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Thousand Illusions

Summary:

"Before we even met, I already liked you, Senku-chan. Guess you'll probably say this is gross though, huh?"

>> Yeah, gross.
>> Nah, not really.

An interactive visual novel game focusing on what happens after Gen gives Senku the observatory, with multiple possible outcomes.

Notes:

If you can see this, it means you have hidden the work skin, so please click the "Show Creator's Style" button at the top. Alternatively, you can click here.

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

Senku
You built a telescope?
Senku
No… a whole astronomical observatory…!
Gen
Working off my limited understanding, we threw together a makeshift telescope.
Gen
In truth, from the very start…
Gen
Before we even met, I already liked you, Senku-chan.
Gen
Guess you'll probably say this is gross though, huh?

Gen

Guess you'll probably say this is gross though, huh?

Yeah, gross.
Gen
Right~?
Suika
It's not gross at all!
Gen
It's fine, Suika-chan. That's just how Senku-chan is.
Kaseki
Oh-ho! Still, making this observatory is really fun!
Chrome
It's not fair! I want to make this 'telescope' thing too!
Chrome
Why do I have no idea about this project?! Even Magma knows about it!
Gen
Orry-say about that, Chrome-chan.
Gen
Next time I have a plan, I'll include you too.
Chrome
You better be!
Gen
Now that we've given the present, let's all go back.

Gen

Now that we've given the present, let's all go back.

I'm going to stay here.
Gen
Got it. We'll all leave first.
Gen
Good night, Senku-chan. Don't stay up too late, okay?
Gen
Once again, happy birthday.
Gen, you stay here.
Gen
Why? Is there any issue?
Senku
Not really.
Gen
…Oh. I understand.
Gen
Then I'll stay here with you. Good night, everyone.
Suika
Bye-bye, Gen! Bye, Senku!
Senku
Yeah.
Gen
Bye, Suika-chan.
Senku
Gen
Gen
They've all left now.
Gen
Now that it's just the two of us, what is it that you can't say in front of everyone?
Gen
A secret plan, perhaps?

Gen

A secret plan, perhaps?

It's a good thing your math isn't rusty.
Senku
You must've calculated my birthday in a hurry just before we left, to plan all this.
Senku
So our Mentalist is secretly a mathematician too.
Gen
I calculated it multiple times to make sure it's not wrong. I couldn't ask anyone for help, either.
Senku
If it's wrong, it'll be so embarrassing.
Gen
That's an understatement! I won't even be able to show my face anymore!
Senku
Not like what you usually do isn't embarrassing.
Gen
Ugh… you're so uel-cray, Senku-chan…
This telescope is poorly built.
Gen
Orry-say about that, but you can modify it on your own later, right?
Senku
It's poorly built, and yet…
Senku
For a moment, I could see Saturn.
Gen
Eally-ray? I don't think you can see that far with this.
Senku
Yeah. It's just my imagination.
Senku
An illusion given by a magician.
Gen
I'm happy to receive such high praise. But I don't actually plan for that.
Gen
Still, for you, I'll show lots and lots of them. Hundreds, thousands… as many as you want.
Senku
…Heh. Gross.
Gen
Right~?
Gen
We're lucky the sky is clear tonight.
Gen
Not only can you come back just in time, but we can see all the stars too.
Gen
I actually didn't look at the sky that much 3,700 years ago.
Gen
Will you teach me about them, Senku-chan?
Senku
Heh heh, sure. Don't fall asleep.
Gen
I won't.
Senku
The easiest to see now is that bright star…
Okay.
Gen
That's surprising. I thought you'd say you wanted to stay here.
Gen
Are you tired from the excavation?
Senku
Heh, like you all aren't busy with your own project too.
Gen
Yeah, everyone has worked hard to build this within three days.
Gen
I'm glad we can finish it just in time for your birthday.
Senku
As thanks, tomorrow we'll start a fun project using all the treasure we collected from the cave.
Gen
Ah, that face… I can already imagine the hard work we'll have to do.
Gen
Not even a rest after your own birthday, huh?
Gen
Well, that's just how you are, Senku-chan.
Nah, not really.
Gen
Eh?
Gen
W-What are you saying in front of everyone, Senku-chan?
Senku
You're the one who said that kind of thing first.
Gen
Because I thought you'd be grossed out.
Senku
That's why I said it's not gross.
Gen
Huh?
Gen
Oh, I'm sure you're just tired from the excavation.
Senku
Not at all, I—
Gen
Something must have happened in the cave, judging from all three of your expressions.
Gen
Everyone else must be tired, too. Let's all go to sleep now.
Gen
Good night.

Notes:

Thank you for playing/reading. If you want to replay, please refresh the page. There are a total of 5 endings, with one of them being the true ending. I'm curious how many replays it will take to get it.

If there's any issue, even if it's just something small, please tell me. You can message me on another platform if you don't want it to be a comment. Or if you want to tell me anonymously, I made a strawpage especially for this fic.

My Twitter
My Discord: @nightmochi
My strawpage

This is my first time using CSS and HTML. There are many things I want to add, like music or more animation, but sadly AO3 has a lot of limitations. Making this with those limitations is quite frustrating but also fun. The most difficult part is making sure this fic will look fine on all devices. I wish I could put this fic on my resume.

I couldn't find any official art of them with different expressions like the ones used in Dr. Stone Battle Craft, so I'm sorry their images didn't change. The game also isn't available in my country.


The rest is just my rambling; you can ignore it if you want.

The title is from Senku and Gen's kanji names: 千 (Sen) means "thousand" and 幻 (Gen) means "illusions". That's why I put a star on the "Thousand" and a flower on the "Illusions" to represent them.

I think a star is perfect for Senku as it emits its own light, like how he created the first light in the Stone World in front of Gen. Of course a flower is perfect for Gen for obvious reasons, but it's also because the first time he protected the Kingdom of Science and Senku was by using flowers. These were their first biggest impressions of each other after they actually met.

Also, both a star and a flower have a similar shape; they both can have 4/5/6/more sides, but a star is pointy while a flower is rounded (just like their personalities).


The part where they mention the title in the fic may sound a bit forced. I want them to talk about it more slowly and in detail, but it becomes too long, and I think it will be tedious to keep clicking to read the next dialogue, so I had to cut it short. This is also the reason why all the endings ended weirdly; I'm just not able to find a good stopping point.

I tried to make their conversation a bit light-hearted to avoid making it too long and serious. There are so many scenarios I want to add, like having Senku confess back or Senku teasing Gen. I love the observatory scene so much.


I rewatched and reread the observatory scene to write this, and wow, Senku and Gen are really just having a moment right in front of everyone, huh? What do you mean Gen confesses in front of everyone? It's like they can only see each other.

It's the same with in Araxa; Chrome is saying something, then Senku and Gen suddenly touch their foreheads together as if Chrome and Kaseki aren't even there. I guess Chrome is already used to being a third wheel at this point.

Gen: So this is the observatory built by everyone—
Senku: Enough about that. Tell me about YOU instead.


I actually tried calculating Senku's birthday, and I got January 5th instead. It's a good thing Gen is smart (and with the power of love) that he managed to count it correctly.

In an interview, Inagaki-sensei revealed that the telescope is actually not working properly, so the Saturn Senku saw was just his imagination. This means he was so touched that he, a man of science, was imagining such an unscientific thing. I really like this fact and had to write it.