Anyone has good touhou comedy authors recomendation?

Pagaretta without a doubt.

A common pattern of Gensokyo characters being afflicted with boredom, a desire for stimulation, and immersion in the thrill and/or senselessness of violence. I think it's the curse of having too much power, or having nothing left to attain, that sort of empty feeling, something which the author often connects as inherent to being a Touhou protagonist, their curse. Hmm. They all have great atmosphere, I definitely feel the savage senselessness and despair in every doujin, but maybe that's why I only came closest to liking Beautiful World and Gungnir. They're too dark AND too senseless, and while "senselessness" is a key part of Gensokyo, one of its foundational truths... every character is not like 'this', the specific way they're all portrayed by Stripe Pattern, and it's, not, Gensokyo enough. It's just not. These are something else, not the underlying themes of Touhou. Too much despair I would say, in these depictions, too much despair that's not there.

Well, it's nice to read their afterwords. They put a lot of heart and work and thought into every doujin (geez just look at that art) and they do intend to tell a type of complete story. It's nice maybe to keep them in the back of the head, to think about them at the darkest times. ...or maybe not. I have to say they do use some interesting storytelling techniques, like the two timelines here which violently intersect, cutting off Sanae's "redundant" section. Ah and they really like using repetition, of a single phrase or a single concept throughout an entire work, building on that one idea minutely towards the end.

Blasphemy! Why is Cirno not there despite its title?

Haha I thought the same. Looking at the title, I thought Stripe Pattern was finally going to have a more lighthearted piece, but nope.

last edited at Jan 16, 2018 6:12PM

I'll admit I don't quite understand what's being expressed. Does she believe that she is strong or that she isn't? I guess not, since she doesn't truly want to fly alone and does want to/is part of a group? I get an immense sense of loneliness out of this piece, but the exact nature of it I'm not sure of. The text in red box on pg 11 also confuses me, can only make sense of it as being about not wanting to be alone, or of wanting to be strong enough to say "that's detestable". Can't say for the sure what the desire is. Also some disconnect between relating being alone and the world being beautiful.

I sort of understand enough to have a feeling of it, but the author's depiction really isn't clear enough to allow for full analysis.

This is still going on my favorites list though, because of the artwork. This is the most beautiful art I've seen from Stripe Pattern so far. The pictures are the best, they look like classical oil paintings. And there's such excellent use of light and shadow, framework composition, and dynamic postures. Full color's absolutely necessary and not wasted. I seriously want to know if they drew references from any particular painting because those snapshots are fucking gorgeous.

Back to analysis, I'm still confused. I've reread all the text five times now. It's a bit confusing because what's being said about her aloneness seems slightly contradictory. I don't know what she truly believes or what she wants to believe. I do get this feeling of her being chained, in one form or another. End feeling is that it's something like Aya wants to participate in the world with others, but she can only through her pictures of people being together and when she says that line to Reimu, it is as part of a claim that she belongs. And then when Reimu beats her and moves on, Aya knows that's what being truly alone (truly free) means, and it is something she can't reach. Sort of trapped between both worlds, both of which are beautiful, but in between, where she is, is nowhere. Ah I see. I think that makes more sense now.

Also it's nice seeing Aya take legitimate pictures of memorable moments, not just embarrassing gossip ones. :p

last edited at Jan 14, 2018 10:52PM

Looks like there's a running theme of people being unable to stand the world in these pre-EOSD works... And that Gensokyo is a paradise which accepts all. Interesting but mixed feelings? Find it hard to believe in this Patchy.

This is amusing.

Huh, it sounds interesting. Funny coincidence, I'm currently part of an anthology group writing about a world which uses sigils and rituals. XD

I think I'll take a look at your website later.

Another Touhou doujin I read without knowing anything about the series. It's great. All the cute, fourth wall references, Orin and Okuu in chibi animal form, a complete story involving all the denizens of the Former Hell.

I've barely gotten past Koishi's first few spellcards on ReimuB, so my grasp of her character is limited, but this seems relatively accurate. Heh I remember being so confused by the "god of eggs" and the frog statue when I read it blind. Fits canon, doesn't get too heavy while still being meaningful, plays up each person's silly parts in balance with their core traits, I couldn't ask for a better SA origin story.

Where's the yuri subtext? These are sisters and pets, there's no romance.

Pretty strong subtext between Yuugi and Parsee. And although I hate incest pairings, it could be said there's subtext for Satori and Koishi. Oh and pretty heavy Orin + Satori specially in chapter one.

Page 10 makes me question how reisen is treated canon wise

She's treated perfectly fine as far as I know. Tewi's the only person who doesn't listen to her, but Tewi doesn't listen to anybody. Some of her game profiles say Eirin calls her Udonge affectionately and chapter one of CiLR she's annoyed at having to clean up after the Earth rabbits, not sad or beaten down or whatever.

This fan depiction of her is probably really common because of Inaba of the Moon and Earth, which is semi-canon and more comedic/exaggerated than anything. I've never read Inaba of the Moon and Earth, but that's the impression I get of how she's shown.

Where are you guys getting these chapters?

Geez. The darkness.

Vivid, fitting imagery for the time and place, of dust and coal, swallowed, choking in tar.

Wendy's echo, of what Marly said of adults being like scrap metal, was quite ironic. That moment of trying to be like her savior. You know, she might not have needed saving in the same way as her mother, but she was just as lost and in pain. That's never a valid excuse in real life, but for the story, I'm glad she got a second chance. These children taking on the burden of their parents' failures and their parents' weaknesses, the rich bitterness of being trapped and unable to leave, because regardless, you are still bound to these hateful humans through blood or otherwise.

On the other hand, the image of the mother crying also strikes me. It really is enraging seeing someone you love and trusted betray another person you love and thought they loved too, which is what led to Wendy's fury streaks, likely breaking and throwing things, threatening to hurt her mother (ugh describing it leaves a terrible taste in my mouth, when my friend went through the same thing), and being unpredictably violent. And for the mother, those are the reminders of her weakness and fear from not being able to stop her daughter, because she's right. The fear of having to bear this unpredictability and danger, because she is helpless, because she doesn't know what else to do. Her, cowering against the wall.

...

Maybe you could say Marly isn't a saint, for having accepted Wendy so easily. If she had sworn to protect Wendy because she heard her crying all the time, then the revelation it was Wendy's mother crying should have inspired in her the same urge to protect. But she had wanted Wendy for Wendy. And so that was how it was. Love for love.

They should know that the lies they detest won't disappear outside their dying coal town. But I suppose that is their childishness, their hope. What a melancholy piece of art. Impressed with the pencil sketch, charcoal look.

Pg 35 of the last part shows what appear to be blood stains on Wendy's dress, the placement and appearance indicating they flew out from an impact. I don't like to consider what that means, but I suppose she did hurt something or somebody at some point. Or it could be symbolic of her dirtied heart.

I like beautiful stories.

In Japan it is illegal to have hormones or surgery for being transgender if you are under 21

The other pixiv image this author had shows they meet/this story happens in 大学 or college.

It's official, Mo is a beautiful cinnamon bun, and her inevitable heartbreak is going to tear me to pieces.

</3 She'll be fine in the end.

Actually skimming over the most recent 300 posts, there's only two posts I saw explicitly commenting they wish there wasn't a third party, and one of them adds on that even so they think she's cool too.

A summary of other posts I saw, what I mentioned above, and people talking about whether Qiu Tong's going to fight her rival, Sun Jing belongs to Qiu Tong, sending love to Tan Jiu + Sun Jing + Xiao Nan, "So this was her story all along", variations of "That's understandable but don't try to take Sun Jing away from Qiu Tong", advice for Xiao Nan like "Don't fall in love with a ray of light, you can't catch it" or "Sun Jing's actually an idiot, she doesn't deserve your love. Let her ruin Qiu Tong. Think a bit more openly pink-haired girl."

The last one was pretty funny.

Anyway, it's pretty interesting seeing the contrast in opinions readers here and on Weibo have.

The author should be careful readership doesn't decline during this.

Oh you definitely don't need to worry about that.

You know, I like Mo Xiao Nan. I have to admire her bravery for constantly trying to get closer to Sun Jing, even when she doesn't seem interested. There is a point at which she has to accept Sun Jing has no interest in her, which will likely be the end of this arc, but, to say she's only there as a love rival I think is unfair to her. This update makes it clear too, what the depths of her feelings are, and I always like characters who I can relate to in some aspect. The bullying scene shows an element of bravery and naivety that felt very real. Not thinking things through completely, expecting somebody who's too scared to even stand up for themselves stand up for her, not blaming them or even the bullies for the situation she's in, but claiming responsibility for her actions. I like that. If it was Sun Jing, she would have charged in without hesitation and somehow or another forced the bullies to stop, because that's how bullheaded and charismatic she is. This is a different scenario, of somebody who aims to do something but isn't lucky? strong? enough to carry it through. And here is Sun Jing showing up at just the right moment, displaying what Mo Xiao Nan lacks and desires.

Story-wise, if Xiao Nan needs to have a "reason" to be here, then yes I do think it's for Qiu Tong to show she's serious. But this arc and Xiao Nan's actions have been built up over time from the very beginning, her first appearance is in the second update, and this is not a random, half-assed melodrama act.

Not that it matters, but in the Weibo comments for this update, roughly half of the most upvoted comments are people appreciating Xiao Nan as a good person/somebody with a story/understandable/with compelling feelings. (The other half are joking that Qiu Tong has been squatting by the gate since last year but I digress.) So for the original reading population at least, there's no arguing about Mo Xiao Nan's place.

Last page, 金 does mean gold but I think money is closer to what Reimu's demanding. Come to think of it, it is an interesting idea to have Sakuya fall into Gensokyo because she forgot herself, her own name and fate. Timeline is incorrect, for relative times in between SDM relocating to Gensokyo, creation of spellcard rules, and amount of time Sakuya has spent working at SDM.

I'm a bit tired of anybody being depicted as insane = murderous. Main complaint with the Sakuya shown here. Why is she apologizing anyway on page 30? She killed two men without issue and she thinks Remilia is the devil. But I like child Sakuya and Remilia gathering all of Gensokyo for the most epic snowball match in history (that's a lie I know there's another story where the same thing happens; I can't remember the name, only that Alice was strategizing with her dolls)

This was one of the first series I read on this site. Was it the first? Not sure. Can't even remember how I found Dynasty lol. But Amano was definitely the first author whose works I all read and by luck one I ended up liking generally liking. People in Yukemuri are such outlandish characters, but something threads through all of their stories, a realness and humanness. An idea of what love is. Nothing big, nothing dramatic, a guiding undercurrent in a person's daily life. Petty and stupid and laughable, deeply felt and unashamed. Nobody in this series is afraid to embrace their feelings. Refreshing, really, in a genre shaped by forbidden love and repressed angst.

Chapter two was my favorite. (Aoi looks like Miyata from Sweet Guilty Love Bites). So was chapter four. And five. Six and seven were hella cute too. If that hot spring brings such good luck to lovers I'd love to go there too. ;)

Pages 84, 86, 87, and 97 of part two make me grit my teeth. I'm not going back to reread the other parts which are just as atrociously out of character. I figured out what bothered me so much about this and the PCB remake after reading SSiB. They feel wrong. Every single character feels wrong. It's like they're acting correctly (sometimes) but the spirit behind their actions is out of phase with who they are.

Remilia going into a dramatic monologue halfway through the fight and making a big deal about losing? She doesn't care about losing, she's playing. A comment Zun made about Remilia in EoSD (technically through Reimu) is her danmaku showed "The tricky trajectories are kind of like a child trying to play just a little longer." The entirety of SSiB and SWR is her doing something because she's bored. And it's not that she doesn't care about Gensokyo or Reimu, but she'd never swear allegiance to them in this way. Like what the hell, she's dedicating herself to Reimu moments after meeting her? Because Reimu's her type apparently? That's just...

And Flandre, she's not insecure as she's mostly depicted here. In EoSD she's excitable, curious, and doesn't know when to hold back. She is not afraid of her ability, because she has never been given reason to.

Reimu's twisted the most. There's too much to comment. The entire story bends her into something she's not. What she is, is simple, lazy, foolish, greedy (but not really), kind while acting like she doesn't care about anything, observant, intuitive, accepting, strong friends with Marisa, and powerful without acknowledging her power. That's who she is, not this emotionless dreadnought. Oh yeah and calling on Amaterasu? That's hilarious too, considering how godless a shrine maiden she is.

...

I could go on forever but I'll save that for my myself lol. I don't know why the remakes are so weird. Most of their other works are really good. Maybe they just do comedy with a touch of thematic tension better? I'll just never read these two doujins again.

last edited at Jan 7, 2018 10:36PM

Is it just me, or is this based of AKB48's Acchan (Maeda Atsuko) and Takamina (Takahashi Minami) lol?

That's hilarious I didn't know. Really does look like them, the hair parting and color is the most distinct identifier.

We're reaching levels of Japanese that shouldn't even be possible.

I mean if they exist they are clearly possible and intended.

It's too complicated therefore it should not be possible. :p

Basically the cat was repeating Akina's phrase 書けない (kakenai), but written as 猫けない (nekokenai) (猫 being cat).

I'm pretty sure that kanji is 描く(egaku - to draw) and not 猫 (neko - cat)

I see. Well the "catn't write" pun works well in English even if it's not the same in the original.

last edited at Jan 7, 2018 7:20PM

So there's five more chapters left. Something about the story makes me feel like it's setting up every cliche imaginable, and trying to make something fresh out of them. Or maybe I'm just hoping it will.

Bottom of page 18 makes me smile. I love it when characters are honest about how they view themselves.

I don't know how I feel about this story so going to wait until it's finished. Least it's not distasteful? I'm in-between thinking I might like it and thinking it's... lacking. Based on my current impressions, it's not going to live up to its potential. The hints of depth dropped in a couple of places don't seem to be leading anywhere. I don't see how it's going to progress and end in any form of compelling or meaningful way; things just happen plot-wise without me feeling attached to any of it... They feel like blank slates to me.

I relate so much to the entire chapter.

Trying to write stories is painful for an amateur like me, and just today I was thinking about how I was getting discouraged. That pun at the end, I wonder what it literally was in Japanese.

I find it funny in how understandable she is when seeking tricks and tips to defeat writer's block. It's not so easy as just having passion or a story to tell (Akina's last panel lol) but it's true ones with messages and clear intent are the best I've ever read. Well it's inspiring nonetheless.

I guess they are unnecessary if the main story is about Sumika and Ushio, but I never found any of the detours to be boring. The side plots were like concentric circles building up side characters, and when much of yuri is devoted to mostly being about the two main characters, the extended cast is welcome.

I wasn't necessarily saying they weren't well written or that I didn't like the side side cast, but they mainly served to weigh down the primary plot(just look at the number of times Sumika and Ushio almost get together, only for something to cut them off). It's a case of an author trying to do too much at once in the same work.

Difference in opinion about the same thing; I didn't feel they weighed down the main plot because they were interesting, and while I was invested in Sumika and Ushio getting together, I also enjoyed the development of their relationship, which might be considered slow and drawn out.

Another version of a vampire..creepy dad unless there was a story beyond that... was there a mention that Rin randomly bit Yuu just to have a vassal?

Nope. It was completely an accident and not something he planned. Look at the terrible mentor he's being. :p

Months of work, weeks of research, three elaborate plans, two decoys, all for a jar of sake. Typical Gensokyo.

I don't know what Yukari means in the last chapter about not knowing if the brain of the moon resided on Earth; she fought Eirin in IN...

This story was the best. When it comes down to it, no fanwork can ever exceed Zun's canon. The extensive mythology, the perfect application of Gensokyo's number one rule - namely that common sense does not apply (that's not quite true though. Real world common sense doesn't apply, but the manifestation of will and concepts into reality has always been what makes up a large part of 'magic'), every appearance of SDM characters and Yuyuko and Yukari's speechless communication, god it's great. Now for Lunatic Runagate. And I need to finish WaHH.