1st Spellcard: Transcendence of Faith "Armed Only With Prayer"

[paradisemiko]

Action A: 842 Hastings Boulevard; locked to housemates

(Greetings, housemates! You have a new daughter/sister in your home who's understandably worried about her new location and the loss of her powers; unlike typical Mayfield newbies, however, Reimu here has gone and pretty much littered decorated the entire house with paper charms to ward off the evil that brought her here. You just might see her writing up a few more charms or hanging up the finished ones, but she's taking as much of her shrine as she can into this new place.)

Action B: Outside 842 Hastings; Open to all

(With the house now buried protected by charms and seals, Reimu, in an unfortunately gray plaid dress, sits outside her home in a state of meditation and prayer. With her hair bow gone, her long hair flowed with the wind. While she should investigate the area, the lack of her power and even her normal clothes made her feel vulnerable. With her shrine gone (again), the yin-yang orbs missing and the Hakurei border nowhere nearby, Reimu resorted to prayer as her only means of leveling her mind so she could think rationally.

Translation: this is the best time to annoy her and disrupt her with whatever you want. Fellow Touhou girls are more than welcome to taunt greet her and tease comfort her regarding the formerly powerful miko of Hakurei losing everything but her sense of self.)

Comments

[adropofjupiter]

...

[There's a long moment of silence before Marisa pulls Reimu into a crushing hug. And she's going to really try not to cry.]

[paradisemiko]

(Reimu can tolerate the spine-shattering love for her friend who's been trapped here for apparently too long. Return hug of less strength, but just as much affection!)

I'm sorry I couldn't be here sooner. If I had known about all of this, I would've rushed over as fast as I could.

[adropofjupiter]

[She eases up after a few seconds into a normal hug.]

I missed you... so much. But don't you dare think I'd rather you be here than home. This place is hell.

I know what it's like to die now. I know what it's like to watch the one I love die in my arms. I don't want you to ever know that.

[paradisemiko]

All the more reason not to leave you here on your own. We've ventured through Makai, the Netherworld and the underground together; I'd rather be powerless and know that you're safe instead of back home without my best friend.

This may be the most dire incident we've faced yet; more so than Utsuho and the journey to hell. No matter what, we'll make it through this...together. You have my word.

[adropofjupiter]

I'm not on my own... but thanks, ze. Patchy's here. [Marisa says her name far softer and fonder than Reimu's ever heard her say it before.]

Actually, almost all of the SDM is here. And there are some others from Gensokyo, too, but they're not that important. Alice used to be here, but she's gone now.

[paradisemiko]

(Suspicions abound!)

It's sad to hear the magical trio being dropped to a duo, but at least you have your alliances.

An especially strong one with Patchy, I'm guessing? (Wink wink.)

[adropofjupiter]

Heh. [Marisa scratches her cheek and actually blushes.]

Yeah... she's my girlfriend, ze. I love her.

[paradisemiko]

(And the confession is met with an uncharacteristic squee and a bit of excited clapping.)

How beautiful! I'm glad you two were able to find love, even in an undesirable place like this!

Just in case you two ever want to take that big step, you know which shrine will gladly host the event.

(Another wink. Though there's a playful smile, she means every word.)

[adropofjupiter]

[Marisa smiles and then gives Reimu a light shove.]

That's not something that'll happen, ze. This place... it kinda says girls liking girls is bad. So... We kinda keep it quiet. Remilia still doesn't quite accept it and, well... it's only something we'll ever have here. Apparently we won't remember when we get back to Gensokyo.

I, uh, don't like thinking about that part.

[paradisemiko]

Then I'll tell no one of it. (She covers her lips with one of the many paper charms she's made. Her lips are "sealed" 8D)

No memories, eh? Just bring us here, do what they want and then send us off with no recollection? I'd hope they'd at least cover the medical charges.

It's strange that even a place like this can have positive memories, can't it?

[adropofjupiter]

Yeah. I've met some good people, too.

[She holds her hand out and her broom flies to it.] Lemme gives you a tour of this hellhole we're in.

[paradisemiko]

(Reimu nods.)

I think I'd like that. It feels so weird, not being able to fly anymore...

[adropofjupiter]

I know the feeling, ze.

[And up onto the broom they go, Marisa holding onto Reimu.]

This place makes finding individual houses hard from the air, so I painted a big star on the roof of mine. For when you do get flight back.

[paradisemiko]

(She's holding on to Marisa, curious about why every house looks exactly alike.)

I'll definitely remember that. Do you think mine could use more charms? They're kind of hard to see from up here.

[adropofjupiter]

I think the charms are completely pointless right now, ze. But if you want something painted on the roof for easy identification, we can put like... a yin-yang on it.

[paradisemiko]

I guess the lack of spiritual power makes them more aesthetic than anything else.

That sounds like a great idea! I'll have to search the house for paint when I get back.

[adropofjupiter]

It's probably in the basement, ze. You have any actual housemates or just a bunch of drones?

[paradisemiko]

A mix of both, from what I could tell. There were traces of actual people there, but I didn't see any of them. Just the drones who make me uncomfortable.

[adropofjupiter]

You get used to them after a while. I used to be in a house of almost all drones, but over time they got replaced with actual people. Except for Stabdad, I like my housemates. Just, uh, don't ever tell Ciel that.

Anyways, what sucks the most about the drones is that if you're not careful, this place can make you like one of them for a bit. It's for breaking certain rules. Like sleeping away from your house three days in a row or missing school three days in a row. And school really sucks. You're going to get bored of it real fast.

[paradisemiko]

(She'll sooner forget than tell anyone. Like, much sooner.) I feel I should ask about this "Stabdad," but it sounds self-explanatory.

I rather enjoy not being a drone, but to mandate school? I can't imagine it being any more exciting than the rest of the town. Staying in this home I can manage, but school is just insult to injury.

[adropofjupiter]

Don't worry about him, ze. He only almost killed me once, but I barely had any magic then. Nothing to worry about now, especially with Ciel there. She has to share a bed with him cause she's 'Mom'. Nags like one too...

School... eh. Just hope you don't get the Yama for a teacher like I do. She MAKES us pay attention and attend.

[paradisemiko]

That's...unpleasant to hear, but nothing a master spark can't fix, right?

(Reimu still remembers that lesson from the Yama when she came down to Gensokyo...still hasn't gotten over it yet. Now that I know that's possible...I hope I don't. I respect her wisdom, but it overpowers mortals like us.

[adropofjupiter]

You're assuming I've been given Master Spark back, ze.

[She HAS, like just recently, but she's not telling anyone she has it back.]

We get stuff back in increments after really bad stuff happens.

[paradisemiko]

Ah, I guess it'd be too easy for this town to just return that spell.

This stuff is usually incident-level bad, I guess?

[adropofjupiter]

Yuuup. And totally sucks. I've already died once because of it.

[She sighs and angles the broom to take them up over Makeout Point. Best view of the damn town.]

But we're not gonna harp on that, okay?