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Unconnected Marketeers/Story
This article describes the story of Unconnected Marketeers in detail.
Backstory
Prologue
Main Scenario
Endings
Reimu's Good Ending
Reimu and Chimata's battle concludes at Chimata's "Lunar Rainbow Market" in the sky, and Chimata declares the market closed upon the rainbow's disappearance. When Reimu expresses frustration over her constant use of the term "market", Chimata explains that a "market" is any special place of revelry where one can give up ownership of things. In places of revelry, battles become rituals-- festivals held for a god-- rather than acts of violence.
Reimu asks about the Ability Cards, to which Chimata replies that the cards are simply a collectible entertainment product that she and Megumu made. Megumu excavated the dragon gems, while Chimata unlocked the card's abilities, then replicated and distributed them. She's pleased that Gensokyo's residents enjoyed discussing the cards and trying out their friends' abilities, and reassures Reimu that the cards' effects are both temporary and harmless. Despite her doubts, Reimu likewise concludes that if Chimata only wanted to receive worship by encouraging people to trade some kind of product, there'd be no reason to make the cards dangerous.
At the same time, she wonders what might have happened if she had insulted Chimata's market by throwing all her cards away right before their fight...
Reimu's Alternate Ending
Reimu invites Misumaru to the Hakurei Shrine for a casual conversation, asking if she's really the one who made her Yin-Yang Orb. Misumaru confirms this and explains her occupation (which Reimu thinks is rather boring).
When Reimu asks if the Yin-Yang Orb and the Ability Cards are made of the same material, she says it's true in the broad sense that they're both made from Izanagi Objects. She explains that "Izanagi Object" is a general term for any material that held significance in the era of the gods, back when such materials belonged to no one. They inherently hold power close to that of a god's, and tend to be colloquially known as "magic items" nowadays. Though most materials have lost this raw divinity by receiving names or new significances, the Youkai Mountain has many Izanagi materials that remain untouched. Misumaru says that this makes the Rainbow Dragon Cave's excavation fairly dangerous-- though she was relieved that only dragon gems have been found so far-- and corrects Reimu's mistaken assumption that she was the one carrying out the excavation.
The narrator mentions that the Ability Cards only contain small amounts of dragon gem material, so they require an external source of magic to maintain their effect. This magic was supplied by Chimata exclusively when the cards were traded under her market's conditions, and the cards themselves were ultimately just an entertainment product (used as a business venture in Megumu's case, and as a conduit for worship in Chimata's).
Reimu's Bad Ending
Reimu is incapacitated and has to be escorted down the mountain to safety.
Aya publishes an article about her failure, mockingly writing that Reimu needed to escape due to oxygen deprivation.
Marisa's Good Ending
As she comes back down the mountain, Marisa is greeted by Megumu, who congratulates her for defeating Chimata. She admits to lying by omission about whether or not Chimata could actually stop the cards' circulation, and says there's no way to actually prevent people from buying or selling them. Marisa figured as much, but is unbothered, as she's recognized that the cards become ordinary paper anyway after their short-lived magic supply runs out.
Megumu agrees that the cards are ultimately just "toys," with Marisa being amazed by (and jealous of) the fact that Megumu could produce enough genuine magic items to even afford selling them off as toys. Megumu replies that she has no intention of sharing the mountain's resources with a human, requests that Marisa keep the Rainbow Dragon Cave confidential, and is surprised to hear that someone she's never heard of (Misumaru) was also investigating the cave.
She sends Tsukasa to look into this issue, while Marisa plans another expedition of her own to see who's really in charge of excavation... and possibly get her hands on some magic items of her own.
Marisa's Alternate Ending
Marisa returns home after her battle with Chimata, and receives a visit from Tsukasa soon after. Marisa sheepishly confirms to Tsukasa that she accidentally bought Chimata's own card before their fight, throwing away all of the cards she'd collected in the process. Tsukasa says that this likely constituted an insult towards Chimata's market and the transactions she intended for it... which is probably why Chimata is currently "bedridden" and mumbling about a robber who can't even engage in basic commerce.
When Marisa asks why Tsukasa is intruding in her house to begin with, she replies that she's checking up on Marisa's well-being, ostensibly because Megumu was worried about having "inadvertently" sent her into battle with an "out-of-control" Chimata. Marisa points out that Tsukasa informed Chimata of Megumu's betrayal despite ostensibly serving Megumu, and asks to know why she's really here. Tsukasa tells her that while it may be hard to believe, everything she does is ultimately in the interest of securing profits for Megumu, and that her check-in with Marisa is likewise done out of this financial motivation. Marisa finds this extremely believable, and thanks her.
The narrator says that Marisa ultimately judged the Ability Cards to be harmless, because their powers were both limited and came with numerous restrictions... and because she figured that if the sales couldn't be stopped, she may as well have fun with the cards like everyone else.
Marisa's Bad Ending
Marisa is incapacitated and has to be escorted down the mountain to safety.
Aya publishes an article about her failure, mockingly writing that Marisa got lost climbing the mountain at night.
Sakuya's Good Ending
Sakuya reports the results of her outing to Patchouli, describing how Chimata vanished shortly after the lunar rainbow did. Patchouli is interested in the "when a rainbow appears" condition under which Chimata opens her markets. She comments that it's a strange requirement, but states that the application of such conditions often holds its own weight in the world of magic, and wonders if that condition might be what makes it possible to sell things you ordinarily couldn't-- such as cards imbued with copies of people's abilities.
On that note, Patchouli holds up an Ability Card that she's set fire to; despite having ostensibly been magic items, she says they're now just ordinary paper that won't respond to any stimulus she tries. All the cards also contain the same type of magic, which means they shouldn't each be able to generate different effects. Her first thought is that Sakuya was imagining the whole thing (which Sakuya flatly denies), but since many people have been discussing the cards' effects, they must have been real. This leads her to suspect that Chimata's powers-- and the tightly regulated transactions she laid out-- played a role in the cards' function.
Further analysis by Patchouli reveals that the cards' main component is dragon gem material, which reminds Sakuya of the suffocating battle she fought in the Rainbow Dragon Cave.
Sakuya's Alternate Ending
At Chimata's "Lunar Rainbow Market" in the sky, Sakuya asks Chimata if she could open a market for the Scarlet Devil Mansion's residents as well. Chimata is happy to oblige, but asks why. Sakuya responds that Patchouli's analysis of the Ability Cards determined that they were ultimately harmless, so they have no more reason to demand the market's closure; in fact, Remilia has become extremely interested in the cards and would now like to attend such a market. But as Sakuya sheepishly admits, Remilia is extremely averse to both rain and sunlight, which makes it difficult for her to visit any locations with rainbows... so she'd like Chimata to open an indoor market at their house.
Chimata replies that while an indoor rainbow might not be possible, she can open a market under a variety of other "special" conditions. She mentions a meteor impact or a volcanic eruption as possible options, and says that they should go find something special like that in their house.
Several days later, the Scarlet Devil Mansion holds a market with the mansion's interior entirely painted with rainbows, to great turnout. Remilia is pleased to attend the market, and Patchouli is pleased to have figured out the conditions under which Chimata operates.
Sakuya's Bad Ending
Sakuya is incapacitated and has to be escorted down the mountain to safety.
Aya publishes an article about her failure, mockingly writing that Sakuya wouldn't say why she got stuck on the mountain and that she might've been spirited away.
Sanae's Good Ending
Megumu and Tsukasa pay the Moriya Shrine a visit, during which Megumu and Kanako have a terse, whispered conversation that mainly seems to involve marketing buzzwords. The two of them seem to come to an agreement, though Sanae can hardly tell what they're talking about. Tsukasa says she's surprised to see Sanae confused by the conversation, and mentions that Kanako is notorious on the Youkai Mountain for barging in as soon as she hears that else is making a profit. (Sanae is unsurprised.)
Tsukasa further elaborates that-- at least according to Megumu, she says-- Kanako is also fairly easy to deal with, as she'll turn a blind eye to any kind of business exploit as long as they share a tiny fraction of the profits with her. She then apologizes for "letting this slip", saying that Kanako being so easy to talk to is ultimately a good thing for the Youkai Mountain's peace.
After her discussion with Megumu, Kanako agrees that the Ability Cards are both safe and beneficial for the mountain's economy, and gives them the Moriya Shrine's official seal of approval as a kind of good-luck charm. Sanae finds herself dwelling on what Tsukasa said, and comes out of it feeling just slightly more suspicious towards her own shrine... without realizing that this is Tsukasa's typical modus operandi.
Sanae's Alternate Ending
Chimata pays the Moriya Shrine a visit, and hits things off extremely well with Kanako as the two discuss ideas for new market events. Chimata calls Kanako's ideas "ridiculous"-- in a good way, she says, as she explains that a market enables people to let go of their belongings precisely because they're places that feel out of the ordinary. Kanako agrees, commenting that the same principle applies to festivals as a whole, with Chimata remarking that she gets along well with "old-fashioned" people like Kanako.
A somewhat-exasperated Sanae asks what they've been talking about, and Chimata tells her that they've agreed to hold her next market at the Moriya Shrine. As per Kanako's suggestion, it'll be a market where people barter with each other while dodging giant logs that Kanako and co. hurl down a cliff at them. She also answers Sanae's questions about the Ability Cards, stating that they're an entertainment product designed by her and Megumu, meant to be fun both to collect and to sell, and that they're likely to be a hot item at the shrine's upcoming festival. Sanae finds herself wondering which parties are actually profiting and which are being taken advantage of... though in the world of business, it may not ultimately matter.
Sanae's Bad Ending
Sanae is incapacitated and has to be escorted down the mountain to safety.
Aya publishes an article about her failure, mockingly writing that she had to flee due to sustaining too many wounds from danmaku, which may have been the result of youkai who disliked the Moriya Shrine.
Extra Story
Notes
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