The New Touhou Character Alternate Interpretation Compendium!

I'm not much of a mythology buff, but I don't think fertility goddesses were necessarily 'hot' until Demeter.

Frogs are generally harmless, unless you're talking about the red or orange ones in the Amazon, but a lot of people are afraid of them. It's kind of ironic, since Suwako's actually pretty dangerous.

I wonder what Suwako thinks about the rapid decrease in the frog population.

you'll then have a grave in the clouds where you won't lie too cramped

...rocked my socks. I love the idea of Moriya Shrine as a place where you can just chill with a giant albino monster snake, and the grudge is actually kind of fun as a long, slow-burning thing. I'll bet it gets a little scary if they spar, though.

You don't see Kanako portrayed affably in fanworks very often, though it makes sense. I'm sort of looking forward to discussing her now, in the hopes of seeing more of this version of the Shrine.

Suwako mentions wanting to get to the "good part." Did Akyuu already know that she was a defeated goddess, or was she just heading off the "so what are you doing hiding in here?" question?

And yes, that final line was fantasgreat.

Eh, I dunno. For some reason, the idea of Suwako being the "man behind the man" of the shrine seems kinda off to me. Although I can totally see her going up to Kanako and going "it would be cool if we did X, so we should totally do it." Whether or not Kanako does it depends on how practical it would be/how "not insane" the idea is. And sometimes, she just skips the Kanako stage, because Kanako is an old coot who would never understand the awesomeness of the shrine having a robot.*

Also, I like the idea of Suwako appreciating technology, and wanting the shrine to get ahead of the competition by using it. (although I personally feel Kanako shares those sentiments nowadays, but this might just be Suwako rubbing off on her)

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Perhaps the gods only appear to be as old as they feel. The cheerful and impulsive Suwako is a child, whereas the serious and cunning Kanako appears as a mature woman.

I think Kanako is a goddess of technology. In my headcanon, her portfolio goes something like this:

Rain->Fertility*

->Agriculture->Technology*

^{Increased farming leads to new inventions, like the plough and irrigation}

->War*

^{Better technology means better weapons can be made}

.

edited 29th Sep '11 6:12:04 AM by asterism

Heart of Stone

Bouldering footwear is my greatest aspiration in literature.

And I suppose now I'm obligated to do a nicer version of Kanako. Don't like her much, so this will be tricky. A learning experience

I have another theory on that, actually. Suwako gained her childish mentality and appearance some time after losing her power. She used to look less like a kid. The same would happen to Kanako if she were to be put in a similar situation. The reason there's no change between before and after taking over for Kanako is because she was doing pretty well already. She also acts like the more mature one of the two.

Also, since they were rather faith-starved shortly before coming to Gensokyo... who knows? Might have practically looked like Sanae's sisters.

Come to think of it, I guess your writeup only says that she has a reputation as being nice enough, doesn't it?

Well, think about it. Kanako is the goddess of rain, war, wind and PR. If anyone would have a good reputation, it's her.

And hey, even Suwako thinks she's not all bad

If so, she's a good match for Suwako who I think also has technology in her portfolio, being the god of the earth which includes things like smelting and mining. Her people did have iron weapons.

I made a joke somewhere that it makes sense that they teamed up to be mountain gods since mountains are where the ground touches the sky but it also makes sense that they bonded eventually over technology. It would explain why they're pretty progressive as far as gods go.

The difference is that Kanako likes the practical things that will raise faith for the shrine (nuclear hell raven reactor, building a dam to create a secondary lake closer to the village) and Suwako likes things that are just cool (Hisoutensoku, an elevator leading to the nuclear reactor that can launch you practically into space).

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Again, their attitudes towards technology fit. Kanako is practical and sensible. Suwako can be both, and is fairly intelligent, like Kanako, but has no pressing need to be any of the above. So she sticks to what's fun instead.

That sky-and-earth thing, by the way, while almost certainly unintentional, is quite neat.

I couldn't resist.◊

edited 29th Sep '11 11:09:43 AM by Dragonexx

Doing nothing is a choice.

Snake Eats Frog

---

Suwako was marching cheerfully down Youkai Mountain today, her beloved Iron Rings clenched in her hands. Kanako and Sanae were very busy with a strange disturbance at the Shrine today. Nothing too serious, just a drunken oni suddenly deciding to show up and scaring the whooziwhatzits out of the local tengu population. Suwako thought it a wonderful time to slip away.

The tiny god allowed her eyes to take in all the natural beauty of the area- she was at least partly responsible for it, after all- and saw, at the base of a waterfall, a green ballcap, poking out of the water.

Having the natural curiosity of a child (in spite of her being an ancient, timeless being), Suwako HAD to see what this particular kappa was up to.

"Heya, Nitori! Watcha up to?"

The kappa, being a shy girl, responded with a muffled underwater shriek of surprise, followed by a rapid rise to the surface.

"Gl-gluah! You spooked me!"

The blue-haired kappa gave a slightly sad look at the earth god. Though she knew Suwako meant no harm, this wasn't the first time she'd been frightened by her.

"Got your attention, didn't I? Anyway, there's a bit of a special project I'd like you to work on for me."

"Another one? I only got finished with Hisou Tensoku a few weeks back."

"This is something small, don't worry."

Suwako juggled her three rings for a few seconds, mostly to show off.

"Could ya make it so that these don't rust anymore? I know, I know, you live underwater, but surely you could do this, huh?"

"Uhmm, well..."

"Pwease?"

The froggy-god made some of the saddest puppy-dog eyes the kappa had ever seen.

"O-okay then! I'll coat these with my special rubber-polymer blend! They won't rust, even if they're kept underwater!"

"Thanks, kappa-pa! I'm gonna go see how things are with the tengu, now! Buh-bye!"

And with that, Suwako sank into the ground, and Nitori watched as her hat sped along the mountain path to the summit.

"'Hoy, Kanako! Soo, what was the problem with the oni?"

"Oh, if it isn't little-Miss-Slacker! I had to get all those excitable big-noses to settle down, and then I had to convince that oni to go back home to that other shrine! It was awful! Where WERE you!?!"

"Mountain base. Getting my rings upgraded."

"What is it with you? Sometimes this gets to be too much!"

"Hey, I know you; your facade never cracked once that whole time, right? So what's the big deal?"

Kanako was very worn down from today's stress, and Frogod wasn't helping matters at all.

"Sometimes, I wonder what'd it be like if I lost the War..."

"Well, I know one thing- You'd never be as cute a kid as me~."

Suwako proceeded to get down into a crouching pose, and began to hop away, occasionally adding in an-

"Aa-uu, aa-uu~"

I wonder what's on the NHK tonght~

---

Frog Gives Snake Indigestion

edited 29th Sep '11 12:28:32 PM by Pulse

I sure said that!

And now I can't stop giggling.

That was adorable and funny. I liked it. Also, Suwako's childishness while still being cutesy (as opposed to annoying), and it's bugging of Kanako, made me smile.

Also "Frogod" now makes me think Suwako's latest "wouldn't this be awesome" scheme involves her getting everyone afros. Maybe she calls in a favor from the Shinto god of hair.

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Someone needs to draw this.

Frogod. Closest thing I could find, sorry.

If Kanako had lost the Great Suwa War.*

Hijiribe warnings abound.

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Oh wow. The first Kanako picture is amazing.

Young Kanako kinda looks like Akyuu.

Heart of Stone

Maybe I'm thinking of Patchouli too much, here, but Akyuu's name actually sounds like a silly sound one of the characters would make. Unfortunate, that.

I've always thought it sounds like a sneeze.

Heart of Stone

"Hello, I'm Heida no Akyuu"
"Gesundheit"

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Might as well skip to the logical conclusion here and start calling her Hieda No Gesundheit.

That would still be marginally less ridiculous than "Patchouli Knowledge".

I always pronounced Akyuu as more "Ack You" or "A Key u" than "Achoo". That might not be much better though. I don't know how to pronounce Japanese names. Sorry.

Anyway Suwako. I bet she got that hat just because it looks silly.

edited 29th Sep '11 12:05:37 PM by Otherarrow

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'Kanako, check out my new hat!'

'You look ridiculous. Take it off.'

'No.'

Heart of Stone

Fair point.

And then there's Suika, who goes by Watermelon Breath for no readily apparent reason.