Not to be that guy, but shouldn't these kind of discussions threads go to /blue/? If you want to rant about any story, the Rage Thread should suffice.

>>13109

I'm not OP, but we could sorta use a thread dedicated just to discussing stories. /blue/ is for random shit that doesn't fit anywhere else, /gensokyo/ is for discussion about Touhou games, music, stories and/or site issues.

In other words, /blue/ is THP's own personal /b/, but with less faggotry.

>Want to have a protracted argument about why writer x is a faget who should die in a freak kitchen accident? Fire your shots here.

This sort of stuff should go to the rage thread though. This thread should be reserved for genuine discussion about stories rather than childish bitching.

>Just keep it germane to THP stories and we're all good

I don't see any particular reason for this though.

I don't follow too many stories, but FoSL is one of the better ones I've read recently. If only the update schedule wasn't so irregular. I think that complaint could be made about a lot of stories on THP, though.

Time to start my own story to prove what a hypocrite I am!

>>13113
>FoSL writer
>Irregular

hhhehehe

>>13115
Oh, right, I haven't read his MMX thing. Thanks for the reminder.

Okay, let's discuss a story. I'm not reading very many currently-running stories right now, so anyone have a good one in mind? What do you like about it? What do you dislike about it?

>>13115
>>13117
...Which story would that be?

>>13131
>Histories of Gluttony and Labor
>>>/underground/12675
HoGaL is a currently-updating story over in /underground/ which has a Dwarf (of the Dwarf Fortress variety) show up in the underground. It's pretty fun and I haven't seen it discussed that much outside its thread. It isn't very long so far, though, and it's raring up to go full PLOT. We'll see if I say the same thing in ten updates or so, which should probably be in a month or something given THP's update ratio.

The first updates are pretty sice-of-life, but due to PLOT it's going to have a bit less of that in the future. That may be good or bad, depending on your preference.

I've just cracked open Curses Foiled (Again) recently. The premise is kind of neat, even though I'm not a real fan of pessimistic interpretations of Gensokyo. But, hey, it's interesting enough that I'm going to overlook that and keep at it.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2921787/exogenesis-post-apocalyptic-tokyo-adventure-visual
>"By hook or by crook, your dead sister must be reborn"
A bit tangential, but what instantly came to mind was a certain necromancer (Animating Gensokyo).

Why is within stories, reviving your dead sister, while still questionable in it's own sense, infinitely more acceptable then raising your dead lover.

>>13137
The question is in essence about morality. I can give you my answer, but the likelihood that someone else has a different answer is high.
Though, I think it’s because of the relation to the “victim”. Your sister is someone you’ve (likely) been with for the majority of your life and is (likely) blood related to you. She’s family. Your lover on the other hand is someone “replaceable”. “Friends and lovers come and go your entire life, but you only get one family” or so the saying goes where I’m from.
I think it’s basically because you can get a new lover, and showing enough fondness to raise her from the dead is just considered pure madness. Shadow of the Colossus was a great game though. Irrelevant? Somewhat. Whereas you only “get” one irreplaceable sister, raising her from the dead, while still madness, is understandable madness.

Take Animating Gensokyo for example. The MC’s sister has been there for him his entire life, even after she died (literally). A lover wouldn’t be able to have accomplished that to the same degree.

Though, that brings a question to mind. If the lover happens to be a childhood friend whom you’ve considered a sister for your whole life, where would that put her on the scale of madness and understandable madness?

>>13138
What if his sister was his lover?

>>13139

>>13140

So? People have created pairings over less. And that's not getting into the Canon Character/ 'Originol Caractur, Donut Steel' pairings.

>>13141
If you look up, far above you in the sky, you may catch a glimpse of the joke as it passes overhead.

How come most stories around the fanbase make Aya and Momiji the best of friends, if not love interests of one another, despite their canon relationship being the opposite?

>>13163
When ZUN established that in Double Spoiler, fanon was already engrained too deep for him to change it. Same goes for Nitori being a racist moneygrubber prick in Hopeless Masquerade, and Kisume being a blood-thirsty decapitator in the side material.

>>13164
Funny, because before I began to make out their personalities, I looked around the canon to find out as much as possible (mostly because the fandom seemed to overwhelming at first (still is in many regards)).
Canon material already mentioned that Nitori "deep down thought that she was superior to other species."
And looking at Kisume's design and origin, without the colored waifu glasses, it was pretty obvious. I mean, the youkai she's based of killed humans, took their head and put it in a bucket, which they then used to scare other humans as they prey on them.

Then again, when I was introduced to touhou, all these materials already existed, which wasn't the case for the fans who initiated this.

>>13164
this exactly. ZUN's seemingly fond of doing such shifts as if to spite the fandom.

That and Kisume being a head-chopper was more a loose (possibly joking) remark from ZUN that the fandom in their brainlessness took it was absolute fact.

>>13163
I haven't read too many stories that feature both of them, but I can't say I've ever seen anyone make Aya and Momiji like BFFs or anything. Most of the time, it seems like they both sort of just put up with each other.

My view of things could be very skewed, however.

What do you guys think of the "No Such Thing" series being done by Luminous?

>>13170
Not a fan of dark stuff.

>>13170
I'm a big fan

>>13170
Never bothered to read it. Couldn't get in to it.

Hey regarding knight stories, are there any other knight stories than the two here? I only know of the knight story with the Hospitaller finding himself in Gensokyo and the one with the Knight Templar escaping imprisonment and death in France. Is there anything else?

>>13188

Only one I can think of is "A Black Knight Enters Gensokyo", but that's a fantasy knight, not a historical one. Also, you'd get more luck asking that kind of question in the recommendation thread.

First-time poster here, I come from /tg/. I've just read "A Wizard Is You" quest, which Demetrious apparently abandoned, and now I thirst for more like that. So, which quests/stories are the best on here?
Also, is there something with Suika as a main character?

>>13215
Sadly, I still haven't found a single story that has the same premise/feeling as AWIY.

>>13239
>>13215
Closest is Tainted Bonds, but balista is being shipped off to basic in like a week.
As for Deme, AWiY will return when SWQ does.

It feels like a new copycat pops up on /th/ every month. But I don't read too far into any given /th/ story, so I can't say that with any extreme certainty.

>>13239
You're not likely to, very few writers have Deme's talent for things, and they certainly don't write on /th/.

>>13244
/th/ is mainly the newbie board with shoddy copies of old stories and other short lived things.

If only we could talk them into setting up shop in the other boards and maybe try to avoid all the classic THP writing blunders.

>>13256
Well, there are the occasional amusing things there, but I do agree that the other boards could use more new blood. Especially, /shrine/.

Speaking of which, I'm loving If You Spook The Buddha more than anything else there at the moment. Something about Kogasa as a main character makes for a good story. If only the author would update his /at/ story faster.

>>13259
I think you mean we need new blood on /eientei/ and /border/. They have one story each at this point. It's depressing.

>>13259

If You Spook the Buddha is pretty fun, I gotta say.

>>13260
Shameless advertising.
I've been preparing a story for /Border/ for a while now, and only just recently finished the prep work. Once I'm done experimenting with the opening post I'll start it.

>>13243
>AWiY will return when SWQ does
>he doesn't know that /tg/ already kicked Deme out

>>13243

I'm doing a last drive of updates before I have to ship out. I doubt I'll make it to THE "breakpoint" I wanted to initially, but I can at the very least make good time.

>>13264
K-kicked? What happened? (I'm really new here)

>>13267
Well, he wasn't exactly "kicked" per say, but he got attacked pretty bad when he reappeared in their Quest General thread.

Complains were mostly about Deme being accused of being a trolling writefag and raping female-centric settings with his "alpha male" MC.

So it's just like AWiY again, only with no "humans vs youkai" shit attached to it.

>>13268
>raping female-centric settings with his "alpha male" MC.

I didn't know /tg/ turned into a Social Justice Warrior meeting place too.

>>13269
It's a combination of that and a vocal population of zealous yurifags. The quest fanbase is a bunch of lunatics.

Every time someone even mentions having a male MC in a female centric setting in their quest general, the kraken is released.

>>13264

Are you high?

>>13283
I think they high mate because that's not what happened at all.

>>13271
more the yurifags I say, and male in female heavy(thus 'sacred yuri') results in some of the most epic butthurt imaginable. I recall one writefag for MGNQ getting ripped into because his bit had a guy dating Mami.

SWQ may not be fine art, but it's far better than what crap we get in the animation (Yuri fodder and magical girl tropes running wild)

>>13283

Can I just say I'm appreciative of AWiY not having all the girls fawning over the Wiz.

>>13292
there's no issue with that, sometimes i wonder how he attracted Keine.

>>13294

Because she sees through his Super Wizard bluster for the bullshit it is. She can read him like an open book because she's smart.

Smarter than he is, even. Not that he'd ever admit it, but they both know it.

Call me slowpoke, but I've been here for about three years and only recently finished The Game.

Can't say I saw that exact ending coming. The resolution? Maybe. The denouement? Nope.

>>13541
You mean all the action and fighting?
I can't stand the resolution of The Game. That one part, specifically. No matter how much it had to happen, it's a stain on an otherwise fantastic story.

>>13554
Whoops, walked off for days without meaning to.

I'd count the action as the resolution, so, yeah, I saw it coming. I was referring more to Orange reviving Sanae afterwards and the general implications that the whole story was the result of a bet. Granted, I'll say that there was writing on the wall in places, but it wasn't enough to puzzle all that out.

Also, as much as I resented the fact that Sanae death was the only way out, it was necessary. If things had been resolved without it, I think I'd have been even more angry. Especially in light of the bad end. Taking away that would have negated a fair amount of the denouement's impact.

I found (some of) anon's bloodlust leading up to the whole affair to be equal parts funny and pathetic, though.

Am I the only one that thinks Gensokyo as a buildup of historical and technological sediment? I find it easy to imagine human culture is probably stuck in the Meiji era while, at the same time, they have like post-WWII-era style buildings with rusted metal signs and glass windows.

>>13599
Haven't heard anything about anything WW2-related in Gensokyo, though according to Oriental Sacred Place there is a radio tower in the Forest of Magic converted into a fairy shrine, most likely gapped in similarly to the SDM and the Primsriver Mansion. So it's entirely possible some war relics could find their way into Gensokyo too, and who knows, maybe sunken tsukumogami shipgirls too?

>>13601
I never said anything about war relics -- though that's arguably possible. I'm just saying that I can envision the human village looking sort of like the outside did during the Allied occupation, minus the devastation.

Some people (even Japanese fans) seem to have this idea of human society in Gensokyo never progressing past a caricatured version of the early Meiji era, but I personally think that, despite their inclination towards the supernatural, Gensokyans are more likely to have absorbed outside influences much like the outside did, never fully adopting but instead adapting.

>>13602
Oh, I misunderstood you then. I think Gensokyo would head along a different path than the rest of the world, due to being isolated and all that. Of course, some of the Outsider tech found occasionally would influence their culture, but since they didn't experience the same successes of the world (case in point, both World Wars), Gensokyo society and cultre will most likely develop in a radically different way... or just remain stuck in the same old ways.

>>13601
LSL had a few of those, and a tank girl too.

>>13602
I think most would be slow to accept outsider tech as it'd undo Gensokyo's stability. It was Science that did a nasty number on youkai. Also in PoDD, I believe Rikako is called a Heretic by Reimu for her belief in science.

That being said, there'd be pockets which embrace such tech completely. That and Gensokyo's culture wouldn't remain purely Meiji era as while most villages wouldn't the technological marvels, there would be traces of other cultures around.

>>13602
You know what would early Meiji-era social ideas and beliefs be like? For example would one see attitudes like discrimination against burakumin more overtly in Gensokyo's human society?

>>13613
Given its history as a place full of outcasts, I doubt distinctions of former feudal standing (or lack thereof) would hold as much weight as whether or not one is human.

As for period-specific beliefs and attitudes, the Meiji era was one of "progress above all else". The whole industrialisation thing obviously wouldn't transfer over to Gensokyo, but the whole sense of new and exciting things waiting around the corner would. That said, it would differ in that, while the outside gleefully cast away the past, Gensokyo would hold on to it while incorporating new things as they make sense of them.

so what happened to glasnost in the end? I think his underground story was one of the best ones around.

>>13725
He's still around on IRC, like a lot of the old guys.

>>13726
They should stop sucking each other's dicks and actually write something for once.

>>13727
A number of them have no plans to write again, but that's more of a topic for the rage thread.

It's pretty pointless to pin ones hopes on talented but ultimately unreliable writers. It's how THP ended up in its current place.

>>13731
In all fairness, it's a ton of work.


Changing topics, I like how Moral's best doge overcame crow slut in both meta THP and real THP

So what do people around here think of Forest Mix on well /forest/? The MC can be a little hard to understand at first, but she's pretty endearing and I like that Rinnosuke features prominently (in a positive way). The second is VERY rare.

>>13733
I've yet to read it, but Rinnosuke being a prominent part convinces me I should.

>>13734

As someone else who's read Forest Mix, I can soundly second its recommendation. Christie is one of the weirder characters we've had for a protagonist but I get a kick out of her oddball way of thinking, and Rinnosuke is a pretty chill dude himself. The story's mostly about them, with the occasional arrival of a different touhou to mix things up.

I admit I bounced off it a few times in a row when I first tried reading it, though,but then I just jumped to the second thread and right into the Christie/Rinnosuke interplay, and it was really good. So if you have difficulty getting into it, I recommend skipping to the next thread in line, finishing that one, then jumping back to the first.

This was only the case for me, of course, so take my opinion with a cup of salt.

>>13735

I love the story, though the writer has an increasingly annoying tendency to post half a update then wait several days before posting the second half where you can actually vote.

>>13736
That's because when you get to an update with no choice it's the equivalent of when you're watching a TV show and the screen fades to black and it goes EXECUTIVE PRODUCER DICK WOLF and then the credits roll, end of episode. It wouldn't make as much sense to put voting choices at that point.

(And so of course the update after that is like the beginning of the next episode, and that one does get a choice.)

>some dead 5 year old Castlevania crossover on /sdm/ has been continued recently
Opinions? Any good?

>>13776
It used to be excellent, but a bad update in a critical juncture broke the sensitive writefag. Now it's THP good (which means excellent for any other ff site) and has a superb update speed (which means very good for any other site)

If you found any of that confusing, then good job, me.

>>13779

So I should assume that 'THP Good' means 'It's Terrible' considering the shit that's considered 'Excellent' on other ff sites.

>>13781
It means it's good and you should go read it

>>13781
It means it's good and you should go read it

>>13781
THP Good means it's good. I'm not sure how to make it more evident.

And yeah, FF on other sites is always garbage and you're a grown up that only reads elite fanfiction about flying magical girls, we know the drill.

>>13779
I thought that was just Gensokyo High? I don't really know my THP history too well, unfortunately.

>>13787
GH had not faulty updates (there was one controversial one, where anon was so mad at choosing the obviously stupid choice, that it had to roll back but that was it) In fact, it stopped on a very HYPE moment so a ton of people were sad to see it go.

>>13788
I thought GH only became popular at the time since it was one of few stories still actively updating after the site move, not because it was particularly great or anything. Or so I've heard.

>>13789
It was good.

A typical romance story but with some slow and interesting plot development and a good portrayal of the girls. (and the MC was almost sue-ish, but not really, which was a nice balance)

However, it is true that the moment helped a ton (and it made a lot of writefags to move their asses, like Being Meiling did a few years back) So it's like half and half.

>>13789
Before the move it was a bit under the radar, but with the move killing or hiatusing every other story, it got a lot of attention (too much perhaps)

>>13791
Honestly the worst part of Gensokyo High was the utterly toxic Waifu War that Anon had going on between Flandre and Rumia. A thread was lucky to have more than two story posts at that point.

>>13792
That came after the big move though. But I think we should change the topic.

>>13792
I wonder if Taisa would continue it after he finishes his /sdm/ story.
Or if anyone would still want him to.

>>13794
Let sleeping bears lie.

So, when is Reisen going to get a route that doesn't involve shitposting?

>>14237
When people want it enough to write it themselves.

Well played, Moral. You out-meta'd our meta game.

So now we have a story about a futuristic junkie in Gensokyo. And loud-mouthed fairies.

I'm kind of liking this already.

>>14246
A loudmouthed, radioactive fairy. I should have guessed she would be from the underground but somehow didn't. And I have to say that the portrayal of Cirno is actually palatable compared to a lot of stories. There's only one other story to wit that has fairies as salt-of-the-earth types, and it tickles me to see it again.

That new story on /sdm/ tickles my fancy. I hope it stays Patchy-focused.

Although, Meiling route would be nice.

>>13784
Pff. PFF. Don't... don't make Nefer laugh. There are still some very good stories out there.

Let's see... there's Fonzi the Survivalist's big work, that's a good one over on FF.net...

Vaati Star's crossover works are about on the same level, although the grammar is about Dr. Hartmann's level than anything else (not to mention he just can't type damn as damn...)

Over on MOTK, the two I'd recommend are Miniking and Stuffman...

Yeah. I am Nefer Nightbug, The Black-White Roiling Darkness, Ph.D in Referralology, Outside World Human Shinto God of Insects and premium Unpopular Opinion Puffin.

And I think you should try RECRUITMENT. >>14259
I think there was this one FF.net story that had Cirno with a Texan accent and none of the stupidity...

>>14274

>Pff. PFF. Don't... don't make Nefer laugh.

Don't do that.

Also Hartmann got banned a while back just so you know

>>14274
Put down your spork, Katy.

So yeah, I forgot the name of that short-then-not story with the guy that wanted to kill himself, then didn't, then the reason of his attempted suicide showed up in his mind and tried to off him but then she didn't and Rumia was a pal, like Forest mix and then he shagged Awoo (like in, hopefully, an excuse for a woo) and then he tag with Flandre, like SDM LA and then he got praised because Rumia was doing good but then got wrecked because Rumia was doing good and then HIATUS

So yeah, could you help a dude out?

>>14470
(Un)Gratefully Doing It Yourself, and then God Damn It, Yukari!

>>14470
>>14471

>(Un)Gratefully Doing It Yourself, and then God Damn It, Yukari!

Both of those threads are listed in the story list under the name God Damn It, Yukari!

>>14472
Uh, I woulda thought that name was already taken.
'nyways, thanks a million

Sooo. How many anons would still like me to finish up Restorer in Gensokyo? Despite me only kind of vaguely remembering where I was going with it.

I have a... unexpected excess of freetime due to some changes in life. So I may as well take advantage of them. Since, worst case scenario, in the potential future, I might be unable to ever complete the story, so...

>>14506
Go ahead, I still have that story in my mind.

>>14506
Do it. That story deserves a proper ending

>>14506

You aren't dying, are you?

>>14508
Given RiG is highly slice-of-life-ish, not sure how much of a 'proper' ending it might have. But I do agree it needs a more satisfying... road to a ending, then just hanging before we even get a waifu. (Or waifuS?!)

>>14509
Nah. Not that dire. Just at, worst case, I might end up not having a place to live and that'd kind of prevent the ability to write more. I guess in theory, if I had some wifi to leech for my phone, and a place to charge but... I somehow think writing updates on a phone would be a terrible, terrible idea.

>>14510

You could turn on auto correct and we could laugh! It'd be full of unintentional comedy!

>>14506
Throw in another /at/ side story while you're at it.

>>14506
Get Anon that waifu! Add a story to your completion belt, like Gary Oak's badge list! Become the writing master!

Anons, don't you want to see another story reach its conclusion?!

am i doing this right?

>>14506
You should finish it, you nerd.

>>14506
Yes. Also will Yuuka and Aya work on a time share agreement for Robin and Reina?

>>14510
At least a point where one could wrap things up yet perhaps resume them. It'll be interesting to see what happens and how many remember the story.

But a story reviving and finishing somehow would be great for the site.

Some advice for SoL: think of things like episodes (something going on to help frame up things and direct the goings on)

I have no god damn clue what to do for RiG3 still.
Send help anons.
Its hard trying to figure out what to do with a story you started, like, 4 or 5 years ago.

>>14601
>>/blue/22931

>>14601

What were the first two about?

I have an idea for a quest, but it is slightly autistic, in an ironic way. I'm not accustomed with that image board. What is /th/ average answer to ironically autistic but hopefully decent quests?

>>14614
>ironically autistic
Sounds about par for the course for /th/. And it's still autistic, even if you're being ironic.

Jokes aside, this isn't the "old era" of THP. People aren't going to bumrush your thread because they think you're "unworthy" if it's shit. They're just going to move on after a couple of shitposts. So don't sit around waiting to get permission from any of us; post away.

Just try not to die after two posts. That sinks peoples' involvement in everything thereafter and only worsens the lethargy that perpetually grips this site.

P.S. They're CYOAs here, not quests.

>>14614

/thp/ is surprisingly receptive to ironically autistic, but decent quests. I'd say the odds are in your favor.

Speaking of the "old era" of THP... are VN-style stories considered passé or not? Re-reading SDMLA and HLA gave me an overwhelming urge to start something retarded in /underground/.

Assuming of course I can work up the guts to write a story full of lewds.

>>14621
Anything goes. As long as the writing quality is halfway decent, you can go. I'm seeing excellent stories with two votes and terrible stories with 8.

Just try it and remember: perseverance and discipline are the keys to success.

>>14622
And now I have to re read those stories. I don't mind, it has been a long time.

>>14622

Part of that can stem from the importance of the vote, as well as how many flavors one gives. Binary votes are simple after all.

Also, Write-ins are hard for some reason.

>>14621
Wow. I just started reading both those for the first time. THP synchronicity or some shit.

>>14622
This might be better-suited for the recommendation thread, but give me some excellent stories that aren't getting votes. I'm trying to follow some more stories instead of updating mine and then pretending the site doesn't exist for a week.

>>14627

No Such Thing as Magic is probably one of the most consistent stories to not get voters despite its quality. It's also my favorite story, making this a travesty to me.

>>14628

>consistant

The last update was in december. Nobody wants to invest their time and emotions in a story with that kind of schedule.

well...2 or three people might want to do that, I suppose.

>>14622

This is a very interesting post. Your thoughts on what constitutes a good/bad story seems very much at odds with the vast majority of other /thp/ goes. Would you care to further elaborate on the topic?

>>14629

Nobody wants to invest their time and energy into a story when they get a turnout like that, you realize. The votes got worse far before the story slowed down. When you get a turnout of one or two people, that's far from good motivation.

>>14630

Well, my best guess is that the story's niche audience is too narrow to hold a consistent reader base. (you) might think the story is the best thing since sliced bread, but I doubt many other people would agree. Telling a touhou story from the perspective of a PC98 character is going to turn off a lot of new, potential readers who happen to see the story at a glance, and haven't been following since the beginning.

>>14629
Agreed.

>>14630
And also agreed. The classic THP conundrum.

>>14631
Are PC98 characters that much of a turnoff? If some newfag doesn't know anything about them, then what would the difference be between a PC98 character and an OC as a narrator? They would both be unknowns. And stories with OC narrators, whether self-inserts or established characters of their own, seem pretty popular to me at least (SPACE MARINE, Awoo, Forest Mix).

Though I do agree that getting into a story when it already has quite a few threads can be a little daunting if you're just looking to do some drive-by voting.

>>14632

>Are PC98 characters that much of a turnoff?

Well, unless you have a different hypothesis, or avenue of discussion to explain the dearth of votes, I'd say yes: PC98 characters are that much of a turn-off. I also submit the aforementioned hypothesis holds doubly true when combined with your second point of how difficult it is to get into long running quests.

>>14633
Every vote we submitted seemed to just dig Lucas into a deeper hole. By the end, actively not voting felt like a rational decision.

Granted, biased as a PC98 fan.

>>14634

Anyone mention that to the author? I remember Kari had a tendency to run CYOAS on Dante Must Die difficulty until we raised the issue with him.

Maybe the promise of a more tangible work/reward dynamic could entice readers back into the folds.

>>14635

Kahi*

>>14632
What makes those stories retain their readerbase as compared to say, Otherwise? Is it just personal taste? Genre?

>>14637

I don't read Awoo, but those other two just have a certain..je ne sais quoi, you know?

>>14630
>Nobody wants to invest their time and energy into a story when they get a turnout like that, you realize.
As a writer of stories that have never been super fast, this. Nothing's more discouraging than a halfhearted turnout. I would rather people have an opinion on a meaningless choice than go "idk whatever dude".

>>14632
Granted, PC-98 characters are both established characters that have a few certain traits. (at least as much, if not more, characterization than some windows characters/midbosses before the printed work and secondary sources are counted). However, there is typically much less in fanon characterization than for the newer stuff. OCs in general are just blank slates. PC-98 tends to be in this quasi-state of many not knowing enough to identify and knowing too much to project.

NST is currently at 2 continues/ask the author anything points, and nearly at 3, so they would have the leeway to try something. He has allowed by decisions that ended up poorly to be rewound. (Though making poor decisions intentionally did result in a loss of privileges in the story first time around)

Overall, from what I've heard around, the main turnoff has generally been the difficulty. PC98 may not be as popular as sliced bread, but they're a loaf unto themselves, at least in certain audiences. Seriously, look at Mima fans. They wanted her so bad that they've more or less become a meme.

However, when my stories get hard, votes as well dwindle. But my stories are a tad tonally bipolar, so that can shift as quick as saying a particularly long word.

Heck, that Hina Moe story over in th has quite a good response to PC98, a lot of voters, and is balls to the wall hard of late. Maybe it's not the hardness...?

>>14629

Ohh, and before I forget, I was talking about the consistent 1-3 votes, not anything to do with update speed.

>>14631

Seeing as I've a pretty popular story stuffed to the gills with PC98 and a gender swapped PC98 protag, and a story where the very same character that is the current PoV is a love interest, I have to wonder about that.

>>14640
>OCs in general are just blank slates.
Not jumping on you specifically, but I really wish people would drop this line of thought. It's frustrating when people run away screaming from stories going "ew OCs" because they automatically assume they're either going to be blank slates or Donut Steels. I try my damnedest to do the opposite and have clearly defined characters who actually fit in the setting, but I know a percentage of people still won't give my stories a chance because of that bias, and I think it's dumb.

>>14642
Considering one of my stories is based on an OC, I understand I just meant that many stories, the OC serves as a vehicle for the reader to view the story from.

An OC can also be exceedingly well developed and stand on their own, but that takes them and puts them in the category of the canon characters, which are well defined and fleshed out.

Basically, they're one extreme or another, while PC-98s occupy an awkward middle ground.

I like PC98s

Thank you for hearing my incredibly valuable opinion.

>>14644

I like you for liking PC98s. Thank you for sharing your incredibly valuable opinion.

>>14644
I don't like PC-98s but thank you for sharing your valuable opinion regardless.

>>14644
you're PC-98 a shit

Annual reminder that Border House will never be completed. Isn't it sad Kana?

>>14648
Oh yeah! Thanks, let me add that to the list:

LOST LIST (memo: Kill yourself when list reaches 10)

Palingenesia
Supersticious and Cowardly Lot
Fallout Gensokyo
Ancient Gensoyko
Animating Gensokyo
Gensokyo High (Feat. Snoop Dog)
Gensokyoland Saga
That fucking Kahi story that was terrible but I couldn't stop reading it
Border House

>>14649
Wait why is animating on that list? We've gone this long without an update plenty of times in that story.

> That fucking Kahi story that was terrible but I couldn't stop reading it

If this doesn't mean Doll's Quest then add Doll's Quest to the list. I miss Deady.

>>14650
Well, it fit the "x Gensokyo" theme I had going on. Besides, now it is a reader problem (can't make a plan worth shit) so even if the author mans up, it won't move forward.

Shit, I forgot to add AWIY to the list, too.

>>14651
That was the one.
Although I enjoyed the Yukkuri thing too, specially when the smut died down, it was a pretty niche story.

>>14648
Please stop picking at the wound, friend. I'll never heal like this.

>>14649

You should definitely replace Doll's Quest with Patchy Quest. That's the one we all miss.

Seems like it was just yesterday I was trying to convince Anon not to have Remilia turn into an infinite number of bats and destroy the universe. Good times. Goooood times.

>>14649

I'm still salty that the writer for Ancient Gensokyo just up and disappeared.

>>14615
>>14616
Thanks for the kind words mates.

>>14649
>Yamame story
If it is the new-ish one, don't panic.

If it is another one, of an age appropriate to be grouped with the rest of the list, provide name, you sneaky cunt.

>>14664
>don't panic.
Really? You aren't kidding, right? I'll cut your head off if you are!

>>14663

No prob. Let it not be said that THP is unwelcoming of ironically autistic but decent content creators.

>>14664

Spider sense is tingling!

So anons, I do have another CYOA in mind, but something I've been wanting to clear up before I get it goin', is... do people really care for any level of 'gameplay mechanics', as it were?

I mean, I'm not going to start busting out d20 rolls and stat checks or something, but my next CYOA idea kind of has the idea of running a teahouse or such... so the idea of having money, getting employees, managing how the place looks...

That sort of thing.
Also check /blue/ for RiG info, of sorts.

It is a pain in the ass to make, but Fairy Quest and Yukkuri Quest had a ton of that and were really popular.

So, go for it.

Don't forget everyone's favourite 1 CHA simulator, Doll's Quest!

You can put pretty much anything in a CYOA if you write it well enough. Game mechanics are no exception.

>>14676

Ya Tabby did fairly well for a min/max build character. Pretty sure she got her fairy wife preggo at some point as well.

>>14642
I know, right? It's almost like the village doesn't exist to them.

>>13708
Actually, the Meiji era was something of a period of reactionary formation of a national identity by the warrior castes, who decided that they needed to go back* to having the emperor in control, as opposed to a shogun. Though it kind of seems like they went gaga for foreign things at the time, overall Japan was more wary of external powers than ever; they felt like they were on the verge of becoming a tributary state to the European nations and wanted to build up their image as modern so they wouldn't be seen as a weak and 'backwards' nation. Humanity in Gensokyo would probably fall into a similar mindset of being curious about new outside influences while being highly suspicious of them. Everything in the print material suggests that humans in the setting have a strong collective identity, and while I doubt that they have a strong consciousness of the greater nation-state of Japan, they probably do band together under a sort of cultural brand.

Part of me thinks that the overall aesthetic of the village would be at least partly re-built Edo period styled buildings and partly Gensokyoan imitations of outside buildings (probably very cheap looking compared to what we're used to). I've seen some old run-down shopping arcades in Japan that would probably fit right into Gensokyo.

(*) The emperor was always the nominal head of everything, but the military powers always overshadowed him in practice.

>>15155
I like this insight.

>>15155
>re-built Edo period styled buildings
I should probably clarify that when I say re-built, I mean that the buildings would be reconstructions of buildings of that period, not buildings of the age that have been repaired.

Something that a lot of people don't seem to know is that Japanese buildings aren't built to be permanent structures. Much the opposite, they're built to be torn down every so often and rebuilt the same way. That's how so many historic shrines and temples in Japan have retained their forms from centuries ago. The same principle carries over to peoples' homes, for better or for worse.

By the way, most castles in Japan are concrete recreations of the old castles since most of them were either destroyed long ago or burned up in WW2. That's why they're not all that interesting or worth seeing beyond an outside photo-op.

I just read Flight of a lost soul and loved it (until the Snowball Arc) and I was wondering where the rest of the story is, or is it dead?

>>15163

You may want to sit down; I've got some bad news for you.

Look at the date.

>>15164
God damn it, now I want cry myself to sleep

I'm trying to figure out who all the OCs in Fallout Gensoukyou are.

Frisca I mistook for a regular mook at first. I had a bit of a holy shit moment when she mentioned the vampire incident because I actually remember her, name and all, despite it being ages since I last read SDMLA.

Kazuki and Clover hit me like a pie to the face. I love Fairy on Scarlet Lake. The drunk driving thing had me in stitches.

Wendy no-I-will-not-call-you-by-your-lame-name-you-lame-dame I was expecting because someone mentioned her cameo in AFT.

Sera's magic and the dice-roll line from Wendy make me think she must be from Patchy Quest, but I've only read part of that clusterfuck and I don't recall Patchouli being terribly impressed by any of the fairies.

I got the references to SCIENCE! and whatever story Cu was in (don't remember, been too long) but only after someone explained them.

Tabitha, Yue, K.C. and Sousha I have no idea about. If there were others then I obviously don't remember where they're from either.

On a related note, are there any other stories with plot-relevant fairies? Reading this thing has put me in a fey mood. I feel a mysterious construction coming on...

>>15366
‘Plot-relevant’ might be a bit of a stretch, but fairies are always relevant in Scarlet Tycoon. The buildup to the next bit of story seems to imply that they’re extra relevant.

>>15366

Tabitha is the MC of doll's quest. She wasent a fairy, but did end up marrying a fairy. Pretty sure her fairy wife also knocked her up.

>>15368

Go re-read Doll's Quest. I'll wait right here; you won't be gone long.

Google tells me the only two pages containing "tabitha" on THP are Fallout Gensokyo threads. So if she's from another story, it ain't on here.

I've been reading Shoot for the Moon and it's definitely been making me want to write more. A thoroughly enjoyable story, and now that I'm caught up, one I can participate in.

Tell me about the currently ongoing stories.

>>15448
The story about the god without a church is surprisingly deep; the gal living with Rinno realized he's an unintentional thot destroyer; our hard boiled detective is still 'trapped' in the SDM and Marisa is about to outbully the bully cloud.

>>15448

The school setting story over in Others is full of youkai being assholes. It's a secret school for youkai, but the MC is Marisa, a human.

>>15449

Are those four different stories, or is that a single crazy diverse story?

>>15451
They're different stories, but I totally would read that clusterfuck of a story if it existed.

>>15366
Yue and KC are from Contemplations Under The Moon And Stars.

I'm pretty excited that there's something active in /youkai/. Unrelenting Faith is pretty chill and makes me wish there were more active stories I could vote in once in a while and otherwise sit back and enjoy.

I'm liking Exile a lot so far. Kurumi's perspective as 'the exile' is written in a distinct but enjoyable way, and the simple art is pleasant, well fitting the CYOA format. Shame I and two other guys are the only ones participating/voting in it, despite it being one of the brave nanowrimo lot and super unique to boot.

So, if Exile looks interesting to you, give it a go at least.

I might properly review it when it is far enough along. The short update length and earliness in whatever plot there is makes it pointless to say anything but 'its pretty interesting' for now.

I hate Megabucks because I'm a bit of a moralfag, but "Make a fist" turned into one of my favorite stories. I blame Yuugi and Koishi.

Rural Discord (not the actual name, nor a chat app) is surprisingly entertaining for such a boring concept Youkai Moe helps, again.

Hakuro (formerly "unnamed thread by HELP") is my actual favorite story on this site at the moment. I really like gods as MCs (if my first paragraph didn't clue you in) I can't wait to see it continue.

Awoo maid (a.k.a. From the Scarlet Moon Flows the Spring) is really good but our choices kind of hurt its momentum. There's an interesting debate here of player agency vs narrative focus but I'll leave that to people who can write a paragraph without typos.

Anyway, the premise is relatively new, the characters are very likable and the mystery is interesting. Very recommended.



Wait, I just realized this is not the recommendation thread. Oh well.

>>15650
Dude, mad props to you for giving a shit about the stories out there. Who cares if this isn't the recommendation thread man - it's always cool to get some discussion around here because god knows we need more of that on THP.

And on that note, I push all you other anons to talk about the latest story that you're reading (or have read). I'll start first with a story not yet mentioned here: A Lively Graveyard.

It's a story about a nonchalant zombie trying to get a party funeral set up and then hijinks ensue. I know it's an awful summary but bear with me here because it's a fun read and other people should go check it out. I like the protagonist in particular because their indifference to their own death makes for an interesting perspective. Before I go full middle-school book review on you guys, I'll leave it on that note and ask you, if you already haven't started reading it by now, to go read it.

The ones I'm really watching at this point are From the Scarlet Moon Flows the Spring and Rural Concord in Small Sense. The former is probably helped by having a (relatively) newer 2hu to inject some new blood (rimshot goes here) in an otherwise blase and overrepresented setting. The latter is a perspective that isn't very well represented in much of anything, and I always delight in getting a low-level view of Gensokyo.

Hakurou is decent too, but I consider it separate from the others on account of not being strictly original to this... competition? Event? Whatever you want to call it.

Honourable mention to The Train Home. I wasn't wild about the opening, but the setup is enough of a hook. Sadly, the pacing leaves some to be desired despite the short updates. I suppose I can't ask for much, though, as this whole NaNoWriMo thing comes across as rather improvisational on the whole.

Still, I'm surprised at the level of the stories we've got this time around. They're reasonably consistent and entertaining stories for the most part.

>>15651
Something about that story makes me suspicious. Like, I can't shake the feeling that it's a stealth crossover with something I'm not familiar with and the writer is laughing his ass off at those of us who are ignorant. Maybe that's not actually the case, but...

>>15650
>boring concept
boy fite me

Can't believe it's nearly been 8 years since glasnost dropped Underground LA, jesus fuck where has the time gone

>>15791
Man, I can't remember any of the stuff from that long ago even the stuff I wrote

Cu-chan come back ;..;

Huh. Guess a ghost excavated this thread.

>>15791
Sometimes I wish I'd actually paid more attention to stuff outside of /at/ back then.


Also, neither here nor there, but it's a goddamn shame most of the stuff from that NaNoWriMo is dead or stalled now. I know that's not a new turn of events, but there were a few things actually worth reading there.

Keeping my fingers crossed for another one this year.

Lookit all the new stories for the nanarama. Hard to believe there's actually this many writers still left.

I'm also surprised that it isn't dominated by a damn umbrella or Marisa or any of the others y'all love to bandwagon on.

I wonder if the Hatate one is going to be this year's edition of the one Bread was doing last time.

P.S. So much for entering this year, eh, Bread?

>>15879
>the Hatate one
There are times when I hate being right. That was one.

At least this round of nanners seems healthy, if limited. The Shiki story is my favourite thus far, and it's good to see Moral alive again.

>>/eientei/28519

Anybody know if that ever happened? If it didn't (or was some shit I didn't pay attention to), /r/ing a vanilla story about cream-filling Tewi.

P.S. Not it.

Okay, I'll do it. I'm only half-joking. It might happen.

>>15987
Even just the sentiment is (almost) enough.

We should really make a list of underrepresented 2hus and whinge more about their plight in an attempt to get others to write them.

>>15985

>>/at/40108

This round's crop of Nano-Reimu is a treat. I really like the beast yakuza story. Faerie sidekicks are always a surefire win, and I'll not hear otherwise. But, seriously, Lala is a rare faerie in a THP story that I don't want to punch after a couple of paragraphs. Dunno what it is. Not sure what to say about Kenji other than that he's definitely a bit of an asshole, which is, well, fitting for a yakuza. P.S. Needs more dragon-turtle and Byakuboob.

Also unsure what to say about the earth gods story. It really kind of makes me want more Hakuro. I suppose one can only pray for continued updates of that at this point.

Too bad the Akis story is struggling a fair bit and the train once again derailed. I don't really care all that much about PC-98s, but having more than two active Nanner stories was nice, I guess. Something something A.T.O.M.

>>16229
All I really want is for stuff to keep on going. Half of the stories dying isn't promising.

>>16231
No guarantees on anything, mate. The only thing any of us as non-writers can do is read, vote, and discuss. Let the writers know you care, or else they just assume by default that no one does.

Somebody convince me to read other active stories. All I'm reading currently is The Heart of the Fool, which is really, really good. Yeah, I could go to the story list and read the summaries, but that's more likely to run me off than sell me. Tell me what's good about them.

>>16498
The fox and the hunter is nice. The main character is interesting, (though how much of that is low standards I can't say,) the story hasn't really picked up yet, Junko is in it briefly, its nice.

>>16499
I'm pretty biased against a story when the writing isn't proofread very thoroughly. Not being mean about it, just can't make myself want to read when there's stuff like inconsistent tenses. What's it about? What's interesting about the MC? Maybe I can put that aside if I like what I hear.

>>16500
As for what its about, it hasn't really gotten far enough to be about more than the main character going about his business, as for why he's interesting...
He's very much a social outcast in the village, and has an entertaining perspective to read besides I think. I can't really say more just because I don't pick up on these things, his internal dialogue is just entertaining to read.

>>16229
>Too bad the Akis story is struggling
It still hurts, anon...

>>16501
All I'm hearing is "slow and meandering plot", which doesn't sound encouraging.

>>16505
Suppose it depends on what you enjoy. It's still not been that long since it started and its felt like its been going fast enough to me.

>>16506
imo, you really should be able to know what the story is about from the start. It doesn't give everything (or much) away, but HotF starts you off by letting you know it's about a guy going underground looking for oni. Even if it's not clear why, it's clear enough what his general goal is.

>>15988
I can start us off: Where's the Urumi stories? All I want is a loving cow wife who isn't Keine. Hard mode: no lewd.

>>16498
I'd suggest Ecology Research and Travels. I liked the first thread with the lectures as I thought it was a nice concept to present canon and add commentary on it and seeing the actual fieldwork that led to those lectures is interesting too. I think it's the first story with Ran I've seen in a while (or that I've liked) and I think that her interpretation is close to actual canon while also being fun.

>>16520
Read through the first couple of updates and can't come out saying a lot. It's not offensively bad or anything, just... a first-time story. It's fun for people newer to Touhou to sit there and survey everything, reaffirm or deny the canon, yadda-yadda. They have their (probably a westerner male) outsider protagonist gawk and gawp at everything and experience a whole new world because that's what mirrors their own. That's fine, but I think it's a little thin as far as those who aren't newcomers to Touhou go. Plus, it's got the mechanical roughness of someone newer to writing fiction.

Anybody else feel like YAF's rabbit story would be better off with longer, less frequent updates? Maybe it's just me, but it doesn't feel like a lot happens lately.

>>16554
I don't really feel like it matters if one update comes out every four to seven days versus a half-update every two to four days. If that's how his writing process works, it's fine. It's not like a choice is demanded every update, so it's about as "frequent" as other active stories in that regard. It has also gotten me addicted to checking the site every day. Is that a bad thing? I want my rabbits.

>>16555
I don't care about choices. It's more about feeling like something is actually happening, and honestly it feels like things have slowed down, and having half-updates where basically nothing happens kind of exacerbates that. Some just feel like pure fluff, which isn't what I look for in the reading experience. And it harms the pacing on re-reads, so keeping up with the details of things becomes a pain in the arse.

>>16556
She's going on a date. That's not nothing. If there's anything that I feel like might prove to be a problem, it's that everyone wants Seiran to tie the knot, so if her decisions were left exclusively up to the readers, there wouldn't be much of a conflict. Then, the problem wouldn't be that "nothing happens" - it would be that the only obstacle between Seiran and Hito is outside forces introduced by the author. Who's going to vote for Seiran to turn him down, unless there's a good and immediately pressing reason?

>>16557
It's literally an issue about feeling bored with yet another update of "Seiran thinks about what's-his-face while grousing" after the last one where she did almost the same exact thing in a slightly different manner as a general pattern. There's a monotony to it, and it feels like the whole thing is driven by YAF's need to stall for time every update. If he just wrote longer, more eventful updates, there probably wouldn't be so much repetition.

Or maybe there would be. I don't know.

Either way, the present character of things hampers my own enjoyment, and it's unfortunate because I'm far from an anti-enjoyer of YAF's work.

>>16557
>>16558

I've been avidly following The Rabbit Has NOT Landed and I can't say I've encountered any issues with its pacing, or in any other area really. Some thoughts:

If it feels like "progress" in Seiran and Hito's relationship has stagnated it might be because of Hito's screwup with choosing to pay for the delivery service without previously discussing it with Seiran. It basically (and for good reason) stopped all the momentum these two had going and even threw it slightly in reverse. But as far as I'm concerned it's for a very good storytelling reason, and I for one thoroughly enjoyed reading that "arc".

I say so but emphasize that, again, I haven't felt like the story lacks for reasonable progress at all. Seiran is shy as heck and busy enough coming to grips with her own situation as a traitor/outcast/reject.

>>16555
It has also gotten me addicted to checking the site every day. Is that a bad thing? I want my rabbits.
Me too. First story that does so, not that I've lurked here for very long.

>>16502
I hear the writer is gearing up to try again, so maybe there's hope. He seemed to have confidence issues before.

>>16508
You just want the chance to make a tired "touch the cow" joke, don't you?

More relevantly, I want Hatate gf story why can't I have it wahhhh

>>16560
>More relevantly, I want Hatate gf story why can't I have it wahhhh
Because you haven't written it yet.

>>16566
Joke's on you, I tried it and am a shit writer who fails at everything.

>>16554
Okay, sort of ate my words. The last update is decently long and things have happened, with the general promise of things being made clearer. Good job, YAF.

>>/shrine/21751

(Shows as (untitled tea-buying story) in the storylist if the link doesn't work.)

Does anyone have any context as to the writing of this... thing? Near as I can tell, it's English text passed through a Japanese translation and back, but perhaps someone has some insight into what might have sparked it or any sort of context around it? A conversation on the IRC? A private joke on someone's part? It'd be nice to know, if there is indeed anything to be known.

I guess it could just be one of many, many bouts of shitposting, of course.

Hey, Moral, Aun in Hakurō when? You've mentioned her and yet not even a brief cameo. Shameful.

Or do I have to wait for An Excuse for A-Un?

Digging back through the storylist for reasons, I think I've seen more stories on THP that are attempts at parodying the "Yukari gaps in a Western outsider male" setup than actual sincere attempts at the same.

What could it all mean?

>>16590
A pushback/reaction to either early site culture and its assorted foibles or general western fanfiction trends on bigger repositories.

>>16590
>>16596

And bandwagoning on Diamond in the Rough.

>>16567
Just like Hatate lmao

>>16599
Shuddup, Moral.

Why do promising stories with Kagerou never make it? I guess I can understand it being hard to make up things about her in the absence of substantial canon, but it's still unfortunate. I found All roads lead... not that long ago (which is technically about Reisen more than Kagerou, but features her kind of prominently) and thought it was funny, and I liked From the Scarlet Moon Flows the Spring when it was running.