So yeah, this is something I've been working on. It's a CYOA style thing, but since it's been going on for a while, there won't be any votes for you guys for a while. Or, well, at all - counting votes from multiple sites is a pain, and I'd get accused of cheating on one site or another.
If you guys DO want to vote, I'll show you guys a link to where you can.
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"Welllll..." Reimu begins by settling onto the porch with tea in hand. "The Human Village totals roughly 100,000 people, and lies in the geographic center of Gensokyo. A good amount of the population is dedicated to working the surrounding farmland, but there's only so much you can do before all you can do is wait, so the village still has a bustling commercial district."
The lecture pauses as Reimu sips from her steaming cup, with her pale lips open just slightly, to seal themselves against the ceramic. Her eyes close as she tastes the bitter brew, a small hum escapes her lips, and the poor shrine maiden seems to glow with happiness.
"This is a really good brew, Marisa. Where did you get it?"
"Ah! It's Kourin's special blend. He made an extra batch this time, so I helped myself!"
Reimu catches my smirk of course, but since she smiles and shakes her head, she's not chastising me like usual. I guess she doesn't mind so long as she benefits. How mercenary of her! But I could use this.
"Riiiiight. Anyways - the wall is manned by a rotating militia. It's mostly just for show now that the Spellcard System is in place, but sometimes younger youkai get frisky. Keine's been trying to teach the younger kids about danmaku, but it never was her best subject, so..." She shrugs. "Outsiders usually come to me to head back instead of staying, and those who do stay usually just... go native, I guess. Why are you asking me, anyways? You were born and raised there, so you'd know more than me."
"Eheheh... well!" I take a drink from my own cup - but the tea's still steaming hot, and it burns me on the way down. I wince and cough a bit while Reimu just looks on with amusement. How she drinks it this hot, I'll never know. "I, uh. I got into a bet. With Patchy."
There's a pause in the conversation, although actual silence never descends upon us. It's spring again, and we can both hear Lily's screams echoing in the distance, accompanied by birdsong and the swaying of branches. The shrine grounds are clear of leaves and sakura petals - they were all swept up into some forgotten corner.
"...And what was the bet about?"
"Wait, you're not interested in how it happened?"
She shakes her head, setting the cup aside to better look at me. "I know how it happened. You sneaked into the Voile library to steal some books again, Patchouli caught you again, you dueled her again, you - "
I snap my fingers and a bullet ricochets off her forehead. "Hmph! Fine, fine, Marisa, I give."
I can't help but grumble as I put my own cup aside, and pull out my hakkero. I bring it up to the sky at an angle, letting the sunlight reflect off the polished metal and illuminate a small circle on Reimu's porch. The magic reactor gleams in the light, and it's warm, as always, to the touch. Well, to my touch at any rate.
"Long story short, she insulted Mima." Reimu winced - it was a sore subject, after all.
"Short story long, she... she said Mima couldn't have been that great if Mima had ended up kicking the bucket. And the fact that she taught a talentless hack like me instead of someone worthy of magic meant she had to scrape from the bottom of the barrel just to pass on what she knew."
My fingers clench around the reactor; it pulses in my hand, singing notes only I can hear, desperately wanting to be used. Shame I can't just blast Patchy some more.
"So...we made a bet. I said I'd prove her wrong, that Mima was the best teacher ever, and I'd make Patchy eat her words. Literally. Once I win, I am going to get the dirtiest, most repulsive piece of paper to ever exist, write on it with the most foul tasting ink ever, and force it into her mouth."
Reimu just nods, rubbing my shoulder with her free hand as she grabs her cup and takes another serene gulp of tea.
Ahh. It's cooled, a bit. I put the hakkero away and take a sip from my cup, focusing on the flavor, the bitterness and the heat, the herbal fragrance of the tea, as I watch the pink petals falling slowly and gently towards the ground.
"So..." Reimu speaks up again, placing her empty cup back on the tray. " I suppose the Human Village has something to do with your bet?"
I close my eyes, taking a deep breath. The dregs of the tea still have a weak scent, but the breeze just... blows it away. The air just tastes crisp, now. Clean.
"Uhm, yeah. See...I, uh...kiiinda want to start a library in the village, and teach everyone there. Teach 'em magic, I mean. Because Mima taught me and I'm from the village, so the best way to prove Patchy wrong is to do the same thing. The library thing is really just so I can say I have a better library than Viole. I mean, what kind of library doesn't let you check out books? It's ridiculous."
Reimu just keeps smiling as I ramble on about the unfairness of Voile, about how it has so much Knowledge and yet only Patchy gets to see it, and how my library would be awesome, and homey, and - and she starts talking as soon as I run out of things to say. "You know, I think this is the first time anyone has asked for my permission to start an incident."
I burst up from my seat, glaring at her; there's probably a flush on my cheeks. "Oh, come on! It won't be that bad, I promise!"
"Ah, of course, my mistake!" Reimu smirks as she stares at me, eyes half-closed. "I am positive it will never come to blows! You teaching a bunch of humans how to handle phenomenal cosmic power in an itty bitty space absolutely will not cause the village to blow up in a storm of magic, and Keine and the Buddhists and the Taoists will never react to our very own Ordinary Magician returning to the village like the prodigal daughter she is. Nothing could possibly go wrong!"
Now Reimu gets off the porch as well, and three ofuda slip down from her sleeves into the space between her fingers. They're glowing, and she's grinning. And while on a regular day I could absolutely blast her away, the duel with Patchy had left me exhausted.
"Quite frankly, Marisa, I should probably nip this in the bud right now. So I, Reimu Hakurei, will just have to challenge you to - "
"I'll let you put your donation box in front of the library."
That puts a stop to her melodramatics - and we both glance over to the front of the shrine, where her giant, empty donation box lays. The poor thing 's all beat up - give it another couple years and it'll be a youkai, running away from the mean, cruel shrine maiden who never fed it any coin.
Reimu just hums, looking back at her rickety old shrine and taps her chin in thought. "But that would mean going into the village. Flying back and forth every day would be a waste of time, and the villagers don't exactly like me anyways."
I shove my hands into my pockets, whistling the jauntiest tune I can think of...and charging my hakkero inside said pocket just in case negotiations don't pan out. "Well, I like you, so there's that. And you'd need to check on me to make sure I don't start an incident, right? And if I get popular, I can convince the people there to help donate. And since they don't need to walk so far, they'll donate more often! They'll think, 'Oh, that poor beautiful shrine maiden, all alone in the mountains! Maybe I should listen to my wise and all-powerful teacher, the Great and Powerful Marisa, and donate money to help her best friend!'"
Annnnnnnd Reimu stares at me like I'm crazy. Well, I'd stare at me like I'm crazy, so I can't blame her.
"That is - that is definitely a convincing argument, right there." She brings her hand to try to stifle her laughter. "Very well, then. Why not? I will cut you some slack, if you bribe me with donations."
Hook, line, sinker. "You're the best, Reimu! I promise you won't regret it!"
She laughs, waving me of as she sits back down on the porch. "So, does that mean you already have books and a building for your new library?"
"Weeeeeeeelllll...I have books! Lots of books. Some of them are even mine! But - er, Reimu, I was kinda hoping you'd help me figure out where to actually get the building. To, you know, put the library in."
Reimu just shakes her head, hiding another smile with her palm. "Let me brew some more tea, then."
---------------------
One fresh pot later, and we're sitting back down again and enjoying the breeze.
"Well, Marisa, I'm not too sure you have the money...or the time, really, to commission a new building. Space is at a premium, and you will want a building close to the center of the village for foot traffic."
The tea is burning hot as usual, so I leave mine on the tray as Reimu enjoys hers. "Exactly, so I was thinking about renting a place out, maybe charging a small fee for the books or something to stay afloat. Do you think Kosuzu would be willing to help me out? Oh, or Keine! Getting kids at their youngest means they're the most malleable or something like that, right?"
"Hmmmm... either of those two would work, I think." Reimu smiles as she thinks, looking into her cup. "Suzunaan is getting pretty popular, and Kosuzu's ability would help make those magic books more palpable to everyone else. And she already collects some, right?"
"Yeah - books written by youkai. If we add my own books to the mix, we'd have enough to start an actual magic section in Suzunaan. I could offer free magic lessons outside or something."
"But, Marisa... If you're focused on teaching, wouldn't Keine be a better idea? Your students would come to you every day, assuming Keine approves."
"Right, but...see, I love Mima to death, but she always got frustrated when she first took me under her wing, yannow? Since, well, I was just a kid - it's hard to simplify complicated stuff for a bunch of tots to understand."
There's another peaceful lull in the conversation as Reimu lets me mull things over. If I went with Kosuzu, then I'd get students who actually wanted to learn. The problem would be finding a space to teach them, and...getting people interested in the first place. With Keine, I'd have students by the dozens and could, I don't know, convert a classroom into an atelier for the kids...but Keine would have to give me a crash course in teaching.
I break the silence. "And that's assuming they'll let me start this idea in the first place."
But Reimu waves that objection off. "Just bribe them like you did me. You'll think of something. And if they both say no, you could always go to Senkai or the Myouren Temple."
"...Why would Miko or Byakuren help?"
Another shrug, another sip of her tea. "Well, they are teachers of a sort. And they're always talking about how to best better oneself. Do that thing with your tongue you always do, make it sound like it would benefit them as well. It probably would not even be a lie. You would help interested believers learn more, and that should make the faith stronger. With Miko or Byakuren sponsoring you, you would have willing students, to boot."
I pick up my own cup now, blowing on the tea to cool it down. The steam wafts away from me and into the yard, rising to the sky. "Yeah, but if I side with one group, the other won't exactly be chummy with me. Not to mention they might pressure me to convert, or shove all sorts of religious text in the library..."
"But it would still be better than losing the bet." As always, Reimu cuts to the quick. "And, if everything else fails...you could always go back to your father's shop and ask for help."
I squeeze reflexively around the cup - but, luckily, it's cooled to the point where it doesn't burn me... too much. I've been burned worse by my own brewing, at least. "I don't think that's the best of ideas."
"...Very well."
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The sun's high in the sky when I finally leave. With spring's arrival, Reimu had some cleaning to do in the shrine, and she needed to be on her guard in case Suika came around to party. Or drink. Or really just to be in the general vicinity of the place.
I leave some notes in the donation box - Reimu, did, after all, give me a consultation - wave to Genji in the back as I rise into the air, and ride the ol' broom towards the village.
Riding at... a leisurely pace, I suppose. I'm flying towards the sun, so I have to adjust my hat to shield me from the worst of the glare. On top of that, I...want to savor the feeling, I guess. The anxiety and the curiosity and all the anticipation.
Reimu's right; one way or another this is definitely going to end up as an ncident.
But, for now, I should head to...
[ ]Kosuzu. She probably has the most experience on running a library, and we know each other already. Just bribe her with some books from my collection and we're set~
[ ]Keine. She's already a great teacher from what everyone says, and teaching the way Mima does might not be the best of ideas. Plus, Kirisame-Sensei has a really nice ring to it!
[ ]Miko. That girl has a lot of panache, and we talked for a bit after Akyuu's group interview thing. Having her on my side would mean Taoist magic on my shelves too, and Feng Shui brings good luck!
[ ]Byakuren. Buddhists are supposed to help people in need, right? And learning's one of the first steps to Enlightenment! She's sure to help me out, and it'd give her a place to store all her sutras or whatever.
[ ]Pops. Not happening.
And, as for the library's name...
[ ]Kirisame Library. If it isn't broken, don't fix it!
[ ]Write in.
If you guys DO want to vote, I'll show you guys a link to where you can.
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"Welllll..." Reimu begins by settling onto the porch with tea in hand. "The Human Village totals roughly 100,000 people, and lies in the geographic center of Gensokyo. A good amount of the population is dedicated to working the surrounding farmland, but there's only so much you can do before all you can do is wait, so the village still has a bustling commercial district."
The lecture pauses as Reimu sips from her steaming cup, with her pale lips open just slightly, to seal themselves against the ceramic. Her eyes close as she tastes the bitter brew, a small hum escapes her lips, and the poor shrine maiden seems to glow with happiness.
"This is a really good brew, Marisa. Where did you get it?"
"Ah! It's Kourin's special blend. He made an extra batch this time, so I helped myself!"
Reimu catches my smirk of course, but since she smiles and shakes her head, she's not chastising me like usual. I guess she doesn't mind so long as she benefits. How mercenary of her! But I could use this.
"Riiiiight. Anyways - the wall is manned by a rotating militia. It's mostly just for show now that the Spellcard System is in place, but sometimes younger youkai get frisky. Keine's been trying to teach the younger kids about danmaku, but it never was her best subject, so..." She shrugs. "Outsiders usually come to me to head back instead of staying, and those who do stay usually just... go native, I guess. Why are you asking me, anyways? You were born and raised there, so you'd know more than me."
"Eheheh... well!" I take a drink from my own cup - but the tea's still steaming hot, and it burns me on the way down. I wince and cough a bit while Reimu just looks on with amusement. How she drinks it this hot, I'll never know. "I, uh. I got into a bet. With Patchy."
There's a pause in the conversation, although actual silence never descends upon us. It's spring again, and we can both hear Lily's screams echoing in the distance, accompanied by birdsong and the swaying of branches. The shrine grounds are clear of leaves and sakura petals - they were all swept up into some forgotten corner.
"...And what was the bet about?"
"Wait, you're not interested in how it happened?"
She shakes her head, setting the cup aside to better look at me. "I know how it happened. You sneaked into the Voile library to steal some books again, Patchouli caught you again, you dueled her again, you - "
I snap my fingers and a bullet ricochets off her forehead. "Hmph! Fine, fine, Marisa, I give."
I can't help but grumble as I put my own cup aside, and pull out my hakkero. I bring it up to the sky at an angle, letting the sunlight reflect off the polished metal and illuminate a small circle on Reimu's porch. The magic reactor gleams in the light, and it's warm, as always, to the touch. Well, to my touch at any rate.
"Long story short, she insulted Mima." Reimu winced - it was a sore subject, after all.
"Short story long, she... she said Mima couldn't have been that great if Mima had ended up kicking the bucket. And the fact that she taught a talentless hack like me instead of someone worthy of magic meant she had to scrape from the bottom of the barrel just to pass on what she knew."
My fingers clench around the reactor; it pulses in my hand, singing notes only I can hear, desperately wanting to be used. Shame I can't just blast Patchy some more.
"So...we made a bet. I said I'd prove her wrong, that Mima was the best teacher ever, and I'd make Patchy eat her words. Literally. Once I win, I am going to get the dirtiest, most repulsive piece of paper to ever exist, write on it with the most foul tasting ink ever, and force it into her mouth."
Reimu just nods, rubbing my shoulder with her free hand as she grabs her cup and takes another serene gulp of tea.
Ahh. It's cooled, a bit. I put the hakkero away and take a sip from my cup, focusing on the flavor, the bitterness and the heat, the herbal fragrance of the tea, as I watch the pink petals falling slowly and gently towards the ground.
"So..." Reimu speaks up again, placing her empty cup back on the tray. " I suppose the Human Village has something to do with your bet?"
I close my eyes, taking a deep breath. The dregs of the tea still have a weak scent, but the breeze just... blows it away. The air just tastes crisp, now. Clean.
"Uhm, yeah. See...I, uh...kiiinda want to start a library in the village, and teach everyone there. Teach 'em magic, I mean. Because Mima taught me and I'm from the village, so the best way to prove Patchy wrong is to do the same thing. The library thing is really just so I can say I have a better library than Viole. I mean, what kind of library doesn't let you check out books? It's ridiculous."
Reimu just keeps smiling as I ramble on about the unfairness of Voile, about how it has so much Knowledge and yet only Patchy gets to see it, and how my library would be awesome, and homey, and - and she starts talking as soon as I run out of things to say. "You know, I think this is the first time anyone has asked for my permission to start an incident."
I burst up from my seat, glaring at her; there's probably a flush on my cheeks. "Oh, come on! It won't be that bad, I promise!"
"Ah, of course, my mistake!" Reimu smirks as she stares at me, eyes half-closed. "I am positive it will never come to blows! You teaching a bunch of humans how to handle phenomenal cosmic power in an itty bitty space absolutely will not cause the village to blow up in a storm of magic, and Keine and the Buddhists and the Taoists will never react to our very own Ordinary Magician returning to the village like the prodigal daughter she is. Nothing could possibly go wrong!"
Now Reimu gets off the porch as well, and three ofuda slip down from her sleeves into the space between her fingers. They're glowing, and she's grinning. And while on a regular day I could absolutely blast her away, the duel with Patchy had left me exhausted.
"Quite frankly, Marisa, I should probably nip this in the bud right now. So I, Reimu Hakurei, will just have to challenge you to - "
"I'll let you put your donation box in front of the library."
That puts a stop to her melodramatics - and we both glance over to the front of the shrine, where her giant, empty donation box lays. The poor thing 's all beat up - give it another couple years and it'll be a youkai, running away from the mean, cruel shrine maiden who never fed it any coin.
Reimu just hums, looking back at her rickety old shrine and taps her chin in thought. "But that would mean going into the village. Flying back and forth every day would be a waste of time, and the villagers don't exactly like me anyways."
I shove my hands into my pockets, whistling the jauntiest tune I can think of...and charging my hakkero inside said pocket just in case negotiations don't pan out. "Well, I like you, so there's that. And you'd need to check on me to make sure I don't start an incident, right? And if I get popular, I can convince the people there to help donate. And since they don't need to walk so far, they'll donate more often! They'll think, 'Oh, that poor beautiful shrine maiden, all alone in the mountains! Maybe I should listen to my wise and all-powerful teacher, the Great and Powerful Marisa, and donate money to help her best friend!'"
Annnnnnnd Reimu stares at me like I'm crazy. Well, I'd stare at me like I'm crazy, so I can't blame her.
"That is - that is definitely a convincing argument, right there." She brings her hand to try to stifle her laughter. "Very well, then. Why not? I will cut you some slack, if you bribe me with donations."
Hook, line, sinker. "You're the best, Reimu! I promise you won't regret it!"
She laughs, waving me of as she sits back down on the porch. "So, does that mean you already have books and a building for your new library?"
"Weeeeeeeelllll...I have books! Lots of books. Some of them are even mine! But - er, Reimu, I was kinda hoping you'd help me figure out where to actually get the building. To, you know, put the library in."
Reimu just shakes her head, hiding another smile with her palm. "Let me brew some more tea, then."
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One fresh pot later, and we're sitting back down again and enjoying the breeze.
"Well, Marisa, I'm not too sure you have the money...or the time, really, to commission a new building. Space is at a premium, and you will want a building close to the center of the village for foot traffic."
The tea is burning hot as usual, so I leave mine on the tray as Reimu enjoys hers. "Exactly, so I was thinking about renting a place out, maybe charging a small fee for the books or something to stay afloat. Do you think Kosuzu would be willing to help me out? Oh, or Keine! Getting kids at their youngest means they're the most malleable or something like that, right?"
"Hmmmm... either of those two would work, I think." Reimu smiles as she thinks, looking into her cup. "Suzunaan is getting pretty popular, and Kosuzu's ability would help make those magic books more palpable to everyone else. And she already collects some, right?"
"Yeah - books written by youkai. If we add my own books to the mix, we'd have enough to start an actual magic section in Suzunaan. I could offer free magic lessons outside or something."
"But, Marisa... If you're focused on teaching, wouldn't Keine be a better idea? Your students would come to you every day, assuming Keine approves."
"Right, but...see, I love Mima to death, but she always got frustrated when she first took me under her wing, yannow? Since, well, I was just a kid - it's hard to simplify complicated stuff for a bunch of tots to understand."
There's another peaceful lull in the conversation as Reimu lets me mull things over. If I went with Kosuzu, then I'd get students who actually wanted to learn. The problem would be finding a space to teach them, and...getting people interested in the first place. With Keine, I'd have students by the dozens and could, I don't know, convert a classroom into an atelier for the kids...but Keine would have to give me a crash course in teaching.
I break the silence. "And that's assuming they'll let me start this idea in the first place."
But Reimu waves that objection off. "Just bribe them like you did me. You'll think of something. And if they both say no, you could always go to Senkai or the Myouren Temple."
"...Why would Miko or Byakuren help?"
Another shrug, another sip of her tea. "Well, they are teachers of a sort. And they're always talking about how to best better oneself. Do that thing with your tongue you always do, make it sound like it would benefit them as well. It probably would not even be a lie. You would help interested believers learn more, and that should make the faith stronger. With Miko or Byakuren sponsoring you, you would have willing students, to boot."
I pick up my own cup now, blowing on the tea to cool it down. The steam wafts away from me and into the yard, rising to the sky. "Yeah, but if I side with one group, the other won't exactly be chummy with me. Not to mention they might pressure me to convert, or shove all sorts of religious text in the library..."
"But it would still be better than losing the bet." As always, Reimu cuts to the quick. "And, if everything else fails...you could always go back to your father's shop and ask for help."
I squeeze reflexively around the cup - but, luckily, it's cooled to the point where it doesn't burn me... too much. I've been burned worse by my own brewing, at least. "I don't think that's the best of ideas."
"...Very well."
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The sun's high in the sky when I finally leave. With spring's arrival, Reimu had some cleaning to do in the shrine, and she needed to be on her guard in case Suika came around to party. Or drink. Or really just to be in the general vicinity of the place.
I leave some notes in the donation box - Reimu, did, after all, give me a consultation - wave to Genji in the back as I rise into the air, and ride the ol' broom towards the village.
Riding at... a leisurely pace, I suppose. I'm flying towards the sun, so I have to adjust my hat to shield me from the worst of the glare. On top of that, I...want to savor the feeling, I guess. The anxiety and the curiosity and all the anticipation.
Reimu's right; one way or another this is definitely going to end up as an ncident.
But, for now, I should head to...
[ ]Kosuzu. She probably has the most experience on running a library, and we know each other already. Just bribe her with some books from my collection and we're set~
[ ]Keine. She's already a great teacher from what everyone says, and teaching the way Mima does might not be the best of ideas. Plus, Kirisame-Sensei has a really nice ring to it!
[ ]Miko. That girl has a lot of panache, and we talked for a bit after Akyuu's group interview thing. Having her on my side would mean Taoist magic on my shelves too, and Feng Shui brings good luck!
[ ]Byakuren. Buddhists are supposed to help people in need, right? And learning's one of the first steps to Enlightenment! She's sure to help me out, and it'd give her a place to store all her sutras or whatever.
[ ]Pops. Not happening.
And, as for the library's name...
[ ]Kirisame Library. If it isn't broken, don't fix it!
[ ]Write in.