Exile of the Moon, Princess of the Earth

Slightly canon-divergent indie RP blog for Kaguya Houraisan. Please read About and Rules pages.

[lyricalive]

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Touhou 08   (Extend Ash ~ Hourai Victim)

—English fanlyrics—

Mokou: asa-turney

Kaguya: lori-hime

Ashes unto ashes, everything to nothing.

The moon above is shining, yet someday too will disappear.

Once the world is over, what shall I have to entertain me?

Keep reading

[eternalandinstant]

(So I developed an interesting little idea with a friend over Discord RP last night.  I’ve added the following to my headcanons page to reflect this...)

Even though Kaguya eventually realized that her adoptive Earth parents were probably so protective of her because of the money they were mysteriously receiving (from the Lunarians), she does still think they meant well for her.  When word of her beauty spread across the country and countless suitors came to seek her hand in marriage, her parents urged her to marry one – not just for the money and status, as many of her suitors were highly influential men, but for what they thought would be a source of happiness for her.  

Kaguya, however, loathed the idea of being married off to a man she barely knew.  What was especially loathsome in her eyes was how the majority of the men clamoring over her only seemed interested in her beauty, or furthering their own status.  She wanted nothing to do with them, but recognized that they wouldn’t simply take “No” for an answer.  So she devised a plan…

Kaguya issued her five “Impossible Requests” – impossibly rare treasures that she knew no one should plausibly be able to retrieve – with the intention of being rid of all her suitors.  She was sure most of her suitors would simply give up, or travel so far away that they’d never be a bother to her again.  What she did not expect, however, was for people to actually try.

When Mokou’s father presented her with a Jeweled Branch of Hourai, the princess was stunned…  Surely, she thought, that could not be a real Branch?  She knew the Lunarians dropped down a Jeweled Branch to Earth on occasion in order to drive greedy humans against each other.  But that would’ve made them so rare and difficult to acquire, how could this man have gotten one?!  However, when another man came forth, claiming that he was paid by Mokou’s father to forge the Jeweled Branch, Kaguya immediately seized on the out she was given.  She did not know with total certainty if this newcomer was lying, but she took his word as absolute truth and denounced her suitor.  

But beyond simply rejecting him, Kaguya felt vengeful in that moment…  She’d fully convinced herself that Mokou’s father was trying to trick her, which especially angered her – how DARE he try to fool her into marrying him?!  Up until this point nobody else had tried such trickery, but she wanted to make an example out of him for anyone who might also try this.  Despite not being a true “princess” here on Earth, Kaguya still had a decent amount of clout due to her reputation and family’s wealth.  And so she used her pull to destroy the man’s reputation, completely shaming him and casting him out from society.  It didn’t matter what happened to him afterward, Kaguya thought…  She’d told herself that he had it coming.  But looking back now, she regrets taking out her anger on the man like that.

Not wanting to confront the truth of whether that Branch was the real deal or not, she had it disposed of.  She didn’t need to know, she thought.

(So the lingering question is...  was Mokou’s father lying or not?  Did he have the same shallow reason for trying to marry Kaguya as all the other suitors, or did he have purer motives?  I leave that for you to decide...  But my point in doing this was to try to make it so that she’s not exactly a totally innocent party here.  If Mokou’s father was indeed a shallow man, then Kaguya was right to be angry...  but she didn’t have to go that far to bring him down.  If he was honest, then Kaguya crucified an innocent man out of fear and assumption.  She couldn’t, in her mind, see herself in a scenario where she’d be happily married to a human man, and so she did what she felt she had to.  

But either way, Kaguya wasn’t exactly thoughtful of the damage she’d done to the people around her.  For a good while, in fact, Kaguya was still learning to empathize with Earthlings, despite choosing to live on Earth over the Moon.  Though she found life here more interesting, she still had -- even to this day -- some internal bias against humanity.  Deep down, she still believes to some degree that she’s above them.  She’s trying her best now to not outwardly express that, and improve herself, but old habits die hard.)

[daybreaksnowfield-blog]

heeey you know the drill with rp promo posts lmao

like/reblog if u wanna interact with a canon-divergent Dawn from the Renegade Platinum romhack, which is 100% Platinum But Better™

make sure you read the rules and… yes I know the about page is long as fuck but at least skim it :’D

[eternalandinstant]

4

send me a number to dig into my muse's past

4: what kind of childhood did you have?

“I basically lived in absolute luxury.  I had personal servants and private tutors catering to me, and I usually always got what I wanted.  I was never very close with my family, but I wasn’t necessarily at odds with them -- we did see each other quite a bit at large gatherings, at least.  I generally had free reign, with the only stipulation that I not leave our estate grounds without at least one attendant.

It was a perfect life, in a perfect utopia all things considered........”

“...It was so terribly boring.  The Capital is too perfect, in a state that never changes.  And my family didn’t even seem that close with each other, let alone me.  Honestly, I have to wonder if the life of near-immortals dulls the senses...  the rabbits who worked as our servants seemed to be having a better time than me, that’s for sure.”

[eternalandinstant]

38: who were your idols/heroes growing up?, 36: what is a memory you wish had never happened at all?, 29: what is the biggest thing that has changed about you?

send me a number to dig into my muse's past

38: who were your idols/heroes growing up?

“Well, I admired a lot of the Lunarian elite as a child.  But most of all, I think I looked up the most to Yorihime.  She was everything I aspired to be as a princess -- strong, cool, and a hero to her people.”

“...But that’s changed now.  Well, she hasn’t changed -- and that’s the problem, which is why my view of her did.  Her fanaticism to the stifling old ways of the Capital has unfortunately made her rigid.  I hope I can get her to see my way some day...”

36: what is a memory you wish had never happened at all?

“There is a concept called ‘providence’, right?  Meaning that everything happens for a reason.  I’ve sort of taken that view of my life up to this point.  There are a lot of awful things that, if they never occurred, might’ve not made things out to be as nice as they are now.  For instance if I never became immortal, I might have never left the Moon.  

If I had to pick one memory though, I’d say I wish I never gave the Emperor the Hourai Elixir -- that being the batch that wound up in Mokou’s hands.  Mind you, I’m glad now that I’ll have an eternal companion with me.  But I didn’t have to subject her to my same fate...”

29: what is the biggest thing that has changed about you?

(Answered!)

[eternalandinstant]

29: what is the biggest thing that has changed about you?, 30: name one positive change and one negative change you've undergone in the past ten years., 31: did you have any bad habits? do you still have them now?

send me a number to dig into my muse's past

29: what is the biggest thing that has changed about you?

“Ooh!  I’d like to think I’m a lot better with people now than I used to be.  My upbringing, both on the Moon and on Earth, didn’t really help me much for several reasons.  But now that I can talk to people and be treated more or less normally, I think I’m finally learning what it’s like to be a so-called ‘people person’.”

30: name one positive change and one negative change you've undergone in the past ten years.

“A good thing?  Well there are just so many, haha~  But let’s just say I’ve learned how to finally make friends.”

“Negative...?  Mmmm...  Well I’d always come to depend on Eirin while we were in hiding.  But after we integrated into Gensokyo, I somehow feel I’d become even more dependent on her.  I guess when faced with the unknown, you cling to what’s familiar?  Now that she’s gone though, I’m finally teaching myself all the things that are involved in taking care of myself and Eientei.”

31: did you have any bad habits? do you still have them now?

“Ugh...  One thing I can never stop doing is reading too much while in bed.  See, that doesn’t sound so bad at first...  but what happens is I fall asleep with the book in my arms.  And then when I wake up, I find it crumpled and torn underneath me from the moving around I did in my sleep.  I’ve ruined many good books that way...”

[eternalandinstant]

18!

send me a number to dig into my muse's past

18: what did you want to be when you grew up? has that changed now?

“To be quite honest, I had pretty much no ambition when I was growing up in the Capital.  There was just nothing that interested me...  As a princess of the Houraisan clan, I was basically destined to be sort of a sage and diplomat.  I hated the idea of that...  but I didn’t know what I wanted to do in place of it.”

“Ahh, but that’s changed now!  There are so many things I could do here on Earth...  I’m already sort of a bunny caretaker, and museum curator in a sense.  I’ve been considering opening up Eientei as a lodge for lost travelers, since so many spirited away humans seem to show up in the bamboo forest, and I have SO much room around here.”

“There is this one idea I had that...  eheh, it’s kind of silly really.  I don’t think it’ll ever happen, but it’s what one might call a... um...  ‘pipe dream’?  

But I was hoping that some day, I could be an ambassador between Gensokyo and the Lunar Capital.  That’s silly to even consider, though...  right?”

[eternalandinstant]

26: if you could go back in time and change one thing about yourself at any age, what would you do?

send me a number to dig into my muse's past

“This is probably obvious, but I’d go back to stop myself from drinking the Hourai Elixir.  Thinking back, what drove me to drink it was really quite a silly reason... and now I’ve doomed myself for eternity because of it.  The only reason I don’t regret it now is because it led me to discover how much I loved life on Earth.”

“But for that, I’d just tell my past self to leave the Capital and come to Earth.  I didn’t need to become immortal just to do that.  Though not being immortal might’ve made it harder to desert the Lunarians without consequence...”

“Oh wait, that was two things to change about my past self...  Umm, can I count them together please?”

[eternalandinstant]

send me a number to dig into my muse's past

1: how well do you get along with your parents?

2: how well do you get along with your siblings?

3: do you think your parents would be proud of you right now?

4: what kind of childhood did you have?

5: how much have you changed since you were little?

6: when would you say was the moment you started to "grow up"?

7: how was/is your home life? were/are you happy?

8: do you keep in contact with your family? why/why not?

9: what kind of student were you in school?

10: were you a troublemaker or a stickler for rules?

11: were you in any kind of clique in school?

12: what was your favorite subject?

13: were you any superlatives/what would have been the most fitting superlative for you?

14: what kind of clique(s) were you in?

15: were you more popular or more of an outcast?

16: were you ever bullied/did you ever bully anyone?

17: where was your favorite place to hang out?

18: what did you want to be when you grew up? has that changed now?

19: what was your biggest fear(s)? do you still fear those things now?

20: who was your first boyfriend/girlfriend/crush?

21: did you believe in any superstitions/myths?

22: what did your typical friday night look like?

23: what were your favorite movies growing up?

24: what kind of music did you listen to? has that changed now?

25: do you have any regrets?

26: if you could go back in time and change one thing about yourself at any age, what would you do?

27: if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?

28: is the person you are now who you expected to be when you grew up?

29: what is the biggest thing that has changed about you?

30: name one positive change and one negative change you've undergone in the past ten years.

31: did you have any bad habits? do you still have them now?

32: what were your biggest hobbies? do you still like the same things now?

33: what is your most vivid memory from childhood?

34: what is your most embarrassing memory from childhood?

35: what is your favorite memory from childhood?

36: what is a memory you wish had never happened at all?

37: do you think you would be a good role model for your younger self?

38: who were your idols/heroes growing up?

39: list three words you would use to describe your younger self and three words to describe yourself now.

40: are you happy with the person you've become?

[eternalandinstant]

(Alright, soo...  I’ve been thinking about the “Kaguya is Chang’e” theory for a while now.  I still think it’s a great theory, mind you, but I’m not so sure it’s compatible with my particular take on Kaguya that I’ve been cultivating over the years.  And plus, I don’t know what I could do with that information anyway besides adding some drama with potential Junko RPers.  So I’m jossing that headcanon for the time being, in favor of my own theory of her upbringing.)

(I’ve added this to my headcanon page already, but here it is for your viewing pleasure~)

Kaguya was born into an elite, high-ranking class of mages in the Lunar Capital who all had the ability to manipulate eternity.  These mages were primarily meant to serve as the Capital’s protectors, using their ability to “freeze” the city if there were ever a threat of impurity breaking out (for instance, in Touhou 15’s story)

Kaguya was given the title of “Princess” – a rank denoting nobles of high status in Lunar society – despite not being directly related by blood to the Capital’s founders.  But even so, she and her family would have held a significant influence because of their position.

Though Kaguya lived in the lap of luxury up in the Capital, she was a rather quiet and reserved child growing up.  She rarely, if ever, showed excitement or passion.  The purely sterile, unchanging environment of the Moon left her with a lack of fulfilment for a very long time.

Kaguya was fairly “young” by Lunarian standards – around 300 years of age – when a combination of morbid curiosity and an un-Lunarian-like fear of death compelled her to have the Hourai Elixir made.  It was because of this relatively young age that she didn’t have too much of an attachment for her home once she came to love the Earth so much.

Bear in mind, of course, that “Kaguya” was simply the name bestowed upon her by the human bamboo-cutter who found her after she was first exiled.  But upon choosing to remain on the Earth permanently, rather than return to the Moon, she’s forsaken her original Lunarian name (which, mind you, is incomprehensible to non-Lunarians anyway).

[eternalandinstant]

nekofantasia‌:

“Glasses? But I can see just fine…I was talking about my hardware!”

“Hard...  wares?  As opposed to soft wares?  So like, fragile things?”

[eternalandinstant]

nekofantasia‌:

“I wish I had better specs….”

“Ah!  I didn’t know you wore glasses...  Did you need a prescription or something?”

[eternalandinstant]

nekofantasia‌:

“And that’s correct! I knew you could solve that quickly!” Even if she almost gave the wrong answer, but hey…that’s what warm-ups are all about! Now that Kaguya knows her way with formal logic to solve puzzles, it’s time for the real deal! “Alright, the next one should be fun for you to think about. Take as much time as you need, though.”

“Alright, you have two bunnies: One’s black and one’s white. They have a particular pattern when it comes to lying. The black one tells lies on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays and speaks the truth on the other days. The white one tells lies on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays and just like the black bunny, it says the truth on the other days. So you meet them one day and they say the following: The black bunny says: Yesterday, I was lying. And white bunny adds: So was I. With those two statements, can you determine the day of the week when they said that?”

“A bunny puzzle...  Are you perhaps catering to my interests?  Or maybe you hoped I’d be too distracted by the cute talking bunnies to come up with a solution?  Well not today!  I will solve this in a snap~”

She spends a few moments in scrutiny, mentally going over which days Chen had listed out...

“Hmm...!  You never said anything about Sunday.  I wonder if...

No no, they’d both be telling the truth that day.  One of them has gotta be lying, so perhaps...  If there were a day immediately after they switched between lying and truth-telling, perhaps that could work?”

“Aha!!  It’s Thursday!”

[eternalandinstant]

twinfoxtails‌:

“Princess, I’m well aware of that, but a doctor couldn’t help but be a bit sentimental and nostalgic, don’t you agree?”

It’s true that Eirin does not look after her as much anymore, but Eri doesn’t know that! After all, he only knows Kaguya for being the princess who oversleeps most of the time and having servants take care of her!…

… In other words, he doesn’t know much of her life at all. Still, he’s just going to start washing his own body now. Eri would help wash Kaguya’s back, but he wasn’t sure what she would think when he’s revealed sooner or later…-

“Well, I did teach Udonge what I know, after all. Although… do you really think that’s a good idea, Princess? Some of the items there are quite valuable, and not to mention there’s going to be people looking for the Hourai Elixir. Still, have you found anything interesting outside so far?“

How strange, the princess thought...  The way she spoke, behaved, and carried herself, this was almost certainly the Eirin that Kaguya had known.  And yet...  what was she talking about?  It was like her memories had been scrambled, or something...

“Eirin...  There are no more batches of the Elixir that exist anymore, remember?  We haven’t made any since we left the Moon, and Mokou took the last bottle left on Earth.”

She approached the doctor with a concerned expression, trying her best to look over her old friend.  She knew that whenever Eirin did a medical exam, she’d look over her patients carefully...  Kaguya was trying to do the same.  And though she didn’t know what she was looking for, she figured she’d know a problem if she saw one.

“Are you okay, Eirin...?  Your memories seem a little...  wrong.  Did they do something to you when you went back to the Moon?”

Was the princess going to have to play doctor this time?!?  The thought of that made Kaguya a bit anxious...  But, ahaha, how hard could it be?  She could just ask Reisen for help if she gets stumped anyway.

[eternalandinstant]

mysticallities‌:

“Oh, if you wish to become at the top of your game, then yes!” Kaguya smiles, closes her eyes, and clasps her hands together. With a light tilt of her head, red eyes stare upon Kaguya.

Cooking!! A subject initially lacking within Shinomiya. As much as she didn’t wish to admit it, the girl took it up solely to impress Miyuki Shirogane. Now, she’d use her skills to rope Houraisan into a potential scheme…

Lips curl up even further, a red glow oozes from her eyes, leaving streaks in the air whenever she moves. “Houraisan~” Kaguya giggles. “Why don’t I personally teach you how to cook?” She asks, a red aura emanating from the girl. How… intimidating…

The princess was puzzled.  She couldn’t quite place her feelings toward Shinomiya...  The more she spoke, the more the princess felt excited for the future.  But the more time she spent near her, the more she felt uneasy.  Even despite her seeminly friendly shift in demeanor, there was still an intimidating air to her...  Kaguya wondered if she was perhaps waltzing right into a trap.  Somehow Shinomiya gave her the impression that she was up to something sinister.

Well, if this Shinomiya was really just a plain human, what harm could she truly do to the princess?  Worst comes to worst, it’s not like she could die...  So she steels herself, throwing caution to the wind, and decides to step further down the rabbit hole to see where it leads.

“Cooking, hmm?  I would very much like to learn!  I’d gladly have you teach me, Shinomiya~”  Though Kaguya didn’t always cook very much herself, she was actually fairly knowledgable about it.  She was no gourmet, mind you, but when you have endless free time with nothing else to do, you’re bound to pick up a thing or two.  She didn’t know exactly how much Shinomiya knew, but maybe the princess could surprise her with her skills!

“I know a couple things about cooking myself, actually, but I’d like to see what you know.  And who knows, perhaps I could show you something myself!”

[eternalandinstant]

twinfoxtails‌:

Understandable why there’s so many people staring! There’s not just one, but two beautiful women right at the hot springs! One was the extremely beautiful princess, Kaguya, while the other is the Sage of the Moon!

As for what she said… wait… what did she just say? ‘Back so soon’? Does that mean Eirin was actually gone back to the moon for some reason?

That was… interesting.

“No, I came to check on you to see if you’re behaving properly, Princess. Honestly, are the springs in Eientei too boring for you, and you decided to go somewhere else?”

“But since we’re here, would you mind giving me a summary of what happened when I was gone, Princess? I hope you haven’t been slacking and Reisen has been strict on you.”

“Checking on me..?  Eirin, I’m not a child anymore, you know...  Or at least you don’t have to treat me like one anymore.”  Admittedly there was a great length of time when Eirin would look after the princess during their exile.  But in recent years that’s become less necessary, and since the Imperishable Night incident, Kaguya had been working to try to become more self-sufficient.  She genuinely thought Eirin had trusted her when she agreed to leave for the Moon without her, so it felt embarrassing to have her come back to check on her like a worried mother.

“But yes, I have been trying to get out more for a change.  After being cooped up in Eientei for a millennium, I need something different, you know?”

“Reisen and I have been fine though.  She’s doing a good job running the clinic in your absence, and meanwhile I’m trying to figure out what to do with all the extra space in the manor.  I’ve actually been considering renting some rooms out...  Might be a nice way to get more foot traffic here too.”

[eternalandinstant]

paradisemiko‌:

“Some obligation? I guess. Mostly I want someone to pour my affection into though, like you said,” she admitted with a shrug. At the least, she could always count on Suika to be around the shrine. But…Suika was not the same as a partner, that much was obvious to anyone.

“…Anyway. You think I’m a good person, huh? Well…thanks, really. It’s surprising to hear that from you, but I appreciate it,” the shrine maiden stated, letting out a yawn.

“Mmh, I’m just gonna…” and with that she was just going to silently place her head on Kaguya’s shoulder. She might even doze off if Kaguya let her.

“Well of course I do.  I mean I’ve heard the rumors about you, but I know you’re just doing what you do to protect Gensokyo.  I find that admirable... and plus it means you’re protecting the one place in this corner of the cosmos where I can be myself and meet great peop-”

She abruptly cuts herself short as the shrine maiden’s head finds her shoulder.

Ah...  What is she supposed to do here, exactly?  She gets the impression that Reimu’s trying to be affectionate, of course.  But what does the princess do at this point?  She can’t exactly reposition the way she’s seated now -- the miko seemed like she was about to fall asleep, so any abrupt movement would disturb her.  She also doesn’t want to be rude and tell her to get off her shoulder either...  Kaguya feels a bit bashful, sure, but isn’t entirely opposed to this situation either.

So she’s just gonna...  Sit there, completely still, and let this play out however it may.