Border Disputes: A Reimu!Dungeon Core Story
- Thread starter Burn-The-Candle
- Start date
- Fantasy
Given the connections to seasons and fairies, it's pretty likely she's also linked with Letty and Lily White to some degree.
Curious to see how the minor god will appear. Given the relative friendliness w/ Renko and the hatred mostly pointed inward, I hope it's not an awful outcome long term. Granted short term, it's activated one of the bigger defense systems they had implanted, so we'll have to see.
Sylent-M
Be Trans, Take to Heresy
- Pronouns
- Was/Were
I'm gonna hazard a guess that Dai used to be some sort of minor deity. If you take what we saw in this chapter and pair it with these bits from Ch. 22,
Semi-related Edit: did the events of WAHH happen in this timeline. Does Reimu know about Ibaraki Douji?
Dai tried to use what meager strength she had to empower Yuuka in the hopes that she'd survive whatever Kasen tried to do to her. But leaning on the connection opened her to being affected by the killing stone as well. It ultimately didn't kill her, but left her even weaker than she had been. Additionally, Kasen's success inspired others, as seen here,
Eventually, witnessing these assaults on fairy-kind became too much for her, and she resolved to action to stop it. Presumably dying in the process.
But, as brought up in this latest chapter, gods eventually reform. So after an unspecified amount of time, Dai was born once more, albeit much diminished
Semi-related Edit: did the events of WAHH happen in this timeline. Does Reimu know about Ibaraki Douji?
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I loved this, it reminded me of Himiko's brother from FGO's GUDAGUDA event. You go, turtle man and Mina!
Poor Jim, hopefully, he doesn't lose his job for this.
Marisa, that's it, you have a problem that's starting to be a problem for everyone else.
Oh, well that's not good. Welp, good luck to any adventures that come in now, there is no hope for them.
FailLord
2050 lb bombs?
- Location
- Orange Star
At least it's not Mugenkan
***
Also apparently Mima has pointed ears in Lostword art:
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Frakir's brother
Goodbye.
- Location
- The Sea of Trees
I didn't comment before, but I'm kinda wondering why Kasen/Ibaraki-douji is part of the Gensluminati. She's powerful and terrifying of course, but in terms of esoteric stuff the Celestials can comprehend and dissect Hermit Arts in moments, as shown by Tenshi in WaHH. Hermits are capable of creating pocket realms and diverting souls, so I can see why they'd want someone with that capability, but it'd probably be easier to get a Celestial to do it.
chrisleech
The Finder of Things Left Behind
- Location
- Jacksonville, Florida
I don't understand the Heian Alien's points. She says that everything changes, and that all people and ideas eventually erode away, but also is stuck on a single idea of how humans and youkai can't be together, absolutely refusing the concept that that idea can change until it's unrecognizable. She also believes that humans and youkai have completely different ways of viewing the world, and yet insists that Reimu should see things from exactly her point of view
DracoLazarus
Caster of Fist
- Location
- France
I've read my way through the entire fic over a day, and I gotta say I love your characterisation.
In many fics you can get the impression certain characters are unidimensional, but so far I didn't get that impression from any of those you brought in so far.
I especially love your Cirno. She's certainly an idiot, and due to her strength, the magnitude of her idiocy is certainly greater and more dangerous. But she has that heart, passion, and energy... She's a shonen protagonist idiot. She feels like the hero of another story, not just comic relief, and that's hilarious to watch.
The Divine Bureaucracy looks like a nightmare, and Nabigeta's upcoming promotion is going to screw it over in a massive way if she finds out about Yukari. It's like one can see the banana peel right in the middle of the sidewalk and they're just waiting for someone to slip on it.
The theme of hidden depths of the past, thought sealed away or gone for good, emerging once again is also a big theme of this story, and it'll be very interesting to see how it develops if you intend on returning to it. Especially since Mima and Genjii's role in the protection of New Gensokyo on the software side does show that even those thought dead and gone are perhaps not as gone as we may think.
An apology, to finish with, to all of those who watch the thread and may be annoyed by the necro. While this is SV and thus there are no necro rules, I am aware of how a new post on an inactive thread may be annoying, hence the apology.
In many fics you can get the impression certain characters are unidimensional, but so far I didn't get that impression from any of those you brought in so far.
I especially love your Cirno. She's certainly an idiot, and due to her strength, the magnitude of her idiocy is certainly greater and more dangerous. But she has that heart, passion, and energy... She's a shonen protagonist idiot. She feels like the hero of another story, not just comic relief, and that's hilarious to watch.
The Divine Bureaucracy looks like a nightmare, and Nabigeta's upcoming promotion is going to screw it over in a massive way if she finds out about Yukari. It's like one can see the banana peel right in the middle of the sidewalk and they're just waiting for someone to slip on it.
The theme of hidden depths of the past, thought sealed away or gone for good, emerging once again is also a big theme of this story, and it'll be very interesting to see how it develops if you intend on returning to it. Especially since Mima and Genjii's role in the protection of New Gensokyo on the software side does show that even those thought dead and gone are perhaps not as gone as we may think.
An apology, to finish with, to all of those who watch the thread and may be annoyed by the necro. While this is SV and thus there are no necro rules, I am aware of how a new post on an inactive thread may be annoying, hence the apology.
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FailLord
2050 lb bombs?
- Location
- Orange Star
I have to confess, I came for the touhou/out of context stomp and stayed instead for the character interactions.
A Loopy Fairy in Border Disputes
By Anon/Pixie
Warning! Spoilers for A Loopy Fairy in Gensokyo! Open at your own risk!
By Anon/Pixie
Warning! Spoilers for A Loopy Fairy in Gensokyo! Open at your own risk!
Something was wrong. The thought hit Reimu suddenly, senses honed by years of living in Gensokyo flaring up. It was too peaceful. Normally a thought that would give her great relief, but here and now? Sighing, she got up.
As she scanned the lake, she frowned. There was, she noted, a distinct lack of fairy shenanigans. No overly elaborate ice sledges, no arguments spun into impromptu danmaku battles, not even any pranks by the Fairies of Light. At the moment, there were only nameless fairies playing over the lake, though even they seemed a little less energetic than normal. And where was Cirno?
Tugging on the strings connecting her to her residents, she saw Cirno at a clearing in the Forest of Magic, sitting still and staring at an empty patch of ground. The Ice Fairy had matured quite a bit since Reimu had first met her, so many lifetimes ago, but even so, seeing her so still like this felt wrong. Was she... sad?
Of course she was, Reimu realised with a jolt. Her heart panged in sympathy. She knew who was missing from this picture. She headed off toward Cirno.
---
"You really miss her, huh?" Reimu spoke. Looking at her again in person, Cirno's melancholy was all the more obvious.
Cirno shifted, but otherwise gave no indication to her surprise at Reimu's entrance. She turned her head, and sighed. "Yeah. It's just... Jiyuu always gets into trouble when I'm not around, y'know? I know she can look after herself now, but..." She trailed off.
"I know." Reimu looked around the clearing. "Is this where she normally spawns? I've never lingered here before."
Cirno nodded, and pointed. "Her tree's right there. Or should be. Still in Gensokyo, though." She growls to herself. "I just- I miss her, I wanna be with her, but I don't want her gettin' hurt if she comes here!"
"Well..." Reimu began slowly, "My new nature makes death rather a non-issue now. Even should the worst happen, she'd only be gone for a day." Cirno still looked unconvinced, so Reimu continued. "She misses you just as much, I think. You and Daiyousei and the rest of us... I think she'd want to be with her 'bestest friend'."
Cirno closed her eyes, and breathed out. "...Okay. Okay!" Perking up, Cirno flashed Reimu a grin. "Then what are ya waitin' for! Bring her over already!"
Reimu rolled her eyes, but couldn't resist raising an amused eyebrow in return. "I'll need to picture her tree to do that, and I'm not familiar enough with the area to do it myself. So get talking."
Cirno's grin grew wider.
Reimu pictured a great tree, cold and warm and welcoming. She pictured an assortment of rooms grown and personalized to each within. She pictured a library stocked with whatever books they could find. An armoury growing its own weapons. An everburning spark of magic. A kitchen stocked with enough food to feed a castle.
Reimu pictured a home.
All conditions met for sub-area initialization procedure.
Would you like to activate the sub-area initialization procedure for [The Tree of Beginnings]?
Yes
No
Reimu hit 'yes'.
The tree's growth began much like the Fairies of Light's tree did. Roots burst out of the ground, expanding as they went, twisting and turning and twining. Where the leaves turned to crystals, however, this tree went in a different direction. The canopy opened up, revealing a balcony littered with astronomy equipment. Windows appeared on the trunk of the tree, revealing rooms markedly bigger than what should be possible. A garden grew out front, various fruits and vegetables and other, more odd varieties of flora sprouting from the soil.
The Tree of Beginnings sub-area has summoned ERROR: Token not found.
Reimu's joy turned to shock in an instant. What!? What happened? Why didn't she- But before Reimu could properly express her panic, more words appeared.
.̵.̸?̴
O̷h. I̴ ̸s̵e̸e̴ w̵̫̄̇h̷̲͛̌at's goi̵n̴g̵ ̵o̸n̸ ̵h̴ere. ̵̩͚̃̓H̴̜͓̎o̷͎͠l̵̮̇d on a se̶c̶.̷
≯>̴D̸i̷s̶a̵b̷l̵i̶n̶g̵ ̶[̵D̶i̵mensiona̵l̴_S̸c̵r̷ambler]
>>Sce̵n̶a̶r̴i̷o̴ [E̶v̵a̶cuati̸o̸n̴ ̵o̴f̶ Gen̵s̸o̷k̴yo] logged
>>Laun̴c̸h̸ ̶Itera̴t̷i̴o̷n [B-01]?
Yes
No
Reimu stared at the words for a few moments, then hit 'yes' again.
>>Reliq̶u̶a̶r̶y̶ ̶c̶h̶e̷c̸k̴ complete.
>̵>̴T̵r̸a̴n̷s̴c̵r̷i̵b̶i̶n̵g̵ ̸h̷i̵g̷h̸est integers from p̵r̸i̵me iteration...
>>Ac̴t̸u̶a̸l̵i̵s̸i̴n̴g̴ Iteration [̸B̸-̵01]
暗記
The name hit Reimu like a sack of bricks, and she nearly collapsed under the relief. The door slammed open as Anki flew out and glomped Cirno, her wings already beginning to frost over.
As the two fairies spun around and hugged each other, exclaiming their joy, Reimu could only give a weak grin while the emotions of the moment washed over her.
"And that's that. Job well done." Reimu turned around to give the two some space, and that's about when Anki decided to add her to the cuddlepile by tackling her.
As she scanned the lake, she frowned. There was, she noted, a distinct lack of fairy shenanigans. No overly elaborate ice sledges, no arguments spun into impromptu danmaku battles, not even any pranks by the Fairies of Light. At the moment, there were only nameless fairies playing over the lake, though even they seemed a little less energetic than normal. And where was Cirno?
Tugging on the strings connecting her to her residents, she saw Cirno at a clearing in the Forest of Magic, sitting still and staring at an empty patch of ground. The Ice Fairy had matured quite a bit since Reimu had first met her, so many lifetimes ago, but even so, seeing her so still like this felt wrong. Was she... sad?
Of course she was, Reimu realised with a jolt. Her heart panged in sympathy. She knew who was missing from this picture. She headed off toward Cirno.
---
"You really miss her, huh?" Reimu spoke. Looking at her again in person, Cirno's melancholy was all the more obvious.
Cirno shifted, but otherwise gave no indication to her surprise at Reimu's entrance. She turned her head, and sighed. "Yeah. It's just... Jiyuu always gets into trouble when I'm not around, y'know? I know she can look after herself now, but..." She trailed off.
"I know." Reimu looked around the clearing. "Is this where she normally spawns? I've never lingered here before."
Cirno nodded, and pointed. "Her tree's right there. Or should be. Still in Gensokyo, though." She growls to herself. "I just- I miss her, I wanna be with her, but I don't want her gettin' hurt if she comes here!"
"Well..." Reimu began slowly, "My new nature makes death rather a non-issue now. Even should the worst happen, she'd only be gone for a day." Cirno still looked unconvinced, so Reimu continued. "She misses you just as much, I think. You and Daiyousei and the rest of us... I think she'd want to be with her 'bestest friend'."
Cirno closed her eyes, and breathed out. "...Okay. Okay!" Perking up, Cirno flashed Reimu a grin. "Then what are ya waitin' for! Bring her over already!"
Reimu rolled her eyes, but couldn't resist raising an amused eyebrow in return. "I'll need to picture her tree to do that, and I'm not familiar enough with the area to do it myself. So get talking."
Cirno's grin grew wider.
Reimu pictured a great tree, cold and warm and welcoming. She pictured an assortment of rooms grown and personalized to each within. She pictured a library stocked with whatever books they could find. An armoury growing its own weapons. An everburning spark of magic. A kitchen stocked with enough food to feed a castle.
Reimu pictured a home.
All conditions met for sub-area initialization procedure.
Would you like to activate the sub-area initialization procedure for [The Tree of Beginnings]?
Yes
No
Reimu hit 'yes'.
The tree's growth began much like the Fairies of Light's tree did. Roots burst out of the ground, expanding as they went, twisting and turning and twining. Where the leaves turned to crystals, however, this tree went in a different direction. The canopy opened up, revealing a balcony littered with astronomy equipment. Windows appeared on the trunk of the tree, revealing rooms markedly bigger than what should be possible. A garden grew out front, various fruits and vegetables and other, more odd varieties of flora sprouting from the soil.
The Tree of Beginnings sub-area has summoned ERROR: Token not found.
Reimu's joy turned to shock in an instant. What!? What happened? Why didn't she- But before Reimu could properly express her panic, more words appeared.
.̵.̸?̴
O̷h. I̴ ̸s̵e̸e̴ w̵̫̄̇h̷̲͛̌at's goi̵n̴g̵ ̵o̸n̸ ̵h̴ere. ̵̩͚̃̓H̴̜͓̎o̷͎͠l̵̮̇d on a se̶c̶.̷
≯>̴D̸i̷s̶a̵b̷l̵i̶n̶g̵ ̶[̵D̶i̵mensiona̵l̴_S̸c̵r̷ambler]
>>Sce̵n̶a̶r̴i̷o̴ [E̶v̵a̶cuati̸o̸n̴ ̵o̴f̶ Gen̵s̸o̷k̴yo] logged
>>Laun̴c̸h̸ ̶Itera̴t̷i̴o̷n [B-01]?
Yes
No
Reimu stared at the words for a few moments, then hit 'yes' again.
>>Reliq̶u̶a̶r̶y̶ ̶c̶h̶e̷c̸k̴ complete.
>̵>̴T̵r̸a̴n̷s̴c̵r̷i̵b̶i̶n̵g̵ ̸h̷i̵g̷h̸est integers from p̵r̸i̵me iteration...
>>Ac̴t̸u̶a̸l̵i̵s̸i̴n̴g̴ Iteration [̸B̸-̵01]
暗記
The name hit Reimu like a sack of bricks, and she nearly collapsed under the relief. The door slammed open as Anki flew out and glomped Cirno, her wings already beginning to frost over.
As the two fairies spun around and hugged each other, exclaiming their joy, Reimu could only give a weak grin while the emotions of the moment washed over her.
"And that's that. Job well done." Reimu turned around to give the two some space, and that's about when Anki decided to add her to the cuddlepile by tackling her.
A Loopy Fairy in Gensokyo is @Burn-The-Candle's other story. This Omake was written by an Anon over there.
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Sylent-M
Be Trans, Take to Heresy
- Pronouns
- Was/Were
Is there version somewhere other than fiction.live? I'm not liking how that site's laid out on mobile.
speaking of Loopy fairy, the latest live reminded me of something I was wondering about here. since there are dolls (that aren't even Alice's.) going about the forest of magic floor, could Reimu try to posses those? Though she might end up disappointed in the doll's danmaku capability. I can see some shenanigans emerging from that and other things related to it.
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Unfortunately, as shown by the additional new tag and confirmed on Candle's profile, the story has been (for the foreseeable future, at least) been declared dead. As there's little prospect of necromancy in the near future; while I didn't want to risk getting people's hopes up by pinging a notification, I felt it unfair to not leave a positive review as a retrospect, especially as I have just completed a re-read. I hadn't had an account when the story was being posted, though I did follow it; it would seem criminal to then not say anything even once I did have the ability to write something to say.
Border Disputes was a great story, and something of a hidden gem (in the sense that it does not appear to be on AO3 and I don't think is on FF dot net, albeit I haven't checked). The characterization was fantastic, and as others have already praised was a particular highlight of the writing, but it wasn't the only great thing. The writing style was the perfect amount of wry and witty to maintain that certain Gensokyo charm to it, and while I'm unfamiliar with the Dungeon Core or whatever series it may have come from, I found that it didn't quite matter as the author managed to blend it into Touhou quite effectively.
But the characters are what sticks out the most. Everyone, from Dave and Jim in the Divine Bureaucracy, to Jenkins and the adventuring group, to more familiar folks such as Reimu, Marisa, Alice, Renko, Sumireko, and Cirno, had so much personality to them that it's a wonder that they were all integrated so seamlessly. And they were! Everyone, from side character to main protagonist, had depth and their interactions made the most of it. Minor elements from the older games (rest in peace Genji, you crazy old turtle!) were built in effectively, and Reimu's memory issues made their fogginess appropriate. Marisa and Alice were equal parts sweet and bemusing, especially when they put their bickering aside towards a common goal, whether it was expressing disapproval at Reimu interrupting a kiss or attempting to convince the same Shrine Maiden to go along with their zany scheme to get Patchouli in on their research.
I'll miss this story, I won't lie. Its going to be one, incomplete as it is, that I'll come back to over and over in the future. Thank you, Candle, for writing this. It was a great deal of fun, and it helped me get back into Touhou once again.
Border Disputes was a great story, and something of a hidden gem (in the sense that it does not appear to be on AO3 and I don't think is on FF dot net, albeit I haven't checked). The characterization was fantastic, and as others have already praised was a particular highlight of the writing, but it wasn't the only great thing. The writing style was the perfect amount of wry and witty to maintain that certain Gensokyo charm to it, and while I'm unfamiliar with the Dungeon Core or whatever series it may have come from, I found that it didn't quite matter as the author managed to blend it into Touhou quite effectively.
But the characters are what sticks out the most. Everyone, from Dave and Jim in the Divine Bureaucracy, to Jenkins and the adventuring group, to more familiar folks such as Reimu, Marisa, Alice, Renko, Sumireko, and Cirno, had so much personality to them that it's a wonder that they were all integrated so seamlessly. And they were! Everyone, from side character to main protagonist, had depth and their interactions made the most of it. Minor elements from the older games (rest in peace Genji, you crazy old turtle!) were built in effectively, and Reimu's memory issues made their fogginess appropriate. Marisa and Alice were equal parts sweet and bemusing, especially when they put their bickering aside towards a common goal, whether it was expressing disapproval at Reimu interrupting a kiss or attempting to convince the same Shrine Maiden to go along with their zany scheme to get Patchouli in on their research.
I'll miss this story, I won't lie. Its going to be one, incomplete as it is, that I'll come back to over and over in the future. Thank you, Candle, for writing this. It was a great deal of fun, and it helped me get back into Touhou once again.