The New Touhou Character Alternate Interpretation Compendium!

Well, that just makes sense as an embodiment of nature. They can't be too independent from the world because they are the world.

OK, so I did misunderstand you. OK. I agree with what you mean.

I dunno. This is probably just me, but Murasa and her sailorness has always struck me as a bit more of a loveable rogue (when not in "must save/follow Byakuren!" mode of course) than Marisa. Then again, I see Marisa as a bit of a jerk, and not in the stylish way Han is. But this is just me. So whatever.

Besides, Unzan/Ichirin could be Murasa's Chewie.

EDIT:Blah arrows

edited 26th Aug '11 3:24:03 PM by Otherarrow

Yeah, I think I'd push for Marisa to be an Imperial ace who goes through a Heel–Face Turn because one of her good friends turns out to be a youkalien.

Also, it looks like I misunderstood you in the first place. Aah, fun times!

edited 26th Aug '11 3:25:37 PM by Durazno

It's Alice, isn't it? I bet it's Alice.

Yep. She's an eccentric living on a space station with only the droids she builds for company.

Anyway, how about that Byakuren, huh?

In Genius of Sappheiros she was a buffer and debuffer who specialized in both light and dark magic. In Rumbling Spell Orchestra she's a "dispeller" who nullifies penalties and bonuses to spellcards. I suppose the common theme here is changing stats, but otherwise it seems her fanon "power" for fangames and such hasn't quite been solidified yet.

I like that Byakuren. She is a nice gal, a nice leader and teacher and all, but she has some flaws of her own. She is not that great of a Buddhist, all things considering, and while she strives for youkai/human equality and/or peace, she tends to be pro-youkai in several key issues, which may alienate her human followers.

But her temple is/was also a flying boat. Can't argue with that.

edited 26th Aug '11 3:39:55 PM by Otherarrow

It's interesting that these games have her applying the buffs to other people. Do you think that's something she can do in the mainline Touhouniverse?

Well, looking at the Japanese text of her power, it doesn't say anything about targeting herself. It says "specializes in magic that increases the body's abilities". The idea that this is self-targeting would appear to be a mistranslation, so such an idea wouldn't even exist in the Japanese community.

edited 26th Aug '11 3:44:55 PM by Clarste

Nice! There are all kinds of fun things you could do with that, in game design and storytelling terms.

1. Byakuren taught herself physical magic to become eternally young and pretty
2. Byakuren's magic is not limited to herself
3. ?????
4. Byakuren runs a beauty parlor

Doesn't that require that the subject becomes a youkai?

1. Byakuren taught herself physical magic to become eternally young and pretty
2. Byakuren's magic is not limited to herself
3. ?????
4. Byakuren is the Borg

Just a minor detail

edited 26th Aug '11 3:51:09 PM by Metaflare

The Borg runs a beauty parlor? I don't think they are that stylish. I wouldn't want to get a makeover from them.

Byakuren = Von Neumann?

a bit: Not necessarily. It's not hard to assume that Byakuren's youth magic is merely an outward appearance: you can wear it but still die of old age eventually. My thoughts are that Byakuren had a two-pronged scheme: use the magic to return her appearance to her beautiful past, and become a youkai to prolong her life.

I've also thought that Byakuren's vanity is the reason she hasn't shaved her head.

edited 26th Aug '11 3:54:37 PM by asterism

I never really got the "Byakuren is super vain" interpretation you guys keep suggesting. I get where it is coming from (she used/uses anti aging magic to sustain her youthful appearance), but is there anything else that suggests that she really is just this vain, self absorbed person? For all we know, she just doesn't like being a wrinkly old person with achy joints and such. (or for a more selfish motive, young people attract more followers. Or on a different note, looking old reminds her of death, which she is/was trying to avoid or how her brother looked right before he died.)

Also who would want to shave any bit of dat hair. It is the best hair.

No one ever said "super vain" did they? It's just that in addition to achieving immortality, she also restored her youth (which she had already lost by the time she started researching immortality). What reason could there be for that other than vanity? Surely it was also useful for advertising herself as a powerful Buddhist mystic, but even that itself is a form of vanity.

And, well, she didn't stop even when she could. Accepting the face of death is what Buddhism is all about anyway.

edited 26th Aug '11 4:05:14 PM by Clarste

Byakuren got all prettied up because she believes people listen better when you look good.*

Wanting people to listen better is also vanity/pride.

I just find the idea of a vain Byakuren funny.

Marisa: Lookin' good, oldster!
Byakuren: Oh, I know.

And then they went to the malt shoppe for drinks and after that to the disco.

I think we already established that she is a bad Buddhist. Since she wanted to avoid death after the death of her brother, why would she just accept death just because that would be the proper Buddhist way?

As for her making herself young, well, this may be a alt interpretation, but maybe she just didn't want to be old? I don't mean in a "old can't be beautiful" way, I mean in a "being old has your body not working as well, your joints are all achy, and you can't move as well as you used to, and you can't see as good, etc". If, as someone suggested earlier, the method of immortality she used doesn't grant "eternal youth", then she'd eventually shrivel up into a skeleton without the youth spell anyway. (and that would be, to understate a bit, unpleasant. Although Lich Byakuren is an interesting idea)

I also like the idea of her not wanting to be old because it reminds her of her brother in his final days, as selfish as that also would be.

I dunno man. It seems, to me at least, you really want to push this "Byakuren is a vain and selfish person, and is not anywhere near as good/just as you all think" thing. I do kinda sorta see where you are coming from... I know she isn't a saint like the fandom claims, but she isn't a extremely self centered character or a villain either. Sorry if I am misreading you here, which I probably am.