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 a 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 five 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.

You have just suffered an impressive loss against a shrine maiden, and have been strong-armed into an agreement which is not at all to your favor. Remilia seems terribly amused by the whole spectacle. You are not.

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[ ] What do you do?

First story. Had an idea, went with it, so let's see how this goes. I hope to entertain you all.
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The first sense that registers is the cold. An overwhelming chill permeates your body with a thousand pinpricks standing out, their source obscured by the darkness. What a strange world this is, dark and full of-

-Oh, wait a second.

You open your eyes.

Black is abruptly replaced with white. White powder above, white ground below, white covering brown trees all around. Snow, you think absently, the word coming to mind unbidden. You wonder briefly at how this happened before dismissing it as unimportant, and sit up.

Snow falls off your body in soft clumps as you look yourself over, gaze flowing over your body and words flowing into your brain. Hands, check, fingers paled by the cold but still functional. Breasts, two of those. Legs, arms, a bit spindly but they'll do. And-

Snow puffs into the back of your neck, and you crane your neck around to gaze at your last two limbs, fluttering involuntarily. Wings. Pale green gossamer constructs, slightly dampened by the snow. A darker green filigree traces out patterns across their surface, as if scribed there. Undoubtedly, these are the raiments of a-

“Fairy.” Your mouth forms around the word, your first, then is forced open again as a current runs through your brain.

“I am a fairy.” A mere four words, but you know them to be true, the very truth of your existence, and the contemplation of this fills your mind until you shiver and the moment breaks and the cold rushes back in.

Your teeth chatter frantically, and you wrap your wings tightly around yourself agh no no no that’s pressing snow into your body that’s cold that’s very cold and you brush it off yourself furiously and hide, hide again in your wings until the cold goes away...

...Ah, that’s a little better. It’s a shame you don’t have anything else to cover yourself from the snow.

Perhaps it would help to get off the frozen ground, you

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 a 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 five 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, as Koakuma harvested far more than you could probably have used, and it's gone quite off.

Your library is currently playing host to a subterranean spider, an 'ordinary' witch, a pair of male greek giants inhabiting the form of statuary and a young maiden, and a number of confectionary-based life forms, which are the focus of your private experimentations. Some of which are interesting enough that you might keep them, once through. You are currently contemplating Poison

You spot a familiar miko nearby, talking to a young looking woman with green hair and a rather fancy hat. Choosing a course of action, you make your way over.

As you approach, Reimu notices you and smiles. “And here’s the man of the hour. That was a rather entertaining speech you gave up there.”

“I would have said more, but you know how Remi gets when she’s upstaged.”

The shrine maiden laughs a bit, and your attention turns to the woman she was talking to.

… A shiver runs up your spine. The way she’s looking at you is incredibly… piercing, as though she’s looking into your heart.

“Uhh…”

“The sin of abandoning your loved ones is a heavy one,” she says abruptly. “I would say more, but it looks as though you’re already reflecting on it.” Then she smiles. “It takes great strength of character to admit to your sins and work on redeeming them. I wish more people would do so.”

This conversation just got rather personal. You open your mouth to say as much, but you’re beaten to the punch by Reimu.

“Shiki, that was rude.”

‘Shiki’ frowns. “I was complimenting him, though.”

“Well, it didn’t come off as such. Besides, you didn’t even introduce yourself.”

Now the young woman has the decency to look embarrassed. “Ah, that’s true.” She then turns to you, and bows. “I am Shikieiki Yamaxanadu, the Yama in charge of Gensokyo.”

Yama? “I thought the Yama were the judges of the dead, not the living.” You say with a frown. “Or unliving, as the case may be.”

Reimu nods in affirmation. “That’s right. Judge him when he passes on.”

Shikieiki shakes her head. “I wouldn’t be able to. He’s a Christian, so he’s out of my jurisdiction. He’d be going to a different afterlife.”

You blink. “How are you able to tell?”

“It’s an inherent ability of the Yama and Shinigami. It helps us make sure that the souls of the deceased reach their proper destination. The amount of paperwork we have to go through if a soul goes t

Now comes in four different threads!

Previous thread: >>45883

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[x] Wherever she wants to go.

“I’m fine with anything.”
Following Remilia out of the room, you voice your opinion. Patchouli’s emotionless gaze follows you until the door closes again. As soon as that happens, your hand is released from Remilia’s.

“They say you should not forget your gods. Let us visit them. You got some spare change, right?”
She checks some place in the hem of her dress. Then another one. Just how many pockets does every one of her dresses have?

“No, I don’t have any.”
Seemingly finished with the pockets, she seems a little confused.

“I don’t have any either. Just a moment.”
Opening the door again, she goes back into her room. Patchouli seems to have disappeared from the room. It doesn’t take long until the door opens again.

“Here. Figure out yourself how large a donation you want to make. Having the blessings of a god can be useful at times, but so can having some cash.”
She hands you a small stack of notes. 500 whatevers. Yens, if they’re using the same currency as the Japan you know does. Too bad you have no idea about how much it’s actually worth. Probably not much if it’s meant to be a donation to the gods. In a disturbing lack of a wallet, you just pocket the notes.

The sky is almost clear. There are only a few clouds near the horizon, lit from below by the already-set sun. The full moon has already risen above the lake. The lake itself is hidden by the wall, of course, but a little bit of it can be seen through the gate. You can’t see Meiling anywhere, but-
A small hand sweeps you off your legs and makes you fall onto another one belonging to the same person. Not again…

It wasn’t all that bad this time. You actually enjoyed the ride. The view wasn’t that good since it’s rather dark, but you could see the lake and hear Remilia’s wings beating the air while you approached the still snow-capped mountain. You could see that the little snow that’s left would melt before next winter since on

You've been counting entries as they came. This most recent makes... six. That's the last, with seven mortal men in total.

The chalked circle is long since wiped away and the tome of eldritch lore concealed beneath the couch once more, so there's very little odd to let on that the situation is not as it should be. Save, of course, that the host is the, to all appearances delighted, centerpiece of a grand display of drunken-ness and lust.

This final arrival, however, is unfortunately quite thoroughly sober, and seems to have sufficient scruples that he's not only not joining in to the party, but he's left and he's moving for the door to leave.

That simply won't do.

You rise, setting papers to the side, and slide the lock of the door with a soft click.

"... What are you doing?"

"Oh, you can't go, dear. Not yet. The party has only just begun~" You say, stalking close.

He tries to shove you away and move for the door again, but is surprised to find that your physical prowess is by far superior to that which a human woman of your size and frame could muster. He struggles as you hold him in place and force the Charm on him, attempts to escape growing weaker and more feeble until he settles into compliant silence.

Two down, and seven more to go.

You pick them off in order, from least inebriated to most, under the logic that the more inebriated would be less likely to notice anything wrong. This proves correct, and a rather spectacularly smashed fellow is more than susceptible to being played with somewhat even before the Charm is put into place~

But that brings you up to seven of the seven. You leave them to enjoy their little orgy as you consider matters.

Charm is one thing, but people of this age... bah. The youngest present is well into his thirties, and all are already mentally 'set' in their ways. You can keep them under control without issue, but to make them willing servants, of their own volition and prepared to do your bidding even should you remove

You spend a few moments considering how you could mess with this guy. Well, if you were Patchouli, you could just make a homunculi or golem, and kill that, theoretically. Well, it's kind of iffy, though. Golem is probably out, but a homunculi might do it. ... If you had the recipe memorized and could make one of those things basically at will the way she could. Sadly, you're not that magically stupendous, and so... well, you could muddle it together and get one. Might take you a week or three to figure it all out, though. Probably too much time to bother with something like that.

Doesn't stop the whole puppy idea, though. It's just so childishly, endearingly wicked that you're sort of fond of the notion.

Except none of it will work, sadly.

He specified, after all... 'she does not live long enough to publish the thesis she is preparing.' 'Is' preparing. Not 'may prepare' or 'will soon prepare', but the one that she is currently preparing at this very moment. So it doesn't matter what you name 'Miriam Stocker' and have write a thesis, since as they would not be at the moment of this contract's agreement writing a thesis, they would not in any way qualify.

Shame.

Well, there's nothing stopping you from killing a puppy or two, though. You won't get anything or be able to jerk this guy around by doing it, of course. So it would just be for kicks~ And there's still the loophole that 'publishing' is not the same as 'finishing', and all... So, there's that too. And you can just change her name, though even the fastest paperwork will take a few days to complete itself.

"The terms are acceptable, mortal." You agree. "In price, I will take... that girl. And that boy. Have them cleaned." You continue, specifying the youngest of both genders. Ooh, Teach Koakuma has a special lesson waiting for those two~

"Agreed, then. The contract is struck." the summoner says, and the dim glow to the circle fades as he releases it

Finally done. Not done well, but hey, what can you do?

>>32293
I'll trust your judgment as to how 'lol' your opinions are, but don't sell yourself short. Every little bit helps.

>>32294
I try to write my updates more-or-less straight through, without jumping around between paragraphs, in order to avoid having to throw away writing that doesn't match up well with the story above it, which means that by the time I write the choices, it's usually past midnight and I'm all writefagged out. If something that seems obvious is missing, assume I just forgot to include it and write it in; if it's something like the one in this vote which goes along with the spirit of the primary vote, I'll generally include it or something like it regardless of how many people vote for it, unless later voters specifically disapprove of it. And don't worry about dying because nobody thought of a write-in; if I provide choices for a vote, at least one of those choices will result in a favorable outcome of some sort. Though that's not to say that I'm wouldn't hold back a more favorable outcome for the hidden write-in option. Stay on your toes~

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[X] I had to leave it to Patchouli. I was still too injured to do anything but get in the way.
[X] Well, there was one thing I could do: quickly warn her of the source of the explosions.

"Patchouli! It's going to explode!" I called out to her, dropping to one knee and taking the strain off of my shattered ankle. She looked away from the thrall and towards me for a moment, surprise registering on her features, and as her attacker continued to race towards her, she abandoned her defensive posture and turned and ran.

What was she thinking, trying to run from them?! "Behind you!" I screamed again, crawling forward uselessly with m