The New New Touhou Character Alternate Interpretation Compendium

Can a spirit be punished for refusing to pass on for long enough or do they have Carte Blanche since they already proved themselves unwilling and got away with it?

If a human tried to exorcise Tojiko they'd better do it from inside a faraday cage or something.

When I think of Tojiko I like to think of that one member of any team that just constantly mutters a string of sarcastic comments under their breath every time they get an order, complains bitterly and then proceeds to follow the order to the letter.

Basically more of a grumpy spirit than a vengeful one nowadays. A ghostly Knightin Sour Armor, bitter enough to be slightly cynical about (eternal) life and her lack of it but still believes in Miko enough to stand in our protagonist's way.

edited 11th Jun '15 9:55:17 AM by Shiroimahotsukai

Ghosts are youkai. Their entire job is to fight back against the natural order. Eiki approves of youkai following their purpose. What's good and what's evil is relative to what you are. Tigers are supposed to kill people, people are not supposed to kill each other.

edited 11th Jun '15 10:15:40 AM by Clarste

I don't believe in outsourcing murder to tigers.

We're so much better at it.

It is also illegal to solicit tiger assassins.

That's why I want to hang a sign around every tiger that says 'no solicitations'

And by "I" I mean "a brave volunteer"

Tojiko must be very kind to not hold any grudges against Futo. Even if the result was an improvement for Tojiko, Futo did try to destroy her. Yet here they are, sitting and working together. I'd really love to learn more about her.

Also, she's Miko's wife. One of them.

It's possible that "dying" gave her a different perspective on everything, I guess.

Also, the look on Futo's face must have been priceless.

Oh lawdy. Miko is practically shouting at Futo for murdering a comrade, the poor little psycho is in tears, then Tojiko pops up, screaming in rage from her betrayal. Futo screams, and starts spraying fire, and then Miko screams, trying to calm Futo down, then Seiga barges in-

A Reactive Continuous Scream studded with pyrotechnics, in other words.

...Wait, did the Taoists just wake up in time for Ten Desires? Like, did they discover Tojiko's condition the very night the protagonist encountered them? Guess Miko got everyone to settle down right quick, then. Or word that an intruder was attacking forced them to sort things out later.

So Yuuka and hermits living too long is bad, but shedding your meat and lingering as a ghost indefinitely is fine. Huh.

Hmm, nothing for "toyosatomimi_no_miko + pimp," but one result for "toyosatomimi_no_miko + harem."

So living too long is a crime yet being a ghost creature thing is legal?

Well, it's not "living," is it?

I mean, it is, but it isn't.

Maybe it's a resources thing i.e. Living too long uses more valuable resources than needed but merely continuing to exist is really environmentally friendly.

So if your planning on sticking around indefinitely the powers that be would prefer you do it as an incorporeal (or semi-corporeal if you're lucky) entity.

Haha, if it's a matter of resources or energy, that kind of implies that she spits in the face of entropy! I mean, I have to imagine being a lightning-spewing vengeance monster uses more energy than a human body, for instance.

I think it is more of a Shinto(?) or Buddhist(?) thing but it could be entropy. Tojiko is kind of a ghost and she sticks around too long for the Celestial Bureaucracy's tastes.

Whoa, just had a real tinfoil moment. What if Tojiko wasn't a sort of homage to Mima, but is Mima? Like her ghost amnesia wore off and she remembered she's actually a Taoist noblewoman from classical Japan, and the bloody knife she had in her first appearance was what Futo used to sabotage her resurrection.

It's a stretch, and would mean that Mima cast aside her temperament and magic style once she remembered who she was, but I'm sure there's been weirder shaky trees.

Maybe not grumpy, but prickly? Like she's not particularly mad about Futo murdering her, and she doesn't mind being a ghost so she's not much of a vengeful spirit these days. She just doesn't pull any punches.

But yeah, she has an important role in the Taoism Trio. Futo gets to be the childish, impulsive one, so Tojiko has to play the part of the reliable if acerbic teammate who gets things done instead of freaking out and burning things. And Miko gets to be the voice of reason when the others conflict.

Ooh, a thought - Tojiko's coarse nature isn't usually what you'd associate with someone matched with a crown prince. But in this case it makes perfect sense, the prince is someone who can listen to someone's true desires and would know if they're lying about anything. The fact that this Soga woman is blunt but honest might prove attractive to a ruler who had to deal with court intrigue all the time.

Not terribly impressed with Tojiko's fanart, which is to say I only have sixty or so pieces to share as opposed to around a hundred.

Profile
Portrait
She's got the power
Sharp and stark
Unamused
Unamused and chibi
Sometimes it sucks being the straight-laced center surrounded by wackiness
Ghost feets
Can't tell if she's dead yet in this one
Clever use of ofuda
Gensokyo, where ancient feuds never die
This raises a lot of questions
Miko can pull off Manly Tears pretty well for a lady
Whatever floats your boat, Futo
Ghost on a bridge
Handsome lady
Archer
Is she trying to do the Ben Franklin thing?
I like the samurai armor, but I'm not sure it's accurate for their home time period
Persona!
Creepy
Aggro
Vengeful ghost
Leave it to her, crown prince
Confident
Enjoying herself
Coup de grace
Subtly intimidating, I like it
A novel experience, floating in a thunderstorm
So Terajin seems to like Tojiko a lot and likes to draw her kinda badass
Unless she's adorable
Or a horse
Once upon a time in ancient Japan
Cosmic flower
Sharing a song
Open sesame?
Fire and thunder!
It's "Ancient Noblewoman Appreciation Day" at Mystia's stall
Did you have to go with a gut wound, Futo?
I guess if Mokou and Kaguya's murders don't stop shippers...
Crown Prince Carry
My instinctual reaction was to apologize
Just belatedly noticed the eclipse
Not vengeful at all
And this is why Yoshika is still dead
Ghost rider
Jackasses
Don't question why the ghost is sweating too
I guess you could say she's (sunglasses) green energy.
She could easily moonlight as a traffic controller
Gardening
Lots of Tojiko
One way to answer the question

You know if Miko is The Kirk, then who would the The Mc Koy and the Spock of the trio?

Hm, I think Tojiko fits the Spock category well. At least, I think she's quite serious and rational. At least more than Futo, I guess.

Thunder comes in different forms.

Curious Halls
Piano Mausoleum
Mausoleum Dreamer
Mausoleum's Reverberating Soul
Relaxation Hall
Mausoleum of Funk
Party Hall
Mausoleum Defender
Rock of Aged Mausoleum
Mausoleum Overture
Mausoleum of Love
Historical Monument

So she's the Spock because she's calmer and more rational... than Futo.

You know, it's amazing that Japan survived the Touhou version of this bunch.

So, a thought I just had upon reading this. What if it's all an act? That Tojiko really is super-steamed and angry about this... and her way of exacting her vengeance is by making her murderer look all the more foolish.

"Angry? Why would I be angry about being killed? Being dead is awesome! Sabotaging me is the best thing you ever could have done for me." Perhaps with a bit of "It sure is a good thing you suck at everything or you might have actually gotten rid of me" implied.

So, passive aggressive, kinda. After all, What good would merely killing Futo do? It'd probably put her on Miko's bad side, and then Futo would be able to move on. Then where would Tojiko be? No, far better to just make Futo's life terrible. And hey, great thing? She doesn't need to worry about Futo dying. Tojiko can just make Futo's life an unending torment. It's so much more fun inflicting one than suffering one. Hence Tojiko's relative good mood.

With this interpretation, you can probably guess who suggested to Futo that she use the 9 plates legend for ULIL. You know, the one that doesn't really fit in and makes her look a bit silly/ a spoilsport for even bringing it to the table?

So... yeah. Maybe Tojiko's not over her grudge at all... everyone just thinks she is because she says so. (possible exception Miko who just doesn't care because honestly it keeps them out of her hair while she focuses on more important things.)

Tewi, maybe, but I think Momiji's a fair bit less relevent.

I wonder if yuuka's age is a comment more on the whole 'flowers are beautiful because they're transient' idea. She's a flower youkai so it's wrong for her to be so enduring. She's not filling her cast role.

Becoming a ghost is alright; you've just changed sides. Reimu's hate against astrologer-youkai-guy seems more a gensokyo thing than a Ministry thing. Probably for something along these lines; the ministry won't punish 'traitors' so its up to her. If it was Yukari's idea that switching sides was a no-no, (which is likely) that could do a lot to explain her dislike of Shikieiki.

edited 14th Jun '15 10:16:21 PM by Antimatter625

Tojiko is "a person who stands next to Miko, sometimes". You could cut her out of the story entirely and lose nothing whatsoever. In fact, that's exactly what people are complaining about right now. She's not important at all, which is clashing with your feeling that she should be important.

By contrast, Momiji represents "the tengu are guarding this mountain closely, they're a bit xenophobic". She gets cameos in SoPM when they're talking about the cable car. She is Youkai Mountain, in a way that Aya definitely isn't. She represents the chaos caused by Kanako's arrival and the force Kanako must fight against. Take her out and that's totally faceless. Which, to be fair, ZUN isn't exactly against doing.

To put it in perspective, Yorihime isn't in charge of the moon either, she's just a gate guard. That doesn't mean she's not important to SSiB: the existence of a gate guard is itself important.

edited 14th Jun '15 10:22:12 PM by Clarste

Ah, you were speaking in the sort of... meta-narrative?

While I was leaning more towards... well, like you said, thinking she ought to be important, considering who she is vs. who Momiji is.

Momiji's more or less random mook white wolf tengu #8. Like Nitori (only slightly less) she's been chosen to represent a larger population, but (probably also like Nitori), she's not an especially important representative.

Tojiko is one of Miko's close circle. One of Miko's closest circle. Which, if nothing else, makes her a way to try and get a hold of Miko. She's certainly a satellite character to Miko, and how is Miko supposed to keep her tides regular without proper satellites?

So yeah... it seems like Tojiko should be more relevant than she is, I suppose.

know I barely forgot about Tojiko but Clarste did have a point about her being surprisingly inconsequential to the series. You could characterize as a random Miko follwer and it wouldn't the plot in the slightest. I am in the camp that she should more important than that.

To be honest, I think of her as Follower B. She's Futo who's not Futo.

Miko's followers are Team-Killer, Team-Killed, Team-Killed-a-Long-Time-Ago aaaaaaand Eagle Two.

Look, you build your conspiracy to create an undying absolute government with the tools you have available.

...Wow, that's kind of sad. And leads to Durazno's point that

and makes it less surprising that Miko et al reigned during a time of civil and religious conflict. Makes me wonder what the last of the Ashikaga shoguns were up to behind closed doors...

This is appealingly twisted. I like the irony that she's having so much fun pursuing her grudge in her own passive-aggression fashion that she's having trouble maintaining it.

This is appealingly clever. Though the only caveat is that while we know that Yuuka has power over flowers, we're not sure that she's actually a youkai of flowers. Ah, but we should probably save this for the Yuuka discussion.