5 February 2015

Star-Crossed Love

She's gone. She's really gone.

Umi... I never got the chance to tell you... I love... you...r singing.

Yuzu tells me she's gone to a decent place. Gotchi Island - that's where Yuzu last was before coming here to Gensokyo Island, wasn't it? So I can check the customs office for the island's details. Yes, yes, I'll do that...

I mean, according to the records the cargo boat left, Gotchi Island's owner has, um, not solved any new problems at all since Yuzu arrived. But he or she has dealt with over ten travellers! Whether they actually left alive or not, I can't know, but if Yuzu survived there, then I'm sure Umi will, too, isn't that right? Yes, I know she can do it, I believe in her. I know it!

....Argh! That's the first stages of grief, isn't it? Denial? What's next? Pretending that she's gone to a 'better place', that we never ever met at all, that I'm totally okay... and then I dash my head out against the lamp-post. I might as well cut straight to the end point, shouldn't I?

Yuzu... don't smirk at me like that. You're... gonna watch me kill myself with that grin on your face, aren't you? I... I won't give you that satisfaction. I'll live. I'll live for Umi. We'll meet again, one day, in a better place. Yes, we will! I...

... is that a rock you've got with you? With a bloodstain on it? Is that... my blood? What the hell are you doing!!!.....

The aftermath of Umi's disappearance. Not shown - a long long trail of travellers yet to get to the port.

... um, yes. It's me. As tempting as it would be to have a corpse handy to attract tasty rats, I'd have a little difficult explaining the extra set of boys' clothing. So, unfortunately I had to discourage Hito from his suicide attempt. Whether he was actually going to follow through with it or not.

Love sure is a nasty little thing, isn't it? It can drive people to the pinnacle of madness, send them spiralling into the darkest depths. Hehe... me? I prefer to call it, shall we say, 'concern for the general well-being of those in the immediate vicinity'. I like to take it upon myself to do what needs to be done so others can understand 'love' a little better and learn to deal with it in a sensible manner.

Why, take for example the cae of Rin Kaenbyou and Kikuchiyo Kanbei, two residents from the sixth level of Mii Apartments here on Gensokyo Island. Although the two had been 'induced' into a relationship by another resident who clearly sought to manipulate them for fun and laughter, even the normally dotty, semi-senile Kanbei was starting to realise the crazy and hyperactive Orin wasn't really the type of girl for him. And yet Orin seemed to love Kanbei very much, perhaps for the sheer amount of rings she could run around him both physically and psychologically.

In other words, Orin was crazy in love with Kanbei, but Kanbei was starting to detest Orin. Then today Orin proposed to him.

Marriages are happy and all but really, Miis shouldn't accept if their opinion of the proposing party is too low. Minigame be damned.

The dolt accepted, blissfully agreeing to chain himself in the bonds of matrimony, completely forgetting his previous concerns about his partner's erratic mental stability. Perhaps Okuu's Look-alike had a part to play as well, always being eager to help the residents of Gensokyo Island on whatever course they choose no matter how stupid and self-destructive.

That, of course, doesn't really excuse the other horrible things Okuu's Look-alike does on her own initiative, supposedly out of 'love' for the residents. Just today, she finally gave in and invited Shanghai'ed (pardon the pun) some defenceless sap into becoming a new resident of Gensokyo Island. Okuu's Look-alike then proceeded to use this individual as a guinea pig, or more accurately a testing rabbit for all sorts of personality-modifying drugs, before utilising the test results to minutely tweak the attitudes of some pre-existing residents.

"All this testing is to ensure a balanced mix of personalities, of course," Okuu's Look-alike claimed, "and besides that's what Reisen's boss always uses her for." Yes, please welcome the newest resident of Gensokyo Island, the hapless little bunny only good for her sex appeal, Reisen Udongein Inaba.

 I'm truly surprised, and delighted, that her entire name exactly fits into the entry box.

Ah, yes. But back to the topic. Love is a really fickle thing, isn't it? Okuu's Look-alike's love for the helpless inhabitants of her island has driven her to take such drastic and outrageous measures. Heh, perhaps the two of us are rather alike, no?

But the most irksome sort of love is one that can't decide what it is. A love that is neither directed an a single target, nor seeking to spread itself universally among all it can reach. Yes, love torn between two (or more!) objectives is a frightful abomination, deadly to itself and others. It should be strangled as a bud ere it ensnare others and drag them into its maw, suffocating together in an asphyxiated mass.

Oh, sorry, please excuse me. I was distracted by the thoughts of asphyxiation and love. What I meant to say is you really shouldn't be loving two people at once. It's bad.

The targets were Ken Izumi and Tadakichi Mihama. So what if there's an obvious choice of a bachelor? Put your heart into it!

With that being said, if you're going to love someone, it's best that you focus all of your energy on that one person. Yes, just one target, upon which you'll concentrate all your attention, devote all your energy, and you'll never ever let them ignore you, never let them escape, never, ever, ever let them even see anyone else besides you... and your love.

Oh, that sounds a little obsessive? Perverse, even? Well, yes, I suppose that's right, and that's why I hesitate to call my, shall we say, 'concern' for anything as 'love'. As a point of reference, I'd like to direct you instead to a certain individual whose every waking moment is devoted to the pursuit of just one person. 

Aye, regardless of the barriers of age, gender, the presence of spouses on either side... Please allow me to direct you to today's showcased resident - Alice Margatroid.

Alice Margatroid
All information correct as of 5 February 2015

 I'd like to get to know Marisa better... in bed. Maybe we could travel together... in bed.

Name: Alice Margatroid
Nickname: Alice (pronounced 'The Doll Maniac')
Date of Birth: 21st November 1998
Personality: Independent Artist
Favourite Colour: Light Blue
Quotation: "7-colored magic!"

Alice Margatroid is the Stage 3 Boss character of Touhou 5: Mystic Square and the Stage 3 Boss character of Touhou 7: Perfect Cherry Blossom. She also appears as an ally in several other of the main series games, and is a playable character and possible opponent in the fighting games. Alice is a youkai magician who specialises in the manipulation of dolls, who is possibly formerly a human. She also possesses a special grimoire which is believed to contain her most powerful magic.

Canonically, Alice is a somewhat aloof, enigmatic magician with a sort of friendly rivalry with Marisa Kirisame, the main character who is a witch. In fandom, however... let's just say that her persuasions have been depicted as perversions of epic levels, most specifically her fascination with dolls and her tenuous relationship with Marisa. So... guess which side of her is depicted on Gensokyo Island? Actual Alice fans might like to stop reading here...

In truth, bearing in mind that having both characters of the same gender would make it impossible to have a romantic relationship (no discussion please), I originally modeled Alice's character after her interpretation from Mystic Square. That is to say, a sort of an aggressive, creepy child who's empowered by the magic of her grimoire, and who had no special relationship with Marisa or any other pre-existing characters. And then Tomodachi Life decided to bring her and Marisa together...

 Those closest to her share their thoughts about Alice. They're all in agreement (albeit with Kyubey using sarcasm).

Husband: Kyubey Incubator
Best Friend: Marisa Kirisame (squee!)
Children: Shanghai Margatroid, Juubey, Cubey

Yes, the game decided that Alice and Marisa should become best friends. So I just decided to roll with it and treat her as sort of secretly... actually, quite openly lusting for Marisa, while still being married to Kyubey. Needless to say, it does strain their marriage somewhat, although I also suspect that marrying Kyubey was part of the deal, getting her to sell soul in order to become as close as is possible with Marisa. As Hitomi from Puella Magi Madoka Magica would say, "But that's forbidden love!"

I also suspect that Alice must have made a deal with Kyubey to have a perfectly normal child in the form of Shanghai Margatroid. As the first child to be born and the oldest second-generation islander, Shanghai was most definitely the centre of everyone's attention at the time she was born, and she has definitely earned her place in Gensokyo Island's hierarchy. In exchange, however, Kyubey must have also taken the souls of all of Alice's future children as their two subsequent children have ended up looking pretty much like Kyubey. Okay, in truth, they were truly horrible freaks, so I edited them to look like Kyubey so we could blame it on him. But that story still holds.

The first, and only baby photo I've ever taken. The photo booth is probably my least visited place.

Food Preferences:
All-Time Favourite: Smoothie

For Okuu's Look-alike's rating of Smoothies, go check Rinnosuke Morichika's entry. Suffice to say, I'd like to keep that one of the few things about which I have similarities with Alice.

Song Participation:  
Marisa My Love, Ballad, joint lead singer for Marisa Fan Club

It's self-explanatory. Alice sings about doing unspeakable things to Marisa's unspeakables, alongside Patchouli Knowledge. The song concludes with both Alice and Patchouli realising they need to exterminate everything else on the planet that could possibly be a rival for Marisa's love, starting with each other.

The best way for a much feared person to make friends would be to disguise yourself. And blind everyone else. And give out burgers.

Apartment: Apt. 207
Islander Rating: Borderline Top Tier

Alice is ranked extremely highly in Gensokyo Island's hierarchy, primarily due to threatening to kill me if I didn't let her stand alongside the god tier Marisa. Ahem. She's made the best progress out of all of the second batch of islanders thanks to having a 1/4 fullness all-time favourite food, as well as being very demanding indeed and thus giving plenty of opportunities to fill up her happiness. 

A prideful and vain fashionista like her, seeking all sorts of charms in order to woo Marisa, is constantly demanding new clothes and hats. Thankfully, she seems extremely content with her Art Gallery room decor, which probably fits her whacked-out Artist personality as someone who's maniacally obsessed, I mean extremely enthusiastic about crafting dolls. In terms of friends, she seems to be mostly tolerated by everyone as they naturally wouldn't want to get too close to her, but also want to keep out of her bad books - as a result she's often near the top of the popularity rankings despite not having that many genuinely close friends. She probably threatened to poison or dynamite anyone who didn't vote for her and Marisa

Alice Margatroid is... an emotionally needy, possessive, demanding, control freak who really, really most desires Marisa's unspeakables someone who can understand her and pander to her needs. She has the mind of a child but the attitude of a very assertive adult - the kind of person who's never nice, least of all when she's insisting you think that she's nice. Dare you open this grimoire and unleash the seven-coloured typhoon on your island?

(Marisa figure with visible doll-joints not included)

Yes, it's her Mystic Square look, but aged up. I'm still working on her Perfect Cherry Blossom outfit...

BUNBUNMARU UPDATES, 5th February 2015

Island Updates (Population 54) 
Please welcome Reisen Udongein Inaba, the newest resident of Gensokyo Island! She is an Easygoing Dreamer.

Relationships and Marriage
Utsuho Reiuji and Overlord Mao became best friends!
Rin Kaenbyou proposed to Kikuchiyo Kanbei today. He accepted! Congratulations to the newly married couple!

Children
Frederick, son of Recette Lemongrass and Armin Arlert, grew up. He was made to leave Gensokyo Island and become a traveller!

Gensokyo Gourmands
Sanae Kochiya tried a Flan today. She thought it was the Worst Ever! 

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