"I'll admit, probably not the best first impression," Remilia said.

"Culture shock, milady," Sakuya said as she licked her thumb, then pinched out the small fire smouldering on Remilia's cowlick.

Wherever they were -- Gensokyo, Remilia thought, she was certain she'd heard that name -- they had very different norms around here. Instead of rightfully submitting to a powerful and wealthy family of vampires, they sent someone who kicked her butt.

"Anyway, it seems we can't simply brute-force our way into the politics around here." Remilia tousled her hair, shaking out the last bits of ash. She watched in the mirror as Sakuya combed it as neatly as she could on the short notice.

"Do you know what plan B stands for, Sakuya?"

"Business?" Sakuya said.

"It stan-- yes. It stands for business," Remilia said, deflating before she could even puff up. "They might be able to rival me in magic power, but we have a cellar full of gold."

The Scarlet estate had gathered quite an impressive collection back in Ardennes. They had found the perfect location -- too much of a hilly backwater to draw attention, right on the periphary of the wealthier duchies full to bursting with sweet, sweet trade goods and filthy lucre from France and Germany. Every so often, a trade caravan would wander a little too close to their estate, and then disappear. They had a wonderful collection of furniture, wine, pottery, a modest seed bank, wine, jewelry, and wine.

She slipped off the burnt remains of her dress and looked over her wardrobe, running a long fingernail over each dress as she considered her choice. In just a few minutes, she was going to have to start giving speeches. She decided on a black affair, tight around the top and billowing out around the waist. Just the right mix of approachable and imposing. Someone you could talk to, but really shouldn't.

Sakuya slid the dress over Remilia's shoulders, adjusting it to fit properly on her. Her staff was neatly divided into those who were devoted and incompetent and those who were ruthlessly competent and aggressively o

Continuation of >>40222

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It's been a while since we left off with this story.

Honestly, I'm surprised you wanted to hear the conclusion after all this time. I apologize for not finishing it way back then. You probably don't remember most of the little details by now... but that's fine. I suppose it's best to just get it over with and close this little chapter.

Would you like anything before we begin? Tea, perhaps?
Then, please sit down and wait warmly, and I will return shortly.

...

Let's see... where was I? Ah, yes, of course...

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...Blood.

Soaked into the carpet beneath my boots, invisible in the scarlet hue of the mansion interior, yet unmistakable in scent. Indeed, the owner of said blood was also down by my feet, gradually become more and more pale in the candlelight as her life force escaped her body. And I, the triumphant killer, casting my shadow over her body, Alice by my side, us both surrounded by the mansion's maid brigade, suppressing their urge to avenge their fallen beloved leader.

I felt a crushing weight on my shoulders.

Not out of guilt, pity or remorse. No, my emotional conflict at the time had a completely different reason behind it.

I was going to just walk away and continue my quest. No one would have objected, and even if they had it wouldn't have been important to me. Alice and I had more important business to attend to - the mistress of the mansion herself, Remilia Scarlet, needed to die tonight. The maids would've let us leave, the head maid ordered them to stay their blades. Another obstacle down, simple stuff.

Instead, I found myself kneeling back down over my victim.

I placed my hand onto her neck.

My fingers sought out her carotid arteries.

Some maids took a step closer, clearly intending to stop whatever it was I was trying, but the head maid used the last of her strength to shoot them a halting gaze, freezing them in place.

My fingers compressed her arteries, cutting off blood flow to the brain,

The warm winds of late summer blow through the air, whipping my short hair back and forth as I lean on the tower's stone parapet, taking in the view; I've an excellent vantage point here, several hundred feet up, to observe both the entire mansion's grounds and everything for miles beyond this place. Verdant green still dominates the countryside, and both sky and Misty Lake shine clear and blue, the sun shining down with an almost sweltering heat.

Closer to home, Meiling's garden near the front gates is still holding strong by grit, plentiful care, and magic, with the gatekeeper herself just out of sight beyond the brick walls ringing the mansion. As for the building itself, it's more like an old red-bricked castle; turrets and towers aplenty, with massive stained-glass windows letting sunlight in. You'd think that the lady of the house wouldn't approve of those, but she seems to find it all good fun.

Vampires.

Of course, I'd be blind to miss all the fairy maids aimlessly flitting through the air, ostensibly to keep an eye out for intruders, but in reality because anyone who wants to get in has to go through the meatshields first. Such is the life of a fairy, I suppose.

I tug my collar back, trying to get some of that precious airflow down my shirt. This is one of the best spots in the entire mansion to do so if you don't feel like flying, what with how it's just one flat, open surface. Plus, I've got a beautiful view, and absolutely no one comes up here. It's peaceful, quiet, and-

"Karin?" asks a girl behind me, her voice high-pitched and curious, and I reflexively jolt, spinning around fast.

"How did you- who the hell- what?" I stammer, reigning in the reflexive urge to punch her in the face.

My ambusher is one of the fairy maids serving under me, a smiling brunette who stands at roughly four feet tall. I've got two heads of height on her myself, leaving me as easily the tallest fairy around. Her wings, like a dragonfly's, twitch at odd intervals.

"Whatcha doin'?" she asks

I actually thought the previous thread would be the last one. Guess not.

Thread 1: >>/sdm/54956
Thread 2: >>/sdm/55386
Thread 3: >>/sdm/55803
Thread 4: >>/sdm/56153
Thread 5: >>/sdm/56497
Thread 6: >>/sdm/56844
Thread 7: >>/sdm/57149
Thread 8: >>/sdm/57460
Thread 9: >>/sdm/57814

------------------------------

For a long moment I stare at the two women, smiling happily, letting myself seem the very image of good cheer. After a minute, I let the smile slide off my face. "Anyway, that's enough playing around, don't you think? Let's get to business."

Shakily, Yorihime gets to her feet. "You... you don't DARE let those pictures get out, you hear me?!"

I shrug. "Yukari has copies of them. It's really up to her. She's just being nice, and letting me handle the negotiations."

"I have every confidence in Meiling's diplomatic skills!" Yukari sings out from the shadows.

Toyohime gets to her feet as well, trying hard to conceal as much skin as she can. "...There's no way people will believe those pictures! You have shapeshifters here in Gensokyo, photographs can be doctored..."

I shrug. "If its your reputations on the moon you're worried about, don't your people have the technology to determine if a photo has been faked? The way I hear it, you're always rambling on about your scientific and technological wonders." The two don't respond, instead loo

You are Patchouli Knowledge, a physically frail and sickly magician of profound aptitude and power. You live in the Voile Archives of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, though you have constructed an attached tower elsewhere, without internal fixtures as yet, which you may or may not inhabit much. You are Friends with Remilia, the vampire who owns the mansion, who considers it entirely too much effort to try to feed off you. Your Magical Potency varies somewhat from day to day, depending on how long of an incantation you can manage before breaking off into a fit of coughs, and how much strain your body can handle in addition to the rigors of illness. You currently have a box of ninety three vials of Medication stored in the library to offset the worst of the days, however, though it will later exact a toll, and your new Magical Focus eases use of magic to a significant degree. It seems that Luck can play a reasonable part in keeping yourself healthy, though effects may vary, as can the Hakurei Hot Spring.

Your magic is based on Elementalism primarily, though you are also skilled in Diabolism and Other Summonings, which can be surprisingly versatile, particularly in combination with Golems. You can also create Homunculi, if you have the materials to hand. You do not have any suitable samples of the key ingredient, however.

The date is Aug. 31. It is Wednesday, day of Mercury, of Messages and Water and Versatility. Through dint of long and methodical practice, you find the use of Water-natured elemental magics to come a touch easier on this day.

-----

Well, no reason not to make preparations before leaving the tower. It will take a while, without a specific spell, and be delicate work. More so because you aren't in a state to rush things.

But you have enough

[ ] To Play with Human Shapes

BGM:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgzLwxuX154

Might as well start with the first one to catch you eye. You pick up the book with the title To Play with Human Shapes , and begin reading.

To play with dolls in human shapes is the closest I've ever come to others. There were, of course, my mother and the people who served her, those are people who are dear to me, but there was no one I could call a friend. Now, what I search for most is a person with who I can have the kind of closeness that I have thus far only read about.

You certainly hope that there is more to the story than this, as you have no interest in reading about someone complaining. However, as you continue, another set of text appears between the lines that you have already read.

To read stories is the closest I've come to living among others. There are, of course, those who live around me, but there is a gap between us that I long ago gave up trying to cross. Now, what I search for most is a satisfying life alone.

“And? Are you satisfied?”

You whirl around. It was the Yama who spoke to you.

“How did you......”

“As the judge of the dead, I hold the Cleansed Crystal Mirror, allowing me to divine the truth of the past. I've also enlisted the help of an old acquaintance from Hell to read the hearts of those around you, which you are now reading an excerpt from.”

“Awfully invasive, isn't it?”

“A standard lecture would be ignored, so I had to get a bit creative. As for my acquaintance, she can't control her power, but I'm using this as an example for her that it can be used to accomplish good deeds.”

“Unfortunately, you won't be accomplishing anything today. As I already said, I am fine being as I am now. The fault lies with those who can't understand or respect that I have my own way of living happily, one different from theirs.”

“I would not deny anyone their own path, s

It has now been almost a year since I've been able to write anything. Flea, shorts, SotUY again, or my own projects; I've not been able to write more than a few words of any of them.
At least once a week since my last update, I've sat down and opened Word and tried to continue the story. I'd then spend half an hour glancing at the page, writing a few words, then deleting them, and closing Word out of frustration. I've rewritten the current update dozens of times by now, but I still can't even get any more than halfway through it.

That brings me here. There's enough stories that haven't finished, and left people wondering what the author's plans were, and where the story was going. I don't want people to never know that about Flea.

So, now I'm asking you to vote once again, my patient readers. The one thing I can still do for you is to give you a rundown of the rest of the plot, the backstories and motivations of the characters, the endings, and answer whatever other questions are left.

Do you want it?

[ ] Yes
[ ] No

Life on the road is harsh. I’m good at a number of things, sure, but improving my stamina was never a real priority, so I tire easily. The fights I’ve been in never lasted long enough to need it. Cooking and finding shelter were never things I even had the chance to learn. Hunting is yet another thing I neglected to take up.

To be honest, being bad at things reminds me of… never mind. I was miserable then, too.

I’ve been travelling for three weeks, now. Beyond the fact that I’ve been headed east, I don’t even know what kingdom I’m in at this point. I hope father is taking my disappearance alright. When I left, things were… complicated.

A sudden downpour of rain interrupts my thoughts. The weather has been like this for a few days, all hot and humid and rainy. I can’t help but shiver as the rain soaks into my clothes. Temperatures stopped bothering me a while ago, but I can still catch something from staying drenched for a while. I need to find some shelter very soon.

Seeing as I’m already pretty far from civilization, heading deeper into the forest couldn’t hurt. The shade of the leafy canopy helps a little, but it isn’t going to keep me anywhere near dry. The forest is quiet as I trudge onward.

A ways off the beaten path, I find an old building of cracked stone, overgrown with vines and trees. I’d guess it’s a shrine of some sort. I have no idea to who or what, but it’s a shelter, at least.

The inside is dark, but I can see clear as daylight. There are traces of magic here, the cracked and broken wards having long ago run out of power. After making sure they aren’t dangerous to me, I renew them with a bit of my own inner light. This way, I don’t have to worry about wolves or anything happening upon me.

The rain continues uninterrupted for a few hours. I remember how, when I was very young, I was afraid of thunder. Mother would hold me and tell me that everything would be fine. Things were simpler back then. I’m sorry, mother. I must be such a disappointment to you.

When I awaken, it isn’t where I went to sleep. I’m on the shore of an ice covere

I am Ryuga, a member of a small tribe of bat youkai. I’m about five hundred years old, give or take a decade. My home was in a cave hidden in a forest near a human settlement. We had an agreement with them, we don’t eat them and they don’t kill us on sight. Not the best agreement but it worked, for a while.

At this point Gensokyo had achieved a peace that had lasted for almost twenty years. Human and youkai alike were living in towns together, and even the oni were coming back to the surface. The peace lulled us into a false sense of safety from the humans. Perhaps if we had kept our guard up, I wouldn’t be the only one of my tribe left.

It started about a year ago, with humans being found in the forest drained of blood, and their limbs ripped off. The humans blamed us, claiming we broke the treaty and that we were really a vampire enclave. Naturally we denied the accusations and tried to ignore them. Sadly we weren’t prepared or even expecting what happened next. The humans stormed our cave, killing everyone of my kind. Fearing for my life, I tried to flee, but alas I was not quick enough. One of the humans cut my left wing off with an axe. What happened next is all a blur to me, I can recall killing the human with his own axe and a few others with my bare hands, though at some point I must have collapsed and been mistaken for dead.

When I came to there was none of my kind left, the bodies of the dead burned and mutilated, I was lucky I was buried under a pile of humans that were most likely going to be retrieved later. If there were any other survivors they were long gone. I wanted revenge on the humans but another matter was on my mind, they had called us vampires. To my knowledge there were only two vampires in Gensokyo, surely they would know about these attacks, and perhaps they were behind it themselves.

My course was clear, I was to head to the Scarlet Devil Mansion and confront the vampire Remilia. If she was in fact behind the attacks on the humans that slaughtered my people she would die, if she was not then she must be warned in case the humans were to go after her and her sister. So I ran as fast as I could. It was impossible for me to

Barring intense writer's block, updates should be frequent. Picture is related, but only by a vague tangent. Enjoy!
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Every once in a while, you'd hear stories, about other demons who got summoned to some mortal realm, and having their domains taken out from under them the moment such a thing happened, but never in a hundred years did you imagine that such a thing would happen to you. After a disorienting flash of light, you'd found yourself facing a violet-haired woman and numerous rows of massive bookshelves, far as the eye could see. On the floor, surrounding you, is a summoning circle. You recognize it from the stories you've heard. This one seems different, though, but you don't have a chance to try and examine anything closely before the woman speaks.

“Koakuma, can you identify her?”

“I can't name her, if that's what you're after,” says another voice, just before the voice's owner drops down in front of you with a mischievous grin on her face. You can tell that she's a demoness, like yourself, because of the ample chest, the long red hair and bat wings on her back and head, but that's where the identification stops. The specific kind of demon this “Koakuma” happens to be is lost to you. “I can tell you about her, though. Will that do, Lady Patch?”

“Lady Patch” responds with a curt nod, and Koakuma thrusts her face almost against your own, not quite breaking the summoning circle. “Lessee, here,” the demon begins. “Blue eyes and hair, very sharp features, plus the freckles. Give her some ice wings, and she could maybe pass as Cirno.” Koakuma's once-thoughtful look turns into a smirk. “You summoned yourself an Ice demoness, Lady Patch. Not one of the bigwigs, though, I can tell you that. Definitely a Lesser.” You bristle softly at being called out as a “Lesser”, but remain seated. You're not sure if you're able to break the circle with your power, and you don't want to risk hurting yourself just because of curiosity.

“How many Lesser Demons can say they have their own domain?” you want to ch