Presadhereno - "my hobbies include thinking myself into a rut and caffeinated writing frenzies"

[Presadhereno]

I've joined this forum for the following reasons:

  1. I am a chronic lurker, however this forum seems much simpler and smaller than others I browse, so
  I wish to utilize it in order to get more comfortable with posting.

  2. Despite haven been a Touhou fan for 2 years, I've yet to directly engage with the community whatsoever.
  I've always felt that the essence of Touhou was in its community, and thus I feel that being so detached from
  it has greatly diluted by appreciation for it.

  3. I generally just don't have many people to talk to. I departed from my previous online friend group a while ago,
  but I've grown much more reserved than when I first met them, so my efforts to attain a new one have been impeded.

My primary interest is in philosophy, with history as a close second. My interest in philosophy, to me, is simply a reflection
of a very holistic range of interests. I could say that I'm interested in biology, mathematics, and engineering, but I don't 
feel I have enough real knowledge or motivation to learn these subjects to really state that. Rather, I deem them a subject of
my "philosophizing". When it comes to philosophy itself, I'm particularly interested in ethics and society, and occasionally dabble in epistemology and ontology.
My only real hobby is thinking way too hard about everything ever, and then barfing it all up in incomprehensible walls of text with no regard for the
reader whatsoever. 

Edited May 12, 2024 by Presadhereno

[Presadhereno]

If a large amount of my early posts seem poorly measured (as I have just now painfully realized they are), that is precisely what I'm attempting to work on.

[ReisenFanatic17]

*inhale*

HI!!!!

OMG A NEW MEMBER!!!!

I HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT TIME!!!!!

WOOHOO!!!!!

[kymoh]

Hi, welcome!

I'm also relatively new (?) but I can say this is definitely a great place.

Everybody is nice and supportive, not to mention super creative.

Have fun :)

 

By the way, who's your favorite character? When you say you're a lurker I imagine Yukari haha

[Presadhereno]

4 hours ago, kymoh said:

By the way, who's your favorite character? When you say you're a lurker I imagine Yukari haha

My understanding of characters is typically very surface-level and informed primarily by the fanon (I'm interested in Touhou primarily through an appreciation for fanworks), so I'm not sure how accurately I can answer this question, but I do like Suika quite a bit. She's a being of pure whimsy - the polar opposite of me - and even as a fictional character I find her personality somewhat infectious. I like her enough that I've contemplated buying a figure of her

The character to whom I feel most akin is probably Yuuka, at least in her fanon depiction (I'm not sure how accurate this is to the canon).
She's a somewhat enigmatic character, exhibiting a variety of behaviors whose origins are all seemingly contradictory to each other.
I believe I am much the same. My values and beliefs are hardly straight-forward and thus I don't feel I fit into any easily identifiable archetype, 
and my behavior often has roots which are not immediately evident to most.

Edited May 18, 2024 by Presadhereno

[kymoh]

Interesting! I don't know many people that love a character opposite of themselves.

 

Now I wonder, do you think you could get along with Suika if she were real, or is it more of a admiring point of view? (Kind of just thinking to myself here, you don't have to answer). I sometimes hear how it's beneficial to have opposite partnerships in which each person perfectly compensates the others' shortcomings.

In addition, do you ever catch yourself imitating her a little bit? We all know those people that get their entire personality off of their favorite characters XD. But I'm curious if that effect ever applies to an "opposite" like you.

 

Also, about Yuuka.

I'm in the same state as you in terms of touhou knowledge, but I've just read through some of her (PC-98) lines and got somewhat of an understanding of her personality.

She seems like a cruel and scary person, and always talks with a touch of humour. Aside from her infamous "genocide is just another game" quote, she has several random funny lines such as when talking to Alice in Mystic Square: "It's been a long time indeed" "By the way, who were you again?"

Combined with her overwhelming strength, in my opinion has her painted more as a "bored god" character. Basically a powerful being that chills out alone, occasionally getting entertainment out of fighting others. This conclusion may also explain behavior that seems contradictory. What do you think? Does this sound fitting to you?

(If you want to look at the quotes: https://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/Highly_Responsive_to_Quotes)

 

P.S. Your word choice/sentence structure made me laugh a bit :)

"...exhibiting a variety of behaviors whose origins are all seemingly contradictory to each other" Makes you sound like Sherlock Holmes haha

Edited May 18, 2024 by kymoh
grammar error + extra sentence

[Presadhereno]

8 hours ago, kymoh said:

Now I wonder, do you think you could get along with Suika if she were real, or is it more of a admiring point of view?

My fondness of her is mostly out of admiration.

8 hours ago, kymoh said:

In addition, do you ever catch yourself imitating her a little bit?

Not at all, really

8 hours ago, kymoh said:

She seems like a cruel and scary person

Is there really any evidence for her cruelty, though? That was the point I was trying to make; she presents herself as
scary and cruel in quotes and whatnot but she's in actuality perfectly moral, none of her actions are born of true malice.
She maintains a threatening aura merely as an unorthodox yet highly effective method to ensure the protection of her
garden, and while she is a bit of a troll I don't think it's typically the sole motivation behind her behavior.
According to the Touhou Wiki, she's also perfectly capable of friendly interaction:

"she also tends to visit the Human Village and comes off as fairly polite, in addition to often appearing at the Hakurei Shrine on peaceful terms"

I interpret Yuuka as an ultimately harmless being who simply holds strong and unconventional desires, utilizing equally strong and unconventional methods
to ensure that others respect them. It is this facet specifically of Yuuka's personality to which I strongly relate. 

 

8 hours ago, kymoh said:

P.S. Your word choice/sentence structure made me laugh a bit :)

 

Yeah, I have a tendency to write more technically than is appropriate. This may be attributable to the fact that
I'm not an avid reader whatsoever, only reading non-fiction occasionally. I have no sense for how language naturally
flows, my writing is primarily concerned with expressing individual concepts as clearly as possible without reference
to the rest of the sentence/paragraph. It often takes quite a while to write as my meaning is conveyed more by specific
word choice than the general context. I revise most individual sentences multiple times before I proceed in the
process of writing.    
      

[Nyoko]

First of all, welcome to the Moriya Shrine, tea is on your left and coffee is on your right.

As a fellow lurker, at least most of the time, I understand your problems with posting. I do not want to convey more information about myself than is strictly necessary and even one step out of bounds would require rewriting an entire paragraph to avoid that problem. Yet I believe there are two (correct) solutions to this dilemma: work fast as if you have just drank a can of coffee or work meticulously slow like you're drinking tea. I tend to choose the latter option, as I find about the same amount comfort in each of the small steps of writing as the big finale of the process.

Something tells me we're going to enjoy each other's company, as our interests mostly align. It is just that I use a lot more comparisons and idioms in my sometimes imposing walls of text that likens more to spinning the water in the tea than drinking it. It's basically does nothing to the flavour but makes it tastier to some people. Even when people drown in the sea of idioms and comparisons I prepare, they usually arrive at the destination I want them to arrive to... Or at least I think that is the case and they did not just guess correctly all those times.

Don't worry about how you write, as it is a type of accent that would be a shame to see disappear into the eternal void of getting demonized out of existence itself. Even if it does not read as fluently as "when it rains and the sun shines there is a fair going on in Hell" (Dutch idiom translated into English for your convenience) it still has a charm in and of itself.

My own read on Yuuka, the limited knowledge that I own of her, is about the same as yours: someone caring for something so much she has essentially shunned any other interest of hers to protect that one thing she holds sacred above all else. A truly kind person who uses an aura of death around her to protect those she wants to associate with. At least, that interpretation is one I find most correct from having played through the story mode of the Prismriver in PoFV.

So please, enjoy yourself, relax, drink some tea and watch the cherry blossoms bloom in a week or two.