No such thing as Romania in Vlad's day, but I suppose in modern times if you tell people (outside of Romania and maybe Hungary) you're Wallachian they'll be like, "What?"

:)

--G.
"You'd be amazed how many of us claim descent from Vlad the Impaler. And he wasn't even the same person as Count Dracula! Our culture is a dang mess." - Marceline
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What do you mean that Rome wasn't revived in the 12th century by a Muslim Irish king? I saw it happen!

"This is probably a stupid question, but . . ."

Also there's the problem of people not knowing whether you're talking about being a native of the province of Wallachia, or just a member of the Eli Wallach fan club.

Unrelatedly, why is her sister decorated like a Christmas tree?

--G.
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I really hate to say "because it's Touhou", but that's about as good of explanation as any. The crystals on Flandre's wings are most likely there to hold magical energy and most likely were created by the Scarlets' resident mage, Patchouli Knowledge.

This is, imo, one of the main reasons the Touhou fandom is so big (the other being the music)- not everything has a super detailed, set-in-stone explanation, which leaves room for fan interpretations to run wild.

"This is probably a stupid question, but . . ."

Oh, they're wings. OK. That's... abstract. (For some reason, my brain one-tracked on the resemblance to a Christmas tree and interpreted the "spar" parts as branches, which was... weird, but not actually the weirdest thing about that character. :)

>there to hold magical energy and most likely were created by the
>Scarlets' resident mage, Patchouli Knowledge.

Well, there's a name.

>This is, imo, one of the main reasons the Touhou fandom is so big (the
>other being the music)- not everything has a super detailed,
>set-in-stone explanation, which leaves room for fan interpretations to
>run wild.

Ah. A thing it has in common with Kancolle, then. (Or, well, chronologically the other way around, but.)

--G.
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There are even fangames of it of just about any imaginable genre, including some rather NICE Castlevania clones starring Remilia's vorpal maid and/or other members of the cast.

That is really the big reason Touhou remains so popular: It's a fan-driven franchise. ZUN has the final word on what is and isn't canon, but for the most part he lets the fans run wild. It helps that while he's making money on the games, they're ultimately something he does because he finds it fun rather than because he's looking to strike it rich. The downside to this for a long while was that he wouldn't license the games for release outside of Japan, but (IIRC) his reason for that was simply a belief that the games wouldn't appeal to a Western audience.

--------------------------
CdrMike, Overwatch Reject

Kadokawa reinvented that wheel, too. The parallels keep appearing. :)

--G.
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I've since come to find out that ZUN's initial opposition to licensing Touhou games and print works outside Japan had more to do with the fear that he'd lose control over them. Given all the examples over the years of creators getting screwed by foreign companies licensing their properties (*couHarmonyGoldgh*), I can't really say I blame him. He's since started working with a company in Japan that handles such things for indie developers, so it seems he's found some measure of peace with the idea.

As for Kadokawa...*sigh*. The most I can say on that front is the game's been out for 7 years now and it's obvious it's never seeing a Western release. And I'm cool with that, I've got Azur Lane, Girls Frontline, and Arknights, so I'm set for gacha games. While I enjoy the Kancolle fandom, I've made peace with the reality that that ship is never coming in.

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CdrMike, Overwatch Reject

As an aside, I've read a number of doujinshi over the last few days, and I have to say Patchy gives me a bit of a Raistlin Majere vibe in a lot of them. That whole "you would be terrifyingly powerful, and probably evil, except it would kill your low-CON ass to do it" thing. :)

--G.
would that make Meiling Caramon?
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Word of God is that she's lying.

As for her origins, best guess is France. "Remilia" is a corruption of "Emilia" and "Scarlet" likewise a shortened version of "Scarlett," common name and surname in France respectively.

>She's definitely from *somewhere* in Europe, and definitely became a vampire around the end of the 15th century.

Close, but a bit off. Embodiment of Scarlet Devil was published in 2003 and she claims to be 500 years young at the time. That would put her birthdate around 1503, assuming she's not lying about that as well. She's actually one of the few characters in the franchise whose age is known.

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CdrMike, Overwatch Reject

I gathered she was called "Scarlet" because she's a vampire and has a drinking problem.

--G.
also, she'll never get over Macho Grandé
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That's actually supposed to be the origin of her title as "The Scarlet Devil," that her clothes are constantly stained red with blood. But like her boast of being a descendant of Vlad Tepes, it's meant to make her sound terrifying when really she's just a messy eater.

--------------------------
CdrMike, Overwatch Reject

https://twitter.com/zgryphon/status/1294111335505174529?s=19

--G.
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My bad, I was under the impression she got vampire-ized 500 years ago, not born then. Does that then mean Flandre is actually 5 years younger than Remilia, but she was turned such that she appears about the same age?

"This is probably a stupid question, but . . ."

Really, ZUN has never been exactly clear on her origins or her age. Even the 500 years date is hazy, as it's been implied to be her age, but also how long she's been mistress of the mansion. It seems to be one of those questions that ZUN has either never been asked or (more likely) wants to keep fluid to avoid the need to retcon later.

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CdrMike, Overwatch Reject

One gets a flavor of that on danbooru, where a megafranchise like the Fate series is (as of right now) represented by around 188,000* pieces of fan art, a phenomenon like Kantai Collection boasts upward of 360,000...

... and then there's Touhou, which, as an umbrella tag for the whole series, presently boasts somewhere north of 646,000. Now, I grant you it's been around a lot longer than Kancolle (there are running arguments in the comments of various posts as to whether it will maintain its momentum and eventually take the top spot), but even so, that must be some kind of crazy-intense fan base.

I've read that it's one dude doing... basically everything... on all those games. Big if true, as the young persons say nowadays.

--G.
* n.b. above 1,000, the tag counters on danbooru only read by thousands, like a tachometer
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Yes, there is just ZUN. This is actually one of those interesting quirks: He's gotten better as a game designer over the years, and become more clever and innovative in the way he designs things. His talent as a musician has only blossomed further as he has more games to put his music in.

But the man CANNOT DRAW.

So he's like some kind of weird converse of vanripper, the guy behind Helltaker, who can make games and draw, but got someone to do the music. :)

--G.
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Heh.

The music has become almost a meme in and of itself (and I mean that in the classic manner, not the modern internet silliness). There have been several groups covering the music from the games, in genre from jazz to metal.

Tokyo Active NEETs, for example, has released several very nice jazz collections of Touhou soundtracks. https://youtu.be/iDnvE-lYm0o for example.
(They've also done similar for Kantai Collection soundtracks.)

--G.
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-Droken

Thank you. I almost made it "tiny Țepeș has terrible timing", but that part's apparently not true, so. :)

--G.
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It seems like vampires treat the name Țepeș the way UF Sith treat Darth, just something self-styled dark lords (or ladies) tack on to enhance their street cred. Combine for the ultimate in poser edgelords.

	-={(Astynax)}=- "Darth Țepeș: Sith Vampire"

Papal names seem to be a thing with both subcultures, too. I remember playing Vampire: The Masquerade at one point and not choosing an edgy nightlord name for my character. He still went by the same name he did when he was alive. The other vampires all though he was some kind of rube, except the ones who interpreted it as the ultimate act of ironic ennui. :)

--G.
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Now you're making me wonder if Tanya Degurechaff might show up.

I'm not sure it would be a good idea, but it might be interesting to see Gryph's take on her.

Based on what little I've heard about the character and the source thereof, Magic Eight-Ball says SIGNS POINT TO NO.

--G.
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Seems much like a peaceful day among the Duelists, just with many small blades instead of a few larger ones. Nice to know some doujin authors don't hate the characters at least. Got a chuckle or two as well ("Flan's pets...")

	-={(Astynax)}=- "I couldn't take my eyes off them."

I guess Koishi perceives Sakuya and Meiling as the SDM's equivalents of her big sister's pet cat and raven, Orin and Okuu, back home in the underworld. Which, well, she's not entirely wrong, although I would submit that they are significantly smarter, given that even though they're supernatural versions of same who have humanoid forms, Orin and Okuu actually are a cat and a raven, with the, uh, intellectual prowess that implies. :)

--G.
Put it this way: if you made a Princess Bride remake with Touhou characters, Okuu would be an excellent choice to play Fezzik.
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Now, now, Fezzik had a great gift for rhyme... some of the time.

"Are there rocks ahead?"
"If so, we'll soon be dead!"
"No more rhymes now, I mean it!"
"Anyone want a peanut?"