is extinguished properly.
[x] "I never wanted to kill you. Are you safe from whatever I did last time?"

>>195721
Anti votes are unnecessarily antagonistic as well. That's why they're forbidden in every story but this one.

[x]None of [x]>>195721

That said, I can't imagine a more appropriate moment to be antagonistic. I doubt she'll learn, but her hypocrisy needs to be called out. If she cares, she'll understand; If she doesn't, then she's a mindless minion that just happens to talk. We were never going to calm everyone down by talking anyway-not in Hard mode.

>>195723

I introduced them because I update fast, yet can't guarantee a large number of voters. As well as due to the voter that spawned my silly at thread.

>>195723
Just because a fight is unavoidable doesn't mean we should welcome it or instigate it. We already spoke in murderous spoiler voice once, we don't need to get anywhere close to it again.

Even if she doesn't to see reason this time, we should non-lethally defeat her and offer as many chances at friendship as possible. Because that is determination.

>>195725
There's no instigation here. There are facts and mistakes she has to acknowledge. Hell, the last part is basically 'Again, I'm sorry, let's put this behind us' with more words. I'm happy with her getting away with murder if that means she won't hurt anyone else. That's as far as leniency should go.

I won't respond anymore here-there are better places to argue this and we're shitting up the thread.

>>195728

I'm totally okay with shitting up the thread! I do it most days, so I'd be a hypocrite if I objected!

But, in all seriousness, discussion is a good thing. All it means is I get free bumps and entertainment.

>>195729
You can be easily entertained.

[x] Be concerned about the doll's safety first.
[x] Point out that you didn't intend to do anything.
-[x] Best of intentions, and all. Though the best of intentions aren't ever enough for those who they've failed.
--[x] Look: I'm sorry I killed you, I didn't even know that I could that by looking at you. But I've apologized before-and I suffered afterwards anyway. And you're here and she isn't. Isn't that enough injustice in your favor?
---[x] Or are you going to this doll dying as well?

Seems I have about three voters, so I'll keep that in mind~

[x] Be concerned about the doll's safety first.
[x] Point out that you didn't intend to do anything.
-[x] Best of intentions, and all. Though the best of intentions aren't ever enough for those who they've failed.
--[x] Look: I'm sorry I killed you, I didn't even know that I could that by looking at you. But I've apologized before-and I suffered afterwards anyway. And you're here and she isn't. Isn't that enough injustice in your favor?
---[x] Or are you going to this doll dying as well?

— - — - —

You dive past her, peeking in the sunken section. "Are you okay, little dollie??"

The lightly scorched doll looks up at you.

The lightly scorched doll hugs your face.

You look back with your hug mask equipped. "I didn't mean to hurt you!"

"Yeah, well, ya think I meant to hurt her?" She points to your face.

"...I think you did?" Seriously, she tried to kill you. She'd have some major tsun tsun going if that was a display of affection. Although, icy hugs do sound kind of nice... Shaking your head to clear distractions, you add, "Look, I know I may have accidentally flashed you and all, and that apparently kills you, but, seriously? Bottom line: you got better and she's gone forever..." Your face shield tightens its embrace. "Or are you planning on killing this doll, too?"

The fairy gives you an odd look. "She's on your face, you doofus." She's thankfully calmed down.

— - — - —

[ ] What?!
[ ] WHAT?!
[ ] Ohh. ...Hi, Hourai!
[ ] Wait, this doesn't look a thing like Hourai!

[x] What?!
-[x] WHAT?!
--[x] Ohh. ...Hi, Hourai!
---[x] Wait, this doesn't look a thing like Hourai!
----[x] I don't care! It's Hourai!
-----[x] That means one thing!
------[x] It's clobberin' hugglin' time!

[x] What?!
-[x] WHAT?!
--[x] Ohh. ...Hi, Hourai!
---[x] If she doesn't look like a Hourai, what does she look like?
----[x] Whatever the adorable doll wants to be called is fine with you though.

Shirou.jpg

Anyway, I really missed Doll moe. And who wouldn't?

>>195749

Yeeeeah... was kinda meaning for this to happen a lot sooner than this.

>>195765

Was why thread 5 was "montage edition." For a training montage.

So break it, please.

[x] What?!
-[x] WHAT?!
--[x] Ohh. ...Hi, Hourai!
---[x] If she doesn't look like a Hourai, what does she look like?
----[x] Whatever the adorable doll wants to be called is fine with you though.
-----[x] Stop. Hugglin' time!

Don't feel like waiting forever for a third vote, so we're doing bo- Wait, got another vote while typing this.

Hooray!.

>>195780
>Merging votes
I thought that was what I did though?

>>195783
Ohh, you did. I'm just balancing them and weighing them.

I pretty much added up each vote option, and each similar vote option and color coded them.

[3] What?!
-[3] WHAT?!
--[3] Ohh. ...Hi, Hourai!
---[x] Wait, this doesn't look a thing like Hourai!
----[2] If she doesn't look like a Hourai, what does she look like?
-----[x] ...I don't care! It's Hourai!
------[2] Whatever the adorable doll wants to be called is fine with you though.
-------[2/2] It's clobberin' hugglin' time!
--------[2/2] Stop. Hugglin' time!

— - — - —

+5 DT

You stare at Cirno. She stares back in return, continuing to look at you oddly.

"What?" Your eyes widen at the reveal. As Cirno open her mouth, you repeat, "What?!"

The fairy sighs, rolling her eyes as you go cross eyed.

You spy dolly hair and dolly head between your eyes. Said head seems to be poking your nose in what you can only guess are kisses. Seems she missed you as much as you missed her.

-1 HP

After what totally wasn't a series of headbutts to the nose, you grin at the snuggly doll. "Ohh." It's freaking Hourai! Howisshenotdead— No, focus. Mom's not here to make sure you calm down and not suffocate even if you should have no trouble breathing while thinking! "...Hi, Hourai!"

Said doll remains silent. Ahh, just like old times! You would reminisce, but you find yourself wondering something. Why doesn't she look like Hourai? Hourai didn't wear clothes! She was buck naked and proud of it! ...Probably. You didn't really understand a word she said, what with her not saying a single word. Still, she looks cute in her little outfit!

Shanghai Lv1 -1D/5MD/5A/20MA

As fragile as ever.

Not related in any way to the city. Probably.

...Ehh, whatever. Hourai it is. ...Not that you'd be against whatever she prefers, but if it acts like a Hourai, hugs like a Hourai and... ...Wait, she's not a freak! She's fixed or something!

"Hourai, you're okay!" You can't contain your joy any longer, and begin to return the hug. You hug and hug, followed by some hugging.

And then you stop.

And then you hug—

Pop

And then she falls to pieces.

— - — - —

[ ] Cry. Everything you hug breaks.
[ ] Okay, you got this! How hard can putting a doll back together be?! You even have practice!
[ ] Intentionally make another centidoll.
[ ] Ask Sam to do it. You lost the right to repair dolls when you made a centidoll last time...
[ ] Ask Cirno to do it. Redemption!
[ ] Ask ____ to do it. That will obviously go well!
[ ] Ask that particularly smiley patch of air to do it. Or don't.
[ ] Pick up the pieces and save them for later.
[ ] Write-in.

[x] Cry. Everything you hug breaks

We will never learn.

[x] Ask Cirno to do it. Redemption!

Surely this may not be the best plan, but darn it, we're best at throwing power at problems. And do I have to say what is the best type of power?

[X] Cry. Everything you hug breaks.

[x] Ask Cirno to do it. Redemption!
Pls ice lady save doll friend. We too clumsy to fix things right.

[x] Ask Cirno to do it. Redemption!
[x] Cry. Everything you hug breaks

— - — - —

"Pleasehelpmeiceladypleasepleasepleaseple—"

"No."

And then you cried.

-5DT

— - — - —

[ ] Try to convince her to fix it
[ ] Cry more. Everything you hug breaks.
[ ] Okay, you got this! How hard can putting a doll back together be?! You even have practice!
[ ] Intentionally make another centidoll.
[ ] Ask Sam to do it. You lost the right to repair dolls when you made a centidoll last time...
[ ] Ask ____ to do it. That will obviously go well!
[ ] Ask that particularly smiley patch of air to do it. Or don't.
[ ] Pick up the pieces and save them for later.
[ ] Write-in.

[x] Try to convince her to fix it
-[x] If she doesn't agree, stay determined! Someone else will!
--[x] Wonder aloud if that smiling patch of air would be confident in its doll building abilities, if it were actually a person.
--[x] What is Sam's opinion on his own doll building skills?
If everything fails:
[x] Keep the doll parts. Someone else around here must have the skill and the will to fix best doll NA.

Alice save us!
In b4 she kills us.

>>195817
[X] Team effort everyone!

With our powers combined!

[x] Try to convince her to fix it
-[x] If she doesn't agree, stay determined! Someone else will!
[x] Pick up the pieces and save them for later.
-[x] Ask Cirno if there any dollmakers or puppeters in the area, specially of Romanian descent.

>Renko cries and noone gives a fuck

I miss Satori already.

[x] Try to convince her to fix it
-[x] If she doesn't agree, stay determined! Someone else will!
[x] Pick up the pieces and save them for later.
-[x] Ask Cirno if there any dollmakers or puppeters in the area, specially of Romanian descent.
--[x] Or Wallachian.
---[x] You know, like Count Dracula. Reasonable chap.

Part 1:
[x] Try to convince her to fix it
-[x] If she doesn't agree, stay determined! Someone else will!

Part 2:
[x] Pick up the pieces and save them for later.
-[x] Ask Cirno if there any dollmakers or puppeters in the area, specially of Romanian descent.
--[x] Or Wallachian.
---[x] You know, like Count Dracula. Reasonable chap. Including, as the Romanian bit is oddly specific.

— - — - —

"Why...?" You give her your biggest, wettest eyes.

She furrows her brows, frowning. "Why? Why?! Think about that. Why would I do that? Why would I help you? I fixed my mistake of killing her myself by finding another. Now it's your turn." You flinch at her words. "But I don't expect a human to understand anything like that. Not like you care enough to try. No, you'll just give up sooner or later, and leave." She eyes your arm. "I dunno where or how you got that arm, but it's enough. You can leave. You can cross the barrier alone, just like your bitch of an ancestor."

Frowning, she finishes, "But I'm not going to let you leave so easily..."

Sam looks like she wants to pet a fairy.

Cirno appears to be sinking into the steaming snow.

-5DT

You bite your lip, taking a deep breath. You're a big girl. You won't cry over something like that... Her words... don't hurt at all!

+3DT

Yeah. At all...

— - — - —

Continue update as-is?
[ ] Yes
[ ] No. Write-in

I figured you'd all want to have the chance to choose how to proceed.

[x] I'm not going to be anything like Grandma, ever. If you insist on judging me by my race, then follow me and see for yourself. Feel free to give me a burn notice if I give up, hot stuff.
[x] Try to fix her yourself! You aren't whom you used to be! You can count appendages now and you have a kickass friend for Hand! (No, Hourai is not food)
-[x]... and if you fail, carry her with you until you find another body or a doll maker.
--[x] Pet sam
--[x] Pet fairy
--[x] Pet Koishi (insert zango effect here)

Be the strongest Renko you can be, everyday! Failure is but a stepping stone in the road to success; and either by our hands or someone else's, this doll will be reformed!

Cirno: chill out. Weren't you given the cold shoulder because people thought you had a permanent brain freeze just for being a Fairy? Turnabout is not cool!
She probably doesn't know we did try to fix her already but still...

Also, is she STILL affected by comparisons with Sumireko? Didn't she just went an entire arc getting over it and realizing she is her own person? Hell, we even lost the only memento we had, the stylish hat. Was all of that for naught?

>>195854
It should say 'Pet Doll' not 'Pet Fairy'
It is too soon to pet Cirno: we might end up with a freezer burn.

>>195854

A sore topic is still a sore topic. We cried because it was voted for. We were hurt by her words the second time, as she was practically yelling at us about how much she hates us.

>>195859
>She will never get over it, Deal w/ it Fuckboy.

>>195860

That's the spirit!

>>195854
[x] This seems fine.

We do need to keep going. We're not going to get any help from the fairy. She really needs a chill pill

>>195866
Yeah, let's move on.

[x] That write in with "Are you okay, down there, Cirno?" in case she ends up going way too low in the snow.

[x] I'm not going to be anything like Grandma, ever. If you insist on judging me by my race, then follow me and see for yourself. Feel free to give me a burn notice if I give up, hot stuff.
[x] Try to fix her yourself! You aren't whom you used to be! You can count appendages now and you have a kickass friend for Hand! (No, Hourai is not food)
-[x]... and if you fail, carry her with you until you find another body or a doll maker.
--[x] Pet Sam
--[x] Pet Doll
--[x] Pet Koishi (insert zalgo effect here)

— - — - —

"Look. I know you... hate me. Hate humans. Hate Grandma. ...Probably hate mom, too, whatever she was like. I'm not gonna be like Grandma." You get a snort of obvious disbelief for your trouble. "Ever. And if you think I'm gonna do something like that, when I do it, if I do it..." You sigh, Sam drooping along with you. "Well... Feel free to hand me a burn notice, hot stuff."

The fairy rolls her eyes, saying, "Whatever you say."

"And I invite you to come with me. Keep an eye on me and make sure I'm adequately frozen in my tracks if you have to."

Cirno snorts, grinning a bit. "Don't worry about that. I'll be watching even beyond my final breath. Because the good guy always wins." And then she melts. "If you want to see the sins of your foremothers, take the next left..."

Well, that's not creepy at all. "You okay down there, Cirno?" You receive no reply.

You look to the pile of dolly bits, the head of which looking back to you, while your buddy also looks back at it. You stroke Sam, saying, "Need your help, so no eating any doll parts, okay?"

The tendril burbles happily, leaning into the stroking like a cat, and, after a few strokes, nods its tip floppily. With that, you begin to put the doll back together. Anatomy remains not your best subject, but you're Determined to get it not horrendously wrong.

Let's see... Knee bone's connected to the, uhh... you think that's a calf. The calf, of course, connects to the probably-ankle. Of course, it could be a wrist, but you like to think it's being faithful to the cause of ankledom. From there, the foot is simple enough. You thank your lucky stars you don't have to worry over toes and fingers, though. She may be upset with feet-hands, after all. Next comes the knee-like object connecting to the certainly-thigh. At least the hip joint is huge. ...Wait, then again, so is the waist... Who makes a doll with interchangeable joints?? That's a terrible idea!

After considerable effort, you are left with a new friend. ...A new misshapen friend, but at least she isn't growing exponentially in length! Seriously, how does that happen...? "Sorry, Hourai... I messed up again..." You pat her on the head. She, of course, looks up into the patting. It's entirely likely that she didn't even realize that pats were happening, as she's a doll. Her left lower eyelid lifts, and her head tilts.

As͢͝ ̶̡y͢͟o̶̢u̵͡ c҉̴ǫ̴̧n҉҉s̵i̡̡͞de̛r͘ ̶̀w̸͘҉h̶̀a̡͝t̴͘ ̴to̢ ̨͞͝d̡́o ͟w̡͟͞i͝t҉̶h̛͘ ̨̀̕th̨̡e͏̵ ̵̵s̵͘ti̡͡l̸l ̵̸n̛͟u͞d͞e̴̡ d̨o͢l҉̨͢ĺ̶, ́͟y͟o͢͏u͝҉ p͡á͜t̷ ̨͢͝t̨h̕a̧͝t̵͞͞ ͟͡s̕m̧i̴̢l͏͢èy a̛͠i̡̢͝r̵͠.̵͏͏ ̴̨͢I͢t҉ ̛ĺ̡͞ean̢̨͢s͝ ́͝͞i̸͝n͟͏҉t͡o̵͞ ̷t̨̧hé̕ af̛̕fe͢c̵̨͘t͏͟i̧̕o̢n̴ ̷͠ųn͏͟͢c̸͠o͘͝n̸̷͡sc̶i͏͝o͢u̸̧ś͡l̀ỳ̢,̶͜ ̶͜ǹe̛̛͠a͜r̴̨l̴ỳ͘͡ ͘͜k̨n̡̢o҉͢c̶k̛͠i̷n̵͢g̛͡ ̸͞ý͢o͘͘ų̷ o̷͜͜v̵̡͡è́͠r̵͡͡!

— - — - —

[ ] Dress doll.
[ ] Hide the dress. She is cuter with joints shamelessly on display.
[ ] Undress as well so that this is less awkward.
[ ] Write-in.

[x] Dress Shanghai
-[x] Go left: if you want Cirno to understand you, you have to understand her.

Well, it was closer this time. Don't worry! We'll find someone to help you!

Also, I guess revisiting Grandma's sins is part of our burden. And fixing some of her smaller mistakes while trying to fix her greatest doesn't sound that bad at all.

>Undress as well so that this is less awkward.

Ha! You still got it.

[x] Undress as well so this is less awkward.
-[x] Go left: if you want Cirno to understand you, you have to understand her.

Third choice was tempting.

>>195885

I like to think so.

[x] Undress as well so this is less awkward.
[x] Dress Shanghai
[x] Go left: if you want Cirno to understand you, you have to understand her.

— - — - —

There's only one thing to do. You can't have an awkward situation. Nope! And so, being sure to leave your protective scarf on, you proceed to kick off your shoes, getting a head tilt from the doll. You set her down a moment. "Give me a sec, I'm making this less awkward." You undo your tie and take off your capelet, putting them in a pocket. You unbutton your blouse and untuck it from your skirt, slipping it off. Now Hourai looks either gleeful or alarmed.

You think you'll go with gleeful, feeling like this was the right choice after all.

Putting the shirt in your pocket, you take off your pockets, setting them aside as you unequip your skirt and what remains.

Hourai is now covering her eyes as you reequip your pockets, hanging them loosely from what little hip you have. Thankfully they have a belt, or they would have trouble staying on.

You then stuff the rest of your clothes inside a now particularly bulbous pocket.

Hmm... This still seems pretty awkward.

You smile as Sam plucks the tiny dress from the ground. "Arms up, alright?" It feels a little odd to be playing dress-up with a person, small or otherwise. The doll peeks from between her fingers, but does comply after those eyes bore into you with their dead, thousand yard stare for a moment. It's amazing how easy dressing dolls is when they actually help you do it.

...Not that you really dress dolls that don't help.

...Or dress dolls period, honestly.

The doll smiles up at you — mainly because she can't not — and attempts to request being picked up. Successfully, you'd say, as you comply.

And then she suctions back to your face with her little misshapen arms and legs, totally not in a plea to avert her gaze. "Aww, shucks. You're gonna make me blush if you keep hugging me..."

With Cirno's directions in mind, you float along through the dark woods, your mask of hug brightening your mood if nothing else. Eventually you spy a far less wooded place off the trail, though it's no path.

You float down the ominous not-trail, eventually coming to a snowy clearing.

And a half-buried tombstone.

— - — - —

[ ] Clear the snow.
[ ] Don't clear the snow.
-[ ] Fly up.
-[ ] Head back and continue on.
[ ] Write-in

[x] Clear the snow
Pls no Letty.

[x] Write name in snow
[x] Clear the snow.

Curiosity, etc. And isn't she bothered by the snow?

[X] Clear the snow.

— - — - —

You begin digging through the snow on your hands and knees. Sure, it's cold, but it's like it doesn't penetrate deeper than the first layer of skin. You're quite thankful for this scarf, and smile a bit as you think of it. It reminds you of Mom, this warmth. You miss her, but you have to press on. You're Determined to find safety. Determined to see tomorrow, too. You're not safe, and you know it. But at least you can feel not-safe with company.

After a bit of work, you're left with wet hands. Not even cold hands, just... wet.

You also have cleared the front of the headstone.

See related picture.

You can't help but sigh at the sight. That... explains a lot, honestly. But, as much as it explains, it asks so much more.

— - — - —

[ ] Write-in

[ ] Unearth the grave and see whats inside.

Not: [x]>>195928

[x] Kneel, pray
-[x] Tell her who you are how you intend to make things right.
[HOLD?] Dress up, walk away, and, if you're not interrumpted, ask your signifcant other for details and motives.

Not expecting much on the latter. Also, totally expecting to be interrumpted.

>>195928

A Whiterock. What else would be there?

I better not somehow need this picture against all odds.

>>195933
[x] Use your mystical powers to revive the queen by sacrificing your possesed half and your other arm.

[x] Kneel, pray
-[x] Tell her who you are how you intend to make things right.
[HOLD?] Dress up, walk away, and, if you're not interrupted, ask your significance other for details and motives.

This looks good.

[x] Kneel, pray
-[x] Tell her who you are how you intend to make things right.
[HOLD?] Dress up, walk away, and, if you're not interrupted, ask your significance other for details and motives. Interrupted for now.

— - — - —

You squat down, eventually settling on a kneel as you lace your fingers together. Your best hand has significantly more fingers than needed, so many dejectedly sink into the gooey depths. You're not quit sure how to go about praying to a queen. Seems like a weird thing to do, but you think you remember something about kings and gods and whatnot. Still, you're not what you'd call religious, honestly.

...Maybe addressing it like a letter will do. "Dear, Queen, uhh... Whiterock." You really wish you knew more of her name. Who just puts a family name on a tombstone? There's not even fancy schmancy Roman numerals! "It's Renko. ...Yeah, I know you don't know me." You feel a bit crazy to be praying to dead people and pretending to respond to them, but, well... what can you do? "But, uhh... Well, I... don't know how I'll do it, or, honestly, exactly what even happened, but I want to make things right. ...Whatever those things are. To be honest, by this point, I'm pretty sure Grandma did some pretty bad stuff. ...Ignoring, y'know, apparently being a maniac."

Sam begins to lick your palm, earning a bit of a giggle. "Stop that, Sam! That tickles." Sighing a bit after the laughter dies down, you continue, "I'm honestly not sure how to go about it. A sign would be pretty nice, though." ...Well, if this is to be like a letter... "Love, Renko." After a moment, you add, "PS: If Cirno's your kid, you should probably give her a timeout or something."

Oww!

-1 HP

You look to the literal sign that fell on your head. Rubbing the lump, you pick it up and look it over. "PPS: Please don't drop signs on my head."

A sign.

Maybe you should have asked for a more specific sign.

Behind you, you hear the crunch of snow at an odd pace as someone nears. There's a shadow looming over you in an odd, top heavy shape.

An oddly wet, feminine voice says, "Well, isn't that a sight for sore eye? Hey, it's rude to ignore people, ya know. Turn around."

A snowflake falls past your face. It seems to be starting to snow.

— - — - —

[ ] Fight
[ ] Act
[ ] Write-in

[x]Act
-[x]Turn around
--[x] Greet
-[x] Quick check

Snowball fight. Incoming.

I didn't mean pray to her but... Whatever works.

>PPS: stop throwing signs at my head.

That's what happens when you're not specific!

>Says it's rude to ignore people.
>Rudely forgets to give her name

[x] Turn around and hand the sign over.
-[x] Put on a smarmy voice.
--[x] Say "Here's your sign!"

Pic relevant

[x]Act
-[x]Turn around
--[x] Greet
-[x] Quick check

[x]Act
-[x]Turn around
--[x] Greet
-[x] Quick check

— - — - —

You spin around to face the voice.

But nobody was there.

"Kid, didn't your mother ever tell you it's rude to moon people?" Once more, from behind.

You spin again.

"Talk about rude." As before, behind you.

You spin again. Huh.

Kogasa 1D/1MD/1A/1MA

Surprisingly weak.

"It's rude to look at a girl's stats."

You jump. Did you just hear her with your eyes...? "Err... hi?"

"Put 'er there, kid." You stare down at what seems oddly shiny to be a hand.

— - — - —

[ ] Shake
[ ] Tremble
[ ] Quiver
[ ] Jiggle

[x]Shake
[x]Jiggle
[x]Dress

"I stripped to avoid making things awkward"

[x]Shake
[x]Jiggle
[x]Dress

"I stripped to avoid making things awkward"

[x]Shake
[x]Jiggle
[x]Dress

"I stripped to avoid making things awkward. Don't act like you've got a stick up your rear."

"Wait... You are a stick. And have no rear. Hrm."

[x]Shake
[x]Jiggle
[x]Dress

— - — - —

You take the hopefully-hand in both hands, giving it a good shake. The umbrella's one eye contorts a bit up until you let go. What seems too floppy to be an arm — ignoring Sam — begins to lick the snow a bit. "Snappy dresser you may be, but that was in bad taste, kiddo."

You snicker a bit. "Sorry. Sam's like that."

"Y'know, not to judge, but namin' your appendages? Kinda a little odd."

"Sam is the best appendage."

"Fair enough." That one, hollow-looking eye looks you up and down with its dim point of light. "Y'know, I'd almost think you were a human. But I guess I'm wrong. Humans wear clothes, after all. Y'know, my sister Futo's been a bit down lately. Maybe you could pretend to be a human to cheer her up. But, uhh... pretend to be, y'know... a nice human."

You frown. Not because you're sad, or upset. Someone else is sad or upset, and you know what that means. "Alright." You begin the painstaking task of reequipping your clothes.

"Huh. Had clothes on you already? Not suspicious at all." That ever present grin spreads a bit wider. "So, ready to get going? Just grab my shaft and I'll show you a shortcut."

Ohhgodno.

The snow is getting worse by the minute.

— - — - —

[ ] Calm down and...
-[ ] Grab her shaft.
-[ ] Write-in.
[ ] YOUNEEDANADULT


I'm sick, so excuse me if I miss updates I speak of.

[x] "Fluffy mom told me to stay away from stranger's shafts"
[x] Is there anywhere else you can grab? Can't you follow behind her?

I'm depressed. I hope someone makes a better vote.

[x] Grab her shaft.
-[x] Flirtily
-[x] Inquire about sister. Is she fond of plates?

[x] "...that's surprising. I thought dinner came before this kind of requests?"
[x] Calm down and...
-[x] Grab her shaft.

[X] Calm down and...
-[X] Grab her shaft.

[flavor] "...that's surprising. I thought dinner came before this kind of requests?"
[2] Calm down and...
-[3] Grab her shaft.

— - — - —

You take a deep breath. And then another. And then another still, though slower this time. You soon find that you aren't hyperventilating under the umbrella's watchful gaze. "I, uhh... I wasn't expecting that..." Sam rubs the back of your neck. "I thought dinner comes before that... sort of, uhh... thing is all..." Your voice nearly dies out halfway through that line.

The umbrella stares a moment, the dead silence being near-on deafening.

And then she snorts. "Not bad." She proceeds to give your head a pat with something long, sticky and pink.

Youreallyhopethat'snotwhatyouthinkiti— Wait. It seems familiar somehow...

Ohh god, you were shaking hands with i— "Wagh!" It proceeds to pull you in, much like your own grappling hook of an arm. You're more than a little shocked when the lights go out, though. Like, out-out. Out to the point that your eyes don't see anything at all — not even the waxed paper and wooden rods you find wrapped around yourself. No, it's like a void of nothing but blackness that even your night vision can't penetrate.

And then you fall on your butt, still clutching the umbrella tightly. You're not sure when you started gripping it, but the shaft is smooth, hand-worn wood. Warm, too.

You also realize that the two of you are no longer where you were swallowed up by, well... her. In fact, it's a bit more, well...

It seems to be the roof of a particularly red clocktower. There is no snow here, though it's darker and still cold. Oddly foggy, too. You think you spy what looks like a frozen lake not far off. You hear distant sobs from below. "Whoops. Didn't mean for things to get so dark. My bad."

You get swallowed up again, only to end up at a shrine in ruin. You spy a snake statue, or what might have once been one. Nearby, a lake. The air's pretty thin here. "God, I must be losing my touch. Wrong again."

Next, a snowy town, under the shadow of a castle of ice. The town is near on buried. "Huh. Let's not chill here."

And now you're on the shore of a river, where you spy... ...Is... is that the grim reaper?? This time quietly, the umbrella says, "Uhh... How's about we go some place more lively."

You get dumped out at the feet of someone wearing clothes that would be terrible to deal with snow, if not for the many layers she wears, each a different color.

She also appears to be human, odd as that sounds.

The snow is getting heavier by the minute.

— - — - —

[ ] Write-in

[X] Channel your inner human

BOY I SURE DO LOVE PETTY TRIBAL CONFLICT AND ENGAGING IN PROCREATION WITHOUT THE INTENT OF BEARING CHILDREN

[x] Well met, fair lady! My name is Renko and I'm on a quest to right wrongs.
-[x] These are my companions:
--[x] Shanghai: a huggable doll in dire need of a dollmaker
--[x] Sam: Mine arm. Everything I can do it can do better.
--[x] Koishi: my whimsical aunt with a heart of gold and glass. Without love (not L.O.V.E.) she can't be seen.
-[x] May I have the honor of knowing thy name?

We chivalry now. Also: Koi is best aunt.

[x] Well met, fair lady! My name is Renko and I'm on a quest to right wrongs.
-[x] These are my companions:
--[x] Shanghai: a huggable doll in dire need of a dollmaker
--[x] Sam: Mine arm. Everything I can do it can do better.
--[x] Koishi: my whimsical aunt with a heart of gold and glass. Without love (not L.O.V.E.) she can't be seen.
-[x] May I have the honor of knowing thy name?

This one sounds like comedy gold, plus a vote for aunt Koi is enough for me.

[x] Well met, fair lady! My name is Renko and I'm on a quest to right wrongs.
-[x] These are my companions:
--[x] Shanghai: a huggable doll in dire need of a dollmaker
--[x] Sam: Mine arm. Everything I can do it can do better.
--[x] Koishi: my whimsical aunt with a heart of gold and glass. Without love (not L.O.V.E.) she can't be seen.
-[x] May I have the honor of knowing thy name?

This seems like fun.

[flavor] Channel your inner human
[x] Well met, fair lady! My name is Renko and I'm on a quest to right wrongs.
-[x] These are my companions:
--[x] Shanghai: a huggable doll in dire need of a dollmaker
--[x] Sam: Mine arm. Everything I can do it can do better.
--[x] Koishi: my whimsical aunt with a heart of gold and glass. Without love (not L.O.V.E.) she can't be seen.
-[x] May I have the honor of knowing thy name?

— - — - —

You stare at her. She stares at you. Sam stares at her. She stares at Sam. "SISTER! Is that a HUMAN I spy?!"

"Nah, sis. That's a shoggoth."

The young woman deflates. "Ohh."

Looking amused, the umbrella adds, "But what's that attached to the shoggoth?"

And then she is instantly reinflated. "Kogasa! It's a HUMAN! Ohh, such a happy day! Such a day has come at LONG LAST!" And then her massive grin wilts a bit, before she narrows her eyes at you. "Are you a GOOD human or a BAD human?" Ohh, god. You were told to pretend to be a human, right? You're not sure exactly how to pretend to be one. "I ask this because I apparently have a NASTY HABIT to LOSE MY HEAD around LESS THAN GOOD humans while trying to REDEEM THEM."

Kogasa helpfully adds, "Yeah, kinda upsetting."

You try to tip your hat, only to find that it is, indeed, still in card form. What now? What would a human do??

Clearing your throat, you speak in your most pompous voice, answering, "Fair maiden, I hath come from the world above! I would like to introduce you to my compatriots: Hourai, Sam a̡nd p͟o̢s͜s҉ibĺy — bu̧t ma͠yb̡e ̕not — Kois͢hi̕."

"OHH MY GOD!" The stylishly grayed one proceeds to spaz a bit with giddy joy, before abruptly ceasing in doing so. "Wait. That seemed SUSPICIOUSLY unhuman." Crap, she's on to you! "I happen to be the foremost EXPERT, I'll have you know."

"Sis, I don't think a couple dates count for much expertise."

The oddly-hatted one rubs her chin. "Hmm. True."

"As I was saying, me and my compatriots have come from the world, well... below, actually. Now that I think about it." And, before that, above. Probably.

"OHHMYGODIT'SATINYONI" What, what?

"Sis, not that far down."

"Ohh."

"Hourai, mayhap it is time you introduce thyself?" The doll spins her head backwards, forcing you to squeeze an eye shut, lest you get whapped by fake hair. She is — as she always has been — silent. However, she does nod to the maybe-human. "Thank you, Hourai." You squeeze your other eye shut as she spins it back into place.

"I don't think I GOT that, maybe-human! Am I DEAF or is she MUTE?"

"Nah, sis. We met her like five minutes ago." Her words cause her sister's eye and mouth to twitch.

"Hourai does not seem to speak. Mayhap she needs to learn." Clearing your throat, you move on. "Next in line is my handy friend, Sam. She keeps me not dead and is better at most things than me, sad as it is." Sam pats your back, while also waving at your odd company.

"Hello, ODD APPENDAGE! Wait, how on EARTH does it ATTACH to-" Futo's eye twitches, and her nose begins to bleed. Her blood looks very human. Smells very human, too? You're... just going to assume that your arm smells good.

You wince at the sight, as you know how that feels. "Might I mayhap suggest not thinking too hard on the matter?"

Rubbing her temples, Futo replies, "Yes, that seems WISE. But WHY does my head hurt just THINKING about—" Her nose bleeds a bit more. "RIGHT, moving on!"

"T̀h͏er̛e's ́a̷l҉so̡ my͜ lòvely͞ àunt ̴whò's͝ a̷ ͜bi͠t́ ̛s̴h̨ỳ. S͠h͏e j̷u͜st ̨n̴ee͞ds̸ ̡a bìt of ̸lo̷v͡e ̕to͠ show͏ hèrs̴elf."

"What was that?"

"Exactly!"

Futo gives you an odd look. "While I QUESTION what you MEAN, I'm GLAD that I am CORRECT on the matter."

"And who are you, fair maiden?"

Futo stares at you flatly a moment, before glee fills her expression. "You have NO IDEA who I AM! Ohh, that proves your claim COMPLETELY!" She looks off to the side, growing contemplative. "Even if that shouldn't be a GOOD thing..." However, her glee returns a moment later. "Still, who in their RIGHT MIND could POSSIBLY not know who I am? No, obviously this is a sign! A SIGN from the GODS THEMSELVES! This is PROOF! Proof that you are, indeed, HUMAN!"

Woo! You're human! You're a better actor than you thought!

— - — - —

[ ] Wait, you actually are human. Why are you acting?
[ ] Just as planned! She's none the wiser!
[ ] Write-in.

[X] Wait, you actually are human. Why are you acting?

[ ] Wait, you actually are human. Why are you acting?

[x] Wait, you actually are human. Why are you acting?

We are so good at acting that we changed reality!

[x] Wait, you actually are human. Why are you acting?

We need to go deeper.

[x] Wait, you actually are human. Why are you acting?

— - — - —

You blink a bit, realizing you got caught up in the mood of disbelief, only to remember that you are, in fact, human. Well, okay, you're an arm short of human, but what are the odds that'll bite you in the rear? "So, uhh—"

"HUMAN! We must do BATTLE!" Ohh god n— "Through PUZZLES!" That is only comparatively better!

...Although, it does remind you of Mom.

— - — - —

[ ] Fight
[ ] Act
[ ] Flee

[x] Act
-[x] Quick check
-[x] "I'll start: If you have a pan that can cook each side of a steak in 5 minutes, and you have 3 steaks, what is the shortest time in which you can cook all 3 steaks?"

I'm hungry now.

>>196062

Futo 20D/0MD/10A/150MA

Kogasa's dork of a sister.

Definitely not human. Definitely.

[x] Act
-[x] "I'll start: If you have a pan that can cook each side of a steak in 5 minutes, and you have 3 steaks, what is the shortest time in which you can cook all 3 steaks?"

Works for me

[x] Act
-[x] "I'll start: If you have a pan that can cook each side of a steak in 5 minutes, and you have 3 steaks, what is the shortest time in which you can cook all 3 steaks?"

>>196062
the riddle doesn't fucking work because I forgot to say that the pan holds 2 steaks at once maximum fuck.

>>196070

She would answer it strangely regardless.

>>196071
Could you still add it, though? For the sake of consistency and my ADD

>>196072

Sure thing~ Just to be sure I remember...

[x] Act
-[x] "I'll start: If you have a pan that can cook each side of a steak in 5 minutes, and you have 3 steaks, what is the shortest time in which you can cook all 3 steaks?"
-[x] Afterwards, prove it via experimentation.
--[x] SCIENCE!

[x] Act
-[x] "I'll start: If you have a pan that can cook each side of a steak in 5 minutes, and you have 3 steaks, and can only cook two at once, what is the shortest time in which you can cook all 3 steaks?

— - — - —

"Then I guess I'll start!"

Futo blinks a couple times. "This seems... backwards, but I LIKE your INITIATIVE!" She strokes her chin. "Are you sure that you're human?"

"As sure as you are that you're a monster!" Kogasa snickers at your words.

"Then come at me!"

"If you have a pan that can cook each side of a steak in five minutes, and can only fit two at a time, what's the fastest you can cook three?"

The not-human taps her lip. "Well, how many pans do I have?"

"Come again?"

"Well, if you only have one, this becomes DIFFICULT, as the pans will only last ONE USE before MELTING. If I had THREE, then I could fold the pan and HALVE the time."

-1DT

...There is so much wrong here that you're not sure where to start.

The blizzard is getting heavy.

— - — - —

[ ] Write-in

>>196078
I wasn't sure what to put as a writein, but this guy nailed it. Seconded.

>>196079
TOO SLOW!

[x] You have only one, unmeltable, unfoldable, frying pan.
[X] "Uh, the weather is kind of chilling my human bones, if you don't have much in your plate could we continue this within shelter?

>>196080
Too fast morelike, caught you before deletion.

That works too, I'll back it. Thinking for yourself is for losers.

[X] You have only one, unmeltable, unfoldable, frying pan.
[X] "Uh, the weather is kind of chilling my human bones, if you don't have much in your plate could we continue this within shelter?

This works.

[x] You have only one, unmeltable, unfoldable, frying pan.
[x] "Uh, the weather is kind of chilling my human bones, if you don't have much in your plate could we continue this within shelter?

[X] You have only one, unmeltable, unfoldable, frying pan.
[X] "Uh, the weather is kind of chilling my human bones, if you don't have much in your plate could we continue this within shelter?

— - — - —

"You can't melt or fold it."

"What kind of person has such a TERRIBLE frying pan." Futo looks oddly upset at the prospect of frying pans you can't melt.

Kogasa chimes in, "I'm pretty sure you can't tear it, either. Would probably involve plenty foldi—"

"I have NO intention of tearing it up, Kogasa!"

"Well, I guess not, with that attitude."

"KOGASA!" Kogasa grins as if Futo's cry is music to her ears. Assuming she, y'know... has any ears.

Sensing your chance to get a word in edgewise, you say, "So, do you, uhh..." The grayed on looks to you with undivided attention. "Do you have an answer?"

She stares blankly.

Her eyes light up. "Ohh! Right, yes, you were asking I, the GREAT FUTO, if I knew the answer to your puzzle." Not even taking a second to think on it, she answers, "I'm afraid I do not." You frown a bit, as she didn't even spend a considerable amount of time considering it.

"Told you that you should have listened more at puzzle school."

How horrifying!

"Kogasa, you know as well as I do that there's NO SUCH THING as PUZZLE school!"

You raise a Sam to get their attention. "Hey, uhh... you guys?" You get their attention once more. "You guys look pretty cold. You're buried to your, uhh..." You eye Kogasa's sh-shaft. "Mid-standing-parts."

Futo and Kogasa look down. Sure enough, as you said, they're buried to the knee and nondescript sshaft portion.

Kogasa says, "Guess a change of scene is in order."

Futo adds, "Yes, I suppose I AM getting a bit COLD."

To be Continued...

"WAGH!" Why does Kogasa have to keep yanking you around?? What is she, half frog?

When you realize you're in a new location, you look around. Are you in space? Wait, this seems oddly familiar.

"Whoops. Sorry, kid. Didn't mean to tucker you out."

Next, you find yourself in the sky. You think the pink clouds are looking at you funny. This makes you pretty uncomfortable, honestly.

"Sorry about that. Guess I put you on cloud 9." You snicker a bit at that one.

"KOGASA, that is ENOUGH!"

And then you end up far closer to the castle of ice from before than you're comfortable with. Looking back, you see the large, buried town to still be buried. Looking forward, you see giant fluffy slab of meat at the gate, who appears to be... panting?

Kogasa doesn't seem to be swallowing you up.

— - — - —

[ ] Pet the dog...?
[ ] Greet that dog...?
[ ] Respect the dog...?
[ ] Write-in

[x] Greet the dog...?
[x] Request permission to initiate maneuver Psi Epsilon Tau

Don't want to disturb the PAINTER dog but SUCH A TERRIBLE FLUFFYNESS CANNOT BE LEFT UNANSWERED

[x] Greet the dog...?
[x] Request permission to initiate maneuver Psi Epsilon Tau

This seems like an EXCELLENT idea yet I know NOT what it MEANS.

[x] Greet the dog...?
[x] Request permission to initiate maneuver Psi Epsilon Tau

>>196114
Dog is panting, not painting.

>>196115
It means pic related.

[x] Greet the dog...?
[x] Request permission to initiate maneuver Psi Epsilon Tau

— - — - —

"Uhh... hhhhi?"

The giant slab of dog and armor pants, its tongue lolling in and out with every steamy breath.

It looks happy, if dopey.

"...Tell me, can I execute maneuver Psi Epsilon Tau?" You look up at the great dog, deadly serious.

Futo gasps. "No! Not THAT!" She holds the sides of her face in abject horror. "ANYTHING but Psi Epsilon Tau!" After a moment, she asks, "Wait, what's Maneuver Psi Epsilon Tau?"

Kogasa helpfully answers, "I'll tell you when you're older, sis."

A mound of snow falls on the giant dog person's head. It doesn't seem terribly bothered, if it even noticed at all.

— - — - —

[ ] Pet
[ ] Don't pet.

[x] Pet

It is a terribly difficult choice, but one that should be made, I think.

[x] Pet

This is a world changing decision, I was sweating buckets while trying to choose.

[x] Pet
[x] Touch fluffy tail

... I, uh, may be going to hell for this, but... Renko gotta flirt.

>>196132

If you are, so am I!

[x] Don't pet.
-[x] Don't pet.
--[x] Seriously, don't pet.
---[x] Ignore the wagging tail.
----[x] Just... Ignore.
-----[x] ...
------[x] Pet.

[x] Pet

— - — - —

You float towards the dog, and attempt to pet the cute puppOHHGODWHY.

— - — - —

[ ] Write-in

[x] Quick check
[x] Time to make like a tree and get the fuck away from here.
-[x] First UP then AWAY: maybe it can't fly.

Renko turned into a Youkai monster confirmed. Also: every youkai in Gensokyo is a hypocrite.
I wonder how will we open the portal if we're not human anymore. Maybe we can kill ourselves... But no, our better half will probably just take over in that case. We will probably have to sacrifice Shaggy or some heartbreaking bs like that.

The alternative is that it sensed our "kill" or her, but that doesn't make sense in universe, or it associated Renko with her Grandma, despite looking nothing alike; both unlikely.

>>196164

Momiji 300D/100MD/15A/100MA

She hates being treated like a dog.

She loves being treated like a dog.

>>196165
Or perhaps, awoo is schizophrenic.
Theorycraft discarded INTO THE TRASH IT GOES.

>>196164
>>196166

I mean the obvious conclusion is that she has too much pride to be treated like a dog, despite enjoying it. We just have to find a way to overwhelm her reason with pleasure. Or maybe something a bit less suggestive. Regardless, this seems like something that can be resolved in 'comedy mode'.

[x] Back off
-[x] Apologize for being too forward
--[x] She just looked like such a good girl.
---[x] Yes, she is.

>>196168
This is just too good.

[x] Back off
-[x] Apologize for being too forward
--[x] She just looked like such a good girl.
---[x] Yes, she is.

[x] Back off
-[x] Apologize for being too forward
--[x] She just looked like such a good girl.
---[x] Yes, she is.

[x] Back off
-[x] Apologize for being too forward
--[x] She just looked like such a good girl.
---[x] Yes, she is.

— - — - —

Futo jumps away in fright along with you. And, with her distance from the dog, that makes her a bit of a chicken. It's only a dog big enough to fit your head in its mouth! No biggie, right? She even has two arms, ignoring that your replacement is a bit greater than the sum of its parts!

The dog has returned to panting playfully and wagging its tail.

You clear your throat. "So, uhh... sorry? I'm a bit new to the whole, uhh..." Sam rubs the back of your neck. "Y'know. That."

The dog continues to pant, staring at you. Almost wantingly.

Or maybe she wants to eat your face. You're not too good with dogs.

"You just looked like such a good girl is all." You give her your best smile, startling the dog. ...You'll assume that's a good thing. "Yes, you're a good girl." The dog has begun to grin. Maybe. Going in for the kill, you put on your most sickeningly sweet baby voice. "Yesh, it'sh yuh!"

Futo complains, "Ohh COME ON, it's not like the ROYAL GUARD will be felled by—"

All three of you bounce into the air as the titanic pup rolls onto her back.

Futo eventually says, "...I stand corrected, human. Baby talk is the GREATEST WEAKNESS of the ROYAL GUARD!"

Felling a giant slab of cute fills you with Determination!

— - — - —

[ ] Save?
-[ ] Yes
-[ ] No
&&&&&
[ ] Pet
[ ] Don't
[ ] Write-in

[x] No
[x] Pet

Impressive work people

[x] No
[x] Pet

Finally, maneuver Psi Epsilon Tau can proceed.

[x] No
[x] Pet

[x] No
[x] Pet

— - — - —

You float closer, not even having to lean down too much to pat the dog's head. "Good girl~"

Momiji's tongue is flopped upwards, covering her nose as she pants.

You use the opening to go for the kill!

The great tail wags as you rub her throat, steamy dog breath hitting you in the face full-blast. Her spear rests off to the side.

It would be so easy...

Futo uses the moment to comment, "I'm as SHOCKED as I am CURIOUS!" A look of glee on her face, she demands, "HUMAN! You must STROKE my THROAT!"

— - — - —

[ ] Stroke Futo
[ ] Don't stroke.

[x] Look at Futo like she is insane.
-[x] Then pet Futo.

[x] Stroke futo...?

>It would be so easy...

Okay, [spoiler]you[spoiler], you need a time out. I understand hating people for unclear reasons because people make mistakes, but what the fuck could have Momiji done? Are you a Humanity first zealot? Or an edgy teenager that wants to kill everything because they're happy and you aren't Or you just want to watch the world burn because you're as deep as a fucking puddle?

>>196203

Could always, y'know... make a vote on the topic some time.

[x] Look at Futo like she is insane.
-[x] Then pet Futo.

[x] Look at Futo like she is insane.
-[x] Then pet Futo.

— - — - —

"What is it, Human? You are STARING into my EYES as if there were something in my TEETH. I assure you, I DO NOT eat with my EYES, nor can you prove ANYTHING to the CONTRARY." Your odd look only gets odder still. "What? Is it not NATURAL for dinner to be SERVED on a PLATE?" And odder yet. The plate(?) huffs, looking upset. "Kogasaaa! Why is the human STARING AT ME?!" Boy does she ever whine cutely.

Of course, the umbrella answers, "I dunno. Maybe she's giving you eyes."

"WHAT?!" Futo looks shocked out of her skin, assuming that her skin even is skin and not, for instance, porcelain. She then proceeds to look at you, shocked out of her skin-like-but-possibly-not-actually-skin-skin. "HUMAN, I must DECLINE YOUR OFFER, for I already have a BOUNTY of eyes!"

Then you proceed to dole out a good petting.

Futo just stares at you oddly, as she requested nothing of the sort. She does seem to appreciate the effort put forward, however.

The snow is getting to the point that the wagging doggy is partially covered, now. The door gate she guards isn't faring any better.

— - — - —

[ ] Rub Futo's throat.
[ ] Pet harder — it's the only way to be sure.
[ ] Write-in.

[x] Pet harder — it's the only way to be sure.
-[x] HARDER.
--[X] HARDER, GODDAMMIT!
---[X] HARDER I TELL YOU HARDER!

[x] You mixed things up, it is "Pet dog and rub softly Futo's neck" not "Pet Futo and ignore Awoo"
-[x] Do so and get ir right this time.

This girl... Sometimes I worry about her. What kind of upbringing did her family... Oh wait.

[x] You mixed things up, it is "Pet dog and rub softly Futo's neck" not "Pet Futo and ignore Awoo"
-[x] Do so and get 'er done this time.
-[x] Rub neck flirtatiously

Pet da doggie~

[x] You mixed things up, it is "Pet dog and rub softly Futo's neck" not "Pet Futo and ignore Awoo"
-[x] Do so and get 'er done this time.
-[x] Rub neck flirtatiously

Dog petting games.

[x] You mixed things up, it is "Pet dog and rub softly Futo's neck" not "Pet Futo and ignore Awoo"
-[x] Do so and get 'er done this time.
-[x] Rub neck flirtatiously

— - — - —

You look to Momiji.

Momiji looks at her tongue.

You pet the doggy, leading to much wagging of tails. Including Sam's.

You look to Futo.

Futo looks to you strangely.

Sam looks to Futo's neck, smacking her lips. ...You decide to switch hands, thinking back on what happened with your arm and Rumia. Sure, Futo obviously isn't human. No way, no how. ...Buuuuut, if you want to be honest, the way your stomach is growling makes you worry juuuust a bit. Just a little. A little itty bitty bit. Maybe a smidge more, even. Maybe even a big smidge, in fact.

And so you awkwardly cross your arms, the hungry, gooey one rubbing dog head affectionately, while you're left to rub Futo throat. And rub you do! Her eyes silently begin to droop, and she goes oddly quiet for her, what with all the shouting she does.

You find your eyes to be lingering on that throat a bit longer than you normally would.

You grasp her neck, and are deliberate in your actions as you stroke from base to end, eeking out every ounce of pleasure from the girl as you can. She groans low as you quicken your pace, and, before long, you're met with an explosion.

Of coughing.

Momiji seems to be wagging her tail as she begins to get buried in the rapidly falling snow. You say seems, as you mostly just see snow being tossed about.

Also, Sam looks like she's screaming internally at the snow touching her.

Kogasa chimes in, "Y'know, as much as you're enjoyin' treating my sister like a dog, I think we oughta head in. Maybe it's time you, y'know... ask for entry?"

A puddle of pleased girl who happens to be snuggling you says, "HuuUUMAN, we MAY wish... t-to go... INSIDE..."

— - — - —

[ ] Write-in.

You know, I was half expecting some comment from the voice in the head about doing some violence to her throat. Huh.

>>196255
[x] This vote looks fine.

>>196259
There was no reaction to her throat, but the vote option conspicuously said "run it harder" or something in the lines of; so I added the 'softly' option, lest we end with a Shanghai that's not so easily replaced.

You can't be too careful.

>>196255

I'm... not quite sure how to interpret this vote.

>>196278
Ignore it. That's what I'd do.

Plus, it forces someone else to vote.

[x] "Oh my, does the boldness run in your family?"
-[x] Follow along.

Just this is fine

>>196278
[x] To Futo: Oh my, does boldness run on your family?" (Regarding her "come inside human" dialog line)
-[x] Follow along. (to where Futo and Kogasa are leading you)

>>196288

Thank you. Will write in the morning; I'm not feeling the best right now.

[x] To Futo: Oh my, does boldness run on your family?" (Regarding her "come inside human" dialog line) Sadly, that one goes over Renko's head.
-[x] Follow along. (to where Futo and Kogasa are leading you)

— - — - —

You look to the clingy girl of odd hair, smiling. "Well, if you're sure I can come inside"

Kogasa chuckles. "Might be a good idea to pull out while you're ahead, kid."

You give her an odd look. "But don't you guys want to go inside?"

Kogasa snickers. "Nah. That'd be pretty nasty. Anyways, hey, Miji, is it alright if I take the kid inside?"

Momiji whines.

"Don't be like that, Miji. Imagine what the Captain'd say if you left a monster to die in the cold. Not everyone's got thick fur like you guys."

Momiji's ears lower, her tail no longer wagging.

— - — - —

[ ] Pet doggy.
[ ] Head inside.

[x] Head inside

As much as I'd like to pet more, those are signs of a dog that's not in the mood.

[x] Head inside

[x] Offer Hand to pet. If accepted, Pet. If not...
-[x] Head inside

We've come a long way since a year ago. We've done infinitely better than I've ever hoped we would.

We climbed the tank barrel of a particularly thorny flower, shocking her into breaking out of her rehearsed lines.

We solved a puzzle easily enough, making a particularly fluffy mom a little less sad.

We solved a puzzle and earned a laugh. The door doesn't return our affection, but mom was proud.

We broke a doll, and fixed a doll into a monster, ignoring that the doll was already a monster.

We broke a fairy, and bottled a fairy, eventually accidentally leading to bringing her back to life sooner.

A deadly trio of dead musicians accidentally tried to suck our soul while sucking face. And it sucked. Sadly, we never really got to know the bluenette.

A fairy broke a doll, and didn't fix a doll. And it sucked. It sucked a lot.

Mom broke a fairy, and we didn't fix a fairy. And we angried. We angried a lot.

We unbleeded out by way of burger made with love. Maybe with a bit too much LOVE involved, but love nonetheless.

We took a bath and sudsed a particularly fluffy mom. She became one with the suds.

We then went to the Underdark. And then we lost an arm. And then we got a new, albeit hungry, arm.

We flirted a bird and flirted a mom. We flirted a flower who was actually an eyeball, and flirted a flirt. We flirted a lot, and I enjoyed this.

And then we spent a very long time dating all four. Technically we were dating Rika while setting mom up for a harem ending, but our antics cheered her up, as they always do. Mom could do to smile more.

And then we fought mom. And then we fought mom who was grandma. And then we fought mom who was us. It was easier than expected. She probably didn't want to hurt us.

And then we said our goodbyes.

End Act 1

We met our arch nemesis again. We were a bit miffed, till she returned the doll. Best doll is now our hat till she's satisfied.

And then we met Letty. And then we learned why Cirno hates us.

We were then surprised by the umbrella, who then spat us at our plate buddy. She's loud and weird.

We then headed to that spooky ice castle, finding a cute puppy. A cute puppy that is easily bigger than mom, and doesn't like being petted. Ohh wait, yes she does. Yes she does. She's a good girl. A very good dog, who needs all the affection.

But then the plate was jealous.

But then the doggy was jealous.

So we rubbed both where they liked it.

>>196325
>15/05
In my head cannon, ET is a birthday gift exclusively for me, with everyone else tagging along.

Anyway, congratulations! Here's to another good, flirty, year!

>>196329

Happy birthday, mysterious reader! May you have many more years of gifts!

Because the story will likely be that long, if everything goes as I've planned. Ignoring how few things have gone as I've planned thus far.

And that I love this fact.

[x] Head inside

— - — - —

"Say, uhh... Momiji?" The tiny mountain of snow explodes into a tiny mountain of now-upright dog. "Can we head in?" Her ears droop. "Wait, uhh... I don't mean that being around you is boring or anything."

"It's fine."

You blink, confused. "Wait, you can talk?"

"Of course I can." She looks at you oddly. Or, at least, you think she does. Just like everyone else, she doesn't have what you'd call a human face. She just sort of has a... dog head. And a huge. Not even a specifically huge part, just... yes. Very huge.

Futo sighs, looking like she was enjoying herself.

However, that sadness is short lived. "COME, human! We must head to New Snowden, where we will inevitably lose you, and then meet you again later in GLORIOUS COMBAT!"

Kogasa adds, "Or not."

Futo takes on a contemplative look. "Or not, yes. I suppose if we are RESPONSIBLE, that shall, indeed, NOT HAPPEN!" Quietly (for her), she adds, "However, Kogasa is as LAZY as she is WATER RESISTANT, meaning that this will likely be an ISSUE!"

The doggy looks at you with that same dopey blank look as ever. "Human? I've never smelled a human that smells like rotten fish." ...That's... kinda... ...You're just going to not think about this.

Futo quickly adds, "Where we shall BATHE THE HUMAN!" Sam swiftly sucks back up your sleeve at her words. You're also feeling just a bit hydrophobic, now that she mentions it.

Kogasa helpfully adds, "I dunno... Humans just tend to stink, don't they?"

Futo gives her an odd look. "Kogasa, you DON'T have a NOSE! How on EARTH would you KNOW?"

"Well, the nose knows." She rolls her eye. "Duh."

You look to Futo, thinking she's groaning. However, you quickly realize that the groaning isn't coming from Futo at all, but from a massive pair of icy doors. So big, in fact, that it honestly just seemed like it was the wall surrounding what you thought was a door. What the heck goes through the thing that needs that sort of scale...?

Momiji gets back to her post, the snow already starting to cover her greaves and pauldrons a bit. "Enter."

You nod. "Have a nice day." She reminds you of the odd furry hat guys in England, if they made goofy faces and panted. ...Actually, that'd be terrifying.

And with that, the three of you proceed. Futo, for her part, says, "Wow, Human! I had no ideas being STROKED felt quite so GOOD!" After looking thoughtful a moment, she adds, "And I am MILDLY SHOCKED that you haven't LOST A HAND!"

"Sis, she's missing an arm."

"You mean humans don't just look like that?"

"You've met humans before."

"Ohh. Right. ...I was merely TESTING you."

After a while of walking through the frozen hallsm all the while finding it odd that it's so warm in here, you eventually realize something. "Wait, why am I leading?" You're hopelessly lost.

Kogasa grins. Or, well... wider. "You seemed like you knew where you were going." She immediately grappling hooks you with her tongue.

"WAGH!" And, oddly enough, you find yourself landing in a bright location, as opposed to the inside of Kogasa's water repellent folds. Looking up, you tilt your head.

Are you in a town... inside a castle?

— - — - —

[ ] Make sure you weren't conveniently separated from your newer friends specifically so that you will meet back up with them later in "glorious combat," whatever that means.
[ ] Make sure your dolly friend is still being worn.
[ ] Ohh! Is that a fortune telling place? ...Wait, or is it a book store...?
[ ] Huh. A school? Monsters have it rough, too...
[ ] A magic shop? Neat!
[ ] A clothing store? Well, might as well get your yearly allotted girling out of the way.
[ ] Oooooooh! Luggage and bags!
[ ] You need a new hat. You feel naked without it... Thankfully you spy a hat store!
[ ] Talk to random monsters on the street! Maybe they have sidequests! That's how these things work, right?
[ ] You're feeling heroic! Invade homes and grab stuff that isn't nailed down!

In a year's time, we hit 228 updates! That is honestly amazing to me!

[x] Is Shanghai-Hourai-Tokyo-Orleans still with us?
[x] Clothing store! Time to go all "like, seriously" and "ohmygosh" Valley girl style.
-[x] Can they make a waterproof suit for our best hand?
-[x] Do they know a doll maker?
(ON HOLD) [x] Hat store next!

So what should we do if Shaggy goes all "Aggressive colonial expansionism" on us and starts to annex the rest of our body as if it were New Mexico?

I don't mind being a monster, but I like Renko as she is. Then again, it may exorcize our better half-or make her go even more insane.

[X] Make sure you weren't conveniently separated from your newer friends specifically so that you will meet back up with them later in "glorious combat," whatever that means.
[X] Make sure your dolly friend is still being worn.

[X] Make sure your dolly friend is still being worn.
[X] Hat store

Time to replace it with something less evil

>>196330
I appreciate that.

[X] Make sure your dolly friend is still being worn.
[X] Hat store

— - — - —

You cross your eyes. You see doll hair, and so pat said doll's tiny head with a finger. Yup. There's a doll still practically surgically attached to your face.

Deciding to head to the hat store, you pass by a Christmas tree. Which is odd, because it's spring. Are you in Australia...? As you head in, you notice that the place is very well stocked. There's hats ranging from bizarre to vaguely normal.

You're pleased that they have good taste.

The prices range wildly from 1g for what looks like a tiny patchwork potato sack, all the way to an opulent gold towering hat for 9999g, which is no doubt enchanted, because why else would it be worth more than its weight in gold? Seriously, these coins aren't the lightest thing ever. Plus, sad as it is, you only have 101g, so you doubt you'll ever afford that sexy golden tower. You would probably have to steal it, which would be bad.

Then again, there doesn't seem to be anyone here. Don't be a dick. ...You know, that was the last voice of reason you expected.

Huh. Is that a headband like Mom's? Probably wouldn't fit, but...

— - — - —

[ ] 1g - Unidentified Potato Sack
[ ] 1g - Hair Band
[ ] 5g - Headband
[ ] 9999g - Neck Snapper
[ ] List Touhous for a price range for a hat or hair accessory. Write-in.

[X] 1g - Unidentified Potato Sack

Equip hat. Strip to undies. Equip butcher knife.

Proceed with generally-pacifist run as though nothing has changed.

>>196360

The sad thing is that you aren't wrong.

>>196358
This is a difficult choice paired with uninspired voting, uh, choices. I may need to think this through.

For now, I'm stuck between a simple white ribbon, Maribel's puffy madness and a black witch's hat.

Wait, no, fuck it. I'll vote now.

[x] Maribel's puffy headgear of the seven heavens

>>196358
[x] 5g - Headband

[x] SAVE.
[x] TRY ON the sexy golden tower, then put it back if it didn't kill you.

>>196362

In truth, aside from the potato sack and super hat, originally it was mainly gonna be listing any hats you want to look at/try on/find out the price of.

I'm not giving around 100 voting options after all. That would be overkill.

>>196369
You know I'm just taking the piss, right? I didn't expect you to list all 120 touhoes.

Also, I'm sure there aren't, but is there a Satori eye accessory? I miss Goat mom.

Just a replica, mind you. I don't actually want a severed eye.
It is telling that I have to clarify this.

>>196370

Ohh, I'm well aware. Was just feeling chatty is all.

As for third eyes, you could always wrap yourself in Koishi, or have Sam make a gooey eyeball. They don't sell not-body parts or real body parts, sadly. Especially not satori junk eyes.

Or you could add a second fluff mom to your list.

>>196371
Damn, you have a point

[X] Koishi Hat!

Now you have matching hats with Goat Aunt!

[X] 9999g - Neck Snapper

Nobody can stop us if there's no body to stop us.

Adding to my vote:

NOT[x] >>196368
-[x] Ask Shanghai if she wants a hat.

She already has one but still...

>>196380

Which vote this added to?

>>196381
The dumb one.


Errr, the one about Maribel's Hat.

>>196382

Ahh, right. The smart one.

[X] Ask Shanghai if she wants a hat.
[X] 1g - Unidentified Potato Sack
[X] 5g - Headband
[X] Koishi Hat!
[X] 9999g - Neck Snapper
[X] Maribel's puffy headgear of the seven heavens

— - — - —

You cross your eyes in an effort to address your wooden, hairy mask. "Hey, do you want a hat, Hourai?"

She rears back, enough that your eyes thankfully stop hurting. She then tilts her tiny head.

"Well, you have that nice little bow, but your head looks a little lonely."

She tilts farther.

"Well, I like hats."

Her head is now upside down.

"If you don't, that's fine."

Her head finishes the rotation, returning to its normal position. However, that doesn't last long, as it near-on immediately turns backwards, followed by her arm bending unnaturally straight back as she points to a salmon headband.

This is somehow creepier than when she was a centidoll.

"Ohh? You want a headband?"

She spins back around, whipping you with her hair. She then proceeds to nod.

+1 DT

You rub your cheek a bit as you inspect the full-sized headband.

Dollmaker's Ribbon 15g

Improves one's ability to not make monstrosities out of dolls.

...You almost feel like you're being teased, but then you remember that she probably doesn't have special eyes. Just dead, doll eyes with a thousand yard stare.

Which she somehow makes seem cute.

You nod in agreement. You'll need to see if you can afford it by the end, but there's a strong possibility that you can, as cheap as it is. Assuming it's not absurdly expensive, and you're just rich. And that Mystia is conning people and Mom is loaded.

Godly Potato Sack = 1g

Smells like grapes and poor people.

Headband = 5g

It's so cute it was band.

Worn Sunhat - Free

...When did it get on your head?

Neck Snapper = 9999g

Has no redeeming qualities save for crashing the gold market upon production.

Mari's Hat = -15g

...This wasn't here before. The ribbon looks out of place...

...Something about that last one seems familiar...

— - — - —

[ ] Continue browsing. Write-in.
[ ] Buy... Write-in.
[ ] Sell...? Write-in.
[ ] Leave, and go to...
-[ ] Fortune teller book store.
[ ] School.
[ ] Magic shop.
[ ] Clothing store.
[ ] Luggage store.

[x] Buy... Write-in.
-[x] Headband! It may not fit, but it would make for a nice gift.
-[x] Worn Sunhat! When did this get here? It seems cute!
--[x] Maybe the mysterious owner of this hat would appreciate the headband? Even if it is just for a while, as to not let her hair get cold?
-[x] Mari's hat - It gives you 15 gold! It's a net profit!
-[x] Dollmakers hat - If fate seems intent in you fixing your own failures, who are you to judge?
[x] Browse...
-[x] Frog hat
-[x] Googly eyes-living hat
-[x] Ice Queen's regal crown
-[x] Kappa's cap

I feel like a kid in a candy store.

And, for the record: no, you cannot fix Maribel's hat price. Free market is cruel like that!

[x] Buy... Write-in.
-[x] Headband! It may not fit, but it would make for a nice gift.
-[x] Worn Sunhat! When did this get here? It seems cute!
--[x] Maybe the mysterious owner of this hat would appreciate the headband? Even if it is just for a while, as to not let her hair get cold?
-[x] Mari's hat - It gives you 15 gold! It's a net profit!
-[x] Dollmakers hat - If fate seems intent in you fixing your own failures, who are you to judge?
[x] Browse...
-[x] Frog hat
-[x] Googly eyes-living hat
-[x] Ice Queen's regal crown
-[x] Kappa's cap

Hat buying is serious business.

Let's buy potato hat too. Latvian sisters need money.For real potato.

>>196427
Agreed!

[x] Buy... Write-in.
-[x] Godly Potato Sack! Hey, you never know when a sack will be useful.
-[x] Headband! It may not fit, but it would make for a nice gift.
-[x] Worn Sunhat! When did this get here? It seems cute!
--[x] Maybe the mysterious owner of this hat would appreciate the headband? Even if it is just for a while, as to not let her hair get cold?
-[x] Mari's hat - It gives you 15 gold! It's a net profit!
-[x] Dollmakers hat - If fate seems intent in you fixing your own failures, who are you to judge?
[x] Browse...
-[x] Frog hat
-[x] Googly eyes-living hat
-[x] Ice Queen's regal crown
-[x] Kappa's cap

[x] Buy... Write-in.
-[x] Godly Potato Sack! Hey, you never know when a sack will be useful.
-[x] Headband! It may not fit, but it would make for a nice gift.
-[x] Worn Sunhat! When did this get here? It seems cute!
--[x] Maybe the mysterious owner of this hat would appreciate the headband? Even if it is just for a while, as to not let her hair get cold?
-[x] Mari's hat - It gives you 15 gold! It's a net profit!
-[x] Dollmakers hat - If fate seems intent in you fixing your own failures, who are you to judge?
[x] Browse...
-[x] Frog hat
-[x] Googly eyes-living hat
-[x] Ice Queen's regal crown
-[x] Kappa's cap

— - — - —

You toss that smelly sack, the oddly familiar hat and the convenient dollmaker ribbon into your cart. ...Wait, where did you find a cart? You don't remember Sam grabbing one, and, even if she did so while you weren't looking, her sporadically elastic nature would probably lead to it bowling you over. It's also lacking stab wounds, so ____ probably didn't, either. Ohh, ha ha. That only leaves one particularly mysterious source. One that you only rarely can see, and frequently forget is there. It must be the work of... you, of course! You're so forgetful!

Wait, when did this lovely hat get here? It somehow seems familiar... As if someone who is quite possibly snuggled up close to you still was wearing it only moments earlier.

Looking to the fluffy nothingness beside you, you ask, "Hey, you want a headband?"

The nothingness seems to be smiling and snuggling just a little closer as she equips the momband.

Blessed Frog Hairclip = 5g

Aww, it's a cute little frog. ...It may be breathing.

Godly Pyonta = FOR THE LOVE OF GOD TAKE IT

The eyes. The eyes. So shiny. So large. Unblinking, huge eyes. They stare so hard and see far more. Reflective as polished marble, and they show far more. They show so much more than you were ever prepared for.

You see your eyes, after all.

Ohh god, you're blind!

...Wait, the darkness seems to be licking your face. That's both disconcerting and cute. Obviously this combination can only mean one thing: it's Sam! "Uhh... thanks?" Sam undulates happily after letting go.

Chilly Napkin - 5g

It seems to be folded into a rather nice-looking hat.

Kappa Hat - 25g

...Why does it smell like butt and tears...?

Wait, are you smelling things with Sam, now? You don't remember being able to differentiate the smells of poor and tears. They're pretty similar.

— - — - —

Cart

[x] Godly Potato Sack = 1g
[x] Momband = 5g
[x] Worn Sunhat = Free
[x] Mari's hat = -15g
[x] Dollmakers hat = 15g

Total: 6g

— - — - —

[ ] Look for the cashier. They're in the way of you spending other people's money!
[ ] Maybe you should look for something to buy Lunasa. It is mostly her money. But what...? Write-in.
[ ] Continue browsing. Write-in.
[ ] Buy... Write-in.
[ ] Sell...? Write-in.

You might want to post our inventory again. If you don't​, I will though. Later.

Also, did you just make the dash-instead-of-equals mistake again? I guess it is on purpose at this point. I don't mind though.

[X] Browse for Lunasa
-[x] Layla hat? Who is she anyway?
-[x] Librarian hat. Maybe she'd like to keep the moon motif?
-[x] ...wait is the owner actually paying you to get rid of some hats?
[X] Sell...
-[x] ?????
-[x] What did we have on us again?

>>196483

Mistake, you say? Mari's hat wasn't one of those. That was as I intended it to be.

The others were accidents, however. Just ignore those. As for your requests... ...I really hope you mean this and not what I said was in our pockets. Because I have been putting off finding that a while now.

Have our character sheet. I've been a bit sleep deprived the last while, so if any errors are spotted, point them out and I'll fix them on the doc. I'm pretty sure it's currently accurate, though.

— - — - —

Renko Lv1 HP17/20 DT14/16
Base DT16.1
Sprained Ankle
Nose Dead: Lovely Aroma
Cosmic Horror

Sam Lv1 HP9999/9999
Snuggling Stump

101G

— - —

Equipment 35D/35MD/A̢͘͜/́M̸̛͜A̸̶͏̸̴

1 Head: Worn Sunhat Lv 1̷̢͠ 1D/1MD/A̢͘͜/́M̸̛͜A̸̶͏̸̴
2 Outfit: Default Lv1 0D/0MD/0A/0MA
3 Weapon: Unsharpened Chest Lv1/5D/5MD/0A/5MA
4 Foci: Mysterious Big Fan Lv1 0D/0MD/15A/15MA
5 Accessory:
Left Ring:
7 Pockets: x25 Lv2/25D/25MD/0A/0MA
8 Right Ring Arm: Sam
9 Necklace: Enchanted Fuzzy Scarf Lv1 5D/5MD/0A/0MA

— - —

Magic

0 Ice Magic26/100
-O Chill sign: Icy you and eye together 5MA[b]

3 [b]Flight Magic0/100
-XXX No Cards Made

1 Determination1/100
-OX Determination: The hopes and dreams of the open eyes of love

Because I'm buried under like 5 stories and only have one vote.

[x] Browse for...
-[x] Lyrica's hat. Is the least we can do for Lunasa.
[x] Look for the cashier and...
-[x] Buy
--[x] Godly Potato Sack = 1g. You never know when you'll need to hit the sack!
--[x] Momband = 5g. A gift for Goat Mom and Best Aunt.
--[x] Chilly Napkin - 5g. A gift for Cirno.
--[x] Mari's hat = -15g. A gift for... Mari...?
--[x] Worn Sunhat = Free. Lookin' good there, Myself!
--[x] Dollmakers hat = 15g. Third time is the charm!
--[x] Lyrica's hat = ??g. Assuming we get it 'cause I don't want to wait another update!
[x] Sell...
-[x] Are you interested in a pocket knife?

[x] ON HOLD:
-[x] Hourai, should I try again with this magical hat? Type on my cellphone and I'll translate from English.
-[x] Sam, are you turning me into a monster? Not that I mind, I'm just asking.
-[x] Air next to me, can I call you "Best Aunt?"

>>196498

Thank you for doing my job for me!

Now I'm gonna go pass out, right after shoving that info in a doc! Then, at a later date, I shall edit it and improve on it, then share that doc!

As my god will it have a lot of info by that point.

But, seriously, I really do appreciate you linking that. One of those items is actually going to be relevant in this place!

Updated version:


Inventory Lv1 10Def 10MDEF 0ATK 0MATK

Pocket Knife Lv1 5ATK

-A small knife, more useful as a tool than a weapon. Dirty with dry Mom's blood.

Hand Mirror

-Mirror mirror, in my hand
Is ___ my 「Stand」?

Phone

-Still ancient, still useless...

Smartphone

-1: Evileye Rika -2: Goatmom Satori -0: Grandmother Sumireko.

Buttons

-Happy as can be.

Thread and Needle Lv7 ATK1

-Using this is always a bloody affair for you. Don't.

Duct tape

-FIXES EVERYTHING; up to and including metaphysical concepts.

Assorted knives

-Heavy handed metaphor. May or may not exist, depending on potential hilarity.

___'s knife

-In Koishi's possesion.

-Block of chocolate

World's best candy. ___'s favorite.


Renko Lv1 20DEF 20MDEF 5ATK 5MATK

A former human mostly consisting of hidden pockets and flirting. Entered the underground in search of her friend Mari(bel) and promptly forgot all about it. Lost his hand and replaced it with part of a Shoggoth. Has finally left Satori's side and is on a quest to repair Shanghai and make up all the terrible things her grandmother did. Is joined by Hourai and Koishi no one else. Is currently being stalked by Cirno, who blames her for Queen Whiterock's death.
Easily upset, prone to hugging and bursting with confidence; those she will not flirt with are next to none

Abilities:
Check: a through flashing analysis that can blind targets and kill weaker monsters.
Quick check: Half the info, twice as fast. Doesn't affect targets nor cost a turn.
DT: Determination. Allows resets and survival when HP runs out. Running out when HP is positive will result in losing confidence. Running out when HP is 0 will result in death (untested)
Sam: Autonomous arm. Can recover status effects and eat targets. Improves smell to the extent of smelling feelings. Causes corruption?
Heat vision: Allows Renko to see heat signatures. People tend to forget this exists
___: She who must not be named. Born out of Sumireko's soul, it based itself into her merry murderious adventures. Posseses members of the Usami family and forces them to kill monsters. Fond of chocolate and murder, in that order.
Flirting: The ultimate weapon. Its limits are unknown.

>>196553

Ohh! Someone wants extra credit, do they? Well, have your extra credit!

>>196558
Oh that's adorable!

I just wanted to correct it a bit and add a few things that were only obvious in a re read. I think I'm only missing the bag of food Mom gave Renko when she left, but we don't even know what is contains so...

>A former human mostly consisting of hidden pockets and flirting.

Best description of a protag ever.

>>196500
This vote looks good~

[x] All that

>>196500
It should say 'Layla', Lyrica is fine, as far as I know. Well, she died first but...

>>196604

I figured as such, but thanks for the confirmation.

[x] Browse for...
-[x] Lyrica's Layla's hat. Is the least we can do for Lunasa.
-[x] Librarian hat. Maybe she'd like to keep the moon motif?
[x] Look for the cashier and...
-[x] Buy
--[x] Godly Potato Sack = 1g. You never know when you'll need to hit the sack!
--[x] Momband = 5g. A gift for Goat Mom and Best Aunt.
--[x] Chilly Napkin - 5g. A gift for Cirno.
--[x] Mari's hat = -15g. A gift for... Mari...?
--[x] Worn Sunhat = Free. Lookin' good there, Myself!
--[x] Dollmakers hat = 15g. Third time is the charm!
--[x] Lyrica's Layla's hat = ??g. Assuming we get it 'cause I don't want to wait another update!
[x] Sell...
-[x] Are you interested in a pocket knife?

[x] ON HOLD:
-[x] Hourai, should I try again with this magical hat? Type on my cellphone and I'll translate from English.
-[x] Sam, are you turning me into a monster? Not that I mind, I'm just asking.
-[x] Air next to me, can I call you "Best Aunt?"

— - — - —

Looking back to the oddly well stocked shelves, you spy an odd, green hat and a vaguely less odd crescent moon accessory. Is it gold...?

Layla's Fancy Hat = ?g

It looks really old and is partially phased through the wall.

Patchouli's Moon = 200g

It seems to be a fool's gold.

Huh. What a stylish wall...

Looking to where you imagine the cashier would stand if she were there, you ask, "Hey cutie, knife to meet you." You wink confidently. This is so much easier when nobody is around.

You swear you hear the smallest of groans, but it only lasts a moment.

"I got a knife with your name on it, if you get my drift." You wink again. If only you could flirt like this when others are around...

The snuggly air beside you rummages through your pocket and grabs your knife.

+20g

Sam seems to be staring at your neck and licking several sets of lips.

— - — - —

Cart

[x] Godly Potato Sack = 1g
[x] Momband = 5g
[x] Worn Sunhat = Free
[x] Mari's hat = -15g
[x] Dollmakers hat = 15g
[x] Chilly Napkin = 5g
[x] Layla's Fancy Hat = ?g

Total: 11g + ?g

— - — - —

[ ] Write-in. Anything else before we continue? No time for making votes. Early day.

>Sam seems to be staring at your neck and licking several sets of lips.

Uh, should we be concerned?

>?g

[X] Ask for the price before buying dudee. But buy it anyway because Lunasa is best column.
[X] Jokingly flirt with the inchling you obviously noticed from the start

[x] Buy it all.
[x] Apologize for not noticing her. You are easily distracted and don't pay attention to things you should, even after being warned about it.

Meta!

... I really should have noticed the email field texts earlier.

[x] Buy it all.
[x] Apologize for not noticing her. You are easily distracted and don't pay attention to things you should, even after being warned about it.
[X] You could call it a rule of thumb, to not ignore an inch of a cute girls feelings. This habitat for haberdashery is rather eye catching.

[x] Buy it all.
[x] Apologize for not noticing her. You are easily distracted and don't pay attention to things you
-[X] Jokingly flirt with the inchling you obviously noticed from the start



— - — - —

Yeah, this seems like a good haul alright. Maybe if you stack them all on your head you could call yourself a fashionista, even! Looking down at your scarf, you say, "Umm, excuse me?" The inch-tall girl looks up at you from under her fancy shot... bowl? You know it has a name, but you don't exactly drink sake on a regular.

Or occasionally.

Or rarely.

...Or at all, honestly. You're not exactly old enough.

You offer a hand for the tiny girl desperately clinging to your collar, which she takes with great appreciation. She motions you closer, and you do so. You then realize she has an oddly fancy — not to mention tiny, because how else would she carry it — hammer.

-1 HP

"Oww, by dose!" You rub your nose, which she kinda smashed with that tiny hammer.

Wait. She got bigger.

Wait. Everything got bigger.

"YOU HUGE JERK! HOW DARE YOU IGNORE ME?!" Ohh, she's a lot less reserved than you expected of such a princessy look!

While Sam is busy sucking on your nose, you ask, "Why are you yelling??"

She pauses, before smiling. "Good. You're actually responding this time." Clearing her throat, she continues, "Welcome to Half-off Hats, where we sell hats, hair accessories, size alteration and promises that I'll step on you if you make fun of the name of my store!" That last one doesn't match her bright smile.

...People pay for that?

You yelp as you get picked up by your lovely mask, who tilts her head down at you. It's odd having your positions reversed like this, as she's twelve times your size.

And then she hugs you.

You feel like a teddy be- Whoa! Okay, Sam didn't shrink, you just noticed. You kind of have a huge eyeball in your face, though you're impressed by how tiny the mouth on your nose has become..

The no longer tiny girl frowns. "...Are you ignoring me...?"

You jump a bit. "no, I'm busy being snuggled is all!" You don't want to get hammered again. She probably broke your nose the first time. At your size, you might explode dramatically! From Hourai's arms, you try to be subtle in paying attention to her. "You're extremely noticeable! How could anyone ever not notice anyone as short as you??" At her odd look, you add, "I, uhh... like your hat."

She looks at you oddly as you flirt from another girl's embrace. "...Thanks?"

"And your hammer is..." ...How do you compliment a hammer?? "...Hard?" You're sure that the hammer would blush if it had blood. Well, inside.

You get the strangest look.

It kind of feels nice to have a human face to look at. "And you look, uhh... appealingly human?"

She looks more appalled at that one. Ohhgodohhgod.

"And I want to buy my entire cart pleasedon'thitme!"

"Ohh." She's blushing a bit after glancing to it. "Ohh! Really?? Uhh, just... give me a second. ♥"

OHHGODSHE'SWINDINGUPTOTHERIGHTWHYYYYYY!?

— - — - —

Dodge!
[ ] Forwards!
[ ] Back!
[ ] Left!
[ ] Right!
[ ] Up!
[ ] Down??

[x] Take it up in the chin, like a (wo) man

Worst choice made in purpose so people don't copy it.

[x] Flip it turnways!
-[x] Failing that, take it in the kisser.

[x] Take it up in the chin, like a (wo) man
Rip the bandaid!

Was tempted to ask Sam for help.
But I'd rather not get anyone killed.

Considering we are being hugged by Shanghai, wouldn't dodging means she will take the hit? Or, by not dodging, she may decide to go all ' artful sacrifice' on us and take the hit anyway? (again) fuck.

Then again, maybe the hit is just to return us to our right size, since we are paying customers and all. Or maybe she's​ still angry and wants to make us even smaller and step on us. In that case, dodging to the side of the swing is the right choice.
Of course, our half monster protagonist forgot to mention if she means her right or the other right. Typical.

Speaking of forgetting, when are we gonna ask you-know-who about Queen Whiterock? Or ask Sam about the human eating thing? (that affects us now, apparently) or about the mouth in our nose? And don't even let me start about Maribel! The reason of our journey and we haven't even asked anyone about her. Even when we just talked with a, uh, "human hunting fanatic"

Fuck!

>>196781

You've unlocked the next Mari bit, actually.

[ ] 10
[ ] 9
[ ] 8
[ ] 7
[ ] 6
[ ] 5
[ ] 4
[ ] 3
[ ] 2
[ ] 1
[ ] 0

well if we're counting stars I counted 9. Though my eyes are pretty crap so I wouldn't depend on it.

>>196825
Depends how they're being counted.

Between the two frames there are 9 stars total. Though from frame 1 to 2, 3 stars remain from the old set, 1 disappears completely, and the other moves a bit up and right.

Conclusion: ill just vote 9, it's easier

[(9)]

If we're counting stars they add up to 14.
If we're counting unique stars they add up to 9.

I'm guessing the second frame was supposed to bed hidden so I'll vote for

[4]

All puzzles so far have accepted more than once answer, so I'll throw another one.

If this one doesn't (because fuck patterns, remember?) Then the most likely option (9) is already winning!

The only way this can be more complicated is if we have to say where is the missing star. In that case , the answer would be 2 (o' clock) because it is to the upper right.

But that is even more convoluted.

>>196827
On a second thought, it is nearer 1 o' clock than 2, so that's the number I'm going to pick.

It also is the number of missing stars in the second frame, the number of hammers, enemies and of Shynmoyoumaru herself (the name of the pic where she is presented is "One is the loneliest number" do let me go ahead and vote for:

[1]

>>196827

Fuck patterns was Satori's schtick, not getting hit in the face's.

>>196836
>Stars are not involved
>My fallout plan, [1] is not correct or he would have reacted to it.

Uh, so how many tries do we get? Or is it just the winning vote?

If it isn't one it can be three, we got hit three times probably... No wait, the stars indicates that too...

>>196839

I never said you are wrong. It's just that there's only one wrong answer.

Okay, let's try something else.

The clues are the names of the pictures, the email field and the images themselves. I'm including the other Shinmyoumaru images because I couldn't do jack shit with only the gif. It has more importance, with it being the puzzle and all, but it can't do anything on its own.

-First image. Mail: "What a tiny showing" Name: Nobody home. Picture: White with a little Shinmyoumaru on the bottom right.

-Second image. Mail: none. Name: One is the loneliest number. Picture: White with Shinmyoumaru climbing to the right

-Third image. Mail: Shinmyoumaru doesn't like to be ignored. Picture: Shinmyoumaru climbing Koishi, still middle right. Name: Not to scale.

-Fourth image. Mail: Stop making me blush. Picture: Shinmyoumaru almost at the top, in the middle. Name: NOTICE ME YOU GIANT JERK.

-Fifth image: Mail: (Decided not to cut it in half) Because that obviously isn't me. Picture: Shinmyoumaru on the left about to hit something. Name: I helpfully flipped it.

-FINAL IMAGE: MAIL: SHE WASN'T EXPECTING THAT. Picture: Shinmyoumaru in the bottom center, about to swing. Then, a hammer moving from the right. Then, a hammer in the center, about to hit. Then. 5 stars on corners, followed by 4 stars on all corners but top right and finishing in 5 starts on all corners again.

Clues: STARS AREN'T INVOLVED. THERE IS ONLY ONE WRONG ANSWER. FIGURING WHAT THE PUZZLE IS ABOUT IS IMPORTANT TOO.

Let's start by discarding stuff that is obviously humorous or descriptive: First image mail is a joke, and the pic's name is our impression of the situation. The third mail is a clue to avoid this situation, and the third picture's name is an excuse for not giving details in Koishi's appearance due to OP's lack of artistic talent (jk I suck much more)
Fourth mail is a joke and the fourth image's name is another clue; that it is too late to avoid a confrontation. The fifth picture's name is a joke about Shinmyoumaru being short. The Final mail field is another indicator of the current situation and the .jpg name is a reference to the phrase 'Did anyone get the number of that truck?'

What is left? The fifth name "I helpfully flipped it" that seems to indicate that Shinmyoumaru position is important (or it is a reference to something, like Seija, and the second image's name "One is the loneliest number". That post even lacks a mail, which, in this trainwreck of a thought process, indicates its importance.

So yeah, who also said that "One is the loneliest number"? Flowey:

>THREAD ONE
>(Flowey) "Do you what my number or not?" Upon getting your rapt attention, she just rolls her eyes. "1."
>You open your mouth. You aren't sure what to say to that, so it closes again.
>"...The loneliest number that you can ever choose, huh?"
>Flowey wilts a bit at hearing that. "...I guess, yeah." She sighs. "But two can be as bad as one."
>You nod. "It's the loneliest number since the number one."
>Flowey can't help but chuckle at that. "I guess that transmission came from outside the barrier, then."

The last line is about the number 0, which indeed came out of the barrier, since it is Sumireko's cellphone number.

So wait, he said that phrase in reference to phone numbers! Which are all of one digit, just like the options here! AS IF! THERE'S A NUMBER 10 HERE YOU BIG, DUMB MOTHERFUCKER!
But, there's still the clue "There is only one wrong answer" So, is that the 10? I'd have thought it was "0", with it being the number of the mass murderer Sumireko. But, how would the inchling knew that? I don't know.

So yeah, the theory IS a bit weak, but there is something else in my favor: the name of the puzzle gif is "Did anyone get the number of that tiny" That may not be a refrence to that famous phrase that follows an impact after all. It might be a reference to phone numbers! As in, the objective of the puzzle is to find the liliputan's phone number.

What I consider the biggest flaw is that it makes most of the other pics and the small person's position while climbing useless... But yeah, let's assume I'm correct and try to find her phone number. It can't be 10 because it would call flowey as soon as we pressed "1", so the answer is between 3 and 9.
If we consider that the gif isn't compltely useless, we can just imagine the stars as a phone numpad. One of them is missing at some point, arguably because it is being pressed. Which one? The top right; which would belong in a phone to the number... 3. This part is also WEAK because of the clues "There is only one wrong answer" and "Stars are not involved" but whatever, I ran out of steam here.

So, in the end, my answer is [3]

Though, In a scale to 1 to 10, I'd say I overthought this up twelve and a fucking half. If I'm, somehow, correct, then this is way, way too complicated for a puzzle.

>>196850

I like your explanation so I'm going to change my answer from [X] 9 to [X] 3

>>196850
I forgot to add a clue:

>>196504
>(About the Renko Manual) One of those items is actually going to be relevant in this place!

In that list what item is included? The phone numbers!

But he said items so maybe he was talking about knives? Or the mirror? Can anyone think of anything with a mirror?

https://docs.google.com/document/d/158YebHdXoBZgFUow9Wp5swuQs5nho4kUqT_t-LI-jD8/edit?usp=sharing

You guys make me so proud. Have what little I've done to the info so far.

I don't know what to vote for. All options so far are wrong and puzzles were never my forte. Guess she's done for.

>>196888

The important part was right. I'm just enjoying you guys working together. Makes it feel like it was all worth it.

I'll be updating soon, but I wasn't feeling it tonight. Have a quick doodle of the apparent love interest for your trouble!

>>196890
If the wrong answer was zero, and it had nothing to do with stars or cellphone numbers or positioning... Yeah, I got nothing.

I miss Rika. She's our treasure.

No wait, I get it. The pic says "Did anyone get the number of that tiny.gif" and the number of that gif is 7 because that's the frames it has!

Seriously now, this would be doable without so many red herrings. And way, WAY less embarrassing for me.

>>196893
Five stars, one pressed, 3 and 7 are opposites on the keypad. Seija could have flipped it.

>>196897
>The fifth pic name is "I helpfully flipped it"

If that is the answer I'll throw you, OP and that other guy into a volcano.

I think its one, because 1/1 is the number of both the tiny posts.

>>196898

Actually, that was meant literally. The picture was inverted and rotated a bit as a hint for the direction the hammer was coming from. It wasn't related to the puzzle, but was related the dodging instead.

As for the answer I was looking for... The hint was the order of votes. If you read them in order, there is something that comes to mind, at least for me. Thankfully this wasn't Mortal Kombat, or things may have gotten as gruesome as it would be improbable.

Anyways, I'm feeling crazy tonight. Y'know why?

I'm updating all three stories, if all goes well. Expect ET and DT tonight, and G after I get a chance to have it looked at by my lovely assistant. I decided to do a little gif, 'cause I just feel so good right now. I have no idea why, as I've had a horrible day, but still! Writing!

Expect ET within 1-2 hours~

[X] 9
[X] 4
[X] 3
[X] 1

— - — - —

You never thought about how sad an existence it is to be a ping pong ball. All that bouncing and smacking... it sounds... painful.

-20 HP

You never wanted to experience it, yourself. Leave that to the professional ping pong balls. Sadly, you didn't get to choose, as, after a good smack with the hammer, you find yourself sliding down the

...wall...


You blearily open your eyes, your ears ringing from how hard you were hit. You seem to have a small girl on your face. She's saying things, but you can't quite

...hear...


You, again, blearily open your eyes. You can't see out of one eye, as there seems to be a Sam in the way. You see a horny girl in the

..other...


You feel a dull smack on a sore face. Yours, of course. You would be concerned otherwise, if you weren't quite so

...faint...


You open your eyes to the sound of tiny weeping. It seems to be originating from your face, and the salty tears sting your wounds. You try to speak, but find you can't quite bring the words out.

You do, however, groan in agony. It's a small

...success...

...You're happy to not have drifted out of consciousness that time.

+1DT

The girl no larger than your nose perks up at the sound, as if it's music to her ears.

If that's the case, you fear what else she calls music. "Are you okay...?" Sitting on your probably broken nose? Not cool. "Ohh. Right. ...The bandages." Bandages? "Umm... I'm really, really sorry..." ...Did she do something besides teach you to play ping pong? "Is there, umm... any way I can make it up to you?"

You can't really feel your arms and legs. Not a good sign.

— - — - —

[ ] Groan. Your everything hurts. You need a mirror.
[ ] Groan loudly! Who plays ping pong with faces?!
[ ] Groan flirtatiously. Maybe she'll give you a date? That'd make the hurting stop alright.
[ ] Wiggle your big toe.
[ ] Sleep. You feel as if that's all you can really do, even if it'd be really rude.
[ ] Write-in.

[X] Groan Flirtatiously.

An option so tempting, I'll vote from my phone!

>>196915
Nice gif.

That said, please don't use puzzles that only make sense to you ever again.
We are not in the tutorial: putting puzzles that we aren't supposed to solve is not really acceptable anymore.

[X] Grab a mirror and look at yourself in it.

If we can't really move, then I think we'll have to find a way to kill ourselves.
Sukuna doesn't seem like she will listen to us, so it may be tricky. When you have time powers but can't use them, that's when you lose the game and get stuck forever. It will also be good to know how does the reset work and the things that don't change (Renko's arm was supposed to return to normal at midnight, per example, but it did not)

In b4 this turns into a story about how Renko wants to reset but fate keeps conspiring against her, a la "Goddamnit, Yukari!"

Go read it, btw: https://www.thp.moe/shorts/res/1265.html

>>196919

You did solve it, as I said: You answered anything but 0. Expecting completely fair puzzles from a story loosely based on a game that is known for puzzles that really aren't meant to be beaten is a bit silly. You guys more or less voted to do the fist-to-fist punch thing, but with your face and her hammer. I mean, the puzzle after the failure to dodge was damage control, which you succeeded on, so I'm not sure why you're miffed.

>>196921
Because spending time in a puzzle that cannot be solved is a waste of time. And cheap.

>Expecting completely fair puzzles from a story loosely based on a game that is known for puzzles that really aren't meant to be beaten is a bit silly.

Every single puzzle in UT is easily beatable on the first try, with the exception of the Toriel fight.

>>196923

The squares, the electric floor, the squares again, the bombs, the spike floor, the rock... Most every proper puzzle is like this. I've been nice enough to actually give you puzzles that are solvable, and hard to actually fail in any horrible way. None of my puzzles that matter have particularly extreme consequences, either, as I've said before. If people don't abide by my advise of pictures, picture names and emails being the main source of clues until it's already too late, what else can I even do but let them live with their choice?

One of the puzzles I made was literally just to look at the four updates worth of "blank" pictures. I even had Koishi helpfully looking at her in the third one, as she was trying to help you notice her, and yet nobody really seemed to notice until the tonberry was in their face, so to speak. Which is kind of fitting, as, well... Koishi. But still.

I gave people a considerable time to notice the inchling, and yet they only did after a week from what I saw. It's the reason why I was so happy when people started paying attention again when it became apparent.

Still, I have accepted blame for getting a bit ahead of myself on some fronts, as I knew it seemed like Hourai died. I also accepted other complaints easily enough. However, while I could have executed that puzzle a little better, as I've been getting a lot less sleep than I'd like of late, I'm already quite aware that it didn't go as planned, and every failure is how one improves. However, that it did not isn't entirely my fault. That's like closing your eyes while playing Touhou. Won't go well.

One last thing: the non-physical puzzles aren't in place of the dialogue puzzles. The puzzles are largely the combat, as that is one thing I really can't simulate here. There have been others, such as the time we climbed Flowey or fought fear itself. However, one must remember that this is hard mode. And, as puzzles are combat, the puzzles will be harder. I balance this by holding fairly loose reins on the story, and allowing the crazier write-ins to not be vetoed to balance the potential frustration.

This particular puzzle effectively took the place of a saving throw to avoid being KOed, as it was basically mimicking a game over in older games, what with the countdown.

This puzzle also served a purpose that I can't really tell you, though. It'd be rude to spoil things after all.

Anyways, I need sleep. We can continue this tomorrow if you like.

>>196924
>The squares, the electric floor, the squares again, the bombs, the spike floor, the rock... Most every proper puzzle is like this. I've been nice enough to actually give you puzzles that are solvable, and hard to actually fail in any horrible way.

>The squares,
You mean these squares?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fufHhjhbySM

The squares that will always form a completely safe straight path, meaning the only way to fail the puzzle is to willingly choose not to cross it?


>the electric floor
You mean this electric floor?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycM4UxVQw40

The electric floor that Papyrus walks across, leaving footprints in the snow, thus rendering the solution so blindingly obvious that the only way to fail is to willingly choose to walk into the electric walls?


>the squares again
You mean these squares again?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oQVVISpRbI

The squares that are purposely long and convoluted, to the point where no matter how good or bad you do, succeed or fail, you will always be forced to fight Mettaton at the end of it?


>the bombs
You mean these bombs?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nw7JFJUCfW0

The bombs that are easily deactivated within the time limit because if you take too long the timer slows down significantly when there are about 10 seconds left? And even if you fail on purpose, nothing different happens as seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yPjSMM1y3A


>the spike floor
You mean this spike floor at the 6:50 mark?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ba0tnpWBZw8

The spike floor that Toriel literally walks you across, making it physically impossible to fail it?


>the rock
You mean these rocks at 13:23?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ba0tnpWBZw8

The 3 rocks that require you to fight 2 really easy monsters, just push the rock, and talk to the rock several times respectively in order to proceed?


Yes, Undertale is in fact nice enough to actually give us puzzles that are solvable, and hard to actually fail in any horrible way. You on the other hand, often give us puzzles that are obvious and solvable only to you, and result in us losing significant chunks of our HP if we fail, judging by the fact that this latest puzzle resulted in us losing 20HP. Sometimes people even die if we get your puzzles wrong judging by Hourai's death.



>If people don't abide by my advise of pictures, picture names and emails being the main source of clues until it's already too late, what else can I even do but let them live with their choice?

>Actually, that was meant literally. The picture was inverted and rotated a bit as a hint for the direction the hammer was coming from. It wasn't related to the puzzle

We ARE abiding by your advice of pictures, picture names, and emails. Its YOU who isn't. First you tell us to solve the puzzles by looking for clues in the picture names, then when we try to actually do that with that whole "I helpfully flipped it" picture name, you turn right around and tell us that the picture names actually aren't clues to the puzzles. Make up your mind!

>>196924
I understand, but I don't think I'll attempt any more puzzles in the future, regardless.

Hard is hard. Who knew, right? Haha...

>>196943

Nah, don't worry. I plan to fix this. To be exact, I now know how to fix this. See below.

>>196942

Having the game solve a puzzle for you is not solving a puzzle. That is never being allowed to solve it, giving you an unsolvable puzzle. Also, Hourai's death wasn't a puzzle. That was her being a friend when Cirno was about to kill you, simple as that.

The picture names are clues to a puzzle. There have been three puzzles since entering the store. The pictures to spot Shinmyoumaru, dodging the hammer to try and avoid being hit, and trying to not be down for the count. That people took 4 updates to notice Shinmyoumaru, and only after I started giving hints within the story itself... that's closer to ignoring them than paying attention.

>Of course, our half monster protagonist forgot to mention if she means her right or the other right. Typical.

The "I helpfully flipped it" picture name was a clue to that. I'd have drawn the picture, but I wasn't confident I could pull it off. Renko may not have said whose right, but the picture itself was the clue to which right she meant, the picture name pointing this out.

As for why we took 20 damage, we were hit by a hammerhead larger than our body was at that point.

The reason why the hammer puzzle happened was because we failed the first. The reason the now apparently vague puzzle happened is because we failed the second. I only planned for the first, and wasn't expecting the second's choice. While I suppose I could point out when puzzles start up so as to avoid such situations, it does defeat the purpose a bit to point out that you need to notice something.

The reason why the puzzle became what it did was because each failure increased the difficulty, and, after the second one,
I had no idea how to actually increase the difficulty, so I went with what I saw as an obvious puzzle instead, feeling that perhaps the second one was too hard.

Hmm... Maybe if I signify when a puzzle is cleared.

That might make puzzles easier, as you kind of tried to treat the three puzzles as a single puzzle. The whole issue was that you were treating what I saw as a simpleish puzzle, a hard puzzle and an easy but perhaps a bit too convoluted puzzle as one. You were using hints from the first two puzzles to solve the third is the entire reason it was made into some kind of monster in puzzle form

Okay, I couldn't resist making a picture after the hammerhead thing.

[X] Grab a mirror and look at yourself in it.

Can't flirt with a broken face.

[x] Grab a mirror and look at yourself in it.
-[x] Groan flirtatiously anyway!

[x] Grab a mirror and look at yourself in it.
-[x] Groan flirtatiously anyway!

— - — - —

You try to move your arm.

Your arm doesn't respond.

You try to move your Sam.

Sam wiggles irritably from within the bandages.

However, she eventually simply eats them. Why she was bandaged is beyond you. ...And, as you'd expect, they taste like the aftermath of a particularly zealous dentist's work.

+1DT

After that, she once more proves herself to be best arm by way of whipping out and grabbing a mirror, earning a yelp of surprise from the eentsy weentsy girl that you worry if is crazy. That's how these things work, right? Crazy girl breaks your arms and legs and forces you into her bed. ...Actually, that doesn't sound so bad. With how your ankle keeps getting better, you're probably a burger away from good health! And you get to be snuggled in the meantime? Score! ...Now if only you could hug her.

Ohh, Sam hugged her for you. Her gurgling cry for help is cute and all, but you can't go eating people, no matter how short they may be. Bad Sam! She seems to hear that, as she lets out a little whine before spitting her back out. Aaaand right onto your nose.

-1DT

Priorities: you have them straight. Ohh, hello again! You've been quiet lately. Missed you a little.

Oddly, you feel your face flush a bit. Weird. Well, if you're possessed, that's a good sign, ignoring how concerning that degree of control over your blood flow is.

Sam gets your attention by way of wiggling the mirror. ...Well, that's a lot of bandage. And it has perfect eye holes! That's as impressive as it is odd. If only you had a way to talk like this...

Your Sam helpfully says, "If only I had a way to talk like this..." Ohh! Best arm gets bester! Horrible impression of you, but still. It sounds a bit similar to Rumia did, with that weird piping, chirping, maddening sound.

Just as cute, too.

Still, one things certain: she really can read your mind! Or maybe it isn't. Maybe you're in a mental link of some kind? Or symbiosis? Hmm... Maybe you can make a Venom suit. That'd be all sorts of cool! And you'd fit in, then! ...As weird as that sounds.

Still, one thing at a time. You struggle to cross your eyes at the slightly worried girl sitting on your nose, and groan while waggling your eyebrows.

Princess Shinmyoumaru -1D/100MD/100A/100MA

Misplaces her things as easily as you might imagine.

Small enough to be one-shot by her own name.

The groan is full of both pain and a message that, if all goes well, should say so much more than simply speaking could. As if it can go beyond any language barrier — nay, any barrier at all — all for the sake of the most important question ever to be asked.

Will she date you.

She answers your question by asking, "What?" Those tiny eyes look as confused as they are tiny. And, as she's an inch tall, that's a completely ridiculous amount of confusion.

— - — - —

[ ] You aren't talking to her. Sam will in your stead.
[ ] Moan some more.
[ ] Burger it up.
[ ] Sleep and meditate on what you've learned.
[ ] Write-in.

As much as I was tempted to vote for some manner of interpretive dance from the arm, i'll go with...

[x] Burger it up.
-[x] Converse with Sam as you can.

>>197004
What does 'burguer it up mean'? To eat something?

She's the only one there... Not good.

>>197006

Eat a burger.

[x] You aren't talking to her. Sam will in your stead.
-[x] Mostly because you cant talk by yourself at all.
-[x] Sorry for ignoring you. I know the last time I said that, you hit me twice, but I'm hoping that won't be necessary right now
-[x] How did you change my size? That was pretty cool!
-[x] And so was your hat selection! That's quite the collection!

The physical trauma kind of put a damper on my flirting, but Sukuna is always worth talking to!

This is the last bump of the thread if I'm not mistaken. Here's hoping!

[x] Burger it up.
-[x] Converse with Sam as you can.


Why not spell out a conversation with alphabet soup?

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