The Fan Fiction Boundless World of Danmaku is written by Terry N. Muse
and hosted on FanFiction.net. It was published in early September 2013 as an Adventure/Fantasy Touhou Project fanfic. Like most others, it begins with the usual system of unfortunately gapped OCs, but expands into a wider plot as the story continues.
Following Darius Loyhrs, who finds himself forced into Gensokyo against his will by Yukari to distract and escape from an angered Reimu, he ultimately decides to stay. During his initial visit, Reimu discovers an incident and brings him along, starting his adventures. It starts out similarly to most other Touhou fan fiction, but quickly breaks the mold and expands into a fresh new story as it progresses.
Find it here, or read the sequel over here.
Boundless World of Danmaku contains examples of:
- Already Done for You: Darius' incident, solved before Renko and Maribel could get there on time.
- Anchors Away: Murasa throws these arounds, both as melee and as Epic Flails.
- Autobots, Rock Out!: Absolutely anywhere and everywhere. Even if not, it's usually Orchestral Bombing instead (Ominous Latin Chanting included).
- Badass Longcoat: There are a lot of these. Darius wears a black one, Damion wears a white one, Aile puts on a blue one when she fights Darius, and it seems to be standard garb for the recently introduced Hunters.
- Barehanded Blade Block: Goukei uses this against Byakuren during their fight in chapter 26.
- Battle Amongst the Flames: Darius and Marisa have one during chapter 34.
- Black Swords Are Better: A shinigami in the story uses a black scythe as his choice weapon.
- Blow You Away: Wildcard's sword has this power tied to it.
- Boss Subtitles: Sometimes parodied, but played straight for the most part.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: In chapter 4, chapter 14, and chapter 30! Almost each time, Yukari ( and later on, Karin) appears to lampshade it.
- Can't Hold His Liquor: Which makes Darius' fight with Goukei so much better when you realize just how drunk he must be.
- Casting a Shadow: This power is one half of Darius' standard moveset, with Light 'em Up being the other half. Damion uses these powers as well.
- Cerebus Syndrome: Dear lord, yes. The first handful of chapters follow the typical "Gappy Sue", Monster of the Week-style layout. Then the halfway mark rolls around, and things suddenly start going downhill. They don't get much better.
- Charles Atlas Superpower: "Ehud" has no powers per se, but definitely a heavy-duty Badass Normal.
- Cool Plane: The sequel features one of these as a centerpiece and combat arena.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Reimu does this to SEVEN people in chapter 17, one of them being Yuuka!
- Dark Is Not Evil: Zig-zagged. At first, Darius wears a black longcoat and develops the powers of both Light 'em Up and Casting a Shadow, while preferring the latter over the former. When the sequel rolls around, Darius gets a Face–Heel Turn... but still uses the same powers. As if that's not enough, its implied that he might be coming around later on.
- Deal with the Devil: Near the very end, Wildcard offers one to Darius, who promptly denies it. It is also revealed that he would die if he refused. A brief sight of What You Are in the Dark makes him accept.
- Double Weapon: Goukei's two-sided scythe is this, with blades on both ends. Granted, the blades can be retracted, but...
- Downer Ending: And how! Both Darius and Goukei make Face Heel Turns, Karin is heavily implied to be dead after releasing the dragons into Gensokyo, Reimu and co. repel Wildcard by the skin of their teeth, and Darius' Deal with the Devil backfires spectacularly. Ouch.
- Dream Land: So far, Darius, Karin, and Goukei have all been shown to have one.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Goukei actually appears in chapter 11, but isn't named until chapter 25. Yukari even lampshades this.
- Embarrassing Last Name: Darius feels this way about his last name.
- Eldritch Location: Yukari's Gap Dimensions. In particular, the Border Catacombs are heavily implied to be this, with a heavy dose of Mind Screw thrown into the mix.
- Enforced Cold War: Beginning at chapter 38, in which Karin intercepts the protagonists but refuses to fight them in broad daylight. Lampshaded by her, too.
- Equippable Ally: Alexa's revolver and sword forms to Darius and later on Damion. Goukei and the Shinokama count as well.
- Everything Is Trying to Kill You: Reimu points this out to try and dissuade Darius from going to Makai. He goes anyways.
- Eyepatch of Power: Goukei, though he wears a type of sash over his eye.
- Fallen Hero: The backstory of Damion. Once a Paragon, now implied to be a Fallen Angel after learning that No Good Deed Goes Unpunished and Jumping Off the Slippery Slope.
- The Farmer and the Viper: Invoked by Wildcard when she tries to induct Darius. It works.
- For the Evulz: The reason Karin does just about anything in the later part of the story.
- Food Fight: Happens in chapter 44. Also resulted in Edible Ammunition, Edible Bludgeon, and Pie in the Face.
- Gratuitous Japanese: While Japanese honorifics are used throughout the story, typical English honorifics are used instead when the main characters travel abroad and are explicitly stated to be using English. Similarly, the language barrier is a fair problem for the sequel protagonist, who can't speak Japanese.
- Gratuitous Ninja: While not a stereotypical "ninja", Ehud is this.
- Interesting Situation Duel: Almost all of them, actually!
- The main character fighting Byakuren in an Ominous Floating Castle before switching to a Free-Fall Fight.
- Darius and Marisa fighting in Pandaemonium while it burns to the ground... over her hat.
- Aileen versus Darius during a rainstorm. Actually, it's implied Aile summoned the storm.
- The final battle is a Battle in the Center of the Mind in Dream Land.
- The sequel continues the tradition, with the first being an Executive Suite Fight.
- Yumemi, Lewis, and Ehud in a Mêlée à Trois during a High-Altitude Battle atop a Cool Plane.
- Large Ham: Mannosuke and Goukei do this many times.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Time and again, the author contributes his inspiration to two things: his friend and "Muse", and Koishi Komeiji. Cue chapter 40, in which Koishi excitedly tells Satori about a boy she met who was trying to write a really weird story.
- Leeroy Jenkins: Attempted in chapter 44. It didn't go well.
- Let's Get Dangerous!: Aileen kicks off a spectacular one in chapter 44 by overlapping it with a Dynamic Entry.
- Like Cannot Cut Like: Byakuren starts out with a vajra Laser Blade. When Darius copies the sword's power, this trope comes into play.
- Medusa: Another recurring theme for Goukei.
- Mind Hive: Alexa's analysis of Yukari turns out to be this. Later on, Karin evolves into this as well. Both wind up using Voice of the Legion.
- Mysterious Stranger: One of them keeps following around Yukari. When Karin makes her hostile takeover, the stranger starts following her instead.
- Mythical Motifs: Everywhere. Wildcard is geared around Tarot Motifs and Biblical Motifs, whereas Gensokyo get Dragons Up the Yin Yang and similar.
- No Gravity for You: Karin loves using this to mess with heads.
- Noodle Implements: In chapter 40, Darius reminds Karin of his last attempt to cook with a Frying Pan of Doom, bacon, butter, and, of all things, fireworks.
- Ominous Floating Castle: One of these is built for Darius' incident, along with a Floating Continent.
- Out-Gambitted: Darius' ancestors found themselves doing this to each other during their Duel to the Death.
- Perp Sweating: Lampshaded by Damion in chapter 41 when this happens to Darius.
- The Power of the Sun: Darius taps into this for some of his spells. Interestingly, he hasn't used Lunacy yet.
- Professional Gambler: Wildcard, considering the cash and frequency of her games.
- Power of the Void: Darius' new power in the sequel.
- Psychopomp: Death gods in general are explained by Goukei to be this, featuring ferrymen, grim reapers, and shinigami.
- Rage Quit: Goukei, whenever he loses to Wildcard in particular style. This happens many times between them.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Yukari uses this, although her eyes turn violet. Karin begins doing this as well. Played straight with Damion.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Many examples crop up.
- The calm, collected Ehud and brash, hotheaded Goukei.
- Say My Name: Cirno and Reimu in the fourth chapter. Massive ham was involved, yes.
- Sinister Scythe: Traditional shinigami weaponry, or so Goukei says.
- Shout-Out: An actually staggering amount to boot.
- Darius flat-out steals a glyph from Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia.
- Yukari recites the Konami Code in chapter 16.
- Yukari also warns Darius against simply walking into Mordor in chapter 21.
- Chapter 24 sees Sakuya using Aeon's hyper attack from Castlevania: Judgment on Byakuren, complete with taunts!
- Chapter 27 is directly named Castle in the Sky.
- Goukei goes on a small rant directly taken from the Demoman in chapter 31.
- Her Hat is Her Friend is the name of chapter 34.
- Damion references Bleach in chapter 35, along with the chapter title.
- Chapter 37 involves drunken ramblings about missing rum and dirt jars.
- Wildcard warns Goukei that he may have a hangover harder than a sliced lemon wrapped around a gold brick.
- Chapter 40 is called Clockwork Karin.
- Chapter 43 involves Flandre reenacting the the best gag of Metal Gear Solid
- Spit Take: The reaction of Marisa and Mima to Yuuka's alliance with the humans.
- Tarot Motifs: Used by Wildcard. The author toys with the Minor Arcana, though he does dabble with Major as well.
- Yin-Yang Bomb: After his Deal with the Devil with Wildcard, Darius used both halves of his power to cancel each other out, gaining access to the Power of the Void instead.
