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CoLA raws
featuring Nina!

>>50807580
Alice is munching on the Sumirekussy?

>>50807580
The fuck, was that a flower on Nina's hairband all along?

>>50807580
Well hopefully Nina has stopped believing online conspiracy theories as factual this time lol, and of course she’s hanging around Sumireiko. Seems like from what I read here it’s something of an epilogue to the events of fossilized wonders but like the previous chapter did give a tease to the next game and that they’re still discussing the aftermath of that incident, could this be a tease to a possible touhou 20.5?

>>50807580
>Marisa taller than anything
Fake and gay

>>50807770
Well she’s obviously standing on borrowed books

>>50807733
she is still a massive conspiracybrain, she is very smart but only in the context of esoteric conspiracies. she knew what a phone was but warned about its radiation

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>>50807808

>>50807808
lol she believed in that 5G thing from years back or whenever that was

>>50807876
Forgot to link>>50807833
but lol nevermind she’s an absolute Pepe Silvia Nut

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>>50807897
And we love her for that.

>>50807580
Someone told me Nina got her clam flowered after meeting Rinnosuke and I stomped my way over here angrily only to find out I've been had

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I like the sash thing they added to her dress.

>>50810101
So beauty!!!! So cutie!!!

>>50807580
Reimus clothes are really cute and Marisa's are erotic

Kourin POV:
“...So, you see, not only does it not bring in nearly as much money as expected, but they’re actually starting to view it as a threat and are moving toward eliminating it.”
“Hmm? What do you mean?”
“It means civilization has become rigid and is heading toward decline.
It’s because information has lost its dynamism and grown stale. How pathetic, isn’t it?”
Reimu Hakurei clearly hadn’t understood a thing. The only thing accelerating was the rate at which her tea was disappearing. Usami Sumireko rambled on, completely unconcerned whether her listener was trying to understand or not.
“Rinnosuke, pass me the tea.”
“Huh?” “Yeah, yeah. I understand what I wanted to know.” “I don’t know. But I have a vague sense of what the Moon Capital was afraid of...”
Reimu is apparently investigating the recent incident. It seems that incident occurred because the Moon Capital feared something from the outside world and tried to use Gensokyo as a barrier to block it off.
I remembered hearing that “something from the outside world” was an AI. Come to think of it, the other day, Sumireko was talking passionately about AI. So, Reimu arranged a place where she could hear Sumireko’s story, but...
“AI is intelligence created by humans, right? Then why is it a threat?”
“That’s exactly why it’s not a threat. The only ones saying it’s a threat are those with vested interests and people who are constantly bombarded with anxiety-inducing information. We ordinary folks will have an easier and more prosperous life.”
“Ves… what’s that about ‘vested interests’?”
“Vested interests—meaning people in politics, economics, academia, the arts, or whatever field who’ve been wielding their power and acting like they own the place. Because power might shift to the companies that can control AI. Heh, it’s a foolish war waged by the greedy. But from an outsider’s perspective…”
“That’s it!”
“Huh?”
“That’s what the Moon Capital feared. The threat to their vested interests. It’s ancient history that the Moon People once ruled the Earth; all that remains there now is past power and vanity. In other words, they caused this recent
incident because they feared AI would take their power away.”
“The ‘recent incident’ you mentioned earlier—is that the one where the Moon Capital supposedly destroyed Gensokyo? But AI and Gensokyo aren’t related, are they?”
“It seems they used Gensokyo as a barrier to cut themselves off from the AI in the outside world.”
“A barrier? AI isn’t a physical entity—it’s just information, a construct. If they wanted to cut themselves off, they’d use a firewall, or better yet, just shut it down. Trying to block it with a physical barrier...”
“Well, I don’t really understand it myself, but they said something about stopping Gensokyo’s changes through some mystical method and trapping the overflowing information within spacetime or something like that.”
“Information within spacetime… Hmm, so the Moon Capital’s technology is that advanced, huh? If that’s the case, humans wouldn’t stand a chance against them.”
Since both of their explanations were so outlandish and beyond comprehension, it looked like they were just going along with each other’s stories. However, even based on my own research, the recent anomaly was such a bizarre event that it could be called an “anomaly within an anomaly.” This is because, despite it being an anomaly severe enough to shut down the entire Gensokyo, almost no one noticed it—except for a few people like Reimu and Marisa.
As for me, I actually did notice the anomaly. This shop, Korindou, is an antique store that deals in items that have drifted in from the outside world.
At a certain point, the driftwood suddenly stopped coming in. That period coincides with the time Reimu said the anomaly began. There are only two possible explanations for what that means: either civilization in the outside world has collapsed, or Gensokyo’s ability to accept forgotten objects has ceased. Fortunately, it turned out to be the latter. Reimu,
will she be able to uncover the truth behind this anomaly?

3rd person POV:
―――The air was crisp, and in the distance, Yokai Mountain could be seen. The wind was gentle, and the withered grass lay still.
“Hey,” she said. “Look. There’s a long cloud in the sky! A contrail.”
“A contrail? I’ve never seen a plane flying over Gensokyo. But well, it’s a beautiful cloud, isn’t it?”
Even as she said this, Marisa Kirisame couldn’t quite explain the slender cloud.
“Oh, come on, it’s obviously a chemtrail.”
Nina Watari stated this with certainty. She is a shell-type youkai born from a fossil
that absorbed information. She had been absorbing information even before the Moon People caused the Anomalies, but due to the Anomalies and the influence of AI, she came to possess a self-awareness—
in a sense, she is a victimized youkai.
“A chemtrail? What’s that?”
“It’s—” “They’re spraying chemicals to control living organisms.”
“Who would do something like that, and why?”
Unfortunately, she interprets the world from a distorted perspective, and because of that, she tends to be shunned in Gensokyo. That said, if she were confined to her original place, she might deteriorate further, and there’s no guarantee she wouldn’t become a threat to the world. Marisa is taking this know-it-all, newborn youkai all over the place to let her gain experience and show her the real world, but...
“...Who, exactly? Don’t you know?”
“How should I know?”
“That’s what happens when you only see the surface world. The future is decided by a select few people in the shadows. The old media is all under their control and tells nothing but lies.”
“Well… that’s a pretty easy way of thinking.”
“Why? Because everyone’s controlled by a small group of people in power?”
“Because no matter what happens to the world, it’s not a world I created, so I don’t have any responsibility for it, right?”
Marisa said sarcastically, but it didn’t seem to make any impression on Nina.

3rd person POV:
―――Trees swaying in the breeze. Photons that have escaped photosynthesis reflect off the leaves, projecting a galaxy onto the ground. A forest so beautiful it almost feels artificial. It is a forest known as the Sanctuary.
Out of respect for the forest’s sanctity, neither humans nor youkai dared to approach it carelessly. However, things seem to have changed somewhat following the recent incident. This is because it was discovered that the Lunarians’s facility, “Mount Asama Jōei,” exists within the Sanctuary, and that it could easily plunge Gensokyo into crisis. In an effort to address this, intensive investigations have recently been underway, involving both humans and youkai alike.
However, there were some youkai who did not approve of this trend. In particular, the Yamanba who lived here. Yamanba are youkai who do not form societies. They lived here because they believed that, as long as they were inside the Sanctuary, they wouldn’t have to connect with anyone.
“I wondered who it was—it’s that shrine maiden from Hakurei Shrine again.
If it hadn’t been you, I would’ve shot you down.”
The Queen of the Yamanba, Ubame Chirizuka, grabs Reimu, who was trying to walk past nonchalantly.
“Sorry about that. I’ve just got more and more things I need to look into.”
“You mean the pyramid? Well, we’re fine with it, but our other comrades won’t keep quiet. We’ve been investigating it ourselves since then.”
Reimu stopped in her tracks and listened to what she had to say.
“You know, that pyramid—you said it was a facility of the Lunarians, right? But actually, it’s been there for much, much longer than that…”
“Huh?”
“There’s an ancient youkai in this sacred area. According to it, there was a natural mountain at the site of the pyramid long before it became such an artificial structure…”
“Tell me more about that.”
“…So, does that mean the story about the Lunarians building it is a lie, and they just took over the mountain that was already there?”
“That’s one possibility.”
Reimu scratched her head in thought.
“The reason I felt I had to verify this was because of Sumireko…
No, actually, I heard it from an outsider. According to them, the pyramid said to be in the Sanctuary is, likely, not ‘Mount Asama’ but ‘Mount Minakami’.”
“Mount Minakami?”
“I don’t have the details, but apparently it’s a mountain in Nagano Prefecture in the outside world. I was planning to go look for evidence of that.”
“Huh?” “How does that outsider know such a thing?”
“She's someone who knows a lot about the occult, urban legends, and conspiracy theories. There was a legend that Mount Minakami was an artificial pyramid, but apparently, it’s an old urban legend that’s been forgotten in the outside world. So, she thinks the pyramid that appeared in Gensokyo might be Mount Minakami that entered the Gensokyo.”
Reimu’s explanation grows passionate. It seems that mysterious stories possess a magical power that excites the speaker.
“But if there was a natural mountain there before that, then the story changes completely, doesn’t it?”
“I see.”
Ubame didn’t seem particularly interested in which version of the mountain’s name was correct. However, she understood the pleasure of an elder offering advice to the young.
“Putting it all together, I think it goes something like this. There was an ancient mountain to begin with, and a shrine stood atop it. Then the Lunarians built a mountain on top of that.”
“For what purpose?”
“Well, surely to trap the deity of the shrine, wouldn’t you say? That deity and the shrine might be a past the Lunarians don’t want to be associated with.”
“Ah, I’d assumed the Lunarians and that deity were allies, but… you’re right.”
“There was a fossil forest and a shrine underground at the facility, right? So that means the facility was built on top as a counterweight to sink the entire mountain into the ground. The pyramids sitting on top all took that shape because of the legend of the Sacred Mountain. What do you think of this theory?”
Reimu was impressed by her sharpness, which exceeded her expectations. She wondered if it might be a sad line of thinking unique to a Yamanba, someone accustomed to being cast aside.

3rd person POV:
—---Nina and Marisa are walking along a dirt path.
“......Those Jizo statues have surveillance cameras attached to them. They’re watching over the common folk. Be careful.”
“Even without those things, the Jizo are watching. They’re keeping an eye on us.”
She sounds a bit weary. Marisa is slightly exasperated by Nina’s baseless paranoia.
“But the true color of the sky is much paler than what you hear in the news. The forest is dark, and the flowers are plain. There are no encounters, no stories.”
“Did you learn something? The world is far more mundane and ordinary than what you learn from books. There are no thrilling events, no swirling conspiracies. Don’t let words or images deceive you.”
“Still, the moon and the sun are many times brighter than I ever imagined. Deep down, I’m truly moved.”
“That’s what matters most.”
“Where are you taking me next?”
“Hmm, since we’ve only been out in nature so far,
maybe we should mix things up a bit.”
Before them lay a place that looked like a junk yard crammed with odds and ends. Amidst the clutter, they could make out a building adorned with a mismatched blend of Japanese and Western architectural styles. It was Korindo, an antique shop run by Rinnosuke Morichika, a yokai-human hybrid skilled in the art of tools.

Rinnosuke POV:
――Ting-a-ling.
The shop was dimly lit. But Nina seemed used to the dark and didn’t mind. On the contrary, her eyes sparkled at the sight of things she’d never seen before,
and it felt as though the shop had suddenly brightened.
“Ta-da!” “...Wait, isn’t this the thing I’ve heard rumors about?”
She picked up item after item, eager to share her insights.
“Marisa, would you mind introducing her?”
“This is Watari Nina, a shell-type youkai. Um, how should I put it… I basically pried open the shell she’d been hiding in
and pulled her out.”
“A shell-type youkai… "I'm the shop owner, Morichika Rinnosuke.
Take your time."
Nina was excited as she picked up a flip phone.
“I've heard of this. It's that thing where strong electromagnetic waves turn your body into a magnet, right? Isn't that the one where you're supposed to wrap yourself in aluminum foil?”
Hearing that, someone came out from the back.
"Wrapping yourself in aluminum foil to block electromagnetic waves? Haha, that's an outdated superstition. Now that cell phones have become a necessity of life, rejecting electromagnetic waves would make life too inconvenient, so it’s a superstition that no one believes in anymore.”
Marisa said, “Sumireko, you were here?”
“Superstition?” Nina asked.
“Nice to meet you, Nina. I’m Sumireko Usami, a researcher of the occult.”
“Um, I’m Nina Watari.”
Marisa pulled Sumireko aside and whispered something in her ear. At that moment, Sumireko’s eyes lit up.
“I see. You’re an ‘awakened one’ who knows the truth of the hidden world.”
“Huh? Are you one of us?”
“Well, yes. I’m used to meeting people with eyes like yours. I can tell you’re someone who studies diligently every day to avoid being swayed by the media, and who seeks out the truth.”
“H-hey,” Marisa tried to stop Sumireko, whose next move was impossible to predict, but Sumireko gave her a look that said, “Leave it to me.”
—And then the two of them chatted and laughed.
Marisa and I were completely left out of the loop.
“Huh?” “You mentioned a shell-type youkai, but who is that girl?” I asked Marisa.
“She’s a new youkai born from this recent anomaly.
“But as you can see, its nature is distorted, and if left alone, it might become a threat, so we’re training it like this.”
“I never thought it would get along so well with Sumireko… but is that really okay?” Nina and Sumireko were laughing heartily.
“Huh? But half of the people who’ve received modern medical treatment have already been genetically modified or had microchips implanted…”
“Nina. That’s dangerous occultism.”
“But mine is the real truth that the media is hiding—” It’s the truth, not some kind of occult nonsense. Sumireko waved her finger to cut Nina off.
“There are two kinds of occult: conspiratorial occult and mystical occult.” “Wait, what exactly is the occult anyway?” Sumireko looked as if she’d been waiting for this question.
“The occult refers to hidden truths. In other words, both conspiracies and mysteries are occult. However, the former is something humans hide for their own convenience, while the latter is something the world hides for the sake of humanity. The occult you’re talking about, Nina, is more of the former, isn’t it?”
“I see… I suppose so?”
“As an occult researcher, I call that conspiratorial occult ‘dangerous occult’ and am sounding the alarm. Because the occult created by humans divides believers from non-believers and risks casting a shadow over humanity’s future. If conspiracies truly exist, they must be exposed—but the very fact that it’s an occult that must be exposed contains a contradiction. In other words, that occult cannot be called a hidden truth.”
“Hmm, I don’t really get it.”
“But the mystical occult is different. It enriches humanity, beautifies the world, and makes life more enjoyable. I call this the ‘beautiful occult’ to distinguish it from the dangerous occult. Even though you’ve been swallowed up by the information of the real world, I’m sure someone born in Gensokyo like you can tell the difference.”
“So, what kind of things would you consider part of this... ‘beautiful occult’?”
“Well, for example, I heard that Mt. Minakami in Nagano Prefecture is an artificial pyramid in Gensokyo. What a beautiful form of the occult!”
Marisa, who had been half-listening, suddenly perked up.
“Huh?” “What did you just say? Mt. Minakami? Isn’t it Mt. Asama?”
Sumireko was grinning.

Some time later. —A few days after the absurd meeting between youkai and outsiders
Perhaps spurred by the appearance of someone who understood her, Nina’s outbursts seemed to have decreased since then, and according to Reimu, the youkai seemed to have put their minds at ease for the time being.
“I see. I had no idea Sumireko and Nina got along so well... Well, I suppose I could have guessed.”
“I didn’t have a clue what they were talking about, though. It seems bringing Marisa here was a coincidence, but she said it was a huge weight off her shoulders.” “By the way, Reimu, have your concerns been resolved?”
Reimu’s expression grew slightly serious.
As part of the cleanup after the incident, Marisa had been tasked with helping the runaway youkai settle into Gensokyo, but Reimu…
“To be honest, I feel like the true motives of the Lunarians are still hidden. If things stay this way, it’ll be difficult to counter them if they cause another incident.”
“So you can’t say it’s been completely resolved, then?”
“But I’ve had a feeling. It’s certain that the god deep underground isn’t on the Lunarians’s side. If that’s the case, I think the right move is to make that god an ally of Gensokyo.”
“What makes you feel that way?”

“Judging from the Yamanba King’s story, I get the sense that she’s more mysterious than the scheming Lunarians. Besides, if she were an ally, they wouldn’t go so far as to use the Pyramid to trap her deep underground, would they?”
Reimu’s intuition is always spot-on. Conspiracy and mystery are similar in that they both involve hidden truths, but behind a conspiracy lies the truth, while behind a mystery lies yet another mystery. Perhaps Reimu’s intuition is accurate because she believes in mystery. Furthermore, the Lunarians might be afraid of that kind of mystery.
They say that science in the outside world has reached a level that cannot be verified through experimentation. For example, no one has ever directly observed the elementary particles that make up matter. This isn’t a matter of technology; it’s theoretically impossible. If that’s the case, isn’t that science already occult in nature? The beautiful world of the occult, which believes in mystery, gives birth to new mysteries. For humanity, this is hope, charm, and conscience.
Perhaps the “beautiful occult” that Sumireko spoke of actually refers to this. I, too, felt as though I had touched upon the mysteries of the world.

END

>>50817557
Seems to me like there’s a new story arc involving the lunarian’s in the works like how the previous three games involved the beast kingdom (except 18 sort of kind of), this is wishful thinking but I am expecting not only a true boss fight against yorihime in one of these upcoming titles but also potentially a new moon related entity

>>50818995
I am still waiting eagerly for Lord Tsukuyomi's reveal. I swear if he looks like that one kkhta version I would cheer.

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>>50818995
>lunarians
I'm so tired of these clowns, ZUN needs to just add a new area to Gensokyo that people actually go to

>>50819051
He could do that, we just don’t know

>>50807580
First time we see Sumi in a while.

>>50819051
I mean it's as easy as whisking shit into Gensokyo like with myouren temple

>>50818995
>Seems to me like there’s a new story arc involving the lunarian’s
Would be awesome if junko or Clownpiece become playable characters

>>50819517
Junko MIGHT be a bit overpowered but I can definitely see clownpiece possibly be playable

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>>50819051
Or he could revisit makai, canal of willows, garden of the sun, higan, hill of the nameless, mayohiga, road of reconsideration, muenzuka, phantom meadow, world of fantasies or ruined western mansion.

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Hmm I can't figure whether this is all about Yuiman or Ariya

>>50817547
>“Ah, I’d assumed the Lunarians and that deity were allies
Reimu please
Though I rechecked and she isn't told that explicitly in the Blue route, Snow Blossom is one where she feels bad about Ariya but Blue Season touched on how Reimu couldn't do much if the Outside World and Lunarians were fighting

>>50819517
Piece is a Stage 5 character which has been in the past favourable to be playable (Yuuka, Sakuya, Youmu, Udonge, Sanae, Orin, Seija, Marisa was stage 4 but there were only 5 in TH2)