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Touhou Nekokayou #132 (60 Years): Should've Seen That Coming

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Touhou Nekokayou: Scarlet Weather Archive in Japanese Red #132

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Characters: Masha Kinoko, Utsuho Reiuji, Yasora Kojiwa, Kon Yakumo, Ran Yakumo, Yukari Yakumo

After I read about Newcomb's Paradox several months ago,1 I instantly knew I'd have to make a comic involving a character who could go and look at the future. (The reason I set it a few years before the present future timeline is that I needed her to be of the sort of maturity-level that would allow her to say "Hmm, a paradox ... hey, I could actually do something like that!" without immediately going "No, wait, that would be silly.")

I did not know, however, that her opposite number would be big-Masha. Or, well, actually I think of her as more "normal-Masha." The one we saw in Shenanigans in a Magical Forest would probably have to be "baby-Masha." People have been sorta clamoring for her appearance in the main comic almost since she was introduced.

Now, I understand that the point of the Gordian Knot is that sometimes it takes a genius to see that you should find a relatively simple and straightforward to solution to a given problem rather than overcomplicating things, but a part of me keeps wanting to see a Family Unfriendly Aesop (Warning, link leads to TVTropes. Muffin will not be held responsible for hours of time lost as a result of following it.But see also this disclaimer) to the effect that you should just use brute force if no relatively clever pacifist solution presents itself. Not that this story has much in the way of "family-friendly aesops," but ...

Gah, that last panel's a crowded mess. But if I'd tried to split it up into multiple panels, it'd ruin the pacing, and I can't shrink it down because the background's at the minimum size as it is ... Ah well, sometimes your medium just has limitations, I guess.

The demo version of Touhou 13: Ten Desires is out, and with it came the first Create.swf update in ages; I'm not actually going to use any of the new characters until after the full game is out, if then (partly due to how much of a mess the timeline is in).

Someday I'll make a future-timeline comic which isn't focused primarily on my OCs.

Transcript

  1. (Utsuho and Masha are flying above the trees.)
    Utsuho: So, uh, yeah, sorry about distracting you from going to meet Yukari's daughter ... but, uh, you're definitely getting better at danmaku!
    Masha: Yeah, before you know it, I might actually beat you for once.
    Utsuho: Aw, c'mon, you beat me ... uh ... what, two times outta every five?
  2. (Yasora Kojiwa's ghostly form appears behind Utsuho, as they start flying downward.)
    Yasora: (orangy text) And it took you, what, 20 years to get to that point?
    Utsuho: Hey, now! To be fair, she was only six the first time we duelled!
    Masha: And you've been spending that time helping her out more and more, Yasora!
  3. (They land in the woods by a 12-year-old Kon Yakumo, who has a table set up in front of her with a an upended cardboard box and a bottle containing a large cookie in front of her.)
    Masha: Hey, Kon! Sorry I'm kinda late, I ran into some ... shenanigans. This is Utsuho Reiuji.
    Utsuho: Hi!
    Kon: Ah, hello! Don't worry about it, I guess!
  4. (Closeup of the table.)
    Masha: So, tell me about this setup!
    Kon: Ah, this is Newcomb's Paradox! You pick either the box, which *maybe* contains a buncha yummy candy, or both the box and the bottle, which has a cookie! But I peeked at the future to see which one you pick, and I only put candy in it if you chose just the box!
  5. (Wider view again.)
    Utsuho's Thoughts: There are at least nine things wrong with actually doing that.
    Masha: Your mom lifted the seal she put on your time-travel power?
    Kon: Well, no, she just opened it a little so I could just kinda look at stuff.
  6. Masha: So, where's the paradox? I doubt Mr. Newcomb was thinking of time-travelling youkai when he came up with this.
    Kon: The paradox happens cuz "what you actually choose" isn't part of the reason I chose whatever choice I did! ... I think.
  7. Utsuho: (sweatdrop) Um.
    Masha: Okay, I *kinda* understand what that was supposed to be getting at ...
    Kon: (angry) W-Well then you explain it yourself!!
  8. Masha: Calm down. Actually, I think it's kinda cool, but there's a fundamental fact about people in Gensokyo that you aren't taking into account, vis-a-vis the Gordian Knot. Utsuho?
    Kon: Huh? What do you mean?
  9. (Utsuho and Yasora lunge at Kon, while Masha hangs back. A hidden gap is visible to the readers.)
    Yasora: TELL US WHICH YOU CHOSE!!
    Ran: (in gap) Uh-oh ... Miss Yukari, should we interfere?
    Yukari: Nah, Ran, I'd rather she learned "bad things happen when you do stupid things" than "mommy will always come running."
    Gap SFX: hidden gap!
    Kon: AAAAA!

1It is basically as Kon described it, albeit using money and better-described. Part of the problem is that it defines both free will and predestination in its premise.

All Touhou characters are © Team Shanghai Alice and/or ZUN; create.swf is ⑨ KirbyM with help from Thefre. "Sakura petals" brush in main/4koma logo was made by Kisara Girl. "Falling leaves" brush in 60-Years logo came with Photoshop.

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sRc

@KamuiK

I don't know if she qualifies as a Tok'Ra, but then again she's not evil enough to be a Goa'uld...

Patchy_Mukyuu

Occam's Okuu's Razor: The simplest solution is beating smart alecs untill they give you the answer.

Loxley

Kon thought she had it all planned out didn't she? I guess she wasn't expecting a yatagarasu/hellraven combo to come crash her scheme.

But a bit of a brainwave, Okuu looks to be a bit cleverer then she was before, did the passing of years have the same effect on her girlfriend, our favourite nineball?

Dizzy H. Slightly Voided

During RNL, Meimu comments on Cirno's nineballery on how much she has changed in the future timeline. :3c

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