pirate girl
You know, when I wrote the profile for these dudes, I got the idea that I'm looking at an endless source of discussion material, considering that we've got three characters, each with a playable appearance in a game, story-mode and everything included, articles, interviews, and on top of that, a whole other character who belongs to them, and three more characters who are the characters except not really and the extent to which they aren't is a whole different analysis again, and... it's just so much!
All the write-ups so far have, as far as I remember, just shown some dialogue between the characters to characterize them, but... that doesn't really go deep, does it? Dialogue can work well to analyze and characterize a character when you find a good situation and a good other character to set them up against, but when you've just got the three sisters, who are already a unit, you've just got... them, as they are, and it's like, "yup, that's them".
For all the writing that's been done, there hasn't been a lot of analysis, and the characters individually haven't been characterized very deeply, is what I'm saying.
That's just my observation, anyway. Yeah, I'm really in no position right now to criticize, and I don't want to say that's necessarily what I'm doing. I just think this whole discussion could be done a lot better! For such a complex issue as three characters who relate to another who relates to three others who are supposed to be the original versions of the three, I think a Clarste-style descriptive, analytic approach would be good.
I really wish I could go ahead and set a shining example, but right now, things are looking pretty bad for that sort of free time. It seems like a lot of characters aren't going to see serious analytical and creative work from me until we spend a week recapitulating again.
I guess with such a complex subject matter, it's hard to know where to really start... so... let's start where it starts. Layla, who was she? What was her relationship with her sisters like? What was her relationship with her ghostly replacement sisters like?* How could she create poltergeister with the help of that mysterious object, and what was it?
As was probably evident, I characterize Layla mainly around nostalgia... an inability to let go of the past. What does it take to create such a person? Did she then go completely insane? Or was she just plain lonely, and did the poltergeister provide her with the warmth she wanted? Was it fake love that she received, or are the Sisters' emotions for her genuine even if their souls are artificial? Or are they, even...
... I wanted to provide my own ideas here, but I only ended up raising more questions, haha.
Funny but not helpful
There really is a lot of juicy stuff for the Prismrivers. Why does one do solo concerts and not the other? How well known are they in the Human Village (the eyewitness section in PMISS suggests they have human fans) and among the different youkai societies? Who on Earth dressed them? Where did they get their crazy instruments or did they just make up the crazy? How did Yuyuko get a hold of them the first time she contracted them? Is Aya a lowbrow philistine who wouldn't know art or culture if it bit her on the ass? Why don't fans ever use the fact that there's a second western styled mansion? What non-music stuff do they do?
Oh hay. Moar questions.
edited 31st Aug '11 4:22:21 PM by Bocaj
Forever liveblogging the Avengers
Merlin's solo concert was an idea suggested by her sisters to soothe the souls of suicides* If there were wild spirits in need of calming, I have no doubt that Lunasa would sally forth with her violin in hand.
As poltergeists, the Prismrivers are basically defined by their ability to make noise, so I doubt they'd do anything unrelated to their music. Besides, being a popular musician is a full time job.
The Poltergeist Mansion is supposed to be much more dilapidated then Remilia's house. Plus, it never appears in any of the games, and Akyuu mentions that people tend to avoid it, since listening to Merlin and/or Lunasa too much causes insanity.
As for the instruments, they mainly seem to be personal choice. Merlin mentions experimenting with other brass instruments before choosing the trumpet.
edited 31st Aug '11 4:38:11 PM by asterism
Heart of Stone
One Winged Egret
I don't talk about them as individuals because, honestly, I don't even remember which is which. There are three sisters with three names, and that's all I can remember. They are first and foremost a unit in my mind.
As for Layla, I think that she was without a doubt kind of crazy. Yeah, she's very nostalgic and loving, but crazy nostalgic and loving. She is identified almost entirely as being a person who can't move on. Regardless of the nature of the poltergeist's souls (I think they can truly love her, but they also can't not love her, which devalues it somewhat), I really don't think summoning them helped her in any appreciable way. They just let her keep running away from her real problems for the rest of her life, and she died wallowing in her regrets. This doesn't really affect the poltergeists though, since they by definition don't really have regrets. They are the embodiments of never losing anything, after all.
The Tohonifun interpretation in Yukari vs Ran was much more idealistic (Tohonifun? Idealistic?), but I don't really think that's how it went down. As for the magical object involved... does it matter? It's the kind of thing that grants wishes, at least if those wishes happen to involve creating illusionary versions of existing people. I think all that matters about it is that Layla got what she wanted. If only in a Literal Genie sense.
We shouldn't oversaturate the discussion with too many questions at once, or only a few of them will get answered.
Which is exactly what I shall do now.
... somehow.
How well known are they... well, I guess everyone would know about them in the human village. I'm still not clear on how many people live there, but it seems small enough that if a bunch of people like to listen to the music of a bunch of ghosts, everyone else probably heard of them, too. Given their nature, only some of the humans might dare to admit that they like the music, though. Possibly the young generation again.
I don't know who dressed them, but I guess the garish and loud(!) colors are fitting for circus-style entertainers. They probably gained the style somehow through becoming... what they are now.
I have yet to really read up on stuff to learn exactly how crazy their instruments are, but if an old object can become sentient and gain a cute girl form somehow, I don't doubt that an instrument can have a ghost.
Some say Yuyuko knows them because Yukari recommended them to her. Others do not.
Aya has a very clear idea of what is relevant to her interests and what isn't, and the emotions that go into producing heartfelt music are not among the former.
Western fans are apparently idiots. Though there is that team of three dudes who upload remixes to Youtube and maintain this website
.
Good question.
Bedtime.
The idea of them being a magically-enforced unit is kind of interesting to me, like to the point where the others are able to follow Lyrica because doesn't even know what it's like to be alone?
Perhaps they could work out a way to go their separate ways, at least for a time. What if they coordinated so that they were acting as a unit towards some end even though they're widely separated? If they're close in one another's thoughts, it might work!
Funny but not helpful
They could be a badass black ops squad.* You'd need instruments of murder though.
Forever liveblogging the Avengers
I'll be super honest here, the reason I haven't been doing any sort of serious talking about the Prismrivers is mostly because I have little to say about them. To me, they've always just been "that triple boss from PCB". But I do have some ideas, now that the topic has been going on for a while...
EDIT: I shall take asterism's advice from a few pages from now. to be honest, I did kinda like this ramble.
Some Ramblings about Prismrivers*
Original Prismrivers, not at all good and happy. Once the father died, the sisters split, go their separate ways, with only Layla staying behind to live in the family mansion. I think someone may have speculated that the "original three" were older than Layla, but either way, if they'd just abandon her like that, I have to wonder if they were as, well, "idealized" as the poltergeists that Layla made of them. On the other hand, maybe the original Prismrivers couldn't stand living in the mansion that "killed" their father, even if it was the only place they ever knew? Either way, leaving Layla behind was a dick move in my book, and it seems kinda odd considering how close they were implied to be?
Magic dohicky. Well, when combined with Layla's power, it created the Prismrivers we know and love. I do remember the ZUN email saying it was combined with Layla's own power. Maybe it's some sort of magic amplifier? (young, weakly Layla didn't have the strength to make poltergeist on her own, but the dohicky boosted her up) Related to this, Lord Prismriver accidentally using the dohicky to boost his own power (that he didn't know about of course) caused the mansion to collapse on top of him in the first place.
Of course, ZUN said the dohicky was the cause of Layla's powers as well, so this is probably off.
Layla herself. Not all there, to be honest. She refused to accept that her world was "changing" and clung to the past where everything was "ideal". When her sisters left the mansion (for whatever reason), Layla not only stayed behind, but she used her power/the dohicky to make new sisters, and continued on as if they were still there. Layla isn't a bad person, not at all, but for some reason she refuses to, or rather, can't accept the "status quo" changing and would do anything in her power to stop the change. I bet she and the poltergeists ended up in Gensoukyou in order to stop people from the outside from "changing" her world.
I wouldn't be surprised if this came from trauma of having her father die, combined with her previous happy, perfect (presumably), sheltered life and her own previous instability.
Prismrivers themselves: Probably oblivious to all of the above. Layla was their creator, their sister, and they love her to bits, but they don't know about Layla's problems, and might not even know about her past. On a lighter note, it is said the Prismriver's didn't get their Prismrivertastic outfits until after they became performers. Probably once they got into the music making business, they decided they needed a hip, rad look to set them apart from any other talent out there.
Being "ghost type beings", I'll randomly guess they can enter the Netherworld freely, even before Yukari started screwing around. I'd like to think once they noticed this, they went over looking for Layla and ended up performing for the ghosts. Yuyuko noticed their playing and became enthralled by it, and invited them over for tea. And thus, a relationship/repeat customer was born. (of course, what does this have to do with ZUN saying Lyrica knows? Beats me. She came up with the idea to look for Ghost!Layla?)
I think their instruments have no noteworthy origin. Maybe they are instruments from the Mansion that they cursed themselves (OK, the keyboard contests this), maybe they are magiced up into existence by the Prismrivers using their phantom powers, or maybe they just bought them somewhere. The "curse" is just something they do to spook/please fans.
This was mostly rambling. Sorry for that.
EDIT: Whether or not this counts as a write up is up to you guys really. If you don't want it to be one, then I'll remove the title.
edited 2nd Sep '11 3:32:47 PM by Otherarrow
Don't PM me. We don't like being PMed.
B Villain
Sure, Why Not? All musicians need some interesting stories on the road.
edited 31st Aug '11 5:56:40 PM by raigakuren
That awkward moment where Kyoro is one of Satan's Generals.
What if they collected cursed instruments, as a way of protecting living musicians and having a gnarly/spooky collection?
Then they could get together with Alice and swap stories about their collections.
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
I can see that.
I can see that too. Even music playing poltergeists need a hobby! (but how does one find a cursed keyboard anyway?)
edited 31st Aug '11 6:00:53 PM by Otherarrow
Don't PM me. We don't like being PMed.
B Villain
Alice: I've got this brand new doll that can move on it's own!
Lunasa: I got this ghost violin that outclasses a Stradivarius.
Lyrica: My synthesizer is from a washed up famous musician!
Merlin: I got this brand new trumpet that sucked the blood of it's owners! :D
Everyone else: .....
Amazon!
edited 31st Aug '11 6:04:21 PM by raigakuren
That awkward moment where Kyoro is one of Satan's Generals.
Then one of Alice's Killer Cursed Dolls starts playing the Cursed Keyboard of Exsanguination and they all hit the deck.
edited 31st Aug '11 6:07:16 PM by Durazno
Ultimate Weapons
So I wanted to post a little write-up sort of thing for boss themes of a few previously discussed characters. Is it cool if I do that now?
Ghosts' Poet
Hmm...
-strokes goatee as a sign of interest-
I have to admit, though I voted for them, I really didn't have much interest in the Prismrivers. I was hoping that the discussion would make me more interested in them, like it did with Mystia, but it didn't quite happen. I know a lot more about them, but I'm still not very interested.
This, however, is kind of interesting to me. I shall make a write-up.
Prismriver Sisters ~ Musing on The Quality of Glue
Because of the naturally occuring cast herds in Gensokyo, there are many groups that can be considered 'units'. However, the Prismrivers are the only ones that really embody unity. From the time of their creation, they've shared the same purpose: to be the music-loving sisters that Layla lost. They spend all their time working on their music together, and their music is only normal when they play together. Even when one does a solo concert, she consults with the others before leaving. They're fundamentally inseparable.
At the same time, it's odd that such a unified trio has such different characters. A melancholy violinist, a zany trumpeter, a laid-back pianist. The exaggerated personalities of three sisters. Logically, they shouldn't be as close to each other as they are. Perhaps Layla was the only reason that they stayed together long enough to get used to each other. Or, maybe their unique musical abilities obliged their unification. After all, it must be difficult to play alone if you screw with the emotions of anybody nearby.
I suppose that the latter is more likely. After all, Layla has all but disappeared from their lives in Gensokyo. It's possible that she's disappeared from their thoughts as well. Perhaps they suffered something similar to Yuyuko's amnesia. The pain of losing Layla was too much for them, so they blocked it out of their minds. It certainly fits with Gensokyo's tendency to leave unpleasant backstories out of the limelight.
Or, maybe it isn't goodwill that binds the group together. Perhaps Lunasa's domination of the group is so sure that there's no chance of a breakup. Perhaps Merlin's popularity gives her so much influence that the other two fear losing her. Perhaps Lyrica pulls strings (what fun!) in order to balance the two extreme sisters. We don't know too much about the internal structure of the band. For all we know, it could be rotten at the core.
It makes me wonder exactly what could break them up. For all we know, they could be hundreds of years old. Humans can become inseparable after a mere 30 or 40 years. It would take something of great importance to break them up...which bothers me because they're currently broken up in my fanfic and I haven't given a specific reason yet.
Anyways, enough of that shilling. In closing, I think that the Prismrivers are remarkable as a unit, though they are insufficient as characters on their own
edited 4th Sep '11 9:17:00 PM by yarrunmace
you'll then have a grave in the clouds where you won't lie too cramped
It's time... to STOP!
Ghosts' Band
An old man was being beckoned to the gate of the Netherworld. An epidemic had hit The Village. The Villiages' medics worked around the clock, and with help from the mysterious inhabitants of the Bamboo Forest, were able to treat the the disease. However, the old man was miserly and refused to pay a cent for any help, he told his family that he was fine; he just need to get back to tending the fields, but secretly he spent his final hours gambling. He crossed the Sanzu River, and received the Yama's judgment; finally passing on the the Netherworld. His family continued their lives, unable to afford to give him a proper funeral.
The old man noticed a strange mansion located amongst the blooming cherry blossoms. He wondered why he he did not notice it sooner when as the gate started to open, and a strange sound filled the air. It sounded like the sound of a grand piano, but more synthetic, fake, yet in some ways better. Each note was exactly on pitch. The sounds invited him to go through the gate, but the old man was apprehensive to go through so easily. He saw visions of his family working the fields, negotiating his debts, eating around the table with his spot still empty.
I solemn violin joined, and danced around the notes of the piano. A thought crossed his mind, what if his family was doomed. He left them with his work, his debts, his burdens. How could he expect to go through while he knew his family was left without guidance. Maybe, they didn't care, they just didn't bother to change their positions at the table? Maybe they still could afford his funeral, but his actions left them furious with him, and they wanted his body to rot forgotten? He couldn't go on believing no one was mourning his passing. Why? Why hadn't the Yama just sentenced him to hell for his actions.
Finally, a booming trumpet started to play. He saw more visions, these ones of events yet to pass. His son grown up and marrying, his daughter regarded as one of The Villiage's most trusted advisors, and though his spot was still empty at the table, his portrait was hung high on the wall. His worries were cast aside. He was willing to embrace death and go forth. He knew his actions were wrong, but seeing that his family could forgive him, he had eternity to start forgiving himself. He knew he had left behind an enduring legacy, but he knew he would not be there to influence it. The man passed through the gate, and began his journey to the Netherworld.
So who here liked A Christmas Carol. Good, because this isn't that. I do like the idea of the Prismrivers being the Netherworld's ghosts of Christmas. Lyrica is the ghost of Christmas Present, she just sets the story, she doesn't actually affect much. Lyrica is the ghost of Christmas Past, using negativity as a guilt trip to get ghosts to come to terms with their wrongdoings. Merlin is the Ghost Christmas Future. Since the old man was already dead, I wrote the visions of the future being positive rather than a world where the old man is dead and being robbed. That would kind of be a downer. I might try to write separate write-ups for the sisters during the next recap, since I really want to try and discuss the sisters as individuals. For now, though, I kind of like this one.
edited 31st Aug '11 7:33:38 PM by Horselesshorseman
I have no horse, and I must ride. I accomplish unlockments.
The Fool
Gee, thanks, Faw. You've made it so that now I have to do an in-depth overview. Clarste, forgive me for borrowing your style.
Poltergeist Examination
The Prismriver sisters are indeed most recognized as a singular unit, a family band, if you will.
As a group, the three could be said to fill the roles of Lyrica as The Smart Guy, Merlin as either The Chick or The Big Guy * , and Lunasa as The Lancer. Layla, of course, is a posthumous The Hero. The sick, clingy, stubborn, crazy hero.
I theorize that the original Lunasa, Merlin and Lyrica were pessimistic, bubbly, and sneaky, respectively, but that Layla's presumably young mind exaggerated those characteristics when she formed the poltergeist sisters, perhaps making them appear younger than her living sisters were, a remnant of happier times as a child. Layla, in other words, is most strongly charcterized by her crippling inability to move on from her norm, and an extreme obsession with her older sisters (note that, despite his death, Layla didn't make a poltergeist in her father's image. He apparently didn't mean nearly as much to her as her sisters did.).
I am thinking that, while Layla's perception of her sisters is the most outwardly visible aspect of Gensokyo's Prismriver sisters, at their core, they each are at least as obsessive as their creator. They were all entirely concerned about Layla's happiness when she was alive, and now are still entirely obsessed with Layla's happiness, if in a different way than before. They made lots of noise for Layla when she was around, so that she never felt lonely, but they now explictly make music, not just sound, perhaps as a form of honoring their dearly departed sister. They still live in their dilapidated old mansion, even as it crumbles around them, never wanting to leave the house that Layla never wanted to leave, at least not permanently.
In conclusion: The poltergeist sisters and their fleshy creator all simply couldn't move from one stage of life to the next. It almost certainly took the death of Layla for the poltergeists to change, and they only did so because they couldn't deny that it happened, and, given their closeness and immortality, the three who remain will likely remain as the Sorrowful Violin, the Joyous Trumpet, and the Cunning Keyboard, until the day they disappear, assuming such a thing can even occur.
I compiled several notes from throughout the discussion, threw them all into a mixing bowl, sprinkled in some of my own thoughts, popped it in the oven and posted what came out.
edited 31st Aug '11 9:38:09 PM by Pulse
I sure said that!
This. Cannot. Continue.
I've been busy! But the answer is yes.
x
x
Merlin
- A basic portrait
- Monochrome
- Kinda cutesy, but I'll take what I can get
- She could probably make it work
- Something seems a little off
- Always smiling
- Almost defiantly cheerful
- Seen this on YouTube
- Wink
Lyrica
- Decent enough sketch
- Also sketchy
- Accordian
- Don't try this at home
- Looking perky
- Goofing around
- Birdie!
- That's a different look for her
- So's this
- Epic riff
- Unexpectedly vulnerable
- Playing music
Lunasa
- Embarrassed sketch
- With a cape
- A rare smile
- Almost dramatic
- Unimpressed
- Concentrating
- In the zone
- Sad music as a form of healing
- Unexpectedly landed in the Badass pool
- An EX form, believe it or not
- Floating in the sky, waiting for inspiration
- Also pretty
- And now, "Lunasa and a Metronome''
as other Touhou girls. The remainder made up for it, I think.
Layla
- Here with brown hair
- Though tradition seems to be that she has green hair
- As seen on our character page
- Did the poltergeists have a proto-form before they became fully developed?
- Their moment of "birth?"
- Flutist
- When you see it...
- The Yukari Connection
Phantom Ensemble, Assemble!
- ZUN art and double rainbow
- Nice sky
- Not sure why, but it made me happy
- Same
- Why would they need physical instruments, anyway?
- And Rumia
- With Koakuma(pl.) for backup
- Merlin's the only one enthusiastic about their team-building exercises
- Think the perspective for their legs is off
- Explosion of sound and light
- Like the art style
- Kind of a hip-hopsy urban rendition, you know? Like graffiti art?
- Perfect Cherry Blossom
- Names and positions, in case you forget
- Quartet -1
Surprisingly enough there were only two or three cases of redundancy from Faw's earlier picdump. Now to get caught up with the conversation and find a way to contribute that isn't linking other people's work...
edited 31st Aug '11 10:19:05 PM by Tacitus
Current earworm: "Awe of the Unknown"
Sisters going Solo - Lunasa
As the girl in the black dress finished playing, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. The soft sounds of her violin had calmed the hearts of the raging spirits, but those who had had the misfortune to stumble on the impromptu concert and had heard the mournful notes the girl had played found themselves sinking into a deep, horrible depression. It was thus that one unwilling concertgoer found himself standing at the shore of the Misty Lake, unable to feel anything but the darkest misery that the girl's music had left in him.
'Don't do that'
The voice cut through his thoughts.
'No really, don't. It's my fault, really. So...please, don't.'
The voice belonged to the ghostly violinist. She drifted out of the fog and sat on the lake's shore beside him.
'You were at my concert, weren't you? I remember seeing you in the crowd.'
'Yes. What of it?'
'My music is supposed to calm raging emotions. But...if you're not angry, or joyful, my music, well...it makes you sad. REALLY sad. Throw-myself-into-the-lake sad. So, yeah. I just didn't want you to kill yourself because of me.'
'How thoughtful of you.'
'Heh. You're not so cynical, are you? I've had people accuse me of wanting to avoid trouble because I caused a few suicides in the past.'
'Well? Don't you?'
'I don't want that kind of trouble. Bad publicity for my band, y'know?'
'Ha.'
'What a mirthless laugh you have. Ehh...my bad, I guess.'
'Your apologies sound awfully sarcastic.'
'You think I'm bad, you should meet my sister. Hmmm...while I'm here, what did you think of my music?'
'Nice, I guess...'
'Only nice? Didn't it stir your soul?'
'Yes. That's why I'm here'
'Oh, sorry. I just get a bit defensive about my music. I work hard on it, y'know? It...basically defines my purpose.'
'You do realise that saying that made you sound like one of those crazy composers.'
'I AM one of those crazy composers...'
'...'
'...'
'..Say something! You're the one that wanted to talk to me!'
'Sorry. I can't abide small talk.'
'Me too. I think it's for people who care too much about what others think.'
'Heh, I think that too. I don't really care for other people's opinions. Except about my music.'
'Is that so? ...If I'm honest...I liked your music. Y'know, before the soul crushing depression set in. You're good.'
'Well, I have had a lot of practice. Hey, how about I play for you? No magic this time, just music.'
'No. No violins. I've had enough of violins.'
'I can play other things. Guitar, cello, viola, harp, balalaika...'
'Balalaika?'
'It's Russian. You look hungry. C'mon, let's go get some food at that fish cart. And then me and the chef will serenade you. With a balalaika.'
'Alright. That sounds nice.'
edited 1st Sep '11 8:36:59 AM by asterism
Heart of Stone
DUN DUN DUN! I put on my serious hat for this one. It was meant to be a story but it became a dialogue again, oh noes.
I may do one for Lyrica and Merlin as well. But Lunasa goes first because she is officially my favourite Prismriver.
Also, 'balalaika' is now my favourite word. And yes, they have strings.
edited 1st Sep '11 8:27:41 AM by asterism
Heart of Stone
Funny but not helpful
But what about the koto or the erhu!!!!!!!?
edited 1st Sep '11 9:16:26 AM by Bocaj
Forever liveblogging the Avengers
I'm fairly certain that a native of Gensokyo would know what a koto is.
Heart of Stone
Funny but not helpful
Then I am placated. Also, I liked the write-up.
'I AM one of those crazy composers...'
I laughed.
Forever liveblogging the Avengers
Given that sometimes they make their instruments fly around while they preform, a baby grand has the potential for hilarity ensuing.
Also, I do believe you win for that comment.
Forever liveblogging the Avengers