#yes i know nazrin is a mouse

[bubble-trumpetsdoodles]

woke up a while ago and my brain told me to "draw rats or it'll explode" 🐁🐀💕

[aardvark-123]

Gensokyo Festival day 27: Emotions

It’s a five-part story about Tokiko today, and I have to say I like this version of Tokiko. The more I wrote about her, the more I grew to love this crazy youkai with a heart of gold, this warrior, this bibliophile, this great lover, this Tokiko with bells on. Love, fury, heartbreak, burning passion, overwhelming joy... That’s what I want my readers to feel, among many other things. That’s what I want to give you today.

~Tokiko Felt Five Emotions Last Tuesday~

~Chapter 1: Disgust~

Tokiko's day was ruined when she stepped out of bed and trod on a dead mouse.

"Aaaaaaugh! My FLOOR! My FOOT! This is hideous!" Tokiko screamed. She flopped back on her bed, half wishing she could just die and let the mouse be someone else's problem, but it was not to be.

~Chapter 2: Love~

After a thorough foot-bath and a hearty breakfast, Tokiko got ready for the day's carefree unemployment. Something had put her in the mood to polish her boots, so she did, enjoying the breeze in her little garden.

"Oh, are you polishing your boots?" said a voice. It was Ayumi Takao, the tsukumogami dressed all in green. "A woman who treats her boots with respect. You love to see it!"

Tokiko giggled. "And I love to see you... I- I mean, um, good morning! The weather's beautiful today!"

"If you're into that thing," said Ayumi, plonking herself down next to Tokiko. "I'm off to the lake for a swim. Are you busy today?"

"Oh, very! Lots to do..."

~Chapter 3: Boredom~

"I should've gone with her," Tokiko sighed, lying miserably on the floor. "Tokiko, you useless lesbian! That was SO OBVIOUSLY an invitation..."

Why had she said she had lots to do? She had NOTHING to do. With a heavy sigh, she reached for one of the books she'd read several times and read it again.

~Chapter 4: Anger~

When she delved into the pantry for lunch, Tokiko found Nazrin nibbling on her smoked fish. Furious, she grabbed Nazrin by the neck and hauled her out of there.

"You've absolutely taken the biscuit, you mouse! And the sausage! And my dried beans, even! Why, Nazrin?! WHY?!" Tokiko roared, shaking Nazrin like a maraca.

"I-I'm sorry! I was hungry!" wailed Nazrin. "You know what that's like! A mouse has to eat sometimes!"

Tokiko let out a scream of frustration. "If you'd just asked me, Nazrin... Just ASKED if you could join me for lunch! Why did you have to be so silly about it?!"

"I'm a mouse!" snapped Nazrin.

"Well, I've had enough mice for one day!" barked Tokiko, stuffing Nazrin back inside the pantry. "Be a dear and get me the miso paste."

~Chapter 5: Happiness~

At a shop in the Human Village, Tokiko and Nazrin ran into Ayumi.

"Oh, hi, Tokiko!" she said. "And is that Nazrin? What brings you here?"

"She dragged me along," said Nazrin weakly.

"I was out of miso paste," explained Tokiko. "Now, um... You see, Ayumi, I kind of wish I'd gone swimming with-"

"Miso paste?" Ayumi's face lit up. "You're making soup together?! I love miso soup!"

"Wha?" Tokiko couldn't believe her luck. Her mouth hung open for a touch longer than strictly necessary. "I... Great! Why don't you join us for lunch?"

"Could I? I mean..." A strange shyness came over Ayumi. "I wouldn't want to get between you and Nazrin."

"Oh, no, Nazrin's not my type at all! Too mousey!" said Tokiko quickly. "But we're good friends! Right, Nazrin?"

Nazrin shot her a withering look. "Oh, yes, we're inseparable."

"See?" Tokiko patted Nazrin on the back, almost knocking her down. "She loves me! In a friendly, sort of sisterly way! And soup tastes better the more hungry friends you have, so..."

Ayumi smiled. "Then I'd love to come!"

“YAY!” Tokiko jumped up and punched the air.

[uncheckedtomfoolery]

What about the hot Nazrin opinions? She doesn't necessarily seem like she's from Japan, and she seems a lot older than many animal youkai.

Oh, look. Someone else who likes Nazrin. There might be a whole… five of us, now? Standard disclaimer applies (this is my opinion etc.), rest is below the cut. The good news is that I’ve written a lot on the topic before and can pillage that for something to put here. Bad news, it’s gonna be a bit of a rambling mess maybe.

Off the bat, I’m going to address the stuff you point out. You’ve got me at a bit of a disadvantage there; I hadn’t realised she’s quite as old as she is, for one. I’m also at a loss to explain her name, sorry; one could make a case for a corruption of ‘nezumi’ into ‘naz’ but that seems like a real stretch, and it doesn’t really map to anything else that I know of. That’s not a very promising start, but I’m glad you brought that to my attention. As for age, funnily enough, this makes her older than Mamizou (assuming she’s basically Danzaburou-danuki. Indeed in that case, Mamizou’s not even half as old as she likes to act, by youkai standards.) Now, onto things I can say with a touch more confidence. First of all, what does she do, exactly?

Shou and Nazrin are both leaders, after a fashion. Shou is a figurehead. No, that’s not meant to diminish her importance or anything; it’s shorthand to say that she’s the one who’s seen, who talks and smiles and inspires people and is generally very impressive. Shou is the face. The regal one, if you like. Nazrin stays behind the scenes. She organises, she manages, she cleans up little problems and keeps everything running smoothly. It’s a job that’s partly about saying the right things when around others, but equally, about saying the wrong things, pointing out the stuff no one is quite willing to admit. Being, at times, the realist who’s willing to speak out of turn.  It’s not always nice and it’s definitely not glamorous. She prefers it that way. She doesn’t care for glamour, and praise is awkward at best, offensive at worst to her. It’s a pretty thankless job, and she prefers it that way; she’s the sort of person who enjoys having something to complain about now and then, and despises the spotlight. I take the view that she probably could have a shot at the avatar role if she wanted to. She’s smart, capable, reasonably powerful with her gadgetry on hand (which is about where Shou sits), and has a good heart and a mind for tactics. Sure, Bishamonten would probably let her sign on. She doesn’t like that, though.  She’s not the type and cannot stand the idea of… avatar work, basically. Time spent in the limelight, being generically inspiring and dealing with people all day, like Shou does. She’s quick to say she could never do what Shou does, even if “I don’t want to” is a lot more accurate in practice. Depending on my mood, I’ve even written her as not being especially religious at all. She likes Byakuren, but she’s no strict Buddhist. She has no strong opinions on Bishamonten/Vaisravana, but if Shou wants to do this, she’s happy to help. That sort of thing. Officially, since this seems to work out best (and because Shou is meant to be the public face), she’s a follower. In practice… ask them which one is in charge and they’ll both laugh at you. It’s not really like that.

Next up (yes, I’m still going, you knew what you were getting into after the last few posts), how does she view Byakuren’s private crusade for youkai/human unity and the like? Well and poorly, all at once. In her mind, youkai are ideas. You can’t change nature, you can bend it a bit, and eventually either you fail or it breaks outright. Things like ‘you don’t need to settle’ and ‘everyone can change’ are uniquely human luxuries in her eyes. Byakuren and her followers have no clue what they’re doing. They’re a bunch of misguided idealists, thinking they can save the world, going off on their hopeless crusade. Everyone can change; that’s why the human doesn’t quite understand youkai, the tiger spends her days being big, impressive and scary, the mouse hides out of sight and finds little hidden things, and the yamabiko shouts all day… right? Case in point. Whole thing is stupid. And you know, she loves that. Sure it’s probably hopeless, but these are good people, working towards a fine cause, and she’s not about to stop them. The world needs more optimists and good-hearted people, and she’s more than willing to enable them. No one’s place to stop them, right? The closest she’ll do is contribute as she is; after all, they can use someone who is neither unfailingly idealistic, nor always a good person. Having someone like that on hand is useful, she figures. Besides, she does what she can in her quiet way to keep the wheels turning. In a way, she’s probably somewhat reassuring to others in the temple. The transition to a Buddhist lifestyle is no doubt challenging to many, and we know not everyone at the temple plays by Byakuren’s rules… so seeing someone higher up who’s not exactly perfect and is willing to cover for them now and then probably helps. Both because of her age, and all the little rats/mice (same word in Japanese, who knows?) she looks after… she has a slightly Tewi-like trend (I refer strictly to my own Tewi as mentioned in previous posts) to… well, basically to treat them as children. Let the kids dream, it’s good for them and she’s happy to encourage them, keep them safe, all of that. Would be rude to outright say that to them of course, so she doesn’t. Who knows? Maybe some day they’ll prove her wrong and it turns out they can do everything they set out to do after all. That would be nice, it really would. 

On faith, I’ve written something I can more or less copy; may as well not let it go to waste. She’s a follower of Bishamonten, broadly. She’s a helper to his avatar, given. She would hasten to say, though, that she’s not particularly religious. The gods do a good job of getting much too full of themselves without any encouragement, and she’s already close enough to the ground without any kneeling adding to that. Anyone who can change the world by snapping their fingers and still needs validation from others bowing and scraping has, in her view, some explaining to do. Likewise for those who somehow have so little to worry about in this world that they need to start concerning themselves with the next as well.There just isn’t the time for that sort of thing.Not that she’d put it that way to most. This does not preclude living in a Buddhist temple, or attending the sermons, chanting sutras, and even observing some restrictions. It’s a matter of making others comfortable, and she finds it to be a wonderful exercise for centering herself anyway, so why not? Out of sight, she doesn’t adhere to the rules quite as closely; she’s no saint and would be suspicious of most people who claim to be one. It has its advantages, too; there are things the youkai at the temple need to talk about, and some of them are the sort of thing you need to bring up with ordinary people, not saints.She likes to think she does ‘ordinary people’ quite well, in her own way. You don’t take one of the columns holding  temple up and call it a pilgrim, and in the same way, she‘s no worshiper. Hijiri is a good person, and if the others at the temple aren’t, then they certainly try their best, which is all anyone can hope for. Bishamonten, too, is probably a decent sort on the balance; she hasn’t quite had enough time face to face to figure him out, of course, but he seems fine enough. Shou likes him. Shou doesn’t usually like bad people. There’s faith there. Not for gods, no; they do fine by themselves. She’s just found some very good people to put her personal faith in.

Because this inevitably will come up: I do not view her relationship with Shou as particularly romantic. Or rather, it probably has been at some point, it might be now, and that’s not really important. Youkai are odd, and they’ve also known each other since forever ago; I figure they’ve basically attempted every (positive) configuration possible for their relationship, and at this point they slip into whatever they like the idea of at the time. Meet their mood for a couple decades. They’re going to be very close whatever happens, anyway.

So on a closing note, having talked almost entirely about her work around the temple and her role there, what about her free time? Well, it’s usually uninterrupted, for one. There’s a quiet assumption that she knows what she’s doing (and therefore she can afford any break she’s taking), to begin with. Besides that, though, she always seems so tired. She might be, with all that she does, but partly… well, honestly, she’s just one of those people who has looked and acted exhausted her entire life. It doesn’t necessarily mean much. Her love of casual grumbling only pushes this further. If you ask her what she does in her free time, she’ll laugh, shake her head, and promise to tell you if she ever gets a chance to find out. Let her have her exaggerations, she thinks it’s funny. The real answer is… a few things. She’s an avid reader, for one, but an eccentric one. Memoirs, accounts of great battles, anything written by tacticians and generals of the past, and so on. It’s not an act of faith, just an overlap of interests with Bishamonten. Actual martial pursuits, though- well, no, she never found that too interesting. Nazrin is the kind of person who reads instruction manuals for fun.

She also has a bunch of picture books, which she reads to the little mice in her basket. They don’t understand a word and she doesn’t expect them to, but they seem to enjoy it. And lastly, she has a love of go, shogi and (after Murasa introduced her to it) chess. She’ll read about it, practice openings, theorycraft endlessly, and solve puzzles. She even plays against herself a bit, though it’s not ideal. She’d rather not, you understand, but there aren’t many that would play against her near the temple, and she’d rather not get rusty.

…And there you have it. More than anyone ever wanted to hear about Nazrin, I’m sure. Future askers, if you want to hear about a character and also don’t want a gigantic wall of text hurled at you, please tell me and I’ll restrain myself on levels of detail.

[aardvark-123]

Gensokyo Festival Day 3: Friends

~Author’s Note~

Today’s story is about how friends stand up for each other. And stuff.

~Shou's Bad Day~

"Oh, no... Where is it, where is it?! Oh, where could it be?!" Shou was digging frantically through the hedges and flower beds around the Myouren Temple. "I know I left it here somewhere! We only have so much garden..."

"Are you getting anywhere?" Nazrin called out as she ran over, her dress stained with mud.

"No." Shou miserably shook her head.

"I'll try the wine cellar, then. I'm sure we'll find it sooner or later," said Nazrin. She gave Shou an encouraging smile, took off her shoes and jogged inside the temple.

"Yeah... I'm sure we will." Shou sighed heavily, shuffled sideways a couple of feet and started ransacking the begonias.

The hours went by with nothing in sight. Shou was done with the garden and halfway through the compost heap when she heard smug laughter from the road.

"Now, isn't that a sorry sight?" giggled Miko. "A scrawny little tiger grovelling for scraps in the mud! What's the matter, Shou? Lost your pagoda again?!"

"Wh-wha...?" Shou looked around until she found the small crowd of Taoists. "Um, no... I'm looking for Nazrin's handkerchief, actually."

"A likely story," sneered Seiga.

"Two'll get you ten she forgot to put a bra on!" Tojiko snorted.

"I'm hungry..." moaned Yoshika.

Shou rose angrily to her feet, sloughing off a small shower of soft brown loam and food scraps. "I did NOT forget my bra OR my pagoda! Look, I've got it right, um..." Shou's face whitened as she patted her empty pockets.

Shou laughed nervously. She took a step back. Then another. Then she plummeted off the compost heap and landed flat on her back. Four unfriendly faces loomed over her.

"Aw, is it time for a cat nap?" simpered Tojiko.

"No, no, she's showing us her tummy! That means she wants us to give her a pat!" said Miko insistently.

"Or an appendectomy!" giggled Seiga.

"Can I eat her?" said Yoshika hopefully.

"What?! No! I'm too young to be eaten!" wailed Shou.

"Poor little kitty..." said Tojiko, pouting with fake sympathy. She bent down and rubbed Shou's tummy. "Does-a poor wittle kitsy-witsy-woo want a saucer of milky-wilk?"

"Well, too bad! I lactate for no-one!" Miko howled with laughter.

Shou's face reddened. "Stop it! Stop it, you bunch of meanies! I'm warning you, I- I can remove a woman's head with just one hand..."

"Don't move!" grinned Miko, balancing her sword on Shou's nose.

"She'll move," giggled Seiga, slipping off Shou's shoe. "You're not ticklish, are you, kitty?"

"Aaaaauuugh!" screamed Shou, and she burst into tears. The sword somehow stayed upright.

Tojiko snorted. "Some Avatar of Bishamonten!"

"Let's see now..." Her tongue poking out from concentration, Miko lined her shaku up with her sword and balanced it on the hilt. "There we go! Perfect!"

"Please..." whimpered Shou. "Just leave me alone! What did I ever do to deserve this?!"

"Nothing much," said Seiga, tossing Shou's socks into a bush.

Yoshika gave her a dirty look. "She tore my arms off last week! Took me hours to sew them back on with the needle clamped between my lips."

"Well, then..." Seiga grabbed a feather and tickled Shou's left foot.

Shou let out a piercing scream. Caught between mirth and anguish, she laughed out loud and begged for mercy with tears streaming down from her eyes. The sword and baton fell down with a clatter.

Tojiko caught Miko's eye and grinned. "This is the life, isn't it?"

"You bet! She's such a pushover!" laughed Miko.

"Maybe I'll tickle under her arms, too," giggled Seiga. "Just got to get those sleeves off- OW!" Seiga felt a sharp bite on her ankle. Her face screwed up in agony.

Miko and Tojiko were instantly on the alert, eyes swiveling and spell-cards readied. Yoshika just stood there and dreamed of roast dinners.

"Get off! Get off!" shrieked Seiga, desperately shaking her leg. With blood running over her teeth and the ground repeatedly smacking against her, Nazrin hung on for dear life.

"The mouse?!" gasped Tojiko.

"She's no big deal. Get her!" yelled Miko, lunging at Nazrin.

Nazrin disengaged her teeth and ducked behind Seiga. Miko ploughed into her legs. Seiga sprawled on top of Miko, flattening her against the ground.

"Nazrin...!" breathed Shou. "Oh, Nazrin, you came for me!"

"Shou, what have they done to you?!" cried Nazrin.

"They balanced swords on my nose and tickled me! Oh, it was horrible..." Shou sniffled. "I never found that handkerchief. Nazrin, I'm so sorry!"

"Oh, Shou..." A lump rose in Nazrin's throat. "You mean more to me than a hundred handkerchiefs. You're my sister, Shou! I love you!" She turned her blazing eyes upon Tojiko and unsheathed her dowsing rods. "Do you hear me, you mean old Taoist?! Nobody hurts Shou! Begone, or face my wrath!"

Tojiko zapped Nazrin with lightning until she passed out.

"Nazrin! NO!" screamed Shou. The sight of her little mousie friend smouldering on the ground filled her with white-hot anger. She sprang towards Tojiko, snarling like a wild beast.

Shou struck Tojiko with a force that knocked the wind out of her and slammed her into the earth. Shou drew back a clenched fist, roared again and punched Tojiko in the face, bloodying her nose. She bared her teeth and lunged at Tojiko's throat. Her jaws snapped shut on thin air as Tojiko drifted straight through her.

Shou whirled around just in time to take a bolt of lightning in the face. She fell on her bottom with a plaintive yelp.

"Is your nose all right?" asked Miko, her face full of concern.

"I'll live." Tojiko wiped away some blood with her sleeve.

"In a manner of speaking!" Miko winked and picked up her sword. "Right then, time to put the cat out for the night."

"Come on, Yoshika! Show them what a jiang shi can do!" said Seiga brightly.

Yoshika sighed. "If I absolutely have to..."

Shou's heart was pounding. She knew four enemies was more than she could manage, but she was at least going to avenge Nazrin. She clenched her fists and tried to keep her knees from knocking while she stared down the Taoists. Without another word, Miko charged. She had not gone far when Byakuren's foot smacked into her earmuff.

Miko screamed as she hit the compost heap in a shower of nutritious soil. Byakuren somersaulted overhead and landed heavily in front of Shou. Minamitsu and Kyouko touched down either side of them, with anchor and broom at the ready.

"You?!" Miko's eyes widened. "It's too late for you, Byakuren! Nazrin is already dead!"

"No I'm not!" declared Nazrin. "Wish I was, though. That lightning really stings."

"Oh." Miko blushed.

Byakuren reached inside her pocket and pulled out a glowing orb with a pointy golden roof. Shou's heart leapt at the sight of her sacred pagoda.

"I found this on your bedside table. It wasn't anything important, was it?" Byakuren smiled and tossed the pagoda over to Shou.

"Oh, Byakuren, thank you!" cried Shou, catching the pagoda. Her face lit up as the golden light warmed her hands. All of a sudden there was no fear or doubt, just the light of Bishamonten throughout her body. In that moment, Shou seemed to grow a foot taller.

Tojiko and Seiga shrank back as they saw the gleam in Shou's eyes, but Miko held her ground. Yoshika wasn't quite sure what was going on, so she blew her nose on her hat.

"Ms Toyosatomimi," said Byakuren severely, "I'm not going to bother with the 'we can choose not to fight' speech, because you've never listened before and I don't think this time is going to be any different. And honestly, after what you did Nazrin-"

"That was Tojiko!"

"First of all, Tojiko is under your command and therefore your responsibility. Second of all, you were about to attack my closest partner and I'm going to make you eat those earmuffs." Byakuren took a deep breath. "Budhhists, advance!"

"Taoists, charge!"

The groups clashed in a frenzy of flailing fists and lightning-fast kicks. Miko's sword flashed through the air, tearing through cloth and skin without mercy. Tojiko hurled lightning far and wide. Byakuren fought with the strength of ten women, turning Miko's steel aside with her bare hands, and Shou managed to throw Seiga clean over the temple.

"Oh, no! Master!" Yoshika stopped chewing on Kyouko's ears and ran to retrieve her. With two warriors down, Miko and Tojiko soon felt the bitter taste of defeat. The bitter taste of well-worn earmuffs came shortly afterwards for Miko, who was going to have a very disturbed night.

Shou's stomach was fine thanks to a large bowl of rice and some steamed vegetables, but she still couldn't get to sleep.

"Byakuren?"

"Hmm?" Byakuren rolled over and propped her head up on one hand.

"I shouldn't have let them get the better of me." Shou sighed deeply and stared up at the ceiling. "Lord Bishamonten wouldn't have waited until he was flat on his back with a sword on his nose and a twin-tailed ghost tickling his feet..."

Byakuren ruminated on that for a moment, then she snorted loudly and embarked on a fit of the giggles.

"Is... Is it that funny? Really?"

"N-no! Of course not...!" Byakuren struggled to keep her face straight.

"I mean, I should've just kicked Miko in the face and gone for help! Instead, Nazrin got hurt and you all had to come and rescue us. I was weak, Byakuren," said Shou miserably. "I let you all down."

"Don't say that!" Byakuren seemed momentarily angry. "Yes, we went out of our way for you, but I know you'd do the same for any of us. And I know you wouldn't ask for anything in return, so don't worry about 'making it up to me' either."

"I would, but... I just feel like..." Shou sighed. "Some avatar of Bishamonten, aren't I?"

"Shou. Listen to me. You can train harder and learn how to cope with stressful situations, but there is NOTHING wrong with who you are right now. Come on, you're brave and strong and kind and gentle, and a hard worker to boot, and all the villagers and the juniour priests look up to you!" Byakuren's face softened. "Shou, don't ever start thinking you're a burden. All of us are so much better with you here."

"You... You are? Everyone in the temple?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Wow..." Shou's lips curved upwards in a faint smile. "Thanks, Byakuren."

Byakuren said nothing. She just leaned over, draped her arm over Shou and hugged her until the morning came.