The New New Touhou Character Alternate Interpretation Compendium

Not much. Just that they wouldn't need seeds, technically.

Pitless peaches. More peach per peach. But, somewhat reduced efficacy as a projectile weapon.

My final thoughts:

The Lunar Capital. Unfathomably old, society structurally probably hasn't changed a whit - undying divine hierarchy and all that. Within that structure, regular shifts and changes as people distinguish themselves and are chosen for certain positions, or an immortal gets bored and chooses to do something else. Hmm, shades of the Craftworld Eldar from Warhammer 40k. Perhaps the Watastukis came to lead the Lunar Defense Corps after the shock of the Apollo 11 incident, and are secretly terrified that word of the "Second Lunar War" might get out and cost them the position.

Strictly speaking the Lunarians don't need to be technologically advanced, since any society able to move to and survive on the moon before the dawn of history obviously can get by without the internal combustion engine or double-down chicken sandwich. But science gives you something to do, as does magic, as does combining science with that magic to turn an ordinary paper fan into a weapon of mass destruction.

I wanna draw a parallel to Edo period Japan regarding the moon's isolationism, but it's not the case - the Lunarians aren't staring into a mirror and admiring their own perfection, they're actively monitoring the Earth. Who knows how many Lunarian spies have influenced human history, how many tales of Atlanteans can be more properly attributed to these ultraterrestrials, and what mythical beasts of old were unleashed upon our world as a form of population control? Obviously someone dropped the ball around seventy years ago, or else the Lunarians just couldn't conceive of the Earthlings' rapid advances following World War II. Small wonder Lunar society is highly susceptible to panic during Silent Sinner.

They've got a big decision to make soon. At some point, there are going to be humans, full-time, on the moon, and they're going to be getting impurity everywhere. Will the Lunarians risk sullying themselves by knocking the Earthlings back to the Stone Age? Risk inviting attack by revealing themselves? Or grudgingly pack up and start over again on a more distant, unobtainable rock? To answer my own question, the Mary and Renko stories suggest that the Loonies are staying out of sight, either on the moon or further afield.

Still don't like them much. I get that the Lunarians aren't so much "superior" to humans as they are less dirty, and I don't think they're actually claiming to be enlightened, but there's something less than admirable about a society that went through such great lengths to avoid the inevitability of the human condition, that saw creation in its infancy and then turned its back on it.

...So since they're basically hermits/celestials, does this mean there's a Space Reaper corps that occasionally visits the moon and takes a swing at them?

And so sets the lunar discussion. Up next will be Cirno, followed by Byakuren and the one and only Suwako Moriya! But first, two goddesses who are relevant to the lower hemisphere at the moment.

Shizuha and Minoriko Aki

Stage: Myriads of Autumn Gods ~ At the Foot of Youkai Mountain
BGM:A God That Loves People ~ Romantic Fall
(Minoriko's} Theme: "Because Princess Inada is Scolding Me"

Spellcard Motif: Leaves / the Harvest, Autumn
Shizuha's spellcards: MoF, GoM, DS
Leaf Sign "Falling Leaves of Madness," Autumn Sign "Falling Blast," Wilted Path "Lost Windrow"
Minoriko's spellcards: MoF, GoM, DS
Autumn Sign "The Autumn Sky and a Maiden's Heart," Plenty Sign "Owotoshi Harvester," Bumper Crop "Promise of the Wheat God," Fruit Sign "Warm Colour Harvest," Baked Sweet Potato "Sweet Potato Room"

Write-up:
Two extremely specialized, if relatively minor, deities. Shizuha Aki, the older sibling, is in charge of the autumn leaves, painting them their new colors by hand and then kicking their trees so the suckers fall. Minoriko has the more prestigious position of harvest goddess (or rather she's a harvest goddess), which at least means she gets to party with the humans once a year.

Ironically, Shizuha envies Minoriko's popularity among mortals, while Minoriko envies how Shizuha gets to express her artistic side through her work. Other trivia includes Shizuha's gloomy "all things shrivel and fade" outlook, Minoriko's sweet potato perfume, and Minoriko's two left feet. Both goddesses naturally get disappointed whenever winter rolls around.

Aaaand that's about it. The Aki sisters only get to shine for a few months each year, and are usually overshadowed by the other characters introduced in Mountain of Faith. This makes them often overlooked, and therefore paradoxically famous for not being notable.

Relations:

• Hina Kagiyama, Kanako Yasaka, Suwako Moriya, Sanae Kochiya (neighbor goddesses)
• The rest of the Yaoyorozu, for that matter

See also the previous two compendiums.

edited 6th Mar '15 6:37:59 PM by Tacitus

Shizuha and Minoriko Aki:

These two sisters are goddesses representing the spirit of autumn. Shizuha primarily represents the artistic beauty of autumn, while Minoriko represents the start of a wondrous bounty of fruits, vegetables, and ground provisions.

I wonder if they ever tried swapping jobs, only to realize that, while they ain't so shabby at it, they are better off sticking to their predetermined roles.

Due to what they do, Minoriko's more of a people person than Shizuha. Hush now, can't ya see she's concentrating?! Shizu gotta make sure them leaves drop in a beautiful way, and that takes a lotta focus!

They have a good fashion sense and their outfits represent what they do. How chic.

Hmmm...out of the seasonal avatars, Shizuha and Minoriko are beings humans can approach without fear. Well, they are goddesses, after all.

Shizuha's the older sister, Minoriko the younger. It really is tradition for the younger sister to be(if only a bit) more powerful than the younger sister. Not so sure about who's the older twin between the Moon sisters, but that's a story for their time under the sun.

Now, who is this Princess Inada, and why would she be scolding Minoriko?

Speaking of themes...Shizuha doesn't have a personal theme to herself. That's kinda a bummer...

Oops...kinda was talking about Gengetsu and Mugetsu...

edited 7th Mar '15 6:59:23 PM by Diamite

Where did this tradition come from? Was there a pattern or something?

Yorihime is the younger sister and Toyohime is the older sister.

Ever since SOPM, I can't help but envision Shizuha as a perfectionist artist. She carefully, painstakingly paints all the leaves all sorts of colors, then steps back and admires her handiwork...

Only to see that the entire pattern's just wrong! The yellows are overwhelming the reds over there and she missed a spot over here and forget it she might as well just wipe it clean and start over. So she kicks the trees (throws her work on the ground) and huffs and puffs and swears she'll get it right next year. Why do these trees take so long to grow their leaves back anyway? Argh!

Oh, and here comes little miss invited-to-parties Minoriko, coming in with her bountiful harvest and popularity. And she fumbles awkwardly trying to explain herself but it's totally clear she's just here to gloat. And she even tries mentioning that some people like eating fried leaves, and doesn't even understand that that's totally not what this is even about!

This is about feeling! About Perfection! About beauty! And Minoriko may be content to trundle along day-to-day, just making needs meet, but her sister won't settle for such a lame life. Shizuha's got goals. She'll make people appreciate beauty yet, just you watch...

And until then... sis can provide.

Hmm...since gods are born through faith, how do they determine who are siblings and not? I don't think they have parents.

Or maybe there was this one big God of Autumn, which rules over everything autumn. But as time passes people's faith in him/her dwindled and their belief changed to that of many gods of autumn. Because of that, the God of Autumn got divided into many smaller gods. Which themselves might get divided into even smaller gods. Shizuha and Minoriko are 'born' from the same god, hence why they can be considered siblings.

Well, that was a baseless theory, though

I figure it's just like the Tsukumo sisters. They're both autumn gods so they grouped themselves together. (or the humans did so and created sisterly bonds between them as a result).

Well, gods do have siblings. If they didn't have siblings, they wouldn't be able to do all the incest they wanted.

So I can see the Akis being siblings, even if it just meant they both emerged out of the same bit of formless chaos or out of the same severed body part.

The Aki sisters bring forth the Harvest however I wonder if they are somewhat smug about it?

Well, Minoriko doesn't plant the harvest, and isn't around to watch over it through the growing season, she just shows up at the end to take credit for the whole thing and party. If she's smug about it she's undeservedly so. Meanwhile the goddess of planting sits at home in her grubby work clothes, hitting the hard cider and trying not to cry.

I'm curious if they're even capable of that. The only deity we've seen that I can remember changing roles in such a way is Kanako the former human. The Akis may be made of different stuff and tied to their respective identities.

And are there other Aki siblings running around out there, representing the other parts of Autumn? Like a goddess of switching out your wardrobe, a goddess of the first frost, a goddess of...

Well, maybe there's only two of them 'cause I sure can't think of a lot of autumn stuff worth attributing to a deity. Heck, leaves are pushing it. Sorry, Shizuha, but I'm sure a bunch of fairies could do just as good a job.

I suppose these two are disadvantaged in that they have very clear roles, a limited window in which to operate, and their personalities have been fleshed out by official material. There's not as much we can add to them as other characters. But here's my nickel.

The Akis look indeterminably young-ish, but are potentially just as old as the likes of the Moriya deities. They only operate for a few months each year, but century after century of that adds up, so they may be wiser than you'd expect a harvest goddess and leaf-painter to be. Plus, Shizuha's all over Gensokyo during her work, and assuming she keeps an ear open while painting, she could prove and invaluable source of information.

Expanding on their personalities - Shizuha is the pessimist. She watches leaves wither and die, she watches her accomplishments be swept into rubbish heaps and buried under snow. She's watched the rest of the world lose its faith and imagination so that a remote corner of Japan is the only part that can still sustain the likes of her and her sister. And here's Kanako introducing more science and technology to Gensokyo. In her heart, she knows there's no escape, and that she's doomed. But she'll still do her job, and do the best job possible, because that's who she is, dammit. Shades of Suwako, in other words.

Minoriko is then the optimist. She knows that hard work can pay off and see you through the dark, cold months. She knows that while people in the outside world may have combine harvesters and sophisticated fertilizers, there are still those who prefer to till the earth themselves. And she knows that people still like to throw a party and give thanks when the harvest is collected, so there will always be a place for gods like her. It's not the most glamorous or sophisticated position a deity could hope for, but it's a good one.

Where falling leaves and autumn feasts meet, that's the Aki sisters' time.

She does seem to realize/think that she'd be way better at her job if people would realize that harvesting has a whole growing season of business behind it that she could work during. Instead they're like "oh, harvest! get the harvest goddess" And shes like "You know, harvest would be better if I worked on it more..."

Painting Nature is not as easy as you'd think! There's a Red Green episode on just that.

Perhaps, but I could see them expanding a bit. Shizuha growing more towards a sort of muse for artists and painters or coming to represent natural beauty in a wider sense, with Minoriko becoming a sort of god of hospitality or plenty or the like as well. Unlike Kanako though, they aren't really pushing in that direction, so they're going to have some trouble; gods may be able to change their positions/identities, but it's probably not much easier than it is for youkai, and we've all seen the great amazing Myouren Temple of Reformation's questionable levels of success.

It seems Minoriko is a little frustrated that people don't call her more before the harvest. In addition to an opportunity to be social, she'd be far more able to ensure a good harvest if they'd just call on her when the plants were still growing. I wonder if Anyone in midsummer is like "Geez I wish it were autumn and the leaves changed color already." Probably not because generally summer is more appreciated than autumn.... which is why Shizuha's never seen outside her season.

It's possible Shizuha could be or become responsible for some of the colors seen in spring, too. Cherry blossoms, grass becoming green, such like that. Obviously no one would notice her because she's just following in Lily's wake or whatever, but still.

Shizuha the patron of painters seems doable, but oddly enough expanding into coloring leaves for spring doesn't feel like it'd work out. I think humans take it for granted that newly-sprouted leaves are green, and it takes their transformation in autumn to elicit a "must be magic!" response that gives a niche deity something to do.

As for Minoriko, I think she's got too much dirt on her toes to be very domestic, but I suppose she could always expand into being a general fertility goddess. Though I hear that comes with a bit of a stigma - total double standard, by the way.

Now for - huh, this is weird. There's more art of Minoriko than Shizuha, but more solo art I like of Shizuha than of Minoriko.

Minoriko:
On break
When you see her go by your fields, you know good times are near
Those amber waves
Praise her for her golden bounty
What this Minoriko picdump lacks in pictures it makes up for in Minorikos
Popularity has its downsides
I'm pretty sure this ship is all about solving Reimu's food issues
Learn about foreign apparel through this pun
Maybe they go to the southern hemisphere for a vacation once their work in Gensokyo is done

Shizuha:
Admiring the scenery
Stop and smell the dead foliage
Lady of the leaves
Happy to be noticed
Kinda makes you look like a dead leaf yourself
Sassy lady
Reflecting on the transience of beauty and all things
Might've conked out here
Onikobe Rin has a thing for her
Lacy kimono?
Vaguely Ophelia-like
Autumn's mad artist
Fine art
Can you imagine an autumn without her?
Smooth transition

Aki Sisters:
Sketchy sisters
Happy lil' watercolor
Something out of a storybook
Ruffled
And that's how it's done
Um... this one gets weird when you scroll down
A macabre fall wreath
Lucky they're in Gensokyo
Somewhere between glamorous and uncanny
We can only imagine what was said to them
Days of golden light
World of red and orange
Nice landscape
Doin' what they do best
Terajin = love
Haven't read it yet, but the cover makes me want to
The long lost third sibling?
Bonding over being overlooked
The Kourin Sandwich
Adopt a bucket girl today
Alright, we'll move on to Cirno soon

edited 13th Mar '15 9:14:04 PM by Tacitus

Should have mentioned this last post - any objection to moving on to Cirno tomorrow? If not, now's the time to cast your mind back a few months and reflect on autumn. You know, if you live in the northern hemisphere.

Hope ya see and taste autumn through these tunes.

Feeling Autumn's Flow
Song of Autumn
Autumn Fun
Harvesting the Past
Autumn Tradition
Autumn's Battlefield
Autumn Skies
Autumn Pride
Autumn of Majesty
Autumn's Colour
Autumn Memories

If it's any consolation, Shizuha, I think you have the better theme music. And as for that unique reggae remix...

So that's it for the goddesses of autumn. Up next is Byakuren, followed by Suwako and it looks like Seiga Kaku. But first, a figure who needs little introduction...

Cirno

Stages:
Lake Elf ~ Water Magus
BGM:"Lunate Elf"
Theme: "Tomboyish Girl in Love"

The Spring of Silvery Snow
BGM:"Paradise ~ Deep Mountain"

Tears of Freshwater Pearls ~ Water Nymph
BGM:"Mist Lake"

Spellcard Motif: Ice, Ice Baby
Spellcards: EoSD, 'soku, PoFV, GoM, StB, DDC, ISC
Ice Sign "Icicle Fall," Hail Sign "Hailstorm," Freeze Sign "Perfect Freeze," Snow Sign "Diamond Blizzard," Frost Sign "Frost Columns," Freeze Sign "Cold Divinity," Freeze Sign "Minus K," Ice Sign "Icicle Machine Gun," Ice Sign "Fairy Spin," Ice Clump "Cold Sprinkler," Cold Body "Super Ice Kick," Ice Sign "Sword Freezer," Freeze Sign "Freeze Atmosphere," Cold Sign "Insta-Freeze Beam," Blowing Ice "Ice Tornado," Ice Clump "Great Crusher," Ice Sign "Ultimate Blizzard," Ice Sign "Perfect Glacialist," Ice King "Frost King"

Write-up:
A rather remarkable ice fairy who seems to live in or around the Misty Lake. Others of her kind are content to be little more than a source of power-ups, maybe a nameless midboss if they exert themselves. Cirno's played second fiddle a few times, but debuted as a stage boss, and has since gone on to become a playable character, even in her very own game! In her battles she's thrown down with the likes of Reimu, Yuuka and the Yama, and reminded Marisa that fairies aren't to be trifled with. Truly, she is the strongest.

She's not very bright, since her most infamous spellcard has an enormous blind spot that can be exploited by sitting right in front of her, and just because Cirno's gotten into major battles doesn't mean that she wins them. But something about her seems to strike a chord with fans, perhaps her hot-blooded personality, or endearing foolishness. Maybe she speaks to something deeper, a worry that we too may be looked down upon as morons, but could defy convention and shatter our naysayers' expectations.

Relations:

• Sunny Milk, Luna Child, Star Sapphire (frenemies)
• Daiyousei (fellow fairy)
• Letty Whiterock (fellow ice creature)
• Giant Toad (mortal foe)
• Reimu Hakurei (prank victim)
• Rumia, Wriggle Nightbug, Mystia Lorelei (form Team ⑨)

Interpretations:
"The Spice of Ice"
by Antimatter 625

"The Tao of Cirno"
by Tacitus

See also the first two compendiums.

edited 29th Mar '15 8:10:00 PM by Tacitus

Cirno:

An ice fairy whose area of activity is around the Misty Lake. Believes herself to be the strongest, even though there are numerous denizens that say otherwise.

However, she does hold a good amount of power for a fairy. Maybe she holds the power of Cocytus within her! ...Nah, Letty has that covered. Or maybe Cirno's a discarded fraction of Letty's power that has gained sentience, and said power's the freezing river.

Cirno's the ultimate Dragon Slayer. Being an Ice/Fairy type, Dragons fear her every step.

Cirno's a typically hot-blooded and emotional fairy who never backs down from a challenge. She could very well be The Fool. But she also has an alternate form that is cool and calm and she can chill people's souls with a simple stare.

you know I kind of think of Cirno as being the ensemble darkhorse of a series although the same can be said of other characters, Cirno seems to be wildy popular despite being a fairy only concerned with cold.

And people wonder why The Dragon hasn't appeared since Gensokyo was sealed off from the rest of the world. Clearly it took something that important to make him risk crossing Cirno.

It is a mystery. It can't be because she's dim and childish, because the same can be said of Rumia. It might be that she's a fairy who inexplicably serves as a stage boss, but fans have also latched on to nameless midbosses like Daiyousei and Koakuma, so I don't think it's that simple either. Surely it can't be as simple as her most infamous spellcard having that blindspot?

Guess that would depend on whether Letty's a "natural" youkai or the spirit of a woman who died in a blizzard.

But there's definitely something unnatural about Cirno, isn't there? The Yama warns her as such, Cirno's out-stepping her bounds as a fairy, causing too much of a ruckus, wandering too widely. She's somehow developed a strong personality for a nugget of nature. 'course, the same could be said for Lily White and the Three Fairies of Light... which makes Cirno a little less special, annoyingly. So what, are they a higher species of fairy? The next stage of nature spirit evolution? Is Cirno the future?

edited 17th Mar '15 9:14:36 PM by Tacitus

I think its partially at least because Cirno appeared in two games in a row. She was the earliest windows-era recurring non-main character, wasn't she?

edited 17th Mar '15 9:17:18 PM by Bocaj

Hmm. She's the first stage boss from one game to appear as a midboss in the next game, that's for sure. But I'd need to know more about the history of the Touhou fandom to guess whether Cirno was popular for appearing twice in a row like that, or if her popularity is what enabled her to reappear like that.

Like, pretty much everyone from EoSD remains perennially popular, so Cirno may not be that distinct. It could be that as a wandering fairy she's easy to work into later games, so that's why she keeps reappearing - the go-to fairy midboss. And perhaps after a bit she was popular enough to be playable.

edited 18th Mar '15 9:04:20 PM by Tacitus

Well, Cirno is in Touhou 6, 7, and 9. That's a lot of appearances.