[] Go see Aya, maybe she has some interesting news.

[] Go check out more of the mountain.

Checking out Hina's Habitat should give us some sync, if not much. Going to Alice's place this soon would be just stupid. Aya's place would be a decent option later on, but we really need to learn more about Hina's daily life.

[x] Go check out more of the mountain.

[x] Go check out more of the mountain.

[x] Go check out more of the mountain.

Spreading misfortune as we go.

[x] On second thought, I'm just going to enjoy this new peace.
Alice who?

[X] Check in on Alice, see how she's doing. Discreetly if necessary.

Hina had a bunch of dolls nailed up around her house, just like Alice, right? Plus, she's responsible for taking the ill fortune planted in nagashi-hina dolls. We can always just come around to ask Alice if she has any misfortune she wants to dispose of.

[X] Go check out more of the mountain.
Time to molest Sanae, filthy whore.

[x] Go check out more of the mountain.

You decide it might be ebst to see more of this mountain, get an idea of who else is around here, maybe learn something new about this area. You lean forward from your reclined position and stand up.

"Ah, you going Hina?" Nitori asks, keeping her seat on the porch. You turn your head to look at her.

"Yeah, I'm just going to go fly around a bit, feel the breeze for a while," you say, keeping the non-essential details seperate from the direct truth of the matter. "You want me to come back later?"

"Mmm, if you want," she replies, popping more cucumber into her mouth. "I'd like it if you came back, maybe we could go play danmaku in the dark." she adds with a big smile. It takes a few seconds for her words to click with you as you drag up knowledge from the depths of your subconscious. 'Danmaku' is their game of attacking and dodging, you remember first learning that from Alice's memories, but you never got into specifics outside of manifesting a few bullets. There were also 'spellcards' as you remembered, but you never recalled seeing any physical version of such things.

"That sounds nice." you reply, returning the smile as you lift off the ground, turning yourself towards Nitori as you do so. You float away slowly, waving as you go. Nitori returns the wave, and after a few seconds, you turn back and make your way towards the fissure, since it's the most direct way out. You pass through the large crack and find yourself instantly on a rocky plateau, spare patches of greenery dotting the area. Given that most of it is rock, you're not exactly surprised. You find your bearings after a few seconds and head back towards the waterfall, the main area of the mountain. You hang around the waterfall for a few seconds, you never really noticed just how big it was. As tall as it was, you could see the faint edges up above of the porch of the newspaper office Aya works from. You could always go check out what's up towards the peak, as you haven't been past the waterfall yet. Though, the woods around the bottom might have more interesting things, including Hina's house. You recall the sweet smell coming from somewhere in that area as well, maybe there'd still be something worth checking out.

[] Head to the peak.
[] Take a pass over the woods.

[X] Head to the peak.
TO THE TOP WHERE THE GODS DWELL.

[] Head to the peak.

[X] Head to the peak.
I want to see EZ's Sanae.

[X] Head to the peak.

[X] Head to the peak.

[X] Head to the peak.

You decide that the top of the mountain is likely the best choice, if only for the view. You start your way up to the peak. Along the way, as you remember before, you see a fair amount of fairies of various sized darting among the thinning trees, and even several having races along the waterfall's face, ever so often diving through the torrential wall of water. You wonder how so many small creatures can take the force of the water without being thrown down, and then it occurs to you that many of these fairies are a great deal smaller than Cirno and her friends were. They were at least the size of human children, whereas the largest fairy you've seen yet was about the size of a cat. Maybe they're different species of fairy?

You're almost don't hear the voice calling out to you, you're so lost in your thoughts.

"He~y! Hina!" a voice calls from farther up the waterfall. You spot a familiar, white framed face descending towards you. Momizi was it? From Aya's paper.

"Coming up the mountain to pay a visit?" she asks, slowing her descent to match your speed and then rising with you.

"I just thought I'd head to the top of the mountain for a bit." you say.

Momizi gives a little chuckle.

"I don't know if you should do that. I think Sanae is still a little miffed at you from the last time you visited."

Sanae? Something about this makes you think that perhaps this whole ordeal should be rethought, especially if there's someone that might have something against you, especially if you can't actually recall what it was you might have done wrong. You suspect it might have a connection to the whole 'curse goddess' thing, but you're still unsure of what to make of the situation.

"She hasn't gotten over it yet?" you ask, playing the situation. Momizi simply shrugs, slowing her ascent slightly.

"No idea actually, I've been too busy to poke around in other people's business. That's Aya's job. As for me, I've got to do a bit of a followup on the explosion at the bottom of the waterfall, so..."

With that, Momizi turns sharply in midair and plunges directly into the torrent of water, at first you think on accident, but her excited cheers as she falls makes you think otherwise. Now she's got you second guessing yourself. You could avoid this Sanae most likely and still head to the peak, or you could try to play off the situation and hope you can circumvent any awkward situations.

[] Try to avoid any confrontations.
[] You can always play it off if you get spotted.
[] Might not be such a good idea after all.

[x] Visit Aya instead

See what became of the place.

[] Might not be such a good idea after all.

[X] Might not be such a good idea after all.

We need to sync up a bit more before we start messing around with people who might have the power to expel us from this body.

[X] Might not be such a good idea after all.

[x] Might not be such a good idea after all.
[x] See Aya instead.

You know, hanging around other freakin' GODDESSES not to mention ANOTHER MIKO might just be a sliiiightly bad idea.

Komachi probably gave the Moriya crowd a heads-up, too.

[x] Might not be such a good idea after all.
[x] See Aya instead.

[x] Might not be such a good idea after all.
[x] See Aya instead.

[x] Might not be such a good idea after all.
[x] See Aya instead.

[x] Might not be such a good idea after all.

Hmmm, yeah, hanging around a high tier goddesses and a miko may not be the best idea.

[] Might not be such a good idea after all.

[x] Check in on Alice, see how she's doing. Discreetly if necessary.

If anyone asks we can just tell them that we felt like it.

[x] Might not be such a good idea after all.
[x] See Aya instead.
Aya is love.

[x] Might not be such a good idea after all.
[x] See Aya instead.

You probably shouldn't tempt fate as it were. You don't know any of the circumstances of your current relationship with Sanae, and you would rather avoid the whole mess. Hopefully you'll start to recover some of Hina's memories, and you'll remember something that might help you out. Until then though, you feel you should stay away. You pass the top of the waterfall, and the world around you seems to throb momentarily. What was that? You scan the area for any sign of something unusual that might have been ebhind that, when you're met with another throb, this time accompanied by sounds, like ringing in your ears. Your eyes are drawn to the river. Is it coming from there? You lower yourself some to get a closer look, maybe something is going on here.

You hardly see anything besides the occasional leaf, when a white paper doll floats into view, and everything seems to throb once again, the echoes of voices in your head. It's coming from this doll, and the dark mist flowing from it. You realize a subconscious memory surfaces, that it's your duty to collect the misfortune from this doll. You feel detached from the body, as if it was moving on it's own as you lower over the river and scoop up the doll in your hands. You can almost feel a physical force as you draw the misfortune and cast off sins from the doll, and the connection is made. The dolls hanging in front of Hina's house, they must be these dolls. You look up the river to see several more lazily floating in the current, each steaming with their cast off negative energy. You visit each one in turn, scooping it from the river and absorbing the energy as you go. Upon reaching the final one, you absorb the misfortune, and the ringing in your ears is replaced by a dull pain in your temples.

This must be what Hina does as a Curse Goddess, gathering the cast off misfortunes and bad luck of humans for their own good will. It makes sense now why people would look at you weird, being one that so readily accepts what others would gladly be without. It makes you a little sad to think about, being feared because of your ability, even if it's good for others. You hear a creaking sound behind you, followed shortly by a voice.

"Ah, Hina!" a familiar voice calls, and you turn to find Aya standing on a deck overlooking the river. "Hard at work I see." she says, motioning towards the dolls you're holding in your hands. You look down at them, then back to Aya with a slightly confused smile.

"Yeah, I guess." you reply. Even though you understand this is part of Hina's duties, you don't fully understand it for yourself. You're about to add more when another creaking sound from the door reveals Alice stepping out and walking up to Aya's side. Oh ho? You can't help but find yourself a little curious, so you drift closer.

"Anything you hear at all would be good for me," Alice says, looking over at you, apparently just noticing you for the first time. "I'd appreciate any leads."

"No worries, I'm sure I'll have something for you in no time." Aya replies, giving Alice a thumbs up. Alice looks a little relieved, but still slightly unsure. She takes another look at you, maybe a little too long of a look, before she goes airborne and floats away from the deck, towards the base of the mountain. What was she doing here?

"Hey, Aya," you ask, floating towards the deck. "What was she looking for?"

"Oh, she was curious if I had any information about the whereabouts of that lost spirit story that's been going around. I guess she caught wind of it and was curious about it for some reason, so she was looking for some way to find it, but I don't know why," Aya says, rubbing her shoulder. "Probably wants the bounty that's being offered for anyone that successfully captures it."

Bounty? Well, that doesn't sound to good for you. You try not to look too nervous at this sudden revelation.

"Of course, if I do learn anything, I'll tell her. After I claim the bounty for myself, at least." Aya adds with a smirk. "Printing a paper is expensive work around here."

"I'd bet..." you say, somewhat lost in your thoughts. Alice seems to be looking for information about you, but why is unsure. Might be worth checking out at the very least, Alice looked a little worn out as well, maybe a side effect of your possession? In any case, you've got a handful of dolls and nothing more you can think of to do at the moment.

[] Ask Aya for information about the lost soul, act as if you haven't heard.
[] Ask Aya for information about the lost soul, say you only heard about it in passing.
[] Follow Alice, she didn't look so good and she's looking for you.
[] Probably best to leave. Drop the dolls at home then go somewhere else.

Last update for a few hours. I've been fighting off the tiredness, but it's finally won and I'm typing slower and making more mistakes. Thread isn't done for today, so it'll likely run into tomorrow.

[x] Follow Alice, she didn't look so good and she's looking for you.

Curiosity overtakes the danger.

[] Ask Aya for information about the lost soul, say you only heard about it in passing.

[x] Ask Aya for information about the lost soul, say you only heard about it in passing.

Aya askin gaems.

[x] Follow Alice, she didn't look so good and she's looking for you.

>she was looking for some way to find it, but I don't know why

We must find out why.

[x] Ask Aya for information about the lost soul, say you only heard about it in passing.

[x] Follow Alice, she didn't look so good and she's looking for you.
Stalk Alice, maybe we can get some infos.

[X] Follow Alice, she didn't look so good and she's looking for you.
Investigate the Side effects of the possession so that no one comes to harm.

[x] Follow Alice, she didn't look so good and she's looking for you.

Eh. Could be interesting.

[x] Follow Alice, she didn't look so good and she's looking for you.

Doll lovers have to stick together.

[] Follow Alice, she didn't look so good and she's looking for you.

[X] Follow Alice, she didn't look so good and she's looking for you.
Maybe we can help her sex up Patchy, or at least get some informations from her, she is the friend of Reimu. Alice has to know something vital that will help us out in the future.

[x] Follow Alice, she didn't look so good and she's looking for you.

Yo, Alice.

[X] Probably best to leave. Drop the dolls at home then go somewhere else.
[X] Head after Alice.

Deposit all of our misfortune at home first, then look for Alice. Our excuse could be curiosity as to why she's looking for a wandering spirit, and if it's because she has any misfortune we could take for her.

[X] Follow Alice, she didn't look so good and she's looking for you.

Even a single ally would be helpful in this world.

We'll have to give Aya another interview later. Express our opinions about the whole affair, and that while our intentions were pure, the shrine maiden, shinigami, and offered bounty has turned this into an incident.

>>43448
>After I claim the bounty for myself, at least." Aya adds with a smirk. "Printing a paper is expensive work around here."

She wouldn't bother about the bounty if we continued giving her exclusives.

>>43471
I'd give Aya an interview if you know what I mean.

>>43473
I would give her an exclusive interview.

[X] Follow Alice, she didn't look so good and she's looking for you.

[X] Follow Alice, she didn't look so good and she's looking for you.

i kinda wonder if revealing ourselves would be a bad end

[x] Follow Alice, she didn't look so good and she's looking for you.

[x] Follow Alice, she didn't look so good and she's looking for you.

If anyone asks why we're interested in the lost soul, we can just pout, go silent for a few seconds and mumble to ourselves, recalling how people question us whenever something bad happens, and just say that we think there might be some misfortune to collect.

I wonder when EZmode's gonna get back, I need to know thats gonna happen with alice

>>43520
He fell asleep about 5 hours ago.

[17:46] <Mode> Yeah, I'm definitely going to sleep. Can't keep my eyes open and keep messing up my typing, imaginging I'm hitting keys when I'm not and, well eah.

Updating again after some sleep.

[x] Follow Alice, she didn't look so good and she's looking for you.

You can't help but feel a little sorry for Alice. You were genuinely curious before, but now you feel as if you absolutely must see her.

"Well, I'm done around here," you say to Aya, gesturing towards the dolls in your hands. "Don't want to hang around too long."

"Ah, well, see you around." Aya says, taking a seat on the deck, hanging her legs over the edge. You drift away from the newspaper office, heading back down the waterfall. Along the way, you pass Hina's house, and decide to drop off the doll you've been carrying. They're pretty simple little objects, but it would just be weird to be flying around carrying them for no reason. With that done, you head back out, and away from the mountain.

Flying just a little bit above the trees, you find your way around fairly well as you navigate away from the mountain, until you're back over the Forest of Magic. Locating Alice's house is almost second nature, and you approach through the tree tops. You touch down just outside her house, unsurprised to find the house looking relatively dark even though it was still afternoon. You knock on the front door, waiting a few seconds for an answer. Minutes pass, and you start to wonder if she's home, even though you couldn't think of where else she could have went. You're about to knock again when the door creaks open a bit, with Alice peeking through the crack.

"Yes...?" she asks, looking you over.

"I had heard you were looking for more information about that spirit that's been going around." you say. No point in trying to hide your reasoning at least. Alice doesn't reply with any more than just a small nod. "Well, could I ask why?"

Alice says nothing for a few seconds, looking away from the door. She looks back to you and opens the door a bit more.

"I'm not sure you would understand entirely," she says, her voice quiet. "I was possessed. During that time, they did something important for me, but left it half complete."

The research? That's her reason to look for you?

"I don't mind hearing about it," you say, probing for more information. "I might be able to help you out a bit more if you would tell me."

Alice sighs, you can't tell if she's upset or annoyed, but she hasn't told you to leave, so at least that's worth something.

"That soul, whoever it was, was onto something. They really put a clear and dedicated effort into creating an autonomous doll, something I've sworn to work on for years but always put aside due to fear of failure. They made so much progress, I couldn't even dream of keeping up with them. When I was exorcised, all their knowledge, expertise and thoughts left with the spirit. I can't make any sense of the notes left behind without knowing what direction they were going in." Alice explains, not once opening the door more than just a crack. She sighs again. "By the way, might I ask who you are?"

[] "Oh, I'm just a curious curse goddess."
[] "No one in particular, really."
[] "I'm the spirit, I've taken over a new body."

[x] "A curious person and a bit of a free spirit, My name is Hina."

hur hur

[X] "I'm the spirit, I've taken over a new body."
Whats the worst that cold happen?

[x] "Oh, I'm just a curious curse goddess."

[x] "I'm the spirit, I've taken over a new body."

This is the right answer. I know it.

[x] "I'm the spirit, I've taken over a new body."

This can only help us or kill us. I'll take that gamble.

[X] "I'm the spirit, I've taken over a new body."

We want to help you, Alice. ;_;

[x] "I'm the spirit, I've taken over a new body."
If this backfires I'm going to hate you.

>>43529
[x] "A curious person and a bit of a free spirit, My name is Hina."

Damn, we don't have to rush it.

[] "I'm the spirit, I've taken over a new body."

If we tell her it's us:
[x] Immediately and very seriously apologize for controlling her against her will.

We didn't have much other choice, but that's still...She probably feels violated.

[x] "I'm the spirit, I've taken over a new body."

You can see Alice's eyes narrow a bit, and she closes the door. She didn't believe you? You don't have long to contemplate though, since the door swings open quickly and Alice steps out to practicaly pull you into the house. You don't resist, and walk in with her guiding. She closes the door behind her and closes one of the locks. She turns to you, looking you over again.

"You're not joking right? You're not playing a stupid joke, are you?" she asks, back against the door. You spot one of her dolls, Shanghai, floating just within your peripheral vision. Well, can't blame her for being suspicious at least. You shake your head.

"No, I'm really the spirit. I overheard you talking to Aya and I felt bad for you. You look like a mess." you say, admitting the situation. Alice gives a half hearted chuckle and brushes some of her hair aside.

"I guess I do, don't I? I ran myself ragged trying to figure out what it was you were on to. I could only get a general idea of where you were going from the notes you left behind, but there seems to be huge leaps in reasoning." she says, motioning to the table. Alice approaches you and lays her hands on your shoulders, looking you dead in the eyes. "I could care less about a bounty, or turning you in. You know what I want and you're the only one that can at least put me on track." she says, and you notice that her eyes are starting to water up. "I've wanted this my whole life, and you came so close to the answer for me, please, I need you to help me finish this. Please... please..." she says, slowly breaking down into tears. She buries her face in your chest quite suddenly, shaking from crying. Her grips on your shoulders tighten as she cries, repeating 'please'.

You can't help but feel sorry for her, though you're a bit lost as to how she couldn't use your notes to figure out where you were going with all of it. You spend a few minutes just comforting Alice until she calms down a bit, and you go over to the table with her to take a look at the notes. You notice it almost immediately, half of the notes are gone entirely, and there's only one explanation you can think of. Marisa. God damn her, she must have come back at some point and taken more notes, and without you to stop her from taking something important, and Alice likely ignorant of the notes still, she took whatever she wanted. You can feel a deep anger burning in your chest. This is unforgivable, for Marisa to do something like this to someone that should have been a friend.

"Are you okay? What's wrong?" Alice asks, and you're suddenly aware you had been clenching your fists hard enough for your knuckles to turn white.

"Marisa stole half of the notes, that's why they're so hard to follow. She took a lot of important information," you say, looking through the notes that remain. If you didn't know for yourself, you would think that these notes were disorganized, random leaps of logic as well. It takes quite a good deal of control to keep from punching the table in your frustration. "We need to get them back, and she needs to be taught to stop being such a bitch." you fume.

Alice looks a little distressed, laying her hands on your arm.

"C-Can't you just explain it to me? I don't need the notes if I have you, you know everything that's missing... I'm sure you don't need to go picking a fight with Marisa." Alice says, apparently trying to dissuade you. You admit that you'd rather not have to cause a scene, but Marisa's theft is truly despicable, and you feel that punishing her for it is the only thing that will keep her from doing it again later.

[] Deep breaths, calm down. Go through it again with Alice and try to fill in all the missing parts of the notes.
[] Going over everything isn't required, just explain the general ideas you used, and fill Alice in on your thoughts and theories for advancing.
[] This can't go on. You can help Alice later, Marisa absolutely deserves to be put in her place for this stunt.

>>43540
[] Deep breaths, calm down. Go through it again with Alice and try to fill in all the missing parts of the notes.

>>43539
This would be a very good way to start for us.

Of course, we probably should have waited until we were patches before we did this.

[x] Deep breaths, calm down. Go through it again with Alice and try to fill in all the missing parts of the notes.

We can go throw curses at Marisa later.

[x] Deep breaths, calm down. Go through it again with Alice and try to fill in all the missing parts of the notes.

We can remember everything, right? If not, we're going witch hunting.

[X] Deep breaths, calm down. Go through it again with Alice and try to fill in all the missing parts of the notes.

The important thing is helping her.

[] Deep breaths, calm down. Go through it again with Alice and try to fill in all the missing parts of the notes.

[] Deep breaths, calm down. Go through it again with Alice and try to fill in all the missing parts of the notes.

[] Deep breaths, calm down. Go through it again with Alice and try to fill in all the missing parts of the notes.

[x] Deep breaths, calm down. Go through it again with Alice and try to fill in all the missing parts of the notes.

Just because Alice is our friend and loves us doesn't mean we can go throwing out cover all over the place. This means Hiding when someone comes over, and not going out on Alice's Behalf. We're glad to help, but we can't stay with her as Hina.

[X] Deep breaths, calm down. Go through it again with Alice and try to fill in all the missing parts of the notes.

No good storming off right now to deal with Marisa. You're not entirely sure how Hina works yet, so you should put off thoughts of revenge until later when you would have a better chance. For now, the immediate problem is helping Alice out, so you think you should start from the beginning. You take another look at the notes, going through to make sure you remember everything that's missing. From your point of view, you can easily tell what's missing, so it's not too hard to consider rewriting all the missing notes.

You get some paper and bring it back over to the table. Alice apparently doesn't question how you know where her things are, she just watches as you go over the notes and start to fill in the blank parts. What you don't remember from memory, you go back to the books you remember using and write back down whatever information you're missing. The process is a bit tedious, and by the end there's still some things you're missing, most of it inconsequential things that you never looked into, or other information you didn't need anymore. The sun had set by the time you finish your task, having filled in the majority of the missing information, covering all the holes in the logic and making sure that they all made sense. The entire time, Alice just watched in silence. The few times you looked at her, you could see she was watching intently, taking in everything you wrote as you did so.

You stretch your arms, shaking out the slight kink in your pen hand. Alice goes over the notes carefully, trying not to smudge the ink.

"I'm amazed," she says, looking over a portion of the restored notes. "I'd have never have considered things like this." You notice that she's looking at some of the later notes you made about the elemental magic combinations.

"Patchouli was a great help." you say, looking over the books. Alice turns around to you, a bit of a look of shock on her face.

"You met with Patchouli?" she asks, the surprise in her voice matching the surprise on her face.

"Yeah. Why?" you ask. Alice turns a little red and mumbles something you don't quite hear. Could it be she has feelings for Patchouli? If that's the case, you wonder how she would feel about how you had treated Patchouli.

"I've always been a bit nervous to talk to her." Alice says, rubbing her arm. She looks back up at you. "You didn't do anything weird with her, did you? With my body?"

[] "Well, maybe flirted a little bit."
[] "No, nothing strange at all."
[] Don't answer.

[] "Well, maybe flirted a little bit."

[x] "Well, maybe flirted a little bit."

I wonder if Alice can read up on those summoning books, and build us a doll-body to possess.

we're gonna need a really smooth and encouraging write-in here

[X] You're feelings had a nasty habit of popping up whenever she was around...

>>43550

Maybe something like..

[X] "As I spent time in your body, I regained more and more of your memories. There was a compulsion, buried in those memories, to act affectionately towards Patchouli."

[X] "To be honest... I was a bit amorous when I thanked her. Small things, but... I'm sorry. I probably shouldn't have done that, I... don't know what came over me."
[X] "But, she's a kind person, I'm sure you know. I don't believe she knew you were possessed, but... she seemed to appreciate your attention, I think. You don't need to be nervous about meeting with her."

Just a gentle nudge. A light touch.

Like a pickpocket, or a safe cracker. Or a guy who burns down his own bar for the insurance money, if he makes it look like an electrical thing.

[z] "As I spent time in your body, I regained more and more of your memories. There was a compulsion, buried in those memories, to act affectionately towards Patchouli."

Oh Alice, if you only knew.

[X] "As I spent time in your body, I regained more and more of your memories. There was a compulsion, buried in those memories, to act affectionately towards Patchouli."

simple. elegant. works perfectly.

[z] "To be honest... I was a bit amorous when I thanked her. Small things, but... I'm sorry. I probably shouldn't have done that, I... don't know what came over me."
[z] "But, she's a kind person, I'm sure you know. I don't believe she knew you were possessed, but... she seemed to appreciate your attention, I think. You don't need to be nervous about meeting with her."

Matchmakin gaems

[ ]"Theres nothing weird about love between two women."

[x] "As I spent time in your body, I regained more and more of your memories. There was a compulsion, buried in those memories, to act affectionately towards Patchouli."
[x] "To be honest... I was a bit amorous when I thanked her."
[x] "But, she's a kind person, I'm sure you know. I don't believe she knew you were possessed, but... she seemed to appreciate your attention, I think. You don't need to be nervous about meeting with her."

>>43553 here, this covers everything I was thinking of. Great work.

[x] "As I spent time in your body, I regained more and more of your memories. There was a compulsion, buried in those memories, to act affectionately towards Patchouli."
[x] "To be honest... I was a bit amorous when I thanked her."
[x] "But, she's a kind person, I'm sure you know. I don't believe she knew you were possessed, but... she seemed to appreciate your attention, I think. You don't need to be nervous about meeting with her."

[] "As I spent time in your body, I regained more and more of your memories. There was a compulsion, buried in those memories, to act affectionately towards Patchouli."
[] "To be honest... I was a bit amorous when I thanked her."
[] "But, she's a kind person, I'm sure you know. I don't believe she knew you were possessed, but... she seemed to appreciate your attention, I think. You don't need to be nervous about meeting with her."

WALL ME.

[x] "As I spent time in your body, I regained more and more of your memories. There was a compulsion, buried in those memories, to act affectionately towards Patchouli."
[x] "To be honest... I was a bit amorous when I thanked her."
[x] "But, she's a kind person, I'm sure you know. I don't believe she knew you were possessed, but... she seemed to appreciate your attention, I think. You don't need to be nervous about meeting with her."

Changing my vote. COMBINING WRITEINS!

[x] "As I spent time in your body, I regained more and more of your memories. There was a compulsion, buried in those memories, to act affectionately towards Patchouli."
[x] "To be honest... I was a bit amorous when I thanked her."
[x] "But, she's a kind person, I'm sure you know. I don't believe she knew you were possessed, but... she seemed to appreciate your attention, I think. You don't need to be nervous about meeting with her."

[x] "As I spent time in your body, I regained more and more of your memories. There was a compulsion, buried in those memories, to act affectionately towards Patchouli."
[x] "To be honest... I was a bit amorous when I thanked her."
[x] "But, she's a kind person, I'm sure you know. I don't believe she knew you were possessed, but... she seemed to appreciate your attention, I think. You don't need to be nervous about meeting with her."

COMBINING WRITE-INS TO CREATE ROCKET LAUNCHER

[x] "As I spent time in your body, I regained more and more of your memories. There was a compulsion, buried in those memories, to act affectionately towards Patchouli."
[x] "To be honest... I was a bit amorous when I thanked her."
[x] "But, she's a kind person, I'm sure you know. I don't believe she knew you were possessed, but... she seemed to appreciate your attention, I think. You don't need to be nervous about meeting with her."

GATTAI!

[x] "As I spent time in your body, I regained more and more of your memories. There was a compulsion, buried in those memories, to act affectionately towards Patchouli."
[x] "To be honest... I was a bit amorous when I thanked her."
[x] "But, she's a kind person, I'm sure you know. I don't believe she knew you were possessed, but... she seemed to appreciate your attention, I think. You don't need to be nervous about meeting with her."

The same message, but 100% more likely not to get us hurt.

[+] "As I spent time in your body, I regained more and more of your memories. There was a compulsion, buried in those memories, to act affectionately towards Patchouli."
[+] "To be honest... I was a bit amorous when I thanked her."
[+] "But, she's a kind person, I'm sure you know. I don't believe she knew you were possessed, but... she seemed to appreciate your attention, I think. You don't need to be nervous about meeting with her."

[x] "As I spent time in your body, I regained more and more of your memories. There was a compulsion, buried in those memories, to act affectionately towards Patchouli."
[x] "To be honest... I was a bit amorous when I thanked her."
[x] "But, she's a kind person, I'm sure you know. I don't believe she knew you were possessed, but... she seemed to appreciate your attention, I think. You don't need to be nervous about meeting with her."

Alice turns an even deeper red as she cups her hands over her face as if to hide herself.

"Aaahh, what should I do then?" she whines, drawing her hands back to the sides of her face. "She probably thinks I'm weird now, or maybe she'd take it the wrong way, or-"

"Alice," you butt in, placing your hand on her head to catch her attention. "She didn't react negatively. In fact, if I had to guess, I'd say that she was a little surprised and a little embarrassed by the displays of affection. She definitely didn't turn away the advances, but she didn't act on them either. Maybe she's just as nervous about it as you are, though I don't really get why." you say, taking a moment to catch your breath as Alice hangs on your every word.

"If you really have feelings for Patchouli, there's no harm in expressing yourself to her. If you continue to just sit on these feelings, you won't go anywhere, and you'll spend all your time wondering about what could have been. I might not have been entirely aware of your personal actions or intentions that much, since all your memories and emotions were mostly dormant to me. If you're serious about this though, you absolutely must tell her. The longer the wait, you're just hurting yourself needlessly."

Alice looks away from you, turning her eyes towards the ground.

"What if she doesn't feel the same way? What if she was just being polite?" Alice says, sounding a little dejected. You scoff.

"Trust me Alice, a polite reply to a kiss on the cheek does not involve turning as red as the house and stammering incoherently."

Alice gives an embarrassed shriek as she turns red again and buries her face in her hands, shaking her head.

"Wh-what did you do something like that for!?" she shouts, her face still red. You can see a little hint of water in her eyes.

"I was probably acting on your instincts, your subconscious desires. I felt it needed to happen, and I took the chance. I have no regrets, and I'm not the one that still stands to benefit from this. I've been forced into another body, but this is still something that exists for you. This is still your chance. Patchouli didn't seem to know you were possessed at all, so you could play it all off by just being yourself. I may have taken liberties you were too afraid to take, but I've put your foot in the door. You need to take the chance."

Alice squeezes her hands between her legs, fidgeting in her seat, face still as red as ever.

"I kind of remember the things you're talking about. Even if it wasn't me, I still remember them. Patchouli... she told me her life story, didn't she?" Alice asks, her voice still a little faint. You reply with a nod.

"Do you think she would open up so much to someone she didn't care about?" you ask. "Alice, while I was in control, I only thought about making your life better. Your autonomous doll research, your isolation from others, I would help you through it all, because you deserve as much."

You see a glisten of light as a tear runs from Alice's eye. She looks back up at you, eyes wet, just barely holding back tears with a smile.

"I have so much to thank you for, you've done so much for me that I was too afraid to do for myself. I can't even thank you enough, and I don't even know your name." she says.

[] "You can call me Hina for now, since that's the name of this body."
[] "My name is [Anonymous/Write In]"
[] "Don't be concerned with my name, I'm just a passing spirit.

>>43576
[] "Don't be concerned with my name, I'm just a passing spirit.
[] "You can call me Hina for now, since that's the name of this body."

[x] "You can call me Hina for now, since that's the name of this body."

[] "Don't be concerned with my name, I'm just a passing spirit.
[] Walk into sunset.

[] "You can call me Hina for now, since that's the name of this body."

[] "You can call me Hina for now, since that's the name of this body."
[ ]"But in the future, call out for 'Anonymous' if you need me"

[x] "You can call me Hina for now, since that's the name of this body."

Staying incognito.

[] "Don't be concerned with my name, I'm just a passing spirit.
[] "You can call me Hina for now, since that's the name of this body."

[x] "You can call me Hina for now, since that's the name of this body."
[x]"But in the future, call out for 'Anonymous' if you need me"

Sounds good to me.

D'awwwww.

[+] "Don't be concerned with my name, I'm just a passing spirit.
[+] "You can call me Hina for now, since that's the name of this body."

[x] "You can call me Hina for now, since that's the name of this body."
[x]"But in the future, call out for 'Anonymous' if you need me"

[x] "You can call me Hina for now, since that's the name of this body."

[] "You can call me Hina for now, since that's the name of this body."
[ ]"But in the future, call out for 'Anonymous' if you need me"

[x] "You can call me Hina for now, since that's the name of this body."
[x]"But in the future, call out for 'Anonymous' if you need me"

[ ] "You can call me Hina for now, since that's the name of this body."
[ ]"But in the future, call out for 'Anonymous' if you need me"

I'm glad we managed to help out Alice. Hope it doesn't come back to bite us in the ass.

[x] "Don't be concerned with my name, I'm just a passing spirit.
[x] "You can call me Hina for now, since that's the name of this body."

Bad-ass matchmaking spirit. Fuck yes.

[X] "Don't be concerned with my name, I'm just a passing spirit.
[X] "You can call me Hina for now, since that's the name of this body."

Don't ask her for the name Anonymous. Don't ask her for any name at all. A name just makes us easier to track.

>>43594
A name is nothing if we don't respond to it.
A code is always handy.

>>43595
We're forming a deep connection with anyone we possess anyway, we can identify ourselves without a codename.

[x] "You can call me Hina for now, since that's the name of this body."
[x] "But in the future, call out for 'Anonymous' if you need me"

"Anonymous?" Alice says unfamiliar with the word. Well, you figured it would be a good call sign at the very least, since you don't want to go around giving away your identity. Then again, anchoring yourself to an identity, even if it is assumed, would achieve the same effect. You would still nee to be outed as the spirit for anyone to catch on in the first place, so as long as you don't go making a scene of answering it, you won't be noticed.

Alice stands from her seat, wiping her eyes. She takes a step forward and wraps her arms around you, and you return the favour.

"I can't say how much this means to me, but I'm not going to let this go to waste." Alice says, backing away from you after releasing the hug. You can see she's still a little red in the face. "I-I'm going to make the most of this, I'm not going to let my uncertainty get the best of me anymore. I'm going to go confess to Patchouli right away!" she announces, hustling to the door and donning her boots. She opens the lock, and pulls the door open, turning to give you one final look. "I hope I get to see you again though. I might need your help if I get stuck." With that, she leaves and closes the door behind her. Apparently she doesn't mind leaving people behind in her house, not that you have an issue with it. Now that you're alone in the house actually, you recall having stashed away that sword you took from Marisa. If you're going to be taking it back, now would be the time to do so.

[] Go for the sword.
[] Leave it.

[X] Go for the sword.

Might as well use Hina's lonesome life to practice with it.

>>43598
[x] Go for the Sword
[x] Take notes and to scan and print copies for Alice

[] Go for the sword.

[x] Go for the sword.

[] Leave it.

For now it's safe with a known ally. Can't say the same with Hina.

[X] Go for the sword.

[X] Go for the sword.

[X] Go for the sword.

Alice has no use for it.

[X] Leave a note: "Hina lives on Youkai Mountain. She is good friends with the kappa Nitori. Should you ever be interested in combining your magic with outsider technology to create an autonomous doll, she would make an excellent partner."

Let her know how to find us & leave some parting advice.

If we're questioned about the sword, we can say it's cursed & will take a long time to absorb.

[X] Go for the sword.
Anonymous saves life, he is the hero of Gensokyo.

>>43609

Wonder what our karma is gonna be like if we're ever sent back to Siki.

>>43607 here.
Changing my vote to
[+] Go for the sword.
[+] Leave a note: "Hina lives on Youkai Mountain. She is good friends with the kappa Nitori. Should you ever be interested in combining your magic with outsider technology to create an autonomous doll, she would make an excellent partner."

>>43610
Why sent back, just wait until we can possess Siki.
Judgment Time.

>>43613

That'd be a lunatic mode possession.

[x] Go for the sword.

You decide you might as well take it back. Better to have it then not to, after all. The closer it is to you, the better. Maybe if it had been on hand when Reimu came by, things would have been different, and you might not have been ejected from Alice. Oh well, that's all in the past now. You head into Alice's room and recover it from where you had hidden it, then make your way to the door. You leave Alice's house, and make towards the tree tops.

"Hold up right there." a voice calls behind you, an unsettlingly familiar voice at that. You turn slowly to find Reimu floating a few feet away. You see her eyes on the sword in your hands, then she looks back up to you.

"You're awfully brave, returning to the scene of the crime, aren't you?" she asks, a rhetorical question at best. You try to think of an excuse to get yourself out of this, but Reimu produces an amulet from her sleeve. "Don't try to lie your way out of this one spirit. I was caught off guard last time, but I've actually prepared today. I was just on my way back to Alice's to do a better sweep, I thought you were still hiding there. I wasn't able to sense you then, but I sure can now."

You drift away a little bit, thinking that perhaps you might be able to outrun her, but she drifts closer as you retreat, maintaining the same distance.

"I didn't think you'd make it easy on me though, this saves me the hassle of having to purify the house, and I'd much rather enjoy some danmaku then religious rituals." Reimu says.

"Why are you so concerned with catching me?" you ask in defiance. "Am I really such a problem?"

Reimu doesn't reply, but she does stop advancing towards you. You stop retreating as well, as it were. Reimu gives you an annoyed look, as if you'd managed to say something she hadn't considered.

"Why do you run?" Reimu asks. "Why don't you just obey the natural order and face your judgment? Your escape is a blemish on the cycle of life and death, and your act of defiance causes unrest in Higan. More souls might get the idea they deserve to live again, and would seen to escape from death. Spirits have already proven to be quite comfortable making themselves at home in the world of the living, as the flower incident of years past has proven, but to chase after life that strongly. Is life really worth that much to you that you would risk damnation just to be free?"

You tighten your grip on the sword. You hadn't put a lot of thought into your reasons, at first it was just instinct, and then were just hiding to avoid capture. In the mean time, you picked someone's life and advanced their goals. That was just a distraction though, wasn't it? To keep you from becoming bored, or accidentally giving yourself away too early. You wonder yourself why you chose to run, but the only answer you can come up with is the desire to live again.

"I wasn't ready to die," you reply, fixing your gaze on Reimu. "It was too sudden, I was still in shock. I guess I couldn't accept it, and I still can't. I don't want to be judged, I want to live. You're human, aren't you? Wouldn't you suddenly have regrets over not doing what you wanted to do with your life if you died tomorrow?"

Reimu's eyes twitch, and her mouth curls into a frown. You can't tell if you made her angry or just annoyed.

"No," is the reply. "I would die nobly and accept peace in death. It's not my place to decide the cycle of life and death."

"I seriously doubt that you would have no regrets. I've only been here a few days, and I've already come to realize that there are a great number of people that have problems in their every day lives that they have trouble overcoming on their own." you say. Reimu furrows her brow.

"Why are you getting yourself wrapped up in other people's lives? You're just a rebellious soul, these people don't need your help."

You can feel a familiar frustration. Is she trying to provoke you? She's blindly ignoring even the obvious problems you've seen. Could she just not be aware? No, she seemed pretty familiar with Alice, and you doubt that she wasn't aware of the stall in her research.

"I made amazing progress in Alice's research, and right now she's heading off to confess her true feelings to Patchouli. She thanked me for helping her do things she's been unable to do alone, probably because she has friends like you," you say, practically shouting now, with emphasis on 'you'. "Friends that ignore her problems and try to pretend she didn't have any."

Reimu's expression changes dramatically to shock, then sinks once more into anger.

"Shut up! You noisy soul!" Reimu shouts, whipping her hand and releasing a wave of talismans. You easily avoid them, and reorient yourself to see Reimu floating in midair, holding another talisman. "You talk like you know anything about me."

"I don't really need to. You only care about resolving whatever incident affects everyone, but you don't care to solve the problems afflicting individuals." you say. "I'm genuinely helping people. Alice has a chance to be much happier now that I've helped her. If I can help her, who else could I help? How else can I change people's lives for the better?"

Reimu doesn't reply. She hardly looks like she's moving. She's closed her eyes, though her angry, annoyed expression remains.

"Even if I can't return to life, who knows how long this will last. I'm not sure why I'm possessing people, but if I can find a way to be happy, and make others happy in the process, do I really need to be stopped? I have no idea if this is even a permanent thing. For all I know, I might wake up tomorrow to find myself back in the land of the dead. My life was nothing special, but I still didn't want to die. If I'm forced to receive my judgment eventually, I at least want my actions here to reflect on me. I'm trying to do good for these people while I can, and being hounded by you and that ferrywoman is taxing."

Reimu's expression as faded, but she remains motionless.

"I just want to live again."

"Fine." Reimu says, tucking away the amulet. "Be stubborn is you want, I don't really care. All this ghost hunting business is a hassle anyway. Don't think I'm just going to ignore you though. If you give me a chance to get rid of you, I'll take it. If you start to make a mess of things, you can definitely expect me to come back for you." she continues, turning away from you. "I'm going to forget I ever ran into you here and pretend I never found anything. Don't make me regret having a bad memory."

With that, Reimu drifts away into the darkness, leaving you alone over the forest. You take the rest of the night to enjoy your apparent newfound freedom.

DAY 3 END

>>43610
>Wonder what our karma is gonna be like if we're ever sent back to Siki.

When we're done here, we'll have become a Celestial (see PMiSS), and will already have risen above the karmic cycle.

>>43617
>we'll have become a Celestial
Tenshi route?

Not sure if want...

EZMode: Is there a chance to leave Alice that note before proceeding?

When we got kicked out of Alice, we had
>ALICE ROUTE COMPLETION: 84%
>ALICE RANK: B+

How high are those now?

>>43618

Eh, sure. The note will be a retcon allowance because I didn't think to refresh the page before I posted.

>>43619

Well, the Rank is approximately how well you stayed in character and stayed out of trouble. As far as completion goes though, I'd say it's at about 88% or so. So far factoring in romance plot and main goal, completion of both would bring it up to 95%. The 'Social issue' of her being a hermit is worth the rest of the percentage.

>>43618
You didn't see PMiSS, did you.

>Celestials are essentially hermits who have long pursued ascetic knowledge, but they can be divided into those who have achieved immortality and ascended to heaven(*5), and those who have attained enlightment and entered Nirvana.
>The former have physical bodies, so they can appear on earth with ease, but the latter cannot descend from the heavens without borrowing somebody's body.

>Celestials spend their days listening to music, fishing, and playing go, never bothered with the need to do work, and always able to eat the highest quality food.
>Certainly, no small number of people would like to live a dream-like lifestyle such as this(*6).
>However, to become a celestial, humans must free themselves of worldly desires.
>In other words, the first requirement is certainly to not be the sort of person who would yearn to lead such a life.
>Likely, most people would not meet this requirement.

All I want to do now is keep making people as happy as we just made Alice. I'm not sure if that counts?

>>43615

Fucking awesome.

So is Alice's path complete?


>Don't think I'm just going to ignore you though. If you give me a chance to get rid of you, I'll take it. If you start to make a mess of things, you can definitely expect me to come back for you.

S-stupid ghost! It's not like I want you to possess me or anything; don't even think it for a moment! Hmph!

>>43622

Foregoing any personal goal of returning to life and dedicating yourself purely to helping everyone seems to fall under that definition.

So then, likely, if we treat everyone like we treated Alice, then after cycling like 15 or so different characters, we'll get Celestial End?

awesome.

it's settled, after helping Alice and Hina, Reimu is our next target.

>>43634

Why the fuck Reimu? She's actively waiting for us to screw up so that she can dispel our spirit back to Higan.

>>43635

Which is why She needs to experience our lifestyle makeover for herself.

>>43635
She is our stepping stone to become a Celestial and spend our days with Tenshi.

Is there any chance we could get a retcon on the name "Anonymous"? It sounds so painfully cheesey, and breaks the immersion.

And for this story, immersion is everything.

I mean, hell, even "Nobody" would be better than the painfully cliched "Anonymous." When I think of Alice calling out that name, I think of:

1. The Abused Wife Alice copypasta
2. Any number of Dan Kim's Touhou trolls
3. Those goddamn *squeeze* threads

All of those are things that I don't think ANY reader of Flight wants to associate with the story.

So, please, EZMode. Retcon the name Anonymous, and hold a revote on the name.

It wouldn't even have to be a real name. Fuck, it could even be "Anonymous" in a different language, as long as it doesn't look like the word itself.

>>43655
This.

>>43655
I agree.

>>43655
We'd be way more bad-ass doing all this without a name, almost like a natural phenomenon of sudden inspiration and guidance. Like I said in >>43596 , we really don't need one anyway.

I suggest the name "Toshiaki". It's the default "Anonymous" equivalent on Futaba Channel, which makes it sort of the precursor to 4chan and Anonymous in general.

Alternatively, "Nanashi" (lit. "without a name") could work.

>>43655

Nobody has no body!

I like it!

>>43662
This is Gensokyo, where Japanese is the local tongue. They'd get it quickly, if not immediately.

...then again, is that really a bad thing? Maybe it's more of a blatant "I know you're onto me, which is why I won't let you call me so easy"-type gesture.

[x] Nanashi Toshiaki
Why not.

>>43668
>>43662

They'd be literally the same as "Anonymous". There's no need to retcon if you want to just be slightly more weeaboo.

{X} Toshiaki~

[x] Nanashi Toshiaki
Or just Toshiaki if it's too long.

If we have to change our codename, I'd prefer [X] Nobody. Just imagine Alice calling 'Nobody, help me!' or 'I need Nobody's help'.

>>43670

I think the point is that 'Anonymous' is awkward sounding when there are alternatives with the same meaning.

>1. The Abused Wife Alice copypasta
>2. Any number of Dan Kim's Touhou trolls
>3. Those goddamn *squeeze* threads

Oh lord.

Sure there could be a retcon vote for the codename, since there seems to be a call for it.

[] Nanashi
[] Toshiaki
[] Nobody
[] Guide
[] Paku
[] Write In Option

>>43676

[x] No one

NO ONE CAN HELP ME.

>>43676
[X] Nanashi

>>43676
[X] Nobody

[] Nanashi

Might as well.

[x] Nobody
Whatever. Going for the option that's less weeaboo.

[X] Nobody

Nobody has blinded me!

[X] Nobody

Also going for the choice that's less weaboo.

[] Notice, this necromantically nebulous nobody, now narrowly avoiding nubile naval navigators of the Netherworld. Neither naughty natured nor needy, naively nabbing new names. Nobly narrating nice news for his host, namely no actions of needlessly negative consequence, negotiating Nirvana. Needing a nominally necessary nickname; you may call me N.

Seriously,

[x] Nanashi

Just avoiding potentially confusing use of the name Nobody.

[X] Nobody

>>43697

Σ(゜д゜;)

[X] Nanashi

>>43676

Nobody.

Alright, Nobody wins.


Er... Of course, the codename Nobody wins. Yes. Damn, this is going to be trouble.

>Er... Of course, the codename Nobody wins. Yes. Damn, this is going to be a lot of fun.

Just as keikaku.

>>43715
When will the cupcakes be done?

>>43735

7 minutes.

No updates today, most likely. I've yet to sleep, so I'm planning on doing that sometime in the near future.

>>43752
>No updates today

>>43766

And?

>>43785

I assume the implication was that you should have used more sage in your post.