#barutalk

So I went and made a blog for my game-making circle @magpieteahouse​

Subterranean Detectives Orin and Satori

From the depths of the Earth to mountain peaks

A Touhou Project fangame

About a year ago I drew a mock-up for a point-and-click game featuring Orin and Satori. I didn’t plan to actually make a game back then, but seeing how many people liked that concept made me want to try and see if I can do it. It took me a while, I learned new things, and made this short game.

You can download the game for free here:

https://magpieteahouse.itch.io/subterranean-detectives-orin-and-satori

10. favorite fan game? Subterranean Detectives Orin and Satori! More seriously, I haven't played that many touhou fangames, or at least any big ones. I'd say, I liked Nitorinc quite a lot for its interesting and fun minigames. Also watching a Yuuyuujiteki no Yuukarin playthrough was pretty fun, if you disregard certain... aspects of the art style.

12. favorite remix/fan song?

I don't really have a song I'd call my number one favorite, since I like many different songs for many different reasons. I would say though that my favorite music circle at the moment is definitely Butaotome.

23. do you have any touhou ocs?

I do! They aren't particularly developed though since I haven't really given them too much serious thought.

There are two Moon Rabbit ocs I came up with thinking about the Lunar Capital. One of them is the leader of the Moon Rabbits, based on the original Jade Rabbit from the myths. She doesn't have a name or a reference, but basically she is a tired-looking rabbit wearing green-and-gold clothes with Chinese motifs and a pair of jade-tinted pince-nez glasses. She used to be Chang'e's servant and friend who helped her manage the Moon Rabbits in a mutually beneficial relationship. After Chang'e's imprisonment she was reduced to just a figurehead that nominally represents Moon Rabbits, but in reality just passes down Lunarians' orders on to them.

The other rabbit oc is an overzealous Lunar Defense Corp captain Rigel. She is a comical character loyal to the Lunarians to a ridiculous degree, basically think Invader Zim but bunny. The Watatsuki sisters got tired of her boundless energy and banished sent her to Earth with an extremely important secret mission. Here's a rough sketch of her

There's also another oc, the next Hakurei shrine maiden, Reimu's apprentice and successor. I am thinking about a story featuring her, so maybe I'll make something about her in the future.

I really wanted to see what people have to say about that latest chapter of WaHH, but there’s not that many post talking about it, so guess I’ll have to be the change I want to see. Here are my thoughts and speculation.

Spoilers for the new chapter, obviously

Just what was Reimu fighting?

Initially, I thought that Reimu was most likely fighting someone sent from Hell, like an oni, or even a kishin. However, there is another possibility, which I think is more likely.

There wasn't actually any fight, and the mess was caused by the oni arm acting on its own. I think in an earlier chapter it was mentioned that a severed kappa arm can act independently (though I might be wrong) so who’s to say an oni arm can’t? Reimu probably opened the box to take a look at it, the arm started wreaking havoc (claw marks?), so Reimu tried to seal it back into the box (torn amulets on the floor). It would actually clear up a lot of things, such as:

Why did the fight take place inside the shrine?

What would someone do inside an empty shrine? And if they wanted to attack Reimu, wouldn't it make more sense to do it at home, or outside? But it would make sense if it was the arm, since Reimu wanted to put it on display at the shrine as a relic, and that’s where she opened the box.

The one that bothered me the most, why did Reimu go to bed?

It would just be weird if after being attacked by someone, possibly someone from Hell, Reimu would just go home, change into her pj's and go to bed. We know she treats the safety of Gensokyo seriously, so wouldn’t she try to investigate or alert someone? However, if that mess was really caused by the arm, after sealing it back Reimu probably just decided to leave the cleaning till morning. Also, she probably took the arm with her to bed, maybe to keep an eye on it, or maybe to make sure no one would steal it.

What Reimu said in chapter 47

While she was walking through the infinite Hell, Reimu didn't mention anything about fighting anyone. You’d think she would say something if she got into a big fight with someone from Hell just before getting stuck in there. Instead, she talks about how the arm was probably a trap. Also this panel:

The wording might suggest that Reimu already thought that the arm might be cursed (probably from seeing it rampaging inside the shrine) and now being stuck in Hell with it only proved that.

However, there still are a few mysteries.

Was it really a trap for Reimu? Or was it meant for Kasen, and Reimu just so happened to find it first? If the target was Reimu, it would imply that someone from Hell most likely wants to pull something off in Gensokyo, and they need Reimu away to accomplish it. But they probably act on their own, behind the back of the Yamas, since Komachi mentioned that Reimu didn’t go through the normal procedure, and isn't under the supervision of any oni. But now Kasen is going after Reimu, and Komachi and Tenshi are going after Kasen? And most importantly, where did Reimu go?

Also, I’m so proud of Nadeshiko and how she became a Rin-level camper (and got that lamp she wanted) and  I really liked the way the ending paralleled the beginning