We Didn't Start The Fire...

Things are getting a little hot down here on Gensokyo Island. No, not as in the recent activity growing more intense... unless you count the sudden overnight melt of all the lingering frost around the island, that is. How the heck it is a tropical island with the approximate maximum elevation of a twelve-storey apartment building even has snow in the first place, I don't really want to know.

Kiba here, and it was just a couple of days ago that Toritori slapped me with half this pile of assignments from our temporary boss Aya Shameimaru. I'm not particularly resentful of her doing that, considering that her face had the look of having recently been slapped with the whole darn pile at one go. Unfortunately, that means less time for my gaming, but some of the more curious activities around Gensokyo Island more than make up for it.

Remember Hinoko Gassenarl, my fellow Japanophile? I hesitate to call her 'fellow', really, since an 'artist' like her doesn't actually consume Japanese culture but rather creates her own semi-Westernised knock-offs with all the yaoi pairings and Mary Sues and stuff. But anyway, yes. Hinoko was feeling rather depressed at having been dumped by Almaz Beoulve, who took one look at the sort of R-18 doujinshi she likes and decided he'd had enough of their relationship.

Well, Okuu's Look-alike, in cahoots with one of Hinoko's immediate neighbours, found a rather unconventional way of solving their problem.

The fire of love springs anew. And hooking up Hoshi and Hinoko was Shinichi's original idea, I was only checking the possible alternatives.

Okuu's Look-alike, the supreme dictator of Gensokyo Island, is known for saying some very unpleasant things about islanders' attempts to set each other up on blind dates. But in this case, she thought it would be a good idea to mend Hinoko's wounded heart by tugging at her heartstrings once again, and maybe yank them all the way round the other side until they snap in a different direction. 

It's not just a metaphor, it's also a really cruel experiment of sorts. However, Shinichi Yasaka, the first third-generation resident of Gensokyo Island, really only had his friend Hoshi Toramaru's welfare in mind when proposing that Hoshi start a relationship with Hinoko. So... yeah, you could say no one was really on the luckless Hinoko's side in this last one. At least there's the chance her new relationship will turn out better this time around.

In other news, an unspeakable horror was unleashed upon the world today. Well, it's not literally unspeakable, it's just that saying its name three times will summon it to your presence whereupon you will instantly lose your sanity and will to live. Desco Kazamatsuri and Mitsukuni Haninozuka's first child, their daughter... I won't say it. 

However,  yes, she has been unleashed upon this world, which is to say she was packed off as a traveller and not invited to be a resident of Gensokyo Island as Okuu's Look-alike had initially hinted. I wonder why? Perhaps it's as I suggested earlier of wanting to preserve the theme of only using Japanese sources for character inspirations. Or maybe rather it would be the difficulty of administering an island where one of the resident's names simply cannot be mentioned under any circumstances. And we're not talking about Lord Voldemort here.

Maybe I shouldn't make my travellers too intimidating? People might delete them on first sight. Also, Skylar's quotation does a combo with Levi's (jeans).

She-who-must-not-be-named joins Recette Lemongrass and Armin Arlert's fourth child Skylar, who was sent off as a Pokemon trainer... I mean a traveller a couple of days ago but wasn't mentioned due to a lack of space. We wish them the best of luck in corrupting the entire world in a morass of madness and despair... er, I mean, hope they will be the very best like no one ever was. That's right.

And that's perfect timing, because speaking of Pokémon, we'll now be moving on to the very first resident of the fourth batch of eight islanders, that is to say the eight people living on the fourth floor here at Mii Apartments. Unlike the previous three batches, they weren't all invited to Gensokyo Island at the same time, but since then they've sort of grown together into a motley crew of sorts. So, first up on our list...

Hmm... what can we say about him? He's a villain. A really horrible fellow, who started a cult dedicated to environmental transformation, and aimed to unleash the true power of Pokémon in order to start a global apocalypse. It's...

 PRAISE HELIX OR DIE IN OBSCURITY!

Um, no, it isn't. In fact, his favourite Pokémon has a double weakness to the Water type. But what's more important is who he is - one of the duumvirate of truly evil villains resident on Gensokyo Island. His name... Maximillian Magma.

Maximillian Magma

All information correct as of 8 March 2015

 Argh!!! What is that ghastly horrid face supposed to be??? Nothing but pure undiluted villainy.

Name: Maximillian Magma

Nickname: Maxie

Date of Birth: 19th March 1996

Personality: Independent Thinker

Favourite Colour: Red

Quotation: "Go Team Magma!"

Maximillian Magma, or rather Magma Leader Maxie as he is better known, is the leader of the villainous Team Magma in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire and its remakes Emerald, and Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire (ORAS). His personality and motivations were changed significantly in ORAS, and as his character on the island is based on his ORAS appearance this description will dwell exclusively on that.

Maxie is a scientist and researcher who believes that the expansion of the land mass upon which humans can live will lead to the betterment of humanity as a whole, and as such he set up Team Magma to work towards that end by summoning Groudon, the primal Pokémon of land. However, due to such unilateral activities effectively amounting to environmental terrorism, Team Magma quickly fell on the wrong side of the law and the player is tasked with stopping them in Ruby, Emerald, and Omega Ruby. Naturally, Maxie and Team Magma are also opposed by their polar opposites Team Aqua, led by Aqua Leader Archie.

Maxie's character in ORAS is presented as conceited, smug, and aloof - he's completely convinced of his own intellectual superiority and that the course he's taking is right, no matter what the costs. However, this façade quickly breaks down and he's effectively reduced to a laughing stock at the end when his theories come to naught and he even loses control of his own organisation's activities. Just look at his defeat animation! My personal view is that in the games he's a villain who is set up on a pedestal of seeming impenetrability, specifically to be knocked down so we can all have a little catharsis at his humiliation. But it's exactly because of these quirks, as well as his more distinctive design and facial features, that I decided to use Maxie's Omega Ruby redesign as the base for his Mii look-alike.

In contrast with the original, here on Gensokyo Island, Maximillian Magma has taken on a life of his own like many other look-alikes. From being merely a mockery of a misguided extremist, he has evolved (dun dun dun dun...) into a truly evil villain, plotting together with his partner-in-crime Baldren Gassenarl to conquer the island for themselves. I mean, just look at him! That cross-eyed stare, that menacing grin... and he thinks too much. Such men are dangerous.

Okay, maybe not, but it's fun to imagine since the two of them are the most shifty and obviously villainous people on the island, and they also happen to be good friends and have the same favourite colour and a fascination with fire. It's probably a result of giving him a 'proper' first name, Maximillian, instead of just calling him Maxie. I have a strong dislike for contracted names and prefer to use proper ones whenever possible, but in Maxie's case it may have had some... unanticipated effects. However, considering the nature of this game, it's probably more interesting to have someone who's regarded as an out-and-out truly dangerous villain instead of a pretentious buffoon.

Maxie and Yuyuko, happy together... well, feed Yuyuko anything, and she'd be happy being together with you too!

Wife: Yuyuko Saigyouji

Best Friend: Minamitsu Murasa

Children: Koyomi Saigyouji, Yuuko

The pairing of Team Magma Maxie and Yuyuko Saigyouji is no doubt one of the oddest on my island. I mean, Maxie is a scientist and self-proclaimed extremist in the game, and here he's an actual bad guy, while Yuyuko's just a happy-go-lucky ghost princess that wants to eat, sleep, have fun, and eat some more. How are they compatible at all? I haven't a clue, but I'm sure there must be an explanation somewhere!

Maybe Maxie promised to use the expanded land mass to grow more food to feed Yuyuko, or moving bodies of water repel ghosts somehow and less ocean means Yuyuko is more free to roam. Who knows? But they seem pretty happy, if anything Maxie could be keeping Yuyuko and her death-inducing powers as a secret weapon in the event that Archie or any of his assassins try to attack.

Maxie and Yuyuko's family is probably better explained on Yuyuko's entry when it comes up, as it draws inspiration from a certain source related to her, while Maxie and Minamitsu Murasa's special relationship has already been described on Murasa's page. It's rather terrifying what a mutual grudge against the ocean itself can lead to, but thankfully Maxie isn't in a position to execute such a plan as of yet. He won't be getting his hands on Groudon any time soon!

On a side note, ever since their introduction, Maximillian Magma and Archibald Aqua have yet to meet each other. I mean, they've been in the same screenshot together, but they don't speak a word to each other and they most certainly do not play together. The two of them have the exact opposite personality, not merely in personality types but also in the exact parameters chosen to define their personality, so that might have had an effect. However, it is surprising that two islanders who have been around for almost three months have yet to ever even talk to each other, and not knowing each other at all means that they'll never fight. Perhaps a special invitation may be in order to bring about the cataclysm of the century.

Here's a hint - Maxie likes fire. A lot. Especially when it consumes the world. No wonder the avatar of balance Shiki Eiki is upset with him.

Food Preferences:

Favourite: Celery

Worst: Onion Rings

Okuu's Look-alike Rating - Celery: Don't Like At All! Bleurgh. Two of my big no-nos are crunchy vegetables and strong-tasting vegetables. Celery is both of these things. Which stupid human ever first thought of eating that stuff, anyway? You might as well stare at a tree and go "ooh, look at that succulent stem and leaves, I'd bet it's delicious" and chomp on it. Yeck.

And why does Maxie like Celery, anyway? Is he a vegetarian or something? You know who else was a vegetarian? Another immensely evil person from real life? No, not Civilisation's Nuclear Gandhi, someone else... oh nevermind.

Song Participation:

Too Much Water, Techno, joint-lead singer for Rogues' Gallery

Let me tell you about this song, it's a 7.8/10. Baldren and Maxie sing about coating the world in hot blazing molten magma and eating babies and about how villainous they are, while backed up by a whole cast of other villains residing on Gensokyo Island. What more do you need? Being true to character? What's that?

Some days it even rains indoors for poor Maxie. But the personification of fire and brimstone himself needs to take a bath every once in a while too.

Apartment: Apt. 401, formerly Apt. 403

Islander Rating: Average Tier

Maxie, being of the fourth batch of islanders, is right smack in the middle of the Gensokyo Island hierarchy which currently consists of just under eight floors' worth of residents. While describing him as ' average', it might possibly be more accurate to say that the fourth batch of islanders are the median in terms of islander levels. The mean level of islanders is actually below that of the fourth batch of islanders, due to the fact that islanders gain levels at a geometric rate relative to the length of their stay on the island, since fewer islanders means less competitors for Okuu's Look-alike's attention.

However, Maxie specifically is probably one of the lower-ranked of the fourth batch of islanders, again due to the usual problems of not having an All-Time Favourite food and getting into plenty of fights. In addition, despite occupying the first apartment on the fourth floor he actually wasn't the first of the fourth batch of islanders to be introduced - that honour goes to Shanghai Margatroid, the first child born on Gensokyo Island, and Maxie was moved to keep him further away from Archibald Aqua to prevent all hell breaking loose.

Nevertheless, he's holding his own - there is no special need for concern about his level (not that I express any special concern about any islander's level). He seems satisfied most of the time and most of his calls are for silly flavour-related activities like checking his head or stomach, or answering a strange question. Perhaps he's doing it to distract us from our investigation of his criminal activities.

Maximillian Magma is a one of a kind character whose presence is established by his contradictions. Though he embodies fire, he's calculating and cool as ice. He claims to be working for the betterment of humanity, but seeks to cause global climate disruption to further his cause. And while he's a snarky, conceited scientist with a mean streak a mile wide, and he's probably made the worst economic decision of his life by choosing to get hitched to a living embodiment of a black hole, who eats anything in her path. 

Maxie, you're charming not because you're funny or you're so, so wicked, but because you juxtapose the two just perfectly. Now, there's a certain mustachioed man in a wetsuit I'd like you to meet...

 That Trench Coat is the closest thing to his bizarre long-tailed coat and turtleneck combination. His fashion sense is so evil it'll make your eyes bleed.

BUNBUNMARU UPDATES, 7th March 2015

Relationships and Marriage

Unyuho Morichika and Margit Ravelli are no longer best friends!

Children

Hester, daughter of Desco Kazamatsuri and Mitsukuni Haninozuka, grew up. She was made to leave Gensokyo Island and become a traveller!

Margit announced that she was pregnant with her and Archibald Aqua's fourth child!

BUNBUNMARU UPDATES, 8th March 2015

Relationships and Marriage

Hinoko Gassenarl and Hoshi Toramaru became sweethearts! They were set up by Shinichi Yasaka.  

A Quick Break

Heyo, it's Toritori here again with the daily news. And one thing that's new, at least to me, is ... ooh, Okuu's Look-alike is in a good mood for once.

She was going around, laughing and being jolly, pointing a finger and waving some pieces of paper in the faces of everyone she met saying things like "I told you so!", "That's what you get if you don't listen to your supreme overlord!" and other snarky but good-natured jests. Hmm... I wonder why?

Oh... I see what happened now...

It's like they're about to have a head-butting competition. Or they're searching for their contacts.

Oh, how awful! Is Okuu's Look-alike laughing because Almaz Beoulve and Hinoko Gassenarl broke up? After all, wasn't it only a couple of days ago that she was complaining that islanders shouldn't use blind dates to get hooked up because they barely know each other before getting together? But... just going with the flow... Okuu's Look-alike is rather wicked, isn't she? As she likes to say "Hurt yourselves all you want, but hurting others is where I draw the line."

But wow, that was a really short relationship, in fact I'm certain it's the shortest-ever relationship on this island. It was also the fourth break-up ever, and the third between two unmarried islanders. 

The previous three break-ups were between Shinmyoumaru Sukuna and Armin Arlert, who broke up because Sukuna fell for Overlord Laharl's charms, second, between Yuuka Kazami and Drake Kitazawa, because Yuuka found the feisty frenchy Augustine Sycamore so much more interesting than the naïve old Utonium. The last breakup, or divorce rather, was between Wriggle Nightbug and Kyouko Kasodani, who tried to work out their differences (what differences? They're like a dog and its flea!) but failed - thankfully, they realised their mistake soon enough and were hooked up again the very next day.

It's interesting to note how all these romances which have broken up were between couples which were introduced to each other via a blind date. Yes, that includes Kyouko and Wriggle, despite the two being the only children on the island at the time they got hitched. In contrast with the abrupt love-at-first-sight nature of a blind date, a true romance builds over time through the establishment of a good friendship. It was probably that Sukuna and Yuuka liked their new partners (and present husbands) much better than their old boyfriends precisely because they had bothered to establish a relationship and were gutsy enough to actually ask them out. Nevermind that Sycamore himself was the person who had originally set Yuuka and Utonium up in the first place, what a poisonous friend!

 

A breakup in the making - telling godawful 'jokes', followed by domestic abuse. What do you mean that's the wrong order of pictures?

So, maybe Okuu's Look-alike has a point? That being said, what were those green papers she was waving in people's faces? Travel Tickets? Isn't that another thing she was whining and 

grumbling about the past couple of days? It's like she was trying to say "If you're not married with kids, your relationship isn't important to me." That's so like ... quite a lot of first-world countries nowadays, don't you think?

It's funny how Almaz suddenly became really popular right after he broke up with Hinoko, though. All of a sudden, requests came flooding in from people who wanted to become friends with him or introduce him to another of their mates. And he had absolutely no involvement with it at all, reportedly being asleep in bed at the time this hubbub arose. How could this happen? Well, the answer could be pinpointed back to Okuu's Look-alike once again. 

She might be mean and a huge grump, but it looks like she actually tried to do something about islanders who have fallen into depression - short of giving them Travel Tickets, that is. While having someone else take them on a holiday won't cheer them out of their depression, feeding them their All-Time Favourite or Favourite foods will do it. And if those aren't yet known, another neat but chancey technique exists, that of helping them to make a new friend to replace the one they lost. And what better way to specifically get someone to make a new friend than to coerce... um, to gently suggest and persuade other islanders to ask them to be their friend?

How sneaky, and yet, effective when it does work! Sometimes practicality is all that matters. Unfortunately, the same procedure could not be repeated for Hinoko, who was utterly crushed after Almaz decided to dump her for good (probably after finding her yaoi porn stash), and she sequestered herself in her room to become a hikikomori for life, uh, implying she wasn't already a shut-in of sorts. 

Their eyes aren't even looking at each other! And Hinoko reflects after decades of depression-induced seclusion on her breakup... NOT!

Ugh, this is so depressing, talking about other people's depression. I'm getting depressed too! No, no, I'm young, lively, cheerful, and I have a bright future ahead of me. I don't want to become someone like Nozomu Itoshiki who spends every waking hour in despair. Let's move on to happy things, alright?

Oh, yes! Patchouli Knowledge and Overlord Mao announced the birth of their second child, a healthy, bouncing baby demon, uh, boy who goes by the name of Adnachiel. What does that even mean? It sounds like some sort of religious figure...

Actually, it's the name of a three-eyed space alien demon that shoots lasers from a gun built into its hand, or so Okuu's Look-alike tells me. And she just wanted an excuse to give the kid a name starting with the letter A. How's anyone supposed to know that? Or perhaps other people not knowing and thinking it was some kind of theological name was part of the intention? Or maybe she's joking? Is this Punk'd or something?

That being said, he looks quite fine for a baby, though. Well, a baby born with eyebags and a piercing stare inherited from his mother, but I'm definitely counting two eyes, not three, so it can't possibly be a space alien. And no, no gun anywhere, so definitely not a space alien. I hope.

I didn't say he was a space alien, just named after one. But he's most probably a demon, considering who his parents are.

There hasn't been much to report these couple of days, but what little there was proved to be startling. Perhaps no news is good news after all? Well, I can certainly say that for me that would be the case, I mean I get paid and given a food allowance and stuff without actually having to do anything! It's great! It feels so free, not having any reporting to do...

Uh, miss Shameimaru? What's that stack of eight files you've got with you? What? Start the reports on the fourth batch of eight residents of Gensokyo Island sharpish? 

Nooo!!! Oh well, Kiba and I will see you next time with the products of our research. Me and my big mouth, tempting fate like that...

BUNBUNMARU UPDATES, 5th March 2015

Children

Skylar, daughter of Recette Lemongrass and Armin Arlert, grew up. She was made to leave Gensokyo Island and become a traveller!

Adnachiel was born to Patchouli Knowledge and Overlord Mao. It's their second child! He is an Independent Thinker.

BUNBUNMARU UPDATES, 6th March 2015

Relationships and Marriage 

Hinoko Gassenarl and Almaz Beoulve are no longer sweethearts! Almaz could not work out his differences and broke it off!  

Tora Tora Trouble

That drone of an airplane in the distance... it's making me nervous. I think it's approaching... yes, it is, and it's staring to descend over Gensokyo Island. But there's no place to land here! What could the pilots be thinking? 

Are they... and what's that they've got mounted under the fuselage? Some kind of capsule... maybe a ... are they releasing it just over the Mii Apartments building? Oh ... OH MY GOOOD!!! DUCK AND COVER! IT'S...

A SURPRISE TICKER TAPE PARADE??!!

Congratulations! I'm halfway to snapping the game right in half (so, snapped quarter-way?)! For those who don't know the game stops counting at 9999.

So that's what all the "Happy 5000" banners were all about. I thought it was some kind of promo for a new science fiction movie about a futuristic utopia or whatever. I asked Kiba but he said something like "Not Japanese, not a game, not my problem" and went back to launching attacks on an AI-controlled harbour in one of those computer games of his. 

I'm so glad it was just a celebration for Okuu's Look-alike's wonderful contributions to the island and not some kind of high-speed urban renewal programme. Or maybe some of the islands got wind of the more nefarious of Okuu's Look-alike's deeds and decided to launch a pre-emptive strike. Well, don't do it while I'm still on this island, okay?

So that also explains where my temporary boss Aya Shameimaru has gone, off to 'create' the news rather than simply reporting it. But she did leave me a couple of assignments - a few reports, and a project to interview another of Gensokyo Island's residents. Let's see what we've got here...

Ah, first of all, today the second child of Tia Arlert and Tadakichi Mihama, their son Levi, graduated from the Gensokyo Island children factory and was given his kit, backpack, and silly quote, ready to see the world. In fact, Okuu's Look-alike took special care to ensure that Levi would not be confused for a certain other Levi who bore absolutely no resemblance in either appearance or personality.

Actually, anyone old enough to be in the target audience of Attack on Titan should be old enough to get the reference.

As to why Levi was sent off to explore the world, I guess you could say his future was in his jeans... er, genes. I mean, just look at him, he's practically a copy of his dad apart from having his mother's eyes and mouth, and on first glance they're almost the same. Come to think of it, so are other parent-child pairings like Marisa Kirisame and Toyohime Kirisame, or Shou Toramaru and Hoshi Toramaru, but... well, word of the dictator Okuu's Look-alike was that Levi was just too generic-looking. And besides, to get to the bottom of things, having a character whose entire raison d'être was making a whole butt-load of jokes about trousers would be totally pants.

With that being said, another of Gensokyo Island's couples without a child to represent them also decided to toss their hat into the ring. This time, however, it was a pairing of which Okuu's Look-alike was known to heartily approve, who has also underperformed in the productivity department ever since their marriage.

 That's Overlord Mao behind the pumpkin hat and muscle suit, it's just attire required for experiments.

Overlord Mao announced that he and his wife Patchouli Knowledge were making plans for only their second child, their first daughter Carmilla having been the last traveller to depart Gensokyo Island some time ago. However, knowing that Mao is a demoniac mad scientist and part time researcher, while Patchouli is a hikikomori... well, that, and also a youkai mad researcher and part-time scientist, it's a little worrying when one considers what a result of their "coupling" could be. Especially when coupled with those electric couplers next to the apparatus Mao's standing in front of in that picture.

Coupling is truly an alarming thing indeed, isn't it? And it seems that today, one of those forbidden little pairings happened - when an islander attempts to set up two others on a blind date, and Okuu's Look-alike agrees to it but does her darndest to ensure the two blind daters are as incompatible as possible. Well, one of them just succeeded.

Western hero wannabe boy meets Eastern otaku wannabe girl. What could possibly go wrong?

Reisen Udongein Inaba, probably after her long years suffering as a test subject under her mad doctor boss Eirin Yagokoro and mad prankster partner Tewi Inaba, today decided to do a little experimenting of her own by sending Almaz Beoulve, the son of Konata Izumi and Ramza Beoulve and her best friend on Gensokyo Island, off on a prank blind date. And who should it be with but Hinoko Gassenarl, daughter of Sanae Kochiya and Baldren Gassenarl, and fellow second-generation islander? Okuu's Look-alike was absolutely roaring with anger when the two hit it off perfectly, and Reisen's satisfied grin in the background did little more than add to her rage.

Speaking of roaring with anger, that's a perfect time to move on to the subject of today's interview. I'd already mentioned her name earlier in this report, but now's the time to bring it up again - it's Shou Toramaru, the tiger youkai who's the husband of Aya Shameimaru. Maru maru, I'm getting confused, but anyway I wonder why Aya didn't decided to interview her husband herself? 

Well, if rumours are to be believed, Shou has been in a bit of a funk recently and refused to speak to many of her good friends, including her wife, and has messed up all her relationships. But Aya would just say "Oh, it's about journalistic integrity..." when explaining why she couldn't write a report about her own husband. I'd bet she's just passing the buck... oh well. Time to take the tiger by its tail... here is Shou Toramaru!

Shou Toramaru

All information correct as of 4 March 2015

Shou's gone on a bit of a bender recently. I wonder why? Look at those eyes! It's the Eye of the Tiger!!!

Name: Shou Toramaru

Nickname: Shou

Date of Birth: 15th August 1996

Personality: Independent Artist

Favourite Colour: Orange

Quotation: "I am Bishamonten"

Shou Toramaru is the 5th Stage Boss character of  Touhou 12: Undefined Fantastic Object by Team Shanghai Alice. She is a tiger youkai, although according to the wiki she isn't an actual tiger transformed into a youkai, but rather a youkai born out of the people's fears of tigers. Y'know, since tigers don't live in Japan... sort of like Europe and lions, for example. Although she was originally a dangerous youkai, she was converted to Buddhism by her present master, Byakuren Hijiri. She eventually became so devout that she was granted the honour of being the god Bishamonten's representative - Bishamonten being a deity of wealth, victory, and war, among other things. After the events of Undefined Fantastic Object, Shou now serves as a disciple and also a resident deity of Byakuren's newly built Myouren Temple. 

Shou's most well known ability, apart from being a tiger and leading to numerous cat jokes involving her mouse youkai assistant Nazrin, is that of utilising a Jewelled Pagoda she carries to channel the power of Bishamonten to do things like find treasures and shoot curvy lazors. No, Bishamonten clearly does not care about physics. In addition, although Shou puts on a serious front due to her job, she can also be silly at times as she's also known for being obsessed about keeping a tough appearance, and being a bit of a klutz by repeatedly losing the Jewelled Pagoda, requiring Nazrin's help to find it. In short, despite her role as Bishamonten's avatar, she has a very fallible, dare I say even human side to her.

Like Minamitsu Murasa, her fellow Buddhist and Myouren Temple member, here on Gensokyo Island these different facets manifest in  Shou to give her a rather contradictary personality - cool but also nervous, tough but also afraid, and having the ability to find things yet constantly losing them. So I thought it would be fair to give her the Independent Artist personality, fit for someone who won't hesitate to express their desire to strike out and make an impact on the world but who is held back by their own failings and insecurities. And, for the same reasons as Murasa, Shou also serves the role of a "male" character here, so take care when using the QR code.

Shou, her wife Aya, and their son Hoshi lost somewhere in Basel. I don't think we're in Gensokyo anymore, Toramaru!

Wife: Aya Shameimaru

Best Friend: Recette Lemongrass

Children: Shouko, Ayako, Hoshi Toramaru, Fumiko

Shou is normally a really loving husband and father and one of the most popular people on Gensokyo Island, but she really seems to be in a rut recently. Maybe she lost the Jewelled Pagoda again? And this time, without Nazrin to help her out, too! Regardless of the reasons, Shou's relations with all the people important to her - wife, child, and best friend, have all plummeted in recent days, and as a result she's dwelling somewhere at the bottom of the popularity chart despite previously being a regular top scorer. Who knows why this happened? Who knows how to fix it? The RNG can answer the first question, but as for the second... 

Let's not talk about what Shou is going through right now, but rather what she normally is. First, a really sweet husband who says lots of lovely things about her wife Aya Shameimaru, and indulges her wife's cravings for delicious Hot Dogs, and let's not ask where those Hot Dogs are coming from. A lovely dad, who looks almost just like her son Hoshi Toramaru and behaves just like him too, chilling out together in either of their apartments. And also too, a reliable friend to Recette Lemongrass, a friendly if somewhat morose playmate, who's always able to be counted upon in a crisis to offer her knowledge and assistance.

Oh goodness, I made it sound like she's dead or something. Ugh. But in all truth the Shou we all used to know a week ago must have had some kind of nasty RNG accident or something and the one that took her place is now a massive grump who does nothing more than keep to herself and moan about everyone and anything, and probably gets pissed every night at the (non-accessible) Gensokyo Island pub as well. Perhaps over time the old Shou will come back, but let's hope everyone else's faith can hold fast until it does happen.

Shou and Aya's kids - Shouko at top left in the black hair, Ayako in auburn at top right, Hoshi the boy at bottom left, and Fumiko at bottom right.

Food Preferences:

Worst: Tap Water

Worst Ever: Sports Drink

Okuu's Look-alike Rating - Sports Drink: Like. You know those slightly sweet, coloured, isotonic drinks that you can find at the supermarket? Compared to other foods that I only 'like', I don't have mixed feelings about Sports Drinks - I'd probably drink any and all of them. However, I don't have any particular preference for them, and if I had a choice I'd probably pick something else, heck, maybe even just bottled water since it's cheaper. In essence, while I don't hate it, there'd never be a situation where I'd go out of my way to get one, unless it was a free flow of only Sports Drinks and nothing else... but that would apply to any other food, too...

Song Participation:

(none)
 

Hmm, nope, I can't think of a song yet. Maybe something about losing the Jewelled Pagoda? But Shou's theme, The Tiger Patterned Vaisravana, is definitely one of the most unique songs in the entire Touhou canon with its exotic 'Indian'-style feel, and I have a thing for those sorts of songs.

Always losing things? It looks like Shou's into something kinky... or maybe she just remembered that she's a cat.

Apartment: Apt. 308

Islander Rating: Average Tier

Shou is the last of the third batch of islanders, and like her compatriot Minamitsu Murasa, she suffers from many of the same problems such as not having an All-Time Favourite Food, and generally not demanding very much. One thing Shou does excel at, however, is making friends, but it seems that the benefits of this have not been rubbing off on her, as it's usually the case that others seek her out rather than her going out of her way to make friends. Even so, her sheer number of friends goes to show (haha) how Shou's current low state is just a phase, and not the usual state of affairs.

Shou has been a rather tough character to place in Tomodachi Life, as while it isn't too hard to create a Mii approximation of the original, there aren't very many items that could give her Mii a feel of being very much like the actual Shou Toramaru. Striped hair was impossible, but Shou's unique dress with a tiger-striped scarf, for example, has several items that look close to it but are distinctly different in design or colour scheme. The Zebra-Print Dress, Leopard-Print Shirt, and even the Victorian Dress could be approximates, but simply look too different. And you don't want to be known as an idiot who confuses tiger stripes with leopard spots. In the end, I just went with something that looked nice on her in general, although I'm quite tempted to slap that Hanshin Tigers baseball jacket on her as well.

Similarly, it was hard to think of what Shou would have as an interior, so I just gave her whatever I had duplicates of - the Kitchen interior - and tried to give some reasoning to it, such as Shou being the manager of the café in the doujinshi Myouren Café by Rappaya. It also seems that, of Shou and her wife Aya, Shou would probably the one who could stand still long enough to cook a meal. Where else are those Tiger Hot Dogs coming from?

Shou was a tough character to put together, but it caught me by surprise how she found her niche on Gensokyo Island - a survivor crouching in a veritable tiger's den, if you will, from which she can keep burning bright. And while her moods have been tiger-striped of late, a tiger never changes its stripes, so she'll soon be back to eyeing the apex predator spot on the friendship league here at Gensokyo Island. So don't bother with catching a tiger by its toe (or with tuna sandwiches) - just add Shou to your island today!

(I'd be lion if I didn't kick myself for making all those tiger puns and references... ouch! Stop kicking!)

Her hair's actually dyed- wash it out to get her lotus headdress made from her eyebrows. Also use those non-canon cat ears if you wish.

BUNBUNMARU UPDATES, 3rd March 2015

Relationships and Marriage

Augustine Sycamore and Toyohime Kirisame became best friends!

Children

Overlord Mao announced that his wife Patchouli Knowledge was pregnant with their second child!

Levi, son of Tia Arlert and Tadakichi Mihama, grew up. He was made to leave Gensokyo Island and become a traveller!

BUNBUNMARU UPDATES, 4th March 2015 

Happy 16th Birthday, Chiyo Mihama!

Relationships and Marriage

Almaz Beoulve and Hinoko Gassenarl became sweethearts! They were set up by Reisen Udongein Inaba!

Ship Sinking

Nnh... Kiba here. 

My apologies, I'm in a terrible mood. I got wrecked terribly several times over in that super popular Ship Girls Collection game when a bunch of people I don't even know decided to grief me something bad. Worst of all was that stupid fellow who decided to write "^ Lolicon Here" next to my name because I was ranked just above him. 

It must have been that lunatic princess Kaguya Houraisan's doing again. She's got a heck of a grudge against me, the two of us being online game rivals and all, and having a bad relationship either drives you mad or makes you want to drive the other person mad.

Take Okuu's Look-alike, for example. She was screaming and kicking up a fuss over the whole of last week because of a bad relationship, or rather, bad relationships. "More than ten Travel Tickets gone, and how many did I get back? Do you &^%$#@ers think that divorce is a @*#&^$%ing game?" 

I know that feel, miss dictator person. Life simulations aren't just games, they're ... life. As far as I can tell, Okuu's Look-alike isn't opposed to breakups or in fact to divorce as a whole, rather that it shouldn't mess up anyone else's lives apart from the two culprits responsible. And when a married couple decides to take chunks out of each other, it's often hard for them to remember that kids can't be split down the middle. It would be a veritable Nightmare of (King) Solomon.

So it was with a bit of trepidation that Okuu's Look-alike regarded two of the latest developments which were, in essence, impending signs of a further increase in the tax on Travel Tickets. But, of course, for the islanders involved, it was nothing more than unparalleled bliss.

Don't ask Okuu's Look-alike in a bad mood to think of pick-up lines for you. She has a rather tasteless sense of humour. She still said yes...

Today, the permanently depressed schoolteacher Nozomu Itoshiki decided that it was time to confront his feelings - that he wanted to be with someone who would care to share his despair. So after deciding what to wear, he decided to meet at who knows where with the hare of the bizarre stare, Reisen Udongein Inaba. No, the "ba" is pronounced like "bar".

It's a rather odd pairing, to be honest, and Okuu's Look-alike was worried that it seemed kind of forced since the two are living in adjacent apartments and were introduced within days of each other, but who's to argue? People in love do the strangest things, and besides, even Okuu's Look-alike wouldn't curse anyone with the immense misfortune of being Mister Kimura's partner for life.

On that other incident which was of great concern to the dictator-for-life of Gensokyo Island, today Desco Kazamatsuri and Mitsukuni Haninozuka announced the bringing of the newest grotesque unearthly abomination upon this earth. And considering that DESCO herself is in fact grotesque and unearthly (albeit cutesy), I'm not using the word 'abomination' with even the slightest touch of sarcasm. This spawn of hers was so horrifying it was said to instantly induce insanity in any normal person who saw it. But Okuu's Look-alike was already insane, so it was okay for her to close long enough to conduct emergency plastic surgery to disguise the creature's appearance and render it less fatal to the innocent. And Honey-senpai is a world class martial artist, so... dealing with interdimensional monstrosities isn't a problem for him. You watched Power Rangers, didn't you?

Anyway, it is with great trepidation that I present to you the edited photograph of the horrific being... um... I can't say her name.

Yeah, come on. Say her name three times.

Seeing as to how she's of a personality type that Okuu's Look-alike has been looking out for (Madness-inducing Formless Aberration of the Infinite Abyss), she has already been muttering on and on about wanting to add her to the island. She's already made up her mind that this newest child's favourite colour is going to be Yellow. The King, um the Queen in Yellow. And she'll have her own sign and stuff. Maybe even write a play about her.

Well, it's not like my word carries any weight around here, but I rather object to that plan. For starters, if DESCO's daughter was added as an islander, she would be the first non-original character to be based on a non-Japanese source! And that's totally outrageous for an Japan-worshipping otaku like me. I mean, yes, there's Drake Kitazawa, better known by the name of Utonium, but at least his full name's drawn from a Japanese series. Ugh, that really grinds my gears, no wonder I'm in a bad mood! What? No, the fact that she's a madness-inducing formless aberration of the infinite abyss has nothing to do with my feelings., I'm all for equal opportunity regardless of physical form or lack thereof.

Ugh... formless beings, terrible relationships, bad tempers, abyssal grudges, sinking ships... it's kind of appropriate, really, considering the star of today's interview. Having spent more than several lifetimes contemplating her fate at the bottom of the sea, she has re-emerged to sink all your ship girls spread the faith of Buddhism to demonstrate that even formerly lost abyssal beings like her can be reformed. It doesn't mean she's a nice person, though... Please meet today's featured Gensokyo Island celebrity, Captain Minamitsu Murasa.

Minamitsu Murasa

All information correct as of 2 March 2015

 Must... drown... somebody...

Name: Minamitsu Murasa

Nickname: Murasa (pronounced "Captain Murasa")

Date of Birth: 19th July 2009

Personality: Independent Thinker

Favourite Colour: White

Quotation: "I'm the Captain!"

Minamitsu Murasa is the 4th Stage Boss character of Touhou 12: Undefined Fantastic Object by Team Shanghai Alice. She is a funayuurei, the ghost of a person who died at sea and became a vengeful spirit, either dragging others into the sea or attempting to sink ships. Thus, she has the abilities of ghosts such as not needing to eat, drink, breathe, or sleep, walking through walls, and assuming an incorporeal ectoplasmic, translucent and sickly green shape. Murasa also carries an anchor and a ladle The anchor is her primary weapon and a representation of her former life, while the ladle represents her grudge - according to the folktales, the funayuurei appears at sea and asks for a ladle, which it proceeds to use to fill a boat with water.

The contradiction in Murasa's otherwise destructive nature appeared when she tried to capsize the ship belonging to Byakuren Hijiri, a famous Buddhist nun (who will not be appearing on Gensokyo Island due to a lack of gradient hair). In response, however, Byakuren tried to calm Murasa's spirit and eventually encouraged her to embrace Buddhism and abandon a lifetime or rather deathtime of capsizing ships and killing innocents, saving her soul. Now, Murasa works as an assistant to Byakuren at the Myouren Temple, as well as formerly being the captain of Byakuren's floating Palanquin Ship.

These two sides of Murasa make her a very difficult character to pin down. While she is capable of great destruction she's also someone who has learned to embrace peace, and she preaches a religion of life while being somewhat mouldy herself. That's what led me to think that she's not all as hot-blooded and battle-hungry like many doujinshi portray her to be... maybe in her quieter moments she reflects on the contradictions in her life and learns to embrace both sides to move forward. So assigning a brawler like Murasa the Thinker personality isn't so odd, at least in my mind.

Please also note that Murasa on Gensokyo Island has been asked to fill in the role of playing a male character, as has her good buddy Shou Toramaru, also from Undefined Fantastic Object. No, I don't have a grudge against the Myouren Temple or anything. I just thought it was convenient since when these characters were first released people thought that they had a very boyish appearance, and it would be difficult to describe either as being conventionally "girly".

Whoa whoa that's too much information! Thiere might be kids reading this blog, Murasa!

Wife: Aliasse Foerster

Best Friend: Maximillian Magma

Children: Drake, Mitsuko, Chester

As mentioned earlier in this post, Murasa and Aliasse Foerster's marriage is one of those that's currently feeling the strain, as a result of having absolute opposite personalities. It's ludicrous (as is the Miis' concept of divorce) but unfortunately we play the hand we're dealt. They've actually had an excellent relationship so far and I'd just like to think Aliasse is on a bit of a bender at the moment, so no hard feelings. Unless, like what happened with Kyouko Kasodani and Wriggle Nightbug... then I think some permanent psychological damage will be par for the course.

Murasa's choice of a best friend is a rather odd one at first glance. Maximillian Magma? Sure, both are Independent Thinkers, and both of them have names that start with M, but Team Magma's Maxie, the guy who wants to dry up the sea, versus a ghost who lives (or used to live) in the sea? Like Murasa's contradictary nature, perhaps there's method in the madness after all. 

Maybe Murasa also bears a grudge against the sea for drowning her, or possibly after being reformed Murasa now wants to prevent others from sharing her fate. Maxie's efforts of drying up the cruel sea would both spite Murasa's killer and reduce the number and likelihood of people drowning far from land where no one could possibly see or save them. However, considering that Gensokyo Island's Maxie is a pretty villainous guy, while his counterpart Archibald Aqua of Team Aqua is of a decently nice, jolly sort who's just concerned about the environment, I'm a little concerned as to what Murasa's ultimate plans may be...

As for Murasa's children, Mitsuko is a pretty normal name for a girl, while both boys are named after famous admirals (in fact, Drake could also refer to Captain Drake of Green Earth from the Advance Wars series). You can just see the enthusiasm for naval battles in their faces, can't you? Let's carve out victory from the dawn horizon!

Drake was actually named before Drake Kitazawa moved to Gensokyo Island. There's no risk of confusion anyway.

Food Preferences:

Worst: Candy Corn

Worst Ever: Chamomile Tea

Okuu's Look-alike Rating - Chamomile Tea: Like. I mean, it's just flavoured tea, isn't it? Plain, mild, hardly any caffeine... not terribly exciting, but it'll do in a pinch. I wonder why Murasa's so fussed about it... maybe it's too mild for her? But plain water is even milder...

Song Participation:

(none)

"Captain Murasa's Ass Anchor..." what? No, I have yet to come up with a song for Murasa to sing or to participate in. What would she sing about, anyway? "I'm on a boat! I'm on a boat!" &c.

The reason why Murasa won't be appearing in any more Touhou games. Pull that Eggnog more, m'dear.

Apartment: Apt. 307

Islander Rating: Average Tier

Murasa is the first to break from the mould of the third batch of islanders, and not in a positive way, unfortunately. She has a number of bad things going for her so far on Gensokyo Island - not having an All-Time Favourite Food but only Worst foods, not being the type to make friends easily, and not demanding very much apart from new interiors, of which she already has three unique to her alone and which I refuse to give any more. She's also fond of playing matchmaker and trying to set other islanders up on dates, which I dislike since I prefer Miis actually building relationships and confessing to each other, but I play along anyway just for the drama. 

As a result, she starts to fall behind her batchmates simply because it's hard to make her happy, she rarely gives opportunities to increase her happiness, and what things she does demand are things I refuse to grant or things which fail to come to fruition. And yeah, even though she's above Level 50, it's an average tier because I assess it as how much happiness the Mii has gained vs how long they have been on this island (and thus how many other islanders were present along with them). It's naturally much harder to raise happiness for brand new residents of a crowded island without meticulously visiting them every day, but senior residents don't have that same excuse.

All the same, her relatively lower level isn't a reason to begrudge Murasa. She can always be counted upon for a snark every now and then, without the same threat of implied retribution that would accompany someone like Rinnosuke Morichika, and she brings a serious outlook when her wife Aliasse and her klutzy friends go about causing chaos around the island. No doubt my personal image of Captain Minamitsu Murasa here on Gensokyo Island is very much different from both the source material as well as fandom's more exaggerated side, but that's the beauty of the game in bringing out not what "the truth" is, but rather what you yourself see it to be. Sorry to sink your ship, but The Captain is here to stay.

I don't have the Sailor Outfit of the right colour, so have a substitute! Also, remember that the gender is Male.

BUNBUNMARU UPDATES, 1st March 2015

Happy ???th Birthday, Mitsukuni Haninozuka?

Shed a tear for the birthday boy born on 29th February. But apart from that, just as I promised...

BUNBUNMARU UPDATES, 2ndd March 2015

Relationships and Marriage

Reisen Udongein Inaba and Nozomu Itoshiki became sweethearts! It was Nozomu who confessed his love.

Almaz Beoulve and Reisen Udongein Inaba became best friends!

Children

Hester was born to Desco Kazamatsuri and Mitsukuni Haninozuka. It's their first child! She is an Independent Lone Wolf.