Day 10 to Day 16: The Meaning of a MagicianSo, let's take over the Forest of Magic!
Turn 10:
Action 1: Talked with Tsubame
Action 2: Attacked Magic Forest Entrance with Marisa, Reimu, Elceles, and Toujin, 100% Victory, Took Warrior Doll prisoner, forced Option Doll to withdraw, leveled Marisa
Other: Gave Tsubame's Short Sword to Elceles
Nothing too interesting.
Shanghai: "..........*flutter flutter*"
The Shanghai Doll flitted around the forest. She wasn't aimlessly wandering about; she was actually performing surveillance. The miasma of the forest wasn't a problem for a doll after all.
Shanghai ".....!"
The glint of a small, shiny object caught her attention. The object flitted about, as if it was inviting the Shanghai Doll to chase it.A Will o' the Wisp? Okay...
Shanghai: "......♪"Daw, cute Shanghai is cute.
Flutter flutter, flutter flutter, flutter flutter. With a suspicious twinkle, the shiny object continued heading deeper into the forest. The Shanghai Doll continued giving chase, entranced by it. Then...
Shanghai: "#$&%@~~~!?"Then
Moment by Moment "KIZAKIZA" plays.It's essentially our "Oh crap!" theme. If I so much as hear the beginning of Moment by Moment, then it's pretty obvious whatever situation has just turned for the worst in the worst possible way.
The Shanghai Doll's body was suddenly entangled by ivy. The shiny object was actually a trap set by a tree. The tree had become a monster due to the miasma, and was awaiting its next prey.This isn't good.
"I'm gonna be eaten!" As the thought flashed through her mind, the tree simply threw the Shanghai Doll away. She had no idea what had just happened, but still pulled herself together and ran as fast as she could.
Shanghai: "~~~~~~~~~~!!"
She screamed soundlessly (as she couldn't talk), became teary-eyed (although she can't cry), and sped away back where she came from.
Dolls should spend their time in happiness and not having to worry about being eaten, but this incident left an irremovable scar, and would be used as material to scare the other dolls during ghost stories.That's kind of disturbing. Hopefully things won't be so bad on your next patrol.
Reimu: "Alice kept referring to her army as 'us'... I wonder who else is with her?"
Marisa: "She normally only has dolls with her. She's probably referrin' to those."Reimu: "The dolls...? Isn't she the one controlling them with strings and such?"
Marisa: "Some of 'em have a fair bit of autonomy. I think she's researchin' on how to make a doll that thinks and moves fully on its own."
Reimu: "So something like an artificial life form? That sounds way too ridiculous. Does she think she's a god?"Huh, I never thought of it that way, Reimu. I don't think Alice thinks herself a god, but I sense some egotism from her. I'm not a fan of that.
Marisa "That's what I think too... But apparently, people've seen dolls like that before. And someone we know has seen 'em too."
Reimu: "Who?"
Marisa: "That head maid that's always there whenever I go to take some books."That's right, Sakuya dealt with Medicine instead of Aya in Phantasmagoria of Flower View. But Alice hasn't met her. Huh.
Reimu: "'Take'? Don't you mean 'steal'?"It's called "She'll return them when she's dead," Reimu. Granted, stealing isn't the greatest thing to do...
Marisa: "It's not just about how it sounds, hey. ...Anyway, even people besides Alice have seen that sorta thing. Well, this is Gensokyo after all."
Reimu: "Thus, it wouldn't be weird if they really do exist."
Marisa: "Right. As far as I know though, she's still a one-woman-show, so she shouldn't be too hard'ta handle."
People would normally react to a remark like that, but to Marisa, there wasn't anything special about what she just said. It may not be what people want to hear, but it was not something she particularly cared about.Normally. But I doubt most people in Gensokyo could be considered normal. Then again, neither can I.
So , Turn 11, huh?
Turn 11:
Action 1: Talked with Elceles
Action 2: Attacked Magic Forest Entrance with Reimu, Marisa, Elceles, Tsubame, and Yumeta, 87% Victory, took France Doll prisoner
Other: Leveled Reimu and Elceles once each
Shanghai has the ability "Dolls War," which is a powerful melee attack that reduces speed. Poor Tsubame just got hit by it. Nevertheless, I eke out a win and capture the territory.
Alice: "What!? They've broken through the entrance!?"
Shanghai: ".........*nod nod*"
After losing to Reimu's army, the Shanghai Doll staggered back to Alice. Upon hearing the battle report, Alice showed a hint of panic.
Alice: "Grrr... So they've slipped through just like that... I suppose that's expected of them. Alright, Shanghai. You can return to my side now. Good work."
Shanghai: ".........*nod nod*"
The Shanghai Doll seemed dispirited, perhaps feeling guilt from having lost. However, with a bit of head-patting from Alice, her gloomy expression brightened slightly.
Alice: "How dare they hurt my Shanghai... I wonder if they'll go after here or the boundary next... Whichever it is, I'll get your revenge for you, Shanghai."
Marisa: "Especially against you, Marisa... I will not lose against you."
Alice's heart was soon set on one and only one thing; getting revenge for her defeated Shanghai Doll.Okay then. Good luck with that.
Turn 12:
Action 1: Talked with Elceles
Action 2: Attacked Magic Forest Border with Marisa, Elceles, Reimu, and Toujin, 83% Victory
Other: None
Hourai: "........."
The Hourai Doll sat with her back leaned against a tree, staring intently over the area. Her expression typically never changed, so no one knew what she was thinking, or whether she was even thinking at all.
Hourai: "........."
A tiny forest beetle landed on the stationary doll's head. It was a harmless insect, but those who dislike insects wouldn't be able to tell the difference. The beetle continued to rest on the Hourai Doll's head.Hourai: "........."
Dolls are made of inorganic material. Furthermore, they cannot die (since they're dolls) and cannot move. Thus, insects and animals would naturally gather around them without displaying any caution.I guess that makes a bit of sense.
Hourai: "........."
A single bird flying through the area noticed the possible prey on the Hourai Doll's head, and swooped down to it. The beetle flew away just in time, and the bird's beak got stuck in the Hourai Doll's head.Ouch!
Hourai: "........."
She didn't fully understand, but at least knew that it was painful. She covered her head with her hand, causing the bird to hurriedly fly away. Silence once again returned to the forest.
Hourai: "........."
After a quick rub, the Hourai Doll's hand fell lifelessly beside it once again, and she continued her staring. ...It was just another peaceful day at the forest....If you say so...
Meanwhile...
The entrance of the Forest of Magic had been successfully captured, and Reimu and Marisa were performing reconnaissance of the area. Or more accurately, they were taking a walk.Walking in a forest would be nice right now. If it weren't freezing out. January, oh how I hate thee.
Reimu: "Honestly... There's no sunlight, there's strange miasma floating in the air, weird mushrooms are growing everywhere... How do you and Alice live here?"
Marisa: "Stick around long enough, and you can get used'ta anything."
Reimu: "However you want to paint it, a forest is a forest. Go live somewhere more appropriate."
As Reimu mentioned, the inside of a forest is certainly not kind to living things. It would take someone of considerable vitality to withstand or block the miasma and spores from entering their body.I probably wouldn't want to walk in the Forest of Magic, though.
Marisa: "C'mon, this forest is the perfect place for magicians. There's no lack of materials to experiment with... That girl doesn't seem'ta like 'em though."
Marisa's finger pointed in the direction of a cluster of mushrooms growing near a tree. She looked at them happily, but their appearance didn't look particularly welcoming.That's probably because Alice doesn't use mushrooms for magic spells and whatnot.
Reimu: "Huh, you two disagree on what food you like to eat? Sounds like you two are the extreme ends of the magician scale."
Marisa: "They're not food. Well, actually they are, but... Bah, that ain't my point anyway."
Reimu: "What is, then?"
Marisa: "...That's a secret."
Reimu: "Tsk."
Marisa and Alice may be magicians, but they are not the same. But as Reimu never particularly looked into the subject of magicians, nor had anything to say about them, she decided to keep quiet.Yeah, because Marisa is a human and Alice is a youkai. That and they study different magical fields.
Turn 13:
Action 1: Talked with Elceles
Action 2: Attacked Magic Forest Border with Reimu, Marisa, Yumeta, Tsubame, and Elceles, 88% Victory, Elceles received affection bonus in MEL
Other: Persuaded Wriggle with Kira and Toujin, Leveled Elceles 1 time
So, Wriggle! Let's recruit you.
Wriggle: "...What do you want?"Reimu: "Perhaps I came here to laugh at you."
Wriggle: "How rude."That is kind of rude, Reimu.
Taking Yukari's invite to form a team and join the conquering game seemed like the perfect way to take revenge on Reimu, but in the end, Wriggle was placed in Reimu's army's prison.
Wriggle: "Isn't it funny, though? In the end, we meet like this after my attempt at revenge... Go ahead and laugh at me if you want."
Reimu: "Ahhh-hahahaha, what an idiot you were. You actually thought you could beat me? How hilarious."That's even ruder. Honestly Reimu...
Wriggle: "You're not supposed to actually laugh!"
Reimu: "You said I could. Well, who cares, that's not what I came here for today."
Wriggle: "...What is it, then?"
Reimu: "Will you join our army?"
Wriggle: "...........Huh?"
Wriggle was flabbergasted as she stared at Reimu, blinking her eyes in surprise.
Reimu: "Your staring is starting to make me feel embarrassed..."
Wriggle: "Are you being serious?"Uh, yeah. There's not any other reason to see you.
Reimu: "Geez, is this how you treat someone who came all the way here to talk to you? Go ahead and refuse then, I'm sure you'll make an excellent meal with soy sauce."I don't know, insects don't sound exactly appetizing.
Wriggle: "That's cruelty to prisoners!!"
Reimu: "So, are you really going to reject my offer?"
Wriggle: "......I don't know what you're trying to do, but if you need my strength so badly, then I suppose I should let you borrow it."
Reimu: "...That isn't quite what I said."
Wriggle: "If you need to get youkai to help you, then you must be really lacking in manpower, after all. Fine, I'll help you out. You better be grateful!"Okay Wriggle, you're kind of going overboard with this.
Reimu: "...If you end up being useless, you're on kitchen duty... as an ingredient."...Right then.
So, Wriggle's on our side now! I'm just going to let you know that I'm going to try to recruit as many Touhou characters as I can to my army. There's a particular event sequence I unlock later for it, and that's important for getting the true ending, so...
Yeah. Not speaking beyond that until later, for sake of not spoiling the plot.
Here at the Magic Forest Border, we have to deal with Hourai. She's got Artful Sacrifice, which heals the enemy party while reducing her to a low amount of HP. If she uses that, you're pretty much screwed.
Turn 14:
Action 1: Developed Faintly Dark Path with Wriggle
Action 2: Attacked Magic Forest Interior with Marisa, Reimu, Elceles, and Toujin, 100% Victory, Toujin leveled up, forced Marionette and Holland Doll to withdraw
Other: None
So, the Magic Forest Interior! Let's settle this!
Deep in the Magic Forest, Reimu's army started their advance. Before they could get very far, a groupled by a certain familiar figure stood in their way. It was Alice Margatroid, the dollmaster.
Marisa: "There ya are."
Reimu: "Yep. Better knock on some wood."
Alice: "Hmph, how rude. I'm not a ghost, you know."
Alice herself had skin so smooth and pale, that she seemed like a doll herself. With the right amount of light, she could have easily been mistaken for a ghost.I don't know, she doesn't really look like a ghost. You'd want Yuyuko for that. Or the character I'm making for Tales of Phantasmal Land.
Marisa: "It'd have been better if it was a ghost anyway, they're easier'ta deal with."
Alice: "...That's not important anyway. These dolls shall be given life via my fingers... And you shall have a taste of the power they possess."
With a swift movement of the fingers, the group of dolls began to stir. Facing an army like this was certain a new experience for Reimu's army.It's not new. I've fought Alice plenty of times in Perfect Cherry Blossom.
Alice: "Marisa, you will get an especially long lesson from them."Again with Marisa! What the hell is your problem with her?
Marisa: "Hah, ya think the great Marisa Kirisame would ever lose to a buncha dolls? I'll blow 'em all away with my magic."Alice: "...You call what you do magic? Your haphazard attitude to the art always rubbed me the wrong way... and I'll take this chance to show you just how much!"...Haphazard? Towards magic? I beg to differ, damn it! She spends lots of time doing research! Alice, your attitude just PISSES ME OFF.
Marisa: "I'll tie that line up with a ribbon and send it right back at cha!"
Reimu: ".....Hey, you two? Geez, making this all about them for no reason..."
Unfortunately for Reimu, the two of them were in their own world, and nothing an outsider could say would snap them out of it.That does it! You're going down, Alice!
Just Shanghai? That's not too bad. I can deal with it.
Turn 15:
Action 1: Developed Magic Forest Entrance with Wriggle
Action 2: Attacked Magic Forest Interior with Reimu, Marisa, Elceles, Tsubame, and Yumeta, 68% Victory, Reimu, Marisa, and Yumeta leveled, Elceles withdrew
Other: None
So, we have a
Doll Judgment remix. And yes, this is from the GitP LP. I didn't have the time to upload the rest of the soundtrack. I have most of the cutscene and battle themes, but not the ones unique to each character fight.
Now to introduce a somewhat hidden mechanic of the game. Characters have Affinities for one another. Some have positive Affinities, and some have negative ones. People with positive Affinities will gain a stat boost if the person they have an Affinity with is on the same team or a penalty if that person is on the other team. If that person has a negative Affinity with someone, the opposite is true. Marisa has a positive Affinity with Reimu (but not the other way around), so she has been getting boosts from that. She also has a negative Affinity with Alice right now, so they are giving each other a boost because they are fighting each other.
Alice herself has Doll Manipulation as a special effect. It grants all of the dolls on the same team as her with a boost. This makes fighting her REALLY DIFFICULT.
So, remember how I've been saying I had to do this battle six times?
Turn 15 (try 2):
Action 1: Developed Magic Forest Entrance with Wriggle
Action 2: Attacked Magic Forest Interior with Reimu, Marisa, Elceles, Tsubame, and Yumeta, Defeat 41%, Reimu and Marisa Leveled, Yumeta withdrew
Other: None
Turn 15 (try 3):
Action 1: Developed Magic Forest Entrance with Wriggle
Action 2: Attacked Magic Forest Interior with Reimu, Marisa, Elceles, Tsubame, and Yumeta, DNF
Other: None
Turn 15 (try 4):
Action 1: Developed Magic Forest Entrance with Wriggle
Action 2: Attacked Magic Forest Interior with Reimu, Marisa, Elceles, Tsubame, and Yumeta, DNF
Other: None
Turn 15 (try 5):
Action 1: Developed Magic Forest Entrance with Wriggle
Action 2: Attacked Magic Forest Interior with Reimu, Marisa, Elceles, Tsubame, and Yumeta, DNF
Other: None
Turn 15 (try 6):
Action 1: Developed Magic Forest Entrance with Wriggle
Action 2: Attacked Magic Forest Interior with Reimu, Marisa, Elceles, Tsubame, and Yumeta, 68% Victory, Reimu, Marisa, and Yumeta leveled
Other: None
...Yeah. And then after I saved, I got counterattacked. I just reset right there, because I was NOT losing that 68% victory. Not at all.
Turn 16:
Action 1: Talked with Marisa
Action 2: Attacked Magic Forest Interior with Reimu, Marisa, Yumeta, Tsubame, and Elceles, 95% Victory
Other: Leveled Tsubame 2 times (Learned Doll Defeater!), Persuaded Alice with Kira, Toujin, and Wriggle
That fight was actually easy, because I was a higher level, probably.
Alice: "Ooh... How could this be..."Well, save scumming. And some attacking. And stuff. Long story short, I kicked your ass.
The dolls were vanquished, and Alice fell to her knees, defeated. Reimu and Marisa stood proudly in front of her.
Reimu: "Too bad for you, but we're the winners."
Marisa: "Yep yep."
Alice: "Losing to Reimu is fine, but to YOU of all people..."
Alice looked up with a glare at Marisa as she grumbled. Her eyes were not filled with hatred, nor with resentment. They displayed a mixture of several different, conflicting emotions.
Marisa: "Hoo boy... Guess you really hate me, huh?"Alice: "...It's not about hatred. It's more about... regret."I... don't understand. What do you regret?
Alice turned her eyes away from the two as she spoke. The sound of her words as she spoke seemed to indicate a different reason that she refused to say out loud.
Alice: "After all, if I've lost to you, what does that make me after all this while?"
Marisa: "...Y'know, why do you let it affect you so much? You're you, and I'm me. Ain't that fine the way it is?"
Alice: "That attitude of yours is so vexing!"...Vexing? What, being carefree is a foreign concept?
Granted, you haven't exactly met Koishi yet, and she's the embodiment of carefree!
Just look at how carefree she is!
...Maybe that's a poor example...
Reimu had no clue what was going on, but she could sense a storm brewing at least. She tried to get in between and mediate... but it had the opposite effect.
Reimu: "C'mon, stop it you two. You're both magicians after all, you should learn to get along bet..."
Marisa and Alice: "We ain't the same." "We're not the same at all!"Whoa, chill!
Reimu: "Wha... Wait a second, what do you mean?"
Alice: "...Marisa and I may be magicians... but we're different."
Marisa: "Yeah. Cuz I'm a 'human' magician."
Reimu: "...What's that supposed to mean?"
Alice: "There are two types of magicians. One type are 'true' magicians, those who were magicians from birth. The other type is..."
Marisa: "A human who becomes a magician. ...Like her."
It was the first Reimu had heard of it. Or more accurately, she never delved too deep into the subject... so she thought everyone who used magic were considered magicians.
Alice: "That's why it's so annoying. You practice magic, you live in this Magic Forest, you even call yourself a magician, yet you still choose to remain a human."Isn't it her choice?
Marisa: "I use magic, so I'm a magician. Ain't that good enough? Magic only has meaning if I, or anyone, makes use of it. That's what I think."And I agree. If I used magic, wouldn't I technically be a magician, youkai or not?
Alice: "Hmph, you're just trying to hide your fear. You weren't prepared to bet it all on magic, so you went on the path of a human... or do you deny it?"
Marisa: "Yeah I do. I was born a human, so I'll find worth in life as a human. Magic's only a way to make people's lives easier, that's all."
Marisa: "A means ain't the same as an objective. Magic ain't somethin' ya throw away your humanity for."
Alice: "......!!"...
Out of sight~out of mind...
...Alice's hand flew through the air. It landed on Marisa's cheek, then remained in the air as Alice turned away. Marisa's head turned sideways from the force of the blow, and remained completely still.
Alice: "............ Reimu."
Reimu: "Eh, ah, ...Yeah?"
Alice: "...I've lost to you all. So I'm your prisoner now, yes? I'll leave the administrative things to you."
Reimu: "Ah... Right."
Alice: "I'll be leaving then. I want to be alone for awhile."
Alice then left wordlessly, walking deeper into the forest and towards her house. Marisa still had not moved an inch.
Reimu: "Um... Marisa?"
Marisa: "She's... such an idiot. But... I'm an even bigger idiot."
Marisa may not have meant it the way it sounded, but the impact of the words she carelessly spoke to Alice made her regret it immediately after. Reimu no longer knew what to say to them anymore....I remember this scene. Before seeing it again, I was all with Marisa. But now I'm not exactly sure. Granted, you shouldn't have to throw away your humanity to practice magic. That I agree with. But saying that to someone who
did is offensive, to say the least.
I still don't think Alice should have even made a deal of this issue, though. Human or not, Marisa's a magician. If you aren't comfortable with it, fine. But to get so angry at so trivial a matter... that I do not agree with.
Alice, Shanghai, and Hourai are our prisoners. In order to get the dolls, we need Alice. So let's try to fix things with her.
Reimu: "Hmm... I wonder what I should say."
With Alice's considerable skill as a magician, she would no doubt enhance the army's warpower. ...But after that incident with Marisa, it was always going to be hard to speak with her.
Alice: "Oh my... What would you be here for?"
Reimu: "Wah!"
Alice: "Oh, come on. I'm not a ghost, you know."
Reimu: "No, well, I'm, uh..."
It was only a short time after Alice's team had been conquered, but she was already back to her usual self. At the very least, she showed no traces of her argument with Marisa.Well, that's a start, at least.
Alice: "...You look disappointed somehow. Well, never mind that. What are you here for?"
Reimu: "Ahh, right, right... Uh, do you want to fight together with me, maybe?"
Alice: "...That wasn't particularly persuasive, you know."
Reimu: "Well, I kinda feel like I'm stepping around broken glass here, with that argument between you two and all..."
Alice: "I lost to you all anyway... I don't exactly have the right to refuse."
Reimu: "Um... It's okay if you don't want to."
Alice: "......It's fine, I'll join. Things will only get tougher from now on, and I doubt you two alone can stand up to it. I'll lend you my strength."
Alice's expression returned to normal as she underlined her resolve.
Alice: "Well then, let's do our best. ...Ahh, I should say a little something to that girl, too. ...Reimu, you don't have to look so relieved."
Reimu: "...In that case, there's one more matter to settle..."
After confirming Alice's position on the matter, Reimu waved Marisa over. She had been lurking further back the whole time.Hopefully we can get a reconciliation now. I'm not exactly thrilled with personal fights like this.
Marisa: "Hey Alice."Alice: "Marisa... I'm really sorry about what happened the other day. I wasn't thinking and ended up going too far."At least you admitted it. That was a little over the top.
Marisa: "Hey hey, this ain't like you at all. I ain't one to care about people 'goin' too far' anyway, so don't worry 'bout it. After all..."
Marisa: "It was partly my fault too. I said some pretty hurtful things."
Alice: "...In that case, since we'll be allies from now on, let's do our best."
Marisa: "Right. I'm countin' on ya."
The two managed to reconcile and return back to normal. With that grudge settled, both hoped that no other problems would occur...I wouldn't exactly push your luck. But that's that. Now that that's done with, do we go after the Human Village? What about that area to the south of the Forest of Magic? We'll find out next time.
If you think this is the end of these kinds of events, then you are sadly mistaken.