Author Topic: Weekly Writing Challenge Thread the First  (Read 474283 times)

Re: Weekly Writing Challenge! - Where Myth Comes to Life
« Reply #870 on: August 28, 2011, 07:42:02 PM »
Quote
Congrats on your (impending) victory, Sanrisa!(?)

I concur.

Still, sometimes, one simply must write to clear one's mind.

I somehow combined a Jack'O'Lantern origin story with "Jack and Jill". huh.

+++
Jack of the Spark.
===
It is all too easy to imagine life as a flame; a consuming force that inexorably converts low-entropy mass into high-entropy mass in the (arguably) ultimately meaningless  "pursuit" of its own propagation.

A flame that flickers is a deviation from the "ideal" flame; buffeted by outside forces or distorted by internal chaos, flames may become unpredictable. It is a matter of personal preference and circumstance as to whether this is endearing or dangerous.

So ran the thoughts of Shikieiki as she eyed the most recent arrival. The soul that stood before her had wavered in its youth, blazed in its prime, and, as death neared, it did not fade gracefully but instead guttered.

Komachi was unnaturally punctual; the soul was obviously freshly dead despite a languid manner that suggested boundless patience for delays. Such a quality was almost unthinkable the last time Shikieiki met that person; nonetheless, she betrayed no sense of surprise.

"Marisa Kirisame, you have a choice...."
===
Komachi understood Celestial politics only to the extent that she knew her actions confused it.

She understood that power corrupted; she had witnessed the games conducted by those who fancied themselves players as they danced to the strings of the neuroses brought on by authority. She watched weaker players pushed around like so many coins until she could not contain the disgust, the hot, ineffably unclean feeling that drove even rage from her mind.

She also understood that such realities must never come to light; that the Pure Lands must obey at least the pretense of eutopia, that the joyless marriage of infinite time and tiny dreams must be praised even as its participants dallied elsewhere.

Her boss's offer was something she could understand. Shikieiki was honest, introspective, and, despite appearances to the contrary, unconditionally kind. These traits made her dangerous in Heaven.
===
"So, are you going to talk my ears off like last time, or are you going to just send me on my way?" Marisa japed.

"No. You have every right to go to Heaven. You deserve it more than many of its actual inhabitants." Shikieiki's voice was unusually soft for this judgement, but the magical authority of its post granted it the same terrifying quality of an accusation.

Marisa, unfazed and cheeky, retorted, "Knowing Tenshi, that's not saying much."

Shikieiki's firm glare silenced further speech but lacked the power to wipe away Marisa's smile.

"However, your soul still has two hungers. Until you are rid of them, you must still ride upon the ever-turning wheel of suffering known as life."

A mocking raised hand foreshadowed a mocking question. However, substance was more than style.

"Really. I thought there was only one. I'm guessing you of all people can help with this new one."

Marisa gripped Shikieiki by the shoulders. The smile did not disappear; it was annihilated, laugh lines smoothing to form a visage that gave nothing but took in sensation greedily, a perfect companion to eyes that seemed to devour without hunger.

"What. Happened. To. Reimu."
===
The Yama was not cowed. No mortal fear could compare to the constant, crippling fear that possessed her since she decided to openly defy the heavens.

She knew, and she wished she did not. It would be so fitting, to bring happiness to a liar through lies.

But the hunger within the poor soul in front of her would not be content. Shikieiki saw past the layers of manners and learned compassion, past the layers that proclaimed themselves to be love. Marisa's core was a thirst for knowledge, a strange and wondrous grey blot that refused to part into its manichean components.

"I sent her to heaven. In doing so, I sent her to her true death."

Marisa did not react so much as conspicuously restrain herself so that no hint of coherent feeling escape.

"So. It is true that oblivion exists."

Shikieiki nodded.

"That is an open secret. Heaven does not acknowledge it, but uses it as a convenient way to dispose of troublesome souls."

"Is that why you are going to give me a choice?"

"Yes"

Marisa paused, then asked one more question.

"Why am I troublesome?"

Shikieiki smiled faintly, before responding,

"Why do you ask?"
===
And so Marisa chose hell, armed with the knowledge that Heaven's open gates disguised an open maw. She found herself hastily hustled through an immigration checkpoint to a guardhouse, where she was chained and brought into an ornate room.

Upon a throne sat a stately woman in a red dress. Six black wings radiated from her back, their red patterns continuing into their adornments and the walls. With a wave of her hand, she dismissed the guards. With another wave, a spirit clad in blue appeared at her right hand. A maid stood at her left, tense and ready to strike.

"So we meet again, Marisa."

"Good to see you, Shinki."
===
Of course, Marisa was not a good guest. Other residents of Makai were terrified of her, a half-forgotten nightmare that spawned some of the most impressive and twisted works of art. Her name was a mark of respect among sellswords; the xenophobic faction of Makai's toy parliment (Shinki still held the last word) considered her adequate justification for isolationism; Miko protected their lands, Spirits carried out grudges, and Elder Youkai traveled for entertainment, and were hence manageable. However, kleptomaniac outsiders with powers were not.

Therefore, within a day of Marisa's arrival, Shinki requested that Marisa leave. Out of generosity, she offered a scroll for the conjuring of one item.
===
Marisa walked Gensokyo, her trusted Mini-Hakkero in hand. She made herself substantial by drawing upon its magic; her furnace glowed with eerie light as she wandered, planning her next step.
+++
Jack and Jill
==
Jack
Marisa neared her house at a leisurely pace. She did not fear the night, for its inhabitants rightly feared her. Her strange lantern cast phantasmal plays if light and shadow that she could safely ignore.

and Jill
Patchouli inspected the spine of the book in her hands. After a cursory magical examination, she returned it to its pile with pride. Marisa had returned the books from the library years ago; Patchouli found herself inheritor of a large body of research.

Alice dug through piles of imported texts, claiming the occasional tome. She directed a small army of autonomous dolls, seeking the secret behind Marisa's last gift.

Nitori eagerly helped herself to a number of strange mechanisms. The clattering disguised Marisa's return.

"Hi"
==
went up the hill
Marisa threw herself at the unfinished work, as if challenge alone was her sustenance. Her three partners found themselves drawn in again, reassured by their own knowledge and all but slavering at the offered chance. They were all but drooling over the possibilities. Unless millennia  of mysticism and experimentation were completely wrong, their work would lead straight to the Akashic Records. To each her own; Patchouli dreamed of an ultimate library, while Alice fantasized about finding the very methods of creation. Nitori sought out of curiosity, entertaining wilder and wilder flights of fancy as she grasped within her mind's reach more and more of the very stuff of reality.

to fetch a pail of water
==
The ritual began with a wondrous interplay of lights, each spark so charged with meaning that they invoked a yearning within the hearts of the three Youkai, then pain when they faded, uninterpreted.
Awe struck again when they gazed down. They were supported by wisps above a chasm of scrolls, scrolls which were instantly readable despite the great distance that should have stood between them.

Jack fell down

Marisa, however, was on her knees, shaking and retching. She vomited a stream of darkness that was joined by her flesh as it flayed itself off of her skeleton. Her Hakkero dimmed for a moment, and she was gone, the furnace plummeting sideways, winding Alice before capture by Patchouli

and broke his crown

The little tube of darkness that issued from Marisa's mouth *disappeared*, seeming to merge with the surrounding air.

At that moment, an ancient cry resounded through the Records, concurrent with a wave of ruin. The varied structures which supported displays, books, and scrolls disappeared, followed by their contents. Spheres of many colors materialized; an accidental touch revealed their fleshy nature. The neat corridors and rows merged and twisted into psychedelic caverns of flesh, strange organs and odd bones littering claustrophobic channels. Impossible shapes beckoned, pointing towards paths out of the limited existence shared by all children of the gods, whispering perverse chants that at once implied brilliant insight and crushing madness.

==
Marisa was swallowed by the strange beast immediately; she found herself in a fleshy knot, nerves spread haphazardly through places that she felt no need to describe. Reaching, she found a ball of tangled threads. Such a description barely did justice to the sheer wrongness of the object, the way it refused to be reduced to figment, the way it inspired within Marisa a feeling of utter insignificance and helplessness.

And yet she could not look away. She *shifted* towards it ("walking" seemed to imply too much motion and insufficient displacement) and gathered threads within her hands, feeling them. She plunged them into her orifices, tasting them, smelling them, hearing them, and seeing them in ways she never thought possible. As she pulled, she noticed that the sphere would respond, and so she pulled more, testing it.

==
After what felt like an eternity compressed into a moment by childlike glee, Marisa found the ball shrinking. When she measured it again and found no change, she realized that it was not size that was changing; the feeling of terror that nearly drowned her when she first gazed upon the sphere had abated; she consumed it without a second thought, not realizing how or why she had such an impulse.

She stretched, feeling every point of her being, marveling at its novel form. Hazy recollections of adventure returned to her, and so she reached through herself, seeking the companions that brought her here.
==
and Jill came tumbling after

Iced Fairy

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Re: Weekly Writing Challenge! - Where Myth Comes to Life
« Reply #871 on: August 29, 2011, 12:34:25 AM »
"So some youkai's been noisy at night.  No one in the village is complaining.  If it's bothering you go exterminate it yourself."

Sanae fumed as Reimu went back to sipping her tea.  The wind priestess knew Reimu was lazy, but she hadn't expected this complete disintrest. 

Apparently she needed to try a different tactic.  "But it's a weird youkai.  The kappa and the tengu don't seem to know anything about it.  They only know that it sounds like a young wolf when it howls at the moon.  It might even be a werewolf!"

"Hm..."  Reimu thought for a moment.  "Maybe.  But if someone was missing from the village we'd know about it.  And if it's just a wandering werewolf it should be fine."

"Fine!?  It's a werewolf!  What'll we do if it eats someone?"  Sanae glared at Reimu, hoping her miracle powers could summon the concept of shame.

Reimu just sighed and smiled.  "I don't know what they tell you outside, but Therianthropes are usually friendly."  Reimu gave her a strong look.  "I'm not going unless there's a real threat.  Or unless someone's paying me."

Sanae was trying to form a retort when a third voice interrupted her thoughts.  "Hm...  So you're looking into the werewolf as well Miss Kochiya."

Sanae turned at the voice to find the maid from the Scarlet Devil Mansion standing there.  Reimu looked up as well.  "Ah, Sakuya.  Did that thing disturb Remilia's sleep?"

"Nothing so dire as that Reimu."  Sakuya shrugged slightly while closing her eyes.  Sanae wondered if that was how Sakuya hid her exasperation.  "The mistress apparently thought a guard dog would be a nice addition to the mansion."

"A maid's life, eh?  Well just don't stir anything big up," Reimu stated before returning to her tea.

Sanae sighed again.  "Is she always this lazy Sakuya?"

"Yes."  Sakuya chuckled slightly.  "But that might be her greatest strength."

"I'm right here you know," Reimu groused.

Sakuya ignored the chastisement.  "In any case, it seems we have similar goals Ms Kochiya.  Shall we team up for this little expedition?"

"Sure!" Sanae smiled.  It seemed her trip to the Hakurei shrine hadn't been a waste after all.
-----

The trip to the gorge was uneventful.  Sakuya was silent as they flew, and Sanae didn't feel like trying to pry anything out of the maid.

The forest below them changed, first from a normal stand of trees to the strange tangle of the forest of magic, then from that deep forest to the chaparral that surrounded the gorge for no good reason.  One of the oddities of Gensoukyo.

Sakuya suddenly spoke up.  "Hm, this is good.  Whatever the youkai is, it's not actively looking for a battle."

"Eh?" Sanae looked over at the maid.  "How do you know?"

Sakuya waved her hand at the clear skies around them.  "No fairy swarms.  Any time someone's spoiling for a fight or pouring a lot of magic into the area there's a lot of fairies starting trouble."

Sanae nodded.  That made sense from what she'd learned of Gensoukyo.  "So you're saying whatever lives here isn't a threat?"

"Isn't currently a threat Ms. Kochiya."  Sanae flinched at Sakuya's chiding tone.  "It would be foolish to assume things stay that way when we start to hunt it."

"Right."  Sanae turned her attention back to her surroundings.

Then she stiffened.  Someone brushed against her mind like a feather duster.  A presence that was both familiar and strange.  She held up her hand to stop Sakuya, then closed her eyes.  Yes, the presence was there, below them both.  And she was almost certain she knew what it was.

She opened her eyes again.  "There's a native god here."

Sakuya raised an eyebrow at that.  "A native god?  Really?  Do you think it connected to our prey?"

Sanae shook her head.  "I don't think so.  Lady Kanako would know if one of the wolf gods had arrived in Gensoukyo.  Most of those are fairly powerful.  However we shouldn't raise the god's ire."

"Hm..."  Sanae shivered a bit as a knife appeared in Sakuya's hands.  A shadow seemed to have fallen over the normally laid back maid's face.  "I have no issues with killing gods."  Sanae breathed easier when Sakuya's casual smile returned.  "Still that would delay our mission.  I'll trust you to appease the deity if we run afoul of it."

"Right."  Sanae looked back towards the gorge.  "Hm...  I bet the youkai we're looking for is at the bottom, because of the river."

"If it is a werebeast it would need water," Sakuya agreed.  "We won't have as much light down there though."

"Don't worry about light." Sanae replied cheerfully.  "That's an easy miracle."

Sakuya's smile widened.  "Very well.  Let us begin the hunt in earnest."

----

Sanae was certain that some sort of divine presence was messing with things as soon as the two landed.  The sun was already hidden by the gorges steep walls, but it was just as warm here at the bottom as it was at ground level.  She expected Sakuya to comment on it, but the maid remained fairly oblivious.  "So, um, now what?"

Sakuya stood and thought for a moment.  "I believe the accepted strategy is to look for clues.  I would not suggest splitting up however.  That tended to end badly."

"Right."  Sanae started looking around the area.  The scrub brush here was much thicker, but since she could fly that wasn't that big a problem.  Still the search seemed a daunting task. 

The two spent about fifteen minutes searching.  During that time Sanae found a couple of rabbits, several snakes, and a millipede, but no sign of anything larger.

"Ah!  Perhaps this is what we're looking for."

Sanae turned to find Sakuya pointing down at some tracks.  Floating over Sanae could see they were somewhat doglike, though maybe a little small for a wolf.  "Hm... Maybe it is a kid." Sanae mused.

"Or perhaps a young youkai," Sakuya added.

A shrill piercing howl suddenly sounded through the gully.  Sanae's heart jumped into her throat as the yips and howls echoed into a deafening chorus.

The howls died down but Sanane didn't relax.  She could hear something coming through the bushes quickly towards them!  She pulled out her youkai sealing amulets and tried to steady her nerves.

As the figure burst out of the shrubbery Sanae started her attack, then halted when she saw it was only a purple haired fairy.  The fairy screamed at the sight of them and fainted.  Which was probably the only thing that saved it from getting skewered by one of Sakuya's knives.

Sakuya coughed.  "My apologies Ms Kochiya.  It seems I acted a little hastily."  The knives she was holding disappeared.  "Perhaps you could talk with this fairy after we revive her?"

Sanae took a few steadying breaths.  "I can try.  My last fairy interrogation didn't go well."

"The ice fairy is a little different then normal," Sakuya replied.  "And you can use me as 'bad cop' as it were."

Sanae sighed and moved towards the unconscious spirit.  "Alright, let's see what she knows."

It only took a few splashes of water before the fairy revived.  "Ah!"  The fairy flinched away.

"Sorry about that.  We thought you were the one making those noises."  Sanane paused as a thought occurred to her.  "You aren't right?"

The fairies face scrunched up in confusion.  "Why would I run from myself?!"

"Good point."  Sanae reached out her hand to help the fairy up.  "I'm Sanae Kochiya of the Moriya Shrine.  What's your name?"

The fairy took Sanae's hand and got to her feet.  The little creature was surprisingly heavy.  "I'm Sugar Satellite.  I heard there was a strong youkai down here, so I wanted to play a prank on it.  But I haven't seen it at all.  Just heard those howls."  The fairy shivered.  "That last one was close.  I was afraid it had found me."

Sanae refrained from pointing out that it probably wasn't a good idea to prank something that might be deadly.  "So you haven't seen any clues?"

"Not anything other then the tracks."  The fairy dusted herself off.  Then looked up at the two hunters.  "Oh!  Are you here to prank that youkai too?  I can help!"  The fairy put her hands on her hips and pushed out her chest.  "My power can hide the presence of things."

Sanae looked over at Sakuya.  She wasn't sure about having a fairy along on the trip, but the maid had a lot more experience with the nature spirits.  Sakuya thought for a moment then nodded.  "We'd be glad to have you along, Sugar Satellite.  By the way my name is Sakuya Izayoi of the scarlet devil mansion."

"Okay!" The fairy nodded in return.  "So what's the plan?"

Sanae decided to go with the obvious.  "Well first we could follow these tracks..."

---

Several hours later Sanae was beginning to wonder if the obvious decision had been an obvious mistake.  Every time there was a loose rock, thorny plant or deep section of river, the tranks were sure to go straight through them.  "Maybe this wasn't a good plan."  She looked back at Sakuya.  "I don't suppose Akyuu was right and you've got some secret vampire hunter tracking trick up your sleeve?"

Sakuya shook her head.  "Even if I was formerly a vampire hunter, a very big if, why would I know how to track?  One does not track vampires.  At least not conventionally."  Sakuya shrugged.  "Perhaps there's a miracle you could perform to make this easier?"

"Hm..."  Sanae considered the matter, before shaking her head.  "I still sense that divine presence.  I don't want to wake anything up by performing any large miracles here."

"Inconvenient," Sakuya said with a sigh.

Sugar looked back and forth between the two, confused by the exchange.  "You can sense there's a god here?"

"Yeah.  Something to investigate later," Sanae replied.  She looked up at the rapidly darkening sky with a frown. "Though, it'll be dark soon.  Maybe we should come back tomorrow?"

Sakuya nodded.  "The moon will be full tonight.  I don't want to confront any youkai at the height of their power.  They tend to be unreasonable then."

Sanae wondered if Sakuya was including her mistress in that statement.

"Ah over here!"

Sanae and Sakuya turned to to find Sugar pulling something off one of the branches thorns.  Sanae hurried over.  It would be nice to find some clue other then these infuriating footprints.

Sugar held up her discovery when the two arrived.  It was a clump of grey hair with the faintest trace of blood on it.  "It looks like it got some fur caught on the bush here.  And the bloods fresh, we can't be far behind."

"That's great!"  Sanae felt her spirits rise at the discovery.  "Maybe we could stay a little longer Sakuya?  At least until the sun completely sets."

Sakuya smiled.  "Yes we should continue this hunt."  She snatched the hairs out from the fairies grasp.  "And with this we should be able to find the creature easily."

"Huh?" Sanae's eyebrow jumped up at that.  "How so?"

"Simple."  The maid smiled brightly.  "With this fetish I should be able to cast a spell that will track the creature no matter where it goes.  A primitive magic, but very effective."

"Eh?"  Sanae and the fairy both started.  "You can use magic?"

"I would think that was obvious.  Unprotected humans can't survive a blow from a magical creature such as a vampire.  And silver knives can't keep an edge without help" Sakuya stated.  She coughed lightly.  "Though I merely picked up some spells from the library.  I'm hardly a real magician."

Sakuya moved to a flat patch of ground and waved the two over.  "In any case, this shouldn't take long.  We simply need to build a fire.  Then I can set up the trace."

"Um, are you sure this will work?" Sugar Satilite asked worriedly.  "I mean, you don't want to get cut here after dark right?"

The thought brought a bit of a chill to Sanae's spine.  She was tougher then most youkai, but she still wasn't completely comfortable with the more dangerous creatures of Gensoukyo.

Sanae shook that thought off.  She was a goddess.  She shouldn't be afraid of the dark.  "This chance might not come again.  We should do this now."  Sanae turned back towards the brush.  "You should look for some dry wood for the fire.  I'll get kindling."

The three quickly gathered everything Sakuya needed.  Sugar didn't really help much at all, since all the wood she brought back was wet, but given they didn't need that big a fire it was fine.  Sakuya set up the wood to catch quickly, then summoned a small flame and dropped it onto the kindling.

Sanae felt a jolt run through her as the leaves flared, then snuffed out.

A brief smile flickered over Sakuya's face.  "How annoying."  The maid called forth flame again, and again a jolt of power rushed over Sanae as the flames died.

Sugar laughed uneasily.  "Well, that won't work. I guess we'd better give up for today, right?"

Sanae saw Sakuya's eyes flick over to the fairy as that smirk reappeared.  "Now now.  We haven't lost yet."

Sanae smiled as she realized what Sakuya was getting at.  "Indeed.  I think a miracle might solve all our problems."  Sanae fought to keep from laughing as Sugar tensed.  Instead she focused on the miracle.

It was obvious that the power stopping Sakuya had power over fire, so Sanae decided to try a different tactic.  She scooped up some water, then dumped it on the wood.  Sugar's worry turned into confusion.  "Huh, what are you doing?"

Sanae said nothing as she tossed another scoop of water onto the wood.  Then a third.  She made sure her movements were deliberate.  The ritual was stronger if the people watching were absorbed in it.

When she was certain both Sakuya and Sugar were giving her their full attention she clapped her hands together twice and called out to the flames.

The wood erupted into a merry blaze.  Sakuya hurriedly tossed the hairs and blood into the fire.  Sanae felt power flow through the area again, and the flames died like a snuffed candle, but it was too late.

The smoke from the dead blaze curled up around Sakuya's knife, then shot out to surround 'Sugar Satellite.'  The little youkai sighed.  "Fuck."

Sanae moved to circle the fake fairy while Sakuya pointed her knife at Sugar.  "It's been a while since I studied the scripture, but I believe the follow up to that miracle involves us slaughtering those that serve false deities.  Perhaps we can settle for liars?"

A wave of bright light washed out from the youkai, blinding Sanae.  When her vision cleared her breath stopped.  Before her was a great dragon, its golden coils twisting through the sky of the canyon. 

The might beast spoke, each word a reverberation that made Sanae shiver.  "Well done humans.  You have peirced my disguise.  Your wisdom and cunning impress me.  I shall grant you each a wish."

Sakuya coughed.  "I wish you'd stop giving us the runaround.  Dragons don't wield divine power.  Sanae's been sensing you all this time."

"Ah.  You are wise."  The dragon shifted, becoming a beautiful serpent with rainbow wings.  "I am Quetzalcoatl.  I sought a form more fitting with your expectations as is my want, but this is my true appearance."  The serpent looked down on them.  "Now come.  Tell me what you wish as a reward for your cleverness."

Something flickered to life in the back of Sanae's mind.  She looked carefully at the great feathered serpent.  Could a god who's followers were almost all dead really still survive?  She tried to recall what she knew about Quetzalcoatl.

"Come.  Speak up," the god said.  Sakuya looked to Sanae questioningly.  Obviously Sakuya wasn't certain if this was another deception.

And with that it clicked.  Sanae realized what was wrong.

"Quetzalcoatl is a wind god.  You have power over fire."  Sanae looked up at the imposter.  "And Quetzalcoatl is a ruling god.  He changes forms, but he wouldn't stoop to trickery for fun.  No, you aren't Quetzalcoatl." 

"But you are a god.  And a god has to leave clues about their true nature, otherwise they'll lose faith."  Sanae quickly thought through the gods she'd studied in school.  The legends that she alone had known were real.  "I know who you are.  You're Coyote!"

The serpent stilled.  "Crap."

The giant feathers serpent twisted and funneled in on itself, the colors slowly dimming to grays and browns, until all that remained was a dog like creature with large ears and bushy tail.  The creature reared back and unleased the same high pitched howl that had rattled through the canyon before.  Then there was a glow and the coyote shifted into a striking androgynous figure wearing simple traveling clothes.  Coyote bowed slightly and smiled.  "A fine guess little deity.  And well done to you, maid.  I was certain I could hide from the complex rituals of the magicians of these lands, but hiding from the first magics is beyond one such as I."  Coyote sighed.  "I considered fleeing into dreams for another round, but these days that would be a waste of faith.  You may consider this your victory."

Sanae forced herself to stay on guard.  Completely trusting a trickster god was a recipe for disaster.  ?So what are you doing here??

?Ah, well that's a sadly simple story.  My friend Raven visited here to court that new goddess that appeared here.  After he struck out he returned home with tales of these beautiful lands.?  Coyote shrugged.  ?So I decided to take a vacation.?

Sakuya folded her arms and shook her head.  ?Well Lady Remilia has no use for a god.  I don't think coyotes make good guards.  What do you want to do, Sanae??

Sanae considered the matter for a bit longer.  ?Hm...  Sakuya, I think we made a mistake."

"Hm, what's that?" the maid asked.

Sanae smiled at Coyote.  "You haven't had someone from Gensoukyo officially greet you yet, have you?"

"Why no my dear priestess.  Is that an offer?" the god replied with a wolfish grin.

In a flash Sanae pulled out a pack of ofuda from her sleeve.  "Well then, I'll be happy to give you a proper welcome!  After all you can't let yourself be restrained by common sense in Gensoukyo."

Coyote froze in shock, while Sakuya burst out laughing.  "A fine sentiment.  Yes, let's finish this properly."

Coyote stood there in silence for a few moments, then his grin returned.  "Very well.  Let's try out this spellcard game."  Flames sprouted in the air as the god floated up to gain altitude.  "I was quick and clever enough to steal these fires from the sun itself.  Can you match my legend with your own?"

"Of course!" the duo replied as they jumped into the sky.

And as the duel unfolded in the sky, two souls grew closer to their adopted home, while another found a place of it's own among the illusions. 

Joveus Molai

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Re: Weekly Writing Challenge! - Where Myth Comes to Life
« Reply #872 on: August 29, 2011, 12:48:15 AM »
....welp.

Spoke waaaay too soon on this one, it seems. :fail:
« Last Edit: August 29, 2011, 12:52:29 AM by JoveusMolai »

Iced Fairy

  • So like if you try to hurt alkaza
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  • I will set you on fire k'?
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Re: Weekly Writing Challenge! - Where Myth Comes to Life
« Reply #873 on: August 29, 2011, 04:02:21 AM »
....welp.

Spoke waaaay too soon on this one, it seems. :fail:
If there is something I have learned with the WWC, it is to never assume anyone wins by default until the big read DEADLINE post.


Esifex

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« Last Edit: August 30, 2011, 07:44:02 PM by Esifex »

TAKE IT CACODEMON!!

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Re: Weekly Writing Challenge! - Where Myth Comes to Life
« Reply #875 on: August 30, 2011, 07:45:11 PM »
Aren't there, like, multiple Coyote spirits? I know there were also similar trickster spirits I was planning to use in my WWC (well, not my WWC anymore ;~;)
Sonata of Scarlet Sunflowers, a Flandre x Yuuka story. | Laziness of Daemonic Wastrels, wherein The Dude, Frylock, HW Guy, and David Wong get their asses kicked in Gensokyo.  | T.O.U.H.O.U.: Land of Shadows, a S.T.A.L.K.E.R./Touhou crossover. | Abomination, a monster story.

Iced Fairy

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Re: Weekly Writing Challenge! - Where Myth Comes to Life
« Reply #876 on: August 30, 2011, 08:17:28 PM »
Aren't there, like, multiple Coyote spirits?
Pick your poison.  There's a legend for each tribe in the area and different stories within each legend.  Sadly I don't know enough Native American lore to point at specific details.

Dead Princess Sakana

  • *
  • E is for Elodie, who swims with the fishes.
Re: Weekly Writing Challenge! - Where Myth Comes to Life
« Reply #877 on: August 30, 2011, 08:23:30 PM »
STOP! HAMMER TI-*tunawhacked* OUCH!

Anyway, deadline reached, flipping a coin judging will take place as soon as possible. Please wait warmly~

Joveus Molai

  • Bear the Word, and the Word will bear you.
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Re: Weekly Writing Challenge! - Where Myth Comes to Life
« Reply #878 on: August 31, 2011, 07:32:52 AM »
Best of luck to all participants.  :D

Dead Princess Sakana

  • *
  • E is for Elodie, who swims with the fishes.
Re: Weekly Writing Challenge! - The Great Gensokyo Job-Swap Day!
« Reply #879 on: September 11, 2011, 06:55:04 AM »
What do you mean this shouldn't have taken that long with only three entries?

JUDGEMENT TIME!

Despite the small number of entries, the votes were still split out, because each contestant submitted a nice work each in its own way.
Have some commentary:
Quote
Sanrisa Laser: Quite an improvement from the last work I read from him. The references to Hinduism are nice (if a little shallow) the action scenes, while sort of awkwardly written, were plentiful and kept the story flowing.

LogosOfJ: I have to say, I love his style. Characters are nicely written, and his words paint a graphic image in my mind-- sometimes quite disturbing. I like that. Both stories are short, but by no means do they lack content, though I confess that I personally found the plots difficult to follow. I think he has a captivating writing style, however-- descriptive imagery, sometimes poetic, and a colorful palette of vocabulary to decorate it along the way. Nicely done.

Iced: Ah, Iced. As usual, he has a very nice style. This was an intriguing, well-told story-- quite entertaining, and flowed quite well, on top of that. I definitely did not see the plot twist coming (though that could just be because it's late), and the story ended on such a high note that I was hoping there would be more to read. It was definitely the most solid story of the three. Good stuff.

Ultimately though, there needs to be a verdict, and this time's is: The winner is IcedFairy. Congrats, and good job to Sanrisa and Logos as well, hope to see you entering again.

That said, time for the next theme, ne?

----------------------------



But I don't know how to cook! - The Great Gensokyo Job-Swap

Ever wondered how your favourite characters would do if they had to take over someone else's job? Would they do well? Would it end in disaster?
Now is the time to find out! Witches become maids. Shrine maidens become shopkeepers. Gardeners become puppeteers. And a poor shopkeeper is probably forced into a dress.

Let the residents of Gensokyo put aside their normal jobs for a day, take on those of others, and show us the results! It's Gensokyo Job-swap Day!

The Deadline for this contest is September 25th. Have fun writing~

Joveus Molai

  • Bear the Word, and the Word will bear you.
  • *
Re: Weekly Writing Challenge! - The Great Gensokyo Job-Swap Day!
« Reply #880 on: September 11, 2011, 11:23:45 PM »
This time, I shall submit an entry by the deadline!

...

Yeah, right. :fail:

locoroco1

  • Amateur Spriter/Author
Re: Weekly Writing Challenge! - The Great Gensokyo Job-Swap Day!
« Reply #881 on: September 12, 2011, 01:09:12 AM »
Awesome. First Submission. Both for this contest and for me. Let's see how this goes.

Reimu glared angrily at the lazy oni who had taken up residence in her shrine recently. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, she was friendly, kept things from getting boring, and she constantly drew guests to the shrine. Unfortunately, she never stopped bugging her, she was always throwing parties, and worst of all, none of her guests ever donated! Reimu shed a tear about that last part, and watched bitterly as Sukia took a long drink of wine from her gourd. Reimu couldn't afford wine, and she worked way harder than Sukia. In fact, she could barely afford tea? How the hell did that oni keep getting so much wine?! It wasn't fair. Reimu was a hard worker. Reimu maintained the border and cleaned the shrine. Reimu solved all the incidents. So why did that stupid little oni get to have so much more fun than her? Reimu glanced over and saw a horde of mini-Sukia fighting over the gourd and scowled. That should be her. That should be her with no troubles. Her with no responsibility. Her with a sufficient amount of a beverage to keep her satisfied for more than ten minutes! Her with-"HEY REIMU!"

Reimu glared over at the drunken oni, mentally cursing her for interrupting her thoughts. "What do you want now Sukia?"

Sukia attempted to rise to her feet, but failed miserably due ti the amount of alcohol she had just consumed. "Are you angry Reimu?"

"Oh, nooooo. Why ever would I be angry, when all I have to do all day is clean the shrine and deal with other people's problems, and have an idiot drunken oni around to mess things up all the time? Now why would that make me angry. I'm sooooooooooo happy right now." Reimu said sarcastically and Sukia continued to thrash around in an attempt to rise to her feet.

"Oh, good. For a minute there I thought you might be angry." Sukia said, oblivious to the wine poring out of her gourd onto her feet. Reimu's mouth drooled at the sight of all that wine going to waste. Sukia tried once more to get to her feet, but slipped in the puddle of wine. She fell onto her back, gurgling and thrashing as wine poured over her head from her own gourd, which she still held upside down over her head for some reason. "Help-*gurgle*I'm drowni*sputter*!"

"?How are you even still alive right now?" Reimu said. Sukia then realized that if she opened her mouth, the wine would just pour in, and she did so eagerly. After a minute of this, and turned her head to the side, again not moving the gourd, and ignored the wine pouring into her ear.

"Hey, by the way, Yuugi's coming over today." Reimu sighed, exasperated.

"Of course she is." Sukia sat up and glared over at Reimu, this time remembering to put a cork in her gourd.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She said. Reimu glared at her.

"When isn't Yuugi coming over anymore, huh? When does one day go by where Yuugi isn't over here at the shrine. I swear, you spend more time with her than you do with me!" She shouted.

"Yeah, so?"

"You never spend any time with me anymore!"

"Well maybe if you would learn how to have some fun once in a while I'd actually want to spend some time with you!"

"Hey, I used to know how to have fun, but you can't be a shrine maiden and be fun!"

"Oh here we go again, on and on about how hard your job is. 'Oh, Sukia, I had to sweep the shrine again,' 'Oh, Sukia, nobody donates to the shrine,' 'Oh, Sukia, I got another pole up my ASS!'"

"Hey, I don't see you out there earning money! The shrine doesn't pay for itself you know! I can't have fun and earn money for your food at the same time!"

"Why not? Sanae can do it!"

"You take that back!"

Ruukoto walked out from the shrine. "Is something wrong mistress?"

"NOT NOW RUUKOTO!" The two shouted at the same time. The robot maid turned around and walked inside, past a surprised Marisa.

"Whoa. Do you two need couples therapy or something ze?" She said.

"No Marisa, we are not a couple." Reimu said.

"She's right. Reimu, I want a divorce!" Sukia shouted.

"What? Sukia, we were never-"

"I want weekends with Ruukoto, and half the summer."

"Sukia, are you drunk?" A mini Sukia slammed into Reimu's face.

"You've been served!"

"So, is that when your marital troubles began?" Koishi asked.

"Okay, first of all, we're not a couple. We're only here because Alice paid for the therapy and it would've been rude to refuse. And second of all, no, we have no marital troubles.." Reimu said. Koishi began scribbling something down into her notepad.

"denies. marital. issues. Okay, how did your troubles begin?" She asked.

"Well, I think they began from the day we met. I used to think it was cute how Sukia was always drinking, and she used to be really friendly. But then, it seemed like she was always drinking and partying. soon, she didn't have any time for me anymore." Reimu said, watching as Kosihi continued scribbling.

"Uh-huh, yes. Now, Sukia, I feel like your alcohol addiction is contributing to your separation from Reimu. Can you tell me why you drink so much?"

"?Because I'm an oni. It's what oni do."

"Ah, I see. You drink because you feel pressured to by the other oni, as if you'll be less of an oni if you don't drink." Koishi continued scribbling down on her notepad.

"?Nooooo, it's because I like to drink."

"I wouldn't be surprised if it was peer pressure. She does spend all of her time with another oni." Reimu mumbled.

"Ah, yes. Yuugi Hoshiguma. You mentioned her earlier. She is the oni who lives in the underground, correct?" Koishi asked.

"Yeah. But with all the time she spends around the Shrine you wouldn't think so." Reimu said.

"So I spend a lot of time around her, so what?"

"So you spend a lot of time partying around her, that's what."

"Ah, here we go. Reimu, let's talk about your trust issues. Have you ever been worried that Sukia was going to cheat on you with another person?" Koishi asked.

"Yeah. She spends all of her time in drunk parties with other girls. Who wouldn't-wait, cheat on me? We're not a couple." Reimu said.

"See what I have to deal with doctor?" Sukia said. "She's like this all the time, only worse."

"Oh please, you're no saint either. She's drunk right now." Reimu grumbled.

"And it's still way more pleasant to be around me than you." Sukia snapped back. The two began bickering furiously back and forth, leaving Koishi free to creep over to the door and let some people in.

"Reimu, Sukia." Koishi interrupted them, and the two found themselves surrounded by people. "Your friends have some things they'd like to say about how your problems have affected them." Alice stepped forwards, and Ruukoto sad in a chair beside her, staring into her lap as Shanghai comforted her.

"Reimu, Sukia, your issues came to my attention just the other day when Ruukoto showed up at my house crying, saying that her mothers were fighting. She stayed at my house for a couple of days, and whenever I went back to the shrine to try and talk to you, you two were there fighting. I don't even think you two noticed she was gone. I'm an expert in caring for dolls, and I believe that they need a warm, happy home. I don't believe that you two can offer that to Ruukoto anymore. So I've talked to Ruukoto about it, and she's going to stay with me until you two work things out. I believe it's what's best for her, but I hope that soon you two can work things out so she can go back to her home." Alice sat back down in her chair, and patted Ruukoto on the shoulder. The robot seemed on the verge of tears.

Hina stood up and faced the unhappy couple.

"As a misfortune goddess, it's my job to collect people's unhappy emotions to keep them from spreading around the world and upsetting other people. However, recently, I've had to spend all of my time at your shrine, collecting all the negative energy. I've thrown up several times due to the amount of spinning I've had to do, and I haven't slept in over a week. Please, I beg of you two, stop fighting."

Yuugi stepped forwards.

"What the hell is she doing here?!" Reimu shouted, gesturing to Yuugi.

"She's here as a friend Reimu. Even she has been impacted by your constant quarreling. Let her speak." Koishi said. Reimu sunk back into her chair and pouted, glaring at the oni girl.

"Sukia, we've been friends for thousands of years now. We've been through the good and bad, the thick and thin, everything that's happened we've faced together. We watched Kasen leave us. We saw Konngara die. We were chased into the underground and watched our entire species die. But, then you moved up to the shrine, and you became really happy. Sure we couldn't see each other as often, but we had friends and parties and it was okay. We were happy. But recently, you've been angry. You've been partying even more than usual, but you don't seem to enjoy it. I've never seen you this unhappy, and all I want is for it to stop. Reimu, please, take care of my friend." Yuugi returned to her seat and took a sip of her sake.

"Okay, you know what? I'm done with this. This therapy was stupid, this intervention is stupid, and most of all, Sukia, you are stupid." Genjii and Mim? returned hastily to their seats. "Everybody out, now!" The guests began walking away grumbling, hoping that Koishi could work out their problems. Koshi sighed.

"Reimu, I was hoping it wouldn't have to come to this, but I'm going to have to take drastic measures. I'm going to ask each of you to submit to a psychic reading by me, so I can properly assess the cause of your anger issues." Koishi stared at the two.

"I thought we had already clarified that Sukia was the problem." Reimu said.

"What? Don't try to pin all the blame on me here! Your temper problems are the issue!" The two began bickering again. Koishi sighed, and without waiting for the go ahead, delved into their subconscious. A minute later, she opened her eyes and grinned.

"I think I've pinpointed the source of your issues." She said. The two ignored her and continued yelling. "This could be a major breakthrough." The two kept arguing. "I really think you two should listen." More arguing. "?Symbol "All Ancestors Standing Beside Your Bed"." A shower of danmaku rained on the two, causing them to stop arguing and start dodging. "Now that I have your attention, I have found out why your relationship has been so sour recently. You, Reimu are jealous of Sukia."

"?" Reimu stared at the floor.

"Jealous of me? But?why?" Sukia asked.

"Think about it. You have a carefree life, no responsibility, lots of friends, plenty of wine, Reimu is jealous of all that. And it's perfectly natural I suppose, given the state that she lives in." Koishi said. Sukia glanced over at Reimu.

"So what can we do?" Sukia asked.

"Ah, that's tricky. Now, normally I would prescribe intense shock therapy and a viscous reprogramming brainwash program, but I'd like to try out a new experimental method on you two. Essentially, what I want you to do is swap lives. Sukia, you be the shrine maiden for a while. Reimu try doing?whatever it is Sukia does. When you two are both fed up with it, maybe you two can start appreciating each other and get over this little lovers spat."

"We're not lovers! And quite honestly, that's the dumbest idea I've ever heard." Reimu scoffed.

Koishi held up another spell card.

"O-okay, we'll get on that right away!" The two said nervously, and they shot out of the office.

"I give them a week. Next client please!"

"Reimu, do I really have to wear this?" Sukia asked. Reimu smirked at the sight of Sukia in a Miko outfit.

"What's the matter, can't take it?" Reimu said. Sukia glared at her.

"No, I'm just afraid people will think I'm crazy if I walk around with my armpits showing." Sukia grinned to see Reimu flinch comment.

"Says the girl who walks around drunk and wearing chains." Reimu snapped.

"Speaking of which?" Sukia held up a pair of chains and jingled them.

"How the hell do you carry these things all the time?" Reimu shouted, struggling under the weight of Sukia's chains and gourd.

"Oni strength bitch." Sukia said. "Now go out there and be me."

"You mean go out and get drunk and party? I'll try. But that means you have to be me. I've left a list of chores on the donation box. Which, by the way, I expect to see at least one coin in by the end of the day." Reimu turned and strode away, at least she would've, if she'd been able to walk while carrying the gourd and chains. After thrashing around for several minutes, she sighed and lifted into the air, floating out the door. Sukia smirked and watched her go.

"Let's see, first on the list?clean the shrine." Sukia glanced around. "Sheesh, that'll take a while."

Sukia snapped her fingers, and all the dirt in the shrine collected in a ball in front of her.

"Done. Now what?"

Reimu sighed, tired of having to lug these chains around. She dropped to the ground for a moment to rest. Sighing, she uncapped the gourd and brought it to her mouth, sipping out some wine. Not bad.

"Well, this is basically all that Sukia does. So?I'm just gonna drink this all day? That's easy." Reimu relaxed, falling onto her back and taking another sip of wine. This was gonna be fun.

"Miss Hakurei! We need your-oh." A group of men stopped at the foot of the shrine to see Sukia wearing Reimu's clothes. "You're not the shrine maiden."

"Oh, yeah. She's busy right now, but she left me in charge. Whaddya need?" Sukia said. The men glanced at each other, but decided to let it pass.

"We, uh, need your help. The Ice fairy is attacking the village again!" Sukia grinned and cracked her knuckles.

"Let's do this!"

Reimu glared angrily at the empty gourd. It occurred to her now that Sukia probably used her manipulation of density to increase the amount of wine it could hold, but Reimu couldn't do that. Sighing, she held the gourd up to her eye and peeked inside, making sure the gourd was completely empty. She saw something wet and slimy.

"EEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKK!"

"EYE EM TEH STONGEST!" Cirno shouted, showering another fleeing person with danmaku. Wriggle lay shivering on the ground nearby, and a very frightened Mystia was trying to drag her away without drawing Cirno's attention. Daiyousei lay frozen on the ground nearby.

"THE STRONGEST!" She shot a blast of ice at a nearby building, sealing it shut. She continued blasting, slowly dropping the temperature on the horrified crowd trapped inside.

"HEY NINEBALL!" Cirno turned around in fury at hearing her called by such a condescending name, only to be grabbed by a giant fist. Sukia lifted the ice fairy up to her face and glared at her.

"Stop being a bitch." Sukia reared her arm back, and hurled the screaming ice fairy straight to the other side of Gensokyo. She turned to the frozen building and snapped, the ice dispersing into a fine mist that spread throughout the village. Everyone rushed over to thank her, partly because they were grateful, partly because the mist made the whole village freezing cold. While they waited for the mist to clear, Sukia invited everyone to a party at the shrine.

Reimu began coughing, and she bent over and threw up once again into a nearby bucket.

"Can we please stop now?" She groaned to Yuugi.

"No way Reimu, it's a party! Come on, have some more sake!" Yuugi thrust her sake dish in Reimu's face(without spilling a drop I might add), and Reimu was struck by the smell. Her bowels contracted, and she leant over and released what little she had left in her into the bucket.

"I would just like to inform you that I am not having fun." Kisume said as she wiped the bile out of her eyes.

Sukia grinned. All in all, it had been a successful day. She'd done all of Reimu's chores, much better than Reimu would've done them, saved the village, gotten tons of donations, and all while sober and at a party. She grinned as Reimu floated through the door.

"So how was your day?" She asked pleasantly. Reimu responded by throwing up on the floor. Sukia stared at the spot in disgust, and in an instant the mess had dissolved into mist and floated out the door.

"Hey, I just cleaned in here!" She shouted. Reimu collapsed to the floor and looked up at her.

"You win. I'm not cut out for partying." She moaned. Sukia looked down at her with a smug expression, then promptly broke down into tears.

"Oh thank the gods! It's terrible being you!" She shouted.

"Hah! So the workload got to you?" Reimu gloated.

"Not that, that took like, five minutes. It's just that-I'm sober!" Reimu gasped.

"Oh dear gods, Sukia, I'm so sorry. H-how did it happen?"

"I don't know? I mean you took my gourd, and then I cleaned, and then there was the ice fairy, and then there was the party, but everybody else kept drinking all the alcohol and I got most of it, but it wasn't enough!" Sukia curled up on the floor and began crying. Reimu walked over and comforted her.

"Shh, shh, it's alright. Here, have your gourd." Reimu slipped the gourd into Sukia's arms, and she began sucking on it like a baby with a bottle.

"?Wait, did you say there was a party?"

*sniff*"Yeah."

"Did you get any donations?"

"Yeah, we got some." Reimu shot up, and Sukia fell out of her lap and slammed to the ground. Reimu shot over to the donation box and tore it open. She just stared at the money in the box. It wasn't much, but it was more than Reimu had ever seen in the shrine at one time, ever.


"Oh. My. Gods. This is incredible." She said, unable to tear her eyes away.

Sukia glared over at her. "What the hell was that?"

"What?" Reimu asked, not even bothering to look over.

"You just dropped me the minute you heard about the donation box."

"Yeah, so?"

"Well, isn't that what you complained I do with parties?"

"This is different."

"How. How is this different?"

"This isn't as bad as your partying and alcohol addiction."

"Isn't it? Come to think of it, every single one of our friends I've heard you try to get donations from. And all day long you complain about how we don't have any money."

"We? So now it's our money?"

"Who just earned more in one night than you have in a year? I think it's our money."

"Please. What's the name of this place again?"

"The Hakurei Shrine."

"And what's my name?"

"Reimu, let's not do this. I mean, we were getting better, and now we're-" "No, no, I wanna hear it. What, is my name?"

"?Reimu Hakurei."

"That's right. Reimu god-damn Hakurei. By the way, I went to one of your famous little parties, not so fun."

"Please, you wouldn't know fun if it lived in your shrine and sat there drinking alcohol all day. Oh wait, IT DOES."

"Fuck you Sukia Ibuki! Get the hell out of my shrine!"

"You know what? Fine! Keep your cruddy old shrine! I'm moving out!"

"To where, huh? Gonna go live with your girlfriend Yuugi?"

"No, as a matter of fact I have a house in Heaven on hold. So, enjoy your goddamn donations bitch, because it's probably the most money you're ever gonna see!"

"HA! Like you have any money!"

"Oh, because you do? By the way, this outfit? It's STUPID."

"Really? Really Sukia? I look stupid? Little miss chains on the arms and one ribbon on one horn says I look stupid?"

Marisa listened to the two arguing from high above the shrine and sighed.

"Well, I just lost fifty bucks."

Epilogue:

"Um, Miss Komeiji?"

"Ah, yes, Ruukoto. Please, sit down."

The robot nervously clung to Alice, who led her to the couch and sat down beside her, squeezing her hand.

"Now, sweetie," Koishi began. "I don't quite know how to tell you this, but?Sukia and Reimu aren't going to be living together anymore."

"What?!" Ruukoto shouted, obviously confused.

"You see,they still love each other, but it's a different kind of love, and they've just decided that it's best if they don't live together anymore." Koishi said. Ruukoto stared down at her lap, unsure of how to react.

"Now don't think this means that they love you any less." Alice said "You're still going to see both of them all the time and-"

"I know they don't love me." Ruukoto said suddenly.

Alice flinched and patted her shoulder. "Now don't think like that sweetie it's important that you-"

Koishi sighed. "I'm afraid she right Miss Margatroid. I saw it during my session with those two. They barely even know she exists."

Alice glanced over at Ruukoto. "Ruukoto, would you like to come and live with me?"

The robot looked over at her and smiled.

"Yes Miss Margatroid." Alice grinned.

"Call me Alice." The two walked out of Koishi's office holding hands and talking together excitedly. Koishi looked out after them and smiled.

"Next client please!" Two girls walked into the room. "Now, Miss Houraisan, Miss Fujiwara, tell me, how did your marital issues begin?"

The two glanced at each other. "We're not married. Also, we don't have issues."

Koishi grinned. "Of course not. in. denial. about. marriage. Now, what I'm going to recommend for you two is a new experimental method?"

Koishi as a therapist. Not the most original thing, but, whatever. I was gonna use Shikeiki, but then I was like, nah. Sukia and Reimu was an interesting choice, right? When I decided to use them as a sort of married couple, I had to include a kid, and Ruukoto with Alice was just too good to pass up.
I made(edited) these:
My Short Stories

Esifex

  • Though the sun may set
  • *
  • It shall rise again
Re: Weekly Writing Challenge! - The Great Gensokyo Job-Swap Day!
« Reply #882 on: September 12, 2011, 07:40:00 AM »
I'm picturing Koishi wearing a pantsuit with some reading glasses, but still wearing her sun hat, legs crossed in this big plush chair. "Go ahead, lie down. Let's have a chat."

:getdown:

VIVItheFujoshi

  • Blackouts=Makeouts! ;)
  • hohoho~*
    • in devianart
Re: Weekly Writing Challenge! - The Great Gensokyo Job-Swap Day!
« Reply #883 on: September 15, 2011, 10:06:21 AM »
 :3 sorry for bad english, but i will take the job, but with a twist.
Spoiler:
This is not about take "a job", is more take their body for a while...

Roundabout (trance mode)

i feel eerie...i can?t remember yesterday. why?...i had seen the dawn in the lake, and now the dewdrops glowing into the flowers.I touched one and turned into cristal...no, is ice. a thin cape of frost cover my foots.the flowers...are high...no, im very little.
-Cirno, where you are? i found this nuts for breakfast! want one?- said me a gentle green fairy...but i am not Cirno...or is it? oh, all go out again...
...
..and i am floating in the river.and spining...i can?t stop of spin spin and go along the current. i feel heavy. who is the thing who carry? i can?t see nothing with me with that weight...is more like my spirit turning like that. oh yes...i carry the bad luck of all who had put their faith in me, and now i will quit them all this shame...i continue spining, but now  i go deep and more deep...i feel lonely...
...
Oh, im in the surface again. who i am? smell like cucumbers...obviously, are my hands...im a kappa! always was like this? in the river shore i have my house, actually my workshop. how many things i have incide...this actually works? well, this machine can cut an entire cucumber in one second...and this cucumbers are the most delicious things who i tasted, ever...so refeshing...this place, full of a infinity of interesting junk remind me something...i must return...but where? something throw me incide...
...
oh, my head. and my breath is bad ugh...my long hair is a mess...and my...horns are tangle up the pillow. Now, then, im a oni. Im very thirsty, i would can die for a bit of water...who is it? a bottle! and is full of delicious sake! that is better! and i begin to drink, and drink and the bottle never is empty...is fantastic!!
-Suika-chan, are you there? i need your help...
-Suika? is this my name? this is a shrine? i... -my voice go out.
-oh, you drank too much again...at least, i need you in your two feet...this is too heavy and...wait a moment..i feel something very strange here...like if someone where here, with us...
-with..with us? but why -
-Suika, what is my name? you remember that, right?
i can?t remember. i know her voice, but...i can?t remember that miko! or yes? oh this is so confuse! something very lost bring me a feeling, like i was walking in a border of a dream...i had seen her before in that dream?
Reimu?
...
Is very dark. smell to cranberries and strawberries...and something else. a strong, penetrating scent, who for some reason my now sharpened senses can detect with too much detail...blood. diferent tipes of blood. With only think in it, i fell a strange thirst, in the deep of myself...a bit painful...not are the common thirst who you can feel when...and who is the "common" thing? i was always like this, and always here? the dolls say me "you have a intruder in your heart" but i am who i am! then a soft light of a candle appears with a sound of a bell and a smell who FULL my hungry senses...a silluette who looks familiar comes to me.
-Flandre, sorry for come late...want take tea with me? i bring strawberry cake, who you like it...-and the little white figure in pink dress and little wings hug me with sweetness. She is cold, but i  feel warm inside. I had this feel this before...said my heart. We take tea after, but no was tea...we the vampires know the diference, of course...
...
...i walking in the silent forest. is afternoon, and no is a good idea fly now. Then open my mouth and sing a song. any song, doesn?t matter the words, only for the joy of sing. The melody is weird, but is fine. with me, i have a bag full of fresh lampreys, who i carry to my little stand. I see a pair of persons who change me two fried lampreys for some coins. i fell fine with myself....but this give me a nostalgic feeling...something who i leaved away...i must return. i can?t...leave...that...not now...because...
...
-is dark here!
i want go up now! and i do it...was too easy...i was down the ground...and i can?t  bend my legs. and fall, but no hurts. in a hop, i was again walking...no, jumping. my arms don?t want bending, and i very very very hungry. i eat flowers, is fine. i eat earth, is fine too. i eat grass, is crunchy. i eat-
-oh,Yoshika chan, looks who i bring you today! is your faborite...-said me a floating, strange,hermit girl...-oh is true...actually ALL things are your faborite food, is it?
no, wait, my faborite food is..is...stop! this is not me! get out of here! come on, return to...
...
im flying...so fast! too fast! and to many colors! my floating hair is messy...and feel really exited. Im very happy...i can remember...you too!...
-ha ha...maybe this mushrooms can up his spirit! if only remembered the name of them...however...if this turn me to happy like now, to Kourin will can be the double! yahouuu!
Kourin? don?t call me-
...
-i catched it!
-ah?
-was difficult found you, but your spirit is more strong than i imagined, thanks to Kamisama. then, this are the the souls of the halfthings...
I look my hands. no, no are my hands, but i know them very well, i don?t know why . My vision is strange, limited. i close...my eye; suddenly, i was floating by my side...not...by the side of the body who i am occupied now. Then, is this your spirit...body...wait...i know you?
-yes, you know me. But how the memories resides in the mind (the brain), the mind is something physical, and now you are a spirit, you have forgot all. But your heart still remember. I leave you enter to my physical body for can finally return you to your body again...no is your time,now. And you can?t go eternally roundabout for all Gensokyo. like this, you would lost your own escence slowly, and finally dissapear. and i don?t want who happen that to you... follow my spirit...lets go to your home.
We walked to the forest, and finally stops in front a house who looks abandoned...with lots of objects who i can?t regognise, but in same time, i can feel like a part of myself...we entered...a scent comes to me...speed my heart, and i don?t why, but i began to run to the corridor, and enter to a big room. In there, have a man in the ground, white like the snow...i feel a sudden anguish...wake up. wake up...wake up wake up Rinnosuke WAKE UP!!!
...
-wake up...are you fine, tell me!!
-oh...ou...my head...who happened? that was...a strange dream...i fall from that shelf and...oh...i was inconcient...
-don?t do again that...never again...you give me a fright...Rinnosuke-dono.
-to do what, Youki san? i only was here...i think...i have the sensation to had been to far away...don?t hug me like that...someone can see us...(that cold skin...and that warm feeling...why i remember this? was in my dream?)...and is supposed who you are dead, right...?-i said him with a little smile.
-but my hour not have come ,like the yours...

(yea, and adding the traditional bl of mine. inspired in a old dream who i had long time ago (with the astral projection and all) , and a chapter of Kuroshitsuji OVA who was all in first person...and maybe the Touhou 13 OST, specially the trance remixes.XD)
« Last Edit: January 13, 2012, 08:44:52 PM by VIVItheFujoshi »

Monochrome Rainbow~* Technicolor Ochoufujoshi!
(?y ahora en espa?ol ,yay!) he will be Adequate?

Phlegeth

  • DPS LFG
  • Time expired: 121:45
Re: Weekly Writing Challenge! - The Great Gensokyo Job-Swap Day!
« Reply #884 on: September 20, 2011, 09:36:31 PM »
?All our times have come
Here, but now there, gone
Seasons don't fear the reaper
Nor do the wind, the sun or the rain--?

?Hey!  Is that really appropriate??  These two people were floating across a river.  The one steering the boat was wearing a flowing black robe with a hood pulled over there head and carrying a scythe.  The passenger was in a white kimono and had a short brown hair and was wearing glasses.

?You were being boring,? the robed one responded.

?I just died, I want to be alone with my thoughts,? he answered.

?You have an entire after life to think,? at this point a breeze picked up and blew the hood off, revealing a woman who looked to be in her early twenties at the latest.  He blonde hair rested easy behind her shoulder, except for one distinct braid up front.  Her gold eyes pierced out into the distance and her smile was infectious.

?You look like a normal girl,? the guy said in shock.  ?Not at all what I expected from your costume.?

?Well I try.  If I'm going to be a reaper, I figured I'd look the part.?

?Why are you a reaper?  What makes someone want to do this?? the guy asked.

?Well, it's not like I volunteered.?

* * *

?Oh momma I'm in fear for my life from the long arm of the law
Lawman has put an end to my running and I'm so far from my home
Oh momma I can hear you a'crying you're so scared and all alone
Hangman is comin' down from the gallows and I don't have very long.?

?I'd say,? this reaper was was wearing a bright blue dress and her red hair was tied up in two pig tails.  The two laughed.

?This is taking a long time,? Marisa sighed.

?Well,? Komachi averted her gaze, ?you are, well, umm...you.?  Marisa looked around at the floor of the boat.  It was filled with coins, dolls, books, and other assorted things.

?They offered up a lot,? Marisa said.

?To make sure you make it across,? Komachi explained, ?and don't come back and haunt them.?  She laughed and looked down at Marisa, expecting her to be laughing too.  However, she was looking a doll in the image of herself.

?Didn't realize that was an option,? she stood up.

?Whoa, whoa, whoa!  Don't even think of swimming back!  You'll sink and get eaten by dinosaurs!?  Komachi said.

?Dangerous work environment,? Marisa stated.

?Well us Shinigami don't have to worry about that stuff,? Komachi said proudly.

?Good, otherwise I'd fell bad about this,? she booted Komachi off her boat and she fell into the water.  Marisa walked over and sat down in front of the rotor and tried to steer back to the land.

?Hey!?  a voice yelled behind her.  She looked up and turned around.  ?As I was saying, Shinigami don't have to worry about the creatures.  We don't sink,? Marisa looked at her feet and sure enough she was standing on the water.  And by instinct, Marisa took the doll she was holding and threw it at Komachi.  It exploded throwing Komachi off her feet.  And Marisa took off again.

After a couple of moments, ?Damnit Alice, why the hell did you put gunpowder in that??  she yelled to herself.

?Stop right there criminal scum!?  Marisa was being approached by three shinigami.  Two of them were staring at the other.  Embarrassed he said, ?I've always wanted to say that.?

Figuring they must have come from the opposite side, she turned the rotor and headed in the direction she thought led back to Gensokyo.

?HEY!  I said stop!? the male reaper yelled to no avail.  They turned and started chasing her, but she was tiny dot in the horizon.  ?How did she do that?  This is our job?? he scratched the back of his head.

Marisa landed on the shore and stepped out of the boat.  Just then, Komachi jumped out of the water and slashed her boat into many tiny pieces.

?Why?? Marisa asked.

?No escape now,? Komachi said.

?What??

?You piloted the boat to the place you were running away from, congratulations.?

?Damn,? Marisa looked defeated.

?Shiki's gonna be mad,? Komachi laughed.

?Yea, you broke your boat,? Marisa said.

?Not about that!?  Komachi yelled.

?I am mad about that,? Shiki stepped down towards them.  ?That was your third boat in fifty years.  These things do not grow on trees.?

?They're made of wood,? Komachi stated.  Shiki glared at her.

?Wait in the office, we will talk later,? Komachi walked off dejected and Marisa laughed at her.  ?I would stop that if I were you,? she pointed the Rod of Remorse at her.  ?You have a black record.  You lie, steal, cheat, do whatever you want.  And yet,? she looked down at the wrecked ship and all the floating dolls and books and the glimmering coins, ?all the people you lied too, stole from, all wanted you a safe voyage.

?You have helped a lot of people, in your own way.  You have helped Nitori Kawashiro break out of her shell and usher in a new age.  Your constant fighting with Reimu Hakurei kept her on her toes and Gensokyo has never been more peaceful.  Your constant breaking and entering has Patchouli Knowledge healthier than ever and Hong Meiling is in perfect condition to keep out all sorts of intruders.  And Alice Margetroid,? she stopped and looked at Marisa, ?was never happier than when she was with you.?  A small smile crept across Marisa's face.

?However!  In your seventy-four year life you have:121,435 lies told, 7,853 stolen books, 5,324 counts of breaking and enter, 847 counts of aggravated assault, 632 counts of property destruction, 421 counts of miscellaneous thefts, 63 counts of jay walking, 17 counts of speeding in a school zone, 12 counts of dine and dashing, 5 counts of hit and run, and 1 count of hijacking a shinigami boat.  What do you have to say for yourself??

?Did I just one point for each unique property I destroyed?? Marisa asked.

?I should sentence you here and now,? Shiki said.  ?However, you do do good things occasionally, even if they are in a bad way.  And you are waiting on people.  And it is about that time in the cycle again.  So I have a preposition for you.?

?You do?? Marisa asked.

?The speed you had in the boat was nothing short of extraordinary.  I would like you to work for me as a Shinigami until a time a see fit to let you go.?

?Why, isn't it your job to send people to hell??

?This is not my job.  My job is to weigh the sins of the dead and view their past life and karma and make a fair decision.  I do not like sending people to hell.  And you should know as well as any one I do my best to get people to change their ways.  Anyway, the choice is yours.  Go to hell and have your tongue constantly being ripped out while the weight of thousands of books rest upon you while also being constantly beaten for all eternity or become a shinigami and work for me for a bit.?

* * *

?And that's how I became a shinigami,? Marisa smiled.  The boat landed at the shore.  ?And we're here,?  She hopped off the boat and held out her to the guest.

?So this Yama,? the guy started.

?She's a little long winded, but other wise pretty nice.  If you've never met her before, that's a good sign,? Marisa smiled at the guest and he took her hand and got off the boat.

locoroco1

  • Amateur Spriter/Author
Re: Weekly Writing Challenge! - The Great Gensokyo Job-Swap Day!
« Reply #885 on: September 27, 2011, 02:12:05 AM »
There have been 3 submissions and the deadline was  :colbert:.
I made(edited) these:
My Short Stories

Drakometar

Re: Weekly Writing Challenge! - The Great Gensokyo Job-Swap Day!
« Reply #886 on: September 27, 2011, 03:02:34 AM »
I was gonna submit, but no one wants to read a 35 page monstrosity. Maybe next time?

Dead Princess Sakana

  • *
  • E is for Elodie, who swims with the fishes.
Re: Weekly Writing Challenge! - The Great Gensokyo Job-Swap Day!
« Reply #887 on: September 27, 2011, 05:30:04 AM »
I was gonna submit, but no one wants to read a 35 page monstrosity. Maybe next time?
We read whatever is submitted, even if it breaks the post-length and has to be splitted, that isn't without precedent V:

Buuuut, for this one, it is DEADLINE HIT now. Judging will commence... soon, I hope. Please watch warmly~

Esifex

  • Though the sun may set
  • *
  • It shall rise again
Re: Weekly Writing Challenge! - The Great Gensokyo Job-Swap Day!
« Reply #888 on: December 15, 2011, 04:23:48 AM »
Sidequest!
Esi's Writing Challenge

Don't worry. I'm not trying to subside the previous writing challenge - that one will be judged when the judges have the time, and aren't completely swamped by finals and holiday shopping and work and rescuing the President from Ninjas (that happens a lot).

I will be the only one judging this one, so there will be a caveat; I will only judge the first five entries. I can't guarantee any prizes for the winner; I'll see if I can't catch one of the True Final Board Bosses who have the ability to assign Wordsmith or Spechul Membuh between their Christmas shopping and President-rescuing, but I can't make any promises.

Your prompt!
The Feral Child


This story revolves around someone discovering a feral human child. Rather than the youkai or Reimu thinking 'Hey, free snack!' something maternal is stirred inside whomever finds it. Who is best suited for raising a child, likely with no experience? What sort of problems would they have, being a youkai (if you so desire to base it around a youkai main character), raising a human child? How would it work out for them?

Since it's my challenge, you can of course try to butter me up with appropriately placed suitable music in your story, and earn a few bonus points.

I'm not going to impose a strict word-count limit. If you can break a single posts' word limit and have to flow into another one, excellent! Just keep in mind; if you have a short, short story, you'd best hope it's some exceptional writing, or you can manage to tell a profound story in such a short span to be judged competitively against any other entries.

Your deadline is in one week
Thursday, December 22nd

By midnight, EST

capt. h

  • Only sane townie
Re: Weekly Writing Challenge! - The Great Gensokyo Job-Swap Day! NEW SIDEQUEST
« Reply #889 on: December 21, 2011, 05:04:43 AM »
Author's notes: I might not be completely done. I also might not be near a computer for the next few days. So, here goes nothing.

***

"*ding-a-ling" the door chimed.

Ah, customers. Rinnosuke didn?t get many customers. ?Welcome to Rinnosuke?s Oddities, how may I help??

The shopkeeper knew something was off. Alright, so the tall girl is the immortal, Mokou. Last time Kourin checked, she didn?t have a daughter. Could immortals even have daughters? Kourin decided to consider that later. But even if she had a daughter, he doubted she would have blond hair and gold eyes. ?Who?s the girl?? he asked with a flat tone.

?Hi! My name?s Mawrisa Kiwasame!? The little girl held out her hand. ?Pleasuwre to meet you!?

?Found her a couple days ago half-dead. You wouldn?t happen to???

The shopkeeper cut her off with a brisk ?No.? and turned his attention to taking inventory. He didn?t want anything to do with this.

?But I can?t take care of her.?

?Why not?? No weakness. Don?t even look up.

?Well, I?m kind of short on supplies. Like food. Did you know these things eat almost every day??

?Three times a day.? Don?t look up. Maybe they?ll go away.

?Nah, kids live on less than that all the time. But then there?s the whole house thing. I don?t have one.?

Marisa beamed, ?We?ve been sleeping outside for thwee days!?

Damn it. The shopkeeper knew he would regret this. ?What do you want??

?Well, maybe you could? I don?t know? take care of her??

?No.? Too much. Kourin might be weak, but he had his limits.

?It would only be for a few days.?

The shopkeeper sighed. ?Why don?t you ask Keine? You?re friends with her. She knows much more about kids than me.?

?I did. But, well?? Mokou hesitated, glancing up at the ceiling. ?She has issues. I mean, there?s her reputation??

?What about my reputation??

?Don?t worry. No one would ever think you did something improper with a woman.?

Rinnosuke grunted and crossed his arms, and Marisa giggled. The shopkeeper did have his pride! Pride which Mokou had just crushed, probably justifiably, but he still had it. ?Is that the only reason?? the shopkeeper asked.

?Well, the real thing is? she has her moments.? Mokou said, rubbing the back of her neck. ?She gets really? irritable every few weeks.?

?I?m aware of her monthly issues.?

?Ah, that makes it easy.? Mokou said. ?Marisa doesn?t know a thing about Keine?s issues, and Keine thinks it?s too dangerous for Marisa to be around when it happens.? Keine was probably right, Kourin realized. It was still irritating.

?I refuse,? the shopkeeper said.

?Tell you what, I?ll take care of her, alright?? Mokou said. ?You?ll just give her food and a roof, and I?ll handle the rest.?

?You make it sound easy,? the shopkeeper said.

?It shouldn?t be too bad. She?s even almost potty trained!?

?I haven?t had an accident in thwee days!? Marisa beamed.

Rinnosuke sighed. He had to be careful. That?s the problem with his older customers; they knew him too well, and they knew his weaknesses. It?s a good thing Mokou was pretty bad with people; if this were Yukari, the shopkeeper knew he wouldn?t stand a chance. As he pondered his next move, he noticed the little girl plopping books off his shelves.

?You can?t just take those.?

?Of course not,? The girl said, unphased. ?I?m just bowrowing them.?

?Why??

?Well, youkai have magic. And books have magic. So if my pawrents had books, maybe they wouldn?t have died? Marisa beamed, opening her prizes.
That made the shopkeeper do a double take. He expected the girl was an orphan, but no one should be that, well, happy saying that. ?Whuh?!? he stuttered.

?Don?t wowry? the girl giggled. ?You can have them back when I die!?

Recovering from his initial shock, the man fixed his glasses, before whispering to Mokou, ?What happened??

?Well,? Mokou replied, more than loud enough for Marisa to hear. ?I was a little late for her parents. Unless I find her food and a house, I may be a little late for her too. I wasn?t really able to solve the food problem yesterday, and I?m having a little bit of trouble with it today.?

Was Mokou doing this on purpose? ?You?re staying for dinner,? The shopkeeper commanded, regretting it immediately. Course, he couldn?t just let the little girl go two days without food.

?Absolutely!? Mokou replied. ?Hey Marisa, we?re eating today!?

?Thank you Mister Rwinnosuke! ?

***

Night had fallen, and Rinnosuke watched from outside the room as immortal had finished tucking the little girl snuggly into bed. Gently closing the bedroom door, she turned to Rinnosuke.

?I won?t take care of the girl,? the shopkeeper said flatly. Although he wasn?t sure what he wanted to do, he had decided that much.

?Wasn?t counting on it,? Mokou replied.

?So who?s left??

?I haven?t asked Eirin,? Mokou said, rolling her eyes. ?Somehow, I don?t think Kaguya would be-?

?Keep it down!? The shopkeeper whispered.

?Hm?? Mokou said, staring blankly at Kourin as he continued shushing her.

?Marisa?s trying to sleep!?

Mokou looked at the shopkeeper, then looked back at the bedroom door. Then she lipped an ?Oh? as she back turned to the shopkeeper, lowered her voice, and said ?Right. Sorry. It?s been ages since I?ve been in a house with a baby.? Knowing this girl, Rinnosuke suspected that was not an exaggeration.

?Anyway,? Mokou continued, ?I think Kaguya would laugh me out of Eientei if I asked there, and even if she and Eirin said yes I?m not sure how much I trust them.?

?They aren?t that bad,? the shopkeeper said. ?You can swallow your pride.?

?I can and I would,? the girl grumbled. ?But I figured both Keine and you would be more willing than Kaguya. So, yeah, Keine said no, and after you I ask Kaguya.?

?And then??

?Then,? Mokou said even lower than before, ?That?s it. Well, except for the youkai, but most of them would only say yes because it?s a free meal. Although one or two are looking for servant girls.?

Kourin paced across the room, turned around, and paced back as Mokou watched. The shopkeeper did this 23 times, by his own count, as Mokou watched in silence. Then, he resigned. ?How would you like to rent a room?? he said, with absolutely no enthusiasm.

?But I don?t have any money.?

?You can work at the shop,? the shopkeeper continued flatly, ?And oversee the girl?s care yourself.? He could use the help and didn?t have much money. He also knew this arrangement was going to get much more complicated than that.

Mokou started thanking the shopkeeper loudly, then glanced back at the door, blushed, and toned down. ?Thank you so much.?

?Yeah, well, just take good care of her.?
« Last Edit: December 23, 2011, 02:30:45 PM by capt. h »

FinnKaenbyou

  • Formerly Roukanken
  • *
  • blub blub nya
Re: Weekly Writing Challenge! - The Great Gensokyo Job-Swap Day! NEW SIDEQUEST
« Reply #890 on: December 21, 2011, 11:59:41 PM »
A side quest? Eh, I could use the extra XP.

-----

Nitori didn?t fish much.

It wasn?t that she didn?t like fish. On the contrary - she thought it was delicious if you knew how to cook it. The problem was that the tools were too primitive. As she sat at the riverside, her crummy little rod dipping under the surface of the water, she felt like she was insulting her own intelligence.

Normally, she just bought her fish from one of her fellow kappa, but her funds were running a little low this month. She?d fallen into that trap before, but her pride as an inventor had kept her from using something petty like a net. She?d tried to come up with an alternative - several, in fact. Most of them had failed at the design stage, and those that had made it into existence were best left forgotten. She?d kept herself well away from her fellow kappa for a few months to avoid the fallout of ?The Catapult Incident?.

Now, with no money for food and no money to put together an invention, Nitori had been forced to resort to the lowest of the low. Her rod consisted of a twig with a string at the end, using a nut to keep the bait in place. It was primitive, but it was better than nothing.

Her stomach grumbled in complain, and she growled back in response.

?Quiet, you. I?ll get you something eventually.?

As it turned out, the local harvest god was away for a week or so, giving the human village their annual batch of crops. The rest of the kappa had planned in advance, making sure to stock up on food long enough that Minoriko?s disappearance wouldn?t leave them going hungry.

Nitori had missed the memo, and if she didn?t catch something today she would have to start eating her boots for sustenance.

Her eyes lazily fluttered left and right, the sheer lack of activity almost putting her to sleep. She?d been sitting here for half an hour without so much as a bite. She?d even picked out the juiciest earthworm she could find as bait. Maybe the fish here were smarter than she?d thought. She sort of hoped not.

?Hm??

In the corner of her eye, Nitori made out something coming down the river. It was a basket, bobbing up and down with the current. A picnic basket, maybe? Someone?s lost lunch, perhaps. She?d take it, gladly - stealing was okay if it was necessary, surely.

It was a relief to put the rod to the side. The thing was crummily made, and Nitori felt dumber every second she held it. She rubbed her hands together, her stomach gurgling in excitement as it imagined the basket?s contents. A salad? A slab of fresh meat? Maybe even - if the gods had really smiled on her - a freshly picked bunch of cucumbers. She hauled the basket out of the water with both hands, pulling it open, faster and more aggressively than she?d meant to.

When she saw the basket?s contents, that excitement drained out of her immediately.

?The heck...??

The basket, as it turned out, was occupied. A small human child was curled up inside, snoring and fidgeting in its sleep. The current must have acted as a lullaby, Nitori thought to herself. Part of her wanted to ask how the basket had made it here in the first place, but that wasn?t the most important question right now.

What am I supposed to do with this?

She couldn?t eat it, obviously. As tempting as it was, the days of eating humans were well in the past for the kappa. Nowadays humans were their sworn allies, whether or not they remembered the fact. She wasn?t about to break that oath of fealty over an empty stomach.

Could she give it back? No, that wouldn?t end well, either. A kappa walking into the human village holding a baby in their hands was just asking to be beaten senseless. There?d be plenty of farmers eager to plunge their pitchforks right into her chest.

Maybe one of the tengu would take it? No, that was even worse. Either they?d make a public ransom to the parents, or they?d pull out another story about how she was a monster who stole children from innocent parents. (She wouldn?t have been the first to get a bad name thanks to that, sadly.)

That left only one option. Nitori sighed, picking the basket up and carrying it with her back home. She?d been keeping a few cucumbers lying around as emergency supplies. That would make a decent dinner for the kid.

It couldn?t be that hard to raise a child. After all, the humans could do it, and the kappa were at least as smart as they were, if not more so. What could possibly go wrong?

-----

?What do you mean, you don?t want a cucumber??

Nitori hadn?t expected the child to be so illogical. She?d brought the child into her house, and it had started to cry for attention. It hadn?t taken long to figure out that it wanted food, so Nitori did the logical thing and pulled out her emergency food supply. She?d kept it in a small box under her desk, hidden under a pile of nuts and bolts just so nobody tried to steal it.

But when she brought the cucumber up to the child?s mouth, it just pulled away and started crying louder. How could anyone disapprove of the taste of cucumbers? Nitori frowned at the baby?s lack of taste. Clearly, nothing of worth had made it through those gummy lips-

?Oh.?

Gummy lips. The baby?s teeth hadn?t formed properly, so there was no way it would be able to chew down on a cucumber. Sighing, Nitori made her way to the desk and picked up a small knife, cutting the cucumber up into bite-size chunks. All the while, the baby?s bawling echoed throughout the house, so loud that Nitori was ready for it to bring the walls down.

?Alright, I?m coming...?

When she?d cut out half a dozen pieces of cucumber, Nitori returned to the basket. The baby?s eyes were on the food in her hand, and she carefully brought one up to its mouth.

?Here comes the airplane~?

In retrospect, that was a poor choice of words. A human baby wouldn?t know what an airplane was. In fact, no-one would. It was still just a blueprint lying on her desk. Someday, though, it?d be the sort of thing every mother used to trick their baby into eating.

It worked well enough, the child gulping down one slice after another. It grimaced after the first, but by the fourth or fifth it was giggling. Cucumbers were an acquired taste, but the baby was picking it up fast. Nitori smiled. Maybe it had some class after all.

?Anyway, I think that?s you good for now. Back to work.?

Nitori took her place back at the desk, working on her latest masterpiece. She?d put so long into it that she was verging on penniless, but it would be worth it. Everyone in Gensokyo would want one of the long-distance-communication-devices she?d been working on. Aya had told her to call it a phone, but she didn?t like that name. Not official enough. It was the NTR-Commutalker 3000, and nothing was going to convince her otherwise.

With a slow, steady hand, Nitori began working on the blueprints. This was a highly technical document, so she couldn?t let her fingers slip so much as an inch. Everything had to be precise and to the letter.

When the baby started to cry again two minutes later, Nitori?s hand jerked across the paper.

?What now??

She stormed to her feet, practically dashing towards the baby. She had to get it to stop crying so she could get back to work.

The smell of the problem hit her before she reached the child.

?Ack...jeez, you smell...?

The child was giggling now it had finished relieving itself, but the smell was atrocious. Nitori picked the baby up, her hands under its arms, and led it outside next to the river. Checking the coast was clear, she took off its diaper, looking away as she dunked it into the river.

Whoever keeps this thing clean is going to have an unpleasant surprise tonight...

She pulled it up, taking a sniff. It still stank. She put it back in again, wishing that she hadn?t run out of soap the night before. The baby, unaware of its own nakedness, was pointing and giggling at the trees and mountains.

?Yeah, yeah, very pretty.?

She wasn?t going to touch it. It?d be easier to rub it off, but Nitori wasn?t the sort to touch the dirty business unless she had to. She kept dunking it in the water and lifting it back up, sniffing at it. It cleaned off, but it was slow enough that she wasn?t even sure it was working.

By the time the diaper was finally clean, Nitori?s hands were as wrinkled as an old lady?s. The baby had fallen asleep in the time it had taken her to clean the diaper, and it stayed asleep long enough for it to dry in the warm summer sunlight. Nitori replaced it, carrying the baby slowly, carefully back into the house, placing it back down in its basket.

?Note to self,? Nitori mumbled as she sat down at her desk, rubbing away the mark her errant pencil slash had made. ?Never have kids.?

The baby was asleep. It had been fed and washed. Now, at last, Nitori could work in peace on her project. A small smile rose to her face as she returned to her sketching.

When the crying started again, she nearly snapped the pencil in her hand.

?What do you want from me?!?

She picked the baby up, as carefully as she could. It looked about the room, eyes stopping on the various piles of junk that Nitori called her life?s work. At least once Nitori swore she saw the child scrunch up its nose in disapproval during a brief pause in the crying. She frowned as she rocked the baby in her arms.

?Rockabye baby, don?t be a pain, please fall asleep or I?ll go insane...?

As an inventor who?d spent hours, sometimes even days on a project, Nitori had figured the devotion required for parenthood was something she had in spades. What she?d failed to take into account was that her projects usually didn?t scream until she finished them, then scream again half an hour later when something else was going wrong. It felt like its crying was at just the right frequency to melt her brain, and despite her best efforts she couldn?t ignore it.

The rocking did nothing to help. The child continued to bawl madly. Nitori sniffed at it. It smelled clean. No stomach rumbling, so it wasn?t hungry either. She?d even given it a little drink along with the cucumbers, so it couldn?t be thirsty.

?C?mon, what is it? Why can?t you just say, already?!?

It was a silly question, but Nitori?s patience was all but shot. Her eyes leaped around the room, looking for something that she could use as a toy to distract the child. Everything she had lying around the house was either too sharp to give a baby or just small enough for them to swallow. She kept rocking the baby, still looking around for something that would get it to calm down and go back to sleep.

?Uu!?

It gurgled as she brought it up, the crying falling silent. Nitori felt her shoulders slump, and looked down at the baby with a sigh of relief. What was it looking at the had finally made it calm down?

When she saw the child?s eyes locked firmly on her breast, her heart sank.

?Oh. Uh...?

The child wanted breast milk, evidently. This wouldn?t have been a problem if it weren?t for the fact that kappa, being youkai, didn?t really lactate. They looked like humans simply because the form was convenient - they didn?t come with all the bells and whistles a human body actually contained.

The child looked up at her, smiling. Nitori looked back at it, biting her lip and slowly shaking her head. The baby blinked, tilted its head in confusion, then returned to its crying. Nitori had to cover one of her ears, muffling the sound just enough to keep her sane.

?How am I supposed to do this?!?

She played with the thought of inventing artificial breast milk, but it fell out of her head as quickly as it had come. With her experience, her time, and her income, she?d be lucky to invent sliced bread. Every time she tried to come up with an idea, the baby?s screaming knocked it right out of her head.

Until, at last, the one proper answer came to her out of the blue. It was short, simple, and it would involve no-one trying to kill her for being a kappa.

Well, hopefully. It depended on whether Reimu was in a good mood today.

-----

?So you?re telling me it just washed up on the river??

Reimu raised an eyebrow at the story, looking up from the basket Nitori was holding in both hands. Nitori had bowed her head down, out of both shame and desperation.

?Yeah...I tried to look after it myself, but I didn?t realise how hard you human mothers really have it,? Nitori grumbled. There was a hint of defeat in her voice. So much for being smarter than the humans.

The baby, as if to mock her, had gone quiet the moment they?d left Nitori?s house. For the entire trek to the Hakurei shrine it had been looking around, giggling at the trees, sometimes gurgling out something that it thought was a word. It was almost enough to make her forget all the grief the child had been when she?d tried to take it in, and at one point she?d almost turned back and brought it home again.

In the end, though, reason won out. There was no way she could offer this child a proper home. And besides that, her ears were still ringing from all the howling it had been doing.

Reimu took the basket out of Nitori?s hands, looking inside and nodding to herself. ?Well, you don?t seem to have taken any bites out of it. I?m sure the parents will be pleased.?

Nitori?s eyes widened. ?Parents??

?Yeah, the human village has been going nuts about it,? Reimu continued, rocking the basket slightly. She had a natural talent with it, her movements smooth and subtle compared to Nitori?s violent jerks. ?A youkai broke in, grabbed the basket, and made for the river with it. They?ve been worried sick.?

Nitori nodded. She?d done the right thing, after all. It was good to know that the kid was going back to a mother who knew what she was doing.

?Well, I?ll let you take care of the rest,? she said, turning on her heels and making to leave. ?Just tell the family that you found her. They?ll get mad if they found out a kappa put her grimy little hands on their child.?

Her stomach growled again, and she fought off a groan. The sun was setting, and she?d never managed to get hold of anything in her little fishing exercise. She?d even used the last of her cucumbers feeding the baby. She grumbled as she reached the stairway down the mountain, dreading the night ahead of her.

?Hey, youkai,? Reimu yelled, the baby laughing in her arms. ?I?ve got some rice left over from dinner, if you want something to eat.?

Nitori practically ran back to Reimu, her eyes glistening. If there wasn?t a child between them, she would have hugged the shrine maiden right there and then. Reimu led her in, sat her down at a half-eaten lunch, then left the basket on the table as she walked into the back rooms.

?There?s some tea here, too. Lemme just fish it out...?

Nitori was too busy feasting on the leftovers to hear her. Her eyes turned to the child after she?d gulped down the very last grain of rice. In its own, roundabout way, the kid had managed to feed her for the day. She gave it a wink in thanks.

Though it might have been a trick of the light, she could have sworn she saw it wink back.

Esifex

  • Though the sun may set
  • *
  • It shall rise again
Re: Weekly Writing Challenge! - The Great Gensokyo Job-Swap Day! NEW SIDEQUEST
« Reply #891 on: December 23, 2011, 02:41:40 AM »
Just over three hours left, folks! I'll be a little lenient for the folks who missed the 'EST' part of the Midnight deadline, but only by a few hours!
If you have something, speak now or forever hold your piece. This is a mini-challenge - I won't be adding an extension to this Challenge.

Esifex

  • Though the sun may set
  • *
  • It shall rise again
Re: Weekly Writing Challenge! - The Great Gensokyo Job-Swap Day! NEW SIDEQUEST
« Reply #892 on: December 23, 2011, 09:04:20 AM »
Since some wonderful remodeling work kept me occupied past midnight EST, I myself missed the deadline to post about reaching the deadline.

DEADLINE HAS BEEN REACHED

There, all done! Even got the four-hour 'Midnight PST' grace period covered, too!



The Feral Child

I'd say I'm disappointed that we only managed to get two entries, but that wouldn't be right. This is, after all, the holiday season, so don't feel bad if you didn't get the chance to step away from whatever you have going on to post a story. Just file it away for later and make a proper entry in the Library with it!

That being said, on to our two entries!

capt. h gives us a nice bit of potential back-story for why Marisa and Rinnosuke know each other, and toss in a bonus Mokou for funsies. The only flaw with this story comes from Marisa already being a toddler/young child, and already lucid in a proper human fashion. Also, it posits that Mokou would've known Marisa long before the Imperishable Night incident, but I'm not going to raise a fuss over that. Touhou canon is deliberately murky to begin with, specifically to leave room for the fanon to have its fun, like this.

The story was very well written. Using Rinnosuke as a protagonist is a nice touch; that doesn't happen very often, and you did an exceptionally handy job providing some insight as to Rinnosuke's sensibilities without having to dive directly into raw exposition - instead hinting that he was weak to The Kawaii.
Either that, or he's just that much of a good person. Props to you for giving us a solid Kourin.

Roukan brings us Nitori and her problems with poverty and Moses. Roukan's experience in writing clearly shows; there's no room for me to properly critique the spelling, grammar, or formatting of his story, which in short means this challenge was indeed very boring from a judging point of view.
Nonetheless, it puts two very excellent stories out for everyone to enjoy. With Roukan, we have a less 'mad-scientist' Nitori and more an 'eccentric inventor', which does wonders considering how thick with stereotypical behavior the fanon can get sometimes. The 'here comes the airplane' tidbit was a delicious little bit of cleverness, especially. The Genius Kappa having trouble with fishing was a nice bit, as well.

Between both stories, however, the prompt was just barely missed. capt. h gives us an already educated Marisa (she can talk, albeit wiff a wifp, and she can read) in an orphan scenario, and Roukan has Nitori return the child back to the human village, from which it was kidnapped, but not abandoned for lost. Both stories touch upon what raising a child would entail, and the challenges involved - Mokou admits having trouble feeding a growing child, and of course shelter is a necessity altogether. Nitori tries to feed the baby, realizing of course that without teeth it would need smaller bits of food, or instead, milk.
Neither story actually uses a feral child who is in turn raised by their adoptive mother, but I won't begrudge either author for that. Two excellent stories were submitted - another excellent short by Roukan, and a nice start to a potential story from capt. h that manages to stand on its own as a short, as well.

I'm afraid I can't honestly pick a story between the two; from sheer experience and volume of writing, Roukan obviously has the skill and expertise to win top prize, though the characterization in capt. h's story isn't to be sneered at, either.

I hereby nominate myself as the winner. Congratulations!

Re: Weekly Writing Challenge! - The Great Gensokyo Job-Swap Day! NEW SIDEQUEST
« Reply #893 on: December 31, 2011, 07:43:50 AM »
Esi, all you submitted was a picture. inb4picturepaintsathousandwords

Crow's Dumping Ground of Art

"So I never have to worry what tomorrow will bring, because my faith is on solid rock; I am counting on God."

Iced Fairy

  • So like if you try to hurt alkaza
  • *
  • I will set you on fire k'?
    • Daisukima Dan Blog
Re: Weekly Writing Challenge! - The Great Gensokyo Job-Swap Day! NEW SIDEQUEST
« Reply #894 on: February 02, 2012, 02:24:12 AM »
Revival!

As you can see the threads been silent a bit.  Part of it due to people being busy.  Part of it due to the judges being busy.  Part of it being people stopped coming over to get stomped by one of the regulars who can toss out 15 page stories at whim.  However I have a fondness for the contest, and with permission I'm going to attempt to get it running again.

One of the issues people have hit in the past I believe has been the subjects have been too strong.  Stories built on them have tended to spread in the minds of the writers and become something that can't be done in one or two weeks.  That will not be a problem with this topic.

Lik dis if you cry evertim!

Remember how this started with Spam emails?  Yeah, this is SPAMs annoying older sister.  The facebook story.  Whether "uplifting" "funny" or "OMG IMPROTANT!"  Show us how you think the residents of Gensoukyo would abuse the internet.  I'm sure we'll be delighted to hear how ancient Lunarian numerology proves there isn't really a barrier around Gensoukyo, or how Eirin's pharmaceutical business is holding back the cure for cancer.  Go for broke everyone.

The contest will run until midnight PST on Sunday the twelfth.  Have fun all.

Alfred F. Jones

  • Estamos orgullosos del Batall?n Lincoln
  • *
  • y de la lucha que hizo por Madrid
Re: Weekly Writing Challenge! - The Great Gensokyo Job-Swap Day! NEW SIDEQUEST
« Reply #895 on: February 02, 2012, 05:06:14 AM »
Remember how this started with Spam emails?  Yeah, this is SPAMs annoying older sister.  The facebook story.  Whether "uplifting" "funny" or "OMG IMPROTANT!"  Show us how you think the residents of Gensoukyo would abuse the internet.  I'm sure we'll be delighted to hear how ancient Lunarian numerology proves there isn't really a barrier around Gensoukyo, or how Eirin's pharmaceutical business is holding back the cure for cancer.  Go for broke everyone.
You are a monster. Needless to say, I approve.

FinnKaenbyou

  • Formerly Roukanken
  • *
  • blub blub nya
Re: Weekly Writing Challenge! - Iced Sidequest: Gensokyo Chain-Spam-Mail!
« Reply #896 on: February 02, 2012, 11:19:42 AM »
PLEASE DON'T READ!!

once upon a time there was a girl called seiga. she wanted to live forever but all her friends thought she was crazy! they laughed at her for years, but one day they found her body in a locked room with the words 'I WILL NEVER DIE' written on her chest. they say that she sneaks through walls and breaks into peoples houses and steals their souls to stay alive!!

now that you've red this seiga will come looking for you!!!!! if you dont want to die write this story on 5 more spellcards and give them to your friends so she'll go for them instead

SO SORRY

-----

I'm probably going to just post several of these when I come up with them, because there's too much potential for me to just go for one. :V

Re: Weekly Writing Challenge! - Iced Sidequest: Gensokyo Chain-Spam-Mail!
« Reply #897 on: February 03, 2012, 12:04:43 AM »
Gensokyo is a PRISON! The only hope for survival is Escape!

Gensokyo a word we so much every day, but have you ever truly considered what it means? Writen as 幻想郷 4 13 11.

Four, thirteen, eleven. 4 13 11.

For the longest time even I was blinded to the truth. But NOW I have seen. 4 is death, 13 is misfortune, and 11 is mastership!

And who is that master? The Mistress of our Misery! Yukari holds the answer! For Yukari is written with 12 strokes!
I have...a terrible need...shall I say the word?...of religion. Then I go out at night and paint the stars.

capt. h

  • Only sane townie
Re: Weekly Writing Challenge! - Iced Sidequest: Gensokyo Chain-Spam-Mail!
« Reply #898 on: February 03, 2012, 04:17:28 AM »
OMG u shud totally embrace Kanako as ur lord and savior. I felled bad for all those Buddhists that hadn't discovered Kanako yet, so I maed this totally new group, called KANAKO 4 LIEF! If 1 million peeples join Kanako will maek a Miracal happen!

DONT BE STOOPID PEEPLES! JOIN KANAKOISM, TEH ONE TRUE RELIGION.

U CAN FIND ENLITENMENT FOR 12 EASY DAMNATIONS OF $299.99 A MONTH!

SIGN UP NAOW AND GET A FREED GOHEI!

ITS A STICK, BUT BETTER! THIS STICK HAZ PAPER ON IT!

Join today!

Scrittore

Re: Weekly Writing Challenge! - Iced Sidequest: Gensokyo Chain-Spam-Mail!
« Reply #899 on: February 03, 2012, 05:13:55 AM »
PLZ READ LOL REALLY FUNNY!

One day Shinki decided to visit her daughter, Alice. When she reached the Forest of Magic and went inside Alice's house, she saw that her precious little girl was sitting with another blonde, a pretty one to boot.

Now Shinki was a good mother, and any good mother would always make food for her child when visiting. Unfortunately, dear Alice did not share her views.

Mother and daughter had a great, mostly-onesided arguement over how the chicken should be prepared; baked or roasted.

In a rage, Alice screamed a curse at her mother.

"You know what!? You can... You can... You can just go... You... You.... FUCK YOU MAMA!!" The puppeteer then stormed out of the kitchen in a huff.

Shinki stood gaping at the doorway for a few seconds, before turning to the window, where a green and blue sillouhet could be seen.

"Mima, Mima! Alice... She... SHE KNOWS what happened after the tourist incident!"

SEND THIS TO AT LEAST 5 PPL AND MIMA-SAMA WON'T MASTER SPARK YOU FOR FINDING OUT ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT AFTER SHE BEAT SHINKI-SAMA!!


~~~~~~~~~

A rather vague joke, but if anyone gets it, it'll be worth it.