(in which we make 'a da la musica)

It has become night. That's how long this concert frikmania's been goin' on for. Infact, it's been night for some time. Where the frik've you guys been?

Anyway, interesting things have been happening on the camera! Like, performances… yeah.

Mystia and I are enjoying some chicken nuggets, which feels like cannibalism to me, but I guess it's okay with her. She's friendly, dude.

"Om…" She takes a snack bite!

After watching ten million performances- then doing some practice when we got bored-... we got bored of doing practice! So now, we're taking a break, dude.

thud. Ha-chan thuds her nugget against the plate. "Ugh…" I dunno why she hates chicken nuggets! She likes fruits of the earth instead…

"Did you guys hear anything?" Kyouko's with us! She speaks over the low murmur of crowd, and of the freakin'... folk music coming from the stage.

"You're the one with the ears." Mystia countered! "How're we supposed to know?"

"...That's true." She looked down at the deluxe nugget meal we had ordered. We found a picnic table among the big freakin' villager crowd. I dunno who it belonged to, but we're gonna use it for now! It might be public…

On the stage no~w… is just, one band of half-drunk dudes and a band of half-drunk fairies. S'truly a match of the ages! No one's even shooting danmaku, it's just clapping and stomping.

Seija is not in public with us, for obvious reasons.

I turn to my new friend Soija. She's got a bucket over her head, with a slit cut out for her eyes…!

Let's greet her, friends. "Hi, Sega." Se~ga~!

...She huffs at me! "Every second with this on is agony." Wahaha! "...Rather, that's what I thought I'd be saying. It's alright." Da~h. She's weirdly contrarian all the time, and it's annoying!

No one's questioned us about it, because bands just roll that way, dude. She's the token musician who just wears a freakin' whacky costume or helmet, and no one knows who she actually is. Except- on stage, she's just Seija! For some reason, that's not been a problem yet!

Futo begrudgingly eats her nugget. "Bearing the burden of this sustenance… may have not been worth trouble."

"Nuggets… are good." I dunno what she means, so I disagree with her…

"I say, the price, not current quality." ...Oh! Futo means she paid too much! It is a festival… I'd imagine vendors would rip you the hell off.

Woosh. Ha-chan throws a nugget away! "No~."

"Fae- no!" Futo holds out a hand, as the nugget sails into the crowd! "Why…!?"

...We watch it leave. Bye, nugget.

"Wh-... the fuck…?" Wahaha! It hit a guy, and now he's sad, dude!

"You are actually a child." Mystia grins over at Ha-chan! "Really, are you serious…?"

Ha-chan looks frazzled, now! "...We- well… I dunno!?"

We're pretty much killing time until we get bored of that and decide to practice the music again. I have been… getting the keyboard help, dude. Which, is basically just Kyouko telling me not to plod my hands against the keys like a retard, except in a nice way.

Y'know. I didn't think my request for chicken nuggets actually woulda been possible, given the technology era here. To think my parents told me restaurants wouldn't sell chicken nuggets, yo...

Lookin' up at Futo, I give her thanks in her native language! "My mostest sincerest appreciationsest."

"I will silence thee." Oh. Despite her words, her tone is blunt and she smiles at the plate…! Aw. "Would have been a service, to purchase drum sticks instead."

"Anything makes a good drum stick, really." Mystia commented on her knowledge, dude. "You have a drum, too?"

...Futo flicked her eyes up! "I meant, legs of meat on bone, youkai."

...Mystia grinned! "Ah, shit. Who the hell calls them drum sticks…!?"

"Individuals…!" Futo focuses on her fully now! "Why don't you?"

"'Cause I don't." It's the good reason, dude.

...Futo can't disagree, dude. "Pftah…" She hastily looks away, despite seeming vaguely amused herself. Can't be seen having too much fun with a youkai!

Chicken legs could be good, too. I dunno if they can deep fry them, out here. Maybe Mokou can…! I should've brought her along just so she could cook us chicken stuffs…

Actually, what kinda youkai is Mystia? Night sparrow, was it? Jack Sparrow!

She raises a brow at me, after I stare at her for long enough! "I think you're ugly, by the way." What- help, no!

"What- oof…!" Mystia- why, dude!? "I was thinkin' what kinda youkai you were…!"

"I'm a night sparrow." She seems almost incredulous, staring at me! "Was- was that your pickup line…? Wow!"

Son! "No- it wasn't! I was just wonderin'- you here eatin' chicken parts and all! S'that not cannibalism or somethin'!?"

"If I can eat human parts, I can eat chicken parts." She shakes her head… "I could eat anything, really. But-... I'd really rather it wasn't another night sparrow."

...Oh. So she's, uh, one of them human eating types, huh? I didn't really count on that! She seems peaceful enough.

She smiles at me! "Relax. You smell like shit." Oh…! "'Sides, if I ate anyone here, I'd literally get hung."

Whap. Kyouko hit her friend in the head lightly. "I wish you didn't eat people~..."

"Uh huh." Mystia just ignores 'er… "Actually- that's a funny story, isn't it?" She grins over at her pal!

Foldin' her arms, Kyouko fluffs up! "Well- funny's one way of putting it."

...Since we're all lookin' expectant, Mystia continues! "So! It's the ta~le… of how we first met."

"I'm still pissed about it, but I'm willing to not always be pissed about it!" Kyouko gives some context to it! "...'Cause seriously-"

"She heard me singing…" Mystia began! "Which was good. Then, she saw me trying to eat this one guy-"

"And I stopped you, because that's a mean thing, and stop doing that." Kyouko starts to get into her face…! "Far as I know, you don't need to eat humans…!"

...Mystia rolled her eyes. "Yeah, s'bad for business anyway. Actually kinda unlucky, since I just eat the guys I don't like…"

"I know, but sti~ll…" For some reason, that's the reasoning that defused Kyouko, who leaned away… "Humans don't just kill people they don't like…"

Seija tilts her bucketed head back. "Some do."

I nod in agreeal! "Oh, some do…!"

"...Mrm." Futo does not seem amused!

...So- this means Mystia's just gone and killed boys. Hmm. It's hard for me to care, since she seems alright otherwise, and none of the killmania actually affects me. People are way more extreme here, in Gensokyo!

Ha-chan's just staring into the picnic table. She's fluffy, dude…

...I do a little dance along my seat, slowly encroaching on her position! Eventually, she notices!

"You looked like you had a mind for a second there!" I indirectly insult her!

She shook her head. Oh- so, oh. "I thought I thoughted, but I never thought at all! It was weird…"

"Thot." Seija makes a reference that doesn't exist yet. Wait like… what- it's twenty fifteen? Wait another three years!

...Ha-chan smiles at her, dude. "Yeah!" Wau.

Freakin'- Ha-chan's physically like, around or over my age, and is probably chronologically some immortal being of nature, but she acts like she's twelve!

Well. At least, she smells nice, dude. Soft, and warm to the touch…

I stare up at the darkening night sky, stars speckling it far earlier than they ever would on the outside.

==== FREAKIN GENSOKYO ====

We have… arrived back at our booth. In the late, blue and pink death of the day's sky, our booth darkens.

Click. Aw. Some lights automatically come on! This stage has electricity!

"Mmh-..." Meanwhile, I drink from my plant hanger.

...Futo gives me an odd stare! "Ah. I've neglected beverages. Mayhaps I should obtain those… and, more food, as well."

"Mmm~." Kyouko eagerly nods back, like a friend. "Food's good…" I thought she was freakin' pressed for money…!

Oh well, dude. She moves to leave the booth, and I'm kinda tempted to go exploring. Not just with her- just in general!

...With her gone again, Seija rolls her head around, taking off the bucket helmet. "There. Nnh…"

I make swimming motions, as I walk towards her.

...She doesn't know how to respond, dude. She checks to see if anyone else is even paying attention, and they aren't!

"What if you had that helmet onstage?" I question her! "You could be… the music robot!"

"I can put it on you so that you can't take it off." Seija just outright threatens me, and grins! "Would you like that?"

...I don't know how to respo~nd either! "Yes."

"The answer is no." She- oh shit, woah no! I step back as she encroaches on me-

"Ah- hey!" Whah- I bump against someone- oh shit-

Thu- thud. We flop over, my back awkwardly meeting Kyouko's side as we freakin' plummet. "Unh…!"

"Pft- hahaha~!"Seija- I can see why you're a wanted criminal now…! "You fucking idiots!"

...Oof. Well-

Thud. Oof. Kyouko shoved me off of her, and got up…

Once I get back up, I can see her tilting her head back, looking like she was barely containing something!

...Seija smiled wryly and folded her arms, already composed. "Well?"

"BARK!" Oh- woa~h!

==== FREAKIN GENSOKYO ====

So that's when I decided, dude. I decided… it was time to do some exploring! That stall tent thing of ours was getting pretty stir crazy!

Immediately outside of our tent, there were some kappa in blue suits, very similar to Nitori's… wait…

Nitori was here, too!

...They turn to me, and stare me down. When they've had enough of that, they deliberately turn their backs to me, and continue to pan their gazes down at weird blueprint-esque material. It looks… somehow heavier-duty than the typical blue planning stuff. Maybe it's waterproofed!

Anyway- seems like they don't feel like talkin' ta 'a stinky human, dude. Time to wade across the town square, and maybe waste all my money instantly and regrettably. Auu~h…

...As I pass by the kappa, I see this tiny, lit fish tank behind them. A fluffle is inside it, bobbing its tiny head as it swims snuggly-like in the midst of the tank. The flow of bubbles shows that there's a series of currents all around it, to keep it from sinking.

I can only conclude that the kappa have adopted this fluffle, and are attempting to give it new life under the waves!

Outside the booth lane, is villagers and stuff. Unmanned stalls begin at the right, before progressing to the ones allowed to be used. The ones nearest the backs of the stages are probably off-limits to vendors for obvious reasons; ta prevent band-versus-public congestion and shit! And wandering, and…

Ho ho! There is indeed a lotta people.

Futo went- ah, crap, I've already lost her. Futo went somewhere. I don't really have anything I wanna buy, and I don't know what I wanna do out here, but I guess I'll just, look around…

So I do! The last song's just about ended, so we're in some weird between segment again. The judges are saying things, but I'm not doing much other than letting them be background noise!

"That was… interesting." Rinnosuke does his thing dude.

"...I think it deserves a seven." Akyuu offered, uh, whichever of the drunken clappers was defending.

"In terms of technique, that was… fifteen." Aya admits! "In fact, no one actually did anything… other than drink beer."

"Zero." Rinnosuke's freakin' evil, dude! "...Not of opinion, it's just that no one fought."

"Maybe worth an eleven, then." Akyuu revised her score! "Since, they can't get battle points."

...There's a lot of not-villager lookin' people around here tonight, actually. Like, aa~h…

"Hi." Now there's Alice. Wait- "Oh, it's you."

...I blink at her, an' look down at my leather kimono for a moment! "Wha- hi. What- did ya just, say hi before you knew who I was…!?"

"Yes." She admits…! "It would have ended there, too. But-..." She looks over my wig, and leather! "Interesting outfit."

"Yeah!" I agree! "You're here to watch the concert, huh…"

"Nope. I happened to be picking up sugar, at the very cusp of dusk and night." She uh, oof…! "Yes, I'm here to watch the concert. What astounds me, is you, Seija and Futo have somehow schmoozed actual musicians into letting you play with them."

Da~h. "...I mean, we make bodies! When in doubt, throw more men at 'em!"

"If the village used that philosophy, it would have been destroyed years ago." Alice promptly criticizes my strategy…! "In fact, I'm sure that would bring about the ruin of any army."

She's probably right. Who the frik would have enough units to just- hey wait a minute, she can just make infinite dolls-

"Any human army." Judging by her smile, she knows she just contradicted her own existence at first! An' she refused to let me point that out! "Which, would include you, probably." Oof…

"Oof." I vocalize as much, dude. For how introverted she looks, she's not afraid to gingerly lash out!

...Sensing I was starting to get quiet, Alice continues to do her snuggly sway in place. "Don't let me hold you up. I am also here to buy supplies. I wasn't technically lying…"

Hoh. "Ye, ye… ye." Upon her insistence, I meander off…

Alice is fluffy, but my waifu remains to be Patchy, dude.

"Yea~h!" Oh, shit. There's someone I don't think I've seen before!

Yuugi is here in the village of all people. She's over at a bar stand place, holding up the biggest mug.

"...Y'need heavier shit." After her yell, she talks down to the stall owner! "Whah is this, water?"

I… don't think I'll get closer to her. She's freakin' big, and I'm gonna assume out of safety, very unsafe with her bigness…!

Big mood, dude. Fun mood. I also don't feel like getting drunk. I'm not known for my caution, but the omega oni is a little far for me!

fwoof- fwoof- fwoof. Dusty, friendly fluffs slip past my legs, making the already dirty floor even more dusty...

"Oh, hi." Someone says hi to me casually, again. Freakin'... "Oh, it's you." I'm getting deja-vu, dude…!

I turn to her! She's this pretty girl with long, reddish-brownish-blackish hair, and ears- canine ear things- and a whitish dress… I forget what her name was! Did I see her before…?

"Hello, friend." I wa~ve. "...Who are yo~u!?"

"Didn't we meet, before?" Wolf girl friend leans back a little… "Well. I'm Kagerou. I… I'll be honest, in saying that I don't remember your name either..."

Oh no. "I am, the Brad man…" It feels surprisingly awkward talking to normal people, which has been a running theme for me in this arc…! Suddenly, I am surrounded by not-lunatics! Or, well, not-quite lunatics…

"Ah." She is neither baffled nor surprised… "I helped you, when you were lost in the dark." Oh? Oh… I think I uh, remember that. Maybe. She woke me up inside, dude.

"I could not find the light, of Kingdom Hearts." Let's become edgy anime protags. Or- protag, since I am one and not many! "But, wherever I go… there is a light, in my crevices, that never goes out!"

"Maybe I should have left you there." She gets increasingly finished with my nonsense…! "Li- light, in your crevices…?" Ahah! I got her, dude.

I grin back! "Yeah, dude! An' it never goes out!"

She shakes her head! "Great…"

Hoh. "...On that note, what brings ya to the concert?"

My question seems to be a genuine surprise to her, after the rest of the exchange. "Aah. Well um, I'm actually going to be performing with some friends of mine, at some point. As a, um, backup singer."

Backup singer, huh. That's snuggly.

...What was her name again- Kagerou, yeah, let's do our best not to forget this!

...The conversation's dead, dude. I am only assertive enough to be a complete asshole and then nothing more!

"Why, uh, are you wearing a wig?" Kagerou aggresses me after some awkward silence! "I don't remember that… even if I could tell who you are."

"I had to be someone's sister. Someone's twisted sister. It's a long story…!" I completely lie! Well- the twisted sister thing's a partial lie, I guess. She doesn't know what it means though…!

"...Oh." She seems immune to weirdness. "I mean… if that's your thing, that's fine. You don't have to lie about it." Oh- shit…!

"Oof." I did not realize… she was a hard counter to me, son. "Can't a guy wear a wig without wanting to be a girl…!?"

Kagerou looked at me semi-concernedly! "Why would a guy wear a wig in the first place?"

"'Cause-..." Ooh, oof. Think…! Wait. "'Cause it has good stats, dude."

With that, she seemingly drops the wig discussion… "If you say so. I know of some youkai who use wigs to help hide. But, you're not a youkai..." Aw.

I didn't even know Gensokyo had wolf girls. All the wolfmen are freakin' brutes, but Kagerou here is ginger and cuddly for some reason.

Y'know what. While I'm here, I should ask her! "...Why're all the random wolfmen in Gensokyo freakin' evil!?"

...Kagerou blinks at me! "Where'd… that come from? But, um… from what I know, the… 'actualization', or whatever you wanna call it, of wolf-type youkai sort of went up. In recent years, that is. So, we've gotten a lot more juvenile types, almost to the point that non-tengu wolf youkai are sort of being seen as expendable as fairies. It's actually kind of a problem…"

Huh. So they're just spawning more, and I assume the testosterone-packed big noobs are actually kids by comparison to actually well-lived ones. Youkai life is weird life!

"So that's why I see so many…" I make idle the good chit-chat…

"honh" What. Dude- there are fluffles at this festival…

Woosh. With a quick lunge, Kagerou moved faster than I thought she could- and picked up a fluffle, by its fluffy tub. "what no"

...Holding it up, she stared into its monotone, shell-nosed smile. "I'm more curious about these things, personally."

"i have freckles" It supplies her with everything she needs to know… "hug"

...Reluctantly, Kagerou brings it in for a hug. Pressing it into her collar, she pats the back…

"honh honh honhonh" It emanates a dusty aura. Once she realizes, she tugs it away!

"help no" It holds its fins out. "im lovable"

"You're dirty." Kagerou lets go of it.

thud. Almost soundlessly, the loaf lands on its non-existent butt. "no"

...Now aggressive, the fluffle becomes quadruped, tilting its head up at her.

snap snap. Aw. It snaps at her, dude!

...Casually, she lets her posture slouch, as she stares down at the snapping fluff nugget.

She takes a look around. Brushing her hair aside, she looks up at me sort of awkwardly. "Ah. Hey- um… wanna see a trick?"

A trick. "Aw, yeah…" Let's see Kagerou's trick, dude…

...Fidgeting a little, she takes some steps back from the opposing angry loaf.

snap snap. It advances just a little, giving her the most adorable attempt at intimidation ever.

Kagerou takes a big inhale. And then-

She drops onto the ground before it, on her four limbs.

SNAP! "Rrh!" Bearing her teeth, she snarls, snapping back at the dust friend that confronted her. Holy shit- those teeth dude! They're- mostly normal, but the canines…!

The fluffle ragdolled, its face flopping into the floor with immeasurably tiny power. Aw…!

Kagerou was now standing, before I could even see her get back out of her own snapping posture! "Tha- that was a bad idea…" Aw. She's embarrassed, dude. "Uh…"

I give her a thumbs up! "Y'know- I actually wish I could snarl at people seriously!" I don't think I could do the 'rrgh' or the 'oough', or the 'AHHHH AHHHHHHHH-'

Blushing at her own eccentricity, she turns away! "Re- really, now… I don't know why I bothered showing you."

"You're bored." I think we all know why we do these things.

...She nods, and smiles! "Wh- yeah. That's… you actually get it, huh?"

"I know the feeling quite well!" Freakin', that's life, dude! "Y'only half wanna be here, don't ya!?"

"...I- I mean, yeah." She admits! "I guess I'm fine with the performing, but the waiting between performances… I should relish it, for now. It'll get smaller, when we move up the tiers." Ooo! She's got a point! "Still, I can't help but feel restless. This should have been formatted in reverse, somehow…"

Hoh…

Aw, hey, there's Futo. Hello, friend! She marches up next to me, plates and cups just floating behind her- woah!

She grapples onto my arm, and pulls me along! "Come along, come along…" Ooh! I'm being escorted, dude!

"...Bye, friend!" I wave to Kagerou, as I'm dragged off by Futo!

...She gives me an idle wave as I skedaddle.

==== FREAKIN GENSOKYO ====

We're behind the booths and band tents and stuff again…

"Ye and youkai…" Futo shakes her head at me as we strut towards our tent. "Have thee death wishes, knave?"

Eeh…? "Whah?" Who what where!?

She scoffs. "That beast girl. I hadn't checked if she smelled of blood, but would one need to?"

...Euh, I dunno about that. "I mean, she seemed pretty normal yo…"

"Such is the deception, the lure." Stroking her chin, Futo frowns back at me. "Every trap requires a bait, and for one such as thee, tracing lines is a matter of risk calculation rather than knowledge. Such is why, I advise caution and shunning. So you do not unwittingly suicide on a beast simply for her looks."

...I give her a very exaggerated shrug! "Are we going fishing? What is this!?"

Futo's eyes widen! "By the gods, thou'st retarded…"

Wahaha~! Y'know- to be honest, I got what she said, but I think it's stupid! I mean- I've read enough hentai to know where a murder or rape plot goes! I think!

That, and I don't think Kagerou is leading me into a bad hentai plot with her existence. Of course, I could somehow be wrong, and I could get the innumerably small statistic required to phase through the floor and descend into the earth, bu~t… I super didn't feel any animosity or creepy anything!

Fwi~sh. We push our way into our booth, booth number, uh… yeah- I forgot, whatever!

In here, a sorta-short snuggly girl is handing out some pink potion things. She's got this little, bobby blonde- or, s'that blonde? S'more like cream-colored. Cream-colored hair, dude… wit' bangs 'a some sort at the front! Said bangs stopped above 'er brows...

"Um…" She faces us! "A- are you two both in, um, this band…?" How snug, dude.

"Mmm." Futo hums in regal regalness. "Drop-Me-Nots? How much?"

"Mm- um… free." The snug girl replies. "It's a festival-wide sponsor thing, from Golden Grin, and the um, Kirisame Magic Shop…"

...Futo has very mixed feelings, as she accepts her bottle! "All-... right, then."

Aw. Unassuming villager girl, dude.

Steppin' up to me, she hands me my whatever-the-fuck-this-is. What in the nine fucks is a 'Drop-Me-Not'...!? "Here, miss- um, mist-..." She furrows her brows at me!

"I'm Ozzy Osbourne." I actually don't know anything about him, but my parents talked about him!

...Letting her eyebrows flare up for one moment, she steps away bewildered! Ohp- an' then she's just gone.

"There you are." Oh, hi Mystia. "We're gonna practice that one song again. Make the-... radio thing work." Radio thing.

...I hold up the pink bottle! "The frik's a Drop-Me-Not…!?"

"Sleep prevention aid." Futo explains to me! "Do not consume yet." Awh. Y'know- that doesn't sound super healthy. I like putting off sleep, though! Not that I'd take this thing habitually. Ho ho…

I meander over to the 3DS, as it sits on the table, closed. Man, this night is gonna kill this thing's battery. I need to teach Ha-chan how to snuggle a 3DS back to life!

==== FREAKIN GENSOKYO ====

"Next up…!" Oh, shit. Another band is gettin' called from the TV people! "Choujuu Gigaku!" Aya announces our doom and toil! Aaa~h! "Defending aga~inst… Frost Nine!" A- who. I wasn't paying that much attention to the last few performances…!

...Lookin' around, Mystia gets up off her seat at the picnic table, and wields her guitar! "Sounds like us."

"Yeah. One of our songs, o~r…?" Kyouko turned back to us!

"We only really got a handful of practices in." Mystia noted how much we wanted to die after practicing Through the Fire and Flames for the like tenth time. "But, maybe…"

Seija slid ahead! "Hey…"

...Mystia rose her brows at her! "Hey? Yeah- hey, where're you going, already…?"

"Y'know that thing I said, about my idea of a song?" Seija smiled back at her! A rare expression, to be cherished like a Yu-gi-oh card, dude.

"Ugh- we hardly even practiced that!" Mystia disagreed, of course! Wait- what was Seija's song…? "Half the lemmings weren't even here for that!"

"Aah, drummer boy'll figure it out." Seija waved back at me lazily. "We don't need anything other than the three 'a us, anyway. Oriental girl can be oriental if she wants, as long as it doesn't screw anything up."

Futo fluffed up, dude. "Watch thy tongue, felon. Thou'st most fortunate to not stir mine wrath."

...Seija began to smirk at her! "Your wrath? With a face like that…?"

"Wha- what upon my face…?" Futo was as unsure as she was offended!

Glug- glug- glug… Ha-chan decided to just down her Drop-Me-Not as we bickered.

...Mystia faced her bluntly.

"Wo~w! ...It needs sugar." She tilted her head, holding up the bottle. "It's like candy, but without the sugar. Why…?"

"That fucking fairy." Mystia decided to lampshade my companion's lunacy...! "How are you not dead yet?"

Ha-chan smiled. "I ask myself the same question!" Jesus, Ha-chan…!

"Alright…" Reaching around her waist, Seija drew a microphone of her own! "This thing's good. Aah, let's see…" Letting it float into the air, she reached into her pocket, and- is that a molotov.

Mystia's eyes widened! "Pftu- hey! Is that a fucking bomb!?"

Seija giggled! "Ehe- wha~t? It's a prop!"

"That means fake, right?" Mystia grinned back incredulously! "Like- toy?"

Seija shook her head. "Ah? Oh, fuck no- it's a real molotov, alright. Pussy."

...Mystia looks like a bomb now, too! Hoh, shit!

Gliding ahead gently, Seija pulled down her her own cheek with her palm, to make that 'stretched eyelids' mocking face. Yeah, dude!

Oh, yeah- lemme just… get my keyboard. The~re we go…

Alright! I march out onto the stage, with everyone else…!

Mystia, Kyouko and Seija are getting ready at the front. Futo's trying to find her bearings, Ha-chan never had her bearings to begin with, and me…

Cla- clack, clack! I flip open the standy bits to my keyboard, an' set up shop right to the right of everyone! S'cool, dude! Time to do fuck nothing! Maybe get the timing for the drums…

Then… there is the opposition.

Cirno has a guitar! The instrument of the strongest.

Daiyousei's got a harp, which is friendly. Big, too! Unlike Futo's, uh, Harpsichord- I mean, Koto. I dunno why I wanna keep calling it a possibly-non-existent-instrument. Do Harpsichord's exist? Where'd I even get that fucking word from…!?

I mean- Daiyousei's harp's your typical goddamn harp! Like the kind angels would use in freakin' western cartoons! Meanwhile, Futo's… string thing is like a freakin' football table. Y'know what- I think I'll just stop talking about the Koto!

Fwi- fwish. Rumia's here, with tambourines! Yeah, duhuhude!

Bum- bum. Oh shit. Wriggle's here… and he or she has brought a drum kit. Y'know- compared to some of the shit we've seen so far, a standard drum kit feels mundane… maybe it shoots fucking mosquitos or something equally awful. Oof!

...They've also got like, a platoon of cute, redheaded sunflower fairies, in white gowns. Aw! There's- there's like twenty of them, just congregating in the air over the battlefield. Their booth door remains open behind them, akin to the treatment the fluffles got. Do these guys also have infinite noob backup…!?

Seija's got her microphone floating before herself, as she has her hands gripped onto her guitar! The molotov drifts back, for some reason…

It hides behind Ha-chan, who actually looks ready for once! Freakin'... holding that wired electric triangle with authority, dude.

"It seems all the girls are ready!" Aya is unsuspecting of whatever the fuck's gonna happen! I know some shit's gonna go down, at this rate…! "Are we all ready~!?"

The crowd murmurs! Yeay.

"We're ready!" Cirno bellows! "We're gonna play their stupid song better than them!"

...Aya turns to us! "How about you guys?"

Kyouko begins to hold up her mic-

Seija floats in, and shoves her face in next to Kyouko's. "I'll set them all on fire."

...With this information, Aya nods! "Well, o~kay! Looks like we're all ready!"

Ha-chan's wand hand twitches, for a moment…!

"Go!" Aya sets forth the marching army!

Dho- dho- dhoo~m. Woah. The hell kinda noise was that…!? It was like, one of those militaristic drums! But- it came from Ha-chan's triangle? What the fuck…!

To produce more of the echoey, sorta dulled click noises, Ha-chan keeps tapping the triangle with actual rhythm. I think Seija's doing something to make it sound good. She's the master of weird, indescribable but good noises!

Wriggle slowly drums along across the stage, which sounds infinitely worse actually. Why~...!

Vu- vu- vum. Mystia strums once!

"Bring it down, to the wi~re…" Seija begins her lyrics slowly! Aw, looks like she'll be singing! "Parasite messiahs…"

She contributes a few normal strums of her guitar, combining with Mystia's. "Set them all on fire…"

"Bring it down to the wi~re, and scra~pe..."

All our magic amps and stuff go quiet for a moment, as Seija strums herself. In the air around her, two vibrantly red danmaku molotovs fade into existence…! Oh- so that's why she's preserving the other one...

Daiyousei flicks her head to her party-

Crack- fwoom! Oh- shit! "Bring it do~wn, to the wi~re!" Reeling her body back, letting her guitar go, Seija freakin' screams her lyrics this time! Fires light across our stage, danmaku molotovs superficially splashing out around us-

Mystia strums as Seija keeps yelling. "Parasite messia~hs!"

Woosh! Some molotovs lob forward, like mortars, arcing for the enemy band!

Cirno looks shaken, but not stirred dude, as she tries to gather her voice to yell along-

Krack- krack- fwoom! The molotovs splash out into separate shards and streams of a vibrant, red inferno on the stage floor.

"Set them all on fi~re!" Seija tenses her arms again, and more freakin' firebombs roll forward- except this time, they roll up.

Krack- crack! They float up into the previously smug horde of fairies, and explode-

Kyouko helps Seija with the next line- oh fuck- "AND SCRA~PE!" Oww~!

Pi- pi- pi~chun! Neon red is already enveloping the other stage…

FWASH! Cirno starts feverishly tossing ice chunks into the inferno! "Oh- oh geez- what-"

"SCRA~PE!" My ears, no…! Holy fuck! I'm at ground zero! I need ear plu~gs! Aa~h!

...Thankfully, we're silent for like two damn seconds. Across the stage, fairies are yelling.

"Ow- ow- ow- auh-"

"Stand still!" Cirno bellows!

Brarr- brarr, vum vum- vree~r! Mystia gets a chance to just strum instrumental, for a few moments…

"Cirno-chan- I hurt!" Daiyousei i~s on danmaku fire.

Thunk! Cirno tosses an ice rock at her, and knocks her the fuck out. Oh, god…! "What- oh no!" Cirno's eyes go wide as dinner plates! "Our health!"

"Aaa~h!" Wriggle's running from a burning drum kit!

"They force it in, and you swallow…" Seija leans a little, and draws a- is that a bloodbath yin-yang orb she had in her pocket…!? "Like words- and cheap advice!"

Whunk! She tossed the minimized orb at the floor, and it pulsed with light, only once.

Then, she was gone, like Reimu. Wait-

"I'll burn it all, to light your eyes!" She's on the other stage now!

Pi- pi- pi~chun! She spins around in the air, her flames the same dusty color as her freakin' red stockings flaring out.

Cirno's on the ground, the fire around her gone. Holding Daiyousei in her arms, she looks up-

"Skin-tight rewards, and vendetta!" Seija beams down, her bare foot stomping down-

KRACK! Cirno rolled out of the way with her friend, dancing through the spreading red flames, before flicking into a run. "Hah- aah- haa~h…" He breaths are audible over her fixed mic!

"Round zero in a desperate fight!" Ignoring everything else on the stage, Seija takes carnal pleasure in just running her down, sprinting across the stage in pursuit. Her guitar freakin' bounces wildly on her waist, as she sprints full stop-

"I love the violence inside your mind!" Seija gains on her…!

FWAM- BAM- BOOM! Huge, yellow beams come from the fairies above to slow her down, the remaining- and rising- count of sunflower fairies congregating overhead to become an effective ion cannon, their beams combining…

VRRRRRRR~! The noise is going through Seija's mic by the way this is not good-

PI~CHUN! That was loud! Holy shit…!

WOO~SH. Seija emerges from the root of the beam, a lantern just flickering out around her.

"Bring it down, to the wi~re!" She throws her limbs back again, the orbiting molotovs around her coursing into the fairy horde that survived her freakin' slap of doom-

"Parasite messia~hs!" She takes hold of her guitar again- "Set them a~ll, on fi~re!"

WOOSH! She brings it around herself, monochrome red flames gushing out from her guitar, like a flamethrower.

Pi- pi- pi~chun- pi~chun! They are down to… three sunflower fairies.

From the open door below, a constant stream of fairies begins pouring out!

"Hehehe~lp!" Cirno runs past the door herself! "More fairies! Ghet- where's Sunny!? Get that stupid- woaah!" She barely dodges an incoming molotov!

Wriggle is hiding under a single cymbal. I think… he- or she- has given up on the world, dude…

Seija plays a chord again! Wait, Kyouko don't- "And SCRA~PE!" Oh, fuck me-

"SCRA~PE!" Oww…

"Want you…" Mystia mutters into Kyouko's mic!

"SCRA~PE!" I'm getting a headache…!

"Need you…" Hi, Mystia-

"SCRA~PE!" You're gonna kill the audience at this rate, let alone the enemy band! Jesus, fuck…!

"Break you…!" Mystia- you sure are breaking us, tonight…!

"Bring it down to the wi~re!" Seija lowers to their spawn door- oh, no-

PI~CHUN!- PI~CHUN! Oh- that's, that's not actually fair! She's aiming her flamethrower into their booth, killing streams of fairies as they come…

pap- pap. Pissed off, some sunflower fairies who made it past before she grilled the door- they begin freakin'... punching and kicking her, except gingerly. She whips her head to them, like she got hit by a fly!

"Ahah- ha- haa~nh!" Cirno begins crying! "Da- Dai-chan, wake u~p…!"

Our music lulls for just a moment, before it slowly regains momentum…!

"There is, an art to inflection…" Seija beams, panning to the fairies, her mere broad gesture making them book it-

Rumia's whirls for her from seemingly nowhere, tamborines clattering obnoxiously! "Haha~! No more fire! Dark sign-"

FWACHOOM! She fires a beam of danmaku instead of announcing her spell card, effectively juking like a freakin' cheater-

SNAP! Seija lets go of her guitar, to take a picture with a camera, the flash on. The flash seems to have erased all the danmaku…!?

Rumia looks around wildly! "Too- too bright…!"

"Head-spill, and homicide!" Seija whirls up to her, while she rubs her eyes- "I'll burn it all, just to light your eyes!"

Woosh! She hefts a giant golden goddamn mallet out of her pockets- where the fuck was she storing that-

WHACRACK! She brings it across Rumia! "Ough-..."

Thud- thud…! Rumia goes rolling across the stage from the physical blow! Oof...

"Wha- hey!" From the stand, Aya calls out at that, on the edge of her seat the entire time!

"All that you dream of, they're ruined!" Seija focuses on Cirno again, who's finally stirred Daiyousei… "My sweet, little libertine…"

Fwi- fwi- fwi~... Above Seija, enough sunflower fairies have made the stage to recreate their ion cannon of doom…

Daiyousei's eyes focus, on Seija running up to them…! "...Wha- whaoh, no~!"

"We'll mix it all, with gasoli~ne!" Seija finally strums again, her mallet and camera gone-

FWOOM! Fire rockets out of the hell that is her guitar, blowing through Daiyousei's skull.

Pi-CHOO~M… Through her death, Daiyousei became a windstorm, the fire dissipating for the moments her essence could lash out.

Cirno's eyes were wide, her arms empty. "Dai-... Da- Dai-chan…?" Dai-chan… is now die-chan. Aha, aha…? Yeah, I know I'm an asshole…!

"Bring it down to the wi~re!" Oh, fuck- it's the chorus, Kyouko's gonna drop us all at the end of it!

Seija screams to announce our dread...! "Parasite messia~hs!" She coasts forward and aside, Cirno overhead, weaving out of the way of her flame-accented charge.

FWICHOO~M! The big, yellow ion beam carves into the stage behind Seija, as she freakin', whirls around in Cirno's aerial trail! "Set them all on fi~re!"

SCRA~CK! Stopping mid-air, Cirno tosses a big ice chunk down at her, but Seija plunges her guitar through it, a metallic, grey streak enunciating the jagged scrape. "And SCRA~PE!" Oh- god, here it is...

"SCRA~PE!" I actually wince an eye, it's making me kind of dizzy…! Everything feels tense…

"Want you…" Oh, hey, Mystia has the 'is-my-hearing-still-here' accompaniment bit there, too. It's good for that!

"SCRA~PE!" Seija's spiralling towards Cirno, a trail of fire in tow from her guitar's magic!

"Aa- aah…" The sunflower fairies stuck cautiously above everything. Crino kept darting ahead, her arms billowing a path of frost forward through the red molotov shards and redder flames…

"Need you…" Mystia's fluffy when she's not calling people stupid, dude…

"SCRA~PE!" Seija aims the flamethrower forward, having caught ahead of Cirno, trying to catch her in it-

Fwi- fwish- sss~! Cirno threw her arms up, a shield of growing, curving ice crystals defending her.

"Break you…!" Mystia gets really close to that microphone, and Kyouko has to pull it away!

BAM- BOOM- BAM- KRACK! The rapid freezing and burning makes an assortment of mini explosions that are only audibly amplified…!

"Bring it do~wn- to the wi~re!" Seija thrusts forward!

KRA- KRACK! The ice completely shatters, but in the steamy, wet mist, Cirno was already gone, flying back…

Our music lulls for a moment again, as it seems to do after Kyouko shouts her lungs out, and erases everyone's ears…

"You- you-... Dai-chan…" Cirno was heard, stopping in the air around the scrambling, fluffy sunflower fairies.

"Witches got some vicious candy kisses, for apocalypse…" Seija does more speakin' verses, as Mystia strumming slowly hypes up again! Ha-chan seems to only rattle her triangle during these moments… "Watch it closer, as it's slipping awa~y…"

Circling around Seija, the new thirty or so redheaded fairies ready their sunflowers, aiming as they make a pattern around her in the air…

"Naked trigger finger, make linger just below the hips…" Seija's guitar begins to glow purple for a moment, as she floats into the air again.. "Watch it fall as humanity is spiralling do~wn..."

Patat- patat- patat! The fairies begin firing wild orbs of all colors, with no rhyme or reason, whirling with angry, lethal velocity...

As Seija floats into the air, flipping upside down, all the flames, collected molotov fragments below, napalm-coated faux glass- all of it begins floating away with her!

It's like they're all falling up! This ascension streams Seija past the christmas bulb-reminiscent bullets…

Pi- pi~chun! Pi~chun! The unexpected hellfire from below washes up the fairies, ruining them!

"Aah- aah!" They yell-

"Fire! Faauh!"

"Heeaa- kaugh- ah-"

"I'm- dying-"

Seija flips around in the air… "To the ground!"

WHOOM. What- the fuck-

PI~CHUN! In one instant, the fairies are all plunged into the earth below, the shards cleaving through them like shurikens, delimbing them before they detonate, some smashing against the floor. Jesus! Fairies can lose limbs at all…!?

The entire motion makes the air itself around me wobble, and I hold onto my keyboard stand thing to keep it- and myself- from falling over…!

KRACK! Cirno's ice bubble she shielded herself with shatters like an egg…! "Aah…!"

Rising from the smouldering, wet remains, over the field of fire, Cirno gazes wide-eyed at Seija, who descends…

"Mo- more…! Please, help!" Cirno bellowed for fairies!

...Two float out of the doors below-

Seija throws her hands across her guitar.

SPLACK- Pi~chun! Thin, neon red bullets met the fairies like walls, the unaware girls crushing against the ground like freakin' dolls, before coming undone into shimmering mana, and then nothing.

"Bring it down to the wi~re!" Looking overjoyed, Seija homes in on Cirno…!

"You- you-" Cirno has to roll aside at the last moment, a plume of violent red roaring past her.

"Parasite messia~hs!" Seija unexpectedly twirls around, trying to catch 'er!

Cirno weaves over, then under, around the shimmering, curtain-like of the flamethrowing guitar.

"Set them all, on fi~re!" Seija bowls towards her with untrackable, jerky movement, adrenal precision making her limbs twitch…

"You killed my friend!" Cirno bellowed back!

Running ahead, past us, Ha-chan unexpectedly goes to help with the microphone!

"Bring it do~wn, bring it do~wn, to the whya~h!" Mystia and her sing into the microphone together, Kyouko holding it forward for them!

"SCRA~PE!" What- no!? Ow- Kyouko…!

"SCRA~PE!" Seija swings her guitar!

"No!" Cirno's form flares, with frosty energy!

FWASH! Her wings jut out, jagged, impossible geometry of precise design becoming her wings… then, the magic from all around the stage flows up her form, as she takes to the air…!?

"SCRA~PE!" Seija spins up after her…!

"Bring it do~wn, to the wi~re!" She gains on the rising Cirno, whose wings expand further, the magic filling them...

Between Cirno's arms, the hilts of weapons form in frost, her teal eyes aglow. "Dai-chan…"

Then, they flare out from the bottom. Swords, lances and spears of just white and blue, comprised of a crude, diamond like material.

"You!" She sees Seija below, at the behest of her force.

"SCRA~PE!" Nose and eyes runny, Seija comes up to the underside of the blades, her arms stiff and rigid.

"I hate yo~u!" Cirno lets go of her weapons.

Seija draws a cloth from her back, big and neat looking. Flipping around, she casts herself in it-

WOOSH. The armory of huge, frostbrand-esque weapons roar to the stage floor…

BA~M! BOOM- BOOM-... SHII~NK! Coming down like arrows, they impale the floor! My legs shudder at the impact- huge wafts of flame billowing in response to the great air force of the house-sized implements…!

Fwoo~m. Then, somehow, they begin to burn, before their magic comes undone, the superficial arms vaporized in an instant.

"Parasite, messia~hs!" Seija was now above Cirno, whose wings were losing definition.

She turned to look above-

"SCRA~PE!" Seija's guitar finally met her!

THUNK. "Nn- no…" Cirno took the guitar's tip in the air, doubling back from the stomach impact.

"Set them all, on fi~re!" With the tip in Cirno's stomach, Seija beamed.

FWOO~M! Red shot through Cirno's midsection.

"Nn- huu-..." Unsteady, her form becoming translucent, she hangs drowsily in the air… "Da- Dai-chan…"

"Aaa~h!" Seija freakin' yells! "Bring it-"

WHACK! She clonks Cirno across the head with her guitar's back, awkwardly bringing herself with the swing. "Rrgh!"

WHUNK! Hefting it over her head, she cleaves it ahead. "Down!"

"Aa- aanh…" Cirno gives out one final sigh, before flipping to the ground below, limbs limply out. She's uh, given up, it seems…

"Scra~pe!" Seija yells herself, alone, at least like two or three stages up in the air, over the platform below. "Scra~pe!"

"Scra~pe!"

PI~CHUN- FWOO- FWOO- FWOOSH…

Meeting the stage floor, Cirno exploded into a massive glacier-structure of spikes and mountainous architecture!

And, this also put out most of the danmaku flames below. ...So, uh-

klink. Almost soundlessly, the ice all shattered into nothing, almost fading out.

...Wriggle was still hiding under a cymbal, crouched in the edge of the stage, shaking…

So- s'all done…!? Can I take my fingers outta my ears, now!? Kyouko's scrapes were freakin'... demonic howls, dude! Holy shit!

Seija's hyperventilating, as she lowers to the ground, a zen-like look on her face after everything...

...Ha-chan sentries herself next to me! So, I turn ta her… "Jesus- I'm glad she's bloody-... on our side!"

...She doesn't turn ta me for some reason. "I'm practically freakin' deaf from all of that!" I announce to her!

Gingerly, she turns to me. "Wha~t!?" Oh, shit, she's actually deaf from all of that…! Yo- what's that mean for my hearing!? Aw, shit…!

Clap- clap- clap! Applause come from the audience… in shades, anyway! S'not a roar, but there were people who liked it!

Whipping to the opposing stage's back wall, Seija reached behind herself.

swish. From actually nowhere, she cast a pink umbrella across the back wall. A small, featureless gap tore open, and she spiralled into it-

bwoop. And, now she's behind us! Hoh, shit… what're these random items she's got…!? S'like my inventory, but on crack!

"We-... well." Aya takes a moment to find her own voice…! "That was… that was something."

"Can I give someone over a ten, for their power rating?" Rinnosuke faced Aya bluntly, turnin' in his stand…!

Stifling a sigh, she leaned against her stand… "Well- no. No. Anyway… seven."

"Seven." Akyuu declares, looking pensive! "It-... it was a lot of fun, and a lot of energy, but there was something… sadistic, about it. Just… mmh."

"I took off the three just for the hitting-Rumia-with-the-fake-miracle-mallet thing." Aya bluntly provided! "Rinnosuke?"

"Ten." He gives a strong nod to us all! "It was really a flawless victory, despite that foul. Even the music spoke power."

Akyuu gave him a little frown… "There's more to music than power."

Smiling, he turned to her apologetically. "I was hired to judge power, so…"

"Anyway. Twenty four points." Waving her hand, Aya beckons for us to get off the stage! "Back into yer cage, you animals…!"

...I look for Futo amongst our noobs, but she's just gone! Aw, her Koto's still here. Someone's gonna hafta lug it back...

==== FREAKIN GENSOKYO ====

"Hehehe~h…" Seija still looks drunk, as we get back into our cubby hole behind the stage… "Yea~y…"

"That was awesome." Mystia smiled big at her, dude! "Went really well, for what it was worth…"

Meanwhile, Kyouko was hungry for more…! "I wish there was more for me to sing. But, I guess that'll be for another song."

...Ha-chan faced them broadly, smiling widely. "Wha~t!?" Freakin'...!

Oh frik, son. Futo is back here! And, she looks mean.

I approach the mean friend. "Hello, friend."

"Gammerstang." What. No. "Compared to the last loud work ye all performed, this was- it were demonic! Incomprehensible!" She is not happy…!

"Hehehe~..." Seija flashes her a middle finger, smiling! "How far's that stick up yer ass?"

"Damned amanojaku!" Marching up to her, Futo gets right in 'er face. "Thou'st sings sin and ruin, and blemish mine name by association! Not- not even that, thou simply solidifies what is known! Waste of life on legs!"

Meanwhile, Seija just freakin' marinates in the discontent. "Aha~h…? S'that so…"

Sensing her reprisal was goin' nowhere fast, Futo rubs her temples as she turns ta us. "Nnh… and- what of ye? All propped along- marionettes…"

"Don't know what your problem is." Mystia just rolled her eyes. "It was loud and fun."

"Loud and- doth thou know what was sang!?" Now Futo's angry and fluffy at her! "Death and psychopathy!"

Unimpressed, Mystia just puts an arm on her own hip and leans back a bit… "The energy's kinda the point. And, it's cool because it's a step away from real shit, and because it's so extreme. I mean, it figures you're set in your ways- being an old witch an' all-... but-"

"Old witch!?" This just escalates it further! "I needn't youkai to prejudice mine age! In fact, this age should be the very foundation of the argument! I know art when I see art!"

"Pft." Mystia furrowed her brow, and shook her head, almost turning away. "Really, now. So, anything you don't like isn't art?"

"That which is unjust cannot be seen like art. Not of a humane kind." Futo- freakin'... why're you so fluffy!?

...Oh, man, they aren't even trading words now, they're just glaring at one another!

"Wha~t!" Ha-chan, freakin'...! "Hello~!?" Aa~h!

Should I waste a potion just to give her hearing back…!? Maybe…

I step up to the confrontation! Aw… "I'm gonna hafta side with Mystia!" Tie breaker, dude. Also, Kyouko's just looking distilled on the sidelines, so I can't count on her to break the yelling match.

Futo almost chuckles! "An- and what doth thou know? Of art, of the world- of thyself…!?"

Oof, dude. Well, I inhale fer a moment, since we've got time…! "Well, calling stuff evil on principle's kind of a dicey sort of argument. Especially when that, like… somehow takes precedence over everything else in the thing."

"Preventing such matters." Oh, man, Futo~...! "It creates fear in the human populace. It is what youkai desire." ...Oh, shit, there's a whole new dimension to this! Fear resource harvesting, du~de!

"Well- s'that evil, or just manipulative…?" I think we have effectively distilled this argument into nothing! "And to be honest, if it's cool... I don't really care!"

Sensing this discussion was just gonna be infinite disagreeal for the time being, Futo just waved me off. "Aah, spare me thy bias, bastard." Holy shit! Wohohoa~h, dude! "Why- why art thou laughing…!?"

"N- no reason…!" That insult was good, dude! I'm a bastard child, son!

Now that I think about what she said… her statement about works being evil's just wrong, since, if we talked morality, evil is just subjective based on a work's tone. If that's her only problem with something, that'd just tell her age and freakin' behind-the-times theme she's got going on. I mean- she even talks in old!

"Hmph." She folds her arms… "Forest-dwelling neanderthals, the lot of thee…"

"Whatever." Mystia's had enough! "I'm gonna go get snacks. Brad- you want more nuggets?" Hoh, shit…!

"Yeah, dude!" Nuggets good for Brad!

Seija went to put her bucket back on. "Guess I'll hit the town too~..." She seems in a marginally better mood than normal, after all 'a that!

"Take me with yo~u…!" Kyouko jogs after Mystia, who walks on out!

...This has left me, Ha-chan, and Futo here.

"Heed me." Futo really wants to tip me over, dude.

...Gingerly, I look at her. "What if I reed you, dude…?"

She actually snorts, her stiff face cracking for a moment! "Ce- cease thy blasted…" Wahaha!

Yeah, maybe debating politics with Futo is a freakin' futile idea. She's probably a thousand years too far gone…!

"...Whaa~t!?" Ha-chan, Jesus!

==== FREAKIN GENSOKYO ====

Alright! We have once again… stopped outside at a picnic table, once we all bailed and accidentally ran into one another.

It's gettin' darker out here, dude! Man, this night's been pretty neat!

"Don't even gotta worry, fer now…" Mystia happily cannibalized a fellow, albeit flightless, bird. Are chickens birds? I mean- they've got wings…! They're fowls, dude!

"I think the next tier of performances will be announced, when they come." Kyouko looks soft and happy. "For now, we can just relax…"

That snug medical supply girl who gave us Drop-Me-Nots also gave Ha-chan- and me- a potion to drink as she passed. I decided to just drink that new potion for the sake of my ears…!

Futo is… disturbed, by life, dude. "Ohm." We got a lotta nuggets…

Cla- clack- crack- bam! Oh- shit! A tiny stall or house or something fell apart! It was not as loud as a tumble described as such should be, but the thing was like, shed-sized.

"Whah…?" Some people stare at it!

"Ah, fuck. Thing up and went, I guess…"

Innocently, Seija sauntered from the vague direction of the mini-disaster, a new, iron bucket on her head. "Hey. Got any food fer me…?"

"No." Futo refuses!

"Yeah." Mystia accepts…!

"What was that…?" I point at the fallen shed thing!

"Hmm?" She looks in its direction…! "Mmm." She just ignores my question!

Workplace accidents, son. Oof…

...All the villagers sort of distance themselves from us, now knowing who we are! I didn't notice at first, but I'm noticing it now…!

No one else really seems to care, at least-

thud. Ha-chan tosses a nugget into the table, and it disintegrates. "Nnn~no…" Why, friend, why…

Aw. I might be able to explore, since we've got some time. These are good nuggets, too.

I wonder what other bands are here! Let's go schmooze people, dude!

"Mmm…" I drink from my plant hanger, getting up and meandering away from the quiet friends. The atmosphere, while not tense, is one of consumption and nuggets, not one of talking about things! That- and I think we're all used to just meandering off like assholes at this point.

Until now, I haven't really seen other bands just futzing about, but now it's noticeable without looking too hard.

There's Sanae and her god friends, the succubi, and uh… Rumia and Wriggle are looking very bitter on their ownsome. Oof…! And- finally, there's just one big tubby fluffle near the edge of the rightmost town square half.

In the midst of everyone is just a bunch of freakin' villager noobs! Oh- ooh, especially at this one picnic table, where there's just, a lot of villagers, with some old doofy instruments. Some are dressed up like Reimu, for some reason…

Who to annoy first, dude? Hmm…

As fun as visiting the demonic succubi would be- and the Alma-Elma lookalike- I don't need to get dragged into an alley and raped before our next performance. Not that I did anything last matchup, other than watch in dazzled awe…!

But, uh… something… smells good. Hmm...

Actually. Since Sanae's fortification is nearish them anyway, I think I'll ju~st… I'm gonna try to talk to them.

Not-Alma-Elma is wearing like, freakin' nothing. Flying obscenity, dude! More accurately, it's essentially a bra, panties, and stockings. Half-naked! Her succ-sisters are pretty much the same, more or less.

As I pass the table, looking over the girls of various hair colors, I stop and observe. No one notices me when I just freakin' exist in school like this, so-

Oh, god! Instantly, Alma Elma locks her eyes with me! Nope- nope! Time to go! "Oh? Oh- bo~y!" As I move, she waves for me!

I stop like a moron, dude. "...Hi." Let me just- strafe towards Sanae's table, which is just like ten-twenty meters away from the direction I desire…

Low voices emanate from the girls ahead of me! "Ufufu…"

"Ooh- he smells good…"

"He hasn't cleaned- in awhile…" Why is this something they're pleased by…!?

Standing, Alma swiftly saunters- what the fuck is that body…!? She should not exist- she's a weapon! She looks- pillowy…! "Don't think we didn't see you staring, bo~y."

This scent- must be from them. Oh shit.

Turning around, I just go-

Alma's gloved hand meets my shoulder. "Don't you want to-…"

Woosh. Wind tries to tug me to look at her, but it seems to falter against my leather, letting me stumble away half-dementedly! "Woah- ooh…!"

Doing a freakin' three-sixty with my legs, I ramble away from the lewd storm, and end up somewhere marginally more wholesome.

"...Oh- it's you!" Sanae waves at me! "That one guy in Kyouko's band!"

"Yeah, dude!" I wave at her! And- check behind me, to see if-

Alma Elma has indeed followed me… and that is what I shall call her from now on! "Fufufu~..." Strutting up next to me, she- she's bringing her arm around me-

I plug my nose, shut my mouth, and- ah! Christ, she's strong, for a freakin'... well, she is somewhat burly, compared to the other noobubi. "Isn't he cute, Sanae-chan?" Her voice is soft but loud, vibrating through me. I'm just, squished into her soft side…

Oh my god- I can't take this, for too long. I'm getting warm, and my head… it's- weird...

fwap. An ofuda meets her forehead, and she lets go of me. "Aha~nh. You're no fun, sometimes…"

"I don't even know you…!" Sanae grins back at her nervously!

...Hina, the freakin' mashed potato sisters, and Suwako just regard us with plain stares, before resuming their snack break. They've just got candy, over here! I guess that figures!

Then, Hina looks back at me again, locking eyes with me. ...Unblinking. Like, for awhile. Um…

Turning to leave, Alma places a hand on my shoulder again, an' gives me a wink before struttin' off. "Talk to me late~r."

Visiting her was almost entirely a bad idea, aside from getting to look at her scantily-clad army! Oh- Koakuma's back at their table now, looking mean as usual…

"...You shouldn't've even looked at them!" Sanae immediately criticizes me!

"I kno~w, yo!" Freakin'...! "Getting demolished, was not my intention!"

I just noticed, but Sanae's hands've got bandages on them. Bloody bandages! The blood's brown and dead now, but even so…

"Can't ya just take a potion for the hands?" I point at her!

She nods. "Oh, I did. I kept the bandages on 'cause they were cool! Just- don't shake hands with me, if you're worried about that sort of thing…"

Most people dude, I wouldn't wanna get near their blood. But, if it's Sanae's blood dude, it's a-okay!

Time to Touhou Wiki: does Sanae have mega aids…!? Wait- isn't she some kinda holy being? Is it like the blood of Christ…!? Can I drink Sanae's blood!? Touhou WIki: can a human drink a half-goddesses' blood!?

...I think I got off topic! "I see!" What'd she say again…? Oh- right, cool bloody bandages. I'm half-surprised no one went 'that's disgusting', but her friends are also goddesses who wouldn't give a rat's ass about biohazards.

"Ha~h…" Hina exhales, still staring at me! Um…

"Also- I like your costume!" Sanae gives me, a big thumbs up! "It fits! Better than uhm, Futo and… Seija there. Where'd you find Seija, anyway…!?"

"Home." Where'd she come from, dude. Where'd she go? Cotton-eyed biological disease, son. "As in, she just showed up!"

"Oh." Sanae smiles and nods! "Cool!" Yeah, dude! "Om…" She goes back to stuffing multiple peppermints into her mouth. "Mmhmm!"

"Ha~h…" Hina- did I build up that much misfortune in like ten chapters!?

I focus on her! "Am I actually that unlucky again!?"

"Not-... as much as before." She seems ta compose herself rapid-like… "But-... I could only imagine, in a few more weeks…" Good. I am like a ripening loaf, dude.

Well, as fun as all these nugget people are, as with any people, meaningful conversations are one-on-one! With everyone here, the setting's very, very different…

Oh, wait, dude. Before I go, I stop before the leaf sisters. "Exploded mashed potatoes." I inform them.

Shizuha blinks, an' then Minoriko laughs! "Wh- whahaht…!?"

...I leave, moving past a concerned looking Sanae!

Alright. Well… do I wanna visit Wriggle and Rumia out of boredom? Wriggle's busy glaring Seija down, and Rumia looks tired.

This leaves this weird congregation of like, villager guards, bandspeople and… what is that?

I get closer to the ensemble. In the midst, sitting on the table, are three not-Reimus. Just- girls with chestnut, black and navy blue hair sit obediently, all working together to let this short kid lie in their laps.

He has an actual suit of some description on, his hair blonde and short.

"Open up, captain…" One of the girls spoke softly, raising a tiny cookie over his mouth…

He complied, and she freakin' fed it to him. Dude, if I was treated this good when I was twelve… I probably wouldn't have appreciated it, 'cause I'd have been twelve! Then again, that was about when I began to notice girls were sexy.

There were players of generic instruments- some Reimu-styled cuties, some just dudes, who were pleasantly not also Reimu-styled, all seated around. The girls got these assortments of fruit, while the guys ate some kind of soup gruel. Rah rah, male patriarchy dude.

I walk up to the kid commando! There seems to be an open lane for the public to yell at him, except no one's in it except for me. Some guards stand to the sides, for safety I guess…

Stopping before him, I bow twice for no reason. "Hello, son."

...Leaning up, his arms on the legs of navy-not-Reimu, he raises a brow at me. "...I am no son of yours."

"You are now, son." I adopt a child. "I'm gonna teach you, how to sniff fluffles."

He narrows his eyes…! "Do you know, who I am?"

"Paul." I have a one in twenty thousand chance of getting this right!

RNG was not in my favor, for he frowns. "My name is unimportant. I am but a humble servant, of this great village. I, the high captain of the village guard, son of the late Kichisaburo. Our bulwark against youkai tyranny is being forged as we speak; the minds, wills and bodies of all our people, under one ideal."

He begins to sit up! "No enemy is too great, to stand before us!"

...Sizing me up, now all wound up, he takes a breath. "And- who are you? He, who has allied himself with felons and disruptors? Are you even man?"

I am… machine. I am-... wait. I begin to open the top of my kimono, so I can peek inside at my undies. "Uh- yeah, lemme check, son…"

His expression flares! "That is no~t what I mean, dissuader!" Ho ho ho!

Turning to his gal pals, he gestures to me. "Female apprentices! Behold his unruly attire- the gloomy, dismal shades of death, beared in our village as a clear, mocking signal!"

...Aw! They're glaring at me, dude! They're so snuggly!

Slowly, he begins to shift back into lying on their legs again… "I will not waste anymore breath on this thing, be it heretic or youkai. By my strategic mastery, this land be united as one, and they tremble, crumble- as many. Gods bless the human village."

...Alright, tiny son. I'm sure that will last a long time.

Well, there's nothing else to do than to admire the cute fake Reimus and their angriness, so I think I'll just… go.

...As I make my way back to the table with all my friends at it, Ha-chan gets up, and intentionally moves to walk into me as I proceed…

"Unf." We collide mid-stride! Auh- personal space violation! Always so weird- but, good, when it's her...

==== FREAKIN GENSOKYO ====

END OF CHAPTER 53

PROTAGONIST: Brad, the Fluffle Slayer, Fairy Slayer, Accidental Human Slayer, Ph. D in Plant Hangers, Scarlet Liberator, Village Liberator, Eientei Crucible, Sinker of the Flufftanic, Assembler of the Legendary Air Ride Machine, Sky Climber, Amateur Espionage Practitioner, Illegal Fairy Harborer, Conscientious Party Member, Holder of Too Many Titles.

PRIMARY WEAPON: Tundra Bloomer - A earth-elemental plant hanger made from sturdy rock, with a flower curved around the hilt. With the addition of an enchanted shaft, it is also able to be used as a warhammer!

SKILLS:

Jackhammer - I can mine shit with it! I think…

Buff - Spend mana to boost physical attack power and physical defense for some time. Wears off quickly…

Tundra - Basic ice attack which erects beneath a target, making a chair-sized spike of ice.

Gaia Seed - Basic earth magic, which weighs down on a target and makes them tired.

INVENTORY:

Youkai Inconveniencer - A holy plant hanger, which works as a flail 'cause of the cross necklaces attached to it! Boosts the power of holy skills.

SKILLS:

Flash - Blinding magic. Works best on dark-elementals, but also works on youkai. Humans don't resist it, so it still works on them, with reduced efficiency.

Flashlight - It's a flashlight! Might blind dark youkai, I dunno…

Shine - Basic holy magic. Generates a holy orb in the target's body, randomly battering them with a raw holy gush.

=o=

Fairy Harp - Ol' reliable, fixed up with freakin' attachable strings and shit! Also a grate, an iron block and other shit. It's a freakin' disaster...

SKILLS:

Gust - Basic wind magic. Pushes the feeble. Fee~ble…!

Fairy Dust - Weapon status effect replaced with fairy dust. Wind attacks with this weapon get fairy dust all over the enemy, reducing accuracy and senses.

Sick Ill Harp Cords - Get ready for my next great mixtape…!

=o=

Flame Salvo - A red and crimson plant hanger comprised of purplish-red gems and crimson metals. Boosts the power of fire skills.

STATS:

Ignites things with physical impacts.

SKILLS:

Flamethrower Plus - A jet of fire. That's- that's it! It's a fucking flamethrower, 'cept fueled by magic! Does that make it more or less easy to put out…?

Fume - Makes hot air fume from the earth below. Might sear the feeble.

Berserk - Non-damaging fire spell which berserks a target for awhile. Can be removed with water or ice stuff!

Danmaku Adaptability - Now that there's a NERF gun on it I can shoot the good danmaku dude.

=o=

Vortex Hanger - Wind elemental plant hanger currently attached to the Yin-Yang flail as a crafting material. Granted a limited hover per swing when wielded, but that ability is what allows the flail-o-copter to fly now.

=o=

Deep Blue - A blue and silver plant hanger comprised of mysterious fantastical metals. Boosts the power of water skills.

SKILLS:

Freakin' Leaks! - Can produce limitless fresh hanger water…!

Geyser - Basic water attack. Gush of water erupts from the earth and might fling the feeble…!

Valve - I can control the water flow with this!

=o=

Yin-yang flail-o-copter - A flail with a standard, maximized Hakurei Yin-yang orb in the sling of it. Unable to have its powers fully activated, as only Reimu can truly harness the power of Yin-yang orbs. Minor affinities from the base orb transfer over, though! Crafted from a Hakurei Yin-Yang orb, a rope of panties, and two bra cups. Ropes were used to attach the Vortex Hanger to the yin-yang orb, allowing the flail to be used as a flying device, although it's a bit straining on the arms.

Sharper Than Darkness - A dark, runed plant hanger constructed from the shards of a dead man's sword. Deals dark damage!

STATS:

Attacks are darkness elemental.

Sickle end may make opponents bleed.

SKILLS:

Revenge - Skill that increases in strength when health is lower. Power doubles for each deceased party member. Power is increased by fifty percent for each defeated party member. Fairies count as defeated rather than deceased no matter what. Power and effects depend on current weapon. High accuracy.

Bloody Mess - User bleeds faster and longer. Oof!

=o=

Bee-Sheventeen-Bawmber - A mechanical plant hanger enchanted to make big booms on contact. Explosions are mostly knockback based, but I think it could gib particularly weak-willed people… magic is weird.

SKILLS:

Boom - Hitting stuff makes booms!

Pellet - Shoots a lemon-shaped danmaku pellet from the added barrel. Uuh...

=o=

Million Bucks - A basic green cast-iron plant hanger, from the aged cellar of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. It's a gift from Flandre Scarlet! Has an obsolete map of the cellar's maze, etched by Flandre herself, along with some shoddy enchantments!

STATS:

Lowers user's defense slightly.

Attacks are electric and holy elemental.

Attacks travel through matter

Attacks become magical rather than physical.

SKILLS:

Panic Attack! - Run faster when health is lower!

Magic Attack - Physical attacks are converted to magic attacks, and fluidly pass through objects.

Combo Jump - Allows the user to transition to jumping while mid-attack.

Aerial Plus - Forced aerial support! It's vaguely easier to hit aerial foes with it!

Air Slide Plus - Lets the user awkwardly air slide.

Glide - Replaces my double jump skill with gliding.

High Jump - Increased jump height while running.

=o=

Market Gardener - Critical hits during blast jumps! Otherwise, it's just a normal, old plant hanger. Named after a very similar shovel…!

NERF dart blaster - Nerf guns are cool and all, but don't try defending yourself with one. Please. Unless you're surrounded by fairies who don't know the difference- but y'know- that opportunity's a freakin' million to one.

NERF longsword - 'CAUTION: Do not jab at people or animals'… you know what that means! Maybe one day this will actually come in handy…

=o=

Kaguya Houraisan Disguise - Wear to become a NEET! Tons of pockets! Voice, face, and height specifications not included!

STATS:

75% Time resistance

=o=

Monk Robes - Wear to become a Buddhist! Actually pretty comfy…!

Butterfly Dream Pills - Makes you dream of being a beautiful butterfly!... now, if only there was a pill for lucid or wet dreams, and then I'd consider Yagokoro the doctor to end all doctors!

Remilia Scarlet Disguise - Wearing this as a tall manchild's probably not doing anyone with eyes any favors. Has resistances of sorts, but I'm not in a big fat hurry to find out what they are…

=o=

Toasty Yuki-onna Kimono - Best winter clothing twenty fifteen. Looks identical to a yuki-onna's kimono, and heats itself too! Yo ho ho!

STATS:

50% Ice resistance

50% Freezing resistance

-50% Fire resistance

-50% Burning resistance

=o=

Choujuu Gigaku Yukata - A metal leather Yukata which has copper-tinted accents. The band just- has more of these…?

STATS:

50% Wind resistance

100% Silencing resistance

100% Tired resistance.

Immunity to hearing damage and debuffs.

Wearer heals 25% more from friendly casts of Power Metal.

=o=

65,200 Yen - ...Yeah, just in a bag. It's about time I documented how much freakin' money I have! I should do this for potions, too...

Nine Health Potions - They give you youkai-like regen for like, thirty seconds! No chuggin' these babies to indefinitely survive the cold reaches of outer space. Unless the regen outdoes the asphyxiation, but I think I'd rather die by that point…

Five Mana Potions - Restores a bunch of mana! Fer humans… since it restores more mana than most will have in their lifetime.

PARTY:

London, the Multipurpose Combat Doll - What it lacks in brains it makes up for with a suit of armor and some OP utilitarian spells! Can cast basic fire, lightning, and ice attacks, both the magical and physical variety. Has lance, can shoot danmaku. Variety of attack commands now, including intelligent tracking, trailing, patrolling, and defending. Has mana pool for the stronk commands, though, so those should be used sparingly. I really have to remember to use her, at some point!

PRIMARY WEAPON: Shanghai Lance - Burly lance with jabbing ability. Mostly useful as a blunt object, it seems, and intimidation factor. London really likes it, apparently. London shouldn't have sentience, but I can't help but notice the awkward way which it just pauses before it swings this lance.

Hana, the Electric Elemental Stalker Maid - She's friendly, dude. She's getting better at using thunder magic, too! Cyan hair and eyes, likes to be fluffy, so on and so forth. I don't got a whole lot ta add about her… Oh, yeah, she's weak to earth magic, I think.

PRIMARY WEAPON: Sometimes can cast a slightly stronger lightning bolt… but it still can't fry people!

INVENTORY:

Probably some rocks - Yeah.

Kyouko Kasodani, the - A really snuggly dog girl friend! Man, is she snuggly! Can attack using her voice, as well as project in a number of really different ways!

SKILLS:

Project Voice - Voice… may be projected! Volume and specifics vary greatly. May be cast out separate from Kyouko's location.

Power Metal - Combo magic with Mystia! Drops two speakers from the heavens, and projects a short burst of metal from them. Does wind elemental, magical damage to all enemies before them, and heals all party members.

Death Metal - Combo magic with Mystia! Drops a wall of speakers from the heavens! Once ready, they blare music too, dealing incredible wind magic damage to all enemies, and applying great healing to all party members. Sometimes the speakers explode after!

Spell Cards - Danmaku skills not always relevant for all situations!

Flying - I dunno why.

INVENTORY:

X.L.R. 8 Microphone - Premium, high quality microphone, with a high voice ceiling for noisy, shrill users. Despite this, it's still of pretty good quality!

STATS:

Boosts the power of wind skills.

SKILLS:

Microphone - The microphone… works as a microphone. Some real shit, ah!?

Good Quality - It's also a pretty good one!

Deluxe Voice Module - Deals with Kyouko's insane voice! Also, hard use and feedback will not lower this item's durability.

Magic Finale - Last cast of mana before running out is thrice as powerful, and has special effects.

=o=

Choujuu Gigaku Outfit - Kyouko's band outfit! Fit with copper decorations, made of good leather, and looks like a kimono or yukata.

STATS:

50% Wind resistance.

50% Fire resistance.

Immunity to silencing.

Immunity to wind-tossing.

Immunity to blinding.

Immunity to paralysis.

Boosts the power of Power Metal.

Boosts the power of Death Metal.

Boosts the power of Project Voice.

Mystia Lorelei, the - Night sparrow youkai! She excels in blinding people and darkness magic. But, she also cooks food. Pretty normal as far as youkai are concerned. Eats people…!

SKILLS:

Night Vision - Can see better in the dark naturally. 50% blinding resistance.

Night Blindness - Her singing can blind humans, and some types of youkai. Can be resisted with blindness resistance, and somewhat darkness resistance.

Power Metal - Combo magic with Kyouko! Drops two speakers from the heavens, and projects a short burst of metal from them. Does wind elemental, magical damage to all enemies before them, and heals all party members.

Death Metal - Combo magic with Kyouko! Drops a wall of speakers from the heavens! Once ready, they blare music too, dealing incredible wind magic damage to all enemies, and applying great healing to all party members. Sometimes the speakers explode after!

INVENTORY:

The Red Axe - It's a guitar! Red guitar of power, rock, an' metal.

STATS:

Boost the power of wind skills.

SKILLS:

Shred Hour - Boosts the power of guitar solos!

Essence of Guitar - Resists durability loss!

=o=

Choujuu Gigaku Outfit - Mystia's band outfit! Fit with copper decorations, made of good leather, and looks like a kimono or yukata.

STATS:

50% Wind resistance.

50% Ice resistance.

50% Dark resistance.

Immunity to silencing.

Immunity to wind-tossing.

Immunity to blinding.

Immunity to paralysis.

Immunity to weaken.

Immunity to curses.

Boosts the power of Power Metal.

Boosts the power of Death Metal.

Mononobe no Futo, the Fengshui-Adept and Plate-Breaking Shikaisen - Mononobe no Fluffy-hair. She's fluffy, and a taoist. Kind of an asshole, but a fluffy one at that…

SKILLS:

Plate Control - She apparently has control… over… plates?

Telekinesis - Lift and control things with her mi~nd!

Royal Dragon's Arrow - A good arrow that she fires predictively from her bow. Always fired like a great bow, comin' way down on targets.

Spell Cards - I haven't even seen like, any of them…!

Other Skills - I really do not know what she's capable of!

INVENTORY:

Mononobe no Good Outfit - Futo's clothes! Really, really fluffy for an outfit, dude. Old-timey and stuff, too!

STATS:

50% Wind resistance.

100% Air-toss resistance.

25% Water resistance.

25% Fire resistance.

25% Thunder resistance.

Seija Kaku, the Counterattacking Amanojaku - A lady wit' horns and a mean glare, and looks kinda like Ryuko Matoi!

INVENTORY:

Seija's Outfit - What the hell is it, anyway… it's got a ton of up and down arrows on the bottom cut into the fabric itself, but at the top it's a simple-ass dress!

STATS:

100% Space resistance.

100% Nil resistance.

=o=

Bloodthirsty Yin-Yang Orb - A kinda similar lookin' red and purple yin-yang orb… where'd this come from!?

SKILLS:

Pledge of Demon - Lets Seija teleport in front of an enemy.

=o=

Tengu's Toy Camera - A fun lookin' pictobox thing.

SKILLS:

Apocalypse Lens - Lets Seija clear bullets by taking pictures of them!

=o=

Gap Folding Umbrella - A dangerous thing stolen from Yukari…!

SKILLS:

Stream Slip - Let's Seija move to… the other side of the… screen?

=o=

Miracle Mallet Replica - Dude! It's the big golden hammer from Smash 3DS!

SKILLS:

None - It's- it's just a big fuckin' mallet.

=o=

Substitute Jizo - A little statue lookin' thing. You could put it in a museum, dude…

SKILLS:

Life after Death - When user is defeated, they're fully healed.

=o=

Four-Foot Magic Bomb - It's a bomb!

SKILLS:

Anti-Magic Radial - Blast deletes danmaku bullets and some projectiles.

=o=

Ghastly Send-Off Lantern - A glowy, ghosty lantern with a blue flame in it. I kinda want one 'a those, 'cause it's pretty, but if I inevitably freakin' broke it, blue fire everywhere might be bad...

SKILLS:

Departure - A couple seconds of invincibility!

=o=

Nimble Fabric - A little, royal red cloth. Why, though…?

SKILLS:

Reality Fabric Splicer - Lets Seija hide in the fabric dimension, but only for a few seconds, during which she can't do anything except hide and pray.

=o=

SKILLS:

Reversal - The ability to flip anything over. This includes gravity, but also items, people, structures…

Spell Cards - Probably? I really don't know anything about her!

ACTUAL AUTHOR'S NOTE:

i dragged my feet and now i am here yo

took my sweet time getting here because holy SHIT college- yes that's gonna be what i constantly whine about from now on because it's not really all that unfounded yo

...and playing warhammer 40k dawn of war

and reading other fanfics

and some other things-

but mostly STRESSING OVER COLLEGE

may've made the sanae vs. village bards thing too long but it also flows well so i don't think it's that bad… same could be said for the brad team vs cirno team scene

this tournament went on a BIT LONGER THAN I BARGAINED FOR, but it's almost done now! we're in the FINALS yo

yes the boy commander is a COMMISSA- *BLAM* HERESY!

also forgot to mention how the succubus' band's song's lyrics were based off of UmJammer Lammy's 'Vital Idol' stage… although imagining the singing is probably better than the actual singing from the game XD

despite me taking nearly a week just to write this one chapter i'll probably still get done in the same time as if I was still working on GENSOKYOBOUND. (unless i spend even more time between freakin' chapters)

we shall continue to unconditionally move forward!

y'know it's funny- when i take a long time to write certain scenes it always feels like, "oh my god who would want to read THIS much" but then i like stop while at school for awhile then read it over and go "oh huh it's actually like only so and so minutes of action".

as always, see you all next time!

==== BACK TO THE PAST SAMURAI JACK ====

it is now a million years later, again

eh yeah uh, no one typically wants to read that much blunt contextless action

also that's eerie i just started playing 40k dawn of war habitually again around the time of revising this arc

is this fookin' predicted in the stars or wat

anyway, let's hit that changelog and talk about it along the way aye

o chapter begins, kaguya and mokou antics undone

o first fight removed; replaced with brad meeting kagerou and having a surprisingly good conversation with her

o brad also just sees some stuff; it's better than the contextless action of before

o seija vs fairies fight is pretty much the more extreme rendition of the previous fairies fight, except with music and intensity son

song used was Scrape by Blue Stahli. better known as Sergeant Dwight Boykin's Theme from Dead Rising 2.

wahaha

should make that fight at least have good progression and intensity and theme, make it a unique sorta thing, rather than a droning battle like it was before

o kid commissar fight no longer happens this chapter; moved to a future one

o we still see him though

o sanae pov gone; we do see her though and get to see the bandage hands thing still

o brad and futo now have an argument, the group dynamic entirely different and slightly political!

o dialogue bits in general are now more definitive and a bit less like everyone's killing time and mind numbed

o been doing this for a lot of things, but all onomatopoeia prior to prose/other text is italicized for consistency. used to be an INTENSITY thing but it's better when it's consistent; caps vs no caps is okay for volume otherwise

...shorter than other change logs; then again, most things were set into motion during setup

generally this chapter was totally rewritten to a similar beat, hopefully now with more regular conversing and exploring, and a bit less incontextual battlemania; the one thing that's there should be apt and nice for those who can appreciate it

lee

as always, see you all next time!