The dreamy girl balanced atop the boundary between bewitching and perilous

C&CL

>>49234288
Is this that thing where the halves of two different people are stitched into one new person?

>>49234259 (OP)
She's pretty cool.

Merry's mob cap and dress makes her look like a very proper lady, especially compared with Renko who tries to show off how stylish she is.

amazing, after a whole day, fool of trouble, merry finally appears to tard wrangle renko.

>>49234259 (OP)
Maribel, the savior of 4chan, opened the doors to /jp/ using her gaps.

>>49234259 (OP)
would

how many is too many?

Why are her breasts still growing if she's an adult?

We LOVE European women!

>>49234259 (OP)
What has Maribel been up to?

How many more albums before she becomes Yukari?

>>49238161
It's hard to say. On one hand, you would think that will never happen since it would permanently end a whole section of the story, but on the other hand, the Hifuu story has progressed and ZUN makes Maribel more and more like Yukari with every other album.
I still remember when the TJD jacket was released and people were saying it would be the one where Maribel and Renko were split because it showed her falling and she had a red ribbon on her cap. I don't think ZUN planned the overall Hifuu story beyond some vague beats he wants to hit, if even that, and it looks like he wants to make some more filler albums, or at least albums that relate more to Gensokyo or the other 2hus than to Maribel and Renko's story. Watch me eat my words when the next album is about time travel.

>>49234259 (OP)
This woman is weird. She speaks of nonsense. Luckily, she has a certain foreign beauty which makes her bearable. If she didn't, I can't imagine anyone willingly hanging out with a girl like her.

>>49238585
Her cute friend doesn't mind hanging out with her so she can't be that bad.

>>49238307
She did have the red ribbon on her mob cap this time. I think it may be closer than we think.

>>49239895
ZUN regularly forgets details about the characters, and sometimes likes to change details from time to time, especially with the Hifuus. Yukari's ribbon is supposed to have some special significance, so there could be some meaning behind Maribel's ribbon as well, but that meaning hasn't been brought up in an album. We will know for sure once her eyes turn purple.

>>49237704
This.

>>49238585
what do you mean non-sense? I know coming from Plato school makes her sound a bit strange, but she has two great arguments you can't simply ignore.

How much about her life as Merry do you think Yukari remembers

>>49239926
>We will know for sure once her eyes turn purple.
I've seen anons read too deeply into ZUN's choice of eye color before.

>>49240009
Her boobs are spilling out!!!

>>49240270
Have you read A Beautiful Flower Blooming Violet Every Sixty Years? Yukari is almost demented. Jokes aside, this is more relevant quote than the pic:
> I knew what was happening because something like this had happened sixty years ago, too, but recalling the sensation as it happened made me uneasy. Still, it's not as if all memory of the incident would vanish. Any events left to "the record" would remain, but any other "memories" would begin to fade.
>Events left to the record. In other words, history. Anything that passes the sixty-year boundary becomes mere history, and history is a collection of unusual events. Time grinds to a halt during these unusual events, and this is why time practically stops at points past more than sixty years ago. Or, to put it another way, what is "ordinary" has a normal lifespan of about sixty years. My memories of more than sixty years ago vanishing means that the death of their "ordinary" qualities is at hand.
>But, why is that cycle sixty years? I thought about this sixty years ago and I have the feeling I came up with a theory, but perhaps due to the onset of a senility I can't remember what it was.
This is probably the closest we have to how youkai memory works. Events that are from a previous Gensokyo cycle are forgotten unless they were unusual enough to become a history. Now, this sadly doesn't exactly answer your question, because we don't know what is a bar for unusual event. Furthermore, if unusual event doesn't make waves (because nobody observed it, for instance), would it become history or not? Finally, there is a possibility that because Maribel's experiences aren't history yet, then Yukari forgot about all of them.
Still, I would confidently bet on that Yukari doesn't remember anything from Maribel's more ordinary parts of life.

>>49234259 (OP)
Lafcadio Hearn married an emancipated slave. Which means Merry is part black. Hence her huge, pawg ass. Lafcadio himself was mixed race too. It seems that Merry Berry blurs the boundaries of heritage! How appropriate!

>>49241404
Hearn had no children with the niggress during their three-year marriage, but later had four with his Japanese wife after moving to Japan.

>>49240009
Merry Berry is so clumsy! She keeps falling like that when I'm hanging out with her and my Japanese girlfriend, Renko! Must be jet lag or something...

I will breed maribel

>>49241427
>Hearn had no children with the niggress during their three-year marriage, but later had four with his Japanese wife after moving to Japan.
Touhou is separate from our reality and irl Lafcadio didn't have connections to reality warping yokai. Point being, it isnt a 1:1 thing.

>>49237641
Too many is when you can't afford any more!

>>49237704
Damn right, son!

>>49241643
>Touhou is separate from our reality
Oh is it now?

Go on talk to her

>>49242094
M-merry??!!
>>49242217
I don't need encouragement. Strike up conversation, help carry all her luggage because I'm big and strong. Talk about all the weird, esoteric new age woo shit that her white girl brain can think of. Unlike most blondes, she's actually smart.

Hello Maribel... I really love your huge breas- I MEAN I REALLY LOVE YOU.

Hello Maribel... I really love your huge ass- I MEAN I REALLY LOVE YOUR HUGE BRAIN.

>>49242217
Maribel looks as if she would be annoyed by anyone trying to bother her, especially purposeless stranger. I don't want to be inconsiderate, I would leave her in peace.

>>49242526
She's in a dark, lonely spooky place looking to travel. What if she wants a stranger to put a smile on her face?

>>49242217
I shout
"LOSE SOME WEIGHT, FATTY"

>>49242540
>She's in a dark, lonely spooky place looking to travel.
When I was in such places, I was either alone and wanted to be left to my own devices, or (rarely) I served as a guide for those that ordinarly are afraid of visiting such spaces. When I met a fellow traveler, there was only a silent agreement between us to not attack each other and we parted ways. Or at least this is what I did and assume the other person did too.

>>49242217
I'd be too creeped out by the hag behind her to do something

Beautiful yurihu

>>49240270
She at least remembered how she got to the Moon that one time.
>>49240395
Marisa's always on the edge of becoming a youkai

What's Maribel's love fortune?

>>49245585
Look up Yukari's

>>49242628
I'm still talking to her. Too hot not to.

>>49242217
So...where are you headed?

>>49245729
>The boundary between friends and lovers is thin
Casual sex as friends with Merry with unresolved feelings making it weird but even better!!!

>>49242433
>>49242462
>>49242591
"Hi anon!"

>>49247752
Would Maribel be the kind of girl who you could get into the type of friendship you insult each other constantly?

I prefer Japanese women.

>>49248352
What truly matters is the soul. If you truly love a girl, find her cute, endearing and pleasant to be around, you would still love her regardless of any exterior detail.

>>49242217
Nah I prefer my women short, flat and japanese. I had enough of european woman back home in Europe

>>49248352
it is really easy to say this, on the evropean thread, while your eyes can't stop stealing glimpses of merry's two thesis.
say it on the renko thread if you the balls. you can tell us next week how it went.

>>49247752
Merry... you should get your tits under control!

It's funny how everybody calls Maribel Merry considering she gets annoyed when people call her that.

>>49248612
I'll do it!

>>49247774
probably
>>49250042
She's not gonna.

>>49234259 (OP)
What will happen to Renko when Merry becomes Yukari?

>>49253373
She becomes possesed by the spirit of the Hakurei clan ans starts wearing a big red bow and hair tubes

>>49251521
>Waaah people say my name with less letters
Sounds fun to tease her with though I can't imagine cute, docile Merry doing anything about people calling her by a nickna

For how long had Maribel been in Japan when she met Renko?

Europe's pride and joy

>>49254455
She didn't know what Higan was in R35M, so we can assume it was her first time celebrating it, meaning she was likely in first year for the first three albums. GFC takes place in autumn so she probably only spent around month before meeting Renko.
It also means the events of GFC might have been their very first adventure together.

Do you think if Maribel and Renko appeared in an album or printwork with any other 2hus it would ruin their mystique?

Merry Berry Baby Berry

>>49248411
You can talk to her without being sexually interested in her.

>>49253045
Ribbed sweater Merry is the strongest entity on Earth

Merry's cute even with a flat chest!

Blue(Merry)Berry

Merry takes showers, Yukari doesn't. Why did she stop?

>>49279555
Since she doesn't have to interact a lot with others, washing herself isn't all that important to her.

European women are scary...

>>49285482
She' not scary at all. If anything, she's comforting.

>>49279555
Merry displaces more water than Renko. Yes, you know why.

>>49288662
I'm sorry but i really don't know... Mind elaborating a little?

>>49289039
I think Anon is trying to call miss Hearn fat, which is both very rude and untrue.

>>49234259 (OP)
What white girl things does the Berry do?

>>49289580
hey! tall people have more mass in their bodies!
not like a womanlet like you would understand, miss "I am late despite always knowing the right time"!

Merry Berry is like Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter. God I need a quirky white girl..

How deranged and psychotic is this psychology major?

>>49290694
Enough to become the infamous monster that bullies underground youkai, trolls Lunarians and eats broiled human heads.

>>49290638
You talk about Harry Potter with Merry and she'll look at you like "Okay grandpa, tell it to the other oldies at the retirement home." She won't say it, but she'll think it.

>>49290753
I'll just hit her back with the fact that my generation ruined the planet for her generation

>>49290753
what is renko's opinion on Harry Potter books?

>>49291158
She likes the feeling and aesthetics of western fairytales, but prefers the more traditional ones.

>>49291260
what if I offer her an european copy of harry potter and the philosopher's stone for ps1?

>>49290753
>Okay grandpa, tell it to the other oldies at the retirement home." She won't say it, but she'll think it.
As a grandpa, I'll be compelled to lecture her about literature not being relegated to the time period it was made in. But If she's gonna keep being a bitch about it, then I'll talk to her about Elric. She should like that he travels to and peers into different worlds like she does. If she doesn't, I'll fuck Renko right as Berry is in REM sleep.

>>49292296
Generational divides on literature have existed for almost as long as literature itself. Your best chance to not look weird to Maribel and Renko when talking about literature is to talk about works that are already considered classics.

Don't go away yet, Merry!

>>49289927
The usual: using her disarming charm to nab her prey.
It's always the ones you least expect...

>>49295439
THE classics or just classics? The one I cited in that other post was pretty impactful. Arguably as if not more than lord of the rings. Anyway, it seems this misguided youth needs correction.
>>49302282
>The usual: using her disarming charm to nab her prey.
Playing footsies with you under the table and playing it off as just a ''bad habbit''. When she gives you a lingering (wet) kiss on the cheek, marking you with her purple lipstick. She says she does it to all her friends (lie). Doesn't contact you for several agonizing days before talking to you again (on purpose).

What's Merry gonna do with a relativist psychology degree anyways?

>>49310204
She can become...a relative psychology professor.

>>49310204
Working as a farmer.

>>49242217
https://youtu.be/wJVkE0GxXgQ?si=gi2i2xwcXpdG6BVM

>>49310467
Berry is a girl, not a boy. So that meme doesn't apply to her. She'll make more than Chris while not working half as hard.

Merry please be my girlfriend!

>>49311631
Who's Berry?

>>49312565
The Merry

Does Merry Berry wear toe rings? If so, how many? Does she like to walk barefoot? Does she paint her toes purple? Does she wear stirrup socks? Does she like sandals?

>>49312140
You're taking things way too fast, give her about 150 years to think

Merry saved us again

Maribel's returned after tampering with the border between 4chan's servers and causing an incident! Welcome back, Merry!

When do you think the next album is coming?

>>49326266
Given that it was 8 years between DBOA and TJD, probably not for a while. We might get a mini-album like Rainbow-Colored Septentrion in the meantime, though.

what possessed her to pose like this

>>49326622
She wanted to distract a bit from Renko dorking out in the foreground.

>>49326266
We might get one next year if ZUN wants to continue the TJD story, and maybe two or three more years if he wants to start another storyline.
>>49326553
The gap between DBOA and TJD was the biggest one in Hifuu history,

>>49234259 (OP)
I still find it weird to think that Maribel and Renko don't live in the same house.

>>49330391
I don't think Merry wants to hear Renko masturbate 24/7

>>49331894
Renko's a pure girl, she doesn't do that!!

>>49331894
Renko has a very healthy sexual life. She's quite popular but seems to attract men who can't handle even a small amount of alcohol.

>>49240009
SEXOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

>>49330391
Renko needs some time alone when she's writing her papers.

>>49335682
Renko get out of here
Binging on porn does not mean having a healthy sex life

>>49341144
The possibilities of Renko becoming Dr. Doom are... non-zero.

>>49341808
She is more likely to become Doomguy

>>49326622
She's adopting a wide stance to establish dominance

What Merry eye color do you prefer?

>>49234259 (OP)
bump

>>49350482
Blue eyes that sometimes turn purple.

>>49353554
Maribel is in the race for the 2hu with the most eye colors. I think she's tied with Marisa.

I was never a fan of psychology, but I still think I'd enjoy talking to Maribel. She strikes me as a good conversationalist.

>>49356903
She doesn't talk to renko as much about psychology as renko talks to her about physics

The psychology Maribel is interested in isn't the actual academic subject, but her dreams and how they influenced her

>>49361551
>The psychology Maribel is interested in isn't the actual academic subject, but her dreams and how they influenced her
She must have a fun time with her exams then.

>>49367049
Thought this was the POV from inside a microwave for a second.

>>49367897
I don't think she owns one of those. If she did, Renko would never enter her house out of fear that it might give her cancer.

>>49298508
Why would she want to leave us?

Merry is sleeping, don't make any noise.

>>49361619
That's why, while Renko is attending conferences where she presents her theories, Merry is fooling around in the woods.

Merry!

Which albums are Maribel albums and which albums are Renko albums?

>>49384146
The only ones that I'm sure of are MA(Renko) and NToJ(Merry).

>>49237679
Don't ask questions, just be thankful

Would Maribel post on /jp/?

>>49388690
what? no, of course not! only someone desperate, or unhinged, would spend time here.
merry has lots of dates and mixers to attend!

>>49402932
Yeah, I'm sure. Are those dates and mixers in the bushes of rural Hitachi by any chance?

Merry a cute

>>49403000
Don't question her methods when socializing for a girl like her is already hard enough. Sometimes the best conversations you might ever have can take place in the bushes!
>>49388690
She would mostly lurk, only posting once in a blue moon when she could be easily mistaken for someone else or if she thinks it'd be funny enough either way.
Speaking of posting though, I wanted to ask you Merry thread-goers this yesterday but would anyone have any problems if I used this thread to continue the next entry to a story I usually do for the Renko threads? It's called Renkoquest and I basically have the next chunk ready to go but if you'd all rather the thread stay more laid back like it has then I won't be a bother. Just thought I'd ask is all.

>>49410710
I wouldn't have a problem, but I'm probably biased since I posted in the Renko thread too.

>>49410808
Fair enough, I can always move things elsewhere if it does get too much but if nobody else speaks up then I'll go ahead and get to posting in a few without further delay. This part ended up lengthier than I thought it would so I'll do my best to space out significant chunks between each day. It may not always be exactly 24 hours before each update but I will be aiming for consistency here.
A thousand pardons Merry but I've written thousands of words about your Japanese study partner instead that I need to share so here we all are!

>>48036014
The glint of the mild waves splashing below Renko occasionally pierced the mid-day fog of Misty Lake like stars shining through storm clouds. The Ice Fairy certainly had the gusto to carry her far & above the surface of the waters at first, though now that they were halfway to the other side it seemed apparent that Cirno had begun struggling more than she was holding her own. Renko's ankles were nearly scraping the tops of the fog pools, the occasional jerky readjustment from the Fairy above like a drone with faulty propellers only serving to keep the Physicist's previously-triggered nerves awry. It was certainly no 50ft. drop, but those waters still had to be freezing cold this time of year.
"U-Uh, you sure you'll be able to make the distance here, Miss..?" Renko nervously looks over her shoulder at the phantasmal strobing of Danmaku still visible from the western wing of Remilia's Mansion while holding her damaged parcel close.
"Cirno! Ugh, just call me Cirno..! Don't worry, haaah...I save people like this all...the time!" She figured that was a good enough excuse for some 'bunny' girl, though she really wished she'd practiced more of those stretching exercises Meiling had been showing her so she'd have been properly prepared for this.
Looking back ahead as the looming mist began to part, Renko thanked her lucky stars that the southern banks of the Lake really weren't too far ahead after all. The college girl took one last tentative look at the waters passing below only to hitch her breath at the murky sight of what nearly seemed to be some large fish trailing their flight path below the surface. Something that size surely had to be ferocious in nature, Marisa never did give an exact number to the missing persons around here...perhaps it was ancient in origin? Or maybe it wasn't even entirely fish-like at all..? Whatever the case, Renko wasn't able to make out much as the shadow seemed to stop in its tracks and plunge further into the depths not long after being spotted. Another mystery for another time...
With a few more grunts, Cirno had her runaway safely touch down onto the marshy sands of the shoreline before sputtering off with a wheeze like a deflated balloon, collapsing into the nearby long grass. The chill coming off the water sent shivers up Renko's spine, even through her relief at the fact that the Scarlet Devil Mansion was now little more than a distant silhouette too far away to be showing any visible activity. That crimson book she plucked from the Library still remained safely tucked away in her bag, as well as the other random assortments and non-essentials she kept in there, though the outer leather had been fairly scuffed and even scorched in places. The strap was rendered useless in its severed state, leaving the Physicist with little convenient options when it came to keeping her hands free while carrying it. 'Just something I'll have to worry about later', she thought to herself.
"Phew..! Jeez...well, you're welcome! Those vamps can get real scary...you must sure feel lucky right about now."
"Yeah, you can say that..."
Her various pains beginning to settle within her bones aside, Renko also quickly realized she wouldn't have any easy way to get the rest of her belongings back if Marisa doesn't...well, make it out. For lack of any softer way of putting it. Those fights /are/ designed to keep the mortality rate around here down, right..?

Marisa's a strong girl, she'd make it out alright in the end and find her way over here.
"Surely..."

"Who's Sherly?"
Renko nearly jumped at the sound of Cirno suddenly sitting right beside her in the silt. Her knees were tucked in as she did her best to imitate Renko's stoic thousand-yard stare out into the open water. There was so little outer stimuli now besides the gentle rolling of the waves...the college girl hadn't even realized she was that lost in thought already.
"No, I mean...(sigh), it's really not important."
"Eh, if ya say so."
"Look—Cirno, right?"
The Ice Fairy nods as she stands, crossing her hands behind her head. She barely even came up to Renko's shoulders, bow included.
"You wouldn't happen to, well, I don't know. Have a place I could...stay for a while..?"
"Oh! Like a secret hideout to keep yourself in if anyone comes looking?"
"Yes, exactly! I'd really owe you one in the future for it, it wouldn't be for any longer than a day or two."
"Hmph~! There really is no one better that could've been waiting for you at that gate. Onward - to shelter!"
The little Fairy points triumphantly up a small hill not far from where they've landed, Renko finding it difficult to fully stifle a giggle in the face of Cirno's antics. At least she's earnest, though the fog ahead is still too thick to see exactly what's being pointed at. She begins marching forward towards their destination, expecting Renko to follow wholeheartedly without saying a word. The Physicist really had no other choice anyways; the more secluded the better in the end.

No less than a minute or two later and the girls find themselves at Cirno's meager Igloo resting near the edge of the forest. There seemed to be a stream running into the Lake nearby that easily could've been flowing down from that large mountain Renko saw during Marisa's flight over, though otherwise the area was still fairly secure and a decent ways from the shore. Could Cirno have really been the only other creature to be settled around this area? At this point, Renko needed to be prepared to come across just about anything so long as she stayed within Gensokyo.
"You're gonna love this, I recently just expanded the place a little too. The second room can be yours while you stay!"
Truthfully, the frozen shelter really didn't seem that promising from the outside, but the amateur snowman resting by the front entrance at least gave it some charm. The whole area atop the hill surrounding her Igloo seemed to be powdered with snow in fact, making Renko thankful to be wearing a long-sleeved shirt though wishing she had her coat to change into as well. Their footsteps crunched against the increasingly-frozen grass below as Cirno brought herself inside without a second thought.
"Come on in, don't be shy!"
Renko takes one last cursory glance around the surrounding forestry, only to step inside and be greeted with one of the most minimalistic interiors to an outside shelter she's ever seen. The floor was powdery and gave way to a thick layer of packed ice underneath, a few stray knick-knacks and seemingly random local plants scattered about. There was ample room for its relatively modest size, though that was mostly due to the fact that the only visible furnishing seemed to take the form of a rectangular lump of snow jutting out from the floor itself.
"Welcome to my impenetrable fortress! I trust you'll find everything to your liking during your stay."
"Can I set my things just anywhere?"
Renko hoped the tone of her voice would imply she meant that partially in-jest, though the subtext seemed to fly completely over the head of the simple Fairy.
"Oh sure, just be careful not to knock over that pile of ice chunks over there."
Near what she assumed was Cirno's 'bed', Renko saw a delicate pile made up of several spherical hunks of ice both polished and jagged alike. They all seemed to contain similar-looking items, very creature-like in appearance though too enclosed within to make out any prominent details.
"Are those all just...frogs? Why would you have—"
"Ehh—that's not important! Just a hobby, try not to shake them around much. Let me show you where you'll be staying!"
A dark green curtain stands draped across a portioned section of the wall to the far left, Cirno pulling it aside to reveal yet another raised portion of snow between the ends of the walls. A thin ice porthole had been lovingly nestled just above the 'bed', making it nearly picturesque were it not for the fact that there were no linens to speak of and it was likely incredibly cold to sleep through the night on. It all seemed less like an 'expansion' to the Igloo and more like Cirno arbitrarily sectioning off a fourth of her living quarters for little more than an extra sleeping space, but Renko figured it was best to keep that to herself in the end.
"Well, whatddya think of that? Should be pretty cozy for a rabbit if you ask me."
"What keeps making you think I'm just some rabbit? I told your little friend that I'm human!"
"Really..? But, your last name...isn't it Usa...uhh...Usa-migi?"
"It's Usa/mi/, and please just call me Renko. I'm a human from beyond the valley and I'm only here in the first place because I wanted to do some simple field exploration! Guess my expectations really should've been a little more than just 'simple' after all..."
"An Outsider, huh? Jeez, no wonder it's been so tough out there for ya."
Renko sits herself down against her side of the space while Cirno seems to think something over to herself. Suddenly nodding and affirming her own thought with little further indication, she tells the Physicist to "wait right here" before zipping out the front entryway to presumably get something. From Renko's point of view however, she could've been leaving to get just about anything. In times like this, Renko would usually find it best to pull the brim of her hat down and do a little personal reassessment. Or even have an old-fashioned cigarette on the off-chance that Merry didn't happen to be around. She tried to at least space them out enough to not make it a habit.

That suitcase contained some of the most important documents to ever be scoured by the Hifuu Club, not to mention the rest of her clothes and what other essential supplies she remembered to bring. Without it, Renko would be forced to resort to the kind of underhanded tactics that were likely to get you killed in a place like Gensokyo. It'd be imperative that she figure out a way to get the rest of her things if push comes to shove, come hell or high water.

Either way, this place already seemed to have so many plans for Renko that the girl could've hardly anticipated in totality. She hasn't even been here for more than half a week and she could already feel how badly her weary frame had begun craving rest once again. At least she had this moment of quiet to enjoy thanks to Cirno. What even is it that the Fairies around here seem to find so interesting in a girl like Renko anyways?

"Good grief..." A little more of that fresh air outside ought to help clear her mind, until the Ice Fairy came back with whatever she was retrieving anyways.

The mist seemed to have thickened a bit in the short time she'd been inside, making the air around Renko moist and heavy as she stepped out to get her bearings. Not much could be seen through the dark of the trees behind her and the edge of the waters was now barely visible. For a moment, Renko nearly considered walking down to start idly skipping stones until something once again caught her attention.

There was a head poking out barely above the Lake's surface, enough to at least have a pair of eyes out beyond the water. The color of its hair was mostly obfuscated from this distance but, where a pair of ears ought to have been, there appeared to be a twin set of...fins? This must've been the creature from the deep..! But could she be trusted?
The Physicist cocked her head to the right slightly, the head within the water mirroring the gesture only a moment later as its curly hair bobbed in response. Before Renko could even think of stepping towards the shore however, the figure once again retreated as Cirno came careening out from the fog with something flapping behind her from the momentum.

"Check it out! I decided to borrow something from the same lady I got the curtain from, she has plenty of extras so I'm sure she won't mind."
The Ice Fairy hovered just in front of Renko with a thickly-padded & perfectly fluffed quilted blanket. She really should've given Cirno here a little more credit after all!
"Oh that's perfect! Thank you."
"Don't mention it. No offense, but you /seriously/ look like you could use something like this."
Renko really should've been more surprised that her tattered body allowed her to step out here in the first place, but it wouldn't have been the first time she's needed to operate beyond her limits anyways. She drapes the blankets over her shoulders, only now realizing that this couldn't have been a poorer time to wear one of the few outfits of hers that she pairs without a shawl. Didn't seem like that important of a choice at the time really but look at Gensokyo continuing to prove Renko wrong evermore. Cirno immediately plops herself into the snowy ground back-first with a satisfying sigh, it almost reminded the Physicist of some of the kids her younger brother used to hang around when he was still little...
"Cirno...I'm going to need you to do me a really important favor until tomorrow morning."
"Hm? What is it Miss Usami?"
"If /anyone/ comes looking for me during the night, do whatever you can to turn them away unless it happens to be Marisa. No exceptions! Got it?"
"Oh! Definitely! You couldn't have asked for anything easier."
"If you say so...I really think I need to go lie down for a while, (yawn), you know where to find me if you need me."
Renko expected even a small acknowledgement from the Fairy as she walked back towards the Igloo, only to find that Cirno had already refocused her attentions on building yet another snowman a ways away from the front. 'That's the priority of a Fairy for you I guess...'
So long as the main contenders of the SDM keep themselves busy with the mess she's left behind, this was as good of an excuse as any for Renko to finally get some rest. The blanket was fortunately big enough for the girl to completely wrap herself in its fine silken cloth, creating a pseudo-sleeping bag that proved perfect to slowly lull Renko down into sleep from the adrenaline-fueled state she'd been kept within over the past hour. She was able to silently watch Cirno complete the plain snowman only for the Fairy to create two more identical versions just behind the first in a triangle formation. She then began an exaggerated series of action moves and battle stances that ultimately let to a flurry of razor-sharp icicle points being deeply jettisoned into each snowy figure. A fair bit of the projectiles did fly right past the snowmen only to shatter elsewhere, but Cirno always seemed satisfied enough with how many she'd manage to hit. 'Target practice', the Physicist mused to herself. If only she had a personal camcorder from the early 21st Century, then she could get this all on tape and show Cirno just how ridiculous she looked while doing this.
Then again, all that might end up doing is spoiling her fun. It can't be easy for an Ice Fairy to keep herself occupied during the colder months. This one was at least eager to help, that much was comforting enough as Renko finally nodded off...

"..."

"...well, I have no idea what you're talkin' about! I've never even heard..."

"...just the other day! C'mon Cirno, we both know that..."

Hours pass by in an instant as Renko's body takes its time to heal. Though, as the moon & stars tell her while she's slowly roused by idle conversation, the girl seems to have been able to sleep until about 4 in the morning. The curtain had been mostly pulled over her by Cirno sometime during her rest, but just enough space was left near her head for the Physicist to make out two distinct silhouettes standing just outside the Igloo.

"I'll spend my weekdays how I'd like, thank you very much! What's it to you in the first place if I even am harboring someone? W-Which I'm not! Obviously..."
"I'm just following orders. Lady Remilia has Miss Izayoi scanning the Forest of Magic and Lady Patchouli is still unconscious, so I'm stuck with the local area. You'd be the first place to go to around here, there's no way I can't check."
"A-And why would I even care about some lousy human anyway? You know me Meiling..."
"I do, which is why I wouldn't be surprised if she was in there after all. She just wants the girl, Cirno. That's all."
"I...I-I'm not gonna let you in here..."

This could get ugly fast...that gatekeeper was already looking far more serious about having her way than Cirno seemed to be.

They want her that badly, do they?
"Hey, Cirno."

Both the Fairy and the Guard turn to face Renko in surprise at the sight of the college girl sitting on the edge of her makeshift bed, upper half poking out of what was still a tightly-wrapped blanket. Despite Meiling's readiness for a duel, she eased her battle stance and was willing to approach more amicably.
"It's alright." The Ice Fairy steps aside to let Meiling in, her practically 6ft. frame barely being able to stand fully upright within the center of Cirno's Igloo.
"Hey...is that one of my napping blankets?"
"I was planning to give it back, eventually..."
"Spare her the trouble, I was the one who needed a little more than snow to sleep on after all."

Meiling had no intention of immediately seizing the college girl, though stood firmly in Renko's way in an attempt to uphold some amount of commitment to her directives. It would've been nice to get her typical rest in after Tai Chi practice like usual, but Remilia was in enough of a temper already without having to deal with impudent underlings.

"You've antagonized some very powerful people, I hope you realize that."
"Well I didn't exactly intend on ending my stay here at that Mansion, it wasn't even my idea to initiate the raid in the first place."
"No, it wouldn't be. A scheme like that reeks of Kirisame, but she was bound to run out of luck one of these days anyways."
"You mean, she didn't actually..."
"Oh no, she held her own for a good ten minutes or so but everyone has their limits. They overwhelmed her eventually and we've decided to hold onto her for the time being."
"I'm guessing until I turn myself over to you, right?"
"Honestly, if you're askin' me, I think Lady Remilia just wants to make an example out of both 'a you. Publicly. I've never seen her more freaked out over Lady Patchouli than she is now, whatever you did to her with that device must've really set the Mistress off."
"That's one way to put it, that Patchouli girl though—she's a Youkai, isn't she?"
"Well, I guess...practically all of us are, anyways."
"Then there's no way a simple taser would be able to kill her. You all know that, right?"
"That /is/ what Miss Izayoi keeps saying, but Lady Remilia doesn't seem to be in the right state of mind anyways..." Part of Meiling did somewhat doubt that bringing this human in now really would do much to satiate the Vampire's temper but that isn't something that could've been easily said in the moment before she was sent off.
"If it'll even hold weight here at all, I can cut you a deal: if that woman doesn't wake up safely within the next 24 hours then you can come right back here and get me. No strings attached."
"And how do I know you're not just leading me on like you did with Lady Flandre?"

"Well, if we are all being honest here, then I suppose you'll just have to take me in now if you'll refuse to believe me."
Even with the fact that Renko barely came up to the Guard's chest, her choice to stand and physically offer herself that much more overtly carried a sizeable amount of resolve well-felt within the others. For a moment, Meiling was nearly unsure of where to go from here.

"Miss Renko, wait! Don't do it! There's so much more for you to see in Gensokyo, you said so yourself!" Cirno runs over to begin tugging against Meiling's open dress in protest, fists impudently smacking against hardened thighs.
"If you take her away, then you might as well take me down right now because I'll never forgive you!"
Meiling really could care less over the ultimate fate of this Outsider, but it was nice finally having someone to regularly talk to while she was on duty...

Do you think the internet still exists by Maribel's time?

>>49418740
I liked it.
I have really missed reading your stuff.

>>49418720
>>49418725
>>49418734
>>49418740
Great! Have you planned an ending, or do you plan to continue the story indefinitely? Don't spoil it, I just want to know how much have you planned the story.
>>49420774
If they do, Maribel and Renko sure don't like using it. It fits them well, if you ask me.

>>49420774
Thank you, if I can manage it then I'll whip together a way to make it easier to read previous entries sometime later today.
>Do you think the internet still exists by Maribel's time?
I'd imagine that its mainstream accessibility has unfortunately become far more invasive by then, assuming the deep-sea cables that keep everything connected manage to survive whatever the next century is bringing us, so the only way to use it "safely" would be through archaic workarounds and backdoors only someone like Renko would know.
This is why Merry isn't the best with technology.
>>49420967
>Have you planned an ending
Yep! I really needed a decent finish to tie everything together and I finally have each story section spaced out how I'd like. It feels great to be back working on this again, I guess it just needed a little more time to gestate is all.
I won't share much over future parts but I will at least say the end of this current section will last us until the 18th. Today's parts coming up soon...

>>49418740
Cirno didn't really mean that, right? She's a fairy, she'd move on! Just because Meiling refused to let one measly nobody slip through the cracks...
Renko wasn't budging, her expression leaving zero indication that there was any fabrication behind what she'd been saying. It really was this or nothing, wasn't it?

What kind of resolve would Hong Meiling have had at Renko's age with the infamy she used to carry back in the day...could the Physicist really be blamed for acting out in self defense here? She's only human after all.
Cirno's grip against the silk of her clothes only tightened in uneasy anticipation. The Guard couldn't just stand here forever, clicking her tongue in overall dissatisfaction while forcing herself to finally double-down on either one risky situation or another. In the end, she might as well let the path of least resistance prevail once again.

"Jeez...going around & causing trouble better not be some regular pass-time for ya. And I better not hear back from anyone that anything's my fault for not bagging you now!"
Cirno stops pulling at Meiling's dress, reddened face looking up at the guard wearily. "You mean..?"
"I won't report back that I came across anything of interest in my search, but if Lady Patchouli isn't alright by the end of the day..."
"Trust me, she'll be fine. I'll even bet Marisa on it."
Cirno's eyes widened with awe while the Guard couldn't help but break out in a smirk. The attitude this outsider sported was baffling, though refreshing in it's own way as well.
"I'll hold you to that then. Better clear out come next sundown if you're so certain, it wouldn't take much to set Miss Izayoi loose if we have to."
"I'd imagine not." Renko yawns again as she sits herself safely back down and begins to wrap herself in the blanket once more. Meiling did at least think to herself that the colors suited the college girl quite well, knowing she could certainly count on Cirno ultimately forgetting to bring the thing back if nothing else.
"See ya around Newcomer, if you aren't planning on busting her out right away then I'd at least send any prayers of yours Marisa's way. It's not like I'm the biggest fan of the Mansion getting into too much trouble but there's no telling what Lady Remilia might ultimately pull with her as long as we have control over things here."
"I'll have to be back for her eventually, I'm sure. But Marisa's a tough one, she can survive a few nights in the clink in the meantime."
Meiling chuckles softly before letting herself out and back across the Lake to give her false report, thankful to just be that much closer to getting some rest in. It's a good thing she wasn't exactly involved in the scheme all-together, dealing with that Human could've been handled a lot more personally otherwise...

Back in the Igloo, Renko lets out a disappointing sigh over the fact that her notoriety within Gensokyo only seems to be increasing with each passing day. Do most people who wind up passing through really fail at falling so far through the cracks that consistently..? It couldn't just be her drive alone here keeping her going, could it? Considering the needs of the phantasmagoric menagerie that made up most of the population here, maybe the barrier itself was designed to work that way.
That attack from the blonde Youkai in the Forest was so desperately ferocious...Renko began to pity the poor fools who surely met their demises here during otherwise completely normal walks through the woods. How cruel any efforts against them must've been...even above all the practical intellectual value of just being here, becoming apart of that fatal statistic was an eventuality that she needed to prevent above all else. Too much has been sunk into this extended excursion as it stands. What would Merry think if Renko just went off on her own only to get herself...
...
It doesn't help to think like this, she really should get herself back to sleep. Cirno, meanwhile, had remained completely agog over everything that just transpired. This Usami girl could probably handle anything that came her way! Definitely a hard target to prank when the time eventually came, but the Ice Fairy at least knew how to recognize strength when she saw it.
On occasion.
"Did you really mean everything you said to her just now..?"
"Well, realistically, I wouldn't have any way of proving that Librarian would be okay concretely. I'd say...chance is 50/50? I may not be ready to fight right now but there's always ways to buy some time if I have to. It was a gamble...but some assumptions I made about that Guard thankfully ended up right."
"Yeah, I used to not pay her much mind but she's always just standing out there. It took a while but she has some pretty neat stories to tell."
"I'll bet...hey, Cirno? Tell me something before I head back to sleep."
"What is it?"

"What /do/ you even see in a girl like me anyhow? The butterfly was nice enough, sure, but I'm sure you fairies all have your own interests."

"Well...if you have to know: to me, you seem important. Everyone around here has been through so much, I'm even getting more involved in ways like Marisa has! Or Reimu! We all have to start living through as much as we can eventually..."
A terribly distant conversation with a stray Tengu by the Pond many moons ago echoed from the back of Cirno's memories, part of her hoping that what she'd have to say could at least carry a little of the same weight as the advice shared back then.
"My point is that I've seen enough to know when someone is gonna start making things happen around here, and I want to be there when those things start happening! Important people thrive within Gensokyo even under the craziest of conditions and here you still are."
"Hmph. Seems a little selfish, don't you think?"
"Big deal. Like you're better off dead to anyone important around here anyways. At least when you're alive you can worry more about your own safety yourself..."
"Ah, speaking of: you're still going to be okay on guard duty for the rest of the night, right?"
"As solid as a frozen rock~! Nobody else will be seeing Miss Usami tonight!"
Even if Cirno was partially full of hot air, that was good enough for Renko to lull herself to sleep once again. The curtain was fully drawn shut this time, the girl hearing little more than the continuous crunching of Cirno's scurrying just outside the Igloo doing who knows what. So long as chances like these kept popping up, Renko knew she really could keep going on her own under so much pressure. One peaceful rest at a time...

Of course, there was no easy way to tell when exactly she fell asleep again, but the next time Renko woke up it was clear to see that it was nearly mid-day. The sun had risen high above the surrounding hills & mountains and the gentle Autumn light had been beaming through the Igloo's porthole directly into the Physicist's face. It wasn't uncomfortable but it was a sign that it was time to get moving. Her body did feel a lot better, can't afford to stick around until something else comes along to spoil that.
In a few minutes, Renko had made just about the only adjustment to her outfit she could - changing into the single spare shirt within her handbag and donning her only headband - and gotten everything ready to go find Cirno. The Physicist wasn't thrilled that she had to resort to wearing what was essentially a dress shirt fit for a night on the town but that long-sleeve had just gotten too grimy. Like her only other company at the moment would even care anyways, the Ice Fairy herself being conspicuously absent from her own Igloo. She couldn't have gotten far, unless she somehow really did stay up the whole night...

Evidently enough, it seems she did stay up until passing out involuntarily at some point. Renko hadn't even taken 5 steps outside before stumbling across Cirno's unconscious body face-down in the snow, completely asleep after what seemingly culminated in an all-out Total War between her desecrated snowman army strewn across every frost-laden inch of the violent powdery wreckage that was now the hilltop. The Ice Fairy was splayed out next to several large ice-spears she seemed to have been carrying before losing all stamina.
How long had she just been lying here like this for..?
"Cirno, hey, Cirno! Wake up! I need to talk to you about something." Renko hunches herself down near Cirno and gives a few good firm shakes to her shoulder, hoping she at least had the bare minimum of hours necessary to function behind her.
"Hhnzzmnnhggh...gbehgehnnzzmnhh...prrimninnzzhnmmn..."
"/Cirno!/"
"Fivemoremiinnizznnhh..."
She limply shooed Renko away with one hand while still face-first in the snow to no avail. Renko was nearly ready to lift her out of the snow herself before an unexpected arrival seemingly appeared out of thin air with little fanfare.

"Oh my, and what on Earth happened here last night?"

A green-haired fairy with fine, feathery wings that Renko had never seen before fluttered down from the mist surrounding the Lake. She had a single ponytail off to the side kept with a yellow ribbon and didn't even notice the college girl until they were mere meters apart. Daiyousei let out a small gasp upon locking eyes with Renko looming over an incredibly groggy Cirno, unsure of whether or not she should flee from this strange human just to be safe.
Up close, she seemed to stand just a little taller than Cirno but could still only barely graze Renko's neck at best. The Physicist figured she's already run into enough people at this point, what's the harm in getting used to breaking the ice herself?
"Uh, hi there? Can I help you..?"
"O-Oh, uh, w-well...I really just came to get Cirno. Is she okay down there..?"
"Hhhaaaiidonevnnmm...yugihgh...howziwhoziwhatsitto...the—Gah! Hey..!"
Renko decided she had enough of trying to translate Cirno's gibberish and simply packed together a snowball to be thrown into the Ice Fairy's face, everyone finally on nearly the same page.

They just needed to wait for Cirno to sit up straight and actually start thinking before speaking again.
"Oh, good morning Dai-chan." She stretched lazily while facing away from the Greater Fairy. "Was there something ya needed from me today?"
"Actually, I was sent out to find you. Sunny & the others have been looking all over the Forest for you since this morning, don't you remember? You all wanted to try working together on something today."
"I don't remember promising anything. They all need me for something /today?/"
The Greater Fairy nods while Cirno tries her hardest to remember making any sort of commitment with the Three Fairies recently. They did all have that talk with Piece by the Shrine three days ago, but...
"Shoot. I guess I just got caught up in a buncha other stuff."
"Yeah, I can see that...uh, would that also happen to involve this Human that's with you?"
"Yeah, but that's Renko Usami - the Rabbit Girl! Except she isn't actually a rabbit!"
'Obviously', Dai thought to herself. If there's anything she's learned from Cirno after hanging around her for so long, it's been how to decipher how much of what she's talking about actually happened.
"Pleasure to be acquainted I suppose. Did you just say that Cirno needs to be somewhere else today?"
"What, is that gonna be an issue?"
"Sort of, that's why I've been trying to wake you up these past five minutes! We're already halfway through the day and before I can get any major plans in order I need to, first and foremost, get back to Marisa's Shop and get my stuff. There's no way I can leave everything I've brought behind."
"So then you wanted /me/ to come along?"
"I'll need someone to watch my back if anything goes awry, or help me out if push comes to shove. Right now, you fairies are the ones with the most know-how on how to get around this area. At least to me."
"So it's almost like some kind of stealth mission? Except we're gonna be stealing back your own things?"
"Well, I, uh...not really, but if that's how you wanna look at it then—"
"Alright! I get to cover the Human on an important mission to the Forest of Magic! There's no way I can miss this chance Dai-chan, the others should already be in the Forest anyways, shouldn't they?"
"Technically, but the plan was to have a meeting over at their house behind the Shrine. If you're going with this girl instead then what do you even want me to tell them?"
The thought of having to brush shoulders with one of the few agents of power in this land who could easily send her back home without a second thought wasn't the most welcoming for the college girl, but Cirno thankfully already had other ideas to circumvent every issue all-together.

"Well then how about this: go over and tell them that we'll all meet up at Marisa's house in exactly One hour! I'll get Renko here over there safe & sound and then we can all figure something out together. That way, everyone wins!"

"Alright, got it. Are you sure you know what you're doing with this Human though? You weren't even born in the Village or anything, right?"
"Nope. Technically I'm from the country's capital but I've explored places...well, /kind of/ like this plenty of times before. I've already managed to cause a little bit of trouble but that's far from the reason why I've come here."
"She's one of those...uh, academics! Like a teacher or something."
"You mean like that lady who runs the Temple School?"
"Uh...technically I...it's more like...yeah. Sure, let's go with that for now." Renko really had no idea who they were talking about but they were at least thinking in the right ballpark here.
"See? And I'm gonna be the one to help her get back on track! You'll all see when she ends up doing something amazing."
"If you say so. I'll go spread the word then, see you two in an hour!" Renko gets ready to wave the Greater Fairy off but, before she gets the chance, Daiyousei flies close to the Physicist's ear to spread a small message of her own for good measure.

"Careful not to let her take too much credit for all those amazing things you're gonna do. She's pretty strong but a little in her own head sometimes."
"Oh, don't you worry about me. I can take care of myself if I have to, it's just nice to let her have a little bit of fun with things too if she wants to~"

Renko gives a sly wink to the Fairy while Cirno stands a few feet away, befuddled over what they could be whispering about. Daiyousei can't help but giggle behind a free hand before waving them both off herself and flying away back towards the mist. Her form seems to shimmer and dissipate into the surrounding air without a sound, leaving the other 2 girls back to their own devices once again.
"So these other Fairy Friends of yours, are they all like her or..?"
"Oh, Sunny, Luna and Star? They're all great! All fairies are different in their own ways, but they're a team that's best known for their pranking around here. They're all pretty strong too, but /I'm/ still the Strongest there is!"

"Some people like calling them the Three Fairies of Light but I always forget why. It's okay, you'll get to know 'em."
"How many fairies even are there in Gensokyo..? Would that even be possible to tally?"
Cirno crosses her arms in front of her as she begins radiating a great amount of pride over the very idea.
"Hmph. Fairies are obviously the biggest species in Gensokyo by far - other groups can't even compare to our numbers! Wherever you see nature at work, there's bound to be a Fairy hanging around somewhere. And don't you forget it lest you suffer the consequences of underestimating us!"
Frankly, there was a lot around here that Renko was certain she'd never forget but she'd try and keep the fact that these mischievous little gremlins were apparently practically everywhere in-mind.
"Well, help is still help after all. But if we only have an hour then we need to get going right away. Is there anything else you need to take care of before we head out?"
"I was going to ask you the same thing. If you're ready now then let's get things started!"
"Alright! What's the quickest route to Marisa's from here then?"
"We can cut right through those pine trees and take a secret hidden path that feeds into the Forest! It's been mostly abandoned for years but I use it all the time when I need to get over there quickly."

"You better take the lead then. I'll be right behind you as best I can."
"Perfect~! /Onwards to the Magic Shop!/"

With a newfound spring to her step, Cirno fully raises herself off the ground with a quick flutter of her icicle wings and twirls around to shake off the powdered snow still clinging to her. She triumphantly turns away from the southeastern banks of the Lake and begins flying off towards the surrounding woods, Renko trailing her escapade from the soggy marshlands below. It's not as if Cirno had started flying at breakneck speeds but Renko still found this pursuit much easier to handle compared to the one led by Eternity, even with the surrounding fog. Mostly thanks to her lack of things to carry beyond the handbag, though the immediate surrounding landscape was just a bit more forgiving compared to the heart of the Forest of Magic as well.
A few solid minutes of passing through mossy underbrush and withering Autumn foliage alike went by, Cirno nearly losing Renko by flying too far ahead on more than one occasion, before the mist of the Lake finally began to clear. More of the surrounding pines had started giving way to a greater variety of trees and the spotted roof of aging leaves overhead had only gotten thicker and more clustered together. Renko knew they were seriously getting close when she ran into her first patch of wild mushrooms, though the abandoned path Cirno had been leading her down was only growing more clustered with the gnarled roots and vines of the surrounding trees. It was quite fortunate that they were still far from hitting sundown; knowing Gensokyo, this path likely wasn't really all that abandoned come nightfall.
Before Renko had realized it, after a few incidental frivolous pitstops thanks to Cirno, the two were on the outskirts of Marisa's property once again some 20-odd minutes later. The Shop looked nearly identical to how it was the last time Renko saw it, though the area was now eerily still and quiet compared to how it normally felt with its owner inside. Even the junk littered around the front seemed as undisturbed as ever. At least it was likely that Marisa apparently hasn’t exactly had a need to worry about looters then.

Until now.

“So everything else you brought with you from the Outside is in there, right?”
“As long as nobody’s been around to disturb any of it, I should know exactly where everything is. If everything goes perfectly then we might even be able to get through with this relatively quickly."
"What do you even mean by 'perfectly' then?"
"Well, for starters..."
As they talked, the two girls made their way around the house from where they arrived to the front where Renko immediately gravitated toward the front door. It had been clear to the Physicist what the main issue with waltzing right in could be this whole time but it never hurts to try the obvious anyways.

She once again finds herself face to face with a locked door that refuses to budge. Would she really need to resort to breaking into Marisa's as well somehow?
"Damnit, knew it wouldn't be that easy. Were there even any other entrances..?"
"Hey, why don't we just try one of the windows?"
A good enough alternative, though Renko did ultimately doubt that the outcome would be any different for any one of the windows. Sure enough, a few strained tugs against one of the panes proved the college girl right once again. She snapped her fingers in frustration before beginning to retreat back into her head to work through the logistics of all the options available to her, meandering away from the front and wandering about Marisa's front lawn in what was almost a personal group huddle.

>>49422808
>How many fairies even are there in Gensokyo..?
Not enough

>>49425017
Never enough

>>49422808
Not a fan of fairies, honestly. It was still an enjoyable read though.

>>49234259 (OP)
Who would be Maribel's favorite painter?

>>49425212
Me neither usually, but Sangetsusei is starting to grow on me from what I've read and I figured what's probably going to be the fluffiest entry ought to have characters that'd enjoy simple fun the most.
A single bone offered to the fairy anons for their trouble, but I appreciate you saying as much.
>>49425508
Wish I had the proper education to answer this well...genuinely a great question but part of me feels like she'd be able to enjoy abstract works as much as she could with something like landscapes.

>>49422808
"Would it be worth it just to dismantle Marisa's front lock like I did at the Mansion? It's not like I'd be able to put it back together again without taking out the entire door. Maybe I could try and see if I can undo any of the window latches from the outside...but I do feel a little bad for dismantling part of her house. What if my tinkering can't be undone and people really do come along to start looting the place? There's got to be another way, I wonder how worth it it'd be to try climbing any of those vines up to the roof? Assuming they don't give way from the plaster due to extra weight. Then again, maybe I could just..."
While Renko continued to mutter to herself, the Ice Fairy had remained on standby as planned until she began to do a little brainstorming of her own out of boredom. If there's anything she understood well that could end up helping in this situation, it was how to get into places when nobody else was around. Renko's overthinking things too much, what this plan requires is some Bold Action.

"When did Marisa even get the chance to lock that door in the first place? I don't remember seeing her take care of that before we left, maybe I just missed her doing it...would there be a spare hidden around somewhere? That sounds like something she would do, maybe Cirno and I could look around a little and...and...uh, Cirno? Are you still here?"

Looking around returned nothing except the regular ambiance of the Forest, the Ice Fairy seemingly having vanished all together.

"Ah jeez, Cirno! Where could she have even run off to at a time like—"
"/TORRRYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—!!!/"

Without warning, a light blue object came careening down from the clearing above just beyond the treetops and flashed by Renko in an incredible blur. The next thing heard throughout the Forest was a resounding CRASH as Cirno forcefully busts her way through one of the front windows, having backed far enough away while flying up through the air to come soaring back down after encasing herself in a jagged ball of several layers of ice and barreling ahead through sheer momentum alone. The sphere immediately shattered upon impact, crystalline particulates imperceptibly mixing with dozens of glass shards as the wooden frame of the window collapsed around Cirno's body still intent on smashing her way inside. A small commotion immediately resounds from within as the Fairy crashes into several books and furniture pieces with a shout, knocking over multiple other belongings of Marisa's in the process.

It all happened so quickly before Renko could fully realize what was going on, though part of her still hoped that one of the many things caught up in Cirno's wreckage didn't happen to be her briefcase full of papers.

"Oh my god!" She drops her handbag in disbelief and rushes over to the fresh jagged hole where the window once stood, uncaring towards the dangerous shards of glass & shrapnel around her. "Cirno! Are you alright in there??"
Renko looks inside to see a total mess among what was already Marisa's typical brand of perfect disorganization, thankfully spotting her briefcase relatively undisturbed on the far table. Not far from that table however was the groaning body of Cirno splayed across Marisa's wooden floor among all the debris. Her figure & clothes were now slightly tattered from the stunt she pulled but nothing looked broken at least. She raised herself with trembling arms and turned back to look at Renko on her elbows with a smile on her face as a cut across her cheek quickly began to turn red.
"I-I've always wanted to do that." The very tip of one of her remaining undamaged icicle wings suddenly cracks itself clean through, unceremoniously clattering to the ground below like a loose tooth while both girls watch with dismay as it quickly starts to melt away.
"That's okay, they grow back eventually."

Astounding. Guess Marisa will just have to worry about what may or may not end up missing whenever she gets back. Or whenever Renko comes up with a good enough rescue plan, whichever comes first.
"W-Well...now that you're inside, would you mind coming over and..?" She points towards the other side of the door.
"Oh yeah! Of course." It doesn't take long for Cirno to brush herself off and glide over to the latch just beyond Renko's reach, swinging the door open proudly as she cordially gestures for Renko to come inside with a smirk. The Physicist rolls her eyes though remains thankful for a job still somewhat done.
"I don't know why you couldn't've just tried climbing through that hole I made for you though."
"Sorry for not being in the mood to tear my dress shirt to pieces? And how exactly do you expect that damage to end up fixed?" She grabs her bag from the grass before making her way inside, brushing aside a few stray tomes with her shoes as she begins to slightly reevaluate the plan.

"Why is that our problem now? You just gotta grab your things and then we can get going anyways, right?"
Renko supposes she does still have a point, it's not like they'd be able to fix the place on their own either way. She simply shrugs to Cirno with a sigh and gets to work scrambling around the few rooms she knows her belongings are in without scattering any more of Marisa's precious things around the floor. The outfit she'd been wearing when she first arrived had remained where it'd been draped in one of the backrooms down the hall when she'd been busy washing herself off the morning of the raid. Those damn buckets...the room still smelled a little damp but the clothing was just fine. Double checking the briefcase in the main space revealed that Marisa really had left everything inside largely undisturbed despite looking through it, though Renko realized she would have to manage herself a lot more cautiously without her taser now that it was likely in the clutches of the Scarlets permanently. At least it served her well in its only fleeting moment of glory...Renko would need to come up with some solution for that eventually but having her wits about her could still surely get her plenty far for now.

Looking over the table in idle thought, the college girl also happened to notice a rough-looking black leather-bound book covered with notes that had likely remained opened here on the table since the day she initially awoke from that small coma. A quick scan of the text revealed it to be informative in nature, specifically over the art of Danmaku and how it was utilized by Gensokyans. It was all in Marisa's handwriting, the pages having been turned to a section covering several different Spell Cards of Alice's that all involved various types of dolls. Was she trying to compare notes somehow..? Maybe this book would end up coming in handy for Renko as well now that she was mostly on her own again, there could be plenty to find out from hanging on to sources like this. Flipping through the back pages revealed many to be only partially finished or covering people she's never seen or heard of, though many more appeared to be simply blank. The gold lettering on the front told Renko that this was, in fact, the Grimoire of Marisa herself. As valuable as this would surely be to hold on to, there's no way Renko could possibly leave Gensokyo without making sure it ends up back here. But for now, it'll have to stay alongside the crimson book still in her handbag. She's gotta find someway to repair that broken strap eventually...

Before the Physicist could get too distracted, a wandering Cirno beginning to fiddle her way through Marisa's various cabinets reminded her that now wasn't the time to be lollygagging. The last of what she needs ought to just be scattered around that room Renko was holed up in during recovery. The planks beneath the girl squeaked as she brought herself into the spare bedroom once again, just as filthy as it was when she left. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to at least remake the bed in Marisa's absence but one thing at a time, can't get caught up in too much.

Despite her attempts to keep that focus however, something of interest she'd nearly forgotten about caught Renko's eye as she scoured the room for what few bits of clothing had been left in there.

A deep purple glint would occasionally shine through the slanted shades of the nearby closet door, ultimately leading the girl to open up the closet and reveal the mystery object in all its glory once again - the Lunar Capital Occult Ball.
A one-way connection to the Pure Lands of the Moon's hidden surface, a dazzling sea of nothing but the waves surrounded by the finest peach orchards she'd ever laid eyes upon. Renko would always be able to look back upon one of her & Merry's first dream excursions with a fondness that couldn't be replicated. They may not have been there for long but this one object seemingly holds the key to potentially take Renko farther into that secret kingdom than she ever figured was possible before.
Cirno was still fooling around with random objects outside the room, nothing standing in the way of Renko's ambitions and what mysteries remained within this single artifact. What could be the harm in holding onto this as well..? It'd be just like the Grimoire, she'd bring it back before it was too late!

"Definitely", Renko said to herself before reaching out to take the glowing orb for herself. For a moment she wondered how she'd even be able to safely tuck it away within her handbag but, upon reaching out to acquire the thing, it simply gravitated towards the open palm of her hand of its own volition. She could feel the heavy amount of energy locked within, though found it somewhat jarring that these were apparently designed beyond the jurisdiction of Gensokyo itself. Maybe not the most surprising considering how much mystery there still was in the world out there, but it remained ever-alluring all the same.

The girl could just barely make out the faded view of some sort of imperial temple-like structure being reflected within but, before she could take any sort of closer look, the Occult Ball quickly shrunk down in size and tucked itself away somewhere on Renko's person. It was almost as if it was placed in the hem of her clothing or a pocket that didn't exist for ease of access. Even this befuddled the Physicist as she rapidly patted herself down and looked around for any remaining sign of the orb but she ultimately supposed it was too late to turn back now. It had made itself hers and she likely needed to trust that she'd be able to reach for it again when she needed it. It's not as if that strange feeling its presence gave off had gone away, but Renko certainly wasn't going to get anywhere if she continued to let common sense define her expectations.

She had what she came here for and then some, now was the time to start planning her next move.

"You alright in there Renko? You've been pretty quiet this whole time."
"Yeah, sorry, I'm alright. Just making sure I got everything in here." One last scan around the room revealed a small canister of what nearly looked like lotion sitting on the mangy dresser across from the bed. The blue and red ornate tin seemed just a little out of place among Marisa's things at first but Renko soon realized it was because this must've been the other bit of medicine that Witch had stolen from the people of the Bamboo Forest. They probably would come looking for this again eventually, or it could end up in the wrong hands before they get the chance to now that Marisa's Shop was essentially defenseless...better hold on to this as well just to be safe. There ought to be just enough room left in the handbag for it, the last thing Renko needs right now are even more loose ends coming around to burn her even further.
The college girl walks back into the main space as casually as she can manage only to find that Cirno has taken to occupying herself by stacking multiple empty potion bottles together. Each one was varied in its design and the precarious assembly toppled over completely with a clatter before the Ice Fairy was able to place the next bottle. She looked down at the additional mess with a frown, she'd almost managed to get it to be as tall as she was...
"Weren't you supposed to be watching my back during this little escapade?"
"Who's gonna try botherin' us in the middle of the day like this? Anyone that could would still have to get through me first anyways, you're gonna be fine."
"Well it's not like you haven't helped me out here at all, I guess...but try not to screw around so much. Marisa doesn't need more things to worry about by the time she's back again than she will already."
"Whatever, I don't even know how she could find anything in all this junk anyways. Did you have any trouble with any of your stuff?"
"Nope, got it all right here and in the briefcase over there." She brought what she still actually held over to the rest of her luggage and began to neatly fold her clothes back into the remaining space of the briefcase. She could worry about changing into an outfit more suitable for exploration later.

"So that's everything you brought back safe & sound then? Mission successful?"
"Well...everything that was still here at the Shop, yes. But I'm still technically missing one extremely important item."
Renko runs a hand over her headband in mild frustration at the possibility that she was likely never going to see the hat she lost while she was still with Marisa ever again. That was one of her finest hats and she couldn't even trace its path as it fluttered down into the Forest of Magic that morning with how fast the two had been flying. If it hadn't been for the sheer drop below and the fact they were already in a rush, she almost might've considered jumping for the thing. Where would she even begin searching for something that small & specific in a forest this dense? Who knows where it's been in the time since then too! She'd probably have better luck talking to any local scroungers that might've stumbled across the thing but even that just felt like wishful thinking.
"Well, if it really is something important to you then its bound to turn up again eventually, right? Forgotten stuff always winds up in Gensokyo but things that are remembered are always tied to who remembers them. It's like, uh...some kinda law of objects? Law of...attraction, something like that..."
"Gensokyo's a place for the forgotten, huh?" Maybe there would be hope for her hat after all then, if only just a little.

Before the two could think things over together for much longer however, some nearby rustling of the bushes outside and the mild chatter of a distant conversation growing ever-closer began to fill the ears of both girls through the regular outside noise.
Renko immediately snapped to attention, partially expecting the worst just to be safe.
"Wait a minute. Cirno, do you hear that..?"

The Ice Fairy perked herself up from off the floor and leaned in closer towards the hole she made in Marisa's wall. Maybe she could try and figure out who was making their way over here before they arrived through sound alone? It's not as if she had the best hearing but she'd be able to act quickly if she knew what was coming before Renko. Soon enough, a small handful of very specific voices made themselves clear to Cirno. From where she was standing, there couldn't be any mistake over who had finally decided to show up.
"I'm sure that noise from earlier came from over here, but I still can't believe you two didn't hear anything. The birds even got scared from how loud the crash was! Didn't you see them flying in the sky from our home?"
"We came up to the top of those branches to relax after Cirno decided to run us all ragged by not showing up this morning! Do you think I'm really gonna be paying attention to something that small?"
"I really didn't mean to interrupt you all, I'm sorry...Cirno just wanted me to pass on another message. I heard the noise too if it's any consolation."
"Either way, it cleared up the situation and I really don't think Luna would be lying to us about this anyways Sunny. Cirno wanted to meet up at Marisa's and here we all are now, plus I can already sense that there are two separate individuals inside the place. That has to be her and the new Human girl."
"Well it's about time we finally get to meet her. Maybe we could even end up somehow pranking her eventually! Give her a proper welcome into Gensokyo for the trouble, heehee~"

Them? /Already??/

"Uh, Renko..? Everything's gonna be fine but...how long has it been since we left the lake?"
"...30 minutes or so. Maybe 40?"
"I knew it hadn't been a full hour yet! I told her to have them give us an hour for a reason..."
"Like we'd sit around for that long anyways when you're over here apparently wrecking up the place! These are the kinds of things we should've been planning earlier, y'know?"

It was funny seeing Cirno jump slightly at the sudden arrival of the new Fairy, though Renko was far more preoccupied with preparing herself to meet a sudden flurry of new faces once again. Never a dull moment...
Sunny Milk hovered herself through the broken window space with ease, touching down amongst the rubble while staring back at Renko with a mischievous fascination. She definitely looked a lot like the other Usa-outsider she knew about, minus the dorky glasses, but the Sun Fairy still felt a little let down to see that this girl really wasn't some rabbit from the outside world after all.
"You must be the Newcomer girl then! I really oughta thank Larva again for introducing us after you two met."
"Sunny, it isn't an introduction if it's totally one sided. This is the first time she's even seen us! ...I think." Star Sapphire had playfully leaned over from the other side of Marisa's wall, the Star Fairy's upper torso being the only thing visible as she coyly smiled at the girls inside. Daiyousei had finally caught up with everyone else after Sunny ran ahead by popping out from the trees behind Star, completely out of breath but still glad to be here. Luna Child had just taken the straight forward approach by meekly opening the door only a moment later, appalled by the total dismay of the Shop standing before her.
"Jeez Cirno! Did you cause all this..? How do you think Marisa's gonna feel when she comes back?"
"I already said that ain't gonna be my problem! Renko needed my help getting inside and now were here!"
Looking down at the multicolored gaggle of Fairies now congregating around Renko certainly was a sight to behold, that green-haired fairy still looked to be the tallest but not a single one had to be any bigger than a grade-schooler! They really must live everywhere around here after all...but they seemed harmless enough anyways. Right..?
"So, you're Renko, huh?" The Moon Fairy was the first to walk up to the college girl and offer some formal introductions. Newcomers around here are usually just left to the Youkai but something about this Human seemed different.
"That's me, seems like most people here already know about me somehow though. Hope you've heard good things."
"When Larva told us that she brought you over to our Shrine nearby then that's when I knew we were bound to run into each other eventually." Sunny's orange ponytails bobbed carelessly with the rest of her hair as she sat down on a nearby desk and leaned her head back to talk to the Newcomer. "Really wish you did more to look out for yourself while you were there though. That Youkai attack must've been pretty nasty..."
"Don't be so hard on her Sunny, Larva was only trying to help."
"Star's right, for once we need to show a little more manners for this girl. She's been through a lot so far."
"Oh you all really don't need to get so stuffy over this. Eternity really did help me out in the end and I understand now that this place would be a lot to take in no matter what."

>>49425508
I'm not exactly sure why, but I have a feeling she will like Gustav Klimt.

>>49426237
It's probably pretty far down the road, but will Renko ever meet Sanny?

>>49429567
>Gustav Klimt
That's perfect actually. Very cultured.
>>49432034
>Sanny
You actually just reminded me of something very important I forgot to pen down for myself about the story, so thank you. Hope that answers your question :)
Yesterday got away from me obviously so the final bits will have to be posted tomorrow instead but I'll still have something ready to go in just a little while here.

>>49426237
"You're the Three Fairies of Light, right? Cirno already told me a little about you all."
"Mhm~! I'm Luna, that's Sunny and that's Star. Dai-chan is here too because we figured the more the merrier today!"
"It's nice to meet you Miss Renko!"
"Larva said you had a cool hat! Are you just not wearing it right now?"
"I have a couple cool hats, thank you very much. This outfit just...doesn't need one. Actually, it's nice to meet you all but can I ask a funny question?"
"What is it?", the three say in unison as they lean in towards Renko.
"None of you would've happened to have seen a...stray hat? Floating around the Forest anywhere maybe?" It was a longshot but she needed every chance she could get.
"A hat, huh? Uhmm...no, not really."
"Yeah, I don't think we've seen anything out-of-the-ordinary around lately. Except you Renko."
"Why do you ask? Did you lose the coolest one?"
"Oh! That must've been the important thing you were talking about, right?"
"Yeah, Cirno's right. I lost one of my good hats flying around with Marisa and I fear it might be done for by now."
"Well we can always try and keep an eye out for it if you'd like."
"Plus, the Forest still gets a decent amount of traffic this time of year so it could've ended up in someone else's hands too."
"What did it look like?"
"Black with a slightly-curved brim, bow with a white finish, but it's not the most important thing to worry about..."
"You looked pretty stressed over it earlier, are you sure it's not all that important?"
"I'm just saying there are bigger things to focus on now! I need to find shelter for the night that isn't just here and I don't even have a plan together for what I'm going to do tomorrow yet."

"Wait, do you mean that Marisa's...not coming back tonight?"
"Nope. The Scarlet Sisters scooped her up and Renko here barely made it out of the Mansion with her life! That's why I've been helpin' her out ever since."
"Woah..!"
"That's so brave!"
"Poor Marisa..."

"I was wondering where she must've went, those Vampires really are no joke...I can't believe you three were actually maids there once."
"It wasn't for too long, all we wanted was a nice vacation spot away from home."
"Maid work is a lesser-fairy's job if ya ask me, what's in it for you even? Besides like...shelter, and food, and security, and...uh...you all know I'm right!"
"Maybe we should take this outside so were not just chatting in the middle of someone's broken house..."

Everyone more-or-less agreed with Luna's suggestion since their little impromptu meeting was starting to feel more like a post-break-in bickering session, the messy environment not really all that conducive to anything constructive anyways now that Renko was essentially done with the place until further notice. The Physicist idly trailed the other 5 fairies with her belongings as they all began to file out into Marisa's front lawn, the descending sun overhead hopefully being just a little more inspirational for these embodiments of nature.
"Did you three even have any good ideas for today before calling me up in the first place?"
"Well...not really? It was a little hard to wake up Sunny this morning so we were all feeling sorta off but I think Star thought of something. Didn't you?"
"Oh yes! I did have one idea...but I ended up forgetting all about it by the time we got fed up with looking for Cirno earlier."
"You big dummies! Why didn't you think of writing anything down?"
"They probably didn't even think they'd have to Cirno, it's not like they could've predicted I'd wind up in your hands by the time today rolled around."
"Well all that stuff doesn't even matter now anyways, what's important is that we're all here now."
"Then where do you think we should go from here, Sunny?"

For a moment, everyone had stopped to think the Greater Fairy's question over in the grass. A few birds flew overhead and Cirno laid back in the grass eyes-closed with a sigh as the brainstorming session began.

"Miss Renko, how long do you think you'd be able to hang out with us for until you have to get going?"
"I'd say until tomorrow afternoon at the very latest. If I can help it then I wouldn't want to stay anywhere all that conspicuous for the night but I need to be sure I can have something else to focus on after tonight. I didn't exactly come here for some kind of Fall Vacation." Though, part of the Physicist still craved some kind of a small break after the rollercoaster of risk that's been these past few days.
"Well...I don't think our house would be able to cut it there. All our beds are too small for most humans and it's pretty close to the Shrine anyways."
"I don't know Sunny, we could get a bunch of our blankets & pillows together and make a nice little space for Miss Renko on the floor."
"You want to have a guest over and have her sleep on the /floor?/ Where's the hospitality in that?!"
"Oh c'mon, I don't think it'd be so bad. Where else could we even take her for the night without exposing her beyond the Forest?"

"Hmph, well...what do you think, Star?"
Star's bangs had been casting a mild shadow over her face as she remained deep in thought while taking in all the encompassing information so far. Her idea from earlier in the morning really was still on the tip of her tongue but she just couldn't put the pieces back together. What's something they could do today with Cirno /and/ Renko that they'd be done with by tomorrow mor—
"Oh! I remember now~! We'd just need to make a few changes to my original idea."
"Which is?"

"Well Miss Renko, what do you think about you, me, and everyone else having a Sleepover tonight~?"
"A sleepover??", the Fairies all say with varying expressions.

"But I just said that our House wasn't a good option!"
"I know, that's why we'd have it at our Forest Shrine instead!"
"Hold on Star, that might not actually work that well either. Don't you remember how it was when we went to go check up on it after that attack?"
It seems that, in the aftermath of Rumia's attack against Renko, the Fairy's Shrine had inadvertently become attached to the negative energies stemming from that evening. The implications of the attack's influence combined with the damage Renko suffered gave the Shrine an unexpected amount of unwelcome potency. Now the very structure of the Shrine itself seemed to be in even more of a decline than the rest of the nature surrounding it. Much to the dismay of Sunny, Luna and Star when they stopped by, the Radio Tower's great branches appeared to be shriveling at an unreasonable pace. Bark had started to peel, leaves & branches alike were snapping away and the nearby typical assortment of fauna no longer felt welcome in the area.
Blood had been spilt, and Darkness was allowed to seep through those cracks. The trio was unsure of what to do at the time, too hesitant to immediately go to any nearby Miko for potential assistance. For them, the rest of that day was spent in mild shock.

"Of course I do. But I think I just realized something that might help. I don't think we'd be able to have Reimu do much anyways since it's a /Fairy/ Shrine. But it also hasn't stopped being ours or anything because of what happened! If something bad we didn't do made it so unwell, then why don't we try doing something good with it again with the same person that was first involved?"
Everyone had been carefully considering what the Star Fairy was saying up to that point, though all attention was quickly turned to Renko as the Fairies waited for her opinion over the matter with baited breath. The Physicist herself had been drawn in by Star's hypothesis just the same, such a display of Belief influencing this manner of Application could be a perfect window into the surrounding meta-physics of Gensokyo itself if it ends up holding water. An ideal opportunity to still get some research done! There was just one hitch to this plan from her point of view however...
"Well, that might actually end up working. It doesn't sound like it'd really be possible with anyone else besides the six of us anyways, but the thought of being out in the open at night like that again is..." She unconsciously began to hold her arms together as the memory of Rumia's laughter played back to her in unsettling detail.

"I understand, you're only Human, but the big difference tonight is that you're gonna be with all of us! If anyone tries to mess with you, then we'll be right there."

Flashes of motivation began to shine behind Sunny's eyes as the whole plan finally came together in everyone's heads. Even Cirno had risen to attention once more when she realized that the rest of the day really could still be about fun after all. All the Fairies getting excited in their own ways felt almost triumphant to the college girl, like this truly was proof that there'd always be a better route to take no matter what mess she became tangled up in here. Renko began smiling alongside everyone else as the Fairies all started to suggest how they could spend their time at their Shrine tonight.
"We can spread out a bunch of the blankets and make it like a big sleeping area!"
"I can prepare some food to bring so we have something to eat before bed as well!"
"Maybe we could bring some trinkets of ours too to help the Shrine feel more welcoming again."
"One of the games we play should definitely be a contest, that way we can make things extra interesting if we get bored!"
"So it'd basically be sort of like a campout?"
Everyone turns to look at Renko once again, though this time with mild confusion.
"A campout? You mean like with tents and little fires and stuff?"
"There won't be any fires this time. I was thinking we could all just lay out under the stars until we fall asleep! It'd be pretty /and/ peaceful~"
"Eh, I guess that'd be for the best anyways. If we really need some light during the night then I actually do have a flashlight."

"Well what are we all just standing around here for then? Let's head back home and get what we need for tonight!"

Everyone raised their fists in celebratory cheer as the Shrine Sleepover idea was set in motion. The team decided to split up to make things easier, the Three Fairies all heading back home to gather everything they needed while Renko and the others were sent ahead to the Radio Tower to scout out a good area. It was already later in the afternoon by the time the trio made it to the Fairy Shrine, no thanks to Cirno & Daiyousei falling victim to multiple distractions along they way yet again. At one point, Renko could've sworn that she even spotted a small tanuki eying her up from some nearby bushes while the two fairies fooled around in a nearby massive leaf pile. She never got a good look though, so it might as well have been a mistake on her part due to still being slightly nervous over heading back to the Tower. Upon crossing those shrine grounds once again however, that anxiousness was immediately overwritten with shock at the state of things compared to the beauty it once held.

Entire planks of bark had begun falling off in gnarly chunks as the twisting trunks had shriveled down to nearly half their previous size, maybe less. The branches no longer bore any leaves and a cool wind blew through the creaking silence of the unlively clearing. The grass even seemed a little shorter than usual in certain areas, making the entire field seem uneven & choppy. Renko ran up to the Tower itself with a start and discovered that, upon closer inspection, the rust of the steel bars themselves had even gotten worse. She traced the path of the patches around to where they were the most highly concentrated, only to find that the worst of it had settled around the impact site of her fractured scalp from that very night. A spatter of dried blood was still visible on that errand bolt, dead grass crunching below her feet as Renko looked down to notice multiple splotches of decay around where she must've lost consciousness.

'What a mess...'

"It all used to be so beautiful...do you really think we'll be able to fix all this Miss Renko?"
"It's just about all we have to try, but a night amongst ourselves shouldn't hurt much either way." Renko sets her briefcase down near one of the Tower's legs and digs out a small rag from her handbag.
"Cirno, would you mind handing me a bit of ice please?"
The Ice Fairy wasn't really sure why it was needed, though complied anyways as a simple fragment of ice materialized above her open hand. Renko took the small chunk and began rapidly rubbing it between the cloth of the rag until it began to melt. After just a few minutes, Renko let the smoothened ice nub fall to the ground before using the dampened cloth to wipe away what blood still remained on the Tower. The rust felt rough even through the cloth but it thankfully didn't take much effort for the unsightly stains to be wiped away. 'As good of a start as any', the college girl supposes.

"Alright, now's not the time to focus on the negatives. What can we do to start making the most out of tonight in the meantime here?"
The three girls stood in silence for a moment before their attentions were suddenly drawn to the unexpected creaking of the Tower above them. Weakened wood chips began to splinter & tumble down around them as one of the many gnarled branches above began to give way from its grip around the Tower. Its shriveled state could no longer support its size as it gradually started bending further away from it's companions. A few foreboding cracks echoing from the sight sent Renko into high alert once again.
"Oh god, guys we need to back away for a second..! Hurry! /NOW!!/"
Everyone fled to the edge of the clearing just as the massive trunk came crashing down with a slam right where they'd been standing a moment before. A small cloud of dirt blew into the air from the rocking impact before resettling as the fallen trunk lay still against the grass. The girls all started at it in silence for a few moments before Cirno chimed in with a thought of her own.
"Why don't we set everything up around that branch then? We could use it like a bench for when we don't want to sit against the ground anymore!"
Daiyousei nodded to herself in understanding while Renko remained mildly dumbfounded over what just happened. It wasn't long before she broke out into infectious laughter that quickly spread to the other two, tension diffusing as everyone began to relax once more. The girls all went to work clearing out much of the fallen tree debris surrounding the trunk until they had a large enough circle fit for the incoming blankets. Renko decided to test the trunk for herself once they were done by taking a seat. It wobbled slightly though luckily nothing gave way, securing it's position as the backbone to their little curated site.

"Hey, uh, I know we just got done cleaning up but I actually had a funny idea of my own that I wanted to share earlier."
"Go ahead Dai-chan, if it's cool enough then we can just tell the others when they come back."

"Well, h-heh, I know this isn't really a campout but I think I know an idea for a fun game none of us have tried before. I was spending time with Lemon-tan last week and she told me all about it, something the humans like to do outside when they're in the middle of forests like this one."
"And what might that be?"
"It's a game called Cornhole, but it doesn't actually involve corn. It's about scoring the most points by tossing things into these...boards that have holes in them? Like little bags of rice or something."
"So it's sort of like an old-fashioned game of Horseshoes? Sounds western."
"'Horseshoes'..? Is that some other kind of human game from the Outside World?"
Of course, Renko had never come across real life instances of either in her time but she understood the basics to Horseshoes after incidentally reading about it once and she knew how to play ring-toss games pretty well. The college girl was actually pretty thankful for such a pedestrian game being suggested by the Greater Fairy, it's something she'd actually be able to do without any of the special powers the Fairies must have.
"They must come from the same general area, but I've never played either. Is there much we need for this Cornhole game besides those boards and something to throw?"
"Nope, I think that's all there is to it."

"Never thought I'd have to pull these out, but..." Renko begins rifling deep into her handbag for something she was gifted randomly on campus one day though never had a use for. It's remained in there over the past few years for no greater reason besides Renko not caring to think about it much, but it seems like the time has finally come.
She pulls out a 3-pack of synthetic hacky-sacks still in their wrapping, no bigger than the palm of her hand.
"Would these work?"
"Oh! Those would be perfect!"
"No way...what else do ya got in there Renko?"
"Eh, just the basics."
"Woah, wait wait wait. This is all great and everything Dai-chan, but where would we even find boards with special holes in a place like this?"
"...Oh, you're right. I hadn't actually thought that far ahead..."

"Hold on now you two," Renko says as she stands from the fallen trunk again. "Let's not give up on this too soon." A quick scan of the clearing just beyond where they cleaned up all the bark revealed exactly what the Physicist was looking for. She walks over to two nearby hunks of bark that weren't too warped and seemed just big enough for the kind of boards she figured they'd need. By the time she was back, both Fairies were looking on with awe at the implications before them. If Renko could read their minds right now, the first word she'd hear from them would be 'Genius!'
The college girl grabs her multi-purpose tool and whips out the included blade, ready to get to work.
"Just tell me where to carve the holes and we'll have this done in no time~!"
Daiyousei immediately jumped at the chance to actually try something new and went to brainstorming with Renko on how to place the holes for scoring. 3 felt too typical so 5 ended up cut into the bark while Cirno fooled around with the hacky-sacks. Many times, she'd need to retrieve one kicked too far into the bushes while on one occasion she ended up pelting Renko in the side of the head. "On complete accident", of course. But eventually, they had their boards ready to go.

"Okay, and they need to be slanted. I almost forgot, that way it's harder when you're trying to throw them in." Daiyousei runs off and grabs some more average-sized branches before snapping them in half, the complete setup nearly ready to be tested.
"And what have you all been getting up to in the meantime?"
"Hi Sunny~!" Cirno waves joyfully before the footbag she'd just beaned above her comes sailing down into her own head, the Ice Fairy crying out before she catches it and rubs the spot where it hit her.
Sunny simply laughs as she watches.
"Did Star not want to come or somethin'..?"
"Oh, she's just back at the house making dinner for everyone."
"But we brought every blanket we have~!" The Sun Fairy enthusiastically tosses the entire clump she'd been carrying into the open space next to the Tower. The whole bundle plopped next to Renko as she propped the boards up against the fallen trunk to better jam in the legs.
"I also have some pillows and a few belongings of ours that we thought would be nice to bring. Uh, what /are/ you all doing anyways?" Luna watches in confusion while Renko sharpens one end of each to-be leg.
"This is a game called Cornhole, you toss bags to win. Daiyousei here thought it might be fun to try once you all got back."
"Oh, just like a game at a Festival~! I'd love to try, but we should lay out all the blankets first."
"Star won't be here for another hour or so either, so this should be a nice little time killer."
Once Renko had finished carefully hammering the legs through the bark, everyone agreed to chip in with laying out a different blanket until every single one had been carefully layered together.

Maribel's a party girl!

>>49234259 (OP)
>>49367049
Got to listen to R53M while on a train.
It's such a good album, for the remixes and especially for the original tracks and the story. It paints a future that, no matter the technological progress, still necessitates the wonder that was previously achieved through other means: I love the detail about the train taking exactly 53 minutes, even though it could technically go faster, in an attempt to replicate the now lost feeling of progression through the 53 Tokaido stations.

>>49440408
It's my favorite album. Among other things, it made me realize that all good music mimics a journey.

>>49440408
I feel like I really could've appreciated that one better during my first listen in hindsight. Might be about time to go back through some of the Hifuu albums after all...
>>49439181
Merry, at times, seems like the kind of girl to have been just a touch more unhinged in high school. She just learned to mask a little better over time.

Final few parts incoming btw, today's been a little busy so my drawing for it right now is just going to be in sketch form but that'll obviously be updated come the DX version.
You'll have your Merry thread back again in just a few posts, many thanks for everyone's tolerance of this here so far.

>>49435850
The multicolored patchwork assembly of pastels blocked out the withered grass and added a great deal of color back to an otherwise eerie display. With how many were over the ground itself as well, it was frankly quite comfortable with the right combination of pillows. The girls all started their game of Cornhole by placing the boards at opposite ends of the blanket circle, three turns for each hacky-sack with the holes closer to the top being worth the most. Renko was in charge of keeping tabs on score since she was the one with the notepad and pens for it. Some of them threw with all their might to mixed results, while others quickly fell into the groove of a simple toss with good accuracy to yield the best results. After three rounds of everyone throwing back and fourth, Daiyousei herself came out as the first champion. The Fairies then began to experiment, the boards going from sitting on the ground to hanging from opposite sides of the Radio Tower with what vines still clung to it. Sunny was the winner of that series of rounds, much to her own delight at being the fastest learner to the game as well. They were just getting ready to start taking turns holding them high into the air for those throwing from below when Star Sapphire finally showed up with their meal in-tow: a fresh pot of mushroom gravy stew with a side of spare tea cookies. Renko hadn't realized how hungry she'd gotten until she smelled the stew for herself and her appetite hit her like a freight train. Everyone took to resting against the fallen trunk after wooden bowls were passed out to enjoy dinner together as the sun overhead continued to edge closer towards the surrounding treetops. The college girl was in the middle of helping herself to her third serving when Luna Child suddenly chimed in with an errant thought.

"Hey, something just hit me. If we're all supposed to protect Miss Renko during the night too, how are we going to do that if everyone is asleep?"
"We could try sleeping in shifts, the one who's awake waking up the person with the next turn when their time is up."
"Well sure Star but how do we make it fair? Each Fairy ought to get the same amount of sleep before she gets woken up by someone else."
"Oh hey, (gulp), I actually have something for that too. It'll let you guys keep track of time /and/ have something to do to keep yourselves awake whenever its your turn."
"Somethin' else from that bag of yours..?"
"No, I have to keep it in my briefcase since it's frankly a little fragile. You guys need to promise me that you'll all be extremely careful with this, it's a precious artifact from the past that's getting close to 200 years old from where I'm standing."

Truth be told, it was a little tougher than it'd normally be after so much time due to the minor repairs Renko's made to it in the past but it was still something she treated with utmost care. The college girl only brought it with her in the first place so she'd have something to do on the rail over to Nagano that wouldn't leave her traceable with where she was headed. She pulled out a scuffed, small plastic rectangle with a metal face and deep purple finish. The miniature red buttons on the front fascinated the Fairies and everyone gathered around to bare witness to the so-called precious artifact. It's a good thing Renko still had the extra batteries for it when she left.

"It's called a Game & Watch, and it's an ancient device from my time I once found in a very old house. It tells the time up here, see? And when you press one of these buttons it can play a game called 'Judge'. The goal is to get a higher number than the other guy and then you bonk him with a hammer with this button or move away with the other if he has a higher number than you. Here, it's easy."
She hands the ancient handheld over to Sunny who holds it with a deep curiosity. Most of the text on the front had long since been scratched away but the LCD screen's graphics were as crisp as ever, the Sun Fairy pressing the Game B button and watching the animations play out before her. She ended up with a 7 while the CPU only got a 4, quickly falling victim to Sunny's hammer attack from above. She beamed with delight at managing her first win right off the bat and smiled deeply at Renko.
"This is so cool! I've never seen a game like this, it's perfect for tonight~! Thank you Renko, today wouldn't have been the same without you."

Everyone agreed in unison as the girls returned to finishing dinner with a newfound warmth in their hearts more comforting than the stew itself. Peace returned to Renko once again as she let herself get lost in the company of the Fairies. 'If only Merry could see me now...'
They would finish their food relatively quickly before jumping back into their advanced game of Cornhole as the colors of incoming twilight bathed the skies above. The college girl would manage to win only one game of her own before the Fairy's techniques would grow too advanced to keep up with.

At Cirno's suggestion, they had taken to the air and began combining the footbag with their various forms of Danmaku attacks. Several new holes were created in the boards shortly thereafter until the Ice Fairy managed to fling one of the sacks far too deep into the woods for retrieval. The Fairies had decided it was time to start settling down for the night anyways, everyone coming together for a series of Rock-Paper-Scissors to determine who would be staying up to protect Renko first. Eventually, the rotation was determined to be Star, Luna, Daiyousei, Sunny and Cirno switching off every 1-to-2 hours. Everyone got comfortable for the encroaching darkness as the sound of the nighttime insects began to fill the space once more.
"Uh, Miss Renko? How are we supposed to see the game when it gets too dark?"
"Here," she hands Star a large flashlight that she could even keep on for emergencies if she wanted. "That way, we still don't need any actual fire."
The Star Fairy clicks the flashlight on and off with enthusiasm before thanking Renko and resuming her time with the game. The other Fairies chatted amongst themselves and everyone grabbed what pillows they'd need for the night. Renko settled herself near one of the Tower's legs just as the first stars began to shine above them.

That was a view she really would miss again when she's gone...maybe it wouldn't hurt to pull out the Merry Doll again. Really savor the moment.

Upon looking inside her handbag to find the Doll buried within, the Physicist was surprised to see the shrunk-down Occult Ball resting just near the Merry Doll. It's glowing aura softly illuminated the doll's button eyes, Renko wondering when it might've had the chance to even end up there but knowing it wasn't the biggest concern to have right now. Everything felt just perfect. Even if the Shrine didn't end up healed from this, she still wouldn't have considered this a waste of anyone's time.
"Hey Luna, would you mind doing something about the beeping noise the game keeps making?"
With a wave of the Moon Fairy's hand, the device went totally silent and those who were starting to fall asleep breathed a collective sigh of relief. Before Renko could get a chance to consider reading any of her books to help her sleep, the college girl nodded off in the comfort of the fabric to the quiet sounds of conversation & nature itself. She held the Merry Doll close as everything faded away...

Only for her vision to return after what only felt like a minute of rest. Renko blinked up at the full night sky above, surprisingly refreshed for it only being 11PM. She raised herself up and spotted Daiyousei sitting on the end of the log, letting the light of the stars act as her guide for playing Judge. Renko scanned the area for the flashlight, the rest of the Fairies sound asleep, before finally spotting it right next to her...

Her...hand? That was her arm too, wasn't it? Renko stared in complete confusion at the double-image of her opaque hand raised above a seemingly lifeless duplicate. She immediately stood while looking down to see her unconscious body resting comfortably in the blankets below.
She knew what was going on, though had only ever experienced it through Maribel's intentional assistance. She was lucid dreaming through a projected dream self..! All on her own! But how??
She supposes that a land as Ancient as Gensokyo truly must be rife with Secrets on all levels after all...

She closed her eyes in contemplation, though no longer recognized her immediate surroundings upon opening them again. Something about the air was different, even the sky looked like it had changed slightly! The stars immediately told her that time had indeed somehow advanced a full hour during...whatever just happened. She was still in Gensokyo, but where was the Forest? And the great Mountain that sat beyond the Lake? That should still be visible from most places, right?
Looking around revealed an overgrown forest much thicker and more primal than even the Forest of Magic sitting just behind her. Ahead of the girl lay an empty field dotted with the colors of Fall. After a moment of her eyes adjusting however, Renko spotted what seemed like several large figures lying around fast asleep in distant areas throughout the field. Some appeared to have great weapons, and one was even resting near a crackling firepit. Her clothing looked to be little more than dyed animal skin, greyed hair frizzing out in all directions. The confusing sight made the sleeping Physicist begin to back away ever-so-slowly into the foliage behind her.
Until an unexpected and unknown voice came out of nowhere to greet her.
"It's dangerous to be lost in a Sanctuary like this at night, girly."
Renko shouted and fell to the ground in surprise as a hidden pair of cool, silvery-scaled eyes peered back at her from the nearby bushes. It's fanged smile glinted in the moonlight as it laughed at the sight, Renko wishing that she'd ended up Anywhere Else but here...

Her eyes opened to discover that her wish had come true, now being surrounded by more spotty fog and the sounds of rushing water. Maybe it was the Misty Lake again? The many different pebbles around her told Renko otherwise, though what little glimpses of the stars above she could get signified that yet another hour had passed. Was she just...randomly blipping around Gensokyo now?! But it couldn't be random, she had total control of her faculties and awareness while in these lucid states. There had to be some reasoning behind it...
She looked around to see errant piles of small rocks scattered every which way, something else translucent had floated by in the distance as well though Renko wasn't able to make anything of it until an identical wisp-like blob passed by to join the first.
These were Spirits. She was surrounded by Lost Souls this time! Was this some Area specifically designed for Ghosts then or what?

Another blink, another rush of air around her as her dream self materialized somewhere else once more. She was back in a forested area, though not far beside her stood a decrepit house that seemed long abandoned. Its shingled roof had partially caved-in in places while the entire lower foundation sported an unruly slant. At least she felt alone again, right..?
A quick look up revealed that nearly two hours had passed this time. Why did each jump have to take so long?! All this schizophrenic teleporting wasn't getting the Physicist anywhere, she had to figure out a way to control it while she still had moonlight to burn. Maybe it was thought based? She just had to direct her Intentions towards a specific point or goal in a moment of purposeful concentration, surely that'd yield some better results.
It took her a second but soon Renko thought of the perfect test subject to try and focus on.
'My Hat...take me to my lost Hat...I want to Be where my Hat is Located...'

She held her breath as she closed her eyes, but could immediately feel the transition into somewhere indoors with a gasp. Looking down, she saw that she was now standing on an old-fashioned bamboo mat somewhere with a lot of ancient Chinese-style interior architecture surrounding her. The lone window in the lantern-lit room didn't reveal many stars, but that was only due to the fact that there was clearly an entire field of bamboo stalks growing just outside. They must've towered over whatever building she was in, maybe this was that Bamboo Forest..? But then why would she have—

Renko soon spotted a table littered with various artifacts and very industrial-looking weapons in different states of ware, strikingly out of place compared to the rest of the room, though there were also objects such as a wide-brimmed straw farmers hat and a large bamboo basket complete with backstraps. Among the assortment sat none other than her lost hat propped up against the wall. Jackpot! So that really /is/ how she can control her destinations! But how could she manage to get the hat back to a place where she could—

One of the nearby sliding paper doors opened to reveal an exhausted-looking purple haired girl in a tattered suit & skirt, covered in the grime of a hard days work as she wiped the sweat from her brow just below her frazzled...
"Rabbit ears?"
Renko spoke aloud thinking that nothing much would come of it before quickly learning that the perception of others over her dream self apparently didn't just extend to vision alone. Reisen Udongein Inaba stopped dead in her tracks before the college girl, reddened eyes opened wide with shock & surprise alike. Renko immediately mirrored the same gesture as she froze up herself, both unsure of who ought to make the first move.
"Who the Hell are You..?"
'Take me someplace else! Somewhere Beyond the Bamboo and near more Humans than Youkai! Please..!!!'

Renko imagines that Rabbit sure must've been shocked to suddenly see her disappear into nowhere, opening her eyes once again to see she was now standing in a darkened room with little more than soft electronic music to greet her. She turned around towards the only light source, the dim glow of a CRT television connected to an equally-outdated video game system. A young girl in light blue spotted pajamas sat focused in front of the screen, eagerly mashing away at buttons until pausing not long after being noticed. The next thing Renko noticed about her was her striking lime-green hair as soon as she turned around, initially mistaking the hue for a simple trick of the low light levels. 'Still in Gensokyo after all then...'
"I haven't been up all night! I swear it's not what you think! I-I'll be ready for the morning sweeping as soon as..."
Sanae Kochiya's surprise quickly gave way to confusion once she realized she was not in fact in the familiar presence of the Divine after all.
"Uh...who...are you? How did you even get in here so quietly?"
'Not That Close to the Humans around here..! I don't have time for these sorts of interactions right now!'

[mini-part due to character limit and poor formatting, final post after this one]

Before the young maiden could even consider doing anything drastic towards this sudden intruder, Renko reeled herself back into concentration until she felt herself fade away completely into someplace else. She was standing on a small hill that was overlooking what surely must've been the Human Village. The great wall surrounding the buildings and the few flickering lights that shone sporadically throughout them was a dead giveaway, but it was far too dark to make out anything beyond like the agriculture fields or few surrounding buildings. A small gaggle of night sparrows chirped overhead as Renko looked up to see it was now just past...

/4 in the morning..?!/ 'You gotta be kidding me!' She might as well have been fooling around in Some Graveyard this whole time with how little night there still was!

She didn't even notice her eyes were closed in frustration that time, now being surrounded by row after row of various headstones all bathed in the dim glow of the approaching morning sun. There weren't enough stars overhead anymore to tell the time accurately, Renko resigning herself to the fate of having wound up in a place so desolate with little to make from her sudden travels. She was so caught up in her own self-loathing that she didn't even notice the wooden clacks of someone stepping across the nearby graves heading towards her direction.

"Woah, hey look at that! It's some new Human!"
Renko looked over her shoulder to see a strange looking girl with light blue hair, carefully balancing atop one of the graves with only one leg while peering down at the Physicist with multicolored eyes. She had a large umbrella nearly twice her size which Renko first considered a little gaudy before realizing the thing had a face of it's own that was staring back with an incredibly floppy tongue to boot. It was a real life Tsukumogami! Under any other circumstance, this would be the perfect time for a much needed Youkai Q&A but the Umbrella Girl already seemed to have some ideas of her own.
"Hey Nue-chan, get over here! There's this random Human in the Graveyard, I think she might be a Poltergeist maybe?"
Renko turned towards where Kogasa had been shouting only to come uncomfortably face-to-face with the Unidentified Youkai herself. Nue had blipped just behind Renko without a sound, though decided to hang herself upside-down by her Trident with one foot to be a little playful with the situation. She stared deeply into Renko with searing snake-eyes that burned right through her previous mild enthusiasm.
"A Poltergeist, huh?" She could already tell that this was just some Human, though couldn't help but break out in a sinister grin as the college girl tumbled over herself in shock and fell down to the ground with newfound fear. Nue reoriented herself with one swift motion and stood over an unmoving, trembling Renko with her hands to her hips. The Seed of Unknown Form came twisting out from behind her neck only to settle on her shoulder and flick its tongue at the sleeping Human.
"This girl is asleep somewhere else Kogasa, this is just someone's dream self paying us a visit."
"Oooh, how spooky~! Are you gonna return the favor with a little /hospitality/ then?"
"Might as well. Wouldn't want some sleeping girl giving us trouble this early in the day."
She kneels down in front of Renko, clawed hands gently going to both sides of her head as Nue refuses to break away from their locked eyes. The college girl remained unexpectedly unable to resist.

"It's okay, you'd've woken up soon anyways. This'll only take a second now, so just hold still~"

The space within Renko's vision began rapidly diminishing around her until the two girls were surrounded by nothing but howling darkness. Renko feels herself paralyzed with deep-seeded fear as Nue's eyes seem to begin glowing straight through the darkness. Everything goes eerily quiet as everything fades from view except for those eyes, only for them to close as well and leave Renko with nothing but the sound of her own rapid breathing.

Until the sight of some horrible chimeric creature with the same burning eyes comes screeching out of the darkness and lunges several hissing snake heads directly into Renko's own eyes.

She immediately awoke under the gleaming reflection of the Radio Tower above her, tangled in blankets and drenched with sweat while gasping for breath. Everyone else was still sound asleep despite the sun slowly raising further overhead, Cirno having seemingly fallen asleep during her shift at some point without waking anybody up. Even the flashlight had been left on for who knows how long, but Renko was awake again. That much was certain.
That Youkai...she woke her up by changing the nature of her dream. She did something to her sleeping mind...didn't that Umbrella call her Nue? Could she really have been one-in-the-same with the legendary Heian-era beast? Living history, everywhere you turn...

Before she could dwell over her strange projection episode for long however, something else far more immediate caught the Physicist's attention. The branches of the Tower overhead were no longer shriveled to an unhealthy degree. In fact, they looked thicker than ever as Renko gazed with awe at the sight. Even the area where the trunk had fallen before seemed to be slowly working its way back up the structure! The vines and mosses were far more plentiful, seemingly in-spite of the season, while fresh blades of grass had even started poking out of certain areas within the blanket zone.

The Fairy's Plan really had ended up working after all, it was just as beautiful as Renko had remembered before. She couldn't wait for them to see once they all finally started to wake up themselves. But for now, she could enjoy the soothing sight all to herself. Just for a little while...

>>49441770
I'm glad we took a break from the fairies. The concept works well with Renko's abilities, it's somewhat 'symmetrical' with how Maribel's ability is described as working in Gensokyo. This is probably my favorite entry in a while, though, since the story is presented from Renko's perspective, I wouldn't use other characters' names until Renko knows them too. It creates a gap(getit?) between Renko's perspective and the narration.
The idea of Renko going around a night, spying Gensokyo's inhabitants is also one I really like. It's hard to explain why. I guess it's the intrigue of walking around town late at night, seeing a lit window and imagining what the person inside might be doing, except it's a 2hu and you actually get to see what they were doing.
It's funny to imagine Sanae thinking Renko was a hallucination from sleep deprivation.
>>49441777
Nice trips.
I feel like your writing are becoming exponentially longer as the story goes on. The original Alice story benefited a lot from its more concise structure.
>>49441791
>It was a real life Tsukumogami!
Since Renko hasn't seen that many youkai, would she be able to figure out that 2hu tsukumogami are the not just the objects they hold?
Renko has seen a "chimera" before, which is implied to be a nue. However, I guess it's believable that Renko wouldn't be able to identify Nue since she hides her true form.
Aaaand we're back to the fairies...

Would Maribel figure out where Renko is and try to reach her?
I think she would in a few hours after Renko's disappearance but, assuming Gensokyo time dilation can go both ways, it's fair to assume only a few hours have passed for Maribel.

>>49441650
I've seen this image so many times, yet I've only just noticed the silhouettes of Sanae, Suwako and Kanako on her dress.

A Renko thread will get made in 2 days. This is your only warning.

>>49445334
Isn't Maribel supposed to keep us safe from Renko?

>>49445522
She's tired, Anon... she's fought for too long...

>>49446786
I would have said that she needs to sleep for a bit but, if I was Maribel, I'd get more tired from sleeping than from being awake.

>>49350482
Blue. There are surprisingly few blonde, blue-eyed 2hus.

Merry's asleep again...

>>49445334
Well? Where is it?

>>49460668
Maribel sealed Renko in the Hakruei Shrine. She won't bother us...for now.

>>49460668
Renko too busy at the Jizo thread

>>49260993
They got a Cameo Symposium of Post-mysticism

>>49290753
But I won't get this kind of reaction when I talk about the LoTR or the Hobbit and those things were written over 70 years ago. Merry is just being unnecessary rude!

Then again it's our generation that destroyed the planet and made them live in that dystopien society so I guess it's no surprise she feel resentful about it

>>49304601
This is why Yukari can't get any man these days. It's karma for her playing around too much when she was younger

>>49330391
Do they have other roommates or are they rich enough to afford their own apartments?

>>49402932
>merry has lots of dates and mixers to attend!
WHORE!

>>49462127
I can't picture either of them having any other friends.

>>49462090
Does that also means Renko will finally become popular in the future?

>>49465170
Ironically enough, it means Renko will be popular in the past.

It's Mary.

>>49476702
No, it's Maribel. Get it right!

It's mary-berry

She's called that cause she always has on Strawberry perfume

>>49479791
No, it's Maribel! Just because you don't use an alphabet doesn't mean you get to change other people's names!

>>49479796
Stop using strawberry perfume and people won't give you cute nicknames like that, mary-berry...

>>49479826
She stopped showering because of this post.

>>49238161
My theory is that ZUN pussied out and now anything gap related that was originally going to be done by Yukari will be done by Okina.

こんいちわ、こんばんわ、とおやすみなさい。

>>49494342
She'll die out there.

Cutest psychology major

What even is relative psychology?

Why does Merry become super racist?

>>49506251
When has Yukari been racist???

>>49506251
She has never been racist! Unlike her friend...

>>49509268
that fucking gif has done irreversible damage to the hifuu club

Why did Merry decide to go on an adventure alone when she could have waited for Renko to finish presenting her theory?

She used to be so innocent...

I think the thread's worn thin enough to say this: I'm the OP of this and the previous Merry thread from several months back and, in the month before I made the last thread, I had several dreams every single night where Maribel appeared despite not thinking about the Touhou franchise in over a year. It was funny at first but after three-ish weeks of it I decided to make the last thread and the dreams suddenly stopped. As soon as the last thread archived, however, she started popping up again hence this thread.
Am I haunted by a psych student?

C&C

>>49525609
This is talked about often in the esoteric threads. If it’s that frequent, it could be Yukari/Hearn trying to contact you. You should share your experiences the next time that thread crops up

https://archive-of-the-sealed-gods.neocities.org/

>>49509268
C C L
C
L

>>49238161


What if it's a red herring and the real plot twist will be she is not Yukari at all

>>49531101
He's not enough of a hack for that. He only uses red herrings to troll mimafags.

>>49525609
Think of what a psychology major would tell you. It means she best represents an archetype that has become very important to your psyche as of recent.

Yukari has THREE motherfuckering bed-shattering, sexually insinuating THREADS

>>49537445
Forget the red ribbon, we'll know when Maribel's transformation has begun when she starts taking a fan with her.

>>49267815
I can see her actually wearing a sweater on a CD jacket.

Merry!

A cute

>>49242217
Ironically this is much easier than it sounds because it’s the weird people riding on the trains and buses sometimes who are easiest to talk to. Unless they’re crackhead then you’re going to have a bad time.
It’s the normal people who don’t want anything to do with strangers.

How is the hifuu club so popular these days? I remember making a thread for both girls back in 2021-2023 and not getting many replies.

>>49545623
Since RCS had no story, in 2021 you had seven years since the last new meaningful info on hifuu. TJD is barely year old, in comparison.
Also, random number generation and few good posts to kick-start something you wouldn't expect before from hifuu girls.

>>49545553
Is Merry the type of schizophrenic to talk to strangers?

>>49550687
She talks to her shadow.

>>49556529
She sounds like a freak, but also cute from a certain perspective.

Merry paizuri

Take her hand!

>>49562395
Are we off to neverland?

>>49562783
Something close. As an aside, do you like peaches?

>>49562953
The're alright

>>49563123
They're*

Merry the Nerd wanted to correct Renko for using the wrong japanese term.

>>49571817
What a weeb

Maybe she only went to Japan to make japanese friends, and that's why she is best friends with Renko despite them being so different.

>>49533207
What archetype could Merry represent?

I think it's interesting how in a lot of early albums, manipulating boundaries is said to be "forbidden". It means that, at some point, future society encountered gaps.

What's Maribel Personality type?

>>49596236
INFP, definitely.

>>49596236
It's "MERRY"

Renko thinks she has it hard with her chest size. She couldn't live day in Maribel's world, an entire country, the one she lives in too, mispronounces her name constantly.

Wake up, Merry!

Guys, I think Merry might really be going back to sleep

>>49597117
We could still get this thread past the bump limit before it archives, theoretically.

Merry sure likes to sleep...

>>49596557
Yeah it's so embarrassing when they say your name wrong all the time.
https://files.catbox.moe/sh5yj3.png

>>49608810
That's one funky aspect ratio on that camera.

>>49611182
They invented new phones in 2100 with that aspect ratio, they call it the iPhone 100!

>>49608810
Is this OC?

>>49615562
yes

>>49615781
Great work! Very sexy Merry.

>>49388690
I think Merry would post on /a/. I can't imagine her playing Touhou, let alone liking it.

soon

>>49597120
Old!

Don't leave Merry!

>>49633298
Merry's been trying to leave for a while now. Like Baby It's Cold Outside, but the song never ends.

>>49633328
Maybe she has better things to do.

Happy 175th Birthday to Koizumi Yakumo/Lafcaido Hearn
And happy Yuka-Merry day! #6月27日はゆかメリの日

Maribel has a very underappreciated sort of aesthetic or feel. She is both jovial and melancholic at the same time. A lot of her lines can seem either cynical or innocent, often one after the other.

Do you prefer Yukari or Maribel?

>>49644331
They’re the same person…

>>49644331
I like Maribel more, personally.

>>49644331
It's curious how Maribel's abilities evolve, and how she reacts to them. So i prefer her.

>>49644331
Maribel, because I prefer the Hifuu aesthetics.

Mari!

>>49651513
She looks like goth Toyohime here.

>>49644331
I'll prefer Yukari when I get to her age.

>>49651542

Paradox?

>>49657133
What?

Do you really want to do this again, Merry?

>>49651557
17?

I recently managed to get her contacts for a "photo shoot"

Merry is too cute for page 10

Come on Merry, go up!

Come on Merry, don't fall asleep when you're so close to the bump limit!

>>49665417
You either die a cute Maribel, or live long enough to become a stinky Yukari.

I just realized this. Maribel is THE trainhu.

The dreamy girl

balanced

atop

the boundary

between

bewitching

and perilous

Merry reached the bump limit again!

>>49442304
>This is probably my favorite entry in a while
Thanks for saying as much by the way, though I will keep what you said about unknown character names in-mind. Stylistically, there /sort of/ is a reason why I've been writing like that but it's small potatoes and if it helps with the flow for readers then I can manage.
>It's funny to imagine Sanae thinking Renko was a hallucination from sleep deprivation.
It'd be the perfect way to set up her next appearance in the story as well which I will be penning down for the future, thanks again. You described the appeal of Renko's dream-hopping pretty well which is nice to see cause that idea was very off the cuff for me. Almost thought I wouldn't be able to get to that this entry, partially why it is so long. Speaking of,
>The original Alice story benefited a lot from its more concise structure.
Another thing I've done some reflection over, especially since overwriting is a genuine fault of mine, and I'm setting a hard limit for myself for the next part: the total final word count will only make it the third lengthiest entry so far if it has to be that long. Otherwise I'm aiming for a much tighter pace to things next time.
>would she be able to figure out that 2hu tsukumogami are the not just the objects they hold?
She's a pretty smart girl, I don't see why not.
>Would Maribel figure out where Renko is and try to reach her?
Tut tut Anon, I can only reveal so much ahead of time~ ^^
>>49445334
>A Renko thread will get made in 2 days. This is your only warning.
The next entry will begin within the final days of that thread sometime within the next 2 or 3 days. This is your only warning :)
>>49673402
And now she can be free to finally get the rest that she deserves...
Good job MerryBerry.

Time to pass into serenity or archive...