(in which we fight neo prom night)
shoof. Immediately flopping back into the snow, Genkan makes a snow angel, now that the snow's really deep. "Mmm~..." That face she's makin' too, hoh shit…! S'not often you see her just pleased like that!
"What'd you guys do up there, for so long?" Y'know what Maria needs? She needs a big fluffy scarf… so I can nuzzle her fer wearin' it.
"We met the ghost…" End thought! "The ghost of Christmas pa~st, dude!" I raise my arms into the air, intimidatin' like!
Genkan leans up from her snow angel, for a moment. "Nn- no? We met a greater frost spirit, who seemed to divide herself into fairies whenever she wasn't needed. I'm not sure why, or how, but that-... that was that. She was particularly vague about all our questions…"
shoof. She lied back in the snow. "And... ultimately, she was peaceful enough." Ho~h…
fwoof. From a nearby snowmound, a little earth rabbit with white hair emerged. For some reason, her skin is like snow white, so she blends in really well!
"Master Eirin's summoned you." She speaks gently, dude.
shoof. She hides in the snow bank again, and it's as if she disappeared. Aw…
"...Where, though." I hold up a hand… in wonder.
fwoof. She re-emerges! "She's waiting for you. In the lab."
shoof. She hid, again.
Rising from her snow angel, Genkan reached for the snow bank, intent on plucking her out.
fwoof. Instead, she plucked out a snow fluff. "loafsome"
"I think I know what lab she's talkin' about." It'd be the same place we picked up Seikatsu last time.
...Coming up to me, Genkan holds out the snow fluff for me to take. Yes, dude…!
Once I receive the snow fluff, she turns away. "Will we go directly to her, o~r… will we meander about, first?"
We'll eat some snow fluff. I'm gonna peck its little freckles, dude…
I start pecking the snow fluff with my nose, and it pecks back!
Since I'm takin' so long, she turns back to me! "It's a snow fluff, dude!" It's nuzzleable!
She takes the snow fluff from me. "No." Wat, no.
Now that I think about it, we oughta see how close it is to Christmas when we get inside!
"Anyway!" Let's commit to an idea! "...I was thinkin' of searchin' for secrets out here, but maybe we oughta get a move on fer Eirin."
"Searching for secrets." Genkan gives me a flat look again! "I don't know what it is with you, and screwing with walls… and, somehow accidentally finding actual secrets."
"Now that I got bombs, it should be easier than ever!" I announce! "We should look, dude!"
"...Well." Holding the snow fluff close, Genkan seems content enough. "If you really think it's a good idea. Be careful. You know how this place is." Hmm, that's true. We are stronger, but this place is stronger as a whole…!
"What secrets would even be out here." Maria aggresses me, dude! "It's a courtyard-... in the middle of a blizzard."
We just got confronted by a floating Japanese-styled Christmas ornament. There should especially be secrets out here!
Cru- cru- crunch! Stomping across the snowy courtyard, I reach inta my bag, and draw the Bawmber! "It's the mo~st, wonderful ti~me, of the yea~r!"
Aimin' the barrel forward at the frozen lake, I get ready to fire!
pap- pap- papapapap! I unload on the pond of ice!
BOOM- BAM- KABAM- BLABLAM! The pond starts fragmenting into pieces, which get freakin' shrapnel'd outta the points 'a impact, really mixin' up the pond into a shattered icy blend!
KABAM- BAM- BOOM- BAM! Wait-... is the whole pond frozen? Hoh, shit!
"There'll parties fer hostin', marshmallows fer toastin', and carolin'-..." Gotta watch where I aim this shit! "Carolin' out in the sno~w!"
BABAM- BOOM! Ohp, I blew up the reeds! Goodbye, reeds! Look at that bamboo fly, holy shit! It got flung like, two meters!
...Once the pond is clear-ish, I march into the empty, now snowless, iceless and waterless pond bed! Well, there's still a little water at the bottom, but not even enough to flood my boots.
"Don't become a singer." Genkan advises me…!
Maria steps into the little free pond area with me. "You ruined it." Uh oh…!
"There'll tales of the glories, of Christmases long long ago~!" There's still this one secluded area of the pond that still exists in the corner over here…
"Ooh!" Ha-chan pipes, steppin' near the pond too! "I know that song! Last time we had a Christmas party- Chief made us sing!" Oo~h! They do have Christmas celebrations! Duhuhu~de!
Luggin' my hanger up like a pickaxe, I near this one frozen pond segment…! An' then, I swing it down-
KABOOM! Oohoo~! Yeah- I-... forgot how much that smarts. Wow. Everything hurts…!
...Thankfully, I recover oddly quickly. Probably 'cause there's a blizzard going on!
For some reason, for how like, short this area of water is, the ice is particularly-... full looking. That, and it seems like it goes a little deeper!
I stomp on the top of it, but uh… hmm.
Steppin' back, I aim at it!
KABOOM- BAM- BOOM! After firing into it more, it's-... I think it's deeper than the other segments of pond!
"Caroling, out in the sno~w!" Ha-chan sang one line, for some reason!
Jumpin' into the pit, I stomp on the ice-
Crack! Oh- shit-
Splash! Huwoaa~h!
==== FREAKIN GENSOKYO ====
...Genkan splays me out on the snow next to the pond, for me to dry!
Fwash. After a moment, my form freezes instead-... which, dries me out, ironically. Hoh.
Cri- crack, crack. Once I've frozen, Genkan picks me up and shakes me about to free my limbs from their surface-level freezing. "Ho- ho- ho- ho!" I let out some noise as I'm shaken!
Then, she puts me down, yo. "You just had to find another watery abyss. Be thankful it's snowing." Y'know, I think this is the only time someone's ever had that line of thinking…!
Comin' up to the water's edge again, I stretch myself a little! "...Genkan, do ya think ya can freeze the water?"
"Probably." Approachin' it with me, she looms over the deep, dark pool. "Here."
FWASH! She froze the water! "Start shooting into the hole."
KABOOM- BAM- BLAMBLAM- BOOM! I start firing into the abyss, and I hear ice and water crackle and slush about within! "Wahuhuhu~e!"
"Wh- what kind of laugh was that." Maria gives us a strange look…!
"We're goin' fishin'!" I justify!
boom- sploosh- BAM- fwish. Oh, shit, the water is catching more darts than it doesn't, now.
FWASH! Genkan freezes the stuff at the bottom again, so I keep firing!
KABOOM- BAM- BOOM! After enough repetitions 'a this, eventually it gets hard to see down there aside from the kabooms. But then-
krik- fwuuu~sh. Something clicks inside the somewhat dirt-filled shaft, and water actually floods in from somewhere else. It pours uniformly in from all directions of the wall, as if the ground itself began leaking. What the fuck.
Soon, the water and ice slush mix floats back towards the top… and- hoh, shit, even more than that!
Genkan and me back away from the hole, 'cause it began to overflow a little! But, once the ice residue is out, it stops overflowing.
"Maybe… that's a sign." Genkan regards it! "Maybe we just shouldn't, here."
I raise a finger! "But- what if there's somethin' really cool at the bottom!?"
Genkan raises a finger herself. "What if there's a scrunching machine at the bottom." ...Oh. "Or, better, bombs of some kind? Mines? Complex machines and ducts, not meant for personal transit? Considering this facility-... and what we've seen, I really don't doubt it."
...This is true. It's a valid concern, considering the clinic! Man. If only we had freakin'... some way of scouting these shafts. Fer all we know, there's like some pressure crusher attached to a string trigger, or some shit! I mean, if we did our underwater explorer kit, we could potentially disarm traps by blowing things up-... but, actually, oo~f. The constantly flowing water would be a problem.
Why the hell's there an actual puzzle just sitting in the courtyard, out here!? Yo- what is up wit' this!?
"I guess we'll hafta come back later." I can't believe I'm sayin' it… but we are too big for Smash- I mean, this puzzle is too complicated for us to deal with it! "Or maybe never…!"
...Gaining a small smile, Genkan gently hovers ahead. "Well. Should we get going? It's been fun playing in the snow, but now doesn't seem like the time to idle in one place for very long. I mean, we've already idled here, so..."
Ye. "Yeah, yo. Let's find a door, and move!"
==== FREAKIN GENSOKYO ====
We're back in the generally bleak, generic and cleanly halls of the clinic, it seems like. This place is so freakin' big.
"Freakin'..." Now that I think about it, uh… "I forget where the big dumb secret lab was!"
"Wasn't it, um…" Maria walks ahead 'a me, and moves down a left hall at the intersection ahead, instead 'a goin' straight like I was thinkin'. "If we keep going left- er, this way, I think I can figure out where we're going."
"...Wait, is it uh, 'cause we're in that like, one style 'a hallway?" I wonder!
"Well, yeah." She nods! "I think everything of one style is sorta clumped together. So, if we ever need to figure out where we are… we just, pay attention to the style of our surroundings, and where we might vaguely be related to others. That'll help us narrow down our-... narrow down things." Hoh, hoh.
Eventually, after movin' down this hallway Maria chose, we hit a wall. She then leads us to the right! "This way. We hit the block, where the um… reception, at the main lobby, takes up. It's weirdly big, so..."
Hoh shit, she's right, actually. That means, we're somewhere I actually kinda know now!
"Hey…" Ha-chan hovers up amidst all of us, dude. "What do you guys want, for Christmas?" Hoh! I~... have not thought about it. Can I ask Santa for an infinity plus one sword? That- I could wield? Does Santa have a thing against live weapons?
"...What would it matter, telling you?" Genkan questions her! "Not that any of us have given it thought, surely. I've only just learned what Christmas is."
"Well, if you don't tell people, they can't bring you gifts." Ha-chan insists, dude. "...Gifts." For some reason, she really wanted to stress that last word!
whump. She whapped her flank into Genkan's, and Genkan doesn't fully look like she appreciates it! "Why."
"And, if you don't tell Santa, he'll never give you anything. He's not psychic!" Ha-chan begins the topic of Santa!
"...Who?" Genkan doesn't know, yo.
Ha-chan jerks back in the air, in surprise!
"Santa Claus!" It's time to introduce the fat man! "Kris Kringle! Saint Nicholas! Ol' man winter! Fat 'n' floofy!"
"These- are all the same person, then?" Genkan has not been helped by my rambling!
"Yee." I give the good answer. "Originally, I think he was like-... a guy known for givin' out presents in the winter, so became a good legend. And then, culture kept spreadin' him around since he was such a harmless tale, but then modern outside media came along and freakin' immortalized him as a cultural icon. To business, he's u~h… like an icon of selling shit, and noobs buying stuff, and to 'most everyone else, he's almost as big as the event 'a Christmas itself. Like-... as a symbol of generosity an' shit."
Maria turns back to us as we walk! "So, is he what Christmas is based on?"
"Is he a youkai?" Genkan guesses!
"He's fat!" Ha-chan contributes!
"First, Genkan's question!" I point at her! "...I honestly have no idea, but recently we've made him out to be some kinda like-... super human, who delivers presents across the entire goddamn world, all on Christmas eve. He flies a sleigh across the entire world, delivers to all seven billion humans, and presumably the non-humans too, since they're people, and sometimes pets-... it's complicated! So maybe he is!"
Genkan stares ahead gingerly… "That sounds like a youkai to me…"
"And, Maria's question!" I point at her, and she looks back at me! "...I dunno when ol' Saint Nick got associated wit' Christmas. 'Cause, actually… Christmas started out as a religious holiday, based on Christianity an' shit- y'know, hence the name-... Christ, mas. Like, yeah. So! It was based on one 'a the holy figures bein' born, I think, so people celebrated him. When people stopped givin' a shit about religion, it became more of a holiday about winter, gifts, cookies, lights, an' marketing!"
Genkan seems vaguely interested, now! "That's some history. With how it's described, it's a lot more rooted in-... well, it's rooted in a few things, but it all seems focused on circumstance and preference, rather than anything specific."
...Hmm. I mean, kinda! "It's got a theme, at the least!" I defend it a little! "But, the big idea's flexibility, so stores that sell stuff for Christmas can get as much money as physically possible…!"
Genkan snorts, and makes an intentional dismal stare! "How vain."
"But…" Ha-chan turns to me, dude. "Why would stores do that? And-... that doesn't make any sense! A store can't change how we think!" That's where you're wrong, kiddo…!
"Well!" Hmm… "On the outside, the idea's that Santa doesn't exist, so all those presents everyone is morally obligated in some way to give out? They gotta come from the stores, yeah?"
"Aa~h." Genkan tilts her head back. "Everything makes sense, now."
"Well…" Maria looks a little displaced, at that. "It's still a holiday about giving out gifts. Even if, um… some people are probably fake about it. And, yeah…"
"Well, we're not on the outside!" Ha-chan props her arms on her hips- or, well, tries, before giving up, because her coat is too fwoofy. "...And- I saw Santa last year!" Oh. Wait- you wat.
"You saw who now." I give her an intense, disbelieving smile! "What'd he look like?"
...Ha-chan gestured to her fwoofy coat, and patted her belly- or tried. "Big-... and round. And red! With a white beard. Chief thought he was a human at first, and attacked him!" Sakuya attacked Santa. "She got frozen, though…" Santa attacked back…!?
"...I'll hafta see it ta believe it…!" For some reason, this sounds a little… out there, even for Gensokyo! I dunno, I guess I'm just predisposed to not thinking Santa exists! 'Cause he don't!
And, we're already at the big dumb sliding door to get into Eirin's secret laboratory.
Walking up to it, I punch the numpad- yeah, yeah, yeah!
shoof. The door slides open independent of my number crunching. Aw, yes dude…
We step on inside the hexagonal, metal hallway, and I instantly head fer the third door down, where Eirin always does the Seikatsu things.
shoof. This door slides open too, and I don't re-use the door abusal joke! My party has literally not changed since the last time we were here!
...I start to advance into the lab room gingerly. I turn to my friends. "Act gingerly, dude…"
Ha-chan gets behind me, and starts to move slowly and cuddly-like like I am. When the others don't join in, I call 'em out! "C'mon, yo. We gotta be a snuggle train."
...Quietly, Maria gets behind us, and gives Genkan a beckoning stare!
"Mmh." We have sufficiently peer-pressured the yuki-onna.
...All together now, we slowly step ahead into the lab single-file, hunched partially as we deliberately advance softly, dude…
I see Eirin! And, Eirin sees us!
...After observing us take big, hunched, mentally-deficient-looking steps into the lab in tandem, she raises a brow! "Has-... something happened?" We have successfully confused Eirin!
"We're gentle." I inform her. "Yo- let's walk in a circle, now…!"
Genkan looks vaguely uncomfortable, doing this! "Sh- should we be doing this? Really…?"
"It's not outrageous." Maria defends the activity! "You're just easily embarrassed, Genkan."
"...Brad makes hooliganism look easy." I think that was Genkan's attempt to deflect the statement...? She's not wrong, though!
Although, I quickly realize me an' Ha-chan are the only ones doing the good walk, so uh, I stop too, 'cause that's enough!
Ha-chan walks into my back, making me realize just how soft that big fluffy coat of her's is. "Unh." It's really soft!
Eirin's just givin' us a vague stare. "...I see." Hoh, hoh. "I assume you've all retrieved your requested earnings, more or less. I spent perhaps more time than I should have, touching up on Seikatsu. It felt familiar, and ideas came to me." Ooo.
Alright, time to remember my questions: the fuck was that alien lung? The fuck was that alien? Can I take that lung!? When'd you get a DJ? How many people celebrate Christmas? What day is it?
Cli- click. She presses some loud buttons on her janky lookin' control panel.
Vrr~. The big weird Dawn Machine-lookin' shit that held onto Seikatsu the last time starts to rise up from the floor.
I turn to Eirin! "If the emergency teleport warps us into a tram car rail again, we oughta put you on one…!" 'Cause let's be real here, that sucked ass!
She lets out a flat snort. "That mistake hasn't been made, this time."
"That reminds me…" Genkan's reminded of it, too! "Well-... we received compensation for it, already. However, I still won't forget that. If that had slain one of my-... friends here, let it be said that we wouldn't be on good relations."
"Not an uncommon turn of events." Eirin really doesn't care…!
Vrrr~. Thunk. The platform holdin' Seikatsu stops! And-...
Click, click. Seikatsu's boots click against the pastel blue tiled floor. "Hello. I am Seikatsu Kikai." Ooo~! Hoh, shit!
"Yo!" I walk up to, her, it…? "...I dunno what to say to ya!"
"Initiating 'help' protocol." Wait, no. "Ask me a question, and I will do my best to decipher intent and meaning. If this ever fails, you may access and directly interact with my code by the panel on my back, and you may enable the vocal method of code interaction. This is only recommended for developers." Ho~h…
"Kiss me, Seikatsu." I hold my arms out.
"Personality protocol- name in progress- has yet to be implemented. Do not request personal, emotion-related, or highly contextual commands of Seikatsu Kikai. It is not programmed to respond."
"Hug me, Seikatsu-baby~!" I need a hug right now!
"Negative." Aw. "If you would like to hear hints again, express to me that you wish to hear hints and other related information again. You may have me randomly inform you, as well." Holy shit.
"Do you get horny?" Let's interrogate her!
"Negative." Wow, yo. Wait…
"Do you not get horny?" I think, uh, she just doesn't work with personality-based questions.
"Negative." Wau. Yeah, she just can't do that kinda stuff.
"I don't think that line of questioning will work." Genkan advises me to not taunt the robot! "I will say… I didn't think that a robot could be so well-designed."
Eirin snorts a little! "We make more than medicine and weapons, here."
I take a few steps, and Seikatsu steps behind me! She can walk now!
"Yo- can you fight?" Let's find out!
"Defense protocol locked. Threat level of minor or above must be evidenced in proximity to self for defense mechanisms to engage. Support protocol active."
"Which reminds me." Eirin clicks her heels up ta us, herself. "Take this." She gives us a patch, of some kind! "This will stick to your outfits. When you wear it, it sends signals to Seikatsu to use random support techniques." Ho~h. "They all have universally positive benefits, so they should go on to help you not die quite as fast. With all the data you've given me, I assume you're going to really need something like this." Hoh, hoh.
Comin' up to Seikatsu, she turned her around by the shoulders, and pointed out a blue button on the panel on her back. "This loose panel is for code interaction. It automatically rejoins if it's been severed from her. And, this button activates silent mode, which you may do so verbally. When silent mode is active, Seikatsu will cloak and hover, as well as maintain a set distance from your party, unless you need healing. To keep in respectable range, she may teleport near you if the environment prohibits standard movement. She may still heal and provide support in silent mode."
"How do you even make something like this?" Maria looks over Seikatsu with no small amount of wonder! "Like-..."
...Turnin' to her, I raise a finger! "Very carefully."
...Gingerly, she brings her time staff up, an' tries to gently whack me with it!
Steppin' back up to the control panel, Eirin paused, before movin' for a counter in the back of this white-blue sciency room. "As for the stored files…"
From said counter, she holds up a disk! "I found untranslated source code for a personality bank, as well as what seemed to be an unused memory bank. I'll be making a new personality feature anyway, but I'm also looking to emulate this previous one, out of curiosity. Memory-wise, I hadn't considered such a feature, but it should be a good exercise in machine sentience versus biological sentience." Please don't start a robot revolution, Eirin. I don't think anyone's equipped to deal with that…
"Well!" It's vaguely interesting, that Seikatsu has that old memory bank thing! I think we heard some tells of that earlier, but it seems that Eirin's finally gettin' around to that just now. "...Good."
...I really don't got a lot else to say about this! S'another fun update to Seikatsu.
"I want pretzels…" Maria says somethin' random, for some reason!
Genkan faces her, smiling slightly. "We probably should eat something real, at some point."
Ha-chan hides inside her coat, only her eyes poking out from her big scarf. "I like pretzels."
Wait! This reminds me!
"Aliens!" Let's interrogate Eirin! "What was that alien doin' in that one lab!?"
"Ah." She blinked, at that. "Which one? You must mean the one you found, in the simulation…" Waddaya mean, which one!? "That was a rather old specimen. It was an old focus, where we experimented with both extraterrestrial life, and attempted to create our own organisms. It's a project for the scientists here, to educate them on the creation of organic life forms. The subject you found is most likely dead." What, no.
"...That-..." Tilting her head, Genkan seems displaced by that. "Creation-... of lifeforms? Did I hear that right?"
"Yes." Eirin's expression towards her is plain, while she scoops some papers on the desk into a collective pile.
"...Doesn't that-..." Genkan can't seem to wrap her head around it, yo. "Isn't that- wrong? In a way?"
"No?"
Pausing, Eirin parts from the desk entirely, nearing her. "If you could create an entirely new species, and fit it to your ideology and design, would you?"
...Genkan's really intimidated, all of a sudden! "I-... um." Man, she's cute when she fidgets. I don't consciously think it a lot, but her hair is so nice dude. "I don't know?"
"Mmm." Eirin just kinda hums back at her. "It's not something one thinks about often, is it? Such biological knowledge is too important to pass onto the species itself. I must also say, that one must refrain from tying religious or spiritual tenets too far into the design philosophy. You wouldn't know it, but there are actually rules from the Ministry of Right and Wrong regarding the design of self-perpetuating biological lifeforms. Generally, what you create only bears spirit amongst the totality of its parts, and this will combine to create a basic essence that is then able to take on the soul of something greater.
"Take, for example, the cells- or fragments- of your skin. Under the common buddhist beliefs, if things such as rocks may have a spirit, so too may the particles and atoms of those rocks, and so too may each individual fragmentation of the skin, and other biological components. However, it is more accurate to say that-... smaller spiritual phenomena may be regarded as the mana that binds the world together, in a way, or the constant ambient mana exuded not only by people, but by the objects present in our world."
She reaches forward, and feels at Genkan's sleeves. "Such is why, enchanted weapons and clothing have far stronger turn-over rates in terms of Tsukumogami. Such is why, the swelling of magic amongst an object may catalyze the faith provided by human favoritism. It's more complicated than this, yes, but I'm sure what I've said will give you the gist of it."
...Oh. Wait-... huh. Da~h.
"So-..." Genkan looks overwhelmed! "Um. My clothes-... relate to life how?"
"The afterlife gave um, Eirin I think, a list of rules when making new life." Maria starts to break it down for us! "And then she went on to say that um-... so, apparently in Buddhism, everyday objects have souls, right? So-... she said about how this relates to parts of us. And, that lead to an explanation of mana in the human-... I mean, in the presence of nature."
"I should have disclosed," Eirin, you don't uh, have to- "the reason this is important is because it means the Ministry must serve as the middleman in the instillation of a higher soul in self-perpetuating beings on a per-reproduction basis. While I can very well inject a soul, or create a faux-soul or soul-like presence for an entity, to allow reproduction that results in intelligent beings, a number of guidelines must be met. Without this, you may only create your beings in factories, which is far more restricting than allowing them to undergo romantic reproduction procedures."
...Man, making new life is weird!
"I feel strange, thinking about all of this." Genkan's still cute and displaced, dude. "Do you always look at life so-... so objectively?"
"I couldn't say always, but it's a trend." Eirin summarizes!
"Can we have that alien lung so we can bake it into a plant hanger?" I make my intentions straightforward wit' 'er!
She snorts! "I may have a carbon copy made for you. I'm interested in how weapon synthesis with non-prolifically reproducing and unsanctioned life will go. As in, will there be spiritual effects, purely material-centric effects, or… something else?"
"...I only have a vague impression of what yer talkin' about!" I did my best to listen, I really did, but we're kinda missing some basic knowledge here! Like how soul stuff works, and spirituality, and what religions matter, and who's right, wrong, freakin'... aaa~h!
"I'm interested in how such an object would even mesh with your weapons." She clarifies. I mean- I got that sentence, but the context around it and everything else was iffy!
"Considering your knowledge," Genkan speaks up! "Would you happen to know about that greater frost spirit we met before? She was floating above Eientei, amidst the blizzard, in a blue, glass flower." We never did catch her name, did we.
"Ah." Eirin seems to know what we're talkin' about! "One of various myriad elemental gods born of nature itself. Were you ever told of the stories of elemental gods? The main idea is, the gods who chose Earth to embody their natures were split into shards across it, comprising nature itself. Fairies are an embodiment of these shards. With the deviation that fairies undergo, having been born from separate places and climates, it is extremely hard for these embodiments of the older, earthen gods to snap back together."
Taking a breath, she refocuses on us as a whole. "It is important to note, that they are not Shinto deities, who live and die purely by faith. These are gods who live and die by the presence of nature, and of themselves. Were they ever fully whole again, their natural element would no longer be part of the planet. This wouldn't mean something like, 'let there never be fire', it would mean the simple revocation of the planet's ability to generate those climates, and those that existed would lose a lot of their properties and become undone."
Moving to some crates near the back of the room, she moved to pick up the topmost, steel one, which was about as big as the snowballs we rolled earlier. "From a technical standpoint, you'd call it dismantling. From an elemental standpoint, you may simply see the elements as coming undone. From a planetary standpoint, you'd see it as an ecosystem collapse of sudden, ruinous, planetary proportion. If the god of fire recombined and left, the earth would cool into oblivion. If both the gods of ice and fire left, the atmosphere would become unstable."
Thunk. After separating the crates from one another, she looked over at us, and smiled. "But, this hasn't happened, because it could never be so easy. To remove the fairies, spirits, and elements themselves would take nothing short of a massive terraforming effort, and distribution of mana all across the globe. The systematic approach required to force displacement would, at minimum be-... astronomical in cost. So, while it's possible, such is only in theory."
Ho~h. So, basically, she was a-... "Was she a god, the chick we met?"
Eirin shook her head. "She was not nearly strong enough to be classified as a god. But, among ice youkai, she may be considered queen. How does 'ice queen' sound, as technical definition? Many beings generated in such a way take on many different forms, with many different personalities. It would be pointless to define them all, almost as pointless as it is to give any certain name to various youkai jurisdictions. Some genres, or genuses, deviate more than others."
With that, she browses towards the counter again. "I believe I've talked your ears off enough. Unless, you have any more questions?"
I raise my hand! "Question, teache~r!" ...An' then, she lets me ask it! "What day is it? Do you celebrate Christmas!?"
"December third." We missed Thanksgiving! And- wow, Christmas itself ain't gonna be until like, chapter ten million. "And, some of our rabbits personally celebrate Christmas, as well as the holiday season. The princess celebrates Christmas for materialistic reasons, although she does like the feeling of the holiday, too." Hoh, hoh.
"Hoh, hoh." I nod! "Mer, Chrismh…" I gingerly look away…
"...They serve a sort of pretzel at the dining hall you'd attended earlier today." Eirin reveals!
"Ooo." Maria perks up!
Wait. Before we go. "Eirin." This is serious, Eirin.
She stares at me neutrally.
"Is-... is Santa Claus real?" You know like, everything, Eirin; surely you can tell me if Santa Claus is real…!
...She smiles at me! "Is that not part of the fun?" Aaaa~h!
"Eirin, was it?" Genkan forgets Eirin's name part three point one four. "If there are gods fueled by human faith-... and, youkai may be generated by human belief and fear, and so much hinges on the impressions of humans… how do faith, belief and fear work?" Hoh, shit. That's a good question, actually!
...Eirin pulls up one of those crates, so she can sit down now! "Well. That's not a throwaway topic, by any means. Would you like visuals, for this?"
...Genkan blinks a little, and accepts. "Sure, I-... guess."
"Seikatsu." Eirin calls on our robotic operating buddy! "Project holo-paint, behind me."
voop. Aw! A holographic pane is shot from Seikatsu's eyes, into the air behind Eirin.
"Around four and a half billion years ago, the gods created the Earth." Oh, holy shit, we're goin' all in, aren't we…!? "I have only been here, for… about twenty five million years." What. Only.
"...Wa- tw- twenty five million." Genkan's expression doesn't even change at that! "What?"
"Such was about when the island of Japan formed, created by Izanagi-no-mikoto." Eirin shifted one leg over another… "Do you know about continents and islands?"
"...If I remember right," Maria shifted up a smaller box, for herself to sit on. "Nnh. An- anyway, if I remember right-... continents are whole land masses, right? And islands are, tinier land masses, formed in not-dissimilar ways."
"Mmm." Eirin nods. "Around that time was when Amaterasu was born, as well."
Aw. I wonder. "Do ya ever ring 'em up on the phone, now and again…!?" Yo, sun god, s'me, Eirin!
"...I suppose you could think of our communication like that." Eirin supposed! "We will likely not communicate at length, or possibly at all, within any of your life spans." Talk about a disconnected generation…!
"Back to the topic at hand," she gets off of the subject of her being ten gazillion years old, "faith for gods may come from either youkai or humans. But, the belief for youkai to function must come from humans, and many of them, unless it is bottled in a very specific way, ala Gensokyo's barrier."
"Aah." Genkan nods, at that! "Why is it so-... human-centered, however? Why aren't youkai so simply their own… thing?"
Eirin starts drawing somethin' on the hologram projected in the air. "This is because of ambient magic, coordinated with the impact belief had on a magic-saturated world. Much in the way one may intentionally cast spells, the unstable intricacies of the human mind too were able to construct and cast as collectives, as individuals sometimes, and sometimes in ways so intricate that most would say there was no definite answer to why something happened."
She's drawn Japan! "This applies to the whole world, but we'll pretend that's this." She points to Japan. "In the natal stages of humanity, before better established human civilization, magic was rampant, for a few reasons." She then draws a big cloud over Japan. Hoh, hoh…
First, she sketches down a rock of some sort. "The world ambiently still had a lot of leftover magical energy, in the eras way before civilization, when nature established itself and the natural gods acted quite fickle. This would come to be expended later."
Then, she drew a person. "Belief, which gave shape to the natural gods, came from humans as they were initially products of evolution, and they were creatures that evolved in a very turbulent environment. With no knowledge, other than the basics required to live as animals, had a strong excess of belief which took new forms. Faith for the gods, fear of that which may destroy them. And, true to the 'self fulfilling prophecy' cliche, their fear would create great beasts of magic, cast by their belief, which would sometimes destroy them."
"And, that's the important note." She drew an arrow from the stick figure, and at the end of it, drew a six-limbed stickman oh god dude. "Their belief cast these entities. With enough time, the Ministry of Right and Wrong would allow these entities, with their abrupt generation, sentience. Now, this didn't mean anything to youkai born only from magic and fear; what this meant is that youkai could then, biologically mind you, reproduce. That changed some things."
Boop. Touching a button at the bottom of the hologram in the air, she wiped her hand over the cloud around Japan. "Now, fast forward. As humanity gained stability in its knowledge, they ceased unwittingly casting their beliefs into the magic, and creating random things. As they grew more numerous, and stopped fearing, the production of mana in the atmosphere, something only accelerated by usage and exercise of the magic-... it ceased. Or rather, it wasn't as fast."
She came back to the human stick figure! "Now, keep in mind, humans have the capability to provide belief without fear. They do, in theory, have the capacity to collectively cast beings into existence. They do so with gods, resulting in faith, and the fear that produces youkai is really simply a subgenre of this constant exercise of magic and faith."
Lookin' over at us, she goes down this line 'a thinking… "The difference is, gods are supposed to command nature and hold power, therefore faith gives them such a purpose, shape, and their strength. Youkai were simply supposed to be monsters, some quite benign and peaceful even, although not always, so-... they required a whole different line of thinking from the humans."
fwish. She fully erases the could encompassing Japan. "Now, we're at today. The decline in belief for youkai essentially went hand-in-hand with the decline in belief for gods. Only some gods and beings still survive, now, but only very specific geologies experience conditions even vaguely similar to ancient times. Less casting goes on, less belief is exercised, both because of human confidence, but also because of simple time progression and the erosion of various tenets that invoked such panicked, frenzied uses of the humans' magical ability."
She erased the youkai stick figure, and the arrow. "It was stagnation, plain and simple. Unless something catastrophic were to happen, youkai aren't coming back."
Stepping up to Genkan, she shoots her a quick point of her finger. "To answer your question more precisely, if you wanted me to, it is that use of magic, involuntarily by humans, which resulted in both gods and youkai. Now, even were they all to collectively fear, there is too little mana left to produce any effect, outside of the ones onset by their transition into the newer eras. If they had the magic, a belief revolution could go underway, but many environments are still too hostile to non-human lifeforms in general. It just wouldn't work out, really."
voop. She clicked a button on the holo-board, and it died. "Now, in theory, youkai could also be fueled by human obsession, companionship, respect, love, or anger- which ties into fear, really. Envy, prospectively. Any emotion directed to the existence of another entity, but some would have to be more aimed than others. Humans would have had to realize the capacity they held, which just wasn't happening. And now, it's too late."
...Well. Uh, wow. The world's a freakin' crazy place! Other emotions really do work for youkai, too! Which is interesting, 'cause hoh. I had a feeling it'd be weird if only fear did anything for 'em… but, it does seem to be more like 'belief, but fear has been altogether the most convenient belief' sorta deal. If humanity was brought up constantly horny, would we get sex demons instead? Would we wanna see a world with that kinda turbulent belief balancing…!?
"...I see." Genkan thinks she sees! "This has been very enlightening, actually. Thank you-... Eirin."
"That's a lot to take in…" Maria looks winded! "The outside's more relevant to everything than I thought…" Wahaha.
Ha-chan just looks confused. Heavily, and severely confused!
...We're pretty much all left without anything to say! That whole talk was a thing that happened!
"There may not be much of anyone at that kitchen I mentioned," Eirin talks about gettin' us outta here, "but the pretzels may still be prepared by yourselves, I'm sure."
"Yeah-..." Maria gets up, and looks rowdy! "Maybe-... we should go."
Ha-chan starts to speak! "Pretzels-..." Pretzels, end thought. Uh oh. I think she's still tryin'a think over that last entire conversation!
"Pretzels." Genkan agrees with her.
==== FREAKIN GENSOKYO ====
Eirin's a strange person. Good, but strange!
Maria pushes open the door into the kitchen, after we spent ten years finding it again. "Nnh."
"Seikatsu." Genkan turns to her! "Can you make food?"
"Negative." What. No. "I may remind you to take medicine, however."
Seikatsu faces me. Oh, yeah, she actually has clothes on now, by the way; she's not just floating fake girl flesh. Also, real boots, and not just hover peg things! "Brad. Consume multivitamin now." Wat. Wait, yeah! I had those!
"...You really should." Genkan faces me! "I recommend it." Alright, yo…
While the cuddle friends are mosey around, I take my multivitamins. They taste like multi, and vitamins. Multivitamins…
I give Genkan a ginger smile. "Should I-... feed some fluffles, my multivitamins…?"
"Now that, I don't recommend." After her blunt delivery, she drifts towards the counter, where Maria is...
Maria's preparing some super pretzels, dude, fresh outta the freezer box.
Packing away my nutrition pills, 'cause let's be real, these super pretzels are like, cardboard and salt, I saunter up to the friends. "Pretzels… are good, dude."
...We watch Maria unpack summore pre-baked pretzels. She uses the sink to wet them like the box says, and sprinkles some salt on them, before sticking them into the like three microwaves here. "This packaged outsider food is really easy to use, actually…"
Oh, yeah. "Hoh. It is pretty convenient. The downside's that it's typically never nutritious!"
...Genkan curls her brows up, at that. "If they can make vitamins so easily, why can't they make these nutritious?"
I nod. "Eientei made these vitamins, I'm pretty sure. These pretzels're from the outside, 'cause I recognize the box! And on the outside, it's way easier to make absolute fake crap that tastes good than it is to make anything actually nutritious. Kinda the same as the reasoning behind candy."
"...I suppose that makes sense." Genkan looked back down at the three microwaves. "...Maria, how did you know how those boxes with numbers on them worked?"
Maria grins at her! "I mean-... they're not puzzles, or anything. You press the buttons to get the time duration you want, then you press 'start'."
"...That does sound simple." Genkan is peaceful, dude.
So, we watch the pretzels spin in the microwaves. Now I wanna microwave a fluffle. What if you microwaved them to golden brown perfection, yo…
"What if we were attacked by super pretzels?" I think of the unthinkable!
"I'd rather we weren't." Genkan lets her brows curl up again! "I'd like to think of super pretzels as a relatively peaceful kind of food. Not that I think of them often."
"What if they were vicious, yo." Killer pretzels, dude. "What if they tackled me, dude!?"
"We would eat them." Genkan-... made a lotta sense just now. Wau.
thump. Ha-chan walked into Seikatsu in the background. "Unh!"
==== FREAKIN GENSOKYO ====
And so we ate them! And, they tasted as bland as I anticipated, really!
Crunch. Genkan chewed on some ice, to get the taste of salt out of her mouth. Me and Maria didn't mind, though! "Here I thought, that would actually taste like pretzel. All I could taste was the salt…"
We followed the room naming convention on this business card that u~h, rave-styled yuki-onna gave us. Ongaku, I think that was her name!
We're in some discreet part of Eientei now. The card basically lead us into a certain hallway, with a location strategy not unlike Maria's earlier. We came up to the door, for the Big Fluff Fun Club…
There's a bunny girl standing in front of the door, in a black suit with shades on. It's a bouncer!
We all look unbelievably fluffy, standing outside this freakin' club casually, as muted rave music plays in the background. Genkan especially!
Aw, woah. A loli-sized fluffle hurries up to the door, and the bouncer tilts open a door to let it in.
...Then, she turns to us! "I'm, uh, basically here to look pretty. You can go on in, if you'd like."
...I wonder when Eirin's gonna mail me my cloned copy of an alien lung thing. Hoh- ho ho!
Since all four of us say nothing to bouncer bunny, she backs away from the door. "I mean, you guys look like a buncha class-acts anyway."
Gingerly and silently, we step inside the fun club together. I wanna snuggle Genkan, dude.
Instantly, there are steps down into this big, dark room…!
screech! The track playing switches to this general, funky one. Aw…
In the middle of the room, we see Ongaku in the midst of a big, metal cylinder, manning a really complicated looking series of devices! There's a colorful platform under the cylinder, and the many different platforms and stands hooked up to the metal rod-accented shaft shift constantly.
Ongaku herself also has a new pair of glasses on, this one more like an eyes-only visor, with neon pink lights at the top and bottom of it. Hoh, hoh…
As we step down the black steps, the girls look around at the colorful, loud room in vague awe!
At the bottom of the big staircase, we reach the bottom floor of this big rave room. Down here, on random, isolated series of dance floor tiles, we see some chicks dancing in areas. Also, there are fluffles down here.
We near one colorful dance floor tile, which has a single fluffle. It has both fins up, wiggling them gently to 'dance'. "i can dance see"
screech. The music suddenly shifts to one that's way faster and more frantic!
fwo- fwoof- fwoof- fwoof! The fluffle starts flailing wildly, and leaves the dance floor entirely, ascending into the air from the force of its own flailing! "nnh nn unh unh unh" Look at it go, dude! Holy shit!
"Dance clubs are wei~rd!" Maria yells over the music! This is also the first thing any of us have said since wandering into the club!
Dust begins to cloud the air of the club, because all the fluffles are dancing like they're possessed, ascending into the air together…!
screech. Suddenly, it switches into a gentle, tropical track…
Stopping instantly, the fluffles start swimming through the air, using their little fins. Bobbing up and down exaggeratedly, they continue until they reach the walls-... actually, they just keep swimming once they hit the walls, but they don't make anymore progress. Aw.
We make our way past the many, gently dancing bunny and rabbit girls, and come up to the cylinder where Ongaku is workin'...
Vrr- vree- vrrr~! The giant machine whines, as Ongaku rotates around and lowers, bringing her desk down to level with us!
"He~y!"She calls out to us, once she's on our level! "Check out- check out, how I live, everybo~dy!"
"...This is not how I thought a sister of mine would be living." Genkan gives me an' Maria a bewildered look! Wait- where'd Ha-chan go.
"Yea~h!" She's somewhere in the air, dancing randomly! "Woohoo~!" The music and the lights are too much for her!
"How you like it!?" Ongaku bellows down at us! "I'm makin' bank! Hey- you guys get drinks yet? See the bartender- tell 'er uh… 'M-one-four-eight-nine', drinks're on me!"
"What- is this machine…?" Genkan is staggered by this huge freakin' machine!
Tracing my eyes along the floor, I can see that like-... it seems to also slide back into the wall, to the room's right. Right as in, from the entrance. There's nothin' over that way except more 'a this raised platform!
In fact, this central-most position seems more like it's extended out from the wall. There's dance floor tiles active under the giant cylindrical machine, and odd rods that look like they'd bring the thing back into the right wall. The floor's built perfectly to suggest this, too.
"It's the MixMaster GIGA~!" Ho- ho- holy shit! When she yelled it out, she auto-tuned her voice, too! "It's the latest craze in music mixin' technology! It even comes with personal customer discipline options!" You wat.
"Customer whats?" Genkan was also put-off by that! "Are you- really happy, in that thing?"
"Hell yeah!" She's lovin' it, dude! "This has been the greatest year of my life!"
Vrrr~. The machine whines slightly, turning with her mere movements. "And, this thing can personally take care 'a troublesome customers! But- mostly, I use it to run cool danmaku events!" Cool danmaku events, dude. Are they anything like cool free math games, like you find on flash game websites, dude?
"Cool free math games…" I echo!
Ongaku just gives me an awkward stare!
"Cool danmaku events…" Genkan echoes, slightly louder than me, while looking in my direction! "Do we need danmaku, ourselves?"
"No, actually!" Ongaku informs us! "All you gotta do is survive!" Survival, huh. I dunno if we're good at survival…!
I turn to Genkan! "We should do it!" This sounds like fun, dude!
"But first, I gotta ask!" Ongaku leans towards us, and her platform leans in our direction too! "Are you all thirteen or over?" Wh- thirteen.
...We all exchange looks. "Yes?" Genkan tilts her head at 'er.
Aw, that reminds me. Didn't Kaguya come down here? Where's she?
I search the dancing bunnies, who're all in either undershirts or casual clothing.
"Ehe- heheh…" Oh, there she is! An' she looks drunk…! Aw, she's coming this way, actually, swayin' across the dance floor.
Crawling up the stairs onto this central platform, she eventually finds her standing posture again, and lethargically marches towards us! Her pink dress part is gone, leaving her in her white bra and panties… "He- he~y, guysh!"
Coming up to Maria, she unevenly ruffles her hair. "He- hehehe~. Yer so fuckin' cute."
Maria shies away, looking creeped out! "Aa- am I…?"
"Yakno~w!" She snaps her gaze to our forms! "I- aah, I challed-... Raysen, tol' 'er t'get my- her assh down here, so I cou' win the prize… she ain't dow~n hee' yet!"
Then, she stumbles up to Genkan! "An' yhou!"
"Ooh!" Genkan flinches back, 'cause Kaguya grabs one of her boobs instantly!
SLAP! Genkan slaps her away. "You- drunken whelp."
"Ehe- hehehe~!" Kaguya almost falls back, but she collides with the platform securing the big cylindrical machine first, which keeps 'er from falling! "Eehrin hi' me harder than tha'... when I wash a bitch!" No one can decipher the intent behind this…!
...Holding up her empty bottle, Kaguya gives me a playfully aggressive look, her cheeks super red-
thunk! Wh- ow! She jabbed the bottle into me! What, no!
"I'mma beat you." Why!? Wh- aa~h, aaa~h!
woosh! I step back, after she swings!
CRACK! She shatters the bottle on the side 'a the great music machine, leaving her with just the spout, and some broken glass. Wait- she's still advancing…!
When she reels her arm back, Genkan quietly slips the broken half out of her hand from behind. Aw, yes dude!
woosh. She swings her empty fist down, and almost-
thud. -does fall over. "Oohf. Ehe- ehe…" Instantly, she starts gettin' back up…!
"Princess…?" Oh, hey, it's Reisen! Look who it is, dude!
When trying to stand fails her, Kaguya unevenly floats onto her feet instead, and- instantly ends up leaning into me once her legs give up again! "If- yer gonna have sex with mhe, make sure ish ghood… or I'll shay it was rape when I'm sober." ...Well, at least she's honest!
...I stare at Reisen, while she just gives us a concerned stare! I extend an arm out past Kaguya, and use it to point back at her… "Co- cool free math games…?" Yehehaah!
"Which ish pretty soon, by the way. Fuckin' hourai liver." I can smell booze offa' Kaguya, and I dunno about that…!
I push Kaguya away from me in the moment! She doesn't lose her balance, but she does stumble back. "Nn- nnh…"
...Turning around, she sees Seikatsu, and marches up to her! "An'- who the fuck're you…"
She responds as requested, dude. "I am Seikatsu Kikai. If you would like me to purify your body of excess alcohol, feel free to request so."
"No- fuck you." Kaguya tries to push her, but pushes herself instead! "Wh- woa~h…"
Aw. We should put a really unfitting shirt on Seikatsu at some point, dude. Maybe give Kaguya one too…!
"So-..." Reisen steps up to us, looking casual. "Um. So, you called me down here to um, win you a prize, Princess…?"
...Kaguya smirked at her. "Aw, yeah. We gotta- win tha' danmaku." She pointed at Ongaku! "Shurvival!" Sure survival! Unsure survival…!
"Could a fluffle survive in the world." I pose a snuggly question.
"...Nnn~no." When no one answers, Maria does!
"What's the prize for the event, anyway?" Genkan looks up at Ongaku, who's sippin' a can 'a somethin' from her control chair…
Once she's done, Ongaku looks down at us. "Awa- yeah!" Awa, huh… "You can win cool clothes, and souvenirs! And free beer!" Ironically to most, I'm more interested in the souvenirs!
I turn to Genkan! "Dude! Souvenirs!"
Kaguya furrows her brows at me. "Also, bheer."
I look snug at her, dude. "But souvenirs are worth so much mo~re…"
"Before you guys compete, ya should mosey around summore." Ongaku recommends! "'Cause everyone who competes usually gets totally wiped out." Probably a good idea…!
"I- I'hm… alreahdy wiped out." Kaguya smiles unevenly!
"But we're not!" I exclaim! "Let's go bust holes into the walls!" I gesture for my fluffy friends to follow, fer now!
Genkan blinks! "...Wa- wait, hold on..."
screech! As we step down into the inner half of the dance club, the music changes again! Now it's some more generic rave music. Hoh…
I meander between dance floors to the rave bar counter-... actually, it's a regular bar counter- an' then someone pulls on me midway-
"Hehe~y." I got caught onto by a freakin' maroon-haired bunny chick. "Haven't seen you 'round here before!" Her breath reeks of alcohol…! She's also in just her skirt and undershirt, but it's kinda obvious she's not got a bra on...
Coming up quietly, Genkan lays a hand on her shoulder-
fwash. Uh oh. Genkan put 'er on ice, dude…!
Slippin' my arm out of the frozen chick's grasp, I manage to stumble up to the back counter!
One 'a the black-suited, black-haired bunnies is back here. She turns to me, and tilts her head, leanin' onto the counter. "What's up?"
"Orange juice!" I will take the lightest possible, which should be no alcohol, or I'll take nothing at all!
Clack. Reisen lands next to us, somehow. Did she just- leap from the central platform. Holy shit. "If you freeze everyone who hits on him, and you, you're gonna have a lot of people to freeze." She speaks directly to Genkan…!
At that, Genkan frowns. "Why are bunnywomen so-..." Then, she pauses! "Ah. Right. Bunnies." Took ya a moment, didn't it…!?
"Yeah, a grunt company got wiped out recently." Reisen reveals…? What the fuck coulda wiped a bunny grunt company. "So, the threshold for reproduction was passed." Woah no…!
...I stare at 'er, with my eyebrows raised. "Freakin'-... so what, do you guys all have sex as some kinda crazy limit break when yer numbers get too low…!?"
"Yeah." Reisen nods! "I- I mean, I'm one of the clinic's finest, and master's right hand, so I can't just get pregnant willy-nilly, but I do fool around a little. I have to be particularly careful myself, during these periods."
...Genkan suddenly looks around everywhere, somewhat intimidated!
"Um…" Maria huddles closer to us!
Reisen snorts at her. "Ah- you girls don't hafta worry so much, though. Guy rabbits are kinda limited, so the worst you'll get treated with is some really horny lesbians. They also kinda know they gotta do it with bunnies. Well, you do have to watch out for the earth rabbits, but that's nothing new."
...Good. Freakin', repopulation threshold. And, since they're rabbits, they'll probably only be pregnant for like, no time at all…! And they'll grow up really freakin' quickly! Like- I haven't even seen a young bunny soldier!
"Isn't it kinda morbid?" Maria regarded the concept…!
Reisen shrugged, before leaning against the counter. "Eeuh. You could see it that way. No use feeling bad about it, though…" Hoh.
shoof. Suddenly, a navy-haired rabbit wit' a short, bobby hairdo plops down on the stool next to me. "He~y, bartende~r! Get a Jumping Rabbit, for me and this guy!" She gestures to me!
Lookin' at the bartender real sudden-like, I flatten my hand and hold it against my neck! I already got a freakin' juice!
I turn ta her, too! "Freakin', I already got a juice-"
She takes it from me, and tilts her head back! "Mmh…" And- ohp, whelp. S'good thing the drinks are on Ongaku! She just- downed my entire glass in one, huge sip…
Clack. She firmly plants the glass down, and gives me a toothy smile. "How's that!?"
Wait. I got an idea. I see Genkan snakin' around her side. When she looks at me and is about to give her shoulder the poke of death, I hold a finger up!
"Yo." I get closer to the bunny chick! "You didn't finish it, yo." I point at the tiny little sip of orange juice still left.
"Oh…?" She beams at it! "Can do, sir!" Then, she tilts her head back!
I look at Genkan! "Freeze her lips, now!"
Lookin' surprised, she thrusts her hand forward-
fwash. She froze the wine glass the orange juice got put in! By that, I mean the only actual freezing connection was between the bunny girl's lips and the glass!
"Mm-..." Her eyes widen in surprise! "Mm- mmh! Mmm~!" Wahaha!
"Yh- ya know…" Kaguya comes up to us, and leans against my shoulders, freakin', putting her forearms before my face. "If ya wanted ta keep bitches offa' him, ya could just, y'know, swamp 'em yerself…"
"Mmm!?" The bunny girl hums loudly at Kaguya's presence!
woosh. Ohp- oh. Genkan just hurls her outta the way! "I-... suppose that's a logical idea."
crack! I heard that bunny's glass break in the background…!
Genkan gets in the seat next to me. "...How's this?"
Rolling her eyes, Kaguya slips between us, and- holy shit…!
She slinks into my lap, and plops down. "Aa~h. Mmh." Wrapping her arm around my back, she pulls herself close to my chest…! "Yeah- lotta ghood-... sittin' in the chair nexta him did. Chould be makin' out wit' 'em already, an'- yhou-... could be drinkin'."
Tap, tap. Kaguya taps the counter! "'Nother Oni Crusher! Bartende~r!" Oni Crusher. Optional Karmotrine, dude...
And then, Kaguya perks up all of a sudden… "Ooh! Yer boyfriend's getting ha~rd! Hehehe- hwah-"
Genkan lifted her up, over her head! "Get-... lost!"
Thud! Oh, shit! She just slammed Kaguya inta the floor! "Oohf!"
And then- oof…! Genkan flops into my lap, wrapping her arm around me in a similar way…!
Snuggling into my lap, she blinks at me fer a few moments. "...For some reason, this feels backwards." Y'know- there was somethin' about this that felt off, but I couldn't place my finger on it!
...Genkan presses herself into my chest, which is- ooh. For some reason, she seems more compact when seated in my lap, and wrapped around me. At the same time, my legs're getting scrunched!
"...Wait!" Reisen is surprised! "You're that Brad guy!" You didn't know!? "...You, huh. You're into snow women, huh." Yeah, yo!
Man, it is hard to focus on anything with Genkan just sitting in my lap.
"That reminds me a' someone else…" Reisen looked down at her drink, then at us. "Like, uh… you swing around plant hangers, right? Or did I hear wrong?"
I grin at 'er! "Aa- aw, hell yeah!" Genkan being in my lap is gonna freakin' destroy my hormones-
"I had ta spar someone like you the other day." Reisen- huh? "Landed some good shots in her shoulder. She was fuckin' crafty."
Wh-... s'this gonna be a trend? I think this is like, the second time I heard 'bout a maniac who also wields plant hangers.
"They-... wielded hangers too?" Genkan looked embarassed even uttering that phrase! "Nn- not that 'wielded' would be the right word to use-"
"S'more like she just had them." Reisen revealed. "She telekinetically sent vase shards to try and slit me. Couple high-caliber rounds to her legs and shoulders ended that encounter real quick. Not sure where she went after. No one even knew she was here. Assassin-type shit. Even Eirin didn't know the hell that was about."
Huh. Freakin' weird story...
...Genkan cutely looks into my eyes, and shifts herself- freakin'...! "Something's poking me." Gee, I wonder!
"This place is dangerous." Maria is now also intimidated!
...I still haven't ordered another OJ! How does anyone get anything done in this club!?
"This is actually…" Taking in the dim, but still rainbow-tinted lights, Genkan- adjusts herself in my lap further. "Comfortable. If only we had a couch…" Yeah, actually.
Anyway. I feel like this club's gotta have some cool things hidden around, 'cause like, it's a freakin' club. My only obstacle will be everyone and everything…!
I turn to Reisen! "Do ya know if this club has any-... secrets!?" The music in the background is getting louder…! That, and Genkan's shifting is uh, distracting.
Lookin' over at us, Reisen raises a brow. "Uua~h… you're askin' the wrong girl. Sorry." Wau.
Oh my god, the way Genkan is in my lap is just- I wanna freakin' snuggle he~r! Holy shit…!
Nevermind, I don't wanna move, I think. Just-... sit here, and be distracted.
Snorting, Genkan looks up at me again, after having given the club a once-over. "Mmm? You're-... more bothered, than I thought."
"Well-... yeah." This seat feels good. Freakin'...! That- and if I tried to actually get up, there is no wa~y that I'm actually strong enough to carry Genkan! Or, well, hmm. Maybe… I should try anyway!
I reach my arm around her back, and my right arm fits under her legs…!
"Oo- oh." She blinks at my movements! "Two can play at that game…" Whah. Oh- she hugs onto me with her other arm, for some reason…!
And- lift! Ohp- holy shit…! Oof.
She snorts! "Did- you just try to pick me up…?" Well- maybe!
Reisen leans towards us. "You know- this club does have rooms for, you know…" Uu- um…
"I- I don't think we'll be needing one of those, just yet." Genkan's face turns a deeper shade of blue! "I mean-... we're not rabbits. Conception here would be… a disgrace, by the mere concept."
Reisen snorts. "Well- you don't gotta conceive. You ever hear of condoms?" Wait, what.
...Genkan blinks.
Maria sits next to us. "At least one of you better know what condoms are."
"They exist on the outside!" I remark!
"Well- I've-... heard the word." Genkan uh, huh. "I know humans have used the design before. I was never familiarized with the concept."
Lookin' just taken aback, Reisen's brows are both raised…! "...I mean, uh… I can spare you guys one, if you really need it. I mean- holy shit…" She shakes her head, and grins at the bartender! "Look, um, since Brad knows, maybe he can, uh… tell you about them."
...Genkan's face is entirely a deeper shade of blue! "Yo- you know, I think-... we'll um, wait…"
"Why, though?" Reisen- who are you!? "I mean-... actually, how long've you been together?"
We look at each other a moment! "...One, two weeks?" Genkan guesses!
...Reisen shrugs. "Well, I can see waiting awhile, then." Hoh. "How many dates do you guys go on?" Uuh…
...Genkan isn't sure how to answer either! "Well, we've kind of-... spent most of these few weeks just, doing everything together."
Reisen snorted! "And- you guys aren't sick of eachother yet? Don't you get tired of each other?"
...Genkan shrugged innocently. "Not really. His company is entertaining, and enlightening." It looked hard for her to pronounce the big unwieldy words, while seated awkwardly like this...
"She's fun." I regard her! "Y'know- I never really had a-... relationship like this, but I really prefer this to like, all my outsider friends! They- all sucked!" Well, except for my online friends, but y'know, y'wouldn't see me and Matt cuddlin' at a bar counter…!
Man, her hair is long, actually.
"...Huh." Reisen wasn't sure what to make of that! "Well-... be careful, yeah? We sell really good birth control here, too!" Good. "Actually…"
She reaches into her coat…!? "Sometimes, I've gotta make sure certain companies have these on hand, even if we disable conception during intervals anyway. Policy's mostly only for special agents, now… and me. Still." She tosses us a bottle! "Happy holidays."
Happy holidays, huh.
Anyway, I'm melting from this situation…! The only thing that'd make it harder is if Genkan was actively molesting me!
"Oni Destroye~r!" The bartender calls out!
Kaguya comes up to the counter! "Good. I was starting to ask myself why I was in my undies again." An' then, she tilts her head back… "Mm- mgh- rmgh…"
thud. Wow. She fuckin'-... went down instantly!
Cla- clack. Ooh. The bartender gave her a metal pitcher, instead of a glass. Smart!
Suddenly, a pink-haired bunny girl comes up ta Maria, and starts playing with her hair.
"Um…" Maria slightly rotates herself! "Can I-... help you…?"
Getting onto her knees, the bunny talks close ta her face. "You're so cu~te. I could just, eat you up."
"Please don't." Maria grips her staff tightly, while her hair gets played with…!
Reisen leans towards us… "If anyone gives ya trouble, remember that no one's got their shields on down here. 'Cept for the DJ… and me." Hoh. Ongaku gets a shield?
"Hey, honey." ...Who? Oh. Some blonde rabbit is sauntering up to uh, Seikatsu. "I like your hair."
Seikatsu doesn't reply, 'cause she's a robot.
Reisen saves her the trouble! "She's a robot, Hanabe."
"I like the quiet types." She didn't get the memo…!
"No- I mean…" Reisen gestured to her own body. "Robot."
…'Hanabe' knocked on Seikatsu's head. Seikatsu did not budge an inch! "Aw, shit. First time that's ever happened…"
"Seikatsu. Quiet mode." Reisen issues her a command? When'd she figure it out…!?
flick. Seikatsu vanished, dude.
...At my stare, she smiles. "I was there while she was developing it. Picked up a thing or two, yeah? I also ran testing…" Hoh.
"But, anyway…" Reisen looked towards the midst of the room! "Anyone up for that uh, danmaku challenge? Or…" She then looked over me an' Genkan… "Are we uh, a little too comfortable, for that?"
...I look down at Genkan!
"We really ought to, if we want to get out of here at some point…" She figures. "Or else we'll spend all evening like this, I'm sure." I wouldn't mind, either!
Maria's still getting her fwoofy hair played with, looking only mildly displaced about it. She doesn't dislike it, though!
"Let's give it the good try." I suppose!
"We're probably gonna win just 'cause I'm participating, so… do your best." Reisen talks down to us…! "Hey, Princess, get up, we're gonna go-... win."
"Hhaa~..." Kaguya lets out an undead moan from the floor…! "Yeheha~h! Aye~'m… drunk!" Congratulations…!
==== FREAKIN GENSOKYO ====
We're all up on stage, now…! By which I mean, the big middle platform!
"Hey!" Reisen calls up to Ongaku! "Can we take weapons, even if we can't shoot them?"
Vrrr~. The platform lowers down, towards us…! "Aah? Oh, you can even shoot 'em, if you think it'll help you! But…"
FWI- SHING- FWASH! "Nothin's piercin' this overshield! But uh, if you actually do break the shield, consider the challenge bust! But you'd really hafta try, so uh, don't do that…"
"Cool." Reisen nods, yo… "Hmm~. Since it's danmaku, I'll bring something for speed." ...She looks at us! "That's your cues to equip speed items, if you even have any." Ho ho~!
Genkan looks casual… "I can accelerate."
"Alright!" Ongaku thrusts an arm out! "Survive-... hmm. Should I do until the song ends, or a timeframe?"
The bunnies all around us call out to vote! "So~ng!"
"...Time!" That last call was kinda belated and lame…!
"...I think we're doin' it to a song!" Ongaku nods! "Well. Get ready, then…!"
VRRR- VEERR- VRRR. The giant fuckoff cylinder slowly disengages from its current position, and the rods I saw earlier pull it back towards the rightmost wall. Ho~h…!
"Portarmory." Reisen speaks out loud! "I'll take MEGAS-XLR8."
fli- flick! Ooh!? A tiny, metal tank of some kind materialized above Reisen!
cla- clack! Something tubby drops from it. Reisen catches two partially rusted guns…!
By swingin' 'em around, she affixed these two blue, grungy shoulder pads onto her suit with one motion. They're some kinda metal, joined by some black accordion-style tube around the back. Both pads have another accordion tube that stretches to a not-too-small steel cannon, and each one has an ATARI control stick mounted to the bottom of their barrel!
...The cannons also got flame patterns on them, dude!
Grabbing onto the ATARI sticks, Reisen aims it ahead…! "Ahahaha~!" She's really freakin' hype about it, too! "...I can't believe these turned on!" You- can tell?
...Also, the tank that dropped them off is gone now. Freakin'... 'portarmory'.
Fwoo~sh. Dim flames flare up under the extended backs of the blue shoulderpads… and then, Reisen drifts into the air of her own volition. They seem redundant, but maybe they help with speed!
CLI- CLICK. Ongaku's big DJ cylinder stops against the right wall, her neon-pink illuminator visor glowing from the otherwise desolateness of that edge of the room!
VRRR- VRRR. From square gaps in the floor to either side of the cylinder, giant stereos raise! They've got seams all over them, with rainbow energy flowing within them. Uuh…!
Ongaku spreads 'er arms out! "Beho~ld the Technoliths!" What the hell're those!
fzzt. From a light above, something's projected on-stage!
...It's a monochromatic, pink hologram of Reisen, it looks like! Or, some rabbit with a big bazooka-like gun on her shoulder.
...I turn to Genkan! "We may uh, wanna spam that ice blade and just hide!"
"...I hadn't thought of that, actually." Genkan looks at me! "I thought we'd try actually dodging, first." Hmm.
"Maybe we should." I concede!
"Are we ready~ to dance!?" Ongaku roars to everyone!
"Wooohoo~!"
"Hell yeah!"
"Strip sa~rge!"
"Who's that guy…?"
Platforms high up and all around the room are now lit up, scantily-clad bunny girls bouncing freakin' everything as they dance in the most revealing ways possible. Is this a rave parlor or a strip club!?
"Let's go!" Ongaku yells, a star popping in the air next to her!
The good rave music starts! It's-... at first, a little underwhelming!
Nothing's doing anything yet, so Reisen's just hovering in the air before us. "Lunaria Tank, watch my back." Wh- we're in a dance club. Wh- how…? What's that mean, then!? Are we the Lunaria Tank!?
"Nnh-..." Kaguya shambles in front of us like a zombie…! A scantily-clad, princess zombie!
The lyrics roll outta the speakers rapidly! "Breaking all the right rules- meter programming tools! 'I like you… or not', do you take me for a fool? Want bolts? Or nuts? They're all so bad!"
BOOM- BOOM- BOOM! Oh my god those speakers holy shit-
"Ready, locking on you- target practice in view!"
"Wua~!" Maria skids away, because the wind is woa~h!
Ti~ng! She almost gets pushed off our platform, but apparently there's a barrier keeping us all onstage now!
Cla- cla- clack! I run forward like a maniac, and am actually faster than the push force of the wind! Wahaha~!
"Shot an arrow through my heart, guess you caught me off guard! With my looks and my charms, I'll finish what you start!"
whish. Oh- shit- cyber Reisen leaps straight at us, lugging her ambiguous hologram cannon over her shoulder with both arms-
FWA- FWAM! A star-shaped conglomeration of pink arrows explodes from where she crushes the cannon to the ground, near my side…! They're all moving along the floor- but holy shit!
"Wu- aa~h!" I jump, and the wind takes me away-
Genkan catches me! "Gotcha…!"
"Only you can make me sick- so lemme give you this verse kick! Hey- look over here, and give us a kiss!" These lyrics are fast!
fzzt- fzzt- fzzt! A series of dancing bunny girl holograms form on the stage below, turning it into a mess of bright pink, azure and light…
"Aaaa~!" Ohp- ah, Maria…! Hoh, shit! She's still among them on the ground!
woosh. Kaguya sails past us in the air…! Freakin'- she is a half-naked torpedo! Holy crap!
"With those lying lips… come and tell me this," Ongaku's singing herself, woah. "How much more will you try and fool me like this, baby?"
Pap- pap- pap- pap! Reisen's steel cannons fire at the rainbow-infused stereos ahead of us, infernos blooming from each bullet she lands on them. "Nngh- those big stereos aren't dyin' anytime soon…!" No shit! "Lunaria Tank! Cover us!"
fli- flick. Ooh- ooh, no. What the fuck is that thing…
A full-sized, floating tank flickers into existence over the crowd beside the middle-right biased platform.
It pivots in the direction of the stereos, glowing and ominous…!
PATATATATATATAT! Those machineguns are loud! The DJ booth's shield flickers to life, a barrage of machinegun fire meeting the stereos!
But, it wasn't enough to stop them, fucking somehow! "You're the only one, that I'll ever need! Hey, can I have you everyday? Don't go awaaaAAAAAA-" Wh- ow!
White lines are traced out from the stereos as Ongaku unleashes the world's longest A sound.
"Lasers!" Ohp- bye, Reisen! Woah- ah!
Genkan tugs us out of the way of some really hard to see, thin white lasers-
VRRRRT! Now that's some danmaku- holy shit!
"-AAAAAA-" I don't imagine this lyric is any easier for the bunnies in the crowd…!
Oh, shit. A big soundwave-like danmaku pattern rushes out from Ongaku, and- ooh…!
Fwish! Genkan cheats, and makes an ice shield before us, as she holds onto me. "Go- gods…!"
WOOSH. The wave pushes past us-
KABOOM! Ooo- holo-Reisen leapt up and smashed her gun into our shield…!
"Stop!" Ooo- Maria's still alive! Somewhere…?
KA- KA- KLINK! Prisms of time energy erupt around us- wait, she targeted us-
Genkan freezes once the symbols of time are gone. Oh- hey, this kept us from getting launched into oblivion! Holo-Reisen falls back to the sea of holograms below…
"-AAAAaay!" She held that note for like ten years. "Dance!"
Oh- shit- dance break! Oh, man, seizure spotlights. This isn't even fair…!
...Oh, the wind stopped, and the holograms below froze. Wait- does the audience dance break-... mean we get a break!? That's, not bad, actually-
"Love is a battle, won in rounds!" Oh god- everything starts again- Genkan didn't even unpause during that intermission! "If you lie and show off, be prepared to fall down!"
KABOOM! A shell's fired from the cannon of Reisen's tank, nailing one of the speakers!
Genkan's free! "Uwoah!" Ow! The velocity from her becoming alive again hurt a little…! "Wh- what-"
Where the hell did Kaguya go. Did her planet need her. She just- flew up, and now she's-... I can't find her!
Genkan nears the floor- ba~d idea! The bunnies jump up and try to clip us with their arms- and we take damage just gettin' our shoes slapped!
"Agh!" Genkan jolts with danmaku energy…! "Let's- not..."
This wind, this freakin'... these colors!
"Destroyers!" Reisen's dual cannons fluff out, for some reason! "Ahahaha~!"
pat- boom- bam- boom- bam- blablam- boom- bam! From her cannons, a stream of miniature rockets pour out, rolling into this one leftmost stereo she's been focusing on…!
KABOOM! A final tank shell hits it-
KRAK- FWAFWAFWAM! It- exploded into danmaku. Oh, no~!
Genkan's jaw drops! "You- idiots! No!"
FWA- FWAM! Oo- ooh… we get clipped by like, danmaku dance floor tiles, which splashed out from it! Nhoo~gh…
Ti~ng! We bounce offa' the back of the-... the stage thing, 'cause ouch… well- 'cause Genkan's weak, after we got collectively bitch slapped by dance floor tiles!
"Want me more than anything tonight…" I start paying attention to the lyrics again… "More more, better hold on tight! Love me love me, love me do! Give me give me give me hug!" Aw!
FWA~M! Did- the Reisen in the crowd of holograms try shooting a laser at us? She missed…
"Think of me more than anyone tonight! Wanna wanna- keep you up all night!" This song, though…!
"Love me, baby baby! Give me very very, fast love like this, beating! Go at it, 'till I stop breathing!"
KABOOM! FWA- FWAM! PATATATAT! The sounds of violence roar in the background, while Genkan pushes further ahead! "I- we have to take the ground- the air isn't safe-"
woosh. We almost got attacked by a really slow moving disco ball bullet! "The air isn't safe!" Genkan insists!
WOOSH. Reisen's giant death tank floats overhead, and we both just kinda gawk at it…!
Genkan sticks to the left, where the wind is weakest, 'cause of that one stereo that Reisen exploded!
"Beastie- gimmick gimmick! Knock out- gimmie gimmie! Take that unbreathing thing, and force it in me!" Holy fuck!
We push over the sea of holograms, and end up near the broken stereo…!
PATATATATATAT! Wh- oh shit! Oo- oh, the-... the tank cannons ignore us. Fer some reason. I guess they woulda hit us earlier if they could. Smart targeting, freakin'...
KRING! Genkan starts erecting ice blades! And- then she lets me go!
KRING! KRING! As the hologram horde rushes for us, Genkan boxes us in! "We're hiding." Yeah, no shit…!
Pullin' out the Bawmber, I aim it into the crowd. "Take this, ya filthy anima~ls!" Yehaha~h!
papapapapap! I unload my NERF darts into the hologram horde…!
PATATATATAT! On the other flank, Reisen's tank covers us inadvertantly, the bullets cutting through a bunch of the holograms!
"Stop!" Wh- is that Maria's danmakuified ghost castin' that, or some shit!?
KA- KA- KLINK! Wh-... why Genkan again!? She was like three blades away from a fully fortified position!
"Woohoo~! Love me, baby baby! Give me, very very- fast love, like this, beating! Go at me, 'til I stop breathing!"
vzzt! Oh- shit. A new hologram spawned right next to us.
A hologram of Shimokoa, katana and shield raised, turns to us…! I'm about ta piss myself over here…!
Fwish! It lights up as it raises its weapons over its head, glowing with that weird energy the actual Shimokoa did! Is this- the optional boss fight for this area!? What the hell're we supposed ta do!?
"Beastie gimmick gimmick! Knock out- gimmie gimmie! Shove something in my mouth so I can't breathe!" Who did this music, dude…
WHISH. Ohp, Shimokoa's using her teleport rush move on us- it's all over! What're ya supposed ta do here…! I mean- her first rush was aimed at Genkan, who's fortunately frozen in time, so-
fwa- fwa- fwam- fwam! The hologram horde comes up against our ice wall, thrusting their casually dressed bodies against it. Oh man, dude- it's over for us! Reisen-... Reisen!
Pap- pap- pap- pap! I fire my bombs into the horde, but it's not working-
SWISH. WHISH- WHISH! Genkan is gonna be freakin' cancelled when she gets unpaused. Shimokoa's lingering will is freakin' tearin' through her…! Considering all these holograms do danmaku, this isn't so bad- but it's still gonna hurt like shit!
A hologram bunny rounds our wall, and beams at me. Oh, god!
FWA- FWAM! She comes onto me, embracing me instantly in a- aagh!
vhish. I- I dispel her, by poking her with my hanger. Oo- ow…
"Aa- aa…" Genkan is free! "I- I've-... had it…"
thud. Her body crackles with danmaku energy next to me. "Br- Brad…" Uh oh.
Maria slinks into the barricade. Wow! How's she-
There's a big, floating heart hologram above her. "Nn- nnh…" Her face blushed, her mouth open, she shambles towards me. "He- hey, Brad-"
Bam! I shoot 'er in the face! "Get owned!" I will snap you from your daze, Maria!
...Wow, I blew her fwoofy hair back!
I look back at Genkan-
She grapples me, a similar hologram above her head. "I- I can't control my body…" Wh- what… yo- my arms! My arms!
Maria comes up to me after fixing her hair, and- I can't do freakin' anything…! She- leans towards me, and I close my eyes-
Fwi- click! ...I summoned my spaceman helmet dude! "Heyonk, heyonk, heyonk!" I have extraordinary virgin skills!
Smiling aggressively, Maria plucks the helmet off me anyway-
"Mmm." She gives me a gentle cheek kiss.
FWA- ZAP! Oooo~! Aaaaa-
"I want to be broken- just like this!"
==== FREAKIN GENSOKYO ====
"Looks like we won, guys." Reisen shoots us a peace sign. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"
...Kaguya smiles, smug. "Hehehe~. I sat in the upper right corner the whole time-... and it worked."
"Only because I was focusing them." Reisen gave 'er a vain look… "And, the others were tanking. Nice job, by the way."
Me, Genkan, and Maria all have our arms folded. No one appreciated this, dude.
"...That was fun." Maria admits, despite having gotten steamrolled instantly!
"...It was a pretty vivid exercise." Genkan also admits! "I suppose this is why everyone appreciates danmaku, so much."
Me, however…! "I got bad touched by horny holograms. And Maria." After I was briefly molestigated, we crawled on the floor after Reisen like freakin' noobs, and never caught her 'cause she flew.
We're all at some loungey couch near the front of the dance club, now. It's one of them big ones that surround two sides of a table, so people can throw parties at one or something.
...I look over at Maria. She makes herself fluffy.
"in sunbaked" On the table before us, there's a fluff loaf… and, a rather big one too! I guess one of the loli-sized fluffs loafed out.
fwoof. Comin' up to the table, Ongaku plops some stuff down! "Surprise! Here's prizes!"
cla- clack, thunk, clack. And then, she puts down some more stuff, which wouldn't fit with the shirts. "First, you all win a free shirt! But, you also get fun knick knacks…"
...We all got a pink T-shirt that says "SLUT" on the front, in big bold letters. Wow! This- doesn't even make sense for me to wear, but I'll take it anyway!
Genkan hands me hers! "You can have mine."
Maria also donates hers to me! "Mine, too…"
"I already have this." Kaguya sets hers down! Wahaha!
"But also!" Ongaku spreads out the non-clothing items! "Trinkets!"
Ooh. So, we got-... two winglet things that look like Seikatsu's hair accessories, a piece of the machinery of the DJ booth, and some floral, pink and azure fans!
"This's fer you, Gen-chan!" Ongaku passes the fans to Genkan!
Maria takes the hair accessories. "Um…"
I take the hunk of black metal! "Yehaha~h! Metal!" ...I can use this!
Ongaku gestured to Reisen and Kaguya. "You guys fine with free beer?"
"Yea~h." They nodded peacefully…
I pick up the big fluff loaf on the table, and give it to Maria. "Um…" Now-... to find out what I'm gonna do with this metal!
"I do know!" Ongaku speaks up! "That them hair pins protect against bomb damage!" They do? But how. And, why.
...Maria looks around, wearing the shoddily equipped hair clip accessory things, holding the big loaf close…! They're like little-... like the tail end of a helicopter, except the outward curve attaches to the hair, somewhere. I think they gotta go on around the ears, 'cause yeah. They're pretty much ear-sized!
"What are these called?" Genkan held up her good fans… "They're-... really odd, for some reason."
"Love of the Lindens." Ongaku's really good at changing her vocal properties, fer some reason…! "They're made for dancing!"
Smiling at them, Genkan nods. "Dancing… I see. They're the traditional festivity-oriented kind. Thank you, Ongaku."
I hold up the metal thing! "What's this called!?"
Ongaku grins! "It's- a hunk 'a metal! It's not called anything!" Oh shit! "...It's kinda magical, though, 'cause it fell off the DJ booth a day or two ago." Ho~h… wait- did she literally just gimme trash as a souvenir. I mean, if it's a good reagent, I don't mind!
...I mean, I probably would've picked trash anyway, but still! I mean what would I have taken- the fans?
"Well…" Genkan stands. "I think that was-... enough of this. Thank you for everything, Ongaku."
"No problem, baby!" Ongaku adjusts her glowy visor! "I'll be hangin' 'round here for a good while!"
...Wait. Holding up one of the SLUT shirts, I turn to Seikatsu! Or, uh… "Seikatsu, uh, un-silent mode!"
Fli- flick. She uncloaks! There she is, dude. "Hi. Will you wear this…!?" I hold it up!
"Acknowledged." Hoh- wait- wait-
She takes the neon pink shirt from me, and slips it on. Good.
...Genkan gives Seikatsu a foreboding look!
"Anyway…" Ignoring the disaster I've brought upon Seikatsu, Genkan focuses on Ongaku again! "Did you see Shimokoa, after our last… quarrel?"
"Only fer a short while." Ongaku's demeanor already gives off the impression that she doesn't got a lot to go on. "She was talkin' 'bout how she~... she was gonna go find answers, that's what she said. Whatever that means!"
...At that, Genkan nods. "Alright. Well, if you see Ichigo-yuki, somehow, say hi to her, for me."
"I should say that ta you!" Ongaku remarked! "I haven't seen 'er in like-... eight years, now!" Why do yuki-onna spend so much time apart…!?
I'll ask that! "Why do yuki-onna spend so much time apart, again…!?"
...Genkan stares at me gingerly. "I believe I said we weren't active…"
"I was listenin' to classical music on repeat for three years!" Ongaku remarks…! "And then I went fer a walk- I do kinda do that a lot when it snows, but not often- an' Shimokoa was there! An' someone gave her a haircut… and a stomach cut."
"Stomach-..." It took Genkan a moment to decipher her joke! "You mean- she was hurt?"
"Yea~h, a little. She got patched up, though." Ongaku nodded a bunch. "Probably wasn't fully together when she took you fools on. That- and she didn't have many fools 'a her own!"
...Huh. So you say. I feel like she was more together than you'd have thought!
"Well." Genkan smiles anyway! "Goodbye, Ongaku. Perhaps our paths will cross again soon."
"Take ca~re!" Ongaku gives us a good wave, dude.
While Reisen and Kaguya idle at the club table, I get up an' follow Genkan, an' Maria follows behind us. Seikatsu's walk while she follows us is like the most generic girl walk ever…! But, it's also so deliberate!
Clack, clack, clack. We march up the steps towards the exit, the blaring, technicolor lights of the club left behind us…
Crea~k. Genkan pushes ahead the heavy entrance door first, and we all mosey on outside...
...When we're outside, Maria lugs the entire tubby fluff she carried over her head, before chucking it at me!
thump. Oof! It was so soft!
==== FREAKIN GENSOKYO ====
END OF CHAPTER 96
=!= STATUS =!=
= = ► EQUIPPED ITEMS - BRAD:
WEAPON: Unarmed
HEAD: Toyosatomimi's Earmuffs
TORSO: Camouflage Kimono
PANTS: [Camouflage Kimono]
SHOES: [Camouflage Kimono]
MISC ONE: None
MISC TWO: None
MISC THREE: Carrot Medallion
RESULTING STATUS:
150% Ice resistant.
100% Silencing resistant.
Sound protection.
When unarmed, evade is vastly improved.
= = ► EQUIPPED ITEMS - GENKAN:
WEAPON: Fans
HEAD: None
TORSO: Absolute Zero Kimono
PANTS: [Absolute Zero Kimono]
SHOES: Plain Sandals
MISC ONE: None
MISC TWO: None
MISC THREE: None
RESULTING STATUS:
300% ice resistance [200% native]
300% freezing resistance [200% native]
-50% fire resistance [native]
-50% burning resistance [native]
= = ► EQUIPPED ITEMS - MARIA:
WEAPON: An Eternity Together
HEAD: Zephyr Bombshells
TORSO: Casual Freeze Clothes
PANTS: [Casual Freeze Clothes]
SHOES: Casual Shoes
MISC ONE: None
MISC TWO: None
MISC THREE: None
RESULTING STATUS:
50% ice resistance
200% freezing resistance
Slightly improved magical defense [native]
==o==
=!= NEW LOOT (BRAD'S INVENTORY) =!=
Neon Sparkler - Metal junk from a DJ booth called the MixMaster GIGA! Non-elemental… plant… hanger? Has a bunch of rod-like parts, and boxy metal bits, and stuff!
STATS:
Boosts the power of non-elemental skills.
25% Seduction resistance.
May cast Velvet Sparkles on impact.
SKILLS:
Velvet Sparkles - Weapon lights up, and gets sparks everywhere! When the weapon's fizzling, it might jolt foes, or stun them…
=o=
SLUT T-Shirt - Neon-pink T-Shirt, which says "SLUT" on it. No stat bonuses…!
=o=
I also lost a potion this chapter! Aaa~h!
=!= NEW LOOT (GENKAN'S INVENTORY) =!=
Love of the Lindens - Pink, azure fan set which emanates a windy aura. They're traditional dance fans, too, fit with patterns of a specific type of tree.
STATS:
25% Wind resistance
25% Earth resistance
SKILLS:
Freeze Pose - Allows the user to freeze amidst a dance-style skill, and seamlessly combo into another.
Sunrise - Flourishing motion, filled with repeated three-sixty spins which roar into an enemy, staggering them repeatedly. Wind elemental physical skill.
BreezeFazer - Heavy physical skill, where the user coasts the wind to skate into their target, clotheslining them with a limb. User must be able to fly to use this.
=!= NEW LOOT (MARIA'S INVENTORY) =!=
Zephyr Bombshells - Premium, bomb-elemental fashion accessories which attach above the ears, making the user look like they're some kinda android from really old nineties animes.
STATS:
25% Bomb resistance.
Randomly summons kamikaze fluffles.
Makes befriending bomb-elemental fairies easier.
=!= NEW PARTY MEMBER: SEIKATSU KIKAI =!=
Seikatsu Kikai, the Human Salvation Robot - She no longer T-poses! Now, she just-... uses stock animations! Yes, dude!
SKILLS:
Medibeam - A slow-healing beam, which takes a couple minutes to rejuvenate someone. Feels good to be targeted by…
Cloaking - Seikatsu becomes invisible.
Scan - Returns data on a foe, including name, biological info, stats and strategies. All of us can call on this skill.
INVENTORY:
Nothing.
WEAPON: Seikatsu Kikai Offense System V.3.63
BODY: Regenerative Skin Armor Augmentation with Limb Enhancement V.3.35.86
MISC ONE: SLUT T-Shirt.
MISC TWO: None.
MISC THREE: None.
STATUS:
Robot physiology (immunity to poisons, psychological effects and bodily damage)
Tough to fight (immunity to freezing, stunning, silence, syphon, and instant death)
Immune to stagger, blinding, tired, among others.
-80% radiation resistant
-50% thunder resistant
-80% bomb resistant
-50% water resistant
200% holy resistant
-50% dark resistant
80% earth resistant
-80% magnet resistant
-30% wind resistant
80% fire resistant
80% ice resistant
100% poison resistant
100% moon resistant
==o==
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
hi
this chapter was a little slow to write in some places but altogether was pretty fun - w - especially the ENCOUNTER near the end, which i THINK should come out pretty fun, but we'll see in post-proofing - w -
people will probably die reading eirin's talkathon but it's TRUE yo (according to FG anyway), and it does use a buncha stuff i picked up offa the touhou wiki; the gensokyo timeline's some interesting stuff!
when i was writin' it i at times felt like "this is one of those difficult to remember between chapters innit where there's some vaguely interesting worldbuilding but not much notable stuff" but then the rave rolled up and i was like "yo ho HO"
we gotta head back here at some point in the future, this place was fun - w -
also we've spent like the whole batch in and around eientei, which is justified because eientei's kinda fucking huge, to the point the halls are like a tunnel labyrinth, but FINALLY, WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET OUR FOOT OUT THE DOOR OF IT
also we did a bunch of not-exactly-eientei-related things later, like kicking shimokoa in the cunt, and playing in the snow…
we'll see yo we'll see
oh yeah, that reminds me
first song i had in mind during this chapter was "Big Bug Fun Club" from Jet Force Gemini.
the other was "Rock Solid" from Conker's Bad Fur Day.
an' finally, the song during the GOOD DANCE BATTLE was "LUVVVVORATORY" or "Luvoratory", and it's the english translated version for the most part - w -
as always, see you all next time!
