The New New Touhou Character Alternate Interpretation Compendium

Come and witness Narumi's soul-saving magic through these tunes!

Spell of Jizou
Illusionary Jizou in the Snow
The Magical Salvation
Bullet's Golem
Melting Snow
White Path
Crystal Oasis
Ivory Illusion
Kind Magic
Magic of Shade
Snow of Solitude
A Salvation for the Weak

Aren't fairies nature spirits, how can Narumi help them? Then again, most fairies are childish due to eternal youth so they need a guide.

Man, that LENK64 group keeps impressing. Between "Alone" and "Summer Sky" I'm going to have to binge their they did a Kotohime remix holy crap!

Fairies are childish, yes, but they aren't children. They'll never grow up and eventually pass away, having earned themselves a place in some sort of afterlife. They just keep on living and regenerating, while they pull potentially dangerous pranks, pick fights for no reason, and fly backwards in front of protagonists, firing energy bullets in not-quite-undodgeable patterns and exploding into power-ups when shot in return.

Arguably they don't need a guide because they don't go anywhere, though some like Cirno might need occasional guidance if they get a little too big for their nonexistent boots. Heck, not even Byakuren has shown an interest in trying to save the fairies' souls, unless I missed something.

Of course, even if fairies were in need of spiritual guidance, is Narumi the one to provide it? She may be a jizo statue, but all she's actually done in her existence is sit in a forest and work on her magic. Unless she inherited a lot of heavenly wisdom from her mere starting shape, she's not going to have a lot of advice to give.

edited 17th Apr '18 6:35:46 PM by Tacitus

Any last Narumi thoughts before we move on to some dancing girls?

Mine's that she kind of looks like a mushroom, which reminds me of Masha.

I wonder what Narumi intends to do in the forest of magic? She is a former statute, she has no intention on becoming on a mage or another Jizo.

I'm curious how she would hope to train as a magician if she is, as suspected, a homeless former statue standing around in a fungus-y forest. She doesn't have a lab, or any spellbooks unless she's bummed some off Marisa. So how's she supposed to level-up, by picking random fights with passersby to... oh. Never mind.

Moving along to two women with shoes on their heads:

Satono Nishida and Mai Teireida

Stage: The Dōji Hop and Dance in Madness ~ Into Crazy Back Door
Ushirodo-no-Kuni
BGM: "Does the Forbidden Door Lead to This World, or the World Beyond?"^note This is the Stage 5 theme. A world that's creepier than anything in Touhou thus far. Although, when you consider the fact that all those doors are connected to people's backs, I guess you could call it convenient in a way. They seem like they'd be kind of lukewarm, those doors.
Theme: "Crazy Backup Dancers"^note This is Mai Teireida and Satono Nishida's theme. I incorporated a great deal of things into this song: eeriness, lightheartedness, strong hostility, innocence, and on top of all that, a midboss-esque feeling. I put enough in for both characters, so it's an extravagant song in a number of ways. Created with an image of them dancing madly and eerily.

Spellcard Motif: Dancing Mad
Sample Spellcards: HSiFS
Myōga Blessing "Behind You" (Satono), Bamboo Sign "Bamboo Crazy Dance" (Mai), Broadleaf Sign "Tanabata Star Festival" (Mai), Dance Sign "Behind Festival," Mad Dance "Frenzied Tengu-Frightening," Drum Dance "Powerful Cheers," Mad Dance "Crazy Back Dance," Bullet Dance "Twin Typhoons"

Write-up:
A pair of humans(?) who have been working for a certain hidden mastermind for so long that they've all but forgotten their previous lives. They still retain their personalities, so Satono can act with discretion but also gets cocky, while Mai shows initiative but is unfocused, but their wills and desires are wholly subsumed by their superior's. This may be why said superior was trying to find replacement minions.

Satono's dancing draws out someone's mental energy, while Mai's affects their stamina, but these effects only work when they're behind someone. Said dancing also is more about effect than aesthetics, and can be described as "eccentric," so maybe it's just as well that it normally happens in the background.

Relations:

• Okina Matara (boss)

edited 7th May '18 5:13:11 PM by Tacitus

Hey, I never knew this thread existed. Allow me to attempt to contribute.

Used to be human children. As the minions of Okina, their memories of their time as humans are said to have disappeared and now dance in the name of Okina and do things for Okina's sake. They've become complete subordinates to Okina. However, supposedly they get to keep their original human personalities.

So from what little we've seen, I would say Mai is the clumsy one and Satono is the serious one but they are both incompetent. Mai accidentally let the protagonists into the Ushirodo no Kuni and Satono (who appears to be the one to take the calls from Okina, by the way) seems accustomed to Mai's failings and their master's scoldings. If they are incompetent, it might put some light in Okina supposedly trying to find successors for them. They also kinda reminds me of Pain and Panic.

and as an aside, I find it amusing that Mai called Cirno "little warior tribesman".

and some quotes, since I like reading the lines and between them:

edited 22nd Apr '18 9:33:36 AM by GiantCaveMushroom

So, how do you guys think they actually dance? I imagine some sort of silly gremlin dance.

I mean, you can look at their sprites in-game.

I'm not sure I'd call that dancing.

Like Old Kai.

edited 22nd Apr '18 5:05:48 PM by Prime32

Upon review, their dancing seems to consist of waving one arm and waggling a leg while balancing on the other, which I think in scientific terms puts them somewhere between "tapping one foot to the beat" and "bobbing one's head while shifting your weight from one foot to the other."

I imagine whatever dance they're doing is centuries out of style, so it'd probably look weird to our sophisticated modern sensibilities. Alternatively it might be peppy and quick, more fluid, or derpily spastic.

Welcome! You're just in time for the final three entries.

And it sounds like it's been this way for long enough that Mai's adopted a "variety is the spice of life" attitude to excuse any mishaps, and Satomo seems pretty good at trying to remain dignified when her partner's acting goofy.

...to a degree.

The last was what I was thinking of in terms of "gremlin dance".

I also want to say that I personally consider Satono to have the cutest of ZUN's drawing.

The character designs in H Si FS are just greatly cute overall.

I'm curious about the mechanics of the backup dancers' powers. Mai manipulates vitality, and Satono mental energy, so at first reading I thought they were able to simply amplify someone else's natural potential. But then I read closer and caught the "drawing out" description from their profiles, and their character pages suggest that their powers translate into life/mana drain attacks, respectively.

So when they're charging up Okina, where is the energy they're feeding her coming from? Are they sacrificing some of their own acuity and stamina to give to their master, and is this related to how they've become less than human over the years? Or are they merely acting as conduits, and the energy is coming from somewhere else - such as, say, an untold number of unsuspecting Gensokyans who are having a minuscule amount of their energy drained through the secret doors on their backs?

"Drawing out" in the sense of "drawing out your potential." They tap into the deep reserves that people already have in them. They certainly don't take it away from people. They bring out the best in people, energy-wise.

edited 25th Apr '18 5:49:29 PM by Clarste

Perhaps their ability to "draw out" is similar to activating the "10% of your brain" theory thing? In that you had it all along and it just needs to be unlocked?

I was misled by the use of the Life Drain and Mana Drain tropes on their character page, then.

And all it takes to unlock that potential is seeing the right person do the right crazy dance... or not see them, if they're primarily back-up dancers. Huh.

Well, tropes are added by fallible humans.

Mai Tereda:

One of Okina's assistants. Her dances bring forth the limits of one's physical capabilities. Energetic to the point of carelessness.

Satono Nishida:

One of Okina's assistants. Her dances bring forth the limits of one's mental capabilities. Even if she gets into trouble, she retains her lax personality.

I think Mai is one who marches to her own beat. Like, she will receive her orders from Okina, and carry it out. But she'll never finish her tasks perfectly. Satono will reprimand her, but the force behind her words are non-existent, given her lax disposition.

Their dancing style is one born of chaos. Or just plain freestyle. Regardless, it gets the job done when it comes to empowering people. ...Come to think of it, since they are extensions of Okina, and assuming they never were interested in dancing back when they were normal humans, wouldn't this mean Okina sucks at dancing-*shot*

Well, if they were too good at dancing they might attract attention away from the main event, a major no-no.

Have to wonder, are there other types of energy that hypothetical additional back-up dancers would be able to drain? A dance to drain spiritual energy, perhaps? Is there a practical limit to how many dancing minions Okina can support, or did she not want to get too carried away with her dancing retinue?

And if Marisa had decided to work for Okina, what power would the black-white's dancing channel? And how ridiculous would she look trying to bust a move? Could she rock the shoe-hat?

Matara-jin only has two dancers, so I don't think Okina would make any more.

But would Marisa take Mai's role or Satono's role?

Also, I find it interesting how they're basically like some weird divine version of shikigami.

edited 1st May '18 12:14:04 AM by rmctagg09

Can't give one type of caster a class feature without another asking for the same, I suppose. We'll have to wait and see what kind of psionic minions Sumireko comes up with.

Not a lot of fanart of these two, and not a lot of impressive fanart. Or maybe I should say there was a lot of shippy pics featuring the two.

There they are
Heavier dresses
Super frilly dresses
Mefomefo's take
I can hear the Can-Can
It's easier to weaponize than some leaves
Though I guess you could whip people with it
About to unleash a combination attack, perhaps
Mai at attention
Satono paying attention
Mefomefo's Mexicano take
Huh, there's a specific tag for this kind of thing
Must be cleaning day
Danmakin' it up
Per-sona!
They're right behind you
Girls are preparing...
Gyate gyate
Not a nice hat
Occupational hazards
Mai is now the one who makes lame puns
Cute lil' Satono
A dangerous place to sit
Mai and Mai
Where is your god now?

edited 2nd May '18 5:38:10 PM by Tacitus

Out of sight, the duo dances to a tune of their own making.

Crazy Beat
Tapping to the Beat of Madness
Hidden Dance Room
Crazy Parade
Beautiful Crazy
Galaxy Dancers

Any last crazy back-up thoughts?

Mine's to wonder if ZUN was getting meta with these two, by making them literal background characters, once-human lackeys who are now little more than extensions of their master's will, flavored with their personality quirks. A canonical version of how some fans treat the likes of Futo and Tojiko, Ran, Ichirin, etc. in other words.

Also, their tune is dangerously catchy. I shudder to think what would happen if it collided with Seija's.

edited 5th May '18 7:58:03 PM by Tacitus