War, Peace and Vengeance stall (OoC)

[Nyoko]

I should've probably created this right after the IC...

Welcome to the OoC of WP&V, where general talk about the story is appreciated and where I'll put out general news regarding the IC. Feel free to speculate, post fanart about my fanwork if you so desire, post critiques, et cetera et cetera. Basically, anything even slightly related to the story goes.

I'll also get this more involved later, but I feel like I should get the setting correctly introduced before I'll start diverging from typical storytelling methods. What I have in store for you all who can wait, I won't say. But know this: playing the long game requires both patience and consistency in equal quantities.

Well, enjoy your stay here and hopefully make it flourish every once in a while.

[Yumetou]

Woo! Can't wait to see what comes next. :) Did you shave down the factions? I had a lot of them in the original RPG idea, mostly to give the player characters a lot of potential leads and make the world feel more expansive. But having so many factions might be a weight on the story. Some didn't really have any impact on the setting either. I don't think either the Hermits or the Netherworld are even referenced outside a faction outline.

[Nyoko]

1 hour ago, Yumetou said:

Woo! Can't wait to see what comes next. :) Did you shave down the factions? I had a lot of them in the original RPG idea, mostly to give the player characters a lot of potential leads and make the world feel more expansive. But having so many factions might be a weight on the story. Some didn't really have any impact on the setting either. I don't think either the Hermits or the Netherworld are even referenced outside a faction outline.

Short answer: there'll be a spotlight so I don't have to think about every interaction that happens in between the Nations of Gensokyo at all times, but they all exist to a certain extent.

Long answer: For this first 'arc' it'll mostly be the Scarlet Empire and the Underworld taking the spotlight, as they are the most important and the ones with the most lore to utilize (as well as the ones who would have a decently unbiased and complete education). But I have plans for almost all of the factions to make them important sometime in the future (except for the Garden of the Sun, they've been willingly vassalized.) but I'll let you in on the starting line of thought for the two you seem to want me to discard for my own sanity.

For the Hermits (which I assume to be Senkai): That Mausoleum has to have appeared or will appear somewhere due to the waning magic, the question is how long can those hermits last before they realize they have to exist in the physical realm? Also, where will they appear?

For the Netherworld: The Yama have lost new hell and most heavens as well as 冥途 (Meido) [which functioned as a court]. They're going to want those facilities back.

All in all, just one realm outlined in the RPG has been slightly changed and even then they might become important down the line, likely diplomatically. But let us first get back to the country Mina is a citizen of so she does not have to go back to the Sanguine Warband and risk her life again.

[Motaromc]

And look who is here too? Yup, I'm paying you a visit after our last talk! And I must say Fairy WARBANDS? Did I read it right? We are having a Gensokyan turf war in a post-apocalyptic setting? I mean if Gensokyo is about magic and magic is fading then it's like the apocalypse yes? Haha, and I was playing Fallout last week. Let's talk about our girl, Mina katt the Cat, sounds like something you would do (going by your profile), she seems like our usual reliable cat (as far as cats can be) and hardened maybe? I'm already worrying for her, since Rose almost killed her in the first chapter I assume people here shouldn't be trusted and that's why I choose to follow from afar, amusingly this is the second time I had to be the tiebreaker today.

 

[Nyoko]

8 hours ago, Motaromc said:

And look who is here too? Yup, I'm paying you a visit after our last talk! And I must say Fairy WARBANDS? Did I read it right? We are having a Gensokyan turf war in a post-apocalyptic setting? I mean if Gensokyo is about magic and magic is fading then it's like the apocalypse yes? Haha, and I was playing Fallout last week. Let's talk about our girl, Mina katt the Cat, sounds like something you would do (going by your profile), she seems like our usual reliable cat (as far as cats can be) and hardened maybe? I'm already worrying for her, since Rose almost killed her in the first chapter I assume people here shouldn't be trusted and that's why I choose to follow from afar, amusingly this is the second time I had to be the tiebreaker today.

Welcome back, I see that you've taken my advice regarding signatures.

You got the part about the apocalypse right on, but I must tell you it is a crazed Fairy warband, the actual Fairy state exists and likely won't be important for Mina Katt 'till she deals with other, more pertinent stuff. As for her personality, what else do you think someone who can stare directly into the abyss of one of the darkest desires humanity can have and understand it would have? At least Satori have to see what the person on the other end is currently thinking; this poor Nekomata would have to see how she has been impaled and getting cooked alive, while understanding where it came from... Which is not guaranteed to be proportionate to getting boiled alive.

[Motaromc]

I'm back! It seems that now the cat is out of the bag... didn't expect to fumble stealth this early but getting a taste of fighting should be beneficial for us in the long run, normally i wouldn't use my trump in the first mob that appears but since Kymoh already voted for it and my own curiosity asks for it then let's be a bit bold for now. Also while the "Queen Remilia" thing sounds very in character i'm still having my doubts about what you call "Fairy State", how are they even managing themselves? A very hardened Dai is probably the president or something, maybe a prime minister? while Cirno acts as the "face" of the state. Not only that but i'm pretty sure i read about some sort of Hakurei military in the earlier chapters too, Reimu even bothering to build an army? Oof, sounds almost unreal.

[Nyoko]

This is about the length I want each post to be, I was just uncertain if I could garner both interest and retention to give it my all. A feeling I want to avoid at all costs is spending hours of my life labouring for nobody to appreciate my work when it is finished. Also, my writing style when writing my own thoughts is very different yet also the exact same from my writing style when I am telling a story, as I should probably spend more words on details than I am currently doing, but now is not the time nor the place to complain about my perceived shortcomings.

For practical information that will interest all of you, the updates shall be moved to this day of the week. Both to give me time to take @Motaromc's vote into account and because it is a Wednesday so that when studies eventually start again it won't hamper the schedule.

On 8/5/2024 at 5:50 AM, Motaromc said:

I'm back! It seems that now the cat is out of the bag... didn't expect to fumble stealth this early but getting a taste of fighting should be beneficial for us in the long run, normally i wouldn't use my trump in the first mob that appears but since Kymoh already voted for it and my own curiosity asks for it then let's be a bit bold for now. Also while the "Queen Remilia" thing sounds very in character i'm still having my doubts about what you call "Fairy State", how are they even managing themselves? A very hardened Dai is probably the president or something, maybe a prime minister? while Cirno acts as the "face" of the state. Not only that but i'm pretty sure i read about some sort of Hakurei military in the earlier chapters too, Reimu even bothering to build an army? Oof, sounds almost unreal.

I'm not going to let you wait 'till like, Arc 5 to figure out how the Fairy State functions. Geopolitically it is just Belgium being stuck between No Man's Land, The Scarlet Empire and The Hakurei Republic. Leaving that aside, they function on a weird mixture of Scarlet Feudalism and Hakurei Republicanism.

In more detail, every Fairy can declare a Queendom in any territory as long as they can rally people to defend it as a nation and succeed. If they have existed for half a year, they then get to send a representative to the Royal Confederation, where they vote on things like supranational defence, trade with other nations, (de)centralization, ...

If Reimu bothered to build an army then there would not be an army. Someone else gets things done while she acts as the face of the nation (for the most part). Though I feel like we'll get to meet a Hakurei person soon enough for me to keep my cards mostly concealed concerning them.

Lastly, here (and here) is a link to the topics I took the setting and character from, with very distant plans to get people to use the centre again. I can't force people to, but I can prod around to see who wants to do what when, along with their consistency in doing so... Though I'll notify you when I will test what.

[Motaromc]

On 8/7/2024 at 9:11 AM, Nyoko said:

For practical information that will interest all of you, the updates shall be moved to this day of the week. Both to give me time to take @Motaromc's vote into account and because it is a Wednesday so that when studies eventually start again it won't hamper the schedule.

You know it's kinda funny to read this because i just told Yumetou that my weekly visits are insufficient to properly participate in the quests, in truth, i was thinking about setting a day in the week to peek at any possible writen content and consequently voting since it's not that much troublesome, however i can't promise a review since those take some time, i really try to put some effort here you know? took almost an hour to write the big one in Yumetou's Ooc thread but anyways, wednesday should be fine for me to appear here and interact a bit. Also before i say something about the story i feel like i must warn you that i'm always willing to read as long as you are willing to write and that you should't feel indebted to me at all, if you want to take a break or feel like this is taking away too much from your time then i'll understand completely.

Now, for the actual fun part, a question! Is it possible to bad end my cat from using her skill? I couldn't help but notice how edgy the "Abyss" part seems, and it probably can get quite messed up with some people, this random mob here for example just showed us some casual TORTURE, lol. Ah, before my half-asleep brain forgets it, I also read about "Otherworldly Ventures" somewhere else, this made me feel a bit curious, and that's why i chose to question about them.

On 8/7/2024 at 9:11 AM, Nyoko said:

Lastly, here (and here) is a link to the topics I took the setting and character from, with very distant plans to get people to use the centre again. I can't force people to, but I can prod around to see who wants to do what when, along with their consistency in doing so... Though I'll notify you when I will test what.

Cool, I think this will answer some lingering questions that I might have, I'll read it... as soon as I can because right now I'm working at 5% of my power. Oh no, my mind is already shutting down! must... click... submit... 

[Nyoko]

7 hours ago, Motaromc said:

You know it's kinda funny to read this because i just told Yumetou that my weekly visits are insufficient to properly participate in the quests, in truth, i was thinking about setting a day in the week to peek at any possible writen content and consequently voting since it's not that much troublesome, however i can't promise a review since those take some time, i really try to put some effort here you know? took almost an hour to write the big one in Yumetou's Ooc thread but anyways, wednesday should be fine for me to appear here and interact a bit. Also before i say something about the story i feel like i must warn you that i'm always willing to read as long as you are willing to write and that you should't feel indebted to me at all, if you want to take a break or feel like this is taking away too much from your time then i'll understand completely.

Now, for the actual fun part, a question! Is it possible to bad end my cat from using her skill? I couldn't help but notice how edgy the "Abyss" part seems, and it probably can get quite messed up with some people, this random mob here for example just showed us some casual TORTURE, lol. Ah, before my half-asleep brain forgets it, I also read about "Otherworldly Ventures" somewhere else, this made me feel a bit curious, and that's why i chose to question about them.

Cool, I think this will answer some lingering questions that I might have, I'll read it... as soon as I can because right now I'm working at 5% of my power. Oh no, my mind is already shutting down! must... click... submit... 

And I enjoy those reviews, despite the fact that sometimes I feel like I'm a bit too talkative... So continue taking your time and don't feel indebted to me either.

As for your question, no, at most you'll just mentally scar her away from her ability 'till the next time she gets a type of therapy, but it is not possible to bad end the twintailed cat. it's just that Nelly here lacked forgiveness to temper her vengeance even a little, thus creating the scene I described.

[Motaromc]

On 8/12/2024 at 9:14 AM, Nyoko said:

And I enjoy those reviews, despite the fact that sometimes I feel like I'm a bit too talkative... So continue taking your time and don't feel indebted to me either.

It's good to see we're on the same page! I was here on Wednesday as promised, but I didn't leave you a review, even though I read and voted for your story, as much as it makes me sad, the reviews will have to wait until Sunday. However, I'm here now and I have been itching to say, WOAH, CEO Oscar? Otherworldly Ventures does sound like something that would come straight from him but... (I really want to swear here but I'm not sure if it's allowed... still) Dang! It seems that the world is ending in not only one quest but TWO! All my plans of carefully nurturing Oscar, and taking care not to rush anything to minimize the risks are now completely obsolete (mostly because I just discovered that we're on a timer), I read the other two threads you have linked to me and I believe that I understand the situation now, first things first, I'll have to throw away caution and start Balling. Oh, It's probably irrelevant but my sleep-deprived mind completely missed how my autocorrector changed "Mine Kat" into "My cat" in my last review lol, i'm glad to see that I can abuse her powers with minor consequences hehe.

As for the story, it's amazing to see how much leeway we have in the underworld, i thought Mina Katus was a forgettable mob character in the background but color me surprised! Satori trusts us enough to mediate an Oni conflict... We should take care to not be bent in a particularly unpleasant way, even with reduced magic they are still Onis after all. However, I feel like you may have some questions about how I choose to talk with our poor dear applicant before anything else, and my answer is... TRIAL BY FIRE. Let me tell you a quick story, one day, a young Mota suddenly found himself a job inside a small school, it was his very first job with disgustingly low pay despite Mota's complete inexperience with teaching, considering he never thought of becoming a teacher before, he was still excited for his first day! 31st of October, Halloween, everyone was so busy in that stupid understaffed school that they shoved the clueless new guy into a classroom with 43 students, some even older than I was at the time, for 5 hours and a half without any guidance or warning beforehand and if that was not enough, I still had to leave to the closest supermarket around to buy food and decorations for the school, not to mention that I had to arrange the decorations myself in the end. Moral of the story? I want to see this guy suffer like I did, Satori says he is eccentric. I don't care as long as he can hold the fort for us. If he doesn't ask to leave by the end of our duties, then I believe he will make a fine minion for Mina.

 

[Motaromc]

Hello again! So, I know I said that I wanted to bully this guy and everything but some words (mainly "abundant lust") in the last chapter forced me to stop and actually analyze the situation in our hands, you see, it pains me to admit that I failed this weeb skill check and didn't understand what a "sinsack" is. After a quick Google search I was able to determine that a sinsack should be the Touhou version of a "Mogeko", the little lewd Pikachu species from that questionable game, i know that he... what was his name again? John Kurogiri? I know that John seems to be a pariah in the eyes of his people by having what Mina claims to be a moral compass. Still, he was already demoted to Mogeko in my mind and the bullying was intended to be only a rite of passage for a new comrade after all. However, we won't just disregard this guy yet! Maybe he can evolve like a Pokemon in the future, we just need to throw him into some random battles and feed him rare candies.

As for my choice, I feel like asking advice from bigger cat is the best call for now, we are dealing with Oni soon, maybe Orin could lend us a hand or help Mina deal with some stress from her totally safe last adventure. 

[Motaromc]

Really? Biggus Cattus has been in even more trouble than Mina now? I guess I should have expected that I was hoping for fresh advice and headpats but Orin only gave us the *Teehee* and now we have even more pressure on our shoulders. Still, we have some useful info nonetheless, the first one is that the discussion was about enslav... I mean hiring the evil spirits to farm crops or not and that they are somehow inconclusive about using them to make an army, hmm, how do I say this? My personal opinion about this mess is why not? If we can get minions then I believe we should get minions unless they prove themselves detrimental in the long run, the sinsack experiment might prove to be essential to get actual proof to be presented in the courtroom.

Talking about courtrooms, DOREMY-CHAAAN, a small cameo in the very end? what a pleasant surprise or perhaps not, what is going on here? Someone powerful asking for help in exchange for favors? I can only think of Satori but would that really be necessary? I have my doubts about this but as the saying goes, one does not look a gift horse in the mouth, i can't shake the feeling though that Doremy seemed a bit off, as if in a hurry, and Mina's comments that she is "holding off her base desires" give me even more reason to think, how did the decay of magic affect the dream world? Is it the same or maybe dreams are not reaching the dream world as they did before? Worst case scenario, our lovely Baku might have been starving for a while, which isn't good, because I really like her character, you know?

With that said then I suppose I can send my weekly review and wait for Yume to update the tale of Magic Man Ozzy... Wait, am I forgetting something? Oh right, the courtroom! Sorry, Doremy got me distracted, her Santa hat is a bit cute. No, I must focus! The courtroom, I chose it because nothing else seemed related to our predicament right now! I can say that the bloody scenario is probably about Mina's backstory about how her owner got killed or something and that seems like a terrible idea to focus on right now considering that she already has a lot on her shoulders! Although I'm interested to know more about this in the future, the other two dreams completely confused me because I have no idea what their meaning might be. All in all, the courtroom dream probably holds the key to our future choice, and that pink bubblegum cloud she has looks very fluffy, I wonder if she could let me rest my head on it, maybe she would even caress my head and look at me with that smug face of hers while I slowly drift away to a peaceful rest.

[Motaromc]

I blame the Baku! Hello, I'm a whole day late to reviewing this time but please don't curse me senpai, like I told Yume just now, I've been a bit sick since yesterday and was having a bit of trouble with a mighty headache that prevented me from writing, I swear I'm not evading you in purpose! on the bright side, I have a whole Monday to take it easy now which rarely happens nowadays. Seriously now, I'm blaming this cursed Baku! I was swayed by the sweet promise of a peaceful rest and failed to understand what the dreams were supposed to mean, imagine my surprise when I saw Eiki talking to us and about a war no less. I don't think we are paid enough for this, does Mina even get paid at all? I have a feeling that it's just a minor allowance plus headpats and praises which may or may not be enough...

So, like any good underling should do, it's time to warn our boss and promptly step away from this mess, i have a feeling though that this will end up being our problem in one way or another by the end of the day. Next, we should get this experiment done with and deal with the Oni already, then take a look at what Okuu is doing lately, the option to talk to her has appeared quite a few times, and considering the way things are escalating lately, the nuclear furnace might be on the verge of blowing up.

*Reminder to self* Never mistake a parliament with a courtroom again or else we might end up becoming an unwilling ambassador.

[Motaromc]

Yay, another update filled with red flags and possible hints! But what can I even do about it? First of all, our MP went down ever so slightly and that makes me curious, what will happen if it reaches 0? Will Mina be out of commission because of it? Cease to exist because she is a being of fluffiness, magic, mystery and vengeance? Or just be tired and unable to use her skills? Anyway, I hoped that she would recover a bit with rest but maybe the dream got in the way of our MP regen, and being locked out of our magical option is still a bad thing so I'll be keeping an eye out for that from now on. Another thing that bothered me was Satori's reaction or the lack of it, perhaps she had been expecting something like this for a while now, another thing is that she was already expecting some sort of progress but didn't seem to be in any hurry about it, maybe it was I who was being overly nervous about everything but in my defense, it takes weeks of careful planning in our end but to Mina, it has been barely a day of headache.

Another hint that you almost shoved in my face is that Okuu can also help with the spirits dilemma and that's a funny thing to know because I had completely discarded Okuu in favor of rushing the parliament into order as soon as possible, as I could see just now is that maybe we should analyze everything thoroughly before taking this step and considering that we might be nearing into a conflict then strengthening our military will be essential, I already know what I'm voting for next unless, of course, you decide to surprise me with something else. Now, to talk about our choices, I gave a lot of thought to this one and I simply decided to trust Kymoh on this one, normally I would just use the sinsack rather than go over the trouble of finding someone else, he seems to be the most trustworthy and expendable person we have right now so if we want to gather decisive data then he is our guy but my ally voted first and I doubt anyone else will try voting (I even held back my vote until today to not influence anyone), so I decided to make it easier to you and follow his lead.

Wait, that begs the question: What would you do if I voted for something else? Like using the sinsack considering he is right in front of us instead of having to search for someone else? Would you flip a coin? Roll a dice? Write a mix of both options? act as the tiebreaker and choose something yourself?

Edit: I learned how to edit! So here I was, staring at nothing, waiting for the tale of magik magical guy to update and I just realized that who are we even asking to help regarding the experiments? No, the right question is, who will be a willing test subject and also one that probably won't lie or get mad at us? Mina doesn't strike me as a person with many friends and it takes a real one to do this. So I changed my mind! Do the coin flip Nyoko! I'm calling HEADS.

PS: Ey, i guess we won't have Ozzy today, not surprised because Yume is probably still waiting for that copy of Forbidden Scrollery...

Edited September 16, 2024 by Motaromc
I have decided to change my vote

[Nyoko]

There won't be a chapter or however you want to call it today at the very least (probably next week, if I had to set a date), because I caught a cold when I would usually begin with writing and my body only knows one way to deal with sickness: Nuclear Warfare. (Also because this chapter is going to explain something very important* that I absolutely cannot afford to improperly explain.) Oh, and the fact that I was busy teaching a friend economics 101, being social, et cetera, didn't help either.

Though regarding the tiebreakers; if it is something I can combine I will try my best to do that (unless I can provide the same amount of info with the other way), but if it is incompatible like this one, then the vote that is the highest on the order I gave them to you wins out. But not without Mina acknowledging the thought and arguing for and against both choices internally. In this case, we're bothering the Sinsack and will likely be seen as a monster for reasons that I will explain later because my head wants to explode now.

Don't be discouraged from making a tie, because then I have to give you all a compelling reason for why Mina herself would choose to do that choice rather than the other one, which may give you more information than not having a tie in the first place.

*That being an explanation of Mina's ability.

P.S.

On 9/16/2024 at 4:54 AM, Motaromc said:

Do the coin flip Nyoko! I'm calling HEADS.

Just for you I decided to flip a coin: it's heads.

[Motaromc]

Nyoko! How nice it feels to talk with someone once in a while, it's so sadge you are feeling unwell to the point of Nuclear Warfare, I hope you remembered to stock enough food and water in your bunker. So, first of all, I was reading my last review here, the one I tried editing, and it feels so weird, it's like I was supposed to write an addition in that little box where I explained the reason for editing my message or maybe I'm just overthinking and my especially edited review™ is actually fine... what? Oh right, I'm supposed to talk with you and not with myself, sorry it's a force of habit, then about your cold, I hope you get well soon and don't worry about the goofy old me, I can survive just fine without my weekly dose of Mina Kat's hellish adventure.

On 9/18/2024 at 8:59 AM, Nyoko said:

There won't be a chapter or however you want to call it today at the very least (probably next week, if I had to set a date), because I caught a cold when I would usually begin with writing and my body only knows one way to deal with sickness: Nuclear Warfare. (Also because this chapter is going to explain something very important* that I absolutely cannot afford to improperly explain.) Oh, and the fact that I was busy teaching a friend economics 101, being social, et cetera, didn't help either.

That's a nice way of making me think about my decisions and choices when you point it out like this, "however I want to call it", did I turn it into a story in my mind? I remember that this is a project for the revival of Kaguya's roleplaying thread if I'm not mistaken, are you just roleplaying and letting me think that I'm actually reading a story composed of "arcs", "chapters" and everything else? To think your manipulation of me would go to this extent, you are truly evil boss! As compensation, I would like some classes of this "Economics 101", it sounds like a powerful school of magic, wait, actually don't do it please, it's probably very boring as well. As a side note, I think I did catch a cold one or two weeks ago, maybe I even talked about it in one of my reviews *scrolls up*, *reads*, *scrolls down*, I did! I even broke my schedule too and reviewed it on a Monday, see? we are more alike than it seems, considering that we both can catch colds, which is certainly rare and almost unheard of, it might be a weird theory but I think we are in fact long lost siblings or perhaps even twins. I am the evil twin though! Can't let you have the best role.

 

On 9/18/2024 at 8:59 AM, Nyoko said:

Though regarding the tiebreakers; if it is something I can combine I will try my best to do that (unless I can provide the same amount of info with the other way), but if it is incompatible like this one, then the vote that is the highest on the order I gave them to you wins out. But not without Mina acknowledging the thought and arguing for and against both choices internally. In this case, we're bothering the Sinsack and will likely be seen as a monster for reasons that I will explain later because my head wants to explode now.

 

Okay, serious mode now, this is not a bad take for the tiebreakers dilemma, having Mina's input for each choice is actually a good move because I can get you talking and giving me more info to work with, despite being only things Mina herself would know it's already better than whatever I could imagine because I'm more of a third party here if anything. Now, to finally address the elephant in the room, how did the bother minion option turn out so badly? It's actually mind-blowing to know that our choices actually have consequences (who would have thought?), looking on the bright side, at least we are getting our info.

On 9/18/2024 at 8:59 AM, Nyoko said:

Don't be discouraged from making a tie, because then I have to give you all a compelling reason for why Mina herself would choose to do that choice rather than the other one, which may give you more information than not having a tie in the first place.

About this, it's not about making a tie, it's that I wanted to play the ally role I forced gave to Kymoh <- (My ally), as you can see, I'm not always the most reliable guy around considering I completely disregarded the fact that choices have consequences (who would have thought?), however, my most reliable ally did not. It's a shame I let my inner thoughts win (they are going to win again if I ever face another similar situation) but it won't happen again so rest assured.

P.S.

Are we doing P.S.s now? I'm not against it, I always wanted to write P.S.s ever since I was a kid, I'll be using this one to explain why I choose Heads instead of Tails. Sorry for making you go through the work of flipping a coin with a headache by the way, anyways, i watched Hellsing Abridged before writing the past review and there is one scene where Integra asks the Major what he did to Alucard and he eloquently responds: I called Heads.

P.S.S.

Looking back now, it kind of makes me cringe, is there any scientific phenomenon that describes the act of cringing whenever you see the work of your past self? My weekly reviews are always influenced by whatever I did at that specific time, mostly as a way to make writing this as funny as possible for me and for whoever reads this in the future, so I hope I didn't talk too much this time.

P.S.S.S.

The theme for next chapter is probably:

Am i a bad person? 

Quote by Lolicard

 

[Nyoko]

I'm back with a vengeance~.

As a quick explanation of where I disappeared off to, I got lost in the realm of my own imagination, the rabbit hole that is attempting to categorize vengeance, a school that is a lot heavier on the homework, and a small purchase of the entire Reincarnated as a Sword saga. Getting into a rhythm with all of those things was (and still is) difficult, but I'll manage. The rhythm is tantalizingly close, so it'll be fairly easy to begin incorporating the things I sacrificed to do emergency work back into it.

That is not to say I have been standing idly by, it just has not been a lot of Touhou.

Now then, you may have read that we're about to depart to Arc 2, of which I have some ideas floating around of what I want to do, but with the person who wants to learn how to write being here, I wonder if what I am about to do would even fly with him...

Eh, screw it, what could go wrong?

~------------------------------------------~

With permission from both the captain of the Military and Queen Satori herself, I, Mina Katt, hereby query any valiant soul with a body to join our expedition to the Hakurei Republic. The Republic is currently at war with the Netherworld, so expect battle and unceremonious death.

I expect people proficient in combat against spirits and capable of surviving on their own in the wild. We’re going to be fighting the Netherworld as a contingent on the side of the Hakurei, so we better leave a good impression on them.

Lastly, know that there are merely six places to be filled, so the earlier you sign up, the better your chances at getting in. We leave within a week of first posting this announcement on the – of --------------, Season 142.

~------------------------------------------~

There is your prompt for your character creation. You may even attempt to write how the interview is going to go, and I'll certainly take as much of how you would write it into consideration when it is time to actually depart for the Hakurei Republic. You may also write as many as you want, though six is the maximum that are going to come with her and I shall take a character from a new person over another from the same.

Just remember: I am incapable of forcing you to write, nor do I want to.

Edited October 22, 2024 by Nyoko
A slight amount of extra information regarding the character creation rules

[Motaromc]

NYOKOOOOOOO!!! I missed you! (I totally didn't forget everything I was planning for this particular quest), so many things happened while you were out, can you believe that a fair amount of friends gather here around this time to participate in the quest voting process? You should consider dropping around more even if it's just to vote and leave... Anyway, I'm glad to see you alive and kicking since the last time I heard about you, you mentioned something about nuclear winter and sickness, I got a little worried you know?

Welp, I should probably address the elephant in the room now, if I actually kept my earlier promise of visiting every Wednesday I would have seen it earlier which might have allowed me some time to think, all things considered, I guess you asked me for a character so I can help you build a little RPG party and do some "funny" around the Hakurei Republic right? Hmm, six characters are a bit too much but maybe I can cook something out for you real quick, I'm quite mediocre at writing though, or else I would have tried a big introduction just for you.

On 10/22/2024 at 8:24 AM, Nyoko said:

~------------------------------------------~

With permission from both the captain of the Military and Queen Satori herself, I, Mina Katt, hereby query any valiant soul with a body to join our expedition to the Hakurei Republic. The Republic is currently at war with the Netherworld, so expect battle and unceremonious death.

I expect people proficient in combat against spirits and capable of surviving on their own in the wild. We’re going to be fighting the Netherworld as a contingent on the side of the Hakurei, so we better leave a good impression on them.

Lastly, know that there are merely six places to be filled, so the earlier you sign up, the better your chances at getting in. We leave within a week of first posting this announcement on the – of --------------, Season 142.

~------------------------------------------~

Hehehe, look at this, I feel honored even! I mean, you are being so polite by formally inviting me out of all people, in truth, you should try selling your idea around to see if you can find more people who might be interested, I'm sure my ally would find it at least interesting and you probably have seen Soshmal earlier right? Sosh in particular appears to be very competent if their comment about getting Yume's story in a Google Doc just to take notes is anything to go by. Ops, sidetracked myself a bit, back to character creation... Hmm, knowing myself I would go with the weirdest Youkai I can get my hands on, give it a strange quirk, and make a special mechanic to trigger said quirk here and there but I'm not nearly as knowledgeable about Youkai as Yumetou proved to be, all I know are some from the original source, perhaps it's time to do a quick research? Google, Top 10 weirdest Youkai native to Old Hell.

Alright, maybe I got a bit too enthusiastic, spent some time looking around, and found some really weird folk, the giant hairy feet got me laughing a bit but the filth-licker thing had me a bit disgusted, there is one that is surprisingly funny though, have you heard about the little pillow flipper? The little guy who goes into your house while you are sleeping and flips your pillow (That's literally all it does), sounds stupid enough to make a character whose biggest goal is to flip every pillow in Gensokyo, right up in my alley! Sadly, this little one doesn't really fit the theme for Old Hell which is just sad because I took a liking to its simplicity, all the pillow talk feels more attached to the dream world than anything, there is also the fact that if you supposedly flip a pillow of a sleeping person then that person gets closer to death so the little fella might not be as dumb as he might appear...

All in all, it got a little late and I've yet to see if I have any story to vote on tonight. Do tell me if my rambling actually helped with something, see you around friend.

[Nyoko]

Well, it turns out I have been a bit too tight in my scheduling again... So I'll just spin this into a way to make everyone else have a chance to contribute at a more relaxed pace. I'll create a character every week and process the suggestions when I find out about them.

Also, I'm quite lax when it comes to the restrictions, finding something that could work in the context presented is already hard enough, that you don't necessarily have a completed character, but rather a concept of one is natural. There are a few key answers to important questions that need to be answered, though.

First: Does it feel like he/she is wrongfully persecuted? 
-> If yes, they pass this question.
-> If no, did they live in Former Hell originally?
    -> If yes, they pass.
    -> If no, they don't.

Second: Would they even somewhat agree with the core ideal of the country? (That being: "Through Understanding Comes Peace!")
->If yes, they pass.
->If no, they don't.

You can ask a few other questions, but those two are cardinal rules I follow when I characterize people from the Underworld. It's possible for there to be an exception to those rules, but good luck finding it.

On 10/28/2024 at 4:32 AM, Motaromc said:

(I totally didn't forget everything I was planning for this particular quest)

I have no clue what my subconscious has planned for me either, I just know it has something coherent planned. This is also not the best first chapter/prologue I have ever written, but it's there now, as a testament to my struggles to become a 'good' writer. whatever that illusionary title may hold.

On 10/28/2024 at 4:32 AM, Motaromc said:

NYOKOOOOOOO!!! I missed you! (I totally didn't forget everything I was planning for this particular quest), so many things happened while you were out, can you believe that a fair amount of friends gather here around this time to participate in the quest voting process? You should consider dropping around more even if it's just to vote and leave... Anyway, I'm glad to see you alive and kicking since the last time I heard about you, you mentioned something about nuclear winter and sickness, I got a little worried you know?

The Troubles have indeed kept me away longer than I'm willing to admit, though for now it hasn't been so bad as to require hospitalization. I also bought quite a few things not related to Touhou that interested me, which also kept me away, but Gensokyo is a place that feels familiar to me. It is a place to rest the weary bones of a traveler of the internet, though too much rest hurts the same as too little rest.

I also get way too carried away making plans and working side jobs that I don't rest as much as I probably should, and I refuse to complain about my situation because it can always get worse. My whims also haven't taken me to Gensokyo in a while, so that's also a reason.

On 10/28/2024 at 4:32 AM, Motaromc said:

Welp, I should probably address the elephant in the room now, if I actually kept my earlier promise of visiting every Wednesday I would have seen it earlier which might have allowed me some time to think, all things considered, I guess you asked me for a character so I can help you build a little RPG party and do some "funny" around the Hakurei Republic right? Hmm, six characters are a bit too much but maybe I can cook something out for you real quick, I'm quite mediocre at writing though, or else I would have tried a big introduction just for you.

Considering I disappeared of the face of the earth for a while, I completely understand why you didn't come here every Wednesday just to confirm that I am in fact still gone. I was more so gauging the interest and the trust of the people who care to come here and read my ramblings than I actually wanted one person to create six characters. Also, it is extremely difficult to be mediocre at something. To write well enough it doesn't have any notable mistakes while writing bad enough to not leave a lasting impact on the people that read your work. Also, you don't have to contend with city poets.

On 10/28/2024 at 4:32 AM, Motaromc said:

Hehehe, look at this, I feel honored even! I mean, you are being so polite by formally inviting me out of all people, in truth, you should try selling your idea around to see if you can find more people who might be interested, I'm sure my ally would find it at least interesting and you probably have seen Soshmal earlier right? Sosh in particular appears to be very competent if their comment about getting Yume's story in a Google Doc just to take notes is anything to go by. Ops, sidetracked myself a bit, back to character creation... Hmm, knowing myself I would go with the weirdest Youkai I can get my hands on, give it a strange quirk, and make a special mechanic to trigger said quirk here and there but I'm not nearly as knowledgeable about Youkai as Yumetou proved to be, all I know are some from the original source, perhaps it's time to do a quick research? Google, Top 10 weirdest Youkai native to Old Hell.

Well, I don't want to make a habit out of advertising my story in another story's forum, but if you want to contact those people privately I won't mind. In case you haven't noticed it yet, I bury as much meaning into everything I can, which leads to some strange circumstances when people don't pick up on certain key meanings and I misdirect them because I want to practice manipulation. Though I somehow retain a certain air that makes them keep their guard low around me. 

That mystery is hard to keep when you're the one initiating the conversation, so I avoid doing that as much as possible or provide answers that bring more questions. So you can consider this a source of inspiration to make my writing a little more complicated; I like a challenge, after all.

Yumetou once said that I was someone with a great understanding of Youkai. I respectfully disagree, as I only know two, maybe three Youkai deeply and about half a respectable amount, with most of my information coming from trusted sources or applying common storytelling tropes to Youkai to make the illusion that the net I have is as wide as it is deep. I also do a lot of research if I think I am lacking something necessary for the misdirection, which then somehow turns into a great understanding of Youkai for someone who can barely recall what a Gotoku Neko is. (That being a forgetful cat that came into this world by having their tail singed at the fireplace [at least, that's the most likely explanation].) So I can't say I would know much more than you.

On 10/28/2024 at 4:32 AM, Motaromc said:

Alright, maybe I got a bit too enthusiastic, spent some time looking around, and found some really weird folk, the giant hairy feet got me laughing a bit but the filth-licker thing had me a bit disgusted, there is one that is surprisingly funny though, have you heard about the little pillow flipper? The little guy who goes into your house while you are sleeping and flips your pillow (That's literally all it does), sounds stupid enough to make a character whose biggest goal is to flip every pillow in Gensokyo, right up in my alley! Sadly, this little one doesn't really fit the theme for Old Hell which is just sad because I took a liking to its simplicity, all the pillow talk feels more attached to the dream world than anything, there is also the fact that if you supposedly flip a pillow of a sleeping person then that person gets closer to death so the little fella might not be as dumb as he might appear...

I had not, but I did hear of the Youkai that sits on you so hard you suffocate, the Kanashibari, which the pillow-flipper is related to. Also, there is opportunity there for a Former Hell Makuragaeshi.

Straight from Yokai.com
 

Quote

Others still have attributed this spirit to the actions of monster cats such as kasha.

Does that remind you of someone? If it does not directly fit the theme of Old Hell, figure out if it is related to someone who is. While you're there, go read up on the kanashibari, as well. It does not have to be a 1-1 transcription of the Youkai as stated, as Goutokuji Mike will remind you with her mere existence.

Considering you got another try due to me overestimating my abilities, go try again. 

I should also put up a timer when I start writing these things because where the hell did the last hour go?

[Motaromc]

11 hours ago, Nyoko said:

try again.

Ouch...

[Motaromc]

“Hey, kid! Wake up!”

My eyes snap open or they would, if they had been closed in the first place. I slowly turn my head to look at the man who interrupted my thoughts: a balding old guy, probably in his sixties, with a nearly toothless grin and a glint of smug satisfaction in his eyes.

“Daydreaming again, are we?” he says, shaking his head. “I thought putting you to work would knock that habit out of you.”

I scowl. “Yeah, thanks for that, old man. Like I ever agreed to this job in the first place.”

He laughs, already getting on my nerves. “How many times do I have to tell you, kid? Honest work is what separates a man from a boy. Clearly, you haven’t tilled the fields enough yet.”

“Right, ‘honest work,’” I mutter, glancing over at the camp sprawled out in front of us. What was once a barren patch of earth, pocked with holes from ages past, is now speckled with green. Small lettuce plants are beginning to sprout.

“Lettuce,” the old man says. “The kind of crop you find anywhere. But here… well, it was enough to prove her point.” He chuckles to himself, referring to her, the upstarting cat who had somehow earned the queen’s favor and dragged us all into this mess.

“Don’t pretend you like her, old man. You just wanted a distraction from rotting away in this place.”

With that, we drift towards the bodies we’ll be using today, strangely the cat’s little pet is here too, after single-handedly filling a chariot with lettuce by himself, the sinsack was completely spent and had to be taken away from his activities for a forced rest.

“Oi, Jun-san! Looks like you’ve recovered enough to pay these old bones a visit,” the old man calls out to him.

The sinsack, didn’t seem surprised to see us here, considering that he teamed up with the old man for that cat’s experiment, it’s safe to assume that they are well acquainted at this point.

“Shimura-dono, working hard as always, I see. But, given the state of things, you may not have many bones left to speak of” He glances over at me and raises an eyebrow. “And Maru-san, what a surprise. I didn’t think you’d have the patience for this kind of work.”

I roll my eyes. “How many times do I have to say it? It’s Mark. And trust me, I’m only here because this geezer dragged me along.”

“Ha!” the old man snorts. “This grumpy kid needed something to do. Otherwise, he wouldd just keep making that dumb face, staring off into space.”

He has a point, as much as I hate to admit it. Ever since I ended up in this cursed land, Gensokyo, things haven’t exactly been… right. It feels like an eternity has passed, but my memories of that day are still fresh...

 

_____ __, ____

"Mark, are you even paying attention to the question I just asked?"

My thoughts are interrupted again, this time by a different balding man. This one is younger, in his early forties, maybe. Mr. Wilson, my teacher. I straighten in my seat, trying to look like I’m paying attention.

Yes, I am, Mr. Wilson. But as you probably guessed, I can’t answer it.” There's no point pretending, I have seen this question before, after all. It's not my first time studying this stuff.

Mr. Wilson sighs, crossing his arms. “Listen, Mark, I’m going to be blunt. If you keep up this attitude, you’re setting yourself up to repeat the grade. Again.”

Easy for him to say. He doesn’t know what it’s like. He never had to walk up to the board with a bunch of brainless idiots staring at his back or hear them whispering whenever they think he’s not listening.

“I know you could have answered it, Mark. You answered it last year, didn’t you? But this time, you wouldn’t even get up from your seat. Is it… your family again? Or the new class? I know it’s not easy starting over, especially surrounded by unfamiliar faces.”

His words hit a little too close. My mood sours at a fast pace. I can tell he is being genuine, but there’s no way I’m ever going to fit in with those people. Not with the way they look at me

“Thank you for your concern, Mr. Wilson. But may I leave now? I would like to get home early…” I’m lying, I’m not thankful at all. I just need to get out of here, she might be home earlier today.

He sighs, “Alright, Mark, you can go. But know that I’m not giving up on you. I won’t rest until we fix this.”

Without another word, I turn and make my way toward the door. But as I reach it, his voice stops me one last time.

“Oh, and Mark… before you go. Happy Birthday.”

The walk back home isn’t far, but it still takes considerable time, especially since I don’t have my bike today. Usually, I avoid public transportation to save what little pocket money I have, but today I don’t have a choice. There's a good chance Mom will actually be at home, maybe even Dad. And that means real food for once. Living off instant noodles for so long makes me desperate to taste Mom’s cooking again.

After the bus drops me off, I walk quickly, breaking into a jog as I get closer to the house. But something feels off. The windows are closed, and the lights are off. Are they… preparing a surprise?

I fumble with my keys and open the door, stepping into a dark, empty hallway. Silence in the air as I make my way toward the kitchen. Each step feels colder, until I reach the table and see it: the same setup as always, a bag of cheap ramen and a note, probably from Mom.

“Good job, Mark. Deluding yourself again,” I mutter, my voice echoing in the empty house. Why did I even think they would be here? I crumple the note and toss it in the trash without even reading it. She’s probably apologizing for working overtime again.

I leave the ramen untouched and head upstairs, throwing my bag onto the floor as I collapse onto the bed. It creaks under my weight. Since Dad left, money has been tight. Mom had to go from being a simple housewife to an overworked clerk, and Dad lives comfortably with his new family. At least he still covers my school fees, but…

*Buzzzz* *Buzzzz*

My phone vibrates, snapping me out of my thoughts. It’s him? Maybe he remembered.

“Dad! Did you remem-” I begin, but his sharp voice cuts me off.

“Mark,” he says, with an irritated tone.

I can hear it from miles away, he’s pissed. “I got an interesting call from your school,” he continues while audibly getting angrier.

Damn it, Mr. Wilson. I thought you were on my side.

“Dad, I can expla-”

“No, Mark, there’s nothing to explain. You’re still keeping up the same selfish attitude, aren’t you? Do you have any idea who pays for that ‘stupid school’ of yours?”

He cuts me for the second time, I knew it would come back to money. But he’s right because I let things slide too far. Repeating a grade didn’t help.

“You’re eighteen now, Mark. An adult. Why don’t you try acting like one? You know, your sister is going to college next year. Meanwhile, you’re still stubbornly playing this little rebel act. Is it really so hard to be grateful? You know what? Since you’re eighteen, maybe it’s time to find a job instead of clinging to this mess. I have a friend who wor-”

I turn off the phone and get up immediately, truth be told, he is right about something it’s time to act like a man instead of a rebel child.

Still in my school uniform, I head downstairs. Mom will be back eventually, and if she can’t make anything for us, then I will. There should be enough of the money I saved to pick up a pizza, at least. Holding my tears back, I make my way to the front door, stepping outside into the cloudy afternoon.

But I stop the moment I step outside. Instead of pavement, all I see is a rough, packed dirt road stretching out before me, winding toward an unfamiliar landscape. The bright sun blinded me for a second, and when my vision cleared, everything around me has changed.

Impossible. I turn in every direction, finding nothing but run-down houses, spaced wide apart, their wooden frames looking entirely out of place. It’s as if my neighborhood vanished, replaced by an old rustic village. I spin back around, hoping my house will be there, but there’s no sign of it.

“This is… Isekai?” I mutter. When rationality fails, sometimes it’s easier to believe in the impossible, no matter how absurd.

With no other option, I follow the dirt path. If this really is an isekai, someone will fetch me eventually, right? After all, that’s how it goes. Soon enough, signs of life start to appear. The dirt streets transition into paved stone, and the houses become more frequent, shifting from simple wood to clay structures as well.

Spotting a worker nearby, I approach him. He’s carrying two buckets of water over his shoulders with a bamboo pole. Normally, I’d leave a busy person alone, but right now I have no other options.

“Excuse me, sir, could you please tell me where I am?” Perfect, now the script demands that the man recognizes me as the prophesized Hero, sent by a kind goddess to slay the Demon King threatening his homeland.

“何って言ったの？” The man looks over his shoulder at me, his eyes narrowing as he takes in my uniform, and then he mutters, “別の部外者,” before walking off with a frown.

“Of course. Language barrier,” I sigh. I should have guessed people here wouldn’t speak English.

With no better ideas, I keep to the main path, ignoring the quiet whispers and stares that follow me. Soon, the village grows busier, a rush-hour of sorts. People are queuing in front of small storefronts, talking in low, friendly voices. They glance at me briefly, then go back to their business. Not wanting to draw more attention, I spot a nearby bench in a small park and sit down.

“Think, Mark. Think! At least you still have your phone,” I say, pulling it out and turning it on. Relief washes over me as the familiar home screen lights up, showing me an old photo of me and my mom. She must be worried sick already. Quickly, I dial her number, but then I see it: no signal.

“Shit, shit, shit! Where even am I, Ohio?” Desperate, I jump up onto the bench, waving my phone around, hoping to catch any faint signal. But my search halts as my eyes catch something in the sky: a blur, moving too fast to be a bird. Blinking, I see it again, this time a red blur. They seem to be two figures, floating nearly half a mile up, and I strain my eyes to make out two women, apparently arguing.

People nearby glance up, and then, almost as if it’s routine, they vacate the area or step indoors without much fuss. The two figures start flinging glowing spheres and streaks of color at each other, shapes spiraling and weaving in different patterns. I can barely make out their forms as they fly around, fast as lightning.

My phone slips from my hand as I watch in awe. So many colors and shapes, emotions freely flow out as I stare at the colors, they are filled with overflowing determination and the earnest desire of trying to best each other, could it be that they are having fun?

“High-leveled characters, for sure,” I mutter, my heart pounds with excitation. This isn’t Earth and I’m really in another world. And if it means I can escape school, Dad, and their pitying stares… maybe I don’t mind.

But then, one of the women brightens, her glow more intense than anything else in the sky. She raises her hand, murmuring something, and the entire sky shudders before erupting into light. Instinct kicks in, and I jump off the bench, breaking into a run. Just in time, as the surge of magic hits where I had been standing, narrowly missing me.

The two women pause, noticing their mistake, and then shift away from the village, continuing their duel out of sight. I watch as they head toward a distant gate, the village exit, and for a moment, the urge to follow them grows within me. But I stop myself. This is way too dangerous, considering that I’m probably terribly under leveled.

As the villagers emerge from their hiding places, a small contingency of what looks like an armed force hurries down the street. “Seems like my cue to leave,” I mutter, ducking into a side street.

My mind finally slows as I walk, the last traces of adrenaline wearing off. The sun is setting, casting everything in a reddish glow. My excitement fades with the light, and I realize I have nowhere to go. “Maybe that park bench wasn’t so bad…” I pat myself on the shoulder for the idea but freeze when I remember my phone. I dropped it in the park.

Rushing back, I scan the area, surprised to find the park undisturbed. Not even the grass is damaged. Only a small patch of dirt nearby has turned to glass. Could it be that PvP is not allowed in this area? Shaking off my thoughts, I look around for my phone, but it’s nowhere to be found.

Nearby, a trash can catches my eye, filled with crumpled papers. With no other options, I pull one out and glance over it. It’s a newspaper, 文々。新聞, printed in symbols I can’t read. But some images stand out, as if taken with a camera, how they are able to take pictures in a seemingly medieval village?

I return to the bench, curling up with the paper for warmth against the chilling winds. The night is quiet here, only the sounds of crickets breaking the silence, dim lanterns casting faint shadows, and a bright, full moon above.

“So, how’s that for a birthday, Mark?” I whisper, staring up at the sky.

My eyes linger on the moon. “Huh? I could have sworn that for a moment the moon could open an eye and stare back at me.”

 

  It's time to rest, I can only hope Mom is not too worried.

 

____ __, ____

 

*Bonk* *Bonk* *Bonk*

“Ouch! Hey, watch it!” I blurt out, scrambling up from the bench, only to be met with the sight of a hunched old woman wielding a cane high above her head, ready for another strike.

*Bonk*

“Alright, alright! I’m up, Granny! You can put that thing down,” I say, quickly taking a step back. Then she pulls out a small cloth bag, reaches inside, and begins tossing something at me, wait, are those beans?

“You better not be debuffing me with some weird spell, you old witch!” I shout, shielding my face from the flying beans. To my surprise, she stops mid-throw and points with her cane at the newspaper lying crumpled on the ground, the one I used as a blanket.

She doesn’t say a word, just fixes me with a withering stare and taps the ground with her cane. She wants me to throw it away? Fine. I don’t want another swing from the cane of doom. Moving cautiously, I scoop up the newspaper and carefully drop it into the trashcan. Finally, her assault halts, and she lowers herself onto the bench I was been sleeping on, ignoring me entirely.

“Really, what a way to wake up.” I mutter, rubbing the back of my head. The sky is overcast, with the faintest light of dawn seeping through the clouds. Villagers are already bustling about, early risers moving in and out of storefronts and alleys.

 

  Search and negotiate with the armed forces who were investigating here yesterday, maybe they are with my phone too.

 

With a grumbling stomach and a plan, I head deeper into the village, hopefully I can pledge my services to some noble or king in order to live an easier life in the future. As I move forward, the simple wooden homes gradually give way to elegant mansions, their architecture apparently Japanese in style. The crowd thins as I step into what appears to be the noble district, where the air is laced with the scent of fresh fish. I spot a group of fishermen, hauling their daily catch, likely on their way to the market.

“If I’d known I’d end up here, I wouldn’t have turned down that ramen yesterday,” I mutter, my stomach growling in protest. Eyeing the fishermen, I make a mental note of their route, hoping I can scrounge up enough coin for something to eat.

Hunger steadily slows me down, making my legs feel heavy as I make my way through the streets. Just ahead, I spot what seems to be a garrison, possibly the same guards I saw yesterday. They’re laughing and drinking among themselves, with some posted as sentries outside a large building that I can only assume to be an adventurer’s guild.

A perfect opportunity to enlist. I’ll take any beginner’s quest they have in store, probably the classic one where you need to gather herbs and buy a meal with the payment

As I approach, two guards block my path, holding up their hands in a universal “stop” gesture.

“やめて、用件を述べてください,” one of them says, eyeing me suspiciously.

This time, I am prepared for this, I take a deep breath and mime picking a plant from the ground, then gesture as if handing it to them. I follow it up by pretending to drop imaginary coins into my hand, making a sound, similar to a cash register, to drive the point home.

“Kaching, Kaching, Kaching”

They both start making unintelligible sounds, as if aggravated?

“私たちを呪っているのですか？” One of them barks, while pointing his spear towards me.

“Ka…ching?” I repeat, taking a cautious step back, is this a trial to discover my aptitude as an adventurer?

“You may just put me at F rank!” I say, taking yet another cautious step back, while doing a time out sign

“ここで何が起こっているのでしょうか？” A powerful voice booms from the entrance as heavy footsteps approach. The guards instantly lower their heads in a deep bow, revealing an imposing man dressed in traditional Japanese attire, with a katana strapped at his side. Judging by how the guards defer to him, he must be the guild master.

Well, this wasn’t the warm welcome from a friendly receptionist girl I was hoping for, but I’ll take what I can get. As I stride over to him, his eyes lock in with mine and flash with recognition.

“Hello there, Guild Master!” I say, attempting a friendly slap on his shoulder. “I’d like to join your merry band of brave adventurers if possible-”

My sentence is cut short by the back of his hand, and I find myself sprawled on the ground, the right side of my face throbbing.

“部外者よ、自分の限界を知ってください,” he says coldly, looking down on me with stern eyes.

My head spins and my stomach clenches from hunger. Trembling, I manage to pull myself up, one hand holding my aching face.

“What is wrong with you? Are you insane?” I shout at him.

He narrows his eyes and rests a hand on his katana, sliding it out of its sheath just enough to reveal its deadly sharp edge.

“ここではトラブルメーカーを許しませんが、あなたの価値を証明するチャンスを一度だけ与えます。”

“This was a mistake, I shouldn’t have expected more of savages” I walk my way back without sparing them another glance.

 

 Cents are made of zinc-platted copper, should be enough to fool a merchant into thinking it's the real deal.

 

Taking a deep breath, I shove down the frustration from my earlier encounter with the guild master and follow the path the fishermen took. It doesn't take long before I hear the bustling sound of voices haggling and bartering over goods. As the market comes into view, I see rows of stalls and carts, each one packed with something different: spices, meats, fruits, and intricate crafts.

But as I navigate through the crowd, I feel the prickling sensation of people’s eyes on me, the same judgmental stare I remember all too well from school. It’s not pity this time but instead, their looks seem to say, “You don’t belong here.” Maybe this land isn’t as appealing as I thought it would be

Spotting a modest stall, I approach an older man selling grains, fruits, and vegetables. He’s deep in conversation with a woman, her young child clutching her hand. My hand trembles slightly as I pick up an apple and reach into my pocket for ten coins, it’s about all I have on me. I have no idea what their currency is but If my knowledge of fantasy is correct, then one hundred copper coins is worth around ten silver coins and ten silver coins is worth a single gold coin.

“Excuse me, old man, I would like to buy this apple,” I say, interrupting their conversation, as I hold out the coins and the apple. His friendly expression quickly vanishes when he notices me. His eyes shift from my coins to my face, and he doesn’t hide his disdain.

“ここでは外の世界からの通貨を受け入れません,” he mutters, waving my hand away and reaching to take the apple back.

 

 As your stress goes past the threshold of your patience, you angrily throw the money in his face and push him back

 

“At least look at the money, you worthless NPC!” I shout, finally losing control as I throw my coins at his face, shoving him back and clutching the apple to my chest like it’s the last thing I own.

“おじいちゃんを放っておいて!” I hear someone yell as I’m shoved backward. The voice belongs to a young man, likely the woman’s husband, standing protectively between me and his family. The woman backs away, shielding her child and letting out a scream that draws the attention of the market crowd.

“You bastard…” I mutter, clenching my fists as I prepare to fight back. But then I notice something odd, the apple in my hand is gone. My raised hands are empty, and from the widening eyes of the man in front of me, he noticed it too.

-1 MP

An inexplicable wave of fatigue hits me, not physically, but deep inside. It feels as if something essential has been drained out of me, leaving a hollow space.

“魔法？” The crowd murmurs as they step back, their eyes widening with fear. Then, the old man I had shoved shouts something and points at me, and the crowd recoils.

 

 Run and Hide before the situation gets worse.

 

Instinct kicks in, and I bolt, sprinting through the parted crowd like a river splitting in two. I duck into an alley, collapsing to my knees, gripping my chest as the emptiness slowly fades, replaced by exhaustion. Tears well up, spilling down my cheeks.

“How did this happen? If only I’d been able to take that apple with me…” I mutter, clutching my chest as the strange sensation returns, tearing away another part of myself.

-1 MP

But then, to my shock, the apple reappears in my hands, just as it was before. I barely pause to question it, biting furiously into the fruit, desperate to fill the aching emptiness in my stomach. It’s not enough, but the relief is undeniable. Still, one thought lingers: the apple vanished and then came back, just because I wanted it to. This can only mean one thing, my cheat skill has awakened.

For now, though, it seems I’m out of fuel, my skill took a sizeable chunk of my “mana” leaving me nearly depleted. Testing it further would be too risky, especially with only an apple core left.

“Well, at least I got something out of this mess,” I say, scarfing down the last bits of the apple. I’m still hungry, but my mind is clearer. Guilt strikes with full force as I remember what I did to the old seller, Mom raised me better than that.

“彼は盗賊だけではなく魔術師でもあるようです。” My thoughts are interrupted as hands grip both my arms, yanking me upright. Slowly walking past me was the same Guild Master from before.

“あなたが容疑者であることは最初からわかっていました。” His words are unintelligible, but I see him holding something familiar, my phone. Its screen is cracked, probably from when I dropped it, and he fumbles awkwardly, trying to press the side button until the screen lights up with the photo of Mom and me.

“ああ、紛れもない証拠 この装置は弾幕戦が行われた場所で発見され、あなたはその所有者です,” he says, holding up the phone like evidence in a trial.

“Look, I think it should be obvious at this point but neither me nor you can understand each other.”

“黙れ、あなたがこの事件に関与していると言える十分な証拠がある”

 

 Maybe I can use my power to disarm them, then I can break from their hold and run away while they are surprised.

 

The Guild Master keeps speaking, his voice a jumble of angry sounds, but I’m done with this whole farce. I glance at the two guards holding me, they're the same ones from the guild, each with a spear strapped securely on their back. They’re my biggest threat right now.

Closing my eyes, I focus on my tiny reserves of mana, should be enough for this stunt. While they’re distracted, I raise my hands slowly and then place them on their weapons in a single, swift motion. The hollow feeling hits hard as my mana depletes again.

-2 MP

Judging by the startled cries from both guards, my trick seems to have worked, and I wrench my arms to pull free. But as I try to break away, another surge of weakness takes over, even stronger than before, leaving me slumping forward. This time, the drain feels even worse than I anticipated, my body losing my balance immediately.

“何？あなたはギャップの賢者と提携していますか？” The Guild Master yells something at me, and then, without warning, lands a solid punch to my stomach. The force makes me tremble, spilling what little food I’d managed to eat onto both of us.

“志村さん大丈夫ですか？” I hear one of the guards ask, though his words are only barely registering through my dazed mind.

“野郎、私の判決は追放だ、村から追い出してやれ,” the Guild Master commands. The blow, combined with hunger and mana exhaustion, leaves me almost unconscious. The guards grip my limp arms and start dragging me through the village, my body too weak to resist. Every step feels like an eternity, my senses dulled, as the effects of the mana drain, starvation, and physical abuse take their toll.

“その場で殺さなかったことに感謝してください,” one of them mutters as they unceremoniously dump me onto the ground. I fall face-first, coughing up dust as I realize I’m no longer in the village, but somewhere deep in the surrounding forest. The sounds of their footsteps grow faint as they walk away.

 

 That village is a dead end, but hopefully I can find my way around to the next one, all I need to do is to find a trail and follow it.

 

“Argh, my stomach… You’re all going to pay for this, you bastards. I swear it,” I mutter, clutching my torso. Struggling to focus, I can’t even recall which direction the guards went. Looking up, I barely make out the sun between the leaves above, it’s almost directly overhead, a bit tilted, which means its past midday. That direction should be west, so if I position myself… left  hand to west, right is east, putting north at my front and south at my back.

“When in doubt, move forward,” I say aloud, trying to distract myself from everything that just happened. Today has been one of the worst days of my life, no question.

That village has got to be one of the most unwelcoming places in existence. Everyone there was suspicious or outright hostile, like over-superstitious villagers from some backwoods, definitively not the beginner’s town. Hopefully, I’ll stumble onto a main road, find a decent area to level up, and grind for experience. My skill doesn’t seem to be combat-focused, but I could probably use it to transport goods, maybe get a decent job that way.

“Calling it ‘cheat skill’ all the time is getting old… maybe I should name it?” As I trudge forward, it’s getting harder to breathe, the air in this forest is heavier than it should be. “Maybe ‘Storage’ fits?” But it sounds so basic.

After what feels like hours travelling, I stop, leaning against a tree to catch my breath. The hunger pangs are unbearable, but then I notice something: mushrooms growing on the tree next to me. The brown caps remind me of shiitake mushrooms, and in my desperation, I grab one and pop it into my mouth. As expected of someone who always nails Biology, Shiitake is the second most consumed mushroom in the world after all.

+1 Max MP

-1 HP

Acquired the following statuses:

Poisoned

Hallucination

“Aah… that’s better,” I say, feeling a burst of energy and rushing forward with renewed vigor. It’s exactly what I needed to get out of this forest.

Soon, I reach the forest’s edge. In front of me, a wide, open field stretches as far as the eye can see, and, as if my prayers were finally answered by some god, six bluish, child-sized creatures are standing in a circle on the grass, not moving at all.

“Slime! A grinding area. Time to level up!” I shout triumphantly. Summoning one of the spears I had stored earlier, I hold out my hand. “Inventory… no, maybe Kamui?” I cringe at my own attempt at a dramatic name, but it works. The spear materializes in my hand, and I march up to the nearest creature as it stands perfectly still.

Slowing down a bit, I try to remember what I know about slimes, they are magical blobs that dissolve girl’s clothes, most importantly, their weakness is a core of the size of a tennis ball that lies inside the oozy part.

“Die, foul creature!” I plunge the spear into it, the slimy body barely resisting as the spear strikes its core. The creature dissolves right before my eyes.

“Huh? That’s it?” I look around, noticing none of them move. Apparently, they can’t perceive me without eyes. Dispatching the remaining slimes proves just as easy, and when I pierce the last one, a rush of energy surges through me.

“There it is… Level up!” I feel a surge of energy, followed by a strange sensation.

-1 HP

I can’t keep the smile from blossoming in my face as from the corner of my eye, I spot a group of goblins wandering nearby. Perfect. Crouching down, I sneak up on them, hoping this might improve my stealth. Readying my spear, I approach one who seems to be communicating with its fellow green creatures.

“Waaargh!” With a yell, I thrust my spear through one goblin, piercing him and then another who was standing directly in front of it. Apparently, the stealth skill is quite overpowered since their panicked friends doesn’t notice me crouched.

Standing at my full height again, I swing the spear, crashing them into each other, the spear breaks in half as their bodies explode in a gory bath of blood. The last goblin tries to escape, but I throw the broken spear at him with all my might. It flies through the air, hitting its target dead-on.

“AAAAAGH” Power flows through my veins as the experience is finally quantified and absorbed into my body, yellow aura flows out, cracking the ground near me, with my energy growing exponentially, I cry out with all my newfound power, unlocking my evolution: The Super Saiyan.

-1 HP

Breathing out in satisfaction, I decide to call it a day when I look at the bloodshed staining plains red, surprising enough, I was standing on a road all along and if I squint my eyes, I can barely make the shape of a town stretching away in the horizon

“It’s finally time to settle down, the mysterious Town of Beginnings has been found” mentally patting my own shoulder for the job well done, I start moving along the road.

While my newfound power allows me to fly if I want, I prefer to walk and enjoy the scenario around me, beautiful rainbow-colored flowers covering the sides of the road while the sun sets beautifully. Until my body leans forward and throws up a mixture of blood and bile.

-1 HP

“What… is this?” My voice trembles as I glance around, I notice that the previous rainbow flowers are, in fact, blood red, the vast plain around me is nowhere to be seen as dark trees with the occasional, purple colored cherry blossom tree dots the surroundings. Crawling forward, my hand brushes against something hard: a human skull, cracked and weathered.

“きもい”

Weakly, I look to my side as a figure watched from beneath the canopy, unnatural red eyes glaring at me as if I was a pile of trash.

A moment after, the figure reveals themselves to be a beautiful woman as she steps out of the darkness, her dark hair, cut in a Hime style, was pocked with vegetation, her clothes, looked like an imitation of a druid outfit with laurel leaves adorning a robe of bay tree.

“あなたは私が今まで見た中で最も嫌な人間の一人です、まだ誰もあなたを食べていないのも不思議ではありません” she sneers, holding her cute nose with both hands while looking down at me with disgust

“Quit your yapping, Demon Lord, you are not fooling me.” I say, forcing myself to stand. My pulse quickens as I meet her gaze. This creature, probably the most beautiful beast I have ever seen, has to be the Demon Lord. Defeating her might be the key to getting back home. With a surge of determination, I grab the skull and hurl it at her, hoping to catch her off guard.

“気が狂ってしまったのか？” The confused Demon lady says as the skull falls in front of her peacefully, not even touching her feet.

-1 MP

This is all a ruse however, as I run and pull my other spear from the storage, but I miscalculate. The mana drain makes me stumble, and I fall forward, straight into her chest.

“手を離してよ、変態” she says with a disgusted expression, shoving me back. A second later, she’s kicking me repeatedly, her foot smashing into my battered body.

-15 HP

“You’re asking too much, Shimura-dono. I think he’s a lost cause,” Jun mutters, eyeing me with skepticism.

“Don’t be so hasty,” the old man replies, dismissal in his voice. “He just doesn’t understand yet. How can he make peace with it otherwise?”

Great. He’s doing it again. I grimace at the old fool’s tone, directed at the sinsack. Sure, maybe I spaced out longer than usual, but that’s on him for triggering my PTSD flashback.

“Hey, you finally awake? Listen, Maruku, I think of you like my own ‘special’ kid, so why don’t you find something meaningful in this ‘unlife’ of yours instead of sulking?”

“It’s Mark, not Maru or Maruku,” I snap. “Also, what were you two discussing?”

“He asked me to take you along, Maru,” Jun chimes in, surprising me. Take me where?

“You have heard the news, I assume?” With that, Jun probably alludes to the war between the Hakurei Republic and the Netherworld.

“I’m enlisting,” Jun continues, “and came to say goodbye to Shimura-dono while I still can.”

“And… he asked you to take me along.”

“In short, yes.”

 

 I smile as I fly at the sinsack and take control of his body.

 

“Sigh. You’re hopeless, old man,” I mutter, enjoying the rare sensation of physical form. Shimura just chuckles, taking his leave with a wave as if he’s somehow satisfied with this exchange.

Descending this place proves itself to be a chore, normally I could just float down using my ethereal body but now I’m possessing a man, a naked man with a sack on his head but beggars can’t be choosers.

“Why didn’t you say a proper goodbye?” Jun’s voice cuts into my mind again, nagging.

“Shimura is not sentimental,” I reply flatly. “After all these years he spent ‘showing me the ropes’, he barely cares if I’m here or not.” Quite an irony, the hand that fed you is the same that beat you, as my father used to say.

The walk to the Palace of Earth Spirits proves itself to be uneventful, the citizens of Old Hell barely glance at the naked sack-headed figure I have possessed, my presence goes unnoticed, a far cry from the stares I used to hate when I was alive.

“You’re a terrible Vengeful Spirit, Maru-san,” comes Jun’s voice.

“What?”

“When a vengeful spirit like you possesses a youkai, you drain their energy. However, I’m not only fine but also talking to you right now. Doesn’t that tell you something?” He says, then my… his body stops moving immediately as he recovers his control over it.

“Shimura warned me you couldn’t hold a proper grudge.” His voice takes on a tone of pity. “You don’t even hate the people who wronged you. In fact, you just hate that it all happened. Why?”

“…”

Quietly, I resume walking, MY body obeying my commands again as my simmering rage squishes the nuisance away, the Palace of Earth Spirits looms in the distance, beckoning.

When we arrive, the ground rumbles as a towering figure emerges from the gates, exuding an aura so fierce it’s like standing before a wrathful deity.

“Asura,” I mutter, acknowledging the figure with a nod. His massive form pauses, barely glancing at me, and then strides off as though I’m no more than an insect. Maybe he likes my rage and thus spared me, or maybe I’m too insignificant for him to care about.

Seeing the familiar chequered floor does bring some memories, especially the floor windows, the architect who planned this place is surely a weird one.

“Looks like you are calmer” The nuisance returns, but that doesn’t matter, I keep moving before realizing that I never bothered informing myself about this enlistment, hopefully, the queen won’t mind if I barge in her room.

Before I reach her, a familiar Nekomata emerges from a nearby door, visibly exhausted. It makes sense, considering that an Asura was here before.

“Miss Katt!” Jun shouts with unexpected excitement, wrestling control from me to wave like a complete fool.

To her credit, she at least tried to sound polite as she tried to send Kuroshiro away but the sinsack was having none of that as he personally led her to an interview room in the corniest way possible.

“Jun Kuroshiro, as a Warden, your duty is here in the Underworld. You can’t join me in the Hakurei Republic,” she explains curtly.

“But Miss Katt! It’s war, I can’t just sit here and wait! What if you get hurt?”

“Dude, she is literally worse Orin, how can you simp for her so hard?” I communicate, inside of our shared skull, which is apparently lacking a brain.

Mina could only stare with pity as the mentally challenged sinsack, who was kneeling in front of her, begged to be allowed into the small party that would advance to war, until a familiar aura exuded from poor soul, the aura of a soul tormented by grudges, something that is not uncommon in the underworld, the aura of a Vengeful Spirit, but somewhat lacking at the same time.

Standing on guard immediately, the Nekomata takes her whip as the Sinsack slowly stands at full height, crossing his arms, then a transparent form emerges from the back of the naked man, dressed in a dark blue uniform, the spiteful face of an unassuming youngster stares back at her, his left hand holds the nape of the sinsack while his upper torso tilts to the side, his right hand points directly to her face as he yells:

“This is the expression of a loser, Mina Katt!”   

I would be breathless if I had lungs now, I was never fond of this cat and now she even dares to look at me this way, as if dealing with this simp wasn’t enough. Seeing my appearance as my upper torso pops out from Jun’s back, shocks her for a moment before she snorts and tries to hold a mocking smile, causing me to finally snap.

 

 Use your power to disarm her, this will surely wipe that expression from her face.

 

“The Hand,” I yell, sweeping my right palm across the air. When it touches her whip, it vanishes, materializing safely in my dimensional pocket as I retreat back into my inferior fleshy vessel.

“That’s more like it-urk!” My triumph is cut short as Jun’s hands turn traitor, strangling his own throat in protest. Just before I lose control, we hear a slow clap.

*Clap* *Clap* *Clap*

We both stop our internal conflict to look at Mina, she takes both a formulary and a pen, without even looking away from us, her stare is so piercing that I can feel it in my soul, almost like a cat who found a new toy.

“Name?” she asks calmly, pen poised.

“Jun Kuroshiro and Maru,” Jun says, mangling my name yet again. Maybe forever this time.

“Why do you want to join this expedition?”

“To understand…” I trail off, Shimura’s words echoing. He was right I’m a defective Vengeful Spirit who doesn’t even know his own resentment.

“Hmm?” She raises an eyebrow, watching me.

“I want to understand, Mina Katt. Only then will I find peace.” For the first time, I speak the truth.

“I didn’t think you would be capable of acknowledging that, Mark.” Jun whispers in my mind, as I feel like a weight has been lifted from me. Wait, did he just pronounce my name correctly?

“How much do you want to be compensated?”

“Obviously, your hand in marr-.” Jun begins, but I throttle him before the cursed words fully escape.

Without warning, our interviewer rises from her seat, a puzzled look at her face while staring at me, slowly, she raises her palm expectantly.

 

Give her whip back, as much as you dislike her, you still need to pass the interview.

 

I control Jun’s hand without resistance this time, maybe he knows my intentions or is merely that eager to touch her hand, her whip materializes the moment I hold her hand.

“I look forward to working with you,” she says, turning to leave with that same calculating gaze.

“haha, I’m in danger.”

“haha, I’m in danger.”

We both say at the same time after the door closes. Leaving the two of us alone.

 

\------------------------------------------/
HP: 0                                        MP: 44

Nothing left to cripple

Items & equipment: Jun Kuroshiro

\------------------------------------------/

 

 This means Stealth or Perception, originally, Maru was bad at it but his skills at hiding got much better after he lost his physical restrictions.

This means using Knowledge as a way to solve problems, Maru's strongest skill due to his academic background but he loses some points due to lack of common sense.

This means using Maru's racial traits, as a Vengeful Spirit, he lacks the restrictions of living beings, this skill also allows possession, which might open a new array of options depending on what creature he possessed.

 This means using diplomacy, Maru's worse skill as he was never a sociable person.

 This means using Mark's special skill, however, as the magic of Gensokyo has dissipated, it also signifies that overusing this abillity can be lethal to an incorporeal being.

 This means taking a break to recuperate and heal, not as useful to Mark as it is for his allies.

 "Mom taught me better", Good Karma choice, this is essential to help Mark understand his circumstances. Beware, this option might change him forever.

 "Dad used to say", Bad Karma choice, this is essential to help Mark understand his circumstances. Beware, this option might change him forever.

[Motaromc]

Argh, here we go, I tried my best to do this and I hope I can pass this time. Tell me what you think, although I would usually start rambling about what I wrote, I'm too tired of writing to think anymore, I started yesterday but only finished it today, and I even posted it on Monday...

If anything this stunt made me respect you writers even more...

I'm not making an habit of doing this by the way, this one is a special occasion because your manipulation of me was successful.

 

[Nyoko]

You’ve certainly done your research, goodness me. Though some could certainly be excused as me not utilizing all of my situations to the fullest potential. Heaps of praise for you and faults that your writing exposed in mine to analyze, I’ve been complacent.

First though, a question that comes from the end of that ‘small’ introduction you wrote: Do you want me to also keep the choices Mark makes in mind when writing? You would be using the OoC to cast his vote, mind you, but I can’t help but read a wish to continue in between those lines. I won’t stop you if you do happen to do that, nor can I change your mind if you don’t.

As for the story itself, let’s go through it while I tell you my observations.

On 11/4/2024 at 9:45 PM, Motaromc said:

“Hey, kid! Wake up!”

My eyes snap open or they would, if they had been closed in the first place. I slowly turn my head to look at the man who interrupted my thoughts: a balding old guy, probably in his sixties, with a nearly toothless grin and a glint of smug satisfaction in his eyes.

“Daydreaming again, are we?” he says, shaking his head. “I thought putting you to work would knock that habit out of you.”

I scowl. “Yeah, thanks for that, old man. Like I ever agreed to this job in the first place.”

He laughs, already getting on my nerves. “How many times do I have to tell you, kid? Honest work is what separates a man from a boy. Clearly, you haven’t tilled the fields enough yet.”

“Right, ‘honest work,’” I mutter, glancing over at the camp sprawled out in front of us. What was once a barren patch of earth, pocked with holes from ages past, is now speckled with green. Small lettuce plants are beginning to sprout.

“Lettuce,” the old man says. “The kind of crop you find anywhere. But here… well, it was enough to prove her point.” He chuckles to himself, referring to her, the upstarting cat who had somehow earned the queen’s favor and dragged us all into this mess.

“Don’t pretend you like her, old man. You just wanted a distraction from rotting away in this place.”

With that, we drift towards the bodies we’ll be using today, strangely the cat’s little pet is here too, after single-handedly filling a chariot with lettuce by himself, the sinsack was completely spent and had to be taken away from his activities for a forced rest.

“Oi, Jun-san! Looks like you’ve recovered enough to pay these old bones a visit,” the old man calls out to him.

The sinsack, didn’t seem surprised to see us here, considering that he teamed up with the old man for that cat’s experiment, it’s safe to assume that they are well acquainted at this point.

“Shimura-dono, working hard as always, I see. But, given the state of things, you may not have many bones left to speak of” He glances over at me and raises an eyebrow. “And Maru-san, what a surprise. I didn’t think you’d have the patience for this kind of work.”

I roll my eyes. “How many times do I have to say it? It’s Mark. And trust me, I’m only here because this geezer dragged me along.”

“Ha!” the old man snorts. “This grumpy kid needed something to do. Otherwise, he wouldd just keep making that dumb face, staring off into space.”

He has a point, as much as I hate to admit it. Ever since I ended up in this cursed land, Gensokyo, things haven’t exactly been… right. It feels like an eternity has passed, but my memories of that day are still fresh... 

This opportunity for you came because of how I have kind of chained myself to Mina, which comes with its own strengths and weaknesses, like this one as an example of both. I certainly could've utilized that time more, yet at the same time it created a gap that people can have a little fun in their fantasy. As for the actual substance, it feels like it manages to have more substance than my roundabout way of getting to the point, but maybe I’m just not analyzing my own writing correctly.

On 11/4/2024 at 9:45 PM, Motaromc said:

“Hey, kid! Wake up!”

My eyes snap open or they would, if they had been closed in the first place. I slowly turn my head to look at the man who interrupted my thoughts: a balding old guy, probably in his sixties, with a nearly toothless grin and a glint of smug satisfaction in his eyes.

“Daydreaming again, are we?” he says, shaking his head. “I thought putting you to work would knock that habit out of you.”

I scowl. “Yeah, thanks for that, old man. Like I ever agreed to this job in the first place.”

He laughs, already getting on my nerves. “How many times do I have to tell you, kid? Honest work is what separates a man from a boy. Clearly, you haven’t tilled the fields enough yet.”

“Right, ‘honest work,’” I mutter, glancing over at the camp sprawled out in front of us. What was once a barren patch of earth, pocked with holes from ages past, is now speckled with green. Small lettuce plants are beginning to sprout.

“Lettuce,” the old man says. “The kind of crop you find anywhere. But here… well, it was enough to prove her point.” He chuckles to himself, referring to her, the upstarting cat who had somehow earned the queen’s favor and dragged us all into this mess.

“Don’t pretend you like her, old man. You just wanted a distraction from rotting away in this place.”

With that, we drift towards the bodies we’ll be using today, strangely the cat’s little pet is here too, after single-handedly filling a chariot with lettuce by himself, the sinsack was completely spent and had to be taken away from his activities for a forced rest.

“Oi, Jun-san! Looks like you’ve recovered enough to pay these old bones a visit,” the old man calls out to him.

The sinsack, didn’t seem surprised to see us here, considering that he teamed up with the old man for that cat’s experiment, it’s safe to assume that they are well acquainted at this point.

“Shimura-dono, working hard as always, I see. But, given the state of things, you may not have many bones left to speak of” He glances over at me and raises an eyebrow. “And Maru-san, what a surprise. I didn’t think you’d have the patience for this kind of work.”

I roll my eyes. “How many times do I have to say it? It’s Mark. And trust me, I’m only here because this geezer dragged me along.”

“Ha!” the old man snorts. “This grumpy kid needed something to do. Otherwise, he wouldd just keep making that dumb face, staring off into space.”

He has a point, as much as I hate to admit it. Ever since I ended up in this cursed land, Gensokyo, things haven’t exactly been… right. It feels like an eternity has passed, but my memories of that day are still fresh...

 

_____ __, ____

"Mark, are you even paying attention to the question I just asked?"

My thoughts are interrupted again, this time by a different balding man. This one is younger, in his early forties, maybe. Mr. Wilson, my teacher. I straighten in my seat, trying to look like I’m paying attention.

Yes, I am, Mr. Wilson. But as you probably guessed, I can’t answer it.” There's no point pretending, I have seen this question before, after all. It's not my first time studying this stuff.

Mr. Wilson sighs, crossing his arms. “Listen, Mark, I’m going to be blunt. If you keep up this attitude, you’re setting yourself up to repeat the grade. Again.”

Easy for him to say. He doesn’t know what it’s like. He never had to walk up to the board with a bunch of brainless idiots staring at his back or hear them whispering whenever they think he’s not listening.

“I know you could have answered it, Mark. You answered it last year, didn’t you? But this time, you wouldn’t even get up from your seat. Is it… your family again? Or the new class? I know it’s not easy starting over, especially surrounded by unfamiliar faces.”

His words hit a little too close. My mood sours at a fast pace. I can tell he is being genuine, but there’s no way I’m ever going to fit in with those people. Not with the way they look at me

“Thank you for your concern, Mr. Wilson. But may I leave now? I would like to get home early…” I’m lying, I’m not thankful at all. I just need to get out of here, she might be home earlier today.

He sighs, “Alright, Mark, you can go. But know that I’m not giving up on you. I won’t rest until we fix this.”

Without another word, I turn and make my way toward the door. But as I reach it, his voice stops me one last time.

“Oh, and Mark… before you go. Happy Birthday.”

The walk back home isn’t far, but it still takes considerable time, especially since I don’t have my bike today. Usually, I avoid public transportation to save what little pocket money I have, but today I don’t have a choice. There's a good chance Mom will actually be at home, maybe even Dad. And that means real food for once. Living off instant noodles for so long makes me desperate to taste Mom’s cooking again.

After the bus drops me off, I walk quickly, breaking into a jog as I get closer to the house. But something feels off. The windows are closed, and the lights are off. Are they… preparing a surprise?

I fumble with my keys and open the door, stepping into a dark, empty hallway. Silence in the air as I make my way toward the kitchen. Each step feels colder, until I reach the table and see it: the same setup as always, a bag of cheap ramen and a note, probably from Mom.

“Good job, Mark. Deluding yourself again,” I mutter, my voice echoing in the empty house. Why did I even think they would be here? I crumple the note and toss it in the trash without even reading it. She’s probably apologizing for working overtime again.

I leave the ramen untouched and head upstairs, throwing my bag onto the floor as I collapse onto the bed. It creaks under my weight. Since Dad left, money has been tight. Mom had to go from being a simple housewife to an overworked clerk, and Dad lives comfortably with his new family. At least he still covers my school fees, but…

*Buzzzz* *Buzzzz*

My phone vibrates, snapping me out of my thoughts. It’s him? Maybe he remembered.

“Dad! Did you remem-” I begin, but his sharp voice cuts me off.

“Mark,” he says, with an irritated tone.

I can hear it from miles away, he’s pissed. “I got an interesting call from your school,” he continues while audibly getting angrier.

Damn it, Mr. Wilson. I thought you were on my side.

“Dad, I can expla-”

“No, Mark, there’s nothing to explain. You’re still keeping up the same selfish attitude, aren’t you? Do you have any idea who pays for that ‘stupid school’ of yours?”

He cuts me for the second time, I knew it would come back to money. But he’s right because I let things slide too far. Repeating a grade didn’t help.

“You’re eighteen now, Mark. An adult. Why don’t you try acting like one? You know, your sister is going to college next year. Meanwhile, you’re still stubbornly playing this little rebel act. Is it really so hard to be grateful? You know what? Since you’re eighteen, maybe it’s time to find a job instead of clinging to this mess. I have a friend who wor-”

I turn off the phone and get up immediately, truth be told, he is right about something it’s time to act like a man instead of a rebel child.

Still in my school uniform, I head downstairs. Mom will be back eventually, and if she can’t make anything for us, then I will. There should be enough of the money I saved to pick up a pizza, at least. Holding my tears back, I make my way to the front door, stepping outside into the cloudy afternoon.

But I stop the moment I step outside. Instead of pavement, all I see is a rough, packed dirt road stretching out before me, winding toward an unfamiliar landscape. The bright sun blinded me for a second, and when my vision cleared, everything around me has changed.

Impossible. I turn in every direction, finding nothing but run-down houses, spaced wide apart, their wooden frames looking entirely out of place. It’s as if my neighborhood vanished, replaced by an old rustic village. I spin back around, hoping my house will be there, but there’s no sign of it.

“This is… Isekai?” I mutter. When rationality fails, sometimes it’s easier to believe in the impossible, no matter how absurd.

With no other option, I follow the dirt path. If this really is an isekai, someone will fetch me eventually, right? After all, that’s how it goes. Soon enough, signs of life start to appear. The dirt streets transition into paved stone, and the houses become more frequent, shifting from simple wood to clay structures as well.

Spotting a worker nearby, I approach him. He’s carrying two buckets of water over his shoulders with a bamboo pole. Normally, I’d leave a busy person alone, but right now I have no other options.

“Excuse me, sir, could you please tell me where I am?” Perfect, now the script demands that the man recognizes me as the prophesized Hero, sent by a kind goddess to slay the Demon King threatening his homeland.

“何って言ったの？” The man looks over his shoulder at me, his eyes narrowing as he takes in my uniform, and then he mutters, “別の部外者,” before walking off with a frown.

“Of course. Language barrier,” I sigh. I should have guessed people here wouldn’t speak English.

With no better ideas, I keep to the main path, ignoring the quiet whispers and stares that follow me. Soon, the village grows busier, a rush-hour of sorts. People are queuing in front of small storefronts, talking in low, friendly voices. They glance at me briefly, then go back to their business. Not wanting to draw more attention, I spot a nearby bench in a small park and sit down.

“Think, Mark. Think! At least you still have your phone,” I say, pulling it out and turning it on. Relief washes over me as the familiar home screen lights up, showing me an old photo of me and my mom. She must be worried sick already. Quickly, I dial her number, but then I see it: no signal.

Our vengeful spirit is from the Outside World, with all that that implies. It also serves as an explanation of how he got into Gensokyo, considering that it appears he was getting sent to the Road of Reconsideration, but was stopped for some reason in an abandoned village. Gensokyo, becoming the much more militarized anime Game of Thrones Illusionary Nirvana and thus not friendly to outsiders, gave him no shortage of slights. Yet he continued on without a lot more hatred in his heart. Saying more would actually be revealing parts of my plan for his character development. Bonus points for the interesting usage of actual Japanese, even if it uses a translation website, it adds a layer of immersion.

On 11/4/2024 at 9:45 PM, Motaromc said:

“Shit, shit, shit! Where even am I, Ohio?” Desperate, I jump up onto the bench, waving my phone around, hoping to catch any faint signal. But my search halts as my eyes catch something in the sky: a blur, moving too fast to be a bird. Blinking, I see it again, this time a red blur. They seem to be two figures, floating nearly half a mile up, and I strain my eyes to make out two women, apparently arguing.

People nearby glance up, and then, almost as if it’s routine, they vacate the area or step indoors without much fuss. The two figures start flinging glowing spheres and streaks of color at each other, shapes spiraling and weaving in different patterns. I can barely make out their forms as they fly around, fast as lightning.

My phone slips from my hand as I watch in awe. So many colors and shapes, emotions freely flow out as I stare at the colors, they are filled with overflowing determination and the earnest desire of trying to best each other, could it be that they are having fun?

“High-leveled characters, for sure,” I mutter, my heart pounds with excitation. This isn’t Earth and I’m really in another world. And if it means I can escape school, Dad, and their pitying stares… maybe I don’t mind.

But then, one of the women brightens, her glow more intense than anything else in the sky. She raises her hand, murmuring something, and the entire sky shudders before erupting into light. Instinct kicks in, and I jump off the bench, breaking into a run. Just in time, as the surge of magic hits where I had been standing, narrowly missing me.

The two women pause, noticing their mistake, and then shift away from the village, continuing their duel out of sight. I watch as they head toward a distant gate, the village exit, and for a moment, the urge to follow them grows within me. But I stop myself. This is way too dangerous, considering that I’m probably terribly under leveled.

As the villagers emerge from their hiding places, a small contingency of what looks like an armed force hurries down the street. “Seems like my cue to leave,” I mutter, ducking into a side street.

My mind finally slows as I walk, the last traces of adrenaline wearing off. The sun is setting, casting everything in a reddish glow. My excitement fades with the light, and I realize I have nowhere to go. “Maybe that park bench wasn’t so bad…” I pat myself on the shoulder for the idea but freeze when I remember my phone. I dropped it in the park.

Rushing back, I scan the area, surprised to find the park undisturbed. Not even the grass is damaged. Only a small patch of dirt nearby has turned to glass. Could it be that PvP is not allowed in this area? Shaking off my thoughts, I look around for my phone, but it’s nowhere to be found.

Nearby, a trash can catches my eye, filled with crumpled papers. With no other options, I pull one out and glance over it. It’s a newspaper, 文々。新聞, printed in symbols I can’t read. But some images stand out, as if taken with a camera, how they are able to take pictures in a seemingly medieval village?

I return to the bench, curling up with the paper for warmth against the chilling winds. The night is quiet here, only the sounds of crickets breaking the silence, dim lanterns casting faint shadows, and a bright, full moon above.

“So, how’s that for a birthday, Mark?” I whisper, staring up at the sky.

My eyes linger on the moon. “Huh? I could have sworn that for a moment the moon could open an eye and stare back at me.”

 

  It's time to rest, I can only hope Mom is not too worried.

 

____ __, ____

 

*Bonk* *Bonk* *Bonk*

“Ouch! Hey, watch it!” I blurt out, scrambling up from the bench, only to be met with the sight of a hunched old woman wielding a cane high above her head, ready for another strike.

*Bonk*

“Alright, alright! I’m up, Granny! You can put that thing down,” I say, quickly taking a step back. Then she pulls out a small cloth bag, reaches inside, and begins tossing something at me, wait, are those beans?

“You better not be debuffing me with some weird spell, you old witch!” I shout, shielding my face from the flying beans. To my surprise, she stops mid-throw and points with her cane at the newspaper lying crumpled on the ground, the one I used as a blanket.

She doesn’t say a word, just fixes me with a withering stare and taps the ground with her cane. She wants me to throw it away? Fine. I don’t want another swing from the cane of doom. Moving cautiously, I scoop up the newspaper and carefully drop it into the trashcan. Finally, her assault halts, and she lowers herself onto the bench I was been sleeping on, ignoring me entirely.

“Really, what a way to wake up.” I mutter, rubbing the back of my head. The sky is overcast, with the faintest light of dawn seeping through the clouds. Villagers are already bustling about, early risers moving in and out of storefronts and alleys.

 

  Search and negotiate with the armed forces who were investigating here yesterday, maybe they are with my phone too.

 

With a grumbling stomach and a plan, I head deeper into the village, hopefully I can pledge my services to some noble or king in order to live an easier life in the future. As I move forward, the simple wooden homes gradually give way to elegant mansions, their architecture apparently Japanese in style. The crowd thins as I step into what appears to be the noble district, where the air is laced with the scent of fresh fish. I spot a group of fishermen, hauling their daily catch, likely on their way to the market.

“If I’d known I’d end up here, I wouldn’t have turned down that ramen yesterday,” I mutter, my stomach growling in protest. Eyeing the fishermen, I make a mental note of their route, hoping I can scrounge up enough coin for something to eat.

Hunger steadily slows me down, making my legs feel heavy as I make my way through the streets. Just ahead, I spot what seems to be a garrison, possibly the same guards I saw yesterday. They’re laughing and drinking among themselves, with some posted as sentries outside a large building that I can only assume to be an adventurer’s guild.

A perfect opportunity to enlist. I’ll take any beginner’s quest they have in store, probably the classic one where you need to gather herbs and buy a meal with the payment

As I approach, two guards block my path, holding up their hands in a universal “stop” gesture.

“やめて、用件を述べてください,” one of them says, eyeing me suspiciously.

This time, I am prepared for this, I take a deep breath and mime picking a plant from the ground, then gesture as if handing it to them. I follow it up by pretending to drop imaginary coins into my hand, making a sound, similar to a cash register, to drive the point home.

“Kaching, Kaching, Kaching”

They both start making unintelligible sounds, as if aggravated?

“私たちを呪っているのですか？” One of them barks, while pointing his spear towards me.

“Ka…ching?” I repeat, taking a cautious step back, is this a trial to discover my aptitude as an adventurer?

“You may just put me at F rank!” I say, taking yet another cautious step back, while doing a time out sign

“ここで何が起こっているのでしょうか？” A powerful voice booms from the entrance as heavy footsteps approach. The guards instantly lower their heads in a deep bow, revealing an imposing man dressed in traditional Japanese attire, with a katana strapped at his side. Judging by how the guards defer to him, he must be the guild master.

Well, this wasn’t the warm welcome from a friendly receptionist girl I was hoping for, but I’ll take what I can get. As I stride over to him, his eyes lock in with mine and flash with recognition.

“Hello there, Guild Master!” I say, attempting a friendly slap on his shoulder. “I’d like to join your merry band of brave adventurers if possible-”

My sentence is cut short by the back of his hand, and I find myself sprawled on the ground, the right side of my face throbbing.

“部外者よ、自分の限界を知ってください,” he says coldly, looking down on me with stern eyes.

My head spins and my stomach clenches from hunger. Trembling, I manage to pull myself up, one hand holding my aching face.

“What is wrong with you? Are you insane?” I shout at him.

He narrows his eyes and rests a hand on his katana, sliding it out of its sheath just enough to reveal its deadly sharp edge.

“ここではトラブルメーカーを許しませんが、あなたの価値を証明するチャンスを一度だけ与えます。”

“This was a mistake, I shouldn’t have expected more of savages” I walk my way back without sparing them another glance.

 

 Cents are made of zinc-platted copper, should be enough to fool a merchant into thinking it's the real deal.

 

Taking a deep breath, I shove down the frustration from my earlier encounter with the guild master and follow the path the fishermen took. It doesn't take long before I hear the bustling sound of voices haggling and bartering over goods. As the market comes into view, I see rows of stalls and carts, each one packed with something different: spices, meats, fruits, and intricate crafts.

But as I navigate through the crowd, I feel the prickling sensation of people’s eyes on me, the same judgmental stare I remember all too well from school. It’s not pity this time but instead, their looks seem to say, “You don’t belong here.” Maybe this land isn’t as appealing as I thought it would be

Spotting a modest stall, I approach an older man selling grains, fruits, and vegetables. He’s deep in conversation with a woman, her young child clutching her hand. My hand trembles slightly as I pick up an apple and reach into my pocket for ten coins, it’s about all I have on me. I have no idea what their currency is but If my knowledge of fantasy is correct, then one hundred copper coins is worth around ten silver coins and ten silver coins is worth a single gold coin.

“Excuse me, old man, I would like to buy this apple,” I say, interrupting their conversation, as I hold out the coins and the apple. His friendly expression quickly vanishes when he notices me. His eyes shift from my coins to my face, and he doesn’t hide his disdain.

“ここでは外の世界からの通貨を受け入れません,” he mutters, waving my hand away and reaching to take the apple back.

 

 As your stress goes past the threshold of your patience, you angrily throw the money in his face and push him back

 

“At least look at the money, you worthless NPC!” I shout, finally losing control as I throw my coins at his face, shoving him back and clutching the apple to my chest like it’s the last thing I own.

“おじいちゃんを放っておいて!” I hear someone yell as I’m shoved backward. The voice belongs to a young man, likely the woman’s husband, standing protectively between me and his family. The woman backs away, shielding her child and letting out a scream that draws the attention of the market crowd.

“You bastard…” I mutter, clenching my fists as I prepare to fight back. But then I notice something odd, the apple in my hand is gone. My raised hands are empty, and from the widening eyes of the man in front of me, he noticed it too.

-1 MP

An inexplicable wave of fatigue hits me, not physically, but deep inside. It feels as if something essential has been drained out of me, leaving a hollow space.

“魔法？” The crowd murmurs as they step back, their eyes widening with fear. Then, the old man I had shoved shouts something and points at me, and the crowd recoils.

 

 Run and Hide before the situation gets worse.

 

Instinct kicks in, and I bolt, sprinting through the parted crowd like a river splitting in two. I duck into an alley, collapsing to my knees, gripping my chest as the emptiness slowly fades, replaced by exhaustion. Tears well up, spilling down my cheeks.

“How did this happen? If only I’d been able to take that apple with me…” I mutter, clutching my chest as the strange sensation returns, tearing away another part of myself.

-1 MP

But then, to my shock, the apple reappears in my hands, just as it was before. I barely pause to question it, biting furiously into the fruit, desperate to fill the aching emptiness in my stomach. It’s not enough, but the relief is undeniable. Still, one thought lingers: the apple vanished and then came back, just because I wanted it to. This can only mean one thing, my cheat skill has awakened.

For now, though, it seems I’m out of fuel, my skill took a sizeable chunk of my “mana” leaving me nearly depleted. Testing it further would be too risky, especially with only an apple core left.

“Well, at least I got something out of this mess,” I say, scarfing down the last bits of the apple. I’m still hungry, but my mind is clearer. Guilt strikes with full force as I remember what I did to the old seller, Mom raised me better than that.

“彼は盗賊だけではなく魔術師でもあるようです。” My thoughts are interrupted as hands grip both my arms, yanking me upright. Slowly walking past me was the same Guild Master from before.

“あなたが容疑者であることは最初からわかっていました。” His words are unintelligible, but I see him holding something familiar, my phone. Its screen is cracked, probably from when I dropped it, and he fumbles awkwardly, trying to press the side button until the screen lights up with the photo of Mom and me.

“ああ、紛れもない証拠 この装置は弾幕戦が行われた場所で発見され、あなたはその所有者です,” he says, holding up the phone like evidence in a trial.

“Look, I think it should be obvious at this point but neither me nor you can understand each other.”

“黙れ、あなたがこの事件に関与していると言える十分な証拠がある”

 

 Maybe I can use my power to disarm them, then I can break from their hold and run away while they are surprised.

 

The Guild Master keeps speaking, his voice a jumble of angry sounds, but I’m done with this whole farce. I glance at the two guards holding me, they're the same ones from the guild, each with a spear strapped securely on their back. They’re my biggest threat right now.

Closing my eyes, I focus on my tiny reserves of mana, should be enough for this stunt. While they’re distracted, I raise my hands slowly and then place them on their weapons in a single, swift motion. The hollow feeling hits hard as my mana depletes again.

-2 MP

Judging by the startled cries from both guards, my trick seems to have worked, and I wrench my arms to pull free. But as I try to break away, another surge of weakness takes over, even stronger than before, leaving me slumping forward. This time, the drain feels even worse than I anticipated, my body losing my balance immediately.

“何？あなたはギャップの賢者と提携していますか？” The Guild Master yells something at me, and then, without warning, lands a solid punch to my stomach. The force makes me tremble, spilling what little food I’d managed to eat onto both of us.

“志村さん大丈夫ですか？” I hear one of the guards ask, though his words are only barely registering through my dazed mind.

“野郎、私の判決は追放だ、村から追い出してやれ,” the Guild Master commands. The blow, combined with hunger and mana exhaustion, leaves me almost unconscious. The guards grip my limp arms and start dragging me through the village, my body too weak to resist. Every step feels like an eternity, my senses dulled, as the effects of the mana drain, starvation, and physical abuse take their toll.

“その場で殺さなかったことに感謝してください,” one of them mutters as they unceremoniously dump me onto the ground. I fall face-first, coughing up dust as I realize I’m no longer in the village, but somewhere deep in the surrounding forest. The sounds of their footsteps grow faint as they walk away.

 

 That village is a dead end, but hopefully I can find my way around to the next one, all I need to do is to find a trail and follow it.

 

“Argh, my stomach… You’re all going to pay for this, you bastards. I swear it,” I mutter, clutching my torso. Struggling to focus, I can’t even recall which direction the guards went. Looking up, I barely make out the sun between the leaves above, it’s almost directly overhead, a bit tilted, which means its past midday. That direction should be west, so if I position myself… left  hand to west, right is east, putting north at my front and south at my back.

“When in doubt, move forward,” I say aloud, trying to distract myself from everything that just happened. Today has been one of the worst days of my life, no question.

That village has got to be one of the most unwelcoming places in existence. Everyone there was suspicious or outright hostile, like over-superstitious villagers from some backwoods, definitively not the beginner’s town. Hopefully, I’ll stumble onto a main road, find a decent area to level up, and grind for experience. My skill doesn’t seem to be combat-focused, but I could probably use it to transport goods, maybe get a decent job that way.

“Calling it ‘cheat skill’ all the time is getting old… maybe I should name it?” As I trudge forward, it’s getting harder to breathe, the air in this forest is heavier than it should be. “Maybe ‘Storage’ fits?” But it sounds so basic.

After what feels like hours travelling, I stop, leaning against a tree to catch my breath. The hunger pangs are unbearable, but then I notice something: mushrooms growing on the tree next to me. The brown caps remind me of shiitake mushrooms, and in my desperation, I grab one and pop it into my mouth. As expected of someone who always nails Biology, Shiitake is the second most consumed mushroom in the world after all.

+1 Max MP

-1 HP

Acquired the following statuses:

Poisoned

Hallucination

“Aah… that’s better,” I say, feeling a burst of energy and rushing forward with renewed vigor. It’s exactly what I needed to get out of this forest.

Soon, I reach the forest’s edge. In front of me, a wide, open field stretches as far as the eye can see, and, as if my prayers were finally answered by some god, six bluish, child-sized creatures are standing in a circle on the grass, not moving at all.

“Slime! A grinding area. Time to level up!” I shout triumphantly. Summoning one of the spears I had stored earlier, I hold out my hand. “Inventory… no, maybe Kamui?” I cringe at my own attempt at a dramatic name, but it works. The spear materializes in my hand, and I march up to the nearest creature as it stands perfectly still.

Slowing down a bit, I try to remember what I know about slimes, they are magical blobs that dissolve girl’s clothes, most importantly, their weakness is a core of the size of a tennis ball that lies inside the oozy part.

“Die, foul creature!” I plunge the spear into it, the slimy body barely resisting as the spear strikes its core. The creature dissolves right before my eyes.

“Huh? That’s it?” I look around, noticing none of them move. Apparently, they can’t perceive me without eyes. Dispatching the remaining slimes proves just as easy, and when I pierce the last one, a rush of energy surges through me.

“There it is… Level up!” I feel a surge of energy, followed by a strange sensation.

-1 HP

I can’t keep the smile from blossoming in my face as from the corner of my eye, I spot a group of goblins wandering nearby. Perfect. Crouching down, I sneak up on them, hoping this might improve my stealth. Readying my spear, I approach one who seems to be communicating with its fellow green creatures.

“Waaargh!” With a yell, I thrust my spear through one goblin, piercing him and then another who was standing directly in front of it. Apparently, the stealth skill is quite overpowered since their panicked friends doesn’t notice me crouched.

Standing at my full height again, I swing the spear, crashing them into each other, the spear breaks in half as their bodies explode in a gory bath of blood. The last goblin tries to escape, but I throw the broken spear at him with all my might. It flies through the air, hitting its target dead-on.

“AAAAAGH” Power flows through my veins as the experience is finally quantified and absorbed into my body, yellow aura flows out, cracking the ground near me, with my energy growing exponentially, I cry out with all my newfound power, unlocking my evolution: The Super Saiyan.

-1 HP

Breathing out in satisfaction, I decide to call it a day when I look at the bloodshed staining plains red, surprising enough, I was standing on a road all along and if I squint my eyes, I can barely make the shape of a town stretching away in the horizon

“It’s finally time to settle down, the mysterious Town of Beginnings has been found” mentally patting my own shoulder for the job well done, I start moving along the road.

While my newfound power allows me to fly if I want, I prefer to walk and enjoy the scenario around me, beautiful rainbow-colored flowers covering the sides of the road while the sun sets beautifully. Until my body leans forward and throws up a mixture of blood and bile.

-1 HP

“What… is this?” My voice trembles as I glance around, I notice that the previous rainbow flowers are, in fact, blood red, the vast plain around me is nowhere to be seen as dark trees with the occasional, purple colored cherry blossom tree dots the surroundings. Crawling forward, my hand brushes against something hard: a human skull, cracked and weathered.

“きもい”

Weakly, I look to my side as a figure watched from beneath the canopy, unnatural red eyes glaring at me as if I was a pile of trash.

A moment after, the figure reveals themselves to be a beautiful woman as she steps out of the darkness, her dark hair, cut in a Hime style, was pocked with vegetation, her clothes, looked like an imitation of a druid outfit with laurel leaves adorning a robe of bay tree.

“あなたは私が今まで見た中で最も嫌な人間の一人です、まだ誰もあなたを食べていないのも不思議ではありません” she sneers, holding her cute nose with both hands while looking down at me with disgust

“Quit your yapping, Demon Lord, you are not fooling me.” I say, forcing myself to stand. My pulse quickens as I meet her gaze. This creature, probably the most beautiful beast I have ever seen, has to be the Demon Lord. Defeating her might be the key to getting back home. With a surge of determination, I grab the skull and hurl it at her, hoping to catch her off guard.

“気が狂ってしまったのか？” The confused Demon lady says as the skull falls in front of her peacefully, not even touching her feet.

-1 MP

This is all a ruse however, as I run and pull my other spear from the storage, but I miscalculate. The mana drain makes me stumble, and I fall forward, straight into her chest.

“手を離してよ、変態” she says with a disgusted expression, shoving me back. A second later, she’s kicking me repeatedly, her foot smashing into my battered body.

-15 HP

Point two for being in a between zone of Anime Game of Thrones and actual Touhou, Spell card Duels, with small adjustments, are being held. I also see that you took the Lunarians into account, as well. Other than that, this mostly deals with just the slights given to him with his horrendous hand... and don't think you can let 志村 (Shimura) slip me by. Rumia murdered him, which has the added benefit of at least dying to a leader of a minor faction! The one of the ravenous and half-mad Youkai, yes, but still!

On 11/4/2024 at 9:45 PM, Motaromc said:

“You’re asking too much, 志村殿. I think he’s a lost cause,” Jun mutters, eyeing me with skepticism.

“Don’t be so hasty,” the old man replies, dismissal in his voice. “He just doesn’t understand yet. How can he make peace with it otherwise?”

Great. He’s doing it again. I grimace at the old fool’s tone, directed at the sinsack. Sure, maybe I spaced out longer than usual, but that’s on him for triggering my PTSD flashback.

“Hey, you finally awake? Listen, Maruku, I think of you like my own ‘special’ kid, so why don’t you find something meaningful in this ‘unlife’ of yours instead of sulking?”

“It’s Mark, not Maru or Maruku,” I snap. “Also, what were you two discussing?”

“He asked me to take you along, Maru,” Jun chimes in, surprising me. Take me where?

“You have heard the news, I assume?” With that, Jun probably alludes to the war between the Hakurei Republic and the Netherworld.

“I’m enlisting,” Jun continues, “and came to say goodbye to Shimura-dono while I still can.”

“And… he asked you to take me along.”

“In short, yes.”

 

 I smile as I fly at the sinsack and take control of his body.

 

“Sigh. You’re hopeless, old man,” I mutter, enjoying the rare sensation of physical form. Shimura just chuckles, taking his leave with a wave as if he’s somehow satisfied with this exchange.

Descending this place proves itself to be a chore, normally I could just float down using my ethereal body but now I’m possessing a man, a naked man with a sack on his head but beggars can’t be choosers.

“Why didn’t you say a proper goodbye?” Jun’s voice cuts into my mind again, nagging.

“Shimura is not sentimental,” I reply flatly. “After all these years he spent ‘showing me the ropes’, he barely cares if I’m here or not.” Quite an irony, the hand that fed you is the same that beat you, as my father used to say.

The walk to the Palace of Earth Spirits proves itself to be uneventful, the citizens of Old Hell barely glance at the naked sack-headed figure I have possessed, my presence goes unnoticed, a far cry from the stares I used to hate when I was alive.

“You’re a terrible Vengeful Spirit, Maru-san,” comes Jun’s voice.

“What?”

“When a vengeful spirit like you possesses a youkai, you drain their energy. However, I’m not only fine but also talking to you right now. Doesn’t that tell you something?” He says, then my… his body stops moving immediately as he recovers his control over it.

“Shimura warned me you couldn’t hold a proper grudge.” His voice takes on a tone of pity. “You don’t even hate the people who wronged you. In fact, you just hate that it all happened. Why?”

“…”

Quietly, I resume walking, MY body obeying my commands again as my simmering rage squishes the nuisance away, the Palace of Earth Spirits looms in the distance, beckoning.

When we arrive, the ground rumbles as a towering figure emerges from the gates, exuding an aura so fierce it’s like standing before a wrathful deity.

“Asura,” I mutter, acknowledging the figure with a nod. His massive form pauses, barely glancing at me, and then strides off as though I’m no more than an insect. Maybe he likes my rage and thus spared me, or maybe I’m too insignificant for him to care about.

Seeing the familiar chequered floor does bring some memories, especially the floor windows, the architect who planned this place is surely a weird one.

“Looks like you are calmer” The nuisance returns, but that doesn’t matter, I keep moving before realizing that I never bothered informing myself about this enlistment, hopefully, the queen won’t mind if I barge in her room.

Before I reach her, a familiar Nekomata emerges from a nearby door, visibly exhausted. It makes sense, considering that an Asura was here before.

“Miss Katt!” Jun shouts with unexpected excitement, wrestling control from me to wave like a complete fool.

To her credit, she at least tried to sound polite as she tried to send Kuroshiro away but the sinsack was having none of that as he personally led her to an interview room in the corniest way possible.

“Jun Kuroshiro, as a Warden, your duty is here in the Underworld. You can’t join me in the Hakurei Republic,” she explains curtly.

“But Miss Katt! It’s war, I can’t just sit here and wait! What if you get hurt?”

“Dude, she is literally worse Orin, how can you simp for her so hard?” I communicate, inside of our shared skull, which is apparently lacking a brain.

Mina could only stare with pity as the mentally challenged sinsack, who was kneeling in front of her, begged to be allowed into the small party that would advance to war, until a familiar aura exuded from poor soul, the aura of a soul tormented by grudges, something that is not uncommon in the underworld, the aura of a Vengeful Spirit, but somewhat lacking at the same time.

Standing on guard immediately, the Nekomata takes her whip as the Sinsack slowly stands at full height, crossing his arms, then a transparent form emerges from the back of the naked man, dressed in a dark blue uniform, the spiteful face of an unassuming youngster stares back at her, his left hand holds the nape of the sinsack while his upper torso tilts to the side, his right hand points directly to her face as he yells:

“This is the expression of a loser, Mina Katt!”   

I would be breathless if I had lungs now, I was never fond of this cat and now she even dares to look at me this way, as if dealing with this simp wasn’t enough. Seeing my appearance as my upper torso pops out from Jun’s back, shocks her for a moment before she snorts and tries to hold a mocking smile, causing me to finally snap.

 

 Use your power to disarm her, this will surely wipe that expression from her face.

 

“The Hand,” I yell, sweeping my right palm across the air. When it touches her whip, it vanishes, materializing safely in my dimensional pocket as I retreat back into my inferior fleshy vessel.

“That’s more like it-urk!” My triumph is cut short as Jun’s hands turn traitor, strangling his own throat in protest. Just before I lose control, we hear a slow clap.

*Clap* *Clap* *Clap*

We both stop our internal conflict to look at Mina, she takes both a formulary and a pen, without even looking away from us, her stare is so piercing that I can feel it in my soul, almost like a cat who found a new toy.

“Name?” she asks calmly, pen poised.

“Jun Kuroshiro and Maru,” Jun says, mangling my name yet again. Maybe forever this time.

“Why do you want to join this expedition?”

“To understand…” I trail off, Shimura’s words echoing. He was right I’m a defective Vengeful Spirit who doesn’t even know his own resentment.

“Hmm?” She raises an eyebrow, watching me.

“I want to understand, Mina Katt. Only then will I find peace.” For the first time, I speak the truth.

“I didn’t think you would be capable of acknowledging that, Mark.” Jun whispers in my mind, as I feel like a weight has been lifted from me. Wait, did he just pronounce my name correctly?

“How much do you want to be compensated?”

“Obviously, your hand in marr-.” Jun begins, but I throttle him before the cursed words fully escape.

Without warning, our interviewer rises from her seat, a puzzled look at her face while staring at me, slowly, she raises her palm expectantly.

 

Give her whip back, as much as you dislike her, you still need to pass the interview.

 

I control Jun’s hand without resistance this time, maybe he knows my intentions or is merely that eager to touch her hand, her whip materializes the moment I hold her hand.

“I look forward to working with you,” she says, turning to leave with that same calculating gaze.

“haha, I’m in danger.”

“haha, I’m in danger.”

We both say at the same time after the door closes. Leaving the two of us alone.

Your interpretation of Jun when he is not around Mina Katt is something I wouldn't be able to write with the chains I willingly put on myself, but you nailed the bit completely. I hope it wasn't too hard and easy enough to write him. You also took your time setting up the start of the character development train in this instance, with multiple locations that we will be going to for me to explore as well as multiple people we should meet. For the actual interview, I merely changed a few details that are probably very important, as well as rewriting the entire thing from the perspective of the upstarting cat who somehow earned the Queen's favour, which reveals some things I assume you didn't know.

On 11/4/2024 at 9:57 PM, Motaromc said:

Argh, here we go, I tried my best to do this and I hope I can pass this time. Tell me what you think, although I would usually start rambling about what I wrote, I'm too tired of writing to think anymore, I started yesterday but only finished it today, and I even posted it on Monday...

If anything this stunt made me respect you writers even more...

I'm not making an habit of doing this by the way, this one is a special occasion because your manipulation of me was successful.

Don't force yourself, my writing quality also decreases when I do that... But I also asked you all to do something so I don't start getting complacent and give it my all. I'll also be looking to resolve a few threads that started in the beginning, so look forward to that~.

Also, I'll be moving the updates to the morning of monday / evening of sunday. I got lucky this time and the writing came naturally, but I spent way too much of my day to be comfortable doing that when I actually need to go to school, thus this measure. (Also because then I start competing with Yumetou, which can actually [paradoxically] increase the amount of readers here.)

I also didn't mean to send you completely away from your Makuragaeshi, so sorry if that "try again" attacked you more than I wanted it to. You gave me a concept of a character, so I gave you a chance to further deepen your understanding of it, while also luring you to basically everywhere else. I didn't expect you to take one of the baits, at the very least.

You can probably tell why I complain about the hours I sink into these comments, can't you?

[Motaromc]

Heya, I'm glad to see I passed this time, suffice to say, I did work hard for this one but maybe I have let some details out due to my exhaustion, in any case, that's also not bad because it allowed some freedom for you in the end. Let's go step by step.

10 hours ago, Nyoko said:

First though, a question that comes from the end of that ‘small’ introduction you wrote: Do you want me to also keep the choices Mark makes in mind when writing? You would be using the OoC to cast his vote, mind you, but I can’t help but read a wish to continue in between those lines. I won’t stop you if you do happen to do that, nor can I change your mind if you don’t.

Well, quite an introduction right? The idea of making a Vengeful Spirit came to me in a dream but I found it a bit bland, so I took some liberties while writing but it turned into a nightmare quite fast, my mind worked with double power as I started creating various scenarios and things I've always wanted to do if given an opportunity, that lead me to what you read above, a very shortned version of my 12k words "introduction" haha.

The first thing you need to have in mind is: This is a template, so you can bend and use it however you like, I never intended to set rules when using Mark, in fact, he is a "gift" of sorts to you.

With that in mind, you may notice I left some parts blank or purposefully vague so you can fill it to suit better the story you have in mind, some examples are:

The date of Mark's birthday AND arrival at Gensokyo. (At first, I planned to him arrive before people started noticing the dissappearence of magic, maybe around 2010 when Yukari assumed it was a normal thing.)

The people Mark saw fighting in the sky, they are important because Danmaku was the first good experience he had in Gensokyo, so you can choose who they were and how their emotions expressed via Danmaku affected Mark. (Also, remember when I said 12k words? Mark was supposed to appear in the middle of an Incident.)

Second thing is about his skill. I always had a preference for humble starts, a slow but steady growth, rather than starting outright broken, my fondness for JoJo's bizarre adventure also played a hand for my liking of creative uses for a skill.

So, when I gave him a pocket space, I planned it to be thoroughly stupid for a power, Mark was supposed to start with a limited mana of 6 points, and as you probably noticed, his power eats mana whenever he uses it, be it to take an item or to store it, meaning he had originally 3 effective uses. I know this might seem a bit underwhelming but I needed him to die, okay? 

After he died, my original plan was to have some years pass with him as a Vengeful Spirit, struggling to understand the world around him, until he met a certain someone who "showed him the ropes" Then a time skip happens, allowing him to learn a Japanese and that his "Isekai" was actually a "Sekai" because he is still on Earth. As the years passed his mana settled for a solid 44, get it? Death Death, because he is dead! Okay, sorry that was a bad one. The specifics of his power are:

A "box" with 1 meter of height and width.

No living beings can be stored, mostly because they will die since his power doesn't come with life support.

It consumes exactly 1 unit of mana to both take or store something. (With 44 of mana, he can safely use his skill on 21 items, more will probably cause him to cease existing.)

Like Mina relies on vindication to restore mana, I created the little karma system to give him a way of restoring it too, both good and bad refills the same, I'll allow you to decide how much. (I based this on Infamous, loved this game when I was a kid.)

Last but not least, as I stated before, I prefer to start small and grow as time passes, so I give you full liberty to bend or change what I said above as Mark develops. You can also completely ignore it if my plans don't suit yours.

Third point is essentially the way Mark passed away.

I'll be honest, eating a mushroom was something I always wanted to do, but It's uncommon to find one where I live, so I had Mark do it for me instead, it might have been a bit too goofy, to watch him hallucinate and die slowly but I tried to lighten the mood a bit because I realized midway that killing my own creation was harder than I thought. But, that led me to a small Easter Egg that I think went unnoticed, can you tell me who is the Youkai that killed Mark?

Oh, before I go to the next topic, to answer your question: If you want to keep the choices then keep it, they were only made so you can have an Idea of how Mark would normally act. Actually, having too many votes might be more trouble than what it's worth, while I would like to use the features I made, It's better to avoid making it too complicated

The only choices to remember are the Karma ones because they directly influence Mark for reasons I'll explain below.

11 hours ago, Nyoko said:

This opportunity for you came because of how I have kind of chained myself to Mina, which comes with its own strengths and weaknesses, like this one as an example of both. I certainly could've utilized that time more, yet at the same time it created a gap that people can have a little fun in their fantasy. As for the actual substance, it feels like it manages to have more substance than my roundabout way of getting to the point, but maybe I’m just not analyzing my own writing correctly.

You did leave many gaps that I could exploit, prototype Mark was going to be the Vengeful Spirit Mina captured in the start, but as I was rereading I noticed how much space I had to insert my own little band of friends, you mostly go with: Vengeful Spirt A, B and C, Oni number 1 and 2 or Kasha I and IV. Making Jun befriend Shimura who in turn used his high diplomacy to convince Jun to take Mark along seemed more natural to me. Not to look down on your writing though, I wouldn't be able to create my story if you didn't let me after all.

11 hours ago, Nyoko said:

Our vengeful spirit is from the Outside World, with all that that implies. It also serves as an explanation of how he got into Gensokyo, considering that it appears he was getting sent to the Road of Reconsideration, but was stopped for some reason in an abandoned village. Gensokyo, becoming the much more militarized anime Game of Thrones Illusionary Nirvana and thus not friendly to outsiders, gave him no shortage of slights. Yet he continued on without a lot more hatred in his heart. Saying more would actually be revealing parts of my plan for his character development. Bonus points for the interesting usage of actual Japanese, even if it uses a translation website, it adds a layer of immersion.

Ah Mark, he was so natural to write but at the same time so difficult, I needed him to die, that was decided from the moment I started writing but at the same time I couldn't kill him too quickly or else he wouldn't be able to hate enough to pass the quota, this situation forced me to have him spawn inside a village. Originally, this was supposed to be THE human village since Mark was meant to spawn around 2010 which is some years before this story starts (starts in 2027, if I'm not mistaken), the reason for the hostility Shimura and the guards showed him is a remnant from the uncut version in which Mark spawns during an incident. Imagine a weird guy spawning inside your superstitious and isolated village during a time of crisis, outright antagonizing one of your elders in the middle of the day and showing a power similar to a certain sage? No surprise he was kindly asked to leave. But, your way of interpreting things turned out to be more interesting than what I planned at the start.

Oof, I dreaded this moment, the Japanese text... I don't know a single thing about Japanese, considering that I live on the other side of the world but It seemed like a great idea back then as a way to hide some things like I did with Shimura and to show how much Mark was lost there, like in a completely alien environment, one of the main reasons for his gruesome death. Another thing that was lost during the poor translations was Shimura mentioning the Incident when he held Mark's phone, which I left with him on purpose mind you. In the end, Japanese proved to be out of my league, and by the time I realized it, I was already almost finished so I allowed it to stay, kinda regret it now...

12 hours ago, Nyoko said:

Point two for being in a between zone of Anime Game of Thrones and actual Touhou, Spell card Duels, with small adjustments, are being held. I also see that you took the Lunarians into account, as well. Other than that, this mostly deals with just the slights given to him with his horrendous hand... and don't think you can let 志村 (Shimura) slip me by. Rumia murdered him, which has the added benefit of at least dying to a leader of a minor faction! The one of the ravenous and half-mad Youkai, yes, but still!

This, originally meant to be someone resolving an incident while committing a mistake by fighting in the wrong place but I guess that having people cause trouble directly above THE human village was a bit of a stretch, but I had a certain someone around to run damage control and as much as I wished to have Mark interact with certain Touhous, his unfortunate outcome wouldn't have happened if I did. 

I'm glad you caught onto Shimura, now for the revelation, Shimura living and Shimura dead were also supposed to be two different people, they were originally meant to be from a noble clan of sorts, dead Shimura as one of the heads from ages past and living Shimura as the current head. The original content had Mark recognize them as family by a symbol they use in their clothes but I had to cut this content because it would cover Mark's first days as a Vengeful Spirit. Who would have thought that having them become a single character who was eaten by Rumia would make them much more awesome? Having Mark being tutored by the one who indirectly caused his demise would be so fun to write, I wish I could travel back in time to use this in my uncut version of the story. If you are curious by the way, Shimura living was inspired by Danzo Shimura from Naruto, since Mark was meant to spawn around 2010, by the time war started, Shimura would be old enough to look like his Naruto counterpart.

12 hours ago, Nyoko said:

Your interpretation of Jun when he is not around Mina Katt is something I wouldn't be able to write with the chains I willingly put on myself, but you nailed the bit completely. I hope it wasn't too hard and easy enough to write him. You also took your time setting up the start of the character development train in this instance, with multiple locations that we will be going to for me to explore as well as multiple people we should meet. For the actual interview, I merely changed a few details that are probably very important, as well as rewriting the entire thing from the perspective of the upstarting cat who somehow earned the Queen's favour, which reveals some things I assume you didn't know.

Jun was funnier than Mark in a sense, I needed someone to balance out my monstrosity of spite and awkwardness, Jun fitted the bill quite nicely, my main objective was having Jun facilitate the interview but I ended up liking their dynamics so much. It makes me remember a certain character from JoJo, Doppio Vinegar, he is also the inspiration for my "choking scene" that I had during the interview, actually, I realized how much they look like a Stand and a Stand User so I thought it was fitting to have Mark JoJo posing during what could be called his "job interview".

To talk a bit about Mark himself, I think you saw it from the many examples I gave you of how much awkward he is, this was caused by the divorce of his parents when he was very young, leaving him both without a role model and a social life. The "pitying stares" cause him to remember how he felt when it happened and thus Mark started despising everyone who pitied him, to the point he purposefully repeated a grade in hopes of starting his school life again with new people, to no avail because he underestimated the power of gossip, essentially, this is his emotional trigger to force him to act his part as being of vengeance but he struggles to understand it.

You might have noticed something else as well:

On 11/4/2024 at 5:45 PM, Motaromc said:

“You’re a terrible Vengeful Spirit, Maru-san,”

Remember when I said that a Vengeful Spirit was too bland? I decided to spice things up a little, little Maru has grown used to hardship and social failures, to the point he hardly holds a grudge anymore, the youkai who killed him, the guards who kicked him out, he doesn't really hate them all. What he does hate though, is his inability to better his life, being pitied, makes him remember his parents divorce, and being spirited away, makes him remember another failure to change his life. All of this contributes to one thing, Mark is standing exactly on the boundary between a vengeful spirit and a simple ghost, doesn't that make you remember someone? Yes, Soga no Tojiko.

His possession ability is also tied to being a Vengeful Spirit, when angered, he can flawlessly possess someone like Jun but as he start to calm down, his possession faulters and Jun was allowed to wrestle control from him easier, the karma choices were originally meant to shape him into mellowing out and becoming a ghost like Tojiko, in exchange for his possession skill, or to become a full-fledged Vengeful Spirit like Mizuchi Miyadeguchi but in exchange, as his possession grows stronger, we would lose more and more of Jun.

That's why I had Mina not notice Maru earlier, he was in a calm state when Jun was simping for her but Mina ended up triggering Maru when she pitied Jun's lack of shame, although, having Maru snap at Jun instead wasn't out of character at all. 

13 hours ago, Nyoko said:

Don't force yourself, my writing quality also decreases when I do that... But I also asked you all to do something so I don't start getting complacent and give it my all. I'll also be looking to resolve a few threads that started in the beginning, so look forward to that~.

Also, I'll be moving the updates to the morning of monday / evening of sunday. I got lucky this time and the writing came naturally, but I spent way too much of my day to be comfortable doing that when I actually need to go to school, thus this measure. (Also because then I start competing with Yumetou, which can actually [paradoxically] increase the amount of readers here.)

I also didn't mean to send you completely away from your Makuragaeshi, so sorry if that "try again" attacked you more than I wanted it to. You gave me a concept of a character, so I gave you a chance to further deepen your understanding of it, while also luring you to basically everywhere else. I didn't expect you to take one of the baits, at the very least.

You can probably tell why I complain about the hours I sink into these comments, can't you?

And so it did, reading your version of my introduction did show me how many times I failed to convey my intentions, not in a bad way, I had fun reading your thoughts, especially about Shimura. When I read "try again" I decided to take it as a friendly challenge and decided to flex my skills a bit, shame I realized too late how hard it is to write, to shape my incoherent mind into something understandable, I always had a very active mind, full of ideas but that proved to be my defeat, I leave from this completely humbled but more mature in a sense. Thank you for providing me this opportunity, I would never have the guts to do something like this on my own initiative.

Have I told you that the uncut version had 12k words and this one only around 7.5k? Originally, Maru would thrive for a week before dying and I would have covered an incident and the start of his unlife in the underworld, he would have been tutored by dead Shimura for a while and interacted with Orin a bit. That's why I had him call Mina a bootleg Orin somewhere. He is just biased, don't mind him. I had to cut a LOT of content because I realized that: 

1. It would be way too big for an introduction
2. My sad Japanese was starting to appear too much as I introduced more characters
3. My irl time was running out

P.S: Jesus, I really talk too much sometimes...

P.S.S: Do you wanna see the scene I was talking about? The "choking scene" that I used for inspiration to use in the interview. Here you go: 

[Motaromc]

When did this OOC grow so long?

Hello there! It's been a while now, right? I decided to take a small break myself because I realized I was starting to break my self-imposed schedule way too much. Things like commenting on Wednesday or rambling MUCH more than usual... Actually, while I write this right now I can't help but stare at the abomination of a picture right above me, I mean, what the hell was I thinking at the time? This is way too distracting, look at his expression!

Okay, I need to focus, Uh... I'm sad to inform you this but it looks like I'm gonna need to sue you. Yes, I know, I DID say it was a GIFT but really? You are using my pillow-flipper idea?? So shamelessly like that??? AND you also included the Japanese too! Geez, I really need to sue you. Although, I do feel a bit happy that I had such an impact on you, so be honest with me, you did enjoy our little interaction, right? hehe

Truth be told I'm still a bit insecure about my implementation of the Japanese bits, they were meant to show just how alien everything felt to Mark at the time, so the reader could be just as lost as he was back then. It may have ultimately failed with me due to my lack of skill in this particular language but I do believe you are going to do better than I in that aspect, sadly, this also means that I'm going to constantly translate everything that you write from now on, can't let any interesting info go unnoticed now, can we?

Finally, to the chapter itself! I don't know what kind of brainrot Kimetsu no Yaiba inflicted on me but I'll never be able to look at the name "Nezuko" the same way again, I know you added a bit of Russian to make things more interesting but the pillow-flipper is now forever chibi Nezuko I'm my mind, with bamboo in the mouth and everything, also, having Nezuko-chan be friends with Kenpachi Zaraki Ashura, really does wonders for both characters as I can now picture the face of a certain shinigami for the previously faceless Asura.

By the way, you spanner in the works, good job nailing Mark's character there, even if he said only one phrase you totally understood how someone like him would have reacted in that situation. After all, despite everything he is still an outsider and that means his way of thinking differs from everyone else. I mean, we can both agree that a child being a member of what essentially consists of a special ops squad is weird.