The New Touhou Character Alternate Interpretation Compendium!

Fawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! Posting that is my shtick! Now I have no identity and will wither away.

A Bug's Life

While I horribly die of uselessness, what is there to say about Wriggle? Well, there's not much too her. She's a stage one boss. Designed to be vaguely interesting and then shot down. But even without much to her name, I think she's too interesting and rife with tasty potential to just be "Yuuka's whipping girl(friend)."

What you have in Wriggle is someone who is pretty much content with her place in life. As mentioned, she takes things like getting caught in traps and having a poor memory in stride. Like Mystia, she has tried various jobs to while away the years. Unlike Mystia, she lost interest in her job very quickly. As in, between the initial interview with Aya and the follow-up interview.*

Even though her memories are poor, I wouldn't say she's stupid, necessarily. For one thing, youkai have different educational and cognitive standards than humans. As in, they don't get any education and some of them are developmentally stuck at a child's cognitive level. Even despite this, Wriggle was able to come up with not one but two schemes to utilize her ability to control bugs to earn some cash. Not sure what she would do with it but since youkai have been known to shop in the Village*

and sometimes attend festivals, she probably saves up for some treats.

It was the talk of the town when a horde of locusts flew through town, covering everything in buzzing darkness momentarily before leaving behind a small green-haired girl who walked into the candy shop and said "may I have some honey please" and the shopkeeper was so relieved that he fell down to his knees saying "take all of my honey, its the nicest thing you'll eat" but she declined rather politely saying that "one will be a treat."*

**

^{But she ate it anyway because eh, sweet thing is a sweet thing.}

So, that's her life. Flying around whimsically, licking honey off of bamboo, occasionally getting shot in the face, infrequently gathering insects for unknown purposes, conducting a choir of lights, scrimping together a little money when she can be bothered to, and purchasing sweets. It's a bugs life, being queen.

edited 22nd Sep '11 3:05:59 PM by Bocaj

Forever liveblogging the Avengers

The time difference between Marisa's article and interview is two years or something.

Heart of Stone

And Aya only brought Marisa that article since Marisa said she wanted to see an article that featured her, so Aya dug up an old newspaper to show Marisa. Its for the ones where the time period is unspecified that I'm thinking its around the time the paper was printed since the follow-up interviews are basically people reacting to their articles.

Forever liveblogging the Avengers

I don't even know what that was referencing and I still loved it to bits.

TITLE IN BOLD OKAY

MISTER

Oh yeah, I forgot until now: Sore throat <- laughing hurts

Now, I still have some stuff up my sleeve for discussing Wriggle, but since that game about her was mentioned... Could it be that Wriggle is similar to Mystia in that she has several more-or-less strongly established personas?

Much like Mystia, there's the Team 9 form, and the Princess Wriggle form. The shipped-with-Yuuka form can be combined with others, but it mostly takes the shape of either putting her in a romance, or making her a comedic butt-monkey. Then, quite possibly thanks to Tohonifun, badass Wriggle is also a thing, acting all Lord of the Flies and summoning gargantuan vermins.

The character sheet for the game has a cute standard Wriggle, Princess Wriggle and a badass/grimdark Wriggle, plus a... sexy Wriggle, I guess. That one's kind of a given for any character, right? But I guess that, like the Princess form, she might be a product of people reversing Wriggle's famous androgyny.

So what's the point I'm trying to make? Well, I guess it's simply that because she and Mystia are some of the most generic youkai we've seen, they've played a thousand different roles by now.

The most generic youkai is still Rumia, but I'll talk of her later. Mystia and Wriggle have been branching away from the traditional youkai pursuits of hunting and eating to take up other interest. Mystia has a nice go at it as a con artist, for example.

As for Wriggle, she goes a different route. She tried setting up a news network, but that fell through. As of OSP, she apparently is trying her hand at extortion. And if Inaba is any judge, she spends her spare time harassing rabbits. She's looking for a purpose beyond the role of 'Insect Overlord', perhaps inspired in part by her possible friend, Mystia. Sadly, she has yet to find her true calling, the one thing that will give her purpose, something which, as a youkai, she desperately needs above all else.

Heart of Stone

CURSES, WRONG THREAD.

I accuse Mrs. Peacock in the Lounge with the Revolver.

edited 22nd Sep '11 2:31:05 PM by asterism

Heart of Stone

Aaagh.

Could someone link an untranslated version of the page that has Wriggle's "Insect Relief"? I really need to figure out what that's supposed to mean. I can try translating the original word used, if someone else isn't faster than me.

Wriggle is simultaneously looking for purpose while being content with the life she has? Interesting. While I could easily say this doesn't mean much (she forgets she wants more, then much later gets the idea that she wants more, and it goes in a cycle), I want to say this reflects something. How Wriggle's ambition clashes with her easygoing nature. How she wants to reign as Queen over a world given rightfully to the insects someday, yet is fine with being "Youkai #3" for the time being.

Above all else, Wriggle appears to be patient. Or maybe she forgot why she needed to be in a rush?

Either way, I wonder if Wriggle's purpose is to simply lead the fireflies as they light up the sky.

Don't PM me. We don't like being PMed.

Pokemon Trainer Wriggle sent out Volbeat and Illumise?

Heart of Stone

You asked for it.

No problem boss. Done and done.

I'd apologize but laughter is the fuel that powers my doomsday device.

I think me and Asterism just have differing interpretations. It happens.

I think that Wriggle's "purpose", the thing that lights a fire under her luminescent ass, is simply buzzing around doing whatever. She is a bug, after all.

Also, I think its a sign of the times, the Gensokyo times, that the Queen of the Bugs*

is derived from an insect that's known for its beauty and harmlessness. The bug queen could have been an ant representing the power of hivemindy team work or a cockroach representing stubborn survival or a bee representing OHGODBEEEEEEEEEEEEES. But, she's a firefly. Beautiful and harmless. Like conflict in Gensokyo has become.

Why isn't Wriggle a butterfly? Because youkai are still of the night. Maybe a butterfly youkai will be a contender to the throne in the future though.

Edit: Faw, I can't check it right now but I think this is the raw.

edited 22nd Sep '11 3:25:59 PM by Bocaj

Forever liveblogging the Avengers

Ah yes, but youkai are starting to redefine their purpose. For example, Mystia is a night sparrow, and as such her purpose entailed misleading travellers at night so they wouldn't have to blame the alcohol that they no doubt generously imbibed in beforehand. Another example would be Utsuho. Originally her purpose was opening a vent in Hell's ceiling. Now she owns and operates a nuclear reactor, after a brief stint as a supervillain.

Kyouko originally frightened travellers in mountains. Now she reads sutras at the top of her voice. Murasa sank ships. Now she does...something or other... The Prismrivers were created to keep a lonely little girl company. Now they are highly-regarded professional musicians. Yuugi's purpose was originally the kidnapping of humans, but she mentions in SA that you'd have to drag her out of the underground if you wanted her back on the surface.

Heart of Stone

Wriggle's got a lot of butterfly cards, but I think that's mostly because ZUN already had the bullet sprite lying around.

edited 22nd Sep '11 3:42:16 PM by Clarste

Using butterflies as ammo and hurling them to their deaths? Sounds like Wriggle is weeding out the beautiful, fluttering competition.

Okay, good point. And Wriggle may one day find a new role but at the time of now, I see her more or less contentish. She's a queen and not a princess so she won't be singing a "I want" song. She can't hope for something more because the thought hasn't occurred to her. But maybe someday.

Forever liveblogging the Avengers

song is region-blocked ;__;

being german suuuucks

at least i get healthcare

i guess

Reminds me of an idea I had once about the pun that ends the world. It's a pun so mercilessly stupid and so unapologetically horrible that, if it were broadcast to a sufficient number of people across a nation, their collective obligatory anime sweatdrop would fall from the heavens like the meteor that ended the era of the dinosaurs.

Ooh, good point! I was wondering why it was a firefly rather than a butterfly (apart from the obvious reason that a firefly fits better into an Eternal Night Vignette).

Now let's see...

"虫すくい"... "mushi sukui". "Sukui" brings up the meanings "help; aid; relief; salvation" on jisho.org. So–

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaitaminute!

Check out the bottom two terms here!

It's supposed to be a bug analogue of the goldfish scoop game!

Goddammit, translators! *shakes fist*

I wonder if anyone's told the scanlators yet... this seems like something that could seriously give people the wrong idea and end up on a misleading wiki article or something...

edited 22nd Sep '11 3:54:19 PM by Fawriel

Ground cherry! Beloved daughter! Shikieiki!

Mistranslations of Rumia's stage theme, Cirno's theme and the Yama's name, I assume.

I'm still unsure as to which way round Minamitsu Murasa's name goes. I've seen her referred to as both Murasa Minamitsu and Minamitsu Murasa.

Heart of Stone

Terebi no mae no mina!

Murasa was the one who wrote Aya's spell-card comments on Momiji.

Same job, just a different application. *crosses arms and nods sternly*

Minamitsu is her given name.

edited 22nd Sep '11 4:00:00 PM by Fawriel

No-one is going to get that.

She's Cpt. Murasa. Murasa is the surname, Minamitsu is the given name.

So... how does a bug scooping game work? Is it like a cage of butterflies and you get a flimsy butterfly net?

edited 22nd Sep '11 4:00:53 PM by Horselesshorseman

I have no horse, and I must ride. I accomplish unlockments.

Oh yeah, and Yoshika's stage in Ten Desires. What is its theme called? Pretty much literally every video I've seen of it uses a different name.

And, SDM, what would be better translation for your first two examples?

edited 22nd Sep '11 4:03:17 PM by asterism

Heart of Stone

Stop flaunting your healthcare all up in our faces >_<

Try this link instead.

Is it bad that I kind of want to be involved in that? Anyway.

What the? How would that even work? Wriggle, what are you thinking, how would that even work!!!!? I think I prefer extortionist Wriggle.

HAH!

Edit:

Wut?

edited 22nd Sep '11 4:05:38 PM by Bocaj

Forever liveblogging the Avengers

The only translation fault I think I know about is Yuyuko's theme (INK BLACK CHERRY BLOSSOMS, WHAT).

Having said that, I have no idea what a sumizome is. Googling it gave me a train station and Border of Life.

edited 22nd Sep '11 4:06:38 PM by asterism

Heart of Stone

"A Soul as Red as an Oni's Lantern" and "Lovestruck Tomboy" respectively, according to my implicitly-trusted super-secret source. (Not Fawriel, despite what the context may lead you to believe.)

edited 22nd Sep '11 4:07:49 PM by SuperDimensionman

*waves around social security in front of Bocaj's face*

Yay!

Perfectly well, I assume! Would you expect anything but the highest quality entertainment from the Queen of Insects?

Also worth noting: Her stand's sign also has a little note in the corner saying "元祖". "originator; founder; pioneer; inventor". In other words, she's bragging. Haha.

Oh, like that Monty Python sketch! Except inverted!

I'm going to assume that it involves fireflies and a very well-ventilated jar.

Also, that festival is one of the best things ever. Tewi's stuffed rabbits, Cirno's ice water, the absurd number of cameos, it's amazing.

edited 22nd Sep '11 4:14:41 PM by Pulse

I sure said that!