#Sakuyahime

[coolmika745]

Ayakashi Hyakki Yagyo (あやかし百鬼夜行) Mobile Game Characters Part 2

[Character Introduction] Nekomata Tsugaru (ツガル) is a cat Yokai with multiple tails. Cats that have lived a long time often change, but Tsugaru has a history of changing into a nekomata out of resentment for being turned into a shamisen. Awakened to music in the yokai world and currently active as an underground idol. Her personality is aggressive.

[Character introduction] Oni Woman (鬼女) (Benibo (紅房))

The general manager of a black market that exists in the late night road that connects yokai to it. She is a bold older sister who is strict with herself and others, but she has a soft spot for her children. She runs a black market according to her own beliefs.

[Character Introduction] Kinkuma Doji (金熊童子)

An oni who protects the north of the mountain and is one of the Four Heavenly Kings who serves Shuten Doji of Mt. Oe. Originally from Mt. Kongo, he prided himself on his strength and became Shuten-Dōji's companion along with his twin brother, Ishikuma-Dōji. In Ayakashi, he appears as a giant who likes fighting more than having three meals a day.

[Character introduction] Jiangshi Yang Biao (キョンシー(陽彪)) is a hot-blooded one who loves Kung Fu and is a master of Isao Fu. He was friends with Fei Lang and Hiro since childhood and died in the orphanage attack. At the time, he was not even a Taoist, and Ryugen's amateur techniques led to him becoming a kyungshi.

Note that this character is based off a being from Chinese Folklore.

Also this is Hiro.

This is Fei Lang.

I will translate their character description later when I get to the part where they appear in the story.

[Character introduction] 《Dedicated to training》 Maomao (猫猫) & Huhu (虎虎) Children's wisdom. They are Yang Biao's favorite disciples and are devoted to his kung fu training under his passionate guidance.

[Character introduction] 《Dedicated to training》 Maomao & Huhu (Mao Maomao & Huhu)

Children's wisdom. They are Yang Biao's favorite disciples and are devoted to his kung fu training under his passionate guidance. Maomao, who are always in a straight line, and Huhu, who are cautious, are a good combination.

[Character Introduction] [Shiki Fighting Clothes] Iwanaga Hime (岩長姫)

A goddess in Japanese mythology who is said to be strong like a rock but ugly in appearance, and the older sister of Konohana Sakuya Hime. She is a muscular woman in the yokai world, and usually wears armor and serves as the leader of Hanasaki Village's Vigilante Group. This time, she appeared shyly in a costume given to her by her sister!

Note that in Japanese Mythology, Iwanaga Hime and Sakuya Hime were the daughters of Oyamatsumi and the granddaughters of Izanagi and Izanami.

[Character Introduction] Konohana Sakuya Hime

A goddess who appears in Japanese mythology and is as beautiful as a blooming cherry blossom. Along with her older sister, Iwanaga Hime, she rules Hanasaki Village, one of the most famous cherry blossom viewing spots in the Yokai World. She is also the wood spirit of the Millennium Cherry Blossom, and is a gentle and gentle deity worthy of a beautiful flower.

[Character Introduction] Hyakume (百目 Hundred Eyes) A multi-eyed yokai with a hundred eyes all over her body. When she encounters a human on the street at night, one of her countless eyeballs pops out and follows the human. A Yokai with a true stalker personality. A famous voyeur in the Yokai World. Before she knew it, She had settled into the position of photographer for Hyakki Yagyo.

[shintoinenglish]

New post! This was a lot of fun to read about. I've seen many fujizuka in my life, and I think it's a wonderful way to make mountain worship more accessible.

[devout-of-gensokyo]

Basics of Gensokyo: The Great Hakurei Barrier

New blog, new series! I'm gonna go over basics about Gensokyo and what the hell it is in this series of posts. Most is written from memory with checking wiki for more information that I forget, so you might find a lot of it matches the wiki a bit.

The Great Hakurei Barrier is what keeps Gensokyo and the Outside World separate. It was created by one of the Hakurei Shrine maidens (not Reimu, one of her ancestors), alongside the Sages of Gensokyo (currently known to be Yukari Yakumo, Okina Matara, and Kasen Ibaraki, and sometimes falsely called the Youkai Sages, despite one member, Okina, being a God, not a youkai).

Sometime within the 15th century, Yukari Yakumo (though she may not have been known as that back then), had set the groundwork for the barrier with her "Youkai Expansion Project". The end goal was to make Gensokyo a haven for youkai, enchanting it to attract the fantastic and repel the mundane of the Outside World.

The reason for this is because, at least in Touhou lore, when a youkai or kami is forgotten, they just... cease to exist? entirely? forever? until someone remembers them? So yeah it was just safer to make a world where they would never be forgotten. As well, it was to help restore the power of youkai and let youkai be in control, not humans, who were rapidly becoming stronger, more plentiful, and better at killing youkai.

It was officially erected in Meiji 18 (CE 1885). While ZUN himself has stated the Gensokyo Record is unreliable, it states that it was created by human priests and reinforced by youkai, but again, unreliable, so we don't know how true that actually is for the lore.

Yukari is widely acknowledged as the creator of the Barrier, but doubted by Yuyuko Saigyouji, who doubts that Yukari could create such a strong barrier. Other characters such as Reimu Hakurei attribute it to her, however, so it's really up in the air in canon.

The idea was actually highly controversial at first amongst youkai, and led to much infighting, but it's now almost universally accepted.

The Barrier is so important to Gensokyo, that the year of its formation is now marked as year 0 in the Gensokyo calendar.

So, all of this essentially means that Gensokyo exists in a Real Place in Japan, said to be located around the Yatsugatake Mountains. (Interestingly, the mountain looks the way it does before Konohana-Sakuyahime, the goddess of Mount Fuji, destroyed it.)

The Barrier is a "boundary of common sense" - Only living things and their creations are affected, while natural forces can pass through, such as sunlight, and rivers (Gensokyo's rivers are connected to those of the Outside World). The space at the edge is non-Euclidean, humans who attempt to leave will find that they keep encountering the same landmarks over and over, without getting any further. It's unclear if this works in reverse - for any humans approaching Gensokyo.

Other than this though, Gensokyo is entirely isolated - It makes no attempts to speak to the Outside World, and it's very likely that the only three humans who know of Gensokyo's existence undoubtedly are Sumireko Usami, Renko Usami, and Maribel Hearn.

The Hakurei Shrine exists on both sides of the border, and is supposed to be the only gateway in. Though, the known phenomenon of spiriting away ends up in objects or even living beings to slip through the border at random, even more so if they've been forgotten by the Outside World.

This is why the crested ibis started to become more common in Gensokyo when it went extinct, alongside other extinct species such as the Honshu wolf (which is more of an assumption thanks to Kagerou Imaizumi being a were-Honshu wolf - one can assume that because a werewolf exists, and another extinct species exists, then the Honshu wolf exists); and paper began showing up when the rise of digital storage came around.

Outside humans are not protected by the Spell Card rules, and essentially are free game to the youkai, unless they either move to Gensokyo permanently and become residents of the Human Village, or ask the Hakurei Shrine Maiden (currently Reimu Hakurei) to send them home, which spares them the fate.

Even in modern times, it's possible for youkai, gods, and even entire locations to pass through the border and enter Gensokyo, as is the case with the Scarlet Devil Mansion and the Moriya Shrine.

Some youkai, notably Yukari Yakumo, Nue Houjuu, and the zashiki-warashi, have shown an ability to exit Gensokyo, and travel to the real world. However, this appears to require uncommon knowledge, abilities, or other conditions to be met. The specifics are unknown.

It's claimed that youkai go on "hunting trips" through the border and disguise the kidnappings as humans running away from home, but it's unclear how and when these are performed.

The Barrier has broken before, such as during the Urban Legend in Limbo incident, which let for urban legends from the outside world to affect Gensokyo and its residents - Such as Koishi Komeiji "becoming" Mary-san, similar to Bloody Mary. This ultimately was because of Sumireko Usami, who got through thanks to the Occult Balls, and now has a doppelganger who maintains her life in Gensokyo while the real Sumireko continues her life in Kanto, which Sumireko can remember everything her doppelganger does.

Maribel Hearn, possibly a descendant of Yukari Yakumo (which is a Whole story in and of itself), is prone to being spirited away through the Barrier for short periods of time in her dreams before snapping back into her real body upon waking up. It's also said this happens to other humans, who can sometimes appear as just shadows before ultimately ending up back in the Outside World, passing it all off as a dream.

As an aside, people within Gensokyo have a much easier time accessing the world of Gods, demons, spirits, etc that aren't technically part of Gensokyo itself, such as Higan, the Netherworld, Makai, Senkai, and Heaven. Gensokyo is just locked off from the Outside World.

Gensokyo also exists in a time roughly comparable to our own - So when it's 2025 here, it's 2025 there, though their own usage of a different calendar means that they likely don't call it 2025.

Sources/Read More:

Great Hakurei Barrier | Touhouwiki

Gensokyo | Touhouwiki

[gensokyo-officially]

F

Gensokyo (幻想郷 gensoukyou, "Land of Illusions" or "Land of Fantasy") is the setting of Touhou Project. Its culture vaguely resembles that of feudal Japan, heavily embellished with folkloric elements.

Gensokyo is a remote place, far from any human habitation. In ancient times, this place was densely populated by youkai and those humans who wandered too close would be eaten by them. Most people feared the youkai, but a brave warrior would occasionally rise to defeat them. Some of those brave humans settled in Gensokyo to keep close watch on the youkai. Scientific advancements among the human race further contributed to Gensokyo's growing human minority. Due to this, Yukari Yakumo implemented a plan roughly 500 years ago to restore the power of youkai in Gensokyo by creating a "Barrier that divides Reality and Fantasy" called the Youkai Expansion Project. With the plan's implementation, Gensokyo became a place where it brought in things that have become fantasy outside; in other words, things that were forgotten in the Outside World such as youkai, lost items, and such are paranormally transported into Gensokyo. In 1885 A.D., Gensokyo was again made isolated from the rest of Earth with the creation of the Great Hakurei Barrier. Gensokyo has made next to no attempt at contact with the outside world since its creation. Gensokyo's language is modern Japanese.

Gensokyo is populated by youkai, humans, and animals.

Youkai make up the majority of Gensokyo's population. Many youkai are sub-classified into other races, such as devils, magicians, vampires, fairies, kappa, oni, and many more.

Many types of spirits also inhabit the world, such as Ghosts, Poltergeists, Evil spirits, Divine spirits, a number of Tsukumogami, and apparitions.

Gensokyo, the area encompassed by the Great Hakurei Barrier, is a landlocked territory comprised mainly of forested mountains. Notable geographic features include the Youkai Mountain with communities of kappa at its base, tengu at its peak, and the Moriya Shrine at a lake near the top; the Forest of Magic; the Bamboo Forest of the Lost where Eientei is located; the Misty Lake next to the Scarlet Devil Mansion; the Human Village and adjacent Myouren Temple, which are assumed to be in a fertile valley; the Sanzu River separating Gensokyo from Higan; and the Hakurei Shrine at the east of Gensokyo.

Although passing through the Hakurei Barrier to the Outside World is normally impossible for weaker people, stronger entities are known to be able to pass through. It is also significantly easier for Gensokyo denizens to access domains of gods, demons, and spirits which are not strictly part of Gensokyo itself. These include Higan, the Netherworld, Makai, Heaven, Senkai and the Underworld.

The fourth chapter of Cage in Lunatic Runagate reveals that the Youkai Mountain retains the original appearance of Mount Yatsugatake before Konohana-Sakuyahime, the goddess of Mount Fuji, destroyed it. In the outside world today, the remnants of the mountain can be seen as the Yatsugatake mountain range in Yatsugatake-Chūshin Kōgen Quasi-National Park between Nagano and Yamanashi Prefectures, providing a possible indication of where Gensokyo would be located in Japan. Lake Suwa (諏訪湖 Suwa-ko) and Mount Moriya, which Suwako Moriya was named after, are located nearby.

Many unusual items exist in Gensokyo, of which quite a few are based in Japanese mythology in one way or another. However, given Gensokyo's nature as a "land of that which is forgotten", even more modern items that have fallen out of style for a long time (such as the Game Boy) have occasionally turned up. Many of these "new" items appear near Muenzuka, and both Rinnosuke Morichika and Nazrin are said to have picked up various objects there.

In addition to the unusual items floating in, many goods are the same as those from old Japan. Goods like black tea and coffee are considered to be a luxury.

There are two known sources of media in Gensokyo: the Bunbunmaru Newspaper, written and edited by Aya Shameimaru; and the Kakashi Spirit News, by Hatate Himekaidou. The former seems to be far more popular, however, with its sometimes loose depictions of reality.

Gensokyo exists roughly parallel to the real world. As the inhabitants of Gensokyo, however, have developed their spiritual lives instead of following the trend of technological advancements in the real world, Gensokyo itself can look like Japan from hundreds of years ago.

A

Why'd you click this? For a sense of fulfillment? You wanted to laugh? Without any context of what could be here? How do you know you could trust me enough to click on this? I could have put a rickroll. Or... Another rickroll.

There's no reason to view or read anything that doesn't bring you joy.

Does this?

[madame-photon]

Her design is interesting

[amayaicons]

Iwanaga-hime & Konohana Sakuyahime Icons

79 total icons of Iwanaga-hime & Konohana Sakuyahime from the series Kamikamikaeshi from debut chapter to current last appearance.  Icons sized 100x100. free to use & editable

*icons are from the manga and other official sources

dropbox link

[aardvark-123]

Gensokyo Festival day 14: Hobbies

~Puddle Splashing: Gensokyo's Newest, Most Unexpected Pastime~

We live in a very sporty world, with danmaku and martial arts both popular among women aged between eighteen and five thousand. Over the past few years, however, one niche hobby has seen an unexpected explosion in popularity. Jumping in puddles, formerly seen as a children's pastime, is now Gensokyo's sixth most popular hobby, ranked between flower viewing and cosplay.

A Season 136 study by the Lake Suwa and Environs Society for Illogical Science revealed that 96.3% of Gensokyans born after the Hakurei barrier have jumped in at least one puddle. Interviewees cited a variety of reasons for jumping in puddles, including "It's fun", "I wanted to", "I was drunk" and "Marisa kind of dragged me along with her".

The history of puddle-splashing in eastern fantasy began long before Gensokyo, and the hobby's origins are lost to time. However, Konohana-Sakuyahime and Iwanagahime are believed to have jumped in some of the first puddles created when the gods were testing rain. Susano-o no Mikoto was noteworthy for jumping in puddles with the reasoning of "[Swear word] off, I can do whatever the [another especially bad word] I want!"

Among humans, Prince Shoutoku was an early adopter of puddle-splashing. When interviewed in the present day under her current identity she said, "[...] Back in those days, as emperor of Japan, I was under a lot of pressure to be something I wasn't. A Budhhist, a man and whatnot. Once, when I was walking in the palace grounds, I came upon a puddle... So I jumped in it. It felt silly, but also freeing."

Toyosatomimi continued, "Now it doesn't feel silly any more. Nothing feels silly! Not my hair, not these earmuffs [...] and definitely not puddles! It's just clean, innocent fun that costs nothing. Who wouldn't want to?!"

Walking past at a convenient, local religious leader Byakuren Hijiri remarked that "[Jumping in puddles] isn't that clean!", referring to the wet, mud-splattered state of Toyosatomomi's clothes. Hijiri was silent when questioned about the cleanliness of her own attire.

Jumping in puddles is not without its critics. Some people describe it as messy, unladylike and without a rational purpose; an accurate statement, but one which could be said of every popular hobby. Others critics, however, paint a worrying picture of the circumstances behind puddle-splashing.

"It seems completely unnatural for a whole ninety percent of the population to like jumping in puddles," doctor and general stuff-knower Eirin Yagokoro commented. "Fair enough, it is fun for some. And fair enough, puddles are readily available. But ninety percent of us?! No, there must be some outside force influencing us, causing more of us to jump in puddles than would naturally partake."

"For the gods' sakes, even I jump in puddles!" Yagokoro elaborated. "As few as two hundred years ago, I wouldn't have been the slightest bit interested! Kaguya and I do have fun, but it feels as though we're being... Written out of character? If that makes sense. Actually, I suppose it is in character for her..."

Yagokoro expressed the possibility that a "god of splashing in puddles" could be exerting some influence over Gensokyo. These hypothetical kami could further be categorised as "gods of splashing", "gods of puddles" or "gods of play". We reached out to the Hakurei shrine maiden for comment, but at time of press she has not responded.

If there is such a deity involved, we hope they will continue to promote healthy puddle-splashing as per their nature, but not allow it to get out of hand for financial gain, spiritual gain or the cuteness factor. If, on the other hand, the financial and spiritual gain are something they want to share, my door is always open...

-MEGUMU IIZUNAMARU, reporter and editor, Mugimeshi Herald

[harvard-art-museums-prints]

Goddess Konohana Sakuyahime (Konohana Sakuyahime no mikoto), detached page from One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku hyakkei), vol. 1, Katsushika Hokusai, Edo period, 1834 (Tenpō 5), Harvard Art Museums: Prints

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of the Friends of Arthur B. Duel Medium: Woodblock-printed book page; ink on paper

https://www.harvardartmuseums.org/collections/object/147592

[dreaminusamin]

Happy birthday, Sachiko Koshimizu!

Today in Japan, November 25th, is Sachiko Koshimizu’s birthday! Voiced by Ayana Taketatsu (竹達 彩奈), Sachiko is a 14 year old from Yamanashi. Beaming with an astounding amount of confidence, Sachiko prides herself on being the cutest girl out there. She loves to act cute for her fans, but her coworkers and friends often see her more narcissistic side. Sachiko is also rather competitive, and loves to see people struggle to try to best her, often claiming she cannot fail at anything. However, while Sachiko does have an incredible ego and enjoys showing how superior she is to others, she never wishes anyone ill intent.

Sachiko enjoys making study notes. She’s actually a 4.0 GPA student and often helps other idols out with homework without asking for anything in return. She’s an incredibly hard worker and is said to have willpower of steel. She’s quite friendly with all of the younger idols, and while she often treats the Producer rudely, to the point of treating him like a servant, in game comments show she’s not all malice towards him. A unique trait to Sachiko to mention is the fact that in the mobage game, most cards buff their own type, or debuff another attribute. Sachiko’s first SR in the mobage game was the first ever to debuff her own attribute, Cute, so Sachiko could be the cutest out there.

Sachiko has two solo songs, To my darling... and Happy Girl! (ハピガ!). She also sings a cover of KISS Shite (KISSして/Let’s Kiss) in the jewleries series. Some group songs that Sachiko sings in are Heart Voice, Lunatic Show, Illusionista! (イリュージョニスタ!), Pastel Pink na Koi (パステルピンクな恋/A Pastel Pink Love), Itoshisa❤ (いとしーさー❤/Darling ❤), and Furachi na CANVAS (不埒なCANVAS/Lawless CANVAS). Units Sachiko are in include Sakuyahime (サクヤヒメ) with Kanako Mimura, Chieri Ogata, Mayu Sakuma, and Sae Kobayakawa, Iris Absolute (イリス・アブソリュート) with Shiki Ichinose, Natalia, and Layla, and Heroic Angel (ヒロイックエンジェル) with Hikaru Nanjo. To celebrate Sachiko’s birthday, make some helpful study notes! Happy birthday Sachiko!

[coolmika745]

Konohana Kitan Volume 4

I purchased a paperback copy of Konohana Kitan Volume 4. It is a Slice of Life Shouji Ai Japanese Mythology and Folklore Manga/Anime and the main characters are Fox Spirits. So far, Awanami, Yao Bikuni, and Ukanomitama have made appearances in the series while Sakuyahime, Ninigi, the triplets Hoori (as an infant), Houseri (as an infant), Hoderi (as an infant), as well as Izanagi and Izanami made cameo appearances in referenced mythological events. Also, Yao Bikuni is Yuzu’s adopted mother and she and Ukanomitama know each other.

[chronicfangirling]

KDA In Excelsis: Ch16 (The King’s Avatar AU, CEO!Hakyeon, Gamer!Hongbin, VIXX x OCs ) Character Charts [x]

"If you kids win against me and Hana....” Hongbin raised an eyebrow at Mingyu. “Then you can be Captain for a day.”

“You might as well say you’re not letting me Captain at all!” Mingyu griped. “There’s no way just the three of us can win against you and Hana-noona.”

“That’s three against two, you punk,” Hongbin scoffed, leaning against a table. “Did I raise three quitters?”

Sooyeon set up the environment for the match as Hongbin and Mingyu bickered. The team had agreed to several late-night training sessions so they could focus on team play. I guess I can see right before my eyes this generation’s famed Best Partners at work... except one of them doesn’t seem to be in best condition. Her eyes wandered towards Hana, who sat on the same table as Hongbin, legs swinging listlessly and not even listening to the argument.

“How about this: you kids can also have Jaehwan and Wonshik in your team, but they enter the map five minutes later and everyone starts out in random positions across the map?” Chansik suggested.

“Make that three minutes later,” Mingyu negotiated. He pouted at Hongbin and Hana, motioning at two stations that faced each other from across the room. “Also, you two don’t sit beside each other, sit there and there. We’ll sit here.” He patted the row of stations at the back of the room.”

“You’re shameless as usual.” Hongbin smirked, but gathered his mouse, keyboard, and headset to move stations. He glanced at Hana, who hadn’t moved. “Hana, are you ready?”

She turned, as if hearing him for the first time, but nodded and let Chansik lead her to her appointed station.

“Team 1 is Hana and Hongbin, and Team 2 is Mingyu, BamBam, and Yugyeom, plus Jaehwan and Wonshik.” Sooyeon announced, wincing. “I don’t know how this is supposed to be fair.”

“It isn’t, they need more concessions,” Hongbin teased. Mingyu snarled wordlessly at him.

Once everyone had set up, Chansik called: "And start!” As the referee, he watched Jaehwan and Wonshik to make sure they enter only after three minutes had passed.

Mingyu, BamBam, and Yugyeom were whispering their coordinates to each other, trying not to let either Hongbin or Hana hear as they assembled and stalled for time.

“Do you think that as long as you wait for Jaehwan and Wonshik, you could do a five against two ambush? That’s so dishonorable.” Hongbin taunted.

“Shut up!” Mingyu snapped. “This is war!”

“Yeah, Dad, all’s fair in war,” Yugyeom piped up.

“Ahhh! I’m being attacked!” BamBam cried. “Why is Sakuyahime so fast??”

Sooyeon could see starlight glow from one part of the ruins map, shooting at BamBam’s qi master, Lighting Up, knocking him off his feet repeatedly as he failed to dodge.

“Can you see?” Hana asked as she continued to have her witch, Sakuyahime, attack Lighting Up.

“I’m on my way.” Hongbin’s sharpshooter, Water Hyacinth, quickly moved to the direction of the light.

“Hurry, hurry, no time to hide!” Mingyu yelled. “Yugyeom! You have to heal BamBam!”

“I know!” Yugyeom hurried with his cleric, Seeing Light. As soon as he was within range of Lighting Up, he started the healing sequence, only to be kicked off his feet by Water Hyacinth. “What the--!”

“Nice.” Hongbin grinned, seeing Lighting Up half-depleted and riddled with debuffs. Before Seeing Light could recover, Water Hyacinth stepped on him and shot him.

"Not so fast!” Mingyu’s paladin, Light Fragment, rushed to protect Seeing Light but was taunted when Sakuyahime tossed a doll. “Dammit!”

“Up?” Hana asked.

“Ready,” Hongbin replied.

“What are they doing?” Yugyeom cried.

“Now!” Sakuyahime tossed a flask that engulfed the three foes in a sea of lava as she floated on her broom.

At the same time, Water Hyacinth directed his shots at Lighting Up, knocking himself above and out of the range of the lava, landing on the wall of a temple ruin.

“Can Random Firing be used like that??” Sooyeon gasped.

"If it’s Hongbin, then he can make the skill do that,” Chansik explained.

As the kids tried to step the lava, Sakuyahime tossed a shadow that bound them in place. “That’s not going to hold us for long!” Mingyu yelled.

“But long enough.” Hongbin declared as Water Hyacinth shot straight at Seeing Light’s head with his ultimate skill.

“Crap...” Yugyeom muttered, watching his cleric get KO’ed.

“Shit!” Mingyu slammed his mouse.

“Ah!” Hana cried when Sakuyahime was knocked off her broom by a wolf.

“Who’s a good boy, huh, huh?” Wonshik laughed as his summoner sent another wolf her way.

“We’re here!” Jaehwan crowed, his brawler attempting to punch Water Hyacinth. “Let’s make this an uneven fight.”

“As if,” Hongbin snorted. Water Hyacinth made the wolves scatter with a spray of bullets and he helped Sakuyahime back on her broom. “Follow me.” They fled to the nearby edge of the map.

“Come back here!” Mingyu yelled. “No, Wonshikkie-hyung, Jaehwannie-hyung, don’t--!”

Water Hyacinth and Sakuyahime shuffled backwards to the ledge as the brawler and the summoner approached.

“You’re cornered,” Wonshik said, as his summoner called the wolves to form a blockade.

“What now? Lovers’ suicide jump?”Jaehwan mocked.

“Yes.” Hongbin used a skill to cancel the cooldown on Water Hyacinth’s ultimate and fired at the floor behind Wonshik and Jaehwan, breaking off the entire chunk of the ruins.

“You’re crazy!” Jaehwan screamed as all four characters plummeted down the endless drop.

Sakuyahime grabbed Water Hyacinth’s hand, slowing his fall, but the broom couldn’t lift them both. Before it could give, he propelled them upwards with Random Firing. With a wide arc of Hana’s mouse, both characters landed back on the ruins.

“Umm... bye...” BamBam watched Seeing Light succumb to his debuffs, KO’ed.

“Tch...” Mingyu made Light Fragment run towards them.

Hongbin peered over his monitor at Hana. “Should I do the honor, or--”

Sakuyahime shot lightning at Light Fragment and killed him off. “I should,” Hana said.

"No way...” Sooyeon exhaled, gawking at the monitor in disbelief. Unable to believe her eyes, she rushed at Jaehwan’s monitor and peered, going around at everyone else’s monitors only to see the same result: Team 1′s victory. 

Mingyu, BamBam, and Yugyeom groaned, while Jaehwan and Wonshik sighed in resignation.

“As expected from the Best Partners,” Chansik chuckled.

Hongbin and Hana’s eyes met across the room and they both smiled. The spell was broken when Mingyu sulked. “That’s only possible because we have shit equipment, what kind of paladin dies from mid-level attacks, geez.”

"You’re right,” Hana mused. “Our team's accounts aren’t currently up to standard. Paladins are especially dependent on equipment, so I know you wouldn’t be a pushover if you had the right equipment, Mingyu. There aren’t many players on your skill level, especially not other rookies.” Right before their eyes, her low mood returned and she collected her keyboard, mouse, and headset with her shoulders slumped.

“Great going.” Yugyeom frowned at Mingyu.

“Are you proud of yourself?” BamBam shook his head.

Mingyu pouted. “I was saying it for all of us... fine, fine! I didn’t mean it--”

Hongbin yanked the strings of Mingyu’s hoodie, enclosing his face in it. “That’s enough from you.”

Sooyeon watched Hana and sighed. I wonder what’s wrong?

[clarste]

Could a youkai get infinite meals from a Hourai Elixer immortal?

Probably.

I mean, heck, you can get infinite energy from the elixir too, since it’s supposed to burn forever. That’s what would’ve happened if it had been thrown into Mt. Fuji. It would’ve made the volcano active again, according to Sakuyahime in CiLR.

The elixir is powerful stuff.

[flamentnagel]

did you know in canon Sakuya is ambiguously a goddess of immortality. Eirin recognises her and Mokou mentions meeting a Sakuya, but Sakuya herself sees herself as a normal human

a pretty interesting idea, since her powers over time and space mirror kaguya's power over eternity/instants and toyohime's ability to travel between "the sea and mountains", and it fits mokou's guess that sakuyahime killed her men, but it does have holes in that mokou doesn't particularly recognize sakuya as sakuyahime. perhaps eirin was surprised at the name similarity, or perhaps sakuya changed her appearance at some point much like how her name changed? but i think it'll remain one of those things that never gets a complete answer

[fantasyicon]

💕 For Reiko, Junko, Flandre, and Iwanaga

Send 💕 and my muse will use The Love Calculator to see how compatible they are.

“I wonder why the percentage is above 50% when I don’t really know who the other person is…”

Maybe they can bond more over their hate against immortal Lunarians.

“People seem to mistake me for that one whenever they hear my name…” Maybe that’s why the percentage is so high, she feels. She’s always been a little interested in fighting the vampire when she heard about her existence, but that’s all.

“… I don’t care too much for her sister to begin with.” She knows that Iwanagahime and Sakuyahime aren’t on good terms either from what Keine told her, but still.

[ikunagae]

she just thinks Eirin is a weird old lady

“gods arent real”“sakuya i thought you like… were the reincarnation of konohana sakuyahime. isnt she a god”“…shut up old lady from the moon”

[aardvark-123]

Gensokyo Festival Day 12: The Gospel of Role-Reversal

A comedy about the Aki Sisters. If you read the title, which, well, why wouldn’t you, you should probably be able to guess what sort of hi-jinks they’ll be getting up to.

"Nice potatoes, Minorin. I bet they're not crunchy underfoot, though!"

As always, her sister's smug smile made Minoriko flush with rage. "Don't worry, Shizu-chan, I'm sure your face is crunchy underfoot."

"Well, my face actually looks good, unlike you with your fat, dimpled cheeks," said Shizuha.

"Much like your feet," pouted Minoriko. "If you think your feet are anywhere near as cute as mine, take off those plimsoles!"

"If you think you can crunch through autumn leaves and stomp in the mud with half as much beauty and majesty as I do, put some on!" snapped Shizuha.

"Beauty?! Majesty?! All you do is paint a bunch of stupid leaves! I call forth the nourishing bounty of nature!" Minoriko threw her basket of sweet potatoes at Shizuha's feet. "I bloody dare you to eat one of them and tell me I'm not the true queen of the autumn."

"Uncooked? Are you trying to poison me?!" Shizuha kicked the basket into the bushes, scattering sweet potatoes far and wide. "I've had it up to here with you! Come on!"

"I'll rip your face off, you good-for-nothing cow!" roared Minoriko, charging at Shizuha.

"I'll shove your hat up your bum, you ugly daughter of a mongoose!" roared Shizuha, charging at Minoriko.

"Stop it! Will you two please stop it?!" a voice boomed from on high.

The goddesses both jumped. They shuffled their feet guiltily as a plump woman marched towards them. She was crowned with a circlet of seaweed, and her short geta sandals appeared to be made of chocolate.

"Um," said Minoriko.

"Um," said Shizuha.

"This rivalry of yours has gone on far too long. I can't hear myself think!" the woman in chocolate sandals ranted. "Is it really that important which one of you is 'the best'? You both do an important job, and that should be enough for any goddess. I mean, I don't pick fights with Sakuyahime over who has the most important job..."

"You're a goddess too?" asked Shizuha.

"Of course. I am Uke Mochi, goddess of food," said the stranger proudly.

"Wow, really?! I always wanted to meet you!" Minoriko's eyes lit up with joy. "Please try one of my sweet potatoes! I'll go and get you one!"

"Wait just a minute, will you? I'm not here to eat potatoes." Uke Mochi's face was grave. "I'm here to put a stop to your feuding. The seasons have been messed up enough this year, and management don't want either of you causing more trouble."

The Aki Sisters gulped as one. "Management" meant Lord Izanagi and Lady Izanami, and they took everything seriously.

"For one week, you will both switch jobs. Shizuha, you'll be in charge of bringing about a good harvest; Minoriko, you'll be in charge of painting the leaves red. If either of you refuse, I shall place a curse on your respective food products for the next seven years," said Uke Mochi.

"A curse?" Shizuha grinned evilly. "I think I'll go and take a nap now. Have fun with your cursed potatoes, little sis!"

"Autumn leaves are also food," said Uke Mochi sharply. "Do you want to be run out of Gensokyo by starving insects, Shizuha?"

"Um..." Shizuha glared petulantly at her majestic plimsole-clad feet. "No."

"Good." Uke Mochi smiled. "While I'm here, want any Turkish delight?"

"Ooh, yes!" cried Shizuha, licking her lips.

"NO!" wailed Minoriko, who had heard which orifice Uke Mochi usually got her Turkish delight from.

The following day, Shizuha got up at the crack of dawn to fertilise the sweet potatoes.

Actually, no, that wasn't strictly true. Minoriko practically had to drag her out of bed and force-feed her strong coffee. After a miserable, hour-long breakfast, Shizuha finally ran out of excuses and trudged out into the back garden.

"Right..." Shizuha inspected the sweet potato patch. All she saw were rows upon rows of leaves in rich brown earth. "Um, Minoriko? Minoriko, where are the sweet potatoes?!"

"Underground!" Minoriko shouted through the kitchen window.

"Oh." Shizuha knelt beside one of the sweet potato plants and moved a few handfuls of earth out of the way. She soon uncovered a small tuber, dusted brown with mud. "Right, then. Hey, Minoriko, what the heck do I do now?!"

"Fertilise them!" replied Minoriko.

Shizuha gritted her teeth. "And exactly how am I supposed to do that, sister dear?"

"Use your imagination! You're a goddess!"

"I'm the goddess of AUTUMN LEAVES, not bloody fertilising and stuff!"

Minoriko stormed out of the cottage and thrust a wooden basket and a pair of battered gardening gloves into Shizuha's hands. "Use manure or leaf mulch or something. Make sure you work it into the soil, then water it thoroughly."

"Ah... Work it into the soil?"

"Stomp on it or something!"

Shizuha's eyes widened. "You do that BAREFOOT?!"

"I'm a harvest goddess, remember? I have divine feet," said Minoriko heavily.

"Well, if I do that, the potatoes will probably wither. Got any decent boots?" asked Shizuha.

"Um, no..."

Shizuha sighed. "A hoe, a spade, anything?"

"Oh, of course! They're in the shed."

"Good. Wait, we have a shed?!" Shizuha's eyes widened. "Where, exactly?"

Minoriko threw her hands up. "Just bloody look for it! I can't solve everything for you, can I?!"

"If you tried to solve everything for me, we'd both be dead!" snapped Shizuha.

"Shouldn't you be off painting the leaves, anyhow? They need a bit more orange and yellow."

"Leaves? Oh, my days, I forgot!" gasped Minoriko. "Um, how do I-"

"Figure it out, you lazy, good-for-nothing tosser!" Shizuha slung the basket over her shoulder and marched off in what she thought was the direction of the shed.

After a brief but frenzied search, Minoriko had managed to find some autumn-tone paints and a few rather tatty brushes under her sister's bed. She changed into a frilly paint-proof apron, packed herself a bento box and strolled out into the forest.

"Right... Leaves..." All around her, the trees were crowned with green and gold. A few dead leaves crunched beneath her feet, but most of them were still on the trees.

Did Shizuha also have to make the leaves fall? Minoriko had never bothered to ask her. It would probably add to her workload quite a bit, so Minoriko decided she wasn't going to bother. She still had to paint the things, though. How would that work...?

Minoriko approached a tall oak tree and flew up into the branches. She seated herself on a sturdy, knobbly bough, unhooked her hat from a low-hanging branch, rested her pots of paint on a flat bit and set to work.

The first few leaves did not end up looking good. Minoriko had painted them orange all over, leaving them plasticky and artificial-looking. She managed to blend her colours on the next half-dozen, but they still looked nothing like proper autumn leaves. Minoriko threw her paintbrush down onto the forest floor, plucked a few hairs from her head and set upon the next leaf with grim determination.

"Damn it, I give up..." A few leaves later, Minoriko had lost what felt like half her head to the sticky paint. Her hands and clothes were covered in the stuff.

"Bit early for that, ain't it? The tree's still alive." Komachi was leaning nonchalantly against a neighbouring tree.

"What? Um, no, sorry. I wasn't literally damning the tree..." said Minoriko sheepishly. "Say, you're a woman of the world, aren't you? Do you have any idea how I can paint leaves properly?"

"Eh?" Komachi squinted up into the tree. "Wait, you're the other one... Ain't your sister around?"

"Uke Mochi forced us to swap jobs for the week. I'm on leaf-painting duty," explained Minoriko.

Komachi burst out laughing. "That's so like her! I bet she gave you the old 'These orders come straight from the top!' routine too..."

Minoriko gasped. "You mean she might've lied?!"

"'Course she did! She means well, but she can't keep 'er nose out of no-one's business. Just like my own dear, sainted Lady Eiki," said Komachi. "You should go an' knock some sense into 'er. Someone needs ta."

"Ah... Perhaps not," said Minoriko, who had only one decent spell-card to her name. "Thanks for the advice."

Komachi shrugged. "Suit yerself."

Minoriko shifted to reach the next leaf. Her knee connected with the jar of dark orange paint, sending it tumbling down to earth in a wide orange splatter. After a moment's quiet contemplation, she put her head in her hands and cried.

"So..." said Minoriko.

"I would not call that a runaway success," sighed Shizuha.

A long, miserable week had passed. The sisters were stuffing themselves with sweet potatoes in front of the fire. Minoriko was orange, yellow and red all over after a couple more paint spillages, but even she had to feel sorry for Shizuha, who had two big holes in her foot following a rather nasty accident with the garden fork.

"Painting leaves really is hard..." Minoriko sighed as well. "I don't know how you manage it."

"A lifetime of practice, I suppose." Shizuha took another sweet potato and chewed it thoughtfully. "How do you cope with all that gardening, though?! There's so much to dig up and bury and water and fertilise and pull up and- and it's just so incredibly, mind-numbingly boring!"

"Probably a lifetime of practice here, too," said Minoriko. "I don't even know which one of us has the most important job any more. If we're going by difficulty, though, yours is definitely the hardest."

"Oh, no, gardening is way harder than painting!" cried Shizuha.

"Well, it's easy for me, because I've learned how to do it. Much like you with your painting, right?" said Minoriko.

"I suppose so..." Shizuha glowered at her perforated foot. "There's one thing I'm sure we can agree on, though."

"Oh? What's that?"

"Uke Mochi needs to die in a fire."

Minoriko smiled. "I think Susano-o's ahead of you there..."