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Yokai, the spirits and monsters of ancient Japan, and natives of distant Gensokyo. Unlike many other cultures, Yokai have mostly remained the same over time in Japanese culture. With natures, personalities and origins which have mostly been preserved. Because of this, its fairly easy to select a monster, spirit or lesser god which somehow ties to you in your everyday life. Whether that is your job, hometown, your faith or hobbies. I was originally going to make this a 'choose which yokai you would be' thread. But knowing weebs, 90% of the choices will be the really famous ones. Kitsune, Oni, Yuki-onna. And part of the charm of Touhou is how the series can introduce more obscure Yokai and legends to the limelight. Instead, I thought I would make this a challenge. Go to your favorite resource for yokai (I would recommend yokai.com myself) and search up a Yokai who somehow relates to your life. Whether its your job, where you life, etc. Pick the one that seems to relate to you the most, or is the most interesting. Tell us about them, and how they relate to your life. How would you be turned into one, and how would you feel about fitting in and living life as a Yokai in Gensokyo. To start: I work as a nurse, usually dealing with headaches or more serious brain disorders. You would not think something so specific could have a Yokai associated with it. But that's where you're wrong. The Bitan is a beast with a mysterious name. Almost nothing is known of its origins, diet or lifestyle. They are flabby, large beasts more like underwater cattle than anything else. Their bodies are coated in dragon-like scales with fins. Their tails are split in two, and they have horns and beards like dragons. Nothing is recorded of their natural behavior. But according to the people of Taketomi Island, drawing the image of one and hanging it upon your wall is said to cute headaches instantly. As proof, the people of the island point to how headaches are so rare on their island. It was first recorded in 1832 during a survey of the Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa) and was said to be a lowly maid transformed as a sign of an ancient king's holiness. Living as a fat cow-fish-man in Gensokyo is sure to have its barriers. Especially if I would be confined to the Misty Lake and the surrounding waterways. Hopefully there would be a way to the Human Village or Genbu, so I could work as a physician. I imagine I could sell statuettes, engravings and paintings of myself to Yokai and Humans to cure various ailments. But it would be pretty boring with only Wakasagihime and maybe Nitori to talk to. And I doubt she is into fatties. Life is as cruel in Gensokyo as it is in the Outside World.

Allow me to tell you why I feel a spiritual connection with Nekomata, then. Starting with the fact that no two sources agree whether or not they should be conflated with the Bakeneko or not, which would be a Youkai equivalent of an identity crisis. Personally, I subscribe to the game "Muramasa: the demon blade"'s depiction of Nekomata: vengeful cats that drank their owner's blood. It's that way Mina Katt came into existence, by the way. Relating to me, I own two cats and am vengeful myself. You will get my retribution if I think you have wronged me. That is also why I try to not make up my opinion about something without all the information I can gather in a reasonable amount of time. How would I turn into one? Through becoming a cat by virtue of the cycle of reincarnation or just straight up forcing it with some future technology and drinking my owner's blood who died bleeding. As for me, the Nekomata living in Gensokyo, I would be an absolute outcast because of the whole "vengeful" part of being a Nekomata which would drive Youkai who do not have a death wish away from me, Humans are also a no-go because I am a Youkai that eats humans among other things and I can't even be near vengeful spirits as they could actually kill me. My choices for friends would thus be suicidal Youkai, suicidal humans or Magicians, who may or may not be suicidal and also Youkai. Yeah, it'd be a pretty lonely life of solitude and imposed hermitism. I'd be a great person if people would look past the outer shell of me, but in a place built on prejudice like Gensokyo, I don't think that is going to happen soon. Potential candidates for friendship: Kaguya (actually immortal), Eirin (actually immortal), Mokou (actually immortal), Orin (cat youkai), Satori (depression specialist) and Chen (cat youkai).

I don't have an account yet but your topic is super interesting so I ended up reading through yokai.com for an hour or two. :) I'll be posting as a guest for now and register later. By the way, I want to mention that my choice is based more on how I interact with other people in general, and less on personal things such as my job or gender or age. Anyways, a little bit about me. I'm usually the type to fool around with my friends doing stupid things, and I also hesitate a lot with big decisions. So, what youkai would I be? I would say I most connect with the Bashou no sei. Bashou no sei are common banana tree spirits. They usually appear as faces on banana leaves, scaring humans by suddenly showing up next to them. They also sometimes take the form of people. Bashou no sei usually aren't hostile, and can be avoided if carrying a sword. There is also a catch, though. They are known to sometimes impregnate women if they walk near banana trees past 6 PM (this part is less connected with me). Unlike Yumetou (OP), my life as a bashou no sei would be rather unhelpful to the humans of Gensokyo. It might be a bit funny to surprise some passersby, but I would have to be careful not to piss off someone like Reimu and proceed to have all my trees lit on fire by danmaku or something (lol). Basically an irrelevant stage 1 midboss. I would have some more freedom to roam, as I bet banana trees are very common all around Gensokyo. Maybe I would be able to chill out with fellow weakling youkai such as Nightbug and Kogasa. Overall, sounds like a pretty unimportant life but also real fun at the same time!

I know I headlined the Original Characters Anonymous with a character I had a name, backstory and lore for. But Hope Black I never actually set up any spellcards for. Which is odd; the ttrpg I made her for is meant to imitate a bullethell. But I never got far enough to plan that out. I have an idea she would throw her wood hatchets during the fight. These would manifest as two spinning axes, which could either spin forward or bounce against the 'screen' for some more chaos. She might also make small flowers blossom on the screen, making numerous small danmaku sprout across the screen. Illusionary Nirvana didn't have any spellcards planned for it. Mostly because magic is meant to be fading in this setting, with simple projectiles still being very impressive. Sanguine Rose didn't have any kind of magic attacks. If she had a set, they would be focused on short-range attacks with big damage. Very direct. No focus on beauty or complex death mages, just sword+face=dead. Probably gaining speed and power every time an ally of hers is killed on the screen, befitting her 'vampiric' powers. Oscar Diggs would be an interesting character to design in a Touhou game. He's definitely Stage 1 material, despite being the leader of Otherworldly Ventures. His attacks would be focused less on damage and more on disorienting the players. Throwing a lot of attacks at the player with only a few being dangerous. I had a scene in mind where a fake Yukari would confront him. He would proclaim his magical prowess by shooting fireworks from his sleeves to disorient the crowd. Something like that, where he shoots fast-moving corkscrews or sparkles would be interesting. Maybe firing danmaku in seven colors, but only one is dangerous at a given time, which he cycles through. He's a Wizard of Oz reference, so having a giant flaming head spellcard would be fitting. There is also Agappa-chan, a character I barely got to introduce, but had fun ideas for. She's a one-eyed yokai girl in a raincoat. The best shot in Gensokyo, she uses the best firearms Otherworldly Ventures can find. Which sounds impressive, until you remember even in IN they are struggling to scrounge enough ammo for a single gun. She would be focused on attacking from a distance, probably cycling through several weapons. Her spellcards would be boring though, especially since she is designed for a game where magic is fading. They would have to be focused on imitating firearms. Burst fire option, a strong long range attack, maybe something like flashbang or frag grenades. Very dry. Probably paired with her boss, letting Oscar distract the player while she focuses on damage.

OH Its my 12th favorite 2hu character hi! I hope you make a lot of friends and enjoy your time on the Shrine. Its a cozy, if occasionally slow place. So far everyone here and (mostly) on the Discord have been very kind, and even laugh at my jokes. If you need anything don't be afraid to reach out. Have fun, wholesome succubus!

Hiiii!!!! Haiii!! hi! haiii! haaai! haai!! hello!!! Hey everyone, been a while. I've been a bit busy with irl stuff and in the meantime I lost some of my interest for touhou, unfortunately. However, I did still lurk around the forum almost daily to check what's up, and I've been seeing quite a few people joining, which makes me happy! Even though I don't interact much, I appreciate those who take the time and effort to do so. I also noticed that it'll be my 1 year anniversary on Moriya Shrine on the 30th of November, so that's why I'm making this post. Even though I have gotten into some arguments here before, my general experience in this forum was very nice! Just talking to people about something I liked and seeing the same interest in others was very fun. I've took a liking to quite a few people around here, and I hope they're doing well. To end this short post, I'll be doing an AMA! That's what I did when I first joined Moriya Shrine, so I find it fitting to do the same now. Even more so considering that a lotta people joined the forum since then. Anyway, bye! (quick edit: this post itself is the AMA I wasn't very clear xd)

So...uhh, hello everyone. I'm not gonna say anything fancy here, I've known Touhou for a few years by now but I've just recently gotten into the fandom. I'm probably one of the few, if not the only Italian fan on these forums lol. I've played the PC-98 games and some of the Windows ones, I'm not a complete noob but honestly I don't care about playing Touhou like a pro, I'm simply here to talk about the franchise and everything

Hi! I'm Raccoon (you can also call me robbie, terraio, or banshee :P). I've only been finding out this past year that Touhou has been apart of my life when I barely even knew, when it was the songs from rhythm games, or the fan art which I thought were just random characters. I've been starting to get into the games and found out here a great place to start! I like speedrunning and playing rhythm games overall, no matter how bad I am at some. Oh and if you're wondering: Yes I'm a Raccoon in real life, its hard typing on a keyboard but I manage it. IOSYS was my starting point of realizing that a lot of what I knew what from this game series that I somehow never found out about for so long. Glad I'm here now! :D Good to meet you all!

so if you were reading the "original characters anonymous" post, i actually made something quite long that really needs help and support to polish and/or make something out of. oh and post ANYTHING related to mathilda and the others!! (i will post the entire plot someday) link to the thread: list of characters in mathilda's world.txt

i made a post on the human village about my crossover fanfic around 3 days ago coincidence? I THINK NOT

Welcome Cris! We all tend to feel like the "only Touhou fan" of our respective areas and such, especially irl, but that's what the Moriya Shrine is for! I believe we as individuals decide how to enjoy Touhou and then share with and learn the similar and differing perspectives of others! And don't worry about being a Touhou pro! If it was that easy to do, it wouldn't be an impressive feat y'know?,

the tea is honestly not even that bad also extra info: i am a band kid (unfortunately) and (even more unfortunate) is im a clarinet player so uh-

Oh! I can help here, I got my start on Moriya with a cafe. I hope the tea you like is one I've tasted, because that's the only illusion I can cast--I mean the only kind I know how to make.

Ever had an idea for a spell card for an official/fan/own character yet lack the tools and/or experience to make it a reality? Then this post is for you. As a type of sister post to Original Characters Anonymous, but purely for spellcards. It's fine with me if you created a spellcard for Daiyousei and described how it went or created a spellcard for your Mary Sue-type OC and described it here. All are welcome to create any spellcard here. And hey, maybe your idea might be breathed into life by someone who does if you post here. Ground Rules As would be expected of a spellcard, it must follow the spellcard rules. I'll list them here so you don't have to go far when checking if it follows the rules. 1. Give a name and a meaning to the elegance of the duel. 2.Meaning is equivalent to power. Those are the two rules that apply to any spellcard here. Additional Rules As there are some unspoken rules and general rules due to the limitations of writing, I'm going to outline them here. 1. The spellcard must draw from your character's ability/abilities. 2. A description of the meaning of the attack is necessary. 3. A general outline of the attack in question. Bonus Points Giving your spellcard variations depending on the difficulty. For the rest you're free to let your imagination go wild. Now go forth and create that spellcard you've always been dreaming of!

the_trader - can agree, anyway hope we can get along tho lol nyoko - real, more ppl active here is like the more the merrier type thing here. sure, tea sounds good as well, patchouli-sama hasn’t made tea for herself or me all this week so some sounds great

Nonsensical humour, eh? Well, the more people active in these forums the better. Considering this has become quite the welcoming party, care to share some Koakuma wisdom with us? Perhaps some tea for at the very least me as all that flying and waiting around in the Former Hell of Blazing Fires has left me a bit thirsty~

Dont worry my humour is at the point where someone mentions two words and I will be laughing about it for 10 minutes. Hope we have a good acquittance

i didn't mean "hell" i meant "extremely mega mid" also i made a thread on the human village but i haven't posted the plot and characters YET here it is: i'm doing act (or season) 2 rn

IGNORE THAT HEEE MY GRANDMAS CAT JUMPED ON MY KEYBOARD LMAOOOO

for me, i made a design of a character with a z which is like the first time a touhou character had a z at the start but that was before zanmu was introduced, so i took inspiration from the design and remake her into something fresh. (no pic provided yet btw) and her name was “yokono saikyuu” (which according to google translate, it’s “next to”, “the fastest”) so i took that for an ability which was to manipulate speed. like any kind of speed wether it’s time or running speed, and can go from teleporting or complete stop. i have an idea for like a servant to yokono which is a vampire that’s older than the scarlets (800 years old actually) and no idea what she can manipulate yet nor a confirmed name yet. but anyway, yokono saikyuu is 2000 years old youkai of sorts (no confirmed species) and so that’s about it for yokono, nothing really finalized yet. so yeah that’s what i got lmao heeeeeeeee

tyty! i fr have some really random humor like i fr am full have it sometimes, one part of me is like don’t laugh but the other is just laugh do it and so i go all out. anyway hope to post some art soon!

Welcome to Moriya Shrine, Koa! Nonsensical humor? I'm in! It goes great with caffeine! I'd love to see the joy you bring with your humor and art!

nice to meet you

Welcome! I don't understand people's sense of humor most of the time, so...uhh, that might be kind of a problem for me lmao. But still, I hope you'll enjoy your stay

As someone who has essentially planned out an entire shmup game, I’ve got a few ideas. For now, I’ll outline one from one of my OCs. Violet Raha: A satori youkai with the ability to manipulate senses and sensory information. Though not as heavily shunned as satori and Koishi, she has a friendship with each and acts as an errands runner for them every now and then. She wears a purple dress and has short bluish hair. She wears a black ribbon in her hair that has an eye on the middle. Her third eye connects and floats around her in one closed circle, unattached to her. She also holds a rapier she uses as a hobby to keep busy. Now with her character set, next is the card idea I had. As a stage four boss, she will have three cards. I however only have the idea for one currently, relating to her ability. To manipulate sense, she creates a “psychic wind” which then effects the target when hit. Thus, her final card mirrors that ability. Psychic Wind: Suffocating Darkness - A card where Violet uses her psychic wind to blind the player. This card starts with her firing a undodgeable wave, where it temporarily blinds the player. As their vision comes back, the pattern is set up and fires as soon as the player can see a little. It has two waves of lasers, one on left and one on the right. They shoot diagonally down, crossing over to create the holes the player must stand in. The blindness essentially is there to make the holes harder to find, as you have less time to read the directions of the lasers to find the holes. After wards, a wave of seeking lasers come and fire at the players, converging on their location when they appear. After this wave, it repeats phases. On average, you should have to do the darkness phase twice and seeking lasers once.

So, as this incarnation of Nyoko Hakui is a previous version dragged back from the past into the present who Hikiko incorporated in their story, any dissonance you find between the version you see here and my OC's in OCA is explained with the character evolution that happened between then and now. With the forewarning given, let's begin. Nyoko Hakui is a Nekomata with the ability to manipulate vengeance, thus all cards are related to the clause. Spellcard 1: "Grudge: -New Enemy-" Her first spell. She throws kunai in a circle as she forms a ball that follows you until the end of the spell. That's it. meaning: The ball symbolizes a vengeful person and you the person who needs to be vindicated. Difficulty: Easy (spell is named Grudge: -new opponent-): The kunai amount is less than normal and the ball lazily strolls to your position. Normal: The kunai amount is average and the ball runs to your position. Hard: The kunai amount is the same as normal but the ball fires a bullet at you once every 10 seconds and goes at a speed between easy and normal. Lunatic (Spell is named Vendetta: -New Nemesis-): The kunai amount doubles compared to normal and the ball fires four bullets at, away and to the sides of you once every 8 seconds, going at a speed comparable to normal. Spellcard 2: "Enmity: -Discord-" Her second spell. She shoots tiny red bullets in a fan shape in front of her that get bigger the more you shoot through them. meaning: As you show your enmity to her, she will respond in kind. Difficulty: Easy: Danmaku density is lower and the bullets grow slower than in Normal. Normal: Danmaku density is average and the bullets grow in at a normal pace. Hard (Spell is named Hostility: -Strife-): Danmaku density is slightly higher and the growing pace is 1 and a half times faster than normal. Lunatic (Spell is named Animosity: -Schism-): Danmaku density is high and the growing pace of the bullets is twice Hard. Spellcard 3: "Vindicator" Her last spell is a survival one. One must survive for 90 seconds as she throws red bullets that don't bounce and kunai that bounce twice from the high center of the screen. Meaning: She is one. Difficulty: Easy: Danmaku density is average, kunai bounce once. Normal: Danmaku density is average, kunai bounce twice. Hard: Danmaku density is higher, kunai bounce three times. Lunatic: Danmaku density is average, Kunai may only exit from the top of the field and bounce a minimum of four times.

Well there's no "examples" here so I hope the format I used here encompasses all the "rules" set up. I'll amend accordingly, leaving it up to Nyoko, who set up this topic to decide. Felt I should be very brief about my OC Hime (Who I am still working on) to get a feel for my reasoning behind the names, abilities etc. so here goes: Hime's concept: Being someone shunned for being 'different' in the outside world, she develops an ability to "counter" or "defend" herself from prosecution and judgement. As such, the spell cards should have a "revenge" motif. If one would see Danmaku battles as a "conversation through combat and skill" then Hime would be "negating" the "conversation" by finding ways to counter, rather than accept. "Excuses rather than solutions". Like a negative person in a conversation going "Yea but..." to any and every potential solution, becoming increasingly upset when the "positive" person in the conversation has an air tight argument. Strength: Theoretically, could devise a plan/ability to counter any spellcard Weakness: Would be predictable and limited to the opponent they face. The Spellcards would be more to create openings for basic danmaku shots and technical rather than brute strength and as such could simply be overpowered by stronger opponents. Spellcard: Spite: Stalking Desire- Shoots several "satellite" danmaku that observe the opponent's movement, eventually locking on, suddenly shooting lasers that become incredibly rapid and go straight toward the direction they last locked into, piercing through any barriers or shields that may seek to deter them. During their "stationary" phase, they are more like deterrents that serve as roadblocks rather than an actual attack (although they can still cause damage if one is foolish enough to touch them). The idea is that they would force the opponent into a cramped area where all the "satellites" would home into the only direction the opponent has left to move into (ideally a literal corner) "Contain, Control, Suffocate" are key words for what this spell card is trying to express. Meaning: Since Hime's character is someone who brings resentment from the outside world, I felt the name fit for someone who is obsessed (stalking) their prey out of a grudge (spite). The "grudge" is internal and is in fact a projection toward the opponent. The stalking is a VERY deep-seated yearning to be understood (one they deny and internally rationalize), but due to her upbringing and difficulty in expressing herself, it instead comes out in the most negative, spiteful way as a type of 'mask' and 'defense'. Difficulty Easy Mode: Danmaku amount less than Normal. Only mode where the "speed shot" phase is the same size as the 'satelite" and is not a "laser". Normal: Standard as described. Satellites are stationary, but their ability to "face" the opponent to prepare for the Laser phase improves. The Laser size is about the same as the size of an average character. Hard: Danmaku amount increases as does Laser Hitbox, X2 of original. "Facing" speed up slightly" The Stationary Satellites move very slowly (slower than 'focus' speed) with the intent of cornering the foe. Satellites now slow down opposing danmaku. Laser Speed up. Lunatic: Danmku amount increases further, Laser Hitbox now X3 of standard Size. Facing speed up. Stationary Satellites move roughly at "Focus" speed. Satellites now absorb "weak, basic danmaku shots", making the satellite size increase in size but also slows them down which is the 'key' to avoiding them. Laser speed is not affected by this and is slightly buffed from Hard mode) The overall crudeness of the Spellcard and it's intent should express a "diamond in the rough" with a potential elegance that has yet to properly manifest within the caster.

May or may not have already posted this

Revived

Fake Marisa fan >:( Also thank you

Here's another one

I am not sure if fangames count, but... Genso Wanderer -Reloaded- https://store.steampowered.com/app/931500/Touhou_Genso_Wanderer_Reloaded/