Touhou - Revolution in Retrospect (IC)

[Merilan]

Asarim's face was completely flat as she stared down towards the kiddie pool behind Alice, and then pointed. "If that isn't a pool, I'd be happy to turn it into one..." she offered, then winked. "For the price of a bathing suit, perhaps?"

She rubbed her chin in turn, swanning a little bit closer to the immortal. Somewhere, Keine was giving the poor tengu's leg she was wrapping a violent squeeze for no apparent reason. "Besides, isn't it natural that Shinki-sama hasn't heard of me? I am Extraordinary, after all. I live in the microcosm... between worlds. Neither here nor there, but always present when you need me most..."

Marisa can definitely sense the same kindred feeling that she sensed from back in the shard. It's clear her energy came from the same place.

Spoiler: Marisa!

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Asarim is a high-faluting, no-nonsense capitalised "M" Magician and it sucks! It's like it's spitting on all of her efforts thus far. Just highlighting how much of a Lowercase 'm' magician she was. Is Marisa going to be the better woman and swallow her pride (pay 1 Fate Point) or do something about it?! (gain 1 Fate point.)

[CecilHoshino]

Meiling glances over her shoulder at Remilia. Trying not to be too obvious with her smile brought about by just how cute her employer was being right now, Meiling called over to her. "Any insights, Miss Patchouli? Mistress Remilia?" Meiling makes sure to position herself between them and the white witch. She didn't seem hostile, but, still, best to stay on guard. "Alright then, Miss...Asarim," she paused, to ensure she got the name right, not tripping over herself and blurting out 'Marisa' instead, "if you come and go when needed...why do you reveal yourself to us, now? As you can tell, this is definitely a first for all of us, if what you say is true we should've met sooner, given all the world shaking Incidents that tend to happen around Gensokyo."

[Ascension]

With the blunt matter-of-factness of a person who truly doesn't realize how pedantic they're being, Patchouli picks up one of the tomes she pulled from the shelves to show it to Meiling.

"Books. What we have are books. But those books may contain insights."

She cracks open the book in her hands, then scrunches her face up as she peers over it at Asarim. That's what you use books for, right? To make it slightly less obvious that you're staring at someone?

"What are you...?" she mutters to herself.

[Stelas]

The doll Magician automatically takes a step backwards as the strange newcomer moves forwards - though her retreat is somewhat marred when she glances behind her in the direction that Asarim is pointing, her eyes coming to rest on a ridiculous kiddie pool in the middle of nowhere. It takes her a moment, but then she's heaved out a sigh, her hand going to her forehead to rub at a temple. "... honestly..." she mutters again, shaking her head and finding no other words to really describe her exasperation; really, at some point she should stop being surprised at how ridiculous the Scarlet Devil Mansion is capable of being, but it doesn't look like today's going to be that day.

When she looks back to the strange new Magician, though, her sense of suspicion spikes - especially when the other woman begins to talk about her Extraordinaryism. Despite herself, Alice can't help her curiosity getting forcibly dragged to the fore. "... what do you mean, 'between worlds'?" she mutters almost to herself, then takes in Asarim's last statement with that same uncertain, thoughtful air. "... and who was it who 'needed you'? Marisa? It's not as if she ever needs anyone. She can handle herself," she adds. The compliment's kind of born out of a contrary grump, but it's still a compliment.

[Luceid]

Spoiler

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Marisa can't keep that one down, and elects to gain a Fate Point in exchange for flipping out about it.

"Hey, hey..."

Alice's words are kind, to be sure, but they fall on deaf ears for the moment. The magician is sharp enough to get the picture: that this flirtatious and gracious version of herself represents everything she isn't! Taller, prettier, smarter, stronger, and more mysterious! In every way, the extraordinary Magician that Marisa has pictured in her heart from childhood. Not only is it spitting casually on her efforts thus far, it's ripping her dearest dream in half and discarding it to one side.

"Sounds pretty lucky, y'know, that you found somethin' that'd let you tap into somethin' outside the border..." it doesn't sound like much of a congratulation, rather, it sounds... kind of pettily jealous. "You must've had somethin' like that stone shard, huh... and if you're like me--show me how to figure that stuff out. Right now."

That escalated rather quickly. Marisa darts forward with little warning, perched atop her broom. She's raising a hand to grab her doppelganger by the arm in total violation of all the suggestions made thus far by everyone else, to boot. Can Marisa really handle herself, actually? Is she finally falling prey to the incident twisting everyone's behaviour? One has to wonder, when she's so far off her game, so quickly.

[banthesun]

Receiving the invitation from Marisa, Nitori quickly sidled over with the intention to accept. But she wasn't the only one making sure to keep her eyes on the other Magician, and the growing tension between Marisa and her doppelganger was starting to get worrying. As Nitori kept edging closer to Marisa, Marisa darted forward, and Nitori stumbled into the space that had suddenly opened up next to her. This confrontation seemed to be rapidly approaching boiling point!

"Uhhhhh, I'll just wait in the pool... If that's okay with you?"

[Ascension]

"Ah! Um..."

Marisa's latest reaction to Asarim's barbs seems like a Bad Thing, and not just in terms of its threat to Patchouli's shipping charts. She rifles through the pages of her copy of A Handy Guide to Jungian Psychology.

"Marisa! When you confront your shadow aspect, you're... this says you're not supposed to identify yourself with it! In doing so you open yourself up to becoming possessed by it. (Oh but you shouldn't deny it either...)"

She flips over a few more pages, and reads intently for a moment or two.

"Okay, what you need to do in order to achieve Individuation is to acknowledge the Shadow while resisting identification with it, allowing you to incorporate it into your broader sense of Self without overwhelming the Ego, after which you can begin to truly develop your inner Animus, leading to a stronger and more fully developed Psyche."

She looks up with a small, self-satisfied smile, glad to have found the answer.

"It's as simple as that~"

That's not simple at all, Patche!

[Merilan]

Remilia bobbled over to Meiling with a quiet grump, saying, "Yeah, a lot of things--" as she waved and let Patchouli explain. "Uuh, I don't understand any of that! Simplify things for me, Meiling!"

Asarim scoffed just a moment and stood tall, almost towering over Marisa, if not physically then certainly metaphorically. "'Lucky'? Dearie, I'll have you know I don't need to rely on something so primitive as luck. To be between worlds..." She positioned herself a little more confidently, her eyes half-narrowing as her smile turned more dominant. "I don't think that even if I showed you, you could really understand the intricacies of my Magic," she replied nonchallantly, waving a hand.

Spoiler: Attack!?

Show

Asarim is making a social Provoke Attack against Marisa, knowingly pushing her buttons where she knows it counts.

(4d3-3)[4]

Marisa, you may defend using Will or a social skill of your choice if Marisa is going to rebut socially.

The Magician puts a finger to her lip to glance at Patchouli. "My, One-Week Magician, are you treating me as a mere shadow? Do I simply look the part of an imitation to you?"

Spoiler: Nitori!

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This seems to be really getting nowhere. She's got a problem, an urgent problem, she needed help, and she's been patient and helpful -- fixing Remilia's hole on the ground and everything -- but no one seemed eager to help her with the problem at the Youkai Mountain.

I'm compelling Nitori using The Tengu Closest to Home - she has a bond with Aya, after all, and she knows she's in danger now. Does she really want to stay still while she knows a friend is in trouble?

[CecilHoshino]

"Eh...ehhh?" Meiling recoils a bit, surprised that she was being called upon to simplify Patchouli's summary. She had never been called upon for any sort of psychology beyond placating Lady Flandre's temper by being her playmate, or offering reassuring pats on the back. She looked to the ceiling, scratching her cheek as she did her best to put what she herself could understand of Patchouli's explanation in simple terms.

"Eto...right, um, I think what she's saying is, Asiram," she points to the magician in predominant white, "isn't just another Marisa having stepped out of a reflective surface. We don't have two Marisa's on our hands. At the same time, though, they're not entirely different people, and to try and claim that only makes things worse. The adult thing for her to do," she says as she points towards the magician in predominant black...and unconsciously follows her with that finger, "is to acknowledge her as an aspect of her personality. While they aren't exactly the same, they are a part of each other."

Meiling winces as Marisa and Asiram begin to engage in a battle of wills...or a straight up fist fight if the way Marisa lunged at her was any indication. "Ah...please, we don't have time for this! Miss Reimu's missing, Lady Flandre's missing, Sakuya's missing, and who knows what's happening with the shard or Youkai Mountain, we can't afford to be fighting amongst ourselves!"

[Mokou-tan]

Mokou calmly makes sure she's near the palette-swap pair and makes a small cough. A battle here would just cause more problems than solutions, but...

"Settle down, you two. If you start something, I get to play too and you're short a lot of the contenders from the first time, Marisa. Though, I guess that means a bit less to you, Miss Asarim, since you weren't there." A bit of a smile creeps upon Mokou's face as she speaks.

[Luceid]

Be it through the wisdom of experience, the words of her good friends or the boon of sheer luck, Marisa stops herself with an almighty grinding of her teeth and a comically wriggling claw-hand motion as she comes to a halt but a step or two away from Asarim. A bead of sweat rolls down her cheek, her eyes glistening with barely-constrained emotions. It's no surprise that Asarim knows exactly what to say to set her off... it's no surprise at all! And the more she thinks about it...

"... heh, yeah, I probably couldn't figure out that magic of yers. Not yet."

... the stupider it is. Who else could possibly get under her skin like that? If she were any more worked up, any quicker, steam would has positively fired from her nostrils, but the realization of just what sheer folly it is to try and wring the answer out of her other self has definitely put a halt on her advance. "Alright, alright, I ain't dumb. Somethin' touched a nerve, that's all. Everyone relax, I'm not gonna get possessed and turn into somethin' symbolic or explode 'cause we touched each other, or--whatever other theories got dug up there." the words are as much to calm herself down as it is to apologize (in a roundabout way) for wasting everyone's time with that outburst.

"Reckon I might leave dealin' with you up to someone else,though. I don't think our signs match, y'know?"

Marisa stiffly folds her arms and drifts slowly backwards, still atop her broom. She's rankled, but no longer... explosive, at least. Even with that twitching eyebrow, yes.

[banthesun]

Nitori glumly splashed at the edge of the kiddie pool. Having a swim would have made her too wet to run around the library, so she sat by the side running her hands through the water instead. This wasn't her problem, even if it did have something to do with Marisa. She was miles away from Youkai Mountain, and they'd even gotten sidetracked from the task she'd allowed herself to get sidetracked onto! Perhaps she was just a poor choice for someone to find help after all...

Funnily enough, it was the gatekeeper who brought Nitori's thoughts back to the present. If she was willing to push for action, even though she's safely at home, what does that say of Nitori! She punched at the water, making a big splash, and stood up.

"Yeah, we don't have time for this! It's not our business if there's a new Divine Magician, we're busy! She should go to the mountain and talk to the gods there about stuff, if she wants to discuss what she is. We've got a job to do!"

[Stelas]

Though her eyes flash briefly towards Patchouli's explanation, for want of a better word - it takes some serious effort for her not to grimace on the spot as she vaguely tries to follow along - Alice's attention is mostly on the black-white as she says her piece. Somehow, seeing the other blonde downhearted and dismissive is... unsettling, and the spike of protective feeling that follows it isn't exactly new, but certainly is rare. For a moment, she lapses into thought-- but only for a moment, as Nitori's sudden motion manages to throw her back out of her thoughts in what is probably, for her, record time.

"... it certainly is my business, at least," she decides, muttering the sentence half to herself before she flicks a hand through her hair and levels a determined gaze at the unknown Magician in front of them. The step forwards to match Marisa's backpedal is almost automatic; tagging out, more or less. "Reimu sends the fairies out to find some odd black stone. Given it's her, it's probably due to an incident," she counts off on her hand as she sums up more or less to thin air, or perhaps out of courtesy to Patchouli and Remilia.

"Not to mention that it neatly proved that when it exploded with some sort of power. So if you're some kind of mirror of Marisa, called here by whatever it did," she challenges Asarim as she continues, huffing out an irritated breath as she amends whatever question she had in mind, aiming at the most Important Thing: "As such, if you're from 'beyond worlds'... then is that where Reimu is? Is that where the other missing people are?"

[Merilan]

Asarim raised an eyebrow, perhaps finding Marisa's reserved reaction unexpected... but, nonetheless, interesting. As people began to point out the immediate issue at hand, she spoke, "Well, you see, the thing about that is--"

Suddenly, the windows on the mezzanine layer of the Voile threw open, the curtains fluttering open. The ominous silhouettes of... ... ... teddy bears? could be seen.

Remilia eeks a little and bobbles out of the way of one of the sudden rays of sunlight filtering into the library, grumbling, "Oh, who's next?! Why's the manor so popular today?!"

Floating along an open tome was a little girl, perhaps no more than nine or ten, her gray hair tied with a two-leaf black ribbon to accompany her suspiciously similar frilly little dress. She held her hand out, and it was plain to see that her knuckles and joints were segmented, Like a Mannequin's.

"... I got bored of waiting," the little girl intoned, her voice completely monotone and lacking charm or emotion. "Asarim, did you find out where the shrine maiden went yet?"

"Looks like no one here knows either!" Asarim called out to the little girl on the tome, putting her hands to her pocket. She tipped her hat and began to float up to her side. "We'll have to go elsewhere, Lidell."

[CecilHoshino]

Meiling yelps as the window slams open and the marionette girl floats in. She scratches her cheek, and chews her lip, feeling mighty embarrassed about now TWO strange beings bursting in because she wasn't watching the gate. In her defense, if Asarim was just as hard to pin down and keep out as Marisa, you couldn't really hold that against the gatekeeper...right? She sighs. "My apologies, Mistress." She steps forward, looking up at the two...mirror magicians? "Yes, please, if you'll see yourselves out. And, next time, if you want to visit the manor, please, knock, first."

[Ascension]

"That book she's riding on... isn't from this library... is it?!"

As always, Patchouli's priorities are in precisely the right place.

"Meiling, those two had better not be stealing anything. (Gatekeepers are supposed to prevent this sort of thing!)"

If only Sakuya were here...

[banthesun]

"We're done here too, right?" pushed Nitori, rather more emphatically that the new arrival did. Another new arrival could have been interesting, but Nitori was in a mood of her own and wouldn't be distracted. Besides, she wouldn't be the first doll girl in Gensokyo, though she looked significantly larger than that poison doll.

[Luceid]

Another surprise introduction causes Marisa to turn her head towards the mysterious mannequin as she magically pries open the window and floats inside. The frown on her face doesn't stick around long--the presence of another person related to the bizarre and frustratingly familiar Asarim is clearly more interesting to her than it is worrying. Having folded her arms in a jealous huff, they loosen somewhat. "Hey, how many friends d'ya have, exactly?" she asks out of curiosity in a bewildered tone of voice, trying not to stare in the meanwhile.

"I mean--" Nitori's question brings her back to the present, out of this strange world of hypotheticals. "--why would they be lookin' for Reimu, too? Unless she had a buncha friends she never told me about..."

Marisa shakes her head quickly, as if to clear the errant thoughts from it. Focus, girl. "We're probably all done here. Not sure what my next move's gonna be..." which is perhaps not as honest a statement as you might think, given her proximity to the Kappa.

[Stelas]

Alice stares for a moment, wide-eyed; it isn't exactly a major leap to realize that the doll that's just bobbed her way in could easily be a reflection of some part of herself, but more pressing is the realization that these pair are looking for Reimu. "... is it an-- invasion?" she mutters aside to Marisa, then shakes her head as she steps forward to stare up at the pair, intent on at least trying to get one last question in. "--what do you want with her? Didn't you take her in the first place?"

[Merilan]

"How utterly rude," spoke the monotone doll in response to Alice. "Of all of us here, I think you've the bigger track record of barging into this library unannounced."

Asarim floated up until she was next to Lidell, and grinned. "Why are we looking for Reimu? Well, that should be perfectly obvious, isn't it? She's important to us. Isn't that why you're looking for the shrine maiden?" She shook her head momentarily, and then said, "But enough chit-chat, really. It's time to go look elsewhere. C'mon, Lidell."

"I do not need you to point that out to me," Lidell responded flatly.

"Such a meanie..." Asarim laughed, and the two just... leave, the teddy bears flanking them as they go.

That is, unless someone makes a motion to stop them!

[banthesun]

"Wa-wait!"

Nitori calling out to stop pair from leaving was a strange move, considering she had been planning to leave herself just a moment ago. But with a small metal device secreted in her palm, she was making a new plan.

"Uhh, would I be able to pet your teddy bears? Uhh, not for any reason or anything!"

[Mokou-tan]

The ashen-haired maiden grasped Asarim's wrist pretty sternly as she tried to escape, giving the Magician the same smile Keine would give her in less than preferable circumstances.

"And just where do you think you're going, hmm? I don't remember excusing you. Just how is our little shrine maiden important to you." It's official, Mokou has been spending a bit too much time around Keine at the school, treating the Magician like little more than a schoolgirl trying to sneak out of class early.

[Luceid]

"Yeah, she's pretty darn important, alright." Marisa's voice is something approaching a grouse. Perhaps a drawl would be a better approximation? "'course she is, that's why we're all riled up lookin' for her. But how the heck d'you two know Reimu? Why did you come to Gensokyo?"

There are questions. Plenty of them, the blonde witch sitting up tall on her broom as she asks them. It's too much to ask for her to look regal while doing so, but the whole point of discussion revolving around Reimu makes it easier for her to focus. Luckily, Alice is on point with her own queries, which mirror Marisa's own. The question doubtless remains: if these two weren't responsible for Reimu's disappearance, then... who?

In the meantime, Marisa slowly turns her head to the left until Nitori isn't in her line of sight. Easier to pretend you can't see what you can't actually see. Besides, she has another question to toss into the mix as Mokou moves to nix the two strangers' escape.

"What're you guys gonna do with Reimu when you find her? We kinda need that big lug in perfect condition."

[Stelas]

Alice doesn't make any move forward, not like Nitori and Mokou; she's too fond of hanging back, of watching until she's gleaned everything she can from a situation. And, speaking of which... something doesn't feel quite right. If these strange versions of them are from somewhere else - if they really are two separate halves, rather than some stone-spawned alternate versions, then the question remains-- "... for that matter... which Reimu?" she mutters almost to herself, her brow furrowed. Maybe there's something to this 'intuition' thing, and she might as well give it a try. "... are you looking for the Reimu we know... or the one you do?"

[Merilan]

If Lidell was making a motion to separate her teddy bears, she wasn't making it. Rather, her face just kind of did a 180 and she floated closer to Nitori. For a moment, it looked like the kappa's game was up... and then she exclaimed, "D-do you like them? That one's called Kumatora, which one is your favourite?"

Nitori rolled a (-1) on her Deceive roll... but it looks like Lidell's Teddy Bear Obsession made her not notice at all. On the other hand, she doesn't notice Asarim looking her way with a quietly knowing smirk...

At least, before Mokou grabbed her wrist and made her look towards her. "Oi oi, you're asking all of these questions... it makes you lot sound like the suspicious ones, you know?" she pointed out, trying to draw her wrist away from the immortal in turn.

"Reimu is Reimu.
She's a good friend, and has been for a long time.
Hasn't it always been that way? Don't make this out like you're the only ones allowed to find her..."

She grinned harder to say, "I don't think I'd get along with whoever'd let our white-red come to harm, y'know!"

[banthesun]

"Oh, yes, yes, it's Kumatora that's my favourite!"

Yes! She didn't suspect a thing! I don't even need my Optic Camouflage to fool people! I wonder if I could make an invention to do that instead, though...

Sneaking the tracking device in under the teddy-bear's arm was easy enough while pretending to pat it, and Nitori made sure to beam back at Lidell while she stroked its fur. Not only had she managed to hide the tracing device, but she'd impressed this new arrival at the same time! A perfect success!

"Oh, well, see you later then!" added Nitori with a wave, now she had to return to her vitally important task!

[CecilHoshino]

Meiling was fretting and worrying as the others were keeping these weird magicians from leaving. Ah, no, no, no, let them leave, we don't want an incident in the mansion! Miss Koakuma and I couldn't clean it up by ourselves without Sakuya!

She's releaved when it seems that Lidell and Nitori seem to be hitting it off. ...Those ARE adorable teddy bears. Maybe Lady Flandre would like one as a gift in the future... The more pressing issue, however, was Asarim's response to the line of questioning. Considering her demeanor prior, Meiling had no reason to doubt the truth in Asarim's statement.

"I can truly appreciate such noble and honest intentions. It seems we're in agreement when it comes to--white red?" Now that Meiling thought about it, she always thought Reimu's nickname was the Red-White Shrine Maiden. Considering the nega-Marisa nature of Asarim, and the nega-Alice nature of Lidell, Meiling had to wonder, "Does this mean your Reimu and our Reimu are different, but went missing at the same time...?" Or did they already establish that, and Meiling was just behind the curve/going full Watson?

[Ascension]

"...white-red?" Patchouli puzzles, mostly to herself, though someone close by might overhear her muttering.

"...isn't our Reimu more of a... red-white?"

Is the mirror image of Reimu... also named Reimu? This bears further study. Unfortunately, the only authority on the mirror youkai seems to be those youkai themselves. She floats up closer to Asarim, Lidell, and the open window out which they may abscond at any moment.

"I don't get out much," she says, "so I haven't spoken with Reimu in a good while. When you last saw her, was she still looking for donations?"

The mirror image of Hakurei Shrine should be well-funded, shouldn't it?

Spoiler: OOC

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Rolling Deceive, I suppose, since Patchy is trying to bluff some information out of Asarim and Lidell here. If this is low, I might try to invoke... something.

(4d3-7)[0]

[Luceid]

"I don't think I'd get along with whoever'd let our white-red come to harm, y'know!"

Like it or not, just as the idea of Reimu seems to persist across whatever dimensional divide may (or may not) be involved with these mirrored versions of the ensemble she knows so well, Marisa is struck by the sheer similarity of that one particular sentiment. Namely, it's exactly what she would say, and probably about how she'd say it. That just complicates matters even further! A nega-Marisa would be a real jerk to Reimu, wouldn't she?

The magician folds her arms and glances away, feeling uneasy in a different manner to before. It's beginning to feel like Asarim is some kind of uncomfortably cooler older sister than her, not a villain. So she disengages with the two youkai, having said her piece. "Phew~..." she sighs, head drooping. "I must be gettin' old, some part of me is glad this didn't turn into a big mess of spellcards..."

With that aimless spot of griping done, Marisa's drooped head tilts at a silly angle to peek sideways at Alice. At least she has a wry smile instead of a frown! "Hey, what're you gonna do first? I owe her one, so I oughta help Nitori out after we get outta here. Risky business, but maybe I'll dig up something good!"

[Mokou-tan]

Mokou lets out a small sigh as she releases Asarim from her grasp. She still wasn't wholly convinced of their intentions, but she didn't want to ignite the library trying to get the information out of them. Though, one last thought crossed her mind.

"Alright, one last thing, then I'll let you go on your way. You ever see this thing before?" The phoenix girl removes the black shard from her pocket for Asarim to see. "It released some kinda harmless anti-light earlier today, and Reimu was looking for it."