Tomomi Matsumori (center left) is a young lady just out of High School, delaying her college days until she can decide what she wants to do with her life. Excited by her grandmother’s old stories of the spirits at the family’s old shrine, Tomomi decides to spend the summer on the shrine grounds, much to her mother’s chagrin.
The Shrine of the Three Mountains, as it might seem obvious, is a shrine to the three mountain peaks surrounding the town that Tomomi lives in. Each one has its own spirit that is associated with it, with its own personality, and each is represented by a statue of a fox-like creature that is located at the center of the shrine.
Because of the wane in the old beliefs, the shrine has gone disused and neglected since Tomomi’s grandmother became too old to care for it. Tomomi’s mother had no interest in being a miko and is actively discouraging Tomomi from participating in such foolishness, but Tomomi enjoys the old stories and in a desire to see the old shrine come to life, sets up on the little miko shack on the grounds and begins in her attempts to restore it.
Then, one day, without any sort of warning, the statues of the spirits begin to come alive. The three spirits of the shrine have awoken! Not only that, but they’re also really curious, kind of naive about the modern world, and ohmygosh huge! It seems that some of the other spirits around town are awakening, too… What’s a poor girl to do?
Fox Pops! (Top center) One of the money raising schemes Tomomi decided on was themed popsicles. She even designed packaging for them, though she wasn’t really able to make it, and drawing pictures on napkins just seemed to be kind of a waste of time and effort.
She was able to come up with three flavors, each one was based on one of the mountains around town and its notable characteristics. A stimulating green tea, a lively pineapple chili, and a refreshing cool blueberry. In retrospect, it was... kind of funny how accurate she was…
Tomomi and Yukiko. (Top left) Yukiko is a cheerful, bubbly sort. She’s considerate and carefree, is always curious about new things and always wanting to help out with whatever’s going on. She’s also friggin’ sculpted like a porn star and aggressively friendly, without really any personal boundaries. It’s not her fault, really, she does listen to Tomomi’s discomfort, but she’s just kind of… intense to be around sometimes. Especially near the pool. And sometimes Tomomi just wants to eat her noodles and watch cartoons, come on!
Noodz! (centre right) Now at your local convenience store, Noodz! With over two dozen flavors! Made with real squid ink! It’s quick, cheap, and sea creatures love it! Now in ANGRY flavor! Kick your tongue’s butt!
Yokubou (bottom left), while being the middle sister, is rebellious in her own way. She likes to wear masculine clothing, specifically a dusty old kimono that they found at the shrine, despite her very feminine build, and is rather traditional in a lot of ways. She likes mahjong, warm sake and swordplay. Even when she takes to modern things, she finds a way to do it rather rustically, choosing to eschew Tomomi’s laptop for an old CRT and public access. Easier to have the stuff brought to her instead of looking for a bunch of stuff she doesn’t want to bother with.
The shrine’s t-shirts (bottom right) were made by Tomomi. She did each one individually and they all display her artistic talent and passion for the old shrine. Each one displays a picture of the shrine’s statues, the mountains they represent, and a stylized torii top with the name of the shrine below it. They come in a variety of sizes, though all the shirts are white so far. She’d been hoping to get them printed, but for now they’re hand made.
On the shirt, the statues appear as they do in the shrine, with Aya, the eldest with the tallest mountain, in the center; Yokubou, represented by the aggressive statue and mountain to the left; and Yukiko by the relaxed statue and shortest mountain to the right.
Aya is the spirit of the tallest peak, a stormy place of frequent lightning strikes and high winds. She’s the oldest of the three, and though quiet, wields exceptional power.
Yokubou is the middle child, her peak the second tallest, containing many hot springs and sulfur vents. It’s very active and earthquakes are frequent.
Yukiko’s peak, while the shortest of the three, is rather majestic and photogenic. The furthest north, it’s covered in snow most of the year, and has several cold springs and a large amount of meltwater in the spring, feeding the main river that runs through Tomomi’s town.
That’s all for now. I hope you all enjoyed this little peek! I’ve got more stuff for Yuki, of course, and the sisters. So I’ll keep poking away at it now and again and let you know some more tidbits as I come up with stuff. Who knows where it’ll go?
(Also there's a BUTT. MWAHAHAHA!)
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