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Got this 2 days ago

Danmaku Literally meaning ‘bullet curtain’ and more correctly ‘barrage’ in Japanese, Danmaku is the primary means of conflict resolution in Gensokyo. A ceremonial battle between two figures using their magical talents. The purpose of the battle is to not only triumph in combat, but demonstrate magical prowess as well as beauty of aesthetic. Danmaku is channeled though Spell Cards. Enchanted rule cards demonstrating your abilities and powered through magic. Though most resemble spells as imagined by Outsiders, they may just as easily be performed with a weapon or instrument, with the oddest example being a warmed sweet potato. A Spell Card is an extension of a user’s personality as much as their magical prowess. Though some members of Otherworldly Ventures are accomplished at Danmaku, the level of study required to perform Danmaku at even a basic level is considerable. Given the danger of its practice and the study necessary, it is best to leave such things in the hands of Otherworldly Venture’s Extermination Department, or with the numerous protective figures around the Village. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= The wizard of sorts remained seated at his impromptu table. Hands folded serenely. His green eyes on the smaller woman’s own as she grinned back with an irrepressible excitement. Oscar’s own expression may have looked calm. But in that moment, his mind was furiously passing over everything he had seen and experienced in the past day. He had been in Gensokyo for almost twenty-four hours now. Some things, he seen enough of to make a series of educated guesses. Some he had accepted, some he was still unsure of. He was not in America. Which meant he may as well be anywhere, but it seemed to lean towards an Asian aesthetic. He was possibly dead. Though that part he was hazy on. This place definitely didn’t match any depiction of the afterlife he had ever heard of. Races other than humans lived here, and they knew of Earth as the ‘Outside World’. Further, there were fairies and youkai there as well, which had seemingly never been seen by modern humans. Magic was real here. Which was how all these strange things kept happening. This hypothesis still had holes in it, small things like how half the people he met could fly, yet the village had a short wall around itself. But that could wait. Most pressing at the moment was that word. “Wizards in the Outside World are few, and we spend most of our time focused on our studies. Tell me, what is Danmaku?” The smile Marisa gave in response told him he couldn’t have picked a better topic. “Oooh, Danmaku is great! They’re magic fights folk have. Youkai can be very dangerous and cause a lot of havoc. But we don’t wanna damage Gensokyo or give away that Youkai exist. So the Sages came up with the Danmaku Spell Card Rules. A kind of harmless fight where we shoot magic at one another until one of us gives up. Danmaku’s used for all kinds o’ things, from friendly duels to settlin’ disagreements to celebratin’. You’ve got pretty girls zipping through the air, shootin’ magic at one another making explosions overhead, each an extension of the spellcaster. Anything goes, so long as its nice to look at, ze.” The casual way she described it wasn’t the in-depth dissertation he was hoping for. But it gave him the big picture at least. It explained what Narumi and then Marisa wanted. They were trying to bond over a kind of magic duel. Which meant only one possible thing. He had to stay as far away from this thing as possible. Scary monsters in the forest chasing him were one thing, now that he was nice and safe in the village. But this was something different. It was a challenge, that could be dropped on him at any time, by any one, for any reason. He had to avoid it. And barring that, he had to find a way to compete in Danmaku. The sight of his four friends, even in their disguises behind her, was strangely comforting. The eyes of Cirno, Mystia and Wriggle watched him with timid encouragement. Daiyousei looked nervously over to Marisa. He couldn’t help but give them all an encouraging wink, before his calm gaze went back to Marisa. “That’s good to know, thank you Miss Marisa.” “Geez, are you always so formal? Yer almost as bad as my best friend.” She smiled under her broad hand. One hand rising to grab the brim as she bent down to look over at Agappa. “Who’s yer friend, ze?” The coin had long ago begun to rust. A soft green coat over the sheen of metal. Between its gap, the dark eyes of Mikari-Baba gazed through the gap at Marisa’s shimmering face. She said nothing, at first. Only holding the coin, turning it this way and that, before something seemed to shift. Her pupil began to dilate, then constrict. Focusing not on Marisa, but past her. The witch’s charming smile persisted irrepressibly. There was nothing overtly wrong about the two but... He had the feeling something really bad was about to happen. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= What now? = Agappa isn't disguised like Team 9. Introduce her as your sickly definitely human daughter. = Introduce your gloomy companion! That should smooth things over. = Marisa doesn't know Agappa, but Agappa is acting strangely. And has been avoiding this entire conversation. Ask her if this relates to her work with the Yamas. = Now would be a good time to signal Team 9 to cause a distraction. = Let's just ah, go and talk somewhere else, Marisa. I have a couple questions away from my assistant.

i have returned to find that i won my 50th day and have 900 faith

wsg

There is some interesting info that richard_effendi missed. On the stream it was said that ZUN is writing an awful lot of manuscripts now [for a printwork, but nobody knows what kind of work it is, as I understood from discussions]. Where is a theory that this printwork would be related to Akyuu. From what I read from tara_touhou it seems like he hasn't said anything about a new game.