The New New Touhou Character Alternate Interpretation Compendium

Well, it wouldn't be that much different from living under any other state. Citizens have freedoms, though not absolute freedom, and the state tends to vigorously protect its monopoly on legitimate uses of violence. Obey the rules and you may manage to forget that your freedom has limits, defy the rules and yeah, you get squished.

Well, she is their creator and goddess, allegedly, and you're describing the way a lot of people feel about their deity of choice - credit Him/Her with the good things that happen, and decide that such a good deity can't be to blame for the bad things. Shinki doesn't really have to "force" her people to love her, worshipers have a way of rationalizing that for themselves, even if their deity is distant and seemingly impotent in the face of yin-yang flinging turtle-riding ambiguously-young shrine maidens.

Or maybe not. Maybe Shinki's a bit more subtle. A puppeteer, if you will.

There was something else... ah! Makai's full of living things that in most dimensions would be inanimate objects, or something like that. Do you suppose this is the natural result of all the magical energy swirling around there, or did Shinki go overboard when creating life?

edited 16th Jun '14 9:39:55 PM by Tacitus

I like to think she got overboard, if only because the thought of her creating something like Yuugen Magan or a sentient rock and going "yep, this is acceptable" is hilarious.

edited 17th Jun '14 5:45:42 AM by Otherarrow

It might also be enthusiasm and lack of control. Like when she created Yuugen Magan she just doused it with magical ecto cooler and didn't realize that this would also bring the earth beneath it and the air around it to life as well.

YM:"Goddess, I've come to ask you one question. Why am I like this?" Shinki:"Oh, You were one of my earlier creations. I hadn't gotten the hang of making the electrical nervous system overlap with something's actual body yet. The extra eyes were just because everything needs more eyes."

Or for the rock... Shinki just picked it up, tosses some life energy in it, then gets distracted and wanders off before reshaping it into an actual being.

Really though I just figure the inanimate living things are just a property of Makai. Like, how Shinto says everything has a spirit? Makai is simply magical enough that all those spirits can express themselves.

Kinda takes some of the prestige out of being a creator deity, then. Making life in a land where even the minerals develop sapience isn't quite as impressive as creation ex nihilo. Hah, maybe it was literally like making clay figures. And Yumeko is top-notch 'cause Shinki used a superior kiln.

Picdump! Probably not going to contain a lot of new art, but whatevs!


Colorful
Colorful sketch
One of them mirror things
Angry lil' doll
Halberdier
Green and white
Purple and gold
Fancy but sharp
Unnecessarily large interior
That a capelet over a capelet?
Having a ball
Rips and tears
Not so much a wing pattern as it is an alternate background
Seems younger in this one
Looks old in this one, and is apparently in Mordor
Confident teenager?
Gray contemporary
Persona!
Circuits
Almost wing-tentacles
Yeah, tentacles
Pretty fey
Hasn't quite perfected her people face
Dissonant serenity
Uncomfortably energetic
Might be flipping out
Luminaire?
Begun, the Blood War has
All kinds of classic
So much red
Working that great magic
Opening fire
Demon's prayer
Queen of all she surveys
The start of an ending cinematic?
Yamato Nadeshiko
What do these two mean to each other?
How 'bout these two?
Solemn
Tired but hopeful
I like the purplish tinge behind her, even though it's in sunlight
Baby blues... which made me realize how often she's depicted with red eyes
Head in lap, doll on head
Christmas?
This is hardly going to make her sleep
So who made the doll?
Mommy fight
Such power...
Fuantei's Alice and Shinki have a strained relationship
Happy Mother's Day

edited 18th Jun '14 10:21:25 PM by Tacitus

I wonder if you could play Makai as a land of elementals or furies rather than a more classically animist setting.

So.. Makai doujins, right? Here's some:

Fuantei's Alice visiting home (part one)

Personal Color's Being, Becoming and to Be

Shinki and the kokeshi doll

Shinki helps Byakuren to repair the palanquin

The Makai army is taking over Yuuka's flower shop/cafe

edited 19th Jun '14 4:04:17 AM by ninryu

Kokeshi doll story was cute, Kazami Full Metal Jacket had some surprising references. Will get around to the others soon, interested in a more Shinki-centric piece. Annoyed that someone else had the idea for an Alice-Yuki-Mai team.

Wish I had something to recommend, but the most I can think of is the last arc of that "Touhou Diary". It's a fun take on Shinki, though.

Well, sounds like things are winding down. Unless there's a sudden resurgence of Shinki, I'll be putting up Wakasagihime's profile sometime tomorrow, hopefully sooner than later.

The last one's so beautiful.

Not sure what else to say about Shinki for now. Independently. She'll definitely reappear when it's Alice's and Byakuren's turn.

Oh hey Wakasagihime!

...hopefully, I'll have things to say this time! I like the mermaid.

Next will be Kasen, YuugenMagan, and it looks like Shou Toramaru! But first, mermaid!

Wakasagihime

Appearance:

Stage:
Tears of Freshwater Pearls ~ Water Nymph
BGM: "Mist Lake"
Theme: "Mermaid from the Uncharted Land"

Spellcard Motif: Water and Waves, Scales and Tails
Spellcards: (DDC, ISC)
Water Sign "Tail Fin Slap," Scale Sign "Scale Wave," Scale Sign "Raging Waves of the Reversed Scale," Scale Sign "Great Raging Waves of the Reversed Scale," Water Sign "Lunatic Red Slap," Tide Sign "Tidal Wave of the Lake," Fish Sign "School of Fish"

Write-up:
A normally mild-mannered mermaid, content to sing to herself and collect rocks around the Misty Lake. Unless there's an amanojaku about, evidently - the influence of the Miracle Mallet caused Wakasagihime to become uncharacteristically ferocious, and later she joined a number of youkai who attempted to subdue Seija Kijin for her shenanigans. Other than that, she's a member of some youkai network that as far as we know consists of two people.

On the one hand, her Stage One status and general information makes Wakasaghihime a natural target for "small fry" or seafood comparisons, though it doesn't look like she's been inducted into Team ⑨ yet. On the other hand, some of the stuff with her and Kagerou is pretty sweet, cannibalism jokes aside.

Relationships:

• Kagerou Imaizumi (fellow member of youkai grassroots network, would-be predator, shipping target)

See also the previous compendium

edited 21st Jun '14 5:21:46 PM by Tacitus

Wakasagihime is a mermaid who lives in the Misty Lake! She spends most of her misty days swimming through the Misty Lake, singing misty songs and picking up misty stones. Quiet and peaceful in nature, she doesn't really bother anyone and no one bothers her.

Well, OK, except for that time Kagerou tried to eat her by mistake.

And that time she got affected by a Miracle Mallet and rebelled against the higher class beings.

And the time she tried to capture Seija.

Anyway, Wakasagihime is also part of the Youkai Grassroots Network....which is a thing that exists. Kagerou is in it too, and that is how they became friends.

Wakasagihime is very pretty and wears a pretty kimono.

I think the reason she isn't associated with Team (9) is because of three factors: 1.she appears physically older than the other members of the group, 2.the members of the group have been pretty much solidified in the eyes of fandom, and 3.she has another (abit smaller) cast herd to pal around with.

edited 21st Jun '14 6:56:31 PM by Otherarrow

I don't know if this is worth anything but its interesting how the first bit of DDC shined a new light on old locations.

The Misty Lake: Surprise, it has mermaid(s?)
The Human Village: Some youkai live near it, pretending to be human.
The Bamboo Forest: Were-thingies just keep happening. Werewuff specifically.

I guess Cirno isn't the only resident of the Misty Lake, I wonder if Wakishihime interacts with Cirno?

Of course Cirno isn't the only resident. There's a bunch of fairies that live there like Daiyousei and Third Fairy From Left and they all play hide and seek and shoot people in the face.

Fun activities for the whole swarm.

I suspect Wakasagihime isn't terribly pleased at Cirno's attempts to freeze misty lake.

Would she care? I mean, Cirno freezes part of it but she can never freeze all of it. All she has to do is stay away from the frozen bits. Its winter already so its not like Cirno is make a warm lake cold.

Because Wakasagihime is just dozing on the surface of the lake, then BAM! now she's frozen in ice.

That would be quite an inconvenience.

Good thing she isn't a frog or it could be worse.

I don't think a mermaid would be dozing on the surface of the lake.

edited 21st Jun '14 8:28:37 PM by Otherarrow

How else would she catch some sweet rays while keeping hydrated?

Vitamin D is important, y'know?

I like to think Wakasagihime looking at Ariel or some other mermaids and going "y'all damn mersluts goin' all topless n' tryin' to get sum sticks in ur fishy cloaca"

Severely out of character, but amusing.

The words she uses might be different, but the thought might be there. "Why are you trying to appeal to those silly/crazy humans? What do you have against fellow merfolk, huh?"

Exactly. Gotta sun yourself properly, you know. Nevermind that it'd be winter if Cirno-freezing was a serious issue. I guess Cirno could still be annoying and ruin a good sunbathing day or something, though.