Touhou

Oh, this is pretty nice actually. Someone mixed Fragrant Plants and Dancing Water Spray, and I swear they're basically two halves of the same song.

Hey Major Tom hey hey hey.

You could link this next time. Or perhaps even better, this. This one won't stop linking to the latest Finnish 4koma even after 16 more updates! Oh man! disregard this, NSFW ads suck cocks!

I'm also happy about the idea of Genbu Marsh seeing more use! I thought it sounded really cool from its description in Mokou's story!

I'm less happy about being woken up by my dying cellphone and being too nervous to go back to sleep for a while still, but I do appear to be suddenly popular on the tumblrs so it's like okay, uh, neat, I'd still like to sleep, though. Maybe not for 20 hours. Maybe a bit less.

That is pretty nice but dammit I just accidentally closed the video to edit this post. I will blame this on you because I can.

edited 27th Apr '12 6:36:45 PM by Fawriel

^Second link has ads and is therefore off-limits

Oh, does it. I didn't know, haha.

In terms of things that have text that need translation on them, it is better to link to a pool page if it is in a pool. Posting the pixiv link lets us all go "oooooo, those sure are some nice pictures with untranslated words all over it."

And in other news, extremely classy Cirno is extremely classy.

holy shit look at all that swag

I like the monocle.

Kumoi Ichirin & Unzan

Ability(Ichirin): To use Nyuudou
Ability(Unzan): Can freely change his form and size
Threat: High
Friendliness: High
Place of activity: Myourenji, The sky, etc

A combination of a nyuudou that deceives and scares humans and the youkai that he defends. There are many varieties of Nyuudou, but Unzan seems to be the Foreseeing type. Foreseeing Nyuudou are youkai that were originally monks who were unable to see anything but their own feet. By not raising their heads or showing their faces, you can't tell that their faces have grown huge. When they finally raise their head they chop your head off.

I've never heard of a nyuudou-using youkai, but it seems she was originally human. In that sense she's similar to the Magician type. Unzan can freely change his shape. Despite that, and even with the ability to become small or large, he cannot simply become anything he wants. This is because he cannot change his color.

He normally stays at Myourenji. Taking advantage of his special skills, he does a lot of physical labor and work that requires being in high places.

Ichirin's personality is essentially nice, and she shows a lot of guts. Unzan is quiet and stubborn, but has a strong sense of duty.

Meeting Unzan

Back when Unzan was a normal human-eating Foreseeing Nyuudou, a plucky young girl was out gathering flowers when she met him.

From her perspective, he appeared to be just a monk staring at his feet. Thinking "Oh, has one of those shown up?", before he had a chance to raise his head she shouted "The Foreseeing Nyuudou was foreseen!" Which is a spell to repel them. While originally this would be enough to make one disappear, the shock of his utter defeat and admiration for the plucky girl prompted Unzan to devote the rest of his life to protecting her.

After this, her life completely changed. She didn't need to fear youkai anymore, but she would also be hated by humans from time to time. After a dramatic human life full of ups and downs, before she knew it she had become a youkai.

Because of her acceptance of youkai like nyuudou, and moreover her understanding of the human heart, they were converted by Hijiri Byakuren.

Countermeasures

Although they're unusual youkai, their true strength is quite high. While Unzan is protecting her, there's no way to hit Ichirin. So you shouldn't have attacked them in the first place.

Luckily, since Unzan has stopped acting like a Foreseeing Nyuudou, they rarely attack anyone.

edited 27th Apr '12 7:13:10 PM by Clarste

Well, that was pointless. I guess Ichirin really is Unzan's hitbox.

edited 27th Apr '12 7:10:35 PM by Clarste

Sorry double post due to idiotic Internet/ISP...

edited 27th Apr '12 7:21:52 PM by onyhow

holy shit a backstory

and ichirin was a human

biggest twist yet

Yeah, not all of us can understand moonspeak...

Argh fuck Internet post eating...and dammit ZUN, don't shaft ichirin for once will ya?

edited 27th Apr '12 7:19:02 PM by onyhow

We at least have confirmation of Nice Gal Ichirin. And she's plucky. That's more than before, at least.

Unzan now has personality . He is no mere Nyuudou anymore.

How interesting. I didn't think we'd get the story of how they met.

Who told Akyuu? Did she interview Ichirin and Unzan? My god, I'm imagining it and it is awesome. Him just whispering in Ichirin's ear and Ichirin just cheerfully conveying it to Akyuu.

"Yeah, he actually really hates the color pink. True story! He'd rather be a more grayish color. Says it'd be more dignified!"

"And then he made me his chief. And after that we were inseparable! We ate together, we traveled together, we bathed together. Which, uh, was awkward at first but hey you get used to it."

"Oh sure, people would point and talk about how I was evil and untrustworthy now that I had my very own youkai bffsie but haters gonna hate. I think they're just jealous honestly."

And that's how Ichirin became thrice as interesting. She's plucky now!

Ichirin -is- Unzan's satellite character. He's the reason she's a youkai and not a normal human. Her whole life from the time she was a young girl was -defined- by the fact that she was friends with a big pink cloud youkai.

That Ichirin is an explicitly unique type of youkai is also interesting. She's not a generic youkai like Rumia or Yuuka, it doesn't seem, but perhaps the first of her kind. It's also another on the list of supernaturals a human can become.

Well said, Bocaj.

Wait, if you can't hit her when he's protecting her, and she's his hitbox... Then they're invincible!

Also, Ichirin being human makes 3 of the Myouren folk who was (Murasa, herself, and Byakuren.) And actually, it also means -every- one at the temple has undergone at least one transformation in identity (As this adds Shou's Avatar acquisition and Kyouko's Yamabiko transformation, and even Nazrin's shift from overseer of Shou to her servant. Mamizou is a Tanuki, so transformation's kind of a thing for her in general, and Nue has a heavy shape/identity theme as well.)

The Myouren temple is united by the theme of transformation and change; exactly what they're trying to bring to Gensokyo. That... strikes me as rather poetic.

edited 27th Apr '12 7:33:47 PM by Antimatter625

Interesting. Just being around and acting like a youkai can make you one. I don't think Marisa is going to be dying of old age

With Ichirin, I'm seeing potential parallels with Terminator 2.

"Don't kill him!"
"I'm a youkai. It's what I do."

Hm... Unzan with Ahnold's voice...

edited 27th Apr '12 7:38:16 PM by Durazno

"I now understand why you cry but it is something that I can never do. I can precipitate a little though."

Given how little he talks, it makes perfect sense. But then, he also strikes me as being a Norio Wakamoto type. When he talks, it should be impressive! As impressive as his fists!

I do like that Ichirin has a backstory now.

I always wondered what she was. Now I know. She's a non-magician human Youkai who just happens to have the power to control Nyuudou.

Unzan also has character. He went from a murderous Youkai who never showed his fact to a face that protects from potential murderers. The power of Ichirin compels you.

edited 27th Apr '12 7:44:08 PM by Horselesshorseman

I don't know. I think it takes more than mere proximity. Ichirin's life after meeting Unzan literally revolved around him, and vice versa.

Kogasa scares people, Satori reads their hearts, Yamabiko echo sound, and Ichirin and Unzan live for each other. They are the other's youkai purpose, is my thinking. That level of dedication and friendship is what made Ichirin a youkai, I think.

So Marisa's not likely to accidently become one, I don't think. She's still gotta work for it.

Plucky little girl Ichirin sounds like the main character of some kind of work. Persistently makes friends due to being just so friendly and energetic and also plucky.

Ichirin as a Shoujo Genre main character?