~Hakurei Shrine~ > Kosuzu's Grand Bookstore

First Against the Wall

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Dizzy H. "Muffin" Muffin: --- Quote from: Nwbi on August 29, 2009, 08:56:48 PM ---Oh god, this is pure greatness. --- Quote from: Dr. Purjewry M.F.D. on August 29, 2009, 12:53:03 PM ---Hopefully you are also appreciating the in-depth view into faerie psychology as well =] --- End quote --- Surely I do! --- End quote --- THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE PSYCHOANALYZED!

Hello Purvis: Standing atop the railing of the Old Stone Bridge, Lemon Drop's heart swells to the point of bursting. Arrayed before her are hundreds of faeries as varied as the colors of the rainbow, all of them chattering excitedly about the Revolution. Some of them sit in the boughs of the bare trees overhead, calling down to their friends playing in the snow. Others skate and gambol on the frozen stream running beneath the bridge, their laughter and excitement for the Revolution echoing under the stony arch. The wind bears the tantalizing smell of danishes, as the former Baking Party members circulate through the crowd with trays of the icing-drizzled treats. Lemon Drop could only wonder if the entire forest had turned out for the Revolution. Sullen Plummet emerges from the crowd, and flies to Lemon Drop's side. "Well? Well?" says Lemon Drop, bouncing from one foot to the other. "Some tried to reform the Ice Skating Party," says Sullen Plummet, after finishing the last bite of her danish. "Tea Leaves set them to rights quickly. A few faeries haven't made it back yet, we think they went into the mountains to spread the word." Lemon Drop practically squeals, "That's great!" Sullen Plummet nods, and she counts events off her fingers. "The Bird Catching Party had a brief revival, but we absorbed back quickly enough when they couldn't find any birds. The New Beaver Dam Party just joined us, too, since they couldn't find any streams that weren't frozen. Oh, we've lost some more people to the Kitty Party." Lemon Drop's eyebrows knit together as she frowns. "They have been a thorn in our side for too long, Sullen Plummet. If they do not stop their anti-revolutionary actions soon, we will have to deal with them." "Quite," says Sullen Plummet, as she gestures to a faerie carrying a tray of danishes. "They are traitors, they're betraying the Revolution, and as a result betraying all faeries everywhere. But even then, we cannot let their irritations distract us from our goal! Kitty Party or not, Sullen Plummet, it's time for the Revolution!" "Mm-hm!" squeaks Sullen Plummet through a mouthful of danish. Lemon Drop turns to face the majority of the crowd, and inhales deeply. "Everyone!" The gathering suddenly falls silent. Lemon Drop nods with approval. "Everyone," she says again, "We have gathered here today for one purpose! For one goal! The greatest of all goals! We are here for...the Revolution!" The crowd cheers, save for those like Sullen Plummet who are too busy with their pastries. The faeries playing under the bridge cease their games and climb up onto the banks to watch, as Lemon drop begins to gesture dramatically. "The time has come, everyone! This is the day! This day, we will..." Lemon Drop draws the word out, trying to figure out exactly what she wanted to do. Then it comes to her. "?Smash our oppressors!" A stronger cheer meets this pronouncement; some of the faeries leaping into the air and waving their arms wildly. Lemon Drop beams at them, trying to contain her joy. All those people, looking up at her expectantly, smiling and eagerly hanging on her every word... "Hey guys!" comes a voice from below, "What's going on over here?" Lemon Drop cringes, and forces her eyes downstream while trying to mentally prepare herself. Why now of all times?! Sliding up the frozen stream as easily as if she were walking, Cirno waves to the gathered faeries. She flutters her wings a couple times, she takes to the air and lands gracefully on the bridge beside Lemon Drop. Standing head and shoulders taller than any else there, Cirno grins at the crowd, then says, "Hey, are those danishes? Lemme have one!" "Sure, Cirno!" says one of the former Baking Party members, as she holds up a tray for the ice faerie. Lemon Drop tries her best to keep the smile on her face as the strongest faerie in Gensokyo towers over her, making yummy noises through a mouthful of danish. The crowd mutters amongst itself; Lemon Drop barely pays it any mind as any fool could predict the disagreement arising. Instead she just tries to keep the smile on her face, tries to keep her breathing calm, and most of all tries not to say anything that might get her turned into an ice cube. While this is the first time she's had to deal with Cirno personally, only a fool would think it possible to be able to subdue her if a disagreement arose... "What're you guys up to?" asks Cirno, as she licks icing from her fingers. "I wanna play, too!" "We're having a Revolution!" cries one of the faeries in the crowd, as the crowd's rumbling increases in volume, "It's gonna be awesome!" "Neat!" says Cirno, her eyes lighting up, "We'll knock them all down!" Some of the crowd cheers at Cirno's pronouncement, others mumble among themselves. Would it be worth it, Lemon Drop ponders. Would it be okay to let Cirno join the Revolution? She is the strongest, after all, and they'll probably need some heavy lifting or spell cards or something. But on the other hand, she's Cirno. Looking up at the ice faerie that pays her no mind, Lemon Drop shakes her head. It's Cirno; she's so big. And weird. And weirdly big. She wasn't sure if that'd be a problem for her, but Lemon Drop couldn't tell about some of the others. Cirno was just too weird to be around for some faeries. Unless... "Hey Cirno," says Lemon Drop, "What were you going to go do?" "Me and Letty were gonna go make snowcones," says Cirno, giving Lemon Drop a grin. "It's gonna be so yummy!" "You better hurry up, then!" says Lemon Drop, "Winter's gonna end soon and then Letty will have to go away!" "Oh crap, I almost forgot!" says Cirno, as she leaps off the bridge and takes to the air. A few other faeries cry out in dismay and take flight after the ice faerie. Cirno waves back at Lemon Drop, "Thanks a bunch!" Lemon Drop cups her hands at her mouth and shouts, "Make enough snowcones for the revolution!" Cirno gives a thumbs up. "You got it!" Then she and the other faeries of the Letty Snowcone Party round a bend and disappear from sight. Lemon Drop sighs, letting relief wash over her. Allowing a few faeries to run off in the name of the continuing the Revolution seemed like a good sacrifice. "Hey guys!" pipes up one of the faeries in the crowd, "Let's go make snowcones with Let-" BONK! "Ow!' cries the speak. "Ha!" answers another faerie as she thrusts a fist into the air. Lemon Drop gives an approving nod to the victorious faerie, making a mental note to reward her when there was something to reward with. Then she takes a deep breath and says, "The Revolution is here!" The crowd silences and looks back to her. No longer, though, can she see the shining enthusiasm that was there before. Quite a few are more interested in the danishes now, and she can hear a few conversations involving Cirno among the gathered faeries. "Excuse me, I have a question?" says a red-haired faerie near the front of the crowd. Lemon Drop frowns at the interruption, and at the vaguely familiar face. Doesn't she live in the tree down by the Big Rocks? Noticing the crowd falling quiet, she answers, "Yes?" "Um," says the faerie, who Lemon Drop suddenly recalls is named Maple Starfruit, "You said oppressors before, but who are the oppressors?" Lemon Drop just looks at her for a moment, and then says, ?Who are the oppressors? Who are the oppressors!? How can you even ask that! I will tell you who the oppressors are! They are..." Lemon Drop drags the word out again, as her mind races. Thinking back, she remembers the worst part of the day, and feels a spark of inspiration. "...The ivory cottage intellectuals!" The crowd gasps. "Yes! Hiding in their cottages all day, zapping faeries with their spells and their weird dolls and their danmaku! Ha! They think they can do whatever they please! We ill need such oppressors as them! What did we ever do to them? Just drawing things on the frost and taking things from the garden and maybe coming in while they were asleep because it was raining! Down with the ivory cottage intellectuals! They'll be the first to fall!" The roar of the crowd almost deafens her. Glancing over, Lemon Drop can see Sullen Plummet bouncing and applauding wildly. Glowing, Lemon Drop takes another deep breath and says, "I'll tell you who the oppressors are! The shrine is our oppressor! With its shrine maidens throwing seals at us and hitting us with that paper stick thing and stealing our mushrooms! So what if we borrow shiny things from that box in front! That's what faeries do, isn't it? That's right! Down with the Shrine! The shrine maidens think they can ruin our fun? Ha! They'll be the first to fall!" Lemon Drop crosses her arms proudly and nods to the roaring crowd. "And then there's the traitors to faeries! You know who I'm talking about! People who act like our friends, then they go and betray the Revolution! Well ha! Ha I say! They think they can betray the Revolution? The Revolution will betray them! They'll be the first to fall!" She nods to the roaring crowd again, hoping that someone down there didn't hurt their throat. That would just be sad. Then she hears something else, faint words carried by the wind. Turning her back to the crowd, she walks to the other side of the bridge and cups a hand near her ear. She can just make out voices, laughing and calling to each other. Then she hears one word, one that makes her hair feel as if it were standing on end: "Kitty!" "The class traitors!" cries Lemon Drop, whirling back to the crowd as it gasps. "Do you hear them!? The class traitors are coming for us, hoping to stop the Revolution before it starts! Let's get 'em!" Then she takes to the air, and the roar of the crowd alone tells her that the Revolutionary Party is behind her. **** Lemon Drop stands over a fallen faerie. "Say it! Say: 'I will never betray the Revolution again!' "But," Ficus Blossom says, "there was a ki-" BONK! "Ow!" cries Ficus Blossom. "Ha!" says Lemon Drop, thrusting a fist into the air as the gathered Revolutionary Party cheers. The three dozen or so members of the now-devastated Kitty Party have melted into the Revolutionary Party. Flushed with victory, Lemon Drop can't help but smile at the vanquished Ficus Blossom, even if she did earn extra punishment. "Say it!" she repeats. Then after a moment, she adds, "Please?" "I'll never betray the Revolution again," says Ficus Blossom through a sigh. "Yay!" says Lemon Drop, as the crowd cheers. Ficus Blossom smiles at them bravely. Then, Lemon Blossom faces the crowd and asks, "Hey, how many of you guys know danmaku? We're gonna need it for the Revolution." A chorus of "Me!" and raised hands answer Lemon Drop, seeming to make up just a little less than half the crowd. Lemon Drop shrugs. On a good day, she could conjure up a few decently sized shots. About half didn't seem too bad. "Hey, I have an idea!" says Sullen Plummet. Lemon Drop looks over and nods for her to speak up. "Why don't we get Sudden Rain to join the Revolution?" "Who?" "Sudden Rain," Sullen Plummet says again. "She lives by those weird pillar things, the ones that go waaaaay up in the sky." "Oh," says Lemon Drop, who had never left the Forest of Magic in her life. "She's real good at danmaku," Sullen Plummet continues. "She's not as tough as Cirno, but she's really dynamite! She has a spell card and even beat up youkai, they say!" Lemon Drop raises an eyebrow. "She really has a spell card?" Sullen Plummet nods excitedly. "Yeah, yeah! I mean, she doesn't know how to use it, but she's got one!" "That's impressive!" Lemon Drop rubs her chin for a moment. "Okay, take a couple faeries with you and go find her! Tell her all about the Revolution!" "I will, I will!' Sullen Plummet skips to toward the crowd and orders a couple faeries to join her. Lemon Drop watches her with a proud smile as she does. If there was anyone as devoted to the Revolution as she, it was Sullen Plummet. As Sullen Plummet and the Exploratory Revolutionary Party depart, she turns to the crowd again. "Okay! I want some of you who can't do danmaku to go find other faeries! We've done a whole lot today, but we need to spread the Revolution all over Gensokyo!" The crowd cheers in response, but that it quickly cut off by a shrill scream from someone near the back of the group. More panicked cries ring out, as some of the faeries point toward the sky. With a scowl, Lemon Drop follows their gestures. There, visible through the leafless trees and hovering a few hundred feet off the ground, is a familiar dark-haired woman in red and white clothing. She looks around for a moment, and then holds a finger up to the wind. Then she begins to fly toward the north. Looking back to the crowd, Lemon Drop can see that the mere appearance of the Red-White was more than enough to shake the resolve of many. She forces back a frustrated scream. Not now! Not after they had come so far! "There she is!" Lemon Drop cries, pointing at the vanishing shrine maiden. "There is the oppressor! Flying around without a care in the world!" The crowd falls quiet, looking to Lemon Drop once again. "Do you see that? The Red White doesn't fear the Revolution at all! But look how she's running away already! Ha! Who said she could get off the hook that easy? Let's get her!" The affirming roar of the crowd nearly brings tears to Lemon Drop's eyes.

Dizzy H. "Muffin" Muffin: Hm. Rebels Without More Than Eight Brain Cells Between Them?

Von Stein: Ivory Cottage intellectuals? Well, straw for brains vs. fairies... And ayee, is this the end of the revolution?

FinnKaenbyou: Fairy politics at its finest. DAMN THAT KITTY PARTY

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