What I wouldn't give to find out what eggnog tastes like.

This the proper board?

Oh, well.

+++

“Christmas? What’s christmas?”

You and Sekibanki simultaneously react to Kagerou’s ignorance of what is probably one of the most well-recognized dates of the year in the outside world by spitting out your tea. If Keine’s shouts of protest are any indication, you’ve both chosen the same unfortunate target for the synchronized spit-take.

“How can you not know about christmas?” you ask, turning to the direction Kagerou’s voice came from.

“Er, well… It’s not like I haven’t heard of it!” she protests, clearly sounding pressured. “They celebrate it at the Moriya shrine, I just don’t know what it is exactly.”

“It’s a holiday celebrated by Christians,” Keine calls out from somewhere near where you remember her kitchen to be. Most likely toweling off. “The Hakurei shrine already has to compete with the Moriyas, Buddhists and Taoists for faith so Reimu’s been making sure that no other religion from the outside world establishes a foothold.”

“If Gensokyo were a ship that means she’d be tossing missionaries overboard,” you muse. Of course, them being youkai who can fly the implication is lost on the three. “She’s not killing anyone, is she?”

“Well, there was that poet a while back,” Keine says as the sound of her shuffling to sit down beside you is interrupted by you spitting out your tea. Again. On her. “Seriously?!”

“Totally unrelated, that guy,” Sekibanki says. “Reimu’s not killing missionaries, she’s just been sending them back out quicker than the rest. That’s why Christmas never caught on in Gensokyo.”

But then, if she knows this, why did she also—?

“The tea was hot.”

“Ah.” She’s getting better at reading your expressions.

“I don’t understand, though,” Kagerou says. “Why is this ‘Christmas’ so important to you?”

That’s something that you can’t explain without going into religion, a topic you’d rather avoid in a place where different religions apparently wage war on ea

I should check more, but I had to make a decision. This is fine.

====

Laugh. Think. Believe the ideas created. Life can flourish on its own. But it needs to exist with life to do so.

Even with that white hair. Even with those eyes that will see everything in an eternity. I could stop. Like my footsteps. Just. Like. This. Or maybe, pause, do something different, defying what is considered logic. Defying “logic” and “reason”, as defined by others. Or whatever it is that's the argument. Or criticism. No, this is just a bit of my venting on something unrelated to her now. And even that wouldn't be right. Yes, this is pitiful. But what's important isn't the intention, but the existence of understanding the meaning behind two thoughts. Two thoughts. Right. Now I'm just exaggerating.

But really. If someone's annoyed by a bit of bamboo and can't observe the forest, then I don't quite understand it. But I suppose I see her annoyance the same way, on a tangent direction.

Someone might have noticed by now. But I can afford the time. I know, without certainty, that I will be able to escape. And even if I get caught somehow, there are no consequences for me. No. I'm not some almighty existence that defies the logic of power. I am not magically resistant and capable to overcome every challenge I face. Especially not in Gensokyo.

“I'm not lost.”

I hope that's all I need to say.

Even though her hands don't come out of her pockets, I know I've caught Mokou's attention.

“A human from the outside? Are you new? Follow me.”

...Or maybe not. Looking like a human peasant from the village would've helped, but even that disguise would probably fail.

I thought I was being as clear as I could.

“I'm here for you.”

I'd say her name, but anyone could probably figure it out with some research. So less words, more focus. I realize that this might place a target on my chest, but I'm not worried about that. If I was facing Satori, or Yukari, or even Remilia, maybe I'd be a bit concerned. Not because they'r

>>/gensokyo/15086

>>/gensokyo/15086

>>/gensokyo/14903

>>/gensokyo/14736

Since I don't know where to put the "derp" that I think is this CYOA, here we go...

I was sitting down, trying to figure out what to eat for dinner… I had gotten nowhere, until I gave up, and thought, “Let’s just order a pizza.” And I did so, having to go through a minute or two of the hassle that was ordering a pizza through the landline. Eventually, I did get my order in, but, when I was about to hang up, I felt a poke in my side.

WHAT DO I DO?

[ ] Try to get the mystery poker to stop
[ ] Ignore the mystery poker
[ ] Write in?

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" The girl says, bowing mockingly. Her robes flow as she does, bringing to mind rustling flowers.

"You know exactly why, parasite." I shoot back immediately. The scowl on my face is unbecoming, but I really don’t care right now.

She smiles at me and spreads her arms wide to gesture at the endless field of lotus flowers surrounding us. A minute passes before she deigns to respond. "They are happy here. Everyone is happy here. Surely, you won't take that from them?"

That's what she always leads with. The happiness of her victims, as if she actually cares about them.

"I couldn't care less. Taking a few can be overlooked, even an entire island, like you used to. But you just had to get greedy, and spread like a damned weed. Now I have to deal with a shared dream the size of a nation! Do you have any idea how much of a problem that is?" I start shouting at her halfway through. Why can’t she just understand what she’s doing?

For the first time in years, Lotus’ carefree smile breaks. Her contempt is palpable now. “Greece is my land. I will not just give it up now that I have finally united it under my peace. Furthermore, it is your job to maintain the sanctity of dreams to begin with. I refuse to change at your leisure.”

That insolent—”It isn’t possible to keep something that size from interfering with other dreams!”

“And if it does, yet more would experience true peace. I see no wrong in that inevitability.” She doesn’t seem to understand at all. Her mask of tranquility has reformed, and she’s back to being hard to read.

What the hell do I say to that?


>Try to explain exactly why this is an issue. Even a brick wall can be brought down if it's hit hard enough, right?

>Just kill her on the spot. There isn't any reason to let her live after the trouble she's caused.

[This is just something silly I've had on my mind recently. It's not gonna be pretty, but it'll certainly exist, for certain. It's not going to

If not "Veteran", what better term is there?

>>/gensokyo/14581

Gensokyo. A land that houses many anomalies and other conundrums that are enriching to the eye of those who wish to see it. The mysteries of this land is closely surrounded by a magical border that is loosely maintained and guarded. Though the overseers of such a border may say otherwise.

It is because of this lax security did certain “things” leak out of the border. Catching the eye of a certain group of men and women alike to these anomalies. They’ve recorded every major event that came out of the border. Detailed it into literature, visual entertainment, and audio relaxation. Spreading Gensokyo’s major events to those who wished to see what lies beyond the beyond. This was all done over the course of many years. Those who wished to explore further had come across a means of doing so years ago. However, not many have come back out with good news, those who made it back with any news at all told tales of how dangerous traversing the landscape was and discouraged anybody from entering it.

At least, not entering it unprepared…

With the years passing, more and more outsiders managed to cross the border and into the land of Gensokyo. A small amount automatically turned away from either the overseers or the border itself rejecting their entrance. But those who did make it through had to find a means of shelter, food, and income. The Gensokyian wilderness was not going to let it be easy.

There are stories of the outsiders who had managed to make it past all of the tribulations the land had thrown at them, paired up with groups or factions like the shrine on the border, the pharmacy in the bamboo forest, the underworld, or the mansion in red, and had eventually managed to settle and adapt to living to the quirky and fickle circumstances Gensokyo had to offer to those who wished to live there.

These are not the stories of the heroic or desperate actions these outsiders undertook to secure their new lifestyle, nor are these the stories of survival and harsh situations they overcame to continue living.

These are the stories of the outsiders who had managed to secure their new lifestyle, and their hosts being faced with the reality of living with said