Author Topic: Touhu Fairytales: The Legend of Daidarabocchi  (Read 8515 times)

Dead Princess Sakana

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  • E is for Elodie, who swims with the fishes.
Touhu Fairytales: The Legend of Daidarabocchi
« on: January 14, 2010, 04:14:43 PM »
This story is a spinoff from the PNP-theory that I'm involved in.
I got the idea for it when we were starting to discuss fairies, and finally got around to write it.
However, there is no need to know anything about that theory to understand the story here, it's completely independent.

As usual with my writing, it became a lot longer than expected (>_<)
However it's easy to read, so please don't get discouraged.

This story is supposed to be a fairytale in the truest sense of the word.
It is a tale by and about fairies in Gensokyo.
My idea was that this tale is only told amongst fairies, and not known to any other race.
I came to that thought because apparently Cirno, a fairy, was the only character in UNL to know about Daidarabocchi.

But enough of the forewords now.

Gather around, children, as I will now tell you this tale:


~ The legend of Daidarabocchi ~

Once upon a time, there was a group of fairies that lived peacefully and happily in the dephts of the Forest of Magic.
They were no different from any other fairies, until that one special day.
On a warm day in spring, just when the last traces of winter had vanished, there was a fairy born amongst them that was not like all the others.
She was very small even for a fairy, only the size of a full-grown rabbit at most.
But at the same time she was a fairy of overwhelming beauty.
Her face was like that of an angel, with bright blue eyes.
Her hair was shining with a golden colour and her small wings sparkled like a rainbow.
There was not a single fairy that would not love her from the moment they saw her, and so they decided to grant that special fairy the privilege of a name: they called her ?Darabocchi?.

So as time passed, Darabocchi lived a happy live amongst her fellow fairies, playing in the woods, gathering flowers and occasionally playing small pranks on each other using danmaku.
But there was one strange thing in Darabocchi's life.
From time to time, her fellow fairies would send her into a cave in the woods where she had to wait for a day until she was allowed to come back.
They told her to play around in the cave and sing songs as loud as she could, so that time would pass in a flash.
Darabocchi always did as she was told, even though she couldn't understand why she had to go.

Now one day, Darabocchi was sent to the cave again.
She had been singing and playing around as usual at first, but then she had become tired.
So she laid down and listened to the sounds of the cave and the woods outside.
She could hear the trees rustling in the wind, birds chirping and singing, bats sqeaking on the ceiling.
And she heard another sound, the screams of fairies and the sound of danmaku being fired.
Darabocchi immediately stood up and flew out of the cave, rushing towards the source of the sound.
She beat her small wings with all of her power, until she reached a clearing in the woods where she often played with her friends.

What she saw there almost made her faint.
Fairies were flying around in a panic, shooting danmaku at a monstrous youkai that hunted after them.
But their bullets were just repelled by the youkai's thick skin as it rushed  to one fairy after another, ripping them apart with its sharp claws and teeth.
The woods were filled with the fairies screams, but there was nothing they could do.
Darabocchi was as shocked at the sight before her as she was puzzled about it.
She had never before seen a youkai and had no idea what was happening to all of her friends.
Looking around in horror she spotted a fairy she knew lying on the ground, mortally wounded but still alive.
Fighting against the instinct to run away, Darabocchi flew over to the wounded fairy and asked her what was happening.
When the fairy noticed Darabocchi however, tears gathered in her eyes and she started to cry miserably.
Because no matter what happened to all the other fairies, Darabocchi, the only one that mustn't be here, had come.

The reason for her tears was a simple matter, but at the same time it was a sad one as well.
It was a law of nature in Gensokyo that fairies were hunted.
Fairies were beings that gathered magical energy from the air, which was then proceeded into a substance that could be consumed by other living beings and would make them more powerful.
Because of that, youkai all over Gensokyo that lusted for power would hunt fairies and take the substance from them.
It was part of the life of a fairy to be hunted, and those fairies deep in the forest were no exception.
And yet, when Darabocchi was born, her fellow fairies had decided to save her from that fate.
Even though a fairy was reborn shortly after being killed, even though it was a natural process that left no permanent harm, they had vowed that Darabocchi should not have to die even once.
Even if they all had to suffer, even if they had to lie to her, all they wanted was for this beautiful little fairy to never be harmed.
So they hid the truth from her.
They didn't tell her about the fate fairies had to live, being hunted by youkai.
They sent her away whenever a youkai attacked, and told her to sing and play so she would not notice the slaughter of her friends.
They made her live a life that did not know any fear or suffering.

But that was all over in one instant.
Despite all their efforts, Darabocchi had finally seen the tragedy that was part of the fairies life.
And also had the youkai noticed Darabocchi, as she stood out amongst all the other fairies.
She would be slaughtered here, her shining wings ripped apart by the youkai's claws, her blue eyes gouged out, her face slashed.
And even though she would be reborn after a while, she would probably never be the same as before.

But fate had other plans for Darabocchi.
When she kneeled next to the dying fairy, crying tears of fear and anger, something miraculous happened.
When the fairy died, the magic substance that the youkai was after was released from her body.
Not knowing what it was, Darabocchi touched the substance, wishing with all of her might for a miracle that could end this nightmare she had gotten into.
Suddenly a bright light enveloped Darabocchi as the substance entered her body, and she felt her magic powers growing at an unimaginable speed.

The next moment the youkai's claws struck the ground, just where Darabocchi had been a moment ago.
But the small fairy was not there anymore, instead she was now flying in the air, a determined look on her beautiful face, ready to fight the youkai that had so brutally destroyed her peaceful world.
The youkai turned to her, laughing at that fairy that looked just like a big butterfly and started to shoot danmaku at her.
But it couldn't hit her.
No matter how much it shot, it wouldn't hit.
Because Darabocchi was too small, and with the power she had just gained she was also too fast.
She continued to soar through the air like a butterfly, gracefully dodging when the youkai attacked and taunting it.
But the youkai didn't give up, it continued to attack Darabocchi time after time, until it was completely exhausted.
That was when Darabocchi struck.
She gathered all of her feelings, all of her power into her hands, stretched them out before her and charged at the youkai with a scream.
When she reached it, the magical energy burst out and destroyed the youkai in a bright flash of light.

At that moment, the same thing happened to the youkai as had happened to the fairies it had killed before.
All of the magical substance it had gathered from killing fairies all the time gathered together and left the youkai's body.
When Darabocchi saw that, she made a decision.
She decided that she would use the power before her eyes for the sake of the fairies and reached out for it.
Once again her body was enveloped in light, but this time something else happened.
Because the power that entered her was so great, her body grew.
When a fairy gathered a lot of the magical substance, it was normal for her to grow.
But because a fairy was usually killed by youkai before she could gather enough, fairies that grew that way were very rare.
But Darabocchi had defeated a youkai, something no other fairy had ever achieved.
If any fairy deserved to grow, it was her.
So she became bigger and bigger until she was the size of a human child.

After that, Darabocchi continued to live in the woods with her friends once again, but things had changed.
Because of her size, the other fairies now looked up to her as their leader.
They acted respectfully towards her and kept their distance so as to not disturb her in any way.
No longer would they fly around with her, play in the woods, sing and have fun.
At the same time, Darabocchi flew through the woods every day in search for dangerous youkai that might be a threat for her fellow fairies.
When she found one, she would fight them and take the magical substance from them.
As she did so, she grew even bigger and more powerful, but she grew distanced from the other fairies as well.

After a while, there were no youkai living in Darabocchi's territory anymore and the peaceful world she had lived in when she was small was now reality for the other fairies as well.
But it was no longer possible for Darabocchi.
She had grown far too big to be with the other fairies anymore, and they now looked at her more with fear than with respect.
When she realized that there was nothing left for her in the woods, Darabocchi cried.
She cried for a long time, mourning her fate, the events of that fateful day, her life as it was now, her loneliness.
And then she decided to leave the woods forever.
If she did not want everything she had done up to now to go to waste, she had to act.

There had been a rumor spreading in Gensokyo, about an awfully strong youkai that had taken residence in the mountains.
Darabocchi set out for that youkai, and she searched for it for a long time, until she finally found it.
The battle between the two lasted for three days and three nights, and ended with Darabocchi killing the youkai.
When the magical substance arose from the youkai's body, Darabocchi knew her journey was finally over.
Here, on this mountain, under the full moon, she would surpass her existence as a fairy and become something else.
With that thought she absorbed the substance, more of it than she had gathered in all of her life.
Her powers now surpassed that of any other being in this world and her body grew to the size of a giant in accordance to her strength.

And then, she left this world.
She left Gensokyo and entered into the cosmos that surrounded it.
There she is until today, watching over Gensokyo's fairies from above as a guardian goddess.
And even though she is no longer here, it is said that, when the fairies are in danger again, Darabocchi will descend onto Gensokyo in the form of a giant fairy and punish those that threaten fairykind.
Since that day, youkai have become a lot more reserved in their hunt for fairies and there are rumors of a giant being appearing in areas where strong youkai gather.
Because of that, the fairies in Gensokyo decided to change Darabocchi's name.

Today, she is known as 'Daidarabocchi', The Great Darabocchi, guardian goddess of all fairykind.
« Last Edit: January 14, 2010, 05:11:56 PM by Sakana »

OkashiiKisei

  • Still working on the Grimoire
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Re: Touhu Fairytales: The Legend of Daidarabocchi
« Reply #1 on: January 14, 2010, 05:09:15 PM »
Looks like you finished it, and it certainly doesn't dissapoint!
It really does sound like a fairytale! (or perhaps even a myth) Like those fairytales about how the smallest/ugliest/whatever always turns out to be the best/most beautiful! Nice detail too, calling her Darabocchi before her 'ascension'.
Like the design you gave her too. Fitting colors!

The story itself is wonderfully done! I really enjoyed it! And it also references the PNP Theory! I felt sorry for Darabocchi when the fairies got scared of her.... :( Glad she's now their hero and guardian :)
Also, the youkai she fought, were they prominently at monster stage, or were there some at the more humanoid stages? You could either imagine the youkai on the mountain as a colossal monster or as a powerful bishoujo when using our evolution charts. Either way it's fine.
Lovable little legend ;D

One minor note: it's 'goddess', not 'godess'.

Dead Princess Sakana

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  • E is for Elodie, who swims with the fishes.
Re: Touhu Fairytales: The Legend of Daidarabocchi
« Reply #2 on: January 14, 2010, 05:17:14 PM »
Glad you like it.
And reading your comment it seems the story does get across as I intended, that's good to know.

//On the relations to PNP-theory:
I didn't think too much about the youkai she fought, but I'd say at least that last one was at bishoujo stage.

One minor note: it's 'goddess', not 'godess'.
Changed.

OkashiiKisei

  • Still working on the Grimoire
  • It's all about devotion
Re: Touhu Fairytales: The Legend of Daidarabocchi
« Reply #3 on: January 14, 2010, 05:26:23 PM »
//On the relations to PNP-theory:
I didn't think too much about the youkai she fought, but I'd say at least that last one was at bishoujo stage.

Just as I thought.
Though it would also be cool if the youkai had shifted through forms during the battle (after suffering enough damage and thus losing some PNP the bishoujo could revert to monster, but then devour a nearby youkai to get back to bishoujo and beyond.) I can imagine that the battle of '3 days and 3 nights' was really epic :V Probably a dynamic finish at the end too (Darabocchi ripping one of the youkai's spikes or wings off and stabbing the thing in it's chest, spraying blood and PNP everywhere while the youkai shrinks all the way back to loli before disintegrating).

Also, does Darabocchi have a specific ability or element? Looking at her wing colour and 'bright orb charge' I can imagine her to be a light elemental fairy.

Dead Princess Sakana

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  • E is for Elodie, who swims with the fishes.
Re: Touhu Fairytales: The Legend of Daidarabocchi
« Reply #4 on: January 14, 2010, 05:51:10 PM »
I would have fleshed out the battle and all a lot more if I hadn't wanted to stick with the form of a fairytale.
It's just like 'Prince slays Witch', not further explanations on the battle. You'll have to imagine that yourself  :V
(Oh wait, you did, and a pretty brutal one at that.)

On Darabocchi's appearance, I didn't intend for it to have any more meanings. I simply needed something to make her stand out, and for a generic fairy wings, hair and eyes are best to do that.
Though one of my thoughts that had no place in the story was that Darabocchi is indeed more adept to magic than other fairies.
This might be a reason why she could fight youkai by herself, but it might just be her courageous heart as well  ;)

OkashiiKisei

  • Still working on the Grimoire
  • It's all about devotion
Re: Touhu Fairytales: The Legend of Daidarabocchi
« Reply #5 on: January 14, 2010, 06:31:59 PM »
I would have fleshed out the battle and all a lot more if I hadn't wanted to stick with the form of a fairytale.
It's just like 'Prince slays Witch', not further explanations on the battle. You'll have to imagine that yourself  :V
(Oh wait, you did, and a pretty brutal one at that.)

On Darabocchi's appearance, I didn't intend for it to have any more meanings. I simply needed something to make her stand out, and for a generic fairy wings, hair and eyes are best to do that.
Though one of my thoughts that had no place in the story was that Darabocchi is indeed more adept to magic than other fairies.
This might be a reason why she could fight youkai by herself, but it might just be her courageous heart as well  ;)

It would be more symbolic and cute when it's because of her courage ;)

And yes, I know you went for that style of storytelling, and I full encourage that. It would only ruin the story if you added the things I just said. Those things were just me telling my thoughts :V And yeah, I probably did cross the line with that Dynamic Finish....
« Last Edit: January 14, 2010, 06:48:50 PM by OkashiiNaito »

Dead Princess Sakana

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  • E is for Elodie, who swims with the fishes.
Re: Touhu Fairytales: The Legend of Daidarabocchi
« Reply #6 on: January 14, 2010, 06:47:25 PM »
And I yeah, I probably did cross the line with that Dynamic Finish....
Freedom of thought. I won't hinder your imagination  :V