Well, the whole "shikigami might turn on its master" angle came from Wikipedia instead of any official Touhou works. It's not like we've seen any indication that Yukari is worried that her servant might turn on her, we've just seen her annoyed when Ran "malfunctions." Or maybe Ran acting out was a way of testing Yukari's dominance, and some whacks from an umbrella worked out who the alpha was in the situation.
So, any more Ran-ish thoughts, or should we let our subconscious lead us into a new year?
It might be interesting to examine what parts of Ran's behaviors are kitsune vs shikigami
Liking aburaage is a classic kitsune thing. Anytime Yukari has to whack the computer to get it to run properly is probably also foxish Ran
Calculating the width of the Sanzu seems like a fusion thing
Forever liveblogging the AvengersRinging in the new year with a festive cheer!
Ran's calculations indicate that these tunes are safe to be heard.
Still think Tutti Sound does the best "Charming Dominion."
Liking aburaage is a classic kitsune thing. Anytime Yukari has to whack the computer to get it to run properly is probably also foxish Ran
Calculating the width of the Sanzu seems like a fusion thing
Hmm, "fusion." Like Ran's been a shiki long enough that her "programming" has really sunk into her "hardware" and it can be hard to distinguish the two. A fusion of Ran the fox and that extra magical oomph that makes her a familiar. Not a computer, a cyborg! Or maybe her shikigami perks amount to augmented reality functions, like a calculator and day planner and GPS.
Backing away from the computer analogy to look at this from another angle - maybe a decent comparison for the shikigami system is how the Summer/Winter Knights work in The Dresden Files. An already-powerful being gets even more power and special abilities, but only if they act as the agent of their patron. So the shikigami system is an incentive, a power boost that only functions if you follow the commands of your master. You'd sign up for it if you were willing to follow that master, and you'd operate with the knowledge that if you disobeyed, those powers go away.
Huh, that's kind of like how Paladins work in D&D too.
As an aside, this is probably why Chen doesn't have a last name. Ran is only "Ran Yakumo" because she's Ran the fox working for Yukari. Ran doesn't have a surname to give to Chen for working on her behalf, so she's still stuck as Chen.
Well, that or Chen is such an unreliable shiki that Yukari's not putting her name on her for legal reasons.
I think to answer that question we'd need a better understanding of what being a shikigami does for her that being a powerful youkai doesn't. But I imagine she buys the groceries for the Yakumo household. And does the cleaning. And the cooking. And the laundry, which might be covered under cleaning. And Yukari probably sleeps with her.
Because of those warm, fluffy tails, of course.
Welp, let's forge ahead then, the final stretch is upon us. Coming up will be Satori the satori, the Three Fairies of Light, and I suppose the cast of Hidden Star in Four Seasons, followed by the latest two additions to the horde. But first, empty your thoughts for
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Stage: The Lovely Visitor from Hell ~ Moriya Shrine
BGM: "Last Remote"
note
Theme: "Hartmann's Youkai Girl"
note
Spellcard Motif: Freudian Psychology with Roses
Sample Spellcards: SA
, GoM
, HM
, ULiL
, AoCF
Instinct "Release of the Id," Subconscious "Rorschach in Danmaku," Rekindled "The Embers of Love," "Subterranean Rose," "Embryo's Dream," "Rose Hell," Dream Sign "Ancestors are Watching You," Instinct "Freudian," Thorn Sign "Confined Innocent," *I'm Going to Call You Now, So Answer the Phone!*
Write-up:
A satori who didn't feel like the ability to read minds was worth the fear and resentment from people who didn't like their minds getting read. Koishi therefore decided to seal away her mind-reading "third eye," which had two effects - she gained a new ability to read and manipulate the subconscious, at the cost of leaving Koishi unable to read her own mind.
Now Koishi wanders the world, invisible to most observers, acting on her own unconscious desires. She's capable of conversation, but her interpersonal skills have atrophied due to a lack of empathy, and her memory's a bust. There have been hints that she might recover, such as the time Koishi showed an interest in the heroine who resolved the incident in the Former Hell or when she began experiencing emotions again after finding a menreiki's Mask of Hope, but none of these have stuck. On the bright side, at least one quasi-Buddhist thinks Koishi's state is very close to enlightenment, so there's that.
Relations
- Satori Komeiji (big sister)
- Rin Kaenbyou & Utsuho Reiuji (pets)
- Hata no Kokoro (nemesis)
See also the previous
compendiums.
edited 3rd Jan '18 5:14:40 PM by Tacitus
You could work an online privacy message into there somewhere if you wanted, I'm sure. Or maybe the message is "if you're special and born with some extraordinary ability, people will hate you for it." Or maybe it's "if you try to make yourself normal to fit in, you're destroying yourself?"
On the other hand, Koishi unseated Reimu for the #1 spot of the 11th Popularity Poll, and has remained in third place for the last two. So maybe there's something to be said for a little mental self-mutilation.
The two problems with linking karaagetarou's At Chirei
as an excellent Koishi story are that I have to work to stop myself from binging through it again, and I have to do the link to danbooru since it has some non-explicit sauna scenes. But it's still a verra good exploration of Koishi's relationship with her sister, and a great prequel to Subterranean Animism in general. And also the reason I can't picture Koishi without a scar on her temple.
edited 9th Jan '18 6:13:43 PM by Tacitus
Koishi Komeiji:
A satori that sealed her thrid eye to avoid reading the thoughts of others. However, doing this transformed her into an existence that others find hard to remember. Satori's sister. Quite empty and spacey.
Koishi's ability is very cool. It could be used effectively in espionage and infiltration. In Koishi's case though, espionage and infiltration doesn't come to her mind, since she can be anywhere without being bothered too often.
Sealing her third eye also sealed her heart. She finds it hard to empathize with others, not that she gets that. She smiles, but they express nothing. If you gaze into her eyes, there is nothing to be seen, especially you'll just forget what was there the instant you blink.
All is not lost with Koishi, however. She had moments of actual emotion before reverting to her current state of being. Maybe there are orbs of light scattered around Gensokyo waiting for Koishi to discover them so that she retain her memories.
I don't think it's a cloaking device or anything, so she still shows up on cameras and infrared and all that, it's more like, I dunno, you look at her and don't see a person? Just a Koishi-shaped bit of scenery? Or maybe, since an active satori eye absorbs your thoughts, a closed satori eye reflects them so you can't focus your attention on her and forget you saw her the minute she's out of sight.
And maybe that's why she's so empty-headed, since she's constantly toting around something that repels thought waves or mental radiation or whatever, so anything that forms in her head gets immediately ejected from it. Amputating her closed third eye might return her to normal... well, a human baseline of "normal" anyway. And since she wasn't human to begin with, it's hard to say if that would be good for her either.
All this to say, Eirin could probably fix her, but since Koishi is more interesting as a broken satori than as Satori's little sister, she won't. 's the same reason Flan won't get her wings fixed and get therapy. Which is probably why she and Koishi have eighty pages of shared fanart on Safebooru.
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I'm still curious about the mechanics of that situation. Like what, it was such a pure and undiluted source of emotion that it was able to break through whatever interference her closed third eye is emitting? Would any of Kokoro's masks work like that? Would sticking close to Kokoro herself, i.e. lots of masks, have an even more pronounced effect?
You're welcome, shippers. Now, on to the big-ass picdump.
Big smile
Moody monochrome
Stare
She ought to have bigger things to worry about
Mwah
Big blues
Shields up
Eyes alight
Maybe she does with watercolors what her sister does with words
More stare
Symbolism?
More
symbolism
Sketchy but stylish
Escape from Frill Hell
Hearts on her sleeves
Blub
A subtly different style
One way to do it
Something's happening
Veil of roses
A bleak manor
Embers of love
This isn't a fun comic
Trouble's never far
Mirror, mirror
Petrified
One of the few reliable ways to spot her
Something like happiness
Wonder if she has Gollum eyes?
Adventure time
Adventure past tense
She possessed by Parsee or something?
Abstract stare
The fourth wall won't protect you
Scary Stories to Tell in Gensokyo
Toothy smile
Compare and contrast
When the "chibi" and "creepy" tags align just right
koto
inari
likes
Koishi
so
much
he made a video game (YouTube link)
Sunshine and petals
Fireworks and ghosts
Lanterns and torii
Just how long has she been wandering?
saltlaver does
some good
wide shots
The bones, though
Not alone
Satori and Satori
urin makes
us happy
kachayori makes us sad
ario and
sukocchi help us recover
"Two Fridas" reference?
Sisters of swag
I don't think Koishi's filled with anything, actually
I'm willing to overlook some omissions
The world needs things like this
Dancing queens (animated)
An interesting
pairing
Waiting for Suwako to jump in with the appeal to fine hats
A compelling counter-argument for any occasion
She just wanted to play too
Execution
A possible reference to
this weird little story
Oranges on orin
Even with one eye closed, she's seen stuff
All your dango is belong to Koishi
20/20
Improper pet handling
Mmmm, hunny
Learning about your sibling
You feel... something.
End on an inspirational note
edited 15th Jan '18 7:56:34 PM by Tacitus
Koishi hums some tunes. Tunes not known to her, and tunes that will go unnoticed...
Psychology Breaker!
The Unknown Precipice
Happy Footprints
Unlikely Anguish
The Sealed Collective
Blank Rage
Manipulator's Stronghold
Fragmented Mind
Disconnected Cogs
Unleashed Psychosis
Hopping Pulse of Untapped Thoughts
Sealed Musings
Oooh, lots of stuff to like there, from Irish strings to that slow but powerful "Youkai Girl" at the bottom of the list.
Any further Koishi thoughts, or should we move on to her sister? Though of course the nice thing about doing both satori back-to-back is that it's not much of a derail if the conversation flits between them.
There's nothing really preventing her from returning to the Underground beyond the local hazards, and Koishi has little to fear from those. The better question might be how easily Satori would notice if Koishi's wanderings brought her home for a time.
Wasn't there... ah, a comic.

So Ran is like Skynet? Ran could decide to one day turned against her master.
"Fan, a Mega Man character."