#gensokyo 20XX

[peace-and-light-poetry]

Paths

Despair for waiting so long something near nescapable all of the pain and hardships

Sickness for the illnesses that overtook her Almost resulting in a premature death She fell ill from the poison of radiation, dying while waiting for nonexistent emergency services An illness she was too sick to recover from

Anxiety for the mother that cannot so easily reach her child Separation because she had no choice

Pain From wounds that fester From wounds that cannot heal From broken hearts and damaged souls

Rage She emptied a gun into a wall of mirrors A rage against the horrible things done to her

Suicide The winter was even warmer than she She wanted to die Her immortality was overrode Something she's attempted when she's gone mad

Imprisonment They were to be broken For some it worked

Suffering Troubles never seemed to end It was a near never-ending cycle

Death Many perished They were gone but not forgotten Their spirits still kept hold

Secrets She knows about something Yet, she doesn't divulge it They all do

They've survived because of their secrets One suffers because of hers

Scars Brutality at its finest Testaments to the things she's endured

Regret The little child can't run She never forgave herself for that, as she allowed it to happen She wished she could have protected them, Shielding them from the hardships and pain, the very things she endured but couldn't prevent

Self-loathing She hates herself very much For something that she could have very well stopped

If the times hadn't turned her cruel and selfish

Blindness She was blinded out of mercy She was starting to lose her sight

Destruction The bombs were dropped Thrusting them into another world of turmoil

Infertility She wants what her body denies her

Miscarriage/Stillbirths She has a litter Most of them died It seems she may continue having them

Devotion He never at all thinks to leave her side Not even for moment He loves her

She's his "Lenore"

Ice The world is engulfed in a winter They are at winter's mercy

Memories Some pleasant, a sorrowful reminder of what was Some unpleasant, the things that they could wish were forgotten

Insanity She's gone insane Without any sort of semblance of sanity besides her memories She, too, has gone insane Nearly taking a child's life, as well as her own

She later woke up and came back

Blood She bled, staining the snow with blood She wept blood tears, when she's reached her despair event horizon

Innocence The children remain innocent The only semblance that remains in dark, frozen, and unforgiving world Though, innocence was lost at some point

Soiled She believes herself to be this believing no one will ever love her

Ruined She believes her lover will reject her, now

Abuse She hadn't done anything wrong Yet, she was beaten anyway She died, leaving behind someone regretful

Too late to atone

Bond What holds them together

Hope What keeps them going

Inability to fear She was conditioned this way

Loss The pain of losing someone Leaving wounds that have yet to heal

Ghosts What she claims to see And hear

The Past Still a lingering presence With a very strangling hold The leash and collar tighten with each passing time

Future Full of uncertainties It cannot be said there will be one

Tears What are never-endingly shed

Revenge What was exacted Their house was burned down afterwards

Repetition The cycle, it seems, tends to repeat Over and over Will it ever end?

Abandonment She wanted to die She didn't want to left alone

The Present The very time they endure

Delirium What she cannot escape And what she sees What she hears And what she suffers

Sacrifice

She didn't want to He wanted her and was going to have her She wanted them to be safe Letting him have her was her sacrifice

The very sacrifice she would still be dealing with the fallout of

She hides secrets She has to, so she can survive So they all can

She could have been killed.

Atonement For any sort of past wrong The fallout of which is still there They struggle to make right of it

Atoning for the sins they've committed

That will take ages

[msgameandcake]

In the year 20XX, everyone in Gensokyo will play danmaku with TALNN levels of precision. The only thing left to decide winners will be...

Score runs.

[shutterandpencil]

“Bleeding Sorrow”

My first attempt at drawing hands and find I am not too good but at least I tried something for once. In case you are wondering, these are Ran's hands and we're looking it from her view. 

This image would be from Gensokyo 20XXIV, where she attempts suicide by slitting her wrists. The reason as to why she looks the way she does is because she is a burn victim (Read Gensokyo 20XXII, 20XXIII, and Gensokyo 20XXIV)

[yamayuandadu]

Whoa, the Chinese fans got such a cool detailed wiki and we are stuck with a barely updated one that had basically no details whatsoever. Do you mind updating the English wiki with these mythology stuff? Also, can you elaborate more on Keine's spell cards? Are all her "crisis" spell cards about attempts at erasing history or just that one?

I can make an account on the wiki, sure, I’m not sure if my wonky english is appropriate for it though. And I don’t really think there’s a shortage of good editors (the notes on Okina’s spellcards have some trivia in them I had no clue about!), things just take time because the western fandom is smaller and has much fewer readily available resources to rely on. Anyway, here we go, Keine’s spellcards are under the read more. She’s my fave character and I’d like to believe I know most of what there is to know about the bai ze/hakutaku, so ask away if there’s anything else you’d like to know.

Imperishable Night cards:

Spiritual Birth "First Pyramid": self-explanatory, pyramids are more or less synonymous with the start of recorded history in the common perception. “Spiritual birth” (産霊) is a reference to the trinity of kami which come into being from nothingness, before Izanagi and Izanami.Origin Sign "Ephemerality 137": emperor Jinmu, the mythical first emperor of Japan, supposedly lived for 137 years. “Ephemerality” refers to his lifespan being short compared to his divine ancestorsAmbition Sign "Buretsu Crisis": Buretsu was, supposedly, a wicked emperor, and his successor was a distant relative, but some historians argue that the latter pretty much started a new dynasty. Since imperial japanese propaganda was heavily focused on the divinity of the emperor etc, there were attempts at hiding all of this (not a very hard task, Buretsu is barely discussed in historical sources).Ambition Sign "Masakado Crisis": Taira no Masakado was a rebel and self-styled “new emperor”. He was deified after death, in hopes of placating his potential vengful spirit. No actual ereasure of history happened here, though arguably Masakado’s common perception changed with time.Ambition Sign "Yoshimitsu Crisis": Yoshimitsu was one of the Ashikaga shoguns, regarded as the real ruler of Japan by a number of foreign envoys. He tried to claim a title reserved for the emperor for himself, too. Ambition Sign "General Headquarters Crisis": self-explanatory, really, isn’t it? The emperor is no longer divine, it sure is a major rewrite... but the Meiji/Taisho/Showa obsession with the divinity of the emperor was itself a rewrite of history, and the myth of the imperial family’s divine descent is in all due likeness just a mythical adaptation of a conflict between bronze age rulers.Basically, all Ambition Signs deal with threats to continuity of the emperors’ power.Land Sign/Scheme cards, all 4 of them, are just the imperial regalia. The “jewel” is a magatama btw, the same kind of charm as Keiki’s necklace is made out of. They were likely an universal symbol of divinity.Ending Sign “Phantasmal Emperor” might be a reference to the same event as GHQ crisis (divine emperors becoming nothing but myths)Pseudo-History "The Legend of Gensokyo", Past "Old History of an Untrodden Land -Old History-", “Total Purification” and Future "New History of Fantasy -Next History-"don’t reference anything specific.Future "Gods' Realm"uses the term Takamagahara, The Celestial Plain, where the celestial gods, including the ancestors of emperor Jinmu, dwell in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki (so, if we go by Kanako’s comment in LoLK, presumably the moon?)"Emperor of the Land of the Rising Sun" is self-explanatory.Reincarnation "Ichijou Returning Bridge" seems to refer to a bridge in Kyoto, but I don’t know much about this one. All I could find in english for now is a blogpost with no details about the legend. I assume that since it’s an EX spellcard it’s a nod to Mokou first and foremost.

Shoot the Bullet cards:

Light Sign "Amaterasu": the sun goddess Amaterasu is the grandmother of Ninigi, sent to pacify the earth, who in turn was the great-grandfather of emperor Jinmu.Shroud Sign "Rain of Showa": almost definitely a reference to the weather during emperor Hirohito’s funeral. The danmaku is meant to evoke the shape of chrysanthemum flowers, an emblem of the emperors.Hollyhock Sign "Mito no Mitsukuni": Mitsukuni was a Tokugawa daimyo of the Mito domain. He commissioned a set of books known as Shinpen Kamakurashi, dealing with the history of Kamakura (the city, not the time period). He was also a fierce opponent of honji suijaku (shinto-buddhism syncretism), which probably counts as attempt at rewriting history, I guess? Additionally, a triple hollyhock symbol was the Tokugawa emblem.Japan Sign "Yamato Kingdom": self-explanatory.

Impossible Spell Card cards:

"20XX: An Afterlife Odyssey": an obvious movie reference, rather than a historical one. Great Fire "Flower of Edo": a reference to a proverb about how common fires were in Edo. No relation to the play known as “Flower of Edo” in english, afaik.Naturally, all the emperor references are here since the hakutaku was supposed to advise monarchs, which ZUN interprets as writing history in their favor. However, Keine seems to believe everyone should pass history on, going by the BAiJR article, so I guess she’s not a fan of that.

[twinfoxtails]

Mask’s Calling for an Amber

Send in ‘Mask’s Calling’ to meet a muse I’m on the fence about roleplaying as.

Year 20XX. Gensokyo.

“It has been years since I’m stuck in the Hakurei Shrine. People call me a hero and called me things like ‘One of the most powerful humans in Gensokyo’, but really, Marisa was the one who did most of the work, and the tengu newspapers just twisted the truth to make it seem like I did it. Yukari had her hand in it too.”

“I didn’t even meet Remilia in the Scarlet incident. All Sakuya said was ‘Try coming back two hours earlier’ and I just left everything to Marisa.”

“This was a photo of me when I first started out. I was solving incidents and getting myself handed, so I thought of dying my hair brown and running away.”

“… It didn’t work. Yukari dragged me back in. What am I even doing here? I don’t even have Hakurei blood, I’m adopted.”

… It’s too late to ask for her normal life back, isn’t it?

A canon-divergent version of Reimu! This isn’t the usual powerful and strong Reimu you know and love, but… the kind of Reimu who gets herself handed over.

In other words, Easy Mode Reimu.

[peace-and-light-poetry]

I Promised Her I'd Wake Up

I'd promised her I'd wake up But I fear it is not a promise to be kept

Through illness and insanity, She cannot promise me the same Bit by bit, less sand remains in her hourglass

She is all but unaware

Yet, she's accepted it, as is

She told me to promise her I'd awake Tears in her eyes She begged me

Yet, she waits for death

The very sleep she may never awake from The very sleep she made me promise I would never allow to take me Yet, she cannot promise the same

I promised her I'd wake up What would happened to her if I cannot keep that promise? Dammit!

Why do you make me keep a promise that may not be kept, Reimu? I'm sorry I almost went to where you could not yet follow And that is why you made me promise you

Yet, you cannot promise me the same

Don't leave before me Reimu, please! Don't let them take you Please don't

I promised her I'd wake up

I woke up, Reimu, see? I woke up, just like I promised I can only hope you let it go now

To keep that promise would be impossible Unless one of our hourglasses have finished Before the other

I'd promised her I'd wake up

[shutterandpencil]

“Yume (Ni) Yakumo”

This is Ran's pup and how she appears in Gensokyo 20XXV. She was also a bully and, for a child, noted to be cruel.

[peace-and-light-poetry]

No Greater Sorrow

There is no greater sorrow for me than to Recall a time of happiness when I am in misery

I’m in misery because I miss you Ever so much and, to be honest, I am reminded That you are not here

I do miss your voice I really miss your smile I very much miss how you would cheer me up

Especially, when I’ve needed that the most

Right now, I could use some of your cheering up I suppose memories will have to do Although, that just makes it more painful

As I remember, I speak to your absence Wherever you are, I wonder if my voice can Reach you, even though I can’t

My love, you were always by my side “Together forever” we promised one another in our Wedding vows

How funny that promise between seems to be broken

No matter what happened You were always at my side Through thick and thin

You loved me, your devotion never wavering And, I loved you, thus you’ll always be with me Yet, I continue living with your absence

We will never see one another again Not in this life, although I am sorry to tell you that You’ll be waiting for a while and…

I don’t know when I’ll see you again, my love

But I do know you wait for me

There is still no greater sorrow for me Than to recall our happiness in when in misery Since, you’ve passed away…

…Ren

And, as your grieving widow, I must note That there has been no greater sorrow, then for me To recall our happy times together

When suffering the misery in the aftermath Of your passing.

[shutterandpencil]

“Mushrooms”

She is an original character in my fanfiction series Gensokyo 20XX and she is a kitsune that Reimu and, then later on a Back From the Dead Cirno. She is called what she is called because she eats and has given her Shiitake mushrooms. In Gensokyo 20XXV, Cirno thinks of her as a pet.

Just another pic of "Mushrooms" who's actual name is Enoki and, this time, Cirno decided to  to put a little makeup and bows on her.

This is what Enoki looks like human-wise

[shutterandpencil]

“Baka’s Ex-Wife”

She is a character from Gensokyo 20XXV and she was married to Ren's brother Baka. She is very unpleasant to be around and is quick to pick fights with Ran or antagonize the children, as well as the fact that selfish, greedy, foul-tongued, and bitchy. 

She possess no name, as you wouldn't like her anyway, even if you knew it, though everyone tends to call her "Bitch Wife", "Baka's Bitch Ex-wife", or, as the children call her, "Paintbrush Bitch"

[shutterandpencil]

“Gensokyo 20XXV Ran”

Ran as she shows up Gensokyo 20XXV and her scars have more or less faded by this point. I drew her somewhat based of an avatar I made of her. These are her usual clothes and she kinda put on a little weight, having gave birth to children to a little before Gensokyo 20XXV. 

Right now, she seems rather curious

[peace-and-light-poetry]

If only I could be with you

Oh how much I miss you If only I could be with you I do hope you are safe I'm not there to tell you these things but... I love you I do hope you behave and do what Ran tells you I hope they won't find you and throw you in here, too Also, I do hope you'll be brave If only, I could have joined you But, with the impending danger, I was given no choice It was either you, Ran, and Chen or me I made my choice and I know you'll forgive me I've taken care of you in infancy and this is the only thing I can give I'm sorry I cannot be with you, Reimu My sweet, oh how much I miss you I didn't want to leave you and if only I could be with you Someday, my sweet, we'll meet again But, for now, if only I could be with you

[peace-and-light-poetry]

Her Silence

She lives her life in silence The reason for which is bitterly reminisced She cannot talk

In the sadness and despair of her shattered heart, she opted to take her own life She was under the water for some time No one knew how long and no one knew how short

But, what is known is that she can't talk

However, her heart has been repaired, yet, she remains silent She is happy now, that is what can be said It seems she doesn't need a voice

She smiles and her face lights up with joy She is very expressive Laughing and crying, smiling, playing, thinking, and all other sorts without making a sound

She can't

Nevertheless, it brought about her silence

[peace-and-light-poetry]

Illness Pray Took Me

Illness pray took me My maternal figure I wait for But the strain...its too much!

No longer did I need to dye my hair It truly had turned white No sooner did my hair color leave as did my health

Colds Depression Hospitalizations

I didn't really eat I couldn't really sleep And, I fear she may not come

I fear they did away with her

*gasp*

I've spat up blood Medications do not seem to help My health, oh dear, is leaving me!

I feel so weak The strain is killing me Taking a toll on me

Illness Fainting spells Depression Nightsweats

Finally, after all seem to do no good Finally, I was hospitalized

Illness pray took me and death would be sweet

[peace-and-light-poetry]

Even the Winter is Far Warmer Than I

As I write, I cannot help but to feel so cold I feel cold, just so cold So cold This is hell living like this The winter is even warmer Even death is warmer I just feel so cold I just feel so cold I feel even colder with tears rolling down my face Death is even warmer than this Even the winter in its cold feels warm I'm living in hell It is hell to live in silence, because speaking will only trouble It is hell doing all you can to help and please and people still treat you badly It is hell living, feeling hideous with anemia and alopecia It is hell running futily It is hell living in uncertainty It is hell resenting an innocent child It is hell feeling helpless in a winter that is far warmer than you It is hell being alive! I feel so cold Death doesn't feel this cold The winter feels even warmer Yet, I feel so cold Curse this immortality~! All in all, even the winter is far warmer than I

[peace-and-light-poetry]

Tears of Ice

In the winter The ancient youkai is entombed by tears of ice