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THE STORY SO FAR:
The world has ended, but five (well, it’s complicated) humans get a chance to do it over, and make things right. Only problem is, for their second go around, they're not going to be 'human'...
Kosuzu is making her mark in the Animal Realm. Having been gifted a grimoire by Yakumo Yukari, she, along with Mayumi and Kicchou Reimu, were sent to rescue a young girl in the clutches of the Keiga. Despite their rescue attempt being compromised, she and the others were still able to liberate the young girl, and deliver her safely to the Haniwa Corps’ territory.
The young girl’s true identity was revealed to be Okazaki Yumemi. Like the Immaterial Children, she has traveled through time - though, unlike them, she travels using scientific means, as part of a stable time loop. A future version of Yumemi has been subtly intervening in the fates of all the Immaterial Children, for reasons yet unknown. But for Kosuzu - perhaps out of gratitude for the fox saving her life - she has been directly acting to help her grow in power and confidence. Her most recent, reckless, and costly attempt to do so was to rescue the grimoire Kosuzu had been using - a tome penned by Yakumo Ran, for her wayward daughter.
Though she doesn’t yet know it, that wayward daughter is Kosuzu herself. She was stolen in her infancy by Kudamaki Tsukasa, for reasons not yet fully understood. But having been harshly reprimanded by her false mother, Kosuzu has fallen into a world of dreams, where truth lurks in several forms. And Kosuzu’s dreams are not the only reason this night will prove to be tumultuous…
Previous Threads:
Redo/Reimu >>205449 >>205720
Again/Akyuu >>206017 >>206302 >>206595 >>206906 >>207202
Yester/Youmu >>207370 >>207705 >>208027 >>208337 >>208664 >>208978
Kaizou/Kosuzu >>209221 >>209492 >>209799 >>210140 >>210522 >>210832 >>211127
Epilogues and Shorts >>/shorts/2804
Or read the story archive on Ao3:
https://archiveofourown.org/series/4062991
Outside/Omakes (Shorts from Other Writers): >>/shorts/2947
“Is… is there really proof, there?” She said, hesitantly. “Th-that there’s… that there’s something else, other than this? Proof… my mother loves me?”
Yukari nodded. “Oh, I promise you that. There’s definitely a lot of love your mother’s dying to give you.”
The little fox closed her eyes. If there was something like that… she knew the other end was probably important too. But… she wanted to know it. To know what had started everything.
Yukari nodded, her gaze getting that strange quality to it again. “...Yes, maybe this is for the best. Even if the worst comes to pass… the truth itself is a powerful weapon, here.”
Motoori Kosuzu looked up at her. “She didn’t say anything yet…”
“Ah- I was responding to-” The sage paused. “W-well, we’re all of the same mind, are we not?”
“Riiiiiiight.” Motoori’s voice was open in it’s skepticism
Suzu looked up. “I-I wanna see the start.” Her other self nodded. Yukari smiled, beginning to wave her hand.
Purple tendrils extended from the beginning of the scroll, reaching for the bookshelves. They started to rattle and resonate, causing the whole dream to shudder and shiver. She pulled her tail in, with a steadying hand coming from her other self.
The tendrils quickly found their target - another well-worn scroll, a rich, dark blue in colour. It lifted itself from its shelf, snaking over to its partner, and attaching itself, undoing the rip along its seam.
Suzu looked around nervously as the dream’s shaking settled. “...Guess that’s gonna attract the baku?” She took a deep breath, and moved to the start of the scroll.
As she unfurled the beginning, the instrument on the desk began to play. The song sounded… familiar. Her older self looked up. “I recognise this son-” She tilted her head. “O-or rather, I don’t. Huh? I feel like I know it, but… something’s off.”
Yukari chuckled. “Maybe you’re not the half of you that recognises it, Motoori?”
Kosuzu looked at her, confused. “B-but… isn’t this that lullaby? From my life? Unless…”
Suzu looked down, closer, at the scroll - or, not a scroll, a picture book. There was a bunny, with lots of cabbages across the pages. One, two, three, four, five - her mother pointed out each one in turn.
She yawned, her head starting to droop, as her mother finished the rhyme on the page. The older fox chuckled, ruffling her daughter’s fur as she closed up the book.
“Is Suzu getting tired?”
The little fox’s attention turned in the direction of the voice. “Y’kari…?” Lady Yukari was leaning over, scratching her behind the ears. She cooed, but her tail was too tired to even wag.
“Ah, perhaps. Maybe it’s time for bed, then, hmmm?” Her mother chuckled, starting to put away what she had on the desk.
She heard another voice, younger, more sour in its tone. She was pretty sure her name was either Big Sister, or Chen. Maybe both. “Sleeping’s all she can do right now, isn’t it?”
Yukari changed from scratching behind Suzu’s ears to under her chin. It felt so good… but she was so tired, her head fell into the purple-clad woman’s palm. “She’s too young to do much yet, but in time, she’ll be a powerful kitsune. Maybe even stronger than her mama, hmm?”
“I-I’ll be strong too!” Big Sister protested. “Y-you’ll see!”
Her mother chuckled. “I know you will, Chen. Now… I have to get the little one to bed, so I’ll be out shortly.” She gave the protesting catgirl a gentle pat on the head, as she scooped up the tiny Suzu.
The young fox snuggled into her mother’s shoulder, as she was carried down the hallway towards her bedroom. Yukari followed, making faces and trying to make the young fox smile.
Her mother muttered, under her breath. “...I’m worried about Chen. Her power as a shikigami’s been slipping, recently.”
Yukari didn’t visibly react, though she responded in the same hushed tones. “It’s natural, honestly. Classic first child behavior, to a degree - she’s not used to having to share your free time yet. It’s just that, as your shikigami, that has an effect on her efficiency, as well.”
The woman carrying her sighed. “...A-and I worry she sees herself as less my daughter than Kosuzu. I’ve done my best to distribute my time as evenly as possible-”
“But by nature, the youngest takes priority. And as a shikigami, she can calculate the exact amount of the difference between her share and Suzu’s.” Yukari stepped forward, to pat her on the shoulder. “Honestly, we get one ‘big sis Chen’ out of lil’ Suzu, and the problem’s solved, I think.”
“If you say so, Yukari…” Her mother responded, worry in her voice. They turned, opening a door to Kosuzu’s nursery.
The young fox yawned, her eyes drooping, as she was lowered into her bed. Her mother looked down at her, humming a gentle lullaby.
Yukari crept to the edge of the nursery. Switching some device on. Little cut-outs of blue light filled up the room, with patterns of plants and flowers. Even just looking at them made Kosuzu feel sleepy.
A single finger extended down, and she reached out to grab it. She clasped her mother’s hand as tightly as she could, holding it close.
Yakumo Ran smiled. “I know, my little bluebell. I’ll miss you too. I’ll see you in the morning, alright?” She leant down, giving the little fox a kiss on the forehead, and stepped away, leaving her daughter to her dreams.
Suzu watched her go, blinking and rubbing her eyes. She was back at Suzunaan’s desk. “H-huh?!” She looked around. Her other self was staring at the scroll, then back at herself, slackjawed. .
Her mind was already racing. This- This was clearly the story of the Bluebell Grimoire’s owner, wasn’t it? Of Ran’s second daughter. A-and her dreams had cast her in that role.
It was wish fulfilment. Blatantly, and utterly. And yet… it felt real. So real she could still feel her moth-Ran’s warmth.
She leant back, closing her eyes and trying to think. The sound of footsteps stirred her awake. It was much darker now - no ambient light from outside her room, just the soft patterns of plants and flowers adorning it. She looked around the room, confused, wondering what had awoken her.
It was the faintest flicker. Something she could only just barely sense, in the quiet darkness. A mote of light, so small and dim it was almost invisible. It seemed to focus on her, then its attention was called away, to another spot, empty, in her room. She crawled, on her hands and knees, trying to see what it was… looking at?
As it did, a small… glowy hole? A portal of some sort appeared. It was perfectly circular; big enough to allow a coin through on its face, but little else. She pulled herself up, trying to look to see what was there. Something long and yellow snaked out of the hole, changing shape as it entered her room.
Then slowly, it stood. A shadow fell upon Kosuzu’s bed, with eyes glowing gold and a wicked, hollow grin. It’s tail flicked through the mote of light, scattering its remaining presence to nothingness. The little fox pulled back, instinctively, her tail curling in on itself.
Kudamaki Tsukasa reached down, and took the trembling kit from her crib.
At once, the room was alight. Sounds and lights, a storm of alarms and sirens. Tsukasa ran for the window, prying it open with the hilt of her dagger.
Suzu heard her mother’s voice, panicked and yelling, but she didn’t catch sight of her. By the time she’d reached the room, Tsukasa had gotten outside, and was running to the woods. She reached out, desperately, but… her home vanished into the cold darkness.
But… From that darkness, a white-gloved hand reached out. Suzu’s claws seized on it, and she was freed from Tsukasa’s grasp.
And pulled back into Yukari’s lap. The elder youkai’s expression was complicated, but every emotion the young fox could read was bittersweet at best. Suzu looked up at her, stunned.
“I-I… am I…? I-is this all… real?”
Yukari almost managed a mischievous mask through a small smile. “What do you think, Suzu? Does it feel real, to you?”
“I-if it is true…” Motoori Kosuzu was staring at the scroll, stunned. “Th-this wasn’t a rescue, or even just an escape… it was a kidnapping!”
Suzu looked down. “A-and… I’m… Lady Ran’s daughter?” …Slowly, she shook her head. “N-no, that, that can’t be right.”
The sage turned to her. “Why not, Suzu?”
“Because, because…” Her tail pulled in on herself. “I-I’m just a tube fox. A-a weak, useless little gutter-fox, who, who-”
Her older self leaned in. “...Who struggles with the tricks of kuda-gitsune. But you find the magic Ran’s been writing a lot easier, right?”
Suzu trembled. “I-I guess, but, but that doesn’t mean anything, does it?” She shook her head. “I-it could just be a coincidence, I-I could just be trying the really easy spells -”
“Isn’t it odd,” Yukari leaned in. “That the grimoire for Ran’s daughter is named after Bluebells? That the first thing the real world Yukari did was rush over to give you the book?”
Suzu leaned down. “S-surely it’s… just a coincidence…” She shook her head. “I-I mean, I guess if I still had the book, I-I could check, but…”
Yukari scratched the fox behind her ears. “...Why don’t you want to believe it, Suzu?”
“I-I want to believe it! More than anything! But… but…” She shuddered. This was all a dream, after all, and they weren’t known for making perfect sense the way this one seemed to. Surely when she woke up it’d be same - some laughable, nonsensical fantasy. “I-if I go up to Lady Ran thinking I’m her daughter, and having lost the book she made for her real daughter - sh-she’d kill me on the spot! And I’d deserve it.”
Her other self shook her head. “But if it is true-”
The little fox sagged. “E-even if it is true… i-if Yakumo Ran is my mother, then, then that means…”
Then her mothe- Tsukasa... she had never been related to Suzu, never loved her. Maybe she'd hated her from the start.
Kosuzu had worked, and bled, and starved, to feel… something. Anything. Any pride in being the young, promising new Kudamaki. Any satisfaction from serving as the perfect assistant to her schemes. Any feeling of love, any reward for her efforts.
If this was true, then all of that was for nothing. Nothing at all. It had just been fighting to fill a space in Tsukasa’s heart that had never actually existed. And if she started thinking that she’d been born a kitsune, and Tsukasa found out… even trying to imagine what the kuda-gitsune would do filled her stomach with a pit of dread.
The little fox started to sob. “I-if this is all true… Why? Why would she… what did I do to…?”
Yukari shook her head. “You didn’t do anything to deserve this, Suzu - because you don’t deserve this. The woman who’s taken you has just sought to hurt you. But there’s a better life, a real family, one that will love and cherish you, out there." She paused, taking a moment to consider. "In fact, not just one, but two of them - because the Motoori are out there too, after all. And every one of us will make sure that this will never happen again. That you won’t spend another day under the thrall of a vindictive tube-fox.”
She gave the fox a gentle pat on the head. “If you think this is just a dream… perhaps you’ll find something, when the morning comes. You’ll see something even the most broken of hearts won’t be able to ignore.You’ve worked so very, very hard, Suzu. Your mother will be… so, so proud.“
There was a rumble in the distance. The curtain in the back of the store began to billow away, sucked in by an unknown wind. The sage looked up. “Ah… we’re out of time, it seems. I’m afraid this will have to be enough, Suzu.”
Yukari stood up, setting Kosuzu on the floor, and turned. “W-wait…! Lady Yukari!” The fox grabbed the sage by the lip of her dress. “D-don’t leave just yet!”
“I’m not going any further than I have to. But nonetheless, I do have to go.” She opened a gap, pulling out her parasol. “I don’t think you’ll have to look very far to find us when you wake up, after all.”
The fox sagged, her ears flopping back. “B-but… y-you’re not real, are you…?”
The sage sighed, kneeling down and clasping the little girl’s hand with both of her own. “Kosuzu. Though you may doubt it in the waking world, know that everything you’ve seen of this night is the truth. I’m taking a risk here, but if you know what you truly are, who you truly are…” She held Suzu’s hand close, rubbing the back of it with a thumb. “I’m sure that even if the worst comes to pass you’ll be able to find your way home. To your mother’s arms.”
The kit tried to hold on a bit longer, feeling herself tearing up. The sage’s eyes were misting as well. “Sweet dreams, Kosuzu. Make sure you enjoy your sleepover, alright? Because it won’t last forever.”
And, at the last, the sage gave one small, bittersweet smile. “Your mother will be right along, to pick you up in the morning.”
Yukari unfurled her umbrella, and the wind stole her away. The fox tumbled forward, but in only moments, the Youkai of the Gap was gone.
Suzu blinked. At once, the wind was gone, and the dreamy Suzunaan was back to normal. The half-repaired scroll sat in front of her, simple and unassuming once more.
She took another brief look at the scroll, before rolling it up. Her mind was still a storm of confused thoughts. Trying to process all she’d heard, and trying to hold back on the tide of hopeful thoughts.
She paused, looking around. “Ummm… Miss Motoori? Are you still here?”
“Over here!” The fox tilted her head, padding over in her direction. Her other self was fiddling with one of the shelves.
“What are you doing?”
The elder Kosuzu smiled, pulling out another scroll. “This is about where the first half of that scroll came from. I think this shelf-maybe this whole section - is your past, Suzu.”
Now that she was looking, the store did seem bifurcated. One side was full, but made mostly of locked cabinets; this side was much more sparse, and much more open as well. Suzu nodded, stepping over slowly. “So… what are you looking for? More proof?”
The elder Kosuzu shook her head, pulling out another indigo scroll. “Nope, no need. Come on, Suzu -” She waved the scroll with a grin. “Let’s see what a real happy memory is like, hmm?”
…She knew shouldn’t get pulled in. She knew shouldn’t let herself get lost in a dream. In a fantasy.
And yet… Suzu nodded, slowly. “O-okay… I’d like that.” She sidled off the chair and crept over to join her other self. She started to investigate the bookshelf, with her other half. First standing by, and watching as Motoori speculated on the contents for various parchments. Then starting to point out interesting ones she spotted on her own. Soon she was pulling out any scroll or book that caught her eye, and eagerly sharing guesses about their contents.
She shouldn't, she really shouldn't. But, in the end, human, kuda-gitsune or... or even kitsune, some things never changed.
Like the tantalizing allure of a good book.
You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
Sweet dreams, Kosuzu.
No italisized message about grip, but...
>But… From that darkness, a white-gloved hand reached out. Suzu’s claws seized on it, and she was freed from Tsukasa’s grasp.
The grip stat is probably not entirely gone, but the lock has been soundly wacked!
Also would be funny for Kotoori to prank Yukari... Alllll it would take is to prompt Suzu to innocently as if all this means that Yukari is her Grandma XD
The planning to this for Gooboi to pull this off must be insane...
Masterful...
Masterfully done!
Not even the image of Yukari pretending to be Mary Poppins made me feel anything but the warmth of hope for Kosuzu.
>211469
that's something i've been wondering about as well- just how much gooboi can predict about our choices. of course, there's a few instances where we went the complete opposite direction, but in the case of this arc, we've all sort of been fairly predictable about what we vote for, haven't we? always wanting to free kosuzu from tsukasa's grip...
anyways, question for gooboi: you mentioned in the qna a few threads back that marisa was one of the few protagonists left with origin options that aren't beastly youkai. did your decision to strike marisa and sanae's possible double-up affect that in any way?
wasn't able to contribute to the possible marisa origin speculation last thread, but wanted to chime in regardless: aya! we're still missing that youkai mountain arc, and both of them are pretty well known for their speed. granted, there's not much other evidence supporting that, and given that rikako's been working with the tengu to find the immaterial children it's highly improbable that they would just overlook her... but they did overlook kosuzu while she was with them. and that could be a reason why marisa's hard to pin down, no? being kept on youkai mountain by the tengu?
...eh, probably wrong. it's fun to speculate, though.
Seeing the human side of the protagonists in all these arcs, especially in the Kosuzu arc, a question comes to mind. Does Utsuho also have a past self that is human (Myon?)/Youkai or something like that that is talking to her?
Notes aside, this chapter was very satisfying but it seems that there will be more happy scenes.
>>211471
It’s less predicting choices and more being able to both adapt around them and let characters take over. For example, if Yukari hadn’t had that talk with Reimu, it’d likely be one of the kosuzus who’d call attention to the damaged start of the scroll.
Most recent mis-guess, actually, got Yumemi stabbed. And I originally planned to have the approach them directly option to give you all the chance to turn Reimu around, but in practice once she got that far she isn’t likely to turn back.
Re: Marisa, I’d say that her options were one that is undeniably beastly, one that is beastly in its mythology if not in it’s Touhou appearance, and one that is not beastly in the slightest. And that hasn’t changed from before and after this shift. (Sanae’s lost her backup double-up option if Marisa took the shared one, but her primary options remain the same.)
What has changed… is the number of Youkai Mountain options Marisa has. And I’m sorry to say, Youkai Mountain takes another L, and the number of options marisa has that are set there has gone from 1 to 0. (Snae actually has two options which count, in my eyes)
>>211473
Okuu has a past self awake since about her Re/Awakening. It’s just near identical to Okuu in her current state, so… it doesn’t have much unique to say.
She does have a little of Youmu’s soul, but it’s only the absolute, barest minimum.
>>211474
that's... actually kinda sad. to have suwako loose her last descendant not knowing that she's just moved to the exact same mountain said descendant's (supposed to be) daughter lives. of course, nothing they could do about it last timeline, but maybe this go around...
anyways, youkai mountain enjoyers gonna be coping for another arc.
Bit by bit, Kosuzu gets to start pulling herself out of the hole that Tsukasa tried to bury her in. Hopefully more happy memories will be enough to break the hard grip (at least enough to be combat ready against Tsukasa and Seiga).
>>211473
To be honest, reading the human perspectives makes me really worried for Reimu. While combat-wise I don't think there are many doubts on her strength (maybe with the exception of Youmu/Okuu fighting together), she still is our one IC that fell into being a Pyre in her last life, and all she seems to have kept is the crappy Job Title, with MAYBE Yukari picking up that Reimu had a strong connection with her in timeline B (but without the time to resolve that given Kosuzu is going to be a mess to catch up even with Ran's and Chen's full attention.
Holding out that [Aunn] managed to make the transition and explains why Aunn is out and about, but probably won't get any confirmation on that until post-Kosuzu Omakes.
I don't think there are many backstories on Youkai Mountain that I can imagine a free spirit like Marisa would enjoy. Her options essentially would force her into either a rigid caste system as a tengu or a hyper-competitive cutthroat member of one of the other Youkai Mountain clans. In either case you can argue it may be to constraining for her free-spirited lifestyle.
Of course, this is moot given that Youkai Mountain shared option was lost, so we get to ponder on "Beast, Canonicaly Beast, and Non-Beast", whatever they turn out to be (There isn't much to speculate about other than the second option tbh, first and last just have too many options.)
Gooboi, don't forget to post the link in the AO3 update.
Something from this last update reminded me of something from >>210445:
>A perfect circle was being slowly carved into the wall.
Compare that to the update above:
>As it did, a small… glowy hole? A portal of some sort appeared. It was perfectly circular; big enough to allow a coin through on its face, but little else.
Seiga was an accomplice
>>211477
adding on, the previous thread too, unless it's maxed out or something.
Great update, can't wait to see what's next :3
We can't let whatever "the worst" is come to pass. Fucked up too much already. We have to play the boss exactly right.
Since the topic of Okuu’s come up, would feeding her the Yata fuck up her ability to re/awaken? She’d basically be the same person she was in previous timelines, just with a sister.
>>211474
>one that is undeniably beastly, one that is beastly in its mythology if not in it’s Touhou appearance, and one that is not beastly in the slightest
>>211476
There would be many different possibilities for the "undeniably beastly" option, but the other ones are a bit more restrictive. Since none of the reincarnation options are ever actually human, my guess for the "non-beast" option would actually be the fairy Marisa that people talked about last thread. As for the "beastly in mythology" option, my first thought was a mind-reading monkey satori, but we've already had a Chireiden arc. My second thought is, maybe it's a nue?
>>211484
Kappa/Yamawaro I don't think would stop Marisa? OP said that the one he removed was one that Marisa really couldn't take, with the implication it could be even worse for her than Tsukasa is for Kosuzu. But Kappa and Yamawaro aren't that - they have a lot of powerful tech marisa could use in various ways, for starters, and the capital to buy any books if she needed them.
>>211483
>>211484
First option is straightforward, and essentially is just going to be all of the Youkai with Animal Features (or just Horns since I would put money on Oni also qualifying). Too many options here, but Dragon!Marisa (however that manifests) would qualify in this area.
For the second option, there are actually quite a few choices going around. Other than the mentioned Tsuchigumo or Kappa/Yamawaro possibilities (though the latter set is Youkai mountain so were cut), there is also the possibility of being a Baku (and getting to spend time with Doremy).
For the third option, there are loads of viable choices. Fairy!Marisa is probably the most discussed one, Inchling!Marisa or Tsukumogami!Marisa would also qualify (and I would bet on being one of Alice's dolls if the latter). While morbid (and fairly unlikely given the need to reincarnate) you probably could also toss in all the phantoms into this category.
>>211487
I thought I'd said this, maybe I haven't, but... Fairisa isn't going to be one of the options. Marisa's options in particular I'm going for variety, and there's another one of her options that I like more that is a bit too much of an overlap.
And specifically, the definition of mythologically beastly I'm using is 'is based on animals, but the touhou based on them has no horns/wings/tail of that animal'. Clothing doesn't count as animal features for this purpose. So I guess Kappa could count, if you consider them drawing from various aquatic creatures - but we already had a chance for a Kappasuzu.
Oni would fall under the 'not beastly' category.
Maybe you said it on the discord? I don't recall seeing it here when i've mentioned it across the different threads... Darn, oh well!
...though what overlaps a lot with Fairies??
...Kedama Marisa? XD
Not a lot of options for Oni, Kasen is on Youkai mountain, and i believe Suika is too? Or at least has a place there. And Yuugi is in old hell so a bit close to Youmu...
Another option that's been mentioned before that could put Marisa in a similar place to the doll option would be a Makai demon.
Personally, never expected Marisa to have a "Fairy" option. That's because, if I remember correctly, at the very beginning of this CYOA, Marisa has said that "she wanted to be a powerful youkai" (as in raw power). That goes with her canon character which is all about raw (and flashy) power.
So, her becoming a fairy would be the straight opposite of her wishes. Sure, there are Cirno and Clownpiece but they're exceptions to the rule. So, like I said, I never expected Gooboi to even consider it.
I personally thought of oni but there are certain traits that oni have that don't fit Marisa at all (ie. oni don't lie)
My anon 2¢
>>211490
It's not like oni can't lie, they just have a strong cultural stigma against it, and perhaps a tendency to play pseudo-lawyer to "explain" why they weren't really lying when they do. Not a big difference from humans!
Suika lies all the time and I believe one of the IaMP endings notes that she's a bit of an outcast because of her open craftiness. Kasen practically does nothing but lie. If Satori's correct about her, Yuugi is either knowingly lying or lying to herself about Old Hell being a paradise she'd never want to leave, and she wasn't exactly honest with Reimu in that one Lotus Eaters chapter. I don't know whether or not Urumi counts as an oni proper, but she does have that whole stone baby trick.
Nothing's stopping the reborn Marisa from being a dishonest oni except social pressure, and if that was enough, she'd have never left the Village. Or, for that matter, been such a liar to begin with.
been thinking about the "mythological/actual animal beast but the touhou version doesn't have animal traits" option for marisa.
combed through the character list on the wiki and found three potential candidates who meet that criteria:
- hong meiling, if we're going with the fanon assumption that she's a dragon.
- iku nagae
- shou toramaru
meiling might be a choice for tenshi as well, since one of her choices is a double-up (i'm interpreting that as in she shares an origin with one other protagonist, though that could also mean a repeat of previous choice). iku would be... interesting, though i don't know much about her, so i can't really say anything.
shou, i think, is the most likely- marisa and sanae have three unique options, which makes me think that tenshi's double-up would be a choice from the other four (er, five, technically, but two of them share the same origin). we've already been offered a choice with the buddhists, and i don't remember if it's canon or not but i do vaguely remember her and nazrin staying in the outside world while the other buddhists were sealed underground so she could be the outsider option for the ic as a whole as well.
maybe there's others that i missed, but those are the few that i've thought of so far.
>>211489
It is indeed a bit tricky to think of "something that overlaps conceptually with fairies". Maybe it's a poltergeist, a la the Prismriver Sisters? Poltergeists, like fairies, are also a) not strictly "mortal" like humans and most youkai, b) a bit more associated with Western mythology than Japanese and c) mischievous in nature, which would fit Marisa. They would also fit the "not beastly" option. The main point of contention is that they would be considered a particularly "strong" youkai, I suppose.
>>211493
Nue Houjuu might also fit? She has wings, but they're not "beastly" and they don't fit the mythological description of a nue. The ability to disguise oneself would also be fitting for a thief like Marisa.
I don't think Marisa is going to end up as a dragon, after all, in an incredibly rare sentence...
Reimu stole it. XP
But nobody's guesses have been very much on the mark.
>>Akyuu was meant to pick something with "good coverage, like a tengu", but all of her options put her outside of gensokyo, in awkward places as well.
>>Kosuzu wanted to be a mermaid at first, then revised to wish for 'nothing watery or fiery'. She didn't get a mermaid option, but she did get a watery one (kappa).
>>Youmu was technically on point, but she just wanted to be able to still wield her swords. And nothing about her option really helped with that.
...that, and OP has been quite open about changing people's options as they went. I don't think we should put too much stock in that update.
Well... here is a list of possible Youkais that could become the protagonists for those who are interested. Undead (jiang-shi, ghost), creations by another entity (haniwas, dolls) and variations of humans (shikaisen, lunarian, etc.) are excluded.
Regarding Marisa, I would like her to be a non-beast Youkai since we have quite a few beast-type ones, although I might change my mind when the vote comes up. hahah
Thanks for listing it all like this. Some are of course less likely than others(Tenshi probably won't be an oarfish since that's too close to home, and Earth Rabbit/Kuda-gitsune are pretty close to ones we've already done). I think out of this list, Inchling and mouse Youkai stuck out to me as funny for Marisa. She wants a power boost? Instead, she gets stuck as one of the smallest and weakest youkai species.
My idea was kinda similar with faeries, though mainly only on the height front. Powerwise, well firstly i would guess that not only would faerie magic wouldn't interfere with marisa's alchemic magic, but could even potentially enhance it. On top of that, Cirno demonstrates that a faerie can with hard work grow their power. Something Marisa demonstrated herself as a human.
Though that's just me defending my idea that i've been carrying since arc/thread 1. we already know its not happening for Marisa anyways and i look forward to what Gooboi has cooked up...
My thought awhile back about Marisa wanting to be a dragon or oni would mean she only gets to be adjacent or tangentially related species. I’m blanking if there’s anything that qualifies as for oni, but dragon offers several potential parents.
Meiling, if you go with the rarely seen interpretation that she’s a western dragon raised in the east. As such she lacks the divinity eastern dragons possess and is weaker.
Iku, oarfish are somewhat visually similar to dragons, as well as servants of them.
Momoyo, ōmukade are specifically famed as dragon killers. Would actually meet her criteria for a strong reincarnation, but the idea that she becomes the nemesis of a species she wanted is funny to me.
>>211514
Out of those, my vote is for oomukade, because Reimu is already a kind of dragon, and the mental image of oomukade-Marisa inadvertently terrorising jidiao-Reimu meeting is too funny.
The young fox curled up in her bed, snoring quietly. She was beautiful, completely at peace.
So Yukari was forced to not use any of the words she’d like to use to describe the baku who unceremoniously shoved her into the real world. Dusting herself off, she took a moment to steady her thoughts, before examining the sleeping Kosuzu.
…She’d feel the salt from her tears in the morning, but the fox’s sorrowful expression had eased into something more at peace. Yukari resisted the urge to pet the kit, in case she accidentally woke her instead. Instead, she focused on setting a few wards. Particularly any that might prevent someone creating a gate to the young fox’s room.
She hadn’t gotten the information she’d originally intended, and that meant she still had to be cautious. But, on the bright side, when it came to her core goals, the trip hadn’t been for nothing. Little Suzu remembered a core piece of her past, one that’d lead her home if it had to. And in the end, it was still informative.
The sage rubbed her chin, deep in thought. Kosuzu must have been rather sensitive to detect that mote that appeared in her bedroom, even in such ideal conditions. Even Yukari could only detect something of that level when it started pushing on a boundary with another. Perhaps it was because she’d once been reduced to a similar state. If that was the case, the nature of the mote could be that spell Mabuchi had mentioned. A spirit diminished so as to be almost undetectable, made deliberately and used as a spotter… Ingenious, albeit horrific. But if one was enough to act as eyes - to the point that portals could be placed with at least functional precision - then how had Tsukasa not detected her presence? Surely Tsukasa would have known the moment Yukari approached Suzu, and made herself scarce, no? …Perhaps there were limitations. Such a form was hardly durable, for starters.
But if Tsukasa wasn’t using it, then…
She sensed the mental chiming sound of someone trying to contact her. Chen, it seemed. She opened up a small gap, whispering into it.
“Keep your voice down. I’m in Kosuzu’s room. What do you need?”
The cat’s voice duly came out at a whisper. “Miss Ichi got the book back, and Tsukasa’s escaped.”
“...Disappointing on the second front, but not surprising. An acceptable result.” Yukari gave a small smile. She knew for a fact that where the little fox might doubt many other things, that Grimoire would be undeniable proof. “I trust nothing else burned down in my absence?”
…There was a rather worryingly long pause. Yukari sighed. Of course. More fool her.
“Alright, Chen. I’m listening.” She sat back, leaning on the edge of a summoned gap. “What happened?”
Reimu turned to the meeting room with obvious trepidation. “...Any help would be greatly appreciated, Yukari.”
As she lead the Sage into the meeting room, she sighed. Her mother and Keiki were only inches from each other’s face.
“I am not going to take any more Kiketsu skullduggery, Yachie!” The sculptor snarled. “If I hadn’t let your agents even have the free reign they’ve had, we wouldn’t have our soothsayer in the hospital right now!”
Yachie’s flames were only inches from Keiki’s face. “And if you had even a slight eye for ‘skullduggery’, Keiki, you wouldn’t have let an attempted murderer get away, and we wouldn’t be having this conversation! Because, like I said, I have no reason to wish harm on Ichi.”
Yukari stepped up. “How is Ichi doing? Will she make a full recovery?”
Keiki snapped at her. “Of course she’ll make a full recovery. Protecting humans from beasts is the reason I’m here, Yukari, don’t pretend you don’t know that.”
Yachie clapped her hands together. “Oh, protecting humans from beasts? What a splendid job you’ve done with that by yourself, hmm? Tell me, when we had to patch Youki up, was it your medics or mine?!”
Reimu took a moment to share a look with Mayumi, across the room from her. It was not exactly a look of familial pride.
Yukari flicked out her fan. “So, do you have any leads on Tsukasa’s location?”
Yachie nodded, stiffly. “She fled into Keiga territory. Likely hoping to curry favor by selling out valuable information.” The tortoise dragon turned an eye to her daughter. “Of which she already knows far too much.”
Keiki growled. “Which has inspired Yachie to redouble her attempts at ‘altruism’ by bringing her troops in my territory. And it is only now that she claims Ichi told her about an attack!”
The Kiketsu matriarch growled right back. “I assumed you’d already been informed. Or perhaps you were, and just stopped paying attention.”
Keiki straightened up. “Well I’ve had just about enough of this, Yachie! You and your schemes are more than I can tolerate here!”
Yachie seethed. “My schemes? My schemes? Oh, that’s rich. For all your claims about the nobility of humanity, you’ve been a deceiver from the first-” She almost choked, a glance going in Reimu’s direction.
…The sculptor goddess grew a small grin. “Oh, yes. Of course. All cards on the table, yes? Yachie… don’t you think it’s time for one of us to come clean?”
Reimu sighed. Of course her mother had some weirdo scheme she was working on in the background. The mother in question’s eyes went wide. “Keiki, you’re making a mistake. You cannot take this back - I am not your enemy, here.”
The sculptor… hesitated, but her face ultimately turned stern. “You aren’t? You’ll have to forgive me for not seeing it, Yachie. You continue to skulk behind my back, even now that one of your contractors tried to kill a human. In my home - my home, Yachie! If you want to claim you’re not my enemy, I need something, anything, to convince me that these schemes of yours aren’t against me. Because if we’re not in alignment here… I need to know. Now.”
Yachie’s eyes looked around the room, uncertainly, before resting with Yukari. The sage gave a curt nod, and turned her attention to the sculptor goddess. “And what, exactly, are you seeking answers on?”
The sculptor goddess looked at her. “Ohhhh, let’s see. What exactly was Yachie’s stance on Tsukasa, why that damn fox tried to kill Ichi, and perhaps what your little deal was, as well?” She glared at the gap youkai. “Give me the answers on that, and maybe then we can talk about whose side anyone is on.”
Yukari sat back, shrugging. “I see. …In that case, I can help with all of those matters.” She put her finger up. “First, I believe Ichi attacked Tsukasa first.”
That provoked a look from both of the matriarchs. Keiki sputtered. “That isn’t - nothing Ichi’s done would explain such a rash action, Yukari. How can you possibly say that?”
“Her own words.” Yukari said, coolly starting to fan herself. “Ichi - the future Yumemi, rather - feels indebted to Kosuzu for saving her life, and wanted to get the Grimoire Ran penned back for her. But she only has knowledge of events she witnessed herself, or she was told.about in this timeline - which presumably prevented her from knowing the full outcome of going to attack Tsukasa.”
Mayumi raised an eyebrow. “Seems… rather reckless, no?”
Yukari sighed. “I don’t think she was thinking rationally. Nor was I, for that matter, when she told me about her plans.” She gave a small look to Reimu, before continuing. “As for the deal with me, and where Tsukasa stands… let’s say that the Yakumo will be taking over the position Tsukasa would have held in escorting Reimu to the surface.”
“Kosuzu’s still coming, right?” Yukari gave Reimu’s question a curt nod, which brought a smile to the young jidiao’s face. Good! Still, there were some other matters to clarify. “...Not to say that I’m not glad, but wasn’t the whole point to get someone else? I’m pretty sure you were one of the chief concerns - that you’d use your powers to cut me off from being a Kiketsu, or something like that.” Yukari raised an eyebrow at the comment, but didn’t immediately respond. “So… what changed?”
Yukari flicked her fan over her face. “Yachie figured out the truth about Kosuzu. At a glance, apparently. And so, she had the means to at least barter equivalency out of me.”
Keiki tilted her head. “Equivalency?” Reimu shared her confused expression, as did Mayumi. “What equivalency? Do you have some connection to Kudamaki Kosuzu?”
Reimu leaned forward.
Yukari gave a small smile. “I have no connection to Kudamaki Kosuzu. That person doesn’t exist.” She flicked her fan shut. “Yakumo Kosuzu, however, is Ran’s daughter by blood.”
…Oh. Ohhhh.
Ohhhhhhhhh.
Reimu stared, slack-jawed, as Yachie nodded. “Kudamaki Tsukasa kidnapped the young Kosuzu when she was two and a half. But the process in which she did so is still not understood. So, we were to try and pry out any secrets from her.”
Keiki looked between them, rather shocked by this revelation herself. “S-so… the only reason you kept Tsukasa here…”
Yukari bowed. “Was because of my request, Keiki. It was out of suspicion that she had backup to call upon that I masked my presence, which likely lead to her being bold enough to attack.” She stood up, looking Keiki head-on. “This was about the worst of my projections on this topic, but I still assumed it would not go this way.”
Keiki… was starting to cool down. “I… I see.” She regathered herself. “So you both renounce Tsukasa, then?”
Yachie stepped back, letting out a long sigh of relief. “You don’t have to believe it’s out of the goodness of my heart, Keiki. But yes, I do. Now, please, let us discuss what we need to do next, hmm?”
Keiki started to bristle again, but Yukari raised her hand. “Perhaps we can resolve this another way? Rather than debating about what Ichi said or didn’t say, the matter is simply that we don’t know what the Keiga plan is, no? If we scout out the wolves preparing an invasion force, we can react accordingly.”
Yachie rubbed her chin. “...Mmm. I may have just the otter we need for that.”
Keiki glared at her. “While I may agree with the premise, I’m not going to trust some professional sneak-”
“Then trust your own eyes, Keiki.” Yukari opened a gap, grabbing the edge of it with her fingers and dragging it around. “If the otter brings along one of my gaps, we can see what they see.”
The sculptor looked between them. “...It’s a start. But we should make some more precautions to make sure they get there as quickly as possible.”
The three adults began to talk tactics, discussing what exactly the best infiltration force would entail. Reimu breathed a sigh of relief, stepping over and sitting next to Mayumi. As soon as she did, a wave of exhaustion hit her. Honestly, with how late it had gotten, she really could fall asleep right here.
Still… Tsukasa wasn’t Kosuzu’s mother at all? The jidiao scowled. If that was the case, the tube-fox better hope they never met again. As a shrine maiden, she knew exactly how to deal with evil youkai… and as a yakuza princess, she knew exactly how to get someone to spill their secrets.
Still there was one bright spot. Tsukasa’s plans with the Keiga had been upended, and the wolves were skeptical of schemers at the best of times. Reimu gave a small grin. Oh, to be a fly on the wall for that conversation…
Why do I have the feeling that that otters name is Koji?
>So Yukari was forced to not use any of the words she’d like to use to describe the baku who unceremoniously shoved her into the real world.
Hm, I'd figured the "baku interference time limit" was some kind of excuse or metaphor when Yukari first talked about it, but I guess it was literal. It's always interesting when Yukari of all people is overruled by someone else, given her usual (deliberately crafted) aura of all-powerfulness.
Poor Reimu getting stuck in a fight between her three moms.
I guess for Oni-like creatures, there's demons, and arguably ushi-oni? The first would put her in contact with Alice in Makai as well
alright, maybe a bit late, but there was a bit earlier in >>210641 that just put an image into my head and I had to just doodle it real quick
so uh, yeah; keep it up, I guess
>>211524
It was about time that someone with real drawing skills did the story more justice that I could ever do lol
Even though it's a sketch, the perspective, composition, expression and sheer emotion is miles away to anything I could ever make
Please you have to finish this, I really want to see it colored! Fully rendered if possible!
>>211524
I’m consistently blown away by all the art! Thank you for the wonderful piece!
>>211524
that's so cool holy crap
I am a bit behind on work, but some line art and flats at least shouldn't be too demanding; thanks as well, but please don't sell yourself short - your work is plenty cute, and the last thing I'd want to do is discourage you
... also bonus otter (best driver in the business)
>>211529
I'm a very honest person, sometimes to a fault, so I won't lie to you:
Your drawing makes me envious and wish I was as good as you.
That said, I know that envy and self-pity end up going nowhere, so I'll just have to keep practicing until one day I can be on par.
Don't worry about discouraging me to draw. In fact, I'd be very happy to hear any feedback or suggestions you might have on my art (if you have the time of course), I learn better when someone points me stuff to improve. But I'd hate to interrupt the thread more than I'm doing now, so I'll ask you to do so via Discord if you can (you can find me in the thp Discord as Kosuka).
Thanks!
Kurokoma Saki sat on the far side of the penthouse suite. She puffed idly on a cigar, reading out some report or other from one of her subordinates.
Behind her, on the same couch, lay a positively giant wolf spirit. Big enough that it’d stand shoulder-to-shoulder, at least, with Tsukasa. It glared at the fox with its one good eye, as she was shuffled into the room.
Neither said much of anything, for a time. Tsukasa wrung her hands, knowing full well this was a humiliation ritual as much as anything. The Keiga were known lackwits, so their primary goal with any manipulator in their ranks was to get them off-kilter, so they’d overplay their hand. She just held back and waited, counting the seconds. The battle of wits had begun already, and she wouldn’t let herself be taken in just by impatience.
What didn’t help matters was the fourth member of the meeting. Kaku Seiga was sipping at a martini, and giving Tsukasa an endlessly smug grin. While the two on the couch were stalling Tsukasa’s response by not acknowledging her existence, the wicked hermit was openly reveling in the tube-fox’s awkward situation. Tsukasa had no choice but to squirm under her gaze, and bite back the urge to say anything regrettable.
Four minutes and thirty-seven seconds in, the Keiga matriarch looked up from her plans. “So. You came back, surprisingly.”
Tsukasa didn’t quite meet the cold stare. “This night has been full of surprises, I’ve found. Few of them pleasant.”
“On that, we can agree.” The pegasus tossed the document aside. “So. Your intel was partially correct, I believe?”
Tsukasa couldn’t just let that slide. “Correct as of the time I left the Kiketsu territory, but yes.”
“Which was, coincidentally, just late enough that they got away from Seiga.” The doubt was apparent in Kurokoma’s voice.
“Tragically so.” Another nod. Tsukasa found her first point to latch on to. “But! With no intel, they would have been gone, with you none the wiser on who took her.”
The pegasus gave her a flat look, for a few seconds. Without breaking her gaze, she spoke. “Vandrer?”
The massive wolf rumbled. “By all accounts, they snuck in past all our guards without being spotted. Except by that rot-brained zombie.” The glowing red eye locked on to Tsukasa. “That fox must be well-trained.”
Tsukasa grumbled a bit at that. “More so than she should be, frankly…” The young fox wasn’t meant to have much in the way of spells. Hearing that she’d put up some level of fight against a hermit was rather shocking, even to her.
Kurokoma sat up, pouring two glasses from a square bottle. She gestured for Tsukasa to sit. “So. What’s the deal with this fox? How do you know her?”
Tsukasa sat down, taking one of the glasses unsteadily. She picked it up, deciding to hold off on sipping until she saw the pegasus drink. “Ah, she’s a stray, one that I adopted.” She left the reasons open for anyone to interpret, knowing they’d all undoubtedly fill in the blanks with their own thoughts regardless of what she said. “I’ve been training her as my own daughter for the last seven years.”
“Training her as an infiltrator? Seiga asked, open doubt in her voice. “With bells all over her?”
Tsukasa shrugged. “Her name is Kosuzu, and she’s fond of them for her own decoration. I just humor her on that front.”
Vandrer kept his gaze steady, unblinking. There was something deeply unsettling about a ghost that acted almost identical to its living counterparts, except for those small ticks that truly spoke of life. It spoke of control beyond the instinctual. “And it limits her ability to sneak up on you.”
“Incidentally so, yes.” The tube fox sat back, sighing. “But that Danmaku… it wasn’t anything I taught her. Apparently it was because of some magic book or other. I would have liked to have presented it to you, but… I was denied the chance before it left the grounds.”
Kurokoma lifted her glass and downed it in a single gup. “Hahhhhh… not much of a cunning infiltrator, are you?”
The tube fox bristled at that. “As I said before, Kurokoma, they had a self-proclaimed soothsayer. One who seems to be related to that Yumemi girl.” She took a sniff from the glass. A lot of alcohol, and to her best guess, not even a whiff of poison. “That woman at least, won’t be giving them any new intel for a while.” She smirked a bit at that.
As Tsukasa started to drink, Seiga tilted her head. “She recovered the book? How curious.” She turned to the Matriarch. “I wonder if she intends to curry favor with the Yakumo?”
The whiskey caught in her throat. Tsukasa broke down into a coughing fit. “Y-yakumo? Wh-what do you mean?”
When she managed to look up, Seiga was grinning, like a cat with a mouse. “You see, the Kiketsu story seems to be that the fox in question is a kitsune. Not a tube-fox, like you told us. And - what was it you said, Vandy?”
Vandrer’s lip curled, but he still didn’t break his gaze on Tsukasa. “The scene bore a very similar scent to Ran. The sort of similarities one would expect between mother and daughter.”
Tsukasa began to sweat. “N-not that I’m doubting your nose, sir, but… surely you’ve not been in contact with Yakumo Ran for any significant period, have you? After all, she is still a living fox, is she not?”
The wolf spirit shook his head. “She was once a native of the Animal Realm. Actually rose to some prominence before she left, being a key strategist of the gang that would one day become the Gouyoku.”
He looked away, at last, remembering a time long past. “She was never satisfied with the savagery of the Realm. …It was Yachie, actually, who convinced her to flee to the surface. Purely for the tactical advantages of the talent drain.” He let out a rumbling chuckle. “Stupid turtle learned the hard way; she was the one keeping Yuuma in check. But perhaps she can leverage that now, with the Dragon Miko in play.”
Tsukasa’s knuckles began to whiten around her glass. That brat had come from the Animal Realm?! …Kicchou had known, hadn’t she? No way that Yachie was spreading a story where Kosuzu was a kitsune on accident…
Five eyes were locked on to her now. Kurokoma spoke up, slowly. “I wonder, Tsukasa. This ‘stray’ of yours… it wouldn’t happen to be Ran’s daughter, would it?”
The fox leaned down, racking her brain. The battle of wits had turned on a dime to an almost doomed scenario, all pieces surrounding her. A hundred responses flooded through her brain, hitting up against walls. Was there anything she could say here that wouldn’t end her life?
…There was. It was a desperate ploy, but for the Keiga, it might be just about perfect. She took a slow breath, straightening up, and smirking.
“Ahhhh,” she sighed. “You got me.”
Saki grinned. “Ballsy move to steal a kid from under the Yakumo’s nose. How the hell d’you manage that?”
Tsukasa shrugged, casually. “Now now, a woman must keep her secrets.” …The truth of her statement echoed through her. If the Yakumo had even just an inkling of how she’d gotten away before… there would be no second time. “And I assume you’d be wanting to leverage my skills once more, hmm?”
Seiga’s sadistic smirk finally left her face, sneaking over to Tsukasa’s instead. A prize for winning this conspiratorial spar “Ah, you’re no fun. I was hoping we’d get a bit more out of you before you caught on…”
Saki leant back on the greatwolf. “Yeah, you catch on quick. We got what we needed to go full-speed ahead with our plans tomorrow, and we’re just assembling the ingredients now.”
She looked up. “But while we’ll have the shock and awe, there’s no way we’re knocking Keiki out of the fight in a day. No telling what Yachie’ll do, either. But if we get that little inventor back in our control…” She smirked. “Then we’ll have the long game, as well.”
Tsukasa tapped her chin. “Do you need my tactical intel, or my direct intervention? I am able to serve as you need… as long as you can ensure me safe passage once matters are resolved.” It wasn’t the most she could barter for, but now wasn’t the time to push her luck.
Besides, if they made her break into Haniwa territory, she knew a way out from there. She’d just slip out when she got the chance.
Saki nodded. “Yep, sounds like a simple enough deal to me.” She held out her hand. Tsukasa grinned, taking it. Finally, things were starting to-
Kurokoma tightened her grip. The tube fox gasped, feeling her bones on the verge of escaping their positions. The smirk on Seiga’s face returned with a vengeance, as she stepped up, spinning a collar around her finger.
“You don’t mind a little insurance, do you?” Tsukasa tried to pull away, but the pegasus bent the fox’s hand back, forcing her to her knees. “Of course, we’re happy to help you get out of here once you’ve done your part. But, just to be safe, we're gonna make sure you're here for the long haul. Got it?”
Tsukasa hissed, as the collar was locked in place. “Wh-what is the meaning of…! I am trying to help you, you overgrown cattle!”
Saki shrugged. “Eh, well, this won’t do anything to slow you down, I assure you. At least while you’re in the city.” She smirked. “And any one of us three can take it off, when you’re done. We just need to make sure you do your part, first. So bring that red girl back, and we'll call it even.”
The fox tried to figure out where she’d gone wrong. How Saki had sniffed her out. “I-I don’t know what makes you think I’ve done something worthy of this… I-I can give you all the tactical information I know? Surely-”
Saki guffawed at the flabbergasted fox. “Oh, you will. But, see, you think too much like a Kiketsu. All tactical gains and cunning maneuvers.” She gave the fox a sly grin. “Doesn’t matter how cooperative you’ve been. When I hire a shifty contractor for a job? I’ll make sure they do it right.”
She released the fox, still nursing her bruised hand. “I-I see…” Of course. There was nothing she could have said that would have prevented this collar coming on. She could have been the most trustoworthy fox they'd ever met, and this collar would still be around her throat. She was being recruited to this task, and there was no say she had in the matter.
She had won the battle of wits. The only problem was that Kurokoma had decided not to attend.
Glad to see some karma catching up to Tsukasa. I wonder what the collar does...
By this point, everyone knows the truth, we only have to wait until Kosuzu believes it.
Oh no, Tsukasa is forced to stay close enough that Ran can get her hands on her. How tragic.
(In seriousness, looking forward to the mess the Animal Realm is going to end up in after the upcoming battle. Thanks again for the updates Gooboi!)
The collar's probably insurance. Doesn't need to be specified because it probably won't kick in; I think it's safe to say that Tsukasa's downfall won't be at the hands of the Keiga.
I do like how Saki's simplicity just works for her. Cut through the Kudamakian knot of scheming and disloyalty with one simple trick!
Well, Tsukasa's in it now; sucks to be her.
There is another possibility, though one which is maybe less likely: given how eager Seiga was to get her hands on Kosuzu when she showed up earlier, it seems possible that is, in fact, Tsukasa who is/was the accomplice.
Huh... So somehow despite us deciding not go for having ICs be the daughters of all three of the big animal gangs... We've still ended up with 2 out of 3 with 3 more ICs to go? XD
Also, Yachie! That's the second headache you unleashed on the animal realm! (or rather technically first, but you still get what i mean!)
Though huh... That'd be an interesting twist. Maybe not in character for the gang, but it would be interesting if in the middle of the battle, not only are the Otters reinforcing the Haniwha, but as news arrives of the Kitsune everyone has been hearing about fighting with them. And all of a sudden the call goes out
"The Eagles are coming!"
sorry, could help putting the LotR reference there xp
And it looks like i was wrong regarding Seiga being the one to assist Tsukasa...? Then who else can do portals, especially characterized as a perfect circle? That rules out Okina... Who else is there?
Hey, your art is great, just because its not the same style doesn't mean its lesser! Its been one of the big draws for this story and i have been entranced by it multiple times, especiall. At >>205938 (though >>205750 is also hilariously funny!)
Lmao. Tsukasa learning the hard lesson that moral and practical concerns are far more frequently aligned than some would like to think... at the worst possible time. For her.
>She had won the battle of wits. The only problem was that Kurokoma had decided not to attend.
"I'm not owned! I'm not owned!"
Yeah, that is a possibility... Either way if they were working together back then they are playing off Seiga's connection to it very well...
Tsukasa is gonna be able to escape still, sadly. But it's probably for the best. Don't want to fuck up the timeline too much.
I hope we can break her nose or something, though.
The most interesting thing about all this is that Tsukasa seems to have had a connection with Ran before the kidnapping and it seems that he has a lot of resentment towards her.
>>Tsukasa’s knuckles began to whiten around her glass. That brat had come from the Animal Realm?! …Kicchou had known, hadn’t she? No way that Yachie was spreading a story where Kosuzu was a kitsune on accident…
Maybe they had a rivalry over who was the best or Tsukasa was jealous of Ran for being a prodigy? This is reinforced by all the times they compare her to the Kitsunes or show that being a Tubefox is an inferior being.
>>211524
Although it is a sketch looks nice!
>Tsukasa’s plans with the Keiga had been upended, and the wolves were skeptical of schemers at the best of times.
Saki gets a new necktie, her wolves get a new chew toy, and we get a show! Sounds like a win-win-win!
>>211531
>>211540
This is the last thing I'll say about this, thank you for your support, means a lot to me.
I'm aware this is not a competition and I don't intend to take it that way. Also, sorry I've not been posting drawings lately. I've been working on some other stuff that I can't really share here and can't talk about. Let's call it a NDA lol.
I also wanted to apologize, because I re-read my last comment and I sound way more abrasive than I intended. I don't want to discourage anyone to actually draw fanart either, as I said before: as a fan myself, I want to see even more art! (I still want to hear feedback if you have it lol)
Anyways, back to the updates:
First things first, I'm glad that Keiki and Yachie are starting to cooperate a little after the start of the previous update. It's not all roses of course, and I'm not sure how long will it last, but it's a start. I'm VERY glad that Yukari finally spilled the beans about Kudamaki Yakumo Kosuzu!
Will Yumemi see or be informed of Ichi's fate? I feel that Ichi will ask for her to not be informed of the attack's result, as to not alter the future: her fear when faced against Tsukasa's kunai might have been her knowing that she would be stabbed but not knowing if she survives or not, leading to a closed loop where she gets stabbed because of that fear and her getting that fear because of knowing years in advance that she would be stabbed and possibly die in the first place.
And we get to be a fly on the wall for that conversation over at Saki's!
About the latest update: Tsukasa spilled the beans, too, incredibly (even if to save her own hide).
The thing about Kosuzu and Ran's smell being similar is what was foreshadowed by Chen some time ago. I was worried about Tsukasa knowing the real identity of "The Dragon Miko", but now I kind want her to spill the beans saying that she's Yachie's daughter and their reaction when it turns out that Reimu is a "normal human" (with the kakkushi-seki and her scent-change to hide every track of her real species).
As >>211538 said, it's very plausible that Seiga and Tsukasa were involved in the kidnapping, but Tsukasa was working without knowing who her employer was, since there's no reaction from either Tsukasa or Seiga to one another. I said a long time ago with Shirohime that it might be Tsukasa with a book of forbidden spells from Seiga. She might have been an unwitting plan on a grander scheme, for all we know at this point. Yukari, as she said herself, has a not-short list of possible enemies, and Seiga might be there for all we know.
As >>211545 said, I think Tsukasa and Ran's relationship will be expanded later. I think they are related somehow, and I used to think they were mother and child as many did but with what we know now, I very much doubt it. Especially since Tsukasa spoke about Ran as a "brat" implying she's actually older than Ran herself. My new go-to crazy theory is that they were pit against each other, contending for the title of shikigami of the Gap Youkai. Then something happened (maybe Tsukasa cheated?) that made her fall from grace and lose the opportunity and her status as a kitsune, and so she resents Ran since that very day, enough to be willing to risk her life on the kidnapping of her child. And she's petty enough to actually raise the child of her enemy to be a completely useless, tricky, scheming, backstabbing gutter-fox just as a huge middle finger to Ran.
I very glad that Tsukasa's luck is finally running out. She's closer and closer to defeat (escape is victory after all). The collar is either something to shock, bind or paralyze her if she tries to escape/something tricky. Probably a tracker, too. It could even be a "bomb collar", for what we know now. It's Seiga's, after all. There's a final option I'm not willing to say just now.
As always, I'll wait to see what happens.
Maybe even drawing while I wait ^_^
I have got to know where you got the name Vandrer from because it is awesome!
>>211553
I'd guess it's derived from "wander" or "wanderer" – in fact, "vandrer" does mean "to wander" in Norwegian, which would be an appropriate language to name a wolf in, considering the myth of Fenrir.
>>211534
the_price_is_right_losing_horn.mp3 (for Tsukasa ofc)
Karma's coming.
...Tsukasa's kind of pathetic for an antagonist, isn't she? Everyone else has her scurrying, and she only manages to effectively torment a literal child.
I suppose that petty villainy suits her.
>>211560
Mmw she's gonna be a super pyre and become a ten tailed kitsune.
On a more serious note what's Megumumumu gonna do if her fox gets killed?
not all antagonists need to be some kind of direct threat, I guess. it seems to me that the danger Tsukasa's actually represents here is making Kosuzu go up in black flames - as wretched as she is, I kinda get the impression that Tsukasa's sufficiently indefatigable that she's unlikely to give in to despair herself, though by that same token I kinda don't feel like an antagonist pyreing is all that likely this arc
To be fair, the antagonist of this arc has been the massive incoming attack from the Keiga family; Tsukasa is closer to a sub-complication or individual threat to Kosuzu, especially since we are running low on big hitters (realistically we have Reimu, Kosuzu, Mayumi, Yachie, Keiki, and Yukari, though I suspect Mayumi + the mothers will have their hands full with whatever Seiga's cooked up).
This leaves both the IC being the primary defenders of Yumemi against Saki and Tsukasa, which is a fine enough final boss given how much a threat Saki is and Tsukasa currently being Kosuzu's achilles heel. Even given Ran showing up to help midway, its going to be rough.
I... wouldn't write off Tsukasa as a threat juuust yet. our protagonists lucked out when Tsukasa unknowingly walked right between their claws and has been sitting there the entire time. And even with her sitting between the hands of both Yachie AND YUKARI FRICKEN YAKUMO. she still manages to nearly torpedo their plan in one move the one of the only two moments that they took their eyes off of her.
and now they don't see her. and thus don't know which direction she is going to be coming from.
yeah, she doesn't have a big stick like the grand majority of the people in our corner, even Yachie and her Skullduggery. But a shiv can do a lot of harm if put in the right place
Yachie's probably going to be busy dealing with Saki and Seiga. which leaves Kosuzu as Tsukasa's only counter.
on another topic, which I was joking about it in >>211540 what are the odds that the Gouyoku Alliance catching wind of just who the rumored Kitsune is and coming in on her side?
>>211566
Unless Ran actually stops by them to recruit them: I'm suspecting very, very low. If none at all. They're licking their wounds and both Keiga and Kiketsu duking it out works for them.
Although Yuuma catching rumors of a young kitsune in the animal realm working with the Kiketsu's dragon miko might make them want to find out details ASAP.
It would be funny if they end up finding out that Kosuzu actually is Ran's daughter and them thinking Ran sent her to help them by removing the Kiketsu's trump card from play.
>>211566
It's unlikely unless they start helping due to a misunderstanding or she wants revenge for what Saki did to her in the epilogue.
Also, we still don't know if Yuuma has fully recovered from the last fight. The only thing we know is that Chiyari is already with her.
The dream ended.
Kosuzu awoke, reluctantly.
The bed was soft and warm, after all. And she had to treasure those feelings. They were rare, sometimes.
She wasn’t sure what time it was, at first. A cursory examination revealed… that it was apparently a few minutes to seven. Which would mean she’d been sleeping for somewhere just over eight hours.
It was almost surprising it wasn’t more, really. Yesterday had been many things, most the sort that’d be more than enough excitement for one day on their own. A lot of good. A bit of bad. And a fair helping of the usual.
She looked down. She’d gone to sleep without getting changed, and she still had dirt and soot on her. Not to mention sweat. She might not be much of a tube-fox, but appearances were one thing she still had pride in.
She stepped up to the door, opening it cautiously. Nobody was in the dorms right now, at least not outside. Her eye cautiously scanned the room, eventually settling on a pile of clothes beneath the door, and the note atop it.
Kosuzu,
Hope you slept well. Most of these clothes were my recommendation, purchased from human-spirit stores - I think they’d look better on you than Tsukasa’s stuff.
We’ve got a lot to talk about, but it’s shaping up to be a busy morning. If you want to find me, just ask the otters.
Reimu.
Kosuzu read the note slowly, a small smile forming on her face. She took a look at the clothes. They were similar to the stuff Reimu and Yumemi had been wearing, for the most part, but in the sorts of colors she used to wear. And she wasn’t sure where her luggage was, so… this would have to do.
She picked up the whole stack, and put it on the foot of her bed. Looking more closely, there were a couple of layers. There was a shirt, but also a vest, and even a hoodie? Who’d wear three layers in the middle of summer? …Unlike the rest of it, while she could draw lines from her usual Suzunaan clothes to the outfit in front of her, the hoodie was starkly different. It had a blue body, with white sleeves and hood. The cuffs were made of a purple trim, and the blue snaked down her sleeves, in a vine-like pattern.
She lifted it up, to examine it. …Somewhat ironically, it kinda resembled what she vaguely remembered as Ran’s official outfit, almost a parody of it. The major difference was that, rather than the more abstract motif of her usual clothes, this made the white markings out of a plant with drooping flowers. Bluebells, maybe.
Shrugging, she turned to gather up the rest. It was too hot for that piece, and… as nice as it was to imagine the dream being real. She doubted her mother would let her keep it. Maybe Akyuu could use it, or something like that-
Bluebells.
Kosuzu stopped dead in her tracks. All but dropping her other clothes, she picked up the hoodie again. There was a mirror in the room… she scrambled over to it, throwing the hoodie on in a panic. She stubbed her toe on the frame, stumbling about blindly.
At last, she freed her head through the top, pulling up the hoodie. She looked at herself in the mirror. She only had the hood half-up over her head, with one ear in place, but the loose one was the one with Reimu’s talisman.
She stared at the ensemble, shocked. It- she looked a hell of a lot like Ran. B-but surely this was some kind of trick of the light? Maybe some sort of inspirational outfit, or cosplay or someth-
“It looks good on you!” Kosuzu froze. Behind her, in the mirror’s reflection, there was someone sitting on her bed. “A little big, maybe, but it’ll be just right for winter, I’m sure.”
She spun around. “Ch-chen?! I-I’m sorry, I-I didn’t mean to-”
The nekomata chuckled. “I sneak into your room when you left the door unlocked, and you’re apologizing to me?” She lifted up the book she was holding. “I’ve got something for you.”
Kosuzu stared at the book. She recognised it instantly. “Th-the Bluebell- Grim- I, I’m sorry, I-I didn’t take care of it-”
“Kosuzu.” Chen’s voice was gentle. She patted the side of the bed next to her. “Sit down, will you? There’s a part you have to read.” When the fox hesitated, she continued. “Trust me. It’ll be worth your time.”
The young tube-fox felt like she was moving through molasses, as she slowly made her way over to sit next to Chen. The nekomata had the book open to the title page she’d read the night before.
Once the fox was settled, Chen turned the page to the foreword. Kosuzu blinked. Looking at the top of the page, the very first word. It couldn’t be, could it…?
Was that… her name?
Chen gave Kosuzu a gentle rub on her back as the kuda- as the fox’s eyes went wide. The nekomata turned her eye to the page, beginning to read aloud.
“Kosuzu, if you’re reading this… thank goodness. This book has found its way to you at last. I can only hope that means one of us found you as well.”
Kosuzu’s breath hitched in her throat. She couldn’t breathe - every ounce of her concentration was locked on the page.
“You might be too young to remember, but… you are my daughter. The fact that you opened this book is proof - it will only reveal its continents to those who I specifically gave access to. Aside from myself, that list is only Yukari, Chen, and you.”
The fox stared, transfixed. Chen took a moment to check how she was doing, and to compose herself a bit more.
The fox looked at the next line, starting to read it out herself. “This book contains mostly basic material, but refined to a laser focus. Spells that would exhaust a three-tailed fox in minutes, stripped back and optimized without losing function - to the point you’ll be able to use them for just as long and only feel a bit tired. Ways to shape and form spells to the exact design you need for any given moment and situation. Tricks of the trade that take more than eight-hundred years to master - but, if I’ve written it right, only a few years to learn.”
“Y-you’ve always been fond of books, haven’t you? You always did light up whenever I carried you over to the bookshelf.” The nekomata gave Kosuzu a small, teary smirk, as the little fox nodded, quietly. “I wanted to make something for you that - a hundred, a thousand years from now, no matter how strong you get - you’d still be able to treasure.”
The fox had to let Chen start reading it out again. Her own eyes were blurring, filled to the brim with tears, and the sleeves of her hoodie started to get tear-soaked. “Because, more than anything, Kosuzu… this book contains years and years of thinking about you. Of longing for you. Every page has been written in the hopes that it will enable you to be the very best you can be.”
“Even if you don’t remember me, even if we never meet…” Chen was struggling to speak now, as well. “I-I want you to know I love you, Kosuzu. I always have, and I always will.”
The fox broke down into sobbing, clinging on to Chen. The nekomata closed the book, letting the fox cling to her, and gently rubbing her back.
“I-is…” Kosuzu looked up, uncertainty gripping her one last time. “I-is all this real? Or, or…”
Chen nodded, slowly, holding the fox close. “It’s real, Kosuzu. In fact… Lady Ran’s coming to meet you right now.” She gave the kit a scritch behind her ear. “And my mission is to make sure you stay safe until she gets here, so she can give you, oh… about seven and a half years of hugs you’re owed. Plus interest, of course.”
Chen ruffled Kosuzu’s hair, before reluctantly letting the young book-lover go. “So until then, I’m not letting you out of my sight!” …she paused, as Kosuzu looked down at her own disheveled state. “Well… maybe aside from letting you have a shower in private.” In spite of their tears, both of the girls chuckled. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up, hmm?”
Kosuzu nodded, standing up and following Chen’s lead. She reached out, pinching herself, and stared at her fingers.
And then, the kuda-gits-
No. Not anymore. Not ever, ever again.
The kitsune straightened up, and started to smile.
The dream she’d had last night… it seemed like it was coming true. Like something out of a storybook. It was absurd, even on its face, and yet… with all this happening? She couldn’t deny it.
The fox’s tail began to wag with excitement. All that, and her mom - her real mom - was coming here. Today!
Kosuzu couldn’t wait to meet her.
Grip has been unlocked.
And a lot of the soft fluffiness of the dream, as well. Where, for a moment, there had been some very optimistic thoughts about what could be, the Kosuzu that came out of the shower had gained a pit in her stomach.
The new clothes fit quite well - including a small hole made in the back for her tail - but Kosuzu wasn’t certain how it looked. It wasn’t anything she’d made a habit of wearing in either life - without the ears and tail, she’d look like an outsider, rather than a native Gensokyan. She stepped out of the private part of the dorm bathroom, anxiety starting to build.
“D-do I look okay?” She squirmed a bit.
Chen gave a thumbs up, before standing up to hand Kosuzu the grimoire. “Looking very cute! It’s a nice little schoolgirl look for you.”
Kosuzu turned back to the mirror. “W-will she think this is good?” She fiddled with her hair, anxiously. “Should I - should I put the hoodie back on?”
The shikigami chuckled. “That’d be way too hot for summer, Kosuzu… this is more for your sake than hers, anyway. You could be covered head-to-toe in mud and she’d still be all over you the moment she saw you.”
The young tube-f- the young kitsune tried to fiddle some more with her hair. The nekomata stepped up. “Need a hand with that?”
She looked over. Chen waved a brush. “A new style can do a lot of good. You’d be surprised, sometimes.”
Kosuzu started to shake her head, but the long bang that hung over the middle of her face passed over her eye. She paused, taking a moment to flick it back over her head instead.
…Now that she thought about it, this had always been the style Tsukasa had made her wear…
[ ] …A new style… or maybe her old one? That could be a bit fiddly for Chen to do, and removing that central lock might require a full cut, but… maybe it’d help her feel a bit more… not-Tsukasa’s.
[ ] No, this wasn’t the time. She should go and check in with the other girls. They’d undoubtedly be very worried about her.
Which friend to find first?
{ } Recon for Reimu.
{ } Meet with Mayumi.
{ } Yahoo at Yumemi.
( ) Ask Chen about what was happening today. When was Ran getting here?
( ) Talk to Chen about last night. About her memories.
>Grip has been unlocked
Yes!!!
Now we just need to drop it down as quickly as possible down from 5...
Well that and get Instinct and Spirit -Y up, they've been lagging!
[X] …A new style… or maybe her old one? That could be a bit fiddly for Chen to do, and removing that central lock might require a full cut, but… maybe it’d help her feel a bit more… not-Tsukasa’s.
{X} Yahoo at Yumemi.
Let the poor girl know that Kosuzu is alright... Though Mayumi is also the one that saved Ichimi and the grimoire so some time with her would be good too...
(X) Talk to Chen about last night. About her memories.
Almost want to see what would happen if Kosuzu just slipped a "big sis Chen" in the middle of their talk. =P
[x] …A new style… or maybe her old one? That could be a bit fiddly for Chen to do, and removing that central lock might require a full cut, but… maybe it’d help her feel a bit more… not-Tsukasa’s.
{x} Recon for Reimu.
(x) Talk to Chen about last night. About her memories.
[X] …A new style… or maybe her old one? That could be a bit fiddly for Chen to do, and removing that central lock might require a full cut, but… maybe it’d help her feel a bit more… not-Tsukasa’s.
get that FUCKING grip stat down!
if kosuzu does end up confronting tsukasa later, we need grip as low as possible to avoid another fuck up like last time. preferably all the way down to zero. asap.
i'll decide on the other votes when there's more arguments for and against, but for now i'm tossing my lot in to distance kosuzu from tsukasa as much as possible.
[X] …A new style… or maybe her old one? That could be a bit fiddly for Chen to do, and removing that central lock might require a full cut, but… maybe it’d help her feel a bit more… not-Tsukasa’s.
{X} Recon for Reimu.
(X) Talk to Chen about last night. About her memories.
[X] …A new style… or maybe her old one? That could be a bit fiddly for Chen to do, and removing that central lock might require a full cut, but… maybe it’d help her feel a bit more… not-Tsukasa’s.
I want to point out that central bang that got mentioned? That's Tsukasa's hairstyle. Until it's changed, Kosuzu is seeing an echo of her kidnapper every time she looks in the mirror.
{X} Yahoo at Yumemi.
Hard choice between this and Reimu, as both are clearly worried about her... but I feel like Yumemi's going to be the more uplifting encounter.
(X) Talk to Chen about last night. About her memories.
Come on, how could we not choose this?
At last! Kosuzu discovers the truth!
[X] …A new style… or maybe her old one? That could be a bit fiddly for Chen to do, and removing that central lock might require a full cut, but… maybe it’d help her feel a bit more… not-Tsukasa’s.
You know how getting a haircut is often used to symbolize a major part of a character's growth? I think it’s only fitting here.
{X} Yahoo at Yumemi.
As much as I want to see Reimu right now and let her see that Suzu is much better, I think it’s only fair that let Yumemi know first.
(X) Talk to Chen about last night. About her memories.
Sure, why not. It wouldn’t hurt for Suzu to get it off her chest.
>Grip has been unlocked.
LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
[X] …A new style… or maybe her old one? That could be a bit fiddly for Chen to do, and removing that central lock might require a full cut, but… maybe it’d help her feel a bit more… not-Tsukasa’s.
{X} Yahoo at Yumemi.
(X) Talk to Chen about last night. About her memories.
Tsuk it, Tsukasa!
[X] …A new style… or maybe her old one? That could be a bit fiddly for Chen to do, and removing that central lock might require a full cut, but… maybe it’d help her feel a bit more… not-Tsukasa’s.
{X} Yahoo at Yumemi.
(X) Talk to Chen about last night. About her memories.
[x] …A new style… or maybe her old one? That could be a bit fiddly for Chen to do, and removing that central lock might require a full cut, but… maybe it’d help her feel a bit more… not-Tsukasa’s.
gotta loosen that grip, and taking control of your own look is a good starting point
{x} Yahoo at Yumemi.
while I think that Kosuzu is definitely closer to Reimu at this point, it is Yumemi who's definitely the one who she worried first, and of Yumemi's friends in the Animal Realm Kosuzu is probably the closest. also I kinda feel like Reimu's response might lean more towards finding a dark alley to break Tsukasa's kneecaps in, which would doubtlessly be cathartic, but might not be the best thing for the little kitsune right now. Mayumi's response seems like it would probably include high explosives, if past episodes are anything to go by.
(x) Talk to Chen about last night. About her memories.
[X] …A new style… or maybe her old one? That could be a bit fiddly for Chen to do, and removing that central lock might require a full cut, but… maybe it’d help her feel a bit more… not-Tsukasa’s.
I don't think I need to explain this choice. Let's make it plain obvious that Kosuzu now Tsukasa the middle finger.
{X} Recon for Reimu.
My guts tell me that if we find Reimu, we'll find at least one of the others.
(X) Ask Chen about what was happening today. When was Ran getting here?
Just... stay focus on the present for right now.
Aaah my heart can only take so much...
I've been waiting this for some time, and I'm smiling like an idiot. I know that the big event is brewing in the distance, but for now I want to enjoy seeing them be happy for a moment.
As for the choices:
[X] …A new style… or maybe her old one? That could be a bit fiddly for Chen to do, and removing that central lock might require a full cut, but… maybe it’d help her feel a bit more… not-Tsukasa’s.
Complete makeover so Kosuzu can look at herself in the mirror and find herself a new person. As long as she doesn't end up like bald Kaguya, of course.
{X} Yahoo at Yumemi.
I want to speak with Reimu, but Yumemi was really worried for Kosuzu and she would literally be stabbed for her wellbeing. Not that Reimu of Mayumi wouldn't, and not like Kosuzu knows Ichi was stabbed, but you get the point.
Also, we must make sure that Yumemi has a cuddly fox to remember, as to not break the space-time continuum or something.
(X) Talk to Chen about last night. About her memories.
For now let's reminisce a little.
[X] …A new style… or maybe her old one? That could be a bit fiddly for Chen to do, and removing that central lock might require a full cut, but… maybe it’d help her feel a bit more… not-Tsukasa’s.
{X} Yahoo at Yumemi
I feel bad for not choosing reimu due but it's better that yumemi knows that kosuzu is ok.
(X) Talk to Chen about last night. About her memories.
>Grip has been unlocked.
Your time to shine has come, Kosuzu
[X] …A new style… or maybe her old one? That could be a bit fiddly for Chen to do, and removing that central lock might require a full cut, but… maybe it’d help her feel a bit more… not-Tsukasa’s.
A free fox wears neither collar nor chains.
{X} Recon for Reimu.
I think rendezvous would have been a better word.
(X) Ask Chen about what was happening today. When was Ran getting here?
I miss Kosuzu's old, excitable nature. Let's get back to that, shall we?
[X] …A new style… or maybe her old one? That could be a bit fiddly for Chen to do, and removing that central lock might require a full cut, but… maybe it’d help her feel a bit more… not-Tsukasa’s.
Easy choice here
{X} Yahoo at Yumemi.
(X) Ask Chen about what was happening today. When was Ran getting here?
=s
I have already voted... but I do want to vote for Mayumi... she got the Total Tsukasa treatment while being the trump card that prevented the loss of the grimoire. and on top of that had her recent realization of the concept of mortality hit her and susequently been exploited by Tsukasa... that and she and Kosuzu have had the least interaction it seems... but... arrg, most of that Kosuzu wouldn't know about and thus not consider, and this is to help kosuzu strengthen herself and so from her perspective Yumemi is still the best one to start out with...
>>211592
You can undo your vote and vote for other thing:
- Reply to you own vote so the post number shows
- Use the same voting option replacing X for UNDO to mark it as undone
- Paste the new voting option you want with an X.
I'm bad at explaining stuff, but I hope I helped.
I know... (done it a few times already... heck I am probably the reason those rules were introduced back in thread 1 XD) I just... while I want to change the vote... as I stated it also doesn't make sense to from Kosuzu's perspective to do so? I dunno. maybe once yumemi or Reimu tell of the situation we could get a chance to thank Mayumi and Ichi... just not right now from the information Kosuzu has... xs
[X] …A new style… or maybe her old one? That could be a bit fiddly for Chen to do, and removing that central lock might require a full cut, but… maybe it’d help her feel a bit more… not-Tsukasa’s.
{X} Yahoo at Yumemi
(X) Talk to Chen about last night. About her memories.
[x] …A new style… or maybe her old one? That could be a bit fiddly for Chen to do, and removing that central lock might require a full cut, but… maybe it’d help her feel a bit more… not-Tsukasa’s.
{x} Yahoo at Yumemi.
(x) Talk to Chen about last night. About her memories.
:3
[X] …A new style… or maybe her old one? That could be a bit fiddly for Chen to do, and removing that central lock might require a full cut, but… maybe it’d help her feel a bit more… not-Tsukasa’s.
{X} Yahoo at Yumemi.
(X) Ask Chen about what was happening today. When was Ran getting here?
[X] …A new style… or maybe her old one? That could be a bit fiddly for Chen to do, and removing that central lock might require a full cut, but… maybe it’d help her feel a bit more… not-Tsukasa’s.
{X} Yahoo at Yumemi
(X) Talk to Chen about last night. About her memories.
i voted on the first choice in >>211576, so here's the rest of my votes:
{X} Yahoo at Yumemi
(X) Talk to Chen about last night. About her memories.
yumemi's already been explained enough, but chen... best case scenario, we get another point down in grip. worst case scenario, we still establish more of a relationship with chen- as sisters this time, which would help a lot with kosuzu's reintergration back into the yakumo family.
i'd actually argue that these options are the worst choices for metagaming, since yumemi is decidedly a non-combatant, the person of interest to protect, and will probably have the least information about the upcoming attack. that could have been mitigated by asking chen about it, but we're choosing to try to lower grip as fast as possible. i'm pretty sure we can deal with it, though.
[X] …A new style… or maybe her old one? That could be a bit fiddly for Chen to do, and removing that central lock might require a full cut, but… maybe it’d help her feel a bit more… not-Tsukasa’s.
{X} Recon for Reimu.
(X) Talk to Chen about last night. About her memories.
If we don't change hair we might get more time with the girls, and when we meet Tsukasa we might be able to fool her into thinking she still controls Kosuzu, but I think family time with Big Sis Chen fixing our hair is just too adorable (this is also why I chose the option I did on the memories). The biggest shame is that Ran will not be able to witness (unless someone records this like Chen, Yukari, or one of the Haniwa or Otters spirits) this very important family time.
Reasons Kosuzu would go to Yumemi to apologize and make straight about what went down last night.
Reasons to go to Mayumi to check how her repairs (from the Keiga raid Kosuzu doesn't know about last night's attack), or if she survived Keiki's promised reprimand. She might also seek Mayumi to help protect her from Tsukasa (as I think she indicated she will be seeing Kosuzu in the morning) if she felt like she shouldn't burden Reimu. Or just to get to know her better.
Reasons to go to Reimu, she did promise to help Kosuzu if she needed help and if Tsukasa is going to meet in the morning, Reimu would be one of the best fighters (and knows Kosuzu's weakness to sharp noise). And Reimu did leave a letter so Kosuzu might feel like responding to Reimu. Also Reimu is the friend she has known the longest that she can currently meet.
I choose Reimu but this option is my weakest held one. I am suprise to see so many Yumemi votes since I couldn't think of many reasons Kosuzu would meet with Yumemi first.
>> Grip has been unlocked
Wooo! Now we just have to get it to zero.
[X] …A new style… or maybe her old one? That could be a bit fiddly for Chen to do, and removing that central lock might require a full cut, but… maybe it’d help her feel a bit more… not-Tsukasa’s.
(X) Talk to Chen about last night. About her memories.
These two should help to reduce grip and get some bonding time with Chen.
And lastly,
{X} Yahoo at Yumemi.
Not because Yumemi clearly cares for Kosuzu, but because that’s the wackiest verb of the three.
Counting to >>211607:
Main Choice #1:
[20] …A new style… or maybe her old one? That could be a bit fiddly for Chen to do, and removing that central lock might require a full cut, but… maybe it’d help her feel a bit more… not-Tsukasa’s.
[0] No, this wasn’t the time. She should go and check in with the other girls. They’d undoubtedly be very worried about her.
Main Choice #2:
{5} Recon for Reimu.
{0} Meet with Mayumi.
{15} Yahoo at Yumemi.
Main Choice #3:
(4) Ask Chen about what was happening today. When was Ran getting here?
(16) Talk to Chen about last night. About her memories.
:3
... Funny thing that i noticed... Chen hasn't told Kosuzu that Tsukasa has fled.
I mean there might be an implication with the retrieved tome but for all Kosuzu knows she might be running into Tsukasa in the next couple of minutes or so...
Also... Yeah. I am only doing this because i am sure that Yumemi is going to win... But Mayumi deserves at least one vote! So even if it doesn't make narrative sense oor sense from Kosuzu's perspective... I am going to face the tide and Take. A. Piss.
>>211574 here
{UNDO} Yahoo at Yumemi.
{X} Meet with Mayumi.
>> Kosuzu,
>> Hope you slept well. Most of these clothes were my recommendation, purchased from human-spirit stores - I think they’d look better on you than Tsukasa’s stuff.
>> We’ve got a lot to talk about, but it’s shaping up to be a busy morning. If you want to find me, just ask the otters.
>> Reimu.
>> There was a shirt, but also a vest, and even a hoodie? Who’d wear three layers in the middle of summer? It had a blue body, with white sleeves and hood. The cuffs were made of a purple trim, and the blue snaked down her sleeves, in a vine-like pattern.
>> She lifted it up, to examine it. …Somewhat ironically, it kinda resembled what she vaguely remembered as Ran’s official outfit, almost a parody of it. The major difference was that, rather than the more abstract motif of her usual clothes, this made the white markings out of a plant with drooping flowers. Bluebells, maybe.
>> Shrugging, she turned to gather up the rest. It was too hot for that piece, and… as nice as it was to imagine the dream being real. She doubted her mother would let her keep it. Maybe Akyuu could use it, or something like that-
>> Bluebells.
>> Kosuzu stopped dead in her tracks. All but dropping her other clothes, she picked up the hoodie again. There was a mirror in the room… she scrambled over to it, throwing the hoodie on in a panic. She stubbed her toe on the frame, stumbling about blindly.
>> At last, she freed her head through the top, pulling up the hoodie. She looked at herself in the mirror. She only had the hood half-up over her head, with one ear in place, but the loose one was the one with Reimu’s talisman.
>> She stared at the ensemble, shocked. It- she looked a hell of a lot like Ran.
There's lots of stuff I want to draw from this last set of updates, but I was waiting for a while to draw this, so I did.
Kosuzu's arc has been my favourite so far, by a long shot.
[x] …A new style… or maybe her old one? That could be a bit fiddly for Chen to do, and removing that central lock might require a full cut, but… maybe it’d help her feel a bit more… not-Tsukasa’s.
{x} Yahoo at Yumemi.
(x) Talk to Chen about last night. About her memories.
Yeah, let's landslide it further. XD Exactly what I was gonna vote, anyways.
[x] …A new style… or maybe her old one? That could be a bit fiddly for Chen to do, and removing that central lock might require a full cut, but… maybe it’d help her feel a bit more… not-Tsukasa’s.
{x} Meet with Mayumi
(x) Talk to Chen about last night. About her memories
Throwing in a vote in appreciation of our arsonist haniwa
[22] …A new style… or maybe her old one? That could be a bit fiddly for Chen to do, and removing that central lock might require a full cut, but… maybe it’d help her feel a bit more… not-Tsukasa’s.
[0] No, this wasn’t the time. She should go and check in with the other girls. They’d undoubtedly be very worried about her.
{5} Recon for Reimu.
{2} Meet with Mayumi.
{15} Yahoo at Yumemi.
(4) Ask Chen about what was happening today. When was Ran getting here?
(18) Talk to Chen about last night. About her memories.
“Maybe you’re right…” Kosuzu mused. After all, it had been a while since she’d picked her hairstyle for herself. So she turned and gave a small smirk. “Can I pick? I hear you’re somewhat known for twin tails.”
Chen giggled, flicking her tails. “I am indeed. The hairstyle, not so much - but I’ll give it a shot.”
Kosuzu sat back, as the nekomata set to work brushing her hair. “...Thanks, Chen, I appreciate it.”
The nekomata smiled. “It’s my pleasure, Kosuzu. And honestly, it’s way overdue. A lot of things are, frankly.”
The fox’s smile faltered for a moment. “I think all of us have a lot to talk about.” She paused, taking a moment to think. “...Chen. I… I don’t remember a lot from when I was with you all.”
The nekomata nodded. “Yukari told me a bit about what you’ve seen. Only a bit of the night-of, right? She paused for a moment with a particularly big knot. “...Well, most people don’t remember their first few years all that well. If it doesn’t come back to you… we’ll just have to make new memories.”
Kosuzu did her best to stay still, though the tugging pulled her head back and forth a bit. “...Um. I remember a bit of you, though.”
Chen paused. “Y-you do? Um. Nothing too embarrassing, I hope.”
The little ku-kitsune kept her gaze forward. “...No, but… I wanted to say sorry.” The nekomata hesitated. “I… I know I kinda ended up taking a lot of R- of Mom’s time, and… you felt left out as a result.”
The shikigami looked away. “...It wasn’t like that, Suzu. It was just kiddy stuff, honestly.”
“But… still.” The fox looked up at her. “Just because I was there, doesn’t mean it was fair on you.”
Chen shook her head. “...Look, Kosuzu. You’re not wrong that I was jealous back then. But… that wasn’t me being rational, or fair.”
She started to fish around in the drawers in front of the two girls. “You were a baby. You were Ran’s first-born daughter! Of course you were gonna take priority over her shikigami.” She pulled out a pair of scissors. “It’s only natural, no? Besides…” Chen sighed. “I got more than my fair share of attention while you were gone, you know.”
Kosuzu paused, confused. Ran’s first-born daughter? But up until now… “Surely you’re her daughter, too? I thought that-”
The cat gently tugged at the central bang on Kosuzu’s face, pulling it taut before snipping the whole thing off. “...Lady Ran’s called me that, a few times. But… I think she just needed someone to fill that role.” The cat’s ears flopped back. “I… I already owe Lady Ran my life for saving me, for making me her shikigami. And for that effort, when she needed me most… I wasn’t there. Not even close.”
Kosuzu opened her mouth to speak. It took her some time to find any words. “You mean… that night?”
Chen’s face in the mirror was dark. “I’d left the house to go and sulk about not getting as much attention as someone who couldn’t even care for herself. Ran was fighting for your life, and I was off playing with stray cats again. Not that I would have been much use, as poor as I was performing then. I’d lost sight of my place.” She took a few more snips around the back of Kosuzu’s hair. “And I won’t let that happen a second time.”
The fox looked down. But… it wasn’t Chen’s fault. If mom had managed to get away from Ran - if Tsukasa had managed to get away from her mother - it wasn’t likely Chen would have been able to help regardless. But… Chen was blaming herself for what happened to Kosuzu. She was assuming it was her fault, rather than pointing fingers at who was really responsible.
Kosuzu drew her tail up on herself. She didn’t remember much about the Yakumo from her past life, but surely they weren’t in this much of a wrecked state. She’d probably been the catalyst for leaving Chen and Ran in a mess all these years. And even before that, she’d left Chen feeling like she was secondary to Kosuzu; in light of Kosuzu’s nature as an Immaterial Child, that was just cruel.
“Chen, it-it wasn’t your fault-”
“Still could have helped somehow. Even if I’d just woken up Yukari, or something…” The cat shook her head, swapping back to the brush. “Look… on that front, what’s done is done. You don’t need to play apologist for me.”
The nekomata did a few more strokes with the brush. “So let’s just… look to the future, alright? Let’s focus on getting you back with your mother, and we’ll go from there. And on that note… I think we’re done!” The fox looked up. She saw Chen’s smirk in the mirror. “How does it look?”
The fox focused on her own reflection… and was momentarily confused. Something was just… gone. The strands that normally stuck through her face weren’t there any longer, and even just with those gone… it was shocking what a difference it made.
She looked like… herself. Like her old self. “...You got it almost perfect. How did you…?”
Chen chuckled, twirling the brush in her hand. “Akyuu made sketches of all of your past selves. I figured this style in particular might be comforting.”
The nekomata said it idly, but the truth of it rocked through Kosuzu. With her hair back to it’s usual, now only with fox ears poking out? With the clothes so different from what she’d been wearing?
…Tsukasa wasn’t there anymore. All the marks of the kuda-gitsune were gone. Looking at herself now, she could almost imagine having a life more like Reimu’s. Happy, with the Yakumo. Learning from them, growing alongside them.
“...Kosuzu?”
Kosuzu closed her eyes, thinking. Slowly, she took a deep breath, letting it flow out through her. …Right. Tsukasa was gone. She was free. And… and she wasn’t going to be a tube-fox any longer.
So… she clapped her hands to her cheeks. The Yakumo might be in a mess because of her… but she wasn’t going to make it worse just by being there. And that meant she could fix this - she was going to fix this. The kitsune hopped up, giving Chen - giving her big sister - a hug.
“Thank you, Chen!” She could feel her tail wagging. “You did so well. I didn’t realize how much I needed this.” After a moment, she looked up.
Chen smiled, patting her head. “It’s my pleasure, Suzu. Now… shall we get going for the day? It’ll be a few hours yet before your mother arrives… is there anything you want to do while we wait?”
The fox released the hug. “Yeah. Before mom gets here… there’s someone I have to talk to, now that I know it won’t hurt her.” She stuck her finger out, pointing into the depths of the mansion. “Let’s go find Yumemi!”
Grip reduced to 4.
“Kosuzu!”
It was actually the strawberry-red girl who spotted Kosuzu first, despite her best efforts. Yumemi ran straight over to the fox, all-but tackling her to the ground.
Kosuzu flailed for a moment, Chen’s support from behind being the only reason she didn’t topple over. She hugged Yumemi back. “Yumemi! Did you hear?”
The student nodded fiercely. “Yeah! You’re not a tube-fox, you’re a full-blooded kitsune! And that means I can fluff you all I want!” She chuckled. “Well, at least until repairs are done.”
Kosuzu smiled… but her curiosity was piqued. “Repairs? Oh! Yukari got your ship back, right?”
“Yep! Apparently there’s been haniwa working on it all night. I was worried about those repairs taking forever, too, but they found most of the replacement parts pretty easily!” The red-robed girl sighed. “...I am gonna miss you all, though.”
The nekomata smiled. “You’ve got a time machine, right? I’m sure you can arrange another visit. Heck, I’m pretty sure Lady Yukari wouldn’t want you going back to the past without her permission, so… you’ll just have to come visit us whenever you want to go back.”
“Sounds like a plan!” Yumemi gave a thumbs-up. “Ah… I actually should ask. Do you know what happened last night? Nobody’s told me anything specific.”
Kosuzu thought back. “Um, Chen gave me the gist. Mayumi chased Tsukasa off, right?” Chen nodded, firmly, and offered no further elaboration. “Why do you ask?”
The young time traveler looked out. “There’s been a weird energy around here recently. Feels like I’m getting a lot of strange looks.”
Kosuzu turned to her big sister for elaboration. Chen offered nothing of the sort. “Speaking of Mayumi, do you know where she is?”
Yumemi looked evasive. “Um… I’m sure they’re around here somewhere… Ah, there was a secret they wanted me to pass along!” She leaned in, whispering into Kosuzu’s ear. “Reimu and Mayumi are planning to sneak out near Keiga territory this morning, so they’re ready to defend. Reimu’s idea, of course.”
“Defend…?” Kosuzu looked out the nearest window. In the red light of the courtyard, there was a squadron of haniwa in some form of combat formation. She turned to Chen. “Is something happening today…?”
Chen… took a moment to consider, then sighed. “Lady Yukari and Yachie think that the wolves are gonna retaliate. If they leave it too long, Yumemi’s gonna slip right out of their grip, after all.”
Kosuzu’s ears flicked back. “...I-is there anything we can do to help? I’ve learned a bit of danmaku, I can-”
“Not today, Suzu.” Chen said, firmly. “Your mother’s only a couple of hours away. You are not going anywhere risky now.” She glanced up. “Same with you, Yumemi. Both of you are staying here, well away from the frontlines.”
She ruffled the young fox’s ears. “Don’t worry, you’ll both be fine. And Reimu and Mayumi will be too.” She pulled back. “And… maybe you two should take some time together. There’s no telling when Yumemi will have to go, or when she’ll be able to come back.”
Kosuzu wanted to help, but… Chen was probably right. Perhaps it was better to spend some time relaxing, while they could. It’d also help distract from the growing anxiety about meeting her mother.
[ ] Spend some time with Yumemi in fox form. Maybe even see if the usual tricks still worked? …Though learning she was less capable than yesterday might not be that comforting…
[ ] Kosuzu’s old reliable was always magic books. Perhaps they could look up something in particular? …Granted, it was one of those asocial-together sort of things…
[ ] Have another go at some of the games machines Reimu and Mayumi were showing off last night. It was the best way to have a bit of competitive fun with Yumemi.
So, I think we can get the best of both worlds here. Yumemi deserves a chance at fluff before everything goes down and she has to go home, but trying out the tube fox tricks seems like a major mistake.
But come on, there's no way Ran's magnum opus leaves her daughter defenseless in fox form. We can do something useful and let Yumemi enjoy her cuddles!
[X] Kosuzu’s old reliable was always magic books. Perhaps they could look up something in particular? …Granted, it was one of those asocial-together sort of things…
- [X] Check the Grimoire for any spells that can be cast as a fox... preferably while being pet.
- [X] Make sure a certain hairpin is in your pocket this time! Just in case.
[X] Kosuzu’s old reliable was always magic books. Perhaps they could look up something in particular? …Granted, it was one of those asocial-together sort of things…
- [X] Check the Grimoire for any spells that can be cast as a fox... preferably while being pet.
- [X] Make sure a certain hairpin is in your pocket this time! Just in case.
[X] Kosuzu’s old reliable was always magic books. Perhaps they could look up something in particular? …Granted, it was one of those asocial-together sort of things…
- [X] Check the Grimoire for any spells that can be cast as a fox... preferably while being pet.
- [X] Make sure a certain hairpin is in your pocket this time! Just in case.
[X] Have another go at some of the games machines Reimu and Mayumi were showing off last night. It was the best way to have a bit of competitive fun with Yumemi.
- [X] Is there anything to snack on?
[X] Kosuzu’s old reliable was always magic books. Perhaps they could look up something in particular? …Granted, it was one of those asocial-together sort of things…
- [X] Check the Grimoire for any spells that can be cast as a fox... preferably while being pet.
- [X] Make sure a certain hairpin is in your pocket this time! Just in case.
[X] Kosuzu’s old reliable was always magic books. Perhaps they could look up something in particular? …Granted, it was one of those asocial-together sort of things…
- [X] Check the Grimoire for any spells that can be cast as a fox... preferably while being pet.
- [X] Make sure a certain hairpin is in your pocket this time! Just in case.
- [X] Learning seal and barrier spells from the grimoire will surely be useful after all it's the Yakumo family's specialty
They'll be happy to see that Kosuzu can use one of the Yakumo's most iconic spells
There's something strange about Chen's comment.
>“You were a baby. You were Ran’s first-born daughter! Of course you were gonna take priority over her shikigami.”
>Kosuzu paused, confused. Ran’s first-born daughter? But up until now… “Surely you’re her daughter, too? I thought that-”
>The cat gently tugged at the central bang on Kosuzu’s face, pulling it taut before snipping the whole thing off. “...Lady Ran’s called me that, a few times. But… I think she just needed someone to fill that role.”
It's obvious that she's not a daughter by blood but she's always considered something like a daughter because of how Ran is mentioned as being very motherly.
From >>211114
>The Bluebell Grimoire
>By Yakumo Ran
>For my beloved second daughter
So if the grimoire doesn't refer to Chen as the first daughter that means she had one before she was a shikigami.
The crazy theory is... Tsukasa is Ran's first daughter?
[X] Kosuzu’s old reliable was always magic books. Perhaps they could look up something in particular? …Granted, it was one of those asocial-together sort of things…
- [X] Check the Grimoire for any spells that can be cast as a fox... preferably while being pet.
- [X] Make sure a certain hairpin is in your pocket this time! Just in case.
I'm pretty sure that this is just that Ran does consider Chen as her first daughter (and so does Yukari, see Kosuzu's dream/memory and the comment about all it taking is one "big Sis Chen" to fix up her jealousy.) And Chen feels like her failure means that she doesn't deserve it.
Also note that Tsukasa considers Ran a Whelp iirc or something to that effect, meaning that likely Tsukasa is older than Ran.
>>211618
I works out more than that too! They two of them can be studying magic together, which is less asocial than just reading. It also means that Yumemi can reading and observe how the magic works from both the theory standpoint (via the book) and practical standpoint. (The actual casting.) AND since i'm pretty sure this is either a spirit or instinct check, going into fox form will be the choice that raises whatever it is. (And trying for Ran's magic rather than the tube fox means avoiding a unlikely but still possible rise in grip.)
[X] Kosuzu’s old reliable was always magic books. Perhaps they could look up something in particular? …Granted, it was one of those asocial-together sort of things…
- [X] Check the Grimoire for any spells that can be cast as a fox... preferably while being pet.
- [X] Make sure a certain hairpin is in your pocket this time! Just in case.
[X] Kosuzu’s old reliable was always magic books. Perhaps they could look up something in particular? …Granted, it was one of those asocial-together sort of things…
- [X] Check the Grimoire for any spells that can be cast as a fox... preferably while being pet.
- [X] Make sure a certain hairpin is in your pocket this time! Just in case.
A bit of a hard choice, but involving Yumemi directly in the study swings me in favor of B O O K.
[X] Kosuzu’s old reliable was always magic books. Perhaps they could look up something in particular? …Granted, it was one of those asocial-together sort of things…
- [X] Check the Grimoire for any spells that can be cast as a fox... preferably while being pet.
- [X] Make sure a certain hairpin is in your pocket this time! Just in case.
[X] Kosuzu’s old reliable was always magic books. Perhaps they could look up something in particular? …Granted, it was one of those asocial-together sort of things…
- [X] Check the Grimoire for any spells that can be cast as a fox... preferably while being pet.
- [X] Make sure a certain hairpin is in your pocket this time! Just in case.
Might as well
[X] Kosuzu’s old reliable was always magic books. Perhaps they could look up something in particular? …Granted, it was one of those asocial-together sort of things…
- [X] Check the Grimoire for any spells that can be cast as a fox... preferably while being pet.
- [X] Make sure a certain hairpin is in your pocket this time! Just in case.
[X] Kosuzu’s old reliable was always magic books. Perhaps they could look up something in particular? …Granted, it was one of those asocial-together sort of things…
- [X] Check the Grimoire for any spells that can be cast as a fox... preferably while being pet.
- [X] Make sure a certain hairpin is in your pocket this time! Just in case.
[x] Kosuzu’s old reliable was always magic books. Perhaps they could look up something in particular? …Granted, it was one of those asocial-together sort of things…
-[x] Check the Grimoire for any spells that can be cast as a fox... preferably while being pet.
-[x] Make sure a certain hairpin is in your pocket this time! Just in case.
:3
[X] Have another go at some of the games machines Reimu and Mayumi were showing off last night. It was the best way to have a bit of competitive fun with Yumemi.
I know this has no way of actually winning, but the idea of Gamer Kosuzu amuses me so I want to give it the pity vote.
New epilogue out for Yester/Youmu! The second last for it, as well.
>>/shorts/2972
Counting to >>211633:
Main Choice:
[0] Spend some time with Yumemi in fox form. Maybe even see if the usual tricks still worked? …Though learning she was less capable than yesterday might not be that comforting…
[13] Kosuzu’s old reliable was always magic books. Perhaps they could look up something in particular? …Granted, it was one of those asocial-together sort of things…
[2] Have another go at some of the games machines Reimu and Mayumi were showing off last night. It was the best way to have a bit of competitive fun with Yumemi.
Potential Additions:
-[13] Check the Grimoire for any spells that can be cast as a fox... preferably while being pet. (>>211618, >>211619, >>211620, >>211622, >>211624, >>211625, >>211626, >>211627, >>211628, >>211629, >>211630, >>211631, >>211632)
-[13] Make sure a certain hairpin is in your pocket this time! Just in case. (>>211618, >>211619, >>211620, >>211622, >>211624, >>211625, >>211626, >>211627, >>211628, >>211629, >>211630, >>211631, >>211632)
-[1] Is there anything to snack on? (>>211621)
-[1] Learning seal and barriers spells from the grimoire will surely be useful... After all, it's the Yakumo's family's specialty. (>>211624)
:3
it took me a couple of times to see that lock of hair in the foreground there! Very nice!
if your list of possible art isn't too big, may i suggest the addition of Yachie threatening Tsukasa to the list?
[X] Kosuzu’s old reliable was always magic books. Perhaps they could look up something in particular? …Granted, it was one of those asocial-together sort of things…
- [X] Check the Grimoire for any spells that can be cast as a fox... preferably while being pet.
- [X] Make sure a certain hairpin is in your pocket this time! Just in case.00000][/color]
