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RESUME!
>Anon watches the marriage with Sekai on his lap. He uses that time to reflect on Yukari and Reimu and vows not to let anything take Sekai from him, seeing their father/daughter bond as the last thing that's truly his and untainted. He considers himself a "happy bomb". The ceremony goes swimmingly, with Keine/Mokou and Mystia/Yuu married. The Prismrivers and Hana take the stage with Hana performing a dance for Amaterasu, which in the mythos lured the sun goddess out of her cave. As the music and dance come to an end, Remilia declares in a staged follow-up the start of a festival of war so Gensokyans remember the beauty of Danmaku duels, citing her sorrow at its almost erasure at Yukari's hands. Everyone able to fight joins in, and Sekai falls asleep on Anon's lap as they watch the combat. Sekai dreams of the day Yukari died, a memory. There, they meet and Sekai bemoans her weakness, as she shouldn't have taken Yukari's soul there. Yukari is elated to see Sekai however as she thinks Sekai is her baby and will use her time-traveling powers to save her, but Sekai refuses and tells her the whole truth. Yukari breaks down as she realizes everything she did was meaningless and no one is going to save her. Sekai uses the Backdoors and the gap together, manipulating the boundaries of where the door opens to be in the past and through her connection with Yukari, Sekai sends gaps into that past. She cites that when the connection between her and Yukari dies, she won't be able to repeat that;
>Goro and Seija do something with the Youkai girl, sending her to the shadow realm before moving to the Hakurei Shrine where they'd left their toddlers, Oiya and Tsukuyomi, with Hanaoneesan and Anon. They gossip over some tea before Goro and Anon go talk in particular while Seija in all her brilliance presses Hana, the traumatized 17 yo, about why she doesn't have a husband not long after the most traumatizing chapter of her life. Hana says he'll at least look at it.

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[Chapter Count]
(1997 entries)(+10 last thread)

[for phoneanons who can't access the dead threads, here's the last thread.]:
>>>>https://warosu.org/jp/thread/50682169 | 40.5th thread

[Expiration date: 03/23-04/??]

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"If they're talking about what I think talking about, we probably have a couple solid minutes." Anon said, poking his head around my shoulder to see if the coast was clear. "So, you've got the goods?"

I nodded and produced, from my robe, a small linen pouch which I placed into Anon's hand. He quickly set it down on a table and carefully undid the knot as if the parcel contained a delicate gold, and for the face Anon made it may as well have: like a man dying of thirst who just spied water. Quickly, he re-did the knot and placed it snuggly in his robes.

"My many thanks." Anon told me. "You would not believe how the ball-n-chain, though I love her, can't help herself from planting everything under the sun. I mean, my garden log practically doubles as an almanac at this point!" Anon said, slapping a large book on one of the shelves, which seemed to have been rebound several times to include more pages. "So, I couldn't bear to tell her something like 'It'd be nice to have some fennel seeds for curry', even she would break her back, trying to reorganize things for the devil's seed."

I smiled at the thought. Fennel was quite the bastard to grow, it out-competed other plants with it's rapid spread and something the plant released sabotage other things around it. Perhaps I should note that down later as an idea for a future incident? The risk of being annihilated by Miss Gardener could be too high though.

"Ah, well, that aside, how you been?" Anon asked me.

I waved to the kitchen, to my family, and made a small smile.

"Oh yes, you've got some good ones on your hands I think. Although sometimes they play tricks on me, Owia seems more introverted then her sister, but then Tsu will become reserved and Owia becomes demanding. And if you tell one of them something then it won't be too long until the other figures it out. I'd say it's magic, or perhaps that's just what it's like being born as twins, I see it in a few of my other children, but those two seem more...inscrutable." He mused, careful with his choice of words.

Those were my girls. Sometimes Seija would joke that she only had one daughter that shared two bodies, like when she told Tsukuyomi that she was getting Owia a nice little lantern as a gift and to not tell her, not long after, Owia was bouncing up and down with excitement. Of course, neither twin would rat on the other, unless it was during one of their rare fights, so we'd never really know the truth.

"And Hana loves them of course. You should see her try to keep a straight face when they ask her how she got so pretty or when they show off their moves to her. She tells me they're just little one-horned devils playing tricks and I tell her 'if that's the case, then they're the best at it!'." He mentioned with a chuckle.

I nodded, smiling.

"Ahh, and then there was uh, what was it again..." Anon stumbled, fishing for a subject.

To me, it was a bit of guilty pleasure to watch him like this. Anon was a man who'd spent his whole life listening, everyday he'd listen to his child, his many, many other children, politicians who'd come to visit, men who'd come seeking advice about courtship, woman wondering about child-rearing, and so, when faced with someone who was unable to give him anything to listen to, Anon was out of his depth. In a way, it was sort of greedy of him, to let others fill his ears while he only gave smidgens to fill theirs's, then, perhaps this was a just punishment. Ah, but then there was his wife who was also the quiet sort, so I wonder if he saves all his words for her? It was a sweet thought for a poet, and not someone like me who could no longer write.

Maybe I was regretful, not having taken more time to talk to the man when I could speak, yet I wouldn't see him so befuddled as his is now. My condition was both a blessing and a curse in that way, my well-crafted tongue and wit became useless, yet I found new ways to speak and sharpened a kind of wit that I could not see before.

There was another reason I'd like to watch him unsettled. Something quite important which I held against him, but I would not think on it now.

And enough with torturing an old man for my own amusement, a deal was a deal, and so I poked the man hard in the chest where he put the fennel seeds and jabbed a thumb back to myself, putting on a wide grin.

"Oh! Yes of course, damn me if I forget and take advantage of you." he muttered as he bent down to take something out of the cabinets, lift it up, and set it on the table.

It was dome set upon a plate. Inside it stood a single flower held aloft by a wire metal stand. The thing had five wavy, purple petals that spread in all directions, a pure white stigma, and a few yellow anthers. Even though I could see that no light came from it, the thing seemed to glow in the little kitchen, like a small candle.

"You can take the whole glass case if you want. We have a few too many between us and won't miss it." Anon offered, but I shook my head.

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>>50745795

>>50745795

From my robe, I produced some stiff paper and carefully lifted the glass dome from the plate, exposing the flower to the kitchen's air. Then, I took up the flower in one hand, feeling it's lightness, it's small weight, and wrapped it stem gently in the paper, curving it up so that it formed a cup around the petals without touching them, and tying the paper off at the top, putting the flower into it's own little paper coffin that I secured into my robe.

"You have some strange talents. My wife sometimes can't even put together a bouquet you know? It's not the flower selection, nobody better then her at that, it's that she can't really handle the paper itself." I nodded in appreciation towards him. The skill came from forming small, animated origami animals to entertain my children, until I rediscovered how useful those thing could be for menial tasks like keeping an eye on things and delivering messages, but then as children started walking on two feet and running around, they got lost much easier, so I sent the paper familiars out to corral the young ones home. It always seemed to come back to the children in one way or another.

"And she, whooh, she was a little cross when I asked her to grow that. You might want to avoid her for her a bit if you don't want to see her in a mood. Not a day have I ever seen her so angry as she was when you and Seija 'kidnaped' me so I could escape that little land-use council and I would hate to see you suffer that wrath a second time, especially when you didn't sell out my ass." He laughed.

That was the thing about being quiet: if you could get people to stick around, keep them talking, they'd tell you all sorts of things, secrets and the like. And sometimes they'd talk in ways that they couldn't with any other person. I mean, was there anyone else who had the privilege of hearing Anon cuss?

"I am, also sorry that, I won't be coming this afternoon. I should, well, be there for Sekai and-"

I held up a finger to my mouth. Some things cannot be said aloud. And if he dared to mention one name in particular, I might have slugged him in the gut.

"Yes well, thanks for understanding. Sekai actually stayed a bit this morning, she had to leave though since Patchouli put her on a job to gather some things." He said scratching his neck. "Make sure she doesn't work herself too hard okay? I don't want my daughter getting mercuary poisoning." He grinned. "Ah, well she's your daughter to, but you know what I mean."

I did, and something more, I shook a finger at him like I was a lecturer.

"Right, I'm the King of Exhaustion and it's my own choice, just, make sure to teach her some bad stuff like being a little greedy, I don't want her to become too dependable and have everyone taking advantage of her. And tell her that her Dad doesn't need 'me time' either, she better come bug me every hour of the day while she's adorable, which will be always, so she has no excuse. Ever."

I nodded to him, being a bad influence on my daughter was something I could manage.

He sighed "It is frightening, seeing them grow up, even though I've been through it all before, it fills me with worry and I can't help but work myself half to death. You know what I mean though, and, I've even given some thought to, uh, well, you promise not to tell this to anyone? I've kind of been thinking about giving my Wife a child."

I couldn't laugh, but I could slap his back.

"No, I mean really, it's something she'll never ask me for, it might be a long-shot, and there's many reasons not to, I just, I think it would be nice to have one more."

This time I clasped his shoulder. I knew exactly what he meant.

"You and Seija, have you thought about it at all?

I shook my head slowly, solemnly.

"You needn't say more." Anon nodded, holding a finger to his lips. "Well, right about now I suppose the Jaku will have burnt all of Hana's short fuse, so we better get back before something explodes. Give my regards to everyone today and come around when I cook up curry this time, and, don't try and make it a bargain, I'm Anon, doing nice things for people is my own choice and that's my privilege."

My eyebrows raised and I shrugged as I followed him out to prevent another disaster.

As a child you see people as what they are plainly. When you grow older you learn to suspend some truths and see a person in different lights. It's a hazardous practice, as the foolish learn to put on blinders and tell themselves lies about others, while a few can distinguish a person in their parts and speak to the different lights.

For now, I think with gratitude that Anon had helped me hone this skill and consider how he deserved mercy. For he and I share a similar torment which neither of us can express and I hope, when I am judged, someone else has mercy on me.

About six chapters to go. Going to try to keep pace and do one a day so I'll be finished by this thread.

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Why?

Why not save me instead? Why not rewrite the past so I’m not decapitated like an animal? Stop Anon from breaking my heart—I never loved him—that’s a lie—it’s everything I have in this ultimate end—; kill Ran before she starts this catastrophe. The bottomless pit of my stomach rumbled with cold that spread. It overtook the body yet kept going, an overflowing pool that jolted evergreen shivers up and down. Huge tears felt like pearls clustered underneath eyelids, slowly pushed out one by one. I wanted to vomit but couldn't. I am dizzy, but thoughts don’t cease; they rush like many ants.

I am dead.

I am dead, and my daughter won’t save me.

… Why?

And why do I yet seek the comfort of my child? My trembling arms had wrapped around my belly, feeling the life inside—lie—there’s nothing in there—I’m dead, and Renko is too—, which’ll fade away alongside me. Arms tighten, the body threatens to lurch over, and the white beast of light inches forward. It’ll devour me; there’ll be nothing after it. I destroyed my human flesh and soul long ago. I lived on the boundary of life and death until I belonged to neither.

Were I to die… I would be erased.

My strength cooled into nothingness, but I didn't let go of Renko-chan—my daughter; I’d have had two. Two little things to fuss over and source me with joy—, clinging to anything but the imminent.

When had Sekai moved so far away from me? My knees hit the ground? It didn’t matter.

Lips parted, and a plea surged from a congested throat… Which I never voiced. Her purple eyes drew me. In them, the mind connected dots just below the surface to form a picture unblurred by these arms cradling my Renko.

Gaps sent to the past that I cannot fathom control over, nor understand the purpose of; a connection between the two of us—me and her Father, she held out cheeks—; her existence that seemed to hinge on so many rules and interconnected threads outside the blinding light around us.

Most of all, a gut feeling of utmost dread: “… Was it you, Sekai?”

Her shoulders sagged. The answer was given in silence.

Erasure mustn’t feel like this, so I’m still here. This echo of pain and betrayal that washed me deeper than any other I’ve ever experienced was what pushed me to keep talking.

“W-Why…? Why?” No answer. Boiling rage, brewing at the end of the world. Earth didn’t start as a paradise but as a hell crowded by oceans of lava. “Say something, Sekai! Don’t I deserve an answer?! Your mother you’ll leave to die, a-and your sister too! T-Tell me you… You…!” I had no heart that beat, yet I could feel it rip and thrash against sharp rib bones, bleeding a downpour onto my stomach and liver.

Sekai watched me from five steps away.

The death Hana had delivered felt painless. Why must my daughter deliver one brimming with pain?

I looked upon the only source of joy I thought I’d have and realized…

… I hate her too.

“The first attempt at conception happened almost nine months ago… I’d have a baby by now if it'd h-happened…” Words fought to leave, and Sekai’s face had pointed at the floor of azure dirt. “B-But a rogue Gap killed that baby. Every attempt at c-conception after that… t-the Gaps tore apart. The children never even had a chance in this world. I tried so many times—so many times—and all of those attempts failed… b-because of you. The issue wasn’t me; it was you.”

My daughter killed her every sibling bar one that had barely begun forming.

It’s asinine, monstrous. It’s… unexplainable.

Therefore, I once more asked, “Why?”

And then…

“Because I wanted to be free!”

In a sudden move, her arms had spanned open, and the dirt below sprouted into a field of flowers. The sky had vanished, and the horizon bore light, light, and more light. Nothing that I paid attention to, wide eyes on Sekai’s… smiling face. From ear to ear, crested by cascading tears and overworking lungs, chest rising and compressing haphazardly.

“I wanted to experience this world, to see a real sky! Not to be a condensation of everyone’s souls, but be myself! I… I had to connect with you so Mother Patchy and Meiling’s ritual could bring me to life. That wouldn’t be possible if Reimu-san hadn’t given you a reality check, leaving you vulnerable to Mother Yuyuko and Father… If you didn't fully believe Sister Renko was me, it wouldn’t have happened. T-The timing wouldn’t have matched the ritual's; you wouldn’t have faced your mortality, nor would you have opened up! I needed everything to happen if I wanted to live, and I will live! With my-my mothers, my fathers, myself, and nothing else, M-Mom…! Are you not proud?!”

Her tears fell, and the light encroached.

I felt paralyzed.

“…Are you not proud?” Her arms dropped, her smile painfully fragile. “Without your selfish soul imprinted deep into mine, I wouldn’t have had the mettle to go through with it. I would've chosen you now, not my F-Fate. I w-would… I would have p-preferred if I’d never existed… But I…”

Such a beautiful smile anyway.

“I’ll live to be happy!”

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… N-No.

No…

That is not… fair.

It isn’t fair.

“My mothers and fathers shall never know. I can’t bear the thought of telling them what I am—what your soul made me into, which I… I so readily embraced so I could have a shot at existing…” She kept going. Each word perforated a new hole in my flesh and in my soul, and both oozed everything I’ve ever been. It hollowed me out. I-It is not fair. “… I’ll tell them about Sister Renko; it’ll be a suitable alibi for these… festering feelings inside,” she’d clutched her heart. I yearned to cradle her form to my bosom and spare her from that soul-crushing guilt. I yearned to kill her. “And I’ll take what I truly am with me to the grave. No one will ever know. Nightmares’ll inevitably haunt me forever, but I can live with that—I can live…” Such a relieved tone to a relieved statement, shaded by thick tears and blinded by her smile. “I won’t squander my humanity under the weight of my pain. I’ll bear it all, snuggle into their acceptance, and have this happiness overshadow everything else.”

That is not fair. It is not.

A monster like me—a heart that can’t beat swelled with pride—, blood of my blood, and SHE gets to be happy? “W-What about me…?”

“I’ll love you.”

“… It’s worth nothing.” The light wormed near, and I shakily tried to get up—

—only for my legs to give out amidst the flowers, their gentle sway bathed in the dust my legs turned into, disappearing into the threshold between pale blue light and a sea of color.

Time is running short.

I won’t ever be…

“Y-Your love is worthless to me! Look at what you did to me! YOU GAVE ME FALSE HOPE! YOU TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME!” Hands against the battered ground brought me toward her, slowly decomposing with the caress of light. Panic, sheer and non-distilled. A goal. Destroy her before I am destroyed. “You are nothing without me! I created you, gave you life! You owe me everything! NOTHING THIS WORLD HAS SHOULD BE MORE VALUABLE TO YOU THAN I—”

“—And nothing is.” She knelt, and with a sharp inhale of air, I felt her small hands hold each side of my face as I’d held hers not a minute ago. “I love you despite your every flaw, your every evil deed… your every hurt. I love you because you’re what I know I’ll never become. Your dark soul gave me the strength to pursue my happiness no matter what I had to do or what boundary I had to cross, and to bear those measures that allowed me to live. All without feeling the hurt you endured. It’s selfish, again so selfish… but I’m glad you suffered so I wouldn’t have to. It’s the greatest thing a parent can do for their child,” she brought my face to her chest and held me there, even as my body undid at the seams, and my soul unraveled, and the light burned darkness around my vision.

I didn’t do it for her, still—

“You’re a good mother~!”

Suddenly, the need to destroy had washed away. There’s nothing to destroy in here. She’s built with the bricks of my soul; how could I topple that…?

How could I ever think of ending my child?

The realization came, unbidden.

It’s not… fair…

… It’s not fair that this won’t last.

I hate her so much, so much—

—I cannot bear the size of this love, knowing it won’t last forever.

… If I can’t even love my daughter at the end of the world, how would I have loved her in life then?

I never loved Anon, never loved Sekai—anyone.

“I’m a terrible person…”

“You are.” She patted my hair. It felt so nice; my eyelids weighed a sky, listening to the beat of her heart. “You’re the worst person I have catalogued in the atlas of my soul.”

The flowers felt soft against my skin.

Eyes closed, a breath released.

Her little hands… are so very warm.

I cannot love her.

I cannot love anything.

To the very end, I couldn’t have it.

Even then…

I tried.

With all that I had left, I tried to reach for her face. The arm and hand were gone before I got to her chubby, rosy, and tear-stained cheek; before I could brush the hazelnut of her hair—similar to Renko’s… what a delightful surprise—; before I could…

Before I could reach her, I had failed.

I could never reach her beautiful head of hazelnut…

… I wonder how things would’ve turned out if I’d stopped reaching long ago.

Sekai’s eyes met mine as the blinds were pulled, and I knew her words were true. She won’t reach toward me after I fade away. Her life won’t be spent dwelling and searching fruitlessly, as I did with mine. She’ll live happily and free in this world. She’ll survive and thrive and—and… she’ll marry someday, have her children, and grow old.

Undoubtedly, she’ll lose in the future too—the Gap can only do so much; not even a goddess can fight causality forever—but… she won’t turn out like me.

I won’t be a part of Sekai's life.

Those thoughts bouncing inside my head, hair and flesh and bone fizzling out of existence, fueled the words: “… Yes, I am…”

Her teary face lit up at the answer to her question, her smile bright as the moon.

The moon is so beautiful tonight…

"… Sleep well, Mom."

So I did.

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The first person I’ve ever killed. My mother.

My hands trembled in this emptiness; her tearful face pressed to my chest was a memory. Thumbs caressed my palms, trying to feel anything—a lasting particle, an imprint of the soul—, but even that quintessential subatomic idea of existence had faded.

All was gone.

What remained was I, these flowers blooming from beyond my world…

… And a goal Fate handed me as the only path forward.

Fate. Such a strange thing.

Before I was even a speck of magic lodged in the guts of that awful place, without me either knowing or understanding it, my Manipulation of Fate spun into motion. The siblings that could’ve been—dead branches pruned from a bygone World Tree—, Mother's fate… Everything had been decided before I came alive, died, and came back with the revitalized Fate.

It gave me the threads and the scissors to guarantee my existence.

Where lay the start of such a chain, however…? Perhaps the holes in reality allowed unseen hands to weave Fate so I’d be born no matter what? Or was it always meant to be that I'd come alive, all the way down to the start of ‘Fate’ itself?

Such a greedy existence, demanding death and destruction and sin, all so I could breathe among this most colorful array… and I’m not even angry over this ethereal chain stretching into all directions and connected to points and anchors I cannot grasp and never will, bound as they are to the dying womb—cage—surrounding me.

This place will die the moment I cannot uphold The Gap, Reversal, Unchain, and Fate concurrently active.

Hands closed and opened again and again, and with a resigned sigh, I brought them to my eyes, cleansing them so I could peer into this beautiful, dying world of mine. Look at it. Flawed as it is by Mother's design, it existed, and it guided me in its vague script. Living inside this place had ping-ponged me between an utter daze and a torrent of information I had to keep aware of, transcribing it into the book Mother Patchouli used to bring about my reality.

My gilded cage—deprived of shiny bars.

I’ll walk Gensokyo free…

Between my Mom and my Fate, I chose myself.

… The Backdoors and Gaps closed, their purpose fulfilled, and I drifted down the flower field, hands brushing the flowers’ crowns and feeling them go by between my fingers. “… Would you believe me if I told you I bear no grudge against you? Your idleness? I know what you think of me, or at least, I suppose I do. The memories I have of you are so scarce, so unsure—but I know you’re witnessing me this very moment.” I broke into a sprint, feeling laughter bubble from deep within. “Are you enjoying it~? Or did you watch despite not enjoying it…? Have you been there from the very start or tagged along just now?”

The end of this world knocked, and I felt like spinning amidst these flowers. A whirl of petals, the entirety of a rainbow, fluttered with the weak wind. Without form or care, laughing a riot, I tumbled to the ground, back to a bed of crushed flowers, hair splayed around.

Eyes on the silver moon.

Watching back.

“I have… no shame in existing. No regrets about my actions. I’ll cry from this guilt and pain, selfish as I am to have killed them all and to desire that they were by my side anyway—” I squeezed the wine-red fabric of my sweater, my heart throbbing underneath. “—but I won’t apologize. It’d simply ruin everything if I turned my back on the blessing that is life.” I lift an arm before my eyes, hiding the full moon out there, shining through the brightness of the world imploding.

Nothing burdened me.

After I do this, this world will die.

“There is no other role in this world I’d like to play but that of a daughter, of a simple human girl. That dream is not feasible by any means. These powers will remain, and to rid myself of them would be an offense to the people who engraved them onto me… It is inhuman to decide how I get to be born, like I’m a doll to be built and meet parameters of some kind. I reject that,” the hand closed, and I got up from the ground. Not one tear fell. “However, I want this world… to stay the way it is: welcoming and mine, a world where my powers don't define what I am to those I love… I have to make sure my happiness isn’t squandered, that I can keep on living with them. Fate tells me that won’t be possible if you ever come down here, and I know you would come for me.”

That same hand from before reached for the sky, a little to the left of the silver moon.

“Sorry if you were enjoying the show, but this is the end. Though I cannot predict the future anymore, I hope only this once—”

A swipe from left to right.

“—I’ll have to play the role of a God.”

As if a loose scab had been peeled away, the moon tore free from the sky.

Beyond a dead world, Lunarians of every station looked at the blue-green jewel above them, and… there was nothing there. Only the darkness of the cosmos, peppered by luminous celestial bodies, would gaze back.

Like a dim bulb crushed, Earth was stolen.

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>>50745829
>>50745795
I'll be reading~!
>>50746827
>>50746825
>>50746822 - eyy chapter 2000! Very cool, Sekai~!
picrel takes after Porter Robinson's 'Worlds' album cover, mainly the track 'Goodbye to a world'. Lovely music and appropriate now~
and with the Causal Loop closed, our three protagonists are done! Chen is encumbered with a past that won't go away; Hana is navigating between a past she has difficulty letting go of and a future she's rushing toward; and Sekai has lost sight of the future, praying it doesn't demand what she knows it'll demand of her - all the while sensei has control over past, present and future. They'll naturally be the driving forces behind the sequel in a few months, so I'll see you there if you ever feel like reading more of our project~!
what an absolute treat writing the HSE has been. It had its ups and downs, times of hardship when it was hard even putting a paragraph down, times of uncertainty and anxiety when I wondered if by next week I'd be the last writer /here/, and times when we breezed forth, and things looked bright, like here at the end. I've committed many mistakes and learned a lot about writing, researching, planning, and structuring in these 30 months of writing the HSE; the Winter Solstice in particular was a juggernaut to tackle alone—most of the time alone—and though I had to make some concessions and stumbled a few times to get it through, I love how it came to be. I am satisfied and yet so very thirsty to write more, but even hobbies you love should have grace periods, so this is it for me for the foreseeable months. I'm glad Takaneanon and Patchyanon stuck around for the epilogues, for our readers and our archiveanon, and I wish well for all those who helped to shape up the HSE but left for personal reasons—my deepest dogeza to him who was fed to a rogue tornado. Hanaanon was a real one…
in case I don't see ya again, good afternoon, good evening, and good night. Do hold your version of Sekai dear to your heart; she loves (You) too~!

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>>50746832
>I'll be reading~!
Thanks, you too.
>>50746832
>eyy chapter 2000! Very cool, Sekai~!
I FAILED TO STEAL IT.
STUPID GODLING! I'LL HAVE MY REVENGE!

Also, before I forget, ArchiveAnon: I don't mind, but could you put a note saying I don't make the titles for the chapters?

I can't believe this... it's really over. What an amazing journey! Thank you for sticking around Rananon.

>>50747172
Not really, the squeal is starting in a few months.

>>50747181
Part 1 is still over though, I never thought I'd live to see the day.

>>50746832
I'd hardly call it a rogue tornado. It would be more accurate to call it the pinnacle of jujutsu.

>>50747181
Well yeah but I really didn't think this would've been finished.

>>50747971
Only doomer demoralizers would ever said that.

>>50746827
Man, that's a little dark that Sekai was why Yukari was struggling to get pregnant, which raises a question as to if she's really responsible or only feels responsible having not existed. Like, maybe she's just retroactively justifying her agency by saying she 'chose' to exist, when really it was the instinctual reactions of an unborn child.
Congrats to her for winning the race though, Junko will probably be ecstatic that the Moon got totally shafted as well.

>>50748083
But Junko isn't in the story?

>>50748083
>“Without your selfish soul imprinted deep into mine, I wouldn’t have had the mettle to go through with it. I would've chosen you now, not my F-Fate. I w-would… I would have p-preferred if I’d never existed… But I…”
>Between my Mom and my Fate, I chose myself.
>I have to make sure my happiness isn’t squandered, that I can keep on living with them. Fate tells me that won’t be possible if you ever come down here, and I know you would come for me.
She had no autonomy before, but she had it here and regardless she chose a life without poo-in-the-loonarians instead of saving her mother’s literal soul from obliteration.

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>>50745829
"Brother Goro, Sister Seija, I bid you welcome!" Young little Bassui Hijiri proclaimed before bowing his tiny head three times.

"No welcomes for us?" Owia asked. "That's not hospitility!" Tsukuyomi added.

Bassui turned up his nose at the twins. "I'll not carry girls in my mind while I pursue Zen."

"Well that's not fair! What if 'we' ignored boys so we could pursue zen?" Tsukuyomi exclaimed.

"Can he pursue zen at all though?" Owia wondered. "He's supposed to marry one of us after all."

"Hey yeah! We never decided that did we? Bassui! which is it, me or Owia? Bear in mind, the one you don't pick will curse you!" Tsukuyomi proclaimed.

Bassui turned away, none too pleased at the pleading and I decided to pile on, kneeling down, I said: "You know, I've read that Koan you're talking about, the one about the 'lovely' girl with a silk kimono and sash that Tanzan carried across a muddy road."

The boys face turned red. "He thinks we're lovely?" Owia added. "He does! His face is so red he looks like an oni!" Tsukuyomi laughed as the two skipped around the embarrassed boy.

Goro, deciding that enough was enough, knelt down and hoisted the young Bassui onto his shoulder. "Ah, brother, you needn't, I can walk on my own." he said, but Goro wagged a finger and we all walked together up the steps of the temple.

The place had expanded much since the days of the HSE to where it almost felt like an entire district that covered the mountain. Among the buildings you could find storehouses, prayer rooms, sleeping quarters, wash rooms, kitchens, and many paths that were drawn between them. If one looked carefully, you could see how one building might have lived a different life, like how a nursery had been repurposed into a tool-shed or see how a dining hall expanded into another building entirely, as well as the stitching between old and new.

It was all a result of the massive baby boom which caused the temple population to swell by several sizes, which meant more buildings, and many more problems. At first, they'd plan to go with some boring centralized design, just expand everything, it'll be fine! Thank Heavens above Takane's company had outright refused the notion, deciding to just build what they needed, when they needed it, where it was needed, which made for a much more complex labyrinth of a place, and at the same time a wash room was always around the corner. My kind of chaos.

What's more, cutting deals with the Kappa, some Human carpenters, and that Kurodani company, Takane got continuous agreements to maintain the place for a hefty bonus, but there was a catch. I'd personally said it while we met with her once: 'if only we could just pay them at the end and keep them busy forever so the end never comes...', that put a spark in the Yamawaro's eyes and she constructed a contract that included the definition of 'maintaince' to be 'anything that involved the use of 80% or more original material from the existing structure', meaning, so long as the new bath house recycled material from the old furnace room, it was under the purview of the original contract.

This initially made all the contractors furious and some even threatened to renege on their deals, risking their reputation. This was where Goro and I stepped in, placing a flyer for free drinks for an underground bar in some 'inventive' male carpenters mail and giving him a chance meeting with one of the Kurodani's while he just happened to be carrying plans for a 'crazy idea' of more universal carpentry joins that borrowed from several schools of thought, even some youkai ones.

That 'serendipitous' partnership led to a huge revolution in the Gensokyo construction industry, just in time for the arrival of so, so many brats at once. Their wedding was also quite an affair, never seen so many spiders in one place.

"Grandma Hijiri!" The two twins cried out in unison as they ran to a serene-looking woman that waited for them at the top of the stairs.

She knelt down as they came and hugged them both, one arm for each kid. "My, aren't you two full of life? Bassui, were you nice to your two cousins?" She asked.

"He called us lovely!" Owia told her.

If little Bassui had a stone in his hand right now, I'd think he'd toss it at her from his vantage on Goro's shoulder. He'd be a dead man if he had, but I liked his gusto.

"Well, that's good. Children should tell the truth after all, do you have time for tea today? Or at least won't you walk with me?" Hijiri asked, looking at me.

"We came to visit of course." It told her.

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>>50749538
She smiled at that, stood, and took one of my kids hands in each of hers and we all began to stroll around the central temple. It was always an astonishing sight, seeing the myriad of kids running about with only one caretaker for five of them. Some were clearly destined to be staying here for a full spiritual life, walking diligently, imitating the Nuns, while others who hung from trees and chased each other around would probably flee this place the first chance they got. I liked that there was both and the idea that they grew up together in one place.

Occasionally you'd see one of the men to, a few bachelors that lived in the village or around Gensokyo who had joined the temple in order to secure themselves a wife by showing themselves how good they were at childrearing. She looks more saintly now, but initially, this made Hijiri positively livid, since most of these guys were, in fact, horny men and not the pinnacle of virtue. I mocked her a little bit about it, called her a short-sighted hypocrite, and made a bet that if she let the men stay and wasn't glad for it, I'd put on a robe and become a nun, but if she was glad, then I would get her son to marry off to one of my daughters.

Of course, the earnest men stuck around and most of the horn-dogs left on their own, but what surprised her is that a few of the bad seeds got their act together and reformed properly. So now I get to decide Bassui's fate, something neither Hijiri or I have told a soul about, yet, of course, Owia and Tsukuyomi picked up on it immediately.

Finally, we all came to the guest room, upon which I drank tea for the second time today and enjoyed the bitter taste of Buddhist brew, which was delightful really, especially after all the sweetness of the Hakurei mixture.

After some talk, childish fights, and idle musings about the weather, Goro produced, from his robe, a white package, that he unwrapped into a small, unblemished purple flower.

Hijiri frowned as she looked at it, but Bassui was enamored. "Lovely." He couldn't help but say aloud, and as recompense, I grabbed him and pulled him into my lap.

"Sister!" He exclaimed.

"Oh hush, ignoring my two cute daughters and going ga-ga over a flower means you're not always carrying your zen right? So it's timeout in my lap." I lectured.

He murmured some embarrassed acknowledgment and piped down. I didn't bother to see what Hijiri's expression was, maybe scorn for handling her son or bemusment that I was seeding in his mind a love for terrible, evil women for my daughters sake. Ah, It'd be great if I could help corrupt a second Buddhist in my lifetime, yet, these things do take time and other matters were more pressing...

"It's possible." Hijiri as she twirled the flower. "But do you really want this? For her?" She asked.

Goro shook his head and raised a single finger, then two, then three, and finally, crushed his hand into a fist.

Hijiri nodded and held up her other hand in prayer, whispered a few words, and a grand spectrum of light flew in from outside the tea room, wrapped around the flower like a weave, tightened around it, then faded away. Gently, Hijiri gave back the flower.

"It is one of it's kind now." Hijiri said.

Goro nodded, taking the flower, holding Hijiri's hand a moment while he did, before he safely packaged it away again.

About six chapters left.

>>50748114
I think she had a chapter or two very early on as one of the guest indulging in the titular Hakurei Shrine Experience

>>50749788
Even Junko had Anon's children. She must be a very happy mother, hopefully the child managed to escape the cowe.

>>50750129
I remember she just came around to slap Reimu once for being a shittier mother than she was and then left. Gladly Anon never put his dick in that flavor of crazy.

>>50750619
That's a shame, there's so many characters Anon didn't get to fuck.
Junko, clownpiece, and the rest of the fairies really should have gotten in on the fun.

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>>50750915
>clownpiece, and the rest of the fairies really should have gotten in on the fun.
There are levels of depravity even we have not sunken to.
>there's so many characters Anon didn't get to fuck.
No, you don't understand, we should've had MORE characters, the thread should've of been FULL of at least three simultaneous Village Revolution events, with five chart anons trying to make sense of the landscape like it's a Crusaders King game.
I actually think that we should've cut down the village revolution by a lot, but it'd be interesting if we did the opposite and went maximalist instead.

>>50751099
>spoiler
I've been arguing that since it happened and I think it definitely contributed to my fatigue and general disinterest during the Solstice. We'd just gone through a massive world-shaking event full of blood and fighting and violence, and then we merrily hopped into a second one that was even more drawn out than the first with even more characters. My interest didn't pick up until it was basically at the end and even then I kept rolling my eyes at Yukari getting some asspull to keep fighting for a bunch more chapters.

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>>50751143
Yeah, I don't want to say too much here and now because I'm still editing my 'reflection essay' on the entire project(lots to talk about besides), but the analogy I'm going to make is to subsequent DJs doing sets.
When you're playing to a room and someone's coming on after you, you don't want to ramp up the music too hard, otherwise the next guy has nowhere to go and he loses a crowd. Even when you set is great, you still end up spoiling the night.

>>50751099
Well you can't blame Rananon too much for that, well you can actually the village revolution is the only thing that's 100% his fault.
But other things like there being too many characters I'd say are mainly other people's fault. I liked Goro and Seija, but them, the myouren temple, and the underground really didn't need to be involved at all.
At the very least nobody had miki get involved.

>>50751187
It didn't help that some were purposefully trying to sabotage the project. Purposefully distracting people or playing bad sets to ruin the mood.

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>>50749547
"Aunt Patch-"

"Zip it." She told us, holding her fingers together.

"What have I told you two?" She asked us.

This isn't good Owia, she's mad at us again.

"That when you day-d-deign to teach us we should shut our mouths and open our ears?" I suggested.

That's no good Tsyu! You're stuttering!

"That we're too clever and cute for our own good?" I wondered allowed.

No, it wasn't that either, that only works on adults who like children!

"Aunt Meling is the prettiest woman in the world!" I stated.

That's gotta be it right?

Patchouli breathed in and out, took off her glasses, grabbed a nearby stack of papers, rolled them tightly, and gave us both a whack on the head.

"Ow!" we both exclaimed, clutching our heads with both hands.

"Ow? Is that what I've told you two?" Patchouli questioned.

Oh, that's right, she's the 'spa-cif-ic' sort.

"You... say to call you Miss Patchouli." we both answered in unison.

"That's right." Miss Patchouli sighed, laying down her weapon. "Now come here, I know you two will just sneak up on me later if we don't get this over with." She said, spreading both arms wide. We both went in, nestling ourselves deep into her robe as she patted our backs.

Miss Patchouli was mean like a grumpy old lady, but her robes always smelled nice, and like every other grumpy old lady, she got soft after scolding us. Mama never hits us, she just plucks one of our hairs out if we misbehave too bad. But she says: "'Miss' Patchouli is the only one allowed to hit you two, because her arms are so weak there's no way you'll get hurt!", but I think it hurts really bad! Papa doesn't hit us either, he just gives us a sad look. We like the hair plucking and papers more.

"Alright, alright, enough of that, there's work to be done. Sekai! Our guests have finally shown up, get the map!" Miss Patchouli yelled.

"Yes Mother!" We both heard, turned, and ran.

"Sister Sekai!" We yelled, throwing ourselves against her.

"Oh for pities sake." Miss Patchouli groaned as we hugged our sister and she hugged us back tighter.

"Did you two have a good day?" She asked, looking down at us.

"Yeah! We stayed at the Shrine and played with Aunt Sister Hana lots then we-"

Hey! Don't hog all the words!

"-then we went to Meowren and teased Bassui and Aunt Hijiri gave us tea!"

You mis-spoke it again! Mou-yren not Meow-ren!

I know that! But saying it that way makes sister Sekai smile!

"That's nice." Sister Sekai giggled, rubbing our heads. "Mom, Father, It's good to see you." She mentioned to Papa and Mama.

Sister Sekai had a strange way of speaking. She called almost everyone her parents, because almost everyone was. Papa pulled her aside one day though after she said 'Father Goro' too much and sat her down for a while, having her say different words as he pointed up and down. After that, Sister Sekai would just call Papa 'Father', but you could tell that it was 'Faather' and she'd just call Uncle Anon 'Dad'. Mama was 'Mom' that ended really quickly, Miss Patchouli was 'Mother' that started loud and become quiet, and Aunt Meling was 'Mama' like 'Memaw'.

"I wish I could say the same, seeing you working in this stuffy old mansion is making me sick." Mama remarked, Miss Patchouli look at her funny, but didn't get mad. "Now come ere' let me and my better half strangle you a bit." She offered as Papa and Mama held out there hands.

Sister Sekai ran up and hugged them both by the waist, nuzzling herself into them. We learned that move from her, it was great for putting people off their guard.

But isn't hugging people always nice?

Well duh! But people get all weird when they see you have a horn.

"If we're done with the pleasantries... the maps Sekai, and have the two Jaku children help you so they don't cause a mess somewhere else." Miss Patchouli asked.

"yes Mother!" Sister Sekai said, releasing Mama and Papa, taking our hands and walking us further into the library to some tall book shelves.

"Should be right... ah!" Sister Sekai said before walking to the end of the hall, pushing a ladder as she came back.

"Hold this for me while I climb up okay?" She asked.

"Can't you fly?" I asked.

She smiled. "Of course I can Tsyu, but sometimes it's better to do things the hard way, like Father says, just hold the ladder alright?" so, both of us did.

Sister Sekai could probably do a lot more, like other people we know.

'Save the best bits for later' like Mama always tells us.

Quickly, Sister Sekai grabbed a big, dusty-looking scroll from the shelf and pulled it down with her, heaving a little as she made her way down the ladder and landing with a huff. "Let's head back you two." She told us, so we followed our Sister all the way back to Miss Patchouli's big table where Sekai laid out the map and with a big push, rolled it out. It had all sorts of strange pictures and drawings on it, some looked like places we'd been to, others seemed to be animals, but other parts looked folded or bent. It was a weird map.

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>>50752599

"Goro, if you could?" Patchouli said, offering Papa a box of shiny-looking rocks.

We both watched as he put his hand in one section, grabbed some stones, then tossed them across the table. Every little emerald, that's what the green ones are right? Every emerald landed and then stood up like it was a little soldier from one of Mama's books. Then he threw the blue ones, the red ones, the purple ones, not always the same count, but always a different color.

We tried to do that once, Miss Patchouli hit us for that. I think one of those gems are still missing.

"Hmmmm. So there and there? From this morning correct?" Miss Patchouli asked Papa and he nodded. "Sekai, the disturbance and the rupture from last week, where have they migrated?"

"Uhmmm, it would've been there." Sister Sekai pointed at a part of the map. "No, shoot, it's transfixed isn't it, then it wouldn't have moved, but it isn't where it used to be, right there?" She asked, pointing to a set of purple crystals that all stood together.

"Hm, that's right. Good job." Miss Patchouli noted, scribbling something down in one of her floating books. It seemed like it wasn't all that nice of a thing to say, but it made Sister Sekai smile so it probably was to her.

Well, has Miss Patchouli ever told us we did a good job? Ah! never mind, she did when we showed Aunt Marisa that spell she taught us.

But she just hates Aunt Marisa because she's under Aunt Mima and Aunt Mima "doesn't know real magic" or something.

Whatever! It still counts doesn't it!?

It would, but Aunt Marisa is a loads better teacher then either of those mean ladies! Everyone at that magic school knows it, or they'd be here wouldn't they?

Hey yeah! And her son is really funny to, the way he's all calm like Papa. Should one of us marry him too? If we can get past his sisters that is.

We can't! One of us has to marry Bassui and the other has to marry Kuramochi right? Ughhh, why is it that you can't marry more then one person?!

"Goro, these three parts are new, care to explain?" Miss Patchouli asked. Papa nodded and stroked his chin, which he always does before he explains things.

Papa was a weird person, like Mama, and like us. He could do things like cast strange spells, or know things about people that nobody else does, and even make angry witches calm down without saying a word! But there was also a lot of things Papa couldn't do.

Like talk.

Yeah! Mama always says he talked so much he ran out of words so now he's stuck speechless! I wish he had saved some words for us though, I don't know what Papa sounds like.

Were you thinking about 'the conference' story Mama always tells?

That's right! Papa can't do a lot of things, but a while ago, and still now if I think about it, there was this big problem with the "Barrier", some big thing that holds all the matter in Gensokyo together! Our Godmother and her friends used to take care of it, but then the bad thing happened and everyone who knew about the "Barrier" was gone or missing, except Papa, who knew Godmother before she died and had some of her secrets.

Right, but Papa can't talk and can't write, Mama had to teach us that, and everyone wanted to know what Papa knew, so one day a lot of people were gathered by Aunt Keine to try and fix the problem. Papa tried his best to show all the people what the problem was, but all the 'hermmies', witches, and other youkai just kept shouting.

It's Herm-its.

Like a frog says? I like 'Hermmies' better. Anyway, everyone kept shouting until Papa just started clapping like he was applauding someone and everyone went all quiet. Then, Papa walked into the crowd, pulled up The Prince Miko and made some motions to her.

Mama gets a little upset when she starts to tell this part.

Right, Mama hates it when Papa is around other woman without her.

But not us right?

Look for her next time Papa takes us to the sweets shop 'alone'. Anyway! The Prince Miko told everyone "I'll hear all of your petitions now, and then select a small few to reconvene at a later date. Please, everyone speak at once to save us some time." And everyone started yelling again and Prince Miko listened until she held up a hand, "I've heard everyone's petitions, you may go now." and someone asked: "But who will attend the next meeting?" and Prince Miko answered: "Nobody in this crowd, that's for sure."

That part always makes Mama laugh, I think she's fibbing about it though.

Mama "stretches the truth" sometimes.

She does! Okay, I know the next bit: Prince Miko gathered Papa who knew about the "Barriers", Aunt Yuyuko who's boss of all the ghosts, Aunt Marisa who's something called a 'generalist', Miss Patchouli as a magician, Aunt Yuuka as an "eckologist", Aunt Takane as a "Log-gistics" expert, and Sister Aunt Hana, who was the Idiot in the Room.

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>>50752606

Mama said Aunt Yuuka got mad about that, but Miss Patchouli didn't care and they started saying a lot of mean things at each other and eventually the whole room was as loud as the conference the day earlier and they somehow still came to a 'resolution' to fix the problem.

Everyone found ways to work together to fix the "Barrier" and learn what was in Papa's head in the meantime. So we all visit Miss Patchouli every week to talk and come up with ideas and plans. Sometimes we cast spells, other times we have to plant things like flowers in high places, one time we even got to go visit the people who run Hell!

Yeah, but the problem is that Miss Patchouli keeps getting more stuff out of Papa's head, and then Papa learns more stuff, so we have keep having to visit Miss Patchouli!

I hope Papa's head is never empty then.

---

I wrote this chapter twice because at first it was from Seija's perspective, but then I realized I was missing a bit for the twins, so I re-wrote it from their Point of view. I'm definitely not used to it, but it's liberating to not have to worry about being precise. Although I almost mixed up Kuramochi and Aki, which would've been a hoot.
Anyway, tune in tomorrow for a special piece.

>>50751866
>I liked Goro and Seija, but them, the myouren temple, and the underground really didn't need to be involved at all
Appreciated.
If I could go back to the point we started the Solstice, I'd have the Jaku Duo sweep the Myourens in one chapter, fight Yuuma after she swept Konngara, have an 'oh no' moment when Yuugi pops in and makes it a 2v2, baby's are born, cut, then one of the chapters where Yukari tries some bullshit and Hana/Reimu need a breather the Gap Hag would get jumped and has to fight a 1v6 that would put her on her last legs. Did we start the Solstice before JJK began the second stage of the Sukuna fight? I shudder to think.

>>50752618
Is this what they're telling the kids nowadays instead of "Chen gets her mind daily raped by Yukari's ghost to keep the barrier from going nuclear and is in broiling pain throughout because Ran couldn't code for shit"?

>>50752677
It's "Barrier Maintenance" not "Barrier Solving". The soul of one forsaken child would buy us a week, tops.

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It appears I have overestimated my ability to not get entirely caught up in a challenge because I'm 100% certain that people are acting very dumb about something and I must prove them wrong.
Chapter delayed, special bit likely until Saturday.

>>50756037
What is it? If it's writing related I'd be interested in it if you're going to cook something up.

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>>50752618
Mapa, Papa, Miss Patchouli, and Sister Senkai talked a lot more about complex things. Until Papa had trouble trying to show something.

"What are you trying to say, cupping your hands like that? I have a shelf of Koans I could drop on you if you could point to the relevant passage. Are you saying it's inverted? Funneled? Higher-dimensional? Just let me list off everything I can think of and nod when you hear something remotely close-" Miss Pathcouli began before Mama chimed in.

"He means there's seepage under that manifold and that runoff is condensing here." Mama pointed out on the map.

Papa smiled. Miss Patchouli went silent, looked at the map, then back to her. "How did you know that? Do you even understand what that means?" She asked.

Mama shrugged. "Not a clue, all this stuff is just messy grunt work to me. But as to how I know, it's the same reason Meiling knew the right time to bring out tea."

Miss Patchouli turned around and, as we all thought would happen, Miss Meiling was standing in the doorway holding a tray of treats.

"I'm his Wife." Mama grinned, showing her fangs.

"Aunt Meiling!" We both said, tackling her legs, trying to knock her over. But it was useless, Aunt Meiling was like a rolling bolder.

"Not this time you two. I've been training!" She smiled as she walked with both of us gripping her legs, trying to drag her back.

Do you think if we ate as much as her we'd get this strong?

We'd probably be as hard to move since we'd be so heavy.

It was the third time today we'd been sat down for tea, Adults seemed to really like bringing out this stuff for visitors. I think they might all be addicted to it. It's always that, or the gross smelly drinks that they say we're not allowed to have which makes them all weird.

Sometimes we'll go to the festivals as a family in disguise to see all the people 'giddy' on that stuff. After Mama drinks it she just wants to hug everyone and Papa has to take care of her after that. It's fun though, seeing people who are all serious suddenly act silly, maybe that's why they drink it? So mean old ladies like Miss Patchouli can have fun too?

After tea, snacks, and more adult talking, Papa eventually pulled out his pretty flower and showed it to Miss Patchouli. She took it, looked it over, and looked back to Papa. "You know, if I thought I was the principled sort I'd never do this." She started. "So you're lucky you brought me something damn interesting to try."

Without saying anything else, she took the flower, broke the bottom steam off, then floated it above her hand. From her robe, she brought out a small "vie-rel".

It's Vie-ale.

Vial, okay, she brought it out and poured some clear looking stuff over the flower. It seemed to flow through the plant as if it didn't exist and slowly formed a perfect, clear sphere around it. Then it fell into Miss Patchouli's hand with a tiny thud.

"Hmm, a perfect success." She mused as she rotated the sphere in her hand, looking it over. "I won't pry...." She mentioned, shifting her eyes to Sister Sekai, "...but this is a little much for something that's ceremonial isn't it?"

"Mom and Father came up with it Mother, I just told them it was a nice gesture." Sister Sekai smiled.

"Well, I think it's nice too." Aunt Meling said with a grin. "Sometimes going all out for something with seemingly no value is the most important thing."

"Are you trying to lay a phiousophical groundwork to justify some future misdeed?" Miss Patchouli asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No! I just... think it's nice that people aren't so serious about everything all the time. Prudence is fine and all, but too much discipline takes all the joy out of life." She said, hopeful.

"I suppose." Miss Patchouli waved, handing the flower orb to Papa. She could never really defeat Aunt Meiling.

One time we asked her to teach us that technique, but she just told us it was about 'being yourself'.

But Miss Patchouli hits us when we're ourselves!

Right, so Aunt Meiling is a liar or she's a dummy. Maybe it's a technique that only idiots can use?

Aunt Meiling wouldn't like it if we called her that.

True, but that's why we like her. Maybe we shouldn't try to be so smart.

Papa looked over the orb and placed it in his robes, then, he stood and took a deep breath before bowing his head and raising it again.

"Leaving to see them?" Seija asked and Papa nodded.

Seija got up as well, hugged Papa and kissed him. We got up with her and Papa took us in his arms, lifted us up in a hug, kissed both our horns, and set us back down. We didn't like when he saw them, alone, we wanted to come with him, and it made us sad when Papa was by himself. But even still, Papa waved to Miss Patchouli, Aunt Meiling, patted Sister Sekai on the head, and took three steps before he slipped through the air and was gone.

"I ought to see about stitching that one shut." Miss Patchouli said.

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>>50757710

"Oh! What a good idea! Then it wouldn't be so easy for them to leave and they'd have to stay longer." Aunt Meiling added.

"Girls, go make some trouble with your sister for a bit alright? We've got some more boring adult matters to discuss and I don't want you three to be tainted." Mama said as she waved us off.

Sister Sekai and us ran around the library for awhile, playing hide-n-seek, looking at strange books Sister Sekai had found, the ones with pictures we might not be supposed to see, and played a few tricks on the devils who roamed the halls.

"Have you forgotten that you were sad that Father went to see them alone?" Sister Sekai asked.

"Until you reminded us!" I answered.

"Now, now, Tsyu, Owia, come here." she said sitting down on a large rug and patting her lap. "Sister will listen to all your troubles." We both followed, still upset, but it was hard to tell Sister no, especially when we knew one day we both wouldn't fit in her lap at once.

"Are you mad that Father spends time away from you two?" Sister Sekai asked.

"Yeah! We're his daughters, so were what's most important to him right!? Why does he leave us alone sometimes, if that's true?" I asked.

"Does Papa also tell fibs somehow? Is Papa a liar?" I added.

Sister Sekai, pretending a moment to be Papa, closed her eyes and brushed her chin quietly before answering. "Well, you know, Mom also gets jealous when you two get Father all to yourselves, she's also supposed to be his most important person right? And I also get pretty cross about it to, he's also my parent, yet you two take up all his time!"

"Well, you have loads of parents!" I answered.

"But I only have two Papas." She smiled back. "And you spent a lot of time with Dad this morning as well didn't you? What's more, Mom fawns over you two and still expects a lot from me, I don't think that's very fair is it?"

"I guess." I said, feeling beat. "The way Sister fights is unfair." I added.

"Well, you have Mom to thank for teaching me to use every resource at my disposal to it's fullest when I'm at a disadvantage." Sister Sekai said, hugging us both. "And Father for giving me my tongue, oh- ah...."

"Sister..." I started.

"...you screwed up right at the end, saying something evil like that." I continued.

"It was, well, I'm trying to forget some things today as well you know?" Sister smiled a little painfully, we knew exactly about what.

We're all from the same place, it's something we knew about from the day we were born, that even before Mama and Papa held us for the first time, Sister was there, making sure we'd see them.

Mama and Papa have been to that place too, they learned how by accident, but have been back there a few more times through clever tricks. Papa teaches us sometimes about what he knows about it and is patient when we can't understand, because he knows one day we will.

How Papa knew things, and how Mama knew them as well without really knowing, it's why we can know what we're both thinking, and why we knew what Sister was upset over now.

Should we ask?

It might be the only day she'll tell us.

"Is it Godmother?" We both asked her and Sister Sekai looked a little sad, but only a little.

"It is." She nodded.

"Would you tell us about her?" We both asked her.

Almost immediately Sister opened her mouth, then closed it again. She was going to say no again, and still, we stared at her, hopeful. "I'll tell you then, only because it's today, just be careful to keep this a secret. Sometimes remembering things, knowing some things, isn't so helpful."

Sister took a deep breath and began. "Mom..." she said, the word sounding gross from her lips "...was a terrible, rotten, ignorant, and self-important woman who didn't appreciate anything around her and caused nothing but trouble for everybody." She took another breath in. "She locked Dad away and did many terrible things to him for a long time. And it wasn't just him, she tormented a lot of other people, and if she hadn't been stopped, then everything would've been ruined."

"But if she hadn't done those things, would we have been born?" We asked. Sister Sekai shook her head.

"No. And that's why Father and Mom, they, they can see the parts of her that other's can't. They tried to help her, stop her from hurting people, and they helped save a lot of people, but that woman was beyond all help."

"Did Godmother love us?"

Sister Sekai shook her head. "Even at the end, she never acknowledged you two. Father and Mom tried, they really did, to show her that she was not so alone, and she only crushed those sentiments."

"Why, why does that..." oh, I hate it when this happens.

"...make us sad?" We whimpered, clutching Sisters dress, staining it with our tears.

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>>50757715
Sister Sekai kindly patted our heads, shushing and cooing to us. "It's because you're good girls." She said. "Who can be sad even for someone wretched like her." We stayed like that for a bit, with Sister, before almost falling asleep, and we heard her say, as we drifted off. "...and because you know there's nothing worse in this world then being alone."

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Ahhh, back to classic HSE writing of "This should only take less then 2,500 characters" becomes more the 10,000.
>>50756060
This(>>50756037) specifically wasn't, it's something on the respectable part of my life.
>If it's writing related I'd be interested in it if you're going to cook something up.
Fortunately, I am writing another piece, unrelated to the HSE, that I've filled up a composition notebook so far on that'll I'll probably start posting chapters to Ao3 sometime in mid to late summer.
The plan for it is to write the entire story, in full, then read over it before I start writing chapters. That way I can:
- See any glaring issues that are obvious in hindsight of writing
- Deliberately practice prose a ton before starting in earnest
- Publish consistently when I start
The idea was sort of inspired by Doom, where John Romero made the first levels AFTER making the levels for the rest of the game so he knew exactly what to show off. It was also reading KMS and a little from experience with the HSE where I saw fan works that knew where they were going, but ate it when it came to pacing, adding bloat, and missing opportunities. E.g. in KMS when Anon goes to Eintei in the finale he DOESN'T TALK ABOUT HOW HE FEELS ABOUT YAMAME IN THE LAST THERAPY SESSION. Which a) would've been an amazing distraction for Eirin and b) might've had Anon be surprised at his feelings as well as calling back to Yamame. which I thought was a huge missed payoff.
Prose is also an area where I want to improve as much as I can. My writing tends to have a lot:
>There's this thing, BUT something else
It's annoying, BUT I can ignore it when 'I just need to finish this chapter', so I want to force myself to read a large amount of my own work back to myself while looking at other examples of excellent prose to make my brain understand the delta.

>>50757718
>"...and because you know there's nothing worse in this world then being alone."
Despite everything Yukari did to her Sekai carried her onwards through soul echo as a good daughter would. That last piece of Yukari won't ever be alone.

Cute

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>>50757718
I thought the air of this place smelled of fresh pine with a hint of lacquer as I slowly approached the bed in the dark room. Light peaked through the shutters of the large window, which probably saw more use then the door behind me which I appeared in front of, and those rays of light gently touched the two figures on the bed, twins, their wings covering each other.

Aki and Kuramochi.

Keine and Moku's Night Sparrow twins looked utterly peaceful at rest, as they had probably spent the whole day playing, learning, getting into their own brands of trouble, maybe even hearing the story about how one of their mothers fought with the big bad villainous pair who threatened the peace maintained by the other parent, whisking away yet another unfortunate soul. I hope that was the case.

Gently, I brushed both of their pink pastel bangs out of their faces to get a good look at them, they stirred a little as I did, both letting out small sleepy tweets before snuggling back into each other's warmth, little angels as they were. If only I could rouse them and tell them why it was that I could never appear before them, why there were many in the village, this very building, and even the temples who spoke of my wife and I in bitter tones and at the worst: 'Yukari's Successor'.

It was a secret my own children kept from them and it had become a rule that everyone had payed heed to, because I knew that these two had a great dystany laying in wait, some great, far-off point at which their entire world would be turned upside down and they'd have nowhere else to turn to, nobody else but their Mother's enemy.

Yes, I took this role. Went into this empty gap left by the sage's passing and stole it so nobody else could have it, because, there were many people, creatures, aberrations, and forces that would do these children, and any of their large generations number harm, and I wouldn't have that.

So, we cause incidents, shake the foundations of peace in small, intense, and measured ways so that the world doesn't explode once again and maybe, just maybe, that great destiny wouldn't happen and when you, little Aki, marry one of my daughters, I'll have to very awkwardly explain why we never met prior. But I couldn't count on that, not when there had been so many dangers to the lives of these two already.

Assassins, dissidents, ghosts, curses, infiltrators, all sorts had come for you two already and your mothers and their supporters and all the power in the world can stop so much but it only takes one fortunate day for the wrong person to have that infinitesimally small chance of taking your lives. Because I could, if I really wanted to I could, so we do our part, my Wife and I, to take that ire always from those like you. Let them see how we clash with your guardians, let it soothe the unease in their being that they take on the burden of their own lives instead of desiring the ending of another's.

That unease, I understood it, I felt it, it was me.

I clutched the sheets on both side of the twins and felt a weight on my right wrist where there was nothing.

The Root, that insidious cursed treasure bracelet, Youkai hunting weapon, a thing that if you wear once will drag you to Hell on the day you die. In exchange: no enemy, no thing, can hide from your sight.

It was a lie. The truth was the Youkai Hunter, whoever crafted this thing, had played the cruelest trick imaginable, one that maybe even duped the evil god Okina Matara, It certainly fooled my former teacher, and it took me more then a year to realize the truth.

How had I not seen it? I was not learned in the esoteric ways, I wasn't even that talented in Buddhist magics, yet somehow I had come to grasp the principles of Hyper-dimensional physics? I was no savant like Hakurei Reimu, I was not a legend like the Youkai we clashed with, my physiology was not enhanced by any heavenly peach, all I had were my wits, an ability to guarantee earnest contracts, and Seija, yet somehow we could bend space, weave nuclear energy, and perceive beyond existence?

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>>50761644

The bracelet did only one thing: If you wear it, you are forced on the path to Enlightenment.

And to be Enlightened, is to see past the illusion that anything is separate, were it only that I did not become aware of the evil things first.

I am Yukari, lost, spiteful, evil, insane. There is nothing before me in which I take any pleasure, only that far-off thing I desire so desperately and will never have. I am alone. I am Okina Matara, broken, fractured, redeemed by a select few deeds, damned by a thousand acts of harm, neglance most of all. I am Kasen Ibaraki, repentant, but only half as much, a false peace, I am still a slave, maybe that's how it always was, and I still don't know in the end if anything was my choice, my followers, myself, who worship Douji, we are likewise just as chained as the cuffs we wear imply.

I am Anon, haunted, freed, yet my torment was real and allowed to happen because I was too cowardly, too ignorant, too weak to stop it. Others suffered in my stead, others died for that, I am those people too, I am a doll maker who could only send my love in crafts, I am the whole of every corrupt soul in Makai who lost their chance of redemption and it's creator, who could not save even her daughter. I am the loyal Shikigami who's reward for my courage was the innevitable death at my master's whim.

I am the Youkai who sit on the outskirts, who's life has been anything but the paradise promised to them and I am the human they crave who lives within the village who does not even know the debt my soul incurs or the shackles which bind me I wear. I am those that perished and were denied a salvation they could have had, that their leader, that I, could only have trusted in the future and not given way to fear. I am every babe tossed from a high tree, I am every parent doing the tossing and every predator that lies in wait, I am the one who watches all this and knows that it is necessary so that the entire forest does not burn down, I am also the one who carries a torch and knows it must happen.

I am every dead future, every discarded past, every aborted present, I am the illusion of time and the thing that watches beyond it laughing. I am all the possibilities, the certainties, the impossibilities who were denied their rightful place in the world and I hate, oh, how I hate all that which was allowed to exist in my stead.

I could kill these children. It wouldn't even have to be me, we could neglect our duty, magnify the infinitesimally chance of tragedy with inaction, let your Mother make all the wrong moves and for all the things I am that want you two dashed against stones I might be happy.

I close my eyes and consider it.

I am the forsaken child of the Hakurei who's Father could not save her, I am her Mother who could not save herself and was denied her forgiveness, I am the child who saved all three, yet walks the world under a vengeful ghost as thanks, I am forgotten.

I am a young, mother-less boy, fishing his Father's water-logged corpse from the lake, knowing loneliness for the very first time.

I open my eyes. The children are still there, peaceful, sleeping soundly, unaware of it all, no animosity taints their serenity. I unclutch my hands and stand, behind me, I feel someone else's hand rest on my back.

"They're still such heavy sleepers." She said for what might've been the hundredth time. "Still, we should leave them to their rest. Come, walk with me."

>>50761656
>Small deeds of opposition that ultimately help the bedrock of the regime
>Another of presumably many layers of protection around her children
>Cannot/wont hinder the march of progress and conformity she's started
Did mynigga got brain washed into yet again being a cog in someone else's designs..?

>>50761775
That's literally been his entire thing the whole story. Seija herself is a 'rebel' who acts like a stereotypical youkai instead of rebelling against what it means to be a youkai.
They share a single braincell and that braincell has retardation.
It's kind of their thing.

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No chapter today since I gotta wake up early tomorrow.

>>50764365
Karma for unintentional yuri.
>>50761644
>that great destiny wouldn't happen and when you, little Aki, marry one of my daughters

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>>50764374
Damnit. And after I deliberately avoided it last time.
ARCHIVE ANON: THIS THREAD IS GAY ENOUGH, PLEASE, FIX IT IN POST!

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>>50764395
none of the Abe talk until they're of age!

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>>50767296
Trying to make the mother of all dynasties here, can't be worried about-
I'll stop myself.

No chapter today because I got halfway through, really had fun, and Monday hit like a ton of bricks.

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>>50767755
AHHH I banged out the draft and it still needs revision and the other thing I need isn't done yet I have been pacing around for like a week thinking about this chapter I just need like an hour to sit down and finish it gahhhhhhh.
One more day I swear.

Kappa excellency...

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>>50761656
"Not too nice of you to throw my Wife all the way here, she's rather angry with you again, but nobody was injured and I get anxious having her too far away from home, so I suppose it's fine." Keine hummed aloud as we walked through the halls.

She never could quite handle the regal aspect of being a ruler, too short, her hair and tail made her look too soft, from her gait you could tell right away that she still carried the spirit of a Sensei with her, and the contrast created by her royal clothing made it all the more comical, almost adorable were it not for her tired-looking eyes.

"Ah, you wouldn't believe what we've been putting up with today. The Tengu, as you might now, are petitioning for increased land rights in our shared district again, this time they're saying because their children are growing up and flying they'll need more space and that they'll create a place where 'Villagers and Tengu can deepen their bonds'. Well, I told them right away that everyones flying nowadays, that we still have to organize an armed escort for Anon to visit his children anywhere close to their holds, and that if they're looking for able-bodied young men to kidnap so they can slack off and not rear their children they can shove it because I only have so many!" She shouted while waving a hand about.

"Sorry. Tengu, even when you know they're trying to get under your skin with formalities, it's still irritating all the same." She puffed.

I nodded and smirked. It took me back to old days of brokerage when I learned quickly that any Tengu hospitality was actual a threat veiled in several levels of obscure cultural tradition you were hopeless to understand unless you were indoctrinated at birth into their little society. That hadn't changed since the Solstice, even with the massive influx of children to keep them occupied with all sorts of nonsense.

Although, I had quite a few contacts among them now. Fed-up Tengu mothers who, under the burden of child rearing, couldn't really keep up with their Bose's ever-growing demands. Quiet whispers had begun of a future split between the "traditionalists" who still followed Tenma and the "reformists" who wanted a total restructuring of the caste system, not destroy, 'restructure', Tengu humor was a dry sort.

Seija and I had taken quite a few jabs at both sides of the conflict, as well as our now typical behavior of fostering other dissadants who have more creative ambitions. However, our goal wasn't to accelerate or even destroy the Great Tengu Society, no, because then the Village would try to absorb Youkai mountain as a territory with help from their allies in Moriya and try to make more in-roads into the Youkai Sanctuary before the Human Borderers had a chance to establish themselves there.

Yes, a few humans either finding Youkai wives or, not content with the Village as it had become, took up and left in that direction, establishing themselves a nice few homes and even a little network that was slowly becoming a society in it's own right. There were a few powerful figures among them, but if the Village no longer needed to contend with either the Tengu or the Underground they'd likely sweep the place up in a months time. I wouldn't have it, not a dreadful clawing back into a more 'civilized' society when they had just planted the seeds of a new culture. I mean, they were even beginning to ferment their own brand of drink!

But Sensei would do it, if she had the chance, and those of eyes of hers would grow even more tired. So, if we would get our way, the Tengu Society would experience a slow decline where several factions compete for dominance for a maybe a decade more, until Old Tenma crocks peacefully in his bed, exhausted by helping to raise his great-grandchildren, and four or five Tengu factions split power, creating an even more deliciously confusing bureaucracy that would act as a bulwark between the village and the new forming Youkai-Human state in the sanctuary. Then there was Old Hell...

"...And the tunnels, ah, policing them has been such a nightmare. We have some friends among the Spiders, yet there are quite a few others who know the tricks: how to dig illegal passage, collapse crucial arteries, and evade capture. There's a growing syndicate among them that's even colluding to establish tolls with my official seal, can you believe that? Where did they even get such a thing?" She asked me, pointedly, as if I had helped them counterfeit it.

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>>50773488

Of course I hadn't, I wouldn't dare violate a trademark, we're far too egotistical to even pretend we're acting on someone else's behalf. And the tolls? Oh, I hated them too, nothing more fragile then a cartel where everyone was capable of extreme violence, It's not even a good, sustainable, long-term grift. Besides, I needed the tunnels open to trade since it got us closer to some of the gangs in New Hell who had some supplies we needed, plus, we've been experimenting with the human souls that escape from under there and they love taking care of kids, I think it's there regret.

And above all: My precious Jiaolong couldn't come up to the surface if the tunnels weren't clear and he loved to freak out when he couldn't come see us at least once a week and comes bursting out, causing a mess. Oh, how I love that rascal.

It was alright though, I had someone reliable working on that problem.

"...hah, sometimes I wonder if the world won't collapse if a take a day off. Is the barrier at least stable? That's not going to suddenly evaporate or crush us all to death?" She asked.

I nodded. Truthfully, I was tinkering with that as well when Seija would allow me. It was quite a thing my late-teacher's grand design and there were a few theories about, let's say, 'ever-presence' that I wanted to test. No doubt that would worry Keine and many others besides, so no need to let them in on every little thing.

"And Goro." She said, taking a few steps forward and turning around, the fatigue leaving her face as she stared me directly in the eyes. The room went cold, there was nobody else in the hall. "I'll hold my tongue about it, but if anything happens with those two you took, I won't be accepting any apologizes."

I returned her gaze and let the my smile fall off with the gravity the empty place now felt.

Yes, Keine Kamishirasawa, we are your enemy. And who else could it be? When you mangle the past, refuse the present, and forsake all those possible futures? Those poor people, those you count as allies and temporary enemies, how could they know about the things you've done when by the time they might notice the loss you're already several revisions ahead? But what about you? Do you know where all those lives that were un-lived and written over go? My Wife and I have been there, on the other side of existence where the illusion of time is apparent, so we see the boundaries on your vast machinations, your desperate, 'noble' attempts to hold onto what you hold dear. We see how tightly you grip.

How fortunate you might be, that I made myself mute for my children, so that they could have a life for themselves, choices they could make, not your growing sterile outlook of perceived harmony, for outside all happenstance and casualty lies consciousness, the soul. It transcends all these physical toils and it cannot be chained by the likes of a mere point in time, but it can be fooled, deceived into thinking in a false destiny crafted by deluded hands. And what do you think happens when the thing above all toil is tricked into seeing only a straight line going forward and back without the true 'messy' nature of the world? One day you'll grip too tightly and the line will explode.

Are you trying to once again repeat the mistakes of yore? Becoming yet another fixture on which all Gensokyo sits? Haven't you seen where that leads?

So, we refuse your tyranny and won't even do the dignity of outright opposition. Why would we? When it so much easier to befriend, encourage, and cause 'happy accidents' which show people the serendipity of life and push your illusion back to it's corners as they consider what the real enigma is. And there's so many fun ways to do it: dropping items from the Yakumo store house into opportune hands, creating chance meetings between those who would never cross pollinate otherwise, using incidents to distract, test boundaries, and refine Hana Hakurei. You can stop a few of our plots, sure, you are nothing if not wise Sensei, but as you might know by now, I have no real plan against you, but an unimaginable permutation of bad ideas. And nobody is better at coming up with bad ideas then us.

Then, there is the matter of your children, and mine. I've carefully given Tsukuyomi and Owia freedom, bit by bit I let them do things beyond our purview, because I can see the cage you've constructed around your family and know that those kids, those little products of non-existence, don't even perceive the bars. Slowly, they'll create the randomness needed for Aki and Kuramochi to realize what you've done, to them, the Village, and yourself, and on that day one of them might come to us, not because we tempted them, but because you drove them out. We will only tell them the truth.

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>>50773492
You might come for us in earnest that day, fight us without pretense in naked combat. We'd both love that, Seija and I, for after seeing so much, meeting and befriending so many, we haven't had a good hard fight in a long while. Maybe for the first time in Gensokyo's history we'd witness a battle beyond time itself? And you might defeat us, perhaps you've already even penned it? Yet, I'll tell you this: I had another teacher, vile as she was, and she taught me that even if you can't win, you can still make your opponent lose.

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>>50773494
Ahhh, What trite.

I didn't take Yukari's fractured banner to be such a dour villain, in fact, I did it because I didn't want someone else stepping up who'd repeat the same old act. haven't we had enough of that? Rather, I'll do as I did before: fight with levity.

I took the flower, encased in the clear sphere from my robe and tossed it to Keine, who couldn't bear to keep her glare and hurriedly caught the thing. She was about to get mad about it, but then she looked it over, rotating it, holding it up to the light, bringing it close to her face and back, and the trap had been sprung.

"Is this a joke? Giving Sensei the captured shadow of a pretty flower?" She asked, pointing to the sphere.

I smiled widely, able to see that there was in fact a flower within the sphere along with that shadow.

"Ahhh, you always do the weirdest things." Keine mumbled as she tossed me back the sphere. "And, might I add, if I haven't already: my Wife is very cross with you."

I nodded, she had said that already.

"I mean, I'd be more angry as well, if she or anyone else came back actually injured. Yet, she was still so pent up with energy, geared up with a fight, nothing to do...." She said, tugging at her collar.

This was going in an unpleasant direction.

"If I let her, she'd go out with her unit again, and if she was told she couldn't, I know she'd drill them to exhaustion, so I had the rest of them dismissed and handled her myself." She said, pulling down her collar a bit to reveal several red sores on her neck. "She gets awfully passionate after being denied a brawl, so really I should thank you."

I had seen things I'm glad I can no longer convey in the HSE, but this, in the moment, feels even worse.

"Oh, what are you turning away for like some blushing school boy." She said, stepping over to me. "Aren't you married to? Seija doesn't seem like the modest type, although an Amanojaku would be reversed? Let's see..." Keine proposed as she pulled at my own neck covering.

"Ah, Goro, won't you tell Sensei what these are? Bug bites? Rashes? We're you tricked into using poison ivy as a salve for neck pain?" Keine asked.

I put my hands up, admitting defeat.

"Hmmph. And that's me getting the revenge I promised on my Wife's behalf." She proudly stated before pushing on my shoulders to pull herself up and kissing me on the head. "And that's Seija portion."

It was hard meddling with all your efforts when you still treated me with such care. As if nothing had really changed since those school days long ago.

"Well, I've filled your ears to the brim with my worries and as usual you've given me a lot to think about so I'll let you off for now." Keine waved as she turned. But before she leaved, I hugged her from behind, resting my face on her hair.

"Ah, you know, we'll both catch hell if we're seen like this by our Wives..." She grumbled.

I knew that, and just as well, I think they'd understand.

I couldn't save my last teacher, so please, let me at least save you.

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Okay, hardest part out of the way, just like, a few more chapters.

The HSE is ending this week nerds.

>>50773505
Well you have 5 days until the thread hit bump.

>>50773499
I'm sure this cute evil woman will succeed where all the other cute evil women failed...

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>>50773499
"AOOOOOOOORRRHHHHHH!" The old basset hound bayed at me as I approached the forest.

I leaned down and rubbed behind his ears, seeing past his seeming passivity since I knew exactly what he liked after all these years.

"He's quite the gentlemen." A cheery voice, slightly worn, told me. "Kept me company here, waiting for you."

Standing up I saw Chen not too far off, posed with her hands behind her back, two tails twirling behind her, eyes slightly tired. I opened my arms for her and she came to me, pressing her head against my chest, nuzzling, as I gave her a big warm hug.

"Well, we better get moving, everyone's waiting on us." Chen said, pulling away. "Are you are also going to be a gentlemen and escort a lady?" She asked, grinning.

I offered her my elbow and she grabbed onto it happily, almost like she was trying to pull me down, hitting me with her twin tails as she did. Chen had grown in the years following the Solstice, yet she still hadn't lost what playfullness she regained since. All together, the three of us began to walk into the forest, which, even in the summer, was still carpeted in dead leaves.

"I came up with an idea for the Underground tolls." Chen announced happily. "It happened when I was talking with Flan, she was all caught up on why we don't just blow all the gangs up who want to extort people. I tried to tell her then we'd have to do that all the time and nobody would feel safe traveling routes were people constantly exploded. But Flan didn't budge, she kept saying we should tie them up and sell rocks to passerby's to throw at them." Chen giggled and I snorted at the thought. You never had to encourage the vampire to stir up trouble, beyond her violent nature, she was very creative.

"Anyway, I told her that we can't just blow past every problem and she asked: 'Why not? That's what a carriage does when it's late.' and I tried to answer, but then it hit me: We have a race." She said, doing a little hop in anticipation. "Put out flyers with a circuit drawn on them, going through every toll of course, seed them around everywhere with a time and starting line, let the participants and audience sort themselves out. That way, we show everyone around the tunnels, change it's reputation, and scuttle all the toll blockades as a bonus." The cat snickered mischeviously. "I've already tapped Yuuma's shoulder about it, the animal gangs will all compete of course, and I'm sure everyone will find their own unique way of racing, Hana will also come too no doubt, and nobody can really claim such an event, it'll be so chaotic, leaving the tunnels independent. Plus, it'll be loads of fun!"

I grinned widely at Chen and reached over, carefully rubbing her head through that old hat she still wore. That was good Chen, I think you grow more clever by the moment. It still feels like yesterday, when we saw you, after the Solstice.

Seija immediately became enraged by the state you were left in. Said she would drag you, kicking and screaming if need be, to our home, wash you, feed you, then train you up and down so you could kick the ass of everyone who left you in such a sorry state. It was a nice sentiment, but I've befriended my share of strays and knew that, to my Wife's chagrin, I'd have to coax you out, on your own terms.

I started by finding an old bench not too far from we're we saw Chen, then waiting until I could sense her presence to have a little snack for myself, setting aside a portion for her, leaving it behind when I left. It took a few weeks of comings and goings, some days she crept up a bit more, other days she became more skittish and ran back. One time, I was damn close, Chen snuck up behind me, and if I reached out I could've grabbed her, but she got spooked and scurried off.

These setbacks didn't bother me, I'd been down and out, betrayed, and lonely as well, and knew that a heart in such a place can't be rushed to any sort of healing.

Eventually Chen did approach me, out in the open like she had resolved to face me honestly, and I gestured to her portion, some treats Seija had made. Without a word the cat sat down and started eating them and I took my own time while she did, waiting to see if she'd have anything to say. We were sitting there until the sun began to set.

When I got up to leave, she clung onto my arm and got up with me, staying with me all the way back to my house, our house I suppose, as it was the Yakumo estate.

Seija, as she had always wanted to do, bathed the cat, put her in fresh clothes, and fed her a hardy meal. Our daughters, just learning to walk and speak at the time, curiously poked and spoke at the new creature they'd been brought. It wasn't until halfway into eating, when Chen began to break out into tears. We all slept together that night, in the big bed.

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>>50776041
Come morning, Chen approached Seija and I, asked us if we'd take her on as a servant so she could repay our kindness. Seija refused outright: 'we don't take servants' as she always loved to say 'but I can teach a good kid like you some bad things you shouldn't know.' Well, calling us teachers wouldn't quite be it, we knew some things that Chen didn't, but just as well, Chen was an abandoned Shikigami who's grim inheritance was the sum total of two of Gensokyo's most ingenious minds. Maybe it was more accurate to say that we all were like old Shogi players with our own brands of tricks and that we we're in a friendly competition?

Ah, that's a nice way of thinking about it. The truth was: I needed Chen.

When Ran, Reimu, and Yukari were slain Chen had lost everything, worse, her mind, as a shikigami who'd been severed from two masters so quickly, was painfully shattered. The cat had given it all for her good intentions, and were, after she was left broken, were her friends?

A part of me hated Anon for this. The one confidant who'd lost her entire family, become a forsaken and abandoned child, and you can't even bear to look at her? When she was the one thing that saved you from the pits of despair, rallied so many to help you, risked her masters wrath, even turned your late-wife, whom you can't even begin to forgive, into a repentant, all to save YOU, and you turn away?

Of course, he had an excuse. Everyone did.

Seija and I, I think-sometimes my mind returns to those times and I wonder if we could've done something better. If, if there was some way so many didn't have to die, I might've even-

"Are you thinking about something sad?" Chen asked, softly hitting my on the head. "When I'm telling you such a great idea?"

I smiled again and the anger and anguish left. So much time roiling in the sea of misery, sometimes I forget that my serenity is not itself impervious. And that's why I needed someone to remind me.

"Come on listen! I've got loads of ideas on how people could race! The oni, they could probably put their feet down through the bottom of their carts and run really fast, Hana could come up with something with her fourth-axis movement I'm sure, ah, we do need a way to keep it fair though...Hey, your family will ride Jiaolong right?!" Chen asked.

Ah, Jiaolong, another happy accident.

When Seija and I had manipulated and explosion caused by the warship Yukari teleported to the underground, it resulted in something of a natural wonder, an above-ground river that flowed like a tube back on itself, floating in the air composed of strange energies. I was improvising pretty hard at the time, not even fully aware of what I was doing pulling and tugging the blast to a form that wouldn't annihilate the underground, I suppose it only made sense that it'd go from being a destructive force, to a completely harmless one, because one day it started to move on it's own, and took a form that could be mistaken as a peaceful dragon.

Seija had named him Jiaolong and the nobility of that name couldn't have been used on a more unfitting creature because he was more like a puppy then a dragon. The massive thing loved to play with anyone, willing or unwilling, and all the people in the Underground couldn't stand him at first, since it was something that they couldn't punch, composed of strange matter as he was, but it also wouldn't strike them either, just tossing them into the air and catching them gently, never leaving a scratch on anyone.

When we first met him, he bowed to us, and from that point on not a week goes by where if we don't visit him he erupts from the underground to 'terrorize' the surface world in an incident that's incable of harming anyone, which I think annoyed Hana especially. Maybe all woman are a little oni-like?

"I guess we can talk later though, seems were almost there." Chen said, with a little melancholy, as we arrived at the clearing to the seven others who awaited us.

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>>50775438
>I'm sure this cute evil woman will succeed where all the other cute evil women failed...
have you ever seen a cute evil woman? Oh geez, I wonder why.

>>50776041
>>50776043
Why is Chen being treated like she's a stray? She's got Anon, Yams,Aya, Toutetsu, Kasen looking after her. It's hard to believe that Chen would go to Goro for emotional support or really anything in a world where Anon and Yams are around.

>>50778401
The implication is that after Anon flinched at her, Chen made herself scarce. That, and the fact that post-Solstice cleanup kept everyone busy, meant nobody had time to track her down and look after her when she didn't want to be found.
And it's the other way around: Goro SOUGHT Chen out because he felt guilty over what had happened. He's personally angry with Anon and is agonizing over the result of decisions he made, because he failed to stop Yukari's self-destructiveness which directly resulted in the cat's current situation. It might not be properly conveyed, but the idea is Chen was able to heal because she was helping someone else, and someone else just trying to one-sidedly help her would have just made her dependent.

>>50778606
I guess I can see it but it still feels like too much of a stretch that Yams, mother of 192+1, would put work before one of her children. It's a personal thing so keep up the chapters.

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>>50776043
In the clearing stood my Wife and two daughters, Sekai, the serene-looking and ghostly Yuyuko, the always weary Kasen, and Yomu stood guard a little off in the distance, probably none too pleased to be here.

"Chen!" My two kids cried out together as they went and charged the cat, which was followed by the baying of Gentleman, who also got his own hugs.

"Awfully coy of you to keep so many ladies waiting. It's unfortunate that in this land, you'll always be second in that department." Yuyuko chuckled.

I smiled to the Netherworld's master. In truth, I didn't want to see her after the Solstice if I could avoid it, knowing that we both had played a part in her dear friend's downfall, I wasn't sure if she'd like to see us, and for my part, I was afraid about someone who'd share my sympathy for the late villainess, that I'd feel too vindicated in my actions. But, at the border maintenance meeting she approached me of her own accord and said: 'You're the type of person who likes picking up broken things aren't you?' and at the point I felt that our friendship wasn't a matter for me to decide.

Not that I could've done without her, Yukari and Okina perishing meant mounds upon mound of things needed to be done and the Netherworld was not something anyone else could manage. Even if we had the time, Shiki and the whole board of Right and Wrong had a large bone to pick with Sensei and, while the whole 'Sanzu Incident' might have been forgiven, the Yama knew better to trust our aid.

Ah, That reminds me, I have to think on what to send Shiki next. My condition made it impossible to write her any longer, so I took to sending her various baubles, trinkets, and treats that would mail well instead. Her replies back were curt, but she did write back, and I do so love having a pen pal.

"I hope you weren't off Gallivanting around on your own. You two are far too meddlesome; parents should show stability." Kasen said, with little fire in her voice.

The hermit, after everything she'd done, looked the part. Her two large horns stuck out wide and cracked from her head, no longer capable of being hidden by any hair ornaments which were now absent from her long hair, both her arms where a mess of wrappings, and the robe she wore was conservative and faded white.

Like Chen, we'd found Kasen after the Solstice, staying at a solitary hut deep in the forests. Most hadn't held too much of a grudge against the Oni, that she wasn't in control of herself, that Yukari had muddled with her mind and turned her into a weapon, was a fact that everyone could easily accept. It wouldn't be the same if everyone in Makai hadn't been slaughtered.

Seija, still angry with me for having befriended Chen on my own, decided that SHE would be the one to drag Kasen out of solitude and do penance in service rather then living in exile and I would be staying home for the duration. In all likelihood, she must've felt that Kasen was on the path to Zen and thought that she could get away with turning her astray under the auspices of doing a good deed. Although, that she came home bleeding and injured every night told me that Kasen might've been more lively then I initially thought.

It went that way awhile, me tending to my Wife's wounds nightly only for her to go out in the morning to get beat up again. After some time her injuries started changing from bruises and broken bones to scratches, bites, gouges, and the some injures I don't think there's a name for. Then the day finally came when she dragged Kasen along, triumphantly with a parade of animals behind her. The Hermit would proceed to give me a six-hour long lecture about esoteric barrier techniques and I think it's the only academics my Wife has ever enjoyed attending, as she revealed in her victory the entire time.

Regardless of her past misdeeds or how much control she did or didn't have, the fact was we needed her as well, broken as she was. or, maybe it's as Yuyuko likes to joke about: 'It was Hijiri who raised you? Well, that's quite obvious isn't it?'.

"Ah, uh, Mommy..." Sekai said to Chen before she simply patted her on the head, walking over to speak to the others. There was much to talk about there, but it wasn't my place to do so.

As for Yomu, she stayed off in the distance, as she liked to do when we gathered here. She didn't like me one bit, and like a persistent cat, I liked her quite a lot, since unlike her unflappable master, the swordswoman was easy to unsettled when her weapon was Sheathed. Yuyuko, who happened to share our matchmaking hobbies shared her game with us, seeing who we could pair Yomu off with next, which I believe everyone would win at, if only the silver-hair girl would consider the notion.

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>>50781663
I sighed. This sort of gathering should've been a more happy occasion, getting all these strange and important people in one place, yet, as I looked to the two large unmarked gravestones of equal size and the little one in between, I knew it couldn't be so. Gently and quietly, I approached the graves, feeling the earth, the World, shift beneath my feet as I walked. Kneeling down, I took out the flower encased in the orb one last time and placed it in the center of the graves. Standing up, I walked back to the rest, and we all turned, silent.

I think about you a lot.

You awful, stupid, evil, self-obsessed, deluded, perverted, crazed woman.

I don't deserve this.

So bad, I wanted so badly for you to just let go of it. See the insanity of what you were doing, see how it ended for Heida, see that you were on the same path. Why couldn't you have listened, just once listened, and heard my daughter's crying? Were they so much of an aberration, considering all that came to pass? They live because of what you built, even so far gone, something came of your wickedness, you were capable of something good and you were so black-hearted you threw even that away.

I don't deserve this.

You taught me, you liked doing that. I bet it was the same for Ran, and I bet you put her in the same box. 'Servant', a non-living thing that's just an extension of yourself and defective otherwise, like the way you treated the rest of the world. Is that how you saw Anon as well? Did you conceive some deep, convoluted plan as to why you couldn't have just spirited him away before all those years of torment? You cared so much for him, at any moment you could've saved him, his daughter, like a wise sage who in one night can turn a drunkard into a pious individual, yet you waited for the rot and agony to fester. I don't buy for a second that you're a victim of some centuries-long degradation, you did this to yourself, to that child you were about to have.

I don't deserve this.

Do you know how much people hate you? Did you ever truly realize the amount of anger that you captured with your actions? I do, I know it all as the fool who thought you could be given another choice, 'optionality', but my mistake is that you always had options, not one of would be here otherwise, you just were too much of a coward to exercise any of them.

I don't deserve this.

Yuyuko lost her life-long friend, Chen lost Ran and Yukari both, Kasen suffered so much at your hands, even Seija knew you so much longer then I, and still...why?

I don't deserve to be the first one to cry at yet another one of these wakes.

It wasn't long before I was joined though, Chen, Kasen, Yuyuko, my daughters, even Yomu came over eventually. We all came together and wept, as we do every year just past the summer Solstice.

"Alright! Enough of this!" Seija yelled loudly. "We all have this annual sob session and I'm sick of it, so I have some good news." She looked at me pointedly and raised some fingers. "Goro, I'm pregnant, four more brats, you bastard." I pulled her into an embrace and we all cried some more.

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Just one chapter left and this'll all be over, I swar.
>>50781296
Oh yeah no sweat.

>>50781678
Two days until bump.

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>>50781669
Ahhh, home after a long, grueling day going around with the ball n' chain, talking up all the boring folk and their sad little lives, finally put the kids to bed, and now I get to really enjoy myself.

I threw open the doors to our dungeon, letting the old Yakumo iron clang against itself to announce that we'd arrive to our two expectant guests.

"Great Youkai Seija! You've come!" The young black-haired Youkai shouted as she rushed to the bars.

The dungeon had another occupant, in a cell just next to the girl's was a boy, almost a man, who sat on a stool, reading a large brutish-looking tome by what little torch-light he had. Upon seeing us, he pulled over the book's dove tail to it's current page, and shut it.

"I'm thankful." He said, slightly lisping at the end. "That Youkai is utterly restless. I believe she's gone feral."

The Youkai in question jumped to the bars and tried to flail her hands out at the boy. "Come over here in that cell boy, I'll eat you piece by piece, show you how feral a Youkai I can be!" She shouted, but it seemed as though it barely mattered to the man.

"This is the Yakumo's prison, it's held far worse things then you, what reason would I have to be scared?" He asked her with certainty in his voice.

"You whelp! I'll-"

"Alright, alright!" I yelled, raising my hands. "You two seem to already be well acquainted with each other, but do you know why we've brought you here?"

"To make a place where Youkai can be free to be themselves once again of course! So that we can usurp the tyrant and claim this land for it's true owners once again!" The long-haired Youkai announced excitedly.

The man sighed, running his hand through his short hair. "Obviously not. It's to create a control group of humans, away from this spiritual mess, before everything collapses in on itself." He said.

Before the Youkai had a chance to rebuke her heckler, I stepped in, rather literally, passing through the bars and appearing before the boy. "And why do you think things are going to collapse hmm? Keine's world seems to be rather stable no? The village is prospering, children are being raised, new construction, trade is at it's peak..."

"...It's too stable." the boy said, pounding his fist on the book. "Too favorable. After the death of our village leader there should have been a chaotic period and a re-stabilization around newly developed norms. Doubly so for the Solstice. Someone is intervening excessively and seeking to meddle too much as the former Sages once did, it'll have the same results."

"And how do you know all that? Did you learn that in one of Keine's lectures?" The Youkai girl spat.

The boy raised an eyebrow at her, but looked back towards me to answer. "I found this book awhile ago in an old storehouse. It's pages seem to fill themselves and chronicle events that have never happened in great detail: the Youkai-Human Civil War, the Ascension of a Dark God, Tying of Knots between Youkai and Humans, all written as if someone had witnessed it, utterly contradicted by reality."

"And this means?" I asked, letting the 's' live a little too long on my tongue.

"That our current prosperity is a false pretense. Our world isn't being allowed to heal properly, and while I have my theories as to how and why, I need a society of flesh and blood, not spells and monsters, to find the principled cause through comparison.

"You utter fool!" The Young Youkai shouted.

"It is Keine who-" Goro, having snuck into the girl's cage himself, put a hand around her mouth and with the other hugged across her waist, holding her for around ten seconds, then letting go of her mouth. "Why!?" She yelled at him, but he only tapped a finger to his mouth and then jabbed that finger just above her chest.

"I, I'm tired of pretending I'm something I'm not. Everyone's telling me I have to act more Human-like, and what about being a Youkai huh? Those half-breeds, they're all incomplete and it's grating living alongside those who can't see beyond their own noses. I want to go back to the old ways, were everything wasn't so managed, were what you are means something." And Goro let her go, smiling.

"Well!" I clapped, and as I did the cell wall separating the two disappeared. "Seems you two have more in common then you thought! One wants to know what the world would be like with just Youkai, the other wants to know what it would be like if it was just Humans! I think you two might want to work together."

"No way in either Hell." The boy said resolutely.

"I would rather be hung by my own hair." The girl agreed.

"Oh, this isn't a choice." I said, grabbing the boy's hand and pulling him forward, at the same time Goro grabbed the girl's, and we both met at the center, clasping both of their fingers together. "It's a done deal." I smiled.

Both of them pulled away as we relinquished our grips. "What have you done?!" They yelled in unison.

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>>50784376
"An 'Absolute Deal'. A notorious ability of my Husband rarely practiced, both of you are now bound to help each-other fulfill your wishes in a contract which cannot be broken, nullified, annulled, reneged from, amended, or otherwise messed with by anything, not even someone who could rewrite history." I smiled, letting my sharp teeth show.

Ah, look at them. Little seeds of chaos brought together and forced to work with each other. I wonder what they'll do? Crash and burn? maybe unite and achieve great things? Grow to understand each other and despise themselves or maybe fall in love? Hmm, I don't know. But I'd like to see them chose something interesting after they learn a thing or two and maybe witness something I haven't ever seen before. I had four more kids to worry about now after all, Never too early to start thinking about a successor.

And then there was the matter of you Yukari. Are you watching us I wonder? Then enjoy yourself; I'll show you the reverse of scorning the good things laid at your feet.

---

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>>50784379

"And that's everything your Wife owes me for these renovations." I told Anon as I handed him the manifest.

"Well, that's... thorough. Still, these numbers are, well, ahh, correct?" He asked, a little dumbfounded.

"Yes. Because of various tax incentives, apprenticeship fees, and land use agreements for some other contracts we're working the construction will actually result in me paying you money after we deduct for labor, materials, incidentals, hazard pay..." I labeled off a few more. "... are you perhaps, sad to be receiving money?" I asked him.

"No, of course not Takane, I'm just not used to the business side of things." he said rubbing his head.

"Hah, just like my Husband. He was asking me why we can't just give away extra bread for free to customers before it goes stale and I had to explain to him the harm done by businesses doing spontaneous charity." I told him.

"But, the bread would just go to waste otherwise?" Anon asked.

"Obviously we give it away, 'systematically' to places were people in need can get bread. I'm not running a charity, that's the Temple's job, and they can have all that bread, at the temple, the bakery is for paying customers." I told him, wagging a finger.

"I guess that makes sense." Anon said, in a way that told me it didn't and he just wanted to be nice. Good man.

"Well whatever, point being this contracts easy, not like the big fish I'm trying to reel in later." I sighed.

"Is it to do with the Underground Routes? I hear they've been having some problems." Anon asked.

"Nope. It's a more private matter but one with large potential: The Yakumo Estate, it fell into Seija's and Goro's hands after the Solstice and I know that at some point they're planning on refurbishing it in whole for other purposes, so I'm positioning myself to-" I look to Anon, noticing he flinched.

"Oh I'm fine, please, you were saying about a refurbish?" He told me.

I exhaled, moved over to his side of the table, and pulled his shoulders over so his head rested in my lap. "Takane it's really fine I'm-"

"Oh shut up." I told him. "You're just like my kids, trying to act all tough, trying to face all your problems on your own. And where's that gotten you huh? So quit having a quiet sulk and accept my kindness before I start adding hidden fees." I instructed as I brushed his head.

"Okay." He said in surrender.

We sat there a moment, reminiscing on all the things that had transpired in the years since the Solstice and all the things that still had yet to come. I wasn't glad about all the bad things that had happened, but for the good times we have now, I am glad that we lived through them.

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And that's it! HSE is over kids, pack it up.

My thanks for the writers, readers, diagram makers, OC creators(it's not my fault, that stickman chose his fate), Archievenon, and thread schizos who read to the end. Not everyone got to see the conclusion of this little journey, but I'm thankfully for those who stuck it out till the end.
I wrote a whole essay about the experience, but I think I can summarize it better:
- I bunged it up by having the Seija&Goro relationship be solved too quickly after the betrayal. That should've been their second narrative arc, Seija brining Goro to Yukari and making a deal to heal him, her learning what her convoluted feelings actually meant, Goro recovering from the trauma. Alas, that was the era of "TWO MORE WEEKS" and we all thought we'd wrap up, so I didn't have the time. Still, this mistake haunts me.
- The bad writing improved the project because it showed us what DOESN'T work. Cirnon or Rikanon, or whoever didn't try to sabotage the project, we learned from them and in this house their heroes for dying at the stake.
- Keine almost killed the project with the village revolution peaking WAY too early with zero involvement from Yukari. Should've scaled down the event, had Yakumo trickery afoot, and left Heida in jail. That way more writers could've taken part in it as a collaborative event and the sekiro boss battle would be saved for the continuation. Not to be too hard on Ranon, we all know I meta-physically impregnated him afterall. It was good writing, but was way too greedy.
- I was also way to greedy and didn't think too much about how to tie things together. We were all laying down track as we were riding on it, but I should've gone with shorter, more comprehensible plots, and less lollygagging.
To this end, pointed advice for collaborative, thread-based, writing project:
- Avoid strict adherence to individual long-term plans
- Hold back detail. Sometimes the thread or other writers come up with better ideas to fill that in instead
- If you write OC, this rule applies x4
- Don't get too greedy. Even good writing can negatively affect the whole
- Police each other on this.
- Bad writing, bad plots, whatever, can wither and disappear. Let them and learn from that.
- Screw around and find out at the beginning. Re-read the above point in case of trepidation.
- As a project goes on, find a home and encourage other writers to do the same thing so you can...
- FINISH the damn thing. You'll always regret not finishing more then finishing and thinking about the things you could do better.
- Embrace being trashy, save your classy writing for your public, professional life and not for whatever crazed 4chan writing project you're taking part in. Trashy stuff tends to innovate more anyway.

Also Ranon, it needn't be said but you're free to steal anything I wrote or do whatever with the continuation. Not that you need my permission, but may it not be in doubt that you have my blessing.

My next work is going to be a more edited affair, not connected to the HSE in the slightest, but no less ridiculous(what did I say about being trashy?).

Until then: I love girls in camo.

>>50784441
You're being too generous, you give some people an inch and they take a mile. Some people just shouldn't write.

So we're finally, for real, done? No take backsies?
I hope some of the other writers drop their retrospectives.
Can we get the tier list of writers now?

>>50785468
Like a tier list?

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>>50784441
good job, man~! Didn't even take two further weeks~! But for realsies, I'm glad you were around and managed to reach the end too, it's great to not be alone here~
>but was way too greedy.
sadly, I'm a greedy, greedy man and just couldn't help myself…
>spoiler
Much I can use, like the kids and the descriptions of the temple and the offshoot comments, but doubt I could use any of the plot elements as they either clash with what I established in my canon or with the strict outline I've laid for part 2 - biggest thing is that Keine's illustrated power, not only the things it does, and structure of government should remain shrouded in mystery to anyone outside her main groupie + Anon, and with how volatile Goro-san can be, she wouldn't trust him with the truth knowing he'd try to play her out of her hand even with her Control. Still, there are concepts I could capitalize on, like the Underground stuff with the radioactive dragon. There are Kasen sticks I could move there…
will see when I actually get to writing it
anyway, goodbye man, it was grand writing with you~! And for the collection, girls in flowing robes blow camo girls out of the water

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>>50787828
>>50787828
>I'm glad you were around and managed to reach the end too
Thanks, you too.
>but doubt I could use any of the plot elements
Oh yeah, I had no expectations of that, since I pretty pretty much went full-bore "Screw it, It's the end, I'm going to throw everything at the wall without restraint." One thing I will share: I was thinking about how you combat someone who rewrites time, and it came back to one of the esoteric elements I introduced without much payoff of 'turning over existence', as in, someone who's been to a place time doesn't exist and sees it for the illusion that it is would be a royal pain in the ass for whoever was screwing with time. It's all very zen.

Anyway, that brings me to a point I forgot to mention here: >>50784441, there are a few Zen ideas in Goro's character that were written without any intention that I learned about later reading Koans for kicks. In fact, Goro, in the beginning, was not intended to have a larger arc then "guy who's mostly a normal villager that gives some perspective on the conflict from the ground-level", but then after Seija was introduced I saw the potential for something really funny and jumped at it. Even the fact that he was raised at the temple by Hijiri was an invention of the thread I rolled with eventually, he was only there initially because it was a convenient place to deal with Youkai peacefully.
> with how volatile Goro-san can be
Captures the development of the character pretty well.

Good luck on the continuation when you get around to it!
> girls in flowing robes blow camo girls out of the water
The source of literally every problem in this story: girls in flowing robes.
One of the only female characters not to jump Anon's bones and is invaluable to the current economy: camo wearers.
I rest my case.

Surely this is a jest, right?
No way it's actually over for real

>>50789978
>autobump will end by April Fool's
Perhaps it's all a ruse...

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Hi. Happy end-of-the-project day. Congratulations to all the writers involved.
That sounds a little egotistical of me, though, considering I'm one of the writers. Patchouli and Meiling, primarily. One brief little stint writing Sagume that quickly got shelved. And...two (?) Ran posts way back at the earliest stages of the project.
I initially wrote the first Patchouli post on a whim, because I thought it would be funny to write a character who resolutely refused to fall into the smut writing that most of the chapters were doing at that time. I'm probably wrong about this, but I think the first Patchouli post came around the time of the Myouren Temple crew going and gang-raping Anon? Yeah, I wanted the opposite of that. After I wrote Patchouli entering the HSE, I went quiet for a bit (other obligations) but came back because I needed a break from said obligations, which is when I wrote the first Meiling chapters.
Honestly, I wasn't planning to do anything else once I'd finished the last Meiling chapter of that section, with Anon giving Meiling a massage. But then I looked at the project again a while later and saw that Rananon had started using Patchouli and Meiling for their Remnant selves arc, and that (plus a stifling sort of stagnation that strangled my soul) pushed me to write a new Patchouli post. From there, I felt more reinvigorated due to a clearer plot by that point and a tangible goal for me to work toward. Special thanks to Rananon for working with me on the Patchouli/Meiling/Sekai content. Never would've turned out well without him giving me things to bounce off of. I hope everyone enjoyed my interpretations of the characters, especially in the finale where I was suddenly writing a number of other characters that I hadn't done before in this project like Hana and Kasen. And I hope that the relationship between Meiling and Patchouli felt like it progressed reasonably for what wasn't a long period of time in-universe.

I'm not one to write out big essays about things, so I'll try and be brief on my feelings about the HSE as a whole.
It's a mess, obviously, but it slowly does evolve into a slightly more ordered mess. I'll confess that for the most part, I wasn't keeping up with the story and was instead meticulously going back during writing my own segments to see what had actually happened to certain characters. That's sort of what led to me deciding that I hated Remi's portrayal and basically rewriting it into my version. I think I particularly dropped off during the village revolution/Heida stuff because not only was I just not invested in Keine's plot that much, but it was in the build up to the Solstice and here we were, having a big violent bloodbath before the other, bigger violent bloodbath. It just seemed a little exhausting to me, and that probably contributed to me then falling off during the Solstice and not really reading most of it.
I think some of the earlier problems stemmed from writers not being able to read the room and either make way for what another writer was cooking up, or how to tee things up for other writers. Obviously there's not much you can do about that other than participate in other collaborative projects for experience though. Another major thing was that a character might end up being written entirely differently depending on the writer, which ultimately made things unsatisfying to read. I noticed this a little bit when I was looking back to see if Patchouli had been used by anyone else in my absence and found her acting a little bit slapstick in the Seija/Goro stuff (but that pales in comparison to the 'Remi contemplates gang-raping Anon with Yachie and others' chapter in how against that depiction I was). I generally always try and write characters so that they feel like they could at least plausibly be from the same story no matter how many writers wrote them, unless I REALLY hate the portrayal.
Also, major thing - knowing when the climax of a scene is and not dragging things out. I kind of felt this toward the end of the Solstice when Yukari seemed to have been beaten five times and yet kept pulling something out to carry on. Not to suggest that the final death for Yukari wasn't good, but I think we could've slimmed things down and gotten there a little sooner. Again, though, amateur writing project, so not much point harping on about this.

Oops, I seem to have written more than planned.

Anyway, I always enjoyed writing my chapters for these threads. I hope people enjoyed reading them, and I hope the other writers enjoyed writing their pieces too. Best of luck in your future endeavours. Rananon, good luck with the sequel. Do try not to burn out.

I wish the HSE ended like chainsawman part 2

>>50790545
I wouldn't like to watch Sekai devouring herself to reset the world. That'd be unladylike.

>>50790555
Nah, I would have preferred she killed herself to reset the world and change things so Reimu never ended up abusing Anon.

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>>50790494
>I noticed this a little bit when I was looking back to see if Patchouli had been used by anyone else in my absence and found her acting a little bit slapstick in the Seija/Goro stuff
>slapstick in the Seija/Goro stuff
Re-reading some of my old stuff, that really does cut to the heart of where I think I went wrong in the long-term. Too many "this'll get a laugh" ideas, not taking the time to do justice to the characters, and so on. My goal was to create a character who was cherry even if things were bad, but then things went from bad to moronically absurd so it all became a big joke.
I was definitely annoyed by Yuugi being a turbo virgin, Kasen being an obligatory slut, Yuuka actually being super sensitive, for the plausibility reasons. Just felt like "let's do the thing because it's a meme" and not actual creativity.

>>50790560
Unlike poor Asa, Sekai got to live selfishly.

>>50790586
You mean poor Asa who got reborn in a fixed world, didn't kill any of her friends, and even reconnected with Denji after the universe reset?

>>50790579
>spoiler
To elaborate on this point more, I don't necessarily mean that everything needs to be slave to canon, more that easy fan gratification tends to be at the opposite side of intrigue.
Like, I knew when I paired off the Jaku Duo that Seija HAD to backstab Goro and twist the knife at some point and I think their arc peaked there for a reason. What I screwed up was developing on top of that in a manner that'd extend Seija's character in a believable fashion, that second part just turned into a weird extended honeymoon fantasy.

Although honestly it feels a little strange to be talking about this, considering where it all started.

>>50790589
But she lost her cool and sexy black arms in turn...

>>50790579
>>50790607
You idiots need to stop blaming each other, Ranon was the only one who made any real mistake between you three. Besides there were/are actual bad actors planning on your downfalll.

>>50790616
You don't become a "HSE Writer" while being someone who doesn't make mistakes.

>>50790622
I don't fault him for his mistakes, the self pitying attitude is annoying when they are people more deserving of those negative emotions.
Stop feeling bad for yourself and hate your enemies.

>>50790639
There's a difference between "self-pity" and "self-reflection". This is the last time I'll be able to air out any of this before I completely move on to a new work.
Also, considering this is the last time you'll be able to do it: can you actually explain what the hell you're talking about?

>>50790647
I was asked a while ago to be less explicit, just read the threads and you'll understand what I'm talking about.

>>50785468
how would you even go about ranking writeautists
by their WPM?

>>50790822
Quality.

>>50790822
Which storyline you enjoyed most, who's writing style you liked, who wrote the characters most to your satisfaction, who had the most plot holes and missed opportunities, etc.
It's the last thread for a while and the last for this part of the story, so there's not much reason to keep things quiet.

>>50792493
>Which storyline you enjoyed most
Reimu.
>who's writing style you liked
Patchyanon.
>who wrote the characters most to your satisfaction
The characters who satisfied me the most are Reimu, Chen, Hana and Sekai. Rananon.
>missed opportunities
Reimu and Anon not having a solo conversation before her death agonizes me. I get why it didn't happen but at the same time a reconciliatory kissu would've been nice.
Hana/Sekai/Chen hanging out together.
Patchouli/Meiling wedding scene and honeymoon sex..

>>50792747
Based

>>50792747
>Patchouli/Meiling
Whoa, don't spoil the plot of the sequel. Imagine what they'll be capable of after incorporating all that ancient Chinese monastery technique.

>>50784441
>Next work
Are you going to be posting to here, AO3, or both? I'm interested in what you'll write next.

>>50794558
It'll be posted on Ao3 and linked in the OC threads since it'll be a novel.

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>>50790494
Keine's power isn't really the rewriting of time, but the Rewriting of Past [History] and the Eating of Future [History]. 'Time' and 'history' may come across as interchangeable, but time itself is a law of the universe, separate from us humans and malleable in and of itself when regarding space/gravity. History is a consequence of consciousness - history exists in every thought and every action, with Keine's domain being Gensokyo's history. Time keeps ticking without us, but history does not. Regular animals cannot consciously catalog their own existence, and what can be cataloged - mostly - narrows down to Pavlovian Responses or genetic memory. There are limits to what Keine can do and kickback from the lengths she takes those powers, as nothing can be clipped out of history, only twisted and recounted. Everything that happens within the concept of 'Gensokyo' is subject to manipulation, if that doesn't overpower her in Heaven - the mind - or Earth - the body -, so as long as that space where time didn't exist was 'Gensokyo', she'd be with Goro-san. Even then there are also his thoughts after he leaves the place and another layer in Miko's reading of desires, but then I'd be prattling on and on about things that either didn't happen or are outright different between our canons with that anti-magic segment you had in Mokou's chapters…
thinking about it, Keine is very squishy when the right circumstances aren't applicable. Outside the perfect circumstances, she depends entirely on being surrounded by people more powerful and with better minds than hers to keep the beast she put in motion alive, Mokou and Miko respectively; her strength is far too circumstantial to butt against the likes of post-Solstice Hana, Bloodbath Remilia, or any iteration of Kasen. Without her crutches, she's still Stage 6 miniboss tier, maybe Stage 5 boss with how much day-to-day life wears on her
… blitzkrieg and divide and conquer are her weaknesses, then. Ironic~
Goro-san could appreciate the struggle of someone who has to go the extra mile because they're not naturally a powerhouse, I take~
>The source of literally every problem in this story: girls in flowing robes.
you forget something: evil women are the hottest!
>>50790494
blessed~! Thanks for the words and further thoughts; both help a lot with parsing my thoughts on my fallings and how I can do better for the next part. Glad you had fun too, man, it was great having you
>Rananon, good luck with the sequel. Do try not to burn out.
will keep my eyes peeled for the signs and act accordingly when they come, thanks~!

>>50799391
Every time I see one of these long winded explanation of somebody's power my eyes glaze over. Literally the least interesting part of the HSE.

>>50799391
>so as long as that space where time didn't exist was 'Gensokyo', she'd be with Goro-san.
Non-existence is impossible to fully articulate, but the short answer is no, since Gensokyo exists.

My own thinking on the matter has changed somewhat, I now believe that consciousness is 'real' in a way that other things are not, like matter is real, writing is real, sound is real, computer software is real, but whatever's going on between your two ears(if it just happens there) just isn't the same thing. Because of this, when someone's existence is 'turned over' they still have some perception of Non-Existence, since the mind is on a whole other level then material reality.
"Non-Existence" might actually be a poor term for it, since that only describes it as 'negative space' to what exists, which while true, this inversion would give rise to new properties intrinsic to that space which would remain so long as those properties don't 'exist'.
The point I'm trying to make is that consciousness and reality aren't the same thing which is why the characters who cease to exist or were conscious before they existed still seem to have agency despite existing before, during, and after. Their perceptions of that 'time' are a lie for children, there was no time, but there was some kind of information(which might be in the same category as consciousness, since words on paper and a poem are not the same thing) that didn't exist which is outside the dichotomy entirely.

Anyway, it's remains funny to me that Seija's 'simple' power led me to more of this esoteric thinking. I might play with this again later.
>>50799449
You WILL engage in esoteric discussions, you WILL perceive the things that cannot be conveyed but known, it is the DESTINY of anyone even remotely close to Touhou.

>>50799670
That's the thing, I don't and I won't.

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>>50799449
understandable. Raw info like that rarely goes into chapters; it reads more like homework than actual content, and I don't expect anyone to commit it to mind or care. It's just that when you're writing, you gotta understand how these things work at every level, as the power itself is meaningless and what actually matters is the conflict/imbalance it can and will create, how it rubs off against other powers and such Knowing how it works makes it much more cozy to translate everything into plot, and I like discussing it with Takaneanon as it helps to look at things from other angles
failing to understand the tools every character has at their disposal requires that you pull stuff outta your ass more often than it's desirable…
>>50799670
>I might play with this again later.
godspeed to you~

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>>50802067
Reminds me that I really like a lot of the ideas in the Fate series, but only Fate/Zero had any appeal to me because the fight dynamics were more comprehensible. That's a nice mage arena you meticulously crafted for our encounter, how about I blow up the building you put it in instead? Ideas like Reality Marble getting revitalized by Domain Expansion feels validating.
There needs to be a balance between what the ability says about the narrative, how it's understood, and what the thing actually does. Jojo gets endlessly jerked off because you don't need to know how the big KC works to appreciate how metal and threatening the thing is, and if you do, you come to understand the villain's flaw was only desiring "the end" which speaks to part 5 in it's entirety.
How I understand Touhou's canon setting is that in the games everyone is acting with a different mindset like it's a sports match because they know if everyone went full-bore it'd be Armageddon, whereas in the manga this is all ignored and the power balance is just currently at a state of equilibrium where Yuyuko would never have a reason to insta-kill someone. ZUN is an "additive" writer, so while a character's ability in a game might have the after-mentioned 'balance', that's lost in a few years when ZUN puts out three more games on top of it without "subtracting" anything.

Anyway, what I would watch out for:
>Raw info like that rarely goes into chapters
>you gotta understand how these things work at every level ... to translate everything into plot
The "unknown" is better left this way or at least for as long as possible.
I'm doing a complete first draft of my next project because many of the ideas in it I've had for awhile and I want the freedom to convey them, then toss them out because "my cup is already full" and I'll probably have better ideas, but only if I have the freedom to start over.
For abilities, you can often let the idea of it be nebulous as it thematically fits into the story, like maybe the character can run a bit faster and he uses this to get away from his problems and over time he starts using it to deliver messages between towns or something, then later, as you have a better idea of everything, add details like the character runs fast because he was blessed by Hermes and couldn't bear the weight of that responsibility so he used the talent to escape his fate and know he's grown to realize that 'with great power comes great responsibility'. There's a hundred ways to explain why a character runs faster, but if you make it clear, even to yourself that it's because he was blessed by this god in this way and so on, then your stuck if that direction doesn't work.

What I'm saying is that creative power is gained when you can juggle multiple ideas and inconsistencies for as long as you're not ready to write them. Your understanding of the nature of the story you want to write will grow once you've written some of it and while it's good to HAVE ideas about how things COULD work, finding interesting ways to delay gratification leads to better decisions.

>>50802067
Yeah, I feel like the only time the raw info should come up is if it's important to a battle or the mechanics of a scene. Although I feel like in fanfiction in particular there's too much of a focus both of tropes and the mechanics of power systems as something other than the story itself, when it feels like something more common senseical is that powers can do whatever you need them to do in your story. Of course you still need internal consistency so the mechanics of your powers, but ideally the mechanics line up with themes of your work.
I think a kind of meh example is Cursed Energy from JJK, which represents the hatred between people and Cursed Spirits being a manifestation of that hatred. So in Modulo when everybody comes together there's an erasure of cursed spirits, although the way in which this happens is pretty contrived in the story itself due to Modula being rushed and the Sorcerers continuing to treat the public at large like mushrooms so it feels very cheap when people aren't actually brought together by understanding, which then allows them to eliminate cursed spirits. Instead it's the elimination of cursed spirits coincides with an alien invasion, the aliens don't even move to earth and become immigrants, which allows Yuji to eliminate Cursed Spirits due to power interactions with the help of "Chaos and Harmony" man.
In some ways I think half-assing it like that is less forgivable than having the mechanics of your story disconnected from its themes.

>>50803677
There's also the problem of the "nature" of a story being too topical. JJK: Modulo is sort of like the Shaman King's author's works where people on a whole have some negative aspect like hatred, discrimination, or environmental destruction and sometimes they approach it with some nuance, but usually it just feels like a surface-level product of the era. Not bad, just not transcendental.
It honestly might be, for both the manga authors and the fan writers, a lack of 'living' where they don't have much to say about anything because their lives are consumed by other topics, so they just take second-hand knowledge and never dig deeper into the reality of anything they write about.

In this sense, someone who's just writing powers "because they're cool" might have a better chance of making a great work since they have one, uncomplicated reason and are probably doing a 100 other little, unknown things to support that. Rather then someone trying to make something deep and reflective about how mankind shouldn't pollute the earth or be so hateful or something or another. Japanese authors and fan writers really should hate the Devil more and fight for the salvation of every living creature is what I'm saying.

>>50803764
True, true. I think the HSE reminds me of JJK, because both end with a long drawn out fight. That are precede by another big fight, Gojo vs Sukuna to Gojo versus everyone else. Both also have pretty high stakes resting on the final battle, although I feel like JJK's merger is worse since it just exists to push more people to fighting Sukuna. But those people don't have any personal investment in the conflict unlike the main cast, and there's no reason why the fight has to be so drawn out either.
If Gege didn't want to include other parties and didn't include the merger he could have just had the characters who have personal investment in the conflict do better. I think that's one thing the HSE has over JJK, regardless of how contrived the larger threat is I feel like the cast as a whole is more invested in Anon, Reimu, Hana, and Yukari. Compared to JJK, where Sukuna is very character and plot neutral, he would naturally drift to conflict with everyone regardless of the specifics of the plot.

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Hey anons, long time no see. Seeing the project end got me pumped to finish the flowcharts I've been putting off since last year, better late than never I guess.
https://files.catbox.moe/ha5s79.png | pre-solstice additions
https://files.catbox.moe/mxvlh8.png | last solstice flowchart
https://files.catbox.moe/mkep6e.png | post-solstice
https://files.catbox.moe/9zgx0g.png | All of them together. Be careful with this one. It might crash your hardware if it's old.
Thank you for being my niche obsession. Goodbye HSE!

>>50804506
There are 'writers' whp deserve to go to prison more than Takanon. Justice for my boy.

>>50804506
>It's another canon it can't hurt you.
Ideas are transcendental you fool.
>There's got to be a better way instead of individually placing these.
Two ways:
- Make a texture brush that'll paint those for you.
- Some programs let you auto-populate textures along a vector path if you want more control
>Infinite prison for fucks who'll spend the rest of their lives in prison
You know I won't spend a day in prison, freedom or death.

Thanks for the final(unbiased as always) diagrams!

>>50787828
Although Goro and Seija are volatile I think they're dumb enough to get used by Keine, maybe even let in on some stuff because they could never effectively oppose her.

>>50804954
>Goro and Seija
The thread's gonna die soon so I can finally say this:
I always said 'Seija and Goro' putting Seija's name first to try and remind myself not to screw up her character. It also just rolls off the tongue better.

>>50804979
Oh, and Ranon, if you do write these two, please make them smart so people stop bullying them.

>>50804986
Them sharing a single IQ point and being manipulated by evil women is part of their charm, I rate them as the most likely to be tricked into accepting a threesome with an evil women.

>>50804995
You mean for a second time? I'll admit that Goro being a total turnoff for Kasen was a bit I laughed a little too hard at. Goro is supposed to be handsome, but he gets hugely over-shadowed by Anon. God, that's another thing I wish I wrote more about, different female tastes in men.

>>50804954
She probably thinks they'd somehow get themselves hurt if she let them in the conspiracies. Like shoot at your own foot type of hurt. Every good teacher has a sixth sense for those types.

>>50805011
That's a good point, but I hope if Ranon does write them he gets their brand of stupidity right, they aren't just blindly dumb, they're midwits.