Bravo good sir, bravo.

I applaud you, good sir. This is truly one for the books.

Pic related.

An absolute masterpiece. If there's one regret I had it's that the Touhou lore makes it slightly less amusing to the uninitiated, but for fans like us it has quite the opposite effect.

I can't wait to see what monstrosity you write in the future. It will be glorious.

>>1735
Well. This is horrifying. Hope there's a continuation later.

>>1737
I'll agree that this story was brilliant, but I think a direct continuation would cheapen it.

>>1738
Not really, I think it can work out, if done correctly.

>>1718

Yea that's why I didn't read it. I didn't want to ruin the glorious head cannon I built up in anticipation for this story's progression.

>>1717
Hmmm, that's unfortunate. I would have enjoyed reading such a tale of suffering.

>>1719
Oh, what sort of headcanon was that? You've piqued my curiousity...

>>1720
To be honest, it would have been fun to write! Well, some of it. (Mainly just certain scenes with Rumia.) But yeah, a lot of it would have been beyond my abilities. Maybe "one day" I'll be able to write a true tale of despair.

>>1705
Easy mistake, man. You've all got the same name!

>>1704
Looking forward to it.

>>1704
>Would you mind terribly if I wove it into the quasi-continuity I’ve got over at >>752? That would spare me the effort of building everything from scratch.

I'd love that

She fell in love with him at first sight.

It would be incorrect to say that it was like any other day in Hakugyokurou, but until that moment, it would have also been incorrect to say that it was a unique day. That day marked a changing of the guard; after many years of loyal service, old Aoi had finally gone to join Tetsuo in the flocks of souls resting within her domain.

Just like every other time, the princess had already had her friend Yukari contact Aoi’s son from the minute her retainer had sagely noted the imminence of her passing. While the princess had felt a little sad, knowing she’d miss the little things that distinguished Aoi from all the other Konpakus before her – her unique habit of smoking flower pollens, her tendency to default to a throaty chuckle to fill silences in conversation, her drive to decorate every panel in the mansion with a unique painting, her treatment of the Hakurouken as a reluctant burden and symbol of position rather than a treasured family weapon – she had also felt a little excited, knowing that she’d get to learn all the inner quirks and idiosyncrasies of a new servant. And since he had already married, that meant the house would be lively once again; while it had been comfortably tranquil with just her and Aoi, after Tetsuo had passed away, she had been ready for a change of pace.

It wasn’t that she hadn’t known anything about him. After all, she had been Aoi’s midwife, and she had watched the couple raise their son into his teenage years, even helped them. But just like every other Konpaku born and raised in Hakugyokurou, he had returned to Gensokyo as soon as he had come of age, before his own service would be required.

What would he be like? There was no question that would take after his mother to some degree, as the half-phantom bloodline always ran true. Of course he would have white hair – unless he chose to dye it like Sancha had – and be accompanied by a phantom “half” in the form of a misty white wisp. But beyond those few guarantees, what would his personality be like? Would he take after his mother, staying up for days on end

When Yukari came to take Noa back to her village to be buried, Youki asked the princess if he and his newborn daughter could go with her. It was absolutely unheard of for a Konpaku to abandon their charge, but there were extenuating circumstances, after all.

Deep inside, she could not bring herself to deny him his mourning in private. Not when she was at fault for his grief.

She had thought a single day of waiting between servants was uncomfortable; but after ten, and then a hundred, she had revised her opinion of solitude.

It was not merely uncomfortable. It was torturous.

She tried to cook meals for herself to pass the time. It wasn’t as if she didn’t know how. After all, not every Konpaku arrived in her domain as an expert in every single field needed to fulfill their position as her servant. And while Yukari could always bring in tutors for things like carpentry or gardening, the one skill that the princess would have to teach herself would be cooking, as only she truly knew her own tastes in cuisine.

But without anyone to share the meal with, the food might as well have been ash. Her appetite shriveled to nothingness.

Could she have asked Yukari to keep her company? She could have, and knowing her friend she would have caved to the request. But doing so would mean asking favors But she grit her teeth and suffered through it, staring out at the endless fields of cherry blossoms that without a companion to appreciate them with seemed dull and lifeless.

Eventually, she gave up on the gardens altogether. She attempted to immerse herself in the works of former servants: paintings, sketches, ceramics, poetry, stories. But walking through the mansion only reminded her how empty it was, of the absence of people who had made each and every brushstroke whether on canvas, porcelain, or parchment, and the pain, the crushing loneliness, was simply more than she could willingly bear.

The Hakurei Shrine doesn't get very many visitors. The stairs are long and steep, almost half a day's walk from the village. Of course, most people can fly. Strange then, how he, a normal human, regularly made the trip.

The sun was nearing its apex when he arrived at the shrine. He shivered at the lingering cold. Winter, it seemed, had not yet released the mountains from her icy grasp. Here, snow had not yet given way to flowers.

But that was unimportant. He wasn't here to complain about one of the bizarre weather patterns the Hakurei Maiden solved roughly once per year. No, he had come to see a girl.

Trudging through ankle-high snow, he deposited a few coins in the donation box.

"Weren't you just here two days ago?"

Noticing a bit of red poking out of the snow, he went over. "Good afternoon, Miss Hakurei. I'm here to visit-er, what are you doing?"

Reimu Hakurei, almost completely submerged in snow, replied, "Enjoying the last bit of winter. I had planned to make a snow angel, but the snow is really soft and comfy. I haven't managed to motivate myself into moving."

"Just how long have you been lying there?"

I Wish I could hate you to death for not using sage

>>1615
>>1614
lol

>>1615

Become a Sith lord.

Well that was intresting I actually want to see a more that last part with mokou made me laugh

I wish it was a little more coherent, but I suppose that's one of the restrictions of a work entirely made of dialogue between two people, and you only hear one side. Interesting, but I am not so sure I'd go so far as to say 'enjoyable'.

I thought it was well done though I had to read it twice.

On a dark winter night, a blue-robed stranger walked into a small village.

There was a fierce blizzard blowing, but the stranger walked unfazed to the nearest house.

If the village had a mage, he might have noticed the magic guiding the wind and snow. Maybe, just maybe, he would have realized the local terror had set its sight on the village.



But there was no village mage.


The stranger set a frozen hand on the door of the house. Ice spread quickly from its hand, covering the door, the door frame, the walls, the roof, and in an instant the entire house was trapped in ice.

The stranger walked to the next house and put its hand on the door.

"Come on! Push harder! We're almost out!"

I strained against the wood cart, trying my hardest to push it out of a deep patch of snow. Gensokyo was beautiful in every season, but winter brought with her a heavy blizzard this year. Traveling by road was a difficult prospect but I had a delivery to make.

"You know, you could- help," I grunted at the lazy goddess sitting in my cart. Hina Kagiyama sat bundled up in warm furs, wrapped up in her own sense of superiority.

"It was your terrible luck that handed landed us in this mess, Reina, so you're going to get us out of it!"

"Terrible luck that you could rid me of within an instant, yet you refuse to."

"Well, if I were to rid you of your curse, then I'd lose my locus, and our little contract would be broken, now wouldn't it, Reina? And here I believed you to be an honest craftsman."

"Oh that's a load of bol- Just help me push Hina. Please?" I pleaded with her. This was going no where. The delivery was due at the Scarlet Devil Mansion tonight, and it was long road from my home to the village, and then through the woods to the Misty Lake.

"My my, asking a goddess to do such menial work, Reina?"

I left the bank with lighter money pouch and very bored goddess in tow. The village bank exhibited the highest quality of bureaucracy. As in, it took waiting in line forever to get anything done. At least they were competent at their jobs, and competitive with the youkai banks as well. It was past noon by the time we reached the market and had a chance to stop for lunch at a small cafe near the outer edge of the square. I patted the pint of twelve-year whiskey stowed in my purse. I had bought it from a nearby liquor store; I had to say, the young man at the counter knew his alcohol well, and it'd make for an enjoyable New Years.

"Hey Reina?" Hina took a pause from munching on her roast chestnuts. A white-haired woman was selling them at her stall near where I had bought the whiskey. According to her, they were an old family recipe. I had nicked one from the goddess when she was occupied with staring at a sapphire brooch in a shop window near the fancier part of the shopping street. They certainly were good. A slight taste of vanilla and chocolate was mixed in with the flavor of the chestnuts. Hina seemed to love them. In the months I was stuck together, I had rarely seen her so fully indulge in anything as much as the chestnuts, bar my money.

"Reina, what's that large gate in the building over there? The one flowing with distant magic" I looked over. Hina was pointing to a large, official looking building, off near the western edge of the market. In the busy midday, I could see traders flowing in and out with their wares.

"That? It's a cross border portal Yukari set up with Reimu. Gensokyo isn't the only refuge for the fantastical. Reimu says that a lot of the forgotten youkai and gods formed their own version of Gensokyo to survive. That portal is something Yukari set up with some of them to encourage more trade within Gensokyo." It was a natural progression. Gensokyo was far smaller than some of the larger youkai planes, not to mention far less developed. “It leads to a giant trading hall of the sort between the boundaries. Dozens of youkai set up shop there and its how Gensokyo gets most of its imports.”

“What's Christmas?”

It was a cold day in the Human village, with fresh dusting of snow covering everything. Two men were clearing paths through the streets, talking as they did to pass the time. It was dull work, but not particularly hard.

“Ah... you haven't heard of Christmas? I guess it's kind of a new thing.”

Of the two men, one of them was from the outside. It was obvious not only from his clothes, which were made from some strange shiny material, but from his manner of speaking as well. Koishi knew that much.

“Well,” The man continued, “It's a holiday where you exchange gifts with people you care about, eat good food, and that sort of thing.”

“That sounds like fun. And it's a yearly thing?”

“Yeah, it sure is. It'll be happening in a few days, actually. Ah, but now I'm getting nostalgic for my mother's cooking...”

Koishi already knew what it was – all of that imagery was floating up into the man's subconscious, and like a sponge she sucked it right up. Candy canes, hot chocolate, bows, fat men in red suits... outsiders have the best ideas sometimes.

Blizzards at the Scarlet Devil Mansion were probably, Meiling thought, one of the worst things she'd ever experienced. She had to stay outside in the cold, her carefully-tended gardens were dead, and she couldn't even count on visitors braving the cutting wind and mounds of snow. She sighed, breath crystalizing in the air and fading away.

Her job for the past week had, essentially, been to stare into the snowdrifts and feel her face steadily go numb. It lost its appeal after the first hour.

Still, at least it wasn't all bad. She was able to stave off most of the cold; steady manipulation of her chi saw to that, although being bundled up in several layers of warm clothing certainly helped. She'd also supplied herself with plenty of reading material, thanks to Patchouli having the foresight to ward each and every book she had acquired over her lengthy stay, the better for them to withstand almost anything tha

Of course, while the snow and rain sloughed off the books on contact, that still meant Meiling had to read through the aforementioned snow and rain, which proved to be unreasonably difficult. She clapped the book shut with a growl of annoyance and stuffed it inside the bag slung over her shoulder.

Looked like she was stuck with nothing to do.

Wait, in the distance...

There was a man coming this way?

She immediately stood ramrod straight, watching the interloper's steady approach through the blizzard. He was large and burly, certainly, his outfit leaving patches of muscled arm and leg uncovered. The rest of his clothing consisted of a golden tunic atop chainmail, a metal helmet concealing his features, fur boots, and some sort of two-handed weapon strapped to his back that she couldn't quite make out from here.

Winter this year has been rough. Yesterday a blizzard hit and covered the entire mountain in a thick layer of snow. Around the foot of the mountain lays a solid coat, six feet deep; whereas around here at the top, it’s only about two to three feet on average. The trees got off a little better though; only a thin layer can be found in a few of the treetops since the midday sun melted most of it away. The temperature seems to be dropping again though; I can see the melted snow forming icicles along the branches in the shadows. As I race through the treetops, only the moist branches can take my sudden weight. Even then, lingering for a moment could cause my sudden and embarrassing downfall.

So far I've been lucky to have only four broken behind me; each of those served to buy me a bit of extra time to get away from her. I think it’s the extra force I apply when I jump off a branch that causes it break. Landing on them is a much smoother process since I can reduce the stress of impact. You wouldn’t really understand it if you haven’t tried it yourself. I won’t recommend it though, not without proper training first. I’ve been doing this for centuries already; it’s practically second nature to me at this point.

“I’m going to catch you sooner or later. Just you wait!” The shout from the girl in pursuit brings me out of my reverie. I take off from a branch with a long jump; long enough to allow me to spin around mid-air to catch sight of her. Her hair may be short, but it’s still dancing beautifully in the wind as she runs.

As I land on the branch that was ahead of me, I slip a little on the ice before quickly regaining my footing and launching off again. “Not last time; not this time!” I yell back at her.

I think we’ve been running for over an hour at this point. Neither of us are willing to give up the chase, and both of us have the stamina to continue running. Between the two of us, I have the greater endurance. I can outlast her in most cases, but she edges me out when it comes to speed though. She’s more of a sprinter type, so over a short distance pursuit, she has the adva