MarisaStory: A Certain Magical Internet

[Third Eye Lem]

>Well, that's more annoying than dickish.

> It's worse on Hard and Lunatic. :V

>What's it a painting OF, anyway?

> Terrafin, apparently. Alice has been collecting these Skylander figures since they started appearing in Gensokyo.

>If we have space, try to fake out the lasers while dodging the less predictable paint. Take advantage of the spread if we're forced away from our favored location blasting it in the face.

> What, no spread-shotgunning shenanigans? How very un-Marisa-like! Oh well.
> You victory is not without flaws, though. The randomness of the shots catches you off guard and you lose a life, but the midboss immediately drops one right afterwards. (3 left, for what it's worth, and you still have a spell charge left)

>The rocks are indestructible, but what about the trees? Just goes through 'em?

> Funny you should mention that...First off, yes, the trees block your shots too.
> With the boss defeated, the path seems clear for a bit with just a few rocks and trees here and there. Sadly, this is a farce. Several trees fall down from both the middle and within the stage iself, creating barriers and paths you must weave through. However, some of the trees crack in the process of falling, and some of the rocks look fragile as well.
> Oh, and there are puffies spawning in some of the compartments. This stage just keeps getting more fun by the second!!
> You have three possible paths advancing forward: left, right and middle. Choose your poison!...The parser apologizes for such a terrible joke.

> _

[E-Nazrin]

>Have Kasen summon Ripto
>Usually can't outdamage these guys before getting blasted by their own undodgable point-blank attacks! Bah, oh well. Keep an eye out for patterns that don't have attacks coming directly from the boss in the future, then.
>Keep shooting and see if the busted trees/rocks can be broken through while keeping the puffballs under control. Favor whichever path would open up the most options if they can.

[Third Eye Lem]

>Have Kasen summon Ripto

> You can't summon Ripto, he

Spoiler:

fell into a pit of lava at the end of Spyro 2. No, the games outside of the PS1 games don't count.

>Usually can't outdamage these guys before getting blasted by their own undodgable point-blank attacks! Bah, oh well. Keep an eye out for patterns that don't have attacks coming directly from the boss in the future, then.

> Your SIGHTREADING SKILL has increased by 2!!

>Keep shooting and see if the busted trees/rocks can be broken through while keeping the puffballs under control. Favor whichever path would open up the most options if they can.

> Thankfully, said cracked objects are breakable. You take the middle path, believing it to be most wide open, and your intution is correct. It almost means the puffies can take shots more easily at you. :| You could wait for them to shoot, then charge in, try to charge past them, bomb them, or...Something else? Dennis?

> _

[E-Nazrin]

>ship dennisxrinnosuke otp
>If it's possible to just clear off one side of the easy path of fuzzballs that would get close, clean off one side and use it for cover so we only have to dodge through shots from the other side. If that's too dangerous, hold back and see how bad their shot pattern is - getting blindsided is bad. Be ready for a (death)bomb if it's more than we can handle comfortably.

[Third Eye Lem]

>ship dennisxrinnosuke otp

> S-rank Romantic Support established. Paralogue 69x "What, Really?" is now available on the world map.

>If it's possible to just clear off one side of the easy path of fuzzballs that would get close, clean off one side and use it for cover so we only have to dodge through shots from the other side. If that's too dangerous, hold back and see how bad their shot pattern is - getting blindsided is bad. Be ready for a (death)bomb if it's more than we can handle comfortably.

> They just shoot simple spread shots, which surprises you, but theres enough space to weave around at least. You manage to clear out the left side, giving you more space to kill the rest and advance.
> The middle path narrows, and fairies spawn in the middle (though they don't shoot). Puffies appear in alcoves on the left and right walls, firing bullets straight across the passage. This doesn't seem too ha--oh wait the fairies are shooting large bubble bullets straight down the shaft. Shit.

> _

[E-Nazrin]

>And this is why you never stop shooting.
>See if we can assassinate the side fluffies (don't forget the spread!) and hide on the sides of the path away from the fairy bubbles until they stop and/or die; but we should probably just bomb this at the first sign of trouble. Starting to get intimidating!

[capt. h]

>And this is why you never stop shooting.

> Except when fighting green-eyed bridge trolls.

> Kill everything with magic so we can get back to our Rinnosuke threesome daydreams.

[Third Eye Lem]

>And this is why you never stop shooting.

> Except when fighting green-eyed bridge trolls.

> Or Orin...You pray you never have to fight her again, those zombie fairies give you the jibblies.

>See if we can assassinate the side fluffies (don't forget the spread!) and hide on the sides of the path away from the fairy bubbles until they stop and/or die; but we should probably just bomb this at the first sign of trouble. Starting to get intimidating!

> Considering you're in the latter half of the stage, you decide to exercise caution and unleash your last bomb...A hugeass poison cloud covers the area, rapidly damaging anything it touches (while doing the standard autocollect and bullet erasure things). The path is more or less clear that this point...Though you realize you could have slipped around the large bubbles because their hitboxes are much smaller. Whoopsie doodles! (NO SPELL CHARGES LEFT :ohdear: )

> Kill everything with magic so we can get back to our Rinnosuke threesome daydreams.

> Having fulfilled the former, you think about Rinnosuke for some reason. You hope he's ok with all this craziness going on...At least he's got Tokiko helping him out hahahahaha sorry, you can't finish that sentence with a straight face. Toki might as well be a large fairy at this point, even Kourin is stronger than she is...Much stronger actually, thanks to his Shopkeeper class perks (which you pray you're not on the receiving end of). You sometimes wonder why Kourin accepted her into the shop in the first place after you beat her up that one time...Is Kourin losing interest in you?! Well, considering you don't hang out with him all that much, and you usually don't hang around the shop out of fear of making him upset...Maybe you should try to patch things up with him at some point. Take him on a date, get him out of the shop for a bit...Toki can manage things on her own. of course, there's the whole matter of getting your body back first...

> Getting back on task, the paths eventually merge and the stage widens to a much more open space with a few enemies. After wiping them out, there's a lull...That fairy must be ahead.
> "Damn, you're persistant...I'm surprised my trees didn't crush you already!" she quips as you approach.

> _

[E-Nazrin]

>You think we'd be used to judging when those larger bubble bullets are leaving good amounts of space by now... bah!
>"Funny, they seemed to be pretty easily crushed themselves. Maybe you should work on your lineart."

[Third Eye Lem]

>You think we'd be used to judging when those larger bubble bullets are leaving good amounts of space by now... bah!

> People panic, it happens.

>"Funny, they seemed to be pretty easily crushed themselves. Maybe you should work on your lineart."

> "How dare you! I put my heart--and my art--into that spell card! People don't make obstacles very often, so I decided to give it a shot. Say what you want, but it worked pretty well, I think."

[E-Nazrin]

>"Well, I'll give you it was different, but it looks like we're still here, ze."
>"After all, I AM the main character!"
>"Now, you gonna apologize for givin' us the trouble of fixing Alice's paint jobs, or am I gonna have to pummel it outta ya?"

[Third Eye Lem]

>"Well, I'll give you it was different, but it looks like we're still here, ze."

> "In that case, I'll plant some more trees...You should always sow what you reap!"

>"After all, I AM the main character!"

> "And I most definitely not an OC made to fill in the gaps ZUN left behind with Cirno and Lily!!"

>"Now, you gonna apologize for givin' us the trouble of fixing Alice's paint jobs, or am I gonna have to pummel it outta ya?"

"Geeze, lighten up! You act like someone's after you...Is that why you had those defenses up? Like I said, they're not very good..."

> _

[E-Nazrin]

>"I thought that was the Aki sisters. Or do you have three seasonal goddess buddies?"
>"... you don't even know who you're talkin' to, do ya ze?"
>... we don't really have a way to back out of this fight, do we? Those nameless scrubs may have been enough warmup to get a feel for how we're working.
>If no graceful backout comes to mind, "And right now it's more like I'm after someone for puttin' me in a situation where I need a little practice before gettin' into a real fight. So like I said, thanks for volunteering~"

[Third Eye Lem]

>"I thought that was the Aki sisters. Or do you have three seasonal goddess buddies?"

> "All in due time, young fourth wall scaler!"

>"... you don't even know who you're talkin' to, do ya ze?"

> "Your dialect implies that you're Marisa...But you neither look like Marisa, sound like Marisa, or use spells like Marisa, so I am led to believe you're some kind of imposter or fangirl. Possibly both."

>... we don't really have a way to back out of this fight, do we? Those nameless scrubs may have been enough warmup to get a feel for how we're working.

> You could try some fancy sequence spell breaking, but you're not sure how to go about it. You could also reload your save too but who would do that

>If no graceful backout comes to mind, "And right now it's more like I'm after someone for puttin' me in a situation where I need a little practice before gettin' into a real fight. So like I said, thanks for volunteering~"

> "I'm warning you right now..."

Maple
~ Autumn's Little Picasso ~

> Cue music change.
> "You're in for a rocky fight if you challenge me!" she says, putting away her painting tools and assuming a battle stance. If you have an escape plan, now's the time to follow through with it!

> _

[E-Nazrin]

>... nah. This is too interesting; those scrub fairies weren't enough of a warm-up for a real Incident!
>"Looks like we're dancin' around the truth, ze. I might not quite be myself right now, but..."
>Strike a pose and prepare for battle! "I'm the REAL Marisa Kirisame!!"
>Make with the magic.

[Third Eye Lem]

>... nah. This is too interesting; those scrub fairies weren't enough of a warm-up for a real Incident!
>"Looks like we're dancin' around the truth, ze. I might not quite be myself right now, but..."
>Strike a pose and prepare for battle! "I'm the REAL Marisa Kirisame!!"
>Make with the magic.

> Maple is not amused by your badass boast, and sends rocks and round bullets at you. Kinda reminds you of one of Patchy's--OH CRAP ACTUAL ROCKS ARE FALLING. Like, they're those breakable rocks you encountered in Yamame's cavern. And they're everywhere. So you shoot them as you shoot the fairy, or try to.
> ...
> Somewhere, a progress bar ticks up...
> _

[E-Nazrin]

>See if the focus spread shot does enough damage to the rocks to cut down on the spam; no bombs, so play safe.
>Are any shots coming directly from fairyhead, or passing by/through her? Sneak up and shotgun if the rocks/bullets aren't passing through/behind her. Did we eat our Yoloats this morning
>Don't forget about her regular shots, even if the rocks are easily kept under control.
>... and if they AREN'T, focus on staying alive! Hopefully shotgunning will keep safe at least...

[Third Eye Lem]

>See if the focus spread shot does enough damage to the rocks to cut down on the spam; no bombs, so play safe.

> The rocks are fairly fragile, they're mostly of the smaller variety.

>Are any shots coming directly from fairyhead, or passing by/through her? Sneak up and shotgun if the rocks/bullets aren't passing through/behind her. Did we eat our Yoloats this morning

> Half of them are shooting directly down from her, the other half are being shot in arcs (like the shots from one of Suwako's spell cards).
> Sadly, you didn't have much of a breakfast today, but since that Yoloats bit was in strike tags you don't incur any penalties. Don't get any ideas; players abusing strike tags will BANHAMMERED on sight.

>Don't forget about her regular shots, even if the rocks are easily kept under control.
>... and if they AREN'T, focus on staying alive! Hopefully shotgunning will keep safe at least...

> You manage to stay alive long enough to trigger Maple's first spell card!
> "Artistry [Stalagtite Splatter]"
> Maple paints a streak with her brush, and several rock spires shoot out of it in multiple directions. Upon contact with the edges of the screen playing field, they shatter into rings of triangle bullets.

> _

[E-Nazrin]

>Don't tempt me homeboy
>Ahh, that's a bit more conventional. Focus on damage from a distance (unfocused!) to start, but move to the sides when/if it gets dangerous.
>How do the rings operate upon hitting? Do the triangle rings always come out in a set arrangement, with each shot at the same angle from point of impact each time, with at least one at a 90 degree angle that's easy to read? If so, don't be afraid to resort to using the spread to hit her from the edge of the screen if necessary; dodging is easier when dealing with straightforwardly-moving shots!

[Third Eye Lem]

>Don't tempt me homeboy

> GIVE INTO YOUR ANGERRRRR

>Ahh, that's a bit more conventional. Focus on damage from a distance (unfocused!) to start, but move to the sides when/if it gets dangerous.

> You keep a fair distance from Maple, as well as the edges of the screen, you need the room to dodge.

>How do the rings operate upon hitting? Do the triangle rings always come out in a set arrangement, with each shot at the same angle from point of impact each time, with at least one at a 90 degree angle that's easy to read? If so, don't be afraid to resort to using the spread to hit her from the edge of the screen if necessary; dodging is easier when dealing with straightforwardly-moving shots!

> The angles of the stalagtites and the rings are randomized slightly. It'd be pretty boring if they all fired at the same angles!
> You duck to the edges now and then, but with the bullets flying everywhere, you can't afford to stay in place for took long. There's enough space to slip between the bullet rings (and plenty of space between the stalagtites), but if you get stuck between a rock and a hard place, well....Consider yourself mincemeat.
> Thankfully, your skills are sharp enough to carry you through the spell card. Now Maple is launching more rocks everywhere, along with regular bullets in rings. The thing is, the rocks bounce off the walls, and exit out the bottom of the playfield, so you gotta be careful where you bob and weave.

> _

[E-Nazrin]

>You usually can't hold still in a danmaku battle anyway!
>Are these rocks feeble enough to be taken out by our spread shot? If so, stay relatively low to make sure we get most of them while mainly dodging the shot rings.
>Presumably they're more durable than that at this point, though: Then, just consider them full obstacles and avoid as needed. Consider unfocusing when it isn't crowded nearby to tack on damage and get to clear/will-be-clear areas faster. Prediction is important!
>Presumably shotgunning is not an option again.

[Third Eye Lem]

>You usually can't hold still in a danmaku battle anyway!

> Which makes you wonder why certain spellcards exist...

>Are these rocks feeble enough to be taken out by our spread shot? If so, stay relatively low to make sure we get most of them while mainly dodging the shot rings.
>Presumably they're more durable than that at this point, though: Then, just consider them full obstacles and avoid as needed. Consider unfocusing when it isn't crowded nearby to tack on damage and get to clear/will-be-clear areas faster. Prediction is important!

> Sadly, your shots pass right through them; they must be considered "big" bullets like Unzan's fists. You play it safe...

>Presumably shotgunning is not an option again.

> ...Until you see an opening and decide to go for it. Maple gets a face full of poison for her troubles. You can't keep up the fire for long, as you have to duck back, but you repeat the process until the card goes POOF.
> The playfield shakes, and rocks start rolling down. Leaf-shaped bullets also fall, weaving back and forth like actual leaves, as Maple flings waves of paintballs your way.

> _

[E-Nazrin]

>Certain nitwits leave blind spots (in a fit of delicious irony!) but it's unlikely to find them so quickly on first encounter!
>Test the rocks again; how dense are they this time around? If they're going in more-or-less straight lines and aren't easily destroyed, favor moving toward areas with fewer leaf shots instead of fewer rocks; the floaters will be harder to predict. And stick around longer.
>See if Maple's personal paint shots are aimed; exploit the direct fire to point them away from being a nuisance if they are. It's not good to have them blocking an escape route!
>Otherwise, just take it safe and avoid shotgunning this time around, unless the paintshots are really REALLY easy to misdirect and a good opening appears, which is unlikely.

[capt. h]

Won't lie, can't even begin to fight a text danmaku duel.

> Continue shooting her and try not to die.
> Call her out on the paintballs. Unless paintball guns are allowed.
Edit:
> Wonder why we never thought of paintballs before. Be a little jealous of the genius there; it has to be a hundred times easier to chuck handfuls of paintballs at someone that blast them with our complex spells. We will need to steal her paintballs from her as soon as we beat her.

[Third Eye Lem]

>Certain nitwits leave blind spots (in a fit of delicious irony!) but it's unlikely to find them so quickly on first encounter!

> Let's face it, danmaku isn't as good as it used to be. You blame Kanako and her followers for lowering the bar.

>Test the rocks again; how dense are they this time around? If they're going in more-or-less straight lines and aren't easily destroyed, favor moving toward areas with fewer leaf shots instead of fewer rocks; the floaters will be harder to predict. And stick around longer.

> They're pretty durable, so you focus on dodging the leaves while staying out of the way of the rocks.

Spoiler:

Fun fact: on Lunatic, they go on slight diagonals instead of straight down, and they explode into bullets when destroyed. =D

>See if Maple's personal paint shots are aimed; exploit the direct fire to point them away from being a nuisance if they are. It's not good to have them blocking an escape route!
>Otherwise, just take it safe and avoid shotgunning this time around, unless the paintshots are really REALLY easy to misdirect and a good opening appears, which is unlikely.

> They travel pretty fast, and Maple even tries to aim a bit ahead of you to try and catch you off guard. They're still aimed directly at you, though, so you wait until she fires before dodging.

Won't lie, can't even begin to fight a text danmaku duel.

Then you must unlearn what you have learned, young padawan. _{people still like text-only adventures right}

> Call her out on the paintballs. Unless paintball guns are allowed.

> You cry fowl foul on Maple's paintballs. "Excuse me, but as far as I know, paintballs are perfectly fine as bullets, just like my trees. What, are you expecting Reimu to come charging out here to defeat me on a technicality?"

> Wonder why we never thought of paintballs before. Be a little jealous of the genius there; it has to be a hundred times easier to chuck handfuls of paintballs at someone that blast them with our complex spells. We will need to steal her paintballs from her as soon as we beat her.

> You continue your cross-examination, saying that the paintballs aren't magic bullets, they're actual paintballs. "I can assure you that these are legitimately magic bullets, and not paint. I don't even know where to get real paintballs!" You then suggest she make them herself. "Uh...I guess? Maybe? Whatever, don't distract me!"

> Continue shooting her and try not to die.

> It's very unlikely that anyone actually dies in a danmaku duel (Eirin, Kaguya and Mokou are exceptions). But you keep up the pressure and start her next spell card...
> "Earth Sign [Titan's Fist]"
> ...Which sends a rocky fist right at your face. Roll to Dodge!

> _

[capt. h]

[19:51] <capth> @dice 1d20
[19:51] <Keine-tan> capth: 9

So... is that a hit or a miss?

[Third Eye Lem]

[19:51] <capth> @dice 1d20
[19:51] <Keine-tan> capth: 9

So... is that a hit or a miss?

> You get punched right in the...

Code: [Select]

Dec 15 17:37:26 <ThirdEyeLem>    @dice 1d26
Dec 15 17:37:29 <Keine-tan>    ThirdEyeLem: 19> ...Neck, which is sadly part of your hitbox. PTCHUUUUN! (2 lives left)

> Once you recover from something that'd normally break a person's neck, you analyze the attack. Fists punch the bottom of the playfield, sending rocks and bullets everywhere. Kinda like one of Ichirin's cards, but the fists alternate between aiming directly at you, and aiming to the sides of you.

> _

[E-Nazrin]

>Kanako didn't do shit IN came before her
>Buggers are learning not to always aim directly at your target...
>Did we get any bombs back after that death, or is the system being cruel today?
>This sounds like a card we might be able to shotgun some, if those fists are telegraphed enough. If they are, stay a little high and try to redirect a few off the sides of the screen if that breaks the card. Or do they only track vertically?
>If they're hard to predict, stay medium-low and weave through the shots, keeping an eye out for opportunities to unfocus and dart to a different location to dodge the (direct) fists.

[Third Eye Lem]

>Kanako didn't do shit IN came before her

> Hey, don't knock IN's danmaku, that game was awesome.

>Buggers are learning not to always aim directly at your target...

> Maple seems to be smarter than any other fairy you've met. How much smarter, you don't know, but you have to give her credit: she's put more effort into her attacks and spell cards than most fairies who go "oooh! random human! time for a danmaku prank!" You pray that the rest of the fairies don't follow her example (that would make one hell of a Bad Ending though).

>Did we get any bombs back after that death, or is the system being cruel today?

> You got back...Four bombs? Wow, that is a lot. You guess it's because Medicine is less focused on power, much like Marisa. (4 spell charges left)

>This sounds like a card we might be able to shotgun some, if those fists are telegraphed enough. If they are, stay a little high and try to redirect a few off the sides of the screen if that breaks the card. Or do they only track vertically?
>If they're hard to predict, stay medium-low and weave through the shots, keeping an eye out for opportunities to unfocus and dart to a different location to dodge the (direct) fists.

> The fists appear in the same column you're on (they fall down rather slowly, as opposed to the "appear then punch" MO of Unzan's fists), or the two adjacent columns, and the card alternates between the two. If a fist would spawn outside of the playfield, it spawns next to the other fist within the playfield instead.
> In any case, the shrapnel from the fists is kinda dense, so shotgunning is risky. You play it safe and before you know it...Maple asplodes in a shower of--surprise, surprise--maple leaves.

> Maple floats to the ground, battered and tattered. "Haaa...You're tougher than you look. Ok, so maybe there's a shred of truth to your words...But if you really are Marisa, what on earth is happening to make you take such defensive measures?"

> _

[E-Nazrin]

>"Well... short version would be, Medicine pulled some body-swap bullshit, and some buncha mole-rat splinter cells are attackin' Eintei while I'm trying to find her and wring her neck. Felt I needed some practice before I blew through 'em. Don't suppose you've seen anyone like that around, ze?"