A collection of various tales and tidbits surrounding the Eternal Fever Dream saga, which includes "Eastern Fever Dream" and "Deviation of Unconventional Nostalgia".
For me, it's another backup of these tales, while for you all it's a completely ne...
Today, March 21st, is Kizamu Mitasa's birthday. As such, I've decided to post some of my favorite notes and short stories about her along with a special illustration;
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The Cartomancer in the Moonflower Bed
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Deviation of Bohemian Nostalgia Act 2 "Kizamu is Here! Beginning of The Festival" (Mitasa Residence, 9:18 PM)
It was a quiet December evening at the Mitasa residence. As she sat on her warm bed, absentmindedly staring out of the window, Kizamu Mitasa's body began to feel heavy. Her mother had asked earlier if she wanted to help set up Christmas decorations, and Kizamu agreed, although now she was feeling much too exhausted to even stand up.
Well, not exactly tired, but she just felt more unmotivated than ever. Something about the cold weather just made her want to stay inside and sleep all day. ‘Maybe I should call my friends….’ She started, only to be interrupted by the sight of falling snow right outside of her bedroom window. Even though she lived in Izotakara City, which got snow every winter, the sight always enchanted her.
“Kizamu-chan!”
Her mother.
Kizamu stood carefully so as to not give herself a headache. “What, ma?” She groggily shouted back. The door opened shortly after, by her mother. Curiously, she was holding an envelope. “A letter just arrived. It’s for you, dear,” A letter? For Kizamu? As she took the envelope, she didn’t bother seeing who it was from. Was it from one of her school friends?
A secret admirer?
Her father?
She tore open the seal that was held shut with a green heart-shaped sticker. As she read the invitation, her mother spoke up. “Were you and Mona hosting this gathering by yourselves?” She smiled. “I… I didn’t know anything about this. C-Can I go? Pretty please? I’ll be back by 9 the very next morning, promise!” The 14-year-old begged. “Are there going to be any adults there?” Her mother prodded. “Uhh…” She paused.
Surely she’d have some adults in her extended friend group, right? The only person of age who came to mind was Hukako, an alien missionary who was sent to Earth to study human culture and direct communications between the two societies. “Yyyyeah,” Instead of giving her the usual hands-on-hips and judgemental-glare-that’ll-pierce-your-soul, her mother smiled. “You all will be in the clubhouse at Kougyoku Apartments, right?” Kizamu nodded. “I’m sure it’s safe there, and you’ll be together with your friends.” She added, walking back towards the door. “We’ll talk more on the night of the 18th.” Calmly spoken as always. “Oh, and tomorrow’s the last day of school before winter break, so try to fall asleep before 11 at the very latest.” With that, the bedroom door closed once more.
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In Saigyou's Poem of a Flower Field, all the characters have various flowers that they are seen with. Kizamu is seen with the morning glory (or moonflower), which symbolizes recognizing one's dreams, magic, restricted love, and mortality. She's usually depicted with a white morning glory specifically, which indicates purity and spirituality.
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I feel like I never specified what Mitasa really means.
"mitasa" is derived from "mitasu", meaning "fulfill". Originally, it was as in "to fulfill desires" (yokkyu o mitasu), as it originated as a surname with Arui Mitasa. I felt "-asa" was more powerful than "-asu", so it fit for Arui. Of course, Kizamu as a character was essentially broken off from Arui, to the point where her name was originally "Arui Mitasa", so I kept the surname.
Kizamu was based off of the Touhou Project character Sumireko Usami (which explains Kizamu's affinity with cartomancy), who shares a surname with Renko Usami from the same series, which is another reason for the shared surname. Kizamu and Arui aren't related, by the way.
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Kizamu is surprisingly good at making decisions and coming up with plans under pressure. Her mother says she gets that from her father, who was a clever and strategic man. She also says Kizamu gets her constant lovesickness from herself, as she dearly misses Kizamu's father and speaks about him with a slight air of sadness, yet complete adoration.
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Every new year, Kizamu and Mona meet at the old Shoheki-in Temple to chat in their own special place. The Shoheki-in is described as rundown and overgrown by plants, and isn't vandalized to honor the local legends. There aren't any regular visitors per se, except these two. There are very few others who come by, not even the old guard dog.
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Previously, it had been stated that there was a 4-year champion of the New Year's Brawl, an annual competition in Izotakara City that occurs throughout the week before New Year's Day. The champion had apparently been participating since she was 13. Her name was Kizamu Mitasa, and she was a very skilled magic user for her age, using playing cards to channel her illusory power.
That has since been retconned, however. Kizamu does participate in it, but it's just for fun, so she goes easy on her opponents and has occasionally made it to the last round before the semifinals (which is still impressive for her age and skill).
